Monday 31 January 2011

Aadukalam

2011 by Vetri maaran

What an improvement from a director, Pollaadhavan to Aadukalam, in a word is unbeleivable. Pollaathavan was a good entertainer, but Aadukalam is even more than a typical box office hit, with few cuts here and there it can be pure reality. A novel subject conceived around Rooster fights, characters which are ordinary humans, excellent script, editing and cinematography - may be among the best low light camera works I have seen in Indian movies - which could be a trend setter even and a brilliant director who has taken the movie out of its entertainment box and placed it so close to anything of what a movie should be. Surely the career high for Dhanush.

Anyone interested in real Indian cinema, this is a must watch.

Tamil movie industry should be proud, after Mynaa, within 2 months they have got another excellent film.

Sunday 30 January 2011

127 Hours

2010 by Danny Boyle

A good movie , which is based on a true story. The real life Aron Ramston thinks the movie is like a documentary of what happened. All credits to Danny Boyle for making this one a good watch. Trainspotting would remain my Boyle favourite.

For more - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1542344/

Saturday 29 January 2011

Black Swan

2010 by Darren Aronofsky

I am not sure if I can call this a master piece, but this movie can be interpreted in many ways and thats why I think it is brilliantly done by Aronofsky. What a theme for a movie. Inspite of all the questions you may have, the pace of the movie is in tact through out. And what an actress Natalie Portman is. She can be proud about this once in a life time role as a dedicated , often hallucinated, Ballerina. I couldnt help thinking about my dear wife, who too is a dedicated dancer. Will watch this again, with her.

For More - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

Friday 28 January 2011

Andrey Rublyov

Russian 1966 by Andrey Tarkovskiy - A Master piece from the master craftsman.

Probably has the best cinematography in Black and white classics. There are so many brilliantly done moments in this movie. It starts very slowly though, but the second part is simply brilliant. Many scenes can embarass the best technicians of modern days.

Andrei Rublev is set against the background of 15th Century Russia. Although the film is only loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, its depiction of medieval Russia is realistic. Tarkovsky created a film that shows the artist as "a world-historic figure" and "Christianity as an axiom of Russia’s historical identity" during a turbulent period of Russian History, that ultimately resulted in the Tsardom of Russia. The film is about the essence of art and the importance of faith and shows an artist who tries to find the appropriate response to the tragedies of his time. The film is also about artistic freedom and the possibility and necessity of making art for, and in the face of, a repressive authority and its hypocrisy, technology and empiricism, by which knowledge is acquired on one's own without reliance on authority, and the role of the individual, community, and government in the making of both spiritual and epic art.


For More- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Rublev_(film)

Thursday 27 January 2011

Les Salaire de las Peur - The Wages of Fear

French - 1953 by Henri Georges Clouzot - Excellent movie, a synonym for Road movie. If you like Black and White classics, this is a must watch.
Wish our Blessy watched this before claiming Bhramaram as a road movie.

In a dusty, hot South American mining town, European immigrants eke out a meagre existence, struggling to find work in an area of high unemployment.  A young French Corsican, Mario, strikes up a friendship with a new arrival in the town, Jo.  Their situation looks hopeless until, one day, an American oil company announces it is recruiting four truck drivers to carry out a dangerous mission.  The drivers have to transport two truckloads of the explosive nitroglycerine to an oilfield, to put out a raging fire.  The journey is 300 miles long, across some treacherous mountain terrain.  Mario, Jo, and two other men are selected for the job, enticed by the high salary offered.  Not long after setting out, the four men encounter the first in a series of nerve-wracking obstacles which threaten to obliterate them, but the greatest obstacle of all is fear... An ultimate Road movie, a thrilling watch.

For More - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046268/

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Das Leben Der Anderren - The Lives of Others

German - 2006 - directed by Florain Henckel von Donnersmarck - this is a very good movie. 


In the early 1980s, Georg Dreyman (a successful dramatist) and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland (a popular actress), were huge intellectual stars in (former) East Germany, although they secretly don't always toe the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple, but their life fascinates him more and more.


For More -  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/