Goodfellas Review

The characters in Goodfellas and The Godfather are poles apart. While the Mafia in The Godfather emanate nobility, honour and justice, the Mafia in Goodfellas are devoid of even a tinge of morality. Watching Goodfellas reminded me more of Se7en than anything else where the city was always dark and it was always raining. Here however, the characters themselves fill the void of darkness. They are the living scum on Earth.

There is a story in Skyfall about rats. So, if a lot of rats are locked in a cage, the eventually start eating each other till the point only two are left. However, these two rats now only eat rats. Scorsese elaborately creates a terrifying cage and inhibits them with his rats, the gangsters and eventually gets them in a spree of killing each other.

Scorsese as many of you may know is a staunch devout Catholic and many of his movies have examined the devil within us. He has often made a point to study how devil works his way through us and that is where Karen Hill comes in, the most important character in the movie I say. James Allen once said ‘Circumstances do not change a person. It only reveals him to himself‘. The focus he gives on her is a masterstroke and nothing less. In a movie where every one is a scum, there is dire need to know why they are the scum and Scorsese explains it through Karen, an innocent beautiful girl who gets turned on when a blood soaked loaded revolver is handed to her.

There is a scene between Henry (Ray Liotta) and Tommy (Joe Pesci) which elevates from laughter to pure horror. It terrified me. And that’s where I understood. This is what the wiseguys must feel like every second of their life. Always looking over their shoulders when they get out of their houses, talking in public phones because the private lines may be tapped, God ! Imagine living every second of your life in fear. I imagined at the end of Goodfellas, I would end up despising the wiseguys. But all I could do, was feel pity for them. They were just a scared lot of nobodys. I only felt sympathy for them.

RATING :- 9.4 / 10

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Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.

Dangal Review

Cinema is subjective. Various research has been done so as to analyze this strange phenomenon where a person hates a movie which thousands may love. Recently, I read that an impressing beginning creates a positive vibe about the movie in one-fourth of the audiences. In that case I am really happy for Dangal. No starting sequence has set the tone of what is about to follow as aptly as Dangal since, I even dare to say this, that horrifying Normandy sequence in Saving Private Ryan which encapsulated the entire feeling of dread which was to follow.

Dangal is about Mahavir Phogat who trains his daughters, Babita and Geeta, to become world class wrestlers, so as to win a gold medal for their nation.

Whenever Indian cinema is pitted against world cinema, I SHIVER. It is like Real Madrid playing with Barcelona (have fun figuring out which one I insulted). Well, here is another weapon to my arsenal. One of the few things that I have noticed through my acquaintance with Indian cinema, and I take immense pride in this, we make some pretty badass sports movies. Lagaan, Mary Kom, Iqbal, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and so many names. And this one again capture the essence of sports.

The focus is on the technicality. The matches are not of importance here, what matters is how a champion is molded and with a 160 minute run time, there is ample space for character development which is brilliantly utilized. I know I might have quashed any interest you may have had to watch this movie with the 160-minute run time bomb, but believe me, there won’t be a single moment where you will look down in your watch and go ‘Crap, Emma Watson was hosting SNL tonight. What the hell I am doing here ?’ And believe me, when I say it is Emma Watson-missable good, I mean business !

Aamir Khan is…… Every frame, that he is in, should be studied by those who aspire to become actors. This is how you act. Secret is, you don’t act, you become the character. Here is a character that has so many complex layers. You can interpret him as a Good Samaritan, a true patriot, or even a complete jerk and yet you wouldn’t be able to not admire him. This kind of performances are like those dreams we pray to have. That brief five second scene where he acknowledges the audience after his victory in the nationals itself brought me to tears. The rest of the cast is phenomenal. Fatima Sana Sheikh is at par with Khan in her performance. This paring emulates the same warmth Clint Eastwood- Hilary Swank duo did in Million Dollar Baby.

Sethu Sriram’s cinematography makes ample use of the effects used by John Seale in Mad Max : Fury Road with the characters’ marching giving an hallucinatory and in-the-moment kind of effect. And the best thing, no shaky cams ! It is a stupid style of cinematography (except when utilized by Paul Greengrass) which vandalizes the efforts of the action choreographer because the audience cannot get a freaking thing and it is sort of an insult to the actors themselves who have put in their all in perfecting the sport. His cinematography makes the very nervousness of the sport palpable on the screen. The background score is heart-wrenching.

If we talk about faults, the only one I could find was that the spotlight was to a major portion on Geeta Phogat which made me feel kinda missing out on the career of her equally illustrious sister Babita. Here exploits in this discipline are only focused upon in a very short period of time, as compared to the screen time her sister’s exploits enjoy.

However, that doesn’t take shine from this stupendous masterpiece in the sports genre which should be watched as soon as possible. My love for India enhanced quadruple times after watching Dangal. Not just because of the patriotic content, but because of the heights this film has reached Indian cinema to.

P.S. This film has been cited by some as example of patriarchy rather than woman empowerment which it is about because Mahavir made them wrestlers, by going against their initial negative stance on wrestling on this, I cite a quote from Breaking Bad, which although was said in a different context, summarized aptly my feeling about this issue ‘And a man, a man provides. And he does it even when he’s not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears up and he does it. Because he’s a man.’

RATING : 9.5 / 10

IF YOU HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE, WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT ? DO LET ME KNOW IN COMMENTS BELOW. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE TOO https://www.facebook.com/pages/Demanded-Critical-Reviews/1565666967024477?ref=hl YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME ON castlebang786@gmail.com OR favebook2011@rediffmail.com

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Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.

 

 

Hotel Rwanda Review

There is a scene where the Belgian soldiers arrive at Hotel Rwanda. They are there for evacuating the European refugees (NOT THE AFRICAN ONES). While the Europeans are boarding the bus, a group of orphans arrive. The scene is hauntingly adorned with rain and a song in a language not even marginally known to me. It is the closest, any movie has been in my eyes, got close to equaling the greatness of Schindler’s List. That is saying is the closest any movie has been to reaching the highest pinnacle of cinema itself.

Hotel Rwanda is as much about human cruelty as much as it is about morality. It follows Paul Rusesabagina, the assistant manager of a hotel in Rwanda. The year is 1997, the year of the political crisis where erupted in Rwanda between the majority Hutus and the minority Tutsis. During this crisis, Paul Rusesabgina, a Hutu, saved 1280 Tutsis by harboring them at his hotel.

One of the prime reasons people evade such movies is not because of its depressing content, but mostly because of its same structure. There is the man who is only concerned about his family at the inception, but transforms by seeing the horrors around him and in the end, ends up saving lives. Hotel Rwanda is no exception.

Yet, in my opinion, such movies are like horror movies. The plot line may be similar to others, but is the way in which director treats the material the makes the difference. The director here is Terry George, known for his screenplays concerned with The Troubles. And he excels.

The movie feels like a political movement of its own, and here at the top of the pack is Don Cheadle, playing Paul Rusesabagina. The highlight is the control. Cheadle, forget overplaying, never plays it. He is the assistant manager, and that he knows he is. He walks with grace through the hallways laced with refugees except for a scene where he breaks completely, and that too, all alone. Here is a performance that makes me sad to blink, for missing a moment of moment of it seems a crime.

As the movie progresses, there are various attempts of escape which fail again and again. I won’t enlighten you with the details, since it is taxing for me to write and boring for you to read. Let’s say, Hotel Rwanda becomes an oasis in the center of the desert.

Such films deserve to be made, and I have often emphasized on this. Even if it is a shabby effort, they need to be made. Because we cannot forget history. We cannot forget history in a time people still believe Holocaust was fake. I need to know. In the future, my children and in the distant future, my grandchildren, they all need to know. They need to know the humanity can find hope in the worst of time. That even in the darkest of times, in the end, it is only the goodness that eventually prevails.

Hotel Rwanda is a shout-out to the world. We are smeared on the faces with haunting probabilities : Couldn’t the United States help ? Couldn’t France help ? Couldn’t……….

All the world could have. What matters is none of us fucking did. Why ? Because we are COWARDS. There is a strategy Paul employs to get help. He calls the head office of his hotel, based in France, and instead of requesting for help, he says his final goodbye to them. It haunts them more than anything else and he gets. He says ‘ Shame them to help us’. That why this cinematic work is important. So the future generations will be shamed at the past and help their futures.

Rating :- 9.5 / 10

IF YOU HAVE WATCHED THIS MOVIE, WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT ? DO LET ME KNOW IN COMMENTS BELOW. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE TOO https://www.facebook.com/pages/Demanded-Critical-Reviews/1565666967024477?ref=hl YOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME ON castlebang786@gmail.com OR favebook2011@rediffmail.com

Photo Rights : Google Images, Wikipedia

Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hachi Review

Everyone called Hachi a mystery dog because they never really knew where he came from– Ronnie

Hachi is a move that floats. There are very few movies made like that. Which seem like they are floating. Terence Malick’s The Tree Of Life was one. Yes, there is a definite plot in these movies but it seems that they wander away at their convenience as well. While watching these movies, it seems as if the movie tries not only to explore the plot, but nature itself. The camera is a constant wanderer. I love these movies because they do not just appear to be a movie, they appear to be an experience. It lets you take in not only the plot and its characters, it lets you soak in the movie’s atmosphere, the surroundings, etc. The problem with The Tree of Life was that as a wanderer, it lost its way. Rather than coming back to the main plot, it kept on admiring the creation laid out before it. Hachi doesn’t lose its focus. It explores, but always comes back to the plot and progresses it when required.

