Tron - Legacy

Weekends have become a worry to me. It doesn't matter if I am working or enjoying or whatever things which I do normally, but the fact of the matter is my itinerary is being prescribed by others. This sunday was different. I did what I wanted, even if it is not complete in all respect. I made couple of questions.. fundǽs, as some might say.. and then saw Tron – Legacy in 3-D... now I am writing this listening to Clapton in his formative years, rather than the definitive Clapton.

Tron was awesome movie. Tron - Legacy is awesome-r. If anybody, rather I'd say anyone who is interested in movies, or sci-fi or special effects or someone who just likes to let lose, miss it, then it would be a loss. Jeff Bridges reprises his roles as Kevin Flynn and CLU, while Bruce Boxleitner reprises his roles as Alan Bradley and Tron. Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn, with a cool Ducatti, __________ (will fill up something later when I feel like). The girls in the movie are Olivia Wilde as Quorra, an ISO who looks like Kiera Knightly and Beau Garrett as Gem, one of the Sirens who also looks like someone, whom I can't place. I liked Olivia Wilde in this movie, though I never liked her before.

The movie starts with Kevin Flynn with his young son, Sam in 1989. You hear Kevin describing 'The Grid' and telling him about a miracle. The camera doesn't give you a direct look at Kevin's face. You see the young Sam asking his dad when he will be back. Then Kevin turns and answers. You know you are in for a visual treat the moment you sees Jeff Bridges' face. The next few minutes takes you to the basic plot line of the movie. I wouldn't write a plot :P but then you may hear t from your friends or someone who just happens unable to stop blurting out the story, so what the hell :). Nevertheless, I will stick to my policy.

The movie is a classic example of American inability to accept the reality, and still thinking that they are the sole savior or beacon of hope for mankind. The idealists of 60's and 70's in the programming world have been replaced by lots of other kind. They also have ideals, everyone has, and there are many who says those are THE right. Time judges. I still love to read/hear about the 60's/70's ideals with only the good things. I know there are lot more, darker sides to those. I will take it both, still.

Some of the best thing about the movie are the pace, effects and soundtrack/BGM. The music is awesome. There is not a second in the movie where you feel you are not a part of the theme or plot, because it is not just a visual experience. Daft punk who did the music has always been good at electronica. The cinematography by Claudio Miranda takes you to a different level of visual treat. The bright colors stand out in the dark background. I believe he understands technology, and from the movies in his credit, he really put right colors in the reel. Hats off to first time director, Joseph Kosinski , for spectacular work. I really enjoyed the movie. I believe this is perhaps the best 1000 bucks I spent on a movie.

To give an idea how the movie have been taken by the audience, I will give you this piece of quote.

“Don't get me wrong, i love me some "Avatar". I once said that it was a visual revolution. Well, it seems that it's wake has proceeded it. The best comparison i can give is this......If The Beatles are to Avatar, then Pink Floyd is to Tron. Take that how you will.” - blackmambamark

Letter in Ox Bow incident

Image via Wikipedia

"My dear Wife, 

Mr. Davies will tell you what's happening here tonight. He's a good man and has done everything he can for me. I suppose there are some other good men here, too, only they don't seem to realize what they're doing. They're the ones I feel sorry for. 'Cause it'll be over for me in a little while, but they'll have to go on remembering for the rest of their lives. A man just naturally can't take the law into his own hands and hang people without hurtin' everybody in the world, 'cause then he's just not breaking one law but all laws. Law is a lot more than words you put in a book, or judges or lawyers or sheriffs you hire to carry it out. It's everything people ever have found out about justice and what's right and wrong. It's the very conscience of humanity. There can't be any such thing as civilization unless people have a conscience, because if people touch God anywhere, where is it except through their conscience? And what is anybody's conscience except a little piece of the conscience of all men that ever lived? I guess that's all I've got to say except kiss the babies for me and God bless you. 

Your husband, Donald." 

The movie is a classic. It doesn't have much of long story, but has a single thought. The conflict of right, why it is always that those who support right is in minority and in doubt. Why is that people realize that they are wrong only later? More importantly, why is it that people do not take it into their conscience that their deeds were wrong, but rather goes about their life.

