Keenly Anticipated Movies Of 2014 Which Surprisingly Just About Made The Cut - From Strictly Average To Almost Disappointing
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- DirectorOmung KumarStarsPriyanka Chopra JonasSunil ThapaRobin DasA chronicle of the life of Indian boxer Mary Kom, who went through several hardships before audaciously accomplishing her ultimate dream.Mary Kom deserved better than this. As a sporting icon, as an Indian woman – the two traits this self-proclaimed biopic claims to overtly harp on, only to end up serving mediocre melodrama. Mary Kom absolutely needed to be more than a Bollywood load of tripe that manipulates so many realities of her life to turn her story into popcorn masala, highlighted by over-the-top histrionics coming from its heroine (in Bollywood, they inexplicably call it good acting). What’s difficult to fathom is the filmmakers’ reluctance to narrate Kom’s story by adhering to facts through easily-accessibly data, or her written biography, or inputs straight from the horse’s mouth and those close to her. Makes you wonder what exactly the pugilist was doing on the sets.
The very Punjabi Priyanka tries her best to impress as Mary Kom, freckles on her face duly added by the make-up artist. Though she gets the physicality and body language of the part right, she completely fails to match it with the expressions, diction, ethos, and emotions of her character. However, the rest of the cast, especially, who play’s Kom’s coach, and Darshan Kumaar, Kom’s husband, deserve credit for nailing their characters to the tee.
The film looks at a whole lot of subtexts including women’s empowerment and racism against Northeasterners, but does not really deal with them. There is a sense of over-the-top artificiality about everything in Mary Kom, the film. In the end, the film ticks off some of Mary Kom’s career achievements and a few key personal struggles, but doesn’t tell you much more about her as a person or her disposition than the innumerable headlines do. - DirectorDamon BeesleyIain MorrisStarsSimon BirdJames BuckleyBlake HarrisonJay, Neil, Simon, and Will reunite in Australia for a holiday.This one is strictly for fans of the original hit TV show. It seems the merry foursome did have one last movie left in them, after all. And, with some relief, it will be their last.
After some hesitation over whether it was a good idea, Britain’s naughty gang from the hit TV show and one of the funniest things to ever appear n television, “The Inbetweeners”, are back for one final, mildly amusing adventure, with enough sexual jokes and crude humor to please fans. Alas, unlike the superior first movie, this time it’s only the fans of the show who’ll find this latest adventure of the quartet – Will (Simon Bird), Jay (James Buckley), Neil (Blake Harrison) and Simon (Joe Thomas) – somewhat amusing.
What’s going to matter most to fans is how often they laugh and how hard. In this aspect alone, “The Inbetweeners 2” doesn’t live up to expectations. Surely they are a more than a few funny moments such as the digs at hippy tourists and the initial scene at Jay’s uncle’s residence, but they don’t leave the same impact nor are they as free-flowing or frequent as fans are accustomed to. This one is decent, but nowhere close its esteemed lineage, which was one of the funniest TV shows of all time, nor does it act as a worthy follow-up to the first movie spin-off. - DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsGeorge ClooneyMatt DamonBill MurrayAn unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from German thieves and return them to their owners."The Monuments Men" takes an immensely exciting subject on paper and then proceeds to toe a fine line between serving it in a deserved enthralling manner and almost ruining its brilliant concept by presenting it in deliberately dreary fashion, bordering on the verge of being pretentiously somber and unintentionally tedious. Alas, while oscillating between these two extremities, the film fortunately or unfortunately falls into a vacuum of modestly engaging storytelling, where the viewer's attention is just about held with some sporadically inspiring scenes and tense moments.
Donning the Director's mantle, Clooney surprisingly misses many a trick by not delving deeper into a plot that presented numerous possibilities for an engrossing WWII mission in the vein of such classics as "The Guns of Navarone", "The Dirty Dozen", "Where Eagles Dare", "Inglorious Basterds", and "Kelly's Heroes" to name a few. Sadly, Clooney ends up desperately clinging to a few well-executed scenes towards the climax, to save his film from being a complete disaster. Moreover, his lackluster direction is astutely shielded by a stellar ensemble cast, who each perform admirably well in their grossly underwritten roles.
Based on a truly motivational true story, "The Monuments Men" could have easily turned out to be a much more entertaining if not classic war movie with better planning and prudent execution. Alas, it ends up exposing us to an almost forgotten chapter of WWII heroism - one which was equally important as the war strategies and legendary battles in standing up against the fascist Nazi regime, especially since these gallant souls preserved our art and culture, the very essence of history and existence - even if it does so in a jarringly slipshod manner. - DirectorAndrew LauAndrew LooStarsJustin ChonKevin WuHarry Shum Jr.Two best friends rise through the ranks of New York's Chinese underworld in the 1980s.“Revenge of the Green Dragons" - a crime yarn directed jointly by Lau and Andrew Loo, and set in Queens during the Chinese immigration wave of the 1980s - begins by sketching out the hungry desperation of the era, and how Chinese gangs took hold of two schoolmates, Sonny and Steven, and never let go. Violence and cynicism abound, as the story ratchets forward to track the hotheaded Steven and the more prudent Sonny through gangland intrigue, shootings, and blowbacks. The violence is savage and the torture, graphic. The victims are true-to-life: women, children and the elderly. There are also a few mind games – coupled with a neat albeit unconvincing twist at the end – as there are straight-up acts of brutality. Sadly, the rest of the mayhem that’s fueled by drugs, human trafficking, and an unconvincing, supposedly ill-fated romance seem hurriedly patched together, and contribute little towards making this gangster flick as engaging and fresh as it’s ruthless and stylish.
