Varun's Word

The only good thing about watching this movie was the Trailer of “Green Lantern”, a Diamond Comics superhero movie that seemed very promising. You may miss even that incase you are not watching in INOX Hyderabad screens !

Sucker Punch (in boxing terminology) is an unexpected blow either from a close range or from behind. The Director Zack Snyder (who also directed the movie 300) delivers a Sucker Punch to the audiences and there is no way you can dodge once you have bought your tickets. You could laugh your heart out while the actors are actually performing high octane action scenes or else you could scream out of frustration when “Baby Doll” is about to dance, you have the power !

“If you do not stand for something, you would fall for anything!” Zack snyder should have understood this line while writing this script, as it looks like a video-game version of the movies “Shutter Island” + “Inception”.

“Baby Doll” (Emily Browning ) is forced into the Mental Asylum by her step-father (The sequences are shot without any dialogue and this initial 15 minutes of the movie stand out). Blue (Oscar Isaac) is in charge of the asylum and is also the bad-guy and Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) tries to cure the patients with her soothing therapy. The protagonist takes the audiences through two levels of hallucinations as she tries to escape along with her inmates Sweet Pea ( Abbie Cornish),Rocket ( Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). First level is that she imagines the Mental Asylum to be a strip club (only to make it entertaining). Second level is nonsensical and sucker-punchy as she imagines herself defeating Giants, Dragons, Robots with the guidance of a drunk master who doesn’t stop jabbering stupid advises (If you don’t stand for something… ..)

So do “Baby Doll” and her friends break-free? Trust me, no one cares, and could you please ask the narrator to cut the “Guardian Angel” and “The Power is yours” crap ?

If 300 was eye candy to the female audiences (six-pack Spartans flexing their muscles), this movie could mean the same to the male audiences. Just that 300 had excellently choreographed fight sequences and there was a lot of passion involved from the viewers too , Sucker Punch sucks big time in generating similar emotions.

This week’s SuperMoon may be one of the reasons why you could get attracted towards this movie. Hollywood’s romance with the ‘werewolf’ legend continues in 2011 but this may not necessarily pay off dividends.

Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman living in a small village amidst snow capped mountains. She is in love with the woodcutter Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but her parents Cesaire (Billy Burke) and Suzette (Virginia Madsen) want her to marry Henry (Max Irons) the son of a wealthy blacksmith. You would find the lead actors in this love triangle especially the men over-acting.

Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) debriefs the village about the nature of a werewolf and that it changes back into human form during daylight. So the werewolf could be anyone among the villagers. On a RED Moon night, the villagers witness the strength and gory nature of the werewolf but Father Solomon fails to capture the creature. During this attack, Valerie learns that she can actually understand what the wolf is saying. Who is the werewolf, what does it want and why, does it go on to win its prey or does it get hunted, forms the remaining of the story.

The screenplay is painfully slow, though bearable initially, it gets sagging towards the end especially when you know that new twists and angles are being added deliberately just to keep the audiences interested. Grandmother (Julie Christie) gets killed by the wolf but there was no need for the wolf to impersonate Grandma. Still this was done just for the sake of it and does not glue with the plot. The presence of red costume looks patched up too, just to cater for the title. Wolf, Gramdma and an innocent girl are more than eneough to convince audiences that the movie is based on the popular tale of Red Riding Hood, the girl does not need to wear a red robe!

The scenes involving werewolf does send a chill down your spine, especially the hunting scene inside a cave. This creature is about 4 feet tall and has pitch black fur, an image that might scare you even after the movie when you are travelling alone on a full moon night. The extra-terrestrial love between Valerie and Peter (post werewolf curse) in the end plays a symphony in your heart.

Red Riding Hood is definitely better and reasonable than the Twilight series, but then watch it if you are ok with spending some time re-visiting the ages where men used to cut wood or beat hot iron for a living.

“The Fighter” may sound singular and the viewers tend to think that the title describes the protagonist, who is an aspiring boxer. Watch this movie and you will understand that the title fits the tag for all the four leading characters alike.

