Tag: Movie review

The Skeleton Key

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https://www.rogerebert.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard
Where to watch: This movie was released in 2005. It keeps doing the rounds on the various OTT platforms
To watch or not to watch: The movie succeeds in creating an atmospheric horror, based on voodoo, which is an interesting plot device, and not something common

Caroline (Kate Hudson) is a hospice nurse who is looking for private work after losing a patient at the hospital where she used to work. She comes across a listing in the newspaper (the movie was made in 2005, when people still looked through the newspapers for jobs and such) for a nursing job in Louisiana, paying $1000 per week. The job would be to take care of Ben Devereaux (John Hurt), who is a wheelchair-bound, almost paralytic old man since he suffered a stroke some time back. At least that’s what his wife, Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands), tells Caroline. Caroline is a little sceptical about the job, since it is on the outskirts, but she is convinced by Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), who is the lawyer of the couple. Violet gives Caroline a skeleton key, which opens all the doors in the house, except the attic. Because it is a horror movie, and in horror movies people always go to forbidden rooms/hotels/cabins, Caroline finds the key to the attic and enters it, to find it filled with all the mirrors of the house and other paraphernalia which can be used for black magic, along with a vinyl record titled Conjure of Sacrifice. She later learns that 90 years before, the house was owned by a white couple with two kids (a boy and a girl) who employed a black couple as servants, Mama Cecile and Papa Justify. The black couple would practice a religion called hoodoo, which resulted in them being lynched by a mob. In parallel, Caroline is increasingly confident that Ben wants to tell her something about Violet and that Violet is somehow causing Ben to stay ill. Caroline is determined to save this patient even if this means she has to learn Hoodoo to do it.

It is easy to dismiss this movie because of the cast, as it was the first horror movie for all involved, and it is understandable, but in doing so people would be missing out, and this cannot be said for most of the movies out there. Any horror movie which can deliver without the age old plot of possession or haunting is a win, is definitely refreshing and delivers on the scares by subverting expectations. Unfortunately it does have cheap jump scares (it was made in 2005 after all) and has creaking doors and what not, it is still a solid movie. Do not go into the movie expecting gore or creepiness, or wait, scratch that. It is creepy, mostly atmospheric due to its setting, and it rains a lot in the movie, giving it the dark, muddy, restless feel. The pacing is slow and it reveals the dots disjointedly, but it all comes together in the end, leaving the viewer satisfactorily shocked.

There are plot holes in the movie, after all, not everyone can be Denis Villeneuve, but don’t let them distract you from the storyline. This movie skilfully deals with concepts of racism, trauma, and folklore, and doesn’t need any cheap tricks to keep viewers glued. There are multiple confusing points throughout the movie, which make sense after the ending, so be patient. Kate Hudson made a brave choice to star in a horror movie in between a range of rom-coms; this wouldn’t have been an easy decision. And while John Hurt doesn’t have more than 2 words to speak throughout the movie, he speaks volumes with his eyes and expressions. Peter Sarsgaard is, as always, a pleasure to watch, though he doesn’t get too much screen time, and Gena Rowlands is properly menacing as matron of the house. She embodied the role so well that it is difficult to separate her from it.
Definitely watch this one.

Hokum

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https://www.thehindu.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell
Where to watch: In theatres
To watch or not to watch: Flawed but strong horror movie from Ireland. It is turning the genre around in interesting ways

Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a borderline alcoholic author living alone in the US, struggling to finish a book which appears to be about the lack of humanity in diversity, probably a reflection of his own conscience. While writing at night in almost darkness, and slightly inebriated, he feels visited by his dead mother’s ghost. He rifles through the limited keepsakes, finds a picture, and assuming his mother was happy in that time and place, he decides to take his parents’ ashes to Ireland, checks himself into the hotel where his parents honeymooned, and meets the hotel staff members – Fergal (Michael Patric), the groundskeeper, and Mal (Peter Coonan), the desk clerk and the son-in-law of the hotel owner. He goes to scatter his parents’ ashes, and meets a happy-go-lucky homeless man named Jerry (David Wilmot), who offers Bauman moonshine while he himself partakes of milk with shrooms to “open his mind”. Bauman, uncharacteristically, is nice to Jerry and is grateful for the alcohol (obviously). He returns emotional and resumes his drinking in the hotel bar, while Fiona (Florence Ordesh) pours him drinks and listens to him sympathetically. Bauman is haunted by his childhood when his mother was shot in the face by an intruder when Bauman was 10, and his bitter father drunk himself to death. They talk about the locked Honeymoon Suite in the hotel, where he believes his parents stayed, but which has been locked up since the hotel owner trapped a witch inside. Then Alby (Will O’Connell), the bellhop enters, who expresses his ambition to be a writer, whom Bauman insults to no end, going as far as burning Alby’s hand, and Fergal pushes Bauman to go back to his room. A little later, Fiona goes to Bauman’s room to return his tape recorder, and when Bauman doesn’t open the door, because he has attempted suicide by hanging, Fiona and Alby save his life. On being discharged, Bauman learns that the hotel is closed for the off-season and Fiona has disappeared, and Jerry is suspected of her disappearance. Bauman feels grateful to her for saving his life, and wants to do a good turn to her by finding her. Jerry and him break into the hotel and go upto the honeymoon suite, where Jerry is shot by a crossbow, and Bauman is trapped inside, and he learns the truth about the whole situation, while also drinking whiskey from his old flask.

While watching the movie, it will seem to be a simple plot about a grumpy, lonely author in a remote B&B/hotel/what-have-you, trying to finish his book while battling his inner demons. Since Hokum has limited characters, and doesn’t dwell too much on plot development, on the surface it seems to be falling into the formula. As you can see from the paragraph above, it is longer than average. And that’s ok, because the focus of the movie remains on the story and the build-up to the crux and the resolution, but the movie would have benefited from a little more backstory, maybe worth 2 minutes extra, and removing the same 2 min fat from a few scenes which do not really do much to the storytelling. This movie is director Damian McCarthy’s third, after unfairly under-acclaimed Oddity (read its review here), and it was supposed to be a spin-off from it. The majority of the movie is shot within the hotel setting, and it is shot so beautifully that when the scene changes to the hospital, it is a subconscious physical relief – such is the skill of the cinematographer Colm Hogan. And the best part? The subtlety of the setting. Not the writing, but only the cinematography. The writing has a few moments where it is quite on-the-nose and would have benefited from the audience’s subconscious interpretation of the emotions present. Then we move to the second almost-half where it goes to the place we were all eager to see. That is literally going to leave the viewer with jitters.

McCarthy is turning out to be one in the league of Creggor and Peele, creating solid horror movies one after the other. Or maybe more in the league of the Philippou Brothers, as he created movies from Irish folklore. In fact, he is doing something more to the genre, exploring it beyond the supernatural or foreign or psychological, to mystery. Oddity was a scary murder mystery with a sprinkling of supernatural, and Hokum is similar. This is the experimentation which is going to be the saviour of the craft of filmmaking. And now let us spare a moment for the actor, Adam Scott. In a movie which already has limited characters, Scott has a disproportionately high screen time. And he smashes in conveying his emotions as if the audience his him, he is the audience. And that is because the centre of the movie is not the starring of an acclaimed Hollywood actor, but the story. Always. Looking forward to more from McCarthy.
This is not a movie for the faint of heart, definitely a must-watch for horror lovers.

Diés Iraé

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https://indianexpress.com/

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Starring: Pranav Mohanlal, Sushmita Bhat, Gibin Gopinath, Shine Tom Chacko, Arun Ajikumar
Where to watch: Jio Hotstar
To watch or not to watch: One of the best horror movies to come out last year. Rahul Sadasivan knows his craft

Rohan (Pranav Mohanlal) is an architect, the son of a super successful architect, studied in the USA, living in Kerala in a mansion on his own, is a f**kboy who smokes up, drinks and throws lavish parties for his friends at this home. One day, he learns that his recently ex-girlfriend Kani (Sushmita Bhat) has unalived herself. Kani was a Bharatnatyam dancer, quite dedicated to her craft, but from a slightly less affluent family than Rohan (but then, who isn’t), and probably more into Rohan than he was into her. It is also implied that her unaliving herself was a direct consequence of them breaking up. Rohan feels a bit guilty and responsible for her, and goes to visit her family to offer his condolences. He goes up to her room, is reminded of her, picks up one of her red hairclips as a keepsake, and talks with her brother Kiran (Arun Ajikumar). He also meets Madhu (Gibin Gopinath) who is Kani’s neighbour and works as a contractor for Rohan’s father. Rohan comes back home and starts experiencing unexplained sounds at night. This escalates to him being beaten up brutally by an invisible force, and creepily enough, Kiran is thrown off the terrace to his death by the same force. This makes him seek guidance, and Madhu comes to the rescue. They find the cause of the haunting and how it can be undone. Exciting.

