Be the Hero of Your Own Story: Nim’s Island(2008)

Nim’s Island is a family entertainment adventure comedy that tells the tale of Nim(Abigail Breslin, little miss sunshine) a young girl living on a remote island with her father,Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler). Jodie Foster as Alexandra Rover and Gerard Butler as Alexander rover play the leads in the movie.

To start with, Nim is an adventurous, enthusiastic and resourceful 11 year old who lives on a remote volacanic island. Her father, Jack Rusoe is a famous Marine Biologist who often ventures out in the sea in search of phytoplantkons. Nim is a voracious reader and idolizes Alexander rover, a heroic character, much like Indiana Jones, in a series of Rover books written by Alexandra Rover, a agoraphobic (fear of open spaces) . The movie is shot in a picturesque location and Nim’s life with her animal friends like sea lions and geckos are portrayed very well. When Jack gets trapped at sea, Nim reaches out to Alexander Rover for help, via internet, not knowing its true recipient would be the agoraphobic writer. Finally Alexandra sets out to help the little girl stranded on a lonely island, battling her worst fears in the process. What happens next is very much predictable, considering it is a family movie, you can’t complain too much about it.

Abigail Breslin plays the role of Nim very well in the story, her character radiates positivity, and as the queen of the island she is adventurous and enthusiastic in her role and there is a lot to like about Breslin in her character. Jodie Foster plays a very different kind of role in this movie compared to her past characters. She may not be the ideal comedian, but she doesn’t falter in her role either as an agoraphobic which does require a slapstick style for what it demands. As for Gerard Butler, he is charming in his role, probably the utility character in the movie playing both as Jack Rusoe and Alexander Rover. He does play both the characters differently and proves that he could almost fit into any character. Regarding the storyline, Nim’s Island rides along the thin line between reality and fiction and it is much predictable, but considering that it is a family movie mainly aimed at kids, a storyline of this type is to be expected. Atleast it lives up to its name of ‘Be the hero of your own Story’. Overall, Nim’s Island proves to be a good light family entertainer worth watching.

Definitely Maybe(2008)

Definitely,Maybe
Originally uploaded by Phim Ảnh

“The human heart has hidden treasures in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures whose charms were broken if revealed.”


Definitely Maybe is a bittersweet romantic story which tells the tale of Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) and his romantic history with three entirely different women. Romantic comedies are generally clichéd involving a rather stereotyped tale of how the boy gets the girl with a storyline that is more like a mathematical theorem or a proven formula, and that is where this movie differs, it doesn’t have a predictable storyline for starts or a fairytale romantic scenario for that matter.

The movie begins with Will opening papers for an impending divorce. He meets his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin; ‘Little Miss Sunshine’) and takes her home to spend time in the evening. Maya pressurizes her dad to tell the story of how he met her mother, after some persuasion Will reluctantly agrees and there begins a PG-13 story of explaining the complex adult relationships to a 10 year old. Will changes the names of all the women in the story, as there are other women in the story besides her mom, so that Maya does not figure out who’s who at the beginning. This provides an element of uncertainty in the story which turns out to be very rewarding for what it does. Will is an ambitious youngster from Wisconsin who wants to make it big in the political scenario. He moves to New York leaving behind his college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks), there he meets Emily’s friend Summer (Rachel Weisz) who was at that time in a kind of relationship with her thesis advisor Roth(Kevin Kline).He also makes friends with April(Isla Fisher),a free spirit in nature, and the copy girl at workplace, while at the office. Will’s relationship with these women is portrayed beautifully, and as the story progresses we can only wonder who Maya’s mother will turn out to be. Even if you’re guessing this out, it wouldn’t spoil the movie entirely as how the movie gets there is sweet and intriguing. Though a romantic comedy, this movie doesn’t entirely rely upon the universal healing powers of love or its eternal nature for that matter. While he is in a relationship he is also maintaining friendship with April. Also Will is no crazy romantic unlike most chick flicks.

