I dont remember the exact dates, when I watched the following movies. Randomly over all the previous days. Most of the days have been spent reading discourses of OSHO so movies took a side track.
Before Sunset: I liked this movie a lot. The whole movie is set up in France where the actor and actress walk on the roads just talking about their previous meeting, future plans, present work. It has a philosophical touch to the conversation. Its a very short and sweet movie. I could connect to the movie very well. A nice and different concept too.
Before Sunrise: It is a prequel to "Before Sunset". I happened to watch this after "Before Sunset". I liked it. It also deals with same two people roaming in Vienna talking about their previous, present and future experiences. It also deals much with philosophical thoughts. Its nice.
Jab we met (Hindi/Indian): The first half of this movie is very funny. Its nice comedy. The second half moves to be a bit slow. Overall its good, can watch it once. The performances of the actors are good.
Fracture: The movie was interesting and thrilling for the first half or a bit more but the climax was not good. It was not so appealing. The initial set up and the carrying of the movie was good.
Gangster (Hindi/Indian): The taking of the movie was good. It had suspense element. I thought it was not a very new concept, usual mafia, gangs related. I felt its OK movie.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
6 Nov, 2007
I slowed down the number of movies I usually watch over the weekends. May be wanted a break. Here are the list of movies, I watched over the past weekend and the one before that.
Wedding crashers (English): It was a good movie. The story was about two guys, who crash weddings so that they can get laid with the women. It was funny. The climax was very good. The guy mentions that he crashed a death too and it all jelled well. I liked it.
Dollar dreams (Telugu/Indian): An excellent movie. I didnt watch it all these days thinking it might be like a documentary but its not. The movie has the needed proportions of comedy, drama, etc everything. I liked it a lot. I could relate to every scene of the movie. I watched it twice. There was a bit of unrealistic element in the form of one character but that was ok with me. Overall its a very good movie. I watched the scenes, I liked, more than twice.
this past weekend, I can say, I dedicated it to Nagesh Kukunoor - Indian film writer, producer and director. I havent watched any of his films till last week because I was assuming they are all art films and I cant bear them but to my utter surprise, I was wrong. The movies were all good, I should say the later were brilliant and I could connect with all of them. I started to admire this guy and his work.
Iqbal (Hindi/Indian): Awesome movie. Its about a deaf and dumb guy aspiring to be a national level cricket player. I didnt feel bored or disconnected atleast a single moment, which I earlier thought I would. The catalyst is the boy having an interest in learning the game. The big event takes place when he is accepted by a cricket coaching academy. The mid point is when the boy is thrown out of academy. The crisis is when the boy doesnt get selected for national level but gets a chance to play for Ranji trophy. The climax is when the boy has to decide if he has to do his best at Ranji or accept the check given by the antagonist and quit the game. The resolution is the boy plays well, gets money from the sponsoring company and thats it. It ends well. The boy realizes his dream. A wonderful movie with a good background score. All the actors did a wonderful job.
Dor (Hindi/Indian): Brilliant movie. Same pre-notion of mine went with this one too but I proved to be wrong again. Its a very authentic, novel story executed in a superb way. Its very simple story. Its all about one woman, going in search of other to save her husband. Nothing artificial, complex, hi-fi, blowing some buildings or mafia or ...etc. Its just subtle human emotions. The characterization of both the women have been done perfectly. Both of them have equal screen space. The comic aspect is provided in the form of the guy who comes to help the protagonist. I was moved. Its a brave attempt at a different concept and it was done greatly.
Hyderabad Blues (Telugu/Indian): Its a time pass flick. Its more of a comedy type film. Its about a guy who comes from USA after 12 years and who cannot accept all the previous aspects of the culture. He finds his own way of taking the good from both the cultures. Its funny.
thats it for now...
-Shiva
Wedding crashers (English): It was a good movie. The story was about two guys, who crash weddings so that they can get laid with the women. It was funny. The climax was very good. The guy mentions that he crashed a death too and it all jelled well. I liked it.
Dollar dreams (Telugu/Indian): An excellent movie. I didnt watch it all these days thinking it might be like a documentary but its not. The movie has the needed proportions of comedy, drama, etc everything. I liked it a lot. I could relate to every scene of the movie. I watched it twice. There was a bit of unrealistic element in the form of one character but that was ok with me. Overall its a very good movie. I watched the scenes, I liked, more than twice.
this past weekend, I can say, I dedicated it to Nagesh Kukunoor - Indian film writer, producer and director. I havent watched any of his films till last week because I was assuming they are all art films and I cant bear them but to my utter surprise, I was wrong. The movies were all good, I should say the later were brilliant and I could connect with all of them. I started to admire this guy and his work.
Iqbal (Hindi/Indian): Awesome movie. Its about a deaf and dumb guy aspiring to be a national level cricket player. I didnt feel bored or disconnected atleast a single moment, which I earlier thought I would. The catalyst is the boy having an interest in learning the game. The big event takes place when he is accepted by a cricket coaching academy. The mid point is when the boy is thrown out of academy. The crisis is when the boy doesnt get selected for national level but gets a chance to play for Ranji trophy. The climax is when the boy has to decide if he has to do his best at Ranji or accept the check given by the antagonist and quit the game. The resolution is the boy plays well, gets money from the sponsoring company and thats it. It ends well. The boy realizes his dream. A wonderful movie with a good background score. All the actors did a wonderful job.
Dor (Hindi/Indian): Brilliant movie. Same pre-notion of mine went with this one too but I proved to be wrong again. Its a very authentic, novel story executed in a superb way. Its very simple story. Its all about one woman, going in search of other to save her husband. Nothing artificial, complex, hi-fi, blowing some buildings or mafia or ...etc. Its just subtle human emotions. The characterization of both the women have been done perfectly. Both of them have equal screen space. The comic aspect is provided in the form of the guy who comes to help the protagonist. I was moved. Its a brave attempt at a different concept and it was done greatly.
Hyderabad Blues (Telugu/Indian): Its a time pass flick. Its more of a comedy type film. Its about a guy who comes from USA after 12 years and who cannot accept all the previous aspects of the culture. He finds his own way of taking the good from both the cultures. Its funny.
thats it for now...
