[Abhay]

Is this based on the recent book on the Comorra from Napoli ? If yes I'm sure its not romaticized as that author had got death threats and was living in exile.
Will see if I can find it.

Last week I saw a French movie 8 Femmes (8 women) - It is a comedy about 8 women in a house (family+maids) and the murder mystery of the only male in it. It also is more like a play (I think it is based on a play) and a musical as the cast breaks into songs on some occasions. A bit weird but still entertaining and the cast is very solid.
Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert etc..

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by Abhay

Is this based on the recent book on the Comorra from Napoli ? If yes I'm sure its not romaticized as that author had got death threats and was living in exile.
Will see if I can find it.

Yes, it is based on Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano, published in 2006. Following the publication of the book Saviano has been threatened by the Napolitan mafia and now has a permanent police escort given by the Italian Govt.

[Abhay]

Another couple of films this week-end..

Solino - Italian/German film about a poor Italian family from a village called Solino, who move to the Ruhr area of Germany for a better life. Its a drama about their relations, especially of the 2 brothers, one of whom wants to become a film-maker and the older one who is jealous of him.
although the story is predictable, the film is good with some very good acting. Director is the German born Turk, Fatih Akin.

3.5/5

El Orfanato - Spanish film (The Orphanage). This is a horror film but not your typical gory movie or horror movie. Subtle with not too many cheap tricks but some scenes which make you jump, more due to the dark, brooding atmosphere, the film score and again excellent acting.

3/5

[Sam Kapasi]

I saw the movie Das Parfum (or Perfume: The story of a murderer) - It stunned me with its detail and story.
It's a movie you cannot watch without squirming and cannot stop watching.





Set in 18th century France, it is the story of a man born with a superhuman sense of smell and the desire to capture the smell of a woman in a bottle.

I won't say more, other than it is a unique story bases on the book by Patrick Süskind.

It's disturbing. Has some violence and a lot of nudity. But I recommend it.

And yes, it is in English.

[vinaydas]

i absolutely loved the dark yet beautiful plot in the movie perfume.
too bad i saw the edited version

[paras211]

Excellent movie Perfume. Is it a german film originally?
@ vinay lol you need to see the unedited version

[vinaydas]

anyone seen this movie called Apocalypse now directed by francis ford coppola . This movie portrays how being in a war can toy with your mind etc etc Definitely a good watch.
by far the best war movie ever made!!

2nd best war movie in my list of all time is Full metal jacket by Stanley Kubrick.

[JVH]

Vinay - I agree with you.

Apocalypse now was one of the greatest movies ever made. After watching it for the first time, my colleague and I were speechless for a few minutes. I immediately bought an uncut version. It was made decades ago and no movie has mesmerized the audience like it has till date.

A true collector's movie.

[amitoj]

Sigh. I have so much catching up to do.
Got a couple of underrated sci-fi films lined up though:
1. Primer: 4 guys make a time travel device. Things go haywire when their copies from differnet times start roaming all over the place. I remember a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip series where something similar happens, except that Calvin makes a copying machine.

2. Dark City : I saw this movie loooong back. I am getting ready for a re-watch. This came out an year before Matrix and i felt Matrix was a cheap imitation of this movie. I am going to see if i still think the same about Dark City.

Also got another movie, Synecdoche New York lined up, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Roger Ebert, a prominent film critic in US, has called this movie the best of the decade. He says this about the director, "Kaufman is writing in the upper reaches with Bergman. Now for the first time he directs"
EDIT: Guess what other movies Kaufman has written screenplays for? They are :
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Adaptation
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Being John Malkovich

Needless to say, he likes to mess around with the viewer's mind!!

[anurag_p80]

I happened to catch one of Jacque Tati's movies, and absolutely loved it. My review here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ml#post1723220

Anyone else familiar with his works? Which one to catch next?

@Sam, Perfume is just an awesomely creepy movie. Loved the acting by Ben Whinshaw (???) and Dustin Hoffman (sorta reminded me of Al Pacino's Shylock).

[vinaydas]

My Current Favorite Director
Mr Akira Kurosawa
Saw Three of his best movies and im simply awestruck by this brilliant man.
Shichinin no samurai(seven samurai) ,Yojimbo,Rashomon.
arguably are one of the best movies ever made.

My favourite(going away from the odds)
is yojimbo ,although rated lower compared to seven samurai which is on the top of the list of all time great movies.

Yojimbo means bodyguard in Japanese and the story is about a wanderer samurai who comes to a town in chaos. Two rival gangs are fighting to take control over the town and the people of the town are the real sufferers.
Akira kurosawa movies are empty without the Great Actor whom i consider if not the best ,one of the best actors of all time Mr Toshirô Mifune.
Clint Eastwood has probably taken inspiration from Toshirô Mifune's Charatcher in the movie yojimbo to play his role in his bad *** movies such as good bad and the ugly,few dollars more,fist full of dollars.

Akiro kurosawa movies are a must watch for all movie fans.

Next Satyajit Ray movies .

[vinaydas]

seems like im the only guy updating this thread.
The Apu Trilogy
Arguably the best work of Satyajit ray.
first in line of the apu trilogy is Pather Panchali its about the life of a very poor family.
well thats basically it
BUTTTT
do not get fooled by the script.
its simplicity is what makes it movie brilliant. It tells you about the various problems that a struggling family encounters.
The Mother's role is played by Karuna Banerjee the way she played her character brought a sense of realism in the movie.

I will not rate this movie because simply im not worthy enough to rate this movie or any other movie that makes it to this thread(at least by me ).
because it is simply that good.

[vamsi.kona]

Hmm. So many movies, most of which I haven't even heard. Lots of work to do.

Anyway coming to my all time fav list, I would put one or two at a time so that I could give a brief about what I liked in that movie. I would like others also to give brief review about their fav films and what they liked in that. It would help others decide whether they should go for it or not as not all would like all the genres.

Coming to my list, the first movie that comes to my mind is "The last samurai" starring Tom cruise, Ken watanabe, Hiroyuki sanada, Koyuki and others among the main cast, directed by Edward Zwick. What I like in the film is the way the story evolves, the locales, dialogues - always subtle and to the point, the fight sequences etc. It touches upon subjects such as Loyalty, Honour, Dedication, Pride in one's culture, Respect and what not. Edward Zwick took a rebellion that happened in late 18th century in Japan as his inspiration but the story of the film is completely a work of fiction.

The brief story - Algren is a US Army captain, around the US civil war time, is disillusioned and angry with himself and his country men after he partakes in a campaign against the Red Indians, during which women and children are also killed by the Army. On the other side of the globe Japan's young emperor is advised by his selfish minister Omura to pursue modernisation and abolishes many age old traditions. This angers Katsumoto, the royal teacher as well as army general. He tries to impress upon the emperor but Omura thwarts his attempts and Katsumoto decides to rebel and stop the plans of Omura with might.

In order to suppress the rebellions, who are well versed in traditional warfare, Omura imports modern firearms from US and other countries and approaches Colonel Bagley ( who lead the assault against Red Indians) to train the army. Colonel Bagley, with some help from Seargent Zebulon Gant convince Algren to accept the offer. Once in Japan Algren is forced by Bagley to lead an assault against Katsumoto in spite of Algren saying that the Army is still not ready for a conflict. During the assault the Army is defeated by Katsumoto's men and Algren is captured.

During his capture Algren learns the ideaology of Katsumoto and the reason for his rebellion. By the time Katsumoto releases Algren from captivity he falls in love with their way of live and comes to respect Katsumoto. During the final war he sides with the samurai and fights the war against the Imperial Army of Japan.

One thing that some of my friends who watched the movie and also others pointed out was that the character of Katsumoto opposes modernity and advancement. However, if one carefully observes, Katsumoto himself learns and speaks English. The only thing that he opposes is mindless modernisation and advancement which would kill ones culture. Case in point made in the film is the ban on growing long hair and top knots.

