Kb's film cave

I finally did it! This is what I initially started the blog for. Now that I know I can blog, its time for thiraikadhai, vasanam and DIRECTION!!!!

Slight introduction: I love, I passion, I geek, I whatever else, movies. I consume voraciously, and there are but a few genres that I stay away from. As a general rule, I try to avoid romantic comedies. I don't really dig horror that much either, but that is quite a loose definition, for I cult some movies that people would place beyond conventional horror. Language is normally not a barrier. But there will probably be more English and Tamil movies than any other. There will be more love and respect here as compared to the cribs. Do let me know if you feel theres a movie that I have to see. I hope this grows on and on and on... and reaches a million movies. Now, that, my friend, would be an achievement I'll be proud of :)

So, welcome to KB's film cave, v.2010

edit (11/2011): this stopped with just that 2010 post, because I realized after I had posted that google doesn't allow this page to be included in my main page feeds... so everything goes on in the main page now, go there, that's where the action is!

Harakiri (Seppuku) - 1962

Dir: Masaki Kobayashi

Adjective: Perfect

Classy Japanese movie. Stunning visuals, attention to detail, music, and as with most J-movies I've seen, beautiful, deep plot development. One of those movies where I enjoy every minute of screen. Pure art.

There were plenty of kickass dialogs too, but couldn't find a script anywhere... someday I will pirate the movie and do the necessary updating :) you can watch for free now at http://www.theauteurs.com/stellaartois

too many movies... so little time!!

Divorce, Italian style - 1961

Dir: Pietro Germi

Adjective: Funny

funny! the lead actor was Awesome. and the women in the movie, aaah so pretty! for free watching right now at the above link too.

How to train your dragon - 2010

Dir: Dean deBlois, Chris Sanders

Adjective: Fantasy

utter timepass. smart-but-"i dont fit in" kid-makes-it-big-story. nice flying scenes like avatar. dragons look sweet. the final dragon looked more like a dinosaur hybrid i thought... nice effect, extra eyes...

During the end credits, theres some nice cartoons... must watch.

Ghost Writer - 2010

Dir: Roman Polanski

Adjective: Classy

went in expecting big... the guy checking tickets said the movie rocked. the theater had 4 people in it. all good signs. and it lived up to it. nice and dark throughout, some very beautiful scenes (the window overlooking the sea, god that was awesome!), lots of red herrings to keep you guessing, suspicious looking people everywhere.. good stuff. (btw, if you are thinking about gifts for me, think BMW X5 :) )

Brooklyn's Finest - 2009

Dir: Antoine Fuqua

Adj: OK

Made by the guy who made training day. Another cop story, about the lives of 3 different cops...nice story, pretty well made with nice twists, nice darkness... As for honesty or reflecting reality, I cannot say for sure. The one thing I couldn't reconcile with was the casting of Richard Gere... as an experienced, worn-out, hard-drinking policeman?? He looks like he is posing for one of his romantic comedies in most scenes. and the tailing he does near the end of the movie... thats not cool man, you don't follow someone's car by being right behind them all the time, and park right next to them... and worse still, he is not caught doing it! Jeez.

Tetro - 2009

Dir: Francis Ford Coppola

Adj: Coppola

I don't know about this one. I loved the parts where the plays/opera were used. I should get to see one, I still haven't watched a play. The ones within the movie were beautiful. I loved the way it was built up, right to the end. The past/present shifts were decent. Nice B/W. I liked more about it than I didn't. And it had Maribel Verdu... I should watch it again... sometime. Probable turnoffs were that I watched without subtitles and a large part of the movie is in Spanish...and the print was average, at most.

Corpse Bride - 2005; Alice in Wonderland - 2010

Dir: Tim Burton

Adj: quirky cool

I like Tim Burton's movies. They are visually glorious, quirky, surreal, weird and dark, they mostly have Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and there's the subtle dark wit.

Some history here. Batman Forever was one of the first English movies I ever saw, and to this day, it remains my most favorite Bat film ever. It is cheesy, but it has sentimental value. I shall forever remember that gorgeous red-haired actress, and two-face, and the riddler. It started my Bat-craze. I still think he is the best superhero made. That was made by Joel Schumacher, but was produced by this guy here. He's got an impressive list of darkness; Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd (that has been my best musical so far), Edward Scissorhands... plus there's Big Fish. I haven't seen the willy wonka movie yet, I should. and some of his older films too... and the world of stainboy...There was a review about Alice in Wonderland out at imdb that said "what goes into your ears or your heart ever quite matches what goes into your eyes," which I believe is very apt for many of his movies. lighthearted, carefree moviemaking, it seems like.

