Men in Black 3 2012 5*

.. in progress ..

"Amused, amazed, and moved" always by MIB 1997, 2002, and now 2012. Effects of aliens, humanity of humans - "I just can't get enough". Great homage in Doctor Who spin-off grown-older companion Sarah Jane (actor Elisabeth Sladen d.2011) S4-3 Vault of Secrets.

Starts with high heels, tight black leather dress low cut short, tall boots. Lily (Nicole Sherzinger) pen-pal brings birthday cake to one-armed Boris the Animal (New Zealand's Jemaine Clement) "just Boris", gruesome alien with British accent whose hand and body projects deadly darts and keeps nasty hand-size smart scorpionish beastie inside, where else?, his hand. All body parts open like maws of claws. Of course he escapes from lunar prison to "rewrite history". His "small step" is a soaring leap.

Cut to New York, where Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) introduces Agent J (Will Smith) to neuralyze crowd into forgetting. J still invents unusual yet practical tidbits for his neuralyzed victims to remember, ex. tell kids the truth. New chief O (Emma Thompson - she is brilliant comedian) gives eulogy for Zed in squealy language. The whole bit shows K flat, cold, serious, monotone, no twinge of expression, intensely fierce only when interrogating, almost a smile when he mentions his Last Meal. No sense of humor for the 14 years of their partnership, "surly".

After wrassling giant 12' carp, squirting mustard up its nostrils for one piscine sneeze, J has to save young K (Josh Brolin - this better than Gangster Squad), convince him to kill Boris rather than imprison him 40 years ago, and put the protective Arc-Net around Earth on 16 July 1969, to exterminate the cannibal Boglodite race before they can destroy Earth. Space guns, explosions, chases, aliens, handsome hunks. Even young O (Alice Eve) hints at romance with K. Cool high-tech monocycle rotate giant wheel around driver. What could be better?

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2012 5*

Preview. The country and culture of India count as two more for the cast. Seven Britons retire to India. One dies, one leaves, others adjust to change. Based on book, also called These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach.

Evelyn (Judi Dench- As Time Goes By), focus, narrates Day 1 to 51 for her blog, new widow whose husband left debts. Doug (Bill Nighy) optimist who lost all investments of wife Jean (Penelope Wilton). Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith -Downton Abbey) needs out-sourced hip operation, bitter racist because employers, family she devoted her life to, tossed her aside after she trained young replacement. Graham (Tom Wilkinson) judge lived in India for first 18 years, returns to find male lover. Norman (Ronald Pickup), lonely, hopefully reads Kama Sutra. Madge (Celia Imrie), outgoing, looks for yet another (rich) husband, introduces Norman to local resident Englishwoman.

The mantra of young hotel manager Sonny (Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire) is "Everything will be alright in the end. If it is not alright it is not yet the end." Sonny will refund everything right away in three months. His modern girl-friend Sunaina (sultry Tena Desae) works in the call center run by her elder brother Jay (Sid Makkar), who hires Ev to teach British culture.

Color, noise, confusion, castles, mountains. I'm glad that bad smells are left to imagination. One-liners, quips may be from book, also called These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach.

Ev: Nothing here has worked out quite as I expected. Muriel: Most things don't. Ev: Sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff.

Jean: When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.

Ev, regarding overcoming stage fright by imagining audience naked: I think I'm a bit past all that..." Doug, after not fixing phone: Do you have anything else I can NOT fix? Muriel, about waiting six months for hip operation: At my age, I don't plan anything that far ahead. I don't even buy green bananas!

Ev, after narrating throughout, sums up the final day 51: The only real failure is the failure to try. The measure of success is how we cope with disappointment, as we always must. We get up in the morning, we do our best. All we know about the future is that it will be different.

EXTRAS

1 Behind the Story - few lines from each actor over scenes of India

2 Casting legends - at peak of skills & experience

3 Previews: ads blu-ray, Margaret, The Descendants (George Clooney)