The Maiden Heist (2009) (5/10)

An attempted comedy involving three guards in an art museum who are in love with an art piece each. When they learn that those pieces are among the ones to be moved to Denmark, and that this was decided without consulting them, they decide to take things in their own hands. Of course the plan goes a little awry. Not too many complications or twists. The Maiden Heist (2009) (5/10)

Just Go with It (2011) (6/10)

A fun comedy, where you go along just as the title says. One white lie leading to another, just compounded by the forced accomplices also wanting their share of the white lies. As usual things don't turn out the way they are supposed to be, one thing leads to another. It all start with a rich person wooing a young woman. She thinks he is married and he has to convince her that he is going to get divorced. And then he has to convince her. Just Go with It (2011) (6/10)

Being There (1979) (8/10)

A fabulous movie starring Peter Sellers with a very straight face and absolutely no intensions save some gardening perhaps. A man who has not stepped outside his house until he is a man is asked to do so, and he does. Chance takes him(self) to meet many different people. He is so blank that he unknowingly gets mistaken for a mirror with people getting the vibes they want. For that reason alone it does not seem farfetched. One metaphor can apply to so many situations. There are a few twists and the suspense almost kills. The power of few words is apparent. If only people could shut up they could reach so much higher. Being there is important, not saying it. Eve, and Bobby, and the attorney, and the doctor all play their roles. The transformation in Ben is amazing. And it really comes from the inside. Life is indeed a state of mind.

Being There (1979) (8/10)

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (6/10) (1995)

A feel good movie about the war times when a Welsh village is about to lose their latest asset owing to two Englishmen just doing their job. The towns folk set about the task of convincing (or is it duping? or is it just transmitting their point of view?) the duo about "reconsidering" their execution of their job. They do it in a perfectly Gandhian way - non-cooperation. Romance is thrown in, and some rules to the air. Making a mountain out of a mole? You have come to the right spot.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (6/10) (1995)

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) (6/10)

A nonlinear story about an individuals moral issues with extramarital sex. Good performances and suspenseful stuff of secret societies keep it intriguing. An individuals foray into an area where he does not belong. He seems to realize that, and yet keeps on getting drawn. And then there are the pangs of having endangered a few lives in the process. Stanley Kubrick.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) (6/10)

Of Gods and Men AKA Des hommes et des dieux (6/10) (2010)

A group of missionaries (monks of Tibhirine) living in Atlas mountains in Algeria peacefully near a muslim village in the 1990s when terrorists threaten the well being in general, and perhaps the Christian priests in particular. Its a slow moving movie as the situation warrants - with the priests deliberating whether they should leave and thinking what their mission is, what they are headed for and so on. There is always the possibility of their being kidnapped or killed. Some of them go through phases of wanting to leave, but a couple are steadfast that they won't including the medic priest.

The encounters are a bit documentary like because they are real but the acting is superb, and the icing is the bit during their "last supper" when they have all decided to stay - a piece from Tchaikovsky's ballet, Swan Lake (10th movement, the first from Act II: Scene: Moderato).

While the discussions of the priests are shown in fair detail, the other side is shown just in sketches, and their encounters have no discussion as such (perhaps as is likely to happen in a real-life situation when at least one side has its views fixed). I would have liked to see more on those lines though.

Of Gods and Men AKA
Des hommes et des dieux (6/10) (2010)