Movie Junction

“The conflict was inevitable; the slavery lasted too long.” -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Here are some mind-boggling facts about America ’s Civil War:  Some 3,000,000 soldiers fought in a War that lasted four years.  An estimated 625,000 soldiers died, more than in America ’s two World Wars combined.  Of these dead, 400,000 died of fatal diseases, and 7,000 died in the first twenty minutes.  And the War was fought in 10,000 different places. There is no doubt that the Civil War was the bloodiest war fought on American soil. It was the the country’s most-traumatic war and transformed the country forever. The cultural landscape was changed with the abolition of slavery and the unification of the states of America . The aftermath of the War triggered a rapid growth in the manufacturing sector, a growth responsible for making what America is today.  Fought a hundred and fifty years ago, the Civil War sometimes gets lost in the heroics of the two World Wa...

The reality of losing a young child is a terrible tragedy, which I wish no parent would have to experience. But unforeseen things do happen in life, and there will always be grieving parents somewhere mourning the loss of their young ones. A recent study reveals that 20,000 kids die every day around the world as a result of poor health conditions, child abuse, gang warfare, natural disasters, accidents, wars, and many more. Nonetheless, John Cameroon Mitchell’s “Rabbit Hole” (2010) is not about drugs or a medical condition or a natural calamity, but about an unexpected, life-changing event in the lives of a couple, Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie Corbett (Aaron Eckhart). Based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, “Rabbit Hole” takes us through the aftermath of the tragic death of the Corbett’s son, Danny. The story can be called a case study of how this couple goes through an emotional upheaval in dealing with young Danny’s death and how it impacts their marital bliss. Director Mitc...

Director and writer Abbas Kiarostami formed an important part of the Iranian New Wave that started with Darius Mehrjui’s “The Cow” (1969). Abbas Kiarostami (“The Wind Will Carry Us,” 1999), Jafar Panahi (“Crimson Gold” 2003, “Offside” 2006), and Mohsen Makhmalbaf (“ Kandahar ” 2001) are some of the well-known directors of the Iranian New Wave.  The films from this period closely resembled Italian Neorealism in their tone, stories about people from the lower-middle and working classes, using nonprofessional actors. But these films in spite of their comparisons to neorealism have strong Iranian thematic elements, something that is unique to Iranian cinema. The imagery of the films associated with the Iranian New Wave is often described as lyrical--containing views of rural and urban lifestyle--set against the backdrop of the picturesque Iranian landscape.  In his first twenty years (1970-1989) as a filmmaker, Kiarostami mainly wrote and created several short films. With the r...

Recently, a friend and I were talking about Indian movies. It turns out that he had never watched a Bollywood movie. Even without seeing a single movie, he knew that "Bollywood" movies are different. What is "Bollywood," and how is it different from "Hollywood"? Bollywood is one of the oldest film industries in the world. Its origins can be traced back to 1913, when Phalke's "Raja Harischand" (King Harischand), the first full-length feature film, was released in India . . . a year before D.W. Griffith's "The Squaw Man" appeared in Hollywood. In the book <i>Temples of Desire</i>, Vijay Misra interchangeably uses "Bollywood" and "Bombay Cinema" for Hindi-based films released in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). Moreover, "Bollywood" is a postmodern term that has become increasingly popular in the last 15 years due to its comparison to "Hollywood" and the emergence of In...

Scream 3” (2000) was a huge financial success, just as its predecessors, “Scream” and “Scream 2,” were, but the reviews were not favorable to the “Scream” franchise this time around. By the time “Scream 3” finished its theatrical run, the “Scream” trilogy had amassed about $480 million at the box office on a total budget of around $76 million. Indeed, the success of the “Scream” series has resulted in a cultural phenomenon. One can easily see the influence of the “Scream” movies in the teenage horror series “Final Destination” and in the parody series “Scary Movie.” When I looked at the cover of  “Scream 3” (2000), I could not help think that it closely resembles another movie, “Final Destination” (2000), since the DVD covers for both movies are identical, and both movies were released a few weeks apart. Nonetheless, with the “Scream” phenomenon, the filmmakers and other studios started borrowing the slasher concept to such an extent that by now it is difficult to know who had t...

With “Scream” (1996) becoming a sensational hit, Hollywood quickly responded with a sequel, “Scream 2” (1997), releasing it exactly a year after the first film.  The movie, produced on a budget of $23 million, ended up grossing $173 million at the box-office. The success of “Scream 2” ensured that the slasher genre was well and alive again and that the first film’s success was not a fluke. While a lot of fans think “Scream 2” surpassed the original in all areas, I am somewhat reluctant to admit that this is the case. Nonetheless, “Scream 2” is still as good as the original, if not better. “Scream 2” adheres strictly to the first film’s formula: a hacking killer, a couple of dead bodies, and an ultimate redemption for the protagonists. Writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven have crafted another taut thriller by developing the characters further, building the right amount of suspense, and maintaining the film’s tight pace by using slick editing techniques. Just like the o...

Video: “The Cove” is presented in 1080p using an MPEG-4/AVC codec, in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The Blu-ray offers a definite improvement from the earlier DVD release. The interview segments are crystal clear with great sharpness and consistent depth.  Skin tones are realistic, too, although a few on-site sequences are shot with a handheld camera, in which the detail suffers. Other than this, the outdoor shots are great to look at and pack an amazing amount of detail, especially when we get to see the temples in Taiji. The deep-underwater shots are breathtaking, comprised mainly of deep blues. The night shots in the climax have a greenish tinge with a lot of grain. And of course, we see deep reds around the cove in the climax that serve as a slaughter ground for the dolphins. The filmmakers purposely shot the final sequence using a combination of night handheld cameras and hi-def cameras. Audio: Lionsgate has included an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track for this release. T...