Inglorious Basterds October 14, 2009
Posted by Shujath in English, Movies, Reviews.Tags: 2009, A Band Apart, Adolf Hitler, Best Actor Cannes, blockbuster, Brad Pitt, Bridget Von Hammersmark, Christoph Waltz, Cinema, Daniel Bruhl, Diane Kruer, DVD, Eli Roth, English, Film, Fredrick Zoller, French, German, German Night in Paris, Hans Landa, Hollywood, Hugo Stiglitz, Inglorious Basterds, Italian, Joseph Goebbels, Lawrence Bender, Long conversations, Melanie Laurent, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Movie, Nation's Pride, Nazi, Nazi occupied France, Operation Kino, Quentin Tarantino, Revenge of the Giant Face, Review, Scalps, Shosanna Dreyfus, Swastika, The Bear Jew, The Jew Hunter, The Weinstein Company, thriller, Til Schweiger, Universal Pictures, War Movie, World War II
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One of the most visible and appealing aspects of Tarantino’s films are those long winding conversations – absolutely having nothing do with the plot (if any) yet turn out to be the most memorable parts. Technically, Inglorious Basterds happens to be a montage of just such exchanges – the difference being that now they do have to do something with the film. A Tarantino enthusiast couldn’t ask for more so it isn’t an understatement to say that Basterds is an instant classic. But be warned if you are not accustomed to QT – the constant grumbles and a few walkouts in the auditorium weren’t too surprising to me.
When Tarantino announced he’d be making a World War II movie it made almost everyone curious (with a little disbelief). Basterds never gives a damn to convention – what you see in the trailer is rather the tamest part. The very first conversation – which I think lasts for about fifteen minutes gives you a hint of things to come. For someone who has seen the movie, it is really hard to describe the content and yet convince someone who hasn’t seen it; that Basterds is one of the most riveting thrillers in recent memory.
Unsurprisingly, this film like every film QT has made comes with its share of memorable characters. Christoph Waltz is the name on everyone’s lips and rightly so. Hans Land aka “The Jew Hunter” is to Basterds what the Joker was to The Dark Knight – maybe more. Evil was never so sexy. French actress Melanie Laurent is super as Shosanna Dreyfus. I hope we get to see more of her now in mainstream Hollywood. Though playing the lead, Brad Pitt seemed relatively sidelined but he proves yet again what a riot he can be when he’s funny. There’s a huge bunch of supporting characters – Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl, Eli Roth, Omar Doom to name a few who perform admirably well.
Inglorious Basterds is yet another maverick piece of work from Quentin Tarantino – who expectedly subverts the genre to give us another memorable film. Oh..as usual he manages to fit in some great soundtracks.
Mozhi May 17, 2008
Posted by Sai in Movies, Reviews, Tamil.Tags: 2007, Brahmanandam, Cinema, Duet Movies, DVD, Jyothika, Kollywood, Movie, Mozhi, physical disability, Prakash Raj, Prithviraj, Radha Mohan, Review, romantic comedy, Swarnamalya, Tamil, Vairamuthu, Vidyasagar
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In the beginning of this film, Prakash Raj makes a joke about ‘the daughters of rich landlords falling in love with beggars’ being a common scenario in recent Tamil cinema. I expected then that this film would not fall into the trap of creating an unexpected love story without plausible reasons. But it definitely does and that disappointed me a little.
The love here is between a handsome young keyboard player and a beautiful deaf and dumb girl. The boy proposes but the girl disposes. Will the situation improve? Will they get together in the end? It is as simple as it seems with the physical disability being the reason for its existence.
The movie does have some nice material but the problem for me was that director Radhamohan could have decided to make it a bit more subtle. A lot more subtle, actually. That, of course, means that this movie is made for the mainstream audience (despite its purported critical acclaim) and that is not necessarily a bad thing (as substantiated by its box office success).
The first half of this film breezes through quite quickly but it gets a bit turgid towards the conclusion when it moves into the romantic comedy conflict zone. One interesting aspect is that you don’t feel for the dumb girl with a high self esteem and short temper. The film makes her seem normal enough to be unlikable, which is quite unexpected in a commercial film, but it focuses too much on her disability to treat her as a normal person. A movie that could successfully achieve this would be worth a watch but this isn’t it.
I wouldn’t rave about Jyothika’s work too much but Prithviraj and Prakash Raj make an impression fas does Swarnamalya. It was surprising to see Brahmanandam in a major comic part in a Tamil film but it is the sort of role that he gets in every second film. The tunes composed by Vidyasagar are quite beautiful (that was what pulled me to this movie in the first place) and the lyrics (Vairamuthu) seemed good too (the subtitles were definitely much better that what I’ve seen earlier with DVDs of south Indian movies).
Overall, this is a reasonably entertaining film that isn’t a bad watch. Just don’t expect it to be a realistic portrayal of an uncommon love story.
Parting Shot: In a movie that projects itself to be sensitive, making fun of an obese kid is clearly a major faux pas.
