Blog | Amodini's Movie Reviews - Part 51Amodini's Movie Reviews | Movie Reviews by Year, Genre and Rating

Movie Review : Sandcastle (2012)

Posted on October 16, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 2.5/5
Genre : Feminist
Year : 2012
Running time : 1 hour 23 minutes
Director : Shomshuklla Das
Cast : Shahana Chatterjee, Malvika Jethwani, Rajat Sharma, Uditvanu Das

Sandcastle, is on the surface, Sheila’s story. Sheila (Shahana Chatterjee) is an upper middle class housewife and writer, who is working on her book. She has all physical comforts, is married to Vikram and has a little daughter Iti. However happiness isn’t hers, as she tries to recover her sense of self from the maze of societal expectations where it has gone missing. Sheila gives reign to this disquiet via the character in her book – Maya. We meet Maya too. Maya is what Sheila is not, she’s fancy-free and bindaas, and is always exhorting Sheila to chill, to let go and be happy; “be part of my game” she says. Is Sheila destined to live this duality forever?

I really like the concept this film is based on – Sheila’s inner voice manifests itself as a whole other person, fictional though she may be; it is as if Sheila is split into two – one part of her remains tethered to reality, while the other is footloose, fancy-free and game for anything. Conversations between Sheila and Maya flesh out the struggle that Sheila faces. Is she asking for too much? Is she not? Should she give in? Everyone says she has everything and should be happy – then why is she not? Is it her fault? It brings to the fore an important feminist topic, one that is almost always pushed to the sidelines amidst “serious” feminist issues. Indeed Sheila’s struggle is to assert her identity as an independent thinking person with her own needs and aspirations, apart from the societally-prescribed roles of wife, mother, daughter etc. The break from tradition is hard and paved with taunts from her husband, advice from the parents and lots of raised eyebrows when Sheila attempts to do her own thing.

sandcastle1 While the film is conceptually strong, it does not impress on technical fronts. The screenplay seems choppy, and the film doesn’t seem to flow. There is a lot of emptiness in the scenes, with lingering slow-moving shots and long pauses. Transitions are awkward. I am sure that filmmaker Das had ideas she wished to convey with her stylized framing. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I got them. I found the 83 minutes slow-going, and wished that the film had been tighter and had had a stronger narrative.

I’d consider Shahana Chatterjee weak for the lead role – Sheila might have a lot going on inside, but Chatterjee seems to portray her as whiny and grumpy instead. Malvika Jethwani does an impressive job as jaunty, quirky, ever-smiling Maya. Yes Malvika is over-the-top as Maya, but I understand that that is the intention. Uditvanu Das and Rajat Sharma are passable in their roles of friend and husband, respectively. The lady playing Sheila’s mother was poor, although the actor who portrayed her brother did well even in his few minutes of screen-time.

While I’m glad that films like Sandcastle are being made, I’d wish for such films to be a good mix of strong concept AND technical strength. We need women to put their stories out on film, but we need to make them interesting and engrossing, if we are to reach more than a few. Kudos to film-maker Shomshuklla Das on her effort!

Here’s the trailer :

Posted in 2012, 2013, feminism, film festival, hinglish, women | 1 Comment

Movie Review : Gravity

Posted on October 11, 2013 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”B005LAIIGW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : 4.5/5
Genre : Sci-fi
Director : Alfonso Cuaron
Cast : Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Paul Sharma

You probably know what Gravity is about : astronauts marooned in space because of a freak accident. I will say no more of the plot. I will say though that I loved the film.

Gravity reminded me of films like Moon and “Castaway on the Moon” , and even “Inception”, to a certain extent – films which had only a few characters in a closed setting. Not that space is a closed setting, but the film never moves out of space. The characters are either in space or in their vehicle. To make a film with like 2 characters (more if you count the voice (Ed Harris) from “Houston” coming in via the communications panel, and the peripheral character of Sharif played by Paul Sharma) and keep it interesting is hard. The screenplay, the writing, the dialogues, the pauses – all must be meaningful and placed ever so carefully by someone who knows what he is doing. Thankfully for us director Alfonso Cuaron is pretty good at that.

