CHOP SHOP (2007)

In Chop Shop, director Ramin Bahrani (of Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo fame) captures a coming of age story that is poetic & deeply engaging.

Chop Shop is the story of young Alejandro - Ale, as he is addressed by all - a young teenager trying to eke out a living in the outskirts of New York. He survives by doing sundry jobs to earn a living until he is employed in an automobile garage in a poor neighborhood. The owner of the garage also allows him to live in a shack inside the garage. Soon, Ale is joined by his elder sister Isamar who is in her late teens. She comes to live with him and starts working in a food van. Ale shares a warm relationship with her and also his close buddy Carlos.

Despite spending all his childhood in penury, Ale is an optimist & aspires a brighter future for both of them where they would own a food van in which his sister could cook. He strives extra hard to enhance his income by doing sundry jobs like bootlegging DVDs, helping the local garage owners to strip down parts of stolen vehicles, vending candies in trains and even occasional petty thievery. He saves every possible penny and is helped in this venture by his sister who contributes her own bit to realise their shared dream.

At one point, he is shocked when he discovers what she needs to go through to earn some more. However, he avoids confronting her and strives extra hard in the hope that she wouldn't have to toil any more than necessary. In his deep caring for his sister, he seems more a parent than her brother.

This is a movie which captures their joy despite their abject poverty, aspirations and dreams for a better future, struggles to earn a living and to realise their dreams, sorrow on seeing their dreams shattered and above all, their resolute optimism that stokes their hope for a better tomorrow.

The movie which has almost no background score sparkles in its sparse and starkly realistic setting. The actors, almost all of them amateurs, have given performances which gel so well in the narrative, that one feels that they far outshine their much more illustrious stars.

This is a movie where the director is less of a director and more of a keen observer of events unfolding in all their details in their natural order & pace. As in his other movies, on this occasion too, he successfully captures the lives of the oft-forgotten underdogs who populate the margins of the society.

This movie is at once, subtle, deep and makes a meditative connection with the viewer without resorting to any kind of melodrama or cliches.

A MASTERPIECE ....MUST WATCH !

RAANJHANAA (HINDI) (2013)

In Raanjhanaa, director Anand L Rai returns to familiar territory of unrequited love which he'd explored with some success in his previous movie Tanu weds Manu. As with that movie, this movie also set in the Hindu heartland, in this case, a vivid & colorful Benares. Here too, the hero played by Dhanush falls head over heels for the lady Sonam Kapoor.

Dhanush plays Kundan, a Tamil Brahmin born & brought up in Benares whose ancestors had moved to be priests in a local temple. As a boy, he comes upon Zoya, the daughter of an affluent Muslim professor and it is eternal love at first sight for him. After several years of persistent pursuit, nay stalking, umpteen slaps and a slashed wrist, Zoya finally relents and reciprocates only to find the age old cliche of differing religions being raised and her parents pack her off to study at Aligarh initially & therafter, at JNU. While at JNU, she falls in love with the idealist student leader Abhay Deol. However, Kundan  remains obsessed with his love for her and awaits her return and when she returns, he is devastated to know that she has not only forgotten about him, but is also in love with someone else.

The first hour of the movie sails through smoothly with many a light moment set in the earthy & colorful milieu of Benares capturing the city in all its rustic charm. However, as soon as the movie moves out of the Benares to Delhi & beyond and tries to dabble in issues such as campus politics and hot social issues in news, the narrative feels contrived & comes unstuck.

Despite its several flaws, the movie remains eminently watchable for its positives. For one, Rai has made this movie  with lot of heart and national award winning actor Dhanush, making his Bollywood debut, has given a sparkling performance and has carried the movie through on his slender, yet very able shoulders. Sonam Kapoor looks good and has an elegant screen presence, but still has a some way to go in terms of performance especially in the more emotional scenes. The leads are ably supported by the stellar cameos by Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub as Kundan’s best friend Murari and Swara Bhaskar as Bindiya, Kundan’s childhood friend who eternally pines for him. The movie benefits to a great measure from A.R. Rahman's music which blends nicely with the proceedings and some splendid cinematography which captures the city of Benares in all its colourful glory.

