ELYSIUM(2013)

Elysium

 [3/5 Stars]

" Does his skin fall off? Get him off the bed, I don't want to replace the sheets."

An overpopulated earth, a slum infested earth is what the future looks like at least till 2154, even the skyscrapers are slum-like settlements, that's because the rich don't live in them anymore, they left, left for near immortal lives in an artificial sattelite settlement with highly advanced medical facilities, the Elysium. The film begins with showing us the childhood days of the orphans Max(Matt Damon) and Frey(Alice Braga) who like many childhood friends, promised to be together forever, but as Frey went on to be a nurse, Max, a kid with a dream to leave the Earth for Elysium one day, followed a path that came much easier to him, he became a car thief, a natural as his friends call him, now on parole and often in trouble because he can talk himself into it.

Neill Blomkamp falls short of giving us another sci-fi classic after District 9, but it has it's moments, which deliver quite well. The immigration scenario, is borrowed, probably from the real life scenario of Mexico and USA. The poor who have now inherited the earth, need desperate medical attention and the rich don't want to waste their resources, as a result they employ them to do dangerous jobs, which causes Max to come in contact with radiation and also meet Frey again and this time her daughter as well who too needs desperate medical care. The poor have now however ceased to have human rights as all attempts at illegally boarding the Elysium are met with force and are greeted with certain death.

The film's hero Max wants to save himself from certain death, so he goes to a man named Spider, responsible for illegally immigrating people onto the Elysium, so he can get treatment, but Spider has his own plans and recruits Max's help, offering transport in return, Max agrees, after all a man must do whatever keeps him alive, what follows this is high intensity action as Max tries to steal highly sensitive data which could decide Senator Delacourt's fate, and she must do whatever she can to stop him from bringing it to Elysium as it could cost her, too much is at stake for her and for Max, all that matters is his own life.

Predictable more often than not, it doesn't do a good job at keeping you involved, the cinematography is a plus but the story-line fails, with plenty of plot-holes and a formulaic finish, the film fails to deliver the goods you hope after a thrilling first 35 minutes, while in sync with the current scenario of socio-economic conditions, you end up craving for more. Jodie Foster as Secretary Delacourt and Sharlto Copley as Kruger however with their brilliant performances alongside Matt Damon manage to keep the film together and add more credibility to the script.

Till Next Time. :)

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION(1994)

The Shawshank Redemption

 [4.5/5 Stars]

"Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

Dum Spiro Spero, "While I Breathe, I hope" are the words that Andy Dufresne lives by during his bid in prison, an innocent man, sentenced to serve two life terms for a crime he did not commit. The movie differs from other prison movies, it lacks the lame attempts at visceral action made by some, or the intense experience that others try to put forward, by being about the simplest of all things, friendship and hope. Red, played by Morgan Freeman, narrates Andy's life in prison(with the voice god itself), as seen from his eyes, becomes his closest friend as they both serve out their life imprisonment together.The film has been adapted from the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and Rita Hayworth alongside Raquel Welch become the poster-girls for hope, literally. It was Frank Darabont's first film as a director as he gave life to Andy and Red's friendship built on their mutual respect for each other and an unquestionable loyalty they had towards each other, and managed to create a masterpiece and a gem that has managed to outshine every other collaboration that he's had with Stephen King.

PosterGirl of Hope

Andy is assaulted repeatedly, by "the sisters", but after he helps the Chief of the guards in saving some of his money, his life in prison changes, from a one time offer of a cold brew for all his friends on the prison roof despite him being sober, to him being left alone by "the sisters" and being removed from laundry duty to the library to do taxes for the other Prison guards and then to making money for the Warden.
An educated man, Andy tries to help the inmates receive an education, and with the arrival of Tommy he gets a ray of hope that all would be okay again, but as fate would have it, it's all in vain, but he is still patient, still hopeful and in his mind, he is free.
Tommy's death changes him, while Andy had accepted his role as a prisoner-with-benefits by being loyal to the warden, helping him earn money, when he realizes Tommy was killed just because he offered to help him be free, he decides to get revenge, and does that in spectacular fashion.
The film is an underdog movie to the core, as we watch Andy fight the "man", we root for him, and like him, we hope, hope that he gets out, hope that Red leaves with him, hope that that everything wrong that happened to him is put right.
The cinematography is nothing unusual, but add the dullness with which the prison is presented, and a brilliant script to it, the film becomes beautiful and is a must watch for  anyone who loves cinema in its purest form.

