Day 79, 58 Movies so far

The Class

I really liked this film. On the surface it looks like sappy ‘Teacher reforms the class from hell and teaches them to follow their dreams’ movie, but it’s nothing like that. The film says a lot about our lives and society in general. It’s almost impossible to believe that the film isn’t a documentary. The shooting style is very ‘fly on the wall’, and the performances are impeccable. Francois Begaudeau who plays the teacher, renders a wonderful performance – rich in vulnerability, self doubt and latent aggression. The kids too, (all non actors) are fantastic. Watching them rib their teacher is surreal – almost like watching a sheep amongst wolves. This is definitely one for the ages. My only minor issue with the film is with the pacing. At times, it begins to drag, but the third act is a bolt out of the blue. You’re not sure who you should be rooting for and the conclusion while a little open ended for my taste, only reaffirms a very harsh truth – society is a system of false authority and prejudice. The system always wins – for better or for worse.

I love you man

I’ve really bought into the Judd Apatow brand. He’s probably the closest thing we have to John Hughes now. His films are in turn, honest, touching, potty mouthed and of course, laugh out loud hilarious. ‘I love you man’, is all of that, but it doesn’t quite live up to it’s credentials. The two main leads, Paul Rudd and Jason Segal are great – particularly Segal. There are some real killer moments in the film, like Rudd’s Peter going out on a date with Thomas Lennon‘s character but ultimately, it just frays towards the end, and gets steeped in unnecessary bromance schmaltz. It’s a shame, because for the most part it’s a lot of fun. So, a good film, but not quite up there with the rest of Judd Apatow’s best.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Wow! I hated the first 2 Harry Potter films, but ever since ‘Azkhaban’, this has become one of the most interesting franchises out there. The latest addition, curiously enough doesn’t even feel like a kids film. In fact, it’s more in the vein of the European espionage thrillers from the 50’s. The pace is tempered to an even temperature, until it boils over at the very end. Also, the film doesn’t pull any punches for the large blockbuster it’s meant to be. None of what’s going on is tongue in cheek, and it’s great to see the sincerity in all the performances. I was really impressed with Tom Felton, who plays Malfoy. You can almost feel the weight of the world on his shoulders as he begrudgingly trudges forward towards his destiny. The film is shot well, acted well and edited beautifully. It’s a completely different sort of summer movie, and like any good franchise entry, it leaves us thirsting for more.

Love Aaj Kal

Somewhere deep inside me, I feel guilty about bashing this film. It’s a harmless piece of entertainment. I don’t think the story is meant to take it’self seriously. Unfortunately, nothing else in the film does. The performances are nerve wracking. It’s almost as if Saif Ali Khan is over compensating for Deepika Padukone’s sleep walking. Really – the performances are trash. The big plot point involves Saif’s character getting tips on love & life by the Air India Maharaja like Veer Singh, played by Rishi Kapoor. But surprise! The younger Veer Singh is played by Saif again in flashbacks. Can you say, ‘vanity project’? I just hate this kind of film. It’s a love story with no heart, a musical with music that sounds like it was composed by a horny teenager and dialogues as boring as leftover baingan. Really – it’s that bad. The reason I feel guilty about bashing this film is that in the time, since I have formed this opinion, I have a met a few people who actually thought it wasn’t that bad. Even that’s a compliment. I just wonder why it bothered me so much.

Ponyo

Please. Watch. This. Film.

If you’re one of those snobs who think that animation is just for kids, you are obviously yet to discover the great Hayao Miyazaki. Probably one of the best story tellers around today, his films are exuberant, eccentric and appeals to child in all of us. I don’t want to give away too much about the film. Please discover this film for yourself and once done, you can go back to watch Spirited Away, Howl’s moving castle, Princess Mononoke and several other of his films.

Hurt Locker

Hurt Locker is a rarity. It’s the kind of film that shows up every once in a while, kicks your ass hard and is never heard from again. Criminally under watched, this is a real modern classic. Don’t get bogged down by the Iraq war film tag on this film. The movie is 2 hours of unending adrenaline. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film follows an American army bomb disposal squad in Iraq. The set pieces are fantastic and the suspense, unbearable. All the performaces are brilliant but Jeremy Renner really stands out. This is his film. His Staff SergeantWilliam James is a tortured soul, balancing his search for humanity with his addiction to the war. His ease in the field is matched only by his awkwardness with his family, when he returns home. For this amongst several other reasons, this film is rare. For an action film that ratchets up the tension at every turn, it does something that few other ‘serious’ films on this subject have done – take you into the mind of the soldiers and make you care about their ultimate fate.

Halfahouine

Halfahouine is a coming of age tale from Tunisia. It follows a boy named Noura, as he enters puberty and begins to pay attention to the fairer sex. It’s an amusing little film. Uneven at times, but always entertaining. If nothing else, the film is proof that boys will always be boys – no matter where we come from.

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days

The title refers to the amount of time one of the lead characters has been pregnant before she decides to get an illegal abortion on the black market. That in a nutshell should prepare you for what is one of the most harrowing films you'll ever see. It’s also one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It isn’t really a horror film, but it might as well be - the boogie man is the communist era Romanian government apposing women’s rights. The film is played out with no bells and whistles. Just straight, simple story telling. But some of the scenes transcend what could’ve been a very trashy film – I challenge you not to squirm as Otilia wonders whether her friend is fine, as she grudgingly shares dinner with her boy friend’s family. The film isn’t so much about whether abortions or right or wrong, but rather about the reality of the circumstances and situations. Ultimately, this is a thought provoking essay on friendship, the choices we make and consequences thereof. It just happens to be difficult to watch, stop your breath now & then and wrangle your nerves. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Public Enemies

Public Enemies is a Johnny Depp film. That should be more than enough reason to watch a film these days. In following the escapades of John Dillinger in 1930’s America, the film paints a romantic picture of booming crime – one that has come to be synonymous with such films. The bad guys are sexy, smart and cool. The good guys are slow & boring. Still, the film has a lot going for it. Johnny Depp is a scenery chewing machine. As is normally the case, you don’t notice much else once he’s on screen. His Dillinger is dynamic and cat like – always aware of his surroundings, and ten steps ahead of everyone else. It’s a fantastic performance filled with enough charisma and magnetism to fill a hundred more films. Similarly, Marion Cottilard and Billy Cudrup offer great performances too. The film is littered with great set pieces like the prison escape in the opening scene and the scene towards the end, when Dillinger strolls into the ‘John Dillinger Investigation HQ’, and asks the police for the score of the game playing on the radio. Absolute gems! The sound design on the film is fantastic. The sets & costumes fill in the blanks to bring the era and characters to life. Unfortunately, there’s some bad too. Christian Bale doesn’t fare quite as well. His Melvin Purvis is just ‘meh’.. Not really memorable. But maybe that’s not entirely his fault. Michael Mann’s other cops and robbers film, Heat is probably an apt comparison. In Heat, you had two stars on the top of their game, playing off each other in fully realized characters that spewed wonderful lines. This sadly, isn’t quite the case here. The dialogues are at times clunky, and very few lines stay with you once you leave the theater. Finally, the biggest gripe about the film is the digital photography. At times, the film looks like it were shot on a handicam, with muted colors and awkward lighting. It’s not a pretty picture, and maybe that’s a Hollywood cliché I’ve come to expect from gangster films.

All in all, I couldn’t recommend this film completely. Still, it’s worth watching for Johnny Depp and a few real cracker scenes that crop up occasionally during the film.

The Forbidden Kingdom

This is just mindless fun. It’s worth watching purely for the pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Other than that, it’s nothing to write home about.

Horsemen

I really wish Dennis Quaid would start picking better films. I think he’s one of the great under rated actors around, and it’s just sad to see him appear in such trash.

Last Chance Harvey

This is exactly the kind of film that I normally don’t like. I’m surprised I did.

I guess, at it’s heart is a simple story driven by great lead performances. I haven’t seen a great Dustin Hoffman performance in a while. This serves a good reminder of what he’s capable of. There are two scenes in the film – one where he’s seated at the far end of his estranged daughter’s pre-wedding dinner, and a second at the end of the film when he offers a toast at the wedding itself. This film is worth watching for just these scenes if nothing else. He also has able support from Emma Thompson. Again, hers is a performance of perfectly measured vulnerability and hope. It’s a great performance in a warm, breezy film.

Notorious

Good soundtrack. Decent central performance from Jamal Woolard. Mediocre film.

Miss March

Miss March is an unnecessary entry in a long line of road trip sex comedies. For the most part, this genre has given us a few interesting films. Unfortunately, Miss March is just too crass and devoid of humor to be one of them. It might interest you to know that Hugh Hefner has a prominent cameo in the film, though.

Push

Push has an interesting premise, and a few interesting moments. Unfortunately, it can’t carry the burden of it’s self importance and comes across as a cheaper version of the X Men.

Bronson

This is a fantastic film. It’s unbelievable that more people haven’t already seen it. ‘Bronson’, is based on the real life story of Charles Bronson, a homicidal maniac imprisoned for multiple murders in 1974. In telling his story, the director, Nicolas Wending Renf (remember that name) creates a ‘Clockwork Orange’ for our times. The film is inventive, puzzling, brutal and entertaining all at the same time. Towering above the wreckage is Tom Hardy who plays the title character. He relishes the part and every bit of homicidal charisma drips off the screen. This is truly one of the great performances of all time – one that will be remembered and hopefully talked about by a large number of people in years to come.

Downloading Nancy

‘Downloading Nancy’, is peculiar in that it isn’t really a horror movie, but it has the familiar symptoms of a good one. It leaves you on the edge of your seat and gasping for air for most of it’s running time. And I don’t mean that in a good way. This is a real bender of a film. It grabs you by your gut and never lets go, leaving an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, long after it’s over. The performances are uniformly fantastic. Maria Bello, Jason Patric and Rufus Sewell have never been better. The director, Johan Renck chooses to shoot his film completely devoid of beauty. The colors are bleached, the camera is shaky and the sets and costumes paint the most depressing town in the world. All this combined, with a creepy plot and unflinching performances gives you one of the most disturbing films, you’re likely to see for a while.

The Wrestler

Truth be told, this was a repeat watching. But you know what? The film just got better for me. How could this film be any more than the ‘Rocky’ remake you expect it to be? My guess is 3 things – you get a fantastic director like Darren Aranofsky, couple him with a simple but heart wrenching story, and lastly get one of America’s great overlooked actors, Mickey Rourke to play the lead. Rourke has always been one of my favorite actors, right from Angel Heart, Rumble Fish, Diner & 9 1/ 2 Weeks. His comeback has been long in the coming, and I doubt anyone else could have played ‘Randy Robinson’, the way he did. His performance is guttural and raw, but tinged with so much compassion and recognizability that you can’t help but root for his every battle. Randy gets a raw deal at every turn – his past glory days, dead end job, futile attempt to mend the relationship with his daughter etc. Ultimately, this is a film about a man who wants more in his life, is not willing to accept the mundane hand life has dealt him and is willing to go to any length to be loved again, not just by others but by himself. If that’s not truth on film, then I don’t know what is. And that’s the reason, this was the best film, I saw all of last year.

In the Loop

I love films that show you the ins and outs & backroom dealings in politics. Amongst those films, this is one of the better ones that I have seen. ‘In the Loop’, is a hilarious film, about a British MP sent to Washington to damage control the fallout of one of his comments on the Afghan war. No stone is left unturned and no detail left un-trivialized in this scathing comedy. The dialogues are sparkling, situations are so farfetched that they’re probably true and the performances are out of this world. Particularly, Peter Capaldi, who steals this film from everyone else. His foulmouthed triads as Malcolm Tucker are fantastic, and almost everything that comes out of his mouth is memorable, the second they escape his lips. This is a great film, if you’re into this kind of thing. If you’re not, maybe it’s time you were.

Drag me to Hell

Welcome back Mr. Raimi! No one does horror like Sam Raimi. His ‘Evil Dead’ franchise is the high watermark in the genre and it’s a pity he hasn’t returned to make such films in several years since. ‘Drag me to Hell’ is tons of fun and has the signature wit and style of it’s director. You’ll be surprised to be laughing hard one second and scared shitless the next. Admittedly, the plot is a little lame. Also, Alison Lohman is a little weak in her part as the lead, but the rest of the cast make up for her shortcomings. In any case, she isn’t the star – Sam Raimi is. And, if you’re squeamish and intend to watch only one horror movie this year, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Franklyn

I’m not sure what the film makers’ intention was with this film, but form the looks of things, wasting the audience’s time was probably high on the agenda. The film begins promisingly but gets muddled and confused in it’s own philosophical babble. It’s not a very good movie unless you’re in the mod to punch yourself in the face, in self important slow motion

Bruno

I loved Borat. I thought it was one of the funniest films, I’d seen in ages. So, I had high expectations from ‘Bruno’. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to them. ‘Bruno’ does everything ‘Borat’ did and ratchet it up ten times – this is not always a good thing. In ‘Borat’, you get the impression that Sacha Baron Cohen just happens to come across ignorant and prejudice people to document. In ‘Bruno’, one gets the impression that he’s so desperate to outdo himself that he’ll go to any length to illicit extreme reactions from his subjects. It is a subtle difference, but one that really left me disliking parts of the film. His Bruno, feels like a caricature and one so extravagant that it overshadows everything else. Still, it does have it’s jaw dropping moments. Amongst them, a talk show appearance with his adopted African son, ‘O.J’, his fashionista stint in the US army and his predicament involving handcuffs and his assistant. It’s like watching a train wreck that you can’t take your eyes off. Ultimately, Sacha Baron Cohen comes across as a fearless nutcase. Unfortunately, one gets the sense that more often than not in this film, the joke’s on him.

Sisters

‘Sisters’ is one of Brian De Palma’s earliest films. Its bears all the evidence of De Palma’s hero worship of Alfred Hitchcock. Everything about this film screams ‘Hitch’. The shot compositions, editing and story are reminiscent of the late master. Even the music in this film is composed by Bernard Herrman, who scored most of Hitch’s films. On its own, it is a fascinating film, but there’s certainly a sense of déjà vu about it. Add to that, Margot Kidder’s weird French accent, and you’ve got a film that could’ve been super cool, but lands up being just average.

Tie me Up! Tie me Down!

This is what I call an example of ‘Pedro Lite’. Almodovar is a master film maker. He can take the simplest of stories and engage you for hours on end. This is one such example. It tells a very unconventional love story with great honesty and well…. love. The sense is that, people are unique and express themselves differently but love is universal and its expression is in the lengths people are willing to go for it. The film is crammed with great performances. Its two leads, Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril are fantastic in holding Almodovar’s eccentric vision together, Like all his films, ‘Tie me up, Tie me down’ is a gorgeous looking film. A film set is literally a venue of dreams, an apartment is a colorful retreat, the streets at night are filled with interesting details and a bath is … well … you have to watch the film, to believe that scene. This is a really great film. I can’t recommend it enough.

The Savages

‘The Savages’ is a brutally honest film. It raises a mirror to our hypocrisies and doesn’t let go easily. In parts, funny and sad and featuring outstanding performances form Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney, this is a film that deserves to be watched.

Luck

The horror .. the horror! I’m really rooting for Imran Khan, having loved his debut, ‘Jaane Tu’. And then he appears in this crap. Let me try and break it down for you. Random idiots are hired from all over the world to appear in a high rollers version of Fear Factor, hosted by Sanjay Dut playing a guy who can’t seem to talk straight. The boring characters die, the rest of the boring characters survive. Shruti Hassan hasn’t inherited her parents’ acting genes and Imran Khan’s character’s heart is on the right side of his chest – no really, I’m not making this up.

Kaminey

Its nice that for every movie like ‘Luck’, Bolywood churns out a film like ‘Kaminey’. It isn’t a total success but for the most part its really, really good. Vishal Bharadwaj is a director, I have greatly admired since watching ‘Maqbool’. He has a very real, understated style and his films are always full of fantastic characters. Also, he has a knack of drawing great performances from his actors. (Saif Ali Khan can never hope to be as good as he was in Omkara) This film is no different. Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are uncharacteristically good. Shahid, especially was a revelation to me in this film. They are supported ably by Amol Gupte’s ‘Bhope’, will not be forgotten anytime soon. The music’s great too. But, the film’s strongest point arrives at the conclusion, in the form of an epic shoot out in the chawls. The characters appear to be literally stuck in hell, as they doges gunfire and run through expansive clouds of smoke. I’ve never seen anything like it in a Hindi movie and it shows the ambition of the director. My only complaints with the film, arise from the unnecessary subplot of the twins and a labored transition between and the second and third act. The plot could’ve been simpler and the runtime trimmed to shorter length. Other than that, it really blew my mind. All together now …. Dhan Te Nan!

Day 49, 31 Movies so far

Disclaimer: We've been travelling for the past 3 weeks, so my schedule has been thrown completely out of whack. In the interest of time and my fingers, I'm going to cover the next couple of films as briefly as possible. The blog will be back to steam post this entry.

The Proposal

Surprised the hell out of me. I didn't expect to enjoy this at all, but did - at least till the final act where it gets reduced to horrible cliches and a completely implausible finale. Still, the going is good till then, and it features great comedic timing from Bullock and Reynolds.

Das Experiment

I loved this film. It follows an experiment where everyday Joe's are put into a prison setting, with half of them playing the guards, and the other half, the prisoners. Needless to say, things go horribly wrong, when the players begin to take their roles a little too seriously. This film pulls no punches & is creepy in the max. Its greatest strength (I think) is that, it doesn't take the easy way out and use a dumb plot point to ratchet up the tension. Instead, the film slow boils at an even pace, with every escalation played out subtly, till the end when the drama becomes almost unbearable. A fantastic film, with fantastic performances.

Hearts of Darkness

I've wanted to watch this for years, and am thrilled, that I finally got the chance to do so. A docu, following the making of Apocalypse Now, the film is intimate and harrowing all at once. If you thought that film was filled with drama, wait till you watch his documentary. For the casual viewer, its filled with cool trivia, but on a much deeper level, it acts as a chronicle of Coppola's descent to madness while making the movie. Sample this: During the making of the film, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack, and Coppola (in his own words), screamed "He ain't dead till I say he's dead". They didn't even have a finished script and Copolla drew nth minute inspiration from a local cattle sacrifice, to figure out the end to his film.

This is a must watch. For fans of the film, this documentary is a testament to the blood and sweat that went into creating the masterpiece. If you haven't seen Apocalypse Now (why!?!?), its the ultimate reality show.

Waltz with Bashir

Waltz with Bashir is pure poetry. Nothing I can say will justify how great, a film I think it is. So I won't. Please watch this. It will change the way you see documentaries, or animated films for that matter.

My Sassy Girl

I'm convinced that there was an interesting film in here somewhere. It just wasn't for me. The film is built a burgeoning love story, which in turn is built around more and more ridiculous plot turns. Unfortunately, he final 'twist', intended to explain the prior going ons is so vapid and weak, that the rest of the film just falls flat. Like I said, not for me, and not for most others, I'd think.

Hitman

Its ironic that a game that burdens its player with realism and thoughtful game play would turn out to be such an exaggerated, brainless piece of crap. In short - I loved the game, HATED the movie. Avoid this like the plague.

REC

REC's a good movie and it has enough scares to keep you on the edge of your seat. But for me, having seen a bunch of similar movies before (Blair Witch, Cloverfield etc.), I thought it didn't bring anything new. If you're going to tread familiar ground, you owe it to the viewer to show us something we haven't seen before. This film didn't do it. So, a good horror movie, but I've seen better. Manuela Velasco's performance is really good though.

3 Men and a Little Lady

In my defense, we were in Hong Kong, I couldn't sleep and there was nothing else on. This movie is just plain terrible. OTT performances, a pretentious script and corny cliches. I looked it up and the film was made by Emile Ardolino who also directed Dirty Dancing. Figures.

Evil

Evil is great! (Sorry couldn't resist) Seriously, I loved this film. It follows the lives of boys in a boarding school, and the politics of bullying and power play between the seniors & juniors there. Its really gripping stuff, and like the bullies featured in it, the movie rarely takes its foot off your throat. But beyond being a great thriller, the movie also has several themes in the undercurrent. The hero, Erik Ponti doesn't just fight off the bullies. He rebels against hateful politics, and a society that demands conformity without question. If only, we all had his strength and tenacity.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

This is amongst my top 10 of all time. It is the Hitchcockian film of our time. It gets everything right - a fantastic, nail biter of a plot, great performances (Matt Damon has never been better) , beautiful cinematography, elegant editing and an awesome soundtrack. This is a film whose beauty, is only contrasted by the complicated, layered and twisted Ripley. There's a little bit of him in all of us and that's what makes him so scary. Its too bad Anthony Minghella isn't around anymore. It would have been awesome to see his take on a possible sequel, rather than the follow up trash that's been making its way to a discount DVD bin near you.

Day 27, 21 movies so far

New York

Wow! Times of India actually gave this piece of crap 4 stars?!?!

Bollywood's always trying to be 'different'. by that they mean, they will make a film about a non existent love triangle, involving 3 friends, 2 of whom are married, and one of whom is a suspected terrorist who's master plan is to blow up a building, while he's standing on top of it. What a mess! Completely devoid of tension or coherence, the film rambles on - the story being an excuse to fill in the gap between songs that seem to go on forever. What makes this worse, is that all the actors seem convinced that they are contributing to the greater good, and living up to some higher artistic aspiration. Sadly, they couldn't be more wrong. Between John Abraham's screaming bouts, and Katreena Kaif's hilarious attempt at sustaining her American accent, you just can't find the emotional core of the film. Niel Nitin Mukesh, tries hard and I'd expect more from him. At least on the surface, his character's conflict seems interesting. Maybe he just stopped caring during the production, when he realized how the movie was destined to turn out. Irfaan as usual, is stellar - being the only one who brings any sense of irony to the proceedings.

Kabir Khan's previous effort was the equally bad 'Kabul Express'. At least that film didn't take itself so seriously. This movie is just plain terrible - it makes you wish that the producer's strike went on a little longer.

17 Again

I saw this on a plane, because there was nothing better to watch. I wish I hadn't.

American Gangster

American Gangster is an amazing film. That's a no brainer. I've seen it a couple of times, and it only gets better with each viewing. The plot is fantastic and Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are on top form here. Like every Ridley Scott film, its strengths lie in pacing, editing and cinematography. I can't help but gush about this movie enough. Which brings me to my next point - Why am I always rooting for Frank Lewis?

