Nightcrawler

Just when you think you have seen it all, there will be a movie which will prove you otherwise.

Nightcrawler is one such movie. It explores the dark side of the humans and shows it as it happens as one vies for better life.

It’s the story of a thief Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is always thinking of making money and also tries his hand at getting a job. He is constantly learning through videos of the internet.

On one such night, he witnesses an accident and camera crew filming it. That gives him an idea to get a camcorder and radio scanner. He starts filming accidents/incidents and then sells it to the TV channel news director Nina Romina (Rene Russo).

He hires up an assistant desperate for a job and then also later on shown to promote him to the position of VP before getting him killed. The assistant had tried to blackmail him of his illegal activities.

Lou is shown as sociopath who is shown to be knowledgeable and would do anything to gather more attention even if it meant to fiddle with crime scene. There is no reasoning behind his action.

Jake has done a great job portraying him, a special mention for his eyes as they express his action and intent. The direction of the movie keeps you hooked all the time not knowing what to expect next.

It’s the crime scene of a drug deal gone wrong that gets him the attention and due to the footage gets hounded by the cops and making the TV channel think if its ethical at all.

Rene Russo does a good job in a short role and yes she does makes you wonder on where to draw the lines of ethics when showing such videos to the people.

The movie asks a lot of question subtly about the morality of people making choices, driven by their aspirations.

This is director Dan Gilroy debut movie and one can only expect more from him in coming years. He also happens to be the writer.

It’s a must watch for Jake Gyllenhaal who has given his one of finest performances.

Hunterrr

Wondering where to start off with, with the present or the past or in between somewhere in the flashbacks that tells the exploits of a man who preyed on women for their abode and never found himself giving up on it until……

Well, you would have to watch the movie for that why give it all away.

Hunterrr is one of the movies that probably every boy, man fantasizes in the land of Kamasutra but seldom is our society open to talk about sex.

It’s good to see movies bringing sex out in the open than behind closed doors.

The movie revolves around Mandar Ponkshe (Gulshan Devaiah) and his sex life wherein he is more interested in getting laid than to find a true love and settled down in life.

His exploits are the highlight of the movie as flashes of his life from the present and past is shown along with women with whom he has affairs.

As he starts ageing and the societal pressure starts to build up on him, he begins his search for his bride through the arrange marriage route and yes the dilemma of speaking the truth about his past hangs like sword over his neck.

He meets Trupti (Radhika Apte) the one girl whom he could have opened about his past but lies. If wondering why, it’s because she had a past too.  

Her ex-boyfriend haunts him like anything making him think if he should tell her the truth or not. His past addiction is on the verge of breaking his start off on a clean slate.

The movie starts well with witty dialogues and then later the flashbacks happen between the present and past. One starts wondering if the director wanted us to compare Mandar’s past and present. I am not sure how many people have got that.

It also tells the story about his cousin Kshitij (Vaibhav Tatwawdi ) who due to his mischiefs is put in army school and yes he too woos the gals his way with his army uniform. Then it takes a turn where he beats up a father for raping his daughter and then ends up marrying her who also is shown to have a darker complexion. Something that makes you think.

Mandar never gets why he does that even when Kshitij could have good looking one’s for marriage.

It’s the climax of the movie that leaves you down wanting for more. The scene especially when he tells her the truth and her response could have been better written. It leaves you wondering “bas itna hi aur kuch nahi”

The only scene that I did not like is the way kids are shown to brush against women in open place. I don’t think that is something that was needed to be shown but my guess is that they probably wanted to show the reality.

The movie is worth watching especially for Gulshan showing his acting prowess and well supported by the rest of the cast. Another one to watch out for is Vaibhav Tatwawdi. Nitesh Pandey does his bit in a blink and miss scene.

The movie does give a feel of a Marathi movie. It has been well directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni who also happens to be the writer.

The men are going to enjoy this movie a lot more than women. If you are women and liked the movie please do share your thoughts.

The movie is a must watch for Gulshan Devaiah’s acting.

The Imitation Game

This movie is about the life of Alan Turing of who most have not heard of but is often called as the father of computer science.

The movie also touches his personal life and the stigma of his sexuality as he breaks the code that helps the Allies to win over the Nazis in the World War.

The lead is played by Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing who does a good portrayal and does justice to the role. He is well supported by Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode.

The movie maintains a good pace and the flashback in his life shown well by the director Morten Tyldum and well scripted too by Graham Moore.

After the movie I did some research on the man and it’s sad to know that a man who helped to win the war got detained for his sexuality as a homosexual which was considered to be a crime those days. 

Eventually he committed suicide at the age of 41.

Much of the recognition of his work came later post his death as deemed confidential by the government then.

In 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for "the appalling way he was treated". Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon in 2013.

It’s a Must Watch for the man unknown and also for the good performance put up by Benedict.

Playing It Cool

One must have watched so many rom coms (romantic comedy) that at one point of time that you can actually guess what will happen in the next scene. 

That may make you think that you have the potential of becoming a scriptwriter but no. It’s just the same old formula is used repeatedly with lack of any of innovative ideas/writing coming up.

Playing it cool is one such movie though a different approach has been taken the story goes through the cliché wherein the guy does not believe in love until he falls in one and that he has a hard time accepting it.

The movie is directed by Justin Reardon and written by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair. It stars  Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Anthony Mackie, Aubrey Plaza, Patrick Warburton, Ashley Tisdale, Ioan Gruffudd,Topher Grace and Giovanni Ribisi.

The movie is about a writer who is told to write a romantic movie but struggles with it. His mom abandonment is the reason behind his failed relationship. 

His necessity to write a romantic is shown through the stories of his friends who incidentally are also writers/poets, etc. and later on he falls in love with a girl who is engaged to get married.

There is nothing much new over here and Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan do their job quite well supported by other cast.

The script lacked the depth that could have turned this movie around. Instead they choose to go with which we have already seen in earlier rom com movies.

The movie is a one-time watch.