En la Cama (In Bed) (2005) Review

In Bed (Spanish: En la Cama) is a 2005 Chilean film directed by Matías Bize and starring Blanca Lewin and Gonzalo Valenzuela.

It was Chile's submission to the 79th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. Nevertheless, the film garnered ten awards at various film festivals.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) Review

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (delivered in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is a 2001 dream movie coordinated by Chris Columbus and circulated by Warner Bros. Pictures, in light of J. K. Rowling's 1997 novel of a similar name.

Created by David Heyman and screenplay by Steve Kloves, it is the main portion of the Harry Potter film arrangement. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Its story follows Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he finds that he is a renowned wizard and starts his schooling.

Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the book in 1999 for a revealed £1 million ($1.65 million). Creation started in the United Kingdom in 2000, with Chris Columbus being picked to make the movie from a waitlist of chiefs that included Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner.

Rowling demanded that the whole cast be British, with the three leads picked in August 2000 after open projecting calls. The film was taken shots at Leavesden Film Studios and noteworthy structures around the United Kingdom, from September 2000 to March 2001.

The film was delivered to films in the United Kingdom and United States on 16 November 2001. It turned into a basic and business achievement, earning $974 million in the cinema world overall during its underlying run, and over $1 billion with ensuing re-discharges. It turned into the most elevated netting film of 2001 and the second most elevated earning film at that point.

The movie was assigned for some, grants, including Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was trailed by seven continuations, starting with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 and finishing with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 out of 2011, almost ten years after the primary film's delivery.

Jarhead (2005) Review

Jarhead is a 2005 American biographical war drama film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 2003 memoir of the same name. The film was directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, and Chris Cooper. Jarhead chronicles Swofford's life story and his military service in the Gulf War.
The film was released on November 4, 2005, by Universal Pictures. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews and was a box office disappointment, grossing $97 million against a budget of $72 million. Despite the film's mixed response, it spawned a film series of four films.
"Jarhead" is a slang term used to refer to U.S. Marines.
In 1989, Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, whose father served in the earlier Vietnam War (1961-1975), attends United States Marine Corps recruit training before being stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Claiming that he joined the military because he "got lost on the way to college", Swofford finds his time at Camp Pendleton difficult, and struggles to make friends. While Swofford feigns illness to avoid his responsibilities, a "lifer", Staff Sergeant Sykes, takes note of his potential and orders Swofford to attend his Scout Sniper course.
After gruelling training, the Scout Sniper course is left with eight candidates, among them Swofford, now a sniper, and Swofford's roommate Corporal Alan Troy who becomes his spotter. When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invades neighboring Kuwait, Swofford's unit is deployed to the Arabian Peninsula as a part of "Operation Desert Shield" in the Gulf War (1990–1991).
Eager for combat, the Marines find themselves bored with remedial training, constant drills, and a routine monotony that feeds their boredom, and prompts them to talk about the unfaithful girlfriends and wives waiting for them at home. They even erect a bulletin board featuring photographs and brief notes telling what perfidies the women had committed (known in military slang as a "Jodie Wall").

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Review

Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the directorial debut of the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, and was produced by Big Beach Films on a budget of US$8 million.
Filming began on June 6, 2005, and took place over 30 days in Arizona and Southern California.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2006, and its distribution rights were bought by Fox Searchlight Pictures for one of the biggest deals made in the history of the festival.
The film had a limited release in the United States on July 26, 2006, and later expanded to a wider release starting on August 18.
Little Miss Sunshine was an overwhelming box office success, earning $101 million, and was praised mainly for the performances, screenplay and humor. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won two: Best Original Screenplay for Michael Arndt and Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin. It also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and received numerous other accolades.

Gangster Squad (2013) Review

Gangster Squad is a 2013 American action crime film directed by Ruben Fleischer, written by Will Beall, and starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, and Sean Penn. Set in 1949, the plot is a fictionalized account of the LAPD officers and detectives, called the 'Gangster Squad', who attempt to keep Los Angeles safe from Mickey Cohen and his gang.
After the script spent several years on the Black List, production of the film began in September 2011 around Los Angeles, lasting through December. The film was originally set to be theatrically released September 7, 2012, but in the wake of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting the film was pushed back to a January 11, 2013 release date by Warner Bros. to accommodate re-shoots, which took place in August 2012.
Gangster Squad received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast and production values but criticized the thinly-written characters. The movie grossed $105 million worldwide.
In 1949 Los Angeles, Mafia boss Mickey Cohen has become the most powerful figure in the California criminal underworld and intends to expand his criminal enterprise to Chicago and New York City. The LAPD has not been able to stop Cohen's ruthless rise, as he has eliminated witnesses, hired dirty cops to protect his criminal activities, and shielded himself from prosecution through corruption in the justice system.
Determined to put a stop to Cohen, LAPD Chief Bill Parker creates a secret police unit, composed of officers who do not carry badges and are authorized to act outside of the law, with the sole mission of bringing Cohen to justice. Parker puts a trusted friend, Sergeant John O'Mara, in charge of secretly building the unit.
With the help of his wife, Connie, he recruits Sergeant Jerry Wooters and four incorruptible misfit officers – black Lieutenant Coleman Harris, electronics expert and family man Conwell Keeler, sharpshooter Max Kennard, and Kennard's Hispanic protégé Navidad Ramirez. Calling themselves the "Gangster Squad", they begin the task of destroying Cohen's operations.

