Kung Fu Panda 2

Name: Kung Fu Panda 2      

   

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure/Comedy

Cast: Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Garry Oldman, Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Director)

Synopsis: Peacock Clan rules the Gongmen city of ancient China. Lord Shen of peacock clan wants to use fireworks as new weapons and developing the same. His court’s goat future teller tells him that a warrior of black and white will defeat him and will be hindrance in his rule. Hearing this Shen with his large army starts exterminating Panda population of the area to stop this prophecy to never let that happen. As Shen parents came to about his atrocity, they immediately exile Shen to move out of the Gongmen city and never come again and before going out of the Shen promises that he will have his revenge. After thirty years, Po is now the dragon warrior protecting the villagers from the bad guys with the furious five. Shifu tells Po that he is now a kung fu master but he still doesn’t have the inner peace. When he was defending villagers from wolf bandits of Shen who were there for stealing metal for new cannons to be made, a symbol distracted him and remind of a flashback of his birth. Po later on came know that he was found in a radish box by his goose father and he is an adopted child though Po still remained unsatisfied.

Shifu received a message that Shen has attacked Gongmen city and has killed Master Rhino and is planning to destroy Kung Fu and the whole of the ancient China with a new weapon developed by him. So he sends Po and the furious five to stop Shen and his evil plans. They entered the city and finds that Master Ox and Croc were being held captive. Po and the furious five asked them to help in liberation of city from Shen but they refused in saying that if they do then he will destroy the city by the new weapon. Po and the furious five were chasing Shen’s men and later surrendered and were taken to Shen tower. Later they destroyed Shen’s new cannon but during his fight with Shen a symbol on Shen’s plumage reminds his past again with a little flashback and that gives time for Shen to escape to its other tower. Tigress asked Po about what distracts him again and again to which Po finally tells him that Shen was there and he knows something about his past. Tigress asked him to stay here but he went into the factory to find Shen. On other side the furious five too entered the factory to blow it out so that cannons can’t come out but seeing Po in trouble they went into the factory and tried to help him. Shen starts fighting Po and ultimately hits him with a cannon and Po went all out. Shen captures the rest of the furious five as their hostage.

Po wakes up and sees that Shen’s future teller has rescues and healed him and is now in his ancestral village and asks him to remember and embrace his past. Po remembers everything that what actually had happened that on that day and how his parents sacrificed his own lives to save Po. Po finally attains Inner Peace that he is now living a happy life though such atrocities and hardships is being faced by him. He went to the city again to stop Shen and his evil plans. He freed the furious five and later sees that Master Croc and Ox with his own Master Shifu too has arrived there and starts fighting with Shen’s wolf bandits. Eventually they thought that had stopped Shen’s plan but Shen hits the wreckage created by Po with his new cannon. Shen starts a whole round of cannon towards Po but as Po has now attained Inner Peace deflected all the cannon balls fired at him. Tigress, Shifu and even Shen was shocked to see this and could believe its own eyes. Finally Po went to Shen and asked him to stop all this but listening to him Shen starts again attacking him and in that fight ropes which were holding a canon falls on him and crushed him to death. 

Po came back to the village and tells to his goose dad that he is his father at all and hugs each other. Meanwhile somewhere else, Po’s real father who were living with rest of the alive panda’s senses that his son is still alive somewhere.

Review: As first was a big success so a lot to be expected from the next part and it delivered with full expectations. The movie is full of action, adventure and a lot of comedy scenes which makes it a little ahead of its previous prequel. Action sequences used in this part was even better then it was used in the prequel. Story was at all connected with the previous part. Lord Shen was better on the villain part and was more effective than the prequel’s Tai Lung. Music given by Hans Zimmer and John Powell were as usual at its level best. It has to be said that this part of the movie has more action sequences and adventure fun than the previous part and the 3D make it an extra edge to it. A fabulous and a classic animation movie with Po’s panda style was mind blowing.

Stars given: 3.5 out of 

Kung Fu Panda

Name: Kung Fu Panda

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure/Comedy

Cast: Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, John Stevenson & Mark Osborne (Director)  

Synopsis: Po (Jack Black) was having a dream where he seen legendary warrior with unmatched Kung Fu skills are being greeted by the legendary kung fu warriors, The Furious Five bow down to that legendary warrior and requesting him to fight with them and at that time suddenly Po wakes up from dream. In the valley of peace in ancient china Po is a Kung Fu lover panda who idealizes the furious five including Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane trained by their master Shifu. Po tells to his dad Ping a goose that he had a dream and being forced to ask about the dream he tells he dreams about noodles. Oogway, an old tortoise had a dream that Tai Lung,(Ian McShane) an evil snow leopard and also old student of Shifu will escape from prison and come to Valley of peace again to have his revenge as he was denied to take the dragon scroll, the source of limitless power. Hearing this, Shifu send one of his goose messengers to check the security of Tai Lung so that he can’t escape.