-Shiva
Monday, October 15, 2007
Oct 15, 2007
I didnt update the blog last week (was lazy) but I watched many movies last weekend (oct 6,7). I dont even remember all the titles. Here is the list of the ones for this weekend.
Memento(English): Watching it for 2nd time. A good movie. Brilliant screenplay. Nice sub-plot. It depicts a novel way of capturing an ordinary story.
3:10 to Yuma (English): OK. The climax scene was moving. Other than that the remaining part was ok. I felt it was not a great movie because the weakness in story. The story is all about moving a thief from one village to the nearby train station. The protagonist agrees to do it for some amount.
Death Proof (English): The photography was different. Though it is made in latest times, it looks as if its a period movie. Some of the dialogues are interesting as in all Tarantino's movies. The camera work for the accident was excellent. Its a kinda simple movie about a psycho killer. Its a time pass movie for me.
Chirutha (Telugu/Indian): Routine, cliche movie. The director's(Puri) affect is seen only in later half that too in some scenes. It lacks a story. Couldnt bear the action of the heroine. She overacted almost all scenes. Not recommended.
From dusk till dawn (English): The first half was ok. I didnt like the later part where its all about vampires. Except a couple of scenes, the movie was not good.
Sliver (English): It was ok. Not a good story. I felt the ending was incomplete. The movie has nothing except the romantic scenes.
Happy Days (Telugu/Indian): A good one. The movie is not an idealistic/realistic one but its purely entertaining. All the minute elements were arranged in such a way that overall the movie flows of like a cool breeze. The songs were an asset. I liked the "Rajesh" character so much. I burst out laughing at every dialogue of his. I kinda associated to people in real world. Other characters were too etched nicely. As the movie had 4 pairs, the screen space was arranged nicely and aptly. One pair is general youthful affair. The tyson's one was innocent and pure. Rajesh's was comic and Shankar's had very les space but selfish type. The elements which made me think its not an idealistic movie are the magics done by Tyson, principal being good, friendly and wise (I havent seen one in India like that so far, whereever I studied) and some minor things here and there. Other than that the movie entertains you to the fullest if you are from one of the similar colleges.
Memento(English): Watching it for 2nd time. A good movie. Brilliant screenplay. Nice sub-plot. It depicts a novel way of capturing an ordinary story.
3:10 to Yuma (English): OK. The climax scene was moving. Other than that the remaining part was ok. I felt it was not a great movie because the weakness in story. The story is all about moving a thief from one village to the nearby train station. The protagonist agrees to do it for some amount.
Death Proof (English): The photography was different. Though it is made in latest times, it looks as if its a period movie. Some of the dialogues are interesting as in all Tarantino's movies. The camera work for the accident was excellent. Its a kinda simple movie about a psycho killer. Its a time pass movie for me.
Chirutha (Telugu/Indian): Routine, cliche movie. The director's(Puri) affect is seen only in later half that too in some scenes. It lacks a story. Couldnt bear the action of the heroine. She overacted almost all scenes. Not recommended.
From dusk till dawn (English): The first half was ok. I didnt like the later part where its all about vampires. Except a couple of scenes, the movie was not good.
Sliver (English): It was ok. Not a good story. I felt the ending was incomplete. The movie has nothing except the romantic scenes.
Happy Days (Telugu/Indian): A good one. The movie is not an idealistic/realistic one but its purely entertaining. All the minute elements were arranged in such a way that overall the movie flows of like a cool breeze. The songs were an asset. I liked the "Rajesh" character so much. I burst out laughing at every dialogue of his. I kinda associated to people in real world. Other characters were too etched nicely. As the movie had 4 pairs, the screen space was arranged nicely and aptly. One pair is general youthful affair. The tyson's one was innocent and pure. Rajesh's was comic and Shankar's had very les space but selfish type. The elements which made me think its not an idealistic movie are the magics done by Tyson, principal being good, friendly and wise (I havent seen one in India like that so far, whereever I studied) and some minor things here and there. Other than that the movie entertains you to the fullest if you are from one of the similar colleges.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sept 24, 2007
Unforgiven (English): The scenes were composed so splendidly that though they look simple they have lot of action and suspense. Clint Eastwood was at his best. It did not have some fast/loud background music but it was still interesting. Every scene makes us expect something to happen and a different thing happens. The action scenes were awesome. They are violent and also make a huge impact on the audience. I liked it very much.
Jaws (English): Its an old movie (1975). So, the initial part where most of the talking between the people goes was not much interesting to me. but as soon as the 3 actors go out on the boat to kill the shark, the story turns out interesting. This also had all the scenes filled with suspense, action and thrill. The camera work and screenplay was very good.
Syriana (English): The movie was slow paced. Some of the violence scenes were done good. The camera work was neat. I had no interest in the story so I did not like it.
American Beauty (English): I watched it for second time and it was more interesting. It had a very good script. Kevin spacey was awesome. The character etching for all the characters was done superbly. The conflict was plenty. Its a character driven movie. The narrator is Lester (Kevin Spacey). The opens with the actor saying "Today is my last day". The character transforms to a more optimistic state by the end of the movie and dies but the contradictory thing is now he feels life is all those moments which he enjoyed. He is no more afraid of losing anything. He even quotes to his boss "I am an ordinary man who has nothing to lose". Every character undergoes transformation in the movie but the major change is of Lest. The inciting incident happens when Lest meets his daughter's friend. The dramatic question is will Lest be able to achieve that girl by changing himself. So, the goal is to attract that girl, need is to change himself. He achieves the need by the end. He leaves the girl. The mid-point of the movie is when he starts working out and says the dialogue: "Everydays is the first day or your life except the day you die". Crisis is when he realizes that his daughter hates him, his wife is hooked up to someone else. He doesnt feel bad for any of those things. He is a changed man now. In the climax, he doesnt seduce the girl. This is a MUST watch movie.
Disturbia (English): Pretty good movie. Its a fairly simple story presented in a new way. The best thing of the movie is the camera. The first accident in which the father of the hero dies is awesome. I felt as if it happened to me. I dont know how the cinematographer was able to capture it but its breath-taking. The same kinda work is done in the last part where the hero fights the killer. The remaining part of the movie is good and entertaining. I felt the movie ended very easily. The kid kills the killer so easily. The tension and other things were excellent but a different ending would have made it a very good one.
