dreamhousebooks Reviews

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Presenting Charles Dickens from the journey of his life to his fairy tales

[7/10 · 4 May 2018]

Now this kind of a movie is really a treat for book lovers in general and Dicken's fans all around the world. Why? Because it really shows you how an idea is conceived and how a writer struggles to put it on paper while dealing with the life that runs around him/her. This movie diligently explores the period of Dicken's life when he was suffering through a financial crisis too and was adamant to keep it hidden from his family while keep his extravagant lifestyle still in order. When he pitched his publisher the idea of The Christmas carol who was reluctant to invest on him anymore due to past few failed books, writing this became imperative not only because of the passion he felt for what was coming but also as this was his only way out. When the support of the publisher is ultimately denied, he decides to publish it himself.

The Man who invented Christmas beautifully depicts this journey of writing The Christmas carol. We also get a glimpse of the tragic and lesser known phase of Dicken's childhood where he was abandoned to work in labour factories due to his father's irresponsible ways. While reminiscing some of the most painful memories and trying to decode his fictional tale, dickens start writing the Christmas carol and healing some of his long hidden demons.

The screenplay is strictly kept in the confines as to understand the psychology of the writer who gave us one the best Christmas tales ever created. Charles Dickens is played with adequate charm and perseverance by Dan Stevens. The characters of the book are also provided a real presentation on screen as real people crowding Dickens at all times. I don't really need to comment about Christopher Plummer's acting because he is flawless and he so aptly portrays the role of scrooge that we only knew so well in our minds so far. He is dark, mocking and disturbs even Dickens while dealing with him on paper. His darkness is hard to break. But dickens wins at the end as the history says it all through the book's success.

All the supporting characters of the movie provide enough spine to keep the movie going without feeling lacking of a narrative. The old world charm is kept strong with a great production backing it up. Please treat your kids to this gem while keeping their innocence alive. Even with some depicted darkness, this will only be empowering to their minds as it wraps up really well.

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The Shape of Water (2017)

Del Toro creates a magical tale about the shape of Love

[9/10 · 2 May 2018]

What truly makes The Shape of water standout is its treatment and the ingredients making it. It won't be for the first time that someone has chosen to tell a story about a fantasy creature. Yet, what makes TSW different from all the others of its genre is the perspective from which it is told and the things the film-makers have put the focus on.

The Shape of Water is primarily a love story between two completely different species who find the connection due to their inability to speak the language of the humans around them. Now that's something new, isn't it? Finding the connection not because of a common ability but a lacking capacity. This is just one of the things where Del Toro has tried to tell the tale from a new perspective. Backed by the old world charm and the beautiful Gothic yet pleasing production design, it all creates a world of fantasy for you that only has a slight resemblance to the world we live in. When the light flows on Del Toro's frames, it is nothing less than a celebration every time.

Sally Hawkins' character has so much rigor and strength to it that it almost amazes you to notice that people with a voice even can't bring out that much courage to show up when needed. Her will to save the Amphibian Man and the love of her life is almost empowering.

Del Toro and Vanessa Taylor have written the supporting characters also with a heart to it. Though I felt that Octavia Spencer's role was similar to the one she played in 'The Help' but it is Richard Jenkin's character that leave a dent on the audience with his charm and underlying sadness reflecting a life marred by voids. All these characters when come together create a fairy tale effect. I believe that it is loved by the masses because Del Toro at the right places chose to draw the right boundaries keeping the confinement of screenplay to an effective one. You never get bored and even though much isn't said throughout the film, every character stands out with layers to it. A well-deserved Oscar for the best movie.

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Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Let the last key rest and don't bother opening the door

[1/10 · 26 April 2018]

Another creation of Blumhouse, Insidious: The Last Key, with all the hoopla and buzz around it falls so flat on its face that I wonder that will the people put their faith ever again in the series. I can't say if I ever truly liked any of the instalments that much, but I can surely say that I am going to resent this one with passion.

