Mission "AFAD" - January 2011

First of all: The German version of this blog has been deleted due to several reasons. Mainly, it just takes too much time  and energy to keep two blogs and translate every post into the other language. It's easier to write the entries for only one blog, and I can put more energy in it now, and hopefully improve more. Also, I don't really feel like there's a need for the German version, as most Germans understand English very well. So much for that...

Films posters are often beautiful, trying to catch your attention.
This month, I watched farther than only at the posters of these films.

I've been writing a little about this new "mission" I have, and now it's time for the first results, namely of January 2011. A good month to start: new year, new decade.
AFAD = A Film A Day is the name of my mission - off course not the most realistic title, as I watch more than one film at the weekend days, and sometimes 0 films on a normal day of the week (especially on wednesdays, as that's my "Desperate Housewives"-day). But "MAFAD" (maybe a film a day) would sound stupid, so that's why my mission has this particular title. By the way, these are not only Indian movies. If you find the line "first view", it means that I hadn't seen the movie before.
Enough of those explaining words, let's get to the core: The results of my first month.

01.
The Baker (2007), UK, English
First view. I'm always at my guest family in Denmark for New Year (they're kind of like a second family, or some young grandparents), and they have 1000s of TV channels. As I don't have anything to do on the day after New Year's Eve, I usually just watch TV. This was a very funny comedy, that I didn't see from the beginning, but it shows the good side of English humor!

Hangover (2009) USA, English
First view. After watching this I just had to buy it - one of the best comedies I'd seen for a long time. What I realized when thinking about my movie watching habits was, that I don't really watch enough comedies. And I don't mean "Women's Comedies" like SATC, or bad Indian slapstick comedies, I'm talking about just regular ones. Off course, "Hangover" isn't for everyone, you need a special kind of humor, but I don't know anyone who didn't like it.

Dil Chahta Hai (2001) India, Hindi
First view (and I know how embarrassing that is). I wrote a review on this movie, so you can read it, if you want to know more about my opinion on it. I think my last words were "a must-see!".

02.
Aashayein (2010) India, Hindi
First view. I also hadn't seen many 2010 Bollywood films, but why I chose to watch Aashayein is still a big question. Read my review for more informations on this "well, well, well" film.

04.
Dabangg (2010) India, Hindi
First view. Now, were getting to the better parts of 2010. I only rated it 6/10 in my mini-review, but that's because it simply is nonsense. Charming nonsense, but not everyone is going to like it. (I did, so don't worry).

05.
Sholay (2010) India, Hindi
... Ahm... (Clearing throat)... First view.... Jump right to mini-mini-review or let me just tell you that I totally regret not having seen this before. Now I understand why it's one of the most famous Indian movies and why Amitabh Bachchan is a god.

06.
Amardillo (2010?) Denmark, Danish + English (documentary)
First view. This movie is really disturbing, it's about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan, in the camp called Amardillo. I think they showed the unpolished reality and it was a great documentary, but my opinion on the Afghanistan-war hasn't changed. I did think about the issue, though.

Don (1978) India, Hindi
First view. Another classic I was almost forced into seeing, well, not literally, but I wasn't allowed to visit the shooting of Don2 in Berlin by my parents, so this was my replacement for that.
Don original is actually better than the new one, especially because of Big B. Mini-review.

The Pillars of the Earth (2010) Germany & Canada, English (mini-TV-series)
Second view. Didn't watch the entire series on one day, off course, but I watched the last episode on that day, together with my guest mother. I read the book some month ago, while I was on a vacation in Mexico, and instantly fell in love with all about it. It is perfect and though the TV-series isn't, it still does a good job and is so well made. My guest mother hadn't read the book and she was just totally fascinated by the story and everything. Big thumbs up!

07.
The Core (2003) UK & USA, English
Second view. Trashy world-saving movie but with good actors and some funny new ideas.

Love, Sex Aur Dhokha (2010) India, Hinglish
First view. My self-education of 2010 Bollywood continues with LSD and my mind is split about it. It had great new and brave ideas, especially the first and second story were great. But then, in the end, I asked myself: What's the point now? Off course, it has some good observations on the modern Indian way of life and stuff, but it just remains kind of unfinished at the end. Also, the third story was rather unnecessary and annoying.

