To Walk With Lions

A true story about love; love for nature and for the wildlife. A story of a man who discovered his home in the most unlikely of places and his struggle to keep what is closest to him safe. Richard Harris gives an outstanding performance playing noted animal conservationist George Adamson, of the Born Free fame, during his last years at a Kenyan reserve in the film To Walk With Lions.

Some films shine for the stories they tell. This is one such film. It is a story about a man who gave up everything and devoted his life tendering for lions. He fought for the rights of animals claiming they are no different from humans and have an equal right to live freely on this very land we all call home. The film showcases his undying love for the beasts of the jungle and the extent he went to in order to give them a safe sanctuary which eventually led to his tragic end.

To Walk With Lions follows a British backpacker Tony Fitzjohn (John Michie) as he stumbles upon George Adamson's reserve where domesticated lions are taken in and prepared for a life in the wild. The film is also a story about Tony's journey of self discovery as he learns about nature and grows to love it and admire its inner beauty which only a few people truly appreciate. Besides the dangerous task of working with the most ferocious animal of all, it is the constant struggle against the government, rebels, poachers, and the changing face of a nation that eventually takes a toll on the lives of both George and Tony and eventually leads them to making life altering decisions.

A film about passion, obsession, devotion, and about the courage to stand ones ground, To Walk With Lions is a legacy to the extraordinary life of a man who gave voice to the creatures of the wild and in doing so fought for their survival without worrying about his own wellbeing. 

Rating 4/5

DVD Information:

Release Date: 28th January 2013

Cert: TBC

Running Time: 106 minutes

Language: English

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer

The best kind of horror is always the unseen, the mystery of the unknown, and to top it all, a sense of feeling that a foreign presence is somewhere near you. The Casebook of Eddie Brewer does exactly that as its protagonist Eddie Brewer, a paranormal expert, goes out and about attending to calls all the while being followed by a camera crew.

Ian Brooker as Eddie Brewer gives an outstanding performance as a man who not only has the task of figuring out whether the supernatural incidents he is called for are hoaxes or not, but also simultaneously has to continuously fight to explain his stand on the entire phenomenon as accusations are made on how genuine is the paranormal field.

The Casebook of Eddie Brewer places the audience in a much more knowing situation. They are able to see things that the character aren't, still the feeling of dread, suspense, and the slowly rising tension is good enough to give a few jumps and scares even to the ardent horror fan.

The filming is done primarily through handheld cameras, that of the camera crew, with instances when the view point changes to either stable cameras installed by the paranormal research teams or at times the scenes run just like a normal film. Although different techniques are used throughout the film be it in the editing, the cuts, the camera work, it all comes together smoothly with continuous transitions.

While the acting by almost the entire cast is the strongest aspect of the film, the story manages to remain complex enough to keep the audience interested. Unfortunately, the climax proves to be a huge let down as it comes rather close to imitating the Blair Witch Project's ending scenes, albeit in a somewhat modern setting.

The film is a wonderful approach to the horror genre with a complex character at the very core of the story that brings about a humane aspect to the entire paranormal proceedings. The Casebook of Eddie Brewer is especially recommended if you like your scares but want to avoid the blood and gore. It emphasizes more on the story and the sounds rather than the visuals when it comes to the frights, and that is where is succeeds.            

Rating 3.5/5

The Girl

Alfred Hitchcock has long been my favourite director, so it goes without saying that The Girl is a much anticipated BBC film. Aired recently on BBC, and available on DVD from 7th January, the film looks at the turbulent relationship between one of the most admired directors of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock, and his blonde muse, Tippi Hedren.

Starring Sienna Miller in the pivotal role and Toby Jones as Hitchcock, The Girl follows the relationship between the two characters during the production of The Birds and Marnie, and is an in-depth study into the psyche of Hitchcock. While Toby Jones is spot on in capturing the slow and deep vocal trademark of Hitchcock, it is Sienna Miller who shines as the tormented actress stuck in a dilemma of either giving herself to the director's sexual fantasies or leaving a career defining role in the most talked about films of the time.       

As much as The Girl is about the two films that Hitchcock made with Tippi Hedren, the film in reality presents a much more sinister side of Hitchcock, one that may or may not be known to the audience. It is the possessive and obsessive nature of the director towards the actress that transforms him into a psychotic, sadistic, sexual deviant that truly shocks. The film also explores the insecurities that Hitchcock had about his looks and weight and that how even though he was the most sort-after director, he still had issues that were eating him away from the inside.

More than anything else, The Girl is about the strength of a woman to defy an industry and its norms and to stand up for herself; as Tippi did by first completing the two movies she was in, even though Hitchcock continued to coax her into letting him have his way with her, and then by refusing to work with Hitchcock after Marnie. 

The Girl takes the audience behind the scenes of two of the greatest movies ever made by one of cinemas most eccentric director. In doing so, it presents the dark side of movie making and a relationship that tests the boundaries of not only the two people involved, but everyone who is connected to them.

