Have you ever wanted to change your destiny? What happens when you alter some things in your present? How does that impact your future? How far can you go to save the one you love? Is it possible to earn $100,000 in 20 minutes?! Sounds impossible...but it's not so. Check out this awesome German Flick, "Run Lola Run" for all the possible answers. And you will end up admiring much more than you will realise.
The story begins with Lola receiving a call from her boyfriend Manni who tells her about an impending danger to his life. And to save himself, he needs $100,000 in 20 minutes which has to be delivered to his boss. Lola forseeing a possibility of Manni making some stupidity warns him from doing anything and pleads him to wait for her. And she drops the phone and runs....runs....runs.
Probably that's the maximum story I can divulge, anything more would be stupidity and anything less doesn't serve the purpose of this post. Coming back to the story, its divided into three parts which each ending in a different way. So, the movie is all about, what happens when Lola arrives after 20 minutes, just before 20 minutes and right at 20 minutes. The story brings forth an important perspective that the road to your destiny is paved by your present actions. The brilliance of Run Lola Run lies in its ability to surprise you at every stage. The style of film-making, soundtrack, editing and narration are awesome and mind you calling it "awesome" is denigrating the fast paced action and the adrenaline it boasts of. Of all the people associated with this film, Tom Tykwer(director and writer), Franka Potente (Lola) and Mathilde Bonnefoy (Editor) need special mention.
Tom Tykwer relies on the pace and narration of the story, so much so that, the entire story rests on Lola and her bumping into several people. With a clever mix of animation and themes like time limit, Tom scores the maximum in leaving a great impact on the audience. Honestly, I wouldn't have stopped raving about this film, had I seen this 2 years ago while I was in college. I say so, because you rarely get to such a film where there's no threat of a terrorist attack or someone threating to blow up a bus/building! It's a concept driven by love and doing anything for the ones you love.
Franka Potente (who later appeared in "Bourne Identity") is more than good in her role. She captures your imagination with her bleached hair and a zeal to earn 100 grand in 20 minutes. Watch her in one of her runs when she manages to get the money from the bank, it's possibly one of the best shot sequences in the flick. She's what I would call a perfect diro's actress! And at the end of the day, the most important thing is, she delivers a stunning performance!
Mathilde Bonnefoy, the editor of the movie is another asset. It's not easy to show three acts back to back with the same beginning but a different ending. With her brilliant editing, Mathilde makes sure that we as audience, don't fret about the repitition of certain scenes.
I have always wondered why our Indian film-makers don't make such genuine fast paced action flicks. Although they have over the past few years, it's still a long way to go before they reach a stunner! Perhaps some sensible people should watch this "Run Lola Run" over and over again....I would hate them to the core if they rip the entire movie and give it a local name, but some budding sensible film-makers, I believe have the conviction to do what's right. And hopefully we will get to see a truly stylish and genuinely good action flick sometime in future.
Watch this film over and over again....it won't fail to surprise you. One of my favourites!
Production House: Pixar Animation Studios in association with Disney
Voices: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Ladies and Gentleman, now that you have clicked on my page, I assume that you are reading this. On this auspicious day, I am here to propose a theory, something which has been reconfirmed for the past 13 years. My apologies for what you might read here, this is something which will shake the very grounds of our existence. So, here is what I propse to the World...
God Doesn't Exist Anymore!!!
Well, don't strike this statement off just yet as just another hoax; I have more than enough evidence to prove it. I am not an atheist, but I strongly believe that God doesn't exist anymore...in Heaven! He has a new address and I recently stumbled across his new home....
Ha....Gotcha! Does that site look familiar to you? It is where God has shifted his base to. Located in Emeryville, California-USA this place has become a synonym for some spectacular work of art over the past several years, forcing God himself to lend in a word of advice and some creativity to the Humans who habituate this place.
How else can you explain the creation of characters like, Sherrif Woody (Toy Story), Sulley (Monsters Inc.), Marlin and Nemo (Finding Nemo) and the latest WALL-E and EVE (WALL-E)? How else can you explain that these works of art have continued to amuse you day after day and everytime you look at them, some sort of adrenaline is shot through your entire body forcing you to instantly fall in love with them!! Maybe I could go to an extent to quote that they are our new age versions of what was born once from the hands of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and other great artists...I shall soon be devoting my time to understand what makes all these characters so lovable!....
