Firefly - The Series & Serenity -The Movie (Review)

Firefly & Serenity - Review

These two series have been on Netflix instant play for a while now. I finally got around to watching both of them.

Half way through the series, I was really looking forward to blogging about it and telling everyone that this was a really cool series that was cut short. I was really looking forward to singing it's praises. But, unfortunately, I can't do that. 'Caus

neither the series nor the movie actually deserve that level of accolades.

They do however warrant a mention. Because it was not bad. Because it was a nice idea, there was some chemistry & well 'caus I'm a SciFi fan who has run out of Star Trek & Star Wars stuff to watch.

I had watched Buffy & Angel off and on. They had a certain flair. Firefly brought that same flair to this series as well. I guess it's the Josh Whedon touch. As a concept, Firefly is great. The earth has run out of resources so humans find other worlds to colonize. And then of course some places become richer and some poorer. Wars break out and battle lines are drawn. All make a great recipe. The best part of this series was that it was about humans in space. Not some humans with 10 other alien species mixed in.

Anyway, the series had a certain space cowboys, western feel and is quite riveting. You go from episode to episode relating to the characters,building a bond. And just when you wonder where the series is going. It get's canned. So, that takes us to the movie.

Ok. Let's take a breath. Before I talk about the Movie. Firefly on it's own according to me is 3.66/5 for a TV series. It's defiantly worth a watch - although not the best I've seen.

So, Serenity. I guess the makers had to make this movie to give some kind of a logical ending to their series, their franchise. I guess they did to that. Eventually. The movie tires to tie up the loose ends in the series. Like, what did the Alliance do to River? Who the hell is Shepard Book? And, what on earth are Refers?

Again, as a concept, the story is good. But the execution is poor. The movie takes very long to get going and by the time it does, you are ready for it to end. To give it credit. It does end well. The closing plot is very good and the acting does get better as the movie moves along. But, since it's a movie, I'll have to say it's just average. 2.5/5 for Serenity.

I think, if you have some spare time on your hands & you like SciFi, you can do worse than Firefly & Serenity. I'd say just watch Firefly, but that makes no sense, you'll want to know how it ends. So take the good with the bad and watch both. You may not regret it. :)

Rahul.

The Blind Side - Movie on DVD Review

The Blind Side

A movie about a gentle Giant. A simple story about a boy and his mother. Micheal Oher is a boy from the tough side of town who gets a chance to join a private school. As he struggles to make use of this opportunity and do well in school, he is noticed by a woman named Leigh Ann Tuohy. She realizes that he's homeless and gives him a bed for the night. She feels for him and she has him stay with her and tries to ensure that the family takes him as one of their own. Over time grows as she takes him as her son. The teachers in the school and Leigh Ann help Micheal with his studies and over time, he becomes eligible to play Football for the school.

Don't expect too many twists and turns, this is just the story of one boy and his mama. What makes it really beautiful is when you realize that it's a true story. What it must have been like for the actual Leigh Ann & her family. How the bond between them was as close as any Mother and son. I really liked this simple story. It's defiantly worth a watch.

Sandra Bullock - She's the star of the movie, and she plays the role with a lot of conviction. You can really relate to the character, the way she has portrayed her as a no nonsense, loving and determined woman. This role deserved all the accolades that it received.

Quinton Aaron - He's the gentlest big guy on screen. He plays the role of Big Mike really well and you feel for this young boy, even though he looks twice my size. His determination, his love for his family, the way he just wants to please everyone. Beautifully performed role.

For the simple truth - 4/5.

Rahul.

IRON MAN 2 - REVIEW

IRON MAN - 2

So where did the last movie leave off. Oh yeah that's right, Tony Stark says he's Iron Man. OK, I thought they'd find a way around that and say that it didn't really happen. I was also dreading what this movie would be. I thought it would just be a money spinner. A cheesy rip-off of the first movie. But, I was wrong it was actually better.

