The Dark Knight Rises : by Christopher Nolan

As a fan boy ,  I waited and waited for this very day!

2008 , seemed a long time ago , when Joker said 'Why So Serious'.

Now this was really serious , and so was Nolan about his largest magnum opus since 2005.

Begins ...

Falls ...

The Dark Knight Rises!

The film picks up where the events in the second part ended. Harvey Dent got killed and Batman became the fall guy. Gotham city lost a hero and Batman aka Bruce Wayne became a recluse.

The key characters in this edition are so well etched that the audience is sucked into the narrative.

*Alfred played by Michael Caine as the indefatigable butler 

showing his emotional turmoil towards Bruce.

*Lucius Fox played by Morgan Freeman is the gadget-all-done-it-all saviour 

for Wayne Enterprises R&D. 

*Commisioner Gordon played by Gary Oldman is going through 

hell losing both Harvey & Bruce.

*Selina Kyle aka Catwoman played by Anna Hathaway springs a sexy sultry act.

Her repartee with Batman is one of the highlights of the movie.

*Bane played by Tom Hardy is purely physical , intellectual and a devious foe

Joker who was all chaos in ruins , Bane is mean , methodical & superior in strength.

A cross between Hannibal Lector & Sean Connery!

 *John Blake a young GCPD detective played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an idealist

who needs to unravel the mysteries surrounding Bruce Wayne and Gotham City.

*Miranda Tate played by Marion Cotillard is member of board at the Wayne enterprises giving Bruce the much needed support and in process discovering love!

*Christian Bale , as convincing a superhero can get , plays Batman , hardcore.

Pulse of the Trilogy!

Nolan as a director has been so well prepared that a Superhero film is embodied with an in depth  screenplay of such guile & stature.

Dark , grim , anarchy driven.

The Musical score is slam bang to the core.

The Action set pieces are simply jaw dropping

The Characters are so human yet vulnerable.

An Exhilarating Spectacle & Culmination .

An accomplished end to much loved superhero trilogy of all time!

If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal... you become something else entirely. A Legend!

Rating : 4.5/5.0

The Amazing Spiderman : by Marc Webb

Marvel Comics - yet another treat for the fan boys after The Avengers

Here comes the slingy saviour - The Amazing Spiderman!

The character of Peter Parker has always been a fascination for me , a true blue hero yet a human at heart ... very real.

This franchise is a re-boot of the 2002 Sam Raimi classic - Spiderman starring Tobey Maguire.

What a Web of  Action has been woven here !

Andrew Garfield plays Spiderman aka Peter (He has come a long way from The Social Network).

The initial reels of the movie talks about how Peter unravels the secrets of his parents in particular his father's research at the Oscorp lab on cross species genetics!

His dilemma , his confusion , his inner turmoil , unanswered questions makes him unravel more. His transformation post Uncle Ben's murder has been enacted by Andrew to the 'T' , he actually makes Tobey Maguire look amatuerish and dumb in the previous franchise!

Gwen Stacy is introduced for the first time in this series as Peter's love interest at high school. Emma Stone plays Gwen with upmost confidence.

The crackling awkwardeness between Peter Parker and Gwen has been performed exceptionally well by both the actors There are a lot of sweet tender moments which makes this film a lot more human than just another Bad vs Good plot.

Rhys Ifans plays Dr Curt Connors ,  Oscorps leading scientists whose work on regeneration of human tissues is unparalleled. Things don't fall into place for Dr Curt and his experiment goes horribly wrong to turn him into The Lizard!

A word on our very own Irfan Khan , plays Dr. Ratha at the Oscorp and performs well in a not so important role yet he makes his presence felt.

The action in The Amazing Spiderman is pure adrenaline rush - in 3D. Manhattan at night , with the spidey suited Peter slinging from the skyscrapers is pure joy! .. though I would still prefer The Avengers this year!

Marc Webb of (500) Days of Summer fame , was given an oppurtunity to re-boot a successfull fan boy character and he has achieved outstanding results here !

The screenplay is terrific , hardcore super hero , wild , heart pounding , warm!
The background score takes the film to another zone!
The sling is taut , the slinging is pure magic in 3D!

Andrew Garfield is perfectly picked - with power comes responsibility & how!
 
Go for it .. an enthralling web slinging ride !

Rating : 3.5/5.0

The Avengers : by Joss Whedon

Every fanboy's fantasy is to revere their superheroes , be in awe of them , worship them.

Superman , Batman , Spiderman , The Hulk , Iron Man, Wolverine , He Man ..

The list is endless in every child book tucked away in time!

The Avengers affirms this fact.

Iron Man - Tony Stark

The Hulk - Dr. Bruce Banner

Captain America - Steve Rogers

Black Widow - Natasha Romanoff

Thor - Thor

Hawkeye - Clint Barton

Team Avengers is activated by Nick Fury to stop the Norse god Loki from destroying the Earth

by opening up a portal using Teserract

The storyline is predictable yet humour is the surprise element in this super action adventure.

The constant banter and onemanship amongst the heroes is the USP of the film

The finale act of the film , with Manhattan burning in rage of the alien attack

is an absolute stopper for 3D awesomeness!

My personal favourite adrenaline moment from the movie ..

Captain asks Dr. Bruce seeing the Leviathan break out of the building, 
now is the time to get angry 

 Doctor : That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry!

Oh my ! Smashing!

