Spirit

Raghunandan (Mohanlal) is a journalist and the host of a TV talk show called "Show the spirit". The spirit of his life though is alcohol. The film is a chronicle of his fatal addiction and the effect it has on his life and those around him. The first half of the movie is tightly scripted but as the film proceeds it tends to loosen. Coupled with the length of the film, you are left feeling a little drained at the end. But given the poor quality of Malayalam cinema this past decade, the movie does stand out with a fine performance from Mohanlal and the courage of Ranjith in attacking a tough topic.

Rating: * * +

Wanted

Wes Gibson (James McAvoy) is deeply embedded in a dead end life, snacking on anti-panic medication and living with a cheating partner. All this changes when a mysterious woman, Fox (Angelina Jolie), arrives and tells him his father was an assassin and his murderer is out to get Wes now. Wes ends up joining the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins and Timur Bekmambetov then takes you on a rollercoaster ride that Mark Millar detailed in the graphic novel of the same name. Enjoy the fun and believe in bullets that curve.

Rating: * * *

PS: It should be noted that one Ms. Sophiya Haque makes a brief cameo in the film.

Argo

Most people know the outcome of this political thriller that is set during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Maybe that was the reason the film fails to draw the viewer in, in spite of a good cast and fine script. Ben Affleck who in my book is a slightly underrated director continues to be crisp, but his choice of topic proves to be undoing. As Tony Mendez goes through the complicated setup to get the US diplomats out of Iran, you strain to get excited and become part of this caper only to be left only with the pain of straining.

Rating: * *

Ted

A falling star brings a teddy bear to life and young John (Mark Wahlberg) has a friend for life. Now as a young annoying adult, John continues to live with Ted much to the annoyance of his hot partner, Lori (Mila Kunis). Now most young men when presented a choice between a teddy bear and Ms. Kunis would not hesitate in shredding the toy to smithereens. But for the sake of comedy John secretly chooses Ted and we spend the rest of the movie trying to laugh in vain.

Rating: *

Insidious

The Lambert family moves in to a new home and is welcomed by their young son, Dalton, falling in to a coma. Months go by and the boy, now back home, continues to linger in the coma. This is when his younger siblings start to complain about him walking around at night and things take an "insidious" turn. The mother, Renai, is convinced that the house is haunted and forces her husband to move the family in to a new home. But the insidiousness continues leaving you with a horror flick that actually creeps you out for most parts.

Rating: * * +

Skyfall

The latest Bond film finds MI6 under attack and M all alone with her trusted 007 out in the cold. He is helped by a lone field agent Eve (Naomie Harris) as they pursue the mysterious Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem). For a change the film focuses a tad more on the characters, their flaws and tribulation instead of the usual stream of tech toys that 007 wields. Here he is more MacGuyver than his usual suave self which does come peeping out when he runs in to the stunning Bérénice Marlohe. But the actor who dominates is predictably Mr Bardem who adds a whole lot of color to the latest Bond villain. This definitely is one of the better Bond films in recent times.

Rating: * *

Disturbia

Kale (Shia LeBouf), a teenager is placed under house arrest after trying to assault a high school teacher. With an ankle monitor confining him to the premises, the boy starts to go stir crazy and cabin fever sets in. He starts spying on his neighbors and is convinced that one of them is a serial killer. Throw in a pretty blond and you have all the ingredients for a classic run of the mill American psycho thriller.

Rating: * +

Going by the Book

Sampo, a small South Korean town is assaulted by a spate of robberies. The new police chief decides to shake things up by performing a realistic drill of a bank robbery that will help train the police force in catching the real suspects. But he makes the mistake of picking Do-man, a straight laced cop, to play the role of the robber and hilarity ensues. Another classic comedy from the South Korean film industry.

Rating: * * *

Headhunters

A colleague strongly urged me to see the film mainly for Synnøve Macody Lund. She turned out to be hot in a Barby doll sort of way. The film however was a little lukewarm. Roger Brown is a headhunter by day and steals rare paintings by night. His partner Ove works for a security firm and deactivates the security system of prospective clients, allowing Roger to slip and make away with the goods. The appearance of Clas Grave (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his Rubens painting is when things start to get dark and bloody as Roger finds himself on the run. Based on a Jo Nesbø novel, it turns the meaning of a headhunter on its head to its more literal definition but fails to leave a lasting impression.

