Reviews

Don Jon tries to be a typical new age Rom-Com but along a different path.

The porn addicted Gordon, is a well written character with tons of background for him to work on, but that is never exploited; and so you're left wondering why all the back stories... Personally, not a Gordon Fan, and I found it difficult to think of the simpleton as a Womanizer. The fit body, the muscle car, and the walk just did not seem enough to change my opinion.

Scarlett, puts in a nice performance as the typical modern day demanding Girlfriend, working along the cloaks of a mystery and making you think if there's something more about her.

Julianne plays the highly clichéd 'weird gal' and although she fits the part, once again the lack of usage of the back stories hurts the overall character.

It's a flick you may wanna watch with your partner, if you wanna bring porn up. Overall, a very simple story, a very plain presentation: even though Gordon throws in many SPUN-inspired fast stills and breaks. Avoidable.

Prisoners, being argued as one of the best movie of the year, left me disappointed. The backbone, the script of the film is highly manufactured. It's very apparent that the writers decide to maze up a simple idea into something astounding. However, the plan backfired, and in hindsight we might as well think that the film would have been better off as a simple family under stress episode.

Gyllenhall, Jackman, Bello all pack in great performances, trying to carry the inconsistent story line and loop holed play, but that would not be enough. Gyllenhall, continuing from End of Watch, plays the clichéd part of the super smart Detective, (who has solved every case he's been on....duh), and throws in some great improvisation, which makes the part more likable. Jackman as the troubled father is near perfect, in perhaps one of his finest performance.

As is typical of any Hollywood thriller, there are quite a few psychos on the prowl, some over the top scenarios and of course unreal backgrounds that pop out of nowhere.

Watch it to enjoy a great acting fest, but not for a great thriller.

A collection of 5 tales, it's a decent attempt no doubt. But, somehow you end up wanting more, and not because you've experienced something amazing and you're awestruck, but because you're actually just unsatisfied.

The two main stories, with the big names: Sujata and Mehfooz, starring Huma and Nawazuddin, are to me the weaklings here. Either the Directors were not able to reproduce their ideas precisely, or perhaps they just didn't have enough time, these two shorts are abrupt and ill conceived. Sujata is very raw, and there is just no time to connect with the protagonist to understand her. Mehfooz on the other hand, is a like a string, it floats and you see it, but you can't quite understand it.

Shor, the last of the Sho(r)ts, is a very well composed story of feelings and relations and mortality, and how death and fear affect us.

But the two outstanding ones are: Audacity and The Epilogue. While Audacity is perhaps one of the finest Indian pieces on Parent Child relation in the new age, The Epilogue is just wine to the Lynch fan in me. A confusing tale of a relationship, or perhaps demons, or maybe ghosts, some of the stills are breathtaking and both the actors astounding.

Watch it for The Epilogue and Audacity, accept Shor as a side serving, the other two Sujata and Mehfooz as the Salad nobody likes, but yet is quintessential for the meal.

It's hard to review movie like this, when you've experienced excellence of this level. Only God Forgives, is not a movie, it is a static of the Human Society. How we as mortals act and try to act. Our actions, in the name of religion, family, beliefs, are all central to our own greed at the core.

The movie starts a little off color, and for the first 3 minutes you feel, that you might have made a mistake...but then the shot cuts to the inside, literally and figuratively. Gosling has smashed another scintillating performance, nailing to the heights a shadowy character, and lifting him to depths beyond the realms of current gen Movies. Tom Burke, although has very little screen time, but grips your attention to the fullest, and makes you admire the psycho. But the crunch of the pie has to go to Kristin Scott, who excels as the weird mother and boss. She overshadows a star of Gosling's stature with ease here, with those near incestuous looks and hate. If I had to choose a weak link, and really just for the sake of pointing one out, I'd say Chang's character could have been a little darker or lighter. I'm not sure, but somehow he seemed a little clichéd, or maybe that was the intention. Only God Forgives, is for me, the Movie of the Year. Once you're done watching this, you'd either hate it, loathe it's existence, or you'd adore it and lust for more. It makes you realize that at the very core forgiveness is perhaps our most carnal emotion, but is disguised by our superficial affections to the people around us.

