Movie Review – Sherlock Jr.

Silently charming and discreetly entertaining

This is not the first movie when it comes to mind, when one wants to get into silent films. However, this could really be a film to get introduced to silent era, because of its length and a fairly interesting plot. ‘Sherlock Jr.’ which runs for fifty minutes totally, ends with making us want more. Even though not as widely known like ‘The General’, this movie too has enough thrills and shows what a master Buster Keaton was, during the silent era.

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More than the story, if it is a Buster Keaton’s film, the thing to look out for is its stunts. Some stunts are unimaginable and some unbelievable. Even though it is all made on a funny note, it does not leave you without a shock. Personally, the train stunt where the two coaches join, shocked me. There may be some clever tricks but nothing was evident. Especially the bike stunts were terrific. It is a shame that he hasn’t got as much credit as Charlie Chaplin. Taking nothing away from Charlie Chaplin but Buster Keaton too is a man who made humor in a prolific manner.

The movie starts with a quote, which says a man could not concentrate on two things simultaneously. If he does he could do neither things perfectly and here I am working and watching and reviewing the movie. God help me. The movie starts with a projectionist (Buster Keaton) who is in love with a beautiful loveable girl (Kathryn McGuire) but a “local sheik” (Ward Crane) acts as a hindrance to them. As Keaton is a man who tries to be detective, he nominates to solve the crime of stolen watch. The Sheik keeps the watch in Keaton’s pocket and makes him get caught. Making the $4 candy box as a proof. Keaton does not really look like Keaton in the changed get up but gets all our sympathy.

The second half is a fantasy where he appears as Sherlock Jr. He gets into onscreen and in his dream, all the characters get changed to real life characters. The thirteen number ball, the falling machete and all the stunts in the second half makes it a thrilling movie. The stunts, needless to say, are excellent. Even though not a full length stunt film, it acts as a nice precursor to ‘The General’ with the introduction of train stunts. Couple of jokes towards the end where he is given speeding ticket for running faster than the traffic police and the four-wheel brake stopping the wheels but not the body were genuinely funny. Good old humor is always funny ain’t it.

In the end, it is all a fairy tale ending, which of course it will be. Those were times when things were not complicated and brought to a sweet end. May be Charlie Chaplin makes us more emotional and gives us a much stronger ending. But, Buster Keaton is a real charming individual when it comes to silent era films. Hope the spirit lives on…

Movie Review – Kerala Cafe

Too many cooks spoil the broth

A film that runs high on ambition and looks to have a novel idea implemented. Whether it’s necessary or not is a question that needs to be asked for. There were a large section of people who had problem with ‘Dasavatharam’ because of the very same reason. It looked like a story written so that the film can accommodate ten Kamal’s, but what it did right was it accommodated ten Kamal’s properly. Whereas in ‘Michael Madhana Kamarajan’ it’s a story which got accentuated because there were four Kamal’s. It would have worked even if four different actors had worked. However, to me, both the films served its purpose. Did ‘Kerala Café’ serve its purpose, is a question to be asked for.

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Nostalgia

Well, really a nothing film which was so plasticky and mundane. Worse than the excuse which Johnykutty (Dileep) utters every now and then. Nothing really works here and the climax dialogue where Sheela (Navya Nair) says its nostalgia and the title card appearing then was just lame.

Island Express

There was hope because it had Prithviraj in it. However, as a non-Malayalee who is used to seeing only his great movies, this feature was so bad, be it the getup, dialogue delivery or even the story, which hardly settles in. This part actually makes us feel whether he could do this bad a role.

Lalitham Hiranmayam

Another horrible story and horrible acting, which felt childish. Never have I liked Suresh Gopi’s acting but this story took it to a level above. In addition, the story did not really work at all. For a wife and mistress story, it needs Dostoevsky level of artistry but it ends up being a TR level film.

Mrityunjayam

‘Mrityunjayam’ has a pretty plastic acting to start with and a premise, which would at least give short time chills but ends up doing nothing apart from showing bad graphics. Another loser.

Happy Journey

A reasonable story with some pretty solid acting by Nithya Menon. But, again, the production value was bad and the film looked very amateurish. May be it’d be a good film for a ‘Nalaya Iyakunar’ level of filmmaking but as a feature film with pro actors, it’s not up to the mark.

