Movie Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel

After the brilliance Wes Anderson portrayed in Moonrise Kingdom, he is back with yet another gem "The Grand Budapest Hotel". The movie involves smartly written dialogues along with a simple yet intriguing script. 

Source: sameliasmum.com

The movie revolves around two main characters namely Zero, the Lobby Boy (played by Tony Revolori) and M. Gustave (played by Ralph Fiennes). M.Gustave manages The Grand Budapest Hotel and is a unique character for whom the reputation of the hotel is everything. On the other hand Zero is a Lobby Boy who would go to any extent to help his boss M.Gustave.

All the Characters in the Movie (Source: sameliasmum.com)

The movie is about the character Mr. Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) narrating the story of M. Gustave. Gustave being a famous and attractive man (atleast to the older women) uses his charismatic persona on the women he meets and ends up making a lot of friends.

The story develops when Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), who loves Gustave dies and it is believed that her death is not out of natural circumstances but someone has murdered her. As the blame falls on Gustave, it is upto him and the Lobby boy Zero to prove his innocence and to find out who the murderer is. What follows is a ride filled with laughter.

The best scene of the movie (Source: oneroomwithaview)

The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that nothing is overdone. The director and the actors have made sure that they have kept it simple. The scenarios and situations that develop throughout the movie bring out humor. The acting is brilliant with outstanding performances by Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori. They are well supported by the likes of 20 year old Saoirse Ronan, who plays Agatha, Zero's love interest.

Other actors such as Adrein Brody (playing the character of Dmitri) and Willem Dafoe (playing the character of Jopling) handle their parts well too. The scenes where Ralph and Tony share the screen are hilarious and the chemistry between them will make you fall in love with their characters.

Ralph and Tony in a scene from the movie (Source: emertainmentmonthly)

Plenty of times we come across movies that are not promoted too well but when you watch these movies you are so impressed with them that you wonder why the promotion fell short. The Grand Budapest Hotel is one such movie that might not have received too much TV time but it will surely receive its share of critical acclaim. A movie that is totally worth watching. The movie is set to release in UAE on May 8, 2014.

Rating:     9/10
Runtime: 100 minutes
Trailer:     http://youtu.be/1Fg5iWmQjwk

Movie Review: The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

Walter Mitty is a larger than life movie with Ben Stiller playing the main lead. The movie revolves around the character of Walter Mitty, an individual who wants to achieve a lot in life but has failed to do so. He lives a simple life and keeps disappearing into a fantasy world where he dreams of himself as a hero.

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Walter works as a photo negative archiver at Life Magazine. He is head over heels for Cheryl Melhoff (played by Kristen Wig), a colleague from office but he is too scared to tell this to her. The only time he manages to share these feelings with her is in his world of fantasy.

Source: Amazon Web Services

The story starts to develop when Ted Hendricks (played by Adam Scott) steps in. Ted, called in for restructuring informs the staff that Life Magazine would be publishing its last magazine. Ted tells the staff that he would be firing plenty of individuals as a part of restructuring. From his few meetings, Ted forms an opinion of Walter as a day dreamer. Things get worse as Walter loses Sean O'Connell (played by Sean Penn), a famous photographer's negative which would be the cover of Life Magazine's final issue.

Walter Mitty in His Fantasy World (Source: Youtube.com)

In order to solve the issue, Walter decides to go looking for Sean. As known to the world, Sean is no easy man to trace. It is during this trip from the vicious oceans to an active volcano to the Himalayas that Walter discovers his true self. Does he find the negative? Go watch the movie and find it out for yourself.

There are plenty of adventurous scenes in the movie along with moments that one can relate to as an individual. Ben Stiller is excellent in his role as Walter Mitty and the scenes from his fantasy world are pretty hilarious. Kristen Wig has a small part to play in the movie and she does justice to her role.

Time for Some Adventure (Source: MSN)

Kathryn Hahn as Odessa Mitty (Walter's sister) and Shirley MacLaine as Odessa Mitty (Walter's mother) are good too. When with Ben Stiller on screen, they do feel like a close knit family who care for each other. Other supporting cast is good too without anyone having to try extra hard to please the audience. The story does have it lows but those parts are minimal.

The movie is a larger than life movie which makes every individual to believe in their dreams once again. It is one of those movies from which you will come out with a smile on your face.

