American Graffiti: A night of cruising in 1960s Modesto

Every generation believes they are the best that ever lived upon the Earth and will continue to be the best when rated against future generations. It is but human nature. But in doing so, we tend to forget previous cultures and the importance they held in developing our current culture. Sometimes a period film can give you a glimpse into the past but perhaps no other film has ever managed to celebrate the culture of a particular era as was done with the film American Graffiti.

Steve and Curt are long-time friends who have recently graduated from high school. They meet one evening, scheduled to leave for college the next day, with Steve adamant to get out of town for a new experience and Curt needing some coaxing to get on the flight to head out to college. They decide to enjoy their last night in their town and figure out their lives before hopping onto the flight. They meet Terry and John at the famous Mel’s Drive-In to make plans for the night. Steve and Curt, accompanied by Curt’s sister and Steve’s girlfriend Laurie, decide to go to a dance organised by their high school. Terry and John decide to drive around town and see where things go from there. The night carries on with unforeseen situations befalling all 5 friends while they run into each other and several other people before sunrise.

The film was written and directed by George Lucas and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. It was released in the year 1973. It stars Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, and Cindy Williams. Actors in supporting roles include Harrison Ford, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and former radio personality Wolfman Jack.

The film is set in 1962 in the town of Modesto in California. The location of the film is pivotal in its style since a major amount of the film consists of vehicles cruising on strips which Modesto was well known for at the time. Radio also plays an important role in the film as a famous radio personality is one of the characters in the film and the other characters are constantly listening to the radio. This was typical behaviour of youngsters during the timeframe the film is set in. Songs are ever present during the course of the film which was the case when young men and women got into their cars to drive around town leisurely. The soundtrack of the film consists of songs from the 50s and early 60s. The dialogues of the characters also reflect the parlance of the time. The women wearing dresses and men in trousers and short-sleeved shirts with slick back hair, the sock hop dances and meeting at drive-ins are also reminders of the time which are reflected in the film. The film also features greasers who were the local hoodlums present in most localities during the time.

The film isn’t very difficult to understand. It is a coming-of-age tale of a group of friends told over one night in their lives. During the course of the film, it is shown that one night can drastically change a person with headstrong characters modifying their previous resolve and confident characters doubting their self belief. The flaws in the film are that it becomes difficult to identify any one character as the protagonist and the film does not seem to have a typical plotline. However, these can be seen as a benchmark in cinema since it is a great film despite it not fulfilling the need for a protagonist or a plot consisting of a straightforward storyline. It was once said that a film should have a beginning, middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. This film is probably the best example to prove that quote right. It is also an excellent insight into the culture of the 1950s and 1960s with incredible detailing that only a person who lived and experienced such a time would be able to produce on celluloid.

The film is a little out of the way from what we are used to seeing. Since it is a period film, it would be expected to be different but the identity of culture that it provides the audience is what makes it a film worth seeing.

Christmas Vacation: Comedy amid tragedy on Christmas Eve

When Christmas is around the corner, there is a buzz in the air. Plans are made, wishes are exchanged and smiles are ever present. It is a season to be spent surrounded by family members and other near-and-dear ones who care about you. Everyone is happy and very little can go wrong because the general mood is that of merriment. But what can go wrong will go wrong. That is the premise of the National Lampoon film Christmas Vacation.

Clark is the patriarch of the nuclear Griswold family. His parents and in-laws are to visit his house for the holidays and he plans to throw the best possible celebration for the benefit of his family. He gets his wife and children involved by dragging them off to the countryside to chop down and bring back a Christmas tree in the hope that it will bring the authenticity of Christmas to the family and draw them closer together. His efforts carry on as he decorates the exterior of his house with 25,000 lights and places an order for a swimming pool to be installed in his backyard as a surprise gift for his family. Unfortunately, he does not receive the expected Christmas bonus to cover the expenses of the swimming pool, the decorative lights do not seem to work and the Christmas tree is a disaster. To add to the tension, the family is unexpectedly visited by Cousin Eddie and his family and the senile Aunt Bethany and her husband Uncle Lewis which wrecks havoc upon the plans Clark had for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Vacation was written by John Hughes and directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It was released in the year 1989 and is the third film in the Vacation series produced by National Lampoon. The film stars Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki. It is a comedy film set to the theme of Christmas.

Although the film is about Christmas with plenty of talk about family and festivities, the focus of the film is on the dire situations of the ill-fated protagonist. The situations are bizarre but believable. The condition goes from bad to worse as the film progresses with Clark becoming desperate over things not going the way he planned them. His neighbours also seem to share in his unwanted fate, if not worse. Although it would be assumed that family is important during the festive season and Clark constantly reiterates that he wants it to be a special event for his family, he grows increasingly annoyed and agitated with the antics of his relatives as the film progresses. His eventual meltdown is hilarious as are the unthinkable situations that get him there.

Chevy Chase as the protagonist is excellent. He is at the height of his powers as a humorist and his comedic timing is impeccable. Whether it is a hot-blooded rant or a nervous mumbling, his ability to deliver his dialogues as required is quite impressive.

The film is quite hilarious on the whole. It is less about Christmas and more about unfortunate instants occurring at inconvenient timings. It is quite a good film but it does not have the warm feeling of the holiday that classic Christmas films are expected to have.

