The Fifth Estate

Julian Assange & his WikiLeaks escapades had caught my attention at the time and still does in a way - what happens when the Ecuadorian Embassy's lease runs out in London? 

Anyway, I knew that the movie based on his one-time partner's Daniel Domscheit-Berg book, would portray only one side of the story. What had me more worried was having to sit through Benedict Cumberbatch's wierd ass Assange hairdo. In this instance, the general anti-hype helped me. Cumberbatch showed that he has the temparement to step into different kinds of roles. I got more than what I bargained for.

Rating: * * +

The Angel's Share

The film opens with a drunk man talking to a loudspeaker on a train platform. One after the other you are introduced to the main players of the film including the lead, Robbie, who are all charged with petty crimes of some sort. Community service introduces the lot to the vast world single malt scotches. Robbie in particular takes a liking in a connoisseur fashion. In the foreground to this is Robbie's issues with his girlfriend's overbearing family who think he is a piece of shit. Throw in a heist to this mix and you are left with a comedy that does not leave you in splits, but is definitely good for a chuckle or two.

Rating: * *

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

2 States

It had all the smugness that I had seen before. And the sense of nauseousness still prevails. Well, thats not what 2 states is about. It is about 2 young MBA students, from 2 different states, who fall in love and find that their respective parents don't seem to agree. Based on a true story, this trite can safely be ignored.

Rating: * +

Nowhere Boy

Aaron-Taylor Johnson does a reasonable job as young John Lennon in this film, which has very little about The Beatles. Yes, there is a Paul here and a George there - but it is pretty much about a young boy who is torn between his foster mother Aunt Mimi and his real mum Julia, who had abandoned him early on. And with no father figure in sight. It kind of adds up when you know how he treated women in his young adult life and possibly explains the Yoko Ono adventure. Nowhere Boy ends up being an accomplished ~90 min backstory of a mega star. Worth a watch only if you are interested in John Lennon.

Rating: * * +

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel's cosmic mishmash of a superhero team makes it way to the big screen. The comic books are known to be a little meandering with a host of characters and plot lines. This of course had to be simplified to make things fit in a 2 hour time frame. What you have then is an action packed slug fest that brings a team of an earthling, a tree, an assassin, a rodent and a green thug chasing after an orb whose fate will seal the future of the galaxy. Lots of 80s music and cheesy humor makes the film pleasant, but the Bollywood like melodrama wears on you after a while. Do watch it if you are a faithful Marvel fan for the sake of completion otherwise give it a miss.

Rating: * *

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

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.