Film Review - Her

Relationship Manager 

Film: Her

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Duration: 2 hrs

Rating: * * * *

For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. 

Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination.

We learned to talk and we learned to listen – Stephen Hawking

However ludicrous it may sound, imagine falling in love with a computer operating system who talks and reacts just like a human being. Relationships between man and machine or inanimate objects have been explored before but not to this degree. You can trust director Spike Jonze to deliver something extraordinary. 

Can machines become a substitute for humans even when it comes to love affection and relationships? After all, love makes us feel good about ourselves and who we are, perhaps it doesn’t matter whether it is a person at the other end or, just a voice that acts like one.

Set in an unspecified but not so distant future we have Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) who writes letters as a profession.  All he has to do is sit dictate and voila- the computer will produce a hand written letter. His skill of course lies in dictating the right words and feelings.

Theodore himself is a rather lonely man who is in the process of separating from his wife (Rooney Mara). His only friends are his neighbors in the building, Amy (Amy Adams) and her partner Charles.  Life changes when he installs a new operating system who can talk (voice of Scarlett Johansson) and interact with him.  Apart from being a ‘personal assistant’, Samantha as she christens herself, can talk about everything under the sun, including her feelings. Considering that his interaction with the female species has had limited success, he falls in love with Samantha. Moreover, the feeling is mutual.

As it happens in the first phase of any relationship, they both help each other grow, although his contribution is more on that count.  At least, that is what she acknowledges. Even though Samantha is just a voice and doesn’t exist in flesh and blood, everything else about her is as real as it can get. At one stage, she even comes up with idea of using a ‘substitute’ as a go-between.

Jonze narrates it in a remarkable way – when Theodore goes out on a blind date and after a bit of necking when he refutes her advances, she says “You’re one creepy dude.”

But the story is set in a time when Theodore is not the only one in a relationship with an O/S, there are many others. And as it happens with relationships there is the burden of expectation and other notions including elements of jealousy. Jonze doesn’t pass judgment on his characters either, there is no right or wrong. That is how all relationships work, that is the nature of mankind – happy endings are largely restricted to fairy tales.

The music score, the cinematography the production design and even the retro costume (he wears red and yellow shirts and unconventional trousers, and they look good) add to the mood. Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha has done an incredible job- she makes her character real. Joaquin Phoenix lends so much credibility; he has got all his emotions and mannerisms in the absolute right measure. 

It will be wonderful to have this film as an audio to listen to over and over again. But while it is showing at a theatre near you, do go and watch it. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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Film Review - Gunday

City of No Joy 

Film: Gunday

Cast: Ranvir Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra

Directed by: Abbas Ali Zafar

Duration: 2 hrs 33 mins

Rating: * 1 / 2

Made by Yashraj, one of the top production houses in the country and directed by Abbas Ali Zafar, Gunday doesn’t lack in resources when it comes to production values but what is sorely missing is a story that has something novel to offer. Most of the film is set in the 80’s but sadly, it also looks like a film of the 80’s.

Not only is it predictable from start to finish, at two and half hours, it is also long enough to leave you exasperated and you can’t help but look at your watch from time to time waiting for the ordeal to end, especially in the second half.

Set during the formation of Bangladesh, two boys Bala and Bikram manage to sneak through to India after escaping from the refugee camp. Now if kids would talk like kids it would be convincing but when they mutter lines by an adult dialogue writer (in this case the director himself) it doesn’t look credible- “Marne se koi bada nahin banta, dimaag se banta hain ” says one kid and there is another line with something to do with anger and boiling milk.

They are a bit like Jai and Veeru, except that the Sholay buddies were small time crooks where as these guys grow up aspiring to become the biggest dons of Calcutta, as it was known then.  Bikram (Ranveer) and Bala (Arjun Kapoor) spawn their empire from coal to LPG and everything in between and Saurabh Shukla plays a similar role that he essayed in Satya.  A tough cop (Irrfan) is hot on their heels and vows to bring them to justice. 

As it has happened in a billion Bollywood films before, the two men fall for the same girl (Priyanka Chopra) who happens to be a cabaret dancer. The woman unflinchingly says “Main tumhe ek haafta deti hoon mera dil jeetne ke liye”(I’ll give you’ll one week to win me over), yes, the dialogues are that tedious.  The Jai and Veeru friendship goes kaput as they bay for each other’s blood, which is not a bad time for you to take a nap because this is so much been-there-seen-that.

It attempts to pay a tribute to vintage films right from Sholay, Kaala Pathaar, Deewar and there’s also Mr. India playing in a theatre where a fight sequence is choreographed (the only admirable scene). The rest is so very mind numbing and the finale which has a Salman type lets-take off-our-shirts-and fight is in super slow motion. Actually a lot of the film is in slo-mo, had it been shot it normal speed, the duration would reduce considerably.

The film also tries too hard to catch the flavor of the city by showing the mandatory Durga pooja , Howrah bridge and cops in white but that is not enough.

