Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
VIVAH
Mumbai, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006: Rajshri Media (P) Limited, the digital media and entertainment arm of the Rajshri group, launches rajshri.com, a broadband entertainment destination online for premium Indian video content.
Rajshri.com premiered Sooraj R. Barjatya’s movie VIVAH online, simultaneously with its worldwide theatrical release. The online premiere is aimed predominantly at the Global Indians (NRI’s) who are both broadband enabled and technology savvy.
Consumers can stream and download hundreds of full-length feature films, including blockbusters like Phir Hera Pheri, Hera Pheri, Amar Akbar Anthony, Ek Duje Ke Liye, Love In Tokyo, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! etc. Rajshri.com features more than 3,000 hours of licensed premium Indian video content across multiple genres. film and non-film music videos, concerts, humor clips, short films & documentaries
Says Rajjat A. Barjatya, Managing Director, Rajshri Media, “Digital media and networks are fundamentally changing the way entertainment content is created, distributed and consumed worldwide. Rajshri Media is proud to be at the forefront of this change and aims to entertain and enrich the lives of millions of consumers across the globe with the power of Indian wisdom, heritage and entertainment, using digital technology as an enabler. Rajshri.com will serve premium Indian video content across multiple genres, free and paid, on demand 24/7 to a worldwide audience. The aim of the portal is to be the first choice of the global Indian community and that of the non-Indian consumer, who is fast increasing her appetite for Indian entertainment and all things Indian.”
Commenting on this pathbreaking initiative, Sooraj R. Barjatya, the director of blockbuster hits including ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ and ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, says, “Indian entertainment is fast becoming the first choice of millions across the globe. We believe the premiere of VIVAH on rajshri.com marks a new era in the distribution and monetization of Indian entertainment content. In an instant, we are able to reach interested consumers across the world and also convert non-consumers into potential consumers of VIVAH.”
Three versions of VIVAH will be available on rajshri.com starting November 10, 2006: original theatrical version in Hindi, theatrical version in Hindi with English subtitles and its Telugu version, PARINAYAM. Consumers will be offered options to stream the movie on their PCs or download the movie with a limited 72-hour license. Consumers can further choose to stream either high or low bandwidth versions of the movie, depending on the speed of their broadband connectivity.
Going forward, Rajshri Media plans to aggressively build depth and breadth in each content category of rajshri.com, add exciting new features to the site on a regular basis, launch comprehensive sections on Astrology, Numerology, Indian Food and Spirituality besides others, add regional language content across multiple categories and integrate rich content repurposed for mobile phones, iPods and other digital devices. One of the key focus areas of Rajshri Media is the creation and development of Original Programming for new media and digital devices, which has the potential to spawn an entirely new digital entertainment revolution in the days to come.
Rajshri.com premiered Sooraj R. Barjatya’s movie VIVAH online, simultaneously with its worldwide theatrical release. The online premiere is aimed predominantly at the Global Indians (NRI’s) who are both broadband enabled and technology savvy.
Consumers can stream and download hundreds of full-length feature films, including blockbusters like Phir Hera Pheri, Hera Pheri, Amar Akbar Anthony, Ek Duje Ke Liye, Love In Tokyo, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! etc. Rajshri.com features more than 3,000 hours of licensed premium Indian video content across multiple genres. film and non-film music videos, concerts, humor clips, short films & documentaries
Says Rajjat A. Barjatya, Managing Director, Rajshri Media, “Digital media and networks are fundamentally changing the way entertainment content is created, distributed and consumed worldwide. Rajshri Media is proud to be at the forefront of this change and aims to entertain and enrich the lives of millions of consumers across the globe with the power of Indian wisdom, heritage and entertainment, using digital technology as an enabler. Rajshri.com will serve premium Indian video content across multiple genres, free and paid, on demand 24/7 to a worldwide audience. The aim of the portal is to be the first choice of the global Indian community and that of the non-Indian consumer, who is fast increasing her appetite for Indian entertainment and all things Indian.”
Commenting on this pathbreaking initiative, Sooraj R. Barjatya, the director of blockbuster hits including ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ and ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, says, “Indian entertainment is fast becoming the first choice of millions across the globe. We believe the premiere of VIVAH on rajshri.com marks a new era in the distribution and monetization of Indian entertainment content. In an instant, we are able to reach interested consumers across the world and also convert non-consumers into potential consumers of VIVAH.”
