Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
MOVIE REVIEW
CAST: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Jared Harris, Noomi Rapace, Stephen Fry with Rachel McAdams
RATING: 4/5
The much awaited sequel to the 2009 flick Sherlock Holmes hits the screen, once again giving to us Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, the most famous fictional detective world over and his faithful sidekick, the war-wounded Dr John Watson, brought to life by Jude Law. This edition follows on from where the previous movie ended, i.e. by bringing into foray the criminal mastermind of Professor James Moriarty, enacted craftily by Jared Harris.
The background is shown to be teeming with tensions between, as Sherlock’s elder brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry) puts it diplomatically “two countries who shall not be named but who speak the languages French and German.” Into this political upheaval steps Professor Moriarty who simply wants to make money out of creating firstly the demand and following it with the supply of arms and machinery to the alliance groups between which a war seems inevitable. The plot unwinds through the damp, morbid looking London streets to a brilliantly lit Paris onto the drop-dead beautiful sceneries of Switzerland, as Holmes and his gang must match their wits against an equally formidable opponent, Professor Moriarty in a bid to foil his plans to spark off a world war for pure monetary gains.
Before we comment further on this film, we must acknowledge and raise the top of our hats (if wearing one) to the pure, unadulterated visual appeal of this movie. Guy Ritchie, literally, goes all guns ablaze and firing on all cylinders, from the word go. The much-loved fight sequences from the previous instalment in this series are but enhanced here. The pre-planned punches-jabs-kicks salvo-ed with panache by RDJ here, are shot in further slow motion, with crystal clear HD effects that are oh-so-appealing to the eye. The brawl sequences too are smartly executed and one cannot help but envy the talents of such a man as Sherlock is shown to be. Add to this his foresight, his acute sense of timing and Robert Downey Jr.’s incorrigible sardonic wit; you have in his embodiment of Holmes a very lovable character. Jude Law also is found here in his element and assiduously walks along with RDJ as a highly loyal sidekick.
Rachel McAdams as the enchanting Irene Adler gets but a cameo in this edition, but one may further be disappointed with Noomi Rapace, the female partner-in-adventure to the dynamic duo of Holmes and Watson. Jared Harris as James Moriarty seems a tad less fearsome than he is made out to be in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, especially if one considers that Brad Pitt was rumoured to be playing the role of Holmes’s nemesis. Stephen Fry, in what little role has been allotted to him, makes you grin if not laugh with his enactment of the laidback elder brother Mycroft Holmes, enjoying his undisclosed job in the foreign ministry of Britain, walking around naked in his villa at the top of one or the other mountain in the Swiss region.
The movie might seem a tad stretched through the first half, but be not mistaken, movie-goer! The second half more than makes up for the gradual build-up in the preceding one hour. The absolutely mesmerising train fight sets the tone for all the other scenes brimming with action that unravel in the second half; as the plot thickens, the guns get bigger and the games of shadow truly begins.
However, there are a few concerns one might be bothered about. Guy Ritchie in his fervour seems to have reinvented the age-old character of Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker Street a bit too much for the liking of one who has religiously read all the stories of Sir Arthur. The agitated, nicotine smoking, statesman-like figure, who had dazzling powers of deduction and the incredible capability to coherently organise his findings into solutions for the most baffling of cases, is now transformed into a trigger-happy, brawny figure with much more developed sense of humour than was allowed to him by his creator. Perhaps a handful of this and a handful of that might have led to a better result, more mixed, more evolved albeit not totally different, Sherlock Holmes.
But overall, this movie is certainly one that can give your new year a jump start and is one which will give literal meaning to the phrase “new year bash”, what with all the bashing up of bombers, snipers, criminal masterminds and un-noted others.
So watch it, definitely maybe. For the action, for Robert Downey Jr., for Sherlock Holmes – the much-adored sleuth and for the superbly thrilling climax that the movie offers to you.
And that’s, to quote the last words of the movie which indeed seem to promise a third instalment in this franchise, “The End?”]]>
MOVIE REVIEW
RATING – 2.5/5
Raunchy? Yes! Bold? Very! Good? No!
Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture, is easily one of the boldest films you have seen recently. But how I wish it could have been ‘one of the best’.
It is very clear after watching the film that the makers’ foremost priority was to shock you. So in the first half you see Silk (Vidya) do all the raunchy moves, which are received by tons of seetis from the audience. The jaw dropping dialogues bring out the laughter and Silk does all that she can to satisfy those who are lured in solely by the promise of skin-show. And obviously they are unlikely to complain.
But the filmmakers could not quiet succeed in making an emotional drama that it could have been, rather, should have been. With the sole focus being on sex, the writers failed to weave a captivating screenplay. Forget this, when Silk (Balan) commits suicide in the end, it doesn’t give you a shock or a tear; it gives you a huge relief as you see the exit gates open.
Reshma, a village girl enters Madras, in order to chase her dreams, and gives it all to become a star. Not afraid to expose and compromise, she impresses all with her guts and later on becomes a siren in the South film industry. Along the way, she gets entangled in three love affairs, all unsuccessful, and receives ample hatred for doing the bold and vulgar films from the society. And as good times bid her farewell, she lays in the bed she made for herself.