Rating:    7.5/10
Runtime: 114 minutes
Trailer:     http://youtu.be/kGWO2w0H2V8

Movie Review: We're The Millers

Get ready to laugh your hearts out as Jason Sudeikis teams up with Jennifer Aniston once again after the success of Horrible Bosses. However this time around, they also have Emma Roberts and Will Poulter as a part of their team. We're the Millers is a 15+ comedy movie directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who is known for his 2004 success Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

Source: Rope of Silicon

David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is a small pot dealer who goes around town selling weed with the weirdest names one can think of. He keeps a low profile to stay away from trouble and has some morality if you may say when it comes to drug dealing. He does not deal with kids. Jeniffer Aniston plays the character of Rose'O Reilly, a neighbour of David Clark. Rose works as a stripper and has a problematic life when it comes to finances.

Will Poulter plays Kenny Rossmore, a kid who resides in the same building as David. Will's problem is his behaviour with girls. Will gets nervous whenever he comes in front of girls and does not know how to react. Casey Mathis (played by Emma Roberts) is a homeless girl who has presumably runaway from her house. She roams the streets during day time and crashes at her friends' houses at nights.

A shot from the movie with all four leads (Source: Madison Movie)

Things go wrong when Casey encounters thugs and Will jumps in to save her. Will not being the strongest of kids is no match for the thugs. Eventually David steps in to save both Casey and Will. It is due to this encounter that David's apartment is raided and all his cash and drugs are taken away.

The stolen money belongs to Brad Gurdlinger (played by Ed Helms) who gives David a chance to save his life by smuggling drugs from Mexico to USA. David being in a tight spot accepts the offer. What follows is a crazy plan for smuggling the drugs. David, Rose, Kenny and Casey come together to act as the Miller family in order to make the plan a success and get their cut.

The Millers run into a Mexican Cop (Source: Ace Showbiz)

During the course of the trip, various characters are introduced and the Millers go through lots of ups and downs. Some of the characters that make their mark include Nick Offerman as Don Fitzgerald and Matthew Willig as One-Eye. It is during the trip that the four main characters start bonding and caring for each other.

The trip is fun and with the involvement of a spider, another family on a trip to Mexico and a Mexican mafia who is out to get his drug stock back, it just gets crazier. There are plenty of hilarious scenes in the movie and most of the jokes are adult jokes, which is pretty much expected given the movie's rating.

Reacting to an accident (Source: Black Film)

Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston do justice to their resepective roles. Emma Roberts has also managed to give a good performance in the movie. However, English actor Will Poulter steals the show. The character of Will is a well written one and he has ensured to give his best.

With a runtime of just under 2 hours, the movie is just about the correct length. We're The Millers is recommended if you are looking to release some stress and have a good laugh.

Rating:    8/10
Runtime: 110 minutes
Trailer:    http://youtu.be/0Vsy5KzsieQ

Movie Review: The Heat

What happens when you put a rule abiding individual with one who has no respect for the rulebook whatsoever together? Well if you say chaos, loads of fun and definitely craziness, you are correct. The Heat has all this and lots more. 

(Source: Huffington Post)

Starring Sandra Bullock as FBI Agent Sarah Ashburn and Melissa McCarthy as Boston Cop Shannon Mullins, The Heat is an R-Rated comedy movie with some amount of action and a lot of wacky dialogues. Sarah Ashburn is a smart FBI Agent who loves to follow the rule book but knows little about making friends. On the other hand, Shannon Mullins is a crazy cop who doesn't mind breaking the law herself in order to protect the neighbourhood she lives in.

As a drug dealer hits the streets of Boston, Sarah is transferred to Boston to solve the case. The case is important to Sarah as solving it could be her only chance to get promoted. As she reaches Boston and starts working on it, she realizes that it would not be an easy task. Since Shannon is in love with her neighbourhood, it means that she stands in the way of Sarah.

(Source: Digital Journal)

At first, Sarah and Shannon don't go along well, their personalities being the obvious reason. As they realize that things would be better working together, they somehow manage to put their differences aside for a bit.

The case which seems simple at the start, gets complicated as things unfold. The series of events that follow are fun to watch. The small fights between Sarah and Shannon are hilarious and the dialogues are crazy. Since the movie is R-Rated, let me tell you the language used in certain portions of the movie are vulgar. The bar scene where both the characters go wild and crazy is fun to watch.

Drunk and tired (Source: Inside Movies)

The storyline might not be the strongest but the dialogues are good. Sandra Bullock proves yet again why she is a wonderful actress. Melissa McCarthy however steals the show here. Not only is her comic timing amazing but her dialogue delivery and acting skills must be praised. 

Marlon Wayans has a short supporting role in the movie and plays his part well. Dan Bakkedahl as the Albino undercover cop is hilarious and his scenes with Sandra and Melissa will leave you at the edge of your seat. Demian Bitchir, Michael Rapaport and Thomas F. Wilson have done justice to their role as supporting actors in the movie.

Overall the movie is worth a watch, especially if you haven't laughed your hearts out for a while.