Rating 3.5/5

DVD Information:

Release Date:       7 January 2013

Running Time:       87 Minutes

Language:             English

Certificate:          15 

Premium Rush

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat; Premium Rush is not a premium film and nor did it fill me up with a feeling of rush. At best it's a mediocre film that pretty much drags, and thus henceforth shall be referred to as Mediocre Dragfor the remainder of this review.

Yes! I am a huge fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's done some good stuff and is grooming himself well to step into the shoes of present day cinema nobility to the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, Mediocre Drag (and you thought I was joking about using a different title) just doesn't do much justice to his career or acting skills. All we get out of the whole hour and half is that JGL knows how to ride a bike and the special effects team did a good job of keeping him from hitting cars while he delivered messages in the rough and tough streets of New York. However, doing research on the film, which is basically reading IMDB, I did come across the fact that he actually had an accident on the sets, so all the more power to him for doing the stunts.  

The story of Mediocre Drag is pretty simple wherein Wilee (as in Cayote, Joseph Gordon-Levitt) , who is NY's best messenger for three years running, ends up delivering a document that is being hunted down by a dead-beat, deep in gambling loans, cop Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon). And yes, that's the best they could come up with in terms of cop names. There are a few flashbacks, and a slight romantic angle, which are just inclusions that take away from the main aspect of the film, which should be about riding the bike. 

Mediocre Drag would have been a great film had it not had too many loopholes in its plot, something I will avoid discussing because I do not want to giveaway anything, although there is nothing much to giveaway in the first place. What annoys me is that JGL's character doesn't really come across as a real hero. Well, he is one, no doubt, but take for example his continuous bragging about the fact that he rides a gear-less and break-less bike, to the extent that he tells others that having breaks will get them killed. So when he finally does have an accident on his gear-less and break-less bike, woooooo I know, I felt like shouting "Who's your Daddy now, Punk!".   

The other problem with Mediocre Drag is that it doesn't excite the audience. Events take place at a rather leisurely pace; even through there is a clock ticking every few minutes onscreen. A film like Premium Rush (since I am talking about what the film should be like, I figured I’d use the real title) should be high on cycling tricks, should make me want to leave my job and take up bike messaging or something on those lines. But is does nothing like that. I'd rather watch BMX Bandits wherein kids half the age of JGL did better bike tricks, and at least for a brief moment made me want to go and buy a BMX bike.  

So, if your idea of a movie is watching a bunch of people in spandex ride bicycles without too much excitement, then Premium Rush might be the right choice, but if you prefer some edge of the seat entertainment, good acting, death defying action sequences that seem real, then give Mediocre Drag a miss.

Rating 2/5  

By the Bluest of Seas (Russian)

By the Bluest of Seas packs in so many wonderful emotions into a mere 70 minutes running time, that I am in complete awe of director Boris Barnet. The story of two friends working, living, and falling in love on an island is just so charming that it makes for a perfect romantic-comedy.

Yusuf (Lev Sverdlin) and Alyosha (Nikolai Kruychkov) are both quick to fall in love with Masha (Yelena Kuzmina) when they arrive at a "collective farm" to work after being shipwrecked in a storm on the Caspian Sea.  What follows is a series of mini-adventures, slapstick comedy, musical interludes, and romantic moments as the love triangle moves towards an unpredictable end.  

Similar to his film Outskirts, Boris Barnet has a way to make the audience uneasy by merging tragedy with comedy in the most unexpected of times and places. While By the Bluest of Seas is not as politically driven or serious a film as Outskirts, the trademark tragicomedy is ever-present from the very beginning when Yusuf, being rescued after the shipwreck, is more concerned about feeling ticklish than getting to safety. Such emotional highs and lows run throughout the film keeping the viewer engrossed along with being fascinated by the wonderful film making techniques used by the director during the early sound period.

By the Bluest of Seas manages to romanticize the beauty of the sea by depicting it in its many forms; from high thunderous waves to the calm serene waters reflecting the suns rays, the sea follows the moods of the characters. Once again, as in his other films, Boris Barnet also manages to capture the most basic of human emotions such as jealousy, excitement, disgust, and betrayal in his portrayal of love found and lost. 

By the Bluest of Seas is a charming little early sound period film that stays away from the state of the nation at the time and focuses more on the human aspects of love, friendship, and the joy of enjoying life for what it is. 

For being one of the earliest perfect date movies I've ever seen, By the Bluest of Seas gets a 5/5 star rating and a spot in my list of films that are essential viewings.

DVD Information:

DVD:                     Mr. Bongo Films

Title:                    By the Bluest of Seas

Release Date:       12^th November 2012

Certificate:          12

Running Time:       69 minutes

Outskirts (Russian)

A Russian classic by Boris Barnet, Outskirtsis a technically impressive film, from around the time sound in films just started, that tells the story of a small village town on the Russian-German border during World War I.

The film starts with normal everyday life of the town going into turmoil starting with a strike in the local shoe factory. Soon enough the war breaks out with a German attack and it is at this point that relationships between friends, factory workers, brothers, and family begin to strain. The film from then on follows the life of men from the town at the frontline and the life of the people they have left behind along with the German POWs who end up in the town after the war starts.

Outskirts is a film that has stark emotional highs and lows. There are moments of extreme comedy and just as in life these moments make the audience uneasy as they are almost always followed by tragic events that break the heart. These moments are heightened when news about men dying in war reaches the town just as German POWs are being given permission to move around amongst the residents to work and earn a living. A sense of despair is felt by the audience because of an expected tragedy on the onset of unexpected love between a German POW and a local girl; a love between two individuals who speak in languages that the other doesn't understand, and yet their attraction has the innocence of a first crush.

One of the scenes that depicts the emotional complexities of the period takes place inside the POW camp as the camera moves from one side of a room starting with two men playing cards, smiling, followed by a group of men gravely looking at a dying man in the next bed, followed by a man shaving his beard in an everyday fashion. The camera then moves back as the now dead man is removed, the men playing cards shift their game to a nearby bed as a mark of respect, and soon enough the empty space left by the dead man is taken by a new inmate. All this takes place in a rather subtle manner as if it is the normal way of life.

These dilemmas of emotions faced by the locals, the German POWs, and the men returning from the frontline are beautifully presented in the film and show a side of war that is often ignored.

Technically, the film presents numerous instances of marvel. From the moment in the beginning where a man looks at the audience and winks after just having picked-up a girl successfully to a later time in the film when the war has been going on for a few years and machines have taken over most of the work in factories, the camera work is simply spectacular as the film cuts from the shoe-making machines to soldiers dying in the trenches by machine guns. The sound effects of the film might seem sketchy at times, but the film proves to be a great comparison piece to see how sound has progressed over the years and also is a study into the intricacies of various sounds.        

Outskirts doesn't hide away from making a social commentary as a soldier at one point comments at the absurdity of war by saying, "We don't want to fight, they don't want to fight, but we're in the fourth year of war".

Outskirts is a film that signifies the power of people; the power to go on a strike and demand a better way of life, the power to fight for the country, the power to love the enemy, the power to defy your own father, the power to stand up against your own nation for what is right, and eventually the power of revolution.

Outskirts is classic cinema at its best.

Rating 5/5

DVD Information:

Release Date:       12 November 2012

Certificate: 12

Running Time:       99 minutes

  

Short Circuit

Number 5 is alive!

If you've seen Short Circuit, there is a good chance you already have a smile on your face. If you saw it as a child, there is an even better chance you are thinking about the time you watched it with friends or maybe played it out in the park. That's the power of cinema.

Struck by lightening, No. 5 (voiced by Tim Blaney), a robot constructed at Nova Technologies, a defense firm, starts behaving like a human. Its hunger for "input" (information) leads it to Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) who initially thinks of it as an alien but eventually takes on the task of protecting it from Nova Technologies who now wants to destroy No.5. Helping her along the way is the creator of Number 5, Newton Crosby (Steve Gutenberg).

Short Circuit is a great film is you want to learn word synonyms for No.5, after going through a dictionary, has a tendency to speak them out every chance he gets.

Stephanie Speck: I thought you were alive, Number 5. I let you tear my house to shreds and you're a ROBOT! You're a machine from that dumb war lab place. God, I'm so stupid!

Number 5: Stupid - foolish, gullible, doltish, dumbell...

Short Circuit is a great film if you want to laugh-out-loud as the team of military men and scientists try their best to catch Number 5 who seems to always be one step ahead of them.  

Skroeder: Maybe it's pissed off.

Newton Crosby: It's a machine, Schroeder. It doesn't get pissed off, it doesn't get happy, it doesn't get sad, it doesn't laugh at your jokes...

Newton Crosby/Ben Jabituya: ...IT JUST RUNS PROGRAMS!

Short Circuit is an essential watch if you want to wipe tears off your eyes from laughing hard at the dialogues of Ben Jabituya (Fisher Stevens), who in all probability is Apu (Simpsons) reincarnated as a scientist helping Newton find Number 5.  

Ben Jabituya: With excitement like this, who is needing enemas?

Howard Marner: Don't tell me its laser is still armed.

Ben Jabituya: Bimbo.

Ben Jabituya: Newton, we are wasting valueless time here.

Ben Jabituya: Bye-bye, goofy woman. I enjoyed repeatedly throwing you to the ground.

Stephanie Speck: ...Where're you taking him?

Ben Jabituya: This is not being a HIM. It's only being wires and several mechanisms and other such machine-type apparatus, for the Pete of sake - the sate of Peeckle...

