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Reviews
The Lake House (2006)
Love can transcend all boundaries even the small matter of time
The Lake House is a beautiful story which stresses the point that love can transcend all boundaries even the small matter of time. It's a story about how two human beings in two parallel universes' can not only communicate with each other but also fall in love. Einstein will be smiling in his grave.
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock return as a pair for the first time since the high-drama of Speed in this remake of a Korean movie by the name of "Il Mare". But speed is the last word on your mind as you sit through this slow love story which drifts its way and slowly settles in your heart. It's a tale of two individuals who find love in each other despite being two years apart and having a mailbox as the only mode of communication. While the story and many of the scenes seem to be extremely illogical and senseless, if you can get past it and accept the basis of this movie, the art of story telling comes to the fore. Whatever the story, if one knows how to tell it, the outcome is assured to be a piece of art. Some of the scenes are a work of brilliance and truly entertaining specially the one where Kate (Sandra Bullock) and Alex (Keanu Reeves) communicate with each other via a mailbox whose flag keeps going up and down as they write and read each others messages. The blossoming of love is shown quite metaphorically as Alex plants Kate's favorite tree outside her yet to be built house in winter minus all its leaves and Kate to her surprise sees a tree in full bloom. Communication between the two takes place through notes (dropped in a mailbox at the lake house) which is woven into the storyline through voice overs by the lead actors. The brilliance in this movie is the manner in which the director takes us from Kate's world into Alex's without a break and makes us feel as if they co-exist. The surroundings of the suburb of Chicago make for a wonderful backdrop and are truly pleasing to the eye. The chance appearances of Alex in Kate's world are subtle and at deliberate moments; which you could almost miss out if you are not alert.
The lake house is a glass house built on stilts. Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock), a doctor by profession, is the resident of this lake house who is now moving into the city and requests the new owner of the lake house to forward all her mail to her new address. The recipient of this message is Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves), a young architect looking to build his own niche separate from his fathers. When he tries to forward her mail he is told that the address does not exist and is yet under construction. Here begins a tale of intrigue and mystery for Alex (and one of illogical scripts for the spectator) who is at a loss to understand how he is to forward mail to a non-existing address. So he does the next best thing. He admits his predicament and drops it into the post box at his lake house. Meanwhile Kate while wondering what happened to her mail decides to go back to the lake house and is greeted by Keanu's reply. This is a wonderful scene where they both realize that in reality Kate is actually two years in the future.
Here begins a tale of discovery for Alex. He wants to know how things are in the future
"they really have'nt changed.." is what Kate has to reply back. All this while the post box is their sole method of communication. Funnily enough Alex doesn't want to know the prices of stocks and results of games! Here is when the art of story telling rises above the storyline. They realize that each of them have crossed the others parts in the past in different ways. There are some truly memorable moments as Kate asks Alex to retrieve her most precious possessions, a copy of Persuasion given to her by her father. Herein lies one of the most amazing moments wherein Kate tells him that the books tells that love can occur at the wrong moments and even if the characters wait, it does'nt work out
Alex's father, a renowned architect built the lake house as a family getaway. Alex, eager to carve his own niche and do something different moves in here as he develops a property nearby. He comes into contact with a lawyer (Kate's boyfriend at that time) and is asked over for drinks. By this time Alex is deeply in love with the Kate of two years hence. He is the result of her breakup. Kate of course has no inkling that she will fall in love with this man two years hence. The first time they decide to meet in Kate's world (through an unconfirmed two year reservation at a fine dine Chicago restaurant!), Alex fails to turn up. Both of them are confused as to why it happened only to realize a greater calamity had occurred.
The present and past are woven together beautifully to form one continuous thread. While Keanu and Sandra play their roles to perfection there is no doubt that this movie belongs to the director and the director alone. There are two alternate endings this movie could have had. I am sure the director must have considered both. I believe the alternate ending would have left a much more lasting impact on the mind of the viewer.
Paheli (2005)
What happened in the end?
Well for this movie, a good place to begin is the end. I don't want to be a spoiler, but seriously what happened in the end. I have never seen such a hash of a climax like the one that I saw here (And thats entirely the reason for the below average rating). Surely, Vijayadan Detha's novel, Duvidha, on which this movie is based could not have had such an abrupt ending and even if it did I am sure that there would have been a lot more finesse and emotion attached then the one that we got to saw in this movie.
