Doubt (2008)

Intro : Experience







What happens when an extra-ordinary screenplay is coupled with some of the great actors of our time . Doubt happens…

The story revolves around a school that is caught in between ideologies of the conservative and strict principal and the liberal minded priest played by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman respectively. After the stage is set showcasing the conflicting ideologies of both these characters, comes the main plot of the story in which Father Flynn, played by Hoffman is accused of having a sexual relationship with the only black student of the class.



The movie revolves around this theme, where Meryl Streep is convinced that the Father is involved in the Sexual abuse, while Hoffman tries to defend himself of the accusation. The beauty of the screenplay is that it never gets proved whether which of the two parties is correct.
Whether Father Flynn was actually involved in the abuse of the child, or is it just the contradictory ideologies of Sister Aloysius that brings her into confrontation with Father Flynn further substantiating the doubts that she has on Father is left to the viewer to decide.. As the title the movie leaves the viewer with Doubts at the end.

The screenplay is so well written, that even though the movie is filled with lengthy conversations, not even for one second does the viewer feels bored. The performances are extra-ordinary, no wonder all the actors got an Oscar nomination. But unfortunately, none of them won the coveted award.

John Patrick Shanley stands out in the screenplay of Doubt … No wonder he was also nominated for the Oscar, but unfortunately did not win the prized award.

Very simple characterization, with not more than 5-6 major characters in the movie where each of them having a substantial role to play adds to the simplicity and charm of the movie. Amy Adams is another name worth mentioning playing the character caught in between the conflicting ideologies and acrimonious accusations between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius. Amsy Adams as Sister James essays the role with ease rubbing shoulders with the veteran actors. Also is Viola Davis, who also portrays her character with conviction earning herself an Oscar nomination on the way, for the short but neat portrayal.
Overall the movie proves once again that simplicity of characterization, a strong storyline, Class performances and a gripping screenplay together will make a great movie like "Doubt".

Review Summary
One Liner: This is a Classic without any Doubt.
What should I do: A Must Watch.
My Score : 8 / 10.

E.T. The Extraterrestrial

Intro : Maybe he's not that smart. Maybe he's like a worker bee who only knows how to push buttons or something.

They say it is a classic, an all time great and is also one among the Top 10 Sci-Fi movies ever made (AFI List). But having said all this, I never had a chance to watch ET; I would have been an infant when the movie hit the theatres. I wanted to watch this movie for a long time having heard so much about it.

The AVI of ET was not working with GoM, hence I downloaded VLC with Codec’s to watch this movie. And Finally I did manage to watch the movie 28 years from its original release date. But to my disappointment ET, the movie merely felt like a prequel to Koi Mil Gaya, with a squirmy little thing in the name of alien roaming around the house. Jadoo seems to be a better Alien when compared to ET after watching the movie.

Why should a Genius like Spielberg make the Aliens look so ghastly, ET will be able to win the Gold Medal for the ugliest thing to ever hit the screens, hands down. ET looked like a cross of the Vodafone Pug Doggy, a Chimpanzee and a frog. I cant imagine the mental character of the kids who would love such a thing even though it is an Alien. There should be a parental advice not to show this movie to the kids but that was missing in the movie.

The Movie doesn’t have any special storyline as such… An Alien comes from Mars or god knows where, makes buddy with kids and then leaves to its original place…

If we carefully see all the movies, made for kids, the Climax will always put all the characters back to their original places where they belong restoring order(Except for UP, which was a real classic movie). Following that logic even Drew Barrymore would have guessed that ET will anyway finally make it to Mars or for that matter even Pandora from where he could be from.

So the climax is guessable, now what about the narrative – ET comes – Learns English – Makes Friends – Drinks – Parties – Goes Sick – Dies – and is reborn again without any logic – Says goodbye and leaves…

So what’s the big deal then… Everey thing is back in its original position restoring order.

The Narrative clearly lacks strength and logic. I agree with the fact that we are watching something that created a whole genre of new age Sci-Fi movies, during its time of release. I too agree that Sci-Fi movies have a lesser shelf life when compared to the rest of the genres. But ET is clearly one such Sci-Fi movie which has passed its Expiry date.

Review Summary
One Liner: Who said ET is Sci-Fi, it is a kids fantasy movie.
What should I do: Watch it once at least for the hype.
My Score: 4 / 10.

