Ivan's Childhood; A Famous Movie of all Time History of the World

Ivan's Childhood (Russian: Ива́ново де́тство, Ivanovo detstvo), sometimes released as My Name Is Ivan in the US, is a 1962 Soviet film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It is based on the 1957 short story Ivan (Russian: Иван) by Vladimir Bogomolov, with the screenplay written by Mikhail Papava and an uncredited Andrei Tarkovsky. The film features child actor Nikolai Burlyayev, Valentin Zubkov, Yevgeni Zharikov, Stepan Krylov, Nikolai Grinko and Tarkovsky's wife Irma Raush.

The film tells the story of orphan boy Ivan and his experiences during World War II. Ivan's Childhood was one of several Soviet films of its period, such as The Cranes Are Flying and Ballad of a Soldier, that looked at the human cost of war and did not glorify the war experience as did films produced before the Khrushchev Thaw.

Ivan's Childhood was Tarkovsky's first feature film. It won him critical acclaim and made him internationally known. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962 and the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1962. The film was also selected as the Soviet entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 36th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Famous filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Sergei Parajanov and Krzysztof Kieślowski praised the film and cited it as an influence on their work.

On the Eastern front during World War II, the Soviet army is fighting the invading German Wehrmacht. The film features a non-linear plot with frequent flashbacks.

After a brief dream sequence, Ivan Bondarev (Nikolai Burlyayev), a 12-year-old Russian boy, wakes up and crosses a war-torn landscape to a swamp, then swims across a river. On the other side, he is seized by Russian soldiers and brought to the young Lieutenant Galtsev (Evgeny Zharikov), who interrogates him. The boy insists that he call "Number 51 at Headquarters" and report his presence. Galtsev is reluctant, but when he eventually makes the call, he is told by Lieutenant-Colonel Gryaznov (Nikolai Grinko) to give the boy pencil and paper to make his report, which will be given the highest priority, and to treat him well. Through a series of dream sequences and conversations between different characters, it is revealed that Ivan’s mother and sister (and probably his father, a border guard) have been killed by German soldiers. He got away and joined a group of partisans. When the group was surrounded, they put him on a plane. After the escape, he was sent to a boarding school, but he ran away and joined an army unit under the command of Gryaznov.

Burning for revenge, Ivan insists on fighting on the front line. Taking advantage of his small size, he is successful on reconnaissance missions. Gryaznov and the other soldiers grow fond of him and want to send him to a military school. They give up their idea when Ivan tries to run away and rejoin the partisans. He is determined to avenge the death of his family and others, such as those killed at the Maly Trostenets extermination camp (which he mentions that he has seen).

A subplot involves Captain Kholin (Valentin Zubkov) and his aggressive advances towards a pretty army nurse, Masha (Valentina Malyavina), and Galtsev's own undeclared and unrequited feelings for her. Much of the film is set in a room where the officers await orders and talk, while Ivan awaits his next mission. On the walls are scratched the last messages of doomed prisoners of the Germans.

Finally, Kholin and Galtsev ferry Ivan across the river late at night. He disappears through the swampy forest. The others return to the other shore after cutting down the bodies of two Soviet scouts hanged by the Germans.

The final scenes of the film then switch to Berlin under Soviet occupation after the fall of the Third Reich. Captain Kholin has been killed in action. Galtsev finds a document showing that Ivan was caught and hanged by the Germans. As Galtsev enters the execution room, a final flashback of Ivan's childhood shows the young boy running across a beach after a little girl in happier times. The final image is of a dead tree on the beach.

Cast of this movie:

• Nikolay Burlyaev as Ivan Bondarev (as Kolya Burlyayev)
• Valentin Zubkov as Capt. Kholin (as V. Zubkov)
• Yevgeni Zharikov as Lt. Galtsev (as Ye. Zharikov)
• Stepan Krylov as Cpl. Katasonov (as S. Krylov)
• Nikolai Grinko as Lt. Col. Gryaznov (as N. Grinko)
• Dmitri Milyutenko as Old Man (as D. Milyutenko)
• Valentina Malyavina as Masha (as V. Malyavina)
• Irma Raush as Ivan's Mother (as I. Tarkovskaya)
• Andrey Konchalovskiy as Soldier (as A. Konchalovskiy)

Read More

Rebellious Flower; a spiritual Hindi film

Rebellious Flower is a 2016 Hindi film directed by Krishan Hooda. The directorial debut written and produced by Jagdish Bharti is based on initial years of Rajneesh Osho. The film won Special Mention Jury Award at 12th Salento International Film Festival, Italy. This is first biopic on early life of Osho Rajneesh and its supported by Osho Foundation. The film is scheduled to release on 15 January 2016.

Rebellious Flower is inspired by life of spiritual guru Rajneesh Osho. The plot is based on several incidents from his childhood and young life. Child Raja embarks on a journey within himself to understand the universal truth. He meets three mentors - Magga baba, Pagal baba and Masto baba who guides him through his journey and helps him find the true essence of being.

Casting for Rebellious Flower:

Prince Shah – Child Raja
Shashank Singh – Young Raja Mantra - Magga Baba, Pagal Baba and Masto Baba
Kirti Adarkar - Nani
Bachchan Pachera - Nana
Indal Singh - Baba

Read More

Chuye Dile Mon; Bangladeshi romantic film

Chuye Dile Mon is a 2015 Bangladeshi romantic film, produced by Asiatic Ddhoni-Chitra Limited & Monforing Limited. The film is directed by Shihab Shaheen and features a cast that includes Arifin Shuvoo and Zakia Bari Momo in lead roles while Iresh Zaker and Misha Sawdagor play pivotal supporting role.

