Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) - Marathi

I was on the lookout for this one for quite a while; saw it coming on some Marathi channels but unfortunately without subtitles – finally my hunt got over last week when I got a decent copy that too with Subtitles. The Movie was India's Official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at The Academy Award in the year 2009. It is based on the life and times of Dada Saheb Phalke – the Father of Indian Cinema. One of those few movies that kept me engrossed throughout as the protagonist played excellently by Nandu Madhav (Phalke) goes through the pains and struggles to film the country’s first feature film. How he starts it and how it all gets made is a hilarious yet informational ride for someone who has no idea how it all happened but we know how far it has come in the last 100 odd years. I wonder why none of the so many great movie makers that we have today tried this ever? Or thought of making one on the legend. It was a visual treat as well as they have really put in some hard work to show us how the world and in particular Mumbai looked like at that time, was amazing to see a Tram on Mumbai roads and one particular dialogue had us big time in splits when Phalke announces that he is shifting to “Dadar” to which his neighbor retorts that “Dadar is a jungle”. He travels all the way to London in the year 1913 to learn the technology, gets the camera, equipment and comes back putting a team of actors. It’s actually fantastic to see the whole process starting from a scratch to all the sacrifices he makes and finally succeeds in his efforts and what follows him is a revolution. The whole movie is shot in a comical way which makes it look like so easy yet it’s an eye opening account, totally loved it. As they say nothing comes easy hence Phalke had to go through solid hard work and struggle to come up with the first movie – he almost loses his eye sight watching movies day in day out, sells off his all personal belongings, including his wife’s jewelry, was on the verge of going bankrupt when finally his idea clicks and then there is no looking back for the man and the industry too. How his family and friends standby during the tough days was commendable, how they help and trust him is totally awesome. It’s a must watch for all and It deserves a good 4/5 for all the efforts the whole team has put in. Not to be missed by anyone.

Madras Cafe (2013) - Political Thriller

Madras Café is finally one movie which I can call a perfect political thriller - takes no sides, gives no judgments, gives no views, and just shows you a black chapter from history as it happened which unfortunately my generation witnessed LIVE! Fantastic! Is the way they have made this one and hats off to Shoojit Sircar yet again (3^rd time in a row) to give us a meaningful movie. One of the firing scenes between rebels and army actually reminded me of legendary “Forrest Gump” from the west, I am actually way too impressed by the quality of this one and I guess the world will see that change too in Indian Cinema – this is one movie which should set the standard for future political thrillers from our part of the world. No drama, no songs, no emotions, straight to point, I guess that’s one reason why my wife wasn’t too happy with it as she got to see no “John Abraham” show that she expected to witness – here he plays a character and gets so engrossed in it that too so convincingly that I had to tell her in the opening scene that it was him. Superb Job! Not claiming that he is going to get all Best Actor Awards but all accolades to him for playing that Army / RAW agent part extremely well. Fortunately Rajiv Gandhi was one of my favorite leaders and like a lot of others I too thought that he could have shown India a different path towards progress but that dream was short lived – how he was assassinated by whom, is all there to see in this one. Although the pace was a little slow with too much information being thrown at the audience but the built up was so strong that when the finale hit us – it made us breathless – again everything felt like :been there done that types” yet it makes a deep impact. If thriller is your idea of a movie that too made on a subject we all graduated too – this is it! A must watch for all thriller lovers and I will definitely give it a good 3/5 with two thumbs up. Not to be missed by anyone.

