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Longlegs (2024)
Creepy not horror
There are no frightening or mindf$%k scenes here. It's just creepy and sometimes ridiculous. There is no panic anywhere though the background sound tries its best to beat some weird tunes and goes ear shattering loud once in a while. All to no effect.
People who are comparing it to "Silence of the lambs" need to get their heads examined. Longlegs is no Dr Hannibal Lecter and neither is Monroe, Clarice.
However both Monroe and Witt are competent actors who deserve a better outing. Cage should have stayed forgotten and irrelevant.
A very forgettable film. Remind me again to not trust any glowing reviews. People just have low standards these days.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Furiosa is a mere spectator in this show, just like the rest of the us.
A competent prequel to Fury Road though not entirely satisfying. Very thin on the storyline and that should have been the POV when going back in time to see what made the characters they went on to become. Action sequences are absolutely mind blowing and some of the stuff has never been seen before but dare I say it feels the glut of action sequences is to hide the wafer thin story and little character development. Hemsworth is having a gala time playing Demented. However, he comes across as more cartoonish than unhinged. One has to suspend belief to imagine that Anya Taylor-Joy graduated to becoming Charlize Theron.
Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka (2023)
Disappointing but visually enthralling
One of the weakest movies from Miyazaki which is odd considering it's his personal story in a way. Phenomenal graphics and animation is the saving grace otherwise storyline is weak which Miyazaki tries to shore up by introducing many characters and changing the location and the setting but it still doesn't cut. The audience awaits a moment of peace and also something endearingly surprising to smack it out of its comfort zone but nothing of the sort happens. All one feels is more clutter and confusion and conundrum though Miyazaki would have liked us to feel for the grief of the central character. Pass it unless you are a Miyazaki fanatic.
Kantara (2022)
Rishab Shetty is India's Toshiro Mifune
Positives - a relevant and topical story. It asks a question that we all can relate to - who does the land belong to? The landlord, the government, the people or to the nature, that was there before us and will be there after us.
Rishab Shetty's performance. He is absolutely terrific. He lives and breathes the character. At times, he reminded me of Toshiru Mifune's various characters in Kurosawa masterpieces. Especially, the last 10 minutes of the climax is one that will be remembered for ages to come.
The music and cinematography add to the storytelling immensely so much so that they can be considered as other characters in the movie.
Negatives - script is predictable and you know how exactly things will turn out eventually. Sometimes the scenes just drag on in a bit to infuse forced and often crude humor in situations. I am still not able to connect the whole "prison break plan" scene to the rest of the movie.
Casual and sometimes not so casual sexism - all the female characters in the movie are stereotypes and unidimensional. The hero pinches the heroine on her waist forcibly, secretly watches her bathing naked, kisses her without her permission and it's all ok and no one minds! Another woman's smile is compared with Buffalo's teeth more than once and is supposed to be funny.
Promoting superstition and blind faith - the whole village tradition of local deity worship and other local cultural aspects is totally rooted in superstition, blind faith, maintaining the status quo, no scientific temper, no critical thinking and definitely no questioning. The movie is about local tradition where villagers want to keep the land and the forest to themselves but yet are not shown doing anything to protect the forest or even the wild life.
American Hustle (2013)
Side Shows intended to take your attention away from many inherent flaws.
What do you get when you put together accomplished actors like Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner and Robert De Niro? Answer – Not much.
OK, another one. What do you get when you throw together Directors like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and Wes Anderson? Answer Forgettablefellas oops I mean "American Hustle", broadly speaking a poor imitation of "Goodfellas".
Based on the mostly true details (there is a disclaimer to that exact effect, right at the beginning of the movie) of the well known ABSCAM case of late 70's, Director David O. Russell picks up actors from his previous movies (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook) and also brings in Robert De Niro for a quick cameo appearance but fails to recreate any of the past magic. It is evident that Russell is heavily influenced by fast talking, profanity spewing, dysfunctional and flawed con men/women characters of Scorsese, Ritchie and Tarantino. The movie does have the scope of being ambitious, fun, entertaining, smart, darkly comic, sophisticated adult fare however it fails to live up to the hype and expectations because at the core of the movie is a weak and crumbly script. The narrative is uniformly murky and poorly paced, even incoherent at times.
