The Window

An old man (Antonio Larreta) recovering from a heart attack, stares lustily out of his windows earning for the outdoors. The only thing he has to look forward to is a visit from his estranged son of twenty years. Not wanting to let his son see him bedridden, he steals out in to the open. As you find yourself mesmerized by the Patagonian countryside, you begin to wonder what the old man was hoping for; rejuvenation or one last stroll.

Rating: * * +

Adoration

Lying that his dead father is a terrorist is the thought exercise Sabine (Arsinée Khanjian) gives her student, Simon (Devon Bostick) as part of a drama course. A fabrication that is presented to the class slowly spins out of control as it seeps in to the internet. The situation seems absurd and completely unrealistic which seemed out of sync with Atom Egoyan's usual style. But as the film proceeds in its non linear fashion a more complete view of the situation is blasted at you.

Rating: * * +

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: * * * +