Universal quandaries, Irish soul

I caught this movie on a flight, and then had a hard time tracking it down – the unknown cast, and the fact that no one I know has come close to watching this movie, did not help. In Happy Ever Afters, a wedding reception brings two couples close – one is re-marrying the same guy on somewhat dubious grounds, the other is a single mother in an unlikely pairing with an African American for purely commercial (read, legit immigration) reasons. Through a series of faux-pas and misunderstandings, the weddings both culminate in an unlikely turn of events. In the process, each of the cast gets to know the others a lot better, and finally come to terms with who they are and what they really want. A rare comedy that is hilarious nearly in full, while delving deep into believable characters, all delightfully Irish, and carefully develops their interrelationships and the eventual outcome. You could watch this movie for laughs, for understanding marriages, or for a hilarious take on the Irish, and be none the worse for it. If it was not for the utterly unknown cast, this should have been a must-release in India

14.5/20

Get that Marriage Right

Remember Tina Fey? The woman who rocked the world by her hilarious impersonations of Sarah Palin? Well, here is Tina Fey as Claire Foster, in a quiet New Jersey existence with husband Phil Foster (Steve Carrell). A humdrum daily routine, quiet careers, a book club, and a Date Night every week make up their existence. This movie is about one date night that does not quite go as planned. Driven by an irrepressible desire to try something different, the couple head off to New York for a dinner at the super-exclusive “Claw” and pose as the Tripplehorns (?) in order to get a table. Accosted by two perfect strangers who believe that they are actually the Tripplehorns, Phil and Claire find themselves running for their lives across New York at night. Diving headlong into adventure, and with a little help from security expert Holbrooke Grant (Mark Wahlberg), the couple end up heroes in an unlikely adventure that, while unraveling intrigue at the highest levels in the big city, more importantly, rekindles their romance. This movie would have been a forgettable popcorn flick except for the universally recognizable nuances thrown in, about marriages and why stress arises in them, and how couples who want to make it work, well, can. Have fun with this one

13/20

Body of Lies II

Chief Warrant officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) finds himself stonewalled when repeated missions to unearth weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in post-war Baghdad draw a blank, in the Green Zone. An impassionate representation to that effect to his superiors falls on deaf ears – well, almost. CIA officer Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson) lets Roy know that his hunch (about WMDs or the absence of them) is right, and a related tip-off by an Iraqi national leads Roy to the formidable Al-Rawi (Yigal Naor) of the Republican Guards. Fast-paced chases ensue – the murky truth behind the very core of why America went to war against Iraq is unearthed. Loosely based on true events, Matt Damon again pulls off an anchor role with effortless panache. The movie continues a series of takes on the dubious warmongering by America in Iraq/ Middle East on the lines of The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs, and others – and could perhaps have been titled Body of Lies were there not another movie of the same name on the same subject. The stirring honesty in America’s immediacy in soul-searching on the war in Iraq is a well explored theme now – which does not take away from sterling performances and a fast paced action thriller. Eminently watchable

14/20

Timeless De Niro

Take a family of four children dispersed across America – of blue collar origins, but now a successful (?) quartet – one a part-owner of an ad agency, one an artist (as opposed to a painter), one a composer (or is it a drummer), and one a dancer (in Las Vegas? And perhaps a lesbian?). Now throw in Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) as their father, a man of blue collar origins who pushed his children hard, to get to where they are, and ostensibly Everybody’s Fine. So what does one expect when, seeing that the children are too busy in their careers for a reunion, the ailing father sets out across America – by road – to catch up with his children individually. And finds the truths of their individual realities. And while all does not end well – what remains of the family is re-united, with their realities out in the open, and accepted. Even as De Niro just keeps adding to the roster of why he is a living legend, the all-star cast takes the movie to a different plane. A movie about paternal authority and the demands of career, and the varying reactions to the same, and the eventual result of acceptance all round, reminding us yet again that while success matters, in the end its all about the family. Miss this one and you miss something vital about valuing the ties that bind family

15.5/20

Family, Heaven, Anger, Love

A few weeks back there was Shutter Island. Now comes another movie - this time from none less than Peter Jackson - that is truly enthralling in its scope, brilliant in its execution, poignant to the core, and genuinely moving. Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), teenage daughter of Jack and Abigail Salmon (Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz), is brutally murdered by George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), and finds herself in the afterlife, in a zone between earth and heaven, in The Lovely Bones. With the power to influence the emptions of her parents and siblings, the anger in her heart against her murderer, the love for her classmate Ray Singh (Reese Ritchie) unrequited, and the call from those in the afterlife to her to cross over to heaven, Susie must face the full complement of her emotions, while allowing her family to move on from the tragedy. I felt weak watching the depiction of a father’s love for his daughter, the great anger of Susie and the humble contrition as her anger leads her father into danger in the real world, and the quiet revealation and eventual poetic justice in respect of her captor. A movie to cherish for a long long time, beautifully woven, not a hint of superfluousness, on human relationships, coping with personal loss, and eventually moving on

17.5/20

Bruce Willis = Funny Cop

Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis) and Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) are longtime partners in the NYPD, and the former is on the verge of selling his rare baseball card to pay for his daughter’s wedding. A heist at the shop lands the card in the hands of a drug cartel, and after a long chase with much setbacks and hilarity thrown in for good measure, the goal is attained and all live happily ever after. Cop Out is Bruce Willis in an out and out comedy, that is strictly popcorn fare, that does not fall apart

12/20

Titanic ask, passable effort

Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), finds himself in a family of fishermen, and the latter are annihilated on the periphery of a battle of the kingdom of Argos with the Gods. The Gods have held sway over men for too long, and King Cepheus of Argos launches a campaign to destroy their all-pervasive influence. Faced by the destructive forces of Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and the Kraken, the king calls upon Perseus. Perseus with a band of remarkable men (the Titans) makes a perilous journey to the Stygian Witches, and based upon their advice, slays the Medusa and uses her head to destroy the Kraken and save Argos – not without some help from his father along the way – in the epic Clash of the Titans. Hades’ covert agenda is foiled and Perseus lives on as the hero of Argos. Like all other adaptations of Greek and Roman history and mythology, held to a very high standard, the movie does not make the cut. Notwithstanding the fact that all the characters play their parts admirably, and even the graphics hold together, the movie lacks emotional appeal – moving quickly through the milieu of characters and events. To be fair to the creators, the attempt has been to showcase the character of Perseus herein, rather than attempt a magnum opus. A decent watch, but not quite in the league of the timeless, as all heroes and their eulogies, be they mythology or movie, ought to be

12.5/20

Talent will Out

The Damned United centers around Brian Clough (Martin Sheen), the irrepressible coach of Derby Country and fierce vocal critic of Leeds United and their playing tactics under Don Revie (Colin Meaney), and in a twist of fate, asked to take over Leeds as coach. Cut to the past and Derby United, where Brian, against all odds and far in excess of expectations, takes the club from the bottom of the third division to champions of the League Championship and the European Cup semi-finals. The same brings Brian the opportunity to run Leeds United – an effort that is a disaster from the word go – fierce loyalists of Don and brute football, the team never gets round to Brian’s philosophy, and after a series of disasters, Brian is sacked and takes over at relative newcomer Nottingham Forest, where he again metamorphoses a marginal team to a barely believable two European Club wins. The film is memorable for the roles of Brian and his assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), and their differences and eventual realization that they are indeed the perfect complememts for each other. An interesting movie, that showcases Martin Sheen well in a highly successful yet barely likeable character’s role, and a must-watch for football fans in particular

13/20