My Top Movies of 2014

And so we bid adieu to another eventful year. Goodbye 2014! Now, I thought this would be the best time to list my top movies of this eventful year. And, while we're at it, why not list my worst movies of the year and the movies I'm eagerly awaiting next year? Let's get to it!

My Top Movies for 2014
1. Interstellar
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. The Hundred-Foot Journey
4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

My Worst Movies for 2014
(You DO NOT want to be on this list)
1. Divergent
2. Transformers: Age of Extinction
3. Dumb and Dumber 2 (This film was so disgustingly bad that I didn't even have the heart to review it)
Seeing as I only have 3 movies here, I can easily say that it's been a great year for movies.

Now, where would cinema be without Bollywood? Here are my top Hindi movies for the year:

My Top Hindi Movies for 2014
1. PK
2. Happy New Year
3. Bang Bang
4. Singham 2
5. Kick

I hope next year will be as exciting as this, and it certainly looks so, at least in terms of movies! Here are the movies which I absolutely can't wait to see.

What I'm Most Excited to See in 2015
1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
2. Furious 7
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron
4. Spectre
5. Ant-Man
6. Jurassic Park
7. The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
8. Mission Impossible 5
9. Goosebumps

See you next year!

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

"One final night to save the day"

I'd always wanted to watch a movie in which there's a museum and all of the exhibits come to life and create mischief when I was young. And needless to say, I was really loved this trilogy. In the final instalment to the Night at the Museum series, we are taken to the British Museum. First, it was the American Museum of Natural History in New York and then the Smithsonian in Washington DC and now- England!

The tablet of Akhmenrah, the magical Ancient Egyptian artefact that gives all the museum exhibits life, is corroding. When all of the museum exhibits start behaving strangely at a night event at the museum, Larry pinpoints the cause of their strange behaviour to the tablet dying. Along with Teddy Roosevelt, Sacagawea, Attila the Hun, Jedediah, Octavius and Dexter the capuchin, Larry must travel to London to find a cure for the tablet before it dies for all eternity. 

This movie was a great way to end the beloved series. While Night at the Museum isn't exactly a blockbuster movie, it's one of those movies where you can just sit down and tune out the rest of the world for a few hours. As I like to say, it was one of those 'time-pass' movies! I can't think of a better actor to play Larry Daley other than Ben Stiller. He's awesome! It was always fun to see how the gang would interact with historical figures in the museums, and the British Museum was no exception. Sir Lancelot was great for comic relief and humour in general. He had some great lines. I had great fun during the movie! One thing I didn't like was Ben Stiller's double role as Larry and Laa. Other than maybe once, I didn't actually find Laa's antics that funny, but hats off to Ben Stiller for pulling off a double role in the final film. So overall, not the best movie, but something great to watch just to kick back and relax. A nice finish to one of my favourite series!  

• Genre- Comedy, fantasy, family and action
• Director- Shawn Levy
• Producers- Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe
• Starring- Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Skyler Gisondo, Rami Malek, Patrick Gallagher and Mizuo Peck

My rating

3.5/5

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1

"Fire burns brighter in the darkness"

Now, I know that it's a little late, seeing that the movie released over a week ago here in Singapore, but, you know, I'm a busy man! Anyways, back to work. The book Mockingjay is the final book in Suzanne Collins's incredible series. The movie was divided into two parts for financial gain, and let me tell you guys, I absolutely cannot wait for the second instalment.

All Districts are now in full-scale rebellion against the Capitol. Katniss, who was liberated from the devastating Quarter Quell, wakes up underneath the supposedly destroyed District 13. She is introduced to President Alma Coin, who requests her to be the 'Mockingjay' of the rebellion, the embodiment of hope and symbol of survival against all odds. But Katniss flatly refuses, bitterly pointing out that they left Peeta Mellark, Katniss's district partner, behind in the Quarter Quell arena. Katniss also learns that her home, District 12, has been levelled on the Capitol's orders and all that is left is rubble and corpses. Meanwhile, Peeta has been brainwashed and is now a prisoner of the snaky President Snow. When Katniss sees Peeta at the end, Peeta's 'abruptness' surprises and shocks Katniss.

I've read the Hunger Games series at least 3 times, and I'm happy to say that Mockingjay, like its predecessors, was accurate, and any changes that were actually made to the plot were good changes. For example, we learn more about Effie Trinket and about President Snow. Some of the scenes in the movie, like the blowing up of the dam in District 5 and the land mines in District 7, were't actually in the book; they were only mentioned, but they made wonderful additions in showing what was happening outside of District 13. You also might have noticed that the pacing of the characters was slow. Personally, I think that this was quite important, because the book is split into two movies. On top of that, it shows each and every change in the characters. Now, to the actors. Once again, (no surprises here) Jennifer Lawrence did a marvellous job in executing the role of Katniss. I never knew that she was such a great singer! She has gone so deep into her character, we only see her as Katniss Everdeen, not as Jennifer Lawrence, like her reaction at seeing the charred remains of District 12. Josh Hutcherson, I think, has done a fascinating job in capturing his character of Peeta. You could actually see him deteriorating as the movie went on. The special effects that were used to show the Capitol buildings and the destroyed District 12 was also of top quality. Mockingjay -- Part 1 has so far been the most electrifying movie so far in the Hunger Games Trilogy. The perfect teaser for the upcoming Part 2!

• Genre- Sci-fi, action and adventure
• Director- Francis Lawrence
• Producers- Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik
• Starring- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland and Philip Seymour Hoffman 

My rating

4.5/5