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Sunday, January 13, 2008

2008: Film Log

Total # of films seen in 2008: 445

The total number includes films (fiction & docs) over a length of 60 minutes. The only two exceptions are Season 1 of Californication and the collected European shorts of Cinema 16 which added up to more than 3 hours of film.
Film (Year, Country, Director): Rating out of 10, [optional comments]

Jan 2008
  • Outsourced (2006, USA, John Jeffcoat): 7
  • Dus Kahaniyaan (2007, India, multiple): 6
  • Taare Zameen Par (2007, India, Aamir Khan): 10, repeat viewing from 2007
  • Waitress (2007, USA, Adrienne Shelly): 8
  • Fay Grim (2006, USA, Hal Hartley): 8.5
  • Breach (2007, USA, Billy Ray): 8
  • The Boat is Full (1981, Switzerland, Markus Imhoof): 8
  • The Kingdom (2007, USA, Director Peter Berg): 7.5
  • A Beautiful Mind (2001, USA, Ron Howard): 7.5
  • The Detective (2007, Hong Kong, Oxide Pang Chun): 7
  • Hulk (2003, USA, Ang Lee): 5.5
  • Scoop (2006, USA/UK, Woody Allen): 6.5
  • Lady Chatterley (2006, France, Pascale Ferran): 7
  • Angela-A (2005, France, Luc Besson): 7.5
  • No End in Sight (2006, USA, Charles Ferguson): 9
  • Cloverfield (2008, USA, Matt Reeves): 6.5
  • Kinky Boots (2005, UK, Julian Jarrold): 8
  • The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005, USA, Tommy Lee Jones): 9
  • The Blue Umbrella (2005, India, Vishal Bharadwaj): 7
  • Yes (2004, UK/USA, Sally Potter): 8.5, repeat viewing
  • Rouleman (2005, Greece, Panos Karkanevatos): 7
  • Natural City (2003, South Korea, Byung-chun Min): 6
  • Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, USA, Shane Black): 9
  • Halla Bol (2008, India, Rajkumar Santoshi): 6.5
  • Interview (2003, Holland, Theo Van Gogh): 7
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, France/USA, Julian Schnabel): 9.5
  • There Will be Blood (2007, USA, Paul Thomas Anderson): 8.5
  • Blade Runner: The Director's Cut (1982, USA, Ridley Scott): 7.5
  • Khoya Khoya Chand (2007, India, Sudhir Mishra): 8
  • Antares (2004, Austria, Götz Spielmann): 8
  • 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu): 9

    • Feb 2008
  • 3:10 to Yuma (2007, USA, James Mangold): 8
  • I Don't want to Sleep Alone (2007, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang): 8
  • My Name is Anthony Gonsalves (2008, India, E. Niwas): 4.5
  • Rambo: First Blood (1982, USA, Ted Kotcheff): 7.5
  • Strangers (2007, India, Aanand Rai): 5.5
  • Step Up (2006, USA, Anne Fletcher): 7
  • Thriller a cruel picture (1974, Sweden, Bo Arne Vibenius): 6
  • Across the Universe (2007, USA, Julie Taymor): 7.5
  • We Own the Night (2007, USA, James Gray): 10
  • Summer Night (1986, Italy, Lina Wertmüller): 5.5

  • No Reservations (2007, USA, Scott Hicks): 6.5
  • Domino (2005, USA, Tony Scott): 7.5
  • Superman Returns (2006, USA, Bryan Singer): 7
  • Music and Lyrics (2007, USA, Marc Lawrence): 6
  • Clerks II (2006, USA, Kevin Smith): 6.5
  • Vacancy (2007, USA, Nimród Antal): 7
  • Nada+ (2001, Cuba, Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti): 7
  • In the Valley of Elah (2007, USA, Paul Haggis): 9
  • Kaala Patthar (1979, India, Yash Chopra): 9, repeat viewing
  • Tape (2001, USA, Richard Linklater): 6.5
  • Hostel (2005, USA, Eli Roth): 6
  • The Lost City (2005, USA, Andy Garcia): 6.5
  • Ghost Rider (2007, USA, Mark Steven Johnson): 3

    • Mar 2008
  • Coisa Ruim (2006, Portugal, Tiago Guedes/Frederico Serra): 8
  • London (2005, UK/USA, Hunter Richards): 3
  • 300 (2007, USA, Zack Snyder): 4
  • The Prestige (2006, USA/UK, Christopher Nolan): 7.5
  • Sunshine (2007, UK/USA, Danny Boyle): 7.5
  • Perfect Blue (1998, Japan, Satoshi Kon): 8
  • Scrap Heaven (2005, Japan, Sang-il Lee): 7
  • Vera (2003, Mexico, Francisco Athié): 6.5
  • Lila Says (2004, France/UK, Ziad Doueiri): 7.5
  • The Hi-Lo Country (1998, USA/UK, Stephen Frears): 8
  • The Year of the Tick (2004, Spain, Jorge Coira): 5
  • Sunday (2008, India, Rohit Shetty): 3.5
  • Pride (2007, USA, Sunu Gonera): 6.5
  • Presagio (1975, Mexico, Luis Alcoriza): 7
  • Down in the Valley (2005, USA, David Jacobson): 6
  • Death Proof (2007, USA, Quentin Tarantino): 7, repeat viewing
  • Mithya (2008, India, Rajat Kapoor): 9
  • Jab We Met (2007, India, Imtiaz Ali): 8.5, repeat viewing
  • Disturbia (2007, USA, D.J. Caruso): 8
  • Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2006, Germany, Marc Rothemund): 8
  • Torremolinos 73 (2003, Spain, Pablo Berger): 9
  • Harem suaré (1999, Turkey, Ferzan Ozpetek): 6.5
  • About Love (2004, Russia, Sergei Solovyov): 6
  • The Russian Dolls (2005, France/UK, Cédric Klapisch): 9
  • Without a trace (2000, Mexico co-production, María Novaro): 7.5
  • Ek Hasina Thi (2004, India, Sriram Raghavan): 8.5, repeat viewing
  • Ten Canoes (2006, Australia, Rolf de Heer): 6.5
  • 30 Days of Night (2007, USA, David Slade): 4.5
  • 25th Hour (2002, USA, Spike Lee): 7
  • Nacho Libre (2006, USA co-production, Jared Hess): 7
  • Woman is the Future of Man (2004, South Korea, Hang Sangsoo): 8

  • Manufacturing Dissent (2007, Canada, Rick Caine/Debbie Melnyk): 5.5
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005, UK/USA, Mike Newell): 7
  • Jarhead (2005, USA, Sam Mendes): 6.5
  • Dharm (2007, India, Bhavna Talwar): 6.5
  • Valley of Flowers (2006, India co-production, Pan Nalin): 8.5
  • Nice Bombs (2006, USA, Usama Alshaibi): 6.5
  • Ali G Indahouse (2002, UK co-production, Mark Mylod): 4
  • The Lookout (2007, USA, Scott Frank): 7.5
  • Super Star (2008, India, Rohit Jugraj): 7.5
  • Why We Fight (2005, USA, Eugene Jarecki): 6
  • Molière (2007, France, Laurent Tirard): 7
  • Perfect Stranger (2007, USA, James Foley): 4.5
  • Fida (2004, India, Ken Ghosh): 5
  • The Hoax (2006, USA, Lasse Hallström): 7
  • English as a Second Language (2005, USA, Youssef Delara): 7.5
  • Blades of Glory (2007, USA, Josh Gordon/Will Speck): 6
  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007, UK, Shekhar Kapur): 5
  • Blissfully Yours (2002, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul): 8
  • Things We Lost in the Fire (2007, USA/UK, Susanne Bier): 7
  • Into the Wild (2007, USA, Sean Penn): 7
  • Red Lights (2004, France, Cédric Kahn): 7.5
  • The Spanish Apartment (2002, France/Spain, Cédric Klapisch): 8
  • Alien (1979, USA, Ridley Scott): 6.5
  • Aliens (1986, USA, James Cameron): 7
  • Alien 3 (1992, USA, David Fincher): 5.5
  • The Saddest Music in the World (2003, Canada, Guy Maddin): 6.5
  • Lust Caution (2007, China co-production, Ang Lee): 7.5
  • Turistas (2007, USA, John Stockwell): 5

    • April 2008
  • The Yards (2000, USA, James Gray): 8
  • The Valet (2006, France, Francis Veber): 8
  • Stick It (2002, USA, Jessica Bendinger): 7
  • Saaya (2003, India, Anurag Basu): 3
  • Deewar (2004, India, Milan Luthria): 5
  • Mission Impossible III (2006, USA, J.J Abrams): 7
  • Inspector Gadget (1999, USA, David Kellogg): 3
  • Kagemusha (1980, Japan, Akira Kurosawa): 7.5
  • S-21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003, Cambodia, Rithy Panh): 7.5
  • The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, USA, Joel & Ethan Coen): 6
  • Yatra (2006, India, Gautam Ghosh): 5
  • The Masseur (2005, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza): 6
  • Man Push Cart (2005, USA, Ramin Bahrani): 8
  • Heading South (2005, France/Canada, Laurent Cantet): 7
  • 13: Game of Death (2006, Thailand, Chukiat Sakveerakul): 5
  • Bombay to Bangkok (2008, India, Nagesh Kukunoor): 6.5
  • I Am Legend (2007, USA, Francis Lawrence): 5.5
  • Macho Dancer (1988, Philippines, Lino Brocka): 6.5
  • Art School Confidential (2006, USA, Terry Zwigoff): 6.5
  • Un Buen día lo tiene cualquiera (2007, Spain, Santiago Lorenzo): 6
  • 15 (2003, Singapore, Royston Tan): 5
  • Bee Movie (2007, USA, Steve Hickner/Simon J. Smith): 6
  • Rififi (1955, France, Jules Dassin): 9
  • Kaleldo (2004, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza): 8
  • Beerfest (2006, USA, Jay Chandrasekhar): 4
  • The Reaping (2007, USA, Stephen Hopkins ): 5
  • Naglalayag (2004, Philippines, Maryo J. De los Reyes): 7
  • Tashan (2008, India, Vijay Krishna Acharya): 4.5
  • A Peck on the Cheek (2002, India, Mani Ratnam): 8.5
  • Because I Said So (2007, USA, Michael Lehmann): 6.5

