I, Frankenstein

Did you know that there are 200 titles with the name “Frankenstein” in them? I am not joking.  Here is the link if you don’t believe me - http://www.imdb.com/find?q=frankenstein&s=tt&ref_=fn_al_tt_mr.  I can tell you I expected 15-20 of them but 200!!! That’s a whole lot.

Olympus Has Fallen

I have always been a firm believer in Antoine Fuqua.  I have an exceptionally firm belief that he has far from reached his best.  And I firmly believe that if he doesn’t really pull his pants up sooner than later, he will lose whatever possibility he has to deliver a stunning piece of work.

World Invasion : Battle for Los Angeles

I had this really bad feeling about this movie even when I was watching the trailers which came in about a month or 2 back. Not that the trailers were badly made. Just that sinking feeling which says, “GAWD not another movie about the end of the world”. And then someone sends you a joke which says, “Ever wondered why in all Hollywood movies, all the aliens of the world attack only the US”? A simple and straightforward rhetoric. So I am guessing that our average director Jonathan Liebesman (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Killing Room) wanted to keep the angle from that silly joke covered. And he started the movie that was about an invasion of the world as the title so aptly indicates. So this one is not just about an invasion of the United States but encompasses most geographies that mean a bit to them such as Europe and South Asia and China and Japan and the likes. But mind you that’s only the beginning. You have to remember that Hollywoods first responsibility is towards the less than 400 million people that inhabit the states. And therefore the second part of the title – Battle for Los Angeles. So there is no lack of clarity that this movie is about a bunch of aliens who invade all of earth together. But since we have less than half an hour, we will no focus on what happened in the city of Los Angeles during this invasion and how there were a bunch of unknown people who turned out to be unlikely heroes thanks to this opportunity that life decided to present to them and eventually succeed in bringing down one of the most technologically advanced aliens to have invaded earth – correction – invaded Hollywood.

The story follows Staff Seargent Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) who is about to be moved into training from a field role. Why is that? Because on his watch 3 seargents lost their lives. A story – on a serious note – that would haunt most of us for a really long time. But SSgt. Nantz’s exit from the field will prove to be short lived due to the sequence of events that have been explained in the previous paragraph of this write up. He is now called back to lead a bunch of marines (gawd – why is it that every US soldier in a Hollywood movie has to be a marine?) to help get back a bunch of civilians who are stuck in an area that has been attacked by aliens. And the rest as they say is history 

Such a short paragraph for the story? But that’s all there is. Yes there are a couple of angles explored about how one of the marines is the brother of another who was killed on Nantz’s watch. And the choice of Michelle Rodriguez who seems to be the only female marine ever to be born in the United States. There is also eye candy in the form of Bridget Moynahan who comes onto screen for all of 3 minutes and 28.5 seconds. Damn!!! Just when you think there is something to look forward to in an otherwise drab and boring end of the world movie, you get reminded that all good things in the world must come to an end. Come on Jonathan Liebesman. Surely you cannot be such a spoilsport. I am glad I got this one out of the way on a Saturday night after India lost to South Africa. Trust me, it made me feel so much better that there could actually be something worse than losing a closely fought cricket game which may decide our future in this world cup. If I were you, I would give World Invasion a pass. I give it 4 on 10 for the solid use of special effects and for some semblances of acting shown by some of the better known names.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3897661977/

Rabbit Hole

Have you ever lost someone who you were really close to? I am sure most of us have at some point or other in our lives, gone through the pain. I personally went through it only a couple of years back when I lost a very close friend in an accident. But what if it was a blood relative? I may sound very crude and heartless if I said that losing a parent is difficult but probably not the most difficult of situations to have, and I am at no point of time under playing the pain here. What if it was someone younger? Your brother? Worse still, what if it were your 4 year old son who chose to run after a your dog because the dog ran after a squirrel and as destined, he gets run over by a car which is doing 31 kmph, maybe 32 kmph in a 30 kmph zone and the impact is enough for him to pass on. I could not even begin to imagine the trauma that one would go through and would hope and pray that it would never happen to anyone – whether known to me or otherwise. But it is exactly with this extremely sensitive and poignant topic that John Cameron Mitchell has achieved an Oscar nomination for Nicole Kidman.

Becca (Nicole Kidman) has spent the past 8 months trying to come to terms with her son’s death in a car accident. She has pretty much cut herself off from the rest of the world and speaks to people in the best possible way that she can muster herself to, without hurting their sentiments. Her support structure involves her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart) who is in the same boat as Becca – probably worse. Between the two of them, they are putting their life back together – bit by little bit. They are past the stage of what they could have done to avoid the situation. Should they have locked the gate? Should they have bought a dog for their son? Who should have kept a look out for him? Still very much in love but the spark has gone off in some way. Add to that the conflicts of watching people who really matter to them getting on with their lives. Such as Becca’s sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard) who is in a relationship with a musician Auggie (Giancarlo Esposito) and are expecting their first child. Or Becca’s mother Nat (Diane Wiest) who is trying her best to support Becca much to Becca’s disappointment. In the midst of all of this, Becca bumps into Jason (Miles Teller) who was driving the car that killed her son and slowly but surely builds a relationship with him – probably a way to come to terms with the loss of her son. The human mind acts in mysterious ways at times. Simultaneously, Howie is drawn to Gaby (Sandra Oh), one of the participants at counseling who has lost her child 8 years back and is still struggling to move on.

