Those movies i watched and liked

Up in the Air

2010-07-02T02:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, i saw the movie, "Up in the Air".
It is quite an amazing movie. No wonder, Roger Ebert has given 4 stars.

It made me thinking. (as if i wasn't before ;))
Here is a guy who loves his job, has a personal goal (ok.for some, it might be a stupid goal) and is content with the way life goes.
Suddenly everything changes...is it a realization about what he's missing?!
How can one say that he's missing something? who sets the definition?

Initially, this movie makes one think that people are alone and happy because they prefer it that way. At the end, it makes one think that it's not the case. People are alone because there is no alternative!

And i also wonder whether he really made the generous contribution of miles?!

In any case, a movie worth watching.

Into The Wild

2009-03-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

typed on July 4th,2008 :)
---------------------------
this is not a complete review of the movie...but just a few thoughts after watching the movie...

Well, what a movie!
It's been quite sometime since i saw a movie which was gripping on every scene and made me go thru complete rollercoaster of emotions...
But, out of all that, one thing that mainly stands out is, having a child is a great responsibility...any humanbeing's way of thinking is really influenced by his childhood...he might be greatly intelligent, artistic and everything...but still the way one handles or goes thru life or takes life is dependent on one's childhood...

And really anybody can take only their parents for granted...there is nobody else in the world including spouse who can be taken for granted. Parents are a different species i think, but the problem is we never appreciate this fact fully.
Guess, whatever we achieve in life, whether we like it or not, we always need to care for the parents concerns....because when we are gone, they are the ones who'll be left with the last worries...The scene when his father just sits in the middle of the road was quite moving. One forgets the fact that parents were one of the main reasons for the individual to leave the society.

Another important point in the movie is, when one realizes that one wants to live life, fear enters into mind...when one is careless, nothing in the world stops them as one feels no bindings, no responsibilities and any risk is worth taking.

This is exactly the reason why he feels scared to cross the river...because by then he has realized that he wants to go back and live life.

How strange...Only when we realize that we need to live life, we stop living the life...

Another thought was maybe there is no such thing as complete perfection in this world... Everything is tainted..everything needs a balance in life...

Emile Hirsch acting was good. It's a well directed movie which never stops amazing one over the complete duration... But, one thing i felt was, maybe the length could've been reduced a bit over the end.

Check out here for a few of my favourite quotes/conversations from the movie...

American Gangster - There are two sides to the American dream.

2008-07-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

I liked this movie for Frank Lucas's shrewdness...i like it for his guts to go all the way to Thailand to procure dope, to use Military plane for the transportation, to take on Italians and other gangs, all with full collaboration,to consider the dope selling from a pure business perspective.
It was really sad to see that a chinchilla fur coat and hat brought him into the police radar. No wonder he burns it later!

At the same, Detective Richie Roberts is simply amazing. It really takes quite a steel of strength to turn over a million and go on with your job, when the whole department is corrupted.
Interestingly, Frank Lucas becomes the first client for Richie Roberts as defense attorney.

My most fav quote from the movie:

"Success. It's got enemies. You can be successful and have enemies or you can be unsuccessful and have friends."
"Listen to me, the loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room."
"Judges, lawyers, cops, politicians. They stop bringing dope into this country, about a hundred thousand people are gonna be out of a job."
"The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hardwork... family... never forgetting where we came from."

Regarding the cast, Denzel washington seems to be a perfect fit for an uptight mafia don role and Russell crowe fits perfectly as the ruffled honest cop.

Michael Clayton

2008-07-08T11:20:00.000-07:00

Posting here after a long time...saw quite a few movies though.
it's been quite time since i wanted to watch this movie. Mainly because of George Clooney.

A good movie, quite an interesting subject. But i am not able to appreciate so much from an oscar nominated movie perspective.
George Clooney was ok...he was much better in Syriana.

Also from a feministic perspective, got a doubt as why the "uNorth" executive was portrayed as such a vulnerable female character!! But happy to know that Tilda Swinton received oscar for her performance.

Dream Girls

2008-01-14T10:05:00.001-08:00

This is an ok movie... somehow i wasn't able to understand why it won any oscar award...
ok..to some extent the female lead actress, Jennifer Hudson, has acted well...but i didn't find it to be oscar worthy...

