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Mad about movies

City Times takes to the multiplexes to find out what’s in store for movie buffs this week

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Davina Raisinghani

davina@khaleejtimes.com

Megamind

‘WHAT IF LEX Luthor defeated Superman?’ That’s the question posed by this week’s eagerly awaited, animated supervillain comedy Megamind. And the answer, if the theatrical trailers are anything to go by, promises to be a pretty fun 3D ride.

Helmed by writer-animator Tom McGrath (Madagascar and Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa), the characters have been voiced by Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt.

The plot follows the uber intelligent alien Megamind (Ferrell) as he defeats his arch nemesis, caped superhero and saviour of the masses Metro Man (Pitt). But, as luck would have it, he finds himself at a loss when another supervillain threatens to take over the city.

Todd McCarthy writes in his review of the 96-minute film for The Hollywood Reporter that Megamind is, “Fast-paced but not frantic, goofily good-natured and attractively designed for widescreen 3D”. The movie has also found success at the US box office.

Red

ONCE AGAIN A comic book series makes it to the big screen with this weekend’s action-packed release, Red, an acronym for the ‘retired, extremely dangerous’ protagonist.

Featuring an ensemble cast of Bruce Willis, Mary Louise-Parker, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox, the flick is directed by Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveller’s Wife and Flightplan).

In Red, former black-ops CIA agent Frank Moss (Willis) has come to terms with his post-retirement lifestyle. But when skilled assassins with unknown motives threaten his quiet suburban existence, he decides to reassemble his former team of ageing veterans to fight back.

Red has garnered a positive response from critics and audiences alike, while the US box office figures have been extremely favourable.

Peter Bradshaw writes in his review of the 111-minute film for The Guardian, “Bruce Willis’s new film tries for the same ageing tough-guy schtick as The Expendables, but has a little more wit”.

Trivia

· While Red was being filmed in a neighbourhood in Toronto, several residents placed calls to the local police reporting machine gun fire after mistaking the sound effects for real shots.

· In the film Brian Cox plays a Russian spy while Helen Mirren plays a British spy. In reality, Cox hails from Britain while Mirren has some Russian ancestry.