Argo (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Enlightening, Entertaining and Engaging!

4/5 Stars 

Based on a true story, ‘Argo’ is about six Americans, who although escape from being held as hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, have to find refuge in the home of Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor. The film is about the rescue operations undertaken for these six American diplomats.

The film is an absolute must-watch. The cast, that looks amazingly similar to the real men and women involved in the crisis, delivers first-rate performances. Ben Affleck gives a fine performance as an actor and shines as a director.

The year is 1979. During the ongoing Iranian revolution, Islamic ‘revolutionaries’ (or the terrorists as the Unites States refers to them as) take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran. This action is in retaliation for the support given to their recently-deposed Shah by the U.S. While sixty-odd diplomats are taken as hostages, six of them (four men and two women) evade capture and find a hide-out in the home of the Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). No one, except the State Department back home in the U.S., knows about the situation of the six escapees. They then begin to explore options of getting them out of Iran. CIA operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with a rather improbable idea. It strikes him while watching the sci-fi film ‘Battle for the Planet of the Apes’ that they can create a cover-up that the escapees are Canadian filmmakers, hunting for locations in Iran for a film called ‘Argo’.

So Mendez and his supervisor Jack O’ Donnell (Bryan Cranston), along with a Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), hatch out a plan to start creating buzz around this cover-up movie. They set up a fake studio for this fake film and even hold a presser to get the media to talk about it. Back in Tehran, the situation gets all the more serious as the revolutionaries find out that there have been escapees. They have been trying to put back the shredded documentation that they found at the embassy to look for vital information, the identities of the escapees in particular.

So Mendez enters Iran anyway carrying fake identities, fake film material, fake passports and fake documents. Will the six hostages get rescued? Will Mendez leave them in the lurch? Will the U.S. government ditch the seven Americans stranded in Tehran?

‘Argo’ is a superb ‘political’ film. The scenes, the locations, the props, the body language, the characterization and the costumes are absolutely circa 1979. The best thing about the film is that while it is based on a true incident, there is not too much of ‘history’ and ‘trivia’ thrown in consciously. All the important bits of information are brilliantly etched into the screenplay so there is no need to ‘educate’ the audience with needless narrations and overlaying text. The on-goings within the U.S. government, the state of the film industry, condition of the people living in Tehran, all of these aspects are portrayed in a very realistic manner. None of this takes away from the ‘suspense’ element in the story. There is no blatant stereotyping. The predicament of all sides has been handled in a very delicate manner. This film is a delight not just for its brilliant performances and gripping screenplay, but also the important bits of history that it provides.

The casting of the film is first-rate. Not a single actor/actress looks/seems unfit for the role that they play. Right from the look to the dialogue delivery to the body language, the cast gets it right! Ben Affleck is brilliant as Tony Mendez. The actors, who play the six escapees, are also superb. The best dialogues have been given to the make-up artist-producer combo played by John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Alan has some hilarious lines in the film. Most of them are take-offs on the film industry. In a tense, dramatic film, such moments provide the much-needed comic relief.

The screenplay (Chris Terrio) is engaging, realistic and has a fine mix of drama, subtlety and humor. Director Ben Affleck superbly gets it all together on the screen. The scenes are very well-written. In most of the scenes, silence has been used fantastically. Joshuah Bearman, who wrote the article ‘Escape from Tehran’, has also been credited as a writer. Overall, the film excels wonderfully in the writing department. The music by Alexandre Despat is splendid. After ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, he scores yet another winner.

One of the best films, based on real-life accounts, made in recent times. Enlightening, entertaining and engaging, ‘Argo’ is a must-watch!

Shivom Oza

Chittagong (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Unexplored Territory Captured Successfully

3/5 Stars

Set in British India, ‘Chittagong’ revolves around a 14-year-old boy, Jhunku, and his journey towards becoming a life-long freedom fighter.

‘Chittagong’ is a very well-made history-based film. Earnest performances from the cast, including Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raj Kumar Yadav and the young boy Delzad Hiwale. Writer-director Bedabrata Pain makes a sparkling debut. The kids were splendid too.