FLAWED .. YET, DEFINITELY WORTH A WATCH !

EASTERN PROMISES (2007)

This thriller directed by David Cronenberg shuns the usual Hollywood staple of slam bang action and kinetics to present a deeper study of the characters that populate its scape. The movie is set in London amidst the ruthless Russian Mafia that also includes sundry Eastern Europeans.

The movie begins with graphic scenes of a throat slitting and an under-age girl in labour spasms who eventually dies after her childbirth. We are then introduced to its main characters - Naomi Watts (Anna) as a second generation Russian midwife working in a city hospital who attends to the delivery and grows an attachment to the dead teen mother and her newborn daughter, a brilliant Viggo Mortensen (Nikolai) as the trusted driver-cum-bodygard-cum-enforcer of the Mafia patriarch, Semyon, as well as the best friend to his violent & volatile son (Kirill). 

Anna finds a diary from the belongings of the dead teenager which opens a can of worms with revealed connections to the Russian Mafia. More than a whodunnit, what Cronenberg presents here is a close glimpse of the people involved in the underworld, their seemingly superficial normalcy, shifting trusts and ruthless conduct.

The movie also features a singular stunt sequence in a public bath/sauna which is captured in what I would just state as a raw and real brilliance.

Brilliantly acted by Mortensen & Watts, this beautifully crafted, brutal & taut thriller would remain in your mind like a tattoo for times to come !!

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

MAN OF STEEL

Man of Steel is the reimagining the story of the most famous superhero by Christopher Nolan who has written this along with David Goyer who was his collaborator for The Dark Knight trilogy. The film is directed by Zack Snyder who is a master in creating stunning visuals (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch). So, it is quite natural that the output has shades of The Dark Knight with the protagonist having to lug some emotional baggage of his past despite being a superhero.

The story basically has Superman trying to save earth from a misguided General Zod who was banished from their home planet of Krypton before the planet's core collapsed destroying the entire planet. Zod wants to build a new Krypton on earth even if it means that the present inhabitants of the planet would have to be exterminated for that purpose.

The film works only in parts especially where a young Clark Kent has to get a grip on his superpowers as a young kid as well as in his youth. He is guided by his adoptive parents played by a wonderful Kevin Costner & Diane Lane. Russell Crowe also does a competent job in the initial sequences as the chief scientist of Krypton as well as in several appearances strewn through the film in guiding his son. The film also benefits immensely from a rousing score from Hans Zimmer.

Henry Cavil fits the part beautifully though he could've added further dimensions & depth besides the grey & sombre moods. It might well be because the writers haven't provided him with such scope.And, that is a major issue with this movie because for, what I am sure is, a first installment of a franchise, it almost completely shuns the lighter shades and humour and seems to revel in its dark tones. Even the part of Lois Lane played by Amy Adams seems incomplete. Yes, she seems to be a capable, Pulitzer winning investigative journalist. But, little else....

My next & biggest grouse is that the action sequences though awesome in all their CGI wizardry have a very chaotic & noisy feel to them and appear more from that dull & jarring junkyard rampage, Transformers. The last half hour is almost completely mired in sequences where almost an entire city is ground to dust. While Michael Bay might feel happy to find this carnage & may even feel inspired, it is such a put off.. Wonder when these guys would learn from Cameron or even Joss Whedon ...

This appears even more of a criminal waste when you consider the first part of the movie seemed to be in a tearing hurry of a runaway freight train and throws so much at us including the backstory of Krypton, the growing up of young Clark Kent, his youth, his discovery of his origins, etc. All that for this crescendo of chaotic madness... Oh, how we wish they had dwelt more on building characters with more shades & depth.....

Overall, while the movie is definitely a good watch & might be THE BIG BLOCKBUSTER of the season, one feels SUPERMAN deserved something more SUPERlative than this ! Hope they do a better job with the sequel !!

