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 !