Denzel's Washington's Frank Lewis is the consummate underdog. The driver to a mob boss, he rises through the ranks, with commitment, ingenuity and perseverance. Before long, he's got half the Italian mob working for him, owns a couple of clubs, and living in a lap of luxury. But make no mistake - he's a drug lord with serious psychotic undertones. In an amazing scene in the film, Frank seething with anger at his cousin's behaviour at a party, finally snaps, yanking him into a grand piano and bashes his head in. His brand of drug, 'Blue Magic', runs rampant all across New York, but the effects of this are barely skimmed upon, the focus staying primarily on his success. Its as if it doesn't matter how amoral his actions are, as long as he succeeds. Frank's redemption arrives with his act of snitching on his police contacts and serving jail time. But more importantly, Ridley Scott attempts to hold up a mirror to the character, in an amazing scene where his mom, played by Ruby Dee finally confronts him about his actions.

So, make what you will of the film. My minor quibble apart, the film is littered with brilliant scenes, and fantastic performances from all involved. (I particularly love Josh Brolin's smarmy detective)

Ice Age 3

I had zero expectations from this film, and was pleasantly surprised. The plot is wafer thin, and cliched, but the film more than makes up in the animation department. Seriously - most scenes were inventive, and the action set pieces were really well animated. Having said that, I think that the best thing about the film was Simon Pegg's Buck - a deranged weasel with a vendetta against a huge dinosaur called Rudy. Its now official - Pegg can do no wrong! The man's a genius! His Buck is a strange amalgamation of Steve Erwin and Mad Max, and is by far the most entertaining thing in the film. The rest of the film is pretty kid friendly, so if that raises alarm bells in your head, its probably not for you. Still, go in with an open mind and you might not be disappointed.

Day 14, 17 Movies so far

The Terminator

I first saw Terminator when I was 8 years old. I remember it blowing my mind – it was unlike anything I’d seen before. It’s been a while since I’ve watched this, and I only had one question in my mind – had it aged well?
The answer is yes and no. The franchise now seems infused with Schwarzenegger. His performance drives the myth surrounding the film. The good news is that, this still works. Lets face it – he’s no Brando, but who else could’ve played a robot with this much sincerity & fun? I can’t think of anyone else in this role. It’s really his quirkiness and unpredictability that gives the movie its legs. The other thing that still works is the plot – it’s still surprising, and I’m sure that had this story not been told already, it would make a great film today.
Other than that, the film is filled with cheesy dialogue, a labored love story and wooden performances. But the biggest revelation was the special effects. Ironically, the big ticket when the film first released, was the climactic reveal of the Terminator, for what he truly is. Unfortunately, this just seems clumsy now, with the stop motion T 800 chasing Sarah & Kyle through the factory. Similarly, a scene I remember vividly was where Arnold pulls out his eye to repair it. But on this viewing, I noticed that the close ups use an animatronics face. The result is jarring and takes you out of the experience.
So, watch it to relive the sense of awe you felt, when you first watched it. Just don’t expect it run the entire run time of the film.

Twilight

Maybe, I’m too old for this kind of film, but I don’t see what the big deal is all about. While it turned teenagers the world over, into raging lunatics, it did absolutely nothing for me. Truth be told, I couldn’t sit through the entire film, stopping it around the point, where Edward Cullen finally tells Bella what the rest of the world knew already – he’s a vampire! But isn’t he the ‘undead’? Kirsten Stewart’s pretty, but she wears 2 expressions throughout the film – sullen and depressed. Occasionally, she’ll throw a little ‘dour’ in there, just to give the scene more depth. Get over yourself! Robert Pattinson’s got charisma – I’ll give him that. But even that will only take the film so far. For teenagers, they seem pretty labored in their love for each other, and after an hour or so of watching the leads take themselves so seriously, you can’t bring yourself to do the same for the film.

A Good Year

Its taken me a while to get to this film. I dismissed it as fluff (without watching it), when it first came out, and never got around to watching it. Having finally seen it, I really regret my earlier decision.

The story is a bit of a cliche - a snobby trader who has no redeeming qualities about himself, returns to the idyllic setting of his childhood, to rediscover the joy of simpler things and eventually - love. But the film is more than just that. Russel Crowe has a penchant for taking flat characters and breathing life into them. This is no different. His Max Skinner is someone you can't help but hate and root for, in equal measure. The subtleties in this quite performance are wonderful. The same goes for Albert Finney. I wonder if it was really as it looked. Playing the mentor to Max, he feeds the role with enough warmth, humor and love to make him real - like someone you'd know (or wish you did) in your family. Similalry, the cast is rounded out with good turns from Marion Cotillard, Tom Hollander and Didier Bourdon.

