Hollywood's dumb fascination for misleading title ! ! !

Pretty Woman (1990) directed by Garry Marshall

Films about hookers and their patrons are a common feature of all national cinemas.According to a rough estimate films about hookers have always been a good box office proposition.This might be because of people's belief that they are objects of reverence.This is the reason why Hollywood is not at all an exception as far as films about women of easy virtue are concerned.The only thing which differs American/Hollywood films from those of other countries is their narrative structure.Hollywood cinema relies more on the external appearance of hookers whereas world cinema focuses more on internal quest of hookers for achieving a state of security,safety,prosperity and happiness.Pretty Woman fails to deliver because it is not at all serious cinema.It can neither be termed as a prototype of fun cinema as it lacks credibility which is evident in Leaving Las Vegas.As Hollywood film industry has its own peculiar way of portraying hookers viewers have little or no choice of rejecting such flicks.There are plenty of gaping holes in Pretty Woman.It is being labeled as a fairy tale of a hooker with golden heart.This is absurd as viewers are not in a position to figure out whether it is due to severe distress or a young girl's desire to lead a lavish life.Pretty Woman is a dismal failure as in real life people deal harshly with hookers making their lives miserable.Pretty Woman is a historic blunder too as it degrades women.

Laughter at the rate of 100 laughs per minute.

The Big Lebowski (1998) directed by Joel Coen

Coen brothers are famous for their inventiveness as they never repeat the themes of their films.The same thing can be said about their erratic choice of actors.In "The Big Lebowski",we see some of the best talented actors of Hollywood doing highly unconventional roles.The beauty with a brain Julianne Moore plays a hard to believe adult movie star,Jeff Bridges is nice as a bum.John Goodman and Steve Buscemi are good too as a bunch of good for nothings.Regarding "The Big Lebowski" the best comment should concentrate on the film's raison d'être.It is about creating funny episodes out of nothing.Sometimes it is a nice feeling when while watching a film people decide not to bother about plot,camera etc and start enjoying the poetry of nothingness.It is this senseless yet charming session of mirth that has been created by Coen brothers.A different yet unusually similar film comes to my mind "A Fish called Wanda".Those who have seen both the films will not hesitate in declaring that both of them provide a century of laughs.

Hard to digest : John Travolta as a villain beating Slater to pulp !!!

Broken Arrow (1996) directed by John Woo

My admiration for John Woo grew leaps and bounds with this particular film.To my mind,Broken Arrow has set a trend of taking lead players as villains.No one could have imagined even in wildest dreams that a professional airline Pilot that is John Travolta would be playing the part of a recalcitrant baddie hell bent on achieving universal destruction.He is the only one who steals the show gradually and it is towards the end of the film that his wickedness is at the summit of its annihilating powers.The success of this film is also due to
tightly controlled actions scenes.After Broken Arrow,there were hardly any good action films whose intensity matched those of this elegant action thriller.There is no doubt that Travolta steals the show.Sad but true other actors appear as
dimwits whether it is Christian Slater or Samantha Mathis.It would be nice if a sequel of this film is made by John Woo.If Die hard can be a big grosser than Broken Arrow is equally capable of replicating its previous success.

So this film was made as it had got to be made ! ! !

The Pianist (2002) directed by Roman Polanski

It is a rather strange Jewish tradition that willingly or unwillingly all Jewish film makers direct films about the holocaust experience. This may be an easy way to get close to Jewish heritage,legacy and repay the debt owned to the community but what is more important to know is that a Jewish person making a film about holocaust would guarantee immediate success.So whether it is Spielberg or Polanski, Jewish filmmakers have made films about the terrible Jewish experience during holocaust days.In the case of both these directors they have made their respective holocaust films after having found money and popularity with other films.So more than a matter of creative task,it was more of a communal obligation for them to make an holocaust film. It is only in this context that one must consider The Pianist.This film is just plain OK nothing great or spectacular as everything can be foretold beforehand such as atrocities,suffering and ultimately liberation.The choice of Adrien Brody as the pianist is a good one as he carries the film single handedly on his shoulders.There is no other good reason which can justify the goodness of this film.

Not sure whether this must be termed as the best film directed by David Lynch.