Rahul Sadasivan is attempting to do something fun in the horror genre, which, if knowledge and memory serve, has not been done till now in India. This movie is the third in this universe he has created, and while arguably the weakest of the three, it is still a brilliant watch. Pranav Mohanlal is a nepo baby, and yes, nepotism is bad for all the right reasons, Pranav is an example of when it can be good too. His performance doesn’t falter even for a moment and his demeanour as Rohan feels very authentic, and it probably is, given his pedigree. Where it is weaker than its predecessors is in the story, which lacks atmosphere and can be on-the-nose, and since the previous movies were so, so good, there is little to be done to make this one better than them, so temper the expectations accordingly. But it wins in execution, like the others. The build-up of the haunting and its impact on Rohan is slow and delibrate, leaves the viewer wondering in anticipation. The movie doesn’t deliver on the grandiosity of the title (which is Latin for Day Of Wrath, and it doesn’t explain which Day and whose Wrath it is about), but it makes for a good horror movie.

Malayalam cinema is where it’s at these days, especially in the genres of suspense/thriller and horror. It has given us bangers after bangers in recent years, and hopefully this continues. Bhoothakalam was definitely an award-winning calibre movie, working with story and atmosphere rather than any tropes. Diés Iraé does falter in that department – less atmosphere and more shock factor, even (cheap) jump scares and really sh*ts the bed towards the end. But here’s the thing, even then it is a good movie, not just by Indian standards, but by global standards. It introduces drama in the story, which was absent in the previous instalments by Sadasivan, and still less drama than the Conjuring/Insidious universe. Movies like these give hope to cinema, which has taken a nose dive in the recent years, and you only have to look through the recent posts on this website to get proof of that. Rahul Sadasivan is a director and writer to look out for; he gets it right! Watch this movie please. Support the cinema which doesn’t take the audience for granted.

Good Fortune

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https://www.joblo.com/

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh
Where to watch: PrimeVideo
To watch or not to watch: Aziz Ansari shines in his directorial debut, the story is great, but fizzles out towards the end

Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) is a low-ranking angel in the hierarchy, responsible for saving people from accidents while texting and driving. But like most low-ranking people, he aspires to grow and be responsible for more serious soul-saving acts, but Martha (Sandra Oh) tells him that needs to perform the duties given to him diligently and that he is not ready to handle more responsibility. But Gabriel is adamant, and he finds Arj (Aziz Ansari) who is working odd-jobs and living out of his car. Arj meets Jeff (Seth Rogen) while doing one of his jobs, and learns that Jeff is in need of an assistant, and being enterprising, applies for the job, gets it and starts working as Jeff’s assistant. His life is good for almost one full day, until he uses Jeff’s company credit card to pay for a dinner on a date, which leads to Jeff firing him. Arj then hits rock-bottom when his car is towed because of unpaid parking tickets. Gabriel seeing this, decides that Arj will be the recipient of his beneficence, and grants Arj’s wish to swap places with Jeff, just to show Arj that money is not what it is purported to be. But on the contrary, Arj’s life is better than he could have imagined, and money has solved all of his problems. Martha learns what Gabriel has done and take away his angel status, and will return it only when Arj agrees to swaps his life back with Jeff. This is followed by a commentary on the economy, humanity, and how the wealthy can help the non-wealthy live a better life. It makes for a good concept but not a good movie.

Good Fortune takes the old trope of body swaps and turns it on its head to make it more real. It is turning the adage “High School are the best years” on its head for people who peaked later in life. Imagine Freaky Friday where Lindsay Lohan was having a horrible time at school because of not fitting in, and she swaps with her mother, who has a successful career and a stable relationship; she would not be complaining about the swap. The same thing happens here, which you have read above, and the results are so refreshingly new and honest that it makes the viewer want to wait and see where it goes. And where it goes doesn’t complement the premise. It then loses its USP and becomes predictable and downright silly. It leverages a lot of real personalities of the actors, most obvious being Keanu Reeves. It is easy to imagine him believing that money is not all it is made out to be, because that’s how he is in real life. Seth Rogen is unfortunately not doing much, though there is a lot of potential in his character – either that was his understanding of the script, or he was not very interested, who knows.