    • May 2008
  • Travellers and Magicians (2003, Bhutan, Khyentse Norbu):7.5
  • Perth (2004, Singapore, Djinn): 6
  • License to Wed (2007, USA, Ken Kwapis): 1
  • American Dreamz (2006, USA, Paul Weitz): 7
  • M.Hulot's holiday (1953, France, Jacques Tati): 7.5
  • Negocios son negocios (2004, Dominican Republic, Jorge De Bernardi): 4.5
  • W.R. -- Mysteries of the Organism (1970, Yugoslavia, Dusan Makavejev):6
  • Black & White (2008, India, Subhash Ghai): 6.5
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007, USA, Tim Story): 4.5
  • Shake rattle and roll 8 (2006, Philippines, Multiple directors): 5
  • Forbidden Games (1952, France, René Clément): 8.5
  • Transformers (2007, USA, Michael Bay): 5.5, repeat viewing
  • Le Salaire De La Peur (1953, France, Henri - Georges Clouzot): 10
  • Lacombe Lucien (1974, France, Louis Malle): 7.5
  • Elevator to the Gallows (1958, France, Louis Malle): 10
  • Caribe (2004, Costa Rica, Esteban Ramírez): 7.5
  • Juno (2007, USA, Jason Reitman): 7.5
  • Sweet Movie (1974, various, Dusan Makavejev): 6.5
  • Anatomy of Hell (2004, France, Catherine Breillat): 5
  • Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006, USA, Trent Cooper): 3.5
  • Knocked Up (2007, USA, Judd Apatow): 9, repeat viewing
  • Murmurs of the Heart (1971, France, Louis Malle): 8.5
  • La Belle et la bête (1946, France, Jean Cocteau): 7.5
  • Late Autumn (1960, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 10
  • The End of Summer (1961, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 9
  • The Devil Wears Prada (2006, USA, David Frankel): 8.5, repeat viewing
  • Black Snake Moan (2007, USA, Craig Brewer): 5.5
  • Au revoir les enfants (1987, France, Louis Malle): 8
  • Recount (2008, USA, Jay Roach): 8
  • Syndromes and a Century (2006, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul): 9
  • 27 Dresses (2008, USA, Anne Fletcher): 7
  • Assassination Tango (2002, USA/Argentina, Robert Duvall): 6.5
  • Sheitan (2006, France, Kim Chapiron): 6.5

    • June 2008
  • Red Road (2006, Scotland co-production, Andrea Arnold): 7
  • Romance (1999, France, Catherine Breillat): 6.5
  • Brief Crossing (2001, France, Catherine Breillat): 8.5
  • Semi-Pro (2008, USA, Kent Alterman): 4
  • Charlie Wilson's War (2007, USA, Mike Nichols): 8.5
  • Tokyo Story (1953, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 10, repeat viewing
  • Early Spring (1956, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 8
  • Tokyo Twilight (1957, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 10
  • Equinox Flower (1958, Japan, Yasujiro Ozu): 10
  • Coeurs (2006, France/Italy, Alain Resnais): 8
  • I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007, USA, Dennis Dugan): 3.5
  • Climates (2006, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan): 9
  • Day Night Day Night (2007, USA co-production, Julia Loktev): 6
  • Little Odessa (1999, USA, James Gray): 8
  • Comédie de l'innocence (2000, France, Raoul Ruiz): 7.5
  • Be Kind Rewind (2008, USA, Michel Gondry): 6.5
  • U-Turn (1997, USA, Oliver Stone): 7
  • The Syrian Bride (2006, co-production, Eran Riklis): 9
  • Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow (2005, India, Ruchi Narain): 7
  • The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (2006, Philippines, Auraeus Solito): 7
  • Rambo (2008, USA, Sylvester Stallone): 4
  • Three Crowns of a Sailor (1983, France, Raoul Ruiz): 10
  • Ocean's Thirteen (2007, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 8, repeat viewing
  • Play Time (1967, France, Jacques Tati): 10
  • Mon Uncle (1957, France, Jacques Tati): 8.5
  • IXE-13 (1972, Canada, Jacques Godbout):
  • Les portes tournantes (1988, Canada, Francis Mankiewicz): 6
  • Gaz bar blues (2003, Canada, Louis Bélanger): 7.5
  • Les ordres (1974, Canada, Michel Brault): 9
    •
  • Hairspray (2007, USA, Adam Shankman): 3
    •
  • Silent Light (2007, Mexico, Carlos Reygadas)
  • Drama/Mex (2006, Mexico, Gerardo Naranjo)
  • On War (2008, France, Bertrand Bonello)
  • Son of Man (2006, South Africa, Mark Dornford-May)
    • July 2008
  • Meet the Spartans (2008, USA, Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer): 0
  • National Book: Book of Secrets (2007, USA, Jon Turteltaub): 7
  • Henry Fool (1997, USA, Hal Hartley): 8
  • Amateur (1994, USA, Hal Hartley): 6.5
  • OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006, France, Michel Hazanavicius): 9
  • The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976, USA, John Cassavetes): 8.5
  • Opening Night (1977, USA, John Cassavetes): 9
  • Superbad (2007, USA, Greg Mottola): 5
  • Sirf (2008, India, Rajatesh Nayyar): 6
  • Race (2008, India, Abbas-Mastan): 3
  • Jannat (2008, India, Kunal Deshmukh): 6.5
  • Zebraman (2004, Japan, Takashi Miike): 5
  • Battle in Heaven (2005, Mexico, Carlos Reygadas): 8.5
  • Caramel (2007, Lebanon co-production, Nadine Labaki): 8.5
  • Anamika (2008, India, Anant Mahadevan): 4.5
  • Grand Slam (1967, Italy co-production, Giuliano Montaldo): 8.5
  • Bhootnath (2008, India, Vivek Sharma): 5
  • Krazzy 4 (2008, India, Jaideep Sen): 4
  • Mr. Black Mr. White (2008, India, Deepak S. Shivdasani): 0
  • Khuda Ke Liye (2007, Pakistan, Shoaib Mansoor): 7
  • Don't tell anyone (1998, Peru, Francisco J. Lombardi): 7
  • Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008, USA, Jon Hurwitz/Hayden Schlossberg): 4
  • The Heartbreak kid (2007, USA, Bobby Farrelly/Peter Farrelly): 6
  • The Method (2005, Argentina co-production, Marcelo Piñeyro): 8.5

    • Aug 2008
  • Machuca (2004, Chile, Andrés Wood): 9
  • Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008, India, Abbas Tyrewala): 7.5
  • Aamir (2008, India, Raj Kumar Gupta): 8
  • Kismat Konnection (2008, India, Aziz Mirza): 2
  • Sarkar Raj (2008, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 5.5
  • Mission Istaanbul (2008, India, Apoorva Lakhia): 0
  • Los Muertos (2004, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso): 8.5
  • La Espera (2002, Uruguay, Aldo Garay): 7.5
  • Bolivia (2001, Argentina, Adrián Caetano): 9
  • Adios Momo (2006, Uruguay, Leonardo Ricagni): 7
  • Contract (2008, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 0
  • Vantage Point (2008, USA, Pete Travis): 5
  • El Nominado (2003, Peru, Nacho Argiro/Gabriel Lopez): 3
  • 1888 el extraordinario viaje de Jules Verne (2005, Venezuela, Alfredo Anzola): 3
  • El destino no tiene favoritos (2003, Peru, Alvaro Velarde): 8
  • Hotel America (1981, France, André Téchiné): 7.5
  • I Don't Kiss (1991, France, André Téchiné): 8
  • Manila by Night (1980, Philippines, Ishmael Bernal): 7
  • Mere Baap Pehle Aap (2008, India, Priyadarshan): 8.5
  • Singh is Kinng (2008, India, Anees Bazmee): 0
  • De Taali (2008, India, E.Nivas): 4
  • Californication Season 1 (2008, USA, multiple): 9, avg rating for 12 episodes
  • Brick Lane (2007, UK, Sarah Gavron): 8
  • Zibahkhana (2006, Pakistan, Omar Khan): 5
  • Southland Tales (2006, USA, Richard Kelly): 6
  • Oedipus Mayor (1996, Colombia, Jorge Alí Triana): 8
  • Un titán en el rincón (2002, Ecuador, Viviana Cordero): 6
  • Pizza, birra, faso (1998, Argentina, Adrián Caetano/Bruno Stagnaro): 7
  • Antonia (2006, Brazil, Tata Amaral): 7
  • The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006, Brazil, Cao Hamburger): 9
  • Kaalia (1981, India, Tinnu Anand): 7, repeat viewing
  • City of Men (2007, Brazil, Paulo Morelli): 8
  • Aankhen (2002, India, Vipul Amrutlal Shah): 9, repeat viewing
  • Welcome (2007, India, Anees Bazmee): 5, repeat viewing
  • The TV Set (2006, USA, Jake Kasdan): 7

    • Sept 2008
  • The Burmese Harp (1956, Japan, Kon Ichikawa): 10
  • 25 Watts (2002, Uruguay, Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll): 5
  • Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008, India, Siddarth Anand): 7.5
  • Rock On (2008, India, Abhishek Kapoor): 10
  • Casa De Lava (1994, Portugal, Pedro Costa): 8.5
  • Step Up 2: The Streets (2008, USA, Jon Chu): 4
  • My Blueberry Nights (2007, co-production, Wong Kar-wai): 7
  • 9 Songs (2004, UK, Michael Winterbottom): 0
  • The Lovers (1958, France, Louis Malle): 7.5
  • Away from Her (2006, Canada, Sarah Polley): 9
  • The Fire Within (1963, France, Louis Malle): 8.5
  • Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008, India, Nishikant Kamat): 9
  • The Fall (2006, India/UK/USA, Tarsem): 10
  • Smart People (2008, USA, Noam Murro): 8
  • Speed Racer (2008, USA, Andy & Larry Wachowski): 7.5
  • Street Kings (2008, USA, David Ayer): 6.5
  • The Darjeeling Limited (2007, USA, Wes Anderson): 8
  • Black Night (2005, Belgium, Olivier Smolders): 6
  • Alexandra (2007, Russia/France, Aleksandr Sokurov): 9
  • Children (2006, Iceland, Ragnar Bragason): 10
  • Parents (2007, Iceland, Ragnar Bragason): 10
  • Bobby (2008, USA, Emilio Estevez): 6
  • A Shot at Glory (2000, USA/Scotland, Michael Corrente): 7.5
  • Used Parts (2007, Mexico, Aarón Fernández): 9
  • Let the Right One In (2008, Sweden, Tomas Alfredson): 8.5
  • FC Venus (2005, Finland, Joona Tena): 7.5
  • I am from Titov Veles (2007, Macedonia, Teona Strugar Mitevska): 5.5
  • Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat): 10
  • Paraiso Travel (2007, Colombia/USA, Simon Brand): 7
  • Gomorra (2008, Italy, Matteo Garrone): 10
  • Eleven Men Out (2005, Iceland, Róbert I. Douglas): 5
  • Alice’s House (2007, Brazil, Chico Teixeira): 5
  • Time to Die (2007, Poland, Dorota Kedzierzawska): 7
  • One Week (2008, Canada, Michael McGowan): 8.5
  • The Grocer's Son (2007, France, Eric Guirado): 8.5
  • Driving to Zigzigland (2007, Zigzigland, Nicole Ballivian): 6.5
  • REC (2007, Spain, Jaume Balagueró/Paco Plaza): 8
  • The Band's Visit (2007, Israel, Eran Kolirin): 8
  • The Wide Blue Road (1957, Italy, Gillo Pontecorvo): 7.5
  • Corridor #8 (2008, Bulgaria, Boris Despodov): 8
  • Jar City (2006, Iceland, Baltasar Kormákur): 6
  • The Pope's Toilet (2007, Uruguay, César Charlone/Enrique Fernández): 8

    • Oct 2008
  • Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008, India, Shyam Benegal): 8.5
  • Kick 'N Rush (2003, Denmark, Aage Rais-Nordentoft): 7
  • Saas Bahu aur Sensex (2008, India, Shona Urvashi): 6.5
  • The Boss of It All (2006, Denmark, Lars Von Trier): 7
  • The Inheritance (2003, Denmark, Per Fly): 9
  • Sex and the City (2008, USA, Michael Patrick King): 5
  • Factory Girl (2006, USA, George Hickenlooper): 5
  • Hijack (2008, India, Kunal Shivdasani): 0
  • The Love Guru (2008, USA, Marco Schnabel): 0
  • Elling (2001, Norway, Petter Næss): 6
  • Mexico: the frozen revolution (1973, Argentina, Raymundo Gleyzer):
  • Margot at the Wedding (2007, USA, Noah Baumbach): 7
  • Old Joy (2006, USA, Kelly Reichardt): 7.5
  • A Wednesday (2008, India, Neeraj Pandey): 8.5
  • Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007, India, Pradeep Sarkar): 0
  • The Traitors (1972, Argentina, Raymundo Gleyzer):
  • A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006, USA, Dito Montiel): 6.5
  • High and Low (1963, Japan, Akira Kurosawa): 10
  • Reprise (2006, Norway, Joachim Trier): 7.5
  • The Brave One (2007, USA, Neil Jordan): 7
  • Drona (2008, India, Goldie Behl): 4
  • Kidnap (2008, India, Sanjay Gadhvi): 2

    • Nov 2008
  • Hello (2008, India, Atul Agnitori): 1
  • Chamku (2008, India, Kabeer Kaushik): 8.5
  • C Kkompany (2008, India, Sachin Yarda): 5
  • The Happening (2008, USA, M. Night Shyamalan): 6
  • Mukhbiir (2008, India, Mani Shankar): 9
  • The Savages (2007, USA, Tamara Jenkins): 9
  • The Yacoubian Building (2006, Egypt, Marwan Hamed): 5.5
  • Before the Rains (2008, India, Santosh Sivan): 7.5
  • Honeydripper (2007, USA, John Sayles): 6
  • Maan Gaye Mughall-e-Azam (2008, India, Sanjay Chel): 3
  • Manufacturing Landscapes (2006, Canada, Jennifer Baichwal): 10
  • Kings and Queen (2004, France, Arnaud Desplechin): 8
  • Iron Man (2008, USA, Jon Favreau): 7
  • Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008, USA, Nicholas Stoller): 8.5
  • Shut up & Sing (2007, USA, Barbara Kopple/Cecilia Peck): 9
  • Black Republic (1990, South Korea, Kwang-su Park): 8
  • The Road to Guantanamo (2006, UK, Michael Winterbottom): 8
  • Sunset Bollywood (2005, India, Komal Tolani): 8
  • You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008, USA, Dennis Dugan): 6.5
  • A Married Couple (1969, Canada, Allan King): 10
  • Montreal Main (1977, Canada, Frank Vitale): 9
  • Tell No One (2008, France, Guillaume Canet): 10
  • A Woman Not In Love (1950, Mexico, Luis Buñuel): 8
  • Woman of the Port (1934, Mexico, Arcady Boytler/Raphael J. Sevilla): 7.5

    • Dec 2008
  • JCVD (2008, France, Mabrouk El Mechri): 7.5
  • Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008, India, Dibakar Banerjee): 10
  • Dasvidaniya (2008, India, Shashant Shah): 8.5
  • I'm Not There (2007, USA, Todd Haynes): 7
  • Dostana (2008, India, Tarun Mansukhani): 6.5
  • The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales(1960, Mexico, Rogelio A. González): 9
  • Aventurera (1950, Mexico, Alberto Gout): 7
  • No One Writes to the Colonel(1999, Mexico co-production, Arturo Ripstein): 6
  • Get Smart (2008, USA, Peter Segal): 6
  • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008, USA, Steven Spielberg): 4.5
  • City of Rising Sun (1999, South Korea, Sung-su Kim): 4
  • The Dark Knight (2008, USA, Christopher Nolan): 7
  • Wanted (2008, USA, Timur Bekmambetov): 5.5
  • Flight of the Red Balloon (2007, France, Hou Hsiao-hsien): 7.5
  • Quantum of Solace (2008, UK/USA, Marc Forster): 7
  • Rangeela (1995, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 7, repeat viewing
  • Dirty Carnival (2006, South Korea, Ha Yu): 9
  • Fashion (2008, India, Madhur Bhandarkar): 6.5
  • Sátántangó (1994, Hungary, Béla Tarr): 9.5
  • In Bruges (2008, UK/USA, Martin McDonagh): 8
  • The Last Lear (2007, India, Rituparno Ghosh): 8
  • Disco Dancer (1982, India, Babbar Subhash): 5.5
  • Golmaal Returns (2008, India, Rohit Shetty): 1
  • Jumper (2008, USA, Doug Liman): 7.5
  • The Visitor (2007, USA, Thomas McCarthy ): 9
  • Yuvraaj (2008, India, Subhash Ghai): 0
  • Paranoid Park (2007, USA, Gus Van Sant): 9
  • Milk (2008, USA, Gus Van Sant): 9.5
  • The Restless (2006, South Korea, Dong-oh Cho/Dong-oh Jo): 6
  • Rachel Getting Married (2008, USA, Jonathan Demme): 10
  • EMI (2008, India, Saurav Kabra): 4
  • Mad Detective (2007, Hong Kong, Johnny To/Wai Ka-Fai): 8.5
  • War Inc (2008, USA, Joshua Seftel): 6
  • Om Shanti Om (2007, India, Farah Khan): 8.5, repeat viewing
  • Black House (2007, South Korea, Terra Shin): 6.5
  • Kung Fu Panda (2008, USA, Mark Osborne/John Stevenson): 7.5
  • Happy-Go-Lucky (2008, UK, Mike Leigh): 10
  • Heroes (2008, India, Samir Karnik): 6
  • Slumdog Millionaire (2008, UK/USA, Danny Boyle/Loveleen Tandan): 8.5
  • Cinema 16: European Shorts (2007, multiple directors):
  • Tropic Thunder (2008, USA, Ben Stiller): 5
  • WALL·E (2008, USA, Andrew Stanton): 10
  • Hancock (2008, USA, Peter Berg): 7
  • A Christmas Tale (2008, France, Arnaud Desplechin): 7.5




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    Thursday, January 10, 2008

    Espionage: Spies and consequences

    ....."blowback", the term used by spies to describe planted propaganda that filters back to confuse the country that first set the story loose. (page 47, Ghost Wars by Steve Coll)

    Information and Misinformation -- both are tools which are part and parcel of a spy's arsenal. The spy on the opposing side also has information and misinformation as their tool set. Things get complicated when misinformation from one side is taken for information by the other side and results in further misinformation being generated.

    Lies + Lies = Truth

    At the core of Hal Hartley's inventive Fay Grim lie a collection of diaries called "Confessions" which may contain valuable government information. The information is equally coveted by the CIA, KGB, French Secret Service, Israeli spies, British agents, Arab informers and even some terrorists. The diaries might be gibberish but that does not matter as each side believe the information could help them in their nation's cause.

    Fay Grim is unlike any other spy movie. The tilted camera and the light hearted background music give the film a stage/musical feel. On top of that, the lead characters (especially Fay played by Parker Posey) are busy dancing their way through stressful situations with such ease. After a slow 20 minutes, the film moves into a high energetic dialogue exchange as Fay moves effortlessly past dangerous spies and killers. The complicated plot is rendered with such ease that the real joy is in watching the characters move through each frame. The light hearted touch removes any barriers between good and evil as all the rival spies are portrayed in the same light. As a result, one can focus on watching this international espionage game at play without having to put a good or bad label over each character.

    There are some scenes where the tilted camera works and in others, not so much. But having the entire movie shown in a slanted manner just adds to the story's bizarre appeal. Also, the tilted camera only allows the relevant details in each frame. Never before has a film filmed in Paris and Istanbul allowed so little of the street side or city highlights in each frame. And in Fay Grim this tactic works as the real interest lies in observing the characters and listening to their words as opposed to caring for which location they are in.

    Note: I have never seen a Hal Hartley film before so this was an interesting viewing. The film continues the adventures of the characters first shown in his 1997 film Henry Fool. And from his interviews, it seems that there may be future adventures for this colorful set of characters.

    Truth moves to the other side

    Breach shows what happens when a spy starts working for the opponents. No concrete reasons are given for the CIA agent's betrayal even though a shroud of ethics, morality and religion are mixed in the story. Ofcourse, when it comes to selling information to the enemy, no reason is required by the government. It is 'Us' vs 'Them'. Even though governments on both sides are constantly trying to entice the enemy spy to divulge information.

    When a blowback results in a violent reaction:

    Newtons's third law: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

    Spies from one nation train young men of a second nation to fight and shoot down the enemy of a third nation. Then the spies leave thinking their jobs are done. But the young men of the second nation need a new enemy. So they target the nation of the spies who taught and helped them.

    Peter Berg's The Kingdom starts off with a violent act when gunmen and a suicide bomber kill innocent people in a Riyadh housing compound. Initially, there is no revenge reaction but a calm investigation into the identity of the terrorists. But along the way, the investigators come across more deadly enemies. While trying to save one of their own, the investigators end up killing the enemy leader in a defensive act. The film ends with a line that indicates that there will be further killing to avenge the leader's death, while also revealing that the investigators did not just go out to investigate the truth but went with an intention of revenge.

    This was a much better film that I had originally expected. But it could have been a lot better if not for some rather cliched Hollywood elements near the movie's end. There is a climatic battle between the terrorists and the good guys which is well shot and engaging. However, the sequence falls into a Hollywood trap where despite the circumstances, the big Hollywood stars are unharmed. And then the one local native who was helping the American agents is killed. Why was this honest policeman killed? Well one reason could be that this man was closest to the enemy leader. But that is a weak excuse. The real reason is that the characters played by big name Hollywood stars in such movies cannot die as they are true 'heroes'. Whereas characters played by actors from other parts of the world are completely expendable.

