Basic Instinct (1992) - 128 min

Basic Instinct is a neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza & Jeanne Tripplehorn.
San Francisco police detective Nick Curran investigates a murder mystery and the main suspect is a female author called Catherine Trammell. The murder is done exactly the same as in her novel, which makes her a prime suspect.
A mystery movie that told in an erotic narrative style. The interrogation scene was a killer one and I am not going to forget it for a long time. The thrilling plot was enough to watch this movie and Sharon Stone's presence can easily fascinate the viewer, you know what I mean, Right. Also, her performance was very strong as Catherine and Michael Douglas plays the supporting role. Overall, it's worth your time and you are going to love it because that's the way it is.
Verdict: Average

Leap Year (2010) - 100 min

Leap Year is an American romantic comedy film directed by Anand Tucker.
Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott & John Lithgow.
Anna was eagerly waiting for that moment when her longtime boyfriend proposes her. Unfortunately, when Anna realizes it's not going to happen, she finally decides to propose her boyfriend who is in Dublin now.
The drawback about the movie is we have seen this kind of stuffs, many times and Easily predictable how it's going to end. The beauty of the nature was nicely captured and the cinematography from Newton Thomas needs to be appreciated. Overall, it's watchable only because of Adams performance.
Verdict: Average

Pandora (2016) - 136 min

Pandora is a 2016 South Korean disaster film directed by Park Jung-woo.
Starring Kim Nam-gil, Kim Young-ae, Kim Ju-hyeon, Jung Jin-young, Moon Jeong-hee & Kim Dae-myung.
Kang Jae-Hyuk works at the Hanbyul Nuclear power plant  and he hates his job, especially since his father and brother died in that plant. Due to a meltdown, once again danger, came into the plant and Now it's up to Jae-Hyuk.
The best thing about this movie is the climax and Korean directors are very good when it comes to the climax. The director shows the real consequences of radioactive contamination effectively. Overall, it's a watchable disaster movie and it would have been a better movie if the script provides something more intense.
Verdict: Average

11.6 (2013) - 102 min

11.6 is a 2013 French film directed by Philippe Godeau.
Starring François Cluzet, Bouli Lanners, Corinne Masiero, Mehdi Nebbou & Juana Acosta.
It's based on the true story of Toni Musulin, a security driver who robbed, 11.6 million euros without harming anyone. Toni Musulin works there for 10 years and what happens to him after the robbery makes it the "heist of the century".
It's an interesting movie which told in a confusing way. Francois Cluzet did justice to his role and As a character study it fails due to lack of information. Without revealing important things also affects the movie badly. Overall, it's a one time watchable only because of it's a true story.
Verdict: Average

Mulholland Drive (2001) - 146 min

Mulholland Drive is a neo-noir mystery film directed by David Lynch.
Starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Ann Miller & Robert Forster.
Brunette is hiding in an apartment where she meets Betty. Brunette lost her memory and she introduces herself as Rita. Betty starts to help Brunette to recover her memory and in the mean process they became good friends.
If you are looking for a mind twisting movie, this movie is going to help you in that department. Both Watts and Herring were outstanding in their roles and their chemistry pays off. The linear narrative style confuses the viewers and after the credits roll, all the twists starts to make sense. Overall, it's a must watch movie and don't miss it.
Verdict: Good

We Still Steal the Old Way (2017) - 90 min

We Still Steal the Old Way is a British crime film directed by Sacha Bennett.
Starring Julian Glover, Lysette Anthony, Ian Ogilvy, Patrick Bergin, Billy Murray, Tanya Franks.
The sequel of 2014 'We Still Kill the Old Way'. This time Archer Gang plans to do a robbery, but ends up in prison. In prison, they are planning to do a prison break.
It's not that impressive as the first part. Even though like the previous one, this film also contains violence and humor. The prison break was fun and how they execute it makes the movie somehow likeable. Overall, it's a one time watchable movie and there is a chance of the third part.
Verdict: Mediocre

