Doubt

“Picket Fences”, from the early 90s, is easily one of the best TV series that I have come across. And its core strength was to repeatedly come up with 2 convincing sides to a controversial situation, leaving the viewer to make his own decision on which side he belongs. I think that's what the writer/director of ‘Doubt’ attempts to achieve – Is it true beyond reasonable doubt that Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character is guilty of the crime alleged by The Sisters? But the director/writer focuses solely on actor performances to convey the heavy guilt like feeling that Doubt creates – but failing in the overall objective as the plot lacks solidity. The performances were quite good overall – Hoffman was solid and reinforces his position amongst the best around.

Rating: * * +

Diminished Capacity

This was meant to be one of those depressing-yet funny-but soul stirring movies. Mathew Broderick takes a break from work as he comes to terms with a failing mind & memory. Goes back home - gets involved with family members who have their own issues - theres a baseball card which can bring millions and also the family together. But nothing really happened for me, and it all kind of faded away.

Rating: * +

Smiley Face

A film about a girl (Anna Faris) who tries to get through her day baked out of her mind after consuming a batch of pot cupcakes. I guess one needs to be intoxicated in some form to even vaguely find this film amusing.

Rating: * *

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

The Shinsengumi were a militia that formed during the Meiji era who were fiercely loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Their main charter was to keep the peace in Kyoto. The film concentrates primarily on two characters. Saitō Hajime (Koichi Sato) was one of the kenjutsu senseis in the group and figures prominently in its history. Yoshimura Kanichiro (Kiichi Nakai) is a relatively unknown member but is the main protagonist the film. Through the tumultuous inter-personal relationship between the two men, the movie shows a slice of the Shinsengumu during its peak and decline. A decent enough flick though it tends to drag at certain points.

Rating: * * +

Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha

Most Mallus are familiar with the tale of the cousins Chandu (Mammootty) and Aaromal Chekavar (Suresh Gopi) who are famous warriors from North Kerala. Legend says that Chandu jealous of Aaromal skill and wealth, betrayed him as a second, in a fight where he had metal rivets in a sword replaced with wooden ones. M.T. Vasudevan Nair, the genius he is, took this premise and turned it on its head. He potrays Chandu as a misunderstood soul who had life itself conspiring against him.

Mamootty dominates the movie with his brilliant portrayal of Chandu which won him a National Award. Madhavi is stunning as Unniyarcha. But it is Captain Raju as "Aana mayaki" Aringodar who in my opinion that steals the show.  So if you can ignore the poorly choreographed Kalarippayattu sequences, you are in for a epic masterpiece.

Rating: * * * *

Manichitrathazhu

Newly weds Nakulan (Suresh Gopi) and Ganga (Shobana) arrive at their ancestral tharavad to live there for a few months. A legend surrounds the house that a spirit of a young dancer who was brutally murdered centuries ago, haunts it. Rumor is that her spirit is contained in part of a house that is no longer opened. Paying scant attention to the pleas of their relatives, the young honeymooners throw open the doors. Soon things start to go bump in the night and people suspect that the dancer's spirit has possessed someone in the household. In exasperation Nakulan persuades his psychiatrist friend Dr. Sunny (Mohanlal) to come down and put an end to all the nonsense. A rare thriller infused with graceful comedy that won critical acclaim and box success in 1993, holds it ground even today.

Rating: * * *

Mr. Brooks

A serial killer murder mystery where the protagonist (Kevin Costner) is the killer - a fact known from the outset. A successful business man, Kevin Costner has his evil alter ego (William Hurt) goading him on. Then theres Demi Moore, playing the detective, with a few complications in her life. Perfect script, I believe, for a Bollywood remake - average performances, adequate twists & turns and many layers to fool with. An appropriate watch if one is in the mood for a mindless crime thriller - a throwback to the 90s.

Rating: * *

Cloverfield

Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla on a nasty night in NYC. Told from the perspective of a few young nothings as they come face to face with a Godzilla type monster that throws Manhattan into complete chaos. Mildly entertaining; but does not draw you in any serious way.

