Movie Review - Home (2009)

Most movies which preach conservation take a "Oh look at the poor panda, its dying :(" attitude to try and convince you to do the right thing. They use the oft mis-used and mis-represented need of people to save the planet (if not for themselves) for their kids. What they fail to understand is that most of the people watching the shows aren't 40 but 14.

Home takes a different view on things. This movie manages to put in front of you not our mistakes but how we made them. While you are busy soaking up the exquisitely filmed scenes of this movie, you are left with a profound sense of guilt and a feeling of "What have we done.... ".

This movie is a visual treat, quite like the Planet Earth series, and has a bounty of aerial shots of some never seen before places & phenomenon. What really stands out is that they don't show only the good or the bad, they tell you a story. A story of how man reached where he is today and how man is upsetting the earth's fragile climate.

8.5/10 By the end, the overall impression I felt was how stupid man is. The Earth, always bounces back from any devastation - only the time it takes is longer than man has. So we aren't destroying the Earth, but only our own existence.

Home on imdb

Home on mininova

Movie Review - Paranormal Activity (2007)

To think this movie cost only $15,000 to make! In its first weekend of open release it has grossed $22million. There is a very good reason why it has made movies like Saw VI (which had the worst release in Saw history) look distinctly fake and passe.

After the first half of the movie, I reduced the volume almost to zero to somehow not get scared, but that is when I realized the real horror of the movie. It is the story and the quietness of the movie which scares you. The reality of it all, and the genuineness of the performances leaves you wondering what might happen. Unlike most supposedly "scary" movies which try to make you shake with fake sound effects and grotesque imagery, this movie plays with your mind.

I am happy I watched this movie on my laptop and not at a theater. I am also very happy I watched it in the afternoon and not at night.

Well, if you haven't already heard about it, the movie basically tells the tale of a couple who decide to use a camera to capture the ghostly/demonic/paranormal experiences they have been having at their home.

8.5/10 Simple and straightforward. Scary as HELL!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/

http://www.mininova.org/tor/3067454

Movie Review - Brick (2005)

A great mystery story being played out in a high school setup. There is a good deal of drugs, guns and murder against the backdrop of a suburban school.

The story is well laid out, with a lonely possessive boy (who packs quite a good punch) investigating the death of his ex-girlfriend at the hands of the drug-peddling baddies in the neighborhood.

The script is just awesome and the dialogues are packed with the fast paced wit of old detective stories (which I haven't had the privilege of watching).

Brendon (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a lonely and possessive late teenage (possibly troubled) boy who breaks up with his girl, Emily (Emilie De Ravin). 3 months on, he gets a distress call from her and decides to check on her only to find her in a sewer. What follows is a classic Film-Noir detective story which is stunning in its still-ness. So much is said in what is unsaid in the movie.

There is quite a bit of violence and a great twist at the end.

I have always wanted to watch a genuine, serious movie based on high school life. This is pretty close to what I wanted, though there is not one shot inside a class. Maybe thats also real.

7.5/10 Watch it. Its a serious movie, so make sure you're in the mood.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393109/

http://www.mininova.org/tor/1765076

Coraline - Some doors should never be opened

I have to say that I am surprised i hadn't heard about this movie. It released in the US in Feb 2009, but it was only a couple of weeks back that I first saw it when searching on top ranked animations on imdb.

There are very very few movies which fall into the category of children's horror. Unlike most kids movies these days, this spends time on scenes and is not about running from A to B saving friends.

This movie is based on a tremendously spooky book by Neil Gaiman of the same name. Though they have made changes to the book, not least in the location, which has been moved from UK to Oregon, it retains the dark & spooky feel.

It is the story of a girl who finds a secret passageway in her new home to a parallel world in which everything is "better" - her parents care for her, the food is tasty and life is always interesting. The only hitch is that everyone there has buttons for eyes. She gets attached to that world but it has many dark secrets...

It was a 3D release and managed to do fairly well at the box-office. The animation isn't Disney regular and is stop-motion. An absolute must-watch. I can't recommend this movie enough. 

A DvD-Rip is available on thepiratebay.org - here.

2 Harihar Nagar - Lacking originality

Before I begin: I don't normally watch the "new age" Malayalam movies. They have lost their charm, and their humour. The dubbing, in general, has become horrible as well.
I watched this movie because this is the sequel to "In Harihar Nagar" which was one of the best comedies I have seen - in any language. Of course, like any self respecting malayali, I believe that malayalam comedy is the best. Good British comedy comes in at a distant second while American comedy is mostly slapstick or stand-up and lacks the recall value that a "Thomas'kutty Vittodaaa!!!" has. What follows is less of a review and more of a solution to the "to watch or not to watch ?" question.

Firstly, comparisons to In harihar Nagar, which was released in 1990, would be unfair to the movie. Its made in a different era, and Lal's recent movies have all been similar to this - they've all been part of the cliche - youth = colourful, vibrant, lots of hair on the head, 'cool' clothes. This movie is not different as it tries to connect to the younger audience again, except the actors are all 50+ now!

To his credit, Lal has tried to make up for the lack of mobility and genuine youth with an overdose of humour. We shouldn't forget that the older movie was one with 2 distinct parts. The fun-and-laughter 1st half and a second half where a new and terrible villain, John Honai, is introduced. I felt the violence was one of IHN's strong points because you will find it in stark contrast to the first half.

In this movie though, in an attempt to keep the rating at 'U' (I presume), there are very few scenes of violence and absolutely no scenes which you will remember for too long. None of the villainous characters show any negative intent. The protagonists are not even restrained in captivity.

(All ratings are on personal parameters)

Acting: 5/10
Many scenes with great potential were wasted. These guys were never great actors, so Lal should've omitted scenes requiring such great effort. Lakshmi Rai as the girl is terrible, just terrible. Thank God she has only a small part to play.

Comedy: 9/10
This score is helped hugely by the above mentioned overdose. Lal has taken special care to disrupt all serious scenes with jokes.

Story: 8/10
The beginning is very lame but the end more than compensates. An O.Henry twist. Well done.

Picturization: 3/10
The movie suffers from the same problem as other recent malayalam movies. They are too focused on peoples faces and less on the scene. When the "acting" isn't stellar, it looks so... wrong!

Music: 5/10
No originality in the songs. The rehash of the epic "Ekanda Chandrikey!" is dissapointing, frankly. They could've used less techno and picturized it in a more realistic way.

Overall: 6/10
Its not a movie worthy of a theatre ticket, but is defenitely fun to watch.

Its a decent attempt to use older original ideas.

PS : By the way, why not rate the In Harihar Nagar movie on IMDB?

Taking Chance

There are countless war movies based on blood and gore in the name of reality. There are still more which sympathize with the grieving families of those at war. And some more about friends and foes on the battlefield. But this is definitely the first to look at it from a refreshing, if sad and respectful, angle.

Taking Chance is a simple story of a higher officer who decides to escort the body of a fallen PFC back to his home half-way across the USA. The story has no twists or turns - its very straightforward in the message it tries to convey. About how everyone respects a soldier, whether they know him or not.

Patriotism is not about infamous "acts" or torture. Its not about beating the drum and shouting out. Its about respect for fellow countrymen. T movie shows that in a very soft-spoken manner. Kevin Bacon has given a stirring performance as the senior officer.

There is absolutely no violence - the opening scene where the soldier is killed, is not shown, only audio. The emotions are all understated and many times I have to say that an elegant tear welled up in my eye.

Great movie.

Download the torrent here!

5 Centimeters per Second

I have been reading manga and watching anime for 4 years now. I thought it was about time I moved away from the famous anime's and go in search of something thats particular to my tastes.

One of the things which I have found to be very disturbing about the whole anime culture in Japan is the overwhelming leaning on the shinigami/mecha theme. Its always a death god or a robot. There are very few animes which tell a good story based on normal people.

I started with Initial-D, which is The drifting anime. Its very old and is hugely popular and successful. But even so, its still basically the same underdog story as in Bleach and Naruto. I was distinctly unimpressed after I finished watching the first stage. After reading that the following stages are based in a big way on the same characters in Stage 1 returning with faster and better cars, I was turned off.

All this while I had ignored Japanese anime-movies (I'm not sure what else to call it). They are 1 to 2 hour long movies which are illustrated in quite the same way as the episodal animes. Well, the reason I'm saying all this is that I stumbled onto one such movie called Five Centimeters Per Second.

5 cm per second is by far the most expressively illustrated anime I have seen. The use of light & shadow, movement and stagnation, its all just brilliant. The best place to read the storyline would be the Anime News Network.

Its the story of Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari, who were close friends but gradually grow farther and farther apart as time moves on. The metaphors used to show time, space and love are amazing. A first time experience of great animation.

Go ahead and click here for the torrent download!

30.5.08

A very long day…

Woke up at 0100 hrs. You can’t wake up much earlier than that!
Dinner was the left-over butter chicken from Tandoor, i.e.lunch the day before. Yum!
The house was asleep and so I had to watch something on my comp…

“Shaurya”

Hindi movie.
Indian version of “A Few Good Men”.
Rahul Bose.
He always has a way of approaching movies… he’s somehow almost the same as he was in a couple of others…
I like him…
The perfect Yuppie…

So I was through with one movie…

That’s the thing with waking up so early… Lots of time… Do anything you want…

“The Wonder Years”

Bronze Age series about a kid called Kevin growing up in white America, in the ‘60s, with his hippie sister, fairly retarded brother, predictable mom, and pissy dad…
I always liked history. “History” -- not like “What were the reasons for the British to use pig fat on their bullet cartridges in India in 1857?” (or was that cow fat… hm… don’t remember now… )

I remember watching the first season and the last episode of some other season when I was in 6th… it was such a cool story… he was kissing girls in 6th … wow! (ok well it wasn’t all that surprising… or “wow” :P)

Anyhow I’m done with the first season of that!... in the end he dances with Winnie at the school dance…sigh… 

Cycling!

4km… 0630 hrs… lovely!
The village is at its scenic best at this time… finally started liking my place… 
There are just about enough things to look at and like…to take your mind of all the things you don’t like…
Kerala is good…

Breakfast

Right… I’m onto my 5th heading of this post!(world record)
Boiled Franks and bread… yum again!

Cochin Unversity of Science And Tech

Off to the university then with mom… to get my sister’s migration certificate and TC… (why can’t she just go and do all this … and shes here on holiday too )
I could’ve gone alone… but the infinite respect and help you get from the office staff when you have an old (don’t tell mom ) and respectable lady with you, can’t be measured…

Only 1 out of 5 govt. employees I met today treated me like I was a KGB agent in Washington… (well the cold war is over, but like I care )

PG Wodehouse, Sleep

IPL Semi-final 1-- Rajasthan v Delhi Ddvls

Watched most of the game… started as expected with both Asnodkar and Smith firing away… Smth then got injured… Kaif came out to run for him…
Turning point- Maharoof picking up 2 in his first over… both Swapnil and Smith out… anyhow, Watson and Pathan set the ball airborne… and they ended with 190+ on the board…

The bowling of the Royals was a joy to watch… just seeing Warne letting them rip for one more time… this is why I watch cricket… 