BLANCANIEVES (SILENT/SPANISH) (2012)

About a year ago, The Artist, a black & white silent movie, stole the hearts of millions and went on to win several accolades including the best movie at the Academy Awards. The roaring success of that movie showed that the silent movies, as a medium, can present several new enchanting dimensions to the viewers who are flooded with a deluge of banal assembly line finished products from Hollywood and its several other regional workshops which rely more on technical brilliance and CGI than more substantive, if economical, storytelling. Seen from that light, The Artist was like a whiff of fresh breeze and was natutrally, lapped up by viewers across the world.

Blancanieves is the latest gem in the line of The Artist. Being a silent movie, it speaks a global tongue. But, one would still need subtitles for the Spanish title cards that pop up occassionally. This movie is based on a interesting reimagining of the popular Snowhite fairytale set in Seville, Spain in the early twentieth century. 

The movie introduces us to the famous matador Antonio Villalta entering the ring for what he belives would be another one of his fine performances in front of an arena filled with adoring spectators. His conceit brings about his downfall, resulting in an accident which leaves him paralysed and immobile in a wheelchair. Further tragedy strikes in the form of his beloved wife dying during childbirth. Crestfallen at his double tragedy, a wheelchair-bound Antonio shuns his new-born daughter, Carmen. Antonio, now a melancholic loner in need of constant assistance, is quickly ensnared by a wily nurse, Encarna, who marries him to enjoy his immense wealth and promptly ignores him after the marriage. 

The newborn is nurtured by her loving grandmother and grows up longing for her father's affection. When her grandmother dies, Encarna brings Carmen to the palatial home, only to relegate her to the barn and to a daily rigour of hard labour.  Carmen is also given strict warnings against venturing to the top floor, for Encarna intends to ensure that Antonio, now virtually immobile in his room there, should not chance upon his daughter. Nevertheless, a sleight of fate ensures that the father and daughter end up meeting each other. In a series of covert metings in his room, they bond with each other and he manages to teach her the art of bull fighting. 

When Encarna gets to know about these secret meetings, she punishes Carmen in a manner that hurts her and leaves a permanent scar. Encarna also ensures that they do not meet each other anymore by keeping Antonio locked up in his room. Carmen grows up into a teenager toiling everyday keeping up with the household chores piled on her. At this point,  Encarna, pushes Antonio to an early demise and even attempts to get rid of Carmen. However, Carmen escapes when she was left for dead in the river. She is rescued by a group of dwarves who are travelling bullfighters. Carmen loses all memory of her past and travels with the dwarves who name her Blancanieves (Spanish for Snow White) after she proves her bullfighting skills when she jumps into the ring to rescue one of the dwarves. She gradually blooms into a matador of repute and the finale sees her performing in the arena where her father was once a star. The finale has certain twists which I would desist from delving into.

The story, having its origins from a popular fairytale, bears lots of semblance to a plethora of desi movies. But, it is the rendition of the movie in the silent medium which proves to be the uplifting factor here. Once again, just like The Artist, we are awestruck by the richness of expression provided by an awesome background score which livens up the entire movie and is a star in itself. Accentuated by the fact that their expressions have to do all the talking, the performances across the board are commendable, especially by Sofia Ora who plays the young Carmen.

Replete with sizeable doses of mischief, romance, action and dark tones, this movie engages the viewers completely and can make us laugh and cry effortlessly. Movies like these are rare gems, not just beacuse such silent movies are so rarely made these days, but for their inherent brilliance to forge an instant and deep organic connection with the viewers. 

A silent movie, that engages the viewers in a speechless state of enchantment, this is, indeed, A CLASSIC !

A MUST WATCH !!

HARD CANDY

This psychological thriller turns the cat & mouse game on its head, a la Tom & Jerry, one may say. But, the content here is far removed from the innocent and enjoyable pranks of those animated characters.