Chuye Dile Mon is a childhood love story which takes place in Hridoypur and how two lovers go apart as they grow up. Chuye Dile Mon is released in Bangladesh on 10 April 2015 as the producers planned to release the film overseas later. It was later announced that the film will be releasing in North America on 9 May 2015.

The story of Two Lovers grew close and then divided apart by the society. Abir Hasan (Arifin Shuvo) and Nila Khan (Zakia Bari Momo) loves each other. Growing up in a conservative family, Nila hesitates to express her feelings to parents while Abir's family is very moderate. Abir decides to talk to Nila's father about their relationship and want to marry Nila. However, Nila's father reacts angrily and decides to manipulate Abir and later humiliates them and forces Abir's family to leave the county. Abir settles in Dhaka. Years Later, Still in madly love with Nila, Abir comes back to Hridoypur to regain the respect and win back Nila from her family.

Casting of Chuye Dile Mon

• Arifin Shuvoo as Abir Hasan
• Zakia Bari Momo as Nila Khan
• Iresh Zaker as Danny
• Misha Sawdagor as Abir's Brother-in-law
• Anondo Khaled as Pavel, Abir's friend
• Ali Raz as Afzal Khan
• Nowshaba Khan
• Shushoma Sarkar
• Mahabubuzzaman
• Maijied Hasan
• Arafat Anik
• Touker Ahmed Shanto

Read More

The 5th Wave; an American science fiction thriller film

The 5th Wave is a 2016 American science fiction thriller film directed by J Blakeson, based on Rick Yancey's eponymous novel with a screenplay by Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinkner. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, and Liev Schreiber.

Development began in March 2012 when Columbia Pictures picked up the film rights to the trilogy with Graham King's production company GK Films and Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia from October 2014 to January 2015.

The 5th Wave is scheduled to be released theatrically on January 22, 2016 by Columbia Pictures in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth devastated. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie Sullivan is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother Sammy. As she prepares for the fifth wave, Cassie teams up with a young man named Evan, who may become her final hope – if she can only trust him.

Casting of the movieThe 5th Wave

• Chloë Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan
• Nick Robinson as Ben Parish/Zombie
• Ron Livingston as Oliver Sullivan
• Maggie Siff as Lisa Sullivan
• Alex Roe as Evan Walker
• Maria Bello as Sergeant Reznik
• Maika Monroe as Ringer
• Liev Schreiber as Colonel Vosch
• Zackary Arthur as Sammy Sullivan
• Tony Revolori as Dumbo
• Talitha Bateman as Teacup

Read More

Mad Max: Fury Road; an action film

Mad Max: Fury Road is a 2015 action film directed and produced by George Miller, and written by Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris. The fourth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, it is an Australian and American venture produced by Kennedy Miller Mitchell, RatPac-Dune Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures. It is set in a future desert wasteland where gasoline and water are scarce commodities. It follows Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) to flee from cult leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his army in an armoured tanker truck, which leads to a lengthy road battle. The film also features Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee and Courtney Eaton.

Fury Road was in "development hell" for many years, with pre-production starting as early as 1997. Attempts were made to shoot the film in 2001 and 2003, but were delayed due to the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War. In 2007, after focusing on Happy Feet, Miller decided to pursue producing the film again. He briefly considered producing it as a computer-animated film but abandoned it in favour of live-action. In 2009, Miller announced that filming would begin in early 2011. Hardy was cast as Max in June 2010, with production planned to begin that November. Principal photography was delayed several more times before beginning in July 2012. The film wrapped in December 2012, although additional footage was shot in November 2013.

The film had its world premiere on 7 May 2015 at the TCL Chinese Theatre. It began a worldwide theatrical release on 14 May 2015, including an out-of-competition screening at the 68th Cannes Film Festival, in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX. It has grossed over $375 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film in the Mad Max franchise. The film was widely acclaimed for its acting, direction, screenplay, art direction, score, practical effects, stunts and action sequences, and is considered one of the best films of 2015 by many critics and publications as well as one of the greatest action films of all time. The film won many critics awards and received ten Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. It is the first film of the Mad Max franchise to receive Academy Award recognition, and the second most-nominated film of the 88th Academy Awards after The Revenant.

Following a nuclear holocaust, the world has become a desert wasteland and civilization has collapsed. Max Rockatansky, a survivor, is captured by the War Boys, the army of the tyrannical Immortan Joe, and taken to Joe's Citadel. Designated a universal blood donor, Max is imprisoned and used as a "blood bag" for a sick War Boy called Nux. Meanwhile, Imperator Furiosa, one of Joe's lieutenants, is sent in her armored truck, the "War Rig", to collect gasoline. When she drives off-route, Joe realises that his five wives—women selected for breeding—are missing. Joe leads his entire army in pursuit of Furiosa, calling on the aid of nearby Gas Town and the Bullet Farm.

Nux joins the pursuit with Max strapped to his car to continue supplying blood. A battle ensues between the War Rig and Joe's forces. Furiosa drives into a sand storm, evading her pursuers, except Nux, who attempts to sacrifice himself to destroy the Rig. Max escapes and restrains Nux, but the car is destroyed. After the storm, Max sees Furiosa repairing the Rig, accompanied by the Wives: Capable, Cheedo, Toast, the Dag and Angharad, who is heavily pregnant with Joe's child. Max steals the Rig, but its kill switch disables it. Max reluctantly agrees to let Furiosa and the Wives accompany him; Nux, left behind, is picked up by Joe's army.

Furiosa drives through a biker gang-controlled canyon to barter a deal for safe passage; however, with Joe's forces pursuing, the gang turns on her, forcing her and the group to flee while the bikers detonate the canyon walls to block Joe. Max and Furiosa fight pursuing bikers as Joe's car, with Nux now on board, surmounts the blockade and eventually attacks the War Rig, allowing Nux to board. However, as the Rig escapes, Angharad falls off in an attempt to protect Max and is run over by Joe's car, killing her and her child.

Furiosa explains to Max that they are escaping to the "Green Place," an idyllic land she remembers from her childhood. Capable finds Nux hiding in the Rig, distraught over his failure, and consoles him. That night, the Rig gets stuck in mud. Furiosa and Max slow Joe's forces with mines, but Joe's ally, the Bullet Farmer, continues pursuing them. Nux helps Max free the Rig while Furiosa shoots and blinds the Bullet Farmer. Max walks into the dark to confront the Bullet Farmer and his men, returning with guns and ammunition.

They drive the War Rig overnight through swampland and desert, coming across a naked woman the next day. Max suspects a trap, but Furiosa approaches the woman and states her history and clan affiliation. The naked woman summons her clan, the Vuvalini, who recognise Furiosa as one of their own who was kidnapped as a child. Furiosa is devastated to learn that the swampland they passed was indeed the Green Place, now uninhabitable. The group then plans to ride motorbikes across immense salt flats in the hope of finding a new home. Max chooses to stay behind, but after seeing visions of a child he failed to save, he convinces them to return to the undefended Citadel, which has ample water and greenery that Joe keeps for himself, and trap Joe and his army in the bikers' canyon.

The group heads back to the Citadel, but they are attacked en route by Joe's forces, and Furiosa is stabbed by one of Joe's men. Joe positions his car in front of the War Rig to slow it, while Max fights Joe's giant son, Rictus Erectus. Joe captures Toast, but she distracts him long enough for Furiosa to rip off his breathing mask, killing him. Nux sacrifices himself by wrecking the Rig, killing Rictus and blocking the canyon, allowing Max, Furiosa, the wives, and the Vuvalini to successfully escape in Joe's car, where Max transfuses his blood to Furiosa to help her survive her injuries.

At the Citadel, the impoverished citizens are overjoyed at the sight of Joe's corpse. Furiosa, the wives, and the Vuvalini are cheered by the people and welcomed by the remaining War Boys, but Max walks away, sharing a glance with Furiosa before disappearing into the crowd.

Casting of movie

• Tom Hardy as Max Rockatansky
• Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa
• Nicholas Hoult as Nux
• Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe
• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as The Splendid Angharad
• Riley Keough as Capable
• Zoë Kravitz as Toast the Knowing
• Abbey Lee as The Dag
• Courtney Eaton as Cheedo the Fragile
• Josh Helman as Slit
• Nathan Jones as Rictus Erectus

Read More

The Big Short; an American biographical comedy-drama film

The Big Short is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film directed and co-written by Adam McKay. It is based on the 2010 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, about the financial crisis of 2007–2008 brought on by the build-up of the housing market and credit bubble. The film stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film began a limited release in the US on December 11, 2015, followed by a wide release on December 23, 2015. The film is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

In 2005, eccentric hedge fund manager Michael Burry (Christian Bale) discovers that the U.S. housing market is extremely unstable, being based on subprime loans that are high risk and providing fewer and fewer returns. Predicting that the market will collapse sometime in the second quarter of 2007, he realizes that he can profit from this situation by creating a credit default swap market, allowing him to bet against the housing market; he visits numerous banks with this idea, and the banks, believing that the housing market is secure, accept his proposal. This earns the ire of Burry's clients who believe that he is wasting their money and demand that he stop his activities, but he refuses. As the predicted time of the collapse approaches, his investors lose their confidence and consider pulling their money out, but Burry puts a moratorium on withdrawals, much to his investors' anger. However, the market collapses just as he predicted and he produces 489% profits from the plan.

Trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) hears of Burry's actions from one of the bankers he dealt with, and soon realizes that Burry's predictions are true. He decides to put his own stake in the credit default swap market. A misplaced phone call alerts hedge fund manager Mark Baum (Steve Carell) to his plans, and Baum is convinced to join Vennett. The two discover that the impending market collapse is being further perpetuated by the sale of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), groups of poor loans that are packaged together and incorrectly given AAA ratings due to the conflicts of interest and dishonesty of the rating agencies. 

When Baum attends the American Securitization Forum in Las Vegas, he interviews a businessman who has created synthetic CDOs, making what is described as a chain of increasingly large bets on the faulty loans; Baum realizes, much to his horror, that the scale of the fraud will cause a complete collapse of the economy. Baum's business partners convince him to go through with the credit default swaps, profiting from the situation at the banks' expense.

Eager young investors Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) accidentally discover a paper by Vennett and also decide to become involved in the credit default swaps. Since they are too inexperienced to pull off the trades necessary to profit from the situation, they enlist the aid of retired banker Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt). The three visit the mortgage securities forum in Las Vegas, where they manage to successfully make the deals. Shipley and Geller are initially ecstatic, but Rickert is disgusted by their essentially celebrating an impending economic collapse and soon-to-be-lost lives. The two are horrified, and take a much more emotional stake in the collapse by trying to tip off the press and their families about the upcoming disaster. Ultimately, they profit immensely, but are left with their faith in the system broken.

