Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) Rating Genre: 4/5 Overall 3/5

What does Jack Ryan and Jack Baur has in common? Both of them are Americans and got injured in the line of duty, both of them single handedly saved the country from a devastating terrorist threat. Simply put this movie is all about being a hero and risking your life to save millions of others when everyone else is having a normal work day. How familiar the plot may sound and tested for many generations Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit does is so well and far better than many recent action flicks of the same nature. And I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jack Ryan used to be a bright young PHD student at the time when the 9/11 attack took place. But soon he finds himself getting shot down on a helicopter in Afghanistan. And yes now he is a Marine in the US ARMY. But after sometime he goes back to university finishes his PHD and joins a company on Wall Street living the corporate dream. But not quite 100% as he has to work for CIA part time. Yes Jack’s life is complicated. But it’s about to get even worse when Jack finds out that Russians are planning to launch a massive economical terrorist attack and he is the only person qualified to stop it from happening. And now there are many guns aiming at Jack and he should choose which one to dodge first. 

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a straight out action movie. Though it has a slow beginning and not so much action in the first half it still successfully manages to keep the viewer gazing at it. Main reason is the gradual but steady development of the plot which on the background hinting that bigger things are to come. And the wait is all worth. You get this all gooey kind of suspense music played for a long while and then it hits the sixth gear. Thought the plot is kind of predictable there is nothing boring about it so the excitement doesn’t fade. 

Just like all action movies Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit has its common flaws. Farfetched moments, insanely fast (and not yet developed) tracking technology, hard to kill lead character are few of them. But then what action movie will be successful without them. We all know it’s bogus though we stair at it mouth half open. But genuinely Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit was much more than I expected. I thought it’s going to be ‘cheap’ but I’m impressed. 

Genre: Action

Director: Kenneth Branagh

The Wind Rises (2013) Genre: 4.5/5 Overall 4/5

For anyone who is familiar with the earlier works of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli from Japan should not be needing an introduction to this movie. The Wind Rises is a long awaited anime from Miyazaki and just as expected it is a wonderful piece of cinema where Japanese animators have yet again proven that they cannot be compared to any other animators but themselves. The Wind Rises is special in its own ways and this time more than being entirely fictional the plot follows the biography of Jiro Horikoshi (1903–1982), designer of the Mitsubishi A5M and its successor, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero air crafts. Both the air crafts were known to have played a key role in the WW2 and a pride of Japanese warfare.

The story unfolds at the time of Jiro is a small boy having big dreams of flying. But due to his issues with eye sight he decides to design air crafts instead. And this big dreamer works nonstop towards achieving his goals. The story also follows his love life with a girl he devotedly fall in love with and their short yet beautiful love story. The combination of these two one mechanic and one emotional story lines strangely yet wonderfully has woven a memorable movie together. It’s indeed fantastic to witness how Miyazaki has put these two stories in to one and give them equal capacity without harming the essence of the whole movie.

Just as all Miyazaki movies The Wind Rises has lot of laughs, fantasies, love and then brief moments of sadness and tears. All of this is depicted through breathtaking cinematography created via paintings that at times makes your jaw drop. There is no doubt that Japanese anime artist are the best environmental painters in the world and each scene shows it over and over. I had to pause the movie so many times just to get my eyes full of those amazing details on the frames. This here my friends is pure art and you cannot escape its beauty.

Beautiful story line that has a perfect start, middle and ending combined with correct flow The Wind Rises is another unforgettable anime. It is a must watch for anime lovers.

"Kaze tachinu" (original title)

Genre: Animation | Biography | Drama

Director : Hayao Miyazaki

The Best Offer (2013) Rating: Genre 4/5 Overall 3/5

One of the number one reasons you should consider watching The Best Offer is because it’s directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. He is an Italian director who is well known for directing Cinema Paradiso (1988) and (1988) Malèna (2000) and certainly is a contemporary artist who knows what he is doing. And The Best Offer is indeed is a good offer for the viewers who does not settle in for mundane and puerile romance and mysteries. The journey through The Best Offer is quite slow and superficial yet at the end of it quite satisfying.

