imeanSURAJ

1. The Shining (1980): ·          The infamous ' Heere's Johnny !' scene took 3 days to film and the use of 60 doors. ·          Because of the intense heat generated from the lighting used to recreate window sunlight (the room took  700,000  watts of light per window to make it look like a snowy day outside), the lounge set caught fire. ·          Shelley Duvall suffered from  nervous exhaustion  throughout filming, including physical illness and hair loss. She was brutally tortured and made to feel worthless which later was told to be the plan to get her frustrated and low. ·          The scene where Jack is chasing Danny through the maze took over a month to shoot. During the shoot, crew-members often found themselves lost and had to  walkie-talkie  for assistance. ·          The scene towards the end of the film, where Wendy is running up the stairway carrying a knife, was shot 35 times; the equivalent of running up the  Empire State Building . ·         

Genre: Black and White Beach Siblings

A CLASSIC BOND Score: 6/10 The highly anticipated and the costliest Bond film bringing the collaboration of Sam and Craig one more time on the screen is something all Bond fans were cross fingered about and I’d say it has just about delivered. Prologue:  The film starts with an almost 5 minutes long continuous shot, a la Emmanuel Lubezki from Alejandro films, the careful and tedious work was super attractive as it was intended, but it is never repeated in the whole film, not even for 2-3 minutes, for requirements constraint obviously, leaving the audience asking for more. The action in Mexico is one of the most realistically shot helicopter scenes ever, as Sam likes them. But it still with all the grounded take has an element of Bond to it, the last second save and et al. Title Credits:  The title credits was a disappointment, I could hardly pin point any inventiveness in terms of design and graphics, except periodically wrapping the characters with the slithering muscular

The Gift This, a directorial debut for Joel Edgerton (actor, Zero Dark Thirty), is a fantastically written and implemented psychological thriller along the lines of Old Boy(2003) and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle(1992). Joel has shown tremendous maturity as a director with his first film itself, and he executes every element close to perfect ion. The film is a dark play of psychologies of the battles between the bully and the bullied. Unlike Old Boy though, he doesn't add layers of emotions or melodrama but pure thrills which again works for the way he directs. The music definitely lacks a bit of a punch but the raw acting, dark suspenseful cinematography and a lonely themed production design is terrific. He's surpassed many acclaimed directors in bringing it all together with so much sync. Don't hate me for this but I think comparing debut films, this is better directed than Reservoir Dogs, 400 Blows, Gone Baby Gone or even Citizen Kane (I'm only talking about d

After the Wedding A fantastic film by Susaane Bier whose other films are as good if not better (read In a Better World). This film uniquely adopts a brisk camera work making arch around a lot of subjects when its necessary, taking strong close ups that especially emphasizes the body language of the character bringing out the mood in a more definitive way and being energetic about the movements. It was good to have this for a change instead of the usual slow and steady ones normally used. About the story, it has a strong melodramatic tone brought to life by the ace Mads Mikkelsen and Rolf Lassgard. Clear winner for a film lover like me. ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

The Overnight The film takes many cute improbable twists for a comedy drama, and at the end you will almost feel like you have had a stomach full of a satisfying cuisine of which you think you have had enough, that too in under 80 minutes. I loved the unpredictability of the plot and a little weird touch to it with some realistic grazes stopping from things to advancing towards creepy shit. Not to forget the film also offers some laugh out loud scenes which makes it in all a pleasant phase. I'd have given it a 7.5 but then IMDb only allows whole number from 1-10, and in that case I had to stick with 7.4.  ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

The Man from UNCLE The film is not half as bad as the critics have trashed it but as they all had one thing consensus which is lack of substance is actually true, it had the old school story line but the charisma of the actors and the few of the scenes which is so fantastically directed adding all the flavors of black comedy and Guy Ritchie trademark, it actually makes up for the flaws and makes the whole film an entertaining ride. I easily gave it a 7/10 in IMDb and I think you should go for it too. ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

And Everything is Going Fine A documentary focusing on the life of Spalding Gray explained in a series of fantastically engaging monologues which sometimes you wish never ended. His very genuine outlook to life and sweet flavors of humor never makes the monologues too monotonous, in other words the documentary doesn't brings up the need of anymore characters even when the whole film is about one character and one character alone. Steven has made a good compilation I must say. I'd give it an 8 without a second thought.  ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

Masaan The film by debutante Neeraj Ghaywan is powerfully directed in all its rawness, and an honesty which pinches one too many times for the very same reasons. It comprises of three parallel stories, one of Richa Chadda, second of her Father and the third, a totally independent tale set in the same neighborhood of a lover boy. It is among few of the Indian films this year acted with utter flawlessness, in fact even the cinematography has been beautiful, subtly capturing the beauty of a dark Banaras against the bright orange funeral pyre. Masaan is a must watch to encourage such films and get them talked about more, to spread the word. ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

Confessions This Japanese film is another film along the lines of OldBoy (2003), a mystery thriller drama, expertly directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. This might not make in every one's list of great films because the depiction of the whole story has been too grim and blue. The cinematography is dark making use of many slo-mos adding more drama to the situation, and periodically having scenes of the cliched dark moving clouds and convex reflectors. The music was highly melodramatic playing famous notes in piano and some lively English songs on some occasions. It depresses you with each narration from the 5 main characters of the film, but at the end its worth its while to see who has the last laugh in this whole game of revenge, that twists and turns surprising all along. My Vote, 9/10 (only my 47th film with that high rating). ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )

Love Exposure The Japanese film runs a tad too long at just a couple of minutes to 4 hours (3 hours 56 minutes). The whole film seems confused to stay attached to a certain theme. It starts off with a strong drama transitioning into a comedy and slowly getting towards absurdity and then pulling back towards drama, again and tries to become really emotional towards the end. The film's inability to hold on to a certain tone creates a disconnect, puzzling me to the attitude I should settle into to watch it with the right mindset. A huge winner at film festivals, this film is also loved largely by the audience of the country. I have easily enjoyed Shion Sono's Strange Circus and Suicide Club more. ( www.facebook.com/groups/YouMeFilmJunkie/ )