Category Archives: Movies

Tuesday Talkies – ‘Frida’, based on Frida Kahlo

Image March 10, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

I am easily drawn towards artistic films, but with ‘Frida‘, there was something equally mesmerizing in its poster of a unibrow woman who looked somewhat like Salma Hayek; and then there was a beautiful painting lurking behind in one of the stills.

It was more than enough.

‘Frida’ movie is based on the life of Mexican painter ‘Frida Kahlo‘, famous for her surrealists self portraits. I have seen her paintings before (watching movie), but they didn’t spoke to me much at that time. Infact I find them too surreal and somewhat brutal in terms of execution, but, after watching her life story and then reading about her in a lot of articles, I find every painting of her as a masterpiece in its own.

'Frida', based on Frida Kahlo — ‘Frida’, based on Frida Kahlo

It seems like she is one of those artists whose paintings you can understand without first dwelling in their lives, and, their life’s pain and depth can only be understood by imbibing their paintings.

Let’s talk about movie Frida, and in the process explore a great artist life story.

‘Frida’, movie is adapted from the book ‘Frida – A Biography of Frida Kahlo‘, and directed by Julie Taymor. It stars Salma Hayek, who was nominated for academy award for portraying the character of Frida in this movie; and Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera, Frida’s husband. Geoffrey Rush, Mia Maestro, Ashley Judd and Antonio Banderas have also played pivotal role in the movie.

Story starts with an unapologetic young Frida who is close to her father and treats herself as his son than his daughter. She prefers wearing suit in a family portrait despite of her mother’s discomfort. She is rebellious, in love, and has a fiery personality, which she also gave a taste to famous artist Diego Rivera. Life was fast and running in full speed until one tragic trolley accident halt her speed and changing the direction of rest of her life. By the way this particular accident scene is filmed so beautifully and exotically that it is in itself a painting. It was astounding.

Coming back, she is bedridden and has only one thing to do to pass her time; that is, to paint the canvas gifted by her parents. She starts to paint and then there is no turning back. She paints her pain, her stillness in her bed, her agony, her hopes, everything. With her will power she resumes her legs and starts to walk, leaving her bed for good. First thing that she do, is to go to Diego Rivera once again, this time not to make fun of him, but to showcase her work. She asked for an honest opinion about her paintings and she did get one with a dumbfounded Diego seeing her marvelous work.

Frida and Diego both speaks and understands only one language – art; and this joins them in more ways than expected. They fall in love and get married, despite Frida knowing about his sordid married life and numerous affairs. They have a very honest relationship with Diego saying, he loves Frida, but he can never be faithful to her only. In return, Frida tells him, that she expects loyalty, if not fidelity.

She does deals with his infidelity without flinching twice, and also did some deeds of her on with her other partners of same-sex. At one time both of them have had sexual encounter with the same woman. But, throughout the film, you will notice that they are in love with other, despite of them sleeping with other men and women; what they long for is company of each other. There is a soul-mate connection somewhere which is never broken, till death.

Once Diego did break his promise towards Frida by sleeping with her sister. She didn’t took it well and break herself from his shadow, only to fall in depths of alcoholism and adultery.

They reunite as she succumb to her ill-health with her past injuries now refusing to go away with her sheer will power. She is again forced to bed ridden painful days, with only her husband and her canvas, by her side to amuse her. She dies after having her paintings solo exhibition in her motherland Mexico. Her last wish fulfilled.

Her paintings reflecting her life, from her new york visit to her differences with Diego, and most impacting of all, her miscarriages. Everything, changing her, and her paintings. If you look at her paintings now, you will see a female who is born to break free but still struggling to express herself trying to make sense of her reality in dream world.

Frida is a masterpiece just like its protagonist’s paintings. More so because of Salma Hayek’s never seen or felt before, kind of performance. Molina and Hayek shared something so beautiful in this movie that are etched as Diego and Kahlo, forever in my mind.

