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msvaidya
Reviews
Life in a Metro (2007)
Good film
happened to catch LIM on TV recently. reminded me of how this movie was one of the turning points in Indian cinema. Like a train, cinema in India cannot turn at sharp angles - its has to gently change course - Life in a metro was one such subtle but important change in direction. No longer are the principle characters caricatures to be amused by - they could be the person sitting next to you or your own story. actors could blend in the populace. songs could blend in the narrative. audiences were assumed to have some intelligence & most importantly you can feel the presence of a director - Anurag Basu. In looking back this film will be remembered for its contribution to Indian cinema - particularly the parts played by Shilpa Shetty, Konkana Sen Sharma & Irrfan Khan. Hope to see many more such good films from Anurag
Star Trek (2009)
Why we fell in love with Star Trek in the first place
how would you feel if you ran into a dear friend who you had not seen for 20+ years? I felt the same sitting through the new star trek movie. It does a brilliant job of revealing how the characters we know so well got to be who they are. Special effects are beyond words. These days I see many CGI artists so taken over by the technology that they forget to tell a story. This movie has a great balance of technical wizadry used just in the right amounts to move the story forward.
All actors just do a great job - the young Kirk & Spock are outstanding. The time shifting bit with 2 spocks was a bit jarring to my "logical" mind, but who cares? fantastic fun for 2 hours - go see it!
Takva (2006)
Wonderful insight into a culture & human nature
Saw this on WorldLink TV last night - gripping from the first frame. Wonderful journey into Turkish Sufi lives & the character of a simple devout person presented with difficult life choices. The story & character development is excellent. Interplay between the main character & his employer/benefactor and then with the other members of the sect is presented in a great way. I come from an Asian culture and could immediately connect to the protagonists struggle to solve a complex nature of problems and make them fit within his simplistic religious view.
Cinematically brilliant, great acting, wonderful cinematagrophy Catch it if you can.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Overdrawn boring tale dragged down by vanity of the players
One of the few times I wanted to get up and walk out of a movie. The core concept is amazing - what if we aged backwards physically? but once we get past that, everything else falls apart. Just wanting to create another Forest Gump does not make it so.
The narrative is so burdened by the vanity of the principal character that it looses its charm. Women audiences may swoon over Brad Pitt riding a bike but that has nothing to do with the story - his character would have done that in his youth even if he was aging like the rest of us.
The director seems to be so overtaken by images (Lousiana setting sun) that he looses control of moving the story along.
I will be scratching my head over the critical acclaim for this one for a long time!