The other heroes of this piece are Ridley Scott and his cinematographer, Philip Le sourd. Its rare to see a film that looks this beautiful. Everything about the vineyard is warm and brown, as apposed to the grey, depressing, London. Everything has a heightened sense of aesthetic - a used wine glass, a half smoked cigar, a dinner in an outdoor cafe, even an ink bottle is somehow removed from ordinary life. It works beautifully in making Max's transition not only believable, but aspirational.

Like the analogy in the title, the film is sweet, unhurried and calm. Its definitely a film I will be checking out again.

Good

I hate it when films like this don’t work. Well… to be fair, don’t work entirely.
The film follows John Halder, played by Viggo Mortensen. His character begins as a devout family man and idealist scholar. Set in the times of the Nazi rise to power in Germany, he staunchly apposes the party and everything it stands for. Overtime, he is gradually drawn into the party and rises through the ranks to become a senior party member, finally realizing the results of his action, but being too late to do anything about it.

Viggo Mortensen and Jason Issac offer stellar performances as John and his Jewish friend, Maurice. The dinner scene, where Issac’s character begs for an exit permit is fantastic. Likewise, the amazing finale where John finally realizes what his actions have led to. Scenes like this, prove Viggo’s skill. His performance is heart breaking and infuriating, all at the same time, and is one that will remain with you long after the film is over.

Unfortunately, the film seems satisfied in painting John Halder as an individual, who is happy to go with the flow. His transition from committed academician to adulterer to Nazi party member is rushed, and in to some degree, unfounded. Is the yearning for freedom from his family, so great that he is willing to submit to a new, wholly different life – one that goes against everything he believes in? Well, the film offers not reflection from his character on this subject – maybe this is the film’s undoing. It concentrates far more on his spiral to hell, than on what triggered this, in the first place. And one can’t help but believe that that would have made a far more interesting film.

A Chump at Oxford

When I was 10, I caught chicken pox. The only good thing about that was that I got to stay out of school for a couple of weeks and watch movies all day long. I did a whole Laurel & hardy marathon, and I loved it.

A Chump at Oxford is so much fun, it should be illegal. Like most comedies of the time, the story is episodic and more like brief vignettes strung together to make a film. It follows the familiar Stan & Ollie recipe which is always a good thing. The real departure is Stan Laurel playing a character other than Stanley. On being hit on the head, he recalls being Lord Paddington who is impeccably cultured, well read and impossibly strong – in short, nothing like anything he’s played before. It’s a hoot! If you’re in the mood for a few belly laughs and all round good times, this definitely worth a revisit.

Transformers – The Revenge of the Fallen

I wasn’t disappointed by this film, because I had limited expectation from it anyway.
I must be one of the few people who thought the first film was pretty average. Sure, ILM did a fantastic job with the special effects, but unfortunately there’s more to a film than just that. Transformers (I), was a really good ‘Giant Robot’ film, but it wasn’t the Transformers as I remembered them. I don’t remember Optimus being such a wuss, Megatron sounding like Agent Smith and the other Transformers shaped like things that come out of a metal compacter. Most importantly, I thought it was plain dull. In fact, I thought that Shia Le Boeuf was one of the better things in the film – he really held it together, and gave the story some context and more importantly – character and humanity.

Now, coming to the 2nd film, if your thing is watching cars, planes & bikes turn into robots and beat the living crap out of each other, boy! Are you in luck. The film delivers huge, jaw dropping action set pieces – and never lets up. Seriously, Michael bay has an explosion fetish – there’s no other way to put it. The action in this film (particularly the China and the forest scenes), are unbelievable. I was also pleased to see some of the more important Autobots and Decepticons show some more depth (?). Optimus is back to being the noble, fearless leader, Bumble Bee is the ever loyal friend, Soundwave sounds exactly like he did in the cartoon, Starscream is a sniveling, backstabbing goon & Jetfire, the cranky, geriatric Decepticon, turned good . If the film was left to just this, it might’ve succeeded in spades.

Unfortunately, Bay does several things to ruin this for us. Firstly, he dreams up a weird story that involves a beaten villain called, ‘The Fallen’ and a plot to destroy the Sun, using the Giza Pyramids which are half an hour away from the monastery at Petra – yes, its THAT lame. The 2nd thing he does is, seemingly lacking confidence in what is an otherwise efficient summer event film, he litters the film with enough toilet humor and sex jokes to make even 13 year olds, roll their eyes. Really – a robot that wants to get it with Megan Fox!? Really – a robot with testicles!? Really – a Decepticon that can disguise it self as a hot college student?! Really – gay dogs?!?! And finally, I’m not an African American, but I was offended by ‘The Twins’ – talk about racial stereotyping. Another thing that didn’t work for me, was the human character arcs. With the robots bashing each other in, and the world about to end, did I really care if Sam tells Mikaela that he loves her, or that Sam’s folks make it alive through the climactic battle or if Major Lenox gets his command back? Apparently not. But, who does? They’re just getting in the way of all the fun. In fact, if anything, these subplots serve no other purpose than to slow the pace of the film, and increase the run time by another 45 minutes. One notable human character is John Turturro’s Agent Simmons.

