Its not for the heck of it that they say it is important “To be at the right place at the right time”. The scientists / engineers and Parkes, New South Wales, Australia would not have in their wildest of dreams imagined that they would be remotely important. They had the largest radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere alright, build right in the middle of a sheep paddock for making things a little more exotic, but what use would that be to anyone. Least of all NASA. Right? Wrong. They not only find themselves useful to NASA but also at the right time – the 3rd week of July 1969 – The build up to the Apollo XI landing on the moon. Why is that? Because they were the largest in the southern Hemisphere and were to be one of the 3 stations to receive signal from Apollo XI for the world wide broadcast. Houston started the telecast of the moon landing through its receivers in Goldstone and Honeysuckle Creek (Canberra) but a few minutes into the transmission they switched over to the transmission from Parkes because the clarity was far superior to the other sources.
The Dish tracks the build up to the moon landing and the preparations that get underway in a small but insignificant town in South Eastern Australia which in 1969 may have had less than a thousand people residing there. The character sketches for each and every person is strong and begins with that of Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill) who is the head of the observatory or the “Dish Master” as he is fondly referred to by his 2 trusted aides – Glen Latham (Tom Long) and Mitch (Kevin Harrington). The 3 are totally satisfied with life in general between themselves and whatever semblance of family lives that they have and find this sudden attention a little difficult to manage with initially. The initial friction between Glen and the NASA representative Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton) is very obvious. With Al wanting to ensure that everything moves smoothly and therefore double checking, triple checking and if required checking once again. But Glen believes that it is stepping onto his toes. The calming influence of Cliff is what keeps the ball rolling. And then there is the aspect of Mitch being smitten by Janine (Eliza Szonert), a feeling that is mutual but since he is quite a nerd, is unable to pick up the right signals. Even Janine’s brother, Rudi (Tayler Kane) who is the over excited security guard (because he has been asked to keep a gun by NASA security rules) can make out the chemistry between the two.
Rob Stich has beautiful shown all the emotions that go through in a small town when there is a sudden burst of popularity that comes in and that too when they are least bit prepared for it. The characterization of the mayor Bob McIntyre (Roy Billing) and his entire family starting with his wife May (Genevieve Mooy) who is the village newspaper, his elder daughter Marie (Lenka Kripac) who is a severe cynic and doesn’t trust anyone in the government or associated with the government and finally his son Billy (Carl Snell) who is the proudly self proclaimed geek of the family is simply superb. Each character in the movie is well thought out and is there for a reason. This is Stich’s second movie that I have been privileged to watch in as many days and it is just surprising that he has made only 2 movies to date. The 3rd one, 25, is in post production and should be good as well. Superb acting from the entire cast makes it a solid combination and a must watch movie. I give this one 7 on 10.
The trailer can be viewed on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3817537817/
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur)
It has taken over 100 movies for me to get to this mark. But I am finally here. This is my first review for an international movie. And it is French. I always thought I would start with something like a Kurosawa or maybe a Truffaut or a Bergman. But that was not to be. I had been checking out the posters of 2 movies – Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) & Sarah’s Key (Elle s'appelait Sarah) for over 2 weeks now and my curiosity had to get the better of me when I decided to go for the former last afternoon. Had to start with a French RomCom – just like me I guess.
Alex Lipi (Romain Duris) has a peculiar profession. He works with his strike team of his sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (Francois Damiens). Together their job is to break up relationships. You heard me right – you have a friend who you believe is in a relationship with totally the wrong guy (yes, the service extends only to women) for her. Not that the guy is the worst in the world (he could be also) and your friend / sister / daughter / relative is unable to see the worst coming up in her life then – who u gonna call? Alexi Lippi and Co. The method that they use – seduction. They go about their roles like artists starting with indepth research on the subject using a variety of methods including those as complex as bugging to as basic as acting as beggars and trying to figure out the signs that are important. However they do work with some basic principles. They will not get into situations that involve racial or religious aspects involved. Alex never sleeps with the women. And most importantly, they step in only if the woman is unhappy. They just focus on opening their eyes to the situation primarily by showing her what she is missing out.
Now the artists are having trouble with cash flow thanks to their principles and Alex’s ways of borrowing money from the local money lenders. They find themselves needing 20K + 30K = 50K Euros to bail themselves out of trouble. When the local highly successful florist (read Mafia gang leader) Van Der Becq (Jacques Frantz) calls on the team to break up his daughter’s upcoming wedding, the team refuse on principle. Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) and Johnathan Alcott (Andrew Lincoln) are extremely happy together and are about to get married in about 10 days time. But their initial research shows that there is no way they would be able to break up the wedding on two counts – the fact that the 2 of them are extremely happy and the challenge of not being able to do so in the time provided. But desperate times call for desperate measures and the need for money (read death threats) ensures that principles are superceded and the team starts off on the challenging task of breaking up a happy relationship.
French or not, Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) is just your average RomCom with several mushy scenes and is peppered with overacting and lack of acting. Romain Duris, it would seem never wanted to be an actor and got into it out of sheer good luck. Not that he is pathetic but other than his rugged looks, there doesn’t seem to be too much to look forward to. He just about makes the cut. Vanessa Paradis is skinny as hell and should do something about making sure that the gap in her teeth is filled up – it doesn’t look cute Vanessa and it will not bring you tremendous good luck. From an acting perspective, the performances from Julie Ferrier and Francois Damiens is far better than our lead pair. No random story telling or inconsistencies but Pascal Chaumeil doesn’t give us something that you haven’t see before per se. In fact the climax seems to be heavily inspired from It Happened One Night and for our desi crowd – Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin. All in all, an average RomCom as mentioned earlier. Funny in parts. 5 on 10.
