THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG REVIEW

This second Hobbit movie was for me not just a pleasure, but a revelation. For the first time, I "got" the JRR Tolkien/Peter Jackson experience. I tuned into the frequency. I tasted the fusion cuisine. I heard the eccentric but weirdly rousing choral harmonies. And this is despite – or more probably because of – never having been a Tolkien fan and being agnostic about the myth-making and, indeed, the prose quality. I never had any dogmatic sense of how the original should be represented or any loyalty to childhood fandom, and in fact I came to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 with some unbelief, though as the Rings series progressed I was forced – with some churlish ill-grace – to admire those movies' mighty ambition and scope. With the Hobbit series, the penny is properly dropping: it's not about Tolkien, it's Tolkien-plus-Jackson, of course. It's morphed into something new.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Production year: 2013

Countries: Rest of the world, USA

Cert (UK): 12A

Runtime: 161 mins

Directors: Peter Jackson

Cast: Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Billy Connolly, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Evangeline Lilly, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage

 This movie is tremendously enjoyable, and considering how exotic it is, The Desolation of Smaug is weirdly unassuming. It rattles along, never drags, and is always terrifically likable: open, genial and good-natured. The legend is revealing itself to be a rich and potent source of entertainment. Perhaps the point is, as Graham Greene once said about God, you need a sense of humour to believe.

There's a small caveat. Before I sat down to it, I earnestly pondered the words in my press handout restating the importance of Jackson's technological innovation, HFR or high frame rate, 48 frames per second rather than the conventional 24. The first Hobbit movie in HFR had looked worryingly like daytime television, but I noted that this second film looked much better and wondered if I was just getting used to it. Actually, the projection I saw was in the usual 24 frames a second – as will be 80% of the screenings around the country. Perhaps HFR is one of those innovations that might have to be discreetly de-innovated.

At any rate, The Desolation of Smaug gets off to a mighty gallop. It's a cheerfully exhilarating adventure tale, a supercharged Saturday morning picture. Jackson shows that he is an expert in big-league popular moviemaking to rival Lucas and Spielberg. His Smaug, with its fight scenes, chase spectaculars, creepy creatures and secret stone doors that open with a grinding noise, is something to set alongside the Indiana Jones films.

Smaug is, of course, the terrible dragon, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who has usurped the Lonely Mountain and the dwarf kingdom of Erebor with all its gold, and whom the dwarves and Bilbo Baggins are on a mission to unseat. The "desolation" is the wasteland he has imposed on the country thereabouts, rather than any depression the dragon may be feeling. Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) is the alpha dwarf, grimly intent on his destiny: to reclaim his people's heritage and homeland. Martin Freeman is Bilbo, and Freeman's laidback, more naturalistic line readings make a pleasing and interesting contrast to the more contoured saga-speak that comes out of everyone else's mouth, whether they are speaking English or Elvish or the guttural Orcish.

A series of fantasy episodes, in the Jackson-Tolkien-rococo style, brings us closer and closer to the mountain, and the most uproarious sequence comes when Bilbo, Thorin and the dwarves escape from the Wood Elves' prison by hiding in barrels that are washed down the river, bringing them in contact with Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) and then the vain, shifty and time-serving Lord of Laketown, played with florid gusto by Stephen Fry.

The barrel chase down the river is such a great setpiece: a head-spinning action spectacular with orc against elf against dwarf and hobbit. Somehow, the whole movie has this same huge, propulsive energy, whooshing the heroes onwards towards their great goal. Despite the dwarves' tough reputations, and Bilbo's expertise in the ignoble art of burglary, their diminutive size always gives them a weirdly childlike air in this story: an air of outraged and unquenchable innocence. Bilbo's showdown with the terrible Smaug is, of course, the great finale, a narrative rhyme to his face-off with Gollum that concluded the last film.

And all the time, Jackson's New Zealand landscape has a storybook beauty, a fitting habitat for this story that unfolds in all seasons and times of day: fallen snowflakes gather in beards, the last rays of sunset glint in fur. Jackson depicts this fantasy world with energy and charm, and I'm looking forward to the third film.

