Avengers: Age of Ultron

This installment in the Marvelverse starts with Team Avengers raiding a Hydra base and being introduced to Quicksilver and Wanda Maximoff. The mission is successful in that they are reunited with Loki's scepter. Stark and Banner discover artificial intelligence buried in it and use it to come up with a global defense program. The program comes to life and decides rightly that humans are the biggest threat. What ensues is the usual inner bickering in the team and some good ass kicking as the Avengers struggle to defeat the Ultron menace. Definitely enjoyable for people who hate Abbas Kiarostami films.

Rating: * * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Iron Man 2

Take Iron Man down a few notches... well lets make that a dozen notches... and you have its follow on. The gist of the film is Whiplash (a wasted Mickey Rourke) coming for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) when the reactor in his chest is acting up. The plot is thin and the jokes are forced. To make up for that couple of star characters from the Marvel universe, Nick Fury and the Black Widow have been thrown in. Except that Scarlett Johansson looks out of place as the Widow even with her 6 inch heels. Technically Samuel L. Jackson is a perfect fit for the Ultimate version of Nick Fury but it feels like Jules from Pulp Fiction was transported here. Plus if you have read the Marvel Civil War saga, Iron Man can never be in your virtual good books.

Rating: *

Reign over me

Suppose this is one of the many new movies centred around 9/11 that I have been reading about. Adam Sandler (who looks like he can play Bob Dylan in a biographical movie sometime in the future) runs into an old classmate played by Don Cheadle. But Sandlers all messed up, and Don Cheadle attempts to help the fellow out - realising he has issues of his own to deal with. Part funny, part serious it ends up flat. But do not miss the bluesy jam session between the two, hidden under 'special features'.

Rating: * *