Master Shifu ordered furious five that there will be a Kung Fu tournament and from there Master Oogway will choose the dragon warrior who will have the dragon scroll and in turn Tail Lung can be defeated. Everyone in the village gets this news and was very excited to watch the tournament which includes Po as well. But when Po reaches the arena the door were closed. In desperation after doing every attempt to watch the tournament, he sat on a chair with full of attached fireworks and rockets. Suddenly he moves in the sky but very soon falls down in middle of the arena but he woke up, he saw Master Oogway was pointing finger towards him and telling everyone present there that he is the dragon warrior.

Furious Five and Master Shifu were angry that it was just an accident and couldn’t believe that he is dragon warrior. Shifu tried every trick in his book to make Po quit of being himself considered as dragon warrior and should go back home but Po remained there as he was so fanatic about Kung Fu. Even most of the furious five wasn’t impressed from him and wanted him to immediately move out of Jade palace where they all lived. There once together he came know about the real story of Tai Lung from Tigress (Angelina Jolie). Meanwhile on other side, after seeing all the security preparations of Tai Lung, Zeng, the goose messenger of Shifu was getting out of the prison at that moment one of his feathers was dropped near to Tai Lung. He used that and as he himself is a master because he was treated by Shifu himself used that feather starts fighting with the guards himself. After a hell of fight he breaks from the prison and tells Zeng that he should go back to Shifu and tell him that he coming back to have his dragon scroll back.

Zeng gives this bad news to Master Oogway and asks him to guide to stop evil Tai Lung so that Village and the people can be protected. Oogway asks Shifu to give him promise that he must believe in Po and nurture him to bring the best out of him and then he ascends into the sky. Shifu went to Po and the furious five and gave them both the news of Tai Lung is free and Oogway is gone. He further asks Po that he will teach him but Po refuses saying that he will never able to defeated Tai Lung. On initial disagreement between the two, Shifu starts teaching Po Kung Fu and in a little while the progress showed by Po, Shifu can’t believe himself. Po starts believing in himself as a Kung Fu master. The furious five decides to take on Tai Lung by themselves. They have tough fight with Tai Lung but in the end Tai Lung defeated them all and strikes them with nerve attack. Crane brings all of them and seeing all of them defeated Shifu decided to give dragon scroll to Po. On the day of giving dragon scroll to Po, he opens the scroll but nothing happens and being disappointed and no other way to save the valley, Shifu ordered Po and the furious five to take the people out of the valley as far as possible and he himself will face Tai Lung.

When Po and the furious five were starting to take villagers out of the valley, Po meets his goose dad. Po was little upset that things doesn’t go right but his dad tell him that it’s Ok if things doesn’t go right. He tells him that he is gonna tell him his secret of his secret ingredient soup and which is nothing. You just had to believe that it is special. Realizing this he went back to master Shifu. Shifu on other side had started fighting with Tai Lung. Tai Lung being in rage and aggressive was overpowering Shifu at every front. When he was about to Shifu, Po came there and challenged Tai Lung to take the scroll from him and he is the dragon warrior. Tai Lung was now more angry starts fighting with Po with full force. But Po’s unconventional and effective kung fu techniques were too much for Tai Lung. Tai Lung when once defeated was about to open scroll but nothing happened at that time too. Po at that time asked Tai Lung that he didn’t get that in first time either and that there is no secret ingredient and it’s just you. Tai Lung starts attacking again but Po finally over powers him. Seeing this, all the villagers including furious five bows down to Po and call him as master. Po remembers of Shifu and went back to him and Shifu asks him that finally now he can have peace.

Review: One of the classic animation movies with full of action and adventure. The Kung Fu sequences used in the movie from start to finish was great. Story of the movie was decent but the focus given on the rest of characters excluding Po was a little disappointing. Comedy scenes in the movie were quite good which brings some laughable part. Music given by Hans Zimmer and John was good too. Although at some areas movie seems to be a little stretched but as a whole movie is a great to watch full of action and adventure and specially the introduction of new style of Kung Fu “ The Panda Style” this was great.

