Saturday, July 2, 2011

Cinematic hotchpotch

Last week I saw several new (sic!) movies and revisited some old ones. Here are my feelings and read without any worries. No spoilers as I am not a classic reviewer. In absolute random order I present you:

1. One.Two.Three (2008) - Leaving aside the fact that it is a sort of a stealthy copy of Blame it on the bellboy do you know that state of mind when you watch something, but you do not hear or see anything, being too engrossed in thoughts? Well, this is the main advantage of the flick. Perfect meditation inducer. I do though remember something from it - the family name of the 3 main characters - Laxminarayan. :D

2. Umrao Jaan (2006) - I have not seen the more acclaimed version with Rekha so do not jump on me. And no matter what people say, I loved Aishwarya in this one...in spite of the fact that her beauty is so intense that you have the feeling you watch a PC animated character. The songs, the colors, the lyrics, the slow rhythm still touched my soul. I thought 5 years later a re-watch will annoy me, but it was not the case.

3. 127 Hours (2010) - Danny Boyle did not disappoint me. He managed to make a good movie with perfect first 20 minutes, a disciplined artistry in the middle, well played by James Franco and incredibly intense 15 last minutes. I suffer of claustrophobia and this movie did not help me at all in taming this condition. But it is worthy of my appreciation and thumb up.

4. Anjaana Anjaani (2010) - A bitter sweet romantic comedy (?) would be a Hollywood teaser. Two strangers meeting in a suicide point. The rest you can easily imagine. The kind of movie perfect to waste time with it on a Sunday, when nothing else is on TV, all your friends are out of town and Internet is not working...oh and yes, the room with the books is accidentally closed and the key is lost.

5. Australia (2008) - I avoided it all this time as I am not a fan of Hugh Jackman (I checked it 3 times his name to be sure I spelled it correctly). After exactly 35 minutes the folder called Australia suffered the Shift Delete combination. Boring even if you are doing your nails or straightening your hair, while it plays.

6. No one killed Jessica (2011) - A film with unfulfilled dramatic potential. I need a second try to understand whose fault is. Otherwise interesting and touching at times. But it fails to wake up in you the frustration and the anger which were obviously targeted. Recommended anyway as "something else".

7. Guzaarish (2010) - Man...10 years ago I would have poured tons of tears on this one. I mean come on... sexy paralyzed guy and a married nurse (beautiful like an icon) who has been taking care of him for more than 10 years, loving him secretly... Oh my God... But life is a bitch, and apparently I became one, too. No tear... Sigh... Give it a try though if you are in a gooey mood.

8. Kaminey (2009) - Watched it again (proper high quality version this time with a proper translation) and I loved it. Perfect combination of action, darkness, adventure, clumsiness (yes clumsiness), slight sick humor, bad...really bad interlopes and a good ending. Music brilliantly embedded. Lessons for life presented in a non-invasive manner. With an honest heart I can say it is one of the best Hindi movies of the last 10 years. A small masterpiece in its genre.

Now go and watch something and keep the world of movies alive. :)

1 comment:

Yiota Karioti said...

I love it when you do your lists :) :) :)