Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Released: 1962
Country: United States
Genre: Drama, psychological thriller, psychological horror
Cast: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Maidie Norman
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' might as well be a very difficult film to sit through. At times it can be heartbreaking and painful. Suspense and tension prevail throughout the film. At the same time, Bette Davis's character, 'Baby' Jane Hudson, managed to freak me out. Bette Davis's performance is more than splendid: it is highly noteworthy and strong, fleshing out the character of Baby Jane in a most efficient manner. Jane Hudson is definitely one of the creepiest characters I have personally ever come across. This is a character that is bound to get etched in your memories because it is so strongly developed. At the same time, Joan Crawford, as the gentle and tormented Blanche Hudson, gives a terrific performance as well.
The story revolves around two sisters, Jane and Blanche Hudson. When they were children, Blanche was completely overlooked, while Jane earned success and fame as a singer. However, as they grew up, Blanche became a reputed film actress, while Jane's fame and success faded away. However, a sudden car accident left Blanche crippled and confined in a wheelchair. From then on, Jane started to take care of Blanche. Now they are middle-aged and Jane keeps Blanche away from the outside world, even preventing her from meeting neighbors and never showing her the fan mails that come to her. As time goes on, Jane falls into the depths of instability and psychological disorders, going as far as to torment Blanche in the worst possible ways, including starving her. How will Blanche escape from her mentally disturbed sister and her torments?
I need to say that ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' kept me tensed all through. The suspense is developed excellently. Both the central characters are strongly developed. Over the course of time I started completely sympathizing with the character of Blanche. I desperately wanted her to get rid of the torture that she was going through, I kept hoping for something to happen- something miraculous- that could save her.
And what about Jane? What did I think of her? Now that is actually pretty hard to describe. Over the course of the film her actions started to disgust me, I kinda started hating her, but at the same time, there were a few scenes- a few very emotionally intense scenes- when I did pity her. And by the time the film ended, I did not exactly know what to feel. It was a strange mixture of disgust and pity. I pitied her. And I felt disgusted by what she did throughout film. It was a strange combination feelings. Bette Davis's performance is excellent, strongly developing the character and making her one of the most memorable film antagonists ever.
The extremely suspenseful film culminates in a very- very- memorable ending. I could never even imagine that we would be greeted by a twist this unexpected. I definitely won't go into details about it but I can tell you this: the ending will leave you with a combination of feelings that can include surprise and shock and pity.
This is an excellently-made, excellently-directed film that manages to maintains its suspenseful, gothic atmosphere all through. At the same time, the performances of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford contribute to make the film a perfect one. I loved every minute of it, I loved the suspenseful atmosphere, the excellent performances and the perfect character development.
5 out of 5
Directed by: Max Ophüls
Released: 1948
Country: United States
Genre: Romantic-drama
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
Middle-aged pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) receives a letter from an ''unknown'' woman: the person who has written the letter is actually Lisa (Joan Fontaine), who used to be his neighbor years ago. When Stefan had moved into the same apartment building as Lisa, the latter had become infatuated with him. Though initially a simple schoolgirl crush, Lisa's feelings for Stefan grew stronger and ultimately, she fell in love with him, listening to him play the piano in the apartment next to hers, sneaking into his apartment in his absence, and learning about music. Stefan, however, did not even know about Lisa, and when he met her, her love remained largely unrequited and she was forgotten. Years and years passed, circumstances changed, but Lisa's love for Stefan never did.
The story sounds pretty simple, but the cinematography, performances, music, and Lisa's extremely beautiful narration makes ''Letter from an Unknown Woman'' a hauntingly beautiful and poetic film. The film deals with a topic that I think has somehow touched us all: unrequited love. I have never seen unrequited love explored as beautifully as it is done in ''Letter from an Unknown Woman''. Joan Fontaine is perfect in her role as Lisa, bringing into life the emotions and sentiments of the character as the character grows up into a young, sensible woman from a teenager and her feelings for the pianist who once used to be her neighbor remains unchanged, unaltered. How often do we ponder about such things? How often do we actually move on after a painful episode of unrequited love? Some manage to move on, while some do move on but still stick to the memories of the moments they had spent with the person who could never love them back. The way Lisa's feelings for Stefan is portrayed looks extremely realistic. Louis Jourdan in his role as Stefan is perfect as well.
I loved the film, I did. It is a beautifully poetic film and I would highly recommend it.
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1934
Genres: Novel, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
I really admired ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" It was such an exciting read that I couldn't put it down! I really loved it! I loved the suspense. I loved the character development and the excellent chemistry between the characters. It is such an excellent mystery that it kept me puzzled till the very end.
