R.I.P Michael Winner !

Michael Winner

 The renowned English filmmaker Michael Winner passed away at the age of 77 in London. He is one of my favourite Hollywood filmmakers of action/thriller genre and I grew up watching his movies.  The name Michael Winner may not be as familiar as say, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg or James Cameron. Yet if you go through the list of his movies, many movie-fans could recognise them - esp. if you are a Charles Bronson fan. His famous movies include The Mechanic(1972) Chatos Land (1972) Law Man (1971) The Stone Killer (1973) Scorpio(1973) The Sentinel(1977)Fire Power(1979) and of course, Death Wish- 1,2 & 3. As a hardcore Charles Bronson fan, I've watched most of these movies (esp. during the VHS-era of late 80s and early 90s) over a dozen times!  

Like most action/thriller movies of 1970s, Michael Winner's movies too depicted brutal and graphic violence. Keeping with rebellious spirit of that era, his movies had the existentialist/nihilistic hero - a sort of American Raskolnikov - out to finish off the baddies who had wronged him. Despite its dark and gloomy themes, Michael Winner could often create poetry out of his frames. The brilliant cinematography and music-score (often by Jerry Fielding) came as a bonus.

Winner was a prolific filmmaker who also dwelled into other genres like comedy and drama. But it was his action/thriller movies that achieved greater success. His action sequences were innovative, spectacular and even bizzare. For instance - the (in)famous final scene of Death Wish 3 - the villain (head of street punk gang) was advancing agressively towards Bronson and the only weapon Bronson could lay his hands was a rocket-launcher! The brutal annihilation of that cruel and loathsome villain was exactly the audience wanted to see so badly !

Like some other prominent filmmakers of his era, Michael Winner clearly understood the audience psychology well and often played with it. Even his non-action sequences  had a calm and soothing effect - as if to give viewers a respite from the big bad world of crime & punishment. Just as Fyodor Dostoevsky did with his novels, Michael Winner (and some other film-makers of the 70s) did not glorify violence, but portrayed its ugly side, where there are no permanent winners and losers. The graphic and brutal depiction of violence was used infact to promote the concept of an alternative world - an utopia where there is no crime, no violence and no exploitation.

3 Kung Fu Classics

Gordon Liu  in - The 36th  Chamber  of  Shaolin (1978) produced by Shaw Brothers

Blast from the past !  Boxer Rebellion(1975) Another  Shaw Brothers classic. Starring  Alexander Fu Sheng and  Chi Kuan Chun !

Macho man takes on  eunuch !  The hot Don Wang Tao stars - in the kungfu flick  Eunuch of the Western Palace (1979) 

Oscar 2012 - winners

Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi received the Best Foreign Language film Oscar for his family-drama Jodai-e-Nader az Simin (‘A Separation of Nader and Simin’).He also got nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category. photo:www.hindustantimes.com

Best Picture

War Horse
The Artist *WINNER
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist *WINNER
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist *WINNER
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady *WINNER
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris *WINNER
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants *WINNER
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners *WINNER
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help *WINNER

Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie *WINNER
"Real in Rio" from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Music (Original Score)
John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist *WINNER
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

Film Editing
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo *WINNER
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo *WINNER
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist *WINNER
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo *WINNER
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo *WINNER
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo *WINNER
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
War Horse

Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo *WINNER
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon

Best Animated Feature
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango *WINNER

Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated *WINNER

Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore *WINNER
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face *WINNER
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore *WINNER
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best Foreign Feature
Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation *WINNER

Courtesy : www.hollywoodreporter.com

Haiku on celluloid :

the films of Yasujiro Ozu

Friday Review interview with Donald Richie :
When did your interest in Japanese cinema begin ?

Ever since I went to Japan in 1947, I have been watching Japanese films. Even before I had met Kurosawa and Ozu in person, I was well-acquinted with Japanese cinema. I was then the film critic of the newspaper "Stars and Stripes". After the war, I joined "Japan Times". By then , I had fallen deeply in love with Japan. Moreover, I was not much interested in returning to Ohio, my homeland for several reasons.

