G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

A movie that feels like a video game that you have no control over. It made me wonder why I clamored for G. I. Joe toys when growing up. Sigh... childhood.

Rating: * +

The Country Teacher

Peter (Pavel Liska) quits his prep school post and drifts towards the countryside to teach at a small school there. He soon befriends Maria (Zuzana Bydzovská) and her young son (Ladislav Sedivý). But when Peter's boyfriend shows up from Prague, complications follow. A film that calmly portrays that everybody always needs someone.

Rating: * * +

Silent Light

A film pregnant with guilt. Waiting for the birth that would ease its conscience was something beyond me.

Rating: +

Sin Nombre

Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) and El Casper (Édgar Flores) are fleeing their homeland for different reasons. Casper is running away from death and Sayra is running towards life. Their paths meet and director Cary Fukunaga uses this intersection to show you two of South Americas biggest problems. Illegal immigration and the organised gangs like the the Mara Salvatrucha 13. The director apparently spent time riding the trains, talking to its riders and hanging out with MS-13 gang members and it shows in the film. It has no finesse or polish. Just brutal realism.

Rating: * * * +

Nights and Weekends

Couldn't take more than 20 minutes of this film where a whiny couple constantly bickers about their long distance relationship.

Rating: +

Adventureland

James Brennan's (Jesse Eisenberg) dream of a summer in Europe evaporates when his father's job is downsized. Faced with negative skills and a need for money, he is forced to work at the local amusement park. Soon he is treated to life lessons at the park that mainly focus on falling in love and discovering that women always fall for the wrong men.

Rating: * +

Goodbye Solo

William (Red West) wants to commit suicide and all he wants taxi driver Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) to do is drop him off at the top of a hill. But what Solo wants is to do is become his best friend forever! With respect to the character Solo, director Ramin Bahrani has stolen a page from Abbas Kiarostami. Even if someone wanted to desperately live, hanging out with Solo will surely drive him to suicide.

Rating: * +

Gigantic

Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) has wanted to adopt a Chinese baby ever since he was 8 years old. As he struggles to convince authorities that he is a capable father in spite of working a dead end job as a mattress salesman, Harriet (Zooey Deschanel) and her crazy father (John Goodman) walks in to his life. Soon romance is in the air and it was never this dead pan.

Rating: * * *

Men Who Stare at Goats

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) heads to Iraq, seeking adventure just so that he can show off to his ex-wife. He finds more than he can handle when he runs in to Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to have been part of a super psych unit in the US army. Soon you are introduced to Lyn's mentor Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), arch nemesis Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) and other crazies super soldiers. The film has more than a few hilarious bits but I should warn you that for many parts that had me and Mohanlal in splits, the rest of the theater was dead silent and vice versa. On the whole the film does not hang together in spite of the stellar cast and quirky script.

Rating: * *

The Cake Eaters

Guy (Jayce Bartok) returns to his family on the death of mother. His father and  welcome him back with reluctant happiness. His brother, Beagle (Aaron Stanford) meets him with restrained hostility. Soon skeletons in the closets start to rattle as the three men get tangled up in love. Kristen Stewart  plays Beagle's terminally ill love interest with a desperation that is startling. The melancholy of her situation deeply reflected in the endless depth of her eyes. A film that gently wanders around the various inter personal relationships just as an observer  while never passing judgment.

Rating: * * +

Turtles Can Fly

Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) commands a roving band of children who roam around the villages and refugee camps at the Iraqi-Turkish border. They perform invaluable jobs like installing antennas and clearing minefields. In to this world comes the armless prescient boy (Hiresh Feysal Rahman) and his beautiful sister (Avaz Latif) with a baby brother in tow. Satellite is threatened by the boy and attracted to the sister. Until this point you are almost lulled in to believing this is going to turn out be a coming of age tale set among the backdrop of the coming US invasion of Iraq. But slowly the layers are peeled away and the ugly underbelly of war is revealed.

Rating: * * +

The Blue Mansion

After many months of waiting, finally watched Nek's first piece of contribution to the world of big budget films. Set in the beautiful Cheong Fatt Tze mansion, the film unravels as a family comes to terms with the death of the patriarch. Having been a heavy handed enforcer all his life, the death of the Old man understandably brings much relief all around. However, the visit of Inspector Suresh to the Wee household infuses an element of mystery to the death and the plot kicks foward with tension amongst the various family members boiling over. There is much humour/wit at every step of the way, and the presence of the ghost of the Old man proves to be an important cog in the plot.

