Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ... The Real Unwatchable of the year!

I don't know what I thought when I decided to watch this movie in theater. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, became irritating to me, I don't know why, but this movie takes the credit of being the first rejected and real "UNWATCHABLE" award on my blog. However, I don't want to be so cruel to leave the good points from the movie.

Ok, Let me list down the Points first, then we will decide are they good or not.

1. Sean Bean: As soon as I saw him in the trailer, I was waiting for his character's death, the movie disappointed me in that as well. He has been dying in movies for half of his career now. At least that much could be done in this. Ohh I almost forgot, I was waiting for this character's death in previous movie as well.

2. Adelaide Clemens : I am not sure if I can write this, the acting was just OK. I think she would need a better script to show her best. Don't know why, I got so irritated with her character as well that I wanted someone to kill her and end the movie.

3. 3d: At Times 3D looked ok and sometimes it looked like the only good thing about movie. But it too became a headache after a while, as I couldn't bear the utter disgust of script and the addition of scary graphics sequences, just like someone is adding them in the movie, because they made it. This brings to another point: Editing.

4. Editing: It could have been better, But since I have already thrashed Script, Acting and Screenplay (Ok, Till now I didn't But I just did!).

4. Scare Tactics: I was not at all amazed by any of the Shocks given by the makers.

I had very bad experience watching this movie and I had around 50 horror movies in my collection which I have not watched until now, but after this movie, those 50 Horror movies will wait for sometime, because the horror of watching this movie still haunts me.

Probably, I need to watch some good animation movies from Disney to remove the bitter taste from my mouth which I still have because of this movie. Even writing about this movie is sickening!

And this movie is so much moved from the story, I almost forgot that this is a sequel. So people, Give a hand of applause and standing ovation for the award "Unwatchable of the Year" to Silent Hill: Revelation 3D!

I feel Sorry for the gamers, who had a very good video game and this makes it really move into "Silent Hill"!

Cloud Atlas: Need to watch 36 times..

Cloud Atlas, as Tom hanks told in an interview, is as risky as Inception. At that moment I couldn't understand what he meant. After Cloud Atlas, I could relate it to Inception. Inception, when I watched, I couldn't understand it fully. Then I watched it second time, it made some sense. Then, third time watch helped me to get the most out of it. I still don't say I have got 100% of it. But the story, screenplay, acting and the effects never allowed me to get bored. I watched it with same excitement all 3 times. Similarly, Cloud Atlas, is a much abstract version of the book which has been written by David Mitchell.

After watching it, I regret the fact that I acted without patience and pounced on the chance of watching it. Yet, I know book reading wood have been difficult. I feel Cloud Atlas is one of those book based movies where you should watch the movie first and then read the book.

The movie contains 6 stories running in parallel, and if we start relating all the 6 stories, it will not make sense. Although there is a thread that binds those stories, you will see same characters in same roles. Watching Tom Hanks in 6 different roles is a delight. He is a master of disguise in the movie. Ben Whishaw as well looks astonishing in his role(s), one needs to be a little focused to actually see him in all 6 stories. Halle Berry and other cast members make this movie a master piece.

I could understand the makers' point of view of repeating same cast in multiple stories, as it will separate the stories from each other, as you can see Tom Hanks in different roles and you would yourself make out which story is going on. The movie if not watched with interest may become extremely boring at times. My friend who was sitting besides me watching the movie slept two hours out of three. He must be cursing me for such a poor choice.

But i was going through the characters and their stories, I was least interested in Cloud Atlas as a whole movie, I took Tom Hanks characters, Ben whishaw's main character, Halle berry's characters and watched their stories with them. The portrayal of the world at different times is amazing and it really takes you through a journey of past and future in those three hours.

In the end, I was a happy person to go back home, because I could understand at least 3 of those 6 stories, and I saw an epic being portrayed on big screen. Though I just wonder if this masterpiece could have been made by Nolan, would it be same? He would have made it so dark and so interesting, that even the person who has no knowledge about the book and the stories, would have seen it with so much interest.

