Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop

This introductory single is by far the coolest summer release this year, from a mainstream artist, whose personal life gets more media attention than her actual art. You don’t expect much from Miley, even though I love her much. She’s a grown musician or you can say, a smart musician who knows which producer to hire and she did just the right thing with “We can’t stop”.

The song starts out with a BeeBoop style vocal phrase, moves to Miley’s very weird pipes, the bridge kicks in Disney style, “La La Di Da Di, we like to party” then synths build up, slows down again and the chorus kicks in hard on the bass, synths however lazy on the vocals. Even though her press release states that she mentions “Dancing with Miley” it would be nice of her to say “Molly” because let’s face it, molly’s fun, kids molly is beer ok? ;-). Periodically it phases with the same formula and then Miley or possibly a computer screams the high notes then the song progresses into the kicking chorus and teases you with so infectious in a California driving off the sunset way that you are possessed to hit repeat again and again. If you take the formula or the syntax of how the song is arranged, it’s very similar to Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own”.

Musically, the song is a synth pop song with elements of R&B. It’s cool to say the least with space for remixes to gain it’s entrance into the night clubs. The lyrics are all about being young, being independent and partying. Miley sounds grown up, with her Disney days well behind she comes off as a natural born skank who’s trying to act good for the book, being politically correct in other words. It also comes off as Miley finally legal to do stuff that grownups do, she’s the hot sweet teenage girl who’s experimenting with fashion hairstyles, substances, drinks and sexing a little bit recklessly at college. We love everything about the transaction; it reminds me of another hot teen queen that started the sex drive change thing, Ms. American dream since she was 17, ring a bell?

After Earth

Directing a movie must be hard, that is why M Night’s latest product failed horribly. It’s massive oh yes, but it’s rather too dumb or dare I say easy to grasp the idea that yes, the plot is set thousands of years from present day earth, earth is no longer habituated, human beings moved on to another galaxy and from that very  galaxy they voyage into deep space in a heavily CGI’ed Star Wars type space craft. They “warped” ahead of asteroids thereby damaging the space craft and the Smiths are the only survivors that crash landed and they have to find their way back to whatever galaxy they are from. However the many rules and laws tangled with their journey is rather too much to grasp and rather boring too. It’s also safe to say that the step by step revelation of M Night’s style of storytelling leaves the audience with faux leather. Backdrops are super eye popping, the animals are large and dangerous and there’s this blind alien who can kill humans by sensing their fear, it’s called Ursa and it killed Jayden’s elder sister, she protected him from being torn to pieces. The movie does not take you to the future world, it does briefly at the beginning when it explained what all the hassle of the alien is about, on the contrary, after the heavily CGI’ed   beacon ship crash landed, the movie takes you to a journey of a father and son bonding while trying to find a device that would send a stress signal that would get them rescued. Resources are scarce, they got into fits of fights and then it drags on. Likewise, the graphics and the settings are very depicting and exhibiting however it’s the plot that has to be the pimple of the face for the reason why the movie misses the bull’s eye.

Mind you, it’s not as bad as a Bollywood territory, the production is huge, and it has a budget of $130 however the sets and installments feels or looks rather cheapish like faux plastic brushed to look like metal casing. The space ship interior is rather simple, a change from the vagina looking designs or science fiction movie space ships.  The Smiths both have this post-earth accent that both can’t keep up, Will’s leg, both legs broke due to the crash and he is left all through out of the movie barking orders at his son and whatever “take a knee” means. There’s a huge bird that somehow protects Jayden and even died for him, that summed up the category for loveable flicks and as much as the score would allow you to believe, it’s not much happening, nor is the dialogue, the father son struggle seem to stem back from childhood and Jayden certainly doesn’t act as good, he’s just not a very good actor. I can see that Will Smith is giving his son a chance for this summer blockbuster. It has all the flair and gimmick to make it a good watch but After Earth totally failed. There is no one to really blame, the director spanned backdrops and exotic Amazon territory forests, lava and snowcapped spaces. The score is minimal which indeed is fractured in the first place. However, it is the actors and the very complex reminiscing dialogues that make the movie more of an ordeal, the fighting scenes are minimal, too minimal and when they happen, its loud and room shattering.

If you’ve seen the movie trailer before thinking it would be awesome, then you’re in for a disappointment. It’s not bad at all but the goods are not well rounded enough for your entertainment to be in safe harbor. You might want to save your cash and go watch another movie instead.


