Highway review

ALI ALI... TERI GALI 

Rating: 9 out of 10

It’s hard for me to put in down in words what I loved about Highway or why I loved it. There are moments when Alia Bhatt’s character, Veera, laughs and cries and doesn’t know why she is expressing her emotions this way. Honestly, I decided not to review this film. Not because I don’t want to, I really want to. Except this is one of those rare times where I might not be able to explain why I loved a film so much. Considering the fact that my job is to do exactly that, I would be doing a disservice to it.

Hasee Toh Phasee review

LOOKING SO CRAZY IN LOVE

Rating: 8 out of 10

I am going to begin this review with a personal impression. Hasee Toh Phasee opens with a scene where we see a little boy called Nikhil sneaking out of his house to watch his favorite film. In my head I pointed at the screen and said “Oh wait, that’s me”. Basically, this film had me at hello. Name and everything.

If this is not relatable for me then I don’t know what is. The fact that rest of the film is in equal parts relatable and charming is not just a surprise but also a relief.

 

12 Years A Slave - Review

NEW SLAVES

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

12 Years A Slave is a devastating experience. I don’t think I was prepared to watch this film. I don’t know if anyone can ever be. But we must watch it as it is one of the most important films ever made. Important because it is based on an important chapter in history. Its importance in terms of cinema is elicited by the fact that this is the first film that depicts the reality of slavery. Moreover, this is a poetic and elegant piece of filmmaking. It’s not just a great film but great art.

Top 35 Films of 2013

2013 has been a great year for the movies. I could make 3 and a half top 10 lists of the best films of the year and that’s exactly what I will do. 35 films that you need to watch from 2013!

Before that, I would like to name some films that didn’t make the top 35 but are worth noting. Some of these films were either warmly embraced or harshly rejected or simply overlooked and misunderstood but they all struck a chord with me:

Amongst the superhero films. Man of Steel was my most anticipated superhero film. Since I’m a huge Superman fan, I had a love-hate relationship with the film. There were several things that I found cool and a step in the right direction. Instead of fantasy, they took the sci-fi route. Although, after every step there came a wobble. I’d either warm up to it or hate it more judging by the direction in which Hack Snyder takes the mythology further. Adding Batman to a sequel which Superman deserves doesn’t seem like a good move at all. Iron Man 3 was more of a comedy than a superhero film. I was laughing and enjoying it as much as I could but when they made a complete joke out of Iron Man’s arch-nemesis, Mandarin, the film lost me completely. The Wolverine was several notches higher than the previous Wolverine film and ended up being an actual film with good dialogue and visual thrill rather than just a slam-bam action film. There was one more superhero film, which I thought was the best one. At least, the one I loved the most. It can be found in the Top 35 below.

Oscar Nominations Predictions 2014

This year it is down to 3 films - 12 Years A Slave, Gravity and American Hustle. The nominations will exhibit which film the Academy really loved. Expecting all of them to get around 10 nominations to make this a legit competition.

My predictions:

BEST PICTURE

12 Years A Slave

Gravity

American Hustle

The Wolf of Wall Street

Her

Captain Phillips

Nebraska

Rush

Saving Mr. Banks

Inside Llewyn Davis

Could show up: Dallas Buyers Club and Philomena

Should show up: Blue Jasmine and Prisoners

Top 10 Bollywood Films of 2013

This is my favourite time of year, of being a film reviewer - choosing 10 best films of the year. I don't know if these films are the best but they are certainly what appealed to me the most.

Before I list the top 10, I'd like to name the films that didn't make the cut but are worth mentioning. Starting with EK THI DAAYAN. What an incredible first half! In my review I mentioned it is perhaps the best mini horror film India has ever seen. A crushing disappointment that the second half didn't live up to the first. Another film that had a wonderful beginning but a terrible ending was SHUDDH DESI ROMANCE. Repetition and faux-progressive childishness took over something charming and genuine. A romantic comedy that I thought was unfairly maligned was I, ME AUR MAIN. Now this film had an ending which was truly progressive. The characters don't recklessly reject societal norms and aren't as ignorantly confused. John Abraham is an actor with a limited range and probably other actors could have done this film justice. It's not easy playing a selfish character and I admire him for not playing it safe.

There was one more film that the actor took a big risk with and it paid off. MADRAS CAFE was not struck by the curse of the second half, in fact it had a weak first half but a smashing second! If only it wasn't a methodical procedural and had a personal, emotional story to go with it, it would have not just been on the top 10 but perhaps at the top of it.