WALKING WITH DINOSAURS (2013)MOVIE REVIEW

"Walking with Dinosaurs," the big-screen version of the internationally successful BBC series that taught younger viewers about the prehistoric creatures through state-of-the-art CGI recreations, is a film that is not so much bad—although it is quite bad—as it is utterly inexplicable. Instead of utilizing the same storytelling style that mesmerized viewers of all ages around the world via its captivating visual style backed by a quietly effective narration from Kenneth Branagh, the makers have instead chosen to scuttle that approach for a more overtly cartoony take that makes the "Ice Age" saga feel practically documentary-like by comparison. This is a move that was no doubt devised to attract younger viewers but even they are likely to feel put out by the childish nature of the material after a while.

Right from the start, it is obvious that something is desperately wrong with the proceedings when the opening scenes contain no dinosaurs to speak of but include plenty of Karl Urban as a paleontologist taking his niece and nephew on a trip to a dig in the wilds of Alaska. While the niece is all enthused, the sullen teen nephew is more interested his iPhone and his complicated pants and whatnot, but his interest is eventually sparked when a talking raven (John Leguizamo) arrives on the scene to transform into one of its ancestors, an Alexornis named Alex, and tell the kid an amazing dinosaur story. To say that this framing device, which inexplicably suggests that kids out there are not inherently interested in dinosaurs, is a mistake is an understatement for the ages—I promise you that there is not a single child out there who would rather watch Karl Urban yapping for several minutes instead of the dinosaurs that they were promised.

Our hero, once the film finally gets down to business, is a Pachyrinosaurus, helpfully known as Patchi (Justin Long), a quiet underdog who is the runt of his litter. Over the course of the next decade or so, he follows his tribe as they migrate south for the winter and return to the north during the springtime. Along the way, he falls in love with the fetching Juniper (Tiya Sircar), becomes involved in a battle of wills with older brother Scowler (Skyler Stone), a hothead who takes control of the tribe and nearly leads them into disaster, and dodges the fearsome Gorgosaurus, a T-Rex-like creature with tiny arms that are the source of much merriment here. To help stretch the running time out, there are also plenty of poop and snot jokes and even a couple of musical montages featuring the hits of Barry White and Fleetwood Mac for good measure.

As mystifying as this may all sound in print, it is nothing compared to watching it unfolding on the screen. From a visual standpoint, "Walking with Dinosaurs" is actually fairly striking for the most part thanks to the effective melding of the dinosaurs, which have all been designed in realistic terms without any visible sign of cartoonishness, and live-action backgrounds shot in Alaska and New Zealand. And yet, having spent such a considerable amount of time and effort to bring the period to life in as convincing a manner as possible, the filmmakers proceed to squander all that goodwill on a story that features lots of poop-related jokes and ill-advised wisecracks (why are prehistoric dinosaurs talking about ninjas?), all of which have been dubbed in such a lackadaisical manner that they don't even come close to matching the facial movements of the creatures delivering them.

The worst thing about "Walking with Dinosaurs" is that even though it has been handled about as badly as can be for reasons that I cannot begin to fathom, it will most likely do well at the box office during the holiday season because of the near-universal hold that dinosaurs have on the imaginations of the children who make up the majority of its target audience. Little kids will probably like it because it is bright and colorful (though far less so if you partake in the 3-D version) and simple to grasp but let's face it, one could say pretty much the exact same thing about the likes of "The Smurfs 2." For anyone over the age of 8 or so, it cannot help but come across as silly at best and downright condescending at worst and towards the end, most of them may be silently rooting for a comet to arrive and put an end to the whole sorry spectacle. "Walking with Dinosaurs" is a film that should have been entertaining and informative in equal measure in theory but in practice, it is basically one Gazoo shy of a lesser "Flintstones" rerun.

