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Picture Perfect

 

Monday, April 30, 2007

2:21 PM - Regal Marathon ...


Regal Cinema had free movies (along with free popcorn and drinks !) this weekend. Took full use of it and watched 3 movies !! (2 on saturday and one on sunday). Watched I think I love my wife, Ghost rider and Breach.

I think I love my wife:


A simple movie which could have been better. Chris Rock plays the confused and torn investment banker who is pushed from all sides to start an affair with his old time friend, but holds steadfast. The climax is typical with some drab moments in during the middle. Some "semi-laughable" moments during the starting of the film, but nothing remarkable.



Ghost rider:



A movie based on a Marvel comics character set in a modern setting. The screenplay kept jumping around a lot because the producers tried to put in more story in than required. Nicolas Cage looks *really* old - time for him to retire from young roles. The modern setting kind of gives a confusing picture to the movie. I felt the movie would have been better had it been left to the old setting. The roles of the investigators and police standing around as hapless spectators served no purpose and could have been easily got away with.

Breach :


The best of the three. The antagonist-protagonist roles of Chris Cooper and Ryan Philippe brings about a wonderful presence on the screen. Based on the real life of Robert Hanssen (who was considered the biggest security breach in the FBI), the movie throws light on the mind of a spy. Chris Cooper plays the role to its best and so does Ryan. Very good choices for the roles. The movie was made "filmy" but that is expected given that without it half the audience might have been asleep. What I couldnt understand is why did the director have the story written such that Chris Cooper is made doubtful of counterintelligence operations surrounding him, but still goes ahead and makes a drop by just believing the words of his subordinate ! That appeared very stoopid in the movie. Nonetheless, the movie stands out with its wonderful portrayal of the subtle but short relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist. A "definitely watchable"


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Sunday, April 22, 2007

3:48 PM - Manasinakkare ...

After a **really** loooong hiatus, I watched a Mallu movie yesterday. All my roomies went to sleep and I desperately wanted to watch a movie. Somehow ended up deciding to watch a malayalam movie. I had heard that Manasinakkare was supposed to be a good movie.

The amazing thing about most mallu movies is their simple but compelling storylines. Mostly weaved around day-to-day family scenarios, you would be able to easily relate to them. The direction and screenplay are also exemplary in most cases, as is the acting. Many people dont consider mallu movies as "entertaining". Entertainment doesnt just include party dances, skimpily dressed women, ear jangling music, out-of-the-world stunts, the style factor etc. Even a very simple down to earth story can keep you entertained and engrossed.

Manasinakkare, directed by Sathyan Anthikad (famous for Achuvinte Amma), is a film which stresses the importance of one's filial responsibilities in a subtle way. In today's world where everybody is behind money, there are very few people who understand what their parents crave for and act accordingly. Sheela as Kochu Theresia has delivered a wonderful performance as the neglected mother who lives her life by the moment. Jayaram as Reji is a hardworking person who plays the father to his real alcoholic father. Kochu Theresia finds in Reji, the son she never had and both of them find solace in each other. Nayantara, Innocent and KPAC Lalitha deliver short but impressive performances.

The camera has panned the wonderful scenery of Kerala. I felt some abrupt "gaps" in the movie at times. There were two unnecessary fight sequences also which could have been avoided. But apart from these minor points, Manasinakkare is compelling and drives home a good point in a subtle fashion.

A must watch !

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Monday, April 17, 2006

3:34 AM - Fight Club



Just one word : Awesome !

Don't miss it. Its a concept movie to be seen by everybody. The more you see it, the more you will learn from it.

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Monday, November 28, 2005

12:11 PM - Coming in to say hi for a second. ..

I know I have not been keeping these pages updated. So I thought of barging in with a Hi and talk about the movies which I saw this weekend.

Happy Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Overall ok kinds. Watched it on Saturday night at City Pride Kothrud. Was trying that theater for the first time. Didn't find it impressive though. If you have read the book already, then you know everything. But it was kind of good to recall the 4th book. I had read it long back ago and had forgotten some parts of the story. Afterwards, me and my roomie had a loong dinner discussing abt Potter and Rowling.



Mystic River - Watched it the same day at home in my lappy. Really good movie. Clint Eastwood, Tim Robbins and Sean Penn really shine throughout the movie. It had a kind of anti-climatic end which amused me. The emotional conflict/struggle between the three characters has been shown subtly. Somehow, I had pictured this as a 1950-60's story. Probably because Cold Mountain also got released during the same time.

Verdict: Must watch.



Mississippi Burning - A nice movie pictorising the racial discrimination era in the US during the 60's. Strong potrayal by Gene Hackman. He carries the movie completely on his shoulders throughout.

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Friday, July 01, 2005

9:33 AM - Anniyan

Let me start off with a Tamil movie (don't say "Nakkitte da" !). Why Tamil movie ? Just because I happened to see one in the last week or so.




The most important "defect" which I saw in it was the justification for many of the killings. This is where it differed greatly from Indian. Indian had good justifiable killings where the viewer too concurs with the murders. Not so in Anniyan. Sub-standard food in trains ? (It never killed anybody.) But the punishment given by Anniyan : getting fried in oil. Ewww !! There is one traffic scene, where scores of people ignore an injured man without stopping to help. But one guy who stopped for a minute gets killed. Lesson : Don't even stop when you see an accident. If you stop, you get killed.

Songs were just ok kinds. Nothing catchy. Set design and outdoor shots were great though. (Sabu Cyril - Art Direction) Vikram was good. Vivek was, in effect, the savior of the movie. Action scenes were a supernatural hero affair. The scene with Prakashraj where Vikram's multiple personalities keep coming and going every second is not credible at all. The "fan factor" has come to play here. In reality, no MPD affected person would behave like that. But it brings out Vikram's acting skills. Sadha, the herione, is just ok. Lots of mallu actors though (Nedumudi Venu, Kalabhavan Mani, Hanifa).

One related movie which I liked is Deewangee (Hindi). It shows the other side of MPD where Ajay Devgan uses MPD as a reason to escape the clutches of the law. A decent movie where Devgan's acting has shone out well.

In the end its another happy ending movie where reality tends to take a back seat. But as we say everytime : "Oru thadava paakalaam :)"

When : June 21st 6:45 PM
Where : ESquare, Pune.
With : My mom, Subbu.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

11:51 PM - Prologue ...

I thought I should be giving an introduction before I start posting in this blog. Nothing much. Just some info on what this blog will contain etc.

I am a huge cinema buff (apart from being a buff in other areas). I like watching all kinds of movies and discussing about them in public. I regularly watch movies in 4 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam - in order of regularity). And this blog will be the space I will be using for publishing my (and only my) comments about the movies I have watched. (Comments to my comments are always welcome !) Like me, there is Kuppu, who is also a similar movie buff. We have very similar tastes in movies. (from my experience during the 4 years we spent together in college) Do visit his site too for his reviews about movies ...

"Film is like a personal diary, a notebook or a monologue by someone who tries to justify himself before a camera." - Jean-Luc Godard

"The only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one." - Elvis Presly

I do sincerely hope that there would be no epilogue to this blog .... Wish me good luck ..

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