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Reviews
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla (1986)
What a sham!
I have some grave problems with this remake of the classic- "12 Angry Men".
1. Overacting from all quarters. The original had subtle performances from each of the actors acting as jurors. But this movie had excessive had movements, tongue lapping, advancing toward one another to hit, giggles and laughs on cringeworthy jokes, and so on.
2. Departure from logic. In the original, the fact that only one of the jurors was bespectacled turned out to be a pivotal point since he was able to testify that the marks on the nose could only be a product of being bespectacled. Since he was on the guilty 'side' earlier, it proved to be a damning indication to the fact that the evidence against the defendant was lacking in substance. But in this movie, half the jury is bespectacled- which is fine. Fine if they had just omitted one bespectacled juror asking another one if people who have specs sleep with their specs on! Dude- you should know yourself- you have specs too!
3. Jury system in India. Since time immemorial, we have had the judge ruling concept; not the jury decision concept. Factually inaccurate. Copying just for the sake of copying with no customization!
Avatar (2009)
Overly hyped!
This is the worst movie I have ever seen around which there has been such huge amounts of hype! A visual treat, breathtaking ride, outstanding experience- are just few of the words to describe this ordinary affair. But in many places, the movie is so stupid and cliché it makes me cringe!
First of all, the insane war on the Na'avi people is so sick and reminiscent of the present situation in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. No explanation is offered at all as to what claim the shitty military men have on the land of the original inhabitants. I mean, hello? Any body has a sane mind over here? It is just as simple as come on folks. Let us wage a war! Bullshit! Where is ethics and rationality, huh? At least give some background to the audience about how these guys are in such a delicate situation of war. It turns out materialism is all you need to go bad and bomb an entire planet which you have no right to even touch. Good job making it real, man! And all of these people are shown to be Americans? How original! Deja-vu, anyone?
Then also why are the Na'avis so trusting of this odd man out Jake (in the body of a Na'avi) when they don't know anything about him? IS that really how it works in tribes? NO! Our man Jake is not even touched. On the contrary, he gets a girl to strut about the jungle with and learn their ways! Well, he will be definitely learning how to bed Na'avi chicks, that's for sure!
The military guys are so one-dimensional they seem like robots bent on destroying and kabooming every thing in their way. A stupid speech is all it takes to charge up hundreds of soldiers and make them charge and fight for no reason at all apart from a singularly materialistic one! What the hell! It is their land, you suck-ups. Who gave you authority to even land on their planet? But no, no soldier thinks that apart from our dull hero (will come back to him in a moment). Everyone is just happy following the goddamn orders without a thought given to err, how is this a noble thing? Jeez!
And Jake Sully- he is the shittiest marine I have ever seen! Nothing is easy for him. He can't fight, can't climb trees, can't fly properly even if he has this awesome Na'avi body! After finally, when he does learn to do some of the stuff, just like that he goes and overpowers the mightiest flying bird and flies on it to the Na'avi's amazement. Now he is the tucto or mucto-something like that and the NA'avi must listen to everything he says! Wonderful! A note to Cameron- if you want to establish a character's awesomeness, do it with a certain kind of warning- not just out of the blue. Don't expect us to believe that an a**hole tames the single bird a few actual Na'avi's ever have been able to do! Besides, I wonder if Jake ever thought of any strategy to counter the ammunition from the bad side! It is just we are from the mountains, we will be fine bullsh*t that convinced me he was a loser! Come up with some strategy, genius! Don't expect the Eywa to help you out of your sorry a**kicking...
I could go on and on....CGI does not ,a movie, maketh! Remember this!
12 Angry Men (1957)
Deserves to be in the top 10
What powerful and hard-hitting cinema! There is so much said and conveyed directly and indirectly within a mere 96 odd minutes! I, for one, was neither ready for nor expectant of such a treat when I started watching "12 Angry Men". But boy, did it hold my attention within that short span!
