Cars 3 - More McQueen Less Mater

Cars 3 is the third part of the largely popular franchise from pixar. Its directed by Brian Fee and once again has our favourite Lightning McQueen voiced by Owen WIlson returning to the races. Going into this, I had lowered my expectations because of the failure of cars 2, which instead of focusing on cars and its plot went to explore unnecessary areas trying to turn it into a stupid spy movie.

Lightning McQueen is finally the main focus and Mater was sidelined for good, and it was really nice that the makers had realised their mistake. McQueen is racing along with his veteran buddies but out of nowhere comes this car, Jackson Storm, a rookie who steals every race he's in and who's also much faster, more advanced and superior to McQueen in every way. McQueen's veteran buddies are all retiring around him, leaving him the only 'old' car in town who still wants to race.

I really like how the series is adapting to time, showing all the advancements in technology. There's racing simulators, virtual reality, treadmills, electrical paints and other cool stuff like that. McQueen is wounded both physically and mentally because he's unable to keep up with these new comers and gets seriously damaged in the process. He takes time delving into what went wrong and what he must to in order to keep pace with the other racers and with the press constantly asking him when he's going to retire. McQueen wants to decide for himself when he retires but to do so, he must prove that he's still the racer the world thought he was.

McQueen's new sponsor assures him that he's going to be an amazing brand and that money is going to come flying to him once he's done. But McQueen is beyond all that and for him, racing matters more than anything else in the world. As he struggles to fix his problem, he meets a new trainer, Cruz Ramirez who aspired to be a racer but ended up as a trainer due to low confidence levels and bad bullies around her. McQueen meets some old friends of the Hudson Hornet, his mentor who is no more and seeks their advise and they all come together to train him much better than those stupid simulators and VR racing arenas ever could have done, teaching him to race smarter instead of faster.

The first part had an amazing, out of the box ending which no one saw coming and this part does the same. With intense unconventional training and execution, this movie was one heck of a ride and is much more than Lightning McQueen trying to beat Jackson Storm, but Lighning McQueen accepting the reality that he's old and can never go as fast as the other cars. It was great to catch a glimpse of how the Hudson Hornet dealt with a similar situation and the fact that this movie wasn't all how fast and awesome Lightning McQueen is was more than applaudable. Great CGI, nice background scores, seeing more of the radiator springs, Sally, anyone who saw the first part and loved it as much as I did can appreciate it instead of questioning the logic behind this and nitpick how these cars are running without a driver.

In the end, once again, Pixar manages to impress me and I can say that I loved this the most. The target audience is pretty wide, we think that this is a movie for children but I felt like this had a little for all ages and especially those people who can't run as fast as they want to but still try. It was a breath of fresh air, some really dark DC comic like themes coming into play instead of the all fun themes pixar usually chooses.

Verdict:

7.5/10

At the end of the movie, there's an important message I got, that true happiness doesn't always come when you're out there in your prime performing exceptionally, reaching for the skies and breaking all records, sometimes being a mentor can be awesome too, it just made me realise how important good teachers are and a great teacher once said 'Those who can, do and those who can't, teach'

Despicable me 3 - Least fun of them all

Despicable Mme 3, is the third installment of the globally acclaimed series from Illumination entertainment directed by Pierre Coffin, the voice of behind the minions and Kyle Balda. The second part ended with Gru getting married to Lucy and working together with her for the Anti-villain league (AVL).

The movie picks up where it left, with Gru and Lucy chasing this new villain in town Balthazar Bratt who became a real life villain because Hollywood refused to continue his TV show where he acted as a villain. So he gets angry with them and decides to take revenge by becoming a real life version of the TV series villain. Something which separates the despicable me series from the others is the presence of awesome and cool villains but this series had the weakest villain of them all. Seriously, there was something so unique and awesome about both Vector and El-Macho but this dude is just boring.

 Gru comes to know of a twin brother Dru he had after the death of his father. He doesn't seem to display any sort of emotion at the news of his dad's death but he's certainly excited to meet his brother. The movie feels like it fast forwards real life emotions and is in a hurry to make Gru and Dru meet. Dru is also voiced by Steve Carell but with awesome golden hair and wants to become a villain to continue theier family legacy, he's like Gru but less awesome and dumb but more rich. The first half of the movie was definitely more fun than the second half. There were a lot of scenes where I had to roll over my eyes.

Let's talk about the most disappointing thing in the movie, minions. The first two films knew exactly how to balance Gru's awesomeness along with some really funny minion moments. True, Gru can hold the franchise together on his own along with Agnes, Edith and Margot but minions are the main reason people come to see this. There's too few minion moments and absolutely no Doctor Nefario, another really funny character we all love. Perhaps the reason why they were too sceptical with the minions having more screentime is due to the failure of the minions movie to perform as good as the others among critics as the studio expected . Sometimes its not enough if they sell just stuffed toys and earn a billion dollars I guess. But whenever the minions are on screen, they totally steal the show and make you laugh your guts off. I might have said they were not shown enough but when they're there, its so awesome. Their sense of humour, dressing sense, jokes about body parts, these jokes never get stale. It was like eating some really delicious food but still leaving the hotel hungry. Another big issue is that the plot wouldn't have changed much even in their complete absence, that's something I was really disappointed with. They were just there to produce some momentary laughs instead of being an important plot device.

