nowrozefarhan Reviews

Cheers: The Visiting Lecher (1989) Season 7, Episode 22

Bad way to finish the season!

[3/10 · 16 August 2021]

This episode was ewww. Worst. I mean,come on , it's a season finale and the writers couldn't come up with anything more than this?? And the topic was also sensitive: glorifying sexual harassment to some extent.

Also this episode shows Rebecca as a crazy person just because she's reluctant to get the truth out. Another glaring flaw is that Sam is shown to be unhelpful while Rebecca's needing him, which goes way off against Sam's personality. Overall so mamy things seem out of the place here.

Cowboy Bebop: Wild Horses (1999) Season 1, Episode 19

Underrated

[10/10 · 11 August 2021]

Amazingly this one is currently rated at 7.4 when it was one of the most enjoyable of the whole series. 'Wild Horses' is filled with lots of classic scenes and events most notably the 'Whatever happens ,happens' scene. Along with that it has a really interesting and clever plot with some really funny characters. Doohan is such a cool character!

Cowboy Bebop: Speak Like a Child (1998) Season 1, Episode 18

Memories....such a precious little thing!

[10/10 · 10 August 2021]

This episode is a true testament of why Cowboy Bebop is a masterpiece. The episode has everything, humor, adventure, quirky dialogues and in the end ...such sadness and melancholia! The video of Faye's old self and Faye watching her and asking herself "Is that me?" Is the most heartbreaking thing. We all have this one life, but can't even realise how fast each day,month and years are passing by. And in the blink of an eye, our present becomes long lost memories. The dialogues of young Faye really hits hard. So as long as you have your health and your life, live it to the fullest. Love your life!!

Pig (I) (2021)

Tale of a broken individual, both in past and present

[7/10 · 21 July 2021]

Michael Sarnoski's debut feature, Pig, is mostly a character study of an individual dealing with past and present loss. The film also touches the concept of road movies ,unlikely friendships, some existential themes and dissects anti-revenge motif. Nicolas Cage plays Robin,a desolated individual living in the Oregon woods, selling elusive truffles. One day his prized truffle pig is abducted by some people. Escaping death, Robin sets out to find his pig, with the help of his young dealer, Amir.

Sarnoski delicately creates our protagonist character Robin,a man of mystery. The other character, Amir is also somewhat quirky. He knows a little of Robin, apart from the fact that he's a truffle hunter. But as the two set on a mission to find the pig, through Amir's eye, we slowly get to know Robin. Amir takes him in his car from place to place. They travel, form an unlikely bonding, considering their age and status. Scene by scene we see Robin's tragic past unfolding. He suffered some terrible losses in the past forcing him into isolation. But what will he do now as his only companion in the woods gets stolen? Will he take revenge? Or get into another phase of his self-exile?

Nicolas Cage gives a powerful portrayal of grief stricken person suffering from immense pain and agony. Robin is also a stern example of an established figure turned into ruins. It could be a wild guess but I was thinking about the similarities between Robin and Cage himself, about how both of them went downhill from top in their respective careers. Who knows!

There are lots of plot elements in the film. But what Pig suffers most is that it gives us glimpses ,but never really explores them. Robin's dilemma about his pig, his past life, his sorrows, Amir's own personal problems- all of these are touched but remained solely on the surface. As a result, I was left with a mixed feeling of wanting more. The film seemed to end just when it looked to be building for climax. It did have a potential to be a great film but fell short.

That being said, Pig does make some strong points. It marked a strong directorial debut for Sarnoski. There were some serene wide angle shots of Oregon wilderness throughout. But most of the time the camera was close to Robin, capturing his brawls ,sweats and raw emotions. It's also great to see Nicolas Cage back with one hell of a performance. Surely we can expect there's more to come from him.

Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Woody played it well,really well!!

[7/10 · 29 May 2021]

• That's quite a lovely Jackson Pollock, isn't it?

• Yes, it is.

• What does it say to you?

• It restates the negativeness of the universe. The hideous lonely emptiness of existence. Nothingness. The predicament of Man forced to live in a barren, Godless eternity like a tiny flame flickering in an immense void with nothing but waste, horror and degradation, forming a useless bleak straitjacket in a black absurd cosmos.

• What are you doing Saturday night?

• Committing suicide.

• What about Friday night?

One of the earlier examples of Woody Allen's neurotic, insecure persona in cinema, the character who always finds it difficult to get into relationships. Based on his own broadway play of 1969, here woody plays as a recently divorced film-critic who is on the lump of his life. His best friend Christie and his wife, Linda (Keaton), tries to help him get out of this tough break. Woody is a huge fan of Casablanca. Considers Humphrey Bogart as his idol and tries to symbolize Him in all his actions.

This piece shows why Woody is one of the best in terms of describing human relationships, love. Although,Play it again,Sam is directed by Herbert Ross, Woody wrote the screenplay. From the very first scene, it had a delightful wit and charm that kept going throughout the whole film. Interactions between Keaton and Woody seemed natural and spontaneous. Credit goes to woody for writing a solid script blending with Casablanca's and coming out with an unique one. The film is somewhat coherent,light and predictable in terms of stories, but the other things like it's humorous dialogues and great acting makes up for it. All in all, a warm and fun film to start your weekend.

