13 Assassins

The Meiji restoration is at hand but the principals in the story are of course not aware of the unfolding of the future. All they see is Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki), the shogun’s half brother threatening to cause large scale internal strife with his psychotic ways. Shimada Shinzaemon (Kôji Yakusho), samurai par excellence is summoned from his quiet retirement and tasked to unofficially pluck this thorn from the nation’s side. Soon twelve men are picked and the blood bath is unleashed spectacularly on the audience. Takashi Miike brings back the spaghetti samurai “western” in a style long forgotten, interspersed with his unique brand of cruelty and sudden humor. Let the Total Massacre never end…

Rating: * * * +

Outrage

When the bosses of the rival Yakuza syndicates are sworn blood brothers, it leaves the uber-boss a little squeamish especially when the rival is dealing drugs. The task of shaking things up falls upon Otomo (Takeshi Kitano), a lower level head honcho with a flair for violence. As this setup unfolds, you are almost lead to believe that Kitano is back to what he does best… blood soaked Yakuza films with a linear plot. Alas, the myriad of twists and turns, back stabbings and the insane number of characters only leave your head spinning and reaching for a glass of scotch…

Rating: * *

Walking Too Fast

The backdrop of the film is Cold War Czechoslovakia with furtive watchers spying on their citizens for dissent. Antonín (Ondrej Malý) nicknamed Tonga is one such agent. His target is Tomás(Martin Finger) a left wing author with a beautiful wife and even hotter mistress. It is the mistress Klára (Kristína Farkasová) who proves to be Tonga’s undoing. He slowly starts to obsess over Tomás’s lifestyle and lust for his woman throws him over the edge. The film chronicles the unraveling of the agent bored of the monotony of his job and life in general. The film will definitely remind you of The Lives of Others but it lacks the tautness and pathos of it. However, the film will keep you in your seat in spite of that and the length of its play.

Rating: * * +

Le Quattro Volte

An ailing shepherd is the focal point of the movie. Or maybe it is goats that he herds. Or the fact that he believes the dust of a church to be a magic elixir. The reality is that director Michelangelo Frammartino took his artistic license and turned it in to a license to kill by stepping over the fine line between stillness and boredom. Then there is also the possibility that he is the best friend of Abbas Kiarostami.

Rating: *

The Adjustment Bureau

The night David Norris (Matt Damon) loses a US Senate seat, he finds his true love in a restroom only to lose her soon after. However, he runs in to her randomly on a bus only to find mysterious forces keeping from the woman of his dreams. Soon you are faced with the question whether every life has a destiny or is there a “man” with a plan nudging things behind the scenes. Unlike Inception, which has a cool concept but uses recursion for a plot, this film has a storyline to back it up.

Rating: * * *

Opal

Opal Whiteley was a naturalist who rose to fame as a child prodigy but down the years infamy came her way due her dubious handling of the publishing of her diary with vague details of a royal past. The film tries to capture her rise and struggle to get work recognized whilst touching on the questions of her past. Given that it was a completely independent effort with very little funding, the film comes across as an excellent package. Except that once you get over the packaging, the contents i.e. the acting lets you down and leaves you with a “what if” taste in your mouth.

Rating: * +

Léon: The Professional

Léon (Jean Reno) is a profession hit man for the mafia with a simple life. He drinks milk, tends to a plant and kills people. All that changes when when his teenage neighbor Mathilda’s (Natalie Portman) family is killed by a group gun totting assassins led by snarly Gary Oldman. Mathilda becomes his responsibility and against his better judgment he starts to train her so that she can take revenge.

It is hard to feel fear with Oldman’s villainous incarnation after seeing the likes of Javier Bardem and  Heath Ledger. However, Natalie Portman has arguably played her best role to date. Unfortunately the role was her first. A cult classic that has not aged well in some parts but timeless in others.

Rating: * * +

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

Based on a graphic novel from the 60s, the film follows the adventures of an “investigative” journalist, Adele Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin), during the early 20th century. While she is away excavating tombs of mummies in Egypt with the hope resuscitating them to help cure her sister, Paris is under attack from a pterodactyl. Soon it is up to beautiful journalist to bring order back without any help from the bumbling police. If a slightly classier version of Tombraider with French humor appeals to you, then this film will be hugely satisfying.