Henry Fonda delivers a good work as the confused man. But it was Anthony Quinn who captured my imagination. There are other distinguishing factors between a city man and outland man, brought out by dialogues and monologues,  which make you think that law has made a lesser man.

I have believed in all that is written in this letter, even before I had seen it being read in the movie, with all the passion and eloquence by Henry Fonda, pictured with all beauty and rawness, something which I imagine will be in Lord of Flies. My work is in legal domain. My colleagues are versed in various aspects of Law. My legal knowledge is limited. I know that it is almost same as it is in engineering, beyond Newton or Faraday, I can't remember anything, and these two - barely. 

What makes me love it is the belief that Man made Law and not vice versa. There is nothing which should stop man from living in a 'law'-less society. It should not, for I cannot say with confidence, be a chaos. Even in chaos, there shall be order.

I have had debates/discussions with a friend of mine, who believes law is above everything. He is right, to an extent. Beyond that, life is ultimate. Rather, Man is ultimate. This is not a platform for debate, nor discussion. I am putting a piece of work, extracted from a beautiful movie, not to support my views, but to put forth what somebody else had thought on the same lines.

Inception

I'm not going to listen to you. I mean, what does a Squirrel know about mental health?

Exactly what inception is all about! I would really wish all the people who go 'got rabies' on this movie to be cured.................

Three in half a day, none too good

Image via Wikipedia

Prince of Persia - It has a good spine but no tissues. The game which spawned the movie should have been a guide to the makers. The story was not developed fully, the theatre was bland, the acting were found wanting at times or was it the script? But even then, a must watch in 3-D (only) and for those who wish to enjoy with their kids, this is perfect movie. And for those who are still kids at age of 30, again a must see.

Rating 2 1/2 starts

Love Happens - A normal movie. A good cast wasted. No story. End of review. 

PS: Those who are fans of Jennifer Aniston, they shall not see her much.

Do not watch unless you have really surplus time.

Rating 1 1/2 Stars

X men Origins: Wolverine - A franchise which has two good movies at its back and explores the origin of one of its most loved charecter - James Howlett/Wolverine. The story is condensed into a single movie in a very good way. The plot derives its story from the Wolverine comics and it extracts the juicy part from it. As usual, Hugh Jackman is impressive in his beard and claws. As the title says, only the origin is shown and maybe we can see other X men origins brought to theatres.

Rating 2 1/2 stars

Two bad is too bad!

She is Old!!

Well, the first movie was supposed to be fun. Proved to be a damp squib. No story, lots of emotional haranguing, a vague idea on what is supposed to be a sermon(failure again) - 'Malarvadi arts club' is a total failure.

I had to remove all the bad effect of that movie, so I went for 'Salt' which proved to be the worst movie of the year and most probably one of worst ever to come from Angelina Jolie. Did the director and writer think all among the audience are fools. Hope someone gives quotation for the writer and producers, for making such a horrible and expensive waste.

Everyone thinks Americans to be dumb, but this movie proves it on two counts - one, by thinking about it and making it, and second, by showing they are super dumb in the movie itself. What a crap secret service, and CIA and what not. Homer Simpson would come up with better ideas than this!

In the end, two movies and five hours after, Zero inside, and lot to throw up!

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A 9.4 idea

This is what exactly was wanted, and maybe tried too, but never seen completely for long!

What would one expect from a movie rated 9.4 in iMDB? A great plot, characters which are well developed, a score/audio to go along with the theme and an excellent cinematography. Except for the cinematography, inception delivers on everything less than superlatively. I was not convinced about the characters though the plot was good. The score was bad.

The story revolves around the ability of certain people to control the dreams. The dreams are creations of a single person, who is called the 'creator', there is a principal charterer who fills the creators universe with protagonists or 'projections' and the other individuals who are attached along with the 'creator' and 'subject' by means of certain compounds. The 'subject' tries to find the 'creator' and the ingenuity of 'creator' lies in concealment of his dream to make it real. A complex idea. Now if the dream lasts for 5 minutes in real world then the dream will last an hour in dream world.

On the first hand, the idea is not original. There are many movies where there is a 'penetration' of dreams and the subjects interaction in dream world happens. The cell is one of the finest and most visually extravagant movie made on this idea. The twist in this movie comes in the creation of dream world. The dream world has all the characteristics of real world, and the brainwave of idea comes in this part. Multiple level of dreams. A dream inside a dream, the exponential development of time frames and the limbo.

