Box office hits this week

A whole bunch of movies hits the screens each week, but no two of them fare the same. Let’s check out the movies that rocked the scene in the week that’s just gone by:

Slumdog Millionaire [Drama/ Romance]

Director: Danny Boyle

Cast: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto & others

Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

No mangy stray this! Slumdog Millionaire, in the direction of Danny Boyle, with music scored by India’s rhythmic genius A.R. Rahman, is one super hit in practically every city that it has released. It’s not merely a rag-to-riches story, but a wonderful love story on a deeper level. The movie has bagged a host of awards till date and is one of the hot favourites at the Oscars. We’ll know in just a short while if the lovestruck slumdog has impressed the Oscar panel as well!

Coraline [Animation/ Adventure]

Director: Henry Selick

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David & others

Studio: Focus Features 

It’s become quite a fad now to move into a new house and find a door that leads into a magical new world! Well, for Coraline it may not be magical, but it appears to be a parallel universe that almost mirrors her life. She finds herself enjoying the stay, but when all of a sudden her 'parallel' parents in the parallel universe wants to keep her with them forever, she’s sees that it’s not quite so similar after all, and the adventure begins. She has to get home. Does she? Of course she does! We all know it, and yet somehow, it does not bore us! And it’s no wonder the movie is quite a hit with the kids and the adults.

The International [Action/ Thriller]

Director: Tom Tyker

Cast: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, Brian F. O'Byrne & others

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Interpol investigator Louis Salinger and Manhattan assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman unearth money laundering activities in The International Bank and are all out to expose the bank. Their investigation reveals that the bank is every big time criminal's choicest hoarding spot, while the bank’s illegal schemes have caused the downfall of several governments in small countries. Obviously, there are big names involved and Louis and Eleanor are placing their lives on the line to get to the truth and also get the brain behind all these fraudulent activities arrested.

Push [Sci-fi Thriller]

Director: Paul McGuigan

Cast: Colin Ford, Joel Gretsch, Djimon Hounsou, Dakota Fanning, Robert Tsonos, Brandon Rhea , Camilla Belle & others

Studio: Summit Entertainment

A bunch of young American expats is on the run. From? A clandestine US government agency. Why are they running? Well, it turns out these expats are special. They possess special telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities that the agency can make use of. But for some reason, these youngsters don’t want to be caught by the agency.

Taken [Action Crime]

Director: Pierre Morel

Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen & others

Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

17-year-old Kim lives with her mum and stepfather, but not too far from her doting biological father Bryan Mills. Knowing that her mother would never allow it, Kim cajoles daddy dearest into signing an authorization for Kim and her friend Amanda to travel alone to Paris. The excited pair arrive on French soil; even before they get to take in the sights at the romantic city, they are kidnapped by an Albanese gang and are to be sold as slaves. When Bryan manages to contact his daughter, he is shocked to find the mess she is in, and takes the next f