manendra-lodhi

Ran is 160 minutes of pure engagement, fun, action or whatever you wished for. It's a tale about an Ichimonji clan who has a ruler Hidetora and his three sons. Within the first few minutes itself the entire story will become clear to you. Kurosawa's mastery is seen in how the story progresses involving many characters and each playing a specific part. Lord Hidetora is ageing and he decides to give control of his kingdom to his eldest son. What follows next is a powerful display of human nature mingled with treachery, war skill, decision making, loyalty and many more. Keeping the main story on the top all the time it allows the viewer to think about the question of good or bad. Lord Hidetora's past was filled with slaughter and suffering to people and it comes back to him making the viewer wonder whether to sympathize with him or not. The film takes inspiration from the Shakespeare's king Lear. The acting from Tatsuya Nakadai (Hidetora) was spellbinding. Majority of his work was done by his scary eyes which depicted his inability to do anything when he understood that the fall of his empire was imminent. His face with all that whiteness of exasperation speaks things which no one after watching the film can ever forget. There is active participation of the supporting casts including the women (who influenced the story greatly) who might be the king's associate but were free to speak. It is the most expensive film Kurosawa had made and speaks for itself. The beautiful landscapes, the costumes, the palaces, the army scenes all shout for their achievements individually. It felt like everyone in the family had a grunt over something and wanted to be a part of it. The brothers had no affection at all for each of them. It would be nice to have a prequel to this story to see how these characters developed in the past.

MESSAGE: "Circle of life."

VERDICT: "A must watch"

The story of the film starts in a normal fashion and doesn't interest much to a general audience but the way it takes turns after the second half and the engaging part in the end is going to be in my memory forever. After watching the film, the question related to scripts again resurfaced in my mind. Isn't the story the most important part of a film? Well I just think of the fugitive, the story being pretty much normal but I bet there will be very few who didn't like it. No doubt, a film has to have all the departments very powerful in order to be successful. In the fugitive we have an extraordinary execution of a normal story and in Match Point we have an extraordinary execution of an extraordinary story. But why can't I distinguish between the two films properly. I want to incline more towards the Match Point but after finishing both of them I had almost the same feeling. But in the end I believe it is the story which should be paid more emphasis.

The film' story here digs deeper into LUCK. How luck can change the life. The story does true justice to the idea. We have a Retired Tennis player inducted into a family and start to have a relationship with the daughter of the family. Sideways, he grows his feelings for another girl involved in the same family. The story takes many turns all the time. The combination of the mood at times along with the opera music was an exhilarating experience. The way the film ends, the acting by the cast, the change in behavior or the characterization everything about the film is so perfect. The ending clearly suggests that this is how life is sometimes and we don't know it. Woody Allen is a master storyteller. With 23 nominations of original screenplays, the guy is a gem in our world. I seriously doubt that anyone would dislike the film. There are instances where the story tends to proceed in a clichéd manner but wait till you reach to the end.

MESSAGE: "LUCK MATTERS."

VERDICT: "A must watch."

Bradley cooper shines as a struggling author in the film. My only reason to see the film was this guy. The film also provides a plot which has endless possibilities. Eddie is a normal guy who is struggling to do something significant in his life. Getting desperate more and more, he finds a drug which enhances the capabilities of your brain. How this drug turns his life upside down in a proper cosine wave format is what the entire film is about. I know it sounds rubbish, normal sci-fi. But there are certain things which make the film a little bit interesting and make itself worthy for at least one time watch. First of all the effects are good, innovative and something which is not too star war types but which we can perceive visually in a good aesthetic manner. Bradley cooper himself has done amazing in his role as a struggling person. The narrative pattern of the film is also binding, where cooper himself narrates his life. I still think that in this way the audience gets more interested. Apart from these good parts, I felt like the information was too much in the short span of the film. Many details of the novel would have been tried to stuff into the screenplay. And not all were impressive and they just contributed towards the hurriedness and the abruptness at the same time to the film. The ending was clichéd and I was expecting something different so that also was a letdown. But in all the film is fast paced, gripping and a definite one time watch for all action lovers. There might be many action films pertaining to this sci-fi genre and this again is not too different but then again it is good in its own way and stands apart from others in the bucket.

MESSAGE: "Life is worth taking risk"

VERDICT: "One time watch"