The Saint

​"The Saint"

Watched English movie "The Saint". 

This film is directed by Earnie Barbarash. Written by Leslie Charteris, Jesse Alexander, Tony Giglio. Produced by Jesse Alexander and others. Music by Neal Acree. Cinematography Paul M. Sommers. The film stars Adam Rayner; Enrique Murciano; Eliza Dushku; Ian Ogilvy; Sir Roger Moore. The film runs for about 1 hour 30 minutes and was released in 2017. I watched it on Netflix on 29th Jan 2021.

Simon Templar is an international thief who works with his associate and computer genius Patricia Holm. His trade name is 'The Saint'. Being a descendant of Knights Templars, he distributes his booty to needy. A shady businessman steals 2.5 B$ earmarked to help Nigeria. His banker grows conscience and hides the money. Banker’s daughter is kidnapped. He recruits The Saint.

Rayner plays the good thief, the ultimate fighter and never captured 'The Saint'. He looks handsome, acts well and fights very well. Eliza plays his associate, the brains and computer wiz Patricia. She looks beautiful. In the swimsuit scene, rather than looking sexy, she looks scrawny. Enrique plays the inspector who's on Simon's trail for long. Remar plays the Banker. At his old age, he doesn't appear tech savvy. Ogilvy plays the villain. Roger Moore makes a guest appearance. 

The story has flow. The movie is crisp. Director handles the movie well and keeps you interested. There is a hint of sequel but it isn't released yet. 

The Saint is a popular fictional character and has its fan following.  It was first published as

a series of books between 1928 and 1963 with Simon Templar as the protagonist. The author was Leslie Charteris. Several radio shows were made since 1940s. In 1962, a TV show was aired. In 1997, a film was released. And now this movie was released in 2017.

Since I haven't read any of the original books, can't say if the movie is true to any of them. 

Positives: Sam-Eliza chemistry.

Negatives: Umm..... 

It's a good light movie. Watch it, forget it.

Nirdosh (निर्दोष)

"Nirdosh (निर्दोष)"

Watched Hindi movie "Nirdosh (निर्दोष)". 

This film is directed by Pradeep Rangwani, Subroto Paul. Written by Amit Khan. Produced by Pradeep Rangwani. Music by Liyaqat Ajmeri, Harry Anand. Cinematography Arun Prasad. The film stars Ashmit Patel, Manjari Fadnnis, Mukul Dev, Mahek Chahal, Arbaz Khan, Manisha Kelkar. The film runs for about 1 hour 50 minutes and was released in Nov 2018. I watched it on Zee5 on 7th Jan 2022 with Aditi.

Shinaya, a celebrated reporter, is arrested for murder of a neighbour. Inspector Lokhande (Arbaz) investigates. Needle of suspicion goes from Shinaya to her husband to husband's girlfriend to girlfriend's boyfriend to wife of deceased to brother in law of deceased and so on. But neither appears to be the murderer. 

Lokhande is unconventional. He doesn't wear uniform because khaki is in his blood. He doesn't mind breaking law to protect law, protect innocent and punish guilty. It's an interesting character but Arbaz is probably not the ideal choice for the role. Manjari plays the accused well and Mahek plays the sex bomb. Mukul impresses as the antagonist and is the best actor of the movie. He makes audience angry and there lies his success. Ashmit's career is going nowhere. He plays a secondary role in this low budget movie. Others play supporting roles. 

There are many flaws in the direction. Why would a successful model live as paying guest? Court scene is super amateurish. Prosecutor talks to defender's attorney directly in courtroom, bypassing judge.  Deposition in court happens without taking oath. Judge sustains objection without basis. Etc... One expects more from professional directors. It's really disappointing. 

Positives: Umm....

Negatives: Direction,  Casting Arbaz. 

Give it a miss.

Brazen

"Brazen"

Watched English movie "Brazen". 

This film is directed by Monica Mitchell. Written by David Golden. Produced by Stephanie Germaine, Peter Guber, Peter E. Strauss. The film stars Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Emilie Ullerup, Matthew Finlan, Collene Wheeler, Malachi Weir. The film runs for about 1 hour 36 minutes and was released on 13th Jan 2022. I watched it on Netflix on 22nd Jan 2022.

Grace is a famous fiction writer. Her specialization? Women's murder mysteries. Her sister, Kathleen, calls her to her home. The sister has a secret life. While Grace is on a date with a neighbour called Ed Jennings, a homicide detective, her sister is murdered. 

Police investigate. Then there is second murder. Then a third that doesn't succeed. Grace can't stay away. She offers her help to the police and Ed's boss retains her as consultant, despite Ed's protests. Can the mystery writer enter criminals mind?

Alyssa plays Grace. She has a horrible hair style in this movie. Doesn't give a scintillating performance. Was she the right choice? Emilie impresses more as the murdered sister. Sam plays Ed. He is ok. Alison doesn't look like police captain. 

The acting is average. Casting is average. Direction is average. Handling of the story is average. Screenplay is average. In short it's an average movie. Nothing special. 

This movie is based on book 'Brazen Virtue' by famous author Nora Roberts. I haven't read the book, so can't say how true movie is to the book. 

Positives: Umm....

Negatives: Everything is average. 

Give it a miss.

50 shades of Grey

"50 shades of Grey"

Watched English movie "50 shades of Grey". 

This film is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. Screenplay by Kelly Marcel. Produced by Michael James,  E.L. James, Dana Brunetti. Music by Danny Elfman. Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden. The film runs for about 2 hour 5 minutes and was released in 2015. I watched it with Aditi on 21st Jan 2022 on Netflix.

Anastasia Steele goes to interview Cristian Gerry, a young business tycoon, as stand-in for her room mate. Sparks fly. They are attracted to each other. But this is not a normal relationship. Abnormal doesn't even start to describe it. 

The movie is based on the book with same title. Author of the book, E.L. James, is also one of the producer of the movie, so I assume that the movie is true to the book. I haven't read the book. This is the first movie of the trilogy. 

It's an erotica plain and simple. But it's not just erotica. There is a major factor of BDSM. Are the origins of the BDSM obsession of Christian in his childhood? Has it got anything to do with the fact that he was adopted? Well the movie doesn't answer the questions. You will have to wait for the sequels. 

Dakota plays Anastasia. I expected a leading lady of an erotica to have a supple body. Dakota doesn't fit the bill. Her ribs are visible. However, she acts well and portrays the vulnerable girl torn between love for the man and hate for his love making ways and obsession with rules. Jamie plays Christian Grey. His insistence on what's allowed and what's not. His refusal to open up. His refusal to be normal. His obsession in BDSM. He does well. Audience hate him and don't, at the same time. It's a movie of essentially two characters, others don't really matter. 

There is no verdict, really, because the story is not even half way. But it's not a movie to watch with family. 

Positives: Lead actors.

Negatives: Support of BDSM. 

Watch if you like erotica or liked this review.