This is the story of how a young teenager Hayley (played true to form by Ellen Page) ensnares Jeff, a fashion photographer (Patrick Wilson) who is also a pedophile. She appears to be well aware of his modus and gradually entices him through conversations in internet chatrooms which culminates in an innocent ice-breaker meeting at a cafe. At the meeting where she comes fully prepared, she tempts him further and gets herself invited to his residence. 

What follows is a suspenseful thriller of twisted cat & mouse game filled with mind games where he tries to take full advantage of what he feels is a serendipitous development while she intends to deliver her own version of justice for his unholy deeds. She is smart to decline the drink offered by him which was not mixed in her presence and offers him a drink laced with sedative which he gleefully accepts without any qualms only to wake up hours later to find himself tied securely to a chair.

Much of the movie takes place within the confines of his residence as interaction between just these two characters. Full credits to the two leads and especially to Ellen Page for wonderful and convincing performance and the director for spawning such a suspenful thriller which is also remarkably economical in more ways than one.

Nevertheless, at the end of the movie, one gets a feeling that if Jeff is definitely a pedophile and deserves the punishment, there appears something deeply & chillingly wrong with Hayley too, though the jury is out on that one.

A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

CONFESSIONS (JAPANESE)

On the last day of the school term, a teacher at the Junior High School tells her apparently disinterested class about the value of life. Gradually, she draws the attention of her class when she declares that she is resigning the same day and further confesses that her 3 year old daughter who died, a few months ago, by drowning in the school swimming pool did not die by accident. The class is stunned by the time she declares that she now knows that two of the students in the class (referred by her as A & B) were indeed responsible for the death. She also expresses her anguish that she cannot register a complaint with the authorities because the law does not hold anyone below 14 as responsible for their actions and accordingly, cannot be punished for whatever they do. However, she states that, irrespective of the law, she is determined to punish the culprits.


Thus begins this psycho thriller wherein the teacher adopts a twisted way to avenge her daughter. The events surrounding the death and the teacher's punishment unfold through a series of confessions of the students who recount the happenings. The narrative style may remind us of Rashomon which also used multiple accounts to reconstruct a set of events. However, unlike Rashomon where each account narrated a different version of the events, here it is a singular version which is narrated from the perspectives of the individual confessor.


Although the movie succeeds as an effective thriller, one does not particularly feel much for any of the characters. The characters appear to be emotionally bereft and also guilty of harbouring dark motives (not that dark/grey characters can never evoke feelings). This movie was Japan's entry for 2010 Academy Awards and was also shortlisted a final nominee. The entire movie is picturised in a sombre tone though a scene towards the end where an explosion is captured in reverse slo-mo stood out for its magnificence.



A VERY GOOD WATCH !!

PIETA (KOREAN)

The protagonist, Lee Kang-do, is a loner working as an enforcer who collects dues for a loan shark from meek borrowers. He is incredibly ruthless and cruel in collecting his dues and appears to have no compunction whatsoever towards the plight of his several hapless victims who are at the receiving end of his severe punishments when they fail to pay up.

One day, a middle-aged woman enters his life claiming to be his mother who had abandoned him some thirty years ago. Despite several (some very disturbing) attempts by him to shake her off, she stubbornly & resolutely sticks around till she wins him over.

He becomes a changed man as her maternal love (which he'd yearned for all his life) transforms his cold, cruel & ruthless persona to someone who could be loving, sensitive and even compassionate. The rest of the movie is the effect of this transformation on his life which I wouldn't want to elaborate for it would providing spoilers..

Halfway through the movie, a visibly confounded Lee raises a question "What is money ?" She replies that "It is the beginning and the end of all things: love, honour, violence, fury, hatred, jealousy, revenge, death."

Acted competently by both the leads, this is a remarkable movie on crime & punishment at their cruelest.. In equal measures, grim, violent & deeply disturbing (definitely not for the faint of heart - Compliance, may feel like The Lion King), this movie is also an effective study of the human psyche and remains with you long after you've watched it.

