The Wolf of Wall Street

This movie will be a classic. A Cult.
I didn't know Martin was capable of making such a movie.
No movie has made me sit back and soak all the information in, make me think hard about how people can be and question all that is pursued.

Leonardo delivered a brilliant performance but the direction is what makes the movie stupendous.
Oddly enough, 2 of my friends absolutely hated the movie and fell asleep, whereas my friend and I applauded the movie at every step.

The debauchery, the extravagant lifestyle, the rich vs poor debate, The wolf's ability to motivate, influence, persuade and control people, the herd-like behaviour of a bunch of people listening to a sales pitch, the extent to which drugs can destroy lives, the quarreling couple, the headiness of the money and the power and the fame, the need for the ability to have sex, the need to not lose as opposed to the propensity of winning more (losing hurts more than not winning).
And a man's need to get rich quickly, to spend lavishly and how envy is just so goddamned stupid.

And the dark dark humour in it all.
"Ya, would drive that kid to the middle of nowhere and let him out - you're free! go on!"

A very interesting personality and brilliant direction.
Brilliant choice of background scores and songs.

Homeland

The art of creating a thriller. Homeland is one of the best series I have seen. The casting, direction, screenplay, music, story - all spot on! Nothing to complain about except the pace - which eventually suits the twists that the viewer is subjected to.

Claire Danes (Carrie) has done a stupendous job - beyond stupendous. Damien Lewis (Nick Brody) has done a good job. My favourite character though is Saul Berenson played by Mandy Patinkin. He is a caring, decisive, brutal, soft spoken gentleman and ruffian all rolled into one. His equation with Mira is the stuff of great emotional content. In the last episode of the 2nd season, when Mira tells Saul that she is coming to the US, Saul says 'Yes'. No triumph, no happiness, just plain relief.

Homeland touches the viewer at so many different levels and makes the viewer question each possibility. A true masterpiece. But as it goes with so many shows, the odds are that they fk things up in the next few seasons...

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

At first, I was quite dejected that the capitalists wanted to stretch a 330 page book into 3 movies!
But then, it was Peter Jackson.

This movie exceeded expectations on many counts; the director took his own sweet time in finishing  the first third of the book in nigh 3 hours and the new HFR (High frame rate) screening is mind-blowing (or as my folks in India like to say: mind-blasting).

About the HFR experience; I was surprised at how clear the image was - detail that made real life seem boring and focused shots which got one counting the strands of waters down a waterfall. In addition to this, one can even see how far filming technology has come since the third LOTR movie.
But this isn't an action thriller, kill the bad guys movie.

It's a story as a story should be. Slow, purposeful, inspiring, emotional and reigniting the strength of good fiction. Bilbo is a good cast, Gandalf is brilliant, not a big fan of any of the dwarves, and Gollum too is amazing. Sure, there are a lot of inconsistencies but I have come to a stage where I give credit to another Tolkien lover and his creative spirit.

The mountain trolls, and the eagles, and the elves - Galadriel in all her majesty and Elrond in his wisdom - and Smaug! and Erebor - Oh! how grand Erebor was... and how that home was lost!
For me, the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and the Silmarillion were a part of my formative years - hence, I am biased.

Oh, there were tears inside me.

Closer

Is love a creation? Are humans always in pursuit of that which they don't have and especially of that which they can't have...? May be things like alcohol in prohibition or restricted drugs?

The law of the land enforces monogamy and somewhere, humans have started believing that monogamy makes sense; for most cultures, multiple partners had been the norm for a long time and then things began to change as humans started living in societies and the concept of materialism reared its ugly head.

Another issue that this movie raised for me was about sex.
Could sex really be that desirable? Could sex really be that much of an issue such that it could hurt a man's ego? May be this movie says a lot about the India that is becoming.

Jude Law, Natalie Portman (didn't think she would have had such a brilliant body) and Clive Owen were phenomenal. One can see Clive's potential on the real stage. I have never liked Julia Roberts. Alas.