The production quality of The Blue Mansion stands out considering that my previous experiences of Singapore cinema were such. Adrian Pang as the younger, angry Wee brother puts in a credible performance and pretty much carries the film. However it is Huzir Sulaiman as the inspector that steals the show for me. The rest of the acting does come across as rather theatrical - but from subsequent interviews of the director and the script writer, I understand that it was a conscious ploy. Maybe, but its not something that I could relate to in a film.

Rating: * * +

12

Take  12 Angry Men and distill it with some fine vodka and you have the Russian version of the film. Need I say more...

Rating: * * +

Two Lovers

Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) is nice Jewish boy who is messed up from his broken engagement and little disengaged with life. To engage him, his parents try to hook him up with a business partner's daughter. Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) falls for him and loves him to pieces. But Leonard decides to run behind his psychotic blond neighbor (Gwyneth Paltrow) and pointlessly confuse his life!

Rating: * +

Cherry Blossoms

On discovering that her husband Rudi (Elmar Wepper) is terminally ill, Trudi (Hannelore Elsner) hides the fact from him. Instead she suggests a visit to Berlin to visit their children. But one can never plan around death in spite of its inevitability. The film floats to Tokyo and shows you the suffering of spouse grieving the absence of a loved one. Like the user comments at IMDB says, the movie is one part Lost in Translation, one part Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and all parts brilliant.

Rating: * * * +

Khuda Kay Liye

A friend suggested this film saying this is the movie that Shoot on Sight could have been. Like the former this film too tries to extrapolate the perilous situation Pakistanis / Muslims are in all over the world, with the Islamic fundamentalists encroaching up on progressive minds. The storyline is two pronged with the happenings in the lives of two brothers across continents are juxtaposed to highlight this. But in spite of the strong hard hitting content the film appears distant and doesn't engage the viewer. The script could have been easily blamed for this but Naseeruddin Shah's cameo showed the issue lay with the dialog delivery of the other so called actors!

Rating: * *

Just Another Love Story

Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen) grew up wanting to be a photographer framing sceneries and landscapes. Adulthood finds him leading a humdrum life as a police photographer with a wife and two kids. The only thing that his lenses frame are dead bodies. Everything turns topsy turvy when runs in to Julia (Rebecka Hemse) in a car crash. An awkward circumstances finds himself slipping in to the skin of her boyfriend. And so the film ventures in to existential angst territory only to disappointingly drift away in to the thriller area. Maybe it was the initial expectation that did me in with this finely crafted movie. Expectation is indeed the mother of all disappointments.

Rating: * *

Waltz with Bashir

A pack of feral dogs tear across an anonymous street striking terror in the hearts of the pedestrians. If at all your mind was wandering this scene will snap it  back in place. From there on you venture in to the mind of Ari Folman in his quest to bring back his buried memories of the Lebanon War. A unique use of animation in an almost documentary like fashion to portray the scars a war leaves behind on the human psyche.

Rating: * * +

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 Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The story of a man who is born old and dies young. He grows younger as every body around him ages. If only the story focused more on the dichotomy of the situation rather than treating it with a banal focus. But yet when a long film keeps you in your seat, one has to give it; its due.

Rating: * * +

Timecrimes

Héctor (Karra Elejalde) stumbles in to the past and meets himself, setting off events that slowly spin out of control. A film that expose the complexities involved with time travel through a simple plot.

Rating: * * +

What Doesn't Kill You

Brian (Mark Ruffalo) and Paulie (Ethan Hawke) have lived a life of crime since their teens. Now a struggling father and husband, Brian wants to go straight to show that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. But somehow the film fails to create a connection with the viewer and ends up tasting like commercial American beer.

Rating: * *

Maborosi

Yumiko's lasting childhood memory is that of her grandmother's disappearance. Adulthood finds her drifting in to an arranged marriage after her husband's suicide. Slowly she grows to love the fisherman she marries. But the ghost of her first husband's suicide returns to haunt her. She like many of us keeps postponing her goodbyes... another meditative film from Hirokazu Koreeda.

Rating: * * +

Special

Les leads an empty existence as a parking attendant. To infuse some activity in his lethargic life, he signs up for a drug study that promises to make its takers truly special. It makes Les a super hero. He quickly quits his job to focus his new powers towards helping society. Or maybe it is all in his head...

Rating: * * +

Eden

A marriage so down the drain that the participants don't even have dangling conversations. Breda (Eileen Walsh) holds on hoping their 10th anniversary will rekindle the missing spark. Billy (Aidan Kelly) walks around drinking like the living dead, having sexual fantasies with younger women. There is nothing more to say but so much more to observe.

