The Snail is
fast
Just one of the songs created exclusively to promote Turbo the superfast snail
The Snail is
fast
The Snail is
fast, fast, fast, fast, fastJust one of the songs created exclusively to promote Turbo the superfast snail
Showing posts with label Richard Jenkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Jenkins. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
White House Down
There are bad
movies and there are bad movies. And if
that is not sufficient then there are even more horrible movies. What gets to your nerves is when otherwise
excellent directors such as Roland Emmerich suddenly decide to tell you that
you were wrong about them all this while.
Friday, 28 December 2012
Jack Reacher
A nanny – Chrissy – who stayed back for a week more because one of the most important person in the world – the six year old she takes care of – wanted her to stay back for her seventh birthday.
A middle aged cleaner at a hyper market –Vida – who is struggling to make ends meet but wants her son to watch a basketball game as a birthday present and was on her way to the stadium to buy tickets.
A stoic owner of a construction company – Oline – who hates her business but takes over the reins of a dying enterprise when her husband kicks the bucket – deep in debt.
A husband – Darren – who leaves home in the morning after a fight with his wife but apparently wanted to make it up to her and bought flowers on the way to work (funnily).
A woman – Nancy – who is about to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary and has just picked up an expensive watch as a present for her husband and is walking down the pier without any care in the world.
What is common to all of the above? James Barr. A twenty something Iraq return sniper. Who has probably lost his bonkers and one fine morning decides to drive down to a desolate building facing the pier, pay for his parking and take all 5 of them out over a couple of minutes tops.
In the bargain, he leaves enough evidence at the scene of the crime that points towards him. And in a matter of 16 hours gets caught by the cops. When asked to confess, he simply writes on a piece of paper – CALL JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise).
Based on a book titled – One Shot – by Lee Child, Jack Reacher is the story of the protagonist of the same name who is an army investigator. He sees something amiss where everyone else sees an open and shut case. He doesn’t care much for the law but only about what is right and wrong. And goes to great lengths to protect the right. Much like a super hero but only human.
Written for the screen by Christopher McQuarrie (Known more for writing – Usual Suspects / Valkyrie), JR is definitely not McQuarrie’s best to date. He builds up the suspense extremely well for certain and leaves you waiting for the story to move to the next angle. The first few minutes have no dialogues and yet a lot spoken – very well done. But somehow, it doesn’t come upto the level of excitement that a Valkyrie or Usual Suspects generates.
A tough act to follow for certain but it could have been – with some right casting. Rosamund Pike seems over anxious to prove a point and looks very unconvincing throughout the movie. Tom Cruise is surprisingly composed but average – which is the best he can get to. And the support cast doesn’t contribute too much either.
In short, well written, reasonably directed, good story line but falls short primarily due to performances. Despite that, definitely worth a watch. 7 on 10. Make it a part of your weekend.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1158194201/
A middle aged cleaner at a hyper market –Vida – who is struggling to make ends meet but wants her son to watch a basketball game as a birthday present and was on her way to the stadium to buy tickets.
A stoic owner of a construction company – Oline – who hates her business but takes over the reins of a dying enterprise when her husband kicks the bucket – deep in debt.
A husband – Darren – who leaves home in the morning after a fight with his wife but apparently wanted to make it up to her and bought flowers on the way to work (funnily).
A woman – Nancy – who is about to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary and has just picked up an expensive watch as a present for her husband and is walking down the pier without any care in the world.
What is common to all of the above? James Barr. A twenty something Iraq return sniper. Who has probably lost his bonkers and one fine morning decides to drive down to a desolate building facing the pier, pay for his parking and take all 5 of them out over a couple of minutes tops.
In the bargain, he leaves enough evidence at the scene of the crime that points towards him. And in a matter of 16 hours gets caught by the cops. When asked to confess, he simply writes on a piece of paper – CALL JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise).