This movie has its heart in the right place – it sends a message of empathy and understanding for others who might be dealing with things we are not aware of. But because it is not well made and becomes childish towards the end (when it began as really mature and real and adult-like, it is jarring), it is difficult to say how many people would be watching this movie and then learning from it. It does get points for doing the right thing for the right reasons by the right people. It will be exciting to see Aziz Ansari come out with something interesting down the line. Watch this one, you won’t hate it, but not love it either. Hopefully it changes your perspective towards people who are less-advantaged than you.

Send Help

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https://www.cinemablend.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Xavier Samuel 
Where to watch: JioHotstar
To watch or not to watch: It is a fun movie, subverts genre in the best way and makes for a good movie for a night in, but somehow… you know… not that great

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a manager at a consulting company, is very efficient, slightly socially awkward, dresses for function rather than fashion and as a result is overlooked for a much-anticipated promotion. What rubs salt on wounds is that she is passed over for a person who has been at the company for only six months, versus her 7 years, passes off her work as his, and plays golf with the boss, hence the promotion. Speaking of the boss, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) – he has recently inherited the company from his father, the same father who valued Linda’s contribution to the company and had all but promised her a vice-president position, which has kept her going. She is asked to prove herself once more on a trip to Bangkok on a private plane, where she decides that she has had enough and deletes her important document, right before the plane hits turbulence. Only Linda and Bradley survive the crash, Bradley with a serious injury. Now, our Linda is a Survivor enthusiast and has even auditioned for the show, so she is unarguably more suited to being stranded on an island than loafer-wearing Bradley. Linda nurses him, forages for food, builds shelter, basically is an all-around superstar, while Bradley is a whiney man-child who thinks he can build a raft off the island. She thrives on the island, really coming into herself (even her make-up is better), and he gets sunburnt – well, you get the gist. But there is more to Linda than what appears – she hasn’t forgotten how she was treated, and the bitterness is compounded by her loneliness, resulting in a movie which is a hybrid between slasher horror-comedy and thriller.

This movie is wont to leave viewers with confusion and opposing views because on the one hand it s well directed and written, but on the other, the twists are genre subverting in a way which doesn’t fit the narrative as a whole. Sam Raimi goes back to his Evil Dead roots with some of the gore and slasher scenes which give the movie an extra outworldly oomph (could have done without the gore, but it doesn’t take away anything from the movie, in fact, adds humour at some points). This movie is largely a two-handers with McAdams and O’Brien working with and over each other. Their dynamics in the movie as actors and characters they play is top-notch, and the reason why the movie is not trash. Another good thing is that the movie is original, with a premise most of us with day jobs will find relatable, and there is a ready hero of our stories in Linda at first blush.

If you check the internet, you will find people who have diametrically opposite views of the movie, and that is totally understandable. It is divisive in its greyness. Any more explanation and we will enter spoiler territory. Maybe it is something everyone decides for themselves – their choices in lives, and what makes them the way they are, which is not always and not in entirety in their control. Leaving you with such a crystal clear review, will definitely help you decide if you want to watch it or not. Not. It is a good movie, it is fun, thrilling, emotional and thought provoking. Do watch it with people so you can discuss and debate about it later.
(Interesting coincidence that this post is similar to the previous one in having Thailand as the location)

Fountain Of Youth

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https://www.thehindu.com/

Rating: 1 stars out of 5
Starring: John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza González, Domhnall Gleeson, Stanley Tucci
Where to watch: Apple TV
To watch or not to watch: What a disaster of a movie! Ritchie tried making a National Treasure and ended up with a Travesty

So, Luke (John Krazinski) is an art thief who has just stolen a precious painting from a collector in Thailand. He is on the run on a moped, chased by the goons in heavy SUVs carrying machine guns. Through clever manoeuvres and some witty repartee, he is able to shake off the goons, catch a train and be at peace only to wake up and find Esme (Eiza González) sitting opposite him. She is also there to retrieve the painting for a boss unknown. Since Luke is the hero, and he is witty, pretty good looking and well, because the director said so, he is able to escape Esme and onto London, where he meets his museum curator sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman), who is in the middle of a bitter divorce. Because he is a caring brother who is able to see beyond the length of his nose, and who knows what his sister wants more than the sister herself, he steals a Rembrandt, landing Charlotte in the middle of a losing custody battle. She protests, cries, swears at Luke, that she doesn’t want to be in the middle of this mess, but her actions don’t match it, similar to an alcoholic abusive partner in a relationship. She even drags her 11 year old musical prodigy son to the mix. But Luke is not doing this for himself, oh no, he is the noble one. He is doing this for a billionaire named Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson) who is suffering from liver cancer, and is looking for the fabled Fountain Of Youth which seems to be the only cure. This Fountain is secretive but still known, is difficult to find but hidden in famous paintings, is complex but people can blunder through with drills and hammers. They end up in Egypt, because we all have run out of imagination at this point, where everyone gathers somehow for the culmination.

