1) What’s Cooking (2000 movie, directed by Gurindher Chadha): Rating a solid 8/10
Thanksgiving movies are a genre in themselves but this one manages to stand on its own. How many thanksgiving movies exist out there whose main characters are portrayed as Latin, Vietnamese, African-American and Jewish? Chadha excels in such movies (like Bhaji on the Beach). She knows how to portray the tiny family problems while not blowing things out of proportion like she did in Bride and Prejudice. The movie shows the four families as having their own share of problems while preparing their variation of a traditional Turkey dinner, with the problems being typical teenage parental conflicts, parents difficulty in accepting their lesbian daughter, a father’s clash with his son over their political differences, a husband wanting his wife back after he had cheated on her, etc. Initially, the four families seem separate but slowly we realize that they are more closely tied than we are led to think. Well worth watching.
2) Mean Girls: Rating 8/10
High school movies often fall in a clichéd category, so it was refreshing to see a different take on high school problems. In this case, the story involves Lindsay Lohan playing a girl who has never been to a public school before. Her parents lived in South Africa where she was home schooled. So when they move back to America, she has to attend the regular high school. High school can be daunting as it is but for a complete newcomer, it can be a completely eye opening experience. So Lohan’s character soon learns the ropes on how to survive in the high school jungle and she comes to realize, her high school is not that different from the animal kingdom. A funny and sensible movie.
3) In Praise of Love (Directed by Jean-Luc Godard):
Simple review: I didn’t get this movie nor did I care to. It is quite abstract and trying to evoke sentiments of 1960’s cinema verite but it just does not translate. Interesting to note that the indie movie, Nobody Needs to Know, really tried to copy this Godard movie but that movie was not slightly more watchable because it limited its scope to one city.
4) The Ugliest Woman in the World (1999 Spanish movie directed by Miguel Bardem):
This one is not a bad flick to watch. The story is set in a future Spain but nothing about the story needs to be in the future. Lola was born as the ugliest baby in the world and made fun of constantly while growing up. Thanks to some plastic surgery and a certain experiment, she is transformed into the most beautiful woman in Spain, but there were some complications with the surgery. Those complications lead to her retreating to her old ugly self. Lola sets about killing women in brutal ways to achieve her dream of becoming Miss Spain.
5) Soul Plane: No need to rate this one.
It is worth some funny laughs but as a movie, it just does not translate.
6) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Rating 5/10 (even a 5 seems too high)
What is so great about this movie? I have no idea. Ok the idea is great – make a movie without ever leaving one’s apartment. Have all the actors act in front of a blue screen and add the rest later. And the fakeness of it all does show. Maybe that is the point, maybe we should really know that this is not all real. That being said, the movie has no life in the first hour or so. It is cold, soulless and just trudges along. The actors (Paltrow and Law) are both inept and can’t generate any interest in that first hour. All that changes when Angelina Jolie enter the movie. She sparks some life into the movie but her role is too limited to make the movie interesting.
There are shades of several movies in this one – The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Spy Kids 2, Jurassic Park, etc. But the movie was just not interesting enough. Maybe it looks better in a theatre, but on DVD, it looks rather dull.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Mid April Showings
1) Closer (Directed by Mike Nichols, with a brilliant screenplay by Patrick Marber):
Rating 9/10
This is a marvelous movie. The beauty of this movie lies with the screenplay. Sure the acting and direction are very very good but if it were not for the screenplay, the movie would not be as interesting. Unlike other movies which bore us with annoying details about a man and woman’s (or girl) daily happenings, this movie jumps around to only show us the relevant portions of their relationship. Jude Law meets Natalie Portman, and after a short conversation, the movie flashes forward in time when the two of them are officially a couple. We are not told what happened in that time period as we infer from their current behaviors. Law then meets Julia Roberts but she turns his down. In a joke, he sends Clive Owen to the same aquarium where Roberts goes (Jude Law meets Owen on an online chat site where Law pretends to be a woman; this scene is just hilarious). Roberts and Owen become a couple much to Law’s annoyance. The movie then moves onto some murky areas of affair, love and heartbreak, all the while retaining the flash forward method. And only when needed, the past incidents are spliced with the present in quick flashbacks. Well worth the watch.
On a side note: Interesting to compare Jude Law's character in this movie with his role in 'Alfie'. If Jude Law is to be the next bond, then it is good to see him get all his broken hearted roles out of the way. Neither Alfie or Closer ends on a happy note for his character.
2) Sideways (Directed by Alexander Payne, Novel by Rex Pickett): Rating 9/10
This is just a charming movie. I never ever expected it to be this good but it is. Part of my pre-conceived notions had to do with all the hype about the ‘wine’ tour and ‘wine’ talks in the movie. But the critics blew it out of proportion. The movie is NOT about a wine tour, but the wine only serves as a background in the lives of two troubled men – one a week away from getting married and the other struggling to get his novel published. Along the way, they meet two women and well sparks fly and emotions run high. Yet the two friends understand each other really well and try to look out for each other, in their own ways. Very well acted, especially by Thomas Haden Church (the groom). The first half of the movie is fast paced and funny with the second half being a bit slower.
3) Jisatsu Saakuru (Suicide Club) -- directed by Shino Sono. Rating 4/10
This is a huge let down; nothing worth seeing here! The opening scene was much talked about -- 54 high school girls jump off the track into the path of an oncoming train which mashes their bodies and spews blood in all directions. Why did the girls jump? And what is the mysterious package found by the train tracks? So we are lead to believe there is a mystery about this so called suicide club. A web site features red dots indicating the number of people who have died. And the mysterious package appears to be a rolled up chain of human skin, from people either dead or about to commit suicide. Unfortunately, the movie does not offer a proper answers to any question it throws our way. The entire mystery of the club even when partly revealed is well, plain dull. I kept thinking of ‘Battle Royale’ in some instances of this movie. In BR, the adults wanted to punish the children for being a trouble. But in this movie, the children try to get back at the adults simply because they feel the adults have ‘lost connection’ with their inner selves.
Rating 9/10
This is a marvelous movie. The beauty of this movie lies with the screenplay. Sure the acting and direction are very very good but if it were not for the screenplay, the movie would not be as interesting. Unlike other movies which bore us with annoying details about a man and woman’s (or girl) daily happenings, this movie jumps around to only show us the relevant portions of their relationship. Jude Law meets Natalie Portman, and after a short conversation, the movie flashes forward in time when the two of them are officially a couple. We are not told what happened in that time period as we infer from their current behaviors. Law then meets Julia Roberts but she turns his down. In a joke, he sends Clive Owen to the same aquarium where Roberts goes (Jude Law meets Owen on an online chat site where Law pretends to be a woman; this scene is just hilarious). Roberts and Owen become a couple much to Law’s annoyance. The movie then moves onto some murky areas of affair, love and heartbreak, all the while retaining the flash forward method. And only when needed, the past incidents are spliced with the present in quick flashbacks. Well worth the watch.
On a side note: Interesting to compare Jude Law's character in this movie with his role in 'Alfie'. If Jude Law is to be the next bond, then it is good to see him get all his broken hearted roles out of the way. Neither Alfie or Closer ends on a happy note for his character.
2) Sideways (Directed by Alexander Payne, Novel by Rex Pickett): Rating 9/10
This is just a charming movie. I never ever expected it to be this good but it is. Part of my pre-conceived notions had to do with all the hype about the ‘wine’ tour and ‘wine’ talks in the movie. But the critics blew it out of proportion. The movie is NOT about a wine tour, but the wine only serves as a background in the lives of two troubled men – one a week away from getting married and the other struggling to get his novel published. Along the way, they meet two women and well sparks fly and emotions run high. Yet the two friends understand each other really well and try to look out for each other, in their own ways. Very well acted, especially by Thomas Haden Church (the groom). The first half of the movie is fast paced and funny with the second half being a bit slower.
3) Jisatsu Saakuru (Suicide Club) -- directed by Shino Sono. Rating 4/10
This is a huge let down; nothing worth seeing here! The opening scene was much talked about -- 54 high school girls jump off the track into the path of an oncoming train which mashes their bodies and spews blood in all directions. Why did the girls jump? And what is the mysterious package found by the train tracks? So we are lead to believe there is a mystery about this so called suicide club. A web site features red dots indicating the number of people who have died. And the mysterious package appears to be a rolled up chain of human skin, from people either dead or about to commit suicide. Unfortunately, the movie does not offer a proper answers to any question it throws our way. The entire mystery of the club even when partly revealed is well, plain dull. I kept thinking of ‘Battle Royale’ in some instances of this movie. In BR, the adults wanted to punish the children for being a trouble. But in this movie, the children try to get back at the adults simply because they feel the adults have ‘lost connection’ with their inner selves.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
April Thrills
1) Sin City (Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller).
Hmm. On one side are critics calling this the best movie of the year, best comic book translation ever, great film noir, etc. And on the other side are a few critics calling this a violent movie, with too much blood and degrading to women, etc.
The truth is in the middle. First off, the movie is not close to being as violent and bloody as some are making it out to be. The black and white does offset some of the violence, and then the really gory elements are implied not shown.
Ok, now to the good part! The movie is not a graphic novel adaptation; IT IS a living breathing graphic novel. Rodriquez has taken each panel of Miller’s three Sin City graphic novels and put them on screen. That is just an amazing accomplishment. The black & white with shades of colour, the impressive lighting are just marvelous! Colour against black and white was used much better in Pleasantville but it makes a mark in some places here.
So how good is this movie? It’s good but not that great. Why? Well for a graphic novel, the story lines are perfect. But in order to make a movie, one needs to cut down on the narration -- the first 20 minutes or so are packed with too much narration. But after the first 20 minutes or so, the movie settles in, and the story takes over; I even forgot to pay attention to the visuals because the characters the interleaving story was interesting.
The film noir elements are all there but where were the femme fatales? I hate to say it but none of the women were appealing at all. Ok, maybe except the brief cameo by Carla Gugino was good. And Jessica Alba was plain wasted.
Acting wise, all the leading men did a good job with Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke being the best. This movie has been compared to Pulp Fiction. That is a shame really! Because Sin City may be good but nowhere near as good as Pulp Fiction. And the guest appearance directed scene by Tarantino is nothing to shout about.
Elijah Wood is a great addition as the soul eating killer. His white shades against the black background look very very nice.
Overall Rating: It was worth watching but I was not bowled over as most other people.
2) Spartan (Directed by David Mamet)
I had such high hopes from this movie. David Mamet writes such interesting story lines (The Spanish Prisoner) and characters that I thought this would be an intriguing crime thriller. But I was seriously wrong. The movie starts off interesting but it goes off the rail after the 50 minute mark. After that everything looks fake with the ‘Dubai’ scenes being the worst; we can clearly tell everything in ‘Dubai’ is a set and the movie does nothing to hide that fact.
But once again, it amazes me that critics praised this movie. Seriously, it is not that complicated. The plot is so easy to see through that there is nothing to ponder about.
Overall Rating: Not worth watching.
3) The Bourne Supremacy
This was much better than I had expected. It is a fast paced thriller, which does run a little bit longer than it should have. The movie starts off in Goa and then winds it way past Naples, Berlin, Amsterdam, Moscow before ending up in New York. There are some long car chase scenes and extended periods of the movie contain no dialogue.
Overall rating: Much better than Spartan, even if the dialogues and scenarios seem clichéd.
Hmm. On one side are critics calling this the best movie of the year, best comic book translation ever, great film noir, etc. And on the other side are a few critics calling this a violent movie, with too much blood and degrading to women, etc.
The truth is in the middle. First off, the movie is not close to being as violent and bloody as some are making it out to be. The black and white does offset some of the violence, and then the really gory elements are implied not shown.
Ok, now to the good part! The movie is not a graphic novel adaptation; IT IS a living breathing graphic novel. Rodriquez has taken each panel of Miller’s three Sin City graphic novels and put them on screen. That is just an amazing accomplishment. The black & white with shades of colour, the impressive lighting are just marvelous! Colour against black and white was used much better in Pleasantville but it makes a mark in some places here.
So how good is this movie? It’s good but not that great. Why? Well for a graphic novel, the story lines are perfect. But in order to make a movie, one needs to cut down on the narration -- the first 20 minutes or so are packed with too much narration. But after the first 20 minutes or so, the movie settles in, and the story takes over; I even forgot to pay attention to the visuals because the characters the interleaving story was interesting.
The film noir elements are all there but where were the femme fatales? I hate to say it but none of the women were appealing at all. Ok, maybe except the brief cameo by Carla Gugino was good. And Jessica Alba was plain wasted.
Acting wise, all the leading men did a good job with Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke being the best. This movie has been compared to Pulp Fiction. That is a shame really! Because Sin City may be good but nowhere near as good as Pulp Fiction. And the guest appearance directed scene by Tarantino is nothing to shout about.