Aviraamam

It is a story of a businessman Ravi (Siddique) who’s on verse of suicide because of his debts. Although that part of the film does not work, Devi’s (Shwetha Menon) glam act evokes some interest in the film. If Siddique too had acted better, the chemistry would have been wonderful.

Off-season

An over the top story with over the top acting by Suraj Venjarammood. This could be a good story to read in a paper you get while you have Bajji from teashop but nothing more than that. Neither the jokes work, nor the setting.

Bridge

By far the best story and the only story with conviction. Even that did not have great acting but the setting and the way two story mingles with each other in such short span of time is something to be appreciated of. Even when the film ends and all the characters go out of Kerala Café, it is the granny and the kitten sitting who sit outside of it, evoke sympathy from us.

Makal

It is another mundane story, which works reasonably well thanks to its nativity. The climax was guessable, even though bad, it gave a little respite because it had a twist. If not for it, the impact would have been even lesser.

Puram Kazchakal

A story, which could have been better if it had been given some time but Mammootty does a fabulous job in keeping us, interested. If it had been made a full-length feature like ‘Munnariyippu’ may be the story would have got more time to evolve. Anyways the last three stories makes for not so bad ending to the anthology.

Movie Review – Striker

Red and follow

It’s probably a movie which no one watched when it released, even though released the same day in YouTube, not many are aware of it. Moreover, I had kept it in dumps for past ten years. Finally, I got to watch this gem of a movie. First thing, anyone would notice while watching the movie is its uncanny resemblance to ‘Vada Chennai’, which is hailed as one of the greatest films in Tamil cinema. It does not feel like a mere coincidence, not even an inspiration but something that looks to have been ripped off from the ‘Striker’

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However, what ‘Striker’ does is much more organic and much more earthed when compared to ‘Vada Chennai’. Of course, it cannot me mere coincidence that the protagonist is a carom player, gets mixed up with things in the neighborhood, with local goons etc. That does not stop there, Surya (Siddharth Narayan) and Zaid (Ankur Vikal) even go to a tank top to have a beer, much like how Dhanush takes Aishwarya to tank top in ‘Vada Chennai’. Not all these can be mere coincidence. In addition, the filmmaking is much more earthed and neat when compared to ‘Vada Chennai’ where it is all clumsy with lot of characters and storylines being introduced in first few minutes. The clumsiness was needless. Just because it’s Vetrimaran who is now termed as an intelligent director, not many say anything against his film, that makes us feel stupid. ‘Vada Chennai’ was needless confusing in its storytelling. It could have been far simpler.

But, what I like about ‘Striker’ is that Surya is a commoner and remains so till the end of the movie. The unheroic portrayal is not something we usually see in the cinema. Even though Dhanush is no one and gets constantly ridiculed, even by the heroine, we know that it’s a ticking time bomb, a cracker which is about to fire any time. When he walks out of the hall in the end, there would have been a rapturous welcome and a thunderous response but here Siddharth lets it all go and remains a commoner till the end and even beyond it. Siddharth’s inability to have a great screen presence plays to his advantage here as he is always seen as someone vulnerable and not a don who is about to rise. Something, which Dhanush couldn’t emulate in ‘Vada Chennai’, for we always, know that he’s going to rise, just that we don’t know when. May be people who defend ‘Vada Chennai’ are gonna say that the story is about how he became don but my point is that even if he wanted to make a faithful remake of Striker, ‘Dhanush’ for the sake of better word, couldn’t have played a commoner. He’s still an unsympathetic hero who hides behind the face of a commoner.

Apart from the character arc, what Striker does is, the way it beautifully evolves the story and doesn’t fiddle with the Hindu Muslim sentimentality. It’s shown on the face and thankfully so. And the beauty is, it doesn’t take sides and let us too. Generally when the movie doesn’t take a stand it looks all plasticky but here it’s normal. People are only worried about their immediate problems and not what’s happening outside.

Also the sports template of the film was superbly used. There were various tense moments unlike ‘Vada Chennai’ where only a couple of dialogues and a shot to use in trailer and for hero introduction in the film were used. Here in ‘Striker’ it is a proper carom film. However, it does not take rags to riches story like a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Carrom is a metaphor in the movie. A lot happens around it, with it, but there is not a proper start and conclusion of carrom. As much as Surya is interested in carrom at no point do we see him regretting not playing carrom anymore. It is just a passage of time where he plays, not plays and again plays. It is something he is good at it but does not own his life to. A generic problem which sports films do, where it cries out loud literally, attributing to a specific incident due to which the protagonist stops playing a sport, it could be due his father’s death, sister not getting married, not getting job etc. It is not as simple and definitive in life.

