IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (Cantonese) (2000)

For some unknown reason, I avoided two fine and timeless pieces of art from long. The first is reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s classic ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ and the other is watching Wong Kar-Wai’s ‘In the Mood for Love’. Transcending the differential boundary between the medium, language, culture and plot both of them follow the universal and eternal theme of ‘Love’ touching all our strings at right chords. Where Marquez’s epical love story follows fate of unrequited love with a period of fifty one years, nine months and four days between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza , Kar Wai’s cinema just like a short story follows fate of restricted love with pairs of lovers ending up playing those myriad expressions of LOVE and its hide and seek…so sublime and subtle to put in words!

Two people living as next door neighbor realize their spouses having an affair with each other’s spouse. Fate has put both of them in the same boat; feeling hurt, dejected and angry they slowly starts liking each other’s company. They resolve not to tread on path of their unfaithful mates but who can chain their hearts? “Feelings can creep up just like that!” said Marquez.

The film is not just a piece of serenading romance but the most personal tragedy and the opera of heartfelt emotions and its disturbing vacuum. The struggle of virtue to stay apart when destined by vice to be together both of them gave the immortal resonance to love and its longing. Both Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung looks so elegant and enigmatic pair of lovers corresponding restraint act in the most sublime way possible. With unpredictable twists and turns of tangled and tugging emotions the narration of film invokes magical feelings for anybody watching it first time. I just can’t resist tears watching the separation rehearsal scene.

Both Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle deserves standing ovation for capturing the emotional pitfalls of modern day lovers never filmed as ‘a piece of poetry’. Doyle’s slow motion camera captured the aesthetic high capturing moments that last forever; each frame seems like witnessing luminous art gallery with brilliant use of color and effects. Musical interludes combined with piano and violin heightens the emotional echoes.

My eyes and ears craving more of Wong Kar-Wai cinema.

Ratings-10/10

ROBOT (2010)

On opening Friday last week, with 84 shows in Chennai’s Mayajaal cinemas alone the film has created a history. Such was the demand that tickets for the first couple of days sold within minutes of its opening. Bombarded by requests, office bearers of dozens of Rajni fan clubs across the city went underground. This fact is the proof enough why those 165 crore (if I’m not mistaking Asia’s biggest film budget ever) are worth to burn for the man who is unsurpassed phenomenon of Indian screen.

Enthiran/Robot is Rajni Vs Rajni and not only this; he is in multitudes- the scientist, the lovable robot Chitty and destroyer robot (version 2) with plethora of Rajnioids. As they say in south, there’s nothing Rajni can’t, one has to accept the myth while watching his films but above all Robot is an absolutely value for money entertainer with lavish spectacles and some of the never before seen special effects in Indian film. The first half is more fun to watch than the second half which is quite drag especially when machine fall in love with Aishwarya. Poor Chitty, she looks so irresistibly beautiful!!! The story is cliché sci-fi repeated in many Hollywood sci-fi with android humanoid which in first half shows the bliss and in second half the curse of uncontrolled destruction. The special effects of Cameron loyal Stan Winston & team (the man who create ‘Terminator 2’ and ‘Avatar’) not needed to compare with those Hollywood entertainment backed up by giant Studios but as far as Indian screen is concerned this is the biggest special effects extravaganza I’ve ever seen.

Shankar made a pure paisa wasool entertainment with all spicy Indian entertainer ingredients of fun, romance, action, emotions, drama, thrill with company of Aishwarya’s eternal beauty and above all Thalaivar, the boss himself who’s not just the star but the religion with equal numbers of fans and fanatics. Rahman’s score bears lot of electronic sounds and too mechanical lyrics, though I love listening ‘Pagal Anukan’ and ‘O Naye Insaan’ but as far as song picturization is concerned all of them are visually awesome one even though stuffed one like that stunning ‘Kilimanjaro’ track filmed on Machupichu.

Go watch ‘Robot’ on big screen near you if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s an absolutely guaranteed ENTERTAINMENT of this year.

If I rate anything less than 10/10, Thalaivar fans will kill me!

UDAAN (2010)

An absolutely impressive and one of the best Hindi film of the year without any exaggeration. Writer-Director Vikramaditya Motwane and co-writer/Producer Anurag Kashyap deserve hug for gifting one of the brilliant film treading and breaking inhibited territory of routine Hindi cinema. After finishing script, Motwane ran from pillars to post seeking financial support from producers and ended up with Kashyap who told him that he would not only support and help but also finance the film even though it will be claimed flop at box office. It’s hard to say How long Kashyap-Bhardwaj-Benerjee led Indian New Wave Cinema will survive but if they’ll help the other individual voices like Motwane, it will surely see the brighter sun for long.

Somewhere I read that ‘Freedom teaches discipline best with its own permanent way’. Here’s tale of sixteen year old boy yearning for freedom from his imposed life and trapped existence and grow from boyhood to manhood. The film begins with Rohan and his adolescent hostel mates secretly running away from hostel to watch late night C grade flick named 'Kanti Shah ke Angoor’ and get noticed by the warden in cinema hall. Next morning they’re expelled from school. Rohan lands up to industrial town of Jamshedpur, where lives a dominating authoritarian father and a surprising kid brother from his father’s second marriage. His teenage freedom and wish of being a writer are severely butchered at home. Against his will he has to join his father’s family business of small steel factory in the morning and attend afternoon engineering college when his heart lies in poetry. So what’s surprising about that? It’s not story but story telling that did tremendous and convincing justice to its theme which perhaps no director has explored with such aplomb.

