THE MONUMENTS MEN ("NOT TO BE REMEMBERED?")

February 21, 2014.

Cast: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman.

Director: George Clooney.

The Monuments Men was touted to be this year’s ARGO and the trailers promised us just that with a stellar cast and able handed Clooney donning the Director’s hat.

Frank Stokes (Clooney) is permitted by the US President during the 2^nd World War to form a team of his choice to recover the arts stolen by Hitler from all over the world, mainly Europe, for his Fuhrer Museum. He assembles a team comprising of several people including James Granger (Damon), Richard Campbell (Murray) and Walter Garfield (Goodman).

Though the premise sounds pretty adventurous and interesting enough the screenplay is too too lacklustre and when combined with the silly BGM that comes every now and then the scenes that are already bland are made much more stupid and funny in a bad way.

You have a laugh or two once in a while in the film but those are the only scenes that are entertaining in the film. Inspite of being of such historic importance and inspite of the protagonists being in the middle of the World War the film is pretty relaxed in terms of writing, acting and direction!! There is not a single scene in the film that could be called tense.

What’s even worse is that even the dialogues that are supposed to evoke some sort of feelings, because they are so direct to the extent that the characters tell that you are supposed to be sad, fall flat on their face mainly owing to the lack of energy altogether!! It is really really sad to see such a terrible film from the man who has given us the likes of Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March etc.

The first half of the film is dead slow and comparatively, the second offers something better as we atleast get to see the events that are relatively unknown to the majority, which in no sense of the word means the film is watchable unless you have a lot of free time to spare.

The film ends with the President of the United States asking Stokes if all the efforts, money and loss of people was really worth it, whether all this will be remembered in History. Though Stokes replies in the affirmative and historically it is impossible to overlook such a noble mission, now that most people in the world are aware of it, the film sadly has been taken in such a shabby manner posing a big question to the audience whether it is something worth remembering?....I guess not!

I am giving a 2.25 for The Monuments Men. It is not a Clooney film, it’s way too lousy!!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

HIGHWAY ("NOT THE BEST OF WAYS")

February 21, 2014.

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Alia Bhatt.

Director: Imtiaz Ali.

Veera (Alia Bhatt), a business tycoon’s daughter is kidnapped by Mahabir’s (Randeep Hooda) gang by mistake. What follows is a case of the Stockholm syndrome where Veera starts falling for her captor Mahabir.

As always Imtiaz Ali comes up with something different (though the central premise is love just like all his previous films), a road movie that takes you to several Indian states with stunning landscapes captured beautifully by Anil Mehta. Though it’s an AR Rahman musical you only get to hear “Patakha Guddi” mainly (Maahi ve comes during the end titles) and a few BGM scores placed at long intervals in an otherwise silent movie. Now that might be an important point to take note of for the ARR fans.

Highway is a film loaded with positives and negatives to the extent that makes most of the audience indifferent by the time the film ends; the positives mainly being the terrific performances by Hooda and Alia (except for a few scenes in the beginning that are strikingly similar to Kareena’s role in Jab we met which really puts you off). Hooda who is silent most of the time offers an intense screen presence and is equally good when he breaks down at a later point in the film.

The screenplay shows hints of the normal Imtiaz Ali with humor at regular intervals, though less in quantity compared to his previous films, but other than those occasional scenes what you get is total silence most of the time which becomes a bit too much as the film progresses. Imtiaz Ali seems to have deliberately made that decision but it backfires big time mostly.

The history of the lead pairs ,especially Mahabir, seems a bit too stretched, unnecessary and boring. The argument that it is necessary for the lead pair to develop an intense bonding cannot be made considering the messy and stretched execution especially when the rest of the film contains lengthy silent sequences.

Still what keeps the film going are the strong performances as mentioned earlier and some really good scenes that come every now and then. One really big miscalculation on the part of Imtiaz Ali is the blatant preaching session in the climax which really takes away the mood and the film ends up much lesser than what it could have been otherwise.

I am giving a generous 3 for Highway considering the novelty and boldness. But I would not recommend that you watch it!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

HER ("LOVE IS IN THE AIR")

February 14, 2014.

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlette Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara.

Director: Spike Jonze.

A futuristic society where technology is at a level which cannot be imagined as of now with gadgets performing almost everything, a human being should be doing physically, just by voice command. That is where the story of Her is set.

Theodore (Joaquin) is a lonely to be divorced guy who leads a life without any excitement or fun. He is yet to let go of his wife (Rooney Mara), mentally and is very much in need of love. That is when a new operating system OS1 is launched which is based on Artificial Intelligence. It is evolved to such an extent that it is actually a human being without a physical body.

