gaurav-rai Reviews

Queen (2013)

Kangana arrives and how!

[8/10 · 9 March 2014]

When everyone else is busy discussing the issue on news panels as 2014 supposedly being the year of Women Empowerment, Producer-turned-director Vikas Bahl has done his bit full-heartedly, loud and clear with his second and the most delightful film of the year, crowned already in its name. 'QUEEN' powerfully belongs to the genre called 'slice of life' movies where every ounce of emotions, every piece in the settings and each shade of events is authentic, appropriate, raw & reliable. And then, there is Kangana Ranaut- the gifted conductor without any baton who single-handedly orchestrates all of it to create a magnificently charming film. Make a nice cozy room for this in your hearts. It's not going to leave any soon.

Rani (Kangana as a surprising revelation) is a typical 'Rajauri' girl of West Delhi who's all excited to loose her 'virginity Kai brat' since it's just a couple of days more for her to get married with his prince charming Vijay (Rajkumar Rao in a comparatively smaller but significant role). While good things are in wait for its turn, bad knocks the door first. She's been dumped for not being modern enough to match the status of the London-returned eligible groom. Rani is shattered but doesn't want to miss her last chance to taste freedom as the preplanned honeymoon package in Paris is still on. And then, begins a fascinating yet simple journey starting with a maze of ambiguity, resistance, conflicts and winding up in the unfastened ends of independence, liberty and freedom to live happily ever after.

Sounding similar to English-VINGLISH, 'QUEEN' is not more than a distant relative who never actually has met with the other. Rani here is more spirited and progressively more opened up soul than anyone you have seen on screen. Her first reactions to anything inventive towards her are immediate, simple and carefree. Her tricky tactics to deal with any unseen, enforced situation might have its own logic behind but are totally entertaining to have you in splits. So, she can be apprehensively charmed by people doing 'lip-to-lip' kisses. She can also recount the state of women in India where they aren't allowed to even burp in public and that too without making it a loud protest. Well- written!!

QUEEN belongs to Kangana. She owns it as much as any legendary actresses do to their lifetime roles. She succeeds to make your heart somber in pain but does an outstanding job to bring tons of smiles on your face. Every actor needs a character he could slip into to make it alive. For Kangana, this is it. Rajkumar Rao makes his presence felt. Lisa Haydon is good as Rani's confidante in Paris. Actors as her friends-cum-roommates are perfectly cast.

Director's sweet remembrance audio-visual to film's late cinematographer Bobby Singh, Amit Trivedi's uplifting songs & background score, delicious dialogs co-written by Kangana herself and a total breezy- fresh and funny tone to the film are added features that don't allow you to miss it at any cost. Include it in your to-do list for this weekend, soon after finishing this review. Others can wait! QUEEN shouldn't!!

Gravity (2013)

3D gets a new dimension!

[9/10 · 22 October 2013]

Days are not quite out of sight when the human race will have residential colonies on extraterrestrial zero-gravity space stations but in its own time. And till the time, when advanced science & the technology constantly making head ways in getting breakthroughs achieve that, we have another power to experience what may suggest the future in its own way…the vision to create, replicate, reproduce and design the 'dream-come-true' ultramodern set-up into another brilliant piece of art never less than the predicted and the expected one.

For Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi thriller GRAVITY (3D), adjectives like breathtaking, heart-pounding, awe-inspiring, spine-chilling, nail-biting are not merely some words mentioned in the phrase book but an experience at large. Or else you can say that these words look just plain simple formation of random alphabets when the jaw-dropping visuals of GRAVITY happen to you in the most extraordinary way that has never been tried before. It's 'out of the world' in literal and every sense.

In an unpredictably splendid scenic celestial beauty, when the crew of a space-shuttle undergoes with a critical accident caused by destruction in another satellite, 2 crew-members find themselves detached from their space-stations to float around in the vast environs of zero gravity world. Oxygen level is dropping down persistently. Connections to the base are lost. Hopes are the only survival instinct. Undying Spirit is the only way out. But aren't these the rules of earth they have left long way down?