Based on a book titled – One Shot – by Lee Child, Jack Reacher is the story of the protagonist of the same name who is an army investigator. He sees something amiss where everyone else sees an open and shut case. He doesn’t care much for the law but only about what is right and wrong. And goes to great lengths to protect the right. Much like a super hero but only human.
Written for the screen by Christopher McQuarrie (Known more for writing – Usual Suspects / Valkyrie), JR is definitely not McQuarrie’s best to date. He builds up the suspense extremely well for certain and leaves you waiting for the story to move to the next angle. The first few minutes have no dialogues and yet a lot spoken – very well done. But somehow, it doesn’t come upto the level of excitement that a Valkyrie or Usual Suspects generates.
A tough act to follow for certain but it could have been – with some right casting. Rosamund Pike seems over anxious to prove a point and looks very unconvincing throughout the movie. Tom Cruise is surprisingly composed but average – which is the best he can get to. And the support cast doesn’t contribute too much either.
In short, well written, reasonably directed, good story line but falls short primarily due to performances. Despite that, definitely worth a watch. 7 on 10. Make it a part of your weekend.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1158194201/
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Killing Them Softly
Andrew Dominik has 2 movies as a director before Killing them Softly. One of them had a really really long name called The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (super fodder for a random round of Dumb Charades right?). That one was as long drawn and slow as the name was but it was also extremely carefully made with a lot of attention to detail. Killing Them Softly is no different. And I would assume that his first movie – Chopper – would have been the same.
Killing Them Softly is the story of one Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a hired killer typically used by a surprisingly very organized mafia. So organized are the mafia that they have a representative for something like a board of directors who take specific calls through proper consideration – in other words, there are very few decisions that are actually taken. They are more of a figurehead.
Jackie is the right hand man of Dillon (Sam Shepard) who is currently unavailable to do the dirty work. Whats the dirty work? Doing away with Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) and Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) along with their 2 bit cronies Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russel (Bill Mendelsohn).
Why does this have to be done? Because the four of them are responsible for robbing money from locally arranged mafia run card games. Who has lost money? Only those who were playing at the time but if not handled, the repercussions on the mafia would be huge – A risk that no one can afford to take.
So we go through a painfully slow 97 minutes where the entire story unfolds piece by piece backed with a background score that is not quite a score but very interestingly pieced audio clips of the 2008 campaign of President Obama and several clips of the financial melt-down. Very very quirky but then that’s Andrew Dominik for you in one word – quirky. After a while it actually grows on you.
One of the aspects that really will not go un-noticed would be the cinematography. There is a particular sequence where Frankie and Russell are having a conversation where everytime Russell’s point of view is shown pretty much like you would see something when you are really doped. Extremely well done I must say.
Overall, a very slow movie and as mentioned earlier, very painfully crafted. If that’s not your cup of tea then I suggest you strongly avoid it. As such it doesn’t have too much to be seen on the big screen. You can watch it on DVD. But it doesn’t take away from it, the fact that it is a very good movie indeed. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3931415065/
Killing Them Softly is the story of one Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a hired killer typically used by a surprisingly very organized mafia. So organized are the mafia that they have a representative for something like a board of directors who take specific calls through proper consideration – in other words, there are very few decisions that are actually taken. They are more of a figurehead.
Jackie is the right hand man of Dillon (Sam Shepard) who is currently unavailable to do the dirty work. Whats the dirty work? Doing away with Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) and Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) along with their 2 bit cronies Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russel (Bill Mendelsohn).
Why does this have to be done? Because the four of them are responsible for robbing money from locally arranged mafia run card games. Who has lost money? Only those who were playing at the time but if not handled, the repercussions on the mafia would be huge – A risk that no one can afford to take.
So we go through a painfully slow 97 minutes where the entire story unfolds piece by piece backed with a background score that is not quite a score but very interestingly pieced audio clips of the 2008 campaign of President Obama and several clips of the financial melt-down. Very very quirky but then that’s Andrew Dominik for you in one word – quirky. After a while it actually grows on you.