Rating: * *

Moonrise Kingdom

Like many Wes Anderson films, the premise is simple and set around a quirky family. Sam and Suzy, a couple of introverted teens meet during a church performance and become pen pals. Over the course of their correspondence, they fall in love and decide to run away to together. The setting for their elopement is during a Kakhi scouts camp that Sam is attending. The kids manage to flee but with the Kakhi scouts hot on their heels. What ensues is hilarity with stillness and deadpan seriousness. A film that is hard to describe but completely worth watching.

Rating: * * *

Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs (Glen Close) is a hard working waiter at a drab hotel in Dublin. Everyone loves the dedicated man and he keeps to himself with his room and dreams. The main reason for his introversion is that he is harboring a secret. Albert is actually a woman and the harsh 19th century Irish economy forces him to take up the role of a man. He is very comfortable in that role but of course society would not have that if it came to light. This is the setup for the film and what follows is the exploration of the question of gender in the face of society's insistence of it being binary in nature. 

Rating: * * *

The Master

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a World War II veteran, struggles with a post war world when he meets the enigmatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Dodd is the crack head leader of a new religion called "The Cause" and Quell falls under his thrall. Quell though sticks to his hard drinking and philandering ways and that forms the background of the film using it as a window in to the psyche of the cult. Brilliant performances all round that got all the main actors Oscar nominations. In spite of that and the well thought out script, the film fails to engage the way a film of this calibre is supposed to.

Rating: * * +

Aftershock

The film is set in the aftermath of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake that tore many families asunder. A young mother, Li Yuanni sees her husband getting crushed when trying to save their twins. Li is soon faced with a Sophie's choice and like a good Chinese mother picks the boy. The girl miraculously survives and is adopted by a military couple. The movie revolves around the parallel lives of the twins in great melodramatic detail and ended up grossing over US $100 million at the Chinese box office. It is worth a watch if you love films that tugs at your heart strings in the most cloying fashion. 

Rating: * *

Caterpillar

Lieutenant Kurakowa returns home from the Sino-Japanese war as a decorated war hero. He is literally a husk of his former self with his limbs torn off and no auditory perception. But that does not stop him from abusing his wife who in turns feels duty bound to take care of his needs. A disturbing film that examines the effect of Japanese wars on both the soldiers and their families.

Rating: * * +

The Dark Knight Rises

Gotham finds itself fairly free of crime in the aftermath of the Harvey Dent's death and the Dent act. Batman seems to have disappeared in to the twilight and Bruce Wayne has turned hermit. With a sinking Wayne Enterprise and a guilt filled Commissioner Gordon, Gotham seems ripe for the picking again. Enter the mysterious Bane. But then there is always Batman. There are hints of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in the makeup of the film, however the majority of the plot seems to be from Knightfall. Christopher Nolan has also thrown in some hits against Occupy Wall Street though that could be a matter of interpretation. In spite of that the movie turns to be an excellent final piece in Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Rating: * * *

Shob Charitro Kalponic

The film swirls around a poet, Indranil and his attractive wife, Radhika (Bipasha Basu). Indranil is reckless while being a genius and Radhika is constantly picking up the pieces of their life behind him. His recklessness drives her in to the arms of her colleague and thoughts of divorce enters her mind. But the sudden death of Indranil takes the decision out of her hand. She soon starts re-discovering her relationship with her husband when a publisher asks her to finish one of his works. There are fantastic performances all around including Ms.  Basu for a change. But the standout is Sohag Sen as the maid, Nador Ma who stands like a rock next to Radhika. Another masterpiece from Rituparno Gosh.

Rating: * * +

Shrink

Dr. Carter, a psychiatrist played by Kevin Spacey (who always does well with roles involving marijuana smoking) wanders the film in a depressed stoned haze treating his Hollywood patients with compassion. Other than that all I can recall about the movie is the main character's refusal to sleep in his bedroom and something about a screen play. 

