Rajeev Masand – movies that matter : from bollywood, hollywood and everywhere else

September 25, 2009

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz

Director: Woody Allen

Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a likeable enough romantic-comedy filmed in the gorgeous Spanish city referred to in the movie’s title.

Rebecca Hall stars as the prudish Vicky, and Scarlett Johansson as her saucy best friend Cristina. The girls head to Barcelona for the summer, where they’re approached by hunky Spanish artist Juan Antonio (played by Javier Bardem) who announces his desire to whisk them off for a weekend in which the three of them will eat, drink, feast on art, and make love.

Vicky, who is sensible and practical and engaged already, scoffs at the proposal. Cristina, on the other hand, always up for adventure, jumps at it. Expectedly, both girls fall for him. But before you can say the word ‘love-triangle’, in walks Juan’s eccentric ex-wife Maria Elena (played by Penelope Cruz), and the sexual permutations become even more complicated.

Held together by a witty script that essentially explores the mystery of what makes men and women tick, both in good times and bad, the film has a pleasing pace, and comes packed with the kind of smart dialogue you’ve come to expect from a Woody Allen picture.

One of my favourite lines is delivered by Cristina who’s so impatient about getting under she sheets with Juan Antonio that she exasperatedly tells him: “If you don’t start undressing me soon, this is going to turn into a panel discussion.”

The film, however, belongs to Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, whose scenes together are the best here. Watching them trade barbs in Spanish is literally akin to watching sparks fly.

Cruz won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in this film, and it’s not hard to see why. She switches effortlessly between Spanish and English, she has an untamed ferociousness in her scenes with Bardem, and when she kisses Scarlett Johansson you’ll have to stop yourself from climbing up on your seat for a better view. Cruz turns Maria Elena into the most exciting character you’ve seen on screen in a long time.

Lusciously photographed,Love it may not be one of Woody Allen’s finest films. But it’s very watchable nevertheless.

Three out of five for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. This is one sexy little cracker you don’t want to miss.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 25, 2009

Cast: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, Maggie Gylenhaal

Director: Sam Mendes

Away We Go, directed by Sam Mendes is a sweet little film about a happy but more-or-less unprepared couple awaiting the birth of their first child. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star as Burt and Verona, unmarried thirty somethings who’ve settled down within a short distance of Burt’s parents, only to discover that the selfish grandparents-to-be are selling the house and relocating to Belgium.

No reason for Burt and Verona to live in Colorado anymore, so they decide to go on a tour of friends and relatives across North America, in search of the perfect place to raise their unborn kid.

A delicate balance between a comedy and a poignant drama, Away We Go is structured as a road movie, with much of the film’s charm derived from the chemistry between the leads who learn important life-lessons at every stop they make.

There are laughs to be had from such caricaturish but comical characters as the loud-mouthed monster-mother (played by Allison Janney) and her understandably dysfunctional family in Arizona, and the New Age feminist academic (played by Maggie Gylenhaal) and her similarly self-righteous husband in Wisconsin.

It’s the sentimental interludes that stick out it in this film – like that silly scene in Tuscon between Verona and her sister in a bathtub, in which we learn that she hasn’t yet come to terms with her parents’ death. Or that scene in a Montreal nightclub in which their friends, a seemingly perfect couple, reveal to Burt and Verona the chink in their otherwise perfect lives.

In the end though, the film is a warm, old-fashioned morality tale about the importance of family and home; about raising one’s kids in this mad, mad world, and about expressing your feelings.

I’m going with three out of five for Away We Go; it’s a good film about good people. Not nearly as smart as the director’s previous films – Revolutionary Road and American Beauty, which dealt with the breakdown of the American family – but an inspiring and engaging watch nonetheless.

Watch it at after a long, tiring day at work; you’ll find it’s inherently comforting.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 18, 2009

Cast: Voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

Director: Pete Docter

The new Pixar offering Up, released both in 3D and 2D, blends inventive animation with old-fashioned values to deliver a dazzling and exhilarating family adventure that is impossible not to love.

