Jairam's Jives

Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is an IRS Tax Auditor who is prone to performing random acts of kindness to people. He has a unique way of selecting the people that he wants to perform these favors to, and goes on to the extent of donating his bone marrow and kidney to people for no apparent reason other than the fact that he just wants to do something good.

The first hour or so of this movie, the audience is left wondering as to why Ben actually performs these acts of kindness. The movie does show snippets of Ben being troubled by some disturbing memories of a car crash, and there is the news clipping that he keeps referring to which reads something like "Fatal car crash kills seven people". However, the viewer is not given a clear idea behind his motive for his actions.

"The Hurt Locker" begins with a sequence of how Staff Sergeant Thompson is killed during the process of defusing a radio controlled improvised explosive device (IED) in Baghdad. This sets the tone for a grim movie which details the travails of an US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit (fancy name for bomb disposal squad) during the last 30 odd days of their company's posting in Iraq.

Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) is an ex-US Army Ranger who is jailed when he inadvertently kills a man while defending his wife from them. Eight years later Poe is on parole and on his way back home to Alabama, to be flown back on "Jailbird", a place carrying several convicts to different places. Except that this is no ordinary prison transport plane because it contains some of the most deviant, devious, notorious, interesting scum-of-the-earth prisoners known in recent US crime history.

No Country for Old Men is one of those movies which you'll probably not sit up and notice, nor will it attract your attention in the local DVD Rental store. And for good reason. It is probably not one of those movies which you would want to pop into your player, sit back and enjoy the movie. It is as disturbing, thought provoking and as serious as a movie can get.

Carl Fredricksen as a kid, is a huge fan of Charles Muntz, the avid adventurer. However, Muntz is accused of fabricating the skeleton of a big bird which he claimed to have found during his adventures in Paradise Falls, South America. Muntz therefore sets off on another expedition to Paradise Falls and no one ever hears of him after this incident.

Carl in the meantime meets Ellie, falls in love with her, shares her zest for life including her adventurous interests.

Up in the Air stars the oh-so-delicious looking George Clooney (Academy Award nominated role) playing a corporate downsizer whose job involves extensive travelling all over the US of A delivering the dreaded "You've been let go" message to more than just a few individuals. Ryan Bingham (name of his character) also delivers motivational speeches such as "What's in your backpack?" in which he preaches the virtues of a completely attachment-free life to people.