Two Line Reviews - #286

Movie: Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Plot: A train that covers countries across Europe, one day, plays host to a lot of important people. One among them is murdered during the trip. An ice-avalanche halts the train midway & this lets a Belgian detective carry his investigation to nab the culprit & when he finds what he finds, the suspense revealed is bewildering!


Highlights:

• It is amazing to know the talent of Agatha Christie through movie adaptions like this! The suspense clearly takes one back by surprise.
• Sidney Lumet, the veteran film-maker presents the story with a pretty nostalgic setup; with details on train, routes and passengers acting complementors to the suspenseful central plot.
• Albert Finney, in his detective role, performs impeccably; I have seen not many convincing portrayals than that; One of the best performances.

Express-speed murder mystery!

Two Line Reviews - #236

Movie: The Verdict (1982)

Plot: A lawyer whose career is on the wane chooses a medical mishap case to resurrect his career and fame thereby taking on the big head doctors who happen to be defended by some of the strong founder members of the hospital. He goes to the extent of refusing a handsome amount offered as a settlement and attempts the case on court!

Highlights:

• Sidney Lumet has been known for some of the other famous films but this one is no inferior. It's right up there; the calmness so visible in his films is present in this one too.
• Paul Newman is mighty impressive in his role as the out-of-touch lawyer who desperately seeks justice. His subtle reactions are the highlights of his style of action.
• The way the defense attorney trains his cadre to a case and such scenes are new and interesting.

A compelling watch of a case on trial/

Two Line Reviews - #167

Movie: Serpico (1973)

Plot: A honest Bronx cop keeps getting transferred to different positions thanks to his righteous ways and when he unveils a huge money laundering scam involving officers at all levels, he earns the betrayal of his department and gets a bullet. Finally, his relentlessness pays off , only at the expense of the profession he loves.

Highlights:

• Al Pacino's impeccable role of 'Frank Serpico'. With all the getups,looks & above all a terrific performance it isn't surprising to note that a lot of Kamal's body language and roles in his movies of 80s have been inspired by this legend.
• The engaging screenplay of the writers and Sidney Lumet's direction with sequences of raging outpour sandwiched between nonchalant scenes.
• Music,fire-powered dialogs,locations & Al's costumes are good too.

A highly under-rated film. Watch this for Al Pacino and his inspiring role.

Two line Reviews - #1

Planning to give small reviews for some of the good movies i ve been watching..

Let me start this with "Before the devil knows you are dead"


Movie: Before the devil knows You are Dead(2007)
Pluses:
Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliant performance ably supported by the ones who play his father and his brother.
Brilliant camera angles on mono/bi logues
To top it all, the direction of the legendary Sidney Lumet at 84 yrs of age
Minuses:
Too much of voyeurism that makes this otherwise 'for all' film virtually not viewable for children.

Overall Score - 8.6/10