So what does Russell do? To keep the audience engaged he indulges in amateurish and pointless distractions (Jennifer Lawrence doing a cringe worthy imitation of Wing's rendition of "Live and Let Die" and many such examples.) I would love to see J Law appear in a musical in near future. Talking about the music score, there are many little gems here – Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Santana's Evil Ways, Led Zeppelin's What is and what should never be, Killer Papa was a rolling stone and others.
But soon the viewer realizes that the movie is deliberately trying to distract you (garish costume, smelly nail polish, boob show necklines, fake accents, over the top hair-do's, side stories et al) as it has very little to offer you by way of substance. But to give credit where it is due, Russell keeps the movie visually engaging what with overall production design, coiffure hairstyles, garish costumes and some funky 70's music.
However, what truly stands out in the movie is its two lead female characters – Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Both are absolutely glorious, conniving, terrifying, manipulative, sexy and spectacular all the way. Adams has an edge over Lawrence. While regrettably, Lawrence does not get enough screen time, Adams' is a more nuanced character with a lot more screen time. Adams takes her character and does magic with it infusing it with flesh, charm, vulnerability and her own personal touch. "American Hustle" is owned by Amy Adams. This is probably her best performance ever. Amy Adams is definitely the front runner for Academy Award for Best Actress (at the time of writing this review she had already picked up a Golden Globe).
While "American Hustle" disappoints sorely from a story, script and direction point of view it still managed to hold my attention on the basis of its entertaining characters and its visually appealing look and feel.
Gravity (2013)
Gravity Sucks!
"Life in space is impossible"
Acclaimed Director Alfonso Cuaron's much appreciated and raved about "Gravity" opens with these 5 words . Ironically, Cuaron goes on to prove that even with a master like him at the helm, it is possible to make a substandard film.
It is shocking that Cuaron who is usually known for his memorable characters and gritty portrayal of human relationships has come up with such a marginal script (co scripted with son Jonas) and absolutely no gripping characters.
Sample this - Sandra Bullock's Dr Ryan Stone is the last person who deserves to be on any mission forget a critical space mission. Given that she is prone to panic attacks and her first reaction to any situation is negative, chaotic and that of hopelessness. At worst, Dr Stone is a nervous wreck and at best she is following orders without questioning. Old Jungle saying – if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. What in the name of Prometheus is Dr Stone doing in space? Watching Dr Ryan Stone fumble her way through space made me instantly crave for Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) from "Alien".
George Clooney's mission commander Matt Kowalsky is well, George Clooney, throwing his one liners with panache and being the gorgeous, sexy , funny counterfoil to dim witted, slow and helpless Sandra Bullock.
Background score from Steven Price makes sure that we all know in advance when a perilous event is just waiting to happen. Price overwhelms us with the music, instead of intelligently using the loneliness, the vacuum and the deafening silence of space at crucial moments in the movie.
With such one-dimensional characters and predictable linear storytelling, Director Alfonso Cuaron's salvation comes from fellow Mexican, old partner and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern (The Tree of Life, Children of Men, Sleepy Hollow) who shows us in all its glory and fright what it must be to float in space. This is as real as any of us ordinary mortals can come to experiencing space first hand. Lubezki is the shining star of this space misadventure. And it is for his contribution mostly that I award "Gravity", 7 out of 10. Otherwise, Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity" mostly just sucks.
My top 3 space movies continue to be "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Contact" and "Apollo 13".
Disconnect (2012)
American Dysfunctional family drama faking itself as cyber thriller
Having heard many complimentary things about "Disconnect"', finally settled down and gave it a watch today. "Disconnect" is a relevant and topical take on our everyday interactions -- and the way our lives have been taken over by devices meant to help us communicate and connect with each other better but which do just the opposite. However, in "Disconnect" , such connecting devices are just an enabler. The movie is actually about 3 dysfunctional and troubled families (America abounds in them) and technology is just a means through which these various characters in those families express their alienation. Andrew Stern's script inter-cuts these 3 disparate stories and ultimately converges them to a logical conclusion quite like that much loved/much hated "Crash". "Disconnect" is a cautionary tale which might strike a chord or two with you here and there but ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression as it has nothing new to communicate. "Disconnect" is yet another family drama masquerading as a cyber story in a wired world. Max Thieriot, in the role of an Internet Sex model stands out in the acting department otherwise mostly the movie is just another dropped call.
