Short Reviews

Before taking a little time off from blogging, thought of posting quick reviews of some of the movies I saw off late.

Iron Man2 (IMDb)
Bigger is not always better. Much awaited sequel disappointed, oh so much!
In order to go GRAND they ended up making it dull and predictable. Yes, Iron Man 1 was better. Rating: 2.5/5

Shutter Island (IMDb)
Definitely the best film of 2010, so far. The Scorsese-Caprio duo can never go wrong, period. Make you sure you can this one, unlike any Martin Scorsese film you’ve ever seen before. Rating: 4.5/5

Shaun of The Dead (IMDb)
Into Zombie and British comedy flicks? Then this is the best combo out there, dark humor, zombies killing people, gore, you name it, this one has it all! Rating: 3/5

How to Train Your Dragon (IMDb)
Light hearted, animated film about the clash between Vikings and Dragons and how this one young viking lad befriends one of the most dangerous dragons. Clean comedy that you can take your kids too, they will enjoy! Rating: 2.5/5

Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (IMDb)
Many people missed out on this gem, because of the absurd reviews. I beg to differ from all the reviews that rated this movie below average. A brilliant film, clean comedy and very, very riveting. Now I feel, Ranbir Kapoor is one new actor to watch out for. Rating: 3.5/5

Traitor (IMDb)
Good, but nothing exceptional. One time watch. Rating: 2/5

Julie & Julia (IMDb)
Real life based, worth a watch. Watch this Youtube video of Julia Child before watching the movie, you’ll be able to appreciate Meryl Streep‘s work even more. Rating: 3/5

Its Complicated (IMDb)
Fun but predictable, one time watch. Alec Baldwin is awesome!

Crazy Heart (IMDb)
I fell in love with Jeff Bridges all over again. No one could have possibly played the middle aged alcoholic Country singer better, no wonder he got the Academy Award for it, and of course, his previous contributions to the World of Cinema. Highly recommended, and make sure to grab a copy of the original soundtracks, awesome. Here’s the link for Amazon:

Step Up 3D: Trailer

It seems to be the era of 3D, it all started with Avatar, followed Alice in Wonderland, then How to Train your Dragon, and now, Step Up 3D!
From the trailer it looks good, same as the previous ones, dance – dance – dance and no story, I like it! 😉
Here, check it out:
Release date: 6 August 2010

Raavan: Teaser

So, finally its out, teaser of Mani Ratnam‘s Raavan.
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai
(via: Passion for Cinema)
Do leave your feedback!

LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: Review

Speechless! I had great expectations from this movie, and trust me; it didn’t disappoint me even a bit! Three stories, running in different time lines, and each one of them equally engaging and brilliant! You will laugh almost all throughout the movie but you are sure to be dumbstruck at times.

LSD is the baap of all reality TV shows you’ve ever seen before, so upfront, so blatant, it hits you hard right where it should! Ok, how blatant? I saw people leaving the middle of movie, not 2-3, close to 15 viewers left as the movie started to get more and more ‘disturbing’ , probably for them. The best part of the movie remains the all new start cast, no one and I mean no one, in the whole movie was a familiar face, which works with the whole theme, and allows you to somehow connect to the 3 stories. Watch out for characters like Shruti’s father and Atul, I’m sure you must have come across such characters in your life.

