The problem with movie watching these days is not about the quality of the movie or getting tickets. It's about going in already biased, with an opinion about the film. An opinion that comes from what your favourite reviewers are saying. An opinion based on Twitter feeds. Based on Facebook reviews and status messages.
Let's face it, you already know you are going to either hate the movie and post snarky tweets about it or you are going to find it über cool and talk about how it references twenty three Hollywood films no one's heard of before.
Look at Raavan. No, I do mean it. Watch the movie, for crying out loud. Then call it Mani Ratnam's Aag if you must. If you have watched Aag, of course.
Not that I believe the movie is great. I saw the Tamil version and found it quite boring. Aishwarya Rai looked as delicate as ever, jumping over waterfalls notwithstanding. I found the Karthik - Hanuman angle tiresome and forced. I also thought the songs were the worst ever from the Mani Ratnam - AR Rahman combination. On the other hand though, the cinematography is brilliant, Vikram continues to impress and the climactic fight on the bridge is one of the best action sequences I've ever seen in an Indian movie.
Do I recommend it? Not really. But I did walk in thinking the movie was going to totally suck, based on all that I had read online. I'm glad I realized I was being biased. My point of view may be idiotic, but at least it's my own. So there.
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 14, 2008
Couple of movies, couple of books
Don't get me wrong, I thought Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Hey-nonny-no was watchable. I did laugh at times, especially when Ratna Pathak Shah was around. The cameos were well done and some of the one-liners had zing. That said, I found the gang of friends quite insipid. Everyone in that group save Jai (Imran Khan) was one dimensional. I couldn't really figure out what made the group tick. Why was Aditi popular? What do the others do apart from hanging around the leads and singing chorus? Hmm. Pass, could do better is my verdict, Mr Tyrewala*.
Aamir, now. The movie, not the director/actor/producer/blogger. A bit fantastic, the way the protagonist gets into terrible trouble a few minutes into the film. However, the excellent direction, sets and acting make up for some of the harder to digest moments. The lead actor, Rajeev Khandelwal, seems to have had a blast.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Christian reading two books, each of which have the word 'God' in their titles, must be very devout and will pull you into church and get you baptised at the drop of a hat. Even if the books were titled In Spite of the Gods and The God Delusion. No one is safe.
*Which reminds me, I need to go to the gym.
Aamir, now. The movie, not the director/actor/producer/blogger. A bit fantastic, the way the protagonist gets into terrible trouble a few minutes into the film. However, the excellent direction, sets and acting make up for some of the harder to digest moments. The lead actor, Rajeev Khandelwal, seems to have had a blast.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Christian reading two books, each of which have the word 'God' in their titles, must be very devout and will pull you into church and get you baptised at the drop of a hat. Even if the books were titled In Spite of the Gods and The God Delusion. No one is safe.
*Which reminds me, I need to go to the gym.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Taare Zameen Par
To quote Anton Ego, the food critic from Ratatouille:
Last night I too experienced something new and extraordinary, something magical, something heartfelt, moving and brilliant. A movie called Taare Zameen Par, from a new director named Aamir Khan. I confess I didn't have very high expectations from the film and was prepared for a three handkerchief tear-jerker. Tear-jerker it definitely is, but in the most natural way. The acting is excellent, the music spot on, the screenplay taut and the direction top-notch.
My daughter probably identified herself with the child protagonist and was upset initially, she wanted to leave during the first half. Later on she watched, enthralled, while her parents did their darndest not to cry. As we sat through the end credits, she kept saying she wanted to watch it again. I looked around and saw the theater half empty, the ushers trying to move everyone out before the next show. All the people who stayed back though, had kids on their arms and a look of wonder in their eyes.
Thank you, Aamir.
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so....The world is often unkind to new talents — new creations. The new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source...
Last night I too experienced something new and extraordinary, something magical, something heartfelt, moving and brilliant. A movie called Taare Zameen Par, from a new director named Aamir Khan. I confess I didn't have very high expectations from the film and was prepared for a three handkerchief tear-jerker. Tear-jerker it definitely is, but in the most natural way. The acting is excellent, the music spot on, the screenplay taut and the direction top-notch.
