After a really long time, I actually felt like watching a movie in the theatre. Kung Fu Panda 2 and Cars 2 were on my must-watch list, and I’m glad to have struck one off.

So, sis, bro-in-law and my 3yr old nephew reached Inox for the 11.15am show on a Friday morning. There was quite a bit of rush at the ticket counters, possibly for Hangover 2 along with this one. We saw a couple of kiosks beside those counters, which were meant for printing tickets that were booked online. There was also a slot for swiping a card. I’d never seen these kiosks before and found them quite a welcome introduction – after punching in a couple of numbers, we got our tickets in a jiffy.

There was a bit of concern initially when sis realised the movie was in 3D, mainly to do with whether my nephew would be able to watch / appreciate it. More so without the headaches/dizzy spells people cribbed about when wearing those cheap 3D glasses. At Inox, the glasses were slightly big for him but mercifully, the quality of the glasses this time around was much better, and I’m sure the Rs.100 refundable deposit must have ensured they were returned in good condition. :-)

Those who watched the original Kung Fu Panda movie would need no introduction to Po – the panda, now designated as the Dragon Warrior, Master Shifu, and of course, the faithful sidekicks, the Furious Five. The movie begins on an idyllic note with Po playing his role of the protector and there are moments of mirth at Master Shifu’s attempts to get Po to pursue ‘inner peace’ as part of his training.

During an attack on the village, Po is confronted by the leader of the wolves and seeing a certain symbol puts him into flashback mode, where some painful memories get stoked. A bit of melodrama ensues, as Mr.Ping the goose, Po’s father, tells Po he was found in a basket and was adopted and raised by him. In the meanwhile, Master Shifu is informed that there is a new enemy lurking, Lord Shen – who has a powerful weapon (a cannon with gunpowder) at his disposal, and who intends to obliterate martial arts (kung fu) and China.

Frankly, Lord Shen was a BIG surprise for me. Far from being any ghoulish or hideous looking creature, it was…  a peacock! Quite a dandy and decked out peacock that too, with a cruel glint in it’s eye.

The story then moves on to Po’s fight with Lord Shen – not only to rescue China and the kung-fu tradition, but also to uncover the secrets of his past, and what became of his parents. When Po was a baby, the Soothsayer had warned Shen that his reign would be ended by a black and white warrior. In a fit of rage, Shen sent his pack of wolves to finish off the tribe of pandas, which forms the backdrop to Po being ‘abandoned’ by his parents.

During the epic battle aboard the ship, Shen finally uses the cannon to blast Po and the Furious Five into the sea. Po, given up for dead, is nursed back to health by the Soothsayer, who tells Po he’s in the place he was born, and coaxes him to remember details of the past, till the point where his mother hides him in the basket to avoid detection by the wolves. Po remembers his foster father, his friends, and realises that it is not the past, but the present that defines him and who he is now. Once he discovers ‘inner peace’, good must triumph over evil, which it does.

I thought the movie was pretty well made and not too long. It does have more emotion than the first one, which was needed, but I felt some of the sentimental bits could have been shorter. It would have also been nice to see the characters of the Furious Five fleshed out a bit more, and only the Tigress gets some extra screen space here. Jack Black (Po) and Angelina Jolie (Tigress) are brilliant as ever. Dustin Hoffman (Shifu) reprises his role and Gary Oldman brings just the right degree of menace and cruelty into Lord Shen’s character.

The visuals, special effects and fight scenes are kickass and breathtaking, though frankly, the “3D-ness” of it all left me slightly underwhelmed. Oh yes, in keeping with current ‘sequel’ trends, the ending of the movie ensures that there is probably a Kung Fu Panda 3 in the works.

As a rule, I’m not too fond of sequels, but this one is definitely a worthy sequel to its predecessor and a fun movie which both adults and kids will really enjoy.

Go watch!

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Saw Transformers 2 last night – Not much of a story and a tad too long, but awesome CGI, and yes.. Megan Fox !

Just short of a three hour movie with mind numbing action sequences, gnashing machines and metal crunching against each other, and actors who were there to make up some semblance of a story. That is what Transformers 2 – Revenge of the Fallen is all about.

Directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia La Beouf and Megan Fox, this sequel to the 2007 movie is all about the power of digital effects and of course, the mandatory fight sequences and BIG explosions as the humans and Autobots seek to overcome the evil Decepticon robots.

The action shifts across countries and continents, from the US to France, Jordan and Egypt with mind numbing fatigue, and it all seems so easy to just hop across from one place to the other, battling the meanies along the way.

The other real star of the movie is of course, the big daddy, Optimus Prime, who engages Megatron, Grindor and Starscream as they attack Shia. Optimus kills Grindor and rips off Starscream’s arm, but is impaled through the chest by Megatron and ‘dies’. He is later brought back to life.

The best creations in the movie were the wisecracking bots, Arcee, Chromia, Elita One, Sideswipe, Jolt, and the twins Skids and Mudflap, the best one being the smallest of the lot, who even tries to make out with Megan’s leg !!

Inspite of all it’s drawbacks, Revenge of the Fallen achieved the second-highest opening day gross of all time, behind only The Dark Knight’s $67.8 million. It is currently this year’s second highest-grossing film worldwide, second to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the highest grossing film this year in the US.

