Here are the reviews of some of the movies I saw over the past couple of weeks...

No Man’s Land
A war story set in an open field with the Serbian line on one side, the Bosnian line on the other and two soldiers, one from each side, caught bang in the middle in No Man's Land. The story depicts the idleness, confusion and blind hatred of any war. It shows how clueless sometimes the sides involved and even the UN are in these civil wars.
A tragic story bringing out the hopelessness of the whole situation. I really liked the movie since it was really very simplistic. Made in one open field with trenches, a few guns and vehicles but the situation is what is very interesting that leaves you thinking.
This movie won the 2001 Oscar for the Best Foreign Film (Country: Belgium; Director: Danis Tanovic).

All About My Mother
A very moving story about a mother but women in general. This movie is very progressive, blunt and sexually explicit so not everyone may be able appreciate the film but the overall story is quite nice. It revolves around a single mother who loses her beloved son in a freak accident and then makes a journey back to face the demons from her past that she had left behind twenty years back. A Pedro Almodóvar movie that definitely stirs up controversy.
This movie won the 1999 Oscar for the Best Foreign Film (Country: Spain; Director: Pedro Almodóvar).

Munich
This movie captures what Israel did in the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics where 11 of their athletes were brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists. A group of Mossad agents led by Avner (Eric Bana) are recruited to hunt and kill the people responsible. Eric Bana does a really good job of portraying an assassin who is serving his country but at the same time a family man. Avner's struggles indicate how difficult it is to kill anyone doesn’t matter who they are. He and the team constantly find themselves at odds with the mission and to make it worse they soon realize that they themselves are being hunted.
A good Steven Spielberg movie which definitely communicates the darkness of the subject and the struggles involved in the world of secret agents and assassins.

O Brother Where Art Thou
A movie by the Coen brothers (Fargo is by them too) which at its center has the escaped convict Everett (George Clooney) trying to catch a break in life. He has two accomplices and together they bumble onwards trying to reach a treasure. Everett is a smooth talker and these guys get into the weirdest of situations including a KKK rally. They even end up being a big musical hit by the name of “Soggy Bottom Boys” and their song catches on in the whole state. One of the funniest scenes is when Pete, one of the convicts, questions Everett’s leadership and then they proceed to vote on who should be the leader. Everett and Pete vote for themselves and the third guy, Delmar, who has the deciding vote cluelessly says “Okay, I am with you fellas.”
An awesome movie with tons of smart alec dialogues, great acting, good music and with a very catch story all along. The song “I am a man of constant sorrow” from the movie aptly describes the situation of Everett and his buddies.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
The follow up to one of my favorite animation movies Ice Age, this movie is a continuation of the adventures of the 3 characters: Manny the Mammoth, Diego the Saber-toothed Tiger and the outrageous Sid the Sloth. A very enjoyable movie where the 3 friends are now facing the end of the Ice Age and the rise of water levels. At the same time Manny is facing the possibility of being the last Mammoth alive until he meets a female Mammoth named Ellie but incidentally she has been raised by possums and thinks that she is one too.
Just like in the first part the oblivious squirrel continues to retrieve and store its beloved walnut in the weirdest of situations.

Small Time Crooks
A typical Woody Allen comedy with other comics like Jon Lovitz and Hugh Grant. Woody Allen is a bumbling con who keeps hatching get rich quick plans. This particular time he finds that his wife, who was acting as the front selling cookies, is actually making a much bigger fortune than his plan. They build a big empire selling the cookies and this sudden fortune finds them rolling in high society. Then they try to fit in by hiring Hugh Grant to teach them to be sophisticated but he has his owns plans to get rich.
One really funny scene is when Woody Allen says his nickname in the jail was “The Brain” and Jon Lovitz points out that the name was meant in a sarcastic way but Woody Allen does not realize this and continues to believe himself to be a genius. Good time pass watch…