3:10 to Yuma

Am really getting to be a big fan of Cristian Bale! This guy oughta be given a middle name "chameleon". Seriously, when I was watching this movie it was really hard for me to imagine I was looking at the same guy who played Batman! The way his body language, facial expressions, his accent, voice and the whole concept of a weather-beaten loser guy took me completely by surprise.



Here's a guy who's been in the industry long enough to know how cool it would be to be a 'Tom Cruise' or a certain 'Brad Pitt', but still manages to look exactly how his characters are supposed to look like. This is not to say that the above mentioned guys are bad actors..in fact, they have more than proven themselves to be capable actors in a variety of films. But I felt somehow they always managed to carry the "Superstar" tag along with their characters all through their films. Don't blame them!



Now that reminds me of another one of Bale's highly acclaimed performances, "American Psycho". This character study/noir/dark comedy/abstract/whatever-you-wanna-call-it movie is so damningly bent upon the protagonist's self-possessiveness and madness, that I imagine it would take a herculean effort to actually play this with a straight face. But Bale does it with so much style and panache that you feel that this guy actually exists! I remember watching this movie in a hotel room in Copenhagen, Denmark after a tiring day at work. It made me sit up straight and take notice of the way Patrick Bateman's character just lets loose and grab you by the scruff of the neck and tell you.."&^%&$#@!". It's actually a pretty disturbing movie, but Bale's performance is so effective that you dont notice anything else here.

I am yet to watch "Rescue Dawn" which they say also has one of Bale's best performances.

"3:10 to Yuma" is in itself a re-make of an old classic with a little tweaking here and there. It's basically a story about two guys, one bad and the other good-tryin-to-be-brave. No complaints here about the casting, and everyone delivers. Although the premise seems to be something you would have seen in a lot of movies before, the story is handled with utmost sincerity. The two men in focus here are as different as chalk and cheese. One, an outlaw wanted for his robberies and murders; the other a simple rancher who has had a not so rosy past. Both Crowe and Bale are great in their scenes together, but I can definitely say this..If only the director had a change of heart and reversed their roles...I can just imagine fireworks! Now coming back to the story..a simple one here with not many complications and how the two characters handle themselves, each other and look at life in general is what the director wants to show. Lovely cinematography and excellent acting makes this a must-watch!

To end this on a prophetic note, if I ever get into making my own short film, Cristian Bale would be my first choice to play Leonard in my version of "Memento". :-)

P.S - In case you are wondering what the hell happened to me all these days, I just took a break..from being 'jobless' at work to being productive!

The 'Duh' Vinci Code

Well, I finally went ahead and watched it. Yep, that's right. Now, I really dont like to write about something I didn't enjoy, but I had been waiting for this movie for so long, I must say it's a bit..awkward. Frankly speaking, nothing spectacular about the movie. Sure, it's a very faithful adaptation of the book. I first read it a couple of years ago. As it is with most books-turned-blockbusters, the film did not appeal to me as much as the book did. Although I have read much better fiction than Dan Brown's potboiler, it is an undeniable fact that the bestseller is a page turner in a most extreme way.

I first read a review somewhere about the movie before I watched it last weekend. As most critics would say, it was a so-so movie. So thats why I wont waste too much time in this post (I am still waiting to write about the fabulous 'Memento' after my second viewing). But before I end this post with yadayadayada, I want to point out what hollywood does in order to garner acclaim and blockbuster status. First, Ron Howard is a great director..I liked the guy's movies; And he has a good friend who is also a great actor..Hanks. So it may not be surprising when you see the next movie by Howard with Hanks in a leading role. But in the Da Vinci Code, Hanks is horribly miscast as Prof. Robert Langdon. Sure, he probably looks intelligent enough to pass for a professor in Symbology (snigger, snigger), but man does he look bored in the movie! Tom Hanks probably just did the movie out of pressure from his good friend Ron Howard, who in turn must have been under even more pressure from the production companies and more importantly, his prospective audience to cast a huge, bankable star! If you have read the book, Robert Langdon's character development has some minimal authenticity around it. The film chooses to ignore even that..character development is totally nil. Also, the other lead character in the book, Sophie Neveu is one of those tall, intelligent policewomen who doesnt take crap from anyone. Audrey Tatou is just...cute! She is dwarfed by Hanks' 5ft.11in. frame and I guess the decision of not making anything romantic between the two was a good choice afterall.

Well, to end it on a simpler note, The Da Vinci code is a watchable movie with nothing extraordinary about anything..the action (or whatever is missing of it), the performances, the special effects and if you know the story..then its just one of those Hardy Boys detective thrillers with a load of religious history thrown in for good measure. If you want a summer entertainer, I suggest watching probably MI-3!! (Horrors, but true).

Disappointing. Get ready for a good laugh in the most critical, serious moment in the film's running time! Unbelievable, isn't it?

