Death At a Funeral

This was the funniest film I have seen in a long time. It is a small film set in a single location and works almost like a play. Unpretentious and sans the ‘Hollywood’ air it had bunch of characters that looked and felt real. A typical British film this one reminded me of ‘Full Monty’ or ‘A Fish Called Wanda’. Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Lukewarm Tarantino

Saw “DeathProof” yesterday. After starting off provocatively it ended up being just a bunch of conversations with random graphic violent moments thrown in. Undoubtedly the Tarantino touch is there, like all of his films it is compulsive viewing, but the point he is trying to make is missing. At least I missed it. The whole film is like listening to the conversation on the next table. That the occupants of the table are beautiful and sexy girls has its points of interest. But eavesdropping into other peoples conversations can take you only so far and beyond a point it gets boring. Having said that one has to put in a note about the use of music; as usual the Tarantino magic is spot on when it comes to the background score. I didn't know any of the songs but they were so right for the situations and sounded really good in the film.

Being an admirer of films like “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” and even his not so successful “Jackie Brown” I was looking forward to the film turning a corner and revealing something absolutely amazing. Unfortunately nothing like that happened. The film kept meandering and then like a bad 70’s action film (it pays a tribute to that genre) it ended in a climax where the bad guy got what was coming to him. Like the “Kill Bill” franchise “DeathProof” too did not live up to the expectations.

ATONEMENT

Snorezzzzzzzzz. It’s a big film with big production values. The problem is everyone from the director downwards seems to take that definition too seriously. Every frame is thought through in the minutest detail. I didn’t look deep enough but I am sure god was in there. That it got 7 nominations and the best film Oscar confirms my long held belief that the committee is easily impressed by the typical Hollywood show of strength.

Atonement put me to sleep. Twice. For me nothing worked. All the spit and polish left me cold. It was like looking at beautiful but soulless images. The actors seemed lifeless and the only word that comes to mind to describe their work is ‘ponderous’. The same could be said about the cinematography- it was beautiful but didn’t do anything for me. A shot of planes reflected in the water and the scene at the beach were beautiful- maybe too beautifully shot. They were screaming to be looked at. The background track where the typewriter was used well left me with a headache. Once again it was well produced but very heavy going.

Overall it is an example of how excellence in individual departments didn’t add up to make a brilliant film. .