Looper (2012)

Rating: 3.5/4

(Minor spoilers)

What do you think happens when Cause and Effect are out to get each other?
Looper(2012), which is writer/director Rian Johnson's answer to it, is a tight little package with an interesting premise, an exhilarating and fresh exploration of the premise, brilliant characters and original thrills, that succeeds in holding your attention for the whole 2-hour run-time (and maybe even a little more, including retrospection).

Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a hitman whose targets are sent from the future. He is making a killing (pun intended) and everything is going great until the day arrives when he has to close his own 'loop', i.e. to kill his future self (Bruce Willis). Early on in the movie, in what may be the movie's most inventive episode, we come to know of the gruesome things that can happen to those who do not close their loops.
The movie does not presume to explain the age-old paradoxes of time-travel; it gives them a nod here and there but moves on, employing time-travel to allow some devilishly ingenious relationships to develop between people with motives they would kill or die for. This, more than any other trait, sets this movie apart.

Seen out of context, the action sequences would seem pretty tame and short; but within the 2-hour window, they provide the perfect occasional jolt for that little craving at the back.
There was nothing in the acting or the direction that caught my unwarranted attention, which probably means they were flawless. What I did notice however, was a striking similarity between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Robert DeNiro doing his trademark smile. Is it just me, or has anyone else observed that?


Is Looper this year's Inception?
Plot-wise, Looper is a closer cousin to Minority Report(2002) (and even Macbeth to a degree) than to Inception. Like Inception, the most fun in Looper is in picking up the crumbs and figuring out things by ourselves; but unlike Inception, Looper is not a mindfuck - there are not too many things that need figuring out.
So - stating my opinion here -  it is not up there with Inception (or Minority Report for that matter), but it comes pretty close.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Rating: 3.5/4

TDKR is a relentless and pulse-elevating first hour (which is also the best part of the movie), and a action-and-spectacle loaded final hour, with about 45 min of mediocre connecting material. It is this mediocrity that prevents it from being a great movie.

The prologue, a wow-evoking episode that gives us a taste of the super-villain, sets the bar at an all-time high; and it is from here that the story kicks off. Batman has retired and the crime is at an all-time low in Gotham, but as it turns out, its just the calm before the Bane - a terrorist with one objective: bringing down Gotham. So Bruce Wayne is persuaded one last time to don the mask to fight someone who is his superior in physical strength and resources. Nolan's vision and and Tom Hardy's protrayal have created not just a terrorist, but a terror; though not as iconic as the Joker, Bane's delivery of anarchy is more terrifying and at the same time, awe-inspiring.
In one deft move, he immobilizes the police force, breaks Batman and establishes himself as the protector of anarchy.

Trouble starts when Bane achieves his objective; barely anything interesting happens next - The police are trapped, Batman is helpless, Catwoman is not important anymore and, Gordon and his protege are too outnumbered to do anything credible. Nolan depends on Han's Zimmer score to alleviate this mediocrity; I guess it did not work because I was looking forward to Batman's return. Luckily, he did not disappoint; he and his BatMobile delivered the much needed bang.

Though the execution was partially flawed, the scope and ambition of this movie elevates it to a 3.5/4 stars rating

Prometheus (2012)

Rating: 3/4

(Almost spoiler-free)

Prometheus, the sci-fi movie, is great; Prometheus, the thriller movie, is mediocre.

Putting Darwin's evolution theory to sleep, the movie offers a compelling (abeit confusing) take on the big question: How did we come to be? Like all good sci-fi, instead of answering, it imagines newer possibilities and makes us think of more questions. Who created our creator? Why is it implicit that a creator loves its offspring? In fact, the trilllionaire (Guy Pearce, Memento) who funds the odyssey in this movie has more love for his android David (Michael Fassbender, X-Men:First Class) than for his biological daughter (Charlize Theron). In such a case, is it far-fetched to imagine our creator trying to destroy us?  Early in the movie, when asked why humans were created, David the android responds, 'Why did you create me?'. Director Ridley Scott is careful not to give any easy answers, but he does sprinkle clues throughout the movie. Its obvious that he wants us to think. The science is imaginative yet believable, the CGI is seamless... call this one 2093:A Space Odyssey.

