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Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Col Hans Landa and Anton Chigur take a bow, Winter Soldier is here
Don't remember when I last saw two shows of the same movie in a span of 24 hours. Had once ridiculed one of my colleagues for queuing up to watch the same film a second time without break. For once, Marvel has made a film where it's not the superhero who steals the show, but the film's story. And, it has one hell of a villain, menacing as he comes and spawning raw terror with his presence. Together, they make for a intriguing backdrop for Captain America to shine through.
It's a dark and brooding script, much like the ones churned out from the Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder stables. It consumes you from the very beginning where Captain Rogers is drawn into a game of deceit by the very people he has come to trust and maintains the adrenalin-pumping momentum till the final act where Rogers as Captain America confronts the devil from his past.
That brings me to the villain. Ah! After a long time I could actually see the terrified audience gasping in collective sigh every time the Winter Soldier would walk onto the screen. Thank God, Marvel didn't overplay him. He comes across as absolutely believable in an age of overrated CGI villains that pass off as easy distractions than vehicles of terror.
Perhaps,that makes the Winter Soldier frighteningly close to reality. He can happen to anybody. Just like Christoph Waltz's smooth-talking, 'eagle' hunting down Jew 'rats' Col Hans Landa in the Inglorious Basterds and Javier Bardem's portrayal of the unstoppable evil Anton Chigur in No country for old men. This is not comparison, just plain reference where our villain is going to take us.
Other takeaways include, the chirpy and unruffled black widow (Scarlet Johannson), the falcon (yes Marvel have introduced falcon in this installment), the senator (Robert Redford) and of course Nick Fury, the wily and unforgiving head of SHIELD (Samuel J Fox) Then there's the bonus: Captain Rogers aka Captain America who's once again on a mission to save the world. Since the story remains unfinished, I Am already salivating for the third installment of the franchise. Can't wait till 2016.
Sucker Punch (2011)
Don't remember when i gave a 9 in my review
How often do you find a movie where the camera does the talking in the film's opening scene. You waltz with the visually stunning frames in and out of the story for full ten minutes before even realising that there were no dialogues!!! Sucker punch breaks the convention in many ways and at several levels. It demolishes the stereotype; challenges your tastes and offends your clichéd sensibilities. It is like a room full of colourful tapestries, each more beautiful than the other, so much so that their collective brilliance confounds the orthodox and humbles the willing. It is a simple story of a bunch of girls fighting their demons made brilliant by its unmatched style of presentation. So, it is not about what the film tells the audience, it is how it tells them. Director Zach Snyder's concept of a theatre inside an asylum is the key to the film which unlocks its secret in the very end. The story about girls finding their wits to escape the asylum also becomes the plank for them to break free from the reality into a surreal world where they become the protagonists and control their worlds. The ending is as dramatic and as devastating as life itself. It cannot be replayed. Like life, it is not fair. Like life it is not the least predictable. A must watch for those who are willing to widen their creative mindspace... Will give it a nine for making me think and think again.
City of Angels (1998)
An angel in black. No wings. No halo.
I held on to this movie a long time before finally watching it. I was genuinely surprised by the refreshing take on parallel worlds of angels and humans and the fallout of a crossover. Some of the shots in the movie are uncanny, if not entirely different. They are unsettling but seam with the flow of the story that essentially dwells on an emotionally charged relationship between an angel and a human. Nicholas Cage starts off slightly jaded, his portrayal of an angel, more wooden than natural. But, the moment Meg Ryan enters the screen, he adapts to the story like a fish to water. Their chemistry is bang on! It is hard not to fall for them. The crackling freshness between the two sets the tone for the poetic end... It will stir your beliefs on love and afterlife, if not shake them.
Skyline (2010)
It doesn't get better than this...beats the matrix trilogy
When the movie ended I was tempted to draw the curtains off my window. Don't remember when was the last time a sci-fi felt so real. That's why I rate it better than the Matrix. Matrix was a great film; only the first part (the remaining two installments looked like video games dished out on 70mm). But it was surreal, away from life. We could never relate to it once we stepped out of the film. But Skyline, it scores a resounding, thumping thumbs up for bringing it as close to us as it can get.
Throughout the film you try and device plans to escape the alien challenge as if it were threatening your existence. I watched it on television and I had to stop keening on the laptop just minutes into the film. The movie has a dramatic ending with enough options for a sequel. I will be waiting for it.
If you are lucky, grab it inside a theater. And, don't waste your money on popcorn. There will be no time for it.
G.I. Jane (1997)
This is where IMDb doesn't measure up...
...because some of the most stimulating films ever made lose out to the average just because they did not appeal to the herd mentality. Films like GI Jane get a short shrift on this hugely followed platform while a slasher film with a trite storyline will find a better rating. And, I too was a party to the collective prejudice of the reviewers, until I decided to undo it by filing in this review. I gave the movie a skip several times just because I thought, "why the hell are they trying to make a hero out of a woman in boy's playground!" There 'we' go. And, then there was Demi Moore! It was like trying to slip out of striptease and wear the Uniform. Until, I saw the rental at my friend's place to kill time. And, boy I was embarrassed of myself just the same as Mortensen who plays Demi Moore's superior in the film. This is certainly not the best film but a disciplined one. The plot's forward movement was much better than some of the obscenely expensive films of Bruckerheimer or Michael Bay films which just end up distracting the audience from the poor script. The build up was good. The characters believable. I didn't know it was a ridley scott film until I checked out the film's title on IMDb while watching the film. Going into the storyline would be a waste. I would just like to add that Moore got a chip on her shoulder wearing the uniform. Striptease seemed a waste of time. I would have given a 7 rating for the film but when I see the mindless waste that my fellow reviewers have turned it into I thought I will give it an 8...just to clear up the mess a bit.
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
Spare me the comparison...Its one hell of a ride!
Why do people have a morbid fixation for the old? I was asking myself this question because half the reviews that hammered Pelham 2009 are dotted with comparisons to the 1974 version. Well, I didn't watch the old film, so the 2009 remake was as good as new to me. The conversation between Johan Travolta and Denziel Washington was sheer poetry and kept the movie alive right till the end where the two protagonists come to face each other. Washington was at his vintage best in his role of the corrupt rail man Walter Garber who lands in the hot seat of the negotiator with the merciless hijacker John Travolta, by accident. I was sold out on the scene where Washington is forced to face his demons in public when Travolta challenges him to rise above himself or be responsible for the death of a passenger! Phew. I wont give away the ending but the look on Washington's face when the credits start rolling is priceless! Don't go by the rating if you haven't watched the old Pelham. Watch it! By all means.
Witless Protection (2008)
Do NOT go by the review. This one is FUN!
Yup, its slapstick, its over the top. So what? The movie was actually fun and trust me is MONEY's WORTH! I was actually disappointed to see the low rating for the movie here and that's what prompted me to pitch in with a few words of deserving credit. Witless protection had some of the most ingenious and endearing moments which even the gluttonously overpriced films fail to deliver with their pricey star cast. Larry, the cable guy who plays the dumb witted cop running into trouble around every corner is hugely enjoyable and his act believable. Thankfully, the director spared a run-of-the-mill chemistry between the lead pair. So Kudos to the film for making my balmy afternoon at home a time well spent. And, I wouldn't mind watching it a second time around...
My Name Is Khan (2010)
KJo's long shot fails to hit the mark
Just what I feared! The teaming up of Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar in MNIK brings out a neatly packaged bag of clichés. No doubt the canvass is huge and the lead pair get enough time to show off their acting skills but, somehow it doesn't work for me. Three reasons: KJo has desperately attempted to get a far-fetched and contorted story rolling to a terribly banal ending. Those who have watched Dustin Hoffman in Rainman and Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump will pity Khan's role as Rizwan. Then, the film is built on the 9/11 episode which has already spawned a generation of films around the world, including India. The idea comes too late and KJo attempts to be clever by making a film which makes a moral preaching out of Christian-Muslim divide post 9/11 and cash in on the American sentiments. Finally, you make a film to allow more screen space to actors just because they can act. Well, sir, you just lost the plot. Curiously, KJo's latest work seems a clone of his previous works KANK and KKKG. Same stars, same sets and same deliverance. The cinematography and music are a treat. So I give the film a 5 of 10. Watch Ishqia for money's worth. And, you will know the difference!