Laura: A murder mystery for the ages

One of the great styles in cinema which is enjoyable and meaningful is the film noir. Even if a person is not a fan of crime, thriller and mystery, it is very easy to appreciate film noir because of its style and execution. A classic in film noir is the 1944 film Laura which was directed by Otto Preminger.

When a young and attractive socialite is found dead, Detective Lieutenant Mark McPherson steps up to solve the case. He meets her close friend, Waldo Lydecker, who is a famous writer/ journalist. In interviewing Lydecker he finds out about her on-the-rocks engagement to Shelby Carpenter, a man who she nurtured both professionally and personally. McPherson is also introduced to Ann Treadwell, a friend of Laura who is secretly in love with Carpenter. From the descriptions he receives, McPherson decides that Laura was an attractive and much loved woman. Slowly and steadily, over the weekend that McPherson investigates the murder, he falls in love with Laura and makes it his mission to figure out who the killer is, to the extent that he spends hours in her home where she was killed. Just as McPherson seems to unlock a few clues, an unexpected occurrence causes him to rethink his findings in the case and spins him around on his heels.

Laura is considered a classic of film noir. It employs quite a few elements which are considered to be indispensible to film noir, including a narration by a character, use of thematic background score which helps create a tension in the scene, use of toned lighting and shadows, characters smoking cigarettes and the general theme of being a film about crime; in this particular case, the crime is murder. It manages to create an air of hopelessness and suffocation which seem to be the conditions of the characters in the film, and it manages to superimpose these same emotions on its audience. It maintains its suspense through the plot and the mystery of the killer is only revealed in the finale of the film.

Laura is considered a classic and rightly so. Its relevance in this day and age may leave it at just above average, but it has a class of its own which cannot be ignored and underrated under any circumstances.

Red White & Blue: One fact to destroy three lives

Sometimes there are simple occurrences which can shape entire destinies. It is hard to believe that the introduction of a single fact into one’s life can cause a spiral into an unforeseen direction, like a butterfly effect which cannot be predicted. Red White & Blue, the 2010 film directed by Simon Rumley, documents this sort of change of a single fact to unleash an untoward story which creates a ripple effect to drastically change the lives of the characters who are involved.

Erica is a slacker who is willing to jump into bed with any man that will have her. Unfortunate instances in her past have left her scarred and numb as she goes through life with no focus apart from having sex with a man only once, never falling in love and staying away from friendships. In this mix, she gets into bed with Franki, a wannabe rock star who is facing emotional turmoil as he helps his mother recover from her cancer while also trying to reconcile with his ex-girlfriend. Erica is forced into getting a job when her landlady demands rent but finds a friend and confidant in Nate, an ex-army veteran from the Iraq war, who has recently moved into the building. As Erica begins to learn how to trust with Nate at her side, Franki steps back into her life with some disturbing news which will adversely affect Erica, Franki and Nate.

The film tends to move slowly but unleashes a long, arduous story along the way. Beginning as a drama and then slowly moving into a thriller with instances of gore as the plot spins on its heels, the film has a unique treatment of its own. The drama is underplayed and many-a-times subtle clues in the story can be missed. It is crafted in a way that every shot of the film can convey a point which is important to the story. However, the film begins as slacker-based drama which has the potential to become a classic before it completely changes into a revenge plot which can be a little hard to follow and digest.

The style of the film borders between amateur and independent which is evident with the minimalistic makeup, bare use of background scoring and ambient sound recordings in certain outdoor scenes. There are plenty of points to be made in this film, and with a different execution it might have made those points more clearly.

Chronicles of Mumbai Film Festival 2012

The best part about attending a film festival, or any other arts and cultural festival, is that you get a package of everything that you love and enjoy tied up together for the space of a week. It usually can be a stressful time where you sacrifice a lot and ignore the rest of the world as you fade into the pleasure of something that you love during the span of the festival.

The most enjoyable part of a film festival is the atmosphere. There is a constant buzz in the air as people rush about from one screen to another trying to catch a film they want to see. The happy faces and eager minds that exit the theatre at the end of a screening are always discussing what happened in the dark hall for the past few hours and explain the whole point of how life can pass us by as we sit down to relax and experience a few films for a few days.

