PFC Authors about their fav pastime!
…you guessed it! Watching movies. Here is a glimse of a regular employed PFC author’s cinema comsuption in a week:
Tushar:
Curious case of Benjamin Button – good stuff, had heard all kinds of things about it but I was surprised with Fincher’s confidence
Zodiac – took me almost 2 days to watch with repeat of many scenes and the sp. feature I am Zodiac, but it was worth it, same experience as All the president’s men
Vylkyrie – I don’t know why but I slept off, guess I am not used to seeing Bill Nighy & Wilkinson in so serious play it to the tee roles.
Takeshis – must for all Kitano fans, others don’t venture
Drifting Clouds – UTV World Movies is springing some surprises lately, their new found love for Kaurismaki, Fellini & Truffaut is one
Hell Boy -2 – Loved it, can’t compare to the first but loved the way Guillerimo has handled a close to his heart baby in a studio environ like this.
Indy -4 – remove the score and you got yourself a lousy lazy run to the climax.
Amanda:
Amal, ramchand pakistani and via darjeeling…not really “new” films, but just got around to watching them recently.
OM:
Pulp Fiction, Love Actually, Fight Club, RocknRolla, Dev.D and some you know what ;)
VPJ
revisited Server Sundaram and ‘Thiruvilayaadal’ a fond rememberance of Nagesh – what a great actor and what a terrible loss – Indian govt missed another great opportunity to honour real craft.
Tushar again:
Doubt(half-way through it)
Frozen River
Gas, food & lodging
Breach
Body of Lies
Seven Pounds
I heart Huckabees
See the passion? Halfway and its 4am already!
Ratnakar
The Sisters( Korean)- Great horror flick
My Wife is a Gangster(Korean)- Bit gross in places, but overall enjoyable
A Special Day(Italian)- very personal kind of movie starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastrioanni, about a housewife who has a brief fling with her next door neighbour, when her entire family is out attending a rally of Mussolini and Hitler. The key here is that her neighbour is anti fascist and a gay which causes him to lose his job. The movie works mostly on the dialogue between the 2 main characters, and the different worlds they live in.
Casino- Another of this movies, which i did not like very much on first viewing, but just grew on me over repeated viewings.
Now you know how he does all these posts!!! Day-in, day-out!
Dazed and Confused!
Naan Kaduvul- Severely disappointed. Lazy filmmaking by Bala this time around.
Frost/Nixon- Frank Langella was amazing. Movie fell a bit short.
Sethumadhavan
1.Laadam- directed by Prabhu Solomon & “inspired” by Lucky Number Slevin.Good in parts.
2.Delhi-6 – for the 2nd time- written a lot already about it.Nothing more to tell.
3.Valkyrie- bores you in between, nevertheless still a watch for the concept.
And yours truely -
In the mood for Love.
Chunking Express
H
Rashomon ( Extended version)
So what are you watching – let the list of cinema flow!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
chugyeogja aka the chaser: a korean movie about this pimp who, whilst in search of his missing girls, stumbles upon a serial killer. unapologetic. unforgettable. must watch for fans of thriller genre.
I am not scared (Italian)- Nice concept. would loved more if the ending was the other way round.
Bawandar – Hounding, Terrifying, Nice lyrics, Nice movie overall but a bit exaggerated at times.
Aakrosh – Hard hitting, straight, simple. Bows to Vijay Tendulkar.
Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro – weak at times. over all nice concept. Loved the guy’s attitude. “Arey aasaan nahi to mushqil hi sahi”
Transporter – Chewingum flick. chew(watch) , enjoy, throw(forget).
Taxi Driver – 2nd time. I see some master’s storkes. Talking in the mirror. Could not patao-fy the girl and all , camera work in showing the city late night but yet to see couple of times more to appreciate it more.
Blue velvet – Could not understand the victim(woman)’s character. loved the filming of the climax.
Delhi 6 – Too pedagogical at times. Songs wasted totally.
Do aankhen barah haath – loved the concept and executed well as per the std of hindi films then. Could have made it little less melodramatic.
Kagaz ke phool – did not like that much, can avoid. Pyasa was awesome.
@Ravptor:
Would love a post on Chungking express! Though I do not question the credibility of scripts like 2046 and In the Mood for Love, Chungking however been very close to my heart! A ‘die for’ kind!
Ravptor… with unplumbed humbleness do I beg… indulge me by a post on Chungking!
What was MAGIK doing???
@3Somnath
I like fallen angles more than chungking , may be because chungking was mine first wong-kar-wai film to watch, may be i change my opinion after second viewing or may be just because it is squeal it is not rated as high as chungking. Anyway a must see
Somnath – Post coming right up. On Chungking and In the mood for love.
Let me say this, Wong Kar-Wai is an enigma to me. He is the sort of person who embodies mise en scene for me in the modern era like none other. Ok, maybe Tarsem but he tops it. Scrits take a back seat when it comes to making romantic films for him and that’s not at all bad at times.
Njudo – Great pt about Fallen Angles. I did not think that way but you seem to have a point. I guess he just explored a little more. Warrants a repeat viewing.
oye, “mal” nahin, amal! lol.
I was thinking what that movie was? ;)
Where did you see amal amanda?
And you are making it to IFFLA in April rite… seriously, please do come!
lol, main bhi yehi soch rahi thi, yeh kaunsi film hai? hehe. i saw amal on dvd and it is a brilliant film. maybe i’ll do a PFC write-up about it…
nahin yaar, i don’t think mujhe office se holiday dengey yeh log to attend IFFLA :( art ki kisi ko parvaah nahin…grrr!
@6 ravptor
i usually never watch a film second time. I think it is special occasion/moment which cannot be experienced again.But i want to expereince both chungking and Fallen angles again and again:))
My last 3 watches on DVD:
Mystic River – Dark, sombre, brilliantly Eastwoodish.
Jibuero (The Way Home) – A touching Korean drama.
Thank You for Smoking – A really underrated comedy this one. Brilliant lines. I watch it at least once every two months.
My last 3 watches on big screen :
Dev D
Dev D again!!
Luck By Chance
Seven Pounds: Very tragic and sad story. Beautiful concept. Will Smith as good as he was in POH.
Rock and Rolla: Typical Guy Ritchie movie. Loved it.
Dev D: Wow. Anurag u rock !!
School of Rock: Watched again. Still makes me laugh.
Casino: Martin Scorsese as usual at his best. Loved Joe Pesci as Nicky. Played almost similar character in Goodfellas as Micky.
Still plan to re-watch this week:
American History X
Snatch
Lock Stock and two smoking barrels
Ferris Bueller day off
For some reason, I have been having a rerun month. Watching a lot of movies from the past which I had enjoyed then just to see if I would still enjoy them. Some recent watches
Rerun flavor ones
Godfather
Godfather 2
Ronin
Enemy of the State
Some others
Offside (Iranian movie, liked it a lot)
Rosemary’s baby
Miller’s crossing
Delhi 6
Dev D
MMJ (I was disappointed, maybe I expected a lot. It was nice, but this one didnt shake me up as much as Dombivili Fast did)
Hot Fuzz
A mighty heart
Hotel Rwanda
Wanted
Identity
Disturbia (Switched off midway)
Rope-Amusing experiment from Hitchcock, works wonderfully
American Gangster-Denzel & Russel. Single-handedly carries this looong film
Benjamin Button-Surprisingly good, was gaping at the effects more than anything
The Boy in Striped Pajamas-heartwarming throughout, heartbreaking ending
Big Fish-amazing script, enchanting to say the least
Strangers on a Train-Hitchcock
s average thriller, though better than most
Luck by Chance,Dev D-SUPERB;Delhi 6-good enough
Tropic Thunder-wicked fun, wish bollywood could take some lessons from this
Hellboy 2-awesome spectacle
Star Wars-Lucas is one of those few who has the dough and the brain
and more still left in my comp….
besides these have been checking out the 2nd women’s international film festival in Chennai….some cool movies there too…plan to write a post on it after its over….
@Njudo-E-Dara
same here…..don’t watch ‘em second time unless they are awesomely brilliant
Amanda – Will mail you in a bit.
Njudo – Again, interesting POV. Braveheart is one movie that I can watch any given day, platoon is another. But no, Wong Kar Wai – I found it difficult to sit through in the mood for love the 2nd time when I showed it to my friends.
More in the post but let me say this – there is a lot of negitivity in Wong Kar Wai’s films.
@Narcissist: Brilliant lines indeed.
Arjit – How about a post on Ritchie considering you will be watching most his work.
Especially his decline from Lock Stock, to Snatch to Rock and Rolla ;)
Ravi: Interesting pt about Dombivilli and MMJ. Write about it. Nishi is a part of PFC so you never know.
My view – Dombivilli is very outward, MMJ is more internalized. I guess this analogy works well for these films more than Delhi 6 and RDB. My view.
Jibin – waiting for a post. Also, would you be so kind to send me info of the festival in chennai. We have quite a few authors in chennai and you never know who else might be interested.
Would be great if you leave the links/info here in the comment or mail me at ravptor@gmail.com
Here’s some of the movies I saw recently
1. Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Simply awesome.
2. In the Valley of Elah : Really good movie, very well acted by Tommy Lee Jones.
3. Wanted : good one time watch.
4. Delhi 6: Watched it second time, and was even better then watching it the first time.
5. Dev D: Fast moving montage of 1000 things, atleast something would definetely stick. Cleverly mounted for the youth, esp the sequence of getting her photograph scanned and all that, theere were many such sequences(why??)
This friday is an off day for me. Here’s what I plan to watch on friday & saturday :
Once upon a time in America – 6th or 7th rerun.
Elephant Man – This is going to be my first David Lynch experience.
Lolita – A first time watch as well.
Bees Saal Baad (The old Biswajeet starrer) – Picked up the DVD yesterday. Have watched it earlier though.
And then I’ll just browse through my collection and pick up something else if time permits.
Wow, Wong Kar Wai! bring it on guys! hum bhi kataar mein hain. :-)
More notes on Benjamin Button:
I guess the film will take time to age, as of now people are too busy reacting to it as has become the norm of mainstream cinema. Lots of positives – Brad Pitt(so underplayed, no glances in the camera, no overt flashes of greatness or character arcs), Cate Blanchett(she can hardly ever go wrong now, was fun even in a confused outing in Indy-4, but here I loved her vulnerability, something she did wonderfully well in another sensitive-relationship-human film called Notes on a Scandal. When she lives through a younger Benjamin as she is losing grasp over life, I was reminded of her sensitive portrayal in Notes where her character handles a much more sexually aggressive/potent Judi Dench, Cate is classic stuff in the final sequences, it is as much her film as is Brad’s), Jennifer Hudson(her exaggerated portrayal works), and above all, a film maker who exudes confidence in the film. Raising eyebrows be damned. The way the silence plays out in the film is in right spirit of self-respecting cinema. Lovely visuals not to mention, such times of sensational scripts need films that reinvent the wheel(much like our very own Vaaranam Aayiram) and just lament at the tragedy called life at times.
As of the negatives, Brad’s sexuality did bother me, it didn’t come out clear if he craved for Daisy or loved her. I mean that did become a problem of course as we moved backwards until he becomes a kid. I will read the script, or rather attempt too, if it offers an interesting read.
DOUBT
Disappointed. Started so cool. Khoda pahaad nikla molested child. sorry. not even that. lol.
Will watch Revolutionary Road/Milk over weekend.
Tushar
There is no Jennifer Hudson in Benjamin Button.
You are talking about the “Hottest Women @ Oscar 2009″ Taraji P Henson. You are talking about the woman who adopts the old Brad Pitt right?
OK my bad.
She has a what, a fully grown son! She was so cute! Loved her in the film.
Tushar – good pt. i was lost too. I think its reverse aging of the brain that did what it did. Reverse teenolagy?! ;)
Been hectic today – wong kar wai coming right up.
Mama Mia – thoroughly enjoyed the ABBA numbers and the performance of Meryl Streep – her singing and dancing show is simply amazing.
@ravptor
will mail you soon with some info….dont think there is much in the net
@ 16 # ravptor
)
yeah true there is a lot of negativity in Wong Kar Wai’s films. but then it makes it even more beautiful. I think our lives are as good as or as bad as the emotions painted in wong-ker-wai films. Anyway ravptor , you write a post on wong-ker-wai and we will have our discussion their
@ 15 jibin
we are cinematic twins
@ravptor
actually gotta go catch it now!
;-)
When Harry met Sally – Fab
The Reader – Fab Fab…Winslet has conducted a class in acting
Coolie No. 1 – I cannot resist that gem guys..
15 Minutes: Awesome, unpredictable action thriller. Hard to believe – Watch!!
Pearl Harbour: Classic. Felt an instant comparison with “1942 A Love Story” for few reasons: (1) Fiction mixed with Historic Facts (2) Similar time period.
To Catch A Thief: Hitchcockian antics at their best.
Instinct: “One man’s mind is another man’s mystery.” The movie was as intriguing as its tagline.
Anatomy of a Murder: Courtroom drama starring James Stewart, one of my favourites. Brilliant depiction of the verbal and emotional manipulation of jurors’ state of mind by lawyers.
Runaway Jury: Courtroom drama combining (1) the lawyers tactics from “Anatomy of a Murder” plus (2) an unpredictable suspense and heist with a twist in the tale.
Mamma Mia: The one-and-only “Chick-Flick” that I enjoyed. Thanks to ABBA and the wonderful actors and choreography.
Crimson Tide: Clash of the titans Denzyl Washington (another favourite) and Gene Hackman. Thunderous performance.
The Prestige: A story on rival magicians and their quest to obtain each other’s secrets. Are you watching closely? This one made me a fan of director Chris Nolan.
Shall keep updating….
@ravptor/18: sure, will do that one of these days. i will need to rent Dombivili Fast again and see it. I will write about it after that.
@jibin – will wait for your stuff. Thanks!
@Njudo – Sorry about the delay. Been hectic. Will have the post up soon.
@Mehernosh – Anatomy of a murder! What a film, no? Its a movie you can put on and be hooked in second’s. Gripping.
@ravi – please do!
No country for old men – Great movie but was disappointed with the climax.
How to lose a guy and alieniate ppl – Funny in parts.. Simon PEGG is good though
W – Good
Body of Lies – Something was missing
In the valley of Elah – Very Good
Love in the time of Cholera – Great acting by Xavier Bardem
Cassandra’s Dream – Good
Scoop – Good
Small time crooks – Good
@ravptor(16): mail toh koi aayaa nahin.
Amanda – Sent!
just watched no country for old men,oldboy……
both awesome……
Amanda: wht kind of movie amal is….? i have’nt seen… plz tell..
W. = OK
Run down = OK
A walk to remember = OK
Knocked up = good
Before sunset = very good
Eastern promises = Excellent