Rating: * *

Rabbit Hole

A couple's grief for the loss of their four year old son is splashed across the screen. Becca (Nicole Kidman) wants to move on while Howie (Aaron Eckhart) clings on to every bit of their son's past. This coupled with Howie's desire for another child slowly builds an invisible wall between them. The movie is a dispassionate look at the creation of the wall as supporting characters show up and cement the bricks that pile up. 

Rating: * * +

Prometheus

A group of humans and an android find themselves on a remote moon after discovery of a star map that promises to answer the human origin question. Predictably the crew find themselves treading murky waters and to their "surprise", alien creatures. The plot tries to go philosophical with Noomi Rapace's character's questions about faith and God interwoven in to the quest for the answer to human creation. However the prequel to the Alien franchise goes beyond its ken and tries to answer questions it has no business or need to ask. But the film is gorgeous to look at and that alone makes it worth a trip to the cinemas.

Rating: * *

Vicky Donor

 

Made the exit at half time, after a long time. Surprised that they still have intermissions. 

Rating: *

Zindagi Na Milega Dobara

Reminded me of one Jacob Koshy in Bandra (ran an audio store somewhere on Waterfield road) who when asked what he thought of Yamaha amplifiers by a friend of mine replied, "I'll piss on it. Piss on it". Thats what I would say about this mega shit.

Rating : *

Blue Valentine

 

6 years is a long time for any relationship and much can change. Blue Valentine is a study on precisely this - how shit things can get between 2 individuals who were ore in love in the beginning. Director Derek Cianfrance, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams all put in spectacular effort to get you close to the shit and feel just as suffocated as the characters themselves. 

Rating : * * *

Uncle Boonmee who can recall his past lives

Nek (aka ex-political reporter K Kuppuswamy) pointed me to this rather honest take on this Uncle Boonmee film : "If you like films in which a princess with a skin disorder is ravished by a catfish under a waterfall, a buffalo goes for a walk in the forest, and a Buddhist monk watches the television for a very long time, this is for you." All of which really takes place + the character from the poster, who is dead, but comes along every night and hangs out with his mother at a rather dark dinner table.

Well, Kogi this film is not for you. And I see you are quite familiar with this said director.

I suppose it is quite normal to scratch your armpits after the experience. But I must say there is something about that Thai country side that is quite aptly captured by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. All those trees, the rather peaceful people that populate the areas and the simple yet fantastic food they eat - all captured in the mystic fashion that encapsulates Thai people and countryside.

Rating: * * +

Being Flynn

I felt this whole pressure being lifted as I walked out the cinema. Of wondering if they actually do show good shit in the theatres these days. All I knew about 'Being Flynn' were the 2 solid actors in it - Robert De Niro and Paul Dano. Rememeber that I was quite impressed by the latter in his turn as an evangelical priest who had then matched Daniel Day Lewis every inch of the way. 

Being Flynn is a story of a father and son who eventually meet each other in unforseen and unfortunate circumstances. The elder, played quite brilliantly by Robert De Niro, maniacally trying to understand the legacy he is going to leave behind in this world where he finds himself isolated. While the son engaged in trying to understand the legacy that he inherited - from a dead mother and an invisible father. "We're all works in progress" -a lofty idea to be deconstructed over 90 minutes, but a fine film.

Rating : * * *

The Avengers

The refrain of "Avengers Assemble" was echoing out of this film as Marvel, after years of setup with Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Captain America, bring their iconic team on to the big screen. Technically the film should have been called The Ultimates with Joss Whedon liberally borrowing from the Marvel reboot of their Avengers franchise. Loki is up to mischief again as he steals The Tesseract (go see Thor) in return for an alien army from the mysterious Other to subjugate Earth. The story does not get deeper than that as the film focuses on the formation of The Avengers and the ensuing carnage against the invading alien force. Granted the plot could have been made complex if Whedon borrowed a tad more from the graphic novels. But sometimes action that causes enough adrenaline to pump is good enough excuse for enjoyment.

Rating: * * *

Kick-Ass

Mark Millar's epic graphic novel graces the screens bringing to colorful life the morbid story of high school loser, Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who decides to become a super hero with disastrous results. I.E. until he meets the crazy father-daughter duo, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz). Their mission is to bring down the evil drug lord Frank D'Amico. Throw in is some teenage romance, carnage, violence and you have a way to escape your sorry life for a couple of hours.

