Stromboli
Ingrid Bergman is one of my favorite actresses from the yesteryear. Directed by Roberto Rossellini, a great director of neorealist cinema, the then-paramour of Bergman and the father of her illegitimate child(later he married her), this film was overlooked and thrashed by the critics not for its lack of quality but because of the illicit affair between the director and the lead actress. The affair almost ended Bergman's career in Hollywood, before she resurfaced six years later with a major hit.Back to Stromboli, the title is the name of one of the most active volcanoes on earth, situated on one of the Aeolian Islands of Italy. I think the film was made there as well. It is the story of a young woman(played by Bergman), a foreigner and a war refugee who gets married to an Italian man and sets up home at his village in Stromboli.The clash of cultures is apparent from the start, the villagers don't like the new bride and she, in turn despises the claustrophobic nature of the island community.
A natural film, probably because it was originally made in italian and not exactly tailormade for Hollywood, Stromboli is a cultural and cinematic education for the viewer.
Another brilliant underrated film. Directed by 
One thing you have to give to Kamal Hassan as a writer-producer is, he chooses novel themes for his movies, right from Apoorva Sahodarngal, Kuruthi Punal, Nala Damayanti to this most recent - Mumbai Express.
Still waters run deep - so does serious cinema, Imaginary Heroes is one such film. The suicide of the star swimmer, the much adored elder son sends a suburban American family crumbling, there are unspoked secrets waiting to burst out and loyalties are under scrutiny. 
An unexpected surprise, a twist to the tale which came out from the blue. It is the movie in which the story shows us only what we should see and hides other important bits of information till the end to facilitate a ninety degree turn in the plot. 
Wish I had read the Ulysses before I saw this film. Though it does not seem like it is an easy task. Touted to be one of the best works in literature, it is said that only a few people have finished the book. 
Padam Onnu: Oru Vilapam is the malayalam title of the film directed by T.V.Chandran. A thought provoking movie about the travails of young Muslim girls in rural Kerala, Padam Onnu centers around the life of Shahina, the fifteen year old protagonist played to perfection by Meera Jasmine. 
Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith in this Brian De Palma caper about greed, lust and vanity in and around Wall Street and Manhattan. Loved the flick, it was entertaining, had a good story, some interesting characters and a neat narrative style. 
A gritty take on real life with achingly real life characters. It is impossible to believe that the characters in the film were played by paid actors, they looked unbelievably real. 
Directed by Vinayan, this Malayalam movie stars Prithviraj as the hero turned police officer. Although movie starts off in the same lines as an earlier Malayalam blockbuster Kireedom which starred Mohanlal, in Sathyam, Prithviraj is not the kind of hero who'll be bullied down by circumstances. A 'not bad' masala movie of the recent past.
Hitch had a really long run at the local movie hall we frequent. This fooled us in to thinking that it must be a fun movie. I had high hopes because of Will Smith, being an old fan of his from the days of The Fresh Prince.
An easygoing romance, this film has Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as lovers in Hawaii. Some jokes are hilarious and then there is Rob Schneider, just in case you feel a lack of comedy anywhere. I liked the lines of the old Hawaiin(or china man?)man at the restaurant in some of the opening scenes.
French movies bore me with their length and their lack of dialog for minutes at a time. As one of my friends put it, I have bought myself in to the Hollywood culture, maybe I have.
One of Mahesh Manjrekar's first films, and possibly his best film to date. Sanjay Dutt has portrayed the prototypical Mumbai Don to the hilt, which led him to similar roles in similar movies after Vaastav. 
A funny no-brainer. Good for goofy laughs with friends on Saturday nights.
Road to Ladakh gives the feel of a short stretched to feature film length, not that it has lost any of its tautness in the process. From the Oscar nominated Indian documentary film maker Ashvin Kumar, Road to Ladakh stars Irrfan and Koel Purie in the main roles.
It is an explicitly sexual movie. So if you are not comfortable with raw portrayal of sexuality and explicit dialogs, please stay clear of this one. What else can of you expect from a coming of age movie about two teenage boys set in the beautiful beaches of Mexico?
