Just how funny is 21 Jump Street? I first saw the film two weeks ago. Since then, not only have I seen it another time but I’ve also burst out laughing on numerous occasions just because I remembered some random line or gag from the movie. So, yeah: I’d say it’s very funny. The 1987 TV show (famous for making Johnny Depp famous, among other accomplishments) on which the film is based was an earnest and serious police...

I have a confession to make. I had completely written off Mirror Mirror, Tarsem Singh’s latest, on the basis of its promotional material. It may have been presumptuous and altogether unfair but with trailers this mediocre, I had little-to-no hopes from this. However, news like this gave me pause and I walked into the film with cautious hope. And this is one case where I’m glad to have been proven wrong, for I really enjoyed...

Quick. Think of possible superpowers (if they existed, that is). How many minutes and how many powers pass before you hit the ones like telepathy, metal manipulation and so on? Not many, I’m guessing. This is why when (or if) you feel a sense of déjà vu while reading The Rook, Daniel O’Malley’s début novel that’s about supernatural forces, you must remind yourself that just because something has a character who...

In the very first scene in Battleship, a $200m summer popcorn flick based on the Hasbro board game (“based” being used in the loosest terms imaginable), a scientist explains what a habitable planet is to a room full of NASA staff. Let me reiterate that, for added impact: He explains the meaning of the term “habitable planet” (using bright, colorful and childlike graphics)… TO A ROOM FULL OF NASA SCIENTISTS. If...

Titanic is just one of the very few, isn’t it? Of course, since its release, there have been films which ended up costing more. A film has grossed more at the box-office. Multiple  blockbuster epics have been critical and commercial successes. Its production design and special effects have been surpassed too. But as a cultural landmark, as a behemoth and as a conversation starter, very few films can claim to be Titanic‘s...

Good science-fiction has to have a point. Just like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind provides such beautiful insight on how our memories and experiences (even if they belong to a failed relationship) make us who we are, Inception deals with how we find it so hard to let go of our regrets and mistakes…so much so that they invade our minds every time we are faced with a blank canvas. It’s one of the biggest strengths of the...