As expected Theo wants the OS1 to have a female voice and the OS names herself Samantha (voiced by Scarlette Johansson), and from there begins a different but genuine love story. The way Theo falls for Samantha has been written and directed so well that very soon you forget that Samantha is just an OS and not a human being. The first time Theo and Samantha have sex, yeah you read it right they DO have sex!!, is one of the best scenes in the film with magical music playing in the background. You realise the genius of Spike Jonze with just that scene alone in the way he has shot it never allowing it to be vulgar even for nano second, what you experience is pure love!!

The conversations that Theo and Sam have might remind you of the Before Midnight Series but then Her is at an altogether different level especially because of the brilliant writing by Spike Jonze. He so effortlessly manages to portray the relationship just like a normal relationship that two humans could have.

Though it is basically a love story there is a lot of humor in the film, many of which come at the most unexpected time that increases the level of laughter you have. The kid like thing from the videogame and the Mommy game are two such really creative and funny scenes.

Her is a bit of a wonderful paradox in the sense that it shows that love is the basis of all that is, and yet it is not really possible for a human to have a real relationship with an OS. Top notch direction ensures that this so very delicate of a plot finds an even better depiction on screen, leading the film to an inevitable yet beautiful climax that will linger on even after you have left the theatre.

The screenplay is a bit slow in the middle but it may be argued that it was something deliberate on the part of Jonze to allow some time for introspection and contemplation for the audience, may be as an aid for a better perspective!

Her is a total package scoring full marks in all the departments mainly direction, writing, cinematography, editing and music. But what stands out is the terrific acting by Joaquin and an even better one from Scarlett; if there was an Oscar award for lending your voice to a character it would surely go to Scarlette. She has taken Samantha beyond compare and this would surely be one of her most cherished roles, if I could say so.

I am giving a 4 for Her. Go fall in love!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

1983 ("SACHIN SHOWS THE WAY")

February 14. 2014.

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Anoop Menon, Saiju Kurup, Joy Mathew.

Director: Abrid Shine.

READ THE REVIEW HERE

LONE SURVIVOR ("GUTSY")

February 7, 2014.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana.

Director: Peter Berg.

READ THE REVIEW HERE

SAVING MR.BANKS ("EMMA THOMPSON SHOW")

February 7, 2014.

Cast: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson.

Director: John Lee Hancock.

READ THE REVIEW HERE

12 YEARS A SLAVE (" OH NO DICAPRIO!!!")

January 31, 2014.

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano.

Director: Steve Mcqueen.

“I don’t think I have seen a story like that of Solomon Northup on film and I wanted to make damn sure if it was on film it was going to be done well”. This is the statement that Steve Mcqueen made when asked about 12 Years a Slave.

Nothing defines the film better than the above statement. The film starts off in New York in 1841 where Solomon (Chiwetel) is a very well respected musician who has a wife and two children. He is trapped and sold into slavery by his acquaintances.

From then on the director takes us on a 12 year journey in the life of Solomon. Solomon is first bought by Mr.Ford (Cumberbatch) who is a very decent man and at a level empathises with Solomon, yet helpless. When Solomon gets into a fight with one of Ford’s employees he is forced to move under the ownership of the cruel and abusive Edwin Epps (Fassbender).

The film takes on a realistic approach to the whole incident right from the beginning and violence and abuse have been portrayed in a very effective way that really disturbs the audience most of the time. Two such scenes that stand out and really give you an idea of the plight of the slaves are; when Solomon is left hanging from a branch for a whole day barely able to ground his feet so that he could stay alive and Patsy getting stripped and whiplashed brutally just because she wanted to use a bar of soap to stay clean. These two, especially the latter, appeal to anyone having a conscience when you watch it on screen, courtesy Mcqueen.

Though you can find traces of Inception in the BGM (which was also scored by Zimmer), along with sensible cinematography employing a variety of shots Mcqueen succeeds in capturing the essence of it all.

The cast, top league actors and newbies alike, offers a stellar performance. Though it’s difficult to rate the performances, it has to be admitted that the stand-outs are Chiwetel, Fassbender and the actor playing Patsy to an extent. Chiwetel portrays the pain, helplessness and uncertainty of Solomon in a probable Oscar Winning performance, with moments of beauty conveyed through facial expressions alone. Another point worth mentioning is the grit and hope that Solomon embodies making 12 Years a Slave much more than just a sympathising film on slavery.