Rating: * * *

War of the Arrows

When a friend claimed the movie was the highest rated on Netflix, it seemed like a no brainer to watch it in spite of dark forebodings in my mind. Set in Korea at the onset of the second Manchu invasion, the film centers around a brother - sister pair. The brother is a master archer and when the Manchurian army kidnaps his sister on her wedding day, he sets off in pursuit taking them off one at a time. There is not much else to say about the film which has high production quality but it does not help overcome the poor story line and screenplay of the film. The moral is to never trust Netflix rating and recommendations of a certain friend.

Rating: *

Sleeping Sickness

The film opens with a family in throes of moving from an African country back to Europe. For bizzarre reasons, the father, Ebbo Velten (Pierre Bokma) remains behind to continue to help with the sleeping sickness malady that has hit very few patients but is well funded by the WHO. Flash forward a few years and the scene is a WHO inspector looking for Velten to discover the current status of the project. Throw in a few allegorical images about wildlife and you are left with a murky film that seemed to have a grip on the audience only to lose it thanks to the director's laziness.

Rating: * +

The Hunger Games

The Suzanne Collins bestseller makes its way to the big screen with much fanfare and a close following from teenagers and adults alike. Set in a murky future where a nation is split in to Districts and ruled by the fist from the Capitol. To show its power, the Capitol picks two young ones from every district and have them to duke it out to the death on live television a la Battle Royal style. The only difference in the year in question is that a young girl, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers in stead of her younger sister. She travels to the Capitol to take part in the bloodbath along with her male counterpart, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) leading to a much predictable climax leaving open a call to revolution against the Capitol. If only Ms. Collins had left out soon to form romantic triangle there might have been some hope for this trilogy. However the only good thing that might come out from the film is a propensity for some teenage girls to emulate Katniss and not some lame ass Disney princess!

Rating: * +

Delhi in a Day

Jasper (Lee Williams) floats in to a upper class uber rich home of his father's friend in the capital of India. Apart from the family, welcoming him are the "chottus" and the household staff that keep the place humming. Attraction and sparks fly between the firang and the lady help, Rohini (Anjali Patil), though it is a one way street for the foreigner. In midst of the attraction, sight seeing and the preparation for a party, Jasper's money goes missing much to the chagrin of the host. The servants are put on notice to replace the money within a day. Here lies the crux of the movie as first time director Prashant Nair tries to expose the difference in socioeconomic conditions of the two classes of people living under the same roof. But strangely what it actually brings to the forefront is whether happiness or contentment can be met by the less affluent. 

Rating: * * +

11 Flowers

The film is set in 1975 at a rural Chinese village with the Cultural Revolution serving as the backdrop. The focus is on a group children blossoming out of adolescence. Given the trying political climate one would think the kids would have a different set of problems.  Strange enough the issues they face are the regular ones. New clothes, trying friendships and of course a bit of a murder mystery swirling around the forming minds. Throw in some sexual awakening and you have a lovely coming of age tale that shows children growing up anywhere are similar at a base level.

Rating: * * * +

My Wedding and Other Secrets

Emily (Michelle Ang), a dorky New Zealand born Chinese undergrad, finds James (Matt Whelan) the love of her dreams while doing some bad foil fencing. The only problem is that James has not a drop of Chinese blood in him which is a criteria for acceptance in to Emily's straight laced Chinese family. The solution that seems logical to the couple is to get married in secret and hide it from the parents. You are then treated ninety minutes of whining as they figure out a way for a white man to gain acceptance in to a Chinese family. And no, learning kung-fu is not an option. That might have actually made the film a bit more funny instead of this trite affair that passes off as romance.

Rating: *

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

The film gently starts with a group of men wandering around the beautiful rural countryside near an Anatolian town. The group consists of a few cops, a prosecutor, a doctor and a murderer.  The object of the wandering is to discover the whereabouts of a body that the murderer promises to show. Except the suspect is a bit confused about the exact location. Slowly the ebbs and tides of the case are revealed over the course of the night in the usual unhurried style of Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Very little is spelled out for the viewer as you are forced to pay attention to the subtle nuances in the tale. At the end you are left with a rich canvas to ponder over drinks with like minded viewers.

