Quote / Dialogue Of The Day

I’ve been away from my blog for quite a long time now. I’ll be trying to start new reviews again from next month. In the meantime, I thought I’d just warm up with a simple but effective quote that I came across the other day in a brilliant documentary, “Metal : A Headbanger’s Journey“. Though this documentary is not really an exhaustive study of the genre, it still provides enough insight into the chaos and mayhem of the metal world. After having touched all things associated with Metal, Anthropologist Sam Dunn (in the middle), the co-writer and co-director of this documentary, stands tall at the Wacken Open Air Festival (not shown in the image) and proclaims his love for Metal and also has a word of advice for those who condemn it.

Sam Dunn : Ever since I was 12 years old I had to defend my love for heavy metal against those who say it’s a less valid form of music. My answer now is that you either feel it or you don’t. If metal doesn’t give that overwhelming surge of power that make the hair stand up at the back of your neck, you might never get it, and you know what? That’s okay, because judging by the 40,000 metalheads around me we’re doing just fine without you.

 

Quote / Dialogue Of The Day

“Matchstick Men” is perhaps the most under-rated movie on director Ridley Scott’s resume’. The movie is a total departure from Scott’s usual grandiose productions. It’s a smart little caper movie that provides great entertainment. Roy (Nicholas Cage) is a gifted con-artist. But he is also an agoraphobic and germaphobic who is seeking medical counsel for his psychological problems. The movie has some extremely witty dialogues. Here’s a quote from Roy when he visits Dr. Klein and demands that he should be given his pills.

Roy : Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, “I’m a grown man. I should know what goes on in my head.” And the more I thought about it… the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out… I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, eh-eh, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life.

 

Quote / Dialogue Of The Day

Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting” was not only a smash hit in 1995, but it also went on to become a cult darling. And though it bores the pants off me in the final 30 minutes, this movie still remains one of my favorites. This is mainly because of the purely entertaining and witty first hour. Here are the opening lines where we get to know the philosophy of Renton (Ewan McGregor). Renton is rebelling against the yuppie culture…Reason? Read on….

Renton : [narrating] Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f*****g big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire-purchase in a range of f*****g fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f**k you are on Sunday night. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f*****g junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f**ked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life…. But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin’ else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?

 

Quote / Dialogue Of The Day

After rushing in and out of hospital for almost 7 days and relaxing a little bit, I’m returning to my blog. I’ve plenty of pending reviews. And it’s hard these days to find the energy to write them. As a result, the backlog is increasing. Let’s hope I’ll be able to write a few reviews in the coming week.

In the meantime, a couple of experiences over the last few days have got me thinking about director Paul Haggis’s brilliant “Crash“. I had planned on writing the review for this movie couple of months back; but haven’t been able to nail it yet. So in the meantime, here’s the brilliant opening quote from the movie.

Graham : It’s the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.

 

Bad Taste (1987)

When Peter Jackson‘s name is mentioned, the first movie that springs to your mind is the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy. And if you are a fan of the big beast like me, then the next movie would definitely be “King Kong“. Both these movies were monumental work of not just Peter Jackson and his crew, but also in the history of cinema. Both these movies had huge budgets which allowed Peter Jackson to stretch his imagination and create two of the most stunning movies ever made. But not a lot of people would know that before he went on to direct the “LOTR” trilogy, Jackson had earned accolades for directing “Heavenly Creatures” (a film that I haven’t seen yet, but it’s on my list) in 1994. And even before that, he had earned a massive cult following for his first three extremely wacky movies. His “Dead Alive” (1992) is considered to be one of the goriest fims ever made. “Meet The Feebles” (1989) was his crazy take on “The Muppets”. And his first movie “Bad Taste” is one of most brilliant horror-comedies. It is also perhaps the most overlooked movie of his resume’. A lot of people have heard about “Bad Taste” and its sickening gore. But not everyone of them knows that this hilariously absurd piece of work is the product of the fertile mind of Peter Jackson.

Apparently “Bad Taste” was shot on a small budget of $250,000. Peter Jackson himself produced-directed-edited this flick. He also did the special effects and makeups. Hell, he even acted in it. The cast and crew of the film consists mostly of Jackson’s family members and friends. Reportedly, the movie was shot over a period of four years. Jackson could shoot only on the weekends since he was doing some job on the weekdays. When you see this movie, you can see how much fun Jackson is having. The shooting of this movie must have been a stress-buster for Jackson in those days. Just imagine after all the hard work on the week-days, you come home and get to blow the brains of some extra-terrestrial psycopaths! Geez, I’d love that!!