With the plot being extremely predictable, what was required was a tight script which besides entertaining helps the viewer to relate with the protagonist. But here, what is served is only ‘entertainment entertainment entertainment’. While the first half is genuinely funny, engaging and shocking, it’s the film’s latter half that gives your back an uncalled-for ache.
The film is made watchable, thanks to its two stars, the ‘dirty’ dialogues and the ‘boombat’ Balan. While the dialogues are wonderfully and astutely penned by Rajat Arora, Vidya Balan is impossible to describe in a word. It’s hard to imagine who else could have gathered the guts to carry such a herculean role with such perfection. She is absolutely spectacular and, in short, is the ‘hero’ of the film.
Of the male actors, Naseeruddin Shah creates a major impact. He is exceptional and entertaining as a middle-aged South superstar and a Casanova. Both Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar are first rate, the former obviously with a better role.
Vishal Shekhar’s music is decent to say the least. ‘Ooh la la’ is a definite chartbuster; other songs though hummable, seem to be unnecessarily forced in the narrative.
Milan Luthria deserves to be appreciated for conceptualizing such a bold film but a little more effort in the writing and the end result could have been much better.
I am going with 2 stars for the film and an additional half for Vidya Balan, making it 2 and a half for The Dirty Picture. Silk certainly tries hard to make up for the flaws, but it isn’t enough to make it a ‘lovely’ picture. If you are looking for just the shock value, this average fair may not disappoint you!
Chaitanya Sharma
[email protected]
Directed by: Imtiaz Ali Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna Music by: Pritam I am rather confused as to whether I should recommend Love Aaj Kal to people or not. It’s not as if I don’t know how I feel about the movie, I just feel that this particular film is likely to produce rather different reactions in different people. Imtiaz Ali is an interesting director who has earlier provided us with the well directed Socha Na Tha and more recently the very entertaining and highly acclaimed film Jab We Met. However for me Love Aaj kal fails simply because it tries too hard. Perhaps the film crew too should have taken the leading lady’s advice in the movie where she advocates looking cool precisely by not trying too hard. The movie begins with the lead couple breaking up, which is quite the departure from Bollywood tradition. Jai (Saif Ali Khan) and Meera (Deepika Padukone) throw a break- up party prior to her moving to India for her work dealing with art restoration. All is peachy and light when suddenly an emotional Sardarji insists that Jai is committing the biggest mistake of his life by letting Meera go to India. Enter Veer Singh’s (Rishi Kapoor) own love story which runs parallel to the Saif- Deepika saga giving cues at every love realization junction. The parallel track is a sepia version of Calcutta which is infinitely more fascinating and charming than the done to death locales of London. A Sikh Saif Ali Khan plays the role of young Veer Singh, which is rather interesting as Veer points out that Jai reminded him of himself in his youth. We see an innocent (but not much else) love story where boy paddles behind girl in a rickshaw, travels a thousand miles to see her and stands below her balcony hoping to catch a glimpse. The two stories unfold side by side keeping the movie from turning utterly insipid. What begins as a decidedly different movie soon turns into an age old offering of bottled romance peppered with humour. The most bothersome aspect of the movie is the dialogue delivery which is in such a mish mash of English and Hindi that the viewer finds it difficult to relate. Deepika Padukone is hilarious in the most dramatic moments of the movie- “Galti ho gayi” while her accent is just plain annoying. Saif Ali Khan acts well as the gabru jawan Veer Singh, but his horrendous command over Punjabi makes his character a little comical. The actress portraying the love interest of Veer Singh, Harleen Kaur, seems to be only capable of one wide eyed expression throughout the movie, giving her a perpetually surprised look. Rishi Kapoor is adorable as ever though he seriously needs a change of track in his recent character repertoire. Rahul Khanna has the most unfair cut of all; his character had a lot more potential and he could certainly be given more screen time than the Swiss Joe that is seen hanging off Saif’s arm. The songs are immensely enjoyable but their timing is haphazard. This movie is a long roll of potential good moments. Rating: 2/5]]>
Directed by: Shawn Levy Staring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams Produced by: Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan There is something about sequels, something that makes you cross your fingers and send silent prayers to the heaven. There are not a great number of sequels which are better than their predecessors and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is sadly no different. There is little novelty in the follow- up and the plot could do with a little more semblance. Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is now a successful albeit an unhappy entrepreneur. Larry discovers that his old exhibit friends are being moved to the Smithsonian Institution in light of budget costs. Teddy (Robin Williams) tells Larry that the exhibits will be leaving without The Tablet, thereby ending their nightly shenanigans forever. On receiving a call from Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Larry finds out that Dexter, the mischievous capuchin monkey stole The Tablet and an evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah is attacking them. What follows is a journey through Federal Archives, meeting with the moxie- inducing Amelia Earhart, conversing with a marble Abraham Lincoln, flying ancient planes and rescuing Jed from an hour glass. Throw in an assortment of oddball characters like the card- dealing Al Capone, small man Bonaparte, Darth Vader, Oscar the Grouch, and voila, you have a battle at hand! Night at the Museum 2 is by no means great entertainment. The concept, exhibits coming to life at night, which was interesting the first time does not amaze anymore. The gags are forced and there are unnecessary corny conversations. However the movie’s redemption lies in the lisping Hank Azaria, who is amusing as the evil Pharaoh. Amy Adams is spunky but Stiller falls short of expected standards. Robin Williams is wasted in a large and chaotic cast, though the three cherubs (voiced by Jonas Brothers) singing love ballads are refreshingly enjoyable. The special effects are brilliant, especially the touchy feely pink octopus. On the whole the movie is pleasant but hardly riveting. Rating: 2/5]]>
Written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris and directed by McG, Terminator Salvation is one for the history books, to be listed under major fiascos of the film industry. It seems to have set itself to compete with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in terms of busted potential.
