The Descendants

Hardly anything to write about in this movie.
Clooney doesn't even look very attractive! He acts well, well what is the surprise, he always acts well!
Miami looks nice. That is that.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I'm writing after a long time. I'm glad I'm writing about this movie after the pause. My judgement:
1. It has Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman
2. It is a musical.
3. Despite having a grotesque story, it is not overtly disturbing.
4. Anthony Hope is looks so good for the part,hardly like a sailor, but still somehow so good for the part.
5. It also has Timothy Spall, it is almost like watching a Harry Potter movie!
I loved the movie. I'm reminded of this:
 And in that darkness when I'm blind / With what I can't forget / It's always morning in my mind, / My little lamb, my pet, / Johanna... / You stay, Johanna.


And I remember Turpin using the word-gander, hehe!

The Devil's Double

The devil’s double. The body Double of Saddam’s son Uday and Uday are played by Dominic Cooper who I had never heard about prior to the movie. I liked the movie. Cooper is handsome and he draws attention. His depiction of Uday was in my opinion better than his depiction of Latif but this isn’t entirely his fault. The problem with the movie is the sugar coating of Latif, which might be true in contrast with Uday but it was a little sickening. Latif is really quite boring, there is no real reflection of his inner turmoil, however, there are certain hints of him starting to acquire a taste for the material perks that come with his job, which give his character some little elements of credibility.While on the other hand Uday is well put, his drug snorting, meandering gait, roving eye and daddy fearing character seems much more real!

The movie doesn’t say much politically, it doesn’t say- Iraq is fucked up, so come dear Americans, neither is it anti-American. In fact it doesn’t say anything about Americans. I liked the movie; Dominic Cooper is going to make it big!

Amelie

Like a lot of other people, I loved the colors of Amelie. Her bright outfits, bright walls, her shoes, the lampshades, Nino’s bike bags; even the drab cream in the coffee shop comes alive in the movie.



I agree that Amelie’s prying into other people’s lives, messing with their emotions and beliefs was too intrusive. But what is wrong with that? Nowhere does the film sound like a diktat for good living. These are just some things that Amelie does and we all err. Some things work out the way she wanted them to, some didn’t.


The movie is vastly appreciated for the opening and closing scenes. Amongst my favorites from the opening scenes are her drawing little people in the crevices of her body. As a lonely child with no playmate, she is well portrayed with her dramatized conversations with herself, her relation with her fish. The closing scene I like for personal reasons and mostly because of the music which I heard much before I saw the movie.


The scene I cherished the most was her leading the blind man through the street while sharing her vision of the sights around them before dropping him to a known point.


Another thing I loved was the way Amelie seeks herself in the one character that the Glass Man always finds difficult to paint- the solitary girl in the Renoir painting- Luncheon of the Boating party.


I also love Amelie’s clumsily large shoes and the way she gulps wine.


One thing that I remember disliking was the video that the Glass Man sends to Amelie telling her to chase her man before her heart becomes brittle like his bones. I think this message could have been more poetic, the video more elegant than the plain tones offered.

Ghost in the Shell

For a better review than-
"Oh my God, I have been missing something this good!", I need to watch the movie again.
So there.

The Adjustment Bureau

This was a really bad movie, worse we spent money to go and see this shitt! One-it is not science fiction- it is a corporate-coated religious love story, if that makes any sense.  Emily Blunt looks irritating and Matt Damon looks even more irritating. By God, why would he do such a stupid movie I don't understand. Just when the next Bourne movie is around the corner!And 'hats'? Really of all the things?
I don't want to talk further.

Rio

Of course I liked it because it is so very bright, it reminds me of a coloring book and sketch pens!
But not much else, I like the fall of Nigel juxtaposed with the football craze and I liked the closing soundtrack,but I can't seem to remember what it was called! The story was poor, the animals too human, perhaps and some of the characters are wasted. I think the best thing about the movie was the kids delirious laughter in the theatre.
Doesn't come even close to Wall-E or even Toy Story!

Chicago

I read that Zeta-Jones has acted in musicals on stage, thats probably the reason why she is so good in the movie. Zellweger comes a close second with her naive looks and her star-struck face with that serious adoration for the stage.I think I liked the "All that Jazz" track the most. The irony surrounding the girls contest for Billy (Gere) and the medias attention brings to light the futility of stardom in a competitive neighbourhood like Chicago.
Richard Gere, for once I liked. The music, choreography, cinematography, are all breathtaking.
I saw this movie at home alone on my laptop. This was something i do rarely.

Sanctum

God!
One grotesque movie! Why I paid so much to go and watch so many people killed in a predictable, hero will die, new hero emerges fashion, lover turns psycho, only the good guys win.... trash story
Undoubtedly, the scenery is beautiful, but when the scenery is killing you, well, I'd rather be in Delhi!

Gabbeh

Firstly, I shouldn't wait too long after watching a movie to write its review!
"Life is Color". The story unfolds the tale of an old couple symbolically through carpets. The music and color tones are very apt. Little bits of a nomadic life, like the measure of time in distance and not days are beautiful. The howling of the lover, the trail she leaves for him, her angst and her attempts to run to him while she waits through family matters are very well done. The scenes with the carpets being scrubbed by Gabbeh's feet under clear water with bits of the story floating by are amongst the best shots. The Uncle's search for his bride and their wedding dotted by hundreds of carpets is very picturesque.

Goodbye Lenin

GOOD BYE, LENIN! came back empty-handed from both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
DONOT miss this movie! (I had it with me for so long before I was finally made to watch it, I can't believe myself at times!)

Wall-E

Wall-E is amongst my favorite movies now. The two robots have been made very life-like and likable.
The commentary on consumerism is well-placed and well-timed without any overdoing. The great success of Buy n Large (their very best friend) made the earth a big junkyard which BnL thought could be cleaned while it send the humans into space in the Axiom where the humans are coaxed into a vegetable lifestyle at the expense of their own technological products. And yet the movie doesn't demonize technology which is indicated by the extremely likable Wall-E and EVE and their struggle to get back to earth in their struggle fr each other. The humans have become "slaves of both technology and their own base appetites, and have lost what makes them human".
I saw it on bros' big TV and later saw it on my laptop screen and decided that watching it on a big screen is a must.

Shatranj ke Khiladi

What a lovely movie!
We had a DVD which landed at our place from Lord knows where.
I loved the juxtapositioning of the chess-obsessed with the annexation of Oudh! I loved the landscapes, the characters, the lack of music, the outfits.
And I must read Premchand!

Skyline

For some reason, we went to see this movie. It would've been tolerable had the actors been more good looking. Rich guys having a party in an apparently "cool" house. Hero not excited about his girl being pregnant.  Followed by a lot of havoc by strange creatures with an attractive blue light.US Air Force couldn't do zilch about the strange creatures. After his brain is acquired by one of these strange creatures Hero protects his child. That was the story.
I am no judge for special effects. They might have been good, but I take them for granted if you're trying to make an alien movie. Oh yes and the most irritating bit of the movie was when one of the actors says, "What are these things" (referring to the strange creautres that wreck havoc) and a smart ass replies "Does it even matter?", this is why this movie doesn't qualify as science fiction.

Shutter Island

I saw Shutter Island before Inception. And I almost hated Inception.I think I like the movie better now,in recollection that when I walked out of the hall and it also has to do with how I just didn't like Inception.

"You act like insanity is catching", and this almost makes the rest of the movie predictable. Leonardo is very good but there is a point beyond which I want to see another expression on his face apart from the "stern-worrying brow" look. What I really liked were his visions of his wife and the surreal drama in those scenes with things floating in the air around him- papers, snow, and ashes. I also thought that the scenes from the camps were very chilling. 

The scenery is great and I was left with a damp feel after the movie.

Inception

I read a very good review of Inception:

A story within a story unfolds that adds to your frustration layer by layer, scene by scene, character by character, that by the time you've figured out what's happening in one story, there's a development in the sub story that makes you question yourself. Now compound this twice, add a sub-plot that is supposed to be the emotional crux of the story, lead the audience along on one idea and segue just as the audience is about to xpect some form of closure, throw in some gravity-defying stunts and fight scenes, get a busy city square to fold itself and then seal the deal with a climax that doesn't offer you any concrete answers.

Alice in Wonderland

For the 3-D version of this movie we got some really cute big blue glasses. The movie was just about perfect, though Alice looked a little too grown up and ugly. Helena Carter was excellent as always! Bandersnatch was ferocious at first and very lovable by the end. Johnny Depp looked a little too emotional,but all is forgiven in Wonderland!

Maachis

We bought this DVD from the South Extension market in a little basement movie store. I bought it primarily for listening to the music again. I don’t think I had seen this movie when it came out. We saw the movie over three days 'cos the DVD was bad/had to get a VCD/powercuts/hot oppressive weather...
Even though it epitomized love, it talked about how frail relationships can be and how easily ideas can be ignited in the face of atrocities. After watching the movie, what stayed with me was not the music strangely, but the parts of all the actors, however small they had been, were all noteworthy. I was surprised to find out that the music director turned into movie-director post Maachis.  

36 Chowringhee Lane

We bought this DVD (with english subtitles) about 2 weeks ago. For some reason my laptop wasn't reading it,but last night it worked. And we saw it alongside dinner.
What will remain with me is the little house that Violet stayed in with all its artifacts like the kettle, gramophone, crockery, bathtub and the black cat. And the lovely character of Eddie whom I think surpassed Jennifer Kendal and any of the other characters. Eddie’s depiction of an aged-ill man and his concerns is vivacious.