Ong Bak 2: The Beginning

Tony Jaa stars and directs in this martial flick that takes you to 15th century  Thailand and the beginning of only God know what. The story is built around Tien (Tony Jaa), a prince who is brought up by outlaws under dubious circumstances who then proceeds to kick a lot of ass after years of outlaw martial art tutelage. But unlike Ong Bak, Jaa goes out of the way to create a plot to fit his mind boggling stunts. The results is  a storyline that is shoe horned in that slides off like mud on a sweaty fighter. Jaa should focus on the ass kicking and leave the rest to someone else.

Rating: *

Perfect Blue

Mima, a prototypically cute pop idol throws her clean image away when she transforms herself in to an actress who shows more than a bit of leg. This leaves many of her fans unhappy. Apparently one is so sad that he or she turns to murder as Mima finds people around being brutally murdered. A taunt thriller that does what thrillers are supposed to do... keep you guessing until the end.

Rating: * * +

Delhi 6

Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) comes to India accompanying his grandmother (Waheeda Rehman) who wants spend her last days in the Chandini Chowk district, where her life began. The magical Old Delhi area is show in its full pomp. Soon the very hot and bubbly Bittu (Sonam Kapoor) enters the scene and love is in the air. But what should have been a decent and immensely watchable commercial flick is turned in to garbage by the intrusion of the Kala Bandar. On its heels comes communal strife and the film starts to wander around without an anchor. Even the strong supporting cast led by Om Puri cannot save the day for this move that ends up in no mans land between a political drama and a love story.

Rating: * +

Departures

Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) moves back to his home town after a failed cello career in an orchestra. The job that jumps out and grabs him is one to be a tour guide for the dead. A profession that exists but one that we rarely think about; to prepare the dead for the final journey. He finds himself inexplicably drawn in to the bizarre job much to the chagrin of his wife and friends. There is a also the parallel drama of Daigo's his non existent relationship with his father who abandoned him as a child. A film about death that deals with the rediscovery of what life is all about.

Rating: * * *

24 City

A quasi-documentary about the closing down of Factory 420 in Chengdu, China to make way for 24 City, a multi rise apartment complex. The concept of the documentary is similar to Radiant City. Actors play the roles of the victims in  a series of interviews that are eerily lifelike. There is of course the argument that the "story" could have been told with "real" people. The bottom line is that the effect would have been the same. In my opinion going the route of a drama on a documentary road added to the film rather than negating any substance.

Rating: * * +

Che

The revolutionary life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara is brought to life on the screen by none other than Steven Soderbergh. A four hour epic that delves initially in to Che's role in the Cuban revolution and follows it up with his failed stint at inciting revolt in Bolivia. At the center of it all is Che with his steadfast vision of harmony for the common man. Soderbergh has done us all a favor by not glorifying the socialist icon but rather just showing him as he must have been. Kind and just in dealing with people and his troops albeit with a streak of ruthlessness that is required of a leader of his stature. The director's task has also been made a tad easier by the unnerving portrait of the character by Benicio Del Toro. Even scarier is the way Demián Bichir has brought Fidel Castro to the screen. A film that will give you a window of understanding as to why Che is revered in Cuba and the world over.

Rating: * * *

Extract

A potpourri of interesting characters are thrown together in the vain hope of making a comedy for the ages. Joel (Jason Bateman) runs an extract factory while dealing with a sexless marriage and employee suing for damages to his balls. His buddy Dean (Ben Affleck) convinces him over some horse tranquilizers that the best plan to relax is to hire a gigolo to have sex with his wife (Kristen Wiig) so that Joel can have a guilt free romp in the sack with a hot factory worker (Mila Kunis). A pathetic attempt by Mike Judge to recreate his glory days that ended with Office Space.

Rating: *

Dosar

Kaushik (Prasenjit Chatterjee) and Mita (Chandrayee Ghosh) dilly dally over breakfast before a ride back from a vacation. In spite of the frustration and irritation in their interaction there is a strong undercurrent of love. The sequence culminates in a horrific accident and setups the rest of the film. Kaushik's wife Kaberi (Konkona Sen Sharma) discovers his infidelity in the aftermath of the accident. Torn between anger over his actions and her husband's need for care, she soldiers on, anger being the only emotion she betrays. Rather than just focusing solely on the couple and their situation, the director introduces friends of Kaberi who are also in an extra-marital relationship. Shot entirely in black and white, centers around pain but with a subtlety that makes it immensely watchable. Only few directors like Rituparno Ghosh could make such a tragedy interesting instead of depressing.

