Category: Movies

New York, I love you – 2.5/5

Based on separate events in NYC, this movie is actually a string of short-films woven together. Out of some 10+ short films, I liked around 5 of them & thus my rating of 50% to the movie. For the most part, it doesn’t matter if it was NYC – because the same events could have taken place in LA, SFO or for that matter, even Delhi or Mumbai.

Unfortunately, Mira Nair’s directive stunt here was innately naive and I couldn’t be more disappointed. Natalie Portman was nice with the story direction, though it wasn’t as great in Ms. Nair’s part of the story. Shekhar Kapur was as usual at his best (though the screenplay was a little out of place).  Story transitioning was a little weird and it didn’t have to be NYC for two stories to be together anyway.

Khosla Ka Ghosla – 5/5

My all time favorite, Khosla Ka Ghosla (KKG) is a must watch for people who can understand Hindi. I was just seeing the flick for the 10th or so count and thought it should be given a rating right away. Score is five out of five. Supreme direction, tight and apt screenplay, witty dialogues, amazing characters and to top it all, a story that moves in a direction to build upon a superb plot.

If you haven’t seen it yet, please order the movie right away (it would only cost a mere 60 bucks if you wanna see it on a VCD – or 100 for a DVD). There is no point explaining what the movie is about here. To write a gist, the movie has a plot that will hold you until the end of it and has extreme humor that will hazard you falling off the chair laughing. I had to see this movie 10+ times over just to hold on and laugh at every point where I am stuck laughing.

Anupam Kher, Bomman Irani, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey – these guys are my acting heroes throughout the flick. The troubled Kher, evil Irani, avenging Pathak and dumb-headed Shorey – all the characters move the story right into the spot. Beautifully done. Not to say that others were any less, but then I think it’s everyone in the movie who were at their peak. Flawless. See it.

Favorite quotes:

..lijiye ho gayi na galti, jaldbaazi mein aap ke aur aap ke pitaji ka naam exchange ho gaya..

“..ji aisa nahi ho sakta ki jab woh aaye to aap hamein bula le?” .. “..ji aisa nahi ho sakta ki main aap ki taang tod du?”

..aap to shagird bana lo ji apna..

“..aap kuchh lenge..” “..nahi ji, nahi..” “..kuchh thanda wagerah?” “..nahi ji, nahi..” “..to kuchh chai..” “nahi ji, zaroorat hi nahi..” “..to aap chup lene ka kya lenge?”

Inglorious Basterds – 4/5

Second film after Pulp Fiction, I haven’t seen Quentin Tarantino makes thereafter. I wasn’t in a mood to see jump cuts and just-another-Nazi hate movie; but for the sake of the reviews and some recommendations I went ahead.

First off, it is not just-another-Nazi hate movie. So you should get rid of the ascetic and erstwhile GermaNazia in yourself and brace up for peculiar humor. There are particular instances in the movie, especially the reference to Americans, Brits, Italians and Dutch that make it worthwhile and enjoyable to watch for a complete foreigner like me (and I assume some of the frequent readers here?).  The story has three extremely strong characters playing an amazingly threaded sequence. There are pitfalls though.

There are obvious problems with the script being a fantasy from LA with love, but then, didn’t I say it ain’t just-another-Nazi hate movie? There are some bloody shots, which I feel were more funny than gore – but then may be it’s the peculiarity of a Tarantino make. Chapter style driven, the flick is a tad bit long but you won’t feel it since you’re on the edges of what-happens-next like drama. For all you know, the plot in QT films could just turn any way.

My favorite quote:

“What the f*** are we supposed to do?”
“…supposed to have a Nazi premiere…”
“Like I said, what the f*** are we supposed to do?”

Go watch it!