Burry semi-retires and invests only in water, Baum refuses to say "I told you so" to the world and continues his career, Rickert returns to his retirement, and Shipley and Geller unsuccessfully attempt to sue the ratings companies with one of them electing to move to Charlotte to raise a family. Almost nobody involved in the creation of the CDO bubble is arrested, and Bespoke CDO are soon sold again.

Casting

• Christian Bale as Dr. Michael Burry
• Steve Carell as Mark Baum
• Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett
• John Magaro as Charlie Geller
• Finn Wittrock as Jamie Shipley
• Brad Pitt as Ben Ricker
• Hamish Linklater as Porter Collins, a top staffer at FrontPoint

Read More

Spotlight; an American biographical drama film

Spotlight is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The film follows The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative unit in the United States and its investigation into the widespread child sex abuse cases in the Boston area. It is based on a series of stories by the real Spotlight Team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup.

Spotlight was shown in the Out of Competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. It was shown as well as at the Telluride Film Festival and the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on November 6, 2015, by Open Road Films. It won numerous guilds and critics' association awards, and was named one of the finest films of 2015 by various publications.

In 2001, The Boston Globe hires a new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber). Meeting with Walter "Robby" Robinson (Michael Keaton), Baron discovers that Robinson heads the "Spotlight" team, a small group of journalists whose articles are investigative in nature, but can take up to a year to publish. When Baron reads a small column in the paper about the pedophile priest John Geoghan, and a lawyer who says that Cardinal Law (the Archbishop of Boston) knew that Geoghan was sexually abusing children and did nothing to stop him, Baron urges the Spotlight Team to investigate the story.

Initially believing that they are following the story of one priest who was moved around several times, the Spotlight Team begin to uncover a pattern of sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests in Massachusetts, and an ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese. Through a man who heads a victim's rights organization, they widen their search to thirteen priests. They learn through an ex-priest who worked trying to rehabilitate pedophile priests that there should be approximately ninety abusive priests in Boston. Through their research, they develop a list of eighty-seven names, and begin to find their victims to back up their suspicions. When the September 11 attacks occur, the team is forced to deprioritize the story. They regain momentum when Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) finds that there are publicly available documents that confirm Cardinal Law was aware of the problem and ignored it. After The Boston Globe wins a case to have even more legal documents unsealed, the Spotlight Team finally begins to write the story, and plan to publish their findings in early 2002.

As they are about to go to print, Robinson confesses to the team that he was sent a list of twenty pedophile priests in 1993 in a story he never followed up on. Baron, nevertheless, tells Robinson and the team that the work they are doing is important. The story goes to print with a link leading to the documents that expose Cardinal Law, and a phone number requesting victims of pedophile priests to come forward. The following morning, the Spotlight Team is inundated with phone calls from victims coming forward to tell their stories.

The films ends with various real life information pertaining to the case, like how it won a Pulitzer Prize for civil service.

The Spotlight Team

• Mark Ruffalo as Michael Rezendes
• Michael Keaton as Walter "Robby" Robinson
• Rachel McAdams as Sacha Pfeiffer
• Liev Schreiber as Marty Baron
• John Slattery as Ben Bradlee Jr.
• Brian d'Arcy James as Matt Carroll

Read More

Southside With You; an upcoming American romantic dramedy film

Southside With You is an upcoming American romantic dramedy film directed and written by Richard Tanne. The film stars Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as a young Barack and Michelle Robinson Obama, respectively. The film focuses on the couple's first date on an evening in 1989 and their first kiss outside an ice cream parlor. Principal photography began in July 2015 in Chicago. Tanne is making his directorial debut on the film.

A young associate (Barack Obama) tries to win the heart of a young lawyer (Michelle Robinson) in Chicago in 1989. On their first date, they visit the Art Institute of Chicago, view a screening of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", and have their first kiss outside an ice cream parlor.

The original idea was developed by Richard Tanne in 2007, following that he started writing the script. On December 5, 2014, Deadline reported that there would be a romance film titled Southside With You based on the first date of American President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, set in Chicago where the couple met in 1989 and married in 1992. Tika Sumpter would be playing Michelle while no one had yet been cast for Barack's role. Tanne would make his directing debut on the film based on his own script, and Tracey Bing and Stephanie Allain would produce for Homegrown Pictures.

On April 10, 2015, IM Global came on board to produce the film with producer Robert Teitel. In April 2015, Sumpter talked with Vulture about her preparations to play the role of Michelle and she told that she was "nervous" because she was about to play "Michelle Obama, who is everything every woman wants to be," and she also told that she was reading some poetry and books to get know more about Michelle, so she could portray her role better. On May 7, 2015, Parker Sawyers was cast as the young Barack Obama. Producers on the film would be Tanne and Sumpter along with Glendon Palmer and Teitel through IM Global and State Street Pictures.

Cast

• Parker Sawyers as a young Barack Obama
• Tika Sumpter as a young Michelle Robinson Obama
  

 

Read More

Ride Along 2; American action comedy film

Ride Along 2 is a 2016 American action comedy film directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. It is the sequel to the 2014 film Ride Along. The film stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn, Bruce McGill and Tika Sumpter. Universal Pictures released the film on January 15, 2016.

