Metroland

I read the Julian Barnes novel in early 2000. And that was after I had picked up the Mark Knopfler soundtrack the previous year. Both captured the spirit of the times and ore enjoyed them. Recently, for no particular reason, I found myself googling for Mark Knopfler soundtrack movies and was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was Christian Bale that played the lead in the film. 

The movie didn't disappoint at all and captured the 'Metroland present' vs the 'Paris past' divide, the central theme of the story, very well. Christian Bale was effortless as Chris and managed to climb up to the same level as Mark & Julian. Possibly, a notch higher.

Rating: ***

A Most Wanted Man

Intricate, deliberate and a plot that takes its time - all the hallmarks of a Le Carre adapted film. Inevitably, Philip Seymour Hoffman takes centre stage. Everything about Gunther Bachmann - a heavyset, heavy drinking, heavy smoking, heavy betrayed German intelligence officer who runs an underground intelligence team in Hamburg - yearns for PSH.  The film, as it is with Le Carre's recent novels, is more about personalities than a scintilating plot. 'A most wanted man' finishes off with a scene that is eerily close to reality. Gunther parks the car, gets out, shuts the door, walks off the screen, we see cars driving by and as one expectingly waits, the credits roll.

Rating: * * +

Neram

Mathew is a young man in love facing bad times. In spite of being an enterprising young computer engineer he has no job. The debt he owes the vicious gangster Vatti Raja for his sister's wedding is due. To make things worse his would be father-in-law is on his heels. Throw in his girlfriend running away from home into the mix and you have a spicy plot with lots of laughs. Given that there is an inspector named Ukkan Tinto (mallus will get the joke) shows that the humor is subtle and there is none of the over the top noisy raillery that is the wont these days. The director has taken many pages out of the Tarantino handbook and it is refreshing to see new film techniques showing up in Malayalam cinema. Let this be a warm welcome to Mr. Alphonse Putharen whom I hope has some good times ahead of him.

Rating: * * +

Poster via Wikipedia.

Ustad Hotel

Young privileged Gulf boy's dreams of being a chef in London with a white woman for a wife are shattered by his father who wants him to settle down with a good Indian woman and run a 5 star hotel. The boy rebels and ends up working for his estranged grandfather at Ustad Hotel, a dingy seaside biriyani restaurant. A film that engages you for the first 30 minutes starts to loosen its grip as it meanders down a cloying melodramatic path that makes you want to throw up at the television.

Rating: * +

Poster licensed via Wikipedia.

Quartet

The film is Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut as he drags a West End play onto the big screen. It centers around an old age home (as we would call it in India) populated by retired musicians. The plot centers around Reg, Wilf and Cissy who were part of a famous quartet. The home is falling on tough times that they hope to recoup from the sale of tickets to the yearly gala. But death and lack of participation is posing a problem. This is when Jean Horton, the last member and Reg's ex-wife arrives on the scene. Sparks fly and old people quarrel like children as the film proceeds down often visited paths.

The only bit of interest is that most of the supporting cast in the retirement home are played by actual retired musicians. There was an apparent dispute in the music circles over this film and The Late Quartet given the latter is all played by actors and their musical talents are minimal. While I agree Christopher Walken and Philip Seymour Hoffman might not look natural with a string instrument but damn can they act. This film in spite of all the real musicians makes one wish Mr. Hoffman kept to acting and left this to be a West End play.

Rating: * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Breakfast with Hunter

A documentaric glimpse into his days of Hollywood fame. But not one that showcases his originality unfortunately. Lots of footage of his toy boys/girls, the likes of Johnny Depp & Johnny Cusack and various others, reading his works with the Hunter smugly reminiscing. But as the words are read, and as he speaks of his writing, one realises that the beauty lies in his writing. Like good butter chicken -  unobtrusive but immensely involving. Making me wanting to read more. The film was made before his goodnight speech:

Football season is over

No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun -- for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax -- This won't hurt.

