Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Four Weddings & A Funeral - Super Eulogy & Prose by W.H Auden

Fell in love with this brilliant Eulogy that was delivered with so much passion in the movie 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. The Eulogy is mostly a piece by W.H. Auden which is bound to move even the most hard hearted individual. Brilliant...

Oh...and By the Way, this is one of the super romantic comedies that i have seen Hugh Grant and the rest of the British Cast (Most having been seen in the more renowned 'Notting Hill') mouthing the most awesome dialogues in a very realistic setting make it one of my favourite British comedies.

Matthew talking about Gareth:
"The most splendid, replete, big-hearted, weak-hearted as it turned out, and jolly bugger most of us ever met. As for me, you may ask how I will remember him, what I thought of him.

Unfortunately there I run out of words. Perhaps you will forgive me if I turn from my own feelings to the words of another splendid bugger: W.H. Auden. This is actually what I want to say: "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bonel, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let the aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'. Put crepe bows 'round the white necks of the public doves, Let traffic policemen wear black, cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East, and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. "Justify Full

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Signs - A must watch Short Film



SIGNS is a must watch film for all lovers of movies and all lovers! ;-)

It is a film made by Patrick Hughes and was one of the 2009 Cannes film festival winners. The subject matter is Communications and there is not even one dialogue. Beautifully made, the film has a superb emotional & visual appeal and really brings home the message that sometimes Words are just meaningless...

Note: YouTube link can be reached by clicking on the title.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

London Dreams - Its not Amadeus but then so what!?

I have heard a lot of noise about this movie having 'borrowed' heavily from the great classic Amadeus. Though i do not support plagiarism, i still would like to see Indian film makers remake classics and give due to the original. Also while doing so, make sure that the soul of the movie is 'Indianized' or else it will not have an appeal.

When we look at London Dreams, it is not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. However, it has got its heart in the right place. Its a movie decently made with one superb piece of acting and remaining cast pretty solid. It conveys what should be conveyed on the 35 mm and does it without proving either too boring, sentimental or loud.

The main reason why this movie comes alive is because of Salman Khan. The earthy character is really brought to life by this King Khan. The scene on the flight is slightly on the crass side but sallu still makes it fun to watch. Ajay Devgan is back to his angry young man and does a solid job while Asin is easy on the eyes but has nothing much to do. The same goes for Ranvijay. However, his brother in the film Aditya Roy Kapoor looks very promising in the short role. Big things might beckon.

The story is a simple one about musical dreams of two best friends and their fallout with each other, something that seems to come naturally to Rock bands, and their final reunion. There is love, friendship, betrayal and loyalty in good doses like any Bollywood flick but it seems well managed and well mixed.

This is not as good a movie as Amadeus, heck it does not even come close to our very own Rock On but that does not mean it is a bad film. It is a highly watchable film, more so because of the sheer genius of Salman-the king-Khan!!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Damned United - Must watch for a football fan!

"They love me for what I'm not... ...they hate me for what I am." - The tagline says it all.

These are the utterances of Brian Clough, supposedly the Best English Football Manager not to have coached England. BTW this is the same guy who once said "Sir Alex has none of what i have two of and i not just referring to balls"!!. This guy took Derby county from the bottom of the second division to become the English Champions and then won 2 consecutive European Cups with Nottingham Forest, something which was as improbable as it is today.

However this is not the story of the achievements. Instead it is the story of his biggest failure when he coached Leeds United for just 44 days. It showcases his burning ambition to become better than Don Revvie which nearly destroyed him and his friendship with his best friend Peter Taylor, the assistant coach and guide who stayed by his side throughout.

Director Tom Hooper has done a fabulous job of properly fleshing the main characters of Clough and Taylor. However a small nitpick that i have is that of Taylor being shown as more important than Brian and his actual eccentric coaching brilliance not being truly represented. However my advice is that all folks should read a little about this team after having watched the movie.

All together it is a great movie for all football fans and really shows some great facets of the game and the league that we all love so much...so will recommend as a must watch! :-)

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Wake Up Sid - Damn Refreshing!!

The one thing about this movie that really tugs at you is - What parts of the character of Sid or Ayesha is common to me. Is it just the carefree one or the one where i am craving for my independence or does it also include the one where i am rude to everyone i love. It did question my sense of reality and my sense of freedom today.

