I heard the news today, oh boy...

Madras Cafe (2013)

Rating 2.5/5.0

Where 5.0 is what Shoojit should have tried to emulate

Madras Café is an attempt to analyze an event that shook the Indian psyche – Rajiv Gandhi’s killing in 1991. Unfortunately, it falls short and you’re left wondering if that is all there’s to it. When espionage, conspiracy, twisted diplomacy, power politics and counter terrorism are your subjects, it’s nearly impossible to take a simplistic, straight line approach to storytelling – the film tries to do just that and fails miserably. It can be that the director’s intention was to describe the RAW operation in Sri Lanka but that too seems marred by the script holding back from telling the bare truth, instead preferring to tread a safe path that almost borders on subtle sycophancy.

Everyone lived out their fantasy in Madras Cafe except the viewer. Piyush Pandey got to play Cabinet Secretary, Siddharth Basu the Head of RAW, John Abraham a top Spy (knock yourself out with a heavy book before he utters the momentously trite line "I couldn't save our Prime Minister"), Nargis Fakrhi a war correspondent (she tries hard but ends up looking like a class monitor who'll write your name on the blackboard if you talk too much) and Shoojit Sircar a spy filmmaker. Everyone had fun except me. 

This is the definition of a cardboard film - cardboard characters, cardboard actors, cardboard script, cardboard sycophancy. The only chap whose character had some limited appeal was the hitherto unknown Prakash Belawadi who plays RAW agent Bala Krishnan. Unfortunately for the viewer, Bala Krishnan kills himself early on, apparently unable to take the stress of holding this cardboard film together. 

Watch it just to hear John Abraham say, “I couldn’t save out Prime Minister”

Imagine a world with a trillion Rembrandts

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Rating 4.75/5.0
where 5.0 is my favorite Wes Anderson film

I could have been a great filmmaker. You would say - Yeah! We could all have been great filmmakers. And my response to that is - SHUT UP, WILL YA, THIS IS MY FUCKING REVIEW!

I scoff at films made today -- I think they are crap and I believe I could do better if I had the chance. I know the truth but I like to live in a make believe world -- that keeps me sane. Till now I have been quite successful at living with the delusion that I'm a filmmaker in exile...and to make it more authentic I have made it a point not to use my video camera even once in the last 3 years. 

There are very few filmmakers who can humble this vain Antonioni in me. Wes Anderson is one of them. When it comes to his films, I find it very hard to say - "Hey, I could have done that with a 1 year diploma from a good film school" I want to suffer from a remotely possible delusion and thinking that I can make a film like Wes is not even remotely possible. Why? Because Wes Anderson films are not films, they are a trillion paintings flipping, floating, flying about with beautiful music playing in the background. Every scene is a perfect balance of color, emotion and movement -- it's fragile, it's ethereal and it's impossible to predict -- every moment in the film stands proudly as a testament of what movies can do if you could think, hear and imagine like Wes Anderson. 

Watch Moonrise Kingdom. After you're done, spend a couple of hours staring at the ceiling thinking about the film -- it might lead you to a world that's better than the one we live in. 


Imdb link here

He came at me with his knee! His sociopathic knee!

Adam's Apples (2005)

Rating 4.5/5.0
Where 5.0 is where it all started

This film makes me want to go back to the days when I would sit on my bed with a remote in hand, in front of a TV I had bought on 12 EMIs, watching 5 films a day on weekends, 2 films a day on weekdays -- the time when I gaped endlessly at films made by Bresson, Tarantino, Fellini, Almodavar, Seijun Suzuki and many others of their ilk; and every film they made stunned me, made me stop, made me think, made me wonder -- how could they create something so flawless, so timeless. Those were the days man. And these are the days too. Those days I was receiving the best...now I'm creating something as best as I can. And receiving right is like the foundation of building something good. What else is there to life: either you receive what others have made or you create something -- and if you need to do these then why not do your best -- why not watch, read, listen to and meet whatever you think is the best and try to create whatever you can, as best as you can. Life is too short for the mediocre, the ordinary.

Wonderful film this. I think very soon I need to go back to a cycle of receiving in order to create something new, maybe even something flawless.