Mark Wahlberg, fits the role of a boxer. He however excels in the role of a brother who needs his elder brother. Micky Ward is definitely fighting for his career as a boxer, but deep down he is also fighting to retain his brother as his coach. This is because Micky wins a crucial and life-changing fight thanks to his brothers’ expert advise.

Amy Adams looks gorgeous in the 90’s look. Charlene Fleming once had a promising career in athletics but too much of drinking did not do her good. She spots the sparkle in Micky and persuades him to take the right path, even if it means to dump his current coach (Christian Bale) and manager (Melissa Leo). Charlene is so strong and determined that it shows in her eyes. She fights for Micky to make it big.

Melissa Leo performs excellently as the friendly yet dominant mother. Alice Ward loves her job as a manager and does not want to lose it away because of the new girl in the family (Charlene). Alice fights to win her sons’ love back.
Finally this movie is a feather in the cap for Christian Bale who’s take this role very seriously. The Dark-knight fame actor lost 25 kilos to look like a drug addict. His body language and the blurred speech add depth and realism to his role. Dicky Eklund fights to win back the confidence of Micky and Charlene but then he needs to transform. Well deserved Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actor”.

Hoyte van Hoytema excels behind the camera, remember the VCR display of the late 90’s?. This cinematographer has taken efforts to give a retro look to the boxing ring shots and it definitely pays off. This movie has some of the best shot boxing sequences.

David O. Russell’s grip on the drama is evident from the highly emotional “We gotta train, they (your family) gotta go “ scene in the boxing ring. The director brings out family emotions spectacularly.

The background score injects that adrenalin into your arteries and you just cannot stop yourself from pumping your fist as Micky
Ward wins the title match.

The poster depicts a “Wall Street” executive standing on a huge pile of money and the tagline being “The film that cost over $20 Trillion to make.” The documentary that openly criticized and blamed the US Government and its regulatory policies, surprisingly won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Oscars last week. (The Academy has a history of snubbing those film-makers who picturise the United States in a derogatory manner, Avatar being a recent example.)

Charles Ferguson, who directed and produced this documentary, has covered a lot of ground and historical developments as he tries to capture almost a decade long conspiracy behind the 2008 wall-street crisis, in 120 minutes. The style of narration, the gripping editing, the sequence of information all make this an interesting watch. It is a wonderful mix of “One-on-one interviews”, “News Articles” , “Graphical statistics”, “Flow-chart diagrams” and “Court-trail videos” that are used as tools of narration, the narrator being MATT DAMON.

Alright, so we have the de-faulters and scamsters on one side, the whistle blowers on the other side (people who foresaw this disaster and warned the US regulators) and we also have the victims telling us their versions of the crisis. And of-course there were a few people who declined to comment / give their opinions for the documentary. It describes the involvement of big-shots ranging from chief economic advisors like Larry Summers, Federal Reserve Heads Ben Bernanke & Henry Paulson in framing policies that lead to massive sub-prime bubble. The documentary claims that the CEO’s and Board Members of the Investment banks that went bust earned huge profits during the 2003 to 2008 ride, however post the crisis they did not pay up even a penny in return for their greed and for treating their clients unethically for personal short-term profits. They ultimately got to keep the personal assets and remuneration that was earned by betting against their own clients’ investments. It also sharply criticizes Harvard and Columbia universities for their inaction against their economics professors who were on the company boards of these failed investment banks.

And yes it has punch lines too “Its a Wall-Street-Government!” claims a whistle blower. “Can we turn this off for a minute please” pleads an ex Federal Reserve employee. Lies, Greed and De-regulation continue to haunt the Wall-Street and the director appeals to the viewers to stand up against this. In the end we get to see the Statue of Liberty on the big screen when the narrator says “Some things are worth fighting for” and then the credits start rolling, compelling the viewers to think.

All your questions on the Sub-prime crisis and the global economic recession (if un-answered till date) shall get addressed in the due course of this documentary feature.

