88 Minutes Movie Review

Absorbing Crime Narrative

I have always liked Al Pacino's movies because they are action packed like the Serpico, full of suspense such as Dick Tracy and of course the super crime thriller The Godfather series. 88 Minutes is available free to watch on Youtube and that helped me make a decision to watch it. The movie doesn't have a high number of votes on Rotten Tomatoes but still I decided to watch it and boy it was not a mistake at all. The hour and 47 minutes spent watching this movie doesn't have one boring moment and thrills the audience to the end.

Al Pacino plays successful forensic psychologist Jack Gramm whose professional opinion seals the fate of serial rapist and killer Jon Forster played by Neal McDonough. Fast forward nine years on the day Forster is supposed to be executed Gramm receives a phone call saying that he has only 88 minutes to live. This sets into motion a frenzy of bombing, shooting, car chases and there is no indication as to who is the real villain.

The screenplay is so well conceived that there is no hint of who the culprit could be till the very end of the movie. The twists and turns of the plot keeps the viewer guessing as to who the real killer is. Is it Gramm himself, or is it his beautiful homosexual assistant or the male student who is questioning his professor's logic, or is it one of the female students who has a crush on him.

Director Jon Avnet has done a good job in extracting great performances from all the actors. The cool jubilant exterior of Forster when his execution gets stayed even if briefly. The tension on Gramm's face and the aloofness of the FBI agents etc are all well done. Writer Gary Scott Thompson has done a good job in story telling which has been translated into visual imagery very well by Avnet.

This is definitely entertaining but does not merit any awards. Simply put I am pretty sure the producers made good of their investment and everyone involved is happy with the return on their investment. I wouldn't watch it again, simply because I know the end.

The are times during the movie when the plot seems confusing and abrupt. Apart from these little irritants 88 Minutes is a totally watchable movie and I would suggest take the opportunity to its free availability on Youtube and grab it.

A Nation of Farmers: Book Review

Food shortages have become the buzzword everywhere in the world. In a globalized world where food is no longer grown and consumed in the same place, crop failure in one nation means shortage somewhere else. In the recent years we have had instances when India had banned export of rice because crop had failed in Thailand and other rice producing nations.

The first world nations have the money power to out buy crops and food from impoverished third-world nations and leave their citizens starving. How long can this practice continue? There have been food-related rioting, protests and movements in various third-world nations and emerging economies also.

The worst hit in this crises are the poor in every nation, be it America or India or China or any sub-Saharan nation. The poorest of the poor always go hungry and are most affected by any price rise.

In this context Sharon Astyk and Aaron Newton have come out with this noteworthy and information-rich volume: A nation of Farmers. The main theme of the book is how American people can save themselves and their nation from the impending food shortage. The book is a fervent appeal from the authors to the common people of America urging them to convert their backyards into gardens where they can grow their own food, rear chickens and other consumable animals.

I believe that with so much land and so little population America could well become the bread basket of the world. There needs to be political will and a social change... no social transformation. After reading this book I am convinced that it should be mandatory reading for every high school and college student in the country. This is one of the sure-shot ways to attain food-self-reliance for America and today's citizens owe it to themselves and their nation to achieve this.

Valkyrie (2008) - Movie Review

Story of the Non-Nazi German Army

Adolf Hitler, the German dictator whose name is written in the annals of recent history of the world as one of the most ruthless military leaders was an extremely lucky man. He survived not one, two or three but 17 attempts on his life and finally ended up killing himself towards the fag end of World War II.

The movie Valkyrie is the story of one such assasination attempt on Hitler's life. The story revolves around a patriotic German army officer Colonel Von Stauffenberg, who firmly believes that only Hitler's death will bring about an end to the war and prevent Germany from being reduced to ashes. He loses an eye, his right hand and two fingers of his left hand in the war and is seen as an ideal German Army Officer by Hitler.

Tom Cruise plays Stauffenberg very convincingly and is well supported by David Bamber (Adolf Hitler), Bill Nighy (General Fredrich Olbricht), Tom Wilkinson (General Fromm) and others. The recreation of the true incidents that took place during July 1944 is very convincing. Bryan Singer has extracted the best out of each and every member of the Valkyrie's cast.

The story starts with Stauffenberg arguing with his superior officer about the importance of taking his men home safe. Few minutes later his battalion is attacked by the allied airforce during which Stauffenberg is grievously injured. He returns to Berlin and meets with other disgruntled officers who believe that if Hitler would lead to Germany to destruction and mass murders in Europe. The rest of the movie details the plot to kill the Fuehrer and how it is executed. What happens after that and how the entire team of conspirators along with Stauffenberg are arrested and shot dead.

