September is cruising along fine

15. The Hours and The Times (3/10)
In 1963, just months before Beatlemania swept the world, John Lennon and the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, took a four day vacation together in Barcelona. They were there to relax after a grueling series of concerts, but the trip remained charged with an unspoken tension. Those four emotional days are embodied in The Hours and Times, a flight of imagination that evokes the complex relationship between Lennon and Epstein. It was a a very slow movie and mot much happened. Plus it being so called fictional work as to what happened during that vacation makes this movie which is not my cup of tea.

14. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (4/10)
A sweet film for teenagers , a comedy which happens in a span of one night. Nick a budding musician is recovering from heart break and Norah if trying to figure out her own assumptions of the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band's secret show and ends up becoming the first date in a romance that could change both their lives.

13. Fox (Hindi) (5/10)
It could have been a decent thriller but hindi film makers still need to get a pulse of this genre. Arjun Rampal , a lawyer has made lots of money defending criminals. But soon he realizes his mistake and leaves law profession and is living in Goa. He gets book published which is not really his. Soon he finds himself being trapped in some conspiracy where he is now being held for murder of 5 people and Sunny Deol is handling his case. Finally the suspense is revealed which is a major letdown. Good for Tv watching and spend s a decent 2 hour of thrill. Could have been better.

12. Harry, He's Here To Help (French) [With a Friend Like Harry] (6/10)
Michel and Claire are on vacation and they meet Harry who identifies himself as friend of Michel from back in school days. He remembers a lot about Michel specially his poems and writing skills. Michel being the nice guy invites Harry and his girlfriend to their summer house. He wants to make Michel's life better which starts with buying up a new car and continues with killing his parents, brother, his own girlfriend etc. because Harry thinks that they are all the people who are making Michel's life unhappy and stopping him from continuing his writing. The film is slow in the beginning but gets very interesting midway. Although why Harry is doing all this is not very clear but he clearly is very inspired by Michel's writing skills. Def a worth watch

11. Yeh Mera India (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Yeh Mera India is an attempt to explore the real stories behind these headlines. These stories deal with racial bias, communal bias, caste bias, class bias, gender bias, lingual bias and immigrant bias that plaque the today's society and the outcome is startling. A huge ensemble cast where everyone delivers fine performance and how all individual stories all come together is very heartening. It is a story of one day in the life of 12 people from different strata of Mumbai city which is a melting pot of cultures. Very very strongly recommended.

10. Born On The Fourth Of July (5.5/10)
Based on the memoir of combat veteran Ron Kovic, the film stars Tom Cruise as Kovic, whose gunshot wound in Vietnam left him paralyzed from the chest down. He is deeply embittered by neglect in a veteran's hospital and by the shattering of his patriotic idealism because of the horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. While painfully and awkwardly adjusting to his disability and a changing definition of masculinity, Kovic joins the burgeoning movement of antiwar protest, culminating in a climactic appearance at the 1976 Democratic national convention. The film started off well but somewhere it just lost my interest. Tom Cruise definitely acted really well.

September so far only bad movies

9. State of Play (6/10)
Russel Crowe is working on investigation of a murder of a secretary of his Congressman friend Ben Affleck with Rachel McAdams. During the process he uncovers truth and harsh reality that threatens to bring down US's big corporates. The truth thats is finally reveald is very interesting and unexpected.

8. Bhaji On The Beach (UK English) (3/10)
Gurinder Chada's first (I think so) movie. Much before "BILB'. This movie was total disaster. Lot of over the top acting, miscellaneous characters everyone trying to deal with their issues. A group of estranged women go on a trip out to the beach and the film follows their troubles: a broken marriage, 3 old women, a pregnant teenager, 2 sisters etc. A very odd movie.

7. Employee of The Month (4.5/10)
Matt Dillon seems to have perfect life with fiance and a job at a bank and his best friend. Day starts with he getting fired, fiance dumping him and fights with friend. Next day there is a huge robbery in the bank and his dealing with it. How even though he was the master mind behind it with his friend and his mistress in bank, ultimately every single person is wearing a mask and is cheating and finally killing the other person.

6. Bruno (5/10)
Another funny stroke from Sacha Baron Cohen. This time he plays a gay Austrian who wants to get famous. There are a lot of scenes which evoke a genuine laughter but over all the movie is a bit downer. Previews make u expect more but thats all it turns out to be. It definitely runs out of the fizz. But I must ay that he did a pretty good job.

5. Ghatothkach - Master of Magic (Hindi) (3/10)
The only interesting thing abut this was that I had no idea about the story between ghatotkach and abhimanyu and it was interesting. Apart from that bad animation and worse songs. Give us a break from mythological hindi animation movies

4. Maruti Mera Dosst (Hindi) (3.5/10)
A girl tells her friends her childhood story of how Lord Hanuman himself was her friend as a kid and how he protected her from al evil forces including her step mom's evil mother. The characters had pretty much nothing to do. The young boy playing Maruti is the only character that holds your attention. Th eveil forces are straight out of some bad bollywood hindi kids film in which they ham and overact.

3. Kalaakaar (Hindi) (5/10)
It was interestng to revisits 80s films. Kunal is budding singer. Sridevi taps her talent and makes sure he gets a chance. Love blooms but soon Kunal finds out he has blood cancer, He tries to snub Sree so that she can hate him and marry someone else but she finds out the truth and commits suicide by the time Kunal also dies. An age old love story formula that worked big time in 80s. Excellent score

2. Agyaat (Hindi) (3/10)
It was a complete downer. First 30 minutes boring. Finally when the invisible creature starts killing people, the suspense if build but the climax is a total let down. You feel totally cheated. Plus I personally did not feel any chills or thrills. And why everyone in Ramu's films overact these days is beyond my comprehension.

1. Razzle Dazzle (4/10)
An australian hilarious mockumentary about kids' competitive dance, complete with overbearing parents, precocious kids, eccentric instructors, and a host of other quirky characters. It had very interesting characters like mothers of teenagers and dance teachers and how seriously (or not) they take the competitions.

August Number is 23

23. Bariwali (Bengali) (7/10)
Saw this film the second time. As always director Rituparno Ghosh impresses me. Kiron Kher is a lonely aged woman living on her own. Her husband died 2 days before her marriage. Her only confidants are her maid and her housekeeper. Things change when she allows a film shooting in her house. She gets drawn towards the director knowing very well that he is married and had an affair with the film actress ultimately of course to get heart broken in the end.

22. Tumhari Bina (Pakistan Short Film) (5/10)
This film deals with the desires of an older single woman who lives by herself in the house that she shared with her deceased brother. Her only other companion is her trusted gardener and the pleasures of the internet through which she plays her sinister games. A creepy film where you never expected the end.

21. Burnesroad Ki Nilofer (Pakistan Tv FIlm) (7/10)
I could have died laughing in this film. Reminded me of the days when we used to watch pakistani dramas. Nilofer is 17 yar ld who lives in a cramped flat in Pakistan with mother, father and 8 younger siblings. Beguiled by the soaps on television, she dreams of true love but has little chance to go out and find it or even to express herself in the presence of her parents. A hilarious film that gets a little serious towards the end but still very funny.

20. Midnight Lost & Found (Hindi Short Film) (7/10)
Arvind (Deepak Dobriyal) spends his nights reading Batman comics caged in behind iron bars at his lonely chemist shop in Bombay. A prostitute (Geetika Tyagi) stops every night to buy condoms, until their conversations help Arvind break free and find the superhero within. Excellent short and brilliant acting by both leads.

19. My Daughter the Terrorist (Sri Lanka Documentary) (5.5/10)
A very rare documentary of inside look into the lives of 2 girls of LTTE group whom the world calls as terrorists. This even-handed documentary sheds light on the reasons that the Tamil Tigers continue their bloody struggle for independence while questioning their tactics. Deep in guerrilla territory, two female Black Tigers train for theultimate mission. Its a personal choice to dcide who's right or wrong but the film is very hard hitting.

18. Beauty Parlor (Pakistan Short Film) (4.5/10)
Four faces, fur masks and 4 short stories. Two friends long for intimacies of a different kind, a to-be-bride longs for another while getting ready for her wedding, the ‘other woman’ struggles to define her existence via her relationship with her married lover and a physically challenged transvestite has dreams of a different kind.

17. Let's Talk (Indian English) (8/10)
Boman Irani's first feature film and what a fantastic acting debut on big screen. A wife is cheating on husband and has got pregnant now. She wants to tell her husband and is scared. The film shows her imagining 8 scenarios of how her husband could react to the news. From committing suicide to beating her up to just talking, these are few ways in which she thinks her husband would react. Awesome film. Must watch.

Few more movies added to the kitty

16. Sanam Teri Kasam (Hindi) (1.5/10)
A movie of 90s (Sambandh aka Yeh pyar hi to hai) releases in 2008 with Pooja Bhatt, Atul Agniotri and Saif who hams throughout the movie, with a new name. Pooja Bhatt so does not suit the characters of damsel in distress wearing saris and stuff. Everything is so over the top and melodramatic that film would have bombed even if it was released in 90s. And whats u with changing the title of the movie 3 times. If the film is bad, nothing really helps.

