'Reel' Entourage

Your movie going experience can vary dramatically depending on who you go with. Your friends can make or break a movie for you, so choosing the right friend is like choosing to cut the red wire or the blue wire. Choose the wrong one and BOOM it can all blow up in your face.

The “easily excited” friend:

 
He probably has ADD which would explain why he enjoyed The Transformers movies so much. This friend is the simplest of the bunch, easily excited by big explosions, fart jokes, and boobies. He will tell you the Three Stooges is the funniest and greatest movie ever made only to tell you a week later that no, Battleship is the greatest movie ever made. His simplicity is highly infectious; you forget your movie snobbery and enjoy a movie that you couldn't dream of enjoying on your own. Consequently his contagious exuberance means that you sometimes end up liking movies that are so stupid that when you tell your family and friends they come very close to breaking all ties with you. 

The “know it all” friend:

First of all he always refers to movies as films, which really annoys you. You're not in Europe man, you've never been, so quit it. Second he will turn every moving going experience into a Film 101 lecture. Here you thought you came out to enjoy a nice movie with a bunch friends when out of nowhere you're bombarded with useless movie trivia that will never benefit you in any situation. Oh that scene was shot in Greece during the riots, Katy Perry’s real name is Kate Hudson. Thanks for pointing out that the gratuitous use of CGI is somehow ruining the integrity of film making. The rape scene in the original Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo felt more real….. Wait what!?

He will always make you question your choices and telling him how much you enjoyed Man of Steel is suicide.  But every time you find out that you've seen an indie movie that he hasn't, you perk up and make sure to rub it in face.

The “my way or the highway” friend:
 

This is the friend who will always get what he wants. You want to watch that exciting new political thriller but somehow he convinces you to watch some sappy romantic comedy. You were sure that this time it will be different, you will stand your ground and fight for your movie; you prepared a script, practiced in front of a mirror and held several debates on said topic which you successfully won. Yet somehow you end up in some weepy Rachel McAdams romantic drama that makes you want to shoot your face.  Consequently in that rare moment when your friend does up pick a great movie, you're too busy raging and plotting your next scheme to convince him to watch the movie you want to watch that you miss out on a potential gem.

 The “you” friend:

This guy is a carbon copy of you but somehow much better looking and probably more successful. You've known him for the longest time, you enjoy the same type of movies, shows, games, and you sometimes finish each other's sentences, which really freaks people out specially your parents. As much as you love this guy watching movies with him is no challenge at all. You get no movie stimulation because everything you say he'll agree with, which is why you love him. But seriously, how can you both come to the same conclusion at the end of Inception? That's a little weird bro.

The “Illuminati” friend:

This is the friend who will somehow link every movie to the infamous Illuminati. “The Dark Knight is clearly a movie made by the Illuminati bro, did you see The Joker? He was obviously a manifestation of Illuminati cult, and how they don't care about the money and they just wants to see the world burn.”  “Bro Monster Inc. is the biggest Illuminati ploy ever devised; Mike Wazowski the big one eyed monster and monopoly over electricity? How are you not seeing the Illuminati connection here?  You're totally blind for not seeing that.” 

You don't take this friend seriously but his crazy Illuminati connections are so entertaining that you just have to invite him to every movie you watch only to see how he links the two together.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: Movie Review

Sometimes it takes an unfortunate event to find the one you’re truly meant to be with, and it doesn't get more unfortunate than the end of the world. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a wonderful movie about Dodge (Steve Carell), a timid insurance salesman and Penny, a spunky 28 year old (Keira Knightley) teaming up to help each other come to terms with impending doom.

A giant asteroid is heading towards Earth and all attempts to destroy it have failed so humanity has about 21 days left to live. Penny and Dodge have been neighbours for years but never once met and it's the end of the world that brings them together. I don't like Keira Knightley, I always found her to be a little annoying. However her upbeat, always-optimistic Penny and Carell’s boring, always-playing-it-safe complimented each other perfectly and created such great chemistry that this unlikely pairing didn't feel so unlikely.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a dark and a very funny movie. You always have the end of the world at the back drop and as the relationship between Penny and Dodge shapes up; you can't help but hope that the world wouldn't end and that there would be a standard romantic comedy happy ending.

I love this movie's take on how people would react in a doomsday scenario; it's not you action beat em up movie where one man must face all odds to protect his blah blah blah, it all has been done before. In this movie you have regular people trying to cope with their deaths in many different ways from suicide to going about day to day activities to rioting and some other more sensual ways. 