The movie is not for the masses because it demands patience and thought. Parts need to be glued together to make sense and one is left wondering how it will end and often, how it is still progressing. Something very operatic about the movie, like a tragedy. It ends with the godess that is Natalie.

Can't take my eyes off of you.

Argo

A thriller after a long long time. Who knew that Ben Affleck could actually make a career in Hollywood!? I woke up today craving a movie, so I booked one ticket for Argo and didn't know what the movie was about, except for the fact that it had received quite a few praises. So it starts off and they say its based on a true story - OK.
The story is simple - 1979, Iranians storm the US embassy in Tehran. 6 Americans take refuge somewhere; the CIA has to get them out. But there's something that gnaws at you when faced with the prospect of having your freedom taken away - and that is what got me quite hooked. Were the Americans right in giving refuge to their stooge - the Shah? Were the Iranians right in having held innocent Americans hostage? I guess that the Iranian anger was justified...
And then I thought of the madding crowd - if a bunch of people do it, it is justified. It's like the broken window syndrome and it is quite an influence in my field of work. An American tried to reason with the crowd; of course, he was tied down and used to gather more hostages...

I enjoyed the slight comical element of Argo fuck yourself. A movie production unit that goes to Iran, from Canada. The screenplay and the writing was excellent. Here too, I found it funny how certain crass jokes got the audience in an uproar and certain subtler jibes had only a few of us laughing and thinking.

A must watch. Brilliant movie.

And if you think that you have the end figured out... may be you do, but the movie doesn't allow you to believe your forecasting abilities.

Looper

Finally - a sci-fi movie!! :D
Sad premise and quite illogical but engrossing nonetheless.
I am not a movie reviewer but I do like movies that make me write - this is one such movie.

The music was top-notch, the direction was oddly brilliant - had not heard of Rian Johnson until this movie, wonderful characters and it seems that Jason Levitt has a promising future.

As I was watching the movie, I thought of the mother and her kid and wondered if protection could be that strong; I thought of Willis' longing for his wife. I also thought of the plague that affects humans who are unable to focus on a good movie and then have to ask others for explanations for a simple story. I also thought of how cool that blunderbuss gun was!! And about how such a wicked kid could warrant affection...

I am a troubled little human being I am.

Barfi!

Ranbir Kapoor is one of the better mainstream actors in India today, it is because of him that the movie works, because his character is central to the movie. Yes, the movie is too long (thank you PVR for your soggy popcorn - it keeps me active) and one knew of Pritam because of those idiots playing some music while the movie played on.
Ranbir plays the role of Barfi effortlessly at times - the director did a good job with him and much appreciation for the director Anurag Basu for not making it an emotional drama with respect to the deaf and mute condition of the lead actor.
I liked Priyanka Chopra just because she had the nerve to dump her glamorous avatar and take up one of an autistic child who is also dyslexic, seems stupid, stutters and also has Freddie Mercury teeth.
Ileana D'Cruz is an Indian hottie and I like her Indian dressed-up avatar.
Saurabh Shukla is brilliant!!
Papon's Kyon is one of my favourite songs from the movie and so is the intro song of "Picture Shuru"

What I did not like - Chaplin copies, sure one could say, "We paid homage to Chaplin..."
Stuff from the Notebook - blatantly copied.
The entire love triangle and Ileana's inability to get over her love for a deaf-mute Barfi was unreasonable.

What I loved - I have already mentioned this but Ranbir's performance was quite awesome. I like the way he could dance, seem comical and non-sensical, comb his hair, make fun of others and act like a much loved much hated fiend of a small town in India. He always wanted to live a full life they said. The character could not have existed in real life, but one hopes that such a character one lived.

Barfi! is also India's official entry to the Oscars. This, for me, is disappointing. The movie is not exquisite and I believe it has been chosen as India's entry because of the selectors' perception of what an international audience would like. I believe that Indian movies are generally made for Indian audiences and hence an Indian entry should be one that speaks of India, not like a Salman Khan movie but like an Ab Tak Chappan which speaks of Indian society.

