Unforgiven (English): The scenes were composed so splendidly that though they look simple they have lot of action and suspense. Clint Eastwood was at his best. It did not have some fast/loud background music but it was still interesting. Every scene makes us expect something to happen and a different thing happens. The action scenes were awesome. They are violent and also make a huge impact on the audience. I liked it very much.
Jaws (English): Its an old movie (1975). So, the initial part where most of the talking between the people goes was not much interesting to me. but as soon as the 3 actors go out on the boat to kill the shark, the story turns out interesting. This also had all the scenes filled with suspense, action and thrill. The camera work and screenplay was very good.
Syriana (English): The movie was slow paced. Some of the violence scenes were done good. The camera work was neat. I had no interest in the story so I did not like it.
American Beauty (English): I watched it for second time and it was more interesting. It had a very good script. Kevin spacey was awesome. The character etching for all the characters was done superbly. The conflict was plenty. Its a character driven movie. The narrator is Lester (Kevin Spacey). The opens with the actor saying "Today is my last day". The character transforms to a more optimistic state by the end of the movie and dies but the contradictory thing is now he feels life is all those moments which he enjoyed. He is no more afraid of losing anything. He even quotes to his boss "I am an ordinary man who has nothing to lose". Every character undergoes transformation in the movie but the major change is of Lest. The inciting incident happens when Lest meets his daughter's friend. The dramatic question is will Lest be able to achieve that girl by changing himself. So, the goal is to attract that girl, need is to change himself. He achieves the need by the end. He leaves the girl. The mid-point of the movie is when he starts working out and says the dialogue: "Everydays is the first day or your life except the day you die". Crisis is when he realizes that his daughter hates him, his wife is hooked up to someone else. He doesnt feel bad for any of those things. He is a changed man now. In the climax, he doesnt seduce the girl. This is a MUST watch movie.
Disturbia (English): Pretty good movie. Its a fairly simple story presented in a new way. The best thing of the movie is the camera. The first accident in which the father of the hero dies is awesome. I felt as if it happened to me. I dont know how the cinematographer was able to capture it but its breath-taking. The same kinda work is done in the last part where the hero fights the killer. The remaining part of the movie is good and entertaining. I felt the movie ended very easily. The kid kills the killer so easily. The tension and other things were excellent but a different ending would have made it a very good one.
Mr. Brooks (English): An OK killer movie. Kevin Costner did a wonderful action. The movie revolves around a killer who kills because he is addicted to it. He does the job without leaving any clue for the police. Overall you can watch it once.
thats it for now.
--Shiva
Monday, September 24, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sept 17, 2007
movies I watched over the weekend are:
Life as a house (English): Good story, cinematography. The movie is kinda simple story revolving around a family. The emotions are picturized very nicely. The goal of the central character is to build the house and the need is to connect with his son. He dies without finishing the house but succeeds in connecting with his son and making him a good human-being. Finally the son donating the house to the girl who lost her legs in the accident made by his father is moving. The guy in the son's role did wonderful acting. His arc moves perfectly and he did fit the role aptly.
The lives of others (German): I felt the movie was slow. It revolves around the lives of people in East Germany in 60s. One thing I like in this movie is the characterization of the professor. The opening of the film is good. Overall the movie is OK.
Tootsie (English): It was hillarious. The movie was fast paced, interesting and funny. The characterization of the main actors is good. Dustin Hoffman gave an excellent performance for his role. The movie keeps you stay glued to the screen. The highlight of the movie is its climax. I have expected all different other endings but to my utter surprise the climax was completely different. The dialogue delivered by Hoffman in the climax is so lengthy, so funny and so surprising. The dialogue writer and Hoffman for delivering that lengthy dialogue should be given the praise. Its a must watch. It had a tight screenplay and plot.
Dhamaal (Hindi/Indian): The first act was slow and kinda expected but the movie picks up pace as it moves. The later acts are well packed and have lots of comedy. Some of them are already known but still make you laugh. The climax is good. The characterization is OK but not excellent which makes the first act not interesting. Overall the movie is good. Can watch it for the comedy.
Heyy Baby (Hindi/Indian): I did not like this one. The screenplay was not good. The events were very weak. The plot is not interesting. The plot-points are the routine expected cliche ones. Managed to get some comedy in 1 or 2 scenes but other than that, its not worth it. I wouldnt recommend this one. The camera work and direction were sufficient enough but as there was no good script it was bound to fail.
