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Citizenfour (2014)
A Documentary par Excellence.
There's a very thick line of difference between how should we review a documentary and how should we review a movie, but both of them have one thing in common, both of them should have the tenacity to hold the test of time to be called a great feat. In movies it is achieved through a storyline that does not fade away with the passing of time, in documentary it is achieved by its core material, and how much it affects the world at present and in distant future. Keeping all these aspects in mind if we trudge on the path of analyzing how much "CITIZENFOUR" fared, it should not be very difficult to say that it will go down in the golden books of documentary films.
Any attempt in describing the effects this movie would make in its viewers mind, will be undermining it, and I can assure you that I, in any way, am not exaggerating. This movie is just not an attempt to bring out to the people the story of Edward Snowden, rather it is an observance, observance of the slowly disintegrating constitution, the disintegration of the line between right/wrong, an observance of how our freedoms are being put to trial in the name of well-being and under the veil of protection. It is an observance of how our world has succumbed to the state of a "Ruler and Ruled" rather than "Elected and Electorate" state.
In its heart it still remains a story of Edward Snowden, the man who single-handedly shook NSA and foiled its long going party. And as I was saying earlier, an excellent documentary is one which has the capacity to affect both present and future, Citizenfour is surely one of them. It affects every part of our lives.
See it to believe it, but all I can say is that Don't Miss It. Simply because of the fact that this is a story that everyone needs to know and have an opinion about.
The Imitation Game (2014)
The Game is ON !!
It was last night when I finally saw "The Imitation Game", and boy was I not blown-away. There was a lot of buzz going around about this movie and even though I knew about this movie even when it was in its post- production stages, I was, for long, trying to avoid watching it. Mainly because I thought it will disappoint me and belittle the man whom I look up to with utmost respect and honor, Alan Mathison Turing. A pioneer in mathematics, computer science, cryptanalysis, the man who, according to Winston Churchill, made the biggest contribution in the result of World War II. I was being skeptical about it only because everyone kept talking about how shocked they were to know about this man about whom they had very little knowledge, about this man who made such a huge contribution in WWII but was later forced to commit suicide due to his sexual orientation, but I already knew all this. And all that these reviews kept on doing was to make me affirmative that its all about the stuff I already knew about. But I was wrong, like all those other reviews. Its so much more than only that. This movie has some stellar performances, an excellent narrative, a brilliant direction and a good screenplay. It takes you into a world full of cryptology and code- breaking, but still doesn't hamper with your brain. It makes you feel that you are a part of the race, the race against time, a race which would eventually decide the fate of the trauma engulfing the world. The narrative is brilliantly paced, it has a cinematic tension and the point where all this builds up to a point where it just flows out, you yourself become ecstatic, I literally started jumping, laughing and crying, because Enigma was cracked.
The movie shows what power does movies possess, the power to move you, to make you cry, laugh and jump all at the same time. I must applaud Benedict Cumberbatch, who took on to the job in a way that I think no one else could have done. He really resembled Alan Turing in more than one way.
I also would like to point out a few things that didn't go down well with me, one of them is that even though this movie was a thriller, it was a huge opportunity to introduce to the world a little more about Alan Turing as a person and not just a machine. It was a huge platform which could have been used as to show his condition after the war, his fight within himself to lead a life alone, after all he had gone through.
But still this movie creates more than just a few ripples, it really enlightens you about a man who deserved better. No matter whether you are a noob about Alan Turing or an expert, you can watch it and enjoy and be thrilled.
Badlapur (2015)
Revenge is a dish best served when COLD !
Have you ever tried Cadbury Silk ? If you have then you must have realized how quickly it melts in your mouth, so quickly so that you don't even feel it was there, but it is the after-taste of it that really stays put. Badlapur is very much like this. This movie starts and ends, and you might think its yet another forgettable bollywood flick, but its when you let it sink that you realize how hard hitting the film really was. Backed by some good performances, this movie really packs a punch and when you leave the theaters you will definitely feel it in your gut.
The story is basically about this sweet, innocent young Indian man Raghu( Varun Dhawan) whose wife and son are killed under unfortunate circumstances during a bank robbery. The only mistake they commit is to be present at the wrong place at the wrong time. This triggers a chain of events that sprawls for 15 years, when the bank robber finally gets out from jail Raghu decides to avenge himself.
The movie starts off slowly and for the starting half an hour or so you don't actually buy anything that is shown, but its after that when the movie picks up the pace. From then it really keeps you at the edge of your seat, makes you anticipate the next move of Raghu and never lets you get off the hook.Direction is decent but nothing good, there are some nice twists and turns and the ending was anti-climactic which really disappointed me. The music is very intelligently use, never breaking the rhythm of the story.
But what really makes the movie so praise-worthy is the performances that it boasts. I, for one, never thought that Varun could carry such a role, but he proved me wrong. He gave the performance of his life. His cold, brutal Raghu really gives you the chill, but sadly, only in bits and pieces. It was not very constant. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was as always good, though he did not have much of a role to play. All the other actors did decent job.
All in all the movie was dark, cold and unflinching that really keeps you on your toes. It really deserves to be seen so be sure to check it out.
Baby (2015)
Indian Espionage at its Best !!
This film is the third undertaking by the National Film Award winning director Neeraj Pandey. Following the footsteps of his previous two movies this film is also a thriller but this time it is an espionage thriller revolving around a fictional special task force named "Baby". It is a temporary unit formed as a part of experiment after the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11. Backed by a well written story and a riveting plot that keeps you at the edge of your seat, it packs a powerful punch that leaves you satisfied.
The film has some real good performances both in-front and behind the camera. Akshay Kumar once again proves his mettle as a brilliant actor. All the supporting actors play their part and I must credit Taapsee Pannu, she really gave a bad-ass performance. Neeraj Pandey once again proved that despite being young he really is a very mature director.
Inspite of all the good things, it also has its share of problems. The most annoying one is that there was not a real single high point of the film. It pretty much started and ended on a similar note, no adrenaline pumping thrill. The villains had very little role to play and not enough time was spent on developing the relation between Ajay (Akshay) and his family. In the end I did not feel anything for anyone, I enjoyed it but there was no after-taste to it. It was a good thriller but it could have been way more than just that.
But still I really would recommend all of you to watch it, its really worth it.
Everest (2014)
A Great Summit Reached !!
I have never been a fan of Indian serials, basically because most of it run way out of logic and interest. But this changed the face of it, I really got intrigued from the very first trailer but somewhere inside I had this fear that ultimately it will fall down to sub-par standards set by the daily soaps, but it did not. This show is an undertaking of the master Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowariker who made his TV debut as the producer of this show. This show is part of Star Plus's immense undertaking, "Women Empowerment". The story is about this girl named Anjali whose dream is to climb Mt.Everest in an attempt to win her father's love who had the same dream but could never achieve it. As we progress through the show the story becomes more of a "Pilgrimage" to find ones inner self, we see Anjali fighting her limitations to achieve her dream. Gowariker stated that: "The whole idea of the show actually began with an insight that what are you willing to do for your dreams?"
Its very much obvious that a great deal of research was done. The shooting took place in actual Everest Base Camp (in Nepal) and Dokriani Glacier (in India) and the actors were made to attend Mountain Climbing classes prior to the starting of the shoot. Even though it achieves what most of the Indian shows fail to do , i.e. meaningful story telling, it fails in certain aspects too. Most of the times the characters are all black and white, too romantic. Sometimes it seems a little bit too stretched, and some unnecessary sub-plots pop up occasionally. But overall it was a fresh change from the painstakingly irritating daily soaps that frequent the Indian television. I hope it is a sign of better things to come, and if it really is then the future seems bright for Indian television.
The actors have done a remarkable job though some of them are too monotonous. The director has done a fair job but he could have done better. Music for the show has been composed by none other than A.R.Rahman, and though it feels just good but sometimes it sounds too gloomy.
I recommend everyone to watch the show, it really deserves to be seen.
Roy (2015)
Roy-al Boredom..!!
First things first, this is not a Ranbir Kapoor movie, he is in an extended cameo, so don't get fooled by all those posters and advertisements. If you watch this movie (which I suggest you shouldn't) you will actually be thankful that this is not a Ranbir Kapoor movie, because nobody wants a brilliant actor like Ranbir to be associated with a movie so pathetic and dragged that for a minute you actually start thinking Dhoom 3 was a watchable movie. Its really tiring to sit through the 150 minutes, I actually went out of the theater twice. There is nothing good happening in the movie, there is only the long shots, the gloomy colors, the monotonousness of the frames, the dragged plot. The actors do nothing except sit and exchange philosophical disclosures that has nothing to do with the film. Both Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline Fernandez are supposed to be film-makers who are making their own films, but still what all we see is them roaming here and there, drinking wine and singing and partying (this is precisely the reason why we are getting such horrible movies from bollywood nowadays).
Even after watching the movie I am not quite sure about what really was the motive behind the movie (none as far as I can see), it might also be because I did not care at all for the movie after an hour or so, I was just sitting there because I had paid for the film.
To anyone who is thinking of going to watch this movie, take a pair of headphones you will need them or rather do not go, wait for a while and soon it will premiere on TV.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Fifty shades of Boredom !!
There was quite a huge build up to this movie, a Valentine release based on one of best selling books of 2011, lots of sex and nudity, this movie had everything to entertain, but alas it did not. It was rather dragged, boring and utterly un-entertaining. It was really torturous sitting through the running time and it felt rather a punishment to watch this movie. It might interest the blonde-haired monkey girls whose favorite movie is "Twilight" but surely not to anyone with even a little bit of taste for movies.
You can surely give this movie a miss, rather give this movie a miss for your peace of mind. The two leads had no attractiveness but rather seemed half-dead, especially Dakota, who seemed like a zombie taken straight out of Zombieland.
P.S: Anyone planning to force start their sexual life, take your girlfriend to this movie and she will surely breakup with you.
Adios !
The Godfather (1972)
Great movies are not born great, they are made great.
I have rated over a 100 movies in IMDb and none of them could get a 10/10 score, but this. I think that perfect score was waiting for me to watch this movie. This movie that has set a benchmark for me to rate other movies, "Is it The Godfather level good or not ?".
This movie for me is an epitome of perfection, it scores a perfect score in almost all the departments, be it direction, acting, music, screenplay, character development, cinematography etc. I just couldn't find a fault with it (and mind you I tried really hard).
With a blazing canon of actors which include Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall this film pierces right through you and makes a place for itself. Even days after you watch this movie you will find yourself, in your own private moments, speaking out those wonderful lines, trying to copy Vito Corleone or shape your voice like Michael Corleone. In its own mysterious ways the movie will sure remain with you.
It leaves you wanting more, not because there are questions that remain unanswered, but because this film feels so good that you never want to leave it, leave the streets of New York or the Godfather's mansion.
All in all Francis Ford Coppola has done a remarkable job that, in the least, deserves a standing ovation and an unanimous cheer of "Bravo!". This movie leaves you with an aftertaste of knowing that you have cherished watching an excellent movie.