Thanks Banu Prakash for the suggestion.. Much appreciated !

SOODHU KAVVUM (TAMIL)

A delightful comic noir ... It tells a story of a schizophrenic & his team of dimwits who indulge in kidnapping..nay, kednapping for small sums.. But, when they attempt to raise the stakes all hell breaks loose in several quirky, chaotic & HILARIOUS twists.

After Pizza, NKPK, once more, Vijay Sethupathy, the lead, shows his stellar skills in picking wonderfully original & entertaining scripts.

KUDOS to the debutante director & his team for a wholesome entertaining treat. One of the best movies I would see this year by a long stretch !

A MUST WATCH (with subtitles, if necessary) !

WARM BODIES

An endearing zombie movie. Oxymoron ?. But, nevertheless.

After an apocalyptic event, human survivors live in a walled city & try to evade attacking zombies & bonies (zombies so deeply zombified that they consume themselves to their bare bones)..

It is here that the protagonist R (zombie) saves a human girl from attacking zombies & in her company appears to slowly turn into a human..

What follows is an interesting Romeo & Juliet-esque twist with subtle humor & a tad under-cooked finale ! The performances are competent & the narration from the zombie perspective is a refreshing change !

Save for the mandatory bit of gore of this genre, this is one very different & engaging take on the done & dusted zombie genre !

A VERY VERY GOOD WATCH !

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (SPANISH)

An EXCELLENT movie. A crime thriller fused with a subtle love story..

Set in Argentina, over a period of three decades, it covers the investigation into a brutal crime by an investigation team consisting of a poor, sullen investigator who has fallen head over heels for his boss - an upper class assistant judge educated at Cornell - and an alcoholic assistant investigator.

Populated by "passionate" characters played competently by stunning leads, this Academy award winning movie straddling multiple genres is A HIGHLY SATISFYING WATCH !

Thank you very much Visalatchy Rose for the recommendation !

GO GOA GONE

A different attempt for Bollywood.. It has some genuinely funny moments.. Kunal Khemu is impressive although Saif's phoney Russian act is just that & is contrived.. Overall, a good watch if you can put up with a bit of gore !

KNOWING

A sci-fi movie that is built around the eternal debate between determinism & fee will (& even random occurrences)..

In 1959, a school girl, apparently disturbed by unnatural whispers that she hears continuously puts a sheet of paper filled with seemingly random numbers in a time capsule buried in the school yard which is opened fifty years later. The paper is received by the son of a widower (Nicholas Cage) who teaches astrophysics at MIT.

Strange things begin to happen & the professor accidentally finds the possible meaning behind those seemingly random numbers.

The movie builds up nicely to what I felt was an underwhelming, albeit visually stunning finale ..

Nevertheless, the movie is worth a watch !

BARBARA (GERMAN)

This year's Oscar entry from Germany is an edgy political thriller set in East Germany of 80s.

Nina Hoss plays the titular role. She is a doctor from Berlin banished to work in a small hospital in the provinces as punishment for her attempts to emigrate to the West.. Despite being choked by the omnipresent & omniscient secret police - Stasi - & surrounded by people she cannot trust, Nina Hoss brilliantly personifies a defiance that is as resilient as it is understated.

The movie is almost completely devoid of any background score. But, the silences, natural sounds, even the door bell ringing & clock ticking have been used to such great effect to underline the oppressive existence.

A tour de force in film-making !

GOODBYE SOLO

Another wonderful movie from Ramin Bharani (the director of Man Push Cart). It tells the story of interaction between a middle-aged Senegalese taxi driver Solo in a small town in USA and William, his aged (& apparently weathered) white passenger who presents him with a curious deal.

Solo & William are a study in stark contrasts. While Solo is loquacious, needs no reason to beam his warm smile at anyone and is genuinely warm to everybody (especially his passengers), William is copybook taciturn & guarded to the extent that we end up knowing almost nothing about him at all. Although he is initially annoyed with Solo's advances to connect to him, he is unable to resist the genuine warmth of the taxi driver and opens to him a bit (just a bit). Solo's has a Hispanic wife & cute stepdaughter. He is studying hard to realise his dream of becoming a flight attendant. William seems to be winding up his affairs in every sense of the word.

