Three Monkeys

A man hides as he observes from a distance the body of the woman he just ran over. Chillingly he pays his driver to take the rap and and go to prison. A move that splits him from his wife and son. A path unfold for them from which there is no turning back. Was the money worth it is the question that presses on your mind through the movie. A story that traverses social boundaries and one that could be set in any culture, this might be the most complete Nuri Bilge Ceylan film yet.

Rating: * * +

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa

Pitbull of "I know you want me" fame is coming to town and strangely enough Gautham Menon's latest film seemed like a preview to the show. It starts with a tamil boy falling in love with his neighbour who happens to be a christian mallu girl - he knows he wants her and makes it clear that he knows she wants him. She knows she wants him, but cannot have him. The boy cannot understand such complications. Phew, used "4x" fwd button judiciously and got rid of Pitbull.

Rating: *

                              

Iron Man 2

Take Iron Man down a few notches... well lets make that a dozen notches... and you have its follow on. The gist of the film is Whiplash (a wasted Mickey Rourke) coming for Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) when the reactor in his chest is acting up. The plot is thin and the jokes are forced. To make up for that couple of star characters from the Marvel universe, Nick Fury and the Black Widow have been thrown in. Except that Scarlett Johansson looks out of place as the Widow even with her 6 inch heels. Technically Samuel L. Jackson is a perfect fit for the Ultimate version of Nick Fury but it feels like Jules from Pulp Fiction was transported here. Plus if you have read the Marvel Civil War saga, Iron Man can never be in your virtual good books.

Rating: *

Away we go

"Sometimes I wonder if we are fuckups"

Sparked by the impending birth of their child and sudden emigration of Burt's parents to Belgium, the mid-30s something couple decide that they need to get out of their student hut type existence in the wilderness and move to a larger city. And organise their adult lives. 

Burt and Veron embark on a road-trip visiting friends / relatives in different cities hoping to find the ideal model of adulthood to adopt. But they come across alternate philosophies & every day problems of everyday relationships that seem to intimidate them - which enables the couple to meander towards their eventual destination. 

The plot does appear unrealistic, a bit smug, a bit too sweet - but its what I would call a humorous fantasy movie. That said, it was funny, youthfully entertaining and with a lot that one could related to, fuckups that we are.

Rating: * * *

The Runaways

Movies made around rock music generally fall into 3 categories i.e. where : i) there is a real story to tell like the one on Johnny Cash (Walk the line) ii) its all about the music and everything else is swung around it (Almost Famous) and iii) its more like a tribute by a fan to a band and most films of this genre end up in this category. The Runaways definitely belongs to the final group but with the difference that its produced by Joan Jett herself. A few of the band's hits are prominently featured and the story follows the classic rock-band cycle of sex, drugs and rock n roll. And says very little of any note, unless you are a fan of Joan Jett / The Runaways.

Kristen Stewart plays Joan Jett with just one expression and lots of leather pants. It does seem that she is on her way to becoming one of those Hollywood icons; the kind that will always be wanted by producers/directors even though its all about just one expression. However, Dakota Fanning as Cherrie Currie (the lead singer) was a revelation and demonstrating enough substance to become the real deal.

Rating: * *

                          

Manorama Six Feet Under

When a sultry older woman (Sarika) approaches a man to spy on her husband, he can seldom say no. In spite of the husband being the Irrigation minister, Satyaveer Randhawa (Abhay Deol) being suspended from his dead end municipal job,  finds the decision to be a no brainer much to the chagrin of his a nagging wife Nimmi (Gul Panag). Overnight Satyaveer finds himself sucked in to the dirty world of politics filled with hot women and cut throat goondas. 

A modern day Indian film noir that grabs you and never lets go. Much of it is thanks to Mr. Deol who should change his last name ASAP.  I guess it also helped that Satyaveer felt like a character straight out of Murakami novel and direction was akin to his writing. Sarika is back though age is telling on her. Vinay Pathak is brilliant as always as the local cop and Satyaveer's brother-in-law. And of course little needs to be said about Ms. Panag who looks sexy even when being paraded as a boring house wife. Inspired by Chinatown, the film in my opinion holds it own and in many ways more satisfying that its inspiration.