DHOOM 3 BECOMES FASTEST 100 CR ENTRANT

Aditya Chopra's latest production Dhoom 3, the third installment in the popular Dhoom series, has stormed the Indian Box Office in the first weekend. With its fantastic 3-day collection, the Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra and Katrina Kaif starrer has smashed all the records of Shahrukh Khan's Chennai Express and Hrithik Roshan's Krrish 3. Having crossed Rs 100 crore mark in three days, the film has become the fastest Rs 100 crore grosser in the domestic market. Read: Viewers' verdict on Dhoom 3 Dhoom 3, which released with Hindi, Telugu and Tamil versions in 4,500 screens across the country, had a huge amount of advance ticket booking on its opening day. With this, the movie registered 95% to 100% occupancy in both single screens and multiplexes across the country on Friday. The film collected Rs 33.42 crores nett from its Hindi version and Rs 2.80 crores from Tamil and Telugu versions. It minted a total of Rs 36.22 crores nett at the Indian Box Office on the first day. Despite getting positive response from both film critics and viewers, the business of Dhoom 3 dipped around 10% next day. But the movie did a record collection on Saturday, when compared to other biggies like Chennai Express and Krrish 3. The film collected Rs 33.36 crores nett (Rs 31.25 cr from Hindi and Rs 2.11 cr from Tamil and Telugu) at the Indian Box Office on the second day. But Dhoom 3 showed a big jump on Sunday. When compared to its opening day collection, the movie witnessed 10% improvement and collected approximately Rs 39+ crores nett at the Indian Box Office on its third day. It has raked in a total of Rs 108.58 crores nett (from all versions) at the domestic collection centres in the (3 days) first weekend. However, Chennai Express, which was the fastest Rs 100 crore grosser in the domestic market, had collected Rs 105.37 crores nett including its business in paid preview (PP) at the Indian Box Office in the first weekend and its breakup was Rs 6.75 cr in PP on Tue, Rs 33.12 cr on Fri, Rs 28.05 cr on Sat and Rs 32.5 cr on Sun. Whereas Dhoom 3 has smashed all its records and become the highest grosser in the domestic market in the first weekend.

DHOOM 3 DAY 1 BOX OFFICE COLLECTION BRAKES CHENNAI EXPRESS AND KRRISH 3'S RECORDS

Dhoom 3 kicked off to a monumental start yesterday. Contrary to the belief that the film will remain only palatable to the multiplex audiences, it garnered wonderful response from the single screens too.

The film on its first day has managed to collect approximately 32 crores from its Hindi shows alone. Since the film released in Tamil and Telugu as well separately, the film earned another 4 crores from the vernacular releases. With that the film, as per early estimates, has on its opening day raked a stupendous sum of 36 crores at the domestic box office.

Aamir Khan in a still from Dhoom 3

It is quite a commendable start as the film, being a non-holiday release, managed to beat Chennai Express‘ opening day record (which saw an Eid release). Chennai Express had so far held the record of highest opening day collections (33.10 crs) and with Dhoom 3‘s release, this film claimed its record.

Reports suggests that the film’s Telegu version is faring better than Tamil but in most mass based circuits, the film is determined to remain stellar with the chance of beating Chennai Express‘ record of fastest 100 crore.

Well, not just that, but as per early reports this Aamir Khan starrer has high  chances to create history by registering the highest box office collections ever on a single day, beating Krrish 3‘s record (35.91 crs).

DHOOM 3 REVIEW

Rating: 8.5/5 Stars

 Star cast: Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Jackie Shroff.

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

 What’s Good: The raw high octane action sequence, the pitch perfect bike thrills and mostly a great writing which lacked in both the previous editions.

 

 What’s Bad: Stretching at 3 Hours, the film is a little too long but at its advantage never boring. However, Aamir and Katrina’s amateurish love track could have been avoided.

 Loo break: None

 Watch or Not?: Dhoom 3 is a definite must watch. Breathtakingly shot with gorgeous cinematography, this edition notches higher than its preceding films in terms of thrills and mostly in terms of soul. You wouldn’t want to miss a defining moment in the history of commercial films of Bollywood. There is all the action and gadgets, seamlessly beaded together but with a story that crackles!

