Life of Pi

Yann Martel's worldwide bestseller is awoken by Ang Lee in this mega blockbuster. Pi Patel and his phantasmagoric struggle on a raft with a Bengal tiger are retold in great CGI glory. As in the book you are left with the decision to see if the story as told is true or was it Pi's way of coping with what he had to do to survive. 

Rating: * *

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes are reunited in this film... oh wait that is not the case until further reincarnations of the characters. The Unexpected Journey of Bilbo Baggins continues in Peter Jackson's next installment of The Hobbit. If you were left wondering at the end of the first film how Mr. Jackson was going to drag this out into three films, the movie does provide you with the answer. Other than that and the introduction of Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, the film serve no other purpose as it acts as a boring bridge to the grand finale of the battle against the dragon. Throw in some unnecessary twists to the plot by the director, we are left with a rather staid, head scratcher of a film. But if one could suspend their knowledge of the Tolkien novel, you could force yourself to be slightly entertained by the movie.

Rating: * *

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Two years have passed since the events in The Avengers and Captain America finds himself adjusting to the 21st century as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Things are turned topsy turvy when Nick Fury is brutally attacked and Steve Rogers finds himself with no one he can trust. But the real action begins with a whisper from the past that comes attacking him in the form of the Soviet hitman called the Winter Soldier. Thankfully the cloying American propaganda that was a huge part of the first Captain America movie has taken a back seat and you are left with a good vs evil superhero flick. Marvel unleashes another sidekick and they have picked well in choosing the Falcon. Throw in some hot red headed action in the form of Natasha Romanov and you have yourself a fine escape from reality for a couple of hours.

Rating: * * +

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson is back with the symmetry of his frames, still camera and arrestingly strange characters. In his latest masterpiece, the story is centered around an old hotel that lingers on in the cloud of its prestigious past or I should say around that of its concierge. The movie starts off as a simple retelling of the legendary concierge's past that soon becomes part murder mystery, part prison break, part thriller and full on fun ride. Manifested with big name actors and actresses playing their bit and lead roles that they only would for Mr. Anderson, you are left marveling at this genius who makes complexity so simple. Or is it the other way around... 

Rating: * * *