Skeletons (2010)

*ing: Andrew Buckley, Ed Gaughan, Paprika Steen, Jason Issacs
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller

I have to confess this British comedy is one of the most unusual comedies I have ever seen. Lets alone seen it is one of the most unusual comedies ever conceived by a movie maker. Debut director and writer Nick Whitfield has really dared to cook up a screenplay this unusual and direct it. 

The film describes Bennett (Andrew Buckley) and Davis (Ed Gaughan) are into the business of quite literally uncovering skeletons from the cupboard. Yes ... you heard it and read it right :) They are gifted with some unusual talent and they use some rather amusing methods and instruments in their business of uncovering skeletons for a fee. They uncover facts which can be rather embarrassing for the people who hire them to do their jobs. Their job is not easy and has it's own challenges and it takes a lot of coordination and trust between the two men. The men discover the challenges when they decide to take up the job of a woman whose husband vanished without a trace eight years ago. The search for the missing husband leads Bennett and Davis through some psychic detours. The on-screen chemistry between Andrew Buckley and Ed Gaughan as colleagues and friends is note worthy and makes you the audience praise their work. 

Bottom-Line: If you dare to watch something different without giving much heed to how the film fared with critics or at the movie awards jury this may be the perfect watch. I am not saying this one will entertain you as much as it did entertain me ... but ... this movie is sure worth a shot and you might as well give it a try and enjoy some fine art house comedy :)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1425933/

Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/skeletons/

Girl Walks Into A Bar (2011)

*ing: Carla Gugino, Zachary Quinto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson and many more
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Adventure, Crime

Few months back I had watched Sebastian Gutierrez's 2009 film titled 'Women in Trouble' and I liked it ... although most men may pass it tagging it as a 'Chick Flick'; which in my opinion is not the case. The other day when I was scrolling the pages of Rotten Tomatoes and came across 'Girl Walks into a Bar' and when I learned this one was written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez I made it a point to watch this latest work of his and I am mighty pleased to say I was not disappointed. Mind you ... Sebastian Gutierrez is not one of those celebrated directors although his movies have fared pretty well among his followers ... I would prefer to say Gutierrez is a bit under rated. He sure comes with good stuff if 'Women in Trouble' and 'Girl Walks into a Bar' is any benchmark. In fact I would rate 'Girl Walks Into A Bar' to be a better fare than 'Women in Trouble'.

What the film is all about? A sharp no-nonsense witty comedy that takes place during the course of a night across the bars in Los Angeles. A dentist (Zachary Quinto) walks into a bar to meet a contract killer (Carla Gugino) to have his wife murdered and accidentally sets off a chain of events that progresses from one bar to another bar including strip clubs and ping pong clubs across the city. The quick witted screenplay complimented by an ensemble cast that does a good job at playing their respective characters and witty and elaborate dialogues make this film a very interesting watch. Trust me the dialogues really stand out ... some of the one-liners too ... a quote from the film "I was under the impression a bar was like a church. A place where a man can be left alone to think in peace"

Bottom-line:  Irrespective of what IMDB or Rottentomatoes has to say regarding this movie, I feel this one deserves a watch. It's quick witted and keeps you entertained enough to last through the 80 odd minutes this film spans. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682246/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/girl_walks_into_a_bar/

Mr Popper's Penguins (2011)

*ing: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll, Ophelia Lovibond, Philip Baker Hall
Genre: Comedy, Drama

The only reason why I watched this movie is Jim Carrey despite knowing the reviews were not really favoring this one very high. I was intentionally avoiding this one and finally I guess I gave in. Since I watched the film without any expectations except for some from Jim Carrey I ended up quite liking the movie. Mr. Popper's Penguins is really not that bad an affair if one likes Family Comedies. Jim Carrey's characters is more on the lines of  what he played in 'Fun with Dick and Jane'. Although I have to admit I like Jim Carrey playing the Pet Detective in Ace Ventura or the Riddler in Batman. I like him for his off beat style of making you laugh. I can't quite accept Jim playing a sober family man without all his antics ... but .. hey ... that's me ... and I am sure there are people out there who will like Jim wearing the robes of a sober family man.

Mr. Popper's Penguins is all about Jim playing Mr. Popper ... I guess no points for guessing that. Mr. Popper has been deprived the company of his father during the formative years of his life. His father has been an adventurer globe trotting seeking adventure only visiting his son on an occasional basis and bringing him gifts from faraway places and when he dies he leaves behind a Penguin as a gift for his son. What follows next is anyone's guess work. Nothing really stands out about the movie. Jim's acting is ho-hum, direction by Mark Waters is ho-hum, Carla Gugino is wasted ... over all ... the whole movie is pretty ho-hum except for some laughs Jim manages to deliver to keep you entertained. 

Bottom-Line - If you have skipped this movie till now ... you might as well skip it unless you are a fan of Jim Carrey like I am. However; if family comedies with tried and tested formulas are something that you like this might be a treat for you.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396218/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_poppers_penguins_2010/

The Visitor (2007)

*ing: Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira
Genre: Drama

I am super impressed by Richard Jenkins and Tom McCarthy. Richard Jenkins is flawless in playing a lonely professor leading a very boring mundane life until a visit to his New York apartment changes it all. Tom McCarthy has proved himself to be a director / writer of a caliber that demands respect and appreciation. 

