Michael Clayton (2007)

Michael Clayton: I'm not the guy you kill. I'm the guy you buy! Are you so fucking blind that you don't even see what I am? I sold Arthur for 80 grand. I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me?....... You're so fucked. Here, let me get a picture while I'm at it.

Michael Clayton is a fixer with a powerful law firm who works behind the scenes to clean up his clients' mess. They call him a miracle worker, though he prefers to believe he is just a "janitor". He drives the company's Mercedes and doesn't even have $75k "just lying around" even after being with the firm for 17 years. It's a failed restaurant business and a divorce that's to blame.

The movie starts with Arthur Eden (Tom Wilkinson), the firm's star lawyer, deciding that he is no longer going to defend UC North in a lawsuit after finding evidence that could be damning to UC North. He snaps in a meeting and takes off all his clothes while threatening to blow the whistle. This can turn out really bad for both his and Michael's boss, Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack) and the law firm's business. Michael doesn't really believe that there might be a problem with UC North but the fact that Arthur might not be taking his medications. UC North's legal attorney, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton), lays out all the cards on the table and they would make it look just like Arthur is crazy and he has no case here.

Michael is not too sure whether he is Arthur's friend first or he needs the $80k more when Marty agrees to pay the money. Of course, the money comes with strings attached. We won't know whether he would have stayed loyal to his friend or his boss if certain things hadn't happened. But he seems more pissed off with the agri-firm making an attempt on his life.

Michael Clayton is the directorial debut for Tony Gilroy and he does a decent job at it. Of course, we all love George Clooney in those suits, though he is not as wealthy in this movie as he looks. I can't remember if I have seen Tilda Swinton in a similar role before, but I think if ever there is a role for a cold-hearted manipulative bitch, she should be the perfect person to play that (I'm actually praising her performance here). It's scary to think that corporations might be willing to go to that length to protect their reputation and it's not just fiction. The Insider was based on a true story.

Rating: 7.5/10

Match Point (2006)

The man who said I'd rather be lucky than good saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's own control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or may be it doesn't and you lose.

Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhye Myers) is a tennis coach from Ireland who comes to London and happens to meet a wealthy family through Tom (Matthew Goode) whom he coaches. Tom's sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) seems to develop a liking for mild-mannered Chris, probably more out of sympathy for his poor background than any strong chemistry between the two. Chris obviously doesn't let go of the chance to be with the wealthy Hewitts. Things take a turn when he is invited to a family party and he meets Tom's sexy fiancee, Nola (Scarlett Johansson). What did he just walk into?

Chloe makes sure that her father would give Chris an opportunity at his business empire to get him out of his poverty and bring him into their social circle. All this happens in the first half hour of the movie which would make one wonder if it's real. Chris instantly develops a strong sexual attraction towards Nola and keeps on trying to get in, while not being a little concerned about the fall it might bring upon him which could be just as fast as his rise. Strangely, he keeps getting away with it. For an ambitious person like Chris, we never know what's in it for him. Nola is just a struggling actress. May be he sees something common about both their situations while being part of a super-rich family? Anyway, it's a Woody Allen movie. Things just happen.

Soon after Nola is dumped by Tom, Chris is driven by his deep lust for Nola and before we know it, they are in an affair. The man who cannot conceive with his wife seems to get Nola pregnant. And things go down hill. Nola doesn't want an abortion for the "third time" (apparently she had already done it with her two previous ex-es) and keeps bugging Chris to leave Chloe and live unhappily ever after.

The only way out for Chris seems to be to have a grand plan of killing both Nola and her innocent neighbor and make it look like a burglary-gone-wrong. And once again, Chris gets away with it even though the detective is so close in seeing through his motives. But then, it was about luck, isn't? The only person in this whole drama I feel bad about is the detective. He was so close and so right in connecting the dots that people might call him paranoid. In a final scene we see Chris justifying his actions in a hallucination, while saying-

(To Nola)- You can learn to push the guilt under the rug and go on. Otherwise it overwhelms you.....(To the neighbor) -The innocent is sometimes slain to make way for a grander scheme. You were collateral damage...(To his unborn child) - To never have been born is the greatest boon of life.

Well said. Amen. In other words, that's the beauty of a Woody Allen movie- it's not about justice. It's about reality. Or luck.

Rating - 7/10

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Jack: Did you get maced too?
Rita: No, I'm crying.....What's wrong with you?
Jack: Let me think about that. I'll tell you the next time I see you.
Rita: Sure, tell me then.
Jack: Thanks for using me.
Rita (Sighing): You're welcome.