Elijah Wood is a great addition as the soul eating killer. His white shades against the black background look very very nice.
Overall Rating: It was worth watching but I was not bowled over as most other people.
2) Spartan (Directed by David Mamet)
I had such high hopes from this movie. David Mamet writes such interesting story lines (The Spanish Prisoner) and characters that I thought this would be an intriguing crime thriller. But I was seriously wrong. The movie starts off interesting but it goes off the rail after the 50 minute mark. After that everything looks fake with the ‘Dubai’ scenes being the worst; we can clearly tell everything in ‘Dubai’ is a set and the movie does nothing to hide that fact.
But once again, it amazes me that critics praised this movie. Seriously, it is not that complicated. The plot is so easy to see through that there is nothing to ponder about.
Overall Rating: Not worth watching.
3) The Bourne Supremacy
This was much better than I had expected. It is a fast paced thriller, which does run a little bit longer than it should have. The movie starts off in Goa and then winds it way past Naples, Berlin, Amsterdam, Moscow before ending up in New York. There are some long car chase scenes and extended periods of the movie contain no dialogue.
Overall rating: Much better than Spartan, even if the dialogues and scenarios seem clichéd.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
End of March Notes
1) Open Water: Rating – Worth a look but overall, ok
This Independent movie made a splash last year at Sundance and the critics. It is a simple store – an over-busy couple quickly find time for a last minute diving vacation. During their diving trip, they are left behind in the middle of the ocean. At first, they believe a boat will come rescue them. But after a few hours, they begin to fear the worst. And to top it off, the husband notices a shark fin nearby. Sure there are some scary moments, but I was not bowled over as most of the American critics. One thing annoyed me – when the couple are drifting alone in the water and they see a boat in the horizon, NONE of them actually shouts for help. Why? How is that believable?
2) I love Huckabees: Rating – Good and worth a watch.
This is an existential comedy. Not that there is such a genre out there. It is funny movie with lots of interesting ideas tucked away. No point in talking about the plot as that is something one must guess for themselves. But I can’t understand why this movie was slammed by American critics? Could it be that they hated the movie because they have to think what the movie is about? As opposed to singing praises for a movie where one character leads a miserable life and cries and sobs all about it?
3) Alfie: Rating – Good and worth a watch.
The trailers don’t do justice for this movie. The trailers give us the idea that the movie is about Jude Law bouncing around from one woman to another, having fun along the way. Sure Jude Law’s character, Alfie, has fun. But after the first 20 minutes, his life ends up becoming miserable. He is forced to question his life and face to his consequences. One can call the movie a slowed down dramatic version of ‘High Fidelity’. The movie looks at the decisions men make and why men are the way they are.
The camera work in the movie is just great. The camera moves along with Alfie as he is required to keep talking to the camera throughout. I have not seen the 1966 version but going by the clips, the camera work and overall movie is much better than the original. The women in the original were highly boring, which is not the case for this version. The only boring role belonged to Susan Sarandon, who is completely miscast for her role.
In the end, this is a very mature movie.
4) Ring 2: Rating – Terrible waste of time.
I really liked the first Ring movie. It was great but the sequel is a waste of time. There is nothing interesting to add to the story and the characters are not given a chance to expand from their previous role. There are some scary moments but by the end, the movie feels incomplete and forced. If further Ring movies are made, this movie will easily be forgotten.
5) Girl with a Pearl Earring: Rating – Good.
This is a good movie. I didn’t know the story when I started watching it, which was a good thing. Because judging by the first painting I saw in the movie, I guessed the movie must be about Vermeer. I like his paintings – they are so real and full of life. And the movie does give us an idea on how Vermeer made his paintings so life like. Colin Firth, who plays Vermeer, surprisingly does not say much. Scarlett Johansson does a great job in her role though – her expressions are spot on.
6) The Dreamers (directed by Bernard Bertolucci): Rating – Ok, not that great.
This is a movie loved by critics who spent the 1960’s in Paris watching European/American cinema and inhaled the political atmosphere in the city. To others, it may seem like a waste of time. In reality, the movie falls in between. Some parts are really good and others tend to drag on quite a bit.
7) Unfaithful: Rating Good.
For the longest time I thought this movie was going to be plain terrible so I stayed away. But I was wrong. It is not that bad of a movie only because of one reason – Diane Lane. She has acted really well. If not for her, this movie would have been just a run of the mill affair movie. The ending is open ended but there was no other way to end the movie though.
8) Punch-Drunk Love: Rating Very Good, worth a watch
Yes this is a different movie. But one worth the watch! The craziness of Magnolia combined with the dark comedic touch of the Coen brothers (shades of The Big Lebowski). Adam Sandler retains his angry flair (Happy Gilmore) but cuts down on his over the top humor for this one.
9) DodgeBall: Rating – Poor but has some funny moments.
There are some genuinely funny scenes in this movie but overall it is not that great. The good thing is that Ben Stiller is not afraid to keep trying different things with his on-screen characters.
10) Super Size Me: Rating – Excellent!!!
This is an excellent documentary on the evils of the Fast Food World we live in. I can’t understand why there were critics of this movie – Morgan Spurlock does not openly slam the fast food company without some investigation and even some objective view points.
11) Under the Tuscan Sun: Rating – Good
This is a light hearted fun movie. Nothing serious or sad in this one! And Diane Lane looks great in this movie as well. She had to as the entire movie rests on her shoulders.
12) Dark Water (original Japanese movie by Hideo Nakata): Rating – Ok, not that great.
The movie has shades of Ju-On and the Ring but is not that great. The story is streched longer than it should – if this was a 20 minute short, it would have been perfect. The viewer can easily guess what the big mystery is early on.
13) Wasabi: Rating – Good with some fun moments.
This feels like a Luc Besson run of the mill product. After the Professional, we have seen quite a few such movies (the Transporter being one) – bad cop takes on the gangsters. It is clichéd in parts but overall, it’s not that bad.
This Independent movie made a splash last year at Sundance and the critics. It is a simple store – an over-busy couple quickly find time for a last minute diving vacation. During their diving trip, they are left behind in the middle of the ocean. At first, they believe a boat will come rescue them. But after a few hours, they begin to fear the worst. And to top it off, the husband notices a shark fin nearby. Sure there are some scary moments, but I was not bowled over as most of the American critics. One thing annoyed me – when the couple are drifting alone in the water and they see a boat in the horizon, NONE of them actually shouts for help. Why? How is that believable?
2) I love Huckabees: Rating – Good and worth a watch.
This is an existential comedy. Not that there is such a genre out there. It is funny movie with lots of interesting ideas tucked away. No point in talking about the plot as that is something one must guess for themselves. But I can’t understand why this movie was slammed by American critics? Could it be that they hated the movie because they have to think what the movie is about? As opposed to singing praises for a movie where one character leads a miserable life and cries and sobs all about it?
3) Alfie: Rating – Good and worth a watch.
The trailers don’t do justice for this movie. The trailers give us the idea that the movie is about Jude Law bouncing around from one woman to another, having fun along the way. Sure Jude Law’s character, Alfie, has fun. But after the first 20 minutes, his life ends up becoming miserable. He is forced to question his life and face to his consequences. One can call the movie a slowed down dramatic version of ‘High Fidelity’. The movie looks at the decisions men make and why men are the way they are.
The camera work in the movie is just great. The camera moves along with Alfie as he is required to keep talking to the camera throughout. I have not seen the 1966 version but going by the clips, the camera work and overall movie is much better than the original. The women in the original were highly boring, which is not the case for this version. The only boring role belonged to Susan Sarandon, who is completely miscast for her role.
In the end, this is a very mature movie.
4) Ring 2: Rating – Terrible waste of time.
I really liked the first Ring movie. It was great but the sequel is a waste of time. There is nothing interesting to add to the story and the characters are not given a chance to expand from their previous role. There are some scary moments but by the end, the movie feels incomplete and forced. If further Ring movies are made, this movie will easily be forgotten.
5) Girl with a Pearl Earring: Rating – Good.
This is a good movie. I didn’t know the story when I started watching it, which was a good thing. Because judging by the first painting I saw in the movie, I guessed the movie must be about Vermeer. I like his paintings – they are so real and full of life. And the movie does give us an idea on how Vermeer made his paintings so life like. Colin Firth, who plays Vermeer, surprisingly does not say much. Scarlett Johansson does a great job in her role though – her expressions are spot on.
6) The Dreamers (directed by Bernard Bertolucci): Rating – Ok, not that great.
This is a movie loved by critics who spent the 1960’s in Paris watching European/American cinema and inhaled the political atmosphere in the city. To others, it may seem like a waste of time. In reality, the movie falls in between. Some parts are really good and others tend to drag on quite a bit.
7) Unfaithful: Rating Good.
For the longest time I thought this movie was going to be plain terrible so I stayed away. But I was wrong. It is not that bad of a movie only because of one reason – Diane Lane. She has acted really well. If not for her, this movie would have been just a run of the mill affair movie. The ending is open ended but there was no other way to end the movie though.
8) Punch-Drunk Love: Rating Very Good, worth a watch
Yes this is a different movie. But one worth the watch! The craziness of Magnolia combined with the dark comedic touch of the Coen brothers (shades of The Big Lebowski). Adam Sandler retains his angry flair (Happy Gilmore) but cuts down on his over the top humor for this one.
9) DodgeBall: Rating – Poor but has some funny moments.
There are some genuinely funny scenes in this movie but overall it is not that great. The good thing is that Ben Stiller is not afraid to keep trying different things with his on-screen characters.
10) Super Size Me: Rating – Excellent!!!
This is an excellent documentary on the evils of the Fast Food World we live in. I can’t understand why there were critics of this movie – Morgan Spurlock does not openly slam the fast food company without some investigation and even some objective view points.
11) Under the Tuscan Sun: Rating – Good
This is a light hearted fun movie. Nothing serious or sad in this one! And Diane Lane looks great in this movie as well. She had to as the entire movie rests on her shoulders.
12) Dark Water (original Japanese movie by Hideo Nakata): Rating – Ok, not that great.
The movie has shades of Ju-On and the Ring but is not that great. The story is streched longer than it should – if this was a 20 minute short, it would have been perfect. The viewer can easily guess what the big mystery is early on.
13) Wasabi: Rating – Good with some fun moments.
This feels like a Luc Besson run of the mill product. After the Professional, we have seen quite a few such movies (the Transporter being one) – bad cop takes on the gangsters. It is clichéd in parts but overall, it’s not that bad.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
March scribbles
1) Constantine: Rating Very poor
Comic book movies are always hard to make. Mostly, they translate into action packed movies which are trashed by all critics. And if on the odd chance, the movie tries to put an artistic twist on the comic book, then the audiences stay away. Constantine tries to combine both action and artistic genres and ends up failing horribly on both accounts. The action and visuals have all been seen before and average at best. And then there’s the acting. Or lack of it. Keanu Reeves is the wrong choice for this role. This role demanded a brooding miserable performance right out of a Film Noir movie and Reeves sounds like he is still in the Matrix movies (even some of the scenes and his poses are right out of the Matrix). A real waste of a movie!
2) Beautiful Boxer (directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham): Rating 8/10
An interesting movie, which is based on the true story of a thai boxer who gets a sex change operation to become a woman. The movie tells the story in flash back; the ex-boxer boxer narrates his life story, of how he first noticed that he wanted to be a woman, of how he got into Thai boxing and why he decided to postpone his sex change operation. It is a very well done movie which handles the topic with the right amount of sensitivity and emotion.
3) Bride and Prejudice: Rating – Not worth it.
A horrible horrible movie! It is an example of poor cinema. No words can describe how bad this movie. It pretends to be funny but it is not! The jokes are poor in any language. And the acting by a certain beautiful woman is non-existent – she can’t act. Simple as that!
Comic book movies are always hard to make. Mostly, they translate into action packed movies which are trashed by all critics. And if on the odd chance, the movie tries to put an artistic twist on the comic book, then the audiences stay away. Constantine tries to combine both action and artistic genres and ends up failing horribly on both accounts. The action and visuals have all been seen before and average at best. And then there’s the acting. Or lack of it. Keanu Reeves is the wrong choice for this role. This role demanded a brooding miserable performance right out of a Film Noir movie and Reeves sounds like he is still in the Matrix movies (even some of the scenes and his poses are right out of the Matrix). A real waste of a movie!
2) Beautiful Boxer (directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham): Rating 8/10
An interesting movie, which is based on the true story of a thai boxer who gets a sex change operation to become a woman. The movie tells the story in flash back; the ex-boxer boxer narrates his life story, of how he first noticed that he wanted to be a woman, of how he got into Thai boxing and why he decided to postpone his sex change operation. It is a very well done movie which handles the topic with the right amount of sensitivity and emotion.
