The best i’ve come across this year:
1. TV Show, UK- Skins
2. Song (+ lyrics ), Blue October – Hate Me
3.Movie, UK – Trainspotting
3. Movie, Indian – Dev D
5. Movie,Indian – Luck By Chance
6. Movie,USA – The Wrestler
6. Movie ( Series ), USA – Kill Bill
8. Movie ( Series ),USA – Star Wars
9. Movie ( Series ), USA – X-Men
10. TV Show, USA – Californication
This was a very interesting review to Slumdog that i found here. I feel this is exactly how i’d describe my Slumdog experience….
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I did not like “Slumdog Millionaire”. Or perhaps I should say I was not at all impressed. Maybe it was all the hype, the Oscar buzz and the “It is soooo awesome” first-person accounts I have heard over the last few weeks that led me to go into the theater with unrealistic expectations. Perhaps.
First let us get the standard attacks on reviews one does not like out of the way.
Yes yes I am being contrarian to get attention.
Yes yes I am too idiotic to understand a truly great movie.
Yes yes I suffer from a third-world siege mentality where I am offended by anything that does not show my country in a purely positive light.
If we can now move beyond these, then let us proceed.
And yes. If you have not seen the movie, then perhaps you are better off not going below the fold (though I try my best not to give away the ending) if you want to “experience” without any pre-knowledge this supposed masterpiece.
There is a difference between clever film-making and great film-making. Make no mistake, Danny Boyle is immensely clever. “Slumdog Millionaire” is made as an out-and-out “crowd-pleaser” through proper audience-targetting which is done in the same careful way the Chopras target the lovey-dovey high school/college crowd and the Anil Sharmas target the uber-patriots.
This crowd-pleasing is done through punching together as many stereotypes that Westerners have about India as is humanly possible. People live in garbage heaps. A character jumps into a huge heap of human excreta and without batting an eyelid comes running out covered in brown slime, as if its the most natural thing in India, to get an autograph of a star. The hero, a Muslim, sees his family slaughtered by Hindu rioters and sees along with it a rioting kid (presumably) dressed as Lord Rama, in blue paint and with a bow and arrow in hand, standing as a sentinel of doom, an image whose indelibility in the character’s mind becomes a principal plot point.
A character is booked on the flimsiest of charges and then he is beaten black and blue in a police station and given volts of electricity.
What else? Let’s see.
Child prostitution. Check.
Forced begging. Check.
Blindings of innocent children. Check.
Rape. Check.
Human filth. Bahoot hain sahab.
Call centers. Oh yes most certainly.
Destiny. Of course.
But wait. Do Hindu saffron-clothed Ram Senas not run havoc through Muslim slums? Do street kids not get taken in by beggar gangs and maimed? Doesnt rape happen in India? Are those slums specially constructed sets? Why do you, third world denizen, get so defensive about your own country? Chill.
Well yes these things do happen in India. However the problem is when you show every hellish thing possible all happening to the same person. Then it stretches reason and believability and just looks like you are packing in every negative thing that Westerners perceive about India for the sake of “crowd pleasing”. Because audiences and jury members “feel good” when their pre-conceived notions are confirmed. On the flip side, nothing disquiets a viewer as much as when his/her prejudices are challenged. So Boyle does the safe thing.
Let’s say I made a movie about the US where an African-American boy born in the hood, has his mother sell him to a pedophile pop icon, after which he gets molested by a priest from his church, following which he gets tied up to the back of a truck and dragged on the road by KKK clansmen. Then he is arrested and sodomized by a policeman with a rod, after which he is attacked by a gang of illegal immigrants, and then uses these life experiences to win “Beauty and Geek”.
Even though each of these incidents have actually happened in the United States of America, I would be accused of spinning a fantastic yarn that has no grounding in reality, that has no connection to the “American experience” and my motivations would be questioned, no matter how cinematically spectacular I made my movie. At the very least, I wouldn’t be on 94% on Tomatometer and a strong Oscar favorite.
