Working in animation for the first time, Gore Verbinski’s homage to Hollywood westerns, specifically the spaghetti oaters of the 1960s, sustains a level of visual ingenuity (without recourse to the over-hyped 3D technology) that will likely become a benchmark against which all future computer-generated cartoons will be measured. In other words, Rango is pure magic. Rashid Irani writes.
The basic plot of this mistaken-identity thriller is hardly original. Adapted from a little-known French page-turner, Unknown borrows plot elements from the films of Alfred Hitchcock, besides the amnesia-addled adventures of the Bourne trilogy.
It’s apocalypse again. Here’s another would-be-sci-fi epic about alien invaders intent on destroying our benign planet.
Rashid Irani writes more.
For almost a decade between 1994 and 2003, Peter and Bobby Farrelly were the uncrowned kings of Hollywood comedy. Rashid Irani reports.
It’s his first film since Master and Commander eight years ago. Peter Weir, whose career ranges from Picnic at Hanging Rock (1977) made in his native Australia to American classics like The Truman Show, has attempted one of his more challenging undertakings with this epic tale of perseverance. Rashid Irani writes.
For once, the upbeat word of mouth of a multiple Academy Award winning film is more than justified. The King’s Speech is an utterly entrancing historical drama that narrates the fascinating but largely unknown story of the man who would become King George VI. Rashid Irani writes.
Gratifyingly the update, written and directed by the Coen brothers (No Country For Old Men) treats the source material with greater fidelity. The outcome is an old-fashioned adventure that’s reflective, funny and atmospheric.
Evidently, the aim is to hook legions of Twilight fans with yet another otherworldly teen romance.
Essentially yet another variation on the cycle of movies about demonic possession, The Rite does not compare favourably with such nerve-wrackers as Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Exorcist (1973) or The Omen (1976).
Remember When Harry Met Sally…, the 1989 romantic comedy about the ups and downs of platonic friendship? In a neat reversal of that film's premise, director Reitman, whose work ranges from the appealing (Ghostbusters) to the appalling (Evolution), considers whether a couple can maintain a long-standing physical relationship without any sort of emotional commitment.
He has directed several action blockbusters over the years. Collaborating for the first time with Jason Statham, the go-to kick-butt star of the current generation, UK-born filmmaker Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) is once again hell-bent on knocking the viewer into a state of submission.
He has directed such waterlogged survival sagas as The Abyss (1989) and Titanic (1997). Now, James Cameron marshals his mega-dollar resources to deliver yet another blockbuster aqua adventure.
This animated romantic adventure — a co-production assembled using local talents in Mumbai —sets out to assert that it can give giants like Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks a run for their money in the overcrowded 3D cartoon market. Alas, in vain.
Burlesque
Direction: Steven Antin
Cast: Christina Aguilera, Cher
Rating: ***
127 hours
Direction: Danny Boyle
Cast: James Franco, Clemence Poesy
Rating: ** 1/2