In 1968, I returned to the U.S to join the New York Museum of Modern Art as film curator. Six years later, I flew back to Japan. I like the Japanese. They are orthodox as well as progressive.

I took only two months to write my book on Kurosawa. I stayed at the Hot Spring Resort at Kyosho in southern Japan to work on it. It took me much longer to finish my book on Ozu. I admired Kurosawa, but loved Ozu. It is difficult to write about someone or something you love. Your emotions stand in the way of your intellectual evaluation.

Ozu himself had believed that his subjects were too abstruce for the West to follow ....

True. Ozu had once said that. But on another occasion, he had told his cameraman that foreigners will one day rave about his style.

Why did the Japanese like Ozu ? Because they could see themselves in Ozu's films. Stylistically, he was unparalleled. I took Satyajit Ray for a screening of Ozu's "Tokyo Story" in Japan. I heard Ray sobbing as the reels rolled on.

Ozu has been a great influence on film makers in several countries. He has inspired some Kerala film makers. I am currently compiling a package, titled "Ozu's children", consisting of the works of such film makers as Jim Jarmusch and Hou Hsiao-Hsien, who had been profoundly influenced by Ozu.

A still from Yasujiro Ozu last movie An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

Had not Ozu, for whom oriental culture was as precious as his breath, been little incomprehensible for the westerner ?

So had been the belief. But I have proved that it is not so. My book shows how much I have understood Ozu. Infact, foreigners understand Ozu better than many young Japanese of today

do.

Compared with Ozu, Kurosawa was less popular in Japan....

Ozu was quintessentially Japanese, so people liked him. Kurosawa was also a genius.

I first met him in 1947. He was then shooting "Drunken Angel". Once I was with himon the sets. He was fiddling with a faulty pen. Yet, he would not give that upand use a new one.

Toshiro Mifune (actor in most of Kurosawa films), who was with us, called me aside and said, " I am that pen. See how carefully and painstakingly he works on it."

What is your assessment of contemporary Japanese cinema ? (as in 1998)

There are a few good serious film makers, who include Mitsuo Yanagimachi("Fire Festival") , Hirokazu Kore-Eda ("AfterLife") and Makoto Shinozaki ("Okaeri"). But they are quite a small group. People seem to prefer Hollywood movies to native ones.

But during the time of Ozu or Mizoguchi, there was an audience for serious cinema....

Ozu and Mizoguchi belong to the pre-TV era. Cinema was then the sole means of entertainment. They lapped up the movies and thus production companies ran profitably. As the money was coming, the companies gave an Ozu or Mizoguchi a carte blanche.

courtesy : Friday Review - The Hindu Daily 1998.

Satyajit Ray & Akira Kurosawa

Two great film makers of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray meets at a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo - Extracts from the book Our Films Their Films by Satyajit Ray.

Like Ray, Kurosawa was also an accomplished artist who designed his own posters & story-boards.

As it turned out, the venue for the meeting was a Chinese restaurant in a quiet back-street of Tokyo.

'A favourite of Kurosawa's' said Mrs Kawakita, my hostess and a close friend of the director. Atleast one could face the gastronomic hazards with more confidence here.

Kurosawa turned out to be that rarity - a tall Japanese. He also had a stoop, with an appropriate humility to go with it, kindly eyes which a ready smile thinned into more slits, and a hushed and gentle tone of voice - all of which was in unexpected contrast to the ferocious image derived from his samurai films. But then, it's not unusual to find schizophrenics among people of theatrical profession, and I knew Kurosawa had samurai blood in him. I had visions of his unbridled other self, pitching into that scene of combat with all the controlled fury of a samurai himself.

I started by talking of Seven Samurai, which turned out to be both his and my favourite amongst his films. 'It needs long and hard training to be a film samurai' he said. 'There was so much about the samurai that was stylised - his ride, his run, the way he wielded the sword. A samurai would never be hunched over his saddle when charging. He would stand straight up with feet firmly on the stirrups and knees pressed tight against the flanks of the horse. His body would not be perpendicular, but leaning forward at an angle to prevent being thrown backwards by the force of the charge.'