Mr. Brooks (English): An OK killer movie. Kevin Costner did a wonderful action. The movie revolves around a killer who kills because he is addicted to it. He does the job without leaving any clue for the police. Overall you can watch it once.
thats it for now.
--Shiva
Jaws (English): Its an old movie (1975). So, the initial part where most of the talking between the people goes was not much interesting to me. but as soon as the 3 actors go out on the boat to kill the shark, the story turns out interesting. This also had all the scenes filled with suspense, action and thrill. The camera work and screenplay was very good.
Syriana (English): The movie was slow paced. Some of the violence scenes were done good. The camera work was neat. I had no interest in the story so I did not like it.
American Beauty (English): I watched it for second time and it was more interesting. It had a very good script. Kevin spacey was awesome. The character etching for all the characters was done superbly. The conflict was plenty. Its a character driven movie. The narrator is Lester (Kevin Spacey). The opens with the actor saying "Today is my last day". The character transforms to a more optimistic state by the end of the movie and dies but the contradictory thing is now he feels life is all those moments which he enjoyed. He is no more afraid of losing anything. He even quotes to his boss "I am an ordinary man who has nothing to lose". Every character undergoes transformation in the movie but the major change is of Lest. The inciting incident happens when Lest meets his daughter's friend. The dramatic question is will Lest be able to achieve that girl by changing himself. So, the goal is to attract that girl, need is to change himself. He achieves the need by the end. He leaves the girl. The mid-point of the movie is when he starts working out and says the dialogue: "Everydays is the first day or your life except the day you die". Crisis is when he realizes that his daughter hates him, his wife is hooked up to someone else. He doesnt feel bad for any of those things. He is a changed man now. In the climax, he doesnt seduce the girl. This is a MUST watch movie.
Disturbia (English): Pretty good movie. Its a fairly simple story presented in a new way. The best thing of the movie is the camera. The first accident in which the father of the hero dies is awesome. I felt as if it happened to me. I dont know how the cinematographer was able to capture it but its breath-taking. The same kinda work is done in the last part where the hero fights the killer. The remaining part of the movie is good and entertaining. I felt the movie ended very easily. The kid kills the killer so easily. The tension and other things were excellent but a different ending would have made it a very good one.
Mr. Brooks (English): An OK killer movie. Kevin Costner did a wonderful action. The movie revolves around a killer who kills because he is addicted to it. He does the job without leaving any clue for the police. Overall you can watch it once.
thats it for now.
--Shiva
Monday, September 17, 2007
Sept 17, 2007
movies I watched over the weekend are:
Life as a house (English): Good story, cinematography. The movie is kinda simple story revolving around a family. The emotions are picturized very nicely. The goal of the central character is to build the house and the need is to connect with his son. He dies without finishing the house but succeeds in connecting with his son and making him a good human-being. Finally the son donating the house to the girl who lost her legs in the accident made by his father is moving. The guy in the son's role did wonderful acting. His arc moves perfectly and he did fit the role aptly.
The lives of others (German): I felt the movie was slow. It revolves around the lives of people in East Germany in 60s. One thing I like in this movie is the characterization of the professor. The opening of the film is good. Overall the movie is OK.
Tootsie (English): It was hillarious. The movie was fast paced, interesting and funny. The characterization of the main actors is good. Dustin Hoffman gave an excellent performance for his role. The movie keeps you stay glued to the screen. The highlight of the movie is its climax. I have expected all different other endings but to my utter surprise the climax was completely different. The dialogue delivered by Hoffman in the climax is so lengthy, so funny and so surprising. The dialogue writer and Hoffman for delivering that lengthy dialogue should be given the praise. Its a must watch. It had a tight screenplay and plot.
Dhamaal (Hindi/Indian): The first act was slow and kinda expected but the movie picks up pace as it moves. The later acts are well packed and have lots of comedy. Some of them are already known but still make you laugh. The climax is good. The characterization is OK but not excellent which makes the first act not interesting. Overall the movie is good. Can watch it for the comedy.
Heyy Baby (Hindi/Indian): I did not like this one. The screenplay was not good. The events were very weak. The plot is not interesting. The plot-points are the routine expected cliche ones. Managed to get some comedy in 1 or 2 scenes but other than that, its not worth it. I wouldnt recommend this one. The camera work and direction were sufficient enough but as there was no good script it was bound to fail.
Broke back mountain (English): Its a slow paced movie but it makes you feel. Its a story about two guys who are in love with each other. I couldnt connect with it so might not have felt the depth of emotions but at the end it really creates the impact. The camera, script are all fine.
that was it for the weekend.
-Shiva
Life as a house (English): Good story, cinematography. The movie is kinda simple story revolving around a family. The emotions are picturized very nicely. The goal of the central character is to build the house and the need is to connect with his son. He dies without finishing the house but succeeds in connecting with his son and making him a good human-being. Finally the son donating the house to the girl who lost her legs in the accident made by his father is moving. The guy in the son's role did wonderful acting. His arc moves perfectly and he did fit the role aptly.
The lives of others (German): I felt the movie was slow. It revolves around the lives of people in East Germany in 60s. One thing I like in this movie is the characterization of the professor. The opening of the film is good. Overall the movie is OK.
Tootsie (English): It was hillarious. The movie was fast paced, interesting and funny. The characterization of the main actors is good. Dustin Hoffman gave an excellent performance for his role. The movie keeps you stay glued to the screen. The highlight of the movie is its climax. I have expected all different other endings but to my utter surprise the climax was completely different. The dialogue delivered by Hoffman in the climax is so lengthy, so funny and so surprising. The dialogue writer and Hoffman for delivering that lengthy dialogue should be given the praise. Its a must watch. It had a tight screenplay and plot.
Dhamaal (Hindi/Indian): The first act was slow and kinda expected but the movie picks up pace as it moves. The later acts are well packed and have lots of comedy. Some of them are already known but still make you laugh. The climax is good. The characterization is OK but not excellent which makes the first act not interesting. Overall the movie is good. Can watch it for the comedy.
Heyy Baby (Hindi/Indian): I did not like this one. The screenplay was not good. The events were very weak. The plot is not interesting. The plot-points are the routine expected cliche ones. Managed to get some comedy in 1 or 2 scenes but other than that, its not worth it. I wouldnt recommend this one. The camera work and direction were sufficient enough but as there was no good script it was bound to fail.
Broke back mountain (English): Its a slow paced movie but it makes you feel. Its a story about two guys who are in love with each other. I couldnt connect with it so might not have felt the depth of emotions but at the end it really creates the impact. The camera, script are all fine.
that was it for the weekend.
-Shiva
Monday, September 10, 2007
10 September 2007
back in form after a long time. watched 5 movies over the weekend.
RGV ki Aag (Hindi/Indian): Its a remake of the old movie "Sholay" released in 70s. The story is almost the same except a few scenes where the events are different. The director chose different camera angles. He wanted to try something different for his much awaited movie. I personally feel that whatever the technical stuff you use should to maximum level improve the way the story is told but not make the stuff complex and difficult for the audience to understand. I guess the second thing has happened in the case of Aag. I was watching the movie and the camera moved so fast (or scenes edited so fast) that at some point I got headache and my eyes couldnt stay on the screen. The other most important reason behind failure of the film is the actress in the role of "ghungroo". She didnt have the correct expressions. She did overact all scenes. The way she says the dialogue "Too much hain" was aweful. The complete characterization was worst. May be the director should have chosen a good one for that role. I assume the director was under pressure to make the movie differently and so he tried ways to do the same stuff differently and I feel there was less creativity in it. The villain "Babban" imitated Marlon Brando in Godfather for some of the scenes and some of the scenes were kinda comic. The positive things were the role of "Rambha bhai", few changes to the old story. Overall the movie is a below average movie. I think the selection of the actress and ordinary camera angles would have made it an average movie atleast.
Requiem for a dream (English):This movie is a good example for presenting stuff differently, novel, effectively,...etc of an old concept. The movie is about "the plight of drug addicts". An ordinary person can make a documentary with this kind of subject but the movie is not a documentary. By the end of the movie I can feel the pain, agony experienced by those people and I never want to get into that stuff. I mean I can literally feel its happening in front of my eyes. Simple narration, absolutely fabulous camera work, good background sound, fine editing and justified ending made the movie a good one. The best camera work was the way the maker portrayed the drug injection done by the guys. The pressing of needle, the adrenaline rush, the enlarging of the eye-ball,..etc. I dont know if this is all true or false but they definitely made an impact on me. As a sub-plot the director also showed that addiction to TV is also not less than consuming drugs. It makes you go to that farthest extent possible. At the end, everyone (all characters) is a loser. This is also an example to show the larger affect images have on human mind than lengthy/boring dialogues. Nothing is said in the climax. All the images are shown with a good back ground music which rises the tension in its audience. It made an impact on me. This movie is an example where the "Goal" and "Need" both are not achieved by the characters. The Goal of these guys was to become big, earn money, live rich life but their need was to earn this movie through selling drugs, consuming drugs, ...etc. This has a moral too, just as a documentary but just not pushed onto us. If your path is drugs,..etc you cant achieve your goal. Nice work by the cast and crew.
Sideways (English): This portrays the life of a loser. I analyze it to be a character-driven movie and not a plot-driven movie. The character doesnt have distinct goal and need. The publishing of book, his reunion with his divorced wife or new life with Maya could have made him happy. His life is just like any normal man's life. The presentation is pretty simple and neat. Miles saves the chevy blanc '61 for a great occassion but at the end when everything goes against him, he drinks that in a burger store, hiding it from people. He decides to let loose everything and live life as it comes. The next thing is he hears back from Maya. So, we assume that he gets Maya and then he might achieve other stuff too. Not a hi-fi flick but a pretty decent one to watch and connect with if you think life is going against you.
Good Will Hunting (English): I liked this a lot. It had so many intense moments and so much of emotions filled scenes. The dramatic question of the movie is: "Does Will Hunting take up the job or act as imagined by the Math professor?". The goal of the movie is that Will take up the NSA job. The need of the character is to solve his personal problem. We come to know by the end that the problem of Will is that he fears losing the people he want. So he acts defensively and loses them before they leave him. But after the counselling by Robin Williams, he gets cured and finally goes back to his girl friend. He doesnt take up the job. So, the need of the movie is fulfilled but not the goal. The inciting incident/catalyst is when Will solves the difficult Math problem, the way he answers the kid in the bar. The mid-point is when he starts talking with Robin Williams. The crisis is when his girl friend leaves him, his friend (Ben Affleck) tells him that he should get into a good job rather than working at the construction site. The climax is the point where Robin Williams tells Well "thats not your fault". Will breaks at this moment and his inner fear comes out. Resolution is that Will starts toward his girl friend, leaves a note for Robin, leaves his home as said by his friend. The last scene when Ben Affleck finds that the guy left made me feel very emotional. The director picturized the scenes awesome. A must watch movie.
The Prestige (English): A different/creative screenplay. The core concept of the movie is about jealousy, hatred-competition. The two guys in the same profession feel jealous and does things to make themselves great to such an extent that they can kill each other for it. The thing that makes this a different movie is its screenplay. The movie is presented as a flash-back revealing incidents from one guy's diary in which that guy reads this guy's diary. So its like seeing a mirror through another mirror. The inciting incident is when ideas of both the guys clash. The big event happens when one person's wife dies. The dramatic question is "who wins the competition and how?" Actually I feel there is no protagonist here. Both have done evil deeds. So, both should be punished. Hence two guys die at end. The only thing is that the identical brother of one of the guys' is alive. The moral is that if you are obsessed with something and do evil acts to gain success, you fail. Though the person loses his wife, he doesnt care. The only thing he always thinks is about is to become famous than the other guy. The other guy is married but keeps secret of his identical brother from her, giving his jealous-filled competition more importance than his wife. So, both of them die at the end. The mid-point is when one of the guys does the "Transported man" magic. Crisis is when the opposite guy tries to achieve the same magic through Tesla. The climax is when the other guy succeeds in performing the trick. Resolution is both of them die, the identical brother is revealed and also how did the Tesla's incomplete experiment work for the guy. A good screenplay.
thats it..