The film’s hero, Carl Fredricksen, is a grumpy seventy-something year-old with creaking bones, who we first meet at the age of eight as a geeky kid with a yen for adventure. When little Carl meets Ellie, a sprightly young girl with exactly the same passions, they form a bond. In a long, wordless montage, we see their lives play out. They dream of all the real-life adventures they’ll have when they grow up; they marry and settle into their home; life takes over and the money they’re saving for their dream-trip to Paradise Falls in South America gets spent in fixing their home. Ellie passes eventually, and Carl is left alone.

Returning to present day, the film follows Carl as he decides to escape eviction and subsequent relocation to an old-age home by planning a daring escape. Tying thousands of colourful helium balloons to his beloved house, he takes off for Paradise Falls, hoping to have the kind of adventure Ellie and he always dreamed of.

There’s just one problem though, Carl discovers – an eight-year-old boy-scout Russel has joined him on this trip. Over-enthusiastic and persistent, Russel is the perfect foil for Carl’s crankiness. Together they head out for an adventure neither of them had predicted. An adventure that involves talking dogs, a rare multicoloured bird who loves chocolate, and Carl’s childhood hero who turns on them.

Rich in colour and minutely detailed, Up is a consummate visual extravaganza that’s grounded in real emotion. Like the best Pixar films, this one too subtly touches upon several important themes – the frailties of our heroes, preservation of our wildlife, and the importance of friendship over materialistic attachments.

It’s a film for adults and children alike, who take away different things from the experience, but who will be united in their sheer excitement over the spectacle of this unlikely adventure.

I’m going with four out of five and two big thumbs-up for Up; a simple enough entertainer that doesn’t have to try too hard to woo you.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 11, 2009

Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth
Director: Shamim Sharif

I Can’t Think Straight, written and directed by Shamim Sharif, is a lesbian love story, but one that’s stereotypical in its plot and amateurish in its treatment.

Lisa Ray stars as Tala, the daughter of a Jordanian tycoon, who’s been engaged four times and all set to take the plunge with her current boyfriend when she meets Leyla, a British-Indian writer (played by Sheetal Sheth) with whom she develops a fast friendship. Before you can say Ellen, the two ladies are locked in loving embrace, their friendship having quickly turned into love. Disposing off the men in their lives isn’t so much the problem for these ladies, as is their concern over coming out to their conservative families. While one does it in a quick, harsh blow, the other takes her time over it, thus alienating herself from her lover.

A clumsy kitchen-sink drama with hilariously bad acting from everyone involved, I Can’t Think Straight wastes too much time on scenes in which characters engage in dispassionate conversations about religion and politics. The coming-out scenes are poorly scripted and embarrassingly performed, and the film’s one sole merit is the sensitive handling of the relationships between both protagonists and their fathers.

At an hour and twenty minutes, it’s not a difficult watch; but the film fails to touch a chord because there’s no real dramatic conflict at all, making it hard to feel either sympathy or great affection for the leads.

I’m going with two out of five and an average rating for writer-director Shamim Sharif’s I Can’t Think Straight; it’s bland, boring, and at best an unintentionally amusing love story. Surely lesbians deserve better..?

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 11, 2009

Cast: Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler

Director: Robert Luketic

A low-brow romantic comedy filled with predictable jokes, The Ugly Truth stars Grey’s Anatomy‘s Katherine Heigl as Abby Richter, a whiny, control-freak television producer who’s forced to work with a boorish, sexist Neanderthal, Mike Chadway (played by Gerard Butler) when her show’s ratings begin to dip. Coming off a hit late-night show on cable television in which he dishes out lewd relationship advice to women, Chadway represents everything she hates. And yet, before you know it, she’s happily taking tips from him to seduce the man she’s got a crush on.

Chadway’s advice to her can be summed up as this: dress like a slut, laugh at his foolish jokes, don’t talk about yourself, and accept the fact that he’s only interested in your body. The screenplay demands that our prissy heroine not only fall for brutish Chadway, but also embrace his twisted world-view.

The Ugly Truth is not only misogynistic it’s also not very funny. The comedy is derived from silly gags like falling off a tree while peeping into the home of a handsome neighbor, wearing a pair of vibrating panties to a business dinner, and eating a hot dog suggestively.

