Tag Archives: Hollywood

The Affair by Lee Child

This is the latest (sixteenth) Jack Reacher thriller from Lee Child. The first 15 books are in a chronological order. However, The Affair goes back to the beginning and attempts to explain some of the back story of Jack Reacher going back to his army days. This book is set in 1997, Jack Reacher is an MP in the army asked to investigate the murder of a young woman in a one-horse town in Mississippi.

The preliminary evidence points to an officer with top-connections in the Senate. The army is primarily concerned that he is found innocent. Jack Reacher though is in search of the truth and justice, never mind whether the culprit is from the army or a civilian.

With the help of a beautiful Sheriff, Jack Reacher slowly (or rather very quickly) unravels the threads of the mystery to find the killer.

My Review:

I have so far been pretty ambivalent about Jack Reacher. I have read a couple of books and while I found them decent, they were really not my cup of tea. Jack Reacher was a bit too much of a tough guy and I didn’t really understand his motivations.

Well, the issue of his motivations was solved with the reading of this book, which although the latest in the series can be read as a standalone, or the start of the series.

So, did I like the book?

I liked the tension of the novel, the setting of the place and the characters. The pacing of the book is good too. However, I did feel let down by the mystery. You know those mysteries where you have the most obvious person, and you think, nah, that’s too obvious, it must be someone else. And then it turns out, the obvious person is the culprit. If the obvious villain’s motivations are not explained away properly, you are left with a sense of disappointment. And that was how it was with me.

Although there was a red herring that was present throughout the book, it didn’t work well enough in my opinion, and a lot of inconsistencies were never explained away finally.

Still, the beginning and middle sections of the book are very entertaining, so I ended up enjoying the book overall.

And now I come to the Tom Cruise disaster…again and again, Jack Reacher’s size is mentioned in the book. He is supposed to be 6’5 and about 250 pounds. And here, the pint-sized Tom Cruise is playing Reacher in his upcoming movie – Jack Reacher. I think that just blows. In my head, someone like Vin Diesel seems right (at least he looks tough and like an ex-army man). How about maybe Jason Statham? Or Sean Bean? I would watch if it was Statham . Don’t know about the Brit accent though.

I looked for the trailer on youtube, and here it is:

In the fight sequences, you can clearly make out he is smaller than the bad guys.

Oh, well, that’s Hollywood…maybe he will be good after all. He is a good actor, but I don’t see the scope for any kind of acting in this movie at all. It will be an out and out action movie, I am sure. So, why is Tom Cruise even interested?

I am not too invested in Reacher’s character to mind so much, but I know there are tons of fans out there. What do you think? Do you think Cruise is going to do justice to the role? Are you looking forward to the movie? Who do you think should play the role of Jack Reacher?

Thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book for review.

Movies I Watched Over the Weekend

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L.A Confidential Movie Poster

I saw L.A Confidential the first time when it released, and I enjoyed it very much, but really all memory for this movie was drowned when I saw Titanic a week or so later. If you asked me anything about this movie, the only thing I would have remembered is the call girl angle, nothing else…not even Russell Crowe.

I remedied that injustice when I saw the movie again last week, and I was totally blown away by the movie. I think I am now older enough to appreciate the technical skills behind the movie – the awesome dialogues, the tight script, the scene and character setting, everything…

To summarize the movie, I use the narrator’s voice-over that happens at the beginning of the movie:

Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, … there are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside the house a happy, all American family. You can have all this, and who knows, you can even be discovered – become a movie star or at least, a singer. Life is good in Los Angeles: it’s paradise on earth. (Laughs sarcastically) That’s what they tell ya’, anyway, ’cause they’re selling an image. They’re selling it through movies, radio, and television.

What a line to draw in a viewer, and when narrated by Danny DeVito…it was simply awesome. The movie simply takes off from there. It’s a story of 3 totally different types of cops (played by Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pierce), and how they all investigate a mass killing that takes place in a diner. These 3 cops don’t like or trust each other; departmental politics also hinder the investigation, but they manage overcome all these issues and work together to find out the killer.