The Lunchbox (2013)
Most sumptuous and delicious fare Bollywood has offered in ages.
"The Lunchbox" is the most honest love story to come out of Bollywood in ages. It is a delightful story of love blossoming slowly, one letter a day, between two most unlikely but equally despondent characters you could ever match make.
Debutant Director, Ritesh Batra, who is also done the script writing, has crafted an exquisite gem of a movie. Batra impresses because he does not set out to impress. He conveys eloquently the state of the mind of each character because he is economical with emotions and does not exaggerate. Batra makes a memorable movie with multiple layers because he is honest with himself and his craft. Ritesh Batra is simply magnificent.
The performances by the 3 leading actors, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nimrat Kaur are disarmingly natural, poignant and memorable. Pitted against the two stalwarts (comparatively speaking), Khan and Siddiqui, newcomer Nimrat Kaur more than holds her own. I am at a loss of words to describe her performance. Her character is nuanced, neglected, grieving and most complex yet Kaur's is the most memorable performance in the movie. Her role would be talked about for a long time to come.
While ironically, the whole serendipity bit of the film kicks off with a delivery mistake made by Bombay's Dabbawalas, world famous for their Six Sigma (99.999666% ) accuracy, Batra's movie reassures that even if the odds of finding true love in life is Six Sigma stacked against you, it is worth waiting for and taking your chances.
"The Lunchbox" is the most sumptuous and appetizing fare Bollywood has offered in ages. Just go for it
Lucia (2013)
Lucia is no Ship of Theseus.
"Lucia" is a first Kannada movie I have watched in ages in theater, last one being "America, America", guess that was more than 15 years ago. "Lucia", as you all know by now, is the very first Kannada movie produced entirely by money sourced through crowd-funding. That should be sufficient to tell you that "Lucia" is no run of the mill, Sandalwood potboiler. Brave heart Director Pawan Kumar (of "Lifeu Ishtene" fame) tries to stuff in all his favorite topics - Single screen vs Multiplex, Opportunistic and materialistic nature of today's girls, Kannada language vs English, Sandalwood's hero worship culture, Item numbers in movies, reality vs perception, modern vs traditional and even more - in one nutshell, therefore it is no wonder that the back of the proverbial camel (the movie in this case) breaks under the excessive weight. "Lucia" is unable to do justice to any of these themes other than just providing some lip service. However, the silver lining is good quality acting all round, some very believable characters, colloquial every day language (English sub titles help those who don't follow Kannada) and easy going situational humor. At a run time of well over 2 hours, the scenarios get repetitive and the movie loses its pacing. Script is amateurish at times, with plenty of loop holes and unexplained actions. End result is a convoluted mish-mash of a buffet where there are dishes aplenty but one has to carefully search for something memorable. For those who are intellectually inclined and enjoy debating about the questions a movie poses for its viewers, let me tell you that "Lucia" is no "Ship of Theseus".
Madras Cafe (2013)
"Rajiv Gandhi Dhaba" trying to pass itself off as "Madras Cafe"
Let's get one thing out of the way before I delve into that half baked dish called "Madras Cafe" ; its a commendable effort coming from mainstream Bollywood that needs to watched and encouraged and yadda yadda yadda.......
Now this is where Bollywood goes and shoots itself in the foot. They set out with this grand and lofty ambition of making a different kind of a movie, not a 3 hour mindless song, dance and dishum dishum spectacle, a political thriller no less, and yet predictably end up with egg all over their face . Entirely because they neither have the required competency in story telling nor in story enacting, the two vital components which Hollywood has mastered when it comes to war movies/political thrillers (think Argo, Platoon, Z, The Manchurian Candidate etc).
Shoojit Sircar's "Madras Cafe" is a stupidly simplistic, glossing over the facts, adolescent comic book take on the vexed, complicated, multi layered, half a century old Tamil – Sinhala strife in SriLanka. Oh did I say Tamil – Sinhala strife? I am so sorry; the move couldn't care less about that at all. What the movie cares about is how the civil war was actually fought between the good guys - RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) of India vs the bad guys - LTTE (rechristened as Tamil Liberation Front, TLF, in the movie) of SriLanka in which "innocents" like Rajiv Gandhi were simply collateral damage. This is where the script writers Shubhendu Bhattacharya & Somnath Dey must take all the flak. Their joint venture script is so amateurish, so full of loop holes and loose ends that it almost reads like a dumbed down Facebook status update that a school going teenager might put up on the Srilankan civil war.
