Argo review

My Twitter handle - @LMK_LEO86 ... My FB page - LMK's movie reviews ...

This movie is based on a true incident about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. In a time of great animosity against the United States in Tehran, an Iranian mob attacks the US embassy in Iran and takes about 50 prominent diplomats as hostage. Six of them somehow escape the building and manage to sneak into the Canadian ambassador’s house. As the outside environment gets extremely hostile, these six stay indoors.

The reason for the Iranians’ bitter hatred against the US is due to USA’s support for the recently deposed Shah of Iran (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi), who was a brutal dictator.

The State Department responds to this situation and decides to do an exfil of these six. (Extraction or exfiltration). Tony Mendez, an exfil specialist and a CIA operative heads this mission to bring these six back home.

He uses the cover of a Canadian film production crew who are scouting for exotic Iranian locations for a sci-fi movie, and somehow manages to get into Iran. Tony takes the help of a makeup artist and a film producer. How he goes about rescuing these six and how they return home is told in a really gripping and thrilling manner.    

The film uses a lot of real life reference to make it more life-like. The original incident has been done full justice thanks to this authentic effort. In the end credits, we are shown pictures of the actual characters and President Jimmy Carter’s speech about this crisis is also played in the end credits.

The film is really gripping and thrilling. It falls under the political thriller genre perfectly. The witty dialogues in the movie are thanks to Alan Arkin’s inimitable style of delivery. ‘Argo fuck yourself’ is one such classic that is repeated many times in the movie.

The soundtrack adds to the tension particularly towards the end, during the airport sequence when Tony escapes with the six amid tight scrutiny and security. The shots of Iran’s busy streets and the bustling energy add to the involvement of the audience with the movie.

Oscar winning Alan Arkin is the most entertaining presence in the movie. Ben Affleck means business throughout the movie and looks brooding with his shaggy style. Director Ben Affleck snatches the cake from actor Ben Affleck. Hats off to him and George Clooney for producing this movie based on a real incident. 

FINAL WORD: It’s thrilling, gripping and engaging all the way. An uplifting experience, Argo is. 

Mayilu review

0.5 / 5

The film is basically a Partuthiveeran type story where a girl called Thogai Mayilu (Thomayilu in short) is obsessively in love with a guy named Chella Pandi. The film just meanders on and on and the only spike in the movie is when the hero is chosen as the village's priest thanks to the Godly tantrums that he throws when he is possessed.

How do these tantrums affect Mayilu and her love for the hero is the movie's crux. They have also thrown some light on the blind beliefs and superstitions about God that are prevalent in villages. The violent ending was totally uncalled for and is inserted just to make a bland movie somewhat spicy. 

Ganja Karuppu brings a half-chuckle thanks to some of his drunken antics. The rest of the village characters are so cliched and irritatingly loud. 

Shammu emotes very well and is the only minor-highlight in the movie along with Raja's music which has some above average songs. Sad to see the legend working in such movies. The characters in the movie start a word in Adyar and end the word at Avadi. That's how they drag and stretch every word in the name of Madurai Tamil. 

The hero shrieks to the maximum and shows all his teeth and cracks our eardrums when he throws the Godly tantrums. Other than that, he is a constipated presence in the movie.

This movie has the look, feel and treatment of a 1980s movie and my guess is it would have bombed big time in the 80s too. Mayilu had no business releasing now, one feels ... 

The movie on the whole is an ordeal. You might feel restless in the theater for the entire running length. My duty, had to see this one :). Audiences may happily skip this ... 

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

This one is about vengeance by the Jews against the Nazis. Nazi occupied France is the center of action and Shosanna Dreyfuss has a personal score to settle against the Nazis and Colonel Hans Landa, for an ambush four years prior to the present.

She is in Paris with a different identity and is the owner of a cinema theater which is chosen to be the venue for the premier of a new Nazi propaganda movie titled 'Nation's Pride' starring war hero Fredrick Zoller and directed by Joesph Goebbels who is a very important member of Hitler's Third Reich.

She plans to burn down her theater with all the important Nazis locked inside during the premier, thanks to the adequate inflammable nitrate film that she has at her disposal. She has a Negro helper with whom she is very close.

On the other hand, we have the eight 'Inglorious Basterds', a violent lot, led by Lieutenant Aldo 'The Apache' Raine, who is always on the lookout for Nazi scalps. This team has eccentric and extremely violent characters like Hugo Stiglitz and 'The Bear Jew' Donny Donowitz. They are a part of 'Operation Kino' which also entails placing explosives at the film premier and ambushing the Nazis. Operation Kino is a British initiative which also involves a popular German actress-agent Bridget von Hammersmark.

