Pranchiyettan and the Saint!

The review of an upcoming malayalam movie "Pranchiyettan and the Saint" is up on Rediff. The story looks very interesting with Innocent playing a comedic foil again. I have to find a way to see it!

3 idiots and a message nuanced

3 Idiots was a good entertaining movie. Aamir Khan's acting was good as usual. The movie itself seemed to be a mash-up of 'Munnabhai MBBS' (Bomman Irani being the khadoos prof again), 'Dil Chahta hai' (story of 3 friends) and Kareena gave the 'Jab we met' touch.



The movie also tried to deliver a message, the most important one that I could figure out was that you should follow your passion and not get into the rat race. That was made explicit in the first drinking scene where the '3 idiots' are discussing each others weaknesses and ultimately the other 2 persuade Rancho (aka Wangdu) to fess up to loving Kareena's character.

Now, I believe that the message should be made a bit more nuanced. It is right that one should follow their passion and not just get into the treadmill of fulfilling other people's expectations but at the same time the tricky question is how to identify your passion. I find it hard to believe that everyone had one passion. And I dont even believe that all succesful people got there because they were passionate. Talents, skills also play an important role. So you might be passionate in something you do not have the talent which is not a recipe for success. But again i agree that Rancho also says that the purpose of life is not to go for success but to do things you enjoy. But I wonder if that message will not get across. Because the people hungry for success will interpret follow your passion as another formula for success.

But all in all, a great entertaining movie.
Give me some sunshine,
Give me some rain,
Give me another chance,
i wanna grow up once again

Movie Review:Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire blew me away just as I expected it will. Usually movies which I am excited to see turn out to be good, but you build up so much expectation that you come back a little disappointed. Not so with Slumdog.
Ofcourse, the plot is not entirely believable and there are places where if you are a purist or literal you can question. But then that will be missing the point of a movie. It is to entertain and awe and if it makes you think (helpfully without making too much of effort) then it has served the purpose. Slumdog these things but also it is aesthetically pleasing and musically out of the world.
Its music is peppy and optimistic even in places where it could be sad. The story is a fairy tale but the characters convince you that it is entire plausible.
Danny Boyle's direction is awesome and the movie is definitely his vision. I have seen interviews of him on youtube about the movie and it is clear that "he gets it" :)
On a more painful note, the movie showed the VT (or CST) stations in Mumbai a lot. This is the Victoria Terminus (also now known as Chattrapati Shivaji Station) which was the target of the recent terrorist attack. That was a poignant thing which added topicality to the movie. But I appreciate the fact that there does not seem to be any playing up of that coinicidence (?) by the movie makers.

In terms of acting, I liked Freida Pinto, the kids who played Jamal, Salim and Latika. There was much less scope for showing the acting talent of Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor did a reasonably good job.

Ratatouille

Its been long since I watched a movie that I really loved in the theater. I have been late in watching but I loved Ratatouille for its story line and message.
I loved this quote from there said by Anton Ego

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.

Movie Review: 300

I finally watched the movie which created the biggest opening record at the box office. If I had written this just after that experience, I would have lot more expletives to add but right now I would just say that it was a load of b****hit.
They say that you should count till 10 when you are angry. Well, after counting over a million, it struck me that if there are such movies like 300, then there are also movies like Cinema Paradisio, Lord of War etc which make up for it. Like people, all movies are not the same. And if you look for the negatives you can find it in anyone and everyone. This may sound a bit like zen or buddhism but thats the truth. I feel sorry for the ppl behind this movie but hey, they atleast must be filthy rich now. So good for them.

But then my good friend Dr. Booze was angry about that for a different reason. He thought in a way I didnt. He believes that this movie actually shows the fight of good and evil as the fight between East and West. So after a few references to Persia, the enemy becomes entire Asia. So we have the chinese and arabs and even elephants fighting for the dark evil side.

It has been criticised for this reason by lot of Iranian bloggers. They believe that it is actually a psychological warfare indulged in by some section of hollywood against Iran, so that it would be easier to sell the war against iran if the neocons decide and are in a position to wage it.
Some links on that are here

Movie Review: Breach

Breach is a serious psychological tale dressed as a conventional hollywood spy thriller. Chris Cooper gives an underplayed but highly emotional performance as Robert Hanssen (the famous FBI agent who was leaking intelligence for more than 25 years) and who was finally caught in recent years.
Even though the hero in this movie is Eric O'Neal (Ryan Phillippe) as the undercover 'wannabe' agent who clinches evidence which could convict Hanssen, but the film is remarkable in the sense that ultimately it seems to be told in the words of Hanssen rather than Eric.
The reason that Hanssen was leaking information was not for money or any other natural reasons. But it was just for the kick he got from knowing that he was outsmarting a lot of really brilliant people.
It is really a tribute to American Cinema that such a movie is made where the 'biggest' traitor is looked in such a sympathetic light. But if the real Hanssen is anything like what is shown, then he wouldn't like what he saw!

SRK seems to be a reasonable man

I didnt like Shah Rukh Khan earlier. Though I enjoyed his acting and his impish sense of humour in the movies, I think it was a natural reaction cos he was someone who gets lot of attention from the girls. So no 'self-respecting' guy could say that he like SRK.

I watched a few episodes of KBC 2 and I must say I liked his presenting style. His risque but irreverent humour, so contrasting to the staid and serious Big B. I think SRK has hit a jackpot in KBC. Seems it will be as big a success as BigB's if not bigger. And the reason now is entirely due to SRK's personality. They have changed the game from the format of "Who wants to be a millionaire". Now its mostly an entertainment show with the questions and the tension of the money thrown in. Great Work!

I also read SRK's interviews where he talks about almost everything under the sun and felt that he is really good. Seems mature almost a patriarch. Now Big B sounds like a grand daddy.
The interviews here

Bollywood dreams

He has been voted the sexiest man alive twice and now he says that he wants to appear in a bollywood movie. Before you see Ash in an angrezi flick, you might see George Clooney in a bollywood masala.

He will be more than welcomed in Indian film industry though I wonder if he will do that well in the UP-Bihar sector of the business.