Movie Review: “Omerta”

There are certain movies where the lead actor pretty much carries the entire movie. One of them was definitely the Hansal Mehta directed Rajkumar Rao starrer “Shahid”. The director-actor duo has now added another movie to this list. “Omerta” is all about it’s leading man, and once again, Rajkumar Rao is brilliant.

“Omerta” is an attempt to delve into the mind of terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, the notorious Pakistan based terrorist, and follows a non-linear structure focusing on his ‘formative’ years where he becomes a fundamentalist, the 1994 kidnappings of foreigners in India which led to his release, and the plot to kidnap journalist Daniel Pearl, which eventually leads to his death.

Hansal Mehta is a capable director, and “Omerta” is yet another feather in his cap. Mehta is able to capture a sombre mood filled with dread and doesn’t need to resort to any frills to create the right atmosphere. The best scenes are the ones where Omar Saeed Sheikh plots his activities and befriends his targets – it is shot very well and the sinister intentions behind the disarming smile and nonchalant nature are always lurking in the background. I also have to mention the scene where Daniel Pearl is killed, which is so brutal despite the main events transpiring offscreen. Definitely not for the faint hearted. The movie is a chilling portrayal of a terrorist and his methods, and Mehta is able to fill the audience with a sense of awe and disgust at the same time. Like the protagonist (or should I say ‘antagonist’?), the movie is structured in a no-nonsense way, with quick cuts and slick editing. Also, I was surprised that the story is written by actor Mukul Dev – and it is definitely well written. 

In front of the camera, this is Rajkumar Rao’s show all the way. He is present in almost every scene in the movie, and it is probably the biggest plus of the movie. Barring his jarring accent which you can look past after a point, the performance is flawless. Rao portrays Omar Saeed Sheikh as a cold, calculated and ruthless mastermind, who is single-mindedly dedicated to his cause. He evokes no sympathy for the character obviously, but you can’t help being drawn into the performance.

“Omerta” is definitely not an easy watch, neither is it without its flaws. But it is a gripping watch if you can stomach it, and benefits from a director who is hitting the right notes and an actor who is at the top of his game. Recommended if you like the genre.

Movie Review: Avengers: Infinity War

It’s finally here – the internet memes notwithstanding, arguably the most ambitious crossover in movie history has finally come as a culmination of something that has come over eighteen movies. And “Avengers: Infinity War” really manages to carry the gravitas that a movie of this magnitude should have. Full credit to the Russo brothers, and the entire team – this is no mean feat.

Needless to say, you need to be fully caught up on the previous movies, as “Infinity War” wastes virtually none of its long runtime on recapping what happened. I would suggest watching one of the many videos available online which summarizes what has happened in the other movies. From a plot point of view, there is not much to tell without giving away too much. After teasing his arrival over ten years, Thanos is finally here – and he wants to wipe out half the universe by getting the six infinity stones. Our entire set of heroes have to overcome their differences and join to stop him from getting the stones. I’m not going to reveal anything else, but let’s just say that a lot happens and there is enough to surprise and shock everyone.

“Avengers: Infinity War” is a good showcase of what the Marvel movies have been getting right. Despite the long runtime, the plot is focused and none of the two and a half hours of running time is wasted. Despite the separate plot threads and the huge ensemble, the Russo brothers are able to bring all of them together and though certain characters invariably don’t get the screen time they deserve, everything is in service of the story and nothing feels pointless or gratuitous. Even though it can seem an overload and there is a lot to process, both in terms of plot and action, it works in a way that has become characteristic of this cinematic universe.

There are a lot of positives here. Josh Brolin’s performance as Thanos is probably the biggest one. Thanos is surprisingly a well sketched out character; and has a lot of emotional moments as well – unlike the generic villains we have seen in many of the movies. All the other actors slip back into their own roles without missing a beat. You cannot help but feel emotionally invested in the proceedings. The humour and interactions between the heroes, many of whom are meeting each other for the first time, is brilliantly written and acted and provide some of the best moments of the movie. Despite all this though, the tone is noticeably darker and has a sense of doom about it, something that is apt and plays a big part in giving Thanos the impression of being the formidable force that seems almost impossible to challenge. The visual effects, the screenplay, the amazing action sequences – all of them are top notch. The major issue here would be the runtime, and the fact that some characters seem to be short-changed, but that was expected.