Remember Me (2010) Review

Remember Me is a 2010 American romantic coming-of-age drama film directed by Allen Coulter, and screenplay by Will Fetters. It stars Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper, Lena Olin, and Pierce Brosnan. It received negative reviews from critics, mainly due to the ending.
In New York City in 1991, Alyssa "Ally" Craig is waiting with her mother for the subway, when they are mugged by two young men, who shoot her mother after boarding the train.
Ten years later, Ally is a student at New York University (NYU), and lives with her father, Neil, a New York Police Department detective. Tyler Hawkins audits classes at NYU and works at the university bookstore. He has a strained relationship with his workaholic businessman father, Charles, because his older brother, Michael, died by suicide years before. Charles ignores his youngest child, Caroline, of whom Tyler is protective.
One night, with his roommate, Aidan, Tyler gets involved in somebody else's fight, and is arrested by Neil. Aidan calls Charles to bail Tyler out, but he does not stick around to have a conversation with his father. Aidan sees Neil dropping Ally off, realizing that she is his daughter. He approaches Tyler with the idea to get back at the detective by persuading him to sleep with and dump Ally.
Tyler and Ally go to dinner, kiss at the end of the night, and continue seeing one another. While at Tyler's apartment, Aidan convinces the pair to go to a party, after which Ally is very drunk, and ends up throwing up.
She passes out before Tyler can get her to tell him Neil's phone number. The following day, she and her father argue. Neil slaps her, and Ally flees back to Tyler's apartment.

Sunshine (2007) Review

Sunshine is a 2007 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. Taking place in the year 2057, the story follows a group of astronauts on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun.
The ensemble cast features Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, and Chipo Chung. The director cast a group of international actors for the film, and had the actors live together and learn about topics related to their roles, as a form of method acting.
The film was a co-production between the motion picture studios of Moving Picture Company, DNA Films, UK Film Council, and Ingenious Film Partners. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, while the 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment division released the film in the video rental market. Sunshine explores physics, science and religion. Following its wide release in theatres, the film garnered several award nominations for its acting, directing, and production merits. It also won an award for Best Technical Achievement for production designer Mark Tildesley from the British Independent Film Awards. The film score was composed by John Murphy and was released by the Fox Music Group on 25 November 2008.
Previous science fiction films that Boyle cited as influences included Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film Solaris, and Ridley Scott's 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien. Sunshine was released in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2007 and in the United States on 20 July 2007. The film took £3.2 million in the UK over twelve weeks, and in the USA it was placed no. 13 in the box office on the first weekend of its wide release. With a budget of US$40 million, it ultimately grossed US$32 million worldwide.
Preceding its initial screening to the public, the film was generally met with positive critical reviews, but was not considered a box office success. Widescreen DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film, also including the hi-definition theatrical trailer, scene selections, and director's commentary among other highlights, were released in the United States on 8 January 2008.

Flipped (2010) Review

Flipped is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Rob Reiner, and based on Wendelin Van Draanen's 2001 novel of the same name. Starring Callan McAuliffe, Madeline Carroll, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards, John Mahoney, Penelope Ann Miller, Aidan Quinn, and Kevin Weisman, the film tells the story of two eighth graders who start to have feelings for each other, despite being total opposites.
Flipped was released in theaters in the United States on August 6, 2010 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It garnered mixed reviews from critics, and was a box office bomb, grossing $4.3 million against a $14 million budget.
In 1957, second-grader Bryce Loski first moves in and meets Julianna "Juli" Baker. When they look into each other's eyes, Juli knows it’s love, but Bryce isn't so sure and tries to avoid her.
Four years later in 1961, Bryce tries to get rid of Juli by dating Sherry Stalls, whom Juli finds unreliable. However, his best friend Garrett takes an interest in Sherry and eventually tells her the truth about the advice, therefore not taking it too well. After Juli finds out they broke up, she thinks she could have him back, but they reconsider their own choices as time goes on.
Chet Duncan, Bryce's grandfather, moves in to live with the family. At one point, Juli falls in love with a large, old sycamore tree, but her relationship doesn't last long after the tree itself is cut down, much to her dismay. However, her father gives her a painting of the same kind of tree, causing her to overcome her distress. Juli is hurt when she finds out Bryce has been throwing away the eggs she offered, out of fear of salmonella. Chet helps Juli fix up her yard, while Bryce begins to develop feelings for Juli.
After Juli returns home from visiting her mentally-disabled uncle Daniel, she overhears Bryce supporting Garrett's badmouthing of her, causing her to stop having any interest in him.
The Loskis invite the Bakers over for dinner and once arriving there, Juli confronts Bryce about what he did and eventually rejects him. After dinner, she apologizes for her behavior. Bryce has mixed feelings afterwards, since he isn't forgiven and she doesn't care enough to hold a grudge.

