Jack Ryan : Shadow Recruit

It all started way back in 1990 when Alec Baldwin essayed the role of Commander Dr. John Patrick Ryan aka Jack (because Tom Clancy felt he was a Jack of almost everything) in Clancy’s Hunt for Red October.  People remember that one more for Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) than for Ryan.  That anomaly was rectified when Hollywood’s most bankable star (read Harrison Ford) took over the role in the next 2 movies.   Ben Affleck wasn’t too bad as the young Ryan.

My Week with Marilyn

My whole life, I have grown up idolizing and fantasizing about one Norma Jean Mortenson and how I have been unlucky enough to be born into a generation which did not see here alive. And I am quite certain that I am not alone in this world. Just looking at photographs is sufficient for most men to feel the absence of knee caps or for that matter feet of any kind. And it really didn’t matter if you are at the bottom of the food chain or as high as the likes of JFK or in this case Laurence Olivier. The reaction that the first lady of Hollywood got from the male of any species would have been the same. So I guess it was only a matter of time to get the right script for a movie that would show the original diva in her complete glory.

My week with Marilyn is the true life story – yes indeed it is true, much to the heartbreak of most people in 1956 and even now – of one Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne). Colin is best known for his book The Prince, The Showgirl and Me. Quite aptly titled considering that Colin met Marilyn (Michelle Williams) on the sets of 1957 hit The Prince & The Showgirl where he was 3rd Assistant to Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh). The story dates back to 1956 when Marilyn flew down to England for shooting the movie. A couple of weeks into the movie, she developed a serious fondness for Colin perhaps because he is the only person who seems to understand. The fondness turns into a relationship for a week with the nonchalance and the eccentricities that only Marilyn could be associated with.

Written by Adrian Hodges & Colin Clark, My week with Marilyn has been nominated for 2 oscars – Michelle Williams for best actress & Kenneth Branagh for Best Supporting actor. Another nomination I could have thought of would have been screenplay. Some of the dialogues just kill you. Like when Olivier tells Clark, “Remember boy, when it comes to women, you are never too old for humiliation” & when Olivier helplessly admits to him that, “What I see in that magnificient face is a reflection of my own inadequacy”. Worth mentioning is when Dame Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench) tells Clark, “First love is such sweet despair Colin”. And lastly when Colin admits that, “My only talent was not to close my eyes”.

The enigma called Marilyn cannot remotely be recreated on screen but the effort put by the team and Michelle Williams in particular is stunning. Many of us would have passed out… maybe even passed away if Marilyn Monroe had kissed us. I would have been in the latter group. But Colin Clark not only stayed on his feet but went on to write a book about it. He is officially on date the man I envy the most. 7.5 on 10 for this magnificient effort dedicated to a goddess.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2677710361/

Sleuth

This has to definitely move to everyone’s watch list. I mean, how often would you get a movie that has exactly 4 actors. I am not kidding you. FOUR ACTORS. And now wait for more surprises. One of them doesn’t even have screen time. Carmel O’Sullivan’s role is just that of a voice on the phone. How cool is that? Just a voice on the phone. And Harold Pinter’s role of 33.285 seconds is a recorded version of some TV show. That’s it. In a little over 80 minutes the supremely talented Kenneth Branagh directs 2 of the finest actors of our time – Michael Caine and Jude Law – in a psychotic thriller of sorts.
Set in a completely dark background, Sleuth is about 2 men who have one thing in common and nothing else. Unfortunately, the one thing that they have in common is not the most pleasant thing that could probably be common between 2 men – and no you homophobics I am not talking about the same bed. I am talking about the same woman in their lives. To one – Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) – she is the wife. To the other – Milo Tindle (Jude Law) – she is the mistress. Hows that for a lethal commonality to have. And hows that as a concept to take to the big screen?

