Imtiaz Ali tried incorporating a lot of clichéd tropes into his protagonist in Rockstar to make him appear and behave like one – hippie-style dresses, baggy hair, “rebel without a cause” persona, social outcast, among others. Unfortunately, the director never managed to make him even remotely close to the James Hetfields and the Kurt Cobains of the world. Had Jim Morrison, who happened to be the biggest idol of Janardan Jakhar aka Jordan (played by Ranbir Kapoor), been resurrected, he would have promptly found a way to get back to his grave. Jordan’s character, in fact, turned out to be more of a caricature than anything else, despite Ranbir Kapoor’s admittedly valiant efforts. His journey from being a squeaky-clean college guy to a brazenly rebellious singer-song writer-composer-master guitarist-and what not, has been so ludicrously portrayed that even a new born baby would cry out in shame. It was therefore a great surprise how he managed to develop such fan-following even in Delhi, leave alone in Prague or elsewhere. And as for his lady-love, her character was so moronic that it would have been much better had she been killed right in the first scene of the movie instead of the last. To call Nargis Fakhri a wooden-actor would be to put all the wood-cutters to shame, so let me save them the humiliation. Even A.R. Rehman’s music seemed dull for most parts, expect the song Sadda Haq – the only song that can be qualified as a rock song (and a good one at that). It’s a shame that a storyline with such potentials was so ruthlessly massacred by all those involved in making this horrendous film.
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Genre: Drama/Musical/Romance
Language: Hindi
Country: India
The Wild Bunch doesn’t just remain enfant terrible Sam Peckinpah’s most renowned work, it also ranks as one of the most influential and iconic Westerns ever made. The movie still has the ability to polarize its viewers courtesy its fatalistic theme, the graphic and persistent displays of carnage, and it’s disturbing yet fascinating portrayal of men living at the very edge of human civilization. Like his Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, this too has at its forefront two former comrades who are now on the opposite sides of the law. Pike Bishop (William Holden), an infamous outlaw and the ageing leader of a gang of squabbling bounty-hunters, plans to score one last hit before he retires. His crew includes, among others, his close associate Dutch (Ernest Borgnine). Chasing Pike and his gang is Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), an equally jaded and skilled rider. The relentlessly bleak and nihilistic film begins and ends with two of the bloodiest and most incredibly choreographed showdowns (or more aptly, massacres) that are as savage as they are unforgettable, thus forming the defining moments of the movie as well as the quintessentially American genre it belongs to. The harsh terrains, marvelously captured though brilliant camerawork, forms the perfect symbol for the brutality portrayed herein, as well as a subtle antithesis to the latent humanism that each of the principal protagonists possess. Despite the pessimistic tone and exceedingly violent content, there’s something inherently nostalgic about this extraordinarily powerful and excellently enacted movie, thus making it not just a visceral, audio-visual tour de force, but also quietly melancholic and affecting.
Director: Sam Peckinpah
Genre: Western/Revisionist Western/Action/Buddy Film
Language: English
Country: US
Most courtroom dramas, even the good ones, relegate the legal aspects to a secondary status – using them only as a means for accentuating character dynamics, mood creation and thematic development. Otto Preminger’s masterly Anatomy of a Murder proved with aplomb that a movie can have the plot’s legal content as its primary focus and still manage to be an outstanding work. Adapted from a bestselling novel, the movie is about a brilliant and likeable Defense Attorney taking up the case of a jealous army-man who has killed a bar owner purportedly to avenge the rape of his trophy wife. The movie comprises of a series of issues which are slippery not just from legal standpoint but also for their moral ambivalence. As such, there aren’t any classic good guys or bad guys populating this excellently written script. And its head-on tackling of subjects considered taboo during that era was truly laudatory. James Stewart gave a crackling performance as the smart lawyer who knows very well how to combine sharp legal acumen with deliberate showmanship to get his points across. He had great support in the form of George C. Scott as the formidable Prosecutor, a young Ben Gazarra as the accused, Lee Remick as his brazenly seductive wife, among others. The leisurely pacing of the narrative played a key role in ensuring every detail of the serpentine proceedings are expertly dealt with, while the terrific B/W photography and the soulful jazz-based score (used in moderation) assured in maintaining the movie’s arresting atmosphere and moodiness.
Director: Otto Preminger
Genre: Drama/Legal Drama
Language: English
Country: US
Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To is in love with the adage, “Slam Bam, Thank You Ma’m” (no puns intended); also, he’s attained a cult status of sorts for his hyper-stylized action flicks. Exiled, which is considered among his most famous works, is a curious blend of two popular genre tropes – the Gangster and the Western. Set just prior to the 1998 handover of the then-Portuguese city of Macau to the Chinese government, it is a tale of camaraderie and vengeance at the backdrop of the afore-mentioned political transitioning. When two hitmen are sent to assassinate a former member of Boss Fay’s gang, they end up confronting two guys there to protect him. As it turns out, they are childhood friends, and consequently, leaving their personal allegiances aside, the five comrades join forces to take on the mighty mobster and his gang. The film boasts of a lot of “cool” gunplay – it’s not enough to shoot the other guy, one must do so with braggadocio, style, and in a blaze of glory. The film also has its share of likeable deadpan humour – the occurrences at the doctor’s residence, the interactions between the protagonists while they are roaming in the wilderness trying to escape from Boss Fay’s wrath, and their taking decisions based on the toss of a coin, are fun to watch. However, despite its unabashed style-quotient and coolness, the movie felt a tad hollow at times courtesy a relatively weak script. For better or for worse, this over-the-top action thriller sure provides a classic illustration of 'style over substance'.
Director: Johnnie To
Genre: Action/Crime Thriller/Gangster
Language: Cantonese/Mandarin
Country: China (Hong Kong)
Boxing a favourite among filmmakers; after all, it is one of those rare sports that manages to capture the interplay between physical brutality and emotional upheaval. The Fighter, a real-life chronicle of the arduous journey to success and championship of welterweight pugilist “Irish” Micky Ward, is a classic underdog story. Ward, played by Mark Wahlberg, is a middle-of-the-rung boxer belonging to a working class neighbourhood whose life is beset by a plethora of obstacles – lack of any stable income, broken marriage, an overbearing mother (Melissa Leo) who doubles as his manager, an attractive and outspoken but equally possessive fiancé (Amy Adams), and a drug-addict elder brother (Christian Bale) – a former boxer still basking in the glory of having knocked down legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard around a decade back and who now acts as his trainer. Triumph against all odds by overcoming a series of personal impediments and setbacks tends to make for a good story, and if the film happens to be well-made like this one, then there’s nothing like it. Thanks to the measured direction, the well-chiseled script, moody atmosphere and a keen eye to details, this gritty urban docudrama managed to perfectly combine grim kitchen-sink realism with a rousing and thoroughly uplifting spirit. The most impressive aspect of the film, along with the well-crafted boxing scenes, happens to be the excellent performance of Bale as Dickie Eklund, whose passion for the game is outweighed only by his fondness towards his younger brother.
Director: David O. Russell
Genre: Drama/Sports Drama/Urban Drama/Biopic
Language: English
Country: US
