Man watching Movies 02- March 2012

For my earlier reviews for the year, see here - January, February.

This month, due to a hectic work schedule and the arrival of family for a 2 month trip, I watched fewer movies than in the past two months. As a really rare event, I did watch a movie in theater, John Carter. I thoroughly enjoyed it and reviewed it here. Here is my brief review of all the other movies I watched in March.      J.Edgar:I will cut to the chase here. This was a disappointment. I am a big fan of Clint's movies and also a big fan of Leo's recent movie outings. I am also a sucker for political thrillers/dramas. J.Edgar promised a heady mix of all three. I was at one point contemplating a trip to the theater to watch this. Instead I ended up watching it on VOD. It was disappointing. My primary complaint was the pacing of the movie. Events unfold at a fairly quick pace given the eventful life of J.Edgar Hoover but the movie doesn't reflect the dynamic nature of the protagonist. Leo does his best in getting into the skin of the polarizing figure that was J.Edgar. Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts and Judi Dench pitch in with some good acting but the movie feels flat. Even the dramatic climax ends up being less of a climax and more of an eventuality.Rating: 6/10Watch it hereon Amazon Instant Video.          Columbiana:Just as J.Edgar was an unexpected disappointment, Columbiana was an unexpected cheap thrill. It was on sale on Amazon Instant Video for 99c and promised start to finish action. My two past outings with Zoe Saldana were both pleasant- Avatar and Star Trek. So I had reasonable confidence in her turn as the prime protagonist here. I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. It is a revenge tale that feels very much Indian really. Zoe Saldana turns in a pretty nice role that requires her to display her action chops. The action is non-stop and gets fairly bloody at times. If you are looking for a good time pass action movie, I definitely recommend this one.Rating: 7.5/10.Watch it hereon Amazon Instant Video.       Fast Five:I had enjoyed the first two outings of the Fast and Furious franchise and was hoping the thrills were all done with the second. Apparently not. There was a forgettable third and middling forth, both of which I thankfully skipped. The return of much of the original cast including Paul Walker and Vin Diesel got my interested in the fifth. I was not disappointed. The plot was harebrained and the acting was pretty lousy. The action most certainly compensated for them though. From start to end, there is non stop driving thrills to be had on this one. Keep your brains at the bedside table and enjoy the ride.Rating: 7.5/10.          Tower Heist: I had minimal expectations from this movie. It was supposed to be a heist caper, a genre I am quite fond of. Brett Ratner, of Rush Hour fame is known to make decent masala action comedies. This was supposed to be one such. Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matt Broderick and Alan Alda have all done reasonably well in comedies so there was some hope. The movie turned out to be a damp squib. It was pretty boring and the comic caper was neither funny or a decent caper. Pretty average fare, really.Rating: 5.5/10.Watch it hereon Amazon Instant Video.          Larry Crowne:I started with the review of a disappointing movie and I will wrap up with one. The pitch was irresistible- Tom Hanks (acting and directing), Julia Roberts, and topical plot of job loss and its aftermath in today's economy. What was not to get excited about?. If there was one actor whose chick flick outings were pleasant it was Tom Hanks'. He has a sense of believability of your everyday American that is rare. I went into this thinking I would get a funny yet introspective look at a middle aged man losing the only job he knows and how he copes with it. What I got instead was a cliche ridden, almost unrealistic and saccharine story that had no semblance of logic or a cohesive plot. Definitely disappointing. Hope Hanks can get back his mojo again. His last few movies have been pretty boring and unexciting to say the least.Rating: 6/10.Watch it hereon Amazon Instant Video.