Valentines Night

Valentine's Night Movie Review February 10, 2012 12:40:33 PM IST
updated February 10, 2012 03:22:08 PM IST
By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial
VALENTINE'S NIGHT is a story about three girls and two boys who have just broken up on Valentine's Day and meet up on the 'Lonely Hearts' page on Facebook. One of the girls plans a night out together. They call it Valentine's Night! As the night progresses, three more join the trip. These three (two girls and a boy) and partners of three from the five. Confusing? Not really. The idea was novel, but executing it into-a full-fledged movie is another story altogether.
Hence, I guess, there are two directors-Krishan and Badal. Both show promise in patches and that's about as far you can go with this plot, which is convoluted. After about 20 minutes of trying to keep pace with the action, you give up. The actors make a fine mess of whatever is given to them further complicating the goings-on.
The film is flawed right from the planning stage. There are plots within a plot and the directors do not know how to handle the back stories. Everything is just thrown in, like an inexperienced cook would do to a dish hoping it would taste good.

Payal Rohatgi is the only known name that drives this film, unfortunately she too is not convinced about what she is doing on screen. Apart from shedding copious tears and displaying legs (shoddy dress designing), she has nothing left to do.
I must say that this is a brave attempt but the makers could have done well to rope in a few experts to whet the script before taking the final plunge. After all, you are taking the product to the masses and a little sensibility is what is required.
The one star is for the belief the directors had in themselves. After all it is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all!
Mark Zuckerberg will certainly not be flattered with the reference to Facebook that this film constantly makes! 'Facebook ne humko bacha liya,' say the protagonists at the end.
But who will save this movie?
Ratings : 1/5

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Agneepath

January 26, 2012 01:08:11 PM IST
updated January 30, 2012 05:28:27 PM IST
By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial
Before the onset, I would like to make it known that AGNEEPATH, the original, remains one of my best Bollywood films to date. I have seen it umpteen times and every time I see it a new, I enjoy it even more. To me, that was Amitabh Bachchan's finest performance; he dared to experiment and set a benchmark with his dialogue style that ended with an eeh! Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was a complete character coming from Mandwa, a small town on the outskirts of Mumbai. He had 'Maut ke saath apintment.' Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Hrithik Roshan) in the re-make too, has 'Maut ke saath apintment'. But this will not be known to the first-time viewers of AGNEEPATH.
Karan Johar in a note before the re-make rolls applauds the genius of Amit uncle (Amitabh Bachchan) and the vision of Mukul Anand, the director. Produced by his father, late Yash Johar, this is Karan's tribute to the vision of the three that produced one of the finest films to come out of Bollywood, which unfortunately failed to be coined as a commercial success.
CHECK OUT: AGNEEPATH finally gets its due!
Any comparison to the original now, is inevitable.
Assistant to Karan Johar, Karan Malhotra gets to hold the reins for the first time. He knocks off a few elements from the original, and adds new layers to the new. For instance, Mithun Chakraborty's character, which was central to the plot, has been done away with, while Vijay's mother's role has been cut down, only to be exploited towards the end. Even Vijay's sister's role has been modified while a layer in the form of the character of Rauf Lala (Rishi Kapoor) who trades in the flesh market and drugs has been added. Kanhcha Cheena (Sanjay Dutt) has a father who is the village headman, while Danny Denzongpa in the original was a one-man-show. No song stands out in the AGNEEPATH of old; it's just the brilliance of one man. Chikni Chameli (Katrina Kaif) leaves an indelible mark on this one. The track is not only catchy and peppy, but also sees the Kaif girl dancing like a 'Kat on a hot tin roof!' She sheds all inhibitions jumping into the song with gay abandon. A paisa vasool moment in the film.
The story: Master Dinanath Chauhan is a respected teacher in Mandwa. His popularity threatens the village headman who uses his son, Kancha Cheena to frame him in a crime and then eliminate him in a most brutal fashion. Vijay is just 10-years-old when he sees havoc wreaked in his life. He leaves Mandwa with his pregnant mother for Mumbai and begins his journey of hate, to one day reclaim Mandwa and eliminate Kancha. He uses the power of Rauf Lala, who is the Badshaah of Mumbai, to gain in strength to get closer to his target.

Drawbacks:
- While the late Mukul Anand took pains to etch out Master's character, here Karan Malhotra quickly runs through the process without dwelling into how important Master's existence is to the whole plot. He expects his newer audience to have seen the old film.
- As someone who is into the 'flesh trade' and drug mafia, Rishi Kapoor is a poor choice. Simply because he fails to characterize evil in a way it was meant to be. Pawan Malhotra could have been a good choice.
- The film is 20 minutes too long. A couple of songs could have been done away with. The birthday song for Vijay's sister and the wedding song for Rauf's son.
- Madhavi's role (that of a nurse) though small, left a lasting impression. Priyanka Chopra's role has been very poorly defined leaving no room for the actress to improvise or act.
- Finally, even 15 years later, Kancha is still the same fit old villain. Nothing changes for him, not even his style of dressing. Danny has aged considerably in the original. Dutt's make-over has not been looked into properly. His style of dialogue delivery and his bald pate gives one a 'comical feel'. For a character that is supposed to have you shuddering, it's very weakly scripted. However, he makes up towards the end.
CHECK OUT: AGNEEPATH - A new phase of acting begins for Rishi Kapoor
Highpoints:
- The dinner table scene this time is powerful where Vijay is shown grabbing his thali and devouring his mother's food after 15 years. Touching.
- The entire sequence where Vijay rescues his sister from being sold by Rauf Lala is gripping till the time Shiksha learns who Vijay really is. For 15 years, she never knew she had a brother. And, it is only here, that Rishi manages to go top gear in the evil department.
- The climax more than makes up for the weak beginning. Even though there are a few cinematic liberties that the director takes, you as a viewer want to root out the evil.
- The Chikni Chameli item song which I have already mentioned.
- Hrithik double crossing Rauf Lala is smartly executed. He moves in for his own selfish motives, but is smart enough not to leave a trail. Malhotra handles these moments with the ease of a seasoned pro.
Hrithik conforms himself to the mould set by Amitabh. He sticks to the plot working with vengeance as his crutch. If you blank out Amitabh's performance in the original, Hrithik stands out. He is cool, calculative and not afraid of death. Remember he has Maut ke saath apintment!
Kanika Tiwari who plays Hrithik's sister towers in her brief role. A youngster pitied against seasoned stars like Priyanka and Hrithik, she holds her own in pivot scenes to steal the show.
The entire production is first rate. The songs, especially the Ganapati immersion and the wedding of Rauf Lala's son, are picturised beautifully with well-choreographed dances.
Although it will not have a recall value like the old AGNEEPATH, this surely is a 'must one-time-watch'.
Rating : 4/5

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Sadda Adda

Shamir Tandon, Band of Boys, Ramji Gulati Prashant Pandey, Sandeep Nath, Ramji Gulati, Shamir Tandon, Karan Oberio Karanvir Sharma, Bhaumik Sampat, Rohin Robert, Rohit Arora, Kunal Pant, Parimal Aloke, Shaurya Chauhan and Kahkkashan Aryan January 13, 2012 11:16:52 AM IST
updated January 14, 2012 08:26:57 PM IST
By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial
SADDA ADDA is a movie with the right intention. You could call it a poor cousin of 3 IDIOTS. That itself should be a big boost to the makers for working on a theme which is positive in its approach to send out an optimistic message of hope. It also has shades of similarity with the 2007 film directed by Manoj Tyagi, MUMBAI SALSA.
The movie is urban in its approach, with roots going back to small towns from where the central characters come from.
It's a story about six bachelors coming together to live in a rented 2BHK apartment. They call their home 'Sadda Adda'. All come from diverse backgrounds with dreams to make it big. While one wants to make it in acting, the others in engineering, and sales and design. There's another who is struggling to find a suitable job.
Their home, as expected, is in a mess, with a detailed daily chart of who will do what during the day. However, there's just one guy, Jogi, who ends up doing most of the work as the others bully him around.

From here, the story takes a predictable turn as to how one of the boys loses his focus, despite being talented. He finally realizes his act of arrogance and corrects it with all humility to regain lost ground.
Another, unable to cope with failure, decides that suicide is the best option.
First time director Muazzam Beg has a completely raw cast at hand and does a decent job extracting some good performances, especially from Karanvir Sharma and the boy who plays Safal, a Bihari. Both these actors should be able to make a mark like Omi Vaidya did in 3 IDIOTS.