Short Circuit is a wonderful 1980s comedy that manages to still amuse audiences after almost three decades of its release. It provides a sense of adventure of the most unlikely kind as a robot goes out in the big bad world and learns the importance of life, that of its own and others.

The magic of Short Circuit is that it works on many levels. It's a look at society and its eagerness to destroy anything that is not the norm. The film is great entertainment full of numerous fun filled chase sequences. Most importantly, it is a film for the entire family, especially the kids who are sure to be charmed by Number 5. As for the ladies, one look at Number 5 copying Travolta's moves from Saturday Night Fever, and you are bound to be floored. 

Short Circuit is amongst a group of great children's comedy classics from the 1980s (The Breakfast Club, Flight of the Navigator, Goonies, Herbie Goes Bananas, A Christmas Story, BMX Bandits, ...) that have become essential viewing for the newer generation because even with the passing of time, these films have remained as refreshing and crisp as any new film being released today.

Rating 4.5/5

DVD Information:

Special Features: Original Trailer, The Creation of Number 5, Cast & Crew Interviews, Behind the scenes featurette, Commentary.

UK Release Date - 19 November 2012

Running Time - 95 Minutes

Region Code - Region Free

Certificate - PG

Flight of the Navigator

It was a time of innocence. A time when children’s films where a gateway into imagination. The 1980s and 1990s saw countless films geared towards kids that till this day remain classics and bring a smile, at the mere mention of their titles, on the face of adults who grew up enacting scenes and characters from these films. Flight of the Navigator is a film that, even though I don't remember watching growing up, brought about memories from my wonder years.

Flight of the Navigator is a story about a boy, David (Joey Cramer), who is abducted by an alien, Max (Voiced by Paul Reubens), only to return to Earth 8 years later to find everyone has aged except for him. What follows is an escape and chase movie as the scientists at NASA want to study the boy and the spaceship that crash-landed along with him while the alien in the spaceship needs him for maps that have been stored in his brain. 

The film is full of subtle humor and moments that will warm your heart. Like most kid-centric films of the time there is always a strong moral behind each action and lessons to be learnt. The adventure quotient is good enough to make children run to the nearest enclosure and imagine a spacecraft taking them around the planet at speeds faster than light. Another aspect of the film that really stood out was the dialogue which although is geared towards entertaining the kids has stood the test of time and sounds fresh enough to have made me chuckle quite a few times during the film.

Max: I crashed into electrical towers and my star charts were erased. I need the ones in your head to complete my mission.

David: So you need ME and my INFERIOR brain to fly that thing?

Max:Correction, I need the SUPERIOR information in your INFERIOR brain to fly this... thing.

David:Where do you go next, Max?

Max: Back in time to when I picked up my creatures. By now they're so hungry, they could eat a zigzog.

David:What's a zigzog?

Max: Kind of like a hippo, but with feathers.

For most adults Flight of the Navigatoris a journey back to their childhood, while fans of Sex and the City can find a young Sarah Jessica Parker in a small role sporting pink highlighted hair, something I'm not too sure Carrie Bradshaw would approve of? As for the younger generation, they can enjoy the film for what it is, fun, adventurous, humorous, and a feel good family entertainer that should be in everyone's home collection.

Rating:  4/5

DVD Information:

Special Features - Commentary by director Randal Kleiser & Producer Jonathan Sanger

UK Release Date - 19 November 2012

Running Time - 86 Minutes

Region Code - Region Free

Certificate - U

Skyfall

Could high expectations be the reason for Skyfall's downfall? Maybe, but then the film does stand tall on its feet even though it isn't as great as the initial reviews suggested. Mind you, it's a solid film and one of the best Bond films we have had, just not the best. Personally, I still hold Casino Royale as the film that took Bond to an entirely new level and made it grittier and darker than its predecessors and Skyfall continues on the same theme with only minor changes thrown in to stir up the audience, which in all honesty is a good thing.

Talking about Skyfall in detail would be giving away too much. Just like any good spy thriller, it is laden with enough twists and turns that even disclosing one would result in the breakdown of the entire film. So, I’ll simply say that the story gets personal this time, as did Quantum of Solace, but with adjustments that make Skyfall a lot more enjoyable. The typical Bond-British humor is there, the Bond girls are there, the usual characters are almost all there, but what we do have in addition is a Bond villain after a long time that will stand the test of time and remain memorable. The credit for that goes to Javier Bardem who portrays the villainous Silva with such panache that by the last act even Craig's Bond ends up with a major complex as he comments on Silva's ability to make a somewhat grand entrance.

Where Skyfall succeeds is in cunningly holding a few Aces up its sleeves. What is does beautifully is make the audience nostalgic about the entire franchise highlighted even more with the classic theme song by Adele which is reminiscent of the earlier Bond films. There is enough exploration of the past, both in the films story and in the execution of the film by director Sam Medes, that any ardent fan of the series could not help but fall for this new Bond that is all business and much less talk than his earlier avatars. There is also a certain progressiveness to the entire character development of Bond to the extent the three films starring Daniel Craig come very close to being termed as a trilogy, and maybe that is why my personal favourite remains Casino Royale because it was responsible for kick-starting this new age of Bond.

