Big Bad Wolves (2013) - Thriller

When Quentin Tarantino called it the best film of the year 2013 – what were our options? As being hardcore QT Fan – I had to see this (And love it too). Half an hour into the movie and I exactly knew why he liked and praised it. It had those typical QT moments all over the movies narrative with superb humor, thrill, action and suspense in right quantities. A very simple story of a girl getting abducted and killed – her headless body is recovered; the three main characters are looking for the culprit as well as the lost head of the little girl. What goes on while the search is on – how they get to a suspect and precede ahead makes up for a super thriller cum suspense movie. I will not be shocked if any of the American Director buys the rights soon and remakes it – I already have so many names coming to my mind for the perfect cast. But this one is too good – it was way better than my expectations for sure. The three main characters are simply mind blowing and what amazing performances by each one of them. First being an X Cop whose daughter goes missing, second: who helps him is a disgruntled vigilante cop and the third is the suspect who happens to be a school teacher. Each one of them had his own story going on in the background too. There are so many wow moments in the movie, some actually made me laugh out loud, as well as make me cringe (Especially torture scenes) but the good part is that it never goes overboard unlike the way Koreans do or the way Americans do with their action scenes. If you like thriller with suspense and action – you must see this, I will definitely rate it a damn good 4/5 for sure with two thumbs up. Not to be missed by anyone even otherwise. A damn good one time watch for sure.

Salinger (2013) - Documentary

One of the best documentaries that I have seen in past couple of years for sure which as per me very well qualifies to be called as a perfect “Biography” too and as I read more about it on its wiki page – they intended to make a movie with Daniel Day Lewis in lead initially. Even otherwise – this isn’t any less than a thriller of sorts, with full on suspense and drama too. Life of acclaimed / reclusive writer JD Salinger – unfortunately I am ashamed to confess that I never heard of that name before today and now I am all inclined to first get that amazing book “The Catcher in the Rye” ASAP and read it back to back, after such a delightful insight on the writer as well as the back – I am sure no one will be able to resist it and the books sale is going to soar after this. If this one doesn’t get an Academy Award for what it contains – I will be totally shocked. The film features interviews with 150 subjects including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, John Cusack, Danny DeVito (whose interviews were cut from the film's official release), John Guare, Martin Sheen, David Milch, Robert Towne, Tom Wolfe, E. L. Doctorow, and Pulitzer Prize winners A. Scott Berg, Elizabeth Frank and the late Gore Vidal. The parts of it were told by his wife, daughter, friends, neighbors and a couple of other people who almost went that close to have a glimpse of the man himself. The documentary is almost a little over two hours long but the pace and the footage – something that’s never seen before and the company that he kept all his serving years in the army is something totally amazing. I am sure I have never rated a documentary that high but this one deserves a 4.5/5 and will be a collector’s delight. I am definitely keeping a copy for future viewing of course after I read the book as well as the movie that’s slated to be made in next couple of years. A must watch for all thriller / drama / suspense lovers. I am sure this will certainly send you searching the book online like it did to me.

One By Two (2014) - Drama

One of the most uninspiring movies of 2014 so far and I’m sure this will always be remembered as the worst by Abhay Deol so far in his career. I guess this is more of a favor he did to his current girl friend by casting her in lead and by calling the character a British Citizen with a fake accent and bad Hindi. One hour into the movie and I was trying to understand the confused character of Amit Sharma (Abhay Deol) with a parallel track of Samara Patel (Priti Desai) – the screen is cut into two halves and we see them criss cross each other’s lives and cameras multiple times without meeting ofcourse. But as any tom dick and harry watching a bollywood movie knows that the hero must get a girl by the end of the movie so technically we knew the ending. Although it’s a new concept (at least in Hindi Movies) and a good one at that but unfortunately not explored to the full extent, guess the writer / director tried making a funny film with whatever crap message (live life king size) threw in some drama in between, tried making it a some kind of a musical or dance movie too with not one good song to its credit or a dance performance to remember and end up making a mishmash of some sort which is painful to sit through. Half time and you actually know that Abhay Deol is seriously pissed by being in movie but somehow ends it. I will give it a 1/5 only for the unique concept – wish it was used in a better way. It’s already a flop and becomes one of those movies which deserved to be never made in the first place.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) - Comedy

I somehow missed this one earlier – dunno how I did that grave mistake but not anymore, as its sequel is right round the corner – not released so far in our part of the world, I had to see it. As expected this one is a total laugh riot and no doubt that it shows up in couple of top 100 funny movie lists. I mean look at that amazing casting for one – did they miss casting anyone else who was doing comedy a decade ago? I don’t think so as almost everyone does a cameo in this one – one of my all time favorite Danny Trejo too gets a scene to remember. Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) as the name suggests is a legend from 70s, the best anchorman ever, about to face tough competition by his newly appointed female counterpart Veronica (Christina Applegate), how they tackle each other and try to finish off each other’s career is the rest of the movie. One mistake that almost ends his career is the high point of the movie and I just couldn’t control my laughter. It’s a superb comedy of errors and I must say – it is one of those movies which indeed made me laugh out loud a lot after a long time, almost throughout its run time especially the scene where the whole gang of comedians come over to take revenge on the Legend and how it turns out is something you’ve got to watch the movie for. Fantastic job by Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Steve Carell as his partner in crime, their office interactions and chemistry is simply out of this world – I loved the jingle they sing together. It’s a must watch for all comedy lovers and should not be missed, my ratings 4/5 as I dash to get the sequel at the earliest.

Behind The Candelabra (2013) - Drama / Biography

Another fantastic Steven Soderbergh movie (Biography) based on the last ten years in the life of renowned Pianist Valentino Liberace – unfortunately I had no idea about this guy but what an amazing character he was at least as per his secret lover cum chauffer Scott Thorson’s Book on which the movie is based. Two of the best guys from Hollywood who I could never imagine to play these gay characters that too with that ease in style – simply mind blowing is the way they pulled off those characters. Michael Douglas is simply fantastic in the lead role of the charismatic Pianist – you’ve got to watch out for his body language, stage performances, attires, lavish life style and his chemistry with his partner Scott Thorson (Fantabulous Matt Damon) in a never seen / dreamed character ever. How they meet and hit it off is one heck of a joy ride, I was totally in love with the Liberace character but as soon as Scott walks in the movie – my loyalty shifted since he claims to be a Bi-sexual (Wink Wink). Check out Matt Damon’s amazing looks – I guess he has never looked that amazing ever in any of his earlier movies, I simply adored his hair style of all – I wish I could keep my crop like that. Their chemistry is simply outstanding – never goes overboard, its damn smooth as long as it lasts. The movie right from the very start till almost the very end is hilarious and you will definitely love the presence of mind as well as the great sense of humor of its characters. What shocked me is that the movie was premiered on HBO and got very limited release. I will definitely give it a good 4/5 with a two thumbs up recommendation. Even otherwise it’s a great fun watch and is fantastic fun, do not miss it.