IMDB link here

Trees and people used to be good friends

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Rating 4.75/5.0

where 5.0 is another animation film that hits all the right spots


This film is a poem.

It's the definition of psychedelic without being psychedelic. It's the definition of a kiddie film without being just a film for kids. This is what kids and adults should be watching together -- to grow; to learn; and to unlearn. Going by how I have changed since I was a kid -- I need to grow all over again; and I need to learn and unlearn a lot before I can become the happy child that I once knew. My Neighbor Totoro is like a magic potion that aids your return to innocence.

Watch it even if you don't want to grow or learn. Watch it for the animation -- it takes you to the world where you would rather be -- a world which you don't know why you abandoned for the insane mass of concrete you now call home.

IMDB link here

Have YOU actually ever met anyone named McLovin?

Superbad (2007)
Rating 5.0/5.0
Where 5 is another beautiful ode to friendship

I thought this would be a good way to kill time...it turned out to be a much more. I like films like these -- you expect an inane American comedy like American Pie and you end up watching something which is actually....who cares what it is actually...what it is actually is actually %$$#$##$%...Why am I trying to form a coherent sentence when I already know what I need to write???? Here it is -

This is Deep Shit man! Yeah!

Superbad is an ode to friendship. It's subtle -- it sort of creeps up on you while you're laughing and before you know it, you're eyes are wet and you're back in high school. Brilliant!

Imdb link here

20 seconds of courage

We Bought a Zoo (2011)

Rating 3.75/5.0

"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it."


That's what Matt Damon's character in the movie says to his son. Does something great come of 20 seconds of insane courage? Watch the film to know -- it's based on a true story.

A note to myself: Tripathi, for God's sake stop it! Stop it man! Stop it! Three exclamation marks in a line, stop it maaaan!!!! Now they are 7, SEVEN! Oh shit, one more, this is getting out of control, they are eight now, they're sneering at me, they are talking to each other -- i can see them, yes i can...shites! Now my i is not capitalized!  FUCK! Ten !s Eleven !s Twelve ......

Now I know what writers do once they're done with writing the first draft of their debut book.

They edit and they seek opinion -- and both of these are painful, very, very painful.

IMDB Link here

The joke is on us

Tom Waits - Bad As Me (2011)
Rating 4.0/5.0
Where 5.0 is the album that screens you for your intelligence before giving in and to top it all, its not even an album!

Tom Waits tells you not to blend in. But then,he also wants you to buy his record.

Everyone is trying so hard to blend in...its as if mediocrity finds something even more ordinary than itself and blends in with it and the cycle continues unabated till everything seems like a giant ball of turd. In a parallel world, a set of very smart individuals who are definitely not on Facebook are on a permanent, beautiful vacation -- its an all inclusive trip paid by the rest of the world i.e., idiots like us. These are the people who do what they are terribly good at, who do what they want to do, who live life on their own terms -- really on their own terms not 'on their own terms' the way the idiot box would like us to believe. These people - they build, destroy, reveal, hide, control, let go, manipulate, detail, unveil, discover, find and laugh as they give it all away -- they do something new each day, they don't wonder what they'll do to make the evening exciting.

Tom Waits wants us to buy his record so that he can continue doing what he's terribly good at while we screw ourselves. Don't listen to it -- its way too smart -- its a subtle joke hidden behind a beautiful rock record.

The actual review 

Paradise? Paradise can go %#$$% itself.

The Descendants (2011)
Rating 3.5/5.0
where 5 is another Alexander Payne film

I'm a nitpicker. I am. I am. And I'm going to poke holes into this one. Maybe because this has sort of become the Holy Grail of the year -- everyone says this film is great. Its not but it could have been. So here we go -

1. The script needed more moments like the last scene when Clooney and his two daughters share a blanket and ice-cream while watching TV -- nothing is said and with that the credits roll -- just stunning - that's what a great scene is and Alexander Payne is a genius at stuff like this
2. They should have taken Paul Giammati to play Clooney's role. Clooney is wasted in films like these. He is a good actor but the Descendants needs someone close to God to carry it off . Why? Because when there is not much happening as far as the script is concerned then what do you do? Simple, you act like Rhys Ifans did i Once upon a time in the Midlands
3. At 115 minutes, it is a bit too long for the script and I do understand that there are lingering moments and Clooney driving with a hawaiian song playing and the audience is supposed to understand the subtlety of the emotion being conveyed but 115 minutes!!!!

