Film Review - Cinderella

Fairy And Lovely

Film: Cinderella

Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Duration: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: *  *  *

British director Kenneth Branagh has made a handful of Shakespeare’s adaptation, so he is no stranger when it comes to making classic stories into films. This time it is the popular folk story Cinderella which was made famous by a few writers including Brothers Grimm.

There have been a few of those fairy tales which have made for the screen lately, which some of them have attempted to give it a twist, this film is a very straightforward adaptation. Branagh keeps it nice and simple and even though everyone knows the story very well, it is still a delight to watch because he doesn’t deviate from the basics.

Lily James plays Cinderella, the young girl who is orphaned and left in the clutches of her wicked step mother (Cate Blanchett, wickedly delightful) and step sisters. Richard Madden plays the Prince who is swept of his feet and Helena Bonham Carter is seen in a cameo as the fairy god mother.

Even after all the years, the story has considerable appeal, after all the good versus evil tales will never go out of fashion. The production values are the best that money can buy adding that extra factor to the visuals.

Overall, Cinderella is an enjoyable tale for children and adults alike.

Published in The Navhind Times, Goa on 22nd March 2015

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Film Review - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Present and Clear Danger

Film: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley , Kevin Costner

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Duration: 1 hr 45 mins

Rating: * * *

The character created by Tom Clancy has appeared in five films before this, the last time was in The Sum of All Fears (2002). Much like Clancy’s novels, the films have also been decent entertainers and in the latest venture Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Kenneth Branagh, who has come a long way since his Shakespeare days, dons the hat of the director. 

Incidentally, Shadow Recruit is not adapted from any Clancy novel, unlike the previous films. 

Chris Pine plays Jack Ryan who is severely injured during a mission in Afghanistan. A mysterious CIA agent (Kevin Costner) is impressed by his rehabilitation hand picks him and sends him back to college to complete his Ph.D  only to be recruited as an undercover agent working on Wall Street, years later. 

His job is to track suspicious financial deals which might lead to terrorist groups. It doesn’t take long for him to find one, the source seems to be in Russia where most of the action takes place.   

The Russian tycoon (Branagh himself) has a few scores to settle with the Americans and he plans to cripple them with a financial tsunami. The scene shifts back to the U.S. where expectedly, Jack Ryan saves the day with his heroics.  Keira Knightley plays his fiancée who also finds her self in the thick of the action. 

While it is not an edge of the seat thriller, for most parts it keeps you interested. The plot is predictable and there are no surprises in store here. 

On the whole, it is a watchable action thriller. 

(Published in The Navhind Times on  19th Jan 2014)

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