Alex Lipi (Romain Duris) has a peculiar profession. He works with his strike team of his sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (Francois Damiens). Together their job is to break up relationships. You heard me right – you have a friend who you believe is in a relationship with totally the wrong guy (yes, the service extends only to women) for her. Not that the guy is the worst in the world (he could be also) and your friend / sister / daughter / relative is unable to see the worst coming up in her life then – who u gonna call? Alexi Lippi and Co. The method that they use – seduction. They go about their roles like artists starting with indepth research on the subject using a variety of methods including those as complex as bugging to as basic as acting as beggars and trying to figure out the signs that are important. However they do work with some basic principles. They will not get into situations that involve racial or religious aspects involved. Alex never sleeps with the women. And most importantly, they step in only if the woman is unhappy. They just focus on opening their eyes to the situation primarily by showing her what she is missing out.
Now the artists are having trouble with cash flow thanks to their principles and Alex’s ways of borrowing money from the local money lenders. They find themselves needing 20K + 30K = 50K Euros to bail themselves out of trouble. When the local highly successful florist (read Mafia gang leader) Van Der Becq (Jacques Frantz) calls on the team to break up his daughter’s upcoming wedding, the team refuse on principle. Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) and Johnathan Alcott (Andrew Lincoln) are extremely happy together and are about to get married in about 10 days time. But their initial research shows that there is no way they would be able to break up the wedding on two counts – the fact that the 2 of them are extremely happy and the challenge of not being able to do so in the time provided. But desperate times call for desperate measures and the need for money (read death threats) ensures that principles are superceded and the team starts off on the challenging task of breaking up a happy relationship.
French or not, Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) is just your average RomCom with several mushy scenes and is peppered with overacting and lack of acting. Romain Duris, it would seem never wanted to be an actor and got into it out of sheer good luck. Not that he is pathetic but other than his rugged looks, there doesn’t seem to be too much to look forward to. He just about makes the cut. Vanessa Paradis is skinny as hell and should do something about making sure that the gap in her teeth is filled up – it doesn’t look cute Vanessa and it will not bring you tremendous good luck. From an acting perspective, the performances from Julie Ferrier and Francois Damiens is far better than our lead pair. No random story telling or inconsistencies but Pascal Chaumeil doesn’t give us something that you haven’t see before per se. In fact the climax seems to be heavily inspired from It Happened One Night and for our desi crowd – Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin. All in all, an average RomCom as mentioned earlier. Funny in parts. 5 on 10.
The Castle
I am actually enjoying the fag end of my vacation seeing more movies than ever. And I am being immensely helped with the Queensland floods. Not that I am happy about the floods. Some of the images that I am seeing on the Channel 9 news are scary as hell. But funnily, in a situation like this, this country doesn’t experience power failures. It is endearing to see the number of people who are braving the flood waters to save people all across the state of Queensland which has been covered by water to the extent of New South Wales – 810K sqkms i.e. 1/4th the size of India – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab put together. Stories of Davids taking on Goliath in the form of mother nature are trickling in. I had the good fortune of seeing a story on these lines but it was more like Daryl taking on Goliath and it didn’t have to do with floods but was inspiring and definitely strikes a chord.
Daryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) is a family man. His idea of a good time is to spend as much time @ home with his wife, 3 sons, a daughter and 4 grey hounds. The great part is that everyone in the family also believes in the same. The family stays in a suburb that is extremely close to Melbourne Airport. So much so that he can as well call it his backyard - they share a wall with it. The idea was that the property would appreciate significantly over a period of time but 15 years later they are still very much at status quo, along with the 3 other families that have survived. They are not very educated with the highest qualification within the family being that of Tracey (Sophie Lee) who has completed a diploma in hair dressing – the proudest moment in Daryl’s life. Daryl is like a retired father who gets his thrills in collecting stuff just because it’s a good bargain – irrespective of whether he finds it useful or not. He makes his living by running a tow truck service.
So if you are wondering what is so Daryl v/s Goliath about the whole scene, you don’t need to wait for too long. The Melbourne city council decides that it is time to expand the airport. Backed with private investors, the project is expected to cost over $2 billion – remember this is set in the 90s where $2b was a hell of a lot of money. A casual visit from a surveyor doesn’t raise many eyebrows in the simple Kerrigan household. In fact Daryl is more than glad to show the surveyor around and proudly talks about the changes he is making. Needless to say, the evacuation notice arrives a couple of weeks later and leaves the household stumped. The other 3 families also receive similar notices. The law allows the government to forcibly acquire land / property and provide adequate compensation. But the Kerrigan family is not interested in compensation. Compensation can be provided for a house. Not for a home. What follows is the story of Daryl taking on the system, all the way upto the constitution of the country – the ultimate law.
The Castle is not the best made movie per se. But it is one that picks on a relevant topic which has a social implication. The government is definitely justified in asking for land for development but have they evaluated all options available before taking the last call of uprooting people from the truck loads of memories, blood, tears, toil and sweat that have gone into building their lives. Most importantly, it addresses the sensitivity with which the issue is dealt with and gives inspiration to loads of people who may have been denied justice in a case like this. Director Rob Stich is an Aussie director who seems to know his job. The movie appears to be shot on a shoe string budget but the narration is tight and there are no inconsistencies – the basis of making a good film. Add to it the sincerest of performances from the entire cast led by Michael Caton. One would also notice a very muscular and well built person in the role of Con Petropoulous the fiancé and eventually husband of Tracey Kerrigan. Takes a while to identify him but he is indeed Eric Bana in what he would probably term as one of the least intense roles he has ever played in his life. He has sure come a long long way. I give The Castle a 7 on 10. Surely must watch if possible.
Daryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) is a family man. His idea of a good time is to spend as much time @ home with his wife, 3 sons, a daughter and 4 grey hounds. The great part is that everyone in the family also believes in the same. The family stays in a suburb that is extremely close to Melbourne Airport. So much so that he can as well call it his backyard - they share a wall with it. The idea was that the property would appreciate significantly over a period of time but 15 years later they are still very much at status quo, along with the 3 other families that have survived. They are not very educated with the highest qualification within the family being that of Tracey (Sophie Lee) who has completed a diploma in hair dressing – the proudest moment in Daryl’s life. Daryl is like a retired father who gets his thrills in collecting stuff just because it’s a good bargain – irrespective of whether he finds it useful or not. He makes his living by running a tow truck service.
