sulaco_in Reviews

Patriot (2015–2018)

Breaking Bad meets Fargo meets Jason Bourne, Amazon please keep this going!!!

[10/10 · 15 March 2017]

WOW!! This show is insane and insanely good. Just finished binge watching the first season and I must say, nothing right now on TV even comes close. Truth be told I have been looking forward to when Steven Conrad would really bloom and I think he has. He wrote "The Weather Man", what seems like ages ago and I was among a minority who loved it. Unfortunately, the movie I think was advertised wrongly and sank (I never saw the trailer and loved it). So much so that a blu-ray version is not out yet with some extra content which was in the trailer but never in the movie. Very criminally underrated in my opinion, not just as a movie but also as one of the best performances of both Michael Caine and Nicholas Cage (oh Nic Cage, please return to form!!) and not to mention an uplifting musical score combined with Gore Verbinski's amazing direction (yes, he did direct something other than Pirates of the Caribbean).

Anyways back to Patriot, the less that I tell you the better it is I think. Its a black comedy with its own sense of weird and absurd humor (more in the vein of Wes Anderson). Another way to look at this show is an exposition of Murphy's Law in espionage. God I want to say more but can't for the fear of ruining it. The other thing I will complement is the music and cinematography (You will know better what I am talking about when you see the show).

Michael Dorman, I don't even know who you are but I am a die hard fan now. And lastly, Amazon, please keep this series going, it will make you proud one day!

New World (2013)

Superb gangster flick from the writer of "I saw the devil"

[10/10 · 8 April 2013]

I am surprised that more people (especially my friends from South Korea) haven't reviewed this excellent movie so far. Perhaps they know of better Korean cinema to view and review!! I for one am from India (settled in the US) and big fan of Korean films, which were introduced to me by a Korean friend of mine during my graduate school days here in the US. Anyhow, this is the only Korean movie I could lay my hands on in a theater close to me (I generally see Korean movies on Netflix or home video). Perhaps it is my excitement of having watched a Korean movie in a movie theater after so long which has me biased in favor of this film. But I think not, as the rating right now on IMDb is 7.7/10. Anyways, here goes.

This is an amazing movie. Like the only other reviewer here has said, it mixes elements of "The Godfather" with "The Departed". It also reminded me of a Hindi art house movie which is not so well known (unfortunately) called "Droh Kaal" (1994 by director Govind Nihalani). Park Hoon-Jung being an accomplished writer (I loved his "I saw the devil"), does craft an original and engaging story. Violence is heavy handed when it is depicted and makes you cringe, but I don't mind that personally. I loved the costumes (every gangster in the movie wears designer suits which should be the envy of Wall Street executives). In fact, its the law enforcement officials who are comparatively shabbily dressed. The feel and atmosphere is subtly captured by cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon. I love his camera work, which was only recently at display in "Stoker" (by Park chan-wook), which I saw the day it was out. It was also a treat to see Choi min-shik ("Oldboy") again after "I saw the devil".

Overall, the movie kept me on the edge of my seat and was really entertaining. It is definitely much better than what Hollywood is churning out these days (with a few exceptions of course). Let me hope they don't butcher my favorite "Oldboy". I would highly recommend "New World", please do go and see it in a theater to really get the feel (like I said earlier, the cinematography is top-notch and needs to be seen on a big screen to be believed!).

Redbelt (2008)

Another searing masterpiece from Mamet!!

[10/10 · 28 April 2008]

I just saw this movie yesterday at the Tribeca Film Festival, NYC. I have never posted a review at IMDb before, in spite of being a loyal visitor to this website for 10 years now. However, after watching Redbelt, I have been forced to say something.

In short the film is about a martial arts instructor who is too idealistic for the real world around him. Thats why he stays safely behind the confines of his teaching academy. One night though, a series of events changes everything and he is forced to come out into the open and confront the consequences of the ripple effect.

This confrontation, in the hands of David Mamet becomes white hot and you can feel the tension of the film in your pulse. The audience applauded many scenes and in the end I think the standing ovation must have lasted five minutes or more. Many people also felt that this film should have been considered for the Cadillac Award, and were disappointed that Redbelt was ineligible for the top competition honor.

As always taut screenplay and cracking dialogues were the hallmark of the film, like any other Mamet movie or play. During the course of the film I couldn't help but wonder at the raw intensity that Mamet manages to bring to his films. I have not been able to pin point so far, but I do see parallels between the protagonists of his earlier film Spartan (played by Val Kilmer) and Redbelt (played to greatness by the ever brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Overall an amazing film and Mamet fans won't be disappointed.