Tag: #adventure

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) – Movie Review

Gotta catch’em all!

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Rob Letterman. The film is based on the Pokémon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu. The film is the first live-action entry in the franchise.

The film sets in the fantasy world of Pokémons and follows Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), a 21-year-old insurance salesman. Tim has given up Pokémon training due to the death of his mother and the absence of his father, Harry. Not so long into the film, Tim learns that Harry has died in a car accident while investigating a case. To collect Harry’s belongings, Tim travels to Ryme City, a metropolis that outlaws Pokémon fighting and pushes the bonds of humans and Pokémon alike. While searching Harry’s apartment, Tim encounters a Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) that can speak and only he can somehow understand. Soon, Pikachu reveals that he is an amnesiac detective who was Harry’s police partner and that they were investigating a case together when Harry disappeared. Now Tim and Pikachu must team up together to find out the clues about what actually happened to Harry and the conspiracy behind.

As it is the first film of its kind, it is more about the nostalgia about these Pokémon characters and the world they live in. The film nicely sets the world where humans and Pokémons live together. The film centers around Pikachu, so except him no other Pokémon gets that polished look (CGI). The makers of the film have tried to make the Pokémons look as real as possible to the real world. In which the challenging part was bringing the rawness and the realism to these characters without compromising their colorfulness and cuteness. And they did it better and believable.

The story of the film is gripping and intriguing enough to keep the audience engaged. One of the best parts of the film is voice performance given to Pikachu by Ryan Reynolds, in which he carries most of the film. The humorous effect of Ryan’s Deadpool character can be seen in Pikachu. His funny one-liners and the way of dialogue delivery makes it even more enjoyable. Rest of the other performances are just fine. Even there are some little flaws with the story of the film. But as I said earlier, the film is about Pokémons and their world, so it can only be judged on the basis of how much fan service it does. Whenever any Pokémon appears on the screen, it makes the fans happy, and it’s all about nostalgia behind it.

Verdict: The film is a nostalgic fun ride for the fans of Pokémon.

Rating: 3.5/5

Check the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILE5BEyhdo

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Avengers: Endgame (2019) – Movie Review

Avenge the Fallen

Avengers: Endgame is an action-adventure fantasy superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers and the characters created by Stan Lee. The film is a direct sequel to the Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and a 22nd film in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). The film is directed by a very talented director duo Anthony and Joe Russ, who has previously directed three Marvel films – Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).

The follows the terrific events of Infinity War, where Thanos (Josh Brolin) had accomplished his aim of balancing the universe by wiping out half of its population by acquiring all of the Infinity Stones. Along with the world, half of the superheroes had also become dust with Thanos’ snap. Now, the remaining superheroes must find a way to set all the things right and avenge the fallen by defeating the Thanos.

In this film, the difficult task was to bring together all these different storylines and characters, and that too without tampering with their appearances in previous films. But the Russo brothers have made it possible by finding the perfect balance between comic and intense moments in their films. They have brought the needed realism, gravity, and intensity to MCUs superhero films. Infinity War has a comparatively darker tone than any other Marvel films. Avengers: Endgame is the 4th film by Russo brothers as a director. And that is why it is going to be Epic, for sure.

Avengers: Endgame is a film with a really grand and epic conclusion to its third phase. There will surely be more phases to come, but this one is surely the greatest culmination of all time to date. I’m really happy that the makers were able to keep everything under wraps till the release date and gave just little things through trailers to boost up the hype amongst the fans worldwide. The film is full of overwhelmingly surprising moments, the moments which will make you laugh and cry, all at once. Seeing all our beloved characters once again and maybe the last time on screen really touches our hearts. And witnessing the fate of all these characters is another best thing about this film.

The film has really high entertainment value, there are a lot of fan service moments, but there are undeniably some plot holes and flaws in the storyline. The film is three hours long, but throughout its runtime, it never feels like three hours, It just keeps the audience engaged with its amazing storyline and character buildup. Towards the second half, the whole movie theatre turns into a cricket world cup match stadium, where everyone is just cheering, whistling, applauding like never before. Like its prequel, the action sequences are very well choreographed, and the interactions between different characters are just sheer fun to watch. The climax of the film is just beyond comparison which literally gives goosebumps to the audience. The Infinity War was the film about Thanos but Endgame is about Avengers, and how they assemble once again to defeat the menacing and all-powerful Thanos.

Verdict : A greatest culmination of all time, which no one should miss at any cost. Just go for it before spoilers come for you. 🙂

Rating : 4.4/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcMBFSGVi1c&t=29s

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) – Movie Review

Their Final Quest.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is an animated action-fantasy film written and directed by Dean DeBlois. The film is a third installment in the How to Train Your Dragon film series.