So if you are wondering what is so Daryl v/s Goliath about the whole scene, you don’t need to wait for too long. The Melbourne city council decides that it is time to expand the airport. Backed with private investors, the project is expected to cost over $2 billion – remember this is set in the 90s where $2b was a hell of a lot of money. A casual visit from a surveyor doesn’t raise many eyebrows in the simple Kerrigan household. In fact Daryl is more than glad to show the surveyor around and proudly talks about the changes he is making. Needless to say, the evacuation notice arrives a couple of weeks later and leaves the household stumped. The other 3 families also receive similar notices. The law allows the government to forcibly acquire land / property and provide adequate compensation. But the Kerrigan family is not interested in compensation. Compensation can be provided for a house. Not for a home. What follows is the story of Daryl taking on the system, all the way upto the constitution of the country – the ultimate law.
The Castle is not the best made movie per se. But it is one that picks on a relevant topic which has a social implication. The government is definitely justified in asking for land for development but have they evaluated all options available before taking the last call of uprooting people from the truck loads of memories, blood, tears, toil and sweat that have gone into building their lives. Most importantly, it addresses the sensitivity with which the issue is dealt with and gives inspiration to loads of people who may have been denied justice in a case like this. Director Rob Stich is an Aussie director who seems to know his job. The movie appears to be shot on a shoe string budget but the narration is tight and there are no inconsistencies – the basis of making a good film. Add to it the sincerest of performances from the entire cast led by Michael Caton. One would also notice a very muscular and well built person in the role of Con Petropoulous the fiancé and eventually husband of Tracey Kerrigan. Takes a while to identify him but he is indeed Eric Bana in what he would probably term as one of the least intense roles he has ever played in his life. He has sure come a long long way. I give The Castle a 7 on 10. Surely must watch if possible.
Monday, 10 January 2011
The Man Who Sued God
Steve Myers (Billy Connolly) is a lawyer by professional qualification. But the legal profession was never really his “cuppa” as they would say down under. He chooses to be a fisherman instead. An you would not blame him if you see the work environment that he has. Nice laid back coastal village in New South Wales. Pristine Blue Waters. The sun shining down its really mellow rays which are warm and just the right temperature to sit back and enjoy your fishing – even if it is on a daily basis. He is not really doing too well for himself but is happy with his young (about 10 years old) daughter Rebecca (Emily Browning) who he has visitation rights to, thanks to his divorce with Jules (Wendy Hughes). Matters aren’t getting any better especially when lightning strikes Steve’s boat and blows it to smithereens. It shouldn’t be too bad right especially if its covered by insurance. But that’s not to be. Every insurance company needs to find a reason to deny claims and in this case, our scheming insurance company denies Steve his claim calling it “An Act of God”.
Now what exactly is “An Act of God”? And who has the right to define what qualifies under the phrase. Can it be done by a bunch of people who represent the insurance company. Are they qualified to be experts in the matters that pertain to the person upstairs? Or should it be left to the church to decide as to what falls under Acts of God and therefore be the right people to pass judgement on the issue? So, Steve Myers decides that he has had enough of the insurance companies playing the fool with innocent people. But he doesn’t sue them. He decides to sue God instead. Now the church, being the representative of God, have to respond to the summons. If they are unable to, then they are proven not to be God’s representatives. And if they do respond to the summons and lose the case, then the insurance companies are bound to have a tough time against the church eventually. Either ways, the public is bound to win.
Billy Connolly’s performance as The Man Who sued God is fabulous and rib ticklingly funny to say the least. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast especially Judy Davis who plays the role of Anna Redmond, the local reporter and eventually Steve’s love interest. Mark Joffe’s direction is also good and doesn’t let the movie wander in different directions. You can be rest assured of not losing attention through the movie.
Add this to the list of the many movies that never see the light of the day back home and totally deserve to. But the trend is slowly but surely moving in the right direction as can be seen. And will continue to do so for sure the way things are going. At the end of the day, one really cannot blame movie houses for not releasing the so called not so commercial movies because they are in the business of making money for their organizations and not just promoting great cinema right? So the only way out is to employ a few dozen people whose job is to only see movies all through the week and pass their judgment on the quality of the movie and more importantly whether the movie will work or not. I would be more than glad to volunteer for the job (on a part time basis to begin with ). Would be great fun for sure!!!! 7 on 10 for The Man who Sued God.
Now what exactly is “An Act of God”? And who has the right to define what qualifies under the phrase. Can it be done by a bunch of people who represent the insurance company. Are they qualified to be experts in the matters that pertain to the person upstairs? Or should it be left to the church to decide as to what falls under Acts of God and therefore be the right people to pass judgement on the issue? So, Steve Myers decides that he has had enough of the insurance companies playing the fool with innocent people. But he doesn’t sue them. He decides to sue God instead. Now the church, being the representative of God, have to respond to the summons. If they are unable to, then they are proven not to be God’s representatives. And if they do respond to the summons and lose the case, then the insurance companies are bound to have a tough time against the church eventually. Either ways, the public is bound to win.
Billy Connolly’s performance as The Man Who sued God is fabulous and rib ticklingly funny to say the least. He is ably supported by the rest of the cast especially Judy Davis who plays the role of Anna Redmond, the local reporter and eventually Steve’s love interest. Mark Joffe’s direction is also good and doesn’t let the movie wander in different directions. You can be rest assured of not losing attention through the movie.