Let me be frank with you. These days I am on a Top-250-movie watching spree. But half of these so-called masterpieces are just packaged trash- packaged either with drugs, sex, homosexuality, underworld, etc. Barring these, there is not much to boast of in most of these movies. I watched Raging Bull and just could not make head or tail of it. I mean, I being an avid movie-watcher, had there been anything excellent about the movie, it would have made itself obvious. Also my expectations for the movie were rather too high. But I just could not bring myself to like this movie. But 12 Angry Men indeed means business when it comes to story, performances and meaning! The focus is entirely on the jury of a murder trial and whether the accused does deserve a benefit of doubt in a previously thought open-and-shut case. As one man is unconvinced of the accused boy's guilt, he elicits his reasons and calls for a discussion. I must mention that character-etching at this point of the movie becomes very important and the movie does excel in this particular requirement. Each of the jurors have a distinctive personality and their own prejudices or indifference. Nothing is forced to churn out a performance, each character dons his role comfortably. There is the leader of the group who drives the discussion smoothly, there is a shy, polite timid person who must always respectfully address others even when angry but still speak out his mind, there is the man who is convinced of the boy's guilt out of personal prejudice, there is the loudmouth old guy who belittles certain people, there are the rational men like the man who was raised in a slum, the painter and others, and there is the man who has no interest whatsoever in the matter. And there is Henry Fonda as the man who is the voice of reason in the entire jury.
The storytelling is riveting and at the end of it, I was yearning for more. A simple but outstanding movie! Move over The Godfather, Pulp Fiction- I rate this one higher in all counts of movie-making...
Casino Royale (2006)
Negative reviewers, do I look like I give a damn?
In one word, this project is brave. And I don't mean the brave but ineffective kind, but the one which is brave and impressive! Daniel Craig in the role of a just-been-given-a-00-status James Bond makes the character a part of his own skin. After Pierce Brosnan, accepting this new Bond was not easy. Yet the audience is bound to like maybe, even, adore this Bond. The innate flaws in a human are still there. We have a Bond who is ready to believe in someone. He is not as hardened as you might expect. Nevertheless, there are flashes of brilliance and ruthlessness in some of his decisions. Altogether, the picture is quite believable and satiating. The starting point of the movie does tend to drag with very little to impress. The starting score tends to balance this out. The Chris Cornell theme and the cards-montage is superb. Then we get to business right away. Parkour has long been a very interesting theme to me and here we are treated to some heavy dose of the same. Daniel Craig, in my opinion, is the best Bond when it comes to fighting sequences. The manner in which he gives chase atop a building is legendary. The plot in the movie is well-defined and lends credence to the importance of 007's first mission. There is no dearth of witty one-liners, too! One minor glitch can be found by asking the question as to why such an elaborate ruse was needed to make Bond play cards against Le Chiffre, who is a financier for terrorists and who shorts stocks in anticipation of (rather, by causing) terrorist activities to manipulate stocks of companies. They could have just seized him, in my opinion. Nevertheless the entire game is very entertaining and acting is superb. Eva Green does tend to scare with her permanent wide smile. She is pretty, though, in some of her scenes without make-up. Daniel Craig is top-class. The other Bond girl is quite hot but sadly, doesn't get much screen-time with clothes or without! A lesson may be learnt for filmmakers- don't try to emulate an earlier classic. An honestly made movie is ca classic in its own right!
Inception (2010)
Cinematic excellence
Wow, what a superb movie it was! Folks, if you ever want to give examples of how science fiction has to be molded on screen, you need look no further than Inception. Amongst the myriad of complexities and nuances, Nolan pulls off one of the greatest feats in direction and storytelling by making the movie watchable and fashionable.