3) Bride and Prejudice: Rating – Not worth it.
A horrible horrible movie! It is an example of poor cinema. No words can describe how bad this movie. It pretends to be funny but it is not! The jokes are poor in any language. And the acting by a certain beautiful woman is non-existent – she can’t act. Simple as that!
Friday, February 25, 2005
Feb Wrap Up
1) Japanese Story (Directed by Sue Brooks):
This one is hard to judge because it is a movie not made for commercial success. Ofcourse, such a movie would garner critical attention but it is not a movie to judge, rave or slam down. The story is simple enough – Toni Collette (perfectly cast in her role) plays a hard working Aussie woman who is roped into giving a guided tour to a visiting Japanese client. Collette’s character is not happy with the idea of acting as a guide, but she has no choice – she has been told that the Japanese client might buy her software. Gotaro Tsunashima plays the Japanese client who is not interested in the company’s software but more interesting in seeing the Company’s real sites likes the mines, the desert, etc. While driving through the desert, a series of incidents occur but one of the incidents comes as a major shock. I don’t want to give it away but it is something that is not seen coming. And the way the incident happens makes one care for what is going on in the movie. This is not a happy movie, but it is a poetic tragedy. Worth seeing.
2) The Forgotten (Directed by Joseph Ruben): Rating 5/10
This one feels like an episode of X-files crossed with The Arrival (1996 movie directed by David Twohy) and spliced with ideas of Dark City and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However, the movie ends up being boring and dull. The big failure is because the big suspense is given away too easily. The movie starts off with some suspense but while we are trying to think what is going on, we are shown exactly what the conspiracy is. And from then on, the movie goes through the motions. That being said, there are 3 brilliantly shot scenes while jolt the viewer – the visuals and the sudden action takes one by pure shock. Unfortunately, 3 scenes can’t save this movie. And what’s worse is that neither the director or writer are first time movie makers, but they make such poor mistakes that one normally attributes to a new film-maker – for example like making things too simplistic, not paying attention to details, etc.
3) Gong Fu (English title, Kung Fu Hassle, Directed by Stephen Chow):
Rating 8/10 overall
Visuals, Entertainment Value: 10/10
It is a hard act to follow an entertaining flick like Shaolin Soccer. And this is what actor/director/writer Stephen Chow had to do. And he does not disappoint. Gong Fu is highly entertaining with some brilliant fight sequences. The story is basic – The Axe Gang is a notorious band of thugs which terrorizes innocent people. But when the gang tries to demolish the residents of a certain pig sty community, they run into their match! The gang is duly defeated. So the gang turns to outside help to take revenge. Fight Fight. But oh what amazing fights. The first half of the movie is slow with enough time given to introduce us to all the characters and lay the foundations of the story. There is even a tender love story threaded in the movie. Unlike House of Flying daggers, the love story does not dominate the movie but stays one step behind the action. Pure Fun though!
4) Gadjo Dilo (Directed by Tony Gatlif): Rating 7/10
Tony Gatlif movies are not an acquired taste – either you like them or you don’t. If you don’t like them, then seeing more of his movies won’t change your view. Like most of his movies, this one centers around the Gypsy life, theme of alienation and is peppered with music/dance. The story is as usual wafer thin but in Gatlif’s movie, the story is not the driving force – it is always the music and the characters. This time the characters are interesting enough – Romain Duris plays the Frenchmen who travels to Romania to hunt down a singer whose music his dad loved; Rona Hartner (a Kate Winslet look alike) plays the passionate Gypsy who detests Belgians and Izidor Serban plays the hilarious villager who adopts the Frenchman for his own selfish interests. Themes of alienation and traveling to understand one’s father are explored further in Gatlif’s Exils (2004).
5) Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (Directed by Danny Leiner): Rating 5/10
A poor cross between American Pie and Dude Where’s My Car? Both those movies were funny. This one is not even though there are some decent funny elements. It tries to play the ethnic card but wastes it.
6) Shark Tale
I am the wrong person to judge these animation movies. Even though the animation is great and the dialogues funny, I find these movies pointless. As per the standard for all animation movies, there are countless pop culture references in this movie (some references clearly for adults). I have to admit portraying the sharks as a Godfather mafia was a funny idea. These movies try too hard to be funny and cute -- as a result they are huge commercial successes. Perfect fluff movie!
I do acknowledge the amazing amount of work that goes into making such movies but they are being made to fill a niche….
7) Shaun of the Dead (Directed by Edgar Wright): Rating 8/10
A really good spoof idea of comparing the Zombie concept to modern consumer culture! The movie stays true to the spirit of Zombie flicks (mindless creatures who moan and stagger around) but at the same time wraps a hilarious story around it. I liked the movie but after the first hour, I found it too dry and well, not funny anymore. Worth a watch though just for some of the ideas.
This one is hard to judge because it is a movie not made for commercial success. Ofcourse, such a movie would garner critical attention but it is not a movie to judge, rave or slam down. The story is simple enough – Toni Collette (perfectly cast in her role) plays a hard working Aussie woman who is roped into giving a guided tour to a visiting Japanese client. Collette’s character is not happy with the idea of acting as a guide, but she has no choice – she has been told that the Japanese client might buy her software. Gotaro Tsunashima plays the Japanese client who is not interested in the company’s software but more interesting in seeing the Company’s real sites likes the mines, the desert, etc. While driving through the desert, a series of incidents occur but one of the incidents comes as a major shock. I don’t want to give it away but it is something that is not seen coming. And the way the incident happens makes one care for what is going on in the movie. This is not a happy movie, but it is a poetic tragedy. Worth seeing.
2) The Forgotten (Directed by Joseph Ruben): Rating 5/10
This one feels like an episode of X-files crossed with The Arrival (1996 movie directed by David Twohy) and spliced with ideas of Dark City and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. However, the movie ends up being boring and dull. The big failure is because the big suspense is given away too easily. The movie starts off with some suspense but while we are trying to think what is going on, we are shown exactly what the conspiracy is. And from then on, the movie goes through the motions. That being said, there are 3 brilliantly shot scenes while jolt the viewer – the visuals and the sudden action takes one by pure shock. Unfortunately, 3 scenes can’t save this movie. And what’s worse is that neither the director or writer are first time movie makers, but they make such poor mistakes that one normally attributes to a new film-maker – for example like making things too simplistic, not paying attention to details, etc.
3) Gong Fu (English title, Kung Fu Hassle, Directed by Stephen Chow):
Rating 8/10 overall
Visuals, Entertainment Value: 10/10
It is a hard act to follow an entertaining flick like Shaolin Soccer. And this is what actor/director/writer Stephen Chow had to do. And he does not disappoint. Gong Fu is highly entertaining with some brilliant fight sequences. The story is basic – The Axe Gang is a notorious band of thugs which terrorizes innocent people. But when the gang tries to demolish the residents of a certain pig sty community, they run into their match! The gang is duly defeated. So the gang turns to outside help to take revenge. Fight Fight. But oh what amazing fights. The first half of the movie is slow with enough time given to introduce us to all the characters and lay the foundations of the story. There is even a tender love story threaded in the movie. Unlike House of Flying daggers, the love story does not dominate the movie but stays one step behind the action. Pure Fun though!
4) Gadjo Dilo (Directed by Tony Gatlif): Rating 7/10
Tony Gatlif movies are not an acquired taste – either you like them or you don’t. If you don’t like them, then seeing more of his movies won’t change your view. Like most of his movies, this one centers around the Gypsy life, theme of alienation and is peppered with music/dance. The story is as usual wafer thin but in Gatlif’s movie, the story is not the driving force – it is always the music and the characters. This time the characters are interesting enough – Romain Duris plays the Frenchmen who travels to Romania to hunt down a singer whose music his dad loved; Rona Hartner (a Kate Winslet look alike) plays the passionate Gypsy who detests Belgians and Izidor Serban plays the hilarious villager who adopts the Frenchman for his own selfish interests. Themes of alienation and traveling to understand one’s father are explored further in Gatlif’s Exils (2004).
5) Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (Directed by Danny Leiner): Rating 5/10
A poor cross between American Pie and Dude Where’s My Car? Both those movies were funny. This one is not even though there are some decent funny elements. It tries to play the ethnic card but wastes it.
6) Shark Tale
I am the wrong person to judge these animation movies. Even though the animation is great and the dialogues funny, I find these movies pointless. As per the standard for all animation movies, there are countless pop culture references in this movie (some references clearly for adults). I have to admit portraying the sharks as a Godfather mafia was a funny idea. These movies try too hard to be funny and cute -- as a result they are huge commercial successes. Perfect fluff movie!
I do acknowledge the amazing amount of work that goes into making such movies but they are being made to fill a niche….
7) Shaun of the Dead (Directed by Edgar Wright): Rating 8/10
A really good spoof idea of comparing the Zombie concept to modern consumer culture! The movie stays true to the spirit of Zombie flicks (mindless creatures who moan and stagger around) but at the same time wraps a hilarious story around it. I liked the movie but after the first hour, I found it too dry and well, not funny anymore. Worth a watch though just for some of the ideas.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Io non ho paura
I am not scared (directed by Gabriele Salvatores, based on the novel by Niccolo Ammaniti):
Rating 10/10
This one is brillaint, touching and well, purely Italian. Set in Southern Italy in 1978, the story is about a small Italian village inhabited by only a few families. The story starts off with some of the village kids playing around a deserted house. One of the kids happens to come across a covered hole in the ground. When he lifts the cover off the hole, he sees a tiny leg in a corner. Shocked, he runs away. But the image of the leg lingers in his mind, and he duly returns the next day. This time he throws a rock near the leg, nothing happens. He turns around to pick up another rock but when he turns back, the rock is gone and so is the leg. As the boy peers his face into the hole, he is shocked to find a pale white boy come in front of him. Horrified, he runs away again. Who is the boy in the hole? The movie unfolds the story slowly yet beautifully.
Watching the movie, one can sense how the film will end, but Salvatores manages to hold our attention. Io Non Ho Paura is not at the same level as Salvatores's 1991 award winning Mediterraneo but is still a very good movie.
Rating 10/10
This one is brillaint, touching and well, purely Italian. Set in Southern Italy in 1978, the story is about a small Italian village inhabited by only a few families. The story starts off with some of the village kids playing around a deserted house. One of the kids happens to come across a covered hole in the ground. When he lifts the cover off the hole, he sees a tiny leg in a corner. Shocked, he runs away. But the image of the leg lingers in his mind, and he duly returns the next day. This time he throws a rock near the leg, nothing happens. He turns around to pick up another rock but when he turns back, the rock is gone and so is the leg. As the boy peers his face into the hole, he is shocked to find a pale white boy come in front of him. Horrified, he runs away again. Who is the boy in the hole? The movie unfolds the story slowly yet beautifully.
Watching the movie, one can sense how the film will end, but Salvatores manages to hold our attention. Io Non Ho Paura is not at the same level as Salvatores's 1991 award winning Mediterraneo but is still a very good movie.
On the commercial movie path
1) Enigma (directed by Michael Apted) -- Rating 8/10
This is a pretty engaging movie about the English-German Cryptography battle during WWII. The movie shows how the English had to battle against time to break the German codes transmitted via the Enigma machine; the Enigma machine was considered unbreakable and believed to be the most perfect machine of its time.
The lead actor, Dougray Scott, is ok in his role. He does nothing special as he is given a very boxed incharacter -- genius code breaker who falls for a femme fatale, loses the woman, turns to alcohol, is washed up, hated by his superiors, is written off, and at the end of it all, saves the day. Kate Winslet does a good job in her different watered down look. But the real juicy role belongs to Jeremy Northam, a shady inspector who has all the airs of a classic Film Noir character -- mysterious and untrust worthy.
Overall a worthy watch.
2) Vanity Fair (directed by Mira Nair) -- Rating 7/10
Reese Witherspoon plays her role to perfection in this classic Thackeray novel adaptation -- herexpressions, dialogue delivery, etc are all well suited for the chirpy role of Becky Sharp.
That being said, all the supporting cast do indeed support her with a good performances.
The all women production and direction crew do make a worthy team but what bored me was the overall length of the movie. Given the movie had to work off a lengthy novel, one can't really blame the screenwriter/directorfor the tedious pace. But after the first hour, all the buzz dies down. And only near the endare things lit up again before ending on a Colorful note.
From the Arabic belly dance sequence and the beautiful Rajasthani shots, you can tell thatMira Nair was aching to add colour to this movie. And that she does, as there is quite a bit of colour present equally in between visuals of dark and gloomy London and Brussels.
It started off really good, ends pleasantly enough but in the mid hour was pointless, boringand seemed to crawl on for no reason.
