May 20 2012

The Muppets

Like millions of other kids The Muppets were a huge part of my childhood. I don’t think they were shown on Indian television until cable tv was introduced and even then perhaps very little but I was lucky enough to catch the Muppet Show on Kuwait tv while I was living there. But it had been a long, long time since I had seen anything related to them, save for clips on Youtube and some odd stuff here & there. That’s why I was pleasantly surprise that they were doing a movie on the Muppets, a comeback of sorts. The Muppets is a 2011 live action comedy film, the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years, the film is directed by James Bobin, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller and stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones.

While I watched with some childish happiness, Walter (who is a muppet born to a human family) who lives in Smalltown, USA with his human brother Gary. Both of them are huge Muppets fans and they grow up watching the show on tv a lot. When Gary plans a trip to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary to celebrate their 10th anniversary as a couple, he invites Walter along so they can visit the Muppet studios. Mary is a bit disappointed as she has hoped it to be just the two of them but she is too nice to object. While at the abandoned, derelict studios Walter sneaks into Kermit’s old office and overhears Statler and Waldorf selling the theater to Tex Richman, an oil magnate, and his henchmen Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly. If the Muppets can raise $10 million they can repurchase the theater as there is a clause in the contract that says so. Richman revealing his plans to destroy the Muppet Theater and drill for oil underneath, and later warns Gary and Mary about Richman’s intentions.

Walter gets Gary & Mary to take him to Kermit’s mansion where they find Kermit all alone. Kermit realizes that he must get the old group back together and organize a show which they haven’t done in a long time. Fozzie Bear, who is performing in a small club  the Moopets, a group of uncouth Muppet impersonators which includes a man (Dave Grohl) dressed as Animal. Gonzo has become rich in the plumbing business. Animal is in an anger-management clinic, with Jack Black who tells him not to play the drums to keep his temper in check! They get all of the muppets to join and that leaves them with going to Paris and meeting Miss Piggy, working as Vogue Paris’s editor for “plus-sized” fashion in Paris. She is not convinced to join them (she wants Kermit to admit that ‘he’ needs her and not that the group needs her) so they get Miss Poggy from the Moopets to replace her. After much rejection, CDE network executive Veronica gives the Muppets a two-hour opening in CDE’s schedule as long as they can get a celebrity host.

Miss Piggy finally returns and takes her place but they can’t find a celebrity host so Miss Piggy has the Muppets kidnap Jack Black as a celebrity guest. Mary goes alone on a sight seeing trip as Gary helps Walter, who is also going to perform, for the big night. Gary forgets his anniversary dinner with Mary and she leaves for Smalltown. Fearing the worst Kermit goes to Richman and asks him for the studio back but learns that the Texan plans to sell their trademark name and rights which he plans to give to the Moopets. Gary goes and apologizes to Mary and brings her back to the show. People slowly start piling in and each act is a success, despite Jack Black’s protest on being kidnapped. Although initially Walter is scared he finally shows up and does a beautiful whistling song. Kermit reconciles with Miss Piggy and the Muppets perform “Rainbow Connection”. Richman in desperation cuts the power & disables the telephone lines and finally evicts the Muppets from the theater, out of time and short of their monetary goal.

Although dejected Kermit & friends leave the theatre but are greeting by thousands of cheering fans. With Gary’s encouragement, Walter greets the crowd with the Muppets. Gary proposes to Mary and Richman gives the theater and rights back to the Muppets after suffering a head injury from Gonzo’s bowling ball act. All’s well that ends well. And ofcourse we have a musical number at the end.

Feel good movie and I hope it revitalizes the Muppets and bring them back for more stuff on tv & movies. Silly yes, a bit cheesy but it’s good cheese. I loved it and it’s a 8 out of 10 for me!

By Roshan • Movies • 2

May 17 2012

Haywire

Billed as a female Jason Bourne and the coming out/launch pad for the awesome Gina Carano Haywire looked awesome in trailers. What’s more the movie packed a punch in the supporting group of actors hired to push this movie & Carano – how’s Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas and Bill Paxton as her dad sound? With this many veteran actors plus newer stars like Fassbender & Channing Tatum & Steven surrounding Carano in this movie, Soderberg directing it and the premise it should soar up the Box Office charts shouldn’t it? Not quite as the movie did terribly and just managed to get a bit more than it’s budget at the theatres.