One of the aspects that really will not go un-noticed would be the cinematography. There is a particular sequence where Frankie and Russell are having a conversation where everytime Russell’s point of view is shown pretty much like you would see something when you are really doped. Extremely well done I must say.
Overall, a very slow movie and as mentioned earlier, very painfully crafted. If that’s not your cup of tea then I suggest you strongly avoid it. As such it doesn’t have too much to be seen on the big screen. You can watch it on DVD. But it doesn’t take away from it, the fact that it is a very good movie indeed. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3931415065/
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Burn After Reading
A CIA employee with a level 3 clearance called Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) is married to an extremely painful doctor called Katie (Tilda Swinton). All Katie does 24 x 7 is question Osbourne’s existence and demean him by the minute. Also, she is having an affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) who is a US Marshall / Treasury Agent. Harry is in turn married to Sandy (Elizabeth Marvel) who is a hugely successful children’s book author. Sandy and Katie cannot see eye to eye although the families are supposed to be friends. They just hate each other – and this without knowing about the affair – wonder what would happen then.
When Osbourne gets pushed to a desk job, he gets quite peeved and decides to quit the CIA much to Katie’s chagrin. But he also starts working on his memoir. A book that will expose some of the not so pleasant secrets of the CIA – or so Osbourne believes. In between all of this, a CD with the memoir finds its way into the hands of Gym Trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) who starts believing that he can make a quick buck by blackmailing Osbourne. His partner in crime – Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) who wants to get some plastic surgery done which will set her back by quite a bit and is not covered by insurance.
Burn After Reading is a rip roaring hilarious comedy if you like the dark variety. It is not in your face slapstick or filled with smart one liners. It is just the entire story and situation that ensures that you cannot help but find it hilarious. Honestly, I could have avoided giving you guys a spoiler by narrating the broad outline but believe me, this was a difficult review to write. I couldn’t figure out where to start. Such is the layered nature of the movie – atypical of the Coen brothers.
The brothers seem to have kind of mastered the art of building up the tempo of a movie gradually, inch by inch, beat by beat through a 100 minutes. Very few who can do that. There are movie makers who can fluctuate between the fast and slow well and there are movie makers who can maintain a consistent pace and yet remain totally intense. And there are the brothers who have their own brand of movie making which is building the tempo from the extremely slow to the absolutely frenetic. Burn After Reading is no different and therefore thoroughly enjoyable.
That Brad Pitt is a phenomenal actor and not just eye candy is an aspect that hasn’t really been acknowledged by too many people. Unlike George Clooney. Both of them are superb here. But it is John Malkovich who takes the cake with his absolutely acidic brand of acting. And brilliant performances from Tilda Swinton & Frances McDormand is just the icing. You will like BAR only if u like Dark Comedy. Else avoid it. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1155268889/
When Osbourne gets pushed to a desk job, he gets quite peeved and decides to quit the CIA much to Katie’s chagrin. But he also starts working on his memoir. A book that will expose some of the not so pleasant secrets of the CIA – or so Osbourne believes. In between all of this, a CD with the memoir finds its way into the hands of Gym Trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) who starts believing that he can make a quick buck by blackmailing Osbourne. His partner in crime – Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) who wants to get some plastic surgery done which will set her back by quite a bit and is not covered by insurance.
Burn After Reading is a rip roaring hilarious comedy if you like the dark variety. It is not in your face slapstick or filled with smart one liners. It is just the entire story and situation that ensures that you cannot help but find it hilarious. Honestly, I could have avoided giving you guys a spoiler by narrating the broad outline but believe me, this was a difficult review to write. I couldn’t figure out where to start. Such is the layered nature of the movie – atypical of the Coen brothers.
The brothers seem to have kind of mastered the art of building up the tempo of a movie gradually, inch by inch, beat by beat through a 100 minutes. Very few who can do that. There are movie makers who can fluctuate between the fast and slow well and there are movie makers who can maintain a consistent pace and yet remain totally intense. And there are the brothers who have their own brand of movie making which is building the tempo from the extremely slow to the absolutely frenetic. Burn After Reading is no different and therefore thoroughly enjoyable.