To me, movie created enough interest to pick up the book and then watch it again. I am not disappointed with the movie, as it delivered what I wanted to see: Tom Hanks in 6 roles!

Pizza: Horror's New dimension!

Tamil cinema as I have been told has many innovative makers and actors, the stories and ideas in Tamil industry are much ahead of any other language film industry. I have been watching Rajanikanth in awe for some years now, he is a legend beyond doubt. But yesterday, when I saw something which probably could be the masterpiece of horror. In this era of horror where horror is more of Torture Porn. And every other horror movie will be about zombies eating humans or Paranormal Activity genre. The movie is very unorthodox and it could become a genre in coming years.

The innovation starts with the name itself, Pizza. Which makes people think what it could be about? The Story start as well unconventional. Being the first movie to be shot with 7.1 Surround sound, this movie is as scary as hell could be.

I don't know many actors from Tamil industry but the cast of this movie seemed nice and the characters suited their roles, there was nowhere it looked like they are trying to persuade me hard to get scared. Many horror movies lose their grip when they start to scare too much. They would put on makeup too much, the shocking effects, too much blood, excessive use of technology and graphics also ruins it.

Here we get a simple yet innovative movie, where a house is being used to tell a story about a tragedy. The idea of using torch, photos, darkness, right camera movements, The use of cellphone ringtones, Songs running on TV has also added to the scare tactic of the maker.

Even if you don't know Tamil, movie should not be missed. This is going to be remembered for a long time.

Skyfall: Bond getting Darker!

Bond: 007 reporting for duty.
M: Where the hell have you been?  

Bond: Enjoying death!

50th year of Bond Movies, must be marked with a legendary story to tell.

I haven't been a Pierce Brosnan fan of Bond Movies. When I was growing up Pierce Brosnan was releasing a Bond movie every 2-3 years, but none would enthrall me. It was when Pierce Brosnan actually signed off from Bond franchise, it gained my attention. I thought, ok, here is something new. This guy looks different. He doesn't have the charm of Pierce Brosnan, he looks more like a spoiled millionaire. He was Daniel Craig, much intense, rarely smiling, dialogues rather smaller than Pierce Brosnan had got. He got more action, more athletic, less gadgets, would kill people by just beating with bare hands. He got cruel, more cunning and cold heart.

Skyfall starts with a chase which is a signature start of Daniel Craig's James Bond portrayal. And from the first moment of the movie, you are on a ride with him. One would wonder what is the age of James Bond?

Like every Bond movie, the Antagonist should be equally strong, he must be so evil that even Bond would have to take a gasp.Javier Bardem portrays that evil antagonist, he is epitome of baddest man you would ever see. At one point I actually remembered the Joker of Christopher Nolan if Javier Bardem has taken notes from it. But please don't think that I am comparing the two characters. They are all from different universe altogether. So coming back to the point, the antagonist has to be bad to make the protagonist suffer. He has to have a upper hand always. And that happens here as well. 

Re-entry of Q (portrayed by Ben Whishaw, I was actually excited to know that he would be part of this movie) has got a good effect in the movie, M has got comparatively larger role than the previous movies, Bond Girl(s) (Bérénice Marlohe and Naomie Harris) have been equally good and they have got good chemistry with Bond. And since the story goes to roots of Bond, his origin, this movie becomes special.

London tube's display and Turkey's presence with Scotland's portrayal in the movie adds to its artistic sense. Beautiful Aston Martin getting blown up actually irked me, as I was in love with that beauty.

So, don't wait, go and enjoy the movie! It has got some sarcastic humor as well (like all Bond Movies). at IMDB, movie is already with 8.5 ratings so I am no one to tell you what rating it deserves. People have already termed it finest till date. 

And yeah, Adele's song is so good, it actually sets up the Skyfall's theme and story. You would love it. I am in love with it and would be listening it all night!

Let the sky fall, when it crumbles
We will stand tall
Face it all together
At skyfall!

Halloween Special Review: Paranormal Activity 4

You would wait for something bad to happen. And you will be jumped with many moments, after that you will feel foolish, after realizing, that all the while you were alert for something scary to happen, and finally you got scare-jumped because of something foolish and common.

Above three lines are the summery of this new Sequel of Paranormal Activity franchise. The Genre is shifting. No, It is still "Found Footage" but stand still cameras have made way for Laptop and Kinect and Mobile Videos and Laptop Chat windows. 

I never intended to watch this movie in theater in first place. I went for Skyfall, which apparently didn't have any seats left. So bought it's next day's ticket. Yeah, next post will be about Skyfall. Then what to do? I still had time and wanted to watch something, so asked the lady at the counter which English movie is running next? The answer comes Paranormal Activity 4. Immediately I said yes and she was shocked. My friend also agreed and we booked next 2 hours with Paranormal Activity 4. 

My friend didn't have any background of previous 3 movies, so I was explaining him before the movie, about the characters and story so far. While explaining that, I realized, the Genre has become a template and how this movie would be shown. How the sequence of happenings are going to be. I realized, that first 30 minutes would only be spoon feeding about characters, and the story build up. I also realized, that since it is laptop video and Kinect is also going to play a big role, the characters will be more paranoid to the thoughts of devil's existence and one guy/girl would keep telling about something weird happening to others, and those others would certainly ridicule him/her and eventually all would succumb to death by the ghost. The question was how it has to be narrated. The narration should be new. Every-time it has to be new!

So, as I imagined, first half an hour, was exactly like that. But, now we had Robbie, the Kid, which I supposed would be Hunter, makes you jump in his very first appearance, and that too within first 15 minutes. It was kind of new. It made every one scare-jump and then everyone laughed at their stupidity.

Similar thing happens for 5-6 times in the movie, and it is really good, it adds to the the storyline, and keeps audience busy with these jumps. But I guess still something was missing. Since this is 4th installment of franchise and the makers have not tried anything new, they should have taken the risk of doing something new, instead they have taken the risk of playing safe, which I afraid has backfired. That is movie's biggest drawback. First hour. Important and full of scare-jumps, and interesting stuff but something missing!

But the 2nd half is promising and freaks out everyone. The story plays well. But only thing wrong I found here was quick killing of characters, the screenplay is so fast, there is no time to separate different characters' killing. Very small build up of the fear makes the movie little weaker. Yet, it is a scary movie. And what I felt in the theater was the creepy feeling after the movie. This is the weakest movie of the franchise and still it leaves the audience shocked at the end.

So, if you watch this movie and are getting dull in the first half, just wait, the movie still has something good to offer, and you will not go home unhappy err.. unscared!

Happy Halloween!

Eega: Full Package of Entertainment (Review Part 2)

"We know the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharatha, yet we go to watch whenever a movie based on these Epics is made. How much interestingly you narrate your film is what matters"

~S. S. Rajamouli

I never realized that I have started loving Telugu movies so much now. I should start learning a little Telugu, I hope some day I would be able to speak some Telugu dialogues or Sing Some Telugu Songs. There are many movies which have given me reason to love Telugu movies, would write about them all.

However the time is for Eega. Everything else can take backseat and you must watch this movie. Even though I was watching it on a DVD player, I didn't even pause the movie and went to my Kitchen to bring back my awesome cooked chicken, which I love to the core of my heart. 2 years back when I watched Rajanikanth's Robot, I was in awe, I was amazed that such feat could be touched in Indian Cinema. And Eega tops it. If Robot started it, Eega takes it to next level. The cool Fly protagonist of the movie, is better than any hollywood flick based on such idea. 

