Movie Geek's Blog

If there is something called magic, I would say, it’s right here in movie business. Why?? The prime reason is – You are in your world of imagination. I was not that avid movie watcher until the summer of 2010, when I saw, Good Will Hunting (1997), I just simply fell in love with the movie for its simple message, of hunting yourself within the sea of competition. Ever since, I have followed and watched movies, every single day of my existence so far. Now, I say, we learn many things from movies. Below is my list of life lessons that we learn from Hollywood movie. 

10. Kya Dilli Kya Lahore

This film is an ironic conversation between a pair of soldiers, one from each side of the Indo-Pak border. The story is set in 1948 and it is expressed beautifully how their heart still lies with the United India but they are bound to speak for and represent their country against the other. Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is a fantastic blend of emotions and what stands out is the writing, it is poignant and poetic.

9. Finding Fanny

Finding Fanny isn't your typical Bollywood film. It is an adorable film, which has nothing our mainstream movies usually offer. Finding Fanny is a film about finding lost love, this is not a new idea for a plot but the presentation is unique and sweet. It is good to see veteran actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur taking break from the usual intense role they do and come together in a light hearted romantic comedy. Finding Fanny sometimes also reminded me of Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.

8. Dedh Ishqiya

Dedh Ishqiya is an important film, for it is a film on the lost "Genre" of  the "Nawabs and Shayaris and it's a great film. While the first film of the franchise is basically a bold crime film, Dedh Ishqiya is eloquent and classy and suave in its nature. Dedh Ishqiya is romance portrayed in bundles of poetry and what a treat it has been to see the beautiful Madhuri Dixit pair with the elegant Naseeruddin Shah.

7. Sulemani Keeda

Sulemani Keeda is the story of two aspiring screenwriters Mainak and Dulal, looking for a producer to make an entry into the film industry. They are as hilarious as their name suggests. It is an indie made on a shoestring budget. It received great reviews from the people within the industry and outside of it. One that stands apart is a thumbs up from Pulp Fiction's Screen Writer Roger Avary. Sulemani Keeda has a lot of dark humor and it is incredibly fresh. I'd definitely look for the next film from the TVF Inbox.

6. Filmistaan 

An out of shape wannabe actor who is also an avid Movie Buff is kidnapped by terrorists near the Indo-Pak Border and taken to the other side of the border. During the time he was a hostage in Pakistan, he bonds with another Movie Buff from Pakistan and discovers how the food and the people and the love for movies and cricket in Pakistan is exactly like his own country. Filmistaan is a beautiful depiction of the fact that Love, Friendship and Passion are beyond borders.

5. Highway

With Highway, Imtiaz Ali has now 5 films in his filmography as director and I have to say, he hasn't disappointed yet. Highway is a road movie which has self discovery as its main element. Alia Bhatt has delivered an intense performance in only her 2nd film that many of her seniors are yet to give. Great Music, A visual treat and a performance that shakes you to the core.

3. Haider

Haider is the third and final film of Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespearean Trilogy and what a closure it has been to the Trilogy. Haider is Hamlet set in Kashmir in the 1990s. This revenge saga character study comes out as an acting galore, as almost everyone in the cast given a performance worth talking about, but apart from the great performances, what stands apart is Kashmir itself. Haider is another Masterpiece by Vishal Bhardwaj and arguably his best film. With such great music, Vishal confirms yet again that he is as great a musician as he is a film maker.

Commercially, 2014 was just like any other year for Hindi Cinema, films with the greatest stars made all the money and things happened the way we expected. However, this year there were few changes that we saw in the industry. Films rich in its content received more mentions than ever. Films like Ugly would have never got this much attention if it was made 3-4 years ago. Filmfare Awards giving Best Film [Critic] to Ankhon Dekhi speak volumes of how the industry itself has changed their perspective towards quality cinema or films of substance. 

Here are 20 'Good Enough' to 'Really Good' to 'Great Films' of 2014:

20. Miss Lovely 

Miss Lovely follows the life of two brothers who used to make sleazy horror adult films at the Bombay C Grade film industry during the 80s. The film is too dark and can be boring even if you are into realistic cinema. But Watch it for Nawazuddin Siddiqui's acting, his power to get lost in the crowd and still stand apart simultaneously is commendable.