Kurosawa rose from his chair to demonstrate the stance of the charging samurai.

'And about the sword - it wouldn't cut at all if you only hacked with it. You would have to combine' (more demonstration here) 'a backing motion with a slicing motion. And when the samurai runs, his head shouldn't bob up and down with his footsteps. The effect should be like a swift floating. In other words, the head shouldn't trace a wavy curve, but a straight line'.

Rai and Samurai...Chips of the same block, Satyajit Ray & Akira Kurosawa during the later's visit to Delhi in the 70s.

A stickler for historical accuracy, Kurosawa in his period films, makes his actors put on period costumes obtained from museums.

'But you know where the snag is' he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 'The Japanese as a whole have grown smaller over the last five or six hundred years. It is difficult to find actors large enough for these costumes to fit'.

I asked if he had any more samurai films in mind.

'None' he said. 'And I doubt if I could ever make another one'.

'Why not ? '

'Because there's such a dearth of horses now. You see, most of the horses used in films came from farms. But now farm-work has been machinised, and horses are bred only for racing'.

I heard that Kurosawa had been signed up by the American producer Joe Levine to direct a film in the USA. The news intrigued me, because this would be the first instance of an Asian director with only a rudimentary knowledge of English making an English-language film in the States.

'I had a story in mind' said Kurosawa. 'I had saved up a clipping from an American newspaper which described how a goods train went tearing through Chicago at eighty miles an hour with three men on board but no one at the control. For some unaccountable reason, the driver had jumped off and killed himself. The train as well as the passengers were ultimately saved, and the film will show how'.

But there were snags. Kurosawa had stipulated that he would work with his own Japanese crew consisting of some twenty technicians. Producer Levine's drastic rerms permitted only one non-English speaking assistant. The fact that Kurosawa had to concede could be indicative of either his great urge to film the story at any cost, or of the alarming situation of the serious film maker in Japan. What is true of Kurosawa is also true of Ichikawa, Kobayashi and Shindo.

However, a truly gifted film maker - as has often been proved in the history of the cinema - can rise above his circumstances; so that one can look forward to the The Runaway Train - if it ever gets made - with all the pleasurable anticipation of an authentic Japanese Kurosawa. Let us hope that a charging train will prove just as inspiring as a charging samurai.

chapter: Tokyo, Kyoto and Kurosawa - 1967

book : Our Films Their Films [a compilation of Ray's articles & essays on cinema] authour : Satyajit Ray

The Oscars

BEST PICTURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter

BEST EDITING
127 Hours, Jon Harris
Black Swan, Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter, Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech, Tariq Anwar
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

127 Hours, A.R. Rahman
How to Train Your Dragon, John Powell
Inception, Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech, Alexandre Desplat
The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

BEST SONG
“Coming Home,” Country Strong, Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light,” Tangled, Alan Menken, Glenn Slater
“If I Rise,” 127 Hours, A.R. Rahman, Dido, Rollo Armstrong
“We Belong Together,” Toy Story 3, Randy Newman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The King’s Speech, Screenplay by David Seidler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
BEST ART DIRECTION
Alice in Wonderland, Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood

BEST MAKEUP
The Wolfman, Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

BEST SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King
BEST SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick
BEST ANIMATED FILM

Toy Story 3

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Inception, Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
God of Love, Luke Matheny
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In a Better World (Denmark)

Bollywood : ripe for a revolution ?

In his recent trip to India, the Russian President Dimitri Medvedev took time-off to meet the bigwigs in Bollywood and called for a closer co-operation between Russia and Bollywood. Sharing the podium with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, President Medvedev even expressed his admiration for Bollywood song and dances. Last November, U.S President Barack Obama too came to Mumbai which has resulted in more joint-ventures between Hollywood and Bollywood.

While the local-media went ga-ga over this wooing of Bollywood by world leaders, the average movie-goer appears to be less enthusiastic. They are wondering how these joint-ventures could bring any visible change in the quality of Bollywood pot-boilers. They are already sick and tired of the 'escapist-entertainment' churned out by Bollywood. For a record, all the much hyped big-banner movies of the previous year - despite their agressive publicity campaign - have flopped. On the other hand, small-budget indie-movies, which deals with real life issues - targeting the middle-class/multiplex crowd - have done brisk business.