Skyfall makes for recommended viewing even if you are not a Bond fan. The story, while it has its inside jokes, can be understood and enjoyed by a first timer. I have always believed that having a memorable villain means half the battle is won for any action film, and Skyfall ticks that box with a certain pride and a willingness to explore the boundaries of what the audience expects. With the promise that Bond will returnthings look promising for the future, and I have a slight inkling that the next Bond film will be even more back to the basics when it comes to those three Gs; Guns, Girls, and Gadgets.

Rating 4/5     

  

Curse

Curse is a Singaporean horror film that although has a low-budget feel to it, manages to entertain with good enough characters and an interesting storyline.

Using the concept of Singapore's reserve army, six individuals from various aspects of life are grouped together and sent to an island, supposed to be cursed, to find three AWOL soldiers. Although the premise of the story gives ample opportunity for each character, ranging from a historian and a reflexologist to a socialite and a career soldier, to showcase individual personality traits, the film never really capitalizes on this keeping the story more about the cursed island and the evil spirits of a mother and daughter that are the cause of all the mayhem and murder.

There is though a sense of mystery to the entire story with the events being told in flashback by one survivor who isn't disclosed till the very end. Moreover, within the flashback story there are other mysterious and surprising elements thrown in for good measure. With the setting being a deserted island and the film being primarily filmed in wooded areas, there is a continuous feel of dread throughout and the makers use the settings well enough to incorporate a few jumps and scares for the audience.     

The most disappointing aspect of the film has to be the choppy acting and dialogue delivery. The spoken language is mainly English and at times it is clear that the actors are struggling with the pronunciations. Nevertheless, it isn't horrific acting, just not of the level that could and would have taken the film to the next level.

Curse makes for a fun watch with a descent story concept, but with a higher budget and a stronger cast, it could have achieved much more than it already has.

Rating 3/5

DVD Info:

Region:          2

Country:       Singapore

Language:     English & Malay

Subtitles:       English

Certificate:   15

Running Time:        91 minutes

  

Conversations with Mani Ratnam (Book Review)

There is a good chance that an avid film watcher in India would have seen at least one film by Mani Ratnam at some point of his/her life. Mani Ratnam has long been an integral part of Indian cinema making movies in varied languages, at regular intervals, and taking on issues and stories that are equally thought-provoking and entertaining.

My first experience with a Mani Ratnam film was Anjali. Although it wasn't till recently that I realized the film had been directed by him, it is one of the few films that has stayed in the back of my mind ever since I watched a dubbed version in the early 90s. It might have been that the story revolved around kids, but there are scenes that still linger in my mind even after two decades from this film, something that I cannot say about certain films that I have seen this year.

Baradwaj Rangan, in his book Conversations with Mani Ratnam, takes a somewhat new approach at tackling the filmography of this prolific director. Avoiding the route of a memoir, Mani Ratnam opens up to the author/critic/editor about his love for cinema before taking the reader on an inside look at the workings of film from the time the idea of the story germinates to the time the film is finally released. The success of the book lies in the fact that the author is equally passionate about Mani Ratnam's films as is the director about cinema. This passion, shared by both individuals, is what forms the crux of the book.

Conversations with Mani Ratnam features a step by step look at the films that have defined this director. Rangan is meticulous  with his research as he questions Mani Ratnam linking characters from different films or talking about certain elements, like trains, that have been explored on a regular basis in his films. Mani Ratnam remains one of the most fascinating directors of the last few decades because he has had the inclination and opportunity to direct in many different Indian languages over the years. Discovering his regional, non-Hindi, films, I had a strong urge to venture into a side of the director that was till now unknown to me. The book in that respect manages to pull the reader into the world of Mani Ratnam that is full of music, stories, and above all a sense of honesty and the want to show society a mirror through his films.

Mani Ratnam and Baradwaj Rangan, both stay clear of any scandals and name callings during their conversations. That for me makes the book stand out, for it remains true to the art of cinema, forgoing the need to sell more books by using gossip as an instigator. Instead what it focuses on is the various collaborations that Mani Ratnam has had over the years in the field of photography, music, and even story writing. What this also means is that on the outset the book is mainly going to appeal to film enthusiasts. In its defense, the book is presented in an easily readable fashion and helps the reader relate more to the films by giving a short synopsis of each film being discussed. My initial hesitation lied with the fact that I had no knowledge about Mani Ratnam's regional films, but once again the conversations flow so seamlessly between the director and the author that it doesn't matter too much which film is being discussed because the reader is just immersed in the power of cinema being discussed by two avid fans.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book for me was realizing, in reading the conversations, that sometimes critics or the audience dissect a scene so much that they see a certain meaning behind it all. It can range from character studies to certain scenes to the music being used. What Mani Ratnam does is break this thought by suggesting that at times a scene is a scene and there really is no hidden meaning behind it all. Questioning Baradwaj Rangan on this very topic in my interview with him, he is quick to counterpoint saying that it's not always necessary what the director wanted or did not want, but at times the audience can take away a lot more from the film than what was initially intended by the filmmaker.