The 14^th Mumbai Film Festival which is underway in 2012 has a stellar line-up. It has probably brought the best films from around the world to this year’s festival, better than any of its previous years. With more segregations and sections of films this year, it covers a wide range of films including the International Competition, Above The Cut, World Cinema, The Real Reel, and more. The selection this year has various films from France, Italy, Afghanistan, South Korea, and many more countries. The Restored Classics also features plenty of loved and acclaimed films from both international and Indian cinema, while there is a celebration of new as well as old directors.

A film festival really manages to cover the best of the best in the world of cinema. This year’s Mumbai Film Festival has managed to become bigger and better, and it isn't over yet.

Game of Thrones Season 1

When it comes to television shows, there are very few series which can be claimed as being completely remarkable. Game of Thrones, a television series which is based on George R. R. Martin’s novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire, is a medieval fantasy-based tv show. It falls into the categories of complicated, diverse, imaginative, and truly remarkable. It is definitely a well written piece of fantasy fiction which has been produced excellently for an on screen adaptation in the form of a television series.

The first season of Game of Thrones is a faithful adaptation of the first book in the novel series, A Game of Thrones, which also lends its title for the entire television series. The plot picks up with the death of the Hand of the King, the second in command who takes care of the day-to-day operations in the kingdom in the absence of the king. King Robert Baratheon visits his old friend Lord Eddard ‘Ned’ Stark to ask him to take up the vacant post of Hand of the King. The king travels along with his wife Queen Cersei Lannister and children, the eldest of who is Prince Joffrey Baratheon. Also travelling with the king is Ser Jaime Lannister, brother of Queen Cersei and brother-in-law of the king. Thus, the opening of the series introduces the three most important families in the story, the Starks, the Baratheons and the Lannisters. The plot continues with Ned Stark accepting the position of second-in-command to the king while his son suffers an accident which cripples him for life. Ned Stark leaves his family home in the north and moves to the capital city called King’s Landing where he will take care of the matters of the state. During this time, he discovers that the previous Hand of the King was murdered while he was uncovering the truth about the king’s family. Ned Stark picks up where the last Hand left off and the story follows.

The series has an unlimited supply of characters, both starring and recurring, which makes it hard to follow. But nevertheless, this series is one of the most interesting fantasy tv shows to grace the screen in the recent past. The protagonist of the series is the family of Stark which comprises the patriarch Lord Eddard Stark, his wife Lady Catelyn Stark and their five children Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. Ned Stark also has another son, Jon Snow, who was born out of wedlock and lives with the family in their castle.

The entire series is constructed in a fictional land of Westeros, with a parallel story running on an adjacent land called Essos. The characters can be divided based on their family line and the areas they are from, thus the most important family is the Starks who are the ruling family in the North, the Baratheons are the current monarchy and the Lannisters are related to them by way of marriage. The other important families in the story are the Targaryens, the previous monarchy who were overthrown by the death of the king and his children banished to the far off lands of Essos. Viserys Targaryen and his sister Daenerys roam the wastelands trying to find a way back. Finally, Daenerys is married off to Khal Drogo, leader of a nomadic tribe called Dothraki, in exchange for an army which will help Viserys take back the throne in Westeros. As the story unfolds, more households and families come into the fray to add depth to the plot.

The production value of the series shows with the excellent costumes, sets and props. The parlance in the series matches that of medieval monarchal times. In terms of letdowns in this series there are near to none, barring the long parade of characters which is less of a hindrance and more of a positive tick in the plot.

The series touches upon a long list of topics like loyalty, honour, pride, religion, hierarchy, crime, sexuality, morality, incest, and more. It is a truly well rounded plot which is crafted to perfection and executed splendidly. At the same time, the themes in the series may not be for everyone and will not suit the fainthearted and the weak-willed.

Game of Thrones serves as a paragon for fantasy tv shows and is a must watch as it can be enjoyed by all. It has the ability to convert a fantasy cynic into a fan.

Dorian Gray: Morality takes a back seat

There is no pleasure to be found in everything that is moral and good, or at least that seems to be the message that screams out the most from Dorian Gray, the 2009 movie which is based on the Oscar Wilde classic novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, it is debatable whether the key message is to live life in the moment and not worry about its consequences, or in fact, the message could be that every action we take is a seed sown towards our final outcome. But the message to take away from the story is entirely relevant to the perception from which it is watched.

