In my opinion Jana Aranya represents a certain high-water mark of Ray’s film making craft. Made with clinical precision, the film flows well-oiled in every department. The script is lean and sharp and the whole film has a self-effacing feel minus even a hint of any kind of indulgence. Take Somnath the protagonist of the film and compare him with the complicated Dhritiman of ‘Pratidwandi’: none of that in-your-face intensity, instead a most refreshing debut by Pradip Mukherjee who has to be one of the most likeable characters ever in a Ray film.

It was inevitable, the refrigerator will always remind me of the terrors of drug abuse but then I am not complaining. Narcotics remain one of the most abusive scare that is galling human society today and it was an honorable effort from Aronofsky, with the Russian name and the Brooklyn background, to portray the desperation and simple ambitions gone wrong of the characters first created by the incomparable Herbert Selby of the ‘Last exit to Brooklyn’ fame.

That Tim Burton would make a grotesque movie was expected, going by his penchant for nightmares and horrors. But here he has created a gripping adaptation of the 1979 Broadway hit, and made a full-blown musical at the same time. It works. And I cannot think of any other actor who could have played the character as superbly as Johnny Depp.

While watching this movie I was often reminded of the word lush. It is the lush emerald scenery, the lush colors, the lush texture of fabrics, the lush succulence of food…this film is a feast for the senses, a sight for sore eyes! With its mixture of the scents of summer and the moist coolness of rain, this is one of the most enchantingly atmospheric films I’ve ever seen!

Batman Begins neither indulges in dark humour nor does it hail the birth of a saviour with superhuman qualities but on the contrary it portrays Bruce Wayne in his most vulnerable moment.

As a boy Bruce’s guilt when his parents are killed (because of his fear of bats) and when he later as a young man comes to kill the mugger who killed his parents, his realization that the city his father built is swarming with mafia, corrupt officials and helpless people, leads him to explore the criminal mind by being a criminal himself.

The French Connection is a precise culmination of fantastic technology and aesthetics. It may be unconventional to do so, but it’s worth thinking of the editing first. The cuts are highly effective in that they help build the tension beautifully. The beginning seemed a little simple, in a rough way. But as the film goes on that very simplicity and slight roughness of editing gives the film that feel, that feel of pure thrill and tension.

The wait is finally over! Through the week our readers kept us on our heels pouring reviews of their favorite movies. And it’s time for us to recognize the hard work and of course announce the winners.
But before we do that here is a snapshot of the kind of competition you were up against. We […]