Marcus Aurelius' garbled dream

Somewhere in the middle of the movie Gladiator 2, somebody makes the eponymous quote for the umpteenth time - "Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome"... To which somebody speaks up and says.... "And what was the dream again?"

And that, to my mind, is the essence of the movie. Good visual effects, great in parts, as may be expected. Some very riveting action sequences. Paul Mescal as the Gladiator lacks the intensity and charisma of Russell Crowe (but admittedly a tough act to follow so lets cut him some slack). But overall we have no sense of gravitas or purpose. The difficult circumstances that brought Hanno aka Lucius to the arena do not seem to be reflected in his periodic grinning.

We lose all hope in screenplay - especially in the second half - that is resplendent more of Age of Empires than serious intrigue, and interspersed with characters like Ravi (the doctor from Varanasi who is communicating between two Roman armies). Or the key character Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who suddenly, in a paroxysm of ambition, takes on the mission of overthrowing the Roman monarchy altogether. All in all, extremely confusing second half.

But well, given the movie is so close to my heart and that of a few kindred men, I would still say go and watch the movie. Do not expect this movie to hold a candle to Gladiator 1 in any manner, but rather a very different movie, a very light Gen Z-style Gladiator Lite version 

14/20

The Beast Cometh

Longtime train engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) is training newly recruited conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) in the town of Fuller in northern Philadelphia. In the meantime, a combination of carelessness and unforeseen circumstance puts one freight train # 777 on a collision course with several others. A few other facts come to light as the situation unravels – the runaway train has no air brakes on, it is on full power, and – hold your breath – it has four containers of molten phenol – a highly inflammable and toxic substance that could decimate one of the many towns on its way. Will the Unstoppable train finally yield to the elaborate attempts to get marines on board to cut the power, or some old-school thinking and brave execution by the protagonists? Veers on edge-of-the-seat, appears technically sound without too much artistic license, and opens up the train-related adventure genre after a long spell of myriad Hollywood vehicular misadventures

13.5/20

Bring Home the Book

Eli (Denzel Washington) is a lonely man in a post-apocalyptic dystopia. He hunts his own food, and works his way westwards across the wasteland that America has become. Also, he carries a King James Bible – The Book of Eli – and through many readings of it comes to know of its power to motivate, and it becomes his purpose to hand the book to that which lies west. On the way he reaches a hick-town dominated by one tyrant – Carnegie (Gary Oldman) – who is in search of the book himself, as he looks for a means to control the minds of people. On threat of much pain to the mother (Jennifer Beals) he sends daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) on an errand to find out more about Eli. Eli and Solara end up destroying the little evil empire of Carnegie, and deliver the Book into safe hands that hopefully hold the key to humanity. Very clearly a very Catholic movie for the God-fearing kind, the morality tale does not fall through because it never is pretentious nor pompous, but continues in the even dark backdrop and, adjusted for our general cynicism with all things religious, leaves us with a spattering of hope

12.5/20

Taking to Pasture

If U2 were to play in Mumbai or Bangalore, it would pretty much indicate that the band's shelf life in terms of live shows has run its course in the Western World. Why would the likes of U2 submit themselves to poor infrastructure, non-discerning crowds and possibly poor execution. In the same light, I would hope and pray that The Taking of Pelham 123 is not a dirge for two of the greatest stars that Hollywood has ever seen - Denzel Washington and John Travolta. A low engagement movie with poor visual effects, a very weak storyline, and - above all - extremely poor camera shots and - lo and behold - we actually saw two Hollywood greats in a B Grade movie! The list of the number of things that could have been done differently in the movie is endless, suffice to say that we hope that for the continuance of their careers, Denzel and John choose their next respective engagements with a lot more forethought
7.5/20

Pelican Speed

The Pelican Brief, unlike the other Grisham movies, is more of a thriller in the Ludlum-Forsyth genre inasmuch it does not rely on courtroom sparring as its focal point, but intrigue at the highest level. Julia Roberts underplays her thespian talents to be part smart law student part damsel in distress. The anti-establishment strain runs strong throughout the movie, and this is more entertainment than legal intrigue.