Add this to the list of the many movies that never see the light of the day back home and totally deserve to. But the trend is slowly but surely moving in the right direction as can be seen. And will continue to do so for sure the way things are going. At the end of the day, one really cannot blame movie houses for not releasing the so called not so commercial movies because they are in the business of making money for their organizations and not just promoting great cinema right? So the only way out is to employ a few dozen people whose job is to only see movies all through the week and pass their judgment on the quality of the movie and more importantly whether the movie will work or not. I would be more than glad to volunteer for the job (on a part time basis to begin with ). Would be great fun for sure!!!! 7 on 10 for The Man who Sued God.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Morning Glory
Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is a hard working woman. Hard working to the extent that she always talks about work even on dates. She is not a workaholic. Just a little too involved with work. So it is not surprising that after a couple of dates at best, the future prospect loses her phone number. It is therefore also no surprise that her favourite activity seems to be banging her head against the wall out of frustration – not just related to her personal life but also to her work life which is not the easiest in the world. She is the Producer of an early morning show based out of New Jersey and her work begins at 1:30 am for a show that is slotted between 6 and 8 in the morning. All seems to be going well and the rumour is rife that she is going to be promoted to Executive Producer for the show. Therefore when HR calls her to discuss something she is all thrilled and dressed up in a red T shirt with the words “I Accept” she goes upstairs in anticipation – only to be slapped square across the face with the words, “I have to let you go”. Becky is not just taken aback but shocked out of her wits. But the enthusiasm in her doesn’t allow her to take this as a set back and she quickly dives into the process of searching for a new job in her own desperate comical manner.
Her efforts finally get her an audience with Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) from another TV station called IBS, based in New York. She promptly gets to the interview and tries her best to convince Barnes that she can make a huge difference to “Day Break”- the daily morning programme which is terribly low on rankings and is anything but entertaining. But her desperation for the role doesn’t seem sufficient to get her a job. Her endearing enthusiasm, however does the trick and Barnes takes a huge risk by offering her the role of Executive Producer for the show at a much lower salary that she was drawing before. After a bit of struggle, Becky makes her intentions quite clear about shaking up the system when she fire the co-host of the programme who is a sexist pig to say the least. An act that goes well with the team but puts a challenge for Becky who now has to find a new co-host to Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). A few debates later she zeroes in on taking the risk with the legendary Mike Pommery (Harrison Ford) who is on a 2 year contract with IBS but currently out of a slot and is bound by contract with IBS to do what is required.
Morning Glory is a hugely predictable RomCom but is entertaining nevertheless. I am quickly beginning to believe that Rachel McAdams has a lot of talent and is definitely waiting for her really big break that will get her a shot to ultimate glory in Hollywood. Its been nearly 10 years that she started acting and hopefully she will make it big sooner than later. The bit of overacting that she has done in her role of Becky Fuller makes it even more, for lack of any other word, cute. Diane Keaton is fabulous as ever and so is Harrison Ford in his portrayal of the crabby, high on self respect, out of work legendary journalist. Roger Michel continues with the compact narration that he has displayed in previous attempts at direction with Notting Hill and Changing Lanes to name a couple. There are times when he just about goes off track but is quick to correct himself and ensure that there there is not much damage done. As mentioned earlier, Morning Glory turns out to be an entertaining Chick Flick or RomCom or whatever else you may want to call it. I give it a 6 on 10. Worth a watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You will not feel crappy when you walk out of the movie.
Her efforts finally get her an audience with Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) from another TV station called IBS, based in New York. She promptly gets to the interview and tries her best to convince Barnes that she can make a huge difference to “Day Break”- the daily morning programme which is terribly low on rankings and is anything but entertaining. But her desperation for the role doesn’t seem sufficient to get her a job. Her endearing enthusiasm, however does the trick and Barnes takes a huge risk by offering her the role of Executive Producer for the show at a much lower salary that she was drawing before. After a bit of struggle, Becky makes her intentions quite clear about shaking up the system when she fire the co-host of the programme who is a sexist pig to say the least. An act that goes well with the team but puts a challenge for Becky who now has to find a new co-host to Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton). A few debates later she zeroes in on taking the risk with the legendary Mike Pommery (Harrison Ford) who is on a 2 year contract with IBS but currently out of a slot and is bound by contract with IBS to do what is required.
Morning Glory is a hugely predictable RomCom but is entertaining nevertheless. I am quickly beginning to believe that Rachel McAdams has a lot of talent and is definitely waiting for her really big break that will get her a shot to ultimate glory in Hollywood. Its been nearly 10 years that she started acting and hopefully she will make it big sooner than later. The bit of overacting that she has done in her role of Becky Fuller makes it even more, for lack of any other word, cute. Diane Keaton is fabulous as ever and so is Harrison Ford in his portrayal of the crabby, high on self respect, out of work legendary journalist. Roger Michel continues with the compact narration that he has displayed in previous attempts at direction with Notting Hill and Changing Lanes to name a couple. There are times when he just about goes off track but is quick to correct himself and ensure that there there is not much damage done. As mentioned earlier, Morning Glory turns out to be an entertaining Chick Flick or RomCom or whatever else you may want to call it. I give it a 6 on 10. Worth a watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You will not feel crappy when you walk out of the movie.
No One Killed Jessica
No one needs to be told what happened in the Jessica Lall case. Enough and more has been said about the case and written about it and there would be hardly a soul in this country who is not familiar with what happened in the case. Plus with the advent of the net, there are going to be enough and more hits on the likes of Wikipedia to try and understand the gorier details of the case. There will be a little more talk about it over drinks at the local bar or over a cup of coffee. Unfortunately this is exactly what would work against the makers of No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) and more so for director Raj Kumar Gupta.
The challenge in taking up a controversial topic like the Jessica Lall murder is primarily the extent to which you can actually show the truth on screen. More importantly, if there is an attempt being made to portray as close to reality as possible then how does a director ensure that the freedom of expression at no point of time is superceded by the attempt to be politically correct. NOKJ finds itself caught in exactly this labyrinth and and the end of the day you find a product that is a mish mash of sticking to the disclaimer and trying to get the whole truth and nothing but the truth out. If you walk into NOKJ with the expectation of something similar to a Black Friday, you would be making the same mistake that I did and land up being quite disappointed. Why could the makers not have stuck to the facts of case? Isn’t it contradictory to the very purpose of making the movie in the first place. The least that could have been done is stick the names. If it is OK to call out Jessica Lall and Sabrina Lall then why is not OK to call out Manu Sharma, Venod Sharma or for that matter Sayan Munshi, Bina Ramani and Malini Ramani.