Rating: * * *

Pokkiri

Tamizh (Vijay) is a small time rowdy who does anything for anyone as long as the price is right. Shruthi (Asin) is an innocent girl who falls for him in spite of all his "bad" qualities. Throw in a few "item" numbers and some horrible comedy from Vadivelu and you should have a down right unwatchable flick. But if watched in a mob with those chosen bits fast forwarded, Vijay a.k.a Chinna Dalapathi (small Rajini) converts it in to a time pass movie. BTW, this was directed by our Indian MJ, Prabhu Deva!

Rating: * +

Shoot on Sight

The aftermath of the July 7th bombings in London leads to Scotland Yard issuing an shoot on sight order on people suspected of terrorist activities. Predictably innocent blood is shed. Command Tariq Ali (Naseeruddin Shah) is assigned to investigate the incident. Family conflicts and work pressures mount as the road blocks mount around his inquiry. A film that ponders the changing life for Muslims in this post 9/11 world but proceeds down a very beaten path.

Rating: * *

The Class

The scene is a school in a tough 'hood in Paris. The characters are predominantly students and their teachers. The students are real and not actors. What it results is in a very real look at the delicate student - teacher relationship in current times. It also bring to the fore front, the struggle schools are having dealing with multi-racial build up of their classes. François Bégaudeau brings his book to life in this quasi documentary with touching authenticity where he plays himself.

Rating: * * +

Synecdoche, New York

Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman ) leads a "normal" life as play director. His painter wife, Adele (Catherine Keener) feels disconnected from him and his daughter thinks he is a little strange. Adele takes off to Berlin for a show with the daughter in tow to get some alone time. With his wife departure,  Caden is welcomed with a genius grant to make a production of a life time. He proceeds to convert a giant warehouse in to a miniature Manhattan. This is when Charlie Kaufman introduces his trademark mind bend and things go to pretentious shite. Or maybe I have just outgrown Kaufman...

Rating: *

Mayookham

Pathetic film about an angry young man and a hot girl who tries to right his ways.

Rating: +

Kaattukuthira

Kochuvava's (Thilakan) earliest memory is that of the body of his father, brutally slaughtered by the local Nambudiris for sexual transgression with one of the daughters from the tharavadu. Growing up, he works hard and ruthlessly makes himself in to a rich man of the village. Now his only aim is to bring shame and suffering to the already crumbling Nambudiri illam. Considered to be one of Thilakan's finest roles, I came away feeling he has played better parts in films that have even finer story lines.

Rating: * *

The Host

A strange creature emerges from the Han river and causes havoc on its banks in Seoul. It then proceeds to make off with a teenage girl, Hyun-seo Park (Ko Ah-sung) much to the horror of her family. The Park family is determined to bring her back no matter the cost. A brilliant satirical take on the political climate in South Korea is couched in this bizarre monster flick by Bong Joon-ho.

Rating: * * +

Humboldt County

Straight laced Peter (Jeremy Strong) flunks out of his medical course and finds himself amidst pot farmers after he follows his one night stand to the Lost Coast. Rudderless and lost in life, he find himself warming up to the gentle folk around him the wilderness of California. And sometimes all you need is a bit of weed to get you back on track...

Rating: * * *

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Norah picks the first guy she finds attractive at a concert and asks him to act as her boyfriend just to spite the class bitch, Tris. Nick turns out to be Tris's ex and so starts the topsy-turvy night. The twosome along with Nick's gay band, traipse around New York and all things strange. A chick flick with just the right amount of saccharine.

Rating: * * +

The Princess of Nebraska

Sasha (Li Ling) is four months pregnant as she wanders around San Fransisco. The meandering reflects her thought process as she grapples with her decision about her unborn child. Wayne Wang attempts to bring another Yiyun Li short story to the screen but the result is still born.

Rating: * +

Vanaja

Young Vanaja (Mamatha Bhukya) goes to work as a maid servant at the local zamindar's house in the hope that the lady of the house will teach her Kuchipudi. Learn Kuchipudi she does but the landlady's son forces her to "dance" with him too. Soon the caste barriers prop up and the balance of justice in rural India is shown. A film that shows village life with grace and poignancy. If only the plot lines dwelt a tad more on the thought process of Vanaja...

Rating: * * +

Unnaipol Oruvan

A film is almost a scene by scene remake of A Wednesday, except for Kamal Hassan playing Naseeruddin Shah's role with loads of over acting. But Mohan Lal reprising Anupam Kher's part makes the film emminetly watchable. Lal ettan has shown that he still has it in him!

