Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Nines

Another one of those intertwining story-lines. An actor under house arrest, a reality show and reality itself are the lines in play here. The twist is that Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis play the main characters in all the parts. Thankfully Mr. Reynolds does not attempt to be funny. So the film is interesting in bits and boring in pieces. Reminded me of a milder version of Mulholland Dr.

Rating: * * +

Monday, December 29, 2008

Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)


A corrupt politician using frog farms to launder money meant for the indigenous people of Amazon. A business man who lays out the dangers in his everyday life. The kidnappers and the cops who chase them. The mutilated kidnap-pees juxtaposed with the plastic surgeon that fixes them. These are the characters in this film that highlights the violence and corruption prevalent in the beautiful country of Brazil. A decent documentary but one that lack cohesiveness.

Rating: * *

Friday, December 26, 2008

Charlie Wilson's War

A regular, insipid hollywood take on how the Afghanistan issue was first brought to the attention of Washington DC in the early 80s; the genesis of the Pakistan - mujahideen connection resulting in the defeat of the Russians. Tom Hanks plays the congressman Charlie Wilson - completely predictable and efficient - but a tad difficult to accept him playing a playboy, cocaine sniffing maverick wheeler dealer of a politician. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays his bit of a disgruntled CIA operative rather well. Good movie to watch on a flight.

Rating: * *

Margot at the wedding

A family drama at its best, but unlike anything that one has probably seen before. Nicole Kidman plays Margot, a famous author, and is the central character of this story which has everyone concerned dealing with a ton of emotional baggage. There are a range of problems to be dealt with (involving Margot's sister Jennifer Jason Leigh, sister's fiancee played brilliantly by Jack Black, her husband & lover, her son, sister's neighbours and of course herself) which is quite baffling but portrayed very cleverly and with a lot of humour - the dark, perverse kind. Which I quite enjoyed. Can be a difficult watch for some or even irritating - but I liked the director's attempt to show that it isnt difficult for regular people to be horrible people.

Rating: * * *

La Clef

A french super-thriller that confuses the shit out of the viewer. Eric Vincent (Guillaume Canet) gets a call from the blue informing that his long-lost father is dead and inviting him to come by to take the ashes. It sets off a series of events that takes Eric spiralling downwards. A good watch.

Rating: * * +

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Based on a true story. Jean-Dominique Dauby wrote the book with the same title, after he suffered from a unique condition - locked-in syndrome. Where he can see and hear, but cannot speak, move or emote. It is a situation that one realises from the reaction from all concerned - family, dad, mistress, friends - that is difficult to come to terms with, especially since the high achiever that he was prior to all this. Dauby's only option is to overcome it and live life as he knows it.

He can only blink, and with the assistance of a speech therapist, he goes on to write what we eventually see - his feelings about his illness, his confusion with regards to the woman he really loves, his relationship with his father. It is amazing that his story can be captured so brilliantly on the big screen and full kudos to the director in being able to do that. As always with a film based on a true story, there are reports of the film being farther away from the truth.

Rating: * * * +

Deception

A let down given the cast and the promise of ore the thriller. Ewan McGregor is this loser fellow who befriends this hero guy played by Hugh Jackman - who hooks him up with this sexy NY night club which has specific rules to comply with. But theres more to it, obviously - and McGregor finds himself staring down a hole soon enough. Reasonable but easily forgettable.

Rating: * +

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The legendary prof is back and running after this crystal skull along with the Russians. There is also his possible successor in tow - in the form of Shia LaBeouf. Found it a bit of an ask to enjoy the movie whole heartedly - action sequences were imaginative & fine, but it wasnt as funny as I remembered these movies to be.

Rating: * *

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

88 minutes

Al Pacino playss a forensic pyschiatrist + prof. He has put away some really bad people - including serial killers. One of them serial killers is suddenly back, though he is physically still in jail. To put further pressure on the prof, he is told he has only 88 minutes to live. Along with his lady assistants, friends and students, he gets cracking on the case. All the excitement goes in vain as far as the viewer is concerned, as fatigue sets in after 30 odd minutes.

Rating: * +

Race

There are 2 guys and 2 women - we go through all 2 guy-girl combinations between the 4 of them and eventually 2 outwit the other. Complete shite.

Rating: *

There will be blood

The film transcribes the story of a silver prospector who strikes Oil and then embarks on a ruthless path to building a dynasty by tolerating no competition - be it the church, other Oil hunters or even his own child. As expected, Daniel Plainview is brilliantly played by Daniel Day-Lewis. But Paul Dano (the dumb pissed-off son from Little Miss..) really impresses as the Church man who plays Plainview's nemesis. Plays the right foil to the madness of Plainview and is a critical element of this story - culminating in blood. Long movie, but a fabulously filmed story about greed of the riches.

