Saving Mr. Banks

John Lee Hancock is a very choosy person.  How did I deduce that? Well, in 54 years, Hancock has made 7 movies and written 9 screenplays.  Of these 16 pieces of work, 4 overlap leaving us with a total of 12 assignments.  In a career spanning over 20 years, that’s being choosy.  But that’s also being a stickler for perfection – The Rookie, Alamo and The Blind Side are 3 of Hancock’s recent works.

Captain Phillips

If Tom Hanks joins Daniel Day Lewis as the only other man to have won 3 Academy Awards as a Best Actor then it would be primarily because of his performance in the last 5 minutes as Captain Phillips.  How would you play a scene where you have little or no bodily damage but are in shock / panic?  This is exactly the kind of material that is going to be used at cinema schools where acting is a course.

Angels and Demons

Most people in Hollywood state that if there was a contest for the most effective combinations between director and actor – Ron Howard with Tom Hanks would be right up there with the best.  They had 2 movies under their belt before Angels and Demons.  The Da Vinci Code & that classic called Apollo 13.  Both extremely well made.

Cloud Atlas

Spoiler Alert – There are several brilliant actors in this movie who play multiple characters – upto 6 of them each. We start with the great Tom Hanks who is definitely on his way to an Oscar nomination if not an eventual win that will take him to the maximum Oscars won by an actor in a lead role. I called it a spoiler alert because it is an intrinsic part of the movie.

There is Hugh Grant who has come up with what could be argued as his best performance to date. There is the ever dependable Jim Broadbent whose powerful presence and even more powerful characters take away the sheen from the performances of those who aren’t as experienced as this brilliant actor. And then there is the most under rated of all – Hugo Weaving who looks and acts as sinister as ever.

And I haven’t touched upon the other people in the star cast – Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, James D’Arcy – oh the list goes on and on. Needless to say, Cloud Atlas is a movie that owes a lot to its actors. Full marks to the casting directors.

Full marks again to the Wachowski Brothers (or should I say siblings, now that Larry is Lana after his sex change operation) who have collaborated with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run / The International) after a hiatus of 4 years. And what a project!!! To get David Mitchell’s Epic Science Fiction novel of the same name onto the big screen was a project that – let me stick my neck out here – only the Wachowskis were capable of pulling off.

Cloud Atlas is a complicated series of 6 stories in different time periods from 1849 in the South Pacific to what I could only call as a really distant future. The movie calls it 106 winters after the fall @ the Big Isle. All central characters in each story can be perceived as reincarnations of the central character from the previous story. Each one of them is identifiable through a birthmark that resembles a comet.

Now I haven’t read the David Mitchell book yet but have made a mental note to get my hands on it at the earliest possible. I suggest you do as well. And if you can manage to hold back your patience and not watch the movie till you read the book, it will hold you in good stead for sure. Hazarding a guess – The Wachowskis would have stayed true to the book with some not so subtle changes that are signature to them.

Cloud Atlas is the kind of movie you will watch only if you love Epic movies and are excited about the idea of multiple story lines that are around a central connect of some kind and totally confuse the heebijeebies out of you. If you don’t like such movies then avoid it like the plague. In my books – 8 on 10 and must watch. Will watch again during the week for certain. Loved it!!! Go Wachowskis!!! Definitely top 10 for the year!!!!

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Now pause for just a few seconds and look at the string of names that dot this movie. Lets start with Stephen Daldry. He has directed 6 actors to Oscar nominated roles. At least one of whom has won an Oscar (The Reader – Kate Winslet). He has directed 4 full length features starting with Billy Elliot and all of them have been brilliantly made. The Hours and The Reader were the ones in between – before he made what I would guess is his best effort to date with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

And then we go onto multiple screenplay Oscar nominee called Eric Roth. Look at the list of movies he has to his credit. Benjamin Button, Munich, Ali, The Insider, Horse Whisperer & the mother of all – the one that got him Uncle Oscar – Forrest Gump. But the amount of meat provided by Jonathan S Foer’s 2005 Novel of the same name was sufficient enough to give yet another brilliant effort.

After these 2 big names one cannot help but look at the star cast and be quite certain that you are in for a really good movie when you look at names such as Tom “whatever I touch turns to gold” Hanks and Sandra “why was all that talent hidden to date” Bullock. And lets not forget some more stunning names – so what if their roles were not the most meaty – Viola Davis and John Goodman to name two.