The plot is set in 2018, after the occurrence of Judgment Day, during which the software Skynet destroyed most humans in a Nuclear Holocaust until only ragged scraps of humanity, called the Resistance, remain fighting the machines.
The story begins with John Conner (Christian Bale) discovering plans for creating a new terminator using living tissue during an attack led by him on a Skynet base. As he returns to the Resistance headquarters- a nuclear submarine- to report the matter he is told of the discovery of a frequency of waves that can disable the Skynet machines. He is also informed that he has been blacklisted by Skynet and is being hunted by terminators. However the person that figures topmost among the people Skynet wishes to eradicate is not him but a human named Kyle Reese. The tapes left to him by his deceased mother Sarah Conner had already revealed to John that Kyle Reese was his father, and that he sends him back in time himself to save his mother. Realizing the importance of keeping Reese alive Conner thwarts authority and attempts to save him from the Skynet base where he is kept prisoner. To this end he enlists the help of a bio-machine Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) for whom he initially entertained deep suspicions which are nevertheless overridden by Marcus’s assertion that he believes himself to be human. The culminating scene is the clichéd escape from mad killer machines and the movie itself ends with John Conner telling the Resistance that though the battle may be won, the war was far from over; a chilling threat of more Terminator flicks to come.
The plot is shallow, vague and full of inconsistencies. The form of narration doesn’t spark interest and the sequence of events is cluttered and confusing. For those unfamiliar with the Terminator series the story remains entirely incomprehensible while for Terminator fans it is an insult. The brief appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger as homage to the previous movies only causes the disparity between them to be felt more strongly. The only saving grace of the movie would be the cinematic and sound effects. The movie packs a punch in terms of violence alone, since rarely a minute goes by without some spectacular explosion. However although the resounding booms and showers of fire are entertaining in themselves, without a strong storyline to pull them together they become meaningless and ridiculous. Hence the violence and action sequences seem to lack the zest and intensity of the first two movies and seem washed out by comparison.
Cloaked in ambiguity and trying to make up for plot holes with meaningless violence, the movie is rendered even more unbearable due to uninspired acting. Christian Bale is boring even when wrestling with berserk terminators and the supporting cast is inconsequential. The only actor to make his presence felt is Sam Worthington though even he is hampered by a poor script and insipid co-actors.
The movie doesn’t even have the panache to be BAD, it is merely annoying. Only people crazed by the Terminator franchisee will have something good to say about it. Perhaps the fact that it is a Terminator movie is good enough for some viewers, but for those who value sense over sentimental hysteria it would be best to give the latest addition to the Terminator Saga a wide berth.
]]>-Jonathan Daniel Luther
Why! Oh God! Did he have to DIE?After Heath Ledger’s stunningly brilliant performance in The Dark Knight it just seems too unfair to have lost him to the great movie set in the sky. I’ve always had apprehensions about Batman as a super Hero. Compare him to Superman, Spidey, X-men and the rest of the Marvel entourage he’s just kinda blah! All he does is wear a sexy black suit that shoots ropes and stylized little bat things. But after Batman Returns and then The Dark Knight, there remain no illusions as to his pure twisted genius. Fine’s he’s a bit of a bat freak, but then pulling of miraculous stunts and fencing with one of the most viciously portrayed evil geniuses of all time has left him a little more respectable in my eyes. It is with regards to this brilliant evil genius, a.k.a the Joker, that The Dark Knight really makes one marvel! If dementia were a skill there would have been no prizes for guessing who should own Arkham Asylum. Fact of the matter is as the movie winded to an end I found my self bitterly regretting Heath Ledger’s untimely death. Of the actor’s history of stunning characterizations this one has undoubtedly got to be his most awe inspiring work. The sheer menace of the Man behind the clown face has me worshipping! If not for anything else Heath Ledger’s portrayal of Joker requires you to get up and go watch The Dark knight. Of the movie itself all I’ll say is that I wish there had been no damned Interval! If I scribble another ill-mannered word here’s I’ll end up with too many curses so let’s just say – GO WATCH! ]]>