If that’s your idea of comedy, perhaps you’ll enjoy this film. If you have better taste though, give this one a pass. It’s not an unwatchable film, it’s just not worth watching if you ask me. Two out of five for The Ugly Truth; what’s shocking is that three women are credited as the writers of this regressive film. What’s that they say about women being women’s worst enemies..?

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 11, 2009

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt

Director: Neill Blomkamp

The best sci-fi thriller you’ve seen in years, District 9 takes such mega-budget crap as Transformers 2 and GI Joe and rubs their faces in mud. Helmed by South African-born writer-director Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, this is edge-of-the-seat entertainment with a sociopolitical message — a cerebral blockbuster if you like.

Now here’s the film’s plot: In the 1980s, an enormous spaceship suddenly stopped over Johannesburg city, and its inhabitants, instead of launching a hostile attack, had to be relieved from their stranded vehicle and accommodated on earth. Far away from human population, a refugee camp known as District 9 was created for these crustacean-like aliens, who have since come to acquire the derogatory nickname, “prawns”.

Cut to the present day. A private company, MNU is put in charge of evicting the aliens from District 9 which has turned into something of a slum over the years. The officer in charge of eviction and relocation, Wikus van der Merwe (played by first-timer Sharlto Copley) fails to take precautions during the evacuation and becomes infected with alien DNA.

The movie obviously stirs thoughts of the old South African apartheid system, especially in the manner in which the prawns are portrayed as trapped between a private-contract army that breaks into their homes at will, and an underworld of Nigerian gangsters who exploit them. Yet the film never turns into a lecture on tolerance; the message is out there but you’re never pounded on the head with it.

District 9 is more engaging than most sci-fi films because it adopts a docudrama approach to the unraveling of its story, and because it’s never overwhelmed by its own special effects like most films of this genre invariably are.

The stars of this film are always its characters. Like Wikus, for one, who goes from nerdy but confident bureaucrat to helpless prawn-in-the-making. Or Christopher, the alien scientist who’s been secretly working on a plan with his son to get back on the mothership. Their unlikely friendship forms the exciting third act of this film which reminds you, in case you’ve forgotten, that you’re watching an action blockbuster after all — there’s enough bullets flying, blood splattering, and big explosions to make hardcore fans very happy.

Like all good films, this one too works because it’s a compelling drama that’s driven by its characters. As a sci-fi saga, it never compromises on spectacle value, and still succeeds in staying smart.

I’m going with four out of five and two big thumbs up for District 9. Even if you’re not a sci-fi fan, you’ll still enjoy this one.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)

September 11, 2009

Cast: Voices of Eljiah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, John C Reilly, Martin Landau

Director: Shane Acker

Animation film 9, directed by Shane Acker, is a bleak apocalyptic tale in which a ragtag group of doll-like creatures appear to be the only survivors on a ruined landscape that’s obliterated of humans. These creatures have survived a horrible devastation in which the world’s technology and machinery attacked mankind. Our heroes, who come with numbers instead of names, are hiding in fear of being next in line.

Eljiah Wood voices the protagonist of this story, 9, a jute-woven critter with a funky zipper up the front, who stumbles on an underground community of others like him, hiding from the terrifying machinery that’s still wreaking havoc on Earth. Younger and braver than the others, 9 persuades his fellow survivors to come out of hiding and fight back the machines.

A full-length feature version of an 11-minute short film that won the director a Student Academy Award, 9 has some stylishly haunting visuals and innovative animation too, but the plot leaves a lot to be desired, comes as it does with repetitive action scenes and indifferent characterization. Veteran actors like Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Connelly, John C Reilly and Martin Landau lend their vocal talents to the other characters made out of different materials.

Despite its novelty, “9” is often boring at a running time of 90-minutes and there are long stretches you’re likely to find yourself snoring through.

Produced by Tim Burton and Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov who were impressed enough by Acker’s short film to commission this feature version, 9 is imaginative and visually stunning. But you need real patience to appreciate its full intentions. I’m going with two out of five for director Shane Acker’s 9. Watch it if you’re an animation junkie; there’s much to be pleased about.

(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)