Fight Club (1999)

Director: David Fincher
Screenplay: Jim Uhls (based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter
Music: The Dust Brothers
Time: 139 minutes
Bottom-line: A classic! Unforgettable! 

1000 days of Revisiting Films, With KRK! 

                          In Tyler we trust... 
Once you’ve crossed the required age limit to be able to watch R rated films, Fight Club is the first film you should watch! What was initially viewed as one of the most controversial films for its violence and portrayal of criminal behaviour, eventually emerged as one of the most talked about cult classics of the 90s, and that’s precisely what it is! This is Fincher’s most successful film based on public ratings, as it is ranked #10 on IMDb’s top 250 films.

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden

This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time. On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. Meet the everyman, the unnamed narrator of the film (Norton). He works as an automobile company worker, suffering from insomnia. When he starts attending various support groups, he meets Marla Singer (Carter) who is also an imposter, without any actual disease or problem. On a flight back home, the narrator meets Tyler Durden (Pitt), a person who makes and sells soap. As they meet up in a bar, Tyler asks the narrator to “hit him as hard as he can”, and this starts a fistfight. As they continue doing this, several men are intrigued by this act, and soon Tyler and the narrator form a fight club in the bar’s basement, where men fight recreationally. As the club grows, it evolves into Project Mayhem, an anti-Corporate organisation. In this process the narrator starts to realise that the club is going out of control, just like his own life...

Edward Norton as The Narrator

The first thing I liked about the film is the portrayal of the narrator – he could be you or me, or just any ordinary white-collar-job person, doing the thing this quote mentions. He comes across a unique personality, Tyler, who introduces him to live the way he wants, instead of going with the crowd. While the actual story may focus more on the actual fighting and development of the fight club, it takes a second watch and some careful analysis to understand the meaning of the incidents. As Tyler says during the first fight, “How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?” That’s the idea the film develops on. As fight club grows, the narrator becomes more aware of who he really is... to say more would reveal too much.

Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer

The main highlights of the film are the acting, and the dialogues. This is one of Norton’s first films, and boy, has he given the best performance of his career! Playing the mentally unstable “everyman” required Norton to learn boxing and taekwondo, but the end result is well worth it. But the real star is the man playing his “teacher” – Brad Pitt. With numerous one-liners and as many meaningful quotes, the manner in which he portrays the smart, cunning and powerful Tyler makes it clear why this is widely considered his magnum opus. Bonham Carter superbly portrays the psychotic Marla Singer, whose significance is understood only on analysing the story.

Another quote from the movie. 

The most important part of the film is the twist ending. There are enough but very cleverly hidden clues throughout the film, be it in dialogues or the background. Once the film is over the ending may seem obvious, but when you’re watching, you are so engrossed in the web that Tyler and the narrator weave that the twist still hits you in the face! With the story built-up so well, thanks to the splendid acting, the endless quotes and the cinematography, the climax is simply perfect.

 

Last but not the least, the eight
rules of Fight Club

I have only one rule of Fight Club: if this is the first time you are hearing about the film, you have to see it! Get ready for Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 79% 

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Director: Brian de Palma
Story: David Koepp and Steve Zaillian
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart
Music: Danny Elfman
Time: 110 minutes
Bottom-line: Has its moments...but not as stylish as expected

Although the film is based on the television series of the same name, Mission: Impossible is the film that gave us one of today’s most iconic characters: Ethan Hunt. The film stars Tom Cruise, Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Béart in the lead roles, with Ving Rhames, Jean Reno and Henry Czerny in the supporting roles. The stunts and action sequences of the future sequels makes those of MI seem “mild”, but as a film on its own, it is pretty thrilling.

Cruise as Hunt - inside the vault at Langley

“If we're going to Virginia, why don't we stop by Fort Knox. I can fly a helicopter right in through the lobby and set it down inside the vault. And it would be a hell of a lot easier than breaking into the damn CIA.”
Jim Phelps (Voight) and his team: the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) plan to get the IMF’s NOC (non-official cover) list from the American Embassy in Prague. The mission fails as all the members are murdered, except Ethan Hunt (Cruise). Hunt informs this to the IMF director Kittridge (Czerny), and when they meet, the former realises the whole operation was a mole hunt, and since he’s the only one alive, the IMF suspects him. Hunt manages to flee and is later met by Claire (Béart), Jon’s wife, who says she escaped being killed. Hunt hires two more agents: computer expert Luther Stickell (Rhames) and pilot Franz Krieger (Reno) to help him retrieve the NOC list. How does Hunt clear his name? Who is the actual mole?

