Movie Review Monkey Man

Monkey Man (2024) 

Directed by Dev Patel 

Written by Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela 

Starring Dev Patel, Pitobash, Sharlto Copley, Vipin Sharma 

Release Date April 5th, 2024 

Published April 8th, 2024 

Monkey Man is bathed in cool. Dev Patel's directorial palette is blood red, it's sweat soaked and bruised. It's Dev Patel's first time behind the camera and he directs the confidence of someone who has done this all of his life. It's beyond impressive, it's epic. This guy just gets it, camera placement, pacing, his use of color and music. But he also gets the emotion of cinema. Weaving a story about a boy losing his mother through his blood-soaked and battered action flick. Monkey Man is a punk rock action flick with a Bollywood soul, and a genuine, big beating heart. 

Monkey Man stars Dev Patel Kid, sometimes Bobby, and always Monkey Man. As a boy, Kid grew up in a lush, green forest. He spent days chasing his mother around the surrounding hills, falling asleep in her arms at night as she weaved epic tales of a Hanuman, the devoted warrior companion of Rama. In these incredible stories, the heroics of Hamuman resonate in the young Kid's mind, how Hanuman, the Monkey Man, led glorious victories on behalf of Rama. These stories are the foundation of Kid's moral core, one that will be tested and forged in fire, blood, and broken bones. 

The story of Haniman is inspiring, but the story of the Kid, will not be inspiring. It begins with our Monkey Man in a fight pit giving up his blood and teeth for a few bucks. This underground fight club, overseen by Tiger (Sharlto Copley), affords Kid the chance to lose but earn a few extra bucks from helping to fix the fight in favor of Tiger's chosen champion. Those extra bucks aren't enough to lift Kid out of poverty. But this is poverty with purpose. Kid, is saving his pennies for the chance at vengeance. He's using what little money he earns to build toward his roaring rampage of revenge. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Lion

Lion (2016) 

Directed by Garth Davis 

Written by Luke Davies

Starring Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, David Wenham 

Release Date November 25th, 2016

Published November 24th, 2016 

Themes of identity, race, time and family are raised in the new drama “Lion” starring Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar as two versions of the same character, a boy and a man named Saroo. Based on a true story and a bestselling novel, “Lion” warmly and intelligently tackles large themes in a satisfyingly dramatic fashion that is at times too conventional but with enough emotional weight to make it work.

“Lion” tells the story of Saroo, who, at 5 years old, was separated from his older brother Guddu at a train station, ends up on a train, falls asleep and wakes up hundreds of miles away from his village. Now in Bengal, Saroo does not know the name of his village or his mother’s real name and has no way to get home. After a series of near misses with some very scary people, and a couple of lovely moments with some generous souls, Saroo finds himself in an English run orphanage where he is soon to be adopted by a couple from Australia.

The couple, John and Sue Brierly, (David Wenham and Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman) adopt Saroo and take him back to their home in Tasmania where he will grow up and eventually seem to forget his time in India. Soon Saroo has an adopted brother, another Indian boy named Mantosh, for whom the transition from India to Tasmania is much, much more difficult. The brothers never really connect with each other and their boiling resentment provides yet another metaphor for Saroo’s relationship to his past.

Some 20 years after Saroo’s adoption he is a college graduate and is beginning to pursue a career in Hotel management. It is here when Saroo meets Lucy (Rooney Mara) who will become his wife but not before a chance encounter with fellow Indian students convinces Saroo to try to find his family back in India.  Using some amateur detective skills, research, and math, Saroo hopes to find the train station where he was first lost and use that information to find his family.

“Lion” is based on a true story so I am not sure if discussing the ending of the film would be considered a “spoiler.” I am choosing to leave the ending for you to discover but even for those who know the story it does contain quite an emotional wallop. Dev Patel plays the grownup Saroo and the final scenes of “Lion” are some of the best work of his relatively young career.

 “Lion” was directed by Garth Davis who is best known in America for his work on the excellent mini-series “Top of the Lake.” Here Davis does a fine job of contrasting the grit and grime and danger of India with the crisp, clean, even sterile, setting of Tasmania and using this juxtaposition to underline the film’s themes of disconnection, longing, family and identity. Saroo feels resentment toward his family for maybe not looking hard enough for him but he also feels guilt about having enjoyed life in Tasmania while having left behind his family in poverty.