Rating: * * * +

Elizabethtown

A well-made Cameron Crowe film - cant crow (sic!) about its brilliant script or intelligent camera work - but being an ex-rock journalist, you can be assured of some good music being swung into the script. For Orlando Bloom's character: its part self-discovery (loses millions of $ in a shoe fiasco and contemplates suicide), part family crisis (father dies, to cremate or not?), part romance (Kirsten Dunst saves him from death?). Bloom does a reasonable job making it a fairly good watch actually.

Rating: * * +

The Wilby Conspiracy

A good old fashioned adventure story set in South Africa, as Michael Caine gets unknowingly involved in helping a black political activist (Sidney Poitier) who is running from the law & a racist Afrikaner cop. Based on a novel by Peter Driscoll, who I believe would be similar to Alistair Maclean, Desmond Bagley, Wilbur Smith and the likes. As one can expect, the movie is full of various types of chasing, some funny lines (Michael Caine to Sideny Poitier: You come to conclusions so quickly, because you aren't slowed down by thought!), betrayals and then more chasing. A good watch.


Rating: * * +

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Hottest State


A whiny love story written and directed by Ethan Hawke. The first half hour showed a wannabe actor William (Mark Webber), vying for the attention of wannabe singer Sarah (Catalina Sandino Moreno) in the most annoying way possible. Worried that viewing the complete film might lead to brain hemorrhage, I turned it off.

Rating: +

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Nanny Diaries

Annie (Scarlett Johansson) graduates and runs to a job interview at Goldman Sachs. But sadly the job she lands is that of a nanny in Manhattan. Through Nanny the viewer is given a slice of life in the East Side. Alicia Keys plays Annie's friend who is a poor NYU student but strangely walks around in designer wear. Even if 20% of this film is true then God help the East Side. It has the most virulent form of the human virus breeding there. A well taken film but a tad hollow to hold any interest.

Rating: * +

Friday, December 19, 2008

Longford

It was an open and shut case when the world of Myra Hindley was discovered - charged along with her boyfriend for killing many young girls in the moors. Lord Longford was a Labour minister, a human rights campaigner & prison reform, who believed that that Ms. Hindley was innocent and that she was coerced into these acts by her boyfriend. He risks his reputation by taking on public opinion believing that she was innocent and campaigning for her release. But it was a doomed initiative, as years later Ms. Hindley admitted that she was in it from the beginning. The picture demonstrates the ignominy that Lord Longford had to live with right through and after this campaign. Samantha Morton does a good job as Ms. Hindley - but where is she these days?

Rating: * * +

Shine a light

Another eulogy on one of his favourite bands that Martin Scorsese films for posterity. Shot at the Beacon Theatre, NYC in 2006 during their A Bigger Bang Tour - is not an attempt to understand the Stones. Its a concert film - puts on the big screen the act that they are - old Jagger's energetic strutting, the mad staid presence of Charlie Watts, guitaring ability of Ron Wood's and ofcourse, the enigma that is Keith Richards. The focus on Keith Richards makes one realise that what a farce the hollywoodisation of the man was.

There are some snippets of interviews from the past - again not to understand, but to demonstrate how they are the same after all these years and dollars. There are some guests on show - Jack White definitely seems intimidated, Christina Aguilera does a competent job doing her number but the best is when Buddy Guy comes on - where their respect and awe is obvious for the might of Buddy. Brilliant. Only watch if you like the Stones.

Rating: * * *

The Conversation

A gripping thriller about a surveillance expert who goes further than he is supposed to. Gene Hackman plays this 'best-of-class' professional eavesdropper, who has mastered his trade over 20 years - and believes his ability to remain impersonal, distant from his subjects is what makes him good. However, one learns that things aren't that easy and eventually time runs out for everybody - and we slowly get to learn more about Harry Caul. A particular case, unusually for him, draws him in and to the inevitable.

Fascinating thriller by Francis Ford Coppola - coincidentally, what made the movie more pertinent at that time was that it came out just before the Watergate scandal broke out. Sparsely made - in terms of dialogues, emotions - but the starkness in acting and brilliant camera work, makes it an ore pleasure to watch.

Rating: * * * +

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Delirious


Toby (Michael Pitt), a hobo ingratiates his way into the sorry life of Les (Steve Buscemi), a loser paparazzi. The duo team up to hunt for candid pictures of stars in their everyday lives. But the arrangement falls apart when Toby runs into K'Harma (Alison Lohman), a budding pop singer. Les wants her pictures and Toby wants her. Buscemi is what keeps the film together in his role of an annoying, self centered SOB. A sad look at the even sadder lives of stars and the people who follow them around.