Titanic

When I first saw this movie I understood little and had an iota of patience. Saw this movie again recently on TV and damn - it's a brilliant movie. Add to that Leo is there and a red-head Kate Winslet in all her vulnerable, voluptuous glory.
"Gentlemen, it has been a privilege playing with you tonight." I loved the scene where the musicians played on while panic ensued around them. I had completely missed the grandeur of the movie when I saw it first; I never saw how strong a role Kate's was; the end of the movie where Rose and Jack try to escape towards the deck, the 'lower class' being discriminated against, the nouveau riche American lady hollering at the lack of humanity in her fellow travelers when aboard the boat, a group of people craving the word of the Lord when on the verge of dying, the fact that only 1 boat returned for survivors.
Old Rose says at the end of her narration, "A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets."

Ilhaam

Every thought is unique. Similar to how everyone who saw this play would have thought of different things.

There is a time when the world flows into you, when you can sense everything around you and understand all that there is; when that happens, things that used to matter, cease to matter in the same way. What would you do if you were to choose between moksha and bondage to human societal life?
/I can't be here and there at the same time... that is what humans want./
/Kya poori duniya aa kar tumse kehti hai... main hoon...?/

There is a joy in being a kid and there is regret in seeing that innocence in somebody else.
Someone weird is just someone who does not conform to accepted norms of human societal behaviour. Epilepsy was deemed madness, homosexuals are still not treated well, cross-dressers are not accepted, autistic people are scary, deformed faces are revolting. Odd people exist because of the categorization by other people who form the majority.

Moving to another point; what would you do if your loved one goes insane, i.e. you can't understand/ tolerate him/ her? What happens when that someone does not appreciate your presence?
What is the similarity between someone who treats you badly and someone who suffers from dementia or Alzheimer's? Are you liable to take care of a loved one more because of your love or because of society? What would you do if you realised you were losing control over your sanity?

Ilhaam is a play that I saw at Prithvi Theatre yesterday. One of the best I have seen in a while. A note to the buffoons who like to text and email while the play is on - one fine day, you might be shot or stabbed by someone like me.

The Dark Knight Rises

Spoiler Alert - Stay Away from this post.

"I have buried enough members of the Wayne family." The agony on Bruce's face tears up the viewer. For me, this movie was not about the glorious action, but just like "The Dark Knight", it was about human behvaiour and emotions.
The first line above was said by Alfred while he is controlling his tears. Bruce could not move on after Rachel's demise and the ones who loved Bruce always hoped that he would leave things behind and move on. Alfred spoke of how he wished Bruce never came back to Gotham.
Christian Bale is one of the best young actors that Hollywood has.
Tom Hardy is a wonderful Bane and Bane is as good as he should be. Calculated and sturdy. 
Anne Hathaway is a wonderful, voluptuous, enticing Catwoman?
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a new kid on the block and does a fantastic Blake (Robin)
I was surprised at how gripping the movie was. Chicago is the perfect Gotham City; the action scenes are stupendous and the naysayers may say what they want to, but Hans Zimmer created outstanding music - especially towards the end and the music that usually accompanied Bane.
The plot was so-so but the idea was quite Shakespearen with the downfall of society.

How did the citizens feel when their city collapsed?
What did Alfred go through for 8 years after Rachel's loss and Bruce's degradation?
Why was Mr. Fox so loyal?
Did Commissioner Gordon really inspire Bruce so much?
What did people say when they found out about Harvey Dent's truth?
Why did Miranda do all she had to?
How did Bruce spend his years in pain?
What allowed him to escape the pit?

And the Batplane is fit for the 21st century!!! Wooohooooooo
Well done Christopher Nolan.
Side note: Anne Hathaway in stilettos (in the beginning of the movie) - oooooh laaaa laaaa

Kshay

Revolutionary Road meets Trainspotting in India. Not suggesting that the creators of this movie copied from any other movie - am just referring to how deeply thought-provoking, social, intense and terribly depressing this movie was.
An absolutely wonderful creation shot in black and white - good idea though because it focuses attention on the characters. I haven't heard such wonderful use of music in a while now and the story was simple yet filmed in a brilliant way. Even with the use of expressionism, the director didn't tire the audience as it happened in that god-awful movie: The Tree of Life.
Rasika Dugal was awesome and it was her movie through and through.

