As
the name of this post suggests, this series is basically about some of the best
movies Hindi cinema has to offer. As a film lover and someone who has grown up
watching these movies, I want to give the glimpses of my world to everyone else
who hasn’t yet been initialized to it or is under the impression of it being
nothing more than glitzy, glamorous melodrama and random song and dance
sequences. There is more to it and I intend to showcase that through these
posts.
All
the films I have highlighted so far in this feature are sort of obvious
inclusions. Not that they are unworthy of it, far from it, but if you ask
anyone to name 10 Most Essential Hindi movies, there is a good chance that
person will include 5 of these movies in that list. All these are fairly big names which have garnered quite a reputation over the years for being some of the best this behemoth of an industry has to offer. Nothing wrong with that, especially since I agree with their 'Essential' status as well. For the first time, I am
going for a little obscure film in this series. For reasons that are unknown and incomprehensible to me, Jaagte Raho(1956) is not a movie that gets mentioned fairly regularly in Bollywood vernacular. It certainly deserves much more attention that it gets and if I can steer few people its way though this post, I will be extremely happy. That's what I intend to do with these posts anyway!
I have not seen it happen for a long time now but in olden days, chowkidaars or security guards and police constables on their night duty used to keep each other awake through the night with loud, intermittent shouts of "Jaagte Raho!" or Stay Awake. Title of film is a reference to that as it takes place during one single night in a big apartment complex of a city. This film follows a peasant's first night in the big city. He has just arrived empty handed from his village looking for job and is roaming through the night roads of city looking for nothing other than just a drink of water. It all fairness, it should not be too hard to find but he learns that the hard way, probably even in worst possible way.
After looking for it a while, he comes across a dog drinking water from leaking water tap inside a big housing society. He sneaks in through a small gap of their locked main door. But before he can quench his thirst and get on his way, he is sighted by a police constable on his regular night strolls. Policeman takes him for a thief and wakes up security guard of society who in turn wakes up whole society warning them of presence of a thief in their society. Next two hours consist of everyone in society hunting him like a dog and him trying to save his skin. Various encounters he has with multiple people in that society not only produce lot of dark humour but also expose dark side of so called serene, sophisticated life of city people.
First house he gets into to hide from everyone has two illicit lovers meeting in the dark to hide from girl's father. Sudden clamour this thief has created puts them at great disadvantage as these paramours can't hide in house for fear of her father, can't go out either for fear of getting caught. Next, he follows an outwardly gentleman looking guy but soon finds out this guy has lost everything on horse races and even witnesses him stealing his wife's jewellery. Then he witnesses a drunkard forcing his wife to sing and dance for him. As he goes from one house to another, gravity of crimes he witnesses that are so well swept under sham of sophistication gets more and more serious and distressful and our peasant gets trapped deeper and deeper into it. Whole thing culminates into last half hour which gives us many twists and turns but is brilliantly executed. Best thing about it though is he gets to drink water; for which he gets into all this trouble; only after he manages to get out of that building, in very last frame of film!
Jaagte Raho was made under RK films banner which has been dormant for past few years but is one of the legendary production houses of India established by Raj Kapoor. Kapoor family is nothing short of royalty in Bollywood after producing legend after legend for four generations and Raj Kapoor is probably biggest luminary they produced. Apart from producing it, Raj Kapoor, who is considered as the greatest Showman of Hindi Cinema, plays central role of peasant. One of the joys of watching this film was getting to see so many known actors pop up in other roles. I would sooner recognize Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder(2008) than I would Pran as reporter in this film. Ifteqar, who would go on to make a career out of playing cop, is leader of search party in charge of finding thief or Pradeep Kumar, secret lover of first house, known for Jo Wada Kiya Wo...
I will never deny him as a legend or impact he has had over the industry or on generations after him, but I have always had my reservations against Raj Kapoor both as an actor and director. Though it is mostly based on films in the later phase of his life, his films are tedious, laborious and over sentimental. He is also known for playing almost same character in every film and you see traces of that character even when he was not really playing it. But I will also be the first one to admit that this is like saying Charlie Chaplin, who BTW was huge inspirational for Raj Kapoor's act and it was evident, did nothing other than playing a tramp all his life or Hitchcock did nothing other than thrillers. Like Chaplin and Hitchcock, his act had much more nuance to it if you care to scratch beneath the surface. That act gave some of the most popular and well known pieces of art like Awara(1951), Anari(1959) or Shree 420(1955) all in same decade. That was the Golden Age of Indian cinema after all!