Rating: * *

Dance Town

The movie opens with a slice of life in North Korea. A husband and wife furtively watch porn with some fear and exaltation. It might have been cool to dwell a while longer in that mysterious country but director Kyu-hwan Jeon, races across the border to the south as the wife, Jung-nim Rhee (),  escapes on Chinese fishing boat soon after her husband is arrested. Rhee soon is soon faced with a land with “freedom” abound. But being “free” does not equate to contentment and happiness. She is soon confronted with demons called loneliness and despondence. Like it was said in Into the Wild, happiness is only real when shared.

Rating: * * *

Almost Perfect

Vanessa (Kelly Hu) is supposedly an overworked and badly dressed NGO professional with an insanely demanding family. Her life is so busy that she has no time for a relationship. All that changes when Mr. Right shows up in the guise of her kid brother’s best friend. Soon a tiresome romance ensues with myriad of forced problems that leaves you wanting to tear your hair out. The only hope is to focus on the stunning Ms. Hu who fails miserably in trying to look plain. Even more painful was the after film question and answer session with the director Bertha Pan, who obviously needs a crash course in South East Asia cinema. It is a wonder that this film was short listed for the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2011.

Rating: *

I Wish I Knew

Jia Zhang Ke’s documentary loosely follows the pulse of Shanghai from the 1850s to present day. He feels the pulse by interviewing a spectrum of Shanghainese . Some recognizable like Hsiao-hsien Hou, Rebecca Pan others obscure to a western audience. Their stories bring forth different emotions but none really test your emotional threshold. Plus the lack of interviews with the common man left a gaping hole in the film. Somehow it was the quiet presence of Zhang Ke’s muse, Tao Zhao, that left an impression. Her silent presence evokes the trademark stillness of Zhang Ke and showing that he might be better of sticking to fiction.

Rating: * *

Moon

A distant future and the moon has become the next frontier for energy. Sam Bell toils away in solitude at the moon station, ensuring all harvesting is in ship shape waiting for his three year contract to complete. Strangely, conversations with Earth are not in real time and everything is recorded and “mailed” over. The only day to day contact he has is with GERTY, the robot voiced eerily by Kevin Spacey. And slowly things start to go bump in the Moon and the expected unraveling occurs. A film with a solid premise but the plot is a little too transparent.

Rating: * *

The Milk of Sorrow

Fausta (Magaly Solier) is weighed down by a disease passed to her from her mother. The Milk of Sorrow seeped in to her while being breast fed by her mother during the fearful days in Peru of the reign of terror caused by the conflict between Sendero Luminosa and parliamentary troops . Now her mother’s sudden death has left Fausta like a boat with out a sail in the high seas. The situation forces her to fight the “disease” in her own unique way. A film and an actress that seem straight out of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel.

 

Update: Why to root against The Milk of Sorrow’s Oscar nomination.

 

Rating: * * +

Naan Kadavul

Abandoned by his father in Varanasi when in his teens on the sayings of astrologers, Rudra now roams the Earth as an Aghori. Fueled by guilt, the father brings his reticent and brutal son back to his town in Tamil Nadu. The same town has a “thriving” beggar community that haunt the foothills of a temple. Their suffering is shown in excruciating detail that leaves very little to the imagination. The film is sandwiched between the lives of beggars and the way of the Aghoras. The spread between the two is blood that gushes with brute force. Bala has played his usual hand, questioning God, justice, life and death. However the manner of posing the question does leave you worn out in spite of the “uplifting” ending.

Rating: * *

Passenger

What happens when a common man is presented with a complex situation. One fraught with peril, danger and of no personal gain. Most men would walk away without feeling a tiny prick to their conscience. Then there are those who like to sleep undisturbed at night. The situation here is a tad improbable but then again in today's world it is definitely a possibility.

