Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : July 2009
Time : 106 minutes
Director & Writer : Peter Hyams (based on 1956 screenplay by Douglas Morrow)
Starring : Jesse Metcalfe, Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, Joel Moore, Orlando Jones, Lawrence P Beron
Which 5 year old wrote the script for this one ? Ludicrous, with more holes than my oldest underwear.


An investigative journalist (Jesse) suspects a DA (Michael Douglas) who’s running for governor to be too smooth, winning just too many cases via DNA proof to be just lucky or good, and so decides to expose him. Now, and this is the crucial part as the silliness starts now and just doesn’t stop, he figures that the only way…that’s right, the only way he can expose the DA is to incriminate himself in a murder, plant circumstantial evidence leading to himself and then, when the DA will conjure up the DNA evidence, expose him to be a fraud.
A friend & colleague on his TV channel (Joel Moore) is his willing accomplice in the madness and then we’re off. There is the obligatory love angle (Amber Tamblyn), there is a predictable twist and then, equally predictably, the predictable ending.


I’ve enjoyed watching Michael Douglas ever since Romancing the Stone, so I guess I wasn’t as hard on the movie as I should’ve been. And Amber is quite easy on the eye…but those, unfortunately, are about the only reasons to watch this one.

500 Days of Summer

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : Sep, 2009
Time : 95 minutes
Director : Marc Webb; Writer : Michael H Weber, Scott Neustadter; Music : Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen
Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Mathew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly

I wrote some notes to myself while I was watching the film, and apart from one additional sentence, am going to make that my ‘unstructured’ review…


• Watch this movie to feel alive, bring a smile to your face and remember what it feels to be young
• It’s the romance (and break-up) between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, shown over 500 days of their lives together

• Its very real, beautifully captured, including the first holding of hands, the first kiss, the joy of scoring

• Its very intelligent as well, some smart humour, there is a clever play on the word ‘summer’, Zooey’s nickname in college, the nickname ‘puma’, the movie they watch ‘Vagiant’, Harrison Ford winking back and the shouting game in the park.
• Zooey’s introduction as well is lovely, the camera showcases her beautifully, her dresses, her laughter, the way her character is introduced with all the irrelevant statistics and most of all, her eyes, staring wide, open and innocently at you. Impossible not to fall for her.

• Its almost a documentary, unlike a normal movie, there are parts where the hero actually is shown ringing the bell and waiting. Then at a party we see reality vs expectation shown side by side.
• I loved the ending – stayed true to being non-cliched yet was enjoyable

• I’m a bit sad because its only the 4th jan and I’m afraid I may not get to see a better film all year.

District 9

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : August, 2009
Time : 112 minutes
Director & Co-writer : Neill Blomkamp; Co-Writer : Terri Tatchell
Starring : Sharlto Copley, David James, Louis Minnaar, Vanessa Haywood

A Dutch driver once confided to me that they used to call the Turkish and other nationality drivers ‘Roaches’. In District 9, the derogatory term used for aliens is ‘Prawns’. For a change when aliens come, they don’t come to the USA but Johannesburg. A giant spaceship arrives, and then hovers motionlessly over the city. Finally, humans weld through the ship and find aliens in an impoverished condition inside the ship. They relocate them to a camp. As the years pass, the camp becomes a township, known as District 9.


The aliens proliferate. They are blamed for increasing crime rates, they find it difficult to stay within the confines of D9. That’s when, with the world watching them, close to twenty years after the spaceship arrived, the South African govt decides to relocate the 1.8mn aliens to another location, 200 kms from Jo’burg. They handover the relocation project to MNU, a South African multinational organisation. Within MNU, its handed over to the affable Wikus Van Der Merwe, the son-in-law of a director in MNU. He has to go to the township, get the aliens to sign an eviction notice and then relocate them to the new camp. For military support he has the ultra aggressive Koobus leading his private army. And then things start to go wrong….


The film is a thought-provoking study of human greed and ruthlessness. The choice of Jo’burg as a location is inspired as the treatment of aliens resembles what we know happened during apartheid (the film is apparently inspired by a similar relocation during the race era, which was captured in Neil’s short film ‘Alive in Jo’burg’). Also, I think few other nationalities (maybe the Aussies and the Americans ?) are capable of as hardline an approach as taken by MNU to protect their borders / way of life. Its shot like a documentary, has a very real-life feel to it, with news camera’s, journalists, MNU personnel interviews all adding to the drama.


The acting is excellent with Sharlto Copley playing Wikus, the wronged man in the wrong place, Louis Minnaar as his father in law plays the hard as nails boss and David James, the sadistic Koobus convincingly. There is a lot of blood and gore, and a Nigerian gang which is running several businesses in the township is well portrayed also. its also extremely impressive that a movie of this quality was made only for US$30 mn and despite being without a single known face, has grossed US$200 mn so far.


Neill Blomkamp, perhaps rightly, seems to have a bleak view of humanity. Our greed and brutality, especially when placed in a position of power, is truly frightening. I hope for our sake, he is wrong…


PS : for a look at the trailer and the highly innovative marketing campaign behind it, click here

Shoot 'Em Up

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : Sep 2007
Time : 86 minutes
Director & Writer : Michael Davis;
Starring : Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti, Stephen McHattie

This one is so over the top that it makes the whole experience enjoyable


A deadpan Clive Owen, sitting at night in a graffiti filled neighbourhood bench, munching a carrot, watches a pregnant woman run past him, chased shortly after by a goon. ‘What you looking at ?’, the goon berates Clive, before chasing the woman down an alley. A bored, slightly weary Clive decides that he cannot be a mere spectator and for the next 90 minutes fights a succession of gun men in bizarre fashion (using carrots a few times) and bizarre locales while protecting the baby and discovering the secret behind it….

To match the eccentricity of our hero, we have a equally crazy villain, the snarling, limerick spouting Paul Giametti. We have the hooker with a heart of gold and a breast for hire, the delectable Monica Bellucci. And we have questions, lots of them and only a few answers…but they’re enough to keep us going.


The writer here is probably a frsutrated Bond writer who had an overdose of a hallucinogenic substance or substances. And its great fun. The one-liners never stop (“eat your vegetables” is Clive’s admonition as he uses a carrot to kill someone). The situations never let up. The goons keep coming. And a deadpan Clive Owen keeps swatting them away.

We get a pretty good list of what Clive hates. People who wrongly park under handicapped signs, for one. It made the decision of which car to steal an easy one. Or people who don’t signal before changing lanes, for another. Which provides a cheap thrill moments later. Or we can go with what he likes. Dogs, for example, refusing to shoot down one that is chasing him. Or mice. He’s constructed an elaborate lock using one for his house.


This one is clearly inspired by Tarantino and Sin City, both in terms of plot development and stylisation. There is non-stop action, guns, a beautiful woman, a snarling villain (who is so sweet and considerate to his wife on the phone). And a hero who wont stop.

I loved the sheer implausibility of it all...makes you smile and enjoy the ride despite the growing body count and gore…

Jumper

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : Feb 2008
Time : 88 minutes
Director : Doug Liman; Writer : David Goyer, Jim Uhls
Starring : Hayden Christensen, Samuel L Jackson, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Diane Lane

What an interesting premise and what a waste. Very poor plot & character development, extremely wooden acting ensures that all the lovely locales shown in the film go to waste.


Hayden discovers he can teleport himself when he’s 12-13, caught in a life and death situation, while trying to impress his crush who also happens to be the crush of the school bully. He returns about ten years later, to catch up with the girl (why ?), discovers there are other people with the same gift as him and some other nasty types (Samuel L Jackson) who are out to catch them (again, never explained why ?).

Imagine the possibilities, the life we could lead if we had the gift of teleportation ! Imagine the film that could be made about such a character. Instead we get an unlikely romance, unlikely villains (a very over the top, hammy Samuel) and a very unlike-able hero.

Basically, sit back, enjoy the snaps of Hayden atop the Sphinx, Corcovado…forget the rest…

3 Idiots

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 24th Dec, 2009
Time : 170 minutes
Director & Writer : Raju Hirani; Music : Shantanu Moitra
Starring : Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Omi, Kareena Kapoor

Welcome to a world where ‘Aal Izz Well’, a world where everything sorts itself out, and almost as in a fairy story, miracles happen just when you need them to. Watch this film because it makes you laugh, is very engaging and because somewhere the point it makes around the education system is true. Don’t watch it if you’re expecting a good replication of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Five Point Someone’ (this is only very very loosely based on the book) or a real, grounded story from where you can draw upon lessons for life.


This is the story about Rancho (Aamir), a person who is a bit of a dreamer, thinks differently to the rest, is not interested in the ‘rat race’ our education system has become but rather the joy of learning, the joy of invention and the pleasure of new ideas / machines. He inspires at least two people to change and think like him. Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman), his room mates, who despite warnings from the Dean / parents / the system (their grades are not exactly inspiring), they staunchly remain true to Rancho’s philosophy. The Dean (Boman), is an interestingly sketched character, a great believer in the competitive nature of the Indian education system and not exactly a fan of Rancho.


Other characters are Chatur (Omi, the stereotypical engineer who dreams of great grades, megabucks and green cards) and Pia (Kareena), the Dean’s daughter, a feisty girl and convert to Rancho’s way of thought. MM, the dorm boy is another interesting person we get to know, as are Kilobyte and Megabyte and their mom, Gigabyte.


