Just a Little Torture!

Ichi the Killer ,another Gruesome epic by the Master of gruesome epics ,Takashi Miike. Honestly i think this movie is just an excuse to showcase some of the most brutal torture scene ever shown onscreen.I also have to admit that I'm a big fan of such movies.For me it's just a Horror movie without Ghosts or Demons.And you don't get to watch movies like this that often.The Reason that i ended up watching this movie was that i googled the most brutal movie in Cinematic history.But i didn't get a clear answer as some said that it was Cannibal Holcaust and some said it was Ichi.Since Cannibal is an old exploitation Italian flick,i wasn't that interested to watch it.And i was so hooked on to Miike's work after watching Audition ,i didn't have to think further.My final verdict is that this movie is a disappointment story wise and a blast torture wise.It's said that when this movie was premiered at the Cannes or Berlin,they distributed Barf bags to the audience as a marketing gimmick,even though actually only one threw up in it.Well the movie follows the demented Ichi and the gang leader Kakihara ,both of them on a cruel rampage killing people.Ichi being an assassin has an implanted memory by his master of a rape of a young girl while he was in school who was trying to help him from a bunch of bullies and in the efforts gets raped by them.Ichi does nothing to save her and in fact is turned on by watching them rape her.Soon he's overcome by guilt and remorse and vows to kill all them Bullies icluding ones in Society.Kakihara,on the otherhand ,is in search of his missing Boss.Kakihara wants him back real bad as he's kind of a pain Junkie and only his boss has been able to inflict pain upon him that he could really enjoy.The Movie begins with Ichi's assasination of Kakihara's Boss.The Movie then unravels in familiar expected ways as Kakihara and Ichi is led to final showdown where Ichi kills Kakihara.There is also this subplot with Takashi Miike character playing the cop who lost his gun turned Yakuza.Ichi saves his son from bullies but kills him in the end along with his son too.The Movie is sometimes confusing as to what is happening partly due to it's uneven pace and the exploration of both the killers minds which is tripping.But if you like Blood,Flesh and Screams this is not to be missed.

Plan 9 from Outer Space!

Ed Wood is a cinematic Masterpiece.This movie could have been a terrible comedy if the Studio executives had their way.But Tim Burton had made it into a touching drama of one man's quest to make Movies not with his brain but with his heart.I haven't seen any Edward Wood Junior classic but from what i saw in this movie I'm pretty what to expect.But what stands out is the Person ,the filmmaker with his inexhaustible source of confidence and his struggles to get his movie made.The Movie also tells the tale of the warm friendship that Ed shared with Acting legend Bela Lugosi and how he stood by him in his worst days of Morphine addiction.The Scene where Ed asks Lugosi to jump into the chilling water at 3'o clock in the morning to battle with Octopus tells us what it takes to be a Real Actor.He refuses at first to do the shot ,but when Ed explains his tight schedule for the night and having a sip of whiskey ,as soon as Ed shouts Action he jumps into the water without the slightest hesitation and gives one hell of a performance.I don't know whether Bela Lugosi was that good in the original but Martin Landau was awesome.Johnny Depp clearly makes an impression as the maverick director.It's a sad thing being branded the worst director of all time but for Ed wood junior it was a blessing in disguise.How many Bad directors have a Church named after them.I'm confused at all this late appreciation heaved upon his work. Is it plain sympathy for the Worst Director of all time or is it genuine appreciation of his efforts seen in a new perspective.