What's wrong with the makers? If I compile all the movies of Insidious series and observe them in aerial view, there is no doubt that the fact will not be hidden that the makers are duplicating a formula here and the intention is not to create something good but to earn millions by making sure that the budget is kept low and the profits high. So is the case here, The last key absolutely has no plot to it, rather it is like a supernatural version of another silly movie called 'Don't breathe'. The movie relies on the same techniques and tricks used by the Blumhouse team in almost every movie. It seems they only try and work on the jump scares rather than the plot itself, which in my view is a major fail. Ultimately the audience needs a plot to go with it. The garnishing (the jumps scares) cannot alone save the dish (the movie). Where is the spice, the salt? It so bland that I can feel the pain of the audience around the world wishing they hadn't spent their money on it at the first place.

There is no sense of dreadful excitement in their movies anymore. Be it Annabelle series or Insidious, both fall flat in terms of art even though they always end up earning big bucks. I have started feeling a repulsion towards Blumhouse content lately. My hopes are still consistent with the conjuring series though, but I guess the next insidious movie, which we all know will surely come, is bound to continue the legacy of the Spiral down path the series have so comfortably got accustomed to. Let the last key rest and don't bother opening the door.

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Mohenjo Daro (2016)

Mohenjo Daro, if not highly recommendable, is a good film

[7/10 · 24 April 2018]

Mohenjo Daro leaves you with a bag of mixed feelings. The film has a frequently told plot and I personally feel there is no harm in doing so only if done with a perspective never seen before. There are intense moments in the movie that perhaps for a split second make you go back in time. Ashutosh Gowariker makes a solid backdrop with his research and reflections on how the city really must have functioned. Moreover he tried to tie chords and create a feeling of genuineness with some symbolic facts weaving them into the story for effect (for e.g. the glimpses of foreign buyers in one scene showing the extent to which Mohenjo Daro had spread its arms, the Sabbath around The great bath or the drowning of the famous artefact 'Dancing doll' in the last scene). Alas many will not register this so the motive behind that gets forfeited. The biggest problem with the film is its weak script. The intensity that certain segments of the film hold fails to multiply throughout. I would have loved to see some fantasy aspect to it which Mr. Gowariker as a script writer did try to hint in the beginning (Roshan's dreams) but then again chose not to weave the thread further. He probably was too strict on keeping it real but then again a story without a lasting effect is ordinary life.

As far as the characters are concerned, the only focus has been put on Roshan's. Hrithik is a great actor and no doubt he carried this one perfectly but instead I would like to talk more about the leading lady. Pooja Hedge's character, unlike her male lead, is very one-dimensional. Sadly, you just don't feel anything for her apart from registering the fact that she was immaculate and looked so pretty. I kept on wondering- so much could have been achieved through her! My curious mind derived a plot of its own where in the obtuse part of the story dealt with characters escaping through the drowning city and our leading lady showing real mettle through a great deal of struggle while she tries to save her people and unite with her love who is stuck somewhere in the other part of the doomed city. Probably this all could have created a nice contrast to her life as we saw it. Probably this all could have left a dent in the mind of the audience. In truth, even though everything was admirable, Mohenjo Daro majorly lacked in variation of emotions. The underlying plot was good but not enough to justify it as a whole.

Still, overall, if Mohenjo Daro isn't highly recommendable, it is a good film. Discouraging anyone would be rejecting the art behind the grand thought. Camera work is good and Mr. Gowariker is definitely a skilled director but not even a great potter can achieve anything without a well-kneaded soil. Backed by strong music from AR Rahman (Tu Hai is simply ethereal), Mohenjo Daro leaves you somewhere in between loving it and settling the agony with a stale opinion. Simply for the same sake, do watch it if you plan to. The finale is well thought and wonderfully treated.

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Winchester (2018)

Join the spirits of the Winchester for a nice weekend spook!

[8/10 · 24 April 2018]

The latest representation by Spierig brothers dwells into the retelling of the famous story of the much known Winchester house. The house that boasts a grand structure but an incomprehensible design was built under the orders of Sarah Winchester for endless continuous construction day and night till her death in 1922. Reason? The widow of the Winchester arms company, Mrs Winchester, believed that the people killed by the guns and rifles of their company returned to her in spirit demanding a space inside her house to carry out their unfinished business. She called it a family curse. The audience is transported to the house and its events when a doctor is hired to assess the mental condition of Sarah on the orders of the board of the Winchester arms who believed she was unfit to be in charge of the company anymore. Dr Price, the selected one and played by Jason Clarke, gets caught up in the mystery of Winchester as his own inner demons begin to show up once he is inside the house.

