Classic Revisited: Batman Begins (2005)

The Plot
Gotham City is filled with petty criminals and other anti social elements who are all under the purview of Falcone. Falcone is the kingpin of all shady activities in Gotham. There are a few officials in Gotham like the DA Rachel and Sergeant Gordon who still believe in Gotham and want the city back in order.

Bruce Wayne is the only son of Thomas Wayne who is the biggest hot shot in Gotham. Thomas is murdered on the streets by a petty thief. Bruce witnesses this incident as a young boy, and he is frequently haunted by this incident. He also has a fear for bats.

After growing up and shooting his father's murderer named Chill, Bruce travels the world to understand the psychology of criminals. He is trained by Ducard (Ra's Al Ghul) to overcome his fears and become a part of the "League of Shadows".

Bruce doesn't believe their philosophy and leaves that place after his training. He develops a mysterious superhuman alter-ego called the Batman and he begins cleaning the scum off Gotham's streets. Batman takes the services of Gordon whenever needed. Bruce's guardian and well-wisher Alfred and Lucius Fox from Wayne Enterprises provide Bruce with the technology and support to become Batman.

The "League of Shadows" wants to destroy Gotham because they believe Gotham has become too rotten. They plan to vaporize Gotham's water supply through the main train line and to spread a poisonous toxin that would drive the citizens of Gotham mad and ultimately to death.  Dr. Crane is used as a pawn for this purpose.

In the end Batman saves Gotham City from the League of Shadows. He prevents the toxin from spreading across the entire city. He kills Ducard and salvages the hope in Gotham. The movie ends with Batman coming to know of his next notorious target, The Joker. The premise for "The Dark Knight" is hence set

Hits

• Awe-inspiring film making by Christopher Nolan. So intriguing and engaging. Never a dull moment
• Christian Bale is beefed up for his Batman avatar. His hoarse voice for the Batman is also quite apt
• The technology that goes into the making of the Batman suit is well brought out. The Batman's suit, symbol and his tank are all iconic
• The dramatic BG score by Hans Zimmer that reaches a crescendo, is another turn-on
• The cinematography by Wally Pfister particularly the aerial shots of Batman hanging onto the city's skyscrapers is truly awesome. 
• Good support roles for Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. The way these veterans speak their dialogues with punch and in typical style is very entertaining. 
• Katie Holmes as Rachel is a cute addition to the movie. Gary Oldman as Gordon impresses with his sincerity and awkwardness at using the Batman's tank in the climax. Liam Neeson as Ducard impresses in the initial scenes when he trains Bruce. 
• The climax train sequence is executed in a terrific manner. Great concept. 

VERDICT

One of the very best superhero blockbusters. 

Wake Up Sid (2009)

The Plot
The film is about the coming of age of a filthy rich young brat named Siddharth Mehra aka Sid. Sid is in Mumbai. He fails his degree exams and has no aim in life. His father is a rich businessman who specializes in flower furnishings. Sid isn't able to fit into his father's business as well.

Sid just has fun with his 2 buddies Laxmi and Rishi. He meets Aisha one day and they instantaneously hit it off. Aisha is from Kolkota and she has come to Mumbai to be independent. Basically she is the exact opposite of Sid. Sid helps her settle in Mumbai and Aisha also gets a job in the magazine "Mumbai Beat"

At one stage Sid has a major fight with his father and he moves out of his home. He lives with Aisha and slowly learns about life. He learns to cook, clean up, wash etc and also gets the urge to work. He is very good at photography and he gets placed as an intern at "Mumbai Beat" thanks to Aisha. Sid works his way up and finally gets a permanent posting as an Assistant Photographer.

By then Sid's father calls him back home and they mend their differences. Aisha also falls for Sid slowly but surely. Sid had been having love feelings for her from the beginning but she feels he is too kiddish for her liking. Finally Sid comes to know about her feelings for him, through her first published article.

Sid and Aisha unite in the Mumbai rains in the end.

Hits

• Such realism in the way relationships have been portrayed be it - love, friendship, mother son bonding, father son bonding. Beautiful to the core. Great work by debutante Ayan Mukerji. 
• Brilliant acting by the entire cast be it Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen, Anupam Kher as the dad, Supriya Pathak as the mom, Sid's friends Laxmi, Rishi & Kashmira Shah as Sonia. Perfect casting. Even the characters in the flat like the young kid, his mom etc. are so life-like.
• Lovely songs by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Amit Trivedi. Peppy, meaningful and melodious at the same time. The BG score by Amit Trivedi is so well in sync with the movie. 
• Even though each of the cast has done a brilliant job, it is impossible to single them out because everyone is equally brilliant. 
• Nice light screenplay that becomes serious just at a couple of points.