I'm done. Thank you.

Imdb link here

how can you name a band Peter Bjorn and John?

Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block (2006)

No ratings ever again. I end up giving everything a 4.0. No point really. 

Rating 4.0/5.0
Where 5.0 is my favorite My Morning Jacket album because its the only album by the band I've listened to

I tried my best not to review music because everything I heard sounded kind of same to me...same old guitar and drums, playing fast, playing slow, someone trying to be melancholic, deeply sad or overtly joyful. What's the difference? Then I came across Writer's Block which is exactly this - a band which tries to be melancholic, sad and joyful in the same song (!!) and even then they succeed in avoiding being stereotyped by doing childishly simple things like whistling...yes they whistle and then they whistle some more; and they believe in tunes and conventional stuff like that while everyone else is into sound sampling and they're predictable in their lyrics too...they talk about ending it, starting it, loving each other - the usual crap and maybe some of it I misheard because I wanted to. Peter Bjorn and John are smart people who act like average joes to avoid detection..they seem to be very keen on making me like them and so I did and I do. This is the only album I've been listening to for the last three weeks or so.

Watch this Objects of my Affection video to learn how to strum guitars

Allmusic link here

Download it here

I'm eternally grateful; to my past influences

The Virgins - The Virgins (2008)

Rating 3.5/5.0
where 5.0 is a cheesy american record i really like

My wife today sang "How I wrote Elastic Man"
and I'm eternally grateful....

The Virgins released just one album since they came into existence in 2006. It was the self titled debut in 2008 and what a fantastic collection of songs it is. These kids just take indie and make it danceable, they write really well and when they want they can be melancholic which is nice because too much of happiness makes me sad.

Download it here

don't Bogart that sandwich my friend....

Win Win (2011)

Rating 4.75/5.00
Where 5.00 is a cowboy poem called the Searchers

Its not about how brilliant this film is...its about Thomas McCarthy's ability to make three amazing films in a row -  HOW DOES HE DO IT? WHY DOES HE NEVER DISAPPOINT? Here's his current directorial repertoire -

1. The Station Agent (2003) - IMDb Plot summary: When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
2. The Visitor (2007) - IMDb Plot Summary: A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
3. Win Win (2011) - IMDb Plot summary - A struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach's chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client he's double-crossed comes into his life.

All three films have unique story lines, well developed, endearing characters and emotional depth that never ceases to amaze. Do watch Win Win - it will leave you with a lot to think about while you laugh at it.

That's not what  I can recommend for Rockstar (2011). When I walk into the cinema hall expecting a good film because its made by Imtiaz Ali, I should get exactly that! Should I have gone with lower expectations? Many would think I should but I just can't - I'm not throwing my time and money at a film because I have nothing better to do - I'm watching it because I want to and I expect it to be good.  Unfortunately, Ali is just going down the drain - Jab We Met (Sheer poetry), Love Aaj Kal (good in parts) and now Rockstar (a big piece of shit after the first 30 minutes!!!) - a classic case of reverse evolution. Rediff and TOI critics have given it 4 stars out of 5 and to that there can be only two interpretations

1. They got paid to rate the film
2. Their intellectual wavelength matches with Imtiaz Ali's and they could understand the depth of his vision where I was dumb enough not to

I would choose 2 because I can't possibly question their integrity, can I?

Imdb Link here

Please dial 1 for Evolution, 2 for Frustration, 3 for Enlightenment

the poster could have been so much more

A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Rating 4.0/5.0


Where 5.0 is the film that defines the genre

I watched a fair bit of Japanese film noir in the last few months. Never got the time to write on it though. I always struggle with the thought of writing something that doesn't satisfy me and in the process I end up writing nothing at all. That's a bad habit and here I am trying to change it.