    Truth is a manufactured lie:

    The cold war was a tense time when spies and code breakers were in high demand; there was plenty of misinformation out there which needed to be filtered through. In plenty of cases, this misinformation was manufactured in just one person's mind and then transferred to other people. But what if this misinformation never left a person's mind and continued to grow inside their head? The resulting mental 'blowback' could put that person in a horrifying mix of reality and delusion. The true story of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind is an example of a man trapped in his genius creations -- spies, 'big brother', hidden patterns all try to compete with mathematical formulas in John's mind.

    Note: William Friedkin's Bug is a powerful example of how one person's misinformation can corrupt others.
    Ratings out of 10:
    Fay Grim (2006, Director Hal Hartley): 8.5
    Breach (2007, Director Billy Ray): 8
    The Kingdom (2007, Director Peter Berg): 7.5
    A Beautiful Mind (2001, Director Ron Howard): 7.5
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    Wednesday, January 02, 2008

    Best Films of 2007

    Favourite 2007 films, in order of preference:


  • Foster Child (Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
  • Dans la ville de Sylvia & Unas fotos en la ciudad del Sylvia (Spain, José Luis Guerin)
  • Slingshot (Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
  • Children of Men (2006, USA, Alfonso Cuarón)
  • Black Friday (India, Anurag Kashyap)
  • The Bourne Ultimatum (USA, Paul Greengrass)
  • Zodiac (USA, David Fincher)
  • Rendition (USA, Gavin Hood)
  • Ratatouille (USA, Brad Bird)
  • Drained (Brazil, Heitor Dhalia)
  • Taare Zameen Par (India, Aamir Khan)
  • Euphoria (Russia, Ivan Vyrypaev)
    •

    Update: Children of Men is added to the list as it was only released locally in the first week of January 2007.

    Honorable mentions, in order of viewing:

    Hot Fuzz (UK, Edgar Wright)
    Summer 04 (Gemany, Stefan Krohmer)
    The Big Sellout (Germany, Florian Opitz)
    Happy New Life (Hungary, Árpád Bogdán)
    4 Months 3 Weeks 2 days (Romania, Cristian Mungiu)
    Khadak (Belgium/Germany, Peter Brosens & Jessica Hope Woodworth)
    The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories (Bulgaria, Director Andrey Paounov)
    The Edge of Heaven (Germany/Turkey, Fatih Akin)
    Black Butterfly (2006, Peru, Francisco J. Lombardi)
    In Memory of Myself (Italy, Saverio Costanzo)
    Secret Sunshine (South Korea, Lee Chang-Dong)
    The Girl Cut in Two (France, Claude Chabrol)
    Import Export (Austria/France, Ulrich Seidl)
    Bliss (Greece/Turkey, Abdullah Oguz)
    Johnny Gaddaar (India, Sriram Raghavan)
    No Smoking (India, Anurag Kashyap) A Mighty Heart (USA/UK, Michael Winterbottom)


    Older favourites (released prior to 2007), in order of viewing:


  • United 93 (2006, USA co-production, Paul Greengrass)
  • The House of Sand (2005, Brazil, Andrucha Waddington)
  • Notes on a Scandal (2006, UK, Richard Eyre)
  • Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
  • Pickpocket (1959, France, Robert Bresson)
  • L’Enfer (2005, France co-production, Danis Tanovic)
  • Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972, West Germany, Werner Herzog)
  • Eraserhead (1977, USA, David Lynch)
  • Cobra Verde (1987, West Germany, Werner Herzog)
  • My life to Live (1962, France, Jean-Luc Godard)
  • Volver (2006, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)
  • Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi)
  • The Straight Story (1999, USA, David Lynch)
  • Blue Velvet (1986, USA, David Lynch)
  • The Mahabharata (1989, multiple countries, Peter Brook)
  • Pixote (1981, Brazil, Hector Babenco)
  • Whisky (2004, Uruguay, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll)
  • North by Northwest (1959, USA, Alfred Hitchcock)
  • Camera Buff (1979, Poland, Krzysztof Kieslowski)
  • Army of Shadows (1969, France, Jean-Pierre Melville)
  • Spare Parts (2003, Slovenia, Damjan Kozole)
  • Dekalog (1989, Poland, Krzysztof Kieslowski)
  • Underground (1995, Serbia, Emir Kusturica)
  • Mirage (2004, Macedonia, Svetozar Ristovski)
  • Modern Times (1936, USA, Charlie Chaplin)
  • L'Avventura (1960, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni)
  • L'Eclisse (1962, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni)
  • Blowup (1966, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni)
  • The Addiction (1995, USA, Abel Ferrara)
  • Bad Lieutenant (1992, USA, Abel Ferrara)
  • The River (1997, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
  • Yi Yi (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang)
  • The Bourne Identity (2002, USA, Doug Liman)
  • The Page Turner (2006, France, Denis Dercourt)
  • Dead Ringers (1988, Canada, David Cronenberg)
  • Le Trou (1960, France, Jacques Becker)
  • Touchez pas au grisbi (1954, France, Jacques Becker)
  • The Son (2002, Belgium/France, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
  • Distant (2002, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
  • Bug (2006, USA, William Friedkin)
  • Grand Prix (1966, USA, John Frankenheimer)
  • Le Mani sulla città (1963, Italy, Francesco Rosi)
  • Salvatore Giuliano (1962, Italy, Francesco Rosi)
  • Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003, India, Sudhir Mishra)
  • Life on Earth (1998, Mali/Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)
  • Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene)



    • Note: The funny nature of release dates sometimes puts some films in a bizarre limbo state when it comes to personal best of year lists. Children of Men only got a limited released in 2006 and didn't make it Canadian cinemas until early 2007. Initially, this film was missed from my year end list but as a correction, I have now put it back.

    The same border-line release schedule continues this year as well. For example, There Will be Blood is only getting a limited Canadian release on Jan 4, 2008. But it might take another few weeks to make it out to my city.
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    Tuesday, January 01, 2008

    2007: Year in Review

    2007 was a satisfying film viewing year both in terms of the quality of films seen and even the quantity.

    Total # of films & documentaries seen in 2007: 385

    Note: This number only includes films and docs with a duration of over 60 minutes; I am not including any individual shorts or medium length works (such as some 30 minute films or 45 minute documentaries that I saw). And the only shorts collection included is that of David Lynch whose 2002 released shorts DVD contained more than an hour's worth of material.

    A big reason for this high total of 385 is the number of films that I saw as part of my spotlight series and at film festivals. I found that focusing on works of a region, country or even director made for an enjoyable experience and allowed me to easily watch multiple movies in succession.

    Here are the major spotlights I looked at in 2007:


  • African cinema: part I, part II
  • David Lynch: Part I, Part II
  • French vs German Cinema: Part I, Part II
  • Iranian Cinema
  • Brazil -- part I, part II, part III, part IV
  • Eastern Europe -- part I, part II, part III, part IV, part V
  • Western Europe
  • South America via Copa America Film Festival
  • Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang, part II
  • Abel Ferrara -- part I, part II & III
  • Antonioni
  • Chaplin
  • Jacques Becker
  • David Cronenberg
  • Japan
  • Turkey
  • Alejandro Jodorowsky
  • Francesco Rosi
  • Greece
  • Bollywood -- part I, part II
  • Hong Kong


    • And ofcourse, there was the matter of the two film festivals:

  • CIFF
  • VIFF


    • Full list of films seen in 2007 (roughly in order of viewing):
    Comments/reviews of atleast 350 films have been posted on this blog over the course of last year.

    Film (Year of Production, Country, Director name): Rating (out of 10)