Saroo’s task in locating his family is incredibly daunting and the strain it puts on his relationship with his mother and his girlfriend is a strong driver of the second and third act of the film. I was very moved by Saroo’s scenes with his adoptive mother who attempts to hide her jealousy and hurt feelings over Saroo’s search but soon comes to terms with it out of love for her son. Lucy and Saroo meanwhile almost completely lose touch as his obsession with train speeds and stations grows and it is a strong testament to the performances of Patel and Mara that the strain feels real and threatening.

“Lion” is a tad too conventional but the performances and the emotional weight of the story make the simplicity of the plot easier to accept. Dev Patel has never been better and it is great to see good work from Nicole Kidman again as it feels like ages since she was turning in Oscar caliber work. Director Garth Davis needs to work more before we can begin passing judgment on his style and where he fits in the directorial landscape but from his work here, he has me excited to see what he does next.

Movie Review Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire (2009) 

Directed by Danny Boyle 

Written by Simon Beaufoy

Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan

Release Date December 25th, 2008 

Published December 24th, 2008 

Danny Boyle has never appealed to me as a director. His Trainspotting and 28 Days Later are such bleak and ugly examinations of humanity that each made me want to vomit. To date, Boyle's work has been little more than flashy, overwrought ugliness set to electronica and punk soundtracks intended to pound you into submission.

Then there was Millions, one of the oddest and most delightful little movies of the last decade. A sweet, sorrowful, hopeful little movie where director Boyle abandoned most of his worst habits in favor of telling a loving compelling story populated by wonderful characters. That film should have gotten the attention that is now being heaped upon Boyle's latest effort Slumdog Millionaire. In essence, Slumdog is the marriage of the sad, ugly kinetic-ism of Boyle's early work and the sweet, smart, thoughtful Millions. The combination yields mixed results.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal who is being assaulted by the police when we meet him. Jamal is accused of cheating on the TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire where he is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. His status as a so-called Slumdog, a boy from the slums of Mumbai, has the host of the show and the police wondering if he is cheating.

He isn't. What is happening for Jamal is that the questions somehow all seem to relate back to memories from his life growing up. Whether it's stumbling on a Hindu god after watching his mother brutally murdered or knowing the inventor of the revolver because his brother began carrying one for their protection, each question leads Jamal on a journey through his past, a journey he takes his interrogators on in order to convince them he is legit.

Jamal's motivation for going on the show, surviving the cops, and winning the money, is a girl named Latika (Freida Pinto). He and his older brother Samir took Latika in when they were young orphans. They were separated several times but Jamal would always find her. He found her again just before going on the show and hopes she will be watching and finally come find him.

That is the story of Slumdog Millionaire and it is compelling and romantic. Unfortunately, director Danny Boyle's over-caffeinated, highly stylized handheld camera and propulsive score distract and keep the story at an untenable emotional distance. The images whir by at such a frenetic pace that you are at once bedazzled and bewildered.

It's a neat trick to make a movie with such an astonishing pace. Sadly, the sacrifice is the emotional connection between the audience and these characters. While I was dazzled and propelled and moved to the edge of my seat by the intensity of Slumdog Millionaire, I couldn't find the time to really connect with the characters emotionally.

The style and even the flashback heavy structure of Slumdog Millionaire prevent the characters from standing out amongst the flurry. Things happen so fast that scenes fail to have the impact that I am certain they were intended to have. When the film does slow down for a moment at the end; I was too exhausted to be invested in the moment.

Slumdog Millionaire is a furiously paced, artfully crafted movie that well displays the talents of director Danny Boyle behind the camera. Sadly, those gifts give short shrift to what should be an emotional as well as visceral connection. That means that Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie that should've been, could've been a great movie.

Movie Review The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender (2010) 

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan 

Written by M. Night Shyamalan 

Starring Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub 

Release Date July 1st, 2010 

Published June 30th, 2010 

“The Last Airbender” tells the story of a young boy named Aang (Noah Ringer) who is the reincarnation of the Avatar, the master of all the elements. The elements are Earth, Fire, Water and Air, and The Avatar is the person who brings balance to the world dominated by tribes of those who can master, or rather "Bend," only one of the elements. Unfortunately for all involved, Aang is a petulant deity reincarnated and he runs off for more than a hundred years.