I'm a huge Film Noir fan - I have watched nearly all the well known American films in this genre and lately I have begun exploring the underbelly (or the lesser known but maybe more genuine examples) of American film noir. The Japs found noir films an excellent medium to express their own post war disillusionment. They had their own unique take on the genre - the characters are even more twisted than American noir (imagine a perversion fit for the 60s and there's a fair chance you'll find it here) and they retain their own sense of identity and culture even when they blatantly copy the themes. A Colt is my Passport is a classic example of such a movie and although the entire movie is one fast, entertaining ride, the film could just have been a minor classic if not for the climax - it is so compelling and so smart that it just doesn't let you erase the film from your memory.

Download this film and other titles from the Nikkatsu Studios from this link

Sleeping with the Television on

Billy Joel - Glass Houses (1980)

Rating 5.0/5.0

Where 5 is a small tribute to great albums that no one really cares too much about...

"I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more
a fool not afraid of rejection"
                                                               ~Billy Joel

Joel's classic album Glass Houses has this infinitely meaningful line. I don't think Joel understood the significance of what he had written...I didn't too at the time...just that the line sounded apt for all the girls I wanted to run after but didn't. In November 2011 this has taken a far deeper meaning than I had ever expected.

Today morning I woke up with an inexplicable urge - the first thing I did was to download Glass Houses and listen to it cover to cover a good 10 years after I had last put the cassette in my BPL stereo player  (those horrendous things that defined our lives before the iPod). It sounds just as good and that's really surprising considering that in college I used to think Pink Floyd's Division Bell was awesome.

For me back in college this was better than anything Dylan did and surprisingly enough I still think that way. Dylan is a great poet-songwriter - but most of the time Dylan doesn't really mean it - he's just playing with words and screwing around with our heads-Joel is a billion times less talented but he means what he says and that resonates with me a billion times more. This may all sound confusing and meaningless so I would let Billy do the talking, here's another song that makes me feel like standing in the lobby of a hotel, sweating bullets in a stupid old suit, waiting, waiting, waiting-


She said she'd meet me in the bar
At the Plaza Hotel
"Wear a jacket and a tie"
"What's the occasion?"
She just smiled and she wouldn't say why
So here I am standing, waiting in the lobby
Sweating bullets in this stupid old suit
And when she sees me she busts out laughing
"You're a sad sight honey, but you look so cute" and


I don't want to be alone anymore
I was checking you out
I was just making sure
No, I don't want to be alone anymore
And, I want you tonight
Although you hurt me before
It didn't matter that I felt like a fool
'Cause I forgot when she walked through the door
I said I'm sorry, but she said it was cool
And I don't want to be alone anymore


Download it here

I don't want to change but I don't want to stay the same

Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings for My Halo (2011)

Rating 4.5/5.0
Where 5.0 is the the cassette that I bought from Chennai after an aborted Vipassana course (which is saying a lot!)

Nowadays I'm a bit uneasy - I'm not happy with where I am now although where I am is not a bad place at all - now that's a good kind of uneasiness...the best one can have :)

Kurt Vile has been very supportive of this state of mine and his "I see a line of cars I want to paint them black" approach to songwriting combined with "no matter how sad I am I'll compose a wonderfully flowing river of a song and play my guitar like a smart mad man" is sort of resonating well with the "I'm so full of myself, I can't see anything else" me.

Here he is describing my current state of mind without even knowing of my existence...

I wanna change but I don't wanna stay the same
I wanna go but I'm running
I wanna work but I don't wanna sit around
All day frowning

I wanna give up but I kinda wanna lie down
But not sleep, just rest
Give me a break, how much does it really take
Get my head out of here


Aren't writers just amazing at touching lives!

Download

Allmusic Link here

Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals

Vampire Weekend - Contra (2010)

Rating 4.5/5.0
where 5.0 is one of the best country rock record ever

Vampire Weekend is one of those bands. You know -  those bands who you don't like because they have an oddly familiar (and odd) name and everyone is talking about them (at least on the places I frequent on the web) but you don't feel like getting into them because they are way too popular for your liking.

Ring ring ring. Sorry getting a call.