Watch it for the special effects, and only if you’re prepared to sit for that long !! :p

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Just got back from Bangalore on Sunday, and decided to continue the movie watch where we had left off at X-Men Origins-Wolverine.

This time the movie was Ice Age 3 – Dawn of the Dinosaurs and having watched the earlier ones, there was definitely a sense of anticipation, especially as far as the special effects were concerned.

We were all a tad hungry, and as the movie was at Inox, a quick snack-up at McDonalds was just the fuel we needed in order to get by the next couple of hours.

So, ok.. the movie opened with Manny and Ellie discussing their baby, and what they would do to help bring it into the world. This sudden move of the mammoth couple to parenthood however unsettles their pals – Diego, who feels he’s losing his edge anyway, and Sid, who also starts craving a family of his own, which is when the fun starts.

Sid comes across three dinosaur eggs, hidden in an icy shelf just below the Ice Age. He brings them  up and decides to raise them as his own, inspite of warnings from Manny. Soon enough, Momma T-Rex shows up and is furious that Sid dared to steal her eggs. She takes the baby dinos and Sid to the land of the dinosaurs, below the Ice Age.

Obviously, the friends, including Crash and Eddie, have to pitch in to rescue Sid, and they tentatively venture into dino land, where they meet up with Buck, who according to me, was easily the star of the movie. He wears a grass eye-patch and wields a mean looking knife, which we later learn is the tooth of a giant T-Rex, Rudy, his enemy. Buck has been living in this land and agrees to lead the friends through the jungle to Lava Falls, where Momma T-Rex has taken Sid and her babies.

The character of Buck is swashbuckling, almost like a jaunty pirate and his one-liners are truly hilarious, not to mention Buck’s Rules, which are a must for survival in this land.

Throughout the movie, Scrat the  squirrel continues his quest for the acorn and now he has a wily female squirrel Scratte, to contend with. Some of their dance sequences are simply awesome.

Just as they are nearing the end of the rescue mission, Ellie goes into labor and she is attacked, so Manny and Diego stay back to protect her, while Buck takes Crash and Eddie ahead to rescue Sid, who is on the verge of toppling over into the lava fall.

In the meanwhile, Ellie gives birth and it’s a girl. Incidentally, the moment the baby came into focus, a little girl in the audience also piped up, saying “It’s a girl !”, causing everyone to break into peals of laughter. The mammoth couple decide to name her “Peaches”, their code word when the mission started, in case Ellie went into labour.

Just at the end, Rudy attacks the herd, and though Buck manages to trap him, Rudy escapes and resumes the chase. This time, however, it is Momma T-Rex who comes to the rescue and knocks him off a cliff.

As the herd decides to return, they invite Buck to join them. He is in two minds and feels a sense of emptiness and a loss of purpose, since he’s spent so much time chasing Rudy, who is now gone. However, just as he’s about to join them, a roar in the background confirms that Rudy is still alive, and Buck’s mind is made up. 

So basically, all’s well that ends well. To conclude, this is definitely a must-see atleast once, especially for the fantastic effects plus it is available in 3-D unlike the earlier ones. Of course, there were some reviews that got into a little too much detail, like the dinos being extinct long ago, the geography of the land, and some other improbable scenes, but WTF, just see the movie for pure enjoyment. Kids will love it, though some of the dialogues and humour aren’t strictly for them…

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It was a sudden decision to go and watch this movie, and after quickly asking around, there were four of us who were keen on having a dekko.

As it was the 8.30 pm show at Inox, everyone decided to make a quick dash home to freshen up a bit and we managed to arrive at the theatre just in time.

Those familiar with the X-Men comic series need no introduction to the genre, and this film tells us the story of Wolverine, one of the most popular characters.

Directed by Gavin Hood, it stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and also has Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins and others. It is the 4th film in the X-Men series, and is more of a prequel.

Set in Canada in the early 19th century, the film details the trauma faced by a young James Howlett when he sees his father being killed by the groundskeeper. His mutation gets activated and bone claws protrude from his knuckles, which he uses to kill the groundskeeper, only to realise the latter was his real father.

He flees with his half-brother Victor Creed and as they are both indestructible mutants, they take part in all the wars over the course of the next  century, the American Civil War, both World Wars and finally Vietnam, after which they are court-martialed and “executed” by a firing squad for insubordination.

Of course, as they have regenerative powers, they don’t die and William Stryker, an Army Major then approaches them with the lure of a new aquad called Team X, a group of mutants, but their modus operandi and disregard for human life cause Logan to leave and settle into the life of a Canadian lumberjack with his girlfriend. 

However, eventually his past has to catch up with him and it does, as Victor goes on a killing spree, taking out members of Team X.  Stryker convinces Logan the only way to beat Victor is by bonding adamantium into his skeletal system, making him an indestructible mutant. Stryker also orders his assistant to erase Logan’s memory, but Logan overhears and flees, which is when the actual action starts, with Logan fighting Stryker and his team on one hand as well as keeping Victor at bay on the other. Jackman got the maximum catcalls and whistles from the girls in the audience, thanks to the couple of nude shots as he fled the the operation room.

 The special effects and action sequences in the movie are awesome and this is now almost routine, with all the tools available out there. In terms of acting, Hugh Jackman is the only one who really has much of a role and he essays it well, with able support from Liev Schreiber. The others are mostly so so types but then acting is not why one goes to see an X-Men flick anyway, right?

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