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Reviews
Raajneeti (2010)
Such A Waste Of Time...And A Brilliant Starcast
Mr. Prakash Jha...If you're reading this then I am so very disappointed in you. After Gangajal & Apharan I expected something power packed & beautifully scripted from you.
What I get is not even worth horse s***. Whoever said Arjun Rampal & Kaatrina Kaif can act? Why did Naseer disappear. Was Nana Patekar Krishna & Ajay Devgan Karan. Very twisted version of the Mahabharata man. Makes no sense. Yet I forgive you for that.
You ripped off Godfather. Leave that movie alone. That was Coppola's magnum opus. What is with you Indian Directors? Make something original. Stop disgracing yourselves and please stop using these demented firang actors or Indian confused firangs in movies about the heart & soul of Indian Politics.
Next time please add some sense into your script.
LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (2010)
Completely LSD...
It is easy to review a movie; they say. In many ways it is. We go for movies, we feel inspired, awed, touched, redeemed etc. Our plethora of the abstract is bolstered by the very existence of the notion that beyond our daily weariness there is a world of cinema, where people make movies and we can be entertained.
Then there are those who are part of the 'Divulge' process. This would only happen if you have every attempted to catch something on camera; not accidentally but intentionally. Staged it; you framed it, cut it & displayed it. We so called Movie Buffs love criticizing the effort and all that the Film Maker wasn't able to accomplish in comparison to the IMDb Top Ranked Movies.
I once had an interview at RGV factory to work as an unpaid intern; which I had to decline due to academics. Then, I remember boasting to my interviewer of my ability to take a scene and give him at least seven different ways of shooting it. We all are self made maestros in some way or the other. Movies being something we relate to, we are sure we could've done a better job.
Today I saw a movie called Love, Sex & Dhoka. Today I do not need to talk about Tarantino, Kubrick or Goddard. Today, I want to talk about Dibakar Banerjee. A director who has taken Indian movies to a pedestal where neither European Maestros, Spanish Cinematographers, Iranian Script Writers or British Actors could go.
He nailed his script with Khosla ka Ghosla. He nailed his screenplay in Oye Lucky Oye. Now he nails his content with LSD. The movie is cinema at its best. It tells us that we do not need exploding cars or flaming superstars to make good movies. We need brilliant performances; and this movie has the best I have seen.
I was almost in tears in the start, I laughed at every joke of the movie, the thrills were superlative, the dialogues were a level above Pulp Fiction, the flow was gripping and the movie is without doubt the best movie I have seen in a long time. It is bold as Da Vinci, dark as a Grimm Fable, as real as the summer sun and as detailed as a Wordsworth poem about majestic beats worked upon in the workshops of the abyss.
Many would question my perspective on the movie but those who know me well would have guessed by now I do not want to reveal anything. But I ask you to go watch it; see what goes into a movie when all you have is the will to entertain, inspire, awe, bevel the audience with humour, strike the emotions with subtle romance and most of all give us a glimpse of film making that would certainly go down in history as a continuation of the legacy that compounds all the talent, previously baptized as Ray, Kurusawa, Kubrick and at least for this movie – this moment Dibakar Banerjee.
My rating 4.5 stars out of 5.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Excellent Execution...Beautiful Sound
I read about how some people loved the movie and how some hated it. For those who didn't like it, well it is a movie. It is an effort to replicate the happenings of a long time ago when neither of us was around. Luckily, we do have a few directors who try to get real at such things – they try; some succeed, some make a fool of themselves and some go beyond what the people of then could understand and depict a story they feel is true, complete and powerful enough to support reason.
SPR is a beautiful movie. Yes, it does get a little slow and I did feel that Steven did try forcing out emotions a little in some scenes but that's me – I hate any person who portrays army generals or commanders- I can never understand why do they have to be the wisest of the lot. I'd prefer a more humane leader – some who'd be conflicted, guilty and in the spur of the moment resolve to send in a team, maybe of expendable soldiers to bring out a last son.
So leaving the movie aside, I'd comment on the technicalities. Sound – brilliant. I was way too small when this movie hit the theatres so I saw it at home on my Philips Dolby Surround and it hit me boom, bang & centre. It was piercing, jarring, ambient and well placed. As for the music, John Williams could've done better – it sounded very expected war hero symphony – So far I've not quite found a soundtrack that could outmatch James Horner in Apocalypto; if you find one
let me know.
Cinematography is beautiful. I've not seen a movie look like this. Very well set up and the reduced tones help bring out the sunlight and the serenity. You can see destruction and beauty side by side. The color disappears when it rain, appears in the mornings, the nights are darker so that distant firing can be made out. In all it was very well taught of.
Direction, well I am not going to criticize the man who made Schindler's and Jaws. Steven is the God of film making and he knows it. He has shown it. He moves with the camera, talks through his actors and is super fast at execution – you can feel the spontaneous takes in every scene. Still far from being Kubrick but I doubt there'd be anyone greater.
P.S: Please do not make another Indiana Jones movie. You totally are spoiling what you've earned you know. That goes from me, Stan, Kyle & Eric.
My vote for SPR – 8 / 10.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
A Glorious Film - Thank You Mr. Quentin Tarantino
Last week I wrote about What's Your Raashee?; you didn't like it. Well, to each one his own. But this time, I ask you. Get out from your house; go to the nearest theatre and watch a movie called 'Inglorious Basterds' To start with describing Quentin Tarantino's previous work would sound really stupid. So, in case you do not know who he his – please don't read any further. Delete yourself from my friends list and go drown yourself. Continuing on the movie, it starts not with a bang but with a twenty minute dialogue scene. "Boring" is what you'd think. But well, I couldn't let go off my seat till it was done. The sub plots all come together, the cinematography, the action and the music is out of this world. However the movie has a lot less music as compared to Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill but the lines and the games and the sarcasm and the setting – it's all so beautiful. Just last week I was telling a friend of mine why Sarkar is a futile attempt when it comes to depicting the evil in a man. I told her that evil isn't guilty, it isn't hidden. It is bold, outright, radiant and full of power. Evil comes with authority, it commands the fear in another person and brings out weaker side on the table. It will then slice you, break you and devour your thought – all this without the simplest clue, want, desire or notion of causing you any harm. Evil is accidentally dangerous. And that is what QT has depicted in this movie through the brilliance in an actor called Christoph Waltz (Col. Hans Landa) Brad Pitt is at his best; the closest we come to seeing that age old Texas roughneck that has supported Tarantino scripts since Reservoir Dogs which was remade in India as Kaante. He is strong, determined and spits out hatred through hilarious dialogues. Eli Roth, Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent are very strong supporting actors. The camera work is excellent, the thrills are outer-worldly and the script is the best part of this goodie game. It has a beautiful, spine chilling climax. It has a strange love twist, a strange character twist and an excellent basement rendezvous scene which I think is the best turn in the movie. I gave it a 9 / 10 on IMDb. If you loved Reservoir Dogs, If you loved Pulp Fiction and if you Loved Kill Bill
this film will not disappoint. It's the last good film for this year at least, till Lovely Bones. Do not miss this masterpiece.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
What a Half Brained Director
I walked into the theatre thinking, "Well, I've read the book. But let's keep that aside. I mean the movie has to be crisp." I didn't expect it to be lifeless, colorless, stupid & idiotic. Let me describe my experience
maybe that way we'll b on the same note.
The movie started; slow. I thought there'd be a buildup. Then there were a few scenes that were deleted in the start. Then cut – Horace Slughorn. Yeah, I forgot to mention the beautifully decked death eaters who got like five minutes in this three hour long movie.
Hogwarts seemed like some public school from the backyards of Bombay – no life at all. I didn't see any magic in the movie and don't even get me started on how they've wasted the performances.
Snape? I mean, how can you waste an actor like Alan Rickman? They portrayed DD as some dumb old oaf (The inferuis scene was all visuals and no emotion) – I prefer the mines of Moria and the fires within. Daniel Radcliffe was wasted; Emma looks really beautiful and could've been used better. Rupert was playing his part. Ginny
well I thought she is dating Harry and not kissing her kid brother "Sweet dreams." There are a few good things such as Helena Bonham Carter (Oh my god !) She simply is super excellent. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes is fun. Sets are good and the cinematography is technically good, but we've seen a lot of it in LOTR and it didn't quite fit the movie. The camera work is pathethic.
And I must mention the editing: it's what a kindergarten kid would do. It's all scene – visual – music - cut. No linger, no fade and David Yates
haven't you heard of the word montage? Terrible Direction ! Please don't watch this insult to Harry Potter and let it live in the books. And allow the fools who have no clue about the story go and awe at the big fire and dead people in big cave and give this movie a high rating. For me I'm giving it a 1 / 10. I wish there were more Peter Jacksons in the world.
Rambo (2008)
A Total Disappointment !
