EYE IN THE SKY (ENGLISH) (2016)

War on terror is a unique species. It involves multiple state actors spanning different continents stacked against an asymmetric enemy who could inflict disproportionate damage despite operating with minimal resources. With the advent of drone based warfare, this war has transcended the borders of sovereign nations and is conducted from remote locations spread across continents using satellite communication and drones which can deliver lethal firepower at selected locations under surveillance to eliminate enemy threats. Noted South African director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) explores this scenario in an exciting thriller involving a drone based missile strike against the leaders of a terror outfit as they meet to plan their next offensive.

The leaders of Al-Shabaab, a dreaded terror group are meeting in a safehouse in the suburbs of Nairobi to plan their next terrorist attack. The meeting includes two British nationals who were radicalised recently and are being actively pursued by the British intelligence. British military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell (Dame Helen Mirren) is heading a remote team stationed in rural Sussex that is actively tracking the meeting to capture the militants. They are supported by ground forces of the Kenyan military intelligence in Nairobi as well as assistance from two teams of US military intelligence - one based out of Hawaii for remote facial recognition of human targets and another team in Nevada which is an air force base where pilots remotely operate drones to deliver missiles on targets across continents with precision. 


Meanwhile, a Cabinet Committee on Defence consisting of the Attorney General, two ministers from the Government and Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) oversees the operation live from Whitehall. The Cabinet Committee is empowered to authorise the capture  of the militants after receiving a final confirmation of their identities. These multinational intelligence teams are using an unmanned aerial vehicle armed with missile and some miniaturised drones operated from close quarters for their surveillance of the militant safe-house. 

However, the preparation of two suicide bombers inside the safe-house for an imminent attack on some civilian targets escalates the immediacy and intensity of the mission and consequently, Katherine seeks to convert the mission objective from capturing the terrorists to terminating them. However, any missile strike would also involve collateral damage to lives and property in the area which happens to be a bustling suburb in a friendly country. What follows is an intense and nail-biting finale filled with frantic events and disparate discussions across these multiple teams involving intelligence agencies, defence forces as well as dilly-dallying political leadership which is keen on political expediency than protecting lives. 

The movie explores multiple contemporary themes through a taut narrative that keeps the viewer constantly at the edge of their seats. Besides being a tense thriller, the movie throws up multiple questions on the ideas including value of some lives over others, malleability of morality, acceptable levels of collateral damage, remote warfare which despite looking gamified could still present deep ethical dilemmas and political compulsions which could colour critical decisions of life & death. There are no easy answers to any of these questions and as a result, these questions would linger with the viewers to ponder long after they have watched the movie. 

The ensemble cast consisting of Dame Helen Mirren, late Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul and Barkhad Abdi provide excellent performances as the movie puts our moral compass on a see-saw ride. Despite being a war movie, this thriller is stands out as it abjures from the time tested tropes of the genre with most of the key players being far removed from ground zero and operating remotely through screens in conjunction to pull a virtual trigger. While this scenario means a war without its quintessential grime and blood, it still holds the potency of violence and emotional scarring. After (Tsotsi), this is easily the most accomplished offering from Gavin Hood, especially coming after misfires like X-Men Origins - Wolverine and Ender's Game.

A COMPELLING WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

THE SHAPE OF WATER (ENGLISH) (2017)

Director Guillermo Del Toro is a magical creator who is capable of conjuring up unique, mystical and quite magnificent settings for his narratives and has set this story in Baltimore of early 1960s.

It is a tender and captivating romance between a mute janitor Elisa (Sally Hawkins) working in a top secret research facility and a creature captured from Amazon which is part fish and part human and is believed to be a river god by local populace. The government seeks to experiment on this mysterious creature for space research and sees it merely as an asset which is dispensable. But, the mute janitor sees it as more of a fellow being - a companion who is capable of communication as well as feelings of compassion, empathy and love.

Del Toro weaves a fantastic tale around this romance in the cold war era which is largely made possible and believable by an Oscar worthy performance from an excellent Sally Hawkins who is ably supported by Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlberg as well as Michael Shannon. Great music by Alexandre Desplat and vivid visuals from Dan Laustsen add further allure to this moving fable.

That a story could be so simple, surreal, yet layered in so many subtle shades and suffused with such a gentle and generous spirit all through is an extraordinary achievement of this ace auteur for, in less trained hands, it could have so easily become a caricature or worse. 

A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

COMING HOME (aka GUI LAI) (CHINESE) (2014)

What is a home ? Is it just four walls under a roof that provide shelter to a family ? Or.. Is it the sense of belonging that every member of a family holds toward each other and to the family as a whole ..? Indeed, it is the confluence of souls that find solace and succour in one another, especially when they wade through turbid tides of troubled times. Noted director Zhang Yimou's Coming Home explores this theme in a family drama set in the tumultuous era of Chinese cultural revolution (1966-76).

It recounts the story of a small Chinese family of Professor Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming), his wife Feng Wan Yu (Gong Li) and their daughter - Dandan (Hang Huiwen). Early in the movie, at the height of cultural revolution, we find this  family is thrown into disarray when Professor Lu is forcibly separated from his wife and infant daughter on being accused of anti-national activities. He is one among the  millions who are incarcerated and relegated to a labour camp for a long sentence. Several years pass by as we see that, under the watchful glare of the state which is wary of Lu's status of an anti-national, Feng is struggling to make ends meet as a teacher even as Dandan, a student at the ballet academy, is struggling in her own way to land a part of lead in a prestigious stage show. When Lu makes a desperate attempt to flee his captors and reunite with his family, Feng is having a difficult dilemma between rejoicing his escape, being wary of Dandan who barely remembers him and sees him merely as the source of their miserable status and the state which puts them under a microscope to recapture him if he contacts them. Ultimately, when he does return home, he is quickly pounced upon by the state authorities who were tipped off by Dandan on the hope that such loyalty would help her secure that coveted part in the show. Fate plays a cruel trick as soon after the arrest, Dandan is spurned for that role as she is still seen as the daughter of an outlaw and her mother shuts her out for what she sees an unforgivable betrayal. Some years later, when Lu is released after the Cultural Revolution, he returns to find his family shattered as his wife is suffering from an amnesia and his daughter is forced to eke out a living as a textile worker. Feng is unable to recognise Lu as her husband and she continues to wait for him to return from incarceration. The rest of the movie narrates the attempts of Yu to rebuild his family and reconnect to his wife.

Yimou's narrative is subtle, yet profound in observations. It is indeed a travesty when you require an official letter to recognise somebody who is your own. And, at times, even that is not proof enough. Feng's loss of memory is perhaps, her pathetic, final attempt to shut out a State that seeks to seep down and intrude into every element of her existence to enforce a compliance to its prescribed code of conduct. 

Through the prism of this family, the director showcases how an authoritarian state can appropriate one's life so ruthlessly that the citizens remain helpless and mute spectator as their life and family get trampled over by the giant wheels of a State machinery which pulls its entire citizenry in a particular direction to a predetermined destination. The instruments of the state intrude into every sphere of their life to suffocate them off any meaningful independence in exercise of their choices and where the individuals and their every aspiration is subordinated to the professed Party line and jingoistic nationalism.

The movie is anchored by stellar performances from the three leads - a spellbinding Gong Li and equally spectacular performances by Chen & Zhang who portray the multiple nuances of their roles effectively. Yimou's movie is ultimately a tale of triumph of the human spirit and the endless love it is capable of as well as the phenomenal power of such love to emancipate, enliven, energize and create beauty from bleakest of circumstances. 

The poignant, multi-layered movie replete with metaphors which premiered in Cannes in 2014 has won several accolades at several film festivals across the world.

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

ARUVI (aka WATERFALL) (TAMIL) (2017)

 What do you call a series of events that reflect childlike mirth, youthful abandon, comedy, drama, suspense thriller, loss, tragedy, love, terror, a dash of reality tv, a commentary on contemporary society, politics, purpose of life and death..? Sounds too close to real life.. does it ?Aruvi is a genre grinder which mixes all this and more into a narrative that is engaging and enthralling in equal measure.

Debutante Aditi Balan, who plays the titular protagonist, is a natural and shines bright in a layered role. Her superlative performance which sees her shouldering the entire movie and make it stick together is among the best this year and is sure to bring her many laurels.

Director Arun Prabhu Purushothaman has announced himself as a helmer to look forward to with this audacious debut feature. He brilliantly strings together diverse strands of his storyline to concoct a captivating symphony like a seasoned maestro. Check out the initial sequences of measured vignettes from Aruvi's unfolding childhood which subtly state a lot and surreptitiously smuggle us into the storyline and create an instant connect with her and make us care for her. Or the way, he can transition from a tense situation of a terror response into a playful mood of truth or dare that takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Arun Prabhu Purushothaman is a welcome addition to the league of promising debutantes directors in Tamil cinema this year which included Sri Ganesh (8 Thottaakkal), Karthick Naren (Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru), Lokesh Kanagaraj (Maanagaram), Nithilan Swaminathan (Kurangu Bommai) and Gopi Nayinar (Aramm).

