Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Skyfall, James Bond, review in 'The Telegraph'
12A cert, 142 min; dir: Sam Mendes; Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney
“James Bond will return” promise the closing credits of almost every film in the 007 franchise. Yes, but in what form? Set aside the series’s pulpy orthodoxies — the cars, the guns, the dames — and Ian Fleming’s secret agent is something of a chameleon, either blending in with or cashing in on the movie craze du jour. Think of Moonraker, rushed into production after Star Wars took popular cinema into orbit, or Live and Let Die, exploiting blaxploitation, or the twitchy, unsmiling Quantum of Solace, Bond’s latter-day Bournefication.
Skyfall, the often dazzling, always audacious new entry directed by Sam Mendes, is no different. For better or worse we live in the age of the superhero, and so Mendes’s film is less hardboiled spy saga than blistering comic-book escapade. The template here is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, a film that has almost singlehandedly reconfigured the modern blockbuster since its 2008 release, when it left Quantum of Solace bobbing in its wake.
We join Bond in Istanbul, chasing a stolen computer disk that contains the secret identities of embedded Nato agents. After a hair-raising chase across marketplaces, rooftops and a thundering train, the disk is lost, and for a moment so is 007. But after a gothic title sequence he rematerialises in London, older, unshaven and off his game. Nevertheless, M (Judi Dench) puts him back on the case, which takes him to some of the world’s most exotic corners: Shanghai, Macau, Glencoe...
Daniel Craig remains Bond incarnate, although six years on from Casino Royale he has become something more than a brawny cipher. There’s a warmth to his banter with pretty field agent Eve (Naomie Harris), the one-liners make a tentative return, and we even learn about the loss of Bond’s parents: the must-have back story for this season’s conflicted superhero.
Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan’s script constantly reminds us Bond’s physical prowess is on the wane, but his verbal sparring, both with M and new foe Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), a former agent turned vengeful computer hacker, is nimbler than ever.
Silva is almost as inscrutable as The Dark Knight’s Joker himself: Bardem’s lip-lickingly camp turn makes him the oddest Bond villain since the Roger Moore era, and his nicotine hair flops queasily over his forehead in a way that calls to mind Julian Assange. By acknowledging the rise of cyberterrorism in the same way Nolan played on the West’s new vulnerability in the wake of 9/11, Skyfall is a Bond film for the Anonymous generation.
Mendes, whose American Beauty and Revolutionary Road were light on explosions, lets the quieter moments breathe, and a conversation between Bond and Silva that’s simply buttered with innuendo drew cheers at an early preview screening. But Mendes is rather good at being loud, too, and his nine times Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins makes the wildly ambitious action sequences the most beautiful in Bond’s 50-year career. (The release of Skyfall marks the series’ half-centenary.) The sensational Istanbul prologue is soon bettered by the Shanghai segment, where Bond pursues an assassin through a soaring glass skyscraper lit up like a neon Aurora Borealis.
It’s pearls like these, not to mention the deliriously arch fight scene involving two komodo dragons, that give Mendes’s film enough momentum to power through its scrappy third act, when Silva’s diabolical plans start to feel a tad scattershot, even for a Bond villain.
“We don’t go in for exploding pens any more,” quips a fashionably tousled Q (Ben Whishaw). Nor do audiences, and I suspect Skyfall will be a stratospheric hit.
Rating: 4/5
Courtesy:
7:00AM BST 24 Oct 2012
The Telegraph
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A lesson for all aspiring film makers...
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/of-course-velu-nayakan-doesnt-dance/article4008896.ece
Naan Ee- The Ultimate stunner of the year !
Some films just don't need the aid of a superstar to give a super hit, they just need a good content and engaging script and most importantly a terrific story teller to execute this script.Naan Ee is one such hell of a film which is not less than a masterpice in Indian cinema.Naan Ee, the Tamil version of Eega is a simple revenge story of a human being reincarnated as fly to take revenge on a person who separated him from his lover.This story is told with some astonishing visual effects,brilliant acting,unbelivable cinematography and a terrific BGM,everything brought together neatly by director S S rajamouli.
Sudeep (Sudeep), a fun-loving and a playboy businessman, lures everyone he comes across and wins them over. He meets Bindu (Samantha) and tries all his tantrums on her. But his efforts fail as she is inclined towards a boy-next-door Nani (Nani). Coming to know of this, Sudeep hatches a conspiracy and kills Nani.But now its the turn of the Nani to reborn as fly and teaches Sudeep lessons the hard way.
