The Shawshank Redemption (1994) “I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged”

“Every mind has billions of ideas and each one of us do things that no one expects us to do, some of those things are visible, some not…
 but still one of those things that make our life worth living is FREEDOM”



Tim Robbins stars as Andy Dufresne, a young man who faces a long, long time in prison after he is wrongfully found guilty of murdering his wife and her lover. While inside he learns an awful lot about what a man can hold onto and let himself be put through if there is still an ounce of hope in his soul.
Bottles of cool drink on a hot rooftop, a slowly building library collection, the moment of musical joy that sees Dufresne severely punished for his overstepping of the mark and many other scenes spring to mind as classic moments in a movie almost chock full of classic moments.
Andy quickly gets befriended by "Red" (Morgan Freeman), actually the narrator of the story, both soon prove that even in the worst circumstances, within the "hell on earth" they can maintain human dignity and strive on their own way to freedom...
Morgan Freeman is the film's secret strength, playing "the guy who can get it for you" with a note of welcome ambiguity. Watching him in an early scene, when a fat, new convict (fresh fish) is being beaten by cruel head guard Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown), you don't know whether Red looks so crestfallen for the victim or for the packs of cigarettes he just lost betting the guy wouldn't break before Dufresne
James Whitmore was equally memorable as a prisoner who was unable to adjust to the outside after his parole following a 50 year stint. This shows that people who have been incarcerated for such a long period, need some sort of readjustment training before they rejoin society. For Whitmore, freedom meant ultimate doom, making the scene one of my all-time favorite displaying the ultimate dark side and a certain fear in freedom.
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman alongwith James Whitmore etched unforgettable performances as prisoners charged with crime. The film shows what prison life is all about. Subjects dealing with prison survival, brutality, corruption and ultimate redemption are well shown.
An outstanding film dealing with prisons as seen by several prisoners. Many social problems are discussed here. The picture earned a well-deserved best picture Oscar nomination. It certainly should have tied with the winner, the equally good "Forrest Gump."

My Rating - 10/10
 

Witness (1985)

It is a film about adults, whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them. The story focuses on a detective (Harrison Ford) protecting a young Amish boy who becomes the target of a ruthless killer after he witnesses a brutal murder.
Witness is as much about the meeting of cultures as about cops and robbers, this is one of those lucky movies which works out well on all counts and shows that there are still craftsmen lurking in Hollywood. The film is powerful, assured, full of beautiful imagery and devoid of easy moralising, which is good.
Ford is Chicago Detective John Book, assigned to investigate a murder that was committed by crooked cop Danny Glover. The only witness is the son of an Amish widow, played by Kelly McGillis. When Book gets too close to the truth, the crooked cops try to kill him, forcing Book to take it on the lamb and hide out in the Amish country. There, he slowly makes a transition into their society, their way of life, and of course, he starts to fall for Kelly McGillis. (who would later star with pretty boy Cruise in "Top Gun").
Alexander Godunov, who later played the murderous Karl in "Die Hard", makes his debut here as an Amish farmer who is, Ford's romantic rival for Kelly. Also making his debut here is a much younger Viggo Mortensen as another Amish father. Mortensen's barely evident in the role out here,although had his eventual success as Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings" ........
After Star Wars & Indiana Jones,Ford succeeded in a serious role and his multi-layered performance earned him his only Oscar Nomination till date.Well directed Romantic Thriller by Peter Weir (Director of Dead poet's Society and Truman Show) that earned him his first Academy Award Nomination. Do watch this one for great Cinematography and Artwork

My Rating - 8/10

Gattaca (1997)

Director Andrew Niccol's Gattaca, in my humble opinion, is  the peak of the motion picture art form. All aspects of the production serve the story spectacularly.

Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is one of rare naturally born children, who is condemned to die in young age with 99% percent probability. Vincent wants nothing more than to be an astronaut, so he buys himself a different life as Jerome (Jude Law), who has been crippled in an accident. From here begins Vincent's deception game to reach the stars.
Basically the plot deals with the issues of human spirit: what Vincent can achieve despite of his condition. Can he be better than the perfect people? Can he deceive everyone? Also there are lots of issues between the perfect and their humane flaws and how Vincent as flawed contrast with them.

