Capsule Reviews of Some Movies I’ve Watched Recently

Punch Drunk Love: 8/10. Very sweet, quirky comedy. I haven’t seen the typical Adam Sandler movies, but I’ve liked him in Anger Management and 50 First Dates. Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of my most-liked actors, has two major scenes and they are simply terrific. Luis Guzman got some real hard laughs out of me with just a couple of askew looks. In most comic moments, the reaction is usually more important than the actual act. Mature actors like Emily Watson have an ease on screen that’s a pleasure to watch and learn from.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again: 9/10. I always knew these movies were funny. For the first time, I’ve seen just HOW VERY FUNNY. I think I’ve laughed the hardest in the last one year in this movie. It’s madcap, dignified lunacy from head to toe. Peter Sellers is a sublime example of maintaining an extreme character believably. His French accent is hilarious! I’ve also seen him in The Party, where he plays an Indian, and even there, his accent is 90% spot-on. I’m going to watch all movies directed by Blake Edwards. The Pink Panther goes to my list of all-time funniest slapstick comedies along with the Naked Gun movies and the Hot Shots movies. I’ve watched the remake, and I somehow didn’t find Steve Martin as funny as Peter Sellers. I think he remained Steve Martin to a large extent instead of Jacques Clouseau. Furthermore, the tone of the remake sometimes veered away from its genre – the Jason Statham sequence looked like it had escaped from The Transporter, and Jean Reno was suffering from a Da Vinci Code hangover.

Sirf: Sirf pacchees minute mein hall se bhag nikle. I don’t know how so many big names got into this.

 
Zodiac: 9/10. Ah…ah…ah…Wonderful! From one of my favourite directors – David Fincher. There’re no slow motion shots or flashy camera tricks, just great dialogue, great pacing, and great acting. Jake Gyllenhall, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. For those who don’t know, it’s about a real life serial killer in California(?) in the 60s and 70s. The real killer was never pinned down with foolproof full proof, but in spite of that the resolution of the movie is satisfying. It’s two and a half hours but it’s amazing how it just grips you right from the first shot.

The Fountain: 7/10. One of the most visually beautiful movies I have ever seen. It’s set in the 16^th, the 20^th and the 26^th centuries in the Mayan forests, Spain, and outer space among others. The story can be a little ambiguous and needs a lot of afterthought to figure out fully, but for people who don’t mind stretching their brains during a movie, The Fountain is an absolute treat. Those interested in paintings and photography will also feel like a kid in a chocolate shoppe. Rachel Weisz shows how to carry off a dying role with love and dignity. You’ll like this movie if you like Charlie Kaufman-esque movies like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Adaptation or sci-fi like Déjà vu.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: 9/10. This film is great if you don’t mind stories in which anything can happen. It’s also for fans of Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey the actor, not Jim Carrey the Mask or Jim Carrey the Ace Ventura. I don’t think I should give away the premise – let’s just say it has something to do with voluntarily erasing specific memories from your brain. Those who liked No Smoking will probably like this.

No Country For Old Men: 9/10. The winner of the best picture and best directors and best supporting actor Oscars this year. I haven’t seen all the movies so I can’t comment comparitively, but oh! What a performance by Javier Bardem. The man is darned scary in this movie. And his voice – I think it might be among the deepest voices on this planet. Watch No Country For Old Men simply for this man’s character. I’ve stored the movie just to rewatch his scenes. And one more amazing thing. There is NO background music in this movie. Niet! It’s amazing how the Coen brothers have created such a tight, tense movie without resorting to deep bass notes or cellos or anything. It’s all about top-of-the-line directing, writing and acting. The end left me going What the hell, but the movie was well worth it. I highly recommend it.

The Isle (Korean): 3/10. An overrated movie, in my opinion. I watched it because I really liked Kim Ki-duk’s 3-Iron, but here I was left marooned. I didn’t like the hero’s character; the heroine was okay in a noirish way. People ask what was the movie’s message. I usually don’t; a good story is enough for me, but The Isle gave me neither a ‘message’ nor an engrossing story. A couple of scenes of self-mutilation were highly gory and in my opinion, pointless. In fact, I watched about 20% of the transitional and doing-nothing scenes in fast forward – it was that slow.

The Simpsons Movie: 10/10. Perfect. I’ve never watched The Simpsons on TV before – I don’t watch TV – but that was no hindrance to enjoying this masterpiece. I’m amazed – in this era of 3-D animation, I never noticed that this movie is actually 2-D. I guess it’s because it’s a perfect animated movie – fast and very funny, with absolutely no down time. Worth repeated viewings.

Elephant: 6/10. An award-winning independent film by Gus Van Sant, the director of Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester. It’s hard to say anything about the politics of the movie – it’s about the Columbine school shootings without claiming to be so. It doesn’t throw up any answers – maybe it doesn’t mean to. However, the techniques used in this movie drew too much attention to themselves, I feel. (“Hey, what a cool shot.”)