Yogi Bear (2010)

Life's a pic-a-nic.

Eric Brevig is a director who had previously focused on a career as a visual effect artist and coordinator in a lot of big budget and low budget productions. While shifting his career into the director's seat, he directed several episodes of the TV hit of the day Xena: Warrior Princess and he made his feature film debut with Journey To The Centre of The Earth half a decade ago. His second feature film is a very cute one for most of young adults and adults of these days for he brings back memories from our childhood by bringing Yogi Bear and his companions on the silver screen. It is both exciting and worrying at the same time for we know how Hollywood easily overpromotes the characters, cartoons and comics from most people's childhood only to turn them into some underwritten and unrelatable characters with some pumped up visuals and weak storylines. However, having our childhood friends back and getting the chance to introduce them to our children is fascinating. Yogi Bear's voice was well known and voice actors were even learning how to make Yogi Bear dubbing from Daws Butler and many others. This time we see a non-Yogi trained actor voicing the character: Dan Aykroyd. His side-kick Boo-Boo is voiced by Justin Timberlake and one thing should be stated about him: he is definitely improving as an actor. Maybe he has given up on music career and decided to work as an actor full time. Tom Cavanagh portrays Ranger Smith, a documentarist who is the only hope for Yogi Bear and all his friends to save their home. The story is simple: Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo and the others live in a big, urban wildlife park called Jellystone Park. It has reached its 100th anniversary only to be declared unnecessary by the Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly). He is planning to close the park and send animals to all different parts of the country due to the insufficient visitor rate. Ranger Smith and Yogi team decide to work hand in hand to stop the dissolution of the park. This film is a fine introduction to other Yogi Bear stories and as a whole family, it can be enjoyed.

Cast: Anna Faris, Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cavanagh, Andrew Daly, T.J. Miller

Gulliver's Travels (2010)

Black is the new big

The adaptations of book classics into films is not a new trend. It has been done countless of times and one of the most recent examples is Gulliver's Travels, the political satire of Jonathan Swift. The adaptation is directed by Rob Letterman, the director of superb animation comedy Monsters v. Aliens and Shark Tale. Letterman's comedic style apparently suits the leading actor, well. The film's main character Lemuel Gulliver, whose name is based on the word 'gullible', is portrayed by the rising comedian of recent years, Jack Black. He is working in a dead end mail room job in a publishing company and he is in love with Darcy Silverman, the editor of the travel stories in the company. By hoping to be visible, important to Darcy, he applies for a journalist position by stealing some writing from internet and surprisingly he gets the job. His first assignment is about a story on the secret of the Bermuda Triangle. He hits the road, aiming to reach Bermuda, only to end up in the island of Lilliput, full of 10 cm tall people. Normally, these people would represent the small minded societies as the toy of the State's politics and their own ignorance. But the film focuses on the funny events happening one after the other for comedy purposes. Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput, his funny inventions such as the table soccer using tiny people or his recreation of Manhattan as a miniature town are entertaining. He is banished from the island at some point, finding himself in the island of giants and his heroic return is a little clich�d and predictable. However, for people who seeks only entertainment, escapism and relaxation; the film is the right choice. The supporting actors Amanda Peet, Jason Segel, Billy Connolly and Emily Blunt deliver very enjoyable performances as the platonic love and the members of Lilliputan community. Fans of such comedies should not miss it.

Cast: Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet

Tron 2: Legacy (2010)

The Game Has Changed.

TRON: Legacy is a long awaited sequel whose fans will be divided into two main groups when they see it. The first film TRON was the indicator of a breakthrough in the name of visuals and had its fans piled up as an avalanche over the years. It was the idea of Steven Lisberger, whose team had found a new technology regarding the visuals and TRON was made to present particularly that technology and what it was capable of. It was a visual feast, a completely different film in the era of strictly genre films. This ground breaking technology and the film which showed a computerised world into which the real life characters were sucked gained a lot of attention. The idea was promising yet not explored much, making the film more about the visuals than the story. This has been a reason for criticism even though some people believe it was on purpose for the story was there only to reinforce the power of the visuals, not to draw attention from them. The sequel TRON: Legacy will cause a similar kind of buzz among critics and fans for it keeps the TRON legend in its seat as the most dazzling, extra ordinary looking film, even beating James Cameron's Avatar. The film has a well applied 3D which makes the experience even better, putting the film one of the best looking films of all time list of every person watching. The main characters of the sequel are Kevin Flynn (portrayed by Jeff Bridges), Sam Flynn (portrayed by Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (portrayed by Olivia Wilde), a game character who wishes to be a human. Kevin had been trapped in the Game Grid for years and some events draw a similar destiny for his son Sam. While in the game, he meets Quorra and they try to take down Clu, a character looking just like his father. Would Sam find his way back into the real world? This film is a landmark film regarding its visuals and the story is left open for another sequel, keeping the fans excited now more than ever. It is a must see.

