Here's the review on the sequel to the illusion-themed heist thriller: Now You See Me 2 With only one slight change in the female member of the Horsemen (Isla Fisher gives way for Lizzy Caplan), the quartet of illusionists/tricksters/robbers-turn-to-Robin-Hood are back to blow off hidden agendas and cruel intentions of white-collared billionaires and fraudsters. When one of their stage performances to uncover the deceit by a tech mogul goes horribly wrong, they are forcibly recruited by tech maniac/wizard Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) to steal a chip that can read and have access to every computer in the planet- a typical thread that forms the crux of every heist/sci-fi/spy thrillers. The plot becomes even more messier with more characters- Chase McKinney, evil twin of Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), looking to tie old strings. The writers try to wedge part-cooked subplots, those of Dylan Rhodes' (Mark Ruffalo) still-not-over ve

 The movie adaptation of this once addiction-inducing game was met with much hype at the time of its release. Here's how it came off to me, as a critic and an audience.   In the paradise-like Bird Island, inhabited by flightless birds who revere the Great Eagle, Red  ( Jason Sudeikis), the thick eyebrow-ed bird is isolated by his brethren as a result of his mild temper.  At the last point of desperation, he is "banished" to an anger management class where he is joined two other famous characters from the mobile game- Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride): both with their own genuine problems of short temper. The trio form the primary title group.  The Utopia in Bird Island is disrupted by the enigmatic arrival of the Bad Piggies, who do not appear to be one; they bemuse the bird community with their clever antics and inventions. But the loner of the community, Red begins to suspect the swine clan more than anyone. The audience is catapulted into the crux of t

The third installment of this popular and entertaining franchise ventures into new  story lines, characters and plot themes but with the same old star-studded voice cast. Here's the review of Kung Fu Panda 3 - the first in a series of reviews on animated movies.      The film once again starts off with Po (Jack Black) the panda's antiques that border around his clumsiness and neglect. He fails to realize the true potential of a Dragon Warrior, which he was ordained in the exhilarating first installment. In time, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), the composed kung fu trainer decides to go into a sabbatical and hands over the role of teacher to Po, who is much reluctant to take up the job. But he confronts moral confusion when his biological father (Bryan Cranston) resurfaces and Kai (J.K Simmons), a nefarious power maniac begins to threaten the Valley with his supernatural and mystical powers.   One advantage of producing an animated film is that there is n

Note:   Spotlight is the 2016 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Depicting a challenging topic such as the Catholic Church child abuse scandal might have appeared as a challenge to director Tom McCarthy and writer Josh Singer, but the way the duo has executed this movie is a testament to the success of factual storytelling. Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), a self-contained and observant journalist, arrives at the Boston Globe  as the new chief editor. The year is 2001- a few months before 9/11. He encounters Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), the editor of the Spotlight team, the oldest continuously operating investigative journalism team, and assigns to the team the task of following up the hidden, but infamous Geoghan case and its subsequent cover-up by the Catholic Church. The team, consisting of Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Matt Carrol (Brian D'Arcy James) and supervised by Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery), plunges head on to the cas

The Oscars are back... After a long wait, we will now see the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) honor the best of 2015 ( click for Top 10 films by Reviewer-The Blog ) The host of the ceremony Chris Rock As it always is, the Oscars nominate some of the best films of the year and nothing has happened to that tradition this time too- The Revenant received a whooping 12 nominations, Mad Max: Fury Road with 10, The Martian with 7 and Bridge of Spies,Carol and Spotlight with 6.  The nominees were announced on 14 January by Cheryl Boone Issacs (Academy President), actor John Krasinki and directors Guillermo Del Toro and Ang Lee. Nominees for a total of 24 categories were announced. Here is a pictorial debrief of the nominees for Best Picture: Bridge of Spies Brooklyn The Big Short Mad Max:Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Spotlight Here are the nominees for Best Actor: Bryan Cranston (Trumbo) Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) Eddie R

A detailed pre-show report on the upcoming 88th Academy Awards  will be shortly posted on Revie wer-The Blog © Reviewer-The Blog©