3) Stepford Wives (directed by Frank Oz) -- Rating 6/10
The trailers do a poor job of giving away the key sequences of the movie. So I knew what the big twist was (since I never saw the original movie, I was not aware of the story). But the movie moves at a brisk pace of only 90 minutes. Almost everything in the trailers is shown by the first hour, but there is atleast one suprize by the end. The movie is never over the top nor too serious -- there are quite a few snide remarks made towards some of the current pop culture trends (internet, reality shows, men/women steroetypes) but they are made only inpassing (as opposed to harboring on each point, the remark is made and things move on to the next scene). I would have given the movie a higher rating were it not for some of the glaring technical problems regarding the true identity of the Stepford wives -- there are few scenes which contradict each other and it seems that the writer/director were too busy trying to make cute scenes that they failed to realize the ending exposes loop holes in some ofthe earlier sequences (how can the end and the ATM machine sequence co-exist?).
4) Human Nature (directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman) -- Rating 7/10
Human Nature (2001) was released in between Kaufman's Adaptation (2002) and Being John Malkovich (1999). Hmmm...that sums if up, doesn't it? The movie starts off slow but then gets fairly entertaining before heading towards an interesting ending. The premise has been done before though -- humans come in contact with a person raised entirely in the jungle; this person knows nothing about societyand human behavious. So the people who found him go about trying to civilize this ape like person. There are some funny moments in this and some different ideas from the usual run of the mill movies.
5) A Touch of Pink (directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid) -- Rating 8/10
This was an enjoyable movie even though the story has been done in various shades before.
But this time the few differences are funny enough. Boy meets boy, boy loves boy
but boy can't openly declare his love because boy's mom won't understand, so boy lies about
his life, mom finds out, boy loses boy, but eventually everyone understands and boy lives
happily ever after with boy. Oh boy also has an imaginary friend who helps the boy in his
decisions. The humour is never over the top nor too cynical.
6) The Terminal (directed by Steven Spielberg) -- Rating 4/10
Yes, Steven Spielberg directed this movie. If any other director has made this movie, it would
have been trashed by all the critics. But because of Tom Hanks and the director's name,
the movie is praised. Agreed the sets are amazing -- the terminal sets look like a real airport
indeed. The germ of the story is interesting enough, a man is stranded in the terminal
because his country has ceased to exist during his fligh duration. But what happens afterwards requires one to suspend all belief. The movie is best described as a cross between a Disney movie and a Bollywood flick (minus the songs ofcourse).
Yuck!!!!!
This is a pretty engaging movie about the English-German Cryptography battle during WWII. The movie shows how the English had to battle against time to break the German codes transmitted via the Enigma machine; the Enigma machine was considered unbreakable and believed to be the most perfect machine of its time.
The lead actor, Dougray Scott, is ok in his role. He does nothing special as he is given a very boxed incharacter -- genius code breaker who falls for a femme fatale, loses the woman, turns to alcohol, is washed up, hated by his superiors, is written off, and at the end of it all, saves the day. Kate Winslet does a good job in her different watered down look. But the real juicy role belongs to Jeremy Northam, a shady inspector who has all the airs of a classic Film Noir character -- mysterious and untrust worthy.
Overall a worthy watch.
2) Vanity Fair (directed by Mira Nair) -- Rating 7/10
Reese Witherspoon plays her role to perfection in this classic Thackeray novel adaptation -- herexpressions, dialogue delivery, etc are all well suited for the chirpy role of Becky Sharp.
That being said, all the supporting cast do indeed support her with a good performances.
The all women production and direction crew do make a worthy team but what bored me was the overall length of the movie. Given the movie had to work off a lengthy novel, one can't really blame the screenwriter/directorfor the tedious pace. But after the first hour, all the buzz dies down. And only near the endare things lit up again before ending on a Colorful note.
From the Arabic belly dance sequence and the beautiful Rajasthani shots, you can tell thatMira Nair was aching to add colour to this movie. And that she does, as there is quite a bit of colour present equally in between visuals of dark and gloomy London and Brussels.
It started off really good, ends pleasantly enough but in the mid hour was pointless, boringand seemed to crawl on for no reason.
3) Stepford Wives (directed by Frank Oz) -- Rating 6/10
The trailers do a poor job of giving away the key sequences of the movie. So I knew what the big twist was (since I never saw the original movie, I was not aware of the story). But the movie moves at a brisk pace of only 90 minutes. Almost everything in the trailers is shown by the first hour, but there is atleast one suprize by the end. The movie is never over the top nor too serious -- there are quite a few snide remarks made towards some of the current pop culture trends (internet, reality shows, men/women steroetypes) but they are made only inpassing (as opposed to harboring on each point, the remark is made and things move on to the next scene). I would have given the movie a higher rating were it not for some of the glaring technical problems regarding the true identity of the Stepford wives -- there are few scenes which contradict each other and it seems that the writer/director were too busy trying to make cute scenes that they failed to realize the ending exposes loop holes in some ofthe earlier sequences (how can the end and the ATM machine sequence co-exist?).
4) Human Nature (directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman) -- Rating 7/10
Human Nature (2001) was released in between Kaufman's Adaptation (2002) and Being John Malkovich (1999). Hmmm...that sums if up, doesn't it? The movie starts off slow but then gets fairly entertaining before heading towards an interesting ending. The premise has been done before though -- humans come in contact with a person raised entirely in the jungle; this person knows nothing about societyand human behavious. So the people who found him go about trying to civilize this ape like person. There are some funny moments in this and some different ideas from the usual run of the mill movies.
5) A Touch of Pink (directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid) -- Rating 8/10
This was an enjoyable movie even though the story has been done in various shades before.
But this time the few differences are funny enough. Boy meets boy, boy loves boy
but boy can't openly declare his love because boy's mom won't understand, so boy lies about
his life, mom finds out, boy loses boy, but eventually everyone understands and boy lives
happily ever after with boy. Oh boy also has an imaginary friend who helps the boy in his
decisions. The humour is never over the top nor too cynical.
6) The Terminal (directed by Steven Spielberg) -- Rating 4/10
Yes, Steven Spielberg directed this movie. If any other director has made this movie, it would
have been trashed by all the critics. But because of Tom Hanks and the director's name,
the movie is praised. Agreed the sets are amazing -- the terminal sets look like a real airport
indeed. The germ of the story is interesting enough, a man is stranded in the terminal
because his country has ceased to exist during his fligh duration. But what happens afterwards requires one to suspend all belief. The movie is best described as a cross between a Disney movie and a Bollywood flick (minus the songs ofcourse).
Yuck!!!!!
Sunday, January 30, 2005
2005 -- New year, new movies
Back to movie watching!
1) Ocean’s Twelve – Rating 9/10 for Entertainment value, Story (what story?)
This was the first Hollywood movie I have seen in Madrid (or in Europe for that matter). It was difficult to find a theatre which showed movies in English but I managed to find the single theatre that showed English movies with Spanish subtitles as opposed to all the other theatres which have Hollywood movies dubbed in Spanish.
If I had not seen this movie in Europe I would have hated it. This movie is not even close to the cool factor of Ocean’s Eleven. But all the European references (two mentions of Madrid), one huge plug for Arsenal, the amazing selection of Gotan Project’s music and the jazzy role given to Vincent Cassel made this enjoyable. There is a complete lack of story and the screenplay is to be taken with a huge slice of disbelief.
2) The 39 Steps (1935 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock) – Rating 10/10
This is vintage Hitchcock. Despite being an early film, it is technically excellent. A simple story which movies at a brisk pace. A man is watching a theatre show. A gunshot causes commotion and as he leaves the theatre, he runs into a woman who asks to leave with him. Since he is taken by her, he agrees. When he reaches home, the woman mentions that she was the one who fired the gun. Why? Because she is a spy and her life is in danger. Ofcourse, the man does not believe her and laughs it off. She mentions that the two men standing on the road across his apartment are trying to kill her (and indeed there are two men underneath the street light). In the middle of the night, the man is woken up as the woman blurts something and falls dead on his bed. He then notices the knife stuffed in her back. From there on, he tries piecing what she said and in the morning, he finds himself as a wanted fugitive. Just a good movie!!!
One can see how in the upcoming decades a lot of films 'borrowed' Hitchcock's elements from this movie.
3) Man on the Train (original title Homme du train, directed by Patrice Leconte)
I started watching this movie but due to a DVD technical problem, most of the opening scenes were skipped. I never did finish this movie but it looked dull enough. I might revisit it one day.
4) Beyond Borders (directed by Martin Campbell) – Rating 6/10
Such promise but a real disappointment in the end! The tag line leads us to believe this is a love story set against the backdrop of some of the World’s dangerous spots – Ethiopia, Cambodia and Chechnya. But the big problem is that the love story never feels real and the entire plot seems forced.
5) A World Without Thieves (original title Tian Xia Wu Zei directed by Xiaogang Feng) – Rating 9/10
This is hugely enjoyable movie except the ending. Andy Lau and Rene Liu are two con artists who excel in their field. But Rene’s character is having doubts and wants to quit -- she even insists on visiting a Tibetan monastery to pray. When she finds out that her co-partner stole from innocent people at the temple, she is disgusted. She briefly parts ways where she encounters a village simpleton who helps her (they don’t get much simpler than this guy). After she gets back together with her co-thief, they find themselves at a train station seething with thieves. The village simpleton is also looking to catch the same train and is taking his entire life savings with him – he wants to return to the village, buy a house and get married. Everyone warns the simpleton not to take the money on the train as there are thieves around. To prove that there are no thieves, he loudly announces at the train station that how much money he is carrying. Such a public announcement attracts all the thieves. The con couple take to him and look out after him (the woman treats the simpleton like her brother and the male counterpart wants to steal the simpleton’s money to teach him about life). But when another rival thieves group go after the money, the movie develops in a rivalry contest between the two groups of thieves. A very good movie! And then there is the ending. No one in Hollywood or Bollywood will have guts to make such an ending. In some ways it is poetic and given the movie context, it is logical.
6) 2046 (directed by Kar Wai Wong)
The supposed sequel to 2000’s In the Mood for Love is an intriguing watch. However, since the movie did not come with any English subtitles I am not yet qualified to fully rate it. One can clearly find traces of In the Mood for love in this flick. For the record, Ziyi Zhang is absolutely perfect in her role.
7) Raincoat (directed by Rituparno Ghosh): 9/10
This is a play. No question about it. One only wishes it was a pure play as that would have saved the horrible flashbacks which add nothing to the movie. That being said, it is a very good story indeed. But what spoiled the movie for me was the poor work of Ashwariya. I don’t know if I should blame her or the director or both. Ashwariya’s character is supposed to be a simple villager yet in the flaskbacks (before she moved to the city) every sentence spoken by her contains words of perfect English and her manners show plenty of sophistication. Yet when she movies to a big city as Calcutta, she behaves more like a villager than she did while living in the village! She claims not to know any English but every now and then, she speaks some words with perfect English such as ‘Dietitian’ and yet in some words her village accent returns (like ‘phone’). Her dress sense seems to represent complete abandon, maybe to point towards her village care free sense of life?
Why am I being so harsh on such a good movie indeed? I have to. Given how much praise is heaped onto Rituparno and Ms. Rai, one should expect a completely polished product with no room for errors. Yet there are errors. That being said, Ajay Devgan is perfect, as is Annu Kapoor.
8) Other Bollywood flicks:
Musafir – Good idea despite a few Hollywood copied scenes. However, poor direction, lack of acting from the actresses and a dull screenplay are the bad parts. Heck, even the item songs are badly choreographed.
Naach – Shades of Rangeela all over the movie. It starts off really good but the last 30 minutes are a drag. If the main point of the movie is to portray dance as an art form (be it expressionism, ballet), then how come at the crunch moment, the dances are reduced to traditional Bollywood item numbers? There are some scenes of sheer goodness though.
Hulchul – Surprizingly I enjoyed this more than the above two movies. A lot of parallels with Priyadarshan’s ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhana’. A good watch overall.
Swades – The less said the better. It could have been a good movie if it was not busy preaching a sermon every few minutes. Is it so hard to make an honest real movie? Apparently. This movie tried to Bollywood-ize reality and that never works.
9) The Whole Ten Yards – Rating 4/10
I really loved the original but this sequel is plain bad. There are a few genuine funny scenes but overall it is a highly dull flick.
1) Ocean’s Twelve – Rating 9/10 for Entertainment value, Story (what story?)
This was the first Hollywood movie I have seen in Madrid (or in Europe for that matter). It was difficult to find a theatre which showed movies in English but I managed to find the single theatre that showed English movies with Spanish subtitles as opposed to all the other theatres which have Hollywood movies dubbed in Spanish.
If I had not seen this movie in Europe I would have hated it. This movie is not even close to the cool factor of Ocean’s Eleven. But all the European references (two mentions of Madrid), one huge plug for Arsenal, the amazing selection of Gotan Project’s music and the jazzy role given to Vincent Cassel made this enjoyable. There is a complete lack of story and the screenplay is to be taken with a huge slice of disbelief.