08.
Peepli Live (2010) India, Hindi
First view. I was just back in Germany at that date and so happy that Peepli Live was running at our Independent-kind-of cinema... I watched it with my mother and little sister (12), we all liked it. Actually, I think they liked it a little bit more than I did. It was good, off course, but in some ways a little bit too long and... hm... I can't explain. Funny, usually I always find words for films.

09.
Shakti - The Power (2002) India, Hindi
First view. Bought the DVD on Ebay - thank god. I won't ever watch it again, counts to the poorer films I've seen.

13.
Sarfarosh (1999) India, Hindi
First view. Always nice to see Aamir, Sonali and Naseeruddin, but the script was boring - they could have made more out of the plot. Still, I can recommend watching it.

14.
Love and Other Drugs (2010) USA, English
First view. Went to the cinema with a friend, we thought we could really use a romantic comedy then. Turned out to be a good choice, as there was romance, comedy but also serious matters - plus some really good actors. Definitely worth a watch!

15.
Kabhi Kabhie (1976) India, Hindi
First view. I was so in love with this movie, that I instantly wrote a review/ love song about it. The 70's are not my new 2000's, but I will keep in mind to watch some older films from time to time.

16.
Sehar (2005) India, Hindi
First view. Very big disappointment, even Arshad Warsi couldn't save this un-relevant Police-flick.

20.
Black Swan (2010) USA, English
First view. So sad the movie wasn't released earlier, I hurried to the cinema to watch it at the very first show. It was the first movie allowed for 16 year old, that I've seen at the cinema (I'm still 15, but only until March). I had an older friend with me and she was more horrified by the movie than me, but it was just wow. One of the best movies I know.

21.
Avatar (2009) USA & UK, English
I got the collector's edition DVD for christmas, so it was time to watch Director's Cut - together with my mom. Still one of my alltime-favorites.

22.
Guzaarish (2010) India, Hindi
First view. As you can see in my visual review, a big part of the film concentrated on the beautiful visual side, and there were also many things reminding me of my-biggest-Bollywood-disappointment "Saawariya". Still, it wasn't a poor film, but also not a particularly good film. Bhansali leaves room for improvement, but I think he's on his way back.

Forrest Gump (1994) USA, English
Second view. Hey, at least I have seen it. We watched it at school, because our new topic in English is the USA. The film was as great as it was, when I saw it the first time. Fabulous movie!

23.
The Social Network (2010) USA, English
First view. An entertaining and fast paced film with an interesting plot. Not the very best 2010 Hollywood film, but definitely in the top 10. Especially recommended for everyone with a profile on Facebook.

Dushman Duniya Ka (1996) India, Hindi
First view. I have to questions on this film: 1) Why did I buy it (even though it was cheap, on ebay). 2) What the heck did Shahrukh think he was doing in the mid-90s (aside from the great "DDLJ" and a hand full of other acceptable flicks)???

24.
Rakht Charitra I (2010) India, Hindi
First view. Counts to the best Indian film experiences of 2010, I'm absolutely mad about this film. It was perfekt - blood, great actors, catching story... RGV is back for good! Can't wait for the second part, which I put on my birthday wish list.

25.
Born Free (2010) Music Video/ short film (music by M.I.A.)
First view. A friend from school recommended this to me, as she knew I love M.I.A. - and films. We both found it very interesting, it's a good short film, as you can think and interpret for a long time. This short film will stick with you.

Inception (2010) USA/ UK, English
First view. Another film that I watched due to recommendations. It's not too well-grounded, but still an interesting idea and well-made. I always have mixed feelings about DiCaprio - on one hand, he is one of the best Hollywood actors, on the other hand I always think about how handsome he once was... And isn't any longer.

28.
Udaan (2010) India, Hindi
First view. This was my catch-up-on-2010 weekend, and I watched 5 movies that were either critically acclaimed and/ or discussed much. I think everyone is going to find something good about this film... It is an impressive direction debut with a respectable leading actor.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) India, Hindi
First view. No matter how much I like Ajay Devgn, 2010 was not the year where he showed off many new facets. We've seen him in this role a few times, but... he still plays well. Emraan is finally doing something not containing the trade mark "Bhatt", which is an improvement, because I think he's been a little underrated and took some rather bad role choices... One of the best 2010-ers.

