The Cruelty Of Old Money

I was never a fan of Baz Luhrmann's movies - most of them were too avant garde and pretentious! But I have to admit that I was totally swept off my feet by The Great Gatsby.

After all the anticipation, the real thing dazzled me! It's not a traditional interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, but I would not expect anything traditional from Luhrmann. It's one of those rare love-story dramas that was shot in 3D and the decadent parties, costumes and music as well as the ill-fated love story all play a part in dazzling the audience.

I couldn't help comparing Luhrmann's version with the older movie featuring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow although fortunately, Baz Luhrmann deliberately chose not to see the other version. The new one is so much better, mainly due to the brilliant performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan respectively. A Botoxed-up DiCaprio is mature enough now to look and act the part of the charming yet tormented Jay Gatsby. And Carey Mulligan just plays the role of Daisy Buchanan to such perfection that you want certain scenes of hers to be frozen on the big screen!

Understandably, every actress would want to be cast as Daisy because she's so glamorous and yet so complex and vulnerable. I read that Carey Mulligan beat other renowned actresses such as Natalie Portman, Blake Lively and Michelle Williams primarily because of her kissing scene with DiCaprio in the audition. And to play this role, Mulligan has obviously shed quite a few pounds from her Shame days and looks absolutely picture-perfect in all the Prada dresses.

I would not expect any lesser performance from DiCaprio and Mulligan, but I thought Australian actor Joel Edgerton did an outstanding job as Tom Buchanan. I read that Ben Affleck was originally considered for this role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and Edgerton eventually beat out Bradley Cooper and Luke Evans. Tobey Maguire, who's best friend with DiCaprio in real life, is a talented actor but turns out to be very mediocre in his role as Nick Carraway, the narrator.

Apart from the acting and the direction, three things really stood out in the entire movie - the music, the costumes and the use of technology. You would not have imagined that hip-hop music would fit in with a story written in the jazz age, but surprisingly, Jay-Z's score works brilliantly. And what could be a better fit than Lana Del Rey's  melancholic voice?

The director's wife, Catherine Martin, who won two Oscars for her work in Moulin Rouge (another one of the husband-and-wife collaboration) would probably, once again, win two Academy Awards for Production and Costume Designs for this movie.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel in southern France and the story was set on Long Island, New York. Luhrmann, however, shot the entire film in Sydney, Australia, using many wonderful production sets and, of course, 3D filming and CGT wonders. This is such a cool movie that you would want to watch it many times, but what ultimately strikes me is not just the visuals. Luhrmann successfully conveys the tragic elements of Fitzgerald's novel - the cruelty of old money versus the nouveau riche; the unfortunate timings of the love story; and the failure in the pursuit of an American dream. It's not surprising that when I was watching this movie, another dark drama popped up in my mind - AMC's Mad Men. Both are beautiful, dark and brilliant works of art!

Does The Man Make The Suit In Iron Man 3?

I've missed Iron Man 2, but thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man 3. All these Marvel comic-book storylines more or less follow the same formula: the good conquering the evil. The hero will never die - even if dead, only temporarily.

In this movie, industrialist Tony Stark (Iron Man) answers his own question: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? It's obviously the former and Writer/Director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon fame) did a terrific job of giving the audience more scenes of Robert Downey Jr. without his Iron Man armour. We see more of the Iron Man in vulnerable situations in this movie more than the rest in the sequel. But they make this comic-book hero more human at times.

We see Tony Stark as a playboy and a possibly good father figure. I love his interaction with the 11-year-old kid Harley Keener (played by Ty Simpkins who's also in Revolutionary Road). Stark is protective, witty and cool with kids. His playboy role is less impressive. The role of Maya Hansen, the researcher, is kind of superfluous and what a waste of Rebecca Hall's (Sir Peter Hall's daughter and famous for her roles in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Frost Nixon) talent to play that role!

For those of you who are Ben Kingsley fans like me, you've all seen how he can be chillingly villainous in Sexy Beast (Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor), but as The Mandarin, the 69-year-old Kingsley is just downright hilarious!

I've never liked Gwyneth Paltrow and find her as irritating as ever in this flick. Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle are both talented actors, but very mediocre in their respective roles as Colonel James Rhodes and Aldrich Killian in this film.

China is becoming a huge market for American films, so it's no wonder that Iron Man 3 got funding and input from DMG, a Chinese marketing and entertainment group. Apart from the villain, The Mandarin, I could hardly see any other Chinese elements. The movie was shot primarily in North Carolina and California, so I was disappointed when I mistakenly thought that it's partially shot in China. I heard that there's a Chinese version of the movie which added an extra four minutes to include a minor, irrelevant plot twist and a few shots of female heart-throb Fan Bingbing and another local star, Wang Xueqi. Maybe this is why the film has been compromised without Susan Downey (Robert Downey Jr.'s wife) as a producer for the first time in the Iron Man sequel!

Redford On Boomer Regrets

Robert Redford's latest movie, The Company You Keep, is a film for boomers who are going to the cinemas in full force to support this film. As a poster boy in the 60s and 70s, Redford has transformed himself from just a pretty face on the big screen to one of the most respected filmmakers, philanthropists and environmentalists in the 21st century.

Redford is always more talented as a director than an actor. Among the nine films directed by him since 1980, I like Ordinary People (won him the Best Director Award at the Oscars in 1981), The Horse Whisperer, The Conspirator and now The Company You Keep. They are always subtle and non-traditional. In the last 30 years, Redford has also never made a movie with the box office in mind. Perhaps, now he can afford to do so just for the art alone.

Baby boomers often reminisce about we have done in our youth. Perhaps some of us even regret about our past follies. The Company You Keep is about how a group of former activists under the umbrella name of Weather Underground all resurface again to confront their own demons. It is about doing what's right for the younger generation. The thriller keeps you on the edge of your seats but the plot is never that complex. When you've watched about two-thirds of the movie, you can sort of guess where the plot is going. The film was beautifully shot in Vancouver and is a very classy, intelligen and concise thriller that only Redford can make.

What's most delightful about the film is the gang of boomer actors who were all superstars in their gloriest days - Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Chirs Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Brenda Gleeson, Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott. The only two young actors in the film - Shia LaBeouf and Brit Marling - carry their own weights in front of the veteran actors. A talented actor like Terrence Howard does not need to play the role of the FBI chief in this film, but I guess if Robert Redford calls, you just don't say no! I read about Julie Christie initially refusing her role, but Redford went to Canadian director Sarah Polley, who directed Christie in Away From Her, for advice. Christie finally accepted the invitation and gave a brilliant performance as the irresistible Mimi.

I have to admit, however, that it's scary to watch how Redford has been aging over the years. At 76, he's still cool as a cucumber, but his face on the big screen looks like plastic surgery gone awry. There's also a scene where a jogging Redford could easily be mistaken for an old woman running in the park. Perhaps it's time for Redford to consider just staying behind the camera instead of still appearing in front of it?