Muscle and firepower lifted ‘Predator’ to heights that surpassed the potential of its plot. It relied on straightforward storytelling that involved explosive action sequences and mechanical but entertaining one-liners from the "ex-gubernator" and his strapping band of legionnaires. It’s the ultimate predatory battle royal—the ‘Hunger Games’ if you will on steroids.

A psychological thriller for the high-minded audience with brilliant acting performances to boot; ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ is a timeless masterpiece that gives a vivid and sometimes embellished glimpse of the mind of a profoundly disturbed serial killer. Who better understands a twisted psyche better than a more brilliant counterpart? And when everything else is hopeless, why not turn to a serial killer for a much needed guidance?

James Bond’s popularity reached fever pitch with the release of ‘Thunderball’—a colossal action extravaganza encapsulated in a tiny piece of paradise here on earth. It’s the best of both worlds; larger than life characters and flamboyant visual expositions against picture perfect sceneries.

Revenge is a dish best served cold and with an infantile specter spouting creepy animal noises, dishing out the grudge platter and deliberately preying on innocent lives in cold blood; the aftermath couldn’t be any more terrifying.  Ju-on is a perverse yet minimalist horror film with a really meandering storyline. But don’t worry, the scares are riveting and the musical score sets them up perfectly. Ju-on is as raw as it gets and it creates/communicates the language of fear through imagery and sound, better than its fancier, more elaborate counterparts.

‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is a no holds barred movie about CIA’s historic manhunt of the most wanted man in recent history; dissected and stripped off unnecessary professional jargon to be more palatable for the masses. The story—unless you've been living under a rock-- is all too familiar but the character portrayal in this film was glaringly poignant and its execution was delivered with surgical precision.

‘The Big Year’ is a mild and offense-free comedy that though noticeably glossy and loaded with potential, still almost looks and feels like a nature documentary. That isn’t a bad thing really but if you have a film that boasts an impressive cast led by comedians Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson and features breathtaking landscapes and wildlife (mostly birds) that are always picture-ready, you’d be expecting more than a mediocre output.

It’s one of the few musical comedies out there that really has a lot of things to offer. From a pudgy, washed up, man-child lead who definitely knows how to rock to the awe-inspiring, precociously talented kids; carefree storyline to electrifying music; you name it, ‘School of Rock’ has got it all covered. It’s how musical comedies should be--cathartic, infectious and inspirational.

‘Premium Rush’ is an easy-to-digest fast-paced story about a bike messenger in New York who seemed to have a knack for putting his life on the line just for the heck of it. He uses no brakes because he’s too cool for that and barely stops for a moment to smell the flowers or take a breather or in his case, a smooch from his equally adrenaline-addicted messenger girlfriend. That’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character Wilee, and that’s all you need to know about this movie because the story revolves around him and he takes it for a ride in the most perilously exhilarating way possible.

It pains me to say that I only watched the movie 'Kick-Ass' just recently because as soon as I checked it out, I got instantly hooked by its utter disregard for censorship, formula and norm—just like what a good exploitation film should be. I’m an exploitation film buff and I would've loved to watch this vigilante masterpiece in a movie theater somewhere where I could observe other people’s reactions to the stylized bloodbath and profanities that the movie was so willing to dish out every chance it got.

It’s a conventional fish out of water movie that is thoroughly enjoyable to watch when not taken seriously. Thanks to Johnny Depp’s idiosyncratic performance, ’Dark Shadows’ made a vampire movie palatable (at least in my humble opinion) and that’s quite an accomplishment especially with the oversaturation of tween vampire movies/TV shows in the entertainment industry this day and age.