Hachi is directed by Lasse Hallström and is about Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) who finds an abandoned Akira breed dog on a railway station and brings it home. Over a period of years, an unbreakable bond is formed between the dog, christened-Hachi and Parker.

There have been a lot of movies centered around people and dogs in the history of cinema, right from Old Yeller to Marley and Me. Hachi is the best entry into that category. Why ? Because in all those films, the dog has been exploited. Its cuteness, its antics have been used to sugarcoat the film’s flaws and make them into unavoidable viewings on a family movie night. Hachi has a balance. As much as it is about a dog, it is fully immersed in the lives of the other characters as well. The plot doesn’t ever remain stagnant. The lives of the characters are often witnessing humongous changes.

Now here’s a character which no other actor in this world can play expect Gere. His face radiates a warmth, without which this movie would have been a huge failure. The dog who plays Hachi is great. I have watched a lot of movies in which there have been beautiful acts by animals such as Dunston Checks In, but after watching those movies, I felt the animals were well-trained. But the dog who plays Hachi here is heartbreaking. There are genuine movements where you feel his joy, mirth and what not.

Cinematography is unbelievable here. This might be one of the most beautiful movies to have been ever made. The music, my god ! If ears had orgasms, it would be listening to these melodious and endearing compositions.

Hachi is a triumph. It is a narrative that changes shoes continuously. We see the same plot sometimes by Hachi’s mindset, sometimes by Parker’s and sometimes by Cate’s. The surroundings act as a character here. The camera work makes the whole world of Hachi so familiar to us that we ourselves feel a sense of confinement that Hachi feels when he changes his territory. The movie encompasses everything :- love, life, loyalty. It is  a soundly edited movie as well, which progresses the plot just when you are beginning to get bored.

Personally, I started shedding tears half an hours into this movie. It reminds of my brief acquaintances with dogs and the love that I received from them. The movie shows that humanity exists. Hachi has no real reason to wait for his master except for love, but eventually everyone makes sense out of it. I wish we could have been like animals, loving selflessly, without any prejudices or hatred in their minds. I watched this movie two times in two days and I cried both the times till a point where tears couldn’t flow from my eyes because even they have a limit.

The movie is a masterpiece without a doubt. I don’t know when a film has connected more immediately with my own personal experiences. If I ever try to make a list of my all time favorite movies, this would find a place in the top 5. I loved every still of it, every Milli-second of the run time. It is a beautiful symphony about love and loyalty. Movies like Hachi is the reason why I fell in love with movies in first place. Movies like Hachi make you fall in love with life once again. If I will ever have a child, I will show him this masterpiece as soon as possible. I hope he has the same emotional experience I had the first time I watched it. Every time I revisit this movie, it makes me want to hug myself and think  ‘God, I wish I was watching it for the first time’. I cannot think of any other movie in the history of cinema which is an enthralling and emotional experience like Hachi is. It is visual poetry set into motion.

Rating : 9.9 / 10

THANKS FOR READING. IF YOU HAVE LIKED/HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS / HAVE ANY  DOUBTS, PLEASE SHARE. I WILL RESPOND TO IT AS SOON AS I CAN. AND PLEASE SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE. YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE TOOhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Demanded-Critical-Reviews/1565666967024477?ref=hlYOU CAN ALSO E-MAIL ME ON castlebang786@gmail.com OR favebook2011@rediffmail.com

Photo Rights : Google Images, Wikipedia

Copyright : All written content on this site, unless otherwise noted, has been created by the website owner. As such, the content is the property of the website owner. This content is protected by Indian and international copyright laws. If you wish to reproduce, re-post, or display any of our content on your own site please only do so if you also provide a link back to the source page on this website and properly attribute authorship. Our preference is that you seek our permission before doing so. If you see anything on this website that has not been properly attributed to its originator please contact me. In response, I will attempt to correct the attribution of the offending material or remove and/or replace it. All material on this website is posted in accordance with the limitations set forward by the Information Technology Act, 2000. If a documented copyright owner so requests, their material will be removed from published display, although the author reserves the right to provide linkage to that material or to a source for that material. As a website devoted to discussing and reviewing movies and television I will at times, for illustrative purposes, present copyrighted material, the use of which might not always be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available  for purposes such as criticism, comment, and research. The website owner believes that this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material because the articles published on this website are distributed for entertainment purposes.