So, should you watch it? Well, heck yeah! This is definitely the movie event of the year, and absolutely needs to be seen on the big screen. So, assemble your team and enjoy the ride!

Movie Review: “A Quiet Place”

“A Quiet Place” is one of those refreshingly original movies that shows that you don’t need a mammoth budget to make an effective movie. A smart and tense screenplay, a terrific cast and absolutely brilliant direction by actor-director (and co-writer) John Krasinski make for one of the standout movies of the year so far.

The plot is fairly simple – a family is trying to survive in a world that has been invaded by creatures that use sound as the means for hunting their prey. The family is able to adapt using sign language to communicate, staying really quiet and generally using their smarts to stay away from the creatures. Krasinski uses the silence as a powerful tool to evoke tension and fear, and there were many scenes where I was holding by breath and trying not to make a sound (I was very lucky to be in a screening where the members of the audience were also equally engrossed and there were no instances of phones ringing and people generally being inconsiderate). In fact, the movie was such an immersive experience for me that even after the credits rolled, and even as I am writing this review, I feel like keeping the noise to a minimum so that I don’t lose the feel of the movie. There is very limited dialogue in the movie, and it almost comes as a relief in the proceedings where everyone tries not to make a sound. It was such an effective tool, I felt the creatures in the movie were the least scary thing.

The screenplay is top-notch. It is a good thing that there is hardly any exposition, and audiences are filled in through newspaper clippings and notes on boards, as well as character experiences. The underlying themes of parenthood and protecting your family give it the emotional heft that makes you invest in the characters. The stakes are established very early, and it’s great how they show that actions have consequences, no matter what the intention or motivation.

The characters are very well written, and the actors do them complete justice. The child actors are great, and Millicent Simmonds is exceptional as the deaf daughter who is going through so much internal turmoil. Emily Blunt is fantastic and has some of the best moments, which she completely steals – she really makes you feel her character’s dread. And John Krasinski is very good as the father who will do anything to protect his family.

Krasinski’s direction is the movie’s revelation and its biggest highlight – it takes great skill to keep the audience continually engaged and on the edge of their seats, and Krasinski doesn’t rely on too many jump scares to get the frights either. The constant elevation of tension is achieved mostly in scenes where characters are waiting; and being very careful about the sounds they make. The camerawork, the lighting, the silence and the overall atmospherics are absolutely perfect and Krasinski achieves everything that is required. I hope he does more directing soon and am very excited to see what he comes up with.

To sum up, it’s a great movie with really immersive storytelling and one of those rare gems where everything comes together to give you what feels like a complete package (something that is actually very rare) – two thumbs up and a strong recommendation to watch it!

"The Shape of Water" movie review

“The Shape of Water” by Guillermo del Toro is a fantasy tale which touches upon themes like acceptance of those that are not like us, compassion winning over cruelty – themes that seem particularly relevant today. I can see why it was so loved by the critics and the awards shows. However, I found the entire experience quite underwhelming.

The movie’s protagonist is Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute woman who works as a cleaner in a government laboratory in Baltimore. Her friends include her closeted next-door neighbour Giles (Richard Jenkins) and her co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer). When the lab gets an amphibian creature which has been captured by the cruel Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), Elisa forms a bond with the creature. How their relationship develops and the lengths that Elisa will go to in order protect the creature is the main focus of the movie.

The movie hits all the standard tropes but works best when the subtle touches come into play. The visuals are beautiful and it is great to see Guillermo del Toro’s imagination come alive. The movie is a cinematic triumph and uses the medium of cinema very well. The performances are also good throughout.

The issue I had with the movie is that for a fantasy movie, it felt very much by the numbers. Especially with Michael Shannon’s character, he is so purely evil and has no redeeming qualities – it is to Shannon’s credit that his performance is able to bring some humanity to the role. It is set in the cold war and is a period drama so it feels old and dated – unfortunately I also got the same feeling for the movie in general. The ode to the movies and the luxurious pace has a feeling of indulgence, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. The biggest problem for me was that the movie lacked freshness, which made it a bit boring for me. Granted it is a romance and fantasy, but the treatment could have been more engaging.