I really don't know what's with the number three when it comes to successful franchises, Star Wars, the dark knight trilogy, the X-men series, the third one is always the worst, except toy story. If only they can all be like toy story. War for the planet of the apes is coming out this year, better not let me down Matt Reeves, we're counting on you.

So overall, despicable me 3 could still be an enjoyable time if you go with an open mind, you'll still be entertained but this part has the weakest villain and very less minion time. Steve Carell was good, the three girls never seem to age, they literally look the same as when they were adopted from the orphanage, I guess strange things happen in this universe. Some loose ends here and there but if you just want to have some fun family time, then this is the place to be.

Verdict: 6.9/10

The movie ends with a cliffhanger hence the possibility of another sequel is definitely on the table. 

Wonder woman - Wonder, power, justice

Wonder woman, directed by Patty Jenkins is the fourth movie in the DC extended universe, a universe which means a lot to a lot of people and which doesn't mean so much for the critics yet. This movie had to be many things for a wide variety of people, it had to be kick-ass female superhero origin story for girls and women, it had to be a good comic book movie with lots of easter eggs for fans, it had to be a decent movie for the critics, and it had to be a very bad movie so that the DCEU could be wrapped up for some hardcore Marvel fans. It managed to do every single of those except the last part, DCEU is far from finished my dear friends.

We were already introduced to Wonder Woman, Diana Prince in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. She was a major reason for Doomsday's defeat and looks like she's going to start the justice league along with Bruce Wayne. Batman v Superman got mixed reviews but one thing that people mutually liked was Diana's introduction in the battlefield.

The movie is essentially an origin story for Diana Prince, and it starts off with little Diana who shows a lot of interest in fighting even when she was a kid. Diana is from an island called as Themiscyra, a place filled with Amazonian women who just fight and train, getting prepared for future threats. Diana is raised by the queen of the Amazons, Queen Hippolyta who's very concerned about little Diana's safety. Diana is particularly fond of her aunt Antiope, her aunt and the general of the Amazons who cuts her some slack, trains her to defend herself and teaches her some martial arts.

Things change when Steve Trevor, a British intelligence agent accidentally lands on the bay of the island and is later rescued by Diana. This is where the movie picks up some pace, Diana a girl who knows nothing of the outside world all of a sudden comes to know about a war that is taking place. She feels that her talents should be put to use and that mankind must be saved. Hippolyta warns her that the world doesn't deserve Diana and that she must not leave. After some protest, Diana finally leaves Themiscyra along with Steve for the war. She's eager to save mankind but at the same time, she's a fish out of wter. According to Diana, only two types of people exist in the world, good and bad so the fact that even the people she fights for could be a mixture of both is very hard for her to digest.

Steve Trevor is played by Chris Pine and DC could not have found a better person to cast as Steve. He quickly understands Diana's attitude and is very patient with her, at the same time lets her go outside and kick some ass. For a PG-13 movie there are some pretty interesting jokes here which fell into place perfectly. The chemistry between Chris and Diana is so magnetic and natural, and you'll just keep wanting more of it. My only regret is that I saw so little of them. 

Let's talk about Gal, she was cast as wonder woman sometime around 2013 and there weren't a lot of fans supporting the casting choice. Gal Gadot has served the Israeli army and she's a model, basically a mixture of both beauty and beast. A large portion of the movie was shot while she was pregnant and her commitment to the role is applaudable. A lot of people complained about her accent and her skinny body and Gal has proved the haters wrong. I wouldn't say that Gal is the perfect casting choice for wonder woman but the way she has adapted to tricky conditions is something which has definitely earned my respect for her. I loved her performance in Batman v Superman and there are some scenes where she has acted so well in wonder woman, so there are absolutely no issues when it comes to accent or acting, personally, I find her accent to be unique and attractive. Overall, a great casting choice and an extraordinary performance from Gal, I can't wait to see more of her in justice league.

The other notable members of the cast include Connie Nielsen as wonder woman's mother and Queen Hippolyta and Robin Wright as Antiope. I loved Robin Wright as Hippolyta, all I know about her is that she says 'run Forrest run' who knew she herself could run like a beast and take down dozens of men like a boss. I was astounded with her performance and all the other girls have worked real hard for this, looking ripped and all. But Robin Wright in particular, 51 years old and still managing to give us such an outstanding performance, proving that age is just a number.

Patty Jenkins has directed this movie and it's nice to see a female director getting a big budget film and doing a remarkable job with the resources she has. She's a big fan of the Christopher Reeve Superman series and there are some scenes which are very reminiscent of the 1978 Superman movie. The studio executives are very pleased with the response and it's only a matter of time until she signs up for part 2.

