The Shawshank Redemption
Great actors bring the characters to life...Tim Roberts and Morgan Freeman were at their best!
The man is accused of a crime he never committed, is given a life senstence... 22 years in a prison...that's not a joke. Just coming to grips with the reality of the truth is hard enough. But, being there, worse still. But, it is again the attitude...you can choose to lock yourself up and brood over destiny, or choose to do something to change a few things around. This man chooses the latter. Persistent denials for every persistent letter of his, finally it pays of...he manages to garner funds for the prison library and that changes everything for the inmates. Years go by imprisioned in the prison, not at heart, as he still dares to dream and finally it does happen, he finds his way out...to the land of his dreams. And not just that, he does change a few lives on the way, changes perspectives towards life, hope and fear.
"Fear imprisons you, hope frees you" and true it quite truly reflects that in this great story.
22 years in a prison...changes everything...life post prison-life is as excruciating as the prison-life. "Some birds can survive only caged...freedom only kills them" sure enough after years of imprisoned life, the strange freedom can really kill you. You are vulnerable, you can't survive freedom!
Great movie! a must watch!
The Pianist & Life is Beautiful
The Pianist:
Adrian Brody's stellar performance makes you be part of every moment of his screen life. The great pianist survives the tremors of war, as life lends her hand in every instance of his life. Maybe life wanted this great musican to live for the music to live forever. Life has its own way of taking care of feeble souls...who are not strong enough to stand against and struggle for life. He is helped at every point, from souls like angels dropped from the sky at that needy moment, while he lives with his music in his heart. The music he lives with in his mind soothes the pained heart and helps him survive the dark nights and the darkest moments as he waits for the dawn of the day- the day of the end of the Nazi's regime. Finally, his excruciatingly lond wait pays off and the day actually dawns and he is united with his music and composes the strongest of his pieces which the world can listen to even today...his soul lives even today in his music. Amazing movie, which shows how sometimes letting go and trusting life to show you the way can bring you to that dream destination. Apart from that, the movie really hits you hard, the days of war, sends shudders as you watch scenes unfold where the value of a person is just sheer dust, just because they are tagged Jews. It was pretty disturbing to watch it and just come into terms with the fact that its not fiction but fact.Truth sure is not easy to accept!
Life is beautiful:
Life can be really harsh on you, but it does give you the choice to be in smiles or tears. It gives you the choice to either feel desperate or feel in control, the choice of whether to fight it out or just stay passive. This is the movie of the person, who smiles all along, fights till the end to keep the smile of his kid, and keep his promise to his little son. Amazing movie, with the focus on the characters more than the war. The war is just a backdrop, the characters are the foreground as the story revolves around this person who brightens up the lives of others with his sense of humor which he retains till the last drop of life in his body. The Jewish family is forced in a base camp, where the air doesn't breathe anything else but imprisonment. But, this dad had promised his kid, he will try every way out to shield his son from the shadows of haunting feelings of war, shield him from hating life. Life is a game and you gain points to endure the hardships and not complain and keep smiling...that's what life at the camp was for the little kid, and that was one of the greatest gifts that his dad had given him, a gift for life...to live life and smile thro' every dark moment with the belief that the dawn is sure to come the way!And in this journey of life, to bring cheer into the lives of others and mend a few broken smiles!
These two movies, both equally great, beautifully made, show two poles of the spectrum...two totally disparate ways of looking at life and living life. I wouldn't say one is better than the other, as it is these differences that weave the richness...as if everyone looked at life the same way, we wouldn't have anything different to talk about. Surely, these movies are bound to change your perspective!
Forest Gump
It was just the right time, for the movie...I guess .All those multiple thoughts in my mind, the movie felt like it fit right for the moment. A great movie, great casting by Tom Hanks, a very interesting story telling and lots of things we would should remember not to forget about the movie, about life.
Life is a box of chocolates, we never know what the next one will be. Very true isn't it. All we need to do is just keep moving on, taste one chocolate at a time and take in life's surprises as they unfold. This doesn't mean just standing and waiting, we need to keep moving on, as that's when life reveals her mysteries.
We may not know what tomorrow may bring, but we need to bravely embrace uncertainity and keep walking along. The journey is what life is all about. We may mend a few broken smiles, touch a few hearts, learn from moments-both meetings and partings, and leave behind a trial... So go on and enjoy the journey called Life.
Life is full of different people, and that's what makes living interesting. Accept your differences and never be afraid. You are what you are. Your strength or weakness resides in your mind, not in your body. So just keep the positive spirit alive and keep moving on...even when you hit rough patches. Move on... That was the bottomline!
Baraka
Baraka-an ancient Sufi word translates as a blessing, or the breath/essence of life
This
documentary shot in 70mm takes you on a voyage to the ends of the world...exotic locales across the globe. (24 countries in 6 continents) Amazing photography and Mother Nature is photogenic as always. The images absorb you as the camera stays still to capture the movement in front of the lens. The cascade of the clouds and the waves in the mid air, there is a harmony uniting the elements of nature. A lot of the images just transport you...to be one with the One as Nature embraces you.
Ron Fricke spent 14 moths photographing for the film and 5 years working on the concept. The final work says it all! Words can't always describe...you got to watch it to experience it!
The waves crashing on the rocks, the cascade of clouds in mid air, the intensity of the monuments in the dark of the night, the volcanoes, these are a few of those scenes I would never want to forget...perhaps I've got enough inspiration to stroke the canvas!
a whole bunch...