Adding to the above, there is one inconsistency too many for it to be called a decent attempt. Surprising considering that Raj Kumar Gupta has given us a very good movie like Aamir, a little over 2 years back which was made quite well to say the least. I mean, how can you have the same TV programme in one shot that shows 3 different times – 6:24, 9:33 and 10:30 (don’t hold me to the exact times here). And all of this is within a couple of seconds of each other. And not just that. The sequences of June Lall screaming “Where is my baby” or Rani Mukerji saying “Gaand Phat Ke Haath Mein Aa Jaati” are anything but convincing. The over acting defeats the basic essence of a scene which could have been so much more poignant. And then there is shit loads of stuff which were totally unnecessary. What is being conveyed through a scene of a pick pocket taking off with a cameraman’s wallet or some random pedestrians mobile phone? What is the purpose of showing the Victoria memorial or the Kolkata trams? Or for that matter Vidya Balan taking a shower with her spectacles on? And I have pretty much scratched only the tip of the iceberg here.
But not all is bad. Rajesh Sharma’s (Munjal from Khosla Ka Ghosla) performance as the lead inspector in charge of the case and the frustrations that he faces is impressive. And so is the performance from Yogendra Tikku in the role of Sanjit Lall, Jessica’s father. Amit Trivedi’s music is fabulous as always. The titling and the starting line, “”Everybody is a “somebody” in Delhi. Nobody is a Nobody” give the movie a good start. There is also a beautiful shot of the mobile ringing in the middle of the night intermittently lighting up Vidya Balan’s face. Not Vidya Balan’s best performance to date. Last year she started with a bang with Ishqiya. Not to be the same this year unfortunately. I do believe however that she is a fabulous actress. Wonder why she could not come up with the best this time. Rani Mukerji is disappointing with her excessive attempts to play the bitchy news caster, Meera Gaity. Someone please teach her how to smoke on screen. A below par result from a movie that I personally expected a lot from. 5 on 10 at best is my verdict.
The challenge in taking up a controversial topic like the Jessica Lall murder is primarily the extent to which you can actually show the truth on screen. More importantly, if there is an attempt being made to portray as close to reality as possible then how does a director ensure that the freedom of expression at no point of time is superceded by the attempt to be politically correct. NOKJ finds itself caught in exactly this labyrinth and and the end of the day you find a product that is a mish mash of sticking to the disclaimer and trying to get the whole truth and nothing but the truth out. If you walk into NOKJ with the expectation of something similar to a Black Friday, you would be making the same mistake that I did and land up being quite disappointed. Why could the makers not have stuck to the facts of case? Isn’t it contradictory to the very purpose of making the movie in the first place. The least that could have been done is stick the names. If it is OK to call out Jessica Lall and Sabrina Lall then why is not OK to call out Manu Sharma, Venod Sharma or for that matter Sayan Munshi, Bina Ramani and Malini Ramani.
Adding to the above, there is one inconsistency too many for it to be called a decent attempt. Surprising considering that Raj Kumar Gupta has given us a very good movie like Aamir, a little over 2 years back which was made quite well to say the least. I mean, how can you have the same TV programme in one shot that shows 3 different times – 6:24, 9:33 and 10:30 (don’t hold me to the exact times here). And all of this is within a couple of seconds of each other. And not just that. The sequences of June Lall screaming “Where is my baby” or Rani Mukerji saying “Gaand Phat Ke Haath Mein Aa Jaati” are anything but convincing. The over acting defeats the basic essence of a scene which could have been so much more poignant. And then there is shit loads of stuff which were totally unnecessary. What is being conveyed through a scene of a pick pocket taking off with a cameraman’s wallet or some random pedestrians mobile phone? What is the purpose of showing the Victoria memorial or the Kolkata trams? Or for that matter Vidya Balan taking a shower with her spectacles on? And I have pretty much scratched only the tip of the iceberg here.
But not all is bad. Rajesh Sharma’s (Munjal from Khosla Ka Ghosla) performance as the lead inspector in charge of the case and the frustrations that he faces is impressive. And so is the performance from Yogendra Tikku in the role of Sanjit Lall, Jessica’s father. Amit Trivedi’s music is fabulous as always. The titling and the starting line, “”Everybody is a “somebody” in Delhi. Nobody is a Nobody” give the movie a good start. There is also a beautiful shot of the mobile ringing in the middle of the night intermittently lighting up Vidya Balan’s face. Not Vidya Balan’s best performance to date. Last year she started with a bang with Ishqiya. Not to be the same this year unfortunately. I do believe however that she is a fabulous actress. Wonder why she could not come up with the best this time. Rani Mukerji is disappointing with her excessive attempts to play the bitchy news caster, Meera Gaity. Someone please teach her how to smoke on screen. A below par result from a movie that I personally expected a lot from. 5 on 10 at best is my verdict.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Gulliver's Travels
A classic book is a classic book. The sooner movie makers understand that, the better it is. One should not be deprived of a freedom of expression or thought but there should be a certain quality of execution that is expected. And I am all for prosecution of film makers who ruin the entire concept like Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (which I believe was probably the worst movie in that year) did for Sholay. A pity that this vice is wide spread. Gulliver’s Travels from Rob Letterman’s table is one such example. Johnathan Swift would have looked the other way and feigned any association with Letterman for the indifferent attempt made by Letterman in converting his 1728 classic to the big screen.
Lemeul Gulliver (Jack Black) is a mail room man who thinks he is super confident and can make it to places but all he does is talk about it and do nothing. He is the atypical Jack Black that is found in most of his movies to make it easier for you guys to understand. His normal life would start @ 7 in the morning followed by his many shenanigans and gets to his mundane work. It takes a new recruit to familiarize him with the fact that he is all talk and no ball. Needless to say he is mighty depressed by the end of the day when he realizes that the new recruit has been promoted as his new boss (not that it would happen in the real world).