The movie picks up with the Government asking Tony to hand over the Iron Man suit. I think you can guess how that request goes down. :) But from there on, the plot is stitched beautifully, with Ivan Vanko plotting and scheming to take Iron Man down. As with most Downey movies, you see his character fall down only to get up again better than before (not to be read as the bad guy wins - watch the movie, you'll understand - I'm not giving you the story).

How's the movie? It's great. The story is actually pretty good and it's different from other superhero movies and that's 'caus the hero is such an ass. Now if they could only find him some actual villains to fight Iron Man, the movie would actually get interesting. Really, Mickey Rourke just can't act. I'm glad he plays the Russian Ivan Vanko in the movie, that way he does not have too many lines. For the few that he has I don't think he does them justice.

I like Robert Downey Jr. I like his attitude and the way he portrays Tony Stark, and frankly he's the only shining light in the movie as far as acting goes. Oh no, wait. There was one more actor in this movie worth mentioning. Scarlett Johansson. She plays Stark's lawyer/bodyguard - and although she's got a very small role in the movie she plays it really well.

Don Cheadle finally gets to wear the suit and some of the scenes with him and Iron Man are quite cool. Especially in the big fight in the end. Ok, so now we have Iron Man's side kick as well. So what next? Iron Man 3? Or do we go straight to the Avengers ?

RATING : 3.75 on 5... (I'm not giving it a 4 because they should have made the Villain a bit more dangerous)

Rahul.

Note of congratulations to self :)

My 100th published Blog post. Wow, that took a long time.

I had similar blog about 3 years ago when I posted my 50th . I thought this would have come much sooner. Well I guess with me just blogging with reviews it does slow things down. Anyway - I'm going to keep going. I hope people keep reading.

Kick-Ass (Movie) Review

KICK ASS

Kick Ass, is a good 2 hours of Blood, Gore and Fun. It's about a teenage kid who decides to become a superhero. As he starts getting his ass kicked, he meets Hit Girl(Chloe Moretz), a 11 year old super hero is the real star of the movie. She fights crime with her father Big Daddy(Nicholas Cage).

Where Chloe's performance is brilliant and refreshing, Cage's performance was nothing short of terrible, he's literally wheezing through the performance. Chloe literally carries the movie & this pint sized superhero is one amazing act. Aaron Johnson who plays the role of Kick-Ass, is really just the narrator of the story, with a geeky goofy superhero thrown in here and there.

I'd say watch the movie, just because it's fun & I've not seen a movie worth watching in the theater's for a long time now. This is not a classic, but a lot of fun. 3/5.

Rahul

IPL on YouTube

I was really excited when I came to know that IPL would be available on You Tube and that they would be streaming the matches live was even better. But, then I heard that the matches would not be available in the US. That was a crushing blow... I thought that we would get to watch the IPL matches live. That would have been fun. Anyway, we at least got a consolation prize with the upload of highlights. Something is better than nothing I guess. A 3 hour game in 30 Mins is not so bad.

IPL On You Tube!

Rahul

Luck By Chance - Movie On DVD Review

As promised, here's the review for Luck By Chance. Another Hindi Film Industry story... It's a light story which goes along expected lines. Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma play their respective roles as usual with ease. I have never found myself thinking that they put an effort into acting or that their performances are over the top.

It's the canned, cliched and used a million times story of struggling actors and their life in the Hindi film industry. The movie centers on the life of Vikram Jai Singh , a theater actor, from Delhi and Sona, a bits and pieces actor, in Mumbai. It's the story of what happens when one of them gets the big break. The movie portrays so many of the movie industry's story lines and gossip in a very light and funny way. The movie is a satire while having a nice flowing story line. The number of special appearances from each and every actor in the industry was a bit too much. I guess I enjoyed this movie because I was sitting at home and this was a way to kill time and have a few laughs. There's not much story to write about here. By now, I'm sure you must have figured out the entire story. If you are bored one evening and don't know what to do, you could do much much worse than watching Luck By Chance. It's solid time pass. :)

I'd say 3/5...

Rahul