Margin Call (2011) Review

Margin Call is a 2011 American drama thriller film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the financial crisis of 2007–08.
In focus are the actions taken by a group of employees during the subsequent financial collapse. The ensemble cast features Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.
The film was produced by the production companies Before the Door Pictures (first to sign on, and owned by Zachary Quinto), Benaroya Pictures, and Washington Square Films. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.
Margin Call explores capitalism, greed, and investment fraud.[5] The director and screenwriter, J. C. Chandor, is himself the son of an investment banker; the screenplay was partially informed by Chandor's own foray into real estate investments in New York City soon before the financial crash.
Following its wide release in theaters, the film garnered award nominations from the Detroit Film Critics Society, along with several separate nominations for its screenplay and direction from recognized award organizations, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The score was composed by musician Nathan Larson.
The film made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2011, and opened in theaters nationwide in the United States on October 21, 2011, grossing $5,354,039 in domestic ticket receipts. It was screened at 199 theaters during its widest release in cinemas. It earned an additional $14,150,000 in business through international release to top out at a combined $19,504,039 in gross theatrical revenue.
It was a ground-breaking day-and-date release that earned more than $10,000,000 in video-on-demand sales during its initial theatrical release. Preceding its theatrical release, Margin Call was met with positive critical reviews. The DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film were released in the United States on December 20, 2011.

The Spectacular Now (2013) Review

The Spectacular Now is a 2013 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Tharp about a high school senior grappling with alcoholism, the film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered critical acclaim. It was released in the United States on August 2, 2013, and grossed $6 million worldwide.
Sutter Keely (Teller) is a charming and popular 18-year-old who has spent his senior year of high school partying and drinking alcohol. When his girlfriend Cassidy Roy (Larson) breaks up with him, Sutter goes home and writes a college application supplement, in which he says that his biggest hardship in life has been getting dumped by her. He goes out and gets blackout drunk after sneaking in to a bar.
The next morning, Sutter is woken up on a front lawn by Aimee Finecky (Woodley), a girl in his year whose name he does not know. Aimee is in the middle of her mother's paper route, and Sutter joins her to track down his car. The next day, he asks her to tutor him in geometry. He learns that she is smart, funny and into sci-fi and comics. Sutter goes home and deletes the supplement he wrote about his life's biggest hardship.
He takes Aimee to a party the next day, and they go for a walk and drink. Aimee confesses she has never been drunk before, never had a boyfriend and does not think she can go to college because she has to take care of her mother. Sutter tells her she is not responsible for her mother before complimenting and kissing her.
The next morning, Sutter wakes up hungover and realizes that he asked Aimee to prom at the party. He avoids Aimee during school and goes to Cassidy's house that night. They get drunk in her room and reminisce, but Cassidy tells him they have no future together and asks him to leave. After her friend warns him not to hurt her, Sutter takes Aimee to dinner at his sister Holly's house, where Aimee talks frankly about the death of her father from an opiate overdose and her dreams of a perfect marriage. Sutter and Aimee's relationship grows more serious and they eventually have sex. Afterward, Sutter confesses that his mother kicked his father out when he was a child and has forbidden him from seeing him, and the pair makes a pact to stand up to their mothers.

Into the Woods (2014) Review

Into the Woods is a 2014 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall, and adapted to the screen by James Lapine from his and Stephen Sondheim's 1986 Broadway musical of the same name. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it features an ensemble cast that includes Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, MacKenzie Mauzy, Billy Magnussen and Johnny Depp.
Inspired by the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales of "Little Red Riding Hood", "Cinderella", "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Rapunzel", the film is centered on a childless couple who set out to end a curse placed on them by a vengeful witch. Ultimately, the characters are forced to experience the unforeseen consequences of their actions.
After several unsuccessful attempts by other studios and producers to adapt the musical to film, Disney announced in 2012 that it was producing an adaptation, with Marshall directing and John DeLuca serving as producer. Principal photography commenced in September 2013, and took place entirely in the United Kingdom, including at Shepperton Studios in London.
Into the Woods held its world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on December 8, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on December 25, 2014. The film was commercially successful and received generally positive reviews, receiving praise for its acting performances (particularly Streep), visual style, production merits, and musical numbers, but received criticism for its lighter tone compared to the source material and the changes made for the film translation.
It grossed $213 million worldwide. Into the Woods was named one of the top 11 best films of 2014 by the American Film Institute; the film received three Academy Award nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Streep, and three Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Dredd (2012) Review