Its rare thing to find in Indian cinema where the story was told from point of view of those directionless but memorable personal moments of adolescent age where anyone of us relate ourselves to those golden moments. Bunking the hostel, smoking cigarettes secretly, directionless life, hang out with close buddies and at the same time growing slowly from a boy to man. The whole film was told from point of view of an adolescent age/angle without any unwanted distraction. This is not the first time ever that we see the face of authoritarian frustrated face of middle class father but Ronit Roy brought one of the unique horror face of middle class father and deserves award for his praiseworthy performance. The film has almost all new, unknown cast and believe me all of them are so convincing including that small kid brother. Rajat Barmecha is as revealing and as promising as Shreyas Talpade in ‘Iqbal’ and he surely deserves the best male debut trophy of the year for giving us that unthinkable tight slap with that cruel smile of satisfaction on his face!

There are many moments in the film which balanced the sublime emotional scenes with striking ones. Rohan’s first day of in the steel factory, calling his hostel buddy after a long, throwing his frustrated anger damaging the car. However stealing car key, a cigarette and money from father’s purse to enjoy late night drink in a bar ending with ragging of ‘shit ups’ and sharing drinks with sparkle of intoxicating fun of poetry and prank of ‘Motu master total disaster’ or one where intoxicating father asking some embarrassing questions to his son or forcing him to smoke in front of him seem more from pen of Anurag Kashyap than Motwane.

Highly recommended to all those who avoided it till day.

PS-It's finally a piece of cinema which I would like to recommend to those '3 Idiots' obsessed college kids where their savior 'Rancho' is absent like real life. (The pun is absolutely intended!)

Ratings-9/10

CRAZY HEART (2009)

“I used to be somebody but now I’m somebody else
Who I’d be tomorrow is anybody’s guess.”

There are two strong reasons to watch this sleeper underdog of the last year. The first is Jeff Bridges who’s consummate act as ‘Bad Black’, a broke alcoholic country singer/composer in his sixties trying to get his lost charm back. With cowboy hat, guitar and lots of attitude he carried the role with all sincere and honest efforts and deserves Best Actor Oscar of the last year. He’s finely supported by Maggie Gyllenhaal, aged Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell in cameo. The second wonderful reason to watch is its great soundtrack, absolutely a treat for all country music lovers. It compelled me to download the OST of the film and believe me it has some of the simple and fine lyrics ever written; quite a rarity in today’s hip-hop/ alternative rock obsessed world. Don’t care damn even if you’re not much in country music, I’m sure you’ll be one after listening this! Like a seasoned artist Jeff Bridges crooned four classy tracks- ‘Somebody else’, ‘Hold on you’, ‘Brand New Angel’ and ‘Falling feels like flying’. Kudos to Director Scott Cooper for this wonderful and moving debut.

Ratings-7.5/10
Ratings for Soundtrack-10/10

IRON MAN 2 (2010)

Not as entertaining as first part, nevertheless the sequel is quite fun to watch for its loaded action and special effects extravaganza with company of maverick Robert Downey Jr., sizzling Scarlett Johansson and evil company of Micky Rourke as Russian Ivan Vanko. The enterprise of Iron Man seems promising in the first part, I wonder why director dragged Tony Stark as larger than life to pseudo American political talk and world peace in the first half and then making him dwarf grew weaker and out of control with booze fixation and then all of sudden accompanied by Don Cheadle as helping hand to fight Rourke’s loaded army! Hope next time the sequel will bring entertainment without any unnecessary pretext.

Ratings-6/10

THE BOOK OF ELI (2010)

Denzel Washington is Eli, a solitary man surviving in godless uncivilized apocalyptic world. He’s a warrior guided by power and protecting the only copy of King James Version of Holy Bible taking it to its final destination. The portrayal of Eli seems like inspirational version of Forrest Whitaker in Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of Samurai’, where he’s without distracting concerned about his single mission.

The film has fine presence of Denzel Washington who never disappoints me in any of his films so far. He’s accompanied by company of Gary Oldman as bad ass and pretty Mila Kunis. Though the film has dark and lifeless seedy setting, it captures absolutely stunning and aesthetic visuals and graphics with cinematography, surely a treat for your eyes. Action of the film is at time sudden and fast like Tarantino flicks but what is terribly lacking is the conflict part with its snail walking pace and the mediocre ending. May be director Hughes Bros kept their fingers crossed for its sequel!

Ratings-6.5/10

25TH HOUR (2002)

The man who made ‘Do the Right Thing’ made another intense drama about a man who has twenty four hours to wind up things. Montgomery aka Monty is an Irish man who hooked up with wrong people and now he’s in big mess with a charge of drug peddling and seven years imprisonment and all he has is twenty four hours to finish few tasks before going to lockup. Meeting his father and two close friends Jacob and Frank, handle his loyal dog Doyle to safe hands, sparing time with his girlfriend with a strange name like Naturelle Riviera and finally meet his mobster boss before landing up to dark and ugly world of prison. Spike Lee presented a drama of messed up life where one man is trying hard to end up his all affairs within time but is it possible?

Back in strike is awesome Edward Norton with another impressive performance. Watch his ‘fuck you and this whole city and everyone in it…’ speech; an absolutely awesome firing blast to your ears for a long run. He’s finely accompanied by supporting actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox. The screenplay is too dark and disturbing to digest especially in the second half but the film is recommended to all Norton fans who loved his brilliant performance in ‘American History X’.

Ratings-7/10