Also Known As:
TR2N
TRON 2
TRON: The Legacy

Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Beau Garrett, Bruce Boxleitner, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen

The Mechanic (2011)

Someone has to fix the problems.

Simon West and his action thriller films such as Lara Croft: The Tomb Raider, Con Air, General's Daughter were commercially successful movies. It is certain that he has a knack for action thrillers with a bit of mystery or crime, and his latest film The Mechanic is a perfect example for his action crime thrillers. He has united with the recent years action star Jason Statham in The Mechanic. People knowing Statham from action films rather than his earlier Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and The Italian Job which could be considered as having some action though, would expect a strong action performance from Statham in his leading role as Arthur Bishop, the professional assassin a.k.a The Mechanic. His close friend Harry (portrayed by Donald Sutherland) is also his mentor who trained him to be the most powerful assassin. Unfortunately, his mentor Harry is the target of another assassin hired by a very powerful person whom he needs to find out about. This is his first emotional mission, for he is burning inside with the thirst for revenge while he is joined by Harry's own son Steve. He shares Arthur's desire to take revenge on everybody responsible for his father's death, and he convinces Arthur to train him and turn him into a mechanic just like himself. Their dangerous path to finding the responsible people is full of action which would blow your mind. Moreover, the story which is not the most original thing out there, is handled pretty well that it does not get boring at all. Jason Statham is legendary as usual and Ben Foster is very relatable as the symphatetic and determined rookie. Action fans should put this film to number one in their to watch list.

Cast: Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden

Season of the Witch (2011)

Not all souls can be saved.

Season of the Witch is a film directed by Dominic Sena, the music video and commercial based director who also delivered very entertaining feature films when he put his mind to it. He always preferred A-list actors and actresses in his films, including Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and Kate Beckinsale. His previous films such as Gone In Sixty Seconds, Kalifornia and Swordfish were hits all around the world. Even though his Whiteout was a bit of a disappointment for his fans for it was predictable and poorly edited, his fan base have been waiting for his next film starring Nicolas Cage again. To their joy, Season of the Witch is a very enjoyable adventure fantasy and drama with a hint of thriller. The film is written by Bragi F. Schut, creator of the amazing sci-fi TV series Threshold and writer/director of award winning short film Charlie Thistle. The screenplay of Season of the Witch is more than seven years old and it won an award as well, making the expectant audiences more impatient. The story of the film takes place in medieval times during a massive outbreak of the Black Plague. The 14th century, doomed by the plague, hosts the story. The film is about a girl (Claire Foy) being blamed for the Black Plague flooding every home in the country, for she is considered a witch causing the Black Death by her magic. The Church declares the girl danger and orders her to be taken to a monastery to be cleansed from her evil spells by the monks there. The knights who has returned from the Crusade recently to only find their families destroyed by the Plague volunteer for the job to put an end to this. However, things turn out more twisted and dangerous than they have foreseen and action packed scenes await the audience. The film has great acting and a fast paced, thrilling story which deserves interested audiences' time. Sci-fi action fans should not miss Season of the Witch.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy, Robbie Sheehan, Christopher Lee

The Green Hornet (2011)

Michel Gondy is a director whose earlier work consisted of the videos for popular music content which influenced him and his whole family when he was a kid. However, he did not keep his directing work on only videos for music. Probably, his most famous work is the beautiful film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind of 2004, starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey. He has done pretty interesting and remarkable things since then, including his latest project The Green Hornet. The news of the film created big excitement among the fans when it was announced. Based on the 60s TV series which made Bruce Lee a big name in the USA, The Green Hornet is dear to its fans. As an adaptation, the film is bound to attract a lot of criticism as well as attention for die hard fans are really difficult to satisfy due to their high level of knowledge on the characters. The writer and the star of the film as the green hornet is Seth Rogen. Some might think it will be a disaster for he is mostly known for his pothead character portrayals as a comedian. However, this kind of bias might ruin the chances of seeing a very enjoyable film since Rogen's take on the characters and the story is very entertaining and he does not forget to include nice references to the original stories and characters. The cast of the film is just as exciting as having a Green Hornet feature film after all these years. Cameron Diaz as wise and unknowingly helping secretary Lenore Case and Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) as the villain Chudnofsky blow minds. Most importantly, the discovery of Jay Chou as the sidekick Kato is one of the most enjoyable parts of the film for Jay Chou steals his scenes. He is an employee of the soon-to-be Green Hornet Britt Reid's father James Reid, who owns a newspaper. Britt is a party boy who has to face the boss position and the responsibilities after his father's sudden death. Kato and Britt's common dislike against the deceased father creates a bond between them, leading the formation of the crime fighter Green Hornet duo. Their unorthodox undercover style as the superheroes brings them into the villain Chudnofsky's attention while they get help on where to seek criminals from the unknowingly helping secretary Lenore in the newspaper. The film is very entertaining and has a bunch of comedy/action scenes which would satisfy most audiences. If you like these kind of films, do not miss it.

Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson