Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies

Director: Steve Spielberg

Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan

Running time: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure


CRITIQUE:


One pathetic confession from a self-confessed, so-called ‘movie buff’: not one Indiana Jones film ever filtered through my viewing corneas. Not one – until now. As writing this critique, the pathos of self-loathing runs through my veins like live wire, punishing my existence ever since the first time I ever watched a piece of celluloid when I was still God-knows-what. Only until now, two decades and seven years later after its making, it has finally reached through my retinas and into my stinkhole of a wankhead. That INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK is the Holy Grail of the modern day actioners, the sacred template of high-octane adventures, the granddaddy of swashbuckling heart-stoppers – and that’s just the first of the franchise.


What makes it even more of a wonder is that arguably the elements of RAIDERS belong to the B-movie category, but it took the genius of Spielberg to bolster those elements into the A-territory. Its outer carapace is a marauding archaeologist who globe-trots the world for artefacts, throw in a sidekick, a bickering love interest, plenty of action, and brouhaha between the protagonist and a camp of enemies mostly made out of hired extras. And oh, the actor then suddenly acquires a powerful invisible shield that dodges out any bullet. However, if the audience lay more attention to the abovementioned elements, then they are missing the real cajones of the film because at the very core of INDIANA JONES is a pure, unadulterated form of entertainment that is as magnificent as it is a classic. Knowing that this piece of actioner was crafted during the time when cardboard cutouts stand in for CGI magic, when Michael Bay was still learning how to hold his first video camera or the stunt-master for the BOURNE trilogy was still discovering the blast of action through punch-ups in schoolyards. We’ve all got to learn from the thrill supremo himself, Spielberg, who laid this film as one of the finest made, if not the finest, action-slash-adventure film in filmmaking history.


It’s the sort of a summation of all popcorn flicks, the very quintessence of what summer movies are made of, and thanks to George Lucas’s concept, one the world’s biggest franchise was born. There’s just so much to like in this film, the mysticism of the plot, the sensibilities of humour and visual slapstick, the fast-paced, oftentimes seat-gripping action, the blend of romance and the sprawl of luxurious production Hollywood could provide. But what really shines in the film is Harrison Ford’s superb performance as the titular professor-cum-archaeologist-cum-bad-guy-whipper, who hands down the fedora into iconography status.


VERDICT:


This reminds us how action-adventure films should be made – not loaded with Buckheimer-esque explosions that blinds our eyes, but a smart script, great one-liners, a fascinating plot, and unforgettable main character that drives a rapid-fire action that makes us grip our seats and clench our bums – all in the joy of entertainment. After all, this is the spirit of cinema.



RATING: A+

Cast: Belen Rueda

Director: J. A Bayona

Screenplay: Sergio Sanchez

Running time: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Foreign Film/Horror


REVIEW:


It’s been a long while since we’ve seen horror films with ounces of intellect. As of today, Hollywood has been flooded of cheap scares, well foreseeable frights from fake, preposterous slasher films, with the endless chase of dumbed down damsels (especially with bleach blonde hairs) by masked masquerader of the night. So rarely had horror films been able to actually play on the basics, which is fear itself, and the likes of the classics such as THE SHINING, THE OTHERS, THE SIXTH SENSE are the brilliant apotheoses of the genre. And the last time I have ever been so engrossed by a horror film was watching PAN’S LABYRINTH; technically, it’s a fantasy flick, but the sub-domain is basically a horror film. THE ORPHANAGE, meanwhile, is what you get when you cross PAN’S LABYRINTH with THE OTHERS, with added touch of THE SHINING’S atmosphere of dread. The result is enthralling, celluloid of escapism that compels you into its world, and plays into your fear without easily giving you frights but instead sends shivers up your spine. THE ORPHANAGE allows not to give away too much, there’s no intention of providing graphic violence here, to which films of recent periods tend to provide garishly (pools of blood, layers upon layers of butchered human flesh), but instead shows you nothing much. However, it makes you believe that something is around, an eerie closing of a door, a tap on the window, a thump on the walls, and the whispering voices of children. It is a terrific ghost story, beautifully told, hauntingly portrayed all throughout, slow-burning at times, but when it gets to its engrossing finale, it sweeps you over with a heartbreaking conclusion – a poignant touch of humanity.


It’s no wonder, such a template would exist when PAN’S LABYRINTH genius himself Guillermo Del Toro ruled his thumb over this project as the Executive Producer. It offers nods to frightener classics such as THE OTHERS, PSYCHO, ROSEMARY’S BABY, but it doesn’t stray from its own pathos. It still remains original, with its own plot and a chilling story to tell. Bayona, in his directorial debut, sticks to the basics style and fluid movements of cameras takes us into places of dread, within his set piece that is the titular orphanage itself. What is more, it is in Spanish so one has to endure squinting at subtitles while keeping attention with what’s going on. Nevertheless, Spain has suddenly become an arena of good horror films and its language should not become an obstacle to the viewing, as it only more mysticism to the whole experience (the use of Spanish sceneries here bolsters the mood and the atmospheric feel of the film).


Like most “effective” horror films, THE ORPHANAGE hands down an imprint, and that’s the horrific child sack mask. The tale of a former orphan being uprooted out the titular orphanage, who grows up and goes back to live in the orphanage, seems a story about redemption, but there’s more to what sees the eye. It lets us know that there are ghosts in the massive, sprawling orphanage, unrest souls of children – but soon we ask ourselves, are they really ghosts or perhaps, ghosts of somebody’s past? As intelligent a movie as it is, it makes us ask such question. The loss of the mother’s child leads the main character, Laura (an excellent, emotionally draining performance by Spanish actress Belen Rueda), to embark on a journey to recover her child and seek for the truth. And it is a kind of film that every movie critic should start eating their own tongues and shut their selves up about the plot, otherwise the experience shall be spoiled.

However, one final dollop of hint: that scene where a group of medium are investigating the orphanage employing the use of green-tinged night-vision cameras – is the film’s gem. Fraught with tense musical score, the derelict corridors seen through monitors, and the night vision amped up the genuine scare.


THE FINAL WORD:


A familiar ghost story employing traditional back-to-basics visual histrionics is what it takes to achieve an over-all effective and affecting horror movie, with a thrilling finale that’s just superb as it is heartbreaking. THE ORPHANAGE is an excellent addition to the genre that is undermined by the recent cheap fares.


VERDICT: A-