Tackling the subject of dreams and dreamworld is never easy. And it is not easy here too. At the start of the movie, I believe most viewers must have been left confused and at wits' end. But as events unfold, you enter the territory of Nolan and he does what he does the best. Throwing the rules of Inception-a technology by which it is possible to construct, share and manipulate the dream world- here and there throughout the movie, Nolan combines the bits into a thrilling narrative. It is taxing to the mind to remember all these and to understand why the things are happening the way they are. But who doesn't want a movie that enhances one's gray cells, right? The direction is excellent and the fictional extremism notwithstanding, the story is incredibly credible. Performances of a lifetime are given by Leonardo Di Caprio who takes the role in his stride, Joseph Gordon Levitt- he is impressive and stylish and a brilliant actor, Tom Hardy- (yes, he was superb in his portrayal of Eames, the forger) and Ken Watanabe. Their emotions are almost infectious- when Cobb(Caprio) is frightened, so are you; when Arthur(Levitt) is confused, so are you; and when Eames (Hardy) is being brilliant, you feel brilliant too! And milking such juice from your actors is no mean feat.
Little details are taken care of- right from the consistency in the dreams and rules, to the characters' behaviors. A multi-layer dream is built and the target participating in each level of dreaming needs to be convinced to break up his empire. The rules built for the dream world are amazing and make sense. That is why this is such a good science fiction. As the levels increase, more of the subconscious of the target appears into picture and the easier it is to plant an idea there (inception). Different roles of others participating in the dream are also defined, there has to be a dreamer, an architect of the dream, the one who will plant the idea, a forger who will take the form of anyone as per the target's subconscious and a chemist who will make the drug for the sleep to be stable. Then there is the kick which is a jolt required to snap out of sleep- like say a tipping chair on which you are sitting. For a multilevel dream, the kicks have to be synchronized. Then there is the music which is played in real life to warn all of a forthcoming kick. The time-dilation, the limbo, and plenty of other metaphysical aspects are very intelligently utilized.
Plenty of viewings may be required to have a total grasp of everything Nolan is trying to say. Each consecutive watching keeps getting better just like Nolan's previous ground-breaking Memento movie. Just an interesting point I might add- the idea of the story might not be all original. It is a theme which had been used in a Donald Duck comic titled "The Dream of a Lifetime" released in 2002 and I admit the similarities are tremendous- but that is not to lessen the credit to Nolan for making us think through this one of the finest movies ever made.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Breath-taking, thrilling, emotional
As was expected, TDKR falls behind TDK tremendously in terms of the menacing nature of the antagonist (obviously). I take this opportunity to re-iterate how truly awesome Heath Ledger was as the Joker, who drove home a very scary spectacle of chaos and madness making the Batman almost crack up! Yes, the Bane is scary too, mind you. And his motives are genuine, his strategies almost always work and his strange pain-numbing mask does help to add more menace to the already bulging incredibly strong Bane. But it is nowhere near the Joker! Hey it is a good thing- there is and always will remain only one Joker for us and that is Heath Ledger (RIP). So this time the villain is this character who has met equal suffering and is also a friend of the dark- just like our dark knight the Batman. And guess what, he can give even the Batman a run for his money. In a thrilling hand to hand combat he shows how futile Bruce Wayne's attempts were to try to stop Bane. A battered bruised more injured than before and broken Bruce Wayne lands himself into Bane's prison. It is his soul first that Bane will kill, then will come his body! It is enough to send chills down anyone's spine. The villain's agenda is first unleashing all the evils which Gordon and Batman had worked so hard to keep locked up and then spreading the word of the League of Shadows to the general crowd. It all brings to mind the logic which Ra'as Ghul proposed in Batman Begins and Bane is horribly close to implementing Ra'as' plan to fruition. Almost all spirits broken, the public has submitted themselves to this new crazed development, what with all the policemen trapped or being killed on sight or strange court rulings passing swift judgments dictator style- all being watched over by Bane. The situation is at best, hopeless. But Bruce Wayne is not an easy man to break. In a thrilling sequence of events, the man recuperates and extracts strength and courage from the innermost of his heart and miraculously strives to escape Bane's hell-hole depicting the most classic example of will at work! It is here you realize that you don't mess with the Batman. His role as the