Rating: * *

Love for Sale: Suely in the Sky


Hermila (Hermila Guedes) moves to her home town from Sao Paulo with her baby. The plan was for her husband to follow her. But after a month of waiting she realizes that she has been abandoned and starts to look for ways to make a living. She strangely decides to raffle her body much to chagrin of her family. As the film winds down, you are left scratching your head in puzzlement and annoyance at its empty intellectual posturing.

Rating: *

You, Me and Dupree

This one is all about Owen Wilson. Couple of things actually - the first bit I came across before watching the movie: an open letter from Steely Dan to Luke Wilson complaining about his brother & the title of this movie. The second: one realises during this movie, as to why Owen tried committing suicide almost a year later i.e the unexpected presence of the great cyclist - who stole Owen's girl-friend a few months after this movie. And yes, don't bother watching this movie, if you like comedy.

PS: while researching this movie, came across this other open letter from Steely Dan to Wes Anderson. Seemingly pissed off at his soderberghesque relationship with Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman. Walter and Don come across as surly, opinionated drunkards, like many of us.
Rating: * +

First Snow

A directorial debut that began with ambitions of creating something as stylish as Memento. So he gets the actor - and, predictably, the similarity ends there. Guy Pearce is this ruthless salesman, who runs into a fortune teller who predicts imminent death. And then the waiting begins, paranoia builds and the ruthless salesman is left to tremble expecting the end. Its the script that ultimately fails, as there is very little Pearce's intensity and fine camera work can achieve on its own.

Rating: * +

Monday, December 15, 2008

Sunflower

The Cultural Revolution takes Xiangyang's father away from him during his early childhood. After six years in a re-education camp, he abruptly walks back into Xiangyang's life. The initial surprise and distrust of his father soon turns into annoyance bordering on hatred, when Xiangyang starts to chafe under his dad's iron rule.

A film that sweeps across three decades, following the tumultuous relationship between father and son is also a brilliant look at the life of the middle class in China. It also helps that the canopy which houses the film with saturated hues and vivid colors had something to with a visual consultant that this blog is more than familiar with...

Rating: * * * +

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The 11th Hour

That woman deserves her revenge and we deserve to die.
The dialog from Kill Bill holds true in the context of this documentary. The woman in question here is Mother Nature and "we" is the human race. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film examines our carefree wanton ways after the Industrial Revolution and the plausible scenarios which extracts some hope to drag us out of this quagmire. I just hope that more people will see this film and act on it.

Rating: * * *

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Arabikatha

Mukundan's (Sreenivasan) communist fervor and admiration for Fidel Castro is so strong that he is known as Cuba Mukundan in Chemmanur, Kerala. But his unyielding socialist philosophy does not sit well with some of the higher ups in the party. So they frame his father (Nedumudi Venu) for embezzling party funds and Mukundan is forced to work in Dubai to recoup the losses. A film that shows you the real face of the Kerala communist party and the plight of Keralites working in the Middle East.

Rating: * *

Dans Paris

Paul (Romain Duris) is depressed after the break up with his girlfriend. He movies in with his divorced and annoying Dad to enable his chemical imbalances to wallow in the mire. But his brother Johnathan (Louis Garrel) has a plan to shock him out of his state. Except Johnathan keeps running into women that derails him from the plan. A rambling French drama that begins and ends nowhere.

Rating: * +

Friday, December 12, 2008

Kung Fu Panda

Think its the first animated movie that I have watched on the big screen. Was impressed with the all conquering panda - funny and Jack Black does a good job.

Rating: * * *

Noise

Opens with the shocking scene of a massacre in an Aussie suburban commuter train which has a lone survivor. Its Christmas, the killer is out there and the people in the suburb are quite obviously shaken. In the midst of all of this, a cop suffers from tinnitus and finds him facing the wrath of his superiors. Resulting self-doubt, confusion wracks the young man. Strangely enough he finds himself in the eye of the investigation - but dealing with his own condition which threatens to bring him down all together. Fantastically shot movie, with its deliberate story line - which conveys brilliantly personal as well as group fear - and outstanding performances completes a highly watchable film. Another feather in the cap for Aussie films.

Rating: * * *

Marathon Man

An old world spy thriller, that takes an ordinary man, who loves running & admires Abebe Bikila, from his PhD classroom straight into an unfolding international spy saga. 7 years after making this historical movie, director John Schlesinger combines with Dustin Hoffman once again. Shot from the perspective of Dustin Hoffman's character, the story builds up tightly - divulging surprises along the way and a fairly simple, yet mysterious plot. Has all the right ingredients for a gripping watch.

