Proof of Life

This, much anticipated and critically despised movie, is about a man who gets kidnapped in South America by a vigilante group and his wife who works with a hostage negotiator to get him out.

There are a lot of things wrong with this movie. Despite everything, this movie is interesting and not bad at all.

The biggest disappointment is Meg Ryan. I am not sure what the deal with her is but I can't understand how one goes from doing 'Courage under fire' to You've got mail and now this disaster performance in Proof of Life. Complete lack of emotion, wrong body language and no chemistry or on screen presence. The movie loses too much because of her.

Russel Crowe is clinically precise but uninteresting as a professional risk and hostage negotiater. I think he did this role pretty much in off-hours after the big Gladiator from the same year.

Direction is another major problem. The movie with such an interesting premise was mostly uninteresting. This pretty much kills it. The whole idea about the negotiator finding out on his own where the kidnapped man is -- is lost because he finds it out by luck -- and that too someone else's.

Toy Story

This critically acclaimed cartoon movie is about a cowboy toy that is jealous and threatened when a fancy new spaceman toy replaces him as top toy in a boy's room.

This is probably as good a boy fantasy can be filmed. Excellent effects and good storyline keep the viewers glued to the screen.

Buzz Lightyear, the new space toy, is a brilliant creation as amiable as the cowboy toy is irritable.

Toys among cruel and indifferent kids, have a life of their own. A very believable and interesting premise.

John Lasseter who later also did A Bug's life and Toy Story 2 does a very good job indeed.

A must see.

Planet of the Apes

This picture, a remake of the 1968 cult classic, is about a space cadet who lands on a planet that is ruled by mean and powerful apes.

Seemingly ridiculous, this movie is actually very good. It is basically an exploration into the possibility of a role reversal in which humans are treated like 'animals' by animals who are like human -- in all the vices. Also a brief but meaningful commentary on power, religion, desire and fear of searching for ones origins and ultimately about the ever present human fear of creating a Frankenstein.

What Tim Burton ( Batman, Sleepy Hollow) has done to the original is like restoration of a gret old painting. It brings out and brightens some new colors however inevitably losing some sobriety. Mr. Burton has produced here mass entertainment at its best.

Mark Wahlberg is steely as Leo, a cadet, who finds himself into this strange land and desires to go back to earth. Mr. Burton again choses a low-profile hero (Michael Keaton in Batman, Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow) to play a traditionally macho and heroic role. This gives him kind of an upper hand. More flexibility to him and more story for the viewers.

Helena Bonham Carter has probably played the best role in the movie as a 'human rights activist', an ape that has sympathy for humans and hence is treated with hate by other apes.

Tim Roth as general Thade and Michael Clark Duncan (Green Mile) play the terrifying Ape leaders with utter loath for humans. They both do an excellent job. From the man-child, gentle giant and healer from Green Mile, this is a complete and much needed role reversal for Mr. Duncan.

Of course, this version, 33 years, after the original, is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of special effects, sound and make-up. Apes are not only frighteningly real but they are utterly believable and in control. There is a carefully filmed dinner scene that is very reminiscent of the original. An intelligent conversation among the apes about the human condition. But this scene and the altered ending are the only ones.

Mr. Burton polishes and shines this movie -- so much -- that it glows more of reflected light than of its own.

Virgin Suicides

Based on a novel, this movie is about the five teenage Gibson girls that committed suicide sometime 25 years ago in Michigan; and the fascination of teenage boys for the girls.

Don't get fooled by the promising premise as the movie does not quite deliver what it says. It is charming at times -- specially when it comes to the portrayel of the admiration and intrigue that a young male adolescent would have for not one not two but five young girls. It is witty and clever at times. Sad and horribly depressing at others.

However, there are too many shortcomings. Sofia Coppola ( daughter of the great Francis Ford Coppola ), does a decent job but is not quite at it. The movie repeatedly talks about the general curiosity as to why the girls committed suicide. However, no serious attempt is made to investigate that. Actually there is no surprise at all. We all know -- all the time -- why they did it. They really had no choice. The movie wants to explore the sexual coming of age of these girls but kind of stops. Never really trying to be intelligent or overly probling. It leaves you a bit intellectually insatiated at the end.

Kirsten Durnst as the charming Lux Gibson is the movie's showcase. However, I think she underplays her voyeur role in favor of a sweetness that looks good but does not fit well.

Katherine Turner and James Woods as the clueless parents are wasted. We never get to see why they are such complete failures as parents.

Despite all these faults, I think the movie has a ring to it. It is certainly enjoyable if a bit depressing.

The Apartment

This movie is about CC Baxter ( Jack Lemmon ) who loans his conveniently located Manhattan apartment to some of his managers for their extra marital shenanigans in hope of winning their favor and rising in the company. His hopes and his job are endangered when he gets into trouble.
This is a very well crafted movie by the brilliant Billy Wilder ( Sabrina, Some Like it Hot, Front Page, etc. ) It is funny, and though needing some serious editing at times, is quite engaging.

