Super Deluxe (2019)

Director: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Story: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Akkineni, Ramya Krishnan

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Time: 176 minutes

Bottom-line: Grips you in the first half, loses all control in the second

Being heavily awed by Kumararaja’s Aaranya Kaandam, I just had to watch his next film (after an eight-year gap!), Super Deluxe. Featuring an ensemble cast with Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Akkineni and Ramya Krishnan in the lead roles, and Mysskin, Gayathrie and Bagavathi Perumal in the supporting roles, this anthology tale is ­the best example of “What if Quentin Tarantino directed a Tamil film?”

 

Sethupathi as Shilpa (recognise him?)

The first story is about a strained marriage between Mugil (Faasil) and Vaembu (Samantha). When her ex-boyfriend comes home, they have sex, during which her ex dies. The other problem: someone has seen the corpse. How do the couple dispose of the body while confronting their own differences and conflicts? The second tale is about Jyothi (Gayathrie) and her son, Rasakutty, who have been waiting several years for Jyothi's husband to return. When he finally does arrive, he has transformed himself into a transwoman, Shilpa (Sethupathi). How do his wife and son, and more importantly, society, respond to his change? The third track revolves around five teens, who decide to watch a porno, only to find out that the actress is one boy's (Soori) mother, Leela (Ramya). An enraged Soori goes to kill his mother, but he stabs himself by accident. How does Leela try to save her son, while also convincing her overly-devotional husband, Arputham (Mysskin), to help?

 

Samantha as Vaembu and Faasil as Mugil

The film has all the strengths and weaknesses of a Tarantino film: dark humour, quirky characters, sharp dialogue, homages, surprising (and often funny) plot twists, and at the same time, excessive dialogue, swear words, noise and way too much screen time. The film is given an adult rating for its content, and rightly so. Even though nothing is explicitly shown, a lot of topics discussed in the film are considered taboo, the most striking one being the character of Shilpa. Sethupathi has done a simply outstanding job in portraying a transgender in the most honest way possible. Some of his lines are worth reflecting on: “Just like how we sometimes wear the slippers on the wrong foot, God made me a man by mistake,” and also, “We cut nails and our hair, so why I can’t I change my body like this?” Ramya Krishnan’s role as Leela is arguably her boldest and most emotional role till date. The Samantha-Faasil couple has also done really well, but I felt a good bit of crying could have been reduced for the former's character. 

 

Ramya Krishnan as Leela

All the subplots move at a rapid pace and the intermission is placed at the right time. However, the second half of the film digresses too much into philosophy, too suddenly. The Samantha-Faasil track has all its ends tied up but the other tracks become too weird. Almost all the humour is brilliantly written, and the subtle homages are nicely incorporated into the script. There are many similarities between this film and Aaranya Kaandam too, in terms of story, characters and many of Kumararaja’s elements. Both have a lover couple, a father-son duo, and a gang (gangsters in AK, teenagers in SD); while the main theme of AK was various depictions of male impotence, the stories in SD all revolve around sex. There are references to other films too, some more obvious than the rest. I also liked how Kumararaja sets his scenes such that there is some music playing which cleverly depicts the scenario (or "situation song" as it is called). 

 

The gang of boys

I guess Super Deluxe is one such film where things are so quirky that it appeals. I feel a lot of scenes are there just for the sake of humour and don't add to the main story, and several sequences have very lengthy build-ups. Nevertheless, the acting performances of almost all actors are commendable, and of course, for a Tamil film, this is indeed a bold attempt to create a different kind of movie.

My Rating: 3/5

Aaranya Kaandam (2011)

English translation: Jungle Chapter

Director: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Story: Thiagarajan Kumararaja

Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sampath Raj, Yasmin Ponnappa

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Time: 113 minutes

Bottom-line: Violent, avant-garde and immensely entertaining

Edhu dharumam?
Edhu thavayo, adhuve dharumam.  
Newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja stuns the Tamil film-going crowd with his gangster flick, Aaranya Kaandam. Starring Jackie Shroff, Sampath Raj and Yasmin Ponnappa in the lead roles, with Ravi Krishna, Master Vasanth and Guru Somasundaram in the supporting roles, this is a story of how the lives of six people change within a day. Far more violent than most Tamil films, Aaranya Kaandam had a tough time with the censor board, ultimately getting an A certificate after 52 cuts.