Broke back mountain (English): Its a slow paced movie but it makes you feel. Its a story about two guys who are in love with each other. I couldnt connect with it so might not have felt the depth of emotions but at the end it really creates the impact. The camera, script are all fine.
that was it for the weekend.
-Shiva
Life as a house (English): Good story, cinematography. The movie is kinda simple story revolving around a family. The emotions are picturized very nicely. The goal of the central character is to build the house and the need is to connect with his son. He dies without finishing the house but succeeds in connecting with his son and making him a good human-being. Finally the son donating the house to the girl who lost her legs in the accident made by his father is moving. The guy in the son's role did wonderful acting. His arc moves perfectly and he did fit the role aptly.
The lives of others (German): I felt the movie was slow. It revolves around the lives of people in East Germany in 60s. One thing I like in this movie is the characterization of the professor. The opening of the film is good. Overall the movie is OK.
Tootsie (English): It was hillarious. The movie was fast paced, interesting and funny. The characterization of the main actors is good. Dustin Hoffman gave an excellent performance for his role. The movie keeps you stay glued to the screen. The highlight of the movie is its climax. I have expected all different other endings but to my utter surprise the climax was completely different. The dialogue delivered by Hoffman in the climax is so lengthy, so funny and so surprising. The dialogue writer and Hoffman for delivering that lengthy dialogue should be given the praise. Its a must watch. It had a tight screenplay and plot.
Dhamaal (Hindi/Indian): The first act was slow and kinda expected but the movie picks up pace as it moves. The later acts are well packed and have lots of comedy. Some of them are already known but still make you laugh. The climax is good. The characterization is OK but not excellent which makes the first act not interesting. Overall the movie is good. Can watch it for the comedy.
Heyy Baby (Hindi/Indian): I did not like this one. The screenplay was not good. The events were very weak. The plot is not interesting. The plot-points are the routine expected cliche ones. Managed to get some comedy in 1 or 2 scenes but other than that, its not worth it. I wouldnt recommend this one. The camera work and direction were sufficient enough but as there was no good script it was bound to fail.
Broke back mountain (English): Its a slow paced movie but it makes you feel. Its a story about two guys who are in love with each other. I couldnt connect with it so might not have felt the depth of emotions but at the end it really creates the impact. The camera, script are all fine.
that was it for the weekend.
-Shiva
Monday, September 10, 2007
10 September 2007
back in form after a long time. watched 5 movies over the weekend.
RGV ki Aag (Hindi/Indian): Its a remake of the old movie "Sholay" released in 70s. The story is almost the same except a few scenes where the events are different. The director chose different camera angles. He wanted to try something different for his much awaited movie. I personally feel that whatever the technical stuff you use should to maximum level improve the way the story is told but not make the stuff complex and difficult for the audience to understand. I guess the second thing has happened in the case of Aag. I was watching the movie and the camera moved so fast (or scenes edited so fast) that at some point I got headache and my eyes couldnt stay on the screen. The other most important reason behind failure of the film is the actress in the role of "ghungroo". She didnt have the correct expressions. She did overact all scenes. The way she says the dialogue "Too much hain" was aweful. The complete characterization was worst. May be the director should have chosen a good one for that role. I assume the director was under pressure to make the movie differently and so he tried ways to do the same stuff differently and I feel there was less creativity in it. The villain "Babban" imitated Marlon Brando in Godfather for some of the scenes and some of the scenes were kinda comic. The positive things were the role of "Rambha bhai", few changes to the old story. Overall the movie is a below average movie. I think the selection of the actress and ordinary camera angles would have made it an average movie atleast.
Requiem for a dream (English):This movie is a good example for presenting stuff differently, novel, effectively,...etc of an old concept. The movie is about "the plight of drug addicts". An ordinary person can make a documentary with this kind of subject but the movie is not a documentary. By the end of the movie I can feel the pain, agony experienced by those people and I never want to get into that stuff. I mean I can literally feel its happening in front of my eyes. Simple narration, absolutely fabulous camera work, good background sound, fine editing and justified ending made the movie a good one. The best camera work was the way the maker portrayed the drug injection done by the guys. The pressing of needle, the adrenaline rush, the enlarging of the eye-ball,..etc. I dont know if this is all true or false but they definitely made an impact on me. As a sub-plot the director also showed that addiction to TV is also not less than consuming drugs. It makes you go to that farthest extent possible. At the end, everyone (all characters) is a loser. This is also an example to show the larger affect images have on human mind than lengthy/boring dialogues. Nothing is said in the climax. All the images are shown with a good back ground music which rises the tension in its audience. It made an impact on me. This movie is an example where the "Goal" and "Need" both are not achieved by the characters. The Goal of these guys was to become big, earn money, live rich life but their need was to earn this movie through selling drugs, consuming drugs, ...etc. This has a moral too, just as a documentary but just not pushed onto us. If your path is drugs,..etc you cant achieve your goal. Nice work by the cast and crew.