Rating: * * * +

Rudo y Cursi

Toto (Gael García Bernal) dreams of making it big as a singer while picking bananas. His brother Beto (Diego Luna) struts around being the dead end supervisor of the banana ranch. The only thing they are half way good at is kicking a football around. Enter Batuta (Guillermo Francella) the scout master of football talent in Mexican countryside and the two soon find themselves under bright spotlights in Mexico City. Sex, lies and angel dust follows as you are treated to a taunt take on the microcosm of the poor becoming rich overnight.

Rating: * * *

Merry Gentleman

There is nothing merry about the gentleman (Michael Keaton), that Kate (Kelly Macdonald) runs in to on the door step of her apartment. Frank is a glum boring professional killer and she is on the run from an abusive husband. Then there is the overweight detective on the heels of Frank and who has a giant crush on Kate. Predictably the unlikeliest of people bond and unpredictably Keaton's directorial debut keeps you involved even though in the end you wonder if it all was the worth the effort.

Rating: * *

Revanche

Tamara (Irina Potapenko) wanders the screen scantily clothed for most of her part. Her nakedness is comforting for the viewer and her lover, Alex (Johannes Krisch) both of whom are connected to a seedy brothel in Vienna. So when she abruptly disappears from the script, it is a jolt to both. The movie slowly drifts to a beautiful Austrian countryside where Alex's dad lives in run down cabin. Life might be simpler there but Alex's existence gets complicated after interactions with a local cop and his wife. The tangential interactions between the characters is what fuels the movie forward in this stunning study of human nature.

Rating: * * * +

Frontier of Dawn

A film about love and passion between a photographer and two different women. Francios (Louis Garrel) is smitten by Carole (Laura Smet) during a photo shoot and they become fast lovers. As she fades away from his life Eve (Clémentine Poidatz) takes her place. As things progress between the two, the ghost of Carole's love returns to haunt Francios. A very watchable film but at the end of it you are left wondering if it was worth effort of staying in your couch to take it in.

Rating: * *

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: * * * *

Tokyo!

A trifecta of directors, Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Joon-ho Bong set their lens on Tokyo in this omnibus. Gondry shows us a couple moving to Tokyo, that starts off by showing them staying at a friend's cramped apartment. He slowly drifts in to a realm of magic realism. Carax begins in the realm of quasi realism and stays there with his tale of "the creature of the sewers". The two pieces could have been set in any city and it would have made sense. But it is Joon-ho Bong who captures an essence of being Japanese as he reveals a hikikomoriin who falls in love. A film that excels in bursts but is placid as a whole.

Rating: * *

Brothers

Had high hopes for this one - considering it was Jim Sheridan and from what I understood, a fairly dark plot of 2 brothers coming face to face with new realities. Tobey Maguire, the elder brother, returns from Afghanistan with a secret that he can't possibly live with. Brothers had none of the intensity of Daniel Day Lewis (in this brilliant film) or the brilliance of Paddy Considine (in In America) on show. The story was inspired by the original and highly rated Danish movie. But Brothers came across horrendously flat and lacking soul. The trio of Tobey Maguire (desperately trying to shake his Peter Parker image), Natalie Portman (who is no Hilary Swank; more like Anna Kournikova of Hollywood) and Jake Gyllenhaal (who plays the usual goofy character that he specialises in) were poor. Immensely forgettable.

Rating: * +

Beauty in Trouble

Marcela (Anna Geislerová) is at the nexus of a crossroads leading to two men who are polar opposites. One man offering stability sans passion. The other an asshole, no end loser offering lots of thrills but no future. That is the crux of this multi layered family drama from Jan Hrebejk, the director of the brilliant film, Up and Down. The acting cake goes to Jirí Schmitzer who plays Marcela's sleazy and selfish step dad. The only jarring bit in the film was the soundtrack by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, which seem out of place from Once.

Rating: * * *

Medicine for Melancholy

The post coital angst after a one night stand between a man and a women. There are better medicines for melancholy out there...

