Nightcrawler (2014)

Are you bored with movies that call them thrillers but offer the same old formula of blood and gore over and over again? Are you sick of stereotype villains and over dramatic performances by the actors in them? Have you lost your faith on thrillers that all the time is so far fetched and has no real meaning by the end? Then to restore your faith on the true colors of a thriller movie and what makes a darn good dark character possible, watch Nightcrawler.

Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) used to be a jobless yet very enthusiastic man desperate to find his way out of the day-to-day petty thefts that makes him survive the day. But now he is a crime journalist doing his own pursuits for crime scenes at night and sells the footage to a local new broadcasting agency. But he is so desperate for a breakthrough story of his career finds an ideal opportunity one night. Lou draws a master plan to put him on the spot of a true crime scene and he is all set to get it on tape.

Nightcrawler’s plot is not common and unheard of. It peaks in to bitter yet very real circumstances of contemporary media culture.  And the movie brings in a very unique kind of a villain who is surprisingly the protagonist of the whole twisted plot. This character is very effectively and powerfully portrayed by the talented Jake Gyllenhaal, who is currently appearing in repeatedly challenging and better roles in his career. After last year’s less talked about yet one of the best of the years psychological thriller Enemy, his performance in Nighcrawler is indeed a plus point.

Nightcrawler has proper flow and very good cinematography. There is no moment where the movie unhooks the viewer from its grip. The plot rapidly grows with the main character and it builds the intensity at the correct phase. This movies is fine at its start middle and end. This is something very rare for a crime thriller and Nightcrawler is brilliant in its nature.

Genre: Crime | Thriller

Director: Dan Gilroy

Rating:  Genre 4.5/5 | Overall 3.5/5

The Missing (2014) – TV Series

Honored to be one of the best 5 mini series of 2015 in the Golden Globes, The Missing is truly a brilliant TV show in the making. Though Fargo (2014) was more popular and grabbed the award, for me The Missing was more heart felt and sensitive to the core. If I call The Missing as the most hauntingly emotional television experience I had recently that would be correct. 

When the English couple Tony (James Nesbitt) and Emily (Frances O'Connor) goes to France for a vacation their small boy goes missing. Devastated by their loss the couple seeks every angle to find their son but fails. After 8 years Tony obsessed with the idea that his son is still alive returns to France to find him pursuing a lead. There he discovers some unbearable truths about his sons disappearance. 

The Missing’s’ plot and set up is very powerful. It takes place in a small French town where the atmosphere screams of a certain emptiness that creates a mind boggling mood overall. This atmosphere mixed with the disturbingly emotional plot the viewer gets dragged in to the investigation of this small boy. And right from the first episode things becomes really tense and for the next 7 episodes its nothing but beautiful expression of cinematic quality television drama. James Nesbitt and Frances O'Connor deliver commanding performances in this show and they are supported by another set of very talented international cast. Everything about The Missing is well planned and well executed and they apply to even the sub plots that make strong sense at the end. 

To return to the shows emotional brilliance I believe The Missing makes a child abduction plot to go beyond the usual detective or crime stories and makes it feel so dearly. The plot run in 3 parallel timelines where the most significant events related to the investigation takes place and each timeline is given equal importance. This is where the beauty of writing comes to play and the job is very well done. Even at the time of the ending the viewer will be left with so many things in their minds and arguments to fight.  And just like the father of the boy the viewer will be doing a silent struggle in their minds to understand the events more clearly. Being so The Missing offers a strikingly good ending. 

If you are a parent you will certainly feel disturbed by this show and will shed tears more than few times along the way. But it’s certain that The Missing is one of the most brilliantly told story of parents love. 

Genre: Crime | Drama | Mystery

Director: Tom Shankland

Rating:  4.5/5

New World (2013)

No matter what kind of an impression you had earlier regarding Asian action and gangster movies, New World will open your eyes to some thing so heart pounding that when it ends you will be hungry for more. With well-executed bloody action sequences and top of the line performances and with a  twisted  plot this movie just pulls you off the chair more than once.

Though some of Hollywood experts will call this a rip off of the great gangster flicks like the Godfather or Departed I solemnly disagree to that statement as for the fact that though this carries certain similarities it is brilliant and unique in mostly Asian way.