Officer Bud White (Russel Crowe) is the old-fashioned brutal police officer who hands out his own brand of rough justice, but he has a soft spot for women in distress. Ed Exley (Guy Pierce) is strait laced, a by the book kind of cop, and a bit of a political animal, and Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) is the larger than life cop who is totally in it for the money and the kickbacks. I loved the way all the 3 characters were written and acted out. Brilliant under-stated acting!

Apart from these 3, there are sundry other characters – the most notable being Kim Basinger as a Veronica Lake lookalike call girl. Don’t be fooled by the movie poster, she is not the main character, but she does have a decent-sized role, and plays it well. She won an Academy Award for this role, though, and I don’t think she deserved it…her acting was not all thaaat great.

The story is based in LA in the 1950s and the setting and the language (they spoke in a different way back then) is perfect. Even the costumes are hot. In fact, this is one good-looking movie . And since, it’s got a lot of substance as well, I spent an enjoyable 2/2.5 hours just savouring all the gorgeousness, the awesome dialogues, and the kick-ass plot. A must-see.

Note: This movie is based on the book L.A Confidential by James Ellroy, and I have heard that the plot adheres to the book quite closely. This makes me really want to try out this novel, and other novels written by Ellroy. Has anyone read this book? How does it compare to the movie?

On the other hand, another movie I recently saw was such a disappointing wash-out. This was De Dana Dhan – a Bollywood comedy starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Shetty, Neha Dhupia, and tons of other supporting characters.

De Dana Dan

Here’s the synopsis from IMDB

Singapore-based Nitin Bankar’s education was paid for by his employer, Kuljeet Kaur, and he, after the passing of his father, works as an unpaid maid-chauffeur for her until such time he pays off whatever she had spent. He is in love with gorgeous Anjali Kakkad but her father refuses to give his consent for this alliance. Desperate to get out of this situation, Nitin attempts suicide, albeit in vain, and then cooks up a scheme to abduct Kuljeet’s pet dog, Mulchand, demand a hefty ransom, and then marry Anjali. He seeks help from his equally deadbeat friend-courier deliveryman, Ram Mishra, who wants to wed tall and pretty Manpreet Oberoi, and both book a room in Pan Pacific Hotel. However, Murphy’s Law and a host of assorted characters get involved – resulting in hilarious and uncontrollable chaos.

The movie was just terrible. It starts off very blah. The comedy improves somewhat after the introduction of the supporting characters and the comedy of error scenarios in the hotel were somewhat funny. I say somewhat because well, comedy of errors/mistaken identity is such a stale comedic plot-line. It’s been around from Shakespearean times, and it’s entertaining only if there is a fresh take on it, or extremely talented star cast. All these actors have played variations of this comedy in umpteen movies before, and the staleness kinda shows. Nothing new or unexpected in the plot-line at all, and the huge star-cast kind of takes away from the main story. Wait, maybe that was the intention….there was no story after all.

Still, it did help me kill a couple of lazy hours on the weekend. Recommended only if you are on the lookout for brainless comedy – and even then there are tons better options out there.

War of the Worlds – Book vs Movie

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Movie Poster

Yesterday, I watched War of the Worlds, the Steven Spielberg directed, Tom Cruise starring movie based on H.G.Wells excellent sci-fi thriller.

The book was one of my favorites – a chilling story of a Martian attack on a small town in England and how a man fights his way through the carnage to get back to his wife.

The movie, of course is Hollywoodized and Americanized. The setting changes from London suburbs to Boston and its suburbs. Tom Cruise plays the hero – a divorced dad who neglects his children shamefully. On a weekend when he has custody of his children, the aliens attack and they are forced to flee their small town, making their way towards Boston where the children can be reunited with their mother. The movie setting is also contemporary, and not in the early 20th century when Wells wrote this book.

So how does the movie fare in relation to the book?

