AVATAR (2009)

Country: USA | UK
Language: English
Director: James Cameron

It cannot be denied that James Cameron is master of Science Fiction. And that he is way ahead of his time. He proved it in 1984 with The Terminator and he has proved it again with Avatar.

The film is one of the most brilliant in years and has elements from classics like Dances with Wolves, Instinct and The Matrix. The cinematography and the animation are such that beautiful is a very poor word to define it.

The concept is very entertaining and at the same time it gives a lot of messages to the human race.

It emphasizes the destructive nature of the human beings and their lack of farsightedness. The evil inherent in their very being which, indeed, is a grim reality. It also shows through symbolism that a few good that are there are partially paralyzed.

Avatar also makes an effort to make us see how disconnected we have become with nature and how the only thing that we are after is our comfort, more comfort and some more comfort. We prefer to drive a car instead of taking a walk and later desperately try to burn out the calories we have saved in the gym. The film points out the very ridiculous thought structure of humans.

The film also shows how most of us just prefer to do what others are doing, without being able to meditate on our own actions and their consequences. The people who cannot even think right have the right to decide what is right and what is not right.

The actors are fitting but they are not special in any way. Their performances are okay. It is ironic that Sam Worthington defended the human race against machines in Terminator: Salvation and here he defends others from human race.

The satellite Pandora is a kind of “amplified” earth with every thing akin but with an ethereal touch. The design is impeccable.

Great work Cameron! You live up to yourself.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (2002)

Country: UK | USA | Ireland

Language: English

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Directed by Kevin Reynolds, this film has been accused of deviating from the book extensively. However, it was the film I saw before seeing any other based on the book or even before reading the book; and, surprisingly, all other films(though I can’t say the same for the book) have failed to impress me after having watched this version.

The film begins with Edmond Dantes, played by James Caviezel, meeting the exiled Napoleon and captivates your attention right from the beginning, right to the end. An intense drama follows with one of the most impressive stories of revenge, prison-break and love.

The direction is very tight and doesn’t let the script waver for even a second.

James Caviezel appears in a role that no one could have played better than him. I think Mel Gibson saw The Count of Monte Cristo and hence, chose him to become Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ.

Another great actor Richard Harris plays the Priest who teaches Dantes and gives him the keys to Monte Cristo. Harris’ performance is nothing less than perfect.

The bad guy Guy Pearce also makes you hate him thoroughly which ensures his success as a villain.

The dialogs are very good and so is the plaque of “God will give me justice” shown throughout the film.

This is an excellent film if not an excellent adaptation.

THE NAME OF THE ROSE (1986)

COuntry: France | Italy | West Germany

Language: English | Latin

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Original Title: Der Name Der Rose

The Name of the Rose is based on a book of the same name by Umberto Eco. I cannot compare the film with the book as I have not read it and I don’t find it necessary to read it. This is a very tightly directed film with almost no errors in the flow of the script. Jean-Jacques Annaud as his other works, has created a flawless film.

The film takes you to the dark world of medieval Christianity that seems more sinister than hell itself. The crimes inside a monastery, the covert battle between the “not-so-good” and the “not-so-evil” give you the same sensations that a horror film like The Exorcist gives you. The monks seem to suffer the diseases triggered by isolation and look monstrous which is not so different from the history. And then, there is a Franciscan monk William of Baskerville played by Sean Connery, one of the few people who really seem to understand religion, accompanied by his assistant Adso of Melk(Christian Slater) who is also the narrator of the story. The film also has an air of Sherlock Holmes’ books and doesn’t fail to deliver a surprise ending. Then there is this little touch of love for a woman that gives the movie a sweet fragrance.

Sean Connery is one of those actors who keep getting better and better with age and their charisma goes on increasing. His performance as William is remarkable and unforgettable.

Christian Slater is a good actor who lacks charisma and cannot play a leading man. But here he fits in perfectly.

All the other actors are also perfect for their respective roles, especially Feodor Chaliapin, Jr. as the Venerable Jorge.