Dibakar Banerjee continues to catch the ‘essence’ of regional lingo, from the curses to casual conversations, everything was realistic, or shall I say neorealist. LSD has set a standard for cinematography in the Indian Film Industry; the whole movie gives you the feel of watching ”footages” from a mobile, digicam and a CCTV which gave a sense of hyperrealism. The concept behind LSD (as far as I’ve done my research) was to show something we’re used to seeing at home, or something what we see on our computers, cell phones , but not on a big screen, not something you’d go to watch at theaters. They made sure that the light is not up to the mark or the camera angles are inappropriate at times, but nor once would you have problem understanding the scene or problem with visibility. All this ‘feel’ was maintained by keeping such cinematography, not even once would you feel that you’re watching a movie. Nothing in the movie felt larger-than-life, which maintained the aesthetic, had there been familiar faces in the movie or had the movie been shot in a “normal” way, the charge of the scenes and emotions wouldn’t have had even half the impact. LSD has a runtime of approximately 108mins, out of which last 20mins did get a little slow and honestly; I did lose a little interest. But make sure you catch LSD, you won’t be disappointed, either you’ll be ‘offended’ or you will come out astounded, very high probability of latter though.

Look out for the dialogs in the movie hilarious and strong, and, please please do try out the soundtracks if you haven’t! Kudos to Nikos Andritskis (Cinematographer), Sneha Kanwalkar (Composer) and of course, Dibakar Banerjee.

Dibakar is the director to watch out for; he has done it again for the third time!

—

Here’s the a video of Dibakar and Nikos explaining why they went digital:

Rating: 4/5

Year: 2010

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1608777

Movie Site: http://www.lsdthefilm.com

Academy Awards 2010

The much awaited Oscars winners were announced at the 67th Annual Academy Awards, held at  Kodak Theatre, California, today. Discuss the awards and share your views on who according to you deserved to win, and who didn’t, under comments.

I have shared the IMDb page which includes the Winners and nominees in different categories, pretty neatly done by IMDb guys.

(Source: http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2010/oscars)

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Hurt Locker (2008): Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro

Avatar (2009): James Cameron, Jon Landau

The Blind Side (2009): Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson

District 9 (2009): Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham

An Education (2009): Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Lawrence Bender

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness

A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Up (2009): Jonas Rivera

Up in the Air (2009/I): Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009/I)

Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)

Morgan Freeman for Invictus (2009)

Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (2009)

Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)

Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)

Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)

Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009/I)

Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)

Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Mo’Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)

Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009/I)

Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)

Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009/I)

Best Achievement in Directing

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)

James Cameron for Avatar (2009)

Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)

Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino

The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman

A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher

District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

An Education (2009): Nick Hornby

In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography

Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore

Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel

The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson

Best Achievement in Editing

The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron

District 9 (2009): Julian Clarke

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Joe Klotz

Best Achievement in Art Direction

Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith

Nine (2009): John Myhre, Gordon Sim

Sherlock Holmes (2009): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

The Young Victoria (2009): Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

Best Achievement in Costume Design

The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell

Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson

Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme

Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Makeup

Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow

Il divo (2008): Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano

The Young Victoria (2009): John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

Avatar (2009): James Horner

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat

The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders

Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham(“The Weary Kind”)

Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas(“Loin de Paname”)

Nine (2009): Maury Yeston(“Take It All”)

The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman(“Almost There”)

The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman(“Down in New Orleans”)

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett

Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano

Star Trek (2009): Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson

Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Wylie Stateman

Star Trek (2009): Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin

Up (2009): Michael Silvers, Tom Myers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones

District 9 (2009): Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken

Star Trek (2009): Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Up (2009): Pete Docter

Coraline (2009): Henry Selick

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson

The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements

The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

El secreto de sus ojos (2009)(Argentina)

Ajami (2009)(Israel)

Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009)(Germany)

Un prophète (2009)(France)

La teta asustada (2009)(Peru)

Best Documentary, Features

The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens

Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller

Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith

Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett

China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O’Neill

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009): Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV): Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert

Królik po berlinsku (2009): Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra

Best Short Film, Animated

Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin

French Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert

Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty (2008): Nicky Phelan, Darragh O’Connell

La dama y la muerte (2009): Javier Recio Gracia

Wallace and Gromit in ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’ (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Best Short Film, Live Action

The New Tenants (2009): Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson

The Door (2008): Juanita Wilson, James Flynn

Istället för abrakadabra (2008): Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström

Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey

Miracle Fish (2009): Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey