Man I wanna watch 'Gran Torino', I have read some great reviews and all the people I who watching have been raving about it. I have been a fan of Client Eastwood for a long time now, he is coolness personified!!! And what a terrific career he has had and still going strong at 78. It would be very difficult for me to pick my alltime favorite Clint movie but I can try some of my favorites (in no particuklar order):
1. Dirty Harry
2. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
3. Escape from Alcatrez
4. Unforgiven
5. In the line of fire
6. True Crime
7. Absolute Power
8. Mystic River (only dir)
9. Million dollar baby
10. The bridges of madison county
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Success - We all want it, but what is it?
We all crave for success, it is by far the most driving factor in our lives. So, what is success? Could it be described as the desirable outcome of the efforts? If this is so then the success is very well defined even before we start our efforts in that direction. When I think about it there seems to be more to it, would we still call it a success if we suffered all the way to it? Success is also in the process that we follow to achieve the outcome so that we are happy doing it, and simply meeting that outcome is not enough. Makes sense to me, so it is both the outcome and the process that we choose to follow to achieve it, are important aspect of the success then. What about the people who we come across during our process to achieve success and their happiness? I presume they are also equally important, as barring few tasks that we can achieve solo, most of what we want to achieve is dependent upon others. So, we also need to take care of the people aspect of our journey or process to reach success.
So, let's see, we have the our desires, our efforts, the journey and people that constitute our success. What if our goal shifts during the process? it can very well happen, as there are so many factor that can affect us and the predefined outcome does not excite us anymore after a while on the journey. We evolve as grow and our desires to go through changes, our priorities change. So, our predefined outcome may not be written in stone, it can evolve and change.
As it is turning out now and I spoke through all this, that success could be defined as a continuous journey where we aspire to fulfill our desires while being happy and keeping fellow travelers happy and progressively evolve the collective goals that we want to achieve.
Try to put this in context of your life at work, home, project or team work and see if this fits in.
So, let's see, we have the our desires, our efforts, the journey and people that constitute our success. What if our goal shifts during the process? it can very well happen, as there are so many factor that can affect us and the predefined outcome does not excite us anymore after a while on the journey. We evolve as grow and our desires to go through changes, our priorities change. So, our predefined outcome may not be written in stone, it can evolve and change.
As it is turning out now and I spoke through all this, that success could be defined as a continuous journey where we aspire to fulfill our desires while being happy and keeping fellow travelers happy and progressively evolve the collective goals that we want to achieve.
Try to put this in context of your life at work, home, project or team work and see if this fits in.
Calling for some action - Judgement Night and Running Scared
I was craving for some fast paced action movie as it was really long I watched any but I was also not in a mood of "one-man-army destroys evil empire" kind of movie either so it was tough to find any good movies in this genre. After sifting through racks of movies I picked two as the premise looked promising- Judgment Night (1993) and Running Scared (2006).
Judgment Night (1993): I was apprehensive about picking up this one as I belonged to early nineties and action movies in this era had hang-over from the eighties action movies typical of Stallon, Schwargnegger (sp.?), Van-Damme kind of action. But I still picked this as the cast had names Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary and Emilio Estevez and this one is story of bunch of fast friends with diverse personalities running and hiding from a gangster to save their lives. The story unfolds in one night and is very fast paced and has thrilling moments. Some part could have been more intelligently shot but overall it is a good gripping thriller. (7/10)
Running Scared (2006): I wasn't expecting much from this as I am not a big Paul Walker fan I liked what I read on the synopsis. This one again is story of one night full of action and drug deal gone wrong, dirty cops, domestic violence, violence against women and kids. Some of the scenes could be very disturbing, definitely not a movie to take your date or kids. It was fast paced and the action is non-stop, has the underbelly of New Jersey as backdrop. Paul Walker, Chazz Palminteri( The Usual Suspects, Diabolique and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) acted very well and lived upto the characters they were playing. The cinematography is grainy and dark and very effective for the mood of the movie. I don't know why this one is not more popular, may be because lack of big league actors, but it sure is a must watch. (8/10)
Judgment Night (1993): I was apprehensive about picking up this one as I belonged to early nineties and action movies in this era had hang-over from the eighties action movies typical of Stallon, Schwargnegger (sp.?), Van-Damme kind of action. But I still picked this as the cast had names Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary and Emilio Estevez and this one is story of bunch of fast friends with diverse personalities running and hiding from a gangster to save their lives. The story unfolds in one night and is very fast paced and has thrilling moments. Some part could have been more intelligently shot but overall it is a good gripping thriller. (7/10)
Running Scared (2006): I wasn't expecting much from this as I am not a big Paul Walker fan I liked what I read on the synopsis. This one again is story of one night full of action and drug deal gone wrong, dirty cops, domestic violence, violence against women and kids. Some of the scenes could be very disturbing, definitely not a movie to take your date or kids. It was fast paced and the action is non-stop, has the underbelly of New Jersey as backdrop. Paul Walker, Chazz Palminteri( The Usual Suspects, Diabolique and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) acted very well and lived upto the characters they were playing. The cinematography is grainy and dark and very effective for the mood of the movie. I don't know why this one is not more popular, may be because lack of big league actors, but it sure is a must watch. (8/10)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Suprbad is Super cool!!