Sometimes it can take a lifetime to find you true love, but when you find that person it doesn't matter whether you spend decades, or few days with them. The comfort of being with your one and only can even make end of the world bearable. 

I give Seeking a Friend for the End of the World 8 giant asteroids-speeding towards-Earth out of 10.

And as always a special thanks to Ammad Wajahat

World War Z: Movie Review

World War Z is an interesting movie. It's smart at times and yet it makes the same cliché mistakes that many of zombie movies tend to make. In World War Z zombies no longer turn people into undead flesh eaters, but it's a virus like Swine flu or Sars, it moves  from host to host infecting them. No one is safe but if it's a virus there must be a cure. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is the U.N. investigator who is called in to find and root out the virus. Going around the world chasing leads from South Korea to Israel to find the potential cure. 

There were time in the movie that seem so foolish and an obvious set ups for zombie attacks that it took away some of the charm of the movie. Randomly phone ringing when making a dash for safety, zombies hiding in the closest, kicking the cans in an empty hallway, and random Arab girl leading a celebratory song in Israel on a loud speaker, when it has been established that zombies are attracted by loud noises. 

World War Z is an intense ride that picks up within the first 5 in of the movie and doesn't stop till the very end. There were slow points but they were necessary because they gave us some background story. The fast zombies worked in this movie, they were first introduced in 28 Days Later and this movie uses them appropriately. 

World War Z is yet another movie that shows how fragile the society is and how quickly people turn to anarchy and looting. 

When facing impending doom how will you react? Will you follow the rules or do whatever it takes to survive?

I give World War Z 7 deadly zombie bites out of 10.

The Hangover Part III: Movie Review

You know that one joke you tell at every party? It was hilarious the first time you told it. So you kept telling it over and over again. You told your mom, your friends, your wacky uncle and heck you even told it to your baby sister. Each time you tell that joke it lost some of its charm and you know this in your heart, but you keep telling it because it made you someone who was atleast bearable at the office party. The Hangover Part III is THAT dreaded, self-destructive joke. 

The The Hangover was a surprise to everyone. It was a smart, engaging and an all-around funny move. It made the three protagonists into overnight stars, along with Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). Since The Hangover these four guys have experienced great success; Bradley Cooper has been nominated for an Oscar, Ed Helms became a little more then just Andy from The Office, and Zach Galifianakis (the funniest of the bunch) starred on HBO’s Bored to Death and Ken Jeong is a recurring character on Community. It’s no surprise then that The Hangover made these guys in demand, and had the audience craving for more. So what better way to give the masses what they want than bringing the Wolf Pack back together for two more subpar movies. 

The Hangover Part III brings the crew back together for yet another wacky adventure, this time getting them to go to Tijuana and back to Vegas. There isn’t really much to tell you about the plot that you can’t figure out yourself. So it makes very little sense to go in any further detail about it, and I can move on to things that worked.

By far the funniest moment during the movie for my money's worth was when some girl in the theater screamed out loud after seeing one of the main character dangle for his life. The whole theater roared, and it was a genuinely hilarious moment. Too bad the same can’t be said about the rest of the movie. No doubt there were some funny moments and personally the best bits of the movie were when Melissa Mccarthy was on the screen. Some of the other funniest moments were throwbacks to the original. I found myself doing a lot of ”ooh I remember that from the first movie. Ha ha that reference is funny.” Unfortunately that is all this movie is, it’s a reminder of how great The Hangover was and we should nostalgia-laugh (is something I just made up) because we once thought there was no one funnier than Zack Galifianakis. Other than that any original content was drab at best. 

The best laughs came from all the supporting characters, and the 'Big 3' it felt like were just there to collect the pay check. Bradly Cooper was by far the worst of the bunch. It’s hard to believe that this is the same guy who was nominated for an Oscar not very long ago. Ed Helms and Zack Galifianakis were at least trying.

It was the overall chemistry of the three characters that made the original so great. The Hangover was a perfect recipe of Mac and Cheese where you threw in random ingredients and IT WAS THE BEST MAC AND CHEESE YOU EVER MADE! You tried replicating the original time after time, and tasted nothing but fake cheese and disappointment. It was just another Mac and Cheese. Sure it was served its purpose of feeding your broke student ass, but you yearned for that perfect gourmet Mac and Cheese fit to serve Gordon Ramsay himself.  