The last line uttered by Adso, now an old man, “I couldn’t even know… her name.” leaves you with a distant fragrance that has faded but still has an exceptional force.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)

Country: USA

Language: English

Director: Frank Darabont

A film that rightly carries “redemption” in its name. One of the greatest works of mainstream Hollywood. You, kind of, feel redeemed yourself after having watched this masterpiece.

Tim Robbins is a great actor and he delivers one of his best performances as Andy Dufresne, a banker who is [wrongly] convicted for the murder of his own wife and her boyfriend. He is one of the two key characters of the story along with Red played by Morgan Freeman.

Morgan Freeman is truly a master class actor. Calling him a great actor is considering him much less than he really is. He communicates years of suffering through his eyes and at the same time an incredible self-confidence that those years have given him; and then you feel a friendliness and caring attitude oozing out of him. Freeman is the soul of the film.

Clancy Brown and Bob Gunton are not bad either.

The dialogs of the film are very impressive without being too dramatic. The lines uttered by Red in the end where he says “I want to talk to that boy…” are immortal as is “Get busy living or get busy dying” said by Dufresne.

The beauty of the film largely depends upon the beauty of the book it is based on written by Stephen King. It is one of most flawlessly written screenplays ever.

As you see the blue Pacific in the end you realize that the cinematography is very brilliant and it is so soothing to your eyes that you feel as if you are looking at a sea after yourself passing years of confinement in the dark.

And the end is totally a “redemption” where you want to run and hug Red when he arrives with open arms and then you want to hug Andy when you look at him and you really feel as if you have hugged them when they hug each other; and, that’s the moment when you realize that you have been through one of the best directed films ever. Frank Darabont is a great director indeed.

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (1997)

Country: Italy
Language: Italian | German | English
Director: Roberto Benigni

This is a film that begins as if it were a comedy (and a good one at that!). Roberto Benigni is a very good artist. A brilliant director and as marvelous an actor. Guido (Benigni) is one of those men who are the personified form of humor, wit and optimism. And this man is not mythical; I have come across a few like him in real life.

All along one has to fight to hold back tears as the film plays particularly upon the emotions that are very intense even in daily life and in the backdrop of the ugliest chapter of the mankind’s history they disturb you even more. The tenderness and innocence of Joshua is one of the things that trigger such emotional intensity. And then, the extreme contrast of the Nazis: their stoic attitude and mercilessness is something that makes the script even more effective.

Nicoletta Braschi is extremely good as Dora and the child artist Giorgio Cantarini is the perfect choice for the role.

This film makes you rethink that you destroy a lot of things in one go but if you take an individual look at everything you destroy, you’ll realize how beautiful were the things you destroyed and maybe you try not to destroy them the next time.

The film surely makes you hate Nazis once again and reminds you the atrocities that were committed. That is something important as you need to remember the crimes committed in the history so that they are not repeated.

NINJA ASSASSIN (2008)

Country: USA | Germany

Language: English

Director: James McTeigue

I admired James Mcteigue for his work V for Vendetta, a film that proves that he is capable of good direction. However, Ninja Assassin is not admirable in any way.

The film has a lot of gore which, some think, gives an air of reality to a film. But here it gives you vomiting tendency. The storyline is completely flawed and has many discrepancies.

The film, supposed to be a Martial Arts film, is mediocre in every sense of the word. The fight sequences are filmed in such a way that you do not quiet understand what is happening. I think that is on purpose as the lead actor Rain is not a Martial Arts expert, but rather a singer. The other funny thing is that people know that the guy is Korean but he is shown to be a Ninja. This would have worked well 25 years back but now the viewers are well informed comparatively.

The last fight sequence is well filmed though: the one where the protagonist fights his father. The effect of fire in the background is very well orchestrated.

All the performances are mediocre including that of Rain’s.

It is saddening to see that a director of Mcteigue’s caliber has produced such a mediocre and incoherent work.