Picture courtesy of Wikipedia. Taken from the below link: 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5b/After_Earth_Poster.jpg

Now You See Me

We need a resolution. We need originality. We need a movie whose trailer is not misleading. I want all of your banks to pay for it just like they made them do in this summer movie excuse called Now  You See Me. The score is roaring, the lines are cheesy and the effects, a feast so much so that you’re not going to know what is happening. Many summer blockbusters are known for their originality but not this movie. It’s set in magic, Las Vegas, sometimes New York City and as far as Paris. The magic has all the explanation in the end, and the magicians are likeable, the mental power of Woody’s characters makes you wonder if it’s possible and that’s where the line draws, it blurs between reality and fantasy and it’s downright confusing. The only powerful gimmick it adopts is the card trick by the very annoying Jesse Eisenberg’s character in the beginning, he told a hot chick to remember one of the cards that he holds up, I looked at it, and memorize 7 diamonds, and 7 of diamonds does show up on a huge sky scraper, let’s just not try to explain that because Morgan Freeman’s character whose whole purpose driven life is to expose magicians doesn’t bother to either.

The beginning introduces the four actors who would later form The Four Horsemen in an Ocean’s Ten style, panning in panorama style which gives you a dizzy head. The very annoying and cocky Jesse Eisenberg talks rapidly and acts smart being a magician, Isla Fisher being an escape artist fakes being eaten by Piranhas, Woody’s role a mentalist who does good or no good to a husband who cheats on his wife, “mind your own fucking business” that was all in my mind if we’re gonna talk about mental games. The fourth guy, the role that Matt Damon would play if this movie directs the "Oceans" way;-). I'm not pointing fingers, but I'm trying hard to resist the urge to say that I don't like this movie at all in the same way as to not sound as an ass for everyone "loves" this movie. THE role is a beginner of magic; he is the most handsome and most likeable, “kill Jesse Eisenberg” that’s all I was thinking. So then it goes, they perform shows at the MGM grand Las Vegas and Morgan Freeman, a magic secret reveler keeps on coming up proving that his character is going to be a climax point although it wasn’t, I was happy that he got punished but I wouldn’t give away everything because spoilers suck. Michael Caine, the only fitting character is the financier of the whole act and they also rubbed his balls in acid, he got padded, sad, such a class act, and his character also does a lot of classy talk downs with the egotistic Morgan Freeman. He who must not be named keeps on telling the four horses what they have to do, you will never believe who it turns out to be.

Overall, the actors are talented, it’s a star studded movie and Melanie Laurent is beautiful as an Interpol detective while the FBI agent kind of flirts with her in a way, you know they’re gonna fuck eventually with all that chemistry and care and action chases. The sad part of this movie is that it’s no science fiction at all, it’s all plain magic and it’s hard to draw the lines of it, some are explained clearly while some are left for your imagination, read the hand cuff teleporting. The movie is a totally disappointment, it does not hold much suspense even though it’s huge it feels like just for the sake of it. I was in it for the whole advert and I felt really stupid at the end and annoyed too mainly by Jesse Eisenberg who for some reason only knows how to act this one character that talks really fast, is witty, is egotistical and is hard core ugly, Ranbir Kapoor territory.  The plot could easily pass for a stale value even though it’s sold out most of the time. Most of the scenes are shot in the night and its people friendly so there are lots of feel good scenes however it’s a sad disappointment for it. Jesse Eisenberg, you fucking twat. 

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia, taken from the below link

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Now_You_See_Me_Poster.jpg

The Hangover Part III

Three’s the charm they say and with the Hangover it was just that although it’s not charming at all. The third and final installment of The Hangover thinks that the audience likes dark humor. Of all the over the top adventures and the down pour hilarious antics from Zack’s character, it’s pretty dark if you ask me. The movie starts off with Zack’s character Allan driving on a freeway pulling a giraffe on a cart thereby causing what is only natural with him, chaos. His dad unfortunately died thereby leaving space for a very funny intervention.