Thoughts:
Why was the sculptor kid such an angry boy?
Why was Chhaya obsessed with the stone?
Why did Laxmi always look at Chhaya?
Could losing a child during pregnancy be that disturbing?
Would Chhaya have been the same if she would not have cared for the neighbour's kid in the beginning of the movie?
Why was Arvind oblivious to everything?
Is India finally becoming like the West, where social support is difficult to find?
If life really is that difficult, why do people struggle through it?
Would a dead spouse be better than a dead self?

I went for this movie because a friend recommended it. I didn't know the meaning of Kshay until I came back home after the movie. The progression towards the end.
"Do you know what a woman goes through when her child has died and she will never know what it would be like to ever give birth to one of her own? Do you know what it's like when she is left all alone at home with nothing to do with her life?"

Dahan

I met someone who recommended a bunch of bengali movies. I saw Dahan last night. Fabulous movie - there is beauty in its creation, in its characters, in their emotions, in the nuances of being Indian/ Bengali. I liked how the director did not make it a 'powerful' movie about rape, but rather about molestation born out of an act of instinct. I loved the grandmother in the movie.
There was a story about how many years ago, someone from her (grandmother's) family forgot a wallet full of money in the cab. Everybody was upset. In the morning, the cab driver returned with the wallet. Everybody was happy and rejoicing and distributing sweets and giving a tip to the cabbie. "They reacted as though stealing the wallet was the natural thing and returning it was something special."
I loved that story because it is thought-provoking.
Coming back to the movie... characters were thoroughly controlled. The husbands/ boyfriends were quintessential MCPs and may be a little more than that. When Romita (victim) thought about divorce, it wasn't made a big issue in the movie, but the snap response was, what will the people think? Think how much your parents spent on the marriage? Polash (Romita's husband) shied away from the incident and hoped to not face it in society; as a defense mechanism, he diverted his angst towards Romita and accused her of having pre-marital relations with the molesters. May be she was raped? That's the story which floated about in the community.
It was odd, how I thought the movie would be about the plight of a girl who had been molested and when  I sat through the movie, the plight was shared by every character in the movie but based on the perceived thoughts of others in the community.
We Indians grow up with a cultural burden based on how society perceives events; luckily, things are changing in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore but not as much as they should.
I am also reading Swami Vivekanand's letters right now and I see that the Hindu culture had a wonderful influence on Indian development, but somewhere, society has indeed become such an overwhelming force which dictates most people's behaviour based on what is the right or the wrong thing to do.
Strawberry fields forever. Nothing's gonna change my world. I am happy to be a Mumbai-ite. Thank you Rituparno Ghosh.

The Artist

So they decided to make a silent movie in 2011/12 and it won the Oscar for best movie. Well deserved! The silent movie managed to grip my attention throughout and I don't know why... I have a feeling that if it was a 'talkie', it wouldn't have been that powerful a movie.
I was simply mesmerized with the detailing and the sets and even the behaviour of people throughout the movie. The font in the newspapers, the clothing, the hair of the women, the cars, the homes, the sidewalks... The bulky actor suited the 1920s, the actress - Berenice Bejo - OMG!! I was quite impressed by her performance. She oozed of sex appeal, her body language cried of oomph and damn, she had one expressive face. There were moments in the movie where I literally gasped when she would strike a pose or express an emotion.
The story was simple. A leading proud actor falls behind the times. "Talking" movies would soon replace the era of silent movies - similar to how 3D movies will soon kill 2D movies - and this guy is a silent movie actor; the audience now wants new, young faces. Dude slips into depression along with the economy (1929/30); Berenice Bejo loves him secretly.. climax scenes... It's not an extraordinary plot, but it's a fantastic motion picture. The old ways were simple, and life seemed to proceed along just fine... movie makes one think along those lines...

Addendum: Berenice Bejo did not win the best supporting actress award at the Oscars but daym... some of her poses in that skinny frame of hers with those wonderful eyes and high bones of the face... ooooo laa laaaa

Udaan

My heart screamt when the father burnt Rohan's book of literary creations; that is how powerful the movie was. It feels good to know that Indian cinema is changing because it shows that Indian sensibilities are changing.
Udaan is a story of a boy who hasn't known the love of a family, but his life is alright because he has been living in a boarding school in Shimla. Things change when he is expelled from school and has to start living with his 'evil' father, Ronit Roy. Ronit Roy has played an outstanding character of a man who has married twice, carries a lot of emotional baggage from his past (possibly because of his own father) and has certain odd rules to how life ought to be lived and what his roles are as a father.
Ram Kapoor plays a fantastic role of Ronit's younger brother who seems to be living a great life with his own wife and a nice bungalow. He isn't rich but he lives a content life.
Rohan (the protagonist, played by Rajat Barmecha) is a great pick for his role; I have doubts about his acting abilities - then again, he's quite young.
The story is weaved wonderfully with Rohan's old friends from his school, his new 'friends' in Jamshedpur, where he moved to, Rohan's half brother, Arjun, whom I believe to be a fantastic actor and o so lovable.
Udaan paints a realistic picture of what life can be in a tier-2 city of India, where even an educated family has to sail through hardships.

This movie made me go back to my childhood and made me grateful for the wonderful life I have lived so far. This story can be a true one; the beauty lies in how well it has been picturised. The musical score and the direction gel. Well done Mr. Vikramaditya Motwane, you are a force to reckon with and thank you for writing and directing this story.

127 Hours

Too many spoilers. Read at will.

My eyes were wet twice during the movie; first during the flooding scene and the next actually made me flinch, when the family of 3 start running towards Aron (James Franco).
The movie itself didn't impress me for the first half but Danny Boyle did something brilliant towards the second. Cropping three scenes into once frame, the music, Sigur Ros and AR Rehman and Jame Franco outdid himself.
During the first half I liked James but not too much, during the second he blew me away. I loved the flashbacks, the dreams/ hallucinations, Rehman's background score. I knew, like many others that he makes it out alive but the movie still gripped me.
It will definitely be a memorable movie. Cheers to Aron Ralston and the spirit within us all.

Special mention to the flashbacks and hallucinations. Absolutely brilliant.

There are odd things I liked about the movie:
The fact that none of the girls were pretty.
The masturbation scene. Some would be humoured by it and I thought it completely natural - momentary pleasure can be wonderful.
The way Aron ran off after saying goodbye to the girls towards the beginning of the movie.
The flashback when he chose not to receive his mother's phone call.
The premonition of him with his son.
The way Aron kisses the hooks when he approaches the cliff after he had sawed off his hand.
How swiftly the canyon flooded, how easily he freed himself and how believably he made it to his girlfriend's house just for the audience to understand that it's some sort of a dream.
The ants on his face.
How the audience is forced to gasp when he drops his bottle of water.

Cannot forget how the family of three ran towards him :) - That scene just gnawed at me from my insides. Something so animalistic about how they ran to help Aron.

The Matrix

It's 2011 and I'm watching a movie that was released in 1999. This movie is still cool.
"C'mon - Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"
"Everybody falls the first time."
Some of the dialogues are embedded.
In 1999, the world did not have Google. Internet was a novelty. America was free of terrorism. India was still a 'bad-land'. People didn't care about China.
The Wachowski brothers decided to market the idea of the world being a dream in which we are stuck. This idea may have influenced people the world over. This movie, I want to believe, somehow made people become independent.. in their thoughts and actions.
The movie - Cool. That's it. Stunningly intelligent in the nuances planted at certain junctures. Great effects, fantastic direction, crisp, great story and rather excellent acting by Laurence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves.
I wonder if it will retain its coolness 20 years from now :)

The best quote of all : "There is no spoon."

