Tagged: movies

Parineeta

Parineeta

IMDB

Year: 2005

Director: Pradeep Sarkar

Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Category: Drama

Media: Film

Rating: 3 out of 5


There’s nothing novel about the story, yet the movie doesn’t bore. The simplicity, the music, the //adayein//, the dresses — all are done very well. Though I was a bit surprised that all characters have been shown as Bengalis yet none of them has the slightest accent or even speaks bengali even once in the movie.

The other thing I didn’t like too much was Lolita’s behavior itself. Perhaps the author had meant it to be that way. But I don’t see any good reason why she couldn’t have told Shekhar the truth herself?

Apahran

Apahran

Year: 2005

Director: Prakash Jha

Category: Drama

Media: Film

Rating: 3 out of 5


In the footsteps of Gangaajal, this is another movie by Prakash Jha based on real life stories which highlighs the corruption that plagues our country, and in particular, Bihar.

The movie is loongish, but I didn’t get bored. There’s not a whole lot of action, but the plot unfolds in a manner that keeps you interested. Fortunately, Jha was sensible enough not to give too many lines to Bipasha, and neither has he used her for skin show. There is the customary item number though, albeit starring someone else.

The movie is about Ajay Shastri (Devgan) who just wants to become a police inspector by honest means and do his father proud. But the corrupt system forces into bribery. One thing leads to another, and before Ajay knows it, he’s neck deep into the quick sand of corruption and power politics.

The movie focuses on the recent “business” that has been made out of kidnapping and ransom money. However, I thought the movie could have been much more powerful and strong. It doesn’t send out any clear message, and leaves the audience thinking that fighting the system is useless.

Wholesome entertainment

Harry Potter
My rating: 4 out of 5


There are plenty of reviews out there and everyone has already read the book so I don’t have much to add there.

I //really// liked the movie. Wholesome entertainment. Nice, long movie. Sit back and relax, enjoy the visuals, immerse yourself in the movie. True, they’ve ripped off the details, but how much can you fit into a movie? The movie is faithful enough that the plot seems consistent, and includes all the major events.

The only gripe I have is that Harry and Hermione are really bad actors. Harry is the worst (sorry I should be putting the real names here, just too lazy). The best of the pack is Ron — he’s just a natural in his role.

Can’t wait for the remaining three. I //do// hope Warner Bros. sees this fabulous series to completion.

Money transfer in movies


Two days back suddenly it hit me — all the movie scenes where they show some kind of electronic money transfer taking place are //so// wrong! Think about it, picture the scene: the bad guys are trying to transfer a gazillion dollars to their secret account in Switzerland, holding some hostage at gunpoint; they show the progress bar, the numbers ticking away, the account draining out… and right when the progress bar hits 99.99% our hero/heroine blasts in and somehow interrupts the transfer and saves the world.

It happened in MI, most of the Bond movies, tons of hindi movies, Swordfish and is still going on.

Why is it wrong? Well because money is not data! If I transfer a file thats 10 times larger than another file, its going to take 10 times longer. But money transfers are a **single** operation, irrespective of the amount involved (in the general case. There might be cases where some transactions take place in steps, but even then the number of steps might not always be proportional to the amount).

So for one, there should be //no// progress bar! Electronic money transfers are atomic. One might get “it happened” or “it couldn’t happen”, but its totally wrong to depict that somehow “it didn’t happen because we were interrupted at 99.9%”!!

I know its not a big realization, but somehow I found it very very funny. :-) And interesting. That how when I first saw those movies, it seemed so natural. That but //of course// it can be interrupted at 99.9% and nothing would go wrong.

A simple life


{{ http://www.ioncinema.com/beta/images/upload/3712pic1116.jpg?150×200|March of the Penguins}}

Last night I went to see [[http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/|March of the Penguins]] with my friends here. It isn’t really a movie, its more like a documentary. Its cute, funny in places; some of the scenes are simply breathtaking; you feel sad at times for the helplesness of these animals against Nature.

But watching the movie really made me think about the life these majestic emperor penguins lead, and the lives we humans lead. //ALERT//: I’m going to make some sweeping generalizations here, but just bear with me.

I was thinking about the life of these penguins. Year after year after year, they go through the same ritual. Half the year they spend walking (not sliding, not riding, not flying, just walking… and if you’ve seen penguins walk, you can appreciate that its not the most efficient form of transportation). And its not a short walk — say 3 or 4 trips of 70 miles each, in freezing snow and biting winds. Their lives are centered around their off springs — to save them from the cold, to feed them, to protect them. Their love is passionate, but short lived — partners change pretty much every year. They go without food for upto 4 months at a stretch.

Its a simple life, you’ll admit. Humans, in comparison, lead //vastly// complicated lives. I mean if an alien race was to make a documentary on humans, I doubt they’d be able to capture a //single// human’s life in 3 earth hours, let alone capture the entire human species. But what have we really added to our lives in making them so complicated?

The penguins experience love; they show pride; they show honour and mutual respect; they show endurance; they show cooperation; and they have some education. As humans scurry about their busy lives all over the world, in the remotest corners of antarctica a group of penguins goes on with their lives, walking, feeding, living, dying, walking … unaware of the immensity of the universe.

But what have we added to our lives with all our knowledge and science and technology? Don’t you sometimes wish that our lives were as simple as the penguins? Where we could take pleasure in the simple smalleties and not worry about all the politics and the careers and the countries and the societies and the countless number of threads that bind us and weave around us this complex web of humanity.

When I put myself in perspective with the bigger picture, //life, universe and everything// … I feel so small and humble. Its a good feeling :-)