Gattaca represents a rare genre of intellectual sci-fi movies that contains minimal amount of action and none of larger than life stuff (usual weapons and monsters kind)  This kind of  genre is heavily relied on the actors and settings. Settings for Gattaca are originally adapted where the future children are not conceived naturally, but through genetic engineering. This has brought up new kind of racism: perfect versus flawed

Watching Ethan Hawke's role as Vincent evade the relentless pursuit of the authorities while trying to be on the Titan mission, romancing Irene (Uma Thurman), and micro-managing his samples from Jerome (Jude Law in a very impressive supporting turn) made for some the most riveting viewing ever.

The best part for me regarding the movie is the greed and passion Hawke carries to be successful on his mission despite the disabilities on his side......At that point of time it doesn't matter wether he gets caught or not but his passion really stole my heart giving an insight into the hard work he really does although is not very legal though...

Do watch the movie for great screenplay,stunning cars,and great sets and decoration and Uma Thurman delivering a great performance in one of the most glamorous role of  her career accompanied by excellent acting of two leads well played by Eathan Hawke and Jude Law. The retro-style art direction, script, acting, music, and lighting all brought to life, much too chillingly, a cold and soulless world where the content of your genes counted for everything while the content of your character counted for nothing.

My Rating  - 9/10

Layer Cake (2004)

Matthew Vaughn  (Director of Stardust & Kick-Ass) made an impressive Directorial debut with Daniel Craig in the lead for the first time in his career in Layer Cake, a British movie.Craig, portrays a successful cocaine dealer at the top of his game, and he's planning to get out while he is ahead. His boss has one last assignment though, to find the missing daughter of his old pal. Caught up in a major ecstasy deal, a brutal Serbian gang and everyone trying to double cross each other, Craig has go against his own rules and outwit the lot of them.
The movie packs on the machismo and revels in the outlaw's contempt for the "straight" world without ever losing track of the menace and danger of the outlaw way of life. The plot is full of twists and turns and may take more than one viewing to take in, which is good for movie fans who like their films "chewy".
Layer Cake runs a fairly brisk hour and forty some odd minutes. It's well paced and has great narration. The lead character played by Daniel Craig (aka the next/future James Bond) is interesting as sort of someone obviously greedy but smart enough to know he's in the wrong business. There's an excellent mixture of fear in his character's actions/dialogue which is well placed earning believability.The supporting cast, on the whole English produce polished snappy dialogue with cool, collected energy. The editing is fast paced, but thankfully the director has chosen a fairly linear storyline.
Layer Cake is based on a novel by J.J. Connolly, who wrote the screenplay for the movie.  Originally Guy Ritchie was due direct but he had to put out because of scheduling conflicts. This was a blessing really because we all know that Ritchie would have just made Layer Cake a comical mockery fair. What Vaughan did was he played the material as straight as possible, keeping comedy to a minimum and a made an good example of a British Gangster film. Vaughan shows that he could handle the material and do some stylist directing trick like a pro, fitting in with the film.

My Rating 8/10

21 grams (2003)

The title might mislead the casual non-viewer. One might be led to believe the title is in reference to drugs. In fact, it is a reference to what is purported to be the amount of weight that a person loses when they die. Fitting enough, because this movie seems to be all about death, both literal and spiritual.

Snapshots of tragedy: the lives of three people--a wife and mother of two, a dying man in need of a new heart, and an ex-con turned counselor at a religious center-intersect after a tragic car accident. The film consists of episodes in their lives (before and after the accident) which are shuffled about, with scene after dramatic scene served up-one may assume-in random order; yet there's a method to this editing madness, and the film's narrative actually feels much more linear in retrospect.

In masterpiece movies like Once Upon a Time in America, Reservoir Dogs, and even Memento, the scrambled story structure had a purpose, adding appropriate twists and turns for the audience. 21 Grams has that non-linear basis to it too, and sometimes it works for the audience to react. But I think there would be a lot more power to how these characters' fates and tragedies unfold if it was told linearly from start to finish. In many moments in the film I found myself knowing a little too much before a particular scene unfolded, or I found myself guessing about something that I didn't need to as one of the points of non-linear storytelling is answers first, questions later. It wasn't an aspect that made the film bad, yet the stock that writer and director put into this structure over interlocking the stories in order, or perhaps telling each story separately, is the film's only drawback.