The lead role of the movie Virgil Oldman is an aged antiques dealer. He is well known for his profession and possesses a great deal of knowledge in the field of antiques and lives a luxurious life. However his interest for women is a mystery and no wife no family resides in a large house filled with valuable collectables from many eras. And some of these items which have being collected through backchannels and socially unaccepted illegal bargains seem to be his favorite private collection. But when he receives an offer from a lady named Clair to evaluate her heritage for auctioning Virgil’s life takes an interesting turn. Virgil becomes obsessed with 27 year old Clair but she hides many mysteries and Vigil intends to reveal them.

While the cinematography including camera, lighting and set creation is done beautifully the grand amount of detailing gone in to creating the pieces of art is outstanding. As the plot is heavily dependent on antique pieces of all sorts the cinematic representation of it is vital. Director has gone extra careful and the beauty of the movie is indeed enhanced by it. Then comes the strong performance by Geoffrey Rush and it seems like he was cut out to perform the character of rigid and egoistic Virgil. Finally but most importantly the plot which carefully unfold through the script creates severe enthusiasm. However at a point some things becomes predictable yet this point does not arrive until climax. So the mystery filled tale of romance has its own good run.

The Best Offer has seeing many mixed reactions so far. In my opinion the good about this movie is way beyond the mild negativities. Maybe the only complain is how practical all this can be but the mystery is well put and magnetic.

Genre: Drama | Romance | Mystery

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

All Quite on the Western Front (1930) Rating Genre: 5/5 Overall 5/5

While catching up with some old classics I came across this brilliant piece of cinema which is made 84 years back. Though it is nearly a century old right now the sheer amount of creativity in this is simply mind blowing. Maybe looking at the long journey the cinema has come up to now from the time this movie was made comparatively the key point that comes to my mind is that ‘not much improvement’. Because in a world where we believe that Saving Private Ryan is a masterpiece (It is no doubt) of war cinema All Quite on the Western Front (AQWF) has done it in a magnitude beyond its time and that’s some mind boggling truth to realize.

The background of the movie is based on a set of teenagers who joins the German army on the first year of World War 1. Thought they are still very young and attending to school the motivation they received through their school professor make them want to fight for their country. However they realize that the true face of war is brutal, unforgiving and severely stressful than the picture they received of it back at home. On blood, sweat and dead bodies they struggle to survive one day at a time seeing the devastation of war getting heftier by the night. While the story follows several individuals in a group the key character is Paul Bäumer who finally gets to return home after getting injured. But once he come back which is after 3 years from being in the front line he realizes that the place he call home is not what it used to be. And he becomes a stranger amongst the people of his home town.

AQWF is based on a German novel (Im Westen nichts Neues) by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The movie is directed by Lewis Milestone. The storyline is very effective in terms of depicting the mentality of the soldiers who are fighting in the front lines and how the hardships of the circumstances break them. Lack of food, long hours on duty, fear of death, being homesick, losing their mates are all taking a toll on their motivation and ultimately the significance of their existence is lost. But the courage these young men show staring at death day in and day out is not to be underestimated. The other key point which made AQWF on top of my war movie list is the cinematography. Right from the start the details the movie concentrates upon is magnificent. In an age where CG was not heard of most of the scenes have being staged live and that must have being a tremendous effort from the whole crew. And there is one astonishing battle sequence that runs for a whole of 8 minutes nonstop and by the end of it the viewer will be sweating for sure.

The true beauty of AQWF is how the director mixes up the selfless war and the humans full of emotions in to one. This mix ultimately proves that wars are fought by ordinary people in extraordinary situations and their lives are just as valuable no matter what side they fight for. But on the battle ground that is the only thing that seems to have no value and it’s devastating. No war can be justified.

Genre    : War | Drama

Director: Lewis Milestone

Blue is the Warmest Color (2013, French) Rating Genre: 3/5 Overall 2.5/5

It is quite a known and agreed idea that all sorts of art including movies from France have a special place when it’s regarding love and passion. However right at the start of reviewing this already controversial movie I must say that France has overdone it this time.  I believe that Blue is the Warmest Color (from this point onwards I’d call as BWC) does have potential to be a masterpiece in one hand but due to some very evident and painful negativities it has lost its rightful place.

The lead character Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos ) is a young and beautiful literature student who seems to be living the normal French life. But after a brief relationship with a fellow student who actually cared for her truly she realizes that men are not capable of igniting her passion. Searching for her desire Adèle meets Emma (Léa Seydoux) at a gay bar and they become extremely close. Adèle discovers love and passion from Emma and she completely melt in front of her.