Sathyanathan (Srinivasan) is one of those regular train travelers you would have seen if you have ever taken a train to Ernakulam. Riding the train every working day between the "suburbs" of Cochin to the city for work. His trips are usually filled with card games, gossip and gentle abuse. However, one fateful night he finds himself embroiled in a situation that involves the media, politics and the plight of the common people. A refreshing throwback to the days when mainstream Malayalam cinema ruled the roost.

Ranjith Sankar has definitely burst on to the scene with this venture. No doubt having Srinivasan and Dilip at the helm and Nedumudi Venu as support helped but the script and direction is what carried the film through.

Rating: * * *

Naalu Pennungal

Four shorts centered on women from the lower castes in rural Kerala that highlight their sorry plight. Each character fills a “traditional” role forced upon woman like that of house wife, prostitute and spinster. Sadly, little has changed today with what has been portrayed in film. Kerala is still rife with hypocrisy and double standards in all strata of society. But as a package the film does not meet the usual high standards of Adoor Gopalakrishna.

Rating: * *

Zombieland

The backdrop for the film is an oft repeated post zombie outbreak apocalyptic world. Two men are riding across this bleak landscape in search of the land untouched by the cannibals. They are soon joined by a hot girl and her younger sister. Funny at times especially the cameo by a certain comedian but for some reason there is not a single line or incident that takes you back to your humor place.

Rating: * +

The Night Buffalo

A tightly written thriller by the highly acclaimed Guillermo Arriaga who also gave us Amores Perros, Babel,  The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, centers around the aftermath of a suicide by a recovered schizophrenic, Gregorio. His main links to the outside world are his girl friend, Tania and best friend Manuel who unbeknown to him (or maybe not) have been carrying out an affair. Soon he starts speaking to Manuel from the grave through hand written notes and forgotten pictures. Some casual erotica and a hint of magic realism only continue to round the movie out. However, as we careen towards the climax you are left unsatisfied with many unanswered questions. But little can be blamed on the acting or directing which have been superb. Maybe Arriaga's novel will contain the answers...

Rating: * +

Dhobi Ghat

The film opens with a handy cam's jerky motions welcoming the viewer and Yasmin, a newlywed lass to the world of Mumbai. In retrospect it seems like an apt intro to the lives of four disparate individuals intertwined in the bustling city. There is Arun, a lonely painter who seeks more introspectiveness and shies from contact. Except that Shai the annoying ABCD investment banker on a sabbatical in India to "discover" herself, follows him around. Munna the dhobi and wannabe actor flits between them both.

You would think this is just another multiple plot line converging type films that have become uber popular in the past decade. For one there is a unique depth and stillness to it with a storyline that has no clear beginning end or middle. Just a chunk of time from a few people's life. Kiran Rao seems more like a conjurer than a director, smoothly transitioning the characters between ebb and flow of scenes that pull in the viewer in to the movie like a whirlpool. There are moments where you hope and pray that she does not allow her actors to tread the beaten path and she always brings them tantalizing close only to pull them away at the last instance. 

The acting is steady all around with not a hint of overacting which is the norm in many Hindi films. Aamir Khan is an almost silent brooding presence through the film but his mark is felt everywhere especially on the budding Prateik. Monica Dogra was about to be abused in this review but then again that is the kind of reaction her character was meant to evoke. Kirti Malhotra is some ways has the toughest role as she only interacts with the viewer and boy does she hold your attention. 

To sum it up, this is the answer to abomination that was Slumdog Millionaire!

Rating: * * * *

The Mechanic

Consider the following sequence of events:

• The Transporter series started getting stale.
• Simon West chanced to stay awake for 30 minutes of The American
• West saw the original Charles Bronson' Mechanic in its entirety. 

The result is Jason Statham being cast as  Arthur Bishop in the remake of the Bronson flick with the solitary nature of the lead character from The American thrown in. The film actually feels like the Transporter with its usual action sequences and Rajini like moves. Except that the Transporter is now an Assassin who has a protege. Need anything more needs be said about this film?

Rating: * +

Munyurangabo

Sangwa and Ngabo are on a journey to kill the man that made Ngabo an orphan during the Rawanda genocide. A stop over at Sangwa's home village derails things a bit. Sangwa finds family ties pulling him down and Ngabo's roots from another tribe makes the tensions rise. A realistic film about real events but as dry as some of the deserts in Africa.