In Search of Frida Kahlo(claudiamoss.wordpress.com)
Revisiting Frida Kahlo’s Style and Cult of Personality(longreads.com)

Movies

Tuesday Talkies – Badlapur – Heroism Redefined

Image March 3, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

: Badlapur – Heroism Redefined

It’s rare to see a Bollywood movie which is full of all filmy masala and still goes way out of normal league to offer something fresh and praise worthy; Badlapur is one such delicacy.

Badlapur is an Indian crime based thriller movie, directed by Sriram Raghavan. This movie stars Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead roles, while Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Divya Datya, Vinay Pathak, and Radhika Apte play unforgettable supporting character roles in the movie.

Before I start talking about this movie, let me remind you that director Sriram Raghavan, has earlier given ‘Ek Hasina Thi‘, ‘Johny Gaddar‘, and ‘Agent Vinod‘. All these films were a treat to watch with their magnificent story telling and fast pace. Same I was expecting from Badlapur, and it did deliver, more than what was expected.

Story starts when Liak (Nawazuddin) and Harman (Vinay Pathak), while fleeing after robbing a bank, kill a mother and her son. Harman manages to evade police while Liak get arrested for robbery and murder. Raghu’s (Varun Dhawan) is shattered to pieces to learn that it was his wife and little boy who died in this freaky turn of events, his life is turned upside down; more so, as only one culprit is arrested. His life’s sole goal is now to search Harman and take his revenge. He started by hiring a private detective and then by taking matters in his own hands, by harassing and torturing Liak’s girlfriend, Jhimli. Liak however, tries every trick he has to get out of prison but fails. He completes his sentence in hope of finally getting out one day and taking his share of loot money from Harman, and living a happy life with Jhimli thereafter.

Now, if this has been any ordinary revenge story, Liak would have breakout from Jail and met Harman, where in the climax scene, Raghu would have killed both completing his revenge. But, no. It’s not at all an ordinary story.

Every scene is unpredictable and unprecedented. At the end you realize that revenge is left far behind and this movie has gone much deeper than mere vengeance. Instead it shows you how we humans change with every situation in our lives. There is no hero after all; and there is no villain.

We all are same. What defines us is our actions, our motives even when backed by a good intentions; no longer matters once you cross that fine line between morally correct and right justice.

High point of Badlapur are its characters, each well-defined; and the actors who have portrayed them so realistically. Every character be it small like a private detective or big like Liak, is written beautifully. Special mention to Radhika Apte for that one scene of losing her inhibitions. She has done it with such realism that it makes you shudder. Divya and Huma have done their role beautifully.

Varun has come out as a big winner with showcasing his vast range of emotions, going from a love struck, sweet husband and father, to a barbaric and brutal revenge seeking grown man. But, if there is anyone who has empowered himself as the King of acting through this film, it is Nawazuddin.

Nawazuddin is excellent as Liak. He is a liar, a petty thief, a crook, a cunning accomplice, and a killer; but still you like him. You feel for him. He has different shades to his character. He is a son to his mother, a lover to his girlfriend, a loyal friend to his friend, a joker within his circle, and a murderer for Raghu. In every such role, he is perfect. He looks the role he is playing. He is the one, who leaves an impact on you, even after the film is over. If not for anything else, you need to watch this movie for nawazuddin.

This movie, Badlapur, is extraordinary, because you will not realize when you start rooting for the villain, Liak. When you start hating actions of your Hero, Raghu. A line is crossed somewhere and now there is no difference, or rather, there is a change in paradigm. Roles are reversed.

This is when you want to clap for this new era of Indian Cinema. Cheers!!!

Reasons to watch the film Badlapur.(tanceweb.com)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui looking to ‘dance around tress’(freepressjournal.in)
Tuesday Talkies – Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Tuesday Talkies – Oculus(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Tuesday Talkies – PK – Is it a Waste of Time?(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)

Movies, Random

Two and a Half Men Finale – A Painful Void

Image February 20, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

What have you done Chuck Lorre? You killed Charlie Harper, not once but twice in now.