That Brad Pitt is a phenomenal actor and not just eye candy is an aspect that hasn’t really been acknowledged by too many people. Unlike George Clooney. Both of them are superb here. But it is John Malkovich who takes the cake with his absolutely acidic brand of acting. And brilliant performances from Tilda Swinton & Frances McDormand is just the icing. You will like BAR only if u like Dark Comedy. Else avoid it. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1155268889/
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Friends with Benefits
The last Will Gluck movie that I reviewed was one called Easy A – with Emma Stone in the lead. It was a decent chick flick which I had rated as an ideal “in-flight” movie and given a 5.5. Gluck seems to be building a lovely niche for himself with little improvement on either the scale or the kind of movie that he is proficient at making. Don’t get me wrong here. Both Easy A and Friends with Benefits (FWB) are highly entertaining movies. But they are just entertainment. Casual fun. Not for the serious watcher of “cinema”. I have always liked this genre of cinema i.e. the RomCom and the Chick Flick. FWB gets added to the list. Gluck sure knows how to make them – easy viewing. What I don’t quite understand is the obsession with Emma Stone (enough to give a bit part as an ex-girl friend) and her name from Easy A being used as a tribute of sorts on one of the boards at the airport. Found that to be a bit over the top from Gluck.
And yes, FWB is quite like No Strings Attached. Man meets woman. Man and woman like each other – a lot. But they want to be friends only. No relationships etc. Man and Woman have both been in relationships before. Both have been unsuccessful at the relationship scene. Both come from family backgrounds which are a bit troubled. Man’s mother left the family over a decade ago. Woman doesn’t know who her father is and has been bought up by a reckless, single mom who cannot remember who the father was either. Both Man and Woman are quite afraid of what a relationship would mean to them and whether it would last at all. But since they like each other enough, the decide to be the crutch the other person needs. Just pure “Friends With Benefits”. But then they hadn’t heard about the age old adage popularized by a certain brand ambassador of Rotomac over 20 years back which said – Ek jawaan ladka aur ek jawaan ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte (A young man and a young woman can never be “just friends”). And so the complications start creeping in as always and there are lows in the relationship that take it to a breaking point before a gyan session from the single mother to her daughter and the now single father to his son and the eventual happy ending will keep everyone happy.
What works for FWB is the slick humour thrown in all through the movie. Clean and not slapstick which is quite surprising for a movie from across the Atlantic. Like
Jamie (Kunis) : Why don’t they ever make a movie after the big kiss?
Dylan (Timberlake) : They do. Its called Porn.
Loads of rib tickling one liners make this a movie that is imminently watchable. It is fast paced and has 2 lead actors who I am fast developing a huge liking for. I have always leched at Mila Kunis from her That 70s days and she has only grown into being even more delectable. And yes did I mention that she can act – extremely well? Justin Timberlake is as natural an actor like I have ever seen. He continues with the confidence he showed in Social Network and executes the role of Dylan with aplomb. I liked FWB and would give it a 5.5 on 10 as a movie. But as I said before. It is very very entertaining. Go ahead. You will not regret it.
The trailer can be viewed on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2190056729/
And yes, FWB is quite like No Strings Attached. Man meets woman. Man and woman like each other – a lot. But they want to be friends only. No relationships etc. Man and Woman have both been in relationships before. Both have been unsuccessful at the relationship scene. Both come from family backgrounds which are a bit troubled. Man’s mother left the family over a decade ago. Woman doesn’t know who her father is and has been bought up by a reckless, single mom who cannot remember who the father was either. Both Man and Woman are quite afraid of what a relationship would mean to them and whether it would last at all. But since they like each other enough, the decide to be the crutch the other person needs. Just pure “Friends With Benefits”. But then they hadn’t heard about the age old adage popularized by a certain brand ambassador of Rotomac over 20 years back which said – Ek jawaan ladka aur ek jawaan ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte (A young man and a young woman can never be “just friends”). And so the complications start creeping in as always and there are lows in the relationship that take it to a breaking point before a gyan session from the single mother to her daughter and the now single father to his son and the eventual happy ending will keep everyone happy.