Till Then,
Adieus Amigos.
Hey...Hey...wait...wait...I am not done yet. That was just my conscience beating me in the race to express itself. Now that it has finally come out, lets get down to our usual business and here's my latest rambling of truly, one of the greatest works of Animation I have seen in my life so far. It's called "WALL-E" (an acronym for, Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth class).
WALL-E is the story of a waste disposal robot which has somehow managed to keep itself active even after 700 years of its inception. And while building skyscrapers of garbage, it has developed a keen interest in finding things which amuse it, and ends up collection several items, like an electric bulb, small toys, lighters, a iPod, a tape of "Hello, Dolly!" etc. One fine day, it even finds a cockroach which becomes its wingman and after sometime a small plant which has been hiding itself from the world outside inside a refrigerator. WALL-E, after several re-runs of “Hello, Dolly!” teachers itself to dance and yearns for a touch with someone whom he could fall in love with. And luck smiles upon him one day, when EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is sent to Earth. WALL-E instantly falls in love with EVE, but realizing that something is sneaking around itself, EVE tries to destroy it. After several narrow escapes, WALL-E confronts EVE directly and takes her to his hide-out and after several attempts to impress her, he ends up showing his most loved things, like the lighters, “Hello, Dolly!” and finally the plant. As soon as EVE sees the plant, its mission is accomplished and upon seizing and storing, it deactivates. A spaceship from the Cruise Liner, “Axiom” is sent to Earth to retrieve EVE, forcing WALL-E to embark on an extra-ordinary journey to win EVE’s heart.
*Note: This part of the review contains some spoilers and certain things whose beauty can be understood well only after seeing the movie. So, if you haven’t seen the movie already, I suggest you to go watch the movie first…but if you are curious about it, then….
There are many around us, who haven’t fully understood the scale of awesomeness which Animated flicks can take you to. I can’t remember an animated movie which has got its soul in the wrong place. Of course, the sequels of several movies haven’t struck the right chords to be in your memory for a long time; since the cynosure of all eyes here is Pixar, I will stick to the movies and characters they have come up with. Their main USP so far has been the themes they have selected for all their movies and the characters, sets seem to magically take shape once that premise is set. For instance take “Monsters Inc.”, it was really a heart-warming story about friendship between Sulley and Boo, the concept was terrific and the characters so adorable, it was an international rage in 2001. Let’s fast forward to 2003, when “Finding Nemo” was released. Nobody till that time had done such a detailed work of art about the life in the depths of ocean…sure we have been watching innumerable episodes of “The Little Mermaid”, but “Finding Nemo” took it to a whole new level of believability. Further, it’s by far among the most touching renditions of a Father-Son relationship. Then came Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille each beautiful in their own sense. All of them have been reiterating the fact that Animation Industry has come a long way from what Walt Disney had created in 1928 in the form of Mickey Mouse. Animation flicks are no kids thingy now…
If you still haven’t bought my argument, go and watch WALL-E and you will realize what exactly I have been saying. The interpretation of how universe looks like is even more beautiful than the pics which NASA publishes from time to time. The post-apocalyptic setting of a city on Earth, the eeriness which is ubiquitous, garbage neatly piled up as Skyscrapers and loneliness to battle with; what do you expect a lonely robot WALL-E to do in such a setting? What would anyone want to do if one’s confronted in such a situation? The point is, 5 minutes into the movie, you will realize why you cannot take WALL-E as just a robot. Those binocular lens kinda eyes convey a lot more meaning that you may expect. And the way he looks around for items which amuse him…my favourite one is when he finds a small box with a diamond ring (check that out…and you will realize why you can’t stop yourselves falling in love with him!!). One day, he comes across a Cockroach whom he decides to take care of (I have a feeling that they have been particularly carefully in selecting Cockroach as WALL-E’s wingman…they should have referred to this theory by journalist Richard Schweid). The brief time the roach spends with WALL-E has its sparks. And then there’s “Hello, Dolly!” the musical film which induces WALL-E to yearn for a touch. It serves as a motif to suggest the extent of loneliness which our protagonist endures day in and day out. Somehow I see a WALL-E and that eerie setting all around me…in a way each one of us represent WALL-E. His daily schedule of mechanically labouring day after day, doing the same kind of work (that hilarious scene of WALL-E waking up to put on the conveyer belts) delves into the day-to-day lives of Humans. Perhaps, searching for things which amuse him is one of the most fascinating thing which WALL-E does on any given day, much similar to what we do to bring a smile by experiencing the little things which life offers us. The entry of EVE and the subsequent events which WALL-E endures to grab her attention are sure going to be some of the most endearing moments in this flick. I had heard this quote in a flick called “Girl Next Door” and it says a great deal about how WALL-E feels about EVE….it goes like this…
“…I think moral fiber's about finding that one thing you really care about; that one special thing that means more to you than anything else in the world. And when you find her, you fight for her. You risk it all, you put her in front of everything, your future, your life, all of it…”
EVE on the other hand is introduced as a ruthless robot sent to Earth to evaluate the possibility of life…this until she stumbles across WALL-E. Moved by his innocence and down to earth nature, she develops a soft-corner for him. And when she realizes what an extra ordinary journey he has embarked upon to be with her she’s determined all the more to save him from any untoward incident in the alien land (this when they both go into AXIOM). Among other characters that you will absolutely adore is a decontamination robot named M-O. This bot is obsessed with keeping the surroundings clean and it’s confrontation with WALL-E will have you in splits…:-P.
