Release Date: May 03, 2013
Director: Shane Black
Written By: Drew Pearce, Shane Black
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Robert Downey Jr.
Synopsis:
Iron Man 3 pits genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark (Iron Man) against the Mandarin, an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed by his mysterious antagonist, he embarks on a dangerous quest to find those responsible. His journey will test his character at every turn. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Here's the new theatrical trailer for Shane Black's Iron Man 3
Release date: June 21, 2013 (USA)
Director: Marc Forster Running time: 116 minutes
Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Damon Lindelof, Drew Goddard
Story by: Max Brooks, J. Michael Straczynski, Matthew Michael Carnahan
Vultures have been circling the lumbering mega-budget production of World War Z almost since the film went into pre-production. First, fans of Max Brook's highly-regarded novel were up in arms when it emerged that the book's multiplicity of survivors' tales was to be distilled into a star vehicle for Pitt. Then news leaked of multiple drafts from various writers being rejected (the film has writing credits for four different scribes). Early trailers were ill received. It emerged that the entire last act of the film (an epic battle sequence) had been junked and fanboy kryptonite Lindelof brought in to write an entirely new ending.
With the mood on the blogosphere toxic, the trades and mainstream press piled in as the smell of blood in the water grew stronger. Paramount eventually stopped even pretending the film was not troubled, allowing Vanity Fair to publish an astonishing account of the difficult production - further increasing speculation that this was a $200 million dollar plus vanity project for Pitt and his production company, Plan B.
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Now World War Z has finally arrived, and if the narrative behind its making is as compelling as that of any of 2013's blockbusters, the unexpected twist ending is the year's most shocking. Spoiler... the movie is good. In fact, it's not just good - it's great.
Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former investigator for the United Nations living with his family in cheerfully chaotic domestic bliss, economically sketched out in an opening breakfast scene that is almost the only moment of calm for the next 100-odd minutes - save that the TV in the kitchen is running disturbing news footage of social disorder breaking out in locations across the world. Driving his family into the city, Gerry gets stuck in traffic gridlock and BOOM! All hell breaks loose as the whole world goes to s***in what seems like five minutes flat and director Forster slams the pedal to the metal for the first of many stunning action sequences.
The subsequent globe-trotting story has Lane is drafted back into service for the United Nations to search for the source of the "zombie" plague that within days has brought the world to the brink of apocalypse. The pace is blistering, honestly comparable to Gareth Evans' The Raid, and the scale is as epic as hundreds of millions of dollars can provide. What makes World War Z really work is humanity of its characters. Pitt himself is at the heart of this. To make a film like this commercially viable, it had to have a major star. But Lane is no superman (or Superman). He isn't James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt - in fact, he spends most of the film running away from stuff. Pitt really sells the notion that Lane is a common man in extraordinarily uncommon circumstances, motivated by love of his family to put himself ridiculously in harm's way. I struggle to come up with another male star of his stature that could have pulled this part off.
Pitt is in every scene, but around him are a rapidly-changing collection of characters who join only for sections of the narrative. However by canny international casting characters who often have mere minutes of screen time register memorably. Especially good are Enos (from TV's Big Love and the US version of The Killing) as Lane's wife, and Israeli actress Daniella Kertesz (in a nearly dialogue free role). Nowhere is it more clear that the film has been substantially shaped in the editing room, than from the fact that the highly-billed Fox is essentially a blink-and-you'll-miss-him featured extra. Before remarking on Forster's skills remember that when Terrence Malick does this, he's called a genius.
Where the film really scores is that despite the fact that it is a "zombie" movie (and unusually one where the reason characters use that term is because they have seen zombie movies), the environments and human characters feel real and convincing. The action has a gritty verite feel while never being less than spectacular. While the threat is fantastical, like Romero's best zombie films World War Z takes place in a convincing world - in this case a distinctly post 9/11 one. One sequence in particular is sure to inspire debate over the presence or not of a geo-political subtext, but I'll leave that for you to discover.
World War Z is also often very frightening; despite the lack of gore, this is an extremely intense film and one which parents should be very careful about bringing children to. At the time of writing no BBFC certificate had been announced, but it has received a PG-13 in the US - meaning a 12A is quite possible. This is absolutely not a movie for under-12s, and if you take them, prepare for sleepless nights.
The breakneck pace and sheer shock-and-awe of the film's scale paper over a few cracks. What exactly makes Pitt's character the UN's go-to guy is never exactly made clear, and some of the plot mechanics that propel the story from one part of the globe to the next don't quite hold up to intense scrutiny. However, in my view, one would really have to be committed to not having a good time to find these elements overly troubling. This is widescreen filmmaking at its best.
World War Z is a compelling reminder that for every troubled production that produces a Bonfire of the Vanities or Island of Dr. Moreau, there is Casablanca, Apocalypse Now, or Blade Runner. I'm not putting WWZ quite in that category - only time will tell - but against all the odds, this is the best blockbuster yet seen in the 2013.