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) - 147 min

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a German fantasy thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer.
Starring Ben Whishaw, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood & Dustin Hoffman.
A perfume maker named Jean-Baptiste Genouille is sentenced to hang until dead. Before that he will be bound to a wooden cross and he has to take 12 blows with an iron rod breaking the joints of his arms, shoulders, hips and legs. What did he actually do in order to get this kind of punishment???
It's a fantasy movie about a boy who has a powerful gift of sensing the smell of anything. Tykwer's approach to this movie can easily turn away some viewers. Ben Whishaw is impressive in the lead role as Grenouille. Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman handle the supporting roles. The cinematography is stunning and visuals conveys the power of smell. Overall, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but this movie is worth your time if you can handle the story.
Verdict: Good

Trollhunter (2010) - 103 min

Trollhunter (Norwegian: Trolljegeren) is a Norwegian dark fantasy film directed by André Øvredal.
Starring Otto Jespersen, Hans Morten Hansen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Johanna Mørck, Knut Nærum, Robert Stoltenberg & Glenn Erland Tosterud.
Three college students are on a mission to find out the reason behind the mysterious bear killings. With the help of a hunter they learn, something more dangerous things going out there and they start to shoot it in camera.
It's a found footage style fantasy movie that tells an authentic story. The Norwegian landscape was beautifully captured even though with that shaky camera. The sound effects helps the thrilling scenes positively, especially first encounter scene. Overall, it's a nice adventure ride with a good script and likeable performances.
Verdict: Good

In the House (2012) - 105 min

In the House (French: Dans La Maison) is a French mystery drama directed by François Ozon.
Starring Fabrice Luchini, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner, Denis Ménochet & Ernst Umhauer.
Germain is a literature teacher who lost his passion for teaching long time ago gave an assignment for Freshers to write about their weekend. Claude takes it serious and he crafted an engaging story which is about a look into the house of his ‘friend’. Germain becomes obsessed with Claude's writing and On the other hand Claude starts to make it more interesting.
It's a clever movie that plays out as a thriller, at the same time hard to figure out whether it's a reality or fantasy. Ozon is very good in manipulating viewer's mind and I don't know what to say about it because I am still in a confused state. The performances from both Fabrice Luchini and Ernst Umhauer gives the movie a perfect casting touch. Overall, if you have a craziness in writing, you should watch it. To be continued....
Verdict: Good

Léon: The Professional - Extended Version (1994) - 133 min

Léon: The Professional is a French thriller film directed by Luc Besson.
Starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman & Danny Aiello.
It tells the unusual relationship between a hitman named Leon and a 12-year-old Mathilda. But when Mathilda's entire family massacred by a drug dealer, Leon gave her shelter. Now she wants revenge and the only one who can help her is Leon, the professional.
The chemistry between Jean Rena and Portman really works out in this particular movie, the humor scenes were my favorite ones. Gary Oldman portraits the psycho Stansfield role, one of his killer performances. This film has some wonderfully crafted action sequences and Besson's powerful cinematography helps a lot in making the action scenes stunning.  Overall, it's a stylish thriller movie with good action in it and try to watch the extended version of this movie in order to feel their bond.
Verdict: Good

Malèna (2000) - 109 min

Malèna is an Italian romantic drama film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.
Starring Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana & Pietro Notarianni.
Set in the 1940s, It tells the story of a beautiful women Malena whose husband is out of the town. The people around her were jealous and they start to make stories about her, especially women's. The only one that truly cares about Malena is a 12 year old Renato.
The entire story is told through the eyes of Renato's character and In the beginning, we only know that Malena is a gorgeous lonely woman. Monica Belluci's name is enough to watch this movie and the performance is haunting at the same time. Guiseppe Sulfaro is sweet and charming as Renato. This film opens like comedy - fascination thing and ends up with some serious notes. Tornatore's direction was very effective and his story telling way is also catchy. Overall, it's a beautiful movie and entirely different approach from Cinema Paradiso film.
Verdict: Average

The Kings of Summer (2013) - 96 min

The Kings of Summer is an American coming-of-age drama film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
Starring Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moisés Arias, Mary Lynn Rajskub & Erin Moriarty.
Joe is fed up with his father and his best friend Patrick also faces the same problem with his overprotective parents. They decide to run away into the woods to build their own home and a strange kid Biaggio also joins them.
It's always good to see a coming of age movie and this time witty characters do the job. The three leads show a unique chemistry which helps the movie a lot. If you ask me which character I liked the most, without any hesitation I will say it's Biaggio. From the poster itself, we can see the gorgeous cinematography effect. The film lost its freshness in the middle that's the only reason why am going with the average verdict otherwise it would have been a good movie. Overall, it's a well paced movie with a satisfying ending and just go for it.
(N.B - This film has a post credit scene and don't miss it.)
Verdict: Average

