The IMDB Tops: 5 Thoughts on... Rebecca

For my second post in the series, I share my thoughts on a so-called classic that didn't make it easy for me to like it. Only 5 thoughts instead of the usual 10, therefore. 

USA, 1940

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Written by Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison

★ Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders

    

Current IMDB rank - rating - votes

 1. It's so hard to find a genre for this film. I like it when films can't be genre-rized genuinely, but this is something else; I don't really know what it was truly about. There was some love and some drama... mystery... sometimes a dash of horror... but nothing really made a huge impression, which is a problem in my opinion. You don't know what the message or the essence of all this is supposed to be. But maybe one of you has the answer?

2. Though Joan Fontaine was a beauty, most of the time I found her acting to be quite strange and stiff. Might be her character is supposed to be shy, but to me it seemed very much over-the-top. The same can be said about Laurence Olivier, though the script is part of what went wrong here - his character, Maxim, never explains himself. Actually, it doesn't seem like the couple talks about profound things at all, except maybe grandchildren. They even live in separate bedrooms - was that really normal back then? And as for that one kiss in front of the fire-place - you can't fool me, I've seen Casablanca. I know that Hollywood films didn't have to be that prude and un-realistic in the 40s. Come on, who on earth would kiss like that and simultaneously turn their heads towards the fire place, dreaming. It was just too much.

3. My favourite character of the whole film was Mrs. Danvers, played by Judith Anderson. I think she delivered the best performance of the whole film, her character was truly scaring and though she was over-the-top as well, she didn't pretend to be "normal". My favourite scene therefore also happens to be with her - the one where Mrs. Danvers shows the new Mrs. De Winter Rebecca's old room. I think with a few more horror or thriller elements, the film might've worked better.

4. There was some great suspense in some of the scenes, especially when Mrs. De Winter is starting to find out (or thinks she does) about Rebecca and everything just seems so mysterious and strange. The mansion of Manderlay is the perfect scene for all of this, and I love films that take place in a restricted but grand environment, like a mansion.

5. It is surprising that Rebecca happens to be one of Hitchcock's most famous works, for in my opinion it wasn't much more than average. I've just seen Shadow of a Doubt, which isn't included in the IMDB Top 250 (it's famous too though), and I think this is a little unfair.
While Rebecca did have its moments, most of which I've mentioned, I failed to see its greatness.

The name's Rango

Rango (2011)

Dir. Gore Verbinski

★ Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant

After the release of Jackson and Spielberg's TIN TIN, the odds that RANGO, like many cinegoers have previously predicted, is going to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature are descending. I haven't seen TIN TIN yet, for reasons that many of you know and that I want to overcome, but I can say that much: RANGO does not deserve an Oscar.

This year won't go down in history as belonging to the golden age of animated features (if there is one yet) – if that's Pixars fault is a question I don't want to discuss here. As both RANGO and TIN TIN are not part of the Disney/ Pixar group that has somewhat held a monopoly on the animated film sector, though, this year is very likely to down in history as the one in which Pixar didn't produce a winner.
Getting back to RANGO. The story of a lonely lizard who gets thrown into an unfamiliar, rural environment, where people don't like strangers, and realizes the opportunity to invent a new life for himself and be popular for a change. Except for a few adjurations, nothing new here. Applying human emotions, values and behaving onto animals is nothing new either, but most previous animated fables haven't pushed it as far as RANGO does – which, believe it or not, is one of this films biggest strengths. Furthermore, the animation is fabulous, every little detail being perfect to bits. This is especially seen on hand of the clothing, and the single scene in which a human appears (“the spirit of the west” to be precise, but let's call him a human). Only after a mentionable amount of seconds had passed, I realized that this wasn't a real actor but an animation, and it took me some time to convince my sister too: “Look there, you can see it's animated from that tiny detail...”. If there's anything Pixar can learn from here, this must be it.

There is a lot of situation comedy in RANGO, and I remember laughing out loud a few times. Mostly I was just smiling though, so you shouldn't expect a proper comedy. If you don't expect more than a little entertainment, you won't be disappointed, and maybe you'll be shocked by some of the scenes that are actually funny, because they're hilarious to be honest. And that's where Johnny Depp steps in. I know that many people say he's become a parody of himself lately, and I can understand why they feel that, but in my opinion all he needs is to play some more serious roles. Let's face it, he's great at comedy, but if he continues this way, his career is slowly going to drop down – even though, as I said, RANGO wouldn't be near as good without him.
A big weakness of the film is the development of the story and the final showdown/ ending. I don't want to spoil anything here, so let me just say: predictable and poor. I found myself slowly drifting away, and when I found my way back to the film again, I could tell what would happen so I drifted away again. Also, and I know Americans and people who watch the dubbed versions won't consider this a problem, but I found it extremely hard to understand Beans. That accent was really extreme – if I ever watch it a second time, I'll turn the subtitles on. And that's what I would recommend others like me to do.