I shall have to say that I am not that much impressed, maybe my expectations were high, maybe I should have gone with a blanker mind. I had not seen any reviews, no trailers, did not even look who all are acting, and still there was this hype inside me. The only thing I did was to see one of the movies by Nolan which I thought was deceptive - The Prestige. I didn't like that movie, I liked the concept, I liked the story, I liked the plot also, but the execution was weak. Somehow I found that the movie did not meet the level of Batman movies by Nolan. One major and the most important factor in those movies being better is that the characters are more developed, each of the villains and the heroes have been developed from scratch, each of the flaws and strengths tried and tested through time and conquests.

I cannot even remember the score. Was it the pathetic sound system in the theatre I went or is it really that bad? I cannot tell about the way score in movies of QT makes me feel. He is ultimate in selecting movie score. Be it the Deathproof or Reservoir dogs or Pulp fiction or any other of his movies, it is simply superb. Again, too much said about score which is over rated.

My friends were saying about Matrix all the way, and even gave a very wise comment - this movie is Matrix, in a very civilized way. He also told that Matrix was difficult to understand with only the first part. The Animatrix and all the other parts together made it complete. Well, this is where Nolan failed. He tried to put everything in one 2 hour movie. This left a lot to imagination, and a lot of flaws in story line as it went. Maybe this movie needed a different approach. This could have been a grander movie. I do think there will be very less number of people who think along my lines. Judging by the responses in FB and other sites, this is great movie. And I shall need more convincing.

PS: I am yet to see the Nolan masterpiece Memento. It is said to be brilliant. I was not disappointed when my friends told me to see Perfume or Old boy. I hope this also is just as brilliant. I shall see it this week hopefully.

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World movies; Asian Flavah

Cover of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Asian movies have a different flavor. They are stylish, with a play of light and music which has no parallel in any of the western movies. I heard QT gave a standing ovation to Old Boy when it was screened at Cannes, also it is up there in top five in his must watch movies list – both 'facts' which have not been verified personally, but obtained from reliable sources. I have seen the movie and acknowledge it with same verve. It is a work of art, especially the use of wide angles and some top view shots. It is not seen in classical movies of the world, and again, the use of word 'classical movies' should be sparingly used.

A few years back, I saw King Lear by some Danish master screened at Thrissur. Another day, another foreign language movie by some European master – a kaleidoscopic view of human emotions when concentrated in a particular place, there, a train passing through some of the most desolate and sparsely populated land. Same day, I saw Swayamvaram by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The movie had very little dialogue, but the camera work was simply world class. I found the use of spin and close ups particularly refreshing. The story line was also extremely simple but executed with great style. The best movie I have seen is King Lear itself. That was a work of art – since the story itself is unparalleled, the movie have to be top notch to save itself from being branded mediocre. Some of the older Japanese movies are too good. I am unable to name most of them. Kurosawa's Rashomon is one of my favorites. The way human emotions are shown can be done only by a master. The final court scene is is perfect, and I wonder if any movie can be shot with so little props and actors in the script to get this effect. The way they show rain and sun are breathtaking, which might even overshadow the works like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or the way they show action scenes, sword fights and murders will do away with Kill Bill easily. The screen space is shared between the actors and nature and that makes the whole difference. Even Japanese serials which were shown in DD long time back were a pleasing experience. The snows of Japan used to fill our living room with same emotions as they welcomed it, and their spring festivals were a joy for us here too.

After a gap of three years, I saw another world movie - Old Boy, and this gave me a peek into Oriental cinema. This Korean movie uses many works by Classical Western masters, like Vivaldi to accentuate the effect of a shot. To use one of Vivaldi's Four seasons suite for a action scene should be termed as audacious at the least. Still, the director made it off. Asian movies have always made style a part of their work – with movies like masters like Ang Lee taking the game to Oscars. I wonder why India is falling back in this race, when we also had good masters once upon a time, and still counts Santhosh Sivan as one of the best cinematographers in the world. Raavan is a testimony to the continuing legacy of Sivan and a fall in the art of Mani Ratnam, which maybe attributed to bad selection of actors(but this may pay off in world stage). I wish to see Vanaprastham which many say is a good movie. I do not relate to these kind of Malayalam movies, whereas the movies during golden age of Mohanlal, Mammooty, Soman and Sukumaran finds place in my HDD easier than these new age gimmicks. I do not subscribe to people catering to world, forgetting the reality of the world they live in. The trick is to show the ground reality the way world wants to see it, and not to show what world want to see as the ground reality. It is still possible with directors like Prakash Jha and Farhan Akthar still having lots of potential to make such movies.