12 ANGRY MEN(1957)

12 ANGRY MEN (1957)

Genre : Drama

My Rating : 9/10

*Spoiler Alert*
(You should have seen it by now!)

I would like to lay my hands on this classic before any other Contributor does.This isn't just a movie but a potpourri of human prejudices, doubts, arguments, emotions, rationality and the cognitive process of reaching a decision. The movie, shot in a a single room(apart from  3 min scenes shot at and courtroom and lavatory) presents us with a wonderful example wherein without any exotic location, bond gizmos and magniloquent script, one of the best movies as of yet could be produced.Directed by Sydney Lumet ,and produced by Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose,  there is no doubt why 56 years after its release 12 Angry Men still stands out as one of the best ever. It is a trial movie wherein 12 Jurors are left to deliberate and come to a conclusion to decide whether convict is guilty or not for charges of murder.An eighteen-year-old boy from a slum background is accused of stabbing his father to death and faces the electric chair if convicted. Eleven of the men believe the boy to be guilty; only one (Henry Fonda) has doubts. Could he manage to convince others?

As the movie progresses the the day hots up, with viewers sweating it out with the other characters of the plot alike as the intensity of arguments grows. Every juror tries to solve this jigsaw puzzle, from the experiences of his own life. The jurors represent people from different backgrounds having diverse views on the issue. Henry Fonda, Juror 8 comes forward with the loopholes of the prosecutor's evidence, which are quite believable. Juror 10 comes up with his prejudices against the slum dwellers when he says, "they kill for no good reason". There is observant old man (Joseph Sweeney), Juror 9 who finds discrepancy in the testimony of the woman across the track. Then there is the Salesman, Juror 7 who is more worried about his ball game, Juror 5, who himself has managed to make it out of the slums, comes up with an explanation as to how to exactly use a switchblade, therefore contradicting the claim of prosecution .These arguments raise enough doubt amongst the Jurors. The vote shifts from 11 to 1, to 9 to 3, to 6 to 6, to eventually 11 to 1, Juror 3 being the exception, hard, aggressive, and a vindictive avenger who is reduced to breaking down when forced to confront the failure of his relationship with his own son.

The movie concludes with all deciding the convict not guilty. No names are used in the whole except at the end when Jurors 8(Henry Fonda)and 9(Joseph Sweeney) exchange names. 12 Angry Men explores many techniques of consensus-building, and the difficulties encountered in the process ,with no edge of the seat drama but still captures your imagination. A must watch for all movie buffs.

MAMA(2013)

MAMA(2013)

[3.5/5 Stars]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. 

Daddy, look! there's a woman outside the window. And she's not touching the floor.

And with this dialogue we are introduced to 'Mama', the ghost of Edith Brennan, a psychologically disturbed mother, who protects the two Desange Sisters from getting murdered by their own father.Keeping in tradition with other Guillermo Del Toro films, Mama, presented by Del Toro, has an eerie aura surrounding it, an aura similar to the one surrounding Mama in the film, which makes it a rather unusual entry into the horror film genre.

Creepily beautiful in a way, as it tries at times to empathize with the ghost, the ghost of a mentally challenged mother who develops an emotional attachment with these girls, and gets "jealous" of anyone who tries to touch them. Victoria, the older of the two 'lost girls' realizes this and tries to make her Uncle(played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, famous for his role as another uncle in GoT, also playing the father here) and her aunt(Jessica Chastain) learn of this, as she is now wary to Mama and how she could be dangerous for her sister Lilly, herself and the rest of the family as well.

The film achieves something rare for horror films, it maintains the pace it began with throughout the length of the film, all while avoiding the cheap scares which begin with sudden appearance of a ghost in other horror films, Mama's appearances throughout the film are predictable and it is in these moments that you are genuinely scared. Dr. Gerald Dreyfuss, a trauma doctor who is responsible for the girls' slow and gradual return to civilization, is the first of the adults to become aware of Mama, and earlier refuses to accept the existence of such a being, by providing the theory, that it was Victoria, who created this being, in order to cover up for the lack of a caregiver.

The movie is quite different from 'The Conjuring', while both are probably the best horror films to come out since 'The Cabin in The Woods', they are quite different, Mama relies on the story line and the character history, coupled with the not so innocent looking younger daughter, and the very visible Mama, in place of the hidden thrills that were there in 'The Conjuring' for scares, while a highly recommended film, it is not for people who prefer gore-filled horror movies.

A thumbs up to the films director Andy Muschietti, for this highly entertaining film, a complete thrill ride, as the end will give rise to all kinds of mixed emotions in you.