The Conjuring (2013) - Horror

I am one of those guys who get scared even while watching a thriller so usually horror movies are something that I hardly ever take a chance with on big screen and my circle is such that it’s tough to find a partner either for the same. Hence I took it as a challenge this time to watch this one alone that too in the dead of the night (Friday). The movie is already getting good reviews from people and I was almost ready to get frightened big time. It turns out to be a fantastic thriller and partly works as a horror too but trust me it isn’t half as scary as “The Exorcist” or “The Omen” (Old Series) was, it has its own highs and lows, twice I got solid Goosebumps – no doubt on that but it never scared me that much that I will turn it off and walk away – all this when I started the movie right after my shift at 3 AM. You see – I am becoming brave by the day. Confession: As the movie ended, I just couldn’t turn the lights off behind my back and straight walked in the bedroom with living room lights on, later while trying to sleep realized that I forgot to turn off the TV too and wifey laughed out loud this morning realizing my dilemma. The movie is simple as all horror movies usually are, a family with five daughters moves in to a haunted house, they start getting all the wrong signals but by the time they realize it’s too late to move out, beautiful Vera Farmiga and her husband who are demonologists come to their rescue and everyone knows what happens next in that kindda situation. It has all the contents of a perfect horror movie but not utilized fully like pet dying, creaking floor and walls, noisy doors, shouting spirits, a scary basement, and children playing hide and seek. The neighborhood had a scary past as expected and everything had to be put in a proper order. But I must say – it does makes up for a superb thriller cum horror to say the least, it indeed scared me quite a few times and never fails on entertainment quotient. If you do not compare it with its counterparts – chances are that you are going to like it and recommend it too. I will give it a good 3.5/5 with two thumbs up. Do not miss it – if horror / thriller is your idea of a perfect weekend – go give it a try and check your guts too but in a theater and not like me in a closed room alone.

PS: Just two days back out of sheer co-incidence I was telling my daughter and her friends – as they played hide in seek at home, to not to call out each other if they have hidden rather clap to give a hint to others, guess I am going to change that now, if you have seen the movie you will smile if you haven’t – go take a look.

Through the Olive Trees (1994) - Drama

Whenever I watch an Irani Film especially made by the likes of Abbas Kiarostami, it makes me feel as If I am watching a Satyajit Ray movie and indeed I just read it that he is compared with the likes of Ray and others. Outstanding is the way they make these simple movies in the most subtle way yet with such a deep and meaningful insight of the subject they talk about, still they definitely put a smile on your face by the time it ends. After watching all the Ray movies back to back – I got loads of these Iran, Persian and movies from the neighboring countries and what an experience it has been so far. This one is no different with a movie being shot in the movie and how it cast the local people of the village perform their parts even after having differences is a damn good watch. Plus it gives a great idea of the surrounding war torn country to the audience with the way Director communicates with locals. The lead actors in the movie being shot have a dilemma going on too and how the whole thing works out in their favor is simply superb, although it has an open ending where you need to decide how it ends still I feel it ends on a happy note. Imagine the movie was made in 1994 and it was amazing to see a local lady driving an SUV going around taking care of the whole unit, cast and even the decorations, the way she  co-ordinates with all is simply amazing. This is a must watch for all serious cinema lovers and I will definitely rate it a good 4/5. Not to be missed.

Parker (2013) - Action / Thriller

Another run of the mill Jason Statham action movie which will again be loved by his loyal fans like yours sincerely. It’s actually fun to watch him do the same stuff again and again – I fail to understand why we as his fans never get tired of his histrionics. Even this one is no different with a robbery gone wrong, a big fall out, his partners almost kill him and walk away with the booty, he steals one ambulance, a truck and two cars in mere first 20 minutes of the movie and robs another check cashing store before heading towards Florida to find the four guys and take his revenge. What happens next is a cat and mouse game between him and those guys, a couple of hit man behind him all the while, a girl friend and mentor to take care and an estate agent who falls for him. Although it’s a little too long for “non Jason Statham fans” but worked for me big time on entertainment quotient, Nick Nolte in a brief role as his mentor was simply bonus to watch him again in a movie and I was actually confused to see “Jennifer Lopez” doing the comic part in the movie, guess she is as desperate to be in a movie again as her character was in this one. Can’t even call her eye candy as she has lost it big time and long ago, even that brief strip act in the movie doesn’t work in her favor. Action as I said is run of the mill stuff, but still I will call it a good time pass movie and will definitely rate it as a 3/5 with two thumbs up and recommendation to all his fans. Do not miss it.