Anyways director Ayaan Mukherjee is spot on with this film about basically...growing up. And thankfully there are no cliches involved. Its really a very realistic portrayal of growing up in a upper middle class family and stumbling about till you find your own direction. A.K.A Dil Chahta Hai?...maybe in a certain sense but it looks at issues more deeply and there is no forced sentimentality. Which is what in my opinion makes the film so refreshing!

As far as the acting is concerned, Ranbir is par excellence. I have never seen a better portrayal of a confused individual in bollywood. Hrithik tried it in Lakshya but it came across as a caricature. Just watch the scene where he puts his face through the sunroof and feels the wind on his face. Its that raw feeling of understanding what is actually being portrayed and feeling the same in your senses too that gives any film the power to captivate people. WUS does that in most places. Again Konkona is brilliant. Superlatives can hardly convey the excellence that she showcases. And strangely enough, they look like a cute pair! The support cast is also good except Supriya Pathak who strangely underplays her role too much.

Coming to the music, Take a bow Amit Triwedi for the song Iktara. I have been a fan of this guy since the brilliant 'Aamir' and he again delivers a superb score. Keep an eye out for this guy. He sure is going places. And obviously Shankar Ehsaan Loy are superb as usual. The music complements the pace very well and at no time does it interfere with the narrative. In fact it enhances it quite a bit.

Finally Bombay - sorry Mumbai!! - has been beautifully showcased. You slowly start understanding what it is about the city that enchants so many people. Its a charming city in a lot many ways and that charm really come across on screen in WUS...Great work!

UP - Decent movie but cant be classified as great!

The best part about UP is one montage in the beginning of the film which shows the story about the lead characters Ed and Ellie just after they get married. Its a story within the story but for me it was the highlight of the film. Its a beautiful and a very realistic portrayal of emotions of a married couple who are absolutely in love and are there to support each other at all times. Trust me, but i have never seen such emotions being captured in real life. Hats off to the director Peter Doctor to bring this poignancy.

However, post that it all seems to be become very run of the mill. Sure there are great characters and superb animation but that is something expected from Pixar. Anything else would be blasphemy. And this is where the movie suffers. The story seems contrived and in a number of places i felt the the movie did not have its heart in the right place. It probably tries too much.

Just to give a contrast. If i just wanted to watch a brilliantly animated movie i would simply pick a DVD copy of a Japanese Anime. I go to watch movies created by Pixar to have a sense of feeling about the film. To understand baser emotions in a darkened hall. To feel love, friendship, family etc etc. I am sorry but i completely missed it in this film.

Its a good movie but it doesn't even come close to their earlier masterpieces like Wall-E and The Incredibles.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Love Aaj Kal - I liked it, now go 'un - like' that!!!

Well, i liked this movie and before i give my short and sweet version of why that is, i just like to mention that I have become a big fan of Imtiaz Ali after 'Socha Na Tha' and 'Jab We Met'; two delightful movies which kept me really entertained. Also, these movies had that special quality to make you feel all warm and smiley inside which gives them additional charm. Hence i was anyways partial to ' Love Aaj Kal' before i even saw it.

Nevertheless i believe that there will be a wide divide between people who like this movie and others who hate it completely. Much more than most other movies. Anyways my take is that the acting was superb particularly by Rishi Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. Mira is seriously a work of art according to me and she really makes the character look natural. Compared to a Kareena of JWM, she has not played it over the top and this might put some viewers off but i think she is what defines THE character of the movie. Saif is good without being brilliant and rest of the star cast is decent. I really enjoyed the music too, particularly the ballads.

So here are my 5 reasons for liking the film:

1. Seeing a brazilian model (Giselle Monteiro) who cannot speak Hindi and dance, enact Harleen - Take a bow Gisellle.
2. Saif showing us dance steps that people like 'ME' also can follow!!
3. Deepika Padukone.
4. Rahul Khanna's Gay act (??) & Neetu and Rishi Kapoor's couple act at the end... Awesome cinematic moment.
5. I am an incurable romantic!! :P

Overall a slightly better than average movie, and a definite if you are on a romantic date :)