15. War of The Worlds (4/10)
Ended up watching this movie again since it was coming on TV. Not one of the better works of Steven Speilberg. And Tom Cruise at least in this movie can't act. A usual cry of war between mankind and machine, this movie has everything that is expected from such movies.

14. Morning Walk (Hindi) (4.5/10)
Interesting concept. Somehow these family value and stories I like in Bengali films but when they get translated to Hindi film, they try to commercialize it and lose the whole essence. Anupam Kher moves to Bombay to live with his son and his family. He meets Sharmila Tagore, a girl whom he used to love in his young days. He later finds out that he has a daughter with her. Without going into morals of what's right and what's wrong, the film shows how he does what he feels is right (making sure his daughter has money to go to US for studying rather than giving money to his greedy daughter-in-law for buying a house in Mumbai)

13. Siddhartha The Prisoner (Hindi) (2/10)
I like indi films but this was just a lame excuse. I wonder how come Rajat Kapoor got best actor award in some lame film festival. Siddhartha (Rajat Kapoor) is out of jail and in the process of restarting his life. He write a book but his briefcase gets exchanged with another one containing money at an internet cafe. Rest of the movie is about the gang trying to find out their lost money and Rajat finding his book. The film moves at such a slow speed that if you take a nap and watch again, you probably wont have missed anything.

Time for some Indian films

12. Gulaal (Hindi) (7.5/10)
Anurag Kashyap's take on Rajasthan politics. Never seen before story, execution and minor details and how an innocent young man is dragged into politics, everyone takes advantage of him and then what follows in the name of politics. Bravo. SO many new faces and all of them just brilliant.

11. Good Luck (Hindi) (0/10)
A very poor scene to scene copy of Hollywood film 'Just my Luck'. When will the Indian film folks learn their lesson? Terrible direction, pathetic acting and everything else also was just sad and bad. Please dont even bother.

10. Antaheen (Bengali) (6/10)
I like Bengali films because they seem very real and fresh and just like a slice of life and this film is no different. 2 very different people who are friends online looking for love and their interactions with the people surrounding them and all their relationships. No one showcases relationships better than a few Bengali films. Rahul Bose, Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen, everyone is good.

9. Kaminey (Hindi) (9/10)
What happens in life span of 24 hours with 2 twin brothers? A roller coaster from the word go, this one takes the director and the actor straight to the top league. Everything from acting, music, direction, story, screenplay was just flawless, though some people might argue. This one is not to be missed for Shahid, Amol Gupte, Priyanka, Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj.

8. Perfect Mismatch (Indian/English) (4/10)
Another one of those indian english film trying to depict lives of a couple of Indian families living in US. This time the protagonists are a Punjabi and gujrati family. Their kids fall in love but the fathers dont see eye to eye. In this day and age where inter religion or even inter country marriage is no big deal, the producers are still stuck to age old cliche with some unnecessary drama thrown in.

A slow August

7. Wall-E (7/10)
So finally I also saw Wall-E. After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, the curious and lovable Wall-E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. The film has great message on how not to get totally caught up by the technology and ho wit is important to care about people and things around you. Wonderful

6. Dekh Bhai Dekh (Hindi) (5.5/10)
The film may have flopped but it was actually not a bad film. Gracy Singh, Siddharth Koirala, Raghuvir Yada and Vijay Raaz form a tam to steal an age old statue of god to make instant money but with the money split , its still not enough for everyone. They then decide to kill an old lady with lot of money but also in greed end up killing each other or so they think. With a twisted end and a village setting, this film could have never worked but honestly it is different. Maybe good for a TV film.

5. I Love You, Man (4/10)
A couple is getting married but the girl and her friends are worried that the man does not have any friends at all and who will be his best man for his wedding. Then starts a process of the lead man to find a guy and be friends with him. He meets Sidney, a carefree, super laid back guy and they hit off well. His only desire is to have fun. Hw he brings about changes in our hero's life. It was an all right film. There are a little too much of this chick flick romantic comedies these days.

Where will August end up going

4. Sleuth (5/10)
Based on a play, this movie stated off very interesting, dragged a little bit in the middle and ends with a bang. Jude Law is a struggling actor who doesn't know what to expect when he visits Michael Caine (whose wife he is sleeping with). A strange proposal from Caine for Jude Law sparks off an interesting twist and game plan of one upmanship over the other. The best thing about this Sleuth are the performances of Law and Caine, who could have been even better with a great script.

3. Barah Aana (Hindi) (6/10)
Someone please finance these directors who have such brilliant stories to tell but because of zero promotion, these films fall off the radar. Barah Aana is story of 3 friends (who have nothing in common except poverty). How they struggle with their life despite being different ages and how they find out a business of kidnapping people and making quick money out of it. They dont want to do it but its the fastest way to make money. Brillaint performances by Naseerudding, Vijay Raaz (seen after a long time) and Arjun Mathur. Again, a worth watch film.

2. Love Aaj Kal (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Of course Imtiaz Ali's film has great expectations. Mine were fulfilled to a great extent. Saif acted fine. Deepika looks gorgeous. The film shows us how today's generation struggles with what true love is (given the fact that we have too many choices) vs how love was in old days when purity was at its top and people would do anything just to have one glimpse of the girl they loved. Harleen is breathtakingly gorgeous. Songs are good but they seemed forced in the film. Overal a decent film

1. I've Loved You So Long (French) (8.5/10)
This is one of the best films I have seen in the recent times. The main protagonist comes out of jail after 15 years for murdering her son. Her sister takes her in who was very young at the time. The woman is now struggling to get back to a normal life. No one knows why she murdered her son but when the truth finally is found by her sister, it breaks her heart completely. Awesome performances. Must watch movie.

The number for July is 19

19. Little Zizou (English/India) (7/10)
A wonderful movie based on Parsi community. Told by the eyes of a 9-1 year old boy who is big fan of footballer Zizou. The movie tells the story of his community which involves his father, a wannabe leader, a newspaper editor Boman Irani and his family, Zizou's older brother who wants to become a graphic novelist. How all these people affect each other's lives and struggle through everyday chores makes this cute small film. A very well made film with an interesting cameo by John Abraham and Kamal Sidhu, I loved the film.

18. Kal Kissne Dekha (Hindi) (4/10)
Some producers directors never learn. They keep giving viewers a mix dose of comedy, action, drama, song, dance and somewhere along the line story and think they can fool audiences. Jackie Bhagnani has the ability to see future. Once he leaves his small town and goes to Bombay, he falls in love with Vaishali Desai (who had absolutely nothing to do in the film). He starts seeing some bombings in future and then helps the police from these incidents to happen. Turns out the mastermind behind these is his profesor Rishi Kapoor. (yawnn!!) Completely avoidable.

17. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (8/10)
One of my most fav Harry Potter films ever. This one had story, pace and was simple and emotional. It did not have too many side tracks. I wish though that parts of the movie were in 3D. These days I have some strange fascination for 3D movies. A lot of chemistry between lead characters and other students was introduced which was fun. Definitely a worth watch.

16. Batman Begins (7.5/10)
This movie starts back the series on how Batman started. Batman flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows. The instructor now wants him to destroy Gotham city because it is full of corrupt people but instead batman wants to improve the situation. He instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. I wish I had seen this movie before Dark Knight. Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness. I liked it.

And the list continues

15. Jashnn (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Like the title it is a story of nobody who wants to be somebody. Adhyayan is Shahana's brother. She is mistress of a Humayun and thats how they live. Anjana Sukhani is his sister and she falls in love with Adhyayan. HE wants to make big with his music but he always et hurt whenever he wants to do something big. Slowly al his dreams die and he is shattered completely. At this stage, his love helps him come out of his shell, prove that he can be someone and give back a life of respect to his sister. Decent performances and an emotional film. I would have rated it better but I just cant digest Adhyayan and Anjana. Shahana Goswami was superb as expected.

14. Kiss of The Spider Woman (6.5/10)
Hemmed in by the narrow walls of a Latin American prison cell, Molina (William Hurt) is telling his new cellmate, Valentin (Raul Julia), his favorite story. Molina is a gay man imprisoned for seducing a minor; Valentin is a bearded revolutionary still bleeding from his interrogation. There are stories twisting within stories, each drawing a new, surprising level of difference between the two heroes: escapism versus realism, romance versus politics, gay versus straight, hero versus coward. As their unstable friendship grows more real, their stories become more vivid. A well deserved Oscar for the leading man in 80s. Must watch.

13. Vicky Christina Barcelona (7/10)
This is my second time watching this film. Vicky and Cristina are two young Americans spending a summer in Spain. Vicky is engaged to be married and Christina is in search of herself. They meet a charming Casanova and Vicky ends of sleeping with him and thereby confused but she doesn't pursue it further because she is engaged. Christina meanwhile has full fledged affair and even moves in with him. And then comes Penelope Cruz (his ex-wife) and what follows is a complex look at relationships with each of the character and how they directly or indirectly affect each other. Brilliant film and even more brilliant Penelope Cruz.

