2012-Hitlist

This is an entry for the Blogathon hosted by fellow cineaste Murtaza Ali

It is that time of the year again, when I sit back and look at the movies, which I had the pleasure of watching and those movies, which I endured for the sheer sake of letting others know - 'don't waste your hard-earned money on these movies.'

With priorities at work changing and my mother's health taking a turn for the worse I did not get to see as many movies as I would have loved to and the list of independent and foreign language movies finding a release in India remains as pathetic as ever. My friends who download movies Ravi Kiran and Lijoy and the trusted shops at Burma bazaar ensured that the supply of movies would not end!

Numero Uno Movie:

Undoubtedly Moonrise Kingdom, for bringing back the innocence of puppy love, for putting a bunch of unknown child-actors who stole the thunder from seasoned performers like Edward Norton, Bruce Willis and Frances Mac Dormand - take a bow Mr. Wes Anderson!

Paan Singh Tomar:

Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia this movie is based on the true-life exploits of a an army-man athlete who ended up as a dacoit. A remarkable portrayal by Irrfan Khan and his effort and transformation into a long-distance runner is seen to be believed. How cruel Indian administration is as some of our greatest sports-persons end up in penury and ignominy!

Pizza:

This Tamil movie stands apart for its innovative script and takes the cake for delivering chills and thrills. How a pizza-delivery turns traumatic forms the crux of the story. But then don't believe everything that you see! Vijay Sethupati does a fantastic role here! A rollicking sound-track and taut direction by Karthik Subbaraj deserves special praise.

Kahaani:

After watching Kahaani there were a number of questions about how dumb could an intelligence network and the cruel terrorists be? But all was forgotten in Vidya Balan's masterly performance as the lady searching for her her husband and Nawazuddin Siddiqui announced himself with a bang and went on to deliver brilliant performances in the Gangs of Wasseypur and Talaash!

No.22 Female Kottayam:

Directed by Aashiq Abu and starring Rima Kallingal, Fahaad Faasil and Prathap Pothen this is a no holds barred revenge saga, of a nurse who has been brutally raped. How Tessa the lead character played by Rima avenges the injustice meted to her and a brilliant music-score make this a memorable movie.

The Pirates:

Charles Darwin, a bunch of motley pirates, a dodo, the Queen of England and a monkey make this a thoroughly enjoyable ride of laughs with an immensely funny script. There is a sequence when the pirate captain mistakes a baboon's kidney to be a gold doubloon, that left me laughing like mad! Don't miss this movie!

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:

Masterly adaptation by David Fincher and a superb performance by Naomi Rapace. Sadly graphic content of the movie prevented a theatrical release in India!

Avengers:

Big-budget Marvel pot-boiler that brings all our childhood comic heroes and heroine together on-screen; the Avengers rocked the screen with the Hulk played by mark Ruffalo pipping Robert Downey Junior for the maximum applause in the theatre.

The Diamond Necklace:

This Malayalam movie directed by Lal Jose and starring Fahaad Faasil, Samvrutha Sunil, Gauthami Nair and a host of others is a convincing tale of love and tribulations faced by a young doctor in the UAE and the complications of his affairs with three women and how he comes to terms with his love for each of his ladies.

The Dark Knight Rises:

Christopher Nolan gave a fitting finale to his Batman trilogy and Tom Hardy had the tough task of matching Heath Ledger's Joker from the previous installment. Tom Hardy accquited himself remarkably well and the climax hints at Joseph Gordon Levitt starting a new franchise of caped-crusader movies!

Skyfall:

There was an agonising wait for 007 to be back after the turkey called Quantum of Solace. Thankfully the wait was worth it and a fantastic villain who deserved a better death made Skyfall special!

Ordinary:

A loud-mouthed bus-driver, a newbie bus-conductor and a host of villagers in a remote hill-village. A strange premise and a rollicking comic chemistry between Kunchako Boban and Biju Menon made Ordinary a surprise Malayalam hit of 2012.

At the time of writing this, I am yet to see Life of Pi, Lincoln, Frankenweenie, Cloud Atlas and a bunch of other movies! Hoping 2013 provides enjoyable cinema and there are lesser turkeys unleashed upon the unsuspecting public!

Moonrise Kingdom - Movie Review

Can a movie be described as delicious?

Well I found ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ by Wes Anderson to be simply delicious. It is a quaint little tale with a stellar star cast - Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Frances Mc Dormand, Bill Murray and a bunch of lovable kids.