19. Hasee Toh Phasee 

Nikhil and Meeta are considered the "Weirdos" in their respective families, however they aren't really weird but unconventional. Hasee Toh Phasee is a romantic comedy about an unorthodox pair, who are re-introduced after a decade when they first met. It looks like a film you have seen before, it is a certainly a lot of things but cliché isn't one of them. It is surprisingly fresh.
18. Rang Rasiya
Rang Rasiya is a biopic on the controversial life of Raja Ravi Varma. He is the man who gave images to Hindu mythological stories through his paintings. He toured the whole country to understand the Hindu mythology and then painted them using his imagination and provided the common man an access to gods and mythological tales. Rang Rasiya is a well intentioned film on the freedom of expression, but it isn't well made as far as details are concerned. Amidst all its flaws, this film has an engaging storyline and significant references to the history of India.
17. 2 States
2 States is typical Bollywood which I like, what I mean to say is, Bollywood is not as shitty as the films with flying Scorpios and it isn't as classy as The Lunchbox. We are still somewhere in between where we make sensible films and have a few unnecessary songs and melodramatic sequences. In simpler terms, if you want to truly explain someone what an average Bollywood film is like, ask them to watch 2 States. Moreover, making a good enough film using a mediocre book is an achievement in itself.
16. PK
PK is absolutely funny right from the first scene, it makes you laugh while you agree to everything PK points out. I don't remember when was the last time I had a laugh like that in a movie theatre. It goes into typical Raju Hirani's style of films after the interval and lacked the standards of 3 idiots but the good thing is that PK is still an eye opener and delivers the message clearly that Gods must not objectified or quantified or classified.
15. Manjunath
Manjunath tells the story of IIM Student Shanmugam Manjunath, who was killed in 2005 for being a whistle blower against the oil adulteration scam run by petrol pump owners in UP. It is a well intentioned film about a man whose story deserved to be told but at the same time the film lacked a polished screenplay and is not up to the mark as a film.
14. Hawaa Hawaai
After Stanley Ka Dabba, Amole Gupte made Hawaa Hawaai and proved yet again, how beautifully he understands children and their little world. Amol Gupte isn't a Satyajit Ray or an Abbas Kiarostami, but he is certainly an intelligent film maker who can make good films with Kids at the centre. Hawaa Hawaai is a coming of age tale of a poor kid who excels at skating. It was definitely one of the better films of 2014.
13. City Lights
City Lights is about a poor family which moves to Mumbai in financially desperate times. City Lights is devastating in nature, the family is hit by poverty left, right and centre but the good thing is that the film never walks into the depression alley. The great acting performances by Rajkumar Rao and Patralekhaa makes it one of the better films of last year.
12. Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania
Yes, it's a tribute to Cult Bollywood film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, but even if you aren't one of those religious fans of DDLJ {like me}, there are enough reasons for you to truly enjoy this movie. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania is a "fresh cliché". Now that literally is a contradictory term, but throughout the film, you feel like "Ok I have seen this before but boy they are cute". I love this film and I think it's more than just a guilty pleasure.
11. Children of War
A little polishing here and there and Children of War could become one of the great films of this decade. If not that, it is still one of the better films of the year 2014. Children of War is a ruthless tale of the 1971 genocides happened in Bangladesh [then East Pakistan]. The brutality done by the Pakistani Army reminds one of what Nazi Germany did during the 2nd World War. It is tough to believe that it's a work of a first time director. I will definitely keep an eye open to see where Director Mritunjay Devvrat heads from here.

