The Dark Knight

In a world that is a little less judgmental and a little more grey, than strictly black or white, the Joker would be the 'hero' of the movie.

Jane tu...ya jane na

One can never get over 'happy endings' and more so in a sweet uncomplicated sweet sixteen film.

Jab We Met

Those Filmfare guys are very unfair. The best debutant actress '07 award should have gone to Kareen Kapoor for this movie.

There will be blood (2007)

There will be greed, there will be vengeance and there will be blood!

The first ten mins of the movie pan out like a Sergio Leone classic ( no dialogues ) and warms us up to an epic tale of a mans quest for oil , his greed , his hatred and the tragic tale that follows . This is yet another movie set in Texas (no country and this movie were shot in the same locations) and it hits you hard with the powerhouse performance by Daniel Day Lewis, the haunting music and his gut wrenching journey. He is my bet for the Best actor Oscar this year.

No country for old men

I have always enjoyed the Coen Brothers movies (Fargo, Millers Crossing, Big Leboswki, Blood Simple etc). They take their favorite topic of a common man saddled with tonnes of money procured illegally and what happens to his life after that. This movie is probably their best, it’s gripping; chilling and you almost want some scenes to go on longer. My prediction is that it would sweep the Oscars this week and Javier Bardem (the most menacing on screen villain since Hannibal) would get the best supporting actor.

GURU

hottest state

agnes and his brothers

some great acting. rest great crap.

paheli

let me see what we've got here... hmmm beautiful tansihq jewellery, lavish costumes, unusual romance, hope, love & SRK... didn't mind it at all :)

perfume (the story of a murderer) 06

sensual, beautiful art, dark - like a scent across the counter you can't resist. remarkable is the young ben wishaw, who does a very good job of portraying the tragic gifted hero.

oh!m shAH!nti oh!m

even crap can be put to use (as manure) - not OSO. it only stinks! someone send farah khan to mars on a one-way ticket, please. i walk with my head hung low, dejected srk fan me :(

mandi

this has to be one of india's gifts to world cinema. everything about this dark comedy is worth learning from. by the sensitive teacher himself - shyam benegal.

Om Shanti Om (2007)

You could call it just another movie. Or it could be a telling spoof of all Bollywoodisms.

Farah Khan strings together all the clichés of Bollywood. And then very happily pokes fun at all of them. And when you have Shah Rukh Khan doing the honors, it ends up like a roller coaster on steroids. Giving him company is Suresh Talpade (Iqbal), Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher and Deepika Padukone.

Deepika Padukone? Ah, she is a mighty fine lassie. Watch out for her. My IMDb score: 7

The Queen

An average film. You can actually see the agenda behind making this movie. They have tried to bring back the trust in the British Monarchy and leadership which was lost completely post Diana's death. Neither the story nor the direction deserves even half a star. The only reason why it is worth mentioning the film is because of the brilliant performance by Helen Mirren.

Requiem for a Dream

It starts at rock bottom and slowly free falls to 'guess what? there is something lower than rock bottom'. Very depressing, especially if you watch it at 7 am in the morning.

The Royal Tenenbaums

It’s a light hearted story about a dysfunctional family. The cast included (Gene Hackman) a selfish father, (Anjelica Huston) a ‘universal’ mom and her insecure boyfriend (Danny Glover), a son (Ben Stiller) who has just lost his wife and runs a mini army camp for his sons, a four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, sister (Gwyneth Paltrow), the youngest son (Luke Wilson) who is in love with his, four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, (Bill Murray) the 50 yr old man, (Owen Wilson) neighbor since ever, smoker boy, failed book writer, in love with the four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, sister of the neighbor and last but not the least Pagoda, the Indian servant, from Calcuatta, hired to kill the father, stabs him but also takes him to the hospital and saves his life.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Robert Ludlum's blood-and-guts spy thriller gets a technology facelift. For people who were born as far back as I was, it is nostalgia in DTS.

The Royal Tenenbaums

It’s a light hearted story about a dysfunctional family. The cast included (Gene Hackman) a selfish father, (Anjelica Huston) a ‘universal’ mom and her insecure boyfriend (Danny Glover), a son (Ben Stiller) who has just lost his wife and runs a...(read more) mini army camp for his sons, a four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, sister (Gwyneth Paltrow), the youngest son (Luke Wilson) who is in love with his, four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, (Bill Murray) the 50 yr old man, (Owen Wilson) neighbor since ever, smoker boy, failed book writer, in love with the four fingered…smoking since 12…married to a 50 year man, sister of the neighbor. last but not the least Pagoda, the Indian servant picked up from the roads of Calcutta when he was hired to kill the father, he stabs him but also takes him to the hospital and saves his life.

Requiem for a dream

It starts at rock bottom and slowly free falls to 'guess what? there is something lower than rock bottom'. Very depressing, especially if you watch it at 7 am in the morning.

