Best of 2011

If I remember it correctly, First Movie released in 2011 that I saw was Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows Part 2, in July - almost the same time I started U, Me and Films. So considering the backlog of 6 and half months, I think I did good - finishing 2011 with close to 50 movies so far, including Documentaries. It isn't a big number Yes, but even though I know I still have a lot to catch up on, I don't think there is any point in post-phoning this post any further. Then there is usual issue of the release dates. So, I am considering all movies which got theatrical release in 2011, Film Festivals do not count. So I will start with the movies that I still haven't seen and from the word of it, might have made their in this list. Some of them are: Shame, Take Shelter, A Separation, The Artist, We Need to Talk about Kevin.

And you will realise that I have 2 movies at number 10. Actually, I was almost ready to publish this few days ago. Then, just yesterday, I saw The Descendents and it was so good that I had to put it here. So, since I had everything written, instead of taking something out, I have 2 movies at number 10. I know I am cheating here but Let us get into best of what I have seen:

10. Warrior: Warrior takes the beaten down path of many Sports movies before it. However, despite the cliches, the reason it works is because it focuses on what happens outside the ring to make what happens inside the ring more exciting. It invests richly in the characters so that we care about them. With Great performances from Tom Hardy, Joel Edgarton and Nick Nolte, Warrior is not the one to miss. Full review very soon.

10. The Guard: Though a little incomprehensible at times because of the Irish accent, it is a Beautiful little Irish Comedy. Brandon Gleeson is wonderful in it, rather only reason I saw this was his Golden Globe Nomination. I did not even knew about it then. But, it is totally worth it. Thank you very much for making my New Year's Eve.

9. Drive: Ryan Gosling is at his best in this nearly dialogue Free Performance. Albert Brooks and Carrey Mulligan also deliver equally great performances to aid Gosling. However, apart from the stunning performances, what makes this film a great visual experience is Nicolas Wending Refn's stylish direction from Gosling's Scorpion Jacket and 80's synth-pop soundtracks to hot pink titles and stunning cinematography.

8. The Skin I Live In: With this, Pedro Almodovar has officially become the Master of making me uncomfortable. Except Broken Embraces(2009), every Almodovar movie I have seen makes me so uncomfortable. But, that is no reason to deny the greatness of it. What makes it great is Antonio Banderas' excellent Portrayal of lead role, Elena Anaya's breathtaking beauty and concept which is far more haunting than you realize while watching it.

7. Beginners: It is easy to like or relate to Beginners if you are of certain age. I am NOT of that age but I still love it. Why? Maybe because it portrays relations beautifully, maybe because of those montages of different years or maybe because of Christopher Plummer's liveliness, Ewan McGregor's sadness and Melanie Laurent's quirkiness. But more than that, Beginners is about saying it is never late to begin something. Yes!! Definitely Yes!! That is why I like it.

6. Senna: Since my college days, when I started following Formula 1 racing, I have been always been in the awe of phenomenon that Ayerton Senna was. Even today, my heart sinks a little whenever someone mentions the race Senna was killed. It was great to know one of the idols of his time with this beautiful documentary, made completely through the archival footage. Sports fan in me could actually feel my pulses rising like I am watching an actual race.

5. Melancholia: Most accessible of Von Trier's Film is what it is called. I wouldn't really know, since it is the only one I have seen yet. But, I have never seen depression looking so beautiful and so harrowing with the dialogues like "Earth is an evil place. We don't need to grieve for it. No one will miss it". Kirsten Dunst embodies the depression to the perfection. First 8 and 1/2 minutes of imagery and that ending alone should warrant it's place here in this list.

4. The Descendants: My first thought after watching it - Run Clooney Run !! Run Like Wind !!. On a serious note, The Descendants is extremely honest and genuine piece of art, in its direction as well as in performances. Alexander Payne, George Clooney and Shailene Woodley deserve special mention for this. And for someone who hasn't even seen his family for one whole year, that last scene was just too perfect. Full review, very soon too.

3. Midnight in Paris: Traditionally, I have been very selective about Woody Allen. Though there are movies he made that I simply love(Match Point(2005) and Manhattan(1979)), I usually find him pretentious. However, in case of Midnight in Paris, I was intrigued right from when I heard about it first and thankfully, it was on par with my expectations. By the end of this nostalgic trip through the 1920's Paris, I was beaming with excitement. If nothing else, it is worth watching for the sight seeing of Paris. 

