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Ratings and Reviews
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Slumdog Millionaire: Same old same old...but with a twist
- by: KC | Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009
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So is this yet another movie to show the sad and deplorable conditions of India- the run down slums, the corrupt ethics, the god forsaken state of the poor, the discrimination towards people of (what Indians would call) the “lower class”- or is this a movie about fighting for the one you love, never giving up hope no matter how down you are on your luck? As an Indian, the bias is bound to creep in and you wonder if you really want to be shown the sad state of affairs that you are already aware of. But putting that aside the first half of the movie is nothing short of brilliant covering all kinds of issues from religious turmoil, to the conditions of children in slums, to kids forced into becoming beggars. The second half of the movie, however, gives way to Bollywood melodrama and almost feels a little redundant, but that doesn’t mean that Dev Patel and Freida Pinto fail to deliver- they even outshone Anil Kapoor. Both Irfan Khan and Anil Kapoor are at their usual best, but as an audience, it sometimes becomes a little difficult to listen to Dev Patel’s (the boy from the slum’s) perfectly spoken English versus Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan’s (the educated bunch’s) very ‘Indian’ English accent. What could have been a different ending, seems to have given way to poetic justice. The director (Danny Boyle) seems to have given up the charm of realism for a “happier” ending. So barring the stretched out second half- Slumdog Millionaire is definitely worth the watch for its great actors, its gripping first half, its sense of realism and its ability to captivate audiences irrespective of where they are from- truly a movie for world cinema- and its entry into the Oscars and it’s Audience Award win are proof of that.
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Ghajini (Hindi w/e.s.t.): Failed to impress
- by: KC | Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009
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Expectations are always high when you know Aamir Khan is in a movie, so my suggestion would be to go into the cinema not expecting anything. By the end of the movie you are wondering what was worse - the direction or the dialogues and then you wonder how Mr. Perfectionist could have ever let either of them pass. Though it is a scene-to-scene imitation of the Tamil version, it was thankfully not a direct copy off of the English movie Memento - but the idea of short term memory loss was picked up. Some scenes were well shot, while other parts kept you on the edge of your seat. The songs, as good as they may have been, were completely misplaced and ill timed (and sorry but Aamir is 43… the Beheka song looks just didn’t gel with his character or his age!) Acting wise - Aamir was ok as usual- Jia Khan was a disaster and Asin- who starts of with a good job - overdoes the bubliness of the character bringing it to the point of being annoying. All in all the movie is worth maybe a one time watch if you step into the cinema ready for three hours of long drawn out and unnecessary flashback scenes, coupled with bad dialogues delivered equally badly by all the actors. Poor direction actually causes people to laugh at times when you should feel sympathetic towards the character. So... sorry Aamir- you failed to impress! Why this movie is the first Indian movie to cross the one billion rupees mark in its first week is a total surprise to me.
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Quantum Of Solace: Bond is Back!
- by: KC | Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009
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Rarely do we get to see a sequel which can live up to expectations- but the new James Bond flick does just that. Today all many movies seem to be following the trend of the flawed, and hence more believable, characters- and James Bond succumbs to that as well- only making it a more pleasurable experience. While Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond caved into commercial viability and cheap tricks- Daniel Craigs’ James Bonds seem to shed light on a lot of global issues. They are now no longer about the age old Cold War with Russian spies, but a reflection of today’s society- the greed for oil, water shortage problems and the power houses that really run this world and how our governments fall weak in front of these money hungry vultures to whom human life has no value. Quantum of Solace manages to do all that- and of course make Daniel Craig look his absolute best with great panache and style- an element of James Bond we can never get enough of. Though it leaves audiences craving for the words “the name’s Bond ...James Bond” to be said, or for Daniel Craig to ask for a martini which is “shaken not stirred”, the movie still manages to grip the intelligent audience which is looking for a James Bond who is not only about style, but also about substance. The action sequences may seem far fetched and don’t have the appeal that Casino Royale did, but to see Bond’s character develop with the time frame of two movies has been nothing short of amazing. A definite watch for the true blue James Bond fan.
