to start with this movie is a out and out holocaust movie...it shows all the things the Jews had to go through during the holocaust....but the perspective is very different...the whole holocaust is shown through the eyes of a 8 year old kid,Bruno...who is innocent and is completely unaware of the whole situation in Germany...and to complicate things the father of this kid is a highly placed Nazi officer...

at the start of the movie the characters are introduced in Berlin,they are shown as a happy and self sufficient family..Bruno has friends in the locality and is very happy with his life...he also has a 12 year old sister and a very understanding and compassionate mother..his father is a very dutiful officer but is also an understanding but stern parent...soon afterwards their father breaks to them the news that they must shift to another place...Bruno is naturally very upset..now the family is shown to have shifted to their new house...there is a concentration camp nearly a mile away from their house..the boy develops curiosity regarding the concentration camp and their parents somehow manages to dodge his questions..their parents even keeps a tutor,who teaches the kids history in which Bruno is the least interested in,the only thing he is interested in is adventure...his sister however starts loving the subjects and gets addicted to the Nazi mentality and develops anti jew sentiments...Bruno soon befriends a Jewish boy of the same age who is equally innocent..and they play along the barbed wires of the camp...this friend is a friend which he never had in his life...the confusion in his mind about the teachings of his teacher,ie-all jews are bad,and they are bad for the country... and its vast difference with reality is brilliantly shown and i think is one of the strongest points in the movie....generalization is infact an offence!!
i wont divulge more facts from the plot of the movie..but i must tell u the climax is really hard hitting!!

this movie is really one of its kind..9/10

Director : Tim BurtonExecutive Producer : Francis Ford CoppolaCast : Johnny Depp,Christopher Walken,Cristina RicciPlot :Based on the novel by Washington Irving "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" where constable Ichabod Crane is sent to inspect the horrific and mysterious murders by the Headless Horseman by his rather scientific methods.Review: Horror ! Mystery !! Fantasy !!! Thats what ties Depp and Burton together and now when they get a Washington Irving piece to fantasize upon,they can keep no stones unturned. The movie starts with the backdrop of ancient New York City of 1799(a symbolism between the doorstep of the enigamtic 18th century and the industrially awakened 19th),yes you just have to comprehend it yourself when you are watching a Burton movie!!!And Depp,the constable with a rather scientific bent of mind wants all trials and justice to be meted out after a thorough investigation.And blessed he is(or cursed),cause he is sent to the Sleepy Hollow to exercise his scientific methods where even pontific exercises have failed. I shall not talk about the story anymore and spoil the treat for a numerous others.I shall not say how the constable watched death and felt the chasis of hell below his heels,I wont say how the magic spells cast me into a trance and transformed my being into the valleys of Sleepy Hollow. I shall talk about the performers.The brilliant look of darkness on the eyes of Depp.Ohh how well he portrays the weakness of the living versus the undead,yet the valor to strike the same.He is a phenomenon once again.The narrative flashbacks,without any dialogues were the strongest part of the movie where Lisa Marie and the young mysterious child -Depp's imaginative childhood was shown with the highest detail of fantasy possible.The production is gorgeous in every way; the cinematography is hauntingly beautiful, the set design is incredible and the way Burton uses the landscape to match his story is awe-inspiring. And this is how Sleepy Hollow works....in the darkest part of our cerebrum..in the sleepy imaginative figments of our own quest for the past...what if the tides of time swing back someday??What if graves are unearthed??What if Tim Burton's muse was real??? We shall turn back to Johnny Depp. AMEN !!! My Rating: 8/10

Director : Orson Welles
Cast : Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead

The Official Tagline of the movie is 'From the Man who Made "The Best Picture of 1941" '.Mentioning Not only of that year's , but considered as one of the best movies ever - Citizen Kane. After this classic, Welles made a movie based on the family values and human relationships of that era. 'The Magnificent Ambersons' is not only about the magnificence of the Ambersons but also the deterioration of their values and relationships. The story is very simple but handled with complexity such that sometimes it tends to shy away from the basic story. My problem with the movie is that it tends to be technically brilliant, great camerawork, great editing, great sets, even great acting, but the heart and soul of a movie - The story is given secondary treatment IMO. Orson Welles who is not only the director but also the narrator of the movie lacked in that aspect. Thus, you do not feel for the characters of the movie, you don't get involved in their emotional turbulence, you just are restricted to praising it's sets, camerawork, costumes and acting. Also, it might be boring for some viewers and may be considered as a substitute for sleeping pills.

Acting is a strong aspect of the movie, right from Orson Welles's best friend Joseph Cotten, to a very bright Tim Holt. From a hyper Agnes Moorehead to a restrained and graceful Dolores Costello. I would suggest this movie for viewers who view cinema as an art or who love the different aspects of film-making. But for an average movie-lover, staying away would be the option.

Rating : 6/10