2. Hugo: When I watched Hugo, it was only because we did not have any other option. Since I saw first trailer, I was never excited about it basically because I hate 3-D(I have glasses, wearing that stupid goggle over them feels like someone is pulling my nose down). But by the end of it, I was taken by it mainly because Scorsese made it so personal, so nostalgic. And for a change, I loved the 3-D aspect of it too. Maybe, it just needed a master like Scorsese to handle it properly.

1. Incendies: One of the regional Indian writers I have admired once wrote that 'When you ask a question, it's not an Answer that we are looking for. But, it is satisfaction that comes with that answer. Answer which does not give you that satisfaction will be more unsatisfactory than the question itself.'  Incendies is going to linger in my mind for a long, long time because it does not give you that satisfaction. This movie has become an epitome of Shock for me. I was awestruck, dumbfounded.

Others worth mentioning: The Help, Martha Marcy May Marlene, 50/50, The Ides of March, 13 Assassins.

Average Movies with above average Female Lead

I really hate when Netflix takes the movies off their Instant watch, giving me just few days of notice - especially when they do something like last week of 2011, there were 7 movies in my queue, to be taken off of Instant Watch and I had 6 days to watch them. At least give me couple of weeks notice before taking it off. There is a reason why these movies are in my list. So, eventually I could only watch 5 of them and had to let 2 of them go. One of the 5 movies I watched, was Funny Girl(1968) with Barbara Streisand and Omar Sherif and first thing I was reminded of after watching it was something Alex@And So It Begins wrote in his review of Young Adult(2011). He said that this might be the year of great female performances in otherwise mediocre films. This got me thinking about few other movies I have seen which can be categorized under this title 'Great female performances in otherwise mediocre films'. Now, the movies I have listed below are not necessarily bad. However, in my opinion their Female Lead is the best part of it, and in some cases only thing worth watching in it.

Funny Girl(1968): Since I started with this, let me get this over with. It is kind of biopic which covers many years of life of singer and comic Fanny Brice. So, it gets overly melodramatic and lengthy at more then two and half hours and worst part about the movie was it focused so much on Barbara Streisand that it looked like no one else really mattered there. But, Does Barbara Streisand Deliver? I blame my English Teachers for not having a word in my vocabulary to describe her but she is phenomenal. Every emotion, every line, every thing she does in this movie is so natural that it feels like William Wyler shot her without her knowing it and then put it together as a film. She has literally lived this role rather than just acting it and got her well deserved Oscar for this role. So, Barbara Streisand is simply phenomenal in this but I am not sure that there is anything else even worth mentioning about Funny Girl(1968). Great Female performance in otherwise Mediocre Film.

Sweet Home Alabama(2001): It has been one of my Guilty pleasure movies for a long time. I know, it is such a chick flick but I have seen it every time they show it on TV which is at least a dozen times. It is one of those movies my parents walk out on because I know all the dialogues by now and I keep on repeating after them(others being Lord of the Rings Trilogy and countless episodes of Friends(1994)). But, I know that it is a very ordinary movie at best. It is a love story that does not even make an effort to avoid any of the cliches, so tacky, so cheesy. But even then, Reese Witherspoon is so Good in it. It probably is her first movie I saw as well. With her natural beauty, talent and charm, She is the anchor that keeps this movie at least standing where it is. I am almost certain that without her this movie would have been much worse than it is. It does have some of my favorite lines as well.

A Very Long Engagement(2004):  A Small, little French movie involving Audrey Tautou, about a young woman's relentless search of her fiancee, who has disappeared from the trenches of Somme during World War one. I saw it in one of my Friend's House and asked her if I can borrow it because it looked interesting and had Tautou in it. Now, it wasn't bad, it was rather good. But, I have watched it almost a year ago and only two things I remember about it are Audrey Tautou's towering performance and being really morose throughout and little too stretched by the end. However, Audrey Tautou is brilliant in the titular role. Re-uniting with director of Amelie(2001) Jean-Pierre Jaunet which brought International Fame to Tautou, she plays mathilda, a young woman who has lost a leg to Polio in her childhood and is not about to lose her Fiancee to War. Her two roles could not be more different but she plays them equal finesse and grip.   

