Category: 4. Joe Bendel

By Joe Bendel. Welcome to India’s “Red Corridor.” While referring to the ideology of the militant Naxalite-Maoists who exercise de-facto governing authority in some of the country’s poorest provinces, it applies just as readily to the blood they shed to maintain their power. However, one ambitious policeman is determined to reestablish law and order in Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh, a selection of the 2012 South Asian International Film Festival, co-starring Bollywood legend Kabir Bedi, who participated in a special intimate on-stage conversation at the Helen Mills Theater this past weekend.

SP Adil Khan is so by-the-book, he must be headed for a fall. He is in for a rude awakening when he accepts his newest posting, replacing a fallen friend and colleague in the Red Corridor. Just like his predecessor, Khan is lured into an ambush by false Naxalite informants. At least Khan lives to tell the tale and change tactics. Unlike his colleagues, Khan tries to win over the poor villagers’ hearts and minds, but whenever one reaches out to the copper, they are publicly executed by the ruthless Rajan. It looks bad for the home team until Khan’s academy drop-out buddy, Kabir, volunteers to go undercover. With no formal ties to the cops, he is the only one with a puncher’s chance of surviving the vetting process.

Thanks to their cover story, Kabir fits in with the Naxalites rather easily. He feeds Khan breakthrough intel, turning the tide against the Maoists. Yet, as Kabir starts to go proletarian, Khan realizes he may have made a mistake sending an impressionable hothead prone to snap decision-making on a sensitive infiltration mission.

This film would give Debbie Schlussel a conniption fit. Basically, it features the Muslim cop Khan (the only character whose religion is expressly identified, at least to western eyes) waging war against an increasingly sympathetic terrorist cult. Indeed, Chakravyuh is problematic in multiple ways, but also fascinating in much the same manner as the best Soviet propaganda films. There is no doubt that India’s rural poor have a hard lot in life, but it is pretty clear by now that the shining path offers no salvation. Perversely, Kabir and Rajan spend most of the film fighting the steel plant Kabir Bedi’s evil industrialist is trying to build, doing nothing to increase local employment opportunities.

Obviously, the irony of China allegedly supporting the Naxalites – while explicitly repudiating the Maoist excesses of the Cultural Revolution – is an irony lost on director Jha. At least he can stage rousing gun battles and spectacular massacres. Jha also integrates the musical numbers into the action in a manner that is more organic than one might expect. Yes, this is most definitely Bollywood.

Jha gets a critical assist from Arjun Rampal, who is an appropriately forceful presence as Khan. Had Jha belived in his mission, Rampal’s Khan might have joined The Raid’s Iko Uwais as the second great Muslim action hero of the year. Unfortunately, we are clearly meant to identify more with Abhay Deol’s Kabir, but his brooding is more petulant than Byronic. Still, Chakravyuh has the beautiful and well-armed Esha Gupta as Khan’s fiancée and comrade, Rhea Menon. SAIFF special guest Kabir Bedi also chews the scenery in a manner befitting a former bond villain (the lethal Gobinda in Octopussy).

Chakravyuh is simplistic and didactic, but it is never dull. Suitable for action fans who are able to discern and discount propaganda and dogma, Chakravyuh is now playing at the AMC Loews Newport Centre in Jersey City, following its North American premiere at the 2012 SAIFF.

Posted on October 29th, 2012 at 1:35pm.

By Joe Bendel. On the anniversary of their young son’s disappearance the Caleighs try to heal their grieving family by renting out the most haunted house in England. Most of the former orphanage’s charges supposedly died in the great flood of 1943, but the truth is far more sinister. It might also have very personal implications for the Caleighs in The Secret of Crickley Hall, a special three hour adaptation of James Herbert’s novel, which airs this Sunday on BBC America.

Eve Caleigh blames herself for the apparent loss of their son, Cam. So does everyone else, but they try not to say so. She was the one who dozed off at the playground and woke up to find him missing. She used to have a pseudo-psychic connection with her son, but since Cam vanished she has not felt his consciousness—until they move into Crickley Hall.

Convinced her son is still alive and in danger, Caleigh starts investigating the old house. It is not pretty. Most of the orphans were supposedly sucked into the well dug into the cellar during the tragic storm, but two remain unaccounted for. Her best source of information is the old gardener, Percy Judd, who understood the grim realities of Crickley that the rest of the town was unwilling to face. He knew the headmaster was badly abusing the children – particularly a shy Jewish refugee – despite the heroic efforts of his potential girlfriend (the new teacher at Crickley), as viewers witness during the frequent flashbacks to 1943.

