Kapoor & Sons

Kapoor and Sons is Unadulterated dysfunctional spontaneity at its best... rarely I have seen movies that commercialize socially discomforting subjects so well. Most of the time, the production house would sugar coat and dilute subjects fearing consumer backlash. . However,  Shakun Batra picks up speed right from the word go and kept it's grip to the end. The ensemble is stellar - the writing is kick ass, direction is spot on, music compliments .. two thumbs up

Spotlight

Pen Power all the way in SPOTLIGHT. ... the true story of how a team of investigative journalist rocked the mighty Boston  Catholic church on involvement of priest in paedophilia. Loved the subtle narrative and the restrained performances of the stellar cast.. highly recommended.

Invictus

Invictus is brilliant -- what an amazing peek into Nelson Mandela's mind... "one team,one nation" as a theme was his push to use Rugby as a nation binder which beautifully worked for him. Invictus gives you an lovely insight into Madiba's mind on how he so wanted coxistence post the apartheid era. Loved this Clint Eastwood offer.. one of my all time favourite directors. If you haven't seen this, you must inspire yourself. 

Let me leave you with the poem that gave him the courage for the 27 years he was behind the bars....

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

Neerja

What a beautiful tribute, Ram Madhvani. Thank you for giving us a forgotten piece of sheroism and reintroducing us  to our Braveheart - Neerja.
It's such a fitting tribute.
In a world of hate, Neerja will inspire peace always...

Shandaar

When you don't find the director during the promos,  you need to be alarmed but then Vikas had directed Queen.
But I had a SN watching this NSI. Thanks to the recliner- my Hero for the movie - kinda saved me from this NFIFM... This one is a GD, you may instead by a Danone unless you want your own DKD.. oh just in case you are wondering what the abbreviations are... I just thought I should at least be the movie for a bit..
SN - Shandaar nap
NSI - Natural Sleep Inducer
NFIFM - New found intelligence in film making
GD - Golden disaster
DKD - Dimaag ka dahi

Talvar

Talvar can be discomforting for many because it chose not to be Arnab, it moved away from clichéd breaking nib syndrome that directors would fall prey. Instead Talvar just cloned reality and presented 3 conflicted versions of the same incident and how  "confirmation biases" chose the directed verdict.  Loved the Narrative style and choice of cast. ..

Avataar

Taj Mahal and Avataar has one common element. Vision Acomplished.
You should see Avataar for the sheer brilliance of how a concept gets converted into magic. The story isn't that great but a movie you can't afford to miss.

3 Idiots

3 idiots is probably one the best offerings to hit the indian audience in a while. a winner, 3 idiots proved Aamir's choice of subjects and also Rajkumar Hirani's belief that good, socially relevant meaningful cinema can not only churn the box office but connects with audience in a big way.

Tears guaranteed...you choose the emotion.

Have a ball at the theatres..

Frost/Nixon

Ron Howard has a gift when it comes to selecting scripts for his movies, Frost/Nixon plays the famous watergate scandal interviews. Brilliantly directed and acted, this engrossing flick is worth every minute of the watch.
Watch it

Hangover

After a long time watched raw humor unfold on screen. 4 friend hit las vegas for one night, a bachelor party. The problem, they don't remember what struck them that night. The movie is about putting the puzzle together and rescuing one of their Maites who went missing.

Brilliant. Leave the kids and the tetotalers behind.

New York

Watched NewYork on Friday, watchable. Kabir Khan did a decent job with the casting and the screenplay, the story is not convincing. Guess, who cares...this was the biggest release post the muliplex and producers war. We were waiting for an excuse to hit the theatres, newyork was well timed.

It's worth the monies...
Watch it.

Ghajini

Aamir makes a lot of sense as a film maker. A shrewed businessman, perfectionist, natural actor aamir is like a prized wine, tastes better with age.

Of the khans, if there's one actor who stands out on the breadth of work, it's aamir. I had watched Memento in 2003/04, can't remember the xact dates, i am kind of amnesiac as well. I was blown over by the script, screenplay and the concept of the movie, always wondered on the remake, surprised i didn't see this at least from the bhat camp. It was last year when a colleague spoke to me about the remake in Tamil. When i heard about Aamir doing the hindi version of Tamil, i knew it was a sure shot hit ( seen the original ). Bollywood had always seen trend breakers, Satya was the one that broke the trend of lovie dovies, Ashiqui broke the action trend and now Ghazini broke the family movie trend.

Ghazini is a winner because of 3A & 1M.
Aamir
Asin
AR Rahman
Murugadas

It's a great watch on a big screen.

Thumbs up.

Tashan

A stylishly done flick Tashan boast of a dream cast ( Akshay, Saif, Kareena, Anil ) with slick editing and camera job. Topped with Vishal Sekhar's chartbusting tracks I wished it had a story to tell.

Passable..

Sawariya

Pass, couldn't watch the movie beyond 10 minutes....
Buy the audio, i think its one of the best musical score this year.

Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om is tbe best tribute one can give to the Silver Jubille 70's. The release timing cannot be more apt, with Diwali/Eid vacation, people just look at a opportunity to throng the theatres and OSO surely captured on that.
One of the best musical scores this year, Vishal-Sekhar will will almost all the awards for best Music this year for their diverse score for OSO.
A complete paisa wasool movie.....

Taare Zameen Par

Aamir has been ghost directing most of his ventures, it was about time he take the reigns himself, Taare Zammen Par was Amol Gupte's baby which got transitioned to Aamir after the actor wasn't comfortable continuing under Amol as a director post the rushes. Taare Zameen Par takes bollywood to the "thinking" genre of movies, Kudos to Aamir's choice of script and production.Taare Zameen Par narrates the journey of a dyslexic child played fittingly by Darsheel, a performance that will be etched on bollywood hall of fame for years to come. Brilliant script (Amol Gupte)Excellent Direction(Aamir)perfect musical score Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy),stellar cimetograhy (Setu), Taare Zameen Par is a must watch for everyone, especially parents.
This touchy feely movie is a refreshing watch in a long time.
Don't Miss.
Caution: Ladies, leave your make up at home, you'll need a lot of tissues.Guys, if you are one of the faint hearted,get set for some real choking...

MUST WATCH.....

7G Rainbow Colony

It was a Malayali family who introduced me to movies from south early on in life, what hooked me to them was the maturity of scripts and stories,my transition from Malayali to tamil was spontaneous, an ardent Mani fan, I look forward to watching movies that I consider a blend of both worlds ( commercial & parallel). Selvaraghavan's 7G Rainbow colony is a raw adaptation of a real life tragic love story between a middle class cultured girl with a dropout rogue. Wonderfully directed, this movie is a beautiful watch because of the Selvaraghavan's success in coloring the screen with a pure love story fittingly acted by the lead pair. WATCH IT! Highly Recommended.

Jab We Met

Imtiaz Ali proved his earlier effort wasn't a fluke, "Jab We Met" is a fresh,original,heartwarming piece of cinema that will be remembered as one of the finest coming of age romantic comedy to hit indian screens. There is a strong "Dilwale Dulhaniya" influence in the movie which is hard to ignore but this piece of clean, almost perfect cinema was a pleasant watch. Excellent casting, nice locales, super sctipt and screenplay, foottapping music ( could have been better blended)will take this caper to the box office shelves. Kareena should take few awards for this one, Shahid's retrained performance makes him a winner too. Its a big feather in Imtiaz's cap. GREAT WATCH.

Metro

Anurag Basu proves hits bulls eye with METRO,one of the best movies to hit the Indian screens this year.

METRO is a slice of life you will relate instantly.

Watch it for
1) The brilliant on screen narration
2) Superb casting, perfect ensemble of actors
3) Chartbusting numbers from Pritam, the music blends and adds a lovely flavor.
4) Shilpa, Irfan, Konkona, Sharman, KK and Shiney - realism at its best.
5) Rock solid script ( minus the Dharmendra-Nafisha ali ange) \
6) Dialogues from the script of life

Alvida.
Don't miss it.

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Shaad Ali Sehgal, please do a favor, quit playing games with us. Gosh! what an underestimation. Mr. Chopra's, if you guys don't watch your backyard, it will soon turn into the same as of Mr.Ghai's. Its one of the crappiest hyped up movies to come of the YashRaj banner. Its seems to get worser for this house, post Tara Rum Pum, its twice beaten ,thrice shy for me.

This movie could be the longest music video to hit Indian screens.
Don't even watch on Doordarshan.