The wolf pack, Phil, Stu, Dough and Alan went out to Arizona to check Alan in rehab since Alan’s character is way too out of control. To top it off, his dad did die because of a heart attack out of his frustration. It’s a thrill of a lifetime; it was originally supposed to be a good natured trip to Arizona but it all changes when a mafia kidnapped Dough yet again in lieu of the information for Leslie Chow’s whereabouts. Ken Jeong’s character is very important in this installment, the puns and comedy gags are hilarious but sometimes a bit Jim Carrey-ish. He proves to everyone yet again that “Chow is madness, that he is the “ultimate bad ass”. He’s loaded with drugs and of course a mind of the super villain, all I wished was that he would be given better material to work with because this part of the hangover is so much on the dark comedy side that I don’t even enjoy some of the gags. Heather Graham gives a comeback, she married a surgeon an update from the dentist that she shortly married. Her character is still very likeable and charming, she helped the wolf pack gain access of Chow’s whereabouts after they lost track of him yet again. The visit to her house marks the first step of Alan turning into an adult when he is reunited with Heather’s son, now a toddler.

Mellisa Mc Carthy’s character is downright hilarious it’s real life. The way she yelled at her mom and the instant fat person to another fat person connection that she has with Alan is divine. The lollipop scene progresses very slow but fills the theatre with fits of laughter, the scene where Alan pulled down his pants after they kissed saying, “I saw this in a pornography” she simply replies, “We should wait” thereby marking another step for Alan’s road to adulthood. It makes me wonder Las Vegas IS the rehab for Alan; nearly falling off buildings, seeing someone getting killed and sensing a fake epiphany are all too similar with the first two and it has not much enough pull to graduate into great. The characters are good, the actors give nice performances, Phil is divine to look at, he is cool, he is handsome, tall, and he swears a lot, I was almost got wet seeing him wear a “Diesel top”. Stu, the loser yet loveable smart dentist gets a revamp from Phil that he is “doctor Stuart” and that he can do anything, his character is the most likely to let all his friends survive anyway. Dough is away half of the movie but his boy next door good looks are feasts for the eyes. 

Las Vegas, the first and the possibly final city to do so much damage to the Wolf Pack looks realistic, the screen pans to all the “Live your Life” air shots of the city however it also shows the not so glamorous side of it. Apart from the very dark storytelling, The Hangover Part 3 is a joy ride by all means, however the falls and the splashes feels like acid water rather than a fun amusement park.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Some dreams are made to never really follow. And some movies are made to just thrill every eager little kid in you. I saw a lot of grown up people, mostly nerds at the Star Trek : Into Darkness screening. It was house full and a lot of Oriental Indians were there, a trend in Delhi for all things Hollywood or “European-American”, be it the Comic Con, NH-7 Music Festival, it was jammed with cool kids, and in Delhi, nerds are really cool, take in mind we worship smart people.

J.J. Abram, “That nerd” invites us to his future proof realism of what Star Fleet is supposed to be, the buildings are futuristic, the aliens are friendly with the humans and vice versa. The plot touches terrorism too when Khan brainwashed the dad of a girl who’s dying by giving him a solution which can cure anything thereby blowing up some archive London office of Starfleet (sorry, I know spoilers are bitches). You don’t really know if Khan, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is the villain or the hot girl’s dad. That’s the beauty of a nerdy movie like Star Trek, you just can’t blink, you have to stay in tune with what the characters say in their lines or else the space age celestial special effects are all that is left to dazzle you. Although no one should scratch their brains that much for a summer movie, it’s fair to say that J.J. Abrams gives a lot of credit to the audience, the suspense, the betrayal has another Abrams work “Lost” written all over it. By the standard of plot writing, the writers have a lot of material to work for, it’s not the innovation that must have been squeezed, it definitely must be what to “tone down” taking into consideration the numerous history of the Star Trek series.

By all means, the movie has all that works for a hit summer blockbuster. The plot is surprisingly fresh and up to date, it makes you wonder “THAT” exactly is what would happen if humans travel faster than the speed of light “warp” and interact, or even speak the language of aliens from another planet like the way Uhura (played by Zoe Saldana) did. She speaks an alien language which in reality must be nothing but a huge pile of gibberish. Captain Clark played by Chris Pine is hilarious, loveable and ever so good looking and so is the slightly annoying but all the same loveable Spock played by Mr. Face Zachary Quinto, I won’t give any more spoilers other than this but Spock and Kirk has this really gay scene when Kirk is about to die to radiation exposure! Want to know how? Go see the movie by all means, it’s worth it. 3D Effects are great, plot even borderline of a classic. This movie should give you a fest of what you expect in the first place; however it would trick you, who don’t like the realization of truth at the end of a movie, that “OOhhh yes!” feeling. Go see it, while it’s still playing.

For spoilers that I can't mention in this review, comment down below for discussions. I do reply :)