MADRAS CAFÉ: A rare engaging political thriller from Bollywood

REVIEW by Hilath

It’s not every day that you come across from Bollywood what could be called a political thriller. But MADRAS CAFÉ, which was released worldwide on Friday, despite its flaws, is not one that disappoints its two-hour run.

Much in the director’s skill in execution depends on the compactness of the screenplay, to-the-point dialogue, the complementing gritty cinematography and fast-paced editing with a score that keeps you glued to the screen without aware of the frames – or time – passing.


And for once, John Abraham mercifully does not take off his shirt, even once, to distract us from the otherwise very-serious plot, perhaps because, as he said in his interview, he had to lose some muscle as Indian army officers are not necessarily beefed up and look like your average regular guy – and perhaps also because this is the first time he got the opportunity for some serious acting rather than emanating star power from his good looks. Though I have no complaints against him, I still wonder whether an actor like Ajay Devgan would have been more fit for a role like this.

While the film claims it is fictional, there is no doubt that, even if the name Rajiv Gandhi is never mentioned in the film, this is about the Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger plot to assassinate the former Indian Prime Minister. Perhaps, like Katherine Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which has the interesting tagline ‘The Biggest Manhunt in Human History’, MADRAS CAFÉ should have copied Bigelow’s “claimer” that the film was “based on firsthand accounts of actual events.”

5 recent movies worth catching

REVIEWS by Hilath

I should mention my views on some movies, including Avatar in 3D, which I saw in Bangalore, India, last week:

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG:If they put their minds to it, Disney can make a traditional 2D animation classic and again they have proved it. Wonderful sets aside, the only drawback now for me is that I begin to realize that I am somewhat now not too comfortable with blatant sentimentality (such as Rose declaring to Jack “You jump, I jump” in Titanic which was nothing quite like the “I see you, You see me” concept offered by Neytiri to Jake Sully in Avatar).

KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK:
If you don’t raise your expectations too high, this Farhan Akhtar-Deepika Padukone vehicle is quite engaging considering the schizophrenic nature of the movie. Don’t scold me now because it wasn’t me who spoiled the movie for you. It’s the title of the movie in case you didn’t notice it. So even though I am only giving it 2.5 stars (above average), the film is so unusually presented I think it’s worth a watch if nothing else is showing at a cinema near you right now (if there is a cinema near you in the first place).

IT’S COMPLICATED:Coming from writer and director Nancy Meyers (who made that hilarious romantic comedy for the oldies Something’s Gotta Give), what more can we expect. Alec Baldwin has re-invented himself as a comedian from “30Rock” and Meryl Streep delivers an equally sensitive and comedic performance. The premise offered by “Divorced…with benefits” is just outrageous.

3 IDIOTS:Easily the best Hindi film to date.

And when I say that, it is quite the compliment because this is the first time that I comfortably sat through a 3-hour Hindi film, WITHOUT lowering my high expectations, and even when it ended I wanted it to go on.

I wanted that EXPERIENCE like when I watched the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire: I wanted to feel India… to feel Ladakh … to feel the mixture of pain and joy that define the Indian – and the Indian way of life… In fact me and another friend now planning to go to Ladakh at least within the next two years after seeing 3 Idiots :)

Writer and director Rajkumar Hirani has perfected what I call a tight and taught screenplay (instead of tricking the audience into staying for three hours to make their perception of ‘value for money’ delivered by putting in unnecessary, dragging scenes) and from this film, I finally came to recognize him as one of those few humans who has managed to wake up and see life and the world from purely a philosophical and existential level.

And when I say that about a mainstream, commercial Hindi film, I’m saying a lot. No wonder many of my friends and relatives now say that for them too 3 Idiots, starring Aamir Khan, the most versatile actor for me in Bollywood, is the best Hindi film ever. They watch it repeatedly they claim. One of my friends on the Bangalore trip watched it three times at the cinema and if we had more time I would have gone a couple of times as well because it’s the kind of satisfying experience you want to go on and on.

And finally,…

MY NAME IS KHAN:It is surprising that 20th Century Fox logo appears when presenting the film but the Hurricane Katrina set in Georgia, USA, looked so childish and fake. Now compare that to the flooding scene in 3 Idiots which look most real.

The only reason why I gave this Shah Rukh vehicle 1.5 stars (above worse) instead of just 1 star (the worst) was because (aside from its big budget), Karan Johar as a director fails to handle new terroristic material as he has been all his life usually more comfortable handling more straightforward and romantic material. Heck, even his produced comedies like Dostana (even if that film hadn’t been his subtle coming-out movie) was more enjoyable.

And in My Name is Khan, Karan pulls out the Ultimate Twist. I say the ultimate, if you can understand that what happened next will be the most shocking thing for a serial follower of Bollywood Hindi film industry like me :P

[SPOILER ALERT BIG TIME]

When Kajol finally appears but SRK was only a little too late before she manages to drive off in a taxi without seeing him, which was quite the devastating emotional high-point of the movie, I was totally expecting for the calming and soothing theme of (Karan’s first, and also closeted-homo-film, if there’s such a thing) Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to settle in: “A-aa-aa-a-aa-aa… A-aa-aa-a-aa-aa… (repeat many times)”…

Karan has obviously lost focus if he forgot his signature, no.

