Language:

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Cast: Renée Zellweger, Bradley Cooper, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane

Director: Christian Alvart

Music: Michl Britsch

Reasons to watch: You absolutely have nothing else to do.

Reasons not to watch: You wouldn’t want to verbally abuse yourself would you? Well that is just what you might end up doing for watching this movie.

Storyline: The Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger plays Emily Jenkins, a social worker whose attempts to save a young girl from abuse turns out to be a dreadful misconception.

Emily Jenkins comes across a case of child abuse by the Sullivans and decides to pay them a visit. After having made some sort of conversation with the psycho household, Emily is convinced that there is something worrisome about this case but she does not have enough evidence to prove her point. The same night she takes Detective Mike Barron (Ian McShane) into confidence and goes to check on the Sullivans’. There she finds Margaret and Edward Sullivan trying to cook their daughter in an oven. She takes parental custody of Lillith and the Sullivans are sent to a rehab center for the mentally challenged.

Soon enough, Emily is surrounded by tragic deaths of her loved ones which include Detective Mike Barron and Douglas J. Ames (Bradley Cooper). With Lillith’s behaviour overtly suspicious, Emily visits the deserted Sullivan household only to realize that the psychotic Sullivans were actually trying to do everyone a favor by cooking her for dinner!

Climax Handling: What climax??

Points: Bradley Cooper is wasted in the movie. The whole movie is a royal waste of time. Watch The Orphan instead.

Rating: 4/10

Comments: The tag line says it all – Some cases should never be opened. Definitely don’t open this one.

1. The Book of Eli

Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals

Release Date: January 15th 2010

Summary: Denzel Washington is a lone warrior who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Gary Oldman has been set to portray the autocrat of a small expedient town who’s determined to take possession of the book in Eli’s guarding.

2. Extraordinary Measures

Director: Tom Vaughan

Cast: Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell, Courtney B. Vance

Release Date: January 22nd 2010

Summary: This is the story of a biotechnology executive and his wife, who hire a research scientist and defy all odds to pursue a cure for the life threatening Pompe disease in order to save the lives of their affected children.

3. I love you Phillip Morris

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Release Date: February 5th 2010

Summary: I love you Phillip Morris is a fact-based film about Steven Russell, a married father and also a convict in jail. The story is about his mad love for his male cell-mate, who eventually gets freed and Steven’s four time escapades from Texas prisons to meet his love.

4. The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Kiran Shah, Art Malik

Release Date: February 12th 2010

Summary: Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is a haunted nobleman and the disappearance of his brother lures him into his family estate. Reunited with his resentful father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out in search of his brother’s whereabouts which leads him to realize his ghastly destiny. Inspired by a yesteryear horror classic, The Wolfman might just bring the classic definition of ‘haunting’ back.

5. Shutter Island

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Release Date: February 19th 2010

Summary: Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

6. Alice in Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: March 5th 2010

Summary: An imaginary sequel to Lewis Caroll’s classic, Alice returns to Wonderland at 17. As she makes her way through, she realizes that the place has changed since her last visit. A change that she least expected — a sparely haunted, disordered and overrun Wonderland.

7. Green Zone

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Release Date: March 12th 2010

Summary: The successful duo that gave us two of the three roller coaster hits in The Bourne Series is back. Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up again for Green Zone which depicts the U.S led regime in Iraq. Matt Damon is a warrant officer who stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up by his own people as he goes in search of weapons of mass destruction believed to be hoarded in the Iraqi desert.

8. Clash of the Titans

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton

Release Date: March 26th 2010

Summary: Based on the 1981 film bearing the same name, Clash of the Titans is a story about the transcendental encounter over power between men and Gods. With the Gods fighting amongst themselves, darkness and destruction looms large which could very well destroy the world. Perseus (Sam Worthington) who is halfman-halfGod strives hard to save his family from Hades, the bloodthirsty and vindictive God of the underworld.

9. Ironman 2

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle

Release Date: May 7th 2010

Summary: Having disclosed his Iron Man identity to the public, Tony Stark the billionaire inventor is reluctant to share his scientific know-hows with the military. But, forces beyond his control hatch a devious plan against him.

10. Robin Hood

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Mark Strong, Russell Crowe, Kate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfadyen

Release Date: May 14th 2010

Summary: The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore. Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.