-Shiva
RGV ki Aag (Hindi/Indian): Its a remake of the old movie "Sholay" released in 70s. The story is almost the same except a few scenes where the events are different. The director chose different camera angles. He wanted to try something different for his much awaited movie. I personally feel that whatever the technical stuff you use should to maximum level improve the way the story is told but not make the stuff complex and difficult for the audience to understand. I guess the second thing has happened in the case of Aag. I was watching the movie and the camera moved so fast (or scenes edited so fast) that at some point I got headache and my eyes couldnt stay on the screen. The other most important reason behind failure of the film is the actress in the role of "ghungroo". She didnt have the correct expressions. She did overact all scenes. The way she says the dialogue "Too much hain" was aweful. The complete characterization was worst. May be the director should have chosen a good one for that role. I assume the director was under pressure to make the movie differently and so he tried ways to do the same stuff differently and I feel there was less creativity in it. The villain "Babban" imitated Marlon Brando in Godfather for some of the scenes and some of the scenes were kinda comic. The positive things were the role of "Rambha bhai", few changes to the old story. Overall the movie is a below average movie. I think the selection of the actress and ordinary camera angles would have made it an average movie atleast.
Requiem for a dream (English):This movie is a good example for presenting stuff differently, novel, effectively,...etc of an old concept. The movie is about "the plight of drug addicts". An ordinary person can make a documentary with this kind of subject but the movie is not a documentary. By the end of the movie I can feel the pain, agony experienced by those people and I never want to get into that stuff. I mean I can literally feel its happening in front of my eyes. Simple narration, absolutely fabulous camera work, good background sound, fine editing and justified ending made the movie a good one. The best camera work was the way the maker portrayed the drug injection done by the guys. The pressing of needle, the adrenaline rush, the enlarging of the eye-ball,..etc. I dont know if this is all true or false but they definitely made an impact on me. As a sub-plot the director also showed that addiction to TV is also not less than consuming drugs. It makes you go to that farthest extent possible. At the end, everyone (all characters) is a loser. This is also an example to show the larger affect images have on human mind than lengthy/boring dialogues. Nothing is said in the climax. All the images are shown with a good back ground music which rises the tension in its audience. It made an impact on me. This movie is an example where the "Goal" and "Need" both are not achieved by the characters. The Goal of these guys was to become big, earn money, live rich life but their need was to earn this movie through selling drugs, consuming drugs, ...etc. This has a moral too, just as a documentary but just not pushed onto us. If your path is drugs,..etc you cant achieve your goal. Nice work by the cast and crew.
Sideways (English): This portrays the life of a loser. I analyze it to be a character-driven movie and not a plot-driven movie. The character doesnt have distinct goal and need. The publishing of book, his reunion with his divorced wife or new life with Maya could have made him happy. His life is just like any normal man's life. The presentation is pretty simple and neat. Miles saves the chevy blanc '61 for a great occassion but at the end when everything goes against him, he drinks that in a burger store, hiding it from people. He decides to let loose everything and live life as it comes. The next thing is he hears back from Maya. So, we assume that he gets Maya and then he might achieve other stuff too. Not a hi-fi flick but a pretty decent one to watch and connect with if you think life is going against you.
Good Will Hunting (English): I liked this a lot. It had so many intense moments and so much of emotions filled scenes. The dramatic question of the movie is: "Does Will Hunting take up the job or act as imagined by the Math professor?". The goal of the movie is that Will take up the NSA job. The need of the character is to solve his personal problem. We come to know by the end that the problem of Will is that he fears losing the people he want. So he acts defensively and loses them before they leave him. But after the counselling by Robin Williams, he gets cured and finally goes back to his girl friend. He doesnt take up the job. So, the need of the movie is fulfilled but not the goal. The inciting incident/catalyst is when Will solves the difficult Math problem, the way he answers the kid in the bar. The mid-point is when he starts talking with Robin Williams. The crisis is when his girl friend leaves him, his friend (Ben Affleck) tells him that he should get into a good job rather than working at the construction site. The climax is the point where Robin Williams tells Well "thats not your fault". Will breaks at this moment and his inner fear comes out. Resolution is that Will starts toward his girl friend, leaves a note for Robin, leaves his home as said by his friend. The last scene when Ben Affleck finds that the guy left made me feel very emotional. The director picturized the scenes awesome. A must watch movie.
The Prestige (English): A different/creative screenplay. The core concept of the movie is about jealousy, hatred-competition. The two guys in the same profession feel jealous and does things to make themselves great to such an extent that they can kill each other for it. The thing that makes this a different movie is its screenplay. The movie is presented as a flash-back revealing incidents from one guy's diary in which that guy reads this guy's diary. So its like seeing a mirror through another mirror. The inciting incident is when ideas of both the guys clash. The big event happens when one person's wife dies. The dramatic question is "who wins the competition and how?" Actually I feel there is no protagonist here. Both have done evil deeds. So, both should be punished. Hence two guys die at end. The only thing is that the identical brother of one of the guys' is alive. The moral is that if you are obsessed with something and do evil acts to gain success, you fail. Though the person loses his wife, he doesnt care. The only thing he always thinks is about is to become famous than the other guy. The other guy is married but keeps secret of his identical brother from her, giving his jealous-filled competition more importance than his wife. So, both of them die at the end. The mid-point is when one of the guys does the "Transported man" magic. Crisis is when the opposite guy tries to achieve the same magic through Tesla. The climax is when the other guy succeeds in performing the trick. Resolution is both of them die, the identical brother is revealed and also how did the Tesla's incomplete experiment work for the guy. A good screenplay.
thats it..
-Shiva
Monday, August 20, 2007
Aug 20th, 2007
Hello...
Past few weeks have been pretty hectic. So, did not get a chance to watch a lot of the movies. Here are some of the (unseen) ones, I watched.