The movie is basically a sort of fanatsy,but Rajamouli makes us belive us that this could be possible with some racy entertaining scenesIts not all about visuals, but the emotional content makes us sit with anticipation and excitement throughout the movie to an extent that we actually consider the fly as a person who is one among us.And these are interlaced with all the ingredients of romance,comedy,action,sentiments in proper ratio.Every minute detail is taken care of in each scene and due to this every scene in this movie is a visual stunner.
Coming to the fly, it has been given all the characterisics of a human so that the audience could relate to it through its body languages.It is naughty,fun loving,romantic,emotional...it fights,sing and dance etc..And the animations are of extremely high standards considering the budget spend on the animation.The writers have exploited all the ways through which a small fly can take revenge on a person and make the audience to feel that they are logical and there lies the success of this film.
It is said that a well built up villain can make the hero extremely lovable and make film more appealing.It is the well detailed character of Sudeep that makes the character of fly more powerful and appealing and he has delivered one of the best performnces in a negative role which demanded to be menacing and comical
simultaneously but should not go overboard too.His interactions with the fly are the main highlight of the movie and would definitely give goosebumps.Nani and Samantha are apt for their role and gave good performance.
Cinematograpy is another main charater of the movie nad one wonder how some shots are visualized as they are breathtaking for any standards.The BGM by Keeravani also enhances the mood of the film to another level.
Overall Naan Ee could be called one of the milestone in Indian movies of our times in which a very small budget is spend to provide some visual effects of international standards.Hats off to Rajamouli for his sheer imagination and truly entertaining execution of the script.
If you have not watched this movie, you have missed one of the biggest movie spectacles of the year!!MUST MUST WATCH!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
OMG (OH MY GOD!)--A gutsy and mind changing film!!
Plot:
God is a personal choice and his origin and existence are open to interpretation.God has never created any religion and thus Religion is man-made.Its original purpose was to unite people in the name of God and to live a peaceful life and a spiritual conscience.But today its ideas are highly distorted and misinterpreted and we have a set up where religion is misused just to collect a whole lot of money in the name of God.Moreover in present times it has degraded just as a criteria for selecting brides and bride grooms for marriages ,for admissions in schools and colleges and to get jobs.Its original objectives are intentionally untouched by the so called religious leaders.And the most pathetic part is that even the so called highly educated and high class citizens of our nations are the ones who are more inclined towards these religious fanatisms.And OH MY GOD takes a dig at all these issues but in a lighter manner.
OMG is an adaptation of the enormously admired play 'Krishan Vs Kanhaiya'.Kanji Mehta [Paresh Rawal] is an atheist, who runs an antique shop. For him, God and religion are nothing more than a business proposition. He purchases idols of God and sells them as antique idols at double or triple its original price. His wife, on the other hand, is a devout believer. When a slight tremor of an earthquake shakes the city, it causes the destruction of only one shop in the entire city -- Kanji's shop. The insurance company invokes this act of God and promptly rejects the claim. Frustrated, and left with no option, Kanji decides to file a case against God on the premise that if God is responsible for his loss, then it is God's responsibility to compensate him for his losses.
Treatment:
Introduction of God men of different virtues (Mithun Chakravorty, Govind Namdeo, Poonam Jhawer), and the lawyer (Mahesh Manjrekar) coming into picture, everything keeps you interested.The scenes at court room is a treat to watch and you will definitely have a smile on your face throughtout the proceedings.The screenplay is highly engaging and Kanji is allowed to reason all his views instead of just having plain accusations.With the arrival of Akshay Kumar as God the film tries to prove that God is there within all of us and we need not go to temples,churches or masjids in search of him,and need not spend a lot of money in the name of God as it could be spend to help the needful ones.It also says that religion should not be an obstacle to love or marry a person, to study in a college or to have a job of your choice and no God has told in such a manner ever.Its all man's brain to serve their purposes.
There are some terrific dialogues which will force us to ponder on this issue.A few are:
'Jahan dharam hai wahan satya ki jagah nahi hai. Aur jahan satya hai wahan dharam ki zaroorat hi nahi.'
'Yeh log mujhe (Bhagavad) Gita sikhayenge? In logon ki IQ bhi room temperature se low hai.'
'Main sab Dharmon ka aadar karta hoon aur kissi dharm ko maanta nahi hoon.'
'Dharm logon ko yadi bebas banatha hai ya athangwadi.'