“Revenge of the Green Dragons” starts with promise, but soon becomes predictable, filled with cliches that do little in terms of engagement or spinning a novel, fresh story from an interesting, untouched plot. What initially feels like brash energy peters out until what’s left mainly evokes some pretty run-off-the-mill gangster lore. - DirectorDon HallChris WilliamsStarsRyan PotterScott AdsitJamie ChungA special bond develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who together team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.“Big Hero 6” is a friendship tale and an action flick that winds up lost in translation. The story initially centers on Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter), a kid genius, and his relationship with Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit), a puffy bag of air who resembles an un-toned version of the Michelin Man. Baymax is a loveable, hugable inflatable robot — who doesn’t want one of those? — and he belongs in a movie more loveable and hugable than “Big Hero 6.”
The big heroes who make up the “6” feel like bit players instead of full-fledged characters. Only the slacker-type Fred (voiced by T.J. Miller) stands out; the others aren’t memorable enough to even be remembered once the credits start rolling, leave alone become popular enough to merit their own action figure molds. They’re like the Avengers’ not-very-interesting nieces and nephews. Also, the central mystery, which is merely identifying the villain, is the film’s weakest aspect. It’s pretty obvious who he is. As in a lot of mysteries, you simply have to look for the minor character played by (or voiced by in this case) a popular actor.
“Big Hero 6’s” inconsistent script builds to an overly busy, standard action movie climax that detracts from the simple story about a boy and his cuddly robot pal. The action, too, is a letdown – even though the visuals are great, but that was expected from Disney – and the big battle and chase sequences call for some major suspensions of disbelief, even by animation movie standards. Also, since the tone is kept light, there’s never much of a true sense of danger, adding to the film’s many problems.
The robot, Baymax, is the only reason to watch “Big Hero 6″. Kids will leave the theater wanting their own Baymax, and who can blame them? It’s the rest of the “Heroes” that don’t measure up; the robot full of air is the most real thing in the movie.As with its live-action counterparts, this Marvel-based feature comes complete with a post-credits scene that sets up a sequel. It likewise includes an animated cameo by Stan Lee. So long as Baymax returns for that sequel; the rest of the team is given more depth; and the story doesn’t trade coherence for unnecessary, messy action scenes, I’ll still be game for it. - DirectorDavid DobkinStarsRobert Downey Jr.Robert DuvallVera FarmigaBig-city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth; along the way he reconnects with his estranged family.An overstuffed, overlong slog of a legal drama. "The Judge" wants to be many movies, and fails at being even one of them. I wish I could take Director, David Dobkin, to court and face him as an opposing lawyer. It would be a terrific opportunity to us this argument: "Objection! Meretricious sentimentality! Objection! Badgering the audience! Where is this leading your honor?"
This trite melodrama strains so hard to be serious, that it just spirals into a gooey experience, lousy with clichés and rife with been-there seen-that mawkish moments, which might look genuine on paper, but ring false on camera. It could have been a breath of fresh air to see Downey Jr. leave the Marvel universe and Baker Street behind, and remind us all what a terrific dramatic actor he really is. Alas, we'll have to make do with him as "Iron Man" for the time being, as that seems to be the only good role - only really good role - he's landing for now. Even though the film boasts of two stand out performances from Downey Jr. and Duvall, they can do little much to save this hotchpotch of courtroom dramatics and familial dysfunction, neatly wrapped in a conventional package that does whatever it takes to shout IMPORTANT, and, please remember us at Academy Awards time.
The only surprise in this long, drawn-out, mushy, cliched, melodrama is a risqué bit of incest; a refugee from a previous draft, perhaps, that somehow made the screen, possibly at the insistence of Downey Jr, who realised his flick needed a little spice. If you must need, watch "The Judge" just for Downey Jr. and Duvall. Apart from them, there is rarely anything good to take away from this film. - DirectorDavid SalzbergChristian TureaudStarsFrank AdamskiOfren ArrechagaEd BankstonArmed only with their cameras, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning conflict Journalist Mike Boettcher, and his son, Carlos, provide unprecedented access into the longest war in U.S. history.“The Hornet’s Nest” offers some great live-action footage of real-time war but it fails to make up for the film’s poor narrations and organization.The result isn’t as cumulatively powerful as intended, but it remains politically even-handed and offers some immersive insight along the front lines.
- DirectorNoam MurroStarsSullivan StapletonEva GreenLena HeadeyGreek general Themistocles of Athens leads the naval charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.CGI laden visual gorefest with decent action and lots of unrealized potential. The movie boasts of some top notch action scenes with avant-garde CGI effects. The 3D is done seamlessly well and adds dollops of chutzpah to the CGI effects, to offer you a visual treat. Yes the action defies all logic and challenges the laws of physics at times, and the slow-motion effects do feel overdone and a tad tiring after a while, but hey, what else were the producers to do with their only USP.
The battle scenes are well choreographed, which was a must in movie of this ilk, considering its threadbare plot and weak narrative. Based on comic icon, Frank Miller’s, unreleased graphic novel “Xerxes”, “300: Rise of an Empire” is the follow-up to the 2006 box-office smash “300”, and just like it’s predecessor, it’s a visual gore-fest that pays little heed to substance. For a premise that had much better potential than the first installment, the plot is unbelievably flimsy, and the Director, Noam Murro, weaves his entire narrative around stylishly constricted action scenes. The character development, even for the main leads, is almost negligible, and the story arc follows a highly predictable tone devoid of any worthwhile depth.
The movie lives up to its promise of delivering gratuitous amounts of blood and gore, without thankfully ever going overboard. Yuppie action fans of nowadays should revel in the blood and hacked limbs splattered over the screen, which looks all the more visceral in 3D. In this department, the sequel to “300” completely lives up to its billing.