Mad Detective

Mad Detective aka Sun Taam is directed by Johnnie To and Wai ka-Fai. Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai team up after nearly four years to direct this brilliant Psychological Crime Thriller. The story of this movie is cleverly scripted and it has been stylishly shot and executed.

The movie revolves around a schizophrenic cop Bun(Ching Wan Lau), who was forcibly removed from the force after he presented his severed ear as gift to the Police Chief. Bun claims to have the ability to see the Inner Personalities of the people. Inspector Ho(Andy On) brings him out of retirement to investigate the case of Wong, a fellow cop who has been missing for over 18 months now and his gun has been used in three armed robberies.

Bun's primary suspect is Wong's former partner Chi-Wai(Ka Tung Lam) who has seven different inner personalities. The directors manages to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat with their expertly crafted storyline. It keeps the viewers guessing what will happen next.

One cannot relate himself with the lead character of this film, his behaviors may seem funny but later you can sense the sadness in him. Bun's method of investigating is really unorthodox, he puts himself in the place of the victim and try to connect with their inner personalities to find out what happened. Sometimes it may be difficult for the audience to differentiate the reality from fiction especially when you have eight actors playing a single character.

Nevertheless the movie has been Stylishly shot with a brilliant screenplay, Masterfully edited and the entire cast gives us a brilliant performance. The soundtrack of the movie is an added bonus, it manages to keep the eerie feel throughout the movie. The final scene of the movie is confusing at first but later gives us a clear picture. It has been brilliantly shot.

This movie has a creative script that is original. The directors Johnnie To and Wai ka-Fai give us an astounding psychological thriller in which everything works out. I am sure that in the near future there will an Hollywood director who will remake this movie in English and spoil the spirit of this film. In the end this is one of best thrillers from Asia in the recent past and it is Simply Superb!!

My Rating: 4.5/5

The Expendables

The Expendables is without question the most anticipated movie of the summer of 2010. The movie is directed by Sylvester Stallone. Its cast is a who's who of established action film stars of the previous three decades. Even though the previews gave away the cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it still gave us just another reason to stand in line for this movie.

The Expendables describes a team of what could be considered mercenaries, or bounty hunters. They go on high-risk missions, guns in hand, and pick up the money owed to them at the end of the day. Their main mission in this movie is initially to overthrow a South American dictator in the fictional nation of Vilena. Eventually, they find that the real enemy is ex-CIA agent James Munroe (Eric Roberts) aided by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and a whole army of guerrilla soldiers.

This movie is full of action sequences, all of which are fun to watch. There are also some scenes involving knives (particularly ones thrown by Jason Statham) that even made me flinch. Although there are plenty of scenes involving knives and big guns, there are some great sequences involving hand-to-hand combat. You definitely don't want to take a bathroom break when 5'6 Jet Li takes on 6'4 Dolph Lundgren. There's also a fight scene between Steve Austin and Randy Couture that will satisfy both UFC and WWE fans.

Of course the scene everyone was talking about was the Stallone, Schwarzenegger & Willis scene. Which was one of the funniest parts of the movie. Their attempt to put each other down while out manning each other worked brilliantly and Willis threatening Stallone alone is worth the ticket price.

Everything about this movie is top notch. Right from the direction to the sets, its stunning. The screenplay is impeccable & the cinematography couldn't get better. The visuals are delightful. The music score is exceptional. Even though it is a slow movie, the pace seems very fast. The editing also is so well done. The dialogues are perfect, used in a really vulgar tone. The story is set in & around Equatorial Brazil. The locations shown are ideal.

The Expendables is the kind of film that enchants and enthralls. The bone-chilling, and all-the-other-adjectives-that-can-be-used kind of movie that's just replete with thrills. In the end this is one of best B-Movies that I have seen in a long time.

My Rating: 4/5

Kick-Ass

Saw the movie Kick-Ass directed by Matthew Vaughn this week. It has been a long time since I had endorphins pumping through my body after watching a movie but Kick-Ass did exactly that.Anyone who has ever wished to be a superhero, pretended to fly, super punch, turn invisible or just plain kick some ass but knew you never could...here's the movie for you!


Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a typical New York teenager, who is a comic-book fan, and not in any particular group in High School. He is ignored by girls, including Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), the girl he fancies. Dave however fantasises about what it would be like to be a superhero and he makes an effort to make it happen. After his first attempt at vigilante justice Dave ends up having a big accident and his nerve endings are damage. But this gives him a high pain threshold and after being videotaped fighting three men at once Dave becomes a internet sensation and his alter-ego, Kick-Ass is born. But Dave as Kick-Ass gets in over his head when he meets two real heroes, Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage), and his young girl Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz), a brilliant martial artist and skilled assassin. Big Daddy sets out to bring down the crime lord Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong), taking down his organisation from the bottom up. As Kick-Ass Dave is brought into their violence world. As well as these superhero actives Dave has to hide his identity, whilst using his fame in the internet age to help people out through Myspace. He also finally get's Katie's attentions, but for all the wrong reasons.