13 Reasons Why (2017)

13 Reasons Why is an American television series adapted by Brian Yorkey based on the 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.
Starring Dylan Minnette, Katherine Langford, Christian Navarro, Alisha Boe & Brandon Flynn.
No. of seasons  : 1
No. of episodes : 13
Running time : 50–60 minutes
It's about the tragic suicide of Hannah Baker, a high school junior. She records 13 cassette tapes before her suicide, which now ends up in the hands of Clay Jensen. He starts listening it, in order to find out why she took her own life.
It's all about chaos theory. The outcome is known, the only question that holds the story is why she did that. Langford was the center of attraction who shines as Hannah. Minnette's looks like teenage Joseph Gordon Levitt to me. Overall, The mystery factor was good and that's why it's worth your time.
Verdict: Good

Big Bad Wolves (2013) - 110 min

Big Bad Wolves is an Israeli black comedy film directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado.
Starring Lior Ashkenazi, Tzahi Grad, Doval'e Glickman & Rotem Keinan.
The body of a young girl is found and it's brutally violated by the serial killer. The detective in charge, Micki suspects a school teacher and he decides to follow him. The deceased girl's father, Gidi also follows the same suspect and what happens when these three people cross each other.
Quentin Tarantino called it the best picture of that year and it gives a mesmerizing experience from the start. This film reminds me of 2013 movie 'Prisoners'. It contains a lot of brutal violence moments and a visual treat for dark comedy movie lovers. The interrogation scenes are hard to handle and interestingly those scenes create tension all the times. Overall, it's a well executed thriller movie with a climax that you'll find impossible to forget.
Verdict: Good

The Age of Shadows (2016) - 140 min

The Age of Shadows (Korean: Miljeong) is a South Korean action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon.
Starring Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-min, Shin Sung-rok & Shingo Tsurumi.
Set in 1920s, Tells the story of violent conflict between Korean resistance fighters and Japanese military group. Korean police captain, Lee Jung-Chool who now works for Japanese military is assigned to chase down Korean resistance leaders.
It's loosely based on 1923 incident and dedicated to those who fought and died during that conflict. This film gets more attention all over the world when it was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. Director Kim Jee-Woon provides some thrilling sequences and also got some powerful performances. Overall, it's a pulsating movie with good twists and turns.
Verdict: Good

The Fate of the Furious (2017) - 136 min

The Fate of the Furious is an American action film directed by F. Gary Gray.
Starring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez & Tyrese Gibson.
Dom's honeymoon plan was interpreted by a hacker named Cipher who forces him to work for her on getting the launch codes for nuclear weapons. In the mean process he has to go against his family.
From the trailer, it's pretty clear what's going to happen and how it ends. There is no point of discussing about the story, the two things that actually holds the series is action sequences and seeing car stunts. The villain role was done by Charlize Theron and still my favorite villain is Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. Sadly, Jason Statham is lightly used this time and How can you do that to him. His post credit scene of FF6 and the introduction scene of furious 7 was enough to make a movie worth your time. Dwayne Johnson reminds me of hulk character. Vin Diesel is the only actor who highly depends on this franchise and they already confirmed the news that still two more to come. It's time to rethink about strategy and try new concepts before its too late. Overall, it's a watchable movie with or without 3D effect, it doesn't matter this time.
Verdict: Average

We Still Kill the Old Way (2014) - 94 min

We Still Kill the Old Way is a British crime drama film directed by Sacha Bennett.
Starring Ian Ogilvy, Alison Doody, Lysette Anthony, James Cosmo, Christopher Ellison & Danny-Boy Hatchard.
Charlie was murdered by a street gang of hoodies led by ruthless Aaron. Turns out Charlie has a brother named Ritchie Archer, a legendary criminal. Ritchie rounds up his old team and decides to make them pay for what they did to his brother.
A straight forward revenge story. Ogilvy is the perfect choice for the lead character and his style of talking makes it a stylish crime film. The teenagers in the street gang are not at all likeable and I felt like kicking their faces, so much hate. Bennett's concept of the movie is simple old gang vs new gang while discussing about their ethic differences. We still steal the old way(2017) is the second part of this movie. Overall, it's a well executed story and really enjoyed the old style of revenge.
Verdict: Average

