Movie Review: Gangs of Wasseypur 2

Some labeled director Anurag Kashyap indulgent for his sprawling saga of a Bihari gangster’s violent revenge in Gangs of Wasseypur. This sequel will reverse their judgment. To borrow the eloquent words of a character in Gangs of Wasseypur 2, you’re advised to shove your pretensions up your asshole and watch this film at the earliest.

Years have passed since the death of Shahid Khan in Wasseypur, the town isn’t the same anymore but the knives and bullets are still flying around. GOW 2 picks up where the finale of the first film left us – Sardar Khan (Bajpayee) has been brutally murdered and his sons Faizal (Nawazuddin) and Danish (Vineet Kumar) vow to exact revenge. We're thrown straight into the midst of a series of bloodbaths and the ensuing storm puts Ramadhir Singh (Dhulia) in a rotten core. Along with Faizal two colorfully named new characters Perpendicular and Definite (Zeishan Quadri) leapfrog into the story as every man jack plans on being the new Sardar Khan. What follows are the constantly shifting shades of loyalty and the lack of it, fear and respect, family honor, the power of money – familiar tropes found in American and Asian gangster films, all leading to an electrifying climax set to Dubstep Keh Ke Lunga. 

The pace in Gangs of Wasseypur 2 is unrelenting - unlike in the previous film where one is made to scratch one’s head for the first half hour, Kashyap thrusts you in right away into the action this time. This immediately makes the film a great deal more fun than its predecessor, which suffered from stuttering tonal shifts and a constant, gratingly intrusive voiceover by Piyush Mishra. The voiceover is still there in GOW 2 but is much less intrusive. The scope is much bigger this time but everyone behind the film has a much surer grip of the film - in fact the editing (Shweta Venkat) is so tight it’d be hard to fit a feather between scenes. Sneha Khanvalkar’s songs, Kala Re in particular are attached and picturised so well the film feels like kaleidoscopic images of art and blood. 

Apart from a bevy of clever Hinglish puns in Varun Grover’s lyrics, Gangs of Wasseypur 2 offers other guilty pleasures. In one scene a character hilariously cites the abundance of Hindi movies adding to humans’ stupidity. Kashyap is good at detailing the quirks of the characters and the endless violence they cause. One extended scene explains the significance of a shaving blade in naming two characters Perpendicular and Tangent. After watching the barrage of rioting, pillaging and machine gunning double-crossers one is thankful for things not being as bad in our town as they appear in Wasseypur. 

The parallels to a certain famous gangster movie are there though the writers (Zeishan, Akhilesh, Sachin Ladia) keep Gangs of Wasseypur 2 from being just another facsimile of its genre’s best. The filmmakers’ interest was clearly to depict the Bihar ganglands and hoodlums accurately, but whether audiences buy the authenticity of the ‘real life’ characters remains an open question. In any case Gangs of Wasseypur 2 is never glib and is not in any way an action film, despite being bloody enough. Also it benefits as much from its historical specificity as it does from its brilliant cast. One can expect Nawazuddin to be an overnight star with this turn – the man is just excellent here. The supporting cast is a cauldron of talent with Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, Zeishan, Raj Kumar Yadav, Vineet Kumar, Pankaj Tripathi, Tigmanshu Dhulia rounding up as one of the best ever ensembles.

There are a few hiccups, like the second half which sort of loses steam, and the cloying presence of Piyush Mishra who adds nothing to the film apart from his stoned gaze. Still, the scale that Kashyap explores is epic enough to let most of the snags slide. His visceral style, aided by the stunning way cinematographer Rajeev Ravi shoots Bihar’s streets without falling for shanty-porn, ensures the film retains its freshness. Not to mention the oddball humor of it all, where a Bollywood obsessed mafia boss wearing Technicolor clothes smokes up and giggles, a jammed pistol turns the hunter into the hunted on a malfunctioning Bajaj scooter, and everyone’s phone ringtone is from the 80’s cinema. It is unabashed pulp, but to watch it is to witness a master filmmaker continuing to refine his talent. 

Best enjoyed as a single viewing, Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2 are Kashyap’s double barreled shotgun blast in the rotting belly of Indian commercial cinema; unless you have an absolutely horrible taste in movies, you should watch them on a huge screen.

Movie Review: Total Recall

On a visual level, the shiny new CGI-swathed version of Total Recall is worth watching – for the slick landscapes alone. But apart from that, you can expect VFX overkill and dollops of boredom as the hero Colin Farrell battles futuristic police squads, scheming women and the script’s unrelenting blandness. 

What made Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 movie so memorable were the twists and turns, which were way ahead of their time back then. And at Arnold Schwarzenegger at his best, it was a great blend of pulp, cutting edge special effects and sci fi action. This time around, writer Kurt Wimmer merely rearranges the furniture of the original film by adding some chase scenes and completely sucking out the humor. The story remains the same – Douglas Quaid (Farrell) is a bored factory worker who has recurring nightmares of a hot woman (Jessica Biel) and is married to an equally eye popping woman (Kate Beckinsale). Quaid visits Rekall, a shifty entertainment center which plants false vacation memories in your head, but things go haywire when cops break in to arrest him and he shoots down every one of them. What follows are the exact same events that transpire in the original, and if you’ve seen that movie, you are advised not to expect anything more.

The majority of the movie has Quaid on the run, this might be interesting to those not familiar with the Verhoeven movie or Phillip K Dick’s short story on which it is based. For the rest, director Len Wiseman continually tends to frustrate, neither being faithful to the book nor having any respect for the original movie. The film’s only big homage moment is the appearance of the iconic three-boobed lady, but by that time you are left exhausted by the complete lack of innovation or freshness in the film. Wiseman, who made the first two Underworld movies and the fun Die Hard 4 seems to have mastered the art of showcasing his wife Beckinsale in a variety of action heroine poses – unlike in the original where the character is killed off midway, she hunts down Quaid all the way up until the finale. The bright spot is her hand to hand fight with the muscular Biel in an elevator, though it gets over in a flash. 

There is plenty of frenetic action but sadly it is never exciting – the action set pieces are just layer upon layer of crummy video game cutscenes. Farrell plays a one-note confused Jason Bourne and is a far cry from the charismatically hammy action superstardom of Schwarzenegger.  This is Farrell's second remake after Fright Night and one can only hope that he sticks to original indies like In Bruges, because he certainly does not have the chops for a big box office draw.

(First published in MiD Day)

The 20 Best Movies of 2012 So Far

2012 is turning out to be a huge year for movies - and at little more than halfway through there have been some great commercial blockbusters and indie gems. It is futile to include The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers in a 'best of' list, because they don't need validation at this point, everyone loved them. 

Naturally, I haven't seen many films that have released this year, so here are the 20 best of the ones that I have.

20 - Sleep Tight

'REC' director Jaume Balaguero forgoes the blood and constant dread of the zombie movies for a chilling Spanish thriller about a hotel concierge who isn't as demure as he looks. Luis Tosar is excellent as the sad faced loner with a creepy disability, and Balaguero even manages to get the audience to sympathize with his proantagonist.

19 - Take this Waltz

Michelle Williams stars in yet another heart wrenching story of doomed marriage and the frailty of a relationship. Also starring Seth Rogen, director Sarah Polley takes us through the most devastating couple seen on screen since Blue Valentine. 

18 - Elles

Starring Juliet Binoche, Elles is a distressing story of a French reporter who discovers a bunch of girls who pay for their college fees by prostituting themselves. A self indulgent film, no doubt, but one that doesn't pass judgement to drive its point.

17 - The Day He Arrives

A thoroughly mesmerizing Korean film about a has-been filmmaker who arrives in Seoul to meet his friend for drinks and loses himself in a strange warped Groundhog Day. Director Sang Soo Hong revisits the theme of a filmmaker with midlife crisis from his 2008 movie Night and Day. Although a big recco for movie buffs, this is a must watch for those who make movies.