However, as you and I know very well, it doesn’t mean that the movie is bad. It just means that it failed to captivate a fickle audience’s fancy. And while you may flock to Harry Potter & Twilight series, I won’t. I liked this movie a lot and Ms.Carano captured my heart. Let’s see what the movie is about shall we?

In flashback scenes we come to know that Mallory Kane works for a private firm employed by the American government for covert operations. The firm’s director Kenneth attends a meeting Washington DC with veteran government agent Coblenz and Spanish contact Rodrigo. Coblenz wants to hire the firm to rescue Jiang who is being held hostage in an apartment in Barcelona. He also insists that Mallory be on the team. Mallory and her team, which includes Aaron, travel to Barcelona and despite difficulties succeed in rescuing Jiang and delivering him to Rodrigo. Once she is back to the US, Kenneth (who is also Mallory’s former lover) approaches her at her apartment and ask her to take a simple assignment before she leaves the firm – pose as the wife of BritishMI6 agent Paul during a mission in Dublin. After some persuasion, Mallory agrees.

At Dublin she meets with Paul and they get ready to go to  a party at Russborough House, where they meet with his contact, Studer. Not trusting Paul, Mallory uploads a tracking software so she can monitor his movements on her BlackBerry. As she watches from afar, Paul & Studer meet in private and she sees Paul go into a bar. Once he leaves she enters to find Jiang dead, clutching  clutching in his hand a brooch which Kenneth had insisted she wear as a recognition signal for her initial contact with Paul. Mallory is being setup by Kenneth & Paul. Once they leave the party and go back to their hotel room, Paul attacks her on entering the room. An awesome fight scene later Mallory gets the upper hand and shoots Paul dead. She calls Kenneth from Paul’s cell and his opening statements reveal that he was part of the setup. Mallory leaves as cops enter the hotel and she evades them while having to fight off a couple of them and makes her way to England. She also calls Rodrigo to know if he was part of the setup. This prompts Rodrigo to call Coblenz, who then calls Mallory.

Colblenz says he is on her side and says that he had doubts of Kenneth embezzling money using his firm as a front. Mallory then goes back to the US via Canada and goes to meet her father. At a diner she is met by Aaron who tries to take her by force but she fights back. She takes a customer Scott and they drive away in his car. She informs Scott as to what has happened and says that he should tell this to the cops if they are caught. After a chase they are caught up the cops when they hit a tree after a deer runs into Scott’s car. They are both taken into custody, but soon the police are ambushed by Kenneth’s assassins posing as federal agents. Mallory manages to free herself and save Scott and escape from there, killing on of the assassins. She finally makes it to her father’s house before Kenneth, Aaron and some others can get to him.  Aaron starts to realize, after receiving a photograph on his phone of Jiang lying dead, that Mallory might have been set up. Aaron tries to pressurize Kenneth for the truth but is shot in the abdomen and is left for dead.

Making sure that her father is safe Mallory then meets up with Coblenz and his men. She tells him to help Scott which he says he will do. Before Mallory leaves, Coblenz offers her a government job but she replies only that she’ll let him know, after she finds Kenneth. She finds Kenneth hiding in Mexico and makes his confess when is foot gets stuck between two rocks and the tide about to come in. He tells her that Jiang was a journalist who wrote some series of articles exposing Studer’s crimes. Kenneth arranged for her to rescue Jiang and deliver him to Rodrigo, who then delivered him to Studer, who had Paul kill him. Kenneth then framed Mallory, and even convincing Paul that Mallory was a double agent whom he should kill. On hearing this Mallory leaves and Kenneth  drown in the incoming tide for his betrayal. A few days later she arrives in Majorca to confront Rodrigo and we assume she kills him and then goes to work for the US government with the job that Coblenz promised her. The last scene is Rodrigo on seeing Mallory jump down from the roof to face him and he says one word – ‘shit’!

I thought that the movie was good, felt kinda like a European movie and in some aspects a throwback to spy movies of the 60s & 70s. There isn’t much score building up to heighten the fight or suspense scenes. The movie does lack some points and I guess that’s why it tanked. I however still liked it a lot and would give it an 8 out of 10! I hope Gina Carano gets to make more good movies.

By Roshan • Movies • 0