But then you say—Boyle is constructing a fairytale, a dash of Indian exotica, a love story. Surely he can take liberties. Make the darkness darker in order to brighten the halo around the hero and heroine.
Ok I get it. That’s why the first shot of Taj Mahal is through filth, when any other shot would have done. That’s why the host of Millionaire is shown heartlessly mocking the fact that the contestant is a humble “chaiwala” as the audience laughs with him in a way that reminded me of Amrish Puri, rolling his eyes and saying “Tu to gandhi naali ka keeddaaaa hainnnn”. Even though this kind of class-based running down will never ever happen on “Millionaire” if for nothing else than political correctness , lets accept it happens just to heighten the drama.
Which brings us to the main weakness of “Slumdog Millionaire”. There are way too many things you have to “accept” in order to enjoy this supposed “glorious celebration of exotica” , too many plot contrivances, too many loopholes you can drive a truck through that you have to turn a blind eye too.
Suspension of disbelief is one thing, after all movies are not logic proofs. But “Slumdog” sometimes gets so focused on the “scents” (excreta) and “sounds” (pain) of India that it does not bother to even try to make some of the fantastic coincidences look even moderately plausible.
But then again, as you said, it is a fairytale. Which means it has infinite license for taking liberties.
The thing is that the same people who are going ga-ga over “Slumdog” saying “Areee yaar, dont over-analyze. Dont see it from a realist perspective. Just enjoy the ride” will go and say “What! She cannot recognize Shahrukh Khan just because he doesn’t have his moustache” and ” Wait. Rahul Roy sings Jaane Jigar Jaane Man and just finds Anu Agarwal in the city of Mumbai by doing that ” and “Gimme a break. Sunny Deol can decimate a full Pakistani armored division with his bare hands and screams. What will these people think of next”.
The reason for that simple. Hindi movies are, by nature, downmarket and silly. English movies made by people like Boyle, even when they adopt all the conventions of the masala film, are not. Why? Because they have been validated by the “experts” as “life-affirming”, “glorious”, “celebration of the power of dreams”. So “Slumdog Millionaire” with its horribly cliched and predictable love story is a “monumental tribute to the power of love”. While Kuch Kuch Hota Hain with its equally cliched and predictable love story is “oooh sooooo bakwaas”.
Even with all the stereotypes and all the plot contrivances, I would have still enjoyed “Slumdog Millionaire” if it had managed to, at any time, transcend its “masala” origins to become something greater, as Oscar winners ought to. As the “Dark Knight” transcended its comic book origins to become a fascinating study of true evil. As “City of God” goes beyond the depiction of poverty in Brazilian slums (which is never its primary morbid fascination) to become an epic about the cycle of extreme violence.
In this respect, Slumdog is never greater than the sum of its parts. The production quality is top notch but then again even Ramgopal Verma’s turkeys are technically very accomplished. There is not much scope for acting. However Anil Kapoor, who is slowly coming close to legally becoming a werewolf with his ear ornament makes his mark everytime he unleashes his fake American accent, though you keep expecting him to say “jhakaaassss”.
If there is anything unique about Slumdog is its use of the millionaire game show device to further its plot (even though the links between the plot and the questions are tenuous and sometimes extremely artificial), which I believe is one of the primary reason why people get caught up in the movie. The same reason they get caught up in reality shows like “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and get up and cheer when a total stranger gets a million bucks. However once one goes beyond that device, there really is nothing exceptionally unique to Slumdog, nothing that warrants all the hype and hoopla.
A big disappointment.
*Spoiler Alert
The only thing I’ll sincerely advice would be to please click your pic, and write the words ” Myself ” on it, before you go for Aamir Khan’s Ghajini, so that when you come out of the movie, you can refer to it in order to regain your senses.
If you’re taking your brains to the movie hall, please make it forget a certain movie called Memento; and forgetting things won’t be a difficult task; otherwise you might end up with the migraine, to top up the 180+ min runtime.