1950s
is considered as the Golden Period of Hindi cinema and for a very good reason.
'50s is to Bollywood what '70s was to Hollywood. That was the time when
Parallel cinema got its biggest exposure and almost merged into Mainstream
cinema. That was the time when directors tackled different subjects and
presented different themes. Some of the biggest stars ventured into many
different territories, something that dearly lacked in Bollywood in recent
times, or even became big by doing so. And more importantly, they
got recognition. Bengali directors played vital part in taking industry
there. Satyajit ray, probably the only Indian director with international
acclaim got his start with Apu trilogy in '50s though he didn't make a
Hindi movie till late '70s. Bimal Roy, a director who inspired generations of
directors to follow, was at his peak during that time. Hrishikesh Mukharjee, a
personal favourite, got his start with aforementioned Anari and I am sure
there are many more that I am missing. To the best of my knowledge, this is
that only credit of director Amit Moitra but I would like to believe that this
high tide of Hindi cinema and influence of Bengali directors then played some
part in that.
Rating(out
of 5):
Previous Essentials:
Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings.This was a tumultuous month! Due to various personal reasons and also bit due to lack of inspiration, whole month almost went silent and then I had to rush to put 2 posts on consecutive days. I can not promise how regular next month can be either because there are many things still in the balance but here is to hoping it would be a bit more regular. On to the movies of this month...
April
The Godfather(1972)(Re-watch): The Godfather is one of my absolute favourites. It has always been and it will always be. But if I tell you I have only seen it once in its entirety, would you believe that? Because that's true. I have actually read Puzo's book twice but this was only second time I saw film. I mean, it is so prevalent in pop culture that it never felt like it. I have seen bits and pieces of it over and over but whole three hours of it in one sitting - just twice now and that Diane Keaton's face in that last shot will always, always make it worth it.
Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 1(2012)(Re-watch): I had seen first part back in 2012 itself but for some reason I never went to second one from that. And since they were originally planned to release as single 5-hour long film, it was imperative for me to give this another look before diving into second part. I know I will be watching it many times over, if only to watch Manoj Bajpayee imitating washing clothes, so I am certainly not complaining. And songs! Their lyrics, their feel, their style. Everyone who decided they shouldbe done this way and everyone who executed that plan to perfection is sheer Genius!
Gangs of Wasseypur: Part 2(2012): I have not felt as strongly for any Hindi film in at least 5 years as much as I did for Wasseypur. There is absolutely nothing I will like to see changed because these films are so well put together that changing anything might mean changing the whole product. And I don't know if it can get any superior. I mean, seriously, how can you do better than "Nervousao Nahi Mora" or whichever the hell songs Yashpal Sharma was on screen for. Accept it, nobody can!
30 For 30: The Price of Gold(2014): If you ask my mother, she will tell you that I can watch any sport; however boring it might be. There is certain level of truth in it because I can but figure skating isn't one of them. I have seen bunch of sports documentaries but all of them have been about sport that I at least know some basics of. Figure skating isn't one of them too. But then, I also haven't seen a documentary about an event so pervasive that a President of any nation references it in his speech. That makes in unique in every aspect!
Chungking Express(1994): Maybe I had my expectations set little too high after In the Mood for Love(2000) but a couple of expeditions I have takes after that to Wong Kar Wai land have been rather disappointing to me. I was glad to see something that I liked. More than one simultaneous stories that are somehow connected to each other seems to be his style, at least early in his career and he uses it here as well though they are not really simultaneous. They are both interesting and executed really well. So, no complaints from me!
Jagte Raho(1956): One of the forgotten masterpieces of Hindi cinema. I remember I first came to know about this movie in one of the lists somewhere and I have been looking for this movie ever since. I never heard anyone else talking about this movie ever and it became evident that not many people know about this movie when I actually started looking for it. I have no idea why. It really is one of the gems of Indian cinema and I intend to dedicate my next 'Bollywood Essentials' to it.
Wings(1927): Even after getting through 70 Oscar winners, films before '40s have mostly eluded me. Sure, they are difficult to get hold of than most recent ones and that is a major factor why I have seen only 2 films before 1938. But many of them have also lost their place in public consciousness. Most of these films get into conversation only when you talk about Oscar winners. You respect movie like Wings even more if you consider that. It still holds its ground even after being very first Oscar winner.