I have lots of movies to watch – Kim ki duk, other movies of Old boy trilogy, then many more unnameable ones which my friends have given me, half of which which neither they have seen, nor will they be seeing it in near future, as my case is also going to be. The next movie in the list is Audition which is supposed to be highest rated in IMDB, and ratings are some thing which I am always skeptical of. Still, I got to know it is good from two different sources. It is somewhat surprising that there are lots of people who sees other language movies, other than English even in Kerala. I am not talking about my friends, who are all far more superior than myself in critical viewing, but the general public. The movies which run long are action movies, but action is also done by Hollywood, and they do not draw this big crowd. Movies like Ong Bak shot in low budget, and its sequels shot with bigger budget, have run for many weeks more than movies like Bourne series. Even though MI-3 has biggest drawing star in Hollywood, people still say about the camerawork and direction by John Woo rather than saying about acting by Tom Cruise. As I already wrote, Jackie Chan is a bigger star in Kerala than all the Khans except SRK, on another thought, maybe even the King Khan too. It was fun to notice that an unknown movie, Ninja Warrior had more collection than, De Dhana Dhan and some other Hollywood flicks during weekly movie financial review by Economic Times, after all this is a big industry.

Now the Asian movies have taken a very artistic touch, with people showing gore and sex with vibrant colors. This might be the way a person feels in heart when in such emotions, and movies are trying to transpose that into the celluloid. It may also add to the factor that HD movies and newer technologies have made this all the more possible. I had written about the excellent camera work in Karate Kid(2010), and the way the movie showed the beauty of China. I feel that they have really shown how to add nature to the cast. All the wonders of the world seem to be concentrated in the Orient – the sky scrapers as well as the Taj Mahal, the buildings of commercial centers in Shanghai to the beautiful Imperial palaces of Japan and China, all show the magnificence of the East. Movies can be a mirror to all the wonders of the world, and with wonders being showcased in these movies, I do not doubt whether Saint Gobain shall have serious competition.

Karate Kid

Image via Wikipedia

Saw Karate Kid(Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan) today. Great movie, watched with a great friend, forgot everything except that a wishful thinking was lingering in back of my mind. Why not?

I didn't expect crowd on a working day noon show, and that too for a Hollywood movie, but once there, and seeing the crowd, I realized that Jackie Chan is even more bigger star than SRK in Kerala. Hey, you should have heard the crowd when Jackie came in first shot, that too with his back turned to the shot. As usual, this first shot drew lots of laughs. And I could see the smile which made my own heart yearn. The cat calls and jeers for some scenes were vulgar, but hey, it is all in fun. Me and my friend commented on them being from our old college, we were remembering our days in college. It was funny to think exactly the same thing, on same topic, on two different days by two different people.

The movie started with a great visual of markings on wall, giving a flash back any number of frames and rolls of shot can give; could debate a lot on it with another of my friend on that issue, with respect to an older advertisement. The movie had lots of funny incidents which shows the multicultural American way.

Hey, China is really beautiful. I hope it is shot in 'somewhere in China' itself, and not in any studio. Its so wonderfully alive, and people are so much into living. And this movie is very pro China too. Beijing is said as the new Detroit in the movie, a subtle hint at Chinese growing presence in auto industry. It shows Beijing with lots of people living freely together, a lot of luxury is there around, and the determination and rituals in life is shown starkly. The level of rigor being put in practice sessions, making the Polgars a parody of the whole country. Jaden Smith is so good, and cute too. The kid shows real punk, and makings of a star in Bollywood rather than Hollywood(he sings, he dances and he fights;and it is not fifty's anymore in America). Taraji Henson(is she from Caribbean?) is not what I remember of her from a photo shoot(sic), but still very licious. Jackie Chan is wonderful as usual, but very subdued acting as per his standards.