But honestly, despite these big names, what will win your hearts in this super poignant drama will be the performances of one 14 year old who plays a 9 year old and another at the other end of the spectrum @ 82 years of age at the time of release. Thomas Horn plays the role of the young Oskar Schell who loses his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) thanks to a maniac who masterminded a couple of planes into an identical pair of landmark buildings in New York.

Oskar happens to walk into his father’s closet, over a year after the “worst” day and finds a key inside a blue vase. Thinking that it is a message left by his father, he decides to track down the lock that the key is meant for. He traces down over 400 people with the surname of Black across the 5 boroughs of New York. As he goes through the gut wrenching activity, he meets a variety of people and also makes friends with someone who is staying with his grandmother who is called The Renter (Max Von Sydow) for lack of any other word.

Ensure that you carry as much of tissue paper as possible for this guaranteed tear jerker. Not only because of a brilliant storyline but also because of some stunning performances – one from a teenager and another from an octogenarian. 8 on 10 for certain.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2238291481/

The Da Vinci Code

What can you get when you get together 3 people – one who has been widely regarded as the top 10 directors of all time if not the top 10. Another who is responsible for giving us one of the biggest block buster novels of the previous decade – probably the #1 bestseller other than the Harry Potter series and definitely THE most controversial of the lot. And the third who has been regarded by most people as one of the best actors ever to be born – one who is known for his “boy next door” looks and yet regarded as capable of taking up any role that is possible (I would like to see him play a villain though – haven’t seen that yet but I am certain he can and will give us the pleasure of that sooner than later). Well what you get is one of the best adaptations of a book into a movie – I would like to stick my neck out at this stage and call it the best after The Godfather and The Adventures of Tintin – Secret of the Unicorn.
Ron Howard would have been extremely challenged at the thought of directing The Da Vinci Code for certain but he smartly roped in Tom Hanks who is known to be an actor who eases the stress out from the director’s head immensely. And they had the support of Dan Brown to try and get this to life. The way Dan Brown has layered the book and keeps peeling it out like an onion is something which can be very difficult to get alive on the silver screen. I can only say that the team that created the movie should be really proud of what they got out eventually.

I cannot think of any scene that was badly executed or any aspect that was missed out from the book. Difficult sequences such as the point where Sophie (Audrey Tatou) and Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) figure out that a pope actually stands for Alexander Pope and the walk to Newton’s Tomb is superimposed with that of the actual funeral of Sir Isaac Newton. Or the casting for Silas (Paul Bettany) which is impeccable. But nearly not as impeccable as Bishop Aringarosa played by someone who I consider is probably more versatile (if there is something like that) that any other actor who I have seen till date – Alfred Molina. Time and again Alfred Molina has stunned the daylights out of me in the way that he gets into his character and makes you believe that the character in the book was created specifically with Molina in mind – simply scintillating I say.

True to the book as they say, The Da Vinci Code is a great movie to watch any given Sunday. It is edited well, has great cinematography, good solid performances and has a story that is great (apart from the ending where Dan Brown always screws up :p). You can watch it even if you haven’t read the book. 7 on 10 is what I say.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2369847833/

Larry Crowne

A good solid Romantic Comedy after quite a while is what one would feel after watching Larry Crowne – released last weekend. Not only does Larry Crowne give us an opportunity to watch 2 of the best actors of our time together on screen once again (Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts share screen space after Charlie Wilson’s War) but also treats us to some really acidic and extremely enjoyable humour with just that little bit of romance thrown in as garnish. Tom Hanks takes his position behind the camera for the 2nd time (the first time was with “That Thing you Do” – my question on twitter answered with a bit of research). The 15 year hiatus doesn’t seem to have done much for him from a perspective of direction that it. He was as good or as bad with Larry Crowne as he was with That Thing You Do. Now I am sure all of us have immense respect to Tom Hanks as a director but his presence behind the camera may not have as much of a fan following. He does make the cut comfortably though as in his work is quite decent but nowhere close to people who direct movies for a living. Unlike a Clint Eastwood who is able to translate his experiences in front of the camera to behind it as well – a very rare breed indeed.

Despite all of this, the consummate ease with which Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts essay their characters in Larry Crowne would have been an absolute joy for the tweenagers who shared screen space with them in the movie. Effortless is the word that comes to mind when one looks at their performances and what is commendable is the way they carry the support cast with them. Gugu Mbatha-Raw – an amazing tongue twister of a name – who plays the character of Talia is fluent and seems unfazed in the face of the two behemoths of Hollywood. Wilmer Valderrama (remember Fez from That 70s Show) seems to have come of age and left slapstick behind him (although I am a fan of That 70s). The script is funny for certain and the sarcastic humour helps a lot. When Larry is being inducted to the Scooter Group he is asked to raise his right hand and say something patriotic. He does exactly that – raises his right hand and says, “We will be back after these short messages” – hilarious I say!!!!