CHECK OUT: Shaurya Chauhan- SADDA ADDA is a youngster's film!
The movie should strike the right chord with audience from within the college community and those who have just begun their professional career.
Like I said, it does end with a message of hope. In these stressful, competitive times, it is indeed heartening to be rejuvenated with a message to live your dreams, and not give up. It also subtly tells us that picking yourself up and fighting on is a better bet than suicide.
Rating : 2/5

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Staying Alive movie review

February 1, 2012 01:14:39 PM IST
updated February 2, 2012 06:28:23 PM IST
By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial

This film may not have many takers (read audience) but whoever watches it will come out enlightened. It falls in the off-beat cinema mold, an area which many producers and directors do not venture into because of the economic factor. However, deep within, most passionate about cinema do want to dabble with topics that will not make the box-office 'jingle all the way', but will certainly satisfy their creative urge. This has been openly voiced by Subhash Ghai when he launched the music album of JOGGER'S PARK in 2003. He said then that he always wanted to do something like this but was afraid of the economics. And now that he had managed the economics, he was game for exploring. Not verbatim, but something to this effect.

STAYING ALIVE is one such film that brings you to the reality of what life really is. Director Anant Mahadevan does not hammer home his point, but very subtly, using mild humour as a backdrop, manages to impress with what he wants to express. You don't always have to shout to make your point; the same impact can be had by speaking out calmly, what you would have otherwise said harshly and rashly. Mahadevan manages exactly that.

This film is based on a true story, that of celebrated Bollywood writer Sujit Sen's experience in a hospital. Sen had suffered a third heart attack and was admitted to a hospital. Next to him was a gangster who had suffered his first. The movie is about how both look at life, from next to death; the bonding of both the wives in the hospital corridor, and the sacrifices they make to keep their marriage alive.

Anant Mahadevan is a journalist who has suffered his third heart attack. As he is being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, he explains to his wife (Ranjana Sasa) where he has kept all the important financial documents. In the corridor, she meets with another distraught lady (Navni Parihar) whose gangster husband (Saurabh Shukla) has been wheeled into the ICU after his first major heart attack.

From here, the movie moves from the corridor to the ICU to important flashbacks to round off a complete soul-searching journey. While the corridor scenes portray the anxiety the two women go through and their gradual bonding, the scenes in the ICU oscillate from serious to subtle fun, to bonding of another kind.

What works for the movie, considering its theme, is the lighting and the low camera angles that capture the mood of the patients. This I feel is what aids the total product for its absolute appeal. Both Mahadevan and Shukla are first rate in their performances, ably supported by both the ladies, Ranjana and Navni.

Anant Mahadevan has gone slow on histrionics. He just unravels the mystery of a criminal's mind and how it undergoes a sea change wanting to turn a new leaf in his life. But then being a gangster is a 'one way street', the famous dialogue mouthed by Paresh Rawal to Sanjay Dutt in Naam.

Does Saurabh Shukla who plays Shaukat Ali really have a choice? Go watch it.

Rating - 4/5

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Safe House (2012)

Release Date: 10 February 2012 (Pakistan)

Runtime: 115 min
Genres: Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Director: Daniel Espinosa
Writer: David Guggenheim
Stars: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds and Robert Patrick



Storyline

A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
Review

A flat thriller that could use a little danger.
In the last seven years, Denzel Washington has paired with director Tony Scott on four hyperkinetic, ultra-saturated feature films: Man on Fire, Deja Vu, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Unstoppable. When he strays from the time-honored action collaboration, you'd think the man would take a break from the format. Not so—as Washington's new film Safe House clearly demonstrates.
Daniel Espinosa, director of the acclaimed Swedish crime drama Snabba Cash, shoots his espionage thriller with Scott-ian flair, complete with rapid camera movement, a palette of eye-scorchingly bright colors and fragmented editing. If Safe House was emotionally compelling, the stylistic approach might make the narrative sizzle—but the script is as simple and familiar as they come: Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA agent with a monotonous gig. He's a safe housekeeper, tasked with maintaining a stronghold in South Africa in case the feds need to stop by for some…interrogating. After a year of begging for field work and keeping the joint tidy, Weston finds himself embroiled in the investigation of Tobin Bell (Denzel Washington), an ex-CIA notorious for selling information on the black market. A group of agents bring Bell in to Weston's safe house for a routine waterboarding, but everything is thrown into chaos when the lockdown is infiltrated by machine-wielding baddies looking to put a bullet in Bell's head. To keep the captor alive, Weston goes on the run with Bell in hand…never knowing exactly why everyone wants the guy dead.
The setup for Safe House provides Washington and Reynolds, two fully capable action stars, to do their thing and to do it well. The two characters have their own defining characteristics that each actor bites off with ferocity: Reynolds' Weston is a man drowning in circumstance, built to kick ass, but still out of his league and just hoping to get back to his gal in one piece. Bell has years of experience boring into the heads of his opponents, and Washington plays him with the necessary charisma and confidence that make even his most despicable characters a treat to watch.
But the duo fight a losing battle in Safe House, contending with the script's meandering action and ambiguous stakes that turn the Bourne-esque thriller into a grueling experience. Much of the movie is an extended chase scene where the object of the bad guys' desire is never identified. It's a mystery!—but the lack of info comes off as confusing. Safe House cuts back and forth between the compelling relationship between Weston and Bell and a war room full of exceptional actors (Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepherd) given nothing to do but spurt straightforward backstory and typical "there's no time, Mr. ______!" exclamatory statements. Caking it is Espinosa's direction, which lacks any sense of coherent geography. The action is never intense, because you have no idea who is going where and when and why.
Safe House is a competently made movie with enough talent to keep it afloat, but without any definable hook or dramatic emphasis, it plays out like an undercooked version of the Denzel Washington/Tony Scott formula. Which is unfortunate, as four solid ones already exist.

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Underworld: Awakening

 


 
 Release Date: 01/20/2012
  Rating: R
  Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
  Genre: Horror
  Director: Bjorn Stein
 Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo Jame

Review
After sitting out most of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, the 2009 “prequel” to the Underworld saga, Kate Beckinsale returns to her trademark role as the face of the blockbuster action-horror franchise in Underworld: Awakening. The film finds Beckinsale’s vampire heroine, Selene, waking up in a research facility after a dozen years in hibernation, whereupon she discovers that both vampires and lycans, the traditional adversaries of the Underworld universe, are now nearly extinct – “cleansed,” as it were, by us good-old humans – and that her 12-year-old daughter, Eve (India Eisley), is imperiled. It seems that both the dreaded lycans and a mad scientist named Dr. Jacob Lane (poor Stephen Rea) are after the girl, on account of her special DNA.
All of which is meant to provide a serviceable backdrop for a good 85 minutes or so of relentless carnage, orchestrated with relish by the Swedish directing tandem of Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein and meted out dutifully by Beckinsale. Nine years after she first portrayed Selene, the actress appears as comfortable as ever in her familiar black leather as she carves through waves of monstrous creatures and hapless henchmen, performing the odd acrobatic feat to better position herself for the killing blow. The bloodlust occasionally pauses to allow Beckinsale a moment to emote over lost love or seek a fleeting bond with her offspring, but soon more CGI beasts arrive on hand, and the soulless slaughter hastily recommences. Gorehounds hungry for splatter will delight at the myriad ways Underworld: Awakening finds to depict an exploding skull (in fabulous, brain-bursting IMAX 3D!), but in the end, they’re likely the only ones who’ll leave the theater sated.

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Man on a Ledge

Release Date: 01/27/2012
Rating: PG13
Runtime: Not Yet Available
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Asger Leth
Cast: Sam Worthington, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, Edward Burns

Review
In the cinematic desert that is the January-February movie-release schedule, one gains a greater appreciation for mere competence. And that’s precisely what you’ll get with Man on a Ledge, a mid-budget thriller with modest aspirations and genuine popcorn appeal. Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) stars as Nick Cassidy, a former New York City cop wrongly convicted for the theft of a prized diamond. After exhausting all judicial avenues for exoneration, he takes the unusual and seemingly desperate next step of planting himself on a ledge outside the penthouse of midtown’s Roosevelt Hotel and threatening to jump. An NYPD psychologist (Elizabeth Banks) is summoned to talk him down, unaware that Nick harbors an ulterior motive. From his perch above midtown, he is secretly orchestrating a scheme to take revenge against the corrupt corporate chieftain (Ed Harris) who engineered his demise and prove his innocence once and for all.
Director Asger Leth, making his U.S. feature-film debut with Man on a Ledge, keeps the pace brisk and never allows the tone to stray into self-seriousness, which is crucial for a movie whose premise is so devoutly ridiculous. The script, from Pablo F. Fenjves, provides enough feints and twists to keep us engaged. Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez aren’t the most believable of couples, but there’s a screwball charm to their comic routine as amateur thieves charged with aiding Nick’s scheme. (Leth can’t resist inserting an entirely superfluous – but nonetheless greatly appreciated – scene of the criminally gorgeous Rodriguez stripping down to a thong in the middle of a heist.) Worthington makes for a likable populist protagonist, even if his Australian accent betrays him on copious occasions, and Harris’ disturbingly emaciated frame lends an added menace to his devious plutocrat villain.

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Red Tails

A drawn out history lesson that nose-dives from beginning to end.

While Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan helped define the style of a modern day war film, it was his HBO mini-series Band of Brothers that truly captured the World War II experience. The multi-part saga dealt with every nook and cranny of the US military's involvement in the war, from large scale battles to intimate character details. The new movie Red Tails, developed and produced by Spielberg's Indiana Jones collaborator and Star Wars mastermind George Lucas, attempts to cover the same ground for the sprawling tale of the Tuskegee Airmen—albeit in a two hour, compressed form. The result is a messy handling of a powerful story of heroism. The good intentions make it on to the screen...but the drama never gets off the runway.

Red Tails assembles a talented cast of young actors to portray the brave men of the 332nd Fighter Group, a faction of the Tuskegee Airmen. The ensemble is reduced to a jumble of simplistic, one-note characterizations: Easy (Nate Parker), the do-gooder with a dark past; Lightning (David Oyelowo), the suave rebel who never listens to orders; Junior (Tristan Wilds), the fresh-faced newbie ready for a good fight; and the rest, a nameless group of underwritten yes men all with just enough backstory to make you interested, but never satisfied. Thankfully, with the little material they have to work with, the gentlemen excel. Rapper-turned-actor Ne-Yo is a standout as the quick-witted Smokey, overshadowing vets Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr. (who spends most of the movie chomping on a corn cob pipe and grinning).

With the plethora of characters comes too many plot threads, and Red Tails stuffs its runtime with everything from epic flyboy dog fights, romantic interludes (Lightning finds himself infatuated with a local Italian woman), office politics, alcoholism and even a POW camp escape. If there was a true lead character, the movie may have succeeded in stringing the events together in a coherent narrative, but instead, Red Tails is choppy and uneven. The aerial battles, for all their CG special effects nastiness, are incredibly exhilarating, but when the movie's not tackling the intensity of a battle (which it does often), it comes to a near halt. That mostly comes down to history standing in the way—the crux of the story focuses on how segregation caused the military's higher ups to avoid utilizing the Red Tails in true battle. Meaning there's a lot of talk on how the team should be fighting, as opposed to actually doing it.

Director Anthony Hemingway tries to do this important historical milestone justice, but the execution flies too low, even under made-for-TV movie standards. Red Tails is a dull history lesson occasionally spruced up with Lucas' eye for action. The charisma of the the main set of actors goes a long way in keeping the film tolerable, but they can't fill the gaping hole where the emotional hook belongs. This is a movie about heroes, yet not once are the filmmakers able to pull off a moment that feels remotely brave. Which is unfortunate—as it's a story of the utmost importance.

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Joyful Noise

Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton try their best to make this cinematic noise into something joyful.

A massive hit never ends at its own conclusion, for better or worse. Lost, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, The Blair Witch Project and other pop culture milestones spawned plenty of imitators of wavering quality that trickled on to screens until the phenomena tapered off. Joyful Noise, the new film starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, is one these auxiliary creative endeavors, a direct descendant of the cheeky drama/comedy/musical hybrid Glee. But instead of teenage issues and pop covers, Joyful Noise swaps in familial struggles, gospel tunes and a sizable serving of Christian faith. The combination results in a movie that lacks the jazz hand energy of Glee, but packs good-natured laughs to keep someone awake for its two hour duration. More "noise" than "joyful."

