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dsangari
Reviews
Kick-Ass (2010)
Another example of bad marvel comics inspired cinema- Spoiler alert!
Why is it that comic book adaptations are considered sacrosanct territory in Hollywood? Are they just not one more way of entertaining middle class people... In a nation where Batman is considered the height of subversiveness and Iron-man the new age patriot, Marvel inspired filmmaking just hit a new low. Kick ass opens with Aaron Johnson as Dave, a 16 year who wants to be a superhero and tells all of us that the real world of doctors, lawyers and bus drivers is plain ole boring. One day (inexplicably) he buys a green suit(for $99 that no one knows how he came by!) online, and starts off in the good-guy business. Using police batons to beat up 'bad guys' he makes it to the you-tube top 10, and is noticed by veteran superhero Big Daddy ala Nicholas Cage and his 11 year old daughter/disciple/guinea pig in the experimental art of murder, arson, shooting and stabbing 'Hit Girl' played by Chloe Moretz. Eventually Dave gets laid by his high school sweetheart and then finds himself drawn into battling Big and Hit's arch nemesis Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong)and his treacherous son+ wannabe superhero Red-mist ala Chris Mintz. Daddy ends up dead, and Kick and Hit join forces to end the film in an orgy of vengeance. Apart from the mediocre acting, pointless characters and mostly absent plot line, it was an entertaining film for those who it targeted (teenagers and wannabe superheroes!) For me, there are some glaring and basic problems with this piece of celluloid. First, I feel that unlike most superhero comics this film did not contain any sort of message for its audience. Second, from start to finish the film shows (almost lovingly) the violent and vicious acts committed by the protagonists. Thirdly the film foists a rather skewed morality on its viewers by repeatedly asserting that in todays America, (where you can get 20 years for sex with a 'minor' but be out in 7 for murder of a minor!) young people (preteens, adolescents and older teens) must be ready to combat violence with violence, that its okay for little kids to shoot, stab, maim, kill and decapitate those that they perceive as a threat. Thus the film unwittingly ends up siding with kids who carry knives and guns to school and train in violent combative skills from an early age, and going against kids who may choose other means of 'expression'. The unflinching and graphic cinematic display of children 'coming of age' by committing violence, and, the scantiness or absence of other expressions (sexual, familial, social, athletic, artistic etc)show the great puritanical, ageist and self righteous American paranoia of 'realism'. In short Kick Ass seems to be glorifying murder and aggression by showing kids that love is overrated and war is underrated. It seems to be a recruiting poster for a new 'generation kill' in USA where its okay for a 13-16 year old to know all about where bullets, F-16's and bazookas come from and how to use them,... but not okay for them to know where babies come from and what youth,love, passion, talent and life are actually all about! That is why such trash is NEVER made in Europe.
Pianese Nunzio, 14 anni a maggio (1996)
Intergenerational relationships cannot be compared with child abuse.
For Gods sake, The priest is not a child molester! Why does everyone keep saying that? When two people have consensual sex, morality does not come into it. I don't get this whole new hatred and paranoia if two inter-generational lover decide to express their desires sexually? All love is the same, emotional blackmail, games and little tiffs are always involved, whether one partner is 13 or 33, does not in the end matter so much. Upon seeing this film I felt that the priest had some admirable traits and was basically a good Samaritan caught up in a web of politics and mafia. When his enemies chance upon his sexual preference (and the fact that he as a catholic priest had sex)they use it as a tool to sideline and destroy his reputation. I felt that the film, far from being some moral conundrum is actually a good attempt at showing the hypocrisy of the times we live in. One thing though, the acting (having been done by obvious non-pros) is about average.
Au revoir les enfants (1987)
A warning to All cinema lovers in India!
Do not buy this movie from NDTV Lumiere, as they have censored it. Imagine.. they censor even films like these!!! The government does not allow any sex, nudity, or even kissing! yet these new 'global savvy Indian companies release world cinema titles which they know will get scissored by the censors. Shame on India, Shame on its repulsive government censorship, and its stupid naive film industry! This a beautiful, wonderful film and I recommend it to everyone. A stunning as well as heart-rending portrayal of Malle's own tormented childhood and his own sense of guilt and loss. As usual the director is unflinching and the makes the film a memorable piece of art. A veritable classic, such a film could never be made in the USA, where artificial and inhumane superficiality, escapism and a sense of paranoia and age-segregation when dealing with the experiences of children, would make this (and thousands of other) film socially unacceptable.
Three Kings (1999)
Another 'anti-war' war movie...
Just watched Three kings again and decided that I'd give my 2 cents despite the film being a decade old and despite America having had another illegal and brutal war with Iraq. So we have three reservists sent on tour of duty to Iraq, they find the place not exactly the walkover they were told it would be but soon get wind of a stash of Kuwaiti gold bullion and decide to steal it. Along the way the trio have a change of heart and set about helping a bunch of Iraqi refugees and slay lots of 'bad guys' while doing it. The film is set on the backdrop of Operation Desert Storm. It manages to entertain as well as evoke empathy for its many characters, which range from a gun toting major played by Clooney and a young officer of the Iraqi republican Guard who has lost his family to Uncle Sam's bombs. While the film does try and raise several important issues, it ends up trivializing Iraqi and Arab suffering by showing them either as victims who need to be helped and guided or self-loathing barbarians who would pimp out or kill their own to stay in their masters good books. The central question, as to what US and co. was (and is) doing in Iraq in the first place is never really answered. The excuse given is the invasion of Kuwait; But, the fact that Kuwait was created out of Iraq by the British and is America's cut price oil barrel today, is mostly forgotten. The message of this film should not have been "lets help out the world, coz we are no 1. but learn from our mistakes" the message should have been "the world does not need Americas help, lets not pretend to be the saviours when we are nothing but a bunch of greedy mass murderers who have destroyed more countries, civilizations and murdered more innocent children than any other empire before us period!" Cinema is a powerful medium and the time has come for filmmakers to stop make ambiguous, tit-for-tat war films, and start taking sides clearly sending out the right signals. Lets stop glorifying and justifying war. A war fought against an opponent who has never ever threatened us and possesses not 1% of our military capability is not a war at all, it is Neo-Con Darwinian extermination at its finest. Lets just stop this hypocrisy...
New York (2009)
Another infantile commentary on 'our times' by Bollywood...
There have of course been many films on 9/11, ranging from exposes indicting the US government and from paranoid assaults on Islam and Muslims themselves, blaming their culture and religious beliefs for that tragic event. Not to be left behind, Mr. K Khan and Yashraj Studios decide to do their take on the whole phenomenon. The Film starts off on a college campus and shows John Abraham as the blue eyed boy/Casanova of the 'desi' circle, and Katrina Kaif as his sweetheart. Neil Nitin arrives on the scene as the good-boy 'newbie' and eventually becomes the heartbroken Cyrano. who for some reason despite his college education, ends up driving an NYC Taxi. One day he finds himself in the hands of the FBI as represented by who else but Irrfan Khan, who accuses him of transporting weapons for Jihadis. The plot boils down to a classic tale of 'Your friend has become a terrorist, infiltrate his gang and help us bring him down.' The film ends with the deaths of most of the main protagonists and some pertinent questions about the Patriot act and US foreign policy. My problem with this film is manifold. Firstly, while the film tries to raise some important issues, they are basically couched in the Indian middle classes' deep and undying devotion for Uncle Sam and its pop culture. for example the main cast is shown as this completely Americanized wannabe Desi bunch and virtually no attempt is made do give their characters a back story despite several mentions of their familial situations; instead, the film wastes all its time on crappy music numbers. Secondly, the film falls into the same trap of colour politics that has plagued the Indian psyche for decades. Dialogs like 'you look just like an American' or 'he is completely American' referring to Katrina and John give away a deep insecurity and desire to fit in. Model and skin bleach cream salesman Abraham and Yellow hued Mukesh (cast for his relatively pale skin), could barely carry off their American accents, let alone convincingly play American Desis! Simply no references to even American culture are included in key dialogs and situations. Kaif is equally unconvincing. Also notably, the actor used to portray John and Katrina's child is actually Caucasian!! How can an Indian couple have a white child??? The casting too betrays the Indian insecurity about the colour of their skin. Thirdly, the film which meanders through its plot with soppy sentimentality and childish logic, displays a scanty and embarrassing ignorance for the city whose name it proudly bears. As someone who has lived and worked in New York, I could pick out several holes regarding choice of locations that I won't go into here. Suffice to say Indian cinema should refrain from grappling with stories of injustice 7000 miles away when 820 million Indians live on 20 rupees a day and more people die of state and army brutality that terrorism annually! I think 'Khuda ke Liye' stated the subcontinents' discontent with US politics in a far more eloquent and sensitive way, with better music too...