Now Gulliver has this huge crush on the Travel editor of the magazine that he works for (Ooops… did I forget to mention that he works as a mail room clerk for a travel magazine? Sorry :P). Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet) is the love of his life for the past 5 years (something reminded me of Karthik Calling Karthik here). But he has never managed to build up the courage to even have polite conversation, leave alone the thought of having coffee with her. But when the new guy is made the boss, he decides to try and do something about it. He is about to ask Darcy but chickens out and instead takes an application for being the new writer. He spends the rest of the night putting together articles from several books and magazines and submits a few pieces of writing to Darcy. Just to impress her. What do you know… the next thing, he finds himself in the Bermuda Triangle which is where the story decides to move into the true Gulliver mode. By the time it gets here, you have lost nearly half an hour and wonder how is it that Letterman is going to take you through Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, Japan and the Country of the Houyhnhnms in the next hour or so. Well… the fact is that he does not.
There is so much more that could have been done by Letterman with a classic of this proportion. It is mighty disappointing to see the end result on most counts of movie making. Instances like these put the stereotype tag on otherwise extremely talented actors like Jack Black and Amanda Peet. The support cast of Jason Segel (Horatio), Emily Blunt (Princess Mary), Billy Connoly (King Theodore) and Chris O’Dowd (General Edward) are completely insipid. I would like to document a severe objection for the use of the name Lemuel Gulliver. Unless your parents where die heard Johanthan Swift fans, you would not want to name your son Lemuel. And mind you, your ancestors would have taken up the Gulliver name much earlier than that. Sounds more like a curse than a compliment. Disappointing to say the least. I had expected much better despite the bad reviews that I had read about the movie. 3 on 10 for this one.
Lemeul Gulliver (Jack Black) is a mail room man who thinks he is super confident and can make it to places but all he does is talk about it and do nothing. He is the atypical Jack Black that is found in most of his movies to make it easier for you guys to understand. His normal life would start @ 7 in the morning followed by his many shenanigans and gets to his mundane work. It takes a new recruit to familiarize him with the fact that he is all talk and no ball. Needless to say he is mighty depressed by the end of the day when he realizes that the new recruit has been promoted as his new boss (not that it would happen in the real world).
Now Gulliver has this huge crush on the Travel editor of the magazine that he works for (Ooops… did I forget to mention that he works as a mail room clerk for a travel magazine? Sorry :P). Darcy Silverman (Amanda Peet) is the love of his life for the past 5 years (something reminded me of Karthik Calling Karthik here). But he has never managed to build up the courage to even have polite conversation, leave alone the thought of having coffee with her. But when the new guy is made the boss, he decides to try and do something about it. He is about to ask Darcy but chickens out and instead takes an application for being the new writer. He spends the rest of the night putting together articles from several books and magazines and submits a few pieces of writing to Darcy. Just to impress her. What do you know… the next thing, he finds himself in the Bermuda Triangle which is where the story decides to move into the true Gulliver mode. By the time it gets here, you have lost nearly half an hour and wonder how is it that Letterman is going to take you through Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, Japan and the Country of the Houyhnhnms in the next hour or so. Well… the fact is that he does not.
There is so much more that could have been done by Letterman with a classic of this proportion. It is mighty disappointing to see the end result on most counts of movie making. Instances like these put the stereotype tag on otherwise extremely talented actors like Jack Black and Amanda Peet. The support cast of Jason Segel (Horatio), Emily Blunt (Princess Mary), Billy Connoly (King Theodore) and Chris O’Dowd (General Edward) are completely insipid. I would like to document a severe objection for the use of the name Lemuel Gulliver. Unless your parents where die heard Johanthan Swift fans, you would not want to name your son Lemuel. And mind you, your ancestors would have taken up the Gulliver name much earlier than that. Sounds more like a curse than a compliment. Disappointing to say the least. I had expected much better despite the bad reviews that I had read about the movie. 3 on 10 for this one.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Chasing Liberty
Being the president’s daughter can never be easy. And definitely not the most enviable position to be in on the planet. Especially if the President goes by the acronymn of POTUS – President of the United States, Mr. James Foster (Mark Harmon) – The most powerful man in the world. Lets make this worse. The president’s daughter is an 18 year old!!!! Just about the time when you are hormones are on overdrive even naturally. How can one make any effort to constrict them with rules and regulations and Uniformed Secret Service Agents???? Its only going to lead to a situation where the pressure cooker explodes in your face and that will not be a pretty sight for sure.
Ana Foster (Mandy Moore) is going through just this kind of teenage crisis. She cannot go more than 5 feet away from any surveillance whatsoever. And the guys who are responsible with the surveillance are quite fearsome who you would want to run away from at the first available opportunity. But they are good at their job. That is till the president has to visit Europe – specifically France. Ana meets up with a friend Michelle (Beatrice Rosen) – coloured hair, pierced tongue, tattoos et al. Frustrated with her 24 x 7 coverage, she seeks Michelle’s help to escape from the clutches of the secret service and explore Paris and Europe on her own. Funnily enough, she succeeds. Not the best campaign for the United States Secret Service. But…. Not to worry, we have our plain clothed agents – Cynthia Morales (Anabella Sciorra) and Alan Weiss (Jeremy Piven) who have always been on the job. US SS gets back its reputation thanks to our under cover agents who are on their toes.
And they also manage to locate special agent Ben Calder (Matthew Goode) who is in the same area and has just finished his current assignment. So the President in all his wisdom assigns Ben the task of befriending his daughter and not giving her even a whiff of him being a special agent. What the president does not factor in and is not expecting is the impact of raging teenage hormones. Like Salman Khan proclaimed in Maine Pyaar Kiya – “Ek jawaan ladka aur ek jawaan ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte” (A young boy and a young girl can never be “Just Friends”). But President Foster obviously hadn’t seen our Indian block buster from the early 90s and hence would have to eventually pay the price for his oversight I guess.