I am a die hard Rambo fan and am so totally disappointed after watching this film. What was the director thinking? There was hardly any effort. New age Cinematography spoiled Action Classic look of the previous movies. There was no need for the mercenaries. Burma was a waste and the movie was terrible.
Sly was still good: cold and strong. But somehow he was a sidekick in the movie. Why was that female crying i still can't understand and Why did that Brit mercenary hate his job so much.
Whole lot of cribbing and skinny Burma soldiers made to look mean and tough which would make any Rambo fan laugh considering the baddies in Afghan and Vietnam.
I would advice any Rambo fan to stick with the first 3 parts and let this one be !
Rock On!! (2008)
Live your dream!
If you loved Dil Chahta Hain, there's no way you'd not like 'Rock ON'. I have just returned from a small screening of the movie last night and it was 'Fantabulous'. I had been waiting for it since long and the wait was worth it. If you think that the movie is all about Rock and being cool, its not. It's about desiring something and breaking all the rules to get there.
I don't want to speak out the story here as it is among the best written screenplays I have seen in any movie so far be it Indian Cinema or Hollywood. The flashbacks and the montages and the cuts were brilliantly placed. There are a few things that I'd specifically ask you to watch out for. First is Jason West's cinematography; absolutely commendable. Then there is the music and sound design which is powerful yet sweet and the star attribute of the movie the performances. They are flawless, Farhan is good, Prachi is amazing, Suhana is complete and Arjun Rampal has delivered the best performance of his life (watch out for the climax).
The live performances in the movie were well done, Magic could have been more aggressive but they had good presence. 'Shair n Func', came and went and their song was pretty catchy. Chakravhyu was super sexy
and sheer evil and none the least RADIO were rocking as usual with 'Musafir' beautiful song that one.
In the end Rock On is a really sweet movie and a must watch for the people, both young and old, who dare to dream and are willing to walk that road in order to achieve it. I absolutely loved the movie and am definitely going for it again. Indian Rock Bands rule!!!!!!!
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008)
Something fresh at last
We needed something fresh. The movie was brilliant although it lacked a plot, but the screenplay keeps you glued. I don't think I'll like it so much if I'm watching it at home; watch it with a lot of friends. Genelia absolutely rocks and so does Imran. The music is beautiful and so are the characters. I didn't like the cinematography though, the light is dim at the airport scene, and the colors fade out at places and the sets standard. I like the dialogues and the lines in the movie. Come to think of it, the movie wasn't bad at all. Do watch it or you'll miss out on something if not good cinema. And yes of course how can I forget to talk about Naseer and Ratna, they are brilliant in the movie. Paresh Rawal is his excellent self and Sohail and Arbaaz are not bad at all. The newcomers Nirav Mehta and those other girls and guys are really good. I did like the way they conversed and the way their lines were edited. All in all it's a complete entertainer.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Welly, welly, bloddy darn good movie Brother !!!
I've wanted to watch this one for a long time now, especially after all the reviews i heard from my fellow friends from the film school. Kubrick's work has always been unquestionable but this one stands out from the rest in the most classic, unique and artistic manner. The first scene of this movie introduces you to the director's vision and the accent is very catchy. Malcolm McDowell is Alex for all that he does in the movie. The music blends in fantastically and the lighting is something I can go on and on about. A very noticeable attribute for this movie would be that every scene is divided - more of different short stories but connected to one character which links them all. The jail house scene is my favorite. As writers one would tend to overlook small details which have been taken care of here as the jailer describes all of Alex's belongings. Procedural scripting and amazing lights is what makes the movie. The performances are out of this world and the rape scenes turn you on. I don't think i've seen a movie so complete before.
Apocalypto (2006)
Master Film Maker - Gibson
Too long had i waited for this movie to release in India. And every frame,every second of the movie was just grasping. I don't remember a dull moment in the movie. And YES it is gory and violent. But in the end it's Gibson's style of portraying reality. His allegory has been successful in many ways. Firstly the sets are outstanding, the line, although few, are hard hitting, the performances are out of this world and the action is fantastic. It did receive negative reviews from many viewers who did not quite understand it, especially the one's who found 'baby' movies like Troy violent. The first half of the movie is really nice, you are submissive to the charms of the Mayans and their way of life. I felt part of the Mesoamerican world and you sympathize with every person killed. The second half just takes you to newer heights and makes you grab your seat tight. I can go on n on n on about this movie. But i'd just like to say that this is a brilliant movie and a fresh format of film-making. It's inventive camera-work and experimental screenplay just makes you long for more. I do believe this movie deserves a 8.5/10 at least. And although it is violent....it's a must watch.