But now the good parts. The beautiful Rajasthani culture is brought to light in this wonderful saga about relations and the yearning for a husband by his wife. The colour and dresses in the initial song sequence as Lachchi (Rani Mukherjee) gets married to a trader husband, Kishan (Shahrukh Khan) are quite spell-binding and true to the form and culture of Rajasthan. The seamless deserts, the well-decorated banyan tree bring to life the people and lore of Rajasthan as we know it. The Rajashtani haveli, the bania mindset and the rainbow bangles intermingle beautifully in this melancholy of songs and dance. But I must warn you that songs it is that this movie has too many off. At times I felt it could fill up two whole cassettes!
However, lets get back to the story. Lachchi and her husband Kishan on the way back from their marriage halt for lunch at a rest house which has a very old banyan tree and is supposed to have more than a hundred ghosts. It is here that Lachchi meets various incarnations of the ghost, whom she will come to love very soon. As they return home, Lachchi is devastated to learn that her merchant husband will be leaving her the next day, only to return five years hence much like his elder brother who went away seven years ago and never came back. As she watches him leave the next morning, the yearning for a husband and love is all too visible in her eyes. Along comes the ghost who transforms himself to look like her husband but also reveals himself to her. It is at this very precarious moment that Lachchi must decide whether she will wait for a husband, who like his elder brother, might never return or learn to love this man who will show her the endless joys of life. It is no small wonder that she chooses the latter and what follows thereafter is miracle after miracle as he not only wins her heart but also makes her his very own. The story then moves through various small incidents as he proves her love again and again to her and their family. Things take a turn when Lachchi turn pregnant and it is time for the ghost to reevaluate his role in the scheme of things. At this point he realizes how true his love for Lachchi is, and how unwilling he is to let go of her. It is at this time that the original Kishan returns home and has to now prove that he is the real Kishan and not the ghost who has been haunting their house since the past 2 years.
The portrayal of Lachchi and Kishan are quite unforgettable by these two very talented actors. Who else to better fit the role of the bania father than Anupam Kher, a role he played to perfection long ago in the Aamir Khan-Madhuri Dixit starrer, Dil. Rajpal Yadav as a comedian is here to stay and it would not be very wrong to say that some of the most entertaining moments in the film were provided by him. Its probably a story of the times that a gorgeous well-talented actress like Juhi Chawla has to play the bit role of Lachchi's bhabhi. Sunil "Suneil" Shetty disappears faster than a ghost with his role as Juhi's husband and we shall never really know the purpose of these two otherwise talented actors in such small roles. Amitabh Bachchan is in that unique place in his career where roles are being made for him. Though it might have anyway been in the original script, his personification as the shepherd who solves the "Paheli" will not be forgotten soon. Naseruddin Shah as the voice behind the puppet makes a forceful presence.
All in all, at the end, the movie leaves you with a lost feeling. The story really does'nt move anywhere in the middle in the time between the ghost arrives and the real Kishan returns. The two hours in between is just a combination of songs, more colour and dances and piecemeal sequences which I am sure do no justice to Vijayadan Detha's novel. One wishes the story could have dealt more deeply with human relationships, about the feelings of a woman torn from her household of 20 years to be brought into a new place only to be left behind by a man she might never see. The actors gave it their all but one would have to place the blame at the door of the director for treating us to this sorely mediocre score in which so much more was possible. But the heartening thing for me from this movie is the trend that I believe we shall see more often. Much like Hollywood, we shall see more movies based on books which would mean a stronger story line (hopefully), well-sketched protagonists and though-provoking emotions. And when you have a starry cast backed by astute marketing in such an artsy movie, you are bound to pull in the crowds, at least in the opening weekend.
The Negotiator (1998)
Check it our before it gets out
Finally, after a very long time we get to see an excellent action drama. The best in recent times. With two of the best actors, Hollywood has produced, we have a stunning tale of mystery, murder and intrigue woven into the Chicago Police Department. Samuel L. Jackson is the best negotiator on the East Side of Chicago. The absolute best there is in the business. He gets busted for murdering his partner who was investigating a fraud. This man is desperate and his ass is on the pan. Well so what does he do??? Something he know best. Takes a hostage (actually four of them) and demands a negotiator. Enter Kevin Spacey, Oscar winner for his role in The Usual Suspects and star of LA Confidential. This guy has guts and brains. What he and Jackson have done to this movie no other 2 actors could probably have done. With their inimitable styles and dialogue delivery they manage to light up the night-sky in Chicago. Sterling performances from the director and scriptwriter moreover have given us a beautifully twisted tale. The comedy is rather subtle and never ceases to amaze. All in all a wonderful movie worth spending 50 bucks for.
