The film tries to highlight sexual issues like femininity, masculinity, rape and virginity through five loosely connected vignettes. The screen is split into two and each part usually shows the same scene from different camera angles. The view looked interesting for a while after which it got annoying. The movie makes a brave attempt at hitting hard on those issue but does not translate into anything coherent.
Whats most noteworthy is the fact that the Director was the husband of Maggie Cheung when the movie began, and by the time the movie finished, he was ex-husband. It could be the plausible explanation for the fact that something appears to be missing in the movie. A story of a junkie coming clean and spread across Vancouver, Paris & London. 
I first saw Fernanda Montenegro in "Central Station". There she does some amazing acting as a school teacher who helps a young boy search for his father. Her role in this movie does not live up to that one. Here she plays a 60 year old lonely woman who moonlights as a police informant. One night she spies her neighbor killing his wife. The movie follows her investigation of her neighbor and the romance that unfolds. And by God I could not watch those scenes of the two of them making out :-)
Couldnt resist putting this one up. its got everything about the movie in it.
Watching this movie makes Capote look like a pointless piece of exercise: albeit the take being different and all. Spine chilling deal vs pussy cat shit.
The most recent one being 'Anatomy of a Murder', starring James Stewart. The movie is based on a very successful novel and is quite an elaborate court room trial. James Stewart, as ever, provides an ore the soulful performance. Tight and strangely enough, its quite witty in parts. Theres good bit of 'tooty frooty' jazz of Duke Ellington thrown into the film as well, with the man making a bit appearance as well. It marks the debut of one George Scott as Mr. Dancer (the cruel prosecutor) - impressive. This Scott fellow went on to perform in the TV series of '12 Angry Men' years later.
Rating: * * +
Which brings us to '12 Angry Men' - another classic. This movie begins with the jurors adjourning to come a decision - Henry Fonda as the rebel juror. But the truth is, I have come across various parts of the movie (evidence related stuff) in hoardes of hindi, malayalam and tamil movies. The whole movie was one Deja-vu trip, which did indicate that it is a bible of sorts when it comes to this genre.
Rating: * *
The '12 Angry Men' was directed by Sidney Lumet in 1957. And nearly 50 years later, Vin Diesel appeared in his latest venture, 'Find Me Guilty'. A true story apparently - but not that exciting or gripping. Was impressed by Vin Diesel though - a la Sly Stallone in 'Oscar' - muscle men who can make you laugh.
Rating: * *
Two men smuggle a group of Indians across the Czech border. One of the refugees accidentally leaves her baby behind in the truck. This sets off a chain of tragic comic events that takes us into two different strata of Czech society. At one end is the soccer hooligan who's wife is craving for a baby. At the other end is the professor who has been diagonised with a tumor and his dysfunctional family. Both the stories intersect in a very tangential but yet natural manner and then go their separate ways.
Tabu gives a very strong performance as young woman who is forced to become a bar dancer in Mumbai. You would think that this being a Hindi movie about bar dancers would have dance sequences every ten minutes. But NO. It portrays the dancers in a very deglamorised fashion.
A very introspective and beautiful film set across the cities of Taipei and Paris. A girl buys a watch from a street watch seller in Taipei and flies to Paris. He walks around Taipei resetting watches to Paris time. She floats all alone in the city of Paris. Weaved into this storyline is the watch seller's mother who is awaiting for the return of her dead husbands spirit. The common thread is each character's inarticulacy, loneliness and despair.
This ones figured in my list for a while - its been considered a cult movie of its times. A good watch indeed - panoramic insight into the NYC underbelly of 1969.
Its not often that two different stories from two different men from two different parts of the world talk about the same thing. In their own unique way.
I too like the hero of this movie joined a theater group to meet meet people and generally do away with my free time. He got to play a lead role and more importantly got laid. I ended up using my free time being bored out of my mind.
Arey, what a movie man.. Deadly Deadly.
The movie is definitely worth a watch - with another brief, but, stellar performance by Boman Irani. Deadly bugger this fellow is - clearly one of the best we have around these days. It seems he is increasingly becoming a favourite for most mainstream movie makers - which is good, as it will ensure some level of quality amidst the usual trash. Some other performances of note by Mr. Irani - 'Lets Talk', bit role in 'Darna Mana Hai'.
Cheesy dialogues, corny love story and a script which was DoA. Good effects and feel though. A pity that it turned out the way it did.
Ki-Duk Kim, the maker of "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring", directs this strange and sadistic tale. Like many South Korean films I have seen, this too was tightly made and well acted. The main protagonist / villain does not say much through out the movie. But then again he does not have to. His face and actions says it all.
One of Wong Kar-Wai's earlier and more nosier films. It features Takeshi Kaneshiro as a man who lost his speech because he ate a can of pineapples past its expiry date. :-)
I rarely watch horror films. But I have a small list of horror flicks that I like. This one goes right to the top 5 of that list.