He was in control apparently. One will never know. 

Owl's farm, one of the cool things that one learns from the movie, is the centre for art appreciation these days.

Rating: * * +

Drishyam

Georgekutty (Mohanlal) is a self made man running a cable service in an obscure town in Kerala. His wife and two kids lovingly fight against his frugality and age old ways. Other than his family the only thing Georgekutty cares about his movies. He spends every waking minute getting a tan from his television and going so far as to making life decisions based on movie plots. It is in this simple life that an unwelcome guest arrives as a form of complication and danger. What starts off as a family drama morphs in to a thriller albeit a predictable one. But given the recent history of Mohanlal films this is like a blast from the past and shows us that the man has not lost his skill. Give him a good director and a decent script he can still hold his old Kireedum on his head with pride.

Rating: * * +

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Mon-Rak Transistor

Pan is simple minded country boy whose love for music and pursuit of fame finds himself AWOL from both his wife and the Thai army. There is not much else to say about the sparse storyline of this film which is a blend of comedy, musical, romance and crime thriller. One of Pen-Ek Ratanaruang earlier efforts where it is obvious that his art needs honing. I guess one has to go through the process of making movies such as these before you end up with something original and timeless.

Rating: * * 

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Snowpiercer

Global warming was imminent and humans in their infinite wisdom decided to fix things. The result is a sudden ice age and the only escape is being on a self sufficient train that runs endlessly on a round the world trip. Even in these close confines of a train, a class system arises and there is the inevitable revolt. The film evoked critical response regarding how this a reflection of current society and class division. However, the point is lost of people that there is nothing original in this route and is a topic revisited over and over again. And if you sit through to the end, you will definitely be reminded of Omelas if you have read it. In fact, if you haven't read it go pick up a copy and ignore the film.

Rating: * +

"Snowpiercer poster" by impawards.com. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Five Easy Pieces

Jack Nicholson's coming out movie in 1970. One can sense that with that kind of presence it was inevitable that he would go on to other spectacular (that movie in my book, btw, is a * * * +) performances. Enjoyed the film as it drifted everywhere to tell us a story of a nowhere man. Which was pretty much the call of the times, I reckon, if you were an aspiring filmaker. Does well to convey the coldness of a person who is intent on searching for nothing amongst humans.  

Here is Jack turning on his charm.

Rating: * * +

Breaking Bad

I was late on this one. I first heard about this series only last September as I witnessed frenetic activity on the twitter timeline about the upcoming series finale. Once I began on episode 1, it was easy becoming a junkie. Blitzkrieged through the rest of the 5 seasons in 5 weeks.

This Vince Gilligan production is as close to perfection as Richmal Crompton's Just William series of books and the British TV series 'Jeeves and Wooster' were to me. At the outset, the hook for me was the underground crystal meth operation spearheaded by an unlikely pair of underdogs - Walter White (WW) & Jesse Pinkman. Gradually it became much more than that. It was like I had shaved my head, grew a french beard and decided to switch on a bomb - a Heisenberg whirlpool that unwittingly took in many others in for a ride as well. All for the family, not.  

All of the surrounding characters were brilliantly scripted and casted - a big factor in the success of the show in my opinion. Each one of the characters had enough depth to spin off a series entirely on their own. 

After watching the entire season, I have browsed through quite a few reviews and interviews. Much of it has been about the bewilderment about viewers rooting for Walter White despite his evilness. Frankly, it is not the first time an anti-hero character in a movie/TV series has proven popular.  At some level, everybody wants to be bad because of all the 'injustices' that one has had to endure. The urge to take on the establishment / society is something again, I reckon, a lot of people would relate to.

What really was cool was the depiction of the inner workings of a crystal meth empire. Which is no different from managing any other business. For instance, there were insights into: (a) strategising - both micro and macro from Saul Bellow-DEA-WW-Gus Fring; (b) managing operational efficiencies from WW-Mike-The man who makes them disappear; (c) people management skills - grooming talent, empowering nobodies, sidelining competition and (d) money laundering from Saul-Skyler.

While searching for stuff to read about the show, I came across an entire series of interviews by Rolling Stone with most of the cast in the run up to the final episode. Some of the ones I found interesting were the one with Giancarlo Esposito 'Gus Fring' (The ending I want is to see is his head on a pike) and Dean Norris 'Hank' (Is Hank the only major character in this show who hasn't broken bad? Absolutely). The others also should be checked out. 

I also discovered some great music through the 60 odd episodes - painstakingly shazamed my way to a playlist of 15 odd songs. While David Porter's original score does immense work in the subconscious, here are few songs that stood out - in chronological order: TV On The Radio's DLZ (lead singer being Tunde Adebimpe), The Be Good Tanyas' Waiting around to die and Gnarls Barkley's Who's gonna save my soul.


Rating: * * * *

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes starts off 10 years later showing Ceaser ruling his clans of apes peacefully in Muir Woods amidst the decimation of the human race by the ALZ-113 virus. A chance encounter by couple of the young apes with a human survivor rekindles the contact between the two species and reignites the buried hatred among some of the apes. All the humans want is access to a dam that is in the land occupied by the apes. All the apes want is to be left in peace. But politics and personal gain apparently exists everywhere, even among apes showcasing they indeed were our forefathers. A slightly sad turn to what was shaping to be a promising franchise.

Rating: * *

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes poster Via Wikipedia.

Like Father, Like Son

High up in their residential tower, overlooking other Tokyo towers, Ryoto and Midorino are working purposefully towards planning their six year old's life. Until they realise that there was a mistake at the hospital 6 years ago and Keita was never their child. The hospital puts them in touch with the other family who has their 'real' child. Should they exchange? Why? Why not? But it did raise a few related questions that I should be mindful of in the future: nature vs nurture, blood vs emotion, piano classes vs loafing. 

Apparently dealing with parenting, family issues / misplaced, dead children seems to be director Hirokazu Kore-eda's speciality and does a decent job of tugging at your heart. Unfortunately, it is through a bunch of steroteypical characters and a plot that focusses on simplicity.

Rating: * * 

The Grandmaster

Wong Kar-wai's take on the life of Wing Chun master and Bruce Lee's guru Ip Man. It chronicles his early life in Foshan and his flight to Hong Kong after the Japanese invasion. Tony Leung plays the martial artist maestro with his usual relaxed ease. But other than for that and the brilliant cinematography, the film has very little to warrant an addition to Wong Kar-wai's list of masterpieces. The director has definitely lost his touch and his retirement would be welcomed by his fans.

Rating: * *

"The Grandmaster poster" by this website. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Cloud Atlas

Reading David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas left me thinking that this is one book that meanders all over the place and could never make a coherent film. The Wachowski siblings of course proved me wrong.

In 1849, a young lawyer has a brush with slavery and is dying of a mysterious illness on ship while harbouring an escaped slave. In 1936 a young composer is slaving away under an arrogant maestro while composing his own masterpiece. San Francisco in the 1973 sees a journalist trying to unearth a conspiracy. Present day London finds a publisher running away from gangsters in the most amusing fashion. A futuristic Seoul in 2144 shows a genetic clone discovering that she is human. And then there is the really far away time set in a post apocalyptic time. A film set over multitude timescapes that has been stiched together to make a coherent whole. 

Rating: * * +

"Cloud Atlas Poster" by May be found at this website. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

The world of the present sees a dark place for mutants. Robot Sentinels roam the planet rooting the holder of the mutant genes out and sending them to meet their maker. Any humans harboring them are dispatched too. This situation has brought Professor Xavier and Magneto together as they struggle to hold off the robot enemies. The solution that is forced upon them is to send Wolverine back in time to try and fix the root of the problem. Time travel is treated differently here as it is more like sending someones memory back in time. And it kind of makes sense. The past sees a very different Professor and Magneto with Beast in tow. Jeniffer Lawerence takes on the role of Mystique and kicks some ass. A fun watch in what arguably could be the best film of the X-Men series.

Rating: * * +

Godzilla

The iconic Japanese monster is back at its rampaging best in this American avatar of the king of monsters. It starts from the point of view of the actor who actually drew me to the film. Bryan "I am the danger" Cranston plays Dr. Joe Brody who is caught up in the terrifying destruction of the power plant that he oversees. Soon it flows to his son and family while the back story about the creature and its predators are filled in. Storyline is simple. Monsters converge on to San Francisco and destruction ensues as we watch in awe. The original allegory of Godzilla to nuclear weapons / US and rest of the world, give way to a correlation between arrogant humans and disregarded nature. That alone could have sustained this film, but the director had to pander to the masses and introduce a human angle. Blank that out and you are left with one of the better reincarnations of this franchise.

Rating: * * + 

Missing

Another film in the endless parade of South Korean thrillers, sees a supposed feeble old man in the outskirts of a sleepy South Korean town picking up young beautiful women as his pets. The only difference being that he treats his dogs and chickens with way more empathy. More torture horror than thriller, the film's production quality is on the lower side but the atmosphere created by the director does keep you taunt and guessing.

Rating: * * 

Big Fan

Paul Aufeiro is a full time parking garage attendant, but his real job is that of a hardcore New York Giants fan.  He goes the full distance for the team, tailgating at the stadium during games and calling into talkshows to defend his team. He does all this while living with his mother and jerking off in silence giving you the sense he is a loser with a misplaced unrequited love. This is brought to the forefront when he is assaulted in a club by his favorite player. It throws his life into a loop as he finds himself struggling to deal with his team's downturn thanks to the incident. A tragic comedy that makes you question and wonder about the mental health of rabid sport fans all around the world.

Rating: * * +

The Lunchbox

Saajan Fernandes (Irfan Khan) is gearing up for retirement from his sleepy accounting job from a firm that is stuck in the past. Mourning his dead wife, he starts wading into the mists of after work life. This is when he finds a new spice entering his life through the lunchbox delivered by the famous Mumbai dabbawala service. The service that prides itself for never making a delivery error, ends up giving Saajan the lovely cooking of Ila who is a struggling housewife  yearning for the love of her disinterested husband. 

Interwined in this story is Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), Sajan's replacement at the firm, who starts off as an irritant to everyone but slowly makes his way to the viewer's heart. That sort of acting is hard to come by these days and Mr. Siddiqui's talent needs to be nurtured and given more exposure. Then there is Ila's invisible neighbor whose voice conveys so much more than what some actors convey with their faces. Throw in another appendage from the past; handwritten letters, and you have a romantic film that reminds one of Wong Kar Wai during his better days. 

Rating: * * * + 

Life of Pi

Yann Martel's worldwide bestseller is awoken by Ang Lee in this mega blockbuster. Pi Patel and his phantasmagoric struggle on a raft with a Bengal tiger are retold in great CGI glory. As in the book you are left with the decision to see if the story as told is true or was it Pi's way of coping with what he had to do to survive. 

Rating: * *

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes are reunited in this film... oh wait that is not the case until further reincarnations of the characters. The Unexpected Journey of Bilbo Baggins continues in Peter Jackson's next installment of The Hobbit. If you were left wondering at the end of the first film how Mr. Jackson was going to drag this out into three films, the movie does provide you with the answer. Other than that and the introduction of Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, the film serve no other purpose as it acts as a boring bridge to the grand finale of the battle against the dragon. Throw in some unnecessary twists to the plot by the director, we are left with a rather staid, head scratcher of a film. But if one could suspend their knowledge of the Tolkien novel, you could force yourself to be slightly entertained by the movie.

Rating: * *

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Two years have passed since the events in The Avengers and Captain America finds himself adjusting to the 21st century as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Things are turned topsy turvy when Nick Fury is brutally attacked and Steve Rogers finds himself with no one he can trust. But the real action begins with a whisper from the past that comes attacking him in the form of the Soviet hitman called the Winter Soldier. Thankfully the cloying American propaganda that was a huge part of the first Captain America movie has taken a back seat and you are left with a good vs evil superhero flick. Marvel unleashes another sidekick and they have picked well in choosing the Falcon. Throw in some hot red headed action in the form of Natasha Romanov and you have yourself a fine escape from reality for a couple of hours.

Rating: * * +

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Wes Anderson is back with the symmetry of his frames, still camera and arrestingly strange characters. In his latest masterpiece, the story is centered around an old hotel that lingers on in the cloud of its prestigious past or I should say around that of its concierge. The movie starts off as a simple retelling of the legendary concierge's past that soon becomes part murder mystery, part prison break, part thriller and full on fun ride. Manifested with big name actors and actresses playing their bit and lead roles that they only would for Mr. Anderson, you are left marveling at this genius who makes complexity so simple. Or is it the other way around... 

Rating: * * *

Innocent Blood

James Park leads a quiet life as a forensic lecturer at a university far removed from his life of an undercover detective. The quietness is disturbed when his past comes screaming back and his son is  kidnapped by an apparent psycho. The usual detective - psycho cat and mouse game ensue but nothing in the film draws you in. The dialogues are almost funny even when trying to be bone chilling and when you hear laughter at the theater during a film like this, you know that the scriptwriter needs to find a new job. All the viewer can do is wait for freedom from the induced boredom. 

Rating: *

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: * *

Pee Mak

Set in the mid 19th century when Thailand was constantly in conflict with its neighbors, Pee Mak is based on a popular Thai folk tale that some claim is based on true events. Mak is a soldier who is gravely wounded in a battle. Miraculously escaping with the help of his four close friends, the group takes him back to his village and reunites him with his wife and child. His wife, Nak (Davika Hoorne), is an uncommon beauty that has him under her spell. The friends soon start to notice that something is not quite right with her but are terrified to do anything about it. Director Banjong Pisanthanakun could have taken the route of making this a regular horror thriller. Instead, he updates the version of the legend and peppers it with slapstick humor to turn it in to Thailand's highest grossing film ever. It is worth a look just for the reason but cinematically it is only gets high marks for its production quality.

Rating: * * 

The Headless Woman

Vero (María Onetto) is an affluent dentist whose world turns dark when she hits something while driving. Not sure if the creature was a dog or a human, she finds herself plunging in to psychosis. The storyline is vague as the director shows you her life and resulting emotional detachment from it due to the accident. There is also an effort to show the disparity between the servant class and the rich but nothing sticks. All you are left with is a window in to a person's existence after a traumatic episode. This kind of structure in a film can work but it fails miserably here.

Rating: * +

Dallas Buyers Club

For a film that is far from being perfect, Dallas Buyers Club is an entertaining watch. Credit goes entirely to Mathew McConaughey who is brilliant as Ron Woodroof - who throws everything into his personal fight with AIDS, driven by the commercial opportunities of beating the system. The film however struggles to develop any kind of real chemistry between Woodroof and the supporting characters. Jennifer Garner is hopeless and drags everything around her down. Jared Leto plays a dreamy transgender woman, Rayon, but remains just that - dreamy in appearance with no real depth in character. A film that engages but leaves you wondering how different it could have been.

Rating: * * +

Philip Seymour Hoffman

 

Much has already been written over the past few days about the actor that he was. I think I saw him first in '25th Hour' and thought here was a discovery. Some one, with the right role, who would be the finest. Then as I watched more of him I realised he was the finest already. 

It all got personal some time in 2012, as I contemplated the arrival of junior, that I came across an interview of him where he talks about his experience as a father, parenting - past and present. The relevant bits starts after the 5th minute I reckon.

And now he is gone. As a friend put it, he was getting prepared to bat out a day with some 80 bags of heroin, but then fell in the first over. Sad. I want to understand more about the man - the genius that he was as an actor and a person who eventually succumbed to all kinds of internal strife.

In order to commemorate the man, I have decided I am going to hunt down every movie of his.

Rating: * * * *

Photo source: http://danbusta.tumblr.com/

 

I saw the Devil

How the South Korean cinema maintains this kind of consistency in the psycho thriller genre is a mystery to me. Yet again, here is a film that takes the age old genre and adds a slightly new twist to it. Kim Soo-hyeon is inconsolable as he finds his pregnant fiance brutally murdered. Unfortunately for the killer, Soon-hyeon is a top secret agent who takes matters in to his own hands. He tracks down Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), a human flesh crazy psychopath and starts to give him a taste of his own medicine. But like in the wild it does not take long for the hunter to become the prey. A film that is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Rating: * * *

Rachel getting married

This is one of the reasons why I liked this film. The quiet Sidney, who is getting married to Rachel and played by Tunde Adebimpe, singing Neil Young's 'Unknown legend', which I had not heard in many years. Quite similar in premise to Margot's wedding experience, Kym's (Rachel's sister) one is also about the family's emotional baggage. Which hit close to home - what do you do if you are entirely responsible for an accidental death of a family member? Bollocks really.

Anne Hathaway who normally is more irritating than skilful, gets it right as the troubled one. With the backdrop of a wedding 'Indian' style, much gets played out in front of everybody (including a random bunch of musicians) and credit to the director Jonathan Demme in getting all the many characters involved, including you the viewer.

PS: The writer Jenny Lumet is the daughter of Sidney Lumet. Which explains Adebimpe's character's name. Jonathan Demme subsequently directed a documentary called 'Neil Young journeys', which explains the song choice for Sidney.
 
Rating: * * *

Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen has been a bunch of hits and misses for me. More of the latter. This one, however, surges to the top of the list because of The Spectacular Cate Blanchett - who plays a neurotic ex-socialite struggling with the turn of events in her life. Heads to her sister's place in San Francisco, who is everything what big sister Jasmine isn't, to seek refuge. Things just get worse as she slowly and comically struggles to stay in the race with the Joneses. Louis C K makes a cameo as a cheating sound engineer and is perfect for a Woody Allen film - straight faced, dark, and makes more out of nothing. 'Blue Jasmine' does have a social angle to it - should be the campaign video for the President's latest brainwave on inequality.

Rating: * * * +

Inside Llewyn Davis

I have this weakness for films about music & musicians. That is why the latest from the Coen brothers gets the stars it does. Llewyn Davis is a folk musician trying to strike out on his own before Bob arrives on the Greenwich village scene and makes folk hip. Llewyn lives off other people's couches in & around Macdougal street and has nothing to show for his "principled" view of music. Has his priorities all wrong, which could be irritating to some, but I kind of get what he is about. However, 'Inside Llewyn Davis' doesn't get inside of anything and rambles Coen brothers style. Which still is pretty good.

Rating : * * +

Any Day Now

An attractive man quietly watches a drag show in a gay bar. The follow up is a hot and steamy hookup but never would you think that this would be lead up to a poignant battle for child custody. Rudy Donetallo (Alan Cumming), a drag queen, and Paul Fliger (Garret Dillahunt), who works at the district attorney's office, struggle to convince the courts to give them custody of Marco (Isaac Levya). Marco suffers from Down's Syndrome and has a junkie for a mother. An odd situation indeed and made odder given that the film is set in the 70s. Movies like these need to be made, but they are contrived to tug at the viewer's heart strings, and that is unacceptable in my book.

Rating: * *

This Must Be the Place

Cheyenne (Sean Penn) is a retired glam rock star, boring the hell out of life in Dublin with his wife of many decades. This low key life is interrupted by his estranged father who is on his death bed in New York. In the hope of a late reconciliation, he travels to the US only to arrive too late. What he discovers is that his dad was a survivor of Auschwitz and was tortured by a former SS officer who is still at large. Cheyenne takes it upon himself to track down the office and bring him to justice. So ensues a surreal road trip across the US as Cheyenne unwittingly starts on a path of self discovery and awakening. A brilliant film that echoes with the touch of the Coen brothers and Penn playing a unique role like he has never done before.

Rating: * * *

Dark Water

A young divorced mother moves in to an apartment with her young daughter. A blissful start to their new life is cut short by a water stain on the ceiling. The water in the apartment complex has a malevolent spirit flowing through it and is really dark. The film struggles to put fear in your heart but fails to even slightly startle you out of your seat.

Rating: * +

Chaser

Joong-ho is an asshole of a pimp who used to be a police detective in another lifetime. He finds himself in deep shit when some of his prostitutes start running out on him. He suspects that someone is kidnapping them so he puts on his detective hat to get to the bottom of it. As he scratches the surface he finds someone way more sinister beneath. Unlike many psycho thrillers, this one is not a whodunnit. You are shown the identity of the killer right from the start. Rest of the film is about apprehending him. The way Joong-ho is portrayed is also very interesting. At one side he is ruthless and works his girls to the bone while at the same time he cares deeply for their well being. Director Hong-jin Na throws all this in front of you with zero melodrama and lets you be the judge. Another brilliant addition to the South Korean crime genre.

Rating: * * *

The Secret of the Grain

The film opens with the main protagonist, Silmane Beiji being forced out of his shipyard job. The camera then patiently follows him to reveal the many facets of his life; a divorced father with a mistress and a tired earning for something better. In spite of the tough economic conditions and fractious family life he forces himself to chase his dream of opening a couscous restaurant that he hopes will unify his families. The movie chronicles this journey of a dream being brought to life. 

Rating: * * +

Naked

In comparison, the lead character of Johnny is like facing a bouncer heading towards your throat at 150km/h. This time around however, David Thewlis the central actor, hooks it out of the ground. There is nothing nice about Johnny - runs away from Manchester to London after raping a woman and afraid of being beaten. He then moves across the capital from person to person - mostly random acquaintances from the streets - in pursuit of nothing. Or possibly something that we are not aware of. Cursing the world, contemplating 'future', devouring books and spewing vitriolic shit - like this for instance, to a woman who spurns his advances: "And I hope that all your fuckin' children are born blind, bow-legged, hare-lipped, homeless hunchbacks" Over 120 minutes long, Naked should be far from being considered as misogynist - but a fantastic film that focuses on the lunatics on the prowl. Much like this one. Welcome to my world, Michael Leigh.

Rating: * * * +

12 Years a Slave

When an actor confronts the character of 'Solomon Northup', I suppose it is like facing a juicy half-volley. With an Oscar waiting for you once you have cleared long-on. From being brutally kidnapped, the tragedy of not seeing your family for 12 years, repeatedly being tortured & humiliated, travelling alternatively between hope & despair and finally being free - its all there. But one could easily overthink and hit the ball down the ground to mid-on for no runs. That's what Chiwetel Ejifor manages to achieve - a very safe and unexciting performance. And surrenders the mission to capture the viewer's soul to Steve Mcqueen and the others (Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Lupita Nyong'o & Michael Fassbender). You never know, Chiwetel Ejifor might still get an Oscar for a well crafted film. 

Rating: * * +

Trance

I spoke about this film here. Felt cheated after spending couple of hours getting through it. Danny Boyle? Well..

Rating: *

Following

 

It looks a bit familiar: strangers getting involved in each other's lives, pursuing mysterious goals while the story plays out in a non-linear manner. Chris Nolan's dry run before blowing up the premise into a full length feature classic - Memento. All of 60 minutes, its fluid, shot in black & white and gripping. 

It also brought to mind the recent film by Danny Boyle - Trance - which I review next. Couldn't help but feel that Mr. Boyle has a big Nolan monkey on his back and fails miserably to shrug it off.

Rating: * * +

Ilo Ilo

One of the many characteristics of Singapore is the presence of live-in maids in the houses of the affluent. Being a constant presence in the family the maid becomes part of the family persona whether one likes it or not. This film set during the Asian financial crisis in the late 90s, takes a stab at exploring this inter-family relationship. Teresa, a young Filipina reaches Singapore as the maid for the Lim family of three. Her presence while being a help in the day to day household activities puts a strain on the family. However, slowly a deep bond forms between the young troublesome son, Jiale and Teresa. Throw in the onset of the financial crisis and you are left with a random graph of inter-familial tension that is captured quite well in the film. But yet there is something intangible that holds this film back from breaking through to the audience.

Rating: * *

American Hustle

Having watched David O. Russell, Christian Bale and Amy Adams combine with aplomb in The Fighter, there was much anticipation. But didn't bargain for the brilliant performances from all the rest - Amy Adams (firmly entrenched in the top spot in Hollywood), Jennifer Lawrence (supreme talent) and Bradley Cooper (solid as the funny guy). And Bale, of course, was perfectly measured.

American Hustle was like watching a novel - space for characters to develop sub-plots to gradually unravel, but at the risk of losing the fluidity that makes a film great. The approach to story telling reminded me of Donnie Brasco, but in the latter case I did watch a fantastic film. Here it was about great performances (count in Louis C.K and Jeremy Renner) and therefore stops at 3 stars.

Rating: * * *

Gravity

Thing about taking a hot woman out on a date and having an exciting night to boot, but God forbid you try to have an intelligent conversation with her. Watching Gravity is akin to that. You will be held to the edge of your seat as you watch astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) do calisthenics in space as a result of a satellite upgrade operation gone wrong. Just don't expect much of a story line beyond that.

PS: This might be one film that is actually worth watching in 3D, but prepare to feel a bit motion sick.

Rating: * *

Tampopo

A rough and tumble truck driver decides to give a failing ramen restaurant owner, Tampopo, a helping hand. An ode to the joys of food and cooking, the film gives the spaghetti "western" genre a new meaning literally, except that there are no ranches and gun fighters. Instead, we have noodle soup and an insane obsession to get it right. Throw in some kinky sex and hilarious random bit pieces, and we have a thoroughly enjoyable movie. Just remember to eat during or before the film as it bound to get you hungry.

Rating: * * +

Ju-on: The Grudge

The film opens with a gruesome scene that ensures you are awake and alert. The pace slows down as the attention shifts to a squalid house occupied by an old woman. The house is the location of the ju-on which in Japanese means a curse that takes a life of its own and seeks new victims. The third installment in the series by Takashi Shimizu is split in to inter-connected vignettes, following various individuals and their creepy encounters in the house. The film has a taunt and eerie atmosphere but after a too many shots of a kid painted white causes the initial creepiness to drift away from the viewer. 

Rating: * *

Session 9

A clean crew for hazardous material end up over extending themselves while cleaning up an abandoned mental hospital. A tight group that seems to have been working together for a long time, start to see their relationship fissuring as the pressure mounts. David Caruso seems to have taken a break from solving crimes and does a hand doing a character actor. The film moves along slowly allowing the atmosphere from the film to slowly seep out of the screen. The film is taunt and keeps you engaged, but it fails to deliver fully on its potential.

Rating: * *

A Late Quartet

The long partnership of the Fuge String quartet is coming to a close in their 25th anniversary with their cellist, Peter, being diagnosed with Parkinson's. Peter's imminent exit is almost like melting of the glue that held the group together. Old wounds resurface and egos over flow their cups. Through the unravelling you the viewer will be encaptured by this drama whether you like Western classical music or not. Such is the power of the screen play and acting of all the leads.

Rating : * * * +

Poster from IMP Awards. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.