Bollywood World

Rating : 7/10
Release Date : 25th September, 2015
Time : 121 minutes
Director, Writer : Nancy Meyers; Music : Theodore Shapiro
Starring : Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm, JoJo Kushner, Andrew Rannellls, Adam DeVine, Zack Pearlman, Jason Orley, Christina Scherer



Do we tend to write people off when they are retired ? Are women, who�re heading major companies, treated differently by society versus men ?

This is about a senior citizen, Robert De Niro, at the spry age of 70, taking up a job as an intern in an ecommerce clothing company, and getting assigned to work with Anne Hathaway, who founded and runs the company.


The reason why this is happening, the company is hiring senior citizens (they hire 2 other senior interns) aren�t totally clear but the video that Robert makes, outlining his reasons for wanting to join, makes for compelling viewing.


Anne is also a bit over her head, trying to manage the rapid growth over the past two years, making sure the company stays on track especially with the VCs pushing for more experienced management. She has a notoriously short attention span (her meetings are slotted by her assistant, Christina, for 3 minutes or 5 and the really long ones last 15) and is also trying to manage her work-life balance with her very cute daughter, JoJo, and stay-at-home husband, Anders.


The office has an interesting mix of people � Andrew, Adam, Jason among others � and Zack is the normal intern ie of normal age. Rene Russo is the office masseuse (something like that could get me back to corporate life) and definitely gets Robert�s attention in more ways than one.


In such a scenario, Robert, who�s worked over 40 years before retiring, with his suit / tie / calculator / vintage briefcase, has to figure out ways to be useful and get the attention of his harum-scarum boss�


What I found fascinating is that despite a) Nothing major happening over the course of the film b) Or him He doing anything extraordinary (doesn�t turn into an all kowing superman, yet via conversations, normal day-to-day situations (a driver who plays hooky, a father who falls sick) we experience what it�s like to interact with seniors � their values, thoughts (some old-fashioned), way of working.


It makes us question whether we as a society really do tap into the vast knowledge bank of our retirees, whether we could use them more fruitfully rather than writing them off, being dismissive. Also, looking at Anne�s rise and her family situation, it raises questions re the glass ceiling, how supportive we are of full-time working moms. And as the snide remarks of the school moms, illustrate, whether we�re really ready for the stay-at-home dad scenario ?


I�m not sure I agree with all that was shown � Anne�s need for a father figure was perhaps a bit too convenient, Robert�s rise in her eyes a bit too rapid and by giving her certain frailities (tears, needing company on a business trip to San Francisco) we perhaps are only reinforcing some stereotypes about women at work. But overall, aided by a peppy soundtrack and snappy dialogue, it�s a hugely enjoyable watch.

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 29th August, 2014
Time : 108 minutes
Director: Roger Donalson; Writers : Michael Finch, Karl Gajdusek, based on Bill Granger�s book �There Are No Spies�; Music : Marco Beltrami
Starring : Pierce Brosnan, Olga Kurylenko, Luke Bracey,Bill Smitrovich, Lazar Ristovski, Will Patton, Mediha Musliovic



An ageing Pierce Brosnan is unable to convince us that he could still pass off as a Bond style secret agent, who comes out of his retirement for one last assignment. A wafer thin plot, full of more holes than Rahul Gandhi�s election strategy, borders on the ridiculous at times, and is only given a tinge of seriousness by Luke Bracey�s menacing presence.


Everyone seems to have a secret in this one. A Russian general, Lazar Ristovski, on the brink of becoming the President, has one. The CIA head of the Belgrade office, Bill Smitrovich also has one. Even Pierce Brosnan, who retired from active service, has one. And everyone is after Mediha, who wants to reveal Lazar�s secret, with Olga, an aid worker in Belgrade, turning out to be a key person as well.


I think I�ve reached the point, where political conspiracy films rarely shock me anymore. Most revelations barely making me, like Jeeves, raise my eyebrow by a miniscule millimeter. In this film, I doubt if any of the spilt secrets would even induce a yawn in anyone. Would, after what�s happened in Afghanistan, Pakistan Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, the fact that the CIA helped foment a war, with a power hungry General in a former Soviet nation, come as a surprise to anyone ?



Also, imagine the same General, now also a Presidential candidate, staying in a hotel in Belgrade for a major energy summit. Protected only by 4 guards. Whom Pierce Brosnan casually walks up and shoots. With a gun without a silencer. Then proceeds to interrogate the General in his room. Without being disturbed by anyone �hotel security / cops / no one. Then CIA operatives brandishing guns run inside the same hotel. Again, are stopped by no one, no alarms are raised. And proceed to have another gun battle with Pierce. Again, without anyone interfering. I mean, I know he�s a former James Bond, but don�t you give up your license to kill when you retire from the role ?


Pierce�s big secret too, buried from his employers (including close friends in the agency) for over 20 years, is discovered within a few minutes, from, don�t hold your breath, file photographs, which were on record. Its just all too easy, too convenient and much ado about nothing.


The locations are nice. Olga looks great, especially when she walks into the hotel wearing a dress that does full justice to her lovely long legs, but seems uncomfortable in the scenes which require her to emote. Luke, playing Pierce�s prot�g� in the CIA, is the only one who actually fits his role perfectly � ice cold, menacing, with a bee in his bonnet to prove that the student has surpassed the teacher. Wish that was what the movie was actually about rather than the rather convoluted plot they actually came up with. It even sorely lacks the sense of humour, one liners that made Pierce so devastatingly good in most of his other films. This one unfortunately just doesn�t work in any month�November or otherwise