There’s a funny movie playing, alongside an amnesic thriller, a revenge flick, a women’s rights’ fight, the ever-unbelievable Bollywood love story, along with the best B-flick bad guys Rajanikanth would’ve been proud of bashing up.
Aamir does well with his Sanjay Singhania, atleast when he’s amnesic; though the flashbacks with Asin keep producing incredible story-lines, the most unbelievable being the fact that not a single person recognizes the face of the owner of supposedly the biggest Cellphone company in the country.
Asin makes an impressive debut, acts well, does well with her dialogs, but the dialog-writer(s) were at their woeful best, its almost pointless to have a go at them, coz they were a shambles.
And, finally Mr. Ghajini Dharmatama; how often do we have movies named after the villian-prima. Pradeep Rawat and his bad-gang comes straight out of the B-cult classics (Gunda anyone), and would make the best negative leads for Mithun da. Although, being a part of an immensely immature screenplay, Rawat does make his Mr.Ghajini fearsome to an extent, with a well-pronounced finishing move.
I believe the director forgot why he signed up Jiah Khan.
6/10 for Ghajini
Watch it if you like the unabashed Bollywood. The best part during the movie was probably the 2 min extended trailer of Chandini Chowk to China, hope you have similarly great luck.
I’ve discussed a lot about movies here, taking individual movies under the scanner, n i believe it would be nice if I could talk a bit about genres, some movies/genres that I’ve tried n liked in the various genres, n those which I won’t ever recommend. Guess it’d be an alphabetical list, I begin with A today:
Action: I don’t watch many action movies, never a great fan of violence, and out n out stunts bore me. Action, hence, generally comes across as a supporting category for me. Disaster flicks, Westerns, Sci-fi, Superheroes would generally be the main themes. The thing I believe with action movies is that, most of them, in their sole purpose of fight situations, often tend to wander away from a definitive storyline. The one movie which wins me over on this theme purely would definitely have to be Brad Pitt and Ed Norton starrer Fight Club.
Action Recommends: Fight Club (Action + Sci-fi), Sholay (Western + Action + Indian), The Bourne Series (Action + Sci-fi + Adventure)
I just can’t go through: Kill Bill’s, Eastern Martial Arts flicks.
Adventure: Its interesting defining an Adventure genre different from the more likely parent categories of Action, Sci-fi, Fantasy, etc. An adventure movie maybe classified as one which involves the central character(s) involved in an unprecedented situation (an adventure), generally undertaken to serve a cause, and involving action as an undertone. I could classify a very wide range of movies to fall into this category, from the Harry Potter’s to LOTR’s to Forrest Gump to Indiana Jones to even Wall-E. Adventure is an appetizer upon which most movie buffs devour, n I’m no different.
Adventure Recommends: LOTR series (Fantasy + Adventure + Action), The Prestige (Adventure + Fantasy + Sci-fi), TV series Lost (Adventure + Sci-fi)
I just can’t go through: Not found one yet (can’t remember any right now)
Animation: Animation as a taste appeals only with a few of its examples, although kids love any anime they get. Pixar animation deserves a special mention for its excellent work in bringing out some of the best modern-day animation movies. Old names like Walt Disney, Hannah Barbara also keep contributing heavily into the anime genre. Anime as a genre has also seen contrasting main themes over the years, and modern day anime, especially a lot of the Japanese work covers almost all things comprehendible.
Anime Recommends: Wall-E, Ratatouille, Death Note, South Park, Crayon Shin Chan.
I just can’t go through: Most of the other kids based anime programming, n almost all other Japanese anime shows.
Another month went between my previous post and the one that progresses… a few things of importance before the reviews begin:
- Barack Obama got chosen as the 44th President of the US of A.
- Mumbai had more to worry than the menacing ‘Raj’. Terrorists attacked the city on 26th of Nov. (the same day as my parents married). The attack claimed nearly 200 lives and injured many more. It seems this time the world is determined to come together and crackdown Pakistan originating terror organizations.
- Chelsea haven’t been having the best of times. Defeats at Roma, and to Arsenal and Burnley at home, mean that the blues find themselves 2nd in the premiership, knocked out of the Carling Cup, and needing to desperately win against CFR Cluj in a few hours from now, in order to ensure a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
Wall-E
IMDB rank 34 ( as on 9 Dec,2008 )
That Pixar is the best when it comes to modern-day animation technology, is not questioned by many , but in Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E, Pixar have probably found their masterpiece ( Yes, after considering Ratatouille and Finding Nemo ).
The story is set in a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess, alone, except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) robot, is sent to earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve and the rest of the story revolves around sci-fi spaceships, robot chase sequences and umpteen hilarious situations.
What clicks the most for WALL-E is its complete story package, exploring robot emotions, human ignorance and the ultimate fate that technology may bring upon us. Pixar’s superior animation techniques leave you amazed after every scene, and Stanton’s ever-fresh ideas add to the brilliance of the show.
Wall-E is a must watch for all the animation buffs out there ( though I ain’t 1 really), and is currently the highest rated animation movie on the IMDB at 34.
10/10 for animation, direction, voice-overs, storyline and Pixar.
Snatch
IMDB rank 159 ( as on 9 Dec,2008 )
Snatch is a movie, I can never get enough of. I love British movies, I love dark comedy, and I love the English accent. Snatch is all of that added to a brilliant cast, excellent direction, and a story that leaves you awe-struck. Its also the only real thing Guy Ritchie ever made. Here’s a nice plot summary I borrowed from IMDB:
Turkish ( Jason Statham ) and his close friend/accomplice Tommy ( Stephen Graham ) get pulled into the world of match fixing in illegal boxing by the notorious Brick Top ( Alan Ford ). Things get complicated when the boxer they had lined up gets the shit kicked out of him by a Mickey( Brad Pitt ), a ‘pikey’ ( slang for an Irish Gypsy)- who comes into the equation after Turkish, an unlicensed boxing promoter wants to buy a caravan off the Irish Gypsies. They then try to convince Mickey not only to fight for them, but to lose for them too. Whilst all this is going on, a huge diamond heist takes place, and a fistful of motley characters enter the story, including ‘Cousin Avi’, ‘Boris The Blade’, ‘Franky Four Fingers’( Benecio del Toro ) and ‘Bullet Tooth Tony’( Vinnie Jones ). Things go from bad to worse as it all becomes about the money, the guns, and a damned dog!
Add to the above, some of that eccentric British accent, a buch of witless characters sporting guns, and ovcousre -> ze blood. Please watch Snatch and if it clicks with you, you’ll watch it again n again, just for the sake of it. The background score ain’t bad either.
9/10 for acting, cast, setting, and editing.
10/10 for the storyline.
Watch out for Jason Statham ( in his career best-performance) and Brad Pitt’s a ‘pikey’.
Slumdog Millionaire
IMDB rank 222 ( as on 9 Dec,2008 )
I haven’t seen the Slumdog Millionaire, but from what i hear this promises to be one hell of an India based movie. This genre has been attracting notable interest in the recent past with decent movies like The Darjeeling Ltd. becoming audience favorites. The thing with Darjeeling Ltd. was that none of it was real, neither was the story believable, nor was the India in it. But the west loves its ‘Indian’ image and loved the movie, which frankly, becomes a bit tiresome for an Indian to go through. But Slumdog is different; its set in the real India, with a realistic situation, and is already making heavy Oscar vibes, with lead actor Dev Patel becoming a fan-favorite. Watch out for this movie in the coming days, that is, if you haven’t marveled it already. I sure am looking forward to it.
(*Images courtesy IMDB)
Lewis Hamilton’s F1 win could well be an indicator for things to come. The United States goes into elections today, and for the first time in its history, a black man is being touted as a heavy favourite. And Hamilton’s F1 win may be seen as an indicator for things to come.
Not getting into any race-driven ( excuse the pun ) feelings, but an Obama victory would certainly be refreshing, what remains to be seen is whether he can deliver the change he’s promised.
The important thing here is not to rule out his very formidable opponent in Sen. John McCain. As a former POW, he’s displayed the strength, at both physical and mental levels to make this fight far from a one-sided affair. Even though i’ve always believed the US electoral system to be error prone, it always provides interesting outcomes. May the best man win!
Chelsea have bounced back brilliantly from their Bridge defeat to Liverpool, and have snatched the top spotin the PL again after falling to 2nd last Sunday. Emphatic victories against Hull ( 3-0 a ) and Sunderland ( 5-0 h also involving a Nicholas Anelka hat-trick ) have ensured they have a far superior goal difference ( +23 ) than any of the other title contenders.
A movie that i saw recently was Burn After Reading. From the very impressive duo of Ethan and Joel Coen ( of The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men fame ), this movie , for me, couldn’t stand up to their previous highs. Although loaded with the highest-end cast of George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Jon Malkovich, Brad Pitt and Tilda Swinton, the movie fails to find a stable plot and keeps juggling between a situational comedy and a Government thriller. The background score is very impressive, and helps build suspense towards a climax, which ends up being very soft.
Overall i’d rate this movie at 7/10 for its background score, and the impressive cast.
Its been troubled times lately. The world all of a sudden seems a much more gloomier place than it was an year ago. And NO its not about the dementors ( i guess ). “Its chaos, and right now its the rule”
We’ve been seeing the physical terror striking every now and then. New militant groups spring out of extremist ideologies each day, they kill innocents, and innocents for whose cause they supposedly fight keep getting branded as miscreants. Multiple blasts in various cities across Asia have suddenly hindered the progressive peace and prosperity drives that resulted in significant financial improvements in the region. Political leaders keep playing the blame game, and well-wishers of the common are numbered. “People are dying out there, what’d you do? “
Money changes hands, money disappears, and keeps re-appearing, but money lives on- So where’s all the money gone now? Global Credit Crunch, Inflation, Rising Interest Rates, Taxes, Crude Prices; frankly i heard about most of them, this past quarter. Its not that money was easy to handle before, but its become a lot more difficult to understand now. People lose jobs each day, they kill themselves for their situation, its not because they don’t have the money now, its because they have seen it before, they’ve been on the highs, and now can’t live on the lows.
What we probably do not see very easily, or still pretend to be apathetic towards, is our very co-existence with the earth. I call it co-existence now because it seems we’ve come to a point, when either humans manage to exist somehow, or the earth end our existence naturally, through one of its ‘disasters’. As an eg. we keep celebrating the usual pleasures of Formula-1 racing ( the author included ), even though we all know what its worth.
What we’re witnessing are times when the water slowly rises above our necks, you can still breathe, but inside your head you know you’re not seeing a way out of this; so you re-assure everyone around you that every thing’s gonna be okay, even though you barely speak through all the choking; in turn you believe someone’s giving you hope, when that someone is you, yourself, the drowning man.
So isn’t it like one of the many days of terror that Gotham witnesses, isn’t there a Joker somewhere around who keeps laughing on our faces, and asks us
Why so serious?
Ok! i kno every1s ready to bash me up for dis…. after the review i gave it, i’m gonna watch Jaane Tu again, this sunday.N dere’s reasons y i hv to contradict myself (talk of a ‘a 1 time dvd watch’, ‘don’t waste 160 bucks lyk i did’)
1. Fame Adlabs ( Raghuleela ) this morning declared an inaugural offer advertising recliner seats for 100 bucks.
2. My mom n sis had more or less made up their minds on watching this muvi despite the warnings.
3. Sunday is a holiday.
4. Dad asked me if i’d come along, n i ws: “sure! if we’re going 4 recliners”
5. I wasn’t there wen he got the tickets, recliners wr all booked upto Tuesday, we wr goin 4 normal billets.
6. I think all de songs r good.
7. I’m not wasting 160 dis tym, jst 60.
N nw u cn LOLLZZZZ me.
Graffiti