Iron Man
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Here comes Iron Man, joining Superman, Batman, Spiderman and other superheroes in their bid to save the world. This time it's an inventive entrepreneur who unwittingly attains stardom.
Tony Stark (Downey), the CEO of Stark Industries, is in Kunar Province of Afghanistan to demonstrate his latest invention, the Jericho missile.
Having changed the face of the weapons industry, he's been hailed as the Da Vinci of the modern world, though some call him the Merchant of Death.
The Jericho demonstration is successful and Stark is about to return to the US when he is caught in a crossfire between the troops and the Afghan rebels.
Rendered unconscious, he wakes up as a prisoner of Ten Rings, a gang that plans to conquer and rule the entire region.
Ten Rings has a huge arsenal of arms manufactured by Stark Industries, but having witnessed the deadly effects of Jericho, the rebels want to acquire the new technology.
Stark agrees to build the missile in the rebels' foundry in exchange for freedom. But instead he creates an iron body suit which can make him fly (flying is something which all superheroes are good at). He escapes the den and vows that Stark Industries will stop making weapons of mass destruction. He now faces hurdles that only a superhero can overcome.
Rating: PG 13.
- By Cyril Pinto, e+ Editor
Barbie and The Diamond Castle
Cast: Barbie and Teresa
This musical fairytale is the story of two young friends Alexa and Liana whose livelihood depends on flowers. They are coasting along happily when a storm destroys their garden; but though the future looks bleak, they take solace in singing and survive on jam and bread.
One day while singing, they are joined by a third voice. It's Melody who has been trapped in a mirror by Lydia, a wicked woman who wants to be the only muse of the Diamond Castle, the birthplace of music. The other muses manage to make the castle disappear before they are turned into statues by Lydia. Now it's upto Melody to make the castle reappear and restore normalcy. She can do this only if Alexa and Liana help her.
Barbie as always is very entertaining. Kids will enjoy this movie.
- By Cyril Pinto, e+ Editor
Pleasantville
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William Macy, Joan Allen
Pleasantville was nominated for 3 Oscars in 1998 and even a decade later this charming comedy remains as appealing.
The film begins in the 1990s. Growing up in a broken family, a shy high-school boy (Maguire) finds solace in the neat, perfect and goody-goody world of the 50s TV-sitcom Pleasantville. His elder sister (Witherspoon) – a hostile rebel without a cause – looks at him as a nerd. But a twist of fate literally sucks these contrasting siblings into that sitcom.
Suddenly their world has turned on its head. Their names have changed, their parents have changed and yes, even their colors have changed- for the squeaky clean world of Pleasantville is in black and white! How will they cope up with the sanitized lifestyle of this seemingly perfect world?
By Dr. Mandar V. Bichu
