(Stills) The animal in man is like a primitive being that just waits to break free and take him into the deep dark dense jungles of a bygone epoch where the ruling spirit was survival of the fittest. Even it holds true today though the meaning of fitness has changed a lot for us, we still love the prehistoric fight for survival, the extinct animals, the intriguing myths and the illustrative legends. This is the very fact exploited by Roland Emmerich in 10,000 BC, a sure shot Apocalyptic success. Roland Emmerich agrees that he was influenced by One Million Years B.C. and Apocalypto but gives the credit to Robert E. Howard for his fictional work that inspired him to take us back to a harsh and primeval prehistoric age in quest of truth and courage. Making use of rampant digital imagery to recreate a beyond belief lost era of wilderness depicted in and out. (more…)

(Stills) What would you call another movie that spins around the assassination of the high priest of American Politics, the so-called most powerful man of the world, the President of United States? Simple, Vantage Point! Yet, another thriller with some punch in it! Through out the movie you get the feeling of untangling a bundle of entwined wool or a possible jigsaw puzzle while every piece intrigues you with a possible way out. Even if you get the feeling that it has been inspired from master director Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, a movie that kept the audience far from finding out the truth owing to the conflicting accounts or eye witnesses till the end, Vantage Point does give you something fresh to cud on, without any political, social or even moral sidekicks. (more…)

A murder mystery that does not stop at being a thriller only, The Walker appears to be the window to director Paul Schrader’s perception of Washington DC and how he sees politics pervasive in its nooks and corners, plaguing it. The story centers on a well-off Carter Page, who is son of a senator and a convenient recipient of the business fortunes of his tobacco tycoon grandfather. Carter Page has been shown a contented person to be living comfortably on his inheritance. He is ever well-dressed, pleasant-mannered and enjoying the good company of his elite married women friends. He frequently accompanies them to rich society parties when their husbands cannot be by their side. He is their good gay friend who funds a canasta game for them on weekly basis and takes pleasure in participating in the non-stop gossiping sessions during the game. (more…)

Daunting it is to imagine oneself being the only survivor on a wilderness or an uninhabited island. A tangible theme for a feature, yet not many movies try to explore a scene of total solitude from human race. One forceful reason may be that it is hard to hold the audience single-handedly (for any performer), without any entertaining situations arising out of interaction with ones own kind or warmth of relationships in the life of lead actor. (more…)

August Rush is a sweet, romantic story about a homeless musical prodigy, Evan and his parents. It has a dreamy and almost Dickens-like feel set in modern day New York. Coming to the story, there is a one-night passionate chance encounter between Lyla a gifted cellist played by Keri Russell and Lewis, a rock band member essayed by Jonathan Rhys-Myers. Lyla gets pregnant but her over-protective father keeps her away from Lewis. Some months down the line she meets with an accident and delivers a premature baby. In her interest, the father forges her signaure and puts the baby up for adoption, while telling her that he didn’t survive. (more…)

Beowulf and Grendel is a touching story of vengeance, mercy and helplessness in the conflict between Norsemen and Christianity. It is based on the poem of the same name written between the seventh and eleventh centuries. The film scores in depicting the dark story against the craggy mountainous backdrop of Iceland. It also includes a chilling portrayal of death as a bone white creature of the sea, with dangerous claw like digits that grab the victim out of the blue. (more…)

The Mist is based on Stephen King’s novella of the same name. Director Frank Darabont creates an eerie ambience that instills fear in the movie watcher. He succeeds in scaring you on the premise that you have nothing to fear, except the creatures of your imagination. The Mist feeds on the idea that scared folk with overactive imaginations tend to overreact when inexplicable things start to happen around them. (more…)

Lions for Lambs is a thought –provoking social commentary on the US government’s policy in Afghanistan. It depicts two soldiers Derek Luke and Michael Pena in Afghanistan, a senator played by Tom Cruise relating a new war strategy in Afghanistan to a journalist, Meryl Streep and an interaction between a professor, Robert Redford and his student Andrew Garfield. The film tries to explore these three situations as the professor tries to inspire his student by relating that the two soldiers are his former students and that he had a role to play in their enlistment. (more…)

American Gangster is reminiscent of many mafia movies like Serpico and The Godfather. It is based on the true story of Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington who was a drug lord in New York during the 1970s. The movie is quite engrossing and well made but somehow stops short of being a great film in spite of excellent performances by Russell Crowe as Richie Roberts, as the honest cop out to bust the drug lord and by Denzel Washington. (more…)

Shemaroo Entertainment has released one of the most adventurous and the most controversial thriller based on a true incident, ‘Philadelphia Experiment’. This film which became a cult movie has won the best film award at the Fanta Festival. Directed by Stewart Raffill, the movie stars Michael Pare and Nancy Allen, where Nancy Allen was nominated in the best actress category for the Saturn Award. (more…)