Very authentic by the way... I've been to Mexico a few times.

So what is left to say, and what can I conclude about RANGO?Well, I think that RANGO is a decent film, but the only reason it got that much praise must be this years poor choice of animated features. Compared to the other animated films I've seen, RANGO does have strengths and improvisations that others can learn from, but the amount of things it can learn from other films is much larger. It won't hurt watching it, but it won't hurt not watching it either. In a few years, few people will remember RANGO, for it's neither mainstream nor childish nor ingenious enough to fully satisfy anyone.

Rating: 6.85

You watched Karan Arjun? Whadda joke!

You watched----- REVIEW:
Karan Arjun (1995)

No matter how entertaining he can be in crash-boom-bang masala films like Dabangg, I cannot, and I probably won't ever be able to, take Salman seriously when he tries to "portray" a "serious" character.

In this one, like in many others, it's a mixture between "serious character" and flashing his naked upper body (which though wasn't just as over-pimped as it is today, in my opinion). He does well in dealing out blows, but as it has become a habit of his when playing "serious characters", he uses his "so-low-and-calm-because-this-is-a-serious-character"-voice, that I already mentioned in my review of Baghban. 

Neither has this been one of Shahrukh's better performances, even though he's cute and sympathetic as always. In one of the first episodes of Koffee With Karan, he said that he admired Kajol for only having chosen to act in films that she truly believed in and wanted to do. You can see that in Karan Arjun: while Shahrukh exaggerates a lot, and sometimes seems quite fake, Kajol is wonderful as always, even in this trash-pearl.

In the last (and first) episodes of these new reviews, I wrote about Koyla, coincidentally happening to be directed by Rakesh Roshan as well. Now, Karan Arjun is not as bad as the first-mentioned, but the image of Rakesh, that I used to have in my brain, is slowly bursting... Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Koi Mil Gaya are two films that I watched in the start time of my Bollywood-madness, and I love them so much. Even though there are some trashy aspects to especially the first one, I didn't see them as trash-bash-films, but more like... well, "normal" Bollywood films for their respective years. Krrish was also okay. But now, after watching Koyla and Karan Arjun, I don't really know what to think of Rakesh. Is he the king of so-bad-they're-good 90s flicks, instead of mainstream-but-fun 2000+ films? Help!

Okay, last but not least: something that Koyla had, and Karan Arjun didn't... really.... have - good music. Almost every song in Koyla is really good (90s-good), while there was only one song I liked in KA. But that one, on the contrary, was not only good, but really, really good - especially speaking picturization. 

So, here it is, the famous "Jaati Hoon Main" - enjoy!

Rating: 3.4

Thank you for reading, 

Mette M. K.

You watched Koyla? Bloody fool!

You watched----- REVIEW: 

Koyla (1997)

Okay, by calling this a mini-review, I would be seriously exaggerating.

Why didn't I write a real mini-review then?

Well, I'm really exhausted by all those summer tests we need to write at school, and also, this is pretty much all I can say about Koyla.

So that's what it feels like, when you admire a soundtrack for years, and then finally decide to watch the film. You're disappointed (even though you've been warned by the friendly Gaja Gamini).

... Or are you? I feel that, somehow, this film was not disappointing on all levels. At least regarding its incredible hilariousness. Every time (the late) Amrish Puri stepped in front of the camera, I had to go through some serious laughing-attacks. The very best was his Hinglish accent, and that a-w-e-s-o-m-e "Bloody Fool"! Now, that's hard to beat in its funniness. 

I did ask myself: "Was all this meant to be? Or did the makers think they were doing something great, or even just "good"?". Considering the fact that it was made by Rakesh Roshan: Yes, that's my guess. The title has his lucky "K" in it, so, yeah, I think he was very confident about this film.

But honestly: Whatever! That's how the best trash pearls are born, right? 

The true saviors of the film, though, are Madhuri and Shahrukh. Madhuri, because she's sweet, sympathetic and magical as always, and Shahrukh, because he was ... how do I say this... hill-hill... ah, there it is: hilarious. 

What a strike of genius, that they managed to create some song & dance scenes with a mute character. 

While many other 90s-Shahrukh-flicks are unbearable and of the "see-once-because-of-him-then-forget" kind, Koyla does have great potential to become a classic. I mean, a "so-bad-it's-good"-classic, off course. 

