Western Drama so distilled and refined, One of the best I have ever seen...

One of the pioneers of cinema, Sergio Leone's directorial venture' The Good The Bad The Ugly 'urged me to gain high amount of cinematic fanaticism by watching one of his most critically lauded ' Once Upon A Time in The West'. The film gets succesfully enlisted among one of the most terrific performances ever by the ensemble cast.

The movie opens up with a deadly gun duel between a harmonica playing bloke (Charles Bronson) and three men dressed in a cowboy outfit. Bronson plays the enigmatic nameless person (called 'Harmonica' in the film because of his ability to play harmonica in an eerie fashion even when things appear to look serious ) being the only good guy in the film. He helms the task of protecting Brett McBain's widow Jill McBain against Frank and his fellow gangsters after the villains mercilessly massacre McBain and his children. Joining Harmonica in his mission to kill Frank is Cheyenne , the bearded bandit who is falsely framed by Frank in murder of Brett McBain. Thus, Harmonica along with the ruffian Cheyenne set out to bring down the most dreaded assassin Frank. However retribution remains their sole purpose.

The film is slow-paced and the viewer is clueless about the real reason behind McBain's murder even after the half time of the movie has passed. There are bloodless fights, revenge, intimate scenes, land rights, shootouts, trains and you are only required to eat what Leone gives you, simply without questioning the plot. Things perfectly fall in place in the latter half of the movie as you get to know that Leone exhibits complete veracity while directing the Western drama. The action scenes are carefully designed and they can surely put the modern day jumbled action to utter shame. The film was bankrolled with plenty of money as it had elaborate sets, brilliant casting and fantastically executed duels.

One of the most amazing western dramas I have ever seen, Once Upon A Time In The West is as distilled, refined and clear as it appears to be.


9 on 10 stars

Tenebrous and Austere, De-Niro gets into a miscreant character for Cape Fear

                                     

                                         " Sam Bowden has always provided for the family's fortune.
                                           But the past is coming back to haunt them  "


The remake of J.Lee Thompson's 1962 project of the same name, Cape Fear is a dark and austere tale of  retribution starring veteran actor Robert De-Niro and Nick Nolte. Directed by experienced Martin Scorsese, the film starts with Max Cady (De-Niro) released from the prison after completing his tenure of 14 years. Following his release, Max Cady sets off to avenge his punishment and he chooses not to target the judge or the DA but his very own lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) who he believes has voluntarily declared him guilty by performing a lousy defense.

The film is devoid of any macho heroes to save the day. However, it has the evil Cady as an iron-pumping redneck whose body shows dire biblical warnings. However his intentions remain highly profane. To avenge his punishment, Cady stalks Bowden's family, lurks in the shadows outside their abode and even intoxicates their pet dog. His actions magnify in ambiguity and austerity as the film lurches forward. He even rapes the girl with whom Bowden is having extra-martial with, gets intimate with Nolte's daughter Danielle and despicably harms the family emotionally and physically too.

Its Scorsese's fame and mastery that has brought Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment in collaboration with Steven Spielberg to work as the production team for Cape Fear. The film has big stars, monstrous special effects and big production values to enrich the experience

The film shows Robert De-Niro in a never-seen-before look. Nick Nolte is fabulous with his comely onscreen wife played by Jessica Lange. One of the most acclaimed movies of the 90's , Cape Fear (1991) will put to display the ominous within the heart of the vulnerable to a extent that it leads to perpetual destruction of the victimized living souls.  


8 on 10 stars

Bahl's spectacular sophomore; Kangana Ranaut's Queen is an acclaim magnet

Indian middle class girls having a simple lifestyle often get rejected by their to-be soul mates for their innocence, ability to establish firm decisions and lack of exposure to the outside world. Vikas Bahl's second directorial venture 'Queen' portrays the self depreciating star (after her role in Krrish 3 & Rajjo) Kagnana Ranaut in a never-seen-before avatar of Rani; a simpleton girl from Delhi aspiring to have a simple and contended married life ahead with her lover Vijay (Rajkummar Rao).

However, her dreams get shattered terribly when Vijay cancels the marriage just a day before stating the fact that he doesn't think that this relationship will progress favourably. A depressed and anguished Rani sets out on a solo honeymoon to Paris & Amsterdam; a journey which initially wraps her in a solitude and depression, a journey which on every step serves as a strong reminder of her hateful past which she is reluctant to forget. 

But, the loneliness doesn't stay for long as Rani is introduced to an amicable VijayLakshmi; a half-Indian, sensuous and audacious hotel-employee who takes Rani out of the realms of pain and agony into a world of impetuosity with pure vigor in its air; an eccentric disco scene where an inebriated Rani sheds of her inhibitions and lets go of all the seemingly unbearable dolour in her heart as she grooves lifelessly on the foot-tapping Bollywood beats.