–Varun.

So when was the last time you remember talking with toys? Or seeing kids talk to their favorite toys? The enthusiasm and energy of the child while talking to their toys makes you believe and wish the toys were alive. The Nutcracker gives you the same feel, or should I say a fantastic feel?

The movie is set in a period English backdrop, revolving around a rich family where the parents don’t have enough time for the kids. The kids yearn for more time with their parents, but need to compromise with loneliness. In such times, given the age, kids befriend their toys with whom they share their happiness and sorrows. Mary (Elle Fanning) the elder of the two kids, is the soul and energy of this movie. Kids would instantly relate to her character and like her. She is the one who discovers that the Nutcracker and the house of toys are indeed alive even though the parents think that is non-sense. Mary’s uncle Albert (Nathan Lane) brings these toys home for Christmas. Uncle Albert believes in the companionship of toys and thinks it’s psychologically important for parents to believe in their kids.

The Nutcracker (NC) dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte, is cursed by the Rat King’s mother. Mary’s belief brings him back to human form and he is a Prince (Charlie Rowe). NC and Mary go a mini adventure ride where Mary gets to meet the snow fairies and also feels excited about the prince coming to life. The prince tells Mary about the evil intentions of the Rat King (John Turturro) and the Rat King’s mother. The Rat King and his army take over the city and enslave the citizens to work in the Smoke factories. The smoke factories are the place where toys are burnt. Rats are the destroyers of toys.

John Turturro’s performance as the Rat King shines. The king is well dressed and well behaved except for this anti-toy intentions. Kids would definitely hate him, given that he takes pictures of toy-deprived kids from around the world. How NC and Mary along with NC’s friends persuade the Rat King and vanquish him is the rest of the story.

Perfect treat for kids aged between 3 to 7 and as their parents you could reclaim your childhood too ! The visuals are exciting and would make them scream with joy, especially the snow fairies episode and the Climax action sequences.

— Varun.

Hindi movies have transformed! 7 khoon maaf is the live and ‘screening-in-theatres’ proof of this fact. All salutes to the director Mr.Vishal Bharadwaj for his effort and also for the transparency in admitting that the movie was based on Ruskin Bond’s short story “Susanna’s Seven Husbands”. Cinematography is a major plus in contributing to the “Period-Look”. Tagged as a Dark-Comedy, the movie evokes genuine laughter from the audiences on quite a few occasions.

The plot is very engaging right from the beginning. The story of why and how Sussana (Priyanka Chopra) kills the first 5 of her husbands is narrated by her foster son Arun (Vivaan Shah), who recalls her as “Shahib”, a sign of respect to the land-lord like families in India. The story of Sussana is pretty dark, whose mother dies immediately after giving birth to her and father passes away 20 years later. At the prime of her life, Sussana is left with her Aunt (Usha Uthap), the loyal jockey (who is also deaf and dumb) and finally the butler, all four of them being partners in crime for the first 5 killings.

Without revealing too many details, I decided to tag one-liners for each kill.

The first kill is for revenge and pride. The second kill is Pest control, termite like husband who was eating off valuable antiques. The third kill is a self defense act. The fourth kill is the result of intolerance to Polygamy and a slight sense of patriotism too (anti-spy). The fifth kill is for Privacy intrusion. The Sixth kill is the result of insecurity with destiny making a decision about who has to die. The Seventh kill is a mystery to the audiences but Sussane admits it.

Major Edwin Rodrigues (Neel Nitin Mukesh) is the impotent and jealous husband, excels in his role. He expresses intense emotions with ease. Jimmy (John Abraham) is the husband no.2, who aspires to be a singer falls prey to Drugs. Its a noisy and freaky role, he doesnt make much of an impact. Musafir (Irrfan Khan) a gentle and popular poet plays the boldest role in the movie. He definitely adds depth to the movie. Nic (Aleksandr Dyachenko) is a Russian but he does “Amar Prem” with Sussana. The Hindi speaking Russian makes you laugh hard. The Intelligence Beaurau officer (Annu Kapoor) an ardent admirer helps Sussana get out of the mess due to her Russian husband’s death. He has done a neat job and fits the role. After Irrfan Khan, its Naseeruddin Shah who shines. The thrilling life-n-death game played by Shah and Chopra over a mushroom soup could very well be attributed as the best scene of the year.