In Bruges: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory or Bruges

If made well, a dark comedy can be very enjoyable for an audience watching it in good humour. It isn’t good enough to have an audience that will tolerate the film making fun of usually serious topics, the film has to hold its own when bringing out the humour in grave situations in a respectable manner. Death, rape, war and drugs are usually selected as the subjects of dark comedies which require a certain level of respect when making fun of these topics so it is not misconstrued as being disrespectful.

Ray is a rookie Irish hitman who messes up on his first assignment. During the course of eliminating his target, a priest, Ray accidentally kills a young boy in a church in London. Under strict instructions from his boss Harry, Ray and his handler Ken go to live in a hotel in Bruges to hideout until given further instructions. While Ken is excited to sightsee Bruges’ historical brilliance, Ray couldn’t care less for its heritage. He is also guilt-stricken from having taken the life of a young boy and finds it difficult to sit cooped up in his hotel room while waiting for Harry’s phone call. Finally convincing Ken to visit a pub, Ray manages to meet a beautiful Belgian girl named Chloe and an American dwarf actor named Jimmy on a film set. Ray gets a date with Chloe and goes out while Ken stays back at the hotel to await Harry’s instructions. When Harry finally connects with Ken, there is bad news that may result in a few more lives being taken than Ken originally anticipated.

In Bruges was written and directed by Martin McDonagh and was released in 2008. The film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Clemence Poesy and Ralph Fiennes. The film is a dark comedy that plays around with the ideas of life and death. The protagonist is a young hitman who has been exiled as a way of keeping him out of trouble for a mistake he has made. There are many jokes involving death, racism, dwarfs, war, nationalities and sexuality.

One of the constant fixes in the film is the protagonist abusing Bruges and cursing the fact that he is forced to be in the city. He goes as far as to compare Bruges with hell or purgatory where people would be sent to live in the city for their sins, which is quite a similar situation to his own since he has been exiled to the city for murdering a boy. The irony is the protagonist constantly complaining about the city but the director showing the audience the beauty of the city with plenty of shots of the city’s architecture, art and culture. Certain scenes in the film are quite hilarious, one in particular when two hitmen are about to have a shootout but cannot go through with it because a pregnant lady in the room refuses to leave the premises.

The dark tone of the film coupled with comedy makes it endearing for the audience. The use of a score that was especially composed for the film is something that isn’t seen too often in recent films and is a refreshing change. The film score has one particular track which is repeated throughout the film and becomes easily identifiable as it conveys the despair, guilt and shame the characters in the film are experiencing. Since the characters are Irish, they have a strong Irish accent which makes it difficult to follow the dialogues but also adds to the comedic effect since it helps with the timing and the delivery of the dialogues. The idea of introducing a film-within-the-film was quite clever on the part of the director especially since the characters speak about paying homage which is what is done in this film as well.

Overall, the film is quite funny once you get accustomed to the accent and dialogue delivery. It has a slow pace so it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But it is excellently executed for a dark comedy.

Bedazzled: Seven wishes for a soul

Anyone would love it if they were granted the opportunity to make all their dreams come true just by wishing them into reality. The catch is what has to be sacrificed in order to receive those wishes or to make them come true. One of the concepts of alchemy states that nothing can be created out of thin air but anything important can be converted into something else that may or may not be more useful. You have to lose something of equal or greater importance to be able to gain something else that you wish for. All that taken into consideration, would you accept losing something very dear to you to make your dreams come true?

Elliot Richards works at a dead-end job in an IT company where he answers calls and helps customers as part of the tech support team. He is enthusiastic about making friends but doesn’t manage to fit in with anyone and is ignored by his co-workers every time he attempts to meet them socially. He is also a secret admirer of Alison Gardner, a pretty co-worker who is too far out of his league but who he has been in love with for over four years. Despite their efforts to leave him out of their plan, Elliot manages to meet his co-workers at a pub they frequent and is dared to strike up a conversation with Alison. Petrified by the request, Elliot musters up some courage but is shot down within seconds. Standing alone and ruing his luck, Elliot confesses to himself that he would give anything to have Alison in his life. Fortuitously Elliot meets a hot young woman who tells him she has the power to give him anything he can imagine. She proposes a deal where Elliot will receive seven wishes in exchange for his soul as she confesses to being the Devil. Elliot agrees reluctantly but soon curses his choice.

Bedazzled was released in the year 2000 and was directed by Harold Ramis. It is the remake of a 1967 film of the same name which was in turn adapted from an old folklore. The film is a simple comedy with play on situation and dialogue bringing up a few laughs every now and then. The plot isn’t particularly extensive and comes across as a set of vignettes put together clumsily to make a feature film. The casting is good but the direction seems a little lacking. The characters aren’t particularly believable with the protagonist starting off with a lack of confidence and ending the film with immense self belief which stems from nowhere during the story. The protagonist is put through situations that are humorous. The anti-hero Devil is amusing with a light-hearted approach to good versus evil and a naturally fun loving nature.

The film has a part melancholy ending which is reached over the course of an entertaining story. It falls short in many areas and isn’t particularly good for a film that is intended to have comedy as one of its strong features. All the same, it is a fun movie to watch when no inhibitions are attached.

Up: Expressionistic cinema at its very best

Expressionistic cinema is always interesting since it manages to extend the boundaries of human imagination. Not only does it allow us to imagine our deepest wishes but also watch them as they are portrayed on the big screen. It also provides a simple breakaway from the monotonies of day-to-day life. Up is a film which joins the league of excellent expressionistic films. Being an animated film with an exception it manages to form a class of its own.

When an old man becomes a widower with the recent demise of his wife, he stumbles upon some of her photographs and is reminded of a promise he made to her in their youth. Acknowledging that he wasn’t able to fulfil her only wish during her life, he immediately takes it upon himself to fulfil his promise to her. Just as a demolition team arrives to take down his house he successfully gets the house airborne by tying it with innumerable balloons. His plan is to land the house upon a waterfall where his wife’s idol had once landed a hot air balloon. But the old man is unaware that there is a boy scout on board as the house takes off. Realising that the old man and his house are journeying to South America, the boy voices his opinion of wishing to see a rare creature which lives in the jungles there. The tale ensues as the old man and the boy try to fulfil their wishes while stumbling across many hurdles, helping each other out and finally succeeding in their missions.

The film was directed by Pete Docter and released in the year 2009. It was a production under the Pixar banner and features the brilliant animation they are known to have. The personification of the animated characters comes through perfectly which is something that has come to be expected of Pixar.

The storyline of the film is extraordinary since the key points in the plot are interesting events that are unimaginable without the right context. It is impossible to understand how an old man would be able to carry a house on his back or how the entire house could be lifted off its foundations in the first place, the film has dealt with it superbly by keeping a light-hearted tone throughout. The imagination which has gone into the making of the film clearly shows since the film is bursting with creative ideas.

The use of vibrant colours and many shades was very visually appealing. The most appealing element of the film is the innocence with which the characters are portrayed. Since it is a drama-comedy film and most of the characters come across as being fairly honest and innocent, the humour comes forth in the form of simplicity of the characters mostly. Being a film for family audiences it has been executed simply with no major need for a complicated story or execution.

It is a splendid animated film which sets a landmark for other animations since it has a simple story with an excellent portrayal. On the whole, Up is a fascinating film which has made use of light-hearted humour to portray relationships and imagination. It set a standard for a new way of thinking.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Including Life, the Universe and Everything

At some point in their life, every person has wondered what their purpose in life is. Questions involving why humans are on Earth, what they are supposed to do with their lives and whether there is more to life than what meets the eye have wandered through many minds without really producing a definitive answer. But it is likely that a definitive answer does not exist; or in fact, a definitive answer is not really needed to carry on with life. And that is the point made in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Arthur Dent rises one morning to a rude awakening that his house is to be demolished immediately to make way for a bypass. In denial but unable to do anything about the situation, Arthur is dragged off to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect under the pretext of having a pint of beer before the world comes to an end. Ford confesses to being an alien from a neighbouring planet and a journalist who is commissioned to complete writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Reluctant to believe him, Arthur gets dragged along and finds himself on an alien ship with planet Earth reduced to dust. An altercation with their host results in them being evacuated and picked up by the Heart of Gold, a ship stolen by the President of the Universe and Ford’s semi half-brother, Zaphod Beeblebrox. Also on board are Marvin the Paranoid Android and Tricia McMillian aka Trillian, a human who Arthur knew from his days back on Earth and who becomes his love interest. Together the collective travel the galaxy in search of the true question to life, the universe and everything that will be a suitable match for the answer 42.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was directed by Garth Jennings and released in 2005. It is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by Douglas Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. The franchise includes the original novel, the film and several other spinoffs that arose after the original book was published. The film can be easily identified as science fiction with elements of fantasy spun into it, but the comedy in the film is a standout which cannot be ignored.

The actors have been cast excellently considering they fit perfectly into the style of their respective characters. The biggest challenge for the actors and the director in the film would have been to convey the deadpan style of humour which is unique to this franchise and incredibly difficult to recreate. As such, the film is a credit to the franchise and has been done well. The film does not attempt to raise questions and then solve them, it pokes fun at the idea of having an answer to everything we do in life and the constant need to rectify thoughts and actions with an ultimate purpose to one’s existence.

The tongue-in-cheek jokes that come up every now and then can be hilarious once understood in context. A constantly depressed robot saves the lives of a group of people by depressing their attackers, a Vogon’s preferred form of torture is to read poetry and a whale has just come into existence in free-fall unaware of what he is supposed to feel; certain moments such as these are truly hilarious and well done in the film. The superimposing of Arthur’s house being destroyed to make way for a national bypass and then his entire planet being destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass blends both tragedy and comedy, a rare occurrence in any film. Even the misfortune involving the President of the Galaxy ordering a planet to be destroyed when he thinks he is signing an autograph is a ridiculous moment which is then exaggerated because the same planet happens to be the most important in the galaxy that was created with a purpose of solving the ultimate question.

The film is mostly comedy mixed with science fiction. Few elements of romance crop up during the course of the film but it is overall a very good deadpan humour-based comedy film.

A Clockwork Orange: A little bit of the ‘ultra-violence’

There are few films that keep the audience hooked from start to finish. There are fewer yet that manage to keep the audience constantly guessing as to what will happen next in the story. When a film manages to captivate its audience in such a way, it is usually expected that such a film would be highly rated. Such is the case of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange which was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Alex is a teenager who enjoys getting into trouble. His past run-ins have lead to several warnings and he is on the brink of being locked away in a cell, but his violent nature will not allow him to reform himself of his own account. He is joined by a group of three friends who share his penchant for violent and abusive behaviour. Together they go about vandalising property, engaging in fights, assaulting peace-loving citizens and sexually abusing anyone they fancy. With time, Alex becomes a dictator-like head of the group and frustrates the others into a mutiny. Stifled by Alex’s aggression, the others hitch a plan to get him locked away by putting him in a situation where he will lose all calm and commit a horrible act of aggression that will ultimately change the rest of his life.