It is important to understand that this is not the first movie made based on gay love and this will not be the last. The world will be seeing more and more of the kind in time to come and my worry is that does them have to be this detailed to prove a point. The last of this kind which I can recall which was pretty decent and beautiful was Kids are All Right (2010) from Hollywood. And another good example was A Single Man (2009) starring Collin Firth which was very powerful. But BWC crosses the fine line between art and porn not only once but several times proving that the movie is not actually made for art lovers but men who like seeing naked woman. In my opinion a movie is a movie until it keeps its secrets and once everything is revealed it turns in to something else. Not only sex but some other things like dancing, eating spaghetti, taking a shower (naked) is presented with lengthy scenes and detail which directly takes a toll at the duration of the movie which is exactly 3 hours.

Why I like this movie is for two reasons. One is the incredible and passionate chemistry between the lead roles (which I believe that could have being achieved even without the detailed sex scenes). But the true magnet of an attraction is Adèle Exarchopoulos (yes her screen name and real name is both the same) who does a fine job at acting. The director’s relationship towards her through the camera frame is very evident and her emotions pour out of her pretty eyes and lips nonstop. While the director tries to spice it up a bit more by showing her rear side a couple of times (with and without cloths) it’s her face that makes the painfully slow three hours worthwhile. There is nothing extraordinary to mention about cinematography other than the lighting used in bedroom scenes that was quite certain to give the viewer best viewing pleasure.

After I was done with BWC the inner arguments I had was ‘if’ this story was about an ordinary man and woman couple would that be this talked about. And ‘if’ the director has decided to remove some of the details and keep only the essence of it will it still be this controversial. The answer for both arguments I got was a no.

Original title: La vie d'Adèle - Chapitres 1 et 2

Genre: Drama | Romance

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

Amores Perros (2000) Rating: Genre 5/5 Overall 5/5

Mexico | Drama | Crime | Thriller

Sometimes great cinema is not always based on things that are easy to watch and digest. Ameros Perros is such movie where the viewer will get to witness painful things and through that pain come the art of realization. Maybe there is no other pleasant way to tell this story without making it less effective. Whichever it is the final result is a staggering piece of true cinema.

Amores Perros is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and is the first movie of the death trilogy followed by 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006). Though there is no relativity in plot between these movies the sublime and underlying similarity in style of storytelling is what binds them together. Here in Amores Perros there are 3 parallel story lines that seem very different to each other on surface but speak of a common theme all together. And at one point the characters of each story line overlaps and meets ones another at a common symbolic incident. This incident is what binds the stories together however not largely dependent on each other’s success. This is one reason I called this point symbolic than crucial.

Story line one follows the most painful to watch material. It’s about a young man from the city low class who turns to fighting his dog in underground dog fights to earn money for his plans to get away with his unconventional girlfriend.  Here you may come across the ugly trade of dog fights and the fate of dogs that goes in to them. For dog lovers this section is nightmare. Story line two is about a super model who faces an unfortunate road accident. The drama between her illegal partner and her struggle to survive takes a very different mood and rhythm from the previous story. Yet she also has a pet dog that keeps her company. The key character of storyline three is a hit man. Beaten up by life and mistakes he did in the past he lives with a bunch of dogs and almost homeless. However he struggles to put things right by his daughter and for some reasons he is pushed away from his dreams.

As you may realize these three storylines are far from being common. But they are beautifully connected by dogs. The dog is a symbol of loyalty at each story and the people are symbols of disloyalty and unfaithfulness. This combination works perfectly and Amores Perros gives the viewer heavy breathing. Powerful performances, wonderful cinematography and music ads spice on top of each other without making a single story lines prominent over each other. It seems like the director has done a perfect job in phasing out the sequences and laying out a perfect ending as well. While I highly recommend this I would like to recommend 21 Grams and Babel too if you have not seeing them already. They complete one of the most satisfying trilogies of contemporary cinema. 

Director : Alejandro González Iñárritu

Apu Trilogy: (Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959) Rating 5/5

Bengali| Drama

Though for decades after decades this brilliant set of movies have being praised by many over and over and there is ample material to read everywhere, I still believe that it would be utterly disrespectful of me if I don’t express my view of the Apu trilogy. This set of movies directed by Satyajit Rai in based on two books written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. It’s cinematically perfect no doubt and the masterful taste of music is composed by Ravi Shankar. And Arpu trilogy is known to be one of the prime examples of parallel cinema movement in India and has indeed inspired movie makers for decades up to today. And it’s a perfect specimen that great movies do not rely on big budgets and famous stars.