Rating: 2.9

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This post is part of The Madhuri Week, hosted by Gaja Gamini from bollywood-ish Blog.

And before I forget: Please check out the trailer for the cannes-featured documentary "Bollywood - The Greatest Love Story Ever Told" and spread the word, if you haven't already. (We fans want to watch!)

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

The Good, The Weird, The Awesome - Triple Mini-Review

ACTION REPLAYY - EK CHALIS KI LAST LOCAL - ANARI

That I would end up writing about these three films in particular, in one single post, was nothing I had had in mind when watching them. They were just coincidental views, films that I bought because I was curious and had heard about them. It's funny that Ek Chalis Ki Last Local was the only one I had been wanting to buy for a long time, the only one I watched even though it wasn't the first one of my new films, alphabetically - and the only one I ended up not liking, plus being disappointed by.

Anari and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local have currently received the exact same rating at the IMDB: 7.3/10. Both are Parallel Indian Cinema, Anari was a Superhit with superstars, directed by disinguished Hrishikesh Mukherjee - Ek Chalis Ki Last Local was a Flop with "normal" actors and directed by debuting director Sanjay M. Khaduri. Now, Action Replayy is something in between, starring two big Indian stars, but receiving a Below Average rating from the box-office, a 3.9/10 rating at IMDB and being directed by a unsuccessful but commonly known director (Vipul A. Shah). 

Differently from my other mini-reviews, I won't divide this one into the different films, but into categories and compare the films this way.

Who's who?

Just to clear this at the very beginning - without revealing my deepest thoughts, which I will do at the end only; 

The Good: Action Replayy (2010)

The Weird: Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007)

The Awesome: Anari (1959)

Story

Many people pointed out, that the main idea of Action Replayy seemed to be stolen from all-time-classic Back to the Future, which in some ways is true, but the story actually is very different. Still, this does not make it more original; I haven't heard or read anyone mentioning this before, but the plot is very similar to 2007 German tv-production Küss mich, Genosse! (IMDB). I don't appreciate story stealing at all, so in this category, AR does worst. One of the problems about Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is, that there doesn't seem to be any story at all. A guy misses his train at night, has to spend two hours in a village and meets a girl. Boring, and hard to make a good screenplay of (which I also don't think they did). 

The sad-funny story of a poor young gold-hearted man, who doesn't seem to have much luck by his side is typically Raj-Kapoor and 50's Indian cinema - so it's not hard to decide, who wins in this section.

Screenplay

As already said, ECKLL's screenplay doesn't count to the best ones made. The love story is minimally interesting, but all other plot lines didn't catch my attention at all, which is also why I turned off the DVD player after almost 2 hours. Off course, I could have stayed through the last 30 minutes, but I really couldn't stand it any longer. 

AR takes us on a bubbly, coulourful 70s-trip and manages to never let boringness slip through any giant screenplay-holes. How nice.

Everything in Anari can be classified as either interesting, amusing, or entertaining - in one word: as Raj Kapoor. Therefore, as in every other category, Anari wins.

Cast

You (and I) already know that no one can beat Raj Kapoor, but as I'm not the most versed person concerning actors from the 50s, I'll tell you what I thought about my first meeting with Nutan. I was very pleased by her performance, her wittiness and beauty, which reminded me strongly of Kate Winslet. Along with Raj Kapoor and Lalita Pawar, she is the person that makes Anari shine. -- If you've been following this year's Deol Dhamakka, you've most certainly read my (only) contribution to that event (if not, read it here). In that post, among other things, I tried to express my love to Abhay Deol, which thankfully is still untouched after watching this film. He was lovely as ever in ECKLL - thank god. An item song in Heyy Babyy was all that I'd seen of Neha Dhupia until ECKLL (and Action Replayy, for that matter), but she does look promising, even though I think there's much more she can, than what I've seen yet. 

Aishwarya Rai, I don't think you're the Queen of Bollywood, like Western media often tries to call you, but nevertheless what you are is: definitely already one of the finest actresses of this decade, one of the best dancers after Madhubala and Madhuri Dixit, and one of the most beautiful women I've seen. Akshay Kumar is... well, I think he's one of the most sympathetic actors I know, and also he can make the worst movies and still not loose me as his fan. He can also look incredibly ugly in films, and incredibly 70s-fashion-victimy - never will my affection for him die.

I think we can agree that all of these films could mention some worthy names in their credits, and that all of them did a good job.