11. Shrek Forever After

Director: Mike Mitchell

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

Release Date: May 21st 2010

Summary: A sick and tired Shrek (Mike Myers) who seems to have lost his ‘ogre’ self, gets duped by Rumpelstiltskin who promises to restore Shrek’s ‘original’ self. This takes Shrek to an awry and perverse Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin is the King and ogres are the hunted. Moreover, the most disorienting fact is that Shrek and Fiona have never met in that kingdom. So, Shrek begins to materialize his efforts by trying to restore the actual Far Far Away and regain his true love.

12. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: Based on the popular video game, Prince of Persia is set in medieval Persia where a bold and daring prince joins hands with an emulous princess to find a time-manipulating dagger which is the only means of stopping an angry Grand Vizier who wishes to destroy the world by unleashing a huge sandstorm.

13. Sex and the City 2

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: It is an upcoming sequel to the 2008 movie, Sex and the City. The movie is in production stage right now and is slated for a May 2010 release. It comes with the tag-line “Carrie On” which is a sort of a pun in comparison to the “Get Carried Away” for the previous movie.

14. The A-Team

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson, Jessica Biel

Release Date: June 11th 2010

Summary: Having been framed for a crime that they never committed and now in the U.S military’s most wanted list, four Iraq War veterans look to clear their names with the U.S military. But yet, they are forced to go on a run. The movie is based on a 1980 classic action-comedy TV series that tickled the funny bone of an entire nation.

15. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Director: David Slade

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene

Release Date: June 30th 2010

Summary: Victoria is still on the run and is out to avenge James’ death. With the previous movie New Moon just ending in a standstill, Eclispe may just answer all the questions that were left unanswered. Meanwhile Bella’s feelings for Jacob leave her torn apart in this love triangle.

16. The Last Airbender

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel

Release Date: July 2nd 2010

Summary: Based on a Nickelodeon TV series, The Last Airbender is about the dangerous journey of a hesitant young child who strives to bring unity in a war torn world where civilization exists as four mighty empires.

17. Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

Release Date: July 16th 2010

Summary: After giving us the biggest hit of 2008 in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan returns with the story that is said to explore the architecture of the human mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a higher up executive who gets himself involved in a blackmailing scandal.

18. The Expendables

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts

Release Date: August 13th 2010

Summary: “The Expendables” is a story that follows a team of mercenaries whose task is to infiltrate and overthrow a dictatorial regime in South America. With an impressive starcast, this movie has already set the verbal “hyperboles” rolling.

19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One

Director: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: November 19th 2010

Summary: With Dumbledore gone and darkness spreading, it is up to Harry, Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes and destroy his soul completely. In their quest for the horcruxes, they stumble upon the mystical three ‘Deathly Hallows’ which they will need to succeed in their endeavour.

20. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Director: Michael Apted

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet

Release Date: December 10th 2010

Summary: Aboard The Dawn Treader, a wondrous Narnian ship captained by King Caspian; Edmund and Lucy along their irksome cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves headed for the very edges of the world in a journey encountering dragons, slave traders and merefolk.

10. Siva Manasula Sakthi

Director: Rajesh

Cast: Jeeva, Anuya, Santhanam

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Points: This ‘hyped’ entertainer just managed to tickle the funny bone in patches and was worth a few laughs, but nothing more. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja was a big hit.

9. Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu

Director: Susinthiran

Cast: Vishnu Vishal, Saranya Mohan, Kishore

Music: V. Selvaganesh

Points: With an entire cast of new-comers, director Susinthiran scored a hit. The individual characters rendered lasting performances. With a shocker of a climax, an excellent ensemble cast and script, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu scored a match-point.

8. Yavarum Nalam

Director: Vikram Kumar

Cast: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra

Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Tubby, Parik

Points: For all those who associated Madhavan with mushy romance, Yavarum Nalam was a complete volte-face. With a strong performance oriented role, Madhavan was bang-up on the job. It turned out to be a big break for Vikram Kumar who made a killing out of this movie which was also released in Bollywood as 13B.

7. Peranmai

Director: S. P. Jananathan

Cast: Jayam Ravi, Roland Kickinger,Vasundra, Saranya, Varsha, Tanusika, Liyasree, Oorvasi

Music: Vidyasagar

Points: What makes director S. P. Jananathan chalk up such storylines? After a brilliant directorial debut in Ee, he comes up with this oddball movie. This movie, though it did not serve the interests of all types of audiences, will remain in the memories of all those who watched it because it’s essence is ‘hard work’. Right from the director to every individual member of the cast has toiled it out in the Deccan jungles. Brave effort — That’s why it is here.

