The Brothers Bloom

There are con men and then there are these brothers, Bloom (Adrien Brody) and Stephen (Mark Ruffalo). Honing their skill since early childhood, the two crooks have taken the art of the con to the next level. Add the silent Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), mistress of all things boom, they are unstoppable. Bloom though has hit the end of his tether and wants some reality in his life. Like always there is that last con before retirement and they set their sites on an beautiful and eccentric millionairess (Rachel Weisz). By now I am sure you can guess what is to follow...

Rating: * *

Inception

It must have been the IPAs that I got through earlier in the evening that had me collapsing spontaneously into this latest Chris Nolan movie about dreams and dreams within dreams. It was a big struggle staying in the moment as I was being pulled deeper into the cold warmth of the theatre. With waves of the beery subconscious running through me, the plot helmed by the capable Di Caprio was taking form - the kind that a Chris Nolan can attempt to build and not many others. Dreams are as elusive a subject as any and here it was being manfully deconstructed & subsequently constructed by an A-Team with the sole focus of understanding and influencing life. Brilliant premise. However, through my brief phases of consciousness, I felt that the linkages, those that are critical to any strong plot, were destined to play second fiddle to the brilliance of the premise. It doesn't really matter, there are no alibis in dreams.

Rating: * *                                           

PS: Michael Caine is in the movie for all of 2 scenes. Ellen Page is irritating.

                                

The A-Team

Yawn! The fact that I could no longer enjoy this rehash of the infamous TV series of the same name must mean that I have grown up. Or maybe it was just a shit movie.

Rating: *

Predators

Robert Rodriguez's involvement and the presence of Alice Braga lured me to the latest offering from the Predator franchise. Couple of soldiers, a mercenary, a serial killer, a cartel enforcer, a yakuza and a doctor find themselves free falling on to a mysterious planet. There they are predictably stalked by... surprise, surprise, Predators! To make things worse the film has stolen large chunks from original. Definitely something Mr. Rodriguez should distance himself from.

Rating: * +

Still Walking

A family gathers to commemorate the death anniversary of the eldest son. The parents, a crabby couple, have lived in their family home for decades. Descending on them are their remaining son and daughter along with their family. As the day flows, the layers of family are slowly peeled away, revealing the complexities of an outwardly simple family. Hirokazu Koreeda has yet again expanded his range by attacking and conquering an Yasujiro Ozu like family drama.

Rating:  * * * +

California Dreamin'

Doiaru (Razvan Vasilescu) is a corrupt chief at a small Romania town's train station.  He refuses to let a NATO train, containing US soldiers and top secret cargo, through due to lack of "paper work". The villagers view the stranded soldiers as an opportunity and go all out to entertain them. The movie is based on true events that occurred during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Director Cristian Nemescu died soon after he made this film and it is a fitting requiem for a talent whose loss will be lamented.

Rating: * * *
PS: It has one of the best sex scenes I have ever seen in a movie.