December so far...

10. Black Swan (4/10)
Natalie Portman lives with her obsessive mother and is a ballerina. She is selected as the leas for musical Swan Lake. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Natalie fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily, a new girl is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Natalie begins to get more in touch with her dark side, something that threatens to destroy her. The storyline gets a little confusing. You are not sure what is going on, Is Natalie schizophrenic or something else. Her acting was brilliant but overall I was left a little confused.

9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (5.5/10)
Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. As I expected, the movie was enjoyable experience but it lacked the thrills and actions of first 2 parts specially the first one. I watch these movies for visual thrills which I still got to an extent.

8. Kajraare (Hindi) (2.5/10)
I am so glad that this film was released only in 2 theaters and 1 show each. I would have felt really bad for people to spend all this money on the ticket and see such a bad film. I had high regards for Pooja Bhatt, who I thought would never give in to commercial cinema and continue to make offbeat films but Pooja, you disappoint me. Bhushan Kumar said the right thing, " Himesh is good MD but terrible actor". This film just proves it. It has nothing to watch out for. The story seems straight lifted from a early 90's movie and even the direction seemed that way. Even the lead actress Mona Laizza is pretty bad. And I was reminded again why Amrita Singh is called 'mard' singh. Stay away.

7. Ramaa The Saviour (Hindi) (0.5/10)
A good concept gone horribly wrong because of a terrible script. A bunch of kids get transported into a video game while playing it. Its all confusion and mish-mash after that without any explanations of the game or characters provided. Why Tanushree Dutta or Sahil Khan are the way they are, whey are they fighting and everything else. No wonder kids films are first not made and if made, they are shoddy as hell.

6. A Murder of Quality (UK) (2.5/10)
Intelligence agent George Smiley investigates a murder within an elite British school. Storyline takes aim at the British class system. Amidst the suspects is a young boy who is either a victim or a suspect. Murder mysteries are interesting but this one just did not do for me. Acting of everyone seemed pretty lame or maybe it is just a British thing :)

5. Crook (Hindi) (2/10)
Vishesh Films are having a bad run off late. The recent attacks on Indian students in Australia could have created for a good premise but this film could not use the potential. Why does a love story have to be embellished in a serious film? Emran was good. New actress Neha Sharma was pretty good. The sudden turning of Arjan Bajwa into negative was totally uncalled for. Mohit Suri disappoints. The songs were good though

4. Rakht Charitra (Hindi) (7/10)
Wonderful and a very tight script an acting. Ram Gopal Varma is back. Vivek Oberoi has acted so well and also the main villain. The main hero of the film is the background score. It takes the film to another level. There s constant twists and turns in the story. There is a not a single minute in the film that an bore you. Watch this for sure. There is excessive violence (nothing like seen in Hindi films before) but it gives that realistic touch to the film that it needs.

3. I am Love (Italian) (3.5/10)
This film tells the story of the wealthy Recchi family. The family patriarch surprises everyone by splitting power between his son Tancredi and grandson Edo. However, Edo dreams of opening a restaurant with his friend Antonio, a talented chef. At the heart of Tancredi's family is his wife, Emma (Tilda Swinton), a Russian immigrant who has adopted the culture of Milan. An adoring and attentive mother, Emma's existence is shocked to the core when she falls deeply in love with Antonio and pursues a passionate love affair that will change his family forever. Sounds interesting but the film was way too long and the scenes just seemed stretched at various points. The good thing was that there was no forced drama in any moment of the film

2. The Girl Who Played With Fire (Swedish) (5.5/10)
Follow up to the Dragon Tattoo movie, this film fells short of the hug expectations that the first movie had set both on terms of story and execution. Lisbeth Salander is now a wanted woman. A researcher and a Millennium journalist about to expose the truth about the sex trade in Sweden are brutally murdered, and Salander's prints are on the weapon. Mikael, Salander's friend and Millennium's plublisher is alone in his belief of Salander's innocence. Digging deeper Bloomkvist unearths evidence implicating highly placed members of Swedish Society-as well as shocking details about Salander's past. I hope the third one is better in series. But still it is a decent watch.

1. Walk On Water (Israel/English/German) (4/10)
Eyal is a top assassin in the Israeli secret service. He has killed terrorists before and is now sent to eliminate an aging former Nazi war criminal. During his mission, Eyal meets his target’s granddaughter and grandson, who inadvertently help him uncover his own troubled history and face his demons, while they discover the ugly truth their family has hidden from them for decades. The film has an interesting plot. Eyal's role is played very well and his character is the only one that makes the film believable. The grandson and granddaughter although very important to the film seem not natural in the sense, these kind of stern characters in my opinion really do not exist.