My favorite classics

1. Whenever find time, I always prefers old movies. I love the following classic.
   {Disappointed with few classic too like Bringing Up Baby etc. I will update that list later.}
   
   1) To have and Have not by Howard Hawks
   2) Anatomy of a Murder by Otto Preminger
   3) North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock
   4) Singing in the Rain by Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
   5) City Lights by Charles Chaplin
   6) Citizen Kane by Orson Welles
   7) The Grapes of Wrath by John Ford
   8) To Kill a Mockingbird by Robert Mulligan
   9) Open city by Roberto Rossellini
   10) Only Angels Have Wings by Howard Hawks

Eastern Promises Movie Review

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel
Directed by: David Cronenberg
---Spoilers included-------


With London as a backdrop, this is another dark violent mafia thriller. Movie opens with two violent actions that seem unconnected; a bloody murder of a Russian mobster and a young pregnant woman collapsing in blood in a drugstore. Later the young women die while delivering the baby and the midwife who helped to deliver the baby in time by Anna, played by Naomi Watts. A diary was found in her possession which contains information of what the young women experiences after moving to London in her short lived life. Since the diary is written in Russian, she tries to have it translated in order to find this young girls family. She finds a business card for a restaurant inside the diary, which leads her to a restaurant run by Semyon , played by Armin Mueller-Stahl. Semyon has a vile son named Kirill, played by Vincent Cassel, and a violent but loyal driver and bodyguard, Nikolai, played by Viggo Mortensen. As plot unfolds the diary connects to underground of Russians who have immigrated to London & links to other killings and surprisingly the movie ends very fast. The story is so engaging and interesting; you just can't wait to see what will happen next & David Cronenberg direction was great & script was flawless. The violence is very realistic. In particle the bathhouse fight scene & throat slashing scenes. Naomi Watts is also watchable as a brave, sad mid wife seeking the truth. Viggo Mortensen performance was stunning & commendable & Oscar worthy. With good production value, beautiful cinematography and fantastic back ground score I left the movie theater with complete satisfaction. May be one DVD releases, either I will buy or rent it for second viewing.

My Top 10 Movies of 2007

Still I have to watch so many movies.
Following are current list. I will update this list after three months.
{need to watch few Hollywood & foreign movies. }

Killer of sheep {A fantastic film & classic. Watched it during this years re-release.)
Lives of others {Stunning film from debut director. No doubt it was an Oscar winner.)
3:10 to Yuma (A complicated cowboy flick & I liked it.)
The Bourne Ultimatum (Little week compared to first two installments but a great spy/action/thriller.)
Eastern Promises (A realistic plot with well balanced characters & everything else great in this thriller.)
No Country for Old Men (Simply amazing.)
Grind house {my first Grind house experience & unique & loved it}
Zodiac {Solid David Fincher movie.}
Waitress {enjoyed it & well written. Only chick flick in my list.}
American Gangster (well written & nicely told & solid action from lead cast.}

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin Movie Review

Starring: Gordon Liu
Directed by: Lau Kar Leung

---Spoilers included-------

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a martial arts classic. Like many earlier Kung fu movies, this movie story, theme, also centered on the Revenge (justice or self defense or do the right thing) San Te , played by Gordon Liu, witnesses the death of his master & friends & his family members and vows to learn kung fu so that he can fight the oppressors in his town. Fleeing the bad guys, he heads for Shaolin temple. Most of the movie shows Liu training endlessly at the temple. Liu was shown in at least 10+ of the chambers and half of the movie is spent in the training only. I love all the chambers and the training. No matter how difficult the obstacle, Liu tries and tries again during the training. Years pass as he works his way through the “chambers,” improving his concentration, strength, and reflexes. After what seems like a movie unto itself, he is finally pronounced a master, and invited to teach at any of the 35 chambers. Instead of choosing one, he proposes to create the 36th chamber, which will take the knowledge of Shaolin out of the temple and teach it to the people, so that they can learn to fight for themselves, too. His proposal was rejected & he was out of Shaolin temple for his disagreement. He comes back to his native place, in final scenes and in the fights we will see Liu confronting the oppressors. There are many fight scenes, and each one demonstrates a skill that he learned while in school. The best thing about this film was Liu, this guy was amazing, great charisma and great screen presence. Whether it fights or learning skill, his eyes are so intense. The fight scenes are competently choreographed & Liu and his co-stars are good, and the camera holds on them long enough that you can tell they aren’t cheating with camera tricks. With great production value, beautiful cinematography, fantastic acting makes this movie one of the best in its genre. Even if you’re not a huge fan of kung fu movies, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is an excellent & fine of the genre. Just give a try & it will not disappoint. DVD comes with rich set of extras which include interviews with Gordon Liu, few film scholars etc.

Last weekend movies

Eastern Promises (2007){8.5/10}
A realistic plot with well balanced characters with lots of violence. At end a dark satisfying thriller. Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts performances were commendable.
I will write my review later.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin{1978}{9.5/10}

I love all the chambers and the training. The best thing about this film was Gordon Liu, this guy was amazing. No matter how difficult the obstacle, Liu tries and tries again.

New additions to my DVD collection

Purchased Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons (2005) for $60.
Just now I checked the Amazon site. Price was increased up to $190. It was on my watch list for a while.