Cedar Rapids (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Kurtwood Smith, Sigourney Weaver

An award-winning insurance agency, Brownstar, has been successful so far in winning the Two Diamonds awards given out annually to the best insurance agency. Brownstar insurance agent Tim Lippe (Helms) is selected to  represent his company this year at the awards ceremony after the agent who usually took up this task decided to move on in life. Tim has never stepped out of his home town, led a sheltered life and is very immature for his age. He has no idea on how he is supposed to live to his boss's expectations and come back winning the awards. He befriends his roommates Dean Zeigler (Reily) the very man whom his boss asked him to stay away from, and Ronald Wilkes (Whitlock Jr.). He is attraction to Joan (Heche), nervousness about winning the award, learning about independent life the hard way and getting accustomed to reality make those few days seem far longer than they were intended to be. The movie is pretty much your average run-of-the-mill comedy movie but it wont fail to entertain. Its light, funny, cheerful and uplifting and would try very hard to make you smile.

Thumbs up: Light and fun

Thumbs down: Cliched and can slow in parts

Rating: 6.5/10

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Gunda (1998)

Genre: Crime/Drama/Action

Starring: Mithun Chakraborty, Verna Raj, Rana Jung Bahadur, Mohan Joshi, Shakti Kapoor, Razak Khan, Harish Patel, Mukesh Rishi

Speechless. There are these select few movies, rarely found, that manage to be so ultimately horrible that its an amazing watch. Its like the village idiot who lacks every kind of personality but is yet laughed at by all. But don't get me wrong, Gunda would never fall into that category. Its amazingly huge cult following that swear by it can not be wrong. Shankar (Chakraborty) is the common man frustrated with corrupt politicians and the harassment that every individual faces due to gangsters openly walking on the streets. He takes the law into his own hands and decides to bring an end to them once and for all. Bulla (Rishi) is a well-connected gangster that works for a politician and gets rid of his opposition. His sidekicks include Pote (Joshi), Ebu Hatela (Patel) and Bulla's bisexual brother, Chuttiya (Kapoor). Every goon has their own introductory line which they keep narrating every now and then. Bulla claims to keep everything in the open (mein rakhta hoon sab khulla), Chuttiya vows to basically make life horrible even for the best (achche achchon ki khadi karta hoon khatiya), Pote literally means grandson which he claims even your dad wont have (?) (jo tumhare baap ke bhi nahin hote) and Ebu Hatela explains his ancestry and wants you to eat his banana (!) (Maa meri chudail ke beti, baap mera shaitan ka chela, khayega kela?). If these lines crack you up, what would the first 5 minutes of the movie do to you? Google the dialogue list and you would find loads of websites where fans have listed the hilarity. Apart from these award winning dialogues, the movie is pure trash. Skip through the jargon and enjoy the essence. Its a clear case of love and hate and I must say, I'm lovin' it.

Thumbs up: The best script ever!

Thumbs down: Very typical Bollywood B-grade from the '90s

Rating: 7.0/10

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HAYWIRE

HAYWIRE
Written by Lem Dobbs
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum


Aaron: Is this your idea of relaxing? Wine and gun maintenance?

To a large extent, both on the surface and at its root, Steven Soderbergh’s latest caper, HAYWIRE, is nothing more than a filmic excuse to watch former “American Gladiator”, Gina Carano, beat the living crap out of a bunch of big, strapping men. On many levels, Soderbergh has made this exact same movie in some form or another a number of times before, both stylistically and structurally. And while it may not be original at all, nor carry any real substance, HAYWIRE packs a punch that resonates with visceral intensity, leaving the viewer just as walloped as the men on screen, and loving it.