The story starts with the history of Great Indian Circus in Chicago which is mortgaged at the Western Chicago Bank. Its owner Iqbal (Jackie Shroff) has found the magic trick of wooing the bankers but loss the bait unfortunately.
 On an eventful night of the circus, Iqbal kills himself due to his inability to save his circus. Years later, Chicago bank is being robbed relentlessly and the thief leaves a Joker’s mask each time. Iqbal’s son Sahir(Aamir Khan) manages to start up their circus again co-incidentally. The Bombay Police is summoned and obvious links are found between Iqbal’s son Sahir’s involvement in the burglary.
 Will Jai (Abhishek Bachchan) and Ali(Uday Chopra) win against Sahir who is determined to seek revenge and destroy the bank for life?

  Aamir Khan in a still from Dhoom 3

 

 Dhoom 3 Review: Script Analysis

 It takes a while for the film’s plot to reveal completely. Luckily the writers pack in ample suspense to keep your interest latched to the film from the scene go. While Dhoom and Dhoom 2 both worked because of style and slickness, this one works for its grit. It essentially has all the fun and entertainment that comes as a package from the franchise but luckily this time the makers did not decide to give the story a miss. Aamir’s bikes and all the death defying stunts are extremely filmy to the core giving the audiences a taste of what essentially qualifies as Bollywood, but this time they infuse a highly emotional story.

 Of course, one wouldn’t watch Dhoom for a story. It has always been about the ‘femme fatalles’ and ‘Fast and Furious’ stunts. But this one reveals itself as less of a wet dream than what you expect. I specifically like the realistic writing that was attempted in this one. Using one of Bollywood’s archaic props in a contemporary movie like this is astonishing and commendably used.

 The reason why the writing is great in this film is not because of how the story is structured but on what it is based. Getting to India, the concept of international circus, recovering the Shakespearean idea of wittiness of a clown is praiseworthy.

 The film in the second half resorts to unbelievable sloppiness and slackens a little in terms of looseness in the consistency of film’s writing but nevertheless, the use of a few extremely stellar ideas makes this film fantastic for me.

 Dhoom 3 Review: Star Performances

It is best to reveal as little as possible about Aamir’s character. To say the least, Aamir Khan is sincere in whatever he does. He plays every shade of his role with smoothness, ease and perfection.

 Katrina Kaif is beautiful in every frame. She is perfect with her acts and the dance. Sadly, her role isn’t written with more meat or emotion.

 Abhishek Bachchan is as good as Jai Dixit as he has always been.

 And no curt words for Uday Chopra. God bless him for all the comic relief he provides. Without him, Dhoom would be a brooding and distastefully somber.

 Dhoom 3 Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay

 Vijay Krishna Acharya does his job quite well. Though comparisons with Gadhvi is unavoidable, let’s just say he is differently better. We have always watched Dhoom for car smashes, bike chases, but this time Dhoom for me was way more from the heart. And I for one, enjoyed way more.

 I have always rooted for the Dhoom villains more so for Hrithik Roshan. His cucumber cool demeanor and composed style of stealing made me go woot for him. He was just so much cooler than the policemen. But this time my heart went out for the villains. Their emotional baggage was so believable that you’ll want them to win in each of their attempts.

 The film’s editing could have been more taut. The dramatic sequences might seem overdrawn especially because the film borders at a runtime of nearly three hours. For its length, the film deters you a little but don’t let that come in the way of you having a blast at the cinemas.