Rating: * * * +

Underworld: Awakening

The films takes off months after end of Evolution. The humans are fighting back after capturing Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and systematically going about purging vampires and lycans. The lycans are extinct and the vampires are on the brink. But Selene escapes with the help of a mysterious young girl and things start to go bump in the night. Like its predecessors, the movie is perfect when the mood calls for ass kicking by a woman in leather tights. There is a very little complications as far as the plot goes but just enough to keep you engaged in between the action sequences.

Rating: * *

Paleri Manikyam

Based on the first recorded murder case in Kerala, comes a film starring Mammooty that tries to evoke his days as super sleuth in the CBI Diary Kurippu series. Here though he is just a private eye who returns to his native village of Paleri and tries to recreate the mysterious circumstances of the death of the sultry Manikyam (Mythili) fifty two years after the event. Using some nifty film making techniques, director Renjith splices the present day Mamooty in to the past to act as a guide to the events. Research and a heavy dose of intuition are the weapons used to unravel this mystery. The production quality is high and the cinematography is breath taking making this a slick well thought out film though the dose of intuition could have been curtailed.

Rating: * * +

Meesa Madhavan

In the spirit of Kayamkulam Kochunni comes a comedy starring Dilip about a benevolent small town thief. Well loved by the town folk and only viewed as a minor irritant, his only enemy is the stingy moneylender Bhageerathan Pillai (Jagathi). The film basically follows the hilarious cat and mouse game between the two as they try to one up each other. Weak on the story line but the comedy is stellar. However it is not a throw back to the classic Malayalam comedies from the 80s and 90s but it at least attempts to go back to that era.

Rating: * * + 

In the Land of Blood and Honey

The movie starts gently with a man and a woman flirting on the dance floor. Their tryst is rudely interrupted by an explosion that the director cleverly uses to mark the intrusion of the Bosnian war into lives of the common folk. Next time the couple meet, Ajla (Zana Marjanovic) and Danijel (Goran Kostic) find themselves at the opposite sides of the ethnic conflict. Ajla being Muslim Bosnian is held captive by the Serbs and as coincidence or fate would have it, the commanding officer of the unit is Danijel. The laws of attraction paying scant attention to ethnicity, rears it heads as the two plunge down the illicit relationship road that turns darker as the movie flows. The story line is not original as the scenario has been visited before in Earth: 1947 and Lust, Caution. However nothing should be taken away from Angelina Jolie given that it is her debut as a director. She just needs to work on getting stillness right.

Rating: * * *

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Smiley’s world beckoned and I shuddered. After an extended tryst with Sir Alec I was not sure if this world needed to be explored again through different lenses. I am glad I did. Gary Oldman plays Smiley with hint of Sir Alec and John Hurt takes on the mantle of Control. Benedict Cumberbatch effortlessly slips out of his Sherlock persona and in to the shoes of Peter Guillam as the hunt for the mole within the Circus (Britain’s MI6) is kicked off.

Comparisons with the BBC mini series is inevitable though hardly any movie reviews mention it. The BBC series gives the viewer time to dwell in this world and take in the events at a more leisurely pace. The film interestingly recreates the atmosphere much better as you find yourself transported to the Cold War era. The film packs in events and you are held tautly as you follow Smiley’s machinations to discover the mole.  

Rating: * * * +

Up in the Air

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) lives out of a suitcase as he travels the road firing people for a living and loves every moment of it. Part and parcel of this kind of lifestyle is a loneliness that he cherishes. A man who truly touches no one and no one touches him. Then Alex (Vera Farmiga) enters his life and everything harkens back to that quote from Into the Wild. “Happiness only real when shared”

Rating: * * *

Life Without Principle

Johnnie To takes a slight break from his typically mafia dramas and bases this film on the ongoing financial crisis. The film is split in to three intertwining strands… a bank teller turned financial advisor is forced to dump high risk mutual funds on unsuspecting clients to make her sale numbers. Panther, a small time crook, played with aplomb by Ching Wan Lau is running around trying to raise money to bail out his blood brother. A young police officer finds new demands on him as his wife wants to buy an expensive high rise apartment. The incident tying the threads together is the assault on a loan shark who was walking around with $10 million. Brilliantly directed by To as he moves the threads forward and back while slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Rating: * * *