THE ILLUSIONIST (2010)

The Illusionist (2010)

Genre: Animation, Drama, comedy

Director: Sylvain Chomet

Writers: Jacques Tati (original screenplay), Sylvain Chomet (adaptation)

Stars: Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin and Duncan MacNeil 

My score 4/5

Bravo!! That’s what they say if something is fantastic in France. And that’s exactly what I say after watching the French based true to life animation ‘The Illusionist’. This simply delightful animation journey of 80 minutes doesn’t seems to be long for a usual movie or even for it to take the hearts and minds away. But make no mistake this will be a journey of a life time. 

The plot evolves around a lonely aging magician who is finding it difficult to make his usual living with the new age entertainments hitting the front stage year after year. Having no luck in doing magic in France he moves to England where he meets with a girl who is very young and gets to treat her like a daughter. In the mean time trying to make way for his magic and earning a very little buck he tries several other methods of earning but fail. For him it seems like the age of the magicians are over and the world is slowly turning back on him. While the little girl is finding her way to the new age this old man realizes that his golden age is long gone. 

What I drastically love about this movie is that it truly lives and breathes. There are hardly any dialogues or any moment of excitement. Just like the old main roll, the whole movie is calm, slow but filled with little wonders. In an age where animation is used in mass scale for purely fantasy purposes this movie swims up stream and bring in realism just like never seeing before. The fantastic work involves in every department while making this to the screen is truly commendable. 

And then there is animation. If you truly want to know how good it can be there is no other better way than experiencing it. Because I definitely may not be able to explain it in words. The  abstract yet breath taking realism which is created by giving utmost accurate attention to detail is what make this an animation masterpiece. Every scene is a work of art on its own. If you are an art enthusiast like me, you will definitely watch this more than once and surely will be pausing from scene to scene to grab the frames details. Because it’s that good and you cannot afford to miss anything. It can be a small room with little furniture or it may be a city filled with vehicles, the animation job is ground breaking. If something comes closer I’d put my coins on ‘Secret of Kells’. 

I’m glad that I watching ‘The Illusionist’. It deserves awards and even it didn’t win any even by mistake it had already won and will win the hearts and minds of many in years to come. And yes its running for Oscar’s this weekend! 

Trailer

THE TOURIST (2010)

The Tourist (2010)

Genre: Action, Drama, Romance

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Writers: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (screenplay), Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay),

Stars: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Paul Bettany

My score 2/5

Let me get one thing straight before I actually drilling in to this review.

Angelina Jolie is one gorgeous woman who has made movie history by doing exceptional characters in movies like Changeling (2008), A mighty heart (2007) & Beyond Borders (2003).  Johnny Depp is such a talented actor who is one of a kind in these days who did movies like Public Enemies (2009), Chocolat (2000) and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is a director  who has an BAFTA best director award and another 45 wins in his career. Tell me does this combination ever sound like a recipe for disaster?? If you want to find out go ahead and watch ‘The Tourist’!! It is the biggest mistake they made in their careers in recent times and you and I contributed by watching it!

 I really can’t recall me getting this annoyed after watching a movie lately. I’d be quite ok if ‘The Tourist’ was an indie movie and it had small cast and little less chatter around the block. But no no. They couldn’t just wait after making a stupid movie but they wanted to make it using HUGE stars and big budget and give it a ground breaking publicity until we go ahead and waste our time for it.

 Let’s discuss the plot briefly. There is this very pretty lady in France who is connected to a thief who stole millions from a well-known gangster.  Police is at a strenuous chase for years to get to the thief by following her. In the meantime she uses a High school math teacher who is a tourist in Venice involved in a wicked plan to escape. By doing this the attention of the police and the other parties who are interested finding the thief diverts to this Math teacher. The cat and mouse game between these parties are pretty much the whole movie. 

When you put the plot in to a nutshell it definitely sounds like a really cool spy thriller. But when this plot goes in action everything you expected ‘The Tourist’ to be, falls right in front of your popcorn. In this movie when there should be thrill there is stupidity. When it needs to be love or sex it’s just bluff. When there should be technology and mystery there is impossible computer achievement of the decade. It seems like even the parts where there should be humor fails to make you laugh.

Well there are some small good things about ‘The Tourist’ . For example even how stupid it may seem the lead rolls does their job well. Jolie is gorgeous and has some good lines. Depp is cool, confused and heroic at some point and pulls his roll through. There are good camera sequences and quite a few unexpected plot twists. But comparing with the gigantic disappointment overall as a movie these few good things don’t cut the deal.