One cannot feel nothing but sad for Leonardo Dicaprio; everytime he comes close to the Best Actor Oscar someone else swiftly comes along to claim the prize, this time being no different. With the looks of it the contest for the Best Actor should be between Chiwetel for 12 years a slave and Mathew Mcaunaghey for Dallas Buyers Club. Let’s wait and watch!

I am giving a 4 for 12 Years a Slave. It is a gritty film that you do not wanna miss!

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

RUMMY ("NOT A GOOD GAME")

January 31, 2014.

Cast: Vijay Sethupathy, Inigo Prabhakaran, Gayathrie.

Director: Balakrishnan.

Rummy takes us into the violent volatile villages of the 1980s Tamilnadu, a bit reminiscent of Subramaniapuram. The story starts with Shakthi (Inigo Prabhakar) joining a college in Sivagangai where he falls for Meenakshi (Gayathrie) at first sight. His roommate Joseph (Vijay Sethupathy) comes from a poor background and very soon he also falls for a girl, who happens to be the daughter of a local gangster.

Being a village where outsiders who try hitting on the local girls are seen as criminals who deserve even death as punishment for their “crime”, the romance of the lead pair soon starts creating tension. The premise as it is can be related to a lot of the films that have come of late with Madurai and the likes of it as their background; hero meets the heroine; heroine happens to be the bad guy’s daughter and after a few tense scenes a tragic climax! We have already had enough movies of that sort.

Sadly Rummy is no different, even though it has the presence of the ever dependable Vijay Sethupathy who plays more of a second hero with lesser screen time compared to Inigo Prabhakar. One wonders why in the world he chose to be part of such a film.

The director has tried to make the film engaging with sort of a multi-layered screenplay which, though has to be appreciated, fails to hold the interest of the viewers especially when the film feels way too much longer than it’s runtime of 150 minutes. The songs are passable but when they keep coming a bit too frequently and at odd times as the film progresses the patience starts wearing out faster.

Most of the scenes offer decent acting with tinges of brilliance at times (the scenes involving Vijay Sethupathy) but sadly those are abrupt and incomplete and are more like pop ups appearing when we browse the net. The romance track also suffers from the same problem offering beauty only in parts.

Very soon into the second half the film spirals out of control and becomes utterly predictable and dragging and still the songs keep coming!

Coming to the climax, it is more funny than scary and just when I was thinking if I am being a bit hard on the film 90% of the audience started laughing; though the performances were earnest the fumble in the execution takes anything worthwhile away from those scenes.

I am giving a 2.5 for Rummy. Though it’s good in parts it’s long and tiring!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

GOLI SODA ("REFRESHING")

January 17, 2014.

Cast: Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi, Murugesh.

Director: S.D Vijay Milton.

Vijay Milton’s debut directorial venture “Goli Soda” deals with the life of four orphan boys for whom Koyambedu market is everything. They are content with the meagre daily earnings they get from a variety of things they do at the market. One among their daily timepass’ is checking out the schoolgirls who cross the market everyday on their way to school.

When one among the four boys falls for a girl who happens to be the daughter of “Aachi”, a mother like figure for the boys they decide to do something worthwhile in life. With the help of Aachi they open a food stall in the godown of the local gangster. Things get sour between the gangster and the boys when the boys get into a fight with the former’s right hand man.

One of the main attractions of Goli Soda is the boys themselves who are in top form. Armed with a good script and some nice dialogues they deliver a much better and a very mature performance in comparison to their debut film. Their chemistry is really good and they really win your hearts in certain scenes.

The script offers plenty of twists and turns and is quite unpredictable, and for the same reason thrilling, at times. It manages to strike a really good balance between masala and realism; while some fight sequences and scenes may appear to be a bit masala-ish the rest of the film offers realism in plenty.

It could also be called a bit lethargic or naive especially in the second half because of the way in which the writer manages to arrive at a solution for the problem thereby ensuring justice for the boys; the way Vanmathi tracks down the boys is one such instance and the unexpectedly sudden change of heart of the gangster in the climax is another.

Keeping those apart, Goli Soda offers something really refreshing for the viewers especially when there is a barrage of masala films with over the top dialogues, fights and songs tearing apart anything that could be termed sensible or enjoyable.

I am giving a 3 for Goli Soda. It is a good film, a bit more thought on the part of the writer/director could have made it great!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

VEERAM REVIEW

January 10, 2014.

Cast: Ajith, Tamannah, Vidarth, Nasser.

Director: Siva.

Please click here for the review.