Tag Archives: Thriller

Reel life for you

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Slumdog Millionaire ****

slumdog2Movie Details Crime | Drama | Romance

Starring
Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto

Release Date 23 January 2009 (India)

Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy
Producer Christian Colson
Composer A.R. Rahman
Studio Fox Searchlight Pictures

Runtime 2 hrs
Directors Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)
Writers Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) and Vikas Swarup (novel)

Trailer

Review

A good movie.  I liked most of it.  I loved the concept of the story being told via questions and answers in a TV show. A story which understandably will appeal to the earthy aspects of survival, hope, triumph of the spirit. I liked the way it showcased the never giving up part on the character and total acceptance of everything as long as his love was there.  It came at a time when Mumbai needed a pick up from all that has happened.

The movie if you take it as a whole is something you will come away very satisfied with.

Somehow I thought that “Destiny” was given too much attention. We need to be real enough to think that its not destiny but pure determination that took the character from one point to the other. However, the script has so many coincidences ( sometimes too predictable ) that the audience is forced to think that its destiny.  Well I guess many of us actually do.

I could not agree with Anil Kapoor’s character as hosts in Indian TV show are not that vindictive and sarcastic. In fact I have not seen any of the show hosts being so sarcastic about the contestants social status, or laugh at his being a chaiwalla. Maybe his role and his dialouges could have been worked some more.  Maybe I am biased but I found it distasteful. I had the same crib in Ghajini.

Irfan Khan’s character was well woven where he starts with disbelief and then slowly respects Jamal for his stand.  However, it was not explained what he did with the information on Jamal’s bro. Maybe it could have taken a side storyline.. but then heck.. its a movie.. so we can let go of that.

I loved the children acting out the characters till their teens. Somehow they were more convincing in their roles than the full adult roles.  Dev Patel and Frieda were insipid but then I guess the other aspects of the movie made up for it.

Its a recommended movie for all. Everyone is talking about it. And it seems that just by associating with this movie everything is magnified. Music, etc etc.

It is very much because of the international presence and not whole Indian presence.  Does it take an international presence to make an Indian movie to recognize the same. I guess yes ..

Some links for reference.

Luck By Chance ****

luckby-chanceMovie Details Comedy

Release date January 30, 2009

Starring Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Shensharma, Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Isha Sharwani, Sanjay Kapoor
Music Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Cinematography Ravi K. Chandran
Editing A. Sreekar Prasad
Distributed Excel Entertainment, Big Picture

Running time 156 Mins
Director Zoya Akhtar
Screenwriter Zoya Akhtar
Producer Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar
Studio AdLabs

Running time 156 Mins

Trailer

Review

What can I say ? I loved it.  I love the way the movie takes you through the rags to riches and then to reality story. Thank God that the filmakers are thinking real and I liked the predictably unpredictable parts of the movie.

You would think that you would know what happens next but then you will be confronted with a twist which will make you smile.

Farhan Akhtar still needs to open up more.. We can see him losing some of his stiffness in the Oye TV show. He is one hero who we will see the growth character by character in the movies that he makes.

Konkona Sen Sharma is fabulous in her role of a determined actor and who is there to make it inspite of her fallbacks.

I like the theme of the story which says something like its not destiny but choice. We choose to be successful or failures. Quite an opposite take to Slumdog which glorifies destiny.

The film portrays the Bollywood industry.  One could identify somewhat to Page 3 which was already made but it was well done and took a different take on the industry.

Music is good.

And its lighthearted with lot of satire thrown in. Go watch it with no expectations and you will like it.

The President is Coming **

president2Movie Details Comedy

Release date January 9, 2009

Starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Shernaz Patel

Running time 90 mins

Producer Rohan Sippy
Writer Anuvab Pal

Director Kunaal Roy Kapur

Review

Hmmm. The movie made me feel I was watching a play. It had the feel of an old television series and a play put together.

I guess you could call it funny. But I did not find it so hilarious. I could not connect with the movie.

Script was loose. The characters beside Maya Roy and the investment guy looked put upon.

I reccomend that you watch it and decide for yourself. It just did not work for me.  Or maybe I expected a lot.

