“Norton & Giamatti are suitably intense,
In a entertaining tale of twists and tricks,
Climax could a let down,
In comparison to the rest of the flick”

It is the turn of the century Vienna, and Eisenheim is an extra-ordinary magician who returns to the city of his childhood, 15 years after his teenage love, Sophie, was forcibly separated from him due to class differences. Having been around the world, he brings an other-worldly quality to his stage performances that attract the attention of the likes of the Chief of Police, Uhl, and to a greater extent the next-in-line to the Crown, Prince Leopold.

During one such performance where the Crown Prince is the guest of honour, requesting a stage volunteer for a trick brings the young magician in touch with his childhood sweetheart who is fiancee-to-be to the Prince. Old flames are rekindled, romance is in the air, but it all comes at a heavy price. The magician’s life is slowly turned upside-down, the police official is torn between his duty and his loyalty to the Prince and the general populace turn increasingly obsessive about Eisenheim, and his evolving stage tricks that are beginning to border on the supernatural.

Director Neil Burger (’An Interview With An Assassin’) fashions an entertaining film that moves at a brisk pace while extracting low-key and arresting performances from his three male leads. For the least demanding viewers, neither the climax nor the weird foreign accents will hinder their appreciation of the movie. If you liked ‘The Score’, you will lap up ‘The Illusionist’.

Edward Norton specializes in using his eyes to convey is intensity, and has been suitably cast as the intriguing Eisenhem. Only his vocal chords sometimes betray his magnetic personality. Matching strides with him is the powerhouse of talent, Paul Giamatti, as Inspector Uhl, a man who is ambitious, realistic and conscientious. His on-screen exchanges with Norton are what makes the film so difficult to dismiss. Rufus Sewell as the royal Crown Prince is at once regal, snobbish, intellectual and quite anal. There is no common side to him, and he portrays that part effortlessly. The usually captivating Jessica Biel, as the love interest Countess Sophie, fares relatively less well amidst all the pissing-contenders. And she looks dreadfully very European, with pasty skin and unbecoming lightened hair.

Production designs are fantastic, as is a low key and hypnotic musical score by the legendary Philip Glass. Technical creds are suitably well executed.

It may not have set the box office registers jingling, but ‘The Illusionist’ will fare much better on the home circuit. It’s been a while since Norton has been cast in anything worth his salt, and Giamatti is always a welcome presence (except in a Night Shyamalan movie).

DURATION: 110 mins.
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sexuality and violence.
CAST: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel & Rufus Sewell
DIRECTOR: Neil Burger

CRANK’s a high-octane, pulse-pounding (and several other adjectives) actioner that moves at blinding speed, delivering enough juice to last you several weeks. And it’s funny.

Chev Chelios (now there’s a catchy name), is a hitman who awakens to a throbbing head and a bad feeling - he’s right on both counts. Having been injected with a deadly poison intended as a slow death, the only thing that can keep his ticker from falling asleep is adrenaline. Needless to say, Chelios uses everything in his power to keep the rushes flowing - from speed chases to suicidal shootouts, picking fights in bad neighbourhoods to having public sex in Chinatown with his girlfriend, all in the span of an hour, just so that he could get the antidote, and even out with the man behind his predicament. In the situation that Chelios is, I bet even Woody Allen could turn lethal.

The entire film has been shot in video game mode, with quick jerky camera movements, and things happening at the speed of a mouse-click. People with short attention spans will be mighty pleased, and the regular folks will just have to hold on to their bladder lest they miss something.

Directing duo Mark Neveldine & Brain Taylor display a passionate flair for the genre, embellishing the proceedings with a heavy metal score, and using every possible technical flourish known to them.

Although shot on a mere $15 million budget, the film bears a slick and stylish look, and feels visually flawless. Wonder what they could’ve done with a Bruckheimer budget.

Acting department, Jason Statham delivers the requisite chops as Chelios, a man in a race against death, with too much to do and very little time. Amy Smart as his ditzy girlfirend lends capable support. Efren Ramirez in a direct departure from the icnonic Pedro (NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE), is too brief to register any impact as Chelios’ loyal aide. Others lend serviceable support.

DURATION: 87 mins.

MPAA RATING: R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality, nudity and drug use.