What works for FWB is the slick humour thrown in all through the movie. Clean and not slapstick which is quite surprising for a movie from across the Atlantic. Like
Jamie (Kunis) : Why don’t they ever make a movie after the big kiss?
Dylan (Timberlake) : They do. Its called Porn.
Loads of rib tickling one liners make this a movie that is imminently watchable. It is fast paced and has 2 lead actors who I am fast developing a huge liking for. I have always leched at Mila Kunis from her That 70s days and she has only grown into being even more delectable. And yes did I mention that she can act – extremely well? Justin Timberlake is as natural an actor like I have ever seen. He continues with the confidence he showed in Social Network and executes the role of Dylan with aplomb. I liked FWB and would give it a 5.5 on 10 as a movie. But as I said before. It is very very entertaining. Go ahead. You will not regret it.
The trailer can be viewed on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2190056729/
Friday, 11 March 2011
Hall Pass
I have been really busy over the past few days. If I haven’t posted my review for the day or at least watched a movie then I get quite crabby and edgy. But when it comes to Hall Pass, although I saw it 3 days back, I haven’t really regretted not posting the review. I was even contemplating not reviewing it and my conscience said – “Sacrilegoous!!!! How can you deviate from the plan? Your 44 followers (get the hint folks – click on “FOLLOW”) will be so waiting for the review of Hall Pass. What would they say if they didn’t read it”? But the lazy part of me kept pushing it for later – I am a procrastinator. Why do something today when it can be done tomorrow? Nevertheless, my shock knew no bounds when in the movie listings of India’s largest selling tabloid, I could not find The Fighter (yes I haven’t seen it yet and you guys can stone me later) but HALL PASS was clearly staring at me and I almost stopped eating my breakfast. But then thankfully my faith in good movies was redeemed when I checked the PVR website (is anyone from PVR listening? This is free promotion!!!) and found that Hall Pass had only 3 shows and The Fighter had 4. I would probably have been much harsher than 3 shows. Maybe one show @ 9 am in some random cinema in the city just to keep the distributors happy. I mean, what were they thinking? Did they check the product out before putting it out there to torture us simple souls? Or is this their version of some sick joke?
Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Rick (Owen Wilson – heavily made up at that) have been married for a while now and have 3 kids. One cannot say that they are extremely happy or sad (that is the extent of lifelessness in the acting) or in trouble but they seem to be managing things. One thing for sure is that Rick hasn’t been getting any from Maggie for a while now. And Maggie hasn’t been putting herself out there either. Cut to Grace (Christina Applegate) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who are a bit more animated about their relationship status. Neither Rick nor Fred are the kind of men today that “they used to be” (GOD I have had it with that!!!!). And they are both dead sure that if they were out there for some ass then they would get it hands down. Regular story right? And all of us are well aware that it is not as easy as it used to be. But our 2 heroes continue to live in their false beliefs and are happy taking mental pictures of several HOT women who are on display through the entire movie. But when things get a little out of hand (no they don’t cheat or anything of the sort – just some domestic squabble) then the wives get together to give them a Hall Pass – a week off marriage where the husbands an do whatever they want to no questions asked. What the husbands forget is that the Hall Pass works both ways.