When compared to this musical, my favourite "Chicago" is really an amazing movie... it's a class apart from this... (maybe my comparison is incorrect...but still :))

Here is the imdb review..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443489/

Pather Panchali, Aparajito

2008-01-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

It's been quite sometime since i posted a blog post...
guess, i was a bit lazy...hope to overcome the same :)

Got a chance to watch quite a few movies...
one movie that stands out is "Pather Panchali"

I really understood why this movie is considered one of the best movies...
It's a very poetic movie... Even the main story line is about the struggle of a family, it comprises of a 4 main characters as per my opinion....
First comes the Old Aunt... then the Girl... then the Mother and atlast the Apu...

Each of these characters have been depicted so true to their form.

I was left with a very sad heart at the end of the movie... Any person who has gone thru a bit of sadness in life will be able to perfectly correlate this movie a lot than others...

Infact when compared to "Pather Panchali", the next movie "Aparajito" is not so great... maybe because the number of main characters is just two and not many instances are depicted to strengthen the characters.
I like the mother who goes through the trauma living alone and being unable to communicate perfectly with her son.

Yet to watch the third movie in this Trilogy, "The World of Apu"

In the mood for love

2007-07-03T00:16:00.000-07:00

i had watched the movie, "The Days of being wild" by Wong-Kar-Wai...
frankly i neither understood the movie nor was impressed...

but took this movie over the weekend and i am happy that i watched this movie.
this is one of the best romantic movies (in it's own unique way) i've watched. ofcourse, according to me :)

there are no lengthy dialogues... infact there is no single moment of expression of love in words.

still was able to understand the feelings that flow between them. i liked the scene where they rehearse about asking their spouses about the affair...
and the best one was when he says about his singapore trip, she cries and then he asks her whether she'll come if there is an extra ticket.

i am not sure why she hesitates and never goes with him to singapore... she should've gone.

also it's really sad that he misses meeting her on his visit to hongkok...

the direction is very good...also the usage of colors (i donot know what this is called) and the scenes...it's a very light, slow paced movie...

Ebert's review - http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20010216/REVIEWS/102160303/1023

The Prestige

2007-06-07T01:53:00.001-07:00

One of the best directed movies i have watched so far...
i think i am becoming a fan of Christopher Nolan's direction.

He has the suspense hanging in a mere thread...
and Hugh Jackman has acted very well.
how bad it would be to realize that we are second to somebody, but still strive to come up with better magics...

This is a must watch movie..

The devil wears Prada

2007-06-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

When i came to know about this movie 2 months back, i immediately purchased the book and read it...
the reason for this impulsive reaction was, i was very stressed at work and thought that even this movie is somewhat kind of related to the pressures i was going thru... :)
well, i donot wish to write more clearly than this ;)

but the movie is very different from the book...mainly the ending...i really liked the book, bcos atlast she does what i expected and i think thatswhat we end up doing, if we were under pressure for a long time...

i didn't like the cast..Andrea Sachs was not expressive, mainly she looked pathetic when her lover fights with her...
i liked Miranda Priestly...as usual she was great....that too the last few scenes when she sees Andrea outside the building..

overall, it is a movie worth watching only bcos it is set in a different story line..apart from that, nothing is special or even good.

The last king of scotland

2007-05-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

i understood why "Forest Whitaker" won oscar for best actor. he really deserves it...that too at the last 30mts of the movie, he was really like a murderer...not murderer, a person who is obsessed with power, unable to trust others, kill those whom you doubt as conspirator...

charming was the scottish doctor. there are lot of portraits of selfish people in many movies..but he really stands out... from the first scene, he portrays as a very selfish person and he does that till the end of the movie...i really felt that he will die for his sins.

here is the piece of conversation between him and the doctor who saves him at the end,

Nicholas Garrigan: Why are you doing this?
Djonjo: Frankly, I don't know. You deserve to die. But dead, you can do nothing. Alive, you might just be able to redeem yourself.
Nicholas Garrigan: I don't understand.
Djonjo: I am tired of hatred, Doctor Garrigan. This country is drowning in it. We deserve better... Go home. Tell the world the truth about Amin. They will believe you; you are a white man.

this really shows how amazing the direction of movie is.

A nice movie worth watching....

The man who knew too much

2007-05-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

this is a good movie..supposed to be a thriller..but somehow i didn't feel so much like that...
James Stewart was good..
and ofcourse this has my fav song,"Que Sera, Que Sera"

Following

2007-04-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

One of the amazing movies i have ever watched....