2) The 39 Steps (1935 movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock) – Rating 10/10
This is vintage Hitchcock. Despite being an early film, it is technically excellent. A simple story which movies at a brisk pace. A man is watching a theatre show. A gunshot causes commotion and as he leaves the theatre, he runs into a woman who asks to leave with him. Since he is taken by her, he agrees. When he reaches home, the woman mentions that she was the one who fired the gun. Why? Because she is a spy and her life is in danger. Ofcourse, the man does not believe her and laughs it off. She mentions that the two men standing on the road across his apartment are trying to kill her (and indeed there are two men underneath the street light). In the middle of the night, the man is woken up as the woman blurts something and falls dead on his bed. He then notices the knife stuffed in her back. From there on, he tries piecing what she said and in the morning, he finds himself as a wanted fugitive. Just a good movie!!!
One can see how in the upcoming decades a lot of films 'borrowed' Hitchcock's elements from this movie.
3) Man on the Train (original title Homme du train, directed by Patrice Leconte)
I started watching this movie but due to a DVD technical problem, most of the opening scenes were skipped. I never did finish this movie but it looked dull enough. I might revisit it one day.
4) Beyond Borders (directed by Martin Campbell) – Rating 6/10
Such promise but a real disappointment in the end! The tag line leads us to believe this is a love story set against the backdrop of some of the World’s dangerous spots – Ethiopia, Cambodia and Chechnya. But the big problem is that the love story never feels real and the entire plot seems forced.
5) A World Without Thieves (original title Tian Xia Wu Zei directed by Xiaogang Feng) – Rating 9/10
This is hugely enjoyable movie except the ending. Andy Lau and Rene Liu are two con artists who excel in their field. But Rene’s character is having doubts and wants to quit -- she even insists on visiting a Tibetan monastery to pray. When she finds out that her co-partner stole from innocent people at the temple, she is disgusted. She briefly parts ways where she encounters a village simpleton who helps her (they don’t get much simpler than this guy). After she gets back together with her co-thief, they find themselves at a train station seething with thieves. The village simpleton is also looking to catch the same train and is taking his entire life savings with him – he wants to return to the village, buy a house and get married. Everyone warns the simpleton not to take the money on the train as there are thieves around. To prove that there are no thieves, he loudly announces at the train station that how much money he is carrying. Such a public announcement attracts all the thieves. The con couple take to him and look out after him (the woman treats the simpleton like her brother and the male counterpart wants to steal the simpleton’s money to teach him about life). But when another rival thieves group go after the money, the movie develops in a rivalry contest between the two groups of thieves. A very good movie! And then there is the ending. No one in Hollywood or Bollywood will have guts to make such an ending. In some ways it is poetic and given the movie context, it is logical.
6) 2046 (directed by Kar Wai Wong)
The supposed sequel to 2000’s In the Mood for Love is an intriguing watch. However, since the movie did not come with any English subtitles I am not yet qualified to fully rate it. One can clearly find traces of In the Mood for love in this flick. For the record, Ziyi Zhang is absolutely perfect in her role.
7) Raincoat (directed by Rituparno Ghosh): 9/10
This is a play. No question about it. One only wishes it was a pure play as that would have saved the horrible flashbacks which add nothing to the movie. That being said, it is a very good story indeed. But what spoiled the movie for me was the poor work of Ashwariya. I don’t know if I should blame her or the director or both. Ashwariya’s character is supposed to be a simple villager yet in the flaskbacks (before she moved to the city) every sentence spoken by her contains words of perfect English and her manners show plenty of sophistication. Yet when she movies to a big city as Calcutta, she behaves more like a villager than she did while living in the village! She claims not to know any English but every now and then, she speaks some words with perfect English such as ‘Dietitian’ and yet in some words her village accent returns (like ‘phone’). Her dress sense seems to represent complete abandon, maybe to point towards her village care free sense of life?
Why am I being so harsh on such a good movie indeed? I have to. Given how much praise is heaped onto Rituparno and Ms. Rai, one should expect a completely polished product with no room for errors. Yet there are errors. That being said, Ajay Devgan is perfect, as is Annu Kapoor.
8) Other Bollywood flicks:
Musafir – Good idea despite a few Hollywood copied scenes. However, poor direction, lack of acting from the actresses and a dull screenplay are the bad parts. Heck, even the item songs are badly choreographed.
Naach – Shades of Rangeela all over the movie. It starts off really good but the last 30 minutes are a drag. If the main point of the movie is to portray dance as an art form (be it expressionism, ballet), then how come at the crunch moment, the dances are reduced to traditional Bollywood item numbers? There are some scenes of sheer goodness though.
Hulchul – Surprizingly I enjoyed this more than the above two movies. A lot of parallels with Priyadarshan’s ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhana’. A good watch overall.
Swades – The less said the better. It could have been a good movie if it was not busy preaching a sermon every few minutes. Is it so hard to make an honest real movie? Apparently. This movie tried to Bollywood-ize reality and that never works.
9) The Whole Ten Yards – Rating 4/10
I really loved the original but this sequel is plain bad. There are a few genuine funny scenes but overall it is a highly dull flick.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
December 2004 Wrap Up
Facing Windows: Rating 7/10
I missed seeing this at the Film festival but a good Italian friend told me this was not such a great movie (despite winning numerous domestic Italian movie awards). And I agree with him, this movie was not great at all, but quite bland. Sure the acting was good and the story had potential but in the end the movie was boring. There are two parallel stories in the movie and despite the director trying to tie them together, they never really feel seem connected.
The House of Flying Daggers:
Rating, Story: 3/10
Rating, Technical aspects (Visuals, Fights, Set Design): 10/10
A huge disappointment!! Sure there are great fight scenes – people will talk about the Bamboo & snow field fights and the colorful sets at the start of the movie but overall, the movie is incomplete. The movie starts off with an elaborate story line but once the love triangle kicks in, the assassin/conspiracy story is forgotten. In fact, if the love triangle was given so much importance, then what was the point of having the assassin story line?
The love story is much much weaker than either Crouching Tiger or Hero!
The Day After Tomorrow: Entertaining but full of plot holes, as expected.
Rating, Plot: 4/10
Rating, Visuals: 8/10
This movie was much more easy to watch than I had expected J The CGI graphics are really good and the ice storms, tornado’s, etc are very chilling and had my attention. Ofcourse, the negative point is the weak screenplay, choppy acting in some parts and well huge plot holes. None the less, it is a fun movie to watch.
The Girl Next Door: Rating 6/10
Unlike other high school movies, this flick does have a decent story line in mind -- a hooker moves next door to a high school outcast and changes his life. Now as clichéd as it seems the story line would have worked. However, the movie tries to do too much and is muddled up by the end – the movie moves from a high school comedy to a romantic flick to a dark comedy and then finally ends up by showing that the porn industry has a sweet and tender side.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Rating 8/10
The Riddick character was amazing in Pitch Black and in this movie once again, he steals the show. With a bigger budget, the Chronicles is a visual pleasure. The CGI graphics are quite something and the entire Story world is great. This is a role made only for Vin Diesel and he completely dives into his character.
Before Sunset: Rating 10/10
This movie will not seem as good if one has not seen Before Sunrise. That being sad, the movie starts off 9 years after the first movie left off. The movie is a delight to watch. And the camera work plus editing is flawless, it is perfect. The only negative comment about the movie is that I still think that Ethan Hawke’s expressions are weak in some scenes just like in the first movie. But Julie Delpy is perfect as usual.
I missed seeing this at the Film festival but a good Italian friend told me this was not such a great movie (despite winning numerous domestic Italian movie awards). And I agree with him, this movie was not great at all, but quite bland. Sure the acting was good and the story had potential but in the end the movie was boring. There are two parallel stories in the movie and despite the director trying to tie them together, they never really feel seem connected.
The House of Flying Daggers:
Rating, Story: 3/10
Rating, Technical aspects (Visuals, Fights, Set Design): 10/10
A huge disappointment!! Sure there are great fight scenes – people will talk about the Bamboo & snow field fights and the colorful sets at the start of the movie but overall, the movie is incomplete. The movie starts off with an elaborate story line but once the love triangle kicks in, the assassin/conspiracy story is forgotten. In fact, if the love triangle was given so much importance, then what was the point of having the assassin story line?
The love story is much much weaker than either Crouching Tiger or Hero!
The Day After Tomorrow: Entertaining but full of plot holes, as expected.
Rating, Plot: 4/10
Rating, Visuals: 8/10
This movie was much more easy to watch than I had expected J The CGI graphics are really good and the ice storms, tornado’s, etc are very chilling and had my attention. Ofcourse, the negative point is the weak screenplay, choppy acting in some parts and well huge plot holes. None the less, it is a fun movie to watch.
The Girl Next Door: Rating 6/10
Unlike other high school movies, this flick does have a decent story line in mind -- a hooker moves next door to a high school outcast and changes his life. Now as clichéd as it seems the story line would have worked. However, the movie tries to do too much and is muddled up by the end – the movie moves from a high school comedy to a romantic flick to a dark comedy and then finally ends up by showing that the porn industry has a sweet and tender side.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Rating 8/10
The Riddick character was amazing in Pitch Black and in this movie once again, he steals the show. With a bigger budget, the Chronicles is a visual pleasure. The CGI graphics are quite something and the entire Story world is great. This is a role made only for Vin Diesel and he completely dives into his character.
Before Sunset: Rating 10/10
This movie will not seem as good if one has not seen Before Sunrise. That being sad, the movie starts off 9 years after the first movie left off. The movie is a delight to watch. And the camera work plus editing is flawless, it is perfect. The only negative comment about the movie is that I still think that Ethan Hawke’s expressions are weak in some scenes just like in the first movie. But Julie Delpy is perfect as usual.
Sunday, November 14, 2004
November Wrap-up
1) Intimate Strangers (Directed by Patrice Leconte, Produced by Alain Sarde): Rating 8/10
This is a classic French movie and has a few signs of an Alain Sarde production as well (for example Nathalie, Jet Lag, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, Dry Cleaning). Those signs involve a relationship in trouble and ample intelligent conversation which tries to resolve the situation. This time around the sensuality is all in the conversation itself. A woman walks into a shrink’s office and starts unloading her worries. Then just like that, she abruptly ends her talk and walks off wanting to return for another session. The only snag is that the shrink is not a shrink at all but a mere tax advisor; the woman had walked into the wrong door. So the tax advisor heads down the hall into the therapist’s office to get advice on what do with the situation. Needless to say, he continues to listen to the woman’s needs. The movie heads towards a predictable ending but there are some interesting events along the way. If one has seen plenty of French movies, then this one will not seem to be that great. Still a decent watch! It is still refreshing to see un-glossy actors giving an amazing performance, which only French movies can provide.
2) Monsieur Ibrahim (Directed by Francois Dupeyron): Rating 11/10
This is a PERFECT movie! Along with Exils, this is the best movie I have seen this year. It is refreshing to see Omar Sharif (who plays a Turkish shop owner) given a charming role which he plays to perfection. But the real gem of this movie is the young actor, Pierre Boulanger, who gives a virtuoso performance as the 14 year old Momo. Boulanger’s expressions are priceless (feisty when they have to be, innocent when needed) and Omar Sharif rightly believes that this kid will be a star one day.
So what’s the story? A majority of the movie involves Momo’s coming of age tale -- Momo never really knew his mother because she left when he was an infant and his father is off on his own most of the time. So Momo balances his mostly solitary life with meaningful conversations with M. Ibrahim. And this is where he grows from a young boy into a useful man. The last bit of the movie involves a road journey as well. But a truly pleasant movie!!!!!!!!!!
3) The Mother (Directed by Roger Michell): Rating 4/10
A rating of this movie depends on the fact whether one buys the affair development between a mother and her daughter’s boyfriend. If one buys the entire process, then like most critics, one will be bowled over by this movie. But if one does not believe the story, then the entire movie seems contrived and pointless. Curiously, the movie is based on Hanif Kureishi’s book so I am not sure how the book might have been. An elderly couple comes to London to visit their children. And typical of this day and age, the children have a busy life and can’t look after their parents. The father dies on the trip and the mother finds her entire life shook-up. She opts to stay in London with her daughter as her son is too busy always. Through a very smooth and casual process, the mother rediscovers her zest for life in the arms of her daughter’s boyfriend (a man half her age, give or take a few years). I just didn’t buy the entire process and well thought the entire movie was a waste.
4) Bon Voyage (Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau): Rating 5/10
Maybe I was not in the mood but this movie just didn’t interest me one bit. It has an interesting cast with Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu and Peter Coyote. But this murder chase movie set in the mood of World War II seemed really boring.