The acting by Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts was over the top. All three put in first-class performances to tell a story that was intense from start to finish. I do recommend the movie, but I should warn you: don't expect anything light and fluffy.

My Rating - 8/10

Spy Game (2001)

This tale has Robert Redford, as a soon to retire CIA agent who must defy his superiors and stage a daring rescue of his former protégé (Brad Pitt, who spends most of the film getting tortured in his prison cell). Really this is Redford's show and he proves that he still has the charisma to carry a film on his aging shoulders.

The storyline is somewhat predictable, but the ways that Redford outsmarts his CIA handlers is still entertaining.

Robert Redford and Brad Pitt are well cast, and work well together, even though they seem quite out of place in the 1975 sequence in flashback (Redford looks far too old, and Pitt would have been only 12 at the time!). I really appreciate the way that the story was told in flashback, as it slows the pace down while drawing you much deeper into the plot. "Spy Game" is sure to go down as a classic modern thriller.

Great study piece for the workings of the CIA and the compromises they do with the devil for the greater good. A good case in point at how people working there are at the mercy of the top CIA insiders. If you like these subject matters, this movie is for you. Not really into this stuff? Then if you are a big fan of these hunks Redford and Pitt, you will be satisfied too!

My Rating- 7/10

The Town (2010)

I must admit that I hate Ben Affleck and don’t watch his movies usually because I personally think he is not a good actor, but I watched this movie just because of his good show as a debutant director in Gone Baby Gone. And I must say he did a wonderful job here continuing from where he left in 2007 and if you ask me he could possibly be the next Clint Eastwood in the making if he keeps growing from here in the field of Direction. Adding to that, I think his effort out here will definitely earn him the Oscar nomination this year.

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) was born and raised in Charlestown, a blue-collar neighborhood in Boston, where crime is a part of life. Charlestown is the world's capital for carjacking, kidnappings, and armed robberies. The tricks of the criminal trade are passed down from father to son. Doug is the brains and ruthless leader of a gang of bank robbers who have been able to get out clean after each bank robbery. But Doug knows that his luck will not last forever, and he is looking for one last big heist that will give him the chance to leave the town in his rear-view mirror. But no one will let him, especially, his right-hand man Jeremy (James Coughlin); because he believes that it would be a personal betrayal to him, and he is not going to allow that. In a recent bank job, Doug forced the bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) to open the safe, and then took her hostage as leverage for the getaway, eventually setting her free unharmed. Doug knows that he should leave Claire alone, but she only lives four blocks from him, and he can handle it, but he begins to fall for her. Their romantic involvement is about to take them down a perilous path.

The film also has a terrific pace to it. It does have very little action scenes in it and they are not really needed to make this film more exciting. I say this because the lives of these characters become so involving to us that we really want to see what happens between them and what decisions they make and we do get in a sense to even care for them. It is so involving and fascinating that the over two hour running time is rarely felt because everything is so captivating. I would not single out a single performance as being the best because I think the whole cast does good work here. The direction is tight and focused and really brings the film together and makes for a really entertaining and thrilling watch.

I personally liked The Town better because I really felt we got to know these characters better and the on screen chemistry was great. This film also successfully blends different genres including drama, action and even romance and all were pulled off terrifically and it felt more human to me. The Town is one of the best films of 2010 and I am glad it is doing so well with audiences and at the box office.

My Rating-  8/10

Jackie Brown (1997)

Jackie Brown is a 44 year old air hostess who also acts as a money carrier for her boss, gun dealer Ordell Robbie. When one of Ordell's other employee's is caught he is forced to kill him, however, before he can get to him the employee tells the police about Jackie and they pick her up. With Jackie facing jail or being killed by Ordell she strikes a deal with both the police and him to bring in a large stash of money. However to help her retirement she plans to play the game to her own ends.