Since all the drama happens in space, we don’t get to see the characters as regular people. Initially they are disembodied voices in big bubble suits, knocking around rather haphazardly in space. What we know of the two astronauts, Mission Commander Matthew Kowalski and Dr. Ryan Stone, is gleaned off of their conversation. Dr. Stone is a rather taciturn introvert. Matt Kowalski is a glib, unflappable, charm-you-off-your-feet kind of a guy, nattering on and on trying to keep the mood upbeat. He remarks on Stone’s baby blues; she tells him that she has brown eyes. He is also a rock, the rock that steadies a panic-stricken Stone when she contemplates their predicament. Still, their problem is hard; home seems very far away and here they are stuck in deep space, with nary a solution in sight.

Clooney looks like a lifelike Buzz Lightyear in his spacesuit; we don’t get to see him out of it. Bullock is great as Dr. Ryan Stone, steadying herself in big gulps of air. I am blown away by the fact that slim and svelte and amazingly physically fit Bullock is 50.

Gravity is great when seen in 3D IMAX, the vastness of deep space and the predicament of being stuck up there all alone is comprehended so much better. What with every second film posturing as a “3D film”, the whole 3D experience was getting a bit jaded. Gravity though is the kind of film where 3D actually makes sense; my local theatre actually has more 3D/3D IMAX shows of Gravity rather than regular D ones.

With much improved technology it is possible now to amaze us with the grandeur of space travel. Gravity does that but in a very understated, humanist, we-are-all-regular-people sort of a way. Stuck up in the isolation of space, Kowalski and Stone are still 2 people who wax nostalgic, yearn for the love of familiar things and just want to come home. This is their story, and we are all in there with them.

Gravity is a fantastic watch; highly recommended.

P.S. : Paul Sharma plays Sharif, a desi character, who sings a quick line of “Mera Joota Hai Japani” – which was a little odd, considering that Shariff is a younger man, presumably in the year 2013, and “Mera Joota Hai Japani” is a hit from the 1955 “Shree 420”; it might be that Cuaron is still stuck in Raj Kapoor-Nargis-land, as far as Hindi movies are concerned.

Posted in 2013, drama, english, hollywood, outstanding, rating-PG13, recommended, sci-fi | 1 Comment

ArcLight Documentary Festival Oct 9-13 at ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood

Posted on October 7, 2013 by amodini

Here’s information on the ArcLight Doc Fest, as received from the festival organizers :

This years festival was curated by renowned documentary filmmaker and International Documentary Association president Marjan Safinia. Most of the festivals 25 films are selections from major film festivals across the US and Canada including Sundance, Tribeca, Toronto Film Fest, SXSW, True-False, AFI Docs and Outfest. Many have been recognized with awards while screening at Sundance,Tribeca and Toronto film festivals, among others.

Opening the ArcLight Third Annual Documentary Festival is Let The Fire Burn, by director Jason Osder, who won this years Tribeca Film Festival Best New Documentary Director. The film is a stunning account of the events surrounding the 1985 clash between Philadelphia authorities and the radical black organization MOVE. Other documentaries in the festival include SXSW and Outfest selection The Other Shore, director Timothy Wheelers film of Diana Nyad’s historic attempts at swimming from Cuba to Florida; Sundance Audience Award winner The Square which puts the viewer directly in the middle of Tahrir Square during the recent events in Egypt, and A River Changes Course winner of both the Sundance and Atlanta Film Festival Grand Jury prizes.

The jury for the festival are:

Gretchen McCourt: Co-Chair of the ArcLight Doc Fest and EVP of ArcLight Cinemas Jonathan Josell: Co-Chair of the ArcLight Doc Fest
Matt Holzman: KCRW radio personality
Greg Finton: Editor, Waiting For Superman, The World According to Dick Cheney.