The Onion Field (1979)

A callous, twisted tale of real life crime & an outlook on how legal system can sometimes go really wrong...

[9/10 · 13 March 2021]

Based on Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 nonfiction novel of the same name, this film tells the tragic killing of a police officer in California, 1963 and afterwards it's long stretched trials.

Just after getting out of jail, Jimmie, meets George, a psychotic criminal. Together they get out to pull some 'job'. On the way, they get spotted by two rookie patrolling officers, Ian and Karl. Just when they were about to check on them, a confrontation occurs and the officers find themselves hostage. The two hoods take them to a remote onion field where the fate of all four lies hanging.

The Onion Field is a brutal film. I accidentally found it and am glad that I did. This is one of those films that will stay on your mind for sometime and even haunt you at times. The film can be divided into two halves. First half is intense in it's own merit, enthralling and terrifying. The second half , however, is a slow depiction of how justice can sometimes mess up. With all it's slow detailed buildup, this half shows the flawed legal system and how the real criminals get off and how the witnesses suffer ,not only from the haunting memories but also from the society. A real tragic and depressing story.

Along with it's hard hitting story, The Onion Field also shines by it's casts' performance. James Wood as the psycho Greg delivers stellar acting, which is bound to make you uncomfortable. Ted Danson also does well in his first film role. John Savage and other cast members gives good performances enhancing the effect of the movie more. Director Harold Becker didn't try anything flashy and stuck with the basics. There might be some objections on the film length, which I found a tad longer than it should've been and some tangential side stories that weren't much necessary. Perhaps the director wanted to recreate the experience vividly to the silver-screen audiences leaving no stones unturned. Still, this film will be etched in my memory for some time for it's vicious authenticity.

The Haunting Passion (1983 TV Movie)

Passionate, Romantic, Supernatural and an amazing Jane Seymour; this forgotten Tv movie offers a pleasant surprise in all aspects.

[8/10 · 24 February 2021]

Blending supernatural elements with eerie passion and a deserted, lonesome palace being the location, the tone is set from the very beginning with intense sound. The plot is fairly common. An ex-football player, with her beautiful wife, who is a painter(Seymour) , moves in a big palace just offshore the rocky beach of north-western America. Soon the wife begins encountering suspicious activities in a house that may be haunted. The plot goes on to the end revealing the mysteries: sounds familiar. But this movie takes the route in a different ,unique way. Using Seymour's amazing acting skills and her beauty, the film portrays something which may fall under the category of supernatural romance or mild horror , or maybe even of those eternal loves. In my subconscious, I was thinking what if it may be related to Somewhere in Time, where Seymour acted as well, some similarities being there. Whatever it is, you will surely enjoy it. Sadly, it only has 500-odd ratings in IMDb. These types of films deserve more viewing. It's available in Youtube, in case anyone is interested.

Janowar (2021)

Celluloid meets reality- true depiction of violence

[8/10 · 21 January 2021]

'Janowar aka The Beast' is a harrowing portrayal of rape and murder, based on a true story happened last year in Bangladesh. We see and read these headlines almost regularly, but do we ever understand how much torture the victims endure? This movie made me feel like I was in the crime-scene witnessing nerve-wrecking abuse. The unbearable torture at times made me feel cry for the victims , may their soul Rest in Peace. Raihan Rafi, director, successfully visualizes the brutality. Taking the concept of a happy family house suddenly turned into life-and-death parade, he beautifully contrasted the two opposite tones with artistic measure. All the cast members gave the best performance they could. Seeing the performance of the villain, you will be convinced to think of them as the real criminal. Such raw animosity! I was particularly impressed with the screenplay, the way script was built-taking a simple story of violence and treating with non-linear pattern and flashbacks, creating elements of crime-thriller through sound and camera movement was astonishing. All those slo-mo montages where the departed souls cry out adds more to the raw nature of emotions. Aside from rape and murder, this movie points out one of the most sensitive issue in the coming-of -age era, the violence towards women, how the very lack of security and how we failed as a society to give protection to our women. On that note, this film acts as a powerful social commentary. "Janowar" is not a perfect movie by any means, there are some unnecessary repetition and gore scenes that could have been trimmed, some silly graphics in the end too. But still, this film is a milestone in BD industry It can't get any more real, a true sketch of violence.

Cheers: Show Down: Part 2 (1983) Season 1, Episode 22

Classic Comedy

[10/10 · 5 January 2021]

The showdown between Sam and Diane in the final moments has to be one of the most intense and equally romantic sequence ever. Sam and Diane, the two polar opposite characters, fell in love with each other in the course of time. But no one is ready to be the first one to admit, thus their interactions turn into a humoring-counter humoring event. In the end, the writers end the season one in the most prolific fashion you could imagine. Gotta say, quite a surprise it was. A classic TV episode, that deserves more recognition.