Vikas Bahl's queen is a fine, prudent and an excellent piece of Hindi cinema. The film introduces some of the flourishing characters throughout the film including a trio of boys which Rani befriends and the hotel chef, who offers Rani an opportunity to prove herself to the world, all having the same moral code of kindness and purity. Bahl creates a befitting milieu for Rani who is locked in a conflict with her inner self. Moreover the one-woman show in the film has proved to be a magnet for acclaims and laurels as Ranaut puts total brilliance in Rani who portrays her unique transformation from a passive personality to an endearing and adventurous girl of a modern lifestyle.

A tale of a girl trapped in the dimensions of her own agony & misfortune sets out to explore the world; the one which assuages her effusive anguish. Needless to say, Queen is surely a delight to watch.

8 on 10 stars

Thrilling & Riveting; Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho creates an impact greater than most of his epic noirs.

The way films shot in black-and-white portrays itself to the audience and materialise into something more than just a critical acclaimed film is surely alluring to experience. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho might not be my first movie I watched from the 60’s era but it’s definitely the one creating a greater impact than the other. The movie has pure visceral feel and induces a thrill so powerful that you might find yourself quite intrigued by it.

Psycho opens up with a scene with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in a rented room of cheap hotel in Pheonix. Their apparent actions and conversations give vivid impression that both are currently having an intense love affair and want to get married soon but are unable to do so since they can’t afford the expenses involved. Marion is working in an estate agent’s office and meets with a client who gives her 40,000 dollars to buy a house for his daughter.

A desperate Marion steals 40,000 dollars from the client and flees from the town.  Marion, on the run takes refuge in a motel called as Bates Motel, whose business appeared to be in total shambles. Even being strongly confronted by his dominant mother, the owner of the motel Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) warmly welcomes Marion with warm dinner and cosy room to spend the night in. Things turned horribly ugly when Marion gets murdered in the room of the motel by an unknown entity as she gets stabbed multiple times. The unknown entity in the movie will somewhat be perceived by the audience as ‘Psycho’ and the overall objective of cold-blooded murder however remains a mystery.

Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, Psycho is a mystery thriller with the suspense not being kept on hold for long and becomes quite flagrant. Alfred Hitchcock has made an audacious effort to make such a thriller in which the title of being the ‘protagonist’ vacillates from one person to another quite impressively. You may not be sure who the lead character actually is but you are pretty sure that the film is not a bizarre scramble of sheer ambiguity. A cinephile’s experience will spring to life if he doesn’t have the prescience of the suspense before. The film is capricious but still thrilling and fantastically riveting.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is worth the encomium and claps.

9 on 10 stars 

Full Metal Jacket: One of the finest war films I have ever seen...Shapeless but pragmatic enough.

I never saw a Stanley Kubrick film even though boasting about my utter penchant for films goes in sheer vain. But I heard about them a heck lot. The horror genre in Hollywood can surely be exemplified by Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’. He even had furnished his mastery when he gave the dream of eye-popping sci-fi effects a refined shape in his ‘2001: A Space Odyssey ‘. But I started by watching the first Kubrick film by giving his war film ‘Full Metal Jacket’ a worthwhile try. Why Full Metal jacket? Maybe it is because war films have a strong flavour of despair, horror and plethoric human drama and I love it all.

Full Metal Jacket consists of two distinct parts. A soft tone of ‘Kiss me goodbye and write me when I am gone’ marks the beginning the movie where the group of grunts are sitting in saloon getting their heads shaved off. That is the drill; the one to get them trained on Paris Island so that they can find themselves capable to be recruited in Marine Corps. The Island is a place where a straight poker face and nods to the senior drill instructor’s commands becomes their only fate of life.

 However, the drill instructor sergeant Hartman is not the one worth belying with. He is arrogant, aggressive, regards the privates as lowest form of life on the earth & shows rapid impulses to petty mistakes by the privates. His favourite barb-target is Private Gomer Pyle (so renamed from Leonard Lawrence by the instructor himself), an obese klutz who is often taunted and contradicted for his obese body and his utter inability to participate in workouts & is meant to be quite obtuse.

The rigorous physical training sessions, continuous streak of taunts by the instructor & predestined antipathy which his associate privates have for him puts Pyle’s innocence & endurance to a test; The test which concludes with a Pyle transforming into an antagonist shooting up the sergeant and himself.

The latter half in majority is based in Vietnam and showcases war scenes and bloodbath. Private Joker (Mathew Modine), the one who used to bunk with Pyle and the sheer witness of his antagonism is recruited as a war correspondent in Stars and Stripes which publishes military newspaper in Vietnam. Following incoming enemy attacks all over South Vietnam, Joker is briefed and sent to Phu Bai along with his cameraman Rafterman to interview the platoon and record their experiences regarding the war. He meets his Paris Island associate Private Cowboy in Lusthog Squad as the entire party gradually gets drawn into a booby trap.