The acting from the entire cast was spectacular, but the one who stole the show for me was Chloe Moretz as the Hit-Girl - the incredibly volatile young superhero with a penchant for explicit language, which will surely propel her into the realms of stardom.


This is a top-notch directing by Matthew Vaughn. This movie will definitely make him one of the most sought after directors in the Hollywood. The way handled the action sequences was really incredible. There were some really impressive action sequences in this movie. The only other movie IMO that had these many incredible action sequences was Kill Bill. 


Kick-Ass is definitely a welcome addition to the realm of the comic-book movies. I had a blast watching this movie, I hope that you will too.In the end, Kick-Ass is not perfect, and it will not cater to everyone's tastes, but it is easily one of the most fun films of 2010.


My Rating: 4.5/5

Inception

This is the film that I have been dying to watch this year. Saw the movie this afternoon. Inception is directed by Christopher Nolan, the man who gave us an Epic Blockbuster last year in the form of The Dark Knight and the man who questioned our intelligence in the form of Memento, now has given us a perfect blend of these two movies.(This review may contain SPOILERS).

The theme of the movie is about a group of people who navigate their way through the mind of the people and steal their secrets in the dreams. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role of the most skillful extractor Don Cobb, a fugitive who is longing to meet his children back home and is often troubled by the memories of his dead wife Mal Cobb(Marion Cotillard) whom he supposedly murdered. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as his long-time right-hand man Arthur.

But this latest mission is different- a Business tycoon Saito (Ken Watanabe) wants him to plant an idea (hence termed inception) within a rival's (Cillian Murphy) mind in order that he will break up his ailing father's business empire after he takes over. Cobb agrees to this dangerous mission as Saito promises that if Cobb succeeds, he will wipe Cobb's slate clean so he is allowed to return to the United States to see his children. So Cobb begins assembling his team- the architect Ariadne (Ellen Page), the forger Earnes (Tom Hardy) and the chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao)- think of it like a heist, only much more complicated.

The First half of the movie explains the audience about the rules of the game that the team plays. And the second half is where the test begins for the viewers.There are some jaw-dropping actions sequences and some heart winning sentimental scenes. The entire cast of the movie has done an excellent job on their part, the best performances came from DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.(Though DiCaprio's role is pretty similar to the one he played in Shutter Island).

This movie engages the audience and takes them to whole new world. I have never seen the audience get engaged so much for an English movie here at Chennai. But to really enjoy this movie the audience has to earn their right. The screenplay was exceptional especially in the second half where we go into a dream into a dream into a dream into a dream. The Music by Hans Zimmer is the Icing On The Cake.

Although there are some visual similarities to the anime Paprika, Inception is one of the best Original stories that I have seen in a long time. A Masterpiece by Nolan. In the end those who watch this movie would definitely go into the Limbo state.

Don: "Dreams feel real while we're in them, it's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange."

My Rating: 5/5

North by Northwest (A Classic Thriller)

Yesterday night I saw the film North By Northwest, one of the classic thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock. This is the first time I am seeing this movie. Even though I haven't seen many Hitchcock films, I think I can boldly say that this is one of his best flicks of all time. And now this film is added into my favorite flicks of all time.

Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent George Kaplan by a group of foreign spies and gets kidnapped. When he tries to find out whats going on, he is framed for a murder and he sets out on a cross country run to survive and to find the real George Kaplan. Along the way he meets adventure, danger and beauty in the name of Eve Kendall played by Eva Marie Saint. However when he finds the truth, he is drawn towards a final showdown with the dangerous Phillip Vandamm played by James Mason.

Cary Grant's performance in this flick is simply awesome. One definitely falls in love wtih him or deeply envies him. He carried out his debonair manner throughout the film. Jessie Royce Landis stars as Clara Thornhill, mother of Roger also done a great job.

The Screenplay by Ernest Lehman sets this film to be a classic thriller that it is. The Music by Bernard Herrmann adds an aditional falvour to the scenes. My favorite scenes in this film are The Crop duster chase Scene and The Auction Scene. Another plus for the film was the clever and witty dialouges. Let me quote one of my favorite dialouges in this flick. This happens in the dining car of the train.

Roger: The moment I meet an attractive woman, I have to start pretending I have no desire to make love to her.
Eve: What makes you think you have to conceal it?
Roger:  She might find the idea objectionable.
Eve: Then again, she might not.

All in all this film is a must watch flick. It has something for everyone within it: a little comedy, a little romance, great snappy dialogue and more action than any other action movie. I had a great time watching this flick. I am sure that you guys will also have an amazing time if you watch this flick.

My Rating: 4.5/5