By Troy Ribeiro 

FILM: Hot Pursuit
CAST: Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, John Carroll Lynch, Robert Kazinsky
DIRECTION: Anne Fletcher

Packed with impulsive situations, Hot Pursuit is an engaging comic caper.
A formulaic action comedy film based on the buddy cop genre, this film involves two female protagonists — a rigid and morally upright police officer called Rose Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) and a mafia henchman’s wife, Daniella Riva (Sofia Vergara).
The film begins with a brief detailing of Cooper’s character. She is a firecracker who scares off her dates and colleagues with her intense personality. But because of her sincerity and sticking by the books attitude, she is assigned to escort Daniella, to Dallas to testify against a Drug mafia Vincente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio).
The tale gathers momentum after the shootout at the Riva’s villa, where Daniella’s husband gets killed. As the duo drive away in the Rivas’ classic Cadillac convertible, they figure out that they’ve been targeted not only by vicious mobsters but by the bad and good police too. So, with no one but each other to lean on, the officer and outlaw grudgingly join forces to survive the drive to a safe sanctuary in Dallas.
There is no story! And the plot is simple and silly. Prudes may feel it is below their dignity to laugh at the mindless situations that offer lighter moments to life. But don’t moments like these that make life memorable and grant you a chuckle? Hot Pursuit offers plenty of such moments.
Reese Witherspoon as the no-nonsense Cooper is a huge contrast from any of her previous characters and she is a pleasant surprise. She clearly has some fun playing the constantly chattering policewoman with a masculine gait.
Vergara on the other hand as the sassy, spirited Latino lady, fixated about her age and who lugs around a suitcase full of jewel-encrusted shoes is superb too. Together, they make an interesting, mismatched, screen pair with powerful over-the-top performances, projecting stereotype characters.
Director Anne Fletcher who had earlier delivered Step Up, 27 Dresses, The Proposal and Guilt Trip has this time delivered a no-brainer that fails to break cinematic ground but certainly provides ample laughs.
A must watch during the holidays. – IANS

Secret mission gone awry
By Troy Ribeiro 

FILM: Avengers: Age of Ultron
CAST: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon

The superheroes from Marvel comics have their own set of followers, thus making the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe cult movies. For the uninitiated, these films would make little or no sense at all.
With most of the superheroes featuring in this film, the much awaited 11th film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a sequel to the 2012 released Avengers. It is a fan’s delight and a layman’s nightmare — trying to figure out these characters and relating to them.
Showcased on a vast canvas, it is an epic tale of a secret mission going awry.
The lengthy prologue reveals that the earth is purported to be under attack.
In order to safeguard the planet, Stark aka Iron Man, secretly creates, the global peace keeping program to help Avengers to succeed — a robotic “Iron Legion” — Ultron.
It is after he chances upon Hydra Chief, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker’s Artificial Intelligence and a sceptre which contains a powerful Infinity gemstone that belonged to Thor’s half brother Loki, he uses it on Ultron, who becomes a mighty powerful entity.
It is Ultron’s warped logic — that mankind is the enemy of the planet — which eggs him on to bring about its extinction. Avengers — Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye along with Strucker’s experiments —the Maximoff twins (Pietro who has superhuman speed and Wanda who can manipulate minds and throw energy blasts) all join in to stop Ultron from causing mass destruction, forms the crux of the story.
Though this is an action thriller, there is drama and humour in equal measure.
Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are the super powered Maximoff twins — both struggle with their Eastern-European accents, but Olsen comes off better with more graph to her tale and more interesting powers. But it is James Spader, who steals the show. He lends his voice to Ultron and with his tone, both chilling and affable; he turns out to be a formidable foe.
While the narrative is racy, with nothing constructive happening in the first half, the pace drags. The narration only picks up momentum in the second half.
What keeps you glued to the screen are the visuals of the fast-paced, well-choreographed action sequences. -IANS

An epic chase
By Troy Ribeiro 

FILM: Mad Max: Fury Road
CAST: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne
DIRECTOR: George Miller

Crammed with numerous characters and projected on an epic scale Mad Max: Fury Road is an action packed, escapist road film. It is the fourth film by George Miller in the Mad Max series that comes exactly 30 years after the last one, Beyond Thunderdome.
Fury Road takes off from where its last franchise left. Set in the distant future in an imaginatively, dystopian civilisation, Max (Tom Hardy), a survivor from the apocalypse in Beyond Thaunderdome, is captured by the Kamakrazee War Boys, the army of the tyrannical cult leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). He is designated as a universal blood donor and is used as a blood bag for the sick War Boy, Nux (Nicholas Hoult).
Meanwhile, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) drives her heavily-armoured War Rig to collect gasoline. Mid-way, all of a sudden, she takes a detour, alerting Joe who realises that his five wives who were specially selected for breeding have escaped his clutches.
Joe leads his entire War Boy army in pursuit of Furiosa, calling on the aid of nearby Gas Town and Bullet Farm. Nux wanting to die a historic death, joins the army with Max strapped to the hood of his car, to continue supplying blood. A battle ensues between Joe’s forces and Furiosa’s team. During the combat, Furiosa drives into an approaching sand storm to evade her pursuers.
Nux wanting to sacrifice himself follows her. In the sandstorm his car crashes and gets damaged, Max escapes. At a distance Max sees Furiosa repairing her Rig and she is accompanied by Joe’s wives. He steals the Rig, but is unable to operate it. So he is forced to join hands with Furiosa and Joe’s wives, who are on the run in the hope of reaching the Green Landa and redemption.
They are chased not only by Joe but by the Gas Boys and Bullet Farmers across a sandy desert, a barren ravine and swamps.
Keeping with the times and the pace of the film, Director Millers has replaced Mel Gibson for the younger, dynamic Tom Hardy, who plays Max with sincerity. Gibson had featured in the previous three editions.
Charlize Theron as Furiosa emits raw emotions. She is agile and brilliant, as the one-hand amputee on the run. Similarly, Nicholas Hoult as Nux is appealing.
The action sequences are well choreographed. - IANS

DVDs courtesy:
Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha