tonymontana’s viewings

C U Soon:

Comparisons with the brilliant Searching are inevitable, although not sure if it can also be compared to the much-less-serious and much-more-fun Modern Family. The novelty had probably worn off by the time C U Soon arrived, but there’s no less challenge when you’re attempting something of this kind, the biggest of it being capturing the interest of your viewers. This film does that rather well, and when you have actors like Farhad Faasil (chameleon-like versatility), the journey is no less than fascinating.

An Jo on SRK

In response to SRK discussion in this thread; An Jo’s comment:

SRK was/is one of those actors who can hardly be called super-talented. But he is that star-actor who can be so impactful in certain roles, that he can make even his most ardent-haters realize that he is irreplaceable in a certain kind of role.

Naveen’s note on Laxmii

In the genre of horror comedy the best i have seen still remains Bhool Bhulaiya and most recently Stree.

I had also liked the tamil movie Kanchana which was a low budget good entertainer (timepass) despite shoddy screenplay.
Thats because Kanchana never had anytjing serious about itself. The characters, issues etc were all cartoonish so overall it worked.
To overcome those gaps in screenplay, significant and serious changes have been made in Laxmii. However the changes needed to be goofy in nature and not serious. This is where the movie goes wrong.

An jo on Ludo

LUDO: A film that doesn’t know what it’s talking about...

LUDO is such a deceiving and a bad movie at the same time that it is improbable to believe that it’s an Anurag Basu film: A person/artiste who has gone through the physical and emotional pain of enduring cancer would have greater sensitivity and insights into the human emotional-core. If one is bereft of religion, of philosophies that have been stamped on our brain, what would we be? How would we judge people and their actions? And that’s what I thought would be the premise of the film when it talked of ‘karma’ and ‘Ludo.’ Alas, it turned out to be one of the most pretentious, and pseudo-philosophical film of its times, with political innuendo like salt added to a dish.

An Jo’s viewings (Updated)

The Occupant
This is a remarkable but strange film; odious in its plot and quite strong in its philosophy. What happens to a man when he turns middle-aged, and has, supposedly, not climbed the ladder of success to pigeon-hole himself into a position commensurate with age — as deemed by society & professionals of course — and finds himself cornered? Answerable to his wife, to his kid [who claims that he’s being made fun of in school but doesn’t tell his father why?

The incomparable Amitabh – My diary of a passionate engagement over two decades (Utkal) – Updated

The year 1971. I am in the final year of school, right in the center of the Hindi heartland, in Raipur, eating, drinking and dreaming Hindi films. After a spate of super hits, the then heartthrob of Indian film lovers, Rajesh Khanna, has delivered some okey-dokey films. And then came Anand. We were all zapped. What a film! What a performance! And who won’t be touched by ‘ Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye’ or ‘ Zindagi kaise Yeh Paheli Hai’ ? The superstar had redeemed himself. But amidst all this, we also talked of the character called ‘ Babu Moshai’ and an actor called Amitabh Bachchan. His performance too was praiseworthy, we all agreed. Looking back, Little did anyone realize that like the slayer of Kamsa being born in the prison cell of the Mathura king, the man who would dethrone the superstar, had got his definitive break in the triumphant comeback film of the superstar himself. Come to think of it, the Angry Young Man was born in Anand itself. ” Bolte kuyn nahin ho? Pichhle ten mahinese bak bak karte mere sar kha gaye ho. Ab chup kyuon ho? ‘ The way Amitabh delivered those lines, the intensity, the total concentration, it was never done before in Indian films. But we quickly forgot him and looked at actors like Navin Nischal ( Sawan Bhadon, Prawana) and Anil Dhawan ( Chetna, Piya Ka ghar) as the big stars of the next generation. ( Dharmendra was already a big star rivalling Rajesh Khanna with hits like Mera Gaon Mera Desh and Seeta Aur Geeta. ) .

Random Songs !

I am sure certain songs have had a huge or not so huge effect on all of us at some point of time in our life.  The idea for this post came to me while commenting on Rangan’s SPB tribute post.

I am listing some songs (in no particular order) which affected me, encouraged me, and helped me cope with life:

1.Zindagi Key Safar mein Guzar Jaatey Hain ( Aap ki Kasam)

2. Ruk Jaan Naheen, tu kaheen haar key (Imtihan)

3.Sach mere Yaar hai , bas yahee pyar hai (Saagar)

4.Naa Umr kee seema ho, naa janam ka ho bandhan (Prem Geet)

5. Bharat ka rehney wala hoon, Bharat kee baat sunata hoon (Poorab aur Paschim)

6.Main Na bhooloonga (sad version) (RKAM)

7.Aur nahee bas aur nahee, gham key pyaley aur naheen (RKAM)

8.Gila Maut sey nahee hai- humen Zindagai ney maara (Alag Alag)

An Jo’s Random Note on KBC 9 (Updated)

KBC12 Promo

#6 World Cup – Hrithik Roshan World Cup (FINAL KNPH beats Lakshya 8-3)

6 GROUPS OF RANDOMLY CHOSEN FILM THAT STAR HRITHIK ROSHAN – 4 FILMS IN EACH GROUP. The method is simple, groups created based on chronology of release date from Wikipedia.

GROUP STAGE pick 2/3* favourite films from Group of 4 – votes equal points.
BLOGGERS TO VOTE ON WHICH FILM WINS – only need the winning film and if you like a reason for victory. No essays! In The event of a tie score at the end of group stages – the head to head match will be used to determine the winner. In the event of a tie head to head my vote will determine the victor.

*To make up 16 films to participate in knock-out, Group 1, 3, 5 & 6 denoted with * will have 3 films advancing through whereas Group 2 and 4 only 2 teams.

An Jo On HELEN

On HELEN, and the art of cinematic subterfuge

Mild Spoiler Alert

Do yourself a favor, do not watch the trailer, or read whatever I have written, before watching the movie; just watch the movie – and then, if interested, read my piece.

Of course, it’s become common in the Malayalam film industry to churn out fine movies by the dozen that are rooted in culture and God’s own country’s various sub-cultures and sub-texts: But what is even more cunning, and so beautifully wily that director Xavier and writers Alfred and Noble pull out a completely different movie than they initially seemed to ‘promise.’ I was taken on a 180-degree ride of joy, feel-good sentiments, middle-class values, chauvinism, misogyny, scare, and thrills all within a span of just about 2 hours. I definitely wouldn’t compare it with ‘Parasite’, though the closest that comes to mind is surely Bong Joon-ho’s snake-and-ladder play of genres.

Munna on Gunjan Saxena : The Kargil Girl

I was avoiding Gunjan Saxena but Rajen asked me with his glowing review..I have lived almost most of my life in Air Force bases around in India, I knew my comment/review would be critical of Karan Johar style’s movie treatment..I understand, people who have not seen Air Force life, it is a decent time pass movie about women empowerment and gender bias.

Thoughts on Nationalism around Independence Day.. (Updated)

this comment first appeared on Bachchan’s blog a year or two ago..

I remain as always suspicious of nationalism. Or rather I like to celebrate love for one’s place of birth or the land one grows up in with the more jingoistic uses of one’s country. To be even more precise I’d argue that one never really loves one’s ‘country’. What one loves is a slice of life that one experiences in one or different parts of the country. But this by does not mean that one loves the country as such. One of course claims this all the time. It is common language. But there is a substitution that takes place here. Someone who is born in, grows up in, and spends his or her entire life in Thirunelveli believes in the Indian nation state as much as someone who does all these things in Faridabad. The nation ‘fiction’ embraces both these inhabitants whose experiences are otherwise completely different. All nation-states are fictions that essentially assert that to belong to the nation-state is an identity that supersedes that of one’s ethnic or religious or regional particularity. The ‘one’ of the nation-state subsumes everything. But why?

An Jo’s note on RAAT AKELI HAI

I quite loved RAAT AKELI HAI! There are so many things going on in the movie – it is like a labyrinth of emotions, moods, and the nightly colors. It covers so much, that the whodunit mystery is the least on your minds, though very smartly, the makers give you a clue that what ‘starts’ at home hits you at ‘home.’! Casteism, class-privilege, money, position, power, inferiority/superiority complexes, everything is dealt here; and the best part is, it is never preachy but veers you toward thinking about them.

Dil Bechara and the rest of the box office

Last thread

Dil Bechara Trailers

An Jo on PANCHAYAT

Link
On ‘Panchayat’ and its unbridled yet subtle homage to ‘Swades’ and ‘Doordarshan’

Spoiler Alert

The finest scene in Amazon’s PANCHAYAT is reserved for the last episode. Very subtly, the makers dove-tail women’s rights versus nationalism; or hyper-nationalism, as the liberals would call it. With diktats raised on playing the national anthem in theaters, and people not standing up, it’s quite telling that Neena Gupta asks the ‘Sacheev’, ‘Do I have to stand even when the national anthem is playing on my phone?’ And then there’s the scene of the District Magistrate [DM] coming over and blasting the ‘Pradhan’ and the ‘Sacheev’ of not letting the woman take center-stage; because, of-course, she is rightly the selected one! And Neena Gupta’s husband, the revered ‘Pradhan-ji’ is asked to take a back-seat by stepping beyond the boundaries!

The brightest spot or idea in PANCHAYAT is that it talks; it talks, and doesn’t preach, All the ideas, all the writing, is built so organically that you just submit yourself to the series. An absolute master-piece of 8 episodes. I did feel a Season 2 coming t, and though I am impressed and curious apropos the inevitable 2nd season, I would say, the series has already done its job.

Please read rest here

Top 10 movie trilogies of all time

Top 10 movie trilogies of all time: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Godfather and more

There are very few good movie trilogies out there. Sure, there are great individual movies in trilogies, but precious few that do not feel like superfluous cash grabs.
Here are 10 best movie trilogies of all time. I have also included movie series that may have more than three films, but should have been limited to just three.
1. The Lord of the Rings: Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
Peter Jackson’s sprawling adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s book of the same name, The Lord of the Rings remains a magnificent achievement to this day. These movies featured a story that has become an archetype for its genre. The archetype roughly goes like this: a farm boy (or a seemingly powerless person) becomes entangled in a quest to defeat the Dark Lord and in the end, he does so thanks to the skills he gains after being mentored by a wizard and/or a warrior. If not defeated, the Dark Lord will either destroy the world or enslave it. So, the stakes are as high as can be. There is a clearly delineated black and white mortality here.

Read rest here

Top 10 music albums

Please post your top 10 music albums(Any Time frame); you may post some songs from these albums.
You may change your choices in sub-comment.

An Jo on GULABO SITABO

On GULABO SITABO and the battle between crumbling traditions and modernity

Beneath the comic musical-beats of GULABO SITABO, there carries a twang of pain for every beat. There’s a reasoning for everything here; why Amitabh was chosen? Why was he made to be a hunch-back? Why was he lisping on about his famous movie ‘Deewal’?

In perhaps one of his most unadulterated movies ever, coming close on the heels of October—that had a bad actor to begin with—Shoojit takes the finest actor-star the Hindi film industry has ever seen, and pits him against an actor who is known to own small-town-actor roles.