Apocalypto

Intro : A Great Civilization. Conquered by Gibson.

To bring back a lost era in its originality is a tremendous task and that’s what Mel Gibson has taken on himself in the making of Apocalypto. The Mayan civilization, even though touted for its accomplishments is also well known for the Human sacrifices. The story depicts the struggle of a single tribesman, who has been selected for the sacrifice, to escape from the clutches of the Mayans.
Simplistic storyline, an artful narration, an eye to detail, realistic direction, flawless depiction, tremendous research coupled with a touch of mysticism are some of the plus points of Apocalypto. The story starts with the hunting of a Tapir by the Mesoamerican tribesmen which seems to be a very realistic hunting technique utilized by the meso-american tribes. Not only in the hunting sequence but right from the Mayan customs, tribal customs, the hunting technique of the Jaguar the movie seems to be a well researched one. Kudos to Mel Gibson for bringing out this Masterpiece!
The casting and makeup are awesome giving rise to a new genre of movie-making. Would love to see the making of Apocalypto as to how such wonders are being made into movies.
Review Summary
One Liner: A Work of Art
What should I do: A Must Watch
My Score: 8 / 10.

2012

2012

Intro : I have goosebumps, people.
No idea why 2012, was chosen as the year the world comes to an end. Some say Mayan’s said so, if you ask the Mayans they would definitely recommend you to watch this movie.

The movie starts in India with a scientist in Delhi making a path breaking discovery of the possible end of the world. And then the news spreads to all over the world and the rich start building a replica of the Noah’s ark. The other plot has our protagonist, and his family running to save their life, when the world is coming to an end.

The story is about whether the Jack Curtis, the protagonist, finally makes it to the Ark with his family. It does not require an Einstein to guess whether they finally make it.

It seems a very noble intention to run for one’s own life US when the world comes to an end. You can call it survival or fear of death. But every actor in the movie who runs to get a place in the ark have a very noble expression on their face as if they are running a charity and doing something good for humanity. Right from John Cusack to all the other actors, they portray either the expression of nobility or the expression which people have when watching Football or cricket and your team is winning.

The probability of the world coming to an end by 2012 seems more when compared to the probability of Jack Curtis and his Flintstone family fleeing all the way from the East coast of United States into China when the destruction happens in the background. Even if the infrastructure is perfect, it would take quiet some time to travel even one-fourth of this distance… one can only guess at this movie.
But the CG work is awesome…. With the destruction of the Eiffel Tower, Vatican and Christ the redeemer and of course the Grand Marino in Vegas almost made to look real. Great creativity in depicting the havoc and destruction… Especially the way in which Michelangelo’s genesis gets destroyed in the Vatican.
It would have been a good movie if at all there was no sub-plot which involved noble families, crazy scientists, cunning politicians and rich bad and powerful people.

Review Summary
One Liner: Greed always triumphs…
What should I do: Watch it once for the CG and forget this movie
My Score: 5 / 10.

Sabrina (1954)

Intro : Reaching for the Moon

There is a reason why they should be calling certain movies as classics. Even after more than half a century since the movie was made it is still a fresh movie to watch. Reviewing a classic is tougher when compared to a review of a newly made flick.

A Romantic comedy which sometimes tickles your laughing bone, keeps you in suspense for some time and makes you share the confusion of Audrey Hepburn for the rest of the movie and that will sum up the movie Sabrina for you.

The story is about a girl who has a dream and pursues her dream only to find out that she has been chasing the wrong dream. But it’s a different story that she end’s up choosing a nightmare by falling for Sir Humphrey Bogart, who could have easily played her papa in the movie.
The story is about Cinderella aka Sabrina, who is the chauffer’s daughter, falling for the heir of the largest estate and business family of long island. And after so many twists and turns and ensuing confusions she identifies the true love of her life, which of course is not the original guy who she was in love with.

Except for Mr. Bogart, who is a miscast for the character of Linus Larabee, every other actor has lent life to the movie. Audrey Hepburn, playing Sabrina has made justice for the role with her dreamy looks and love sick gestures. Whether be it William Holden playing David Larabee or John Williams playing Thomas Fairchild (Sabrina’s father) the characters will stay in the mind forever.