    1. United 93 (2006, USA co-production, Paul Greengrass): 9
    2. Calvaire (2004, Belgium co-production, Fabrice Du Welz): 8
    3. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006, USA, Adam McKay): 6
    4. Todo Todo Torres (2006, Philippines, John Torres): 8
    5. After this our exile (2006, Hong Kong, Patrick Tam): 8.5
    6. Joni's Promise (2005, Indonesia, Joko Anwar): 6
    7. Mukhsin (2006, Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad): 8
    8. Rain Dogs (2006, Malaysia/Hong Kong, Yuhang Ho): 6.5
    9. Crazy Stone (2006, China/Hong Kong, Hao Ning): 5.5
    10. Love Conquers All (2006, Holland/Malaysia, Tan Chui Mui): 7
    11. Children of Men (2006, UK/USA co-production, Alfonso Cuarón): 10
    12. The Queen (2006, UK co-production, Stephen Frears): 9
    13. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico, Guillermo del Toro): 8.5
    14. Inside Man (2006, USA, Spike Lee): 7.5
    15. Touching the Void (2003, UK, Kevin MacDonald): 8
    16. Dolls (2002, Japan, Takeshi Kitano): 7
    17. Babel (2006, USA/France/Mexico, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Writer : Guillermo Arriaga): 8
    18. Jealousy (1999, Spain, Vicente Aranda): 7.5
    19. Lisbon (1999, Spain/Argentina, Antonio Hernández): 6
    20. District 13 (2004, France, Pierre Morel): 7
    21. The House of Sand (2005, Brazil, Andrucha Waddington): 10
    22. Guru (2007, India, Mani Ratnam): 8.5
    23. Dhoom 2 (2006, India, Sanjay Gadhvi): 5
    24. Woh Lahme (2006, India, Mohit Suri): 8
    25. Zatracení The Damned (2002, Czech co-production, Dan Svátek): 4.5
    26. Notes on a Scandal (2006, UK, Richard Eyre): 10
    27. Invisible Waves (2006, Thailand, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang): 8.5
    28. Exiled (2006, Hong Kong, Johnny To): 7.5
    29. Khoshla Ka Ghosla (2006, India, Dibakar Banerjee): 10
    30. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul): 9
    31. Apocalypto (2006, USA, Mel Gibson): 9
    32. The Bow (2005, Korea, Kim Ki-Duk): 7.5
    33. Eklavya (2007, India, Vidhu Vinod Chopra): 6.5
    34. The Proposition (2005, UK/Australia, John Hillcoat): 8.5
    35. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2006, UK, Michael Winterbottom): 8.5
    36. When the Stars meet the Sea (1996, Madagascar/France, Raymond Rajaonarivelo): 8.5
    37. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty): 7.5
    38. Quartier Mozart (1992, Cameroon/France, Jean-Pierre Bekolo): 5.5
    39. La Vie Est Belle (1987, Zaire/France/Belgium, Benoît Lamy & Mweze Ngangura): 6
    40. Black Friday (2005, India, Anurag Kashyap): 10
    41. Pickpocket (1959, France, Robert Bresson): 10
    42. La Cienaga (2001, Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel): 7
    43. Novo (2002, Switzerland co-production, Jean-Pierre Limosin): 6
    44. Shanghai Triad (1995, China, Zhang Yimou): 7
    45. Ashes of Time (1994, Hong Kong/China/Taiwan, Wai Kar Wong): 6
    46. Anwar (2007, India, Manish Jha): 5.5
    47. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006, USA, Clint Eastwood) : 7.5
    48. The Departed (2006, USA, Martin Scorsese): 8.5
    49. The Last King of Scotland (2006, UK, Kevin MacDonald): 7
    50. Blood Diamond (2006, USA, Edward Zwick): 7.5
    51. Hell L’Enfer (2005, France co-production, Danis Tanovic): 9
    52. Otomo (1999, Germany, Frieder Schlaich): 8
    53. Idiocracy (2006, USA, Mike Judge): 7
    54. Night at the Museum (2006, USA, Shawn Levy): 7.5
    55. Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972, West Germany, Werner Herzog): 9
    56. The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974, West Germany, Werner Herzog): 8
    57. Claire's Knee (1970, France, Eric Rohmer): 8.5
    58. Les Bonnes Femmes (1960, France/Italy, Claude Chabrol): 7
    59. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972, West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder): 6
    60. The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006, Ireland/UK co-production, Ken Loach): 8.5
    61. Gangster: A Love Story (2006, India, Anurag Basu): 8
    62. Takeshis' (2005, Japan, Takeshi Kitano): 6.5
    63. Paris je t'aime (2006, France co-production, Multiple directors)
    64. Eraserhead (1977, USA, David Lynch): 9
    65. The Elephant Man (1980, USA, David Lynch) : 8
    66. Lost Highway (1997, USA, David Lynch) : 7.5
    67. The Science of Sleep (2006, France/Italy, Michel Gondry): 8
    68. Traffic Signal (2007, India, Madhur Bhandarkar): 8
    69. Strings (2005, India, Sanjay Jha): 4
    70. Risk (2007, India, Vishram Sawant): 5
    71. Je vous trouve très beau (2005, France, Isabelle Mergault): 8
    72. Ma fille mon ange (2007, Canada, Alexis Durand-Brault): 9
    73. Guide de la petite vengeance (2006, Canada, Jean-François Pouliot): 8.5
    74. The Grindhouse (2007, USA, Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino): 7.5
    75. Chronically Unfeasible (2000, Brazil, Sergio Bianchi): 7.5
    76. Black Orpheus (1959, Brazil, Marcel Camus): 8
    77. Hot Fuzz (2007, UK, Edgar Wright): 9
    78. Cobra Verde (1987, West Germany, Werner Herzog): 10
    79. Betty Blue (1986, France, Jean-Jacques Beineix): 8.5
    80. My life to Live (1962, France, Jean-Luc Godard): 9
    81. The Disenchanted (1990, France, Benoît Jacquot): 7.5
    82. Destiny (1921, Germany, Fritz Lang): 7.5
    83. Volver (2006, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar): 9
    84. Catch a Fire (2006, USA, Phillip Noyce): 7
    85. Namastey London (2007, India, Vipul Amrutlal Shah): 6
    86. Just Married (2007, India, Meghna Gulzar): 6
    87. Salaam-E-Ishq(2007, India, Nikhil Advani): 5.5
    88. Nishabd (2007, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 7
    89. Gafla (2006, India, Sameer Hanchate): 8
    90. Red: The Dark Side (2007, India, Vikram Bhatt): 5.5
    91. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi, Writer -- Abbas Kiarostami): 10
    92. Under the Moonlight (2001, Iran, Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi): 7.5
    93. Smell of Camphor Fragrance of Jasmine(2000, Iran, Bahman Farmanara): 8
    94. The Straight Story (1999, USA, David Lynch): 9
    95. The Short Films of David Lynch (2002)
    96. Blue Velvet (1986, USA, David Lynch): 9
    97. Twin Peaks:Fire Walk with me (1992, USA, David Lynch): 5
    98. Wild at Heart (1990, USA, David Lynch): 4
    99. Hotel Room (1993, USA, David Lynch, James Signorelli): 7
    100. Manderlay (2005, Denmark co-production, Lars von Trier): 7
    101. Inland Empire (2006, USA co-production, David Lynch): 8
    102. Spider Man 3 (2007, USA, Sam Raimi): 5
    103. Training Day (2001, USA, Antoine Fuqua): 7.5
    104. Rebels of the Neon God (1992, Taiwan, Tsai ming-Liang): 9.5
    105. Colour Me Kubrick (2005, UK/France, Brian Cook): 4.5
    106. The Mahabharata (1989, multiple countries, Peter Brook): 9
    107. Himalaya (1999, multiple countries, Eric Valli): 8
    108. Lower City (2005, Brazil, Sérgio Machado): 7.5
    109. Pixote (1981, Brazil, Hector Babenco): 9
    110. El Compadre Mendoza (1934, Mexico, Juan Bustillo Oro, Fernando de Fuentes): 8
    111. Coronacion (2000, Chile, Silvio Caiozzi): 6
    112. Como voy a olvidarte? (2004, Ecuador, Edgardo Viereck): 4.5
    113. North by Northwest (1959, USA, Alfred Hitchcock): 9
    114. 1971 (2007, India, Amrit Sagar): 5.5
    115. Delhii Heights (2007, India, Anand Kumar): 6
    116. Whisky (2004, Uruguay, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll): 9.5
    117. Dias de Santiago (2004, Peru, Josue Mendez): 8.5
    118. Sexual Dependency (2003, Bolivia, Rodrigo Bellott): 7.5
    119. Oriana (1985, Fina Torres, Venezuela): 7
    120. Life in a Metro (2007, India, Anurag Basu): 7.5
    121. Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007, India, Reema Kagti): 6.5
    122. Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007, India, Sanjay M. Kanduri): 7
    123. Kya Love Story Hai (2007, India, Lovely Singh): 4.5
    124. Salaam Namaste (2005, India, Siddharth Anand): 5.5
    125. Neal 'N' Nikki (2005, India, Arjun Sablok): 3
    126. Shakalaka Boom Boom (2007, India, Suneel Darshan): 3.5
    127. Orange Revolution (2006, USA, Steve York): 7.5
    128. Do you Remember Dolly Bell? (1981, Serbia, Emir Kusturica): 8.5
    129. Camera Buff (1979, Poland, Krzysztof Kieslowski): 9.5
    130. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Hungary, Béla Tarr / Agnes Hranitzky): 8
    131. Army of Shadows (1969, France, Jean-Pierre Melville): 10
    132. The Good Shepard (2006, USA, Robert De Niro): 8
    133. Time (2006, South Korea, Ki-duk Kim): 8
    134. The Fountain (2006, USA, Darren Aronofsky): 7

