Film Review: THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (2011)

Director: John Madden
Writers: Ol Parker (screenplay), Deborah Moggach (novel)
Running time: 119 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Comedy/Drama
UK Release date: 24^th February 2012

Watched on Sky+ Monday 7^th January 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I have been looking forward to seeing for some time now. I don’t know if it was the fact that it did gain a little critical acclaim, or possibly the fact that my late mother would have loved it. But needless to say I was very happy to see it finally appear in the TV listings this week. I wasn’t disappointed; the film definitely lived up to expectations without getting too sentimental. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

A disparate group of, let’s say, the older generation, find themselves as guests at ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ in India for a variety of reasons; I won’t go into them here. The hotel is run by a young man, Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), who has great ambitions for the hotel his father had once run. The guests; Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench), Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson), Douglas Ainslie (Bill Nighy) and his wife Jean (Penelope Wilton), Muriel Donnely (Maggie Smith), Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) and Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) are all there for different reasons. Some financial, for some it’s an adventure, some looking for ghosts of the past, one is even there for an operation; but they all have some reason to be there. Some take to live in India well, while others take time to find their feet; which is not surprising as life there can be quite chaotic! As time passes we learn more about the residents’ loves and hates and more about Sonny, who has problems with his mother and with the girl he loves.

Beautifully shot showcasing all the vibrancy of life in an Indian city; I was impressed with the look of the film. All the performances were excellent, with Judi Dench and Tom Wilkinson standing out; I thought Dev Patel was a tad underused though. I liked the fact that the writers didn’t pull too many punches and as such it made the main characters more believable. There was, however, just one niggle; I felt that Dev Patel’s character, Sonny, came over as a bit of a caricature rather than a more rounded character. Over all though, I have to say I enjoyed this one and would happily sit down and watch it again sometime.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.7/10.

IMDb Score: 7.2/10 (based on 28,319 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1412386/

MetaScore: 62/100: (Based on 35 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 77/100 (based on 142 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 80/100 (based on 65,632 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_best_exotic_marigold_hotel_2012/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Sonny: Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.

Orderly: My wife is from Mumbai.
Muriel: Well don't blame me, you married her!

Sonny: [trying to reach a fallen Norman] Let me through, my brother is a doctor.

Sonny: Your bedroom.
Madge Hardcastle: Where?
Sonny: Here. In here.
Madge Hardcastle: My dear man, rooms have doors. What you're showing me here is an alcove.

Douglas Ainslie: I invested our, well, my retirement money in our daughter's Internet company. She assured me that as soon as the startup actually, um, started up and the conversion from virtual to actual became sufficiently viable, then she'd be able to pay it all back.
Evelyn: I'm not sure I understand what most of those words mean.
Douglas Ainslie: Well, it turns out neither did she.

Graham Dashwood: Good evening, Mrs. Ainslie. You have a good day? What did you get up to?
Jean: Well, I started in my bedroom where I spent a happy couple of hours giving all the cockroaches names. And then after lunch, that will long have a place in my heartburn, I came out here and stared blindly at a book waiting for someone - anyone - to rescue me. And how glad I am it was you.

Sonny: [showing around a potential investor] Please can you describe to us in as much detail as you desire your experience of the ambiance and atmosphere of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Muriel: Words fail me.
Sonny: Ah, the English wit we love so greatly.
Sonny: [whisking his visitor away] See, the wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead.

LINKS:
(NOTE: All links were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.thebestexoticmarigoldhotel.co.uk/
Trailer:

Film Review: THE LAST AIRBENDER (2010)

Writer/Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Running time: 99 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
UK Release date: 13th August 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 16th July 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

There has been an awful lot written about this film and the vast majority I have read is not very positive at all. Many have warned me off seeing this, but you know me and curiosity… I had to see for myself just how bad it could be. Well, as always, I’m going to give you my honest opinion and I have a feeling there’s one or two out there that may not like what I have to say. More of that later, here’s a very brief summary first.