Mainkar Chipay (2020)

Tour de force on a wild night in Dhaka

[6/10 · 22 December 2020]

Good to see a Bangladeshi film trying to get out of traditional stereotypical plotlines and attempting a dark-comedy wrapped in a fast paced thriller, strongly promoting anti-drug message. Director Abrar Athar and all the production crews deserve applause for that. But the film, however, looks sharp in visual, it doesn't add up much in terms of substance. The duration is merely 50 minutes. For a length of that scale, it tries too much of a story to capture. Thus, spends little time in developing the characters. We don't get too much of a detail about them. Hence sometime it gets tough to justify their actions since there's no background check. All that put aside, it does provide a positivity in terms of Cinematography. Tahsin Rahman portrays a beautiful yet sinister nightscape of Dhaka city with all it's neon lights and darkish pavements. The director too gives us multiple glimpse of Tarantino-esque dialogues and dark humors with some blends of Coen brothers. Characters breaking the fourth wall and graphic illustrations to introduce a character - all these elements give it a sort of originality. Who knows, it might even become a cult flick for BD industry.

Hell (1994)

Chabrol's take on jealousy turned into madness: a profound psychological drama

[8/10 · 28 November 2020]

L'enfer (Torment) is a fascinating portrayal of husband's petty jealousy slowly turned into vicious madness and psychological dementia. Here we see Paul, played brilliantly by Francois Cluzet, seemingly happy individual running a lovely motel in a remote french locality. His wife, Nelly, whose role Emmanulle Beart capitalizes excellently, is a free-flowing woman who only loves his Paul more than anything.

The movie starts with flashbacks of their marriage and life in the motel shown quickly until we get into the present time, where Paul has a 5/6 year old boy. After few encounters that raises suspicion on Paul's mind , we see him slowly turn from a paranoid husband to a uncontrollable freak , who just thinks his wife is cheating on him even though after a various confrontations and denial from wife Nelly's part.

Initially director Claude Chabrol delicately plants a suspicion in viewer's mind about Nelly's infidelity. Is she really cheating him or not? We don't know it for sure until we reach the half of the movie. By the time we get ahold of Nelly's truth, Paul gets emerged deep into paranoia . Chabrol makes the growth of Paul gradual,rather rushing it which makes viewers sympathetic of him. But then we see the dark side of Paul's jealousy, his sickness in not being able to trust Nelly at all and seeing hallucinations. With a series of Montage , we see that Paul is not Ok. He's not in this reality , his mind constantly shifts from one reality to other whenever he sees Nelly. His jealousy turns into abuse and mental torture, which I should admit, was disturbing to watch.

The last half of the film was full of mental abuse which some viewer might find too much. Chabrol eleganty portrays the metaphor of abuse through the use of settings in a confined room. As the movie progresses, our characters become frequent in the confinement of hotel bedrooms. In the end, Chabrol doesn't give an explanation about the consequence of the characters. The viewers are given freedom to choose their own opinions on the ending. My personal take on the ending is this : Paul was in the normal reality when they are about to get ready for their trip to clinic, but just then his hallucinations kicks in, and out of sheer anger, he kills her. But after that his mind gets back to the reality where Nelly is asleep. Thus, Paul gets stuck in a loop . He may find his wife's body laying in the ground, but his mind will not be in that reality long enough to apprehend it. He is lost in abyss .There is no end.

Emilie Muller (1994)

One of the best 20 minutes ever

[10/10 · 30 August 2020]

I will just say that after finishing it, you'll get a feeling of satisfaction and want to watch it from the beginning over again. And you will fall in love with Emilie Muller. :)

Nobody's Fool (1994)

An Ageing Man's Odyssey in Rediscovering Life

[9/10 · 29 August 2020]

Nobody's Fool is like a gentle breeze which fills your heart with warmth. It's one of those few films, where everything comes in a perfect harmony.

Paul Newman, veteran actor, in the lead role as Donald Sullivan portrays an ageing man, in the fictional city of North Bath,Now York State. Donald is a crippled man who ran out of responsibilities from his family,leaving his son and wife. He lived his enter life all alone doing freelance construction works for Tip Top Constructions. His slow,quiet life consisting of helping his landlord, smirking with his co-worker,playing poker and drinking in bars come to in the end when he accidentally meets his son and grandsons. Upon that incident, He reflects to his life and finds a new meaning to it.

This is a movie filled with quirky adorable characters, a solid screenplay and steller performances from the likes of Paul Newman. The dialogue never seems overwrought, the story always keeps a balance between comedy and drama. Donald's interaction with the small town residents seems pure and believable. His reactions with his son shows us his long regret of being a bad father, but then again , his actions with his grandsons portrays his effort to start anew. Newman's character here is so developed that you feel he's been a part of the set forever. It's as if , he was destined to play Donald Sullivan.

The other characters and their day-to-day intersections with each other, their sometimes calm and sometimes anger ,gives us a perfect flair of a small U.S. town. Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith,Jessica Tandy all characters gave good performances in their respective role.

Robert Benton, the director and screenwriter , did an excellent work , keeping the story and dialogues all measured to a perfect balance.

If you are in for a light-hearted and character driven comedy filled with slice of life of U.S. snowy, this is perfect for you.