Rating: * +

Mirch

A young script writer is at his wits end when he finds it impossible to sell his script to a producer. In desperation he starts weaving tales from the ancient yore of the Panchatantira. Soon an omni-bus of scripts unfold as the producer wants a couple more with a modern touch. The film reads like a set of short stories with sexual undercurrent that one would enjoy when in their early teens. The highlight might be what comes closest to a sex scene in mainstream Indian cinema (yes, do not expect anything more that). That and Boman Irani!

Rating: * +

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is back with a snarl, especially after finding an empty welcome at the prison gates after his tenure behind bars. Lady Luck comes looking for him as he is approached by his daughter's fiance. Young Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) has revenge on his mind for the suicide of his mentor caused by the explosion of the mortgage bubble. Set in our current tumultuous times, the film shows hints of the Lehman debacle and the shadowy figures behind it but all it really does is use its predecessor as a blueprint, turn the clock forward and move a few characters around. So, if you are expecting to walk out with a clear understanding of the mortgage crisis, you might be better off reading Matt Taibbi. 

Rating: * *

The Fighter

A typical boxer film plot but with a key diversion: Christian Bale. Who yet again demonstrates as to why he is one of the best around - out of his skin performance as trainer / junkie / half-brother of World Welterweight Champion Micky Ward. Mark Wahlberg, as Micky Ward, is on the periphery pretty much, while Amy Adams as Micky's wife weighs in with a measured performance. The plot doesn't seem tedious, as there is healthy focus on the Ward-Eklund family dynamics and relatively less on the usual "loser-training-winner" rhythm of such movies.

Christian Bale for Nobel Prize.

Rating: ***

Kutty Srank

3 women from different parts of the Kerala coast convene to piece together the life and times of Kutty Srank (The Sailor of Hearts), played expertly by Mammootty - clearly a director's actor and the reason why he still gets the best roles in the country. Shaji N Karun's latest film is a deserved National Award winner and it continues to amaze me as to why some of these films do not get pushed to the international stage more aggressively. Must mention the other key ingredients to this wonderful film: brilliant cinematography (by debutant Anjali Shukla), wonderful folk music and great acting by Siddique & Suresh Krishna. 

Nice start to 2011.

Rating: * * * +

Black Swan

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) wins the lead role in the epic ballet, Swan Lake. She seamlessly fits in to the role of the White Swan, however playing the Black Swan proves elusive. As she strives to get under skin of the darker alter ego, she she finds her own dark side seeping out. Darren Aronofsky as always pushes the limit to shock and thrill. The film is very watchable in an edge of your seat kind of way but it felt like a watered down version of Helen Oyeyemi's Icarus Girl.

Rating: * * +

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

The sixth installment of J. K. Rowling's world of wizards wafts its way on to the screen with Harry entering his sixth year at Hogwarts. He stumbles in to the potions class and comes across a book that belongs to the mysterious Half Blood Prince. Dumbledore meanwhile is up to his old tricks in his usual benign fashion while the shadow of Voldemort lurks. The film tries desperately to be dark and moody but what shines through is teenage angst. 

Rating: * *

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The film loosely picks up from where Girl with the Dragon Tattoo left off. Lisbeth Salander is seen vacationing off of her pickings from the Wennerstorm fortune. She has disappeared from the lives of her Swedish friends especially that of Mikael Blomkovist. He is busy setting up his next expose of a sex trafficking ring with help from a young journalist and his girlfriend. When the couple is found murdered and Salander is accused of the killings, Blomkovist is again in the eye of the storm.

Director Daniel Alfredson has liberally cut out swathes from Steig Larson's book. His handling of a certain fight scene which is amazing portrayed in the book lacks any sort of punch. But yet the film makes for a complete and thrilling experience. 

Rating: * * *

Kapurush

A car breakdown in the hillside finds Amithaba taking refuge at a tea estate manager's bungalow. Bimal is portly and jovial with a stunner of a wife who turns out to be Amithaba's old flame. Soon there are the required flashbacks and the aches of what could have been. The story goes only skin deep and maybe a lot was lost in translation.