Well, the book does diverge quite a bit in the actual telling of the story – the addition of Cruise’s children, his troubled, distrustful relationship with them are additions to the movie. But these additions work. They add some depth to Cruise’s character. However, the change in the time period does not work so well.

We are expected to believe that these aliens have been planning the invasion for millions of years, and have buried their machines deep into the ground, so they can be activated for the time the invasion is planned. But, in these days of underground trains, and sewers, it’s rather unbelieveable that machines hidden in the ground would have remained undetected by humans for so long, right?

But, if you ignore the ludicrousness of this aspect, and also the silly appearance of the aliens (they looked like giant octopuses – only with three legs), you can enjoy this movie. At least, I did!

From the few reviews I read on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that not many people liked the movie – and most especially hated the ending.

But, to me the movie ending was just perfect. It stays true to the book; there are no over-the-top scenes of Tom Cruise battling the aliens and saving the world – I was terrified that would be the case. Thankfully not. In this movie, Tom Cruise is not at all interested in fighting the aliens; all he wants to do is survive each day, and somehow bring his children back into safety to their mother’s arms. I really loved the non-heroic aspect of it.

Tom Cruise very sensibly fleeing from the aliens

One thing I would have loved is if Tom Cruise had put a muzzle on his annoying daughter (played by Dakota Fanning) who keeps screaming, and behaving erratically at all the wrong times. I really felt for that poor man having to carry his (quite a big girl) daughter while fleeing from the aliens!

And it’s a Steven Spielberg movie – so you are literally in the hands of a master when it comes to action, and special effects – especially when it comes to alien monsters . I also love that he retained one of my favorite lines in the book -

This isn’t a war…It never was a war, any more then there’s a war between men and ants

All in all – this movie surpassed my rather low expectations as I am always dubious about Hollywood remakes of books I love.

How about you guys? Anyone read the book and watched the movie? How did you like it? I do think this movie is better appreciated when you have read the book.

The A-Team – A Movie Review

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Movie Poster

Watched The A-Team in the cinema yesterday, and totally amazed at the nonsense that is coming out of Hollywood these days. In our desi (Indian) slang, we all unanimously categorized it as “bundle” aka nonsense. But, it was fairly enjoyable nonsense nonetheless.

The movie is apparently based on a TV series of the same name and has a huge list of big-name stars. Think Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel…they are all there. I haven’t seen the TV series, so I cannot compare them here, but the movie was enjoyable, if a bit forgettable.

The Story:

Directed by Joe Carnahan, the story follows a group of Army Rangers, Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson), Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Baracus (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) and Murdock (Sharlto Copley) who form the A-team. The movie opens in Mexico, where some of the Rangers are on a rescue mission with total fun action sequences.

Fast forward 8 years and 80 missions later, the same group is approached by CIA agent Lynch (Patrick Wilson) with a special mission to retrieve stolen U.S. currency plates and a huge amount of counterfeit currency from Baghdad. The mission goes haywire and the team is accused of war crimes and are stripped of their titles in an extremely over-the-top melodramatic style that had all of us rolling with laughter.

They are also imprisoned. After 6 months in prison, Agent Lynch again contacts them and offers to help them escape from prison if they are able to bring the actual culprits to book. The second round of adventures begin with absolutely mind-blowing action sequences (and also some mind-numbing dialogues).

So does the movie work?

Well, it does…sort of…in parts. The casting is a bit odd in my opinion. I am used to seeing Liam Neeson in more serious roles, and in this movie, he is not thaat convincing mouthing some really inane one-liners? Here’s an example of a supposedly smart-aleck line that he mouthes a number of times in the movie:

No matter how random things may appear, there’s still a plan…kid

Bradley Cooper is in his element here, probably the best thing in the movie. He performs well, and looks super-hot while doing so. I loved him in The Hangover and I love him here too. Btw, do you think he bears a faint resemblance to Hrithik Roshan (our Bollywood superhero)? I thought the two resemble quite a bit…

Bradley Cooper

Hrithik Roshan

Quinton Jackson is solid and has some funny scenes. Sharlto Copley is brilliant as the insane but genius pilot Murdock. Jessica Biel is Captain Charisa Sosa and Bradley Cooper’s ex-girlfriend. She’s incredibly hot with an amazing body, but her performance is beyond bland. Plus, she was incredibly insulting to Bradley Cooper, so all of us girls completely turned against her .