Definitely Maybe is funny and attractive for a romantic flick but it maintains a limit to it and though it is much of a fantasy it doesn’t overdo the act. One of the flaws in the movie could be the fact that it doesn’t give too much of a screen time to the women characters, Elizabeth Banks for instance hardly gets any screen time though she is one of the main characters, but even in that she performs well. Isla Fisher, cute in her role, is somewhat struck with a stereotyped character. Abigail as Maya is excellent in her role, she always wants her dad to be happy, though her role shows s little too much maturity for a 10 year old. But for what the movie offers and the genre which it is in, these flaws could be overlooked. Rachel Weisz, as a career woman, probably getting the most screen time in the movie, really nails it, in her role as Summer. The film is illustrated in the 1990s and the cinematography is pretty good, the scenarios and the chronology in 1990s are shown very well, like the Nirvana and Bill Clinton’s timeline. Also Will’s job is given some importance unlike other romantic flicks which hardly portray anything happening on the world outside. The movie is narrated as a bedtime story for Maya by Will (who might look too young for a father of a 10yr old) and Will does a pretty good job at it. It offers a respite from the regular stereotyped romances and keeps you in dark about the identity of Maya’s mother until the end. The ending isn’t that bad either. It is pretty, funny and different for a romantic comedy. For anyone who loves this genre this movie is definitely worth a catch.

With Every Great Love Comes A Great Story: The Notebook (2004)

The Notebook tells the story about two youngsters who fall in love and have to endure in life later. Though “boy loves girl” is typical of the romantic genre, not all movies make as good an impression as this one. It is adopted from a novel of the same title written by Nicholas Sparks. The movie is set in the 1940s and brings out an idyllic romance between two youngsters and how it blossoms into a great love affair.

The movie starts with Duke (James Garner) reading a book to an old lady(Gena Rowlands) in an elderly home, and there starts the great love story of Ally, played by Rachel McAdams, and Noah (Ryan Gosling).Noah is a crazy romantic and he dramatically asks Ally out on a date, hanging on top of a Ferris Wheel. Crazy as it sounds; the movie doesn’t focus too much on melodrama in its later stages and sticks to a good storyline and keeps it sweet and simple. Noah and Ally fall crazily in love and the near perfect love story continues for some time before brakes are put on it. Ally’s parents do not approve of a relationship with a boy from the other side of the tracks, and Noah shackled by a laborious and a desolate lumber job can’t prove otherwise. Thus, parting of ways take place and Ally’s parents take her away at the first chance they get and this closes the door of perfectly spanned love story, or at least for now. The fact that this story itself is narrated, by Duke, makes the movie interesting and keeps the viewer guessing at this point on where these two stories are headed to. Noah gets recruited in the army for the world war and Allie meets a young and handsome lawyer who proposes to her. It is at this time Allie finds out that her lost love, Noah is back from the war is and suspense is mooted with a likely chance for both. Apart from a honey toned romanticism a great piece of storytelling keeps the viewers engrossed in the little suspense of Allie’s choice. The movie takes its sweet time in getting there as well, a time well utilized for showing the re-kindling of romance between the two characters. The emotions and pains that these characters undergo are excellently shown.

The movie is characterized by a great storytelling which keeps the viewers engrossed through an expected storyline. Though this movie sticks to the eternal healing power of love for its central theme, it doesn’t lose its direction in the middle portraying rather intricate romantic sequences. The way the two subplots merge is shown excellently and the end may be a tear jerker and heavy for some. Gena Rowlands performs excellently in the role of the old lady suffering from Alzheimer’s supported well by the role of James Garner who can for all, do nothing, but hope for the best, and how he supports her through this shows the making of a great romance. Also Joan Allen fits well in a role as an "ice queen" playing Allie's mother. Both Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are in fine niches for their roles which play a pivotal part in the movie. Though it has a stereotyped storyline the movie plays it well, the movie is a great piece of storytelling and has a clear sense of direction to where it is going and this is where it beats most chick flicks. For a simple love story the movie is near perfect and worth a watch.

Love is like the wind. You cannot see it but you can always feel it: A Walk to Remember (2002)

‘A Walk to Remember’ is a film based on the romance novel of the same title. Starring Mandy Moore as Jamie Sullivan and Shane West as Landon Carter this film offers much more than a MTV teen flick.


Starting off with a dangerous prank that threatens the life of a fellow student, Carter is sentenced to community service, he meets Jamie, the reverend’s daughter, a girl he had ignored all his life.Jamie is a polar opposite to Carter in character.Unlike Carter she has faith and an urge to help people. After getting a lead role for a school play, Carter is forced to get help from Jamie. This kind of confrontation is expected in the romantic genre, needless to say,the movie isn't without the expected cliché’s in the first half. After spending time with Jamie, however, Carter finds the need to change himself,his ideals,his lifestyle. He begins to care less about what the world thinks and a need to do what is right. Also Carter transforms from the popular boy in school to somebody who wants to care more about others and do what is right. The film takes a leap when we find out a dark secret being guarded by Mandy Moore. The movie also turns into a touching story after that.