The film starts in Miami on the boat of crime lord Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). His hacker A.J. (Ken Jeong) is going through a list on the computer. Pope calls Port Commissioner Griffin (James Martin Kelly) on the phone and accuses him of stealing money from him. With one of his hitmen in the room, Pope has Griffin killed in his apartment, then orders his men to find whoever stole his money.

In Atlanta, James (Ice Cube) is with his partner Mayfield (Tyrese Gibson) as they try to infiltrate a car meet to find a drug dealer named Troy (Glen Powell). Ben (Kevin Hart), fresh out the academy, is eager to get in on the action, but James has him staying on the radio. James gets close enough to Troy, but Troy pulls a gun on him. Ben sees this over the camera and sneaks out to help. He rides into the meet in a showy car with hydraulics and draws unwanted attention to himself. He tries to threaten Troy by acting tough, only to drop his badge in front of the crook, leading to Troy making his escape. James and Ben go after him, with Ben nearly getting himself run over, though James follows Troy long enough until Troy drives out of a parking garage and onto another car. James arrests Troy and swipes a necklace around him that is also a flash drive.

James reprimands Ben for his actions since he got Mayfield shot in the chaos. Lt. Brooks (Bruce McGill) assigns James to go to Miami and see who Troy was working for. Ben wants to go so that he can prove himself ready for detective work, but nobody believes in him, especially after the mess he just caused. At home, Ben is planning his wedding to Angela (Tika Sumpter), but he clashes with the wedding planner Cori (Sherri Shepherd). He tries to assert himself, but gets knocked out by the ceiling fan. Later, as Angela tries to seduce Ben, he complains about not being able to go to Miami. Angela calls James and tries to get him to take Ben, not just for himself, but so she can have him out of her hair while the wedding is planned. James refuses, but then changes his mind when he thinks he can prove that Ben doesn't have what it takes to be a detective. He goes to their house and officially invites Ben to Miami. James and Ben drive down to Miami and meet Captain Hernandez (Carlos Gomez). Ben gets off on the wrong foot with Detective Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn) as he checks for info on her desk. James takes a liking to her when she gets Ben with pressure points.

Ben starts his detective work by trying to blend in with the locals as they search for A.J. The two of them find the hacker, and he tells them about a safe in a club that contains something important, but first they have to meet with someone there. The guys go to the club for work, but A.J. gets Ben to enjoy himself with an impromptu bachelor party. However, the man they are supposed to meet is also Pope's hitman. A.J. causes a distraction and escapes while James engages in a brief shoot-out with the hitman. Afterward, the two are met by Maya at the crime scene. The safe turned out to be empty. Before the guys can leave, James realizes a bomb was planted in his car, which goes off and destroys his car.

Ben realizes he kept A.J.'s phone on him, so they find his girlfriend Tasha to get a lead on his whereabouts. Ben convinces Tasha to spill the beans when he shows her that he's been hooking up with other women and given them unique ringtones, while Tasha is left with the generic Apple ringtone. The guys locate A.J. once more and bring him in on the investigation. He reveals to the team that Pope is the real crook, despite him having a public image as an entrepreneur working alongside the new port commissioner Nunez (Robert Pralgo). The team is at the home of Maya's friend/associate Alonso, whom Ben accidentally shoots after getting scared. Despite getting shot, Alonso backs up A.J.'s word that Pope is a crook.

James, Ben, and Maya go to a party hosted by Pope in his mansion. Maya distracts Pope by dancing with him while James and Ben gather info, and A.J. is their eyes and ears. Ben gets attacked by an alligator in the backyard. They get their information, but Pope catches them and knows they're cops, though he lets them go. The team uses their information to locate a group of shipping trucks that may be carrying Pope's contraband. However, when they attempt to stop the trucks at the port, they discover that the trucks are empty. Hernandez scolds the team, as Pope shows up and acts angry for what the team did. Nunez then shows up and calls Hernandez over. Brooks is informed of the screw-up and orders James to be suspended and for Ben to be fired.

The team goes to a bar to think about what they did wrong. Maya then questions as to why Nunez would have shown up so fast at the port. A.J. mentions that Nunez's name was on a list of guys on Pope's payroll. James realizes that Pope knew he would have gotten caught, so he had a decoy in the trucks, and the real contraband items are being brought in somewhere else at the port. James, Maya, and A.J. go after Pope, but Maya handcuffs Ben to a pole after James says he wants Ben to stay so he can take care of Angela. However, Ben breaks free and goes to Alonso's house to get the cuffs off.

James, Maya, and A.J. are at the port in the morning to catch Pope. They have a shootout with Pope and his goons, when Ben arrives and moves a truck to knock over a container with flammable barrels, causing them to explode. Pope runs and grabs A.J., then tries fleeing in a truck. James goes after him, but Ben knocks a container into Pope's path, causing him to crash. James runs to the truck and doesn't find Pope. Pope tries to shoot James, but Ben jumps in the way and takes the bullet. James shoots Pope a few times to bring him down, then sees that Ben was wearing a bulletproof vest. Pope rises and shoots again, but James uses Ben as a human shield, and Maya shoots Pope once more for good measure.