Music

One of the reasons, and also the most important one, that I wanted to watch ECKLL, was not Abhay Deol, funnily. Around the releasing time in 2007, I had one of those periods where I listen to all of the latest Bollywood soundtracks, and immediately fell in love with this one - three years before I even watched my first Abhay-film. Laree Choote features a wonderful singer and is very intense, Ekka Chauka is funny and fast, Akh Ladiye is a great example for a disco-background/underground-track - shortly: I love the soundtrack.

Also Anari  was discovered by me through its music, namely when I listened to some of the songs that won a Filmfare Award for Best Singer. The song I'm talking about ("Sab Kuchh Seekha Humne") really is one of the best ones I know, combining satirical lyrics with the awesome singing talent of Mukesh and an interesting melody. But also the other tracks are fabulous and will stay on my mind (and iPod).

Though I listened to the music of AR before, I only really liked it in the film. The best tracks are Zor Ka Chhatka and Nakhre, while Baaki Main Phool Gayi can only be described with 9 letters: h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s, believe me. However, this soundtrack is the weakest, compared to the other two.

Title

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local = The Local Train That Went at 1:40.

Unusual title, but in the end just as totally meaningless as the film itself.

Action Replayy = Action Replay 

Fits the story, but the second "y" is just as annoying as stolen from Heyy Babyy (2007).

Anari = Idiot/ simpleton

Brilliant title, brilliantly used in the film.

Camera (Cinematography)

After all those camera-experimental films, filled with 1-second-shots, dizzy-making rotations and shaky hand cameras, a 1959 classic black-white motion picture can feel like a supreme vacation (inlcuding virgin pina colada). Long, clear-shot scenes, no distracting eastman colour, grainy quality... I am sighing with relief. One may notice, that ECKLL is also shot in a rather quiet and non-distracting way, but a little more bang-bang would have been nice due to the boring screenplay. I'd like to mention the kiss scene though, which was not only well-performed but also beautifully captured.

The poster of Action Replayy already says that the film is shot "IN EASTMAN COLOUR", and that's also what you NOTICE when looking at the poster. 70s slam-tam-bamboo-banga eastman colour, that's what this film is made of. Sometimes the camera setting is very mainstream-music-video like, for example in the song Zor Ka Jhatka, but otherwise very fitting and a good contrary to category-winner Anari.

In a nutshell... (Lucky-Nut)

Action Replayy: 

I expected a long-drawn, exaggerating, very below average film with some good songs.

I saw a never-boring, exaggerating, very entertaining personal-hit (with some good songs).

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local:

I expected a satirical, unusual, surprising film with a cute Abhay and a great soundtrack.

I saw a boring, art-housy-bad, uninteresting and weird film with a cute Abhay and a great soundtrack.

Anari:

I expected a Raj-Kapoor-film.

I saw a Raj-Kapoor-film.

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Let's end this post with a little smile:

"Marriage, now? We've only just sung a duet song!"

(Akshay Kumar in Action Replayy)

Spike Lee feat. Rahman

Recently (maybe a month ago, or so), I have officially become a member of LAMB (The Large Association of Movie Blogs). The idea of communities like that is something I appreciate very much, because that's what the internet really is: a community, society - made of smaller communities and societies. 
There are different "events" in the LAMB, and it says on the site, that they really like, when members participate in those events. I don't think the possibility that one of those events will revolve around Indian cinema is very big, and that's why I'll now publish my first post on a Hollywood movie. If you've read the "About"-page though, you'd know that I watch everything, every genre, every industry - everything that falls into my hands. This event that I'm participating in is "LAMBs in the Director's Chair - Spike Lee". I chose to write about his film "Inside Man" on this occasion... And you may guess, why...

INSIDE MAN (2006)


Director: Spike Lee

Starring: Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen

Please notice, that this review will be slightly different from "normal" reviews - it's going to be held as an interview with myself. I just thought, this is the first Hollywood review on Lime Reviews, so why not try something else than the usual stuff.

Just for fun, off course.

I hope you like it, if not, think about it as some sort of fancy project.

It is, somehow.


Why did you choose this film, instead of Lee's other known and acclaimed films, while this film is commonly called a Mainstream-production?
Well, I just... thought...

"Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya, Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya..."

And by the way, you should all have a look at the original song, everyone loves it, even non-Bollywood-enthusiastics. A shame it wasn't listed on the soundtrack (at least, wikipedia says so).

 - It's by my favorite composer, A. R. Rahman (just in case you didn't get my post title).

Did the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" distract you at the beginning?

Yes, it did. I don't remember the start of the film... aside from Clive Owen telling us his name. Or saying, that he told us his name.

What about his (Owen's) performance - impressive?