The beauty of the movie is the simplicity with which the interaction between these two are captured and the gravity in the relationship which engrosses the viewer. The director ably harnesses the emotinal energy in many a silent moments and the eyes of the lead actors which are pregnant with several unanswered questions and unuttered answers. 


A beauty from the realms of bare-bones movie making !!

MAN PUSH CART

A Slice-of-life movie .. it tells the story of a former Pakistani singer who is toiling to eke out a decent living in New York by vending beverages & bagels in a push cart..

Abjuring any cliches or melodrama, this movie sensitively captures the daily rigours of this widower who is still haunted by his lost love and is struggling hard everyday to realise his dream to take the responsibility for his three year old son who is with his in-laws..

The frustrations, aspirations & melancholy of the protaganist are captured authentically .. This gently paced movie draws you in slowly and gives you an up-close account of a protaganist who represents a class of people we come across daily and momentarily co-habit our lives soon to be forgotten till the next momentary meeting..

Poetic, Sad, Authentic & above all BEAUTIFUL !!!

THE SILENCE (GERMAN)

Two murders separated by more than two decades.. committed at the same place .. victims sharing similar profiles..

A very different thriller, devoid of gore & kinetics associated with the genre... grows on you gradually ... A whydunit instead of the regular whodunit..

Moving at a meditative pace which could border on the glacial, this thriller plumbs great depths into the minds of its characters sinking in melancholy ..

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!

SUPER 8

A veritable cocktail of a sci-fi thriller movie & a sensitive movie on adolescents .. The former predominates though the latter is handled well with very likable characters..

The whole movie successfully creates a nostalgic feel & keeps us engaged..

Overall, A Very Good Watch !

SAFTEY NOT GUARANTEED

Awesome movie..

This movie kicks off with a team of amateur journalists who want to write an article for their magazine on a person who placed the following ad in a newspaper..

WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.

What follows is an entertaining comedy which is also so much more.. the movie is sparklingly fresh and is populated by nicely written & well performed characters whom one can relate to..

Engaging & keeping you constantly edgy, it throws quite a few surprises ...

A VERY GOOD WATCH !

PREMIUM RUSH

One hell of an adrenaline rush.. Few chase movies have it so simple & crisp ! The chase sequences are so visually stunning & breathtaking ! Simply WOW !!

Joseph Gordon Leavitt has hit a purple patch & is endearing as always !

Save for a few cliches, this movie takes you on an engaging ride !

Very Good !!

GONE BABY GONE

An absolutely brilliant debut movie from Ben Affleck. (Argo, after all, appears to by have arisen from some fine foundation)

A well-woven mystery that has depth and keeps you guessing for the worse. It has an authentic feel and well-fleshed out characters which are finely performed by the leads & a stellar supporting cast.

At times grim, this movie presents one with a moral quandary which would stay with you long after you've watched the movie.

A MUST WATCH !

FRANKENWEENIE

An endearing animated movie..

Very different from the usual colorful presentations, this stop-motion animation, in black & white, is grotesquely cute!

Burton's characters successfully forge a strong emotional connect & leaves the viewer with a warm feeling !

A good watch !

POINT BLANK (A BOUT POURTANT) (FRENCH)

A racy thriller.. Sucks you in the very first frame & doesn't let go till the final moments of it's crisp running length clocking under less than 90 minutes.

These European thrillers so refreshing unlike the CGI pumped Hollywood cousins...

An entertaining watch !

P.S. - Check out the lead who looks like a chubby version of Saif !

CHENNAIYIL ORU NAAL (TAMIL)

A very interesting attempt for Tamil cinema.. notwithstanding the fact that it is a remake of a Malayalam movie..