 

Krishna as Sappai (left) and Shroff as Singaperumal

Singaperumal (Shroff) is an ageing gangster in Chennai. He has kept a young girl, Subbu (Ponnappa) as a prisoner in his house, hoping to have sex with her, but he finds himself impotent. Having had enough of Singaperumal’s abuse, one of his men, Sappai (Krishna) and Subbu, plan to rob him and escape. Another of Singaperumal’s henchmen is Pasupathi (Sampath), who proposes that they take on a risky deal involving cocaine worth 2 crores. When Singaperumal refuses, Pasupathi mocks his old age and offers to handle the deal himself. The stash actually belongs to Singaperumal’s arch-rival, Gajendran, another gangster. En route to the pickup spot, Singaperumal orders his men to kill Pasupathi, but the latter escapes. Meanwhile, the person actually delivering the drugs drinks too much and dies, and the cocaine comes into the possession of a poor father-son duo, Kalaya (Guru) and Kodukapuli (Vasanth). As the tales of Singaperumal, Gajendran, Sappai, Subbu, Pasupathi, Kalaya and Kodukapuli get intertwined, the result is a bloody fight for survival.

 

Sampath as Pasupathi

The title is the name of one of the chapters of the epic, Ramayana. Here, the reference is that everyone involved in the movie "turns into an animal", in the sense that they forget all emotions and only focus on survival. Also, notice how the characters have the names of animals – Singam is "lion", Pasu is "cow", and Gajendran is "elephant." The script moves at a breakneck pace, with every scene and dialogue fitting into the story, smoothly leading from one act to the next (in particular, the whole speaker phone scene is so well-written that it's impossible to expect what's coming). The shift from one track to another and the way Kumararaja ties everything together in the end again is superb. In Subbu’s tale, I felt the ending wasn’t “karma”-tic enough, but that would be the only fault I find in the story.

 

Vasanth as Kodukapuli (left) and Guru as Kalaya (right)

With plenty of violence, there are a number of scenes which are blurred out, as well as a lot of swear words that are bleeped out. Kumararaja expressed his dissatisfaction over the censoring, saying that it would make the film “less natural”. Nevertheless, hats off to him for making a film this bold, breaking several taboos of Tamil cinema. The use of slow-motion and other cinematographic techniques is also new. The film went on to win the National Awards for Best Editing and Best Debut. The performances of most actors are top notch. Yasmin Ponnappa’s acting is really good but I feel the voice artist could have done better. At times it seems too childish (not sure if that was the intention, though).  

 

Yasmin Ponnappa as Subbu

Overall, Aaranya Kaandam is a thorough entertainer, albeit not a family movie. If you are looking for an unconventional film, this should definitely be on your list.

My Rating: 4/5

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Director: Wes Anderson

Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (based on the book by Roald Dahl)

Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman

Music: Alexandre Desplat

Time: 86 minutes

Bottom-line: Non-stop fun; Anderson does it again!

While Wes Anderson’s films usually involve comical characters, Fantastic Mr. Fox is his first (and only) actual animated film thus far. The film employs a technique called “stop-motion animation”, and has George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Anderson, Wallace Wolodarsky and Michael Gambon in the voice roles.

Boggis, Bunce, and Bean

One fat, one short, one lean.

Those horrible crooks so different in looks

Are nonetheless equally mean.

Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep) are raiding a squab farm, when they get trapped. Mrs. Fox reveals that she is pregnant and makes Mr. Fox promise that he would find a safer job if they get out, and he (reluctantly) agrees. Two years later, the family – now including a son, Ash (Schwartzman) – are settled in a new life. Mr. Fox buys a house in the base of a tree, which his lawyer warns is not safe for foxes. The tree is near the factories and farms of three farmers: Boggie, Bunce and Bean. Ash’s cousin Kristofferson (E. Anderson) comes to live with them, and the two of them don’t get along at all. Soon, Mr. Fox goes back to his thieving ways, and robs all three farmers. The enraged trio set up a plan to kill the fox. The encounters soon turn into deadly games, with the whole fox family exposed to danger.

 

(From left) Kristofferson, Kylie the opussum, Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox, and
Ash

The film’s production spanned nearly five years, and the result is amazing. Stop-motion animation is painful and requires enormous patience (the famous British franchise Wallace and Gromit took 15 months to make a 30-minute short-film using this technique), but Anderson used a lot of CGI effects too. The details of the animation – from the action sequences to the tears in their face – are immaculate. The team behind the animation work really deserves praise. Fantastic Mr. Fox also showcases Anderson’s quintessential use of colour, and locations, and even the cinematography techniques. Desplat’s score and the songs included in the background blend in superbly with the content.   

 

The three farmers

The characters in the film are quite interesting. The way various families are brought into the picture – the story is written in such a way that each animal can bring out its characteristic features - an aspect I also loved in Zootopia – the values of being a family, and of course, the overall humorous tone of the film make it exciting for all ages. The dialogues are crisp and funny, and all the vocal artists have done a fine job. Some of the best scenes of the film are the ones where Mr. Fox robs the three farmers, the one where they go to rescue Kristofferson, and the climax (the last scene giving a comic twist before the closing credits).

The film tells us a lot about family: on one side, we have a son who is disappointed that his parents admire his cousin more, and on the other, we have a husband obsessed with thievery, who suddenly feels the overwhelming responsibility of being the family man. There are friends and foes, the hunters and the hunted, everyone… and Dahl’s story beautifully brings them all together. As Mr. Fox puts his family ahead of his selfish obsessions, and as all animals put their differences apart and team up against the hunters, we get a nice heart-warming story.

My Rating: 4.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%

Taxi Driver (1976)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Story: Paul Schrader

Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster

Music: Bernard Herrmann

Time: 113 minutes

Bottom-line: Highly intense and hard-hitting

On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.

Winner of the 1976 Palme d’Or, here is the film considered to be one of the greatest dramas of all time: Taxi Driver. Martin Scorsese’s second collaboration with De Niro is a film that explores one man’s perspective of the city: his intentions, his loneliness, his willingness to bring about a change, his love life, and eventually, his destruction. Jodie Foster also plays a lead role, with Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle and Cybill Shepherd playing the supporting roles.

You talking to me? Well, I'm the only one here.

Travis Bickle (De Niro) is an honourably discharged US Marine, now working as a taxi driver in New York. He suffers from depression, and is disgusted by the crime, sleaze and prostitution he witnesses on the streets, and keeps talking about bringing about a change (as he enters his feelings into a diary). He falls in love with Betsy (Shepherd), a campaign volunteer for presidential candidate Senator Palantine, but the romance doesn’t work out. Travis later becomes obsessed with a child prostitute, Iris (Foster), who entered his cab once to escape from her pimp, Matthew (Keitel). As he reaches his breaking point, he decides to undergo an intense physical training program, and purchases and uses a range of guns with a plan to assassinate the Senator. At the same time, he also tries to convince Iris to quit prostitution and go back home.

 

De Niro as Travis

All animals come out at night.

One such “animal” is the character of Travis. The film is a case study of his life and his mind; he is sickened by the society he is in, but he has no choice but to deal with it. He hates the prostitution, but he spends time at adult movie theatres at night. Throughout the film, he tries to make contact with those around him: first, it is Betsy, who leaves him after he takes her to a porn movie; then the Senator, then later his bodyguard, and lastly, Iris. When everything fails, he decides to do the “cleaning up” himself. In his own words, “Now I see it clearly. My whole life is pointed in one direction. There never has been any choice for me.”

Here is a man who would not take it anymore. Here is someone who stood up.

When Travis does decide to take charge, what he does results in a violent climax. The last few scenes can be thought of as a dream, or reality. Does he achieve what he wanted, or is that only in his head? Both scenarios are equally likely. The background score by Herrmann is his last piece of work before his death (which, sadly, was before the release of the film); critics say that his score reflected the sleaze and filth that Travis witnessed, but for me, the music just got on my nerves. It wasn’t exactly a chilling piece, like that of Psycho, but there was something about it that gave an uneasy feeling. The cinematography, particularly the use of lighting – considering that most of the film takes place at night time – and the subtle slow-motion shots, is also something to look out for. Scorsese also had to desaturate the colour in the shootout scene, for such an amount of on-screen violence led to controversy.

 

Travis, with Betsy (played by Shepherd)

Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere.