New World is a long movie that runs over 2 hours but it does not waste a minute. It has this elegance that the Asian crime movies commonly has with gangsters in dozens wearing clean suits and pitch-black and dustless cars that rolls on blood money. With that beauty of cinematography with panning and high angle shots New World creates a dramatically enjoyable crime thriller. And the music is so good it just swiftly blends in to the scenes and gives the viewer goose bumps.

The plot is not that complicated yet will take a while to make sense. It is twisty beware but some might be able to foresee the ending from far. But there is no solid assurance that thing will go as planned so viewer will stick to the end. Even at the end it gives some answer and leave the viewer with more questions perhaps. And all this thanks to the brilliant acting and direction.

Like I said at the start no matter what opinion you have around New World there is no doubt it is one of the finest of gangster crime movies you saw in a while.

Genre: Crime | Thriller

Original Title: "Sin-se-gae"

Country: South Korea

Language: Korean |Mandarine

Director: Hoon-jung Park

Rating : Genre 4/5 | Overall 3/5

-Priyantha Bandara

A Touch of Sin (2013)

Every crime has a victim and every criminal has a story of their own to tell. A Touch of Sin is one of the most powerful of such crime stories I have seeing recently and its directed by the well-known Chinese director Zhangke Jia. Zhangke is famous for his style in powerful dramas that mostly speak of the contemporary themes that surround the rise of Chinese economic boom and the resulting cultural changes.

A Touch of Sin is a collaborative of four different storylines that has minor connections with each other (which remind me of the great Mexican production Amores Perros-2000) that had the same style of story telling. There are more than few main characters in this due to it’s nature of the plot and each story has certain uniqueness’s and similarities to fathom. For me it’s hard to tell which story is my favorite and which is not as I see a certain beauty in all of them. As all the stories are based on some sort of a crime (large or minor) at a certain point viewer comes to the realization of where it is heading.

Though there is no hard hitting ending to this movie once it’s done the viewer will be still living a trance. There is beautiful cinematography, acting and very little of music and laughter going around. But I completely like the way it flow at times wished that some stories has more. And truly this portray the cultural and economical effects the modern China and its people are going through and some of it may seems overwhelming.

Genre: Crime| Drama

Director: Zhangke Jia

Original title: "Tian zhu ding"

Score: 4/5

Fargo (2014)

If I phrase that Fargo is the most intensely satisfactory crime drama with a comedy twist in recent TV I don’t think my statement is wrong. With just 10 episodes it builds a brilliant plot, staggering performances, class A soundtrack that spread across the series right from the catchy first episode to the final show down. Created and written by Noah Hawley This show is inspired by the 1996 film of the same name written and directed by the Coen Brothers.

With clear similarities between the movie the TV show goes many steps ahead and roll out a larger and detailed plot given that TV has more space for being greater than a movie ‘if’ done right. I believe that Fargo (2014) is one of the best of that TV done right and no one can say otherwise. Fargo is brilliant from the start. You will not come across a single episode that slow things down or drags its overall progress backwards. This is very important especially for a mini series since there are only few episodes for the whole show and each episode has lot of weight. The director cannot afford to drop the ball in any episode as there will not be enough episodes to recover the damage. With Fargo the episode layout is fantastic no doubt.

Fargo has a gripping story line. It is based on crime and sometimes it’s gory yet the crime is based on a clever execution of criminal minds and police work alike. The viewers are given the opportunity to equally witness both sides of the blood trail and each side is equally interesting. To be honest there are times the dark characters seem to be winning and they appear to be more attractive. But ultimately the justice is served and the finishing is well knitted.

The quality of Fargo depends on many factors and performances are one of the key ones. Right away there are 2 good characters and 2 negative ones. All 4 of them pull off their roles with energy and persistence. With less dialogues as much as possible Fargo says a lot through action than with words. The actors make the journey a remarkable one.

Maybe the best thing about Fargo is its mood. The majority of the story takes place in the winter and there are a lot of whites and cold around. This atmosphere creates a challenging environment for the plot and as viewers we feel it. The feeling of isolation, abandons and insecurity are very well portrayed and they all fuel up this one of a kind story of hate crime. This is a must watch for TV lovers. 

Genre : Crime | Drama | Thriller

TV show

Rating 4.5/5

 

Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) – 5/5

After 7 years of blazing glory Sons of Anarchy has now come to a steady stop. This crime loving outlaw biker club drama is rarely one of the unique shows the TV history have ever seeing and unquestionably cannot be compared with another show due to it’s own terms. While it is nearly impossible to go in to every detail of this brilliant show created by Kurt Sutter loosely based on the characters of Hamlet in a short review such as this, I’m trying my best to give credit to all the uniqueness it made us witness.

