R-view 140: Linha de Passe

Brazilian. From the guy who made Motorcycle Diaries. Don't know if it was deliberately made that way, it gets boring in parts, but hits you with a weird sense of belonging in a second. Wonderful performances. It's the kind of movie that begins and ends without much hype.

R-view 140: The Beat That My Heart Skipped

French. Remade from the Harvey Kietel flick 'Fingers'. Neat drama, disturbing violence, intense relationships, innocent ambitions. Life is loud, at times one beat at a time.

R-view 140: Charley Varrick

Robbery-gone-wrong-man-on-run flick. Got to know another face from the glory years of American thrillers, Walter Matthau. Fast action thriller. Read somewhere that the lead part was written for Clint Eastwood. Now that would have been a sight!

R-view 140: When You're Strange

Documentary. Strange indeed. Couldn't stop or even pause in between. Mr. Mojo Risin is tat addictive. Lotta original Doors footage.

R-view 140: Naan Mahaan Alla

Karthi sure is a treat for da eye. Without the usual tamil-hero attitude. Violent, lotta gore. Left me uneasy by the end. Climax battle reminded of Puthiya Mugham. Worth a watch for sure. Sincerely the detailing made me feel sick & scared! There's something abt the gore and violence of Tamil movies, its like, they are the best! Gore-wise. Saying all this, this is no depressing movie. Suseendran hits it right with NMA after his impressive debut Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu. Neat scripting, dialogues, jokes, cinematography and where in the world do these guys find these  evil looking villains!

R-view 140: The Karate Kid

OK now tat kid is Jaden Smith! Tatz all I needed to knw. Slick and stylish. Jackie underplaying, nice. Suits him. Hoo-hah!

R-view 140: Leaves of Grass

A neat, nice, little movie. Reminds me why I like Edward Norton so much. A bit of unexpected violence. Like.

R-view 140: Get Carter

Brit violence. Gangster. Michael Caine shud have tried his hand as James Bond in the saga sometime. Revenge in noir.

R-view 140: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Classic Hollywood. Reminded of Broadway musicals. The timing is wot I awed at. Audrey Hepburn, I love. :)

R-view 140: Kebab Connection

German. Fatih Akin scripted. Total fun movie. Brilliant in parts. OST stands out. Anno Saul*****

R-view 140: The Expendables

Rambo takes his friends to anthr one of those high body count KA-BOOM movies. Bloody action. Jason Statham*****. A sequel or trilogy to be expected! Old school action. Predictable yet thrilling. Stallone looks fit.

R-view 140: Prozac Nation

Donno, I juz love such depressing movies. Christina Ricci***** Strong language.

R-view 140: Raajneeti

My first Prakash Jha film. Im impressed since the idea of 'Plagiarism=Inspiration' has been executed well, Mahabharatha, Godfather. Some scenes (hospital) strongly 'inspired' frm Leader, the telugu movie?

R-view 140: Point Blank

Been on a John Boorman run since Deliverance. Wow. Action, style, flashbacks. Crime Noir. Reminded of 'The Getaway' by Peckinpah.

R-view : Soul Kitchen

My favorite director (yes there is a long list of them, my favorites) Mr. Fatih Akin at his first out and out comedy. And guess what, it's a winner! With his favorites in the cast including Birol Unel, the gentleman from his much acclaimed Head-On (which made me fall head-on to his fan base), Akin is back 2 years since his last feature. This time he has with him a small story featuring two brothers Zinos, a small time cook and Illias, a small time crook, and their life surrounding a run-down local restaurant called Soul Kitchen. 

The movie moves through small incidents and  a handful of weird characters who set the scene for the laugh riot. The best part of the movie other than the rib tickling scenarios is the music. Mind-blowing is the word. After the wonderful OST of Head-On and the traditional music from Crossing the Bride, one can easily guess what Fatih Akin is capable of when it comes to syncing the scenarios to music. There is hardly a scene without music in the movie, all precisely set to match the mood. Kudos to whoever has compiled the OST. Don't expect the brilliance of usual Akin movies in Soul Kitchen, this is a fun ride, a controlled one, with that feel-good tag splashed all over it.

Director: Fatih Akin

Cast: Adam Bousdoukos, Birol Unel, Moritz Bleibtreu

Favorite quote: 'Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.'

R-view 140: The Ghost Writer

Reminded of Polanski's own 'The 9th Gate', the mystery. Political thriller. Final twist was quite guessable. Right? Frankly I didn't get all that CIA stuff till I looked up at Wikipedia.

R-view 140: The Man Who Copied

Brazilian. Inspired Currency, the Malayalam movie. Rom-com-thriller. Lots of surprises. Neat animation in places.

R-view 140: Saved!

Neat movie, predictable plot. Satirical. Very very christian!

R-view : The Bridges Of Madison County

Some years back I was watching  Mystic River and I noticed 'Clint Eastwood' credited as the director. I went WTF, isn't that the guy from the wild west movies, the gun-toting, horse-riding machismo? What is he doing directing a drama? By the time I finished the movie I was awestruck with the wonders he was capable of doing as a director, a very good one at it. 

The same sensation followed with Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers and Gran Torino. And this time I started watching the movie, a drama about a house wife and her secret affair, without much expectations even though I never knew Meryl Streep could look so pretty. There was a couple of scenes where my mouse pointer almost made it to the seek bar to fast-forward but soon I got so hooked to the movie that as it ended and the titles ran up, I went awestruck again with that sensation again, just like how it felt some years back. This time it felt good. Real good. One of the best romantic dramas ever.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Annie Corley

Favorite quote: 'Love won't obey our expectations, it's mystery is pure and absolute.'

R-view 140: Pump Up The Volume

What it's all worth. What it's all about. Are you that li'l voice? Take the air. Talk hard. Must-watch for teenagers. In the genre of Breakfast Club.