James and Ben are off the hook for taking down Pope and Nunez. They drive home in a yellow Lamborghini that Maya got for the wedding, with James asking Maya to be his date. Ben and Angela are married and are ready to go off on a boat ride, but Ben wants James to make a speech. Reluctantly, James speaks and says that while Ben has gotten him into a lot of trouble since meeting him, he has also saved his life, has made Angela very happy, and has helped James grow into a better man and cop. He finally accepts Ben as his new family. Ben and Angela then go on their boat ride, but Ben gets distracted and is thrown out the boat when he rides over a bump. He is then dragged through the water by a rope as Angela tries to stop the boat, all while James laughs at this.

Casting:

• Ice Cube as Detective James Payton
• Kevin Hart as Officer Ben Barber
• Ken Jeong as A.J.
• Benjamin Bratt as Antonio Pope
• Olivia Munn as Maya Cruz
• Bruce McGill as Lieutenant Brooks
• Tika Sumpter as Angela Payton-Barber
• Glen Powell as Troy
• Sherri Shepherd as Cori
• Nadine Velazquez as Tasha
• Tyrese Gibson as Mayfield

Read More

Joy; American semi-biographical comedy-drama film

Joy is a 2015 American semi-biographical comedy-drama film, written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy (loosely based on Joy Mangano), a self-made millionaire who created her own business empire.

Mangano was a divorced mother with three children in the early 1990s when she invented the Miracle Mop and became an overnight success, after which she patented many other products, often selling on the Home Shopping Network and QVC. The film is a semi-fictional and inspirational portrayal of how Mangano overcame personal and professional obstacles to rise to the top.

Joy received a wide theatrical release on December 25, 2015, and is distributed by 20th Century Fox. It earned mixed reviews from critics, who praised Lawrence's performance but criticized the writing and pace of the film, particularly the first half. Joy received two Golden Globe Award nominations including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and a win for Lawrence for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Lawrence also received a nomination for Best Actress at the 88th Academy.

In 1989, Joy Mangano is a divorced mother of two, working as a booking clerk for Eastern Airlines. She lives with her two young children, her mother, Terri, her grandmother, Mimi, and her ex-husband, Tony in Quogue, New York. Her parents are divorced, and her mother and father, Rudy, fight whenever her father shows up at her home. Joy's older half-sister, Peggy, is an overachiever who constantly humiliates Joy in front of her children. Peggy and Joy's father Rudy are very close. Joy's mother encourages Joy to give up her dreams of becoming a successful inventor although her grandmother and her best friend Jackie believe she will pursue her ideas and become a strong successful woman.

After divorcing his third wife, Joy's father starts dating Trudy, a wealthy Italian widow with some business experience. While on Trudy's boat, Joy drops a glass of red wine, attempts to mop up the mess, and cuts her hands on the broken glass while wringing the mop. Joy returns home and creates blueprints for a self-wringing mop. She builds a prototype with help from the employees at her father's shop. She then convinces Trudy to invest in the product. They make a deal with a company in California to manufacture the mop's parts at a low price. In order to avoid a potential lawsuit, Joy also pays $50,000 in royalties to a man in Hong Kong who supposedly has created a similar product. When the company repeatedly bills Joy for faulty parts they create, Joy refuses to pay the fees and tells her father, Trudy, and Peggy not to pay them.

Joy is advised by Trudy to take out a second mortgage on her home, in order to pay her costs. Joy needs a quick, easy way to advertise her product, and is able to meet with QVC executive Neil Walker. Neil is impressed and shows Joy his infomercials, where celebrities sell entrepreneur's products through a telethon system. Neil tells Joy to manufacture 50,000 mops. The first infomercial fails, but when she goes on QVC, Joy and her product become an overnight success.
Joy's grandmother dies suddenly. Rudy and Trudy send Peggy to California to conduct Joy's company business. Afterwards Peggy tells Joy that she paid excessively raised production fees. Joy is angry and travels to California to meet with the manufacturer, who refuses to pay her back. Joy also discovers that the manufacturer is about to fraudulently patent her design. Her lawyer reveals that there is nothing they can do to prevent this, and Joy is forced to file for bankruptcy. Joy discovers that the manufacturers have been defrauding her the entire time she has dealt with them. She confronts the owner, and forces him to pay her back.

Several years later, Joy is wealthy and runs a successful business. She continues to take care of her father, even though he and Peggy had unsuccessfully sued her for ownership of the company. Jackie and Tony remain her most valued advisors, and Joy is helping young women inventors develop their product ideas.

Read More

Tamasha; Indian romantic drama film

Tamasha is a 2015 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It stars Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. Tamasha tells the story of character "Ved" (played by Ranbir Kapoor) who loses his self by living according to the social conventions expected of him.Principal photography began in Corsica, France in July 2014. Post this schedule, filming continued briefly in Indian cities—Shimla, Delhi, Gurgaon and Kolkata followed by two-day schedule in Tokyo, Japan. The filming concluded in Mumbai by August 2015.

The film score and soundtrack album are composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics from Irshad Kamil.

The film opens with Ved (Ranbir Kapoor) and Tara (Deepika Padukone) putting up a spectacle that shows monotonous life and feelings of a man in the corporate world. In the spectacle, they show a teacher complaining about a young boy to his father.
A flashback shows the complaint scene turning real where, in Shimla, young Ved (played by Yash Sehgal) and his father (played by Javed Sheikh) return back to home from school. He goes to a story teller (played by Piyush Mishra) who keeps mixing up his characters. He talks about Ram and Sita one day. The next day, he’s in Troy, with Helen and Paris. 

