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dhawaltrivedi
Reviews
Rock On!! (2008)
Rock On carries forward the legacy of Dil Chahta Hai
First of all, I have to tell you that Farhan Akhtar is a ROCKSTAR !!! Man what films he has made till date - DCH, Lakshya and now this one. Along with Farhan, Abhishek Kapoor(whose first film Arryan didn't do too well) too has done a great job as a director. Though I could make out a few goofs, but considering the fact that I was so engrossed in the movie, they can be overlooked.
The rest of the cast is excellent. Arjum Rampal for a change is so much better than his earlier performances. But, I still feel he could have done better. Prachi Desai gives a SMASHING performance. So much depth in her character and boy-o-boy, did she play it well. Purab was such a refreshing element throughout. He's completely lovable.
Now, for the music. I'm so proud to hear the first mainstream Rock album of India. And I'm glad they have not messed up the songs and have kept the raw, college boy feel to all the songs. Even the slow tracks(2 of them) are so soothing. Brilliant album. Kudos to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Finally, Rock On is really fresh film, if not a classic. Technically its not 10/10 but just for the EQ(emotional quotient) I give it a 10.But, for lovers of mature drama and emotions, it'll be a treat. Thank you Farhan, Abhishek etc. etc. for such a refreshing change. Best Indian film of 2008 till now, hands down !!!!
Cinderella Man (2005)
Howard + Crowe = Extreme Inspiration
Hi guys !! Wont go into much details about the plot or the technical stuff. See it for yourself. But one thing is for sure - this movie gave me a LIFE. It shows you that COURAGE and sheer DETERMINATION can take you anywhere. Some of the scenes just take your breath away and leave you really gasping. The boxing scenes are one of the best I've ever seen(yea guys I include Raging Bull in that). OK, agreed, this movie might not be factually/historically 100% correct. But, you know what, I give a DAMN !!!! This movie ROCKS. Russell Crowe ROCKS. Ron Howard ROCKS. Zellweger ROCKS. BRAVO BRADDOCK !!!!!!!
10/10
Titanic (1997)
TITANIC: LOVE IT/HATE IT .. but you cant IGNORE it !!!!
All right to start with i am giving TITANIC 10 stars just for the fact that it touched my heart, and inspired me that - TO LIVE IS TO LOVE. TITANIC might not be technically flawless (as if we have any movie like this!! n yea including GODFATHER i mean)
its just that people LOVE to HATE titanic(for reasons unknown to me). this is also partly proved by the fact that this movie has (i guess) the HIGHEST no of comments written (2100 odd) .. you wouldn't find that for any pinky-ponky film .. i mean y would so many people bother to vote/comment about the film if they hated it so much (there are so much disastrous cinema these days !!)
well i wouldn't scribe much about the technical stuff since the Oscars stand firm as the proof of that. still here's my take on the technical aspects:
->DIRECTION is quite incredible. tackling such a huge production and a historic disaster is never easy. minus a few goofs the direction would have been perfect .. its great none-the-less
->the PERFORMANCES of the cast just blew me away. the casting seems perfect and kate winslet was out of this world .. leo seemed a bit raw in few scenes but his very charm on-screen was more than compensating
->set decoration/art direction was best i've seen along with LOTR
->BACKGROUND SCORE is DAMNNNNNN PERFECT .... JAMES HORNER take a bow !!!
->screen-writing was good too(yes inspite of the length of the film)
and EDITING seemed MIND-BLOWING(Oscar deserving) ->cinematography/sound/drowning sequences were all BREATH-TAKING
what could have been done better was(yes,there's always scope for improvement) :
->Leo was good but could've done bit better towards the end of the film ->few goof-ups in direction were avoidable ->screenplay lacked just a little punch towards the middle
above every damn thing - the ROMANCE B/W JACK and ROSE is the most incredible ever captured on screen(at par with casablanca)
i just don't understand why a lot of Americans hate this film(thats what we perceive here in India) .. but TITANIC is the biggest Hollywood BLOCK-BUSTER ever in India ... i engrossed my 8 year old cousin and my 65 year old grand-pa .. a rare feat for any film !!!!
FINALLY
TITANIC IS ONE MOVIE THAT CAN CAPTURE YOUR HEART AND MIND IN A WAY THAT YOU CANT EVEN IMAGINE ... IT MIGHT BE FICTION (some call it stupid-sob-fiction, but thats OK!!) .. BUT, LOVE IT OR HATE IT, TITANIC CANT BE IGNORED !!!!!!!
CHEERS AND PEACE !!! with love from India Dhawal Trivedi