Following Hotel Chevalier, we see Jack Whitman (Jason Schwarztman) on The Darjeeling Limited, travelling from Mumbai to the Himalayas. The spiritual journey is arranged by his eldest brother, Francis (Owen Wilson) and they are also joined by the middle one, Peter (Adrien Brody). Francis seems to be a rich man as seen from his $3,000 loafers and $6,000 belt. Wondering why they haven't spoken to each other in such a long time (after meeting at their Dad's funeral a year back), he wants this journey to be a life-changing experience.

Every man here is dealing with some personal loss, be it Jack's troubled relationship or Peter's doubts about having children as opposed to getting a divorce. Jack keeps monitoring his ex-girlfriend's answering machine, while Peter seems to have developed a habit of picking up things that don't belong to him. Jack, being in a rebound stage, falls for the railway hostess, Rita (Amara Karan). As he lets his brothers read his autobiographical book, Invisible Ink, he keeps insisting that "all characters are fictional". As they keep fighting about things they did and things they didn't do, they also wonder if they could have ever been friends in life.

Francis: I guess there's still some more healing to do
Jack: You're getting there though
Peter: Anyway, it'll definitely add to your character

As they finally get to meet their mother, which was the main objective of Francis's itinerary (left as T.B.D), they probably realize that feeling sorry for themselves is not the best way to go about it and they are finally able to let go of all the baggage. In a final symbolic scene, we see them running for the train back to Mumbai while letting go of all the baggage that had been slowing them for so long.

Wes Anderson, along with Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, comes up with another brilliant, heartbreaking story and manages well to capture the essence of rural India. The scene where we see every person on board on the Darjeeling Limited, including Jack's ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) and Bill Murray's unnamed character, is amazing.  The dialogues are again, in the usual "Wes Anderson way", unintentionally funny. And the cast for the movie couldn't have been better chosen.

Rating: 7.5/10

Hotel Chevalier (2007)

Jack: How did you find me?
Jack's ex: Wasn't actually that hard. 
......
Jack's ex: What the fuck is going on? How long have you had this hotel room?
Jack: I don't know
......

Jack's ex: How long are you gonna stay?
Jack: How long are you gonna stay?
Jack's ex: I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Don't you think it's time for you to go home? Are you running away from me?
Jack: I thought I already did.
......
Jack's ex: Have you slept with anyone?
Jack: No. Have you?
Jack's ex: No
Jack: That was a long pause....I guess it doesn't really matter
Jack's ex: No it doesn't. Whatever happens in the end, I don't wanna lose you as my friend
Jack: I promise I'll never be your friend, no matter what...ever
......

A perfect 13-minute prologue to Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, easily my favorite among all Anderson's movies. I've pretty much posted the script of the movie here. These simple yet extremely powerful lines don't leave much to write about, except a longing to relive that experience of The Darjeeling Limited again.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Lives of Others (2006)

Jerska: I can't understand this country anymore. There are no human rights, no freedom of speech. This whole system drives me mad. But on the other hand, it's the same system that inspires us to write, to write about how people live in this country, real lives. And that's real masterpiece coming from our conscience.
........
Dreyman: Albert, I think I'm in trouble. It's the minister in charge of the arts, Minister Hempf. He threatened to ban my plays. Would it be terrible? I don't know what a ban is like.
Jerska (smiling) : Really? It's great.

The movie is set in the 1980s when the Stasi is in full power in East Germany. Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) is a poet-playwright who's about to become Minister Hempf's new victim. Captain Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe) is appointed to spy on his activities and political affiliations and report anything that he finds suspicious. Wiesler would come across as your typical by-the-rule-book, obedient officer who'd quietly take orders and has nothing of a rebel in him.

Dreyman lives with his actress girlfriend, Christa Maria (Martina Gedeck), who is Minister Hempf's object of desire. She is blackmailed into visiting him every Thursday to stay out of trouble in her acting career and also in exchange for Dreyman's freedom. Specially after Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert) kills himself, she believes it's a small sacrifice she has to make for their freedom.

