My Brother the Devil: A coming of age for two brothers

The relationship between siblings can be quite an eccentric bond. At times, siblings want nothing to do with each other as they live their normal lives with their own peer group and, in other occasions, they can have a very close relationship where they have a common set of peers which leads to them spending a lot of time together. Quite often, it can be noted that the younger sibling takes up to the elder and consciously or unconsciously sees them as a role model.

My Brother the Devil is a story of two brothers of Eygptian descent living in London with their submissive mother and orthodox father. Beyond the walls of their well cultured building complex lie the streets which are rampant with gang wars and drug lords. The elder brother, Rashid, is neck deep in the mayhem as a drug peddler who is part of one of the gangs. He is trying to make enough money to help his family have a stable income and to try and provide a good education for his younger brother, Mo. Mo idolises his brother and wants to be just like him which leads to him joining the gang and selling drugs around the same time that Rashid decides to quit. Rashid’s journey continues as his best friend is killed in a gang fight and he meets a well off photographer who promises him a good pay for a full-time job. Rashid must pick between revenge for his fallen friend and a chance for a better life at about the same time that he starts getting confused about his sexual orientation. Mo, on the other hand, watches his brother drift away from a life he once idolised and finds it difficult to see his brother as the same person he once aimed to be like.

Most of the course of the film steers between the perspectives of the two brothers. The main protagonist of the film is the elder brother, Rashid, who is at a cross track in his life as he is faced with obstacles of being a grown, mature man. Rashid must not only pick the right path for himself, he is also aware that his decisions can result to a completely different life for his brother and parents. While his parents are unaware of his dealings on the streets, his brother follows him like a shadow and is most interested in spending time around his gang. For the most part, the film tends to be about making the right decisions while being true to yourself with a case in point being Rashid.

The film tries to deal with too many issues and highlights too many points. While the crux of the film is about a coming of age story of a young man, it adds too many elements including ethnicity, homosexuality, drug issues, family problems, gang wars, racism and the like. These issues are merely touched upon through the course of the film and not dealt with which tends to be a disappointment. Most of the cases are simply accepted as they are and let go off after a simple mention.

My Brother the Devil is the first full length feature production for director Sally El Hosaini and is a good effort. It does emphasis the difficulty of being a minority in a big city and it plays up the raw emotion that goes with it. The use of slang and manner of addressing each other which is seen in the film seems to be a typical raw use of language directly from the streets of London. Its appeal lies in the raw magnetism of being able to understand the characters. It does not have the appeal of the audience being able to place themselves in the shoes of the characters but it merely allows the audience to empathise.

The film has shortcomings since it takes on strong topics without actually dealing with them. Apart from empathy, it has nothing much going for it, but, all the same, it does produce a good story of a relationship between two distraught brothers.

Mean Machine: A British comedy on prison football

When it comes to remakes, some are done splendidly well and outrank the original, some turn out to be quite poor as compared to the original and some are just plain average which no one tends to care about much. But sometimes a remake is twisted so differently from its original counterpart that it comes across as an entirely new project which has little to do with the initial film. Mean Machine is a 2001 remake of a 1974 film titled The Longest Yard which is similar to the original but has plenty of elements changed to seem as a completely different project altogether.

Danny Meehan is a former English football player who is hated by the entire nation for fixing a match between England and Germany, England’s biggest rivals in the world of football. After getting arrested for getting drunk and assaulting two police officers, Meehan is thrown into prison with a three year sentence. He is recruited by the warden to train the prison guard team, but not wanting to entice the anger of the inmates, he suggests organising a warm up game between the guard team and an inmate team which he will spearhead. In this endeavour, he is assisted by two fellow inmates, Massive and Doc. Meehan is left to convince the other inmates to join the team, train them and put up a decent side against the guards which he manages within the four walls of the prison.

The original film, The Longest Yard, was a Hollywood flick centred on the sport of American football. Mean Machine, on the other hand, is a British film which features around association football, the pulse of sports fanatics in Britain. This is one of the first and biggest standouts between the two films. Quite a bit of the script changes owing to the difference in the two sports which are featured in the films. Another difference is that Mean Machine is meant for British audiences; hence the language used employs a heavy amount of British slang; dialects which are native to the countries in Great Britain and references which will be more appealing to a British population have been employed in the film. Even the British humour which takes precedence in certain parts of the film is a stark difference from the original. One of the most hilarious scenes in the film occurs during the football match between the guards and the inmates when the commentators, who both share the name Bob comically, are conversing while providing updates for the prison inmates who are listening while locked away.

It is a decent film which is quite hilarious in parts but nothing exceptional. It is worth watching once and enjoying, at the very least.

Teddy Bear: The pursuit of true love

Love can have different forms and everyone wants to be loved in some form or the other. Love is a versatile word as well which can apply to the relationship between a mother and child, between siblings, between friends and between spouses. Of all the instances when one feels loved, the love of a spouse or a partner is one of the most desired. Almost everyone is born into a family and receives love from their immediate relative but finding someone to spend a night or the rest of your life with means much more to people. This is the story of Teddy Bear, a 2012 first full length feature film for Danish director Mads Matthiesen.

Dennis is a 38 year old bodybuilder who lives with his mother. While it is seemingly difficult for Dennis to find a date under normal circumstances owing to his overbearing figure, he is also introverted and finds it difficult to express himself as he is shy. Additionally, his mother is an overprotective and needy woman who wants her son to be at her side at all times of the day which allows him no time to meet other people. Dennis has an enormous amount of respect and devotion to his mother which adds to his problem of not dating as he does not want to disappoint her by bringing another woman into the household. However, Dennis’ views on the matter are drastically changed as his uncle returns from Thailand with a wife. Dennis is encouraged to visit Thailand and find himself a suitable mate, just like his uncle, and finally decides to slacken the bond between himself and his mother in favour of an attempt at finding a relationship with a significant other.