Airplane

Slapstick comedy at it's best,Airplane was a fun ride.I actually had seen this title in the video rental shop where i always used to hang out digging up one of those old hollywood titles.Back then i had ignored this movie because there weren't any famous names(known to me) in it.All i know was it's a comedy.And i wasn't a big fan of comedy back then.So anyways i skipped this title then and years passed and one day i was sitting in front of my computer after watching all those horror films both old and new and was kind of getting bored.So i thought OK let's watch some funny movies .I searched the internet for some comedy titles and in all the best comedy lists i dug up Airplane was there.So why not?But one thing i'm sure of is that if you are a serious kind of person you wouldn't enjoy it.It's for the light hearted.I also have to say i didn't find the film that interesting especially after having watched all those Scary,Epic,Disaster movies ,i guess nobody would find it's jokes that funny.Back in it's days it was an Original with a New concept or take on serious films.The Character that made me really laugh was the Air Traffic controller.I don't know his name but he was the President in Hot Shots part deux.His line "I guess i chose the wrong week to quit.." was hilarious,you know the kind of joke that's a joke because of it's repetition.It's good for a few laughs that's all.

Deeper,Deeper,Deeper!

Takashi Miike's 1999 movie Audition is Provocative.But the movie is just beyond the climax.It begins as a simple family drama,allowing us to mingle with characters and is evenly paced.We do not get bored even when there is nothing much happening.Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina's performance is what makes the movie spectacular.Ryo's portrayal of a widowed man looking for love is believable and heart felt.His underplay of character magnifies the effect of the cruel torture unleashed upon him at the end.Eihi Shiina was mind blowing playing the Ice Cold Killa.She really makes you fall in love with her Just like Ryu's character with her soothing voice and stunning beauty and then it goes all the way down the negative once she reveals her real self.The Torture sequence being the sole reason for the movie still haunting our mind is simply Brutal.Comparing with the Hostel movies this ain't much of a Bloody affair and the sequence lasts for only about 20 minutes.If you are familiar with acupuncture you won't be that repelled by the initial needle piercing scene.Even though she explains that she had injected him with a pain accelerating thing in his body,making every needle go into his body like a knife. The Only graphic thing that i would say is graphic is the severing of head and foot with the wire that easily cuts through the bones.The Scene where she childishly severes his foot is bloody disgusting.The Movie comes alive only in the last 20 minutes of torture sequence interspersed with flashbacks and dreams trying to unravels what made her a fetish bitch.The Director ties the missing ends of the movie with a collage of events was cool.The Scene that actually made me go urghhh was the one where the girl regurgitates for the man in the sack.Man,that was gross.But that has not stopped me from watching Takashi Miike's notorious gore fest "ICHI THE KILLER".Bloody Disgusting.

The TV People

There is a lot of things that i couldn't digest when i was watching this movie.Then again,it's just a movie.But there are so man things that doesn't make any sense or to be clear,the filmmakers had exaggerated or elaborated things to deliberately scare the audience.Now that's what i hate most in an horror movie,the calculated effort to make it scary whereas it should have come naturally.The Premise of an ordinary family falling into extraordinary events against the backdrop of ethically immoral ways of greedy Capitalists(Real Estate)is solid.But still the movie lacks a lot in plots ,after an impressive build up to the story,the movie sinks into obscurity.Poltergeist rings an alarm in you in those TV sequences,the baby girl getting trapped in the other world with only her Voice coming out of the TV,but other sequences like the tree thing was only good enough for the kids,i mean without all those embellishments ,and just holding on to the basic plot in a believable atmosphere would have made the movie an all time great,which still it is.They just chose to make it a PG Rated horror movie with lots of Corpses,Creatures,Demons,Scary toys etc.At the Beginning it had the chillness of eagerly listening to a spook bedtime story which wears off as the movie unfolds.One other thing that i totally hated while watching the movie was the interaction of the characters.The First one being her son is dragged out of his bed by a tree,Her 5 year old girl watching the entire thing ,whose in a state of shock,and still her mother leaves her there alone,not even trying to take her out of the room,she runs out to the front and stands there watching her husband trying to save their son from a carnivorous tree while she does nothing other than wailing out loud.Secondly her baby disappears from the house,with only her sound trapped in the Television and she takes it all so well ,she drinks,she shares jokes the next day of the happening,i mean if we are in a weird situation like that one coupled with what could be the loss of your baby girl would you be able to react the same way,i mean they need to show some kind of emotional imbalance or desperation in her,so that her pain is much more affecting,rather than just having her cry occasionally.And there is always some kind of communication breakdown between the characters ,to make the scenes more convoluted and also to turn up the pressure which i felt was tasteless.The Final Climax is more than baffling,she leaves her two kids all to themselves where the kids have witnessed scary unexplainable things(which seemed to have been erased from their memory in a couple of hours) ,her husband goes to office ,does not return even after it's dark,the wife goes for a bath leaving the kids alone int the same goddamn room as if there is no other.Weird!One more thing that I'm unable to comprehend is that the entire housing block was supposedly built on the cemetery,why only this house was being subjected to poltergeist activities if their entry door was television,which is a staple in households.Some times it's better to watch the movies with your Brain turned off.It makes a lot more sense like that.But then,horror movies are made not to make us think but to fear.