The story's central characters are Bobby Jones, a vicar's son, and his childhood friend, Lady Frances Derwent (Frankie). At the beginning of the novel, Bobby comes across a man who has fallen off a cliff. The man utters these few words before succumbing to his death: ''Why didn't they ask Evans?''
The man is identified as a certain Alex Pritchard by Mrs Cayman, a woman who claims to be the dead man's sister. The case is taken to be that of a suicide or a careless accident. However, Bobby's friend Frankie muses that it might have been a murder. When attempts are taken on Bobby's life, Bobby and Frankie become quite sure that ''Alex Pritchard'''s case was indeed that of murder and the murderer thought that since ''Alex Pritchard'' literally died in Bobby's arms, he (Pritchard) might have told Bobby something that could reveal the identity of the murderer. Bobby and Frankie set out to investigate with a few clues. Their ameteur investigation leads them to discover that things are not as simple as they seem, as they come across complex and layered people; they discover more hidden crimes related to the case, they come across dangers, they find more clues, and they can't quite decide who the hideous villain actually is...
I loved the way the story got more complex, more layered! What seemed a rather straightforward case became a really puzzling and unpredictable one! I kept reading it, and the revelations left me pretty astounded!
It is not just the mystery that makes this book so irresistible and hard to put down. All the characters are so well-developed! I loved, loved, loved Bobby and Frankie! I loved the chemistry between them! The secondary characters are complex and excellently-developed! All these characters and their chemistry kept the story really engrossing!
I loved this novel! I loved the suspense, the puzzling mystery, the way everything unfolded! I loved Bobby and Frankie! I loved the humor! I loved the character development.
4 out of 5
Author: Eleanor H. Porter
Published: 1913
Novel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
''Pollyanna'' is a lovely little story about optimism, and how a touch of optimism and positive thought can change the bitterness and misery of people into happiness and hopefulness. The titular character is a young girl, who, after her father's death, is sent to live with her late mother's sister, Aunt Polly, a cold and strict middle-aged spinster. Aunt Polly initially treats Pollyanna with coldness, and take Pollyanna in only because she feels it is her ''duty''. Like other members of her family, she also opposed it when Pollyanna's mother had married a poor young man against her family's will. Aunt Polly gives Pollyanna a little, undecorated attic room to live in. However, this bitter situation fails to dishearten the optimistic and hopeful Pollyanna. She play the ''glad game'', a game that her father had made up. She tries to glad about everything- she tries to find something to be happy about even in the most bitter things. Gradually, Pollyanna's optimistic attitude brings happiness to the lives of everybody around her; her positive thinking encourages others to think positively, and take a brighter attitude to life.
This is a thought-provoking and lovely novel that I would recommend to everybody. I really loved the character development; there are several memorable characters (like Pollyanna, Aunt Polly, Nancy, John Pendleton, and Dr Chilton). I really loved Pollyanna's way of thinking and attitude to life. Overall, this was an engrossing book, a pleasant read, a book that can make you smile, and I definitely loved it.
4 out of 5
Directed by: Woody Allen
Released: 1985
Country: United States
Genre: Romantic comedy, Fantasy, Drama
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' tells the story Cecilia (Mia Farrow), a working class young woman stuck in an unhappy marriage. She finds solace in movies. She loves movies, and goes to the cinemas whenever she finds some time. One day, she watches a film called ''The Purple Rose of Cairo''. She falls in love with the film, watching it again and again. Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) is a minor supporting character of the film. From behind the screen, the character suddenly notices Cecilia, sitting among the audience. Impressed by the fact that Cecilia loves the film so much, Tom Baxter just... steps out of the screen! He gets out of the film and steps into the reality. Cecilia helps him to run away, and over the course of time, falls in love with him.
On the other hand, the actor who played Tom Baxter, Gil Shephard (also played by Jeff Daniels) is worried because Baxter left the screen. Shephard is a rising star, and he is afraid that Baxter, whose face, obviously, matches his, may do such unlawful things that may become an obstacle in his (Gil's) path to success and reputation. He tries convincing Baxter to go back to the film, and meets Cecilia, who falls in love with Shephard.
In this complicated love triangle involving two worlds, the world of reality vs. the world of fiction, whom will Cecilia choose? The fiction, where everybody from the real world wants to go? Or to the world of realities, where everybody of the fictional world wants to come to?
I really loved the concept of the film, I really did. The entire film is so lovely, so sweet. I was really impressed with Mia Farrow's performance! She looked so sweet, so innocent, so lovable! Jeff Daniels's performances as Tom Baxter and Gil Shephard were both really good, really very good.