Rating: * * *

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Deathtrap

Had heard a lot about this Sidney Lumet directed thriller starring Michael Caine - half expecting it to be as good as Sleuth. It wasnt, but keeps you going till the end as the plot takes a series of unexpected turns. Besides the presence of Michael Caine, the use of just one room for the entire movie will naturally draw comparisons with Sleuth. Caine plays a once famous playwright struggling to come up with something original - and then comes with up a wicked scheme to kickstart his career again, and enlists his wife's reluctant services. Christopher Reeves makes his appearance as an innocent stranger and the catalyst for the action to follow. I suppose for viewers who have not watched Sleuth, this should make a thrilling watch.

Rating: * * +

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Late Spring

The happy familial life of Noriko (Setsuko Hara) and her windowed father, Shukichi (Chishu Ryu), starts to get bumpy when he tries to marry her off. The father wants to do the best for her daughter and she does not want to abandon her father. Yasujiro Ozu's brilliant depiction of post-war Japanese life, which is at heart a very simple story. But when told by Ozu it turns into something else.

Rating: * * +

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The Willow Tree

Youssef (Parviz Parastui) has been blind since he was 8 years old. When he goes to France to remove a tumor from his eye, the doctors discover that there is some hope for restoring his sight. As hope turns to reality, Youssef returns to his life that he no longer recognizes.  The only question left is whether reality will live up to his imagination.

A brilliant film that I am sure Wenerd would grace with a higher rating...

Rating: * +

Monday, December 08, 2008

The Devil Came on Horseback

Brian Steidle, an ex-Marine signs up to monitor the 2004 ceasefire in Sudan. Armed with only his camera, he finds himself helplessly watching the genocide of thousands of black Africans at the hands of the Sudanese government funded militia known as the Janjaweed. This documentary is his testimony of the mass murders and the futility in getting the world to take action to stop it.

Rating: * * +

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The Ten

Ten stories, one for each Commandment and every one funnier than the previous. I am sure there are creatures (who shall not be named) on this planet that will agree. I only picked this movie because of Ms. Ryder. A very grave mistake, I now realize...

Rating: +

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Millenium Actress

The shutters of the Ginei studio have come crashing down. Their greatest star was Chiyoko Fujiwara who sustained them for over 70 years. To pay homage and show gratitude they decide to make a film on her life. The part documentary part interview sends you crashing into the starlet's life and soon you are immersed in the her story which melds into the movies she acted in. Or maybe it is the other way around...

Rating: * * +

Monday, December 01, 2008

Blame it on Fidel

Anna's (Nina Kervel-Bey) aunt and her daughter moves in with her family in Paris after escaping the onset of communist revolt in Spain. Soon Anna's parents find themselves being drawn into the turbulent political scene in Paris during the 70s. Bewildered at the turn of events which leaves her orderly life in disarray, Anna decides to internalize it by blaming everything on Fidel and the barbudos. A brilliant slice of political life through the eyes of a child.

Rating: * * *

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Flavors

A mishmash of different flavors of desis living in the USA make up the cast of this hilarious movie. Almost every class of the NRI betheren is represented here. 
  • The parents visiting their son who is getting married to an American. 
  • The software engineers on the bench.
  • A girl being shopped around for an arranged marriage.
  • The newly minted husband who is laid off.
  • The bored desi house wife.
  • The power hungry Indian manger.
The director grinds them all together and comes up with a fairly palatable chutney.

Rating: * * +

Rosemary's Baby

Guy (John Cassavetes), a struggling actor, moves into a new apartment (the infamous Dakota building) with his beautiful wife Rosemary (Mia Farrow). As they settle in, an elderly couple living next door starts to engage them like most old people. But when Rosemary gets pregnant under very eerie circumstances, their neighbors start to take an eerie interest in their lives. Rosemary finds herself being fed strange concoctions and observes her husband's career getting magically jump started. Or maybe she is just having a bad case of hormones... Roman Polanski at his twisted best as always.

Rating: * * +

Brotherhood of the Wolf

18th century France and it's Gevaudan province is being terrorized by the Beast. The King dispatches his naturalist, GrƩgoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his Indian valet Mani (Mark Dacascos) to investigate the situation. Fronsac finds finds a town ruled by myth and fear. As he entangles the web, Mani helps by slicing punching through the sticky bits in some well choreographed fights scenes. Adding some intrigue, romance and Monica Bellucci to the plot ensures that there is never a dull moment in this eerie period drama.