Thematically similar, Crickley is sort of like the TV miniseries version of Nick Murphy’s The Awakening. Considering that they still have two perfectly good daughters to lose, it is hard to believe the Caleighs do not turn on their heels as soon as they take a gander at that ominous looking well. (What more do they need, a desecrated cemetery in the backyard?) Yet Gabe Caleigh stubbornly refuses to accept his wife’s ghost talk, despite all the spookiness going on around them. Certainly director-adaptor Joe Ahearne wrings plenty of chills and suspense from the eerie setting.

Although the ensemble does not have a lot of big names by the standards of Hollywood television magazines, it holds plenty of geek interest. Suranne Jones, (co-star of a fan favorite Doctor Who episode) is compellingly guilt-ridden as Eve Caleigh. Playing another mournful husband much like his character in The Fades, Tom Ellis is about as sympathetic and convincing as possible as the frustratingly incredulous Gabe Caleigh. However, it is reliable veteran David (Tron, Time Bandits) Warner’s Judd who really gives the film heart, while Game of Thrones alumnus Donald Sumpter also bears watching as the mysterious old parapsychologist come to allay everyone’s fears.

Even though none of the revelations are shockingly original, Ahearne still pulls it all together rather effectively in the third hour. He plays the old dark house card for all it is worth and juggles the two narrative time periods fairly adeptly. Still, the well produced, half-period Crickley’s three hours could have easily been condensed into two without losing much. Of course, it is important to bear in mind that Herbert is a major best-seller in the UK, so a longer Crickley would make sense for the BBC over there. All told, it is fairly scary stuff for an early Sunday evening. Recommended for fans of British supernatural programming, The Secret of Crickley Hall premieres this Sunday (10/28) on BBC America.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on October 26th, 2012 at 11:29am.

By Joe Bendel. Those of us of roughly a certain generation fondly remember the Captains we came to know and love through kid’s programming; you know, like Captain Kangaroo, Captain America, Captain Crunch, and Captain Morgan. Captain Cornelius Cartoon follows in the tradition of them all. He and the crew of the Manta Ray salvage public domain cartoons from the watery graveyard of the Cartoon Lagoon, in order to riff on them MST3K style. The resulting blend of puppetry and retro nostalgia trips makes Captain Cornelius Cartoon’s Cartoon Lagoon the animated standout of the 2012 New York Television Festival’s Independent Pilot Competition.

The title is a little confusing, but this is indeed animated. Maybe they should have worked in the word cartoon a few more times. Regardless, the potential of creator Manny Galán’s concept is hard to miss. The biggest surprise is how cartoons from established franchises such as Popeye and Caspar the Friendly Ghost could fall into PD. There is no way you will ever see Mickey in the Lagoon. Yet, the clear highlight of the Lagoon pilot was an episode of the long forgotten mid 1970’s Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo (another Captain) that bears absolutely no resemblance to Jules Verne.

The Me Generation Nemo is a blow-dried, jutting jawed male model who accidentally runs over a dolphin, permanently scarring his two juvenile companions for life. To nurse the dolphin back to health, Nemo puts it in a steel cage, while giving loud dramatic readings from Fifty Shades of Grey to scare away the sharks. Or something like that. Obviously, Nemo’s narrative development is a bit sketchy, making it a perfect foil for the Manta Ray crew.

The Lagoon creators readily acknowledge their debt of inspiration to MST3K, following the same format, right down to the portal door through which the cartoon goodness enters. It really works, though, because the creative team has the right pop culture sensibility. Lagoon delivers laughs from start to finish, sprinkling a number of truly memorable quips throughout the pilot. The old school miniature puppetry bringing to life the Manta Ray crew also appealingly resembles a slightly rum-soused Rankin/Bass special.

It is easy to see how a cable network could pick up Lagoon with confidence. That is not so true for the rest of the animated competition this year. Nathan Floody’s corporate head-hunting send-up Hunters is also wickedly cutting at times, but its raunchier inclinations might make it harder to place. However, the Captain pilot is never inappropriate for younger viewers, even though many jokes are aimed above their heads. Nicely executed and consistently funny, Captain Cornelius Cartoon’s Cartoon Lagoon ought to have a long life ahead of it, following its well received screenings at the 2012 NYTVF.

Posted on October 25th, 2012 at 10:48am.