Hollywood

Come And Find Me (2016)

January 30, 2018 Movies

Come And Find Me

I basically like thrillers and this was yet another addition to my list in that genre, Come and Find Me is a thriller and a love story with several angles. When Claire disappears suddenly David relies on the law to make breakthroughs and find her but when they reach a dead-end he decides to pursue the case himself. What begins as a simple case of disappearance gets embroiled in a string of lies and deceit, involving mobsters and federal sleuths. Technically, the movie becomes compelling at various intervals as the story swings back and forth to capture intimate moments between the couple while introducing Claire’s persona before her disappearance and details on their fledgeling relationship. Halfway through the plot as David wades through the suspense, the plot gets even murkier and I am now doubting my knowledge of Claire which forces me to focus more closely on the events and the individuals as they reveal themselves.

The climax left me with more questions than providing the justifications straight away much like the situation I faced with The Open House. This probably comes from my expectations with run-of-the-mill thrillers and I believe the thriller/suspense genre has undergone some welcome changes. But Come and Find Me is still worth a watch.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

True Grit (2010)

January 21, 2018 Movies

True Grit

This was my third movie directed by the Coen brothers after Fargo (1996) and No Country For Old Men (2007). True Grit is also executive produced by Steven Spielberg and set in the American wild west in the 19th century, about a 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Steinfeld) teaming up with an ageing U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) to hunt down the killer of her father Tom Chaney (Brolin). The classic western movies have a distinct semblance about them which compelled me to watch True Grit, the story along with the action was well-paced and the casting of Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Jeff Bridges was superlative. To summarize, True Grit has wonderful direction and beautiful cinematography and gripping in parts.

This line from the young Mattie is worth contemplating:

You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Saving Private Ryan -“Earn It”

January 19, 2018 Movies

Ryan

‘Saving Private Ryan’ is one of those rare movies which I may have caught probably a dozen times. And it breaks me every time I watch the bridge scene at the end where a mortally wounded Captain Miller is feebly uttering to Private Ryan – “James…earn this…earn it…”, a grim reminder that he was saved by his men against heavy odds, and now he mustn’t take this privilege for granted as long as he lives.

Many years later, a visibly tearful and fragile James Ryan, accompanied by his loving family, is standing next to the gravesite of Captain Miller and asking for the departed soul’s acceptance of a cherished life bestowed upon him. His profound words hit me hard every time I hear it:

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I’ve earned what all of you have done for me.[/perfectpullquote]

It’s such a truly, contemplative quote from the movie.

Source: IMDB

The Jungle Book (2016)

May 19, 2016 Movies

The Jungle Book movie was an enchanting showcase of technology-meets-human experience. The live action/CGI depiction of the characters is a daunting task for a 105 minute movie when you are bringing an animated version alive on the big screen for the first time. Apart from the brilliant storytelling, there was some degree of fear and discomfort felt while watching The Jungle Book on the big screen versus a TV.

As I mentioned, since I was coming to the cinema from a TV experience of the animated version I was expecting to be enthralled by the cuteness of the characters. Shere Khan wasn’t looking so horrible in the animated version. Kaa was not so fearful and scary, in fact, she was Mowgli’s friend and mentor from reading the books. The beauty of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book is that despite the inherent qualities of the ferocious animals they are still believable and adorable. No matter how beastly the behavior you could still love them with all your heart.

The only way in which Shere Khan could instill fear and dominate the animal kingdom was through his roaring voice. His horrid appearance went overboard in the movie. Or maybe it’s the traditional movie stereotype of making a bad person look monstrous too. Kaa’s entry was the scariest moment as she almost strangulates Mowgli with her coil. You know how it feels in 3D to have a snake look into your eyes that closely. Snakes are awful in appearance but not Kaa from the book and Disney’s cartoons.

In short – Bagheera was the hero of the movie, Baloo was cute, Raksha was amazing, the jungle was depicted quite nicely, King Louie was funny, and the bee stings on Mowgli disappeared sooner than I had expected in the next scene. Was that a blooper? Anyway, the movie has reignited my interest in the animated version and that’s what I’m looking forward to. Art is immortal.

Further Reading:
The Jungle Book (2016 film) – Wikipedia
The Jungle Book (2016) – Rotten Tomatoes
The Jungle Book (1894) collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling – Wikipedia
The Jungle Book (2016) official SuperBowl movie trailer – YouTube
Information on the Tiger species – WWF

The Monuments Men (2014)

March 18, 2016 Movies

I just found The Monuments Men appealing on several aspects. It’s just a great WWII movie. As an art school alumni and an art lover, I could accept the sensitivity around nurturing art, not just as an artifact, but as a document of a culture reflective of human traditions and lifestyle of that era. In Frank Stokes words (played by the ever-so-elegant George Clooney!):

You can wipe out an entire generation, you can burn their homes to the ground and somehow they’ll still find their way back. But if you destroy their history, you destroy their achievements and it’s as if they never existed. That’s what Hitler wants and that’s exactly what we are fighting for.

And my mind goes back to what Hitler was thinking when he wanted all the artworks to be housed in his ambitious Führermuseum (which never happened), later ordering his men to destroy it all because they lost the war. Not even sure how many pieces of artwork were destroyed by his men, but that’s a different discussion.

Directed by George Clooney and based on a true story non-fiction book (The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter), while the Allied army is fighting the Nazis, a group of men – basically artists and architects, from the  Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program are in search of precious artworks which have been looted by Hitler’s men when they occupy parts of Europe. Barring this team of fervent art lovers, the generals of the Allied force care less about canvases and colors. They’d rather focus on winning the war in Europe. In a thrilling turn of events, the group leads a heroic effort in finding most of the paintings, important among which is the Ghent Altarpiece. The paintings and other pieces of work are found safe in copper mines which prompts Frank Stokes to note – “It seems the Nazis took better care of art than they did people.”

I would highly recommend The Monuments Men, even if you are not a WWII/war movie fan.