Freedom Writers (2007)

Cast : Hillary Swank
Patrick Dempsey
April L Hernandez

Genre : Drama

Director : Richard LaGravenese

Rating : 7.5/10

I know the other members of Shit. Inc. would probably kill me for this, but I have decided to start shitty movies, our movie review blog, with a movie that’s far from shitty. “Freedom writers”, based on a true story, is one of the few based-on-a-true-story-movies that manage to remain believable without getting insanely boring. It conveys its message with style, intensity and excitement.

The movie describes the effect of racial identities and the ensuing friction on the lives of teenagers in a poor urban neighbourhood in America. The neighbourhood public school was converted into a multi-racial school as part of a government program to diversify the classrooms. The school’s academic performance, along with its reputation, takes a big hit and the teacher’s blame it squarely on the inclusion of students from other ethnic backgrounds. However, the new English teacher steps up to convert her class from semi-literate gang members to highly motivated and responsible young adults with the courage to choose the right path. In the process, the students end up writing a book based upon their struggles.

The movie is extremely successful in capturing a teenager’s feelings of racial identity, and provides a good depiction of their possible adverse impacts. It also gives a (hopefully exaggerated) view of the racial divide in America. The importance of a teacher’s role in shaping young minds is strongly underscored, and perhaps teachers would be reminded to put a little bit more effort before giving up on students (Of course, it’s too late to help any of us but maybe some innocent minds somewhere will be saved from turning into shit). The movie has few flaws and those that are there are fairly forgivable. Some of the scenes have been overdramatized, and some characters, especially those of the other teachers in the school are oversimplified and sketchy. Also, a lot of the character sketches seem to rigidly follow established stereotypes. However, this does little to reduce the movie’s overall appeal. A must watch.

By the way, Hillary Swank does a fabulous job as the English teacher, and portrays her passion and her difficulties beautifully. Also manages to look fairly beautiful...

The Producers (2005)

Cast : Nathan Lane

Matthew Broderick

Uma Thurman

Genre : Comedy / Musical

Director : Susan Stroman

Rating : 8/10

This is definitely one movie you can call “different”. Trust me, you have never seen a movie like this one. You know that feeling, when you think of people who actually pay up to watch a Broad Way show, and you feel that there is surely something wrong with their brains. How can anyone see those awkwardly boring shows? How can you watch a bunch of people for such long a time, when all you see them doing is just sing and dance (Agreed, Bollywood movies too have them, but then at least they also have shitty dialogues, impossible action sequences, hilarious romance and whatnot)?

But this movie changes it all forever. It’s a musical alright, there is a new song every few seconds, actors are constantly dancing around, every dialogue is part of a song and sets are as good as (if not better than) any Broad Way show (or any Bollywood period movie for that matter). Hardly ten minutes into the movie and you will find yourself actually enjoying a musical (and you still won’t believe it!!). And there are simply two reasons for this:

1. It’s got an awesome storyline. It tells you about a flop Broad Way producer, Max Bialystock, who has lost a lot of money and on the verge of getting broke he meets an timid accountant, Leo Bloom, who tells him how (if he is only capable of making flops) he can actually make a lot of money by producing a flop on shoestring budget and running away with the surplus left of the actual money he raises (which runs into millions, thanks to Max’s romance with loads of old women, who are ready to do anything for him). And then, together they go on to produce a play armed with world’s worst script “Spring Time For Hitler” (seriously, It sucks!), the worst director and the worst actors they can find. The only problem... the play “has” to be a flop if they want to sneak away with the money unnoticed, but as Murphy said,” if anything can go wrong, it will!”...
2. Other (and bigger) reason is the cast. I thought nothing could be harder than to find singing and dancing actors in Hollywood, that’s why the cast blew me away. Matthew Broderick as the shivering accountant is great as usual, he can never fail to impress you with his boyish charms (at 43) and stupendous acting skills (add to that the dancing he had to do).The surprise came in form of Nathan Lane, surely no one else could’ve done the justice that he did to Max’s character. He was really at his best, matching Broderick step to step (literally!). Of the rest, Uma Thurman as the weird secretary-slash-receptionist did the finest job I have seen her do (also, she manages to stop your heart beat a fair number of times with her beauty). Will Ferrell (as an escaped Nazi, who wrote Spring Time For Hitler) makes you laugh in a way only he can.