Memento

Okay, here goes..first of all apologies and thanks to Amodini, who reminded me to continue writing and that there are people reading stuff on the internet! Of course, its just too bad that there are not enough comments for the posts, although I agree that doesnt mean people are not reading one's blogs. Anyway, I am posting this just as I finish watching 'Memento'..director Christopher Nolan's dark indie thriller. Was reading an article on Nolan and was surprised at how low key this film was when it was released. Imagine this 'review' being written almost six years after the movie released! This interview made me go out and rent out this movie. I must say, after watching the movie, I was just not ready to write anything about it..yet. But I do wanna write lots and lots about the movie...after a second helping, that is. The movie in question is just so amazingly intricate and complex, that for a normal person (yours truly..being modest, am I?), its just not possible to grasp at the details on a single viewing.

I do not want to present too much of the movie at the moment, but for a viewer who is into the dark, mysterious movies, this is a must-watch. I cannot remember any other movie making me think so much back..not only while watching, but hours after finishing it. Remember, if you are looking for a straight-forward movie with edge-of-the seat thrill rides along, forget it. Watching this movie was actually like solving a mind-numbing puzzle. So if you are thinking about popping the DVD in for a relaxed evening, you better consider sitting in the washing machine yourself while doing the laundry, because thats how I felt afterwards.

Here's the brief overview of the story..the remaining part to be continued after my second viewing. Please bear with me!

Opening shot..a man's left hand holding a polaroid photograph displaying something bloody. The hand keeps shaking the photograph once in a while. That's pretty normal..so you think. The print on the photograph slowly starts fading into black after each shake of the hand. That's right, but before you start imagining things related to industrial light and magic, the scene is actually the director's way of telling you how he is going to present the film to you. Right again..backwards. So the last scene in the movie is going to be the first one chronologically! In a funny way, you realize you are in for a terrible headache. Anyways, coming back to the story, as scenes pass by, you slowly get a grip on the story which is basically that the 'protagonist' if you could call him that is actually a guy called Leonard or 'Lenny' who is suffering from short-term memory loss because of a head injury. To top that off, he has to find his wife's killer to avenge her. Characters involved along with Leonard are Teddy, a mysterious guy who pops up from time to time trying to get involved with Lenny's activities, a woman named Natalie whose bar- tending antics made me really wary of chugging down beers which are on the house and a motel front desk operative among others.

Remember that feeling about sitting in a washing machine I mentioned earlier? Well, its just getting started. But slowly as the movie progressed, I realized I had a smile creeping up my face...and halfway through the movie, I felt like an idiot just thinking about that headache I mentioned above. This is not a headache!! It's pure bliss, if you are one of those who likes to put on your thinking cap once in a while! I still haven't figured out the whole movie yet, but I am going to..and I am writing about it! Until then, try watching this well crafted movie if you can and have fun.

See you soon! And oh, please, please leave comments if you are visiting..just a bit of motivation for the writer. :-)

Crash

Watched 'Crash' recently and I must say I was depressed immediately after watching the movie. The movie itself was great I thought..amazing performances and slick story-telling. Although the movie rides mostly on these performances and editing, I felt the director held back a lot of things he wanted to say, but couldn't..for some reason. He leaves the movie saying racism exists..yeah, we know that, duh! Also, most sequences in the movie involve explaining to the audience that its misunderstanding which leads to racism. Interesting thought..
I've had my share of experiences, good and bad on this topic. Generally, I think that people exhibiting racism are the ignorant ones (this is my point of view, of course). Ignorance of being a part of the society which is a melting pot in a majority of cases. Of course, one may argue that its basically ignorance which usually leads to misunderstanding!

Coming to the part which I liked most about the movie, the performances. A near perfect cast for this movie, I would say. Director Paul Haggis must have been licking his lips at the prospect of directing actors like Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon and Terrence Howard. None of these actors disappoint. You hate them, pity them and only can try understanding them in this movie which aims to be a critique. Although there are some 'nice, goody' roles in the movie, the ones that stay with you are these 'bitchy, racist' ones..naturally. Matt Dillon effortlessly walks through his role as a racist cop who is later shown to be having a sensitive side as well. Cheadle has the most screen time with no particular reason, although the movie begins and ends with him on the receiving end of things. Bullock is at her 'maniacal' best..as the rich, angry, embarassed and actually humiliated wife of Fraser. Commendable. But none of these big names could match up with the performance of Terrence Howard as the black TV director. His portrayal of a man caught between accepting racism, dealing with it and coming close to losing his senses is in a way, magical. Howard mostly uses subtle body language and awesome intensity in his eyes. The director takes full advantage of this and uses it to generate maximum effect in the scene which has the showdown with the cops. Fiery scene!
Other performances worth mentioning include Michael Pena as the humiliated but extremely patient locksmith and Shaun Toub as the persian store owner. Bahar Soomekh, who is cast as his daughter is beautiful and embodies the young generation of today. Ludacris catches your eye in some scenes but fizzles out in an artificially made-up image makeover.