 

Coming back to the movie, its lovely animation, with sticks and bones and skulls. Quite like the dark wonderland of his... music is highly forgettable. i ff'ed through the songs - sad in a way cos i'm sure I would have missed some neat animation there. I really liked the queen in wonderland; a short and squat bonham carter, with red-spot-cheeks, upturned chin, and "off with his head!". very cool. Hatter wasn't that good. The only 3-D awesomeness was the flying 3-d cat. Otherwise, I think the movie would have been better on 2-D. The landscape, as ever, was stark, dry, out of a dream. It seemed more like Alice in the graveyard...

Sherlock Holmes-2009

Dir: Guy Ritchie

Adj: reinvented

Holmes is not a meditative quiet guy, according to Guy Ritchie. He's an arrogant, scruffy, violin playing genius with a drinking problem... and who can do that best? Robert Downey Jr, of course. And he is kickass. Nice action flick, dark throughout... really cool fights, good music, but nothing really edge of the seat to qualify as thriller... Great watching the first time, I don't know if I would want to watch it again... and nowhere close to being the movies of his past.

Hot Tub Time Machine-2010

Dir: Steve Pink

Adj: dialog heaven

I thought this would be a hangover remake when I went in, honestly; and I was blown. Raunchy, witty, dry, all sorts of humor. Super-fun movie thats definitely worth watching again! Theres droopy Nick, raunchy Lou, wry Adam, and nerdy, scared, but cool Jacob. Great time-pass. IF only I had the memory of an elephant and I could recite dialogs and one-liners!! For some reason, I don't like John Cusack though everyone sings about him... guess I haven't seen much of his movies yet. This one though, definite watch.

Date Night-2010

Dir: Shawn Levy

Adj: FUN!

I am running out of adjectives now... this one was another beautiful surprise. One of those 2-in-1 movies you watch here, this was the second following the clash of the titans, and I went in just cause it was at a convenient time, expecting a romantic comedy.. and I was blown, yet again. Brilliant dialogs, with laughs-a-minute storyline: the effin car scene just rocked! And God, Tina Fey is hot as hell. The pole dance, the robot, aaah awesome stuff! a shirtless Mark Wahlberg, his hottie girl, his even more hottie car, the 'menacing' cops, the really fast motor boats... Loved it! Definite watch-again, though I don't think it would be as funny the next time around. I want to catch the dialogs better though... and I can't believe that so many reviews are trashing this movie... what do they expect when they go in, deep philosophical thrillers?? jeez.

Learning: watch trailers closely. and more still, don't judge movies by the name... now, I don't know if that means I should watch the Jennifer Aniston-Gerard Butler movie... maybe i will, someday...

Shutter Island-2010

Dir: Martin Scorsese

Adj: Beautiful

I cant believe I forgot to write about this movie. After all, first day first show! And Scorsese does it again. Thoroughly. There was homage to Kubrick, to Hitchcock, and to darkness. A friend I was with noted the camera angles, the wide takes, and compared them to the Shining... I didn't get those at all... I was too deep into the movie to notice those. Scorsese blends horror so beautifully with thriller... he gets back to his Cape Fear days with the movie... and as ever, there's that awesome actor Caprio, with a great supporting role by Ben Kingsley... I can't stop raving about the Scorsese-Caprio combination; every time, its a winner. Caprio lends such intensity to each role he does, he's like a modern day Sivaji - he can take the role he is portraying so completely. I know there is a term for that, and I guess Al Pacino also falls into that category, but I forget it. Each character does a brilliant job, so many red herrings, everyone looks suspect, mysterious... edge of the seat thrillers, spine chilling quietness, picture perfect scenes... everything is menacing, even the island. And I should have seen the twist coming, but it took me, and shook me up. Scary stuff. "Lets do THAT again!" for sure! :) 

Kundun-1997

Dir: Martin Scorsese

Adj: Visual feast

I watched this soon after I saw Shutter Island, I felt I had to watch all of Scorsese's movies... and this is almost a documentary. The movie takes its time, developing the character of the Dalai Lama, in underlining his power and his fraility. He is a man, after all. The movie goes through his development from childhood to adulthood. It was a good movie, with great shots, good music, and captures the Tibetian lifestyle with all its simplicity. But the sheer slowness and length got to me; you need quite some patience, and I didn't have that when I was watching it...