Filtering GRAVITY to extract one hero, to credit its success in the name of, will not be an achievable choice. Camera-work that makes you believe what all you see is never done in a comparatively tiny little studio covered in green, is absolutely picturesque and mesmerizing. Watch out for the opening sequence of a 10-12 min long one shot and you will be submerged into thoughts that how could they even think of it. Visual effects and the 3D technology have really gone beyond expectations. They don't just make you jump or cringe into your seats for the sake of it but they grab & grasp you firmly to enjoy every bit of it like you are in there in all of your flesh and with your entire soul.

Oscar award winner Sandra Bullock earns all your emotions to be with her character in all good and bad times. Her commitment to excel is very much visible through her emoting muscles and in physical appearances also. George Clooney plays an 'out and out' charismatic astronaut who, even in the worst case scenario, doesn't lose his calm and the pleasurable flirtatious attitude. Don't miss the softer moments between them…of love 'in no air'.

After Stanley Kubrick's philosophical sci-fi drama '2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY', this is the most astonishing 90-min long trip to space, no one should give a miss. I am not sure how many of us will make it to the futuristic space-colonies in their lifetime but here's a chance to live your dreams like never done before. Watch it in IMAX 3D if you have the privilege!

The Lunchbox (2013)

A 7-course meal for cinema-lovers

[8/10 · 22 October 2013]

If local trains are one inseparable lifeline for Mumbai, lunch box delivery men are unquestionably the other. Delivering food for love/love for food in lunch box to more than 2 lac people working in their respective fields of interest everyday…that too by a comparatively smaller number of a few thousands dedicated lunch box delivery men on their toes, impermeable of bad weather, terrible traffic issues, unfortunate terrorist attacks and uncalled natural disasters! No wonder, surveys indicate that the chances of failure in this 130-year old mechanism fall to once in a 6 million deliveries.

Ritesh Batra's 'already riding high on appreciations allover' slice-of- life, middle-age romantic drama THE LUNCHBOX finds its foundation on that very one mistake, an endearing one that turns into an overwhelming, appetite-full, high-on-emotions love-story between two lone souls lost in the overcrowded city of dreams, Mumbai.

Ila, a housewife and a mother of a 7-year old girl, seeks help in making new delicious recipes for her husband's lunch box either from master chef Sanjeev Kapoor on radio/TV or from the neighboring aunt who lives on the second floor with her husband in coma. Interestingly, we hear only voice of her crashing to our ears. Besides that, Ila's other pastimes limit in washing dirty linens, waiting for her husband to come home and watching him finishing his dinner in some way attending panel discussion on TV news. Loneliness is subtle but the pain is quite visible.

Saajan Fernandez is a face that you see everywhere around yourself. He could be an account manager in your local bank. He could a wrinkled postmaster with all names & addresses on his fingertips. He might not be updated with technology and gadgets our new generation uses but he is there behind his desk for like more than 35 years. This particular face we see on screen is on the edge & age of retirement. He is a widower too. Here again, the loneliness is subtle but the pain & emptiness in his eyes is clearly visible to make you uncomfortable within.

So, when one day the lunch box for Ila's husband reaches mistakenly on the desk of Mr. Fernandez, the old-fashioned yet very amusing-very charming practice of letter-writing takes place to share their individual emotions. They write about the lip-smacking dishes Ila cooks, they write about their personal life experiences and they also share their fears about how life could take a turn on them.

Meanwhile, there is frustratingly funny Sheik who is about to take place of Saajan after his withdrawal. Lively as anything! He is an orphan but still likes to start his saying with 'my mother used to say…' as he thinks it would give it more 'vajan'.

THE LUNCHBOX creates an aromatic ambiance for two separate worlds of Ila & Saajan. With pile of files on desks, old ceiling fans & bleak faces, Saajan vanishes in a typical government office. Ila's world is restricted to the kitchen platform and window attached with to make regular conversations with aunt. In others, there are crowded local trains crawling on tracks and an artist on the pavement who paints same painting everyday.

Film's biggest strength is the writing. Every sequence conveys and leaves some or the other emotion with you. Be it Ila's imagination to a suicide story or Saajan's reluctant behavior towards his new colleague! With low-light, grainy visuals to show the realism within the on- location shoots, cinematography is apt & a top class. Sound designing is also something to look out for. You can actually smell the ambiance through those sound bits. Ritesh Batra scores high in creating a simple love-story with a perfect mix of emotions and cinematic brilliance. A story has been told the way it should be. No extra 'masala', no unnecessary 'tadka'!

On the performance side, Irrfan as Saajan Fernandez delivers as much as you could expect from him. He speaks in silence. He throws silence while speaking. Nimrat Kaur in her acting debut surprises you the most. She can be very emotive at one and equally amusing at the other. She makes you feel for the character and in the most simple and impressive way. Her unsophisticated & refined but raw portrayal of Ila will leave you speechless. & then comes, Nawazuddin as Aslam! Smiles come easy & entertainment is handy when he's there in the frame.

Overall, THE LUNCHBOX is bittersweet but a rich-in-taste culinary experience like no other. Perfectly cooked-nicely served! Make reservations for weekend in advance! Book a table now! It's a 7-course meal for cinema-lovers with good appetite for quality cinema!

Special Note: Dear Bollywood! Bless me with one LOOTERA, one SHIP OF THESEUS, one LUNCHBOX every year and I'll forgive you for all your sins of producing 'HOUSEFULLs' 'GRAND MASTIs' & 'ZANJEERs'!

Prague (2012)

Go with no expectations and you might come out going ga-ga over it!

[8/10 · 22 October 2013]

Prague is one beautiful city with spectacular world heritage sites and astonishing architectural monuments of all sorts. Being a crucial location for catastrophic World War II events, the city itself has a mysteriously spirited feel to it. Look at those sulking mutilated figurines to be reminiscent of the tragedies happened long ago or that 'bone chapel' seeking peace and humanity in middle of countless human bones…& you will know that no other setting can be so appropriate than this enigmatic city of Prague when it comes to paint down the complexities of human mind that deal with harsh reality and even harsher world of imagination and hallucination simultaneously.

Ashish R. Shukla's PRAGUE is an awe-inspiring mind-bending psychological thriller that stands out from many efforts in the recent past. Weaved in an innovative narration style, film focuses on the life of a promising architect in search of peace of mind, love and redemption!

Chandan (Chandan Roy Sanyal in a tailor-made role with an applause- worthy performance) is in love with Shubhangi (confident Sonia Bindra); his perfect soul mate seems to be but nothing is as it seems. Seeing is disbelieving. And as Chandan happens to see his dead friend Arfie, guiding in his most of decisions and beliefs in life, another 'always- on-weed' 'high-on-life' friend Gulshan (Kumar Mayank in an impressing look and characterization) is found under same sheet with Shubhangi. Story takes a leap when Chandan is in Prague for his ambitious monumental project on World War II victims. This time, a gypsy Girl (Ellena Kazan surprises with her ability to act besides just looking ravishing) finds a place in Chandan's heart but to his wildest fear makes a come back as Gulshan. Rest is how what you see is far from what you believe.

PRAGUE is an independent film and carries off that tag very confidently. It persistently involves itself in creating freshness in its approach. So, besides that visually stunning picturesque camera work and the edgy- crispy editing hands, there is also the skillfully layered writing that keeps you on your toes either with interesting narration style (story goes back & forth to interlink happenings and divided into chapters to keep focus on the highlighted part) and the aromatic suspenseful twists & turns in the tale.

The plot here doesn't leave much scope to create perplexity in viewer's mind because of lesser number of characters than fingers in your hands. And the characters are also real, simple, straight yet complicated in their own way.

Film if belongs to anyone solely, it is Chandan Roy Sanyal who outshines everyone else in the frame. Here is a talent that has never been explored to its maximum and demands much more than skinny supporting roles. Watch him in emotional scenes where he is struggling to manage his connect to relationships in both the world…in real & in hallucinated one.

I am sure you haven't heard of it much before its release, but for one who believes in experimental cinema that dares to break league and norms…this is a huge huge pleasurable surprise of the year. PRAGUE is Trippe, witty, confident, engaging, innovative, astonishing and an exhilarating psychological ride you must take for a mind-bending experience and to trust the fact that this is the best period of indie cinema in India. Go with no expectations and you might come out going ga-ga over it.

Special Note: Do not go if you don't know what the term 'Indie film' stands for!

Lucia (I) (2013)

India's answer to Nolan's INCEPTION

[8/10 · 22 October 2013]

Psychological thrillers that bend your mind with a thin blurred dividing line between dream and reality have always been fascinating stories to shake & shock cinema-lovers across globe. Christopher Nolan's much acclaimed INCEPTION was the last most-talked venture in the said genre… and the latest has just arrived. Not from the other side of the world but from our very own Kannada film industry.

Pawan Kumar's LUCIA is a small film (…made merely in a shoestring budget of 70 lac, funded by hundreds of cinema-enthusiasts on social networking sites) that never restricts or limits itself from being big in aspiration, execution or projection.

An usher/ torch-shiner in a dying talkies (not multiplex or theater mind you!) in the town finds it difficult to have a good sleep in nights, thanks to his 'a little too much to be comfortable with' room mates of every kind, and soon develops symptoms of insomnia. Next in the line comes an illegal drug-distributor who, as an ultimate solution, provides him a set of sleeping pills named 'Lucia' that could miraculously not only helps him in getting good sleep but also allows him to live his personalized dreams like a one big movie of his own. Eventually, you see our protagonist leading two separate lives respectively one in reality and the other in alternate reality aka dream (…clearly shown divided with sequences in color and in b/w).

So, whatever in one life he can't do is now doing in the other to entertain his soul. The girl of his dreams, the career he always has looked up to and everything else…but who really can tell if what you see is reality or a dream or it is just both within you? Best unanswered for you to explore at your own!

LUCIA is a brilliant example of what a far-reaching vision can create- achieve & celebrate despite having cumbersome obstacles largely called here as age-old 'business norms'. Leave Kannada alone, I am still looking for examples to equal this effort in all of Bollywood. Cinematography by Siddharth Nuni is exceptionally good and of qualities that could take it to bigger platforms proudly and profoundly. Siddharth plays with lights and well-designed shots that are bound to leave you awestruck…and to complement it evenly, there is crispier than ever scissoring hands of (…sadly, did not find the name of film-Editor anywhere).

Watch out for the opening-montage where the addictive Lucia capsules are shown being experimented, manufactured and later consumed but in an innovative reverse order. Though performances are not so overwhelming, you also don't complain as it is very very satisfactory.

Ironically, the biggest strength and the biggest limitation in this case are the same. The screenplay does provide to promises of huge expectations but the story quite doesn't fulfill your appetite as it decides to remain mass-entertainer for most parts, keeping the entertainment need of commercial Kannada audiences, I guess. And to some extent, I personally consider it the need of hour to reach and to bring more people to this kind of cinema than just being a complicated experience for few hardcore art-cinema fans; they sure will find it a little distracted 2 hour 15 min long effort which could easily get trimmed by 20 odd min, at present, deeply dedicated to masses only.

Having said that, I must recommend it to all of you who are not constrained and classified in terms of language when it comes to good quality cinema! It has shines and glares of 'Cinema Paradiso', 'Memento' and 'Inception' but stands out at its own because of technical excellence and a sheer example of gripping story-telling.

B.A. Pass (2012)

erotic but sensitive

[7/10 · 22 October 2013]

Victimized and exploited by the neon-lit dreamy world of pleasure & passion, middle-class aspirations & expectations for a better life often find a road going nowhere but to a convinced end near the dark dell of death.

Ajay Bahl's erotic but sensitive adult-thriller B.A.PASS dares to replicate-recreate a modern-day 'quite harsh & dark in reality' real world set in the Pahargunj area of Delhi, celebrated or rather infamous for banned provisions of ideas to get high on life. Prostitution and sex-rackets is just one of them and also the premise of the film that hasn't been touched before on such brutal level.

Adopted from a short story 'The railway Aunty' by Mohan Sikka, it is a saddening story of a young man who, after losing his parents in an accident, is now bound to live with his 'not so-kind' aunt. To make things worst, purposely he becomes a sex-slave to a sensuously attractive lady of seduction. The game of passion & pleasure that too with so much of easy money involved in it, soon lands him in the darker and deeper world of male prostitution. The more colorful it looks in night, the more drained & hollowed it sounds in daylight.

Beautifully shot, smartly conceived, nicely written and confidently performed by first-timer Shadab Kamal & the immensely impressive and bold Shilpa Shukla make it an honest effort that touches you with its bravura but brutal portrayal of sex, seduction, depression, desperation, dejection, oppression and betrayal. Divyendu Bhattcharya & Rajesh Sharma provides a good supporting cast. Deepti Naval in her 2-scene guest appearance leaves a mark.

But at the last, it is Ajay Bahl who impresses you with his confident take on the story to create a sensitive thriller out of it, rather than lurching on making it a sleazy sex-drama. Though the aesthetically shot love-making scenes are an essential part but sometimes they look just a distraction from the gritty story-line.

Subject may sound as a pleasurable watch but I would not misguide you as the sensuously bold posters of the film suggest you. It is a film of merits but not for masses who fancy tickling in the lower part of body more than sensing 'staying for long' bleak human emotions.

The Past (2013)

An intricate emotional thriller that stays in your heart!

[8/10 · 22 October 2013]

Nothing can be as layered as human relationships. And our attitude towards people around us or the approach towards the very life we are in is solely responsible for making it either an enjoyable exercise to explore many a phenomenal stratum underneath or even more complicated to ruin the fascination. To move on, is a must to learn but even returning to the past can have a prolific side-effect to make things brighter on the other side.

The man behind A SEPARATION – 2011's Oscar winner in Best Foreign Film category, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is back with THE PAST (Le Passé)- an intricate emotional thriller (I am still looking for an apt genre-segmentation to place it justly) that not only skins off an assortment of emotional acquaintances between every possible relationship under a roof but also evokes required empathy for every person and his/her ability to tackle it in his/her own way.

After 4 years, Ahmad (played by Ali Mosaffa) is in town to meet his 3- times married ex-wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo of 'THE ARTIST') & to co- operate with her in settling down the divorce process between them, a must for her before marrying a new boyfriend. Ahmad lands up in her house for a short term stay where he re-makes heartrending connection with her daughters and her boyfriend's son from past marriage. Soon, he starts smelling the combustible emptiness within the walls and before he could really do something about this, the outburst happens to form a big emotional turmoil for everyone in the house.

The beauty lies in the simplistically naive plot that never looks made- up or adulterated to create drama. Characters take their journey through plausible events and a well-conceived screenplay that justifies every single move taken by them. The emotions are not rare but as raw as anyone would articulate in such situations. Twists in the tale unravel in such flow that neither makes you overtly shaken nor leaves you unreceptive. You don't really become 'awestruck' by the revelations but will sure make a connection here with the events and its grounds.

Performances are convincingly believable and well-defined. For once, your will never find a negative character but the situations that bring out some 'not so favorable to all' choice of acts. In fact, every character has its own charm to allure your constant attention. Though you might get little apprehensive about the pace of the film and would probably feel exhausted by a little too much twists in a stretch to reach a feasible end but the top-class cinematography and the slice-of- life look and feel of the film never loses its grip on you.

Experience Ahmad's soul-stirring relationship with the daughters. Feel the helplessness of a single mother trying to deal with her teenage daughter's disapproval of her moving on with life. Sense the daughter's guilt of creating mayhem in her mother's life. And a kid who's going through an emotional crisis no one tries to understand. There is so much about life & relationships in Asghar Farhadi's THE PAST. How much can you learn or unlearn, find out yourself! It is here to stay…in your hearts!

Shahid (2012)

A strong evidential piece of cinema that enlightens!

[9/10 · 22 October 2013]

I feel ashamed of myself for not knowing Shahid Azmi- a slain lawyer and an altruistic humane activist before Hansal Mehta came up with a strong evidential piece of cinema that does not merely solve the purpose to entertain but also dares to enlighten our unresponsive- unsympathetic minds confined into its own safe but scared place to stay put. We probably have become either numb to whatever happens in our neighborhoods or blatantly reactive about just anything that comes in way without assessing what is right and what is not.

'SHAHID' is the need of the hour. It demands and shows the guts to start a never-ending movement, if not on the roads, definitely in our heads, to bring change in the system by joining it and not wiping it out or denying its very existence.

Shahid, played by 'Kai Po Che!' fame Raj Kumar could be anyone of thousands who gets trapped into the torturous custody of Indian Police known for its tactical power-driven machinery and is thrown into Jail for beholding a name that comes from a certain section of people in minority…but where the most would disappear in the galore to turn radical against country & its governing bodies, Shahid decides to stand out. While his tenure in longing to get set free, Shahid keeps his conscience alive and opts to be a helping hand for those who have nothing but an assurance of not being guilty.

