Blog Revival

After a brief hiatus, I hereby do a Priori Incarnetum (well not quite), and hereby revive this blog.
Will start posting soon.

Fanaa (2006) (**1/2)

Genre - Drama /Romance maybe

Fanaa was clearly one of the most awaited films of this year. Director Kunal Kohli was riding on the success of his copied and yet well-written movie Hum Tum, and he had managed a coup of sorts by roping in as his lead pair Aamir Khan and Kajol, possibly 2 of the finest actors of the current lot with loads of experience and versatality. One was tempted to wonder why O why did the two never star opposite each other? The songs were also pretty hummable, and so I was pretty enthusiastic when i watched this movie by paying a royal sum of FIFTY bucks.
Three hours later, i thanked the lord that i didn't spend even a penny more, 'cause this was another of those movies in the 'quality inversely proportional to hype' category. The chemistry between the Aamir and Kajol was minimal. Aamir looked too old and tired in the movie, and was nowhere near his best. Kajol was good as always, rather better- she actually had the innocence and charm of a newcomer, although it is apparent she has given up the battle of the 'bulge'.
The second half of the movie happens apparently in kashmir, which is hard to believe. The director must surely think the audience is full of morons, with "snow" being enough to indicate "kashmir"- pathetic. (it's shot in Poland, btw)
The story was new, and Aamir did play his part of the hero with shades of grey and with internal conflict pretty well, but there's nothing else to crow about really. Kajol emotes with her eyes even when she plays blind, which is an achievement i suppose. The art direction is nice, especially during one song sequence, but that's more or less about it. The movie just didn't have an overall impact I was expecting. The very fact that more than moments from the film, i remember better the popcorn i had that day is i suppose saying it all.
Disappointing fare, really.

The Da Vinci Code (2006) (***)

Genre - Action? Adventure? History?

It's tough not digressing to discussing the original book by Dan Brown while reviewing this movie, so all i would say is this- the book is no doubt a well-written commercial pot-boiler; it's not a great literary piece by any stretch of imagination, the controversial topic being a major reason for it's success. Anyway, it's kind of hard for a non-Christian like me to really understand what the fuss is all about. The church's entire philosophy revolves essentially around the Bible, which is all said and done a book written by man and so is bound to have doubters/ detractors. The book and the movie simply raise an alternate theory, by probably using the same facts the Church uses to conclude exactly the opposite. It's a matter of faith isn't it? Maybe that's why i couldn't fully appreciate the movie too- one question which keeps popping up all the time is: SO?
The movie is pretty faithful to the book upto the interval. The departure from the book, especially in the penultimate 20 minutes or so is necessary (maybe) to justify the need to have a 2+ hr film, and to give it enough shock value to sustain it. Ron Howard does an excellent job at recreating the magic of Da Vinci and the Louvre and manages to capture the essence of the book pretty well. Tom Hanks is, well, Tom Hanks, and can't really do much wrong. His bad hairdo notwithstanding, he does portray a sexed-down Robert Langdon well. Audrey Tautou is an enigma (not exactly in a good sense), with her accent changing in the movie- she has 2 distinct french accents as well as once going on to have an english-french hybrid one! Anyway, she has enough innocence and ability (read 'cute') to play her part well. Sir Ian McKellen (of Gandalf and Magneto fame) is clearly the best actor in the movie, he actually made me feel sorry for him going bad. Silas the albino is just not scary enough, probably because i have seen Paul Bettany in other roles- a better choice would had been an unknown person.
Still i didnt like the movie as much as i had hoped i would, especially given the hype Sony pictures and the Indian Government (unintentionally and unnecessarily by the latter) generated. The movie is just too darn long (2+ hrs!). It moves along slowly (just like the book) because it has to stop and keep giving history lessons. Also, the conclusion is as weak as the book's ending. Still, a movie worth watching once maybe. or maybe not. Wait for the DVD

Monsters, Inc. (2001) (***1/2)

Genre - Animation/ Comedy

Monsters, Inc. is among the very best animation movies i have seen. The dialogues are hilarious, the characters are well-written, the timing of the 'actors' is spot on, the voices are amazing- this film is in fact much better than most normal movies to be released so far!
The idea of Monsters generating energy from children's screams is a cute starting point. The 2 central characters are just perfect- 'sully' the champ and ''mike wazowski' the one-eyed fella (my favourite) are too good. Billy Crystal's voiceover injects a lot of life into 'mike wazowski' (i just love saying out the name). The show-stealer is of course the the kid 'Boo', with voiceover provided by 2 yr old Mary Gibbs- i happened to see this promo on tv where they actually showed her giggling and squealing, with her voice being recorded for the movie! This movie spawned a plethora of animation movies like Shark Tale and even Finding Nemo, but none have been able to quite live up to the mark set by Monster, Inc. Every character is memorable- the yeti (snow-cones, anyone?), roz the accountant lady(i'm watching you!), Celia mike's girlfriend (googlie-bear), everyone! The attention given to detail is worth appreciating- apparently, the hair on sully's body were all programmed individually to sway just the right way when sully walks/ runs !! A must watch movie truly.

