A Trip to Fargo is a Must!

Fargo (1996)

Rating **** 1/2

By Rahul Ojha

The accusation that the OSCARS are often a deferred reward for past accomplishments is a statement which gets validated once you see the Coen brothers directed cult favorite - 'FARGO'. Yes these guys finally won the best director for 'No Country for Old Men' but it is baffling how FARGO missed the shot. The 90s was truly a great era for cinema and Fargo is right up there with films like 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Leon' in the crime/thriller genre. Infact I would say it is a slight notch up.

It is so much more than the run of the mill kidnapping-plot-gone-wrong scenario. The sub-plots here enrich each and every character. William Macy is one of those actors who with his antics, natural expressions, and dialog delivery really sucks you into the movie. I doubt anyone else could have portrayed the role of a man struggling financially and desperate to get his life on track that he gets his own wife kidnapped so that the rich father-in-law pays for the ransom! The real show stealer in Fargo is Frances Macdermond who plays the part of the cop who untangles the entire crime saga with her deceptive cunningness. Its one of the coolest female character ever!

Coen brothers genre of cinema uses the backdrop as a haunting background for the movie almost as another character supporting the plot. The desert in 'No Country..' showed us the despair of a man being chased and in Fargo the snow provides the chill you need in each and every one of those scenes. Overall, to say that this cult favorite i.e. FARGO will not be known as a CLASSIC a few decades down the line would be a travesty. As Chief Gunderson would say it - "Oh Yah!"

Of The Highest Quality...

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988), Italy

Rating: **** & half/5

By Rahul Ojha


This Italian masterpiece reminds us of the great heights that cinema is capable of achieving. It is story-telling at its sublime best. And when you cover this outer layer with magical inner layers of direction, sound mixing, cinematography and at its very core, well etched out characters brilliantly enacted, what you get is nothing short of outstanding perfection.

Portraying the journey of a man from his childhood - his innocence, his ambitions, his naughtiness, his youth, his first love, the heartbreaking heartbreak, maturity and his so called achievement of success and acclimatization to this ever progressing fake world packs in powerful and deep emotions in each and every frame. Heart warming and feel good cinema at its best, it is also perhaps the best tribute to the medium of cinema. People say - "Cinema is not life." Well, my answer to them would be "Cinema may not be life but it certainly emulates life in its most artistic and creative form." And this masterpiece is a testimony to that.

Just let the English subtitles role and enjoy!

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What could have been a Mega Extravaganza....

DOSTANA

Rating: *****

By Rahul Ojha

Welcome once again to the larger than life world of Hindi cinema. A song provides a scorcher of a start to the movie with this female celebrity who is highly popular in the UK (read Big Brother) dancing, ‘bouncing’ and lifting the curtains to this world called 'Dostana.' Here we have a smashing foreign locale in Miami where chicks roam around in bikinis as if it is their second skin and guys with chiselled bodies and offbeat professions get up in bed only to find themselves with some unknown damsel. It’s a world where a sizzling girl in her mid 20s who despite doing well in her career is looking for tenants to share her house and earn some extra income. (with the current economic recession its not a bad idea!). Enter the wannabe tenants - our two heroes who look like they have buried the ‘reel’ animosity of the past (read Dhoom)! What next? Yes here is the alleged twist as these guys fake their sexual orientation because the Indian values in our ‘Desi Girl’ will not allow two straight hunks in her Miami condo. Let us pretend at this point we don’t know who Chuck & Larry are/were! What works for this movie and what doesn’t?

Okay it is the first of its kind attempt by an Indian film-maker to touch upon and even base the main plot on this ‘homo-sexual’ angle, a subject hidden in the closet. The platform is well established with Abhishek and John being at an almost natural ease while playing their characters! These guys are the primary characters working for the movie as they infuse in every scene a sense of wackiness making you snort with laughter (or LOL). Their center of attraction Priyanka looks absolutely gorgeous in each and every frame of the movie. The treatment of the movie is just right and the sole objective is to provide the audience with insane entertainment. Enters Abhishek’s mom played by Kirron Kher, a mother horrified by the knowledge that her ‘puttar’ has become andha and cannot distinguish between a boy and a girl! Yes the laughs grow louder and louder. Insanity rules! Catchy and melodious music plays along keeping you grooved. Its all fun and games and then its interval!

Post interval time and like a ship caught in a storm this movie gets lost and takes the wrong direction. The script goes awry. Our heroes have grown weak in the knees for our heroine and the brewing love triangle turns into a triple threat match with the entry of this third gentlemen. Now, instead of letting the movie continue on the path of insane entertainment, it heads into the world of clichéd misunderstanding and sappiness. The plot becomes so contrived and the humour nearly dries out. The actors do their best to keep the fun alive but succeed only marginally. Besides the awry script, the character development also falters with a talented actor like Boman Irani ill-utilised. The zing is gone and the executioner is the story writer.

The two heroes Abhishek and John do a sparkling job with their hilariously unusual and offbeat role. Priyanka Chopra is meant to look pretty and she does a perfectly stunning job at that. It is no doubt that after ‘Dostana’ and ‘Fashion’ she is ready to conquer the queen’s crown in Hindi cinema. The costume and dresses are perfect and perfectly in sync with the theme of the movie. The music is groovy and one of the plus points of the movie. The cinematography though good is a little patchy owing to cost cutting measures by creating the Miami house in Bombay with skyscraper wallpapers on the windows!

Although only produced and not directed by Karan Johar, it bears in each frame the stamp of his brand of cinema with many references to his past works. And seeing his track record you expected something more. But yeh more nahi milega! Overall Dostana is not a bad effort, infact the movie is a fun, onetime watch but nothing beyond candy floss entertainment. The opportunity to turn it into a mega extravaganza has been lost.

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P.S. Well life has sucked big time over the past 6 months and blogging hasn't been my way of venting out the frustrations. Nevertheless the eternal optimist in me is still alive. I am back to this medium to post this movie review on 'Dostana' which I checked out earlier tonight! Anyways, Cinema is what I am passionate about and to unwind I just have to turn to my huge collection of World Cinema and write movie reviews regularly on IMDb.com. Will try to keep my blog updated.....
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