Change Your Image
nithinrajagopal
Reviews
The Visit (2015)
Not fresh, but served well.
The idea is not entirely new.
The theme of the movie is similar to this 1999 Bollywood flick titled "Kaun?" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195002/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) that translates into "Who?". In fact, Kaun? engaged the audience differently and IMHO, told a similar story better. Also, "Kaun?" might have been one of the first real-time movies made in India which makes it extra special. The events in Kaun? unfold during the course of a rainy night.
But Shyamalan serves the movie well. He moves the camera a lot in "The Visit" as if to make it up for the ultra-steady shots he has mostly stuck to all this while. The perspective is the kids' experience. The junior actors are very good (though the characters they play might seem to be a little too smart for their age) and the senior actors play it with incredible ease.
With some good thrills coupled with humor, Shyamalan ensures that the movie keeps you engaged. A 6 out of 10 from me.
Skyfall (2012)
A 'SKYFALL' disappointment...
The only reason i am giving it a 4 is because its Daniel Craig, who in my opinion has been the most macho bond so far (If you have seen the way Pierce Brosnan runs you know what i mean).
Anyway, cutting to the chase, this bond movie is high on hype on abysmally low on thrill. This lacks everything that Casino Royale had - an i-forgot-to-eat-the-popcorn opening sequence, great pace of the story narration, bond girl's 'screen presence' and connect with the viewer.
For each of the points mentioned here - think of Casino Royale and think of Skyfall... A. Was there an action sequence in the movie that made you go 'wow!'? NO B. Was there any mystery in the movie to keep you guessing? NO C. Was there a bond girl whom you couldn't take your eyes off off? NO D. Is Bond Aunt (M) so important? NO E. Are you better off not knowing what Bond's past was like? YES F. Did the movie remind you of Home Alone? YES
I don't know if Sam Mendes was intentionally trying to ruin Daniel Craig's run as Bond or what, but this has to be the next worst Craig Bond Movie after Quantum of Solace - which makes it 2 in a row. Not good Daniel.
The explosion at MI-6 was CGI, the whatever-lizard like creature was CGI, the foggy moor shots were boring and too long, Albert Finny is wasted in the movie as an actor, there is no mystery around M (her first name is mentioned in a very casual manner) - and I could sense the 'fakeness' of all of these.
I hope the rating will soon stabilize to somewhere around 6.5 after the initial hoopla with the crazy fans dies its natural death. I have seen Casino Royale many times, but this one tested my patience in one viewing. I am disappointed because somewhere i am still looking at another bond movie reaching or even surpassing the bar that Casino Royale had set - and my disappointment increases since it seems this is highly unlikely to happen.
I am sorry Sam, not impressed at all.
Student of the Year (2012)
The perfect crappy movie of the year.
Most of the Indian movies demand the intelligence of a brick from the viewer. Karan Johar's SOTY not only lowers that standard further, but it erodes whatever brain cells you might make the mistake of carrying inside the cinema. It took all of yesterday and a couple of pegs of cheap whiskey to erase my memory of this movie and writing this review today is not helping the cause. But I feel warning others of this movie equivalent of a horrible experiment is my primary task for the day.
There are some facts about KJo and his movies (this one in particular) that one needs to be wary of,
1. Karan Johar can direct anything that doesn't move, with brilliance - for instance the faces of actors in this movie, a goal post etc. He usually creates the illusion of movement by blowing air through a fan on the faces while making a bunch of women blare 'aaa-aaa-aaa-aaa' in the background.
2. I am not a feminist but SOTY is about as demeaning to the fairer sex (teenage girls especially) as a movie can be, without stooping to Talibanic standards of whipping them in an open field. Teenage girls are either slutty or moronic or scheming or just plain stupid. While talking about the female lead in the movie, one of the guys mentioned her name dropping of major fashion houses as a charming quality. Really?
3. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was a movie that conveyed that truth, honesty and sincerity will get you there. This movie on the other hand seems to convey that whatever is wrong with today's young is right.
4. Karan Johar stereotypes, typifies, mocks and ridicules gay people in movies that he produces or directs. In his movies, a gay being is just a humorous character in someone else's life.
There is more i can rant and rave about, but if you are looking for a good time, nice entertainment, something about nothing that doesn't erode your grey matter, stay at home and watch Seinfeld instead.
Gran Torino (2008)
Gran Torino, Eastwood all over.
The first thing that struck me when I started watching Gran Torino was the remarkable shape this guy is in at 78. He is simply amazing. The other characters in the movie are pretty insignificant and Clint Eastwood character Walter, as he is supposed to, is the only person who stands out. This is a Clint Eastwood movie, and has his name written on it all over.
Living in a Hmong community, Walter has a disdain for almost everything except his dead wife and his 1972 Gran Torino. His wife, he says to Toad (the neighborhood Hmong boy), was the best woman to have lived on the planet. As Korean War veteran who is an Atheist, he thwarts all attempts made by a young priest to make him confess until towards the end of the movie, he tells him about things that make him feel guilty. Though this happens at a church, it's not exactly by way of a confession, but much like opening up to a friend. His grunt is a familiar feature throughout the movie, and it is the grunt of an old man flustered by what he sees around him and is wondering what the hell it has all come down to. But he doesn't bore us with clichés of how good the old times were, instead settles for the grunt which does bring up a smile.
There are things that Clint shows us other than the main plot of the movie, which is a gang of no-good nearby rowdies are trying to force a young Hmong boy ('Toad') into horrible ways like their own. He shows us how his sons and grandsons fake their affection and love for him to get something out of him. They have their eyes on his house and his car and what not.