VERDICT

One of my all time favorite cults. Ranbir arrived in a big way with this light-hearted coming of age classic. 

Ra.One movie review

The Plot
The movie is based on a far fetched idea that virtual characters in a video game can become real and roam around in the actual world.

Shekhar Subramanium is a gamer who designs a game for his kid Prateek, where the villain is deadly and is more powerful than the hero. The villain is Ra One and the hero is G One.

Prateek is super excited and feels great about his dad. He starts playing the game with the name Lucifer but, he doesn't complete the game. Ra One is not happy about this pause in the game and soon comes out of the game into the real world to look for Lucifer and settle the game with him.

Ra One wreaks havoc on the game's developers Aakashi and Shekhar himself, and starts chasing Lucifer aka Prateek. Just then, G One also comes into the real world and now he is the savior for Prateek and Shekhar's widow Sonia.

The game between G One and Ra One starts in London and continues in Mumbai. Ra One has the ability to take different human forms just like the villain in "Terminator". G One is the endearing robot on the lines of Chitti and he is like Arnold in "Terminator" as he protects Prateek and his mother Sonia.

After some terrific stunts in the local train, G One faces Ra One, with Prateek controlling his moves through the gaming console. Another far fetched piece of imagination.

The movie ends with the promise of a sequel. But, no one was excited one bit.

Hits

• The first face-off between Ra One and G One gives goose bumps and is a big high in an otherwise lackluster fare.
• SRK as the nerdy Shekhar Subramanium irritates with his idiotic Tamizh but, this was the only character in the movie that had at least some audience connect. As G One, his hairstyle is super cool. 
• Kareena looks smoking hot and contributes in making the songs a visual treat. Criminal, Chammak Challo, Dildara were all the few highlights. 
• Ambitious 3D and VFX. Best technical film seen in Indian Cinema by a mile. But, it was not flawless. Some instances like the train coming onto the road, were quite artificial. 

Misses

• The grand finale in the climax between Ra One and G One is a big disaster as it is just an avalanche of VFX thrown at the viewers with 0 emotional connect. 
• Just one theme is repeated in the BG score. A superhero film requires something else. 
• The comedy scenes involving G One in the second half have a Chitti feel to them. 
• In the special scene involving Rajinikanth as Chitti, he was so jaded, tired and had no charisma. Pitiable. It was a mere caricature of the larger than life superstar that Rajini was, not too long ago.  
• A plot devoid of logic, completely. Even considering the fact that it is a superhero film, the execution is equally botched. 
• Arjun Rampal just flaunts his body but his performance as Ra One leaves a lot to be desired. The Aakashi version of Ra One is also funny. 

Comment

• For all the supreme hype given, this movie is just plain silly. The exhibitors and distributors will have a tough time recovering their money parted to that super smart businessman SRK

VERDICT

Money has literally been burnt. The screenplay has no grip, minimum involvement factor and it tires the viewer very often.

7aum Arivu movie review

The Plot

The film is as expected about Bodhidharma and his amazing contribution to the world of medicine and martial arts, and how a genetic engineering student Subha Srinivasan tries to bring those powers back through the genetic memory concept. The Chinese don’t want this to happen and they send a very powerful martial arts hypnotist named Dong Lee to stop this and start Operation Red in India.

Operation Red is actually a bio-war (virus) and China wants India to beg them for the cure to the virus. The cure to this virus is the very same that Bodhidharma developed 1600 yrs back when he saved a Chinese village from the same virus attack. The Chinese know that if Bodhidharma is brought back, their plans will go bust.

Subha finds out that circus artist Aravind has a DNA line that is 80% similar to that of Bodhidharma. She pursues him solely for this purpose but Aravind falls in love with her and is snubbed by her. He feels defeated when he comes to know that he was just used by her.

But, later he comes to know of the purpose of her research and Dong Lee also starts wreaking havoc in India in his mission to kill Subha and Aravind. They join hands along with some more students and bravely proceed with the process with Aravind to bring Bodhidharma back. They do it very secretively but the inevitable villain moves start to happen, leading to the climax face-off between Dong Lee and Aravind aka Bodhidharma.