American Graffiti(1973): Blind spot of this month. I have heard many people say "I wish George Lucas would go to make movies like he did before Star Wars". I am sure most of them would say differently if he did not put a bullet into his foot with Star Wars prequels but I was interested in checking out validity of above statement. I certainly liked it way more than I usually like movies like that but it is rather ironic that news of Star Wars 7 casting came same day I published my post. Whatever tiny smudge of soft spot formed inside of me for Lucas, vanished with reminder of existence of Star Wars 7.
The Secret World of Arrietty(2011): I have been a Ghibli fan for a long time now and as any real fan would, I have seen most of their films. I have seen every film Hayao Miyazaki ever directed except The Wind Rises(2014) which hasn't released here yet and I am not sure if it ever will but there are a few with him not at the helm that have escaped me. I managed to check one off here. It's a well-known story of The Borrowers but one that fits perfectly in Ghibli canon and is done with enough charm to make it worth your time.
The Big Chill(1983): I am not exactly sure how to rate this film. I mean, I really like the camaraderie amongst those friends and there were several instances that I could relate to but at the same time there were as many instances that I felt like they are going too far or being little too pretentious. I am sure anyone who has seen this movie knows what I am talking about and maybe this is cultural and I might feel differently about it in few years but there was one instance in particular which I felt like was dealt with too lightly.
Captain America: The First Avenger(2011): To get ready for new Captain America, which I still haven't seen BTW but for that, I had to clear my backlog first. I am not sure why people call it one of the best. For me, it was a typical Superhero film - a decent, fun film but nothing beyond that. Hayley Atwell was good, even Chris Evans was not bad but I am getting tired of Hugo Weaving as a menacing villain and story was rather stupid. Plus, I have always had a bit of problem with Captain America. I am sorry but he is kind of lame superhero.
Tropic Thunder(2008): I understand that comedy is a very subjective genre but so many people sang praises of this film to me that I was quite excited to check it out. As I sat there watching it, in first couple of minutes I realized this is going to be a tough task as, except for Robert Downey Jr., I don't really care for anyone in the cast. I even downright hate likes of Jake Black. Withing 15 minutes, I knew even getting through this would be a task and by the end, my overall apathy of everyone else prevailed over RDJ and unrecognizable Tom Cruise.
Mr. Hulot's Holiday(1953): I have never seen a Tati film before and if you ask me in one line, it was supremely disappointing. Basically, It is like a series of various unrelated gags done at or around the same place put together and I had problem with everything about it. First of all, I didn't find most of the gags funny but that can be subjective, so I won't put too much wait on it. Second, if it is presented as one film, shouldn't there be some theme, some common element to connect various incidents together? Third, was it a silent film? was it a talkie or both or neither? Fourth, well... you get my point.
An American in Paris(1951): 71st of Best Picture winners I have seen and one of the worst so far. It was a colossal waste of my time. They had about 13 minutes of story that can actually amount to something and then MGM hired Gene Kelly and couple of other people who can sing and dance and stuffed it till it bloated to 113 minutes. Every single song or dance, including An American in Paris ballet, were completely, utterly and absolutely useless as they meant zip in terms of story. It was a torture of level in A Clockwork Orange(1971). I even struggled to keep my eyes open.
300: Rise of an Empire(2014): I have seen many bad films and I am sure I will many more this year as well but any 2014 film will have a very stiff competition from this film to beat as the worst film of the year. To tell you the truth, I knew exactly what I was walking into. As campy and ridiculous as first 300(2006) was, I still like it for great dialogues, amazing action and its graphic novel feel. Everything that made first one cool, mind you, I am not saying good, makes this one insufferable. I swear, anyone who sat through these two hours without fending strong urge to bolt out deserves some kind of medal.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song(1971): I know I am way out of my element saying anything about this film; I was way out of it just by watching it because I do not have any yardstick to measure this film as anything other than just a film. This might be a cultural phenomena, a cultural revolution even but that doesn't conceal the fact that this is a terrible film in every aspect. Maybe I am looking at it as just a film and that's biggest problem here but there was not a moment in this film that made me think "What the FXXX am I watching?"
Total Count: 16. 14 First
Time Watches and 2 Re-watch .
2014 YTD Count
Total Count: 69. 62 First Time Watches and 7 Re-watches.
It certainly was a turbulent month. Last month, I said that my last month might be the best I have had in a long time in terms of quality of films I saw. I am following it with probably one of the worst. It certainly is very peculiar, if nothing else. I don't think I have had a month before where I had at least one film under each star rating. Under some circumstances that might mean something to celebrate but here it means 1/3 of films I saw in entire month were below average and I think I am pretty generous when it comes to calling a movie average.