Rating: * *

Revolver

Jake (Jason Statham) gets out after seven years in the slammer with a thirst for revenge against the man (Ray Liotta) who double crossed him. But he soon finds the plot for vengeance out of his hands and being led around by a couple of shady characters (Vincent Pastore and André Benjamin). The film starts off like another Guy Ritchie classic but it soon splutters into a bloody mess. The Guy Ritchie trademark slickness is still there but the plot is like a chutney of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Usual Suspects and Fight Club. Certain chemicals should never be mixed...

Rating: * +

The Girl in the park

Sigourney Weaver manages to lose her daughter in Central Park and with that all meaning in life. So when a random girl approaches her for some money in a coffee shop, she begins to hope. Very credible performances all around. And, personally, a good refresher course on the various sites of NYC.

Rating: * * +

The Band's Visit

The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra from Egypt arrive in Israel to play at the opening of a Arab cultural center in an obscure town called Petah Tiqva. But instead they land up in Beit Hatikva and are stranded overnight. The local restaurant owner takes pity on them and takes them in for the night in an unwarranted show of hospitality. The film is a tad saccahrine but the streak of melancholy running throught it balances things out.

Rating: * * *

Watchmen

The year is 1985 and the US government have outlawed masked crime fighters. Most of them retired and the one with real super powers, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) is working for the government. Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) is the only one who still walks the streets, handing out his own brand of justice. When a retired masked-man, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), is found murdered, Rorschach suspects a plot against the masked heroes. As he goes around, tapping the retired ones they awaken from their slumber to something that could that could threathen the very fabric of world's precarious balance.

Watchmen is arguably one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. Scripted by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons, the breadth and width of it complexity is mind blowing. The news that it was making its way to the big screen was met with trepidation from most of its fans. Alan Moore, disappointed with how his others books were treated, decided to distance himself from the film. But after watching the film, I think Zack Snyder has done best possible job anyone could do with this multi-layered epic. And hats off to Jackie Earle Haley for bringing the eerie Rorschach to life.

Rating: * * *

Noise

Disturbed by the car alarms that go off in the middle of the night, David Owen (Tim Robbins) takes on the rogue alarms & its owners putting his life (wife & job) at risk. An interesting premise at the outset, but it runs out of fuel 3/4ths into the film.

Rating: * *

I'm Not There

The many phases of a certain folk singer born, Robert Allen Zimmerman, are splashed across the scene with each showing a different side of the mercurial singer and poet. Some a direct slice out of his life while others are glimpses of his alter-egos. The fact that these glimpses and slices are brought to life by Christian Bale, Richard Gere and Heath Ledger just makes it extra special. To top it all Cate Blanchett comes on and adds something bloody magical to the proceedings. The film rambles on with a kind of meandering narrative that fits like a glove for a Dylan biography. Never has his life been presented so craftily on any medium. A must watch for all Dylan fans.

Rating: * * *

Sex and the city

Apparently its got a lot going for a lot of people - fashion, marriage & shoes. And of course, break ups, getting back together moments & funny moments. It did not register at my end and makes me now think why did one bother at all - must have been the long flight. Even then.

Rating: * +

The Home Song Stories

A well made family drama by Chinese born Australian director Tony Ayres - apparently inspired by his own story. Joan Chen performs brilliantly as Rose the slightly neurotic mother of 2 - a Shanghai nightclub singer/hostess who seems to be more keen on living the fast life rather than rearing her 2 young children. The family relocates to Australia after accepting a marriage proposal from a faceless Australian sailor. Doesnt take much for Rose to head out looking for more. Told from the perspective of the young boy, The Home Song Stories is a moving tale of a mother who shouldn't have been.

Rating: * * *

Southland Tales

An apocalyptic post-911 world is presented in this film. Nuclear bombs have been set off in the US and World War III is in full swing. The country is mired in paranoia and is on the brink of implosion. One man, Boxer Santaros (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) has a vision of the coming apocalypse. The answer to stopping it might lie in the screenplay he wrote with a porn star (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Sounds quirky and interesting, doesn't it? But when it is translated onto the screen through the American satire sieve it loses all it coolness.