Extra-terrestrial psycopaths…That’s what the story is all about. Some aliens have descended upon a very small town of Kaihoro (the population of which is just 75). No, they are not here for a holiday…Actually, they are here to collect a sample of human meat, which they hope to sell in their Inter-galactic fast food franchise. Apparently, the humans are supposed to be the next big thing in these inter-galactic McDonalds (I am lovin’ it!). They have chopped all the population of Kaihoro and have neatly packed them in a few wooden boxes. And now it’s the job for “The Boys” – Derek (Peter jackson), Barry (Pete O’Herne), Frank (Mike Minett) and Ozzy (Terry Potter), to stop these inter-galactic wankers. So basically, the whole movie has these guys fighting the aliens with everything they’ve got – wooden sticks, revolvers, machine guns, a big red chainsaw, even a bazooka.

Though this is the debut of Peter Jackson, it does not feel like the work of a novice director. Most of the scenes have been shot brilliantly by Jackson. He also did a great editing job which allowed him to show a fight between Derek and Robert (both played by Jackson himself). The slick editing also makes sure that the movie never loses its pace. Sure, it takes some time for the movie to find the ground. But once it gets going, it simply does not lose the momentum. Jackson has done a fabulous job blending the horror and the comedy. The humor is quite brilliant. The dialogues are surprisingly funny. There are many moments where you simply cannot stop yourself from laughing out loud. But at the same time, there are many moments when the gore is quite unsettling. In fact, most of it is flat out gross. Blood splatters, brains blow, hands get cut out, Robert eats out someone’s brains, a chainsaw enters the skull of someone and comes out of their teeth, so on and so forth. However most of it is done in such a light-hearted and absurd manner that you’d find yourself enjoying it, unless of course you don’t like gore. Everything in the movie is deliberately quite over-the-top so that we don’t take it very seriously. At its heart, the movie is just a simple action-comedy which involves aliens. The entire tone of the movie is quite light-hearted despite the occasional disturbing gory scenes. Jackson skillfully builds tension and makes sure that the viewers remain engaged.

This debut of Peter Jackson earned him critical acclaim at the Cannes Fim Festival and paved the way for a Hollywood future and the subsequent Oscar award. “Bad Taste” is notoriously reputed for its sickening gore and disturbing images. And I have to admit that I found myself wincing on more than one occasion and wondering what a twisted mind Jackson has. But I also have to admit that I enjoyed it thoroughly. There’s something twistedly interesting about this gore-fest. The movie is quite gross, but then the movie is also quite funny. The movie is extremely absurd, but it’s also extremely enjoyable. I’d definitely recommend this movie. But this movie is not for everyone. A couple of warnings if you are planning to watch this movie :1. Don’t watch it unless you enjoy the blood-splattering gore and some extremely twisted humor, and 2. Do not, I repeat DO NOT, watch this movie on a full stomach. You can guess why.

 

Quote / Dialogue Of The Day

“Hot Fuzz” is my latest most favorite movie. Ever since I saw it, I knew that I’ll have to put some of its quotes on my blog. It boasts of some extremely witty dialogues. In this particular scene, Sgt. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) comes back, after a tough fight with trolley-boy Michael, to take his position beside Danny Butterman (Nick Frost). Danny, who is a super-duper action-movie buff, asks Nicholas if he dropped some one-liner, like the action heroes in the movies, after taking care of Michael.

Danny Butterman : Where’s the trolley-boy?
Nicholas Angel : In the freezer.
Danny Butterman : Did you say “cool off?”
Nicholas Angel : No, I didn’t say anything…
Danny Butterman : Shame.
Nicholas Angel : Well, there was the part that you missed where I distracted him with the cuddle monkey, then I said “Playtime’s over,” and I hit him in the head with the peace lily.
Danny Butterman : You’re off the f****n’ chain!

 

Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

“In the time of crisis, a Hero will rise…from his sofa“.

In 2004, director Edgar Wright and writer Simon Pegg brought to screen a brilliant zombie comedy that is destined to be a “cult classic”. The team of Wright and Pegg skillfully blended romance, horror, zombies and comedy in this rib-tickling potboiler. “Shaun Of The Dead” is not an out and out comedy. It is just as much a parody of the old zombie-horror movies as it is a tribute to them. So there is also plenty of gore to go along with the comedy. It’s an almost perfect mixture that leaves its target audience extremely satisfied.