In a world that is split into four realms, those governed by the four elements; Air, Water, Earth and Fire, a boy is discovered who is thought to be the Avatar. The Avatar is master of all the elements and the only one who can speak with the Great Spirit and is the only one that can unite the realms. When he was trained and about to learn his skills, he ran away and has been missing for a hundred years. In the intervening time a war has raged and those in charge of the Fire realm have taken over most of the other realms, even destroying all of those who have power over the Air. This makes Aang, the boy, the last of his kind… the last Airbender. He must learn the secrets of bending Water, Earth and Fire if he is to stop the war. To this end he travels north with his new friends, Katara and Sokka. Also hot on their trail is the disgraced son of the leader of the Fire realm, Prince Zuko. Can Aang fulfil his destiny, or will there be a surprise waiting for him? Of course I can’t tell you here of them Spoiler Police will be all over me like a cheap suit.

On the positive side, I thought the music, by James Newton Howard was excellent and the special effects were also first rate. The acting, although far from perfect, ranged from good to adequate in most cases. I thought Dev Patel did a decent job as Prince Zuko, as did Nicola Peltz as Katara and Jackson Rathbone as Sokka. The main let-down, I guess, was Noah Ringer as Aang, he could handle the physical side of the role very well, but I think a few more acting lessons might be in order.

For a plot based on a children’s animated TV series, I thought it wasn’t too bad. What let it down was the dialogue; it just seemed to be written by someone, to me, who was lacking confidence. I don’t want to worry anyone out there, but it’s left wide-open for a sequel, we only got half way through the story. Over all though, I didn’t find this half as bad as some have led me to believe. It’s not awful, the effects and the music are very good and, yes, some of the acting and the dialogue are not that polished, but I didn’t find it a terrible experience… I’ve seen much worse.

My Score: 4.5/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0938283/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_airbender/
Trailer:

Film Review: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

Directors: Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

Watched on DVD Friday 1st January 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have heard a lot about this film since its release almost a year ago, but it has not been until now that I’ve had a chance to watch it. I must say that most of the good things I’ve been hearing are true! The setting is India, where a young man, Jamal K. Malik, from the slums of Mumbai has the chance of winning 20 million rupees! He is on the show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ and things are getting tense as he gets nearer to the big prize.

We start with Jamal in a police station being questioned as to how he was cheating on the game show. Unfortunately for the police he cannot say because he is not cheating. Eventually they settle down and put on a tape of the show and the film goes into flashback and tells how he knew each answer from the events of his life to date. We begin when he is seven where Jamal and his older brother, Salim, run from the police at the airport where they were playing cricket. They run through the slum that is their home and end up being caught by their mother. Later on, after their mother has died, Jamal befriends Latika, a girl who also has no family and they live together until they are taken in by an orphanage. Here they become street beggars and after one particularly nasty experience at the hands of the guy running the orphanage, Jamal and Salim run away but Latika is unable to escape with them. The rest of the film tells how Jamal tries to re-unite himself with the love of his life and how he came to be on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’. I think that’s enough spoilers for now.

A really well made film where the narrative keeps you guessing all the time. I enjoyed the look into the lives of the less fortunate in India which, at times, looked pretty brutal. Also some great visuals in this movie, but then, I’m told, India is a quite visually stunning place. Great performances from all of the leading cast, Dev Patel as Jamal K. Malik, Anil Kapoor as Prem (the host of the TV show), Freida Pinto as Latika, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail as Youngest Salim, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as Youngest Jamal, Rubina Ali as Youngest Latika, Tanay Chheda as Middle Jamal, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala as Middle Salim, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar as Middle Latika and Madhur Mittal as Older Salim.

Over all, a great film that takes you on a journey full of unexpected twists and turns. I found it very entertaining and very different to most mainstream films made today. If you haven’t seen it I can heartily recommend it, very compelling and a joy to watch, if a bit harrowing at times.

My score: 8.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi2220163097/