The other guys

This is the perfect spoof movie of the generic cop buddy storyline that hollywood generates on an annual basis. To start with, the story isn't exactly new. We have two misfits for cops who obviously don't gel together.  Wahlberg as Det. Terry is the guy who got stuck at a desk because he used his gun in the line of duty to accidentally shoot some sports star while Will farrel as Allan Gamble is the married guy who takes up all the paper work to keep himself at his desk. unfortunately these two have been assigned as partners for the past 7 years and hence have not achieeved anything commendable in their line of duty. They are constantly berated by their seniors/colleagues at work and apparently have quite a dull police life, until THAT one moment. So story wise, nothing spectacular there.
But the whole point of this movie is the humour and that is where this hits the bullseye perfectly. You won't find a constant tirade of humour, but it is in bits and pieces; sufficient to keep you glued to the screen. Wahlberg and Ferrel are quite fun to watch as the partners who clearly have differing agendas in life. Dwayne Johnson and Samuel Jackson as the superstar cops do their part well until they jump a 20 floor block and die. Of course, that's part of the comedy storyline too. So the rest of the plot revolves about how our two stumbling cops (Wahlberg and Ferrel resolve their differences and rise to being the superstar cops that NYC needs). The scene where Ferrel introduces Eva Mendes as his plain wife is just fun(Yeah, you read that right. EVA MENDES- PLAIN WIFE :P. In the case that you by any chance just thought, " Ok, so what?", I've placed her picture on the left. Please take a look, get back and re-read the above paragraph. :P).Watching Wahlberg just continuously drooling at her while still trying to get over the fact that she married Farrel(In the movie that is) is even more awesome fun to watch.

The rest of the movie focuses on their escapades, Ferrel's red Prius(Yes, the cop drives a Prius. :D), more action, comedy and how they go on to become good friends. I'd put this on my list next to films like Starsky and Hutch. I don't want to describe the story in further detail and spoil the fun. It isdefinitely a good time pass movie for that boring weekend or if you've had a bad day at work, just go hit the night show and have 2 hours of good laughs. You most definitely won't regret it.

The Town

Saw this film a whole week ago. As usual, the lazy me, took my own sweet time. :P This Ben Affleck direction is a pretty slick movie and definitely a must watch among the recent releases. It hasn't burst out on the scene and I haven't exactly heard rave reviews about it out here in India, but it makes up for all that with its neat screenplay and storyline. Apparently it opened at 23 million Dollars at the US box office, so there, the figures testify its a good movie.

Opening with a robbery in progress, the movie depicts a team of ace bank robbers who show great prowess and skill in planning and executing robberies at banks in Boston. Of course they hail from Charlestown, a neighbourhoood known for the large number of criminals and bank robbers it churns out(Maybe they have a PhD course there??). The team takes a manager hostage during a robbery and later release her once they are clear, but they soon discover that she happens to live just a few blocks away from them. Ben Affleck, then takes on the charge of checking  up on her to see if she might be any trouble to them and instead a romantic alliance forms between him and the manager(Rebeca Hall). What next? That's the rest of the plot. :P As police close in on suspects and further robberies take place, this romantic liason adds to the story(I forgot: We also have the "best bud and his sister(Blake Lively - Gossip girl fans remember Serena?? :D) who happens to be Ben's ex" roles to add to the story) and merges to bring about a sobre ending. Its one of those movies that will leave you thinking,"hmm, interesting" but not necessarily have you engrossed totally to the core. You most probably won't want to run out in irritation either. In short, just go in and have a nice time!

Endhiran

It took me a whole week to find time to actually blog about it. First thing, Given the recent increase in a spate of Rajini jokes, here is another one that can be added. :P Apparently, no robot except a Rajini robot can impregnate Aishwarya Rai. Secondly, Endhiran become a US box office hit on the opening weekend, because, Rajini told Obama he would 'visit' the US, unless. Thirdly, Endhiran would most probably have been dismissed as another 'indian masala hollywood wannabe' movie, if not for Rajini and the big budget that it attracted.

I had received a lot of reviews that said, and I quote, "The 2nd half is a Shankar Movie". I would like to ask at this point,"What makes you say the first half is a Rajini movie??" If you walk in expecting a Rajini movie, trust me, this is completely not it. The first half was obviously the better half, but that was because it had the right mix of an interesting story, some humour, and a obscene amount of songs shot in some planet not known to humans, or any other life form for that matter. The second half just has an insane amount of graphics, stunts and the works, to keep the viewer entertained, but sufficiently dazed as well, because trust me, at one point, when the viewer realises things aren't making any sense(We are talking about indian viewers who watch stupid romance flicks and the likes that have absolutely no logic at all here mind you), you just end up getting a really dragging and soggy storyline.

I am pretty sure, Shanker would not have dared take this movie in this form with any other actor. Because if he had, chances are he would be sweeping the streets for a living the next day. I mean the work that has gone into the film is amazing. No doubt. the graphics, the stunts and scenic locations and camera work is just top of the class. Definitely among the best that Indian cinema has ever produced. But when you see behind that Glossy surface that screams Rajini, you realise, it's all show and no go. The music is not much to write about either. As stand alone audio, they just don't whet my palette, while in the theatre, they gel well with the cinematography thus proving to be an entertaining combo. But then again, definitely not the best work of ARR.

I enjoyed watching the movie and I am sure you would too. But then, that's just once, for the hype and the Rajini factor. That's it. You most probably will not remember too much of it at a later time period. And personally, I felt the evil robot was a better personification of Rajini than all the other characters of Rajini in the film. His actions, the style of language was all to the dot, the best display of Rajini in all his former glory, than the other roles in the film. Maybe 10 years back, this movie might have been revolutionary, but for now its just a definite one time watch, for all the effort that has gone into making this epic film.