The film continues the adventures of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his buddy dragon Toothless, where they are rescuing dragons captured by warlords and bringing them to Berk. And their efforts have resulted in the island becoming overpopulated with dragons. In response to tackle this situation, Hiccup sets to find the “Hidden World”, a safe haven for dragons, which his late father Stoick (Gerard Butler) always talked about. Meanwhile, warlords hire an infamous dragon hunter Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) to hunt down Toothless.

The first two films were all about how Hiccup and Toothless become the bridge for bringing peace between humans and dragons. But this film tells that why dragons and humans can’t live together, which is actually contradicting its previous storyline. The one more problem I had with the storyline of the film is that it again goes on exploring Hiccup’s true strength without his dragon, although he has already done so many unbelievable things in the previous films. So it doesn’t make any sense to revisit the similar character arc. And that is why I personally felt that maybe it is a good standalone film but an unnecessary sequel.

As always, The chemistry between Hiccup and Toothless is really fun to watch. A furious dragon, with the expressions of a cute little cat, who won’t adore that? The villain is one more enjoyable part of the film. The film also explores the romantic side of Toothless by introducing a female light fury, and how it impacts Hiccup and his friendship, which was actually something new and interesting. The visuals and action sequences (the animation) by DreamWorks Animation are striking in a true sense; A good visual treat. Overall, the film is all about its characters and an emotional message about love, friendship, and family embedded in it.

Verdict : Not as good as its prequels but a fair conclusion to the Dragon trilogy.

Rating : 3.5/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkcucKDrbOI

Alita: Battle Angel (2019) – Movie Review

Her Time is Now.

Alita: Battle Angel is an action-adventure sci-fi film based on the 1990s Japanese manga series Gunnm by Yukito Kishiro. The film is directed by Robert Rodriguez, & written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis.

The film sets in 2563, where a catastrophic war known as “The Fall” aka “The Great War” has left the Earth in ruin. As a result, a group of wealthy people forms a floating city of Zalem in the sky, where the upper-class wealthy people stay, and all the others stay on the devastated Earth known as Iron City. One day, while scouting the junkyard of Iron City, cyborg scientist Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) discovers a disembodied female cyborg with a fully intact human brain. Ido attaches a cyborg body to her and names her “Alita” (Rosa Salazar) after his deceased daughter, for whom he originally built the body. Alita, with no memory from her past, starts to know the world around her, and in the process, she also starts rediscovering her past life, and her true destiny.

The main reason to watch this film can be the top-notch visual effects which they’ve used in this film to grab the audiences’ attention. Specifically, the detailed on-screen appearance of Alita is mesmerizing to watch. Her every move, facial expressions are just felt too real that one can easily forget that its a computer-generated imagery. The action sequences are also pretty impressive. The film has the vibe of any futuristic film like Ready Player One (2018), Mortal Engines (2018), or Elysium (2013) which we get from the trailers. The film has the flavor of futuristic films elements like the devastated earth, the overtaken life of humans by machines.

The main issue I had while watching this film was that the storytelling was not focused on one thing. There’s definitely the compelling father-daughter story, and secondly, it should’ve had focused only on the part where she finds herself. But too many subplots makes it difficult for the audience to connect with her story. The things look good only during the action sequences otherwise it just feels boring and over-complicated.

Verdict : The film is enjoyable for sci-fi action movie lovers.

Rating : 3.6/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cislZ9S0ocA

Captain Marvel (2019) – Movie Review

Higher Further Faster

Captain Marvel is an action adventure superhero film is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film is based on the Marvel Comics character. The film is the twenty-first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and it is Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero film.

The film centers around the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). The film sets in 1995, where Danvers aka Vers is working as a Starforce member on the Kree Empire’s capital planet of Hala. During one Starforce rescue mission against a group of Skrulls, an alien shapeshifting species, Vers gets captured by Skrulls. But somehow she manages to escape from captivity and crashes on Earth. The series of events on Earth, make her doubt her reality and her mission. Now Danvers must discover her origin by accepting her past and save the Earth from Kree–Skrull War by becoming one of the universe’s most powerful heroes.

The Marvel Studio has chosen a really good day (Women’s Day) to release its first female-led film. The film has been released just before Avengers: Endgame, so obviously the film has created too much hype amongst fans regarding little clues it can have which may lead to the Endgame. But it cannot be denied that the film is going to set in 1995, so it is going to have a very little impact or relation to the current timeline. But even though considering it as a standalone film, it has its own drawbacks.

