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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