Another perspective of adult relations and society from the perspective of a near innocent adolescent. The movie almost pulls it off, the too- sensible-for-his-age child, teaching people around him, and learning from an uber cool wash out; but almost. The movie is about the Kid and his emotionally vulnerable mother, and how as the male he seeks to protect her, clashing against the new male in her life. Of course, there's the cute neighbor he thinks of, and the awkward friends for the random comedy gags. Sam Rockwell, has played the character to perfection...but the character is so so exploited and abused, that you almost wish that he fails. As Owen, he plays the super cool has-been who now lives life on his terms, gets plenty of action, talks to strange kids, and interns young kids to become sensible adults. The actor is good, the character... the worst character though has to be Betty. I simply cannot understand why a talented actor like Allison Janney would try to pull this off: the typical over friendly neighborhood drunk, jokes about sensitive stuff, and is not a very good mother. Steve Carell is wasted, stuck in the background as he tries to make it work and more.

Not a must watch, but a decent time killer.

I started this series for 2 reasons: BBC and Indira Verma; and they both have disappointed. While there was very little of Indira, the show itself was a shallow lake, offering no introspect.

Luther is the story of a (another) super smart crime solving genius, his rookie partner, too many skeletons in his closet, and a psycho antihero friend, a hot ex wife...ooh and a shady best friend. The characters are forced into a grey domain, trying to instill a very dark outline to the show; but it misfires completely. Idris Elba does a good job as the lead detective Luther, playing perhaps the most exploited character on television: a grey policeman. His superman-ish analyzing abilities, are off the charts: example: deciphering the motive of kill from the name of a chemical. Although Elba is convincing in the character, the write up fails him, and he ends up looking like he's putting too much into the role. Ruth Wilson, tries to do a Silence of the Lambs, playing the psychotic villain turned friend to the detective. However, her performance is mediocre at best, and not convincing. The director has to understand that being psychotic is not just 'bout saying sinister things with a smile. Indira and Paul have some decent chemistry and performance; as the haunted new couple. Indira plays the uncertain wife pretty well, although she does overdo the emotional scenes a little. However, like any bad action flick, Mark is soon thrown into the field, without any prior experience, and surprise surprise, he's good. Warren Brown, though, is a plus from the show. As the typical understudy/deputy to the lead, he throws in a strong and convincing performance. Credit to the writers here actually, his part is very well written. Watch Luther if you're a die hard fan of any of the lead cast, or are just keen on predicting what happens' next and feel good about yourself.

Ken Park the movie is a thinker, the type that makes you ponder upon if you take cinema seriously. It follows four teen aged kids, and their unusual sexual experiences. The movie shows drugs, sex and murder openly. The search for more love, privacy, respect, fear and support drives these teens to the brink and even beyond while still being bound by their communal love for skate boarding. The end is particularly well written and inspiring. While the events of the movie might be a little gloomy the ending is a great take from teen spirit and makes you smile. Overall a great watch if you like deep meaning cinema or even if you just want to see loads of nudity!

The movie attempts to recreate the rape-revenge genre but really fails. What we get is lots and lots of sleaziness, failed puns and undeveloped characters. Not much light is shed on the lead characters, and all thats shown is pretty much predictable. The movie feels highly derived from 'Kill Bill' with dramatic soundtrack and a mute protagonist, but is nothing of that level. The agony of the victims is not depicted properly and the artists' are to blame for this. The settings & sets are good for the theme but somehow the weak dialogue delivery just blows the movie apart. The final revenge part of the movie is too small in length and you feel it could have been lengthier compared to the first half's sleazy extended run. The extended nudity could have been easily trimmed down and instead used to show some in depth briefing of the character's feelings and turmoils. Ultimately it's a nudity fest with failed everything else.