In any case , it's a wise move by President Medvedev to court superstar Shahrukh Khan - Bollywood's most talented and popular actors. He is an original actor with a solid theatre-background ( like most Hollywood actors) which enabled him to develop his own style, technique and confidence. Shahrukh Khan is also one of the few actors of Bollywood who is not part of any star-dynasty. But he also made his debut long ago (in the early 90s) much before the star-dynasties began to monopolise the film-industry. In the past decade (2000s), many original and talented actors like Shahrukh Khan have made their debut and where are they now ? Despite winning popular and critical acclaim, these newcomers have vanished (or banished ?) without a trace. In contrast, the good-for-nothing star-kids - in spite of their repeated failure and incompetence - are still clinging to their inherited 'stardom'. As a critique has put it, Bollywood have long ceased to be a film-making industry - infact it's now a 'star-producing' industry !

Once upon a time in Russia (and also in China and other parts of the world), Bollywood movies - or Hindi movies as it is then known - were very popular, thanks to the pioneering efforts of stalwarts like Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Mehboob Khan, V.Shantaram, Kamal Amrohi, Bimal Roy etc. Their classics besides entertaining, also dealt with the issues concerning the masses. The current Bollywood , living in their 'castles' have not only lost touch with the common man, they now started looking down upon them. Most Bollywood movies now are either poor parody of earlier classics or a scene-to-scene, shot-to-shot copy of major Hollywood movies.

The present decadent state of Bollywood - with its 'Kings','queens' and 'king-makers'- resembles the Tsarist Russia of 19th century. It's indeed a shame that the largest film-industry in the largest democracy still functions like a bunch of medieval artisants - closely guarding their trade .The scribes of local-media (esp. the beneficiaries of a corrupted system) may claim the contrary, with phrases like - 'this is the most exciting times in the history of our film-industry'. But the average movie-goer cannot be kept under dark for long.

Unless merit and creativity is not given its due recognition, all the boasting and bragging about 'Bollywood becoming the next Hollywood' will always remain a day-dream.

DVD : Wuxia Special

Don Wang Tao

The Yellow Faced Tiger !

movie review : Karate Kid - 2010

by DJ Synth-bach

Martial arts movies, along with American-western are my favourite genres. I have hardly missed the best and worst of them. I grew up on a staple diet of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies and nowadays I'm a fan of Jet Li. Watching martial-art movies brings me the memories of my hyper-active teenage years.

One of my favourite martial-arts movie is No Retreat No Surrender(1986). To make this movie, it's director, the reknowned Corey Yuen took inspiration from an earlier movie called Karate Kid (1984). Corey thought Karate Kid too slowpaced and made a fast and funky version which became a cult-classic. In the 2010 version of Karate Kid, I expected similar pace and sleekness typical of all martial-arts movies. But it was rather missing.

Kidstuff
Karate Kid-2010 turned out to be yet another movie with all hype and no substance. After all, is this a movie ? It could have well been a documentary or a 30-minute TV-episode, or even shorter - a music video. ( Infact, internet-search reveals that the director is an accomplished music-video/short film-maker.) I must warn the hardcore martial-arts movie fans not to be befooled by the trailers and patronising reviews. At best this movie could be watched in the comfort of your living room, and not at the theatres.

Jackie Chan the actor
The only highlight of the movie, apart from a crash-course on Chinese culture, is Jackie Chan's acting skills. He proves that he can act even in a non-martial arts movie. But at times he looks jaded and disinterested. Jackie Chan fans will miss the unbridled energy characteristic of his movies. Being a filmmaker himself, Chan must have caught in two minds about the outcome of this movie. His worries were not misplaced.

Lacking punch
The boyish-hero of the original Karate Kid was a typical 80's kid (like me) who exuded innocence despite his vulnerability. The 'hero' of 2010-version is spoilt-brat with a chip on his shoulder. The audience would n't have minded if he got beaten up - no matter in China, U.S or Africa. Infact, I thought the performance of boy who acted as bully more convincing.

