The Critique

Dir: Babak Najafi Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart Dur: 1 hr 30 mins Genre: Action Rating: 3/5 PG: Plenty of foul language and violence. If you’ve seen the prequel Olympus Has Fallen , than you know pretty much what to expect from this film. The storyline isn’t new. If anything, it may be a little too cliché. We know the drill by now: A serious crisis with possible global side-effects; one man who is willing to risk it all for the sake of his country, group or firm or in this case, friend; a seemingly daunting task and a glorious though bloody and muddy triumph. America is back to fighting against its favourite enemies – the Jihadi Terrorists. Enemies of the Stars and Stripes usually end up getting pulverized even though they are shown to have the upper hand. The scenario here is no different. To fulfil this mindless narrative, the villains are considerably mellowed down vis-à-vis, the villain of the prequel and the location is shifted to create psychological ...

Dir: Tom McGrath Starring: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill Dur: 1 hr 35 mins Genre: Animated Rating: 3.5/5 Animated films are often like parables. They generally use simple stories to get across powerful messages. The target audience is believed to be children but the older you are the better you are able to grasp the meaning of the film. Children watch films merely for the entertainment and animation. Perhaps if they are sharp they may pick up the core message but it takes an adult to form an overview of the film and identify the numerous messages that are embedded in the storyline. Megamind has a refreshing concept. It’s not a straight up good guy-bad guy action film. It’s got an interesting twist and children are likely to get a bit confused. I have had a first-hand experience as I showed it to my students. In the discussion that followed the film I realized that the students (who are in the 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd standard) had got the idea all wrong. After r...

Dir: Reggie Rock Bythewood Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Meagan Good Dur: 1 hr 51 mins Genre: Adventure? Rating: 2/5 PG: Occasional foul language and a few kisses. It’s not a secret: boys love bikes. The film’s name itself is an indicator of what it contains. From the title it is obvious that this flick is all about boys on fast bikes. Personally, I’m not a big fan of bikes (I’m very much a boy though!) I enjoy gazing at sports bikes but I don’t fancy making them a subject of daydreams. Unlike me the protagonist in this film is a young chap whose sole aim is to become king of the streets. He is introduced to the underground world of drag racing by his father who works as a mechanic for the champ who is interestingly called Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). The name suits him fine as he usually leaves his opponents with the smell of burnt rubber and exhaust fume. But his supremacy is challenged by a young lad, called, again interestingly Kid (Derek Luke) whose ...

Dir: Bobcat Goldthwaithe Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynn Barr Dur: 1 hr 44 mins Genre: Dark Humour Rating: 1/10 PG: Lots of foul language The film is barely watchable but has got a powerful message to get across. Unfortunately it suffers from a communication block. It fails to appeal to the interest and hence remains a mere spectacle to yawn at. It’s got nothing to hold your interest and is just a drab story of a man who begins to see through the charade that is life and goes on a farcical rampage to eliminate the jerks from America.  Along the way he tags along an equally dumb and brainless girl who is equally disgusted with life. The two team up to rid of America of its stupidity but fail to recognize the stupidity of their design. America is crassly parodied and the American way of life is mocked with the hope of waking up the Americans to the reality that is their lifestyle. How far they succeeded is beyond my desire to know but surely it doesn’t interes...

Dir: Ali Abbas Zaffar Starring: Salman Kahn, Anushka Sharma Dur: 2 hrs  50 mins Genre: Sports based film Rating: 6.5/10 Love, sweat and dirt thrown around in the dust of a local wrestling arena; Sultan is the story of a small town Haryana, wrestler who climbed the ladder of achievement to win his girl’s heart. It’s romantic in its own way and warms the heart although its presentation may not appeal. Its success at the box office however, paints a different picture. Sultan has gone on to become the fourth highest grossing Indian film. This response does point to the success of the director to mix romance with a sports-based drama and to the good performances of the lead pair but it doesn’t tell you why you ought to watch this film. If you ask me I’ll tell you that if you don’t watch this film you aren’t missing much. It’s not great. It’s…. alright. One reason why Salman’s films sell, as I’m given to understand, is because he shows off his hunky body and whacks ...

Dir: Craig Zobel Starring: Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Chiwetel Ejiofor Dur: 1 hr 37 mins Genre: Sci-fi drama Rating: 2/10 This film suffers from a typical case of a betraying trailer. The trailer promised far more than the film delivered. Watching the trailer, one is given to believe that the film is full of post-apocalyptic drama. The reality is, a film struggling to make you believe in a post-apocalyptic drama. The setting is different. It’s a beautiful valley that is somehow preserved from any radioactive pollution that has destroyed the rest of the world as we are given to believe. One woman, Ann [Margot Robbie], and her faithful dog survive there. We are shown how they survive until they chance upon another survivor, Loomis [Chiwetel Ejiofor]. The two strike up a relationship that bends towards romance but is struck short by the arrival of another survivor, Caleb [Chris Pine]. The tension between the three becomes palpable and climaxes with the sudden disappearance...

I live near a Missionaries of Charity institute and what strikes me about them is their availability, serenity and commitment to serve the inmates be they infants, children, physically or mentally challenged people, diseased, or even aged. The sisters devote their time and energy to caring for these people and making them feel loved. They become the face and hands of God to these people just as the inmates become Christ to the sisters. Therefore, a mutual service is constantly taking place. Christ is ever present there as every action is done in His name and for His glory. I recall having a Missionary of Charity as my catechism teacher. I don’t remember much of what she taught me but the Gospel values I picked up from her life and the way she carried herself, have remained with me. I fondly remember her as being the most gentle and kind person I’ve ever come across. She was soft-spoken and didn’t seem the jolly type but her face revealed her inner contentment and serenity. I was ...

“Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to Your word” (Lk 1:38) If I hadn’t known better, I would definitely have thought that there were the words of Mother Teresa. A look at her life will reveal why the above verse is characteristic of her and perhaps even descriptive of her existence.   Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxa in   Skopje   (modern Macedonia) to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu.   After having lived in Macedonia for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life. She was fascinated by stories of the lives of   missionaries   and their service in   Bengal , and by the age of 12 had become convinced that she should commit herself to a religious way of life. She arrived in India in 1929, and began her   novitiate   in   Darjeeling , near the Himalayan mountains, where she learnt   Bengali   and taught at St. Teresa's School, a schoolhouse close t...

Producers: Michael Bay, Jack Bender et al. Starring:   Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, Charles Parnell, Travis Van Winkle, Sam Spruell, Marissa Neitling, Christina Elmore, John Pyper-Ferguson, Jocko Sims, Bridget Regan, Bren Foster, Kevin Michael Martin In all 3 seasons have been released. The first season had 10 episodes and only episode one of the same is under review. I was introduced to ‘The Last Ship’ serial by my cousin. It’s not made its way into Indian channels yet but I think it ought to make an entry. The setting is a post-apocalyptic world and the problem is that a new virus has broken out and is claiming its victims by the hundreds. One very British-sounding doctor is trying her best to find a cure to the virus and is soon put aboard a Navy vessel with her double-crossing partner. The Navy vessel then takes over as the centre of attention and it’s from this that the serial gets its name: The Last Ship.   The first episode is great. It puts...