Movie Review: Men in Black 3..don’t get the Neuralizers out just yet

10 years…the last movie was 10 years ago. That’s a long hiatus for any franchise. While the first of this series showed promise, the second was such a dismal sequel that we almost wished we had a Neuralizer to wipe the memory of it ever happening. This 3rd installment..while its not that great..it does just about enough to keep the Neuralizer firmly in the pocket

If you do catch this movie, watch it in IMAX. I have been a prize idiot watching all these 3D movies in anything but IMAX. The beauty of the IMAX experience is that even for all those movies that may be a far cry from the Avatar level of 3D, it manages to make it pretty Avatar-esque and that’s some achievement! Same goes for MIB 3. In a lesser movie hall, you’ll probably not even notice most of the 3D, but IMAX makes it more real. In the case of MIB 3, there is one glorious sequence in 3D that is only justified to be seen at IMAX, and that alone makes it worth the money spent.

As for the movie itself, clearly deeper thought has gone into making this 3rd edition. The inter-play of the main characters J and K and their rather dysfunctional, yet functional relationship is very well shown. The Josh Brolin character is of special mention, both for its place in the plot as well as the way he has performed it. As for Will Smith, he’s back on screen after 4 years but he’s completely in his element and pulls off Agent J in style. Tommy Lee Jones on the other hand, has little air-time in the entire movie but then I guess, this script kinda demanded it.

The movie’s first half is pretty breezy with the right humorous bits thrown in and reminds one of the first movie, in its presentation. However, its the second half and more so, the climax that ends up disappointing and almost seems hurriedly put together. The events seem rather kiddish and just don’t fit well with rest of the movie. Clearly not enough thought went into making this part which is a pity.

Overall, the movie ends up being average fare, despite having the potential to have been far more…so while it may not be time to nuke the franchise just yet…considerable thought would need to go into making the 4th installment for the franchise to draw crowds.

Movie Review:Hugo…is a celebration in film-making

Okay..cards on the table time…Hugois a slow movie (especially till what can be regarded as the first half) with a simple storyline. It might even be mistaken for a children’s story - the kind that could be told at bed-time. If that’s what you see in Hugo, well then you are not seeing the complete picture and a movie like Hugo is probably not best suited for you.

When I first read about the movie being cancelled in India due to its poor performance overseas I was pretty ticked off. For a movie wherein James Cameron himself admitted it made his Avatar's 3D second-best, the 3D alone should have brought hoards to the movie. However, once one actually gets to see it and the final credits roll in…one begins to see why this movie had little audience..there is so much to Hugo that would be missed on most of its audience…

Those expecting a real 3D ‘Narnian’ adventure with fairy tale characters, monsters and witches..well, there’s none of it. Instead, Hugo is a tribute to the magic of film-making…to say anything more would be giving away more than is necessary. The movie has a lot of soul and there are scenes that can be heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time.

You only get to appreciate what Scorsese’s really done late into the 2nd half of the movie and then you marvel at the brilliance of a master class director. To tell such a story in a ground-breaking 3D format, is pure genius and hats off to Scorsese to pull it off with such panache.Especially since the 3D is that good. The use of dust particles, smoke from the steam engine, snowfall is done wondrously well. While I wouldn’t compare the movie to Avatar's, since both are completely different types of movies, I would give full marks to the 3D that Hugo has to offer

I would seriously urge you though, to consider seeing this movie in IMAX or at least some movie hall which can live up to the 3D experience the movie has to offer. Disappointingly, when I saw it at PVR, there were multiple scenes where I could see that the movie’s 3D was not coming through in its true form..such a pity
As for the performances, everybody has done an earnest job - Asa Butterfield as Hugo putting in a rather sincere performance and Sir Ben Kingsley in absolute vintage touch while Chloe Grace Moretz (remember Hit Girl from Kick-Ass??) also playing her limited role well

But this movie, is all about the director and the way he ‘winds’ the story around for you. The way it all unfolds..the few moments of restrained and unrestrained emotion..and the true tribute to film-making that Scorsese achieves as the ending credits roll in

If all this does not catch your fancy then Hugo is an easy miss but if it does..well, then Hugo Cabret beckons you from his clock tower..go catch him before the train leaves the station!!