Rating: * * *

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Young Makoto is a regular high school girl with the usual share of teenage problems. But all that changes when she finds that she can leap through time. But being the ditz that she is, her time traveling capabilities are only put to use for silly things like avoiding conversations, doing school work and fixing people's romantic problems. An anime that won't bore you but neither will it enthrall you.

Rating: * *

Zatoichi

In Takeshi Kitano's version of Zatoichi, the blind masseur wanders into a remote town that is being held hostage by the yakuza. Like always Ichi decides to lend a helping hand or I should say, helping sword. Though following the regular plotlines of an Ichi flick, Kitano cleverly massages other characters and storylines into it plus his own brand of humor. What you finally have is a very slick flick with blindingly fast sword fights and a cunning background score.

For those who are curious as to why Kitano would make a Zatoichi flick, here is a good article that explains it.

Rating: * * * +

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Ong-Bak, an ancient statue of Buddha is stolen from the village Nong Pradu. The villagers dispatch Muay Thai exponent Ting (Tony Jaa) to retrieve it from Bangkok. Predictably he starts to kick some serious ass, literary with no strings attached. Please be aware that if you sit through this spectacle, you will find it hard to appreciate any other martial art flick forever.

Rating: * * * +
PS: Rated purely for the quality of action.

The Shawshank Redemption

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins)  finds himself serving two life sentences for a crime of passion at the Shawshank prison. With nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it, Andy finds himself bonding with a fellow jail-mate, Red (Morgan Freeman), as he meanders his way around prison life. Corny as it sounds it is movie a movie about hope with just the right amount of melodrama. And with Mr. Freeman playing the narrator you will be left haunted forever by some of the dialog. 

The film which is based on a short story by Stephen King, is like fine wine. It seems to age very well and just keeps getting better with time.

Rating: * * * *

Friday, November 28, 2008

The Usual Suspects

The film starts with a police line up of the usual suspects for a hijacked truck. But this time lining up the usual suspects takes us on twisted journey that ends with a burning ship filled with dead bodies.

A movie that I have seen many times and have enjoyed it each time around. How can you not when it has golden dialogs like "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist". A film about which the less is said about the better.

Rating: * * * *

Monday, November 24, 2008

Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming's James Bond and he wants revenge. He is up to his usual tricks with women, fast cars and gadgets, but with a palpable lack of panache that used to be his signature. It sure looks likes the whole Bond franchise needs a makeover.

Rating: * +

Friday, November 21, 2008

This is England

Little Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is angry and depressed about his Dad's death in the Falkland War. The sting and rawness over his father's demise makes him easy prey for a gang of skin heads. Set in England during the 80s this brilliant film shows a side of Britain that rarely flashes across the screen and Shane Meadows might be a director worth paying attention to.

Rating: * * *

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Scrap Heaven

Shingo (Ryo Kase) is a cop who feels that he is a waste of space, thanks to his failure to stop a bus hijacking. But all that changes when he meets Tetsu (JĆ“ Odagiri), a professional bathroom cleaner, who was shot during the hijack. The duo floats a revenge for hire startup and unleashes a pocketful of chaos. Chiaki Kuriyama of Kill Bill fame also makes an appearance in this film which has the echoes of Fight Club rippling through.

Rating: * * +

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sunshine

50 years into the future and mankind has forgotten the warmth of the sun. Eight astronauts are sent out to the center of the sun with a payload to reignite it. As they near the star, as usual man's best laid plans start to splinter. And so does the crew. A film that could have made its way into the list of great sci-fi flicks but stops short in spite of the fine cast and crew.

Rating: * *

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Drama/Mex

Fernanda (Diana Garcia) finds herself being raped by her loser ex-boyfriend, Chano (Emilio ValdƩs), who had left her after stealing from her dad. She welcomes him back with open arms.

Jaime (Fernando Becerril) steals the payroll from from his office, walks into his boss's cube, spits on the desk and leaves. He heads out to do something far worse but runs into Tigrillo (Miriana Moro), a teen who is scamming tourists on the beach.

The film flits back and forth between the storylines in a vain hope of keeping the viewer engrossed.

Rating: * +

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Best Friend

Francois Coste (Daniel Auteuilis an art dealer and has spent all his life collecting antiques. Suddenly faced with a question of friendship he discovers that he is a blank slate. To make things worse his gallery partner (Julie Gayet) draws him into a bet to produce a best friend. So in the twilight of his middle age, Fracois sets out to learn how to make friends. His tutor is Bruno (Dany Boon), a good natured taxi driver whom he randomly runs into. As the clock ticks you find yourself sitting back and enjoying a melodramatic comedic tear jerker the French way.

Rating: * * +