Yes. I know. I know no one cares about my description of the kind of band Vampire Weekend is. Yes, Dmitri. I understand Dmitri. Will try Dmitri. Will try. Breathe in, breathe out. Control. Control 
{Hangs Up}


Sorry for that. So where was I? Yeah, VW are that kind of band....and when you finally listen to them you feel like kicking yourself for not having done so earlier because this album is like a happiness pill. The music is jumpy, happy, wounded, sad, jumpy happiness - its so simple, its complicated. Do listen to Diplomat's Son - if you don't feel happy after that then kill him. 


And they make nice, cheesy videos..here's one...

Also, that song is really apt because I'm going on a holiday. Yeah!!!

Vampire Weekend - Allmusic Link here

if you ever want to understand the debt crisis, ask the "Dude"

There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.
                                                                                                                       ~ Mark Twain

I don't know if I'm "rightly constructed" but I do have a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure. This desire has led me to watch (patiently straining my eyes over the subtitles) cinema from far flung corners of the world and more often than not led to the discovery of an absolute gem of a film (Failan, 101 Reykjavik, Black Cat, White Cat, The Match Factory Girl come to mind) but I have also come to realize that there's one more way to "dig for hidden treasure" - and that is to revisit the same old movies that we know so well and discovering that maybe we don't actually know them as much as we would like to. This post is about two of my favorite films that I have re-seen in the past week or so.

The Big Lebowski (1998) was the first one - I watched this over a 2 week period (10-15 min instalments) and I think this interrupted viewing really helped me in appreciating how significant this film really is. The first time I had watched it, I just came out feeling entertained and remembering the wonderful dialogues, but this viewing has made me see what I didn't earlier - this is an epic (as epic as Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Ben Hur)...I was so bloody keen on knowing what happens next even when I knew what happens next! - can people make more movies like that, please.









 

Buffalo 66 (1998) Vincent Gallo is an eccentric genius and and Christina Ricci is Christina Ricci is Christina Ricci...Christina Ricci is a the second most desirable woman in the world! So then, what does Vincent do? - he makes an intensely funny love story. Intensely funny is like a contradiction of sorts - humor is supposed to dissipate intensity - in this film, black humor provokes in the audience an intense feeling of empathy for the lead characters and Gallo never lets go of this "string of black, black jokes" keeping the story together approach. The camerawork is amazing - infact most of the film consists of one beautiful still after another..this is millions of posters strung together and one of the last ones - of Gallo walking across the street in bright red leather shoes is cinema heaven.

Trivia - Both these films were released in 1998 and for some obscene/obscure/arbitrary reason, the lead characters in both are passionate about BOWLING.

more like a tourist's day in Delhi...

Delhi Belly  (2011)
Rating 3.0/5.0
Where 5  is a film which really shows West Delhi's bulging B


Delhi's Belly is protruding, its chubby, its sweaty and its hairy but its worth the grope and feel!

This film is not interested in groping Dilli's tummy. It does attempt to capture the lives of 3 youngsters (each with their own typical issues- bad boss, bad relationship, severe indigestion) but it stops short of being anything more than an entertainer.

Editing is what makes this film watchable. Editing is what makes this film superficial and unmemorable.

• The good of editing - focuses on making this film fast and entertaining. This is a rollercoaster ride - never stops - and the audience would definitely enjoy the pace.
• The bad - none of the characters are developed enough to make them stick out, to make them worth remembering. Their complexes and problems are all sacrificed to 15 minutes of toilet humor. I suspect all the bad happened on  the Editing table.

As for Delhi belly - there is no connection except that the film is set in Delhi.  If  you want to see what's up with Delhi watch Chashme Buddoor, any Dibakar Banerjee film or  maybe even Aisha.

Imdb Link here

I like jail

Henry's Crime (2010)

Rating 3.5/5.0
Where 5.0 is another beautiful love story

Julie: Aren't you guys worried about getting caught?
Max: It's kind of a win-win situation for me.
Julie: Why?
Max: I like jail.