Just Movies

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Changeling

( Never start a fight… but always finish it.)

changeling Movie Details : Crime | Drama | Mystery
Release Date : Cannes Film Festival: May 20, 2008
United States: October 24, 2008 (limited), October 31, 2008 (wide)
United Kingdom: November 26, 2008
Australia: February 5, 2009

Starring
Angelina Jolie …     Christine Collins
Gattlin Griffith …     Walter Collins
John Malkovich …     Rev. Gustav Briegleb
Jason Butler Harner …     Gordon Northcott
Jeffrey Donovan …     Capt. J.J. Jones

Run Time : 2 hrs 20 mins
Director: Clint Eastwood
Produced by :    Clint Eastwood, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard,Robert Lorenz
Cinematography :     Tom Stern
Writer : J. Michael Straczynski 

Review

A recount of a true story based on Wineville Chicken Coop Murders; An American period story circa 1928, a time which showcases the state of  Los Angeles Police Dept (LAPD) which was as corrupt and full of politics. It also touches the social status of women and Code 12 status of LAPD.

Walter Collins is found missing at home by his mom Christine Collins one day. She lodges a complaint with the LAPD. Christine Collins is told that the LAPD has found her son but she goes and sees that the boy is not her son. On telling Capt Jones the same, she is advised to “try him out for a couple of weeks,” which she does but she gets back to the police because she knows its not the truth.

The LAPD is not willing to admit its mistake and forces her to accept this boy as her son. When she is unwilling to accept that, she is put into the psychopath ward to prove that she is delusional and derelict under “Code 12″ internment—a term used to jail or commit someone who was deemed difficult or an inconvenience.

Reverend Gustav Briegleb talks about this case over the radio, the only means of public communication then and makes the public aware of her plight.

As the plot unfolds, the audience is taken through the different phases of the story which is captivating. Its not too in your face and its not too melodramatic. Its just right for you to get inside the story.

I love the digitization they did for the skylines and the whole look of the film.

Given the fact that Clint Eastwood is involved and if you remember Million Dollar baby, you will see that there are no frills in the direction. Economical is the word I have heard reviewers use and I would agree with them.

Mind you, dont go watch this movie with your adrenalin pumping. You need to really have the mood to have the movie sink in. It grows on you and at the end.. you are left with a very “whole” feeling.

A good movie. Not much to say. You have to experience it.

Had its loopholes but then I am deliberately ignoring them since the whole movie  and the strength of the script outweighs them.

My tiny pet peeve :

I could have done without having Angelina’s bright red pouty lips thrown at my face. Sometimes its was too much to take. Each frame presented the characters story and personality and when it rested on Angelina, it was sometimes a bit too much to have them lips dominate the frame.. Sigh.. ( but thats just me)

Seraphim Falls

seraphim-fallsMovie Details : Drama | Thriller | War | Western

Released on Jan 26, 2007 Limited

Starring
Pierce Brosnan – Gideon
Liam Neeson – Carver

Directed by David Von Ancken
Produced by Bruce Davey, David Flynn, John Limotte, Stan Wlodkowski
Written by David Von Ancken, Abby Everett Jaques
Run Time 1 hr 55 mins
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography John Toll
Editing by Conrad Buff

Review

Caught this in Star Movies in TV.  It was a Sunday evening and I wanted to watch a good movie and well this fit the bill as I was surfing the channels.

Set in the 1860s, Gideon is shot and tracked by five men led by Colonel Morsman Carver (Liam Neeson), a Confederate officer to avenge a grudge he has against Gideon.

The story works on these two main characters, the whole story takes us tracking and surving with them. The whole story is full of ” what will happen next” and keeps us in our chair with our Vodka. And with the two of my favorite actors, Liam N and Pierce B, I enjoyed this movie to the hilt.

Till the end of the movie, the audience is left wondering at what actually happened at Seraphim Falls?

A good watch.. while you laze around.. :)

Last Dance

last-dance

Movie Details : Drama| Prison| Melodrama| Suspense

Released on 3 May 1996 (USA)

Starring
Sharon Stone Cindy Liggett
Rob Morrow Rick Hayes
Randy Quaid Sam Burns
Peter Gallagher John Hayes
Jack Thompson The Governor

Run Time : 1 hr, 43 min

Director: Bruce Beresford
Writers : Steven Haft  & Ron Koslow
more

Caught this by accident. Though it comes nowhere to Silence of The Lambs, it is a good story for a rainy day. Sharon Stone is good in her role.

I would not jump high for this movie but yeah its a nice one.

The story revolves round Cindy Ligget, who is serving sentence for 12 years on death row for murdering two teenage classmates. She seems to be quiet and has accepted her sentence. Rick, a lawyer desperate for a job, comes along and takes up this case tries to stay her execution.

Here too, the story encounters politics and power which gives an inevitable twist to the story and just when you think that the end would be something, it goes on to surprise you yet not so much.

Wild Hogs

wildhogs

Movie Details : Action | Adventure | Comedy

Released on 2 March 2007 (USA)

Starring
Tim Allen Doug Madsen
John Travolta Woody Stevens
Martin Lawrence Bobby Davis
William H. Macy Dudley Frank
Ray Liotta Jack
Marisa Tomei      Maggie

Directed by     Walt Becker
Produced by Kristin Burr, Todd Lieberman, Brian Robbins, Amy Sayres, Sharla Sumpter, Michael Tollin
Written by Brad Copeland

Runtime 1 hr 40 mins
Cinematography Robbie Greenberg
Editing by Christopher Greenbury

Review

What can I say ? I loved the movie. If you are in a wacky mood and love biking, catch this.  Its a satiric and somewhat realistic take on wannabes hidden under all that humor.  I like the fast script and well to certain extent the unpredictability. Humor has to be spontaneous so well I laughed my way through the movie..

Not to be watched with kids though.. some adult content there.. :)

Ghajni – Movie Review

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Movie Details : Thriller, released on 25th December 2008

Aamir Khan – Sanjay Singhania
Asin Thottumkal – Kalpana
Jiah Khan – Sunita
Pradeep Rawat – Ghajini
Riyaz Khan – Fawwaz

Music – A.R. Rahman
Cinematography - Ravi K. Chandran
Editing - Anthony Gonsalvez
Running time - 181 mins
Country - India
Language - Hindi

Review

This is the third remake of the story, the original being Memento and the second version being the Tamil version of Ghajini. The movie revolves round a character who has Anterograde Amnesia or Short Term Memory loss.  In this version, a rich businessman sees his fiancee being murdered in front of him and as a result of this trauma during the murder which he sees in front of his eyes,  his whole and sole aim is to take revenge inspite of suffering from short term memory loss. The movie is all about how the character goes about his revenge.

Where the movie wins (without any comparison to Ghajini predecessor)

The movie wins in Aamir Khan’s portrayal of his character. He is intense in his anger and in the role of a helpless victim. He goes through the different shades of characterization with beautiful overlaps and it definitely shows what focused insane anger can do and at the same time, it switches off in an instant when the memory switches off. And bringing forth that repeated intensity in his portrayal of the character was done with great aplomb.  His helplessness and innocence as a character rediscovering himself is as new as a newborn infant and the nuances are very well blended. The interplay of emotions between extreme rage, helplessness and total unknowing in a matter of seconds is beautiful.

Loved the two songs, Behka ye Behka and the desert picturisation.

The other two were waste of time.

The movie also brings forth a very touching love story where you are satisfied with how it unfolds. Asin did a good job of lightening up the scene with her presence. It was humorous and soothing and one could actually understand why the actual character would fall in love with her.

Editing and Cinematography wins hands down.

Where the movie loses

When there is such a powerful characterization, the supporting roles could not do justice to his emotions.  The first letdown was naming the reason for  spending so much emotion on a character called Ghajini.  The Tamil title Ghajini according to one web resource has been derived from the fact of Sultan Mehmud Ghazni’s continuos zeal of attacking in late 990′s on an Indian north-west region and not giving up attitude which could explain the root of the concept and the progression of the character.

And even if a character was built with the name Ghajini, the actor could not do justice to the personality of the name and the character it brings to mind. And there the movie falls a little flat.

The second letdown was unnecessary dialogues which were mouthed by the negative role. If you keep throwing “short term memory loss” after every few minutes of speaking a sentence, it does make it powerful as it could have been if it would have been mouthed at specific points in the movie.  Whenever this character demeaned the main role, the audience actually burst out laughing. I dont know if this was the objective of the director/writer. To me, his presence should have been worked on to make more powerful and more impressionable.. someone who would deserve that emotion of hate and revenge.

The third letdown was have the fight scene drawn out too long and making it a tiny bit unrealistic.

The last letdown was the climax. I liked the Tamil movie’s climax as it seemed like a natural progression. Sometimes its wise not to interfere with the director’s cut and add in some lengthy course of sweetened climax when the movie demands a natural flow of bringing the concept to a close.  It did not explain how the character suddenly could turn from a raging murderer to someone so docile and how he could get away from the law. In that respect, the Tamil version gives a natural conclusion and leaves the audiences with a sigh of realism.

Movie as a whole

As a package, its a worthwhile watch. The starting is quick and the middle lags a lot while it picks up the pace after intermission. There are lot of loopholes which a smart audience can pick up and actually mock when it could have been handled better.. much better.

I am really interested in watching Memento now since the actual story is so gripping.

If you have watched the Tamil version, you might be disappointed with the Hindi one. So leave your comparisons outside the theater and just go watch for Aamir Khan. Rest is all a blur.. :)

Hope you all have a great New Year. I have a feeling that this year is going to be good.. :)