Rating: * +

Intimacy

Jay and Claire meet every Wednesday for a roll in the haystack. The encounters seem casual, devoid of emotion and sexually intense. However as it is the wont in the such situations feelings creep in and the couple careen towards an unfriendly place...

Rating: * *

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

The future of Hindi cinema seems safe in the hands of Abhay Deol, who dons the mantle of the notorious con man Lucky Singh who terrorized the affluent all over India. The audacity of some of his heists had me wondering if this was indeed based on a true story or if Dibaker da had toked on one too many. However a quick google search proved me wrong and led me to this article at one of my favorite film websites, Passion for Cinema. Lucky was apparently more than notorious and his panache is effortlessly brought to life by Mr. Deol. Neetu Chandra plays his love interest and is not only easy on the eyes but also does a decent job of the limited role she is given. However the man who takes the cake is Paresh Rawal as he seamlessly shifts gears between a father, don and businessman. All in all this turns out to be one of the best Indian heist movies made to date.

Rating: * * *

Taking Father Home

A young boy from a far flung Sechuan village sets out to the city of Zigong looking for his father who abandoned his family six years ago. His sole companions are two ducks that he plans to use in stead of money. And on his journey he runs in to goons, cops who in their own ways nudge him towards his destination. The film heralds the arrival of Liang Ying in to the film industry and is shot with a cheap hand held camera with a cast and crew made up of Ying's friends and relatives. A film that I desperately wanted to like however it totally failed to engage. 

Rating: *

The Fountain

Past, present and future collide in this film as each time stream's protagonist searches for eternal life to save his love. The doctor races against time to find a cure for brain tumors so that his wife can be saved. A warrior trudges through the jungles of Peru to find the tree of eternal  life to save his country. An astronaut flies through space in an encapsulated bubble with  an aged tree in hope that a dying star can save it. A film that explores man's thirst for eternal life but yet doesn't examine the meaning of having it.

Rating: * * +

Well Done Abba!

Armaan Ali (Boman Irani) takes a month's leave from his chauffeuring and shows up for work three months later. His boss's exasperation sees no end but Armaan convinces him to hear out his story. Armaan Ali then takes on a ride that starts with him returning to his village to find a husband for his daughter. The yarn runs in to corrupt government officials and politicians when Armaan decides to dig a well using a government scheme. Throw in a little love story and you have a packed film in your hands. However, Shyam Benegal has used this light hearted comedy to poke some serious fun at the pitiful state of Indian government and its official. A decent watch but the film could have been made shorter.

Rating: * * +

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local

The film initially reminded me of this wonderful Kishore Kumar song. Nilesh (Abhay Deol) is a young whippersnapper who runs in to the hot Madhu (Neha Dhupia) at the time of night in Bombay when the trains disappear. It also helps that the two want to head to the same destination. The night meanders in to one that involves a bit of gambling, the cops and the underworld. Along the way a couple of pages are taken out of Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. But yet, the film calls for enjoyable viewing. It also confirms that Abhay "I want to have nothing to do with Sunny Deol" Deol is indeed the man of Hindi cinema these days and Neha Dhupia is just a bimbo with a figure.

Rating: * *

Gandhi my father

Had heard about this movie when it was released couple of years ago. Finally watched it and can quite understand some of the rave reviews that had I read at the time. Much like its Bollywood counterparts, its a long movie - at 2 hours + and also has its fair share of melodrama. But it manages to brilliantly capture the story of a fallen son and a father on his way to sainthood with the Indian freedom struggle as its backdrop.

Akshaye Khanna plays Harilal Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi's eldest son) impressively - as Harilal progresses from being a loyal son to a disgruntled husband to an unscrupulous rebellious son and finally, running out of second chances, ending up on the streets. The jacket of the DVD says "Mahatma Gandhi could transform the soul of a nation but could not save the soul of his own son". The irony of the situation, as the tagline suggests, is clearly the central theme of this story - but the writer does well in bringing out the values of Gandhi as it was and not demonise him.