The closing ceremonies will take place on Oct 13 at ArcLight Hollywood, where the winner of the festival will be announced.

Festival passes of ten or five tickets, as well as individual tickets can be purchased here.

Posted in 2013, documentary, film festival | Comments Off

What To Watch On Netflix Instant : Edition #13

Posted on October 4, 2013 by amodini

[amazon_link id=”B0030BKNIK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- Shall We Kiss? (“Un baiser s’il vous plaît”, France, 2007) : A quirky film, this one is about Emilie and Gabriel meeting unexpectedly. When he offers her a ride to the place she is going, she accepts. They get along very well, but parting that night, she refuses him a kiss, and narrates to him why she does so. This film has a strong element of whimsy – the story is like no other. A fun film.

– Take Me Home (US, 2011) : Thom’s (Sam Jaeger) passion is photography. While he works at turning his passion into a job, he makes ends meet by driving a taxi (illegally) in New York city. Claire hires his cab to drive her to California when her father has a heart attack. Along the way they manage to run into a bunch of problems.

[amazon_link id=”B006QY4NKM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- Dil Chahta Hai (India, 2001) : This slightly old tale of three best friends is one of the best Hindi movies I’ve seen – it’s got drama and humor and a modern sensibility (for Hindi films that is). Akash, Sameer and Sidharth are affluent young men and the film tracks them and their waning/waxing friendship as they work their way through life. DCH is strongly scripted and has believable, beautiful performances. This is a must-watch, and I’ve reviewed it here.

– Kumare (US, 2011): What is spirituality? And what is faith? And where does staunch faith come from? From God and his Godmen? Kumare is a documentary that attempts to answer these questions with an experiment of sorts. Curious yet?

[amazon_link id=”B008OHV49W” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]- Safety Not Guaranteed (US, 2009) : It’s a slow news day at Seattle Magazine, and staff writer Jeff picks on a classified ad in the local newspaper as a potential lead. The advertisement seeks a partner who is willing to time travel. After some sleuthing by Jeff, and interns Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni), they track the mysterious Kenneth (Mark Duplass) who claims to have built a time-travel machine.

Darius is coerced into posing as an interested time-traveller and meets Kenneth, all the while reporting back to Jeff and Arnau. She cannot decide if Kenneth is delusional or of reduced mental capacity, but he seems very firm on his course of action . . .

Posted in 2013, All Netflix, bollywood, documentary, drama, foreign, french, Hindi movies on Netflix, movies online, Netflix Recommendations, romance, sci-fi, WhaTWON | 1 Comment

Movie Review : D-Day (2013)

Posted on September 29, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 4.5/5
Genre : Thriller
Year : 2013
Running Time : 2 hours 33 minutes
Director : Nikhil Advani
Cast : Irrfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Rishi Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Nasser, Shruti Haasan, Aakash Dahiya
Kid Rating : PG-15

Well-done Hindi spy-films are rare. If they appear, like Saif Ali Khan’s “Agent Vinod” and Salman Khan’s “Ek tha Tiger” they are cliché-ridden and suffer from Bond hang-overs. D-Day is a breath of fresh air for this genre, because it is a well-scripted, tight thriller which creates brave, intelligent spy-agents who are also uniquely desi. Nikhil Advani, the director of frothy fare like Patiala House and Kal Ho Na Ho, surprisingly delivers the goods with this very accomplished thriller.

Wali Khan (Irfan Khan) is a sleeper RAW agent situated in Pakistan, waiting his chance to nab wanted criminal Iqbal “Goldman” Seth (modeled on Dawood Ibrahim). When he gets news that Goldman will be attending the wedding of his own son, despite ISI pressures to keep him away, he communicates this to Indian intelligence, and soon three more RAW agents Rudra Pratap Singh(Arjun Rampal), Zoya (Huma Qureishi) and Aslam (Aakash Dahiya) are sent into the country.

The four hash out details to take Goldman alive on D-Day, but Goldman is a wily enemy and when things start to go wrong, they struggle to make the best of a bad situation . . .

D-Day is brilliantly plotted. It develops as an espionage thriller with a strong emotive component. The drama ensues from the emphasis on the toll this will take on the agents’ personal lives. We know that Wali Khan in Pakistan for 9 years as a mild-mannered barber, has sprouted roots, marrying and even having a son. Zoya has a lover in England, and has come on this mission against his will. Rudra has a murky past and has holed up in Karachi in a brothel with beautiful prostitute Pooja (Shruti Haasan). Aslam, a small-time criminal in India, is the weakest link in this chain.

The fast pace of the film is complemented by sound characterization and impressive performances all around. The four agents are matter-of-fact and capable. Their interactions are spare and to-the-point. They behave like adults with none of the tom-foolery/gaana-bajana which hero-heroines in ordinary Hindi films are so adept at. We expect nothing less than impeccable acting from Irrfan Khan and Huma Qureishi, but even (artistically challenged) Arjun Rampal does well as taciturn, secretive Rudra. Shruti Haasan has a small role as Pooja, but manages to light up the screen with her hopeful wistfulness. Rishi Kapoor, handed several cheesy dialogs, makes the best of it as Goldman, his seeming geniality, corpulent frame and rose- colored glasses subtly menacing. Nasser is soon-to-retire RAW chief Ashwini Rao, treading the fine line between overt political correctness and covert intelligence operations. K. K. Raina is the Prime Minister, who we see rushing to report to “Madam”.

Nikhil Advani does a bang-up job of juxtaposing pulse-pounding thrilling moments with delicate poignant ones, the most stupendous of those being the gut-wrenching picturization of the song Alvida (see below). Wali Khan’s attachment to his family conflicts with his duty as a RAW agent and Irfan movingly portrays a father’s warring emotions. Hard-faced, stoic Rudra finds himself moved by Pooja’s scarred face. Zoya faces inner turmoil when her job demands more of her personal integrity than she is willing to sacrifice. Her character remains one-of-a-kind for Hindi films, because she is the rarest of the rare, a female espionage agent with real guts and gumption. When push comes to shove, she doesn’t hide behind the excuse of delicate get-me-my-smelling-salts female sensibilities, but holds her own among her male comrades.

I couldn’t see much wrong with this film; D-day seems to have it all. A must-watch, this is so far the best movie of 2013.

P.S. : If ever there’s an Indian film series on a desi Bond-like agent, Arjun Rampal would be the clear choice for the role 🙂 .

Kid-wise : This film has been given a U/A certificate, but D-Day is probably only suited to kids 15 and older. It has several adult situations of a violent/sexual nature, besides a very adult-oriented theme, so caution is advised for younger children.

Posted in 2013, action, bollywood, drama, outstanding, rating-PG15, recommended, spy movie, suspense, thriller | 9 Comments

Movie Preview : Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013)

Posted on September 17, 2013 by amodini

We haven’t seen him in a while. Shahid Kapoor returns in comedic caper “Phata Poster Nikla Hero” on September 20th, with Ileana D’Cruz (of Barfi fame), Saurabh Shukla and Darshan Jariwalla. Kapoor is one of the more like-able heroes of the Hindi film industry so I hope this film will be entertaining even if it’s not stellar.

This madcap movie is directed by Rajkumar Santoshi who’s also directed films like Andaz Apna Apna, Pukaar and Lajja, and that gives me hope that this one won’t be a total wash-out. Here’s to credible masala movies (with poetic lyrics like “tere doggie ko mujhpe bhowkne ka nahi”) with a song from this upcoming film:

Posted in 2013, bollywood, comedy, goofy, Previews | Comments Off

Movie Review : Fukrey

Posted on September 13, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 1/5
Genre : Comedy
Year : 2013
Running time : 2 hours 19 minutes
Director : Mrigdeep Singh Lamba
Cast : Pulkit Samrat, Priya Anand, Richa Sharma, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal, Varun Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi
Kid rating : PG-13

What is it with Bollywood and stupid men? You think their tribe lessens but it does not. Hindi films feature them, laud them as heroes even. Fukrey is a prime example of such tripe; I’m surprised that Farhan Akhtar is producer on this atrocious film.

