[Gooney]

Originally Posted by dot

And what was the mini Toy Story for?

There are many nice in-references. Did you catch the one quick flash of the Gusteau shop (Ratatouille) in Paris.

Well this is a Pixar trademark. In movie references for future releases. In fact, all of them had some reference or the other. Cracked.com did and entire article on it.

[Panko]

My favorite Mob-Movies:
1. Goodfellas
2. The Godfather-1
3. Public Enemies
4. Road to Perdition
5. A history of violence
6. The Godfather-2
7. The Departed
8. American Gangster

[dot]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Anyway, so I followed up Cars 2 with Kung Fu Panda 2. I liked this sequel more.

KungFu Panda 2 is one of the better sequels ever released, IMHO. Just take a look at the critical reviews in places like rottentomatoes. Very few movie franchise gets such a rare privilege, all thanks to the team that stuck to the core values of original movie.

Po remains a simple hero who is more struck with the awe of it all than the ego boost. Ditto for the movie. Yes, the slap stick is less and Master Shifu, a key character in the original movie gets a side role, yet the movie stands out due to the simplistic yet deep story line. The scenes of baby Po are very moving. The arch enemy, Shen, has a dubious Voldemort like relation to Po, which to me was the weakest link. But I am nitpicking, it is after all a modern fable which will have such influences. And the fight scenes, specially the last one, pulled me out of my pants. The two best parts were the incredible animation and the complete lack of reference to pop culture which is a silly habit of the Dreamworks house of animation movies.

Lastly, it looks like that a part 3 maybe in the offing.

Full ratings!

Originally Posted by Gooney

Well this is a Pixar trademark. In movie references for future releases. In fact, all of them had some reference or the other. Cracked.com did and entire article on it.

Thanks for the reference. Will check it out. Unlike Dreamworks brand of animation movies, in-jokes are rare in Pixar movies. Of the hat I remember seeing Nemo on the end credit montage of WALL-E.

[Technocrat]

Watched Cars 2

As others mentioned, its a bit of Downer. The animation is great, some of the secret service stuff was nice but it got boring in between. Not to mention there were just too many dialects/accents for one movie. The end bit was funny & nice.

Overall 2.5/5

[vikrut]

Being a huge fan of Tintin , I was looking forward to Speilberg's Tintin , But the trailer looks really disappointing :(

YouTube - ‪The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn - International Teaser Trailer (HD)‬‏

[carboy]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Watched this movie. Its a simple story of a teenager given a task to deliver a car from one city to another and due to car conking out on highway, he stops enroute in a small town for a poker game and gets into an altercation ( forced by the opposite member) with unpleasant and surprising outcome.

Patrick Demsey acted really well. Initially, he is the confused and endearing youth and as movie progress changes into a focused and matured individual with plenty of courage to boot.

Oh god! Kelly Preston is so so so beautiful

Its an early 90's movie with plenty of action and twists and turns that will keep you glued. After a long time enjoyed a flick so much.

I'd like to go a bit overboard in my rating...5/5

I watched this yesterday. Found it OK.
2.5/5

I found the whole movie unbelievable in the 2nd half. Didn't like Dempsey in the movie either - his transformation was also unbelievable.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by kri$hna

1. Professor X still had legs when he went to visit Jean in X-Men 2. But in this prequel, he lost his legs already, even before he met Jean ! isnt he supposed to walk around till then ?

As per my friend who is a fan of anything that comes out of Marvel, Professor X goes to visit Jean in X - Men 2 in a flashback. Is that true?

[kri$hna]

Originally Posted by amitoj

As per my friend who is a fan of anything that comes out of Marvel, Professor X goes to visit Jean in X - Men 2 in a flashback. Is that true?

Yes. In the beginning of X-men2, the subtitle says "20 years ago" i believe, when Prof X & Magneto together visit Jean for the first time.

so, in X-Men first class, Prof X loses his legs just when Magneto seperates off from the group, creating his "mutant brotherhood". If this has to be believed, then Jean could have been part of this X-Men First Class, coz prof X & Magneto could have met her before (while picking up mutants using their cerebro, together) when prof X was still able to walk around.

Phew ... I still cant get over this !

[kaushik_s]

Originally Posted by dot

Could not agree with you more. Actually the extended LOTR movies are better than the books if you ask me, because they have trimmed some of the unnecessary fat.