For those who are yet to watch the series finale of ‘Two and a Half Men‘, I am issuing a spoiler alert for you; rest of you; come along.

Yesterday, on 19^th February, 2015, the much prolonged but successful show of all time, ‘Two and a Half Men‘, said final goodbye to all its fan. Finale was titled, “Of Course He’s Dead”, teasing enough to recollect you the time Charlie Harper was declared dead on the show, to be replaced by Walden played by, Ashton Kutcher.

Coming straight to finale episode, it was teasing and emotionally draining, when all the fans were waiting for that last moment when Charlie Sheen will be seen again as the famous Charlie Harper. Alas…. the moment never came.

It happened so that our favorite stalker, Rose, has actually kidnapped Charlie in her dungeon and is keeping him there trapped more like a ‘silence of the lamb’ style; till one day he escapes. Now, Alan, our not so favorite parasitic brother, is planning to claim the $2.5 million money coming from Charlie’s music royalties. Alan began his search for Charlie’s death certificate only to get a revengeful text message indicating that it is a possibility that, Charlie is still alive. Soon, not only Alan, but his Mom and Walden himself receive threatening messages from Charlie, in his signature , read, ‘Tiger’s blood’, style. By the way, I love the one Walden got.

Everyone else in the show, however, have received money from Charlie, with a note saying ‘Buy something expensive for yourself’, including Berta, Jake, Charlie’s daughter and his ex girlfriends, all.

This show had a houseful of cameos too from the most fascinating one of Arnold Schwarzenegger, to John Stamos, Christian Slater, and, Chuck Lorre himself. One scene where Arnold repeat the storyline of ‘Men’ is so on point, that you laugh at yourself of what kind of shit you were watching over the years.

For me the highlight of this episode was to see Jake again. Jake the dumb kid of Alan, now all grown up with beard and all. It was nostalgic and fun, unlike the rest.

There was an animated sequence too, which quite explained what happened to Charlie when he was kidnapped by Rose. It was a refreshing change and it was that moment which actually made you wonder, if you are ever going to see Charlie Harper again in this show.

No, you did not.

Charlie was never shown in flesh, not for a single second. In the end, supposedly his back is shown, knocking on his Malibu beach house, when suddenly a Piano fall over him. Camera then takes you to Chuck Lorre, sitting on a Director’s chair and saying #winning only to have a large Piano fall all over him too.

It was an interesting finale but it did disappointed me not to see Charlie again. Although, Chuck Lorre released a vanity Card, stating that they have indeed approached Charlie sheen to star in the finale. Charlie Sheen however declined, saying, that he goes where Love is. True. There was no love left in ‘Two and Half Men‘, now.

Whatever this show was, it was fun to watch and it deserved a much better finale than it got. A toast to Charlie and Alan. May you b$##@#hit together, always.

Two And A Half Men(curationclub.com)
It’s Official: Charlie Sheen Will Have a Presence on the Two and a Half Men Finale – But There’s a Catch(people.com)
Tuesday Talkies – PK – Is it a Waste of Time?(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Weird Things Americans Are Passionate About(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Tuesday Talkies – Oculus(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)

Movies

Tuesday Talkies – Shamitabh

Image February 17, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

Amitabh Bachchan, who doesn’t know what a powerful artist he is…. Artist and not actor, because I think he is not merely an actor, he has proven himself to be much more than that. He is Art.

When you are making a movie to accentuate every aspect of this superstar; its bound to raise expectations to an overflowing level. But, alas, the movie ‘Shamitabh’ rests on a much below ground than is expected.

Shamitabh, is a drama Indian Film, which is a loose satire on Indian Film industry. This movie is written and directed by the talented, R. Balki, who has earlier made films like ‘Paa‘, ‘Cheeni Kum‘, and ‘English Vinglish‘; all near about close to masterpieces in themselves.