CAST: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Efren Ramirez

DIRECTOR: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor

In the first of many WWNN instances (wink-wink-nudge-nudge), Nicholas Cage plays Edward Malus, a cop who has recently turned damaged goods due to his inability to save a life from a horrific crash. Enter a letter from an old flame, Willow, pleading for his help to find her daughter who’s been missing. In order to do that, Malus has to fly to a privately owned strip called the SummerIsle, where he gradually learns that women are the boss on the isle and men are treated more or less like beasts of labour.

His efforts at locating the girl, who may or may not be dead, turns into frustration as he is calmly refused any information or lied to by the natives who look down upon the stranger and his gender. They are also into some really ancient pagan religion that celebrates the Earth Goddess. Eventually, everything leads to a “shocking” climax.

Neil LaBute (of “In the Company Of Men”, “Nurse Betty” and “The Shape of Things” fame) seemed like an odd choice for a remake - normally, odd is good and with a producer and actor in Cage, things couldn’t have sounded better. Plus, Labute excels at dark material and characters. But here, all LaBute seems interested in are the exotic locales, and portraying women as thoroughly dislikeable (I am sensing a misogynistic mind here). He also exhibits impotency in areas where eerieness, dread and shocks are required to make for an effective chiller.

Nicholas Cage tries very sincerely, but in vain, to infuse his hollow character with some depth, and is unable to erase Edward Woodward’s portrayal from a loyalist’s head. Ellen Burstyn taking over from Christopher Lee in the original, goes dykey with her Sister Summer Isle, and seems like in serious need of rehab. Kate Beahan, LeeLee Sobeiski, Molly Parker and others comprising a major female-cast are thoroughly irritating in their respective roles. And let’s face it, Sobieski is no Brit Eckland, with or without a PG-13 rating. The only one who seems to have survived any dignity is Frances Conroy (mother from telly’s “Six Feet Under”), who plays the resident doctor, and the official photographer, Dr. Moss.

James Franco, Jason Ritter and a blink-and-you-miss Aaron Eckhart show up in cameos.

The only life “The Wicker Man” is assured of, is at the video shelves as a comparative oddity. Others, stick to the 1973 cult fave. I have my own personal copy, and am going back to it to erase the bitter after taste of LaBute’s offering.

DURATION: 103 Mins.
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for disturbing images and violence, language and thematic issues.
CAST: Nicholas Cage, Kate Beahan, Ellen Burstyn
DIRECTOR: Neil La Bute

Despite it’s humble budget, Headspace manages to entertain and keep the viewer engrossed for most of it’s duration, something I find difficult to say for most of the studio-financed horror outings that are thrown at the audiences these days in PG-13 packagings.

Director Andrew Van Den Houten’s directorial debut is an ambitious undertaking, hampered only by lack of big bucks in the SFX department. Iconic cult stars like Dee Wallace Stone, Olivia Hussey, William Atherton, and yes the ubiquitous Udo Kier, grace the cast in pretty interesting roles.

Plot concerns Alex Borden, a shy collegiate who begins to develop amazing mental powers after a a relatively harmless game of chess. His powers are also accompanied by debilitating migraines that the doctors are unable to explain. He is recommended to see a ’specialist’ and things dont improve much. To make matters worse, he may or maynot be responsible for demons unleashed from his mind, that have laid down a blood path for everything that he comes in contact with.

There are a couple of well executed sequences including one that gives a camera view from the other side of a gunshot wound, and another that involves Udo Kier. Inspite of the simplistic synopsis, the film is anything but, and much head-scratching should be anticipated, if not a repeat viewing.

Film gets the casting right, and benefits greatly from a fantastice performance from newcomer Christopher Denham as Alex Borden. Sean Young as the mother is a treat, as is Dee Wallace Stone as Dr. Denise Bell, ageless Olvia Hussey as Dr. Karen Murphy, the speciliast, and lastly, the charismatic Udo Kier as Rev. Karl Hartman.

Technical creds, apart from the monster suits, are pretty decent and quite amazing for a low-budget flick. Special nod to lensman William M. Miller (who also serves as one of the producers) for an exceptional job.

An ‘R’ rated film that has pleasing gratuitous nudity & gore, is well-acted and last but not the least, boasts a well-scripted storyline. What else do ya need?