"All that Glitters is not Gold"

The Treasure of Sierra Madre has been a roller coaster of a movie.Not it has so many twists and turns but rather it reveals the ends our mind goes to while we're tempted with greed.Here is a man who has nothing who sets upon a quest of gold digging,who's being pushed into this endeavor by an ironical luck,as the lack of the same thing at the end of the movie leaves his body headless.A Great screenplay ,a truly fascinating performance by Walter Huston,who was just Flawless in full flow.I was surprised to find Humphrey Bogart playing the villain because i thought he was the Superstar of Hollywood at that time.I also was Shocked by his appearance at the beginning of the movie ,when his character gets a haircut.He seemed like an Aged Ghost.The one thing that i felt good of the screenplay was it's plot points that kept moving the movie forward.There was never any dull moment,but the beginning set up was a bit dodgy,but still it wasn't that apparent.But the transformation of Bogart's character in my opinion was speed ed up.I mean he trusts them with all he has at the beginning of the journey,and when they struck gold ,he turns vicious and paranoid the next second.What could cause that kind of transformation if the Bogart's Character is believed to the Desperate Poor Ordinary Man.But there are certain scenes that really establishes and reveals how minds can manipulate our senses with fear and suspicions.The Ending was predictable considering the way movie was going,about greed and all that.I knew they were bound to end up with nothing right when the old man elaborates the tricks that Gold can play at Negro Lodge scene.But there i thought the Character portrayed by Tim Holt to turn Bad and that of Bogart's to be the Good.And i really don't seem to understand what's so great about "..don't need no stinking badges" thing but that Gold Hat Bandit was awesome...He was funny and scary at the same time.Al said it is One of the bets movies that i have watched...and it definitely deserves the accolades showered upon it.But then,being a Bogart fan you can't afford to miss this one.