Being said that I have no doubt that this is the most violently dramatic TV show the world has seeing that actually made homage to outlaws, brotherhood, friends, big American motorbikes, people of all colors and races, guns, gangsters, prison mayhem, school shootings, eye popping like a pro with spoons, retribution without a regret, all kinds of love including transsexuals, burying up dead bodies and digging them up again, porno, baby snatchers from Ireland, body parts in boxes, crooked cops, random acts of violence, dragging handicapped people on streets tied to cars, mothers in laws killing daughter in laws, sons killing step fathers, kids injuring them selves to frame grandmothers and the list goes on. Though all this sounds so vicious and gory Sons of Anarchy is mind splittingly perfect in its script and performances that it was never felt neither irrelevant nor excessive.  This obviously makes this show to shrink to a certain set of devoted viewers and becomes completely inappropriate for the masses. Which is the reason we didn’t see internet braking hype for Sons of Anarchy in any year nor fans aggressively fought over it existence over a different show. But the Sons of Anarchy fans held up their end of the bargain and the creators gave their best to fans in return and it was wonderful.

Sons of Anarchy was brilliant in its story telling. While some may call some seasons silly and relatively uninteresting compared to a different season the flame never went out. Sons of Anarchy is not a show that evolves over the seasons in its drama. True it does up to a certain limit with it’s characters as they evolve but each season was full of equal drama and tension that every time one season ended it was almost like some great movie came to a holt giving the promise of a sequel. For me I was hooked to Sons from day one to the finale episode and boy it was a joy. Seeing all those gritty mind blowing performances by the cast and how the whole plot elevated from episode to episode was truly a wonderful experience. And the thing with Sons of Anarchy was that it was full of energy and full of surprises and at one point I decided that I will not guess what’s coming up but rather let the story take over me.

Sons of Anarchy has won many awards including the Golden Globe for best performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Katey Segal) which proves the quality of acting it was equipped with. The cast was brilliant and though most of them saw the other end of the barrel of a gun or the sharp side of a blade and went out in a split second (most in completely unexpected ways in unexpected moments) the body count didn’t mean that they were forgotten. We saw amazing performances up to the last episode and some of them were the best the recent TV has to offer. If the fans were haunted by the faces of the actors and dropped a tear at their despair it was nothing to be amused of.

And Sons of Anarchy will be largely memorable for it’s choice of music. Episode after episode and at right times the sound tracks were mixed in a way that they were completely aligned with the mood and story of the show. When I look back at the set of beautiful music throughout these 7 years I have no doubt that Sons of Anarchy delivered it so powerfully in par with the shows emotional chemistry. For me I cannot think of Sons of Anarchy without its sound tracks and I’m sure for many it will be equally memorable.

All in all with fantastic writing and direction of Kurt Sutter as the creator of the show Sons of Anarchy was one hell of a ride. These characters and the ideology they represent will always be remembered though how cruel and violent they were just because of the fact that this show made them all looked so great. But the final message Kurt Sutter sends out so loud is that there is no crime that goes unpunished and no lie that will not be revealed for it’s truth. And if you believe in it Sons of Anarchy is a modern day tale of Karma disguised in leather jackets. I will miss this show dearly and salute the creators for making such amazing TV time.

Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller

Creator : Kurt Sutter

The Purge Anarchy (2014): Ratings – Genre 3.5/5, Overall 2/5

For being a movie based on an utterly dismissible theory it’s something to ponder upon how this is actually pulled off. To be honest thought how dum it sounds I was hanging on to it and wanted to witness it till the end and even at the end it made some sense and it’s crazy. Maybe I should be purged!! And I must say that I have not seeing the predecessor of The Purge Anarchy there for I have no way of comparing it with this one. But strangely bit familiar in the same lines of The Hunger Games, this one does a decent job being more realistic and close to home.

In not so distant future the US government has found a mechanism to keep its population and crime rate in control. The annual purge that last a 12 hour period let the civilians to let out their rage and cleans themselves. And in this period all crimes including murder is accepted by low. The story of a former low enforcement agent looking for revenge from previous years purge and few civilians who he happen to tag alone and their combined effort of surviving through the purge night is what The Purge Anarchy is all about.

