Mother's Day (2016) Review

Mother's Day is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Marshall, Tom Hines, Lily Hollander, Anya Kochoff-Romano and Matt Walker.
It features an ensemble cast, including; Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Shay Mitchell, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Timothy Olyphant, Britt Robertson, Jack Whitehall, Héctor Elizondo, and Margo Martindale. Filming began on August 18, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. It was the final film of Marshall's career prior to his death in July 2016.
Mother's Day was theatrically released in the United States on April 29, 2016 by Open Road Films. It was panned by the critics and grossed $48 million worldwide. At the 37th Golden Raspberry Awards, Roberts and Hudson received nominations for Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress respectively.
As Mother's Day nears, a group of seemingly-unconnected people in Atlanta come to terms with their relationships with their mothers.
Sandy is a divorced mother of two boys whose ex-husband, Henry has recently remarried a younger woman, Tina. Sandy is still getting used to this when she meets Bradley, a former marine, in the supermarket. Bradley's wife Dana, a Marine Lieutenant, has recently died, leaving him with their two daughters and missing her terribly.
Miranda is an accomplished author who gave up her only child Kristin for adoption at birth; as the adult Kristin has her own daughter and mulls over marrying the father, she contemplates the missing part in her life and her friend Jesse encourages her to search for her birthmother.
Jesse and her sister Gabi have their own issues with their parents, who they feel are too racist and homophobic to be in their lives: Jesse married and had a son with an Indian-American and Gabi married her girlfriend Max and adopted her son. They're surprised when their parents suddenly show up, and plenty of catching-up is in order.

Now You See Me (2013) Review

Now You See Me is a 2013 American heist spine chiller movie coordinated by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt and a story by Yakin and Ricourt. It is the main portion in the Now You See Me arrangement. The film includes a group cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman.

The plot follows a FBI specialist and an Interpol investigator who track a group of entertainers who pull off bank heists and thefts during their exhibitions and prize their crowds with the cash, endeavoring to deal with them.

The film debuted in New York City on May 21, 2013 preceding its official delivery in the United States on May 31, 2013, by Summit Entertainment. The film got blended audits in with analysis being centered around the consummation, yet turned into a film industry achievement, earning $351.7 million worldwide against a spending plan of $75 million.

The film won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Thriller Movie and furthermore got selections for the Empire Award for Best Thriller and the Saturn Award for Best Thriller Film and Best Music.

A spin-off, Now You See Me 2, was delivered on June 10, 2016.

Prometheus (2012) Review

Prometheus is a 2012 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott, written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof and starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron.

It is set in the late 21st century and centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as it follows a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures. Seeking the origins of humanity, the crew arrives on a distant world and discovers a threat that could cause the extinction of the human species.

Development of the film began in the early 2000s as a fifth installment in the Alien franchise. Scott and director James Cameron developed ideas for a film that would serve as a prequel to Scott's 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien.

In 2002, the development of Alien vs. Predator took precedence, and the project remained dormant until 2009 when Scott again showed interest. Spaihts wrote a script for a prequel to the events of the Alien films, but Scott opted for a different direction to avoid repeating cues from those films.

In late 2010, Lindelof joined the project to rewrite Spaihts's script, and he and Scott developed a story that precedes the story of Alien but is not directly connected to that franchise. According to Scott, although the film shares "strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak", and takes place in the same universe, Prometheus explores its own mythology and ideas.

Colombiana (2011) Review

Colombiana is a 2011 French-American English-language action thriller film co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldana with supporting roles by Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Lennie James, Callum Blue, and Jordi Mollà. "Colombiana" means a woman from Colombia.

The film is about Cataleya (also a genus of orchids), a ten-year-old girl in Colombia whose family is killed by a drug lord. Fifteen years later, a grown Cataleya seeks her revenge.

While the film had a generally negative reception from critics, Saldana's action sequences were praised and the movie earned $63.4 million against a $40 million budget.