The film is the last piece of the grand puzzle, so everybody expected to be a bit more surprising and intriguing than previous films, but unfortunately, it is not. The film has little connections to the other films, but those are not enough to keep the audience invested. Some moments in the film seem so obvious that just shows how lazy the writing of the film is.

As a lead character, Brie Larson does not fully justify the character, she has a very limited range of expressions. The story of the film is interesting to some extent, but as an origin story of a superhero, the film lacks the character arc and emotional drive. The film also stars Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as young Nick Fury and Jude Law as Yon-Rogg. And both of these characters are a sheer waste as they have a very little to do storywise.

The only thing that made me feel good about this film is its visual effects. Being the 21st film of the Marvel Studio, the visuals are top notch. The young Nick Fury feels as real as the other living characters in the film. Two more surprising things fans are going to get, one is a great tribute to Excelsior Stan Lee before the film starts, and other is a clip from Avengers: Endgame as a mid-credit after the film ends.

Verdict : The film is there just for the sake of having an origin story for Captain Marvel. Don’t expect much from it.

Rating : 3.2/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1BCujX3pw8&t=1s

Aquaman (2018) – Movie Review

A tide is coming.

Aquaman is an action-adventure superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film is directed by James Wan, and it is the sixth film in the DCEU.

It is the third film featuring Jason Momoa as Aquaman, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) in DCEU. The film starts in 1985, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) rescues Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the princess of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm. They eventually fall in love and have a son named Arthur (Jason Momoa). The film follows the character of Aquaman, Arthur Curry, after the events of Justice League, when his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson) declares war against the surface world. Now Arthur must challenge and claim his rightful throne of Atlantis to save both of the worlds.

Like the Wonder Woman (2017), this film also has a solid origin story of Aquaman, where we can clearly see the motivation for the places he goes and things he does. The beautifully shot action sequences are the heart of this film, and all the credit goes to the director James Wan. All the imagery is aesthetically soothing, the visual effects are top-notch, and the movie watching experience in IMAX is just incomparable. The performances by all the characters are apt, in particular, Amber Heard as Mera and Jason Momoa as Aquaman are best. The addition of the subplot of the story of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) complements the main plot and makes the film even more enjoyable.

Verdict : A pretty enjoyable standalone superhero film by DCEU, definitely worth a watch.

Rating : 4/5


Redmi Y2 (Rose Gold, 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage)

Thugs of Hindostan (2018) – Movie Review

An epic fail

Thugs of Hindostan is an action-adventure film, written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, and produced by Yash Raj Films. According to the sources, Thugs of Hindostan is the most expensive Bollywood film. It was one of the highly anticipated films of the year, and had created a pretty much hype around it since it was announced. Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan are being starred together for the first time as leads, which was the most awaited thing of the film. Additionally, it is the second time, when director Vijay Krishna Acharya, Aamir Khan, and Katrina Kaif has teamed up together after Dhoom 3 (2013).

The film sets in the 18th century when the British East India Company has started expanding their rule across India. The film follows a group of rebel Thugs led by Khudabaksh Azaad (Amitabh Bachchan), who is trying to free Hindostan (India) from the British rule. A British commander John Clive (Lloyd Owen), who is desperate to tackle the rising threat of thugs, hires a talented small-time thug, Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan).

The film is larger than life representation of a weaker script, trying to be incredible, that too on an epic scale, but in reality, it is the sheer waste of time, waste of talent, and a waste of money. Most of the characters and scenes seemed to be inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, which is obvious. It seemed that the music department had no idea about what they were doing, they had 3-4 music samples, which they were playing repetitively. They were just bombarding the music samples abruptly in between even if something great was not happening on screen. The film has really lazy dialogues and screenplay, because of which it just gets more and more difficult to connect with characters and their emotions. The songs in the film are a total crap, and Katrina’s dance is worst than ever (she has no other significance in the film). The only bearable thing in this film is Aamir Khan and his character, that’s it. Even Amitabh Bachchan had not much to do to explore his character.

Verdict : So overall it’s a below average film, not even worth a single watch, rather be at home, and have a nice sleep. 😜

Rating : 1.5/5

Check the trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI-Pux4uaqM

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – Movie Review

Some missions are not a choice.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is an action spy thriller film co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series, and the second film to be directed by McQuarrie, after Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015). It’s been 22 years when the first Mission: Impossible came out in 1996, and still today Tom Cruise is shining in his role of Ethan Hunt.