Have you seen the extended version of the Two Towers? It is like watching an all new movie when compared to the theater version. In fact all the three extended versions are a must have for the home collection.

Yup, do have the Extended Edition in my DVD collection. Now planning to get the same in Blu-ray. It just got released in Blu-ray and will soon get that too.

Originally Posted by Panko

Lord of the Rings is the greatest movie trilogy ever made in Hollywood. It's loyal to the original novel. And it ends where the novel ends. Now Peter Jackson, himself, is directing the prequel to the LOTR - "The Hobbit". It will be released in two parts with first part scheduled to release in December-2012. Many of the actors will reprise their roles, including Gandalf, Legolas & Gollum.

That's a great news, I was not following the Hobbit but now I guess I've to. Thanks..

Originally Posted by amitoj

Cars 2:
Saw it at Cinepolis in 3D yesterday.
As far as the graphics and the sound goes, the experience was superb. What else can you expect from Pixar.
The movie, as such, was of course not as good as the first one. There should have been more races. And the whole oil conspiracy/world domination angle was not really required. Still, the movie had its funny moments. McQueen doesn't really play the central role in this film. It is Mater's film all the way through. So you can expect some funny moments in the film.
And I absolutely loved Francesco. He is my avatar now
The movie is a good one time watch, only in a good theater. I don't think Pixar has lived upto its reputation here when it came to the story line.

Cheers
Amitoj

Thanks for the review. And Mater being the central character and John Turturro being in the movie making it even more interesting. He was quite awesome in Transformers.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by kri$hna

Yes. In the beginning of X-men2, the subtitle says "20 years ago" i believe, when Prof X & Magneto together visit Jean for the first time.

so, in X-Men first class, Prof X loses his legs just when Magneto seperates off from the group, creating his "mutant brotherhood". If this has to be believed, then Jean could have been part of this X-Men First Class, coz prof X & Magneto could have met her before (while picking up mutants using their cerebro, together) when prof X was still able to walk around.

Phew ... I still cant get over this !

ah, yes.
see, that is a license granted to the filmmakers by the sheer enormity of the marvel comics multiple universes.
There are multiple universes, where xavier has a brother, or where jean makes him walk, or X himself projects a walking image.
In the comic, he lost his legs long long back, before X-men, to some alien.
and he recovered in, INDIA!!


There are some more prequels coming out(origins series(?)), which should clarify a lot.
So, these guys can pick a lot of twists and abrupt turns in the stories to make the movies very very interesting!

[Panko]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

That's a great news, I was not following the Hobbit but now I guess I've to. Thanks..

Welcome! And 'The Hobbit' is going to be shot in 3D. So that would be great treat!

[manolin]

Nordwand (2008)

A german movie about the 1936 ascent of the north face of Mt. Eiger (one of the toughest north faces in the Alps at that time). Excellent movie, and helped by the fact that I am concurrently reading The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer, which is about the same thing.

I am really tempted to go to Switzerland to the Alps after watching this movie. Must watch for anyone interested in mountaineering (armchair or otherwise).

The subtitles normally attached to the movie sometimes don't play. PM me and I will send you working subtitles.

[chevelle]

Transformers 3: Due Tomorrow.

Boy i have never been this excited.

[Eddy]

Saw Ace Ventura again today. It is undoubtedly Jim Carrey's best ever work. Total brainless hilarious stuff

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by carboy

I found the whole movie unbelievable in the 2nd half. Didn't like Dempsey in the movie either - his transformation was also unbelievable.

On the contrary. I found the movie to be quite beilevable as such things can happen to anyone. Just to give you an example. In india, if someone stares for too long at someone, a fight can erupt and lead to dangerous consequences.

Originally Posted by chevelle

Transformers 3: Due Tomorrow.

Nice. I reckon most movies are now being released in US and India consecutively these days. Look forward to a detailed review.

Saw "Yes Man" starring Jim Carrey

Story of a disillusioned man who joins a positive thinking class that supposedly should change his life. But, what it does is make him even more confused.

This movie cannot be slotted in comedy, neither drama but, something else ( still trying to figure out what that category would be)

Movie is too long had some nice emotional moments but, otherwise was pretty average. Surprised to see Bradley Cooper in a second fiddle role....ofcourse, he was a nobody till Hangover happened.

2/5

Next in Line : A cushy movie " Everybody's Fine" starring Robert De Niro. Reviews Please?