Even though the film is pragmatic, it is completely shapeless and fails to deal within realms of realism. The second half invites a fruitful comparison to other war films like ‘Platoon’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’. As it progresses, culminates into a horrendous picture of war and horror.

It is comfortably understandable and has no easy catharsis. Kubrick has enhanced the visuals quite fantastically by his daunting angles at the scene of carnage. He manages to create a marvellous visual epiphany on the trembling prisoner at the end. As compared to ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Platoon’, Full Metal Jacket appears naive but can hold a tight grip on the viewer’s attention for the complete duration.

Cheers for Stanley Kubrick

8 on 10 stars

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/?ref_=nv_sr_2

American Hustle: Ingenious, refined and crisply scripted

A movie’s fate is driven somehow by a powerful factor of the star cast; a kind of actors that people would love to see interacting onscreen. David O Russell uses this over utilized cinematic weapon of an ensemble cast for his con-film ‘American Hustle’. Along with Eric Warren Singer, The Silver Linings playbook director also managed to have a lion’s share in formulating the screenplay. Impeccably refined, masterful performances and reflection of sheer ingenuity is what American Hustle offers to the audience. The film gets us through some clichés and prodigal deviations but overall it bestows a worthwhile experience for the cinema lovers.

The pot-bellied Irvin Rosenfeld sets up a fake company to grant loans to the needy people thereby having an expertise in money laundering. His success reaches a capstone when Sydney Prosser walks into his life. Posing as the British lace curtain ‘Edith Greensley’, Sydney assists Irvin and both gradually become the 1978 con experts who succeed in controlling various scams but finally end up getting caught blatantly by The FBI.

FBI agent Richie Di Maso (Bradley Cooper) arrests the duo on the charges of earning money by fraudulent schemes. He offers them immunity but in exchange wants them to aid The FBI to conduct a massive bust which will put the Mayor Carmine Polito and other politicians including the congressman behind bars.

Di Maso falsifies the identity of an Arab Sheikh who apparently is his Mexican friend. He, guided by Irving and Sydney together indulge in convincing the Mayor Polito about Sheikh’s active interest in conducting business with him. Carmine Polito is the one to be struggling to assemble funds to resuscitate the Atlantic City.

The trio uses Mayor’s very keen desire to invest into Atlantic City as the driving force to bring him and other corrupt politicians to ground. Jenifer Lawrence plays Irvin’s wife Rosalyn who is a piquant personality rather succumbing to being impulsive & manipulative throughout. Robert De Niro who plays a Mafia kingpin Victor Tellegio makes an impressive cameo. The most striking factor of the film is that deeper the film takes you inside the plan; more layers of this operation begin to unravel making it completely embellishing.

American Hustle has a crisp screenplay as the characters spring to live and engages you throughout the duration. David o Russell’s direction poses as a strong reminder to Martin Scorsese’s ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’  following its narrative which enhances the experience throughout thereby giving Russell’s ambitious nature a strong highlight. The script is sleight but lucid. The movie however successfully manages to break the monotony of action sequences and burlesque comedies in cinema and provides a rich perpetual experience.

However, I sincerely feel ‘American Hustle’ strongly exemplifies how a con-film should be presented on the celluloid.

7 on 10 stars 

Dhoom 3: A 2013 Christmas Baloney

Dhoom franchise right from the start has represented robbery, deceit, love and action. But unfortunately sequels of the original John Abraham starrer has somehow aggravated more and more into nothing but an unprecedented blunder. The ‘Hrithik-Ash’ starrer Dhoom 2 started off thrillingly but rather ended up being in an unbelievable mess. Sadly, Dhoom franchise has reached an ebbing point it seems, since the 2013 Christmas release Dhoom 3 stands no exception.

The only ingenuity in the Aamir Khan starrer was the fact that the villain had a structured background; a strong unbridled urge to go about on a looting mission. The movie opens up with Iqbal Khan (Jackie Shroff) heading towards cusp of being bankrupt as he fails to repay the loan to Western Bank of Chicago with only means to save his future is the great Indian Circus.

A master trick with help of his son Sahir (which evidently has been copied ditto from Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige) which he shows to the banker Mr. Anderson; who apparently is the most difficult man to please finally ends up with Anderson demanding Iqbal to hand over the circus in five days. A distraught Iqbal puts up a revolver to his head saying a few harsh Hindi epithets before pulling off the trigger and bidding farewell to the world. This is the top cause for which Aamir swears revenge against the bank. The reason to take reprisal seems highly languid and dubious. I mean what the director wanted to make clear through the story was that if the bank demands repayment of the loan; they are utterly wrong and vindictive.