There are many genres of cinema, Action, animation, crime, drama, fantasy, history, mystery, romance sci-fi and there is another genre; Las Vegas.Usually when a film is shot in Las Vegas, the city is like a character in that film. There is a  purpose they set films in Las Vegas. Here is a list of some of the films I have watched, which is shot entirely or partly in Las Vegas:

Ocean's Eleven [1960]

The Godfather Part II [1974]

Rain Man [1988]

Casino [1995]

Leaving Las Vegas [1995]

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas [1998]

Ocean's Eleven [2001]

Resident Evil: Extinction [2007]

Ocean's Thirteen [2007]

21 [2008]

What Happens in Vegas [2008]

2012 [2009]

The Hangover [2009]

Fright Night [2011]

The Hangover Part III [2013]

Last Vegas [2013]

[This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge in April 2014. Let's celebrate blogging.]

I love cinema, irrespective of the language, color, genre or the decade. If it's a good film, I will watch it. I believe 1950s was the most significant period for Hindi films. Some of the most acclaimed films belong to that era; Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Awaara to name a few. 

Although I have a few favorite films from each decade after the 1950s, but on the whole I cannot say that they made too many [percentage wise] critically acclaimed films during the 70s, 80s and 90s with exceptions being Shyam Benegal, Basu Chatterjee, Govind Nihalani, Kundan Shah and some more.

However in the last 10 years, a lot has changed with Indian films, the viewers are open to accept new subjects and improvisations in films. They like anything good, meaning if you make a good film, they will not trash it. They may not make a lot of money, but they surely receive critical reception.There is a whole new wave of actors, actresses and filmmakers that are bringing great change to the otherwise cliched industry we have turned into.

Here is a list of some people who has brought a great change in the ways films are made in the new millennium: [this list is in Alphabetical Order]

Aamir Khan

Abhay Deol

Abhishek Chaubey

Anurag Kashyap

Bejoy Nambiar

Ashutosh Gowariker

Dibakar Banerjee

Farhan Akhtar

Homi Adazania

Imtiaz Ali

Irrfan Khan

Jimmy Shergill

Kalki Koechlin

Kay Kay Menon

Konkona Sen Sharma

Mahi Gill

Manoj Bajpai

Nagesh Kukunoor

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Piyush Mishra

Rajat Kapoor

Reema Kagti

Sanjay Mishra
Saurabh Shukla

Shimit Amin

Sudhir Mishra

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Vishal Bhardwaj

Vidya Balan

Vikramaditya Motwane

Vinay Pathak

Zoya Akhtar

Let me know if I have missed any, it will help me build a better watchlist

-Amritt Rukhaiyaar

[This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge in April 2014. Let's celebrate blogging.]

I wanted to make this list three years ago, but at the same time I realized that I haven't yet watched some significant movies and I wouldn't do proper justice with the list. My total number of films count was 850 then so I thought let's make it a thousand and then make the list. The next year when I reached the 1000 mark, I thought let's watch some more films and then make a comprehensive list. So, last night when I finished up watching my 1300th film, I thought, I am prepared for the list now.

Here are some criteria which this list follows:

1. This list contains mostly American [or English speaking] actors. [Foreign Actors will be listed separately in another list when I am ready for it]

2. There are no Indian actors included in this list. [I will make another list for them too]

3. I have only added actors, of whom I watched at least 12 performances. [this is really important for me, I need to learn about the actor with at least a dozen performances] 

Now, here goes the list: 

19. Johnny Depp: He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. He chose to play the soulful monster Edward Scissorhands [1990] over the pretty boy stardom he could achieve.

18. Orson Welles: Welles was way ahead of his time, a great actor and arguably one of the greatest filmmaker of all time. Touch of Evil [1958], The Trial [1962] and Citizen Kane [1941] are some of his many great films.

17. Russell Crowe: He is perhaps the greatest star from Newzealand in Hollywood. [correct me if I am wrong]. A gem of an actor. Immerses deep into the skin of the character, whether it is Gladiator [2000], A Beautiful Mind [2001] or American Gangster [2007]. 

16. Sean Connery: Still the most loved James Bond. But even if you choose to ignore bond, he is a great actor anyway. Apart from playing Bond, he is known for his role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade [1989], The Untouchables [1987] and The Rock [1996].

15. Charles Chaplin: Yes he was funny, but he was not like a clown. A true genius who used to make movies and act in it. Chaplin has not only given so much to the cinema but to the world. One of the first few people to attain huge stardom in Hollywood.