A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick who also wrote the screenplay based on a novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The story uses extremely unpleasant behaviour from the main characters to depict the traits of juvenile sociopaths. It is an exaggerated social commentary on the thoughts of adolescent young men. The main highlights of the film are the subjects of rape, ‘ultra-violence’ and an obsession with classical music which provides the protagonist with a belief that he is better than other delinquents because of his refined tastes.

The film employs first-person narration by the protagonist to emphasis the story. He narrates the emotions that run through his head which would be difficult for the audience to understand since his actions are mostly unexpected. The narration also helps piece together sections of the film which seem to be missing and provide a link as the story skips several months in the timeline. Instead of using track shots, the director opted to use the zoom technique in quite a few shots; particularly in the opening sequences. The first shot of the film itself is a zoom shot which begins with a close-up of the protagonist’s face and then gradually zooms out to establish a large room which he is sitting in. Use of narration and zoom shots are usually considered faux-pas in filmmaking, but the use in this film may be considered an exception since they are used well on occasion. Other techniques utilised include use of classical music in the background score since it forms a key part of the story.

What is most astonishing about the story is that the audience never really comes to grips with what is happen and the guessing game extends from trying to predict what will happen next in the story to what the character is actually thinking. Trying to understand the protagonist becomes important for the audience member since his actions are not easily explained by rational decisions. The language in the film is not easy to decipher since it involves plenty of Cockney slang and made-up words by the protagonist. The character and his idiosyncrasies were created with the intention of the throwing the audience off and to keep them constantly guessing.

The film starts off quick and establishes the character early. From there it moves into his daily life routine which is part amusing and part shocking for the audience. A conflict is then introduced in the storyline which changes the routine life of the protagonist for the rest of the film. Unfortunately, the film moves quickly and is interesting until this point but tends to move slowly and becomes illogical after the conflict is introduced.

The film has its moments and some sections of it are truly iconic. However, it does drag on towards the latter half. All the same, it is quite a good film especially with the interesting use of faux-pas techniques and since it captivates the audience and keeps them guessing.

Pitch Perfect: Accapela on the big screen

Films about music tend to be very interesting. The added dynamic of music means that the film must not only be a good piece of work by itself but importance should also be given to the musical aspect of the film. The soundtrack and score become even more important since they are a reflection of the subject of the film. It is rare when a film about music is also a comedy but the two have been blended together in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.

Beca is an uninterested fresher in Barden University. She wants to follow her passion of making music by living in Los Angeles and getting a record deal but is forced to attend college by her father who is a professor. Her father agrees to fund the pursuit of her passion if she takes interest in her college life and mingles with her fellow collegians. At the same time, Chloe and Aubrey have been handed the mantle of the Barden Bellas, an all-girl accapela choir. They need to recruit talented freshers to be a part of the group and approach Beca who agrees after being pursued for a while. Beca also meets Jesse, a fresher who joins rival accapela team The Treblemakers. The feud between the Bellas and the Treblemakers goes all the way till the end of the accapela year, culminating in the coveted International Championship of Collegiate Accapela. Beca is torn between her love interest, her loyalty to her sisters in song and her reclusive identity as she makes it through the college year.

Directed by Jason Moore, the film is about one particular aspect of music: accapela. Through the fight for the championship, the film depicts sisterhood, loyalty, passion, tradition and more. The protagonist is a secluded person who does not allow other people to get emotionally attached to her and is a self admitted recluse. The film shows her character open up gradually and accept the people around her as friends and eventually one of them becomes a love interest. Most of the other characters in the film are shrouded in mystery with not much revelation coming through the course of the film. The comedy is sparse and subtle. It is mostly slapstick which makes it come across as a similar treatment that is adopted in modern parody films.

There are many references to the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. It is shown in high regard with one of the characters suggesting that it has the best ending ever made in film. The original soundtrack of the film is also mentioned and some of the songs from the soundtrack are performed in this film, possibly as a tribute to the original.

The selection of the songs in the film is predictable since most are chart toppers, however, the composition and arrangement in the accapela-style is unique and refreshing. It is probably the best feature of the film since the story is very easily predictable and the treatment and jokes aren’t excellent. Another redeeming feature of the film is that each character is eccentric making for an interesting collective.

Pitch Perfect could never be considered a great film. The only redeeming feature would be if someone were to watch it for its music.

Dogma: Comical loopholes in religious text

Humour is generally accepted as an open platform to criticise serious topics through lighter mediums. Most people will accept humour as a tongue-in-cheek method of portraying a point of view or ignore it as a baseless statement made for the pure benefit of harmless fun. However when humour tends to touch upon a nerve that may be above reproach of criticism, it may be a problem if it isn’t dealt with in a respectful manner. Kevin Smith’s 1999 release titled Dogma is a humourous portrayal of the Christian faith and the Catholic Church which probably sits in the league of sensitive comedies since it may upset quite a few sensibilities.

Bethany is an abortion clinic worker who is having a crisis of faith after issues with her infertility led to her divorce. She is looking for a way to rekindle her joy in religion which she once felt when she was a young girl. Elsewhere Bartleby and Loki, two fallen angels who were banished from heaven by God, have found a loophole in Catholic dogma which will allow them to re-enter Heaven if they pass through the gates of a church in New Jersey which will absolve them of all their sins. Unknown to Bartleby and Loki, they may accidentally cause the destruction of existence by entering the gates of the church and disobeying the word of God. An angel appears to Bethany and tasks her on a mission to find and stop Bartleby and Loki from fulfilling their goal. The angel informs Bethany that she will be assisted by two self-proclaimed prophets on her journey. Refusing at first, Bethany changes her stance when she is attacked by three demons and rescued by Jay and Silent Bob, the same prophets she was informed about previously. Embarking on the mission together, Bethany, Jay and Silent Bob face hardships and foes along the way while meeting other folk who help them with their journey.

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, this film takes on the religious doctrines put forward by the most popular religion in the world, and particularly its most widely accepted sect. The title of the film is Dogma which itself speaks of the most popular subject the film deals with. Like most of Smith’s other works, this film is also primarily a comedy. Smith has a particular style with his comedy films which borders on blue humour i.e. comedy involving topics such as sexism, racism, religion etc. This film dissects his views on the dogmas of religion and the Catholic Church with humourous twists and turns in the plot. Smith is also known to adopt character based comedy which carries on in this film as well with the recurrence of his funniest characters titled Jay and Silent Bob.

The film isn’t a laugh riot from start to finish but it is amusing to watch Smith take on the Catholic Church and put forward his own views through the medium of his film. Quite a few scenes provide a laugh out loud experience. The portrayal of God as a female flower child doing handstands is hilarious while the ease with which Silent Bob deals with the disgusting excremental demon also calls for a chuckle. The gullibility of Jay asking for sex in every other scene is also amusing as are the few words muttered by Silent Bob which are anticipated throughout the course of the film. Other funny moments in the film include the insinuation that Jesus was Black and racism prevailed over religious text, the idea that God loves playing skee ball and occasionally takes human form to participate in the activity and the hilarity of a cardinal who does away with the traditional crucifix to introduce the new ‘Buddy Christ’ in the hope of bringing the new generation closer to the Church.

The film does not slander the religion it focuses on neither does it rank any religion above or below others. It is just a funny outlook on the state of religion at the moment and what it was initially intended to be.

Silver Linings Playbook: A rom-com tale of a bipolar man

Rarely do films depicting mental illness manage to do justice to real life situations that a mentally unstable person would go through. The norm in films when it comes to portraying a mentally challenged individual is to show them constantly upset, overreacting to simple situations with anger and attempts to show what the character is going through by use of graphic visuals which are meant to represent disorientation. Few films really fair well when it comes to handling characters with mental stability problems.

After spending eight months in a mental asylum to be treated for his bipolar disorder, Pat Solitano is released under condition that his parents will tend to his every need and keep him out of harm’s way. Having dedicated the better part of the eight months on losing weight and shaping up, Pat decides to carry on his workout routine outside the asylum in the hope that his wife would take him back on his release. Unfortunately, a violent incident prior to his hospitalisation resulted in his wife getting a restraining order against him and moving away from the neighbourhood in his absence. He reconciles with his best friend Ronnie and is invited over for dinner where he meets Tiffany. The widow of a recently deceased cop, Tiffany has some mental problems of her own which forms the basis of her friendship with Pat. They soon strike up a deal where Pat will partner Tiffany in a dance competition for her help in communicating with his wife in the hope that she will take him back.

Silver Linings Playbook was adapted from a novel titled The Silver Linings Playbook which draws its name from the protagonist mentioning the silver lining on every dark cloud every time he is faced with a challenging situation and his discussions with his therapist who insists he start making a playbook by which to live his life. It was written for screen as well as directed by David O. Russell. The film is mostly a drama which borders on the edges of a romantic-comedy.

The protagonist is established as a mentally ill person from the beginning. Unfortunately this paves the way for recurring aggressive behaviour throughout the film on his part. Although he is shown to have bipolar disorder he shows very few traits of the disorder itself; he does not seem to have constant mood swings between depression and happiness. Instead he seems to have violent outbreaks when things don’t go his way. Another unnecessary feature is the love interest of the protagonist also having a mental condition. The film seems to propagate a belief that mentally unstable people can only get along with other mentally disturbed people.

The story is easy to predict from the first instance that protagonist Pat meets his future love interest Tiffany. Unfortunately the story doesn’t gradually progress in the direction of the obvious. Pat is seen to be deeply in love with his wife the entire time that he is rehearsing for a dance competition with Tiffany. At the end of the film we suddenly find that Pat, who has been obsessing over his wife the whole film, realises that he isn’t really in love with her in a convenient climax.

The film doesn’t have too many ebbs and surges in the plot. It is mostly a drama with very few instances of dry wit humour. The only refreshing point of the film is the humour which is sparse unfortunately. That aside, the film is quite dry and depicts mentally unstable people far too stereotypically.

Seven Psychopaths: A story about seven psychopaths in a story

One of the best forms of humour is deadpan. Deadpan is the ability to keep a straight face when making fun of a person or a situation. It involves a huge amount of self control not to laugh when making a joke and is mostly seen on stage, performed by a few good stand-up comics. When it comes to film, deadpan requires a really good actor to be able to bring about the humour to make his audience laugh while acting out the scene with a certain level of seriousness. It can be extremely difficult to achieve if the right actor and the right direction are not in place.

Marty is a writer who lacks inspiration to finish off his masterpiece – a screenplay for a film called Seven Psychopaths. He lives with his girlfriend Kaya who is supportive but has grown tired of his procrastination, his drinking habit and his deadbeat friend Billy. A struggling actor, Billy works with an elderly man named Hans to kidnap dogs in Los Angeles and return them to their owners for a cash prize. Billy is also aiding Marty finish his screenplay and suggests he use inspiration from real life after reading newspaper reports on the Jack of Diamonds killer in the area. On one of their routine kidnappings, Billy and Hans pick up a Shih Tzu unaware that it belongs to Charlie Costello, a gangster who is known for being unpredictable and terribly violent towards his victims. Charlie has an unnatural affinity towards his dog and starts a bloody trail to find it. Marty is confronted by Charlie and warned to return the dog or face his death. When Marty reveals this to Billy, they set up for a final showdown where it’s kill or be killed.

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths is about a story running within the main story of the film. There is a certain ambiguity in the plot especially with the constant discussion of a screenplay that the protagonist is writing. The story-in-story concept doesn’t quite work for the film as it complicates the plot and confuses the audience. The protagonist writing a story which interjects with his personal life and comes from his written work into his real life leaves a few questions about the coincidental situations he faces; an example would be where Marty writes a story about a Quaker who slits his throat which presents itself in the form of his best friend’s associate. The seven psychopaths in the film are not who they seem to be. The psychopaths would presumably be from the screenplay that Marty is writing but here again they exist both in his literary work as well as his real life.

While Colin Farrell plays the lead role and provides a level-headed personality to his character, he ends up being a balance as opposed to Sam Rockwell’s portrayal of the zany accomplice who creates more problems than he solves. Christopher Walken is entrusted with providing the deadpan humour that he is capable of and it does come across in the film at times, but the sensitive side of his character takes away from the humour and makes the line between seriousness and deadpan difficult to comprehend. Woody Harrelson as the antagonist does a decent job as a hard man with a sensitive side of his own but struggles with bringing the comedy to the film.

The humour doesn’t come across in the film perfectly. There are instances when it does play well as a comedy but not at all times.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: The confusion of a dream-reality

Magic has a sense of appeal that can amaze even the staunchest critics. Many people claim that magic employs deceit and should not be praised but, all the same, a magician does use unique skills that have been practised and acquired over years to dazzle his audience. Most often we can’t help but be in awe of the magic tricks that we see. While The Incredible Burt Wonderstone has magic as a key component in the film, it relies on magic solely as a medium to establish a passion and friendship which is what the film is truly about.

Burt Wonderstone was a lanky child with nearly no friends. He was constantly bullied by kids who had a physical superiority over him and, to add to this, he received no particular support from his parents who seem to be absent from the key moments in his life. To his joy however, his mother leaves him a magic set as a birthday gift which has been compiled by his hero, magician Rance Holloway. Burt begins to practise the tricks in the set and manages to make a friend in school when he demonstrates a trick to Anton Marvelton. Burt and Anton grow up to become famous magicians in Las Vegas but their friendship eventually gets strained because of their disagreements over performing the same mundane magic tricks for 15 years. In this spell, street magician Steve Gray tries to dethrone them as the best magician in all the land with his new shock-value tricks that manage to captivate the younger audiences leaving Burt and Anton struggling to keep themselves relevant.

While magic appears to be the focus in the plot, it is actually just a vessel for director Don Scardino to bring out the underlying points of friendship and passion that are subtly highlighted in the film. While the protagonist has lost his passion for his art, which is established in the backstory, it is also evident that his friendship with his best friend has taken a hit because of his expanding ego on account of his success. As the film progresses, he is revealed to have a sensitive side as he is stripped away from certain privileges and left vulnerable. Steve Carell plays the role of the protagonist to no great amazement; he is amiable as the fool in the spotlight who suffers personally for the benefit of others. Jim Carrey does a credible job as antagonist Steve Gray, particularly playing the comedic moments to his advantage.

Overall, the film seemed to lack focus as it shifted from being a story about a successful man with a wounded ego to transform into a mix between a family-oriented friendship story and a raunchy romantic affair. There seemed to be more of a focus on debunking the art of street magic by highlighting one world famous magician in particular. The film critiqued his style of performing painful aberrations and portraying them as a demonstration of superhuman capabilities. The use of comedy in the film is sparse and very untimely. The film does have a pleasant soundtrack which can be heard occasionally during certain scenes.

It is not a great film by any definition. It is passable for a comedy film but the humour is rare and underplayed.

Crazy, Stupid, Love: A funny new way of looking at love

Over the past few years, the number of divorces that have ripped families apart has been on the rise. A view of family life has shifted from the necessity of the husband and wife to stick together towards a belief that everyone should do whatever it takes to be happy. Divorce was always looked at with a scorn that is reserved for something that is hated. It has always been a matter of serious consequence; but what if it triggers the start of many comical incidents?

Cal and Emily were a happily married couple, or at least that seemed to be the case until Emily decided to ask for a divorce while Cal was deciding what to have for dessert when they were enjoying dinner in a restaurant. Evidently Cal is in shock but decides to move out of the house where he lived with his wife and children as he mops in private by drinking heavily at a local bar. As Cal proceeds to recite to anyone who will listen about his wife’s affair and request for a divorce, Jacob, a suave and handsome young man, overhears his willowing and pities him. Jacob decides to teach Cal his ways and help him pick up women at the bar so Cal can get over his wife and move on with his life. The ensuing training brings out many hilarious moments as Jacob teaches Cal the ways of bachelorhood while he himself falls in love with a young woman who he wants to settle down with. At the same time, Cal and Emily struggle with getting their children to accept their impending divorce and how to deal with their beloved Nana.

By taking a serious topic like divorce and twisting it around in a hilarious way, directors Glen Ficarra and John Requa have allowed the audience an opportunity to laugh at some of life’s miserable moments. Although it can be quite serious at instances, divorce isn’t as grave a subject as death, murder, genocide and the like which fall under the genre of dark humour.

The plot itself stems from quite an original idea where a to-be-divorced husband is befriended by a younger man who has to initiate him into bachelorhood, something that the husband has never really experienced previously. Writer Dan Fogelman has put in some great ideas and parallel stories in the plot which makes it fresh and interesting when watching the film. The small twist in the plot and the minor confusion that it creates is a great addition that brings the stories together. In addition, the film provides a slightly askew but unique view of what love has become in the modern age.

The film has Steve Carell’s unique style of comedy balanced with Ryan Gosling’s smouldering good looks. It is a very good film that balances comedy, drama and romance.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: A day in the life of a mischievous teenager

The saying ‘Boys will be boys’ usually goes to say that adolescent boys are always up to mischief and will continue to do so because it is in their nature. It is a justification for young men to talk and behave the way they do while the rest of society chooses to accept them as they are, provided they do not cross the bounds of the societal norms. The same phrase would be most apt to describe the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, if it were to be explained in a single sentence.

Ferris Bueller is a mischievous school kid who is loved by everyone. His classmates and the rest of the school think he is a sweetheart and his gullible parents think that an angel like him could do no wrong. But unknown to them, Ferris always as some tricks up his sleeve and decides to skip school one day. He fakes an illness in front of his parents and claims to stay in bed the whole day. Instead he rings up his best friend Cameron and convinces him to take out his father’s Ferrari in order to rescue his girlfriend Sloane from the clutches of the school and have a day out on the town. They visit all the places they can think of and even manage to involve themselves in a parade. All the while, Ferris’ sister is aware of his sly ideas and vows to expose him before the day is done as does the dean at his school, Ed Rooney.

Written and directed by John Hughes and released in 1986, the film has gone down over the years as a cult classic. It is one among many films based on teenagers and specifically focuses on their school life. In its true essence, the film is all about a young man trying to fulfil his wishes to have a good time and wanting to stay away from responsibilities which are imposed on him. Thus the film reiterates the belief about young men being slack and that ‘boys will be boys’.

The most interesting technique adopted in this film is definitely the breaking of the fourth wall. Time and again the protagonist Ferris Buller, portrayed by Matthew Broderick, will step away from the normal proceedings of the story to speak to the audience and occasionally explain why he does what he does. In a way the film has an infomercial style to it with the protagonist giving the audience a list of do’s and don’ts, the text of which flashes on the screen as he recites it. On other occasions, he simply starts speaking to the audience about what he thinks and feels so as to make it easier for them to understand.

As mentioned before, the film is a cult classic. It follows a mildly dramatic plot and is infused with comedy at appropriate intervals. It is a good one-time watch.

The Other Guys: The screw-ups try to make it big

Living in the shadow of someone else is always terribly disappointing. You are looked down upon and always have a much higher standard set for you which becomes difficult to live up to. It is also difficult to have to take up the reins when that someone else has moved on since you are then expected to fill in their shoes which is no easy task. That task becomes even more difficult if you are a screw-up, which is seen in the 2010 movie The Other Guys.

Terry was a motivated cop who wanted to make a name for himself as one of the top cops in New York City. Unfortunately for him, countless mistakes on the job led him to being confined in the office with Allen as a partner. Allen is an over-calculating detective who is happier doing research work instead of being out in the line of action. Terry and Allen are forced to sit at their desks and file the paperwork of the top detectives in the city, Danson and Highsmith. They are constantly bullied in their department for being ‘the other guys’ who don’t solve any cases but are forced to do the dog work of the rest of the department. When Danson and Highsmith meet their untimely deaths, every duo in the department has their sights on the unofficial label of top dog. Terry and Allen have to get over their spite for each other and get past their own shortcomings to make sure they finish ahead of every other cop duo in the city.

Directed by Adam McKay, this movie brings together the repertoire of Mark Wahlberg as an action star and Will Ferrell’s comedic relief. It is meant to be an action-comedy flick but isn’t here-or-there in either of the genres. It actually blends the worst of both genres since it doesn’t provide edge-of-the-seat action nor does it have laugh-out-loud funny moments.

There is nothing much that can be said about this film. It has a routine style to it and brings nothing special to the table in terms of plot and execution. As an action movie, it is poor. As a comedy, it’s worse. In fact, it’s a sad testament of what passes off as comedy in today’s industry.

A Christmas Story: All I want for Christmas

If there was something you wanted more than anything else in the world, wouldn’t you try everything you could to get it? Especially if it was Christmas and you felt that you have been nice enough to deserve it! But as a child it becomes difficult to convince your parents to buy you that exciting toy you really want. Such is the case in the 1983 film A Christmas Story which was directed by Bob Clark.

