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vijay700
Reviews
Heaven (2002)
Heavenly
Set in a small town in Italy, we get to see a school teacher (played by Cate Blanchett) resorting to very unconventional way of taking revenge against a drug dealer. The plan goes horribly wrong and she ends up in police custody. The story takes an interesting turn here and the ensuing scenes are filmed with exquisite lighting and music. A lot of the dialogue(which actually is used sparingly) is in Italian (with subtitles of course) but that just adds to the mood and the ambiance.
Philippa (Cate Blanchett) and Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) play out their roles in an extremely intense and inspired piece of acting. After seeing this film I am sure of one thing Cate Blanchett is definitely 'the most underrated actor of our times'.
The story deals with evils of our times- drugs, corruption, deception while at the same time touches upon the emotions of revenge,remorse and romance. The cinematography is exquisite , especially the space cam technique used by the director(Tom Tyker- Run Lola Run ). The script's been written by the incomparable Krzystof Kieswlowski and Krzystof Piesiewicz. A beautifully shot film with a story which has elements of crime,suspense, and true love.
Please see it and relish each and every scene of the film. 8 on 10.
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
OK story, good film making , great kid , awesome music
a must see. story of a misunderstood kid who is living in a dream world . the daily mundane life that an average school going kid lives is not for him. he is dyslexic but could just be a dreamer unwilling to give in to the silly regimen of courses which passes off as education in most Indian schools.
his typical middle class parents cannot help but compare him with the elder child who is good at studies and sports.(surprisingly not the typical bully you would expect him to be). the mother is very patient and loving but just does not get it. the father is clueless- busy eking out their middle class existence pay checks.
the story is a regular story of the teacher stepping in to help the kid and also does go a long way in building awareness about dyslexia (highly needed in this puppy eat puppy world of childhood).
what stands out is the great cinematography, childlike special effects, the dazed kid, and the mind blowing music. i would recommend you listen to soundtrack a couple of times and then see the film. you will love the context. the song words are great and the compositions range from acoustic to operatic to heavy metal and rap. awesome music.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
more romantic than comedy
i got the DVD of this movie very recently hoping for a outrageous farce like 'death at a funeral' or ' the heartbreak kid' . sorry but do not think it should be talked about in same breath. the genre is a bit more of the rom com (romantic comedy )variety .
it is more a heartwarming movie in which the protagonist is looking for - and is in the process of getting- his true love. the fact that he is also a 40 year old virgin seems incidental. of course the team of horny/love lorn co workers get into the act of helping our man get some action.this results in some smarmy dialogue with verbal banter bonding the boys. its got a mild smattering of outrageous humour thrown in for measure. don't get me wrong it is not a bad movie but watch it if you are in the mood for a sentimental romantic comedy with a happy ending and bits of funny stuff .
as an aside - the interactions between the Asian and the African American character seemed a bit forced to me.
i guess it depends on what you are in the mood for. i repeat good if you like this kind of sugar and spice .
6 on 10 from me.
Death at a Funeral (2007)
'Something about Mary' meets '4 weddings and a funeral'
'something about Mary' meets '4 weddings and a funeral' madcap comedy keeps up the funny till the end. its got all the ingredients of a slapstick movie with its share of impossibly funny situations at the time of grief in the family. the fact that it has its absolutely loony and wacky moments does not take away from the fact that the dialog is laced with wit and sarcasm.
keep a special watch on the guy who plays the deceased's niece's accidentally high fiancée (played by Alan Tudyk). this man is going to go on to be one of the best funny guys in the biz.
all in all a very funny movie. i give it a 9 on 10.