On the acting front, the lead men make an effort to be noticed. Irrfan is superb as usual and steals their thunder. He doesn’t get to take off his shirt though. Priyanka Chopra has become a bit lackluster lately and this role affirms that.  On the whole, Gunday is so passé; it’s time to move on folks. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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Film Review - Robocop

Killer Machine

Film: Robocop

Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton

Directed by: Jose Padiha

Duration: 1 hr 48 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

               

Since there is a bankruptcy of ideas in Hollywood, there are remakes galore.  This time we have Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) which is rehashed and to be fair they haven’t done a bad job but the question to be asked is, what was the need in the first place?

The original film, a futuristic tale science fiction tale had something new to offer, apart from better technology this one doesn’t have much.  However, from the perspective of updating the newer audience, the film does its job.

Michael Keaton plays the boss of a company that manufactures drones and robots that are used worldwide but not in America due to a certain legislation. He realizes the opportunity he is missing out on and tries harder to push his idea through, of having robots as police. An opportunity comes through when a cop Alex (Joel Kinnaman) gets seriously injured and can be resurrected only by giving him an artificial body with help from a scientist (Gary Oldman). They also make some necessary changes in his brain, turning him into a deadly Robocop.

In a slight departure from the original film, where the cop was trying discover to his past, here his family knows about him but is not allowed much communication. 

Action plays a central role in this film and it also mildly attempts to highlight the ethics of having robots, drones in used for security purposes. Samuel Jackson relishes his time on screen as a television host trying to sway public opinion in favor of the drone company.

Gary Oldman as the scientist is spot on but Michael Keaton looks a bit out of form. Robocop is a decent remake, better than some other remakes we have seen lately, but that's about it.

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014

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Film Review - Winter's Tale

Stone Cold 

Film: Winter’s Tale

Cast: Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jessica Brown Findlay

Directed by: Akiva Goldsman

Duration: 1 hr 58 mins

Rating: * *

Oscar winning screenplay writer (A Beautiful Mind) Akiva Goldsman makes his debut as a director with Winter’s Tale which he has adapted from the novel by Mark Helprin.  Meant to be a love story, there is so much mumbo jumbo here about people turning into stars after death , destiny, universe, miracles, and there is also a flying horse. And no, Deepak Chopra had nothing to do with the film.

Spanning a period of almost hundred years from 1915 onwards, Peter (Colin Farrell) is a thief who breaks into a house and falls in love with a woman (Jessica Brown Findlay) who is terminally ill. Pearly (Russell Crowe) is a demon in the form of a gangster who wants to kill Peter before a miracle can be started.After their encounters in the past the story moves to present day where Peter is still around and so is the demon. And also the winged horse sent by God to help Peter.

You lose interest in the plot right from the beginning; it starts off on a rather dull note and continues in the same vein. All the fantasy and mysticism is even less credible than a fake preacher. The only reason the film is bearable is because it is beautifully shot and the cast is earnest.  Pity, the story leaves you stone cold.

Published in The Navhind Times on 16th Feb 2014 

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Film Review - Saving Mr. Banks

Something To Remember

Film: Saving Mr. Banks

Cast: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farell

Directed by: John Lee Hancock

Duration: 2 hrs 2 mins

Rating: * * * *

For all those who have grown up watching the magic of cinema, Saving Mr. Banks is an absolute treat. Superbly written, it is witty, smart, emotional, nostalgic, with an old world charm and add to it, the top class production values and some exceptionally good acting from Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks.

The story of Mary Poppins and the Disney film that came out in 1964 is quite popular but what is not so well known is the fact that Walt Disney persuaded P.L. Travers the author for twenty years to secure the rights to make the film. Saving Mr. Banks is all about that persuasion through which we also learn of the authors’ background and her inspiration for one of the most popular characters among children.

           

The film opens with P.L Travers (Thompson) trip to America to meet Walt Disney (Hanks) who wanted to make the film. Travers was a very interesting person and extremely opinionated giving Walt and his team the cold shoulder at every possible opportunity. The flashbacks beautifully juxtaposed tell us about her childhood and her father (Colin Farell) who served as an inspiration for Mr. Banks in the story.

Travers just doesn’t give in to the ideas of the Sherman brothers (who composer/lyricists for the Mary Poppins film) and Don DaGradi (screenplay writer) and she is very hard to please. When told that Dick Van Dyke is considered for the role of Bert because he is ‘great’ she is aghast - “Olivier is great and so is Burton and Guinness but Van Dyke is definitely not!”       

She is also the type who will walk into a bar and when asked what she would like her reply is “A pot of tea, if you please” But gradually we also learn why is reluctant to give in “Disappointments are to the soul what thunder is to the air” she says pensively. No wonder she carries a statue of Buddha even when she travels.

A fair share of the film should also go to the writers the two ladies Kelly Marcel and Sue 

Smith, who have written the script which hardly has a single dull moment. The sharp editing and the music score by Thomas Newman also contribute immensely.

Of the supporting cast, Paul Giamatti as the chauffer, Jason Schwartzman and B.J Novak (of Inglourious Basterds fame) fit the bill. The ever-reliable Tom Hanks looks the part of Walt Disney and fits in his shoes commendably. Emma Thompson steals the show with her savoir-faire, displaying a range of emotions with equal ease.   

Saving Mr. Banks is guaranteed to tug your heart strings, don’t miss it. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 9th Feb 2014

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