The film gets preachy in the end with a message about how Tamil culture is being forgotten and how science is the basis of life.

Hits

• Shruti Haasan has a great debut and she has maximum weightage. She pulls it off very convincingly. She looks smoking hot in the songs. Super prospect.
• The villain is menacing and he is a great addition to Indian cinema
• Nice directorial touches by A.R.Murugadoss in many places. One such instance is when he shows the virus spreading
• The hypnotism concept has been worked out in a terrific manner.
• Suriya shows off his chiseled body, funky styles and youthful demeanor. He is convincing as Bodhidharma with his serene eyes but, in the rest of the movie he is just the second fiddle to Shruti.

Comments

• The scene where Dong Lee wreaks havoc with the vehicles on the road is nicely worked out but poorly executed by the VFX team.
• Song placements are very average though they have been picturized beautifully. Oh Ringa, Yelelama, Yamma Yamma lead the pack. All the songs sound great too, though familiar.
• Harris Jeyaraj’s BGM doesn’t have one single notable theme. Very average score that is loud at places.

Misses

• The anticipation leading to the climax face-off between the hero and villain is great. But, the actual fight is just over the top commercial stuff. How Aravind suddenly gets Bodhidharma’s powers despite the DNA process being interrupted towards the end, is a mystery.

VERDICT

Great effort that could have been flawless if the climax fight had been worked out with more punch. Worth a watch for sure. 80% of the hype has been fulfilled. 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

The Plot
The movie entirely deals with the crazy drug trips that a journalist Duke and his lawyer Dr Gonzo have, while they travel on a road trip from LosAngeles to Las Vegas.

They take all sorts of drugs, acid, alcohol etc etc. and behave in the most crazy manner possible. There is no story plot as such, other than their series of psychedelic escapades.

Hits

• Some amazing acting by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro. They are so natural and it looks as if they have been shot by hidden cameras when they were actually having these drug trips. While the bald Depp is understated and super-cool during his drug trips, Del Toro is totally hyper and boisterous. 
• Such irreverent style of film making that is solely concentrated on the effects on human behavior after taking a truckload of drugs. 

VERDICT

A once in a lifetime cult. Totally unique and daring film-making by Terry Gilliam.

Analyze That (2002)

The Plot
The film takes over from the first part and Paul Vitti is in prison. He senses a danger to his life inside the prison and fakes a medical problem to come out. Inevitably, Dr. Sobel will be in charge of him as Paul is out on parole on medical grounds.

Sobel is trying to deal with the death of his father. Paul is initially very extravagant as a house guest at Paul's. He even brings over a hooker and fucks her for an eternity. Sobel attempts to make Paul fit into the normal social life by looking out for jobs for him but, Paul isn't able to adjust to any job. He finally becomes a consultant to a gangster based TV show.

In the end he plans a nice gold robbery heist and makes sure that all the mobsters who were gunning for his life, get caught and are sent to prison. Paul and his ally Jelly bid goodbye to Sobel in the end.

Hits

• Robert De Niro has more fun in this part. So spontaneous. He is a riot. Billy Crystal is typically the same as he was in the first part. Straight faced humor is his forte. 
• Joe Viterelli is again very funny and enjoyable as Jelly. Lisa Kudrow as Dr. Sobel's wife, Laura is very petite and elegant. She impresses with her helpnessness at the fact that her husband is being taken for a ride by Paul Vitti. 

VERDICT

Some good light hearted fun.

Cashback (2006)

The Plot
Final year Arts student, Ben has a breakup with Suzy and he struggles to get over her. He develops insomnia and to trade some time, he joins the nearby department store. He starts imagining as if his time is frozen and starts perceiving all the girls who come to the store, in a nude/semi-nude manner.

He also thinks of all the sexual experiences that he has had in his life as a young boy. One particular encounter with a Swedish student who had stayed in his home, is too hot to handle for the viewers. The super busty and shapely student just walks naked from the bathroom to her room upstairs, as the young Ben watches her big ass, super big boobs and sharp nipples in all their glory

There are some really funny characters in the store starting from the manager Jenkins to the co-workers like Barry and his friend, the kungfu guy etc. They have a hilarious football match with another store, which is a real laugh riot.

Ben starts becoming close to Sharon, another worker in the store and the feeling is reciprocated too. After a minor split between the two, they unite in the climax at the exhibition that showcases Ben's artworks, which are mostly on Sharon.