The superb cinematography makes the whole movie even more beautiful. The hazy lights and vapors makes some of the scenes ethereal. The Forbidden City, Great wall of China, Chinese festival and theater are shown so beautifully that anyone who sees it will surely think at least for once to go there and see it.

The music. The soundtrack is arranged by James Horner(of Braveheart fame), and it is really good. The song by John Mayer is too good. It gave the move from Detroit to Beijing a very poignant touch. Hey, the song which the kid plays on piano before the Chinese girl comes is by Chopin, I don't remember the name. Man, these Chinese know how to take care of prodigies. And nowadays, no movie soundtrack is complete without an AC/DC song, which all started with School of Rock, and reached peak with Iron Man series, and now with the tournament in the movie getting its share of adrenalin with the ultimate AC/DC song 'Back in Black'. End credits started with song 'Never say Never', which I think is absolutely perfect to end the movie.

The entire movie is so predictable, but as with any feel good movie, this is best watched in company. If this was a review, I would have given a four and a half star, it losing out only on some small improvements needed in dialogues. This is best movie to come out this year which you can see on that day, when you are home after a bad episode in office/wherever, and see it(not alone, please) and you feel so much better.

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Volkswagen tries to woo India

Advertisements are sometimes very much evocative. The latest of the ads from Volkswagen does justice to the each of the models brought to India by the brand

Volkswagen Phaeton

German Engineering. Handcrafted Luxury.

The super luxury car from the stables of 'people's car' is a masterpiece of perfection, and what can you compare it with? Obviously, not just India but world acknowledges the beauty of Taj Mahal as symbol of eternal beauty and power, and of course to a large section of population, of love. The ad is very pleasingly photographed with Taj in the back ground colors of sunset, and an elderly couple told about the Taj by a tour guide(a perfect representation of half knowledge guides, both in English and History). He says that the Taj is hand crafted to perfection by many master craftsmen in the heydays of Mughal empire for the great Emperor. And then, the video shifts to the parts of Phaeton being assembled by hand, showing the beautiful car in its glorious black form, by Volkswagen engineers. And then they say, “Dear Emperor, You car is ready”

Volkswagen Beetle

German Engineering. Recreating Legends.

The car which transformed world with its idea about style, came from Germany and not Italy. The Beetle evolved and sustained its many avatars with aplomb against time and tradition. The latest ad shows just that. A beautiful girl,(I would have wished to see a better 'model', but they wouldn't risk their career with such an ad) enters a hotel and sits on a table where the waiter lays down a choice meal, and asks, 'Are you expecting anyone?” And she says negative as the camera takes the wide shot of the table which is laid with a meal for many. She goes on to a gluttonous spree. The tag line says, “The curves are back”

Volkswagen Polo

German Engineering. Made in India.

The car with which Volkswagen takes on mighty Maruti Suzuki in its own turf is the Polo. The small car is touted as the perfect car for Indian conditions, with Indian mentality taken into consideration – of mileage, service and spares; the three trump card of Maruti which always beats its opponents hands down. Couple of ads which illustrates its mileage and durability against Indian conditions matches the wit, but still this is the bleakest of all ads. This is supposed to take the middle class mind by storm, and sadly these ads lack the spark which is needed to fire that. The middle class doesn't identify themselves with the rural background and conveniently forgets those roots, and majority would never even know that there is rhinos in India, let alone a species called Indian Rhino. Sad to say, these ads are a big thumbs down.

“Engineered for India”

The Cold Blue, The Steel Grey and The Odd Brown

Cover of Once Upon a Time in the West

Once upon a time in west – A review

The western by Sergio Leone is considered to be a masterpiece in movie history. The movie tells the story of America, the land of dream for all the adventurers from the Isles, and those who made the land. It is a beautiful movie with every pieces blended to make it a great art work.

The story is set against the backdrop of railroads which was signaled the end of horses and the end of old west. Railroads brought in towns and law which was to transform America, making steel and industries. The cast of Henry Fonda, Leone's favorite actor in anti hero role against Charles Bronson as mysterious harmonica player who is seeking revenge, and Jason Robards as Cheyyene, an ethical bandit made the movie as good as it could ever been.

