I found it really surprising that two movies, viz. Kick-Ass and Super, with nearly identical themes & content, released in the same year! Of course, it’s another matter that, while the former, with its zany and darkly funny execution, had its social commentary only as a subtext, the latter chose to take itself too seriously for its own good – as a result, though it has been touted as a black comedy, I didn’t really find the comedy part anywhere. The movie is about an ultra-religious Everyday-Joe (Rainn Wilson), who’s a pea-brained loser in his life for all practical purposes and whose addict wife, whom he loves with all his heart, elopes with a notorious gangster (Kevin Bacon), dons a superhero costume with the intent of saving his wife and for also doing some crude crime-fighting in the process. He gets a sidekick in the form of a petite but sociopathic young girl (Ellen Page) in this crusade of his. The movie is ultra-violent but that really came in the way of the drama – also, some of the set-pieces and sequences were well orchestrated. Perhaps had the director not made its social and quasi-religious commentary so overt, and instead injected some acerbic humour and intelligence both into the script and the characters, this could have been a much more memorable ride.
Director: James Gunn
Genre: Drama/Black Comedy/Action
Language: English
Country: US
The Mission Impossible franchise had been going downhill ever since Brian De Palma made the stylish and hugely entertaining first part, so much so that I was left wondering what made Tom Cruise even willing to go ahead with the third part which arguably represented the lowest point of the franchise. Hence, I went to watch the latest installment with much trepidation; fortunately, the curve did change its trajectory with this one. In fact, one might even say that this would provide the franchise a much needed shot in the arm, and the fact that it has been more or less accepted by majority of the movie-going populace means that we might expect a fifth part sooner rather than later. Brad Bird, having made such delectable animation films as Ratatouille, is at the helm of a live-action feature film for the first time with this larger-than-life action thriller. In an era when spy thrillers are becoming less and less slick and gadget-obsessed, and more and more gritty and realistic – hell, even the Bond series has been moving in that direction over the last couple of films – Team M.I. decided to remain anachronistic by not just being on the other end of the spectrum, but also by upping the ante in terms of spectacular stunts, loads of special effects and jaw-dropping gadgetry. The globe-trotting film, which starts off at Budapest, and moves to Mumbai via Moscow and Dubai, is a classic example of “all style, and zero substance”, but it’s a darn entertaining ride all through despite that. It was fun seeing Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) pulling off yet another audacious mission, and in the process averting nuclear catastrophe, though the utter ridiculousness of the proceedings ensured it was a vacuous experience for most parts.
Director: Brad Bird
Genre: Action/Thriller/Spy Thriller
Language: English
Country: US
Within 15 minutes into Awarapan I got confirmation of what I’d been suspecting all along (i.e. since reading a brief outline about it prior to my viewing it) – that it has been “inspired” from Kim Jee-Woon’s excellent action-thriller A Bittersweet Life. Nonetheless, I continued with the screening, and I must concede, that the deplorable plagiarism angle apart, this is a reasonably good watch. The movie’s principal protagonist is Shivam (Emraan Hashmi), a laconic henchman who is treated like a son by his boss, Mallik (Ashutosh Rana), a powerful Hong-Kong based gangster. Things however turn sour between the two when Shivam refuses to obey an express order of Mallik’s – that of killing the latter’s mistress. Suffice it to say, what follows is unabated mayhem and bloodshed that none of the two sides manages to escape from. Emraan Hashmi was surprisingly good as the taciturn enforcer, trying to come to terms with his tragic past, who gets his fate sealed when he changes sides in order to redeem his sins. The film also boasts of a number of superb soundtracks. Unfortunately, the plagiarism tag apart, unlike the Korean original this Bollywood-remake lacked a tighter script – oftentimes the narrative seemed to drift more than it should have with the sole intent of increasing the emotional impact.
Director: Mohit Suri
Genre: Action/Thriller/Crime Thriller
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Chowringhee is the name of one of the most important and iconic thoroughfares in the city of Calcutta. The movie, which was an adaptation of Bengali writer Shankar’s renowned novel of the same name, had this road as the backdrop for its storyline; more accurately, it was based in a luxurious hotel called Hotel Shahjahan – an obvious reference to the famous Grand Hotel located there. The chronicle of life, camaraderie, love and loss is told by Shankar (Subhendu Chatterjee), the film’s simple-natured protaginist. The ensemble cast comprised of such colourful characters as Satyasundar Bose aka Sata, the hotel’s gregarious and charming receptionist (played with élan by the then-reigning superstar Uttam Kumar), Karabi Guha, a lonely misunderstood housekeeper (Supriya Choudhury), Anindya Pakrashi, the buoyant son of a wealthy businessman (Biswajit Chatterjee), Marco Polo, the hotel’s alcoholic manager (Utpal Dutt), among others. Despite the inherent strength in the script and depth in the characters that the novel gifted the maker with, the final outcome didn’t amount to much. The movie does have its moments, but on the whole it suffered from lackadaisical execution. It seemed more like a series of patchworks than a satisfying whole, perhaps on account of sub-par direction and poor editing. The gargantuan talent of Utpal Dutt too was largely wasted. The decent cinematography and the charismatic presence of Uttam Kumar were the factors that made it reasonably watchable.
Director: Pinaki Mukherjee
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Romantic Drama/Ensemble Film
Language: Bengali
Country: India
Set sometime in the not so distant future, Code 46 tells the cautionary tale of a highly regulated world where every action is closely monitored by the State, especially with respect to who one can or cannot marry. A married American man, who has come to a futuristic Shanghai to investigate a possible counterfeit racket in an organization, ends up getting romantically involved with a mysterious female employee working for it, oblivious of the fact that by doing so he might be violating “Code 46”, a law considered sacrilegious by the powers that be. The film has been expertly shot – the set-pieces, lightings and shades used managed to the its moodiness, and also accentuate the themes of loss, memory and urban alienation. Tim Robbins too, as always, has done a noteworthy job as an actor. Unfortunately, the director didn’t pay as much attention in developing the characters and building the narrative as he did on the atmosphere. Consequently, though the sleekness and the visuals were good to look at, the film felt dehumanized and hollow, and thus failed to involve me, leave alone captivate me. In fact, I would go so far as saying that I found the movie a bit boring even. The two lead actors, too, were highly lacking insofar as a plausible chemistry between the characters goes.
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Genre: Sci-Fi/Psychological Drama/Romance
Language: English
Country: UK