Rhames as Luther and Reno as
Franz (right)

The acting is average. There is no humour at all, while the last two instalments had sufficient amount (mainly due to Benji’s character). The only bright spot in acting is that you feel Cruise is the best person to play the role of Hunt, and he has done extremely well to perform that role in all the future films. One important scene in the film is when the crew break into the vault at the CIA Headquarters at Langley, with Hunt hanging by his legs as he tries to steal the list. He has to get past a volume sensor, temperature sensor and a pressure sensor, and has to be so careful that not even a drop of sweat can reach the floor of the room!

Beart as Claire

The story is exciting, but does not have that required level of suspense, except in that one scene, and the first encounter between Hunt and Kittridge, where Hunt escapes after being named the mole. Even the climax I felt, could have been bettered (how many people-running-on-top-of-trains sequences have we seen already?). The special effects are quite good, and the action sequences – even if not that impressive – have been filmed well.

Voight as Jim 

So Mission: Impossible isn’t a movie you would recommend to someone looking for a good thriller/action movie. It is fairly good, but more importantly its moderate critical and excellent commercial successes set the foundation for the MI franchise. This is one film series where the later instalments are better than the first film.    

My Rating: 3/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 63% 

Whiplash (2014)

Director: Damien Chazelle 
Story: Damien Chazelle
Cast: J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller
Music: Justin Hurwitz
Time: 106 minutes
Bottom-line: Exhilarating, thrilling and inspiring 

Perhaps the most inspiring film among all the Best Picture nominees at the 87th Academy Awards, this independent drama by Damien Chazelle is about a student-teacher relationship. Miles Teller and J.K Simmons play the lead roles, with Paul Reiser and Melissa Benoist playing the supporting roles. Whiplash won three Academy Awards – Supporting Actor for Simmons, Editing and Sound Mixing.

Shaffer Conservatory, New York – Andrew Neiman (Miller) is a jazz artist who plays the drums. Seeing him practice, acclaimed conductor Terence Fletcher (Simmons) decides to give him a chance in his band. But in their first class, Fletcher abuses Andrew – physically and verbally – when he can’t keep up the tempo. Despite this, Andrew gets a chance to impress Fletcher and is eventually promoted to the core drummer. As the story progresses, we see how Andrew’s life changes because of competition from peers, Fletcher’s eccentric behaviour, and his determination to become one of the best musicians (the next Charlie Parker, as he puts it).

Teller as Andrew Neiman

The chemistry between Andrew and Fletcher is quite engaging, right from the start. The first encounter where Fletcher hurls a chair at Andrew and abuses him gives the perfect introduction to the former’s martinet attitude. We see the kind of perfection he wants when he auditions all three drummers in taxing sessions till 2 AM. The scene where he dismisses Andrew from the band shows his crazy side but later we see that all he really wants to do is “push people beyond what’s expected of them”. That is what any good teacher will want, but Fletcher’s methods make you think twice if what he is doing to his students is morally right. Andrew’s character as a student goes through all the emotions one gets under such a teacher – depression at being rejected, sacrificing so much to achieve his goal, determination to succeed, and willing to suffer for it... and finally succeeding when the time comes.

Simmons as Fletcher

Whiplash makes you consider to what length you are willing to go before you succeed, or, on the contrary, break down. We hear the story of another student, a highly successful musician under Fletcher, but who committed suicide because of suffering from depression and anxiety. When Fletcher tells Andrew that he is so terrorising as a teacher because he is actually trying to create a “second Charlie Parker”, Andrew asks him what would happen if he student broke down before actually becoming that way and Fletcher responds by saying a true Parker would not break down. While the film inspires you to drop everything and move towards your goal, it also makes you think to what extent you are willing to push yourself, and whether achieving it will ultimately make you happy.

