HEAVEN

Heaven might resemble Run Lola Run for having a courageous  female protagonist who is decided to change her fate by sheer determination. What make Heaven different from earlier works of Tyker are the canny scripting of Krzysztof Kieślowski and riveting performance from Cate Blanchett. Heaven is not a thriller though it is endowed with some platitudes. Heaven is a tale of love and a race for survival. And Heaven stands for those palliative  moments one long for and gets in the midst of miseries.

Phillipa, an English high school teacher played by Cate Blanchett, is on the run to avenge for the death of her students. Her motives wind up when she is arrested for being the reason behind an elevator blast. Heaven opens for her when Filippo, a Carabinieri fell in love with her. Leaving his career and life at stake, Filippo teams up with Phillipa. Becoming the fugitive from the law, Phillipa finds her saviour in Filippo.Moments with him makes her hopeful about a life which she believed to be long gone. In the end, the fate of the couple is never revealed. Was that a journey to a world of eternity free from law and order or was that a temporary safeguard? I prefer to believe in the former since the helicopter is disappearing in the clouds which is figurative of the angels ascending from the paradise.

Paying excessive homage to 17th and 16th century Italian painters, many a times European architecture itself become a silent character in the film throughout. When it serves as a fine character explorer, there are times it acts as a silent catalyst in character moulding. When the paintings become witnesses of the blooming defiant love, the walls baby sits for the fugitive couples. The scene where the couple share a cup of ice cream among themselves  is one of the most touching scene in the film. Cate Blanchett renowned for experimenting a wide range of looks for her characters throughout her career does the same in Heaven. Simple but totally unrecognizable, she just shaved her head.Is that a mere makeover procederal or a meatophor - An allegory for the blues one has to undergo to attain the elysium, especially a beautiful haired women symbolize for prosperity?

Krzysztof Kieślowski was known for ornate works that reveals less in a first watch and this something that contradicts in Heaven. Many reasons can be assumed, firstly the script came to the hands of the director only years after the demise. Secondly visions of the director and writer stays at poles.Fortunately Heaven is not entirely free from Krzysztofian style and it never can’t be as it was from a writer of unestimated potential. Phillipa grieves for the lives of the innocents she took unintentionally. Its only after meeting Filippo she regains her confidence to face off her unfinished task. Phillipa personify those discontent good at heart souls in search for salvation. Kieślowski's obsession on religion is well known and I am not surprised when Phillipa reminds me the Penitent thief. Though Phillipa finds her saviour in Filippo, there is never an indication for an omnipresent derivation for him. Being sinned Filippo stands for someone as someone who finds forgiveness, shares it with Philippa and leads her to salvation ultimately.

STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY

Under Nicolas Meyer's supervision, Star Trek franchise once again bounce back to greater heights after Wrath of Khan. Pulling out pieces from the history of latter 19th century, associating them with celestial linkages and wrapping under a bounty of Shakespearean references, Meyer gives the finest possible farewell to the original cast of Star Trek movie franchise with The Undiscovered Country.

The federation is planning for a truce with Klingons under Spock and James Kirk is appointed as the mediator. As the celestial cold war was going to end on a peaceful note, the inevitable happens - rise of community who is afraid for a change. With time running out, James Kirk has to prevent things going from worse to worst. Above all it is a subject of his own survival. Marking the last appearance of the original Star Trek crew, The Undiscovered Country made it possible to extract the best of ever from them.

STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME

After the lukewarm response for Search for Spock, Leonard Nimoy has came with something that can be considered as the best in the franchise so far. Voyage Home is no outer space duel, the crew has come down to earth and wander on the streets of San Francisco for something that can be called as the most challenging mission they ever had.  No more exploration on Biblical themes, Voyage Home is a fun ride with an unconventional story line told in a humor backdrop.