When Ved protests to disconnectivity of stories, the story-teller wants him to enjoy the stories. The next, his mind has transformed processions into Samyukta’s retinue during her swayamvar, as she searches for Prithviraj Chauhan, varmala in hand. Young Ved visualizes himself taking part in the Romeo-Juliet stage drama. He observes that each story has a sad episode in it.

Present day, the film moves to Corsica where Tara abuses a local man in Hindi for not letting her call back to India. Adult Ved is eavesdropping, he follows Tara where she narrates the incident of phone call to him. By the time a call returns to Ved’s phone from India she is just about to introduce herself to Ved. But Ved tells they mustn't disclose their identities that he is Don and Tara replies as Mona darling. Majority of the conversations they make in Corsica are filmy dialogues between Don and Mona darling. They earn some money putting a stage drama at an expensive restaurant.

The story flashes back to young Ved who questions the story teller about the reason for happy times ending up quickly.

The story returns to Corsica, and Tara has to leave for India. She tells a sleepy adult Ved that they won’t meet again. She kisses Ved goodbye and realizes that she has fallen for him.

The story flashes back to young Ved who is sad after the story telling session ends.

Tara returns to Kolkata, India. Through the song “Heer to Badi Sad Hai”, Tara’s sad and confused state of mind and life is shown. She is off to Delhi for work. Four years have passed. Once upon a day, a reading session in the library, Tara is surprised to meet adult Ved who is now a product manager. They reveal their original identities and she is happy to find Ved single all these years.

For the evening, she fixes a dinner with him at a Japanese restaurant. She expects him to talk romantic but Ved talks about the business of that restaurant, the brand Japan associated with the restaurant and companies. She calls Ved up home and they kiss. He leaves for his home. Next morning Ved wakes up on time, completes the morning chores, wipes the car, ignores the eunuch on the way, lets a female colleague into the lift all this happens on his way to the office. He fixes a plan for meeting Tara in the evening. This evening they are to PVR Cinemas. The incidents from morning to evening keep on repeating with monotonically.

It is Ved’s birthday when he proposes Tara with a ring in the cake piece. However, she tells him that he is changed. However, Ved tells he was acting in Corsica and this is original him. But Tara thinks contrary. Ved shoots down all this calling that it is all in her mind. Tara states that she is searching something else in him, further, she already has this share of similar monotonicity in her personal life. She leaves, declining his proposal.

Ved comes to Tara’s door to apologize but he is unable to get rid of the complexities in his mind being aware of the things he heard from the stories of childhood. Tara wants indirectly wants him to be normal . He leaves and travels in an auto-rickshaw driver (played by Ishteyak Khan) who narrates how his dreams of becoming a singer were crushed.

The film goes in flashback, scene in Shimla, where Ved tells his weakness in Mathematics and doesn’t wish to do engineering. His Dad narrates him that he had to give up his interest for flute playing to support his family after they moved to Shimla from Lahore post the Partition of India. He criticizes Ved’s failures during engineering and asks Ved of his future plans.
The film comes back to present day Delhi where he starts telling story session to some local people. Flashback scenes of Shimla are shown where Ved leaves Shimla and his interest to pursue engineering.
The film comes back to present day Delhi where Ved is back to his office. He is more aggressive and using illogical sentences in a business meeting which upsets his boss.

The story goes into flashback as to show what happened between Ved and Tara after the argument at the door. Tara tries calling him and they meet at the library. Tara expresses her realization of hurting him and apologizes. Ved affirms she in love but with someone else (else implied the Corsica natured Ved). Tara promises him to make things fine but Ved wants to get away from all the tussle and he leaves.
The next day Ved is off to his office but with a change in routine-instead of ignoring the eunuch on the way, he gives her the diamond ring. Later, on reaching the office, he doesn’t let a female colleague into the lift. During the business meeting he uses illogical sentences and portrays careless behavior. His boss throws him out of the job. Later, in a party he assaults the colleague who enquired of Ved's well-being.

Ved comes back to Shimla and reveals that he isn’t doing any job since six months and will leave the home right now after having a small quarrel with his father. Ved has introspection in the mirror where he realizes that he needs to meet the same old man (story-teller). Ved meets the story teller and narrates him the crux of his own life story with Tara. He expects an answer, however, the story teller, now old yells at Ved and tells him to introspect his heart and realize what he wants. Ved understands and pays him more and leaves. After a long time, the family is sitting together where Ved narrates his entire journey of life to everyone. Moved by the difficulties faced by him, his father hugs him and lets him act according to his will and wish. Ved returns to Delhi where the eunuch returns him the engagement ring. The eunuch tells that this ring is to be given to the special person in his heart.

The film shows Tara at the company Oracle in Tokyo. After finishing a business meeting she heads for refreshment where she observes a note titled “Don Returns”. She also observes a half filled tea cup and realizes that Ved is here. She moves outside the office premise and Ved draws her attention in the “Don” way and however, Tara introduces herself with a Japanese accent and both relive their Corsica moments.

The film goes into flashback, Shimla scenes showing the free spirited-young Ved, college going Ved and adult Ved.

The film returns to present day (first scene of the film) where Ved and Tara complete the process of putting up a spectacle on stage (in continuation of the opening scene of the film). Tara arrives from back stage and kisses him for the success. Film credits with principal cast and music personnel roll in. They are momentarily paused by a scene where Ved and Tara are enjoying music on a cliff, dancing to tunes played in their respective headphones.
 