Sabrina (1954) (***1/2)

Genre - Romance

Audrey Hepburn is hands down the most beautiful person i have ever seen, no doubt about that! her charm, elegance and innocence all end up further enhancing her beauty- a rare case of improving upon perfection. That's the first thing which strikes you when you watch Sabrina, an out and out mushy-romantic classic. She essays her role with such ease, that she makes Julie Ormond in the 1995 remake seem boring and, well, too plain.
The plot is essentially an ugly-duckling-transformation one, with two heroes thrown in to make matters interesting. Apparently, Humphrey Bogart and Hepburn didn't get along during filming, but their professionalism manages to completely hide this fact. There's nothing heavy or deep about this movie- in fact it's the absolute simplicity which makes it such a wonderful movie! Watch it for Hepburn, watch it to get a taste of the B&W era, basically watch it :P

Snatch. (2000) (*****)

Genre- Action

Snatch is truly a worthy successor to Lock Stock ... Both Guy Ritchie movies, this one violates the oft-repeated thumb rule that blondes can't act. After starring in Snatch and Fight Club, even a pathetic performance in Troy does nothing to undermine the acting credentials of Brad Pitt. The same British humour from LS2SB is continued with some intelligible gypsy dialogues thrown in to create an amazing effect (My advice- watch the movie once without any subtitles, then watch it again but this time with subtitles!). Excellent supporting performances by Jason Statham (Turkish) and Dennis Farina ('cousin Avi'), the quotes from this movie are just too hilarious! The script is mind-boggling, the action far-fetched and yet believable. This is one of those rare movies where you observe startling new things everytime you see it! The direction is awesome, the script moves along at a breakneck speed, the allusions to other movies are astounding- all in all a masterpiece truly!

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) (*****)

Genre- Action & Adventure

Awesome? Naa, too meek a word. Fantastic? Not up to it too. Fantabulous! Yup, that's the word to describe this Guy Ritchie movie. A watertight script by a novice director-scriptwriter, amazingly lifelike characters, twists and turns at every corner- this movie is one in which you blink and you miss something wonderful. The dialogues are just too crazy, and the plot is way too complex and simple at the same time- 4 groups try to pull off some sort of heist/ con/ whatever of their own, and unfortunately (fortunately for us) end up screwing each other. The ending (what we call a KLPD in iit slang) probably sums up the movie- totally erratic and wonderfully real. Anyway, with my stock of adjectives running out, all i have to say is that if this is british humour/comedy/dark humour, then i'm hungry for more! This movie ranks right up there in my list of must-watch movies for everyone.

Andaz Apna Apna (1994) (****)

Genre- Comedy

One of the best slapstick movies i have ever seen. The storyline is quirky, the characters are more or less caricatures, but i sure as hell ain't complaining! A total laugh riot, the best thing in the movie is the total detachment from anything serious- nowhere does the movie make any observations or anything- it's meant to be an outright mad movie, and succeeds commendably. The dialogues+ direction by Rajkumar Santoshi are awesome, but it is the performances by the lead pair- Aamir Khan and Salman Khan who are amazing. Aamir Khan especially displays a near-perfect comic timing, and this is movie is a must watch at least for his performance. Ably supported by a then-not-so-well-established Paresh Rawal, the movie rocks!The heroines are mostly cosmetic- but then most hindi actresses are that anyway :P

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) (***)

Genre - Fantasy

This is probably the first 'complete' book i remember reading. Roald Dahl still is one of my favourite writers- other than "Charlie and ..", i havebeen a fan of his other books like "James and the Giant Peach", "Danny and something-i-don't-remember-but-which-is-good-nevertheless". It is indeed a pity he is better known for his screenplay for 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' than these books. So it was with great curiosity that i approached this movie. The director being Tim Burton , i had prepared myself for a darker version of the book. The direction was spot on, with the visual effects, the chocolate waterfalls and the Oompa-Loompas living up to my expectation. But still the movie was cold because it ended up being targeted at the wrong audience- i doubt 7-9 yr olds really care about WHY Willy Wonka is so eccentric, as long as he is enjoyable. The movie should had ended some 20 minutes before it actually did, the way Roald Dahl ended the book. Johnny Depp was, well, Johnny Depp- thoroughly entertaining, into the character and a pleasure to watch. Charlie and his family was extremely well portrayed- the other kids though fell short of the extreme caricature Dahl so efficiently painted. A pity really, because the film had great potential to become a fantastic one, instead of being one which will probably be forgotten by the next decade.

Man on the moon (1999) (****)

Genre - Drama

A stunning movie, this is a biopic of Andy Kaufman, the eccentric 'anti-comic' who captured the imagination of American audiences during the late 70's. I must confess I had absolutely no idea who Andy Kaufman was (I thought he was some uncle of Charlie Kaufman the scriptwriter!), but man am I glad that this movie was made- Kaufman simply blew my mind off! Kaufman called himself a song and dance man, and claimed he never told a single joke in his entire life. His performances were famous for shocking the audiences. In fact, he was so good, announcements of his life-taking cancer were not accepted till after he died, and those too grudgingly! Be it his foreign guy routine (he impersonates jimmy carter by saying 'Hi, i am jimmy carter' and throws the audience off-track, and the next minute breaks into a wonderful impersonation of Elvis Presley); or the enigmatic Tony Clifton character which had a seperate identity than his; or the antics on his sitcom Taxi, or the inter-gender wrestling matches- Kaufman was a genius, whose greatness was unfortunately realised only after his death. As for the movie, Jim Carrey is awesome as Andy. Carrey is probably the most versatile actor in Hollywood, second only to Robin Williams. His range as an actor spans wacko roles like in 'The Mask' and 'Ace Ventura' series to 'MOTM' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. Carrey infuses the character with a lot of life and reality, and displays just the right amount of innocence and deceit at the same time. The movie might seem a bit slow toward the end, and does end up being a bit vague, but it is nothing short of a masterpiece. It's a perfect tribute to Andy Kaufman. And oh, did i mention- A must watch definitely! :-)