12. Sankat City (Hindi) (7/10)
A great intelligently made comedy film. This is worth a dekho. KayKay is a car thief who works with Dilip Prabhawalkar (garage owner) in overhauling the car and selling it. Once he find a mercedes and 1 crore rupees with it. What hey dont realize is that the car belongs to Anupam Kher, a don. Then we have RImi who cons people and is trying to do one big final heist and retire. The guys she is targeting at owes money to Anupam Kher. There are a couple of other people involved too with the Don. How do these people interact each other, how money keeps exchanging hands and how things get resolved ultimately make this fun filled roller coaster. The screenplay is the best part. Its not easy to develop the inter relations of the characters.

11. Mamma Mia! (7/10)
One of the first Hollywood musicals that I liked. The story is simple. A girl lives on an island with her mother. Its time for her marriage and she wants to know who her father is. There are 3 possible options but fun is that the mother herself doesn't know. She invites all 3 men for her wedding and the fun, confusion follows. Music of course is great. Title song and dancing queen and their choreography is amazing. I now want to see it on Broadway.

10. Wendy and Lucy (5/10)
Michelle Williams is in economic crisis and is on a road trip on her way to work Alaskan fishing boats with her dog Lucy. Her Honda breaks down, and while shoplifting once she loses Lucy. She befriends a local security guard who genuinely helps her find her dog. As the film speaks to many young people who have been broke and stranded, one will inevitably wonder why Wendy makes the unwise choices she does, for example sleeping in a dangerous area along a train track instead of finding a safer campground, or wandering the streets looking for her lost pooch in lieu of hunkering down for a temporary part-time job. A slow decent movie.

These new films are bad

9. Kambakkht Ishq (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Glamourous pair and hit songs but they dont make a good entertainer. Akshay is a stuntman in LA and Kareena is a medical student who models to pay her fees. Its a battle of sexes between them where they both hate each other and try to put each other down. Ultimately there minds change and they fall in love. Akshay has done this role so many times before that he can sleepwalk through it. Kareena looks stunning. Amrita Arora looks and acts dumb though she is probably better than Denise Richards.

8. Short Kut (Hindi) (2.5/10)
Arshad Warsi is a wannabe actor whm no one gives a chance. Akshaye is working on writing a script for his forst direction. Arshad steals his script and becomes a star overnight. SItuation brings them together where Akshaye is forced to work with Arshad to make his foothold in the industry. In between all this, Amrita Rao keeps appearing for glamour quotient and songs. I dont even understand why this film is a comedy. I am tired of watching Arshad hamming in all his movies and repeating himself.

I dont feel like watching movies any more

7. Sita Sings the Blues (4/10)
This film is an interesting animated version from the director's vision. It intersperses events from an episode of the Ramayana, illustrated conversation between Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with songs and scenes from the artist's own life. The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes. One of the parallels of what is happening in a couple's life in modern day is actually autobiographical.

6. Kirayadaar (Hindi) (5.5/10)
It was good to go back in time and watch one of those middle class targeted Basu Chatterjee's movie. Padmini Kolhapure lives in a flat in Mumbai with Mother Vidya Sinha for 15 yrs. The flat is owned by Utpal Dutt who lives in Lucknow with son Raj Babbar. When he gets a job in Bombay, Utpal Dutt wants them to leave the flat but they refuse. They ultimately get in a court case which is going nowhere because the lawyers are just getting money out of the whole deal. Of course all's well that ends well and the hero heroine get married. Not to much fun to watch in today's times but still much better than the crap that is coming out these days.

5. Runway (Hindi) (2/10)
Amarjeet is a young man who loves Deepal Shaw. She is into drugs and now needs liver transplant. To earn money for that, the hero works for a don, kills a guy and now someone is after his life to kill him. On the run, he meets Tulip Joshi who helps him save his life and go back to India. Terrible movie, contrived plot and ridiculous acting.

A good start to July

4. The Hangover (6/10)
4 friends go for a bachelor party. The next day they wake up with the room missing, room completely shattered with a baby and a tiger. What follows are hilarious sequences of what happened that night and where did the groom disappear. The film is funny in lot of parts and completely college fun filled film that you will bound to enjoy with friends.

3. New York (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Dealing with terrorism, this film starts with 3 close friends. Seven years after 9/11 FBI asks Neil to work for them to prove that John is a terrorist or else they will put Neil in detention. Neil doesn't believe but still agrees. John is now married to Katrina and has a baby. Neil soon finds out that FBI was right but also now understands the reasons why John is doing what he is doing. A very interesting take on terrorism and on what Muslims in different pats of the world had to face. Enjoyable.

2. Let's Dance (Hindi) (4/10)
New girl Gayatri Patel is an exceptional dancer. She runs a dance school and wants to make it big but doesn't want to compromise on her principles. She gets a chance but cannot make much out of it because she refuses to sleep with video director. She ultimately makes a team with students including with roadside goondas and presents one of the best shows the city has seen. The only good thing about the movie was excellent choreography. Gayatri can move.

1. Glass House- The Good Mother (2/10)
Teenage Abby and brother than move with foster parents after their parents die. BUt all is not hunky dory. Abby son realizes that there new parents are crazy and the mother has the psychiatric disease where she slowly poisons her kid and kills them. She has so far killed 4 foster young boys. Abby finds out about this and helps herself and brother escape. A story with lots of loopholes ideally suited for a 1 hour TV episode. Poor acting.

Number for June is 18 :(

18. Paying Guest (Hindi) (6/10)
It wasn't a bad film (like I was expecting). This is story of 4 friends who pretend to be 2 couples to get room in a big house (Shreyas and Javed Jaffri pretend to be woman) after they lose their job and original room where they were living in Bangkok. They live in Johny Lever's house and a lot of funny incidents follow involving these 4 friends and their love interests. A total time pass film. It doesn't let you get bored but just dont think too much while the film is on.

17. Aparichit (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Dubbed from Tamil film Anniyan, I wished I had seen the original version with real voice than fake dubbing. Vikram suffers with multiple personality disorder with 3 dominant personalities - simple village man in love but the girl doesn't reciprocate and strict follower of rules, aparichit who can kill people whoever goes against the laws and principles and a very modern young man who finally sweeps of the girl. Very well made film it has a very interesting premise and well directed by Shankar. Why dont more mainstream bollywood film makers look for similar subjects?

Some regional movies are sooo good

16. Knowing (3.5/10)
I usually like natural calamity movies but of late they have been not good. Add this film to the list. Nicolas Cage plays MIT professor who gets hold of a paper from tim capsule from his son's school which actually has some chilling predictions of the natural calamities and disasters that happened and will happen. How will he save the world (if at all he can) goes on in the movie. But the world does come to an end but there is a hope because the son and a young girl are saved by aliens (or whoever they were). A very stupid movie which takes viewers intelligence for granted.

15. Quinceanera (Spanish/English) (7/10)
Sometimes its the simplicity of the film that bowls yu over. Thi sis one such film. Simple yet brilliant. As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her working class family prepares for the all-important Quinceañera - a lavish coming-of-age celebration. But when her father discovers she's pregnant and refuses to believe the incredible truth - she's actually still a virgin - Magdalena moves in with her elderly Uncle and gay cousin Carlos. Her newfound family is soon put to the test, however, when an unexpected crisis threatens to tear them apart, and Magdalena learns what it truly means to come of age.

14. Tell No One (French) (8/10)
Tell No One tells the story of pediatrician Alexandre Beck who still grieves the murder of his beloved wife, Margot, eight years earlier. When two bodies are uncovered near where Margot's body was found, the police reopen the case and Alex becomes a suspect again. The mystery deepens when Alex receives an anonymous e-mail with a link to a video clip that seems to suggest Margot is somehow still alive and a message to Tell No One. One of the most suspenseful thrillers I have seen in recent times, this one has so many twist and turns that you will love it. Brilliant acting by one and all.

13. Confessions of a Shopaholic (6/10)
Isla Fisher plays the title role here. As clear by the title she is a shopaholic. Desperate to work for a fashion magazine , she lands up a job in a sister magazine where she has to writ articles of managing finances (clearly an oxymoron). But her column becomes a hot and she also falls for her handsome boss. The film deals with how she overcomes her craze for shopping and saves her love and friendship. Actually not a bad film (which I had thought of it initially)

12. Forever Fever (Singapore/English) [That's The Way I Like It] (5.5/10)
An interesting dance based film set in Singapore sometime in future when English is the official language. The lead character is a Bruce Le fan who is big fan of motorbikes but has no money to buy one. Initially bored, he comes to life when he watches cool dance moves in a dance flick. He joins dance classes with his friend hoping to enter dance competition and win big money for himself. He struggles through his friend, a girl whom he likes in the class, the bad guy and also his own family issues. Like all films, he hero is ultimately the winner and alls well that ends well. Good basic 80s dance moves (although film is from 98) but not boring at all

The numbers for this month are just ok

11. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (6/10)
It was again nice to go in a movie knowing nothing abut it. Sometimes lack of knowledge does pay off. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about the young son of a notorious gangster who spends his last teenage summer roaming around with two friends. The interesting twist is that the guy then has to choose between those 2 friends, incidentally a guy and a girl. What he has to struggle and find out that if that is bromance, really close friendship or love. I just found out that the film was based on a book and now I am gonna have to read the book

10. Happy Endings (7/10)
Wow! Finally a good film. The humor in this film was the kind I saw in 'In Bruges'. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Following a few parallel stories (of course they are related in some way to each other), we have Lisa Kudrow, an abortion clinic counselor with a massage therapist lover, Javier, who gave up her baby for adoption which she had 18 years ago with her gay stepbrother Charley. One day, Nicky Kunitz, a sleazy filmmaker, shows up and plans to blackmail her with information on her child's whereabouts so that he can film the reunion and use it to get into the AFI. Charley now runs his father's restaurant with his lover, Gil, and suspects that their lesbian friends lied about using Gil's sperm to create a child so that they wouldn't have to share him with them. Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has been kicked out of her cousin's house and is now living with the latent Otis, who lives with his widower father. Otis is gay and Father gets obsessed with Jude. Initially in for money, Jude soon falls in love with Frank. Everyone ultimately has a happy ending.

