Move-ies

3 Idiots (Hindi)

2010-01-04T06:03:00.000-08:00

3 Idiots:
Definite good watch. I think the movie definitely ranks 6 or even a 7 on 1to10 scale.
Though I might like to watch it more closely a few more times.
It seemed to me that the movie is multi-layered i.e. there is an obvious message and slightly layered messages below it too. So giving a rating maybe premature on first watch.

Just short of a classic... maybe?
If I were to compare it with say "Taare Zameen Par" I'd say it missed out on being a classic by just a few inches.
The movie is kind of like a stitched up sequence of good scenes.
As if the movie got stuck somewhere and then suddenly jumped to some not so related scene by skipping something in between. The ragging scene is one such. The scene ends and there's no more talk about it.
In one word - Discontinuous.

Spoiler warning for people who haven't seen the movie yet!!
Below para discusses the plot of the story to some extent so read only if you don't care about spoiling the surprise....

[The Message]
The movie works on the principle of mindset.
People are afraid to try something new because it involves getting out of their bad but now-habitual circumstances. They're afraid to stand out, be alone, to do what they fear!!
To BE themselves (and not the way world expects them to behave) or as told in the Gita - Sva-bhaav (Self+expression/emotion)

By the way did a search on the (pseudo) name of the hero character -
Ranchhod-daas Shyamlal Chhanchad
The fact that the Hero was given such a strange name made me think.
By coincidence I'd just read a book which mentioned this very same name in a totally different context.

Ranchhod means the one who's run away from the battlefield i.e. Ran = battle + Chhod = Runaway
This is one of the names of Shri Krishna mentioned in this book "Krishna - The Man and his Message" by Osho.
There is even a temple of Krishna with this name in Gujarat. The hero character is also from Gujarat...
So here Ranchhod-daas would mean the follower of Shri Krishna...
The same one who sang the Bhagvad-Gita to help people stuck in the coils of dharma and karma.

He fled from each of the 18 attacks of JaraSandh only to establish Dwarika as a fortified city and eventually defeated him on the 19th time. Hence the name.

Shri Chinmaya explains why the incarnation of the Lord Shri Vishnu would run away from a fight!!
Shri Krishna here is the symbolic sadhaka or seeker who is overwhelmed repeatedly by JaraSandha (the primordial energies of the body or past samskaras) i.e. the bodily weaknesses and can only hope to run away from them in order to not succumb.
Finally he gathers enough strength to overcome his own weakening tendencies.

If this **IS** the intended underlying message then I definitely feel that this movie is more than what it appears!!

By an even stranger "coincidence" Imran Khan in "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa" comes from the Rathod family of Ranjhod!! Is this a coincidence or something thought up by Aamir Khan??!!

As I said this may just be a coincidence or my own interpretation of something not intended.

Either way....
Aaal Iiijj Waayl!!!

Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year

2009-12-22T04:29:00.001-08:00

Director: Shimit Amin (of Chak De India! fame) has come up with a understated, lowkey masterpiece "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year".

A must watch for thoughtful insightful viewers.

In terms of the common underlying message two old classics come to mind:
"Do Aankhen Barah Haat"
and "Les Miserables".

Among the basic human drives are the need for acknowledgement, trust, acceptance and belief in us by others.
This is what drives most of us to compromise with the real us and adapt, twist and mould ourselves as we feel the world wants us.

Until we meet a man who sees right past the crud encrusting our exterior and sees the real person behind.

Like a mirror the film sheds light on dark recesses in the lives of "hardened dalaals (pimps)".
Despicable and distasteful until we glimpse the path that led them there.
Lighting up choking corners of shame, frustration, anger, misery, envy and claustrophobia.
All due to selling out of basic human integrity.

The salesmen who first need to sell their integrity, hopes, dreams and souls before they can sell anything else...
but then what they get in return in hind-sight is not really worth the price paid.
The inability to look oneself and others in the eye and say what is - without fear, without expectation, without anger.

A feeling of compromise and selling ones cleanliness and swachhata/svechha.
In exchange for crumbs of power and money and fear based wants.

It has something to say on how valuable yet taken for granted (even held in contempt) are things like simplicity, truth, honesty, innocence and incredulity.

"Jab main naya ayaa tha naa... tere jaisa thaa..... phir dhire dhire seekh gaya...".
The story of loss of innocence, trust, belief and faith.
An awe of cleverness, short-cuts, artifice, sophistication, hardness, power-politics.
All hiding the fear of failing... and falling in other peoples' eyes.

Rising in others eyes but falling in one's own gaze.

How the hero battles this situation and comes out of it... is the story.

Stub: 12 Angry Men (English)

2009-09-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

trial by jury
fonda
logic
prejudice
callousness
empathy
thinking
psychology

Stub: The Mexican (English)

2009-09-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

While You Were Sleeping (English)

2009-09-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

A light romantic comedy of errors and the longing for belonging in every person....
Starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman in a Story of an lonely train ticket-lady who misses her family and has very few friends.
She's got a crush on a regular passenger whom she saves from an accident.
He goes into a coma and how she gets confused for his fiance by the family....
I've watched this movie so many times... but enjoy it like new every single time...

Lakshya (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:14:00.001-07:00

Hritik Roshan shines with his comic portrayal of a rich dad's son who doesn't know what he wants to do in life. Till he finds his Lakshya... (aim/goal).... His dancing is simply amazing.... like a lithe leopard --- without spots!! :-)

Chit-Chor (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:09:00.004-07:00

A superb classic with playback by Yesudas it's the "gori tera gaon bada pyara" movie.... Simple plot (a love triangle) great music, superb direction by Basu Chatterjee.
Zareena Wahab is a doe-eyed beauty with a poor Amol Palekar and a rich Vijayendra Ghatge vying for her attention.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitchor

Anand (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:09:00.003-07:00

Tragi-comedy... it's a heart warmer with some of the most memorable songs in Hindi cinema.
It's the story of a terminal case who finds meaning in his waning life by spreading fun and laughter with everyone he meets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_%28film%29

Golmaal (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:09:00.001-07:00

A Hrishikesh Mukherjee comedy starring Amol Palekar, Utpal Dutt it has some of the best songs in Hindi cinema. "Rim Jhim gire sawan" and many more. It has so many twists and turns that you eagerly wait for the punch-line and twist EVERY time you see this classic

Stub: Ek Doctor Ki Maut (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:08:00.001-07:00

Stub: Sooraj Ka Saatvan Ghoda (Hindi)

2007-03-19T04:07:00.001-07:00

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (Hindi)

2007-03-19T03:40:00.000-07:00

A hilarious Herbie types comedy to say the least....
Great songs with the delectable pastry like Madhubala and the hyper crazy Kishore Kumar....

Droh-Kaal (Hindi)

2007-03-19T03:35:00.000-07:00

A film about the people caught in the web of terrorism shows the human side of police, terrorists and common people as the "game" of terror plays on....

A very tense and shaking movie by Govind Nihlani

Saraansh (Hindi)

2007-03-19T03:33:00.000-07:00

A very touching story of a retired couples fight to get back the ashes of their only son through customs and then their sheltering of a single mother from the attacks of her lovers political might.

Excellent movie. 10/10 rating. Anupam Kher's acting is awe-inspiring.

Khosla-Ka-Ghosla (Hindi)

2007-03-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

Excellent movie.
A big realtor is muscling in on a retired pensioner. How does he fight back?!!

Reminded me a lot of the movie "Saraansh" with Anupam Kher in it. Reaaallly good.

Ice-Age 2

2006-11-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Hilarious animation at its best..... with punchlines just round the corner.
Esp the crazy compulsive disorder squirrel(?) who's nuts for nuts... Must watch!!

GalaxyQuest (SciFi Comedy)

2006-07-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman.
SciFi Comedy based on the StarTrek TV Series.

My Cousin Vinny (English)

2006-07-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

A Gem of a movie. I never tire of seeing it!!
A comedy with a twist.

2 boys from NewYork are just going through Southern US. They buy supplies for the journey from a store. Later they find that they've not paid for a tin of caviar. They think of heading back and paying for it, only the police is already after them. They end up in jail arrested for murdering the store-clerk!! They end up admitting to a crime they didn't commit.

This is where "My cousin Vinny" enters the scene.
Vinny and his saucy waify girlfriend come over from New York to defend the confused duo.
Only problem is he's just finished lawschool and he's very "popular" with the Judge.

A comedy of errors, chance happenings and great story-telling.
Watch it!!.

The Jungle Book

2006-07-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

An all-time classic based on Rudyard Kiplings book by the same name. It's the story of a boy raised by wolves in an Indian forest. He's got animals for friends and protectors against the local baddie Sher Khan (the tiger) who's got it in for all humans ever since he was injured by a hunter....

The comic scenes are the best with Balu the Bear, Bagira the panther.... even the villains are quite funny....
We used to collect "Gold-Spot" caps for getting all the characters in the film... aah those were the days.

Stub: Black Stallion (English)

2006-07-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

Stub: So I Married an Axe-Murderer (English)

2006-07-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

Stub: RoadTrip

2006-07-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Stub: Sixth Sense (English)

2006-07-20T11:14:00.001-07:00

Stub: Dune! (English)

2006-07-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mystery Men

2006-07-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

A group of "non-conventional" super heroes is out to save the city from the evil clutches of a demented "super-villian"..... they need to go beyond and reach the "limits" of the "super-powers"

Stub: Meet the Fockers

2006-07-20T11:12:00.001-07:00

Shrek

2006-07-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Miss Congeniality (English)

2006-07-20T11:11:00.002-07:00

Meet Joe Black

2006-07-20T11:11:00.001-07:00

Contact

2006-07-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fiddler on the Roof

2006-07-20T11:10:00.002-07:00

Hot Shots Part Deux

2006-07-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

2006-07-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Animal

2006-07-20T11:09:00.002-07:00

Iron Monkey

2006-07-20T11:09:00.001-07:00

The 36 Chambers of Shaolin

2006-07-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Sound of Music

2006-07-20T11:08:00.002-07:00

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

2006-07-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

Interview with a Vampire

2006-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Evolution

2006-07-20T11:07:00.002-07:00

Mimi Wa SuaSeba (The Whispers of the Heart)

2006-07-20T11:07:00.001-07:00

Tonnari No Tottoro

2006-07-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

MatchStick Men

2006-07-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Before SunRise, Before SunSet

2006-07-20T11:05:00.002-07:00

Garden State

2006-07-20T11:05:00.001-07:00

Rear Window

2006-07-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

South Park

2006-07-20T11:04:00.002-07:00

Down Periscope

2006-07-20T11:04:00.001-07:00

One Fine Day

2006-07-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Incredibles!!

2006-07-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Sanjuro

2006-07-20T11:02:00.002-07:00

Hidden Fortress

2006-07-20T11:02:00.001-07:00

Seven Samurai

2006-07-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Abyss!!

2006-07-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

The Terminator II

2006-07-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

I, Robot

2006-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Dumb & Dumber

2006-07-20T10:59:00.001-07:00

Ice-Age

2006-07-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

2006-07-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

The Fifth Element

2006-07-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

Mr. Hollands Opus

2006-07-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

The French Connection I, II

2006-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

As Good As It Gets

2006-07-20T10:55:00.001-07:00

Spanglish

2006-07-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Mask!

2006-07-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hyderabad Blues

2006-07-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

Dil Chahta Hai

2006-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Beavis and ButtHead Do America

2006-07-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sideways

2006-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Green Mile

2006-07-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Forrest Gump

2006-07-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

Castaway

2006-07-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Austin Powers I, II, III

2006-07-20T10:48:00.003-07:00

Sleepy Hollow

2006-07-20T10:48:00.002-07:00

Woman on Top

2006-07-20T10:48:00.001-07:00

American Beauty

2006-07-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Bicentennial Man

2006-07-20T10:47:00.001-07:00

Chocolat

2006-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Amelie'

2006-07-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Enemy at the Gates

2006-07-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

This movie

Edward ScissorHands

2006-07-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Snatch!!

2006-07-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

A pacy thriller which takes your breath away. All kinds of events converge as people with different lives run along doing their things. The way their lives and even chance events weave a story into a melee' of streams.

Brad Pitt and many solid actors play their parts in this comic, thrilling, somewhat brutal at times tough movie. Excellent movie, maybe not Family stuff, but definitely watchable esp. with a bowl of steaming noodles and friends.

Top of the List, only thing keeping it a bit lower is the other GREAT movies up there.
Direction is the key here!!

Fight Club!!

2006-07-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Starring Edward Norton, Brad Pitt this movie is about desperation, fighting for meaning and reason in a life gone mad with rote and rot!! Day and Night loses meaning and the walls start to close in on you,where you stare at the wall and it stares back at you!!

What do you do when this happens to you!!
You either curl up and die or you FIGHT Back!!.
One of THE best movies I've seen.
Edward Norton changed from a wimp with pale skin and a sorry expression into a great actor after I saw this movie. Brad Pitt is amazing.

I'm sure that the Director deserves an Oscar at least...
on second thought maybe he's better off without one!!

The Game

2006-07-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Starring Micheal Douglas, Sean Penn as Zillionaire Brothers having problems with their past, their fears and each other. One is divorced and lonely in a big house full of security gadgets, the other is in and out of rehab for all kinds of substance abuse.... Having everything and still missing something!!

Have things lost meaning for you? What are you struggling for? Why are you tired when you've done nothing in the Day!?

What things in life are worth having? and why don't we go after them instead of the things we do... Putting things in Perspective...

This is a bit cryptic but effectively sums up the movie once you've seen it!! The questions it raises though philosophical, the movie is anything but slow. Action packed and tightly racy, its a must watch thriller.

This is one of the movies I wish I could see with new eyes again. TOP of the list!!

The Mirror Has Two Faces (Drama Comedy)

2006-07-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Barbara Streissand, Jeff Bridges.

Superman The Movie

2006-06-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Horse Whisperer

2006-06-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Excellent Movie... Especially the Cinematography of the Montana Countryside.
The fold mountains really live upto their name... Breathtaking...

Like many of Robert Redford's characters this guy doesn't talk much,
but means it when he does say something.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays a tough as nails, repressed, workaholic career mother
who needs to set things straight (all the time).
The girl and the horse seem to need help too.

The sound-track of country songs are really good

Starring Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson

Jack and Sarah

2006-06-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Top of the line British Drama about a man (Jack) who loses his wife during childbirth.
He disassociates from everything including his new-born daughter Sarah.
How he gets over his depression and finds new life afterwards is the story.
The best part is how Jack's sorrow and sense of humour both show through.
It's as much a comedy as a drama.

Excellent movie starring Richard E. Grant, Samantha Mathis,
Cameo role by Ian McKellen and Judi Dench

Children of Heaven Majid Majidi Iranian Childrens Film

2006-06-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Gods must be Crazy!!

2006-05-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hilarious movie.

Set in the Kalahari Desert of Africa. It is a comedy-of-errors.

Freddie's Dead!! (The friend you wish you never wished for)

2006-05-26T02:14:00.000-07:00

Lemony Snicket's : A Series of Unfortunate Events

2006-05-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

"Something to Invent, Something to Read, Something to Bite..."

Starring Jim Carrey as the Villian and the superb Emily Browning as the lead actress.
It is adapted from a series of small books where the characters move from one unfortunate event to another, keeping just a step ahead... The film uses only 3-4 of the events in the book series.