Though bringing two diametrically opposite characters is a commonplace in the romantic genre, the movie, due to its unexpected turn, changes its tracks from a cliched romantic flick to something beautiful and touching. Also Moore and West give out good performances. Mandy Moore’s debut as a lead role shows a promising road ahead for her. And the movie has a great story line backed by some good performances and appeals to much more than a teen audience. If you love romantic movies this movie is definitely worth a watch.

Death Doesn’t Take No for an Answer : The Final Destination Thrillogy

This is the theme of the teen horror flick final destination series, Presently a trilogy, with an expected 4th film ‘The Final Destination’ releasing this august (in 3d).The movie also has most of its elements similar to those of scream and urban legends.
The difference of final destination series from similar horror flicks in this genre, like Scream Trilogy , Urban Legends is that the characters are stalked by death itself and there is no psychotic villain who actually causes these deaths. Every film starts with a character having a premonition of some major accident that is about to take place. Even though they evade the treacherous incident their time is up and “death” allegedly makes sure that this happens.


No Accidents No Coincidences No Escapes: Final Destination I

On boarding the plane to Europe for his class trip, Alex (Devon Sawa) has a premonition that plane is going to crash and everyone is going up in flames. He makes a commotion and thus a few characters along with him leave the plane, including his girlfriend Clear Rivers (Ali Larter). As the plane takes off it does go up in flames and now the characters have to face off “death” itself as they have supposedly evaded “death”.
One by one, “death” stalks these characters. For instance you wouldn’t expect to die in a bathroom but in these films you would expect death in a commonplace such as a kitchen or a bathroom. Most of the deaths are mysteriously “freak accidents”, triggered by some commonplace act which leads to a contraption of events,or scientifically speaking a Rube Goldberg choreographs these deaths, much like those in omen, the difference being that in ‘The Omen’, the nemesis is the devil himself, or the son of devil rather, here there is no “agent” which causes these actions, so “death” itself personally makes sure that no one is left behind from the accident. This being said the movie is predictable in the sense, like most teen horror flicks, if the camera is focused on a lone character, you would pretty much expect the character to die, the only question that remains is how? The film lacks a great storyline or character development of any sort, but for the genre which it is in, the movie is somewhat different from its predecessors and if you like teen horror flicks this movie is worth watching.


For Every Beginning There is an End: Final Destination II

Kimberly (A.J.Cook) is on a road trip with three friends. This time, she has a premonition that a horrific accident is about to take place and she blocks some cars from entering it.
Sure enough the premonition comes true as expected, and now she and her friends have evaded death and should find out ways for cheating death.
The buildup to the first accident scene is thrilling, starting with a music track fom AC/DC “Highway to Hell”, continuing with a lot of telltale signs that mean death is lurking around. Also this happens right in the anniversary of the plane crash. However the movie continues with a messy story after that, much worse than the first, expected for the theme that the movie holds. Kimberly continues to have premonitions of other characters death too. However the death scenes are much more exciting than the first one, Death comes at places where you least expect it.
Other than theatrically killing characters off, that movie has nothing of promise, you should be ready to shut your brains off to hear the cosmic theories on death. The special effect death sequences attract the movie and audience who love teen horror flicks might find a liking for this movie.


This Ride will be the Death of you: Final Destination III

Final Destination III has one of the best opening sequences of the three, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition that roller coaster she has entered is going to crash and she creates a panic which leads to her and some friends being let off the doomed coaster. The rest of the story continues in a manner similar to the others.
There is some creativity in the way characters are killed off in this series, and a genuine effort is made to create an atmosphere of tension in the pre-death sequences, and some of the deaths are well executed. The story is in some ways better than first two and there are only vague references to the first two. No characters from the first two make an appearance in this sequence and so the third one can be watched directly without missing out a lot.
If you are a Final Destination fan the third one is unlikely to disappoint, it delivers what you expect if you love this genre. It keeps you guessing on the different ways the deaths can stalk these characters. The movie is initially expected to be made in 3-D but later the idea was dropped. For its thrilling and gory sequences, this movie is worth a watch if you like horror thrillers.

Cops or Criminals, when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference? (The Departed(2006))

Well this probably defines everything about Departed. Remake of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs. The difference being Martin Scorsese, the man behind great movies like Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.