Transformers 2, is a very strange cocktail. While the action is super fun, it gets weighed down with unnecessary melodrama and humor. While it’s marginally better than its predecessor, it’s no where near as great as it has the potential to be. So entertaining, but impossibly dumb.

Day 8, 9 movies so far

“The Hangover”

On the surface, ‘The Hangover’, looks like a run of the mill, average, ‘guy-comedy’. We’ve seen this stuff a million

times before and there’s no way, anyone’s going to show us anything new…. Boy, was I wrong!

You HAVE to watch this movie. Todd Philips, whose career highlights include Road Trip and Old School, shows a return to form with this film. I haven’t laughed so loud, & so long, in a long time. The movie is outrageous, irreverent and most importantly – insanely fun

ny! Its one of those films where you think you know what’s going to happen next, but you never see what’s coming next. The cast, including Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms & Zack Galifianikis are great and play well off each other. Zack, particularly really reminded me of John Belushi. The film is also peppered throughout with cameos – Ken Joeng, specifically, is hilarious. All in all, the movie was a hoot – remember the first time you saw Animal House? Expect something close to that.

“Munnabhai MBBS”

I was switching channels the other day and caught this again. I love this film. Raju Hirani’s film belongs in the 50’s. It harks back to the simple emotions, values & tastes that we as Indians, seem nostalgic about, but have sadly lost. Sanjay Dutt, who I normally avoid, was born to play this role. Maybe it’s the regret in his life, coupled with his roguish exterior, but he is Munnabhai. He plays him as a lovable, mischievous and naïve hood & given his stature and build, that’s a stellar achievement. There’s sweetness at his core, and I’m still puzzled about that. He is

also fortunate, in that, he surrounded by other able actors. Particular stand outs include Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani and the late, Sunil Dutt. Sanjay Dutt’s scenes with his father are tinged with just enough irony, not to make it exploitative. Well directed, well written and well acted – you can’t go wrong with this movie.

“Thuruppu Gulan”

Listen – I’m no elitist but this movie was just the pits! I get it – there are those who like these kinds of movies. The over the top, crass, action filled, ‘masala’ films. I am, on occasion, one of those people. But this film fails on multiple levels. Mammootty’s performance borders on buffoonery – his single hook being the Kozhikode accent. Something has to be said for cinematography and styling in this film – its as if, someone ate a dozen bananas, a box of strawberries & drank buckets of Gelusil and threw up all over the set and actors! The plot too, is riddled with inconsistencies, and it doesn’t help that a major location in the film, meant to be a 5 star hotel, looks like any bungalow in Kerala.

To be fair, the film has a few good moments, but the film hardly rises to the standards of the kind of film it aspires to be. Say what you will about this particular brand of film, but when made well, they have an element of social commentary, are immensely entertaining and warrant repeat viewing. Ironically, ‘Thuruppu Gulan’, reminds you of a time when Malayalam films were great – they had something to say about the lives of average Malayaless, and did so, in a sophisticated and non-condescending manner. How the mighty have fallen.

“Vettam”

Priyadarshan, once made some of the best Malayalam films – I wonder what happened to him. Off late, he’s been reduced to a hack, remaking every mildly successful film he can get his hands on. His whole Hindi movie career is testament to this, and I can’t help but resent him for this.

Vettam is perhaps a step in the right direction. I don’t think it completely achieves what it set out to, but it’s a pretty good effort. Vaguely reminiscent of ‘French Kiss’ and Priyadarshan’s debut, ‘Poochakkoru Mookuthi’, the film follows a myriad of interconnected storylines, involving a jilted lover, a stolen necklace and a wedding in progress (amongst numerous others). While the plot can be a little confusing, the pay off is pretty cool. Priyadarshan’s eye for comedy framing too, is back in some sense & performances are consistent.

So, why am I not going to be watching this again any time soon? I’ve been thinking about that & I think it boils down to potential. With so many subplots running through the film, you’d think that at least one would have you rolling on the floor, breathless & hugging your sides. No such luck. The movie’s amusing in parts. But, you’d expect to be rewarded for following its break neck pacing, and this is where this film falters. Secondly, Malayalam comedies are becoming more and more ‘packaged’, with the same set of actors, servicing similar plots, time and again. There’s a certain sense of déjà vu that I couldn’t shake off. So, a good film no doubt, but no where as good as I wanted it to be.