Misfired launch ?
Despite a high profile launch, debutant Will Smith's son (what's his name ?) fails to impress. He obviously lack the natural acting ability of his father. Atleast he can take solace that many martial-arts stars are poor actors. And being a star-kid, he will not be lacking in oppurtunities even if he continues to be mediocre. Let's hope Hollywood will not take cue from Bollywood and set up star-dynasties, and there by blocking the entry of real talents.

SOCCER MANIA !

DVD : Shaolin Soccer

movie : Shaolin Soccer(2001)
Directed by : Stephen Chow
Written by :Stephen Chow Tsang Kan-Cheung
Starring : Stephen Chow Zhao Wei Danny Chan Kwok Kwan

Cannes - winners

Palme d’Or:
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)
Grand Prix (runner-up):
Des Hommes Et Des Dieux (Of God and Men), directed by Xavier Beauvois
Prix de la Mise en Scene (best director):
Mathieu Amalric for “Tournée” (On Tour)
Prix du Scenario (best screenplay):
Poetry by Lee Chang-dong
Camera d’Or (best first feature):
Año Bisiesto directed by Michael Rowe
Prix du Jury (jury prize):
A Screaming Man directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Prix d’interpretation feminine (best actress):
Juliette Binoche for “Certified Copy” (directed by Abbas Kiarostami)
Prix d’interpretation masculine (best actor – a Tie):
Javier Bardem for “Biutiful” (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu)
and
Elio Germano for “La Nostra Vita” (directed by Daniele Luchetti)
Palme d’Or (short film):
Chienne d’Histoire directed by Serge Avedikian

Special Award for ‘faux pas ‘ on the red-carpet : Bollywood stars ( as usual ! )

movie review : AVATAR

AVATAR ...I see you
by DJ Synth-bach

Finally after a long wait , I saw the super-blockbuster movie 'Avatar'. Eversince its release early this year I 've been trying to watch this movie but did n't succeed. At the time of its release I was in a location where they didn't have the 3-D system. When I got back to the city , my busy schedule deprived me from finding a spare time to watch the movie. Finally when I managed to get a break, the show was confined to the mornings. Thus last month (April) I went to watch 'Avatar' but the film changed and I saw instead 'Clash of the Titans'. By then I was trying to convince myself that I may never see 'Avatar' at the theatres. But the following week 'Avatar' is back again for its post-Oscar release !

James Cameron fetes the audience with a wonderfull new experience and the surprise factor starts even before entering the movie-hall. At the ticket-counter, you gets a 3-D specs along with the ticket. But it's worth all the trouble & gadgets . The film turned out to be a brilliant spectacle. I had the initial apprehension that the movie may not match its hype and publicity. On the contrary its brilliance exceeds than what has been expected. The first-half may be a bit dragging but gets a steady momentum in the second-half. The action-sequences are brilliant and special-effects are breath-taking. The story-line may have some resemblance with The Last of the Mohicans(1992) but the similarity ends there. James Cameron is a seasoned customer and 'Avatar' can be aptly called his magnum-opus. Sam Worthington gives a credible performance as opposed to his 'Clash of the Titans' -the film I saw a week earlier- in which he gave a lack-luster performance.

Unlike the standard Hollywood sci-fi theme where 'aliens' are always agressors and humans the poor victims, 'Avatar' breaks this stereotype. The movie has the message of truimph of love & comraderie over hate & war. It stands by the under-dog and supports a lesser culture against the dominence of another culture. It effectively contrasts the beautifull things in nature against the onslaught and brutality of technology. Though 'Avatar' is made with the aid of latest technology, the movie highlights the danger of misuse of technology - for the purpose of greed , wealth and power. Infact by making 'Avatar' , James Cameron demonstrates that instead of misusing technology for war & agression, it should be used for peacefull purposes such as making a movie.

movie review : Clash of the Titans (2010)

by DJ Synth-bach

This is the latest movie which falls under the category '3-D digital projection'. It is a remake version of the 1981 super-hit movie based on Greek mythology. The 2010 version is a reminder that great technologies alone cannot make a great film. Not everyone can be a James Cameron.