MUMBAI POLICE

Believe it or not, Mumbai Police is one of the finest cop dramas made in Malayalam. It is about the story on an ordinary man who became the victim of a prejudiced society. The movie which primarily told as an intense investigation thriller by an amnesiac cop is a take on the emotional dilemmas one has to undergo while he is challenged by a social jeopardy. A movie on the dark secrets one keep which will turn his entire life to a Gordian knot.Lastly, Mumbai Police also address boldly on those victims of so called 'social taboos'

All appreciation on Bobby-Sanjay who has came with something that can be called as an air tight script and a first time daring approach in mainstream Malayalam films . Though the story telling pattern shares the shades of Nolan's 'Memento', Mumbai Police emerges with an identity of its own. Anthony Moses, the amnesiac police officer is another terrific performance from Prithviraj after the recently acclaimed Celluloid. Farhan might be the most audible role got by Rahman after his golden age. Yesteryear actor Kunjan also delivers a terrific performance. Aparna Nair, the eye candy, did the job assigned to her best though she don't have any particular impact on the story line .

STAR TREK II - THE WRATH OF KHAN

Directed by Nicholas Meyer, Wrath of Khan is about the 15 year old vengeance of a prisoner who was exiled to a lonely planet by Admiral Kirk. Unlike the prequel,the swift in narration and occasional thrills backed up by jargon free dialogues and decent performance makes this Wrath of Khan more appealing to the franchise fans and a optimal starter for those who are new to the enterprise.

The impeccable visuals of the prequel was missing in this installment. The graphics often felt like waiting for consistent patch work. What surprised me most was the decent performance put forward by the recurring cast. Yeah, after all they had to something more than looking at television screen this time and also no more bald lieutenants. From the new cast Ricardo Montalbán's Khan is one of the best performance in his career and Kristie Allae 's Mrs.Sulvnik serves as a fine eye candy.

STAR TREK : THE MOTION PICTURE

It might not cater the TV series fans for the lack of action, or those massive visuals might not surprise you especially after 2001: A Space Odyssey & Close Encounters of Third Kind but Star Trek :The Motion Picture do had content . Do agree the director tottered in convincing the idea. Being an alien about Star Trek universe and being someone who is fed up with alien invasions, the first big screen film actually impressed me. This philosophical science fiction directed by Robert Wise is about the crew of space ship sent to identify and hinder a mysterious cloud that might possess a major threat to the mankind.

Unlike the irreligious tv series, the movie consistently tries to explore the Christian Biblical views on the creation of man. When the lost spaceship symbolize the man thrown away from the Eden Garden by God. The efforts made by V'ger to meet its creator denotes the relentless efforts by the man to meet the omnipresent. The movie actually tries to depict the man's journey to attain salvation from a scientific backdrop. By the scene where V'ger do not show readiness  to accept its code manually was an atheistic sarcasm on the theistic values.Though Decker and Ilia is clearly showed as dead , reporting as them missing by Kirk denotes the unecertainty of the science to answer the question what happens after the death?The movie never answers whether man is the ultimate power or not but all its do is raise some questions and leaving for the audience to answer.

IRON MAN 3

Unlike other Marvel films that make passing references to the original source , Iron Man 3 is well rooted on comic book story arcs. Drawing prime  inspirations from Extremis(The Invincible Iron Man Volume 4 #1-6), Shane Black was generous to share many thrilling moments from other major story arcs with his base plot  which include The Five Nightmares(The Invincible Iron Man Volume 5  #1-7), Iron Man and the Armor Wars,Haunted ((The Invincible Iron Man Volume 4 #21-28) & World's Most Wanted(The Invincible Iron Man Volume 5  #8-19) . Shane chosen the best from these, compiled them in the most logical and convincing manner and made one of the best Marvel movie till date.

It's obvious that the new wave arose in superhero franchise hit Marvel also. But thanks to Shane because for not giving a total grey makeover to Tony Stark. Possessing the iconic features of Marvel films, Iron Man 3 prefers to travel bit off track - And yes that was a good decision.

What impressed me most is the brilliance with which Shane incorporated the key concepts of the above mentioned story arc and his introduce of some prominent characters like Rescue , Mallen , Patriot , Dragon to the movie without leaving any odd loose ends. This is how adaptations are made :'Choose the best parts, work them and turn to something that do have an independent personality of its own! '