Inception

A fantastic creation with an intellectual / fantasy feel to it. Ellen Page will be acclaimed as a great actor soon enough, Leonardo was his normal good and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was rather striking. Some of the scenes were mind-blowing and cinematically it might be one of the best creations to have come out till date. The meticulous detail with which the 'dreams' were chalked out deserves appreciation. The plot was marvelous and dreams have always fascinated humans :)

The movie is currently ranked 3rd on Imdb's Top 250 and everybody who has seen it has been raving about it.
I am a bitch.

The entire emotional angle between Leo and his wife seemed hollow. The pace with which the movie ended and the abruptness of the end did not do justice to the other characters or the story. The end was rather predictable and the sequence of escapes from each dream was pretty boring.
When I got done with this movie I was quite impressed but also quite bored because towards the last half hour I was already waiting for the movie to end.

My sense is that at times people are so blinded and perplexed by confusing, intelligent stories that they mistake a good idea for a good all-round movie. If you keep people guessing and if you manage to dazzle them with good effects combined with good direction and good acting - does it make a good movie? Superficially - Yes! But dig down deeper and you realize that Shutter Island & Fight Club - they were complete movies.
I felt something was missing by the time the movie was beginning to end and I was rather dis-satisfied with an otherwise stupendous creation.

Lakshya

Another grossly under-rated movie. This movie did not do well commercially but was outstanding because of Farhhan Akhtar's vision combined with his ability to portray that vision. I loved the way he took his time with the movie and tried his best not to succumb to commercial demands. I must also add that he did a fantastic job with Hritik Roshan. Hritik's acting in Koi Mil Gaya was appreciated but I found it too 'in my face' and he was still Hritik Roshan.
In Lakshya, Hritik as a college kid was the perfect confused college kid, Hritik as a new entrant in the army seemed correctly raw, Hritik leading his team for the final fight was the focused leader. It's only in the dance scenes that I saw Hritik Roshan and not the character.

Farhan made the Indo-Pak 'battle' classy and slightly believable and not as commercial and dramatic as Border, but therein lie the pitfalls of such a movie: The masses don't really like such movies.

Scene: An hour or so before the end, Hritik rushes to the opening of a bunker while bellowing the movie battle cry "Dhavaa" and gunning the infiltrator down :D

People forget what the movie was meant to be about: Lakshya, loosely translated to 'Goal'.
I loved Hritik's transformation from a chilled out and carefree / careless college kid to a kid trying to prove himself by joining the army to a young man in Kashmir to the man hoisting the flag at the disputed mountain peak.

My Blueberry Nights

One of those movies which remain hidden. Could easily see this movie again :) Was sincere, painful, sweet and romantic. Once again, the direction stood out. Once again, time was utilized as it should be... slowly. Norah Jones did a pretty good job, wonder if she might take up acting as a career. The best scenes in the movie? Jude Law reaching out across the table towards a sleeping Norah, especially in the last scene of the movie. Indescribable. A must watch scene :)

I enjoyed seeing Norah miserable when her boyfriend decided to cheat on her and dump her. Enjoyed seeing Jude's ex-girlfriend (may be?) come back to him just for a goodbye. Enjoyed the cameos by Natalie Portman and Rachel Weisz (her story). Take chances my friend.

Monster's Ball

Patience is missing too often nowadays... The director did a great job of taking his time with filming each scene. Often times, loosely woven stories and bad actors make movies slow, and in this case, great acting, especially by Halle Berry, combined with a well-knit story made this movie easy to watch. When I say easy, I refer to how quickly the movie passed me by; it was, however, a movie that was subtly grotesque.
There was a guy who was going to be executed, and he liked drawing. He said that he disliked pictures - portraits were better. This statement stood out: "Truly takes a human being to see a human being".
Loved the way the movie tackled racial discrimination in the US, the way sexual satisfaction tends to make humans happy, the way we are forced to think of our plight once we grow old... This movie touched so many nuances. Wouldn't call it one of the best movies I have seen.. Would call it a very good movie. But surely, a must watch.