[ItzToday.com] 'Biutiful' Movie Review |
- 'Biutiful' Movie Review
- 'Sanctum' Movie Review
- 'Alpha Omega' Movie Review
- 'Patiala House' Movie Preview
| Posted: 06 Feb 2011 09:19 PM PST  Film: Biutiful; Director: Alejandro González Inárritu; Cast: Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez: Language: Spanish; Rating: ****Akira Kurosawa did it first in 1952 with "Ikiru" and now it's the turn of auteur Alejandro González Inárritu to try his hand at the search for redemption triggered by the certainty of death with a major difference between both. If you know Inárritu's style, you'd know that this would be a dark, harsh take. It is -- and the addition of supernatural elements only heighten the broodiness, the surreality and the 'beauty' of this chaotic story. Uxbal has the natural ability to converse with the dead which he uses to make a little extra money. Like exploiting the dead, he exploits the living by getting work - legal and illegal - to illegal African and Chinese immigrants in Spain. The only thing he loves, while trying to make sense of his distorted existence and twisted relationships with those around, are his two children. His life, however, gets out of his narrow focus when he discovers that he has cancer. Unwilling to die with grace and fearing for his children, he tries to tie the loose ends of his life, expand his worldview, while at the same time seeking redemption for his life. The results are disastrous. Sadly there's no light at the end of the tunnel of his life, and it is a void lit up only by the darkness of his desperation, unfulfilled desires and failures. The metaphor of the film is of a man alive, who can see the dead, but cannot see how dead he is himself, till he faces his own mortality head on and like a drowning man beats his hands in desperation. Yet, Inárritu seems to suggest that the search for redemption in the distorted existence of our lives is indeed the most beautiful thing in the world. Like Jesus who said: "Let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone", Inárritu refuses to cast a moral stone at any of his characters or their twisted existence. He merely shines a shaky, compassionate camera at each - struggling with their pains of the past, fear of the future and the occasional search for forgiveness in the present and, through it, hope. One of the most striking elements of the film, as with Inárritu's every film, is its casting. It is immaculate with the lead Javier Bardem literally leading the way. Maricel Álvarez as the mentally unstable but good-intentioned wife and mother is equally stunning. This is a film whose atmosphere is created not by its physical setting, but by its shaky hand-held camera movements and by the intensity of its actors. To accentuate the hostile mood, are the strings of Inárritu regular, Gustavo Santaolalla, who discards his usual gentility and gives a dark, broody sound for the film, seemingly jarring, but one that breaks new grounds in background score with its harsh tone and brutality, in perfect sync with the film. "Biutiful" is a dark film, which seemingly offers no hope. That can indeed be the perception at one level. Yet, on another level one can see it as one of the most beautiful and hope-infested films ever, where not the end result but the present intention of the film, and life, counts. It seems to suggest that even if one's path to forgiveness and one's own crawl back to death, and hence life, may be lit up with darkness and failure, it is not just worth it, but is eternally beautiful. 
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| Posted: 06 Feb 2011 09:15 PM PST  Film: "Sanctum"; Cast: Richard Roxburgh, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhys Wakefield, Alice Parkinson, Dan Wyllie; Director: Alister Grierson; Rating: ***Somewhere at the middle of the film as the characters are fighting for survival, there's a line when one says, "For the cave, we are just passing dust." And that is indeed how it is for the world where humans, no matter how great we are, are merely passing dust and in the midst of this, all of us trying to find our sanctum sanctorum. For Frank (Richard Roxburgh) this sanctum is the world's largest cave system in Papua New Guinea which is one of the last few unexplored places on earth. An intrepid, fearless and experienced explorer, he leads the team through the intricate cave structure with sternness. He is particularly harsh on his son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and his team in equal measures in awe and dislike of him, with his son hating him. Yet, when a storm blows through the cave and they are trapped inside, the only thing that stands between life and death for these five people is Frank. And the expedition of exploration becomes one of survival as man pits his wits against the fury of nature. Produced by James Cameron, the most stunning thing about the film is its visuals. The tricky set and lighting is handled with adroitness in this Australian film. "Sanctum" is a beautiful tribute to the spirit of adventure and discovery in humans. It pays homage to those men desirous to shine a light and to be at places where no human has gone before and the kind of hardships they encounter. And though sometimes it does get a little like a National Geographic documentary, the stunning visuals keep one on the edge. It is also like a horror film where instead of a man stalking and killing a gang, it is nature's fury that does so. The casting is immaculate and Richard Roxburgh proves himself to be an actor of reckoning. Based on the true story of co-writer Andrew Wight, Cameron fans will be delighted by another underwater film produced by the master who gave "The Abyss". It is an adrenalin rush for thrill seeking adventurous souls, but might get a little boring for others. 