MPAA RATING: Rated R for strong horror violence/gore, sexuality and language
DURATION: 89 minutes.
CAST: Christopher Denham, Erick Kastel, Olivia Hussey
DIRECTOR: Andrew Van Den Houten

The title does not refer to the protagonist, or to an item from a Chinese take-out menu. Rather its a place whose proprietors and their hired gumbas come under a lot of grief for stealing a baby elephant.

Tony Jaa and his director Prachya Pinkaew, return after their first picnic together that was the international smash hit actioner ONG BAK: The Thai Warrior. Tony who? For those of you who are hearing this name for the first time - he is the upcoming Asian action star on the rise, garnering attention for his gravity defying super leaps, and bone-crunching martial arts expertise that is all done the old fashioned way - namely, no CGI, no stunt-doubles and no wires. He is neither from Honk Kong nor of Chinese descent - he is Thai (will make little difference to the lot of you)…. and he’s terrific!

Plot for the sake of one is as follows - Kham (Jaa) is a carpenter’s son who dances with the elephants - a mama ellie, a papa ellie and a baby ellie. One fine day their happiness is shattered when poachers come a knocking. Mama ellie bites dust, and much sobbing follows. Long story short - the same poachers later on kidnap the baby and the father elephant, shoot Kham’s pop in the guts, and make off to Down Under. And in Sydney lies Tom Yum Goong. A revenge and rescue mission is undertaken by the indomitable Tony Jaa much to the displeasure and discomfort of all involved (a big and powerful mafia and several corrupt OZ cops bear the brunt of Jaa’s anger). But he does make friends with an honest cop and a whore with a heart of gold (- sigh -).

Although far from the refreshing piece of action history that was Ong Bak, Tom Yum Goong has enough leaps, stunts & bewildering piece of action sets to sate even the hardcore action junkies. But it all takes a bit of time to get there - for a while you have to make do with a silly plot and dead-serious moments that may evoke uncontrollable titters. Not kidding - if they dub this film in Hindi, it will be a box office smash in India, owing to its sappy and melodramatic storyline.

But I do admit to the following: I wouldn’t want to be in a Tony Jaa film as an extra, unless I was on his side. The pint sized fighter means serious business with his kicks and raw knuckle punches. Film is packed with sequences that may induce numbness after a while, but still manages to make you go WOW! at the critical points. The climax seems to go on for ever - with one sub-climax that has Tony do a kill bill with multitudes of extras, and going about it in a how-to-break-bones-in-101-ways. Another sub-climax has him go one-on-one with men from different schools of martial arts (an Indian martial artist was sorely missing - maybe next time). That is only two of several action set pieces.

Word of advice - DO NOT TAKE, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE any of your dates or member of the opposite sex unless you want to turn them off you altogether. Otherswise, get ready for a major fix of adrenaline with your buddies.

MPAA RATING:R for pervasive strong violence and some sexual content.
RUNTIME: 110 mins.
CAST:Tony Jaa, Phettkai Wongkamlao,Nathan Jones
DIRECTOR: Prachya Pinkaew

Sean Boswell is your typical badass badboy, and especially dangerous when he gets behind the wheels of a car. After his latest reckless behaviour almost gets him and his rival killed, Sean is packed off to Japan to live with his military dad in order to avoid getting sentenced in States. On his very first day, he chums up with Twinkie, makes eyes at a class-mate Neela, and gets introduced in a humiliating manner to the Tokyo racing culture called “drifting” where he is bested by the local gangster and Neela’s jealous boyfriend DK.

Soon, Sean is friends with and hanging around with the DK’s right hand Han (as he owes him money for totalling his car), and learning from him the art of “drifting” (using hand brakes at high speeds to get the car to slide at curves). Things start to boil up as Sean and Neela get closer to each other, and Han is discovered to be stealing from the DK’s illegal cookie jar. DK’s angry response yields tragedy, and leads to an inevitable showdown on a frightening mountain stretch between him and Sean.

The thrills are quite exhilirating and the absence of a sensible plot does not bother the viewer in the least. Film borrows heavily from Andy Lau’s cult-flick INITIAL D, but also possesses some original touches - special nod to the chase scene through downtown Tokyo in heavy traffic is quite a heady experience, and a flirting ritual by way of drifting is pretty cool.

Though the climactic duel climaxes satisfactorily, the build-up to the finale lacks sufficient juice. Director Justin Lin could’ve used some of Rob Cohen’s stylistic flourishes to get the blood pumping.