This is one helluva movie, filled with hilarious moments and jokes, which is bound to make you laugh your guts out (not literally!). This is screenplay at its best(have to mention Mel Brooks here, he deserves the praise).Seriously, go check out this one any which way you can..!!

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Cast : Keanu Reeves

Winona Ryder

Robert Downey Jr.

Director : Richard Linklater

Genre : Animation / Drama / Sci-Fi

Rating : 6.5/10

Yes I know, promos were excellent, so much so that I was dying to watch this one. But now, I am not too sure of what actually happened. I watched it without ever taking my eyes off the screen. In some ways, I loved it. It was probably everything I expected it to be. Plotline was excellent, acting top class, first rate screenplay and it wasn’t even boringly long (100 minutes I guess). But, don’t know, something just wasn’t right.

It’s based in L.A., sometime in future. Society is somewhat off anything remotely unhealthy (drugs, alcohol, smoking, whatever!). Only a handful of people indulge in these “pleasures”. Story in a way revolves around the effects of the latest drug, substance-D. It shows you how a cop on an undercover assignment, has to lead a double life. One, to watch the surveillance feed of a group of junkies and two, to stick around with the same bunch of people as their friend. Now, it’s not too long before he’s hooked onto substance-D himself and starts to have symptoms that range from dyslexia to schizophrenia. Despite his getting seriously screwed up in the head, his “mother-organization” keeps pushing him to continue his work. And that’s how “the D” slowly grows on him, so much so that he ultimately loses his own identity (dig this, while watching the surveillance video, he can’t even identify himself).

Really, have to admit, it’s a good story and it was handled very well too. Story couldn’t have been bad, it comes from the master of Sci-Fi genre Philip K. Dick after all (remember? Paycheck, Minority Report, Next, Total Recall, Blade Runner, it can’t get better than this). But somehow it doesn’t click. I mean, c’mon, we’re talking screwed minds here, and people (at least those like me) really love this kind of junkie-shit. If such a story doesn’t satisfy you, you know there is something really wrong with it. I can’t pinpoint the exact flaw but there is something. Watch it and find it for yourself, I can only promise that you won’t regret it.

Cast comprises of good actors, plus they had their jobs perfectly cut out for them so it turned out to be just fine. Keanu Reeves as Bob Arctor (the screwed cop) ran away with all the accolades, he was the center of the whole plot after all. Robert Downey Jr. did a good job of the “scientist” with weird ideas, and Rory Cochrane as the junkie-on-the-verge-of-going-nuts is worth a mention. Winona Ryder did an OK OK comeback job.

If nothing else, watch this movie for the best animation work I have seen in a long long time. Really, they did a fairly neat job, it looks quite snazzy (see the picture above). Whole idea of shooting the movie with real actors first and then sketching over the frames is seriously cool. Infact its animation scheme is the reason for which I watched it in the first place. It’s not the best you have seen, but definitely worth a watch…

Philadelphia (1993)

Cast : Tom Hanks

Denzel Washington

Director : Jonathan Demme

Genre : Drama

Rating : 7/10

Hey, believe me, it crunches my heart that I couldn’t give any higher rating to this movie. But, I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that this movie is really old and in the contemporary world, the direction that this story got, is just not good enough. The whole central theme of this movie is purely excellent, and I agree that the movie deserved the two Oscars it received, but then, even they were for Tom Hanks and the music, not for the direction or best movie, you see!!