5) Trio of Truffaut movies – Also there are trio of Francois Truffaut movies that I am currently finishing up.
a) Bed and Board – This is the fourth in the Antoine Doinel series of movies with 400 Blows, Love at Twenty, Stolen Kisses being the other three. Unfortunately, I saw the French version without any subtitles. But such was the beauty of the movie that I managed to follow more or less what was going on.
b) Stolen Kisses – The 3rd Antoine Doinel movie, with 400 Blows being the first one. Once again, the movie glides effortlessly as Antoine goes from one failed project to another.
c) The Last Metro – I have not finished this 1980 movie starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu.
6) Hiroshima mon Amour (Directed by Alain Resnais) -- I am trying to finish up this 1959 movie so I can watch and understand H-Story, the 2001 Nobuhiro Suwa movie about the making of the original Hiroshima movie.
This is a classic French movie and has a few signs of an Alain Sarde production as well (for example Nathalie, Jet Lag, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud, Dry Cleaning). Those signs involve a relationship in trouble and ample intelligent conversation which tries to resolve the situation. This time around the sensuality is all in the conversation itself. A woman walks into a shrink’s office and starts unloading her worries. Then just like that, she abruptly ends her talk and walks off wanting to return for another session. The only snag is that the shrink is not a shrink at all but a mere tax advisor; the woman had walked into the wrong door. So the tax advisor heads down the hall into the therapist’s office to get advice on what do with the situation. Needless to say, he continues to listen to the woman’s needs. The movie heads towards a predictable ending but there are some interesting events along the way. If one has seen plenty of French movies, then this one will not seem to be that great. Still a decent watch! It is still refreshing to see un-glossy actors giving an amazing performance, which only French movies can provide.
2) Monsieur Ibrahim (Directed by Francois Dupeyron): Rating 11/10
This is a PERFECT movie! Along with Exils, this is the best movie I have seen this year. It is refreshing to see Omar Sharif (who plays a Turkish shop owner) given a charming role which he plays to perfection. But the real gem of this movie is the young actor, Pierre Boulanger, who gives a virtuoso performance as the 14 year old Momo. Boulanger’s expressions are priceless (feisty when they have to be, innocent when needed) and Omar Sharif rightly believes that this kid will be a star one day.
So what’s the story? A majority of the movie involves Momo’s coming of age tale -- Momo never really knew his mother because she left when he was an infant and his father is off on his own most of the time. So Momo balances his mostly solitary life with meaningful conversations with M. Ibrahim. And this is where he grows from a young boy into a useful man. The last bit of the movie involves a road journey as well. But a truly pleasant movie!!!!!!!!!!
3) The Mother (Directed by Roger Michell): Rating 4/10
A rating of this movie depends on the fact whether one buys the affair development between a mother and her daughter’s boyfriend. If one buys the entire process, then like most critics, one will be bowled over by this movie. But if one does not believe the story, then the entire movie seems contrived and pointless. Curiously, the movie is based on Hanif Kureishi’s book so I am not sure how the book might have been. An elderly couple comes to London to visit their children. And typical of this day and age, the children have a busy life and can’t look after their parents. The father dies on the trip and the mother finds her entire life shook-up. She opts to stay in London with her daughter as her son is too busy always. Through a very smooth and casual process, the mother rediscovers her zest for life in the arms of her daughter’s boyfriend (a man half her age, give or take a few years). I just didn’t buy the entire process and well thought the entire movie was a waste.
4) Bon Voyage (Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau): Rating 5/10
Maybe I was not in the mood but this movie just didn’t interest me one bit. It has an interesting cast with Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu and Peter Coyote. But this murder chase movie set in the mood of World War II seemed really boring.
5) Trio of Truffaut movies – Also there are trio of Francois Truffaut movies that I am currently finishing up.
a) Bed and Board – This is the fourth in the Antoine Doinel series of movies with 400 Blows, Love at Twenty, Stolen Kisses being the other three. Unfortunately, I saw the French version without any subtitles. But such was the beauty of the movie that I managed to follow more or less what was going on.
b) Stolen Kisses – The 3rd Antoine Doinel movie, with 400 Blows being the first one. Once again, the movie glides effortlessly as Antoine goes from one failed project to another.
c) The Last Metro – I have not finished this 1980 movie starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu.
6) Hiroshima mon Amour (Directed by Alain Resnais) -- I am trying to finish up this 1959 movie so I can watch and understand H-Story, the 2001 Nobuhiro Suwa movie about the making of the original Hiroshima movie.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
October Movie Wrap-up
1) Carandiru (directed by Hector ) : Rating 10/10
This movie is based on a true story. But as it turns out certain characters were changed from real life to fit the movie mould. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting movie. The story revolves around an incident in a Brazilian prison where riot squad massacred un-armed prisoners for purely political reasons. The movie is divided into two segments – the first segment (almost ¾ of the movie) focuses on the prisoners and their stories, lives etc as seen from the eyes of the Prison Doctor. The second segment outlines the prison massacre.
This method works quite well – since we have come to identify the prisoners from the first segment, the massacre puts things into perspective.
2) Close Your Eyes (also known as Doctor Sleep): Rating 9/10
Quite a thriller from the UK! The story revolves around a doctor who uses hypnosis to cure his patients of their smoking habits. During one case, he tells his woman patient not to think of nasty images like a girl floating in the water next time on. The woman is surprised – how on earth did the doctor read her mind? Well as it turns out she is a cop working on a serial killer case. She enlists his help in trying to solve a bizarre sequence of killings.
3) The Ladykillers (directed by the Coen Brothers): Rating 5/10
Once upon a time a movie by the Coen brothers was a sure thing -- Blood Simple, Fargo, O Brother Where Are Thou, The Big Leobowski, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn’t there! But that has changed. For the second year in a row, they have produced a dud. This could have something to do with the fact that like the dull and boring Intolerable Cruelty, the Ladykillers is not a script written by the two brothers. There is only so much a person can do when working with someone else’s script or even a remake. Even though Ladykillers has the typical Noir elements from other Coen movies but it is not enough to liven a movie.
Massively disappointing!!
4) Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Korean movie by Ki-duk Kim): Rating 8/10
The director of the Isle returns with a visually pleasing movie. The story is simple enough – a Buddhist monk lives with a little boy on a floating monastery in the middle of a lake. The movie starts off in Spring and shows the lives of the two monks. The little boy is mischievous and goes out of his way to harm animals around him. So the elder monk teaches the boy a lesson. We next move to Summer when the little boy has grown up into a teenager -- an age where his hormones are acting up. When a young woman comes to stay at the monastery, well his sexual drive kicks in. From there on, the next seasons outline different stages in the young monk’s life. The movie eventually comes full circle to the start, just like things eventually do.
The Winter story is visually STUNNING. Beautiful!
5) Bus 174 (Brazilian Documentary):
This documentary has gotten nothing but rave reviews everywhere. It centers around a real-life bus hostage situation in Brazil where the media beam the entire incident live on tv. The documentary has interesting parts and tries to piece the entire story together – the identity of the armed person, the motives behind the act, the role of the police, and how things turned out. The film gives a realistic look at the characters used widely in movies such as City of God, Carandiru and Man of the Year. But for some bizarre, I didn’t find this movie that engaging. I lost interest after a while and well was bored.
This movie is based on a true story. But as it turns out certain characters were changed from real life to fit the movie mould. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting movie. The story revolves around an incident in a Brazilian prison where riot squad massacred un-armed prisoners for purely political reasons. The movie is divided into two segments – the first segment (almost ¾ of the movie) focuses on the prisoners and their stories, lives etc as seen from the eyes of the Prison Doctor. The second segment outlines the prison massacre.
This method works quite well – since we have come to identify the prisoners from the first segment, the massacre puts things into perspective.
2) Close Your Eyes (also known as Doctor Sleep): Rating 9/10
Quite a thriller from the UK! The story revolves around a doctor who uses hypnosis to cure his patients of their smoking habits. During one case, he tells his woman patient not to think of nasty images like a girl floating in the water next time on. The woman is surprised – how on earth did the doctor read her mind? Well as it turns out she is a cop working on a serial killer case. She enlists his help in trying to solve a bizarre sequence of killings.
3) The Ladykillers (directed by the Coen Brothers): Rating 5/10
Once upon a time a movie by the Coen brothers was a sure thing -- Blood Simple, Fargo, O Brother Where Are Thou, The Big Leobowski, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn’t there! But that has changed. For the second year in a row, they have produced a dud. This could have something to do with the fact that like the dull and boring Intolerable Cruelty, the Ladykillers is not a script written by the two brothers. There is only so much a person can do when working with someone else’s script or even a remake. Even though Ladykillers has the typical Noir elements from other Coen movies but it is not enough to liven a movie.
Massively disappointing!!
4) Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Korean movie by Ki-duk Kim): Rating 8/10
The director of the Isle returns with a visually pleasing movie. The story is simple enough – a Buddhist monk lives with a little boy on a floating monastery in the middle of a lake. The movie starts off in Spring and shows the lives of the two monks. The little boy is mischievous and goes out of his way to harm animals around him. So the elder monk teaches the boy a lesson. We next move to Summer when the little boy has grown up into a teenager -- an age where his hormones are acting up. When a young woman comes to stay at the monastery, well his sexual drive kicks in. From there on, the next seasons outline different stages in the young monk’s life. The movie eventually comes full circle to the start, just like things eventually do.
The Winter story is visually STUNNING. Beautiful!
5) Bus 174 (Brazilian Documentary):
This documentary has gotten nothing but rave reviews everywhere. It centers around a real-life bus hostage situation in Brazil where the media beam the entire incident live on tv. The documentary has interesting parts and tries to piece the entire story together – the identity of the armed person, the motives behind the act, the role of the police, and how things turned out. The film gives a realistic look at the characters used widely in movies such as City of God, Carandiru and Man of the Year. But for some bizarre, I didn’t find this movie that engaging. I lost interest after a while and well was bored.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
October Movie notes
1) La Belle noiseuse (aka The Beautiful Troublemaker) directed by Jacques Rivette: Rating 7/10
This 1991 French movie is all about Emmanuelle Beart or specifically Beart’s body. Michel Piccoli plays Edouard Frenhofer, a reclusive painter with his own unique painting style. Frenhofer has stopped painting a while ago but when Beart agrees to pose for him, he finds his rhythm back. There are things about art which are difficult to translate and the same goes for this movie. Some things don’t translate fully but nonetheless a decent movie. Beart’s expressions are spot on as usual.
2) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (directed by Michel Gondry): Rating 6/10
A great story idea penned by Charlie Kaufman, Gondry and Pierre Bismuth but a very poor on screen execution. Jim Carrey as expected is great in his role but the problem really is with the movie rhythm. The movie is caught in between a European and Hollywood feel. If it was a truly a French movie, then it would have worked. If it was in the realm of a complete Hollywood movie, then maybe it could have made it. The story is around the idea that people can go to a certain company to erase their painful memories. The journey through Carrey’s brain when his memories are being wiped is a great visual achievement. But in the end, very disappointed.
3) Coffee and Cigarettes (directed by Jim Jarmusch): Rating 4/10
A series of 11 black and white shorts filmed with a common thread of caffeine and nicotine. 10 of the shorts feature coffee, 2 have tea (with one being coffee free). I think only one short does not have cigarettes.
Anyway, the first 6 movies can be discarded. That is a big thing considering the first one stars Roberto Benigni as a severe coffee/cigarette junkie. Jarmusch shot the first few shorts in 1986 and then finished the rest of the films in 2002/03 or so. After movies such as Ghost Dog, Night on Earth, Dead Man, I was expecting more from him. But in the end, most of the efforts are not that great.
The seventh movie titled ‘Cousins’ starring Cate Blanchett in a double role is quite good. This is the only movie which features expresso.
The 8th movie is best forgetten.
The 9th movie titled ‘Cousins?’ is probably the best of the lot starring Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. This is the only short which does not have coffee but only tea.
The 10th movie starts Bill Murray & RZA, GZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and is not bad. This one also features herbal tea.
4) Ju-on: The Grudge (directed by Takashi Shimizu): Rating 6.5/10
I finally watched the original Japanese movie before the Hollywood remake is released on Oct 22. Now, I was expecting a lot more scary scenes from this movie than what transpires. But in typical Japanese horror fashion, the scares are brought on by carefully constructed scenes focusing on background music and tiny details. There is no need for slashing gory scenes to make people jump with anticipation; just simple scenes which slowly unravel the horror works efficiently. The story revolves around a haunted house, which has a curse placed on it because of a murder committed there. Anyone who comes in contact with the house will not survive no matter where they run to. The movie is jam packed with situations which evoke horror even before anything is shown – dark attics, an empty bathroom, closets, dark rooms, etc. It is not a bad movie but I guess what disappointed me was the expectations I had from this flick.