Till Next Time. 

DECEMBER BOYS(2007)

THE DECEMBER BOYS(2007)

My Rating: 7.5/10

The name struck me first "December boys", but most movies do have intriguing names, nothing much to brag about. The catch really was a "Non Harry Pottery" Harry, and to my utter amazement this thought diminished pretty soon through the course of the movie. The movie rose above just one actor and painted a canvas which got the better of my emotions and I got lost in the plot. The other three boys in the backdrop of the movie poster come upfront as a lovely inclusion, as they portrayed innocence and realism. 

Based on novel by Michael Noonan by same name, December Boys came across as something different from the usual mix of Iron Mans, the wolverines and the hangovers. Placed in an Australian setting, the movie revolves around four main characters: Spits, Maps, Spark and Misty, all orphans at the St Gregory's orphanage.They are the December boys as they have their birthdays in the month of December. Sent on a vacation to Cove beach to stay with Mr. and Mrs. McAnsh, their life changes as they come to know other residents of cove, supposed carnival biker, Fearless and Teresa are planning to adopt one of them. Misty ,the most religious of them keeps this as a secret from others for a while. Maps befriends Lucy who came to the beach to live along with his uncle. They have frequent hangouts at the remarkable rocks ,where Maps comes to term with his teenage life. The movie turns when Fearless’ truth is discovered by Maps and causes a rift among the boys. A moment which escalates the emotions and adds to the plot is when fearless says,"You fight like brothers" and Maps(Daniel) replies,"We are brothers". Misty is subsequently asked for adoption which he refuses by saying, "I don't require a family ,as I already have one" looking at the boys.The movie reflects the coming of age of these boys on a vacation with stirring emotions and feelings. Daniel Radcliffe does a fine job with his role and music blends in beautifully with the films’ scenes and adds perfectly to the plethora of emotions the film you go through.

TAXI DRIVER(1976)

TAXI DRIVER(1976)
[5/5 Stars]

(You talking to me? Well I'm the only one here.)

Being Alone and Loneliness are two quite different things, being alone is more often than not, a choice while sometimes forced upon a person, can be handled, loneliness on the other hand is a feeling, a gut-wrenching and an unparalleled feeling of sadness. Travis Bickle, our hero, a Vietnam War veteran, seems well aware of this difference, as he desperately tries to cling on to the little bit of happiness left in him, he does this with little success. All his attempts at any sorts of social interaction suffer because of his own prejudice towards blacks, his racism visible simply because of the seamless interaction that takes place between the characters and the camera, which with its fluid motion and the tight angles as it is placed in the back seat of Bickle's car brings us closer to the darker side of the man.

Paul Schrader's script peaks when Travis begins his description of The Big Apple as a city laced with "scum", "filth" and "shit" and begins to work relentlessly on himself as he aims to be the man who would rid the city of it. His transition is rather slow, it begins with his interaction with presidential candidate Mr. Palantine, who looks visibly stirred to hear Travis' words, then the threatening looks of the weapon bearing goons, all coincidentally black as they go about their business of eve teasing, a man describing what a .44 magnum would do to a another man's head and a woman's genitalia, the way a 12 and a half year old girl played by a 14 year old Jodie Foster in what could be described as a career defining moment in her life has unwittingly accepted a pimp, played by Harvey Keitel as her personal saviour and has been pushed toward prostitution. The final straw that broke the camel's back is his inability to handle rejection by Scorsese's blond goddess, Cybill Shepherd who plays the role of a cool and more often than not composed girl, Betsy.

His emasculation at the hands of society, the gun bearing goons, force his hand as his transformation completes into what he considers to be a righteous man, he sets out to right the wrongs in his world, he arms up against what he considers filth. Tarantino known to pay homage to his favourites does so perfectly in Django Unchained with his own beautiful version of a sleeve gun.

Scorsese, rumoured to have gone under depression himself and contemplated murdering the producers when he was repeatedly asked by the producers to edit some scenes out of this masterpiece of his so as to get it Rated R and not NC-17, is flawless in his direction, with Schrader's script falling in place naturally with the beautiful cinematography as the camera moves to show us what we must see and hide the unnecessary, and the seamless editing by the film's three editors Melvin Shapiro, Tom Rolf and Maria Lucas make it one of the most beautiful films to be ever made. Even though it lost the Oscar to Rocky, an underdog film that won many hearts, Taxi Driver would always be remembered as the closest a film ever came to achieving perfection.