Rating:    8/10
Runtime: 117 mins.

Trailer:    http://youtu.be/ST16k80bDYE

Movie Review: Monsters University

If you have watched Monsters Inc., you would know that Mike Wazowski (voice by Billy Crystal) and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (voice by John Goodman) are best friends. They work together at Monsters Inc. and are the best employees. The question is was it always like this? Were they always best friends? Well Monsters University (MU) gives you the answers to all these questions.

(Source: Schmoesknow)

The first 20 minutes of the movie focus on Mike and his dream. Mike is a hardworking monster who has a dream to make it to Monsters Inc., however being a cute looking monster he faces a lot of difficulties right from school days. He is teased for small size and his non-scary looks.

All this however does not dishearten Mike but only pushes him to become more focused, dedicated and work towards his only goal in life, the goal to be a Scarer. The dedication and hard work eventually pays off and Mike makes it to the Monsters University.

Mike is excited to be at Monsters University (Source: Writingderrick)

Mike is excited to be at the Monsters University since it means that he is one step closer to his dreams. What he doesn't know though is that things for him at the University are not different to school. He has to struggle to build an image but what is more annoying for him is Sulley, a monster with a scary look and a family history of scary monsters.

What Mike had to work for, Sulley got without any efforts whatsoever. Since Sulley doesn't value this and is arrogant, Mike and Sulley start off on bad terms. The fights seem to continue between the two and the dislike for each other keeps growing. There a number of scenes in the movie which show a face-off between the two lead characters.

Mike and Sulley face off (Source: Pixartimes)

Finally there comes a time when Mike and Sulley have to work together in a team for the Scare Games. The team Mike and Sulley form with a few other "non-scary" monsters is nothing but a team of misfits called Oozma Kappa (reminded me of The Internship). What follows are the Scare Games.

The Scare Games teaches each of the members a lot about themselves and about other team members thereby strengthening the bond between them. How the games unfold and how things eventually fall into place is something you would like to see for yourself.

Mike at the Scare Games Competition Counter (Source: Thesevensees)

The Monsters University introduces a number of new monsters, each having their own style and abilities. The way each of them has been distinguished just amazes you. Pixar has put a lot of effort in designing each of these characters. The flow of the story is good and it is difficult to find any loose ends. There is humor, emotions and a lot of fun moments. There are a few slow parts but they don't hurt the movie or the plot.

What Monsters University manages to do is give enough space to each of the characters without losing its focus from the main characters. The end of the movie ensures that it links to the start of the Monsters Inc., thus ensuring that its purpose of being a prequel is served. Monsters University might not be at the same level as its predecessor but is not a movie to be missed if you like animated movies.

Rating:     7/10
Runtime:  110 mins.
Trailer:     http://youtu.be/xBzPioph8CI 

Movie Review: The Internship

The last time Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn came together, they created a fun flick called Wedding Crashers. I don't think anyone can forget that. Owen and Vince get back together once again after 8 years for The Internship.

(Source: Screeninvasion)

The story begins with Nick (Owen Wilson) and Billy (Vince Vaughn) finding out that their company is shutting down and they have no jobs. Being experienced sales personnel, both begin to look for jobs. While Nick gets his hands on one, Billy has other ideas.

Billy convinces Nick to join him for an interview for an internship with Google. As they manage to get through it, not being tech savvy is just one of the challenges that they have to face.

A shot from the movie (Source: GooglePlus)

The story revolves around how Billy and Nick manage their time at Google and the challenges they face during this time. Not only do they have to overcome these obstacles, they have to even win a competition in order to get a permanent job at Google. Being a bit too old for the young crowd, all they manage is to become a part of a "team of misfits" (for the competition).

Do they manage to overcome these challenges? Do the other team members accept them? Do they manage to get the jobs? Well, that is something for you to find out. 

Billy and Nick play the Google version of Quidditch (Source: Timeinc)

From the internship interview to questions like "Should you have a beer with your boss?" and Google's own version of Quidditch; the movie has several funny bits.

One would think that a movie with Google would be an over the top, technological based one. However this is not the case with the Internship. It is a light hearted, fun movie with more focus on human relationships than technology. The movie also focusses on the culture at Google. We get to see how the Google office looks, with a number of scenes shot in different areas of the office.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, pull off good performances as always. The storyline and dialogues lift the movie. Tia Sircar, Rose Byrne, Tobit Raphael, Max Minghella, Aasif Mandvi and a few other actors have been used aptly in supporting roles. There are a few romantic moments in the movie, along with some good jokes that make you laugh out loud. 

On the whole, The Internship is a good package. Totally worth a watch.

Rating:    7.5/10

Runtime: 119 mins.

Trailer:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdnoqCViqUo