The Good Shepherd

A spy thriller made with the elaborateness as this one, will always be a delight. Serious relief watching a movie which is engaging at various levels - does provide hope that there are Hollywood film makers who are keen on making truly worthwhile films.

Robert De Niro's second major directorial venture is one fascinating film of a man who slowly (though seemingly destined) is groomed to become a spy. Also depicts the genesis of Counter-Intelligence as a concept & CIA - with the end of WWII and beginning of the Cold War.

Fantastic cast - starting with Matt Damon, who has settled down well into his own. Then some favourites - Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, William Hurt and De Niro himself - all in bit roles.

A beauty.

Rating: * * * *

Ditto

A film spread across time-scapes. So-Eun (Ha-Neul Kim) in 1979 communicates over a ham radio with In (Jit-tae Yu) in 2000. I don't have much else to say about the film but I promise you that there is much to see in it.

I have seen Ha-Neul Kim before in "Too Beautiful to Lie". She impresses yet again. She starts off as a gawkish and slightly annoying girl. But as the film rolls on you see her mature into this introspective young lady.

I was left with the same impression after watching commercial Korean films in the past. They imbibe their films with simplicity sprinkled with melodrama without going over the top. Our Bollywood directors need to learn from the Koreans.

Rating: * * *

Guru

Having been to the AbhiAsh wedding, a bit of coincidence that I just managed to watch this one. Mani Ratnam's latest production matches his usual levels of picturesque photography, decent songs (a bit too many) and effective performances. However the intensity, that one would normally expect from a good film (like: Iruvar, Nayakan), is missing.

Somehow, all the chopping & changing in the story line, kind of leaves the movie half-baked - which is sad, considering decent performances from Vidya Balan & co; Mithun Chakraborty, surprisingly, delivers a cameo as a media baron attempting to out the Guru; AB appears to be growing as an actor, while Aishwarya Rai practices being a demure bride.

Rating: * *

The Pursuit of Happyness

It was a performance that Shah Rukh Khan would have been proud of. Will Smith is no Denzel and should ideally stick to fixing aliens. Inspiring story all right, but means nothing in the face of such acting.

Rating: *

Koyaanisqatsi

The film has no actors or plot. A bunch of well taken sequences involving nature, technology and people with music by Philip Glass. I was told that one would either love or hate this flick. I was indifferent to it.

Rating: *

2009 Lost Memories

The movie shows a slightly twisted versi0n of history where Japan allies with the US in WWII and ends up occupying Korea. It is set in the year 2009 admist an ongoing underground struggle for Korean independence. A cool concept but executed very poorly. It can be made into a Bollywood sentiaction movie with Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty playing the lead. If you still did not get the message... Yes the film is indeed trash.

Rating: *

Goyokin

Another jidaigeki film by Hideo Gosha. Goyokin means the gold and silver used by Shogunate to fund its working. The lead character in the movie is conflicted between loyalties towards himself and his clan that revolves around this gold. The movie starts off very well but then proceeds to drag. The latter half is utterly predictable and dour. Maybe I am seeing too many Jidaigeki flicks :-)

Rating: * +

Ma Mere

Strange movie about mother, son and oedipal fantasies. Another of those "why did I put this on the queue" flicks.

Rating: *

Kings and Queen

Queen

• Woman with a teenage son

Kings

• Dead husband whom she marries after he is dead.
• Ex-husband who is now in the the loony bin.
• Boring man she is going to marry.

Result - Boring and pointless

Rating: *

Right Now

A young bourgeois girl falls in love with a bank robber and soon finds herself on the run with him. A complete waste of time but it yet again made this blog of mine ring true.

Rating: *

The Matador

Julian (Pierce Brosnan) is a facilitator of fatalaties in the corporate world. Danny (Greg Kinnear) is struggling to make ends meet. The two run into each other and Julian becomes Danny's greatest cocktail party story and much more.

Rating: * * +

9 Songs

Sex to the tune of 9 rock and roll songs. Porno movie with good acting that needs to be stored in a cool dry place for later use. :-)

Rating: *

Sueno

Couldnt get through more than 30 min. Avoid.

Rating: *

Once a Thief

The brilliance of John Woo was clearly evident a long way before he made 'Broken Arrow' and MI-II. Like this one for instance. Timely cliched jokes interrupted first by a heart-breaking moment, and then by a 10-min sten gun roar. Havent even finished watching the movie, but am certain where its going.

Rating: *

Downfall

An up close insight into Hitlers last few days as he lost the war, his head, his life and his people. A fairly long movie, but nicely made with fantastic performances - so one doesnt mind. Couple of interesting insights into how things transpired towards the end of the war, and how things could have been different. A must watch for WWII freaks.

Rating: * * *

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

One hour and forty three excruciating minutes of Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer trying to be orey funny.

Rating: *

The Holy Girl

A dull lifeless film about a young girl's sexual awakening juxtaposed with her Bible study.

Rating: *

Namesake

I think Mira Nair liked the latter half of the novel more than the first half. So she runs headlong to where she wants to be without a thought for character building. She slows the film down abruptly after a while with nary a context. So you are left watching these characters on screen about whom you know nothing about. I wish she had added half hour more to the flick for some much needed background and allowed Irrfan and Tabu to shine even more. Kal Penn has done a decent job as Gogol. So in spite of its short comings it was still a very watchable movie.

Rating: * *

L'Auberge Espagnole

Europe in an apartment. A bunch of Europeans living in an apartment in Barcelona. They fight, make love, study, have their girl friends over, put up with annoying relatives in this lighthearted flick. But I think the directors motive was to give the world a view of how the EU is evolving. A very tight and chilled out movie.

Rating: * * *

The Man Who Copied

Andre is a photocopier operator during the day and at night he spies on his beautiful neighbor Sylvia. Now he needs $38 if he wants to get somewhere with her. But when a women is involved do things stop at just $38? A movie that starts out with much promise but fizzles out in the last half hour.

Rating: * *

Brother

Beat Kitano in a classical role as a Yakuza on exile. Makes his distinct mark on America in a few ways - especially, on how to make a gangster movie with no more than 1 expression. Lots of blood and comedy. Perfectly enjoyable.

Rating : * * +