My daughter probably identified herself with the child protagonist and was upset initially, she wanted to leave during the first half. Later on she watched, enthralled, while her parents did their darndest not to cry. As we sat through the end credits, she kept saying she wanted to watch it again. I looked around and saw the theater half empty, the ushers trying to move everyone out before the next show. All the people who stayed back though, had kids on their arms and a look of wonder in their eyes.
Thank you, Aamir.
Friday, December 21, 2007
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
From Roger Ebert's review:
I don't always agree with Ebert's likes and dislikes, but there are very few reviewers around who can write like him. Trust me, I've checked.
This is a Mouth Agape Movie, during which your mouth hangs open in astonishment at one preposterous event after another. This movie's plot doesn't play tennis without a net, but also without a ball and a racket. It spins in its own blowback. And, no, I don't know what that means, but this is the kind of movie that makes you think of writing it.
I don't always agree with Ebert's likes and dislikes, but there are very few reviewers around who can write like him. Trust me, I've checked.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is the quintessential guy movie. I had a great time watching it and would strongly recommend it to any male, especially those in my age group. The jokes are brilliant, the male bonding stuff is so real, so cool, it makes you want to call your closest buddies and head over to the nearest pub.
If you are a wife/girlfriend/significant other, you might want to give this a miss. Seriously.
If you are a wife/girlfriend/significant other, you might want to give this a miss. Seriously.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Two movies - spoiler warning!
Varalaru - stars Ajith, Ajith and Ajith in a complicated saga of emotions, drama and dance. The story goes like this - Ajith is a classical dancer, whose wife-to-be walks out on their wedding date as she finds him effeminate. His mother dies of a heart attack while watching this, so he does the obvious thing: he rapes the girl and proves his manhood.
Girl walks away with tearful mom, delivers two baby boys, Ajith and Ajith. Ajith the father takes one of them, not knowing the existence of the other. He wants to ensure his son grows up normally, and does the obvious thing again: he pretends to be paralysed and spends the rest of his life in a wheel-chair.
Meanwhile, the other Ajith grows up to become a lunatic, hell bent on killing his father. En route, he rapes a woman, attempts to kill a man and generally makes an ass of himself. The third Ajith - ah, forget it. You really don't want to know.
A must watch, of course.
Next up was The Holiday, a heart-wearming tale of two women (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) who, having been treated un-heart-warmingly by their lovers, decide to exchange homes and find their hearts warmed by Jude Law and Jack Black respectively. Quite heart-warming, really. Especially Kate Winslet in a slinky black dress.
Girl walks away with tearful mom, delivers two baby boys, Ajith and Ajith. Ajith the father takes one of them, not knowing the existence of the other. He wants to ensure his son grows up normally, and does the obvious thing again: he pretends to be paralysed and spends the rest of his life in a wheel-chair.
Meanwhile, the other Ajith grows up to become a lunatic, hell bent on killing his father. En route, he rapes a woman, attempts to kill a man and generally makes an ass of himself. The third Ajith - ah, forget it. You really don't want to know.
A must watch, of course.
Next up was The Holiday, a heart-wearming tale of two women (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) who, having been treated un-heart-warmingly by their lovers, decide to exchange homes and find their hearts warmed by Jude Law and Jack Black respectively. Quite heart-warming, really. Especially Kate Winslet in a slinky black dress.
Monday, August 7, 2006
Omkara
Absolutelifabulous! I was totally blown away by the film, left the theater wanting to watch it again. And again, perhaps.
Almost everything about the movie is perfect - the direction, acting, music, cinematography, screenplay, dialogues and Bipasha Basu. The only let down, sorry to say, is Ajay Devgan. He puts in his usual restrained and understated performance, which makes you want to give him a kick and ask him to make a frigging statement at least once, for crying out loud! Although Kaliyattam and Omkara are both brilliant movies that stand alone in their own right, one can't help but feel Suresh Gopi's performance was way better than Devgan's. It won him a national award, too.
Enough has been said and written about Saif Ali Khan as Langda Iago Tyagi. Yes, it's true, boys and girls. He is fantastic in the movie, and not just because he (and Konkona) get the best lines.
Last, there is a very obvious John Ford / Sergio Leone influence right through the movie. The whole look and feel is that of a western, from the opening frame to the final cut, when the bodies keep piling up.
Yup, loved it.
Almost everything about the movie is perfect - the direction, acting, music, cinematography, screenplay, dialogues and Bipasha Basu. The only let down, sorry to say, is Ajay Devgan. He puts in his usual restrained and understated performance, which makes you want to give him a kick and ask him to make a frigging statement at least once, for crying out loud! Although Kaliyattam and Omkara are both brilliant movies that stand alone in their own right, one can't help but feel Suresh Gopi's performance was way better than Devgan's. It won him a national award, too.
Enough has been said and written about Saif Ali Khan as Langda Iago Tyagi. Yes, it's true, boys and girls. He is fantastic in the movie, and not just because he (and Konkona) get the best lines.
Last, there is a very obvious John Ford / Sergio Leone influence right through the movie. The whole look and feel is that of a western, from the opening frame to the final cut, when the bodies keep piling up.
Yup, loved it.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Krrish
Ok, the visual effects weren't too bad. If you avoided looking for the original movies they were internalized from, that is. And Hrithik isn't half bad, either.
That said...
Rekha plays a granny who nourishes kid Krishna by feeding him BOURNVITA every day. She dutifuly cleans his clothes with TIDE, thus making sure he can wear dresses from SIYARAM. She is flabbergasted to know the boy is a genius. She learns this by eavesdropping on an IQ test conducted by five learned people at Krishna's school.
Learned Person: "What is Amount?"
Krishna, the boy genius: "Principal plus Interest is Amount"
Devastated by this astonishing display of brilliance, one strand of hair on Rekha's head turns gray.
Cut to scene of a horse called Toofan, running like the wind. Cut to the shoes on Krishna's feet. Cut to rippling muscles, to long wavy hair, to Hrithik horsing around. Ta-da! The boy genius has turned into a combination of Johnny Weismuller and Chow Yun Fat.
A Tarzan-meets-Jane interlude later, our hero rushes off to Singapore to sing a few songs and model for the Singapore Tourism industry and STAR TV. A few kids are caught in a circus fire, our intrepid hero rushes to the rescue wearing a cast-off trenchcoat from Neo and a half bitten mask from Catwoman. Ta-da! He is now Krrish, the darrling of the masses.
Unbeknownst to Krrish, enter a scheming villain called Dr Arya (Naseeruddin Shah), who is out to create a super-computer that combines the powers of astronomy, astrology and Google Earth to predict the future. You predict the future by placing your hand on a glass table and moving a few fancy graphical images around. You know it's your future because you can see yourself in a big screen in front of you. You can also see your wife, your mother, your newly born son and if needed, you can see your killer as well. Naseer fails to realize that the future is irreversible and tries to kill Krrish, thus indicating that despite being a super genius, he's never watched a single Hindi movie in his life.
Grranny meets her son, her son meets his son, his son marries the love of his life and Preity Zinta has the last laugh.
Highly rrecommended, especially if you wanted to catch the Arrgentina - Mexico match and was wondering how to stay up late.
That said...
Rekha plays a granny who nourishes kid Krishna by feeding him BOURNVITA every day. She dutifuly cleans his clothes with TIDE, thus making sure he can wear dresses from SIYARAM. She is flabbergasted to know the boy is a genius. She learns this by eavesdropping on an IQ test conducted by five learned people at Krishna's school.
Learned Person: "What is Amount?"
Krishna, the boy genius: "Principal plus Interest is Amount"
Devastated by this astonishing display of brilliance, one strand of hair on Rekha's head turns gray.
Cut to scene of a horse called Toofan, running like the wind. Cut to the shoes on Krishna's feet. Cut to rippling muscles, to long wavy hair, to Hrithik horsing around. Ta-da! The boy genius has turned into a combination of Johnny Weismuller and Chow Yun Fat.
A Tarzan-meets-Jane interlude later, our hero rushes off to Singapore to sing a few songs and model for the Singapore Tourism industry and STAR TV. A few kids are caught in a circus fire, our intrepid hero rushes to the rescue wearing a cast-off trenchcoat from Neo and a half bitten mask from Catwoman. Ta-da! He is now Krrish, the darrling of the masses.
Unbeknownst to Krrish, enter a scheming villain called Dr Arya (Naseeruddin Shah), who is out to create a super-computer that combines the powers of astronomy, astrology and Google Earth to predict the future. You predict the future by placing your hand on a glass table and moving a few fancy graphical images around. You know it's your future because you can see yourself in a big screen in front of you. You can also see your wife, your mother, your newly born son and if needed, you can see your killer as well. Naseer fails to realize that the future is irreversible and tries to kill Krrish, thus indicating that despite being a super genius, he's never watched a single Hindi movie in his life.
Grranny meets her son, her son meets his son, his son marries the love of his life and Preity Zinta has the last laugh.
Highly rrecommended, especially if you wanted to catch the Arrgentina - Mexico match and was wondering how to stay up late.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
Thoughts:
Heh heh heh. Now to see Wolverine kick the shit out of those guys (Current Mood: excited)
Ooooh. So that's what she looks like without the blue paste (Current Mood: impressed)
What the hell! He dies? (Current Mood: confused)
Ha ha ha! The Golden Gate bridge! Ha ha ha! (Current Mood: enthralled)
Jean Grey. Oh my god, Jean Grey! (Current Mood: awed)
Was good fun, really. Story wise, the first two were better of course. And hey, please sit through the entire movie, right through the credits. The FULL credits.
Heh heh heh. Now to see Wolverine kick the shit out of those guys (Current Mood: excited)
Ooooh. So that's what she looks like without the blue paste (Current Mood: impressed)
What the hell! He dies? (Current Mood: confused)
Ha ha ha! The Golden Gate bridge! Ha ha ha! (Current Mood: enthralled)
Jean Grey. Oh my god, Jean Grey! (Current Mood: awed)
***
Was good fun, really. Story wise, the first two were better of course. And hey, please sit through the entire movie, right through the credits. The FULL credits.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Where Eagles Dare
Watched Where Eagles Dare again today, after almost twenty five years. All I remember of the first time I saw it was ole Clint running from pillar to post, fixing bombs and killing people. Fair enough, the lasting image I have of the movie after watching it today is pretty much the same. Clint kills more people in this movie than in all his spaghetti westerns put together, or so I'm told.
The plot is hilarious. Our heroes parachute into a Nazi fortress ostensibly to rescue a British General. The real reason however, is to get names of all the secret agents in Britain. From whom? From three German double agents who were in England to begin with. Did the good guys know about them? Of course they did. Then why go all the way to Germany to get these names from them? Ah. Ask Alistair McLean
Cracking good fare though.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Softy, I Scream!
I think I am becoming soft in my old age. I've liked all the three movies I've seen on screen recently - Rajamanikyam, King Kong and now Rang De Basanti.
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Hey!
Don't waste time reading this. Head over to the nearest cinema hall and watch King Kong, if you haven't already. This is what movies are all about, this is why I love watching them. Film-making at its best.
Monday, January 2, 2006
Disappointed in the New Year
The Manticore's Secret, Samit Basu's sequel to The Simoqin Prophecies, sucks. Meandering plot, too many characters and too many Pratchett plot devices. The first book had a large dose of Pratchett too, but at least the plot was well-knit and the humour shone right through.
Not a good start to 2006.
Not a good start to 2006.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Chocolate
Chocolate is a riot. The movie, I mean. An exercise in how not to remake good Hollywood movies. Also an exercise in how not to slip in scenes from other good Hollywood movies.
Picture this. You have Anil Kapoor and Sushma Reddy walk in to a bookstore. Sushma picks up a book and starts reading from the end. Kapoor asks her why. She goes, "Oh, if I die then I will know how the book turned out". Ha ha ha. Very original.
Stepping out of the store, Anil asks Sushma about her new boyfriend. She says his name is Balakrishnan. Anil says "No, no. That doesn't fit. Balakrishnan can do accounts, he can be the family doctor, but he cannot be your boyfriend". That marks the end of the When Harry Met Sally clips.
Here's another: Anil goes to the vamp Tanushree Dutta's house. He spots old newspaper cuttings of himself and comments on it. She says she needs to change her dress. He eyes her through a semi-opaque glass screen, as she slips into the tiniest of mini-skirts. They go to his office, where she crosses her legs. Anil's eyes pop out. No, she doesn't do a complete Sharon Stone, but the film maker would have us believe she could.
The ending makes you wonder whether the director really understood what The Usual Suspects was all about. Murtuza Arzai my gluteus maximus.
Picture this. You have Anil Kapoor and Sushma Reddy walk in to a bookstore. Sushma picks up a book and starts reading from the end. Kapoor asks her why. She goes, "Oh, if I die then I will know how the book turned out". Ha ha ha. Very original.
Stepping out of the store, Anil asks Sushma about her new boyfriend. She says his name is Balakrishnan. Anil says "No, no. That doesn't fit. Balakrishnan can do accounts, he can be the family doctor, but he cannot be your boyfriend". That marks the end of the When Harry Met Sally clips.
Here's another: Anil goes to the vamp Tanushree Dutta's house. He spots old newspaper cuttings of himself and comments on it. She says she needs to change her dress. He eyes her through a semi-opaque glass screen, as she slips into the tiniest of mini-skirts. They go to his office, where she crosses her legs. Anil's eyes pop out. No, she doesn't do a complete Sharon Stone, but the film maker would have us believe she could.
The ending makes you wonder whether the director really understood what The Usual Suspects was all about. Murtuza Arzai my gluteus maximus.
Friday, August 19, 2005
The 40 year old virgin
Hey, the film was not bad at all. Yeah, it's got its share of in-your-face grossness and juvenile jokes, but those are few and far between. The film really works. And no, it's not one of those Carry On series kind of movies either.
But don't watch it if you hated films like There's Something About Mary and American Pie.
But don't watch it if you hated films like There's Something About Mary and American Pie.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
The weekend that was
Revenge of the Sith had the corniest dialogue you can imagine. If you can sit through that and somehow remain awake for the first 100 minutes, then you'll enjoy some of the snazziest action ever seen on screen. Starting with Obi-Wan doing Greivous harm, moving on to Anakin getting converted to the Dark Side and winding up with the fantastic duel over lava, the last 45 minutes made it all worthwhile. If you are someone who hasn't watched a single Star Wars film, I recommend skipping the first two episodes and walking in halfway into the third.
Thanks to, I'm now completely Friends-Only. Hurrah!
Dinner at Sufi was a complete disaster. For starters, they did not have starters. Or at least, starters you could start with. There was also this wedding party going on at the basement which featured Cacofonix and his crew. He launched into a Carnatic rendition of Staying Alive, which we barely managed. Needless to add, the rain came pouring down as well. The plain rice was, well, plain. The green veggie thingy was absolutely unpalatable. The chicken was just about ok - at least the parts that were not burnt. Maybe we caught them on a bad day.
***
Thanks to
***
Dinner at Sufi was a complete disaster. For starters, they did not have starters. Or at least, starters you could start with. There was also this wedding party going on at the basement which featured Cacofonix and his crew. He launched into a Carnatic rendition of Staying Alive, which we barely managed. Needless to add, the rain came pouring down as well. The plain rice was, well, plain. The green veggie thingy was absolutely unpalatable. The chicken was just about ok - at least the parts that were not burnt. Maybe we caught them on a bad day.
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Life of Pi
So I start reading this book: Booker prize winner, impressive reviews, Indian setting. I'm a hundred pages into it and all he talks about is religion and how this guy Pi loves God in many forms and how he gets a prayer rug and gets baptized and is chased away by Brahmin priests, etc. Where is the tiger that I heard so much about? Where is this boat that goes all the way to Canada?
There are inconsistencies galore. He talks about Kapil Dev and the story is set in 1975 or thereabouts. Kapil didn't make his debut till '78, if I'm not mistaken. He introduces a pious muslim character, one who prays five times a day and reads the Quran regularly. The guy's name? Satish Kumar!
I'll continue reading for a while more, but I'm not impressed. Pshaw!
There are inconsistencies galore. He talks about Kapil Dev and the story is set in 1975 or thereabouts. Kapil didn't make his debut till '78, if I'm not mistaken. He introduces a pious muslim character, one who prays five times a day and reads the Quran regularly. The guy's name? Satish Kumar!
I'll continue reading for a while more, but I'm not impressed. Pshaw!
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
One more for the links list
Ebert's review of Blade: Trinity made me laugh a couple of times. One for the Whistler's mother reference; the other for the 'half as hot as the sun' phrase.
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