The film 'mela' continues

9. Ken Park (1/10)
A total waste of time. Its more like a soft porn rather than a feature film. The film focusses on several teenagers and their tormented home lives. Shawn seems to be the most conventional. Tate is brimming with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father. Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim. But they spend precious little time together. They have various troubles and at the end they meet and Shawn's brother commits suicide. There is no logic, no reasoning. AVOID

8. Jumbo (Hindi) (4.5/10)
Another animation film from Bollywood or so they claim. Apparently the film was originally made in Thailand and some producer just bought the rights and got it dubbed with Indian stars. Still the animation quality was good, it had a storyline and as a kid it would hold on to your attention. Same old story of good vs evil and a son taking revenge of his father's death albeit they all being elephants. Just for kids. Adults are bound to get bored.

7. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (Hindi) (8/10)
I mean why would I even write anything about the film. I probably saw this film for the 35th time and this time to sow my American friend what a typical bollywood musical is filled with Indian traditions and customs. What better than this. I loved it yet on more time and he loved it too. One thing which is funny is how awful was the film industry's fashion sense in early 90s. Madhuri's and Renuka Shahane's smiles were and are to die for

6. 99 (Hindi) (4/10)
I had few expectations from the movie but was disappointed. The film was sometimes so slow that you could easily take a nap, continue watching and you wouldn't lose anything. 99 is about 2 crooks Kunal Khemu and Cyrus Broacha who steal a car which ends up being of a gangster. He then hires him to work for him because they cannot pay. On other hand we also have Boman Irani who is a compulsive gambler and bets on cricket and has taken lot of loan from the gangster. the 2 friends are sent to Delhi to collect money from Boman. They eventually become foes turned friends and make money out of betting in a bizarre twist and turn of events. Plot could have been much funnier. I like Kunal Khemu . He is such a natural performer. One thing I did not understand is why was Cyrus made to wear the fat body suit. It jut did not make any sense.

5. How To Lose Friends And Alienate People (4/10)
A small time British journalist Sideny is hired by an upscale film magazine in New York after he catches attention by some ridiculous events in an event. He thinks he will make it big but all his plans fall flat. Sidney possibly the most annoying person you will meet first puts off his colleague (whom he ultimately falls in love) and gets involved in one mad incident after other> How he keeps alienating people which at one point almost makes him lose his job and how ultimately he compromises his principles to make it big in journalism is what the film about. I personally did not think too much abut the movie. It was made just for the heck of it. I agree it was funny in bits and parts but overall it did nothing for me

June starts

4. Straight (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Vinay Pathak owns a restaurant in London. he tries but cant get married because somehow the girls are not into him. He has hired Kamlesh as a cook and Gul Panag as cashier in his restaurant. The three of them become good friends. Kamlesh is a very happy go lucky kind of guy and one day he just randomly kisses Vinay. Now he starts thinking that maybe he is gay. He doesn't know what to do and there is no way to confirm him. There are a few hilarious moments when he goes on a date with couple of girls but all in vain, thereby increasing his confusion. Ultimately he realizes the truth, falls in love with Gul and things are all great. There are so many light moments in the film that I loved. I thought it was a very good film, very sweet, nothing over the top. The acing of all 3 principal characters was very good. Guy playing Kamlesh was very natural. Another good film from director Parvati Balaopalan after Rules pyar ka superhit formula.

3. Romancing The Stone (3.5/10)
I was recommended this film because apparently it involves treasure hunt and I love those films. Treasure hunt it was but that was probably 5% of the film. The other was about romance and love and deceit and just some random things. I guess, a typical 80s film. It was fun to watch Michael Douglas though. There were so many dumb moments in the film when I was like, does the director think we are stupid, but again then thats the fun when you watch an 80s film. It was allright but I probably would still skip it.

2. Blindness (1/10)
Now his one has to be one of the worst movies I have seen and believe me I dont say that very often. A man suddenly one day turns blind and the disease apparently is communicable. Slowly a bunch of people turn blind including the doctor. But for some reason Doctor's wife is fine. When all blind people are detained in a government cell away from the world, the wife sneaks in too. They are treated worse than prisoners. Blind people form various groups in there and there are fights, murders, rape etc. N explanation as to when the wife can see everything, why doesn't she do anything about it. It was so weird and unfortunately the movie went on and on. God knows why all the blind societies were doing all those protests when the movie released. I guess everyone needs a little attention.

1. He Is Just Not That Into You (5/10)
Having watched the reviews for so long, I wanted to see this film expecting a lot of comic moments but sadly the comic lines were very limited to just the ones that they showed in the previews. As the name suggests, the movie walks us through life of few girls, one desperately in search of love, one been with boyfriend for 7 years but not ready for marriage, one married and loking to save it and the other one just looking out for it. The film shows some cliches on what men mean when they say certain things on a date. Film ends on a good note that everyone needs love. It was ok but I had huge expectations.

37 Films in May

37. Awake (3/10)
A psychological thriller about a common occurrence called "anesthetic awareness" a horrifying phenomenon wherein a patient's failed anesthesia leaves him fully conscious but physically paralyzed during surgery. During such a surgery, the lead in the film finds out about a plot to kill him for his money driven by his doctor friend and wife. Nice thought on paper but silly execution with too many loopholes and medically not possible things. Waste of time.

36. Breach (6/10)
This is based on a true story about the biggest breach in US history in FBI around year 2001 timeframe. The bureau suspects a chief to be giving US secret information to Russia but the guy being so smart, they cannot arrest him because of lack of proof. A new division, a new team and a wanna agent are put on case to keep an eye on him and catch him in action when he drops information next time. Interesting film although at times it can get a little confusing because of too detailed technical discussion. It still makes for a god tea time watch.

35. West Is West (Indian English) (2/10)
A movie with this name feauring Ashutosh Gowariker in the main lead gets your expectations high. Ashutosh arrives to SF but realizes that his sponsors have moved to India, he has not gotten into college and is running out of money. He lives in a chap motel run by Pearl Padamsee and starts working there. Constantly harassed by immigration officials, the only option he is left with is to marry an American girl whom he made friends with. He realizes then he doesn't see any reason to stay in US and goes back to India. Months later his wife joins too. This ne was such a silly and bad film that its hard to even write how bad it was. Apparently made in 1995, the production looked like 70s film and the acting was bad, just bad from each and every person. Well maybe not from Pearl Padamsee. She was charming as she always is.

34. Baran (Iran/Persian) (7.5/10)
My first Iranian film recommended by a dear friend and boy did I love the film. It was a wonderful experience to watch love in the purest form. 17 year old Lateef is a man working on a construction site. He just kills time, picks up fight rather than working hard. When another construction worker injures himself, his 15-16 year old son Rahmat becomes the bread earner and joins the site. Soon enough Lateef realizes that Rahmat is in fact a girl Baran posing as boy t get work. His life changes because he gets drawn irresistibly towards her. He sees her working hard, cries for her and wants to help her. In the process he ends up losing his money, identity and everything just to make her life a little better. The family soon leaves for Afghanistan and Lateef could never even tell the girl how he felt for her. Must watch film.

33. Hallam Foe (5.5/10)
Hallam, a young man suspects that his stepmother may have had a hand in the sudden death of his biological mother. Fleeing the family home (which is like in middle of woods), Hallam takes up residence upon the rooftops of Edinburgh, it's not long before he is drawn into a voyeuristic obsession with a young woman who shares more than a passing resemblance to his mother, who is older to him and actually employs him. Changing equation of Hallam with the girl and how things end is this film. The film is interesting in bits and pieces. With a tighter and faster pace, he film could have been better,

32. Karma Aur Holi (Indian English) (3/10)
The film finally released and yes it was torture to watch the film. A very amateurishly directed film, its a classic example of how you can waste money and talent of people involved in the film. Randeep and Susmita are a couple living in NY suburbs who are hosting Hli bash at their huge suburban mansion. Different people with different backgrounds ultimately end of sharing a secret about themselves that no one knows which ultimately can change their lives. Neither the people not their secrets were exciting at all. See this film to know what bad acting, bad dialogue delivery is all about.