Larry Crowne could have done with some more pace but the dialogues and the acting more than make up for the speed of the movie. One has to be patient to keep looking out for the moments that make it a fun movie to watch. I cannot say that it would appeal to all generations alike. But if u give it a chance then you will come out quite pleased about the way you have spent a little over 90 minutes. And yes, interesting bit of trivia. The movie has been written by Tom Hanks and one Nia Vardalos (remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding). That would probably explain where the humour came from. A lovely way to spend your Sunday afternoon with that really special someone. 6 on 10 is definitely on. Maybe more if u are a real sucker for RomComs.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1973459993/

Toy Story 3

An-i-mate (v. an-uh-meyt; adj. an-uh-mit)

verb, -mat•ed, -mat•ing, adjective
–verb (used with object)
1. to give life to; make alive: God animated the dust.
2. to make lively, vivacious, or vigorous; give zest or spirit to: Her presence animated the party.
3. to fill with courage or boldness; encourage: to animate weary troops.
4. to move or stir to action; motivate: He was animated by religious zeal.
5. to give motion to: leaves animated by a breeze.
6. to prepare or produce as an animated cartoon: to animate a children's story.

Pixar – an incomparable organisation that does all of the above with PERFECTION.

Nearly 15 years back, Pixar studios burst into the animation scene with the first edition of the Toy Story Franchise. Although they were incorporated over 10 years before this, Toy Story was their first ever block buster. Most animation studios on the block at that time knew that they had seen who would be the BIG DADDY of animation in the years to come. It took 4 years more to make Toy Story 2 and a further 11 to come up with what is clearly the best animation movie of the year and the best animation movie after Pixar released “Up” last year.

Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) are back with their gang of friends at a time when Andy has turned 17 and is off to college. Faced with a predicament of whether to throw them away or stow them in the attic, Andy decides to go for the latter. He puts all of them but Woody in a garbage bag and is going to the attic when he sees Molly having some trouble with her box of toys that she is donating and helps her out. Since the toys are in a garbage bag, Andy’s mom puts it out with the rest of the garbage. The gang now thinks that Andy wanted to throw all of them away anyways but using Rex’s pointy tail they manage to escape out and make their way to the garage. They all get into a box labeled Sunnyside along with Molly’s toys. Woody’s effort to tell them that Andy never wanted to give them away goes in vain since none of them are ready to accept it. Also, their desire to be played with and not stay in an attic drives them to make a choice of Sunnyside much to Woody’s disdain. But before Woody can move out of the car, Andy’s mom arrives and drives them off to Sunnyside Day Care.

Much to their relief, the gang is given an extremely warm welcome @ sunnyside by Lotso (Ned Beatty) and the other toys at Sunnyside. Little do they know that Lotso runs his own empire here and that all new toys are first sent to the “initiation” with the new toddlers who come to Sunnyside. Although Woody travels with the gang to Sunnyside, he tries his best to convince the gang to come back with him but when they don’t listen, he decides to take off himself. His dare devil escape gets him over the wall @ Sunnyside and hanging off a tree without his hat and right in the way of Bonnie who promptly takes him home with her. @ Bonnie’s place Woody meets Trixie, Buttercup and Dolly who tell him about the horror that lies in store for his friends @ Sunnyside and how Lotso runs his it like a brutal emperor. Stunned @ the revelations, Woody changes his plans about going back home and decides to help his friends escape.

Lee Unkrich finally gets to direct his first solo movie with Pixar. He was till date only the co-director on Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and Toy Story 2. Proves that good things come to those who wait. Although I would personally feel that Finding Nemo was far superior that this effort, its also because of the amount of work that could have been done with Nemo that made it probably the 3rd best animation movie of all time. Toy Story 3 however, to Unkrich’s credit clearly transcends the benchmarks set by the previous 2 editions of this franchise and takes it to the next level. Best of all, it leaves options open for a fourth edition. In one of my previous reviews I had said that a successful franchise is one that should be scaleable. Toy Story is a fantastic example of what I was speaking then.

The voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are nostalgic and take you back over a decade to the previous 2 editions. The characters are absolutely true to life. The narration absolutely superb. But I sometimes do wonder if animation movies are ever going to be just for kids. The story coupled with the quality of execution makes it so easy for even an average adult to go through what would otherwise have been targeted only for less than 12 year olds. Lovely movie for people of all ages. I give this a 8 on 10.