Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

I was very interested in the movie because firstly it had something to do with Martial arts.I am a fan of martial arts and right from school I always enjoyed, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Ninja movies, etc. Moreover I had seen the rushes of this movie and was interested to watch it in the big screen. Well I must say that I felt like hitting myself as I had to undergo more than two hours of Chinese torture !!! This proves that just because a movie got few Oscars, its a superb movie. :( Anyway I am not wrong about special effects but thats what there is in the movie. No great action like raw action as seen in Chan or Lee movies. It was very obvious that they copied the technology from Matrix. Matrix could be called a pioneer of fighting with threads hung to your suit so that you can be given an impression of gliding smoothly and every shot can be measured and manipulated as to show that this guy has amazing fighting powers. This method was used extensively in this movie. There were very few fight sequences which was a real hand to hand or a natural looking fight. Acting talent could be a consideration as most of the actors were talented ones. The worst part of the movie was the story. I am not motivated enough to make you aware of the story but I shall give you the gist of it . It starts with a warrior wanting to give up his sword which was called Green Destiny. Green destiny gets stolen and is found and gets stolen again and then again its found. the whole story revolves round this. It is tolerable till now. I am now curious as to why the green destiny is stolen.. well there is no motive. The thief happens to a daughter of the governor in Beiging. She gets married and suddenly out of the blue appears her lover... well now its turn for a Flashback... and what a flashback .. this sequence has no link with the stroy... this lady in question gets married to a guy whom she does not like and then for no reason she flees the house with the Green Destiny ( this is the part where the sword gets stolen again)... I now am grappling with the situation... where to focus.. the sword or the love story ... the love story was also pathetic.. the lover vanishes and appears only at the end of the movie.. Okay have I confused you enough ?? I am going to confuse you more ... now this lady has a guru who is evil and this villainess appears as her governess and disappears for no reason... the villianess happens to be the warrior’s enemy and well she is being pursued by the warrior ... but the focus of this sequence is totally lost when the villianess disappears one night after having a confrontation with the lady( with the sword) who is also her disciple.... ( yes I am seeing stars now ) The warrior with the help of his lady friend ( who is also a warrior and a friend ) go in search of the other lady who has taken the sword. The lady with the sword is found and the warrior says that he would like to entrust the sword to her and teach her the ways of Hudan ( a form of Martial arts )... the lady arrogantly refuses... so the warrior throws the sword into a lake and the lady dives in to get the sword... and is saved by the villianess.. she is taken to the den of the villianess where she is drugged. THe warrior comes in search of this lady and finds her and tries to save her from the villianess... he is followed by his lady friend... Now there is a confrontation between the bad gal and the rest .... ( the focus of the sword is totally gone) The villianess dies in the fight and so does the warrior slowly and gradually... as he is poisoned... The lady with the sword tries to help him by getting an antidote for the poison... yes I must point out this fact that .... all the while in the movie, she flies swiftly .. now when there seems to be an urgency, she is on horseback .... ( ha ha !!! I am bored to death now) She cannot save the warrior and the warrior dies in the lap of his lady friend in a typically hindi movie style... The lady then is instructed to go to the Mountain where her lover awaits her... here too she walks all the way up when she could fly :):)... well she goes there and after meeting him she jumps of the mountain as she wants to fulfil the wish of her lover.... ( this act is supposed to be a superstition of some sorts.... if you want to fulfil some wish you jump off a particular mountain ... and your wish will be fulfilled) EGADDD GIVE ME BREAK !!! and god is merciful !!! THE MOVIE ENDS !!!! Well the story seems as if the scenes have been filmed seperately and just because it looked good it was linked somehow... somewhere... only you dont get to know how and where .... Anyway I wish they could have done a better job ... they had all the resources on their hands, technology, equipment, good cast , etc... Well you can give this movie a miss and go for GLADIATOR> Its a classic movie !!! And if you are still curious about Chinese torture , you can sit through this movie... :):) Have a nice day !!!

Schindler's List

This is universally acclaimed to be one of the best movies. Steven Speilberg who has many great movies to his name directed Schindler’s list. He created a classic movie when he made this movie which leaves a lasting impression in the minds of the people who watch this movie. This film was made in black and white and had a strong script. The direction was flawless. The thing that holds the movie together is the story. The story is very captivating and Speilberg has brought out the essence of the story. The cast had been chosen very carefully. It was as if the characters were tailor made for the chosen cast. The film is based on the true story about Oskar Schindler, a german businessman who manages to save about 1000 jews from the hands of the Germans. The story is set in Germany occupied Poland during World War II. The Jews in Poland are forced to relocate to larger cities where they are placed in over crowded ghettos, turned into slaves and ultimately taken to the concentration camp where they meet a painful and horrible death. The Jews are made to loose their property, freedom and then lives. This order is performed with great precision. There are two lists for this purpose, one marked for death and one whose death has been postponed. This list had another purpose. This list became the list of the members who would be rescued out of this situation. Oskar Schindler( Liam Neeson) initially is a businessman to the core. He wants to make a profit with the incoming of slave labour. He is assisted by his brilliant accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) who looks at this as a perfect opportunity to save his Jewish friends. Amon Goeth(Raplh Fiennes) is the head of the German concentration camp. Ralph played this character very well. He sends chills down your spine. The main focus of the film was the situation of the Jews. As the film progresses Oskar’s personality undergoes a change. From a man whose main aim was to make more money from the current situation, he becomes a humanitarian determined to help the Jews by using his fortune till the last drop to rescue as many Jews as he can. Liam Neeson plays the role of Oskar to perfection. Ben Kingsley was excellent as usual. There are many poignant scenes that gets etched in your mind for ever. The film being in black and white, the images are vivid and it will leave you thoughtful and captivated by the movie. The movie itself is very serious and it needs to be seen alone or with someone who also likes watching serious movies.This movie is not recommended for children. This film won seven Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Film Editing (Michael Kahn), Best Score (credited to John Williams, but featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman), Best adapted screenplay (Steven Zaillian). Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. I would suggest that you watch the movie and feel the story for yourself. Its a must watch if you are looking out for some excellent direction, performance, dialogue and story. Pros : story and script Cons : maybe on the serious side Plot : Good - Original and a good plot Cast Performance : Very Good - Natural acting by all Soundtrack : Very Good - One of the best Camera Effects : Very good - One of the best Watch this movie with : Alone