Gone Girl - disturbingly brilliant!

David Fincher is not a bad director at all, he's a master of edge of the seat material that usually involves dark doings or violence against women. But 'Gone Girl' would not have challenged him on the screenplay level as that aspect of the movie has been more than ably handled by the author of the titular tome Gillian Flynn. Having read the book a while back I was expectant but not very expecting of the movie and Fincher executes well and delivers the right emotional twangs mingled with the thrills Flynn's page turner provided.

Point of view movies(not to be mistaken with the soon to arrive point of view perspective movie) are not uncommon but to look at things from literally two sides of a marriage sometimes needs a neutrality which is not what Gone Girl is all about. A husband walks into his house on his fifth anniversary to find signs of a struggle and his wife missing. Quite naturally he raises the alarm but seems a little disconnected. Why that is forms part of the near two and a half hour twist-and-turner. A fairytale romance of guy meets girl in big city, blows her socks off for all intentions and gets married. Wife being a trust fund daughter of difficult parents adores him and really does love him. But does love survive time and turbulence also forms a part of the dark entertainment thats guaranteed from the movie.

The casting is smack on the money with Ben Affleck neatly pulling off the blocked writer with the shitfaced grin(a very important part of his character study), which convinced me that the rest of the movie was going to be pretty good as far as he is concerned. Starting out as the guy who's bound to have all the answers in exacting form when posed questions by a prospective beautiful companion for the night, Affleck plays his heart out as the husband going dark on a marriage which has its layered shades. His chemistry with his twin sister Margo, difficult as it was to establish in the book is brought out as sharp as the razor edge it walks in the source material. Did he have a hand in the violence surrounding his wifes disappearance? Affleck leads us into the story beautifully. Which bring us to Amazing Amy, Rosamund Pike deserves an academy award this time around. Yes, the movie is not really what can be considered Oscar worthy but to convincingly play a character thats as disturbed as is disturbing is a challenge that has been made to look like a cakewalk by Pike. Neil Patrick Harris departs from his usual slapstick camaraderie roles to essay one that carries a certain depth in and of itself, suffice to say his handling of the role is more than perfect. There is a list of supporting characters whose performances can be summarized in saying that from every suburban housewife neighbour to disgruntled detective, individual performance lives up to the spunk or the scorn demanded by the role.

Stylised and dark as it is, the soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross once again provides superglue factor in keeping the viewer and their attention riveted to the screen. Sound design complements the on screen material so well that sometimes a drawn out groan almost sounds like a continuing death rasp when in fact it is the background that sets up the goings on in front of us. The music plays out like a beautiful summer song accompanied by a dentists drill. Accomplices in crime as they are with Fincher since 'The Social Network' the composers are not strangers to the moody and ominous pictures that he paints and aid him tremendously here as well.

A good movie in its entirety is all that a fan paying good money looks out for. A review of movies like 'Gone Girl' and a fair few others cannot be complete if viewed in India without going into detail and recording for posterity the hypocritical posterior orifice type characters that comprise the Central Board of Film Certification of India. Manning their prudish scissors and other such douchey tools they strive to save the Indian populace from the brazen and adulterous nature of Hollywood movies. There is no dearth of completely misogynistic suggestive and objectified brazenness in Indian cinema, especially in movies such as the vacuum fluff that was 'Happy New Year'. However the Censor board chooses to cut out minutes of 'full frontal nudity'(easier to access than the days newspaper), 'thrusting movements'(you only need to watch any south Indian movie and its unjustifiable 'item' songs to find a couple of thousand such) and dialogue with 'American slang for genitals'(I distinctly remember a Tamil film song which described copulation in ugly and sly disguised terms being allowed to screen with a general certificate). In a country and a city where headlines of child abuse echo blaringly every day, would you rather the adults be adults regarding topics that you deem taboo or titillate them by making such topics taboo. It does not take genius level intelligence to figure this out but thanks to David Fincher for allowing the babboons their cuts rather than disallow us from watching a brilliant movie(the last one we missed out on being 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'). In closing do not miss the movie in spite of the 'intercoursing' Censor Boards 'American slang for female genitals' attitude.

Rating - Three and three quarter stars

Annabelle - starring Annabelle!

From the producers of the enjoyable retro take on horror 'The Conjuring' comes a prequel that looks very promising in its promos - 'Annabelle'. Titular doll having been featured as capable of moving itself on a whim while fixating everyone with a disturbing grin in 'The Conjuring', this movie goes into a little more detail about who puppets it about and how it came to be.

I for one can list about three scenes where my heart jumped to my mouth, but the deficiency of scares is not what makes the movie dangerously close to being mediocre. Director John R Leonetti works on a script by Gary Dauberman that tries hard to make us sit down and take notice of how Annabelle became Annabelle-ish in the first place. The cast headed by Annabelle(yes, it looks coincidental, just normal not demonic) Wallis and Ward Horton play retro American couple Mia and John who are expecting a baby. Tony Amendola and Alfre Woodard round out the main cast playing the Forms' priest and neighbour respectively.