Like I mentioned at the start the whole plot seems absurd. Yet the whole time we are left to believe it so strongly and confidently after sometime it will sink right in. And from that point the viewer will go through the horrific journey of survival along with the characters and corner to corner there is some new experience wait. And unexpectedly The Purge Anarchy does not cross its limits with being too gory or violent. It operates within a certain discipline and this makes the journey somewhat pleasant than road paved with flesh and blood. And the good twists that comes out of nowhere does a decent job and spicing things up.

While The Purge Anarchy is a horrific thriller from the surface it does have an underlying message that is well put together. A certain hope of humanity is emerging from the brutal actions of the rulers and the story manages to shine it to give some hope for the god forbidden future.

Director: James DeMonaco

Genre: Horror | Crime | Thriller

-Priyantha Bandara

Donnie Brasco (1997) Ratings: Genre 5/5 | Overall 4.5/5

Though there are ample amount of movies based on Mobsters and the Mafia led organized crime only very few that actually is mention worthy. As we all know while Godfather remains as the undisputed godfather of modern mob movies, the list gladly follows by movies like Goodfellas (1990), Scarface (1983), Heat (1995) and The Departed (2006). And Donnie Brasco is another fine jewel that so powerful and intense in revealing the underworld life of mobsters and their painfully loyal and ruthless culture. And it’s based on the true character Donnie Brasco (Joseph Pistone in real) who was an undercover FBI agent who spent 6 long years with the mob (1975 -81) that ultimately came very closely to losing his natural life in the name of duty.

FBI agent Pistone (Johnny Depp) goes undercover as Donnie Brasco making connections with the aging hit man Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero (Al Pacino).  After building trust with Lefty he manages to move in to big leagues and participate in mob activities and gather valuable information. But at the same time due to the work pressure and the overwhelming amount of crime he witness his perception towards certain things goes through a dramatic change. While Pistones wife and kids misses their man of the house he deeply engulfs in the mob and struggles to strike a balance.

One strong reason why Donnie Brasco sinks right in to the hearts of the viewers is that it has the right flavor and mix of crime and emotional drama. While it is entirely the solely expected mob crime movie it has a much unexpected value of feelings. Especially towards the end of the movie viewers get a heavy load of it and it fuels reaching a solid ending. The positive chemistry between the main leads Depp and Pacino is another winner. Both of them have big movies and scores under their belts and the director uses them to cleverly influence the viewers. While Pacino is a household name for mob movies I recall Depp appears seldom in them and another strong one being Public Enemies back in 2009.  In this role Depp depicts an emotionless face but underneath he finely portrays the ambition and at the same time the fear which he hides inside.

The majority of the movie runs on crime but does not show crime as such. However there is one scene which is brutal and overly gruesome for even the hardest of crime movie fans. But through that scene the director gives a clear message to the viewer about the filthy reality of the mob and what Donnie has to deal while performing his duty. And no crime and mob movie is completed without a gang murder. But Donnie Brasco goes beyond being a movie about loyal gangsters and murderers.

Genre: Crime | Thriller | Drama

Director: Mike Newell

Blue Ruin (2013) Ratings: Genre 4.5/5 | Overall 4/5

Blue Ruin runs on one of the most tested and classic movie plots in the history of mankind, revenge. But it is quite amazing to realize that this straightforward story of a man taking revenge from a bunch of people who have made wrong to his family in the past can be this well done. Everything goes by the book and there is no mind breaking twists or puzzles to be sorted at all. But still as a viewer I was struck and glued to the screen wondering what will happen next. Yet at times it was very predictable most of the time it took me by surprise.

Dwight (Macon Blair) seems to be a loner who’s living in an almost junk of a car and eating out of dumpsters. But his life makes a sudden turn when he realizes that the murderer who was responsible of making his life a nightmare will be a free man soon. Dwight decides that it’s time to go home and take care of business himself.

Macon Blair does a wonderful job portraying this amateur assassin. Through his eyes the viewer can feel his anger and the fear both at the same time. He is nothing closer to a criminal by looks and he has no skills of combat other than ambition and that ambition drives his adrenaline to deal with some very lethal situations. He gets beaten up pretty badly, gets physically injured and emotionally stressed yet maintain his balance and wits going against a family of criminals. This character is an everyday Joe who has nothing to lose but has everything to save.