Lucas Black (Sling Blade) as Sean, fit’s Paul Walker’s wooden shoes very nicely as his acting prowess and range of expressions are an eerie match to Walker’s. Of the whole lot, only Sung Kang as Han impresses with his understated, and finely nuanced performance. He brings more depth than there is to his role. Nathalie Kelley and Brian Tee are irritiating as Sean’s love interest Neela and local gangster DK respectively. Ditto for Bow Wow as Twinkie. Cult actor JJ Sonny Chiba - last seen in KILL BILL - VOL. 1, cameos in nicely as DK’s Yakuza uncle.

Director Justin Lin acquits himself quite well overall, and shows a natural flair for dumbass pop-corn entertaintment. Although, I’m guessing he could be more in the league of Lee Tamahori, than God forbid, Rob Cohen.

Production designs, editing, music and camera-work are top-notch. Tokyo night life seems quite similar to their American counterpart, with badass boys, their metallic toys and their sexy hanger-ons.

MPAA RATING:PG-13 for reckless and illegal behavior involving teens, violence, language and sexual content. RUNTIME: 98 Mins.
CAST: Lucas Black, Brian Tee, Sung Kang
DIRECTOR: Justin Lin

 

Adam Sandler does a IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE/MR. DESTINY with a bit of warmth and good ‘ole Sandlerisque humour. Directed by Happy Madison camper Frank Coraci (Waterboy & The Wedding Singer) and scripted by the same team behind BRUCE ALMIGHTY, it’s another go by Sandler to court the adult demographics, and could fare well with the crowd that embraced 50 FIRST DATES and SPANGLISH.

Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) is your typical workaholic father rewarded with two cutesy kids and a hottie wife (Kate Beckinsale), but with very little time on his hands for any of them. His sly and demanding boss (David Hassellhoff) keeps flooding him with work while dangling the I-will-make-thee-partner carrot. Work pressure, junk food, multitudes of remotes (none of which he can control) and the neighbour’s annoying kid have made life hell for our relatively soft-spoken architect. A dog that vigorously humps a stuffed duck doesn’t help matters either.

On a particularly beat-up night, Newman ends up with a unique universal remote control courtesy of a wacky inventor Morty (Christopher Walken), and gradually learns that he can control his universe by fast forwarding, pausing or entirely skipping through chapters of his life. Of course as with all good things concerned, there is a downside to the boon, which our protagonist learns in heart-breaking ways.

Film suffers on account of a weak climax and poor disclosure of a character’s actual role. In a need to keep the flick family-friendly, it compromises on a ending that would’ve ideally suited the dark build-up.

Sandler displays great maturity in the latter portions, and the make-up effects are excellently rendered to highlight the aging process. He also indulges in his juvenile schtick like toilet humour, screaming his lungs out etc. Kate Beckinsale, in a change from UNDERWORLD and black leather, has little to offer except look gorgeous (and by Jove, she does!). David Hassellhoff, looks great, and essays his part without much fuss (and provides some great laughs at his own expense). Happy Madison regular Rob Schneider, provides signature cameo as an Arabian royalty - Prince Habeebo. Henry Winkler as the elderly Newman is a treat to watch, and Christopher Walken is simply irresistible as the crazy inventor Morty.

Overall, it’s a totally enjoyable movie that will make for a great holiday viewing.

MPAA RATING: PG-13
RUNTIME: 98 mins.
CAST: Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken
DIRECTOR: Frank Coraci

Not a sequel, nor a prequel, “Lage Raho Munnabhai” (aka Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi) is an uplifting equal. Munna & Circuit, the lovable thug & his yes-can-do sidekick return from their original iconic outing (Munnabhai MBBS) for another roller-coaster of a comedy that you will not forget for days to come.

Multi-hyphenate Rajkumar Hirani & producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra are a bunch of smart cookies – they did not revisit the same sets as the original (the downside associated with such sequels are legendary), but in fact have cut and pasted the crowd-pleasing duo (with their personalities in tact) on to a different board (a la “A Fish Called Wanda” & “Fierce Creatures”. This also allowed them to bypass the terribly unbecoming Gracy Singh from the original in favour of the fantastic Vidya Balan). Most of the other actors from the original return in various avatars for the second innings. The results are simply terrific!