Jack Lemmon ( who recently expired ), is very apposite as C.C. Baxter -- a simple man who wants to do the right thing but can not resist the lure of a corporate rise. On a more generic level -- the movie poses a question as to what a man would be ready to do for his career. We are all making compromises and accommodations for our career all the time but it is never certain when to stop or how much is enough.

Shirley MacLaine is good in an overly simplistic and stereotypical role. However, it must be noted that the role is such on purpose. In fact, all female characters play a role too naive for today's sensibilities. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find parallels in today's culture.

Watching Ms. MacLaine will actually remind you where the likes of Melanie Griffith and more recently Renee Zelleweger come from.

This movie is a must.

Bombay Boys

I have had my share of bad movies concocted by ludicrous direction and pathetic acting. This one is definitely one of the prominent representatives of that variety.

Inspired by dark grotesque American Indie movie storyline, this picture is not only hard to watch, it is terribly taxing on the ears as well. Don't get fooled by its outside appearance as an incisive black comedy. It is a complete failure in almost all aspects of film making. Worst acting, no editing, contrived direction and utter lack of connection with reality.

I think the intention was to create a culturally conscious movie. A movie that tries to show the dark side of India to unsuspecting Indians coming to India for the first time from foreign countries. With a more sincere effort, better acting and attentian to details and yes -- editing -- this movie could have been a good addition to the immigration experience genre.

Avoid this movie or watch it if you want to take an education into how NOT to make a movie.

Snatch

Guy Ritchie writes and directs this post-Tarantino struggle for an 84 carat diamond doing rounds among London's low lives and some American imports.

This brilliantly entertaining movie is a valid successor for Mr. Ritchie's Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels. A more approachable and easier to follow, Snatch is hilarious at times and shockingly violent at others. A cast that has most of the gems from Lock Stock in addition to an excellent performance by Brad Pitt as a gypsy bare-knuckle boxer.

Some of the jokes are old and all in all the film is not quite as intriguing as Lock Stock and lacks that energy but that is probably not a fair comparison.

Do watch this movie -- it is indeed a treat.

Thirteen Days

This movie is about the handling of the Cuban missile crisis, that brought the then superpowers very close to starting WWIII, by JFK, his brother and their confidants.

This is a very interesting movie that keeps history intriguing. Which is to say a lot. It is partly fictionalized when it comes to emotions but fairly accurate when it comes to the facts. So it is a very good history lesson. One that is really more than a lesson -- an admonition if you may, about the ultimate threat -- the destruction of the human race because of the bigotry or even stupidity or madness of a few men or even a single man.

Of course it makes Kennedys and his assitant look like superheros when they were probably just lucky. It is over glorifying and pedantic at times. Even sappy. But in all honesty let that not take away from a good sincere effort by the director. Mr. Donaldson's last two pictures -- Dante's peak and Species both were ridiculous and this is a good come back for him.

Kevin Costner is I think miscast as Kenny O'Donnel, JFK's special assistant who plays a very important role in avoiding the crisis -- probably more import than JFK. An obvious exaggeration -- however an understandable one.

Rest of the cast is good and some dialogue is excellent. A movie definitely worth watching.

Damien : Omen II

Damien, the Antichrist, is entering puberty and anybody who gets to know who he is ends up brutally murdered.

This ridiculous picture is really an insult to the original Omen. Hollywood, with its fascination for money making sequels, does an unusually poor job with this one. Whereas the first one was all about intrigue, this one is contrived and painfully predictable. The young actor playing Damien is not up to the job at all.

It is difficult to sit through this movie.

Omen, The

This movie is about the conspiracy of the devils advocates to replace the child of an influential politician by the devil's child --the antichrist so that he can overtake the world.

This movie, heralded by many as the scariest terror picture of all time, is a brilliant work of technical excellence and editing. A slick movie that is very clear about where it is going. It is a very commercial movie in a sense, most horror shots are well presented and follow a fairly clear, occasionally contrived, build-up.

A well deserving heir to Rosemary's Baby(1967) and Exorcist(1972), Omen is a more polished, more commercial, more modern version of the 3 pioneer movies all dealing with the same subject of the birth of devil's son. It has the advantages of the then state of the art effects and camera work.

Richard Donner does one of his first horror/terror movies and does an excellent job. He keeps the movie very stylized and intriguing. Use of quotes from the Bible make it very thorough and interesting.

This movie is a must. For horror fans, for film students and film enthusiasts all alike.

X-Men

From the celebrated director of the amazing 'Usual Suspects', comes this comic book fantasy action special-effects movie. In near future thanks to evolution, some humans start turning into mutants with great and dangerous powers and obviously the human race treats them as outcasts. For the sake of a plot, the mutants are divided into the conventional good and evil and as expected the good save the world for us.

Beneath this comic book storyline ( the movie is based on a popular comic book series ) lies a very entertaining and absorbing movie that is definitely worth watching. Some good acting and very well organized stunts keep the viewer completely occupied. Special effects are first class and editing is slick.

