Lost

TV Series - Entire Series

Genre - Adventure/Drama/Mystery

Spanning 6 years and 6 magnificent seasons, this groundbreaking series had pushed the envelope of quality television to the very hilt. The creators of "Lost" had us totally engrossed and hungering for more from the very first scene, that of a commercial plane crashing on a mysterious island. When later we get to spend time with the group of survivors, it became clear to us that this wasn't regular TV. Everyone of the characters was as complex as can be, with their troubled past told in revealing flashbacks. The painstaking effort taken to build on characterisation is what made it stand out for us, a crucial factor many shows ('Heroes' being the one with the most unrealized potential) had chosen to neglect at peril. Thought-provoking and with every episode ending on an edge of your seat cliffhanger, "Lost" became part of our lives. Ingrained constantly in the back of our minds, it made us view other inferior TV shows with disdain. This is not only the best television series ever, it has elevated the benchmark of TV programming-often viewed as an unworthy opponent of the big screen, all the way to the uppermost pantheon of storytelling alongside cinema's finest.

5 STARS!

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Inception

Director - Christopher Nolan

Genre - Action/Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Hmm...where do we begin? Incidentally, that is also how we felt when we watched this picture. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a sort of dream mercenary for hire in this 'blink and you'll miss it' story. He is who you go to if you want to steal valuable information from someone. Our dreams are rife with very personal details about who we are if you don't already know. Yeah, we're talking about you, Ted... Chances are if you dream occasionally of putting on a pink, short dress with heels, you're probably not only a metrosexual. Written by Nolan himself, the main event of the script is how Cobb and his team not only infiltrate a person's dream, but are tasked to plant an 'idea' into his subconscious. In truth, we're still not done with this yet. It is the kind of film you can watch over and over again, discovering new and previously missed plot points. Intricately directed and created, Nolan is certainly in the running for the most extraordinary filmmaker we've ever come across. Eat this and die, 'Matrix'!

4.5 STARS!

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Valkyrie

Director - Bryan Singer

Genre - Drama/History/Thriller/War

Tom Cruise teams up with Bryan Singer to play the mastermind of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Realizing that Hitler is destroying his beloved German, Cruise's one eyed character with a stump for a hand (he was injured in an explosion) decides to join a rebellion group which has had enough of Hitler's evil ways. The film takes a bit of getting used to because everyone's supposed to be in Germany but nobody's speaking German. Cruise speaks the language he uses towards Katie and Suri everyday. He doesn't even bother with putting on an accent. The suspense in most scenes are also halved as we know Hitler would remain safe. Overall, we get this movie. We know it tried to show how not every German is bad. Many have actually tried to stop this mad dictator, but were dealt a terrible fate instead. That doesn't equate it being a good movie. Watchable history lesson made with flair? Heil yes!

2.5 STARS!

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District 9

Director - Neill Blomkamp

Genre - Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller

We were told that this is special. That it is different from other movies which have dabbled in science fiction. We're glad to report to you out there that these praises that have been sung upon the movie are indeed justified. One highly crucial factor most science fiction pictures lack is the human element. Many have failed to recognize that to have us immerse ourselves into the story, we have to first feel for the hero. If not, nobody would care if the characters live or turn into liver ramen. The 'Alien' franchise gave us Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, a character we could identify with and cared about. 'District 9''s hero is one of us. He is flesh and blood. There are many surprises in this film, one of which we realized is that it is also a love story. And for once, the CGI didn't take precedence over the story. James Cameron could learn a thing or two from this young upstart.

4.5 STARS!

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Avatar

Director - James Cameron

Genre - Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Movies like 'Avatar' pander to the average,entertainment deprived audience. It tweaks the joy buttons of those who like their pictures served loud, with plenty of action and a healthy dose of "WTF, that was CGI?" scenes. There are a good many of these viewers around as witnessed by this newly crowned most profitable film of all time. Set in the future, the script takes us like kids on a brand new carnival ride to Pandora, a planet knee-deep in an energy source much coveted by the U.S. government. A voluntary marine is called upon to infiltrate the home of the alien creatures, using an avatar to do so. When the hero falls in love with a local beauty, their happiness is shortlived as war looms in the horizon. Cue half-hearted attempt in getting us on the alien's side ('District 9' was way better in this aspect), chest thumpin' speeches and macho army talk. If you scrape away all the gloss and shine, what's left is a weak story propping up a grand show of expensive computer graphics. In short, it was everything 'District 9' wasn't.

2.5 STARS!

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Kick-Ass

Director - Matthew Vaughn

Genre - Action/Crime/Thriller

Our jaws dropped when we saw this latest film by Matthew Vaughn. It exceeded our wildest imaginations and more. Forget Spidey, Bruce Wayne, Watchmen, Sin City or even Iron Man. This is the best superhero movie ever! Adapted from a comic with the same title, the genius of its darkly humored yet gruesomely violent story lies in the fact that every blow, hit, kick and shot delivered or received by the characters are felt deeply by us. Dave Lizewski is an average student who questioned why nobody has ever lived out the dream of becoming a masked crusader in real life. Without thinking about the consequences, he dons a costume (it's actually a wet suit) in order to do his bit at fighting crime. The drawback to having viewed this is that we'll never be able to see others of its genre in the same, nonchalant way anymore. A very far divide exists now between this and other comic book adaptations. Let's not forget Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz)! She is simply the most awesome character to have hit (pun intended) the screen in a long time. Urgently recommended.

5 STARS!

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Shutter Island

Director - Martin Scorsese

Genre - Mystery/Thriller

Right off the bat, we have to put it out there that the written version of which this film is based on had colored the landscape of our imagination with a chilling aftertaste well after the pages had turned yellow. An inmate in an institution which houses the insane as well as hardened criminals has escaped in seemingly impossible fashion. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a federal agent assigned to investigate exactly how this woman could have 'disappeared'. Martin Scorsese's favorite actor of the moment acted the pivotal role with a characterization which is too telling and the overall direction isn't as haunting as the book. Seriously, if given a choice, get the novel by Dennis Lehane instead. You won't regret it.

3 STARS!

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