Atomic Blonde (2017)

Director: David Leitch
Writers: Kurt Johnstad, Antony Johnston, Sam Hart
DOP: Jonathan Sela
Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Toby Jones

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the tail end of the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

David Leitch was a co-director and producer of John Wick. That and the hand to hand combat nature of stunts with long takes had people thinking of this film as a female version of John Wick. That won't be a correct statement because the tone of the film is entirely different as it is essentially a spy movie with some spectacular stunts in it. What is also different is that the action sequences have consequences on the body which is shown in the beginning itself with a heavily bruised Charlize Theron taking an ice-bath.  Film is based on the graphic novel with the title 'The Coldest City' and the success of Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road as Imperator Furiosa helped in getting the film made. She will now definitively go down as an action star with her set to reprise her role as Imperator Furiosa in the next installment of the Mad Max series. Atomic Blonde was also successful enough at box office to warrant a sequel/prequel.

While most people really did dig the action sequences, the plot in itself can be a little too confusing with motivations of the various characters not very clear. But I do think it was intended that way as it is essentially a spy movie involving double agents. It did remind me of Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice', in which it was impossible to figure out the plot. James McAvoy was excellent as usual and it's good that he is generous enough to take a supporting, albeit meaty enough, character. The highlight stunt piece is basically the one which moves to a marble stairway and seem like a single ten minute take, but apparently had 40 cuts. Still very impressive. Soundtrack is also pretty cool with some David Bowie tracks thrown in. He was approached for a role but had turned it down shortly before his death. Atomic Blonde works really well because it is an original film with its own identity rather than being the female version of a previously successful film.

Rating: 3.5/5

ഈട (Eeda) (2018)

Director: B. Ajithkumar
Writer: B. Ajithkumar
DOP: Pappu
Cast: Shane Nigam, Nimisha Sajayan, Alancier Ley Lopez, Sujith Shankar
Language: Malayalam

An excerpt from the Newslaundry article series on political violence and killings in Kannur:

“This place doesn’t believe in odd numbers. If one CPM guy is murdered, revenge killing of an RSS worker is not far away. It is the same the other way, as well. Peace prevails here only when the death toll is even.”

This is the backdrop to which the film is set and it is another one of those loose adaptations of Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' put in a different setting. The would be lovers meet for the first time on a hartal day, which was called after the killing of a left worker which is set to begin a cycle of violence in the form of retaliations and all that. The guy belongs to a family associated with the right (RSS, BJP) and the girl is from a family whose ideology is aligned to the left (CPIM). They don't know it till they fall in love as it more or less blooms in Mysore where they are respectively working and studying. First half of the 150 minutes long film is dedicated to that and second half is the aftermath. Everything is very realistically portrayed without taking any sides and without being preachy.

Since the current left government has come to power in Kerala, there has been a bunch of films that have came out which have largely romanticised the left. This film is not one. At the same time it doesn't vilify them the same way like 'Left, Right, Left' did in an over the top cartoonish way. It just kind of show the reality like the lack of individual and political freedom in the party gramams (villages) and the support system that the party provides for its 'Martyrs' and murderers. This is there from both sides but left being the much larger force has the responsibility to look at the root cause and address it. My limited point about the situation is that, if you promote shit like party villages where you try to have absolute power and control over, and thus eliminate the possibility of a legitimate democratic opposition, then the loony bunch from the right will naturally emerge as your only opposition. This is the course that communist left have taken wherever they have come to power and Kerala remains an exception because there is a balancing force, which is sadly quite communal in its underpinning, from rest of Kerala.

Coming back to the film, it is overall a very good watch where things are said in a subtle manner, be it love or politics. Both the lovers are given equal space and they have performed really well along with all the support characters. Manikandan is being a bit typecast quite lately though. The actor who played the non-uniformed police officer from Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum is also there as a character without any dialogue. I also liked the fact that they didn't feel the need to explicitly state who is being the snidy informer for all the attacks shown in the film even though it is quite evident. Revenge of the one-armed lottery seller, I guess. Length of the film can be problematic for some but I found it necessary. There won't be much of a re-watch element to it though. The team behind the film is Collective Phase One in which Rajeev Ravi is also a member.

Rating: 3.5/5

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writers: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green
DOP: Roger Deakins
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks

A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.

The original blade runner was notorious for its post production difficulties with the studio insisting on a narration from Harrison Ford so that audience could understand it and Ridley Scott not having total control over the cut that was released. Since then it had many cuts released including a director's cut and final cut, like the way we name our assignments. I've seen only the final cut and the ambiguity around Deckard's nature is more or less settled.

Replicants are 'human' robots built to be used as slave labour for various purposes including off-world assignments. Blade Runners are detectives/assassins who 'retires' rogue replicants. Blade Runner was a film in which the characters were struggling with existential questions and this sequel, set 30 years later, is also in similar vein. It is a film that is purely made for big screens and great sound systems and I missed out on that experience since it ran very briefly here and that too in 3-D. It is a technical marvel with gorgeous frames from Roger Deakins and a soundtrack that evokes Vangelis' work from the original. It was largely shot in practical sets, like Arrival. Almost all the characters in 2049 are replicants and the few 'human' ones behave like robots. This makes it less interesting as you end up exasperating over the fact that we have to put up with existential issues faced by robots when we already know that, as humans,  we don't have a fucking purpose anyway. It also reminds one of Matrix series in several instances and not in a good way. Audience is ahead of the protagonist in figuring out what is going on for majority of the film. I do think you have to watch Blade Runner before going for the sequel even though it can work as a standalone film.

Ultimately, it is another film that has bawled the critics over almost universally but I was slightly underwhelmed by it, like Baby Driver. I think all the big budget studio films being generally shit these days have got something to do with that and anything remotely interesting, original and adult tend to get gushed over by critics. Denis Villeneuve's big budget sci-fi films, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, have been interesting watches and technically stunning, but quite underwhelming compared to his other films. He is slated to reboot 'Dune' next. I haven't seen the one directed by David Lynch and the documentary 'Jodorowsky's Dune' is a very good watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

മായാനദി (Maayanadhi) (2017)

Director: Aashiq Abu
Writers: Syam Pushkaran, Dileesh Nair, Amal Neerad (Story)
DOP: Jayesh Mohan
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Aishwarya Lekshmi
Language: Malayalam

Mathews (Tovino Thomas) is involved with the Tamil underworld and he kills a Police Officer inadvertently while making an escape from a hotel in Kodaikanal. He flees to Kochi where he is trying to hook up back with his girlfriend from college days, Aparna (Aishwarya), a struggling actor. Tamil Nadu Police has not backed down on his case and there is a sense of doom throughout the film which adds to the whole atmosphere, which also reminded me of Wong Kar Wai films. Post-metro Kochi is indeed a beauty and it has never been this magnificent on screen. Here it certainly can compete with the Hong Kong as captured by Christopher Doyle. Driving under the pillars of Kochi metro does  remind me kindly of that famous sequence from Tarkovsky's Solaris.

Aashiq Abu is someone who has been talking a lot of the right stuff but it has never translated that well into his films. His idea of feminism so far can be summed up as the equivalent of the dick-cutting  Tessa from 22FK, which is a film everyone overrates. Except for Gangster, all his other films (haven't seen Daddy Cool) have been watchable stuff without any of them threatening to be more than just good. He has had far better success as a producer. With Maayanadhi, he has finally arrived as a filmmaker. What I found to be extremely atmospheric can be a bit slow on the pacing side for some. It is paced like a foreign film and the extremely natural sounding scripting is also similar vein (so far removed from the Eda-Poda talk from the Niram times). The politics of the film comes just right without feeling any bit tacked on. They even managed to insert 'OMKV' so seamlessly into it.

It is largely a film in which both the leads are on equal footing and both male and female gaze are employed, which is such a refreshing change. Aishwarya Lekshmi, who didn't have much to do in her debut feature, is a revelation in this role and the chemistry between the two is just spot on. Film doesn't take the easy way out at the end even though it does open up the option of it to do in a convincing manner (Stoker like). There is a significant sequence in Tamil towards the end without any subtitles and I just don't understand why they make the assumption that every Malayalee understands Tamil. I just about managed to figure out enough to knowwhat was going on. It is indeed sad that they chose to release it during the festive season where it may well get washed out. Please do catch it at the best screen possible near you because it is technically so sound and sumptuously shot.

Rating: 4.75/5

ആട് 2 (Aadu 2) (2017)

Director: Midhun Manuel Thomas
Writer: Midhun Manuel Thomas
DOP: Vishnu Narayanan
Cast: Jayasuriya, Vinayakan, Sunny Wayne, Saiju Kurup
Language: Malayalam

Aadu 2 is the much awaited sequel to 2015 commercial flop, but torrent superhit, Aadu Oru Bheekarajeeviyanu. It has such a cult following that they relented to the demands of a sequel to give us, fans of Shaji Pappan, a chance to make history right. The plethora of sequels that came out in the last decade or so in Malayalam have been with the pure intent of cashing in on the original's popularity and have been mostly duds. When the song came out of Aadu 2, I feared the worst but it turned out to be misplaced. Film works well without reaching the heights of first one and is a laugh riot throughout.

Most of the characters and their awesome BGM intros are retained in the film with addition of few other characters. Film is largely focused on Shaji Pappan, DUDE and their respective gangs. A recurring feature in the first one was the hero to zero transformation of all of its characters after their mass introductions and that is something they cannot rely entirely on this time round. So the nature of jokes is slightly different with it being much more straight forward. That should help its box office but there was more charm to the first one which kept on getting better and better on rewatches. There was also this languidly enjoyable pacing for the first one while for this one, you feel too many things are being crammed. I guess the difference is the episodic nature of first one while there is more jumping to and fro between the various characters in the sequel. Midhun had once cited that this episodic nature might have been putting off the audience.

Another major difference is the nature of main villains. First one really didn't have any while there are some in this one and it didn't work that well for me along with the mass climax fight scene, which the audience lapped up anyway. At two and half hours, it is around 20 minutes longer than it should be and they could've easily shaved off that god-awful item song from it. All said, it is still a very good watch with some great clean comedy. It helps that the people who are watching it already have seen Aadu and know what is coming. Limited release of just 100 screens is adding to the atmosphere with heavy rush everywhere. I did miss many dialogues due to the hysteria and didn't hear any of the Shaji Pappan intro BGM due to crowd noise. Will certainly be catching it again.

Rating: 3.5/5

Green Room (2015)

Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writer: Jeremy Saulnier
DOP: Sean Porter
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart

A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a Neo-Nazi skinhead bar, which is quite secluded. They're trapped in the Green Room with a bunch of skinheads headed by their leader, Darcy played by Patrick Stewart, waiting outside to deal with them.

What prolongs the situation is that Darcy does not want any more people becoming aware of the murder and they initially try to lure the band out of the Green Room. Saulnier had called it the third film in his 'Inept protagonist' trilogy or 'Clusterfuck trilogy'. I have seen the second one, pretty well received 'Blue Ruin', which I found to be pretty good but little overrated. Not sure if I will find it better if I re-watch it now. The ineptness of the band members in dealing with the situation comes out well and that is quite realistic. Compared to them, the neo-nazis are pretty regimented and tactical. They're not portrayed as super smart super villains. Horror films are so associated with the supernatural these days that it was quite refreshing to see one that is purely situational. I didn't think of it much as a horror film while watching it but it is definitely aimed as a deliberate effort to subvert the genre clichés. There is even one instance where they think out loud that they should split up.

This is the second film I've seen recently where the protagonist/s are making dumb decisions one after the other. But Connie from Good Times gave us the impression that he is quite smart by making those decisions super quick with full conviction. In Green Room, we're aware that the decisions are dumb even as they make them. Overall, it is a very good watch if you can stomach the gore.

Rating: 3.5/5

mother! (2017)

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Darren Aronofsky
DOP: Matthew Libatique
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

He (Javier Bardem), the poet, of the relationship, is considerably older than the would-be mother (Jennifer Lawrence). Even before the guests arrive we know that he is facing a writer's block and she is kind of insecure about her place in the relationship. They are renovating the place after it burned down years ago supposedly during his childhood. First half of the film plays up  this aspect of the relationship and since I finished the film in two sittings there seemed to be a big tonal shift during the second half where it goes full into biblical metaphors. I am not explaining it since the enjoyment element of the film is piecing together who is who and what is what. Even if one has only a cursory knowledge of Bible, it shouldn't be that difficult. This is another way to do it as his previous film, Noah, was shouting about it with its title itself.

Overall, I liked it a lot and is probably his best film till date. I have liked all his films, even Noah, but don't feel any compulsion to see them again as all of them are a bit difficult to watch, to say the least. I have grown to hate Jennifer Lawrence over the years and it is only appropriate that she is an irritating character in this. Camera is quite unrelenting as it  spends large parts of the film either over her shoulders or taking close-ups of her face and it is a very good performance from her. You will feel that Aronofsky is hammering your head with a sledgehammer with all the metaphors but I did enjoy it. It is also like an ode to Polanski's filmography as you will be reminded of films like Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and even Carnage. One of the posters  is also an homage to Rosemary's Baby. One film of Aronofsky's  that I would like to revisit is 'The Fountain' as I have seen only the Indian TV version of it.

Rating: 4.25/5