This is the kind of movie where the producer might have said to the director : 'I will provide you all the latest technologies. Go and make a mega hit !' A desperation to make it 'big' is well evident though 'Clash of the Titans' mostly fails in its enterprise. And if you strip the film out of all its technologichal gloss, it may look like a B-grade sword & sorcery flick. Even the occasional presence of Liam Neeson could n't come to its rescue. The younger member of the audience may enjoy the battle-sequences esp. various monsterous creatures that appear in the movie from time to time. But for a seasoned movie-goer there is little new to offer. Rather than seen a movie, I felt like I have walked into a book-shop and gone through the pages of a comic-book on Greek mythology.
Anyway I am greatly excited and optimistic about the new technology 3-D digital which transforms the movie watching experience. I greatly look forward to release of the Tim Burton's latest movie Alice in Wonderland. I have always been great fan of Lewis Carroll and also Tim Burton. I have also enjoyed the animated series on TV. I am sure Tim Burton and 3-D will make a good combination.

The Oscars 2010

BEST PICTURE
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
Up
BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Quentino Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy, Up
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche, In The Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ajami, Israel
El Secretro de sus Ojo, Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow, Peru
Un Prophete, France
The White Ribbon, Germany
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Princess and the Frog
The Secrets of Kells
Up
ART DIRECTION
Avatar Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
Nine Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon Christian Berger
COSTUME DESIGN
Bright Star Janet Patterson
Coco before Chanel Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Monique Prudhomme
Nine Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria Sandy Powell
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Burma VJ Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
The Cove Nominees to be determined
Food, Inc. Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home Rebecca Cammisa
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Music by Prudence Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Rabbit à la Berlin Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra
FILM EDITING
Avatar Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire Joe Klotz
MAKEUP
Il Divo Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore
ORIGINAL SCORE
Avatar James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes Hans Zimmer
Up Michael Giacchino
ORIGINAL SONG
Almost There from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
Take It All from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
ANIMATED SHORT
French Roast Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama Nicolas Schmerkin
A Matter of Loaf and Death Nick Park
LIVE ACTION SHORT
The Door Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
Kavi Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
The New Tenants Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
SOUND EDITING
Avatar Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds Wylie Stateman
Star Trek Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up Michael Silvers and Tom Myers
SOUND MIXING
Avatar Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson
VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

DVD : The Magnificient Seven

The Evergreen movie Classic

Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson .... Deadly Combination .

Directed by John Sturges
Produced by J ohn Sturges
Written by William RobertsWalter Newman

(uncredited)Walter Bernstein (uncredited)
Starring Yul Brynner Eli Wallach Steve McQueen Charles Bronson

Robert VaughnJames CoburnHorst BuchholzBrad Dexter
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography Charles Lang
Editing by Ferris Webster
Distributed by United Artists

movie review : 2012

My teenaged cousin recommended this movie, so I went to watch it though I have an aversion for such movies. The previous disaster-movie I watched in theatres is Armageddon way back in the 90's. Then I almost fell asleep , bored of watching the destruction & mayhem. This time I managed to ward-off falling asleep. Infact the movie 2012 is throw back to 90's style of film-making. But one often gets the feeling that this style has run its course and is fast getting out-dated.

Undoubtedly 2012 is treat for special-effect fans. The whole experience is similar to that of playing a video-game , or taking a joy-ride in a theme-park. There is a feeling of instant-high which will fade sooner or later. And apart from the special-effects there is nothing else worth noting. None of the charactors stuck in the mind. The screen-play ( if such a thing exists) is shoddy. The dialogues are cliched and artificial. The back-ground score is predictable. The story-line has an uncanny resemblance of H.G Wells' short-story The Star (which deals with a star that is heading towards earth , causing many natural disasters in our planet) though Wells does not specify any particular date for the event. Like a typical Hollywood blockbuster, 2012 also has Us vs Them theme - only difference being Them is not an alien but nature's fury.