Three versions of VIVAH will be available on rajshri.com starting November 10, 2006: original theatrical version in Hindi, theatrical version in Hindi with English subtitles and its Telugu version, PARINAYAM. Consumers will be offered options to stream the movie on their PCs or download the movie with a limited 72-hour license. Consumers can further choose to stream either high or low bandwidth versions of the movie, depending on the speed of their broadband connectivity.
Going forward, Rajshri Media plans to aggressively build depth and breadth in each content category of rajshri.com, add exciting new features to the site on a regular basis, launch comprehensive sections on Astrology, Numerology, Indian Food and Spirituality besides others, add regional language content across multiple categories and integrate rich content repurposed for mobile phones, iPods and other digital devices. One of the key focus areas of Rajshri Media is the creation and development of Original Programming for new media and digital devices, which has the potential to spawn an entirely new digital entertainment revolution in the days to come.
Apocalypto
Apocalypto – 4 Stars (Excellent)
Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" shows the raw, violent face of the advanced Mayan civilization in its decline, with its rulers insisting that the key to continued prosperity is to build more temples and offer more human sacrifices to their Gods.
The result is the story of innocent Mayans being viciously attacked and their communal way of life being destroyed to meet an insane desire. Killing your own has never been a good idea historically and is perhaps a lesson we need to take more seriously today.
The focal point of this film is Jaguar Paw (Rudy Young blood) and his family. He is one of many sons of Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead), the leader of a small, isolated Mayan community in the tropical jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula just before the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Flint Sky and his progeny wish only to be left alone to pursue their destiny in a peaceful environment.
Enter Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and his raiding party looking for victims to sacrifice to the Gods. Jaguar Paw and pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and their son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) escape the attack. Jaguar Paw quickly finds a hiding place to keep his family safe, and then he returns to help fight off the attackers.
Many in his village are killed and many more are captured. This story is about how the captured Jaguar Paw can possibly survive the enforced march to an untimely death and then return to save his family. In the end, he must choose to greet the oncoming Spanish as their ships roll into the harbor, or retreat to the jungle and continue to live a hidden life.
I promise you that when you see this film you will be glued to the edge of your seat. Apocalypto will hold your interest like very few films can.
Some historians were falling all over themselves to criticize inaccuracies in the film, I suspect mainly to get some badly needed publicity which they obviously could not do on their own. Gibson is a film producer in Apocalypto, not an historian.
Good grief, if I want exact history, I will read history books. Gibson brings history to life and does what no one else in Hollywood dares or cares to do.
Gibson's film is an excellent presentation of how we would like life not to be, and also a reminder that no matter how smart we think we are we can sow the seeds of our own destruction right here in the greatest nation Earth has ever hosted.
Apocalypto is produced by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia and Bruce Davey, and written by Gibson and Safinia. It is worth the price of two tickets to see. I highly recommend it for adults. It is a not-so-subtle reminder of what civilization was and could be again.
The fate of the Mayan civilization remains a mystery even today. We know that around 300 BC the Mayan calendar was invented in the Yucatan and was more exact than older calendars. We know the oldest Mayan temples in Central America were built around AD 200.
We know that the Classic period of Mayan civilization occurred between AD 250 to 900 with the development of hieroglyphic writing and advances in art, architecture and science. We know the Post-Classical period of Mayan civilization began in AD 900 and extended to 1519.
The Mayan civilization was at its apex in the early 8th Century before eventually falling into decline and ultimately suffering abandonment. We do not know why the civilization collapsed but can only speculate that its fall was from within, sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
Apocalypto picked up nominations for Academy Awards in Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
I thought the cinematography was spectacular, the close up shots of Jaguar Paw running for his very life, the look of fear in the faces of those innocents who were violently executed by their attackers, and the jungle with its teeming flora and fauna.
Cinematographer Dean Semler used a Spydercam to shoot from atop the 170-foot waterfall when Jaguar Paw jumps to escape Zero Wolf and his killer squad. Semler filmed Apocalypto digitally, using the high-definition Panavision Genesis camera. Semler is an artist disguised as a cinematographer.
The Central Ohio and Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Associations saw what I did in giving Apocalypto their Best Cinematography Awards.
Apocalypto should have garnered more awards, but Mel Gibson's unfortunate drinking habit and run-in with a law enforcement officer did not endear him to the Hollywood community.
