TIMELESS - without a beginning or end, eternal, everlasting.

Only a few movies earn the tag "CLASSICS" & only a handful of those films become "TIMELESS CLASSICS".These films even after decades will still bring about the same nostalgic sensation with the latter generation, such is the impact of these well crafted masterpieces.

At the same time movies will always be movies irrespective of the language they are made, the feelings, pain, sufferings get etched out so well that language is never seen as a barrier.

As the saying goes "MUSIC & MOVIES TRANSCEND ALL BARRIERS".

PLOT : " The film tells the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter. "



Kwak Jae-yong & Alejandro Amenábar are my favorite directors, their films serve as an inspiration for me & many alike throughout the world.

And this korean film "The Classic" directed by Kwak Jae-yong is my all time favorite movie, having seen so many movies of various genres I had never felt so much for the lead characters in a movie.

Everything about the movie was captured so well, Kudos to the director for utilizing the potential of his team so beautifully.

The script was also written by Kwak Jae-yong, he has effectively brought out the love stories of both the mom & daughter in a very well crafted manner such that the parallel timelines never serve as an hindrance.

One of the most persistent characteristics in Kwak Jae-yong's movies is his sense of comedy, "My Sassy Girl" is a testament to that, here too that part is handled very well along with his trademark love scenes between the lead characters.

Music as always been a major plus in all of Yong's movies, it gels so well with the flow of the film that it elevates the movie to a whole new level, the background score & music by Jo Yeong-wook here is also very haunting & soothing.The music in the trailer will serve as an example for the excellent musical score.

The lead characters have just grabbed the opportunities presented to them, Son Ye-jin as the mom & mother was simply outstanding, she pulled off both the roles with panache & she was very very gorgeous.

Jo Seung-woo ,Lee Ki-woo & Jo In-seong too were a treat to watch especially the former for his role as the lover torn between friendship & love was so very well portrayed & enacted.

Cinematography by Lee Joon-kyoo has captured the two timelines in the movie with perfection adding authentic backdrop so convincingly.

Editing by Kim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beom were crucial to maintain the flow & feel of the movie & the both have done it superbly.

Great are films that immerses the viewers in a fictional world where they feel & relate with fictional characters, this is one such film even with its cliches & slow pace immersed me into its world of love & drama.

This film is one of the finest products of cinema that will surely have an everlasting appeal, it has something for everyone, from youngsters to parents to grand-parents.

• Director : Jae-young Kwak

• Writer : Jae-young Kwak

• Cast : Ye-jin Son , Seung-woo Cho , In-seong Jo , Ki-woo Lee

• Rating : "PG" for some brief scenes of nudity.

I was very particular about the movies I post on my blog, I also never wanted to criticize any movie however bad it might be but this time am taking an exception & I really do hope so that the exception ends with this movie.

"All of life's riddles are answered in the movies", this is my view about cinema.People flock to theaters to spend time away from the lives & surrender themselves to the movie maker & enter a fictional world of the director.

Why do people do this ???
Well, everyone has their own set of problems & people tend to relate themselves to the hero on-screen with themselves, when the hero is down & out we feel an urge for the hero to defeat the villain & come out victorious.

Kids, youngsters & adults alike even consider heroes as demi-gods and try imitating what their idols do on-screen & alarmingly the negative aspects are imitated more like SMOKING, DRINKING & most importantly VIOLENCE.

PLOT : " The film is based on the life of Paritala Ravindra and that of his rival Suri. "



Ratha Sarithiram is directed by Ram Gopal Varma.The film features Vivek Oberoi as Ravindra in the lead role, whilst Suriya as Suri.

The promos of the film were quoting the lines from Mahabharata which goes like "REVENGE IS THE PUREST EMOTION", the lines are justifiable but the entire film was less of revenge and was more on violence.

To put it in simple words, this film glorified violent retribution.All the characters spoke only about retribution or justifying it, even the woman characters in the film were supporting this cause which was something very hard to digest.

The screenplay of the movie had little do with the actual revenge saga, even the new characters that appeared in the movie were vying for retribution.

The violent showdown between the rivals were even glorified by showing them in slow motion & the film for the most part was in slow motion.

There are numerous films which have been based on the concepts of Mahabharata but each had their own ways of expressing their emotions but in this film the only way in which emotions were shown are of violence, violence & more violence.

Even some of the gory fight scenes of Suriya was encouraged by some of his loyal fans, this is what I was mentioning about people considering their heroes as demi-gods.I feel so sorry for these kinda encouragements, the heroes should be more responsible on what they portray.