I don't want to compare with other movies here, because Eega is a different genre. It doesn't belong to Romance, Horror, Comedy, or Science Fiction. It belongs to Entertainment. And you don't have to leave your brains aside and watch this movie. This movie works fine with brain as well. The thin line between creativeness and absurdity which I talked about in the first part of this review, remains intact even after the movie has been completed. After watching movie, I just want to share my experience with you, before I pounce on the delicious chicken waiting for me.

Small yet important, Nani's role has been played by Nani in the first 1 hour of the movie and he steals the magic when he says "I will Kill you" to Sudeep. Your heart will cry at his fate though, but he played his role very well. His role is simple and charming.

To my surprise, Samantha Ruth Prabhu plays a vital role in the movie, I was expecting that her role would end soon, but the makers have really made her role important, and believable. She has not been used just like a chick in the movie, the part has been portrayed well.
Sudeep on the other hand, is an antagonist who also had very little to do when you think that the movie is about a fly's revenge, but you will be surprised to see Sudeep's performance in the movie as he takes on the fly on par. Sometimes he would just miss a win, other times he would lose. Whatever I say about the third character of the movie, the fly itself, is less and won't be satisfactory, the makers have made it close to unattainable. 

The story is not one sided, and the flip flops make it very interesting. You will forget that this is a bedtime story being told by a father to his daughter.

My favorite scene of the movie: Whole movie didn't have a single scene which could be missed, the movie has been woven in such manner. However, I would personally thank creators for putting Chinta ta ta! Do watch for it.

I have made a personal commitment, to watch all of Rajamouli's movies. I will share my experience of each movie here.

Till then.. Chinta TaTa!

Eega: The beautiful tale of Love and Revenge (Review Part 1)

This is happening for the first time with me, that I have started writing blog in the very first hour of the movie and that too a Telugu Movie. I am impressed, the words are not enough for this. The fly is cool. The Protagonist of the movie is a fly. The thin line to make movie absurd has been carefully kept away, and within the confine of what's possible and what's not possible and what's absurd, the story has been amazingly told, and remember, I am watching Telugu version of the movie, not the dubbed. I am having subtitles here, but I think, subtitles aren't required here.

Nani's love was shown with much care, and it works well with the story of Eega, it's birth and it's revenge. There is not even a single dull moment in Nani's story. Nani's enemy, Sudeep does equally well to draw the hatred of the audience.

I felt like the makers of Eega showed too much in the trailer of the film when I watched it first and I was little annoyed at them for revealing many things, actually full story of Eega in the trailer itself. But believe me, trailer is nothing, the movie is a must watch even if you know full story.

Eega starts as a normal fly, and the experience of Eega the fly has been shown with much respect, from it's point of view. How it starts experiencing beautiful things of life, comes across it's enemy and realizes his goal then, tries to kill him then and there, and Eega's helplessness will push you to even think and you would start thinking how Eega can torture it's enemy. The possibilities are endless. Eega, The fly is weak at places, like a normal fly. At the same time it enjoys the advantages of it's small size.

The Sound track is awesome and it will put you in a spellbound story of Eega. Why I am writing this blog? I should continue watching the movie.

Will Post rest of the review after the movie.

To be continued..

Is Lance Armstrong real life Walter White of Breaking Bad?

 

About Lance..

Lance Armstrong is a hero and will always remain a hero for me.
For me, he is a survivor! When I first came to know about him, he was already 4 times Tour De France champion. Over the years, he won 3 more titles, fought with WADA and USADA, wrote 2 books, became center of at least 8 books, retired, returned and again retired. But this does not tell full story about his life.

He too has a family like everyone else, has problems in his life, worried about his and his family's future, and like all of us he is equally marred by one major thing in life: Uncertainty!

He became a social ambassador for Cancer Patients and became a synonym of Hope. His foundation, followers, social stature, probable Political career, all those things speak of themselves.

About Walt..

