Cloverfield

Start was not a bang. For the first 15 minutes Ranjith’s biased view was playing on my mind. But then when Ranjith shared his viewpoint about Slumdog Millionaire, I thought of discounting his opinion and thought of giving it a shot.

Made in a documentary style the film starts from a surprise party which is being captured in a camcorder by the protagonist’s brother and later his friend. 20 minutes into the movie, your head starts moving along with the video camcorder through which the events of the story are captured and viewed.

A kiddish concept of a monster movie (Godzilla, king kong etc….) has been portrayed in a very mature way. The director’s effort in making the audience live the experience of a monster attack is commendable.

There is no effort to give any dumb explanation of the existence of a monster rather this piece of art is unlike any commercial movie a pure and a sincere effort from the director to give creativity a free hand.

No less than 8 out of 10 is what this movie deserves for its shear brilliance of presentation.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons

There are genres like Drama, Fantasy, and Mystery etc but till date no one has been able to attribute a right genre to the movies like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons”.

Fantasy is what this movie is called. But Fantasies are not as detailed as this one.

This is what I would call a “Concept Movie”. Fitzgerald thought of a simple concept that “What would happen if the human life was to move reverse – from old to getting young?” Had the concept been that we live in a world where everyone lives a reverse life – I would have definitely agreed to put this movie under the genre “Fantasy”. It would have been pretty easy to make a fantasy out of it.

But the movie is based on a person who is born old and then goes on to become younger with time – Benjamin Buttons. The detail into which the movie goes is touching and heart rendering at times.

When one grows younger and discovers the gift of good health, he enjoys it more than he would have done otherwise. On the same time it is much more painful to see your loved ones moving in the other direction. The pain aggravates when you discover that you are going to meet your kid halfway as a playmate rather than a father. What do you do? Do you raise the kid?

Think of the dear ones who have to see you move from a young man to a kid and then to a toddler when you loose your words and finally as an infant. Seeing a old man reuniting with the Almighty is pretty easy but happening this to an infant was heart rendering. Being a father myself to a 55 days old kid, it touched me more than I think it would do to may others.

Though I would have enjoyed the lighter part of it too (had it been included) – retiring at the peak of your health and touching the height of your career when you can actually enjoy it most. But the mood and tone of the movie did not allow taking it that path.

Hats off to the writer of the movie who could go into such details and also the director who did a real justice to the concept.

I would rate this movie as 8.2 on a scale of 10.

Manish Saini

My Long Awaited Tryst with STALIN

Every time I used to hear about a South Indian Superstar (I am of strong belief from today onwards that Superstars are in South India only) movie getting released under tremendous fanfare, I tried to capture their mood in my imaginations. So, today it was a sort of ‘Dream come true’ when I went to watch “Stalin’ (1^st Day 1^st Show), the Chiranjeevi starer Telgu movie even though the ticket cost me a hefty 400 bucks.

I could already feel the adrenal rush in Ganesh (my colleague) who normally does not drive his bike more than 50Kmph but was beating my Bullet today morning.

The Experience -

I hope I will be able to post the photographs tomorrow, but, what I saw was more than what I had expected.

Even before the movie started, the fans of the superstar had started the celebrations by offering their prayers beneath Chiranjeevi’s posters, Garlanding him wherever he (his poster) hung and celebrating the event (release of the movie) as if it was Ganesh Chaturthi or Holi.

And when the movie started, paper pieces were raining all across the hall. When you pay 400 bucks to see a movie you expect to see it amongst the die hard fans only. And this thing I realized just today.

When the moment of truth came (Chiranjeevi’s introduction), the celebrations reached their peak. With deafening shouts, whistles and clapping, people gave a dancing welcome to their hero. The ceiling of the theatre was nowhere to be seen. Only paper pieces were floating in the air. (I wish I could capture this moment in audio-visual to present it here.) But this tempo did not die down. The fans danced whenever their hero danced, they shouted with him, they cried with him and jumped from their seats clapping whenever he hit a catchy dialogue.

But what my friends who went along tell me is that this is just a glimpse of what happens in the mass theatres like ‘Vishwanaath” which sent me wondering.

The Movie –

As a movie critic, I am of the firm opinion that Language is no barrier for understanding a movie. I remember one of my communication professors explaining me that words merely form 8% of the communication.

I would first of all like to appreciate the basic message which the movie tries to convey – “Don’t pay Back…..Pay it forward”. Some of the scenes of the movie were completely heart rending and well handled -

1. Through the race of the specially abled children in the first half the director was able to convey his message in a very straight forward and a very hard hitting way.
2. Towards the end when the director tries to depict how a simple message turns into a silent revolution, he is able to catch the viewer’s interest through the magnanimity of the revolution.
3. Among the numerous action sequences, the handling of the one in where, Chiranjeevi burns a petrol tanker from within a well takes you to the edge of your seat.

But apart from these few things I have little appreciation for the movie and its crew.

To me, the movie seemed to be utterly confused.

Was, it for conveying a social message? Was it a hardcore commercial massala movie? Was it a movie only for the Chiranjeevi fans? Or Is Chiranjeevi trying to set a stage for his entry into the politics?

Though the last question is highly debatable, I found the movie confusing for it has tried to be everything I have questioned. The uselessness of Trisha’s character, irrelevance and improper timing of the songs and dance in the movie convey its commercial nature. Through the unbelievable stylish action sequences like the one where Chiranjeevi single handedly thrashes the hell out of 200 people the director has tried to please Chiranjeevi’s fans. While depicting the trash in politics points to my fourth argument; the loud and clear social message endorses my first question.

Answering all these questions in different ways, the director seems to have lost his originality of which I have heard a lot. Though we get to see the glimpses of his talent in the movie in a few sequences I had appreciated above.

Chiranjeevi –

Its definitely blasphemy to speak anything against him in Hyderabad and as I am ignorant of the rise of this star I cannot comment on the overall talent and potential he holds, I would merely comment on him with respect to this movie.

He seems to be less believable in the role of a Major with a bulging body with lesser of muscles and more of fat; He seems to have failed to manage himself physically unlike the Bollywood stars. This single weakness makes the character in this movie a little unbelievable in the romantic as well as action scenes.

Though I would admire his talent in acting of which I got to see only a few glimpses here and there in the movie, overall he seemed to have overacted (May be it’s the ‘Please the fans’ effect which carried him away).

Overall I would rate the movie as 4.5 on a scale of 10.

Next, I await to capture the mood in Chennai when Rajnikant movie releases in the 1^st Day 1^st Show again.

Manish Saini

Still Thinking

Well, how do they start a war?

Well, one country offends another.

How could one country offend another? You mean there's a mountain over in Germany gets mad...at a field over in France ?

Well, stupid, one people offends another.

Oh, if that's it, I shouldn't be here at all. I don't feel offended.

It don't apply to tramps like you.

Good. Then I can be going home right away.

Ah, you just try it.

Yeah. You wanna get shot?

Somebody must have wanted it. Maybe it was the English. No, I don't want to shoot any Englishmen. I never saw one till I came up here. And I suppose most of them never saw a German till they came up here. No, I'm sure they weren't asked about it.

Well...it must be doing somebody some good.

I think maybe the Kaiser...wanted a war.

I don't see that. The Kaiser's got everything he needs.

Well, he never had a war before.

Every full-grown emperor needs one war to make him famous. Why, that's history. Yeah, generals too. They need war.

And manufacturers. They get rich.

I think it's more a kind of fever. Nobody wants it in particular...and then all at once, there it is. We didn't want it. The English didn't want it. And here we are fighting.

I'll tell you how it should all be done. Whenever there's a big war coming on...You should rope off a big field...And sell tickets. Yeah. And on the big day...you should take all the kings and their cabinets and their generals...put them in the center dressed in their underpants...and let them fight it out with clubs. The best country wins.

-All Quiet on the Western Front

When Words Fill In The Blanks

Some times there are things and feelings which are beyond expression and when you happen to read something or hear what you have always tried to put into words….u just jump out of the chair saying…..exactly!!! These three dialogues from “Before Sunset” made me do it -

• Happiness is in doing and not in getting what you want.


• People come with big idealist visions of becoming the new leader that will create a better world. They enjoy the goal, but not the process!

But the reality of it is that the true work of improving things is in the little achievements of the day.
The people that do the real work, the people that are the most giving, hard working and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader.
They don't see the interest in superficial rewards, they don't care if their name ever appears in the press, they actually enjoy the process of helping others, they're in the moment!

• Memory is a wonderful thing if you didn’t have to deal with the past!

Before Sunset happens to be one of the best movies I have ever seen but to enjoy it you will have to watch Before Sunrise first!
Enjoy
Manish