It is a shame that the movie did not get enough recognition. Especially people in Mumbai would have identified the film to be much rooted to the otherwise glamourized account of Dharavi and underworld. Siddharth does a fair jobs but the sidekicks are fabulous, especially Ankur Vikal, it’s because of him the film takes so much twists and turn but luckily the story doesn’t get judgmental on his character and we’re not made to hate him. That is the sheer beauty of it.

Movie Review – Synecdoche, New York

An unmeasurable excellence amidst a pleasurable anxiety

Some movies get to you right from the word go, some even before that. ‘Synecdoche, New York’ is one such movie. If you ask me to explain the movie, I’ll terribly fail. But, the impact it leaves behind is terrific. It is not at all an easy movie to watch. If PTA pushes us into a certain form of depression, Charlie Kaufman, takes it to a level above. PTA is my personal favorite but Charlie Kaufman is someone who I hold high regards. And, the fact that there was Philip Seymour Hoffman, my favorite ever Hollywood actor there in the movie, one couldn’t really couldn’t find out whether it’s a PTA or a Charlie Kaufman movie.

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Charlie Kaufman is such a household name when it comes to complex writings. His writings are meticulous and keeps us tense. Also interests and stimulates our intellect. That’s what differentiates his writing from the rest. He is so famous that the films that he had written, but directed by someone else, is still known as his film. Not many screenwriters have that much acknowledgment for their work. Not even Paul Schrader whose ‘Raging Bull’ story is widely known. In spite of it, it is still known as a Scorsese film.

Generally a Charlie Kaufman movie, even though sad, could be identified by a definitive wit, be it ‘Being John Malkovich’, ‘Adaptation’, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, to name a few. Also all these movies are tense. Not stifling but tense, it keeps you hooked. That’s the beauty of it. Spike Jonze made it look so approachable and entertaining for the audience. That is why they both are a deadly combination. That’s why the first two movies in the list above are gems of cinema.

If Charlie Kaufman is a phenomenon, Philip Seymour Hoffman is another kind. The authenticity he lends to movies, especially PTA’s are unexplainable. And, the way he owns the film, even otherwise, like a ‘Capote’ is some work of art. For a film like ‘Syendoche, Newyork’ he is the perfect foil, as a dazed and confused individual who could not be guessed.

The beauty of the movie is its complexity. Not really a criteria for being great movie or something I appreciate of easily. If it is a meditatively complex movie like a Tarkvosky movie or a setting wise complex movie like a Nolan’s its different. He is a mix of both. There are a few Tarkvoskian moments as well as few Nolanisque moments and in addition to it, there are few trademark Charlie Kaufman moments too like the scene where Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) cries after applying tear-inducing liquid in his eyes.

The film is complex not only in the story but also structurally, literally. There are certain set pieces where you cannot see the start and end. Certain set pieces where you cannot find which the sets are and which are sets within sets. This is what complexity is all about, not ‘Inception’, which is far more literal. Not complaining about it as its one of the best commercial thrillers but ‘Synecdoche, New York’ makes us think, even post the movie.  Even though it’s a play which Caden directs. This could suit the film in film category. Until this point, ‘Day for Night’ was the best one in the category but ‘Synecdoche, New York’ outsmarts it.

It’s one of the movies, which scores right from the title. ‘Synecdoche’ is not a word, which people usually hear of, but its one apt title. Very few movies have a title, which truly explains about the movie. Explaining the synecdoche phenomenon is as tough as explaining the film and that’s the beauty of it. Whatever we try to interpret from the film goes round and round. I guess this movie would be great for film analysis and film studies. Dissecting the movie could be a dream for any film enthusiast.

Movie Review – 5 Sundarikal

Tad too much, Tad too ambitious

Anthology films are always fun and entertaining, especially when a number of directors collaborate. ‘Lust Stories’ was a prime example of that in recent times, which superbly took a topic which would surely sell and the film being an OTT release, the makers had more liberty with the content. The very title gave a scare that it’d be feminist film but luckily it was not. It was about five different females and what happen in their life. With few, the idea was good but execution was bad. With others, making was good and story was poor. Few had done both right and few had both wrong.