16 - Marley

Having made One day in September and Life in a Day, director Kevin Macdonald was the perfect choice for the biopic of the legendary Rastafarian. Marley is perhaps the best retelling of Bob Marley's life we'll ever see. Macdonald mixes some fascinating footage with Marley's classic hits and delivers an extremely comprehensive account that is enough to drive fans crazy in emotion.

15 - The Dictator

This year's guilty pleasures are courtesy of Sascha Baron Cohen who plays a tongue-in-cheek version of Gaddafi in America. The Dictator is as funny as Borat and is a proper feature with a 'plot' instead of a mere mockumentary. Cohen makes sure he targets all kinds of audiences and offends them as much as possible, but what makes it work is that he does it without being smarmy.

14 - Chronicle

Chronicle was the biggest surprise of the year as first-time director Josh Trank combined intricate handheld live-action camerawork with CGI wizardry to stunning effect in this found footage superhero thriller.

13 - This is not a film

Jafar Panahi has been put under house arrest and banned by the Iranian govt from making movies. To be shown to the rest of the world, This is not a film was smuggled out of his house hidden inside a cake. The footage contains Panahi's account of a film that he wishes to make and is a heartbreaking political statement against the dictatorial Iranian government, one that echoes last year's No one knows about Persian cats.

12 - 21 Jump Street

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller make dick jokes funny in this hysterical movie version of the hit series. 21 Jump Street is buddy cop comedy done right with the perfectly cast Hill and Tatum for non-stop gut busting gags; what's more, it even parodies its own genre.

11 - Snabba Cash

Snabba Cash is Snabba Entertainment, and a cooler Swedish version of a Pusher style mafia thriller. Starring Joel Kinnaman (the new Robocop) and a vast array of characters, the film packs enough smarts to shame recent Hollywood gangster movies. A sequel is slated to release next year. 

10 - Supermen of Malegaon

In an industry ruled by the Khans and Kumars director Faiza Ahmad's docu is a fresh breath of air. Clocking in at just over an hour, Supermen of Malegaon is fascinating and often funny, plus it avoids sentimentality and all the cliches found in most documentaries.

9 - Gangs of Wasseypur

Currently the best Indian film of the year, Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur is a visceral epic with glorious characters and gently mocking dialogue. Part two releases in a few days and it remains to be seen if it matches the quality of its predecessor. 

8 - The Loved Ones

An absolutely bloody and shocking thriller from Australia, The Loved Ones is currently the best horror movie of the year. The 2009 film arrived late to our shores; it has enough squirmy thrills to satisfy the die hardest fans of Martyrs. Robin McLeavy is great as a batshit crazy school girl who kidnaps her crush after he refuses to go to prom with her.

7 - Polisse

The French film Polisse is the feel bad movie of the year and contains no redemption or hope. Director Maiwenn emerges as the Kathryn Bigelow of France after stepping out of the shadow of her ex husband Luc Besson and delivering an unsettling story of a Child Protection Unit. The powerhouse acting ensemble is so good that at some moments you forget that these are actors.

6 - A Monster in Paris

The feel good film of the year is a French cartoon that contains some of the most exquisite animation ever put on screen. Director Bibo Bergeron crafts a smart, funny, quirky comedy that gets better and better as it plays and even contains a couple of fun song and dance numbers.

5 - Sleepless Night

Starring Tomer Sisley, this french action thriller is set almost entirely inside a nightclub. The single location with flickering lights and pulsating music of the discotheque makes for a very claustrophobic atmosphere, and combined with wall to wall action it simply becomes an insanely gripping watch.

4 - The Raid

A 100 minutes of non stop cyclonic mayhem, The Raid: Redemption is not one of the better action films of the past few years, it is one of the best action movies ever made. Indonesian star Iko Uwais using his bare hands slices, dices, stabs, jackhammers through scores and scores of ruffians with the ease of a ballet dancer, and director Gareth Evans' camera lingers around for long, uncut shots.

3 - Indie Game: The Movie

You've heard of indie films and their struggle, but have you heard of indie video games? Indie Game The Movie is a beguiling spotlight on the people who refuse to join the big companies or submit to the commercial consumers. Directors Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky chronicle the lives of three sets of indie game developers who give up everything to create smart, innovative games at a hundredth of the budget of mainstream franchises. It is a story that has never been told before, and is without a doubt the best docu of the year so far - its big achievement is that it appeals to people who don't even play video games.

2 - Cabin in the Woods

Written by Geek God Joss Whedon and Cloverfield's Drew Goddard, Cabin the the Woods is twisted, unique and endlessly fascinating to sit through. The two deliberately mix horror movie clichés with darkly absurd genre dissection and ultimately dole out a modern masterpiece.

1 - Beyond the Black Rainbow

This year's WTF Genre Champion is director Panos Costamos dark, brilliantly trippy, crazy as hell pastiche of THX 1138, Scanners, Eraserhead, Blue Sunshine and 80's Russia and Kubrick. Beyond the Black Rainbow stars Eva Allen as a patient in a strange institution interrogated by an even weirder doctor, and it eventually turns into a horror movie. If the imagery in this film is anything to go by, we can expect some very imaginative films in the future from Cosmatos.      

Honorable Mentions: Haywire, God Bless America, Rec 3: Genesis, Penumbra.

Movie Review: Ice Age Continental Drift

There are sequels, then there are cash grabs, then there are fifty feet of direct-to-DVD spinoffs, then there is Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D. The franchise already showed signs of being soggy in part three but now rears its fungus-coated head in its entirety in this fourquel.

The quiet charm that made the first Ice Age movie a fun novelty has given way to loud over the top tomfoolery. Though slapstick can still be funny, Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D doesn’t have enough original comedy to keep things interesting, it’s almost as if writers Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs and Mike Reiss were tasked with doling out visual gags for television commercials. Most of the one liners are stale and the story seems to have been dictated by studio execs worried about audiences of all ages – thrown in is a joke for moms, one for dads, one for kids, one for teens, one for the pop culture and so forth. It’s rather frustrating because 2002’s Ice Age was originally made as a cure to the clichéd storytelling that had festered in Hollywood. 

The story reeks of typical Hollywood corporate pressure, in Ice Age Continental Drift our friends the wooly mammoth Manny (Ray Romano), the saber toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) and sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) face the biggest challenge of them all – being separated from the herd on a floating ice raft and encountering the end of the ice age. Once again the bloke unknowingly responsible for all this is Scrat the squirrel who is still obsessed with his acorn. Manny, Diego and Sid are left to face huge waves, quakes, and a certain gorilla pirate named Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage) whose first mate Shira (Jennifer Lopez) falls for Diego. It sounds familiar, because it is. 

Continental Drift also has a long drawn subplot of Manny’s family struggling against Mother Nature but only Scrat’s sections of discovering a treasure map holds one’s interest. The funniest bit is a badger who doubles as the ship’s pirate flag, but most terrible is pop sensation Nicki Minaj who voices a mean-gurl mammoth and makes your ears bleed out of exhaustion. And after the 30th character pops up with his own pop culture joke, one begins to long for a quiet, less bloated spinoff film featuring Scrat and his acorn. The most promising part of Ice Age Continental Drift is its gorgeous animation, but it is sadly complemented by largely unnecessary 3D. There are plenty of coming-at-ya 3D gags but they all feel as contrived as the sentimental life lessons in the film. 

Like the meltdown in part three, the Ice Age franchise is now bereft of groundwork and laughs. Though that won’t exactly make the characters extinct, it’s only a matter of time until we get part five.

(First published in MiD Day)