The Piano(1993): Holly Hunter won Oscar for this role in 1994 for playing a mute woman. However, she does enough with her face and body language to more than deserve that accolade. It is kind of strange story of mute woman that is Holly Hunter and her daughter that is Anna Paquin who are shipped to New Zealand after her marriage with a wealthy landowner. It should be interesting to say the least and this mother-daughter combo does everything in their power to make it so. But, my main problem with The Piano was everyone else looked kind of uninterested in it. Sam Neill who plays her husband and landowner and Harvey Keitel who is a local worker both act as if director did not play them money he promised and this is the way they are protesting it. They both are distant, disengaged. Anna Paquin won an Oscar for this role too. If not for two of them, this would have been very, very ordinary film.

The Help(2011): The point where it all started was, Alex's Comment where he said there are many movies this year with great female performance but movie is otherwise blend like Charlize Theron in Young Adult, Michelle Williams in My Week with Merilyn (I might watch it this weekend) and Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. But, I have not seen any of these movies yet. What I have seen is The Help. I actually like the movie and it does have an outside chance of being in my Top 10. But it is basically because two reasons. First, I had just finished the book and I loved the book. So, I was kind of into that mood already. And secondly, Performances. Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard were all brilliant in it. Davis and Chastain look all set to get Nominated for Oscars for it too. However, As compared to the book, movie only scratches the surface of the whole story. Book was so much better. So, it fits perfectly into the theme of this post.

And few more I can think of: Rachel McAdams in Morning Glory(2010), Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovick(2000)

I am wondering into the Foreign Land

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone !! Since, I started writing this blog back in June, one thing that has definitely changed is now a days, I am watching a lot of Foreign movies. Not that I did not watch them before but with this exposure, whole new world has opened up in front of me and I am trying to get as much of it as I can. I have seen more Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian or Swedish movies than Indian movies in past two and half years. So in this new year, it is only fitting that I am coming up with one more list - list of my favorite Foreign Films. More so since my End of the year list will take at least couple of more weeks to come up.

Foreign Films to me are films in the language I cant speak. So No English Films, no Indian films either. I am completely aware of the fact that even though I am watching many more foreign films these days, it still remains to be the drop in the ocean. So If you don't see a movie you love here, it is probably because I haven't seen it yet(As I said I haven't seen a lot of them) or I remain blissfully unaware of its existence. All the recommendations are most Welcome. Please let me know, I will love to check them out.

So, Here we Go !! 

1. Cidade de Deus (City of God)(2002): Definitely one of the most realistic films I have seen. It was also my Film of the year 2002. I said there as well that this film leaves a much lasting impression when you know that the almost all real life characters were the same age of the characters portraying them.

2. Rashômon (Rashomon)(1950): It tells you the same story in 3 different ways - 3 characters telling the same story from their perspective. It serves to show how important pretense is for everyone to preserve their dignity even after life. It questions humanity but restores your faith with the amazing ending.

3. Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thieves)(1948): One more classic and rightly considered as one of the most widely acclaimed European movie. It is a Story of a man and his son looking for their bicycle stolen on the same day he bought it. Beauty of this movie is in it's simplicity. But when it hits you, it hits you really hard.

4. Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)(1988): Tragic story of survival of Brother and his little sister in wartime Japan. I also admire the film for taking the medium of animation and exploring it beyond the typical animation world, now-a-days movies are limited to.

5. Incendies(2011) : There have been many movies with a really powerful ending - that one last moment which elevates the whole movie to another level. However, at least I haven't seen anything as powerful as Incendies(2011). From the very first scene it is imminent that we will witness something disturbing. But when it actually does, it is much more devastating than you can imagine.

6. Festen(The Celebration)(1998): It is 60th Birthday of patriarch of family. Whole family is gathered at their estate to celebrate it. What do you expect next? Nothing you will see in this film because plain simple truth is devastating. Also, It is first film made in Dogma 95 style with handheld cameras, direct sound and on location filming. Interesting stuff.

7. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)(2006): Story of a Secret Service Agent in Communist Germany asked to spy on the writer and his lover. While watching their lives through his own eyes, he finds his loyalty towards the government questioned. Most Fascinating part of the movie is watching his transformation from dedicated SS Agent to an anti establishment figure himself.

8. Shichinin No Samurai(Seven Samurai)(1954): Probably the best known work of Legendary Japanese film-maker Akira Kurosawa. Storyline of Seven unemployed Samurai hired to defend a village under bandit attach does not sound too illustrious. However, film has attained the cult-classic status and like The Godfather(1972), is the inspiration of many films to follow.