I just stumbled upon this movie as I appreciate Seth Rogan's (Knocked up, Pineapple Express) work, I think he is cheekily good. He does not play main lead here, this is a teen movie of school kids trying to party hard before they move on to Senior High. All three are minors and can not officially buy alcohol and this movie is all about their misadventure and endeavors to get some and then 'get some'. I would even dare to call this 'pulp fiction' for teens, the dialogues are crisp and real (beware of how bunch of horny teenagers would talk!), awkward situations, unintentional violence, irreverence for almost everything and everyone around, this got it all!! Great acting and past paced unpredictable script.
Not for prudes, this movie may upset them, but it is very real and very very enjoyable. (8/10)
Not for prudes, this movie may upset them, but it is very real and very very enjoyable. (8/10)
Slumdog Millionaire
To start with, "Slumdog Millionaire" is not an Indian movie, it is not about India either, it is about director's perception of the slums in Mumbai, India. Some part of it is bang on target and then most of it is just manufactured emotions manipulated with poverty and saga of love. Is it a brilliant movie? I believe NO, it is very nice effort, a lot of hard work, a lot of technical finesse, but that is about it. It is made in a half-baked 'Bollywood" style, which suits the 'west' as a full-bollywood style is not very palatable to them. So the director chose to narate the story in a style which is neither here nor there but digestible to the western audience. Combine it with some great technical contribution, good music, average acting and you got "Slumdog Millionaire".
A. R. Rahman got two oscars for his efforts, in my view this is not his best work though, he has done much better in past only this time he got to piggy-back on the strong lobbying studio and producers. For me "Slumdog Millionaire" was a vehicle that introduced A. R. Rahman to the west and Oscars Academy.. and I want to mention Gulzar and Poolkutti in the same breath as same is the case for them.
In short, this movie had a good first half and a very average second half, at times I felt the direction was childish and characters were just not Indian enough. (6/10)
A. R. Rahman got two oscars for his efforts, in my view this is not his best work though, he has done much better in past only this time he got to piggy-back on the strong lobbying studio and producers. For me "Slumdog Millionaire" was a vehicle that introduced A. R. Rahman to the west and Oscars Academy.. and I want to mention Gulzar and Poolkutti in the same breath as same is the case for them.
In short, this movie had a good first half and a very average second half, at times I felt the direction was childish and characters were just not Indian enough. (6/10)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Two Disaster Movies
Hi Friends, I happen to check out two 'disaster movies' - "Right At Your Door" and "28 Weeks Later".