Mere minutes after the passing away of choir leader Bernie, Vi Rose (Latifah) inherits the position—along with a serving of negative vibes from Bernie's wife G.G. (Parton), who was hoping to take the job herself. The new responsibility is only the beginning of Vi Rose's troubles, as she attempts to balance her rebellious daughter Olivia's (Keke Palmer) raging hormones, her son Walter's (Dexter Darden) Asperger's syndrome, her husband's absence during a military stint and her own old school, God-faring ways. Hardships are whipped into further chaos upon the arrival of Randy, G.G.'s rambunctious, horny grandson, who shows up at rehearsal with an eye on Olivia and undeniable vocal skills. Randy's rock and roll edge is readily embraced by the group, but even with the national gospel championship on the line, Vi Rose isn't ready to toss tradition aside.

Joyful Noise is a mixed bag, sporadically entertaining when director Todd Graff (Camp, Bandslam) lets his two commanding stars flex their comedic muscles or belt soulful tunes. Latifah and Parton can do both with ease—Latifah has a natural charm, while Parton essentially fills the "kooky Betty White" here—but instead of letting the two fly, Graff breaks up the action with overwrought drama and bizarre side character stories. The script injects a lot of ideas into the picture—loss of faith, modernizing ideologies, coping with tragedy, sexuality under the eye of God—but every tender moment is fumbled. A gut-wrenching conversation between Vi Rose and her autistic son should have weight, and the actors do their best, but the material doesn't service the emotional complexity of the scenario. Instead, it opts to cut to a musical number. Another sequence involving the overnight demise of another character is even played for comedy, even when it causes one woman to question her beliefs.

Thank God for the musical numbers, which have enough energy to brush the flimsier moments under the rug. The Glee-inspired pop tune covers (Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," Usher's "Yeah"—both tailored with religious modifications) aren't nearly as interesting or powerful as the straight-up gospel songs. But unlike the tunes, Joyful Noise doesn't have rhyme or reason. A mishmash of played out character stereotypes, narrative cliches and enjoyable, but erratic music, the movie feels more like a cash-in than it should. Latifah and Parton are a sizzling duo, but the vehicle built for them is a clunker. As Vi Rose might say, the only way to have a great time at Joyful Noise is to believe. Really, really hard.

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'Haywire'

According to official Haywire lore, director Steven Soderbergh chanced upon the woman who would become the star of his breakneck action-thriller one night while watching television. Which isn’t entirely unusual, except that Soderbergh wasn’t watching some obscure indie film or BBC miniseries, but a bout of women’s mixed martial arts fighting. So impressed was he at the sight of Gina Carano, an American Gladiators alum turned cage fighter, that he had the Haywire script, from The Limey writer Lem Dobbs, reworked to accommodate her casting.

In the film, a conventional spy-gone-rogue tale made unconventional by its director and star, Carano plays Mallory Kane, a black-ops freelancer who seeks vengeance against her betrayers upon being double-crossed. Watching her in action, it’s easy to see why Soderbergh was so enamored. Carano is a physical marvel: strong and agile, a skilled fighter and grappler with the face of a model and the shoulders of a linebacker. Having grown accustomed to waif-like action heroines played unconvincingly by the likes of Beckinsale, Jovovich, and Jolie, it’s refreshing to witness an actress who can deliver a knockout blow – and take one – with some credulity.

And Carano kicks a staggering amount of ass in Haywire. In the film’s many fight scenes, Soderbergh prefers wide angles and long takes, the better to showcase his star’s talent for violence. There are no shaky-cam close-ups to cheat the action, and the sound is almost strictly diegetic, lending each of Carano’s brawls (and they are brawls, messy and destructive) a brutal verisimilitude.

It’s when the action stops in Haywire that Carano’s deficiencies as an actress become apparent – she’s wooden and flat, well beyond the requirements of her coldly efficient character – and so Soderbergh labors conspicuously to ensure it hardly ever does. When Mallory Kane isn’t fighting, she’s running, a fugitive agent scrambling to find out who engineered her downfall even as threats amass against her. Each lengthy pursuit is stylishly photographed from a variety of exotic angles (my

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