Let me make this simple for everyone:

What is Henry's Crime?
HC is that he commits a crime for which he has already served time

That sounds complicated.
It isn't. Henry went to jail for a crime he didn't commit (in this case robbing a bank) and when he came out he decided that his dream in life is to rob the very same bank. So he does it. The best part is that going to jail was an option for Henry (he could've chosen not to but he chose to go! ye ye :) )

What's the point?
Not much. I would still recommend it because of
a) James Caan (who's just amazing as Max Saltzman - the old jail loving conman who helps Henry with the heist) and
b) for the complete lack of strong (compelling for the viewer) motives that any of the characters have to do what they do - that's amazing - I sort of dislike movies where everything is black and white - like you killed my pig so I will butcher your goat! What crap is that. I won't. I will eat the pig..I like bacon.

IMdb link here

A little story with a big heart

Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)

Rating 3.6/5.0
Where 5.0 is a film which just has to be watched if you think classrooms are boring

Amol Gupte's Stanley Ka Dabba has some fantastic things going for it - the background score sans vocals is awesome (a Jazz inspired medley and a Pink Floydish piano score in a merry go-round - now this is what I want!); Gupte is very good with kids and that is apparent in their acting; unlike Taare Zameen Par, this film does not try every trick in the book to get tears out of you - it tells the story as it is and if you're not entertained or shed tears, too bad! On the flip side, the story is a 3 pager and Gupte has made a 90 min movie out of it and it gets apparent at times - you just wish some of the sub-plots like why doesn't the khadus teacher bring his own lunch could have been explored - that would have made it as interesting as The Blue Umbrella where Pankaj Kapur's character is explored with a sensitivity and detail that takes the film to an altogether different level; also the lyrics try to do what the movie doesn't - they try to guide you to feel in a certain way - and I don't like that....but that as I said is made up by the background score. Despite its flaws, Stanley ka Dabba is a must watch for anyone in the look out for a genuine, straight from the heart film which doesn't try to be Indie or different for fuck's sake - like Ye Saali Zindagi for example.

That brings me to YSZ, I finally watched it this weekend after all my friends had watched and recommended it. This movie sucks although Irrfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla have tried so hard to save it. YSZ is a "me too" film...and Mishra ji is hot on the heels of Guy Ritchie and closer home, Vishal Bahradwaj; hell bent on making another one of those thriller-comedy of errors (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Kaminey). The plot seems contrived most of the time, some of the events are so improbable (including Irrfan Khan transferring funds to from one bank account to another at free will!) that it seems Mishra thinks the audience are a bunch of morons who'll believe anything. Whatever good is there in the cast is under utilized....and from good I definitely don't mean Arunoday Singh who cannot be from purani Dilli even if his life depended on it or Chitragandha Singh who is like low grade, smelly plastic. Overall an attempt horribly gone wrong. Mishra should stick to what he knows best instead of trying to imitiate what has been done to perfection by others.

Whew! I hated that film so much (maybe because I expected too much from it) - its sort of cathartic to get that out! Thank God for this blog.

This is THE great escape...

The Way Back (2010)

Rating 3.8/5.0

Where 5.0 is an escape movie which is exactly the opposite in its approach 

Its one thing to escape from a prison, its another to run away from an ideology. The Way Back is about a daring escape from the communist ideology and can there be a better way to do this then to walk all the way from Siberia to a non-communist nation?

Peter Weir (who made the beautiful Master and the Commander) has done a fantastic job in realistically capturing this "walk to freedom". This realism is the mainstay of the story and Weir relies on it instead of delving too deeply into each of the characters and their motives. So by the end of it, you have not only empathised with the escapees, cursed the Commies and the Nazi's but also feasted your eyes on one breathtaking landscape after another. Not only this, you would also get to know that a poisonous black snake found in the Gobi desert (in Mongolia) tastes like chicken if cooked on stone over low heat! Useful information if you ever feel like roaming around Gobi without food or water.

There's a lot to talk about in the acting department. Colin Farrell is a revelation, Ed Harris is perfect as usual and Jim Sturgess holds his own amongst this stellar cast which includes Mark Strong and Dragos Bucur.

A perfect weekend watch when you want to be transported "free of cost" to another world!

IMDB Link here