Set in the 1960s - The story is based in a scout camp managed by Edward Norton and starts with the disappearance of a scout Sam. In the town where the camp is set a girl Suzy goes missing as well. Bruce Willis is the town cop who starts a kid-hunt for both the missing kids.

Sam and Suzy are twelve year old kids who have fallen in love and have run away. Sam is orphaned after the death of his parents while Suzy is living in a dysfunctional family of a lawyer couple - Murray and Frances. Frances has an on and off affair with Bruce, which does not help matters either.

The story is how Sam and Suzy are found, separated and then reunited again!

I am not going to reveal anything further except that this is a must-watch movie for everyone. Intelligent scripting, lovely music, top-notch cinematography and sound-recording and flawless performances from even the most minor actor.

Do not miss this movie it’s one of those rare movies that puts a smile on your face and shows the perspective of love from an adolescent’s point of view.

Movie Reviews

Aravaan - Tamil:

I have been a fan of Vasanthabalan since 'Veyil', not many know that he made a movie called 'Album' before it. Aravaan is based on a section from the award-winning Tamil historical novel 'Kaaval Kootam'. The movie set in 17th-18th century Tamizh Nadu focusses on a clan of thieves and their actions.

How a stranger joins their group, and what his secret is - forms the crux of the story. Good cinematography, below-par graphics, good songs and great performances by Aadhi and Pasupathi.

Definitely worth watching once :)

Second Show - Malayalam:

Mamooty's son Dulquar Salman makes a power-packed debut as a thug/drug-trafficker with the story starting in flashback-mode - worthy of a Tarantinoesque twist - the movie has great camera-work some wonderful lines a great support cast and Sudesh Beri as the menacing villain Vishnu Buddhan. Special mention for Rohini who plays Salman's mother :)

One line that remains etched in my memory - 'Annum, Innum, Ennum - pennunu pannam aana kamughan!'roughly translated as - 'Be it then, now or ever after for a woman - money is a woman's preferred lover!' - The intensity with which he delivers this dialogue when in jail realizing that the girl who promised to be with him through thick and thin has now married someone else has to be seen to be believed!

A great start by D. Salman :)

UP!

I finally got to see "UP" this Sunday evening. This gem from Pixar had a long delay in reaching India.

The movie is a departure from previous offerings from Pixar and has human emotions as a major factor.

The movie recounts the story of a young boy who wants to be an explorer. He meets a girl who has similar ambitions. They become friends and they grow older and get married. They plan to reach the fabled Paradise Falls and start saving for their trip. The sequence extends and the childless couple have grown old. The man Carl and the woman Ellie still love each other deeply.

Carl gets two tickets to Venezuela but Ellie has fallen ill and eventually she dies. Carl sits all alone in the church after Ellie's burial.

Carl's old house is in the middle of a construction plan. A series of events leads Carl to be arrested and forced to move to an old-age home.

Carl plans something else and blows loads of balloons fixed to his roof and flies away. The only problem a small chubby boy Russell is unwittingly also at the doorstep when the house flies.

The duo face problems and finally reach Paradise Falls.

Here they meet talking dogs, a strange bird and an explorer Charles Muntz who was presumed to be dead.

What follows next is an interesting mix of the duo outwitting the old explorer who wants to capture the bird alive with his coterie of talking dogs.

There are chase sequences in the air, a zeppelin kind air-ship and Carl's humble home.

Watch the movie on the big-screen.

Thumbs-up!!!

DVD Reviews

It has been a while since I posted movie reviews here So folks get ready for a bunch of reviews.

FRENZY

Star Cast-Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen.

This Alfred Hitchcock classic is about a serial murderer who rapes women and strangles them with a silk tie. The movie has a scene in which the killer puts the corpse of a woman in a sack and loads the sack on to a van carrying potato sacks. Then he realizes that his tie-pin is missing and returns to the van and hunts for the sack with the corpse. The van starts moving an he panics and struggles in trying to retrieve the pin. A well-made thriller.

INKHEART

This Brendan Fraser movie is a nice fantasy tale. Based on the best-selling Inkheart series of novels. It describes the adventures of a book-doctor(Fraser) who has the power to bring characters to life when he reads aloud. A well-made movie thorough family-fare for the long summer.

BEDTIME STORIES

Starring Adam Sandler this Walt Disney production has a similar premise like Inkheart. Sandler works as a handyman in a massive luxury hotel which was built on the site of his father's old motel. Sandler gets to baby-sit his nephew and niece and when he tells them stories the next day it happens to him. A good family-movie.