Darshan Jariwala also does a good job of playing Gandhi - but doesn't quite look like Gandhi as I know him and which is Ben Kingsley's fault. WTF moment - the film's produced by Anil Kapoor.


Rating: ***

Paraiso Travel

Reina (Angelica Blandon) allures Marlon (Aldemar Correa) like a temptress moon and he has no choice but to follow. He leaves his humdrum life in Madellin, Colombia for love and the harsh streets of New York City. In a brief flash he finds himself separated from Reina and on his own. But luckily for him a better life follows including the bewitching Milagroz (Ana de la Reguera) who inexplicably falls for him. However, Marlon dreams of Reina in spite of the angel who opens her legs arms to him. A film that couches the perils of illegally crossing in to the US within a forlorn love story, leaves you feeling empty of sympathy for the characters. In spite of their dire situation one feels that they got what they deserved!

Rating: * *

In the Loop

A benign quote "War is unforeseeable" from a British minister, sets off a slew of events that sees the US and the UK careen towards a war against a middle eastern country. A political satire that jet sets between London and Washington DC leaves you wondering in spite of its absurdity if this is the way governments function.

Rating: * *

Road, Movie

Vishnu is a young nothing from Jaisalmer, staring at a life of selling hair oil, his dad's business, and is not pleased. Fortunately for him, he stumbles upon an old neighbourhood uncle who is planning to drive his old Chevrolet truck (cinema theater on wheels) to a town by the sea and donate the damn thing to a museum. Vishnu volunteers to drive and envisages a long drive full of "foul smelling farts" - its not to be as he encounters 3 strangers on the way, who pull him away from life as he knows it.

Written & directed by Dev Benegal, 'Road, Movie' belongs to the burgeoning class of alternate / independent / not-fucked-up-Bollywood cinema. Whilst the plot seems familiar, the truck, the landscape and the sparseness of it all, makes it wurf-it. Abhay Deol does a good job as a young nothing - he is definitely an actor to monitor - got an eye for cool roles. I don't think the plot does justice w.r.t developing some of the other characters - the little boy and the fat man (Satish Kaushik). Last word: Mr. Benegal is, arguably, as pompous as his Bollywood director friends.

Rating: * * +

Villon's Wife

After reading Osamu Dazai's masterpiece last year, it was a pleasant surprise to watch an adaption of his earlier novel on the big screen. It does appear that all his works were an attempt to understand the darkness that engulfed him. Unlike 'No longer human', this story is narrated from the point of view of Otani's long-suffering wife - besides capturing all the sacrifices she makes to keep him, one, through Sachi's eyes, comes face to face with the devil that Otani is.

Tadanobu Asano as Otani shows yet again why he is one of the finest actors in the world today. Takaka Matsu plays Sachi with the kind of honesty and loyalty that would have made the Villon's wife proud. With brilliant performances, a plot that completely draws one in and fine directing by Kichitaro Negishi, Villon's wife slots into the top draw quite comfortably.

Rating: * * * +

PS: I really hope nobody attempts to adapt 'No longer human', as it would take away all the attention that the novel deserves. Update: wikipedia says the movie is on its way. Fuck it.

The Pool

Venkatesh (Venkatesh Chavan) sits on a tree branch and gazes forlornly at a pool bordering a deserted bungalow in Panjim, Goa. The tree is his intermediate resting spot during the laundry run for the hotel he works in. When the mansion sees new residents, Venky's life shines a tad brighter as he grows close to the father (Nana Patekar) and daughter (Ayesha Mohan) living there. A simple film with a simple screen play and story. But it is this very simplicity that allows it to show the complex layers of Indian society so succinctly.  For example the fact that Venkatesh is seen in only two outfits through the film while Ayesha changes her tops for every scene. That small nuance speaks volumes about the different strata of society the two occupy. The acting in the film is very understated and raw making the whole scenario more documentary like. Mr. Patekar shows that he can still be the man if he chooses to. Ms. Mohan is dusky and sexy while having more acting skill in her little pinky when compared to a certain Ms. Pinto. The movie should have been required viewing for Danny Boyle before he embarked on the disaster known as Slumdog Millionaire!