If you call walking around with a poker-face impressive, then, yes. Personally, I think that only Marlon Brando can pull something like that off. I also didn't like that his character was such a anti-hero, that you're supposed to like - also this can be pulled off better by someone else, namely Hrithik Roshan. Off course, the bank robber had to tell the 8-year-old that he shouldn't play violent video-games. Audience is meant to laugh at that "funny" scene, and then think: "Hey, that guys actually cool.". However, I did like the scene where he tells us that he's told us his name.

So you prefer Denzel Washington?

I do. Well, first of all, I like men wearing hats. But forget about that; Denzel Washington is one of the actors that I'm quite fond of. He brings a impressive (here it is: impressive) realism into his characters, they actually seem to be real people. Many actors try to do this, but never truly success. Just that one scene where he lifts his voice saying "Pina Colada", which just makes you wake up again, because the rest of the dialogues and scenes is so monotone. That's also what I like about the film: When you just start to think it's boring, something changes, an interesting camera angle pops up or... well, Washington lifts his voice. There's also one scene, where he just coughs in the middle of a sentence, and I started thinking: "They don't cough. Most film characters don't cough, excluding they're sick or something. Or in a church.". Just very small details, that make you wonder, and I'm fascinated by that.

How about the flash-back investigations - did you like how they were... blurry?

Nothing against blurriness, but no, those scenes reminded me of the glitter-scene in Twilight - as I confessed already once, I like the Twilight-series, but that scene was too much (not to forget, that it was different in the book). And it's the same in this film - too much. Too cheap-looking.

Now, for the actors: What did you think about Jodie Foster?

Jodie... I've appreciated the way you act ever since "Silence of the Lambs", and you act different every time I see you. Different - but always as qualitative as the first time we met (your accent stays the same as well).

Did you know the "bank robbers" were talking Albanian?

I don't want to spoil anything, so let me just say: No, I did not, and I also didn't know, who it was, but I knew "where" he was talking, if you get me. And that was just too obvious.

Do you think the scene where the officers discuss the substations etc., while there are hostages in the bank, was macabre?

I think that scene was really good. First, I thought it was just what you proposed - macabre. But just for one split second. Then, my thoughts revolved about, how this was being realistic. It was. You need to think about, that there are people doing this every day, and how they just need to be calm, and get out of the situation sometimes. So, that was nicely done.

What was the most exciting part of the film?

The most exciting part was guessing what was going to happen. That's a common "trick" in hostage movies, and off course, it is working, though problem is: 1) it can grow boring very quickly and 2) when the end has come, you don't want to watch more of that movie, because the excitement has gone. Just what happens in this film - at the end, when the hostages have been released, you want to turn it off. Off course, the total solution comes just at the very end, but the time in between is a little boring. 

What did you think about the scene, where the hostages are released?

I thought: "There's a lot of people in blue painting suits here", and "I bet Cameron created the Na'vi after seeing this". 

And finally, what is your opinion?

"Inside Man" is very mainstream, but heading towards the positive corner of that section (so many mainstream movies - some of them have to be good). (Mostly) exciting plot (though well-known), without any big twists, but with two great actors and a fab soundtrack. That would be 2 1/2 stars, but it gets 1/2 more because of "Chaiyya".

Rating: 6.3

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Review: Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji [3 Idiots and... Love]

DIL TOH BACCHA HAI JI (2011) दिल तो बच्चा है जी

Title-translation: "The heart is still a child"
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Author: Madhur Bhandarkar, Anil Pandey, Neeraj Udhwani, Sanjay Chhel
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya

Plot: Naren moves back to his child home - his parents are dead. Because the house is so big, he searches for some tenants and finds them in a shaadi.com employee, who'd like to be a poet - Milind - and the unemployed fitness teacher/ toy boy Abhay. All three of them have problems concerning love: Naren is attracted to a 17-years younger intern, while Milind falls in love with a radio VJane, interviewing him after a poet contest. Meanwhile, Abhay indulges in the luxury of being toy boy an ex-Miss-India, when suddenly he falls in love with her (grown-up) step daughter.



Written the 13th of March 2011
Madhur Bhandarkar is known for experimenting in his films, trying out unusual tactics, and establishing his actors welll (I'm talking about Fashion, Traffic Signal, Page 3 and the only film I'd seen from him until now: Corporate). With DTBHJ, he's jumping into the genre of rom-com for the very first time, this time with two well-known actors plus Omi Vaidya, who could already bring home the bacon in 3 Idiots. Besides, we have three until now rather unknown ladies. The male cast is one of the evident powers of the film, while it's possible to discuss the female part: In a unusual role for him, Ajay Devgn earns sympathy as charming pencil pusher/ male Naina (the one from Kal Ho Naa Ho). He also proves, that his otherwise nice voice isn't exactly adequate for singing.

Take a look at Emraan's trousers... 

Can't have everything. Shazahn Padamsee plays his "Object of Desire" - and here's the first crossroad we have; she's looking sweet, she's charming, her acting is all right, and I might be able to get used to her squeaking voice. Sadly, I also know, that most people won't be able to do that, and also they won't be able to accept her (current) lack of "X-factor". That's why I can already see her undergoing the same destiny as Kim Sharma and Esha Deol . That is, unless people are so attached to her, like for example to Deepika Padukone (and I'd rather see Sharma or Deol instead of her), that she can make it somehow. If that is what'll happen, I hope she takes that chance and get's it right.

Rumour has it, that Madhuri Dixit has been thrilled by Emraan Hashmi's portrayal of the usual Casanova-role, and as always, I agree. It's especially nice that he's able to portray this character in a slightly different filmic level than otherwise, and I think I'm not alone with that thought. Even though the main theme of the film is sex (and not love, though I bet the makers wanted it to be love), the level isn't drowning as much as it uses to in similar films, but stays near Sex & the City (a show/ film that I like, but don't idolize). Only huge minus is caused by the distinct discrimination of homosexual persons, which is much more conspicuous than in Anjaana Anjaani for instance. A "reputable" filmmaker does not need this, especially with a film, that's quite entertaining otherwise. Then there's one sentence at the beginning, about the life of Emraan's character Abhay, which should have been edited away quickly - just like the rest of those "introducing" sentences. Not working here; the audience doesn't like to be treated as if it's totally dumb or stupid.

I also wasn't very fond of Abhay's big love, Nikki: She pitches herself as a big charity-lady, and talks about original Indian qualities - in born-and-bred Hinglish?! Face covered with make-up, wearing an outfit that doesn't even have a touch of traditional Indian clothes? Furthermore, we never get to know her very well, which is why the sudden falling-in-love also lacks a fundamental credibility.

Somehow, I also don't have big problem with the age
difference. Reason: It's mentioned (!).

The "Hinglish-source-of-irritation" shows up in a different situation as well, namely when Milind recites his poems, which seem to be "good" only because they're in Hinglish. Not a patch on Hinglish, I don't see a big problem in using it, but however there are circumstances, under which its usage is rather semi-optimal. Apart from that, Omi Vaidya is adorable and cute - by the way, I was surprised that I liked his "Dream Girl" Gungun, played by Shraddha Das, somehow. She was indeed both honest and fake, and very capricious against him, but she just had something. Perhaps Shraddha Das just comes with a bigger portion of talent than the rest of that female guard, but I'm not able to tell after one film only.

What I liked about the film was, that it never became "uncomfortable", you were (almost) never ashamed, and that despite this... well, not very fancy story. Just one scene at the end got one or two soap-opera-splashes too much. I don't want to tell you to much, but to the makers: a little less dharamdham, when someone tells his/her girl/boy friend, that he/she has fallen in love with someone else. Better let the still piano go on. Apropos music: The soundtrack is okay, nothing special, but nice.

Then what is my conclusion, now... Let's put it this way: You can see this film, but you don't have to. In the field of films-named-after-great-songs, it delivers a much better performance than many others, like for example Aashayein (2010).

Rating: 5.0

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Review: Love Aaj Kal [Now and then there's a film such as this]

In my posts, there has never been a big focus on music, and though this one won't be any different, you can drag from the post title the information, who one of my favorite artists is: Elvis Presley. Well, mostly until the end of the 60s, after that he was never the same. But that's kind of Off-Topic.
As filmygirl shared one of her older reviews with us (read), I decided to follow her example by digging up my review of 2009-hit Love Aaj Kal... wait a minute... no, that's too new, I'll post that next week or so... hey, I didn't even know I... oh, yes, here it is - finally.

LOVE AAJ KAL (2009) लव आज कल

Title-Translation: "Love These Days"
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Author: Imtiaz Ali
Music: Salim-Sulaiman (score) and Pritam
Cinematography: N. Natraja Subramaniam
Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor

Plot: Love Aaj Kal is about the love in modern times. Meera and Jai are in love and have a nice relationship, but when both get job offers in different countries, they agree about putting career over their love. From London, Meera moves to India and Jai to San Francisco. Both find new partners and seem to be happy, but the longing for their lost love is still hidden under the surface. Jai slowly realizes this, when he meets Veer, an old-generation romantic, who had to fight for his big love Harleen.