 Dhoom 3 Review: The Last Word

 Dhoom 3 was spectacular and majestic. Keeping a strong hold on the emotional prowess of its plot, the film sews in the slick action so awe strikingly. Don’t go in expecting an Aamir Khan film because it isn’t without flaws. But it gets right everything that is a must for commercial films, especially its ability to grasp on to the interest of audiences. Even cool thieves are vulnerable people and to be able to get that correct is what makes Dhoom 3 a winner. One bang up job! I am going with 4 stars for the only hitch that good films don’t necessarily need to stretch this long

Insidious: Chapter 2

BLOGGERMANS RATING: 7.2/10

2013 Film

Gener :horror

language:English

The famed horror team of director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell reunite with the original cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Barbara Hershey and Ty Simpkins in INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, a terrifying sequel to the acclaimed horror film, which follows the haunted Lambert family as they seek to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

Initial release: September 13, 2013

Director: James Wan

Running time: 106 Minutes

Budget: 5 million USD

Screenplay: Leigh Whannell

Cast

Patrick Wilson

Josh Lambert

Rose Byrne

Renai Lambert

Leigh Whannell

Specs

Ty Simpkins

Dalton Lambert

  Story: The Lambert family continues to get haunted by evil spirits as they rediscover the past and regret their unsolicited paranormal connect with the dead.

The cast has been repeated and it's perfect. All actors manage to send shivers down your spine with their performance. The setting of Josh's old house in particular gives you the chills; dark rooms, lonely nights, whispers in the corridors and sudden screams...Wan knows what it takes to unsettle you.

  when Josh Lambert was a child, he had a gift. While asleep Josh could leave his body and drift off into a world beyond that of the living, called the Further.

When the dead start tormenting him, his mother enlisted the help of paranormal investigators/psychics/witch doctors to erase the knowledge of his ability from his memory.

But years later, when his son goes into a deep sleep and is unable to come out of it, having crossed over to the other side, Josh (Patrick Wilson) must use his gift of astral projection to bring his son back. However, when Josh does bring his son back from the Further, the Lambert duo isn't the only ones who have crossed over.

Insidious Chapter 2 picks up exactly where Insidious left off and therefore it is unadvisable to watch this film without having seen the prequel.

 The Lambert family is haunted once again and there's a massive backstory to explain 'how it all started'.

Though the execution of some of the sequnce are super creepy, the whole story revolves around the family trying to find the answers and whole backstory thing seems to be not the right way for Horror movies.Compared to the other films of the director incidious 2 seems to be underdelivering the brand.Infact Incidious 2 is more like a bridge between the part 1 and part 3 which may be final of the franchise. Well ofcourse we cannot hope every films to be like conjuring or 100 feet.

In short the movie is entertaining and do put you at the edge of the seat for most of the part only thing is that if Horror is your gener you may find it may disappoint you.

Movie review:Krrish 3

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi, Kangana Ranaut

Director: Rakesh Roshan

Bloggermans Rating : 6.9/10 

Superhero sci-fi drama "Krrish 3" is flying high at the box office with both multiplexes and single screen theatres getting overwhelming footfalls on the opening day Friday across the country. The Hrithik Roshan-starrer will be a blockbuster, predict experts.

Released Friday, "Krrish 3" is equipped with a spectacular range of special effects and extravagant action sequences. Hrithik returns as the superhero with the film that is the third instalment in the franchise that began with "Koi... Mil Gaya" in 2003.

Deepak Sharma, COO of PVR Pictures, says that the film has got "great opening and it's going to be a blockbuster".

"The advance booking is as good as it was for 'Chennai Express' and opened like that all across India. Once holiday starts it will do amazing business. It can be in the league of Rs.200 crore. Going by morning show, it's looking good," Sharma told IANS.

Vivek Oberoi plays Kaal, the villain, in the movie directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. It also features Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra.

Reportedly made on a budget of about Rs.100-Rs.150 crore, "Krrish 3" hit approximately 3,500 screens Friday, said a source.

Red Chillies VFX, a subdivision of Shah Rukh's motion picture production banner Red Chillies Entertainment, worked on the special effects worth Rs.26 crore for "Krrish 3".

Apart from the metro cities, the movie got an overwhelming response to the morning shows in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan too, said trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.