Hits

• The making style is quite contemporary and stylish. The way the frames freeze and the hero goes about his fantasies, is quite addictive. The first person narrative style is another turn-on. 
• Good job by the hero, Sean Biggerstaff. 
• Another movie with a decent BG score. 
• The characters in the store and Ben's friend Sean, offer some really hearty laughs, with their pranks. 

VERDICT

The addictive making style is the biggest plus 

A Single Man (2009)

The Plot
The movie is set in 1962 and deals with how professor George Falconer deals with the loss of his partner Jim. They had been gay partners for around 16 yrs.

He has suicidal tendencies and is very frustrated with his students and the general American way of life. He is close to Charley, a woman who is in love with him since long.

George becomes particularly close to one of his students Kenny and they hang out together over drinks and even go for a swim in the beach.

Just when George is about to recover and lead his life happily, fate strikes cruelly.

Hits

• Colin Firth as the depressed professor turns in a splendid performance brimming with emotions. 
• Julianne Moore as Charley dresses quite garishly and is heavily made-up. Nevertheless her acting caliber shines through all the layers of make-up. 
• The movie also has some really good looking male actors just to substantiate the fact that George is gay. Be it Jim, Kenny or the Spanish guy that George meets in a pub. 
• The BG score of this movie is reminiscent of Ilayaraja's style. Lots of pathos violins add to the gloomy mood. 

VERDICT

Perfectly titled and brilliantly performed by Colin Firth. Could have ended positively. 

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

The Plot
Young politician David Norris and dancer Elise fall in love at first sight. They make an irresistible pair. David is a high profile politician who is on track to become a possible presidential candidate in future and Elise is in line to become a delightful choreographer.

There are a set of men who call themselves "The Adjustment Bureau". They control people's lives and maintain a file for each person. According to their plans, these 2 lovers are not supposed to unite because their respective careers will be affected by their blind love for each other.

David decides to follow their advice for 3 yrs and goes away from Elise. He then, comes to know that Elise is about to get married. Now, his feelings for her start to overpower him and he is desperate to stop her marriage. He is then helped by one of the members of the "Adjustment Bureau", Harry, who leads David to Elise through many secret doors in the city. After a major chase by the other members of the bureau, the 2 lovers unite through the sheer intensity of their love for each other.

Hits

• Emily Blunt is delightfully charming and dances like a dream. Such a perfect woman worth craving for.
• Matt Damon is as always earnest and intense in his portrayal of David Norris
• Anthony Mackie has a nice gentle-manlike role as Harry, a helpful member of the bureau.
• The BG score varies according to the screenplay. Mellow and riveting, according to the mood of the scenes.  

Comments

• The concept of "The Adjustment Bureau" is pure fantasy but, not over the top. It is basically about a group of men who make sure that they control peoples' destiny. David Norris, though, decides to make his own destiny by taking on the bureau despite the risks. 

VERDICT

Terrific on-screen chemistry between the lead pair and an outrageously beautiful Emily Blunt make this film a decent watch. 

Real Steel (2011)

The Plot
The movie is set in the near future and it is about robot boxing. It features some spectacular animatronics robots named Ambush, Noisy Boy, Atom, Zeus, Twin Cities etc. etc.

A thread of father-son bonding also runs through the movie as Charlie and his son Max unite after the death of Max's mother. Max is supposed to be with Charlie only for a few months before he is adopted by Deborah, his mom's sister.

Charlie had been away from his family ever since the birth of Max, due to his boxing pursuits. Charlie is backed all along by Bailey and her late father Tallet. Tallet's gym is the place where Charlie trains and makes his robots functional.

After Charlie fails with his first 2 robots Ambush and Noisy Boy, due to his over ambitious approach, he finally makes it big with his son's robot Atom. Atom is actually discovered in the metal dumping yard under dangerous circumstances by Max and he is totally attached to Atom since that incident.

Max trains Atom based on his expertise with video games. He finds out that Atom can imitate whatever the person facing him does. Max dances with Atom, makes him do some moves and finally Charlie chips in with his boxing expertise. Initially Atom wins some local bouts before being listed in the WRB league.

In the climax WRB bout with the undisputed champion Zeus, Atom really puts up a great show and embarrasses the people behind Zeus. Atom emerges as the people's champ after Charlie even does some shadow boxing towards the final rounds.

The climax fight is just like the legendary Rocky1 fight between Balboa and Apollo Creed where Rocky as the underdog bravely fights it out till the end and emerges as the people's champ .