Director Jeremy Saulnier keeps a very good flow the whole time. The movies brilliant cinematography creates a mood that builds the plot strongly surrounding the key character. There are very few words spoken and lot of acting that matters. Until things starts to become clear very slowly half way through the movie the whole plot remains a big mystery with only few hints to hang on to. But having such a simple plot to start with the directory has made a brilliant piece of cinema that viewers would talk about for years to come.

This is by far the best thriller of same sort I have seeing after the Swedish Headhunters (2011). And it’s not a movie to be missed thought it has quite a bit of excessive gore.

Genre: Thriller| Drama | Crime

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Need for Speed (2014) Ratings: Genre 3/4 | Overall 2/5

As there is a common belief that soccer is the universal sport of planet earth if you ask a gamer what is the universal game they would most probably say Need for Speed or NFS.  It’s nearly impossible to find serious gamer who have not played even a single edition of NFS. And for the love of the game the long awaited Need for Speed movie is here and from a gamers perspective it’s everything they can ask for. But from a movie fans perspective there are critical downsides to it. So before you watch this think to which category you belong to. I as a person who played NFS from the very beginning when the game was supported on DOS and had nothing much to offer than pixelated moving objects have no reason to dislike the movie.

The plot is very straight forward. When street racer Tobi Marshall (Aaron Paul) is betrayed and sent to prison he has no other ambition than proving himself right. Once released he find a fast ride and get in to the legendary undercover street race to beat his rival.

For anyone who liked Need for Speed there are definitely two reasons, the nearly fantasy collection of super cars and the long races. That’s right. Need for Speed has some cars that blow your speed brains out. For motor heads its porn and the movie follow its games lead and pump in some really expensive rides. The awesome collection includes 2013 Shelby GT500, Saleen S7, Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, McLaren P1, GTA Spano, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport and Koenigsegg Agera. I’m quite certain that it’s the most expensive car line up in a movie so far ‘if’ they were the real deal. But then again for movies like this with so many of them get crashed at the end the real cars with real specs are out of limits. Apart from the cars the races are quite well done. However as the bar is already set up very high by the all-time king of street race movies Fast and Furious, Need for Speed is lacking some innovation there. But still the races are very entertaining and full of destruction.

Why Need for Speed fails to make a mark as a movie is for obvious reasons. To start with the plot is very lose and utterly impractical. You can say the same about Fast and Furious too but F&F had some charm in the cast (Heavily with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker) that made the fans forgive the movies crappy plot holes. But NFS is lacking that charm and it doesn’t look good. Aaron Paul is a good actor made his way up the ladder with the awesome TV show Breaking Bad but it seems like this role is not something that completely fits him. He is a character actor than an action star and maybe the fans expect more of him than some cheesy lines and pretending to drive inside a car in a studio. So the cast and plot both are not working in favor of the movie and that’s a big letdown.

It’s still too early to predict if Need for Speed will become a big and a good movie franchise in the future if they make a sequel. But at the moment it drags behind few spots on the top street car race movies of all time.

Genre: Action | Crime

Director: Scott Waugh

Sabotage (2014) Ratings: Genre 3/5 | Overall 2/5

It seems like after the comeback of Arnold he is not making any positive headlines. The Last Stand (2013) and Escape Plan (2013) both have being quite dull. And his this year’s supposedly block buster Sabotage is also not making big waves. True that action movies are not for Oscars. But when it comes to Arnold it was used to make some sense. Sabotage is an action + slasher movie hybrid. But the problem is it doesn’t do neither right. There are certain things that make you watch it till the predictable end. But once you’re done you will quickly move over. Yet for serial action movie lovers there are plenty of things to enjoy. But Arnold is not one of them.

The movie is based on a gang of hardcore DEA agents who pulls out a lethal raid on a drug cartel safe house and volt. And after attempting to steal 10 million dollars from it the whole gang goes out of commission and gets investigated by the high up. But after many months the investigation gets cleared and they get reinstated to find out that their team is one by one getting murdered by someone.

While the action part of it is done quite good the whole ridiculous plot and twists makes Sabotage a disaster. There are twists in side twists and when the whole show reveals itself there is not enough juice to fire up the big engine. Maybe if this was straight forward like those good old 80’s action flicks it could have done ok. Or maybe the action and the plot doesn’t fit well together. And the other noticeable element is that Sabotage is over the top gruesome. But sadly that red stuff is not adding value than disgust.

However keeping all that aside the viewers would watch this till the end only because it has this extra pumped action figures and big bullets flying in all directions. Director David Ayer has made sure that those were done right.