The last few movies reviewed herein have been John Grisham movies. In retrospect, the novels and movie adaptations of John Grisham have one commonality – the Memphis southern town with its issues of racial prejudice, distance from the power centers of the American north, and simplicity. None of the world headline grabbing Enron Worldcom style glamorous giant litigation here. This is the practice of law with a heart. And the last bit is what distances Grisham books and novels, however gripping, from the “lawyer joke” reality that lawyers actually are.

Mixed bag

Many years of *not watching much by way of movies* can lead to many years of glorious catching up! Chinatown (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071315/) is the kind of movie that one would dread reviewing, possible but not probable that one would be able to add much by way of fresh thought on what has been called in multiple fora as the "Finest Film of the 70's" and is in any case anthologized to weariness. Jack Nicholson is superlative, Roman Polanski signs off with a (wholly unnecessary?) macabre end. Made me think of cliches of brittleness and futility of life than suspense and the politics of water, really. Film noir calls for careful exploration

With a lot less trepidation, I write on Monty Python and the Holy Grail (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/), pretty much popcorn to Chinatown's complex concoction. Comedic capers and Brit wit, and what really stands out for me is being relevant and genuinely funny thirty years down. Not a mean acheivement. And a hilarious one, too

Back to times more contemporary. Edward Norton remains a favourite, and neither American History X (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120586/) nor Primal Fear (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117381/) in the least diminish. What would you say of this man in the former (juxtaposed as he is against a young and impressionable Edward Furlong (T2 etc))? I would say that Mr Norton is as accomplished an actor as any, carries off venal hatred and cold malice well, but unlike many that deviate and die, is prone to morality tales - American History X, and Kingdom of Heaven and Fight Club to boot, have him "come round" and question his chosen path. Not so Primal Fear. It is exciting as Anthony Hopkins is exciting as Hannibal, and it is unapologetic and unredeemed. One wishes the actor really gave us some notice of where his heart really lies. Richard Gere - well, I didn't quite get what the fuss with his performance was all about - much like George Clooney in Michael Clayton, I'd say - reserved, strong and ordinary

Cast of The Great Debaters on Oprah

In other noteworthy movies I have seen of late, Barton Fink indulgently questions creativity - both the Hollywood Movie Mogul kind and the Broadway inspired scriptwriter kind. Yet again Forest Whittaker and Denzel Washington dazzle us in The Great Debaters, another pre-affirmative action movie, this time with a debate team of a *negro* college taking on Harvard and winning - some of the debates make for good listening, Indian viewers may well like the repeated references to Gandhi, a contemporary in the 1930s setting of the movie. Untraceable is the periodic catharsis of out Internet-and-all-that-it-purports conscience and one cannot help wondering whether parts of the movie were not meant to titillate. No such *moral ambuiguities* in P2, your regular urban horror flick - I only chose this movie because Rachel Nichols looks remarkably attractive in it!

Scenes from P2

Whew.

Its 2.50AM. Would like to catch up tomorrow on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - I am not a reader of the series but it does seem to be more substantial than ridiculously ageing wizards

Of Fights and One's Identity

The Hurricane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0174856/) fails. Denzel Washington is as superlative as ever, and the aggression metamorphosing into calm inner strength is quite brilliantly executed. What really fails are the contradictions with the real life of Reuben Carter. If you scratch the surface of this movie, it falls leagues in your eyes on grounds of sheer authenticity. It seems that "artistic license" here has quite distorted a person that was not quite a pleasant character, pretty much throughout his life

Two of the best movies that I have ever seen are Trainspotting (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/) and Fight Club (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/). While the former stops at seeking one's identity and finding a modicum of sanity after working through a set of hilarious self-destructive capers, the latter is truly a dark movie about alter ego. The fact that your alter ego can actually surpass you in everything, and bring his plans to fruition, and finally break free of you, has more than a passing appeal in our unceasingly boring existences. Edward Norton's daily existence closely mirrors that of Neo in the Matrix' first installment. Who knows if a sheer genre can be carved out of the unexpected outcomes of monotony in urban life!