Ok, its been a while and didn't find time to write, although did find time to watch a few more movies...so here we go
Spiderman2:
Well, it was quite interesting a watch...hadn't watched the first one, so can't compare them though. I guess Spidy's charm and mystery is sort of lost when he reveals his identity. But overall it was a good show!
The Color of Paradise:
Another Farsi movie by Majid Majidi. Pretty beautiful...has his signature style. Its a story of a blind kid who returns to his village for the summer vacation. The whole of nature talks to him in his dialect...the textures he feels translate themselves to a language he can read, if not see... It is also about the bond that develops in a strange way between the father and the kid...the best cast is Mother Nature ofcourse...you would just get lost in the woods!
Together:
A Chinese movie...Its about the violin prodigy (kid) who goes to the city with his 'dad' to attend classes officially. When it is day to be in the spotlight, he makes a decision...the spotlight that he found for himself means a lot more than the cheer of the crowd in any theater.
Blue Planet series:
This is a documentary series by Discovery Channel and BBC. I haven't watched all the 4 DVDs yet...but the segments I watched, it was spellbinding...the more you plunge deeper into the Deep Blue, the more amazed you are at the wonder of life, its myraid creatures, the beauty that's hidden in the deeps of the ocean...creatures that are truly amazing...(i know I'm using a lot of adjectives, but every word means what i say)...I was just startled at the way nature carefully choses her color palette to skin/dress every creature up. Inspiration unlimited...infact I tried to paint something after having watched it. The strangest creatures, the most amazing color combinations and the most beautiful ballets, the strangest pyrotechnics and bioluminescence I ever saw, all these residing in the depths of the deeps!
Thanks to the explorers who dedicate their lives to bringing these creatures to the light of the world, who otherwise would have stayed beautiful as they always have been, in their darkness. The makers have done a great job, as there is a story telling, a drama in the narrative. You will simply fall in love and get lost in their world if you love water and its deep realms.
Phir Milenge:
Ok, I happen to watch this hindi movie, as a friend happened to have the DVD and I had the time. But, guess what, it was a movie of a different kind, unlike the bollywood flicks I've seen. A strong storyline and the casts have done a good job. The music is good! And of course the place reminded me a lot of SAP and NASA meets...
M.Night Shyamalan's
Sixth Sense:
I did watch this earlier, then it was on HBO long time ago...so watched it again.
The concept was quite new and interestingly built upon... although I didn't see that there was much to the movie than what was evident...of course it was an interesting thriller. but it didn't have the depth beyond the visible, like other movies of MNS.
Signs:
Ok, here I did see the depth of the thought and this movie was sure not just about aliens...so there was something to take back at the end of it.
Are there no coincidences? Do you believe in miracles? Faith? Does belief help us look beyond our fears? Is there someone out there watching over us or is life just a happening of chance and coincidence?
so this left me wondering... like the other movies of MNS!
Disney's Beauty and the Beast:
Well, I did enjoy it...as any other disney animation. It didn't drown me in fantasy though. It definitely is a great animation of its times, no wonder it was the first animation film to be nominated for the Oscars!
I hope you dance
Song: I hope you dance
Artist:Lee Ann Womack
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes,
I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give fate a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling outReconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes,
I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
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Egypt:Beyond the Pyramids (09-05-04)
Documentary for the History Channel
Amazing endurance and peseverance potrayed by the archeologists who work for decades to unearth the hidden treasures of the mystic land of Egypt.
The documentary focuses on the Temple of Karnak(for the King of the Gods Amon), The Red Chapel (which was rebuilt by the French Egyptologists by piecing together the remains (more like a3d jigsaw puzzle) and the Temple of Osiris (the god of the underworld).We then visit the Deir El Bahari of Queen Hatshepsut (Egypt's Female Pharoh), a structure that sort of blends into the rocks that enclose the space.
The second segment focuses on the KV5-the Valley of the Kings with Kent Weeks, who has been working on the project for 10 years.KV5 is the largest tomb in the Valley of Kings which houses the tombs of Ramasees's children.
Egypt never ceases to amaze...the mystical air...and every new unearthing just makes you wonder more...
The way home (09-04-04)
Korean movie-The Way Home
It was a beautiful saturday evening...the weather was pleasant outside, i relished the walk to the department and at the end of the day there was more meaning to life than i imagined. This Korean movie was such a beautiful potrayal of an unfolding of a relationship between a kid who is forced to leave his city and live with his grandmom (who is deaf and mute) in the village. The movie is told in all silence and subtlety as the kid tries to come to grips with the simple life in the village and when he finally recognizes the unconditional love of his grandmom, its time for him to get back to his home.
Amazing performance by the cast! There is a lot that I would want to write about the movie...but I'm scared it might lose the intensity, as some things are best experienced and viewed and not told. So all I have to say is watch it if you get a chance.
Life can be tough, gruelling...you may not own anything, you may be in abject poverty, to live your life or to hate it is up to you.
The mountains will always be there for you to look up and find solace.
Be thankful for all the blessings that life gives you and also for all the tough times...they are there to teach you and reveal the mysteries of living.
Stop all those mindless complaining...you need to start living and cherish every moment for what it is.
Shrek 2 (09-03-04)
Friday night...
Ok, the school screened the movie and i badly wanted a break, so watched it, even though I wasn't particularly keen in watching it. Well, it wasn't that much of a disappointment though. The animation had improved significantly from Shrek1, especially the fabric, fur and the environment animations. But I'm sure this is not something I would want to own a copy...it didn't have that 'fantasy' element and so definitely not my favorite. But it was just plain entertainment, the storyline reminded me of bollywood movies... the music was lively though. It was one of those movies where you didn't have to tax your brain trying to figure out the plot. Not too bad after all!