HAYWIRE is tailored to exhibit Carano’s talents to the utmost. Her mixed martial arts background lends great weight to the film, making the showcase well deserved. Whether she is taking on the likes of the mammoth Channing Tatum, or the highly skilled Michael Fassbender, or even the slightly smaller but equally spry, Ewan McGregor, Carano holds her own and then some. Her acting is occasionally stiff, but like Sasha Grey in Soderbergh’s THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, the frosty exterior suits her character. Besides, Carano is a total pleasure to watch when she gets rough and tough. When she fights, she unleashes a pressure and force on her opponents that is almost palpable, as if you can almost feel the brunt of her knuckles against your own cheek. Of course, this is also partly attributed to the manner in which Soderbergh allows the sequences to play out as well. While they bear his unmistakable style, they also exude a certain natural rawness to them that helps anchor the film too.

Soderbergh is unquestionably one of the most accomplished filmmakers working in cinema today. He is also, most of the time, one of the most identifiable directors as well. One always knows when one sees that yellow tint on the screen that one is watching one of his films. Even the international spy story, told from several different perspectives is reminiscent of his OCEAN’S 11 series or last year’s CONTAGION. On the one hand, I was disappointed to see Soderbergh cruising through such familiar terrain in HAYWIRE, but then there is the flip side to that. While it may not break any new ground for the director, all of his staples come together perfectly here, allowing for HAYWIRE to do what it does best, which is just kick ass.

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Drive (2011)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Canston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Ron Perlman

After The Transporter the Americans decided they wanted something like that too; enter Drive. Thankfully, they realised they cant make a blatant copy of the European series and hence decide to twist things up in many ways. Driver (Gosling) is a movie stunt artist who doubles as a getaway driver by night. He gets friendly with his neighbour, Irene (Mulligan) whose imprisoned husband Standard (Isaac) is due to be released. Standard owns protection money to a gang which he was to pay once he gets out. The sum has increased almost ten-fold and is unaffordable to pay back. He arranges a deal where he would help rob a pawn shop as payback and they would never shadow him again. He asks driver for his services. I personally don't agree that the acclaim the movie has garnered is justifiable. Yes its good, no its not phenomenal. The movie has an interesting plot line, performances are superb and the sheer character that the movie keeps is outstanding. It feels inspired from crime-based video games, GTA: Vice City to be precise, but that is open to debate. It has a 90's feel with a hint of film-noir hear and there which makes the approach very interesting. The complete let down is the pace and progress of the plot. One can argue that it adds a lot of character that makes the movie fantastic, but it is still something that the average movie-goer would classify as boring. A must watch for the film-lover and the critic, the rest can give it a shot and see what side of the argument do they fall on.

Thumbs up: Great feel and character, very GTAish

Thumbs down: Slow to progress and build up, needed more pace

Rating: 7.2/10

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Black Sheep interviews Ralph Fiennes

GENERAL FIENNES
An interview with CORIOLANUS director and star, Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes is known for playing intimidating, imposing characters, be that in his breakout film, SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993), his Oscar-nominated turn in the epic THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996) or his recurring role in the HARRY POTTER series, as the Dark Lord himself, Harry’s archnemesis, Voldemort. Like so many great actors before him, Fiennes has finally decided to step behind the camera with his directorial debut, CORIOLANUS. Keeping the experience true to intense form, Fiennes also stars.

“There were times when I came near to it, never totally though,” Fiennes confides when pressed if he ever regretted his decision to direct and star in this career benchmark, when we meet at the Toronto International Film Festival press stop. “Obviously I knew it would be hard and I tried to be as prepared as I could. It was a bit schizophrenic still.”

Based on one of William Shakespeare’s lesser known tragedies, and set in modern day Rome, CORIOLANUS finds Fiennes’ hero briskly built up and violently torn down by a near mad society, desperate for change and better living. “I love it dramatically because I think audiences are challenged as to where to put their allegiance,” says Fiennes of his attraction to the text. “They can start off resisting Coriolanus, then finding a way to admire him despite their thoughts about his views.”

Directing co-star, Gerard Butler

Having played the part over ten years ago, Fiennes knew even then that he wanted to keep the Shakespearean text intact for the present day setting. “I think it’s a potent mix when you put Shakespeare in modern dress,” Fiennes explains of his approach. “The trick is the language, you have to strip it of all theatricality and yet not deny its power.”