There is no saving grace for this movie, it has no story, almost zero acting, no cohesion between scenes, or whatever else is required to make a movie even remotely palatable. The adage of “Show Not Tell” doesn’t apply here. Please don’t show and certainly don’t tell us anything, because you are ruining it. There is no flow of information as linear storyline is more fluid than Nolan storytelling, and not for the purpose of storytelling but for the purpose of convenience. They have essentially taken all the famous heist movies, shredded them, put them through a sieve to filter out the reason why they were worth a watch and only retained… hollowness, probably, then add the words “Journey” and “Adventure” like chia seeds throughout, which annoyingly get between the teeth. The embarrassing incident in your life that keeps you awake till 3 AM has nothing on the cringe dialogues. Only Luke had anything remotely interesting to say in the whole film, but since his character is a selfish gaslighter, it does nothing to his credit.

It is a cold day in hell indeed when Natalie Portman is out acted by Krasinski (not by González). Either she was not interested in the movie, or maybe her botox/fillers didn’t allow but man, she was so bad, only seconded by González. Ritchie, we understand your loyalty to the people you work with, but maybe not all relationships fit into our lives the way we want them to. Directing Swept Away should have taught you that. Ritchie has proven himself time and again with Sherlock Holmes, arguably one of the best adaptations, The Gentlemen, etc, and even the opening chase scene of this movie gave hope, but then it just stopped. This is the worst part, when good creators underperform, what hope do we have from anyone else?
For your sanity, please skip this movie, even as a second screen.

The Running Man

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https://www.out.com/

Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Starring: Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera
Where to watch: Prime Video
To watch or not to watch: Even though it is a much anticipated movie by the most creative director of the last decade, this movie fails to do justice to its subject matter

This movie is set in a dystopian world where the country is almost ruled by a broadcasting network (creatively) called the Network in parallel with the government. Most of the population lived below the poverty line in squalor, and money and power reside with a select few, as is with any authoritarian/totalitarian regime. Network has a reality show called The Running Man, where a contestant fights to survive for 30 days in exchange for $1 billion. In this world, there resides our hero Ben Williams (Glen Powell) who is not able to afford flu medicine for his 2 year old kid. He then decides to play for The Running Man, if it means saving his daughter and giving a better life to his family. He is joined by 2 other contestants, who are a little more naive/optimistic than him. As the “game” progresses, we learn how rigged it is, with well-equipped hunters doing everything to ensure the contestants do not win. The game is hosted by Bobby T (Colman Domingo) who is removed from the plight of the people and is only a show piece. The real muscle behind the Network is Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) who is the scary kind of evil – calm and too self-assured. The contestants don’t have any chance of bettering the game or the Network as all the stakes are against them. But our hero Ben fights against all the odds, or at least tries to.

A few years ago, there was a movie called Jackpot starring Awkwafina and John Cena, which was on similar lines, without a dystopian world and an all-powerful Network, but hilarious nonetheless. It is not meant to be taken seriously, and the makers are self-aware. This is exactly the problem with Edgar Wright’s movie – it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It is in equal parts Scott Pilgrim and a socialist’s manifesto. The cinematography of the movie by Chung Chung-hoon is on point and does elicit an emotional response from the viewer. The 80’s aesthetic with the sci-fi future is shown on point. But that’s where the movie’s promise ends. The world setting of the movie in Act 1 is very quick and effective, leaving a huge margin to develop the story and characters, but that is sacrificed for style, which leaves the viewers quite apathetic towards the characters. It also fails to prove a point or even instil hope in the viewer, as most of the people in the movie are portrayed to be too desperate to be good, too selfish to be considerate, which does not land the point of hope home, and hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things.