But Billy should have cast the lead character of Linus Larabee more carefully, when Humphrey Bogart tries to act as Love sick, it makes the viewer go sick. He looks much older in this particular flick.

One more thing which is noteworthy of Sabrina is the background score, which aptly depicts the situation. I am currently downloading the soundtrack of Sabrina.

A Classic, a must watch and an awesome movie and that is Sabrina.

Review Summary
One Liner: All is fair in Love and War
What should I do: A Must Watch classic, no harm in watching it again.
My Score: 7.5 / 10.

Avatar

Intro : Everything is backwards now, like the movie is the true world, and we are in a state of dream.
















The Review

There only exists a thin line between science and movies and sci-fi movies have time and again proved to be one step ahead of science in their imagination. Avatar, is a classic example where a movie has taken a long jump from conventional and conservative scientific wisdom and proves to be a farfetched dream of a “Man who thought he could Fly”.


Avatar, in Hindu Mythology means an incarnation of god, who comes down to earth to sustain justice when evils spurts its head. Had there been a mythology in Pandora, it will be Avatar where Jack Sully plays god in bringing justice onto Pandora. Now guess all the Pandorian’s will be reading out Avatar as the bedtime fairy tale for kids and it would have become an epic in Pandora.


But coming down to earth, I cannot stop but compare some of the earlier movies of Jimmy and what was the differentiating factor in them. The differentiating factor in Titanic was not the technology that was made use to bring back the unfortunate ship to life, but the focus on the love between Jack and Rose, even while a bigger event (The sinking of Titanic of course), was taking place in the background.


For a viewer this presented a unique way of storytelling which focused on a much smaller element while a bigger element was taking place in the background. A viewer would have concentrated more on what will happen to Jack and Rose rather than concentrating on what is gonna happen to Titanic.
Of course, the technology enhanced the story telling aspect…


Coming to Terminator, it brought science to a different forefront, again detailing possibilities within impossibilities and telling the story from the point of view of a kid and his robot. Terminator did not succeed because of technology used; it was a success, thanks to the concept of time travelling and circular references which was during that time unknown to the movie world. Jimmy succeeded in selling the concept enhanced by cutting edge technology.
But Avatar, which is a technological marvel in every aspect and an example of exemplified imagination at a pandorian level, fails to evoke that magic which was created in Terminator or Titanic. Technically a flawless movie and the amount of money that has gone in the making ends up being a simple tale of “good triumphing over evil” in the end and a “all that’s well end’s well” ending. Only difference is it is not earth but happens in Pandora…


And once again, Pandora is the brainchild of Cameroon and anything can happen over there that is beyond the physical, chemical, biological and pathological limits of mankind. On one side while I have to bow to the creativity that has gone into creating Pandora, the other side it seems to be farfetched even for a sci-fi fan. > Whether be it the Rhino look alikes coming to the rescue at the end or the animals that have to be connected through the ponytail, or Eywa as a biological marvel, or the way the avatars are created, or even the existence of Pandora or unobtainium, all these seems to be the wild end of imagination without any limits. >. It seems that there is no iota of reality in the movie but the entire movie looks like a dream where anything can happen without any limitations…


Even though it is a technological marvel, an outstanding movie of all times and the extraordinary amount of creativity gone into it, Cameroon fails to bring in a difference in storytelling with avatar.



Review Summary
One Liner: Techies delight. A dream extravaganza… a normal storyline
What should I do: Don’t miss this movie, a must watch.
My Score: 6.5 / 10.

Avatar creates history

Before starting to review Avatar, here is how the movie has created history, Excerpts from an article from Business Today.

Top Grossing Movies worldwide

1. Avatar - $1859 Million
2. Titanic - $1843 Million
3. The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King - $ 1119 M
4. Pirates of the Carribean - $ 1066 M
5. The Dark Knight - $ 1002 M
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone - $ 975 M
7. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's end - $ 961 M
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the phoenix - $ 938 M
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $ 934 M
10. The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers - $ 925 M

Top Grossing movies worldwide (After adjusting for Inflation) - The real picture

1. Gone with the wind (1939)
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. ET : Extra Terrestrial (1982)
5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
6. Titanic (1997)
7. Jaws (1975)
8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9. The Exorcist (1973)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)