Story revolves around a hardworking lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who has been doing an excellent job for his firm, but even then he is fired just because he gets infected with AIDS. And given that in those times (not to mention, even today) AIDS was considered a taboo, he has to go through a lot of humiliation and a handicapped battle to prove that he too deserves as good a life as anyone else. He gets support in form of his family and a self-contradicting lawyer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), who is a bit hesitant initially, but gives everything to it eventually. And as a result we get to see a court room drama, which is a real eye-opener of sorts.

To give due credit to Jonathan Demme, he handled the whole issue of homosexuality and the part that projects the feelings of the heart of a wronged man and those of the body of a painfully ill man, extremely well. But disappointingly, he fails to capture the real essence of the courtroom battle, which in turn is, in parts, the soul of the film. As a result you find yourself feeling incomplete (seriously, sometimes you will actually feel that the lawyer defending the firm has got better arguments than Denzel Washington). Infact, even till the final verdict was pronounced, I felt that Denzel was gonna lose the case.

I’ve got to say that Demme was really fortunate to have Hanks and Washington with him (not to forget the script, which thankfully had a life of its own, a surefire Oscar material). Anything said in Tom Hanks’ praise is simply understatement. Hollywood never had an actor better than him (he’s incomparable anyway!). He makes Beckett look so real that, at times, you want to jump inside the screen and extend your full support to him in his battle against the inhuman system. Really, you’ll feel so much for him. As for Denzel Washington, he was refreshing, I mean, he cracks the dialogues provided to him in a manner that makes his character instantly likeable. Have to tell you that there was Antonio Banderas too, he was highly underused, but I like him too much to not mention him.

A fair number of movies have been made on this subject (our very own Phir Milenge, for example), but none of them could ever be as good as this one. Maybe it’s the tag of being the first movie of this type or the unique manner in which it successfully captures the way those times were. Or probably, it’s just that it has something none of the others can ever have, Tom Hanks..!!

Chhoti Si Baat (1975)

Cast : Ashok Kumar

Amol Palekar

G. Asrani

Vidya Sinha

Genre : Comedy / Romance

Director : Basu Chatterjee

Rating : 7/10

I think I’ve had enough of that Bollywood-is-full-of-copy-cats crap. Most people say that it isn’t even worth watching a Bollywood movie these days due to their unimaginative plots and in some corner of my heart, maybe, even I too feel the same (one of the reasons why we haven’t reviewed any Hindi movie yet). So finally I set about to review one and I can’t think of a better film than this one.

I watched this one recently and I secretly beam with pride when I announce that Will Smith’s much loved “Hitch” was loosely copied from this Bollywood movie. Actually you can even call “Hitch” just a sub-plot of this film.

It revolves around the life of one Arun (Amol Palekar, as lovable and brilliant as ever) who, besides having other youth related problems, has the most talked about problem among men… women! He is truly, madly, deeply and a bit stupidly in love with one Prabha (Vidya Sinha, manages to look like the girl everyone wants to take home to their mothers). As if his own cowardice in expressing his love is not enough, an anti-hero (superbly portrayed by Asrani) is thrown in. He almost always sweeps the girl off her feet before our lovelorn hero. Enters Col. Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh (Ashok Kumar, pointless and needless to say that he was brilliant). He becomes our Romeo’s mentor and helps him completely turn his attitude (towards his life and his love) around.

With so many sequences showing Arun’s shorthand in love and thereafter the whole training and grooming he receives, makes this movie one of the best comedies ever made in India. Simply put, with such a lovely, interesting and original story in hand Basu Chatterjee had very little to do in direction (obviously, the cast took care of the rest). Though the screenplay he wrote is incomparable, he deserves all the applause.

Enough has been said about the cast already. It’s very fortunate that Basu had India’s most underrated actor (Amol Palekar) and India’s most loved and mimicked actors (Asrani and Ashok Kumar) to work with. Nobody could’ve portrayed Arun better than Palekar (we’ve kinda grown up loving to watch Amol do these kinds of roles). Then, when the colonel’s name was mentioned in the film, I was kinda expecting that it would be Ashok Kumar (imagine my delight when it really turned out to be that way!). As of Asrani, he was a nice surprise (no one can imagine a girl to be impressed by Asrani, at least I didn’t, and that’s one reason why he was impressive). The title track of the movie is quite catchy too (I hummed it for almost a week).