Walter White on the other hand, is a hero too nevertheless. He doesn't have same stature as Lance Armstrong in social media, or in his life he is not too popular like Lance Armstrong. In his universe, whoever knows Walter White, respects him. He is a symbol of hope in his people. His students have very high regards for him and the family respects him, well, at least who are unaware of the other "Walter White"! They sympathize with him for being a Cancer Patient.

How Walt Breaks Bad..

Walter white breaks into crime, or rather I should put breaks bad when he realizes that he will leave his family financially unsecured with too much at stake. His treatment, his children's education, his family's day to day living are his main concerns. What his world did to him at that point?

 At that stage, But he never looks for charity, he doesn't want someone's money. He doesn't cheat anyone to get the money. The Motive was to survive. He breaks bad for his survival. He starts at just a novice who just wants to "cook" and earn for his primary issues. His Primary crime could be understandable as a Morally wrong thing with Illegal thing to cook. He never motivated anyone to cook for him or consume his product or he doesn't sell it himself. He is proud of his product and since it is his brainchild and chemical genius. He is not a greedy person but he wants to earn enough to support his family. He gets pulled into the mud by others when the learn that he is a genius and his product is one masterpiece.

How Lance Breaks Bad..

After USADA revealed the evidences about Armstrong's cheating, I wasn't shocked or felt bad on my hero's fall. Because for me he still stands tall. His crime wasn't killing someone or doing any harm to the nation. His crime would be categorized to be "Morally". I was more amused on the thought, when he really got to know that he is suffering from such a gruesome disease and he has 3 little kids and a wife to support. His life suddenly lies on uncertainty and he finds himself isolated from the world. What this world did for him at that stage?

At that stage Lance was just a cyclist and was winner of few small championships but not taken as a celebrity or a serious contender of Tour De France. But suddenly he becomes very vulnerable for the fact that he has to provide for his family. That little concern eats him. The treatment is different thing altogether. providing for family would have been his first motive.

Why Lance and Walt are Heroes..

Lance wasn't alone in the crime, there were people helping Lance and his team throughout his criminal adventure, successful races, I mean 7 times. It takes heart even to come out on top with the use of drugs after getting diagnosed by cancer. Some would end their lives, some would wait for the end, some would just put their lives inserted in the treatment. And here we have 2 characters who after getting diagnosed, fight for not only their lives but set an example for others as well.

Average Survivors to Anti Heroes..

USADA has said, that U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team was running most sophisticated drug use in the history of sports. Doesn't it look similar to how Walt started breaking into crime scene and then getting played into the crime scene with what we call "Sophistication", nobody comes to know, not even his family, and he works out a way in which he looks clean outside. To me Walt is a hero as well, he later kills many, many people who come in his way. He tries to remove such obstacles either himself or with the help of his various partners. They clean out all that dirt from Walt's clothes so that Walt still looks like a good citizen to outer world.

The reason "Providing for the family" shouldn't be taken as a cause to break into the crime scene. I mean, there are many bad people already out there, and they start giving examples of Lance or Walt and say if people can accept Walt and Lance, why they can't accept those corrupt politicians, those crime lords, those hooligans, those tax eating corporates, political scandals? Those all things are completely different to Lance and Walt's worlds. They did wrong things, but they did for themselves and they had to pay a cost for it. Doing crimes and not getting caught is a different topic altogether, Lance had to pay the cost after so much time, being called a shame in tabloids. Walt as well had to pay the cost becoming a bad person in his own eyes and becoming more and more involved in the crime day by day.

So, there were costs, there were obstacles and most importantly motives in both of their lives, although completely different in the detailed versions of their lives, but the abstract of their lives looks similar. Both become Anti Heroes in the pursuit to become Average Survivor. I don't call them Villains and they both are heroes to me even if Anti Heroes!