There is one terrifying and terrific scene involving the heroine (Noomi Rapace, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) in an automated surgery which makes us feel how it is be claustrophobic; reminds us how it felt throughout watching Alien(1979) for the first time. Sadly, Prometheus has just one such scene to boast of, the rest of the thrills seem prefunctory. It seemed like Ridley Scott was less interested in the thrills and more interested in the journey the sole-survivor undertakes at the end; trouble is, the movie ends there. To be fair, Scott does a decent job with the 'face-hugger' alien, but the movie ending the moment the bad-ass xenomorph arrives leaves us unsatisfied (This might not mean much to those who haven't watched Alien(1979) and Aliens(1986)).

On a whole, the movie's amazing first hour and a mildly disappointing second-hour makes it a recommended watch for those who wouldn't mind sci-fi with spiritual and philosophical undercurrents, and a must-watch for people who liked A.I.(2001), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Contact (1997).

Avengers (2012)

Rating: 3/4

The first hour and half of this movie packs some pretty sleek stunts and CGI. Pity... it will be forgotten by the end of the movie - the sheer spectacle of the final act overshadows everything that was done before in comic-book superhero movies. This is by far the best superhero movie made, replete with despicable villains, unending action and more than requisite laughs. Director Joss Whedon has attempted and surmounted the near-impossible -  Avengers is more than the sum of its superheros.
(I exclude Dark Knight from the comparision; it is more than just a superhero movie).

Loki, still grumpy with super-step-bro Thor and pretty much everyone else, has made plans for a hostile takeover of Earth and it takes Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and Capn. America to persuade him otherwise. As you've guessed already, it is this super-persuasion that makes the movie bottom-heavy on spectacle.
All the supers have brought their charm along from their solo outings, however, there is one who stands out. Hint: Its not Stark or his stylish Iron suit. Apparently writer/director Joss Whedon believes in six impossible things before breakfast; Hulk having a sense of humor being one on the top. Sure, the audience were chuckling at Stark's wise-cracks but they guffawed when Hulk gets even with Thor and Loki. When Hulk smashes, he does it with a certain 'take em head-on' rawness that appeals to our basest senses. Audience cheered... not to the sophisticated superheros.

On the downside, Loki is not a particularly formidable foe. He sports horns now and then but gets beaten blue during most confrontations. Thankfully though, he does lead a nasty army.
Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, is a bad plot-device and even worse is his decision to turn his cloak... he remains a nobody.

--

Q: What does The Hulk offer James Bond?
A: Martini...  Smashed, not stirred.

Chronicle (2012)

Rating : 3/4

Chronicle is a first of sorts - superheroes caught on shaky cam; kinky, but not terribly innovative. Ghosts (Blair Witch Project), monsters (Cloverfield), zombies haven't been immune to voyeurs, so with superheroes it was only a matter of time.

Andrew, Matt and Steve aren't exactly heroes, they are just three kids who stumble upon (tumble down actually) telekinesis - ability to move objects with thought - and then start having fun with it; first in seclusion and then getting progressively bolder. Andrew, the perpetual loner, suddenly has friends who share his superpower, and is suddenly popular at school where his "talent" for magic is out for display. Thankfully, Andrew is not your friendly neighborhood Peter Parker - he is not averse to dispensing gruesome and sometimes fatal punishment to bullies and obnoxious people. He knows that his admirers aren't exactly admiring him and begins to prefer being a super-powerful loner to being restricted by friendship, family or morality.

The supporting two characters aren't well drawn out, but that's okay, we do not really want to know the good guys who are in the way of Andrew's path to self-destruction. The climactic one-on-one chasing and bashing was a little drawn out, but mostly interesting. The Chronicle is amateur video but its no amateur film-making, its worth a watch at the theater and, a while later, another on your TV.