Dorian Gray is a young man who is blessed with good looks and has recently come into a large fortune owing to the death of his grandfather. He moves to London to live in the house he has inherited where he is surprised and impressed by the fast paced and modern lifestyle. At one of the social gatherings he is invited to, he meets Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton who become his companions in this new life. Basil, an artist by profession, offers to paint a portrait of Dorian in the likeness of one owned by his grandfather, while Henry begins to influence Dorian’s perceptions about morality and pleasure. In this mix, Dorian vehemently states that he would be willing to sell his soul to forever keep the beauty that he perceives in his finished portrait. Henry continues to influence Dorian’s ideas of morality and leads him into a path of decadence and debauchery. As Dorian’s sins and age start to catch up, he realises that he no longer ages but his portrait bears the marks of his life, leading him to spiral further into his hedonic lifestyle.

While the plot stays afloat with decent performances by the cast, the movie lacks any conviction or flair. With multiple instances of terribly shoddy editing, abrupt transitions and a finale which is a huge letdown from the build up of the plot, Dorian Gray isn’t really one for the keeping.

Whether to be taken as an adaptation of a famous piece of work which managed to refocus society’s take on morality, or just another Hollywood drama-fantasy, is entirely up to the audience watching it. The experience of watching this 2009 adaptation can be worth the watch or a complete waste of time; it all depends on the perception.

Gangs of New York: A son’s revenge and the birth of a metropolitan

Heading into a movie directed by one of Hollywood’s contemporary greats like Martin Scorsese is usually an assurance of an enjoyable experience filled in with certain measures of thought provoking style and ideologies, and Gangs of New York almost lives up to the same. But all the same, it isn’t among the greatest created by the master. Sure, it does spin a good tale of underworld mafia rule in pre-civilised New York with the impeccable style that Scorsese brings to the table and a few intelligently crafted dialogues; but overall it doesn’t live up to the hype that is Scorsese.

Starting with the death of the protagonist’s father amid a battle of the ‘tribes’ in New York, the film follows Amsterdam Vallon 16 years down the line upon his return to Five Points having been raised in a home for reforms by Christian Missionaries. Amsterdam returns to find that Five Points is run by the Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting, the head of the gang called the Confederation of the American Natives, the very man who killed his father. While the gangs continue to squabble over everyday issues and the folk of Five Points continue to live in fear, The Butcher unceremoniously collects a tribute to allow the small gangs to operate and uphold the corruption among police and politicians which allow him to enjoy his endeared way of life. Amsterdam plots revenge on his father’s killer but is tied down by matters of racism, casteism, friendship, loyalty and love as he rises through the ranks to raise his own army to take down the gang lord.

This film goes down as another well stylised piece of art by Scorsese, adapted from a nonfiction book of the same title. While the plot divulges from actual facts at certain points, the film set in 1862 New York manages to closely represent most of the true events of the time. The costumes, sets and dated language are a credit to the historically placed film. However, the loose plot and constant flurry of characters leave the film as an awry final product. Certain historical inaccuracies and production errors also prove detrimental to the overall film.

Notwithstanding the few letdowns of the production, Gangs of New York circles around important issues which were rampant during the time including racism, slavery, gang wars, class divisions, the American Civil Wars, and more. As a whole, the film ties down important topics of discussion, whether for the right or the wrong reasons.

Introduction

Here lies my individual venture into one of my favourite hobbies that teaches me so much.

With this blog, I hope to keep a steady update of reviews and views about films, documentaries, music concerts, short films and almost anything else that can be captured in video format to provide an enjoyable viewing experience.

I intend my posts to follow no particular chronological pattern since the past and the present are alike of interest to me and the box office holds no special place in my heart.

If you would like me to review any particular film for you or would like to read my views about anything particular, leave me a comment, inbox or anything that works. I will try to get my hands on the film to watch it and put up my views on the same.

Hope you enjoy reading my posts. You are most welcome to leave a comment, negative or positive. If you like my work or would like to show your support, it will be most welcome.

Thanks for reading thus far. My first review will be posted shortly.