So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?
Whenever
I choose my Blind spot films, I usually have certain thought behind them. Since
I had a pretty late start to serious movie watching, there are so many great
films I haven’t seen yet. So when I choose, I try to choose films from as many
decades, genres, languages as possible while trying to justice to those glaring
omissions as well. And obviously, they cater to my own tastes as well though I
do try to use this opportunity to broaden them. So when I get to them, even though I don't go too much into details, I do know few things about them; things that somewhat assure me that there is a good chance of me at least liking these films. I do this so that I would know
what I am getting myself into, at least when it comes to blind spots. These spots are too precious for me and I try not to waste them as much as possible.
But
sometimes, even after all this whittling, I do get a curve ball that I don’t
know how to handle. I am getting into this entire preamble because this month’s
selection, American Graffiti(1973), is one such occasion. I have been
writing this blog for almost three years now and, however poorly I might be
doing it, you would expect I would know how to get
myself out of such situation. Don't worry! It isn't as plain and simple as I didn't really care for this movie. With Barry Lyndon(1975) last year, I have tasted those waters but here I was into something deeper. What, you ask? Well, you will know soon enough!
So
why did I choose American Graffiti? In all honesty, I knew nothing about
it walking in, except for the fact that certain George Lucas directed it. I
don’t have any particular affinity towards this man (or you can say that’s my
way of saying “I pretty much hate him”). I don’t even have any interest in Star
Wars film, original trilogy or abomination of three more films that
followed them, which basically made him whatever he is now. Again, that’s my
way of saying “I don’t understand why people like them so much” and we can all
see what this guy has turned into now. But I added Graffiti to the list because
I have seen many people say something on the lines of – I wish he went back to
making films like American Graffiti. That’s it! All my defense stands on
that single line. Flimsy, eh?
Wait!
There is more. Film is about two high school graduates leaving their small town
to go to college in some big city. I don’t like these films. Sure, I haven’t
seen all of them and sure, there are 1 or 2 I even liked. But mostly, I don’t
like high school movies and more they are about last fateful day or nostalgia
it brings with it, more I stay want to away from them. Maybe I am not just that kind of
guy but I don’t get Dazed and Confused(1991) (See what I did there? and honestly, it should
have been called American Graffiti 2 because that’s what it is). I have had enough last days of my own and surprisingly, I have even spent them in a similar way people do in these films but something about them never connects with me when it is put on screen.
You do realise I am leading you up to something, right? because we are almost there! What I am trying to tell you through all this blabbering is against all odds American Graffiti somehow got to me. Don't worry, I ain't head over heels in love with it and I still don't get how anyone just abandons their car and get into someone else's? Sure, it is just a strip but what if they don't drop you back to where your car is? How are you gonna get back to your car? Have you thought about that? and BTW how in hell do these cars start? because I will be damned if I see a single key in whole film. BUT... main point is I still like this film somehow.
I am sure people connect with this movie because of how authentic it feels. I am sure it reminds viewers of their teenage years and how they went about spending those fateful moments. Even though it is very distinctly '60s with its authentic rock-n-roll and suburban look, it is easy for anyone who has been there to get nostalgic about it. I haven't and that's why I usually don't get them. Maybe it is me back in my hometown, back to those hangouts and back with friends that I spent those times with had its effect but the fact that it did lure me in counts more than it would for any other film.
I like that most of the characters are not obnoxious or at least because I like the film and hence don't think they are. I like that they all have their own stories and they all get their own arcs, sometimes crisscrossing through each other to get to one common end. I liked how it got me invested in them, even those I didn't much care about initially. I knew Ron Howard had his career in front of camera before he got behind it but I liked seeing him and young Richard Dreyfuss. I can't believe this is the same guy in Close Encounters of Third Kind(1977). How much can a man age in 4 years? But most of all, I loved Cindy Williams.
By now, film's tumultuous production is as legendary as film is. One of the six films Universal sanctioned after success of Easy Rider(1969) to let young filmmakers make semi-independent films for low budget, this film hit the rocky road from start. With limited budget and time, Lucas often printed first take he would get even if they weren't necessarily according to the script. It all worked for good though as probably spontaneity of those scenes is what made it such a hit. Technical misfortunes were abundant and it is filmed almost exclusively at night but it looks as well-lit as any suburban strip can be. Apparently Universal deemed it unreleasable and shelved for six months and when they released it, it quickly became third highest grosser of the year.
We all know where Lucas went after this but now I understand why people want him to go back to him before Star Wars. Given his track record, this might be a colossal waste as he did go back to his glory days in 1997 and made what I called above an abomination of trilogy. But still, if he can make anything remotely close to this, it can be worth an attempt. How much worse can it be than Star Wars 7?
Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. I spent most of March trying to wrap 2013. It involved multiple lists like my Favourite Performances - Male and Female and most importantly, Favourite Films of 2013. Take a look, if you haven't already and then we can head on to month at hand.
March
Inception(2010)(Re-watch):
So I was watching Bull Durham the other day(more about it little down the line)
and in it there is a scene where Tim Robbins tells Susan Sarandon to open the
door, that he knows she is in there as he can hear 'that weird Mexican lady'
singing. And she is listening to is 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien'. Generally
I wouldn't know shit about stuff like this but in this case, I instantly went
"That's Edith Piaf and she is French! Everyone knows that!" That's
enough of a reason to watch your all-time favourite, right?
The Social Network(2010)(Re-watch): Another personal favourite I had not watched in over a year, almost two. I was almost beginning to forget lot of its dialogues. After Inception, I had to watch this as well. There are handful of others that contribute as well but these two films are principal reason that I think you can make a strong case for 2010 being one of the best years of decade so far for cinema. It is certainly not better than 2007 but it can certainly be close behind.
Diabolique(1955): Blind Spot of this month which turned out to be one of the Best films I have seen for this series so far and I have seen a few notable films. Best thing about this film was the way Clouzot keeps on building the tension till the end. Come to think of it, the way this film ends should not be as surprising as it was. There are only a couple of ways it could and it does go that way. But there is something going on constantly that is so interesting that it never gives you time to stop and think about it. And then ending drops!
30 For 30: Survive and Advance(2013): ESPN probably should stop calling it 30 for 30 because I am pretty sure I have seen about 35 of them by now. I am not complaining because they always fascinate me but it's rather odd that there are 35+ 30 for 30 docs, right? Like all other documentaries, Survive and Advance is an incredible story of one team achieving the impossible. As fascinating as they are, I only fear falling down this pit again, watching as many as I can on binge. I saw a dozen first time I did that.
M(1931): Did anyone else confuse it with Touch of Evil(1958) or was it just me? I don't know why, mostly because I saw Peter Lorre in the poster looking behind and thought he was Orsen Welles. To make matters a little more confusing, M had the dubious honour of being the highest ranked film on IMDb Top 250 I had not seen. Now baton has been passed to Touch of Evil. It is probably to be expected of a 1931 film but it was little jarring technically but I love how well it captures mentality of the whole society and how little hasn't it changed over the years.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939): I feel like I have watched what could be, or rather should be, Aaron Sorkin's favourite film. This sort of overly idealistic political world we see in his series is probably something we all would love to live in but know for certain will not be possible in million years. I know something like The West Wing(1999) is just a right wing patriot's political fantasy and I still like it. Mr. Smith also treads on similar waters and I like it too but mainly because Claude Rains, Jean Arthur and Jimmy Stewart's usual earnestness.
In a Better World(2010): With Marty this month, now I have seen 69 Best Picture winners. You know how many Best Foreign Film winners I have seen? 23. Including this. I am going to go after remaining Best Picture winners for now but after that, I will have another goal. As for the film, all I knew about it was it beat Incendies(2010), my favourite film of 2010, for that Oscar. Did I think it was better than Incendies? No way! But I can't hold that against it either as it was quite good. Depressing as hell but good film.
Laura(1944):
Probably not one of the most well-known noirs but I certainly had heard
a lot about this film before. Almost halfway into the film and I wasn't
really feeling it but then it put a spin on it. And even though I saw
the end coming before, it only got better from there. It is probably one
of the early noirs where not all the tropes were stone etched but I like the way it plays with genre itself. You get murder, shady
characters, low key lighting but key ingredient is femme fatale and
Laura isn't your typical femme fatale, is she?
The Wild Bunch(1969): So after Marty, I had an impromptu Ernest Borgnine double feature one day with this one. Though it isn't as much Borgnine vehicle as Marty is, watching him play these two so different roles in a day was so worth it. It's a typical Western! Everything and anything you think of when someone says the word 'Western', you will find it here. But it's one of those who just get it right. It's long, it's slow, it's stylish and it's beautiful, intriguing and interesting. Plus, any movie that can pull off that ending wins in my book!