Dreyman, although initially has been more of a model citizen compared to other artists, slowly changes his views after knowing the kind of leaders his country has. He writes an anonymous article in a major newspaper, Der Spiegel, which enrages a few important government officials. One of them is convinced it's written by Dreyman because of the article's "poetic nature". However, Captain Wiesler seems to have reported nothing suspicious against Dreyman even though he sits in  a cabin listening to all his conversations. We are never really told why exactly an officer like Wiesler seems to cover up for Dreyman. Is it that he starts believing in Dreyman's beliefs after reading a collection of his poems? Is it that he questions the unethical nature of his work on spying on a man who poses no real threat? Or is it that he has secretly fallen for his beautiful girlfriend and wishes them well?

We'll never find that out as he goes on about his job while leaving out details that'd help in implicating Dreyman. Even as his promotion is suspended and he finds himself out of favors with his superiors, he finds his happiness in the collection that Dreyman dedicates to him. Yes, good men do exist.

The detailed way in which writer-director, Florian Donnersmarck lays out the plot, makes it difficult to believe it's his first feature film. Ulrich Muhe delivers a brilliant performance as Captain Wiesler. Even though he doesn't speak much in the movie, you'll find yourself rooting for his character. And to top everything, the last musical score in the movie is amazing.

Rating - 8.5/10

On the Road (2012)

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!” - Jack Kerouac

I must admit this was the quote that made me want to read the book that has so famously divided people into two kinds - the ones who absolutely love the book and the ones who think Kerouac's writing was just hyped up following his death. I did watch the documentary on the life of Jack Kerouac, but never managed to get hold of the book. And somewhere deep within, knowing his life story, I don't want to be harsh. So lets see.

Sal Paradise (Sam Riley) is the narrator of this road trip that he and a group of friends set off on in search of meaning and spirituality. He goes around with his diary making observations on everyone around him, but it's mostly Dean that he is fascinated with. At times, we see them reading to each other  from Swann's Way by Marcel Proust.While the first half of the movie mostly helps us to get to know the characters, the second half is mostly the road trip, the people they meet on the way and how their futures are shaped. 

Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) is one hell of a charmer with a deep voice who can be the center of attention in any group. However, it's not all show and he does have a deeper side to him. We see that when he's entertaining Sal with one of his anecdotes while visiting him, and suddenly breaks into a silence, breathes deeply and says "It's good to have family, isn't?" At times his personality could be bordering on psychosis as he keeps abandoning all those who love him while being so unaware of the mess his life is.

Marylou (Kristen Stewart) is unforgettable. Sexually adventurous and so full of life. She understands Dean very well and loves him but says she can't have him since he is so mad. Among the other characters in the movie is Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge). He has a funny way of talking and in one of the scenes he mentions about contemplating suicide and then suddenly realizing, "Oh shit, I haven't even written a suicide note. I'm going over searching my mind for the right words and then I couldn't jump anymore. In that moment I wanted to experience the wisdom of life, mad with ecstasy and vengeance and truth."  Viggo Mortensen (Old Bull Lee) and Kirsten Dunst (Camille) have nice little cameos too.

Garrett Hedlund delivers a strong performance as Dean. So does Sam Riley in his moments of despair for not being able to earn his father's respect. Walter Salles (of The Motorcycle Diaries fame) has done a good job of adapting the book (that so many claim is "unfilmable") with some lesser known actors. Though I wouldn't know how good an adaptation it is. At the end of it, I don't have any strong feelings. I'm certainly not bored as some others would say. I'm glad I watched the movie first and now I can go on to read the book. I'm afraid the other way round is always disappointing.

Rating - 7/10

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Sam: What kind of bird are you?
Sparrow: I'm a sparrow, she's a dove...
Sam: (pointing to Suzy): No, I said...What kind of bird are YOU?
Suzy: I'm a raven.

How do you make a movie  with no real plot and with two twelve-year-olds as serious lovers and turn it into some escapist fantasy that's a delight to watch? Ask Wes Anderson.

The story starts with Khaki Scout Sam (Jared Gilman), an orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), the black sheep, missing. Later the adults related to them, i.e. Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), and Suzy's parents (played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) realize that the two might have colluded to run away together. As a search is set off for the two young lovers, we see the usual elements of a Wes Anderson movie, namely, dysfunctional families, people not in terms with reality, emotionally troubled people, etc at play.

Some of the dialogues are sharp, clever and funny, while at times they might sound dramatic. And some, between the two young lovers(remember- 12-year-olds), might make you wonder, "How did he get away with it?" But may be, that's the point. However, I wouldn't rate it above The Darjeeling Limited or Fantastic Mr. Fox.The ending was bit of a drag, but overall a must-watch for all Wes Anderson fans.

Rating: 7/10