A bit like 'Jumanji', but here the dangers are more psychic so-to-say than physical. The sense of hair-raising (without the raising...) when you feel a prickling sensation...Anyway, it's not a horror movie just a suspense one.
The whole movie is shot like a dream, surrealistic. The kinda dream you wake up from with a bit of a shiver but still there's a fascination and a sense of immediacy. There's something the dream is trying to tell me...

Initially you feel that it's black and white until you realise that there Are colours in the
movie... The feeling that you get is the one when you get up at 4-5 AM in the morning and the light is kind weak but good enough to see in. The air is fresh and cool but still and hanging
around you. There is silence everywhere and where every small creak is clearly audible.That's the kinda feeling you get. The sense of expectation as to what's going to happen
next.

Lemony Snicket () is the storyteller and the story is about 3 children.
A girl who likes to invent, A boy who likes to read, and a baby who crawls and bites
everything. The character of the Banker is especially evocative as it shows the callousness of the Keepers of the System. Form not function is the keword.
Family is shown for what it is - a shelter for light and happiness.

This is not a story of the conventional mould. It's about imagination, fantasy, fear and
bravery. The gift that makes each one of us special. About finding that gift and using it.
It's how bad things bring out the best in you.
No matter what the situation there's always "Something to Invent, Something to Read, Something to Bite...".

Big Fish (English)

2006-05-12T02:16:00.000-07:00

A fantastic movie with Ewen McGreggor playing the lead role of a travelling salesman who tells wonderful tales, anecdotes and makes lots of Strange and Exotic friends.

Also the story of a son disappointed in his father after the initial awe.

How the two threads of the story converge on the father's death-bed.

Its a tale of wonder and amazement with surrealistic characters vivid with color and all wanting to include you in their own tales.

A must watch.

Maya Jaal (The Matrix)

2006-04-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

The Matrix is a movie that comes once in a lifetime or two!! If there is 1 movie to watch let it be this! I wish I could forget the movie and see it again with Fresh Eyes!!

Made as a 3 part series each part having a different Narration-Style

The 1st part is narrated in the Indian style where the most complex of things is explained as simply as possible through stories and analogies.

The 2nd part unfolds in the Japanese/Zen style where the complexity of things is brought out to the point of chaos until the mind starts to de-focus, the eyes start to cross until suddenly the simplicity of things shines through.

The 3rd part is in the European style more akin to the New Testament with the sacred blood, the resurrection et al.

Of these 3 styles I enjoy (naturally) the Indian style of storytelling.... and its awesome. Every dialogue in the movie resonates with Swami Vivekanand's Raj Yoga.
The dialogues are so simple and yet so deep... they would form the essence of all spirituality of humanity.

Phenomenon

2006-04-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

A Great Movie!!
This movie is about what we are All capable of.
Though rarely do we manage to find someone who's achieved even a fraction of our Potential.

John Travolta is simply superb as the small village mechanic.
He's the regular jock who keeps his life simple and tries unsuccessfully to sidle upto the woman of his dreams.
Lurching drunk and returning home from his 30th birthday party through the empty streets of the town, he suddenly looks up into the sky and sees a bright star coming towards him. As it hits him he collapses onto the road....

As the days pass by he starts developing a taste for books and ideas. He starts experimenting on his home garden. He develops some kinds of powers...
Robert Duvall as 'Doc' and Forrest Whitaker as his friend fit the bill to the T.

This film talks about 'What Everyone of us Can be'.
Some of the quotes from the movie are simply too good.
Watch it!!

Move-ies

2006-04-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

This blog discusses movies that I've seen. Movies that moved me, made me sit up, made me think, showed me new things, made a difference...

Good movies, great movies, enjoyable movies. Of course I have to share most of the credit for this list with my Father who showed us great movies from when we were barely old enough to understand them, my baby brother who sees movies from a different perspective than mine and some friends who've introduced different ways of looking at things.