The film is still full of Tarantinoisms for the fans - the heavy soundtrack, the pop culture references, the witty, slick dialogue. It is in Jackie and Max where Tarantino has grown up a bit - although in fairness this was an adaptation rather than his own script, but he still manages them better than some of his own thin characters. Tarantino takes a breather between Pulp and the Kill Bill movies here with a nonviolent drama. It's slow, but it's refreshing.

The characters are all well conceived and all of them sustain and give an extra strength to the plot. I appreciate especially two acting jobs: The one by Samuel Jackson, which does one more time the role he does best; Pam Grier, who plays the main role (JACKIE BROWN), and does a magnificent work playing a strong and intelligent woman that can deceive everyone and ends fulfilling her goal. About DeNiro’s role, LOUIS GARA, which is not a very important to this movie, I think he does a character with a personality from what I'm used to watch in other movies. Here, he's silent and nervous and almost seems like a "poor little devil" thief.

I think Tarantino did a great job one more time. It's not a masterpiece like PULP FICTION or Kill Bill but it's a great film and must watch for any movie buff

Overall I enjoy this film and can understand why it will never be loved to the extent that Pulp was and is. However to me this is a satisfying film with an enjoyable plot and a more traditional delivery. The development of actual good characters beyond snappy dialogue is what impressed me the most.

My Rating- 8/10

Munich (2005)

Munich ,a thriller that deals with Mossad's response to the siege and killing of 11 Israeli athletes by Black September  at the 1972  Munich Olympics,  is a near flawless piece.

There is a definite message in this film and it's obvious to anyone who sees this movie and understands politics. It's important to point out that this film is "based on real events" and is not true-to-life as far as the history of Munich's aftermath. If you're okay with that, then it's an excellent story.   

The Jews had always been a recipient of numerous conflicts and atrocities since the ages of antiquity. They had been involved in slavery, territorial conflicts, racial discrimination and struggle, religious controversies and several other misunderstandings and for that the Jews is considered to be the most sensationalized race in this world.

The most often miserable fate of the Jews has countlessly been re-portrayed in film and has captured considerable sympathizers. Since the Jews had been in conflict with different races and countries, their never-ending history of war is not anymore new to the world. And movies with their struggle against countries like Egypt, Greece, Rome and Germany had continually haunted every audience.

Spielberg didn't reside on what just actually happened on the Munich Olympics hostage tragedy and its aftermath but it tried to depict the characters' dilemma on their given assignments since the predefined missions were not really clear and pure. Although the veil of nationalism and justice was the major pretext of their elders, Avner(played by Eric Bana) was caught between conspiracies he had no clue of and would somehow fail to understand unless his elders feed him the truth. The already sensationalized history of the Arab-Israeli conflict has smoothly shifted to the dilemma of the character and his allies, giving us a point of view that we need to reconsider and reflect as well as it is often overlooked in most sensationalized and biased situations as that.

The memorable aspect of this film are the tragic flashbacks of the events at Munich with the Israeli team being taken hostage to their haunting deaths at the end but to me personally  best part was a postscript note that says 9 of the 11 men targeted by Mossad were eventually assassinated.

It's again nothing less than a masterpiece from a great director and one could just imagine how Spielberg was able to harmonize and give rhythm to a number of short scenes on the movie to create an overall theme of pure drama and portrayal of the effects of the Black September tragedy in Munich to the individuals related and to the world. 

 My Rating - 8/10

In the Line of Fire

Here's another entertaining Clint Eastwood action-suspense film. Being a huge fan of him because he knows how to make entertaining movies and make his audience sit on the edge of their seats throughout the movie. Now there is an intense actor! In this story, Malkovich plays an assassin, and he is awesome to watch, thanks to his different disguises and the terrific dialogues he was given. Directed by Wolfgang Peterson (Director of Troy) it is one of those movies of 90s that would remind you of Eastwood’s trademark role Dirty Harry

          Eastwood stars as a veteran Secret Service Agent who was on the job in Dallas as a young man when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He's had his doubts ever since and been given to drink and his life at one time was a real shambles. He's gotten back on the White House detail now and when a potential assassin's landlady rats on her tenant to the Secret Service, it's Eastwood and partner Dylan McDermott who draw the case.