Director: David Ayer

Genre: Action | Crime

                

Rob the Mob (2014) Ratings: Genre 4/5 | Overall 3/5

Rob the Mob is a crime drama based on true events surrounding a small time couple who were known as modern day Bonny and Clyde back in the 90’s for their infamous criminal behavior. The movie which has a good flow and a strong performance in acting and in cinematography both is quite entertaining. And it has a very ‘Sopranos’ feeling towards it. While it ends as the most predicted way there is enough drama and events for the viewers to bite until the end. The most prominent factor of success of the Rob the Mob could be its gripping storyline that leaves ample room for speculation expecting that something different would happen.

Tommy (Michael Pitt) and Rosie (Nina Arianda) have always being lovers with too much adventure in their lives. After Tommy goes to prison for attempted robbery Rosie decides that it’s time to change and she does. When Tommy gets released he finds it difficult to live the normal life but tries his best to have a simple life with Rosie working in a small collection agency. But knowing that it’s not what he can do best and ambition of finding some easy get away cash Tommy lays out a plan to rob the Mafia safe social clubs in the area. This crazy couple ends up being one of the most famous criminals in the decade after several successful robberies and ultimately becomes the target of many angry people.

While the plot can easily be a bit more complicated that’s about it. The things are pretty straight forward and there are no hidden twists waiting to happen or unexpected good luck at the end. This makes this movie somewhat mundane and less exiting. But at the same time it lays out a story that is practical and less complicated. And it’s based on true events after all. So the value is anyway there.

Talking of performances both Michael and Nina is explosively good. I have seeing Michael Pitt playing a gangsters role in the famous “Boardwalk Empire”. But it seems like he packs lot more talent and finally it’s discovered by director Raymond De Felitta. His role here is of a complex young man who had a troublesome childhood who looks for ways to correct his past mistakes. But by doing so he ends up in worst trouble. It is acceptable to question if he is out of his mind or if he truly believes that robbing the Mafia is a clever idea. But whatever it is he is persuasive enough to get Rosie involved. On the other hand Rosie is clever but madly in love with Tommy and his life style. Which makes her an accomplice to the crimes but she never doubts Tommy’s plans or intentions.

Overall Rob the Mob is a gripping romantic crime drama. But the straightforwardness makes it less memorable. Other than that I have no complaints.

Genre: Drama | Crime

Director: Raymond De Felitta

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

Zulu (2013) Rating: Genre 3.5/5, Overall 2/5

Zulu starts with a good foundation for a movie based on a crime and investigation theme. However going deep in at some point it loses its momentum. It is not because it becomes poor in performances or production but because it loses its grip of being a strong plot that can be practical. Zulu could have being a different crime drama. But it sticks to some formula that does not completely impress the audience.

Zulu is a South African production which based on two South African police investigators who are investigating a brutal murder of a young white girl. When the investigation precedes it turns larger than murder and their team suffers lethal damages from the hand of drug dealers. Challenged by life and haunted by childhood memories and family backgrounds the two investigators struggles to get the bad guys.

Forest Whitaker and Orlando Bloom play the main roles and performance wise both of them does a fine job at it. However they both are bound by the plot and its limitations become victims of it. Like mentioned before from a certain point the plot slips away and suddenly it starts to feel like some Hollywood action film that runs out of boundaries. Maybe it’s the fault of the director Jérôme Salle who is known for writing of The Tourist (2010 starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie) which reminds me of another sloppy script.

All in all Zulu is not a police crime drama that can remain in the brain. It does a decent job at entertaining. If you like the cast like me you might probably enjoy it a bit more. 

Blow Up (1966) Rating 4/5

There is lot of interest and controversy dragging behind fashion photographers from the day they started to exist. To live a profoundly different life style surrounded with beautiful women and be involved with their passion seems like a kind of living a dream to the observer. However behind all that the main character of Blow Up seems to be packing more things to worry about. Other than the back to back photo shoots in his studio and rushing for property and investment opportunities in his little free time, Thomas pursue his passion of photography in streets and public parks alike. But one day while discretely shooting a couple in a park he must have caught something unexpected on the reel. Events that unfold after this incident instantly change the mood of the movie and the viewer begins a journey of seeking in the dark for a potential murder.