On screen with co-star, Jessica Chastain

Considering how stately he is on screen, Fiennes is considerably relaxed and humble in person. He is also quick to point out the important lessons he has taken away from the demanding CORIOLANUS. The first is that he wants to do it again. (He is already in pre-production on an Abi Morgan penned script called THE INVISIBLE WOMAN.) The second is that this time, maybe he’ll just sit back and watch from the director’s chair.

“You don’t want to be thinking about how you’re looking when you’re acting; you want to be just in it, reacting to the other person, but as a director, I have to try to detach.”

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Scary Movie 4 (2006)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Spoof/Adventure

Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Conchita Campbell, Beau Mirchoff, Kevin Hart

The Scary Movie series of movies can be attributed with the revolution of spoof movies where the plot never really mattered and all that accounted for was the ridiculous humour derived out of current events, TV shows and mostly movies. The fourth installment of the series decides to take on The Village, The Grudge and War of the Worlds. Cindy Campbell (Farris) has taken up a job as nursing an old-aged woman and finds that her house is haunted by a Japanese child who predicts the destruction of Earth and tells Cindy that only she can stop the alien invasion. Tom Ryan (Bierko) is a divorcee who has to take care of his children Rachel (Campbell) and Robbie (Mirchoff). Tom and Cindy are new neighbours and fall in love with each other just as catastrophe strikes Earth with an deadly alien invasion. Cindy along with Brenda (Hall) and Tom must use the Japanese kids advice and stop Earth from ultimate doom. The movie has derived its core plot from a non-horror movie and hence failed to live up to the brand name to an extent. The jokes are only moderately funny and the full extent of the humour can only be absorbed if one is familiar with the movies/personalities that are being spoofed on. You can watch it but you wont miss out on anything if you chose not to.

Thumbs up: Its not easy to make good movie spoofs

Thumbs down: Not very funny

Rating: 5.6/10

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Written by Linda Woolverton
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Voices by Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury

Mrs. Potts: Tale as old as time, true as it can be.

From the moment the film opens on a spectacular view of a majestic castle through a forest filled with bustling foliage and sparkling waterfalls, the wave of love I felt for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST back in 1991, came rushing back over me when I saw it’s restored 3D rerelease on the big screen. Sure, the rerelease can be seen as nothing more than a gimmick to get more money out of already tapped out filmgoers. Disney doesn’t have to spend that much to make it happen so the returns will be plentiful. Sure, you can see it through this jaded filter if you like, but I choose to see it as an opportunity. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a wonderful film, plain and simple. Having it back in theaters, having it brought to new heights with it’s 3D conversion, is a gift, a delightful and infectious gift.

We are certainly all familiar with the story of the spiteful, selfish prince who refuses kindness to an elderly vagrant and is placed under her spell when she reveals herself to be a beautiful woman. He is physically transformed on the outside into the beast of a man he is on the inside. Meanwhile, his castle becomes an enchanted prison that finds its inhabitants changed into household items, like clocks and candlestick holders. When a brave, young girl named Belle trades her freedom for that of her father’s, and agrees to become the Beast’s prisoner in lieu of her dad (it’s a long story!), the possibility of breaking the spell becomes a reality. The Beast must find true love before it’s too late and Belle might be his last chance. And, to top it all off, all of this grandeur is told in highly enjoyable song and dance.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a classic love story and directors, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, tell it with very little placating, which Disney is all too easily prone to these days. The theatrics of the enchanted castle provide plenty of lighter fodder to alleviate the mood but there is still ample room leftover for a tender exchange of love between one very independent woman and one very tortured man. Belle (voiced by Paige O’Hara) is one of the most intelligent and strong heroines in Disney history, without forsaking any of her innocent romanticism, and the Beast’s (Robby Benson) inner struggle is an antagonist unlike most found in the Disney lexicon. As spectacular as the animation is and as boisterous as every musical number is, what I find most moving and most memorable about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the way it captures the delicate dance that led these two guarded souls to the love of their lives.

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