Sunday, March 29, 2009

Dil Se...

Probably one of the very few movies,I watched with a very keen interest.An intense movie,a passionate one.SRK's passion edging at the whimsical corner, Manisha's rage burning like fire inside.

The movie is beautiful overall, but a few parts - like the way SRK talks about Manisha on the radio,the famous SRK-Manisha conversation in the desert -where he tells her what he likes and dislikes about her - and gives the same reasons for both -the same dialogue , same expressions , yet so opposite in meaning,the feeling they hold and SRK delivers it so flawlessly , so perfectly,amazing.Manisha and SRK are awesome in the song.The direction i s superb.I especially loved the color thingie they do in the song-Satrangi, white- black, orange-flame -Manisha camouflaging with background and SRK in complete opposite color.The lyrics of Chaiya Chaiya are way a beauty.Read them in English sometimes.This movies goes in my top tens' list.

Friday, March 27, 2009

The Kite Runner

Again comes from another abode of mine
Nov 24,2008
The movie I watched this weekend -The Kite Runner -all you bookworms out there - you are right,you have heard this name.This movie is the movie version of the book by the same name.Its just when you have spent so much time reading the book,watching it as a two and a half hour movie will make you feel like hurriedly browsing through the book.No doubt,the director had to omit certain sequences.Another thing I realized was -the visual upper hand of cinema or the hints,the sophistications of the camera and the deep implications of certain scenes -nothing could match the standard set by the descriptions of Khalid Hosseini.Great camera work with the sand laden mountains could not make Afghanistan as b'ful as it was in the words of author.The movie could not recreate the smell of Kabobs,which I could smell while reading the book.Soraya Jan was just another character in the movie,in words of Khalid,even her name could make you imagine her beauty.And,Khalid made sure you end up feelin' like weeping the night you read about Hassan's incidence.In the movie it comes and goes.The plight and trauma of Hassan,stretched across a few pages -the most heart rendering pages- never appeared on screen.The change of season,was swift as a moment where they show the snow melting away and the summers ushering in.So typical.This season which was so life changing for everybody in the book was simply lost in this melting snow.The irony is -the director has tried to visualize everything that is implicit in the book,and whatever is so palpable in the book, especially the emotions -are all so implicit in the movie.Now, I don't know how would one who hasn't read the book will find the movie...but for those, who loved the book,it's just a quick review of the book :).I believe Khalid is powerful enough with the words to make a movie reel in -in the back of your mind as you read the book , and that movie is much more b'ful.
Anyways , the good parts of the movie -the characters - exactly the same faces you'd have imagined-exactly the same locations,that make you feel like "deja vu"...dialogues delivered in the same way -you repeated them in your mind.
And the best part -Hassan - I don't know-who was more Hassan like -the sweet little boy in the movie or the character of Khalid - this boy evokes the same kind of admiration for Hassan -and I just wish he occupied more screen space...
The most emotional part -when a grown-up Amir thinks of boy-Hassan in retrospect -running across fields , after Amir reads the letter by Hassan which he gets after Hassan's death.

City Of Angels

A post from another blog of mine.
Mar 1,2009
Something made me mentally browse through all the movies I have watched till day.The process reminded me of the first hollywood movie I watched (if I don't count the hindi-versions of Jackie Chan movies)-City Of Angels, the movie made me croon over the mushy romance and Nicholas Cage in particular.Now,when I think of the storyline,I find it a bit hilarious.It goes like this-
Supposedly, God has a lot of handsome Angels like Nicholas Cage.These guys have got nothing better to do except watch sunrise and sunset at seashore-except or the occasional trips they make to fetch the spirits of dying people to add to the idle lot.
One fine day,Mr.Cage is sent for such a trip where he falls for the b'ful daughter of the dying guy,completely forgetting GOD had assigned him some task.This girl is called "Maggi"(surely after the hairdo she spotted in the movie).So,Mr.Cage misuses his angelic powers of being visible and invisible at will, to be around the girl.The girl is ofcourse impressed,what with this mysterious guy carrying a ubiquitious sorry expression on his face which somehow evokes sympathy.And Mr.Cage is ofcourse feeling bad most of the times,since his being an angel is actually harming him-he can't feel his girlfriend's touch (oops..).One fine day,he tumbles across this guy,who gives him a secret-he can be alive by dying again the same way he died.The catch is Mr.Cage doesnot remember his past life or how he died.But somehow he manages to.So, he dies,gets alive again and comes back to Maggi, who knows everything by now.They are quite happy.Next morning,Maggi goes to market on her bicycle, but since she is not in habit of keeping her eyes on the road while driving/riding,she meets with an accident and dies instantly!!Mr.Cage is again sad for now Maggi is an angel and she won't remember her life before death.So, now she is idling at the seashore and so is Mr.Cage albeit thanking her for she gave him a b'ful gift called Life....
Some of the particular details skip my mind,I watched this movie atleast 5 years back....but I can recall a lot, given the notoriety of my memory.
It's Monday...back to week full of work ..

Partition

Picked from another blog mine
Nov,8 2008
I watched this movie last night .

I dont know if it is a co-incidence that its story is so similar to Gadar except that it has a tragic end and it's more beautifully portrayed,covering more on array of human emotions.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213985/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_(film)

The dialogues are in English, that takes away a bit of the charm,for dialogues are b'ful,well placed and well conveyed.Had they been delivered in the mother tongues,it would have been topping on the cake, but given that the Director is a Candaian film maker of Indian origin,I say,Great Job.He has covered the the time scape so well,the locations recreated so finely,found it an absolute pleasure.The acts are fabulous.This lead guy
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0592993/ Jimi Mistry,he knows how to talk with eyes.
And Neve Campbell -portraying Margaret is so elegant.

And when you feel so good about a movie, you just consciously overlook the things you didn't like.

Anyways, Jimi rocks, for the character he portrays,idealistic,peace loving,vulnerable,strong,tormented,hands bound at some points,and self willed at others,and he carries all of it in his eyes and his subtle moves.
Kudos!

Hi

Hi, So I thought I 'll join in too.Join in the list of millions of people who take the pains of writing about the movies they watch.What they liked,disliked,what if they were the holy-God-Director or how could have they taught the actor/actoresses a few things about acting.As a matter of fact,why I chose to write this blog is-to keep talking.It's good to ,as they say.And in this world, everything starts with an "e" and ends with - no- not a "g" but again an "e".And I trust my old friend very much who keeps me connected to world on my will.Anyways,this was just supposed to be a "Hi" post :).
Let's keep watching..and talking ...
Cheers!