To Lance and USADA and Lance Haters:

After writing this, I want to clear it, that I might have done a sinful act of comparing a real life hero with a fictional hero. These both heroes are very near to my heart, as they did everything which they thought was right for their family. Right now, Lance is facing tremendous heat and he is alone in this battle of hatred. He would have to pay the cost of "cheating". But everyone has forgotten that cycling was nothing before a cancer patient became 7 time champion of a cycling event. He has been stripped of all the titles and today he removed them from his twitter bio as well. It's hard to imagine what he is going through. But does anyone care what he went through for those 15 years? Please think about it!

People are acting like Lance was Lex Luther, but I just want to say, he used drugs to win a bloody cycle race, which wasn't anywhere on the globe before he started winning it. If I know about Tour de france, and I know that it is a very exhaustive race, it's all because of Lance. Lance should never apologize for giving people hope. He is still a hero! I don't care about those 7 wins and those lies, because I know only one thing, Hope is bigger than a Lie! The cost he is going to pay would be enormous, People are terming him as a psychopathic liar.. But he is a survivor. He is a symbol of Hope. The world will be divided, I will be on that part which still believes in the hope which he gave!

I say, make those drugs legal if you can't get such hope in next 10 years without those drugs!

It's a Paranormal thing..

So, here i am writing another blog after another horror movie. Why do i write about gothic things? Probably that's for another post. I watched the trailer of Paranormal Activity 4 and suddenly I gathered courage to watch 2nd part. Yes, i couldn't see 2nd part as  1st itself freaked me out so much that i couldn't sleep for weeks. I know someday i will watch 3rd part. But I don't know when I will gather the courage to do that.

The thing is, the story is gruesome to the mind, and the directors have done a great job to keep the genre fresh even after having very less on their side in the limit they have put themselves. They really cant have long explanatory written dialogues, any kind of suspense or thrilling soundtrack. They have to tell the story within the confinements of the house. This franchise doesnt come in the horror genre of the movies, this is kind of Blair Witch genre, which unfolds the story on itself. This footage genre is very fresh even after they are releasing its 4th installment.

Namak Haraam

People often forget Rajesh Khanna's less commercial but greater act in Namak Haraam. Anand is a masterpiece no doubt. But Namak Haraam is also equally lovable like Other of Kaka's Movies. Amitabh's role was highly overshadowed in both the movies and when I was growing up, whenever I watched this movie, I thought why Amitabh's role is not so big here. But recently when I watched, I understood, that by overshadowing also Kaka did a greater good for Big B. The movie is not only a cinematic art, a poetic reference to many further movies but also a time stopping plot with songs and dialogues so good, which makes ur heart cry for everything which Somu (Kaka's character sees.)

I have no problems in accepting that when I watched this movie as a child, I was completely unaware of Rajesh Khanna's stature in Indian film Industry. Yet, I loved watching every scene where Amitabh is there, But recently I was watching the movie and I really understood, that the movie is not about two actors or two characters, it is about the good and bad and how we separate good from bad. How a Wolf, when it starts living in a group of lambs, starts feeling their helplessness. It clearly shows the depth of friendship, the guilt and a father-son relationship.


If you have loved Anand, you should surely watch Namak haraam and pay a classic tribute to our own Rajesh Khanna. 


The following song from this movie is a tribute to him from this blog:



Main Shaayar Badnaam
Ho Main Chalaa Main Chalaa
Mehfil Se Naaqaam
Ho Main Chala Main Chala
Main Shaayar Badnaam


Mere Ghar Se Tumko
Kuchh Saamaan Milega
Deewaane Shaayar Kaa
Ek Divaan Milega
Aur Ek Cheez Milegi
Tuta Khaali Jaam
Ho Main Chala Main Chala
Main Shaayar Badnaam


Sholon Pe Chalna Tha
Kaanto Pe Sona Tha
Aur Abhi Ji Bharke
Kismat Pe Rona Tha
Jaane Aise Kitne
Baki Chhodke Kaam
Ho Main Chala Mai.N Chala
Main Shaayar Badnaam


Rasta Rok Rahi Hai
Thodi Jaan Hai Baaki
Jaane Tute Dil Mein
Kya Armaan Hai Baaki
Jaane Bhi De Ae Dil
Sabko Mera Salaam
Ho Main Chala Main Chala
Main Shaayar Badnaam

Long Live Kaka! 