Edgar Wright is one director who is not pinned down by genres – be it horror movies like Hot Fuzz and Last Night in Soho, or action-packed Scott Pilgrim, etc, and that too with a blend of genres. Even in movies where he was associated tangentially, his signature style of quick zooms and pans were visible and made for great storytelling. But here where the story was already in place by the great Stephen King, the execution is bland. One would be hard-pressed to determine if the movie was an Edgar Wright work. But that is ok, he has proven himself more times than not, so there is no cause for worry, he will be back soon and better for it (“calm down heart. all is not lost”). In other news, has anyone else noticed how Josh Brolin is in everything these days? Anyway, give The Running Man a miss, and if you are looking for fun escapism, opt for Jackpot.

Caught Stealing

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https://www.newyorker.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz,  Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Bad Bunny
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: It is a fun ride, delivers what it promises, which is a non-exceptional chase thriller in New York, filled with quirky eccentric characters

Hank (Austin Butler) is a sweet, borderline alcoholic bartender, who is more than an average ball player and one of the biggest fans of Giants. One night, after closing up the bar, he returns home with his non-committed long term girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), only to find that his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) is leaving for the airport to take care of his sick dad and has given the responsibility of his bad tempered cat Bud to Hank. Little does Hank know that Russ is running away from Russian mobsters who are out for Russ’ blood. They mistake Hank for Russ, and beat to a pulp so much so that he needs to be admitted to the hospital to remove his ruptured kidney. From there, he is contacted by narcotics detective Elise Roman (Regina King), who tells him that the ring of drugs run deeper than Russians. There is the Puerto Rican Colorado (Bad Bunny) who works with the Russians, who in turn owe Hasidic Drucker brothers (Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio), basically making a drug dealer’s Ponzi scheme. Fascinating.

The script is tight and clear, two of the most important and underrated things a script should be. It is fun to watch, doesn’t take itself too seriously (unlike Aronofsky’s Black Swan, The Whale, basically his entire filmography) and thus delivers what it promises, which is also not commonly seen these days. Another winning point in the movie’s favour is the character of Hank, who is unlike the macho, testosterone-filled action movie stars we see in these movies (cue: Jason Statham). Is he an alcoholic? Yes. Is he commitment-phobic? Also yes. But he calls his mother daily, is loyal and faithful to his non-girlfriend, takes care of a foul cat. And that’s adorable, and you don’t want the goons to be after someone so adorable. You are rooting for the guy. Even the bad guys aren’t totally bad; they are in a business and are only working to solve for the stolen merchandise. Some of them will observe the traditions set by their grandmothers and follow the rules of their religion (which added a little sumnin’-sumnin’, NGL). The real bad guys are the real surprise. This is a big shift from the regular grim Aronofsky flick, and it is a pleasant surprise that he is willing to experiment (and he goes with the body anti-dismorphia with Austin Butler).

Having said so many good things about the movie, there are some things which the movie fails to deliver. The individual gangsters are mostly cliched, the chase sequences predictable, the romantic storyline adding nothing much to the whole, etc. Basically, the parts that make it a whole, while flowing into each other seamlessly, are nonetheless not surprising. There are some unbelievable points like Hank being able to run right after getting his kidney removed, being a cliched hero with a traumatic past, a die-hard sports fan making him a stereotypical American, kinda make it a bit boring too. But here’s the thing, these parts also fit together, so you need to take the good with the bad, because altogether it is quite pleasant. Will highly recommend for a Friday night chill movie session. Austin Butler has great things ahead of him for sure.

Heretic

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A worthy attempt to subvert a genre, but loses its way halfway through
https://www.latimes.com/

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
To watch or not to watch: It is a decent first watch, and has a lot of shock value, but take that away, and you have any generic thriller

2 LDS missionaries are trying to spread the word of their lord and saviour from home to home, come over to an isolated house near the end of a road. The house is occupied a Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who had previously shown interest in learning about the LDS church. Since Mormon women can’t enter a house without a female present, the sisters Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) check with Mr. Reed if he has a girl roommate. It starts raining heavily and after Mr. Reed’s confirmation that his wife, his soulmate is inside, the sisters enter Mr. Reed’s home, away from the torrential rain and a promise of pie. They discuss how religion is not the centre of culture anymore (which we witness in the initial few minutes where some young adults harass the two sisters). The three talk about how important it is to believe in a doctrine and find out through testing what one true religion is. And that is the whole premise of the devilry of Mr. Reed.