Shaun (Simon Pegg), a 29-year old Londoner, lives with his flatmates, Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) and Ed (Nick Frost). The three of them are distinctly different from each other. While Pete is a responsible guy, Ed is the ultimate sloth. Shaun is somehwhere in-between. He is neither as irresponsible or lazy as the irascible stoner Ed; but he is also not quite as competent and reliable as Pete. Shaun works at a departmental store and though he is in charge of a team, he clearly lacks the leadership qualities. Shaun has a girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield). But Shaun loves spending more time with his flatmate Ed who is also his best friend. He likes to go with Ed to a local pub called Winchester, drink some beer and listen to Ed’s fart jokes. But he also doesn’t want to lose Liz. So he makes sure that all three of them, i.e Liz, Shaun and Ed spend time together always in Winchester. Liz loves Shaun, but is clearly getting tired of these “romantic” night-outs involving Ed and Winchester. She wants to do something different and spend some time just with Shaun. An argument ensues between her and Shaun. Shaun somehow saves his ass that night by saying that he’ll book a table for just the two of them in some nice restaurant and spend some quality time with her. So next day when Shaun, negligently, forgets to to do that and in order to make it up to her asks her to come to Winchester, Liz has had enough and she dumps him. Just when Shaun thinks it’s all over, he gets an opportunity to prove to Liz that he is not such a loser at all. And the opportunity comes when the dead awaken. London is fast changing ito a zombie town and Shaun just might be able to save the day. So Shaun and Ed armed wih a cricket bat and shovel plan to rescue their loved ones and retreat to the Winchester where they can have a nice cold pint and wait for all of this to blow over.

The entire movie for most part toys with the old zombie films. And it’s done in a hilarious way. Shaun and Ed are so self-absorbed that they simply fail to notice things happening around them. In one particularly hilarious scene, Shaun wakes up and drags himself to the convenience store nearby and back while still half-asleep and fails to notice the walking undead around him. In fact, he mistakes one of them for a beggar and apologises to him saying he doesn’t have any change. These ultimate couch-potatoes do not realise while channel-surfing that London is being infested with the zombies. So when they encounter the first female zombie in Shaun’s garden, all they think is “Oh my god…she is soooooo drunk”. There’s another great scene where Shaun and Ed try to use Shaun’s vinyl records as frisbees against the zombies. They hear it on the TV that the only way stop the undead is by bashing their head or blowing their brains out. So they try to use the Vinyl records as weapons against the zombies. But before they can throw any of it, they have to analyse whether that disk is really throwable. “Purple Rain? No; Sign o’ the Times? Definitely not; The “Batman” soundtrack? Throw it.”. There is a another brilliant dream sequence where Shaun and Ed plan their heroic rescue attempt and kill Shaun’s step-dad (the amazing Bill Nighy). Edgar Wright employs a little flashy camera work. But it actually suits the tone of the movie. The humor just keeps coming and the visuals only enhance the humor. A lot of the humor here is subtle; like, Shaun’s zombie-like routine after just waking up…But Wright and Pegg make sure that there is something for everyone. Wright and Pegg play around with almost all the clichés of the zombie movie and provide us with great entertainment. Their brand of inventive humor keeps us chuckling throughout the movie. Sure the movie loses a little of its zing, once our party gets into Winchester. That’s when the humor dries up and only the fear of losing the loved ones takes over. This part is not really in-synch with the entire tone of the movie. But apart from the final 15-20 minutes, the movie truly rocks. But the ending scene showing us the uses of zombies after they have been tamed is again brilliant and leaves us with a big smile on our face.

Simon Pegg, who co-wrote this script, gives an amazing performance. He understands his character and makes sure that Shaun comes across as a slacker about whom we care, instead of a complete loser. Nick Frost’s Ed is a trifle annoying. But his bawdy style complements Pegg’s slightly restrained performance and together they prove to be quite a funny pair. Kate Ashfield doesn’t have a lot to do. But she does a decent job and so does the rest of the case.

“Shaun Of The Dead” may not be the best comedy. But it’s a brilliant and dazzlingly inventive comedy. Despite its lame last 15-20 minutes, this is truly a superior movie. I have never seen such a consistent flow of humor in a recent movie. Bless Mr. Wright and Mr. Pegg for bringing the undead back in this fashion! I’d definitely recommend this movie to all comedy-lovers.