Robert De Niro is simply riveting in his role. From the everyday taxi driver to the gun-wielding killer, he is in top form every inch of the way. Bickle’s character is often cited as a villain, but that is again something to ponder over. Are his intentions truly evil, or does the society portray him as a villain? The other star, of course, is Jodie Foster. 14 years old when she acted in the film, she pulls off such a difficult role to play. Foster had to be tested by psychiatrists to ensure that the role would not affect her mind, given the content (and the violence). She later won the BAFTA award for her role.

 

Foster as Iris

So, except for the occasional slow pace of the film, the acting, character development and Scorsese’s direction make this a Hollywood classic that will leave a strong impression on you.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 99% 

Ugly (2014)

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Story: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure

Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar

Time: 126 minutes

Bottom-line: Dark and depressing; Kashyap fans will like it

When the film came out, a bunch of critics rightly said that the film would cater only to a niche audience. With a relatively new cast, including Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Girish Kulkarni and Surveen Chawla, Ugly is the feel-bad film of 2014.

 

Bhat as Rahul (left) and Singh as Chaitanya  

Shalini (Kolhapure) is a depressed housewife, whose second husband is Police Chief Shoumik Bose (Roy). The relationship is strained, as he hardly cares for her. She has a ten-year-old daughter – Kali (Anshika Shrivastava) – with her first husband, Rahul Kapoor (Bhat), who is a struggling actor, and also Bose’s rival in college. When Rahul goes to meet a casting director and friend, Chaitanya (Singh), he leaves Kali in the car. He later finds her missing, and the potential suspect gets killed in a chase. The local police inspector, Jadhav (Kulkarni) investigates the case. Chaitanya makes a ransom call to Rahul, even though he knows that the latter is broke. Later, Shalini’s friend, a B-grade actress, Rakhee (Chawla) also asks for money pretending to be the kidnapper. With everyone heartlessly using this chance to collect their own share of money, who has actually kidnapped Kali? And where is she now?

 

Roy as Bose

Kashyap made the actors undergo rigorous practice to prepare them for the roles and scenes. Shot extensively on real locations, and allowing the actors to improvise in several scenes, Kashyap calls Ugly his most “brutally honest” film. Both Rahul and Tejaswini consumed alcohol regularly to prepare for their roles, and the former even deliberately avoided sleep to get dark circles under his eyes. Singh was actually slapped nearly 50 times throughout the shooting, and he was handcuffed to the ceiling because Kashyap wanted to realistically show the police torture techniques. The result? Many scenes of intense violence and anti-social content, but also, some of the best performances you will ever see. The three actors, as well as Roy and Kulkarni, have done an outstanding job. Anshika has hardly 10 minutes of screen time, but thanks to the visual imagery, you won’t forget her character for a while. The actress herself did not see the film until much later because of the strong content.

 

Kolhapure as Shalini

Kali is the only “clean” character in an otherwise ugly world filled with people who cheat, betray and who are overwhelmed by greed and lust. That is the main focus of the film – how, in a time of crisis, everyone brings out their ugly side by going for the money. It makes you wonder who actually cares about the girl, and who knows the number of such kidnappings and rapes taking place across the country! The “victory dance” that Shalini’s brother does is the best portrayal of greed you can see. The violence and dark characters are typical of Kashyap’s films, but Ugly takes it to a whole new level. Call it a wake-up siren to the issues of domestic violence and child-abduction in India, or “just another Hindi film”, this is far from a comfortable watch.

With brilliant, “real” performances, a tight plot, and typical Kashyap direction, Ugly may not be your type of film, but if you are a fan of Kashyap, you will like it, and if not, this is probably the best film to get acquainted with his style.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Andhadhun (2018)

English translation: Blind Tune

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Story: Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, Yogesh Chandekar and Hemanth Rao

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte

Music: Amit Trivedi, Raftaar, Girish Nakod

Time: 138 minutes

Bottom-line: Unfurls at a breakneck pace; one of the best films of 2018

Ayushmann Khurrana has become one of the most sought-after actors in Bollywood after a series of successful films in 2018, as has Radhika Apte with her Netflix hits. Both of them star together along with veteran actress Tabu in this crime drama, Andhadhun. Co-written and directed by Sriram Raghavan, this is the tale of an innocent man caught in a murder case.

