Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : July 2009
Time : 106 minutes
Director & Writer : Peter Hyams (based on 1956 screenplay by Douglas Morrow)
Starring : Jesse Metcalfe, Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, Joel Moore, Orlando Jones, Lawrence P Beron
Which 5 year old wrote the script for this one ? Ludicrous, with more holes than my oldest underwear.


An investigative journalist (Jesse) suspects a DA (Michael Douglas) who’s running for governor to be too smooth, winning just too many cases via DNA proof to be just lucky or good, and so decides to expose him. Now, and this is the crucial part as the silliness starts now and just doesn’t stop, he figures that the only way…that’s right, the only way he can expose the DA is to incriminate himself in a murder, plant circumstantial evidence leading to himself and then, when the DA will conjure up the DNA evidence, expose him to be a fraud.
A friend & colleague on his TV channel (Joel Moore) is his willing accomplice in the madness and then we’re off. There is the obligatory love angle (Amber Tamblyn), there is a predictable twist and then, equally predictably, the predictable ending.


I’ve enjoyed watching Michael Douglas ever since Romancing the Stone, so I guess I wasn’t as hard on the movie as I should’ve been. And Amber is quite easy on the eye…but those, unfortunately, are about the only reasons to watch this one.

500 Days of Summer

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : Sep, 2009
Time : 95 minutes
Director : Marc Webb; Writer : Michael H Weber, Scott Neustadter; Music : Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen
Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Mathew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly

I wrote some notes to myself while I was watching the film, and apart from one additional sentence, am going to make that my ‘unstructured’ review…


• Watch this movie to feel alive, bring a smile to your face and remember what it feels to be young
• It’s the romance (and break-up) between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, shown over 500 days of their lives together

• Its very real, beautifully captured, including the first holding of hands, the first kiss, the joy of scoring

• Its very intelligent as well, some smart humour, there is a clever play on the word ‘summer’, Zooey’s nickname in college, the nickname ‘puma’, the movie they watch ‘Vagiant’, Harrison Ford winking back and the shouting game in the park.
• Zooey’s introduction as well is lovely, the camera showcases her beautifully, her dresses, her laughter, the way her character is introduced with all the irrelevant statistics and most of all, her eyes, staring wide, open and innocently at you. Impossible not to fall for her.

• Its almost a documentary, unlike a normal movie, there are parts where the hero actually is shown ringing the bell and waiting. Then at a party we see reality vs expectation shown side by side.
• I loved the ending – stayed true to being non-cliched yet was enjoyable

• I’m a bit sad because its only the 4th jan and I’m afraid I may not get to see a better film all year.

District 9

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : August, 2009
Time : 112 minutes
Director & Co-writer : Neill Blomkamp; Co-Writer : Terri Tatchell
Starring : Sharlto Copley, David James, Louis Minnaar, Vanessa Haywood

A Dutch driver once confided to me that they used to call the Turkish and other nationality drivers ‘Roaches’. In District 9, the derogatory term used for aliens is ‘Prawns’. For a change when aliens come, they don’t come to the USA but Johannesburg. A giant spaceship arrives, and then hovers motionlessly over the city. Finally, humans weld through the ship and find aliens in an impoverished condition inside the ship. They relocate them to a camp. As the years pass, the camp becomes a township, known as District 9.


The aliens proliferate. They are blamed for increasing crime rates, they find it difficult to stay within the confines of D9. That’s when, with the world watching them, close to twenty years after the spaceship arrived, the South African govt decides to relocate the 1.8mn aliens to another location, 200 kms from Jo’burg. They handover the relocation project to MNU, a South African multinational organisation. Within MNU, its handed over to the affable Wikus Van Der Merwe, the son-in-law of a director in MNU. He has to go to the township, get the aliens to sign an eviction notice and then relocate them to the new camp. For military support he has the ultra aggressive Koobus leading his private army. And then things start to go wrong….


The film is a thought-provoking study of human greed and ruthlessness. The choice of Jo’burg as a location is inspired as the treatment of aliens resembles what we know happened during apartheid (the film is apparently inspired by a similar relocation during the race era, which was captured in Neil’s short film ‘Alive in Jo’burg’). Also, I think few other nationalities (maybe the Aussies and the Americans ?) are capable of as hardline an approach as taken by MNU to protect their borders / way of life. Its shot like a documentary, has a very real-life feel to it, with news camera’s, journalists, MNU personnel interviews all adding to the drama.


The acting is excellent with Sharlto Copley playing Wikus, the wronged man in the wrong place, Louis Minnaar as his father in law plays the hard as nails boss and David James, the sadistic Koobus convincingly. There is a lot of blood and gore, and a Nigerian gang which is running several businesses in the township is well portrayed also. its also extremely impressive that a movie of this quality was made only for US$30 mn and despite being without a single known face, has grossed US$200 mn so far.


Neill Blomkamp, perhaps rightly, seems to have a bleak view of humanity. Our greed and brutality, especially when placed in a position of power, is truly frightening. I hope for our sake, he is wrong…


PS : for a look at the trailer and the highly innovative marketing campaign behind it, click here