    135. Spare Parts (2003, Slovenia, Damjan Kozole): 9
    ......titles not included 
    148. The Prefab People (1982, Hungary, Béla Tarr): 8.5
    149. Christmas Tree Upside Down (2006, Bulgaria, Ivan Tscherkelov,Vasil Zhivkov): 6
    150. Ocean's Thirteen (2007, USA, Steven Soderbergh): 7.5
    151. Knocked Up (2006, USA, Judd Apatow): 8
    152. Jestem (2005, Poland, Dorota Kedzierzawska): 8
    153. Dekalog (1989, Poland, Krzysztof Kieslowski): 10
    154. Underground (1995, Serbia, Emir Kusturica): 9
    155. The Oak (1992, Romania, Lucian Pintilie): 8
    156. The Outsider (1981, Hungary, Béla Tarr)
    157. Transformers (2007, USA, Michael Bay): 7.5
    158. Where Fig Trees Grow (2004, France, Yasmina Yahiaoui): 7.5
    159. Exterminating Angels (2006, France, Jean-Claude Brisseau): 7
    160. Summer 04 (2006, Gemany, Stefan Krohmer): 9
    161. Romanzo criminale (2005, Italy, Michele Placido): 8
    162. Vitus (2006, Switzerland, Fredi M. Murer): 6
    163. Fuse (2003, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Pjer Zalica): 8
    164. Pretty Village Pretty Flames (1996, Former Yugoslavia, Srdjan Dragojevic): 7
    165. Mirage (2004, Macedonia, Svetozar Ristovski): 10
    .......
    169. Ratatouille (2007, USA, Brad Bird): 10
    170. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007, India, Shaad Ali): 7
    .........
    178. El Aura (2006, Argentina, Fabián Bielinsky): 8.5
    ..........
    184. When Father was away on Business (1985, Serbia, Emir Kusturica): 7
    ........
    189. Happy New Life (2007, Hungary, Árpád Bogdán): 9
    ......
    191. Blockade (2006, Russia, Sergey Loznitsa): 9
    .....
    205. The Man Who Copied (2003, Brazil, Jorge Furtado): 8.5
    206. The Official Story (1985, Argentina, Luis Puenzo): 8.5
    207. Los Ninos Invisibles (2001, Colombia, Lisandro Duque Naranjo): 7.5
    208. Forever Never Anywhere (2007, Austria, Antonin Svoboda): 6
    209. Fool N Final (2007, India, Ahmed Khan): 3
    210. Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007, India, Apoora Lakhia): 6.5
    211. The Train (2007, India, Raksha Mistry/Hasnain Hyderabadwala): 5
    212. Swami (2007, India, Ganesh Acharya): 6
    213. The Kid (1921, USA, Charlie Chaplin): 8.5
    214. Modern Times (1936, USA, Charlie Chaplin): 10
    215. City Lights (1931, USA, Charlie Chaplin): 7.5
    216. The Gold Rush (1925, USA, Charlie Chaplin): 8
    217. L' Avventura (1960, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni): 9
    218. L'Eclisse (1962, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni): 10
    219. Blowup (1966, Italy, Michelangelo Antonioni): 10
    220. The Addiction (1995, USA, Abel Ferrara): 9
    221. Bad Lieutenant (1992, USA, Abel Ferrara): 9
    222. Fear City (1984, USA, Abel Ferrara): 5
    223. King of New York (1990, USA, Abel Ferrara): 8
    224. The Driller Killer (1979, USA, Abel Ferrara): 4.5
    225. Crime Story (1986, USA, Abel Ferrara): 7.5
    226. New Rose Hotel (1998, USA, Abel Ferrara): 6
    227. The Funeral (1996, USA, Abel Ferrara): 8.5
    228. God is Brazilian (2003, Brazil, Carlos Diegues): 7
    229. Drained (2006, Brazil, Heitor Dhalia): 10
    230. Baixio das Bestas (2007, Brazil, Cláudio Assis): 8
    231. The Samba Poet (2006, Brazil, Ricardo Van Steen): 7.5
    232. Yi Yi (2000, Taiwan, Edward Yang): 10
    233. Millennium Mambo (2001, Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-hsien): 7.5
    234. Vive L'Amour (1994, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang): 8
    235. The River (1997, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang): 9
    236. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007, India, Vivek Agnihotri): 4.5
    237. Good Bye Dragon Inn (2003, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang): 7.5
    238. The Bourne Identity (2002, USA, Doug Liman): 9
    239. The Bourne Supremacy (2004, USA, Paul Greengrass): 8.5
    240. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007, USA, Paul Greengrass): 10
    241. Zodiac (2007, USA, David Fincher): 10
    242. The Edge of Heaven (2007, Germany/Turkey, Fatih Akin): 9
    243. Black Butterfly (2006, Peru, Francisco J. Lombardi): 9
    244. The True Legend of Tony Vilar (2006, Italy, Giuseppe Gagliardi): 7.5
    245. Hunt Angels (2006, Australia, Alec Morgan): 7.5
    246. Jade Warrior (2006, Finland co-production, Antti-Jussi Annila): 6
    247. The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories (2007, Bulgaria, Director Andrey Paounov): 9
    248. Persepolis (2007, France, Directors/writers: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi): 8
    249. Two in One (2007, Ukraine/Russia, Kira Muratova): 6.5
    250. Fresh Air (2006, Hungary, Ágnes Kocsis & Andrea Roberti): 8
    251. 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 days (2007, Romania, Cristian Mungiu): 9
    252. Saviour Square (2006, Poland, Joanna Kos & Krzysztof Krauze): 8
    253. Khadak (2006, Belgium/Germany, Peter Brosens & Jessica Hope Woodworth): 8.5
    254. Quilombo (1984, Brazil, Carlos Diegues): 7.5
    255. Madame Satã (2002, Brazil, Karim Ainouz): 7
    256. Citizen Dog(2004, Thailand, Wisit Sasanatieng): 8
    257. Offside (2006, Iran, Jafar Panahi): 7.5
    258. The Page Turner (2006, France, Denis Dercourt): 9
    259. 2 Days in Paris (2007, France/Germany, Julie Delpy): 8.5
    260. Cavite (2005, Philippines/USA, Neill Dela Llana Ian Gamazon): 8
    261. Les Enfants Terribles (1950, France, Jean-Pierre Melville Novel by Jean Cocteau)
    262. Videodrome (1983, Canada, David Cronenberg): 8.5
    263. Dead Ringers (1988, Canada, David Cronenberg): 9.5
    264. Le Trou (1960, France, Jacques Becker): 10
    265. Casque d'or (1952, France, Jacques Becker): 8
    266. Touchez pas au grisbi (1954, France, Jacques Becker): 9
    267. Midnight Express (1978, USA/UK, Alan Parker): 8.5
    268. The Son (2002, Belgium/France, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne): 9.5
    269. Fists in the Pocket (1965, Italy, Marco Bellocchio): 8.5
    270. Japón (2002, Mexico co-production, Carlos Reygadas): 8
    271. Chocolat (1988, France/West Germany/Cameroon, Claire Denis): 8
    272. Transylvania (2006, France, Tony Gatlif): 7.5
    273. Electra My Love (1970, Hungary, Miklós Jancsó)
    274. Fando and Lis (1968, Mexico, Alejandro Jodorowsky): 6.5
    275. El Topo (1970, Mexico, Alejandro Jodorowsky): 7.5
    276. Distant (2002, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan): 9.5
    277. Journey to the Sun (1999, Turkey, Yesim Ustaoglu): 8.5
    278. Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005, Germany/Turkey, Fatih Akin): 8.5
    279. In July (2000, Germany, Fatih Akin): 8
    280. Hamam (1997, Turkey, Ferzan Ozpetek): 7.5
    281. Bug (2006, USA, William Friedkin): 9
    282. Grand Prix (1966, USA, John Frankenheimer): 9
    283. Mysterious Object at Noon (2000, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul): 8
    284. The Hole (1998, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang): 8
    285. Paprika (2006, Japan, Satoshi Kon): 9
    286. Kamikaze Girls (2004, Japan, Tetsuya Nakashima): 6.5
    287. The Twilight Samurai (2002, Japan, Yôji Yamada): 8
    288. Eastern Promises (2007, Canada/UK/USA, David Cronenberg): 8
    289. After the Wedding (2006, Denmark, Susanne Bier): 8
    290. Black Book (2006, Holland, Paul Verhoeven): 6
    291. Foster Child (2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza): 10
    292. Dans la ville de Sylvia (2007, Spain, José Luis Guerin): 10
    293. Unas fotos en la ciudad del Sylvia (2007, Spain, José Luis Guerin): 10
    294. Slingshot (2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza): 10
    295. Euphoria (2006, Russia, Ivan Vyrypaev): 9.5
    296. Bliss (2007, Greece/Turkey, Abdullah Oguz): 9.5
    297. Secret Sunshine (2007, South Korea, Lee Chang-Dong): 9
    298. In Memory of Myself (2007, Italy, Saverio Costanzo): 9
    299. The Girl Cut in Two (2007, France, Claude Chabrol): 9
    300. Import Export (2007, Austria/France, Ulrich Seidl): 9
    301. Times and Winds (2006, Turkey, Reha Erdem): 8.5
    302. Help Me Eros (2007, Taiwan, Lee Kang-sheng): 8.5
    303. Ploy (2007, Thailand, Pen-ek Ratanaruang): 8.5
    304. Bad Habits (2007, Mexico, Simón Bross): 8.5
    305. Sounds of Sand (2006, Belgium, Marion Hänsel): 8
    306. Useless (2007, China, Jia Zhangke): 8
    307. The Man from London (2007, France/Germany/Hungary, Béla Tarr): 8
    308. My Winnipeg (2007, Canada, Guy Maddin): 8
    309. Drowned in Oblivion (2006, Belgium/France, Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd): 8
    310. Great World of Sound (2006, USA, Craig Zobel): 8
    311. The Counterfeiters (2007, Austria/Germany, Stefan Ruzowitzky): 8
    312. Keepers of Eden (2007, USA, Yoram Porath): 7.5
    313. The Duchess of Langeais (2007, France, Jacques Rivette): 7
    314. Soo (2007, South Korea, Sai Yoichi): 6.5
    315. Since Otar Left (2003, France/Belgium, Julie Bertucelli): 8.5
    316. Killer of Sheep (1977, USA, Charles Burnett): 7.5
    317. Dog Days (2001, Austria, Ulrich Seidl): 6.5
    318. Chak De India (2007, India, Shimit Amin): 8.5
    319. Gandhi My Father (2007, India, Feroze Khan): 8
    320. Bhool Bhulaiyaa(2007, India, Priyadarshan): 7.5
    321. Saawariya (2007, India, Sanjay Leela Bhansali): 7
    322. Dhamaal (2007, India, Indra Kumar): 6.5
    323. Cheeni Kum (2007, India, R. Balki): 5.5
    324. Dhol (2007, India, Priyadarshan): 4.5
    325. Partner (2007, India, David Dhawan): 4
    326. Cash (2007, India, Anubhav Sinha): 3.5
    327. Aag (2007, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 2
    328. A Girl in Black (1956, Greece, Mihalis Kakogiannis): 9
    329. The Weeping Meadow (2004, Greece, Theodoros Angelopoulos): 8.5
    330. Ulysses' Gaze (1995, Greece, Theodoros Angelopoulos): 7.5
    331. Attila '74 (1975, Greece, Mihalis Kakogiannis): 6
    332. Johnny Gaddaar (2007, India, Sriram Raghavan): 9
    333. Manorama Six Feet Under (2007, India, Navdeep Singh): 8.5
    334. Om Shanti Om (2007, India, Farah Khan): 8.5
    335. No Smoking (2007, India, Anurag Kashyap): 10
    336. Le Mani sulla città (1963, Italy, Francesco Rosi): 10
    337. Salvatore Giuliano (1962, Italy, Francesco Rosi): 9
    338. Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (1979, Italy, Francesco Rosi): 8.5
    339. Tre fratelli (1981, Italy, Francesco Rosi): 8.5
    340. Diario napoletano (1992, Italy, Francesco Rosi): 7.5
    341. The Simpsons Movie (2007, USA, David Silverman): 7.5
    342. This is England (2006, UK, Shane Meadows): 8
    343. Bheja Fry (2007, India, Sagar Ballary): 7.5
    344. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003, India, Sudhir Mishra): 9
    345. Dil Dosti etc (2007, India, Manish Tiwary): 7
    346. Dhokha (2007, India, Pooja Bhatt): 5.5
    347. Welcome (2007, India, Anees Bazmee): 5
    348. Gone Baby Gone (2007, USA, Ben Affleck): 8.5
    349. Rendition (2007, USA, Gavin Hood): 10
    350. Michael Clayton (2007, USA, Tony Gilroy): 8
    351. American Gangster (2007, USA, Ridley Scott): 8
    352. Rescue Dawn (2006, USA, Werner Herzog) Rating 8.5
    353. A Mighty Heart (2007, USA/UK, Michael Winterbottom): 9
    354. Life on Earth (1998, Mali/Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako): 9
    355. Hyenas (1992, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty): 8
    356. Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene): 9.5
    357. Haramuya (1995, Burkina Faso, Drissa Toure): 6.5
    358. Wend Kuuni (1982, Burkina Faso, Gaston Kaboré): 6
    359. Yeelen (1987, Senegal, Souleymane Cissé): 8.5
    360. Hommage à noir (1996, Germany, Ralf Schmerberg): 8
    361. Caméra arabe (1987, Tunisia, Férid Boughedir): 7
    362. Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990, Tunisia, Férid Boughedir): 8
    363. Alexandria Again and Forever (1990, Egypt, Youssef Chahine): 7.5
    364. Redacted (2007, USA, Brian De Palma): 6.5
    365. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007, USA, Andrew Dominik): 7
    366. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007, USA, Sidney Lumet): 7.5
    367. No Country for Old Men (2007, USA, Joel & Ethan Coen): 8.5
    368. Speed (2007, India, Vikram Bhatt): 0
    369. Goodbye Lenin (2003, Germany, Wolfgang Becker)
    370. Sorry for Kung Fu (2004, Croatia, Ognjen Svilicic)
    371. Daywatch (2006, Russia, Timur Bekmambetov)
    372. Zelary (2003, Czech Republic, Ondrej Trojan)
    373. Edi (2002, Poland, Piotr Trzaskalski)
    374. Jab We Met (2007, India, Imtiaz Ali): 8
    375. Aaja Nachle (2007, India, Anil Mehta):8
    376. Parzania (2005, India, Rahul Dholakia): 7.5
    377. Kairee (2000, India, Amol Palekar): 6
    378. Divergence (2005, Hong Kong, Benny Chan): 7
    379. Triangle (2007, Hong Kong, Tsui Hark, Ronny Lam, Johnny Tam)
    380. Love for Sale (2007, Brazil co-production, Karim Ainouz): 6.5
    381. La Vie en Rose (2007, France co-production, Olivier Dahan): 7.5
    382. Once (2007, Ireland, John Carney): 7.5
    383. Who's Next (2007, Hong Kong, Chung Kai Cheung): 5
    384. Taare Zameen Par (2007, India, Aamir Khan): 10
    385. Heyy Babyy (2007, India, Sajid Khan): 3



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    Monday, December 31, 2007

    Hong Kong Films

    Final spotlight of the year shines on Hong Kong.