super-hero savior and morale-booster of the Gotham people is complete. With a single Bat shaped blaze burning over a building, he is able to turn the tide in a situation full of despair as the public demonstrates surprising courage in helping themselves and wrest the power from the crazed fanatics. To add to the zing and style, there is the BAT to take over from the tumbler; the Catwoman who is sketched so well in the script she seems totally real and a development of a major mentor-mentee relation between Batman and Detective Blake as a signal of Bruce Wayne ready to hang his boots and return to normal life.Cinematography is excellent, dialogues are simply too good and enough moments are present in which you cannot help but hoot and applaud. The scene in which Batman returns after a hiatus is especially well shot. Some scenes with the Catwoman are very intelligent and well-written. Bane does impress bringing astounding credibility to a troubled man dealing with pain and loss but standing resolute toward his goal. He is completely audible and perfect in delivery of his lines, which not many people agree with. They are mad- they were not very attentive IMO! Christian Bale is the one who steals the show in this! What an excellent performance! He brings out all sides of the Batman in one movie- the resignation and loss in the beginning, to a determined stance, to a broken man and finally to the height of his emotional, mental and physical self in a thumping reply to the League of Shadows. It is not for nothing he is the most revered actor in recent times. Michael Caine lends some very dramatic lines and here you truly see how frightened he is all the time Bruce is risking his life out there and know that Alfred is Bruces's parent- to hell with biology! Character development for Bane, the Catwoman and Det. Blake is very good. Special effects are top notch. A haunting score even surpasses that of TDK- kudos! Some complaints are in order which don't make the movie a 10/10 in my book. Lots and lots of drama- going over-the-top in some sequences. But i guess this was what Nolan meant it to be. Also I disliked how the scenes cut from one to another disregarding the time factor for one character to be in a distant place in such short time and asking us to believe the scene were taking place almost immediately after the previous. There were instances like Bruce after escaping conveniently finding Catwoman (the one person he needed) on that bridge in the whole wide city; Batman present in one sequence with Gordon and next sequence with Blake who is probably miles apart; Blake conveniently discovering Bane's plan through an accidental encounter with one of Bane's henchmen again, etc. But the movie is a work of art, overall. Not perfect but near-perfect. Chris Nolan is now my favorite director, Christian Bale is one of my favorite actor and I will be seeing more of Tom Hardy's work from now on. Don't miss this movie!
Delhi Belly (2011)
Intelligent tackling of a conventional story
Delhi Belly has gone into some of the finest movies ever made in Bollywood in my book. The film works on many levels. With an ordinary story of a package delivery gone wrong and a gangster's subsequent urge for revenge, the film could have well headed towards disaster had the actors not lifted the movie to an entirely new dimension. Kudos to them and let such actors thrive in Hindi cinema! First of all, I was very impressed with the starting sequence- the one in which all three lead males are sleeping ignoring the water running from the tap. Never before has a starting sequence conveyed so much in such few scenes. That the three men live like pigs and are your average Joes cannot be more evident. Dialogues are also pretty good and each actor convinces the audience well of their profession- a slightly pervert photo-journalist, a very serious workaholic journalist and a down-in-the-dumps cartoonist are all very believable. And they don't go out of the way in their acting- it is all very subtle here and that is why it works. Some comic scenes are the hallmarks of hilarity. Esp. the scenes in which the gangster scolds his goons, when the burqa-clad man spills water trying to drink forgetting to lift his naqab, when the flush comes crashing down on a man's head, and when the same man relieves himself of a Delhi belly in a stranger's house! The two three angles working in parallel with main storyline are also not under-utilized. Maneka (Poorna Jagannathan)'s ex-husband is used at the end to make the transformation of Tashi(Imran) complete. Tashi's other love-interest is also used by the gangster to provide a very interesting and partly comical shooting scene towards the climax. This movie is proof you can still develop good cinema even though the plot is common. You just need to execute it well. I have no qualms about the movie being too explicit as regards sex and foul language also. If you live in Delhi, the movie will only seem too realistic. Instead of closing our eyes and pretending such a situation does not exist, let us allow such movies to depict the reality in a healthy way... Final word...don't miss it! It is a good sign. Hindi Cinema is maturing and I am only too ecstatic about it!