Sideways (English): This portrays the life of a loser. I analyze it to be a character-driven movie and not a plot-driven movie. The character doesnt have distinct goal and need. The publishing of book, his reunion with his divorced wife or new life with Maya could have made him happy. His life is just like any normal man's life. The presentation is pretty simple and neat. Miles saves the chevy blanc '61 for a great occassion but at the end when everything goes against him, he drinks that in a burger store, hiding it from people. He decides to let loose everything and live life as it comes. The next thing is he hears back from Maya. So, we assume that he gets Maya and then he might achieve other stuff too. Not a hi-fi flick but a pretty decent one to watch and connect with if you think life is going against you.
Good Will Hunting (English): I liked this a lot. It had so many intense moments and so much of emotions filled scenes. The dramatic question of the movie is: "Does Will Hunting take up the job or act as imagined by the Math professor?". The goal of the movie is that Will take up the NSA job. The need of the character is to solve his personal problem. We come to know by the end that the problem of Will is that he fears losing the people he want. So he acts defensively and loses them before they leave him. But after the counselling by Robin Williams, he gets cured and finally goes back to his girl friend. He doesnt take up the job. So, the need of the movie is fulfilled but not the goal. The inciting incident/catalyst is when Will solves the difficult Math problem, the way he answers the kid in the bar. The mid-point is when he starts talking with Robin Williams. The crisis is when his girl friend leaves him, his friend (Ben Affleck) tells him that he should get into a good job rather than working at the construction site. The climax is the point where Robin Williams tells Well "thats not your fault". Will breaks at this moment and his inner fear comes out. Resolution is that Will starts toward his girl friend, leaves a note for Robin, leaves his home as said by his friend. The last scene when Ben Affleck finds that the guy left made me feel very emotional. The director picturized the scenes awesome. A must watch movie.
The Prestige (English): A different/creative screenplay. The core concept of the movie is about jealousy, hatred-competition. The two guys in the same profession feel jealous and does things to make themselves great to such an extent that they can kill each other for it. The thing that makes this a different movie is its screenplay. The movie is presented as a flash-back revealing incidents from one guy's diary in which that guy reads this guy's diary. So its like seeing a mirror through another mirror. The inciting incident is when ideas of both the guys clash. The big event happens when one person's wife dies. The dramatic question is "who wins the competition and how?" Actually I feel there is no protagonist here. Both have done evil deeds. So, both should be punished. Hence two guys die at end. The only thing is that the identical brother of one of the guys' is alive. The moral is that if you are obsessed with something and do evil acts to gain success, you fail. Though the person loses his wife, he doesnt care. The only thing he always thinks is about is to become famous than the other guy. The other guy is married but keeps secret of his identical brother from her, giving his jealous-filled competition more importance than his wife. So, both of them die at the end. The mid-point is when one of the guys does the "Transported man" magic. Crisis is when the opposite guy tries to achieve the same magic through Tesla. The climax is when the other guy succeeds in performing the trick. Resolution is both of them die, the identical brother is revealed and also how did the Tesla's incomplete experiment work for the guy. A good screenplay.
thats it..
-Shiva
RGV ki Aag (Hindi/Indian): Its a remake of the old movie "Sholay" released in 70s. The story is almost the same except a few scenes where the events are different. The director chose different camera angles. He wanted to try something different for his much awaited movie. I personally feel that whatever the technical stuff you use should to maximum level improve the way the story is told but not make the stuff complex and difficult for the audience to understand. I guess the second thing has happened in the case of Aag. I was watching the movie and the camera moved so fast (or scenes edited so fast) that at some point I got headache and my eyes couldnt stay on the screen. The other most important reason behind failure of the film is the actress in the role of "ghungroo". She didnt have the correct expressions. She did overact all scenes. The way she says the dialogue "Too much hain" was aweful. The complete characterization was worst. May be the director should have chosen a good one for that role. I assume the director was under pressure to make the movie differently and so he tried ways to do the same stuff differently and I feel there was less creativity in it. The villain "Babban" imitated Marlon Brando in Godfather for some of the scenes and some of the scenes were kinda comic. The positive things were the role of "Rambha bhai", few changes to the old story. Overall the movie is a below average movie. I think the selection of the actress and ordinary camera angles would have made it an average movie atleast.