And it took a Malaysian Airlines flight for me to figure out that something like this was not just thought of but actually executed. And the write up on the in flight card said nothing to excite me about the movie. The only reason I picked it up as a movie to watch was because it was a little over 80 minutes long and I have this fetish about finishing as many movies I can on a flight. I could well have missed it had it not been for the length of the movie.

The execution is almost like a 2 act play. Maybe that comes from Branagh’s known fetish for Shakespeare. Most of his directorial attempts have involved the Bard. So it is probably not surprising that Sleuth comes across the same way. Michael Caine’s performance as the gilted husband who is out to seek revenge personifies that old saying popularized by Quentin Tarantino – Revenge is a dish best served cold.

The detailed scheme that is put to action by Wyke is made even more eerie with the dark hue that is part of the movie all through. And then there are some superb camera angles such as shooting the first few minutes of Tindle’s entry from the top view. And the use of mirrors when Tindle and Wyke have their first drink together. Superb direction from Branagh who has adapted the play by Anthony Shaffer into a full length feature. And I should not take anything away from Jude Law’s performance either.

I am lucky to have caught up with Sleuth on an in-flight. I have promised myself to pick up a copy at the earliest. This one is a collectible. 7.5 on 10. Wonder why it didn’t make it to the Oscars for some category at least. I would have thought screenplay.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4052222233/

Thor

When I first saw the trailer of THOR, what excited me more than the concept of yet another Marvel comic being converted to a movie was the fact that Natalie Portman was part of the movie. So here is probably my first disclaimer – I thought I was but now I am completely sure about this. I know I will be joining a very long queue of people in the world. I also know of a few friends in my life who are in the same boat as me chief amongst them being Sumantra Mukherjee (sorry Sumo – your competition just increased by 0.001%). I also know that one Benjamin Millepied is probably feeling insecure and yet smirking under that smile of his that he currently holds the principle rights to Ms. Portman. So without much ado here goes – I AM IN LOVE WITH NATALIE PORTMAN. So it is going to be extremely difficult to keep this movie review unbiased. However, I am trying my best to do so. In case there are any differences of opinion then it can be attributed to the state of mind that I am in currently which concerns one of the lead actors in the movie.


Now let me try and get you back to the review. Thor (Chris Helmsworth) is an arrogant young man. Along with his friends Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Fandrall (Josh Dallas) and Sir (Jaimie Alexander) have fought many a conquest to protect and to extend the rule of Asgard. He is the first born of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo) – The King and The Queen of Asgard. He believes that his father is not being fair when he refuses to attack their worn enemies – The Frost Giants of Yodenhime. He decides to take his father head on thanks to the instigation from his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who secretly harbours the thought of becoming king after Odin. Thor attacks Yodenhime on his own and barely manages to get back alive. But Odin doesn’t take too kindly and banishes him to Earth and takes away all his powers. He also banishes Thor’s hammer along with him with a caveat that only a worthy person would be able to pick it up and then gain all of Thor’s powers. That’s when our hero crashes into astro physicist Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) car who is trying to investigate some strange but gorgeous Aurora which seem to be appearing at regular intervals of late.

I had no clue that Kenneth Branagh has a directing side to him as well. I have always known him to be a solid actor. In his first movie after Sleuth (starring Michael Caine and Jude Law) Branagh uses truck loads of special effects. Some action sequences especially the first attack on Yodenhime by Thor and Co are visual treats to say the least. I guess Branagh had to up the ante on that count. He must have tried his best to make Chris Hemsworth act. But the fine specimen of humanity that Hemsworth is, proves it once again that acting talent is inversely proportional to good looks. Long way to go for Hemsworth to make a mark of any sort. That he will continue to be Thor in the sequel i.e. The Avengers (stay till the end of the credits to have the first look) is good news for him I say. My inputs on Natalie Portman will obviously be coloured and hence I will refrain from any comment. So to round it off, Thor is an average superhero movie with great special effects and not too much acting on display. But its definitely a big screen movie and not one for the idiot box. So watch it on the big screen while it still lasts. I give it 5 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1431476761/