The May end number is.. still counting

31. Last Chance Harvey (5/10)
Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are 2 lonely individuals. When he visits London for his daughter's wedding, his chance encounter with Emma changes both of their lives forever. They teach other that they need to take chances in life and how its important to love and respect their family. He gets a last chance before he can decide whether to return back to US or spend his life with Emma whom he has hardly known for not even 2 days. A decent plot but it has ben done to death so many times that for me to had nothing new to offer

30. Bicentennial Man (7.5/10)
A robots journey over the course of 200 years where he struggles to fit in the human world, trying to understand their life and ultimately trying to become a human himself so that he can marry and live his life with the girl whom he loves so deeply. It was a very very interesting film. Had my friends mom not told me about it, I would have neevr seen this beautiful film. A bit lengthy but its marvelous. Robin WIlliams does a brilliant job.

29. Rachel Getting Married (7/10)
Few minutes into the film, it kind of reminded me of Monsoon Wedding. Inspired yet very different. Anne Hathaway is visiting her family from rehab for her sister Rachel's wedding. The entire film is dedicated to various functions and festivities that go on in the family and the fights they have because Anne is still going through her rehab days and how he cannot let the guilt of possibly being responsible for her brother's death out of her mind. Brilliant performance by her. A rightly deserved Oscar nomination. A simple indie film.

28. Marley And Me (6/10)
It started out fun. I am not big fan of dog films but just witnessing the kind of dog Marley was in fact fascinating. The film is about this couple who has a god Marley, their life, aspirations , career, kids and how in all this Marley , the dog plays an important part in their life before ultimately succumbing to death after living his full course. Comical performances by the dog, Jennifer Aniston and Owen wilson. Time pass flick

27. Faltu (Bengali) (6/10)
This is a story about 20 year old guy Faltu who is in search of his roots (who his father is) and is looking for love. It is also the story of a small village and its people and the story woven around these characters who have helped Faltu to grow in a mature young man but they never want to talk about who his father is. Every person in the village at some point raped his mother (who was a mad woman), so no one is sure of who the father actually is. The guilty feeling of raping Surikhepi haunts almost every single male in the village. That is when a twist in the tale ensures Faltu and his love don't get married. The story and direction is very fascinating. It is still so difficult to understand human relationships and desires and Bengali cinema has time and again shown us different facets of it.

More movies in pipeline

26. Happy Go Lucky (6.5/10)
Sally Hawkins play this free and effervescent high school teacher whose unstoppable optimism guides her life. Bubbling forth with giggles, laughter and jokes, life's a bowl of cherries even when she comes across a few pits. Whether it's a cranky driving teacher or a fiery flamenco instructor, Poppy embraces life on the sunny side of the street. It's a joyous, feel-good film you'll find irresistible. Great acting by Sally and she totally deserves the golden globe for this.The film just reminds you of how different things can be if you look at bright and positive side of all events that happen to you.

25. Igby Goes Down (6.5/10)
Igby is a teen struggling to find any purpose or meaning to his life; surrounding him are his tyrant mother Susan Sarandon, schizophrenic father, wealthy and deceitful godfather D.H. and a cold brother - all of whom have their own problems. While evading being sent to yet another boarding school, Igby seeks solace with two women: a drug-addicted dancer who's D.H.'s mistress, and Sookie, a college student who becomes perhaps his only friend and his brother's girlfriend. Brilliant acting by everyone, this film makes you realize and remember some of your own teenage issues.

24. Kissing Cousins (Indian/English) (4.5/10)
A weird title, isn't it. Story is about this boy in LA who works as a relationship terminator (who gives the bad news to people). He has group of friends but they are all couples. They want him to have a girlfriend. When his cousin visits him, they pretend t be a couple just for fun, thereby making the dude realize that he too is capable of love. The cousin returns back to her boyfriend and our man is ready for love. Ordinary story and ordinary acting. Supposed to be a comedy, it hardly evokes any laughter but still makes for a time-pass watch

23. Ru-Ba-Ru (Hindi) (7/10)
Another bollywood adaptation of an english film 'If Only', but this movie surprised me. The story and above all the acting by Randeep Hooda and Shahana Goswami is pretty awesome. She reminds me of Konkona's natural talent Their chemistry, fights, interactions are so real and natural. Randeep gives prefernce to work more than love and happiness and ends up losing Shahana. Next day, he sees the events of the previous day repeating itself and he tries to change them by being a more sensitive and sensible man.

Theatre time

22. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (5.5/10)
Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program. The movie was visually good but plot was little weak. I did not have many expectations so it was ok for me. I cant say that acting was exceptional or anything but it definitely did make a good time pass viewing.

21. Angels and Demons (6.5/10)
I loved the book. Much more than Da Vinci Code and had been waiting for this film for a while. I knew it was hard to squeeze all that was in the book in a film. The director tried best but the thrill which the book creates and the way clues and puzzles are solved, it didn't come any closer to that i the film. I still feel Tom Hanks is not the right choice for Robert Langdon. Book is better any day but I would still not mind watching it just to visually see the pages unfold on big screen

20. Star Trek (8/10)
I wasn't too sure to watch this film but I am glad I did. Watching it in IMAX really did the trick. Plus actually the storyline was also pretty interesting and gripping. Having no background of Star Trek, I was still very much drawn into the film, the characters, the visuals, the space, everything. From the first stunning visuals of a pre-Enterprise time to the final iconic sweeping space shots Star Trek is fully and wholly back, completely engaging for Fan and newcomers alike

Its time to make up and watch films

19. Rihaee (Hindi) (6.5/10)
It was good to watch an 80s artsy Indian Cinema. The story is about a village which is mostly inhabited by women since their husbands have gone to the city for work and come at most once or twice a year. A village man Naseeruddin Shah returns from Dubai and every woman in village gets attracted to him, two of them ultimately getting pregnant including Hema Malini. She refuses to get abortion like the other woman. When the husband returns there is a huge debate on whats right and whats wrong and the woman has an equal right to live her life. Excellent performances by an ensemble cast, I loved it and I was glad that I saw it.

18. Kaash Mere Hote (Hindi) (1/10)
Another one of those fatal attraction movies where a teenage girl is obsessed with a man who already has a lover. Terrible acting by each and every single person, be it newcomers or Sneha Ullal. Its a torture to watch and you cant feel anything but pity for Rajesh Khanna, superstar of his time who has to do these kind of roles.

17. In Bruges (7.5/10)
Brilliantly made movie. One of the finest ever. Killer friends are asked to go to Bruges by Harry who gives them work. Once in Bruges, one of them is asked to kill the other one because he accidentally killed a kid. BUt he refuses. How Harry shows up there and things end is very interesting. I loved the way the whole film is in a subtle comic tone trying to keep the drama going at the same time. Its hard to explain but it is brilliant. Loved it. Must Watch. Deserves all praises for direction , acting, photography, story etc.

16. Seven Pounds (3/10)
Will Smith has had an accident in which his girlfriend dies. He is looking for redemption by radically transforming the lives of seven people he doesn't know. Once his plan is set, nothing will be able to stop him. At least that's what he thinks. But he ends up falling in love. Even that doesn't stop him and he ends his life to give them new beginning. It was a confusing film. For such films, you have to connect with the audience but I could not feel the connection. Also the proceedings were a little confusing to understand why and what is going on. A downer!

Five more down under

15. City Rats (UK) (5.5/10)
Eight f****d up haunted people meet and fall apart - looking for redemption in each other. Jim is testing affects of suicide when he meets Sue on adjacent roof trying the same. Her ex boyfriend Dean is dealing with his creativity issues and is looking forward to his muse in a prostitute in his building. After one time fling with Dean, Olly is lost in a world of sexual confusion. He also has to look after his deaf autistic brother who incidentally is gay and comfortable with it. Their eldest brother Pete is stalked by an old lady Carol who is looking for her son whom Pete knows from his druggy days. By the end, each lost soul finds a solution in darkness or in light. Interesting stories and interweaving of them . A pretty decent watch with multiple simultaneous stories.

14. Frost/Nixon (7.5/10)
Amazing movie. Well deserved academy nominations. When disgraced President Richard Nixon agreed to an interview with jet-setting television personality, David Frost, he thought he’d found the key to saving his tarnished legacy. But, with a name to make and a reputation to overcome, Frost became one of Nixon’s most formidable adversaries and engaged the leader in a charged battle of wits that changed the face of politics forever. It was interesting to see certain chapters of US history which I was oblivious to. Brilliant acting and direction.

13. Dhoondhte Reh Jaoge (Hindi) (4.5/10)
Paresh Rawal needs superstar Sonu Sood to get financiers for his film. Meanwhile the poor Kunal Khemu needs to make money so that he can impress girlfriend Soha, a wannabe actress. Kunal Khemu comes up with a scheme according to which they will make a flop film, get money from various financiers and have all their money. They make a mish mash of al recent superhit films. The film turns out to be hit instead of flop and the two guys then end up in jail. The film is funny in parts. The actors are passable except Kunal Khemu. He is definitely talented. All he needs is that one project that he can prove himself.

12. The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (French) (6/10)
This is an inspiring true story about the awesome power of imagination. After having a stroke, Jean can move his left eye and through that he learns to communicate one letter at a time. With the help of his therapist and a stenographer. he writes the stunning memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Brilliant concept and direction. The movie is slow at times but there is no other way to portray the sufferings and idea except the way the director did. Very good.

11. 8x10 Tasveer (Hindi) (4.5/10)
Akshay Kumar has power to see the past through a photograph. When his father dies in a mysterious boat accident, he needs to find all about it. As he discovers clues he realizes that his father was actually murdered and that everyone on the boat had a motive. Now on a mission to unmask the killer, he undertakes the dangerous journey of visiting the past repeatedly. The ultimate truth turns out to be scary and shocking for him which he never expected. How does he get out of the past and take revenge is this movie. Akshay gave a decent performance but the punch to run on box office was clearly lacking in the film. Nagesh Kukunoor took certain things for granted and they should have been better explained. Good time pass.

I am cruising along good

10. The Wrestler (7/10)
Mickey Rourke plays a heavily scarred and battled wrestler who was at peak of his career 20 yars ago. He still gets involved in second rate fights to make money and nursing his pride. He goes to a strip club and flirts with Marisa Tomei. A day he gets a heart attack and he cannot fight. He tries to make mends with his daughter because he is scared to be alone but that doesn't work. He finally realizes that his family are the people who come to watch him. Excellent performance by Rourke. What a comeback! The film was very depressing to see the fall of a star and how he lives. I have never felt like that in a movie.

9. Chandni Chowk To China (Hindi) (5.5/10)
The film got bad reviews and hnce my expectations were low but it turned out a decent DVD watch. Villagers in China mistake Akshay to be reincarnation of their saviour. They take him to China to fight against the bad guy. Meanwhile Deepika Padukone goes to China in search of her twin sister who it turns out is with the bad guy. How and why ultimately Akshay learns Kung Fu to fight against the bad guys and how Deepika's family finally meet each other, is this film. Lave your brains and try to enjoy. Its really not that bad.

8. The Other End Of Line (5/10)
This I believe is an Indo-American venture. Shriya Saran working in Indian call center poses as an American working in SF and calls his customer regularly. She somehow thinks there is a connection and falls for him even though she is engaged. She decided to go to SF to meet the guy but i scared to tell the truth. Eventually they become really close but there are misunderstandings which finally get cleared and everything is fine. It was a decent film with good performances. Some things didn't make sense but when the film is supposed to be a rom-com, who really cares.

7. Aasma (Hindi) (2/10)
A bunch of friends decide to start a theatre group. They have certain challenges when it comes to raising money which causes some friction between few of them. Meanwhile the lead character instrumental in starting the group is dianosed HIV positive. How this fact brings the friends and family close makes this film. Interesting concept but bad film. Poor acting and direction. Everything was so fake and artificial.

6. Quemar Las Naves (Spanish/Mexico) [Burn The Bridges] (7.5/10)
Brother, sister and an ailing mother. Sister takes care f her mother and brother who is 18. AFter the mom dies, the siblings dont know what to do. The brother is getting attracted to a local boy, wants to leave the town with him but somehow he can never leave because he feels he is responsible towards the sister. Sister meanwhile is locked always in the house and has odd feelings for her brother. Finally she realizes what's right and tells her brother to leave and do whatever he wants and she also would move on in life. This is one of the better films I have seen. The strange chemistry between the siblings might make you uncomfortable but thats the directors vision. Brilliant acting by every character. Very good.

5. Swing Vote (4/10)
Kevin Costner plays this average Joe who lives with his daughter Molly. During presidential elections, by a turn of events it boils down to his vote to decide the candidate. WHat would the candidates do to get his vote and how finally, his conscience will wake up and he will decide fairly is what this movie is about. You dont have to put too much brains for this film. Just an average mindless, trying to be funny film.

The start of May

4. Secret Window (4.5/10)
Based on Steven king novel, Johnny Depp plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin when a stranger arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. The stranger slowly starts getting aggressive and violent over a few days while Depp is trying to gain more evidence. With a twist in the end, the viewer is shocked to know who was the stranger. The story was interesting but somehow I expected what's going to happen. Plus expectations from Depp's movies are big

3. American History X (7.5/10)
Edward Norton is dangerous, a coiled fury of hate who leads a neo-Nazi gang. But time and events start to change him. He reassesses his ways while doing time for manslaughter and emerges from prison eager to keep his younger brother from falling victim to the thug cycle of violence and payback. It may be too late. Weaving in and out of events past and present in his life, American History X is revealing in its look at white-supremacist gangs and impassioned in its message that hatred and bigotry can be unlearned. It was very interesting for me giving some insight in those years of America.

2. Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang (Hindi) (3/10)
The animation flick is about 2 rivals ant gangs (red and white). The black ants and red ants are at war and one mediator named Ghunn double-crosses both kingdoms for his personal gains. Of course, the kids of both kingdoms are in love. As if the poor animation was not enough, the story line itself had nothing to boost off. Pretty sad. I doubt if even the kids will like it.

1. Kaalpurush (Bengali) (5/10)
A man struggles to come to terms with the memory of his powerful father, which prompts a plunge into long-hidden secrets. Rahul Bose is caught in a world that he doesn't really belong in, and retreats to the comfort of memories, both real and imagined. His father had long ago left home and his wife Sameera Reddy is having an affair with another man. She keeps blaming him for not being able to achieve anything in life while she herself seeks success as an author. The film was a little too poetic. I have loved Bengali cinema but this was somehow was not for me. I will stick to Rituparna Ghosh's films.

Its 19 for April

19. Doubt (7.5/10)
Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Streep), the rigid and fear-inspiring principal of the Saint Nicholas Church School, suffers an extreme dislike for the progressive and popular parish priest Father Flynn (Hoffman). Looking for wrongdoing in every corner, Sister Aloysius believes she's uncovered the ultimate sin when she hears Father Flynn has taken a special interest in a troubled boy. But without proof, the only thing certain is doubt. The movie leaves you with questions and your individual interpretation of what the truth is but no one can deny that film has the 4 most powerful acting characters I have ever seen. Streep and Philip Seymor were superb.

18. Step Brothers (5/10)
A 39 and a 40 year old live with his mother and father respectively. When the parents meet, they fall in love and get married hence making the 2 guys step brothers. As their laziness threatens to tear the family apart, these two immature, overgrown boys orchestrate an insane, elaborate plan to bring their parents back together and form an unlikely bond that between them. It wasn't a boring film but a decent time pass watch.

17. Bride Wars (6/10)
2 best friends have always dreamed of the perfect weeding. When they both get engaged, there i a mix up with reservations and their wedding ends up being on the same date at same place. SInce both of them had dreamed of it, neither backs out and the friends turn against each other in a hilarious battle. It was a fun movie to watch on dvd but I would not have paid for it on big screen

Time for some bollywood masala

16. Jugaad (Hindi) (2/10)
Manoj Bajpai own an advertising firm which one day gets locked because it is in a residential area. What follows is string of events and how different people give different idea and do things that need jugaad. Manoj doesn't agree because he believes in karm. But everyone else believes in jugaad. Ultimately karm wins. They thought they were making a Leader kind of film but it was so bad that no one should waste their precious 2 hours on a film like this.

15. Gumnaam - A Mystery (Hindi) (4/10)
Mahima Choudhary is murdered. The bad guys find out a struggling girl who resembles Mahima and sign her up for a film. Soon Mahima realizes that something fishy is going on. BUt she is trapped. It turns out original irl is worth 800 crores. Dino finally rescues her and everything is fine. A bad movie which made no sense at so many places. Random songs, poor acting by everyone.

14. Meerabai Not Out (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Zero expectations and turned out to be a decent film, a bit long though. Mandira Bedi , a school teacher is passionat eto the core about cricket. After a long time, when she finally meets her man, she runs away to watch a match on her engagement day. How she wins back hearts of people and still justify that her passion for cricket is not wrong makes this film. The film has good mix of everything. You dont get bored but it definitely can be edited well and made more crisp.

13. Oh My God (Hindi) (5.5/10)
At leat this movie was something different and tried to be hilarious in parts. Vinay Pathak is a happy married man who wants to make big money but a money sharing/investment scheme. He is passionate/annoying for this that God decides to come down and make him rich but he refuses because he wants to make money n his own terms. Then starts the game where God plays with his mind between money and his brochures and making a man realize towards the end that money is not everything. A happy family is much more important than anything.

12. Ek - The Power of One (Hindi) (4/10)
A typical masala 80s kind of film. Usual story of a man running from cops for the murder of a minister ends up in a village where a big Punjabi family mistakes him for their lost son and he starts transforming and helping the entire family in need. His heart changes. Following all this is an annoying cop Nana Patekar who wants to nab him. I dont know why they made this film and why the weird title. Waste of money and audience's time.

I need to catch up

11. Aloo Chaat (Hindi) (5/10)
Interesting start. I thought it will get further spicy just like aloo chaat but on the contrary it got repetitive and boring. The characters had a very punjabi Delhi flavour which I loved. Aftab loves Aamna who is a muslim girl. To make sure his parent accept her, they do a drama in which he brings in a American girl to show he is marrying her so that by the end his family ends up preferring Aamna over American.

10. Aa Dekhen Zara (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Innovative idea but somehow the excitement of a thriller was completely missing. You didn't feel too much for the character or the storyline or the chemistry between the pair. Neil finds camera that clicks events that will ocur in future. H uses this initially to make a lot of money. Soon he realizes that his life might be in danger and how he tackles the bad guy and saves the camera from falling into wrong hands. Bipasha is just for glam quotient.