Multi-narrative thrillers with an ensemble cast are new phenomenon for Tamil.. Yet, it is well made and finely presented as a crispy (at under two hours) & racy thriller which has its heart in the right place & connects the viewer successfully ..

Save for a few glitches towards the end & some very avoidable cinematic melodrama, overall, it is an engrossing watch..

Way to go for Tamil cinema.. hoping to see more such fare !

THE HIDDEN FACE (SPANISH)

An engrossing thriller if you could be patient with the initial part peppered with cliches of yore...

This twisted thriller makes you shift your feelings for the three main leads as it progresses !

Definitely a good watch !

P.S. - This is the original from which Murder 3 was "inspired"..

Thank you Shivam Atri for the suggestion !

PARADESI (TAMIL)

Another Bala masterpiece ..

This time, he captures the gruesome exploitation of indentured labourers (who migrate to escape famine & poverty of their native villages) of tea plantations before independence..

He effortlessly transports us to a bygone era & captures the lives of a society & their travails hardly ever chronicled ...

The initial sequences of the movie are a delight where you have several scenes wherein even as we are tickled in subtle ways, the very next moment could poke a sharp needle that pierces your heart.

The sequences leading to the intermission & thereafter, pack an emotional wallop which is heart-wrenching for the tragedy of these helpless exploited society appear so real..

The movie is filled with sprightly and remarkable characters which are finely acted.. Bala has worked like an industrious miner to bring out sparkling performances of a cast consisting of fresh faces and non-stars..

A finely chiseled and technically well made movie.. except for the minor clunky portion involving the missionary couple..

Overall, a movie that would remain with us long after viewing & one which would be remembered with every cup of tea that we sip.

Clearly, one of the best I would be seeing this year !

WRECK IT RALPH

An interesting idea with shades of Toy Story & Shrek ..

Gorgeous with loads of vivid colors.. A few good hummable numbers & cameos like Pacman which make you feel nostalgic..

Could've been a lot better.. One does miss Pixar's masterful narrative...

Nevertheless, an enjoyable watch !

COMPLIANCE

A disturbing & chilling watch ! Raises several basic questions on authority & unquestioning submission !

Horrifying to know that these are based on real life events !

No violence or gore.. but dark & deeply stirring !

FLIGHT

Denzel Washington towers & powers this movie to soar with a nuanced and commanding performance.

Washington proves that he was a worthy contender to Day-Lewis in every way for the awards this year.

Definitely deserves a watch !

HEADHUNTERS (NORWEGIAN)

An engaging thriller that packs quite a few surprises !

A rare thriller movie that does not resort to slam bang action and relies on the narrative to keep the viewer guessing..

Highly recommended !

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

Darkly funny, Intelligent and has elements that reminds you of QT !!

A film in a film which includes a critic of it too ..

Delightfully unpredictable and finely acted !! Wow !!

Yet, you feel it could've been even better... Never a bad bargain though !!

A VERY VERY GOOD WATCH !!

THE COUNTERFEITERS (AUSTRIAN)

A movie on the Holocaust era .. A thriller that is in equal measures - troubling, intriguing, inspiring... and above all HIGHLY ENTERTAINING !!

Besides the suspense, it throws the viewer in a moral quandary and raises difficult questions !!

MUST WATCH !!

PS - It is frequently on UTV World Movies.

LINCOLN

Lincoln should've been Daniel Day-Lewis ...

A fine film.. though I would confess that it did feel a tad drowsy at points..

Lewis has recreated history by reprising a fine president &

Would most definitely make history by becoming the first actor to win a third Oscar...

An eminently deserved one, if I may add !

ZERO DARK THIRTY

Good .. But overhyped..

Patriotic = Jingoistic ...?! Guess, it depends on which side of the Atlantic your leanings are ...

One gets a feeling that it is somehow under-developed ..

Jessica Chastain is very convincing as Maya.. & is almost sure to walk away with the Oscar.. Though I feel Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook deserves it more..

Definitely Worth a Watch !