Yet another case of an interesting concept that has been totally hashed up into classic slap stick American Comedy which has more emphasis on showing women than actually showing some quality comedy. I have never been too much of a fan of Peter & Bobby Farrelly who gave us the likes of There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber, Stuck on You and Shallow Hal. All are movies that have been widely viewed – so I guess they make their money. But they still have to learn even the basics of movie making. I guess there are enough and more takers for slapstick. So what if it is cheap laughter. Its laughter anyways I guess. Cannot say much about any of the other aspects of movie making cause they were pretty much absent. If you liked the previous stuff that the Farrelly brothers have dished out then you may find this just a little bit lower in rating. I don’t think it deserved anything more than 3 on 10 and that too because of an interesting storyline and the fact that it was finished reasonably well. Yeah you can also say I give it a point for the hot women on display (I am being honest here). Really – don’t waste your time. Put in half the money into my account for saving it for you.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi811440665/
Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Rick (Owen Wilson – heavily made up at that) have been married for a while now and have 3 kids. One cannot say that they are extremely happy or sad (that is the extent of lifelessness in the acting) or in trouble but they seem to be managing things. One thing for sure is that Rick hasn’t been getting any from Maggie for a while now. And Maggie hasn’t been putting herself out there either. Cut to Grace (Christina Applegate) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who are a bit more animated about their relationship status. Neither Rick nor Fred are the kind of men today that “they used to be” (GOD I have had it with that!!!!). And they are both dead sure that if they were out there for some ass then they would get it hands down. Regular story right? And all of us are well aware that it is not as easy as it used to be. But our 2 heroes continue to live in their false beliefs and are happy taking mental pictures of several HOT women who are on display through the entire movie. But when things get a little out of hand (no they don’t cheat or anything of the sort – just some domestic squabble) then the wives get together to give them a Hall Pass – a week off marriage where the husbands an do whatever they want to no questions asked. What the husbands forget is that the Hall Pass works both ways.
Yet another case of an interesting concept that has been totally hashed up into classic slap stick American Comedy which has more emphasis on showing women than actually showing some quality comedy. I have never been too much of a fan of Peter & Bobby Farrelly who gave us the likes of There’s Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber, Stuck on You and Shallow Hal. All are movies that have been widely viewed – so I guess they make their money. But they still have to learn even the basics of movie making. I guess there are enough and more takers for slapstick. So what if it is cheap laughter. Its laughter anyways I guess. Cannot say much about any of the other aspects of movie making cause they were pretty much absent. If you liked the previous stuff that the Farrelly brothers have dished out then you may find this just a little bit lower in rating. I don’t think it deserved anything more than 3 on 10 and that too because of an interesting storyline and the fact that it was finished reasonably well. Yeah you can also say I give it a point for the hot women on display (I am being honest here). Really – don’t waste your time. Put in half the money into my account for saving it for you.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi811440665/
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Eat Pray Love
There are movies where the book is better and there are movies where the movie is better. And then there is the type where both are probably as good. I was a few pages down Eat Pray Love when I could not take the risk of the movie leaving the screens in Mumbai. It had been 2 weeks since the release. Plus my schedules were going downright crazy. Could not catch up with completing the book. So just went right ahead. I am not sure, in which category would EPL (not the soccer variety) fall into but I am kind of willing to stick my neck out and say it would be the third variety.
Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a thirty something author who is in a marriage to Stephen (Billy Crydup) which dreams are made of. Settled, big house, well to do husband and her own career going northwards. And the prospect of going the family way also seemingly around the corner. But what if she doesn’t want any of this? What if she is not ready to be a mother? What if she suddenly realizes that the past few years were nothing but a mistake? That she is not the kinds who is willing to settle down in the first place. That her choice of getting married was probably the biggest mistake of her life? – BITCH is what most of us would call her isn’t it?
But then, Ms. Gilbert finds herself in exactly this position. After days on end of crying herself to sleep and trying to figure out what she prefers – Being called a bitch or staying in a marriage that is not what she wants. Liz takes option 1. Which I personally believe is the choice one needs to have the courage to make. Seriously what is the point of being in a relationship, friendship or whatever one wants to call it if one is just not interested – isn’t it? So Liz makes the choice of bailing out on her marriage.
In between all of this on a trip to Bali she meets Ketut Liyer, a medicine man who predicts that Liz would lose everything, come back to Bali for a few months and then make everything that she lost back. True to Ketut’s prediction, when she returns and breaks her wedding, she actually loses everything that she has made coz Stephen decides to take her to the cleaners. Somewhat on the rebound, she finds herself in love with David (James Franco) an actor. But is still not able to find any happiness. She finally decides to quit everything and follow her heart to three places – Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Indonesia (Love).