The movie has an impressive production design creating the appropriate Gothic atmosphere required for the story. Helen Mirren stands tall and confident in her performance as Sarah Winchester. Her ageless beauty and the dark costume that she adorns throughout the movie intensifies the unsettling feeling of the house. Sarah Snook also makes the cast and seems to be Spierig brothers' likable recurring collaboration. She holds her role effectively even though it is a supportive one and could have been dismissed without notice. But Snook carries it with enough character to mark her screen presence.

Spierig brothers clearly are aware of the ingredients of gothic horror and hence have worked in detail on the dark aesthetics of the movie. The screenplay wasn't as bad as the critics have remarked. The direction, with whatever plot given in hand, is done justifiably and very effectively, so I can't complain. Though I agree that the plot could have been stronger, but then I reckon it would have been done at the cost of stepping out from the confines of keeping it about Winchester only. My overall experience of Winchester was positive, I did not feel bored so I have no reason to bring this one down. The only area that I felt could have been worked upon was the music. It needed an ominous OST just like the one audience is treated with in 'The Woman in Black', something similar to relate with Winchester every time the audience heard it.

Overall, Winchester was worth my time. Critics are people too and everyone is entitled to an opinion. Winchester was treat to my eyes. My appetite for a Gothic horror movie was satisfied. Everyone knows what responds to their liking and for me it blended well. Join the spirits of the Winchester for a nice weekend spook!

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The Greatest Showman (2017)

A true Barnum spectacle for family viewing

[8/10 · 20 April 2018]

Now when we go for movies our first expectation is to get entertained. We want to step out of reality, get our senses taken over and experience something grand. We want to believe that life can be much more than what we expect it to be. The Greatest Showman struck me exactly as that kind of movie made with keeping that same intention in mind. It is truly a spectacle for family viewing. Based on the life of PT Barnum, the showman who created the famous Barnum & Bailey circus, Hugh Jackman fits well in the shoes of Barnum and plays it with charm, rigor and childlike innocence. Treated with an exceptional cast and inspiring music, The Greatest Showman never fails to entertain. Its fast paced narrative combined with catchy song and dance sequences blend well with the story at all times.

The music is one of the biggest strengths of the movie and will resonate well with the audience for a long time to come. The Song 'A million dreams' can re-spark the buried dreams of a common man. The Oscar nominated 'This is Me' forces you to celebrate your uniqueness no matter what. The Greatest Showman not only brings a glamorous spectacle but leaves us with a sense of hope too. Michelle Williams also stands tall in her role as Barnum's wife. Her character is like a shadow to Barnum's but not the one you can miss. She brings lightness and strength to the movie when Barnum falters. She reminds you of someone who could teach you the pleasures and joys of simple things in life. Williams being an extremely beautiful woman herself, carries the role with grace.

The ensemble that creates the team of the circus deserves a mention too. You have a palette of characters that put so much of body to the movie that TGS otherwise would have been lacking. One of them is Zac Efron's character whose love story infuses a refreshing youthful energy to the movie. His lady love, played by Zendaya, is a contemporary woman marked down by the differences of class and race. Similarly the strength of the bearded woman with a voice of nightingale reminds you that you can be so much only if you learn to dim the unnecessary noise. TGS reflects on a lot of aspects of life but with a fairy tale approach, which in my view is completely fine. Every kind of cinema is important, it might not be the best of film-making in critics' view but it certainly is very striking and works a hundred percent. It is perfect for a light viewing for a family of all sizes and age. Towards the end, you will find your eyes brightened after seeing the beautiful cinematography and your heart gladdened by its dance and music. This is a well-directed piece of work which should not be deprived of an audience driven by a critical approach of the few. My recommendation - visit the circus and get entertained in the old world style!

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