Eastern Promises ( 2007)

A riveting tale of a mid wife (Naomi Watts) in the search of a baby's family , getting intertwined in the Russian mafia. Understated , brutal , excruciatingly violent and touching; Performances of the all characters are almost picture perfect. A naked Viggo Mortensen's fight in a london bath house is a showstopper and worth the price of the movie ticket. Expect a clutch of nominations this Oscar season .

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

I like westerns. The surreal world of living by the gun, the horses, the rugged landscape etc. One of the better western movies in recent times, Russel Crowe is very cool as the bad man and Chirstain Bale is almost unrecognisable in this " clash " between a farm ranger and the famous outlaw. The ending is little too dramatic/ filmy , but the movie is gripping with real stunts and def worth a watch on a summer afternoon.

Superbad ( 2007)

Went in expecting a typical American teenage sex comedy : Its all that and more , its witty, raunchy, in your face and creates a memorable character Mclovin(the geek who never gets sex) and the funniest on screen cop duo.
Being 18 is always fun and dirty!

ratatoullie

12 oz jaw dropping animation. 8 oz mouth watering food detailing. 8 oz heart warming characters 10 oz humour, style and wit. brad bird (and his pack at pixar) has whisked the yummiest dish in toonland. order a show of ratatoullie and burp with happiness thereafter.

Paris Je Taime (2006)

IMDB Rating:7.5

18 short stories, about 6 minutes each. Each story is interesting, and pulls you in to the point where you want more, and then abruptly, the directors change, the actors change, the mood changes, and you're disoriented and pushed into another movie hall. Bizzare feeling, but still exciting. Loved the story of the american woman in paris, oscar wilde's grave and the blind man's love.

Verdict: Short stories
My IMDB Rating: 7

Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)

IMDB Rating:6.6

Badly made film. Badly acted. The 2 is for the Ganpat song.

Verdict: Begs for an encounter
My IMDB Rating: 2

The Blue Umbrella (2005)

A very simple story, a very simple film. Could have done with better editing, better music, and crisper dialogues, but it is charming and Pankaj Kapoor is a treat to watch.

Verdict: Will make you want to own a blue umbrella
My IMDB Rating: 6

The Namesake (2006)

The Namesake scratches the surface of what sounds like a good story. But Mira Nair is unable to infuse the energy, the charm, the connect that Monsoon Wedding had. Tabu is dry as Bengali women never are. The scene of the why he's called Gogol was awkward and badly done. The beautiful moment when Irrfan tells young Gogol to remember the moment since there was no camera, that they came to a place where there was nowhere more to go, was rushed and flat. Didn't feel in any way connected to the movie, seemed like everyone was just mouthing lines. The interesting people in the film, Irrfan and the very sexy Zuleikha Robinson.

Verdict: Not all movies cross over
My IMDB Rating: 4

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

What a perfect film. What a perfect cast. What a perfect script. I loved every tiny little bit of this film.

Verdict: It stole my heart away
My IMDB Rating: 9

The English Patient (1996)

Can’t remember the last time I cried so much after watching a film. A story of love, lost and found, of destinies, not meant to be. Great cast, well shot, well directed, it is a truly poetic film.

Verdict: Must Must Must Watch
My IMDB Rating: 9

Die Hard 4.0

IMDB Rating:7.9

Love Bruce Willis. And proved it by watching the very inane die hard. Decent action, but punching a few codes onto a screen in absolute panic by a 17 year old with bad fashion sense doesn’t make a good internet caper.

Verdict: Watch only if you are a John McLane fan
My IMDB Rating: 3

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

The plot is nice - two people in a railway station, start chatting, make up stories and get stuck in their own tales. What the director and writer interpreted of this was disaster. Preity needs to go easy on Botox, Abhishek needs to stop going easy on his acting. Lara does a decent job and bobby depends on odd hair color to pull him through. The good about this movie is Amitabh’s song and bol na halke halke.

Verdict: Partner is better
My IMDB Rating: 1

Partner (2007)

A terrible remake of a very average Hitch. Govinda remains a riot. Salman is so much better at comedy than emotion. Lara looks stunning. The songs are fun. The dialogues rhyme and do nothing else. Very silly, very ok flick.

Verdict: Watch it if you have nothing else to do.
My IMDB Rating: 2

Blue Umbrella (2005)

A fable narrated in a simple poetic manner .
Its amazing to see how Vishal Bhardwaj switches between Shakespearean tragedies and movies with kids as central characters with such ease.Pankaj Kapoor (isn't he underrated?) is outstanding and the kid is not the typical precocious on screen kids we are used to. Watch it on DVD, pity that the movie didn't run in the theatres for more than a week after having a 2 year delayed release.

Transformers

Autocops(good robots), Decepticons (bad ones), Allspark, Optimus Prime, Starscream may have all made sense to the comic book fans . I didnt know any of these before the movie , but still thoroughly enjoyed the battle between machine vs machine , man vs machine and man vs man ! And CG or no CG the stunts are truly amazing: The icing on the cake is the super hot Megan Fox who doesn't regret getting into the car with the young and happening Shia Labeouf. Neither did I.

Die Hard 4

Watch it only if you are die hard fan of Bruce Willis ! He rocks as the analog hero in the digital age . The movie is a series of cartoonish stunts ( he actually destroys a plane with his car !) strung together, which make Dhoom 2 look realistic !

Chak De India

Its amazing how a movie that strings together one cinematic cliche after another can still be refreshingly entertaining - maybe that is the essence of a sports film.

factory girl

factory girl is 'acid flashback'. it recreates the 'groovy'and soulful 60s-70s and does a 'blast' job of it! inspired by 'poor little rich girl' edie, it has the gorgeous sienna miller portraying the glamourous 'it' girl, swaying chandelier long earrings around 'bum' andy warhol (you're going to so hate him) and 'hero' bob dylan (with whom you'll fall in love with. again). high and mellow, sad and colourful. true and not so. just like a 'trip' :)

hot fuzz

mad movie. brilliant and ridiculous in its british humour.

lucky number sleven

unbelievable colour correction. wall papered art direction. stunning. story a bit of a poooooooh! 70's bollywood 'khoon ka badlaa khoon' fillum.

chuk de... india

there are 2 things about this movie:
SRK - drool worthy dish. hotbod meets actor - minus ham plus stubble. let me say it again - hot! oh! so hot!
KABIR KHAN AND THE HOCKEY TEAM & THE FILM - a refreshing & 'tight' film. great in spirit specially when its highlighting and celebrating that game called hockey! the casting is excpetionally good (think bollywood standards) and so is mr khan's wardrobe (again oh! so hot!). let the foxes cry over sour grapes ("it's srk's version of lagaan, so what's new??") alone - the film's euphoric and made me whistle, hoot and smile :)

re-saw

lock, stock and two smoking barrels AND finding nemo.
don't know which nth time i saw these again. but still love them.

Life in a metro

Story of our lives, minus strange men walking around and singing (BTW excellent excellent music).

Sivaji - The Boss

So much has been written and said about the movie that what else can i add . Clearly the most entertaining movie in ages, the boss rocks and how ! Never expected it to be this universal a hit. Saw it twice in the first week , will see it a couple of more times :)

Paris, je t'aime

18 love stories set in the backdrop of Paris , each 8-10 minutes long:
Delightful,touching,romantic, bizarre,inconsistent, funny,mysterious; When is the last time you felt all this while watching a movie? Defn worth a watch, and defn Paris is calling.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

I will always have fond memories of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. For on that day, it rained in Delhi. It rained after two scorching weeks. It rained thick and purposeful. Like thick metal balls raining on tin roofs. It rained and splashed colour back on the city.

The film?

Why bother?

My IMdb rating: 1

hazaron khwaishein aisen

the delhi political/civil sevices/corruption scene captured in the most non-bollywood fashion. this delhite was much impreseed with the styling/locations/etc., they're pretty much the way she's seen it growing up in delhi. great talent, good music and a stunning lead actress.

NO COMMENTS

here are a few movies i've watched recently. don't feel like posting no comments.

before sunset (again)
cinema paradiso (finally)
harrold and kumar (again)
shrek 3
mulholland drive (again)
cheeni kum
metro
bheja fry

Cheeni Kum (2007)

Nice. Sweet (Even though the film title denies it). Non pretentious.

And oh, very advertising. Lots of witty one liners. And product placements craftily put.

Amitabh is cool. And so is Tabu.

Just one question to all advertising people here. Considering it’s Balki’s film, do employees of O&M need special permission to watch this film?

My IMdb rating: 6

Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)

Lots of guns. Lots of action. Lots of gore.

Here’s a bodycount:

1. The script: It’s stillborn.

2. The songs: Did someone forget to tell the music director that song equals melody?

3. Lyrics: I couldn’t remember a single line 30 seconds after the songs.

4. Acting: Viviek Oberoi acts like Vivek Oberoi. Amitabh acts like Amitabh. Suniel Shetty acts like Suniel Shetty. Sanjay Dutt acts like Sanjay Dutt. In short, everybody tries to act like a star. The only exception is Tushar Kapoor who tries very hard to act like a hood. (Has he even reached the age when he can shave?)

5. Originality: I have never seen a movie in which the ‘inspired from’ factor is so high. American History X and Reservoir Dogs are this director’s favourites.

It’s a pity the director didn’t get shot at in the crossfire. Then again, maybe not. For, that would be mercy killing.

My IMdb rating: 1

Cheeni Kum (2007)

IMDB rating: Awaiting Votes

Bachchan rocks. I haven't liked him as much in any recent film of his as I have in Cheeni Kum. Tabu is beautiful, and effortless, and their chemistry is infectious. The first half is filled with fresh witty dialogues. In the second half, the director snoozes off, and lets monkeys stand in for him.

Verdict: I'm in love with a 64 year old man.
My IMDB Rating: 5