14. Michael Caine: For the fan-boys, his career has much more to highlight apart from his brilliant performance as Alfred in The Dark Knight Trilogy. Caine is one of two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s, the other one being Jack Nicholson. Now that tells a lot.

13. Denzel Washington: My first Washington film was Glory [1989] and the last one I watched was Flight [2012]. Now in between those, you will discover the accomplished actor Denzel Washington is.

12. Al Pacino: Just watch him closely in The Godfather Part I [1972] and Part II [1974] and notice how differently he carried himself doing the same role. His role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1993 after receiving seven previous Oscar nominations.

11. Anthony Hopkins: Hannibal Lecter is definitely his most significant character, but do not ignore his other works like The Elephant Man [1980], Nixon [1995] and The World's Fastest Indian [2005]. He is one of the most intense actors ever lived. His eyes does most of the work, he perfects it with the dialogues.

10. Dustin Hoffman: The Graduate [1967], Kramer vs. Kramer [1979], Tootsie [1982], Rainman [1988] and a lot more. Hoffman kept delivering great performance one after another. He has changed the way viewers expected heroes to be. 

9. Daniel Day-Lewis: He won a Academy Award for the Best Actor in 1990, 2008 and then in 2013. A record for most Best Actor Awards at the Oscars. A popular method actor who has weird [but productive] on-set tantrums to perfect his characters. I have actually watched all his films, even Gandhi [1982]. Did you notice him in Gandhi?

8. Marlon Brando: Again for the fan-boys, no The Godfather was not the only great film he did. The Fugitive Kind [1960], On The Waterfront [1954] and The Young Lions [1958] are some of his great films before The Godfather. 

7. Morgan Freeman: Ask him to be a driver or a prisoner or a detective or the President of the United States, may be Nelson Mandela or just ask him to be God and he will do it with his calm and composed personality and that authoritative voice. He is godly indeed.

6. Jack Nicholson: He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. His twelve Oscar nominations make him the second most nominated actor of all time, behind only Meryl Streep, and tied with Katharine Hepburn.

5. Robert De Niro: From Mean Street [1973] to Casino [1995], Robert DeNiro has ruled and bullied most of his co-stars with his electrifying performances. That is a big reason Robert De Niro breaks in to be in the top 5 on my list.

4. Clint Eastwood: The Anti-hero of the 1960s, the man with no name from the Dollar Trilogy had a flair that even the young kids of 2014 find fascinating. But not only his acting, he later developed as one of the greatest directors as well.

3. Gene Hackman: He is best known for The French Connection [1971] and The Conversation [1974]. He mastered the character of Lex Luthor in Richard Donner's Superman [1978] and its sequel. His films during the 1990s were rather intriguing. Nevertheless he deserves to be at the 3rd spot on my list.

2. Henry Fonda: I won't say anything but paste something I found on the internet about Henry Fonda "For six decades, Fonda was so good people stopped appreciating his talent". May be I missed some bad Henry Fonda film, but still I watched too many of them and he never ceased to inspire me. Yes Fonda inspires you, 'impress' will sound disrespecting.

1. Tom Hanks: Now you don't need a reason to explain why Tom Hanks is at the top spot of a list called "The Greatest Actors of All Time." Whether it is falling in love with a mermaid in Splash [1984] or being a victim of AIDS in Philadelphia [1993] or being Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan [1998] or the very recent Captain Phillips in Captain Phillips [2013], this man never lost his boyish charm. One may argue but from the point I see, Tom Hanks beats everyone else to be the greatest actor of all time.

Honorary Mention: 

Paul Newman 

Jack Lemmon

Gregory Peck

James Stewart 

Kevin Spacey 

Joaquin Phoenix
Sean Penn
Christian Bale
Philips Seymour Hoffman 

These are some other great actors which I haven't mentioned [but wanted to] in this list only because I haven't watched a lot of their films.

Note: This list contains actor who I have watched thoroughly year after year. I may have missed some of your favorites because I had a criteria to follow.

[This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge in April 2014. Let's celebrate blogging.]