Hurt Locker-2008

Dir: Kathryn Bigelow

Adj: Patriotic

Okay sort of movie... it would probably have been good if I had watched it in the theaters, but online, it didn't have much of an impact. I couldn't help comparing it with other war movies that I have loved, and in comparison, this one seemed melodramatic and cliched. It was good as in following the lives of a squad, as they went through one bomb defusal after another, one adventure to another... it definitely has action-thriller value. And, ti was for sure a very well-executed movie. I haven't seen another movie that quite does it this way, but still, it didn't quite reach me. It portrays one side of what happens in the warzone, and to me, that is not acceptable. I can accept this movie for entertainment value/portraying the hard lives of soldiers, but not as a serious war movie. To a cynical side of me, it just seems that the director wanted to cash in on the sentiments against war when the situation was ripe. But hey thats just me, and also know that I am quite chauvinistic when it comes to movies, for in general, I do prefer male directors to females... so :)

Clash of the Titans-2010

Dir: Louis Letterier

Adj: timepass

I like movies with gods, titans, super powers, magical items, enchanted swords, flying animals... you know the deal. I loved Age of Mythology (a game I used to spend hours playing just so I could build up armies with all the coolest beasts, and heroes with super cool powers, tyrannical gods etc...), and it was from the game that I knew most of the characters in the movie. It was nice action, but to me it wasn't enough monsters (just 3 big fights actually), not enough magical items (the bugger hero actually turns down magical stuff saying he wants to be human... pfffttth!), but it was good enough. Worth one watch definitely. and I want to play age of mythology again now... ah you could be either greek, or norse, or egyptian... some sweet stuff that.

Anjaadhe (Tamil)-2008

Dir: Mysskin

Adj: pattaiya kalappara thriller

Finally, a Tamil movie... and what a movie it was, after so long! This was a movie I was supposed to have watched in the theaters back home, but just didn't happen then. So, Mysskin got famous with his first movie, Chithiram Pesudhadi, something I haven't watched yet still, but opened to rave reviews and was a hit at the box office. This one has something close to a basic storyline; 2 friends, very close to each other, but by a twist of fate, get pitted against each other. But this man is not standard fare, no sir. He is an excellent artist, gripping you with every stroke and taking you along wondering what the next one is going to be. The hero is a man, just like any other, but prone to heroics. His friend is equally the strong person, but gives in to circumstances. The friends and sidekicks, the villains, the kind old woman, the police...you will find all these characters along the streets of Chennai. And as with many Tamil movies, it whips up emotions one after the other, and you are merely a puppet in the hands of a master filmmaker (Now, this is something I can write a whole post about). I saw many layers in this movie; how each person has a choice at every instant in his life, how giving in to circumstances can leave you to the vagaries of fate like paper in a thunderstorm, how morality becomes relative to survival... it is amazing how a simple story can convey so much depth into human character. The hero is a rough guy, but he still can't stomach death; he actually falls sick the first time he sees murder. Right up to the end, he cannot kill a person, not even when you expect him to do it out of sheer anger. The friend is a whole ball game to himself... the degeneration of a man with so much potential is one of the saddest things to watch... and the actors have all done justice to their roles... Narain, Amar, and especially, Prasanna... each scene he comes in, I actually felt my heart beating faster expecting something bad to happen...Some people noticed the attention to detail that he had; for instance, the scene with the old lady where she has a plastic cover tied up at her ankle to cover a wound... how he drives the bike, which appears slow to you when considering he has a life-death situation and the lady asks him to slow down more...

In short, pure brilliant stuff. This guy, you gotta watch out for, specially considering that he can make a box office hit out of it. Definite 5 stars.

The girl with the dragon tattoo (Swedish) - 2009
Dir: Niels Arden Oplev

God, what a character! She has every reason to be the victim, but she still stands by the fact that everyone has a choice in their actions, and if they did something, they are responsible for it. She's the best female hero I have seen recently, shooting right over Hit-Girl (kickass) and Matilda (leon). Noomi Rapace is AWESOME. She wears the pants in the movie with utter ease. The movie is AWESOME. Edgy, racy thriller, that whips up anger one moment, thuddy heart one moment, glee one moment, it's the kinda movie you whistle and clap for at the end!