The victims of the Tarantino – Guy Ritchie curse.
Smokin’ Aces
Smokin’ Aces is the kind of action movie that makes no bones of what it is, just that – an action movie. It has been criticised for being a Tarantino / Guy Ritchie wannabe film, but that is just unfair because it really was a fantastic effort. Nothing award winning or seeking critical acclaim, but sheer mind blowing, skull ripping action movie that has become a cult film of sorts (oh well, it should be).
First interesting ingredient in this epic film is the fantastic cast, that has Ben Affleck in one of his shortest ever roles, and much longer appearances by Alicia Keyes & Common, and two main actors from Lost – Richard & Jack. Characters are superbly written and are freaking insane! Especially the Tremor Brothers (featuring another Lost actor), a trio of mad dogs wielding chain saws and axes – “speed freak, neo-nazi assholes who read and recite Mein Kampf like it was Mother Goose, they’re meaner than shit, they’re dumber than hell”. The funniest scenes include that a cameo by that psycho kid high on drugs.
The cast and characters is equally supported by a good mob story with a slightly longer-than-necessary twist in the tale. It follows the paths of different assassins out to take out one hit – Buddy Israel (played by the talented Jeremy Piven), and FBI agents out to stop them – Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds, who gives yet another stellar performance. If you don’t try to super analyse the movie, and don’t look for the same levels of brilliance that you see in a Tarantino movie, you will enjoy the film.
Shot very stylishly, it has great looking long sequences – especially the final shoot-out where the camera seemingly moves in one single shot across different floors and buildings. And like all great movies, there is an excellent OST. One of the best scenes in the movie is the final scene (spoiler alert!), using the song ‘Dead Reckoning’ by Clint Mansell (composer of Requiem for a Dream). (ignore the the alternate ending)
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbh4w9SlgZ0%5D
The problem of being compared to Tarantino and Guy Ritchie, was the same faced by Vishal Bharadwaj‘s brave effort – Kaminey. Kaminey was not your a mainstream Bollywood film (what Bharadwaj movie ever has been anyway?!). It was a homage to the kind of cinema that we rarely get to see in this country. We metro-boys have grown up more on Star Movies than Zee Cinema. We worship the David Finchers and Tarantinos. We sit up everytime a trailer like Shor in the City hits the screens. We long for a good gangster movie, with unusual characters that have quirky and funny lines, unexpected plot twists, and filthy, downright filthy action.
Kaminey did not get the respect it deserved. Yes, it did get the maximum number of nominations (which is the most you can expect in this country, when you are pitched against the official entry from the Spastic Society of India – 3 Idiots). But no it did not receive the cult status that it deserved.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1HcanzUqf0%5D
Another movie that has never gotten its due credit is Musafir. Musafir is a landmark film in Bollywood that no one seems to care about.
It begins with a fantastic homage to Sholay, asking the ultimate Bollywood question – “Why did Gabbar Singh not kill Thakkur, and just cut his hands?” –
“Pachas kos door gaon mein jab Bachcha rota hai to Maa bolti hai ‘soja beta soja ..soja nahin to Gabbar aa jaayega’. Agar woh Bachcha soya nahi hota ,toh woh bhi Gabbar ko bolta, poochtha “Tere ko kya Thakur ke saath langdi khelne ti kya, ke saale ke sirf haath kaatke, use style se shawl odne ke liye zinda chod diya ? Tab hi do goli thok diya hota. Toh naahi woh Jai aur Veeuru ko lata, nahi dono Basanti ke saath holi khelte, aur naa hi tere climax mein teri maarte.
Then a commentary on Bollywood villains:
“Ye saari hindi filmon mein hain na, villain ko hamesha cartoon banathe hain. Woh sing song karta hua Doctor Daang, sabse bada chutiya hai. Woh Mogambo jo saala hamesha kush hi retha hai… … Khadda do centimeter ka, aur saamne se thopda Mister India.”
Musafir is full of such Bollywood references – my favourite being when Sanjay Dutt flings a knife with a chain at a young boy after killing his father and asks “Kabhi Zanjeer dekha hai?”. Musafir is a fantastic, gritty, noir style film. It has got all the clichés of a James Hardley Chase book / Tarantino movie – hot women, grey characters, cool villains, the double-crosses over double-crosses, and the eternal rule of such films –everybody lies, cheats & kills for money. The movie also has the coolest character names’ list: Lucky, Billa, Sam, Lara, Lukka, Inspector Tiger and *wait for it* Whacko Jakko (played by Shakti Kapoor)!!
There is nothing great about the story: a conman trying to live a straight life, loses control over his last job – a drug deal in Goa. The movie has a full dose of sex, action, memorable characters and corny lines. It is just that in Bollywood it is rare to see such a deliberate attempt at dark masala film with corny and shady characters, with a major star cast.
I say major star cast because it has the actors and roles knit perfectly for this high class b-grade film. The coolest actor in Bollywood – Anil Kapoor, the biggest baddie in Bollywood – Sanjay Dutt. And then come my favourites – Aditya Pancholi, Mahesh Manjrekar & Sameera Reddy. Aditya Pancholi for me is the Michael Madsen of Bollywood. He has that incredible screen presence + cool-ness for a scheming villain (as Tarantino described Madsen – “the king of cool”). Sameera Reddy for once does what she does best – bends over at the right angles. No, seriously, her character is someone who just happens to seduce and sleep with everyone in the movie, and she did a good great job of sexing up the movie. Mahesh Manjrekar is the character actor in Bollywood for sleazy and uncannily funny characters. There is noone in Bollywood who can play a crass and funny character, with just that touch of a b-grade villain in him.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that this is a genre so-bad-that-it-is-awesome kind of a movie. Musafir is that rare effort in making a funny, dark and gritty movie that is a lot of fun to watch. I hope that years from people will look back at Musafir as a grand landmark Bollywood film that never got its due, because people just could not get over comparing it to any Tarantino movie.
Go get the DVD and watch it, or you can just watch it on on youtube.
Trivia: Musafir was inspired by Oliver Stone’s U-turn. There was also a Smokin Aces Sequel starring Vinnie Jones.
Hello Sally
Sally Menke was the editor of all Quentin Tarantino Films, and she is the only person who has worked with QT on all his films. She is half the reason the why his movies come out looking as great as they do. Unfortunately she passed away in September 2010.
QT had a running gag in his movies, where the actors would look into the camera and say hello to Sally. Looking back, this was a fantastic tribute to someone who was probably never on the sets of the films and yet had so much to do with the movie.
‘Hello Sally’ – Deathproof, with QT’s comments on Sally Menke.
‘Hello Sally’ – Inglourious Basterds.
a desi fanboy 