The film is sweet, cute, lovely, and beautiful, funny and romantic, but the only thing that I found rather unexpected was the ending. Was that a bad ending? Definitely not: any ending that makes you overwhelmed with emotions is a perfect, or a near-perfect ending. The ending of ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'' is so strong and so unexpected that for me, it will always be one of the most unforgettable endings I have ever come across. I won't discuss the ending in detail, but I will definitely say that compared to the overall film, the ending was unexpected, and while the entire film kept me uplifted, I ended up with a lump in my throat, overwhelmed with emotions, when the film ended.
It is a near-perfect film that I would recommend to everybody, and, I think, after ''Manhattan'', it is my favorite Woody Allen film.
4.5 out of 5
Author: John Green
Published: 2012
Genre: Novel, Romance
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
''The Fault in Our Stars'' made me heartbroken and sad, but it also made me smile, laugh, and love. It made me love the characters, it made me love the story. It is a beautiful young adult romance that is sad but optimistic, a tearjerker, and strangely, heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
Hazel Grace is a teenager suffering from cancer and because of that, she is always required to carry an oxygen tank with her. When attending a support group consisting of teenaged cancer victims, she comes across Augustus Waters. Augustus's cancer caused him to lose a leg. The two become very close, and with the passage of time, their bond turns into deep love, as they understand each other, support each other. But their lives are shadowed and followed by cancer itself.
I loved Hazel. Our protagonist. I really admired her. I really appreciated her strength, her humor, her easygoing nature, which she could maintain in spite of the fact that she had cancer. She was a strong protagonist, she indeed was. Augustus Waters is also a strong character, and I really liked the things that he did for Hazel, even sacrificing something so that Hazel could meet her favorite author.
The book is so well-written and irresistible that it's easy to fall in love with it. While the love story itself is beautiful and emotionally intense, the overall novel has a great depth. While it indeed is a tearjerker, it has humor even in it's darkest moments, it is witty and sad, heartbreaking yet optimistic and heartwarming. Strange, isn't it? While the book left me heartbroken, I was overwhelmed by the time I had finished it. It was romantic, it was sad, it was emotionally intense, yet witty, optimistic, and to sum it up, beautiful.
4.5 out of 5
Directed by: Elia Kazan
Released: 1951
Country: United States
Genre: Drama
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is an intense and powerful film, with two of the most powerful performances I have ever seen. Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando, two of the greatest film stars of all time, give extremely powerful performances as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski, respectively. Vivien Leigh's performance is simply so strong that by the end of the film, I was literally in tears, seeing the fate of her character, Blanche. On the other hand, Marlon Brando's character, Stanley Kowalski, is so excellently-developed that by the end of the film the only thing that I felt for the character was pure hatred and outrage.
The film's protagonist, Blanche DuBois, arrives in New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) and her (Stella's) husband, Stanley. Blanche claims that she has taken a leave from the school she works at, because she has been suffering from depression. In reality, there are secrets that she has been hiding. Dark secrets. The short-tempered, violent and wild Stanley doesn't let things go on smoothly. He often treats Blanche with contempt, and then decides to look into Blanche's past. He finds out about the circumstances that caused Blanche to move to New Orleans.
I was greatly saddened, greatly shocked, and literally terrified seeing the torture and the difficulties that Blanche has to go through. Sure, she might not have had an agreeable past. But HOW can Stanley treat her, torment her in the way he does? How can a human treat somebody in this way? Stanley Kowalski is definitely one of the most hate-able movie villains I have ever seen. I mean, this character is inhuman and savage. And how excellently the character development is done! It takes time. Initially I felt only a mere loathing and even pity for Stanley, but by the end of the film, I felt pure hatred towards the character. For all the things that he does to Blanche.
The most memorable line from the film is definitely ''Stella! Hey Stella!'' These lines, spoken by Brando's character, are spoken twice during the film, when Stella, tired of her husband's violent nature and torments, decides to leave her husband (twice). The first time this happens, I felt pity for Stanley, because of the circumstances, and because of the way he calls Stella. But by the second time he says this, at the very end of the film, my heart was filled with pure hatred, extreme loathing for the character of Stanley. The character development is done gradually, and I couldn't possibly feel any sympathy for him after the things he does over the course of the film. By the end of the film, I was left with tears in my eyes, having been shocked and saddened seeing Blanche's fate, and outraged and terrified seeing the inhumanity and savageness of Stanley. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh both give extremely memorable performances- perhaps two of the most powerful performances in the history of cinema.
This is indeed one of the most powerful, one of the most intense, one of the most shocking, and one of the most excellently-acted films that I have ever watched. Elia Kazan's direction is, definitely, excellent, while Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh's performances are unforgettable and powerful enough to be called two of the greatest performances in film history. Besides the direction and the acting, the cinematography and the background score are great as well, and overall, this is a powerful film, a must-watch.