 

Khurrana as Akash and Apte as Sophie

Akash (Khurrana) is a skilled pianist who pretends to be blind during the day, his theory being that this “experiment” will help him improve his art. He later begins a romantic relationship with Sophie (Apte) - who believes that he is actually blind - when he starts playing at her father’s diner. Former actor Pramod Sinha (Anil Dhawan) requests him to render a private concert for him and his wife, Simi (Tabu) on their anniversary. When Akash does go there, Simi lets him in thinking he is blind, but Akash notices the dead body of Pramod in the house. Simi’s suspicious neighbour seems to cause problems for her, and Akash is forced to remain mum to preserve his identity. Does Simi suspect Akash? Does he find a way to testify against Simi?

 

Tabu as Simi

While the story of Andhadhun was inspired by L'Accordeur (The Piano Tuner), a 2010 French short film about a blind pianist, I was reminded of a 2000 Tamil film called Sabhash, also about a man pretending to be blind, involved in the murder/suicide case of his wife. At the crux of this film is Akash’s act of faking blindness, which lands him in all sorts of trouble, and that’s what makes the story what it is. The film moves at an exhilarating pace, with brilliantly crafted plot twists. The suspense, the dark humour, the mind games, and of course, the cliff-hanger climax make this thriller stand apart.

Khurrana may have become far more popular following this film’s success, but as far as Andhadhun goes, Tabu is the star. Portraying the devious Simi, who will stop at nothing – not even a second murder – to protect herself, this character is easily one of the most sadistic and manipulative villains portrayed in Indian cinema. Khurrana’s acting is superb too. From a man leading a fairly comfortable life, to a man who is pushed to his limits of endurance, Akash’s character starts out clean and touches a variety of grey shades throughout the film. Radhika Apte, surprisingly, has a small role to play in the film. Fate and karma influence the story to a considerable extent, which give rise to various other minor but significant characters in the film – an auto driver, a person selling lottery tickets, a doctor running an illicit organ donor service, and of course, Simi’s neighbour.

With catchy songs to lighten the mood to start with, and regular plot twists to shock you subsequently, Andhadhun brings together a skilled cast and crew who gives us a taut thriller, which is definitely worth watching. Of course, by the end of it, you will probably have a lot of unanswered questions, but that’s part of the fun.

My Rating: 4/5

House of Games (1987)

Director: David Mamet

Story: David Mamet

Cast: Joe Mantegna, Lindsay Crusoe, Ricky Jay

Music: Alaric Jans

Time: 102 minutes

Bottom-line: Keeps you guessing constantly, and still surprises you

Human nature is a sucker bet.

David Mamet’s directorial career would start with this 1987 heist film, and later he would be known as one of the best, albeit underrated, directors of the quiet, simple psychological thriller films. Earlier known for his plays and movie scripts, House of Games goes on to show how good a director he can be. The film stars Joe Mantegna and Lindsay Crusoe in the lead roles.

Everybody gets something out of every transaction.

Dr Margaret Ford (Crusoe) is a psychiatrist who has just published a book. Yet, she feels that something is missing in her life. When one of her patients threatens to take his own life because he owes a large debt to a “Mike”, Margaret decides to visit Mike (Mantegna) in his pool hall, named “Hall of Games”. Just before she is swindled of her money, she catches their bluff. Intrigued to know more about the art of conning, she goes back to Mike, hoping to write a book based on this. As Margaret gets further involved in Mike’s cons, she finds herself caught in a mess involving murder, theft and thousands of dollars.  

Mantegna as Mike

You can't bluff someone who's not paying attention.

Here is a general trend of Mamet’s directorial features, or at least, those involving con men - every single character appears grey, until the very end, when you know who is good and who isn’t. Till then you always keep guessing. One aspect I found admirable is how he weaves the tale in a way that it seems so predictable, and then he proves you wrong, pretty much every time. Mamet also keeps the story relatively clean in terms of content - every scene is relevant.

Crusoe as Margaret

Joe Mantegna’s character is that of a con man, who “acts atrociously for a living.” From the suave suited-up trickster to the seemingly sensitive gentleman, Mantegna always keeps you wondering whether he's showing his genuine feelings or if they are all part of a con. Lindsay Crusoe’s acting is superb, especially in her phase of panic when she struggles to “forgive herself”. Her transition from the naive and innocent woman to one seeking revenge is remarkable. The other mysterious aspect of Mamet films is the way he depicts the romance between the lead characters - you think it is going one way but it is actually going the other.

With the regular plot twists - some which pop up after five minutes and some which pop up after an hour - supported by excellent acting by Mantegna and Crusoe, House of Games is effective because it is an intellectual thriller but maintains its simplicity.   

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

Director: Frank Oz

Story: Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning, Dale Launer

Cast: Michael Caine, Steve Martin, Glenne Headly

Music: Miles Goodman

Time: 110 minutes

Bottom-line: A whole new level of humour and conning

A poacher who shoots at rabbits may scare big game away.

The title of the movie itself has a nice ring to it, no?

Michael Caine and Steve Martin come together with a winning chemistry in Frank Oz’s comedy drama, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The title refers to the characters played by Caine and Martin respectively: Lawrence Jamieson and Freddy Benson. The former is a wealthy elitist living in Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera; assisted by a corrupt policeman and manservant, he arranges elaborate schemes to con rich and corrupt women. He gets news that another con artist is in town, code-named the Jackal. Lawrence meets American small-time conman Freddy, who scams women for a few hundred dollars, often making up plans on the go. Knowing that the city cannot host two conmen, they have a bet: the first one to con $50000 from an American heiress, Janet Colgate (Headly), gets to stay, and the other has to leave town. What happens next?

 

Headly as Janet (left), Martin as Freddy and Caine as Lawrence

Nice guys finish last. Meet the winners.

The combination of Caine and Martin is the best possible choice for a film like this. The contrast in the nature of their skills shows exactly why the respective actors were chosen. Lawrence/Caine is suave, spending money on art and antiques (in other words, “wine you can’t drink and a garden that looks like a big mowing headache!”), and is a perfectionist even in conning (one who thoroughly screens his victims and took years to perfect his “scamming thing”). Freddy/Martin is not so sophisticated or cultured. Refinement and elitism are not for him. He is satisfied with his meagre achievements. Martin is more dynamic with his character – jumps around excitedly, shouts in anger and so on, while Caine holds a constant smile throughout the film, changing accents based on his scheme. Glenne Headly acts so well that you actually feel pity for her character, as each man tries to squeeze out $50000 from her.

The story combines the right amounts of slapstick humour and intelligent comedy, Martin contributing to the former and Caine to the latter. With their mind games and strategies to be ahead of the other, the viewers are entertained throughout. The film has two endings, in my view. (Spoiler alert) The first one leaves us gasping in shock (if you didn’t predict it) as Janet flies away, and the second one leaves us with the possibility of extending the story further after the end credits roll. In the first ending, you see another contrast in the traits of Lawrence and Freddy – one admires Janet’s acts while the other resents them.

With a racy script and brilliant acting by all three lead actors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a class apart in both con films and comedy films. Don’t miss it.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Minimalist poster, showing the
role of fate

Director: Joel and Ethan Coen 
Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen (based on the book by Cormac McCarthy)
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin 
Music: Carter Burwell
Time: 122 minutes
Bottom-line: One of the best cat-and-mouse dramas ever!

This neo-noir Western thriller is one of the best works of the Coen brothers thus far, and proves to be very tough to beat! Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, along with Woody Harrelson, this film explores how fate treats three different men all involved in one plot.

Brolin as Moss

1980, Texas: After a monologue by the Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), the story starts with Anton Chigurh (Bardem), a prisoner who escapes after strangling the cop who arrested him. His weapon is a captive bolt pistol. Meanwhile, welder and Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) comes across a failed drug deal in the desert; he finds several people murdered, and a suitcase containing two million dollars. With greed overcoming his conscience, Moss decides to take the case home, but soon he is pursued by two strangers. He sends his wife to safe custody and flees. We now understand that Chigurh is a hitman hired to retrieve the case. So as Chigurh starts hunting down Moss, his wife becomes concerned and asks Bell to protect her husband. As the three men interfere in each other’s lives, they realise one thing – there are no clean getaways... 