Dredd is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra.
Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd, a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury and executioner in a vast, dystopic metropolis called Mega-City One that lies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dredd and his apprentice partner, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of flats and deal with its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
Garland began writing the script in 2006, although the development of a new Judge Dredd film adaptation, unrelated to the 1995 film Judge Dredd, was not announced until December 2008. Produced by British studio DNA Films, Dredd began principal photography, using 3D cameras throughout, in November 2010. Filming took place on practical sets and locations in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Dredd was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 21 September worldwide. Critics were generally positive about the film's visual effects, casting and action, while criticism focused on excessive violence as well as a perceived lack of the satirical elements that are found in the source comic. Despite the positive critical response, the film earned just over $41 million at the box office on an estimated budget of $30–45 million.
Dredd saw greater success following its home release, and has since been recognised as a cult film. The theatrical gross made a sequel unlikely, but home media sales and fan efforts endorsed by 2000 AD's publisher Rebellion Developments have maintained the possibility of a second film.

Thodari (2016) Review

Thodari (transl. Train) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co produced, written and directed by Prabhu Solomon. It stars Dhanush and Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles, while D. Imman composed the film's music. The film revolves around a pantry worker who risks his own life to save his girlfriend and fellow passengers on board when the train goes out of control and hijackers enter the scene.
Thodari was released theatrically on 22 September 2016, along with a Telugu dubbed version titled Rail. It was later dubbed into Hindi as Express Khiladi in 2018.
The film starts in New Delhi Railway Station where Poochiyappan (Dhanush) is a server in a railway catering company and is on duty in the New Delhi-Chennai Express. He is working along with his team members and best friend Vairam (Karunakaran) under his supervisor Chandrakanth (Thambi Ramaiah).
During the journey, he meets Saroja (Keerthy Suresh) and falls in love with her in the first sight. She is the make-up artist of the actress Srisha,(Pooja Jhaveri) and she wants to become a successful singer.
Poochi tells about Saroja to Vairam who promises to help him woo her. Poochi then devises a plan, and makes her talk on the phone to a great poet Vairamuthu, who is actually Vairam. However, he soon realises that Saroja is not good at singing from any angle though continuing to support her.
Saroja remains close to Poochi as she wants to enter the singing industry without knowing the true fact.

Abhiyum Naanum (2008) Review

Abhiyum Naanum (transl. Abhi and I) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film produced by Prakash Raj and directed by Radha Mohan. It features Prakash Raj in the central character with Trisha in the lead role as his daughter, while Aishwarya and Ganesh Venkatraman play supporting roles. Vidyasagar scored the music for the film.
The film was launched in October 2007 and released on 19 December 2008.[1] The film is based on the 1950 English film Father of the Bride. The film was partially reshot in Telugu as Aakasamantha (transl. Sky-high) with Jagapathi Babu replacing Prithviraj, which released in 2009.
The film opened to critical acclaim and won several awards, including the ITFA Best Movie Award. The plot and scenes are remarkably similar to the movie Father of the Bride. The film was remade in Kannada as Naanu Nanna Kanasu (2010).
Raghuram is a simple man who manages estates and doing his own business in Ooty.
He meets Sudhakar, a newcomer at Coonoor, who has a young daughter. Raghuram sees the father and daughter duo, and smiles thinking of his own daughter. He engages in a conversation with Sudhakar. Raghuram married his cousin Anu, without their parents' consent. They have a daughter Abhi, whom Raghuram loves so much.
Abhi is the world to him. Raghuram narrates his story with Sudhakar. Raghuram does anything for Abhi and usually gets into quarrel with his wife, who has a different way of raising the child.
As year rolls by, Abhi grows up and her parents are happy with whatever she does. She even brings in a beggar, Ravi 'Shashtri', and he lives with them, considering Abhi as his mother. Raghuram's close friend, Dhamu, does not have any kids and consider Abhi as their own daughter as well. When Abhi tells her parents that she wants to study in Delhi, Raghuram throws a tantrum. Eventually, Abhi is able to convince Raghuram.
Even though he is sad when thinking about spending 2 years without Abhi, he moves on. Raghuram is elated when she comes back but gets a shock. Abhi tells her parents that she fell in love with a guy. Anu is totally fine with it while Raghuram is not. He gets angry and scared and does not talk to Abhi and Anu properly. When Anu tells him that the boy is coming from Delhi, Raghuram tries to be fine. Once again, he gets shocked when he realizes that the man is actually a Sikh, named Joginder Singh. He there after maintains distance from Jogi, and cautious not to hurt Abhi.