The only consolation from this film was of the acting of Suriya & of his counter part Vivek Oberoi who gave a power packed performance.

Cinema is a medium in which certain aspects of our lives cannot be portrayed, Cinema has enlightened the minds of millions around the world with its depictions of real life events but at the same time certain elements cannot be glorified.

Even terrorists have their own causes to fight but we can't glorify the violent methods they adopt, "VIOLENCE IS ALREADY PROFOUND IN OUR SOCIETY & FILMS SHOULDN'T JUSTIFY IT".

• Director : Ram Gopal Varma

• Writer : Prashant Pandey

• Cast : Vivek Oberoi , Suriya , Shatrughan Sinha , Kota Srinivasa Rao , Sudeep , Priyamani

• Rating : "A+" definitely not for kids & women.

Coming of age is that part of our life ,that part of our life where there is just only a thin line that separates the right from the wrong & the wrong from the right.

There is also this argument of GIRLS being discriminated & being sidelined while BOYS enjoy all the liberties ,well that is a point well said & that is very agreeable.

Alas ,its human nature to commit mistakes especially during the twilight period in our lives called "Coming of Age" but what happens then ???

BOYS : "Well, BOYS will always be BOYS, they will charm, mesmerize, seduce & there are many who UTILIZE(Hope you GIRLS understand the meaning of utilize)"

GIRLS : "Well, GIRLS never LEARN, they get charmed, mesmerized, seduced & in many cases are USED"

PLOT : " A coming of age story of a school going girl."



As i was watching this film a lot of questions went through my mind whilst watching this film, "An Education".Lone Scherfig has directed this beautifully film ,she has raised enough issues such that even after watching it you will be left pondering.

The movie is based on British journalist Lynn Barber's memoir of the same name ,Nick Hornby has adapted this into a well focused screenplay that moves along effectively with a well directed message being shared.

The cast was simply amazing, Carey Mulligan was nominated for an oscar for best actress for her role, well after watching her performance i full endorse the nomination she received.Her role of a school going girl was very very very believable ,she looked so young & vulnerable ,i was shocked when i looked up her real age.

The rest of the cast includes Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson ,Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina & Cara Seymour.All of them had their roles well defined, some characters had just minutes of screen space which was very well characterized ,this is a testament to the role of a writer.

Cinematography by John de Borman provides the look of 1960s London in a very authentic manner ,editing by Barney Pilling also adds strength to the movie.

The progression of the film is simple & at the same time very compelling, the way how a school girl reacts to the situations like in the film is so relatable to the issues of today ,the role & importance of parents also comes into scrutiny.

Overall this film works on many levels like the importance of education, coming of age, value of parental guidance & the like.Even though films like these have been part and parcel of cinema, the journey of the school going girl in this film stands stall & will surely serve an enlightening message across.

"EVE WAS CHARMED BY THE SNAKE TO EAT THE APPLE, WHOSE FAULT WAS IT,

WAS IT THE FAULT OF THE SNAKE THAT BEWITCHED EVE ???

OR

WAS IT THE FAULT OF EVE IN ALLOWING HERSELF TO BE BEWITCHED BY THE SNAKE ???"

• Director : Lone Scherfig

• Writer : Lynn Barber (memoir), Nick Hornby (screenplay)

• Cast : Carey Mulligan , Peter Sarsgaard , Alfred Molina , Cara Seymour , Dominic Cooper , Rosamund Pike , Olivia Williams , Emma Thompson

• Rating : "PG" for underage smoking & some sexual content.

There is always a stage in life where we reach the crossroads in relationships ,whatever it may be ,friendship or love.

Sometimes or should i say that most times these crossroads change the entire course of our life ,what does happen to us during this transition ??

Our careers might shape up better or vice versa !
Get into a beautiful relationship or vice versa !
Or
We might end up losing our friends or worse is that when these friends become foes !!!

PLOT : " A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. "



The hype surrounding this movie "The Social Network"was very justifiable ,recently all the hype surrounding a movie ends up inversely proportional to the film's reception but i'm so glad that for once the hype was worth it.

I was always in doubt as to how could the story of Facebook be conceived into a movie & my curiosity even more increased after watching the rave reviews this film got.So with a bit of hesitation i watched this film.

This film blew me away right from the very first scene ,never for once during its runtime of 12o odd mins the audience felt restless.Thats some commendable work ,i still can't get this movie out of my head.