Trailer

EAT PRAY LOVE (2010)

 

 Eat Pray Love (2010)

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Ryan Murphy

Writers: Ryan Murphy (screenplay), Jennifer Salt (screenplay)

Stars:Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins

My score 3.5/5

‘Eat Pray Love’ totally stand for its name. There are no gimmicks or hidden meanings to it. And most probably the longest romantic movie I have seeing in recent times that made me feel lot of things. Lots of things about life, living, falling in love and then relaxation, inner peace and food as well.

Liz Gilbert (Played by awesome Julia Roberts- Erin Brockovich, Notting Hill) is a married woman with complications. She finds that her life is not where exactly she wanted it to be and what’s happening around is not getting her anywhere. She decides to go on a journey of self-exploration leaving everything behind.  She gets a painful divorce and sets off on a one year journey. For months she lives in Italy getting to know the people and loving the food culture. Then she visits India and learns how to pray and meditate forgiving herself and others while residing in an Ashram. In the last few months she goes to Bali and study local medicine, culture and adds more inner peace to herself. In the meantime help the needy while peacefully finding her balance. This is where she truly finds the meaning of life and what it is to love someone without boundaries.

Simply put the story is long and feels like when it ends you have watched 3 movies all in one. It’s like the Julia Robert version of Lord Of the Rings where you meet many kinds of people, eat many kinds of food and then experience many kind of cultures. And she has her own kind of battles.

The character development is truly good. Liz is confused and has no clear direction of life, where she wants to be or for whom she wants to live for. She often wonder how it is to be  alone and looks at a relationship in a negative way with past experiences. And her self-exploration journey seems to be the one thing she lacked in her life to set everything straight. And the wonderful people she meets in the run gives her courage, happiness and most importantly true human companionship which she lacked back at home.

Maybe the best thing I like about ‘Eat Pray Love’ is that it takes you to places. It takes you to scenic places with diverse cultures. Introduce you to  different people with strange accents but still humans who have the same feelings. Puts you in different architectures and climates but reminds you that a place is not just beautiful because of the way it’s built but because of the people who live there. And then there are cultures, foods, sights and rituals which binds everything together.  In these lines the cinematography and the set development is breath taking. And the extraordinary length of the movies feels like a bliss and at some point you start to miss those places and people when you move on.

Julia does a wonderful job portraying this heavy hearted confused human being. There are several supporting rolls which is fun to watch and adds more value to Julia’s roll and the total plot.

‘Eat Pray Love’ is a good movie which does not come along every year. yes its long and different and maybe too slow at some points with long dialogues and paused moments. But it’s about life and living. If we can we all will get away like her. Life is too boring to be stuck at one place doing the same thing. 

 

Trailer

127 HOURS (2010)

127 Hours (2010)

Genre: Drama, Thriller, Adventure

Director: Danny Boyle

Writers: Danny Boyle (screenplay), Simon Beaufoy (screenplay)

Stars:James Franco, Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara 

My score 4/5

There are good movies and then there are great movies. There shouldn’t be an epic plot or dozens of well known cast in order for one to be a great one. But it’s a must to be something new and should have the capacity to explore the deepest human emotions and ability to inject them directly in to the viewers blood. ‘127 hours’ has all that packed with adrenalin gushing truly painful 94mts. 

The story is very simple and straight forward. Aron Ralston (Played by James Franco – Spider Man) who is a mountain climber sets off climbing in Utah with high spirits as usual on a one fine Saturday. But he finds himself to be in a death defying situation soon after he met with an accident and trapped in between boulders with a big rock crushing his arm. Now he faces the challenge of getting out alive before he runs out of supplies and most importantly his state of mind. (This situation which immediately reminds me of the similar Discovery- I shouldn’t be alive Episode ‘trapped under a boulder’. Though it has some resemblance it’s important to know that both of them are true life stories and very unique at some points. Recommended!)

The script is so strong that it will eventually force you to experience what Aron is going though. What kind of pain he must be bearing up and what emotions, hallucinations and memories he eventually gets trapped in. And most importantly what a man will become and can become when he is faced with the greatest challenge of his life. Aron at times looses hope and record himself saying sorry and good bye to his parents on the camcorder he has but on the next moment he mutter to himself ‘Do not loose it’ and struggle to overcome the situation. James Franco does a breath taking job making this character plain impossible to forget. 