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Sethulakshmi

By far the best of the short stories. Eclectic acting by the kids as well as the photographer (Guru Somasundaram). It starts in a feel good way with a hint of sadness like Iranian films. Sethulakshmi (Baby Anikha) and her close friend (Chethan Jayalal) go to a photographer to take photos of themselves. Sethulakshmi has a weird habit of collecting couples photos from newspaper, which was a great touch by the way. Kids are always up to stupid things and have these weird habits. So, it was nice of the director to make use of that. Guru Somasundaram as photographer was terrific with villainy just oozing out of him. The last shot was an epic one.

Isha

With the titles appearing after ‘Sethulaskhmi’ my expectations of the movie increased a lot. It’s only after ‘Sethulakshmi’ does the title appear. ‘Isha’ had a plasticky opening and the story too was kind of far-fetched. No matter what she does, Isha Sharvani always reminds me of ‘David’ and “Kanave Kanave” song. And, her role here too was similar. Jinu/Santa (Nivin Pauly) is a thief and Isha (Isha Sharvani) seduces him. Until the climax part, it was a great story but the climax twist spoilt it. Nivin was fabulous as a hesitant lover boy. His blushes would make any girl go weak in her knees.

Gauri

It’s quite unclear as to what the film tries. There was a bit of sadness in the film right from the start and hesitance in their daily life. Gauri (Kavya Madhavan) and Jonathan Antony (Biju Menon) are couples who supposedly married without the consent of their parents. They seem to be living a fairy tale life. The servant (Shine Tom Chacko) looks kind of weird right from the start. Was that a hint that he had done something to his master? It’s quite unclear. But, anyways the whole film didn’t work. It was just too showy.

Kullante Bharya

The film has a ‘Rear Window’ kind of theme, like a tribute to the film. Dulquer appears as a nameless person with cast and does not have any dialogue to utter but holds our interest through the narration. The story gives an ‘In the Mood for Love’ feel but unfortunately, the making is not good. Partly it has to be attributed to bad setting. If the place and lights had been used more efficiently, this story could have been a great mood piece. Both Kullan (Jinu Ben) and Kullante Bharya (Reenu Mathews) were really good in their roles, especially Reenu Mathews. Again, the melodramatic end was something which spoilt the film. It was all too sudden and unnecessary. This was the only part, I wished, could have been an entire feature film.

Aami

An overdone Fahadh Faasil story. It is a one-man show and everything relies on him. His look was different and he does a typical psycho, which has now become overbearing. Good that the morality check was not done for this part of the story but I sincerely feel that he’d die the next day. It tries to give a punch with the storyline but feels too plasticky in the end.

A film, which almost all the top stars and famous directors in it, ought to have been greater than this. If not ‘Wild Tales’ level at least it should have been ‘Silu karupatti’ level but it falls short of it severely. If not for the first film, ‘5 Sundarikal’ is a disaster. And my order would be Gauri < Aami < Isha < Kullante Bharya < Sethulakshmi

Movie Review – The Ghost Writer

Too great for comfort

Sometimes great films are just boring. Like Kohli playing ODI cricket, which off late has become a riskless, impeccable work of art where he always hits through the line of the ball and drives down the ground. It is not that he can hit out of the park, which he can do anytime possible but all he wants is to reduce the risk and be there in the middle. ‘The Ghostwriter’ falls in that category, something like a ‘Moneyball’ or a ‘Margin Call’ did where you can’t cut the tension through knife but get only sucked by it.

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Both ‘Moneyball’ and ‘Margin Call’ are great films but not something that makes us curious, gets us elated but just fine art for the specific storyline. ‘The Ghostwriter’ too is in the same way, not even a single scene makes you jolt up from your seat, there is no scene where you want to clap hands and say “Atta boy” but just painfully witness the drama getting unfolded. There is an inbuilt tension but it’s carefully built in and doesn’t spread. Like how you feel when you get stuck in a situation. It’s only you who feel tensed, the whole world outside is normal.

When even my normal days are stifling enough, it was a very tedious watch for me. ‘Uncut Gems’ was the last film which I enjoyed for the tension. Even though it was tense, and even though it ends negatively, it gave be immense satisfaction of being high on a drug, doing some mischief but here I was not sure what I was feelings. All the emotions were kept at check and it was very difficult to read Ewan McGregor’s face too. This film could be one of the greatest exercise for an actor who has to underplay the whole film and would not be noticed in spite of such long screen space. Ewan McGregor does it to perfection.

And I’ve always felt that Pierce Brosnan would be great in negative role and I guess that’s the characteristic which worked perfectly for his Bond roles. So, with whatever little screen space he gets, he and the director, both, makes us feel as if it’s a film about him. And, that’s the success of his role. Apart from that, the sidekicks, Olivia Williams as Ruth Lang, Lang’s wife and Kim Cattrall as Amelia Bly, Lang’s personal assistant were great. They were eclectic in their role and performed to perfection with an air of confidence and attitude revolving around them. Performances like these are always a treat to watch. Personally, Olivia Willams was my favorite of the lot. The way she reacts to news and sits in bed was so upper class with an English attitude.

With such beautiful acting, the movie should have been far more intriguing. Something what Spielberg does to perfection after all these years but Polanski misses the trick here. ‘Chinatown’ was classy enough in this genre and that should be the limit till which the films information should be kept to minimal. Anything more than that would spoil it. Here the entire action is behind the screen. All the while, the Ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) gets involved in the scheme of things, we think only about Lang (Ewan McGregor) and that’s underwhelming.

Even in the climax it’s the powerful who win. As practical as it could be, it’s kind of depressing too. But it’s a film where we couldn’t empathize with Ewan because we see the whole film like a news article and nothing more than that. The film had a typical series kind of setup, which I couldn’t define as to why and I watched the film without knowing that it’s by Polanski, maybe that’s why I’m trying to defend even though I didn’t like it. May be, if I had not known it is by Polanski, I would have blasted it off. The dilemma, these greats give, duh!

Movie Review – Sulemani Keeda

Rom com gone wrong

Even though I did not know head or tails about the movie, my expectations went high because of ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’, which I had watched a couple of Sundays back. Coincidentally, I didn’t have any expectations out of ‘Tu Hai Mera Sunday’ then, but it ended up to be one awesome movie which feels lovely even when I think about it now. So ‘Sulemani’ giving that kind of vibe and being an independent film, I thought it’d be similar to that. But, turned out to be something way different.

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The initial butt cleavage act gets us all reminded of ‘Delhi Belly’ but that’s that. The fun is fairly limited to just the opening sequences. Otherwise, it’s an overdone quirky film which looks lame. This is what happens when the sarcasm is too strong, we think that’s reality. I didn’t know the title meaning of ‘Sulemani Keeda’ to be Pain in the Ass but whether or not the film felt true to the title, Mainak (Mayank Tewari) did. He was such an irritating bastard. May be that’s the idea, to irritate the ass out of audience but he did so much so that I started hating the sight of him.  Much similar to how I felt while watching ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’. There are certain irritating characters we relish and certain ones, which get stronger than that and irritate us instead. Both these films fall under that category.

If Mainak is pain in the ass in one way, Dulal (Mayank Tewari) is even more so. He’s the loser which films don’t show. In films, either they go ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ way or ‘American Mind’ kind of way. No in between. Even if loser, they’d be adored or sympathized with. But, here we see Agmark loser whom no one would like. It’s a pity that Ruma (Aditi Vasudev) likes him. I thought the film would take traditional route post that but luckily it doesn’t. It stays true to its nature and remains quirky.

Another story line involves another asshole in the form of Gonzo (Karan Mirchandani) who shows off his penis in his introduction scene. And talks about making a Tarkovskian movie with orgies. Quite coincidentally, I had just watched ‘Ivan’s Childhood’ before this movie. Imagine how my mindset would have been. All I wanted was to forget life with a fun movie and sleep peacefully. Even if it had been a depressing movie it’d have been okay, because all I wanted was to forget my life and get tired before I sleep but even that got spoilt because of this film. Guess the director wanted to make fun of pseudo intellectuals but the film ended up to be a joke on himself.

The jokes really did not work except for making fun of Mahesh Bhatt and the characters went overboard to be quirky which only ended up being irritating. Thanks to Ruma for being the only sane character who looked both lovely and charming. Even the way she rejected him was so sweet. Just that the practical nature of the film spoilt the feel. ‘Sulemani Keeda’ for the sake of better work was really pain in the ass.

Movie Review – Ivan’s Childhood

POW (Poetry of War)

It is a shame that I had to watch the film in mobile. If anyone is thinking of watching this movie in mobile, get that thought out of your mind right away. Because with Tarkovsky movies it’s all about imagery, so see, the 4:3 ratio film in just a four to five inch screen doesn’t do justice at all. Everything looks like a miniature. The wide angles, the deep focuses, the fluidic camerawork, nothing really works in a mobile. One needs to have an immersive feel to watch a movie like this and that doesn’t happen in small screen. Wish this movie had an IMAX release; it would have been lovely that way.

Being a Tarkovsky fan, I was expecting to like the film much more, like the experience of watching the film, even though one doesn’t get exactly as to what happens, the feel of a Tarkovsky’s film is immeasurable. I couldn’t say in words the joy of watching a ‘Stalker’ or ‘Solaris’. Both being perfect movies in their genre. Deeply meditative and extremely intricate in filmmaking. This too had great filmmaking techniques but didn’t work as much as the above two films.

But the reason it didn’t work is quite unclear. Because my first impression of Tarkovsky was terrible. I guess I started with ‘Mirror’ which I didn’t understand head or tails of it. However, it’s not a Tarkovsky film, which I felt guilty of not understanding. It’s actually ‘Stalker’, which got me into the grove. When I did not understand ‘Stalker’ I remember asking my friend, whether I will ever be able to understand a Tarkovsky movie. But, upon re-watching I understood how to watch a Tarkovsky movie. I guess that would require a separate lesson. It’s all about the feel, like a drug, for some it works, for some it doesn’t. Whether it’s good or bad, its up to the individual to decide.

The problem that I had with ‘Ivan’s Childhood’ is that, it was a much simpler film of Tarkovsky, of course beautiful but was not a tough watch like ‘Mirror’. If I had to re-watch ‘Mirror’, my conscience would accept that exercise to be worth of, but when I think about ‘Ivan’s Childhood’, which had a definite narrative, that’s where it gets tough to accept whether it was so intricate that it has to be watched again.

All said and done, even though ‘Ivan’s Childhood’ does not go down the memory lane as an impressive feature of Tarkovsky. There were certain imageries that were beautiful, especially the kiss, that sequence could be separately taken out and submitted to any film festivals. Such was its beauty. In addition, it is hard to not notice how pleasing to eyes the camera movements are, in a Tarkovsky film is, the way it slowly pans and the shot having a meaningful start and end.  

Movie Review – Madras Cafe

A solid political thriller that grows with time

As this film was by Shoojit Sircar, it immediately caught my attention but turned out to be different from his usual feel good humane movies. The film took its own sweet time to settle, very much like intense Hollywood thrillers in the line of ‘Syriana’ but could not carry on the impact like that. The intensity and seriousness ‘Syriana’ brings in is something phenomenal, which ‘Madras Café’ could not achieve, even though it tries extremely hard to. However, what looks mundane initially, gradually grows on to become a decent thriller, even if not completely satisfying.

Madras Café stars with John Abraham in beard, where he looks hopeless. But, thankfully, his bearded avatar lasts only for few minutes. Then he gets called up to go to Sri Lanka. Due to various geo political stands, the situation in Sri Lanka gets grim. Vikram Singh (John Abraham) meets war correspondent Jaya Sahni (Nargis Fakhri) first up and finds a way to go to meet the rebels. His senior, Bala (Prakash Belawadi) and he develop a friction right away. But, given the nature of film, it isn’t greatly highlighted. Coming from Shoojit Sircar, it is really something, that he chose to make a film without emotions, in docu drama style. But, unfortunately it is not as classy as one would except or not as stylish something like the latter part of ‘Talvar’ which was unique on its own.

No matter what, Prakash Belwadi always performs his role to perfection. Such a fine actor. John Abraham even though occupies a lot of screen space, does not get a chance to emote. Even when his wife gets killed or he gets tortured, it’s nothing major. It feels just like one of the headlines in first page in some corner, which you usually miss. May be that is the intention of Shoojit Sircar. He did not want to really bring the emotions out of individuals. He wanted it to be a film firm on politics.

As hot she was, Nargis Fakhri’s role was irritating. The other officials looked proper in whatever scenes they acted. Nice casting I must say. One good thing about the film is that the film doesn’t take sides and it’s fairly neutral. Even if you see the story inclined to some part, it looks organic and doesn’t look like something which forces audience to see only one part of the story. In addition, the politics plays an important part, much more than human lives and their emotions.