    Divergence (2005, Benny Chan)
    Triangle (2007, Ringo Lam, Johnnie To, Hark Tsui)
    Who's Next (2007, Chung Kai-Cheong)

    A Cop, A killer and a Girl:



    Suen (Aaron Kwok who turned in a great performance in After this our Exile) plays a cop trusted with bringing a key witness safely into custody. But along the way, a sniper kills the witness. The sniper has a chance to take out Suen but he leaves him alive (reason is revealed later). Besides this case, Suen is haunted by images of the girl that left him 10 years ago. He thinks the murder case and his girlfriend's disappearance are connected.

    After a decent set-up, the film disintegrates towards the end. Still there are some neat sequences in the movie. One worthy sequence takes place when Suen is chasing the sniper through a food market.


    The noise of everyday things like fishes being chopped, carts being moved, ice being crushed are all around him. But he manages to tune everything else out and his ears pick up on just one noise -- heavy panting of the sniper. The fight that follows between the two is just fascinating to watch.

    Also, a small cameo for Suet Lam. I have grown to enjoy his presence in so many Johnny To films. But in this movie's case, his screen time is just limited to two scenes.


    The Three masters:



    The concept of three well known Hong Kong directors making a movie together was just intriguing. Of the trio of Tsui Hark, Johnny To and Ringo Lam, I am most familiar with Johnny To as I have watched atleast 7 of his movies. I have seen some old Tsui Hark movies and only saw portions of his last featureSeven Swords. Ringo Lam is the one I am least familiar with.

    So with great expectations I tuned into Triangle. But as it turns out, my film version had no English subtitles. Even though I managed to get a feel for the film, I missed out on some interesting conversations and even some not so obvious sub-plots. So I will only focus my attention on the obvious overall robbery plot.

    Each director worked on a 30 minute film segment and all three make up a continuous film. While the first two segments have a similar feel to them, it is easy to pick out Johnny To's final segment.

    Segment One: Set-up of the treasure robbery:

    Tsui Hark kicks things off with the robbery setup. Three men are given information about a hidden treasure underneath a building. The three quickly manage to get the treasure chest out and attempt to escape, despite being chased by gangsters.


    Segment Two: The betrayal starts:

    The first segment also shows that one of the three men's wives (the wife of Simon Yam's character) is having an affair with a corrupt cop. Sure enough, the corrupt cop wants a piece of the treasure. While the gangsters also want the treasure as one of the three men was in debt to them. So this segment develops the mind games and betrayal further.

    Pace-wise, this segment is along the same speed as the first 30 minutes. Although, one scene of violence sets this segment apart. But Ringo Lam has flushed a lot of the character's personality in this segment with the aid of an extended tense torture sequence. Definitely, something I need to revisit with English subtitles again.

    Segment Three: The shoot out:

    Suet Lam's appearance signals the final Johnny To segment. As all the three men along with the cop and mafia head to one location, Suet Lam's character appears out of nowhere to complicate things further. And when slowly, one by one, the guns start appearing, we can anticipate a thrilling climax.


    But unlike the flashy gun shoot out sequence in To's Exiled, the final gun shoot out is more subdued and along the lines of what would expect from his brilliant Election films. This segment was a treat to watch though and with minimal dialogue, it was easy to just focus on the tension hovering in the air.


    Overall, it is interesting to see three different directors make one continuous flowing film.

    And finally, the Triads:

    Johnny To's Election and Election 2 are masterful works which probe the life of the Triads and the violent games that hover beneath the group's democratic surface. Safe to say, his works are the finest in covering the gangster's lives. But I am sure there are (and will be) plenty of imitation films that will attempt to show the lives of the Triad members. One such substandard effort is Chung Kai-Cheong's Who's Next. The film shows a battle that takes place to head a triad group when the existing leader is killed by a rival gang. And thrown in the chaotic mix is an Anti-triad group. Some laughs and plenty of over the top acting.

    Ratings (out of 10):

    Divergence: 7
    Who's Next: 5
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    Taare Zameen Par

    Emotional Beauty


    Taare Zameen Par (2007, India, Directed by Aamir Khan): Rating 10/10

    The human mind is complicated enough -- despite decades of scientific advances, we are still a long way from comprehending all the mysteries embedded in the human psyche. We have difficulty understanding adults despite the benefits of observing their body language, their expressions and even noticing adults behavior. If we can't comprehend adults, what are we to make of little children? Can we ever truly understand what goes on in a child's mind?

    We live in a society where things are labeled and packaged instantly. 14 year old kids are pushed towards Olympic excellence, the weight of soccer teams is thrust on fragile 16-17 year old shoulders and 10 year olds are expected to be future geniuses. But in a fast paced world, not everyone can keep pace. Just like each soccer player and team has its own tempo, so do humans and kids in particular. Schools have multiple kids in one classroom and teachers don't have time for everyone. Exams are marked quickly because teachers have too much to do. And sometimes, parents do not have time to properly understand their children. So if a child needs help, he/she is bound to be isolated and left on his own.



    Taare Zameen Par shows a 9 year old's (Ishaan) problem with dyslexia. Ishaan has trouble with words but no one notices his difficulty. He is afraid to look at words which jump out of the page and taunt him. Yet he is comfortable with images and the beauty in nature. So it is not a surprize that Ishaan finds peace and comfort just by observing the chaotic everyday images. Those same images are ignored by adults who rush about in a chaotic world, yet an innocent 9 year old can carefully extract the beauty from mundane activities such as painting of house walls, hammering of nails, a crane digging up rocks or even a vendor crushing ice. It is left to an art teacher (Aamir Khan) who once suffered from the same problem as a child to help integrate young Ishaan into the harsh world.

    The film is handled with a lot of delicacy and emotional tenderness. As the movie strives to show things from the view point of Ishaan, the audience is treated to a world full of simplicity and charm in everyday mundane activities. That is a quite a feat considering that a city like Mumbai offers very little respite from constant relentless noise and competition (education, corporate or even spousal). In that regards, Taare Zameen Par is able to abstract the beauty out of a dangerous and chaotic world. Even when Ishaan wanders around the dangerous streets of Mumbai by himself, the background music and camera only focus on highlighting the joy of discovery he has in observing objects around him. Yes, the film gets a bit emotional in parts but at no point does it resort to melodrama or over the top acting. Also, credit goes to an exceptional acting performance from 10 year old Darsheel Safary. His expressions are phenomenal as he manages to convey the confusion, frustration and hidden joy that exists in 9 year old Ishaan. Easily, the best Indian film of the year.
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    Saturday, December 29, 2007

    Love and Music


    Love for Sale (2006, Brazil, Director Karim Ainouz): Rating 6.5/10

    The only reason I got Love for Sale (or Suely in the Sky) was because of Karim Ainouz. I had enjoyed Ainouz's previous directorial venture Madame Satã and his writing in Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures & Lower City. But I have to admit that after seeing 15 films in my Brazilian spotlight this year, Love for Sale was one movie too much. The story is reflected in other Brazilian films I saw this year, especially in Deserto Feliz.



    In Deserto Feliz, a girl leaves her village for Sao Paulo. But in the big cruel city, she is forced into prostitution to make ends meet and longs for an escape from Sao Paulo. In Love for Sale Hermila returns back from Sao Paulo to Iguatu with her young baby and moves into her mother-in law's house. Gradually it is clear that Hermila's 20 year old husband has no interest in looking after her and the baby as he stays in the city and does not attempt to make contact with her. So Hermila longs for an escape far away from Iguatu. But since she has no money, she comes up with a scheme to raffle off her body.

    Like most recent Brazilian films, the production values of Love for Saleare top-notch. I am a big fan of Walter Carvalho and as usual his cinematography perfectly captures the visuals of a hot Brazilian landscape. There are some neat camera techniques here but overall, the story had the air of inevitability that I had found in a handful of other recent Brazilian films dealing with such a topic.

    Music as escape from Poverty & Misery:

    Once (2006, Ireland, Director John Carney): Rating 7.5/10

    This charming Irish films shows two characters who live on the fringes of modern society's economic charts but can easily be found in any European city's core. The guy plays his guitar on street sides hoping to earn some money for his talent while the girl is an immigrant from the Czech Republic who roams the Dublin city core selling red roses.

    The smart usage of hand-held cameras give the movie an earthy feel and allows to us to experience these character's bitter sweet life. When things get tough, both the guy and girl find solace in music. The girl provides the inspiration for the guy to finally follow his dream of getting his music recorded.

    La Vie en Rose (2007, French co-production, Director Olivier Dahan): Rating 7.5/10

    In Once the guy sang on street corners while playing his guitar. In La Vie en Rose, Edith Pilaf (Marion Cotillard in a riveting performance) also stood on street corners to sing but she only relied on her soulful voice -- her powerful voice could stop traffic and lighten any wary heart. The film shows her rise to fame from a background of poverty to her performance at music halls in Paris and New York. The best parts of the film are where we get to listen to her booming voice.
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    Wednesday, December 26, 2007

    Movie round-up continues...

    Euro 2008 Film Festival -- first 5 films:



    Even though the Euro 2008 soccer tournament does not start until June 7, I wanted to start watching my film festival screenings this year. In my past soccer film festivals (World Cup 2006, Copa America 2007), I was often watching the films while the soccer tournament was going on. This created a hectic schedule as I was often scrambling to give my attention to both the films and soccer games. Now, I plan to watch all my films before the soccer tournament so that I can enjoy the footie games peacefully.

    I will do detailed write-ups of the movies and my selection criteria in upcoming months. Unlike the previous two soccer film festivals, this time I actually have a plan for choosing the movies.

    Films in order of viewing:

  • Daywatch (Russia, 2006, Director Timur Bekmambetov)

  • Edi (Poland, 2002, Director Piotr Trzaskalski)

  • Goodbye Lenin (Germany, 2003, Director Wolfgang Becker)

  • Sorry for Kung Fu (Croatia, 2004, Director Ognjen Svilicic)

  • Zelary (Czech Republic, 2003, Director Ondrej Trojan)


    • Indian stop-over: Independent Cinema vs Bollywood

    Parzania (2005, Director Rahul Dholakia): Rating 7.5/10

    Gujarat experienced its days of hell in early 2002. It all started with a burning of a train in Godhra. What followed was nothing short of a genocide like extermination but was labeled by the media as riots or Hindu-Muslim clashes. Then further revenge killings took place to counter the initial violent acts. But what was the truth? Who lit the train on fire? I didn't gather much from the news as the investigation was very biased and muddy. Then I luckily came across Rakesh Sharma's eye-opening 4 hour documentary Final Solution in 2004. I had to watch the film in 3 sittings as the documentary was not an easy watch -- the film slowly peeled off the layers of hate to reveal the pure evil that lurked inside the hearts of weak and corrupt men. Yes it is only men who could have thought of such disgusting acts of violence.