14-year-old Jhunku Roy (Delzad Hiwale) had a comfortable life ahead of him. Having an influential British, Wilkinson (the wonderful Barry John), as a mentor, Jhunku had his eyes set on further education at the Oxford University in London. An untoward incident, which leads to the murder of one of the revolutionaries in Surya Sen’s (Manoj Bajpayee) team, incites Jhunku in taking up arms against the British. So, despite the disapproval of his parents, Jhunku joins Surya Sen and the rest of his team. Their first significant conquest is the Chittagong Armoury Raid on April 18, 1930. However, the British soon suppress the army and regain their ascendancy at Chittagong. The rest of the film is about Jhunku’s self-discovery. Surya Sen plays more of a mentor’s role in the film. The rest of the revolutionaries Nirmal Sen (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), Lokenath Bal (Raj Kumar Yadav) and Anant Singh (Jaideep Ahlawat) play their parts excellently.

The most intriguing aspect about the film was that ‘Chittagong Uprising’ is an incident that has not been taught to most of us in our history books. If at all, there is a brief mention of Surya Sen. So, the subject chosen is an important one. Kudos to the director Bedabrata Pain (who is a former NASA scientist with 87 patents to his name) for not incorporating any unnecessary element in the film to make it more 'commercially viable'! History wise, the film stays true to the actual events. The clipping that appears at the end of the film is awe-inspiring. It briefly talks about every significant part of the team followed by a message from the real-life Jhunku himself. That 5-minute-clipping gives you a better perspective about the men who mattered. The film has been shot terrifically by Eric Zimmerman. The art-direction could have been a lot better with a higher budget. However, looking at the relatively small scale at which they’ve made the film, it is a job well done! The patriotic fervour wasn’t quite there. You would expect a film, based on freedom struggle, to arouse feelings of patriotism within you. This film didn’t quite strike that chord till the 5-minute-clipping at the end. Still, ‘Chittagong’ merits at least one watch since it’s a subject that a lot of us are unaware about.

Sure, we know our Mahatma Gandhis, Bhagat Singhs, Mangal Pandeys! Let’s get to know the Surya Sens too!

Shivom Oza

Taken 2 (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Takes Us In Yet Again

3/5 Stars

After daughter Kim gets kidnapped in ‘Taken’ (2009), it’s the parents’ turn. Ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills finds himself in the middle of yet anther kidnapping. His own!

Action-packed just like the first film in the franchise! Don’t go in finding logic, there’s none. However, the 90-minutes-long (pleasantly short) film cuts in some breathtaking stunts, witty dialogues, charming father-daughter bonding and lots of illogical plot-points! Works well, if all you’re looking for is entertainment.

After the events in Paris in ‘Taken’, the family members of the men whom Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) killed while looking for his kidnapped daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), return to their homeland Tropojë, Albania, for the funeral. Here, Murad Hoxha (Rade Šerbedžija), the leader of the slain men and the father of Marko, whom Bryan killed through electrocution, declares that they will find their culprit to avenge the loss of their loved ones.

Bryan, meanwhile, is trying to get closer to his daughter. Although he gives her driving lessons frequently, it is only until recently that he finds out that she has a boyfriend. Playing the over-protective father to the T, Bryan lands up at the boy’s residence to get Kim back.

Kim’s mother, Lenore (Famke Janssen), meanwhile, is drifting away from her present husband. After her husband cancels Lenore’s and Kim’s holiday to China, Bryan suggests that the two accompany him to Istanbul.

What Bryan doesn’t know is Murad and his people are aware of his whereabouts. So they are followed all the way to Istanbul. Bryan and Lenore get kidnapped. All Bryan has is a communicating device through which he can keep in touch with his daughter Kim, who is hiding away in a closet in a hotel room in Istanbul. Bryan lets Kim to open his suitcase, wherein all his equipment has been kept. Through some weird topography, Bryan figures out his own location using his daughter’s help. Bryan asks Kim to throw grenades in the middle of nowhere on a deserted terrace just so that he can figure out his distance by hearing the sound. Yes, Bizarre but it’s the movies!

We all know what happens in the end. Who knows if there’ll be a third film! However, ‘Taken 2’ is quite enjoyable. Who goes in looking for logic in these films anyway? The chase sequences on the streets of Istanbul have been shot excellently. Even the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed. The background score of the film is fairly good. Overall, the film promises a great mix of action and entertainment and delivers to a great extent. The cast, thankfully, does a wonderful job. Liam Neeson still packs a punch!