Losing himself in a block of ice, Aang is rescued as our story begins by a Waterbender named Katara (Nicola Peltz) and her warrior brother Sokka (Jackson Rathbone). Together the trio journey's across the world leading a rebellion against the evil Firebenders who, in the Avatar's absence, began a hostile takeover of the world, taking harsh control over the Water and Earth Tribes and wiping out the Airbenders, Aang's original tribe before he found that he controlled all elements. 

The Firebenders are led by Fire Lord Ozai and his evil minion, Commander Zhao (Aasif Mondvi). Also on the side of the Firebenders are Ozai's son, Prince Zuko (Dev Patel) and his faithful uncle General Iroh (Shaun Taub) who have been cast out of the Firebender Kingdom after Zuko defied his father's leadership and lost a head to head fight with his even more evil sister, Princess Yue. If, however, Zuko can capture the Avatar he can reclaim his rightful place at his father's side.

If this sounds at all intriguing then you have likely enjoyed the cartoon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” which had a healthy run on Nickelodeon and in worldwide television syndication. If you haven't seen the series you are more than likely scratching your head over all of the portentous goofiness that this plot entails. Things grow only goofier under the direction of M. Night Shyamalan whose fall from golden boy status in just the last 6 years is one of the more remarkable failures in film history. Shyamalan was once considered alongside Steven Speilberg and George Lucas for his seemingly unfailing talent for wowing audiences.

Then Mr. Shyamalan made “The Village” and the drying of the fount of Shyamalan's genius for twisting, knotting plots began. “Lady in the Water” and “The Happening” followed and seemed to come from a different director altogether as not only was Shyamalan's talent for twisty narrative gone, so was his skill with a camera and even the basic smarts for telling a coherent story. The Happening was a true nadir, an utterly bonkers environmental fable about trees causing people to kill themselves. 

”The Last Airbender” is, at the very least, somewhat more coherent and intelligible than “Lady in the Water” and “The Happening.” Then again, that's not saying much. What The Last Airbender shares with those blisteringly awful films is a taste for inexplicably absurd visual flourish and wildly bizarre inversions of tone and logic. Sure, you can divine a plot in “The Last Airbender” but it is quite a committed fight.

Now, if you are a fan of the cartoon you begin with an advantage that lifts the burden the rest of the audience must carry throughout. In fact, if you are a fan you may actually find a way to enjoy the goofball nuttiness of Shyamalan's insane kiddie landscapes. It helps to have a taste and tolerance for this level of cockamamy mumbo jumbo. The Last Airbender is far up its own you know what in terms of being an obtuse bit of fan service, impenetrable to those not already part of the fandon. 

Without the prior introduction and slavish devotion to this characters and this property, one can only observe “The Last Airbender” with jaws agape and mind slightly melted. “The Last Airbender” is so violently ludicrous in storytelling, dialogue, effects and just about every other aspect of filmmaking that one almost appreciates the opportunity to experience it as it is unlikely you will see something this brazenly insular ever again on a movie screen.

M. Night Shyamalan is the single most daring bad director in the business. When M Night  Shyamalan fails he does so with epic intentions. No filmmaker has the courage to fail as spectacularly as Mr. Shyamalan has in his most recent films. “The Village” was a minor failure, a seeming blip after his wildly successful run of “Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable” and “Signs.” ”Lady in the Water” however was such a bold and ballsy disaster that one cannot help but appreciate the nutzo spirit that went into creating it. 

“The Happening” ranks up there next to “Plan 9 From Outer Space” and Tommy Wiseau's “The Room,” in my estimation, for the sheer outlandish unintended awfulness. Few films have committed such professional effort to such a misguided endeavor as “The Happening.” Now comes “The Last Airbender” a far more benign failure; one with the possibility of entertaining more than a few people. Those people however, are a fan cult devoted to the material in ways only Twi-Hards and Star Wars fans can truly appreciate. “The Last Airbender” fan cult is vast and devoted and without seeing an inch of film many of them have been defending the film from people such as myself who find the movie “The Last Airbender” an impenetrable and ungodly mess of a feature film.