Director Andy Cadiff is a consistent guy. He has consistently directed TV Series. Why did he think that he would be good at directing a full fledged 70 mm is beyond me. But then, everyone is pardoned one moment of insanity I guess. Thankfully, it was his last moment to date. But can’t say the same about Mandy Moore. She has been, is and will continue to be one of the most awful actors to have ever hit the screen. There is just no emotion that comes up on screen. Just sheer frustration of the viewer onto the screen. Thank God that she is at least reasonable looking. The only saving grace would be the good looking Matthew Goode – purely because he is good looking. Nothing worth writing home about from this RomCom. 4 on 10 is the verdict.
Ana Foster (Mandy Moore) is going through just this kind of teenage crisis. She cannot go more than 5 feet away from any surveillance whatsoever. And the guys who are responsible with the surveillance are quite fearsome who you would want to run away from at the first available opportunity. But they are good at their job. That is till the president has to visit Europe – specifically France. Ana meets up with a friend Michelle (Beatrice Rosen) – coloured hair, pierced tongue, tattoos et al. Frustrated with her 24 x 7 coverage, she seeks Michelle’s help to escape from the clutches of the secret service and explore Paris and Europe on her own. Funnily enough, she succeeds. Not the best campaign for the United States Secret Service. But…. Not to worry, we have our plain clothed agents – Cynthia Morales (Anabella Sciorra) and Alan Weiss (Jeremy Piven) who have always been on the job. US SS gets back its reputation thanks to our under cover agents who are on their toes.
And they also manage to locate special agent Ben Calder (Matthew Goode) who is in the same area and has just finished his current assignment. So the President in all his wisdom assigns Ben the task of befriending his daughter and not giving her even a whiff of him being a special agent. What the president does not factor in and is not expecting is the impact of raging teenage hormones. Like Salman Khan proclaimed in Maine Pyaar Kiya – “Ek jawaan ladka aur ek jawaan ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte” (A young boy and a young girl can never be “Just Friends”). But President Foster obviously hadn’t seen our Indian block buster from the early 90s and hence would have to eventually pay the price for his oversight I guess.
Director Andy Cadiff is a consistent guy. He has consistently directed TV Series. Why did he think that he would be good at directing a full fledged 70 mm is beyond me. But then, everyone is pardoned one moment of insanity I guess. Thankfully, it was his last moment to date. But can’t say the same about Mandy Moore. She has been, is and will continue to be one of the most awful actors to have ever hit the screen. There is just no emotion that comes up on screen. Just sheer frustration of the viewer onto the screen. Thank God that she is at least reasonable looking. The only saving grace would be the good looking Matthew Goode – purely because he is good looking. Nothing worth writing home about from this RomCom. 4 on 10 is the verdict.
Good Night And Good Luck
I could not have asked for a better movie for my 100th review!!! Here is one that missed out in all 6 categories that it was nominated in. In Art Direction and Cinematography, it lost out to Memoirs of a Geisha. In Direction to Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain. Original Screenplay and Best Movie to Paul Haggis’ Crash. Latly, David Strathairn was pitted against Terence Howard (Hustle and Flow), Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Joaquim Phoenix (Walk the Line) and the eventual winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote). In all of the above, one really cannot find fault with the jury. Its like being caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea – in a positive manner though. So I guess, they took the easy way out and gave George Clooney the award for the Best Supporting Actor for Syrianna as a way to make up for the losses that he had for Good Night and Good Luck (GNAGL).
Edward R Murrow (David Strathairn) is an extremely focused journalist. He not only believes in but also practices the simple fundamental concept of journalism – Report the Truth. And in the process, he spares no effort in getting the truth out and fighting for the cause of reporting it. He has an agreement with William Paley (Frank Langella), they be all and the do all @ Columbia Broadcasting Services (CBS) that corporate will not interfere with editorial – come what may. He has managed to get his way to date but then his team stumbles upon an opportunity to really take the system on.
Junior Senator Joseph McCarthy (himself through footage) has taken it upon himself to wipe the country clean of communism. And to do that, he would go to great lengths to ensure that people with even the remotest inclination or association with communist meetings or labour unions would be grilled to the core and even sentenced if required. Anyone who so much as dares to speak against McCarthy’s views would be prosecuted. And therefore no one does. Not if Murrow has his way. Murrow and his team led by producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) take up the seemingly suicidal task of showing McCarthy his place in the real world.
My first memories of David Strathairn was in the 1992 movie Sneakers in the role of the blind Irwin ‘Whistler’ Emery. And the second time I remember seeing an extremely sincere performance from Strathairn was in a movie that I reviewed earlier called We Are Marshall in the endearing role of President Dedmond. But then there are roles which people are remembered by. Roles which prompt people to say – “hey isn’t that “XYZ” from “ABC”. What a brilliant performance right”!!! Edward Murrow’s role does just that one for Strathairn. It is going to remembered for a really long time to come for most people. Strathairn is ably supported by the ever cool George Clooney who has also come on tops in his second directorial venture. Needless to say, it will not be his last. Superb performances by the rest of the cast i.e. the ageless Patricia Clarkson, the amazing Frank Langella and the ever sure Robert Downey Jr. make GNAGL a delectable treat for the avid movie goer or otherwise. That it has been shot in Black & White only adds to the charisma of the entire movie. 8.5 on 10 easily. Must Must Must watch if you haven’t.
Edward R Murrow (David Strathairn) is an extremely focused journalist. He not only believes in but also practices the simple fundamental concept of journalism – Report the Truth. And in the process, he spares no effort in getting the truth out and fighting for the cause of reporting it. He has an agreement with William Paley (Frank Langella), they be all and the do all @ Columbia Broadcasting Services (CBS) that corporate will not interfere with editorial – come what may. He has managed to get his way to date but then his team stumbles upon an opportunity to really take the system on.
Junior Senator Joseph McCarthy (himself through footage) has taken it upon himself to wipe the country clean of communism. And to do that, he would go to great lengths to ensure that people with even the remotest inclination or association with communist meetings or labour unions would be grilled to the core and even sentenced if required. Anyone who so much as dares to speak against McCarthy’s views would be prosecuted. And therefore no one does. Not if Murrow has his way. Murrow and his team led by producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) take up the seemingly suicidal task of showing McCarthy his place in the real world.