"Right At Your Door" reminded me of another disaster movie "Cloverfield" which is based in New York and was excellent. This one is low budget indie movie, based in Los Angeles, it is mostly indoors and more of the drama than a thriller. It is all about the relationship, chaos, death and sacrifice. The characters did a marvelous job to create the sense of panic and chaos in a finite setting, the credit also goes to the director. It is enoyable movie, nothing great, not a blockbuster or massic movie. (7/10)
"28 Weeks Later" is sequel to Danny Boyles "28 Days Later", as the name suggest it depicts the UK 28 weeks after the virus ourbreak. This one has more action and gets down to business right away, however the erie feeling that one gets in the first part is missing. This one has more gore and zombie fights. Not as good as the first one but still a good watch. (6/10)
"Right At Your Door" reminded me of another disaster movie "Cloverfield" which is based in New York and was excellent. This one is low budget indie movie, based in Los Angeles, it is mostly indoors and more of the drama than a thriller. It is all about the relationship, chaos, death and sacrifice. The characters did a marvelous job to create the sense of panic and chaos in a finite setting, the credit also goes to the director. It is enoyable movie, nothing great, not a blockbuster or massic movie. (7/10)
"28 Weeks Later" is sequel to Danny Boyles "28 Days Later", as the name suggest it depicts the UK 28 weeks after the virus ourbreak. This one has more action and gets down to business right away, however the erie feeling that one gets in the first part is missing. This one has more gore and zombie fights. Not as good as the first one but still a good watch. (6/10)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Over the long weekend
Although I was working over the long weekend, I still managed to catch few movies on DVD. I made sure that I caught up on the "super-hero" movies - The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Jumper, listed in the ranking order. I also watched Tropic Thunder and Wall.E.
Most of you must have seen them anyways so no detailed review, here are few lines:
The Dark Knight - Hands down show of the Joker, Heath Ledger. He has done a tremendous job and left behind a legacy that he will always be remembered for. I can bet my car that he will certainly get an Oscar for this. The other striking thing about this movie is that it is not in the realm of fantacy Batman world, director Chris Nolan created a believable, relate-able world and Joker makes it very very dark! Also worth mentioning is work of Aaron Eckhart, brings out the contrast in his character. (9/10)
Iron Man - A fun movie, non-stop intelligent action and charm of Robert Downey Jr. makes this movie above average. Also the special effects are mind-blowing. I can see few more sequels on this one and predict they will be equally successful as I myself am waiting for them. (8/10)
Jumper - This one is about the breed of human that can teletransport themselves, known as Jumper. The concept was good, but that is all that is good about it. The movie disappoints, worth a one dekko though. (6/10)
Wall.E - A very cute, though provoking animation movie, the animation and sound design is terrific. A futuristic tale about humans and robots. I found myself appreciating the technical aspect of this movie than the content itself. (8/10)
Tropic Thunder - I might have missed few jokes in this movie as I am not in touch with the latest in Mtv pop culture so did not find it very funny as claimed by the critics in west. It was ok movie with some good comic performances by Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise. The best part about the movie was the MTv promo in the DVD, I found it funnier than the movie itself. (7/10)
Most of you must have seen them anyways so no detailed review, here are few lines:
The Dark Knight - Hands down show of the Joker, Heath Ledger. He has done a tremendous job and left behind a legacy that he will always be remembered for. I can bet my car that he will certainly get an Oscar for this. The other striking thing about this movie is that it is not in the realm of fantacy Batman world, director Chris Nolan created a believable, relate-able world and Joker makes it very very dark! Also worth mentioning is work of Aaron Eckhart, brings out the contrast in his character. (9/10)
Iron Man - A fun movie, non-stop intelligent action and charm of Robert Downey Jr. makes this movie above average. Also the special effects are mind-blowing. I can see few more sequels on this one and predict they will be equally successful as I myself am waiting for them. (8/10)
Jumper - This one is about the breed of human that can teletransport themselves, known as Jumper. The concept was good, but that is all that is good about it. The movie disappoints, worth a one dekko though. (6/10)
Wall.E - A very cute, though provoking animation movie, the animation and sound design is terrific. A futuristic tale about humans and robots. I found myself appreciating the technical aspect of this movie than the content itself. (8/10)
Tropic Thunder - I might have missed few jokes in this movie as I am not in touch with the latest in Mtv pop culture so did not find it very funny as claimed by the critics in west. It was ok movie with some good comic performances by Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise. The best part about the movie was the MTv promo in the DVD, I found it funnier than the movie itself. (7/10)
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