Here
•    Ranbir Kapoor as (adult) Ved Vardhan Sahni
•    Yash Sehgal as (young) Ved Vardhan Sahni
•    Deepika Padukone as Tara Maheshwari
•    Javed Sheikh as Ved's father
•    Sushma Seth as Yash's grandmother
•    Vivek Mushran as Ved's boss
•    Nikhil Bhagat as Tara's father
•    Faraaz Servaia as Tara's brother
•    Punam Singh as Tea Executive
•    Piyush Mishra as Storyteller
•    Ishteyak Khan as auto-rickshaw driver

Read More

The Good Dinosaur; American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama

The Good Dinosaur is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Peter Sohn from a screenplay by Meg LeFauve. Set in a world in which dinosaurs never went extinct, the film follows a young Apatosaurus named Arlo, who meets an unlikely human friend while traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape. The film stars Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, A. J. Buckley, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand and Steve Zahn. Bob Peterson, who came up with the idea for the story, directed the film until August 2013. In October 2014, Peter Sohn was announced as the new director. The film, along with Inside Out, marks the first time that Pixar has released two feature films in the same year.

The Good Dinosaur had its premiere on November 10, 2015 in Paris, and was released in the United States on November 25, 2015. The film received positive reviews from critics.

In an alternate timeline, the asteroid that would have caused the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago passes safely over Earth.

Millions of years later, two Apatosaurus named Henry (Jeffrey Wright) and Ida (Frances McDormand), who are farmers, give birth to three children: Libby (Maleah Padilla), Buck (Marcus Scribner), and the runt Arlo (Raymond Ochoa). While Libby and Buck easily adjust to life and their chores on their farm and make their mark (signified by a mud-print on a corn silo), Arlo's timid nature makes his tasks difficult for him. In order to give Arlo a sense of purpose, Henry puts him in charge of guarding their silo from critters and helping him set up traps. One day, a trap manages to capture a feral caveboy, but Arlo is too reluctant to kill him and sets him free. Heavily disappointed, Henry has Arlo accompany him to track the caveboy through a ravine where it begins to rain. After Arlo injures himself, Henry decides to turn back just as a flash flood occurs and a massive rapid appears, but Henry only manages to save Arlo before he is swept away and killed.

Without his father, Arlo must help his mother with harvesting crops before the first snow. After spotting the same caveboy inside the silo, Arlo, blaming him for his father's death, chases him until both of them fall into a river, where Arlo hits his head on a rock and is knocked unconscious. Waking up, Arlo is dismayed to find himself far from home and tries to survive on his own with minimal success, leaving himself trapped under a boulder. The next day, the caveboy finds and frees Arlo, and eventually gives him some berries to eat. The caveboy then leads Arlo to a berry tree where they are both attacked by a snake. The caveboy fights and repels the snake, an act which amazes Arlo. A nearby eccentric Styracosaurus (Peter Sohn), also impressed with the caveboy's physical prowess, tries to give him a name, but when Arlo calls him "Spot", he responds to it as his name. After traveling together for the rest of the day, Arlo laments about his lost family and confides in Spot, who reveals that his own mother and father are dead. The next day, a storm ravages the land and Arlo, remembering the storm that took his father's life, runs away in fear.

The next morning, Arlo wakes up to find Spot only to be encountered by a fanatical band of pterodactyls, consisting of a leader, Thunderclap (Steve Zahn), and his accomplices Downpour (Mandy Freund) and Coldfront (Steven Clay Hunter). The pterodactyls turn out to be savagely carnivorous. After they find Spot, Arlo and Spot run away, encountering a pair of Tyrannosaurus named Nash (A.J. Buckley) and Ramsey (Anna Paquin), who both ward the pterodactyls off. Arlo and Spot then meet Nash and Ramsey's father Butch (Sam Elliott), who agrees to let the two of them join their party if they can help them locate a herd of longhorns they had lost. Spot manages to sniff them out with Arlo, discovering the presence of "Rustlers". On Butch's instruction, Arlo lures the Rustlers out, who are revealed to be a pack of Velociraptors led by Bubbha (Dave Boat) looking to steal Butch's herd. As Butch and his children try to fend off the Rustlers, Arlo musters his courage to successfully hit two of them, allowing Butch to scare them off for good. Having gained the respect of the T. rexes, Arlo is led by Butch towards the area of his homeland. Along the way, Arlo and Spot encounter a caveman off in the distance, but they ignore him and continue on.

As another storm begins to pick up, Thunderclap and the pterodactyls return and attack the two, this time managing to take Spot away and leaving Arlo behind. As Arlo gets tangled in some vines, he has a vision of Henry leading him away and back toward home, but Arlo admits his friendship with Spot and resolves to save him, which makes his father proud before he fades away. Filled with determination, Arlo wakes up and attacks the pterodactyls who have cornered Spot at the river. 

Arlo and Spot manage to throw the pterodactyls into the water where they ride helplessly downstream. A flash flood begins and a massive mudslide crashes into the river and triggers a torrent. Despite his fear, Arlo leaps to save Spot and the two of them are carried away by the flood towards a waterfall. Arlo manages to swim towards Spot and hold on to him as they both fall, with Arlo carrying Spot to shore where he regains consciousness.

As they venture forth, Arlo and Spot both hear the calls of a caveman family just as they come over the hill overseeing Arlo's farm. With great reluctance, Arlo encourages Spot to join them and the two of them share a tearful, loving goodbye. The film ends with Arlo arriving back home to his mother and siblings, and he is allowed to leave his mud-print on the silo between the prints of his mother and father.

Read More