6. Naan Kadavul

Director: Bala

Cast: Arya, Pooja

Music: Ilaiyaraaja

Points: Naan Kadavul continues Bala’s winning streak that began with Sethu. Having chosen a very ritzy and productive subject like he always does, Bala throws reality at your face that could make you feel restless with a sense of discomfort. The movie was certainly a landmark for both Arya and Pooja.

5. Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru

Director: Nandhini

Cast: Ajmal Ameer, Rupa Manjeri

Music: Mani Sharma

Points: Does it satisfy the premise of a contorted kidnapping plot? Yes, in a way. With two hours of senseless, schizophrenic laughter and smothered romance, this movie was a feel good entertainer that kept me wanting the movie to go on.

4. Pasanga

Director: Pandiraj

Cast: Vimal, Vega Tamotia, Kishore, Sriram

Music: James Vasanthan

Points: Pasanga is a masterpiece. Movies about children have always been a rare and neglected genre in Tamil cinema which is a commercialized tinsel town. The movie comes with a big heart and an important message. It is a must watch, because movies of this kind are a rarity and Pasanga comes in the line of movies like Veyil, Paruthi Veeran and Subramaniapuram that are changing the scene in Kollywood.

3. Eeram

Director: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Nandha, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan

Music: Thaman

Points: Rationalism, originality, vigor — Eeram scores in all these POVs. The best part is that it actually makes you cling to the edge of the seat most of the time. No mean feat, considering the limitations of mainstream Tamil cinema.

2. Unnaipol Oruvan

Director: Chakri Toleti

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Ganesh Venkatraman, Anuja Iyer

Music: Shruthi Haasan

Points: Quintessentially Kamal! The starcast works wonders for the project. Unnaipol Oruvan surprises you and is a bizarrely fascinating movie. Though one can say that A Wednesday was definitely better in the ‘whole-movie’ aspect, the expectations in Tamil cinema are poles apart from Bollywood.

1. Nadodigal

Director: Samuthirakani

Cast: Sasikumar, Vijay Vasanth, Ananya,Bharani, Abhinaya

Music: Sundar C Babu

Points: Every character has lived under the skin of characterization in the movie. It is nowhere near Subramaniapuram in terms of intensity, but with a logical storyline and realistic depiction of relationships, it consumes you into it’s screenplay. Nadodigal is unquestionably not only the best tamil movie of 2009, but also one of the finest films Tamil cinema has ever produced.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Director: Martin Scorsese

Official Site: http://www.shutterisland.com/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Capsule Look:

Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat & their camcorder.

Director: Oren Peli

Reasons to watch: Promises to scare the shit out of you.

Reasons not to watch: NOT for the weak-hearted!

Storyline: A young American couple, Katie and Micah realize that there are strange things happening (aka paranormal activity) in their house at night when they are asleep/trying to get some sleep. This is a typical case of human beings’ inquisitive nature catching up with them – Micah decides to capture the paranormal activity engulfing his house on film by using a camcorder. This goes on as a routine and every following night just gets worse. They consult a psychic who tells them that leaving the house would only make the entity follow Katie and warns them not to ever communicate with the spirit/demon/shape or whatever it is. ‘Stupid’ Micah does just that by getting an Ouija board only to find a message from ‘Our ghost’ on it. Consequentially, one thing leads to another and Mr.Demonic Entity gets pissed that he decides to end it…… right away.

This ‘Found Footage’ movie by Oren Peli has turned out to be a huge grosser. The director makes effective use of loud thuds, squeaking doors and constant banging sounds to provide the audience with a totally different genre of horror like The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine.

Climax Handling: Pops up lots of questions in the mind. Oren Peli maintains the jittery mode with a subtle eeriness till the end which binds the audience with lots of expectation.

Points:

Micah: Come on Katie; let’s get the f@#k outta this house. NOW!!!
Katie: I don wanna go….I don wanna leave….Please stay with me….Just trust me….I don wanna go….I don wanna leave….We ll be ok. I think it’s better if we stay.
Micah: F@#kin…. I don know what the hell is goin on, but this is insane!F@#K!!! (Walks off)
Katie: (Gives a long good stare at the camera) I think we ll be ok now. (Keeps smiling)

Rating: 8.5/10

Comment: This fright flick messes with your head. The message is simple – NEVER mess with the supernatural.