Generally, Shoojit Sircar is a man with clear vision. Because it’s not easy to make a film like ‘October’. Even a ‘Piku’ or ‘Vicky Donor’ is doable but ‘October’ is not at all an easy film to envision. So, when he said that he wanted to show the raw face of RAW men, I was taken aback. I thought the intention of this film was to be politics, not necessarily ugly politics but politics. Because that’s how the film looked, devoid of any emotions. ‘Kuruthipunal’ fits the definition of what Shoojit Sircar says. Madras Café as a standalone film does a decent job in being a tense, getting on your nerves type of thriller but if it has to be considered a humane film, it so is not.

Movie Review – About Time

About Perfect

Some movies are magical isn’t it? Just the way it happens. Especially these not so great movies, which is not widely recommended. The way they give a pleasant surprise rather than that shocking sweeping of the feet emotion is so sweet. Just like hearing an old song after a long time in a radio when you least expect it, making us wonder how sweet life is. ‘About Time’ was one such movie which was like that, lying in my HDD for a really long time and me avoiding it just for the title because of my aversion to Sci-Fi’s, but boy, how well did it turn out to be.

‘About Time’ has everything to like about. Just the way it starts with Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) introducing his family. How lovely they’re. Not a single person overdoing what’s more than necessary. It has a lovely English countryside setting. Cornwall to be precise. Which looks like a dream itself. Much like how Corsica works in ‘Tamasha’. However, the thing here is instead of the setting being a cocky English one, it’s nice and laidback, they don’t show that they’re English every now and then. It is not a period flick or a movie like ‘Trainspotting’ or a ‘Kes’ where the culture plays an important factor. Here in the movie, they live in Cornwall, that’s that, nothing more, nothing less. Otherwise, who wouldn’t remove an underwear for a bed and breakfast honeymoon in Scotland, I’d remove it even in the middle of the road for it.

The movie is a romantic one first and Sci fi next, much unlike what we expect from the title. That’s the privilege of not knowing anything about the movie and being sure that only the best movies stay in HDD because it’s your friends who recommended it. After a short intro where we get to know of Tim’s family, we know the gift he has. However, the time travel is as simple as his dad, James (Bill Nighy) explains. Just close your fist, go to a dark place and go to a place you wishes, only in the past that is. Much like how Harry Potter tries to go to Diagon Alley. Time quickly gets hold of it. Now, comes the best part. What does his father go back in time and do. Read Dickens, time and again! Now, that’s something so romantic that even Woody Allen couldn’t think of. So naturally, when Tim says he’d be after money, his dad effortlessly shoos him off. With that we get to know that it’s not going to be some lifesaving bullshit like other Sci-Fi’s, it’s not an edge of seat thriller because what he goes after is nothing fancy, just plain old love. And, that’s what got me hooked to the movie.

Then comes the biggest moment of the film. It’s completely personal, may be it wouldn’t have been this impactful if I had not watched, ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, that too in theatres. Margot Robbie. One word. Sexy. ‘About Time’ had me at that moment. That brief moment where she stays in Cornwall would be enough to use all the powers of time travel to go back do her back repeatedly, you see the fumble of Tim when she says that, I totally get it. Just the name of her, sends chills down the spine. Naturally, it was so disappointing when he/us gets to know something is never meant to happen. Even when she appears second time, first as gay, then straight, then may be naughtily bi, it was an icing on cake. If you are Mary (Rachel McAdams) and if your guy rejects a hot thing like Charlotte (Margot Robbie), don’t even think twice about marrying him. That’s like the most difficult thing a specimen in manhood can do.

Another sweet thing about the movie is the ladies, or anyone who’s powerless or without their knowledge on time travel. Both the Mary’s especially. They don’t get any hint or try to know about it. They’re happily normal. Only Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson) knows about it through her brother. What I thought would be a recipe for disaster, wasn’t after all. She keeps her secret too. Therefore, you see, at no point of time, does the film become edge of seat.

Finally, the film celebrates the unscientific part of movie too. And, how they actually use their powers to have tea, play ping pong and flick stones in the sea. And, not try to invent some funny drug or meet Nixon. The post marriage rain sequence was one of the best optimistic scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. It could have been a perfect recipe for disaster but the way they adore it, I felt ashamed. I thought how horrible I’d have felt thinking about it, if such a thing had happened with me.

It is easier to say to take every new day as something amazing but this film actually makes us feel so. After Tim incorporates his father’s second suggestion and goes back to first, there is a sense of fulfilment, which, not many films could give.