The Machinist

Just finished watching The Machinist, which is a very disturbing movie. I am amazed by such dark movies and attracted towards the filming of these. The realism of the hallucinations is so great and effective that you will find it hard to believe when it reveals the actuality on screen.

The director is successful in creating a zone for the viewer where he sees the protagonist as a sufferer. And viewer starts thinking if the protagonist sleeps  he will be alright. But yet we forget that there can be a cause of insomnia. Insomnia as a disease is very under-rated, which is shown when the prostitute says nobody dies of Insomnia. But Insomnia makes you do many things which may lead you to death. And this movie tells us that there is possibility. Now, cause for insomnia can be many. Any grief, emotional disorder, food, work problems, stress and guilt.

An insomniac mind starts creating its own reality and lives there. The person believes what the tired mind shows to him. And everything which is attached to you in some way becomes part of it. Even a cigarette lighter becomes an important part of the story.

Christian Bale has done amazing job and he actually shed 28 Kgs of weight, which is for a guy like me is next to impossible. He portrays Trevor's character in a horrific reality. You will hate that character for being so sick. And he will not leave any beautiful memory about himself. The story is well narrated in a thrilling way. And Camera is an artist of the movie. The way everything has been filmed in this movie is just terrific. The colors chosen are extremely suitable for the movie. The way Bale has been shown is like a ghost, which suits the theme, and the story and his character gets enhanced with the camera work on his thin body.

I wouldn't recommend the movie for a guy looking for entertainment. But this is a must watch for a movie addict who loves the art of cinematography of darkest of characters and darkest of stories.  By all probability by the end of the movie, you will lose sleep and you will rather be writing a blog like me.

Personal Advice: Do keep something light to watch after you finish the movie. :)

Do watch if you can! :)

Jacob's Ladder

I am starting to write with a lesser known movie in my friend circle. The movie is Jacob's Ladder.
All the information you can get on Google and Wikipedia about this, more ratings you can get on IMDB as well. But this blog is not about information, it is about Dissection. so here it goes:

Movie starts with a scene where a US battalion is anticipating an attack in Vietnam.  The soldiers are in very good mood, teasing each other and suddenly attack opens on them, as soon as viewer realizes, the soldiers are falling with some sudden trauma. They are not able to focus and enemy takes control on them. Many soldier get killed and injured. The Protagonist, Jacob Singer, also realizes and tries to fight with the attackers.

But the scene gets cut and he wakes up in a Subway train. The train is empty and he is not able to understand how long he has been travelling. He might have skipped the station. He asks a strange looking woman who doesn't respond or rather gives a creepy look to him, to this, he stops bothering her and while getting down the train, he sees some different kind of movement in the person lying in the seat next to the door. It sends shivers to both, Jacob and the viewer. Jacob gets down, but we are still looking at the empty train, and as it goes we see the strange woman again. It is the thinking of the director which works here, and he makes the viewer to stick to the train, as the viewer is most interested in the happenings in that horrific train which Jacob has just left. The strange woman also does enough to make the viewer unstabler without making any expression and without making any statement. The artist of the scene is the train and the woman. Jacob is just the medium to let viewer feel the fear. It just makes a horrific combo with the loneliness and the dark patches when train passes the tunnels.

So, It sets a theme and makes the viewer anticipating something freakish to happen. Tim Robbins plays his character with utmost care and he gets crazier with every scene. So does the viewer. The scene where he sees his son's photograph and Jessie says "the one who died". It marks the scent of the movie which is not the army backdrop nor the horrific life Jacob is living, in a dilemma whether he is hallucinating or everything is real but the good and bad memories of Jacob's life. As in a scene director explains with the view of Meister Eckhart, who claims he has seen the Hell too. Meister Eckhart said: "The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you," he said. "They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth." 

The movie marks many such instances from people's life, there is something dark in every person. Although the movie revolves around Jacob's hallucinations, which he thinks is due to something done by US Army and trying to pursue the truth behind his delusions. In the process he meets his  mates from battalion and  comes to know that they also suffer from same trauma. In between we again see many scenes from the Vietnam war, how Jacob gets stabbed, his rescue operation, and the scenes from past where he is with his died son Gabe and the present hallucinations and his growing madness towards the problem.

As the movie progresses, the viewer starts feeling the pain Jacob goes through, it becomes more gruesome when he visits Hell and the Doctors there tell him that he is dead, then suddenly he gets relieved by his chiropractor, when he gives him message. He forgets the pain which he was going through all this time. The meeting with chemist makes the viewer and Jacob realize how it all happened, the cause behind the hallucination and what actually transpired that day in the battlefield. 

Its hard for the viewer to understand which is real. Where Jacob is really visiting hell? or is he seeing some ghosts? or is he Hallucinating? or US Army did experiment with him? or is his son alive? These are the answers Jacob is also trying to find out. But until the last scene of movie director keeps the secret alive, which makes the movie worth watching and that's why I have hid the best part of the movie here. It would have been really great if I had dissected the final part, the heart of the movie as well here, but I really don't want to tear the secret apart from the movie, because it is the true nectar here. 

Watch it for the direction, screen-play, classic story and great acting by Tim Robbins. If you don't like it, which is more obvious, because somehow people understand Matrix but not these kind of movies, which puzzles me, but also tells me that people only want to watch meaningless action which doesn't really let them read between the lines. If you can't read between the lines, if you can't see something going on in the story which is not said explicitly, this movie is not for you.

If you like a movie which lets you imagine your own life and lets you connect with the character and the screenplay, this is the movie to cherish.

Ciao!

PROHEMIUM

There will be movies which you thought why you watched at all. There will be movies which you would have "thought" are Unwatchables But they are not. They require a little thinking. The director has left the thinking job to you. The Movie may be so sick that you wont dare to touch it again. This amuses me, to the extent that I put myself to the risk of great torture sometimes and watch The Unwatchables!

I am a huge movie thinker. Yes you read it correct, I am a movie thinker, when I watch movie, I don't watch just for entertainment or not just to know something or not just to spend time with friends. I watch it with all the thinking involved. Call me crazy, maniac, but that's what I am. I like to dissect a movie into a simple vision. Some people don't understand the story sometimes, may be it is difficult for them to understand the perception of the director or cinematographer, and that's why some of the biggest directors went misunderstood and their movies flopped. But I don't agree to the theory "If I don't understand something I should simply disagree with it", we can just admire it, if not discuss it or if not  rejoice it at least not dispose it in garbage.

Yes, I agree, there will be many meaningless things in life, and there will be many things which should be left misunderstood. But that's where my madness start, when i watch a movie, i watch it for full cause, full perspective, with whole heart, and with my brain. There are glitches in movies, which I may tend to ignore to get the larger context.

I always wanted to write my kind of "reviews" of the movies, as that is one area of interest I have developed in recent years. Many people who will read this will say my views as absurd. Or they will say "Why on earth you are dissecting this movie?" But that's the way it is. I have to write and I will write. You can always switch the channel!

I have seen people who have watched Matrix and Lord of the rings many times and they claim that they have fully understood them and they are like the greatest movies ever made. But the same people can't understand  "Number 23", "The eternal Sunshine of spotless mind", "Truman show", "The green mile", "Forrest Gump", "Dhobi Ghat", "The Dark Knight", "Memento", "Schindler's List" and many more classics. This blog is dedicated to such innocent people who cannot understand the language of the Camera.

So.. it begins..!