The Hangover Part III is not a movie for people who are looking for genuine comedy. There are some very funny moments but the cheap laughs far outnumber the good ones. If you’re going in expecting a repeat of The Hangover then don’t waste your time and money. If you were disappointed by The Hangover Part II this movie will only throw salt on your wounds. It’s sad to see such an initially brilliant trilogy end like this. The Hangover Part III was nothing but one last attempt at squeezing every last dollar from the franchise. The Hangover Part III gets 5 nostalgia-laughs out of 10.

And as always Special thanks to Ammad Wajahat, who can eat nothing but Philly Cheese Stakes for the rest of his life. 

 

Go Goa Gone: Movie Review

Go Goa Gone is a pretty good movie for the first of its kind in Bollywood. Apart from your typical Bollywood annoyances this movie was quite entertaining. Granted my opinion on this is fairly biased given my love for Zombie flicks, however I believe it stands on its own. The movie borrowed ideas from Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead that were easily recognizable and familiar; although nowhere as blatantly as many other Bollywood movie. Also, the setting of the movie felt eerily like the video game: Dead Island. Few scenes felt like they were exactly the same as some missions in the game.

The overall acting was good and the jokes were smart and stuck for most parts, some more than others. The chemistry between the three protagonists, and overall cast was spot on. Saif Ali Khan’s pseudo Russian Mafioso was an entertaining gag when originally introduced but it got a little old and drabby after a while. The female lead in the movie was underused and felt like a background character, other than being your prototypical Bollywood 'Damsel in distress'. 

The plot is very simple (like any other zombie movie) and can be easily figured out. The movie follows a very typical zombie flick formula: Intro to the main characters, putting them in a setting of zombies, explaining the origin of zombies (little lacklustre in this move), figuring out how to fight and kill zombies, the lack of ability to shoot the zombies at first and complete mastery of headshots by the end of the movie (which in this case was about half a day), and so on. This movie is as original as any zombie movie can get. Every scene was fairly predictable. Not to say that this is a bad thing, all zombie movies are alike. It’s the chemistry between the characters that really separate the greats from the rest. As liner as this movie was, the surprising anecdote about zombies which was cheesier than the cheesiest cheese cake, felt original. I laughed out loud several times during the movie; admittedly the humor was along the lines of 3 Idiots and Delhi Belly i.e. buddy movies with a lot of raunch.

The movie was 1 hour and 48 minutes in length, which is a little long for a movie of this sort. 1 hour and 30 to 40 minutes max is ideal for a zombie flick. It’s hard to keep the audience immersed. The jokes get lazy and pushy and the situations where protagonist has to escape the zombie hoards get nuttier and nuttier to the point of complete disbelief.

 
My biggest complaint against this movie is its anti-smoking campaign.

It’s almost ridiculous to see an anti-smoking campaign in a movie about pot-smoking booze hounds itching for parties that feature Mary Jane. There was an abundance of smoking scenes that featured small messages warning against smoking. It’s almost like the NRA running ads that featured gun-related killings and having messages popping up simultaneously that say “Don’t shoot people in the face. Shooting people in the face is bad.” I understand that the movie means well and doesn’t want to glamorize smoking, but omitting smoking altogether from the movie would be more effective anti-smoking rhetoric than a miniscule, meaningless and insincere insulting sign at the bottom of the screen.

Overall though, I would recommend this movie to any zombie fans out there. If you’re not a fan of Bollywood but enjoy zombies it’s still worth the watch. The nod to Bollywood cheesiness near the end of the movie was worth the price all on its own.There were obvious “Are you serious? He would totally get bitten in that situation.” type of scenes and the anti-smoking messages were very annoying. However, they are forgivable because it’s Bollywood’s first attempt at the genre and from the looks of it they have done a good job.

And as always special thanks to Ammad Wajahat. 

Moonrise Kingdom: Movie Review

“Moonrise Kingdom” is a movie about two misfit teenagers who fall in love and decide to run away, which causes the small island town to search for them. The movie puts the audience right in the action from the very beginning of the movie and slowly fills in the missing pieces. It is a hilarious adventure which seems somber in its demeanor but its comedic flair provides intense roller-coaster moments. “Moonrise Kingdom” has an ensemble cast of Oscar nominees and winner, starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murry, and Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand. Wes Andersondoes a wonderful job combining a powerhouse cast without discriminating or overshadowing the two up-and-coming protagonists; Jared Gilman (as Sam) and Kara Hayward (as Suzy), who carried the movie superbly on their own. It doesn’t feel for a moment that the movie needs the big stars but it is always great to see good actors doing what they do best.