Hits

• Some amazing animatronics robots.
• Hugh Jackman is rugged, manly, handsome and absolutely macho. A killer indeed. In the climax when he does shadow boxing, jumps and punches, it makes you scream in delight spontaneously. 
• Dakota Goyo as the young kid Max is a real charmer with his cute eyes and pleasing smile. When he dances with Atom, it feels so good and bowls you over totally. 
• Evangeline Lilly as Bailey, is super hot, sexy and provides some good emotional moments. 
• The boxing matches between the robots are all beautifully done and make the audience go crazy with the mad adrenaline rush. 

VERDICT

A robotic version of Rocky with some good father-son bonding thrown in the mix. MUST WATCH

Limitless (2011)

The Plot
A worn out and wasted writer, Eddie Morra is badly looking for inspiration in life when he comes across a drug that works wonders to his brain. It is called NZT. As soon as he takes it, he starts working like a dream and his efficiency is unimaginably high.

He becomes a big name in the share market and starts working with big shots like Carl Van Loon. But, due to this drug and his high profile rise, he is also pursued by other notorious people in the city who want the drug for obvious reasons.

He also goes through a stage when he is on the verge of collapsing due to the after effects of the drug. But Eddie hangs in, ensures constant supply and intake of NZT and becomes really big, to the level of becoming the Senator and US President in waiting. He also stabilizes his relationship with his girlfriend Lindy after a failed marriage to Melissa.
Hits

• Bradley Cooper is style personified and looks obnoxiously handsome.
• Abbie Cornish redefines petite and cute. Such divine looks. 
• Robert De Niro looks really old. But, nevertheless the class is intact
• The making style is classy and quite extravagant with lots of zooms and jerky camera movements & trendy BG score. Sort of 'Fight Club' like in the overall look and feel 
• The scenes where Eddie and Lindy feel the effect of NZT are portrayed with a lot of stylish impact. 

VERDICT

This fantasy entertainer makes you go WOW ...  

No Strings Attached (2011)

The Plot
Adam and Emma get into a unique deal where they will use each other just for sex. They call each other sex friends. Adam shows obvious love interest towards Emma from the beginning but Emma is inconsistent and doesn't commit to Adam.

Adam loses interest beyond a point and is ready to move on in life, halfheartedly. Just then, Emma starts missing Adam badly and just before it's too late, she manages to get Adam and the 2 unite in life to live happily ever after.

There are a bunch of friends and well-wishers who are with the pair throughout. There is also Adam's father who somehow falls for the same girl that Adam had once fallen for. Both the father and son share the same girlfriend but at different points of time:)

Hits

• Super pairing. The uber cute Natalie Portman and cool dude Ashton Kutcher will definitely give a hormonal rush to members of the respective opposite sex. 

VERDICT

Just another romantic movie where the lovers lately realize their love after the initial refusals.

Super 8 (2011)

The Plot
A bunch of school kids are shooting a short film for some festival, near a railway track. They witness a terrible accident where a truck gets onto the track and derails the entire train. This train belongs to the Air Force and carries some weird white cubes. The truck was driven by the biology teacher in their school.

Then, a lot of strange happenings like dogs disappearing, cars smashed etc. occur in the town (Lillian) and an ET creature is apparently causing all the havoc.

The kids find out that the biology teacher knows the truth behind all these strange happenings. He wishes to free the ET creature that has been trapped on Earth by the Air Force. The ET creature actually wants to reassemble its ship using those white cubes and leave earth. But, the Air Force traps the creature and drives it to become very aggressive against humans. One of the kid's dad is the deputy sheriff of the town and he wants to bring the Air Force to task for causing all the havoc in the town.

Finally after a lot of chaos caused by fire explosions, evacuation in the town, one of the kids (Alice) being trapped by the creature, a war like zone caused by the Air Force's destructive attitude towards the creature etc. etc. , the creature gets back to its home after forming a space ship using all the magnetic objects in the town.

The kids are all safe and all is well.

Hits

• Very good visual effects particularly in the opening train accident and the climax action.
• Entertaining and fast moving.
• Nice performances by all the kids. 

Comments

• The ET creature looks very ugly and gory. 

VERDICT

Another monster movie and a good time pass entertainer at that. 

Paramathma (2011)

The Plot
Paramathma is a young happy-go-lucky guy who fails in his M.Sc exams multiple times. He is madly loved by his class mate and close friend Saanvi aka Paseena. But, Param just sees her as his friend and doesn't reciprocate her love.