Gibson insisted on making the main sets based on actual buildings rather than computer-generated images. Three cheers for Gibson as I believe authenticity counts. I am so sick and tried of seeing stupid kung fu films showing actors jumping 150 feet straight up into the air and then fighting on a twig. I would like to see these wannabe clowns fighting Bruce Lee on his best day.
Was Apocalypto an epic? Absolutely. There was a main cast of 39 along with 700 extras.
Ever wonder what a support cast is to a film? For Apocalypto there were 179 people in the Makeup Department, 67 in the Art Department, 50 in Sound, 36 in Special Effects, 153 in Visual Effects, 33 in Stunts, 80 in Camera and Electrical, 8 in Casting, 22 in Costume and Wardrobe, 18 in Editorial, 62 in Transportation and 100 more additional crew. Total support: 800+. Cost of the film: $40 million. Total box office and rental revenue figures: $72 million and counting.
Many of the speaking roles were by Mayan people who had never acted. The sick child who curses the hunting party as they lead the captives on a forced march to their death was played by a 7-year-old girl who lived in a dirt-floored hut in a village not unlike Jaguar Paw's.
This was a haunting scene as the girl who was affected with the plague and untouchable upbraids the hunting party by saying "You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The scared time is near. Beware the blackness of the day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar.
"Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."
Herein we learn how Jaguar Paw avoids being beheaded only to run the gauntlet of spears and arrows in his escape back into the jungle. This is a brutal and graphic film with be headings like sound bites.
There are too many gems in this film to list here. Suffice to say a village elder uses animals to tell a story about how man will never be satisfied despite using the Earth and everything in it for his own gain. You will cringe when Jaguar Paw's wife and young son face downing as she falls and must deliver her newborn facing certain death. In the end Jaguar Paw uses his wit and wisdom to claim the forest as his own.
Get out and see Apocalypto. This is a film nearly everyone could benefit from seeing before they pass from this Earth. It will remind you of how fragile and perilous our life is.
Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" shows the raw, violent face of the advanced Mayan civilization in its decline, with its rulers insisting that the key to continued prosperity is to build more temples and offer more human sacrifices to their Gods.
The result is the story of innocent Mayans being viciously attacked and their communal way of life being destroyed to meet an insane desire. Killing your own has never been a good idea historically and is perhaps a lesson we need to take more seriously today.
The focal point of this film is Jaguar Paw (Rudy Young blood) and his family. He is one of many sons of Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead), the leader of a small, isolated Mayan community in the tropical jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula just before the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Flint Sky and his progeny wish only to be left alone to pursue their destiny in a peaceful environment.
Enter Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo) and his raiding party looking for victims to sacrifice to the Gods. Jaguar Paw and pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and their son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) escape the attack. Jaguar Paw quickly finds a hiding place to keep his family safe, and then he returns to help fight off the attackers.
Many in his village are killed and many more are captured. This story is about how the captured Jaguar Paw can possibly survive the enforced march to an untimely death and then return to save his family. In the end, he must choose to greet the oncoming Spanish as their ships roll into the harbor, or retreat to the jungle and continue to live a hidden life.
I promise you that when you see this film you will be glued to the edge of your seat. Apocalypto will hold your interest like very few films can.
Some historians were falling all over themselves to criticize inaccuracies in the film, I suspect mainly to get some badly needed publicity which they obviously could not do on their own. Gibson is a film producer in Apocalypto, not an historian.
Good grief, if I want exact history, I will read history books. Gibson brings history to life and does what no one else in Hollywood dares or cares to do.
Gibson's film is an excellent presentation of how we would like life not to be, and also a reminder that no matter how smart we think we are we can sow the seeds of our own destruction right here in the greatest nation Earth has ever hosted.
Apocalypto is produced by Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia and Bruce Davey, and written by Gibson and Safinia. It is worth the price of two tickets to see. I highly recommend it for adults. It is a not-so-subtle reminder of what civilization was and could be again.
The fate of the Mayan civilization remains a mystery even today. We know that around 300 BC the Mayan calendar was invented in the Yucatan and was more exact than older calendars. We know the oldest Mayan temples in Central America were built around AD 200.
We know that the Classic period of Mayan civilization occurred between AD 250 to 900 with the development of hieroglyphic writing and advances in art, architecture and science. We know the Post-Classical period of Mayan civilization began in AD 900 and extended to 1519.
The Mayan civilization was at its apex in the early 8th Century before eventually falling into decline and ultimately suffering abandonment. We do not know why the civilization collapsed but can only speculate that its fall was from within, sowing the seeds of its own destruction.
