Heaven on Earth

Another Deepa Mehta movie, high on feminist sentiments. Priety Zinta stands out in this one. The movie is intense, the story lukewarm and the screenplay just about right.The movie is interestingly shot and tries to strike an element of depth in the story. However the story itself is dependent to much on the parallel interpretation of a folklore. Such an idea worked for Fire, which is still my favorite Deepa Mehta movie. However Heaven on Earth fails to create a realistic appeal in the story.

Overall, Heaven on Earth is a strictly "okayish" movie. Priety Zinta surely makes her mark.

My Rating - 2/5

The Namesake

The Namesake, a novel adaptation. A peculiar story beautifully executed. Drags a little, takes a little long to build up, but when it does, it ends beautifully. Irrfan Khan and Tabu at their best. A good movie, overall.

Got no major complaints about this one. Watch this one to unwind, and you won't be disappointed.

My Rating- 3/5

Annie Hall

Woody Allen. Genius. Same guy. Yep.

I usually don't watch comedies. It's hard to make me laugh, I'm sad that way. But I cracked. Many times while watching this lovely movie. Woody Allen the comedian is just brilliant with his hyper-active timing, and you just can't help rewinding a couple of seconds and cracking over a scene again. All the humor also packs up a pinch of wisdom to it some times.

A movie where the story is not in the plot, but in the detailing, in the screen play, in the numerous punches that make you giggle, all through this fun-filled ride.

Hop on. Watch this one and you won't be disappointed.

Also, Mr. Allen. So much respect.

My rating- 4/5

Spirited Away

Spirited Away. What a movie. A proof describing how beautiful an outcome of a wild imagination can be. Certainly one of the best animation movies I've seen and after Grave of the Fireflies and now Spirited away, it's time I start wearing the "Studio-Ghibli-Fan" badge. Yes.

I think in terms of stories, Japanese Anime has always been breaking the barriers. Even in Spirited Away, the story is what lends the movie its beauty. How every detail is imagined and brought to life. It's all bound to leave you in awe. Certain sequences are so picture perfect. The only thing is, the movie is a little long. But then again, the story steals the show.

They didn't waste that Oscar on this movie. The movie totally deserved it.

My Rating- 3/5

Mississippi Masala

In an attempt to explore the works of this gem of a director they call, Mira Nair. I watched Mississippi Masala and as expected, I'm not at all disappointed.

The movie is pretty ordinary, if you watch it today. But back when it was released, I'm sure it ould've been a pretty different subject in terms of the standards back in the 90s.

The good part of the movie, is that it doesn't drag. The screenplay is crisp and Mira Nair definitely does not disappoint. I won't compare this movie to Monsoon Wedding but like MW, even MS is a fine example of Mira Nair's ability to take the most ordinary of stories and turn them into something beautiful, with appropriate detailing and a screen play that ornaments the story so beautifully.

My Rating - 2.75/5  

Gangs of Wesseypur

Welcome to Wesseypur. The land of power, politics and murders. The movie is a no-sugar-coated take on the brutal reality that revolves around small-town politics, where important decisions are just a gun shot away and the male centered society prefers to reach important decisions through mass murdering and shoot-outs.

Wesseypur as a story is pretty interesting, nicely written. Wesseypur as a movie, is a good watch. Certainly something that's very different as compared to the usual "Bollywood" standards.

The movie's motive is to depict small-town politics. It's gripping, but the movie is long and the story takes leaps and jumps in between. The violence and the rawness is pretty evident but somewhere the story loses the track by just an inch. It's like stories that encircle each other in a very redundant pattern, in such a way that you may get lost. GOW, to me was good. Strictly good. Different. Brutal. But, strictly good. I may differ from the popular opinion which acclaims this movie, because most people like movies that grip their imaginations and keep their brains ticking through a twisted plot-within-a-plot format. But yes, I'm different in ways that don't really match the ways of the world.

Next up, GOW 2.

My Rating- 2/5

Gandu

Gandu. Shocking. Dirty. Real. Rage, Un-explainable.

The aforementioned words describe this one-of-a-kind shocking movie. Can't really say much about Gandu for I fail to understand its essence amidst all the explicitness. You can't really paint a picture completely in black. It can have a dark shade but a completely black picture blinds its beauty to the onlookers. Hope you get what I mean.

Watch Gandu at your own risk.

My Rating- 2/5 [2 marks just for the soundtrack]

The Dictator

Just like other Sasha Baron Cohen movies, this one is mad too. Like really mad. But gone are the days when you could easily laugh at stupidity and filth. It only gets as good as Borat for me.

The Dictator is just mildly amusing, assured to give you a few giggles. But nothing more. But the good part is, the movie does tell you a story. The gags are mindless. Spare this one for a day when you're too lazy to watch a movie and don't mind watching just about anything.