Bourne Ultimatum (English): A good action flick. Technically the movie was good. I did not understand the story quiet a bit because I havent seen the "Bourne Supremacy". The fights were designed were well. The camera work for the last fight (climax) was superb. They captured the scenes just as real. You can feel it happening in front of you. Majority of the movie is action. To me it was just like any other Bond movie or Die hard one.
Chuk De India (Hindi / Indian): Good movie with a different subject (atleast for bollywood). The movie is all about how a sports person achieves his victory. Most Indian movies, have a bit of love/marriage concept attached to any story. This one is different in that perspective. The hero of the movie walks in as a sports person, walks out as a winning coach. He doesnt fall in love with any person other than the game. He is so passionate about the game that he can risk anything for it. The movie has a very good plot, screenplay, dialogues, music, direction...etc . I would say all. The other perspective in which the movie is different from the routine is that it doesnt have exclusive songs or songs deviating from the story. The songs run in the background as the movie progresses, depending on the situation. The music, movie, comedy, action etc are all in the story and are not added to the story for the sake of having them. Performances are good and natural. I can see the enormous effort the crew of this movie has put in to make it a big success. It has all the elements of a good movie and is definitely a visual treat for all the audience. Kudos to the people behind this one mainly for choosing a different subject and then for bringing it out perfectly.
Thats all for now....
Past few weeks have been pretty hectic. So, did not get a chance to watch a lot of the movies. Here are some of the (unseen) ones, I watched.
Bourne Ultimatum (English): A good action flick. Technically the movie was good. I did not understand the story quiet a bit because I havent seen the "Bourne Supremacy". The fights were designed were well. The camera work for the last fight (climax) was superb. They captured the scenes just as real. You can feel it happening in front of you. Majority of the movie is action. To me it was just like any other Bond movie or Die hard one.
Chuk De India (Hindi / Indian): Good movie with a different subject (atleast for bollywood). The movie is all about how a sports person achieves his victory. Most Indian movies, have a bit of love/marriage concept attached to any story. This one is different in that perspective. The hero of the movie walks in as a sports person, walks out as a winning coach. He doesnt fall in love with any person other than the game. He is so passionate about the game that he can risk anything for it. The movie has a very good plot, screenplay, dialogues, music, direction...etc . I would say all. The other perspective in which the movie is different from the routine is that it doesnt have exclusive songs or songs deviating from the story. The songs run in the background as the movie progresses, depending on the situation. The music, movie, comedy, action etc are all in the story and are not added to the story for the sake of having them. Performances are good and natural. I can see the enormous effort the crew of this movie has put in to make it a big success. It has all the elements of a good movie and is definitely a visual treat for all the audience. Kudos to the people behind this one mainly for choosing a different subject and then for bringing it out perfectly.
Thats all for now....
Monday, August 6, 2007
August 06, 2007
Bheja Fry (Hindi/Indian): This was a different one from the routine movies. I read that it has been inspired from a french movie (Dinner game). I dont care if its from somewhere, but the characters are Indian. The way they speak, act, etc. Its a hillarious movie. I enjoyed it a lot. Its just 90 minute movie, setup for 90% of the time in just a single room and with 3 or less characters at a time. The dialogues, conversation was so funny and interesting that I could not resist bursting out laughing, falling on floor. The main character "Bharat Bhushan" was carved very nicely. There are no songs, no big huge dialogues, no artificial stuff, no huge sets, no animations, no graphics, no big make ups, .....etc. Just a perfect script. This shows the importance of script for a movie. If the script is tight, we dont need anything else to make the movie a big hit. I read that this movie was made at a minimum of 50 lakhs (5 million) rupees budget and it earned 10 crores at the box office, which is 12 times more than the investment. This should be an example for all those big bollywood movies, which have no story but huge starcast, huge sets, filmy dialogues, over cost production,...etc (dhoom2). Its a must watch for everyone. Highly recommended. I mean I cant forget the way Bharat Bhushan says "Redial", "Its ringing",..etc. This is the good movie, I found after Knocked up in the recent days.
Gandhi my father (Hindi/Indian): I saw the movie in theatre, after reading the great reviews given for this movie. I feel the movie is excellent in technical perspective. This is a period film, so the sets to represent the 1906 - 1940s are good. The dressing, the houses, the people, the culture, the traditions, etc of those days are etched out wonderfully without even a minor mistake. They took a lot of care to represent the old days. The performances are fabulous. Shefali Shah as Kasturba Gandhi is perfect, same is true with Gandhi and Akshay Khanna's character. The b&w film (grainy) to represent the film in those days is awesome. The only weak point, I feel about the movie is the script. I did not understand why Harilal behaved so. Meaning does the director wanted to show Gandhi as a cause of it or Harilal as a cause for his life or what ? who ? The way Harilal ruined his life is portrayed but the movie is all about why did it happen? Gandhi is shown as a good father in the movie, so I couldnt understand whom is the narrator blaming for Harilal's condition. Also the caption of the movie is "One family's suffering is one nation's pride". There was no justification for this caption. The script should have been still tight, reflecting the reason for Harilal's behavior at his each action. Movie seems to be a bit slow in the second half. Overall it can be watched once for the technical brilliance.
Jagadam (Telugu/Indian): Its based on Sigmund Freud's theory of animal instinct in every human being. The movie suffers the same problem of script. The first half is OK but the second half seems to be boring. The narration, the director chose is different but for this kind of film, he should have chosen a different perspective to make it more interesting because the end of the movie concludes the leading actor as a loser, which will not be accepted by Indian movie goers (non-multiplexes). So, that might be one of the reasons for its failure at the box office. Other than that, the cinematography is excellent. The audio is very good. The taking is perfect. I can say everything else is very good, just the people do not agree with the conclusion because violence is a fashion through out the world and if you are justifying that we should stay away from violence, nobody is going to agree with you. So, should have chosen a different way to end or narrate the story.
Gandhi my father (Hindi/Indian): I saw the movie in theatre, after reading the great reviews given for this movie. I feel the movie is excellent in technical perspective. This is a period film, so the sets to represent the 1906 - 1940s are good. The dressing, the houses, the people, the culture, the traditions, etc of those days are etched out wonderfully without even a minor mistake. They took a lot of care to represent the old days. The performances are fabulous. Shefali Shah as Kasturba Gandhi is perfect, same is true with Gandhi and Akshay Khanna's character. The b&w film (grainy) to represent the film in those days is awesome. The only weak point, I feel about the movie is the script. I did not understand why Harilal behaved so. Meaning does the director wanted to show Gandhi as a cause of it or Harilal as a cause for his life or what ? who ? The way Harilal ruined his life is portrayed but the movie is all about why did it happen? Gandhi is shown as a good father in the movie, so I couldnt understand whom is the narrator blaming for Harilal's condition. Also the caption of the movie is "One family's suffering is one nation's pride". There was no justification for this caption. The script should have been still tight, reflecting the reason for Harilal's behavior at his each action. Movie seems to be a bit slow in the second half. Overall it can be watched once for the technical brilliance.
Jagadam (Telugu/Indian): Its based on Sigmund Freud's theory of animal instinct in every human being. The movie suffers the same problem of script. The first half is OK but the second half seems to be boring. The narration, the director chose is different but for this kind of film, he should have chosen a different perspective to make it more interesting because the end of the movie concludes the leading actor as a loser, which will not be accepted by Indian movie goers (non-multiplexes). So, that might be one of the reasons for its failure at the box office. Other than that, the cinematography is excellent. The audio is very good. The taking is perfect. I can say everything else is very good, just the people do not agree with the conclusion because violence is a fashion through out the world and if you are justifying that we should stay away from violence, nobody is going to agree with you. So, should have chosen a different way to end or narrate the story.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Hurrrrrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! my blog now shows up on googling
I have been busy with work, so could not post articles here. Alright, so here is about my movies... - 07/28/2007
Live Free or Die Hard (English/US): Good action movie. Except for the climax fight, all the fights are believable. The climax one is like a bit too much. The concept is good. Meaning in this period of time, the hacking,...etc seems to be logical. So, overall the movie is a good one.
Transformers (English/US): I did not like this movie because I am not interested in video games or gadgets doing something and I feel the movie is like a video game, where all the gadgets are playing. The initial part where the hero does something is good but after that its all gadgets, their re-structuring. Moreover they have emotions; they cry, cheat, laugh,fight, help,..etc. To my mind its not logical. How can an electronic device cry or have emotions??? The yellow truck in the climax says "I ll live them on earth and it kinda cries". This doesnt make any sense to me. The movie can be watched for the hero and heroine. Heroine is cute, hot and sexy. But they did not make good use of her. Not even of the hero. So, overall I dont recommend this movie. But yeah if u like video games, you might try it. You might feel it interesting.
Lakshyam (Telugu/Indian): First half is boring as hell. The same concept which we have been watching from years is put in. Nothing new / interesting in first half. Second half is OK. The only interesting thing, I found good about the movie is the actress Anushka.
Anand (Hindi/Indian): Its an old movie (seventies...). The one liners are good. The acting by Rajesh Khanna is good. The movie is good but it doesnt appeal much now because I have watched many of its kind. Anyway can watch it once.
Live Free or Die Hard (English/US): Good action movie. Except for the climax fight, all the fights are believable. The climax one is like a bit too much. The concept is good. Meaning in this period of time, the hacking,...etc seems to be logical. So, overall the movie is a good one.
Transformers (English/US): I did not like this movie because I am not interested in video games or gadgets doing something and I feel the movie is like a video game, where all the gadgets are playing. The initial part where the hero does something is good but after that its all gadgets, their re-structuring. Moreover they have emotions; they cry, cheat, laugh,fight, help,..etc. To my mind its not logical. How can an electronic device cry or have emotions??? The yellow truck in the climax says "I ll live them on earth and it kinda cries". This doesnt make any sense to me. The movie can be watched for the hero and heroine. Heroine is cute, hot and sexy. But they did not make good use of her. Not even of the hero. So, overall I dont recommend this movie. But yeah if u like video games, you might try it. You might feel it interesting.
Lakshyam (Telugu/Indian): First half is boring as hell. The same concept which we have been watching from years is put in. Nothing new / interesting in first half. Second half is OK. The only interesting thing, I found good about the movie is the actress Anushka.
Anand (Hindi/Indian): Its an old movie (seventies...). The one liners are good. The acting by Rajesh Khanna is good. The movie is good but it doesnt appeal much now because I have watched many of its kind. Anyway can watch it once.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
as of June 20, 2007
Last couple of weeks was pretty slow. I think I havent watched many "new" movies. I watched movies but they are all old ones (which I had already watched).
7/g brindavan colony, athadu, pokiri, sri ramadasu, etc.
The new movies, I watched are:
Aadavari matalaku ardhale verule (Telugu/Indian): The movie is good in bits and pieces. As a whole its not a good one though you can watch it once. The interesting bits are some of the comedy bits performed by the hero Venkatesh, the conversations between Venkatesh and Kota Srinivas Rao are excellent and couple of songs. The interesting thing I found was the action by hero Venkatesh was really different, not a cliche. I dont know if this is what the director made him do or whatever the action was not the routine stuff. I liked it. I could see the maturity in his action.
Amelie(French): The photography was different. The narration was interesting but I did not understand what the director wanted to conclude at the end of the movie. I did not feel it was a perfect ending. I dont know if this is my problem, but yeah I did not like/understand the way it ended. The camera work was very good and different.
Fatal Attraction (English): The movie was boring. I did not like it may be because there are many of its kind now and so seeing an old movie of similar story is not that interesting.
so thats all for now.
7/g brindavan colony, athadu, pokiri, sri ramadasu, etc.
The new movies, I watched are:
Aadavari matalaku ardhale verule (Telugu/Indian): The movie is good in bits and pieces. As a whole its not a good one though you can watch it once. The interesting bits are some of the comedy bits performed by the hero Venkatesh, the conversations between Venkatesh and Kota Srinivas Rao are excellent and couple of songs. The interesting thing I found was the action by hero Venkatesh was really different, not a cliche. I dont know if this is what the director made him do or whatever the action was not the routine stuff. I liked it. I could see the maturity in his action.