Language

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

Cast: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú

Direction: Guillermo del Toro

Music: Javier Navarrete. Very impactful. Will especially help you because you have to read what is being spoken. Beautiful score.

Reasons to watch: Academy award winning movie with awesome CGI graphics. And very terrifying.

Reasons not to: Subtitles

Storyline: A little girl, Ofelia in Fascist Spain. Her pregnant mother, and stepfather, Captain Vidal, who is ruthless and cold. Dark spanish woods. Her fairy tales. The cruelties of the general. His success in finishing off the Spanish Maquis guerillas. The little girl’s fairy tale turns real. She meets a fairy in the woods. She meets a faun. She is given some tasks by him. He tells her that she is actually the princess of a land left far, far behind. She can return when she proves she is worthy of being a princess. Her mother dies. The housekeeper, Mercedes takes care of her, but she is not allowed to. Ofelia runs away to her fairy land. She is demanded the blood of her infant brother. And only that will make her fairy tale come true. Will Ofelia be able to escape? Will this be a price she would pay?

Climax Handling: It is beautiful if you see the point. The point is hard to get in such extreme voilence. It could really have been more subtle and then extremely beautiful.

Points: 1. Extreme Violence.

2. Ofelia: Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone… forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time.

Rating: 7/10

Comment: Watch if you can bear to watch it. Very graphic.

Genre: Drama/Horror/Fantasy

Cast: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst

Direction: Neil Jordan

Music: Elliot Goldenthal’s score is dark and beautiful, with a special ‘Sympathy for the devil’ performed by Guns’n’Roses

Reasons to watch: A super ensemble of some of the finest actors in Hollywood, an excellent book-adaptation and top-notch performances, superb art direction.

Reasons not to: Too much blood and gore at times.

Storyline: A young journalist (Christian Slater) follows a man through the streets of San Francisco one night and ends up interviewing a 200-year old Vampire. His name is Louis De Pointe Du Lac (Brad Pitt), owner of a plantation, born in 18th century New Orleans, who has lost his will to live to the many misfortunes that shroud his life. His life changes when Lestat De Lioncourt (Tom Cruise), a vampire, offers him companionship and a chance to live a new life. As Louis discovers the perils and disgust of his new life, and craves for another companion, someone more human, he finds solace in Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a child-vampire with an innocent and savage lust for blood.
What follows is Louis’s struggle to live a cursed life amidst his love for Claudia and his growing enmity with Lestat, interspersed with encounters with more of their kind, especially Armand (Antonio Banderas). Based on Anne Rice’s book – ‘Interview with the vampire – the vampire chronicles’; this is an engrossing tale on ways and life of the vampires, their human and cursed side alike.

Climax Handling: The climax is dramatic and shocking as the rest of the movie.

Points: A very realistic and human take on vampires, cinematic excellence in technical aspects of a movie, compelling performances by all actors

Rating: 8.5/10

Comment: Don’t miss this if you are a vampire movies lover! (Beware of brief nudity though)

Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller/Book Adaptation

Cast: Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Ellen Burstyn

Direction: William Friedkin

Music: Steve Boeddeker

Reasons to watch: Vintage horror story, shocking visuals, stupendous performances

Reasons not to: Not as bloody or gory as modern day horror films, No out of the blue scenes

Storyline: Based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist is the story of possession of Regan McNeil (Linda Blair), the 12 year old daughter of a visiting actress Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn) in Washington, D.C., by the devil himself. Living with her mother in Georgetown in Washington, she begins to exhibit strange symptoms and great violence. When all medical possibilities are exhausted, her mother is referred to a priest Father Karras (Jason Miller) who is also a psychiatrist. He becomes convinced that Regan is possessed and he and another priest, Father Lancester Merrin (Max Von Sydow), experienced in exorcism must drive the spirit from Regan before it kills her.

Climax Handling: The climax is a long drawn, gruesome battle between good and evil, the exorcism brought alive by a mixture of emotions and horror.

Points: Claimed to be one of the scariest horror movies ever, this movie shocked audiences when it was released, way back in 1973

Rating: 9/10

Comment: Horror at its subtle best. Don’t watch it alone!