    Parzania revisits those dark days in Gujarat's and India's history. Just like Deepa Mehta's film Earth, Parzania uses a Parsi family to document the hateful acts (in Earth the 1947 Partition violence was shown through the eyes of a young Parsi girl). In a way using a Parsi family gives a neutral ground to observe the events as Parsi's are neither Hindu or Muslim, so they should remain unharmed. But there are no neutrals during the blind rage that exists and as Parzania shows, even the so called neutrals are caught in the cross-fire. Parzania also throws in another neutral observer in Allan, an American who comes to Gujarat to complete his thesis on Mahatma Gandhi. He brings some objective perspective to the madness and questions how the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi can be filled with so much seething violence. It was in fact such hateful ideas that led to Mahatma's assassination in the first place, so it shouldn't be a surprize that these poisonous ideas would start to hover over the streets of Gujarat.

    Kairee (2000, Director Amol Palekar): Rating 6/10

    Throughout the 1970's and 80's, Amol Palekar was a darling of both India's art house & commercial cinema and gave some memorable performances in such films as Chhoti Si Baat, Safed Jhoot, Gol Maal and Khamosh. I had no idea that he had turned to direction in the early 1980's itself as I never got to see his early efforts. I knew that he made some waves with his 1995 directed film Daayraa. But the movie only made the trips on the film festival circuit and did not make it out to my part of the world. The first Amol Palekar directorial effort I saw was his 2005 Bollywood film Paheli. Thanks to Palekar, Paheli was a wonderful movie directed with such care and tenderness, much better than the regular Bollywood studio fare.

    When I came across Kairee I grabbed it and was eager to see Palekar's effort. But this film was a huge disappointment. The story is told from the view point of a 10 year old girl who is sent to live with her aunt after her mother passes away and her uncle does not want to take care of her. As the innocent girl starts to discover the complicated world around her, she starts to mature and grow up a little. There are some tender moments in the movie, especially with the girl and her teacher (played by Atul Kulkarni) where the teacher encourages the girl to write and adapt with the tough world.

    Jab We Met (2007, Director Imtiaz Ali): Rating 8/10

    I love it when word of mouth sometimes propels a movie well beyond its expectations. Such is the case with Jab We Met. No one had any hopes from this Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor film. Even though I had loved Imtiaz Ali's first film Socha Na Tha (I watched that movie three times), I decided to stay away from his second effort as the movie looked like a typical love story (Ofcourse, I should have known better as I said that about this first film before I fell in love with it).


    But then I only heard good things about this Jab We Met. Friends and family raved about it. Well I decided to listen to them all and in the end, I am glad I did. The story is nothing new -- essentially something along the lines of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge plus elements from other love triangles. But the strength of the film is the fresh screenplay and an amazing performance from Kareena Kapoor. Though I am not a fan of her acting, this was a role perfect for her talents. She acts with so much gusto and as the camera is focused on her face most of the time, she is completely at ease in delivering some fascinating dialogues.

    Also, some nice little touches by Imtiaz Ali. The film starts out with the lead character Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) not speaking a single line of dialogue for the first 8 minutes or so. Just by observing him, we can understand his gradual meltdown and suicidal urge. But despite his need to kill himself by jumping off a moving train, we can anticipate that he will eventually shout something because sitting across from him is Geet (Kareena Kapoor), a woman that never shuts up and keeps talking and talking, even in her sleep. Sure enough, once Aditya shouts back, the film moves into high gear of witty dialogues and energetic fun.

    Ofcourse, there are plenty of weak points in the movie. Besides the lead pair, the acting of others is average at best. The triangle love interest in the movie Anshuman (Tarun Arora) displays virtually no emotion while delivering his lines. Some of the production is quite sloppy as one can easily make out the fake trains and cars (seriously, is it that hard to get a decent crane shot of a moving car?).


    With both Socha Na Tha and Jab We Met, Imtiaz Ali has proved that there is so much scope that can still be explored in a framework of an Indian love/marriage story. Ofourse, it takes a talented writer and director to produce works which can be both fun and thought provoking.

    She's back!!!!!!



    "Madhuri Dixit is back". Only in Bollywood can 4 such words be used to promote a movie. But then again, Madhuri Dixit is no ordinary actress. No other woman has ever held such charm over modern Bollywood as Madhuri has. And in her 5 year absence, no new actress has been able to capture the energy of Madhuri. So she was sorely missed.

    Aaja Nachle (2007, Director Anil Mehta): Rating 8/10

    "Form is temporary, Class is permanent" (Unknown source, cricket quote?)

    Yes Madhuri is all class. Without her Aaja Nachle would fall apart completely despite having a strong cast of Konkana Sen Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Irfan Khan, Kunal Kapoor and Akhshaye Khanna.

    The story is written by Aditya Chopra so that means we get a village that can only exist in Bollywood -- despite all the complications, a little song and dance is enough to solve all problems. An ordinary stage is supposed to represent the highest form of art against the big bad soul-less mall that is going to take its place. But I didn't go to see this movie because of its story. I went because of Madhuri. And good to know that despite her age, she can still light up the screen with one smile. There is truly no one like her.


    So just like the movie story, is her return temporary? Who knows but maybe someone can write a story to place her opposite Amitabh Bachchan, a pairing that has still not happened.
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    Monday, December 24, 2007

    Recent movie round-up

    Springfield standing in for America:

    The Simpsons Movie (2007, Director David Silverman): Rating 7.5/10


    I am not sure what my expectations from The Simpsons Movie was. After more than 17 years of tv episodes, what really was there to cover in a full length feature? Maybe that is the reason I stayed away from the theater for this one. But I was still curious to see if maybe, just maybe, the movie attempted to take some risks. And as it turns out, there are absolutely no risks in the movie -- having Bart skate nude does not translate into risky material! The overall experience feels just like watching a regular tv episode stretched over 80 minutes. Yes the movie contains some hilarious moments and is enjoyable in parts. But the story is not a stretch from the tv show and even contains a theme covered in one episode -- the pollution of Lake Springfield. There are other familiar elements from the tv show such as the town begging Mr. Burns for turning on the power and spoofs of big Hollywood films.

    The movie feels too squeaky clean, as if the film-makers kept in mind that the movie would be shown globally so there shouldn't be any content to offend anyone. The only character who comes under fire in the movie is Homer himself, which is the easy choice. Overall, good for some laughs but a disappointing effort.

    Grimsby standing in for England:

    This is England (2006, Director Shane Meadows): Rating 8/10



    Adolescence is a difficult enough experience for a teenager with hormonal changes, peer pressures and general angst. So any further complicated issues such as the loss of a father to war, having no friends and not fitting in just makes things worse. Such is the case of 12 year old Shaun who gets bullied at school and has no friends to look out after him. His life takes a turn for the better when he befriends some skinheads and the head of the group (Woody) takes Shaun under his wing. Things seem fine until the group's original leader, Combo, returns from jail. Combo and Woody are complete opposites -- Woody is a bit moderate and although he may indulge in vandalism, he won't engage in racist or neo-fascist violence; Combo on the other hand proudly believes in a 'pure England' and his years in jail have turned him into a hate mongering skin-head. So as these two opposing views clash, Shaun finds himself switching loyalties from Woody to Combo until a horrific incident makes him realize the poison that lies buried within Combo.

    The film is set in 1983 yet plenty of elements are true even today. There was a period in the mid 80's when the skinheads dangerous ideas propagated throughout England and even found their way into the soccer terraces around the U.K. However, the mid to late 90's saw a decline in such ideas in England. But in recent years, these hateful ideas are once again finding support not only in England but also in Germany, France and even Italy.

    India via several cities:

    Bheja Fry (2007, Director Sagar Ballary): Rating 7.5/10


    An interesting Indian adaptation of the hilarious French film The Dinner Game. The story is similar to the French version where a bunch of rich men have a weekly party and bring an 'idiot' as a guest. While they all laugh at the idiots, they also have a contest to see which person brought in the biggest idiot. In Bheja Fry, the idiot is Bharat Bhushan (Vinay Pathak), an honest government employee who has a passion for singing. This movie belongs to Vinay Pathak who is fantastic in every scene. Unfortunately, the remaining cast is not on par with Pathak's excellent performance.

    Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003, Director Sudhir Mishra): Rating 9/10


    Sudhir Mishra has crafted an intelligent movie that looks at the youth rebellion that existed in India during the period of Emergency (prior to and after that period in the 70's). We see three youths with different takes on what is required to take the country forward -- communism, capitalism or democracy. A smart movie that deserves a longer write-up in a future post.

    Dil Dosti, etc (2007, Director Manish Tiwary): Rating 7/10


    Just like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, this film focuses on college youth but the movie is not really interested in politics. The film is more interested in examining the confused ideas that can effect college youth. While Sanjay (Shreyas Talpade) wants to run for college presidency, Apurv is not interested in politics or a career. He is not even interested in love but finds more pleasure in attempting to bed as many women as he can. While reading Sartre, Apurv freely quotes some random philosophy as he drifts through life immorally. Acting wise, Shreyas Talpade is the only one who has put in good performance. That is understandable as the rest of the cast consists of newcomers making their acting debut. Still, this had potential to be a much better movie than it turned out to be.

    Dhokha (2007, Director Pooja Bhatt): Rating 5.5/10


    The story of Dhokha is interesting enough but the execution could have been better. A police officer (Zaid played by Muzammil Ibrahim) goes to investigate a bomb explosion at a night club caused by a suicide bomber. The tables are turned on Zaid when he is shocked to find that he is the prime suspect in the investigation as the detective claims that it was Zaid's wife who was the suicide bomber. He fights the false charges but despite his best efforts, he is labeled a traitor and eventually suspended from his job. Eventually, he slowly starts learning the truth and it is indeed eye opening for him. The film shows some elements from other Indian films such as Mission Kashmir in how the abuse of power by police towards the Kashmiri Muslims only fuels the anger of the locals and turns them over to the fundamentalists. After Zaid starts finding the truth, the film turns into a predictable mess as other Bollywood movies and heads towards an unrealistic happy ending.

    Welcome (2007, Director Anees Bazmee): Rating 5/10


    It is always a bad sign when actors and filmmakers promote their movie by saying that the "audience should leave their brain at the door" while watching their film. This is a lazy way of saying that the movie was made without any thought or a screenplay. And when the film director is Anees Bazmee whose previous effort was the awful comedy No Entry, I had very low expectations from Welcome. Still the presence of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor offered some hope. As expected, all four have put in a decent effort with Nana Patekar shining in every scene. But the silly screenplay and poor direction make this a painful experience. If the movie had ended after 90 minutes, it wouldn't have been that bad. Even at 2 hours, the film might have been passable. But a running time of 2 hour 40 minutes is pure torture. It was indeed a welcome relief when this mess of a film eventually ended.
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