The first half hour keeps us interested by mixing in the Manson murders and the advent of the cult-culture in America. Cue expectant mother and a truly disturbing intrusion after the introduction of Annabelle the doll as a gift from her doting husband. Sound, scene and character set up, even dialogue proved to be elements that worked well in 'The Conjuring'. Strangely all those successful elements do not fully feature in Annabelle. A tracking shot to reveal previously unnoticed elements from the backdrop works well in horror but when a left to right pan is all we see in every scare inducing scene even the most non technical among us will feel the stirrings of a yawn. One other haunting question(if you'll pardon the pun) that you might leave the theater with is what happened to the grafitti kids?

Negativity aside, 'Annabelle' proves again that the classics can never go wrong by borrowing elements from 'Rosemarys Baby' and from pulp Satanic horror movies where the devils hand in dealing with deceit features as a plot element. A scene in a storage vault in the basement is probably one of the best implementation of a haunting in a long while. Talking about which plot elements are never really developed to a serious end. Ominous cartoon warnings, neighbourly noises, the role of the Church, the curious vulnerability of Church entrances - none of these things are provided enough screen time or a proper explanation as to why it did or did not work. Mia is almost thrust into a nervous mother with postpartum problems before things take a devilish turn leading to the climax.

What leaves us exiting the theater with the lingering afterthought of why couldnt this movie have worked is the fact that there is scope for 'Annabelle' to have been a horror classic. Call it the writers reluctance to make this doll dance to its full evil potential or a reworking the movie could have sunk its teeth a little more into dark territory instead of stopping at sewing machine and popcorn tricks.Curious about where else it has worked well? I would suggest 'Angel Heart' and 'Rosemarys Baby' for a satisfying and disturbing horror kick.

Annabelle - Two stars and a half

The plot thickens, as they say. Why, by the way? Is it a soup metaphor?

Guest Post : Movie Review : The Grand Budapest Hotel

I haven’t watched all of Wes Andersons cinematic creations. But having watched ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’,the trailer for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ kindled in me curiosity more than anticipation in watching it. Anticipation was always a given after ‘The Darjeeling Limited’ but the vision of Ralph Fiennes and the smorgasbord of A-list actors invoked in me a curiosity hitherto unfounded. The movie, in all certainty was not going to disappoint, threw bountiful surprises that made one smile, choke, burst out in guffaws but also lean back and contemplate. A movie that is personified in one of M.Gustave’s(more about him shortly) prolific utterances while explaining how humanity remains in humble(read stupendous) offerings of his esteemed establishment – a generous sentence of praise ending with ‘F**k it’.

It would be best to use a simile coined for a different purpose in describing the movie – while appearing to be an oil landscape from the 1920’s it actually presents itself as a secret wrapped in a mystery in the jacket pocket of an enigma. Anderson shares story credits for it with Hugo Guiness who both share credit with the author Stefan Zweig whose writings inspired the story. The opening shot presents a young lady gazing at a seated statue of the ‘Author’ (Tom Wilkinson) whose tome ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ she is reading. The book delves into a first person narrative of Tom Wilkinson as a young ‘Author’ (Jude Law) who recounts a meeting with M.Moustafa(F Murray Abraham), the proprietor of the titular hotel. Said hotel is of legendary quality but like the statue of Ozymandias, crumbling to current ruin. Jude Laws character having expressed curiosity as to why the owner of such opulence opts to spend his time in a cubby hole within upon his yearly visit gets invited to dinner with M.Moustafa. The dinner is designed to be the succulent main course fed morsel by elaborately crafted morsel to satisfy both the Authors and our curiosity pangs.

Clipped and short shots are used to introduce us to the hotels days of splendor(do not miss the cable car, an indelible stamp of the film) and to Zero(Tony Revolori), a bell boy under the wing and tutelage of the glorious M.Gustave(Ralph Fiennes). While teaching Zero the intricacies of being a bell boy i.e. the art of providing the guests at The Grand Budapest everything they may need or want when they need or want it without even them knowing they need or want it, M.Gustave shows himself to be the perpetual didact enlightening us throughout the narrative, even preaching perhaps. To characterize him as a refined but horny gigolo would not be mincing words. Monsieur being the pinnacle of said character while remaining supremely classy to the point of being a magnet to ladies of the rich and elderly variety, his preferred clientele. Supporting characters appear in the form of Dimitri(Adrien Brody in a deliciously evil role as the son of one of Monsieurs clients), Jopling(a very scary Willem Dafoe, positively vampirish), Deputy Kovacs(no matter what the period, dialogue or makeup Jeff Goldblum will be – pause for effect and dainty shrug – Jeff Goldblum), Inspector Henckles(Ed Norton, subtlety itself) and to spare the pleasurable tedium of putting character name to actor – Aaron Sorkin, Mathieu Amalric, Lea Seydoux, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray and lest we forget, Owen Wilson.

