Two Line Reviews - #177

Movie: City Lights (1931)

Plot: A man stuck in poverty saves a wealthy man from a suicide attempt and changes his mind. The wealthy man befriends him and treats him highly when he is high and forgets him when he sobers down. Meanwhile, the hero also falls in love with a blind flower girl and in an attempt to help her pay her rent & get her eyes operated, he gets money from the rich guy who doesn't recognise him later and he gets arrested. When he's back, the girl gets back her eye-sight but her recognition of him and his love remain questions.

Highlights:

• It's always Charlie Chaplin that draws a near 100% attention in his films and this one doesn't seem to be an exception. His antics, timing and humour are enviable.
• The emotional subject dealt with. This film has inspired a lot of such sympathy-for-hero films.
• The boxing match sequence is a laugh riot; absolutely enjoyable.

Where 'emotion + comedy' clicks bigtime!

Two Line Reviews - #176

Movie: Modern Times (1936)

Plot: A factory worker undergoes nervous breakdown because of the brutal monotony of his work routine and ends up in jail. On release, he acquaints with an orphaned girl and they face the difficulties of the times of german economic turmoil. All this and more is told in a lovably humourous manner.

Highlights:

• Charlie Chaplin. This is the first full length feature of his I've seen & it is bewildering to note the amount of comedy he generates each and every second with his body language. He provides wonderful music for the film too.
• The convincing way in which a dark and dull subject is presented in the liveliest of ways. You might not be made to laugh out screaming but the film would make you keep smiling right through its run.
• The Jail & Restaurant events, in particular, are special.

A memorable 'Charlie Chaplin' experience

Two Line Reviews - #175

Movie: Citizen Kane (1941)

Plot: 'Rosebud' is the last word a popular individual utters and a newspaper agency is out to find the significance of it and that's how a popular story of Kane gets unveiled.Charles Kane, a man with a tremendous resolve and business acumen has another side to him - a self-centric, audacious side - which makes him lose everything he gets - his two wives, a presidential run, a huge castle he builds, people's liking for him etc. and his 'Rosebud' secret , aptly, dies with him.

Highlights:

• Orson Welles' characterisation of the ruthless Charles Kane & his portrayal of the character. The illustrations showing how he thinks only about himself, in his angle, are crisp and new.
• Joseph Cotten's role of Jedediah.
• Wonderful camera angles employed in some of the conversation scenes.

A nice film on an uncanny,unusual character; slightly over-rated.

Two Line Reviews - #174

Movie: El secreto de sus ojos (or) The Secret in their Eyes (2009, Spanish)

Plot: An assistant to a counselor, after retirement, plans on writing a novel on one of the most intriguing cases he had handled. He revives the memories on the case and finds answers to two of his most puzzling questions about it - the lost traces of the murderer; his own lost love.

Highlights:

• This Argentinian film bowled me over with the intensity at which it moves. Full credits to the director Juan José Campanella for his crystal clear screenplay writing & his skills as a director are visible in the numerous close up shots and brilliant suspenseful scenes.
• The actors - all, and I mean all of them have done extremely well.
• The untold love story, the angst of the lover who loses his wife, the conniving nature of the murderer, the role of the alcoholic friend of the protagonist are all classy and refreshingly new.
• The climax is special capping off a terrific tempo the film sets & runs through.

One of the very best; Probably into my 'All time top 5 films' list!

Two Line Reviews - #173

Movie: Mou gaan dou (or) Infernal Affairs (Cantonese, 2002)

Plot: Two police recruits take different routes from their police training academy. One is an undercover cop who goes to work with a gangster & the other joins the police force as a mole for the gangster. The chase for one another by one another & who eventually wins the battle are what the film is all about.

Highlights:

• Alan Mak, Wai-keung Lau - the writer director duo deserve great praise for this classy police film. Scorsese's remake of this classic - The Departed, unjustly, fetched him an Oscar! It is fair enough to consider the overlooking of Shutter Island for nominations as delayed justice.
• The man who plays the undercover cop Yan - He commands respect & is supported well by the mole officer.
• The best of the best scenes in the film are - phone trace during the first goods exchange, the gangster trap scene, the scene of the death of the senior officer, the touching climax.

Police story-telling at its very best; A must-watch!