 

Hot Fuzz (2007)

After paying a homage to the zombie movies in “Shaun Of The Dead“, the team of director Edgar Wright and actor-writer Simon Pegg have shifted their focus to the action-comedy genre. It must not have been easy to come up with a movie that would match the brilliance of “Shaun Of The Dead”. Expectations were definitely high when this project was announced. I’d have settled for something that just matched the level of “Shaun”. However the duo of Wright and Pegg have done the most astounding thing. They have come up with a movie that’s actually better than the “Shaun”. If you thought “Shaun” was funny, watch “Hot Fuzz”. It’s miles ahead of its predecessor. The jokes are more biting, the action is more riveting and gore is more fascinating/disturbing depending on your taste in gore. This outrageously hilarious movie of a big city cop in a small town gives you everything that you’d expect from the makers of the “Shaun” : comedy, suspense, comedy, gore, comedy, adrenalin-pumping action and finally some more comedy.

PC Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is the ultimate crime-fighting machine. He is one tough cop who believes in the letter of the law and is only too eager to enforce it. No wonder that his arrest record is 400 percent higher than that of his colleagues. In fact, he is so good that he is making the rest of the police force, including his seniors, look bad. So his superiors conspire to promote him to the post of Sergeant and send him off to the sleepy town of Sandford where crime rate is almost non-existent. The occasional job for a cop in Sandford includes chasing an escaped swan or telling off someone for cutting his neighbor’s hedges. Due to the non-existent crime rates, the police force there is completely laid-back. Nicholas finds himself surrounded by people who want him to just take it easy. On top of that, he is partnered with Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), the bumbling son of the Chief Inspector of Sandford. The town of Sandford is an extremely peaceful town and has won the “Village Of The Year” contest every year. This year’s contest is drawing near and that’s when Nicholas stumbles on a series of curious accidents which may not be what they seem to be. When Nicholas tries to get help from his colleagues, he is laughed at. “Murder? Oh, Come on Nicholas, The M-word hasn’t been spoken in Sandford for 20 years. Why would it be now?”. But Nicholas smells some foul play and is determined to uncover the truth. And with the help of Danny, he does.

Just as “Shaun Of The Dead” was a parody of the zombie movies, “Hot Fuzz” is of the action comedies. The trailer of the movie said that the makers of this film have seen every cop movie that was ever made. And they were not lying. There are plenty of such movie references. In one scene, Danny fires in the air in the fashion of Keanu Reeves from “Point Break”. Nicholas once cracks a dialogue from “Bad Boys II”. On more than one occasions they mock the action hero’s tendency to say a cool line before making a move. Plus the climactic battle brings to mind the flashy camera work of Mr. Bay and Mr. Woo. Jokes and gags abound making this a consistent rib-tickler. There are so many jokes happening at such a fast pace that it’s easy to lose a track of them. But don’t worry, you’ll definitely want to see this movie again. You can catch them then. Like “Shaun Of The Dead”, Wright and Pegg co-wrote this movie and they really know their stuff. And they have a lot of fun tweaking it in the wackiest manner. e.g. Many action movies use the “Buddy” formula where they team up two unlikely guys to fight the evil. The same is true with “Hot Fuzz”. The two guys teamed here couldn’t be more different that Nicholas and Danny. But Wright and Pegg has tweaked the relationship so much that it almost seems like a love affair where Danny asks Nicholas to come in for a cup of coffee, they fall asleep on the same couch while watching TV, later Nicholas goes to buy a special present for Danny. The relationship seems almost, but never quite, on the verge of being an affair. Nice way of mocking the buddy formula! Also just because it’s a comedy, that doesn’t mean director Edgar Wright is going to skimp on the gore part. Blood splattering is shown in the most vicious manner, particularly one murder in the church area is bound to make the faint-hearted…well, faint…

The acting in this movie is pure top-notch. Simon Pegg, who amazed me with his “Shaun”, is again solid as Nicholas. He shows a perfect blend of toughness and vulnerability. He is definitely an actor to watch out for. Nick Frost turns down his annoying aura from “Shaun” and comes across as a pure goofy simpleton. He is the small town cop who watches a lot of cop movies and thinks that being a policeman is all about gunfights and high-speed pursuits. So when a big-city cop like Nicholas comes to his town, he wants to know everything that Nicholas has ever done. Has he ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air? Has he ever fired one gun whilst jumping through the air? Has he fired a gun whilst in a high-speed pursuit? Has he seen Bad Boys II? Nicholas hasn’t done any of this before. But by the time he wraps up the case in Sandford, he’s done it all and more. Rest of the cast chips in brilliantly to create a perfect ensemble.