The Grand Budapest Hotel remains translucently etched in the background of our vision while a set of almost bioscope-quality events run through in the foreground. Ralph Fiennes in perhaps the performance of his career so far shifts from being concierge generale to gigolo to favoured recipient to a ‘straight’ fellow(a remark he decries sarcastically as never having been accused of) to a friend in need to a benefactor.  Watching him play these roles while maintaining his demeanor of the refined but vulgar M.Gustave, full of finesse and euphemism, double entendre and general swearing is a cinematic treat that should not be missed.

It would be doing the film an injustice to delve into its details or to attempt to summarize it. What can be done is accord to The Grand Budapest Hotel every accolade it deserves. While being everything it already is, the movie(and by implication Anderson) even manages to pull the subtle veil of war into its crowded but never murky tapestry. Frantic yet still, refined yet vulgar, subtle yet bombastic, The Grand Budapest Hotel thrills every cinematic nerve we would expect to be tweaked while promising to come back and tickle them just as M.Gustave would have.

5/5 

War has begun.

Guest post : Movie Review - Dawn of the planet of the apes

‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ introduced us to Caesar, his struggles with his identity after being passed on residual genetic effects resulting in him being super-intelligent with capabilities sometimes surpassing human. The ethical conundrums that were posed during ‘Rise’ brought us to a conclusion where what was dubbed as ‘Simian flu’  had taken its toll on humans but left the planets apes or at least the group of them in America with enough intelligence to develop under Caesars leadership and training.

Dawn cuts over to ten years after the virus has spread throughout the world(from the title snapshots) and sets the tone straightaway with a confrontation which is almost a prelude to Caesar observing later ‘I did not know we were so much like them’. The apes’ settlement needs to be passed through for the humans to be able to bring power to SF where a small group of survivors led by Dreyfuss(Gary Oldman) still exists. When Caesar agrees to an appeal from Malcolm(Jason Clarke) who represents the reasonable side of the humans and assures Caesar that the apes will come to no harm, unrest and emotions hitherto unexpressed in the ape community make an appearance. Conflict and chaos are not only shown as byproducts of civilization but their base roots are traced in spectacular fashion. Justifications are put forth by the apes and the humans, both reasonable and unreasonable depending on the perspective.

The movie might as well be compared to some of the best sequels in movie history(for example ‘The Godfather II), the poignancy being elevated to an all new level not only by the director Matt Reeves but also by the nuanced and brilliant motion capture performance of Andy Serkis who doesn’t just stop at breathing life into Caesar but gives him a persona that is almost as memorable as characters like Vito Corleone. Caesar and Koba(Toby Kebbell) don’t just have the crouched walk of apes but have expressions that correspond so much to our nearest cousins in the animal kingdom that it would be a shame if WETA does not win the special effects statuette from a fair few awards again.

It would also be improper to not mention the casting coup(cannot call it anything else) that has been achieved in casting Gary Oldman as Dreyfuss, defacto leader of the surviving humans(to not spoil the movie I cannot mention his equivalent in the ape group), Jason Clarke as Malcolm, Keri Russell as Malcolms wife Ellie and more who pull off performances that hold their own against the apes. Judy Greer plays Caesars mate Cornelia who does not have too much of a role in this movie with calm grace.

The cinematography(Michael Seresin) keeps our eyes glued to the post converted 3D scenes be it in the jungle or in almost post-apocalyptic San Franciscan city borders. A scene with a tank  is reminiscent of well made war movies putting the audience in thedrivers seat and reminding us of the current ugly machinations going on in Gaza and elsewhere. Michael Giacchinos music reminds us of much more poignant fare such as Kurosawas epics in its simplicity and puts us inthe forefront of action whenever the scene shifts.

‘Dawn’ shows us how an intelligent science fiction movie can be made, building on Rupert Wyatts ‘Rise’ and never slowing down. In characterizing Caesar as far possible from his Roman nomenclature as possible, in fact as a Gandhi albeit one who does not say no to violence where it is deserved, Matt Reeves and Andy Serkis serve a classic combination that does not so much as deliver a punch but makes us recover and take notice. The wanton violence as delivered by Koba is not so much inevitable as representative of everything that goes wrong when a single person incapable of sensible leadership is faced with a shot at power. The climax builds to a crescendo without being shoved down the throat of the viewers and when Caesar pronounces the words that denounce his opposer, the subtlety becomes ironically obvious.

A beautiful mixture of intelligence and cinematic skill, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes deserves sure mention in the annals of good science fiction blockbusters that are not senseless in their implementation.

4/5