Written the 14th of August 2010
2009 really was a year of change for Bollywood. New ideas came up, there was more experimenting - also caused by the financial crisis. It was "in", to dare something, to try out new things. "Love Aaj Kal" seems to mark a counter trend at this point. After opening a window of fresh air for the indian film territory with "Jab We Met", it seems as if Imtiaz Ali became greedy. Greedy for success and money (which "Love Aaj Kal" actually did bring in), and therefore, he wanted to play it safe. What was earned with "Jab We Met", is spent on stars, costumes and sets for this film.
Imtiaz Ali does the opposite of, what Karan Johar does: Karans films were very pompous and extensive to begin with (but still good), now he keeps up with the times by reducing the glam-factor a little. If "Love Aaj Kal" would only be half as good as "K3G" or "KKHH", but it isn't. However, the film wants to impress. Saif Ali Khan is, to be sure, witty and sympathetic as ever, but his naturalness has vanished after his latest beauty surgery. And Deepika Padukone, whom I did like in "Om Shanti Om", has been on the list of rather bad newcomers since "Bachna Ae Haseeno", at least speaking of more critical audiences. She's a beauty, no doubt, but I would recommend staying away from the acting business (if not, stick to smaller roles). Then they added a story that's only fancy concerning the on/off phenomena, which hasn't been discussed in too many movies lately. Pritam has also composed better stuff before... one or two songs less wouldn't have given the film any damage.
Off course, there are positive aspects as well; the parallel story of Veer and Harleen is quite cute and makes the film a little more interesting. Likewise, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor-Singh are always nice to watch [new comment: I'm not so sure about Rishi anymore, after seeing "Deewana"], especially Neetu hasn't been seen for a long time (longer than I've been on this earth). And last but not least, the film is enjoyable - you don't need to use your brains very much, and you can look at either Saif or Deepika. Laugh a little, or even cry a little (depending on your mind)... cineatic fast-food, that is. But for all that, there are better fast-food-fillums.

Rating: 4.4

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

All Good Things Come In Threes

Mini-Review of Deepa Mehta's Element Trilogy:

FIRE - EARTH - WATER

This is just my third mini-reviews-post, while the amount of normal-review-posts is 12 at the moment. I could say I'm proud of this, and I am somehow a little bit proud, but let's not forget that there's a certain virtue in writing/ reading mini-reviews, too. As for writing, it's clearly that you 1) don't need to write that much, 2) can write about more than one of your recent views and 3) can combine films that resemble each other in some way or another. 

For this (falling due) post, I chose to present these three films by Deepa Mehta, as they are not only my most recent "Indian" views (I, personally, categorize them as Hindi-Films, and therefore also as Bollywood, but others might not; the language in "Fire" is English, for example), but also three films that will stay with me for quite a while, and that are majestic epics to me (just like the quote on the "Water"-poster says - by the way, just because I call them this, doesn't mean they're my favorite films, but you'll notice what I mean, when reading the reviews). Finally, it doesn't happen very often that I borrow Indian DVDs from my library; they don't have many, and I've seen all of them - so I get really excited, when I find new ones. Actually, they had all three films in a collector's box, so I got even more excited. My weekend was saved (it was last weekend, so this post is a little behind schedule). Okay, I wish you a nice weekend, and hope you enjoy reading.

Fire (1996) फायर

I forgot to mention, that these were my first Deepa Mehta films (except for "Bollywood/ Hollywood", but that one wasn't really mind-blowing) and "Fire" was also my introduction to Nandita Das. 

The eye-catching thing about Deepa's films (except for B/ H) is that sedate, but still rebellious atmosphere, which is also how I think she is in real life (I saw some of the bonus material on the DVDs). The actors are of big importance in this connection, and it doesn't surprise me that she likes working with the same crew, or some of them. It's needless to say that Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das are magnificent, but I'd like to mention Javed Jaffrey as one of the impressive Indian talents we sadly don't hear enough of. 

Though I couldn't identify with the main characters on all levels, - and this is not about being lesbian; I was almost able to identify perfectly with two well-known cowboys - "Fire" is a great film dealing with a dateless problem. Also, it's a perfect match for Deepa-Mehta beginners, for the language is primarily English. As the other two films, it has a length that eases the question of when to watch it.

Rating: 7.3

Earth (1998) अर्थ

Earth is, until now, my favorite Deepa-Mehta-film. Why? Again, it's a matter of the identification; I said I was almost able to identify with those cowboys - but I have felt perfect identification with heterosexual characters in other films, so that's one of the reasons, and as for "Water" - the film made me feel angry, irritable and helpless, and especially the last feeling isn't my favorite thing to feel, so even though it was a great film with a superb screenplay, story, cinematography etc., "Earth" was the one film that'll stay closest to my... soul or heart, or whatever. 

Maybe it's the good old triangle-drama, newly-invented almost each year, which made a new impact on me, maybe it's Nandita, Aamir and Rahul, maybe it's the universality of the context; not everyone is homosexual, not everyone is a widow/ widower - but in every human soul we find, in whatever dimension, weaknesses, desires and brutality. 

Rating: 7.8

Water (2005) वाटर

According to Wikipedia, "Water" is a Canadian film, which brings us back to what I wrote at the beginning: I don't blame anyone for seeing these films as Canadian productions, or whatever else, but for me they are not only Indian films, but because of language and setting: Bollywood. 

One might also notice, that while the characters in "Fire" speak English, and in "Earth" a misc of English and Hindi (not to be confused with Hinglish, though), "Water" was filmed in Hindi, completely. 

As I already mentioned in the foregoing review, "Water" didn't leave me with the most desirable feelings. More clearly: this Gulabi and Madhumati were so freaking annoying, while both Kalyani and Chuyia - and Narayan, for that matter - were so freaking naive, that I really got some exercise, baling my fists or doing other aggressive movements. The subtitles for deaf people were also annoying (though I do speak Hindi, I don't feel secure enough to watch a film entirely without subtitles - what if I miss a word and then don't get the meaning of the whole scene?), but there were no normal subtitles.

But even though the nice A. R. Rahman music was always announced as "happy music", "romantic music", "playful music" etc., and even though it didn't kill me softly (in the pos. way), it was a nice score - but only nice, just as the film was, well, nice. 

One of the best things was the cinematography... Varanasi was captured in an almost poetic way, like a poem, I'd say, without having been there. I don't want to bash the movie, though: many people will probably like, or even love, it - and I can't say why not; the actors are superb, the story is fresh and not boring... but as I've told you now, it just wasn't made for me. So this rating is entirely subjective and not about the objective greatness of the film - because in an objective way, it is great.

Rating: 6.4

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Guzaarish - The Visual Review

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!


This is a new kind of reviews that I'm going to try out... It's kind of a mixture between fun post and review post, so, well, I hope you like it. "Guzaarish" was a great choice for trying this, I think, because it's a very visual movie. (Off course, I write comments on each picture).

Aish is great in this film... Do I like or hate those glasses?

As always, in SLB-films, the sets are huuuge and... somehow beautiful

Beautiful... I want to go to Goa!

Not the best picture to pick for showing Hrithik the first time... This is only a dream sequence.
But I just wanted to say: Hrithik also dances in Guzaarish! Yeah!

Funniest scene in the film... And as this is no comedy, it was laughable enough.

Awww... Are they not a cute couple? Though it showed off a little more in Dhoom 2.

It was also a dark film...

A very good and beautiful actress with a very not-so-good and not-so-beautiful actress.

Also this untalented man shared the screen with Aishwarya and Hrithik.

He's cute, but he can't sing.

Ok, here we see Hrithik... and untalented man doing magic.
The magic thing was actually the worst part of the film. Too "Saawariya"-gic.

That's Hrithik in his best shape... A great performance of him, he has deserved many awards for this film.

One of the most awkward scenes... What's she doing in that palace (maybe it's a SLB-"house"?), and why is she sitting on the floor?

Is Hrithik the new serial-kisser?
Emraan better watch out!

This hat also reminded me of "Saawariya".
But I like Aish's scarf. The film is nice here.

And now it's not nice anymore.
Didn't like the court-scenes, maybe because the actors were bad. I mean, look at his "expression". This is acting-ki-kindergarten.

Or maybe because she's a part of them... I don't like her. At all.

Nor do I like him. I don't think I like any of the "supporting" actors.

But then, there's always Hrithik (and Aishu).
Why did I take that screencap, actually...? Don't remember.

Hrithik looks evil, woooo...
Actually, this could, like, be the Cover of "Jesus of Nazareth".

We meet my favorite actress again at the end... She looks loveable on this picture, though.

And my favorite actor. Just wanted a nearer shot of him, so you could really take a look on his pretty hair.
 He probably wants to look like that guy from High School Musical.

Drama-king Bhansali at his very best... I almost cried here. Really.

But this was too much, even for a drama-loving person like me, who likes High School Musical.
(I do, this is not a joke).
I'm sorry, you failed at the end. Make it better next time, Bhansaliji.

Though in a nutshell, this was an ok movie, and I regained my faith in you.
Let's just forget everything about "Saawariya".
And next time, I hope that you're back like in old times.

Thank you for reading/ viewing,

Mette. M. K.