Raajneeti (2010) India, Hindi
First view. Didn't feel like watching this at the beginning, because it was so long, but I'm glad I still did. Katrina Kaif convinced me for the first time and most other actors were also good (I didn't like the Irish girl, though). Story was a lot of Drama, but with the right amount of other things (thinking of "Guzaarish", which contained a little too much Drama).

29.
Ishqiya (2010) India, Hindi
First view. My curiosity made me watch this film, because it was contained on almost every single "Best Of 2010"-list. I was a little disappointed by the story and the length of the movie, it sometimes tries to be "Indie" too much. But the actors are totally worth watching and I can understand the hype of the film now.

We Are Family (2010) India, Hindi
First view. As I already said on twitter, this is the absolutely most kitschy film of 2010. I cannot believe why Kajol would agree on playing in it. Nor Kareena and Arjun... though they choose some awkward movies from time to time. Kareena was the best part of the movie and the only reason I didn't turn it off. I simply couldn't believe that scene just before the end... Horrible! Do not watch this, especially if you don't want to get sugared.

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That's it for January 2011.

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.

Bipasha and a lot of Nonsense ("Aa Dekhen Zara" Review)

I'm beginning to like the concept of writing a funpost and then a review and then always shifting between the two kinds - one of them takes advance of the more chaotic side of me, and afterwards I can focus on one single film, and what's most important: Write a lot about it.
I've written this review quite a long time ago, but I don't want to keep it back from you for that reason.  Most of all, many critics or review authors had a quite different opinion than mine on this film, and that's also why I'd like to share my own thoughts about it. And if there's something seeming awkward to you, let me tell you that this review was written at approximately 1AM...


AA DEKHEN ZARA (2009)

Title-Translation: "We will see" or "Come Let's See"

Director: Jehangir Surti

Autors: Sheershak Anand, Shantanu Ray Chhibber

Producer: Viki Rajani

Starring: Bipasha Basu, Neil Nitin Mukesh

Plot: Ray inherits a camera that shows the future of the thing that you take a picture of. At the beginning, Ray uses the camera to gain money and becomes a real bastard, but he's also in love with a girl, Simi, who wants him to be like he was before.

And there are, off course, other people wanting the camera for their own.

Written the 8th of August 2010
There are many things about "Aa Dekhen Zara" that really annoyed me. For example, let's take the rapid and numerous camera shifts, sometimes even shimmed by camera flashes - what's meant to be entertaining, rather alienates the audience. In addition, it's a little hard getting into the film at the beginning, because the leading man, Ray, is never really introduced. Truth be hold, we don't get to know much at all about him in the film.
I'm also not yet convinced by the actor, Neil Nitin Mukesh. He doesn't act horribly, but he truly could have done much more, and sometimes seems pretty cold and artificial. Bipasha Basu is, opposite to him, very good - I learn to appreciate this woman more and more! Also her role is sketched comparatively cursorily, but still, she manages to give it a minimum amount of deepness. By doing that, she also saves her male counterpart. There's no huge silver screen chemistry between the two of them, but they harmonize well, and some scenes are even somewhat sweet. By the way, the name of a sandwich in the film is also very sweet (don't remember it, though).

As I said: gratuitous

In other respects, I don't have much positive to say about the first half. Once more, Bipasha is forced to jump into a tiny disco outfit and sing & dance - the necessity of this is supported by her being a singer. Sounds like "Bachna Ae Haseeno" to me, no? However, the whole "scene" is gratuitous, the whole thing (Ray and Simi getting to know each other) could have been done differently. Ray's metamorphosis is also something that seemed very illogical to me - do you become an idiot just by becoming rich? This metamorphosis is also highlighted musically by a very high-class song, whose lyrics mostly consists of "Paisa" (= money), and which is indeed heard by Ray on full volume-up in his very expensive car. Yes, it is possible to exaggerate. Talking about the music: I don't like at all. Not in the film - and don't dare to think that I will listen to this in my leisure time. I do give some plus points for the background music, though. Well, not the score, but the music on the radio and in the shops - simple Hindi pop music, which adds a little authenticity to the whole scenario. Ray and Simi watching "Omkara" on DVD is also a tiny little bit amusing.
After a fair first half, the second one is actually a little exciting. We follow the leading actors on the escape through Thailand, and somehow are on the edges of our seats (well, I was, at least a little bit). We also meet a very botoxed female police officer - but I'm clueless about Indian civil servants, maybe they all look like that... And Bipasha may perform another absurd, unnecessary dance sequence. But that's half as bad as the first one, as it's much shorter. The end is also quite good (though, obviously, they were "inspired" by "Dhoom:2").

So in a nutshell, I don't seem find this movie as bad, as I ought to find it. For everyone just descrying their love for Bipasha, it is worth-a-watch. Certainly though, "Aa Dekhen Zara" doesn't reach the level of the real 2009 goodies.

Rating: 3.9

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

5 cruddy statements I've heard about Bollywood

As a fan of Indian cinema, particularly Bollywood, I'm a lonesome soul in this town... All I ever hear about Bollywood ("Bollywood is the Indian film industry, right?"... Yeah, right, never heard of Tamil or Telugu films, have you? I won't even try with Marathi or Bengali), was R-U-B-B-I-S-H... Well, except for my sister and my best friend... They watch the movies sometimes, but that means like... not even once a month.
Actually, I've tried to talk another friend of mine into Bollywood - and I did succeed in some way, at least by convincing her that the Indian film industry is big and there's no universal thing you can say about it (or about Bollywood). I managed this by introducing her to "Luck By Chance", a film she loved, but it's not like she knows anything about Bollywood now. However, I don't hear any cruddy statements from her any longer. (If you want to know, what she said before, read statement nr. 3).

Have I mentioned I'm a big fan of lists? I think so...
Here's the list of the most cruddy statements I've heard about Bollywood, in no particular order:


1) "Are you sure that this is a Bollywood film? I've just been to India and whenever I turned on the TV or in the busses and stuff, they showed all that Bollywood and it was such junk!"
Where? At the (indie kind of) cinema in Flensburg (where I live), just before watching "Peepli Live".
Who? An (female) acquaintance of my mother, that we met in the cinema. She'd just been to India.
Why is this wrong? What do you see, when you turn on your TV at noon? Cinematic masterpieces, classics, milestones and artful or experimental films - or junk, that's not even worth being called a "film". And what do you see on a bus trip? Answer this question and you know, what I'm talking about.
Besides, what's Bollywood? I'd say, a film in Hindi language and/or produced in Mumbai.

2) "I'v seen every Bollywood film, because I had a friend from Malaysia, who was crazy about them - and I didn't like a single one."
Where? At school.
Who? A (female) friend of mine, who I really like, but she doesn't change her mind very often.
Why is this wrong? If there really is someone, who has seen every film of an industry (and I doubt there is), it's definitely not her. She's probably seen all those films that have been dubbed into German - and yes, they're not for everyone (it's mostly films like "K3G", "Mujhse Dosti Karoge", "Saathiya", "Main Hoon Na" etc - often good, but well, all quite similar, with many dance sequences and stuff). By the way, she watched "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" a few months later and had to admit, that she thought it was a very good and interesting movie. Despite the songs.

3) "I don't like Bollywood because of the singing and dancing."
Who? So many people, I've stopped counting them.
Why is this wrong? Go and watch "Black", "Kites" (ok, is this a BW... good question!), "My Name Is Khan", "99" and many others that I don't remember right now. After that, watch "West Side Story", "Moulin Rouge" and many others that I don't remember right now. You'll get the point.

4) "Bollywood is unrealistic."
Who? Even more people than at nr. 3.
Why is this wrong? Do you seriously want to know the answer? Really? Do you mean it? Sure? DUDE! Watch "Black Swan", "Lord of the Rings", "Star Trek", "Independence Day", "Shopaholic", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Sweeney Todd" and countless others and then tell me: Are some of the best movies not often unrealistic? Not that I'm generalizing anything. What I'm trying to say is just this: It doesn't matter, whether a film is more or less unrealistic or not. It has to catch you, entertain you, make you laugh or cry, make you think in new ways or make you forget everything... It has to be good, that's all.

5) "Bollywood is for poor, uneducated people in India"
Where/ Who? Posted by Anonymous on this blog post.
Why is this wrong? Would they earn enough money just by selling cinema tickets to poor people in India? Are all Indians poor and uneducated? Do the poor, uneducated people have DVD players, so that they can buy DVDs? Then why do they sell the DVDs?
Long pause, no answer.

Thanks for reading,

Angry Young Me

How I Fell In Love With the Bollywood 70's (Kabhi Kabhie Review)

Confused by the wide range of opinions on "Action Replayy" (this happened about a lot of other 2010 fillms, too), which was a film I thought would freshen up my curiosity for the world of the Bollywood 70's, I decided to jump into the cold water for real. I watched the two classics "Don" and "Sholay", an experience you can read about here... And as I found out, that I actually liked them, I watched "Kabhi Kabhie". You are the first ones to hear about this experience, too. Okay, I don't know anyone Bollywood-interested personally, so it's obvious, that you're the first ones.

KABHI KABHIE - LOVE IS LIFE (1976)

Director: Yash Chopra
Authors: Pamela Chopra, Sagar Sarhadi
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Waheeda Rehman, Raakhee Gulzar, Shashi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Rishi Kapoor

Plot: The young poet Amit is in love with Pooja, but Pooja's parents arrange her marriage with architect Vijay. About 20 years after, the two meet again, and the next generation has to fight for their love.








Written the 15th of January 2011

This DVD has been laying around in my cupboard for almost one year now, courting for my favour with many other films. As I've mentioned previously, I've been quite lazy concerning old films. I could never pull myself together and watch those old classics, apart from "Mughal-E-Azam". Why, I don't even know the answer to that myself. Maybe because... old films are just something else, you need to yourself in the postition of the time and can't except a film that would have been made the same way today. However, I've already seen two old films since the beginning of the year, including this one. I do like it. It's not like I never watch old films (I've especially seen many Danish ones), but the list of Indian ones still leaves room for improvement (okay, the English and German ones too). Per contra to the other two films I've seen (remind: Sholay and Don), "Kabhi Kabhie" is no born-and-bred cult film idolized by everyone, but it is definitely a special film. Firstly, it starts quite unusual, very calm and quiet. We are introduced to the love story of Amit and Pooja, peppered with sweet dialogues and lots of poetry. Then we see a wedding song, in which, at the beginning, only Pooja appears - by the way, it is very well-filmed. The bridegoom arrives, he pulls up his veil, and... shock: It's not Amit! Amit(abh), who has put a spell on us from the very beginning, with all his poetry. Something, that not many actors succeed in, during the first few minutes of a film. Even less actors would succeed in actually allegorizing the, now on principle hated, bridegoom in a sympathetic way. Kudos to Shashi Kapoor, who I experienced for the first time (though his laugh reminded me of the bad guy in Sholay). I also liked Raakhee from the very first moment I saw her, she looks very healthy and beams down a motherly warmth. The chemistry is right, between her and Amitabh, as well as between her and Shashi... Effectively, in the second half, Shashi and Raakhee seem to be the couple having most fun together. Vicky and Pinky, played by Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, are also a cute couple, while I instantly liked Rishi, but had to get used to Neetu at the beginning. Talking about getting used to something: I'm shocked by realizing, how much I've gotten used to the ideals of beauty we have nowadays, though I never thought about it this way. I realized it, when I thought, that Neetu and Raakhee were kind of... chubby. But then my alarm bells rang, thank god! My mind is so manipulated by all those human clothes rails, which are dominating our media.

Amit and Pooja

Talking about clothes rails: Amitabh wears some really cute, cuddly sweaters, that I absolutely want to own... (Beth wrote a post on this, but I can't find it right now). Back to the review. I really liked the camera setting of this film, it was whether too brash, nor too boring. Just at two moments, it seemed unprofessional too me, because they used the "shifting-between-to-faces-1000-times" technique. Otherwise, the scene changes were quite good, mostly rather subtle, but sometimes also with the good old impact.

Funny was, that Amit didn't look like his father at all, in contrast to Vicky, whose father was played by his real-life uncle. In addition, I liked the scene, where Vicky's father tries to catch Pinky's mother, and the two fiancés look at each other and vanish silently. Yes, the film has humor, why else should Vicky ask his horse: "Eritéz mon ami, yaar?"?

Actually, there was just one thing annoying me: Sweety, alias Naseem. She was just disruptive and beyond all bearing. By the way, I just IMDB-ed her, and this was the only film she acted in. Good decision!

"Kabhi Kabhie" is indeed quite long, but I've gotten used to that now, that's just how it is with old films. Though also many new films suffer from this - if they're poor. Because this is the secret advise for a long film, that's able to entertain: It has to be interesting. To the makers of "Shakti", "Sehar" etc. - remember this.

Rating: 7.2

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.