Rating: * * +

Beauty Remains

China is at the cusp of communism and that's when Fei's (Xun Zhou) life takes ninety degree turn. The illegitimate child of a rich businessman, she finds herself being welcomed back in to his home by her step sister, Ling (Vivian Wu), on his death. Lonely Fei is strongly attracted to Ling in the hope of finding a family. Ling pines for Huang (Zhiwen Wang) to give in and marry her. With a fast approaching communist China in the backdrop, the trio wander hoping to fill the emptiness inside...

Rating: * * +

Take Out

Ming (Charles Jang), an illegal immigrant in NYC, owes money to a loan shark who has threatened to double the principle if he doesn't deliver the installments for the last few months. Begging and borrowing still leaves him short by a few hundred dollars. So what does he do... he goes on a Chinese take out delivery binge to make up the difference. All the film does is to make you think twice about ordering take out again!

Rating: *

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

What would you do if you accidentally defeated a race of genetically advanced humans who are bent upon subjugating mankind to their whims and fancies? Logically one should obliterate them. But James T. Kirk (William Shatner) nobly leaves them stranded in a deserted planet. Now their leader Khan is back seeking vengeance with disastrous consequences for the Starship Enterprise. And to think this was one of the better Star Trek films...

Rating: * *

The Journey

Kiran (Suhasini V. Nair) and Delilah (Shrruiti Menon) grow up together in a small rural town in Kerala. As the shroud of their childhood, is unveiled their friendship blossoms in to love. A love that is unfamiliar in the conservative surroundings. A film that portrays a complex situation but is dealt with profound simplicity by Ligy J. Pullappally.

Rating: * * *

Silent Night

A feel good story set in Germany during World War II, when a group of German and American soldiers call a truce to the fighting on Christmas eve under the roof of Elisabeth Vincken (Linda Hamilton). The forced German accents gets to you after a point. Throw in the cloying nature of the events one might come away feeling saccharine. But then again the film was based on true events...

Rating: * *

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers

Mr. Shi (Henry O), a retired Chinese rocket scientist arrives in the US to visit his recently divorced daughter, Yilan (Feihong Yu). The atmosphere is heavy with secrecy as the father and daughter tip toe around each other. Shi wanting to help her set herself right and Yilan find his help to be an intrusion. But the real interesting interaction is between Shi and Madam (Vida Ghahremani), a lady he meets at the local park. She speaks to him in Persian and he replies in Mandarin but they communicate better than most people who have a common language. The short story by Yiyun Li comes to life in this Wayne Wang film in visceral fashion.

Rating: * * *

Azumi

A pointless film about a bunch of assasins running around eliminating warlords who are trying to disturb the peace brought about by Tokugawa Iyesu.

Rating: * +

Momma's Man

Man goes to visit his parents in NYC and decides to check out of his life. He abandons his wife and kid, ignores his job and instead mopes around at his parents trying to weave himself back in to the cocoon of his childhood. A pathetic attempt at showing existential angst.

Rating: *

Kandasamy

Kandasamy (Vikram) is a CBI officer who moonlights as a "superhero" who dresses up like a cock. The film seems to be result of the influence of The Dark Knight on Susi Ganesan who has no business making movies.

Rating: +

A Secret

François Grimbert's life at a first glance seems similar to that of unfortunate teenagers who are disapproved by their own fathers due to their delicate and sensitive nature. But the discovery of a faded stuffed toy in the attic shatters that similarity and inadvertently leads to the discovery of the multi layered past of his parents during the Holocaust. A well crafted film that seamlessly moves between decades to tell you a tale based on true events sans any histrionics or melodrama.

Rating: * * +

Towelhead

Puberty finds Jasira (Summer Bishil) being shipped off to her strict and uptight Lebanese father living in a Houston suburb. Tendrils of sexuality awakens in Jasira and she is further confused by the discovery of the orgasm. Things get more complicated for the naive teenager, when she is befriended by a lecherous neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) and starts to date a fellow African-American student. This Alan Ball film is like a harsher, cruder and soft porn version of American Beauty without the quirkiness and panache.

Rating: * +

After Life

A way station where the dead sift through their memories to choose an ever lasting one. The counselors who are dead themselves help in earnest. A film that will cause introspection but there is something missing in its execution that makes it a hard film to stash away in long term memory.

Rating: * +

Wonderful Town

The film is set in a sleepy coastal town in south Thailand that is recovering from the tsunami. Ton (Anchalee Saisoontorn) arrives from Bangkok to oversee the construction of a resort. He randomly decides to stay in a dull but clean hotel run by Na (Supphasit Kansen). And inevitably but gently they fall in love... There is a fine line between exquisite stillness and boredom. Few directors know how to draw that line. Aditya Assarat is one such director.

Rating: * * *