Black Hawk Down
Directed by Ridley Scott, this is one of the best war movies based on a best-selling book detailing a near disastrous mission in Somalia during the ‘90s. More than 100 U.S. Army rangers are dropped into the capital city to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. This leads to a long drawn-out fight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen, leading to the destruction of two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters. The film focuses on the heroic efforts of the Rangers.
The Hurt Locker
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this is one of the best of her films. It is an intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, that of disarming bombs in the heat of combat. A new sergeant James takes over a highly-trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, and surprises his two subordinates by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he’s indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos.
Unthinkable
Directed by Gregor Jordan this is a must-watch psychological thriller centred around an interrogator and a FBI agent who press a suspected terrorist into divulging the location of three nuclear weapons set to detonate in the U.S. Agent H is played by Samuel Jackson and Michael Sheen plays the terrorist with Jackson’s performance winning him kudos.
The Pursuit of Happyness
Directed by Gabriele Muccino it is based on the true story of Christopher Gardner (Will Smith) who invested heavily in a device known as ‘Bone Density scanner’. However it does not sell too well. While figuring out ways to sell the product, his wife leaves him, he loses his house, his bank account and credit cards. He is forced to live on the street with his son, played by Will Smith’s son in real life, Jaden Smith. Arguably one of Smith’s best performance to date.
Platoon
Directed by Oliver Stone, the film is about a young army recruit in Vietnam who faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and a conflict between the men within his platoon. Upon arrival he discovers that his presence is quite non-essential as he has never fought in combat. The movie shows how Chris the young recruit draws himself towards a psychological meltdown, as he struggles for survival.
Sham. Gopalakrishnan works with Tata in Bangalore.