I wish life was as simple as Rancho made out. I wish it was as easy to top an engineering college, life’s issues resolved themselves as easily as shown in the film. The second half, which had a surprise identity crisis thrown in, raised some problems which it was implausible that were not discovered / resolved earlier. But the humour / fun keeps you going through it all.

The Teacher’s Day speech, delivered with great verve and gusto by Omi was a true hold your stomach and laugh out loud moment, one of the highlights of the film for me. The black & white way of showing poverty, Aamir’s definition of a book in the first lecture, Kareena’s choice of a ‘price tag’ husband and her surprising drunk attack on Gujarati snack food names, old jokes about the NASA pen or ‘do you know who I am’, were all good fun.


I thought Aamir overacted a bit, there was a slight air of pretense around him, but nothing which detracted too seriously from the film. Everyone else did a stellar job.

My father said after watching it that if you’re willing to suspend disbelief, its an enjoyable film. That’s a pretty fair way of putting it, after all, we do the same for Bond films and a lot of action thrillers. Its just that I didn’t expect to be doing it for a rom com set in an engineering college….

Avatar

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 18th Dec, 2009
Time : 162 minutes
Director & Writer : James Cameron;
Starring : Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribsi

If I strip away the mind-blowing special effects, the sheer awe of being transported to an almost magical world / planet which makes us feel like Alice in Wonderland then I’m left with a story that I found clichéd and highly predictable. I could take any story where settlers send one of their own to blend in with the natives (Tarzan or I remember having seen a film involving settlers and Red Indians) and this one moves along similar lines…that for me was disappointing, despite the movie still being enthralling just for its visual grandeur.



I’m not going to reveal anymore about the story than what I’ve described above, as the way it unfolds enhances the pleasure. You feel like an explorer, uncovering a new world, pretty much like the lead character, Sam Worthington, taking an almost child-like delight in the pleasures of a place and people very unlike ours.


There are implausibillities in the story line, and it does fall prey to the ‘hero’ complex, where it builds up a couple of characters so big that you know nothing can happen to them. But as I said before, the story isn’t the strength of the film.



I liked the way James Cameron hasn’t used any big stars for a project of this size. I liked the core idea of the film, the scale with which it was imagined, the merchandising possibilities, the options it leaves open for sequels / prequels et all. I yearn for the day we are able to do this in Indian cinema. Think outside the box, thing big, not be bound by the star system.


This is a film inspired by Star Wars – it reminded me of the time I saw that movie for the first time, the magic, the awe, the stars in my eyes. This one is good but not as good, or maybe I’m just too old for fables now….

Rocket Singh : Salesman of the Year

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 11th Dec, 2009
Time : 155 minutes
Director : Shimit Amin; Writer : Jaideep Sahni; Music : Salim - Sulaiman
Starring : Ranbir Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Gauhar Khan, Shazahn Padamsee, D Santosh, Mukesh Bhatt, Naveen Kaushik, Manish Chaudhari

In LA Confidential, the rookie detective is asked ‘Would you shoot a suspect in the back if you knew he was guilty but couldn’t prove it ?’. Ranbir Kapoor, the rookie salesman, is asked via circumstance, shortly after joining, ‘would you bribe a purchase manager to get a sales contract?’ and his response to this situation is what leads to the rest of the film…


This is not a fluffy film. Contrary to the look, feel and tenor of the promo’s, it is quite serious, presents and deals with a few moral dilemma’s, shows briefly the seamy underside, dog eat dog world of a salesman, has hardly any songs and no sarson ke fields in Punjab despite being a Yash Raj Film.


Ranbir, all of 38% in B.Com, knows the CAT exam is beyond him and decides to become a salesman. He gets selected at his interview on a whim by the MD, despite the sales manager / interviewer remaining unimpressed with his attempt to sell him a pencil for Rs 20,000. His first day in the field, supervised by the same manager is a revelation in sales techniques (how to read upside down, how to be one up on your competitor, how to play on ego’s / manipulate the client etc etc). But then, things rapidly unravel. Ranbir’s stand on bribery earns him the wrath of all his sales colleagues and the MD, he is banned from going to the field, mocked and ridiculed constantly and then, almost by accident he discovers his true calling, the solution to the mess he is in…


The reason for the high rating from me is not so much for the story (a bit simplistic, slightly fairy tale-ish) but more because it tries to tackle a truly different topic (nothing really close to it in Hindi cinema) and it does it within a realistic setting (the whole office / culture is beautifully described) and withbrilliant, witty dialogue, especially in the first half – Jaideep Sahni has outdone himself here…


There are lovely touches throughout the film, showcasing a good understanding of how Delhi operates beyond the obvious. The way Ranbir is addressed as ‘facha’ (fresher), the way he is airily told to find himself space to sit, right in the corner, by the toilet, where a lot of PC’s are stacked. The way all salesmen are scathing of their boss and his London trips, fiercely competitive and fiercely protective of their territories and clients. The drinks (Old Monk, of course) in plastic cups at a office party and the drinks being cooled in a bathtub at another. And the whole thing about a scooter, the way a motorbike rider and a scooter rider size each other up at a signal.