This is a clever movie, no denying that. In the typical horror movies we have seen, religion has been used as a weapon to ward off evil, be it The Exorcist, or the more recent Conjuring universe. This movie flips the trope on a tangent and raises the question – which is the correct, true, highest, purest religion? And theoretically, the road to the answer is paved with evil deeds by Mr. Reed (clever, right? *eyebrows wiggling*). And this is also the point where the movie loses its spiel. It begins as a debate on the truth taught by religion, which mostly asserts that that religion is the first religion, the one and the only. But what is first – The Landlord’s Game or Monopoly, Radiohead’s Creep or The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies or Get Free by Lana Del Ray. That is the debate, which gets lost in the rest of the movie. Or if it is present then it is only in words, not in action. Which kinda makes the whole premise lose steam.

The real pull of the movie is seeing Hugh Grant, the rom-com heartthrob who could star opposite Julia Roberts and make people wonder who is prettier of the two, as an old, wrinkled, charming man, with the signature Grant smile and the disarming look of dismay, as a conniving, heartless, sadistic misanthrope. Since this movie is essentially a three-hander chamber piece, it would have been a total dud if it wasn’t for Thatcher and East. They both have given themselves to their characters from beginning to end, and also developing themselves along the way. East being born into the church, but still curious about the world outside it and Thatcher being a convert and dedicating herself to it totally, completely. So strong is her conviction that she has converted 8-9 people through proselytising! It is interesting to see the two young women tackle their belief against a formidable opponent. But it doesn’t mean the story is strong, infallible or that its flaws can be written off as foibles. A worthy attempt in the age old genre, but needs improvement. Watch it with popcorn, but prepare to be disappointed.

Infernal Affairs

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Yes, it is as good as you have heard

https://www.netflix.com/

Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Starring: Andy Lau Tak-wah, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Eric Tsang Chi-wai
Where to watch: Netflix
To watch or not to watch: There are only a very small group of people who probably might not like this movie. Probably

Hong Kong has recently been taken over by the Chinese government after the British handed over the territory, and the police have been very strict about illegal activities. A don by the name of Sam (Eric Tsang Chi-wai) has lost a few men to the police raids. He has a clever plan to foil the police though – to place young kids with no criminal record in the police academy so he gets an inside man. The police has a similar plan – they place a smart young cadet right out of the academy in the criminal underworld (well, they make a whole show of throwing that man out of the academy so there is no suspicion. Just semantics). Now the young man is a long-term undercover policeman Chen Wing-yan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and the inside man of Sam is Inspector Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau Tak-wah). Both the opposite parties know there is a rat in their midst, which they are unable to find out, until they do (if you have seen The Departed, you know how this goes). There is a lot collateral damage along the way, which depicts the Chinese influence on Hong Kong very clearly. It is a true delight (Edmund could have chosen this movie instead of those stupid turkish delights. Just saying).

When a movie is this good, it is this exact goodness which makes it difficult to write/review/critique it, because the reaction to it is plain gushing. There are multiple layers to this movie, from the characters to the situation and the story in general. We have Yan, the undercover cop who is tired of this life and is longing to have a normal life on his morals. He is not the top honcho in the criminal group and is struggling morally, very strong in convictions, but living in sub-optimal conditions, only able to sleep on his therapist’s couch. In parallel and in contrast, there is Inspector Lau, who is sure about who he is, what he needs to do to get what he wants, comfortable in the life he is leading and has recently moved into a swanky apartment with a girlfriend (who is writing a novel about a man with multiple personalities. Cheeky, that). All this is super easy to see and conclude and is a prime example of show-don’t-tell policy. Even the casting of the movie is on point. The viewer cannot help but sympathise with Yan who elicits a “poor guy” response at every point, and Lau with the chiselled cheekbones depicts a smooth operator policeman, rising through the ranks, getting what he wants before he even asks for it. And of course, Superintendent Wong is an intelligent, worldly man who is a formidable opponent. All of the players are all about business and there is little to no drama about it.

Drama is what differentiates the American version of this movie from this one, and the potential reason why Infernal Affairs might be rated higher than The Departed. The conversation between Yan and Wong on getting out of the undercover business drips with the desperation of a lonely, conflicted man vs the similar conversation in The Departed, which is more dramatised and had a high-horse moral tone to it. Infernal Affairs doesn’t need to explain the right and wrong of the situation, since that is largely stitched into our society’s DNA. It cuts through all that, gets straight to the story, and even eliminates any action. It is pure intrigue. And for these reasons, Infernal Affairs is a must-watch!