This 1991 French movie is all about Emmanuelle Beart or specifically Beart’s body. Michel Piccoli plays Edouard Frenhofer, a reclusive painter with his own unique painting style. Frenhofer has stopped painting a while ago but when Beart agrees to pose for him, he finds his rhythm back. There are things about art which are difficult to translate and the same goes for this movie. Some things don’t translate fully but nonetheless a decent movie. Beart’s expressions are spot on as usual.
2) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (directed by Michel Gondry): Rating 6/10
A great story idea penned by Charlie Kaufman, Gondry and Pierre Bismuth but a very poor on screen execution. Jim Carrey as expected is great in his role but the problem really is with the movie rhythm. The movie is caught in between a European and Hollywood feel. If it was a truly a French movie, then it would have worked. If it was in the realm of a complete Hollywood movie, then maybe it could have made it. The story is around the idea that people can go to a certain company to erase their painful memories. The journey through Carrey’s brain when his memories are being wiped is a great visual achievement. But in the end, very disappointed.
3) Coffee and Cigarettes (directed by Jim Jarmusch): Rating 4/10
A series of 11 black and white shorts filmed with a common thread of caffeine and nicotine. 10 of the shorts feature coffee, 2 have tea (with one being coffee free). I think only one short does not have cigarettes.
Anyway, the first 6 movies can be discarded. That is a big thing considering the first one stars Roberto Benigni as a severe coffee/cigarette junkie. Jarmusch shot the first few shorts in 1986 and then finished the rest of the films in 2002/03 or so. After movies such as Ghost Dog, Night on Earth, Dead Man, I was expecting more from him. But in the end, most of the efforts are not that great.
The seventh movie titled ‘Cousins’ starring Cate Blanchett in a double role is quite good. This is the only movie which features expresso.
The 8th movie is best forgetten.
The 9th movie titled ‘Cousins?’ is probably the best of the lot starring Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. This is the only short which does not have coffee but only tea.
The 10th movie starts Bill Murray & RZA, GZA (of the Wu-Tang Clan) and is not bad. This one also features herbal tea.
4) Ju-on: The Grudge (directed by Takashi Shimizu): Rating 6.5/10
I finally watched the original Japanese movie before the Hollywood remake is released on Oct 22. Now, I was expecting a lot more scary scenes from this movie than what transpires. But in typical Japanese horror fashion, the scares are brought on by carefully constructed scenes focusing on background music and tiny details. There is no need for slashing gory scenes to make people jump with anticipation; just simple scenes which slowly unravel the horror works efficiently. The story revolves around a haunted house, which has a curse placed on it because of a murder committed there. Anyone who comes in contact with the house will not survive no matter where they run to. The movie is jam packed with situations which evoke horror even before anything is shown – dark attics, an empty bathroom, closets, dark rooms, etc. It is not a bad movie but I guess what disappointed me was the expectations I had from this flick.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Festival Wrap Up
Well the festival is over. There were quite a few good movies that I saw and I even missed seeing some of the more popular festival movies. My overall pick for the favourite movie was Exiles by Tony Gatlif. But here is the summary of the final few days:
Day Seven: Thu, Sept 30
The Motocycle Diaries (directed by Walter Salles): Rating 8/10
If this movie did not have the name Che Guevera associated with it, then there would have hardly been any hype around it despite it being well acted and beautifully shot by Eric Gautier (truly deserving of his Cannes Award). The movie is NOT about Che but instead about two young men, Ernesto and Alberto, who plan a road trip through Latin America. The motorcycle trip comes with its problems and adventures, and is a life altering experience for both. There are no technical flaws with the movie, but the only thing that weighs the movie down is the hype.
Kopps (directed by Josef Fares): Rating 10/10
A hilarious movie set in a small crime free Swedish town. Since the crime rate is non-existent, the local police station is about to be shut down. Facing the prospect of losing their jobs, the Kopps decide to boost the crime rate themselves. Interesting characters all around – well acted and just plain fun.
Slim Sussie (directed by Ulf Malmros): Rating 8/10
Another movie set in a small Swedish town. A brother, Erik, returns to his hometown to find his sister, Sussie. It has been a few years since Erik left the town to head to the city and soon learns that things changed quite a bit for Sussie. Each person has a different version of what happened to Sussie and trying to piece everything together becomes a problem for Erik. The movie is jam packed with references to Hollywood movies (Usual Suspects, Clockwork Orange, etc) and contains some memorable characters. When the pace of the movie slows down, a few songs help pick up the slack.
Day 8: Friday, Oct 1
Facing Windows (directed by Ferzan Ozpetek):
I was late for this movie and since the show was sold out, I was turned away with quite a few other people.
Primer (directed by Shane Carruth): Rating 8/10
A classic festival movie -- small budget ($7000 dollars) & a great idea! Four young engineers work in a garage (outside of their regular 50 hour a week jobs) to come up with the next big thing. What the big thing is supposed to be, none of them knows; they just go with the flow. The start of the movie is impossible to comprehend as technical terms are thrown around, but it is clear it has something to do with freezing temperatures. Two of the men stumble onto something and decide to keep it from the other two. This is where the movie goes off on a different tangent (sci-fi) – the two men find a way to create their very own time machine. It is an interesting watch, even though hard to understand everything. Each person will take something different from this movie.
Day 9: Sat, Oct 2
Exiles (directed by Tony Gatlif): Rating 11/10
The best movie for me at the festival! It stood head and shoulders above everything else. That being said, the movie might be a hit or miss for others. The story is simple as can be – Zano and Naima decide to leave Paris and head to Algeria to find their roots. Their parents were from Algeria and they are keen to return to a land they have only heard about (they don’t even speak Arabic). Their journey consists of heading through Spain and finally sneaking into Algeria (the Algerian border is closed). Since this is a Tony Gatlif movie, the traditional flamenco musical sequences are present. And an additional bonus is the presence of Rai music (not truly Rai but shades of it). A movie with a simple story but brilliant direction (Gatlif rightly deserved the best director award at Cannes). At no point in the movie does anything seem fake – this is a movie made by a person who cares to make a movie, who has a story to tell, who has something to convey. This is not a movie made for money but out of love. A classic!!!!
Lost Embrace (directed by Daniel Burman): Rating 5/10
A disappointing movie! For some reason this movie bagged a couple of awards at the Berlin film festival.
Red Cockroaches (directed by Miguel Coyula): Rating 4/10
A movie made on a shoe string budget, apparently $2000 dollars. The movie is shot entirely on dv camera and was edited by Coyula on his computer. There are some neat aspects in the movie but overall it is hugely disappointing. The movie is set in the future where DNA manipulation can bring back dead people. Acid Rain causes mutations and red cockroaches are the carriers of this mutation disease. Adam immediately takes to a woman he sees in a subway station. But she disappears and all he finds is a tooth. A few scenes later, Adam discovers the woman, Lily, is his long lost sister who Adam and his mother had thought to be dead. Adam and Lily engage in sexual union and once the incest starts, the sci-fi angle is thrown out of the window.
One can say that given the small budget, this is a significant effort. But there are too many loop holes in this one. Now, with a bigger budget, something could be made from this story.
Day 10: Sun, Oct 3
Memron (directed by Nancy Hower): Rating 7/10
A mocumentary completely in the style of Christopher Guest! Memron was once the biggest company on the planet but due to some book-keeping errors (err, stealing money), the company is facing bankruptcy and are forced to lay off more than thousands of employees. The movie shows the plight of the employees and takes a jab at the CEO’s who still continue to be given VIP treatment despite being crooks.
First five Festival days can be found here.
Day Seven: Thu, Sept 30
The Motocycle Diaries (directed by Walter Salles): Rating 8/10
If this movie did not have the name Che Guevera associated with it, then there would have hardly been any hype around it despite it being well acted and beautifully shot by Eric Gautier (truly deserving of his Cannes Award). The movie is NOT about Che but instead about two young men, Ernesto and Alberto, who plan a road trip through Latin America. The motorcycle trip comes with its problems and adventures, and is a life altering experience for both. There are no technical flaws with the movie, but the only thing that weighs the movie down is the hype.
Kopps (directed by Josef Fares): Rating 10/10
A hilarious movie set in a small crime free Swedish town. Since the crime rate is non-existent, the local police station is about to be shut down. Facing the prospect of losing their jobs, the Kopps decide to boost the crime rate themselves. Interesting characters all around – well acted and just plain fun.
Slim Sussie (directed by Ulf Malmros): Rating 8/10
Another movie set in a small Swedish town. A brother, Erik, returns to his hometown to find his sister, Sussie. It has been a few years since Erik left the town to head to the city and soon learns that things changed quite a bit for Sussie. Each person has a different version of what happened to Sussie and trying to piece everything together becomes a problem for Erik. The movie is jam packed with references to Hollywood movies (Usual Suspects, Clockwork Orange, etc) and contains some memorable characters. When the pace of the movie slows down, a few songs help pick up the slack.
Day 8: Friday, Oct 1
Facing Windows (directed by Ferzan Ozpetek):
I was late for this movie and since the show was sold out, I was turned away with quite a few other people.
A classic festival movie -- small budget ($7000 dollars) & a great idea! Four young engineers work in a garage (outside of their regular 50 hour a week jobs) to come up with the next big thing. What the big thing is supposed to be, none of them knows; they just go with the flow. The start of the movie is impossible to comprehend as technical terms are thrown around, but it is clear it has something to do with freezing temperatures. Two of the men stumble onto something and decide to keep it from the other two. This is where the movie goes off on a different tangent (sci-fi) – the two men find a way to create their very own time machine. It is an interesting watch, even though hard to understand everything. Each person will take something different from this movie.
Day 9: Sat, Oct 2
Exiles (directed by Tony Gatlif): Rating 11/10
The best movie for me at the festival! It stood head and shoulders above everything else. That being said, the movie might be a hit or miss for others. The story is simple as can be – Zano and Naima decide to leave Paris and head to Algeria to find their roots. Their parents were from Algeria and they are keen to return to a land they have only heard about (they don’t even speak Arabic). Their journey consists of heading through Spain and finally sneaking into Algeria (the Algerian border is closed). Since this is a Tony Gatlif movie, the traditional flamenco musical sequences are present. And an additional bonus is the presence of Rai music (not truly Rai but shades of it). A movie with a simple story but brilliant direction (Gatlif rightly deserved the best director award at Cannes). At no point in the movie does anything seem fake – this is a movie made by a person who cares to make a movie, who has a story to tell, who has something to convey. This is not a movie made for money but out of love. A classic!!!!
Lost Embrace (directed by Daniel Burman): Rating 5/10
A disappointing movie! For some reason this movie bagged a couple of awards at the Berlin film festival.
Red Cockroaches (directed by Miguel Coyula): Rating 4/10
A movie made on a shoe string budget, apparently $2000 dollars. The movie is shot entirely on dv camera and was edited by Coyula on his computer. There are some neat aspects in the movie but overall it is hugely disappointing. The movie is set in the future where DNA manipulation can bring back dead people. Acid Rain causes mutations and red cockroaches are the carriers of this mutation disease. Adam immediately takes to a woman he sees in a subway station. But she disappears and all he finds is a tooth. A few scenes later, Adam discovers the woman, Lily, is his long lost sister who Adam and his mother had thought to be dead. Adam and Lily engage in sexual union and once the incest starts, the sci-fi angle is thrown out of the window.
One can say that given the small budget, this is a significant effort. But there are too many loop holes in this one. Now, with a bigger budget, something could be made from this story.
Day 10: Sun, Oct 3
Memron (directed by Nancy Hower): Rating 7/10
A mocumentary completely in the style of Christopher Guest! Memron was once the biggest company on the planet but due to some book-keeping errors (err, stealing money), the company is facing bankruptcy and are forced to lay off more than thousands of employees. The movie shows the plight of the employees and takes a jab at the CEO’s who still continue to be given VIP treatment despite being crooks.
First five Festival days can be found here.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Mid-way through the Film Festival
The festival has reached its halfway point and what better time to take the night off and recharge for the final four movie packed days. So here’s the news so far:
Day One: Friday, Sept 24
Of the three movies I had originally planned to see, I could only attend the midnight feature, Saw (from America by James Wan). The two that I missed were August Sun (from Srilanka) and Kamchatka (Argentina).
Saw (directed by James Wan): Rating a solid 9/10
A midnight feature is deemed to be cultish, gory, scary, etc. Saw is not as gory as the original version that premiered at Sundance, but it is still a stellar movie. The opening scenes are some of the best I have seen this year. Picture this:
The movie opens in darkness with a man immersed in a bathtub with a blade looking device escaping down the drain. The man hears another man’s voice. The other man says he has found a light switch. The lights come on slowly, one by one. Two men, strangers to each other, find themselves on opposite corners of a large, dirty bathroom. In the middle of the bathroom floor, equidistant from the two men, is a man lying dead, face down in his blood with a gun in one hand (part of his head seems blown off). Both men have one of their legs chained to the pipes on the wall. The men can’t remember why they are here? Who has brought them? What’s going on?
