Competition: The Guest

I have 5 pairs of tickets to give away for the premiere screening of "The Guest". To win the tickets, answer the following question in the comments section. Alternatively leave the answer in the comments (please leave your comments on the competition post only) on the iThink Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ithinkdubai

Dan Stevens is famous for a character played in a well known TV series. Name the TV series.

Winners have been selected through a randomizer and the names of the winners are as below:
1. Faisal Khatib
2. Prachi Mehta
3. Tenzing Bhutia
4. Shekhar Mangnani
5. Kristofer Mariano
Winners can collect their passes directly at the cinema. Please carry a valid ID.

Please note that the U.A.E. rating for the movie is 18.

Movie Synopsis:

From the director of “YOU’RE NEXT” and featuring a standout, brilliant performance from Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”), comes “THE GUEST”: a tense, action-packed and unpredictable film like everything and nothing you’ve ever seen before. Empire Magazine called it “a demented action-horror hybrid of sci-fi conspiracy thriller and gore-fest,” and Vanity Fair said, “THE GUEST is big, it’s bold, it’s badass, full of flavor Hollywood wishes it could pour over its vanilla blockbusters.” 

Screening details are as follows:

Date - 8th October, 2014

Time - 9 p.m.

Place - Cinemacity, Arabian Center, Al Mizhar

The Guest is set to release in U.A.E. and the Middle East on 9th October, 2014.

Movie Details:

UAE Rating: 18

Running time: 99 min.

Genre: Thriller/Action

Director: Adam Wingard

Writer: Simon Barrett 

Stars: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe

Trailer link: The Guest Trailer on YouTube

Movie Review: The Guest

I have always had a personal liking towards action thrillers as compared to other movies. The reason for this maybe that such movies are usually gripping and intense. Due to the intensity, it is possible that not enough stress is placed on the story and the performances of individuals. However when we talk about The Guest, it would not be wrong to say that the movie is driven by some brilliant performances.

The Guest is directed by Adam Wingard and stars Dan Stevens as the main lead character. For those who are fans of the TV series Downton Abbey, would know Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley. Dan plays the role of a soldier named David in the movie. He ends up at the doorstep of the Peterson family claiming to be a friend of a deceased son of the family. 

Source: First Row Filmed Entertainment

The other main characters from the movie are members of the Peterson family itself. Maika Monroe plays Anna Peterson (the sister of the deceased soldier), Brendan Meyer plays Luke Peterson (the brother), Sheila Kelley plays Laura Peterson (the Mother) and Leland Orser plays Spencer Peterson (the Father). Each character is different from the other and they blend in well with the storyline.

Dan Stevens in a shot from the movie (Source: First Row Filmed Entertainment)

David slowly settles into the family but some accidental deaths in the neighborhood somehow link to his presence and raise concerns about his identity. The story of the movie is decent and might not be over the top but the performances of a few individuals is worth mentioning. Dan Stevens is as cool as a cucumber in his role and is by far the standout performance. Leland Orser and Maika Monroe contribute to the movie through their good performances while Lance Reddick plays a small cameo in the movie.

Maika Monroe and Lance Reddick in a shot from the movie (Source: First Row Filmed Entertainment)

There are a few light moments in the movie, that have been executed brilliantly while the intense moments go with the flow and are pretty smooth. The action scenes are not over the top and it is good to see some regular action with guns and knives. The only concern is that there isn't too much focus on a background story and everything seems to unfold as the story progresses. Adding more depth to the story would have surely helped in character development.

The movie is a quick watch with the runtime of under 100 minutes. The movie is surely worth a watch, especially for the performance of Dan Stevens. The movie is set to release in U.A.E. and the Middle East on October 9.

Rating:    7.5/10
Runtime: 99 minutes
Trailer:    http://youtu.be/y0E2Qh6wLS4

Movie Review: Runner Runner

Ben Affleck has been all over the news recently due to the possibility of him playing Batman. Ever since the news was out confirming him to play Batman, there was an outrage on Social Media platforms justifying why Ben might not be the correct choice. Under such circumstances, Runner Runner doesn't seem like the best pick for Ben.

In addition to this, one should not forget that Affleck's previous movie Argo was a blockbuster hit and landed up with 3 Oscar wins. It is always difficult for an actor to follow up after such a huge success.

