About Elly ( Darbareye Elly)- [Iran]
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Even though I had brought this movie soon after it got Best Picture award at International film festival of kerala last year, but could'nt see it till today. I missed out this during the film festival and badly wanted to see it as it had good review.
I have seen only 2 Iranian movies, this happens to be my third. The first both were Majid Majidi movies and was really impressed about quality of Iranian Movies. Third one too does'nt disappoints me.
The movie written and directed by Asghar Farahadi has a very simple storyline, depicting a weekend of 3 families and their other two friends at a seaside villa. Movie goes through mental excruciation the characters have when one person in the groups goes missing, and the rest don’t know whether she dead or alive. All characters are portrayed so well. Lot of steady cam shots, helps in intensifying the tension in the characters. Watch it for simple story telling. My verdict 7.5/10.
[SPOILER ALERT]-

Story-
Three families and their friend goes for a weekend vacation. One family also invites a beautiful school teacher named Elly, who teaches their daughter. The idea is to introduce Elly to their friend Ahmad who has returned back to Iran from Germany after a divorce.
They couldn’t get the house they have booked for weekend as its owner returned and had to opt for a badly maintained sea side villa. They all spend the night together at the villa. Next day Elly insists she need to return home, but others forces her to stay. Later the day Elly goes missing. The rest of the story revolves around the Mental tensions and Judgments’ the rest of the group have about Elly and each other, while they keep searching for Elly.

ANWAR

Just another watchable movie.
Treat for Prithviraj Fans, if there are any.
Prithviraj's styling is too heavy. In fact styling of all characters are class.
Story too predictable, we have seen a lot of similar movies earlier.
Stunt choreogrpahy, cinematography and editing are really excellent, but had'nt we seen all this in BigB and SAJ. Amal neerad have to move on, still stucked up with BigB and SAJ. We have even seen the climax location and a song location in his earlier movies.
Ozzum Background score and Music by Gopi Sunder.
Treatment of BigB was fresh in malayalam, SAJ repeated the same but I enjoyed it like all other Lalettan fan, but third time its bit boring.

Watch Anwar for its good visuls, picture perfect shots and songs.

The Hurt Locker - War is a Drug

As the Tagline goes. War is a drug......Hurt locker is one of the best war movies ever made.Director Katherin Bigelow has done a great job.The movie throws light into the lives of the lesser known bomb squad tech units operating in Iraq. From the start to end the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat - ferociously suspenseful. The thoughts , frustration, helplessness and egos of men at war are portrayed beautifully.
The movie says the happenings in a 40 day rotation period of a Bomb squad unit named Bravo company operating in Iraq. [SPOILER ALERT]Bravo company have just lost its team leader in an diffusing operation. A new specialist joins the squad, srgt. William James(Jeremy Renner). James is an high wired , high adrenalin rush fellow. He goes to extreme risk taking while in
diffusing operations. His two company mates are Srgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Elridge(Brain Gerathy). Sanborn who is the team leader is not always approved of James's high risk actions. There is always differences between James and Sanborn, yet they always acts as a team. The movie moves through one diffusing operations to another.
They are always living on the edge, the death which is at a wirecut away, they can feel sound of death which at the end of tick of the timer. But for James this risk gives him the high. He enjoys the life on the razor edge, its like adrug to him. And in the end James wilderness causes injury to Elridge.
The fear in the minds of men at line of fire is portrayed through the characters. Their frustration about this never ending war. Their feeling that no one gives a shit even if they die in this war. Dreams of many young soldiers of starting a family, but they never know they will reach home back alive.
We can see the agony and gory of bombing and suicide bomb attacks, and disgusting human bombs used in the war and also the hate of local people towards military occupancy.
The dry bright yellowish colour texture of the movie add to the feel of heat and dryness of Iraqi landscape.As usual like all western war movies it doesn’t show what misery the war have brought to the people of Iraq. Yet the background of the country in shambles gives you a feel about the life of people who live in constant fear of bombings and attacks. The sound of gunshots have become music their life.
The movie end with a hypocritical note about the never ending war.
Congrats to Katherin Bigelow for the BAFTA win.
I give it 8/10 rating.