Ralphie is a well behaved nine year old boy who has been a good kid all year long and wants only one thing for Christmas: a Red Ryder BB Gun with a compass in the stock and “this thing which tells time”. Unfortunately for Ralphie, he faces strong objection from everyone he tries to convince to get him the gun which includes his parents, his school teacher and even Santa Claus at the mall, and all this because they are afraid that he will shoot his eye out. Ralphie is adamant to have his Red Ryder BB Gun and tries his level best to convince his parents to get it for him by being a good kid in the days leading up to Christmas. Unfortunately for Ralphie, a few incidents involving his friends’ mischief, a run in with a couple of bullies and a handful of episodes where he is heard cursing dent his hopes of ever seeing his beloved Red Ryder BB Gun. Somehow Ralphie must try and rescue the situation if he is going to have his wish fulfilled this Christmas.

The film is riddled with creative styles in the execution. The film has been made to seem as a live-action cartoon film with the use of sound effects which are native to cartoon shows. There is also use of cutaways and transitions in the format that is witnessed in a cartoon show, thus lending to the intended style. There are many subplots in the main story which bring about comical effects for example Ralphie’s fathers winning of a lamp shaped like a leg which his mother disapproves of or the ‘triple dog dare’ which is known among Ralphie and his friends and eventually leads to one of his friends freezing his tongue to a lamppost. Overall, there are plenty of instances of comedic relief during the course of the film.

The film is considered a classic Christmas movie. The only problem which is always overlooked when it comes to this film is the reinforcement of materialism. The story portrays a child who is desperate to receive a desired present in the holiday season which unfortunately reiterates the idea that getting gifts are crucial for someone to be happy during the festive season. It is abysmal that a film which encourages materialism has been hailed as a great especially after it wipes out all the good work that other films and documentaries do in highlighting the idea of giving back to those in need which should be the true message sent out for the festive season.

Albeit the film has plenty of creative inputs and a unique style, a major problem with the film is that it lacks a good entertainment value; and a film doesn’t even need a good, deep message for that!

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.

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.

The Descendants: A simple story of a complicated life

Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. We never know what life has in store for us but we carry on living and hoping to move on the path that we set for ourselves. But sometimes we fail to realise the little things in life where we should be paying attention. Working hard and focusing on a job might guarantee a successful career but also results in the loss of a happy family life. This is exactly the case in the 2011 film The Descendants which was directed by Alexander Payne and stars George Clooney.

Matt King is a lawyer who works hard and spends most of the hours of the day in his office. He barely sees his family which results in his daughters being emotionally disjointed from him and causes his wife, Elizabeth, to take up dangerous sports to keep herself occupied. One such activity results in a boating accident which lands his wife in the hospital with a coma in a critical condition. Matt struggles to cope with this tragedy as he tries to bring his family and friends together and keep them wary of the fact that they may never see Elizabeth again. Matt is also a land baron of a huge family property which was passed down through many generations of his family who are native to the islands of Hawaii. Matt is tasked with the job of signing off on a deal that will take the property away from his extended family and into the hands of foreign investors, something which no Hawaiian wants to see happen. Matt must make some difficult decisions as he learns new truths about his wife and struggles to cope with her condition and the rest of his life.

The film moves at a slow pace as the story unfolds itself. The plot has an appeal which makes it seem like a real story that could happen to anyone. The film has many comedic moments. In spite of dealing with grave topics, the film has a light tone which allows the audience to relax every now and then. The humour is a blend of deadpan and black which is subtle throughout the film. The use of traditional Hawaiian style music adds to the feel of the film as well.

Although the film does come across as boring, if one sits down to watch it from start to finish, the film is quite a nice story of difficult decisions to be made in life.

Project X: It’s all about one epic party

What would you wish for if all your dreams could come true? If you had one chance to set everything right into place the way you wanted it, would you take the chance no matter the risk, no matter the outcome? It is kind of a story of life to take your chances and hope that everything falls into place the way you want it to. That is the story of Project X, the 2012 directorial debut of Nima Nourizadeh which was co-written by Matt Drake and Michael Bacall and produced by Todd Phillips.

Thomas is a nobody in high school. The jocks make fun of him and he is afraid to lift his head from fear of ridicule and failure. His two best friends decide to throw him a party for his 17^th birthday on the weekend that his parents leave town to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Costa is the loud mouthed, obnoxious teenager who is always in praise of himself while putting others down while J.B. is the soft spoken, naive one who goes along with the ride and plays the game. Costa convinces Thomas to let him host a huge party at his house and everything gets blown out of proportion as the crowd turns out to be larger than anticipated. The hosts struggle to keep the party going as the party poopers come knocking on the door to shut down their shenanigans.

The film is about an introverted high school teenager who wants to be noticed. It is about a group of friends trying to make a name for themselves by throwing a huge party and hoping that everything goes according to plan. Although the drastic scale to which the event goes out of control is well beyond the bounds of imagination, the final outcome is a sort of morbid perfection. It is a case where things just seem to perfectly work out in favour of the characters, the script and the director. The way that things just seem to fit into place at the end isn’t particularly believable but it is acceptable all the same.

The entire plot of the film revolves around the party. The main action takes place during the course of the party with everything preceding and following it being only a set up or an outcome in the plot which is a direct relation to the event of the birthday party. As such, the whole plot rests entirely on the way the party was executed in the film. The use of home video style footage was a refreshing technique to make the film interesting and is generally appealing. The actors, who are relatively unknown, have done a good job to make the characters endearing.

The film is all about one epic party. And the proportion to which the film takes it is marvellous. It is a youth-oriented film; not one that all ages will necessarily enjoy. It is fun and vibrant but applauds behaviour that is otherwise considered as morally wayward. Although most would probably enjoy this commercial production, quite a few may have an alternate opinion.