The Social Network
When I heard about a film being made on the creation of Facebook, I was like, how interesting can that be. But I was wrong. This is a film that’s as fast as its lead character’s diction. David Fincher keeps things smart and to the point. Jesse Eisenberg is nice as Mark Zuckerberg. Overall, it’s a film that you’ll definitely ‘like’.
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 follows a formula that is increasingly becoming common to 3D animation flicks – thrills followed by comedy followed by pathos followed by comedy followed by some more thrills and ultimately, a happy ending. This makes it difficult for it to stand out from so many other 3D animation films we have being seeing over the years. It’s entertaining, but nothing spectacular.
Animal Kingdom
This is a film about a family of criminals in Australia, told through the eyes of their slightly slow nephew who comes to stay with them after his mother’s death. Key decisions in the family are often influenced by the mother, Jackie Weaver. She’s constantly smiling a mirthless smile that reveals her true ruthless character. Genuinely scary. A strong contender for best supporting actress.
The Fighter
Here’s another film where the mother plays a strong, important role. Melissa Leo is the manager-by-default for her son, Mark Wahlberg, who is a small time boxer looking to wriggle out of poverty by fighting the right fights. His brother, Christian Bale, in his best performance to date, is a has-been boxer who has taken to drugs and shaping his brother’s career, whatever shape that maybe. Wahlberg’s bartender-girlfriend, Amy Adams realizes the mess he is in and tries to show him the right path. It’s a superb film with splendid turns by each actor. Never over-the-top, it’s all that you may never expect from a film about boxing.
Winter’s Bone
From one poor family to another. 17 year Jennifer Lawrence’s father has flown the coop, after paying off his bail with whatever little property they had. She is left with a kid brother and sister and an invalid mother to tend to. Her only hope is to track down her father. Its Lawrence’s film all the way as she essays the role of the determined, yet vulnerable girl with total conviction.
Blue Valentine
An extreme close up of a marriage which has nothing left in it to go on. It alternates between today where the husband and wife are constantly having arguments and the good old days when they met for the first time. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are the pair in question. Needless to say, the acting is brilliant.
Rabbit Hole
Another film about a marriage in trouble, another film with superb performaces by the lead pair. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are the couple who have never quite come to terms with a tragedy in the family. Their failure to talk about it is leading to all sorts of problems in their personal lives.
127 Hours
For a change, an upbeat film to lift your spirits. James Franco is a daredevil hiker who gets his right arm caught ‘between a rock and a hard place’. Based on a real life incident, he spends a harrowing 5 days in the same position before he… well, you have to see the film to find out. Danny Boyle’s inventive, stylized direction is always fun to watch.
Black Swan
Films on similar lines have been made in a better fashion. Not that Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a bad film, but it just isn’t in the league of some of the other nominees this year. A ballerina playing the swan princess loses the distinction between her real life and the role. I wasn’t impressed with Natalie Portman; Mila Kunis in a brief role stole the scenes.
Inception
Surely you have already seen this mind bender by Christopher Nolan. Which will spare me the extrmelty difficult part of summarizing it in just one sentence. It’s one of those films where you can get away by saying ‘like it or hate it, you can’t ignore it’. I liked it.
The Town
There isn’t a single scene in The Town which won’t remind you of some movie you’ve seen before. A film about a bunch of bank robbers where one of them falles for a witness with the FBI hot in pursuit. Yet, it’s a testament to Ben Affleck’s directing skills that he makes it into a watchable film.
True Grit
I was left wondering why this remake had to be made in the first place. Was it a safe bet for the Coen brothers for whom this was the first outing in the Wild West? Jeff Bridges is as good as John Wayne was as Rooster Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld is better than Kim Darby as Mattie Ross. But everything else is nothing you haven’t seen in the original. Matt Damon as LaBoeuf could have been played by any actor with a moustache in a hat. At best, it’s a good substitute for those who haven’t seen the first version.
The Kids Are All Right
A film with a lesbian couple in the lead but it’s never about homosexuality. Annette Bening starts feeling insecure when the biological father of their children, Mark Ruffalo comes into their lives and inadvertently, starts pushing her out. A good ensemble cast with Julianne Moore as the other half of the couple.
The King’s Speech
This will be the film to beat at this year’s Oscars. It’s not intolerable in length, something that a costume drama rarely is. It’s funny, something that a film about a handicap rarely is. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are irresistible as the incumbent King with a stammer and his unconventional speech therapist, respectively. It’s already leading the tally in terms of nominations. It could also be the front runner for actual awards won.
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