Director Olivier Megaton delivers a fairly good action film. Although there is nothing extraordinary about the writing, the story is simple to understand. Action films can work without weird aliases, biological warfare and all that razzmatazz. And yes, shorter lengths can work wonders!

Shivom Oza

Looper (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Doesn’t Quite Get You In The Loop!

3/5 Stars

What happens when you come face-to-face with your future self? What if you have to kill him/her? What if, there’s no other way out? ‘Looper’ is a bit of all that!

‘Looper’ is essentially a time-travel film. Sure, it has its inconsistencies. However, if one can overlook the logical aspect, it’s an enjoyable film. Tries to become thought-provoking in the end, but the move doesn’t work. Still, notwithstanding the relatively long-duration, the film will find its takers.

Kansas, 2044 – United States has suffered severe economic collapse, causing immense growth in organized crime. Also, a mutation has occurred in about a small chunk of the population giving them telekinetic powers, i.e. the ability to levitate small objects.

Now 30 years into the future (2074), time travel has been invented, but is immediately outlawed. Since tracking technology has made it increasingly difficult to get rid of corpses secretly, crime bosses resort to time travel to send those who they want killed to the past. For this task, they have hired ‘loopers’. Loopers are assassins who receive silver bars for killing people. However, whenever these crime lords wish to end a looper’s contract, they send his future self back to be killed by his younger self. This, in their terminology, is called ‘closing the loop’. If the looper fails to kill his assigned target, he faces death sentence.

Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works for a mafia company in Kansas as a looper. The group ‘Gat Men’, which he is a part of, is controlled by Abe (Jeff Daniels). Abe has been sent from the future to manage the loopers. Joe’s friend Seth (Paul Dano) is faced with the calamity of having to close his loop. Seth hesitates on finding out that his target behind the mask is his future self. Seth’s older self mentions the Rainmaker, a criminal who has taken over organized crime in the future and is closing all loops. Seth dies, but Joe is faced with the same predicament sometime later. Circumstances get him to come face-to-face with his future self (played by Bruce Willis). He learns a bit (older Joe doesn’t reveal much) about his future. While the younger Joe wants to close his own loop to not draw the ire of Abe and his trusted looper ‘Kid Blue’ (Noah Segan), the older Joe is on a bigger mission. He is out to kill the Rainmaker, who has wreaked havoc in 2074. While his heart does wrench while he’s killing kids, he finds solace in the fact that he is doing this so that he can get his wife, of Chinese-origin, Summer Qing (Qing Xu) back to life. The rest of the film is about the cat-and-mouse game played by the younger Joe and the older Joe. Meanwhile, they are being chased by Abe’s men. There’s a map which has the names of the children who were born on the same day as the Rainmaker. There are three options. The younger Joe has a cut-out of a map which takes him to Sara’s farmhouse. Sara lives with her son, Cid. Cid goes on to play an important part in the film. You’ll have to watch the film to know what happens next.

There are quite a few plot holes in the screenplay. The biggest one, perhaps, occurs during the climactic scene of the film. So, bear in mind that although the film tackles a unique subject and presents it wonderfully, it leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions. The kid, Cid, is turned into an evil caricature in the latter half of the film. The almost-supernatural elements that were brought in thanks to the evolved telekinetic techniques, somehow, take the sheen off the film. Whether he is the younger version of Joe or not, is for you to find out!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis share a lot of scenes. The restaurant scene where Bruce selectively tells his own younger version about his future is sheer brilliance. The background score along with the lone single add a lot of impact to the film. Another laudable thing about the film was the way it portrayed '2044' and ‘2074’. It was very realistic, a welcome change compared to recent films like 'Dredd 3D', 'Total Recall' etc. Yes, there were a few unique gizmos, but nothing over-the-top! Let’s overlook the objects levitating bit!

The concept of the film, very similar to Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’, is a novel one. Time-travel can be a tricky subject. Director Rian Johnson handles it pretty well. The idea of an individual in conflict with his future-self is, without doubt, very fascinating. The length could have been much shorter than 120 minutes. The second-half of the film drags a bit. Does it make you buy the concept of time-travel? Yes. Does it work as a part of a 2-hour-long film? No. If you look at the concept, the acting, the music, the action and the direction, does it merit a one-time-watch? Maybe!

