Se7en

If I were to define this movie in terms of books, I would call it as a cross between a Stephan King novel and a Sydney Sheldon fast paced thriller. Yeah, its a thriller with gore that can make Stephan King happy (He is reported to have once said "I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk.")

In case you are wondering what the name of the movie means, it represents the 7 sins and/or the 7 murders that is supposed (yeah, supposed) to take place. The killer is a psychopath who acts as self appointed judge who murders people for committing the 7 sins and set it as an example to the world.( 7 sins ) There are a couple of points that the plot loses out on. The first one being that the suspense is killed off just as it is born. No sooner has the first murder been committed, than does Morgan Freeman make a statement to the like of "This is not a lone case. There is going to be some more murders." Also, I would have liked to wonder about the connection between the series of murders. The quality of any good mystery is to let the audience wonder about the mystery and keep him/her on the tenterhooks for some time, so that the revelation has a strong impact. The problem with se7en is that the revelation happens all too soon. The connection of the the murders to the 7 sins happens a bit too soon for my liking.

However, the movie has been shot in such a way that there is very good sync between all the components. It comes out as one whole package. The music is dreary, the lighting and color scheme (there is a predominance of grayish tones with a lot of shadows), the outdoors (in almost all the outdoor scenes there is rain pouring down with the constant melancholic sound of falling rain) and even the camera angles. All of this help to push the audience into a state of induced tension. And not to mention the brilliant acting of Morgan Freeman who plays the part of a sombre, thoroughbred detective. Even Brad Pitt, rises above his usual mediocre self to create a fresh character of a talented rookie detective.

The gore is very tastefully done( I know the description is oxymoronic). There is this particular scene where a man is made to die of sloth. The scene is very well done and pretty effective in scaring the shit out of people. The killer is a godly man( in his own way) and is a perfectionist( like the Jackal in "The day of the Jackal"). The only difference is Kevin Spacey kills for his beliefs.

Let me end this by pointing at what I think is another anomaly. There are 7 sins, but there are only 6 deaths in the movie. However, the ending is pretty good. If only Brad Pitt would also have been killed for being guilty of wrath. Alright, Alright. Let me not spoil it further for you. Go ahead and watch it and I am sure you will enjoy 2 hours of good cinema.

Se7en trailer

Lawrence of Arabia

"Everybody needs a Hero." This is one thing that the film constantly reminds us, throughout, from the first scene to the last. It all starts off with this slightly over the top(what I felt then) of Lawrence putting off a matchstick between his fingers, a his famous reply "The trick is not to mind it hurts." Throughout the movie there are instances which seem to levitate Lawrence and hold him up 6 inches above the ground (like Yuddhishtira in Mahabharatha) but then the director brilliantly brings out the darker shades of our hero. (Parts where he sanctions the massacre during the war and when he reveals that he loved killing Ghasim)


In fact he seems to vacillate between a power hungry, ruthless, firebrand messiah of sorts and a repentant, sensitive, ascetic who abnegates his power. The dichotomy in Lawrence is well built up that makes this character enigmatic and charming. The movie also brings into light the struggles of a leader and the unscrupulous ways of politics and diplomacy. The humanization Lawrence's character is brilliantly portrayed and make the movie seem real.


The cinematography is brilliant. The long shots of the desert with just the silhouette of the camels (specially the scene where Lawrence rescues the estranged Ghasim from the desert and returns to the oasis and his man servants rushes back with his camel howling away) Another brilliant scene is one where Lawrence and his troops head off to Aqaba. The entire army is walking int he valley surrounded by red dusty sandstone hill on whose top the women dressed in black and howl. The effect is endearing and touching. The battle scenes are done brilliantly with the portrayal being extremely realistic and camera work brilliant.

Another glaring aspect of the movie is the lack of female characters. This is probably due to the inherent nature of the plot being set in the Arabian region where women freedom was minimal. As a result the movie reeks of testosterone. Maybe it would have been better if Lawrence had actually fallen in love with a beautiful arabic woman but then maybe its best that the movie avoided cliches (However it gives the impression that Lawrence was probably gay). Apart from his, the only drawback is probably that the movie is a bit too long and there are places where the editing could have been crisper. However, this is an epic hero movie and it is every bit true to its cause. A classic movie that continues to engage audience beyond it's time and holds them spellbound with its picturization, cinematography and the enigmatic character of its lead character.

Poetry in motion

There is something magical about movies. Something that makes us all transcend above our mediocre mundane germanic selves into a phantasmagoric fantasial frenchesque beings. For me movies have always seemed more real than life itself. A good movie has the power to lift your senses to an elevated state of sense and feel. A good communicates in a language it invents for itself. A good movie gives vicarious joy and sense of dreamy elation that can last for days and sometimes that you can carry for a lifetime.



Anyway, the purpose of this blog is an attempt to build a collection of my critical opinions of the movies I watch and exchange view points with the movie loving brethren. I know it is impossible but I try to make the opinion as uninfluenced by extraneous factors (read the hype and hoopla) but yeah it is not an assurance.



Some people say cinema is always a reflection of the lives and the times it has been made in/for. But I hope it is not totally true. Cinema has its real charm when it dramatic, over the top, elevated and a sensual exaggeration without it making us realize it is so. I'm a cinema junkie, someone who can sit and watch a chain of movies back to back except for a leak break till my mind gets diffused with the myriad fusion of sound, lights and action! To Cinema and to all it's lovers :)