Fine tastings from the world of movies March-April 2007

1. Rang De Basanti – the much talked about movie with a nationalistic bent. Studded with stars like Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Kunal Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan and Madhavan. Overall it is a good movie. But it didn’t make the great movie cut for a couple of reasons. The first 30-45 minutes should have been edited out. Aamir Khan struggles hard and overacts quite a bit to act as an youngster. In the later parts of the movie he does well in characteristic fashion. The Indian police going so much overboard under such untesting conditions is a bit over the top. The movie does score very high on the creativity front.

2. Stage Fright – Hitchcock’s movie, starring Jane Wyman, Richard Todd & Marlene Dietrich. Marlene Dietrich has done a great job. Unlike later Hitchcock movies which have acquired cult status, in this movie, the suspense is maintained till the end. Typical Hitchcock strategy is to make the audience know the suspense but not the actors. Overall, it is a okay movie but not upto the standard one expects from the master.

3. The Gift – Sam Raimi shows why he is an acclaimed director. Great acting by Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi. Excellent suspense and all round technical excellence.

4. The Devil Wears Prada – Meryl Streep at her best. She absolutely personifies the devilish, extremely talented boss. Anne Hathaway has done a good job as well. This is a must see movie.

5.   Sorry, Wrong Number – Classic, Must-see. Fantastic suspense, edge of the seat thriller. Barbara Stanwyck has done a sensational job.

6. The First Great Train Robbery – A nice time pass burglary thriller starring Sean Connery. Directed by Michael Crichton to boot.

7. The Illusionist – This is another must see movie. It is a period thriller, with Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti trying to best each other in acting. Rufus Sewell as Prince Leopold excels as well. The suspense is excellent as well. Music by Philip Glass is hauntingly good.

 

 


Comments

  1. Anonymous said May 13, 2007, 4:15 am:

    came across this great blogspot.. Just outstanding..

    http://myspb.blogspot.com

    Lots of detailed insights about this singer.

    I’m surprised how fans can be so obsessed to go to any extent in getting all his songs.

    I have always had one strong question in mind. How come all the film music fans love SPB to the core than the other stalwarts like yesudas or tms or susheela or janaki etc..?

    Going through the blogspots, I think spb’s humility, attitude, public-relation skills, his quickest delivery of songs, his versatality in adjusting to any conditions ( it could be singing for kamal or chinranjeevi etc), his ability to sing all languages , His blessed voice, natural singing ability, his honesty in accepting that he does not have formal learning/training etc have made him great.

    No doubt he is a role-model for all the current genearation people for the above interesting skills.

    Infact, if someone acquires all the above traits in their respective fields, they can definitely get to top-most level.

    Even at the age of 60, he is able to sing such a fast song ( with 22 seconds of non-stop passage) for the latest rajini movie sivaji.

    This post may not be relevant in the direct sense. But posting for an interesting glance on spb and this may also give an insight on how good qualities, grasping power, flexibility, hardwork, commitment etc lead to big success in any field.

    – Mukund.R

  2. Anonymous said May 13, 2007, 11:58 am:

    Mukund,

    What a surprise. Nice to see you here. Yes, it is an interesting blog about SPB. I think you have identified most of the attributes that help you be successful. I will think about this some more and do a post.

  3. Anonymous said May 18, 2007, 12:10 pm:

    I am glad there is access to all these titles in good old Chennai – its time for another edition of ‘back to India’ post I guess. Assume you are not NetFlixing these..?

  4. Anonymous said May 19, 2007, 10:53 pm:

    Although netflix type services have started in India, I’m not using those. I goto a library called Cinema Paradiso which is a movie buff’s dream come true.

    -Sukumar