So now since his father his dead, Sahir Khan (Aamir) wants the Western Bank of Chicago closed and the only way to achieve it is by robbing people’s money in the bank and not just simply robbing, but also making the robbed money rain on the streets of Chicago; the most worthless and vexatious plot to pull off a heist. The most cloddish part of the chase sequence is Sahir’s bike which transforms into rather anything he needs it to be; it can move about in the waters of Chicago as a motorboat or it can even penetrate the waters as a submarine.

Jai (Abhishek) and Ali (Uday) happen to be an inseparable part of Dhoom franchise. It is as if both the characters are latched to the sequels of Dhoom; Be it a robbery on the streets of Mumbai, a heist in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil or series of robberies in Chicago, America: These two so-called top cops from Mumbai Police are to be summoned in every part of the world to crack the cases. Make him rob again; Jai Dixit sticks to his favourite algorithm of catching the thieves in every Dhoom movie. Uday Chopra is preposterous as an actor displaying his wide range of slapstick humour which hardly manages to bring even a grin on the faces of the spectators. Action sequences involving Jai and Ali in Chennai remind you strangely of action sequences in films like Dabang and Bodyguard. (Jai flies in mid air from bike up to two floors only to punch the villain; Jai drives an auto Rickshaw on the rooftops)

Katrina ,who plays the acrobat;Aliya, does not have any pivotal role in the movie. She is merely served as a purpose to treat the eyes which she fulfils well and good through the songs ‘Kamili’ and ‘Malang’. Malang was ostentatious exhibiting sheer grandeur and an excellent choreography. The cinematography was spectacular but failed to save the declining fate of the film. Aamir displays mediocre acting skills; not at all suited to his ‘Mr. Perfectionist’ title (which he hardly is) and he even fails to resemble a bad guy even in the slightest. He has failed to get out of his usual comfort zone and etiolated the storyline even further. Not to mention, I strongly feel another actor from Bollywood youth club in place of Aamir could have dealt with Sahir Khan’s role in much sophisticated manner

The plot is flawed at places just like the chase sequences in the movie. The direction is totally amateurish and disastrous. I still cannot put pieces together as in why Aditya Chopra chose Vijay Krishna Acharya over all the top directors in Yash Raj to direct such big budget project even after his disastrous debut ‘Tashan’ ?  The director has represented Dhoom 3 in a rather clumsy and desultory way adapting the screenplays from Hollywood movies like ‘Now you See Me’ and ‘The Prestige’.

So overall, if you want to look for some action entertainment, Dhoom 3 is not the one you should look at. It should simply be abjured for something worth more riveting. 

4 stars on 10

The Wolf of the Wall Street: A Real Life Story portrayed with Smartness and Creativity...

Wall Street happens to be one of the financial districts in New York. It houses one of the largest stock exchanges called the New York Stock exchange along with other financial headquarters. You love the environment in there; it is pretty assumed that you go on a money minting spree. Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Wolf of the Wall Street’ simply puts the emphasis on the Wall Street atmosphere, portraying the real life character of Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio); who was convicted of fraudulent crimes for exploiting the stock market.

Craftily scripted by Terence Winter, based on the book called ‘Jordan Belfort’, Scorsese evinces the character of Jordan Belfort as an orgy youngster having an unstinted appetite for money (earned legally or illegally doesn’t matter) and heavily addicted to cocaine, alcohol and sex. On losing his job owing to stock market crash in 1987, Belfort trains a group of good-for-nothing folks to sell some of the useless commodities to some rich high-profile traders. Establishing a new firm called ‘Stratton Oakmont’, Jordan Belfort creates a befitting milieu to flourish what it is right to be termed as a ‘moneymaking business’.  

Going along too well with the wind of incoming wealth, Belfort divorces his wife Teresa only to marry Naomi; the only girl who can satisfy Belfort’s ever growing lust. A life rife with drugs, booze, magnificent bungalows, sleek sport cars and libidinous prostitutes slowly comes to a halt when the FBI steps in with their investigation. As showcased in most of the Scorsese films, the entire hurly burly in the major part of the movie is interrupted with planning & effort by the police.

Unlike films like ‘Taxi driver’, ‘Casino’ & ‘Goodfellas’, ‘The Wolf of the Wall Street’ is devoid of the ultimate theme of redemption. In spite of that, the film lends us rolling-on-the floor-laughing moments coupled with sheer display of acting to the point of caricature by Leonardo DiCaprio. The formula of opulence coupled with laughter & poignancy has worked quite well on the celluloid. Matthew McConaughey has a remarkable role as Mark Hanna; the guy who titillates the spark of minting fast money which has ignited in Belfort’s mind.

Even though having sizeable movie length, it never seems to dull the audience and keeps them in an uplifted mood throughout. The Wolf of the Wall Street is smart, adept and uproarious. A shrewd script blended with high brilliance; Martin Scorsese makes it laudable and discernible among others.