In 1992, in Bogota, Colombia, a drug lord Don Luis Sandoval sends his henchman Marco and a group of killers to kill Fabio Restrepo and his family because Fabio is intent on leaving the life of crime behind.

Fabio gives his ten-year-old daughter Cataleya a SmartMedia computer memory card with the information on Don Luis' business and tells her it's her "passport"; he also gives her the address of her uncle Emilio, a criminal in Chicago, who will take care of her.

The last thing he gives her is his mother's cataleya orchid necklace. However, Fabio and his wife Alicia are gunned down as Cataleya escapes to the United States after handing over the memory card to the U.S. Embassy, later escaping their grasp as well. Cataleya finds her uncle Emilio in Chicago and asks him to train her as a killer.

The Big Short (2015) Review

The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Adam McKay. Written by McKay and Charles Randolph, it is based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis showing how the financial crisis of 2007–2008 was triggered by the United States housing bubble.
The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, with Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock, and Marisa Tomei in supporting roles.
The film is noted for the unconventional techniques it employs to explain financial instruments. Among others, it features cameo appearances by actress Margot Robbie, chef Anthony Bourdain, singer-songwriter Selena Gomez, and economist Richard Thaler, who break the fourth wall to explain concepts such as subprime mortgages and collateralized debt obligations as a meta-reference.
Several of the film's characters directly address the audience, most frequently Gosling's, who serves as the narrator.
The Big Short began a limited release in the United States on December 11, 2015, followed by a wide release on December 23 by Paramount Pictures.
A critical and commercial success, the film grossed $133 million on a $50 million budget and received acclaim for the performances of the cast (particularly that of Bale), McKay's direction, editing, and the screenplay. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in addition to nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bale), and Best Film Editing.

Birdman (2014) Review

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), or simply Birdman, is a 2014 American black comedy-drama film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. It was written by Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., and Armando Bó.
The film stars Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a faded Hollywood actor best known for playing the superhero "Birdman", as he struggles to mount a Broadway adaptation of a short story by Raymond Carver.
The film also features a supporting cast of Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts.
The film covers the period of previews leading to the play's opening, and with a brief exception appears as if filmed in a single shot, an idea Iñárritu had from the film's conception. Emmanuel Lubezki, who won the Academy Award for his cinematography in Birdman, believed that the recording time necessary for the long take approach taken in Birdman could not have been made with older technology.
The film was shot in New York City during the spring of 2013 with a budget of $16.5 million jointly financed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, New Regency Pictures and Worldview Entertainment. It premiered the following year in August where it opened the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

Faster (2010) Review

Faster is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by George Tillman Jr.. Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton star as a criminal seeking vengeance and the corrupt cop who pursues him, respectively. Tom Berenger, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Carla Gugino also appear.
Faster was released on November 24, 2010, and grossed $35 million against production budget of $24 million.
Upon leaving prison, James Cullen alias "Driver", breaks into a run until he retrieves his 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, a gun, and some names. He drives to an office in Bakersfield, California and kills a man. Driver visits Roy Grone, who gave him the car and gun, where he forces him to give him more names.
Meanwhile, Driver is tracked by detectives Cicero and her partner Slade Humphries alias "Cop", who is on the verge of retirement, while his life is off track due to a debilitating heroin addiction. Cicero gets a break in the case when she recognizes Driver on video. Later, a nameless hitman, "Killer", is hired to kill Driver. Killer promises his girlfriend Lily it is his last job.
Driver heads to the second name on his list, an old man, Kenneth Tyson alias "Old Guy", who films his own personal snuff films. He is in the middle of filming a sexual assault involving a teenaged girl he drugged when Driver busts in the door, saving the girl and shooting him dead.
Killer initiates a gun fight in the hallway, but Driver escapes. This affects Killer philosophically, who proposes to Lily and takes the task personally. Cop and Cicero are investigating Driver's past and discover he was double crossed.
Cicero remembers Driver from a video of his older half-brother Gary's death, filmed by the videographer, Old Guy. On tape, an unidentified man shoots Driver in the head, but he narrowly survives, though a metal plate in his skull.