Two Line Reviews - #172

Movie: Ed Wood (1994)

Plot: Edward D Wood Jr. is one director who makes films with whatever footages and characters he has with him & no shot he films goes to a second take! This makes him the one of the most awful directors of Hollywood. This film goes through his film-making ways and his association with an one time popular actor of 'Dracula' fame.

Highlights:

• The heart and soul of this film is Johnny Depp. As the insane transvestite filmmaker, he is a riot with his hyperactive & urgent ways of making films. Some of the points he makes to justify his ways are quite acceptable too.
• The dialogs are humourous and members of his crew are enjoyable - The Dracula actor, the wrestler, his producers at various times, his cameramen etc..

Lowlights:
The insults he faces are funny till a point. But, beyond that, his continuation of clownish acts are irritating.

A not-so-worse film on 'the worst director of all time'!

Two Line Reviews - #171

Movie: Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Plot: A man who is considered mentally disturbed actuallys travels back to the past to get info on the origin of a virus that nearly wiped off the human race. The scientists goof up making him travel to different times from the past & that misleads him & his psychiatrist doctor of one of the past worlds to a wrong person who they consider the source.

Highlights:

• Bruce Willis, as the confused time-traveller , does a fine job & Brad Pitt as a lunatic is electric in his short role.
• Letting a sci-fi idea get to the viewer is not an easy ordeal; The maker scores with a pretty clear depiction of what the film is about.
• The music in the background adds to the suspense.

Lowlights:
Too much of time travel is too much of confusion & that somehow diminishes the desired effect.

Quite Compelling but Complex & Confusing at the same time.

Book Look - #11

OPEN - AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Andre Agassi

The autobiography of arguably my favourite sports star;certainly my most favourite tennis star. He pips Federer on the measure that I have felt very very bad & I've even hurt myself physically when Agassi lost big matches(especially against Pete - the guy I disliked just for the reason that my brother adored him!) and I have never felt anything as remorse when Federer lost big ones. The book, true to its name is OPEN and he talks about his life on & off the courts, his relationship with people who mattered the most in his life and throughout the work elucidations of his inconsistency - Agassi's USP to which I could relate to;which made me his fan - are in abundance.

Highlights:

• The flow of content is brilliant. He mixes events on & off the court seamlessly.
• The 'tennis-life' analogies & loyalty he shared with Gil,his trainer; Brad Gilbert, his coach & Stefanie Graf, his wife are especially enticing.
• The description of his romantic duels with the likes of Pete,Becker,Connors,Chang,Kafelnikov on court & Brooke Shields and Steffie off-court are extremely interesting.
• The philanthropic deeds of his as described & the depictions of how he achieved his unpredictable late age comebacks are inspiring.

If you've followed Agassi - Liked or loathed mattering not, this is a book not to be missed.

Two Line Reviews - #170

Movie: Big Fish (2003)

Plot: A man who likes to colour the events of his life withunthinkably fantastic stories woven around the real events earns the hatred or a lack of love from his son who feels he hasn't understood even a bit of his father. But, when the son realises all wasn't untrue , he livens up the last day of his father with a story of his farewell which turns out to be what happens exactly when he dies.
Highlights:

• Tim Burton's  idea of such a film (or that of the author of the novel from which this film is adapted) is highly appreciable. Wouldn't tell the same about the execution of it but the climax that emphasises the idea was brilliant.
• The action of the men who play the young and old Edward Bloom and his son are superb.
• The characters of the sidekicks who accompany are memorable. 

Lowlights:
There are quite a number of crazy stories which are too much to take as fantasies.

Verdict: Has its share of enjoyable fantasies & not-so-enjoyable fallacies.

Two Line Reviews - #169

Movie: The King's Speech (2010)

 

Plot: The prince of the British empire is a victim of stammering - inflicted upon him during his childhood by curbing his instincts for the family's orthodoxies. He finds a therapist - one of the unconventional type who , with his extremely dedicated therapy, gets the prince-turned-king to give his first war time speech on the declaration of war against Germany in what would be the start of World War - II.
Highlights:

• Colin Firth as the stammering, self-doubting prince is extremely convincing in his portrayal of the disability. Oscar-worthy effort for sure.
• Geoffrey Rush who plays the therapist's role is the perfect foil and his determination & optimism are inspiring enough. The character of the wife of the king who is so sure of her man is beautifully etched too.
• The final climax scene, with the subtle and smooth background score, fulfils the expectation that the build-up to it sets.

A highly motivating film on a man who defies all odds to triumph - REALISTICALLY!