All in all, I felt I could have given “The Shape of Water” a pass. As I mentioned, I understand why the movie is such a darling with the critics – but as an audience it felt a lot more “meh”.

"Black Panther" movie review

Marvel continues its successful run of solo superhero movies that work on their own, and at the same time gels well with the larger MCEU. A big reason for this is that they select writers and directors who lend their own distinctive touch to the stories. And with Ryan Coogler, Marvel has once again made a brilliant choice – he has made Black Panther with a distinctive voice and has probably helped usher in a new era in superhero movies.

Black Panther picks up after the events of Captain America: Civil War – following the death of his father King T’Chaka, Black Panther T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) inherits the throne of Wakanda and assembles his trusted team including his bodyguard Okoye (Danai Gurira), his sister and agent Q Shuri (Letitia Wright), his confidant W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) and former lover Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o). Things get serious when T’Challa tries to capture Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) who is working with Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), who seems to have a connection with T’Challa that threatens to bring up stuff from the past.

The biggest strength of Black Panther is that the movie hits pretty much all the right notes. Each character is well defined, especially the supporting characters – the female characters in particular are so great, it is so refreshing. Wakanda, the new world in the ever expanding MCEU, is beautifully rendered. The movie is visually stunning, with excellent action set pieces and the cool stuff like the new technologies, etc. are a lot of fun. The performances are all rock solid – it is a great ensemble cast that delivers, irrespective of the screen time. The soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar is just perfect. And of course, with Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, Marvel has tackled their villain problem – Killmonger is not a generic villain with a generic motivation. It is a rich, nuanced character with a good backstory and motivations that make you question right and wrong – and of course the performance is one of the biggest highlights of the movie.

On the flip side though, I felt the movie could have been longer – not the worst problem to have. There could have been more backstory to the characters, especially Killmonger. And with the supporting characters, a lot of them seem to overshadow Black Panther – despite Chadwick Boseman’s screen presence. The final act also gets a bit cliched, especially with Martin Freeman’s bit.

But these are minor squabbles in what is a memorable movie. And it is an extremely important movie for a variety of reasons – the diversity angle in particular, especially given its timing. Ryan Coogler has made a movie that is entertaining, thought provoking and just so woke – you can’t help but ignore it. The movie deserves the success it is getting, and I hope it goes on to mint a lot more at the box office.

"Padmaavat" Movie Review

The only reason I went to watch “Padmaavat” in the theatre was that curiosity got the better of me. And, as it often happens in such cases, I came out disappointed – I should have waited for the movie to stream, or better still, avoided it altogether. While there is no denying that the movie is visually great and has all the grandeur of that era captured in a way that can only be called ‘cinematic’, the overall experience feels hollow and empty – mostly because the focus is more on style over substance. (To be clear, I am considering the movie as a pure work of fiction – the makers have gone to great lengths to put it out there – and am not putting any emphasis on things like historical accuracy.)

“Padmaavat” tells a pretty simple story about a war fought for want of a woman – Sultan Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) wages war against the Chittor ruler Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) in his single-minded obsession to attain the famed Rani Padmaavati (Deepika Padukone). Basically, a spoilt brat with a sense of entitlement wants something he can’t have, and goes to great lengths to get it. The fact that this story is told over a 163-minute runtime should tell you something. You would hope that some of the screenplay would focus on things like politics of the era/region, war strategies, etc. Surprisingly, there is not even a lot of time spent on the relationship between Rani Padmaavati and Maharawal Ratan Singh. Their romance before their marriage is literally over in four or five scenes (maybe five lines of dialogue)! The screenplay felt aimless and haphazard, and funnily, the movie loses steam especially after Alauddin decided to wage war against Chittor – exactly when the setup is over and the main storyline kicks in. Again, the attempt to beef up (strictly as an expression, don’t want to offend anyone) a pretty straight forward story with anything is clearly evident here – so we have lots of screentime spent on Diwali and Holi celebrations while the enemy is twiddling their thumbs in the name of a siege. Even the climactic battle between Alauddin and Maharawal Ratan Singh, a-la the Hector-Achilles battle in Troy, is shown very briefly and barely holds one’s interest. The possibility of the battle sequences held promise, but hardly anything materializes. Though, to be fair, the movie was meant to focus on the heroine’s portion of the story, which gets a whole 5 to 10 minutes in the end – really not sure what they were trying to do here.