The Other Guys (2010) Review

The Other Guys is a 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote it with Chris Henchy. It stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dwayne Johnson.
This film is the fourth of five collaborations between Ferrell and McKay, following Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and Step Brothers (2008), and followed by Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013).
The Other Guys is the only one not to be co-written by Ferrell. It is also the first of three collaborations between Ferrell and Wahlberg, who later reunited in Daddy's Home (2015) and Daddy's Home 2 (2017).
The film was released in the United States on August 6, 2010. It was well received by critics and grossed $170 million worldwide.

The Blind Side (2009) Review

The Blind Side is a 2009 American biographical sports drama film written and directed by John Lee Hancock. Based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis, the film tells the story of Michael Oher, an American football offensive lineman who overcame an impoverished upbringing to play in the National Football League (NFL) with the help of his adoptive parents Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy.
It stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and Quinton Aaron as Oher.
The film was a commercial success, grossing $309 million on a $29 million budget. Despite mixed reviews from critics, Bullock's performance was universally praised, leading to her winning the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Bullock also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
The film opens with seventeen-year-old Michael ("Big Mike") Oher talking to an NCAA investigator. Then a flashback ensues.
Michael has been in foster care with different families in Oslo, Tennessee, due to his mother's drug addiction. Every time he is placed in a new home, he runs away.
His friend's father, on whose couch Mike had been sleeping, asks Burt Cotton, the coach of Wingate Christian School, to help enroll his son and Mike.
Impressed by Mike's size and athleticism, Cotton gets him admitted despite his poor academic record. Later, Michael is befriended by a younger student named Sean Jr. ("SJ"). SJ's mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, is a strong-minded interior designer and the wife of wealthy businessman Sean Tuohy.

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) Review

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (transl. Whether you know or not) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language coming of age romantic comedy film, written and directed by Abbas Tyrewala. The film stars Imran Khan and Genelia D'Souza in the lead roles. Produced by Mansoor Khan, Aamir Khan, it marks the directional debut of Abbas Tyrewala, the debut of Imran Khan (Aamir Khan's nephew) and Prateik Babbar as actors, and the re-appearance of D'Souza in Hindi cinema. Released on 4 July 2008, the film received positive reviews and was successful at the box office. The music is by A. R. Rahman.
The story begins as four friends travel with a guest to an airport, when Jignesh "Jiggy" Patel (Nirav Mehta), Ravindran "Rotlu" Sahu (Karan Makhija), Sandhya "Bombs" Sahay (Alishka Varde) and Shaleen Varma (Sugandha Garg) offer to tell Jiggy's date, air hostess Mala Mishra (Renuka Kunzru), the unique love story of Jai and Aditi, two friends who they have known.
Jai "Rats" Singh Rathore (Imran Khan) is the most non-violent Rajput to have ever existed, while Aditi "Meow" Mahant (Genelia D'Souza), is an aggressive and impulsive girl. Her nickname is the result of her abuse and scratching of people.
Despite their differences, Jai and Aditi are best friends in college. They seem perfect for each other, but everyone except them acknowledges this fact. Aditi often has a bickering relationship with her brother Amit (Prateik Babbar), who seems to hate Jai because of his polite and cool nature, and since Aditi cannot stand any insults against Jai, she regularly picks up fights with him.
Aditi dreams of a virile, macho husband, while Jai wants a sweet, romantic girl. Since they do not believe that they are in love, they search for a perfect life partner for each other after finishing college. Jai falls in love with Meghna Pariyar (Manjari Phadnis) after spotting her in a club where two rough men were misbehaving with her.
He rescues her by tricking the duo, thus winning Meghna's heart. When Meghna and Jai get close to each other, Rotlu, Jiggy, Sandhya, and Shaleen are happy for Jai, but nobody notices that Aditi is missing Jai's company. Meghna informs Jai that her parents squabble but cannot live without each other.
Jai visits Meghna's parents and sees that her father, Mahesh (Rajat Kapoor), is an alcoholic who has much friction with his ex-wife Sheela (Kitu Gidwani). Due to the meeting, he misses Aditi's surprise birthday party. Aditi's feelings are hurt, so he goes late at night to wish her but is sent back.