My rating- 2/5

Swades

I had to watch this movie, couldn't call myself a SRK fan without watching it and I'm glad I did. There's a reason that I am a SRK fan and will always be.

Swades is a simplistic story, that tries to communicate a lot of thoughts as it progresses.. It does it in a very simple and direct way. SRK is really at his best in this one. I wouldn't call the movie his best but yes, it definitely is one of his very special performances.

The only flaw is that the movie is too long. At 3 hour 15 minutes, you might give up waiting for the end. The story is good but every story should make an impact early or else it begins to drag and isn't as impactful as it should be.

All in all. SRK shines yet again and despite being a lengthy movie, Swades is a memorable movie that shall linger in your memory as a simplistic tale with a message to give.

My rating- 3/5

Maachis

I remember as a kid, all the grown-ups around me watching this film.

Maachis touches upon a very sensitive subject. It doesn’t really try to be politically correct by passing on a message through the movie. It doesn’t really favor anything by presenting a right or a wrong. Maachis neutrally depicts the state of affairs in India, at a certain point of time in the 90s, involving the Sikhs and the authorities. The film is very subtly done, the story beautifully woven together with a screen play that doesn’t really go off track except the last part when the movie drags a little.

Maachis is a good movie, sensitive, touching and well executed. The songs of the movie are remembered by one and all till this day, just like all other song that great man has ever written. That great man who’s not just the most excellent poet but is also a fabulous story-teller. The man, the one and the only, The Gulzar.

My Rating- 2.5/5

English Vinglish

I’m loving 2012, it’s treating Bollywood well. Movies are actually trying to tell stories. Stories that are actually the crux of this art called “Movie making”. After Barfi! , the pleasant surprise was English Vinglish. 

Anyone who knows this movie by its trailers knows the plot. The plot is right there, very minimal and simplistic. But what makes the movie stand out is the way in which it is conceived. The screen-play connects and an otherwise ordinary plot ends up telling you a heart-warming story. Giving a subliminal message of courage and resonating a simple virtue that the first and last love affair happens with the self.

When a movie is honestly made, you don’t mind swaying away with its ultra-emotional moments.

In short, English Vinglish is just another story that’s told in such a way that it creates a remembrance for itself. Moreover in an age which suffers from the dearth of original ideas, it must be our duty to respect the few original ideas which end up telling stories that are unique, stories that are a fodder for life, stories making our redundant lives beautiful.

My Rating- 3/5

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski  is just a comedy movie with not a really strong plot. The characters though are funny but the story is not gripping enough. There will be a few giggles here and there, the soundtrack is good. The movie is a cult somehow but it failed to impress me.

I have not much to say about this one. Maybe because I’m also sleepy by the end of this movie.

My rating- 2/5

Salaam Bombay !

“Salaam Bombay!” is Mira Nair’s first feature film. It takes a lot of courage to make a first film on such a complex subject. This certainly tells the caliber of Mira Nair as a director.

The movie is a story, a metaphorical reality check of the darkness that lies behind the bright big city life. The movie requires a bit of patience to watch. But once you watch the entire movie, it certainly hits you hard. The movie as a whole does make an impact. Especially when you watch it after “Monsoon Wedding” a lighter movie from the same director, an extremity in terms of contrast.

As a whole, Salaam Bombay is hard hitting because even in a fictitious way the movie tells you the truth.

My Rating- 2.5/5

                                                                              

Monsoon Wedding

I cannot express how regretful I feel for not watching this movie earlier. There are very very few movies that leave me with no regrets in the end. Yes, I'm a tough critic to crack. After Monsoon Wedding, I think I've found a favorite director in Mira Nair.

Monsoon Wedding is nothing but beauty with perfection. The pieces just fall, and fit in so perfectly, that you can't help but awe at this beautiful movie. I actually have no words. The commendable fact is that you can make can make a beautiful movie even out of a minimal plot by beautiful detailing that is bursting with emotions. It's like finding purity in a dew drop as compared to other film makers who merely "try" to find purity in deep waters. Mira Nair has found the purity in a dew drop and there's nothing more to it, it's just perfect.

I love you, Mira Nair. You always touch my heart with every movie. Her camera work is very metaphorical and captures some picture perfect frames. I can actually go on and on.

So yes, Monsoon Wedding is beauty, sweetness, emotions personified. And it's my humble request to all the Firangs that if they want to get a taste of India, then first they'll have to burn a Slumdog Millionaire DVD and buy a couple of DVDs of this movie, keep one and gift the rest to their Firang friends. Yes, do that and in case any firang who happens to read this blog that nobody reads does what I say, he shall not regret it and he shall post a comment here.

My Rating- 5/5