Cinema Connoisseur's Cave

  A Separation This is certainly one of those rare movies of recent times where both elements of the genre Drama and Mystery shine brightly. The movie starts off with the couple Nader and Simin asking for a divorce over a comparatively light-hearted issue. Slowly but extremely engagingly the movie revolves around serious and religious issues.  The truly great facet about the movie's story is that it has sub-plots which are interleaved in a very deft manner such that those eventually accelerates the main plot, which is the separation or divorce of the two protagonists. The other aspect of the movie which really captivated me is the way the director showed the mystery part along with the social drama of relatively upper and lower class Iranian families.  Surprising truths are unraveled in the way they should be in a good mystery movie. Kudos to Asghar Farhadi for blending that with the emotional elements like the problems and dilemma of Nader and Simin's d...

Paris never looked more beautiful and colourful to me (As if I have been there). Still, one has to appreciate the way Woody Allen captured the city and by doing so enraptured the viewers. The opening montage was so beautiful that one cannot help but agree with Gil Pender's (Owen Wilson) decision of moving there.  At the start of the movie, we see our protagonist in a dilemma. The dilemma, then, seemed to be between choosing two cities, hence two lifestyles. But it was eventually between doing what one want to do, to create something which they strive for, and to accept other's opinions and have a relatively simpler life. Woody Allen created this perspective of Gil Pender, along with the romantic angle of course. This, I believe, is what Allen is master at. The blending of romance and fantasy is fantastic.  The story is simple. Pender, after a disappointed evening with his wife and her pseudo-intellectual friends, wanders in the street of Paris and at midnight ge...

Somewhere I read that this is Malick's personal offering. It sure reflects in the movie. The movie is certainly very personal. I don't  think Malick made this one to please his viewers or win any sort of awards. In this movie, we have got a director who just want to tell a story (maybe his own childhood's) in his own way by following his own mannerisms.  When the director chooses this way of making a movie, it certainly demands a fair bit of compromise from the viewers' part. If that compromise is done the movie would seem astounding.  Throughout the movie the protagonist constantly questions life and its creator or origin. Be that through the fantastic and mind-boggling visuals of creation of earth, volcanos, dinosaurs or through the dialogues by the characters; and along with that the viewers are compelled to do the same.  The story is about three brothers and their relationship with each other and their parents. The story is quite simple; but the w...

Some times you watch a movie and tell yourself "Why I haven't seen this movie before?". This is exactly that kind of a movie. The movie is said to be a bit blurred in historical accuracies. Probably, that is the reason the movie is a bit underrated.  The things that make this movie a winner is its simple yet strong story and immeasurably powerful performances. The movie is about Gerry Conlon and his three friends, the team of whom was later christened as the "Guildford Four". They were falsely accused of bombing and killing. This was followed by multiple arrests, including those of Gerry's Aunt and Father, Giuseppe.  Full credit to Jim Sheridan for handling the plot in an appropriate way by following a linear narrative. It is the credit of the director for showing the unique bond between Gerry and Giuseppe, which I am quite sure can be related by any father-son pair.  About performances; when there is Daniel Day Lewis, as Gerry, there will be im...

Sometimes some movies can leave the viewers preoccupied and engrossed. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is a movie of that sort of quality. Not for nothing this movie won accolades in various film festivals like Cannes et al.  The story gets unraveled in a slow pace. It is about a nine men who went for an unforeseen long drive in search for a dead body in the middle of the night. The team included the two suspects who volunteered for the search. But the search continued to be longer than they had imagined because most of the location was pretty much similar to one another. The movie is not as much about the murder as it is about this search.  The Director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, did wonders in creating a perfect ambiance for a night in rural sides of Turkey. Each character in the movie had something to say, had something to do in that search. It is very commendable the way different perspectives of different men from different fields are shown. The presence of any women in the movie...

Sports movies have always fascinated me; and this one should count as a great one at that. The movie starts off with showing Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) taking over the coveted position of Manager in Leeds United. The movie is basically about Clough's tenure at Leeds. But with various other events shown in the movie, the movie itself becomes a masterly act. The best feature of the movie is that it grows out of 'Just a sports movie' to become much more. It portrays rivalry, bitterness, ambition and certainly ego. Peter Morgan's screenplay from David Peace's novel played a large and significant part in that. And if the screenplay played a part in making this movie such a treat to watch, then certainly the performance of the cast would be the other part.  It may be just me, but I found that Michael Sheen's performance is one of the most underrated performance I have ever seen. I understand that there were many factual errors regarding the story of the movie. But...

I watched Ben Affleck's 'The Town' last year, and I was quite moved. Ben Affleck's directorial capabilities had me enthralled. His directorial debut is equally good if not better. The thing which I love about Ben Affleck's direction is how he manages to bring the best out of a city. I mean, after watching 'Gone Baby Gone' and 'The Town', Boston no longer seems an unfamiliar city to me. Such is the impact of Affleck's direction.   The movie is of the crime/thriller genre. But it grew out of 'being just a suspense thriller'.  It handles a very sensitive issue in a complete and justified manner. The movie is about two private investigators, hired to investigate the case of a missing child. As the story progresses, the turn of event slowly occurs in an intriguing and surprising manner. The movie has every element which a thriller should have. But certainly the main feature of the movie is the blend between all those twists and ...