It all boils down to whether you believe in the concept or not. ‘Inception’ received extreme reviews. Some hated it, some loved it, and everyone ‘pretended’ to understand it! ‘Looper’ comes from the same school of thought. It’s not a film that will be liked by everyone.

Shivom Oza

The Possession (2012) Review by Shivom Oza - Scary? No. Boring? Certainly Not!

2.5/5 Stars

A young girl gets possessed by an evil spirit which trapped in a mysterious box.

Although there is nothing in the film that will scare the living daylights out of you, the makers have done well to not try too hard either.

The film starts with an old woman trying to open a mysterious box. However, before she tries to destroy the box, she is thrown violently around the room by an unseen force. Cut to a recently-separated couple Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Stephanie Brenek (Kyra Sedgwick) who are trying to make their kids, Emily (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport), feel that everything is normal. Clyde takes his daughters along for the weekend to his new house. At a yard sale, Emily chances upon the same mysterious box which killed the old woman. She is enchanted by the box and cajoles her father to buy it off. The box, of course, is a dybbuk box that dates back to the 1920s. It contained a broken spirit of a Jewish demon. We find this out much later. What happens in the interim is a lot of 'terrifying' stuff! Emily gets possessed and does a lot of evil things in the house. Grunting horrifyingly, assaulting people around her, being extremely abrasive and a lot more. Moths fly out of her mouth. Hands jut out of her jawline! She also kills her mother's boyfriend.

 

All this goes on until the father approaches a Jew to free his daughter off the spirit. Is the ending happy or sad? Go figure!

The story is quite predictable. There's nothing novel about the concept. However, the presentation wasn't that bad. Luckily, the makers do not vie for something ambitious. There's no 3-D for starters, no over-the-top visual effects and no shenanigans! The execution was simple. Although the scenes are not overtly terrifying, you might be left shaken a bit after watching the proceedings. Director Ole Bornedal does a decent job of the film, however, leaves the ending a bit too predictable. The cast does a fine job. Natasha Calis, who plays the possessed girl, is absolutely terrific and at some places, terrifying.

'The Possession' is a decent film. If you really 'dig' horror films, you may be a bit disappointed.

Shivom Oza

Killing Them Softly (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Killing Us Softly

2/5 Stars

Based on the 1973 novel ‘Cogan’s Trade’ by George V. Higgins, the film revolves around the repercussions of a mysterious poker game heist.

The film is part noir, part caper and mostly cryptic. The first 30 minutes of the film unfold in a bizarre manner, making it very difficult for the viewer to decipher the main plot.

The main plot revolves around a robbery that occurs in the middle of a poker game where two small-time thugs, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Ben Mendelsohn (Russell), loot Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta). Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a folk music-loving mob enforcer is called into find and execute the suspected culprits. Violence, blood and gore ensue. The film is mainly about how difficult it is, even for the criminals to survive, during the economic meltdown of 07/08. The film attempts to be a very thoughtful take on the political affairs in the US. There’s a dialogue in the end that goes something like, “America is not a country, but a business!”

The film is filled with repeated inter-cuts, witty and expletive-filled dialogue reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino films and also embeds within it a powerful political message. There are scenes interspersed with speeches from the 2008 Barack Obama-McCain Presidential Campaign. However, it’s all too confusing. In the end, you’ll just go ‘Phew!’ The screenplay, although stylishly embellished with some wonderful cinematography filled with exquisite slow-motion shots, has too little substance. Even the clever political connection seems an attempt to intellectualize the content of the film. Brad Pitt delivers a fine performance as does the rest of the cast. However, the writing falters. Andrew Dominik, who has directed and written the adapted screenplay, fails to incorporate the basic premise of the film.

A lot of ‘killing’ goes on in ‘Killing Them Softly’. Menacing it is, intriguing it isn’t. Understandable, it certainly is not! Pitt fans might like it. Fans of the caper-genre may find it a one-time-watch. For the rest, avoid.