Rating: +

The Offence

Arguably, Sean Connery's finest performance ever - which was a surprise really, considering I hadn't heard of the movie. The film begins with an eerie scene of a child being rescued by Sean Connery & his police colleagues in a cold London suburb. At the outset one does figure that Connery - a heavy drinking, hot headed detective (Johnson) - would be the kind to track down the paedophile and tear his guts out. But the plot then sidesteps the viewer and violently turns inward into the tortured psyche of Detective Johnson. Easily the best of Sidney Lumet that I have seen thus far. Brilliant.

Rating: * * * +

In the Valley of Elah

Another thought provoking movie from Paul Haggis, the director of Crash. Just as Tommy Lee Jones (an ex-army investigator) & Susan Sarandon are recovering from the death of their first son, they learn about the disappearance of their younger son who has just returned from the war in Iraq. TLJ wades into the mystery as he suspects that things are not as simple as its made out to be - little realising what the truth would really be like. The writer/director has quite lofty intentions in helping viewers confront the truth of today's world. However just as in Crash, found the slickness of the output a bit jarring on the senses. Enjoyed it nevertheless - due to the steely performance of TLJ (& rest of the cast) possibly.

Rating: * * *

Holly

Anyone who has been to South East Asia can attest to the fact of being besieged on all sides by young kids selling wares of various kinds. Soon you learn not to make eye contact and keep walking. The film is about Patrick (Ron Livingston) who fails to do so and looks into the eyes of young Holly (Thuy Nguyen). Soon he finds himself wandering around in the sick underbelly of child prostitution that is rampant in Cambodia. A scenario where a happy ending is hard to find...

Rating: * * +

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Hank (Ethan Hawke) and Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) think they have a safe and simple heist at hand . The plan is to rob their parent's jewellery store at a strip mall. But when it goes horribly wrong, the lives of the brothers start to unravel. Not that it was going well in the first place. Andy's wife Gina, played with aplomb by Marisa Tomei, is sleeping with Hank. That only adds to gut wrench that this film directed by Sidney Lumet induces. A very tight crime drama that completely hides the fact that Lumet was 82 when he directed it.

Rating: * * +

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Zia (Patrick Fugit) offs himself after his girlfriend breaks up with him. Unfortunately he finds himself in the afterlife for suicide victims. A place very much like New Jersey except shittier. As he starts to sink into depression again, the only thing stopping him from killing himself is the fear of going somewhere even worse. But a ray of light enters his life of endless depression when he hears that his ex has showed up. So he heads out on a road trip with his Russian buddy Eugene (Shea Whigham) to look for her and a better afterlife. Let this film stand as warning to all those who want to commit suicide!

Rating: *

Khadak

A magic realism tale set in contemporary Mongolia has a young shepherd Bagi (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa) at its center. Supposed to posses powers bequeath to him by his ancestors, he finds them manifesting itself even stronger in the mining village his family is uprooted to from their rural yurt. A lot of this is thanks to a beautiful coal thief (Tsetsegee Byamba) whom he literally finds buried like a diamond in a coal heap. A mythical story that is so abstract that I found it hard to keep my mind from wandering.

Rating: * +

Ore Kadal

Every person is an island in some ways. The amount of water surrounding the land mass is what makes an individual. Swimming in a sea of poverty and despair, housewife Deepthi (Meera Jasmine) finds herself drawn to an isolated man, Nathan (Mammootty), who knows not how to love. The question she is faced with is if one can swim to all islands or are there some that always appear on the horizon.

The film based on Sunil Gangopadhyay’s novel, "Heerak Deepthi" has Shyamaprasad behind the lens. The man in my opinion is one of the few remaining shining lights in the Kerala film industry. Though it does help to have a brilliant cast and outstanding script but it takes a genius to make it all come together seamlessly.

Rating: * * * *