Great Gatsby

Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, yet again makes it way to the screen. The old story is retold of young Nick Carraway's tryst with high society during a New York summer. The vehicle into this flamboyant party land is his mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is young, suave and sophisticated and Nick falls under his spell. But soon cracks appear as an obsession comes to light. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the lead role with a constant tinge of nervousness and hysteria that does quite match Gatsbys of the past. That takes a lot away from the film but if you are a connoisseur of the era like my partner is, the sets will not disappoint. According to her the film captures the spirit of the era very well. However sets can only take you so far.

Rating: * *

Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino tackles the spaghetti western with his usual dark twist by putting a black man as the main protagonist in the wild west. Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) is a German bounty hunter disguised as a dentist who buys a slave Django (Jamie Foxx) to help him identify three outlaws. In return he promises to teach him the trade and set him free. Django sweetens the pot by adding a request of freedom for his wife who suffers at the hands of an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). With that premise, Tarantino unleashes a whole lot of slick violence and blood in his signature style. For nothing else, this film needs to be watched for Samuel L. Jackson in the role of a nasty Uncle Tom. 

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.

                                

Revolutionary Road

A couple struggles with the emptiness and hopelessness of their suburban existence. They find a solution for it but life gets in their way. A film that reminded me of The Shawshank Redemption in that both features deal with people trying to be free. Except in Shawshank the prison walls are well defined and freedom lies yonder.

Rating: * * * +

The Double Bill

Infernal Affairs
Tony Leung is a police mole in the mafia. Andy Lau is a mafia mole in the police. Let the cat and mouse games begin. One of the tightest gangster flicks I have ever seen. Completely stripped of unnecessary melodrama. Even the love interests of the two characters are subtly portrayed. Just a few conversations here and there to get the message across. And Tony Leung rules!!! Every time I see him on screen he just blows. The man's acting is effortless.

Rating: * * *

The Departed
Why would someone like Martin Scorsese have to dig into the Asian pocket and adapt a film, I know not. Andy Lau's role is played by Matt Damon and Tony Leung's is taken over by (snicker snicker) Leanordo Di Caprio. In an attempt to give more background and depth to the characters, Scorsese has made the film more noisier without adding anything to it except of course the unnecessary love triangle. But I have to say that Jack Nicholson does get under your skin as the Mafioso don.

Rating: * *