Bardem as Chigurh, with his weapon 

The storyline is simply brilliant. From the moment Moss picks up the case, you know the chase has started, and then it never stops. Every scene your heart beats loudly and your hands start trembling. The cinematography and editing are so perfectly done that each sequence has the right amount of screen time to give that suspenseful feeling. The film is kind of a case study of how fate can control your life, with just enough violence to make sure it has an impact – Moss decides to follow his greed, and his life has one story; Chigurh is the merciless killer who will go to any length to retrieve the money, and how his life turns out is also shown. The only clean character seems to be Sheriff Bell. With this theme, the story is built and is supported by the drama of the cat-and-mouse chase in the desert landscape of Texas.

TLJ as Sheriff Bell

The film has no grand climax, but it is those little incidents during the film that you should look out for, especially Chigurh’s encounter with the old man at the shop. The dialogues are exceptional, and they carry a nervous humour along with them; the way he taunts the man into deciding whether he should live or not, is chilling! If this guy isn't a terrifying villain, I don't know who is! Javier Bardem is the exact guy to portray this character, with his build, accent and just enough facial expressions; it was a well-deserved Oscar win. His hitman character, with his captive bolt pistol, is truly scary... particularly in that scene where he assaults the motel guests! I also liked Josh Brolin’s acting as Moss, and I think he did an excellent role of playing the “mouse” of the movie. If it wasn’t for the acting, the film would have never been as great as it is considered now.

The ending does not exactly tie up all loose ends, but it makes one thing clear – you can't stop what's coming. Everyone gets what they deserve, and it is entirely up to fate.

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%

Wall Street (1987)

Director: Oliver Stone

Story: Oliver Stone, Stanley Weiser

Cast: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah

Music: Stewart Copeland

Time: 126 minutes

Bottom-line: An engaging drama powered by Michael Douglas

Every dream has a price.

Featuring one of the most iconic characters (and antagonists) of the 1980s, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street is a drama film about a young stockbroker and his relationship with a corporate raider. The film not only had a positive impact on critics but also on other Americans who have claimed to be inspired by the film to work on Wall Street. The film stars Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen in the lead roles, with Martin Sheen, Daryl Hannah and Terence Stamp in the supporting roles.

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

1985, New York: Bud Fox (C. Sheen) is a junior stockbroker for Jackson Steinem & Co. Not entirely happy with his current job, he wants to work with legendary Wall Street player, Gordon Gekko (Douglas). After a long wait, Fox gets his chance for an interview with Gekko. Desperate to impress Gekko, Fox leaks out some inside information on Bluestar Airlines, which he heard from his father, Carl Fox (M. Sheen). Gekko becomes Fox’s client and asks him to spy on a British CEO (Stamp) as his next task. With time, Fox becomes rich, enjoying all the perks offered by Gekko, and even gets a girlfriend though him (Hannah). But when Fox has to choose between family and money, he finds himself in a shaky situation. Would he go against the immensely powerful Gekko? Or does he do what’s morally right?

 

Douglas as Gekko

While Charlie Sheen later became pretty much synonymous with Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men, his role as Bud Fox is far better. Chosen for the role because of his “stiff acting”, I like the way he portrays the naïve stockbroker willing to go to any length to win the admiration of Gekko, the way he gains confidence and stands on his own two feet, and how he reacts when his world comes crashing down. Michael Douglas went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role – the powerful, cunning and unrelenting raider. His speech to the Teldar Paper panel is the highlight of the movie. While you’re admiring Gekko’s style and panache, you are also shocked by his ruthlessness (I wrecked the company because it was wreck-able, all right?).

Martin Sheen as Carl (left) and Charlie
Sheen as Bud Fox

Now whether you want to follow Gekko’s policy of “greed is good” (Greed, in all of its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, will save that malfunctioning corporation called the USA) or whether you want to wade through Wall Street as an honest man, the film will certainly pique your interest in this area. From one group of people yelling at the top of their voices to buy or sell stocks, to others in suede suits relaxing in their penthouses, the film gives a glimpse of all such characters. Although you may not understand the technicalities of everything that’s going on, the plot is still entertaining enough.

 

Hannah as Darien, Bud's girlfriend

While finance is a murky area – and the film also shows just that – how much you want to be “inspired” by it is up to you. However, with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen taking centre-stage, Wall Street will definitely be worth watching for anyone who dreams of finding themselves in the titular location.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 78%