THE DARK CITY

Star Cast-Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Richard O'Brien

Directed by Alex Proyas this 1998 movie went surprisingly unnoticed. Imagine you wake up in a hotel having no memory of what you are and what you do. You find the corpse of a young woman in your room and you are on the run. The police wants you a young woman claims to be your wife and a sinister group of bald-headed men are out to kill you. To add to the confusion a strange psychiatrist also follows you. What is the mystery? Watch this movie to find the answers. The suspense quotient is high and the dark locales are complimented by the stunning cinematography and massive sets.

V-Day, Fever, Movies, Insecurity, and Bride-Hunting

Well so another Valentine's Day has come and gone. By the grace of a couple of my friends some really fiery discussions thru' e-mail happened. Nothing important but then some people do not understand humour and I better stop using "superfluous" words and take care of my punctuation marks while drafting e-mails.

I never celebrated V-Day as I never had a Valentine. Last year was an exception(2008) when I was too damn confused to figure out if it was infatuation or true love.
By the time I figured out it was love on my part the chapter was already closed by the "other party."

This year I was bundled at home with a nasty cold and fever. I popped Paracetamols and Erythromycins while half the world was feasting on cakes and starwberry milkshakes.

I saw some movies on my DVD player. I saw "Rock-n-Rolla," "Revolutionary Road," "Charade," and "From Here to Eternity."

There is a definite feeling of insecurity. People at the office are glued to their desks semingly trying to focus on their work. There have been assurances that no more lay-offs will happen. But you never know!

I don't know what the future holds. It seems a couple of horoscopes matched. Now the next round of discussions have been initiated and there is a genuine possibility of an "official sighting" in March. I will be travelling to Kolkatta in March for a family function and it seems the conspiracy to conduct my marriage will reach the next level there.

Wish me luck folks!

Cinemascope-Looking at the movies of 2008

The initial list-"The Top Movies of 2008" had some of the movies that I liked. Once I finished writing that post realized there were lots of other movies that I enjoyed and totally forgot about:

Mithya:

Rajat Kapoor's movie with Ranvir Shourie, Nasiruddin Shah, Vinay Pathak and Neha Dhupia a story of double identities, amnesia, dons, intrigue, unrequited love and death. The part that I enjoyed most was Ranvir's Hamlet soliloquy in Hindi.

Eastern Promises:

London, the mob, Russian gangsters, lots of F words, punches and fights, couple of gross scenes and the final fight in the buff. Viggo Mortensen does a great job in David Cronenberg's violent gangster story.

Kannum Kannum:

A beautiful love story where sacrifice gains a new meaning. Prasanna in a great role. Beautiful cinematography no vulgar comedy or item-songs. A simple story told aesthetically. A pity that the movie was not a big hit.

Raman Thediya Seethai and Pirivvom Sandhippom:

With Cheran in both movies, the first one as an actor and the second one as both actor and doctor both movies were good family entertainers. The first one was the search of a man for a wife the second the problems faced by a city-bred woman coming to terms with a large joint family after marriage. Pasupathy excels as a blind radio jockey in Raman Thediya Seethai.

Alibaba:

Directed by a debutante and starring director Vishnuvardhan's brother Krishna, this is a really taut thriller. Just think you are a good for nothing thief who lives with his brother and father(also thieves). One day to your surprise you find that there are close to 40 lakhs in your bank account and with every passing day your bank balance keeps increasing. Then the fun starts young girls been raped and killed, a senior police officer being killed, the plot keeps thickening and just when you think that the climax is here, there is another twist. "Saroja" was OK with its thumping music track and Tom and Jerryish antics, but Alibaba really scores on the surprise factor.

Welcome to Sajjanpur:

When India's most acclaimed and respected director returns after a long gap and returns with a Malgudish comedy you are excited. This movie is a brilliant satire of the life and times of modern northern India the casteism, rogue politics, and development problems, Good performances by all and Shreyas Talpade keeps excelling with each movie. A must watch.

Taken:

I saw this on DVD. This stars Liam Neeson as an ex-CIA agent who works as a security guy along with his friends. He is separated from his wife but is close to his daughter. when his daughter goes on a pleasure trip to Paris and gets kidnapped. He returns to his super spy ways and tracks down his daughter's kidnappers who run an international prostitition and trafficking ring. Powerful performance by Neeson and good action sequences. Watch this movie when it hits the Indian theatres.

In Bruges:

Two assassins on a sight-seeing trip. A boss who is angry and wants to kill them. A midget who is an actor, a young woman who is a con. Great cinematography and background music. Directed by Martin McDonagh the movie stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes in one of the finest black comedies in recent times.