shariqq

War and Sci-fi movies are generally studio products while Independent movies tend to be smaller personal dramas. So when you do have an independent movie that deals with a global war, alien invasion and retro science-fiction, it's an oddity - one that stands to be examined. The Mutant Chronicles is such an oddity that takes a bleak past and throws it into a grim dystopian future. It's part orthodox, part crazy and part artsy. But most importantly, very independent.

In the year 2707, a future that seems more probable than one would like to believe, Earth has been stripped of its resources. The world itself is divided into three corporations that wage wars (using their private armies) to battle for the remaining resources. Lack of oil and a polluted skyline pushes machines back to the steam engine. Amidst this, while humanity faces extinction due to the appearance of a multitude of deathless mutants, a rag-tag team of unified soldiers attempts to eliminate the common enemy. Deprived of humor and hope, the soldiers resign themselves to a fate they accept but are willing to fight against.

The Mutant Chronicles, in its lack of color and faith in Humanity, is bleak to the extent that the surviving humans do not even hope for Earth to be saved and abandon it easily, moving on to other planets to possibly scourge more worlds. The movie does defy logic, and consciously so, such that the outcome is quite predictable. But it's a dirty, bleak and sordid story, of an equally morbid Earth, that is populated with scenes of pure bliss – scenes that make it a significant departure from the heroic movies that Hollywood churns out.

"Faith" is woven into the movie's storyline as an important theme, but serves an ancillary purpose – one to add subjectivity to the motives of some of the characters, and to form an interesting parallel to many of today's belief patterns. Eventually though, what really makes The Mutant Chronicles an astounding movie is the same reason why it will have detractors, and that is the incongruous mix of traditional and eccentric.

My Rating --> 4 of 5

Kathryn Bigelow is one of the few woman directors in Hollywood who can make a good action movies for the boys. With Heat Locker, this protégé of James Cameron turns up the heat in a movie clearly for the testosterone audience. Set in Iraq, the movie looks at a bunch of Bomb Disposal experts who are stationed in Baghdad for a count of days. As these men go through bomb after bomb losing fellow-soldiers along the way, the movie impresses upon the hopeless state to which the war-zone has fallen, and the mostly thankless high-risk job of the soldiers that risk their lives there. Yet the movie is not about the war, or its politics, but a zoned in look at one team's existence in it. While one soldier counts his days until they're relieved from duty, another lives at the thrill that the risk of their job brings them. Some great bomb sequences, a supremely-confidant lead performance by Jeremy Renner and a few awesome great cameos make this a great time at the movies. At least for the boys.

When watching a movie that is clearly not intended for you, it's best to let yourself flow with it and judge it on its own merits rather than on pre-conceived notions or prejudices. So with that in mind I walked into a screening of Twilight, clearly aimed at the tween female audience, expecting to watch a vampire-love-story - and it actually turned out to be exactly that! So, in essence, it was not disappointing.

Twilight is the first movie in a four-part saga adapted from Stephenie Meyer's best selling books, and is mostly depicted and narrated from the viewpoint of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). Bella is the beautiful girl-next-door type that exists only in movies. She moves in with her Dad, Chief of Police at Forks, Washington and joins the local high-school where she eventually befriends Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) who turns out to be a vampire.

The Cullens, family of seven including a father & mother figure with adopted "children", are good vampires who are just trying to live a normal life in a city that keeps them away from the sun as much as possible. But there are Vampires of the bad kind too and do make the essential appearance. Yet it is mostly Forbidden Love that keeps Bella and Edward as the center of attention in this tale.

As vampire movies go Hardwicke has made an interesting movie that, while realizing there is not much new in the source material to add to the myth, concentrates on the relationship and dilemma of Bella. And barring a melodramatic outburst, Kirsten Stewart succeeds in delivering a performance that mostly requires her to look inquisitive and pretty. Robert Pattinson, on the other hand, has to be the most underwhelming B-actor to debut in a box office phenomenon. Apart from the confused/constipated look that he sets a new standard for, Pattinson's performance has "wannabe" stamped all over it; definitely something that does not add to his portrayal of a vampire. Most of the other actors are acceptable in performances that would be equally at home in a TV series. The one that does stand out is Peter Facinelli as Dr Carlisle Cullen, Edward's foster father. Facinelli, although on screen for four scenes, plays his character of a vampire trying to be good with a cool resonance and more importantly, looks the part.

Hardwicke's movie will please the target audience, that there is no doubt about. It's quite visible in the way she harmonizes the scenes - the colors, music & visuals are very soft and pleasing to the senses. It makes Twilight an easy time at the movies - there's no intelligence here, but no stupidity either.

My Rating --> 3 of 5