Stars given: 3 out of 5

Salt

Name: Salt

Genre: Action/Thriller/Mystery/Crime

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Philip Noyce (Director)

Synopsis: Evelyn Salt (Angeline Jolie) being an American spy is accused of espionage is being tortured at North Korea prison. She will soon be exchanged with a North Korean prisoner by her colleague and CIA agent Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) who escorts her during the trade. She asked why she is being traded to which Winter replied that it was Mike Krause and his persistence with the department which forces them to have an exchange for your freedom. On the wedding anniversary of Salt and Mike, a defector from Russia came to CIA’s office and telling them that he could give them some useful information. Salt beings to interrogate him with Winter and CIA officer Darryl Peabody.  He tells that his name is Oleg Orlov and tells her that during Cold war Russia has kidnapped American children and replaced them with Russian children and now is being trained to destroy America. They are called KA-12s and will come into action on Day-X where they will kill Russian president Boris Matveyev who is working as a great pace in improving relationship of Russia with US on the day of American’s Vice President Funeral. When they were about to leave Orlov told them that “Salt” is one of those KA-12s. Salt rubbishes this non sense and pleaded that she has nothing to do with it. Soon seeing argue between Winter and Darryl, she believed that she is in danger and escapes from there. Orlov too after telling all the story of KA-12s escapes from there as well. Salt tried to contact Mike but the apartment’s voice call again and again. When Salt reached apartment seeing his chair and half eaten sandwich, she understands that Mike is kidnapped by someone.

When Winter and Peabody reached Salt’s home, she managed to escape from there but Winter sees her and both Winter and Peabody starts chasing her. When Salt was almost cornered by them she jumped on a nearby passing truck and then takes a motorbike and escapes from there. She stayed at small motel in the night, plans her next step of action. After dyeing her hair and changing her identity Salt enters the funeral throws a bomb on a roof above the Russian president and kills guys from the secret service. Peabody comes to the scene and arrests Salt even though Salt can kill him but she didn’t and surrender to him. When Peabody’s men were taking Salt to Jail, Salt knocks them out and escapes from there. While taking Russian president to hospital, he was pronounced dead as he had no pulse from that period. Riots start beginning to happen in Moscow. Salt meets Orlov in a scrapping metal yard with other KA-12s agents. It is also revealed now that Orlov is the man who had trained Salt to become the sleeper agent that is KA-12s agent. She was taken to a ship which serves home for Russian spies by Orlov. In the ship, she saw Mike being taken as hostage. Orlov throws him into water to see whether she is loyal to him or not but she didn’t react which confirms her loyalty. He introduces her with fellow agents and told her that she about to meet one of their spy disguised as NATO officer who will help her in her next mission. She killed Orlov and rest of people present there and takes guns and grenades with him. She meets Shnaider who helps Salt in entering the white house as his male aide as a Czech NATO.  Shnaider attacks the CIA guards present there. Winter and other CIA personnel took US president to the underground bunker. Salt kills every person that comes in her way. Meanwhile, US president’s advisors were forcing him to use nuclear attack on Russia to teach them a lesson as Salt is here to kill him but president didn’t permit to launch the attack. Winter kills everyone present there except the President and introduces him as a Russian named Nikolai. He knocks the president out and aims to fire missiles on Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tehran and Iran so that after the missile fallout they will unite and take action against US.

Salt reached the bunker and told that she also want to join him in destroying US but seeing the reports that Russian President is still alive as he was only being temporarily paralytic. He didn’t let her in the glass coated room and told her that she will be the one behind saving Russian president by giving venom of the spiders of Mike. He didn’t trust after her return from North Korea. He tells that he knew from the beginning that she had fallen in love with Mike and he was the one who asked Orlov to kidnap Mike and kill him. Hearing this, Salt come in range and after some desperate attempts enters the room. Salt and Winter starts fighting but when the missile activation was almost complete Salt pulls the plug of the computer and cancels the missile strike but during that got shot by Secret Service men. When both Winter and Salt were escorted out, as being handcuffed Salt wrapped her handcuffs around Winter’s neck and jumps in balcony resulting in killing him. Peabody took Salt to take her to FBI. In the chopper he asked Salt why did she kill her why she killed Winter to which she replied someone has too. Salt convinces Peabody that she was the good guy and Winter was the bad one. She convinces him that she will take out rest of the remaining KA sleeper agents as they took everything away from her. Somehow being convinced by her Peabody let her escape through the river.

          

Review: One of the damn good spying types of movie which is full of action and thriller. Angelina Jolie proved that why she is one of the best action movie performers in Hollywood. Angelina performance is the movie absolute brilliant. Movie contains some mind bowling stunts and actions sequences which will make you thrilled at the fullest. Story of the movie was very unique and creative and in addition to that the pace and focus given on the story of the movie was damn good. Noyce remained to his strengths of his direction in this movie too. Every actor of the crew performed his or her role with full conviction. Spy aspects of movie were shown very well in the movie with some brilliant stunts and long chases. The movie just looked like a Bond type of movie where Angelina and Noyce made it an absolute thriller with jam packed action. A must watch movie.

Stars given: 4 out of 5.