Performances:
Paresh Rawal carries the film on his shoulders and does it with impeccable comic timing and uncomparable screen presence.Its very rare that we see an actor of his caaliber do amain character in a film.Akshay Kumar
does the role of God with complete dignity and he allows aresh Rawal take hold of the film.Others are also performs well.
There are definitely some illogical and dramatic sequences but those could be overlooked considering the overall pace of the film and the fact that this film could be an eye opener to many of us.
It may not be the best film that you have seen this year, but I could definitely say that this could the most influencial film of the year and you will be forced to think even after the film ends.
This was definitely a risk taken especially in our country where people gets offended so easily as they won't work for their food but fight for their religion.
Hats off to all the persons involved in this film as instead of getting offended, we actually gets in another mode and starts thinking about our mentality towards religion.
Its a must watch movie as it change the way we look at religion.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Hayat- Iranian movie review(link given below the review)
Hayat is the story of a girl and her brother and sister(small baby) and her strugglr to write one exam in her life. Her father is taken to hospital suddenly and her mother accompanied him.She has to do all her work,prepare food for brother and have to take care of the baby before going to school for the exam. And a numerous incidents happens in between which prevents the girl from going to school in time.Whether the girl writes the exam is the main theme of the film.
Its such a tiny plot, but the script is so engaging that we actually run with the girl for the whole span of 1 hr 18 mins.We feel the same frustration,agony,anxiety and desperation as the girl feels in the movie as it proceeds to the climax and I really got impatient after a point of time that I jumped from the chair.This is the true success of the film.It also displays a lovely brother- sister relation whether the brother does everything to help his sister to reach the school in time.
The children are the main characters and they performed it in the most natural way that girl has given a terrific performance And what a baby!!! i have never seen a less than a year baby perform like this in a film.
Overall this is another brilliant Iranian movie and I guarantee that you will definitely be impatient and frustrated throughout the movie and at the end you'll have a smile on your face :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7I1PDUVg8g
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Arike - unbelievably simple,real and heart touching
The film is all about Shanthanu(Dileep), a middle class man falling in love with his former student Kalpana (Samvrutha) who is from a rich aristocratic family.Anuradha (Mamtha Mohandas) , a close friend of both is the one who always help them with their meeting places and spaces, and even write love letters for Kalpana. She believes that there is no true love in world and people love only for temporary wishes and desires.And she thinks that her friends are the last true lovers in this world.
The issue shown in the film is one of the most prominent issues faced by youth today especially by the males of age 20-25 who love with every bit of sincerity i.e after romancing and even sharing body and mind for a long time, one day the girl dumb him and marry a boy of her parents choice justifying that she was thinking practical.But no one thinks the mental state of a man when he realizes that he was just a last option for her and has been used by her for all those period.Though this is a very invisible issue but it has taken leaps and bound in recent times.This problem has been depicted with at most reality and sincerity by Shyamaprasad.
The script is so close to reality that except few situations we feel that the actors are expressing their mind without any script.The dialogues are very genuine and some of them are really haunting and heart touching.I would like to highlight one dialogue by Samvruth's charater to Mamtha -"Ne ee kashmiri pattu sari kando...ee jewellary kando..Shanthanu'ne kettiyirunel enik ithu vallathum nte veetukar vanguaruno?" This one depicts the commom perseption of present girls, not all of them but the 'practical' ones.The scene between innocent and their family guru is one gem of a scene and we feel how pathetic are our mentality towards love,marriage,religion,caste..Then the final dialogues by Dileep were truly heart wrenching.
Coming to the performances, Dileep had to keep it subtle and he succeeded in portraying the love,tension,agony,frustration of a true lover though could not hide some of his usual mannerisms, if avoided would have been really better.But this is one of his best performances and his performance in the final scene with Mamtha would definitely bring a lump in your throat.Samvrutha had a role written for her and needed just to be herself.Mamtha was the best of the three and she performed it with utmost originality.
The camera by Azhagappan is top notch and the songs by Ouseppachan are good to hear.The songs by Karthik and Mamtha are my favourites.Shyamaprasad has tried to make it close to reality and showed the realities of love in present day situations where people search for better options.
Overall Arike is gem of a film and has a soul in it which is missing in many films.Though there are many good films released this year this film would definitely be in top 5.In these days of 'Thattathin Marayath' which was just a deja vu of 80's and 90's, it is sad that this simple and sweet film and most importantly a genuine one was ignored by us. Arike is highly recommended for a family watch !
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
English Vinglish gets a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival
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