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) is the first movie that introduces Apu to the audience. He is born to a respectable yet poor family in a remote village having an elder sister. Yet turn of unfortunate events moves the family to the city where the next movie Aparajito (The Unvanquished) takes place. Here Apu becomes a young boy facing more hardships in life yet succeeds in his education. However by the end of Aparajito he is left on his own. When it comes to the third movie Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) the story completely concentrates on Apu as the key role moving up in the city as a small time writer and employed in a newspaper. Poor but a happy soul filled with compassion and inner beauty Apu faces joys, surprises and more tragedies in his life ultimately turns him in to removing himself from the society and loves ones completely.

The plot is nothing but beautiful. Rai with his skillful direction instantly transforms the viewer into a distant time and country. Looking back from today the beauty of the culture and the people back then seems very far yet feels so real. The true essence of these movies is the realism factor which is highly appraisable. Everything contributes to a core value of reality via every expression, set creation and dialogue. And each frame is a piece of art where the cinematography is simply mind blowing.

Apu trilogy is a work of genius for many factors and the ones mentioned here are just a few. While it’s hard to come to a conclusion of the favorite movie out of the three my affection towards Pather Panchali and Apur Sansar seems more. Aparajito portrays clear time period of Apu’s life transition from a young boy to an adult and for me it’s just that. Yet the other two movies feed from originality and then moves on to more deep representation of Apu’s character. However Apu trilogy is a must watch for any movie fan who believes that cinema is for the mind and hungry to feed their artistic brains. I’m sure this trilogy will be screened for generation to come and what can I say, older it gets tastier the wine. 

Director: Satyajit Rai

The Monuments Men (2014) Rating Genre 2/5 | Overall 2/5

Biography | Drama | War

I’m wondering if it’s becoming a trend for big budget movies based on world war two to fall flat and unremarkable. Last year it was The Book Thief and this time it’s The Monuments Men. It’s certainly is curious to think about how a movie that has such great potential and big names in the cast fail to ignite any emotions other than disappointment.

This is loosely based on the non-fiction book, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, by Robert M. Edsel. It follows a team consist of experts of art and history whose mission is to save the countless art and other culturally important items from destruction at the end of world war two. As per order by Hitler the Nazi army has robbed the greatest pieces of art from around Europe and transported them to secret locations across Germany.

 The Monuments Men does a fine job at emphasizing the important of saving these great historical pieces. In fact it’s the only positive point that comes to my mind after watching this. The rest of course is not so impressive. The character development is poor and that leads to flat emotional value when incidences occur surrounding some of them. The script looks stiff and has no effect on the actors to perform any better than they do. Though the big names like George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Kate Blanchet and John Goodman sounds like a winning combination, this movie could have being easily pulled off without anyone famous appearing in the cast. Because it’s not worth of such talent and there is no room for exceptional performance anywhere. Clooney being the director/writer and one of the lead actors in here should learn that sometimes it’s better to stick to one role at a time. Because it seems like there is definitely a great deal of responsibility at all those points for The Monuments Men and he has not being able to fill in properly.

It’s quite sad to remember that though The Monuments Men was a sizeable movie that could have being on route to award ceremonies this year will be forgotten soon with many other low valued productions that fills the theaters. My advice is if you really want to know what happened to The Monuments Men turn to History Channel. 

Robocop (2014) Rating: Genre 3/5 | Overall 2/5

Back in 1987 Robocop was an instant hit. No surprise there as the franchise was clearly a new concept and the era was bringing some good action movies one after the other and Robocop was riding the new wave. After 27 years the half man half mech robot is rebooted and it certainly looks good. Though plot is slightly similar to the original since the new Robocop has vast differences to its presentation my intention here is not to compare the two movies but to concentrate on the new version.

The movie background runs in 2028. American drone and robot technology has evolved in to a stage where their wars off shore are largely handled by unmanned machines. Yet the domestic situation remains hostile to the machines and Omnicorp the large corporate responsible for building the robots are looking for ways to enter the local market. And they find their ticket when Alex Murphy a detective in the police department gets injured in the line of duty. Omnicorp transforms Alex in to a half man half machine Robocop with wrong intentions and Alex starts to disobey his programs letting his human side to take control.