Logan (2017) - Noir Edition

Logan is an American superhero film directed by James Mangold.
Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook & Stephen Merchant.
Set in 2029, Now Logan works as a driver and he wants no attention from the outside world, just struggling to connect his ends. One day a woman came to see him with her daughter, asking for help and offers money to take them to a safe place in North Dakota.
Jackman delivers a stunning performance as Logan and Dafne Keen handles the Laura character nicely, especially her action sequences. The director James Mangold changes the whole equation of the movie when compares with his previous movie 'The Wolverine' which was quite boring actually. This film gets more attention when Jackman confirms the news of his final appearance as Logan and it's hard to believe Logan’s cinematic journey begins 17 years ago. Noir edition looks damn cool than the theatrical version. Especially towards the climax, emotions at its peak. Overall, I loved it and the special edition is my preferred version.
Verdict: Good

The Devil's Candy (2015) - 80 min

The Devil's Candy is an American horror film directed by Sean Byrne.
Starring Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Kiara Glasco, Pruitt Taylor Vince & Craig Nigh.
Jesse Hellman is a struggling painter who moves to a new house with his wife and daughter. The old couple that lived in the house died recently and Jesse starts to hear weird voices that causes him some blackout situations.
It's a fascinating approach to the horror genre with the help of metal music and The Enigma style music used in the movie towards the ending still haunts me. Byrne's dynamite script creates a darkly disturbing atmosphere and thanks to the killer soundtracks that actually controls the intensity of the film. Overall, if you are looking for a horror movie to watch at night, it's worth your time.
Verdict: Average

King of Devil's Island (2010) - 115 min

King of Devil's Island (Norwegian: Kongen av Bastøy) is a Norwegian film directed by Marius Holst.
Starring Stellan Skarsgård, Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner & Trond Nilssen.
It tells the story of an island prison where young badly behaved boys are sent to be rehabilitated in a strict environment. Newcomer Erling decides to escape from their due to the strict principles of the prison governor Bestyerren and housefather Brathen.
It's a prison movie, like all prison movies this film also has cruel punishments and torturing scenes. The performances from Stellan Skarsgård and the anti-hero, Benjamin Helstad were the key factor of the movie. Marius Holst handles the true story nicely and the visuals also tells the story. It's based on an incident that happened in 1915, when the Norwegian army was used to control a boy's rebellion at Bastay center. Overall, it's a historical movie and At the same time one of the finest prison movie that I have seen in recent times.
Verdict: Good

Fifty Shades Darker (2017) - 118 min

Fifty Shades Darker is an American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Luke Grimes, Max Martini & Kim Basinger.
The story opens with Anastasia's lifestyle after the breakup with Christian Grey. Now she works as an assistant for an independent editor. Meanwhile, Christian wants another chance to make it all right.
Like the first part this one also contains some intense love making sequences and the only thing that really works were those intimate scenes between Dakota and Jamie. The story was not that impressive when compared with the first part. But the soundtrack was really good, especially the song 'I don't wanna live forever' sung by Zayn & Taylor Swift. Overall, it's a watchable erotic movie and only recommended to those who like to watch erotic movies.
Verdict: Mediocre

Vengeance: A Love Story (2017) - 99 min

Vengeance: A Love Story is an American thriller film directed by Johnny Martin.
Starring Nicolas Cage, Don Johnson, Anna Hutchison, Talitha Bateman & Deborah Kara Unger.
Teena was gang raped by four men in front of her daughter. Detective John Dromoor has a soft corner towards Teena and He decides to take justice in his hands when the four criminals get bail.
It's a usual revenge story and the punishment style was different. The director was right on the money to make the four criminals unlikable, especially in the courtroom scenes. On the positive side the film was shot beautifully and the presence of Nicholas Cage makes the movie even more interesting that it looks. Overall, It's a watchable thriller movie of Nicholas Cage and Somehow I liked it.
Verdict: Average