A special mention should be made of Ken watanabe who plays the character of Katsumoto. He literally brings the character Katsumoto to life with his display of emotions and it is really hard not to side with the character in the film. So are Hiroyuki sanada and Koyuki who play the characters of Ujio and Taka respectively. Their action is so subtle that if you see any other film immediately one may feel other actors are going overboard with their acting.

And the music by Hans Zimmer is simply out of this world. It elevates the experience to such a level that you feel the pain, the adrenaline, pride just as the scene's unfold on the screen. I don't know how many times I listen to the background score of this film, and every time it brings some calmness with it that I cannot explain.

If one needs to understand the logic or rather the idea behind a scene one should watch movie with voice over commentary by Edward zwick, which is available on DVD's in special features. A simple example for this - In the film the character of Algren, played by Tom is so disturbed that he never really finds peace or calmness. This is symbolized by the nightmares he has and director very subtly points to his impatience with himself by showing Algren not being able to sit in a place peacefully for a moment for most part of the first half. Later on as he comes to learn and appreciate the "bushido" (I think that is the term) or Samurai way of life, he slowly finds peace within himself and this tranformation is reflected in a scene where Algren is shown meditating.

The following narration by the character Algren in the film showcases that

"Spring, 1877. This marks the longest I've stayed in one place since I left the farm at 17. There is so much here I will never understand. I've never been a church going man, and what I've seen on the field of battle has led me to question God's purpose. But there is indeed something spiritual in this place. And though it may forever be obscure to me, I cannot but be aware of its power. I do know that it is here that I've known my first untroubled sleep in many years. "
The picture is best summed by two dialogues

One is when Algren chats with Katsumoto at a graveyard where katsumoto's ancestors are laid to rest. There while discussing about war and life, Katsumoto says this

"to see Life in every breath, every moment". This is the defining moment which changes Algrens view of life.

And in the end when the emperor, though supporting modernisation says "but we should not forget who we are and where come from".

I think I could keep on blabbering about the movie but would stop now.

[vj_carLover]

Movies that left a mark on me

Green Mile (For the invinsible Tom Hanks)
Shawshank Redemption (Shows patience, cunning yet smart)

Ofcourse the classic
Five Men Army
Mackenna's Gold

[Delta Wing]

Just so many movies I absolutely love. Some, in no special order (qualification in the list being my ability to watch it any number of times):

Back to the Future (1 and 3 stonking, even can live with 2nd part)
T2:Judgment Day
No Country For Old Men (Found the book to be great too, awesome insight)
A Few Good Men, Cocktail, Top Gun
Good Will Hunting
My Left Foot, Last of the Mohicans (superb movie with stonking music), Gangs of New York (hard to beat De Lewis's performance here)
Godfather (1 and 2)
One Fine Day
Goldfinger, Golden Eye, A View to a Kill, Casino Royale (the Craig starrer)
Becket (Peter O'Toole is the master of the craft here, the original Jean Anouillh(spelling may be wrong) play is even better)
American Pie 2
Point Break
Angoor (Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma, their timings are the best ever)
Hera Pheri (Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar had it made in this one, Paresh Rawal easily slips into 'Baburao Ganpatrao Apte' and what a laugh riot)
Chachi 420 (the one movie I found better than the original Mrs Doubtfire, regardless of the splendid Mr Williams' antics)
Deewar (is there anyone who doesn't love the action in the docks when Mr Bachchan throws the key at the goon with the promise to open it himself after bashing them all or his careless brushing off of the remark on his businessman ability on buying a building at a high price)
Kala Pathhar (this is a jewel, for me, Shatru with his callous yet human fullto attitude takes the cake)
Jaane bhi do Yaaron (almost died laughing, managed to live but my tummy still hurts)

Many other on the list, can't put all down here at one go.