Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ok, so plus points first:

Good CGI, all characters enjoy great chemistry, Iron-Man rocks, as always & Hawk Eye gets a meatier role.

Ahh and yes, that brand of self-deprecating humor, made famous by Tony Stark.

"Action" - not really! How many superheroes are going to fight amongst themselves or their creations, with utter disregard to humans and the cost of their lives? First it was Loki, now it is Ultron. Is there a theme to any of these movies? Do the bystanders have any say in all this meaningless action? (Cue: The ferry scene in The Dark Knight, the cop march in The Dark Knight Rises). Apart from the German crowd sequence in first Avengers, there is nothing worth mentioning in this regards. Joss Whedon did have some change of heart though in the end and those poor souls in Sokovia got their ride on one of the helicarriers.

To me, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies and Transformers seem the same, the only difference being that MCU has the Infinity Stones and Transformers has the AllSpark.

The only Marvel movies so far who went beyond this formula were - Iron Man 3 which was an OK film and Guardians of the Galaxy which is by far a standout from the crowd of other MCU films. And more importantly it has its heart in the right place. If you want to go for some humor with good action, this is the movie you want. Not Hulk fighting Iron-man, Thor fighting Loki. It is cool to see them face-off but ultimately it is just pointless.

Does the Age of Ultron has any effect in terms of taking ahead a plot/story for other upcoming Marvel movies. Nil, Zero. No impact whatsoever. What is the point of the mindless action then? I did enjoyed this movie while it was playing on the screen, but it had nothing to take away once I stepped out of the theater. Such a shame!

P.S. My daughter Kavya surprisingly liked the most unlikeable hero of them all – HULK, the green guy :D.

Series Review: True Detective (Season 01)

A series that strips the police procedural of all the forensic science gimmicks, shifts the focus to characters, their stories - in 2 different periods - and unravels a serial-killer mystery in a chilling manner. The series follows a pair of homicide detectives who are in the pursuit of a serial killer with strange inclinations, over a period of 17 years. The case opens in 1985, a time when the usage of computers and forensic science as a standard police procedure was still in nascent stage and ends in 2002, post CSI-evolution era.

Hats-off to Matthew McConaughey & Woody Harrelson. The banter among the two actors who play the detectives, is something that is never seen before. They dislike each other and at the same time respect each other. Not a single character is presented in clear black and white and all of them show shades of grey. The staging scene of the first murder is way too uncanny and that gets the viewer going. Episode 1 and Episode 8 (series finale) are edge of the seat stuff. The overall look and the plot is somewhat similar to Texas Killing Fields, but the series is way too good when compared to the movie.

An engaging story, excellent characterization, top-notch acting, superb directing and photography. And special mention for the opening sequence.

A must watch! Now waiting for the next season with new characters and story.

Book Review: The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Matthew Reilly, an Australian author, is well known for his fast paced action thrillers. His earlier novels - Ice Station, Area 7 and Temple - have been instant hits and are notable for twisting plots and long action sequences. He draws his inspiration from a lot of Hollywood action/Sci-fi blockbusters like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back to the Future series.

Matthew’s latest installment – The Great Zoo of China – goes into a territory that he has never ventured. The setting is rural China, the primary protagonist is a female character and the antagonists are creatures that the world believe exist only in mythologies.

Dr. Cassandra Jane ‘CJ’ Cameron, a writer for National Geographic and an expert on crocodiles is invited to preview an extra-ordinary and secret Chinese project. It is a zoo which has been in the making for 40 years. Along with her are a group of high profile VIPs and journalists which include US Ambassador to China and his assistant, who is actually an ex-CIA field agent. Chinese believe that they have created a place which is unparalleled in human history and something that will soon become an icon of Chinese culture. The zoo houses one of the greatest creatures that we thought existed only in mythology – The Dragons. The Chinese have taken elaborate measures to protect the zoo and its patrons from these predators. It also includes a drastic last resort option – A self-destruct mechanism. If you are in an action movie/book this is a perfect recipe for disaster. What can go wrong will go wrong – and wrong it goes, horribly!

It turns out that the one of the species of the dragons are super-intelligent animals who have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to seize the control of the zoo (and the world). They start executing their grand plan with schemes that go beyond the zoo boundaries, and soon metal and flesh are shredded with equal disdain. Equally treacherous are the Chinese officials who will stop at nothing to keep this failure a secret from rest of the world. So it falls upon CJ and a handful of characters to get out of the crossfire and stop the mayhem and save humanity from disaster.

The writer takes some time for exposition and it has been done in great detail with ample space given to explain the dragon mythos as well as the specifics of the zoo, done through a guided tour of the characters by the Chinese officials. Characters are introduced (to be killed later in some gruesome way). One of the USPs of Matthew Reilly’s books have been the usage of maps and 3D views of the environments in which all the action takes place, and he leaves no stone unturned in his latest story as well. Once he is done with the exposition, all the action starts and it ends only on the last page. In between there are ample high adrenaline action pieces, twists and scares and majority of the characters are killed. Recently though, Matthew Reilly has taken the artistic license too far and as such some of the sequences venture into the realm of “impossible” or “outrageous” or like in this case - “fantasy”. Sadly, this time it is too much to digest and even though the action is very good the end result is somewhat a mish-mash of ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon’.

This book is a onetime read, especially if you have never delved into action thrillers before.

Texas Killing Fields, Abduction

Texas Killing Fields
This "Whodunit?" inspired by true incidents starts in a CSI-esque manner but fails to take off due to several plot holes, loose ends and shoddy scripting. Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Chloe-Grace Moretz are wasted in what could have been an engaging thriller.

Abduction
What if one fine day you come across a website for missing children and find your childhood photograph there? And what if your so called parents are ex-CIA agents. Interesting premise? Not really. 

P.S. Taylor Lautner (Twilight) is as wooden as a log and cannot act.

Weekend Movie Watch: Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! & Furious 7

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
Though the movie is inspired from characters created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, it wholly and truly belongs to Dibakar Banerjee. Right from the "Y!" in the title everything about Byomkesh is different and the canvas conforms to DB's style of film making which comes ever so close to Guy Ritchie's.

The story and the movie indulges in some old fashioned slow paced murder-mystery. But the plot is top notch by Bollywood standards and the acting is equally good.

Ever imagined heavy metal as background score for a movie based in 1940's! It works splendidly. And BB has his own Prof. Moriarty in Yang Guang.

It's a franchise in the making! A must watch.

Furious 7
There is a fine line that all action flicks should be careful about. Because this line determines the difference between 'The Matrix' and 'Shoot Em Up'. Because this line determines the difference between a stylishly done action sequence or a nonsensical set-piece.

The makers of Fast franchise realized by the end of 4th installment that only NO2 powered cars and drifting and dragging cannot get their cash registers ringing. So they changed the formula and in came Fast 5 with an air of freshness about it. But they overdid that winning formula in Fast 6 and came perilously close to the above mentioned imaginary line. Sad to say, they totally cross it in 7. 

Apart from some handful of thrills and some real good one-liners, there is nothing great in this movie. It is over-hyped and over-rated.

RIP Paul.