“Moonrise Kingdom” does not go in great details about the lives of each character, but gives just enough information to get an understanding about their lives. This works in favor of the movie as it leaves it to the audience to establish a back story for each character.  Essentially, each character is somewhat melancholic which creates a depressing atmosphere for the movie.

Apart from few ‘over the top’ moments that take away from the crucial viewing-experience, this movie is an absolute delight. The chemistry between Gilman and Hayward has one rooting for the oddball lovers the entire duration of the movie. Their love feels genuine and is a welcoming change from Hollywood’s manufactured teen romances, which are delusionary, forced and unrealistic. Real life teenagers are supposed to be a little weird, confused, disillusioned, and above all they do not look like they just came out of a catalogue.

“Moonrise Kingdom” is a hilarious adventure that is exciting, original, shocking (no pun intended), and oddly depressing at times. Ultimately it is an immersive experience that does not and will not disappoint. The story of true love facing adversity in a very unusual setting is thoroughly satisfying and a must-watch! 

And a special thanks to Rafik 'The Always Awesome' Attou.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

Peter Jackson takes us back to the valleys and burrows of Middle Earth with The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey, part one of a trilogy. The events of movie takes place about half a century before the events of The Lord of The Rings. This time we are back at the Shire with good old Gandalf the Gray who recruits Bilbo Baggins to accompany a band of 13 dwarves on their way to reclaim their lost home and treasure taken over by Smaug the Dragon.

The Hobbit though a great movie on its own has the misfortune of having Lord of the Rings as its big brother.  Much like Faramir if you must. He is a great fighter who wins several battles for Gondor, yet his father prefers Boromir over him. No matter what he does and how hard he tries he will always be compared to his older brother, and somehow fall short simply because Boromir came first and was so damn amazing.  So the question on everyone mind is that “is it as good as The Lord of The Rings?” and the answer simply is no. That’s simply because the source material doesn't compare to the Lord of The Rings.  Lord of The Rings is a dark epic adventure spanning 3 books while The Hobbit is based on a single book that was written for children. So you simply can't expect the same level of excitement and danger as you did from the original series even though Jackson transforms this one into one murky and fierce saga. 

So does that mean The Hobbit is a bad movie? Far from it, although the movie starts off a little slow but when it picks up it’s a roller-coaster ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I for one didn’t find a single moment of the movie boring, although there were scenes where I felt that the movie could have done without. The overall experience was that of pure excitement and satisfaction. I had very high expectations going into the movie and I have to say that Peter Jackson once again delivered a fulfilling movie going experience. 

The acting in this movie was expectedly delightful: Martin Freeman, as Bilbo was outstanding. I was fortunate enough to read the book before watching the movie and I have to say that he has Bilbo down to a T. Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis return as Gandalf and Gollum, and both do an absolutely amazing job. The scene where Bilbo and Gollum riddle it out was probably one of the best scenes in the movie both for enjoyable wit and exceptional dialogue delivery. As for Gandalf he excels again as a wise and dangerously skilled wizard who must both mentor and parent the Dwarves while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. We were also treated with few other characters from the original series Saruman, Galadriel, and Elrond played by Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving all of who played their part well enough to bring back some nostalgia. The score in the movie was uniquely folk lore-ish and oh so befitting the landscapes of Middle Earth.

That’s not to say that the movie was without its flaws; I found that the movie overdid its use of CGI. It gave the movie a cartoonish feel to it. I remember in the original the orc,s goblins and uruks were actors and it gave the characters a human touch. The movie is 169 minutes long that’s almost 3 to 3 and half hours in the theater depending on when you go in. That’s quite an endurance feat and if you’re not a fan of Lord of The Rings it could feel like an eternity and very tedious indeed. I also felt that the movie didn’t utilize all the dwarves, you have 13 dwarves and more than half are just background characters. Although it must be pointed out that Ken Scott, Graham McTavish, and Richard Armitage playing Balin, Dwalin and Thorin did an amazing job playing their roles and complemented each other and Bilbo fairly well. Thorin is a nice substitute for Aragorn, a total badass who is not just a great leader but also an admirable warrior. I would like to see more from each dwarf in the coming two movies. 

In the end I’m going to highly recommend this movie. It’s a must watch if you’re a Lord of The Rings fan, and if you haven’t seen the movie or you didn’t like Lord of The Rings please don’t waste your time and mine by complaining how boring the movie was. Lastly don’t go in expecting a replica of the Lord of The Rings, this is a standalone movie and is distinguishable both in its saga and viewer experience from the Lord of The Rings. 

And as always special thanks to Ammad Wajahat.