I am totally in awe of Julia Roberts. I don’t think there is any role that she cannot play. And when there is an opportunity to play a serious character role like that of Liz Gilbert, she comes out on tops totally. Just like she did with Erin Brockovich. The classic example of a method actor. I am certain that she takes the concept of getting under the skin of her character to the highest possible level. The more I think about her, the only word that comes to mind is ETHEREAL. The rest of the cast is quite good but pale in comparison to her just because of the sheer presence that she gets to the screen. And had it not been for the magical Javier Bardem who plays the role of Filepe, it would have probably been called The Julia Roberts Show and not Eat Pray Love.
Director Ryan Murphy is known for the TV Series Glee. Now in the past I have said that TV directors should stick to TV. But Mr. Murphy seems to be out to prove me wrong. Slightly stretched but I guess it had to be for the book @ hand. And specifically, the India segment was probably not handled with the best of finesse. At the end of the day, I think he does a pretty good job out of it. Some poignant moments especially when Richard from Texas (Richard Jenkins) breaks down in front of Liz while telling her his story and what got him to India for the past 10 years. All in all, EPL is a pretty good watch. Scores 6 on 10 in my books. But more importantly another potential Oscar nomination for Julia Roberts on the cards.
Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) is a thirty something author who is in a marriage to Stephen (Billy Crydup) which dreams are made of. Settled, big house, well to do husband and her own career going northwards. And the prospect of going the family way also seemingly around the corner. But what if she doesn’t want any of this? What if she is not ready to be a mother? What if she suddenly realizes that the past few years were nothing but a mistake? That she is not the kinds who is willing to settle down in the first place. That her choice of getting married was probably the biggest mistake of her life? – BITCH is what most of us would call her isn’t it?
But then, Ms. Gilbert finds herself in exactly this position. After days on end of crying herself to sleep and trying to figure out what she prefers – Being called a bitch or staying in a marriage that is not what she wants. Liz takes option 1. Which I personally believe is the choice one needs to have the courage to make. Seriously what is the point of being in a relationship, friendship or whatever one wants to call it if one is just not interested – isn’t it? So Liz makes the choice of bailing out on her marriage.
In between all of this on a trip to Bali she meets Ketut Liyer, a medicine man who predicts that Liz would lose everything, come back to Bali for a few months and then make everything that she lost back. True to Ketut’s prediction, when she returns and breaks her wedding, she actually loses everything that she has made coz Stephen decides to take her to the cleaners. Somewhat on the rebound, she finds herself in love with David (James Franco) an actor. But is still not able to find any happiness. She finally decides to quit everything and follow her heart to three places – Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Indonesia (Love).
I am totally in awe of Julia Roberts. I don’t think there is any role that she cannot play. And when there is an opportunity to play a serious character role like that of Liz Gilbert, she comes out on tops totally. Just like she did with Erin Brockovich. The classic example of a method actor. I am certain that she takes the concept of getting under the skin of her character to the highest possible level. The more I think about her, the only word that comes to mind is ETHEREAL. The rest of the cast is quite good but pale in comparison to her just because of the sheer presence that she gets to the screen. And had it not been for the magical Javier Bardem who plays the role of Filepe, it would have probably been called The Julia Roberts Show and not Eat Pray Love.
Director Ryan Murphy is known for the TV Series Glee. Now in the past I have said that TV directors should stick to TV. But Mr. Murphy seems to be out to prove me wrong. Slightly stretched but I guess it had to be for the book @ hand. And specifically, the India segment was probably not handled with the best of finesse. At the end of the day, I think he does a pretty good job out of it. Some poignant moments especially when Richard from Texas (Richard Jenkins) breaks down in front of Liz while telling her his story and what got him to India for the past 10 years. All in all, EPL is a pretty good watch. Scores 6 on 10 in my books. But more importantly another potential Oscar nomination for Julia Roberts on the cards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)