The Game Plan (2007) Review

The Game Plan is a 2007 American family comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and with a screenplay by Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price from a story by Millard, Price and Audrey Wells. The film stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Madison Pettis and Kyra Sedgwick.
It follows a professional quarterback who finds out he has an 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
It was the last film to be distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, after Disney retired the Buena Vista moniker across their company's divisions in the same year. It is also the final film where Johnson is credited with his ring name. The Game Plan was released in the United States on September 28, 2007.
In the last game of the American Football Federation regular season between the Boston Rebels and the New York Dukes, Rebels quarterback Joe Kingman (Dwayne Johnson) scores a touchdown after ignoring an open wide receiver, Travis Sanders.
The next morning, an 8-year-old girl named Peyton Kelly (Madison Pettis) arrives on Joe's doorstep saying that she is his biological daughter, and that his divorced wife, Sara, sent her there to meet him. His agent, Stella Peck (Kyra Sedgwick), thinks this will be bad for his image and distracts him with the upcoming playoffs.
At the opening of his own restaurant, Joe inadvertently leaves without Peyton, and is on the cover of a tabloid the next day. Stella decides Joe needs a new fatherly image. At a later press conference, the reporters make Joe miserable, until Peyton comes to his defense, saying that he is new to this and trying the best he can, and that she thinks he is the best father in the world. Peyton then says that Joe has to repay her, so she has him take her to a ballet academy run by Monique Vasquez (Roselyn Sánchez).
Monique has Joe join their ballet performance to show him that ballet takes just as much athletic ability as football. Joe and Peyton begin their relationship after Peyton calls his arrogant and selfish behavior to his attention. Joe takes Peyton and her new friends to the mall where he begins to develop romantic feelings for Monique.

Mean Girls (2004) Review

Mean Girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters, and written by Tina Fey. The film stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler and Fey.
It is based in part on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 non-fiction self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which describes female high school social cliques and the damaging effects they can have on girls.
Fey also drew from her own experience at Upper Darby High School as an inspiration for some of the concepts in the film. The film introduced Amanda Seyfried in her film debut.
Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced the film. Tina Fey, screenwriter and co-star of the film, was a long-term cast member and writer for SNL. Although set in Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, the film was mostly shot in Toronto, Canada. Filming took place from September to November 2003.
The film marks Lohan's second collaboration with director Waters, the first being Freaky Friday, released a year earlier.
Released on April 30, 2004, the film grossed $130 million worldwide and developed a cult following. The made-for-television sequel Mean Girls 2 premiered on ABC Family on January 23, 2011. A musical adaptation premiered on Broadway in March 2018.

Catch and Release (2006) Review

Catch and Release is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Susannah Grant, her only feature film direction, and starring Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Sam Jaeger and Juliette Lewis.
In the film, after a woman's fiancé dies, she seeks comfort in his friends, learning his secrets while falling for his best friend. Filming took place in 2005 in Vancouver and Boulder, Colorado.
Catch and Release premiered at the Austin Film Festival in October 2006 and was released in the United States on January 26, 2007. The film was panned by critics and bombed at the box office, earning $16 million against a $25 million budget.
In Boulder, Gray Wheeler attends the funeral of her fiancé, Grady Douglas, on the day they were supposed to be married. Gray seeks solitude behind a shower curtain, where she unintentionally listens to Grady's best friend, Fritz, having sex with a caterer.
Eve, Grady's attorney, confirms for Gray that since they were not married, Gray will get nothing. The attorney reveals that Grady had an investment account with a million dollars in it, which Gray knew nothing about.
Gray realizes that she can no longer afford to rent the house that they had picked out. With the help of Grady's other two close friends, Dennis and Sam, she puts her things into storage and moves in with them. Fritz, currently between directing commercials in California, also comes to stay, which causes tension between him and Gray.