Many similar movies have released particlarly in last decade are from the same director but 2012 shows his prowess are on decline. Neveretheless the director succeeds in highlightinging the impact of world-end on different individuals according to their attitude towards life which he potrays satirically. For example, in one such scene where the fast impending disaster being watched by a pessimistic, lonely radio-jockey and the ever-optimistic hero . The first man smiles and even laughs at the dreadfull sight of nature's fury while the hero - a family man with a wife and 2 kids - wore a dump-founded expression , a la Kate Winslett of Titanic.


So if you are a die-hard special-effects fan , then go for it. Or if your idea for a perfect movie-outing is a small,quiet Woody Allen kind of movie , then ignore '2012'.

movie review: Pazhassi Raja (2009)

I have been hearing good reviews about the latest movie Pazhassi Raja. So I went to watch this brilliant movie last week-end. It's not often that I go to the theatres to watch a movie, especially in a place where Bollywood is dominent. As a rule, a typical Bollywood movie always fail to live up to the expectations & hype and most of them are a copy of major Hollywood movies. They cater to the needs of mostly an ignorant and illiterete masses. In such a scenario, Pazhassi Raja - a regional Malayalam language movie comes as a whiff of fresh air.

The film tells the real-life story of Pazhassi Raja , the 18-th century king of Kerala who waged a guerilla-war against the colonialists with the help of tribals. The story-line of Pazhassi Raja has all the ingredients of a historical-flick, with its warrior-heroes, cold-blooded villains and treacherous-traitors. What makes the movie stands-out is its sheer international quality . 'Pazhassi Raja' is a double-treat for movie-goers : apart from being a good historical movie, it is also a brilliant action-movie. The action sequences are of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon tradition but never even once the movie resort to Bollywood style copying. Infact 'Pazhassi Raja' can boost on its own a few innovative fight-sequences. The director(Hariharan) himself is no stranger to making movies based Kerala's martial-arts Kalarippayattu and its legends. The story-line of Pazhassi Raja is more akin to another international movie with oriental-theme The
Last Samurai (2003) - esp. clash between two distinct cultures and mode of warfare - ie. sword/bow & arrow versus guns & cannons.

One such spectacular action-scene : the colonialists entraps Pazhassi Raja at his home and arrests him; the king gallantly gave himself up offering no resistance; but before being taken away the Raja asks his wife to get some water ; wife brings the cup on a brass-plate ; on the pretext of drinking water, Pazhassi Raja instead unleashes from the brass-plate an urumi

(a long, flexible sword) and as his captors watch in wonderment the brass-plate and cup that has shot up in the air (in slow-motion) , the 'urumi' falls on them like thunderbolt, creating all round destruction and mayhem.

Full credit to the action-director and the special-effects team. Infact the movie displays an array of talented and experienced film-personalities who have long proved their mettle in their respective fields. The sound-editing is done by none other than the Oscar-winner (Slumdog-Millionaire) Resul Pookutty. The back-ground score is by the Beethoven of India - Ilayaraja. The doyen of Malayalam literature M.T Vasudevan Nair has written a well-knit screen-play. The art-direction too is equally of world-class.

Among the actors, the Mega-star of Kerala - Mammooty is perfect in his potrayal as the warrior-king. Mammooty has this knack of getting under the skin of his charecters effortlessly - Pazhassi Raja is no exception. I expect no less than a National Award for his performance. The Tamil super-star Sarath Kumar excells as a second-hero with his great physique and action-skills. The cast & crew also include many foreign artists and technicians as well .
The review would not be complete with paying homage to the director HariHaran. For a film-maker who has been in the industry for 30-years, who has made movies in every genre - art-house,comedy, musicals, historicals - his command over the meduim is unparellel. 'Pazhassi Raja' turned out to be his magnum-opus.

More over Pazhassi Raja is a triump for the regional-language films in India which has long been in the shadows of Bollywood. At a time when the big bad Bollywood is rotting under a feudalistic, clan based system which has marked the end of creativity, the movie Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (the full-title of the movie) shows what can be achieved if the best of creative minds come together.