Conversations with Mani Ratnam is a book not only about a director who lets his work speak for him. It is about the power of films and tremendous amount of hard work that goes behind each film being made. Most importantly, the book is about the passion for cinema, a passion that is shared by the author, the director, and each and everyone who is likely to pickup the book up and read it.

        

Radioman (Documentary)

He's been called a "cultural institution" by Tom Hanks. To some he is a lucky charm. With countless guest and blink-and-you'll-miss appearances in films, Radioman is a person that defines the city of New York for the people in the movie business.

I have often called myself a film enthusiast or even a film fanatic, but seeing the obsession and passion that Radioman possess towards the films, I now feel embarrassed calling myself a fan of cinema. He is an eccentric person, but one who comes across as genuine and honest. He's on first name basis with movie legends, yet he is simply happy hanging around the set and acting bit parts in films, never really asking for any help from the actors. It is probably his humility towards the stars that draws them towards him and let them be in their natural state even when he is around.   

Radioman the documentary is a short look at the life of a person who in his own way has been an integral part of cinema. It's a documentary that through the story of Radioman showcases the power of cinema as a chance encounter with Bruce Willis led to Radioman changing the course of his life from being homeless to having a certain meaning and goal. The documentary is also a reality check on life. From the life lived by the homeless, to the perceptions people have towards the less fortunate, to the true meaning of friendship, Radioman is a also one man institution of life's lessons.

Due to the rather short running time of 70 minutes, the documentary never really digs deep into the depressing life of Radioman, especially his childhood with just a passing mention of an abusive father. What it does do is, while staying on the surface of issues, manages to compile the life of a man who has an almost childish enthusiasm about cinema and a never say die attitude.

One of the most poignant moments in the documentary is when on a trip to LA to meet his beloved stars during Oscar week, Radioman just doesn't get the same positive response as he does back in New York. Still, he remains loyal to the starts rejoicing having only met Cher. He sums up his trip as "Sometimes it's a tidal wave of fun, other times it's monsoon misery".

Radioman who at times remotely looks like Robin Williams or even Steven Spielberg is well aware of his persona and is aware that he himself is a character, a man with a radio around his neck, and that is what makes him who he is. He is also at peace with this. It is his frankness that is his most attractive feature and the reason why most stars are comfortable talking to him. In return he never pushes them for attention, giving them their own space, just happy knowing that the actors know him.

The documentary is just the tip of the iceberg to what is a plethora of interesting stories from the life of a man who has spent his time on the streets of New York and continues to do so showing himself to the entire world one frame at a time in the form of cameos in films.

Radioman is a character study of a cinephile and makes for recommended viewing.

The 4-in-1 Movie Review by Bright Eyes Long Lashes

For a change from my normal reviews, I asked one of my Twitter friends Leah to let me post some of her film review vLogs. She's a fun reviewer who speaks her mind and is "challenging herself to review every movie released theatrically in 2012". Below she talks about some of the most anticipated movies of the year...

PROMETHEUS

LOOPER & PREMIUM RUSH

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Bright Eyes Long Lashes is a YouTube channel that focuses on movie reviews. As Leah is currently on a mission to view all films released theatrically in 2012, you can subscribe to her channel at www.youtube.com/Brighteyeslonglashes and visit her website at www.LeahHather.com

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi (Hindi)

It's important for people to realize that just because their father/mother/sibling/wife/husband is a popular actor/director doesn't mean that they too have the same artistic gene in them, just like me starting a film blog doesn't mean I am a professional film critic. There obviously is no harm in trying, for we all must try, but when you have backing and experience at your disposal, you just might want to make the most of it in your attempt.

Bela Bhansali Segal, sister to ace director Sanjay Bhansali, tries desperately to present a charming film that revolves around the Parsi community with an unconventional love story at the heart of it. The problem is that although the Parsi community is full of eccentricities and charm, the quirkiness just doesn't explode on the screen. If you really want to watch a film that truly gives an insight into the Parsi community of India watch the underrated Little Zizou. As for the supposed unconventional love story between the mid 40s couple, it isn't anything new as there have been numerous films in the recent past that have revolved around a similar topic.     

Starring Boman Irani and Farah Khan as the couple in love, the film never really amuses or entertains. The comedy is so juvenile that I sat in amazement thinking what really was going through the head of the makers and the actors when they filmed the scenes. Mind you, the film is not really meant for kids, so they can't pass the comedy on that either. Boman Irani gives a good performance, but doesn't bring anything new to the table. Farah Khan, officially acting for the first time, is wooden with her dialogue delivery and try as she might just doesn't have any grace during the song and dance numbers either, of which there are many. The supporting cast that comprises mostly of character actors like Daisy Irani are probably the only saving grace, but once again they are given such absurd situations and comic moments that they too find it hard to give their best performance.

Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi is a feeble attempt at new-age cinema, such as Khosla Ka Ghosla and Do Dooni Char, that has been relatively successful. Unfortunately a poor and predictable storyline is its biggest downfall making this two hour film unwatchable.

Rating 1/5      

Bol Bachchan (Hindi)

For the longest time I have been a huge supporter of Abhishek Bachchan's acting. While most people had given up on him after his first few movies, I actually thought he could carry certain roles really well, especially the ones in multi-starers. For the first time ever did I find him lacking real acting talent as I watched him play the role of Abbas Ali/Abhiskek Bachchan in Bol Bachchan. It might have been the film, or that he was surrounded by actors like Archana Puran Singh and Krishna Abhishek who pretty much duplicated their childish acts that can be seen on those comedy stage shows that run all the time on TV, but Abhishek Bachchan could be seen finding it hard to produce good comedy. What is truly ironical is that during the end credits there is a brief moment when Abhishek talks to the director Rohit Shetty and says "I told you I was made for this role"... I strongly disagree.

Bol Bachchan is a rather poor copy of the classic Hrishikesh Mukherjee film Gol Maal. What Rohit Shetty has done is tried to add his trademark Golmaal-ism to the film in the hope that he would end up with a winner. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For those of you who are confused, as are most of the characters in the film Bol Bachchan, Rohit Shetty has the GolMaal series (nothing to do with the classic film except for the name) to his credit and it can be considered his claim to fame.

Now that I have the school-play acting rant out of my system we can move to the numerous unnecessary subplots and characters that bring absolutely nothing to the story of the film. The comedy is so crass that I often wonder who is it that the film is targeted to. Okay, I do admit there were a couple of instances, in a movie that ran for two hours, where I did laugh out loud, but then again I never said my comic sense is all that great.

The supporting cast does exactly that, try and support a film that is weak from the get go. Ajay Devgan might change his name to Ajay Devgn and also call his production house Devgn FFilms, but it's high time everyone realizes that it takes a lot more than playing with letters to actually succeed. His role is similar to what he has been doing lately, i.e. tough guy who can beat an army of men with one punch. Abhishek Bachchan, thanks to his gay act in Dostana, seems to have found a character that everyone making the film thought was worth repeating, but once again his comic timing is simply atrocious. Asin and Preeti Desai are there to be the damsels in distress and give the two heroes an excuse to showcase their emotional venerability.

As for the direction, it is very Rohit Shetty like. I actually have no problem with the kind of slow-motion fight sequences he usually directs and thankfully they are just about the right amount of fight sequences in the film. The songs seem to be popular right now on radio, but I do not think they are memorable.  

Bol Bachchan was one of the biggest disappointments of 2012. It lacks originality or even class. What it worse is that with Bachchan being in the name of the film Abhishek should have stood out, but the film for me is his worst performance till date.

2/5 Rating.

  

Dredd (3D)

Judge, Jury, and Executioner might be what Dredd thinks he is, but here, on this blog, I get to judge and maybe execute his film. I would have loved to play with the title and maybe call the post Dredd-ful, but as luck would have it, the film actually surpasses a lot of my expectations.

Karl Urban in a role that requires him to wear a helmet covering most of his face throughout the film, does a great job of playing the über-cool Dredd. Lena Henley as the villainous Ma-Ma plays a female character that leaves a strong impact both on Judge Dredd and the audience. Putting these two characters inside a 200-floor apartment block and letting them loose in a head-to-head battle not only forms the premise of the film, but gives it a claustrophobic feel that works rather well. It also helps keep the story moving in one direction, not meandering away with unnecessary sub-plots (of which there a couple). 

Dredd gets tremendous credit for coming up with an ingenious way to get away with somewhat excessive use of slow-motion. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop the film from being draggy at times and it doesn't really pick-up till the "machine-gun massacre of floor 76" around the halfway mark. There is a lot of running around corridors without much action at times, but the film stays clear of too much melodrama staying true to the action. With special effects helping the cast at every corner, Dredd is at times visually stunning to watch, even though this generally includes people getting shot and/or killed.            

What really was dreadful about the film is the 3D aspect. I cannot be sure, but checking the screen in-between it seemed that the film was one of those where only parts were in 3D and not the entire film. I could be wrong about this. Nevertheless, if 3D has to succeed, it needs support from everyone involved, and when the cinema provides dirty and scratched glasses, it really doesn't help much, so much so that I had to strain my eyes at times to make out what was going on screen.