There are interesting character sketches. The ‘item number’ receptionist who dreams big, the chai-wallah who finally works up enough courage to stand up for himself, the geeky service guy who is wrapped up in his own cubicle, surrounded by skimpily clad women (photo’s), who thinks nothing of over-charging a customer, the MD who typifies whats wrong with our culture, in terms of no long term thought but just chasing the quick short-term buck. And I also liked the genial god-fearing father, Prem Chopra plays his part well.

I think where it goes wrong is the marketing. I was expecting a completely different film based on the promo’s. While they showed admirable guts to make this film, they possibly weren’t able to promote it for what it really is – a look at the way we do business.
I enjoyed the film. I wasn’t totally satisfied by the end but am not really disappointed by it either. Like Tin Men (another great film about salesmen), this has a bitter-sweet feel to it. Its not for everyone but if you’ve worked somewhere, it’ll probably enhance your viewing pleasure….It will then, at least, make you chuckle in all the right places.

Paa

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 4th Dec, 2009
Time : 133 minutes
Director & Writer : R Balki; Music : Ilaiya Raja
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal, Arundhati Naag
Good performances by everyone, an interesting take on single parenthood and an almost ideal, quite sensitive take on how other school kids interact with a disabled child are what make this film interesting to watch. A slightly meandering, slightly over-sentimental, too emotional and perhaps just a shade implausible second half is what makes this a one time watch and by no means a classic.


Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) is a 12-13 yr old kid who has the body of a 70 yr old (with all the accompanying ailments) thanks to a rare genetic disease called progeria. He is brought up single-handedly by Vidya Balan, a doctor, who has chosen not to tell the father she is having the baby, after its clear during their affair that pregnancy, marriage and babies are not what he wants at this stage of his life. Abhishek Bachchan is a very very busy and idealistic politician, who first meets Auro when he is invited to judge a school competition, and slowly begins to get involved with this rare child, despite the political upheavals facing him. Arundhati Naag plays Auro’s determined grandmother and Vidya’s only support, and plays it well.

I liked the fact that all roles came across as very credible, all characters were likeable. I liked the humour, slight whimsicalness that was imparted to Auro, the way he makes his mom have khichdi with aachar, the way he is brought out of a sulk by the lure of video games, the way he gets ready for a ‘time unspecified’ trip to Rashtrapati Bhavan by packing his bag the night before and then not budging from the sofa in a state of 100% prepareness or his 'Google se bach ke kahan jaoge' attitude. And I really really liked his initial interactions with Abhishek, his relationship with his mom and grandmother and (at the risk of repeating myself), the beautiful way other school kids recognise Auro is special and treat him that way without being patronising or rude. Vidya turns in one of her best performances after Parineeta. Abhishek is charming, fun to watch as he engages with Auro. And Amitabh Bachchan delivers as a 12 year old, conveying age through his eyes while behaving like a child through his actions. All were very good indeed.

I liked also Vidya Balan’s response to a inquisitive mother (‘whats wrong with him ?’). I wish most mothers with disabled children could have the courage and sense of humour to behave as she did. I liked how she over-rules the cautious doctor especially with regards to school and ensures Auro gets to live freely and makes sure she or anyone else doesn’t overly smother him. The background score, slightly quirky, fun, ensured that we didn’t feel to intense or heavy and kept things light in the first half. And the opening credits were lovely, a nice unusual touch.

Where the movie stumbled was in not having a brilliant script or from shying away from clichés, especially in the second half, where it almost seemed like the film maker wanted us to cry / weep. The novelty of watching Amitabh as a 12-13 yr old can hold attention for 3-5 minutes, not more. After that it needed a great storyline and the film lacked here. The whole political thread seemed slight out of place – something where Abhishek actually had a point of view around disabled children or single mothers but then changes his thoughts after observing Auro, could’ve made it more engaging perhaps. There were a couple of implausible events – the way he tackles the media or deals with the rumours around Auro, his mother and him being cases in point.


We have a film which everyone associated with it can proudly put on their CV. It’s a change from the run of the mill grist churned out by Bollywood. Its different from the mindless so called entertainers that afflict our industry currently. However, its not a classic and is over-hyped. The reactions of the film fraternity were interesting at the premiere. They said something to the camera and something else privately. And everyone seemed unsure of what to say, asking each other ‘what do you think?' and almost scared to say anything bad about the film. That perhaps was the real verdict…and not what has been published otherwise.