(Source: Ace Showbiz)

Runner Runner starring Justin Timberlake, Gemma Artherton and Ben Affleck is a thriller involving crime and a lot of gambling. Justin Timberlake plays Richie Furst, a youngster struggling with finances in order to complete his degree. Due to his financial issues, Richie is drawn towards gambling. After he loses everything online due to cheating, he makes it a point to get to Ivan Block (played by Ben Affleck) the owner of the gambling site.

The road from New Jersey to Costa Rica for Richie isn't easy but being a smart chap, he manages to eventually track down Ivan with some help from Rebecca Shafran (played by Gemma Artherton). Richie confronts Ivan and tells him how he was cheated on his website. Ivan thanks Richie but does not say anymore till their next meeting.

Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake meet at The House (Source: ChercaBulas Mindbox)

It is during their next meeting that Ivan offers Richie a job that would pay him a lot of money. Richie readily accepts the offer at the thought of earning a lot of money. The rest of the movie focuses on the corrupt political system and the trouble one has to go through in order to keep the gambling business running.

The movie is a bit on the slower side and there are limited number of scenes that might be counted as action scenes. The scenes with Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck are the best ones in the movie. The romantic scenes between Justin and Gemma fail to impress and their chemistry is passable.

A shot from the movie (Source: Blog CDN)

Ben Affleck playing Ivan Block has a decent role but there is not much he could have done with the character. It is the strongest character in the script but not strong enough to lift the movie. Justin Timberlake's perform is second only to Ben Affleck. However his role includes a lot of running around. Gemma Artherton is present only to add a beauty factor to the movie. She has been given very few dialogues and can be seen just walking around in a lot of scenes.

The movie is by no means bad, the only issue is that it is not good enough to keep you interested. There are no exciting moments in the movie that develop the audiences interest. The best scenes of the movie have already been revealed in the trailer. On the whole, the movie is an average one.

Rating:    5.5/10
Runtime: 91 minutes
Trailer:    http://youtu.be/dyboDr1e2xI

Movie Review: White House Down

Anyone who has watched Roland Emmerich's previous movies will surely know that he loves blowing up stuff all around USA, with Washington being his favourite. Right from Independence Day, followed by The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, Roland has shown us multiple ways of how the world would go down. In this movie however it is just the White House.

(Source: Rope of Silicon)

The movie stars Channing Tatum as Cale, and Jamie Foxx as the President of the USA. Cale portrays the character of a bodyguard. He ends up at the White House for an interview to be part of the secret services. However his past haunts him and he does not make it through. His career isn't the only thing that Cale has been unsuccessful at. Cale's daughter Emily (played by Joey King) isn't fond of her dad either and calls her dad with his first name. 

Cale brings his daughter along to the White House to fix up things with her, given that she is a big fan of the President. As the interview gets over, Cale and Emily hang around for a tour of the White House. Little do they know that things would get ugly in sometime. As Cale and Emily are still on the tour, a group of individuals with a not so common motive attack the White House. 

Tatum and Foxx in action (Source: Washington Times)

The terrorists might not have a common motive but they are ready to kill and do have a well sought out plan. As things start getting difficult and the terrorists take control of the White House, Cale steps up to protect the President. With this huge responsibility at hand, Cale has to also ensure that he gets his daughter out of the place safely. What follows is a series of action scenes from shooting and killing to helicopter crashes and blowing up parts of the White House. Yes, we have all seen this type of action before. However, the chemistry between Tatum and Foxx is interesting to watch. The scenes with both of them together lift up the movie.

Jamie Foxx pulls of his role with ease and adds some humor to the character. I haven't watched a President be part of the action and be humorous at the same time ever before. Channing Tatum is impressive, while Joey King manages to handle her parts pretty well. Tatum steals most of the screen space in the movie. Maggie Gyllenhall as Finnerty is passable and does not have a lot of say in the movie. Lance Reddick as General Caulfield has not been given enough screen space but impresses whenever he is on screen. Other supporting cast including Richard Jenkins and Jason Clarke do a decent job.

Tatum and Foxx prepare to shoot down some terrorists (Source: Collider)

The story of the movie is good but there is nothing special about it. Most of the action scenes in the movie are well done, especially with the part with the Limo and the Air Force One. However, there are a few over the top ones that are hard to believe even with amazing graphics. Overall, the movie has a lot of action and pretty less space for anything else. Go for it if you are looking for a good action movie and if you are a fan of Foxx or Tatum.

Rating:    6.5/10

Runtime: 131 mins.

Trailer:    http://youtu.be/Kkoor7Z6aeE