It is a huge departure for Brian Singer from 'Usual Suspects' but he does a fine job. Actors are mostly fillers but they manage to hold together.

Touch of Evil

This movie is about a murder in a small US/Mexican border town and the involvement of an upright Mexican narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) and a corrupt American police captain (Orson Welles).

The story revolves around the corrupt captain Quinlan played with ruthless efficiency by Orson Welles and the protagonist Mike Vargas played with aplomb by Mr. Heston. The murder throws the two against each other and soon Vargas discovers the evil all around him that threatens to engulf his newly wed wife.

A much celebrated picutre that is included as part of syllabus in many film courses, this movie is indeed a work of art. You will see some great cinematography used effectively to magnify Welles's character. Close shots taken from waste up and shoulder down at strange angles make Mr. Welles look unusually large -- larger than life. This fits well with what the movie is trying to tell us.

Many movie students believe that this is one of the best American movies of all time -- technically.

Woman on top

This movie is about a Brazilian girl who has the gift of cooking exotic dishes that have mesmerizing effects. She comes to San Fransisco searching for something new after a problem with her husband. She ends up becoming the ravishing hostess of a food show on TV.

Highlight of the movie is the extraordinary music. Unbelievably good tunes from South America. Ms. Cruz is good but does not look too involved. I think she is overrated as an actress and proves it in this movie.

There is a lot of magic happening in the movie which keeps things interesting. There isn't enough story to go about. And one hopes against odds that one wouldn't see the cliche of her being disillusioned with the big media. But alas the movie is just not upto the task enough.

American Desi

This movie is about a young student's discovery of how good it is to be an Indian, how good Indian women are and how good old jokes can sound.

A predictable and enjoyable movie that gets lost where all the movies made so far about the immigration experience get lost -- old jokes and a love related revelation.

There are some funny Indian students with their funny families and funny accents and funny eating and partying habits. Stuck up American desi who falls in love with an unstuck Indian girl and learns to accept it.

What I was hoping for is some probing, some serious effort, some real issues being tackled.

I guess this is a good beginning and we can expect some movies of substance in the future.

City Slickers

Billy Crystal and this two middle-aged friends go for a cattle drive in New Mexico to find a meaning in life away from their pathetic New York lives.

So here is another one from the Billy Crystal school of mid-life crisis, snide remarks, witty comments and funny situations. This movie though very funny and enjoyable could have been even better had it not been so simplistic.

The attempt to show the contrast between the wild east (NY) and the wild west is good and gives us some funny moments. The movie tries to prig about basic honesty and other life lessons.

This movie is definitely worth watching.

Dead Again

This movie is about the Karmic fatality of victims in one life will get atonement in the next.

This is basically Kenneth Branagh's vehicle for himself more or less. He acts and directs this rather interesting movie. However, it becomes completely predictable after a while and the end is very disappointing. Mr. Branagh has given us interesting movies like 'Much ado about nothing' in the past. This time it is simply a desperate attempt to make the movie more dramatic than it is.

A.I.

This movie, set in the future, is about an 11 year old robot boy who has been programmed to love. The problem is that humans find it difficult to love him back.

A lot has been written about how this movie was planned in the 80s by Stanley Kubriek and then later passed on the Spielberg. So there has been a lot of anticipation about how Kubriek, with his mostly misanthrop view, and Spielberg, with his mostly warm outlook, are going to collaborate on a movie. Both believed by many to be one of the greatest directors of their time.

So the net result is bold, surprising, difficult to follow and detached work of art ( no doubt ) that does not quite hold up. The premise of the movie is excellent -- a boy in seach of love -- however, as audiences we feel no emotion at all. That is the movie's big failure.

The film has extraordinary cinematography ( Janusz Kaminski ) -- very subtle and yet telling. A lot of attention has been paid to details. There is also a clear attempt to not use special effects to take interest away from the theme.

There are no big actors -- however, the small Joel Haley -- though doing a fine job -- ultimately becomes an overdose and you wouldn't want to see him for another year -- once you see this movie. Other than him -- nobody really has much else to do.

A scene from the movie worth mentioning is -- 'The Flesh Fair' -- a kind of a combination of a rock concert and WWF wrestling match -- where humans get together to brutally kill/destroy robots. It is a horrifying portrayel of humanity -- a true Kubrik scene.

Where the movie completely fails -- as many others with a novel idea do -- is at the end. The last half hour where the director tries our patience and our intelligence is a disaster. Obviously -- either not enough time was spent to think about a logical conclusion or a wrong choice was made and what we end up with is a dull elongated funeral of a movie that could have been great.

As many critics have pointed -- Kubrik, from the grave, has been able to pull down Spielberg. Although, I feel Spielberg let him willingly -- as proven by how his choice of movies has gone from Jaws to Schiendler's List -- more Kubrik like as his career has progressed.