He once meets Deepa in a tense and weird scenario in a cinema theater and falls for her at first sight. She refuses initially but due to his constant pursuit, she also falls for him. After some situations involving both the girls madly pursuing Param, Saanvi lets go off Param and Deepa gets him.

They eventually get married and have a kid as well. But, destiny plays a cruel prank on Param. Yet he continues to be easy going and lives life happily.

Param narrates this entire love story of his to Saanvi as she comes to invite him for her marriage. The cruel play of fate in Param's life also affects Saanvi and she leaves him even more attracted to his character and nature.

Hits

• Catchy and peppy songs
• 2 beautiful and hot heroines, not averse to ample skin show.
• Light hearted nature of the movie
• Good picturesque locales
• The non-linear narrative interspersing Param's love story with Deepa and his current day conversation with Saanvi. 

Misses

• Irritating comedy track

Comments

• Puneet Rajkumar looks so ugly but pulls it off due to his solid physique, super stylish dance and original stunts. His voice is girly too. Talk of luck and family backing.  

VERDICT

A decent attempt at a light hearted family entertainer featuring a popular mass hero. 

Submarine (2010)

The Plot
The film is about the life of a young 15 yr old school kid Oliver Tate. It traverses his love life with Jordana Bevan and also the troubled relationship that exists between his parents.

He suspects that his mother is having an affair with her former lover and current neighbor Graham, who has a weird lifestyle. Oliver goes through troubles in his life because of his twin commitments - setting right his parents' relationship and maintaining his relationship with Jordana.

Just when things are about to turn worse, they pan out like a fairy-tale. His parents decide to put the Graham affair behind and Jordana also comes back to Oliver after forgiving all the neglect during Jordana's time of need.

Hits

• Craig Roberts as the introverted and quite scared and weird Oliver Tate is very natural and perfectly casted
• Yasmin Paige as Jordana is overweight but suits the role of the crazy, different school girl. 
• The making style is very original. The use of chapters is Tarantino-esque 
• The climax scene when the young lovers reunite in the beach is very romantic. 
• Some good bonding scenes between the father and son are shown through the mood based song tapes

VERDICT

A different movie about teenage love and parental troubles shown through the eyes of the young protagonist. 

Blitz (2011)

The Plot
Tom Brant is a ruthless cop who is totally mean and aggressive. He gets into trouble often, for his methods.
Suddenly, a series of cops get killed and Brant is assigned to work with Porter Nash, a senior cop to crack this case.

The serial killer is a psychotic youngster named Barry Weiss. He calls himself  'The Blitz'. He bumps off all the cops who had booked him on various cases before.

Brant and Nash track him down and bring him to his knees and dump him off in style.

Hits

• Jason Statham is born to do such roles. Supreme punch dialogs, hyper agility in the chase sequences and that aggressive swagger are all super macho. 
• Aidan Gillen as the psycho is another reason why the film works. Nice eccentric performance with a lot of theatrics. 
• Very fast screenplay. Never a dull moment.
• The support characters Porter Nash, Falls, Stokes etc. also play a part in making proceedings interesting. 

VERDICT

Yet another Jason Statham action fiesta. 

Insomnia (2002)

The Plot
Will Dormer comes to Alaska to investigate the mysterious murder of a 17yr old girl. He is partnered by Hap. The local cops lead by Ellie also give him company on this case.

During pursuit of the killer Walter Finch, Will accidentally shoots his partner Hap, dead. After this, it is sheer trauma for Will as he is unable to sleep and the killer is also a witness to his accidental killing of Hap.

Then, Will and Walter get into negotiations where Will is unable to expose Walter due to his own blunder on Hap. The murdered girl's boy friend Randy is made a scapegoat and sent to prison.

But finally, Will musters the courage and decides to bump off Walter even though he will get into trouble for his killing of Hap. What happens to Will and Walter is the climax.

Hits

• The real show piece of the film is Hilary Swank, for her real charm, elegance, grace and likable looks. 
• Terrific locations. The setting is really apt for this detective mystery. Canada is the place that has been passed off as Alaska.

Comments

• Al Pacino looks tired and drugged due to his insomnia and literally sleepwalks through his role. Robin Williams as the writer/killer Walter is passable.
• Among Christopher Nolan's very few straight forward films. 

VERDICT

Intense, gripping, involving and very much watchable stuff from Christopher Nolan.