Shivom Oza

English Vinglish (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – To Sum It Up – :)

3.5/5 Stars

A low-on-confidence Maharashtrian housewife wants to redeem herself by learning English. How does she do it?

‘English Vinglish’ is the film to watch for every father, mother, husband, wife, son and daughter.

Sridevi plays a middle-aged Maharashtrian housewife Shashi Godbole. Shashi may be weak at speaking English, but that doesn’t deter her from being the wonderful mother, loving wife and doting daughter-in-law. However, her husband Satish Godbole (Adil Hussain) and her daughter (played by Navika Kotia) never appreciate her efforts and are rather embarrassed of the fact that she can’t speak English. Her son Sagar (Shivansh Kotia) although does play mama’s boy-cum-khabri, snitching on his teenage sister every now and then. Shashi runs a small business from home. She makes wonderful ladoos (something which her husband takes huge pride in, albeit with a touch of contempt) and sells them around the locality.

Already saddened by the behaviour meted out to her, she has a higher mountain to climb as she has to travel all the way to New York to help out her widowed sister (played by Sujata Kumar) with her daughter Meera’s wedding. It is at New York where Shashi, who finds herself completely alienated in a country where knowing English is considered a ‘must’, realizes that she will have to fend for herself and learn the language. So, she ends up at a 4-week class where she meets people who come from completely different backgrounds (African, Spanish, French, Chinese and Pakistani), all of them with a common grievance – they don’t know English. 

The film traces Shashi’s journey through these 4 weeks as she learns lessons far more significant than just English! Sridevi is absolutely fantastic in the film. The film is not a comeback. It is a gentle reminder that she hadn’t gone anywhere. Her scenes with her kids are so genuine and relatable that they will leave you with a lump in the throat. Also, her conversations with her mother-in-law, played by Sulbha Deshpande, and her husband are completely slice-of-life. Sridevi holds the film throughout its 120-minute-long duration. The kids, Navika Kotia and Shivansh Kotia, are terrific. Watch out for Shashi’s son Sagar. He is so bloody adorable. You will love him in the film.

Adil Hussain does a fine job as the snobbish husband. The rest of the supporting cast, including Sujatha Kumar, Priya Anand and Sulbha Deshpande, too deliver great performances. The best scenes, however, feature Shashi’s classmates. Professor David Fischer (Cory Hibbs) and the class members P Ramamurthy (Rajeev Ravindranathan), Yu Son (Maria Romano), Udumbke (Damian Thompson), Eva (Ruth Aguilar) and the Frenchman Laurent (Mehdi Nebbou) along with Shashi (Sridevi) form a brilliant team. The scenes involving the ‘English-learning’ stand out in the film. Sridevi’s chemistry with Nebbou is sparkling. There’s also Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance. Watch the film to know what he does!

Although the story is very simplistic and quite predictable, the scenes are so well-written that you will find yourself glued to the proceedings from the word Go! The concept itself is so relevant in a country like ours, where so much importance is given to knowing and speaking the English language. Writer-Director Gauri Shinde resists the temptation of going over-the-top with the emotional drama. The high-voltage scenes too, have a semblance of control and maturity which make the film such a smooth ride. The scenic locales of New York have been wonderfully captured by lens man Laxman Utekar while the crisp editing by Hemanti Sarkar keeps you enthralled for two hours! Along with Sridevi, Gauri Shinde deserves all the accolades for making such a special film. This is not just ‘Best Debut Director’ material, but ‘Best Director’ material! The film will remind everyone of someone either from their own family or from their friends’ family. There is a Shashi in almost every household of the country. And the film shows us that this Shashi should be acknowledged, respected and helped, instead of being put down. There are some scenes in the film which will make you guffaw, some which will make you let out a teary-eyed smile and some that will choke you. Full of emotion, this!

Music director Amit Trivedi delivers yet another gem for ‘English Vinglish’. The title song, male version suing by Amit Trivedi and the female version crooned by Shilpa Rao, is a winner. Another song that stays with you is the Marathi number ‘Navrai Majhi’. The other songs ‘Manhattan’, ‘Dhak Dhuk’ and ‘Gustakh Dil’, are fine and fit in well into the screenplay.

For those who do not understand any language, to sum up this film - J

Shivom Oza