My first memories of David Strathairn was in the 1992 movie Sneakers in the role of the blind Irwin ‘Whistler’ Emery. And the second time I remember seeing an extremely sincere performance from Strathairn was in a movie that I reviewed earlier called We Are Marshall in the endearing role of President Dedmond. But then there are roles which people are remembered by. Roles which prompt people to say – “hey isn’t that “XYZ” from “ABC”. What a brilliant performance right”!!! Edward Murrow’s role does just that one for Strathairn. It is going to remembered for a really long time to come for most people. Strathairn is ably supported by the ever cool George Clooney who has also come on tops in his second directorial venture. Needless to say, it will not be his last. Superb performances by the rest of the cast i.e. the ageless Patricia Clarkson, the amazing Frank Langella and the ever sure Robert Downey Jr. make GNAGL a delectable treat for the avid movie goer or otherwise. That it has been shot in Black & White only adds to the charisma of the entire movie. 8.5 on 10 easily. Must Must Must watch if you haven’t.
Blue Valentine
This one is actually one for in flight or for a direct DVD release. Funnily did not see it on the way here. But promptly caught up with it when I had the time over the last week. In fact I think it was on New Year’s eve if I remember correctly. Waiting for my brother to get off work and caught up with the 21:35 show which got over a few minutes before midnight. Perfect Timing I say.
Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are 6 years into their marriage. Theirs was a marriage shrouded in doubt and controversy. Cindy is studing to be a doctor. She is dating Bobby (Mike Vogel) who is the college wrestling champion – a sport that Cindy doesn’t really get. But that’s really got nothing to do with what she feels about Bobby. He is just another guy in the list of guys that Cindy has been with since she lost her virginity @ the ripe old age of 13!!! Bobby, like any other wrestler boy friend is significantly over protective and jealous about his girl friend – as aspect that stresses the relationship out to no end.
Dean, on the other hand is a no good bum of sorts. He likes to live life on his terms. Work when you need to and make just about enough money to get by. This doesn’t take away from him the fact that he is really intelligent. But like an aquaintence of mine would have said, “Mere Ko kuch ban na hi nahin hai” (I really don’t want be somebody). So he spends his time doing odd jobs. He drops out of school at an early age calling it too difficult. His wanderings get him to join a local packing and moving company. On his 1st assignment, he is extremely nice to the old man who is moving. As he is leaving he notices Cindy who is @ the same old age home visiting her grand mother. He tries to make small talk with her but is not successful. However, as luck would have it, he manages to catch up with her the next time he is in the area. One thing leads to another and they find themselves pregnant. Cindy doesn’t know whose kid it is but Dean is willing to support. When Cindy is unable to go through with her plans to abort the child, they decide to get married – a marriage that was probably destined to collapse purely on the basis on which it was formed.
Blue Valentine (BV) then follows the lives of Dean and Cindy 6 years later to figure out how they try to sustain a relationship, a child, responsibilities, money, sex, parents, a dog – Life in general!!!! Gosling (Fracture, The Notebook) and Williams (Shutter Island, Brokeback Mountain), who are the mainstays for the movie have come up with pretty good performances of a couple which is holding onto every shred of hope and the last straws to keep the relationship alive. Williams if you are unaware has been nominated once for an Oscar for her supporting role in Brokeback Mountain. Derek Cianfrance doesn’t really have any well known movie under his belt to date. He has spent more of his time in the space of short films and documentaries. But there seems to be quite a bit of potential here. The narration is a little over the place but I guess it was required for the way the movie was shot – shuttling back and forth between the development of the love story and the troubled times that the couple is facing in the current day. Quite an arty movie. Worth a dekko positively. I would give this 6.5 on 10.
Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) are 6 years into their marriage. Theirs was a marriage shrouded in doubt and controversy. Cindy is studing to be a doctor. She is dating Bobby (Mike Vogel) who is the college wrestling champion – a sport that Cindy doesn’t really get. But that’s really got nothing to do with what she feels about Bobby. He is just another guy in the list of guys that Cindy has been with since she lost her virginity @ the ripe old age of 13!!! Bobby, like any other wrestler boy friend is significantly over protective and jealous about his girl friend – as aspect that stresses the relationship out to no end.
Dean, on the other hand is a no good bum of sorts. He likes to live life on his terms. Work when you need to and make just about enough money to get by. This doesn’t take away from him the fact that he is really intelligent. But like an aquaintence of mine would have said, “Mere Ko kuch ban na hi nahin hai” (I really don’t want be somebody). So he spends his time doing odd jobs. He drops out of school at an early age calling it too difficult. His wanderings get him to join a local packing and moving company. On his 1st assignment, he is extremely nice to the old man who is moving. As he is leaving he notices Cindy who is @ the same old age home visiting her grand mother. He tries to make small talk with her but is not successful. However, as luck would have it, he manages to catch up with her the next time he is in the area. One thing leads to another and they find themselves pregnant. Cindy doesn’t know whose kid it is but Dean is willing to support. When Cindy is unable to go through with her plans to abort the child, they decide to get married – a marriage that was probably destined to collapse purely on the basis on which it was formed.
Blue Valentine (BV) then follows the lives of Dean and Cindy 6 years later to figure out how they try to sustain a relationship, a child, responsibilities, money, sex, parents, a dog – Life in general!!!! Gosling (Fracture, The Notebook) and Williams (Shutter Island, Brokeback Mountain), who are the mainstays for the movie have come up with pretty good performances of a couple which is holding onto every shred of hope and the last straws to keep the relationship alive. Williams if you are unaware has been nominated once for an Oscar for her supporting role in Brokeback Mountain. Derek Cianfrance doesn’t really have any well known movie under his belt to date. He has spent more of his time in the space of short films and documentaries. But there seems to be quite a bit of potential here. The narration is a little over the place but I guess it was required for the way the movie was shot – shuttling back and forth between the development of the love story and the troubled times that the couple is facing in the current day. Quite an arty movie. Worth a dekko positively. I would give this 6.5 on 10.
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