This movie is one of the many attempts by the Hollywood directors to clean the image of Germany and its people. The film spiritedly attempts to show that only a small section of the German people was behind Hitler in his mindless carnage of Jews and that there was a large majority of Germans who did not approve of his ways.

An effort that has not gone in vain, I'd say.

Whip It - Movie Review

Roller Derby and Teenage Rebellion in America

Spinning down the arena on eight wheels is not easy especially when there there are many others out there blocking your move. It takes courage, speed, agility and determination to accomplish this and achieve points in a potentially dangerous sport played predominantly by young women - Roller Derby.

Whip it starring Ellen Page of Juno fame, Drew Barrymore, and Kirstin Wiig is a movie that celebrates roller derby during an age when the roller skating itself is in serious decline across the US. With youngsters getting interested in console gaming and virtual play skating rinks across the US are struggling to sustain themselves and keep afloat. Roller Derby is a much less respected sport and is often considered a violent sport where women beat each other up. In popular perception it is the sport of tramps, drug addicts and losers.

Whatever it maybe the Whip it team has been able to present Roller Derby as a contact sport as intense as American Football. The movie centers around Bliss a teenager in small-town Texas whose postal employee mom wants to make her a beauty queen. On the contrary Bliss gets attracted by Roller Derby and starts seriously practicing for the sport. Her petite frame and determination enable her to make it into one of the teams.

The rest of the story is a short broken romantic fling she has with a wannabe rock star she meets during one of the after-derby parties. Her intensely committed practice regimen, and of course the derby plays themselves. Don't dismiss this movie as some girlie flick, it is indeed as action packed as any of the guy movies I have seen. The action is not blood and gore, but inside the stadium sporting. Of course there is a liberal dose of fistcuffs between girls in the movie too.

Watch it, you will not be disappointed.

Movie Review: Chor Mandli

Starring: Mukul Dev, Sweta Keswani, Razak Khan, Dharam Pal, Vishwajeet Pradhan
Director: Sanjay Khanna
Genre: Comedy

Last week while snow and ice were wrecking havoc on the roadways, causing accidents, I was cooped up at home reading my textbooks. To take a break I watched this totally nonsensical Bollywood comedy Chor Mandli. Surprisingly the movie had few songs and was over in less than two hrs. This is surprising because Hindi movies are usually 2-3 hrs in length and have the standard formula, five songs, one rape scene, 3-4 fight scenes and a climax. I am glad Bollywood directors are finally moving away from the used, reused and abused formula concept. The director has moved away from the standard formula and woven a story around five common and petty thieves.

Set in Mumbai, India, the movie features Honda the car thief, Nandu the mobile thief, Marco the gambler, a struggling actor, Buta Singh, Chindi someone who watches while others steal. Honda gets caught and goes behind the bars where he meets another entirely crazy character who gives him a tip about a safe that contains lots of cash.

Honda tries to enlist his friend's help to get bailed out and steal the cash, instead the twist of events make him stay in jail for 3 years. His friends how meanwhile have come to know of the details of the loot plan and execute the job. The ending is completely different and quite illogical and stupid in my opinion.

The movie is available free on Youtube, watch it if you have lots of time on hand.

Movie Review: Streets of Legend

Movie Name(s): Quattro Noza/ Streets of Legend
Year: 2003
Genre: Action, Drag Racing, Gangster
Director: Joey Curtis
Cast: Brihanna Hernandez, Victor Larios and Robert Beaumont

Well! What can I say about a low budget movie with new faces? It is a good effort but doesn't have the stuff to make it into the big league. It is probably limited a few viewers on Youtube who watch the movie free and a few others who watch the flic by mistake.

Anyway the movie tells the story of illegal drag racing on the streets of East Los Angeles and on the side lines is the romance between the main protagonists of the story Noza and Quattro. Then there is the villain in the form of Noza's former boyfriend who is in prison for drug abuse and tampering with evidence. He storms out of jail when he comes to know that Noza is going out with the new guy on the block and then all hell breaks loose.

The movie ends on a rather sad note and could have been easily changed. The races could have been pictured better which would have made the movie much better. It has an R rating I don't know why? There is absolutely no scene in the movie worth an R rating.

Final Verdict: Don't watch it unless you have absolutely nothing to do. Or you are a great fan of street racing.

Seasons Greetings!!!