"The pre-Diwali period is always considered dull by the industry. But a film like 'Krrish 3' can change the mindset," Taran tweeted.

Another trade pundit Komal Nahta posted similar opinion on the microblogging site.

"'Krrish 3' opening in Bihar circuit crazy. Most cinemas report, all shows full in advance. Such madness rarely seen. And this is pre-Diwali!," posted Nahta.

R.K. Mehrotra, general manager, Delite cinemas, said that on the first day mostly children accompanied by their parents came to watch the film.

"The opening was extraordinary. It’s housefull till Wednesday. Kids were seen applauding while watching it. The special effects and action sequences are wonderful. ‘Krrish’ is at par with Hollywood films,” said Mehrotra.

"Krrish 3" has hit about 700 screens down south and trade analyst Trinath said "Krrish" did good business in Tamil Nadu when it released in 2006.

"It was an instant hit in the state, collecting approximately Rs.1.2 crore in first two weeks. It was huge for a Hindi film and it was received very well. 'Krrish 3' was approximately released in about 700 screens in the south," Trinath said.

"In Andhra Pradesh, since there are no Diwali releases, the film released in over 300 screens. Despite mixed reviews from critics, audiences are watching it because it's the only big theatre in cinemas this weekend," he added.

'Krrish 3' is a superhero film. It is also a throwback to the creaky family entertainers Bollywood used to make. The hero has special powers, sure, but also a loving daddy, a lovely wifey, an attractive moll and a villain with severe daddy issues. Only a pet poodle or parrot is missing.

Superheroes have been around in Hindi cinema for decades, but huge technology jumps have made 'Krrish 3' the slickest of them all, special effects-wise. The rest of it is marred by tackiness. When Krrish is doing his derring-do stunts, we watch, even if we've seen Superman do this 30 years ago. But when he delivers maudlin dialogue about fathers and mothers and bravery, we are pulled back to the ground with a thud, with the superhero the Roshans made.

Hrithik is the perfect choice amongst the Bollywood superstar lot to do this role. With his superbly articulated chest, each muscle moving and shiny and oiled, Krrish doesn't even need a mask and a cape. But the ensemble is eye-catching, and we ignore his immaculately-styled long hair, flying in the wind, when he is whizzing about rescuing little boys. Roshan Jr is as likeable and earnest as he usually is, but can't rise above the mothballed treatment. Roshan Sr, who has written and directed, should have given the superhero more to do.

But he gets stuck in bringing the backstory forward. The soppy but sweet `Koi Mil Gaya's ( 2003) socially challenged but brilliant Rohit begets Krishna, who finds his super-powers in 'Krrish' ( 2006). Both the ageing Rohit and Krishna star in `'Krrish 3', and both roles are played by Hrithik. Priyanka, playing Krishna's TV reporter wife, has to look on admiringly as Hrithik does his standard dance number. He is still as dextrous, but the dancing has no zing, and the songs are terrible.

All is hunky dory, with Krrish doing his superhero stuff, rescuing a damaged aircraft ( there are no seat belts around the screaming passengers : should we care, or does anything go if it is a superhero film? ). And then Kaal ( Oberoi, kitted out in pale pancake and snarls), with the help of his coldly beautiful creation Kaya ( Ranaut, fancy-plaited and slitty-eyed) and a few other `human-aliens', rears up in his den in some snowy mountains in an unspecified spot. And begins his plans of decimating the human race.

The team should be appreciated for the efforts taken, I would say a great step forward, people who say the movie is real bad says that because all these sci-fi films directly get compared with high  budget hollywood movies. All the graphics of Krrish 3 are home gown and have done a pretty decent job.

Songs are awful though, but Hrithik makes up a lot with his awesome dancing moves and Kangana Ranaut sure looks hot and has done justice to her  role. Bollywood is new to this kind of genre (with high technology and graphics all around )and Rakesh Roshan and crew have done justice to the attempt made ,(even though a lot of flaws could have been avoided with a bit more care )and have opened the door for more movies to follow