SHAHID is an extraordinary effort in terms of writing and direction. Based on the real-life criminal lawyer-cum-human rights activist Shahid Azmi, film amalgamates facts and fiction beautifully. It is a biopic that is handled with sheer honesty, clarity in thoughts, rightly positioned screenplay, brilliance in execution and a very very significant memorandum to all human beings. Hansal Mehta never and never loses his grip on the subject. He keeps it as real as it is happening in a gully adjacent to my living place. Special mention to the replication of Indian courts' undramatic-nontheatrical-dreary modus operandi where there is no usual Bollywood 'order-order' but an actual exchange of verbal spats. Camera work by Anuj Dhawan captures the environs and the emotions equally good. Dialogues are crisp, colloquial and taut.

But what make it an exceptional biopic are the performances. Shahid's fearless-in your face-uncomplicated character could never come so strong if Raj Kumar has not given it his flesh & blood. This man can make you laugh with his charmingly simplistic behavior, watch it when he is trying to be comfortable with his lady-love still unaware of his feelings, and also can make your heart bleed with his heartrending silence when attacked for his forgettable past. Extended applause for his bravura performance! Prabhleen Sandhu as his wife too is a gifted actor. She brings with herself an unpolished charm that hits every chord she aims to. Md. Zeeshan Ayyub here has not much like in RAANJHANAA to overwhelm you but still he keeps your expectations fulfilled. Kay Kay Menon and Tigmanshu Dhulia play their parts efficiently with a sparkling presence on screen.

After PAAN SINGH TOMAR, here comes an earnest biographical drama that I hope could change the way Indian Cinema thinks about our real life heroes. This is also a film that raises many a questions about humanity and its survival in today's times. It also shows our judiciary system in true lights. As said in the film by the character Kay Kay Menon plays, "It takes time but it works." Painfully correct!

On the whole, very few people dare to rise and take a stand to tell a story that might have been vanished from lives & in files if not attempted. Hansal Mehta joins the same league. Respect for giving us SHAHID- a film that will find a place close to your heart very easily but not without stirring-shaking & moving your soul. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!

Captain Phillips (2013)

A nail-biting thriller with lead's towering performance!

[8/10 · 22 October 2013]

Cinema creates drama. Drama that drives you to cry when a couple in love gets separated, to laugh at someone's idiotic misery, to amaze with the power of imagination, to get transported in to a world full of dreams or to be in situation that is just a recreation of a real life event but carries same share of intensity and anxiety characters might have experienced it in real.

Based on a true story, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS by notable filmmaker Paul Greengrass (the man behind 'Bourne' movies) throws you in a 'pressure cooker' situation where every passing minute escalates the tension in same manner the crew of American Cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama could feel, when Somali pirates invade to hijack.

With an implicit fear of the same, the cool-calm-composed but aging Captain Rich Phillips (played by the enormously gifted Tom Hanks) starts his sailing but soon in the middle of a mock-drill session, smells the alarming possibility of getting hijacked by pirates. Sadly, he fails to stop them from getting on board but never lets go the string of hope and courage for even an iota of a second, to come out of this misery of his lifetime.

10-12 minutes in the film and you know what is going to happen next but the way Greengrass unfolds the story with an intimidating sense of 'what is coming after' and the smartly edited inter-cuts between the ship and the pirate-group, you would always find yourself on edge of the seat with nails between your teeth. The camera-work effectively roams around for shaky close-up shots to give the narration an anxious-panicky-edgy feel and does a brilliant job while capturing the hijacking event. Though in the second part, film falls into being restricted & repetitive with the location of the story getting narrowed to one small life-boat, the anxiety-angst & intensity never go for the toss.

As other but very prominent strength of the film, the casting and the performances excite you the most. Barkhad Abdi as the gruesome-ghastly leader of the pirate-group plays mostly an underdog in the first part. With his regulated look, you actually never recall his first appearance in the film but later when he arises as the spearhead of the group, he shocks you with his performance. So does Mr. Tom Hanks, his calculated act as a captain determined to save and safe his crew is remarkable. Watch him in the last act where he is rescued by the armed forces and is now dealing with the trauma he's been in. A performance that deserves appreciation!

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is easily the year's one of the best thrillers coming from Hollywood. It's a well-directed, intensely acted, smartly written inspiring tale of survival that keep you engaged and involved for the most part. A must-watch!