Raging Bull

2007-03-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

The Departed

2007-03-18T02:15:00.000-07:00

amazing movie...that too the last 30mts is THE BEST.
oflate, i was wondering as how important the pace, grip of the movie influence the viewers..

there are some movies which start with a bang and tend to fade down as the movie ends...and there are those which sway on either sides till the end reaches...Pursuit of happiness is one such example..

when compared to the above 2 types, the best are those which start with the lazy pace and grows into u in such a way that at the end, one is just completely into the movie wondering and feeling tensed as what next....

The Departed is one such movie... It is truly a class movie.

I liked Leonardo Dicaprio is The Aviator....now i have become his fan.. :):)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407887/

Babel

2007-03-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

after watching this movie, the only doubt i had, how come this movie went to Oscars.
ofcourse there are moments in the movie, where one feels really sad wondering why all these events happen.
but still, at the end of the movie, there is just an empty feeling...
i just couldn't understand the movie at all...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449467/

36 Quai des Orfèvres

2007-03-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

i took this dvd based on recommendation from the dvd shop guy and that too i did with a bit of reluctance.
and i was in for a complete surprise.
this is one of the great movies i have ever watched...

all this movies shows is how hatred turns into a long term revenge...and how a cop's life is screwed completely.
that too when he was a cop with good intentions.

And it also really portrays the thought which my brother always tries to insist to me.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0390808/

The Pursuit of Happyness

2007-03-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

i watched this movie in Prasads on saturday...
the story is good..the acting is great..but the emotional tug which remains in the heart even days after watching a great movie is missing...
i think this is where direction comes into picture.... there is something lacking...maybe it is the dragginess or it's the series of events portrayed incompletely..

this is a classic example of how bad direction can spoil a good plot and waste a great acting.

Saraband

2007-02-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

Central Station

2007-02-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

the days of being wild

2007-02-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

last man standing

2007-02-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

Amores Perros

2007-02-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

horrifying in few scenes...emotional in a few...

City of God

2007-02-08T00:33:00.000-08:00

Hotel Rwanda

2007-02-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Walk the Line

2007-02-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

Ladri di biciclette

2007-02-08T00:26:00.000-08:00

Choristes, Les

2007-02-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Chinatown

2006-12-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

i have seen this movie twice...and everytime, it's the same emotion u feel abt this movie...
unexpected twists/ turns in the storyline...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071315/
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000206/REVIEWS08/2060301/1023
http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/4271468943885b818825689c000afeab?OpenDocument

Love story

2006-12-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

what a movie!!!!!!
i cried when i finished reading the novel....and now did the same, after watching the movie.
The best moment i liked in the movie,
1. When Jenny calls Oliver's father to thank for the invitation, he shouts at her and Jenny leaves the house. Oliver goes searching for her and when he comes back, he sees Jenny sitting outside the house. Jenny cries and tells Oliver that she didn't have the keys... The expression from Oliver is amazing... it just shows the despair, helplessness, apologetic for having scolded her...

2. The other scene is the one, when Jenny asks him to carry her home.. :)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066011/
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/1010313/1023
http://www.filmsite.org/love.html

Water

2006-12-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

One of the amazing movies i have ever watched...

Strangers on a train

2006-11-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044079/
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040101/REVIEWS08/40802009/1023
http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/a88a5ce403c088a288256ede000795b7?OpenDocument

Belle DeJour

2006-11-15T03:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/f9dc08ff7e08bd208625623e0019335a?OpenDocument
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990725/REVIEWS08/907250301/1023

Syriana

2006-11-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

Money and Power can do wonders in this world...and Oil is one way to gain those.
this is a movie with that concept.

and i think no single person is left behind from this web of desire. we can give our own reasons and convince that we are not for it, but if we think deep down in our heart we are for it.
amazing acting by George Clooney. and Matt Damon character started as a low profile one, but ended up to be one of the best....
why is it that Miracles don't happen in movies like this and why is it that the Missile never hits the wrong targets in movies like this? :)
i wish it would have...

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/REVIEWS/51130002/1023
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/6165451/syriana
http://www.nycfilmcritic.com/display_film.php?id=184

http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/14c7b5f867f6c36c082570c1008210c7?OpenDocument

The Diary of a Chambermaid

2006-11-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

i donot know what to write abt this movie....
i felt blank without any thoughts, when i finished watching the movie.
i was expecting Celestine(Jeanne Moreau) to help in finding the murder. she did try,but in vain.

i liked her role a lot....with what coolness he handles the lustful approaches from people...amazing.
and also her stubbornness and guts...very nicely portrayed.

some reviews,
http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/7ed81cde5f0f1107882569e6007cafb1?OpenDocument
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/05/35/diary_chambermaid.html
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=117