Author Topic: Write about the last movie you watched (2006-2010)  (Read 5996530 times)

oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29780 on: April 07, 2010, 04:15:17 PM »


Dogville

Dogville is a movie which is nearly three hours long and for a simple story, that seems too long at first. The first one hour is difficult to walk through and it seems to make very little sense. Perhaps it could have been edited into half an hour but that is the only main fault I find with the film.
7.5/10 for this one.

Exactly.  Excellent.

Hey, Chardy!  Welcome back!
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29781 on: April 07, 2010, 04:16:50 PM »
Whatever you do, don't read this. I warned you.  :P

Written by one of the many propagandists for the British gov't.   ;D
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Pratters

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29782 on: April 07, 2010, 04:20:35 PM »
Road To Sangam - I watched this a few months back and gave it a 10/10. Not even popular in India because of bad marketing, watch this movie if you can. I posted a review of it in FYC 2010 films and am posting the review here as well.

Road To Sangam - Best Gandhi Film I Have Seen



*this review contains no spoilers*

I went to watch Road to Sangam only knowing that it was a film with a connection with Gandhi and had won some awards. What transpired on the screen in the next 135 minutes changed my perception of Gandhi and changed me as a person. I am some one who did not regard Gandhi in the high esteem a lot of people regard him in. He, to me, was some one who was adamant and threatened the nation with his blackmails which were carried out promptly by his followers. What I did not understand was that it was the power of Gandhi's thoughts which made people act the way they did. It had reason, it had logic.

Coming to the film. We are given a rationale and the film makes a strong case for it. You almost start believing in the thinking behind it. Then, there is a slow process of change which is so slow and gradual. It is not some thing which happens right away or through a flash bulb of genius. It is realization in process. The way the change is shown is convincing enough for some one to believe in the Gandhian principle.

The film has many layers to it. It is a film which asks 'what defines Karma'. It is a film about holding upright the faith Gandhi showed in the muslims of India. It is a film about how a person be it a muslim or a person of any religion (or even an agnostic or atheist for that matter) should behave. That's the bigger picture.

Then the film touches on tough subjects like partition and the role of an Indian muslim. Many layers and subjects touched, all given due space.

Paresh Rawal is excellent in the role of a man who works based on logic and is principled at the same time. I can't think of a better actor to carry out the role. The part of a muslim from the state of Uttar Pradesh, perfect with the local accent, who has his own little mannerisms and characteristics is played perfectly. The facial expressions are not exaggerated. The lines are spoken with a calm balance about them, exactly how the character would say it.

The pace of the movie is neither fast, nor slow. It has it's own rhythm and flows rather than moves. The cinematography is excellent with aspects of small town India (the city Allahabad in this case) shown. There are panoramic views and then there is attention to detail. A man making aloo tikki is shown for instance to capture the flavour of the chaat which is so popular in small town India.

Coming to Gandhi films, I have seen quite a few. Gandhi was a great biographical sketch. Gandhi My Father shows the flaws of Gandhi - the father of his son. Lage Raho Munnabhai which was so popular tries to explain the Gandhi way of thinking and does a fair job of it. It has the bollywood masala mixed in it, was perfectly marketed and was a huge success. Gandhigiri became a trend. Sardar, again starring Paresh Rawal (as Sardar Patel), paints Gandhi as a principled, yet stubborn man whose will might have cost India There are umpteenth movies which are presented as documentaries on Gandhi, most of which are holistic. No movie portrays Gandhism, like Road To Sangam does. At least none I have seen.

The show I went for was almost canceled as only one other person showed up at the ticket counter. In the end, just five of us came to watch the movie which they did screen thankfully. One engineer who had studied from Allahabad itself remarked that Gandhism is dead as no one turned up for this movie. I remarked that Munnabhai was a huge success. So it is a marketing flaw and lack of funds which meant audiences didn't come to watch this film. There is another aspect to it. It isn't a masala flick like many other bollywood flicks or like Munnabhai. It is not boring in any way, mind.

I give the movie a perfect 10/10. Don't think it could have been made better.

I just hope more people see it. So go see it and spread the word!

oldkid

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29783 on: April 07, 2010, 04:23:44 PM »
I remember your review of it before.  I'd love to see it, but I don't see how I could get it.  Why can't we all live in the same town?
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

Pratters

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29784 on: April 07, 2010, 04:28:01 PM »
Here's the torrent with english subtitles if posting torrents is allowed on this site -

If not, just delete that and any one wanting the link can PM me. :)

mod edit (clovis): I think it's best if we dont post those types of links on the open forum.

Cool. :) (Pratters)
« Last Edit: April 07, 2010, 04:34:55 PM by Pratters »

CSSCHNEIDER

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29785 on: April 07, 2010, 04:36:57 PM »
An Education

Still an 'A'.

Grade A
Taste is discerning, not all encompassing.

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Winner! BFCS Iconoclast Award 2007

Pratters

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29786 on: April 07, 2010, 04:40:26 PM »
Why can't we all live in the same town?

Tell me about it! Most of the bollywood films which come in India are crap and only the high budget English films make it to the theatres here. NO chance of foreign language film. I thought I was very lucky to see Inglourious Basterds (which I didn't like too much - I would give it a 7/10) and District 9 on the big screen last year. The Hurt Locker is releasing next week in the theatres but I am stranded in a small town. Would have loved to see it on the big screen. Watched it when it was released and rued the fact that it was released early so standed virtually no chance for the Oscars. And then it WON!

smirnoff

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29787 on: April 07, 2010, 05:16:32 PM »
Road To Sangam - I watched this a few months back and gave it a 10/10. Not even popular in India because of bad marketing, watch this movie if you can. I posted a review of it in FYC 2010 films

According to our rules it also would qualify for best of the decade since imdb lists it as a 2009 film.

pixote

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29788 on: April 07, 2010, 06:22:23 PM »

The Princess and the Frog  (Ron Clements & John Musker, 2009)
Fairly disappointing.  I was really with it early on but then it just lost its groove.  It was much more interesting when the protagonist was an African American girl, as hyped, and not a frog.  At its best when it explored the atmosphere of New Orleans.  Pretty weak story, overall.
Grade: C+


Brothers  (Jim Sheridan, 2009)
Watched this on a double bill with The Princess and the Frog; a weird pairing.  Was dreading it, based on the trailer, but it was actually a little better than I expected.  Again, though, the story just wasn't that strong.  Pretty ordinary, and the atmosphere of dread just kind of bugged me.
Grade: C+


A Christmas Tale  (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008)
Another disappointment — but only because expectations were so much higher.  I don't remember all my little problems with the film, but two stand out in my mind as being symptomatic of the kinds of issues that keep the film from being great.  First, despite all the intriguing things to focus on in the well drawn world of the film, the film gives an inordinate amount of attention to the feud between the brother and sister — and it's just not that interesting or even all that credible.  It felt written and forced.  Second, there's the scene where the grandmother or great aunt or whoever visits the house, and the whole point of her visit is just to accidentally reveal some secret to the character who happens to be the one person most affected by that secret.  That was silly.  So, yeah, it's not as good a film as Amélie is all I'm saying.
Grade: B


Avatar  (James Cameron, 2009)
3D isn't there yet, for me, and I doubt it ever will be.  That said, the fall from the ship was great; and the horse running through the woods; and a few other things.  I wasn't super-duper impressed with the world of the film (I feel like maybe filmmakers are just held to a lower standard than, say, graphic novelists), but I was content.  There's enough good spectacle on display to overcome the deficiencies in plot and dialogue and characterization.
Grade: B


Love Happens  (Brandon Camp, 2009)
I watched this on a plane.  That was the right place to watch it.
Grade: C-

pixote
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Bondo

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Re: Write about the last movie you watched
« Reply #29789 on: April 07, 2010, 06:27:23 PM »
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Rating 4/5

April MDC selection. Some really good stuff marred by Zack Snyder's poor direction and the worst end-credits in history.

A Christmas Tale
So, yeah, it's not as good a film as Amélie is all I'm saying.
Grade: B

What a strange, strange pair of films to compare. What, because they are both French?