The film follows two years after the events of its fifth installment, where Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) has been captured, and the remains of his organization The Syndicate have reformed into a terrorist group known as The Apostles. After Ethan’s (Tom Cruise) mission to fetch plutonium went wrong and the plutonium is taken by the Apostles, he must race against time to get those back before the nukes go off. In this mission, Ethan is accompanied by his former allies cum IMF agents Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). The film also stars Henry Cavill with his legendary mustache as August Walker, a CIA assassin working for the Special Activities Division tasked with monitoring Ethan and his team.

The film is a full package of high-octane action sequences, chase sequences, and breathtaking stunts. Apart from its action, the film’s direction and the story is very crisp and to the point. The story never loses its pace, and chunks of exciting and thrilling moments keep on happening which keeps the audience engaged. The film is shot really well, especially the action and the stunt scenes, with a slightly shaky but impressive effect to make it feel real. Acting wise, the film is fair enough, and especially the comedy moments blends really well with film’s thrilling tone. Many critics hailed it as the best installment in the series, with some considering it one of the greatest action films of all-time.

Verdict : A fully action-packed film and totally worth a watch.

Rating : 4/5

Check the trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb49-oV0F78

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) – Movie Review

Ant-Man and the Wasp is an action adventure superhero film based on the Marvel Comics. The film is the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man, and the 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Peyton Reed, who has also directed its prequel, and it is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

The film features team-up of Marvel Comics characters Scott Lang/Ant-Man(Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne/Wasp(Evangeline Lilly). The film picks exactly where Scott Lang had last appeared in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, where he has placed under house arrest, for helping Captain America as the violation of the Sokovia Accords. And because of the same accords, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope go into hiding, while continuing their efforts to bring Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) back from quantum realm. In this installation, the film explores more on the quantum realm front, as these events will directly lead to the next installment of the Avengers film, the conclusion of the epic Saga.

Along with the main plot of bringing Hope’s mother Janet back in the real world, the film also comprises of some more subplots. Ava/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a quantumly unstable masked woman, who can phase through matter, is trying to steal PymTech from Pym and Hope to fulfill her own plans. Then there is a guy named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), a black market dealer, who is also trying to get his hands on PymTech. Both of them are actually playing the villain characters, but they aren’t real ‘villain’ villains, means they are no match for our superheroes. And many of the Marvel films also suffered the same problem of not having a strong villain character (there are exceptions), and this film is no exception to that.

The film is a fun ride at its core but it’s just momentary. The film persists the charm & humor part of its prequel, but it fails to deliver the solid story because of the inclusion of weaker and unnecessary subplots. The film relies so much on the moments of laughter and the cast’s performances to overcome its plotholes. The film has a very straightforward story and fits nicely in the MCU’s timeline. The visual effects are improved in this film, and some of the action sequences are really well shot and are truly surprising. And yes, there are two after credit scenes, just don’t miss it.

Verdict : A nice sequel and a decent addition to MCU’s filmography, it has some drawbacks but surely can be neglected.

Rating : 3.7/5

Check out trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUkn-enk2RU

Isle Of Dogs (2018) – Movie Review

I Won’t Hurt You…

Isle of Dogs is stop-motion animated film written, produced and directed by Wes Anderson, who has received consistent praise from critics for his work in his films like The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). The ensemble voice cast of this film includes Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Bob Balaban, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Courtney B. Vance, Fisher Stevens, Harvey Keitel, Liev Schreiber, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, F. Murray Abraham, Frank Wood, Kunichi Nomura and Yoko Ono. The film is receiving praise for its animation, story, and deadpan humor.

The film sets in an imaginary Megasaki City of near-future Japan, where a dog-flu virus has spread and has infected every dog of the city. To deal with this situation, Kenji Kobayashi, the tyrannical mayor of the city, signs an order of banishing all dogs to Trash Island. The execution of this order starts with a dog named Spots, who belonged to Atari Kobayashi, the orphaned nephew, and ward of the mayor. Saddened Atari steals a plane and flies alone to Trash Island to search for his lost and only friend Spots. Rest of the film follows around little Atari’s adventure to find his dog with the help of the group of dogs, and ultimately uncover the deadly conspiracy behind all these series of events.

The ensemble voice cast mentioned above is mostly for the dogs who are playing the prominent roles in the film, and when it comes to human characters, then most of the characters actually speak in the native Japanese language.

The film is unlike any other conventional animation films, it is totally different and raw in many aspects, the stop-motion animation works really well here, and definitely more Impacting and totally worth it. The story and the characters in the film are compelling, and sheer fun to watch. The direction and the cinematography are just superb. The background score with Japanese flavor of music with drum rolls is just overwhelming, it just absorbs you into it.

Verdict : Totally unusual and worth having experience. 🐕 Just go for it get amazed.

Rating : 4/5