The one thing which might wear you down in this movie is the sheer number of coincidences popping up one after the other. I initially thought it was interesting and in a way, keeps you thinking..but after some time into the movie, you feel ridiculed. Come on..this is LA..are these the only people in the whole greater Los Angeles area??

It'll be interesting to see and hear others talking about this movie too..and their experiences watching it. For me, it was a movie in which performances ruled over the story, cinematography and music score..however honest an intention was to make the story a worthwhile one.

Paint it Yellow

Ok, this must be the umpteenth article you must have read in the past couple of months about 'Rang De Basanti'. Well, its not exactly a surprise when people see a good film, they tend to write about it..a lot. Anyways, while the movie itself was undoubtedly well made, what made it connect to the audience in such a way? What made people sing praises about the movie's brilliance in executing such a story (patriotism? Rebellion?) I think its the characters. Director Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra smartly creates characters who are poles apart in personalities but still manage to hang out together as buddies. I feel there is this magic in showing characters like this...take the best known example in the history of Bollywood..yep, Sholay. Jai and Veeru are like chalk and cheese but still there is one common thing that binds them together..friendship? I dont think so. Of course, characters designed for movies have to be different to make the proceedings interesting, thats the age-old formula! But in RDB, what Mr. Mehra does is more than just create characters and have talented actors play them. He creates characters and 'shows' them as he wants them to be. The audience, in this case does not have a choice but to view that person in the exact same way the director wants. Take Aslam..the character is first introduced spray painting a wall with quotes like 'The rebel has arrived' and graffiti of sorts. Slowly, in the course of the movie, he is shown to be an inferior of sorts..he actually does not like getting into fights. When Laxman taunts him, he prefers to walk away rather than answer back. It is DJ, who is the hothead and comes to the 'aid' of Aslam. Sukhi is shown as a guy full of fun and frolic..a guy who seems to never take anything seriously. The audience is then treated to a scene later where Sukhi is the first and only person among the friends to actually insult and doubt the loyalty of his own buddy, Karan. It is this shock treatment, which I think makes RDB so interesting.
Let's look at the other characters as well. Sonia, the only girl in the gang is shown to be a simple, down to earth, caring and friendly person. She is the one who actually comes up with the idea of murdering the defense minister. While this is not exactly shocking, since she is shown in another character (a revolutionary) at that moment in time, the character's double identity is something which the director considered his trump card. People hide things, and when the actual identity of the person comes in full view at times of necessity, the acquaintances around him/her also tend to be shocked, let alone the audience.

While I agree that only Aamir Khan could have given DJ the life of the character..the vibrancy, mischievousness, I feel he underplayed his character very well. For the second time, I have seen a great actor (a superstar) actually give his best without going over the top. The first time being 'Swades'. It's such a treat to watch these 'bigger than life' actors just walk through the movie effortlessly and gracefully in characters that have been tailor-made.

Siddharth is a revelation of sorts producing one of the most electrifying performances in recent times. His Karan is the most silent and is the introvert. In spite of being completely alone in his personal life, he manages to bond well with the rest of the friends. Mehra shows Karan's character in a very interesting way. In a repeat viewing, I saw that Karan, in his earlier scenes chooses to be just a bystander..doesnt take a single decision (except maybe a very shocking one, which is not shown in the movie) and waits for others to actually talk about something. In the climax however, Karan is the one who tells the world about what their thoughts are and what they had planned. Finally, the one character that Mehra leaves unchanged in the whole movie is Atul Kulkarni's Laxman. A violent, firm believer of nationalism, Laxman is a confident man who is just on the way to becoming a major political figure representing the youth. Even though Laxman's thoughts about his party change in the course of the movie, he is still the same violent, extremist deep inside. I feel Mehra, in a way misled the character into showing himself to be a frustrated person who needs to vent out his anger at the world. Kulkarni does not disappoint and his rendition of 'Sarfarosh Ki Tamanna' still lingers..days after I watched the movie.

In this movie of introverts, extroverts, young, angry, frustrated people..the screenplay is king. The way the director, editor and screenwriter put together bits and pieces of our history is nothing short of genius film-making. All these technicians mentioned have a very, very serious knowledge of the art of convincing people by showing them pictures..beautiful pictures. Last, but definitely not the least..Mr. Rehman infuses each frame of the movie with such a delectable score that you cannot stop wondering how this man can come up with such a versatile range of music..all in one go. I loved all songs in the movie..the best one being the title song 'Rang De Basanti'. The energy of this song is so evident right from the beginning, that you just cant stop yourself doing a jig, the bhangra way!