John Cameron Mitchell weaves for us an extremely complex web of human emotions and one cannot find much fault with the path that he takes the movie into. Not too many of us would be in a position to say if it is the right or the wrong direction. But irrespective of that, he ensures that the movie doesn’t drift about endlessly and keeps it on track and most importantly keeps it tight. Performances are the hallmark of Rabbit Hole across the board. Nicole Kidman is edgy / eccentric as always but has proven that she is much more than a pretty face. I personally thought that Aaron Eckhart was better in his performance of Howie with the exception of a couple of super emotional scenes where he falters. Diane Wiest, Miles Teller and Tammy Blanchard have all given probably their best shot towards making this movie what it has turned out to be. Warning though – not meant for the emotionally weak; this one is sure to break you down if you are. And question to the guy who made the poster – why make it so confusing? People should be able to get the movie by looking at the poster right? I always thought that was the idea. Nevertheless, try and get a dekko @ Rabbit Hole this week before it leaves the theatres – 7.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3003816217/

Meet Bill

How many movies can you name that have been single handedly taken to a whole new level thanks to the performance of just one person – typically the lead role. Take for e.g. 300 – thanks to Gerard Butler – no one else worth speaking about right? Erin Brockovich a.k.a. The Julia Roberts show Part 1. Gladiator – Totally Russel Crowe. Raging Bull – Robert De Niro all the way to the end. Get the drift right? If it weren’t for these performances, the movie in itself would not be anywhere close to what it landed up being. Also, these are the kind of actors who can hold a movie together no matter how weak the subject matter is. One such actor who is amongst my all time favourites and unfortunately one who I have been introduced to only in the past couple of years is Aaron Eckhart. When I think of Aaron Eckhart I can think of 2 words – Simply Superb!!! His performances in super satirical movies like “Thank You for Smoking” or as Harvey Dent in the Dark Knight or as Nick in No Reservations – S-I-M-P-L-Y S-U-P-E-R-B!!!! And Meet Bill is no different from the rest.


Bill (Eckhart) is the executive vice president @ Freedom First Bank which is primarily owned by Mr. Jacoby (Holmes Osborne) and is Bill’s father in law. Completing the troika is John Jr. (Todd Louiso) – Bill’s Brother in Law – an irritable guy to the core, whose only thrill in life is to make Bill feel like the scum of the earth. Bill pretty much believes that he has a position simply because he is married to Jessie (Elizabeth Banks) and is desperate to make something out of his life on his own terms. But all is not well @ home as Bill discovers accidentally about Jessica having an affair with the local micro celebrity, Chip Johnson (Timothy Olyphant). When the men go out on a hunting trip (which is not something Bill is very excited about), he sets up a handycam in their bedroom and finds out that his fears are indeed a reality. An obviously upset Bill beats up Chip and gets himself infamous across the town thanks to being on live TV for the wrong reasons. Worse still, the video finds its way to the Internet.

Now Bill is an Alumnus of Tate High which is the most prestigious institute in the area and also part of a mentorship programme which involves him spending 5 hours a week with a student. In the bargain he gets assigned to him a character who through the movie is referred to only as The Kid (Logan Lerman). The Kid is probably the most promiscuous and wild character you can ever meet. Barely 16, he is always smoking up or flirting with as many women as he can and he is quite good at it as well. Now the kid likes Bill a lot but one cant say the feeling is mutual. So in an effort to build confidence with Bill, The Kid decides to help him get his wife back. He takes the help of Lucy (Jessica Alba) a lingerie store assistant to pretend to be having an affair with Bill and use the jealousy card with Jessica (the wife not the actress). What follows is a serious attempt from Bill to win back the love of his life through various ways from putting in several laps in the pool to even shaving off his chest hair (Ouch!!!!).

Meet Bill is a fabulous way to spend 2 hours if you have that available in your itinerary. Bernie Goldman is primarily a producer but does a reasonable job in his only directorial venture to date. Assisted by another debutante Melissa Wallack, also the writer, and add the solid performances of the rest of the cast and you have a very entertaining comedy to say the least. Wonder why it never made the big screen in India. There seem to be so many of these movies that don’t seem to see the light of the day. Definitely a 7 on 10. Playing these days on Zee Studio. Watch it.