Rating: +

Sleep Dealer

A not too distant future is shown in the movie, with a solid wall being thrown up between Mexico and the USA. Now the way for migrant workers to cross the border is through cyberspace. In an almost Matrix like setup, worker bees plug themselves in to the network and move robots across the border performing all kinds of labor from construction to baby sitting. It is in this world that three disparate individuals meet by chance. One of the better sci-fi films in recent times.

Rating: * * +

Fear(s) of the Dark

Short greyscale animation vignettes that try to bring your fears of the darkness to a bone chilling pinnacle. Except for a couple that are creepy in a Roald Dhal kind of way, they all fail miserably to put the viewer in any sort of discomfort.

Rating: * +

Thalappavu

Constable Ravindran Pillai's (Lal) idyllic life hits a rocky crossroad when he is forced to shoot naxal Joseph (Prithviraj) in cold blood. Memories rush in of his encounters with the naxalite as he starts to slide down a self destructive slope.  Based on the killing of Naxal Verghese who was killed by the Kerala police in the 70s, the film is shot in non linear fashions with vestiges of past and present overlapping each other. An excellent directorial venture by actor, Madhupal, giving a ray of hope for the Malayalam film industry.

Rating: * * *

Kabei: Our Mother

It is the 1940s and nationalistic fervor is raging across Japan. The Nagomi family's foundation is brutally shaken when the father, Professor Shigeru, is carted off as a thought criminal. The burden of supporting the family falls on his frail wife, Kayo (Sayuri Yoshinaga). She finds buttress from an old student of her husband, Yamazaki played brilliantly by Tadanobu Asano. But the focus of the film is the relationship between the mother and her two young daughters.

I was unsure as to what to expect from Yôji Yamada in his first film after the Samurai trilogy. To make things worse, the film eerily reminded me of Akashadoothu. But difference here was that the sadness was not forced nor did it seem like it was Yamada-san's plan to shove melancholy down our throats. The end result was a natural progression of events that gave us yet another window in to the Japanese psyche.

Rating: * * *

Aamir

Aamir, a doctor, returns to India from London expecting to find his family awaiting him with open arms. Instead a cell phone is thrust in to his arms at the airport and is taken on a wild goose chase. A thriller that starts off with good intentions but the poor script and predictable storyline deflates all the thrills and sends it to the dung heap.

Rating: * +

Tulpan

Asa returns to his home yurt in the Central Asian steppes of Kazakhstan after a stint in the Russian navy. He hopes to marry Tulpan, the sole maiden in the district, but she rejects him on account of his wide ears. One would then think the film would proceed down the well trodden path of unrequited love. But strangely the focus shifts to the life of shepherds on the steppes and thereby doing scant justice to either themes.

Rating: * +

Righteous Kill

I remember the time when one, finally, got to watch the much awaited De Niro vs Al Pacino on screen face off - brilliantly captured by Michael Mann in the Heat. There was much brouhaha around it then and rightly so. So when there arises another such opportunity, one would have expected similar hype - but there wasn't. Did you notice? No? And rightly so. The 2 heroes play police officers attempting to unlock some major crime syndicate - at least that's what I think it was about. I don't quite remember. And rightly so. 

Incidentally, made by the same fellow who made this disaster as well. 

Rating: *

Lymelife

It is the 70's and Lyme disease has started to rear its ugly head. Even though only one of the characters is afflicted with the disease, the cast seem to be affected by it. Their inter personal bonds are all in pain just like the joints of the suffering patient. Hopefully some of them will get to the antibiotics in time.

Rating: * * +

Treeless Mountain

Two sisters are abandoned to whims of relatives as their mother floats away. Quite desperation is mingled with hope for the sisters as they pray for their mother's return. A film that is dominated by women but it is the men who decided path of the story. The film is intense but less penetrating when compared to Nobody Knows, which deals with a similar situation. Maybe it is because of the latter that the film had less of an effect on me.

Rating: * +

Love Aaj Kal

Two love stories spread across eras that try to show that the essence of love hasn't changed over time. Ideal for a long flight but otherwise is just masochistic torture for the viewer.

