Movie Reviews

Hamlet - When coupled with the literary brilliance of Shakespeare, Hamlet was nothing less than a spectacle of its kind. Mel Gibson comforted me with his incredible performance; in fact I would add the only performance which I put to his credit. For not having read Hamlet before, made the movie, a gripping watch till the end of it and not forgetting to add ‘To be or not to be’ continues to be the universal dilemma.

Babel – According to Genesis, the people of the earth decided to build the tower of Babel which would reach till heaven, ambitious and equally foolish, the attempt was left mid way, when God decided to make the people of earth speak different languages... Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel though ambitious is no way foolish or left mid way. Not only that, Babel is so far the only movie which took me to the verge of jumping into the movie to take control of what’s going on. Given a gun, I would not have hesitated to shoot Santiago right in his head for being so incredibly reckless and irresponsible. The Japanese girl moved me, her longing for love, just left me thinking how blessed lots of us are...When I saw the plight of the Mexican nanny, I just realized, that how to be framed for something you did not even think of doing, can really leave you both so helpless and miserable at the same time. Though one more to the list of parallel story telling, I would still highly recommend Babel.

Cinema Paradiso – The movie leaves you spellbound with the Totto and Alfredo’s love for cinema, how their lives revolve around it and however strange it might seem, Alfredo intuitions are always true. Totto is simply one of the most adorable characters you can’t stop falling in love over and over again. When he grows up, Jacques Perrin, perfectly captures the emotions of a passionate and love stirred man. Adorable watch, definitely would not rate it very high on my list of all time great movies.

History of Violence – This movie has the potential to ignite the ‘male’ in you. The plot grows on you slowly, and gradually, and suddenly you realize that what you have on hand is a ‘killing machine’. The subtle romance, ‘laid back’ setting of the countryside town, and then the intriguing plot - all together a nice weekend watch.

Trainspotting - Something close which helps you recover from the aftermath of the grand movie ‘Pulp Fiction’. Requiem for a Dream comes second for me after Pulp Fiction, followed by Trainspotting. Read the opening excerpt from the movie Trainspotting, to give you a feel...

“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television; choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of **cking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f*ck you are on Sunday night. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing ***king junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, ***ked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life...
But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?”

Constant Gardener - Ralph and Rachel made me believe how opposites attract so intensely and faith, in fact a sea of faith which is needed to see a relationship through. The social message, African misery, consumerism, political lobbying and diplomacy were just peripheral ecstasies Constant Gardener offered. What made the movie really a memorable one was how different two people have their ways of loving each other; and how important it is to understand the nuances of these expressions of love.

My Favorite Picks from the movie
Justin -“I do not have any home; Tessa was my home”;

Tessa -“I feel so safe with you”

Tessa - “In any capacity – wife, lover, mistress”
Justine – “You give me too many options to choose”