Directed by David Fincher of Fight Club (1999) fame ,the film stands tall among all the movies released this year.The director has utilized the fame of Facebook to the film's advantage and boy it worked out perfectly !!

Of late there are lot of movies adapted from books ,Aaron Sorkin adapted the screenplay from Ben Mezrich's nonfiction book The Accidental Billionaires.

Its easier to read a book but to adapt it to a screenplay is a different matter altogether ,here the adaptation has worked really well ,an oscar for this would be well deserved.

Casting of the lead actors too worked out really well ,Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg gave a stellar performance ,he was very believable as a computer nerd ,a drunkard ,a Harvard University dropout & a hotshot young billionaire.

Taking no credits away ,the supporting cast of Andrew Garfield & Justin Timberlake were on par.The former we know as as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the franchise's 2012 reboot & the latter is a international pop star.

The other cast of Rooney Mara ,Armie Hammer ,Max Minghella were also equally impressive ,it was an all round team effort that has given the film the critical acclaim it has achieved.

The nonlinear narrative pattern adapted for the screenplay was well put together by editor Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall ,the pace of the film never had a dull moment.

The film effectively brought out the foundation stages of Facebook ,the numerous law suits & its background.But for me this movie not only brought out the rise of a internet giant but also excellently demonstrated the crossroads of life where one is forced to take certain decisions.

Friendship ,its value ,its capability ,its downfall & its hardships are persistent throughout the film ,this film also brings to my mind a famous quote ,
“Your closest friend can be your weakness, power, or, in some cases, your worst enemy.”

• Director : David Fincher

• Writers : Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book)

• Cast : Jesse Eisenberg , Andrew Garfield , Justin Timberlake , Rooney Mara , Armie Hammer , Max Minghella

• Rating : "PG" for brief sexual content & drug use.

WAR for a common man is something that he/she gets to read in a newspaper every morning over their cup of tea/coffee.

WAR for a politician is nothing but to formulate a new domestic or foreign policy.

But what is WAR to the actual soldiers who are involved in it ???

Do they fight for a cause or do they die in vain ???

PLOT : " The film depicts the Battle of Mogadishu ,a raid by the United States' effort to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid "



Black Hawk Down is based on the book of the same title by Mark Bowden ,there are some critizations from various quarters that the depiction of the battle was more biased towards only the sufferings & hardships that the US troops faced.

But whatever might be the case the audience will never forget the fact that whatever country the troops represented they had fought not for their country but for the man standing next to him.

Ridley Scott ,the man who gave us the epic "Gladiator (2000)" delivers another masterpiece.His directional skills are evident throughout the film that runs for over 2 hours ,the film never ceases to amaze the audience on the issue at hand.

Screenplay by Ken Nolan is very racy & at the same time provides enough characterizations for the numerous characters in the film ,we could easily relate to the emotional bond that each soldier has for his fellow comrade.

Casting for the film is done really well ,with an ensemble cast of actors the film makers had a huge burden to take care ,the burden is to give the actors enough screen space & i should hand it out to them for executing this work with flair.

Each & every cast had their task cut out for them which they had lapped up superbly ,their acting was seen as a healthy competition that at the end proved to work for the benefit of the film.

Cinematography by Sławomir Idziak was something that greatly helped in the depiction of the battle sequences ,the color tone used ably pointed out the hardships faced by the soldiers.

This film won the oscar for best editing by Pietro Scalia ,why am i not surprised.The editor held the tension level of the film together right from the first shot ,the plot flows well & is never let to loose focus.

If you have a home theatre then this surely is a film to showcase your audio setup ,the oscar winning sound for the film is evident with the various gun shots ,missiles & swirling helicopters.

The background score by Hans Zimmer & Denez Prigent is another feather in the cap for the entire team ,it captures the essence of the backdrop & couples it efficiently with the various emotional moments.

I liked the way the movie was presented ,it never questions the politics behind the battle but focuses sorely on the actual ground realities where every soldier is fighting for himself.

A conversation in the film goes like this "Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that shit just goes right out the window."

These lines hold true to those soldiers who risk their lives for their fellow comrades who stand by their oath to "LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND".

• Director : Ridley Scott

• Writers : Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay)

• Cast : Josh Hartnett , Ewan McGregor , Tom Sizemore , Eric Bana , William Fichtner , Ewen Bremner , Sam Shepard , Ron Eldard

• Rating : "A" for intense war violence.