Honey (Pulkit Samrat) and his friend Choocha (Varun Sharma) are two school-going back-benchers set to fail their 12th class boards for the 3rd time. This presents a problem because the two want to progress to college, for those hallowed grounds will enable them to wallow in the company of beautiful girls, bunk classes and goof off. Lali (Manjot Singh), the son of a halwai, dreams of getting admission into a “cool” college and progressing from the down-market correspondence course he is currently doing. Zafar (Fazal) is a floppy-haired wanna-be musician who roams the campus grounds strumming his guitar and composing ditties.

The four need money. They end up together borrowing money from nefarious con-woman Bholi Punjaban (Richa Sharma) to put in a hare-brained lottery-winning scheme. It will not end well.

I’m all for low-budget charmers about local life, provided they have a semblance of realism. Fukrey is based on a premise so shaky and devoid of common-sense that it is hard to root for. The film really didn’t go anywhere, and played out like a boring tv serial – I actually dozed off. Plus the characters in this film are an unlikeable lot.

Character flaws are common, interesting even, but stupidity is hard on the palate. These four heroes are brain-dead, imbeciles of prime grade. Honey is street-smart and full of swagger, but sexist. Choocha is garrulous and idiotic. Lalli is irresponsible. He also thinks that if a female is being merely helpful/friendly, she’d like to have an affair with him. Zafar is a depressed-looking mope. The best qualities of each wouldn’t make one average man, i.e.; zero redeeming qualities.

Each of these four is cast in the Dilli-wallah cliché. Indeed, if young men of Delhi were of the same low caliber, then that might explain the state of the city/nation. What is annoying though is that we deem this sorry tale of four good-for-nothing lads “comedy”. Slapstick might be comedy; aimless stupidity is not.

There are three female characters in this film. There is Priya (Priya Anand of English Vinglish fame), a beautiful, sprightly, middle-class girl who looks like she might have a backbone and some self-esteem, but apparently doesn’t – she likes Honey, and forgives his stupidity and his irresponsible behavior very quickly. There is Neetu, Zafar’s smart level-headed teacher girlfriend who sees something in the impractical loser that is not visible to the movie-viewers. And there is the Bholi Punjaban (Richa Sharma) a much feared criminal, who inspite of her fearsome notoriety, decides to go very easy of the offending foursome, when some creative punishment was called for – it might have made the film more interesting.

Fukrey has some good things though – it has great atmosphere and attention to detail – the kinds we saw in “Vicky Donor” or “Tanu Weds Manu”. It also has one lovely song “Ambarsariya” – the rest are passable. The cast actually does well with their sorry characters. Pankaj Tripathi is superb as the oily “jugaadu” Panditji.

This film is well-titled; “Fukrey” roughly translates to good-for-nothing loser. When we moan and groan about the state of women in India, we must find a mirror in films like Fukrey. This portrays our laxity towards falling standards – we like our men sexist and stupid and shiftless, ready to laud and forgive transgressions because “boys-will-be-boys”, and laugh it off as “comedy”. Is it any wonder that men deliver on the poor expectations set by society?

Fukrey gets a 1 star rating not because this is a terrible film – it isn’t all that bad really; but it given some common sense it could have been so much better.

Kidwise : Fairly tepid for the average 13+ year old.

Posted in 2013, bollywood, comedy, cringe-worthy, ecstatically stupid, rating-PG, stinker | 12 Comments

Movie Review : Shuddh Desi Romance (2013)

Posted on September 9, 2013 by amodini

Rating : 3.5/5
Genre : Romance
Year : 2013
Running time : 2 hours 6 minutes
Director : Maneesh Sharma
Cast : Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, Vaani Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Kid rating : PG-15

The trailer promised a new age romance in an old historical town. “Shuddh Desi Romance” does live up to this promise, although in a less sparkly fashion than I had imagined.

Raghuram Sitaram (Rajput) is a tour guide who also works as a baraati-on-hire at Goyal’s wedding caterers. At his own wedding, Raghu develops cold feet and discusses his quandary with baraati-on-hire Gayatri (Parineeti). All that ends with Raghu running away from the wedding mandap leaving his to-be bride Tara (Vaani Kapoor) in the lurch. Sometime later when Raghu and Gayatri meet, they find that the fleeting attraction they experienced at Raghu’s wedding has burgeoned into a “zoron ka attraction”. They start a live-in relationship with no expectations of marriage. At a rocky point in this relationship Raghu meets Tara again. She is confident, saucy and lovelier than before . . .

This film questions the social practice of marriage – the why and the what. As Raghu tells us in his narrative, everyone wants you to ”settle down” – all else will come later. Raghu himself is not sure he wants to get married. Independent girls like Gayatri don’t fit neatly into this equation either, so when Raghu moves into her barsaati, he tells all the nosy neighbors that he is her “brother”.

“Shuddh Desi Romance” nicely captures the atmosphere of a culturally rich, historic town with authentic sounding characters and dialog. Raghu is a lost young man and can’t tame his wandering heart – something we culturally allow (and romanticize), whereas the girls must remain “untainted” and when they refuse to toe the line, like Gayatri does, they get a “reputation”.

While Raghu almost perpetually has the look of a deer-in-the-headlights both Gayatri and Tara appear confident in their needs and wants. I had a hard time believing that someone as beautiful and confident as Tara would readily agree to be wedded to a “tour guide” in classist India. The Raghu-Gayatri romance was more believable although I wasn’t over-joyed at the pairing. Love being blind would have to explain that attraction, or why would smart girls like Gayatri settle for intellectually inferior and immature boy-men like Raghu?

The cast does well; I was more impressed by the two girls Parineeti and Vaani that by Rajput. Parineeti is a wonderful actress, and Vaani makes a supremely confident debut as Tara. I felt for both Gayatri and Tara, struggling against their society-assigned “good girl” roles. Rajput is not a looker, but did well-enough in Kai Po Che. Here, he is stuck with the bemused I’m-out-of-my-depth look, which looks cute only the first couple of seconds. Rishi Kapoor is a little hammy as portly caterer and father-figure of sorts Goyal, and I though he was miscast. Rajesh Sharma has a small role as Tara’s mamaji, and excels in his short screen time.

The film has a novel plot, but is a little slow and uni-dimensional. There’s only so much I can take of lovey-dovey scenes – there’s more to a relationship than nuzzling in bed, and the script doesn’t take the opportunity to develop the characters beyond the bounds of the love-story as fully as it could have. I was a bit bored of the slow pace; the film has a running time of 2 hours, but they could have shorn off a good half-hour. What I did like in the film was the way the characters “talked” to the audience in little asides, relating to us their point of view – very nicely done. The music is very good – the title song, “Gulabi” and “Tere Mere Beech Mein” are some of the loveliest songs I’ve heard this year.

This is a good film, but I had expected so much more from director Maneesh Sharma and talented script-writer Jaideep Sahni; Sahni has written wonderful films like Rocket Singh and “Khosla ka Ghosla”.

Kidwise : Lots of kisses/love making/adult situations. Film might be allright for older kids (15+).

Posted in 2013, bollywood, rating-PG15, romance, social issues | 4 Comments

Movie Preview : Shuddh Desi Romance

Posted on September 3, 2013 by amodini

Am looking forward to this one. Releases this Friday, the 6th of September, features Sushant Singh Rajput of Kai Po Che fame, Parineeti Chopra of Ishqzaade, and is directed by Maneesh Sharma – he also directed Ladies vs Ricky Bahl :