Apocalypto picked up nominations for Academy Awards in Makeup, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.
I thought the cinematography was spectacular, the close up shots of Jaguar Paw running for his very life, the look of fear in the faces of those innocents who were violently executed by their attackers, and the jungle with its teeming flora and fauna.
Cinematographer Dean Semler used a Spydercam to shoot from atop the 170-foot waterfall when Jaguar Paw jumps to escape Zero Wolf and his killer squad. Semler filmed Apocalypto digitally, using the high-definition Panavision Genesis camera. Semler is an artist disguised as a cinematographer.
The Central Ohio and Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Associations saw what I did in giving Apocalypto their Best Cinematography Awards.
Apocalypto should have garnered more awards, but Mel Gibson's unfortunate drinking habit and run-in with a law enforcement officer did not endear him to the Hollywood community.
Gibson insisted on making the main sets based on actual buildings rather than computer-generated images. Three cheers for Gibson as I believe authenticity counts. I am so sick and tried of seeing stupid kung fu films showing actors jumping 150 feet straight up into the air and then fighting on a twig. I would like to see these wannabe clowns fighting Bruce Lee on his best day.
Was Apocalypto an epic? Absolutely. There was a main cast of 39 along with 700 extras.
Ever wonder what a support cast is to a film? For Apocalypto there were 179 people in the Makeup Department, 67 in the Art Department, 50 in Sound, 36 in Special Effects, 153 in Visual Effects, 33 in Stunts, 80 in Camera and Electrical, 8 in Casting, 22 in Costume and Wardrobe, 18 in Editorial, 62 in Transportation and 100 more additional crew. Total support: 800+. Cost of the film: $40 million. Total box office and rental revenue figures: $72 million and counting.
Many of the speaking roles were by Mayan people who had never acted. The sick child who curses the hunting party as they lead the captives on a forced march to their death was played by a 7-year-old girl who lived in a dirt-floored hut in a village not unlike Jaguar Paw's.
This was a haunting scene as the girl who was affected with the plague and untouchable upbraids the hunting party by saying "You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The scared time is near. Beware the blackness of the day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar.
"Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."
Herein we learn how Jaguar Paw avoids being beheaded only to run the gauntlet of spears and arrows in his escape back into the jungle. This is a brutal and graphic film with be headings like sound bites.
There are too many gems in this film to list here. Suffice to say a village elder uses animals to tell a story about how man will never be satisfied despite using the Earth and everything in it for his own gain. You will cringe when Jaguar Paw's wife and young son face downing as she falls and must deliver her newborn facing certain death. In the end Jaguar Paw uses his wit and wisdom to claim the forest as his own.
Get out and see Apocalypto. This is a film nearly everyone could benefit from seeing before they pass from this Earth. It will remind you of how fragile and perilous our life is.
The Hunt For Red October - Fact or Fiction?
The is a fictitious Typhoon class submarine in theTom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and themovie which followed.
When I first saw this film, written by Tom Clancy, I thought that an awful lot of research had gone into the making of this movie, but I often wondered where someone would come up with such a plot. Was this film based on fact, or fiction in the writers mind. And if it was based on fact, wheredid Clancy get his information from.
The main theme of the story partially centers aroundthe dual capabilities of this submarine. As a submarineof the Typhoon class, it carries many ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. With a stealthy propulsion unit, it can no longer be detected by NATO naval vessels. As described in both the book and the film, these capabilities combine to create a horrific weapon, whereby the submarine could easily surface near a city, like New York,N.Y. fire its missiles, and destroy key targets before any government or military leaders could order a counterattack. One
interpretation, as offered in the film and book, is that this submarine's existence is for one purpose: not as a deterrant to an American attack on the Soviet Union, but solely as a weapon of first strike. The U.S. Government know that they have only two options for this type of submarine. Either they capture it or they destroy it.
Marko Ramius,[Sean Connery] a Lithuanian who has risen to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends to defect to the United States with his officers and the experimental nuclear submarine Red October, a Typhoon class submarine equipped with a revolutionary stealth
propulsion system.
Jack Ryan,[Alex Baldwin] a naval historian turned CIA analyst, deduces Ramius' plans. The U.S. high command agrees warily, while also planning for contingencies in case the Soviet Fleet has other intentions than their stated cover. As tensions rise between the U.S. and Soviet fleets, and the crew of a U.S. attack submarine stumble across the secret to detecting the Red October,
This film was one of the best movies of the 90's.It launched Clancy's successful career as a novelist and the superb acting abilities of a number of well known stares.
