Pensieve 2.0

This is going to be a movie review…No…Not a movie review, but a chain of movie reviews.

The reason for several in one shot is simple. I saw all of them in one sitting.
There are 5 movies in all. All are radically different in genre.

• Amelie (French)
• The Shawshank Redemption (After so many years of yearning to watch it)
• Run Lola Run (German)
• Sin City
• Banlieue 13 (French)

Each review will be a different post. I will interleave each with my ongoing story, just to avoid monotony. I will start from the last one.

For those who are fed up with CGI effects-based “pseudo-action” movies, this movie is just for you.

Banlieue 13 is a French action movie which was released in 2004. As the saying goes, leave your mind outside the room/theater if you are watching this movie. There is no story, but the movie is really worth watching; that too, several times.

Banlieue 13 is, in simple words, a ride. Don’t go looking for depth in storyline. But it is loaded with action which is simply stunning.
The stunts of David Belle are a treat for the eyes. Belle’s intro is impressive. It gives a terrific first impression of the movie in the 1st minute itself, as Leito (Belle) leads a mob of gangsters on a chase over, under, beside and through several high rise buildings. I’m not kidding. This guy jumps from building to building, down one floor, through a narrow window and all. The movie features several parkour moves by David Belle. And Belle happens to be the inventor of this extreme sport. The stunts by Cyril Rafaelli, the other hero, is also great. (But not as much a treat to the eyes as David Belle’s)

Here is the youtube video of the opening stunt sequence. (Low quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkNqlSGwI7I

For those who wonder what parkour is, (and haven’t checked wikipedia yet) you have seen it before. Remember the beginning chase scene in Casino Royale? That rubber-bodied guy named Mollaka? How he runs? That’s exactly what parkour is.

The final verdict is: Forget the story, even skip forward to each stunt. Witness some of the coolest stunts you have seen in screen. No wires, No visual effects. That adds to the thrill.