At 2 hours the movie is a tad long. There are moments when the movie seems a little sluggish. But fortunately such moments are rare. For most part, the movie breezes along toying inventively with the formulaic action-comedy movies. “Hot Fuzz” proves to be a worthy and even a better follow-up to the brilliant debut of M/S Wright and Pegg. Watch out…Here comes the fuzz……A definite contender for the Best Action-Comedy of 2007….

 

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) has two problems : First, he can’t keep his mouth shut and second, he is not Nick Fisher… In 2006, The duo of director Paul McGuigan and writer Jason Smilovic brought to screen one of the most deliciously indulgent noir thriller that may even become a “cult” favorite. Despite its predictable plot and pretentious look, this movie about mistaken identity manages to entertain. This is one of those thrillers where a suspension of disbelief is a must. Just do that and you’ll enjoy the ride.

Slevin is having a real bad day. I mean, a real, real bad day. He loses his job, loses his apartment and finds his girlfriend cheating on him. That’s when he decides to stay with his friend Nick Fisher for a few days . But just as he lands in New York, he is mugged and his nose is broken. When he gets to Nick’s apartment, he finds the door unlocked and Nick missing. Just when Slevin is making himself at home in Nick’s apartment, he is picked up by two men of The Boss (Morgan Freeman), a mafia lord. The men obviously take him to be Nick Fisher who owes The Boss a large amount and present him to The Boss. The Boss gives Slevin two choices : either pay the money or do a small job for The Boss, which involves the killing of the rival mafia lord, The Rabbi’s son. Slevin is given some time to think about it. Just as Slevin returns to Nick’s apartment, he’s picked by The Rabbi’s men. It seems that Nick also owed a large amount to The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley). Now, Slevin is caught in the war of these two crime lord. Also involved in the game is a dangerous, world-class assassin Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) and Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) who is keeping an eye on Slevin. Only Lindsay (Lucy Liu), Nick’s next-door neighbor, wants to help Slevin with his situation. But as is the case in many noir thriller, things may not be as they seem to be.

At just 10 minutes shy of 2 hours, “Lucky Number Slevin” is a fairly long movie. But it moves along quite pleasantly keeping the viewers engaged. Surely, it loses the steam towards the climax. However even then, it remains interesting. This happens mainly because of the witty dialogues. “Lucky Number Slevin” contains some really witty and humorous dialogues. Josh Hartnett spoils a few talking glibly. But overall the exchanges between the characters keep us chuckling. Slevin is one guy who can’t resist wisecracking. And he chooses to do it always at the wrong time. Like, when Detective Brikowski asks him who he is, he smugly says “Philosophically speaking?”. He just can’t keep his trap shut. So much that The Boss actually remarks, referring to his broken nose : “I bet it was that mouth that got you that nose”. The sparkling dialogues only add to the fast pace of the movie and make this movie seem better that it actually is. Paul McGuigan understands the script and has deliberately paced the movie fast so that the viewers won’t get into analyzing the content a lot. When you analyze the script, you can find lot of loopholes in it. For example, Slevin’s utter indifference about the whole situation (whatever he might say about ataraxia), or the lack of motivation behind Mr. Goodkat’s behavior. That’s why I said : This is one of those thrillers where a suspension of disbelief is a must. It’s the ride that counts in this movie. And the ride proves to be gloriously entertaining.

Josh Hartnett is not the best actor in this movie. The smug look on his face is annoying sometimes; but he does a decent job. Morgan Freeman, on the other hand, does an excellent job of playing the mafia lord who is amused with Slevin. Bruce Willis does what he does best : he grunts and he gives those cold-hard menacing looks. Sir Ben Kingsley, a great actor otherwise, fails to make an impact here. His dialogue delivery is far too hurried here and so it loses the punch in the lines. At times, he seems like some caricature. But for me, the best actor in this movie is not Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman or even Bruce Willis. It’s Mykelti Williamson who plays Sloe, The Boss’s man who comes to pick up Slevin the first time. He’s on screen for less than five minutes. But he can have you rolling on the floor even in that much time. His “Hey look, look, look..Tell it to the one-legged man so he can bump it off down the road” line is priceless. Wish he had been give a little more screen-time.