High-octane  , exhilarating spectacle with a tinge of humour 

Every comic fans dream come true

Rating : 4.5/5.0 

Ra.One : by Anubhav Sinha

Random Access version One  - Ra.One is an ambitious venture from the creative den of Superstar SRK.

Directed by Anubhav Sinha ( a la' Dus, Cash and Tum Bin fame) , it is the most expensive film made in Indian film history (Rs 175 Crore)

All said and done , Ra.One is a mixed bag with its share of moments , appealing the most to the hardcore gamers of the world & kids.

Shekhar (SRK) is a gaming employee for Barron industries. His son Prateek (played by Armaan) finds his father uncool and chicken hearted.

Prateek is embarrassed by Shekar's attempts to woo him and his antics fall flat. Kareena plays Shekhar's wife Sonia who is writing a thesis on swear words ( what crudeness!? ) and is a housewife.

Shekhar sets out to develop a unique game where the villain is near unconquerable! - christened Ra.One (played by Arjun Rampal)

The good guy is named G.One (SRK). The trials of the game go well , with subsequent uncomforming behaviour with the motion sensor body suits. Ra.One starts to control the game and in a bid to destroy Lucifer (Prateek's gaming handle) , comes out of the box !!

The film boasts of state of art VFX and there is no doubt on the technical achievement here. Some noteworthy sequences include :

1. London Car Chase
2. CST Terminal Wreckage
3. Ra.One & G.One showdown at the car parking lot
4. Re-construction of the G-One and Ra-One from the lego like blocks!

Kareena lends the ooomph factor and she has never looked as gorgeous as Sonia in this flick. The corny-cheesy chemistry between SRK and herself is in a bad taste and falsifies all claims for this to be a kiddo genre.

Rampal plays the title role with menace and also gets the best lines in the movie.

Chammak Challo lights up the celluloid , one heck of a catchy song!  ALAS , the choreography by Hegde is insipid.

Screenplay of the film should have been more taut with the showdown between the good-evil halted by tacky dialogues , non humorous anecdotes , cheap thrills (Sanjay , PC & 3 Lee Girls).

SRK's insecurities as the King Khan comes to the fore with an attempt to pack in everything possible. A superhero flick should be true to the genre instead of being a masala potpourri.

We wish for a Romantic Avatar next time than an Blue Eyed Cyborg ..

Rehash of T2 , Iron Man & Jackie Chan flicks ..
Saving grace Kareena & VFX ..
High Reaching and Power Loving pursuit .. G.One with the Wind!

Rating : 3.0/5.0

The Dark Knight : by Christopher Nolan

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
........... We're tonight's entertainment : The Joker

Christopher Nolan in association with Warner Bros. has undoubtedly re-defined SUPER-HEROISM with The Dark Knight


Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne , the multi-millionaire , who turns into the Dark Crusader saving the Gotham City from doom.
The film starts with a bank robbery , an act of deceit plotted by yours truly THE JOKER played by the late Heath Ledger.

The film belongs to the set of actors playing legendary Batman Caricatures in never seen before sequences. To name a few ....

1. Michael Caine : The Butler
2. Morgan Freeman : Lucius Fox
3. Gary Oldman : Lieutenant James Gordon
4. Late Heath Ledger : The Joker
5. Aaron Eckhart : Harvey Dent
6. Christian Bale : Bruce Wayne / Batman

The Joker steals the show in all this masquerade. Ledger has got into the skin of the psychopath as if he has lived this role all his life!!

Jack Nicholson played the Joker in the 1989 flick , but Heath has surpassed all on - screen comic caper villains big time!!!!

“Do I look like a guy with a plan?” the Joker asks ..
Tribute Mr . Ledger!

The Film's Action , is astounding from a Hospital Blow-Up , Truck - BatPod Street Chase to Batman Sling from a Copter!

Special Mention : Performance by Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent is a revelation , and his alter-ego in the second half of the flick is brilliant.

I am a big fan of Nolan Films , film noir at its best ... fantabulous follow-up to Batman Begins..

The Dark Knight is the best comic caper super hero celluloid movie ever witnessed ..

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Spiderman 3 : by Samuel Marshall Raimi

Spiderman 3 has been the most anticipated movie of the year . People were dying to see the super - hero antics yet again with Web-Slinging Action from our own Toby Maguire as Spiderman aka Peter Parker

Hold on ... ill give you the verdict ... hang on to your seatbelts ...

What do you expect in a superhero action flick .. LOADS of ACTION .. on this account Spidey 3 rises above the expectations of the cinegoer.

Spidey 3 starts where it left in the prequel , MJ and Peter in love and happy in each others company. NY loves Spiderman , MJ loves Spiderman , Everyone adores Spiderman !!

Let's talk of the flip side , Spiderman's nemesis :

1. Sandman : CGFX make this character unbelievable reminicent of Mummy

2. Venom : Spidey vs Spidey Action ; Alter-Ego of Spiderman kicks ass

3. Green Goblin Jnr : Green Goblin Junior is awesome with his py·ro·tech·nics

Speaking of Performances , Toby Maguire is above average , giving the impression of being a tired super hero ! Kirsten Dunst is about ok. The villiany of Venom rocks big time and gives you spine-chilling sequences in a short but effective role.

Best Sequence : End of Venom in the climax

All in All , the flick gives you awesome action but the audience feels void coming out of the theater gasping for more.

Rating : 3.0/5.0