Coming from the once Oscar winning director of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Danny Boyle ‘127 Hours’ is not at all a disappointment.  Trust me it can be very hard to watch when the real ordeal roll out but if you manage to get though them with one piece of mind then I’m sure you will feel how heroic you are when everything is over. 

Cinematographically very challenging to pull off which mostly takes place in a very tight space with most of the close up shots, the job is well done. Time to time it gives you some space when Aron’s memories comes alive and the sets take place elsewhere but you are quickly returned to the tight spot abandoning all your craziest hopes of escape.

‘127 hours’ is not a super hero movie or even a story of a real life hero. It’s a story of a person like you and me with ambitions and interests who suddenly finds himself to be in a situation where he has to make real hard decisions to live further. Once the movie finished we all feel glad that he made correct decision even how hard it maybe. And that’s something for all of us to keep in mind. The most important decisions in life are not the easiest ones but they will make you live stronger afterwords. 

Traier

FAIR GAME (2010)

Fair Game (2010)

Genre: Biography, Drama, Thriller

Director: Doug Liman

Writers: Jez Butterworth (screenplay), John-Henry Butterworth

Stars: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Sonya Davison

 

My score 4/5

Political thrillers are very interesting and if it’s based on true events then it becomes more than that. Depending on the viewers knowledge of the actual political events which took place then the impact of the movie will vary. In recent past there were several movies which spoke of the war in Iraq and events which took place before, during and after the US invasion. Some however is politically accurate but some is doubtful. But for me if something made political sense in the same heaviness after ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ it has to be ‘Fair Game’.

The story takes place from 2001 onwards and unwraps around Valerie Palmer (Naomi Watts-The Ring, King Kong) who is a CIA undercover agent and her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn-Milk, Mystic River) who is a freelance writer and former government servant. When Joe decides to write the truth about critical information which Bush administration used to justify the invasion of Iraq, a government insider decides to blow the cover of Valerie in order to divert the public attention in to a different direction. With this move the strong marriage of the couple seems to be hanging by a thread as Joe tries to win the battle against the white house and enormous public opinions and tension builds up around the family. 

Without a doubt the performances of Naomi and Sean is just great. They both are very strong in acting and especially Sean who once again proves that he is not the typical Hollywood start but one of the best around. 

As for the script it’s gripping and interesting. Rather than being caged in US it travels around distance lands such as Egypt and Iraq which gives more weight to what’s Valerie’s roll in the CIA. With all that character development the event’s which takes place later on the story seems to make more sense and strong. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what’s yellow cake is or for what aluminum tubes are truly used for is in atomic warfare. The story will gradually fill you in with important information related to the plot but beware this is not the 007 type spy thriller if you sit down expecting one. This is about true politics; true people and true situations which will at a point will shake you. 

Trailer

THE RESIDENT (2011)

The Resident (2011)

Genre: Thriller, Horror, Drama

Director: Antti Jokinen

Writers: Antti Jokinen, Robert Orr

Stars: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lee Pace

My score 3/5

Even though how nice it may seems at times the world is evil. And it’s filled with people with obsessions and desires which sometimes does not provident with ones looks. ‘The Resident’ is a thriller which reminds you about such evil and practically is will give you the chills. 

Juliet (Hillary Swank – Million Dollar baby) is a surgeon who lives in NY and struggling to give up her previous relationship which ended unpleasantly. While looking for a fresh start in a new place she come to get to know her new landlord Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan- P.S I love you) and move in to a new wonderful apartment which is given for a very cheap price. It doesn’t take her too long to realize that there are some things not right in the new place and find Max to be attractive and too caring. Soon she has to discover very unlikable truth’s about the place and unthinkable situations which ultimately put her inches away from death. 

Blessed by the sex appeal of Hillary and showing off her sharp features the movie builds up a good momentum silently within the first half. Further on to the second half it turns more in to the thriller it should be and moment by moment fasten the phase and grips the viewer with more surprises and twists. 

‘The Resident’ is not ‘the’ thriller or the horror. There are many more which speaks of the same theme, takes place in the same sets. So when it comes to an idea it’s not that fresh to digest. It tastes de ja vu. But with the unexpected twists in the middle and placing the really nice people to be the real bad guys ‘The Resident’ has that thing to be a thriller. And if you’re a woman you will definitely find some of the scenes to be disturbing. 

Finally it’s not some movie which you will remember for the rest of your life. Most of the thrillers/Horrors are just fun to watch for that moment and I can’t really blame ‘The Resident’ to fall in the same bucket.