Now speaking of the leading lady’s performance, Priyanka carries the burden quite effeciently, but still the spectrum of emotions are not so evident. She’s definitely got a meaty role and has tried hard to make a difference. This could be the best movie in her career.

All the women out there could watch the movie to learn different ways to kill their husband; all the men could watch it so that they are aware of their better-half’s moves and sabotage the same. And they could live happily together!

–Varun.

Promising trailers, good actors, serious posters and subtle publicity could be misleading at times. You walk into the theatres expecting a serious, in-depth drama and what you get to see is a decent, television viewer worthy superficial acting.

The opening frame shows people from all walks of life trying to make it to the air-port to catch a Delhi-bound flight. Few of them dissolve naturally into the plot while few of them stand out like artificial colours/ falvours in a nice drink. The plot also could have been arguably weak (thanks to some STUPID twist) but actors like Nagarjuna and Prakash Raj carry the movie on their shoulders and safely deliver it to an average climax. Till the flight gets hijacked, all the artists act in the plane as if they are supposed to do it, seriously, wats a mimicry artist doing there? And who said that the terrorists should be so artificially loud, none of the terrorists impose terror on the travelers because the actors react as if they already know what’s going to happen. You see, this is difference between a television series acting and an on-screen acting. Director has failed miserably in casting except for the characters of Nag and Prakash Raj.

Legendary movies like Roja, Dil Se which dealt with terrorism, contain depth acting even from character artists. However Gaganam fails miserably when you look at the movie in this context.

Mr. Nagarjuna, you rock in the commando character and all the fans should feel content. Quite a few bold dialogues like the one where the commando in charge (Nag) yells at his bureaucratic bosses for in-decision and “do you have a better idea” send message to the Indian Government that we are fed-up with old and indecisive people holding offices at disaster handling posts in the country.

There is no need to entertain viewers in movies dealing with sensitive topics, so Mr. Bramhanandam you don’t fit the bill. But amazingly the comedy track by the Movie hero on board and his fan gels very nicely with the movie evokes good laughter.

Movies that have no songs need to have a note-worthy back-ground score, Mr. Radha Mohan (director) please take lessons from Mr.Ram Gopal Varma’s movies. Mr. Mani Ratam / Mr. Ramu as directors for this plot would definitely have done justice.
The director of this movie needs to watch movies like “Air Force One” to understand what it takes to make a hi-jack thriller. May be he watched it but still decided to make the movie suitable for the family audiences and that has made all the difference!

The synonyms to the word Sanctum (per MS Word) are Study, workplace, office, hut & chamber. Chamber would suit the most in the context of this movie Sanctum. The desire to explore never dies in human race. One of the unexplored places on Planet Earth was South Pacific’s Esa-ala Cave. If Cliffhanger and Vertical Limit were explorer/adventure movies on snow capped mountains, Sanctum is the movie inside a cave.

We get to see the Expert playing God who lives and breathes caves (“Frank” – Richard Roxburgh), the Millionaire funding the project for fame (“Carl”-Ioan Gruffudd), the adventure freak – amateur girlfriend of the millionaire (“Victoria” – Alice Parkinson), rebelling son who initially dislikes his expert father but later on respects his father for his dedication to caves (“Josh” – Rhys Wakefield). The performances by Richard Roxburgh and Ioan Gruffudd and worth applauding.