Khuda Kay Liye (2007)
Excellent plot but ambiguous execution...
We have all seen and heard about the dilemma- is music allowed in Islam or not? Khuda kay Liye has the same as a major plot point but delivers nothing new to the pro-music league of arguments. The fact that Prophet Dawood (pbuh) had "mousiki" is open to a two-forked interpretation- that he had only the singing gift and not music, so music might be still banned in Islam; and that he actually had the combined talent of both and music is permitted in Islam. More research and better proof are still required to resolve these arguments- and both can hardly be provided by means of commercial cinema. The musical score is the best I have heard in a long long time. Bandeya Ho and Allah Hoo give such a tug to your heart that you cannot help being mesmerized into a trance like state, while listening to them. Execution is sloppy in most parts but outstandingly brilliant in some. Especially the accent and "talaffus" of some actors is nothing sort of marvelous- worthy of note are the actors who played Moulana Tahiri and Mansoor's Father. But with these, the movie has its fair share of horrible acting performed by the characters Mary, her father and Mansoor. Mary is always toggling between her true native accent and the fake British one; which is kind of slightly amusing after a while into the movie. Her father, the loathsome characterization notwithstanding, makes you wish to hit him with a brick. And who ever says the actor who played Mansoor did well deserves a mental checkup. You just have to note the extreme weight issues, a single expression on his face, and the use of "You see...." again and again and again while talking in English with his girlfriend; to state that his acting was nauseating, at the least. Naseeruddin Shah did a fine job with his cameo, though his speech did seem to be kind of extempore, to me. The FBI Agent did a fine job too! Editing the movie removing the badly acted segments could have made it crisper and a better movie overall.
The Godfather (1972)
What are the filmmakers driving at?
What is the point of this movie? Okay, I am not thick-headed or something, in fact I am an avid movie follower and have come to appreciate some fine movies because that was what they were- fine! But sadly this movie failed to inspire me. Agreed not all movies need to but the fact that the movie glorifies things like "killing", "gambling", and a dozen other vices but proudly considers prostitution as evil, point to the epic hypocrisy therein...
Right from the word go, the movie moves insipidly leaving you corrupted and uneasy. The so-called crime lord has principles! Well if you as a filmmaker are going to make a crime lord who deserves nothing but the greatest of the punishments possible, as some kind of a hero on screen; the youth of today will become influenced by the wrong notion and begin to imagine themselves in the same position- as heroes committing a great act in their waywardness. The movie fails on all counts to warn the audience of these things.
And as for the story it is not that great either. No offense to Mario Puzo fans, but talking of the movie I think the subject could have been tackled more intelligently, cinematically...
And as for those who go with the flow and praise The Godfather even though in their hearts, they don't see the movie as that great, take a stand and be truthful!
A better movie than this which handles crime and successfully drives home the motives of gangsters in the most humane way, is "Once upon a time in Mumbai", a Bollywood movie. You should check it out for its very strong performances.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Perfection!
This is one of the few movies that no one can afford to miss...Yeah, I've heard of many who didn't like the movie, didn't find it that comic or didn't like the choice for the cast. Trust me, they don't know what comedy is...
The movie starts off well with no indication of what is going to happen...All part of the hilarity, the two boys (played by Ralph Macchio & Mitchell Whitfield) find themselves at the wrong side of the law. They think they have been arrested for shoplifting a can of tuna ....but the police had more sinister suspicions!!!! They desperately need a lawyer...
Enter Vinny, an inexperienced lawyer played by Joe Pesci very ably portraying a New Yorker...Right from the word go, his acting is as sharp as a razor edge...The transition of Vinny from ignorance of 'procedure' to a confidence in his abilities is complete and a treat to watch. This combined with many extremely funny, embarrassing, misunderstanding, etc. moments catapult the movie to a 9 rating in my book..
Much controversy has been generated on Marisa Tomei's performance & her Oscar for supporting Actress...I don't know why...Marisa gives a performance of her lifetime portraying Lisa, Vinny's girlfriend....