'The Visitor' is what I call Globalization :) An American Professor Walter (Richard Jenkins) meets an immigrant African drums player Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) who is a Syrian  and a Senegalese handicraft artist Zenab (Danai Gurira) who happens to be Tarek's girl friend at his apartment. 'The Visitor' is shot post 9/11 incident and to some extent highlights the plight of immigrants in the US. Anyway, the movie is not about what happened post 9/11. The script centers on Jenkins character Walter. Walter befriends Tarek and Zenab after the two staying in his long deserted apartment and develops an interest in the young couple. Walter who always been wanting to learn to play the Piano rather unsuccessfully takes a liking to the African Drum Tarek plays in the night clubs of New York. Music brings Walter and Tarek close to each other and Walter seems to have discovered the missing ingredient in his life, his passion for Music is re-ignited. However, fate has a twist and Tarek is held up by the deportation authorities and that brings Tarek's concerned mother Mouna Khalil into the picture and life of Walter. How the screenplay progresses here on is truly a delight to watch. 

The Visitor may be slow by certain standards but it's never a dull moment. The slow, simple story manages to impress it's audience thanks to Richard Jenkins performance, the diversity of the characters around him and the gentle twists in the screenplay that transform Jenkins character on his arrival to New York. Director / Writer Tom McCarthy proves he is an excellent Indie director

Bottom-Line: 'The Visitor' impresses with it's characters, it's screenplay and the music. It's slow, simple, light and as the screenplays progresses it brews into a very interesting watch. Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass are impressive and display an amazing chemistry. Truly a movie that deserves a standing ovation. 10/10 for this one and hats off to Tom McCarthy. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857191/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008820-visitor/

Melancholia (2011)

*ing: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi

The movie starts off in super slow-motion ... and when I say super slow-motion I really mean slow-motion. The first 10 or 15 odd minutes of the film feels like watching an action replay of a sporting event. Anyway ... that actually makes it a very interesting start ... it sure did impress me. Melancholia is written and directed by Lars Von Trier, the same guy who directed Dogville.  Melancholia impressed me as much as Dogville impressed me. In fact I was prompted to watch Melancholia after I watched Dogville and now I have added all the movie directed by Lars Von Trier to my bucket list.

Melancholia is an apocalyptic drama where a rogue planet is shown entering Earth's orbit in a collision course and eventually hitting the planet Earth. However; the film narrates the tale of 2 sisters, their fate brings them together when the world as we know it is about to end. Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are sisters and having a strained relationship. The film starts off with the wedding of Justine being organized by her sister and brother-in-law John (Keifer Sutherland) and from that point on a series of events describes the two sisters and their strained relationships. Parallel to the events in the sisters lives are the cosmic events where the rogue planet and planet Earth on a collision course collide with each other. Needless to mention the two sisters perish in the end ... there ... I just blurted out the suspense ... but then ... that's not the whole point.

Despite the slow moving script Melancholia is a very interesting affair to watch. Lars Von Trier has done an awesome job and no wonder that explains why this movie got nominated for Palm d'Or at Canner and why Kirsten Dunst received the Best Actress award at Cannes. That speaks for the quality of this film.

Bottom-line: Impressive writing and direction by Lars Von Trier. Powerful performance by Kirsten Dunst. Must watch.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/
Rottentomoatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/melancholia-2008/

Into The Wild (2007)

*ing: Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Hal Holbrook, Kristen Stweart
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography

Couple of fact. I am an adventurer, not hard core pro but nonetheless an adventurer with a fair experience to boast about. I go by an alias 'Sans Toit Ni Loi' which roughly translates to Vagabond ... in other words a tramp. 'Into the Wild' is the biography of Chris McCandless a.k.a Alexander Supertramp. I could completely relate myself to Alexander Supertramp and it's a no brainer that I would end up loving the character of Alexander Supertramp ... in fact ... given a choice and a set of balls I would actually end up like Alexander Supertramp ... sigh!! that's not happen ... I am a bit too tied to the material world to easily give all this up as Alexander Supertramp did. I super super super liked the movie :)

In a nut shell, a young un graduates as a top student with near straight 'A's in his academics. However, soon after the graduation ceremony he donates all his money to a charity and burns whatever little money he has on him and sets off wandering huge expanses of USofA as a tramp eventually getting to Alaska his dream destination. I won't get into details of what happens once he reaches Alaska or how he gets there. That's for you to watch or read and find out. 

Bottom-line: Sean Penn has a done a great job as a director with his screenplay. I have not read the book, but the adaption could not have been any better than this. Cinematography is mind-blowing .... the film is a visual treat and I really mean that. I am not sure who was in in-charge of make up ... whoever he / she was ... has done a marvelous job in terms of make up, Emilie Hirsch is extremely powerful in his performances ... there is this one scene where he is shown malnourished due to starvation and you can count his ribs ... not sure if he really starved himself for weeks or was it some clever make up ... what ever be the fact Emilie Hirsch impresses you. Must must must must watch if you are anyone who can remotely relate to adventure else ... please skip this one, this ain't your game. 

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/
Rottentomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_the_wild/