Amelie(French): The photography was different. The narration was interesting but I did not understand what the director wanted to conclude at the end of the movie. I did not feel it was a perfect ending. I dont know if this is my problem, but yeah I did not like/understand the way it ended. The camera work was very good and different.
Fatal Attraction (English): The movie was boring. I did not like it may be because there are many of its kind now and so seeing an old movie of similar story is not that interesting.
so thats all for now.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Movies for the weekend (02, 03 June 2007)
I watched the following movies over the weekend.
Shootout at Lokhandwala - Hindi movie
Had a huge star cast. Its quoted as "based on true rumours". Its all about the underworld mafia in Mumbai, India. I think it is the break up between Daud Ibrahim and Chotta Rajan. The movie is good.
The Secret Window - English
Its mentioned as a thriller. I felt its a boring movie. I watched it on DVD so it was ok, but whoever goes to a movie theatre to watch it, will definitely hate it. Not good.
Evadaithe Naakenti - Telugu
Its ok. Its not very different from other previous similar kinda movies but its not boring. I did not like it a lot. But you can watch it once at home on dvd. Its OK.
Munich - English
Its ok. I did not delve much into the reasons behind the story of the movie. I know there is war, terror everywhere in the world. May it be in the name of religion, cult, community, god, color, etc., but the hidden reason is only "MONEY". The people who create all these have only one intention - to get rich. The ones who cannot identify that, fight with others. So, I was not much interested. The taking was good. Technically it was good. Its OK.
Knocked Up - English
I saw it in theatre. It was hilarious. Every scene has comedy in it. Its an Adult kinda comedy, but it was really funny. Its a real "Should Watch It" movie. I liked it a lot. This was very funny.
Thats it for the weekend.
Shootout at Lokhandwala - Hindi movie
Had a huge star cast. Its quoted as "based on true rumours". Its all about the underworld mafia in Mumbai, India. I think it is the break up between Daud Ibrahim and Chotta Rajan. The movie is good.
The Secret Window - English
Its mentioned as a thriller. I felt its a boring movie. I watched it on DVD so it was ok, but whoever goes to a movie theatre to watch it, will definitely hate it. Not good.
Evadaithe Naakenti - Telugu
Its ok. Its not very different from other previous similar kinda movies but its not boring. I did not like it a lot. But you can watch it once at home on dvd. Its OK.
Munich - English
Its ok. I did not delve much into the reasons behind the story of the movie. I know there is war, terror everywhere in the world. May it be in the name of religion, cult, community, god, color, etc., but the hidden reason is only "MONEY". The people who create all these have only one intention - to get rich. The ones who cannot identify that, fight with others. So, I was not much interested. The taking was good. Technically it was good. Its OK.
Knocked Up - English
I saw it in theatre. It was hilarious. Every scene has comedy in it. Its an Adult kinda comedy, but it was really funny. Its a real "Should Watch It" movie. I liked it a lot. This was very funny.
Thats it for the weekend.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Movies for this week (28 May - June 1, 2007)
Pulp Fiction:
It has an excellent screen play. Some parts of the story seem to be stretched but overall when all the pieces of the story are tied up at the end, its amazing. This is my first movie of Quentin Terentino and I liked it. It has an inner message too. The action by Samuel L. Jackson is what I liked most of all the others. Its a bit lengthy but a "Should watch" movie.
Taxi Driver:
I wanted to cover movies of Martin Scorsese. So, brought this one. Actually I started liking Marty's work after I saw Aviator. It was a splendidly brilliant film. Taxi Driver is a similar film, which describes the life of a Taxi Driver in New York city. Robert De Niro is best at his action. The movie is a bit slow paced but that doesnt make it boring to watch it. The way Robert De Niro tries to date Cybill Shepherd is interesting. Its something new, fresh and exciting to watch. Later part is ok. Overall its good.
Raging Bull:
This is another one by Marty. Its a story about a boxer. The way his life rises to celebrity and then falls apart. Robert De Niro has performed to an absolute high level. The movie did not interest me a lot because it is the story of a loser but the way it is picturized is good. It is like a real person around the corner. At times, we cannot identify if the actor is Robert De Niro. He is fat, lean, broken face,..etc different shapes. He did a lot of hard work for this movie. He is the one who carries the movie alone on his shoulders from beginning to end. Its a black&white film. So, that too made it a bit boring. Overall its OK.
From what I observed of Marty's movies so far, I think he is very good at picturizing or bringing on to screen the life of a person. He is absolute genious in making Biopics. Aviator, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull are some examples of his marvellous work.
Thats all for now. I ll be posting more as I watch more. (Shiva; Roseville, CA - 06/01/2007)
It has an excellent screen play. Some parts of the story seem to be stretched but overall when all the pieces of the story are tied up at the end, its amazing. This is my first movie of Quentin Terentino and I liked it. It has an inner message too. The action by Samuel L. Jackson is what I liked most of all the others. Its a bit lengthy but a "Should watch" movie.
Taxi Driver:
I wanted to cover movies of Martin Scorsese. So, brought this one. Actually I started liking Marty's work after I saw Aviator. It was a splendidly brilliant film. Taxi Driver is a similar film, which describes the life of a Taxi Driver in New York city. Robert De Niro is best at his action. The movie is a bit slow paced but that doesnt make it boring to watch it. The way Robert De Niro tries to date Cybill Shepherd is interesting. Its something new, fresh and exciting to watch. Later part is ok. Overall its good.
Raging Bull:
This is another one by Marty. Its a story about a boxer. The way his life rises to celebrity and then falls apart. Robert De Niro has performed to an absolute high level. The movie did not interest me a lot because it is the story of a loser but the way it is picturized is good. It is like a real person around the corner. At times, we cannot identify if the actor is Robert De Niro. He is fat, lean, broken face,..etc different shapes. He did a lot of hard work for this movie. He is the one who carries the movie alone on his shoulders from beginning to end. Its a black&white film. So, that too made it a bit boring. Overall its OK.
From what I observed of Marty's movies so far, I think he is very good at picturizing or bringing on to screen the life of a person. He is absolute genious in making Biopics. Aviator, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull are some examples of his marvellous work.
Thats all for now. I ll be posting more as I watch more. (Shiva; Roseville, CA - 06/01/2007)
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