China Gate (1998)
good actors poor direction, music, dialogues,.......never ending list
An excellent idea originally thought up by the Late Akiro Kurosawa copied very successfully in Sholay and very haphazardly shown with total and complete failure in ChinaGate. Inspired(this word has been given a whole new dimension by Anu Mallik) by the Seven Samurais this is a story about 10 men disgraced in war out to redeem their glory. Great till here. Enter the likes of Om Puri, Danny, Amrish Puri and Naserruddin Shah and u think its going to be a cracker. Enter Viju Khote, Sameer Soni and some others whom I can't even name and this movie becomes absolutely unwatchable. Mamta Kulkarni is in a totally unglamorous role and we all know about those accusations which are being thrown around thick and fast. Though she does give a emotional and certain sense to the movie which goes absolutely berserk at times. U have very bad background music, which rings in your ears and horrible cinematography which fails to capture the better shots. The shot in which vultures hover around waiting for the corpse is great but it is highly overdone and occurs at least 15 times with all those irritating loud noises in the background. And u have a completely hopeless Sameer Soni who is forever hovering around Mamta trying to get a peek into her u know what. The action sequences r also trite with the same things being done repeatedly. Twice in the movie u see horsemen after being shot moving back thru the air as their horses move forward. Though this is the normal trick it is rarely possible to discern it in the movie. The movie is salvaged by the excellent 'Chamma Chamma' dance number by Urmila. The proof of this is the poster outside Plaza which has Urmila covering the maximum amount of area in the poster as compared to any other single person. The choreography and music is excellent though the lyrics hardly mean a thing(does it really matter anyway). The other saving graces are Danny with his great diction and Nasseruddin Shah with his extraordinary dialog delivery specially the one that he tells Amrish Puri after saving his life. Om Puri fails to impress as much though he is passable. The others make a downright ass of themselves and makes u wonder if such people can ever be in the Army. A great military movie has been hog washed to a typical Bollywood mirch masala. I think Rajkumar Santoshi was sleeping during this movie. Said to be the costliest movie with an estimated budget of Rs. 20 crores you wonder at the end of the 3 hr ordeal as to where the money was spent. Disappointing fare on the whole.
Serendipity (2001)
Luck or fate or destiny
Claim to fame : One of the best new-age romantic movies ever made Luck favors the brave is the message that instantly comes to mind by the time the movie ends. The movie intends to send the explicit message that though many things seem to happen by accident, there is destiny involved and every individual is responsible for shaping his or her destiny in life.
"Serendipity" means good luck by accident which is exactly how Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) and Sara (the ravishing Kate Beckinsale) meet up while shopping for Christmas gifts in a departmental store in New York. They both select the same gift i.e. a glove which John subsequently gives up in return for a lovely blended coffee at Sara's favorite New York restaurant called "Serendipity". For a background, Jonathan, an ESPN producer in New York is soon to marry his girlfriend Haley while Sara, a student counselor in San Francisco is soon to tie the knot with her boyfriend who is a flute musician. Jonathan is one who lives by rationale in life and believes there is a reason behind everything in life and that one is in-charge of it. On the other hand Sara is a firm believer in fate and destiny and believes that one will always land up where one was supposed to be. They engage in numerous such games to see how fate holds up for them and the lift incident is almost poignant to a point.
Sara finally leaves New York with her telephone number written on a book which she will sell to a bookstore and if she and John are meant to be together, then John will find this book and be able to call her. Similarly she gets John to write his number on a 5-dollar bill. She says that if the bill comes back to her she will know that they were meant to be together. What follows is one accident after another which convinces John that she is the girl for him and starts an expedition to search for her in a very methodical manner. In this place the story slowly moves around to the point telling us that if we want something we have to fight for it. We cannot expect luck to give it to us. We see that even Sara returns to New York to search for her man, a woman well changed to make her own luck. At the end John has run out of ideas but feels vindicated.
Though one might become overly pessimistic regarding the number of favorable accidents that happen in the movie, the beauty of this movie lies in its subtlety. The use of the gloves to indicate both separation and hope is truly brilliant. The subsequent depiction of the gloves throughout the movie allows the viewers to relate very closely with the protagonists. Characters in this movie have been developed with care and depth; whether they are John and Sara's friends or the salesman at the departmental store. The scenes at the Central Park skating rink are not only moving but very beautiful as well as John lies there in hope of finding his true love in life. And last but not the least, the music by Alan Silvestri is of the highest quality and adds a definitive emotional appeal to this already beautiful movie.