Sad to say, in order not to climb into bed disappointed that night, I had a listen to (before sobbing off into a disturbed sleep) the recurring sad theme from the DVD of Karan’s second but first bi-movie Khabi Pussy, Khabi Bum (Hindi title: Khabi Khushi, Khabi Ghum which in Na’vi language literally translates into “Sometimes Happy, Sometimes (Great) Sorrow”. I had to insert that ‘Great’ because the Na’vi people only experience eras of Great Sorrows whenever some Sky People invade their planet.

The only reason why I recommend people, who may have a cinema near you, to still go see this movie is because (for the first time) a star of such power as SRK has openly declared his support for Co-Existence among religions. And he declares himself a moderate Muslim who hates Taliban and what they stand for. This is a good message for humanity at this time as countries like Maldives are being slaughtered by the invisible conspiratorial force of Wahhabism and it’s totally legitimate child, the Taliban.

So, hail to Karan, SRK and Kajol for telling us this powerful story.

The Man from Earth

Review by SIMON SHAREEF

It is seldom that movie is able to intrigue me in such a way as to wish it all to be true. The Man from Earth had me glued, unblinking, to the end. And at the end I was thoroughly satisfied, almost gleefully happy and childishly excited.

Here is a movie that asks a rather interesting question, one that would keep your imagination going wild and hungry and your coffee table discussions going long into the night. The Man from Earth asks the question, “What if a man from upper-paleolithic survived until the present day?” Read full review from Simon's blog

The Hell with Martyrs

REVIEW BY SIMON

Would you believe it I am actually writing this 2 weeks after watching the movie and still my heart starts a heavy pounding when I think about it.

Yes, Martyrs, the French horror flick by director Pascal Laugier has left a permanent feeling of discomfort within me. It is not so much your average fear as in Friday the 13th kind of fear. No, this was a perversely darker fear. When I watched it I actually felt breathless and like a child I yearned to be held, comforted and for morning to arrive and light up the world and for birds to sing. Read the rest of the review from Simon's blog

Max Payne

Mark Wahlberg as Max Payne

What a waste of exquisite photography (by Jonathan Sela) and art direction work (by Daniel T. Dorrance).

It is obvious that someone truly believed in the project and was ready to pour all that finance into the technical brilliance of the film (Dan Zimmerman's film editing, sound and visual effects were superb, too).

Mark Wahlberg was not as bad as some say. Perhaps he put up that stone-faced poise because there is no other choice being in this film!

The former Calvin Klein underwear model, also known earlier as Marky Mark, is a good actor and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Martin Scorsese's Best Film Oscar winning The Departed in 2006.

Marky will next be seen in The Lovely Bones, based on the book by Alice Sebold and directed by none other than Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.

Ultimately I think it is a failure of both director John Moore and the screenplay by Beau Thorne which made Max Payne one of the worst films of last year.

FILM REVIEW BY HILATH

Max Payne on IMDB.com

The Matrix

This film revolutionised the way I had previously thought about my existence, spirituality and religion. I have never been the same again. Thus this is the film that changed my life forever and transformed me for all times to come -- the key turning point in my life.

Like for many others as well, it was on my second viewing that I really got the gist of the film.

I went to see the film 7 times when it was showing on cinemas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and even then it was not enough.

I also distinctly remember one of my friends, who is an air steward, who visited me that time and when he had to choose between two films to see at the cinema as he had to fly off again, he choose to see the lame Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace which put me to sleep.

The Matrix is revolutionary epic science fiction fantasy with revolutionary visual effects which won it 4 Oscars including for visual effects, beating Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace which must have really pissed off George Lucas (I actually feel sympathy for him after his own revolutionary amazing digital animation work which but somehow never raises his film to level of art).

Time Magazine chose The Matrix as its best film of 1999 though the Oscar for Best Film that year went to American Beauty.

Although Keanu Reeves cannot act, once again he shows that he just being there in an action movie is enough!

Directed by the Wachoski brothers who made the highly acclaimed Bound -- with a lesbian twist.

REVIEW BY HILATH

The Matrix on IMDB.com

Mission Impossible

Brian de Palma who directed that masterfully crafted movie The Untouchables does it again here.

The cast, the cinematography, the score and above all how the complex plot unravels with the film's pace all combine for another masterpiece of movie-making.

And Tom Cruise is so watchable.

If only action films were this stylish and this good.

REVIEW BY HILATH

Mission Impossible on IMDB.com

The Mummy Returns

The Mummy Returns, the sequel to The Mummy, qualifies to the best standards that I can expect from a fantasy; mummies, pygmies, and that lovely sight of the floating dirigible just made my day! Director Stephen Sommers seems to have finally reached the pinnacle of directing what with the furious pace, slick editing, and non-stop action that quite almost matched with that of Speed.

REVIEW BY HILATH

The Mummy Returns on IMDB.com