9. Trois Couleurs: Rogue(Three Colours: Red)(1994): Best film of the Kieslowski's Three Colours Trilogy by far. Maybe it is Just Irene Jacob, I found it really hard to take my eyes off the whole time. And maybe I haven't digested the whole thing yet and it will take few more viewings to do that. But even then I loved this multi-layered story of how our lives interconnect with complete strangers. 

10. La Scephandre et la Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)(2007): Real life Story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, Amicable, playboyish editor of French Elle magazine who suffers a stroke at age 43. This stroke leaves his left eye as the only functional part of his body. It's quite a fascinating story of how he survives to write a book about it.

 

And as I said I have seen many good foreign movies, it was almost impossible to stop at 10. So, I am just mentioning my 11 to 20 as well in no particular order. Any of these movies easily could have appeared in top 10 as well.

11-20

Le Salaire de la peur (Wages of Fear)(1953)

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (Amelie)(2001)

Smultronstallet (Wild Strawberries)(1957)

Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces)(2009)

Valz Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)(2008)

Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander)(1983)

El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)(2006)

Todo Sobre Mi Madre(All About My Mother)(1999)

Bacheha-Ye-aasmaan (Children of Heaven)(1997)

Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too)(2001)

Bollywood 101

I am going to try impossible here. After coming to US and starting this blog, many of my American colleagues and friends here at university, have asked me to give them couple of movies which will represent Hindi Film Industry. Every time I have found it impossible to do that. I probably can give you names of some of my favorite films, but they are not necessarily a reflection of Indian Cinema as a whole. However, after a lot of deliberation, I have decided to give it a try. But, then again, I am taking a little bit of Liberty and do it in 10 movies rather than just a couple.

Let me set some Ground Rules here. Now, since I am trying to give the glimpse of Hindi Film Industry,  I am going to try and choose these films so that they cover as much of turf as possible. Different actors, different directors, different time periods, different genres as well. Some of them will be cheesy, typical Bollywood-ish romances and there will be also be something groundbreaking at least for Hindi Movies. They may not be 10 best Hindi films made ever but in my opinion, for someone who does not have a clue about Indian Film Industry, they should be able to sum up the whole "Bollywood Experience". Also, Dancing and Singing comes as an essential part of any movie. In many cases, it is the best part of the movie(e.g Taal(1999) or Yes Boss(1997)). So, you have to bear with that. They might also be tad longish for your taste. And lastly, It is possible that there might be one more film, just like this, made somewhere in the other corner of the world. As much as I hate it, Bollywood is Privy to plagiarism and there are movies which are pretty much Hindi Translations of the original version (e.g. Pretty much everything from Bhatt Camp and that is why the name - Bollywood). So, even if it is a copy, I assure you that at least it is a good copy.

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Lagaan(2001): I know few people who seriously believe that this is THE movie to represent Hindi Cinema. I never thought so because I don't think that any movie can represent a complete industry. But more I think about it, more sense it makes. So, I still don't think it is THE movie though it is closest thing. It is story of a village in per-independence India or rather British India. An eccentric British officer challenges a villagers to a game of cricket on the terms that if villagers win, they do not have to pay any taxes for 3 years and if they lose they will pay double tax. You have almost everything in this movie. Great music, great acting, good direction and some pretty interesting characters. It has romance, comedy, inspiration, thrill. It is a great package.

2. Satya(1998): It is one of the most influential films made, many even call it a modern masterpiece. It tells the story of a small town guy, Satya, who comes to Mumbai to get a job but gets sucked into the Underworld. It shows his slow rise from being nobody to the most important person in his gang. It has some standout performances such as Manoj Bajpei as Bhiku and Saurabh Shukla as Kallu Mama. Shephali Chhaya, in a small role of Bhiku's wife also leaves a lasting impression. It marked introduction of new genre 'Mumbai Noir' which represents slick, underlying portrayal of Mumbai underworld including gritty and realistic brutality and urban violence.

