Hope (Slowly) Belied

A Most Wanted Man is a dark brooding (way too brooding) adaption of a John LeCarre novel. Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin) is escaping the war in Chechenya and the horrors inflicted by the Russians – including his own father – and immigration lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) becomes a source of hope for him, in seeking asylum in Germany. Anti espionage agent Gunther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is looking at extracting information – and an amicable solution to the plight of Grigoriy – but is that likely to happen? Ponder over that along with the chain-smoking Gunther, slowly and laboriously, as the answer indeed shall come to pass. Marketed as a thriller but clearly a drama at heart, A Most Wanted Man is one for the diehard spy whodunit aficionados

12.5/20

Shadows of the Mind

The first installment taught the audience to stick to deductive reasoning and not to be carried away by the (seemingly) occult. I am not sure what the second installment did, other than remind the audience of the theatrical elements so successfully used in the first installment. The predictive action sequences were hackneyed. The Europe-wide intrigue was anything but menacing. The incursion into Germany and chase sequences distinctly smelt steampunk way before WWI let alone WWII. In the end, we got a reasonably watchable thriller circa 1900, where the deductive reasoning element seemed to have headed to Brighton on holiday (or, case in point, shown in certain hurried sequences). Am not sure if Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows reeked of Cossacks, but it surely smacked of a light-touch and un-originality. And that too from Guy Ritchie. Tch

11.5/20

Morning Crusade




Morning TV is kitschy, perk-you-up content that is not to the liking of much decorated veteran-of-many-Pulitzers-and-warzones journalist Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) – once a star, the IBS (channel) veteran now likes to keep his talent and his thoughts mostly to himself. So, in the tussle between Mike and Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams), the latter being the rookie IBS producer of morning show Daybreak trying to find her footing with a disillusioned team and a bottom-of-the-barrel show to manage, the expected outcome is somewhat foregone. Er.. not quite. Never underestimate the power of positive energy, which Becky carries to a superhuman degree, in rousing up the workplace and soporific old-timers. No wonder Becky rises to Morning Glory in her morning show fraternity, but will she eschew great offers for her new-found family? A charming and uplifting tale, albeit a slightly tall one.

12/20

Super-Sleuths

Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law play unconventional super-sleuths as Guy Ritchie boldly re-incarnates Sherlock Holmes. At first (and, especially, not having read the graphic novel), it appears that this is a more of a mix of the typical graphic novel elements - mature themes encompassing the dark occult, complex relationships and the like - than vintage Holmes. The movie eases up after a while, and in the end, when all is clarified, you may be forgiven for having believed somewhere along the line that this was a bit too noveau a reincarnation. Irene Adler adds a classic touch to the melange, and the female leads as well as the villian and his retinue, are exceedingly well-developed characters. An easy watch, with new dimensions to offer on the central character, an out-and-out hit, and a great entertainer that does not falter

16/20