The film is actually a sequel of a short film made in 2007 by Mads Matthiesen which was titled Dennis. The premise of Teddy Bear picks up from Dennis, starring the same cast of mother and son, as Dennis tries once again to find love in his life. The relationship of the two is maintained over the two films with the differences only resulting from the finally outcomes of Dennis’ decisions.

The simplicity of the film is where its brilliance lies. But often, the simplicity of the film leads to it becoming monotonous and uninteresting. Most audiences believe that they are able to relate to Dennis and his lack at finding love because of being introverted and having a possessive mother but the fact of the matter is the problem in Dennis’ life is rooted much deeper than being merely introverted. Dennis has low self esteem issues and his perception of himself in other people’s eyes leads to him being introverted. His mother and problems arising due to her constant needy and possessive nature as well as Dennis’ respect for her leads to additional problems. But the main problem is in the fact that most people won’t give Dennis a second glance as a suitable mate owing to his grotesque figure. Dennis’ life as a bodybuilder picks up reactions from many people which are untoward. Although he is respected in the bodybuilding fraternity, to the rest of the world he is perceived as a ‘freakishly large man’.

Most audiences believe that they can relate to the story for the wrong reasons. In retrospect, Teddy Bear may be a good account of the life of someone who is different and trying to fit in, but it is by no means a story that applies to everyone’s lives unless they imaginatively impose Dennis’ problems in their own lives. At best, one can compare situations and identify with Dennis but not to the extent as to claim that the problems are the same.

The film is a simple account with no great dramatic finale, just something that was long coming finally happening in the end. It is an above average film but not a terrible disappointment. It is a fair reflection in the life of someone who stands out and is trying to fit in.

The Firm: A limp attempt at exploring football hooliganism

Football is a huge sport which is followed and loved around the world. There is a certain level of passion which goes into the sport which can be seen particularly in Europe, and delving further, it can be seen that England is one of the countries in the forefront when it comes to football. But a residue of the passion that goes into the sport manifests itself in the form of hooliganism which leads to violence. An attempt to depict this life beyond the sport has been made with the 2009 film The Firm which was directed by Nick Love.

In 1980’s England, Dom is a teenager who lives in with his parents and hangs out with his regular group of friends, especially spending time with his best friend Terry. When looking for something more to do with his life, apart from slacking off while working with his father and wasting time smoking and break dancing with 

his friends, he has a run in with Bex, the leader of a group of hooligans who strongly support the local football team. Bex develops a soft spot for Dom because of his wit and willingness to do what he is told and invites him to be a part of the group. Dom slowly gets drawn into the world of hooliganism by taking part in fights, visiting cross country football matches and shoplifting from local apparel stores when he can’t afford expensive clothing which will help him fit in. But soon enough, Dom realises that he isn’t cut out to be a thug and struggles to find his way out of a group of people who don’t take lightly to traitors.

The film doesn’t really do justice to the full world of football hooliganism and the passion that actually leads to fans turning into hooligans to defend their turf and their local football teams. The dialogues in the film are riddled with 80s British slang terms which makes it difficult for universal audiences to follow. The film also has plenty of references to local areas and customs which don’t necessarily appeal to an audience that isn’t of British origin.

In all, the film is less about the passion for the sport and the ideology of the fans and more about the stupid ambition of one of its central characters. Without even exploring the full identity of the character that pulls most of the strings in the film and the reasons for his behaviour, the film is just a limp attempt at documenting what football hooliganism is about but fails miserably. It isn’t a film which would be recommended to be watched.

Ice Age - Continental Drift: A pleasant break from life’s fast pace

It is important to remind ourselves to slow down every once in a while and enjoy life as we did when we were children. Life moves too quickly in modern times, so much so that we forget the little things in life which are important and which should matter more to us than the more tangible possessions we tend to care about. To break it down, reminding ourselves of the little children in all of us is important and sometimes being a little immature and childish may just be the best thing for the long run.

Manny, Diego and Sid get separated from Manny’s family, wife Ellie and daughter Peaches, when an unfortunate event leads to the continents breaking apart and beginning to drift away. Ellie, Peaches and the rest of their herd keep moving on land as Manny, Diego, Sid and Sid’s Granny are set adrift on an iceberg. The trio and Granny try their level best to make it back to the herd but all efforts are in vain as they encounter the forces of Nature followed by a group of fierce pirates on the vast waters of the ocean. Captain Gutt of the pirates gives them an ultimatum to join his crew or walk the plank but with other ideas in mind, Manny and Diego destroy the iceberg ship and slowly drift to shore with Sid, his Granny and the pirate first mate, a Sabertooth named Shira who becomes Diego’s love interest. In a desperate attempt to get back to his family, Manny hitches a plan to steal Captain Gutt’s ship which brings on the wrath of Gutt in a final showdown.

Also known as Ice Age 4, the film is just as its prequels; entertaining and suitable for all ages. The film is a pleasant break from the continuous bombardment of sex, violence and more which is witnessed in other commercial films. A children’s or family film, it is a good experience for anyone who is ready to leave behind their inhibitions of terming a children’s movie as being childish.

This film is nothing special; it’s just a nice reminder of what life used to be like when we were kids. This film, or any children’s film, should definitely be on everyone’s watch-list.