Shamitabh stars Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Hassan in lead roles. As a matter of fact title of the movie – Shamitabh, is taken from lead actors names; SH from DhanuSH, and AMITABH from Amitabh Bachchan off-course; making it Shamitabh; which Dhanush cleverly explains in the movie as ‘sh..sh….. as in Silent Amitabh. Silent as in mute…. dumb; which is Dhanush, playing a dumb movie buff, whose sole objective is to become a movie star.

Lets delve into story of Shamitabh. Dhanush, is a mute, who wants to be a Hero. Despite his disability, he is positive that his talent is much extraordinary to be wasted in a small village, driving a local bus. Come first opportunity and he runs to Mumbai, the dream city for movie buffs. He gatecrashes studios, vanity vans of actors, and, every possible place where he could meet his favorite directors/producers. On one such attempt, he strikes a gold, when he comes across Akshara; an assistant director; who sees potential in his talent and tries to help him.

How can you become a Hero, when you cannot speak? Comes science and technology. Although the technological solution shown in this movie seems absurd at first, but you will easily ignore this feeling and move in with the flow of movie. Now, Dhanush can speak; but, he can speak only borrowed speech from someone else. After searching a lot for a perfect voice for Dhanush, they come across, one drunk homeless guy – Amitabh, who was also an unsuccessful struggling actor.

Contract is signed, and now, Dhanush is speaking in Amitabh’s voice. Whatever Amitabh speaks, comes out of Dhanush’s mouth. Dhanush is complete, his talent is complete. He even changes his name to ‘Shamitabh’, Silent Amitabh. Shamitabh rose above all and becomes a superstar. While Dhanush is riding the wave of success, his voice, Amitabh is in the background, treated as a valet to the superstar Shamitabh.

Ego game starts between the two. Amitabh of the belief that it is his voice which is the real power in Shamitabh’s success; while Dhanush believing that it his talent and his acting which is terrific on its own and voice of Amitabh is just an add-on to Shamitabh’s whole persona; and there is nothing more to it. Ego clashes; they fight; they demean each other; they repulse; and they go separate ways to figure out who the real Shamitabh is, actually.

Whole concept of this movie is excellent and unique, and with a star cast as powerful as this movie has; there is nothing topping it. It is the best recipe for a masterpiece movie. But, is it a masterpiece?

NO.

it is not. Reason being, when you are telling a story of two great Egos clashing against each other, you have to first make them great; you have to make them equally compelling forces. You have to give them equal space for growth and character development. Problem with this movie is that it is more of an Amitabh Bachchan’s movie than A Movie. Scale of affection is shifted to Amitabh’s way, by R. Balki, tilting whole movie’s direction towards shouting to everyone, how great of an actor, Amitabh Bachchan is.

Balki, you don’t have to scream. We know already.

There is an opening scene in the movie, where a young Dhanush (a child artist), enact a scene of his mother’s death. That scene is so powerful and so intense that you perceive adult Dhanush character having the same depth in his acting. But, when the time comes to showcase his acting, Balki, shows Dhanush in doing ‘Lifebuoy’ and ‘piddaly’. There is no scene as powerful as that one. Dhanush is a terrific actor and he has proved that he can act without saying a single word. If only there would be more of him in this movie.

Amitabh, as I have said in the beginning, need n introduction. He is an encyclopedia in acting. But, as too much of anything, degrade it’s value; so is the case with his presence in this movie. Balki’s fixation of keeping Amitabh in almost every scene possible has cost him making this film a phenomenon. Too many scenes of drunk Amitabh….. repetitive dialogues and references. Dull. 😦

Akshara is awesome. She has the looks and talent both, from her gifted parents, Kamal Hassan and Sarika. She has stood out in this movie on her own. She looks beautiful and elegant and portrays a strong character. All her scenes are wonderful; specially the ones with Dhanush alone, they are so funny and satire is bang on. Way to go girl!!!

