AMERICAN SNIPER: War in the head! Cooper’s career-best! [3.5/5]

On the losing side or on the winning side, no matter where you are; war takes a mouthful bite from your life without making much exemption. The real war-zone is never out in the geographical field measured by and directed as the degrees of longitudes and latitudes but is your conscience. The perfect illustration can be seen in a situation where Bradley Cooper playing US military’s deadliest shooter-sniper Chris Kyle is in wrestle with his own mind whether to pull the trigger or not. The target on the other side is an Iraqi kid with a grenade-launcher. The heart skips a beat or two and the tension in those fractions of a second makes the air hotter, for the scene and for a watcher too.

Veteran Clint Eastwood directs Bradley Cooper for his career-best performance in AMERICAN SNIPER, a war-drama based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle- a lethal sniper with a title ‘the legend’ for taking more than 160 targets down officially, in his term of more than 1000 days in Iraq. Kyle is; strong, unshaken and sure as his shots and shaky, uncertain and panicky as any family guy. Whenever at home, he’s never at peace. The ambiguity and the anguish of the war are slowly but steadily entering into the relaxed zone of a regular married life. The targets have changed to his wife [Sienna Miller] and the kids.

Besieged by the ruthless war-events, Kyle is looking at the blank TV screen with gunshots being played in the background. You don’t need to be a certified psychiatrist to read the chaotic mental status of a soldier. Eastwood does it for you brilliantly and Cooper plays it with equal conviction. Cooper not only shoulders a firm base to his killing machine but gives his best shot as a performer too. His silence echoing in the conflicts of mind can kill too. His ease at the job and the struggle at home are a pitch-perfect performance.

AMERICAN SNIPER is thrilling, moving and psychological that makes you restless many a times. The counterpart of Kyle is an Iraqi sniper who was once an Olympic medalist in shooting. Who wouldn’t sink in deep after learning such irony? The complexities and the conflicts of a war-hero in a story that is not exceedingly great but portrayed, pictured and performed well. Worth-watching! [3.5/5] 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Humorously heart-warming Superhero Film! MARVEL-ous! [4/5]

Confidence is the outfit superheroes sport full of grace. Superheroes act smart and in a much designed manner. Superheroes don’t really have a plan B because they don’t really need. Superheroes master in channelizing their angst against the rival forces. Superheroes have it in them and it shows. But the people we are talking about here, them ain’t superheroes. Not even close. They are just a bunch of losers. The definition can be wisely lightened to ‘the ones who have lost something or the other in life’; in case you really want to make them feel less humiliated. Still, they are the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY…and as a film; this is no less than any superhero movie at any level.

In a deserted planet; named Morag if you are really bothered, Peter Quill [played by Chris Pratt] is a space outlaw with a self-proclaimed arty name StarLord. In order to make his name in the business, he gets into the theft of a mysterious orb from evil forces, a serious threat to the existence of the galaxy. Proceedings in the plot lead him to a prison where he bonds with an alien-girl Gamora [Zoe Saldana], the huge-heartless and mechanical Drax the Destroyer, an ill-mouthed aggressively violent but hilarious raccoon Rocket [Bradley Cooper lends his voice] and my personal favorite, a walking tree who talks only as much as ‘I am Groot’ [the heavy gritty voice of Vin Diesel]. Now, together they need to emerge as the guardians of the galaxy but looking at each one’s flaws, aren’t we asking for too much?

Based on Marvel Comics’s lesser known characters, James Gunn’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a pleasant surprise disguised as a superhero film. The similarity and likeness in the settings and visuals don’t go out of sight but the soul and the inner spirit of the film take a sharp turn at being not just a heart-thumping, nerve-wrecking and extensively jam-packed with heavy visual effects but a humorously heartwarming film that constantly & effortlessly lets you stretch your facial muscles.

Quill’s fascination with 80’s pop songs on his Sony walkman fills a hypnotic background score in the numinous outer space. His mentions of Kavin Bacon and his pelvic move in FOOTLOOSE, Drax’s one-track mind full of vengeance and nothing else in the planet, Rocket’s sarcastically grave attitude and Groot-the talking tree’s all time verbal communication restricted to just ‘I am Groot’ are some of the highlights that will leave you in splits. The slow-motion shots of heroic appearances by Rocket and the no-gravity space acts are incredible.

Overall, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a superhero film that stands out from the rest because of its feeble, flimsy yet charmingly colorful characters true to their hearts. They may not look a perfect team. They may unapologetically show off their flaws but together, they give you a MARVEL-ous time to be experienced on the big screen. Go for it! [4/5] 

AMERICAN HUSTLE: A Delicious comic-con film that is not so common con film! Delightful Watch!! [4/5]

With an opening line that says “Some of this actually happened”, David O. Russell’s Oscar Nominated crime-comedy drama AMERICAN HUSTLE turns out to be one of the most delightful con films I have seen. Credit goes to the categorically best ensemble star-cast that serves you with the most delicious performances you have ever tasted. This is one of those films that have an interesting brigade of actors playing juicy, buoyant and dynamic characters you take home for a very very long time in your heart.

When Richard DiMaso- an FBI agent [played by Bradley Cooper] busted the illegit exercises of 2 con-artistes Irving Rosenfeld [Christian Bale] and Sydney Prosser [Amy Adams] in cheating people with fake impersonation of a loan approval agency, he didn’t have the slightest notion in his weirdest dream that his assessment to go a step further & entail these two in his operation to capture some more big shots on camera could be a heart-piercing roller-coaster ride of his lifetime.

Christian Bale again surprises you with his extensive physical transformation as a paunchy, bald & aging Irving Rosenfeld swaying and swinging between his new partner-in-crime Sydney and his wife-in-broken marriage Rosalyn [played by Jennifer Lawrence]. He is a smartass but don’t expect him to be other than just a rotten husband when he is with his big-mouthed unreasonable wife. Watch him in the opening scene where he is busy dressing his hair-streaks to conceal the bald surface. He’s terrific.

Amy Adams plays the other con-artist in love with Irving but after revelation that he is a married guy, wants to move out in desperation only to find a possible match in Richie- the FBI guy. She shows extreme confidence in her character with a ‘go-get it’ attitude with a flair of jealousy & resentment in parts.

Bradley Cooper’s enthusiastic, animated & restless Richie provides good laugh especially in an on-going gag with his superior agent where the later tells him a story about his father and brother…and the fidgety Cooper tries his hands every time to guess the end & find the moral behind it but ends up maddening him even more.

Jennifer Lawrence charms the screen as thousands of neon gets lit in one spark. Though she played a typical ‘never in control’ housewife with her ‘god only knows’ analysis of situations, she oozes you with her frivolous facetious attitude. Watch her in the side-splitting ‘microwave’ scene. Jeremy Runner Plays a sober, well-intended mayor who gets trapped while striving to do better for their people. Robert De Nero’s cameo as the mob-head is a satisfying surprise.

Getting these many dominant faces in one frame or film is not the only highlight of David O Russell’s AMERICAN HUSTLE. The writing with witty lines, remarkable characters, the performances, set & production design with eyes of detailing, impressive direction, not-so-overdramatic twists in the tale and last but not the least, the emotional inconsistency in every character, as Irving says in the film, “not everyone is black or white but grey”, are what make this story of changing sides in the game of love & hustling people set in corrupt political scenario not just any other common con film but a delicious Comic-Con movie you’ll enjoy thoroughly! [4/5]