Rating: *

Sherlock Holmes

Had a bad feeling about this one at the outset, but decided to give it a shot since its Sherlock Holmes. We've recently seen many directors attempting a "new age" take on popular fictional characters of the past - while some have indeed given the characters a second life, a good lot of them have disappointed. Guy Ritchie's Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes belongs firmly to the latter. Big muscles, exaggerated action sequences and the usual GR humour dot the plot, but there is no intrigue as one would expect from with Arthur Conan Doyle's hero - whats the point then? 

Rating: * +

Anjathe

Satya is the colony rowdy while his neighbor and friend, Kiruba is the studious one sure to crack the IPS exam. But the Indian bribery service finds Satya donning the police uniform and Kiruba wandering the streets of crime. As the friends find themselves on either side of the law. As they careen towards a confrontation, a very run of the mill and predictable story unfolds...

Rating: * +

Tetro

Tetro is Francis Ford Coppola's first original screenplay since The Conversation some 30 years ago. And Coppola yet again demonstrates his effortless ability to tell a story, that not many can match. Tetro (Vincent Gallo) is the older brother who walks out on his family and settles down in the bohemian district of Buenos Aires dealing with demons of various kinds. Out of the blue Alden Ehrenreich, who plays the younger brother Bennie, comes calling to reconnect with his prodigal brother. Bennie realises that demons don't come for free, especially if it involves their very famous father. However, he decides to stubbornly hang on to discover the truth and potentially destroy the both of them. Shot largely in B&W and along with a haunting music score, the film captures all the darkness that Tetro inspires.

The film has ensured that Buenos Aires & the Patagonia mountains moves into the 'must visit' list. Also finally got to watch Vincent Gallo in real "action" (the infamous action scene from one of his earlier films being the first).

Rating: * * *

Avatar

Avatar is indeed a spectacle, especially if one has 3-D glasses on. It actually reminded me of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games - one has seen it all before, but it gets more extravagant & spectacular as the years go by. The colours, images, the magnificent wild beasts & birds, and the elegant movement of the Na'vi people are all beautifully constructed. 

Well, is it the "path breaking" film that its being heralded as? Certainly not. Well maybe, if you were born recently or never watched any of the legendary sci-fi / fantasy films over the years. Conceptually, it's all familiar ground and therefore making it nothing more than "exciting". 

In my mind, nothing can take away the title of "path breaking" from The Matrix.

Rating: * * +

Chak De India!

Take A League of Their Own, add some Indian patriotic fervor and unrealistic hockey to it and you have Chak De India!

Rating: * *

3 Idiots

Finally a realistic portrayal of engineering college life has been splashed on the screen by Rajkumar Hirani based on a book by Chetan Bhagat. There is a bit of everything in the movie... ragging, comedic teachers, pranks, love and some melodrama. Well make that a whole lot of melodrama with so much ghee and sugar that some of the desi sweets would be put to shame. A film that shaped to be the second coming of Dil Chahta Hai but over the course of its viewing, morphed in to a middling Hindi comedy.

Rating: * *

Kanchivaram

The colors that occupy the screen are muted except for the colors of the Kanchivaram silk saris being woven. The lives of the weavers too reflect this. The only bright spot in their poverty filled existence are the strings of silk that they transform in to a phantasmagoria of art called the pattu pudavai. At the mercy of dastardly overlords, the coming of communism to India gives them a semblance of hope. Set during the brink of Indian independence, weaver Vengadam (Prakash Raj) and his family is the vehicle that Priyadarshan uses to show the plight of this now diminishing tribe of artisans. Cinematography that reminded me of Chris Doyle and the direction of a Priyadarshan of old makes this a rare film in the arena of Tamil cinema.

Rating: * * *

Subramaniapuram

If you ever wanted a look at mafia in small town India, this movie will provide you with that window. Set in Madurai during the early 80s, the film centers around Azaghar (Jai), Paraman (Sasikumar), Kaasi (Ganja Karuppu), Dopa and Dumka. They hang around street corners, drinking, picking random fights and usually landing up in jail. But what was just a bit of fun turns dark as the friends are used for nefarious purposes by local politicians. Enacted by new comers, the film is presented very naturally without the nauseating Tamil melodrama. The end result is savage but with a tendril of humanity running through it.

Rating: * * *

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: +