P.S. The shaky cam does not give you a headache, it is stable or close to it more often than not

The Adventures of Tintin:The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

Rating: 3.5 blistering barnacles/4

A collaboration such as this should try in order to go wrong. With Herge providing the story and the story-boarding, Spielberg's creative investment going into the action and special-effects, and Peter Jackson overseeing the production, this part-action, part-comedy is a complete success. Tintin fans were apprehensive, though, because the one they have come to love was a two-dimensional figure (visually, at least) whereas the movie gives them a near-human interpretation. Being a fan myself and having watched the movie, I can affirm that this Tintin preserves the original Herge's spirit, doing it with an additional Spielberg rub off; there is a slight IndianaJonesey-feel to the overall movie experience.

Though the movie is named after one, the story is actually a mash of three books : Secret of the Unicorn, Crab with the Golden Claws, and Red Rackham's Treasure, which isn't surprising because one book would have been insufficient material to work with and would have had some characters robbed of their background story. The globe-trotting and trouble-seeking journalist and his pet dog start off their big-budget Hollywood debut here with a treasure-hunt that pits him against pirates, and their descendants that takes them from Europe to Africa and a first acquaintance with Captain Haddock, Tintin's funny side-kick for all the adventures to come.

The funniest scenes are mostly those lifted from the comics : Captain Haddock's thirst and his 'billions of blue blistering barnacles' are intact, Thomson and Thompson still bumble the way we love them for, Snowy is as expressive as a dog can get and Castafiore's songs that literally resonate. However, when the action is on, the original comics give way to the director's imagination. The special effects and the action scenes are a spectacle in involvement. Two episodes, one being a clash between two pirate ships and another a chase through Moroccon streets are as involving as action gets. These two justify the decision to use 3-D and motion capture. We jump down the buildings, we duck from gun-shots, and when footing is lost, it is our heart in our mouth.

Super 8 (2011)

Rating: 3.5/4

Super 8 is E.T.(1982) and Stand by me(1986) for our time with a bit of District9 (2009) thrown in to generate a few thrills while maintaining the dominant feel-good mood. By lifting a few shots directly from the Spielberg classic and also getting him to produce it, director J.J. Abrams has affirmed that the similarity is intentional. The sure-handedness with which he crafted this movie is what makes the movie almost as enthralling as its predecessor.

**Spoilers**

Joe is a high-school kid who lives with his Deputy Sheriff father having lost his mom in an accident. He spends time helping his friend Charles make a low budget zombie movie along with four other friends including Alice whom Joe has a crush on. One night during a shoot, they witness a freak accident that gets them involved in a Air Force aided government cover-up. Their previously calm suburb suddenly turns hyperactive with a slew of events; the Air Force amassing soldiers to apparently capture a monstrous alien, inexplicable thefts of machine parts, missing people and pets. Joe and his friends try to make their movie in the midst of this chaos convinced by Charles that it would add 'production value' to their movie. But when one of them goes missing, the kids start off an investigation on their own while the army starts evacuating people to satisfy an itch - an itch caused by all the fire power at their hand.

**Spoilers End**

The special effects are dazzling, not that we expect anything lesser from a Spielberg production, but the creature effects and one particularly devastating event that occurs early in the movie - one that manages to shock the audience and one that seems to go on and on - is definitely worth a mention. But no matter how splendid the visuals are, the real charm of the movie is in its depiction of childhood which the director has molded into an endearing and colorful affair. The insecurities, perceptions, infatuations and innocent jealousies are spot on and the earnestness with which they are played out is hilarious. To these kids, the monster-on-loose situation is but an opportunity to capture Air Force personnel in the footage for their movie, and to Charles and Joe, the movie work provides an opportunity to win Alice's affections. Sure there are villains to be found, there is one particularly condescending Air Force Colonel who is hell bent on maintaining secrecy and has no qualms silencing trouble-makers, but we do not root for his death. Had he been rendered as a devil-incarnate psychopath, a stand-off between good and evil would have transpired and the movie would have lost its warmth and sweetness in the midst.

Two-thirds into the movie when all the questions have been answered and the creature shows itself completely after nearly 1.5-hrs of tease, I found my involvement in the movie swaying, but that is not very long before the climactic clash and a superb short-film played along with credits. I found myself and other patient viewers walking out with a smile