Movie Geek's Blog

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper

Directed by: James Gunn

Super hero movies are of huge demand in all the corners of the world, and the case of India is no different. Indians have a rich history of making Super Hero movies block busters in the box office, and this past have compelled the distributors of Guardians of the Galaxy to hit the film in Indian screens just seven days after its United States release. The speculations of the movie distributors are now slowly proving to be right as Indian audiences welcomed the movie with open hands and a warm heart. Most of the theaters are packed especially with the educated youth in the country. The initial reports about the film are positive in nature, and this James Gunn film is showing all evident signs of emerging successfully in the Box Office. The movie which has the capability to boast about its ensemble star cast has Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace and Micheal Rooker in the lead roles. The director has succeeded in extracting the maximum from the actors, and he was amply supported by the technical crew members. The movie will impress all kinds of audiences, and it will not let you down in any manner. Now, let us discuss the movie in detail.

Image Source: www.wired.com

Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' can be considered as the right blend of super hero movie and space action adventure. The movie tells the story in the back drop of space, and this premise it self is a huge point of attraction. Peter Quill, an American pilot and adventurer gets trapped in the Galactic prison, and from here the movie begins. Soon, he join hands with some other abducts, and forms an alliance called 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. The alliance soon start their war against the dreaded baddie, Ronan, and this forms the remaining part of the story. 

The movie is completely filled with high octane action sequences, and breath taking visuals. The film is crafted perfectly by the director, and there is not even a second of boredom in the 122 minutes running time. The filmmaker and his crew has shot the film in such extravagant ambiance which will provide you the real life feel of entering the space. All the actors have done their role in the perfect manner. Chris Pratt was excellent as Peter quill, and he showed up an impeccable performance. But my pick among the lots is none other than the mesmerizing Zoe Saldana. 

The movie is brilliant in all areas of film making. The film is perfectly etched, and it has some fine elements which will glue you to the seats till the end. The story telling style is pacy, and it is a perfect epitome of making super hero movies. All the characters have given equal importance and screen space, and this clearly shows the crafting finesse of the director and screen writer. This movie will not disappoint you if you are an ardent lover of super hero movies. 'Watch Guardians of the Galaxy and enter a new world filled with thrill, adventure and action'. 

Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★★

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Cast: Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Adil Hussain, Tabu

Directed by: Ang lee

Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews


So I thought of writing a review this morning, there were back to back conflicts in my mind while selecting the film to review. It happens when you have a young movie blog. You have so many films to write about, you just can’t settle on a particular film. So, I opened my watch list on IMDB and laid my eyes on all those movie posters of the films I have watched, suddenly I saw “Life of Pi” on one side of the web page and instantly all the doubts vanished and I started watching Life of Pi for the 2nd time.

I don’t like missing the high points of a film when I am going to write about it, so I had to watch every film once again just before I start writing about it. Life of Pi is a tough film to review, as a viewer; one may get carried away by its adventure or the fantasy element or the VFX. But above all, this is an inspirational film on life. 

It was one of the best films of 2012, among other greats like “Zero Dark Thirty”, “Argo”, “Lincoln”, "The Master" and others. I haven't watched much of Ang lee's work, Life of Pi is only his 2nd film I watched, the other being “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Just 2 films and I have become an Ang Lee fan. 

Now coming to the movie right away, the story is being told by the ‘grown up’ Pi Patel, played by Irrfan Khan to a writer played by Rafe Spall, who is looking for a story. 



Life of Pi is the story of Pi Patel, played by Suraj Sharma, who is ship wrecked and left alone on a boat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a royal Bengal tiger who is called Richard Parker. 

Pi Patel is an Indian boy who lives in Pondicherry and his family owns a zoo with many exotic animals inside. As Pi becomes a teenager, his family decides to move abroad. They left on a cargo ship with their zoo animals for Canada. A deadly storm while the cargo ship was on the Pacific Ocean changes everything. 

It is the journey of Pi Patel reaching the coasts of Mexico in more than 200 days on a life boat in the company of the Bengal tiger “Richard Parker.” It shows the friendship which was there all the time but never shown directly. It also show the attention Richard Parker had Pi, so much that he could hardly think of surviving in the sea and was rather worried about the tiger himself.

There were some unexplained fantasy element which the director or the Author of the book leaves for you to interpret. I read some reviews, a few months ago about Life of Pi, which questions the protagonist’s relationship with god, I strongly feel offended with a remark like that. That was a fantasy element, which is not the most important thing this movie is all about. 

This movie is about the conversation between Pi and Richard Parker, though this conversation has no words to it, this is about the friendship which is not to be seen but to be understood and this film is about how one can be responsible for saving your life even if he/she was not particularly kind at any moment.

I really loved a quote told by Irrfan Khan later in the film, he said "I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye."

Life of Pi is an achievement in cinema, there are many great films made every year, but some sticks to the timeline of Cinema and when we talk about cinemas of the century or the millenium, a film like this is always remembered.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone [also released as Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone worldwide except India, Srilanka, Pakistan and USA] was an absolutely brilliant adventure film. 

The book was a huge success and the people behind the film worked upon every little detail to make the film successful as well. Very often, we come across movies adapted from popular books and feel that the kind of atmosphere and setup you imagined while reading the book was very different than the kind of images you are given to watch. This is something which was perfected in the Sorcerer’s stone, we imagined a similar Dursley’s place and a similarly dark Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the set decoration was so well crafted.

This is not a film which adults usually wave off; instead this was a fully fledged adventure film for people of all age group. JK Rowling’s book was muscular and vibrant and director Chris Columbus made sure that the movie version does not end up being a cute film about kids for the kids.

It can be very well compared to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, though I am not sure about the latter one. What Star wars must have been for someone born in the late 60s and early 70s, Harry Potter is something like that for those born in the late 80s and early 90s. The supernatural stuff like a three headed dog never looked out of the place and as a viewer I was glued to the screen while thrilled if the trio will be successful in their little endeavors.

Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint were only 11, 12 and 13 respectively at the time Sorcerer’s stone was released. Daniel as Harry Potter was almost like every one of us has imagined him to be. Hogwarts looked dark and comical, which is something I love about Harry Potter films, because computers could make it look real but the director chose to maintain the atmosphere JK Rowling created in her books.

Apart from the three prime characters, the castings for the adult’s role were done fantastically. Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Richard Harris and Robbie Coltrane as Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbledore and Hagrid respectively were the most appropriate choices to make for the persona of the characters Rowling created.

Here is an interesting part from Roger Ebert’s review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone, which he wrote 12 years ago, just after the film was released. Read more about Roger Ebert Here.

“Computers are used, exuberantly, to create a plausible look in the gravity-defying action scenes. Readers of the book will wonder how the movie visualizes the crucial game of Quidditch. The game, like so much else in the movie, is more or less as I visualized it, and I was reminded of Stephen King's theory that writers practice a form of telepathy, placing ideas and images in the heads of their readers. The reason some movies don't look like their books may be that some producers don't read them.”

Harry Potter is a classic which stays with you for life; you will make your kids watch it. It is that kind of film. Harry Potter can very well be put with E.T, Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It is the film you grew up with, how can you not love it?

"They say the first part is always the best part, they don't lie."

Note: I have not discussed the plot of the film but other details assuming all of you have already watched Harry Potter films.

Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★★

[This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge in April 2014. Let's celebrate blogging.]