Trailer

FASTER (2010)

Faster (2010)

Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime

Director: George Tillman Jr.

Writers: Tony Gayton, Joe Gayton

Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton and Maggie Grace

My score 3/5

Anger and rage comes in different sizes. But what ‘Faster’ is packing is way too big and 10 years old. When the lid blew off it keeps on killing people one by one and sometimes same guy over and over until the curtain rolls down. If it’s a crime, action and thriller then it should be fast like ‘Faster’. Don’t get bored with getting shot in the head or doing 90s on the freeway and 180s on the city streets coz ‘Faster’ is more than just a usual gun movie.

Simply put Driver (Dwayne Johnson- The Rundown, Scorpion king) is released from prison after doing 10 years for bank robbery gone bad. Without any delay he finds his classic muscle car and set off taking on the bad guys who put him the prison. Thankfully he is driving a Chevrolet SS which is much better than modern day cars which looks like water bubbles or smiling lily’s where you actually don’t really feel like there are such anger in those engines. Ok So our main guy is running after a list of other guys and killing them simple as that. Mostly head shots and no regrets. In the meantime the Cop (Billy Bob Thornton- The Alamo, Bandits) sets a trail and get closer to hunt down the Driver. While all this is going on the Killer (Oliver Jackson Cohen-Going the distance) who is a professional hit man, sets off to kill the Driver as that’s what he does when he is bored. While all these 3 people popping bullets in to nearby walls and on to one another eventually the story reveals the dirty secrets behind all the bloodshed. Why is the Driver so pissed off and why someone hired the Killer to Kill him. 

‘Faster’ is not a 5 star thriller. Or even a big budget one where dozens of cars fly high or 16 storied buildings turn in to ashes with plastic explosives. But it’s the kind of thriller which puts you right on the track and avoid you from taking bathroom breaks. Dwayne is just the perfect candidate for the roll. He is huge, got the bad ass look and just the right amount of tattoos. And he speaks like 50 words all throughout and doesn’t smile at all. So you picture yourself that way and imagine how bad ass you can be!

‘Faster’ is violent. Won’t keep you guessing for too long if someone is gonna die and give you a heart attack in the process. I know you will watch it any way. Wear your seat belts.

IP MAN 2 (2010)

 

Ip Man 2 (2010)

Genre: action, thriller, biography

Director: Wilson Yip

Writer: Edmond Wong (screenplay)

Stars: Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung and Simon Yam

My score 3/5

If you have read my Ip Man review here then you will be definitely waiting to read Ip Man 2 review as well. However like in most sequels I’m afraid I have to give a low rating for the second edition of the well-loved Ip Man. Not because it’s a bad movie at all but because comparing the first movie its missing a little bit of ‘heart’.

Starting from the end of the first movie Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and ambitiously looks forward to open up a wing chung martial art school. Having a financially difficult life with his son and wife who is now expecting her second child Master Ip stands strong and calm as he always is in front of the challenges he have to face day in and day out. While trying to establish his school he have to prove his skills to the other martial art masters in the area and deal with gangs and untamed disciples as well. On top of all that keeping his pride and path as a Chinese in front of the English ruled country seems to be the biggest challenge he have to face.

Master Ip’s character is more developed and well-constructed in this second chapter. However if you really missed the first movie then you will not get some of the things straight on the second one. As I mentioned earlier this movie lacks a little bit of emotions comparing with the first edition. But as a movie of martial art its way above many unwanted knuckle braking action flicks.

There are several well-made action sequences as well. But too many cable work than the first movie which eventually may label this as a mundane kung fu movie when it comes to action. But the plot and the rest is very nice to see and experience. 

 At an age where Chinese martial arts were dying and seems to be breathing its last breath, what Master Ip did to bring it back with dedication is truly admirable. Both the Ip Man movies are extraordinary and heroic on its own cause. Must watch!

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (2010)

 

 The kids are alright (2010)

Genre: Drama, family, comedy

Director: Lisa Cholodenko

Writers: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg

Stars: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo

My score 3.5/5

There was this ‘Brokeback mountain’ back in the day and just about when it started to cool off here comes ‘The kids are alright’. My intention was not to compare these two movies but just coz they somewhat look and feel familiar.

‘The kids are alright’ is a warm movie. If its action I’d say stunning and if it’s something like Avatar I’d say amazing. And when it drama and comedy and its good as ‘The kids are alright’ I’d simply say wonderful.