This movie has a 93% score on rotten tomatoes and has been doing a great job at the box office. The movie is being loved by both fans and critics and a huge hit at the box office. Personally, I really liked this film, the story was very coherent Gal was beautiful and did a great job with the action scenes, Chris Pine's dialogue delivery was remarkable and there were a lot of jokes to keep us engaged. There is still some epicness missing somewhere. We get to experience another huge finale just like the other DC movies but towards the end, but I was left with wanting more. I would have loved to see more of Diana and Steve together, I would have loved to see more world war fight scenes and once again, just like many other superhero films, there's a villain problem. It was announced long back that David Thewlis will be playing Ares the god of war but there were too many supernatural elements in it. I feel like they could have taken a little more time explaining them and the villain turned out to be pretty stereotypical. Like Man of Steel, this does feel like an Elseworld story, leaving behind some loose ends. So personally, I won't rate this better than Batman v Superman or man of steel. Perhaps the reason I feel this way is because I am a huge fan of the dark knight and the man of steel. Wonder woman is definitely an amazing film, but not something which even comes close to the likes of the dark knight, so all those claiming that it's better than dark knight, or any of the Nolan trilogy films for that matter, please stop.

I wanted a tease to the justice league, I wanted to see some more Easter eggs, since they are introducing mystical stuff, they could have maybe teased us some Doctor Fate or the possibility of a Shazam existing in the same universe. I know that things get messy if you start introducing more characters and that you should stick to the plot but this is a comic book movie and a tease wouldn't have done much harm. 

Before winding up, I'd like to just make a statement. I never really bothered about the rotten tomatoes ratings for Batman v Superman and man of steel, I still think both those movies are epic in their own way so the fact that this movie got a 93% doesn't really mean a lot for me. DCEU never needed saving from the fans, it was never a sinking ship, the fans wouldn't let that happen. Maybe it mattered to WB but I'm not a WB executive so I don't really care about the scores. It's good to see such high ratings but I believe that our individual opinions matter more than the opinion of a critic. I'm reviewing this nearly two weeks since its release, so I went in seeing all those ratings expecting a lot more than what I got to see.

A lot of work goes into making a movie, if you're interested you should go see it and a bad rating shouldn't stop you from seeing something you were excited for or a trailer that got you hyped. This would do justice to both the filmmakers and ourselves.Wonder woman is a great addition to the DCEU, it has certainly earned her a lot of fans, people are going to celebrate this year's Halloween with a blast and I'm happy that there is a new era of female superhero fans that this movie is going to give rise to in turn widening the possibility of future female led superhero films. A fantastic job by Patty Jenkins, Gal proved the haters wrong and Chris Pine was 'above average'

Verdict:
Fan in me: 8/10

Critic in me: 7.8/10

One thing which can be fixed in the upcoming DC movies is putting some more jokes here and there, I loved the jokes in this one. It didn't feel like they were trying to copy Marvel and the future DC films should make a note of them. Wonder woman talking about the reproductive system was wonderful. I would love to see some come from Batman and Superman too. This universe has given insane powers to all the heroes in terms of speed, strength and agility, it just makes us more excited to imagine what would happen if they come together and what kind of a threat they must be facing.

Sachin- A journey of 24 years between 22 yards

Sachin: A billion dreams is the biopic of our legendary Sachin Tedulkar directed by James Erskine. This movie tried to cover in two hours and nineteen minutes what Sachin has achieved in 44 years. Going into the film, my expectations weren't too high because initially, I thought that this was a proper documentary like MS Dhoni, the untold story. I feared that this was going to be another one of those Star Sports interviews but I wasn't disappointed with what I saw.

I was able to enjoy it a lot more because I've been following cricket ever since I started talking. Sachin was definitely my childhood superhero just like any other 90's kid born in India. Not just us, but people of all ages can connect to it because he's been in the limelight for a very long time. I can also proudly say that I have seen him play in Chepauk and am definitely honored to have been a part of his journey.

The movie is very well edited, overall its just a walkthrough of his personal and cricketing life. It had a lot more cricket than drama or romance or any other thing you expect from a movie and that's what makes this a lot more interesting than other biopics. We see him grow and learn as a cricketer with clips included from his interviews and press conferences throughout his career.

Something which I didn't like about it was the fact that other important people around him were given much importance. His family's support, the relationship with his father, mother, his brother Ajith and his coach were all beautifully shown, but cricket is won by a team, a team of eleven players, substitutes, and the coach. From what we see, its as if every single match was won single-handedly by Sachin. I'd have liked to see more of Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag, Kumble, Yuvraj and Dhoni. That's my only issue with this movie, otherwise is a neatly edited, structured and a properly paced movie.

There are so many moments where any fan of Sachin or the Indian cricket team for that matter get goosebumps, and his chants which echo throughout the movie transforms the theatre into a stadium making you want to scream your heart out and join the crowd. Overall, Sachin a billion dreams is a good watch, every fan of his should definitely check it out. I'm sure most of us will be able to connect to it and the few significant cricket matches which were the turning points of Indian cricket, making us the cricket crazy nation we are today, revolving around the little master who turned heads of the whole world to India, made us all proud.

Verdict:
7.5/10

It was great to get a glimpse of India's history, including the revolutionary changes which took place throughout the years like communication, politics, terrorism, all of it added more flavour and is probably the reason why it doesn't feel like a 2 hour interview.