Jack Nicholson plays the role of Frank Costello an Irish gang chief in South Boston. Costello recruits Colin played by Matt Damon to infiltrate into the Massachusetts State Police Department. With the support of the Irish Mafia Don, Matt Damon rises fast in the Police Department and soon enters the Special Investigation Unit , which, ironically is aimed at exposing the mobster. Capt. Queenan (played by Martin Sheen) and the foul mouthed Sgt. Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) have other plans and they recruit Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello’s top structure. Thus two newbies from Massachusetts Police Department who were once training together are engaged in opposite roles(Bad Cop or a Good Gangster??). With both the sides discovering that they have a traitor within the rat race begins with both Matt Damon and Dicaprio needing to urgently discover the other coping with an extremely onerous double life to cope up with. Vera Farmia plays the role of Madolyn the department psychiatrist who is also involved in a love triangle with Colin and Costigan. Though not expected in a gangster movie even this blends nicely with the movie without spoiling it.

All characters are a perfect fit in this movie. DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances so does Matt Damon. Supporting actors are up to the challenge too. Mark Wahlberg’s role as Sgt. Dignam deserves praise. Nicholson is in a league of his own when it comes to acting. Even the opening line reveals a lot about this diabolical villain, "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." Electrifying and intriguing as always, his performance shows why men like Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson are rare in the world of cinema.

Arguably one of the best films of 2006,with a myriad of stars, a movie like departed promises to deliver. Even the very final scene of movie praises the brilliance of men like Scorsese. The film ends with a lone rat crawling on the apartment's balcony railing, which frames the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House in the background. A rat in the police department cannot have a more “literal” sense than that. If you have already watched infernal affairs you would have probably known the plot and the ending, but this film is still worth a watch. Martin Scorsese proves why academy awards are made for movies in the first place.

Awake (2007)

Awake focuses on “Anesthesia Awareness” a condition wherein patients remain conscious even after administering general anesthesia. Unable to sleep and completely paralyzed the patients find themselves in a helpless fix as they cannot signal this condition due to paralysis. With a runtime of 84 min., the movie is pretty short and focuses only on what is necessary.
Hayden Christensen plays the lead as Clay Beresford a twenty two year old, who is leading the dream life. Billionaire, a heir to his father’s empire, successful and engaged to a cute girlfriend in form of Jessica Alba as Sam Lockwood, you couldn’t ask for more. But after a massive heart attack he requires a heart transplant requiring a major surgical procedure. Clay is also in a predicament about revealing the his relationship with Sam, to his judgmental and overprotective mother Lilith (Lena Olin).Clay chooses his friend Dr Jack Harper to perform the surgery, in spite of his mom’s recommendation Dr. Neyer who was a specialist in the field.
The first 30 minutes provide an excellent buildup to a sinister plot. After administration of the General Anesthesia Clay is still conscious about the world around though he is paralyzed and unable to notify this condition. From here on movie is not without flaws and Clay has an “astral” experience. The movie does snap ties with reality, but Clay’s astral experience is much more of a clear the air kind of thing, unlike the one in movies like ‘Just Like Heaven’ .You could say Clay’s experience is much more for explaining the things around as the plot unveils. Any more info on the plot will spoil the movie from what it is and I should say movie is not without it twists. Also an excellent counter plot at the end makes the movie a thriller worth watching.
Movie keeps you on the edge of the seat throughout the surgery and one could overlook the flaws it has. It keeps you guessing and only a careful viewing of the first half hour may reveal anything about the plot or what happens next. The movie is worth watching for its short runtime and a nicely executed plot. I would rate it at 7/10, a psychological thriller worth watching.

Why So Serious?(The Dark Knight (2008))

This is probably one of the most famous quotes of 2008 summer thriller The Dark Knight. As a sequel to Batman Begins (2005) Cristopher Nolan has succeeded in producing yet another masterpiece. Induced in the superhero villain category this movie stands above the rest in its genre as it is much more than an ordinary flick in this genre. Needless to say, this movie does go into psychological aspect of human nature and proves to be a breakthrough film in the superhero movie genre.