There were two films about friendship that I enjoyed - KAI PO CHE and FUKREY. Raj Kumar Yadav aced it and stole the movie from Sushant Singh Rajput. He doesn't enjoy the same popularity but I hope he gets there some day. Fukrey is not a great film but it's such a good one. The characters aren't spoon-fed, we get to hang out with them, actually get to know them. Not many films in India do that. It also helps that the film has some hilarious moments and memorable characters. Someone get Chucha a Campa!

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2013:

10. CHENNAI EXPRESS and YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI (tie)

Chennai Express is probably not the kind of film you would see "film critics" appreciating but who cares. This film is so much fun that it makes guilty pleasures feel unguilty. Comedy is something that needs to be laughed at, not analytically appreciated and I laughed all throughout this film. Stereotyping, bad humour, overacting - these are the words thrown around to dismiss this film. I would throw around the same words as the reasons why I enjoyed it including Deepika's accent and SRK's ham-fest. Pauline Kael (one of the greatest film critics) said: "Films are so rarely great art that if we can't appreciate great trash, there is little reason for us to go". If you still can't understand why I put this film here, I have three words for you: Life of Pi?

For Roger

Today is a sad day for film criticism. A sad day for film lovers. A sad day for film. I've never met him or personally interacted with him. What I have with him is a connection with cinema through words. Through his words, I got to know him, a sense of him. The lovely man that is Roger Ebert.

He writes without knowing who will be reading. There are many like me who have felt this connection. I've never done this - writing an obituary. For Mr. Ebert, saying goodbye in words, especially when he won't read it, seems fitting.

I was a pre-teen when I first came across his reviews. I was overjoyed to see him celebrate films like Almost Famous, Minority Report, Spirited Away, Harry Potter, Lost in Translation and some Indian films like Taal and Lagaan. I was underwhelmed when he didn't respond ecstatically to Lord of the Rings, or A Clockwork Orange. When he changed his rating of The Graduate from 4 to 3, I learned the film adage: films don't change, the audience does. I still stick by my dislike of Fight Club since I have his 2 star review backing it. I still believe he was behind the Oscar wins of Crash and Million Dollar Baby. It's been more than a decade that I've continuously logged onto his website to see what he thinks. His word matters. Not just to me but to almost everyone involved in films, directly or indirectly. If a movie makes it on his list of favorites, I have to watch it. I'm sure many of us do. His Great Movies section introduced me to foreign cinema even before I went to film school. I discovered several great filmmakers like Werner Herzog and Martin Scorsese through his love for them. His commentaries on DVD especially that of Citizen Kane is essential for any cinephile. Watching movies and then having a mental dialogue with him was my film school.

What makes him such an influential figure?

Why does his opinion matter?

I believe it is because of one thing and one thing only. Whenever I would finish watching a film, I always had these thoughts floating around. When I read Ebert this thought started surfacing- "Yes, that's what I was thinking!" Slowly, it became that's not what I was thinking. Soon, I had an opinion of my own. In a nutshell, Ebert is superb at articulation. Unrivalled. The best.

To me he is a teacher. He taught me not just what to watch but how to watch. Most importantly, how to love movies. He is the Guru Dronacharya to my Eklavya. (If you aren't familiar with the episode from the Mahabharata, you must acquaint yourself - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekalavya)

I recently saw Trouble with Paradise (1932) and as usual, instantly went to Ebert's Great Movies section. He begins his review with this observation. Perhaps my favorite opening to one of his reviews:

When I was small I liked to go to the movies because you could find out what adults did when there weren't any children in the room. As I grew up that pleasure gradually faded; the more I knew the less the characters seemed like adults.

Need I say more?

I would be lying if I didn't confess that I had prepared myself for this day. He had taken a break in 2006 during his struggle with cancer and I was elated when he returned. But a few days back he posted his final blog entry about his "leave of presence" and this wasn't like the one before: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html

He ends his final post with these elegant words: So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies.

I woke up today and got the news over several text messages and calls.  Faithful friends who are aware of my reverence for this kind man decided to drop the bomb. Even after the knowledge of Ebert's signal, I was shocked. It was too soon. I've been trying to get on with my day. I told myself that there are about 126 movies left to watch from his Great Movies section out of 363. I am looking forward to it, now more than ever.

Thank you for taking me on this journey with you, Mr. Ebert. I'll always see you at the movies.