The movie tries to be true to the prospectors and people who came to try their luck in the new country. In the town of flagstone, you see Chinese laundry while Jill rides through the town. You see a good mix of people, Indians, Chinese, British, Irish(from their sideburns) and the prospectors. The Negroes are also shown in uniforms. The railroad is to connect civilized east and wild west. Many pieces condensed into a 160 minute movie.

The story shows woman in good light. The only woman in the movie, Jill played by Claudia Cardinale is a survivor. As a beautiful woman in the old west could hope to be no more than a lady if she is poor, but be a prostitute. As Cheyyene says Jill is quite like his mother who was the biggest whore in all of Almeida but the finest woman ever lived. Though in the end, both Bronson and Robards leaves Claudia Cardinale to build the town with the people.

The dialogues are the strongest part of this movie with very short, caustic and true words spoken by all actors. When Cheyyene meets Jill, he starts to put her down making her feel as if she is powerless in front of him. Jill replies, he can pull her on the table and ravish her, maybe even call all the guys outside, but in the end when they are gone a good hot bath is enough to take of all the grime. They have no more power on her than the dirt on the road, and a bad memory. The dialogues are short and very much rhetorical, without the bang.

The finest line of the movie is when Fonda comes back to seek Bronson. The dialogues goes like this:

F: Surprised to see me?

B: I knew you would come.

F: Well, this makes me different from Morton who wouldn't have cared if you were alive somewhere out there.

B: Guess you are not yet a businessman.

F: Only a man.

B: An ancient race.

The men of the west were not the ones who cared for money or the women. They lived and died by something which the land gave to them, each a different man. The land took them back to her womb in due time. They never lived for sake of glory. They were the last of the breed which roamed the vast lands of America. The Iroquois, The Mohican's, The Chippewas and the Irish, The Scots, The Angles. Ah, an ancient race.

The high light of the movie is the score by Ennio Morricone. The music when Fonda comes, the harmonica for Bronson are so in tune with the movie. Each move and eyes are scored by music which makes the scenes light up to the moments. The sound of the waves rise when the piano forte dies while Morton struggles to reach to the rivulet. The score is the best for any movie, even bettering Morricone's own The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The music emotes to the story and adds as the extra character in the story.

The scene at middle of movie when Bronson first sees mirage of a man walking towards him is perhaps the best cinematography in a western. It fills the suspense of who the person is. Fonda asks Bronson who he is and we wonder who that guy in mirage is. Until the end of the movie, viewers are withheld the identity. Each shot is extremely precise in camera. What is not said by words are said through lens.

Henry Fonda gave finest performance as Frank. Claudia Cardinale is beautiful, strong and shows some skin. Bronson has the steeliest eyes in the industry. A face which displays very fine set of emotions. My first movie of Jason Robards and he is good. On the whole a very fine movie.

Academy Awards 2010

Best Picture: Hurt Locker

A great movie on fictional life of EODs in Operation Victory in background of Iraq War. Excellent cinematography and sound mixing. Of course, if you are hearing breath from the suited up soldier, it is something right. Story based on a journalists account, and from which tabloid was he? A star is born in this movie, well he is a mix of D. Craig and T. Cruise right. The best thriller I have seen after Crimson tide.

Lost candidate: Avatar

An ordinary movie which is normally seen by kids in Nickelodeon and CN but suddenly watched by millions of adults on pretext of taking their kids or even checking if they can let their neighbours kid watch it. Another war movie, but this time in outer space(we have seen that too - even Samurai Jack has did that). So why harp. Because this movie shows greed, how science is usurped by it. How humans who have power is not always the right person to be in control. Why it is necessary to fight back, but only at great self loss.

Best Director: Katherine Bigelow for Hurt Locker

Lost: James Cameron for Avatar

After all, it is first ever decade for AA. They seem to redeem themselves to many greats of yesteryears. Avatar could have come in mind of a genius. The entire concept is mind blowing. Why did it lose? Maybe the AA guys were myopic in distinguishing a good picture from good director. Surely, that is harsh. She killed two great actors to make sure Jeremy Renner gets top billing. Surely who would have thought they will see someone so talented as Guy Pierce for less than 5 minutes? Or the ladies would have wished to have some more of Ralph Fiennes.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges

After seeing Arlington Road, I have always wondered why this guy was never in big league. Well, he still has got talent. He is one lucky guy to have Jessica Lange at start:)

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock

Well, haven't seen her acting so good till now.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Waltz

The best actor in supporting role. Wasn't Fuhrer furious!! He is class personified. The perfect Nazi. Superlative performance.

