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A movie and book review blog

  • Reading films, watching books,....
  • Mind candy in the dark
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Jun 29, 2005

Stromboli

Ingrid Bergman is one of my favorite actresses from the yesteryear. Directed by Roberto Rossellini, a great director of neorealist cinema, the then-paramour of Bergman and the father of her illegitimate child(later he married her), this film was overlooked and thrashed by the critics not for its lack of quality but because of the illicit affair between the director and the lead actress. The affair almost ended Bergman's career in Hollywood, before she resurfaced six years later with a major hit.

Back to Stromboli, the title is the name of one of the most active volcanoes on earth, situated on one of the Aeolian Islands of Italy. I think the film was made there as well. It is the story of a young woman(played by Bergman), a foreigner and a war refugee who gets married to an Italian man and sets up home at his village in Stromboli.The clash of cultures is apparent from the start, the villagers don't like the new bride and she, in turn despises the claustrophobic nature of the island community.

A natural film, probably because it was originally made in italian and not exactly tailormade for Hollywood, Stromboli is a cultural and cinematic education for the viewer.

Jun 27, 2005

Shattered Glass

Another brilliant underrated film. Directed by Billy Ray, Shattered Glass is the real life story of a reporter, Stephen Glass who worked for The New Republic Magazine in Washington DC in the late nineties. His fall from grace after being the whizkid of the newsteam has been perfectly reproduced in the movie. The script credits go to the director, Billy Ray himself. Together with some classy performances by Hayden Christensen(as Glass) and Peter Sarsgaard as editor Chuck Lane, Shattered Glass is worth a watch for people who like serious cinema.

Jun 24, 2005

One thing you have to give to Kamal Hassan as a writer-producer is, he chooses novel themes for his movies, right from Apoorva Sahodarngal, Kuruthi Punal, Nala Damayanti to this most recent - Mumbai Express.

Mumbai Express is the story of a guy who rides motorbike in the 'Well of Death', (you know the circus act where a person rides a motorbike along the walls of a deep well like construction)and his nickname in the profession is Mumbai Express and this character is played by who else but Kamal Hassan in the movie, afterall he is the producer.

It is a comedy caper about a heist planned by three guys and one of them is hospitalized a day prior to heist Mumbai Express is called in to take his place. The story goes from there. Vijay Raaz(he is such a natural actor), Om Puri, Manisha Koirala (btw I forgot to say, I saw the Hindi version, Tamil version has different actors.) and other actors in their supporting roles are at their comic best, all credits to Kamal Hassan's story and script, although Saurabh Shukla did the Hindi dialogs the gist of the script came from Kamal, I think.

The only problem (found in all Kamal Hassan movies) is Kamal tries to become the good samaritan and the invincible hero in all his movies, but then when doles our the dough it'll be that way, right. Come to think of it, that's what superstars in commercial Indian movie industry are supposed to do, that's what the junta wants to see.

Jun 23, 2005

Still waters run deep - so does serious cinema, Imaginary Heroes is one such film. The suicide of the star swimmer, the much adored elder son sends a suburban American family crumbling, there are unspoked secrets waiting to burst out and loyalties are under scrutiny.

Directed by Dan Harris, Imaginary Heroes is about ordinary people, the Travis family, in the wake of a tragedy. But I'd say the movie belongs to Emile Hirsch, who plays the younger son of the Travis family, the about-to-graduate-from-high school, Tim Travis. Hirsch lives and breathes as Tim throughout the film, a commendable performance. As disenchanted parents, Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Daniels are good in their roles too. A dark film about the darker shades of family.

Jun 22, 2005

An unexpected surprise, a twist to the tale which came out from the blue. It is the movie in which the story shows us only what we should see and hides other important bits of information till the end to facilitate a ninety degree turn in the plot.

Matt Dillon plays a bank employee who gets fired from his job and on the same day his fiance, played by Christina Applegate breaks off their engagement. Thats all I am going to tell about the story and the story hasn't even started here! Steve Zahn has the role of Dillon's longtime buddy, as the wacko, Jack who steal stuff from corpses. The movie has a dark sense of humor and is totally unpredictable. From director, Mitch Rouse, this is an underrated, overlooked, real cool flick which came out in 2004, but no one seemed to have noticed it.

Jun 20, 2005

Wish I had read the Ulysses before I saw this film. Though it does not seem like it is an easy task. Touted to be one of the best works in literature, it is said that only a few people have finished the book.

Bloom is a cinematic adaptation of Ulysses, a labor of love that took more than a decade for fruition, for director Sean Walsh. The story progresses primarily through the voice-overs of its main characters, which is Mr.Bloom, Mrs.Bloom and the young Mr.Dedalus. Stephen Rea and Angeline Ball carries the film on their shoulders with their solid performances. The camera, especially the outdoor shots are a tribute to the emerald isles of Ireland but can't say the same for indoor lighting though.

The story is slow moving, there are some inspiring poetic verses, but it was difficult to connect with the costume drama sequences which came somewhere in the middle of the movie. Or maybe I should reserve my judgements till I read the original Joyce's creation.

Jun 17, 2005

Padam Onnu: Oru Vilapam is the malayalam title of the film directed by T.V.Chandran. A thought provoking movie about the travails of young Muslim girls in rural Kerala, Padam Onnu centers around the life of Shahina, the fifteen year old protagonist played to perfection by Meera Jasmine.

This is one of those movies that will exhort you to take action against the unjustices of society, the under-age marriage of young Muslim girls to men twice or thrice their age who already have a bevy of legal wives at home. This film has won a many national(India) and international awards and for a pretty good reason too.

Jun 16, 2005

Bonfire of Vanities

Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith in this Brian De Palma caper about greed, lust and vanity in and around Wall Street and Manhattan. Loved the flick, it was entertaining, had a good story, some interesting characters and a neat narrative style.

The only Tom Wolfe book I have read is non-fiction, called From Bauhaus to Our House. With its incediary take on the architectural icons of twentieth century that book provided quite some entertainment for the architect in me. This film makes me want to check out some of Mr.Wolfe's novels.

Jun 12, 2005

Jun 10, 2005

Jun 8, 2005

A gritty take on real life with achingly real life characters. It is impossible to believe that the characters in the film were played by paid actors, they looked unbelievably real.

Directed by Mike Leigh(Dir:Vera Drake)the film looks at the beaten down lives of a few families in a South London housing complex. In the second half the film focuses its attention on one particular family. It is gray and depressing to watch but towards the end a bit of sun shines through.

Jun 4, 2005

Directed by Vinayan, this Malayalam movie stars Prithviraj as the hero turned police officer. Although movie starts off in the same lines as an earlier Malayalam blockbuster Kireedom which starred Mohanlal, in Sathyam, Prithviraj is not the kind of hero who'll be bullied down by circumstances. A 'not bad' masala movie of the recent past.

Jun 2, 2005

Hitch had a really long run at the local movie hall we frequent. This fooled us in to thinking that it must be a fun movie. I had high hopes because of Will Smith, being an old fan of his from the days of The Fresh Prince.

Unless you are a hardcore romantic(which I am not by eons), don't fall for Hitch. The only redeeming factor this movie has(if it has any) is Kevin James who plays Albert who is one of Hitch(Will Smith)'s clients. I also suggest that if the animation flick The Incredibles ever be remade with real human being actors, then Kevin James be cast as Mr.Incredible. Back to Hitch, I realize maybe I am just not the Andy Tennant(the director of Hitch) type, 'cause I hadn't liked his previous film - Sweet Home Alabama much either, despite its good run at the box office.

Jun 1, 2005

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