The Bank Job March 10, 2008
Posted by Sai in English, Movies, Reviews.Tags: 2008, Baker Street, bank robbery, blackmail, British, caper, Cinema, compromising photographs, corruption, D-Notice, DVD, English, Film, heist, Jason Statham, Lloyd's Bank, Movie, Review, Roger Donaldson, Royal scandal, The Bank Job, thriller
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There was little buzz about this film before it hit the theatres but if critics are to be believed, this is the only good film to release this weekend when the universally lambasted 10,000 B.C. raked in the big bucks.
The movie is based on an infamous robbery from 1971. Terry (Jason Statham) and his friends are offered a bank job by an old friend who has some inside information. The small time crooks decide to take up the job to rob the safe deposit boxes at Lloyd’s Bank in London. What they don’t know is that these boxes hold some very big secrets including one that is linked to the Royal family and before they know it, they are entangled in a web that threatens their lives.
This isn’t an entertainer like The Italian Job or the Ocean’s movies or a slick, charming enterprise like Guy Ritchie’s Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Nonetheless, it is an engaging, well-made caper flick. Director Roger Donaldson (The World’s Fastest Indian, Dante’s Peak) maintains the tension throughout and writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (who worked together on films like Flushed Away and Goal!) weave together the intricate subplots competently. It would have been quite easy to confuse the audience but credit to the writers, director and the editor, John Gilbert (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge to Terabithia) that this does not happen. Jason Statham is sincere and convincing. He can carry a film on his shoulders but this film carries itself. The large supporting cast filled with British actors (most of whom I haven’t come across) is effective.
It is hard to discuss this film without giving away some of its secrets but the various subplots (apparently based on reality or at least what is known of it) keep you hooked. The robbery itself is a well-executed, tense affair. The intelligently plotted climax comes at you quick and ties up all the ends together but if you blink, you might miss one or two key moments. In between all this, the characters are given some personality and a love triangle finds its place too. There isn’t a lot of humor but you don’t really miss it because the film is paced well and doesn’t let your mind wander. This is well worth a watch.
Michael Clayton February 24, 2008
Posted by Sai in English, Movies, Reviews.Tags: 2007, Cinema, class action lawsuit, conscience, decisions, DVD, English, Film, George Clooney, Hollywood, legal thriller, Michael Clayton, morals, Movie, Oscar nominated, perfect Anna, Realm and Conquest, Review, The Truth Can Be Adjusted, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Tony Gilroy
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Writer Tony Gilroy (The Devil’s Advocate, The Bourne Trilogy) makes his directorial debut with Michael Clayton. An intellectual thriller with strong dramatic elements, this is just the sort of film that critics and film buffs will love but ordinary viewers might find it tedious.
Michael Clayton is a lawyer who doesn’t go to court anymore. He is listed as special counsel for his firm and his job is to clean up the mess that is created by his firm’s big clients. His bosses refer to him as “miracle worker” while he is more pragmatic about his job as a “janitor” and to paraphrase him, the smaller the mess, the easier it is to clean. This time however, the mess isn’t small. A lawyer handling a big class action lawsuit suddenly develops a conscience that he can’t fight and decides to go against the company that he is representing. Clayton is sent to get the situation under control but can he? And more importantly, will he?
Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, Shakespeare in Love) plays the lawyer who develops a conscience. His role is one that requires more discernable histrionics and can be easily susceptible to overacting but he doesn’t go overboard and you start believing he is crazy enough to do the right thing. Tilda Swinton (The Deep End, The Chronicles of Narnia), on the other hand, gets a role that requires a subtle performance and I really enjoyed her work. Even though her role is short, she gets some really good scenes to perform in. Sydney Pollack (the director of films like Out of Africa and Three Days of the Condor, who also apparently acts at times) is actually quite nice as the boss of the law firm where George Clooney works. Clooney, of course, plays Michael Clayton and he is solid in a role that is perfectly suited for him (but as he himself notes, he might lose the Oscar to Daniel Day Lewis).
Tony Gilroy’s screenplay is topnotch and he creates a great mood for this film as the director. He decides against a straight narrative and that makes the film more complicated. There is a lot that is conveyed through the dialogue and the viewer would need to connect the dots many a time. The viewer that stays with the film in the first half hour would be able to appreciate the rest. Many might question the need for such a narrative but it definitely serves a purpose. It brings all the primary characters and issues into focus in the early part of the film and then manages to keep your engrossed as you are trying to figure out how everything pans out and what it means. This, unfortunately, alienates many viewers as is clearly evident from the domestic gross (under $50 million).
If you are expecting this to be an exciting, crowd-pleasing thriller, you might be disappointed. If you are prepared for an intelligently-plotted conscientious legal thriller that requires you to pay rapt attention, this should definitely appeal to you. This is the sort of movie that you need to watch a second time to get the best out of it. Both as the writer and director, Gilroy has the choice to make this a crowd pleaser like Erin Brockovich but he doesn’t go that way. His goal doesn’t seem to be to please the audience or to educate them about how money can be more important to big companies than lives. Instead, he decides to investigate how morals can affect the decisions people take, influencing their lives and how situations in life can affect people’s morals. Reliving the film from this perspective can keep you thinking for a long time.
Sai and Shujath talk Cinema 