Memory Blip #1

Well it seems odd but i had this strange flashback of a School excursion trip when i was in like 8th grade.Our destination was Banglore via Mysore.It was when Brindavan Gardens used to be a big thing with it's wonderful light fountains and garden.I still have those Post cards with me of it.We were in the bus on our way.Either the Bus was small or we were too many,we didn't have enough seats.Some of us had to take turns to sit down.While as always my friends (who were few) didn't come so i was with my classmates.So i was alone and the disadvantage of being alone is the pain in the legs.But there were some good souls who were ready to squeeze in the limited seats they held.So we were on our way beginning with a bumpy ride at night.I was beginning to have second thoughts of my decision to come for the tour.But it was way past turn back.So i Just stood there silent ,hoping to lie on the floor with newspaper sheets on the floor.I had started to feel sleepy.The reason being me and my father went on a shopping blitzkrieg to buy some things just 3 hours before the trip.I did not have clothes or the accessories GOOD enough to be taken on a journey like this.Since i would be staying with my friends for the next 3 days or so,i didn't want them to think i was poor.I had previously informed my father about my necessities,but he kept holding it because he didn't have any money with him.On the day of tour he somehow managed the money and came to pick me up at school.Even though we were going on tour that day we still had to attend half day classes.
We somehow bought all the necessary items by doing a rounds in the shops,Father was pissed at me for not being quick enough and we also cut out somethings from our shopping list.We were running out of time and finally started for home in a jeep.I remember dad shouting at me in the Jeep for some reason i don't remember.The Only thing i remember is the Pain of Humiliation.There were lot of people in the Vehicle.Dad always went nuts when there was a audience no matter the time and place.But you get used to things like this over time.We reached home,packed things while mom and dad fought over what to take and not to.The size of the suitcase was also a problem as it couldn't pack much which meant we couldn't pack in all what we had bought.I could see dad's face turning red in anger and disappointment,but we didn't have much choice...or time.I had to be back at School all set within an hour.
Back there all those Boys and Girls looked very happy in their bright colored new clothes and hip looking Bags.Their Parents were there too to see them off.Me and my dad landed there in an Auto with my antique Suitcase which had my clothes peeking over it's edges.We were just in time before the boarding.Father reminded me to seat myself near the window so that I WON'T MISS A THING of the Sights.Sadly,there was none available.HELL there weren't any seats available,all taken.I didn't want my Father to know that i didn't get one.He would have made a scene with the Teachers demanding a seat for me.So i just sat in a seat reserved for the teachers for the time being until the Bus left.I waved to my Dad as if i was going on a voyage of the seven seas.For me it really was as i was breaking away from my repetitive pint sized world.
I was exhausted.I didn't hope my legs to hold any longer as they had already held enough for a day.The Whole bus slipped into silence as the night thickened.Now i could hear only slight hush-hush's and murmurs.I thought of requesting someone for their seats for a while but they were slowly slipping into sleep with their Walkman plugged in their ears .Now we had only the dim lights on and it was hard to see. I was slowly beginning to realize that i would not be able to sleep on the Bus floor until i had cleaned up the Coke the boys had spilled on the floor.I was thinking of borrowing a Walkman from one of the Boys so that i could survive the night on the floor.
She was sitting alone in a seat for two.I could see her beautiful face lit up by the close Dim Lights.She had a kind of Radiance around her in that Dark and Gloomy place.It was as if God had finally showered his mercy by offering me not only a seat but the company of a beautiful girl.We were not allowed to share seats with girls but her companion had squeezed herself with her friends in a three seater for the purpose of gossiping.She was like this cold Chocolate milk shake in the middle of the desert.I Had to act.
I went up to her.I was bad at interacting with Girls but i also was acting out of bare necessity.I wasn't interested in the flirting business..all i wanted was a seat to rest.She was enjoying herself,gently swaying her head with the Music from her Walkman.She was startled by my sudden approach.I inquired whether i could take the seat beside her.Her Beautiful face turned ugly with muted disgust and subtle anger.She replied her friend would be back any time soon in a gentle dissuading manner.I tried explaining to her that i was going to be there only for a while to relieve my legs off it's pain.But in vain.I moved disappointed back to the pole in the back of the bus which i was holding on to keep the Balance as the Bus was Jigging itself through the rough,curved roads.Well this is how it is...i thought to myself with pain of dejection and muscle strain.I once again looked up at the empty seat.This time another boy,a good looking rich spoiled Brat was standing there making the same request as mine to the girl.They were having a happy little chat unlike the intense one i had with her only moments earlier.This Guy already had a seat and that too a window one so i was kind of getting the point of where this was headed.After minutes of cajoling and flirting she allowed the rich handsome son of a bitch kid to sit beside her as the last of the dim lights went off.I sat there on the floor of the bus trying to spread my newspaper sheet thinking..Well I ain't a Beautiful and i ain't rich.It was foolish of me to even think of sitting next to HER.SHE thought look at this UGLY guy trying to earn a seat with me knowing that HE is nowhere near MY league...Some people forget THEIR Place...even when THEY only have to look in the mirror to remind THEMSELVES of who THEY really are...
AN UGly POOR KID!