Tag Archives: India

Monkey Man

Revenge! It’s a strong motivator. For Dev Patel’s character Kid AKA Bobby AKA Monkey Man, the thoughts of revenge fuel his very being. In this ultra violent new movie, directed and co-written by Patel, getting even is a slow and painful process.

Patel, best known for his role in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, is in almost every scene in Monkey Man. The title comes from the Hindu monkey-god Hanuman who is referenced throughout the film AND from the persona Patel’s character Kid adopts in bare-knuckle fist fights. In the ring his head is covered by a monkey mask which hides his identity.

Kid manages to finagle his way into a job at an upscale Mumbai club, starting in the kitchen, moving up to become a server in the dining room and eventually in the VIP room. A strongman Rana (Sikandar Kher) who was responsible for Kid’s mother’s torture and death provides security for the establishment. 

After a scuffle leads to a classic chase with Kid getting shot and landing in the drink, he is rescued and rehabbed by a religious group led by a trans woman named Alpha (Vipin Sharman). This respite sets him up for his final confrontation. 

Monkey Man is already being compared to the John Wick films for its level of physical violence. But the violence in Monkey Man is more visceral and realistic. Whereas the Wick face-offs feel more like choreographed dance. A couple of scenes recalled the violent climax of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. (Though no flame-throwers like the one Leo used in that QT film were noticed.)

Patel’s facial expressions throughout the film communicate the gritty nature of these fights. There are a handful of light moments in Monkey Man. And the flashbacks to Kid’s childhood are sweet.

The cast includes Sharlto Copley who starred in the 2009 South African sci-fi film District 9. He is Tiger, the promoter and ring announcer for those underground bare-knuckle boxing matches.

Can a film that is imbued with the culture of India and its religions succeed in Western markets? Well, Slumdog Millionaire won eight Academy Awards (though none in acting categories) and was a financial success. Jordan Peele thought enough of Monkey Man to acquire the movie from Netflix and bring it to theaters via Universal. It’s rated R.

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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

 

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel does what a sequel is supposed to do. It advances the storylines set in the first film, offers a couple of new tweaks and doesn’t try to reimagine the scenario the earlier movie delivered.

Plus, Second does not contain the high volume of old, corny jokes that were littered throughout the first Marigold.

Why do a Second? Well, 2012’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel grossed over $136 million worldwide (about a third of that in the U.S.). And there are not that many films that are targeted to older moviegoers.

In Second, the crew from the first (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are back at the hotel. After being lured from Britain to India by visions of a paradise and finding a dump in the first film, they stayed and reset their lives. The message of both films is that older people have lives, loves, dreams and libidos.

Meanwhile, hotel manager Sonny (Dev Patel) has visions of adding a new hotel to his portfolio while getting ready to marry Sunaina (Tina Desai). When new guest Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) arrives for a stay at the hotel (and to provide eye candy for female moviegoers), Sonny does all he can to impress him (presuming Guy can help him fulfill his real estate ambitions).

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a bit too long. Director John Madden diagrammed several dance scenes on his telestrator and, while they add some sizzle and color, they add to the fatigue factor that sets in about three-quarters of the way through the two hour film.

I think the best reasons to see this film are Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. These two 80-year-olds (Dench is 3 weeks older) and their characters are just fun to watch. We should appreciate them while they are still alive and gracing movie screens.

Another reason: TSBEMH is a perfect film for the 70-something, 80-something or 90-something in your family. Take ’em!

 

 

 

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Life of Pi

“”Life of Pi” is visually stunning and tells an incredible story. But it is not the next “Avatar.”

Director Ang Lee shares many gorgeous images in this movie. From the opening credits with animals galore, to the blendings of sea and sky, to the amazing enchanted island, to the luminous fish—shot after shot is memorable. And the story is pretty good, too.

A clever young man in India shortens his embarrassing first name to “Pi.” He covers his bases with God. He’s a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu. His family, which owns a zoo, moves to Canada, traveling with their menagerie via freighter. A monster wave sinks the ship and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with four zoo animals: a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a fearsome tiger. The story is related to a writer by an adult Pi, so we know from the outset that he survived the ordeal.

Most of the movie is set at sea, in and around the lifeboat. The survival instincts of this teenager, along with guidance from a book found in the lifeboat, keep him going through numerous frightening episodes. His “relationship” with the tiger fuels the story’s progress to its conclusion.

Suraj Sharma is the Indian actor who portrays the teenage Pi. His performance is a good one for a movie rookie who is charged with carrying the bulk of the movie’s story. Like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away,” he is the only human on screen for most of the movie.

This is a movie to see in 3-D on a big screen. It is, as they say, “a feast for the eyes.” There is peril and a few scenes that frighten, but “Life of Pi” (rated PG) will thrill kids just as much as it does adult viewers.

Early marketing for “Life of Pi” contained a critic quote that compared it to “Avatar.” Both are pretty to look at and both have compelling stories, but “Life of Pi” doesn’t have the heft of “Avatar.” Enjoy “Life of Pi” for what it is… a solidly entertaining movie. A classic? That’s still to be determined.

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