As for the story, Batman (Christian Bale) faces off against Joker, played by Heath Ledger. Gotham City is already in ruins with countless mobsters and villains trying to make life miserable, but the city’s new DA Harvey Dent is determined to stand up to the evil lurking in the city.However a new villain emerges in the scene, with no morals and no rules, terror is unleashed in the Gotham city. Ledger’s performance in Dark knight is mind blowing. Also the batman is much more confident in this movie, unlike the first one where Bruce Wayne had to know about himself, this movie focuses much more on batman and his crime fighting ability. And Batman is no mere guy in a suit, he is symbol of hope and goodwill, in a city with a thin line of good and evil, where services of the caped crusader were desperately needed. Joker in this movie plans to destroy all the good that is left in the Gotham City. Joker unleashes chaos and tests the very existence of morals in the society, psychologically which is why he is so terrorizing. Also this film is much more realistic than the others in this genre; Nolan focuses more on reality rather than pure action sequences or theatricality. The cinematography of the movie is top class, with excellent lighting and camerawork the film succeeds to catch the energy of the high action sequences. Gotham City was captured excellently; you could feel the terror unleashed by the Joker in the movie.

The acting in this film is excellent. With a plethora of great actors like Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine as the trustworthy butler, Christian Bale as Batman you could always count on this movie to be a Box Office hit. I should say that defining performance in this movie was delivered by Late Heath Ledger as the Joker. He did receive a posthumous Oscar for his role, and in words of actor Kevin Kline, who unveiled his nomination,” In a year of striking film images, perhaps the most unforgettable was that of a man, his face smeared with clown make-up, gleefully sticking his head out of a speeding car, relishing the night wind and reveling in the chaos he has unleashed on the streets of Gotham City. “

"Menacing, mercurial, droll and diabolical, Heath Ledger as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' kept us all on edge, anxious to see which act of appalling mischief he might commit next."



This movie has all the elements of a great film and tops the IMDb’s list as one of the best movies in this decade. A must watch movie even if you don’t read comic books or believe in superhero movies, for this movie is well beyond that.

Fear can hold you prisoner, Hope can set you free (Shawshank Redemption (1994))

Fear can hold you prisoner, Hope can set you free
These are the lines from the best movie I have ever seen. Conveying the message of eternal hope Shawshank Redemption is simply one of the best movies ever made.

In the film Tim Robbins stars as Andy Dufresne, a young banker who is sentenced to a life term at Shawshank prison, as circumstantial evidence stands against him. From there on the movie spans into one of the best stories ever made. As soon as he lands in prison, the prison itself becomes a character in the movie, casting its dark shadows all over the film, and the long stone walls crushing every bit of hope, one has left in him. Andy soon makes friends with Ellis “Red” Redding played by Morgan Freeman who also narrates this story. Andy seems to hold on to hope much more than others and he proves to Red and his friends that if you cling on to hope even the walls of Shawshank cannot hold you a prisoner. For as Red says these walls are funny, first you hate them, then you get used to them and then you start to depend on them., further amplified by old Brooks, the librarian for most part of the story, who could not face the world after spending a near lifetime in Shawshank. His scenes of coping with the world outside are one of the film’s most moving sequences. Warden Norton, played by Bob Gunton, is one of the other notable characters in the film. He often quotes the bible, And believes he is the master of this place , “His judgment cometh and that right soon“ is the inscription on the walls of his office right in front of the safe where he stores the money obtained often by treachery and deceit. How these words apply to everybody because of him and ultimately himself is ironical. The movie is slow, but given that it is showing a sequence of nearly twenty years, which only amplifies in a place like Shawshank and also the movie never loses its direction and it takes the time to getting to the end only to make way for one the best climaxes ever made.

As I said the Shawshank is no mere prison, it is a character in the story, for when they are sentenced to life in Shawshank it takes exactly that ,or the most important part anyway, it is the hope crusher, it can crush the hope of everyone but Andy’s, who even in the worst of situations clinged on it, as he said “Here is where you need it most, there are places in the world that aren’t made of stone, that there are places inside that they can’t get to or touch ..inside …Hope”.Metaphorically Shawshank represents every difficult situation one gets into and you nee to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you shouldn’t lose hope and Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption proves exactly this.



This movie was released in 1994,and had to compete with some other great ones like Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction during its Oscar year. Though the film failed to win any Oscars it is still recognized as one of the best movies ever made. The movie is based on Stephen King’s novella ‘Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption’. Rita Hayworth was the first pinup poster on Andy’s wall. Believe me what she was hiding wasn’t innocent. Currently at IMDb’s top spot alongside great movies like the Godfather the movie will continue to keep anyone spellbound upon watching it.If you haven’t watched the movie what are you waiting for? And I finish by quoting famous words of Andy Dufresne, Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying.