The Expendables

The Expendables is without question the most anticipated movie of the summer of 2010. The movie is directed by Sylvester Stallone. Its cast is a who's who of established action film stars of the previous three decades. Even though the previews gave away the cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it still gave us just another reason to stand in line for this movie.

The Expendables describes a team of what could be considered mercenaries, or bounty hunters. They go on high-risk missions, guns in hand, and pick up the money owed to them at the end of the day. Their main mission in this movie is initially to overthrow a South American dictator in the fictional nation of Vilena. Eventually, they find that the real enemy is ex-CIA agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts) aided by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and a whole army of guerrilla soldiers.

This movie is full of action sequences, all of which are fun to watch. There are also some scenes involving knives (particularly ones thrown by Jason Statham) that even made me flinch. Although there are plenty of scenes involving knives and big guns, there are some great sequences involving hand-to-hand combat. You definitely don't want to take a bathroom break when 5'6 Jet Li takes on 6'4 Dolph Lundgren. There's also a fight scene between Steve Austin and Randy Couture that will satisfy both UFC and WWE fans.

Of course the scene everyone was talking about was the Stallone, Schwarzenegger & Willis scene. Which was one of the funniest parts of the movie. Their attempt to put each other down while out manning each other worked brilliantly and Willis threatening Stallone alone is worth the ticket price.

Everything about this movie is top notch. Right from the direction to the sets, its stunning. The screenplay is impeccable & the cinematography couldn't get better. The visuals are delightful. The music score is exceptional. Even though it is a slow movie, the pace seems very fast. The editing also is so well done. The dialogues are perfect, used in a really vulgar tone. The story is set in & around Equatorial Brazil. The locations shown are ideal.

The Expendables is the kind of film that enchants and enthralls. The bone-chilling, and all-the-other-adjectives-that-can-be-used kind of movie that's just replete with thrills. In the end this is one of best B-Movies that I have seen in a long time.

My Rating: 4/5

Toy Story 3

I am sorry for not posting regularly but after seeing Toy Story 3, I couldn't stop myself from posting about it. I still remember the day when my father took me to the cinema to watch Toy Story, the movie was something that every child loved back then. Later came Toy Story 2, again it was a blast. Now after ten years comes the finale to this trilogy, I am now past my teenage years. I thought that i would not enjoy this as much as i did in my childhood but to my surprise this movie almost made me cry.

Toy Story 3 is the story of our classic and new favorite characters Woody, Buzz, Slinky, Ham, Rex and friends as they try to cope with the fact that Andy is going off to college. They haven't been played with in years and they're becoming restless. As much as they want to believe Andy will save them and keep them in the attic as Woody predicts, our beloved toys start to question his motives as college day is coming and Andy's old room is starting to deteriorate into a trash hold. Which will Andy decide upon? The plot for this movie at first glance made me very satisfied, seeing as Pixar and the writers are trying to follow the time frame we are accustomed to. Back in 1999 when Andy found his new toys Jesse and Bullseye, he was still a child with imagination and joy to play with these toys. Ten years later, he is no longer a child but grown into a graduating senior who is ready to venture off the college for the first time. This plot is a classic scenario that new-bound college teens deal with on their moving date: whether or not to give up hold on our childish bonds. It's time to grow up sometime. This plot grabbed me in easily. As the rest of the movie continued, Pixar led us on a classic Toy Story adventure.

There where some really funny scenes such as the scene where Ken and Barbie meet for the first time and of course the scene when Buzz is reset and becomes El Buzzo and dances to salsa music with Jesse. In the whole this a movie for all ages and is definitely gonna grab some Oscars this year.

My Rating: 5/5 

North by Northwest (A Classic Thriller)

Yesterday night I saw the film North By Northwest, one of the classic thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock. This is the first time I am seeing this movie. Even though I haven't seen many Hitchcock films, I think I can boldly say that this is one of his best flicks of all time. And now this film is added into my favorite flicks of all time.

Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent George Kaplan by a group of foreign spies and gets kidnapped. When he tries to find out whats going on, he is framed for a murder and he sets out on a cross country run to survive and to find the real George Kaplan. Along the way he meets adventure, danger and beauty in the name of Eve Kendall played by Eva Marie Saint. However when he finds the truth, he is drawn towards a final showdown with the dangerous Phillip Vandamm played by James Mason.

Cary Grant's performance in this flick is simply awesome. One definitely falls in love wtih him or deeply envies him. He carried out his debonair manner throughout the film. Jessie Royce Landis stars as Clara Thornhill, mother of Roger also done a great job.

The Screenplay by Ernest Lehman sets this film to be a classic thriller that it is. The Music by Bernard Herrmann adds an aditional falvour to the scenes. My favorite scenes in this film are The Crop duster chase Scene and The Auction Scene. Another plus for the film was the clever and witty dialouges. Let me quote one of my favorite dialouges in this flick. This happens in the dining car of the train.

Roger: The moment I meet an attractive woman, I have to start pretending I have no desire to make love to her.
Eve: What makes you think you have to conceal it?
Roger:  She might find the idea objectionable.
Eve: Then again, she might not.

All in all this film is a must watch flick. It has something for everyone within it: a little comedy, a little romance, great snappy dialogue and more action than any other action movie. I had a great time watching this flick. I am sure that you guys will also have an amazing time if you watch this flick.

My Rating: 4.5/5