Tag Archives: Arts

Station (2014) Movie Review: Thrills Deserted

Language : Hindi | Running Time : 95 Minutes | Director : Saad Khan

The most telling scene which depicts everything that depicts everything good and bad about Saad Khan‘s “Station”, reportedly Bangalore’s first Hindi film, is one pivotal moment in a waiting room of a railway station. There are three people, Fani Bhushan(Hardik Sha), Arihant a.k.a Ari(Sameer Kevin Roy) and Bhaktiyar(Siddhanth KS) arguing. Fani Bhushan leaves the scene to go to the restroom and like in well directed and produced school plays or theater plays, the scene “exits” and we are shown the exit through an overhead shot. The set looks to be very theatrical too and Fani Bhushan’s exit and the camera moving to the restroom are all take away’s from a good play. Station, a feature film, gives away cinematic impact and suffers a hangover pertinent to a production fit for stage. This scene starts a set of twists and turns and the scene that’s supposed to elevate the cinematic proceedings but rather than elevate, it diffuses what little cinematic impact it had till then and loses itself to become a theater experience being documented shoddily.Continue reading “Station (2014) Movie Review: Thrills Deserted”

3 Days To Kill (2014) Movie Review: Identity Crisis

Language : English | Running Time : 117 Minutes | Director : McG

A movie written by Luc Besson. These are words that can either induce a hysteria among movie buffs or make us groan that there’s another film out there. For some, his movies are silly and fun, perfect for a Friday night, especially if it is a DVD night. For the ones who groan, he is an opportunist who has dumbed down actions films to be the same. I fall into the category that find his films entertaining on a bad week with the sense to call them for what they are – silly entertainment.Continue reading “3 Days To Kill (2014) Movie Review: Identity Crisis”

Sunday Watch: All Hitchcock Cameos

hitchcock cameosSpotting Hitchcock’s cameos have been one of the most interesting part of watching his films on repeat viewings for his fans. It is certainly one of the master filmmaker’s signature style which some went on to imitate like Tarantino or closer to home – Subhash Ghai. Also, it would be safe to say none were as successful as the quirky Hitchcock cameos in their endeavour. So, on a lazy sunday afternoon a painstakingly put together compilation of all his cameos makes for a fascinating watch for his fans.  Do let us know which one is your favourite and how many you had spotted before. 🙂

If you are having any difficulty in spotting him in some of his cameos here’s some help:
http://hitchcock.tv/cam/cameos.html

Here are some 22 free Hitchcock films online as well, just in case you feel like watching them just to spot the cameo. 😉

Enjoy your Sunday!

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Non Stop Movie Review : A Bumpy Ride

A protagonist (Liam Neeson) with a drinking problem, estranged from his wife and mourning over the death of his daughter and trying to overcome other such unpleasant memories is in the midst of a flight, wherein a random caller threatens him to arrange for a huge sum of cash lest he will blow up the plane. A standard one liner premise for an action film which sounds rather exciting. So does it make for a good film? Maybe not.Continue reading “Non Stop Movie Review : A Bumpy Ride”

Nebraska (2013) Movie Review: A Bittersweet Comedy of Regret

Rating: 8.5/10

If there’s one important way in which the cinema is quite different from real life, it’s that in the movies, the possibility of catharsis is less remote, even, in some genres, a given. Whether it be a deathbed confession, a gunfight at dawn, a last-moment declaration of love everlasting at the airport, a sports victory or just a quiet moment of piece, the cinema is often willing to give us the closure that is so hard to find in our own lives. And it is this desire, this human need for redemption, for self-acceptance that uniquely characterizes Alexander Payne’s filmography. His movies revolve around “men trying to come to terms with their better natures”, as the late Roger Ebert once wrote about Payne, about people taking stock of their lives, trying and failing to match their lives to the image of it in their heads.Continue reading “Nebraska (2013) Movie Review: A Bittersweet Comedy of Regret”

Alfonso Cuarón on what inspires individuals to become film directors and why?

Alfonso CuaronAlfonso Cuarón, the acclaimed director of films like  Y Tu Mamá También and Gravity, answered this question What inspires individuals to become film directors and why? which was posted on Quora. Alfonso talks about how as a child he was obsessed with cinema and how he could try to deconstruct scenes of cinema in his mind again and again. Continue reading “Alfonso Cuarón on what inspires individuals to become film directors and why?”

“Lajwanti” starring Sanghmitra Hitaishi selected for the 64th Berlin Film Festival

Lajwanti”, a Hindi folktale/love story (genre) film directed by Pushpendra Singh and starring upcoming actress Sanghmitra Hitaishi in the title role has been  selected for the ongoing 64th Berlin Film Festival.  Lajwanti is a film based on a folk tale by legendary Rajasthani writer Vijaydan Detha.

The film has been selected under the FORUM section of the film festival. Lajwanti is the only Hindi/Indian feature film along with Mani Kaul’s Ghasiram  Kotwal (old film)  be selected under this category this year. The FORUM category provides an overview of independent, artistic films with a disregard for convention. Forum in short, is the most daring section of the Berlinale. It showcases the best artistic movies from across the world, the films in this section straddle the line between art and cinema.Continue reading ““Lajwanti” starring Sanghmitra Hitaishi selected for the 64th Berlin Film Festival”

Fandry (Marathi Movie) Trailer

Fandry

Fandry has created quite a buzz in  the film festivals circuits and is ready for release, quite aptly, on the 14th of February as it is a story of adolescent love. It had won the Jury Grand Prize for the Second best film in International Competition at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival.

It has been jointly produced by Nilesh Navalaka (Shala) and Vivek Kajaria.

Writer-director Nagraj Manjule has admitted that the film is part autobiographical.

Somnath Avghade plays the lead role of Jabya and Kishore Kadam and Chaya Kadam play his parents. Sakshi Vyavhare plays Jabya’s love interest.

Synopsis

A mesmeric force pulls Jabya onto the other side. The rarest of rare Black Sparrow, he is told, is the cure to his problem. The hypnotic spell of the sparrow makes him wander relentlessly. Completely away from the magical world of Jabya, exists the callous reality of his parents who are working at the most oppressed level of the Indian Class Structure and assume him to do the same work which they have done all their life. The protagonist Jabya has to now struggle between his quest to find the magical sparrow and his parents’ expectations. Will Jabya be successful in his pursuit of the Black Sparrow? Will the magnetic power surpass the class differences between Jabya and Shalu created by centuries of customs.? Will Jabya break the fences and pass onto the other side?

Here’s the trailer:Continue reading “Fandry (Marathi Movie) Trailer”

Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train (1951) Movie Review

Language : English | Running Time : 101 Minutes

All of us have met people during our travels. With some of these people, we end up developing a rapport that sometimes becomes intellectually stimulating or during other times just end up as a means to avoid boredom and in most cases we simply try and ignore their existence as we’ve been thought to by our parents and other older relatives. Continue reading “Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train (1951) Movie Review”