Rating: * * * +

Mad Detective

Calling Detective Bun (Ching Wan Lau) mad is an understatement. He is borderline psychotic with a mysterious second sight and deadly intuition that finds him solving hard to crack cases. But his antics soon escorts him out of the force with an early retirement. Years later he is called back by a rookie detective, Ho (Andy On), to help with a disappearance of another detective. And then you are treated the complete spectrum of Bun's insanity. An enjoyable albeit violent crime thriller that begs to be made in to a TV series.

Rating: * * *

Thazhvaram

A lone man, Balan (Mohanlal) makes his way to a isolated hillside town. It is evident that he is out for revenge but his intent is a little hesitant and reason quite obvious. There is very little else to mention about the film. A very simple story but its in the telling that makes you want to forget the world and lose yourself in this movie. Having a very hot Sumalatha gracing every frame also helps. A film made during the heyday of Bharathan, M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Mohanlal.

Rating: * * *

Kodiyettam

Sankarankutty (Gopi) is a simpleton who takes great joy in the simple pleasures of life. He loves a home cooked meal, some toddy to wash it down with and then loaf around the temple festivals listening to the panjavadyam played there. But with this nature also comes a shirking of all responsibilities that a grown man is supposed to carry. Abandoning all relationships that seek to tie him down, he wanders the countryside until he starts working as a cleaner in a truck service. Thanks to the bus driver he starts to see things in a different light. Immersing himself in this role, the film also gave its lead his nick name which he was unable to shake to the day he passed on. The second venture from Adoor Gopalakrishnan, unfolds at a idyllic pace. In spite of its commercial success, it is in many ways just a precursor of the wonderful films to come from the maestro.

Rating: * *

Gomorrah

Italian mafioso brings to mind the magical world of Godfather where you were rooting for the gangsters and their twisted sense of honor. Matteo Garrone destroys that fantasy by focusing his lens on Camorra, the oldest crime syndicate running amok in Campania, Italy. 

To show their multi pronged reach, Garrone enlists a plethora of characters. Toto, a grocery delivery boy running errands for his mother in a crumbling housing project. Don Ciro, the money runner, delivering hard cash to the family of mob members in prison. A tailor who gives illegal classes to workers in a Chinese sweat shop. The college graduate who works for a corrupt business man involved in illegal waste disposal. And to top it off, a couple of cocky wannabe Scarfaces!

In every storyline Garrone slides the mafiosa in and by not making them the prime focus, the effect is quadruple. The haphazard editing forces the viewer to concentrate and it only increases the power of the film's delivery. But its most important feature is that of stripping the gangsters of all their glamor and glorification. They are shown in their basest form, paranoid, violent and sans any honor or humanity. Some might be annoyed that the storylines having no connection. But there in really lies the master class of Garrone as he shows us the infiltration depth of the mafia in daily life in Naples.

Rating: * * * +

Ballast

The film welcomes you with dual suicides. One successful and the other a failure. Unable to face life without his brother, Lawrence tries to take his own. The "failure" to do so leaves him the store he and his sibling ran plus the aggressive ex-family of his brother. The wife is openly hostile towards him and the teenage son bizarrely robs him at gun point. The bottom line is a family struggling to deal with the aftermath of a suicide while mired in borderline poverty. In many ways it is a brilliant film but it sucks in the viewer so strongly that you come out despondent and depressed.

Rating: * +

The Limits of Control

A shadowy man (Isaach De Bankolé) wanders around Europe drinking two cups of espresso (not a double) and exchanging match boxes for mysterious reasons. A myriad of interesting characters venture on to the screen in quirky settings, muttering profound dialogs. Unfortunately the purpose of this endeavor is elusive and you are left lamenting the misuse and wastage of the assembled talent.

Rating: *

Lemon Tree

Salma Zidane leads a simple albeit poor existence tending a lemon grove on the Israeli-Palestine border.  When the Israeli defense minister moves in as her neighbor, she receives an Israeli government order stating that the lemon grove has to be wiped out due to security concerns. Most Palestinians would say this is par for the course when living on the border. But for Salma the grove is much more than just her livelihood. The memory of her father and husband are buried in the soil. So she decides to take the might of Israel to court. 

The decision opens up the film to many dimensions. The juxtaposition of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. The bullying nature of Israel. The treatment of women in Palestine. The rocky marriage of the minister aptly named, Israel Navon and Mira, his wife. The silent relationship between Salma and Mira (Rona Lipaz-Michael). But the most interesting dimension is the quiet romance between Salma and her young lawyer, Said (Ali Suliman). And through all this Salma, played beautifully by Hiam Abbass, carriers herself with quiet dignity. All in all, director Eran Riklis has crafted a masterpiece.

Rating: * * * *