Rating: * * * +

Ip Man

The semi-autobiographical take on the legendary master of Bruce Lee, sees Donnie Yen don the role of Ip Man. The film attempts to show the Wing Chung master's life in China prior to his move to Hong Kong during / after WWII and his "resistance" against the invading Japanese culture. That portrayal seems a tad too melodramatic for it to have been real. However it calls for some very enjoyable ass kicking and if the popularity of Wing Chung was on the wane, this film should have brought it back on to the martial art radar.

Rating: * * +

The Hurt Locker

The camera follows an US army bomb squad through the treacherous streets of Iraq. You are given the eerie feeling that every object could be a bomb and anyone could be the detonator. But the feelings gets old very quickly and you want a few more layers to the film which is sadly lacking. With the hype surrounding the film, it seemed destined to be placed alongside Platoon and Apocalypse Now. That will not be the case in my book. 

Rating: * *

The American

Take a John Le Carre book add some violence to it, strip away the extensive background and storyline, make it in to a film and you will have The American floating across the screen. Jack (George Clooney) is taciturn assassin on the run from the Swedes. Who and why they are after him is deemed inconsequential by the director. However the lush cinematography and the voluptuous Violante Placido make for it. In spite of the all nagging questions that arise in your mind, you find yourself sucked in to Jack's solitary and fraught existence. A live in the moment film... 

Rating: * * +

O' Horton

Odd Horton (Baard Owe) is retiring from his life long job of an engine driver, I mean train engineer and he is an odd one at that. The film on the whole is odd in a boring kind of a way. A poor follow on to Factotum by Bent Hamer.

Rating: +

99

A gambler, the don, his gundas and supposed damsels in distress on the backdrop of match fixing makes up the key points of this film. With a cunning script and right treatment, this make up could conceptually turn in to a brilliant film. Alas just a concept it remains as we are dragged through 2 hours of drudgery which seemed like a life time. Boman Irani  the gambler, like Sachin Tendulkar in the 90s toils away in isolation trying to keep you hooked to the happenings. Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha play the gundas and after a while Khemu trying to be a certain Amir Khan tires you out. Soha Ali Khan and Simone Singh roles are dubious and makes you wonder why they are in the movie till you remember the need for eye candy. Now to make things worse space has been wasted on the cloud for this piece of toilet paper used by the devil. Hopefully it will at least stand as a warning to others...

Rating: *

Karthik Calling Karthik

Take Fightclub, replace Tyler Durden with a telephone, Ed Norton and Helena Bonham Carter with a couple of whiny annoying wimps and you have this piece of trash that should never have graced celluloid.

Rating: *

The Girlfriend Experience

Steven Soderbergh has always been a hit or a miss in my book. This film about a high class Manhattan call girl is a magnificent curve ball with no batter in sight. He hopes to give the film a quasi documentary feel by casting a real honest to goodness porn star in the lead. But all Sasha Grey's non-existent acting skill and pallid screen presence does is to exposes the empty script and lifeless story.

Rating: *

Pi

The famous Darren Aronofsky thriller about mathematics and a man's obsession with numbers to unlock an universal code in nature. Shot in grainy black and white film maybe to lend some authenticity to the film, it left me feeling underwhelmed. Maybe the build up of the hype over the years lead to bloated expectations.

Rating: * +

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mikael Blomkovist (Michael Nyqvist) is a respected financial reporter whose name has been dragged in to the mud when he is convicted of slander. Facing time in prison, he takes up a 40 year old case of a missing girl to primarily keep him away from the spotlight. He is soon joined by Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), a socially awkward but brilliant researcher. The film takes advantage of the beautiful Swedish countryside as you are treated to some lush landscapes. However, that beauty won't save you from the grittiness and depths of human psychopathy embedded in the movies.

Based on Steig Larrson best selling novel, the two words that best describes this film is intrigue and violence. From the start to finish you are leaning forward as plot layers are revealed, while bracing yourself at the graphic violence splashed on the screen. Reading the book before the movie is a boon and a curse. It gives you the much needed background to the characters but takes away from the suspense. Either way, you will be left wanting to watch the next installment.

 

Rating: * * *