Other than spending time solely on coming to the point, Blow Up spends an enormous portion of the movie to introduce Thomas to the viewer. His behaviors (professionally and privately), his connections and friends, his life style and attitudes are some amongst them. And along with the story line it portrays the urban life style of the 60s that includes rock culture; University culture of the white faced ‘rag’ groups that play havoc on the streets and then some of the night life where young fades away in to cannabis. All of this package comes with mild show of nudity and could have being a very controversial subject at the time a brief threesome. All this creates a mood to the movie and strongly places it in the artistic side of cinema than being commercial.

For me Blow Up was a satisfying movie experience. It has good acting and script coupled with a fare phase to keep me involved. Perhaps it takes too long to enter the real intention of the plot but that phase of emptiness is what creates the real ripples in the viewer’s brain. And the use of signs and expressions is at a good level. Blow Up is a movie that I can visit again after sometime. 

Lost Highway (1997) Rating 3.5/5

This is definitely one of those mind f… movies where you can’t stop thinking about. Honestly it took me some long thinking to build my own theory about it and then reading tons of material from the net to realize that I was a fool. Obviously this movie will break your brain cells and fry your circuits in the first viewing. And movies like this require a second viewing to get somewhere. Having the David Lynch flavor without a drop less this comes very close to be great as Mulholland Drive. (And maybe it’s in par with it when it comes to flow and twist). I won't even try to give you any hints about the plot because no hint can make you prepare for what you’re about to witness. Get ready to get lost in Lost Highway.

Lost Highway (1997) Rating 3.5/5

Now You See Me (2013) Rating 2/5

Now You See Me (2013) Rating 2/5

I expected to see the Illusionist and what do I get? Simply nothing. This movie is a big unpractical scam.  And what’s funny is the only things you can really rely at the end are the magic and whenever it hits the reality its looks like fantasy. I thought magic supposed to be exactly the opposite. If a four member team can take FBI on a ride as it’s shown here and they can actually pull it off this way the director must be pretty hallucinating. And the number of plot holes in this is huge. The only reason a fan might stick with this movie is that with the expectation at the end that there will be some kind of a big twist will put everything at the right place. But closing to the end everything goes wrong one after the other. Sad to say this is a concert hall size flashy disappointment. 

Blue Velvet (1986) Rating -3/5

The David Lynch style of movie making is clearly visible in this piece as well. However it is a question if the movie was effective as much as his proclaimed piece Mulholland Drive. If someone like me expected to see a mind twisting movie like the Mulholland Drive can be somewhat disappointed at the end of this one. But when talking of having moderate expectations Blue Velvet can create some serious ripples in the mind. The story is knitted carefully with a style of mystery right from the beginning. There are visible clues, spooky camera angles, and long moments of silence that all sums up to creating a solid mystery thriller that the viewer would eagerly wait to see how it will conclude, and waiting for that big twist to happen. The letdown is that there is no big twist! However the mind get badly screwed and even after you realize that the story was what it was you still try hard to find out if there was some other meaning to it. This maybe some might call as an empty cinema.  I will not totally go in to that conclusion. But come to think of it the huge drama and hard to witness scenes of the movie sums up to nothing. All in all it has powerful cinematography, wonderful set of songs and strong performances that lets you forget the unexpected ending.

Blue Velvet (1986) Rating -3/5

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

I believe this movie is one of the most plot changing ones I have seeing lately which came from Hollywood. It’s nearly 2 and half hours long and lot happens in that time frame. And in this if you think it’s going to be a straight bike ride to end you are so wrong. It starts at one point evolves in to something completely different very effectively. And the best thing is the lead character takes a spin and handover the ballet to someone else and leaves the scene completely. And you don’t see that happening in most movies and even it does it never happens this well. And for many it can come as a shock and left hanging in limbo. But from that point the story picks up again like a phoenix and gives a solid ride in a complete different story line. This is what makes this movie different and memorable. Maybe you will like the stunt bike riding outlaw or maybe you will like the guy with the badge who faces the life changing experience. Whatever it is this movie has lot more to present than its poster and tagline. Solid acting cast and flow. I would gladly give it a 4.

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) 4/5

Stand Up Guys (2012)

It’s obvious that the creators of this movie want it to be funny while it’s being something criminal. But it fails at both departments. Or it’s too mixed up that some crimes seem funny while some funny things looks like crimes. You can take it whichever the way it is but the bottom line is that it’s a time waster. To be honest I didn't watch it till the end. And I recommend that you don’t start it at all. Peace out!

Stand Up Guys (2012) 1.5/5