Watch out for the deer speech and the courtroom scene right at the end....!!!
Bedazzled (2000)
Enjoyable fare
The title is really inappropriate, I think!
I will give you three reasons to watch this movie: 1. Elizabeth Hurley....Man, she is beautiful 2. Brendan Fraser's acting....Awesome....watch out for his sensitive guy and strong dumb guy portrayals....excellent performance! 3. The message at the end!
Brendan Fraser is a loser! Pretty much common in comedy films these days... He loves a certain girl and so is driven to some extent in selfish wish making by a certain biblical figure! How he overcomes his deviation forms the rest of the story.
The movie does sag a drift after the interval. Also some coherence is missing in the narrative. But the movie is fun to watch onetime. Second time if u wanna watch Hurley again. But that should be it...Thrice u won't be able to bear it....
Ghajini (2008)
Load of Old tosh!
Ghajini is another shameless attempt at finesse by Indian filmmakers. And needless to say, this movie sucks so much I am full of rage! Keep watching Memento many times and each time you understand the story still better. But in Ghajini there is no story at all...Memento breaks new grounds in story telling in that some sequences were completely reverse while some chrono. They both combined into a coherent account to ring a bell. But Ghajini is quite deeply devoid of sensibility even though sequences r chrono. Where to start? OK first the description of the man with the condition. Why cudn't Ghajini have shown this embedded into the story? The doctor blabbering everything in front of stupid medical students seemed very lame. Then the reaction of Aamir on seeing the tattoos...acting cannot get any worse....!! Mr. Aamir accuses others of over-acting but he did the same here. For the rest of the time he under-acts! Then the whole lovey-dovey angle. How pathetic! The Kalpana character seemed such a fake! Add to that the clear fact of Mr. Aamir's hair appearing transplanted....Hmmm...even the romantic angle is poor here...also it is too long....Should have been briefer The Kalpana murder also was idiotic. Mr. Aamir comes home & there is Kalpana coming out of a room nursing a dagger wound...She has all the strength to go to Mr. Aamir and whisper Ghajini in his ear but he doesn't take a step toward her. Only then the goons appear out of d room and do the needful!!!! phew,....kickass stuff Mr. Aamir-bulked-up looks so bad I can only describe him as a fat muscular man. All artificial! Also a rich tycoon has to hv so many goons n informers at his disposal. So why retreat to a flat n try to find Ghajini all by oneself especially when one knows one has short term memory? Memento Idea stolen, songs added ("Lattooo" song makes me wanna strangle Jiah), logic removed, lame villain generated, confusion removed =====Ghajini, a product an average intelligence guy can digest... Don't underestimate the Indian audience, Mr. Aamir! U cud hv gone 4 a bit more confusing plot. Even a scene to scene copy of Memento wud hv been better... Christopher Nolan wud never hv known anyway!!!
Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)
What a Movie!!!
I have not watched the Malayalam original but I don't think I need to. If ever u need to to be proud of an Indian film in front of an American, this is what u'll need. A very intelligent mix of drama, suspense, thrill and comedy with traces of romance thrown in between.... Right from the start, the movie never sags. All the characters r well chosen & the storyline is taut. The plot is of a couple returning to the husband's native place and a haunting they encounter there. Although the plot has been explored before, the performances by actors here are commendable. The couple seems an actual couple, the father looks like a father, everything rings true and credible. Its hard to believe they r acting. The suspense unfolds gradually and is very ably switched with other elements but the interest is never let down. The crazy doctor looks like he can do nothing! But looks can be deceptive. A very well-chosen protagonist! Different, in fact from the conventional ones...Twists n turns at d right times and finally, a fitting climax....short enough to hold attention throughout. A masterpiece of effort! A bigger budget n a little better dialog delivery esp. from Akshay cud hv made d movie flawless...In the scene where Akshay explains his discovery, he seems to be struggling for words...just a bit, though!!! All in all a gr8 movie....Rating 9/10