Second half of Shamitabh, is terrible, dulling the movie. Editing is bogus. Direction is confusing and scenes are predictable and too long. Sometimes when you try to over simplify something; you confuse it and make it more complex. Balki has done the same with this movie. If only he could have thought of his audience as intelligent enough to grasp the essence of the film, without detailing every stupid scene for whole half hour; it could have been a better crisp yet critically magnificent film. Here to oversimplification …..

Don’t forget to watch Rekha’s cameo in this movie. Marvellous.

Tuesday Talkies – The One I Love(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
The Color of Love(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Tuesday Talkies – Happy New Year(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
‘Shamitabh’ is not a tribute to my voice: Amitabh Bachchan(msn.com)
Amitabh Bachchan plays a frustrated man in new movie ‘Shamitabh’(pakistantoday.com.pk)

Movies

Tuesday Talkies – Horns

Image February 10, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

“The Devil is Inside”, If you want to explain ‘Horns‘, in one statement, it will be this. But it has to be more complicated than this, and it is.

‘Horns’ is a supernatural thriller film based on novel of the same name, by Joe Hill. This film is directed by Alexandre Aja, and stars ‘Daniel Radcliffe‘ in the main lead.

Most disturbing part of this movie is to see our beloved pure soul Harry Potter play the satanic role in Horns. You know something is wrong when you see Harry without his nerdy glasses but instead with two devilish horns on his head.

Daniel is portraying the role of ‘Ig Perrish‘, the troubled soul who is accused of murdering his sweet girlfriend ‘Merrin’, played by Juno Temple. Other supporting cast includes Max Minghella as Lee, Ig’s lawyer friend, and only believer of Ig’s innocence; Joe Anderson plays Terry, Ig’s brother, who is addicted to drugs and music; Kelli Garner who plays Glenna, a childhood friend who secretly loves Ig but has made some terrible choices in life.

Ig is shunned by the society when everyone suspects that he has murdered his girlfriend. Even his parents are not sure of his innocence. One person who believes in him, is his best friend from childhood, his lawyer, Lee. Unable to clear his name from his girlfriend’s murder and frustrated of not knowing what exactly happened to her; Ig drinks heavily one night and landed on Glenna bed. Next morning he realize two strange scars on his head, which soon turn into two solid horns. Scared to death he rushed to doctor’s office and soon realizing that these horns are not some medical abnormality but instead there is something supernatural satanic essence to them.

Everyone around Ig’s horns starts behaving in a weird way, revealing a much darker side of themselves. Like a woman sitting in doctor’s office resents her screaming kid and wants to go away leaving her behind; while the kid actually wants to kill her parents; doctor wants to have sex with nurse right in front of Ig; media persons wants to kill their competition just to grab a exclusive bite. everyone is dark; everyone has an evil inside.

This is the theme of movie, which shows just how much darker we are from the inside. We want to do so many bad things so badly and the only thing that is controlling this rage inside is social norms. But, will you do it, if no one is watching you? Will you act on your darkest desires if there is no one stopping you, not even your consciousness? Will you be willing to kill someone if Satan asks you to?This is what Ig does. He notices that he can influence people in acting out their devilish desires and he use this paranormal strength of his horns, to find out Merrin’s killer.

This film could have offered so much, being a unique storyline and to have so many facets associated to it; but second half of this movie is turned into completely supernatural and absurd logic, that you kind of wonder what genre of film you are watching. It goes int so many modulations to bring that climax that a basic plot is lost. Only if it could be treated simpler, it could have been a masterpiece.

It is clumsy in the end with poor and stretchable editing. It is weird, unique and interesting but not streamlined. It has so many angles that in the end it looses the plot and you feel kind of cheated from a good sensible end. Worth a watch, just for the sake of watching Daniel performing something so out of his character, so beautifully.