By FireLordVinny
Starring: Jason Biggs, Shanon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klien, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Chris Owen, Eugene Levy
In continuation to where the previous movie left off, the 5 friends head back to East Great Falls for the summer and plan to head to the lake for the rest of the summer. Jim (Biggs), Kevin (Nicholas), Finch (Thomas), Oz (Owen) and Stiffler (Scott) crash at a massive rented house by the lake. Bringing Stiffler along was a decision they had to make with their heads rather than their heart in order to divide the costs more. What ensues is massive partying, a load of people getting drunk, some getting laid and love blossoming. Vicky (Reid) too comes to the lake and Kevin is stuck in a position where he wants her but also does not want to look desperate and lose her. Nadia (Elizabeth), Jim's crush, is coming to meet him and hints that she wants to have a 'romantic' time with him. Jim, in all his desperation, is trying hard to prepare himself. Finch is awaiting his lady love, Stiffler's mom to arrive at the party and his taken up Tantra to increase his sex drive. Sadly, this movie does not come up with an innovative plot line and sticks to pretty much everyone trying to get lucky with their respective ladies. It is pretty objective-less and does not seem to drive to a point. There also is a missing element of humour that the first movie had which was badly needed in this installment. It is still a watchable and enjoyable movie but it has a lot of scope for improvement.
Thumbs up: Retains the entertainment from the original movie
Thumbs down: Misses out on humour and a sensible story
Starring (voice): George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Eric Chase Anderson, Wallace Wolodarsky, Michael Gambon, William Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guiness
Based on the famous book by Roald Dahl with the same name, the story narrates the life of Mr. Fox (Clooney) who lives life by raiding nearby farms. When he learns of his wife's pregnancy, he decides to quit his hobby in favour of the family and their to-be child. Two years later (Twelve in fox years) Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox (Streep) and their son Ash (Schwartzman) move to a new hole under a tree which is close to the fields of three farmers; Boggis (Hurlstone), Bunce (Guiness) and Bean (Gambon). When Ash's cousin Kristofferson (Anderson) comes over to stay over the weekend, Ash feels insecure when everyone praises him and his capabilities over Ash. With Mr. Fox feeding his family with his nightly jaunts, the farmers are tired of the thefts and decide they need to get rid of Mr.Fox once and for all. The movie is made in stop-motion animation technology which gives it a good childish look and feel. Roald Dahl wrote books for children and the movie too aims to target the same segment with the movie. However, in spite of the movie being made for a younger audience the movie can still be very entertaining to the mature mind too. It is a great wholesome entertainer that people of all ages would enjoy. This is what you call a well-rounded entertaining movie.
Starring: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Bob Sapp
Arnold Schwarzenegger made Conan immortal in his 1982 movie where he portrayed the strong and hefty medieval hero. This movie is not a remake but uses the character of Conan in an entirely different story. Conan (Momoa) is a barbarian whose father was killed in the hands of Khalar Zym, a power-hungry warlord, when he was a child. Conan swears revenge and grows up to become a ruthless hero who fights for the justice of his people. Thousands of years ago a Mask was crafted by some sorcerers that gave the wearer immense dark power. The barbaric clans got together to destroy the mask and disperse its pieces in the far corners of the Earth so that no one may be able to rebuild it. Khalar Zym has managed to accumulate all the pieces and now need to find the descendant of the sorcerers of Achelon in whose veins the pure-blood still runs. Tamara (Nichols) is the last surviving member of this identity who is being hunted down by Khalar Zym. Conan would go to any levels to prevent Khalar from finding her and also aims to avenge his fathers death once and for all. A very typical hero movie is what you would find yourself watching. There is nothing very different, the usual villain who wants global control, a big-bodied invincible hero and the innocent and pretty damsel in distress. The action in the movie is one of its talking points, and although it gets a bit bloody, it still very enjoyable. A decent movie but to be watched only for the action.
Thumbs up : Good action
Thumbs down: Nothing different to offer from other such movies
Fast and Furious 6
Director: Justin Lin
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson | See full cast and crew
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favourites Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano.
Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete.
Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.
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Fast and Furious 6 is in my opinion one of the strongest and best movies in the franchise yet. However, it still does not match up to the original.
The Fast and the Furious (2001) - 5/5
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) - 3/5
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) - 2/5
Fast & Furious (2009) - 3/5
Fast Five (2011) - 4/5
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) 4/5
Fast and Furious 6 follows on nicely from Fast Five (2011) and begins with Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and the rest of his gang having retired following their successful heist in Rio. However, they are still not safe and remain as wanted fugitives by U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Hobbs, on the other hand, requires their help and agrees to pardon the group and allow them to return home if they help him to take down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his second in command, Dominic's presumed-dead lover Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez).
This film ties up a few of the loose ends and in a post-credits scene reveals something from the third film which sets up the next, Fast and Furious 7.
By J Hobbs
Starring: Jason Biggs, Chris Klien, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Alyson Hannigan, Shanon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Eddie Kay Thomas, Sean William Scott, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Mena Suvari, Jennifer Coolidge, Chris Owen
The movie that started it all. American Pie has been unofficially accredited with kick-starting the modern sex comedy rage which later saw a whole bunch of movie modelled on similiar lines. The movie narrates the story of a group of high school friends. Kevin (Nicholas), Chris Oz (Klien), Finch (Thomas), Jim (Biggs) and Stiffler (Scott) are all set to go to college but all of them, except Stiffler, are still virgins and they dont want to enter college like this. They make a pact that by prom, they would all manage to lose their virginity and become men. Kevin has a long time girlfriend Vicky (Reid) whom he is trying to seduce but she isnt quite up for it. Oz joins the choir hoping that some of the 'socially ignored' choir girls would take a liking for him. Jim tries his hand at the Czech exchange student, Nadia (Elizabeth). Finch tries to spread rumours about himself and his fake sexual encounters in a bid to generate some interest amongst the ladies. The movie is good fun to watch and is a hilarious comedy. Slapstick and sexual humour plagues the entire movie and makes for a complete wholesome entertainment. A nice one to watch with your buddies with some beer.
