1408 - My All Time Favorites #3

My all time favorite horror/psychological thriller movie. I usually like this genre of movies, even the bloody gory ones like Quentin Tarantino’s “Hostel” or the “Saw” pentalogy (btw, Saw VI is coming up later this year, Yay!!).

But 1408 is undoubtedly the best. There is not a single scene that shows any real zombie or spooky creatures or screaming mutants. It is entirely psychological; people who enter into this room get delusional and start hallucinating.

Samuel Jackson does a splendid job of laying the ground work for a great dare devil ride – that is the rest of the movie. I personally could easily relate myself with John Cusack’s character. Everything that is shown in the movie would neatly fall in place.

The reaction of a character to a given situation – the way they talk and the way they respond is what makes a good script stand outside from the rest, and this is one such movie where the script was perfectly written.

One of the best photography in movies of this type, it does not get too dark nor too bright; just the right amount of light that sets the mood of the movie throughout.

12 Angry Men - My All Time Favorites #2

A timeless classic - the kind of movie which has a powerful message. Sidney Lumet's debut movie. Probably Henry Fonda and Lee J Cobb's greatest performances. Almost the entire film takes place in the juror room. 12 ordinary people coming from different backgrounds having different interests need to decide on the fate of a teenage boy from the slum, accused of murdering his abusive father.

All of the jury members feel the same disregard towards the boy as the lawyers who defended him did. All but one, Henry Fonda who reminds the others that they are deciding the fate of a young man who is just a step away from capital punishment. Even if there was a speck of reasonable doubt available, it should be given in favor of the boy.

He slowly gains the support of a few other members and the case is actually trialed in the jury room. Witnesses and their sanctity is discussed in detail, despite the displeasure of a few. One of them has other important things like a baseball game to attend to. Another one is prejudiced inside out. Lee J Cobb plays a father who is hurting over the betrayal of his son and feels the same against the boy now in trial.

The movie never really proves the innocence of the kid. But only proves that there is enough room for doubt. It proves that the members of the jury have their own personal likes and dislikes that made them take their decision on the case. 

With some great intelligent dialogs the movie moves at a really good pace and in a very involving manner. The greatest thing about the screenplay is it would try to cover everything that would come up in your mind. A real classic and a great movie

Philadelphia - My All Time Favorites #1

I got so bored watching some of the more recently released movies that I thought it is not even worth mentioning them in my space here. So I decided to start a new string listing my All Time Favorite movies - the ones that I would watch whenever, wherever and any number of times.

Philadelphia - It is the kind of movie that discusses a touchy subject but in the most decent, yet powerful manner. I don’t think anyone else could have performed the role better than Tom Hanks. This is the movie which made me a big fan of Denzel Washington. 

Excellent screenplay - especially the transformation of Denzel that makes him look at the objective fact that a law has been broken despite all his personal opinions about homosexuals.

The movie is actually built on him - an average man, who cannot and does not, want to see or know, how gay people happen to be what they are. The very thought of such men makes him feel sick – but he goes on to take a homosexual as a client. A homosexual who has intercepted the deadly dreaded disease – AIDS.

Great dialogs as it deals with a big bunch of smart ass lawyers – but Denzel outsmarts them all. There are some really nice moments for Denzel – the scene where he hands the summons, the court scene where he counter attacks about the lesions – he proves it that he is ‘The’ man.