What happens to the above two plans which coincide at the same venue, whether they succeed and whether the Nazis are ambushed is the finale of this movie.

The film has lots of suspenseful scenes which slowly buildup to reach a violent crescendo. The introductory scene of Colonel Landa, the scene at the bar when some Germans are celebrating their colleague's new baby, the final theater burning scene are such examples of scenes which are beautifully executed in a patient manner.

Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine scores with his voice modulations, looks, gestures and accent while Christopher Waltz as the silent and mean Landa nicknamed 'The Jew Hunter' is a terror. Both these actors lift the movie considerably. Most of the Basterds make a mark thanks to their unique traits. Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent are the two beautiful faces with Melanie as Shosanna being a serene woman dying for vengeance against the Nazis. Kruger's fate is sad while Landa's passive 'deal' moves towards the end compromise the way in which his character was built-up till then.

The retro soundtrack at places makes a mark. There is also a lot of talk about German cinema and prominent directors of that time. The violence is again gloriously excess like other Tarantino movies. 'The Bear Jew' bashing Nazi heads with a baseball bat and Aldo carving the Swastika sign on the foreheads of surviving Nazis are classic examples of Tarantino's thinking.

The last dialog by Raine "I think this just might be my masterpiece" suits the movie and Tarantino pretty well too.

Rush movie review

1.5 / 5

The trailer of this Emraan Hashmi starrer directed by Shamin Desai looked notoriously similar to an earlier 2012 release named ‘Blood Money’. While that flick dealt with blood diamonds, ‘Rush’ is about sensationalism in the news media.

Samar Grover (Emraan Hashmi) is an ambitious investigative journalist who is always on the lookout for the truth in his news stories. Just as he loses his job in one news channel named ‘Pulse’ due to external influences, he is roped in by another channel named ‘Crime 24’ as the editor-in-chief. He gets all the pleasures in life overnight and as expected his relationship with his girlfriend, Ahana (Sagarika Ghatge), takes a beating. 

Inevitably, he also finds about the shady modus operandi of the channel which is headed by Roger Khanna (Aditya Pancholi) and run with the assistance of the glamorous Lisa Kapoor (Neha Dhupia). Samar gets into a mess soon and he is now on the run. How he manages to free himself from this quagmire is the finale of this short movie.

The film begins well and we are introduced to the street-smart and gutsy Samar. The handsome and stylish Emraan Hashmi plays it well in his typical youthful style. Few songs pop now and then without any consequence and the film races towards the interval despite being predictable all the way. Post that, the film has its moments of rush and action before the ending, which is on expected lines.

We also get a sermon about sensationalism in the media and how the public is also responsible for nurturing such journalism thanks to their craving for negative news.

Among the other performers, Neha Dhupia is hot as the seductress while the voluptuous Sagarika Ghatge is back after a hiatus as Emraan’s pair. She is sparkling and good looking in a unique way. Aditya Pancholi is majestic and suave as the rich villain who has some dubious philosophies about the news media and ways to garner TRPs.

The songs by Pritam have nothing new to offer though they sound good as always. The BGM of the movie has a heavy Hans Zimmer hangover while the camerawork gives the film a racy appeal.

Ultimately, Rush is a harmless movie that doesn’t offer anything exciting. It isn’t boring due to its short running time (less than two hours) but it isn’t impressive too thanks to the shallow script and seen-before treatment. And it is one of those rare Emraan Hashmi movies that doesn’t have steamy kissing scenes.

FINAL WORD: Rush isn’t ‘Breaking News’ as it is predictable, straightforward and has no thrills and twists. 

Aarohanam review

1.5 / 5

This film came with great hype as being one of the best offbeat movies to come out of Tamil cinema in recent times.

The film starts off with a hit and run incident where Nirmala (Viji) is knocked down by a speeding car driven by a rich businesswoman named Sandhya. We are then shown scenes of her two kids, Senthil and Selvi, frantically looking for her around the city along with her estranged husband.

Along with these searching scenes, we are also shown glimpses of Nirmala's past and near-past as a bi-polar and extremely moody woman. Her husband isn't able to tolerate her and finds solace in another woman.

The jumps in narrative are too many and we are not able to fully immerse ourselves in the search for Nirmala. What happens to her and whether she is reunited with her kids is the suspense factor which was supposed to be gripping. But, it hardly is. The non-linear nature of the movie is a drawback for sure and the lay moviegoer wouldn't appreciate such untimely jumps.

Just when we expect the film to be a really intense emotional roller-coaster ride, it loses focus big time when we come to know what actually happened to Nirmala after the car incident. The club song towards the end is another real drag.