And yes this novel and movie were based on true facts concerning the defection of two Soviet navel officers. In 1961, Soviet Navy submarine captain Jonas Pleškys sailed his vessel from Klaipeda to Gotland in Sweden. The Soviet authorities sentenced him in his absence to
death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in Guatemala and later in the United States.
November 8, 1975, the Soviet Navy frigate Storozhevoy mutinied. At the time, the Western powers believed it was an attempt to defect from Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland. The mutiny was led by the ship's Political Officer, Captain Valery Sablin. The mutiny was unsuccessful, and Sablin was captured, court-martialed, and executed.
So there you have it. So the next time you go view a "spy thriller"type of movie, you should always ask yourself!
Fact Or Fiction?
When I first saw this film, written by Tom Clancy, I thought that an awful lot of research had gone into the making of this movie, but I often wondered where someone would come up with such a plot. Was this film based on fact, or fiction in the writers mind. And if it was based on fact, wheredid Clancy get his information from.
The main theme of the story partially centers aroundthe dual capabilities of this submarine. As a submarineof the Typhoon class, it carries many ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads. With a stealthy propulsion unit, it can no longer be detected by NATO naval vessels. As described in both the book and the film, these capabilities combine to create a horrific weapon, whereby the submarine could easily surface near a city, like New York,N.Y. fire its missiles, and destroy key targets before any government or military leaders could order a counterattack. One
interpretation, as offered in the film and book, is that this submarine's existence is for one purpose: not as a deterrant to an American attack on the Soviet Union, but solely as a weapon of first strike. The U.S. Government know that they have only two options for this type of submarine. Either they capture it or they destroy it.
Marko Ramius,[Sean Connery] a Lithuanian who has risen to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends to defect to the United States with his officers and the experimental nuclear submarine Red October, a Typhoon class submarine equipped with a revolutionary stealth
propulsion system.
Jack Ryan,[Alex Baldwin] a naval historian turned CIA analyst, deduces Ramius' plans. The U.S. high command agrees warily, while also planning for contingencies in case the Soviet Fleet has other intentions than their stated cover. As tensions rise between the U.S. and Soviet fleets, and the crew of a U.S. attack submarine stumble across the secret to detecting the Red October,
This film was one of the best movies of the 90's.It launched Clancy's successful career as a novelist and the superb acting abilities of a number of well known stares.
And yes this novel and movie were based on true facts concerning the defection of two Soviet navel officers. In 1961, Soviet Navy submarine captain Jonas Pleškys sailed his vessel from Klaipeda to Gotland in Sweden. The Soviet authorities sentenced him in his absence to
death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in Guatemala and later in the United States.
November 8, 1975, the Soviet Navy frigate Storozhevoy mutinied. At the time, the Western powers believed it was an attempt to defect from Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland. The mutiny was led by the ship's Political Officer, Captain Valery Sablin. The mutiny was unsuccessful, and Sablin was captured, court-martialed, and executed.
So there you have it. So the next time you go view a "spy thriller"type of movie, you should always ask yourself!
Fact Or Fiction?
No Country for Old Men
Miramax Films presents a film written and directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. It is a critically acclaimed 2007 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. The film features Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem.
If you like the kind of film that surprises you and takes away your breath at the same time,this is it. It tells the story of a drug deal gone very wrong and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama as three men crisscross each others paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.
The local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), tells of the changing times as the region becomes increasingly violent. The key character of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and his weapon of choice — cattle gun — are introduced as he escapes police custody and steals a car by using the cattle gun to kill the car's driver. But at the same time a hunter hunting pronghorn come across a collection of corpses and one Mexican near death which was the result of a drug deal gone bad. The hunter Llewwlyn Moss [Josh Brolin] also finds two million dollars in a suitcase and decides that he will keep the money and leave the Mexican to die, but has a change of heart and returns with some water for the man.
But this good deed sets off a cat and mouse game in which the hunter and the hunted switch roles as a gang of Mexicans,Chigurh,Moss and Bell chase each other and the two million dollars across the Texas and Mexican landscape. But unbeknown to Moss, Chigurh who was hired to retrieve the money has a transponder hidden in it. And Chigurh, who is a professional hit man, will kill anyone who gets in his way.