“Lucky Number Slevin” is not the best thriller that you’ll ever see. But this is definitely one the most entertaining movies that you’ll ever see. I’ll definitely recommend it to all movie-lovers. I’ve read many a critics dissing this movie for its wafer-thin plot. Well, I’ll only say to them : “Hey, tell it to the one-legged man so he can bump it off down the road”…

 

Broken Flowers (2005)

“Broken Flowers” is an offbeat comedy. I’m using the term “comedy” quite loosely here. Don’t expect some slapstick gag or plenty of ha-ha moments. While it does contain plenty of humour, most of it (or almost all of it) is subtle. None of it is going to have you rolling on the floor. But it’s sure going to keep you chuckling every now and then. But then the movie is not only a “comedy”, it’s also a “drama”. Now these are not two things that quite blend together. And though director Jim Jarmusch has tried to strike a balance between the two, we are still left feeling quite unsatisfied with the final product.

“Broken Flowers” is the story of Don Johnston (Bill Murray). Don, after making a fortune in the “computers”, has now slipped into a life of utter indifference. All he does is just sit on his couch, watch his big plasma TV and listen to some classical music. There’s no passion remaining in him. Don is alive, but he is not “living”. So it’s not surprising that his current girlfriend Sherry (Julie Delpy) decides to leave him. But even then Don remains indifferent. After Sherry leaves him, he just gets back to his couch and sleeps. That one scene is enough to tell us that Don is not a likable character. He is a man of few words and even fewer actions. But then comes the letter in a pink envelop that shakes, though not dramatically, the foundations of Don’s world. It seems that Don, whatever his deficiencies maybe, has a way with the women and has had quite a few girlfriends in the past. But though he has a way with the women, he has never really understood them and therefore has a history of broken relationships. The letter is from one of Don’s old flames informing him that he has a 19-year old son and he’s on a road-trip, possibly to look for his dad. This comes as a shock for Don who knows nothing about this. The letter is not even signed, so Don has no idea who wrote it. At first, Don tries to brush it off. But upon the insistence of his persuasive and enthusiastic neighbor Winston (Jeffrey Wright), he decides to try and find out who wrote him that letter. Winston, who is a sort of amateur crime novel writer, helps Don in narrowing down the possibilities to four women, Laura (Sharon Stone), Dora (Frances Conroy ), Carmen (Jessica Lange) and Penny (Tilda Swinton). Winston also plans Don’s itinerary. So now Don, for the first time in many years, is taking the initiative and doing something. Obviously, this road-trip is not going to be easy at all. On his way, he gets flashed at by “Lolita” (yeah right, Lolita), daughter of one his ex-girlfriend, has an awkward dinner with his other ex-flame and her current husband, meets his another ex-love who is now an animal communicator and a lesbian, gets punched in the face (or as he says “runs into someone’s fist”).

The main problem with the movie is Don himself. The character of Don has not been penned properly. We don’t really understand what was it that caused all those broken relationships. Don’s character is actually an interesting one. However we are not really shown a lot of it. In each of Don’s encounter with his ex-loves, we get a few glimpses into Don’s personality. Like when Dora’s husband shows Don an old photo of a then-hippie Dora, Don remembers that he had taken that photo. We can assume that Don was also a fellow hippie at that time. But we don’t get any explanation as to why he has become so passionless and detached from everything? We get to see Don’s vulnerability in a few scenes. But we don’t really see why he is the way he is. As a result of this, viewers maybe able to identify with only some parts of the character of Don. But as a whole the character seems extremely cold and distant. Another problem in the movie is its vague ending. The movie is about Don’s journey. It’s not about the destination. The ambiguous climax leaves no doubt about this. It’s only after he has travelled many a miles that Don realises how much he has missed in his life. But since the viewers can’t really identify with Don’s character, it becomes a little frustrating as even the final payoff, the identity of the mysterious letter-writer, is denied to them. Also the screen is occupied for the most part by Bill Murray. No other character gets enough screen time to make us care about them. All the other characters get, maybe, 5-10 minutes of screen presence. It’s not really enough and they just seem to be passing through the movie. So the final product leaves us with a bitter taste.

But having said that, I have to confess that the movie is quite a smart one and it provides some genuinely funny moments. Most of these moments come from Don’s over-zealous Ethiopian neighbor, Winston. Jeffrey Wright manages to steal every scene he is in. Then there are some good entertaining moments in Don’s encounters with his ex-flames. Bill Murray does a brilliant job of acting with his facial expressions and body language. He portrays the character almost to perfection. But we wish there was more depth to his character.

“Broken Flowers”didn’t prove to be quite as entertaining as I thought it would be. But it’s a smart movie, though a little too self-indulgent. Despite its flaws, the movie does provide some good entertainment. But I won’t recommend this movie to everyone. Only those who don’t mind watching indie movies may want to try this one.