Two Line Reviews - #447

Movie: The Impossible (2012)

Plot: A story on how a family struggled before surviving and reuniting after a devastating Tsunami struck the Thailand resort they were enjoying their Christmas weekend in!

What Works?

• The film is based on a true story. And has been made keeping that in mind which is why it possesses the ability to touch one's senses!
• Appreciations to the Spanish technical crew to have come up with a realistic filming of an event most of us were familiar with. The film, looks-wise, convinces us of the Tsunami's wrath.
• Performance-wise, the elder son who helps his Mom recover shines and close on his heels are Naomi Watts and Mcgregor.
• The scenes that stand out are these: The one where the boy helps a Swedish father reunite with his son and the one in which he he displays sheer joy after seeing a kid his Mom saved getting into his relative's hands!
• The final reunion of brothers makes you feel gleeful, for, something similar must have happened in the true story as well!

Yet another celebration of Human Spirit and Survival Instincts!

Two Line Reviews - #365

Movie: J Edgar(2011)

Plot: The film traces the rise of John Edgar Hoover from being a member in the Department of Justice to becoming the mastermind behind the scientific inclinations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Highlights:

• All films on a personality should, in the end, make the viewer feel good/bad about the man depicted and that is something Clint Eastwood successfully does with his account on Edgar. At 82, how this man directs such marvelous films is beyond me!
• Leonardo diCaprio is fiery and meticulate as Edgar and in the young and old forms of the man, he shows consistency in body language and voice modulation which is terrific to see; The guy deserved an Oscar nomination for the role but sadly the Academy jury seems to have thought otherwise.
• Once again, Clint master takes us back to the 1920s and pulls off a convincing show with nice art and camera works.
• The scenes where he stresses the need for 'science' shows how good a visionary Edgar has been!

An intense and moving biography - Serves the intended purpose!

Two line Reviews - #44

Movie: Mulholland Dr. (2001)



Claps:
The weird,weird plot. I never knew what was coming.
Naomi Watts. She has tremendous screen presence.
David Lynch's intelligent screen-writing and the myriad of loops running around.

Blips:
I was expecting the loops to fit properly into the jig-saw and bowl me over. But, the way it fell flat at the end was quite disappointing. It is OK to end the film giving a choice to the viewer in terms of the end he wants to conceptualize but it is too much to let the viewer interpret a whole film.

Overall Score: 9.2/10