Toad is forced to steal the Gran Torino as an initiation into the gang and is caught by Walter. He escapes but Walter starts hating him and the likes of him. 'Get off my lawn', he warns the gang one night when they are forcing the boy to go with them again, and in the process, shoos them off. Then gradually the neighborhood and the community start warming up to Walter and we see him sipping beer at a Hmong party. He even becomes good friends with Toad whom he used to hate and finds him a job. Everything is going on well till the gang folks assault Toad again. This time Walter beats one of them up as a warning and makes it clear that he doesn't want them hanging around anywhere near Toad. And that's when all hell breaks loose.
Toad's house is fired upon and his sister is brutally raped and beaten. Walter is shocked and furious and we see him planning the vengeance with Toad. Toad wants to go right-away and shoot the bastards but Walter has other plans. What those plans are, I won't reveal now and believe me, it something that you might not be able to guess till the very last minute. And then it will all fall in place.
Friendship, salvation and the meaning of life and death, all are answered for Walter in one way or the other. Set in Detroit, as can be seen from one of the signboards somewhere in the movie and also made evident by the dead streets, the movie also tries to bring back the lost glory of the Great American Auto Revolution with its focus on the Gran Torino.
Eastwood in snubbed by many in Hollywood as a stone faced actor; and he corks their mouths shut every time he makes a movie. At 78, he is capable of things that I can only hope to do at 60, and his drive as an actor and a director is unmatched. He is, in my opinion, easily one of the living legends of Hollywood. You might not find the movie outstanding, neither did I, but not for a moment will you be let down in this gritty drama of a war veteran trying to retain his self amidst the diversities and perils of the modern world we live in.
I have deliberately omitted key important facts from the movie plot, and as in any good movie, getting to know them won't give it away, but would just make the experience of watching it more interesting for the viewer.
Gran Torino is Clint Eastwood from start to finish and trust me; you don't want to miss it.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Well, Hello Beautiful !!!
Consider the package: a good plot, the soundtrack, the background score, the superhero mystery (even though you know who Batman is), the love which a superhero can't fully afford to be in, a maniacal villain, a determined man, an honest cop, the stunning Batmobile, the even more stunning Batpod, amazing direction and great special effects!!! Doesn't lack much does it now? Having said that, this is not a superhero movie. But then, Batman was never a superhero, he is a regular guy without superpowers, but tons of money that can buy almost anything. He is mortal. He owns a corporation that is on the frontier of weapons research and he has the money to use it for his vigilante encounters. Finally, a haunting past, which makes him a restless insomniac and fuels his crime-fighting. Everything falls in place. He is a guy who can do it, wants to do it, and often questions his own moralities. He needn't be Batman, he is a guy who can risk everything, and he does. Perhaps that why we like him so much.
Bale delivers again and is soaring in the list of my favorite actors. Might seem strange, but i like his appearances in the movie as Bruce Wayne and not Batman. Bruce Wayne's quips seem delivered best when they come from Bale.
Ledger will be remembered for this role as the joker. He makes the Joker jump out of the comic book and makes him a really sick criminal. He is as unpredictable and dangerous as he is funny. "I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one." I wont forget that. Ledgers loss has deprived me of the joker i like so much now.
Harvey looks good (you know what i mean) and the skepticism i had about Aaron before watching the movie has disappeared now.
Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' and 'Batman Begins' succeed in ripping apart the comic book image and bring Batman so close to us that we feel touched. We see a guy who cant come to terms with his pretended self. He wants to but cant afford love. He carries the burden of his parents death, but he cant kill, he is as human as any superhero could get.
I think with this movie, Batman was gone way ahead of Spiderman and Superman or any other superhero, who cant be as real as Batman ever. This movie will stay in my memory for a long time, perhaps till the dark knight strikes again.
Don (1978)
Boooooo!!! The flaw...
Indian filmmakers have long been wrought with the fear that the audience wont understand the plot. So much so that they think that we are downright stupid. That explains why the bad guys spare a few minutes to explain their ploy at the end of the movie, even if they are hanging from a twenty-floor building. And that also explains why even flawed movies are hailed to be the best.
I think DON is an exemplary movie glorifying the idiotic nature of the filmmakers who never let the audience grow. And its also a good example of how all the overdose of drama and fanfare can catapult even an average actor like Bacchhan to the status that he enjoys today.
Now for the flaw...think of the scene just before the title song where this lady is locked up in the room, a bathroom i guess. To make her escape impossible, we are shown that her hands and legs are tied up. But that is not enough, since the audience hasn't been taken for a ride yet. To make things really really difficult for the lady, the door is locked up from inside!!! Now you don't need to watch 200 episodes of CSI to realize that when you lock someone up, it might just be a little difficult to bolt the door from inside ?(the lady is shown un-bolting the door with her mouth during the title song, and she is un-bolting it from the inside!!!!) I love the new Shahrukh starrer DON for all the reasons i hate the earlier one for. One can find flaws in the new one too, but it does make an honest attempt to make the viewer think. And that to me, is a fact that Farhan Akhtar doesn't think of us as lowly dumbasses.
Watch the new one if you can, but after you have seen the 1978 one. The new one is better in every department of movie making, perhaps the 'audience' too.
Inside Man (2006)
Why weren't they caught?
May contain spoilers...
I like Clive Owen a lot, a Jodie Foster even more. And these things kept me biased throughout the movie. Not that i wouldn't have wanted it to be the perfect bank robbery, but i couldn't help thinking why didn't the police dig deeper into the backgrounds of all the people involved with it. It is unlikely that the ones involved would have had an account with the bank and if they did, some or the other employees would remember them. This could be a way to filter out the accomplices. And also would have been the first the first thing i would have done in Denzel Washington's shoes. Nevertheless, (sort of) heist movies are dear to me, and its good to see something novel coming out of this genre when you are thinking every possible crook-ery has been tried out!!!