In my synopsis of the movie, I have emphasized the action scenes, and they are truly the strength of the movie. Don’t go looking for any serious war story, or drama…just sit back and enjoy the ride. The action is interspersed with a good dose of humor, and we all enjoyed a few laughs.

Some scenes were a bit far-fetched though especially the scene where the A-team attempts to “fly” a tank. Yes, I meant flying a tank! If you still don’t believe, take a look-see here:

Now, you understand why we called this movie a bundle

Finding Neverland – A Movie Review

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I think I am in a very strange mood these days. I have been watching too many sappy movies and reading too many sappy books; and shedding so many tears that Mr.K has been left scratching his head whether it is something he has done…

I did not mean to, I swear! Cross my heart! I blame it all on the gloomy weather.

On Children’s Day (Nov 14 in India, now you know how long I have been sitting on this post!), I was flipping through the channels looking for a nice children’s movie that I could watch with my daughter when I came across Finding Neverland.

What I knew about this movie was sketchy at best. I knew it was about Peter Pan (so it should be fun for kids), and it stars Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, so great eye candy for adults also

The story turned out not to be so much about Peter Pan, but about the author of the Peter Pan books. JM Barrie (Johny Depp) is a playwright whose latest play has flopped badly. While searching for inspiration, he comes across 3 boys playing in a park and their young recently-widowed mother (Kate Winslet).

Despite the disapproval of her mother and the resentment of his wife, he pays Kate Winslet and her boys frequent visits. They all spend many a happy day engaging the boys in tricks, disguises, games and sheer mischief, creating play-worlds of castles and kings, cowboys and Indians, pirates and castaways. He transforms hillsides into galleon ships, sticks into mighty swords, kites into enchanted fairies and the boys into “The Lost Boys of Neverland.”

From his interaction with these children (particularly Peter), a sweet and solemn boy who is feeling particularly terrible about his father’s death, he gets the inspiration for creating Peter Pan – a play and ultimately a book.

Their friendship bordering on love ruins his marriage and makes a bit of a scandal within their society. But, neither of them care – because she is suffering from consumption and could die any day.

The story finally ends with him staging his “Peter Pan” play, which becomes a huge success, and she dying of consumption. He then takes on the guardianship of the three boys.

How enjoyable is this movie?

Well, I must say that the first half is really enjoyable indeed. I loved the relationship between Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, and her children. The relationship looked very real, nothing forced about it. The second half of the movie changes tone, as Kate’s illness is discovered and her health deteriorates very quickly. The end of the movie is very touching and satisfying.

I do think that this is not a children’s movie. It is about children but I would say, not for children (or at least very small children). It is always something scary to watch a movie where children lose both their parents in quick succession.

I liked the movie at the time I saw it. It is very sweet and sentimental. I loved both Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet’s performances. The movie is beautifully shot; the countryside shots look fresh and green, and Kate Winslet looks amazingly beautiful yet simple.

Here are a couple of nice images:

Don't they look good as a pair?

A collage of images

But, then I went online to check how much of the story is true. And as it turned out, not much. Hollywood has conveniently turned Kate’s character into a widow, when in actuality her husband was alive and well at that time. In addition, their relationship spanned a number of years, not the way it was portrayed in the film.

And that disappointed me quite a bit. The actual story seemed to be so much more complex and interesting; that this tame Disneyfied version of events no longer looked as appealing. It seemed more like a calculated movie that was trying to target all audiences rather than a movie made with heart.

Such a shame, this is a good movie, but there was a possibility of a much more interesting movie that was never actualized on screen.

Still worth a watch though.