Something to think about... 

While you absolutely loathe his character for being so eccentric and abusive, you simply love J.K. Simmons for portraying Terence Fletcher. The director told Simmons that he needed to see an animal on stage from his character, and what a fine performance indeed! Simmons induced genuine terror from the band members, who are actual musicians in real life, and after the movie you’ll pray to never have Simmons as your teacher! Miles Teller gives an exceptional performance too. The way he shows determination and anger must be applauded. His role in the scintillating climax of the film (with an amazing drum solo) is the highlight.

Overall, Whiplash is thought-provoking, inspiring and highly captivating. Watch it for the acting, the story, and of course, the music!

My Rating: 4/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94% 

WALL.E (2008)

Director: Andrew Stanton
Story: Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight 
Music: Thomas Newman
Time: 98 minutes
Bottom-line: Charming, funny and moving... Pixar has done it again!

Before WALL.E, the closest I ever got to being sentimental in a robot film is in the climax of Terminator 2. It is true that robots cannot feel emotions like humans... but can humans feel for robots? WALL.E is the story of two robots whose story is so moving, it could very well bring you to tears.

After 700 years of doing what he was built for - he'll discover what he's meant for.
The year 2805: all life forms have abandoned the Earth, which is now just covered with heaps of garbage. Seven centuries earlier, a mega-corporation Buy ‘n’ Large (BnL) had evacuated all the humans into automated star-liners, leaving behind WALL.E units (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth-class) to clean up the Earth until they return (if they do). Only one unit now remains, and thanks to several years of life experience, this unit can feel emotions like humans do. WALL.E discovers a growing seedling one day. Soon a spaceship lands, and a robot EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) – or “Eeeeevaaa” as WALL.E calls her – searches the Earth for vegetation. WALL.E falls for her immediately, and as he takes her to his habitat, she finds the plant, stores it inside herself, and shuts down. We later understand that EVE’s mission, assigned by BnL, was to inspect the Earth for signs of vegetation. As the spaceship retrieves EVE, WALL.E manages to enter it too. The adventures the two of them have after this is what the film is about.

WALL.E (left) and EVE

There are barely any dialogues in the film – most of the story is understood through body language and the images. In fact, the robots WALL.E and EVE don’t say anything more than each other’s names, and the words “directive” and “plant”. But yet, the message of love, friendship and nostalgia is conveyed in such a beautiful manner that even if this was a silent film, it would have been equally captivating. This is one of the best pieces of animation I have seen (second probably only to Finding Nemo)– through the eyes and body language of two robots, so many emotions are displayed, that even reach out to the viewer! The last few minutes when EVE tries to fix WALL.E is really moving. These two could well be two of the most– if not the most – adorable characters Pixar has ever created.

The story addresses many themes, starting with the consequences of consumerism, and how human activities can eventually make the Earth a wasteland. In the film we see that all the humans are obese, and are living a mechanical lifestyle, in a world where everything is automated. We also get an idea of what would happen if robots actually had emotions like humans did. Another theme is nostalgia – portrayed in the way the captain battles the machines to get humans back to the Earth, the place where they belong. The best part is all these messages are shown in a fairly realistic manner – entertaining and funny, and at the same time, thought-provoking.

A minimalist poster of the characters (WALL.E, EVE, the plant,
the AI autopilot, the human pilot, the cleaner robot
and two humans in the star-liner)

You know a film is going to be terrific when it’s from Pixar Studios, but WALL.E is really an extra-special movie. In 98 minutes we are given such a wonderful experience, and so many memories, be it WALL.E’s eyes or the robots holding hands etc. Do not miss this film.
Get ready for an adventure, beyond the Ordinar-E! 

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenplay: Ted Tally (based on the novel by Thomas Harris)
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Ted Levine 
Music: Howard Shore
Time: 118 minutes
Bottom-line: Utterly terrifying and immensely captivating in equal measure; will haunt you for days. 

My 200th review: co-written by Taruna Sudhakar.

Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?
1991 is a year that saw few of the most memorable Hollywood villains, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter takes the cake! In a year that introduced us to the new Max Cady and T-800, this horror thriller gave us the brilliant psychiatrist/cannibal, portrayed in the most magnificent manner by Anthony Hopkins (who surprisingly has barely twenty minutes of screen time!). The film co-stars Jodie Foster, Scott Glenn and Ted Levine.

Quantico: FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Foster) is called upon by Jack Crawford (Glenn) to interview cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter
(Hopkins), who might prove useful in tracking down another serial killer Buffalo Bill (Levine), who skins his female victims’ corpses. Dr. Lecter is kept beyond unbreakable Plexiglas at the Baltimore State Hospital for the criminally insane. He agrees to help Clarice and profile Bill in return for being transferred from the doctor who’s in charge of him. But soon Clarice realises that when it comes to Dr. Lecter, nothing is as simple as it seems. Before she knows it, their encounters turn into a deadly psychological game...

Hopkins as Lecter

Starling, believe me, you don't want Hannibal Lecter inside your head.  
Well Clarice may be an FBI trainee who can (almost) successfully tune her mind into keeping Lecter out of there, but the viewers like us are stuck with him for the rest of our lives! He is however an extremely gifted psychiatrist capable of delving into people’s minds and figuring out who exactly you are, your history, your deepest, darkest secrets... he knows you better than you know yourself, so much so that he can predict your actions and invariably make you do what he wants you to. This power he has is what makes him so terribly scary. From the first scene in the prison where we see him taunt Clarice, blatantly invading her personal space, till the last scene where he leaves us with a chilling “I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye”, the movie revolves around Lecter. The crux of the film is not about how the FBI catches Buffalo Bill, rather, it is about the relationship between Lecter and Clarice.

Foster as Clarice

What starts out purely as an attempt to “use one to catch one”, turns into a battle of wits. Lecter uses his method of “quid pro quo. I tell you things, you tell me things” to delve into Clarice’s traumatic past memories, while Clarice must use her willpower and mental strength to complete her job of capturing Bill, without breaking down . His clues are never direct, they are difficult riddles, anagrams that are brilliantly composed. It’s his way of showing off and toying with Clarice at the same time. The part which involve Buffalo Bill, and the climax where Clarice encounters Bill are not as exciting as the psychological games between Lecter and the others. The reason the film is categorised as “horror” is probably because of a few bits of gore and one grizzly sequence where Lecter attempts to escape from his prison. Seeing Lecter go from the calm old man with impeccable manners to the raving monster he becomes, those 15 minutes of intense violence will truly shock you. He oscillates between exceedingly vile and atrociously charming. In contrast you get the minor villain: highly clichéd transsexual, Buffalo bill, who yearns to be a proper woman. He hates himself rather than his victims and it is this self-hate that drives him into killing. He is exactly what you expect him to be - uncouth, depressed and angry with obvious behavioural ticks that put you on guard at first sight. This is unlike Lecter who, mind you, is highly functioning and immensely proud of it.

Levine as Buffalo Bill

Anthony Hopkins plays this role to perfection. He has the excellent balance of emotion, voice modulation and body language that make one of the most terrifying movie characters ever – in fact, Dr. Lecter was voted the #1 villain of the century by the American Film Institute. It is never his physical violence or cannibalism that makes him dangerous, although watching it visually will scare you, but it is the fact that he has such a powerful control on his victims’ mind that makes him so terrifying.Who can forget the famous “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chi-an-ti”. Jodie Foster does a remarkable job. As another critic put it, her character is the short woman in an elevator full of tall men. I liked the way she plays the strong, brave woman and the way she tries her best to stay calm and bold in front of Lecter, despite knowing she is powerless, is amazing to watch.

The Silence of the Lambs won the “big five” at the Oscars – Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay, the only film to do so after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and It Happened One Night. So with sublime acting, spectacular cinematography (especially those close ups of Lecter’s eyes that hypnotise and petrify you; he looks right at you, into you), subtle metaphors bordering on genius along with a good dose of violence and “horror”, this 1991 psychological thriller is something you will never forget. Believe me, you don’t want Hannibal Lecter inside your head... but he’s going to end up there nevertheless.

My Rating: 4.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%