Lust, Caution(2007): What I am going to say next is going to sound stupid but I am going to say it anyways. I know Ang Lee is Chinese, Taiwanese to be more precise, and this is not his first Chinese production I saw but I am always surprised to see how authentically Chinese movies are. Ideally I should be surprised at how authentically American his films appear but since that is how I was introduced to him as a director, it doesn't. Lust, Caution has good story, great leads but what I was more impressed with is everything that gives it authentic Chinese feel.
Bull Durham(1988): I don't like Baseball. I now basics of it but it gets boring to sit and watch. I always thought that would be a problem when I'd watch baseball movies. Surprisingly, I have seen quite a few and have enjoyed them to varying degrees. This would probably count as one of the bests. They rarely make us sit through 9 innings of game, up and down and human stories of it is what attracts us viewers more anyway. Better those human stories are, better the film. And it also helps when actors bring their A-Game like Susan Sanrandon does here. She was on Fire!
To Die For(1995): I did not know much about this film apart from Nicole Kidman is in it and for whom I have heard a lot of praises. She certainly was every bit worth it but to me, Gus Van Sant was as much hero of this film for me as Kidman was. Off course, it's Kidman's show and she never drops the ball for even a second but Van Sant's presentation of this film - everyone is talking straight to us as if they are being interviewed by someone - was certainly intriguing and made it a further more interesting.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989): Funny thing about it is I had two almost polorising experiences watching this film. Initially, I was taking it too seriously. It involved a lot of rolling my eyes and shaking my head. But just about when Sean Connery enters, I realized film itself isn't. Why should I? It almost instantly became better. It was a fun, action film and when I looked at it as just that, I really enjoyed it. I might even go back to Raiders and watch it again because, wait for it..., I didn't really care for it the first time. Now that I know how to enjoy them, I just might like it better.
Notes on a Scandal(2006):
A forewarning, this will venture into spoilers territories. I am not
sure why but I was sort of underwhelmed by this film. If it wasn't for
Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett, who BTW looks radiant in this film,
I probably would have liked it much less. I guess, I was irked by the
dynamics of story - Blanchett, cheating on her husband with her student,
a 15 year old boy, and Dench, constantly seeking companionship of a
woman much younger than her. And I never got over it.
Julia(1977): There were many female-oriented films I saw this month. Julia was one I saw on Women's Day and I wish I had more positive things to say about it but I don't. I didn't 'not' like it but it was told in such a way that I never really found it interesting. Actual story certainly was; storytelling of it wasn't. Even contrast between Jane Fonda's character and Redgrave's, something Zinnemann must be going for, came off as little off putting. I guess he was going for bleak since original story is so grim but it came to me as little too cold.
Marty(1955): As I said earlier, this is my 69th Best Picture Winner. As a film, it was very charming and easy-going film and Ernest Borgnine was really good in his simple, straight forward everyday man role. As a Best Picture winner, it feels too lightweight, like The Artist(2011). There is no such rule that it has to be heavy, meaningful film to be the best of the year but it is hard to imagine that there was no other film that would represent 1955 better than Marty. Another one that suffers just being an Oscar winner, I guess!
The Mist(2007): This one goes into 'The shit you see on TV' category though it wasn't all that shitty for a couple of reasons. Probably the most important reason was Marcia Gay Harden. She played a character I absolutely loathed and I love that she played it so beautifully to get that reaction out of me. Second is its ending. I knew where it was going but I still like the way it took to get there. It is not some sort of ground breaking, trend setting horror film or anything but it certainly is a generic but above par thriller.
Noah(2014): The month I close books on 2013, I open new log for 2014 with Noah. My first 2014 released film. I know we are already three month into the year but, hey, we are still getting the Oscar releases here. I am actually not sure what do I think about this as a whole. There are parts of it I liked but there are parts, as good as they were, which I felt were completely unnecessary. Aronofsky's films usually are cold and brutal but they usually leave us with some strong emotion. Noah didn't.
Total Count: 18. 16 First
Time Watches and 2 Re-watch .
2014 YTD Count
Total Count: 53. 48
First Time Watches and 5 Re-watches.
It is certainly not the most productive month I have had, only 18 films. But I think it could be my best month in terms of quality of films I have seen. I usually have most number of films in 3 and 3 and 1/2 bucket. This month it's predominantly 3 and 1/2; almost 50% movies have come from that. And there are couple of movies each in 4 stars and even 4 and 1/2 stars range which is becoming more and more rare. And even those with 3 stars aren't much inferior at all. I feel like saying something like Tarantino. If The Mist is the worst film I have seen all month, I think I will take that month over any other.
So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?