3. Do Beegha Jamin(1953): Most Indians will remember this film for the epic cart chase scene in it. However, actually whole movie is as good and tragic as that scene. Directed by one of the greatest directors Bimal Roy, it is about a poor farmer and his small piece of land which local landlord wants to buy to construct a mill on it. Our farmer rejects the initial offer and hence landlord makes sure that his life is miserable. Inspired by Italian Neo-Realistic style and Bicycle Thieves(1948), you can definitely draw many parallels between the two. However, Do Beegha Jamin(1953) goes beyond Bicycle Thieves(1948) to show their misery. Another reason it is very important for Indian Cinema is, just like Bimal Roy's another movie Madhumati(1958), movie was a trend setter in many ways and was one of the Pioneers of Parallel Cinema Movement.

4. Sholay(1975): Probably THE most important film in the history of Indian Cinema. Every aspect of this film has been Legendary. Story, Characters, Dialogues, Cinematography, Set and Music. It is an Indian version of Seven Samurai(1953) and probably only genuine Indian Western Movie. It is a story of Thakur Baldev Singh, whose family has been massacred by Bandit Gabbar Singh. So, he hires two outlaws to help him catch that Bandit. References to Seven Samurai(1953) are obvious. When released in 1975, it broke almost every possible box office record and no movie came any closer to it for next 2 decades. For any person associated with this movie, it is considered as THE movie of their career and there are many heavyweights associated with it.

  

5. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge(1995): This movie is perfect example of what Bollywood is known for in the Past couple of decades. It is pretty much cliched Family-centric Romantic Musical which started the horde of many such movies. However, if you want to see one, at least what you can do is see the best one and DDLJ is definitely THE one. It is about a boy who tries to win the hearts of the family of a girl he loves after they oppose their marriage. It even sounds cliched I know, but it is a litmus test. If you can not stand this one, you will probably not be able to bare with 80% of the movies made since. I am yet to meet an Indian who does not like this movie. So, I figure that should mean something.

6. Pyaasa(1957): Any list of this sort probably will not be complete without any mention of Guru Dutt, one of the most celebrated Indian Directors on International Level. And what other film can represent him better than one of his dream Projects Pyaasa(1957). Like the Hero of this movie, our Poet Vijay, who gets his work published and gets recognised for his work after he is considered dead, Guru Dutt and many of his movies achieved Cult Status after his death in 1964. Even now when re-released Pyaasa(1957) has run to full houses especially in France and Germany. Guru Dutt and Pyaasa have found their place in almost every 'Best of Indian Cinema' list all over the world.

7. Jewel Thief(1967): if someone asks me to choose a book of all the Harry Potter books, I will probably choose Prisoner of Azkaban, for one that I think that it is a book that can stand tall pretty much on its own and most importantly because after reading around 250-300 pages, you are told that whatever you read till now, was all wrong, it was just an illusion. I might have just told you the whole story of Jewel Thief. It is one of the good Crime Thrillers. If you like the likes of North by Northwest(1959), this movie should have something for you as well.

8. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron(1983): There are few good comedy movies I was considering here. But the only reason I am choosing this over others is I think this Monty Pythonesque satirical comedy might appeal to wider audience. Though you might need a liitle background knowledge in the last scene, which in my opinion is probably the most hilarious sequence. It is a satire on corruption involved in almost every governmental department and has a stellar cast. It has even attained the status of Cult Classic by now, since even after 28 years it applies perfectly to the current situations.

9. Ardh Satya(1983): Another Landmark film in the history of Indian cinema and probably is the best cop movie made in India. It tells us the story of a policeman who is struggling to keep his morals intact when the whole world around him is telling him against it. If I have to, I can draw some parallels between this and Serpico(1973) or Sidney Lumet other Cop Trilogy though ending here is more devastating. Besides the ending, it also has a cathartic moment when our protagonist breaks down while reading a poem from which this movie derives its name. Brilliance !!

10. Rang De Basanti(2007): And to sum it up, I have a movie which was the last Indian movie to be nominated in BAFTA awards and which reflects upon the youth of India. In my own opinion, ending of this movie is over the top. But it deserves special mention just for the transition from first half, involving a of Bunch of college students who do not give a damn about rest of world to second half where they are out on the roads to change the system which has claimed one of them. And again our very own A.R.Rehman comes up with some of the unforgettable music to reflect the perfect mood.

I know it is a very long list. But hey, you are learning about Indian Film Industry which in unlike any other in the whole damn world. What else did you expect?? I am leaving you guys with a Taste of India this holiday Season.Hope you Enjoy it and Happy Holidays !!