9. The Time Machine (4/10)
A man invents a time machine that allows him to travel 800000 years into the future. He is looking into answers as to why he can't change the past. He ends up in a new home with the peacefully primitive Eloi. There he realizes that things happen for a reason and decided to just stay there after his machine gets destroyed while fighting the evil. I did not like the film. There was nothing in it for my taste

Why don't we make any more good movies

8. 13 B (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Its not right to put this movie in horror genre. It was more like a thriller. A family moves into a new house and soon the owner realizes that things that are happening in one particular TV serial are exactly the same that later happen in their house. Trying to solve the mystery, they unfold a past 30 years ago about a family who was brutally murdered in the very same area and how they want to contact the world and take revenge about it.

7. The Fan (5/10)
Robert De Niro plays a pathological baseball fan whose obsession is focused on a San Francisco Giants all-star outfielder (Wesley Snipes). While the newly signed baseball star is having trouble getting his favorite uniform number from a competitive teammate, De Niro is having career troubles at the knife company his father founded. To boost morale of his idol, DeNiro kills the competitive team mate and in the process gets so obsessed with Snipes life that he kidnaps his son. What follows is some many a time seen scenes of an obsessed individual (in this case a fan of a baseball player)

6. Maharathi (Hindi) (5.5/10)
The movie started off very good but somewhere round the line lost the steam. Very interesting story wherein a driver played by Paresh Rawal plots with his master's wife to prove his suicide into murder because thats the only way wife can get the insurance money. The wife also has an accomplice in the form of Boman Irani, the lawyer. The game of cat and mouse between all these characters and who can ultimately get the 24 crores in the jist of story. Excellent cast, the film lacked pace of a thriller. It looked more like a TV drama series. Nevertheless, very interesting story.

5. Role Models (4/10)
Its hard to put this film in a genre. It wasn't really a comedy either. The 2 main characters crash the company truck and mess with the cops. COurt orders them jail or community service of mentorship. They become mentors for 2 young kids and the problems and what all they have to o through with it even though they dont want to makes this film. In the process they realize their mistakes of life and try and grow up. Paul Rudd was decent but thats it. It made me laugh at very few places except one scene when Paul Rudd goes to the king for forgiveness.

April Begins with some decent flicks

4. Body Of Lies (5.5/10)
The CIAs hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Leonardo is the agencys man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events mostly in middle east. An eye in the sky a satellite link watches him. At the other end of that real-time link is the CIAs head Russel Crowe, strategizing events from thousands of miles away. And as Ferris nears the target, he discovers trust can be just as dangerous as it is necessary for survival. A well made movie, it moves at a slow pace for almost an hour trying to build the background. My only problem is that of late we have seen too many similar movies and the subject just doesn't interest me anymore

3. Shoot On Sight (UK) (6.5/10)
The best thing about this movie was performance by Naseeruddin Shah. He plays a Muslim police officer in Scotland Yard who is asked to hunt down the suspected killers of July 7 bombings in London. Being a Muslim he has to face tough terrain. A innocent Muslim is killed in the process by a British officer. he story progresses how Naseer tries to investigate the issue at the same time dealing with the harsh reality that maybe his own nephew is one of the terrorist squad members. A sensitive issue delicately handled by director Jagmohan Mundra makes for a good watch for lovers of meaningful cinema.

2. Molière (French) (5/10)
Molière, a down-and-out actor-cum-playwright is up to his ears in debt. When the wealthy Jourdain offers to cover that debt in return that Molière's theatrical talents might help Jourdain win the heart of a certain widowed Marquise, various things happen. Disguised as a priest, Molière becomes a guest in Jourdain's palace on the pretext of teaching Jourdain the craft of the stage, which annoys his wife, Elmire. But, soon after, the confrontation between Elmire and Molière turns seductive. Too busy to notice, Jourdain enlists the aid of a well connected and scheming acquaintance, to help him pursue the young widow. Finally he realizes that he cannot win over the Marquise and Molière in the process realizes that he is an actor made to do comic roles.

1. Dev D (Hindi) (8/10)
This is one of the best ever modern adaptations of any literary work in Indian cinema. Right from direction, to presentation, to acting, to background music, everything is just set perfect. It tries to remain close to the basic stroyline of Devdas with a very modern twist and interpretation. Anurag Kashyap definitely deserves a pat for this beautiful movie. And as I read somewhere, this movie is for the entire family albeit every member should watch it separately.

A sad number 16 for March

16. Duplicity (5.5/10)
Julia Roberts working for the CIA and Clive Owen working for MI6 play competing undercover corporate high level top secret business spies who may or may not be conning each other. The movie shows us what lenghts mega corporations will try and go to keep their new product information out of the hands of their competitors. The spys in this case will not even acknowledge their relationship as a sly parallel to regular relationships. BIG disappointment for me. Its very hard for a common man to understand all thats going on. Plus ther are so many loop holes. Did not work for me

15. Monster (7.5/10)
This is one movie I have been wanting to see for a long time now and finally it happened. A true story on the US's first woman serial killer make s avery depressing and shocking film. A well deserved Oscar for Charlize Theron. Must watch

14. The Accidental Husband (5/10)
I like romantic comedies but this one was way too predictable and not spicy enough. Uma Thurman, playing a doctor and RJ n radio suddenly finds herself married to a man on papers just 2 weeks before she is actually going to marry her love. Turns out the guy she is accidentally married to plotted all this to revenge on her. How her life turns upside down and how she eventually falls in love with her accidental husband is the story.

13. Last Train To Mahakali (Hindi/TV short film) (6/10)
I am so glad that I got to watch this short film directed by first time director Anurag Kashyap and powerful performance by Kay Kay. The story is about this medical student who is very odd and wants to do research in field of having a cure for virus. The story begins and ends with how he ends up in jail in attempts for murder of people on whom he tries to experiment with his drug. Interesting concept and well done for standard of Indian television in 90s

More letdowns and a not so impressive March progress

12. La Haine (French) [Hate] (3/10)
Big expectations and huge letdown. STory f 3 friends; a Jew, and Arab and a African American guy who are jobless in France. ONe day they find a lost policeman's gun and what they do with and how their life goes on in a span of one day and the events that happen with him. Its sounds interesting but honestly, the film did nothing for me. Maybe it was a little too intlligent for my tastes.

11. Showgirls (2/10)
The less said the better about this film. It was sooooo bad that at the end you dont even want to think about it. We friends have never had so much discussion about any movie as this one. Everything about this movie was wrong. Unnecessary story, nudity and horrible and terrible acting by everyone. This film might as well be a cult in the porn film world. r as my friend would say, its worse than a porn film because they at least get you off.

10. Victory (Hindi) (6/10)
Victory was actually not a bad film. Hurman acted decent. The only thing he needs to work on is his dialogue delivery. It sounds childlike in a lot of emotional scenes. Victory is a story of a boy from Jaisalmer who dreams of being a big cricketer. HIs dream fulfills but soon he is lured by the money that comes with branding and not the game itself. The story ends with how he redeems himself and rises back from the ashes.

9. Jai Veeru (Hindi) (4/10)
I had to watch the film just because I have to watch all hindi films. I thought at least the film would be interesting but it was a usual mix of action, emotion, drama, music, comedy, a mish-mash of all that used to happen in 80s films but doesn't work anymore. A story of friendship where one man turns out to be a cop and another a suspect. The actresses would randomly come for singing and go away. Only saving grace was Kunal Khemu's performance. People, please stop giving films to Fardeen. He can't act for nuts.

The movie journey continues

8. Boys On The Side (7.5/10)
Three women; a club musician, a demure real estate agent and a flaky drug-dealers girlfriend make a break with their pasts and form an unlikely family while traveling across the country together. The film is a mix of love, tragedy, comedy. The director makes you fall in love with the characters. You feel their pain, their love and loneliness. I thought it was a brilliantly done film.

7. Under The Same Moon (Spanish/English) (6.5/10)
Carlitos's journey to meet his mother Rosario who left him 4 years ago in Mexico to work in LA so that she can have him a good life. This journey is full of ups and downs, knowns and unknowns, filled with lot of emotional moments. Its truy said that never act with children. They will make you look bad. The kid in this film was superb.

6. The President Is Coming (Indian English) (6.5/10)
A hilarious take in a mockumentary style is the best way to describe this. What would people do and lengths they would go to shake hands with President Bush on his visit to India. Konkona as always is the best but even others are very good. The various competition rounds between the participants have fair share of good comic moments.

Different language Different Genre

5. Ma femme est une actrice (French) [My Wife Is An Actress] (5.5/10)
A "normal" guy who is married to a hot actress gets worried that she is involved with her costar. This worry turns into jealousy and causes problems in their relationship. This is a story about trust and a comedy about the actions between men and women. They tried to show the movie in a comic style but it was just strictly ok. They could have dealt with more pros and cons.

4. The lookout (6.5/10)
Chris, whose once-bright future has been dimmed by a severe head injury because of an accident, is a night janitor at a bank. Lonely having just one blind friend and frustrated, Chris falls prey to a con man’s seductive promise of romance and a better life, and agrees to help rob the bank where he works. What happens before and after and how he deals with his disabilities makes for a very interesting watch. Beautiful performances by everyone.

3. Dosar (Bengali) (7/10)
Yet another beautiful film by Rituparno Ghosh With an awesome and beautiful performance by Konkona Sen Sharma. This girl never stops surprising me. Shot in b&w, the story is about this husband who gets into an accident and in the process the wife finds out hat he was cheating on her. How she deals with the whole situation makes the crux of the film. The emotions Konkona portrays of a betrayed wife but still being very strong is just unbelievable.

Looks like even March is going slow

2. Brideshead Revisited (5.5/10)
A middle class man CHarles manages to be friends with the rich scion Sebastian and is invited over to his houe for summer, things turn when Charles meets Julia, Seb's sister. Charles becomes seduced by the opulent lifestyle of the Marchmain family, and by Julia, Sebastian's sister. As their romance deepens, repercussions follow, and Charles discovers that at Brideshead, love, money and power come at a price. It was decent film but towards the end it started dragging and too many isues were being handled at the same time. It probably would be a good read.

1. Der Junge Törless (German) [Young Törless] (4/10)
The film is set at a boarding school in the pre-war Austro-Hungarian Empire. When a pair of students find out about their classmate Basini stealing money, the two decide that rather than turn Basini in to the school authorities, they will punish him themselves and proceed to torture, degrade, and humiliate the boy, with ever-increasing sadistic delight. Törless is a passive member of the group but observes rather than participates and frustrates the tormentors by dryly analyzing their behavior. A weird film. I was expecting something else but it turned out different. Definitely not of my taste.

A rather disappointing number in February - 18

18. Raja (French/Arabic) (2/10)
Raja is an orphan literally and figuratively scarred by life. Fred is an emotionally bankrupt westerner living amid his plush garden. Fred's attempt to seduce Raja, and their mutual attempt at manipulation, are fractured by their gross disparity of income, age and cultural sophistication. I really did not get this movie. I tried hard but I just did not get it. Its got good reviews but hey what do I know. :) oh btw: great acting by the leading lady for sure.

17. The Scent of Green Papaya (Vietnamese) (3/10)
This one has t be the slowest film that I have seen in my life. It you take all the scenes which had some dialogues to it, the movie would probably end in like 20 minutes. A little girl, Mui, went to a house as a new servant. The mother still mourns the death of her daughter, who would have been Mui's age. In her mind she treated Mui as her daughter. 10 years later Mui (now a young woman) was sent to another family, a young pianist and his wife. The musician falls in love with the peasant, he taught her literacy and they eventually married. The only good thing about the film was that it was visually beautiful.

Its hindi films time

16. Phoonk (Hindi) (5.5/10)
After somehow managing to get courage to watch a scary film, I saw Phoonk. Apart from initial few scenes, the movie wasn't actually horror. It was more thriller with elements f black magic thrown it which made the proceedings interesting. It was interesting premise and something new for Indian cinema. The young girl acted well. Watch it. Its a god time pass. You definitely wont get bored. I am scared but you probably won't.

15. Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye (Hindi) (3.5/10)
A decent concept gone horribly bad by poor direction, poor screenplay and very bad acting. Raima's husband Arbaaz cheats on her and has made her loose the confidence. How she manages to do something with her life by dreaming of this imaginary man whom she shares with everything. First few times it was fine but then over the top imagination scenes were getting on my nerves. This film can be totally ignored.

14. Delhi-6 (Hindi) (5.5/10)
Sometimes expectations soil the movie. Great music and wonderful ensemble did not ensure a good film. It was just amish mash of characters, with a paper thin plot. Agreed it was shot beautifully but we ned more. Worse is that Rahman's music has not been used well at all in the film. I was so angry. The only good thing for me in the film was Sonam Kapoor. She was great. And Abhishek Bachchan, please loose weight, shave and start looking like a hero.

13. Tahaan (Hindi) (6.5/10)
Its so refreshing to see a director try something new. This film based in Kashmir is about a story between a young boy and his donkey, who has to be sold to the local money lender to repay the loans. The boy will do anything to get his donkey back. And of course, people trying to take advantage of his innocence in Kashmir by giving him bombs etc. Very natural acting by everyone specially the kid and Sarika. Rahul Bose surprisingly seemed complete misfit in the whole proceeding. Watch it for its simplicity.

Not every film I watch is good :(

12. The Heartbreak Kid (4.5/10)
Premise sounded interesting but barring a few funny scenes here and there, the film in a whole was not fun. Story of a uy who thinks he's married the perfect girl realizes soon after that its a big mistake and there is something not right with her. How his world changes , he falls for anther girl etc. A romantic comedy gone wrong.

11. Billu Barber (Hindi) (6.5/10)
I had very low expectations form this film somehow. I was not super charged to watch it but I still did. Surprisingly it was good. Very real. Irfan was brilliant and Shahrukh was thankfully not bad. As everyone said , last 20 minutes are very real and can choke you if you watch the film with heart. Priyan has done a decent direction.

10. Righteous Kill (4/10)
Big expectations from a De Niro and a Pacino film but somewhere something was missing. They play 2 Turk and Rooster, longtime NYPD detective partners who are faced with a serial killer who is murdering sociopathic criminals. They both have personal issues, and when they start working with a younger team, Perez and Riley, tensions between the pairs of partners is inevitable, especially since Turk is now living with Perez's ex-girlfriend, also a homicide detective. Decent acting but a non gripping plot

2 beautiful wonderful romantic films

9. The Bridges of Madison County (8/10)
THe films is about following your heart and do everything it takes you to be happy. SOmetimes its better to think about what makes you happy rather than worrying about people around you. World-traveling National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid and Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson aren't looking to turn their lives upside down. Each is at a point in life where expectations are behind them. Yet four days after meeting, they wont want to lose the love they've found. Its hard to explain in a few words how brilliant Meryl Streep and CLint Eastwood are in the film. The film is bound to make you cry. Watch it with a loved one. YOu will feel special

8. The Notebook (7/10)
I saw this film for the second time and I still loved it. Sometimes love is so pure, real and last forever and this film is all about that. Its old fashioned tear-jerker with cheesy sugar syrupy love but who cares. I love it. Teenagers meet, fall in love and separate. Reunite after 7 years and all these years they had never forgotten each other. Time makes them make tough choices. And how even though in old age after suffering from senile amnesia, he husband is still very much in love with the wife. Brilliant !

3 more different films with varied genres

7. Sexo por Compasión (Spanish) [Compassionate Sex] (5.5/10)
A very different film subject. Personally I would enjoyed the film much more if it had more comic angle rather than taking it seriously because clearly it has to be fiction. Dolores is a mature and kind woman whose husband abandons her because he can’t stand her uncanny generosity. Desperate to get her husband back, she devotes her life to works of charity, which results in her "soothing" all the village men as Lolita with remarkable results. Even the wives are pleased with the results. It is through her compassionate sex that she literally brings back the color and the happiness to her community.

6. Into The Wild (6/10)
True story of Christopher McCandless, a freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people. A fearless persn who tried to understand the balance between man and nature. A very interesting film by some great performances. You should watch this film in a certain frame of mind and you will like it. It teaches you a few things.

5. Starting Out in the Evening (4/10)
Aging novelist Leonard Schiller is slipping into literary obscurity. Formerly a famous author, Schiller has been all but forgotten by the readers, colleagues and critics who once praised him. But when Heather Wolfe, an ambitious graduate student, convinces Schiller that her thesis could reintroduce his writing to the world, the reclusive writer is forced to confront his past regrets. The film was strictly ok. Too much talking and not much going on. I usually like these kind of offbeat films but there was definitely something missing for me in the film

Lets see how February goes

4. Se, jie (Mandarin) [Lust Caution] (7.5/10)
Set against the backdrop of a transforming country, a young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress, she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate. Brilliant acting and direction. After the initial inhibition of maybe 15 minutes of not understanding what's going on, give it a chance and you will love the film. The climax was good too.

3. Amal (Hindi/English) (6/10)
Auto rickshaw driver Amal is very happy and content driving people in and around Delhi safely and quickly. He i snot money minded at all. But his sense of duty is tested by an eccentric, aging billionaire, who, moved by Amal's humility, bequeaths him his entire estate before passing away. The story is woven around different people who have amjor role to play in and out Amal's life. A little naive act by the male lead but still watchable.

2. The Last Lear (Indian English) (4/10)
An agin Shakesparean who takes up a challenging role for a film after much co axing from the director. I am surprised at people who say this is Bachchan's one of the best performance. It was so over the top; it was unbelievable. I have liked Rituparna's most movies but this somehow was no way close to his previous works. Only savinggrace according to me was Shefali Shah. She has never disappointed me in her acting.

1. Coeurs (French) [Private Fears in Public Places] (5.5/10)
Seven lonely lives in Paris: a middle-aged estate agent; his co-worker whose Bible is close at hand in times of stress; her late-night charge, an angry, nasty bedridden old man; his son, a patient bartender; the bartender's best patron, an ex-soldier; his fiancée who doesn't now why she is still with him; and, the estate agent's much younger sister, who answers ads in the personal. Will any connect? Can open hearts trump fears? Decent performances but there was something lacking in the direction. Maybe pace or the direction