The movie begins on a very “AVATAR-ish” note with Josh floating in the middle of the sea and suddenly opens his eyes as if resurrection. Then we are taken away to the flash-back which begins with never-seen-before exotic locations of Papua New Guinea. Victoria’s curiosity changes into amazement after seeing a simulation of the cave exploration that Frank is currently heading. Frank – who is an expert in Cave-diving, and his wife Judes together unravel the most unexplored chamber in the cave, thanks to the expert’s instinct. Immediate turn of events make the audiences realize the reality shocks about exploring in a cave. It definitely gives you a high as long as things are going as expected, but otherwise the same cave could turn into a death trap.

The obvious strength of the movie being the cinematography, combined with the 3D view, magnifies the suffocation. Without the “compelling involvement” from the audiences, adventure movies could fail miserably. Sanctum succeeds in this genre, especially when you come out of the theatre feeling the fresh oxygen, and thanking God that you are on land and breathing. It is involving to that extent, trust me !

Sanctum is definitely a good watch, especially since it deals with a fresh genre. A few scenes are deeply moving, like the scene where Frank’s adventure buddy George sacrifices his life since he knows he is not going to make it outside the cave. There are scenes that depict human desperation to survive, respect, dignity, experience nothing matters to such individuals, only surviving does. Carl, at one point of time compares Frank to great explorers like Columbus & Neil Armstrong, but the same Carl ditches the Father and Son duo to save his life.

Watch it for the adventure highs but go with a strong heart too, because as Frank, the cave expert says “In this cave, we are all just like dust”. The mighty Sanctum enacts the role of a Destroyer !

–Varun

Every Morning needs to start with the right Coffee, failing which could create two absolutely FUNNY and purposeless SUPER-HEROES – “The Green Hornet” (“Britt Reid” – Seth Rogen) and his side kick “the black something..” (“Kato” – Jay Chou)
Coming back to the coffee part – Kato is the super-machine expert who prepares Britt’s coffee every morning using a custom-designed coffee machine. Britt’s dad (“James Reid” – Tom Wilkinson) runs The Daily Sentinel newspaper. Like a typical father, he keeps trying to infuse some ethics / habits into his spoilt son. This only develops hatred between the father and the son right from Britt’s childhood.
One day Britt’s father passes away due to some mysterious circumstances, stung by a bee ! The society builds a statue for James Reid, which obviously is frustrating for the kid who hates his dad to the core. The next day Britt wakes up, tasting a disastrous coffee, he becomes furious and calls for Kato after learning that he is the usual coffee guy. But actually Kato is not just a coffee guy, he specializes in machinery and gadget designing. Kato walks Britt through his gadgets which lights an idea in Britt’s not-so-used brain. He brings up the idea with Kato who agrees to help him. What starts as an episode of the Brat kid taking revenge on his father by decapitating the head of the homage statue ends with the super-hero duo restoring the head back by the end of the movie.
Kato realizes that the Green Hornet is not as martial expert as himself and hence designs a cool gun to handle the bad guys. This gun can put the victim to sleep for (ahem..) 11 days in the first instance. Kato improvises this to 1 hour, yet another hilarious moment.
The asset of this movie is the really funny villain (Christoph Waltz) who is worried by the mere fact that nobody fears his name anymore (Ched-Nof-Ski is his name) and so he commands respect by flashing and also using his custom-made double barreled pistol. He kills 2 enemies in a single shot and that too without any warning. This bad guy won the Academy award for his immensely torturing role as the “Jew Destroyer” in the movie “The Inglorious Bastards”. The character in this movie runs into a mid-life crisis and renames himself as “Blood-nof-ski” and wears Red.
The Green Hornet and his team disturb the happily running business of the only Bad-Guy in town. Also Britt realizes that his dad’s death was not accidental, but a conspiracy by the District Attorney. How the good-guys beat the collective bad-guys in not-so-planned way is all the fun about. And did i forget about Cameron Diaz’s role? Oh yes, she plays the role of a secretary to the Green Hornet. How she looks and what she does in the movie is best forgotten.
These funny super-heroes who fight over a hot secretary, who travel in a half-car towards the climax of the movie (the rear part of the car gets crushed when they land in an elevator and move up) entertain kids and adults alike. That’s all folks !

–Varun