The movie is a visual spectacle and every frame is a painting here – no overstatement. It is clear that Sanjay Leela Bhansali has an eye for spectacle and grandeur, and every shot is beautiful. The music by him is also pretty good. That being said, the direction is heavy handed – the characters aren’t fleshed out, and end up being not much more than cardboard cutouts and caricaturish presentations of historical figures. The screenplay is the movie’s biggest flaw, and the editing comes in a close second. The dialogues have the nuance and subtlety of a sledgehammer. The CGI is decent at times, bad at others.

In the acting department, the weakest link is, surprisingly, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh. It doesn’t help that the character is the most underdeveloped. He seems ill-at-ease and it’s just a lot of posing in the name of being regal. Deepika Padukone in the (formerly titular) role of Rani Padmaavati is good, but again surprisingly, there is not much by way of character development and, barring the climax, too much to do. The highlight of the movie is Ranveer Singh by far, who embraces the evilness of probably the only fully defined role. His interpretation works well with the extravagant nature of the film, and he balances the humanity (or lack thereof) of the character with the exaggerated antics he is required to portray. He creates a memorable character, often despite what he is working with.

On the whole, I have to say that the movie felt like a pointless affair. Even discounting the controversy surrounding the movie and all the brouhaha, this feels like an exercise in futility.

"Aadhi" Movie Review

“Aadhi”, Pranav Mohanlal’s debut movie as an adult, is tailor made to showcase his skills in parkour, music, and of course, acting.  And while the movie is far from perfect, director Jeethu Joseph delivers a fun ride that pretty much achieves everything it sets out to do.

The plot is fairly simple – Aadhithya Mohan (or Aadhi, as he is affectionately called) is an aspiring music director who is unable to catch a break. While performing in a club in Bengaluru, he is involved in the accidental death of a wealthy banker’s son. Now Aadhi is being hunted around Bengaluru for something he hasn’t done, and he must try to survive and prove his innocence. The screenplay and direction do a good job in not complicating the storyline, and there are ample scenes to showcase Pranav’s acting skills as well as his action abilities.

The direction by Jeethu Joseph is good, but not without flaws. He is able to bring out the best in the young actor, and does a good job in highlighting his skills. The chase scenes in particular, where Aadhi must use his parkour skills to elude capture, are choreographed and shot very well – special mention to the stunt coordinators who have done an amazing job (the end credits montage showing the behind-the-scenes moments are reminiscent of Jackie Chan movies, and shows the dedication of both the actor and the crew). The support cast is also pretty good, with the ever-reliable Siddique being the highlight for me as Aadhi’s loving father.

On the negatives, the film could have done with some tighter editing – not every single decision needs to be explained, and making the film crisper would have definitely added some more tension. Tension building, apart from the chase sequences, is something that is lacking here in general – even scenes where ideally the audience should be at the edge of their seats end up lacking. Even in the camerawork and direction, there are too many close ups to showcase his acting chops and similarities between Pranav and his superstar father which aren’t really necessary, and even make some of the scenes seem shoddy in its execution. The background music could have been better too. The deliberate praise of certain movie songs and actors seem too much on the nose and stick out like sore thumbs.

The star of the movie is, needless to say, Pranav Mohanlal. The young actor has a good screen presence, and though he may seem raw in certain scenes, the potential cannot be denied. He makes full use of what is given to him, and it’s clear that he is confident and capable. Would definitely be interested to see what his future holds – I’m sure that if he makes intelligent choices, he is surely someone to watch.

All things considered, the movie is definitely enjoyable. There is enough to keep the audience engaged and entertained, and at the end of the day, the team has successfully made a good movie which is a good launch vehicle for its young lead. Worth a watch!