Cinematographer, Kamaljeet Negi, appears to be under strict instructions to give the war scenes of the film close resemblance to those of "Apocalypse Now", "Platoon" and "The Thin Red line".
Add to it, the unimaginative direction of Sircar (he falls back upon the background voice over narrative ever so often for the sake of us imbecilic audiences ) whereby he thinks he is being clever but ends being too convoluted for his own good. However, clearly the worst part of the movie is rank bad acting all around with lead actor John Abraham taking the cake. Abraham is so flat, monotonous and stiff that even when he hugs his wife passionately you think a mannequin could have done it better. Siddharth Basu, as the RAW chief acts like he is still the quizmaster shooting questions at the hapless contestants. If I have to admit that the undisputed Queen of bad acting, Nargis Fakhri, is the most outstanding act of this movie you get the extent of poor histrionics this movie has to offer.
"Madras Cafe" is an intellectually vapid and dishonest film masquerading as a political thriller while it would have easily passed off as a pro Rajiv Gandhi propaganda film made by the Congress party in an election year.
Ship of Theseus (2012)
An important milestone as Bollywood finally shows signs of growing up.
Writer Director Anand Gandhi's "Ship Of Theseus" is a meandering, long drawn, repetitive, verbose, badly edited, loosely scripted labor of love. But make no mistake it is THE most significant film to come out of Bollywood in a long long time.
"Ship of Theseus" asks many relevant questions, probes, and enquires yet thankfully does not go overboard with "intellectual masturbation". At times it just about manages to hold audience interest even when the going gets dense and self indulgent. Gandhi also mercifully manages to bring our attention back on track just when it starts to wander with the overdose of existential questioning and never ending shots of the characters doing the same thing over and over again.
Anand Gandhi has done a commendable job of scripting a collage of 3 contemporary urban Indian fables. While Gandhi does a Hitchcockian job of infusing the movie with delicately littered random symbols, he falls woefully short when he tries to do an Inarritu's "Amores Perros" and stitch the 3 disparate stories on the same tapestry. Gandhi's lack of experience also shows with the rough edges and uneven finish of the look and feel of the film. He could have have easily done with some brevity and reduced 15 to 20 minutes of the film's run time.
In a movie that has no "known" faces, no put-on exaggerated affected histrionics, no paraphernalia, yet natural but outstanding acting from each actor in roles great or small, an honorable mention must be made of Vinay Shukla, the guy who plays Charwaka, the delicate and intuitive counter balance to Neeraj Kabi's Maitreya, the ascetic.
Debutant cinematographer Pankaj Kumar adds heft to the storytelling with lyrical composition of each shot. Audience alternately (or "duality" if you wish) feels either like a fly on the wall or an integral part of the crew observing the action and emotions unfolding in front, from close quarters. If it weren't for Kumar's spellbinding visuals, "Ship of Theseus" wouldn't have been half the film it is.
All said and done, "Ship of Theseus" is an important movie that marks an inflection point as Bollywood and especially Indian Indie movies come of age . Anand Gandhi has made a brave and commendable effort that needs to be watched, appreciated and encouraged.
PS - I cannot wait to watch Anand Gandhi's next one, supposedly belonging to horror genre, called "Tumbad".
Man of Steel (2013)
No Cape of Good Hope
"Man of Steel" does not redefine the superman franchisee like Chris Nolan's Dark Knight series did for Batman.
The Krypton origin back story of Superman is unfortunately pretty tame and does not define him for what he went on to become on Earth. Director Zack Snyder (he of the flops "Sucker Punch", Dawn of the Dead" fame) and co producer/co writer Chris Nolan try and add new elements to Superman's character like edginess, violence, grimness, grittiness but the end result is still pedestrian. Nolan, in fact, tries to do a Batman to Superman but fails spectacularly.
First half of the movie shows some potential but the second half is just an excruciatingly boring slug fest of explosions, fights, clashes, crashes, flying, tumbling, falling etc. We have seen it all in umpteen movies before. "Man of Steel" has nothing new to offer in the 2nd half. It gets so tiresome that the viewer needs to have nerves of steel to sit though the entire second half. Whatever little Snyder managed to build up in the pre-interval phase, he destroys it in the last 45 minutes of mind numbing action.
As for the lead actor, Henry Cavill, he certainly looks the part but his granite face remains just that (stiff and stony) for the better part of the movie. Cavill is definitely an improvement on Brandon Routh of "Superman Returns" but Christopher Reeve still remain the actor the role continues to be identified with.
Even though the rest of the star cast comprises of such acting heavy weights like Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Amy Adams, the movie remains distinctly underwhelming on the emoting front thanks to their characters being sketchily conceived.
In the end "Man of Steel" is neither style nor substance. The movie must rank as this summer's biggest disappointment. "Man of Steel" is just an expensive, soul less, dumb, long drawn and lazy spectacle. And in my book that is worth only 2 out of 5 stars.
PS - True blue Superman comic fans will never forgive Zack Snyder for killing off Costner's character in a way which is absolutely different from what happens in the comic and therefore taking off all the significance of that event.
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Clichés at every turn in this oddball town
Silver Linings Playbook" was a must watch movie on my wish list after it picked up 8 Oscar nominations (not to mention that it stars one of my all time favorite, Robert De Niro) this year. Not only it has cornered all the big nominations this year, SLP is the only movie since "Reds" in 1981 to pick up all the 4 acting nods (Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress). With so much going for it, its natural for the viewer to expect something out of the ordinary. Alas, the only thing not "ordinary" about the movie is that it revolves around a bunch of "abnormal" people.
By way of story, SLP is about Bradley Cooper's character, who suffers from Bipolar Disorder, and his tryst with all the other neurotic, obsessive compulsive, dysfunctional, superstitious people and other plain weirdos that he encounters with alarming regularity in the tiny little town he resides in. Based on ex high school teacher Matthew Quick's eponymous novel, SLP neither turns out to be a screw ball, irreverent comedy (something like "Crazy People"), nor is it a feel good, heart warming tale (like "Forrest Gump") or not even an accurate depiction of the real life situations of bipolar people (remember Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn in "Lust for Life"). So what is SLP all about? I don't really know and neither does the Director David O Russell. He tries hard to make SLP a rom-com, a comedy, a quirky fun film, a family drama, a feel good film about the proverbial under dog, but eventually ends up with a mish-mash tasting more like yesterday's stale left overs.
The only silver lining of this largely forgettable effort is an assured, confident and bravura performance from its lead actor, Bradley Cooper. Cooper is the tour de force here reminding us that he is meant for bigger and better things than inane movies like "The Hangover". His performance is truly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Other members of the cast, including De Niro, Chris Tucker and Jennifer Lawrence, are at best adequate and at worst over the top, hamming impresarios.
My recommendation to evolved movie viewers is to skip this playbook and go watch a re-run of "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" or "A Beautiful Mind" if oddball characters are your preferred choice of viewing this weekend.
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Morally ambivalent product from a lazy director
Kathryn Bigelow who made history by becoming the first woman director to win an Oscar ("The Hurt Locker") continues her tryst with 9/11 and its aftermath with her latest creation - Zero Dark Thirty.
ZDT like its predecessor, "The Hurt Locker", chronicles the polarization of the world from an American standpoint. To the credit of the director, she manages to build in a fair amount of suspense and edge of the seat thrills as the hunt for Osama Bin Laden reaches its crescendo, despite the end result being known to the viewer.
The other high light of the movie is the portrayal of Maya, the lead CIA operative by upcoming actress Jessica Chastain. Its rare to see a mainstream Hollywood movie where the lead female actor is shown as cold, bull headed, steely, self centered and socially inept. Chastain pulls it off remarkably well. What a transformation it has been for the classically beautiful actress from playing vulnerable, quiet, mother of two in "The Tree of Life" or from playing the air headed, rich, bored housewife who wants to desperately hire a house maid and impress her husband in "The Help". Slowly but surely, Chastain is building up a formidable oeuvre of work. No wonder she is bookies favorite to pick up the Best Actress Oscar this year.
On the acting front, an honorable mention must be made of James Gandolfini's robust, business like and heavy duty cameo of CIA Chief, Leon Panetta.
Beyond these odd exceptions, the cupboard of ZDT is starkly bare. Is this movie pro/anti war? Is the movie pro/anti Jihad? Is this movie pro/anti prison torture? No one can tell. Director Bigelow takes a convenient and morally ambivalent stand on all these issues. Why is Maya so single-mindedly obsessed about hunting down OBL? What drives her to shun friends, social life and risk her own life and limbs to be devoted to the cause? Once again no one can tell. Bigelow does a shoddy job of fleshing out Maya and other characters. Also for Bigelow, the age old American policy of fostering trouble in Middle East and the resultant rise of militancy in those regions is not something to be bothered with in the narrative. Even a TV series like "Homeland" is more comprehensive in its reach and coverage there.
In summary, "Zero Dark Thirty" is a movie bogged down by a weak script, stuffed with process and operational details and helmed by a lazy director, ultimately winding up in the graveyard of many forgettable films on the topic of Islamic terrorism.
I am going with 2.5 stars on 5.
Skyfall (2012)
Amongst the very best of Bond
Bond fans can heave a sigh of relief. The franchisee is in safe hands with Sam Mendes and the redoubtable Daniel Craig.
Bond no. 23 (Skyfall) for most parts works like a charm. Its beauty lying in the deft directorial touches from director Mendes and ably supported by master actors like Judie Dench and Javier Bardem. Bardem is slimy, memorable, deranged, grand, dramatic, homo-erotic and frighteningly off his rocker as the wrecker in chief, Silva. Silva is an honorable entry in the rogue's gallery of Bond's nemeses. Bardem pulls off the act well, never letting it get out of control.
Director Sam Mendes clearly is a Bond fan what with many references to previous Bond films cleverly inserted here and there. Mendes also is high on symbolism. We see a crook in a cop's uniform running helter skelter to save his skin, the two "rats" scampering through underground drainage like real rats would, court proceedings being brought to halt by some instant justice meted out and of course the final denouement in the house of Lord.
Mendes has also tried to be crowd pleaser with a new, young, freshly scrubbed Quartermaster (Q) and Ms MoneyPenny, obligatory love making scenes plus the new eye candy Bond girl (Bérénice Marlohe). But thankfully he doesn't try too hard. A word must be mentioned of Roger Deakin, the staple cinematographer of Mendes' films. He lends a refreshingly beautiful, majestic and picturesque touch to the locations and proceedings.
The film opens with a crackerjack of an opening action sequence which grabs you by the seat of your pants and doesn't let go of it till Adele belts out her haunting and memorable theme number.
So how does Skyfall stack up against other Bond movies? Well, my answer is that it is good enough to be counted amongst the top 5.
A job well done Agent 007. I am going with 3.5 stars on 5.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Refreshing, Entertaining, Delightful - Wes Anderson in top form here.
"Moonrise Kingdom" is a signature Wes Anderson movie. In look and feel, it comes quite close to his earlier work, "The Royal Tenenbaums". However, at times I was also reminded of "Submarine" that wonderfully precocious work from British director Richard Ayoade where a 15 year old's sole objective is to lose his virginity before his next birthday.
"Moonrise Kingdom" is strewn with classic Anderson characters; troubled but endearingly flawed adults, dysfunctional but intelligent kids (not the irritatingly faux cute Bollywood variety), poignant portrayals of wealthy and working class people generously infused with wry, dry humor. Overall a charming mix of quirk and cool. No scope for melodrama here.
The highlight of Anderson movies as with "Moonrise Kingdom" is cinematography, background score and restrained acting.
Each scene shot by Robert Yeoman is elegantly composed and aesthetically shot, mostly in primary colors. Alexandre Desplat's original background score mixes folk music, classic and rock seamlessly. Viewers also get a crash course in music appreciation during the opening and closing scenes of the movie.
Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward (a very tempting mix of Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart) in the leading role of 12 year olds madly in love with each other are completely believable. Ensemble cast of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDoirmand, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel and Jason Schwartzman complete the list of oddballs, weirdos, wackos and misfits inhabiting the fragile world of adolescents.
So go right ahead and immerse yourself and you would come out refreshed, provoked, moved, entertained and delighted. I guarantee that.
Fire in Babylon (2010)
Calypso Kings to World Champions
First off a warning! "Fire in Babylon" is for TEST MATCH CRICKET connoisseurs. If T20, IPL, ODI is your ball game then you are better off staying away from this documentary.
Having said that "FIB" is not just about cricket; even if you have just a passing interest in the game you can still enjoy it as the film is about issues as eclectic as the rise of Black power in sports, Racism,Rastafarian culture, the unification of Caribbean islands which appear as just drops in an mass of water on the world map as West Indies, commercialization of sports and leadership.
For me and for a lot of other viewers it could just be once in a life time opportunity to watch your childhood cricket heroes come alive on celluloid screen. Or just to experience the phenomenon of what it was like for a team to dominate a sport/any sport for 15 years like no other team did before or after.
The film chronicles the transformation of West Indian Cricket team from a bunch of calypso style cricketers (entertaining and talented losers) to world beaters and how once West Indians started dominating the sport it gave the self belief to other black people that they were second to none irrespective of what sport they were playing What Tommie Smith started with Black Power Salute at the podium of 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City reached its pinnacle with the release of Nelson Mandela from South African prison. The film touches upon these and other history altering moments such as use of 4 pronged genuine pace attack as a weapon of annihilation on cricket pitch, Bob Marley's influence on Viv Richards' batting, Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket and how it changed the very soul of the game. Cricket, here, is simply the centerpiece of a much broader emancipation process.
Best part of the movie is that even though West Indies were 2 time world champs in One day cricket, the movie makes no reference to it.
Maybe 87 minutes is too short a runtime, however I would have liked to see a bit more of Malcolm Marshall. In my opinion, he was no less (if not better) than Michael Holding and Andy Roberts. Its hard to imagine a line up of Caribbean greats without Marshall spearheading the pace attack.
Catches win matches and the world beating West Indians too were an outsanding fielding unit comprising of live wires Clive Lloyd,Viv Richards and Gus Logie. There is absolutely no mention of this aspect.
I have watched umpteen Bollywood movies (with the exception of "Lagaan") based on cricket which made me hate the game but finally here is a movie that made me fall in love with cricket all over again.
Barfi! (2012)
Rotten, stale dessert gone rancid.
Thanks to multiple rave reviews in this space, elsewhere I finally caught up with "Barfi" today.
Straight off, the film is an hour too long (yes that's right 60 minutes extra in the era of Attention deficiencies), way too convoluted and seems like a by product of a scatter brain Director/Story writer. And lo and behold in this case the Director and the Writer is one and the same - Anurag Basu.
This Basu chap has a none too impressive track record consisting of eminently forgettable stuff like "Kites", "Gangster", "Tumsa nahin dekha", "Saaya", "Kucch to hai" etc. In "Barfi" he lives up to his disastrous track record. Also Anurag Basu is no Chris Nolan to narrate a non linear story spanning multiple time frames with flash backs and flash forwards. He just ends up creating a non elegant maze.
Many reviewers have already pointed out the shameless copying Basu has done from movies such as "The Note Book", "Singing in the rain", "Cops", "Kikujiro" and of course many Charlie Chaplin movies (most notably "The Adventurer" and "City Lights"). With so much of mish mash the end result is that an hour and half into the film you feel like you are sitting in a boring and meaningless lecture in your college and clock hands on your watch are refusing to move forward. So when the movie ends you shoot out of the movie theater like a bat out of hell all the while making a mental note to never ever watch any more of Basu's offerings.
A word about the acting performances. Ranbir Kapoor puts in a competent performance for sure. Going by the current dismal acting standards of Bollywood, his performance seems award winning (atleast the Filmfare variety). Kapoor's character is set in 70's in small town Darjeeling but his mannerisms and body language are all reminiscent of 90's Bollywood films. Ranbir Kapoor should have borrowed a leaf or two from his grand uncle Shashi Kapoor's 1965 film "Jab Jab Phool Khile" where Shashi played the role of a poor boat man in Kashmir who falls for a rich tourist girl, Nanda. Ranbir does not get even 50% of his grand uncle's charisma, innocence and authenticity.
Ileana D' Cruz has a stock of 3-4 expressions which she puts on depending upon the severity of the situation.
Priyanka Chopra in the role of an autist thinks that performances are all about make up, costume and hair pieces. There is no depth and little subtlety in her performance (spare us the repeated slow blink of eyes please). Chopra is no Sean Penn ("I am Sam") or Dustin Hoffman ("Rainman").
Neither is Ranbir Kapoor, Tom Hanks ("Forrest Gump") or even Sanjeev Kumar (Koshish).
Anurag Basu has cast some acclaimed actors such as Akash Khurana, Ashish Vidyarthi and Roopa Ganguly in supporting roles but their roles are so minuscule and uni- dimensional that they fail to add any heft to the finished product.
I am going with 1.5 stars out of 5 for Barfi.
And these 1.5 stars are for: not having shot the movie in any exotic overseas location, not featuring any rich NRI characters, not having any item number, no offensive toilet humor, no 6 pack abs flaunting hero, no noise masquerading as music. In fact, to be sure there are a couple of songs which stay with you for an hour or two after you are done and dusted with "Barfi".
All in all, this "Barfi" is a stale, rotten sweet from a dubious Halwai which has gone horribly rancid. Take a bite only if you are craving food poisoning.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Final Chapter
To talk about "The Dark Knight Rises" merely in super-heroic terms would be to mete out grave injustice to the movie. For this movie has great ambition, spectacle and exhilarating energy of epic proportions. This is not a folksy, cartoonish, sophomorish, campy super hero caper (which is what Hollywood has been churning out with alarming frequency) passing muster by the sheer din of a few well executed CGI scenes but a cerebral, potent, tense, disturbing yet hypnotic climactic outing which reaffirms Chris Nolan's status as the pre-eminent film maker of our times.
With "The Dark Kinght Rises", Nolan has done the well nigh impossible. He has made a trilogy in which every sequel is better than the prequel. Something that even legendary Francis Ford Coppola could not achieve with his magnum opus, "The Godfather" series.
Now to come to the 250 million dollar question, Is Bane as good as the Joker?
Well, in the fearsome badman Bane, Batman seems to have finally met more than his match. Bane is terrifying, grotesque, humongous, powerful, remorseless with brains to match his brawn. However, Bane's biggest strength comes from the fact that Batman under estimates his prowess and cunning and is therefore forced to eat humble pie. Menacing Bane starts off as a populist villain promising to free the society from the inequalities brought about by evil capitalists. He also sets up a kangaroo court with "fast track" proceedings and instant punishments (reminiscent of our own Maoists) however strangely he soon starts working at cross purposes with himself setting off a nuclear device to kill the very people he set out to liberate. In Bane, Nolan has picked out a monumental foe. Bane is jaw dropping awesome but for once the movie is about Batman/Bruce Wayne and he does manage to outshine every other character. The best part about Batman - Bane showdown is their raw, unadulterated, hand to hand mortal combat. Nolan does not hide behind some gadgety, 3D, special effects generated larger than life clash but gives the viewers a ring side view of the fight as it happens.
Christian Bale is ably supported by a stellar cast where everyone is more than adequate however in the star studded galaxy 2 names shine brighter than others - Michael Caine as Alfred, the Butler and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Caine is the emotional core of the movie, providing the much needed gravitas and old world charm. Hathaway is deliciously ambiguous as slimy yet vulnerable, neurotic yet sweet, glamorous yet dangerous cat burglar and boy she does flip those alternate personality switches with ease.
However, fans of gorgeous Marion Cotillard would be justified in thinking that the French delicacy was somewhat wasted here. Hans Zimmer's music score should have been toned down a bit as it tends to get ahead of itself at times even drowning out the dialogs at a few places. There are a few loose and unexplained ends in the movie but in the overall scheme and grandness of things I would dare not say that it matters.
In the finality of things, the man who emerges as the true super hero, the one who deserves a standing applause is the British White Knight, Director Chris Nolan. Nolan is courageous and competent enough to raise the stakes to astronomical levels and deliver the final product with aplomb. This is masterful film making at its mercilessly brilliant best. "The Dark Knight Rises" is a fitting finale, a final show down, a final pay off which leaves you desperately asking for more.
I am going with 4 stars on 5.