Mulholland Drive (2001) directed by David Lynch

In any manner whatsoever,I don't want to offend any of the admirers of David Lynch who are present all over the world.However I would like to mention that I purchased a DVD of this film in order to fathom what made it so famous that it won the best foreign language film at the French Cesar awards ceremony. However my first viewing session of this film was deceptive as it left me numb and I could not make head nor tail of this film.As in the past I had seen only one film from our American master in question called "The Elephant Man" and as I was not much too satisfied with the film,my expectations with Mullholland Drive were high and sorry to say unfortunately they came to a cropper. First of all I found it hard to understand why so many events were happening and that too in quick succession.There was no coherence and it appeared to me that the innocent viewers were bombarded with a volley of jumbled scenes.Yeah it is a good thing that some of those scenes were shrouded into mystery while some were suffused with sensuality.So thanks to these elements I was able to contend myself with this film. The two leading actress are worth mentioning as their coming together might be a healing for some haplessly sore eyes.

Both Black and White can live together peacefully.

Mississippi Burning (1988) directed by Alan Parker

Last year,I was appalled to read in an issue of Film Comment magazine that "Mississippi Burning" had been judged as the worst American film based on real life events.This is not only shocking but highly unbelievable too.What dismays is the fact that how can anyone categorize such a brilliant film as one of the worst political films.I am of the opinion that this is a big error on the part of a respectable film magazine."Mississippi Burning" is a superb rendition of the events which took lives of civil rights workers.Apart from the actors'efforts,the real credit of its success must go to Alan Parker's taut,skillful direction.With this film he has proved that he is at his creative best when he makes films based on real life events.No doubt people do remember "Midnight Express" and also the fact that hardly a week passes without the television screening of this film.William Defoe is a kind soul in this film.It was after this film that he decided to play various kind of bad guy roles.Gene Hackman is good too and his anger,frustration and obstinacy are a joy to watch.Frances McDormand is nice as the helpless soul trying to wriggle out of an unhappy marriage.Message of the film :nothing can be achieved through violence.PS: Live and let others live happily.

Meaningful film with Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro.

The Mission (1986) directed by Roland Joffe

The Mission directed by Roland Joffe cannot be termed as a film which can masquerade as some kind of populist entertainment stuff. It is not at all a film which entertains in the manner most of the films do. It is a film which makes us think as to what our past history was. The important message the film gives us is the reminder that numerous wars were fought in order to attain the religious supremacy of a particular religion. Now for those who think that The Mission is not a slice of history but a movie, I would say that both the leading actors are absolutely impressive. However it is Jeremy Irons who is in full command of his acting capabilities as the priest. Robert de Niro is good too as the man who repents after killing his brother out of revenge. The amazing thing is the manner in which South American native people have acted. Watching them perform alongside Hollywood bigwigs one wonders how they have not been influenced by them. The sad part of this film is its end which might appear as pessimistic to certain viewers.

Compelling and controversial : a sure shot recipe for success.

Le Mépris (1963) directed by Jean Luc Godard

Jean Luc Godard described his film as a story of a misunderstanding between a man and a woman.Le Mepris shows succinctly how true love can vanish when one lover becomes contemptible.Paul Javal is in a fix as to how he should assure his wife that he loves her a lot.Camile has no basis for her contempt which she directs against her innocent husband.The creative process has become an obstacle to their relationship.It is precisely due to this involvement that Camille is showing contempt for her husband.Le Mepris is the most revealing film about the edifying influence the cinema has on its creators.The film brilliantly captures the moods and emotions that go in making a film. Fritz Lang,in his role as a director brings the film closer to reality.He makes the film look more authentic.This has been Godard's tribute to the great master.Le Mepris audaciously discusses genuine European aesthetics v/s crass commercialization à la Hollywood.Prokosh is more interested in his wealth than art.Everyone knows that the conflict between Paul and Prokosh is inevitable.Prokosh's death symbolizes the zero in life. Le Mepris was constantly dogged by controversies and on one occasion even Godard was held in contempt by the film's producer George de Baroncelli.

Hollywood studios will never approve such a film.

Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse (2000) directed by Agnès Varda

At least a film has been made with courage,determination and above all without caring at all about what the film market would say.Who in the world had thought that someone would take the trouble of making a documentary about people who do nothing but sort out eatables from huge piles of junk.The one and the only unofficial grand mother of French new wave cinema Agnes Varda has embraced modern Digital video technology in a nice way thereby enabling us viewers to watch hitherto unknown facets of impecunious people's lives in France:a country which is always feeling proud of its state controlled socialist traditions. The film is a proof that documentary tradition is still very much alive in France and most of the established veterans like Varda do like to dabble in such uncommon ventures.The best parts of this documentary revolve around Varda as she takes a tour of France on her hunt for the gleaners.This is really France uncut,a France you have all been longing to see but never got a chance to do so.Voilà explore France with this film.