In the meantime Moss, not knowing anything about the transponder, sends his wife Carla Jean [Kelly MacDonald] out of town and jumps from motel to motel trying to elude not only Chigurh but also the Mexicans. While all of this is happening, Bell main concern is to try and protect Moss after he finds him. Chigurh is closing in on Moss because of the tracking device.
Chigurh ends up killing some of the Mexicans and a rival hit-man named Carson Wells who is played by Woody Harrelson. Moss arranges a meeting with Carla Jean in El Pasco to give her the money and tries to get her out of danger. All of the action now takes place at the motel when all of the main characters converge there, but not at the same time. Moss is killed by the Mexicans in a bloody shootout. Sheriff Bell shows up and enters a room to discover that the vent covers have been removed and knows that the money had been removed and then leaves, not knowing that Chigurh is hiding in that same motel.
Bell finally gets the opportunity to visit his uncle Ellis [Barry Corbin] and informs him that he is going to retire because he is getting leery of the changing times, but Ellis accuses him of just being vain. Some time later Chiguth confronts the widowed Carla Jean and offers her the same "coin flip"opportunity that he had offered the gas station owner, Carla Jean refuses and in the next scene it shows Chigurh examining the soles of his boots, as if to indicate that he had committed another murder. He ends up in a car accident but he manages to elude the police and escapes again.
At the very end of this story Bell is reflecting on the many choices he had in his life. He tells his wife[Tess Harper] about the two dreams that he has had while he is experiencing an uneasy retirement at home.
Highly praised by critics, the film received several Golden Globe Award nominations. Roger Ebert called it "as good a film as the Coen brothers... have ever made and gave it a four star review and it appeared on many of critics top 10 list of 2007.It took Best Picture at 2008 Critics’ Choice Awards.
If you like the kind of film that surprises you and takes away your breath at the same time,this is it. It tells the story of a drug deal gone very wrong and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama as three men crisscross each others paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.
The local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), tells of the changing times as the region becomes increasingly violent. The key character of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and his weapon of choice — cattle gun — are introduced as he escapes police custody and steals a car by using the cattle gun to kill the car's driver. But at the same time a hunter hunting pronghorn come across a collection of corpses and one Mexican near death which was the result of a drug deal gone bad. The hunter Llewwlyn Moss [Josh Brolin] also finds two million dollars in a suitcase and decides that he will keep the money and leave the Mexican to die, but has a change of heart and returns with some water for the man.
But this good deed sets off a cat and mouse game in which the hunter and the hunted switch roles as a gang of Mexicans,Chigurh,Moss and Bell chase each other and the two million dollars across the Texas and Mexican landscape. But unbeknown to Moss, Chigurh who was hired to retrieve the money has a transponder hidden in it. And Chigurh, who is a professional hit man, will kill anyone who gets in his way.
In the meantime Moss, not knowing anything about the transponder, sends his wife Carla Jean [Kelly MacDonald] out of town and jumps from motel to motel trying to elude not only Chigurh but also the Mexicans. While all of this is happening, Bell main concern is to try and protect Moss after he finds him. Chigurh is closing in on Moss because of the tracking device.
Chigurh ends up killing some of the Mexicans and a rival hit-man named Carson Wells who is played by Woody Harrelson. Moss arranges a meeting with Carla Jean in El Pasco to give her the money and tries to get her out of danger. All of the action now takes place at the motel when all of the main characters converge there, but not at the same time. Moss is killed by the Mexicans in a bloody shootout. Sheriff Bell shows up and enters a room to discover that the vent covers have been removed and knows that the money had been removed and then leaves, not knowing that Chigurh is hiding in that same motel.
Bell finally gets the opportunity to visit his uncle Ellis [Barry Corbin] and informs him that he is going to retire because he is getting leery of the changing times, but Ellis accuses him of just being vain. Some time later Chiguth confronts the widowed Carla Jean and offers her the same "coin flip"opportunity that he had offered the gas station owner, Carla Jean refuses and in the next scene it shows Chigurh examining the soles of his boots, as if to indicate that he had committed another murder. He ends up in a car accident but he manages to elude the police and escapes again.
At the very end of this story Bell is reflecting on the many choices he had in his life. He tells his wife[Tess Harper] about the two dreams that he has had while he is experiencing an uneasy retirement at home.
Highly praised by critics, the film received several Golden Globe Award nominations. Roger Ebert called it "as good a film as the Coen brothers... have ever made and gave it a four star review and it appeared on many of critics top 10 list of 2007.It took Best Picture at 2008 Critics’ Choice Awards.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)