But the assassin is no ordinary crank case. He's a professional at his job, trained by and used by the Central Intelligence Agency. John Malkovich earned a well deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor but sadly he lost that year to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive.

 Malkovich might have been better off, but he saw Eastwood as the agent in charge breaking into his apartment while on the job and he insisted on making the whole thing personal. He calls and taunts Eastwood throughout the film. And after a while what Malkovich says does causes Eastwood to get real personal. John Malkovich is also magnificent in perhaps his most famous and celebrated psycho role.

Screen chemistry of these two incredible actors is enjoyable to watch- especially in the phone call scenes. "In the line of fire" has huge amount of splendid moments. Scene where Eastwood is hanging on the edge of the roof and points his gun at Malkovich's mouth who's only trying to help him is a classic and so is the elevator scene in the end of the film. If you ask me personally the best part was the climax involving Malkovich and Eastwood

My Rating - 8/10

L.A. Confidential

                                 

People seem to feel the need to compare this remarkable film with the film noir genre as well as with the time honored classic Chinatown. Although they are not wrong in their comparisons, LA Confidential should be taken as a great film in its own right.

A movie like this has a plot so well woven, with acting to support, and a cast that will blow you away, that it can't help but stand out. Everything from the great acting to the fantastic direction to the remarkable screenplay (which contains some truly great lines... "Go back to Jersey..."), is so perfectly executed that I find it amazing how studios consistently release such mediocre junk these days when they could elect to finance films like this.

Gritty homage to film noir about three detectives, Spacey, a big hotshot T.V. police advisor, Crowe, a defender of women against abusers and Pearce, an ambitious yet naive detective are involved in a complex case of sex, scandal, and murder. Strange, fascinating mystery in the best Hammett/Chandler tradition is vivid and atmospheric, all thanks to the superb cast including Bassinger, who richly won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as the Veronica Lake-ish fem me fatale who's surrounded by her Oscar-worthy costars including Cromwell as the police captain who's more important than you think. Directed by Hanson, who with Brian Helgeland won a well deserving Best Adapted Screeplay Oscar. A modern masterpiece of film-making based on James Ellroy’s novel. The movie plays out like a series of events that seem to be separate but is eerily connected, and a plot like that holds the most commendment I can award a film with. 

This movie totally kicks Titanic's butt! This should have won best picture (just my personal view). It had an excellent story, acting, and set design. All in all it has something for everybody, action, romance, comedy, suspense, mystery, crime, drama and anything you name it.
My Rating 9/10

Donnie Brasco: Brass, Brassiest, Brasco

The first time I watched Donnie Brasco, I did so with a bit of trepidation. The director, Mike Newell's previous work was Four Weddings and a Funeral, which didn't exactly line up well with gritty crime drama.

The story itself is based on the real life story of Federal Agent Joe Pistone, who went undercover as the titular Donnie Brasco to infiltrate one of the crime families of New York. Donnie meets Lefty, an aging hit-man who takes a liking to Donnie and they form a rather strong friendship. Soon after, the mob starts going into internal turmoil, threatening Lefty, Donnie and their associates. Meanwhile, his longterm undercover stint, and growing role in the mob, causes problems in Donnie's real life family.

Overall, it's a very convincing drama and the pull-apart between the mob world and his home life credibly strains the character. Also amazing is to watch Al Pacino's Lefty, a truly interesting character, a hard man who's feeling left out of the spotlight after years of service. The relationship between Donnie and Lefty is believably built, along with Donnie's entry into the mafia underworld.

The film is well produced as a late 90's film but also manages to get the 70's details done well enough that, if not for its production polish, you'd think it could've been shot in the era. Performers are top notch, with Jonny Depp showing a strong transition from quirky young character actor to dramatic leading man material and Al Pacino showing that he can be subtle with a remarkably subdued character.

Watching Donnie Brasco again was a treat and I'm pleased to say it holds up very well. I sometimes feel that it just suffers from being undermentioned when it comes to strong crime/mob dramas. With such a potent story of friendship, loyalty and self-destruction at its core, great performances, a solid production, it's a film that deserves a more mention. So, if you haven't seen it and you're up for a crime drama, I can recommend Donnie Brasco without reservations. 

My rating is 8/10.