It’s definitely a watch able (in fact enjoyable) flick. It’s highly improbable that you will ever get a chance to see it (guess I was really lucky to chance upon it while channel surfing), but if you do get lucky, don’t miss this one.

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Cast : Ellen Burstyn
Jennifer Connelly
Jared Leto
Marlon Wayans

Genre : Drama / Crime

Director : Darren Aronofsky

Rating : 9/10

Ever since I saw this movie, I have been dying to review it. Reason of course is quite simple. This has been like the most impressive one that I have seen in recent times. Subject is very close to my heart (I’ve already told you how much I love junkie-shit). It captures the all basics brilliantly. In fact if I’m asked to list the movies that I wish I had made, this one would be right at the top. And believe me when I say that the theme isn’t the only reason on which I based this choice, there are a lot of others...

Firstly, it is definitely the director. I have to admit that direction and screenplay (written by Hubert Selby Jr., who incidentally wrote the novel on which it is based too) might seem to be quite weird to most of you, and you can be forgiven if you mistake the movie for a documentary or a television show. But I have to say that Darren Aronofsky did complete justice to it (you have to admit that it’s not everyday you find such a perfect adaptation of a novel). It’s as if the novel was written for Darren only. Every sequence has a meaning attached to it, and love scenes particularly were the most perfect blend of sensuality and erotica I’ve ever seen (not to forget the awesome depiction of the junkie psyche which in turn is the whole underlying basis of the movie).

Coming back to the whole theme and the story of the movie. Here I would like to just summarize the whole thing up. Story is simply about four people who have great dreams and high expectations of their lives, and how all of them are shattered brutally and heart wrenchingly in the end due to their addiction to drugs spiraling out of their control. But believe me that it’s not as simple as it sounds. When you see it, it takes your soul to a completely different level where you will see and feel things like never before. You will actually get the feel of sufferings and pain that the characters experience, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that it will be a life changing experience for you.

I’ve come across a lot of different reactions to this movie. I’ve seen people run out of the room (‘coz they couldn’t watch it), some found it too boring and most of them found it too “full of pain” and “real” to watch, and sincerely, I know the difference. Then, I’ve also seen people applauding it in an unstoppable manner (confirming that I’m not the only weirdo who worships this movie). And then there’s the lot that sits stunned (I had a similar first reaction), ‘coz it really can take your breathe away and blow your mind. You might be too stunned to speak and words will fail you. Of course there are those too who actually cry but let’s not discuss them (partly because I’m one of them).

Of cast, Jared Leto, as the guy who is completely in love with his girlfriend and who wants to make up to his mother for his past mistakes, is very good. Marlon Wayans impresses too, mostly because of the flashbacks he gets of his mother which show a completely different side to his character’s personality (these scenes are among the ones that make you cry). Then there’s Jennifer Connelly, a girl who has to turn to prostitution (kind of!) to satiate her addiction (it’s fucking tragic!). Have to say, Connelly never looked as beautiful as in this one (not to mention, it’s one of her most brilliant performances). Last but not least by any means, in fact the most surprising and impressive of the lot, is Ellen Burstyn. She plays a woman whose unrealistic expectations of appearing on a T.V. show drives her towards drug overdose unknowingly, and by the time she actually comes to know about it she has gone completely nuts (in fact, she makes you cry the most…). I have to put in a word for Clint Mansell’s music here, without him, this movie would have been completely crippled.

It’s an extremely brilliant piece of art; nothing like this was ever made. I recommend this to each and every one of you. I can’t really fathom why it couldn’t win an Oscar (probably because it was pitted against an obviously tough competition that included Gladiator). But it is definitely worth a watch (maybe a hundred times).

It’s touching, brutal, real, fucking brilliant and definitely one of the bests ever…