There are just too many characters and aspects which one could about this flick, but I would like to throw some light on couple of things here…
I cannot imagine how the director Andrew Stanton and the creators could weave such a magic with less than 30 minutes of dialogues. And what’s even more impressive is the fact that the only thing WALL-E and EVE talk is pronounce each other’s names!!! It’s splendid in a way that so many emotions are conveyed in the way their names are pronounced. And the way how WALL-E yearns for a gentle touch from EVE is heart touching…I never realized that a gentle touch had so much power. (Too bad…I couldn’t try that with the people sitting on my either side…both happened to be uncles!!!..: -P…:P…hehehe). The music by Thomas Newman is a major asset for the movie. It’s in a way the soul of the movie, filling up the vacuum which one might experience while watching the movie. Don’t miss the bits of music which you will hear during EVE’s trip on Earth and the one when WALL-E and EVE dance in the space outside AXIOM…pure symphony throwing you into new levels of ecstasy.
I bow to the CGI department which has come up with some jaw-dropping imagery of a futuristic world. (Check out the massive interiors in Axiom!!!).And there’s a perfect story that you cannot find fault with, which brings several themes like consumerism, dependence on machines, pollution, destruction of environment and how Governments put their citizens in an illusion to completely blanket them from reality. But more than anything it’s a beautiful love story. It’s a pure rendition of what a love story should be like with no clichés which otherwise you will normally end up finding in countless ‘romantic’ movies like “A Walk to remember”, “Notebook”…etc.
Last month I had written about “Dark Knight” and claimed that it’s the best action flick I have ever seen and among my all time favourites. If I were to take a scale and put it on for measuring the awesomeness of a movie, I would rate Dark Knight a -10…and WALL-E a +10. I don’t mean that Dark Knight is any less when compared with WALL-E, but it’s at the other end of the spectrum. It is dark, sends a chill down your spine and hits you in your guts…yet you come out with that feeling of awesomeness with your head reeling because of some spectacular action sequences and of course The Joker. Whereas WALL-E, is inspiring, cute beyond imagination…if you aren’t much of a fan of E.T., then WALL-E is the best thing to happen to you. I have already rated Kung Fu Panda as the second most entertaining movie of this year with Dark Knight occupying the number one position…and I still stand by that, with a small inclusion. So, here’s how I put it…WALL-E stands at number one position, jointly with Dark Knight.
20 years from now, I can see myself sitting with my kids to talk about movies…and I already see myself telling them that the summer of 2008 has been one of the greatest ever for movie buffs, because we had the Awesome Trio of…WALL-E, Kung Fu Panda and Dark Knight. And that ladies and gentlemen, is no accident. I think nature is trying to tell us something…that’s it’s time that you buckle up and be awesome!
Here’s recommending you again…if you want to see what magic the hand of God could bring forth, please check into your local theatres and watch “WALL-E”…it’s an adorable flick oozing with romance. And as you enjoy this flick with your loved ones…I get back to my business of finding my EVE….
Title: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull
Language: English Country: USA Year of Release: 2008 Director: Steven Spielberg Actors: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett
Indy is Back!!!
A shadow in front of an US Army Truck bending down to pick up his Fedora who’s surrounded by a group of KGB agents marks the return of Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) after 19 long years! To be honest, I haven’t seen any of the Indiana movies of the past, still the premise of going to this flick was definitely the media hype and also the fact that certain biggies like Spielberg, Lucas were associated with it. And what more can I say?! I loved it…Loved it for the way the story unfolded (although I would say kinda complicated for my lack of knowledge in this legend!), loved the characters, the direction, the cinematography, and many more like that.
Set in the year 1957, amidst the Cold War, a group of Russian KGB agents lead by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett)) infiltrate into a Military Location in US on the lookout for a crate which they believe contains an alien sort of thing which was recovered a decade ago from New Mexico. Indiana Jones was one of the few people who had worked on that project to restore the alien sort of thing safely; he’s captured by KGB and after being double crossed by his longtime friend Mac, he agrees to help them in finding out that crate (You must watch this scene on screen, especially for the technique which he uses!!, one of my favourite scenes in the flick). A fight commences and Indy manages to escape from the clutches of KGB, but runs straight into a town, which in fact is a Nuclear testing site; guess what?!!! Indy manages to escape this too by enclosing himself in a Lead lined Refrigerator (hehehe….reminds me of the countless unbelievable stunts I have seen in Indian flicks!.. since it’s Hollywood, there is some sense of believability. But escaping from a Nuclear Bomb?!!! Phew! ). He’s later interrogated by the FBI agents, for his associated with Mac, who turns out to be a Soviet Agent. Despite his repeated claims of innocence, FBI rummages around his office which compels the University where he’s teaching to let him go on a long leave of absence. Disappointed by the attitude of the University, Indy plans to leave for New York and there after go to London. But when the train to NY is about to leave, he comes across Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf) who tells Indy that he needs his help to find Oxley, an old colleague of Indy and mother who have disappeared somewhere in South America. After a brilliant motorcycle chase around the college campus (again brilliantly filmed), Indy and Mutt escape to Peru where they find out that Oxley had once been locked in a psychiatric hospital until he was kidnapped.
In the cell, Indy is successful in deciphering some clues which would lead them to the Crystal Skull which is believed to contain mystical powers. The search leads them to the grave of Fransisco, who went missing in the 1500s while seeking Akator (also known as El Dorado). Here, they successfully find the Crystal Skull which was hidden by Oxley. But they are soon captured by Spalko’s gang who force Indy to translate what Oxley could tell about Akator. Indy reunites with his longtime friend Marion Williams who’s the mother of Mutt; but later comes to know that he’s the real father of Mutt. What follows next is a gamut of fights, chases, some spectacular locales depicting the jungles surrounding Amazon River and finally the destination…Akator!
You must watch all this on screen to fully appreciate the cinematography, direction and the story. Lot of reviews have compared it with the previous Indy flicks and thus came to a conclusion that it doesn’t have the same charm because of a predictable plot and so on…but I don’t know how many of us actually have seen the movie! (It’s very difficult to watch movies which are 15-20 years old unless you have the perfect source or if you are lucky enough to watch them on the movie channels!!). Sure, it’s predictable, but the way, things move on is what keeps us (or atleast kept me) interested to watch the flick. Coming to the characters, Ford is still good to perform such a demanding role despite his age! The series has five parts, of which four have released till now. It would be interesting to see if Ford appears in the last part too! In this one, Ford delivers a good performance with some cool stunts, and charm that’s evident on screen. The Transformers hero Shia LaBeouf is making waves with his performance, first with Transformers and now with this…check him out for that scene where he prepares himself for a fight and that comb!!! His Marlon Brando kinda style is sure gonna go down well with the audience. And with Starwars fame, George Lucas, and E.T fame Spielberg around, how can we not come to the world of Extraterrestrial beings!!
Whatever maybe the case, this flick has all that what it takes to make a full-fledged action-adventure flick, although it's kinda tough to digest it for a 2008 flick! But as Lucas says, it looks like it was filmed just 3 years after the last Indy film was released! Watch it with a suspension of disbelief …it won’t disappoint you. If only there was someone like Megan Foxx with Shia LaBeouf in the film!!...Hope Spielberg is listening…:-)