LRM has Boman Irani as an unscrupulous building contractor Lucky Singh, who has Munnabhai & Circuit on his payroll to do his unlawful biddings. One such errand involves clearing out a bungalow full of elderly bunch who are being taken care of by a lovely radio jockey Jhanvi (Vidya Balan). In a twist of fate, Jhanvi is the voice that Munnabhai is besotted with to the point where he lies that he is a history professor specializing in Mahatma Gandhi. That lie costs him hours at a monumental library soaking up details of the great pacifist leader, as a result of which Munna starts seeing Gandhi in person. The father of the nation begins imparting him his experiements with truth which Munna heartily implements to often hilarious effect.

The diamond maybe flawed, but it is brilliant nonetheless. Few clichéd & teary-eyed moments do not alter the film’s ingenuity which is transplanting familiar characters into a new setting while retaining the core spirit of the original, a simple narrative is employed for a complex storyline, film is played to the galleries & the intelligentsia alike dishing out philosophical musings with considerable charm without going overboard on the preachiness or the ham-factor (two things that usually plague a cocktail of this ilk). Points about country’s state, corruption, superstition, blind faith in astrologers and gurus etc are all put across emphatically with tongue firmly in cheek.

Sanjay Dutt is flawless as Munnabhai, the short-fused goon with a heart as big as a crop circle. Arshad Warsi has been given wider exposure, and he doesn’t disappoint. His rapid fire quips and solutions-per-second antics keeps the crowd in splits. Matching them in beauty and talent is the bewitching Vidya Balan. Dilip Prabhavalkar as Mahatma Gandhi is serviceable. Only Boman Irani disappoints as the scheming Lucky Singh, as his histrionics sometimes take a plunge in river camp.

Writer-editor-director Rajkumar Hirani is in complete control of the project and technically well experienced. His creative envisioning of a pedestrian song “samjho ho hi gaya” that converts the drab surroundings into a brilliantly lit wedding set in a blink of an eye (without ever calling attention to itself) speaks volumes of his expertise in all the machinations of filmmaking. With people like Hirani, there is hope yet for Bollywood.

RUNTIME: 130 Mins.

CAST: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan

DIRECTOR: Rajkumar Hirani

Not likely to stoke the same level of enthusiasm that MAY sparked, the most anticipated feature from Lucky McKee leaves the faithful standing naked in a cold monsoon shower. Aside from it’s obvious Argento influence, the presence of iconic cult star Bruce Campbell as a cast member was reason enough to ensure a mile long drool. Unfortunately, the sum of good parts does not a satisfactory movie make.

Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is a problem child with a fascination for burning places down. Her parents (Emma Campbell & Bruce Campbell) bring her to an all-girls private academic institution located deep in the woods, and run by the unruffled Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) and her bunch of anally-wound teachers. Of course, the academy has a dark past that comes a knocking on the unfortunate of the students (talk about twigs going bump in the night!), and it is up to our intrepid heroine to reach to the bottom of the mystery, while clashing with the resident bully (who re-christens her “fire crotch”), creepy teachers that will not stand her tardiness (Marcia Bennett as the tic-ing Ms. Mackinaw sends a shiver down the spine and out the kazoo) and to prevent further students from ending up as dead foliage in their beds.

Firstly, let me tell you what there is to like in “The Woods” – it is pretty eerie, the lighting and visuals are dark and foreboding, the performances of the key players are note-worthy, and the music is simply fantastic (special mention to the choir music). A feeling of dread is constantly in the air. Where this film also scores is when it doesn’t try to be a horror film and deals with the pains of being a teenager – the normal conversations between the girls, family backgrounds, silly fears, emotional outbursts etc are really engaging.

What prevents this gothic chiller from going for the jugular are clichéd ‘boo’ moments, non-complimentary SFX and some terribly corny dialogues that result in unintentional moments of hilarity. Besides that the gap between the thrills and the spills is too long. For an “R” rated film, it feels like a PG-13 picnic (except for the climax). Lastly, not enough screen-time is allotted to Bruce Campbell who gets to chew only a boundary of the scenery (a sequence of peril has him utter a couple of exquisite one-liners).

For the die-hards and to those that have no inkling to the director’s previous body of work, THE WOODS might come across as refreshingly different. For those who have savoured every bit of MAY and/or fans of Bruce Campbell, it will be a terrible let-down. Imagine Neill Marshall having directed THE CAVE instead of THE DESCENT. Get the drift?