The story is pretty ‘straight’ even though the theme is not. Two woman who are happily married and having an unconventional family with two young kids (by artificial insemination), struggle though day to day difficulties and kids issues when a stranger is introduced in to them. After years they really get to know their sperm donor and the kids and mothers starts to build up a connection with him. Yet how perfect it can be this new visitor creates complications in the family and leaves it off balance. And the mothers finds it challenging to cope up with this complications while trying to care for their children at best.

The couple Nic (Annette Bening- American beauty) and Jules (Julianne Moore- Children of Men, Blindness) seems to have a good chemistry between them but just as in any family one feels the other to be a little over protective and controlling. This one reason where Jules find the sperm Donor guy Paul (Mark Ruffalo- Shutter Island, Just like heaven) to be her get away from the blues and he and the kids get caught up in awkward situations because of that.

There is nothing much complicated about the plot and its neat and well-constructed. Not having much experiences of truly knowing such unconventional families, what the story creates for the audience is wonderful. If you may not really try to understand the social impact of such families and their true nature you may not totally grab the true potential of the whole movie.

The performances is no doubt well done. The cast fits and the characters has their story well told. If a drama fails at that the movie definitely doesn’t make much sense.

On the whole ‘The kids are alright’ deliver something more than a normal family drama. There is no violence and there is no steaming sex either. But there is enough drama and feelings to keep the movie bound together without wondering about. 

 It’s not a good movie just because it was nominated for 4 Oscars and already won Golden Globes Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy category, but because it’s interesting, new and lovable.      

NAUSICAA - VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984)

 Nausicaa- Valley of the wind (1984)

 

Genre: Anime, fantasy, thriller

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writers: Hayao Miyazaki (comic), Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura and Hisako Kyôda 

 

My score 3/5

I'm on the rage of catching up with the best of anime from the 80’s and look what I’ve discovered today. Another gem by the director of Princess Mononoke and Kikis delivery service  Hayao Miyazaki came a wonderful anime named ‘Nausicaa-Vallye of the wind’.

Bundled with Simply breath taking endless creativity and imagination this anime speaks of a planet and times which is unknown to humans of our age. When a time where world is polluted and soil is toxicated by humans a young princess named Nausicaa desperately looks for answers in distant forests filled with giant insects and poisonous gases and trees.  While she tries to save the planet she have to face threats from other tribes and other dreadful worriers who wishes to conquer the planet and destroy the forests.

In an age where hand drawn animation was the ultimate and technology was far behind this anime does it wonderful magic quite exquisitely. Starting from the story line in to the characters and other elements it will keep you wondering from moment to moment. And most respectfully deliver a massage for the modern human race on keeping the balance of nature and loving it for our future survival.

 For 117 full minutes ‘Nausicaa- Valley of the wind’ deliver something extraordinary for all ages of the audience.

Trailer

IP MAN (2008)

Ip Man (2008)

Director: Wilson Yip

Writer: Edmond Wong (screenplay)

Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam and Siu-Wong Fan

My Score 3.5/5

The good old Chinese martial movies seems to have fade away from the movie scene of Hollywood lately. But the sparks still remain here and there and once in a while action movie which comes out. Mostly originated from China they seldom rocks the world unless an American studio does the production work.

“Ip Man” (Pronounced as Yip Maan) is  one of those seldom martial art movie which gained international popularity back in 2008.

Based on a true story and actual character of master Yip the story takes place in the second world war era. In a city where martial arts is a way of life and reputed for talented masters Yip resides with his wife and kids noble and rich from family heritage. While proving his Kung Fu talents in humble way Yip is respect throughout the land. Soon the life of Yip and many drastically change once the Japanese empire strikes on Chinese soil and Yip’s city also falls victim and turn hell. Yip and his family goes though many hardships yet Yip ambitiously lives a respected life until trouble comes and know on his shoulder.

Martial art movies are always centered upon fights. Duels , challenges and rival gangs which are all natural elements. In Ip Man the story goes a little further and discuss about family, respect, courage and honor as well. The limits which one can go in order to take care of his loved ones in the mid of tougher situations is what Ip Man is mostly about. And the movie cleverly shows what true martial artist is all about than throwing punches all over the town for no reason. 

 

Embedded craft fully with stunning and thumping martial art sequences Ip Man delivers a full load of action for the action movie lover. Even there is a bit of humor here and there. Sometimes following the subtitles can be a pain (The movie is in Chinese. No translation is available) but that’s really not a barrier to enjoy it.

Trailer