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| Posted: 06 Feb 2011 09:13 PM PST  Film: "Alpha Omega"; Voiceover: Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Justin Long; Directors: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck; Rating: **If you are an Indian audience, the best part of the 3D film "Alpha Omega" begins a minute after the final credits have started rolling. Hundreds of Indian names clog up the credits enough for you to wonder if you have seen an Indian film made in Hollywood. And indeed "Alpha Omega" does seem like a typical Bollywood love story. Two warring clans of wolves in Jasper Nation Park want to end the war and unite each other by marrying Kate and Garth. But Humphrey, who belongs to a lower caste, loves Kate and though she too likes him, she agrees for an arranged marriage with Garth for the sake of peace. Things, however, go out of hand when Kate and Humphrey are captured by park's rangers and sent to another park for re-population. Aware of her duties, Kate is determined to return home and aided by two golf-playing geese, they try to make their way home. The main drawback of the story is its lack of originality, even in rearranging cliche. Yet, the film will leave you with a good feeling in the end. The two golf-playing geese would etch themselves in the mind of the audience, just like some side characters in other animation films have endeared themselves to fans. While the story lets down the audience, what does not is its animation that is spot on and therein lies a proud moment for the Indian animation industry. The look and the feel of the film have entirely been done by a team of Indian animators from Mumbai's Crest Animation Studios. Hence, at the end of the film when the titles roll out, and along with it hundreds of Indian names, it is indeed a proud moment for the nation that is still stuck in mythology in its own homegrown animation films. This is a moment of pride better than one person winning an Oscar, because it signifies global standards of the Indian animation industry, rather than excellence of just once person. It shows that India indeed has the skill and expertise, if only some producers would have the courage to back good stories and filmmakers. Hopefully, they will have the sense to select a better story. 
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| Posted: 06 Feb 2011 09:05 PM PST  New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) After a disappointing last year when most of his films saw a bearish turn at the box-office, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is hoping that his first release of the year, cricket based family-drama "Patiala House", witnesses a bullish trend in the movie business. The film is releasing Friday.Directed by Nikhil Advani and jointly produced and distributed by Hari Om Productions, T-series and People Tree Films Credence Motion Pictures, "Patiala House" shows how difficult it is for a Sikh boy, played by Akshay, in a patriarchal set up to fulfill his dreams. And as they say behind every successful man there is a woman and something similar happens to this boy after he meets a girl, Anushka Sharma, who gives him the strength to stand up for what he believes in. Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Indian rapper and hip hop singer Hard Kaur and Prem Chopra completes Akshay's family in the movie. The story revolves around the Kahlon family, who has been living in Southall, London for the past four generations. It is ruled by autocratic and stubborn Bauji played by Rishi. Since he is the head of the family, others have no choice but to adhere to what he says. Scarred by a racial incident that took place 20 years ago, which led to the murder of his mentor and guardian Saini, Bauji hates the British and everything that the country and its people stood for. The dilemma, however, is that his son Parghat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu (Akshay) wants to be a cricketer and play for the British cricket team. But Gattu doesn't have the courage to stand up to his father therefore drops the idea. Then enters Simran (Anushka) in Gattu's life and brings in both courage and hope to fulfil his long cherished dream. Akshay's role in "Patiala House" is said to be inspired by England cricket team's Sikh member Monty Singh Panesar, the first Sikh to join England cricket team and the spinner is the crowds' favourite. Panesar's parents migrated to London from Punjab. Made with an approximate budget of Rs.21 crore, the film has been shot in Mumbai and places like Southall, Middlesex, Trent Bridge, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Ian Botham, former England test cricketer and captain, makes his Bollywood debut with a cameo appearance in "Patiala House". Music trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy compositions also make "Patiala House" an entertaining album. Music buffs are already dancing to the tunes of hit Punjabi song "Laung da Lashkara" sung by Jasbir Jassi. Post "Singh Is Kinng" Akshay's only hit has been "Housefull". So, the star is banking heavily on this film to give him a hit after a string of duds last year - "Tees Maar Khan", "Action Replayy" and "Khatta Meetha". Along with "Patiala House, "Ashiqui.in" and choreographer Ganesh Acharya's production venture "Angel" will also hit the screens Friday. "Angel", a love story between a boy and a handicapped girl, is the debut movie of Sanjay Dutt's nephew Nilesh Sahay and actress Sheila Sharma's daughter Madalta. "Ashiqui.in" will also introduce new faces Ishaan Manhas and Ankita Shrivastava. The film is about two people - Cyrus and April - who chat online and become closer without revealing their true identities. 
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