The movie then unfolds brilliantly. Echoes of Seven and Cube come to mind. But this movie stands on its own. The only negative point is a bit of slack near the ending but usually with this kind of genre, the endings try to achieve too much. A worthy see nonetheless. And when you consider this is an effort from a first time director, then the movie seems an even greater achievement.
Day Two: Saturday, Sept 25
11’09”01 – 11 different directors with each short film lasting 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame.
There are some interesting flicks in this one and some which will offend for sure. Here is a quick rating of each one
1) Segment from Iran by Samira Makhmalbaf: Rating 6/10
For some reason I didn’t take to this one. It is set in Iran dealing with refugee Afghani children and their school teacher trying to tell them about the incident. Topics of God and destruction are brought up.
2) Segment from France by Claude Lelouch: Rating 7/10
Set in New York dealing with a deaf, mute woman whose is on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend (who works as a tour guide in the Trade Centers).
3) Segment from Egypt by Youssef Chahine: Rating 6/10
It brings up interesting ideas of a certain country's foreign policies and killing of innocent people but does not have a consistent flow. Also, made with the mood of a typical Egyptian movie (with dramatic background music)
4) Segment from Bosnia-Herzegovina by Danis Tanovic: Rating 9/10
An emotional piece which shows that one must keep on demonstrating even though no progress is being made.
5) Segment from Burkina Faso by Idrissa Ouedraogo: Rating 10/10
This was the only humorous segement. A boy believes he has seen Bin Laden in his small African village and rounds up his friends to nab Bin Laden so that they can claim the 25 million dollar prize.
6) Segment from United Kingdom by Ken Loach: Rating 10/10
This is the best of the lot. It shows an exiled Chilean in London remembering Sept 11, 1973 when America helped dispose of Chile’s government and supported the installation of Pinochet’s dictatorship.
7) Segment from Israel by Amos Gitai: Rating 8/10
This was a good episode which showed the media circus that follows real life terrorist incidents news reporting.
8) Segment from Mexico by Alejandro Inarritu: Rating 9/10
Powerful. Effective. And ends with the words “Does God's light guide us or blind us?”
9) Segment from USA by Sean Penn: Rating 10/10
Sheer genius. But the one to offend most people. It can be interpreted in a number of ways.
10) Segment from India by Mira Nair: Rating 7/10
Based on a true life story about a Pakistani person mistakenly judged as a terrorist in New York because of America’s blanket 1984 laws.
11) Segment from Japan by Shohei Imamura: Rating 3/10
This one sticks out from the rest. Set in 1945 Japan. A solider returns from the war and chooses to live like a snake rather than be human. The movie ends with the snake saying “There is no such thing as a Holy War”.
Clean (directed by Oliver Assayas): Rating 6/10
Oh the hype. Maggie Cheung won the Best Actress award for this movie at Cannes this year. And yet, she is the weakest element in this movie. The movie lacks any emotion and is cold and un-interesting. The only time Maggie acts with emotion is when she switches to Cantonese but in French and English, she delivers her lines with zero emotion. A huge let-down.
Kontroll (directed by Nimrod Antal): Rating 10/10
The buzz around this Hungarian movie ensured the line-up’s were huge and people were turned away. And what a movie it is!!!! The movie follows the lives of the underground subway metro staff on their daily routines – the insanity, the male power games, the inner turmoils, hilarious passengers, etc. The first half is a hilarious movie but the second half explores the shades of darkness lurking beneath.
Day 3: Sunday, Sept 26
Hukkle (directed by Gyorgy Palfi): Rating 7/10
No dialogues, but simply beautiful countryside of a small Hungarian town. An old man hiccups while life moves at a snail’s pace. In between the close up shots of snakes, insects, water, fishes, pig’s behind, there is a murder taking place. Enough clues are shown for us to piece together who was killed and how. A very offbeat movie which demonstrates the power of images.
Nathalie (directed by Anne Fontaine): Rating 9/10
A classic French movie. Emmanuelle Beart and Fanny Ardant are just perfect in their roles but Gerard Depardieu is not given much to do.
Nothing (directed by Vincenzo Natali): Rating 7/10
I headed into this movie only because it was by the director of the cult hit, Cube. The movie starts off poorly but really kicks into high gear after the first 20 minutes. The premise is best not told but that two friends who are social outcasts find themselves stranded in white empty space.
Note: The other option instead of Nothing was the Swedish movie, Kopps. Everyone I have talked to says that Kopps was hilarious. And sure enough, Hollywood is planning to remake this movie.
Day 4: Monday, Sept 27
I passed up the chance to watch the Czech movie, Zelary and award winning French movie, Since Otar Left. From word of mouth, it seems Zelary was well received.
The Shield (directed by Frederic Provost): Rating 6/10
I was disappointed by this French action movie. The slow and dull start really dampened things but the movie eventually managed to pick up.
Day 5: Tuesday, Sept 28
Choker Bali (directed by Rituparno Ghosh): Rating 6/10
This was the first time in the festival that my view of the screen was blocked by tall people sitting in front making it was hard to read all the subtitles. The movie started 20 minutes late and since I wanted to make the Brazilian movie later in the night, I had to leave the theater with 20 minutes to go. Will have to catch up with it later on.
Man of the Year (directed by Jose Henrique Fonseca): Rating 8/10
The hype around the movie was staggering because everyone had compared it to City of God. Well the movie is not as good as City of God but it is a good movie. A man loses a soccer bet and has to dye his hair blond. From then on, his life takes a completely different turn. Shades of Scarface, City of God, and every other slick gangster movie out there. Visually the movie is really good (the cinematography oozes with coolness, right out of a Michael Mann movie).
Note: For the second time in the night, it was hard to read the subtitles. This time we sat in the 2nd last row (as opposed to the 6th row from the front in Choker Bali) and a cascading stream of heads made it impossible to sit still. Apparently everyone around had the same problem.
Day One: Friday, Sept 24
Of the three movies I had originally planned to see, I could only attend the midnight feature, Saw (from America by James Wan). The two that I missed were August Sun (from Srilanka) and Kamchatka (Argentina).
Saw (directed by James Wan): Rating a solid 9/10
A midnight feature is deemed to be cultish, gory, scary, etc. Saw is not as gory as the original version that premiered at Sundance, but it is still a stellar movie. The opening scenes are some of the best I have seen this year. Picture this:
The movie opens in darkness with a man immersed in a bathtub with a blade looking device escaping down the drain. The man hears another man’s voice. The other man says he has found a light switch. The lights come on slowly, one by one. Two men, strangers to each other, find themselves on opposite corners of a large, dirty bathroom. In the middle of the bathroom floor, equidistant from the two men, is a man lying dead, face down in his blood with a gun in one hand (part of his head seems blown off). Both men have one of their legs chained to the pipes on the wall. The men can’t remember why they are here? Who has brought them? What’s going on?
The movie then unfolds brilliantly. Echoes of Seven and Cube come to mind. But this movie stands on its own. The only negative point is a bit of slack near the ending but usually with this kind of genre, the endings try to achieve too much. A worthy see nonetheless. And when you consider this is an effort from a first time director, then the movie seems an even greater achievement.
Day Two: Saturday, Sept 25
11’09”01 – 11 different directors with each short film lasting 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame.
There are some interesting flicks in this one and some which will offend for sure. Here is a quick rating of each one
1) Segment from Iran by Samira Makhmalbaf: Rating 6/10
For some reason I didn’t take to this one. It is set in Iran dealing with refugee Afghani children and their school teacher trying to tell them about the incident. Topics of God and destruction are brought up.
2) Segment from France by Claude Lelouch: Rating 7/10
Set in New York dealing with a deaf, mute woman whose is on the verge of breaking up with her boyfriend (who works as a tour guide in the Trade Centers).
3) Segment from Egypt by Youssef Chahine: Rating 6/10
It brings up interesting ideas of a certain country's foreign policies and killing of innocent people but does not have a consistent flow. Also, made with the mood of a typical Egyptian movie (with dramatic background music)
4) Segment from Bosnia-Herzegovina by Danis Tanovic: Rating 9/10
An emotional piece which shows that one must keep on demonstrating even though no progress is being made.
5) Segment from Burkina Faso by Idrissa Ouedraogo: Rating 10/10
This was the only humorous segement. A boy believes he has seen Bin Laden in his small African village and rounds up his friends to nab Bin Laden so that they can claim the 25 million dollar prize.
6) Segment from United Kingdom by Ken Loach: Rating 10/10
This is the best of the lot. It shows an exiled Chilean in London remembering Sept 11, 1973 when America helped dispose of Chile’s government and supported the installation of Pinochet’s dictatorship.
7) Segment from Israel by Amos Gitai: Rating 8/10
This was a good episode which showed the media circus that follows real life terrorist incidents news reporting.
8) Segment from Mexico by Alejandro Inarritu: Rating 9/10
Powerful. Effective. And ends with the words “Does God's light guide us or blind us?”
9) Segment from USA by Sean Penn: Rating 10/10
Sheer genius. But the one to offend most people. It can be interpreted in a number of ways.
10) Segment from India by Mira Nair: Rating 7/10
Based on a true life story about a Pakistani person mistakenly judged as a terrorist in New York because of America’s blanket 1984 laws.
11) Segment from Japan by Shohei Imamura: Rating 3/10
This one sticks out from the rest. Set in 1945 Japan. A solider returns from the war and chooses to live like a snake rather than be human. The movie ends with the snake saying “There is no such thing as a Holy War”.
Clean (directed by Oliver Assayas): Rating 6/10
Oh the hype. Maggie Cheung won the Best Actress award for this movie at Cannes this year. And yet, she is the weakest element in this movie. The movie lacks any emotion and is cold and un-interesting. The only time Maggie acts with emotion is when she switches to Cantonese but in French and English, she delivers her lines with zero emotion. A huge let-down.
Kontroll (directed by Nimrod Antal): Rating 10/10
The buzz around this Hungarian movie ensured the line-up’s were huge and people were turned away. And what a movie it is!!!! The movie follows the lives of the underground subway metro staff on their daily routines – the insanity, the male power games, the inner turmoils, hilarious passengers, etc. The first half is a hilarious movie but the second half explores the shades of darkness lurking beneath.
Day 3: Sunday, Sept 26
Hukkle (directed by Gyorgy Palfi): Rating 7/10
No dialogues, but simply beautiful countryside of a small Hungarian town. An old man hiccups while life moves at a snail’s pace. In between the close up shots of snakes, insects, water, fishes, pig’s behind, there is a murder taking place. Enough clues are shown for us to piece together who was killed and how. A very offbeat movie which demonstrates the power of images.
Nathalie (directed by Anne Fontaine): Rating 9/10
A classic French movie. Emmanuelle Beart and Fanny Ardant are just perfect in their roles but Gerard Depardieu is not given much to do.
Nothing (directed by Vincenzo Natali): Rating 7/10
I headed into this movie only because it was by the director of the cult hit, Cube. The movie starts off poorly but really kicks into high gear after the first 20 minutes. The premise is best not told but that two friends who are social outcasts find themselves stranded in white empty space.
Note: The other option instead of Nothing was the Swedish movie, Kopps. Everyone I have talked to says that Kopps was hilarious. And sure enough, Hollywood is planning to remake this movie.
Day 4: Monday, Sept 27
I passed up the chance to watch the Czech movie, Zelary and award winning French movie, Since Otar Left. From word of mouth, it seems Zelary was well received.
The Shield (directed by Frederic Provost): Rating 6/10
I was disappointed by this French action movie. The slow and dull start really dampened things but the movie eventually managed to pick up.
Day 5: Tuesday, Sept 28
Choker Bali (directed by Rituparno Ghosh): Rating 6/10
This was the first time in the festival that my view of the screen was blocked by tall people sitting in front making it was hard to read all the subtitles. The movie started 20 minutes late and since I wanted to make the Brazilian movie later in the night, I had to leave the theater with 20 minutes to go. Will have to catch up with it later on.
Man of the Year (directed by Jose Henrique Fonseca): Rating 8/10
The hype around the movie was staggering because everyone had compared it to City of God. Well the movie is not as good as City of God but it is a good movie. A man loses a soccer bet and has to dye his hair blond. From then on, his life takes a completely different turn. Shades of Scarface, City of God, and every other slick gangster movie out there. Visually the movie is really good (the cinematography oozes with coolness, right out of a Michael Mann movie).
Note: For the second time in the night, it was hard to read the subtitles. This time we sat in the 2nd last row (as opposed to the 6th row from the front in Choker Bali) and a cascading stream of heads made it impossible to sit still. Apparently everyone around had the same problem.
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