The Bone Collector

Name: The Bone Collector

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Cast: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Philip Noyce (Director)

Synopsis: Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is a forensic expert who has written many investigative books and has been connected with a cop conviction. During a case in his past he got himself injured and now has become quadriplegic. Dr. Barry came to meet Lincoln and asked him about his request that is he still persistent for suicide. He agrees that he will help rhyme next week. A cab driver kidnaps a couple Alan and Lindsay Rubin from the airport who were about to board a cab to go home. Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) finds the man near a civil war era railroad area. She sees a finger, a pile of sand, a note and a bolt near the track. See stops the track passing nearby so that evidence should be deteriorated and took photographs of them. The woman kidnapped before is being taken to some underground tunnels and then handcuffed to the underground pipes. Sellitto and Solomon visit Rhyme and ask him to help them in this case to which Rhyme agreed and hearing the description he said that it is a case of Kidnapping and ransom. He asks them that who has collected these evidences and which he came to know that a local cop named Amelia. He called her and asks her that she had natural instincts for forensics and asked her to assist in this case. She didn’t want to assist but her boss forces her that she had to do so as Rhyme has asked. Rhyme after going through in detail of all the evidences he had got sure about the area and asked Amelia to investigate the area having tunnels near downtown Manhattan. Killer was about loose about to loosening steam pipe’s bolt. It has come to even Lincoln’s attention that at 4pm at that area, steam is to be released through those pipes and asked Amelia to run and look for steam pipes near there. Amelia did hear some sound near the tunnels but till she reached her, she was fried by steam to death. Amelia sees the body of the women and runs from their as she couldn’t see the dead body. The killer leaves another clue as a piece of wood, hair clippings and a bone shard which the police took from there. Amelia ran from there but Lincoln was forcing her to tell more about the crime scene.

A student was being kidnapped by a cab driver as seen by his girl. The cab driver takes that kidnapped student to an abandoned place, bound him with chains and starts torturing him. After thoroughly observing the clues and evidences Rhyme tells the Police investigating team that they should look for old stockyards and slaughter houses. When they reached there they found that the boy is being bitten badly by rats. Amelia on this crime scene finds a matchbox, an old piece of paper and a chunk of flesh missing from boy’s leg. Cheney tells Rhyme that he is off the case but Rhyme tells the team to investigate the case and move ahead. Cheney finds who the taxi driver is through the finger prints but later on found that he is also dead. Ortiz, one of the people of the investigative team tell Rhyme about the homicide that has remained unsolved with flesh missing too and derives that the killer to wants to bring this to their notice but no one noticed it before as they all seems to be linked. Rhyme then suddenly start getting shocks and passes out. Amelia sees this and asked Thelma about this to which she came to know that Rhyme has asked for assisted suicide. After some time Rhyme wakes up.

A grandfather and granddaughter took a cab. A police officer stops the cab to check the cab’s papers but the driver shot the Police officer and moved ahead. Selletto reports this incident to Rhyme and Rhyme thinks that this may be their victim. Rhyme observes the clues again and asks Amelia to find a book called “The Bone Collector” in a book shop as he had read it before and thinks that the murders being committed here are almost same as they were in that book. In the book has shown, an old man and a girl are being tied to a post over the water. Rhyme links the smell coming from the old paper was of diesel from the refueling station on Staten Island. Amelia went there with the team and found both an old man and his granddaughter hanging from a post but in the water. The old man died but the girl survived. Amelia finds some clues near this scene where she finds a map, a bone and a piece of metal which almost looks like a part of cop’s batch. The map leads Amelia to a subway station where she finds an abandoned train whose number is 78499. She remembers that she had seen this number but don’t know where and tries to remember them and soon remembers that it is the same number as Lincoln cop’s batch number. Dr. Richard came to Rhyme’s house and kills Cheney and Thelma. He tells Rhyme that Rhyme was the very reason that he went to jail and he will kill Rhyme as revenge. Richard got his hand injured during the bed override mechanism activated by Rhyme. When Richard was about to kill Rhyme, Amelia came there and shoot Richard. On Christmas Eve celebration on Rhyme’s apartment, Rhyme meets his sister and niece with other colleagues and Amelia too came there for celebration with Rhyme now has dropped the idea of assisted suicide.

Review: A decent movie with an average performance by Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. It can be said that, the performance of Denzel Washington was a little above average but not more than that. The story of the movie is a great but the director couldn’t make it on the catch of the eye on the audience. There were a lot of twists and mysteries in the movie but the director couldn’t able to capitalize on the story of the movie as to be produced by the movie itself. Music of the movie was also an average one. What disappoints the most is that the story develops during the first of half the movie which makes you think that movie is going very well doesn’t relate to the climax the movie presented.   

Stars given: 2.5 out of 5.