Nowadays Bollywood movies are a lot better than watching Malayalam films. The quality of latter has forever been going downhill and seems to be beyond rescue. Tango Charlie(wonder what is the significance of the term in aviation, 'cause I have heard Tango Charlie mentioned in pilots' transcripts aired in NatGeo?) in this movie is the codename of a BSF jawan, played by Bobby Deol. Ajay Devgan also plays an important role in the movie as Deol's commanding officer.
This Russian movie is almost a quarter century old, tells the story of a middle aged professor and his relationships with two women, namely his wife and his girl friend. 
Although actors have done their parts well this movie lacks something. You cannot say it is the script or the camera or the editing, but something is certainly amiss. 
Douglas Adams packs more wackiness in to his novels than any camera can ever dream of reproducing. The newest offering of his work from Disney reiterates this fact. After watching Disney's new movie today, which had been burning, smoking and broiling in the back burner for years, I'd have to say we have some good news and bad news. The good news is, Disney has done it better than the BBC, the bad news is neither is anywhere near the book. But I understand Disney's has been a good effort, as I said earlier it is hard to reproduce DNA's verbal wackiness on film. 
An earthy film about a rural postman in an Italian island and his meeting with the poet Neruda who was living in the same island in exile. Nominated for a posthumous Oscar, Massimo Troisi(he died of a heart attack a few days after the production ended) plays the title character with such perfection that it is hard to notice he is acting, he lives and breathes the character of the innocent village postman. 
Watched the newest blockbuster from Malayalam movie industry, Udayananu Tharam. It is indeed one of the better films that has come out in Malayalam in the recent past, a respite from the unbearable comedies whose main purpose is to make idiots out of their viewers. It is a tight, technically decent film with Mohanlal in the title role and Sreenivasan in the main supporting role.
Get Shorty is one of those total-script films, one which relies heavily on the smart-alecness of the script and the right choice of actors than anything else. Well, they did make a right choice roping in Travolta for the main role, he is the best mob guy who has come out of Hollywood in the recent past.
Liked it better than the original Meet the Parents. All credit to Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand. I also liked DeNiro better in this one. There is not much of a plot, except that this time around we are going to meet Focker(Ben Stiller)'s parents. A jovial entertainer, the success of which solely depends on the entertaining capacity of its actors.
It is unfortunate to start a review by mentioning the remake when the real one is so much better. But so is the ways of the world where everyone is aware of Hollywood movies than an obscure film from Germany or India. 
I have liked Mel Gibson films for their crowd appeal, their gigantically populated landscapes and the raw emotion they can wrench out of the audience. Although I do not rank Passion anywhere near Braveheart, it is clear why Christianity is such an easily marketable religion. Afterall, all human hearts respond to pain and suffering or so I think.
Malayalam comedy is steadily going downhill and it is Harishree Ashokan who is driving it turbo charged down the slope with the aid of superstar Dileep. I like Dileep, but his roles and the movies he produce have now become breeding grounds of sickening pseudo-comedy. It is true that when one is the producer, the main intention is, unless one is a millionaire philathrophist who doesn't mind losing a few millions, to make a profit. But was there no other way to reap profit than to make such a joke of a movie?
A roadtrip in the idyllic Bhutanese style set against the majestic backdrop of Himalayas. A young government officer of the raring to go kind, trapped in a backcountry village gets his passport to freedom when one of his friends mails him about getting a visa to go to United States, his dreamland. To embark on this journey, he has to reach Thimpu first. The film follows his journey to Thimpu, hitching rides, with interesting fellow travellers. A beautiful film, a cultural window to the present day Bhutan and it breathtaking landscapes and simple people.
Watched two Lindsay Lohan teen flicks on two consecutive days - Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Mean Girls. Not exactly of any cinematic value expect to keep your teenage girls off the phone for two hours. My intention was to feel the pulse of the American teenager, especially girls - two cultural education films, lol.
After Hable con ella and Todo Sobre mi Madre, this is my third Almodovar film to date. Gael Garcia shows his wide range, he has done an about-turn from his role in Motorcycle Diaries to this one, as a cross dresser he could give Julia Roberts a run for her money. This is also the first time I've seen a mainstream director(mainstream as I visualize it is not exactly Hollywood) deal with gays and gay relationships in a mature environment and make them the main theme of the movie instead of having them as 'butts for jokes' props. Cinematography is good, wish they had shown more of the director(Enrique in the film)'s house, it looked architecturally interesting. Overall a different film.
Posts