K's music is the only plus point in the movie and the youngster's RR is soothing and haunting. The film has a very heavy Mysskin hangover in the way there are so many night shots. The mad beggar is another typical Mysskin character.

Viji's character (Nirmala) doesn't win our empathy thanks to her bi-polar acts which are overdone. She is a doting mother, a really steely woman who stands by her kids at all times but her character doesn't make a big mark.

After the opening title credits, we are led to believe that this film is an ode to motherhood but the film ends with a sermon about how bi-polar people have achieved greatness (Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie and even many cinema actors like Jim Carrey are listed as being bi-polar)

FINAL WORD: As the film ends, we don't feel anything and for a film that was meant to be a tribute to motherhood this indifference wasn't part of the equation.

Chakravyuh review

1.5 / 5

Director Prakash Jha is known for his issue based films that are hard-hitting and to the point. Let’s see what he has focused on in Chakravyuh, his latest starring Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol and Esha Gupta in lead roles.

Here, Prakash Jha has thrown light on the Naxalites and their staunch communist philosophies. They are up in arms against the Indian government and rich businessmen who are out to exploit villages and the helpless inhabitants with their capitalist ideals. The policemen are caught in between as they are ordered to wipe out the Naxalites as per the whims of the politicians.

The only human relationship element of note in the movie is the one between SP Adil Khan and his close friend Kabir who infiltrates the Naxalites to help his friend gain some valuable intelligence info. What happens to Kabir as he increasingly starts believing in the Naxalites’ cause and whether the Naxalites are stopped in their tracks is the climax of the film.

The film doesn't have anything new to offer as we have already read about how capitalists exploit villages and drive villagers out of their own lands. The Naxalites’ rebellion against the government is another oft-read and oft-seen topic. In this film we also see how the villagers are caught between these two parties as they don’t know whom to trust and bank upon.

Arjun Rampal is a majestic presence in the movie and he must be among the most fit and trim police characters in Indian cinema. Esha Gupta as his wife is another policewoman who scores high in the looks department. Abhay Deol as Kabir has the best role in the movie as the undercover police informer and he delivers as always. Manoj Bajpayee as the Naxal leader has delivered better performances in the past and his role is muted. Om Puri is dignified as expected, as the senior Marxist leader. Anjali Patel as the fiery Naxal Juhi goes overboard with her vociferous outbursts.

There are a lot of encounters involving guns, bombs and other weapons. The action isn't extra-ordinary by any means though. The film didn't need any songs and the few songs that come are run-of-the-mill. Sameera Reddy’s item number is downright ordinary. The film has been shot in forests most of the way and there is some good work by the cinematographer Sachin Krishna. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is a letdown. The film also suffers due to the lack of entertainment and the slow pace. At 152 minutes, Chakravyuh is a long affair. There is also an overdose of the ‘Lal Salaam’ communist slogan.

With Prakash Jha’s name, one expected a film with more research, depth and something new and stunning. But Chakravyuh doesn’t deliver and despite the two strong male leads, the film doesn’t impress and turns out to be a long and predictable affair.

FINAL WORD: Slow and predictable movie that isn't worth the time.

The Prestige (2006)

A movie that dwells on the fascinating world of magic and one that educates the audience about the three acts in magic - pledge, turn and prestige.

It is shown through the lives of two rival magicians - Robert Angier aka 'The Great Danton' and Alfred Borden aka 'The Professor'. Each of them is obsessed about bettering the other and is always looking for the next stunning act.

'The Transported Man' of Borden becomes 'The New Transported Man' from Angier before Angier's final act 'The Real Transported Man' which is dangerous and unbelievable. The lengths to which Angier goes to get the machine which he uses for this act is truly obsessive.

The rivalry between scientists Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola Tesla is another minor plot. The world of science and engineering travels parallel to the world of magic.

As Michael Caine (ingenieur Cutter) says in the movie "obsession is a young man's game", both the rivals are truly obsessed and driven to outsmart each other. The women in Angier and Borden's life meet with unfortunate ends and Borden's ingenieur Fallon  has a major role in the movie as revealed in the twist in the end which is truly a suspension of belief.

Even if you are seeing the movie for a second or third time, when you come to know the truth behind Fallon and Borden, it is jaw dropping. As these scenes play out, you wonder what sort of a director Christopher Nolan is. It is just a simple trick but the way he presents it makes you wonder.

The repercussions of the machine which we see early in the movie through the hats and cats, is revealed again in the end in a shocking little moment before the end credits roll.

The movie is dark, grim and the look and feel of the movie also echoes the same. The music is minimal and the film is driven by the concept and the class actors in the movie such as Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall.

FINAL WORD: One of a kind movie about the fascinating world of magic. It's gripping all the way with never a slack moment.