BROKEN HORSES: ‘Parinda’ takes an ambitious flight, lands safely! [3.5/5]

Stories bound by love, driven by passion and led by sincerity never fail to connect. Neither did PARINDA, nor does BROKEN HORSES. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s doorway to Hollywood; BROKEN HORSES is an emotionally charged, confident to the core and a well-made thriller that consciously makes you revisit and relive the filmmaker’s one of the bests in Bollywood PARINDA. So, the million dollar question on you face must be, “Is it a remake?” Let me phrase the answer in a more welcoming and established way. It is an effort to take one’s own highly regarded work to a bigger scale and in a better framework. BROKEN HORSES successfully plants Mr. Chopra in the league of those few technically evolved & resourcefully sound in their art & craftsmanship regardless how different or difficult the medium is.

Set in the outskirts of Mexican Border, the film involves the heartwarming bond between two orphaned brothers. For them, the wisdom-quotes from their childhood still go hand-in-hand in any given situation. If the big brother is taught to protect the younger one, he would never lose his sight of him for once. Meanwhile, the younger one would always let the big one win at the checkers. Jacob Heckum [Anton Yelchin] returns to bring his elder brother Buddy [Chris Marquette] for his wedding, without having any hint that Buddy is now the most-loved killing machine of Mr. Hench [Vincent D’Onofirio]; and the only way out of this deep, dark & dodgy mountain is to blast it inside out. Jacob decides to stay and help to save his brother.

If you have seen and loved PARINDA (…and who hasn’t? I seriously want to know), there are times you feel cheated as why wouldn’t Mr. Chopra has made it clear and upfront that this is an adaptation of his one of the original works. But try to calm yourself down, and you will also cherish the fact that this one is less dramatic, more emotional and made for an unlike set of audiences. Vidhu orchestrates some really delicious scenes to show off great caliber. In one, the shootouts are shown with intercuts of oranges being squeezed and later, being served in a glass to the mobster as the confirmation of the job being done. The cinematography plays with mirror-images, iconic landscapes, the sun-shades and is first-rate.

Film also sees some real-good performances. In Buddy’s simpleton yet childlike vulnerable character, Marquette performs excellently and towers in almost every scene he is in. Be it the emotional family union at dining-table at the ranch or the menacing act at the theatre; he and the contagious grin on his face are just superb. Don’t miss him interacting with the love of his younger brother, Vittoria (Maria Volverede) with an unseen before love and care. Anton Yelchin as the feared and alarmed younger brother is good. So is Maria playing his love-interest! The talented D’Onofirio marks his presence felt with his portrayal of a cool, crafty & convincing villain. Scenes with him corrupting and controlling Buddy’s mind are an interesting watch.

To sum up, doing anything that involves a classic is a bad bad idea. I know the comparisons are inevitable. The element of surprise in the plot also comes late until the well-tweaked climax happens but if you can overlook the similarities between the two, there are chances to notice the ambitious and striving flight the film & the filmmaker take. Impressive debut, Mr. Chopra! [3.5/5] 

INTERSTELLAR: Out of this World! Nolan does it again!! [4.5/5]

The world is changing. And it’s changing for the worst. Crops are dying. Food-crisis is taking over the interests in technology. “People don’t really want engineers but farmers” as one powerfully states. Throwing away hefty share of funds in scientific research & space missions are no more concern of priority. So, NASA is forced to go underground.  Human race has the fear to lose its existence, sooner than we believe. One of most intelligent minds at the premise [the veteran Michael Caine] opens up, “We are not meant to save the world. We are meant to leave it”.

Decoding Christopher Nolan’s mesmeric & equally mystifying world of gigantic prospects irrespective of time & place [mostly space in this case] is the trickiest job for any common movie-watcher like me. So coming up with a proclamation like ‘I am fully done with it”, is nothing but a steep example of audaciousness! I wouldn’t dare! An Ex-NASA pilot Cooper [Played by Matthew McConaughey] is now a farmer with two of his kids & an old father to deal with. Some strange events and his exploratory eyes to see things in their scientific orientation lands him to a space-mission responsibly designed to locate possible rescue-stations in outer world to reinstate mankind in space-colonies. And then starts the tremendously amazing expedition filled with moments of fear, panicky situations, killing betrayals and affecting insights about life.

INTERSTELLAR is a 2hour 50min long canvas of a highly competent & thoroughly manipulative mind called Nolan. He cleverly makes you resting with the most vividly done human emotions in a very enigmatic way and then knocks you off with the layered plots revealing in the most outrageous manner. No wonder if in the first half, you only wait for the ‘Nolan-effect’ [earned authoritatively after the extravagant thriller ‘INCEPTION’] to come and squash & squeeze you from left, right and center, the second half does the needful in more ways than you would imagine. With an astonishing camerawork and persuasive background score by Hans Zimmer, INTERSTELLAR takes you through galaxies, planets with extreme climates, grasping black holes and radiant light patterns falling over various space-objects like some ravishing fireworks in the sky.

INTERSTELLAR fills you with a magnanimous feeling of being in a celestial world that is enticing to the core, unbelievably real and assertively sharp. Travelling through different time-zones and the race against time to save humanity creates an effervescent, tensed yet disturbingly calm mood to be felt much longer. McConaughey’s rigidly in skin characterization gives film a strong reason to watch. Watch him going through the video messages from his family on earth over the period of 23 long years or him leading the space-expedition with total conviction, he dons the hat of a skilled performer in both. Anne Hathaway as Cooper’s fellow explorer doesn’t impress much though it is not a wasted performance. Jessica Chastain in the role of Cooper’s daughter shines. Matt Damon’s is a shocking surprise best left undisclosed much.

With a much longer duration, your past gratifying tryst with Alfonso Cuaron’s masterstroke GRAVITY and the astronomical usage of science terminology, film might incite killing impatience in you but just have faith in Chris Nolan and his successive idea to shock, thrill & stun you, despite all odds! INTERSTELLAR is hugely rewarding, considerably relevant, fearlessly inventive, sensitively thrilling and the best you can do with the storytelling and technology amalgamation! Book your Tickets…now! [4.5/5]