Best Script: Mark Boal for Hurt Locker

Should be given. He cut off unnecessary talk, really.

Best Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd for Hurt Locker

This is the highlight of the movie. The entire movie was shot exquisitely well.. The middle eastern sun was perfect. Wouldn't know if night life was as shown, but people were there. Each and every character was there in the movie, none being props.

QT: Deathproof

Cover via Amazon

Everyone raves about Reservoir Dogs, almost all has a superlative comment on Pulp Fiction and ultimately says Quentin Tarantino is THE director. QT, as he is better known, has other movies like Oscar nominated Inglorious Basterds or story board Kill Bill or Jackie Brown or Death Proof.

Death Proof has very few raving about. I seen this movie without knowing it is a QT movie and I was wondering all along who directed this noir-istic thriller in a Russ Meyer style. All along movie has a feel of the hippie 70's, the age of flower girls and butterflies.

The start of the movie drags along with some bunch of girls, all three in number, having their shit talk. Pretty boring. Can girls be sensible at any time? Bitches can talk only about sex and guys as fuckabilly rides. Girls are really whorish, not beautiful. Then comes Kurt Russell as Stunt man Mike in his great car, which he calls as death proof. He meets up with girls and starts to scare them. And what a use of Robert Frost. Couldn't imagine such a line in those setting. What ensues is a great close up shots of a lap dance set to some of the best tunes of the age. I guess, Rose McGowan might have thought this movie was a lot better than sleeping with Marylin Manson. She dies in the car, cos as Mike says, to get the benefit, she had to be in his seat. Then he starts for his other three girlfriends and slams them to death by his car.

Now the state is Texas, and the sheriff is a cowboy. He ain't looking for trouble nor he is interested in some shit accident. He knows what happened, but he doesn't give a damn as long as his town is safe. So Stunt man Mike is left in the hospital bed to be seen after 14 months.

This is where the story kicks off. This time, frame is in black and white. Another bunch of girls, three in total, again talking. Same scenes re-enacted by different actors but this time, the one of them is silent. No shitty talk from her. The whole tone of movie is different from first. You begin to wonder if she is different! And then they stop at a store, she is still lying down. Other girls goes and gets what she asked for. Enter Stunt man Mike and sees her feet. The voyeur inside him needs to see her and he does it in real creepy style. She wakes up, and Mike races his car away. She is not impressed, and tells her friend so. Then she goes and leans on the hood. The scene cuts off and B&W is off. You see a cherry red top and sexy Grey skirt, with long boots on the body of voluptuous Rosario Dawson, on top of a yellow Mustang(i guess). And her friend is in cheerleader dress, yellow again. And they discuss Italian Vogue. What the fuck? These are same kinda girls as you have seen before. Another death proof murder. Then another girl enters, making it four as before. Wait a minute.

As the other girl enters, the two(other than voluptuous and cheerleader) are stunt girls. They want to ride a Dodge Challenger. Well, this is different. They go and do some really wacky dialogues to get to the ride. The three girls are going to do some ships mast. You don't know what it is and when you see it, you say 'cool'. Stunt man Mike, the voyeur, spies them and comes to scare them. They are driven all over the country till somehow they manage to make a dent in his arm. He goes off saying it was fun to the girls. The girls are not impressed. They chase him down and kicks his butt, making him cry out. He was not a male, never a male, crying and making as if he is sorry for what he did. Then they take turns to kick him and knocks him off which brings 'The End' on screen.

The contrast from first half of the movie to the second half is glaring. It defies convention, defies in making you jumping into conclusion for the movie, and makes you look at colour, dialogue and music together to get the feel of movie. I believe this is the best movie by QT. If all the elements of a movie is made to fit together as a piece by Mozart, then truly it is a work of art. I have later learned that this movie is part of double feature Grindhouse. Other part is directed by Robert Rodriguez, a master director, for me.

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