At a glance it’s evident that the CG work done here is outstanding. Not like in the 80s now the industry is well equipped to make Robocop visually beautiful without using much of onset props. Therefore the man in machine looks flawless and the technology looks spick and span. And when the action kicks in it really blasts. Yet what makes the true contribution to the new Robocop is not how it looks but how it feels. The director spends a great deal of time (Almost exactly half of the runtime) conceptualizing and building the background to bring in the hybrid. The viewer gets a full picture of the political situation against the movement and the corporate strategy that goes in to building the Robocop. And giving a solid foundation the story of Alex Murphy is well put and it’s emotional. Though the entire movie is highly predictable there is joys in seeing things unveil.

Maybe the only complain that someone could have including me is the lack of action at the peak. It all seems too easy for a single Robot to bring down a large corporate like Omnicorp. However thinking of the point that this movie is just the start of a new sequel and there might be a next one coming, the lack of action is acceptable. On a final note though Robocop is kind of dumb it’s decent and entertaining. 

Still Mine (2013) Rating: Genre 4.5/5 | Overall 4/5

Drama | Romance

You must have seeing plenty of romantic movies about reckless love involving the blooming young  and the middle aged love with an understanding of a level higher. But you have not seeing love if you have not seeing Still Mine. This movie is a wonder of romantic genre thought it speaks of a tale of romance that is 61 years old yet getting strong day by  day. After being married for so long and seven children of their own and grand kids the Morrison’s keeps the flames burning strong.

Craig Morrison (James Cromwell) and Irene Morrison (Geneviève Bujold) are an old couple living in their farm residing in the bliss of old age. Craig though is in his 80s still strong and healthy devotes his time to take care of his wife Irene and her needs when she starts to show signs of declining memory. And he decides to build another more manageable home for them knowing the challenges he will have to endeavor in future. But challenged by the local authorities about the standards of the construction the Morrison’s affection grows stronger and their will power is tested.

The true beauty of Still Mine is in the sheer sweetness of the old couple. Even how aged and wrinkled they are the romance between them and their true understanding is simply overwhelming. James and Geneviève beautifully portray the characters in a way that the viewers would shed a tear seeing them in love. Each scene they are together is so wonderful that even their eyes speak. Still Mine delivers powerful emotions throughout and anyone would want such fairytale old age I’m sure.

Still Mine is a Canadian production directed by Michael McGowan. And it is based on true events. 

The Three Faces of Eve (1957) Rating: Genre 4/5 | Overall 3.5/5

Drama | Mystery

Thought this movie does not fit the entire criteria of a psychological thriller it does have a very good potential of being one. But due to its nature calling it a drama filled with mystery is rather more suitable. And the best thing about The Three Face of Eve is that the viewer gets to know the plot somewhat in detail at the right beginning of the movie and the narrations made in intervals yet the curiosity of the background is never lost but improved by it. And I believe that this is one of the best movies based on true events and a biography surrounding psychology that actually starts and ends strong than a fiction.

The Three Faces of Eve is based on the true story of a woman named Chris Costner Sizemore (Best known as Eve White) who was suffering from the rare condition of multiple personalities. The whole movie is a clinical experience as the script is largely based on actual medical records provided by her psychiatrists. Only possible explanation I can provide of the plot (without revealing too much) is that it’s based on the treatments which Eve went through and the sessions with her psychiatrists. Though it might sound a bit too predictable or boring as a plot for a movie it actually is deep and very interesting. And surprisingly it hits a very strong climax.

It is evidently low budget and played only with very few characters but the strength of the plot does not depend in such big numbers of investment of actors. It is purely a very fascinating case to witness for us mundane everyday people. We have seeing multiple personalities in more of movies based on thriller category than mystery category and for me this was an eye opener to certain disbeliefs that I had over such individual created by other fictional movies.

Coming back to the production the movie was after the book written by psychiatrists Corbett H. Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley. And it’s directed by Nunnally Johnson. Joanne Woodward plays the character (or rather three characters) of Eve and without a doubt it is brilliant. To prove it she won the Oscar for best actress in 1957 for her performance in this. The Three Faces of Eve is a very character driven movie just like most of the classics are. And it makes it a movie worth watching which eventually gives the viewer a certain insight to people and their personalities. You may explain this story as clinical, scientific or sexual but whatever it is it will make you think.