An eclectic experience ! A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

VELAIKAARAN (TAMIL) (2017)

If Thani Oruvan saw director Mohan "Remake" Raja reinvent himself as a fine director of a remake-worthy original feature, his sophomore attempt in this quest cements the credentials he had earned with his previous venture.

Make no mistake. Despite getting packaged as an entertainer, Velaikaaran is a message movie that tends to get preachy. Yet, if it works for the most part, it is because of some smart writing and directing that sincerely attempts to raise the bar for the mundane masala flicks that are dumped on us on a weekly basis. 

Sivakarthikeyan fits the role like a glove with a convincing performance (perhaps, his best work yet) and this film should see him hit a new high in his rapidly soaring career graph. Rest of the ensemble cast including the excellent Fahad Fazil making his debut in Tamil (excellent diction), Nayantara, Sneha, Prakash Raj, Rohini, Charlie, RJ Balaji and others acquit themselves competently in their cameos. 

While it has its share of flaws including certain formulaic cliches, lectures and some flab in running time, the movie has its heart in the right place and tells a story with sincerity that strikes a chord with the viewers without succumbing to too many compromises or cheap thrills.

WORTH A WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

THONDIMUTHALUM DRIKSAKSHIYUM (aka THE EXHIBIT & THE EYEWITNESS) (MALAYALAM) (2017)

Director Dileesh Pothan who made an impressive debut with Maheshinte Prathikaram has returned with another charming slice-of-life drama. When newly-wed couple Sreeja (Nimisha Sajayan) & Prasad (Suraj Venjaramoodu) are travelling by bus, a thief (Fahaad Faasil) steals Sreeja's gold chain. However, Sreeja catches him swallowing the gold chain and hands him over to the nearest police station with the help of co-passengers. The rest of the movie narrates what happens thereafter.

Nimisha Sajayan as the housewife who is distraught and angry at her loss along with Suraj Venjaramoodu as the husband driven to his wits, Alencier Ley Lopez as the ASI Chandran on the brink of retirement bring an effortless authenticity to their roles while Fahaad Faasil nails his part as  he transforms into a slippery smalltime thief shrouded in mystery. 

There is an inherent  beauty to the narrative which flows like a gentle stream with minimal gush, yet capable of captivating the viewer with its steady flow. It draws us in very early and makes us totally invested in the story which keeps us wondering what next. The fact that Dileesh is able to bring out the beauty in the banal routines, seamlessly weave in multiple strands which add texture to even minor characters or happenings without disturbing the flow of the main narrative stand testimony to this helmer's confidence and control. He is emerging as a director with a distinct signature style and somebody to look forward to in the future.

Kudos to the director who has marshalled an excellent cast and a brilliant technical team including ace cinematographer Rajeev Ravi, music director Bijibal and others in presenting a simple, subtle, yet absorbing story with a good dose of humour and garnished with just the apt level of thrill and suspense. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!

RATING - 4/5

THEERAN ADHIGAARAM ONDRU (aka THEERAN - CHAPTER ONE) (TAMIL) (2017)

After a long time, A VERY SATISFYING action thriller. Director H. Vinoth (of Sathuranga Vettai fame) has presented a well made action movie which ticks almost all the right boxes of the genre with minimal compromises.

The movie, which is based on true incidents, recounts an episode in the life of a tough cop from Tamil Nadu who sets out with his team to capture a dreaded gang of thugs that was involved in multiple gruesome, armed robberies and murders in Tamil Nadu as well as other states.

Karthi fits the role of the daring cop and breathes life into the character in every frame. Abhimanyu Singh and his gang are utterly convincing as the brutally intense baddies.

The pulsating score by Ghibran, cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan, nifty editing by Shivanandeeswaran and well executed action sequences choreographed by Dhilip Subbarayan elevate the impact of the proceedings.

Director Vinoth deserves praise for his skillful combination of commercial elements with detailed research, stunning action set pieces and for shunning the regular trappings of super hero machismo and melodrama.

While the movie has its fair share of blemishes including its run-time resulting in some drag and some logical pole vaulting, for the most parts, it remains a riveting watch. I hope more such chapters are added to this cop story which has the potential to evolve into a franchise.

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !

RATING - 3.5/5