STREE (2018) - HINDI

A rustic film that thrills more than horrifies.

I was happy by the end of the film, despite few illogical aspects and the existence of a devil. I was pleased to see an film set in the country side and has those characters itself. There is no camouflage and it's all given to us as it is. In villages or in rural India, there are many stories like 'Stree' being told but to bring it to the screens without much drama is a commendable effort.

Rajkumar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor did their roles well and so did all the supporting cast. Looks like the whole cast is on top of their game. The role that stood out was Pankaj Tripathi as Rudra. He brought out the original flavor of the central India and the dialect, his body language and his appearance enhanced his character and the whole film in a big way. The film comes into it's own since Rudra entered and each time he is thereon screen, a bone is tickled

The originality comes from the fact that a folklore story has been depicted without much frills and drama and in the end there is ambiguity. The only aspect of concern was the length, few moments in the second half were unnecessary I felt. It's a horror comedy that resembles the rural India in it's own fears and scares.

The camera and sound departments did wonderfully well to provide the eerie atmosphere needed for this film. The setting in Madhya Pradesh and the shoot-on-location helped a lot. The locations, the people, the environment seemed authentic adding value to us as a viewer.

This is the second outing for Pankaj Tripathi and Rajkumar Rao together after a wonderful 'Newton' and they seem to have great chemistry on-screen. It's endearing to see so many good actors together.
Despite it's flaws, it's fears and hilarious scares, 'Stree' conveys an important message and that is the icing on the cake.

I liked it when I watched it in theaters and also when I revisited it now. A 3/5 for this.

TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) - ENGLISH

One of the finest opening scenes, a film has ever got. Great from the word go.

This film directed by Orson Welles, need to be watched multiple times to understand the careful scene setup, the camera angles and the intercuts in the screenplay and how the story moves forward by characters. There is action certainly but it gels so well with the plot that it seems very organic and that's the beauty of the construction of the scenes.

The opening scene of 3 minutes that is continuous and shot with very few changes in angles, and just follows the leads is amazingly done. I suppose it's a superlative achievement in the history of cinema itself.

Orson Welles and his cinematographer, Russell Metty, were meticulous in the construction of every scene, the characters and entangled in the shots that resonate the feelings. There is a sense of claustrophobia in the film depicting that the characters are locked in their own emotions. The story although told linearly, it feels like there are scenes in a loop.

The acting and writing are top-notch. Charlton Heston (Of Benhur and Ten Commandments fame) did a terrific job in the film. I felt his performance in this film as Vargas was more accomplished than his other films. (Benhur and Ten Commandments)

The writing is great too, yet to get to the dialogue, it took me 3 viewings till date Yes, the plot is kind of labyrinth and the direction extremely calculated. So, I was engrossed in these aspects more than the story itself.

This is a great work of art and passion for sure. watch it for Orson Welles, his direction and yeah, he indeed acted too and his character of Quinlan is something that I had cherished for all its eccentricities. I am not sure if there is an ever a director who indulges in his own character as much as Orson Welles does.

A 4/5 for this and definitely a great film.

EVEREST (2015) - ENGLISH

It's about an expedition went wrong, the film went wrong too with a straightforward narration.

Although we need more such films that talk about the perils of tampering with nature, there are hardly any coming out. The so-called disaster movies are mostly about what happens when nature turns against us and this one seems no different and that's the sad part. The predictable screenplay and the no surprise narrative made this film a dull affair despite a terrific cast. 

This had an ensemble cast of Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, and Jake Gyllenhaal and yet their roles were written with less or no substance. Except for the cinematography which captured the grandeur of the Everest well, there is little that struck me. 

The writing is just laborious as if they wanted to make a film straight from the book. A backstory to some characters and the why was this expedition trying to be made commercial, could have been shown more dramatically. The non-dramatic narration did not work with me. 

Although I liked it, I would go back to the Everest made for IMAX in 1998. I saw that Everest in 2006 and I loved it, this Everest pales in comparison. A 2/5 for this.