Two Line Reviews - #415

Movie: Stranger than Fiction (2006)

Plot: A taxman who leads a near-perfect routine life experiences a strange voice narrating and describing him. It starts conquering his thoughts and actions and when it says he would die soon, it engulfs him. With the help of an author, he traces the voice's owner and tries to change his destiny!

What Works?

• As the title suggests, this story is stranger than fiction & is more engrossing than many works of fiction have been! Credits should go to Zach Helm, the writer of this marvel, and its director Marc Forster.
• Will Ferrell portrays the brilliantly etched character of Harold to perfection! Emma Thompson's action gives him stiff competition!
• For Dustin Hoffman, the role he plays is a cake walk; So it is for Maggie Gyllenhaal & the assistant of Karen has a nice role too!
• The execution with beautiful scenes put together is taut; The climax is something one would enjoy!

Much stronger than many a fiction!

Two Line Reviews - #387

Movie: Tootsie (1982)

Plot: An actor, after a frustrating period of unemployment, chooses the unthinkable! He makes himself up as a lady and wins a place in a show. With his spontaneous acting skills, he wins over the awe of audience making his lady a popular character! In the process, a co-actress confides in his lady-self while he falls for her! The question in his mind is 'When and how to open the Pandora's box?!'

What Works?

• The characters click wonderfully; the narration is filled with classic humour and there is Dustin Hoffman to play the lady - What more would one need to have a hilarious piece of time!
• Dustin Hoffman,as Dorothy, looks and behaves like a tempered old lady would and his voice modulation is absolutely brilliant as well!
• The background score and the songs play a nice little role in the film.
• Portions involving the actress, her father, Hoffman's friend and girlfriend all of who act nicely offer blasts of humour.

Humourous, yet touching!

Two Line Reviews - #273

Movie: Rain Man (1988)

 

Plot: When an old man dies, his long-absconded son returns to get hold of his share from his dead father's property but the father's Will reveals the presence of an autistic brother who doesn't understand what 'money' means. The journey intended to get the share from his brother eventually paves the way for an unshakeable brother bonding!

 

Highlights:

• The 3 prime characters in the film are etched quite well & that is a big plus. The shift in the audacious businessman's character from a pure monetary beast to an emotional brother is shown to happen gradually making it work.
• Dustin Hoffmann wins the viewer's heart with his body-language, tone & the uniformity he brings into it in all the scenes.
• Tom Cruise, as the short-tempered bizman, & his lover have beautiful roles and have done well.
• The rain-man flashback angle paves the way for the genuineness of the emotional connect.

An Admirable show of brother bonding!

Two Line Reviews - #137

Movie: The Graduate (1967)

Plot: A 20-turning-21 prodigy-to-be's attention towards his pursuit of graduation is terribly distracted by a seductive alcoholic who happens to be his father's partner's wife. He becomes obsessed with his misdemeanours & when the daughter of the same partner is introduced , he finds true love, accepts his highly disgusting act & does he win her love and vote?

Highlights:

• A delicate,infact, scandulous subject is dealt with in a very decent & interesting way. Appreciations for that.
• Dustin Hoffman carries this one on his shoulder & does exceedingly well - As the naive wrongdoer & as the relentless lover-seeker!
• Other huge huge pluses are Simon & Garfunkel's soundtracks Sound of Silence and Scarborough Fair. Brilliant songs these.

Lowlights:
The seriousness with which the film moves makes the fun-filled climax moment a dampener.

My Rating: 9.2/10

Two line Reviews - #43

Movie: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)



Claps:
7.7 in ImDB?! ImDB is flawed!A marvelous family drama this. Ideal for an entire family to sit,watch and appreciate.
Dustin Hoffman - I have only heard of this actor before. First time,watching a film of his. He is brilliant. He looks like Al Pacino of the Dog day afternoon days and he acts as well as Al can.
The kid who plays Billy - It surprises me how they make small kids act so wonderfully!

Blips:
Mrs. Kramer doesn't have a big role in the film.It is a father-son show. For all the show she puts up in the few minutes on screen, i feel that an extended role to Meryl Streep would have done the film more good.

Overall Score: 9.7/10