As Dredd makes for an above average action flick, it manages to grab attention for not shying away from the gore and bloody mess that is a result of all the fighting. It does lack the one-liners that are ever-so-important to make such action films memorable. While the film is in a completely different league than its predecessor, it might just miss out on the type of cult status other films like Robocop has had over the years, or for that matter even The Raid earlier this year. It does, however, have scope to be converted into an eagerly awaited franchise.

Rating 3/5

   

Les Enfants Du Paradis (Children of Paradise)

WOW! I wish I could end my review of the film just there because Les Enfants Du Paradis is a film that simply must be seen. Voted "The best French film ever made" by the French Film Academy, it is probably one of the finest films ever to have captivated the audience with a storyline that evokes unparalleled emotions.

Les Enfants Du Paradis is the story about Garance, an always smiling "modern" woman who becomes the object of affection of four different men. The story is about her encounters with these men and how they are enraged, indifferent, and jealous, of the other men in Garance's life. The beauty of the film lies in how the story revolves around the theatrical world wherein the pantomime and theatrical performances form an integral part of the story.

The characters of the film compliment each other in such a fashion that each one of them comes across as an equally important aspect of the storyline, no matter the amount of time they spend on the screen. 

Garance/Claire (Arietty) - is a woman who lives by her own terms. She doesn't love one, but everyone equally, and believes that her happiness lies in pleasing the ones who make her happy. The object of desire, she never has any qualms about the decisions she has made in her life, at least not till much later.  

Baptiste (Jean-Luis Barrault) - A mime and a rising star in the theater world, he experiences love at first sight on seeing Garance. Love is depicted in its many forms through the people Garance encounters, and Baptiste epitomizes true love, one which is without lust. It is also this notion of love he has that leads to him losing out on Garance.

Frédérick (Pierre Brasseur) - An actor and a player he comes closest to Garance in terms of free love. His chance encounters with Garance leads to a romance which when ends leaves certain hollowness in Frédérick. It is his realization of this space that Garance has always occupied in his heart that forms his character arc.

Count Edouard de Montray (Louis Salou) - An aristocrat with the means to provide Garance with all her needs, he expresses his love to her with the offer of give her protection. His love is very diplomatic, almost business like and in stark contrast with the type of love Baptiste and Frédérick show towards Garance. While Garance, due to certain circumstances, takes up on the offer, the Count is never able to make her love him.

Lacenaire (Marcel Herrand) - A conniving criminal, he has the most volatile and indiscreet relationship with Garance. His love for her is that of control. He doesn't show that he needs her, but as we find out with the progression of the story, it is his love that is the most dangerous amongst all of Garance's suitors.     

Jéricho (Pierre Renoir)- Jéricho is a jack of all trades. He is the common thread between all the primary characters of the story. A "ragman" dealing in stolen goods, he has a different relationship with each one of the men fighting for Garance's affection and at times comes across as their conscience that these men have left behind in their quest for love.

Marcel Carné directs the film with gusto, which looks even more beautiful in the restored version. The streets of Paris and the depiction of life at the turn of the 19th century is a window into the theatrical world of France and the change in thinking that was taking place at the time. He captures the plays and the pantomimes within the film with such panache that they become individual acts culminating into something magnificent. It is these very theatrical performances, working well within the film, the sum of all parts, which make the film a true classic.

Watching the film with subtitles, I was in complete awe with the dialogues. French has long been considered the language of love and although some of that "love" might have been lost in translation, the film is one of the most beautifully spoken films I have ever come across.

Les Enfants Du Paradis plays havoc with the emotions of the audience. There is a hint of tragedy throughout the film, be it the pantomimes wherein Baptiste expresses his loss of love or even when the happy-go-lucky Garance, just for a moment, talks about being orphaned at 15 and growing up fast in the cruel world. While the film is over-laden with tragedy, there are short bursts of humor at every corner that leaves the audience uncertain about how they should feel.  

Les Enfants Du Paradis is a study of human nature at its basic, rawest form. Love, hatred, jealousy, revenge, possessiveness, need, lust, and passion are but some of the emotions that are tackled seamlessly in the film through its different characters. In the end, it becomes a battle of wits between the four men as they; once again, try to attract Garance's affection. The film ends where it really begins; in a room with Baptiste and Garance expressing their contrasting thoughts about love to each other. While the end is sure to leave the audience heartbroken, it is Frédérick, at an earlier occasion, who is able to put the gist of the story in a few words...

"Jealousy belongs to all if a woman belongs to none".   

Rating 5/5

DVD INFORMATION: The restored edition of Les Enfants Du Paradis is highly recommended not only for the quality of the film, which is brilliant, but also for the special features that talk about the story behind the film and also look at the process of the restoration.

Title: Les Enfant Du Paradis - The Restored Edition

Release Date:17th September 2012

Running Time:182 minutes

Cert.: PG

Language:French with English Subtitles

Special Features:

     Theater, Love, and War: Making Les Enfants Du Paradis

     Once Upon a Time...Les Enfants Du Paradis

     The Restoration

     Restoration - Before and After