Requiem for a dream (English):This movie is a good example for presenting stuff differently, novel, effectively,...etc of an old concept. The movie is about "the plight of drug addicts". An ordinary person can make a documentary with this kind of subject but the movie is not a documentary. By the end of the movie I can feel the pain, agony experienced by those people and I never want to get into that stuff. I mean I can literally feel its happening in front of my eyes. Simple narration, absolutely fabulous camera work, good background sound, fine editing and justified ending made the movie a good one. The best camera work was the way the maker portrayed the drug injection done by the guys. The pressing of needle, the adrenaline rush, the enlarging of the eye-ball,..etc. I dont know if this is all true or false but they definitely made an impact on me. As a sub-plot the director also showed that addiction to TV is also not less than consuming drugs. It makes you go to that farthest extent possible. At the end, everyone (all characters) is a loser. This is also an example to show the larger affect images have on human mind than lengthy/boring dialogues. Nothing is said in the climax. All the images are shown with a good back ground music which rises the tension in its audience. It made an impact on me. This movie is an example where the "Goal" and "Need" both are not achieved by the characters. The Goal of these guys was to become big, earn money, live rich life but their need was to earn this movie through selling drugs, consuming drugs, ...etc. This has a moral too, just as a documentary but just not pushed onto us. If your path is drugs,..etc you cant achieve your goal. Nice work by the cast and crew.
Sideways (English): This portrays the life of a loser. I analyze it to be a character-driven movie and not a plot-driven movie. The character doesnt have distinct goal and need. The publishing of book, his reunion with his divorced wife or new life with Maya could have made him happy. His life is just like any normal man's life. The presentation is pretty simple and neat. Miles saves the chevy blanc '61 for a great occassion but at the end when everything goes against him, he drinks that in a burger store, hiding it from people. He decides to let loose everything and live life as it comes. The next thing is he hears back from Maya. So, we assume that he gets Maya and then he might achieve other stuff too. Not a hi-fi flick but a pretty decent one to watch and connect with if you think life is going against you.
Good Will Hunting (English): I liked this a lot. It had so many intense moments and so much of emotions filled scenes. The dramatic question of the movie is: "Does Will Hunting take up the job or act as imagined by the Math professor?". The goal of the movie is that Will take up the NSA job. The need of the character is to solve his personal problem. We come to know by the end that the problem of Will is that he fears losing the people he want. So he acts defensively and loses them before they leave him. But after the counselling by Robin Williams, he gets cured and finally goes back to his girl friend. He doesnt take up the job. So, the need of the movie is fulfilled but not the goal. The inciting incident/catalyst is when Will solves the difficult Math problem, the way he answers the kid in the bar. The mid-point is when he starts talking with Robin Williams. The crisis is when his girl friend leaves him, his friend (Ben Affleck) tells him that he should get into a good job rather than working at the construction site. The climax is the point where Robin Williams tells Well "thats not your fault". Will breaks at this moment and his inner fear comes out. Resolution is that Will starts toward his girl friend, leaves a note for Robin, leaves his home as said by his friend. The last scene when Ben Affleck finds that the guy left made me feel very emotional. The director picturized the scenes awesome. A must watch movie.
The Prestige (English): A different/creative screenplay. The core concept of the movie is about jealousy, hatred-competition. The two guys in the same profession feel jealous and does things to make themselves great to such an extent that they can kill each other for it. The thing that makes this a different movie is its screenplay. The movie is presented as a flash-back revealing incidents from one guy's diary in which that guy reads this guy's diary. So its like seeing a mirror through another mirror. The inciting incident is when ideas of both the guys clash. The big event happens when one person's wife dies. The dramatic question is "who wins the competition and how?" Actually I feel there is no protagonist here. Both have done evil deeds. So, both should be punished. Hence two guys die at end. The only thing is that the identical brother of one of the guys' is alive. The moral is that if you are obsessed with something and do evil acts to gain success, you fail. Though the person loses his wife, he doesnt care. The only thing he always thinks is about is to become famous than the other guy. The other guy is married but keeps secret of his identical brother from her, giving his jealous-filled competition more importance than his wife. So, both of them die at the end. The mid-point is when one of the guys does the "Transported man" magic. Crisis is when the opposite guy tries to achieve the same magic through Tesla. The climax is when the other guy succeeds in performing the trick. Resolution is both of them die, the identical brother is revealed and also how did the Tesla's incomplete experiment work for the guy. A good screenplay.
thats it..
-Shiva
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