Gran Torino : by Clint Eastwood

 

Gran Torino is 2008 , drama film from Clint Eastwood's school of film making.

It  marks the return of Eastwood to acting after his much acclaimed Million Dollar Baby!

The movie follows the life of a World War veteran Walt Kowalski who is disaffected from his family and is angry at the world around him.

One fine day , a young Hmong (an Asian ethnic group) named Thao tries to steal Walt's cherished 1972 Ford Gran Torino under the influence of his gang of cousins.

Henceforth , starts a bond between the kid and the grumpy , recluse old man.

Clint Eastwood plays Walt to perfection with the audience relating to his rants and complaints.

Everything around him is just not perfect be it his relationship with his son and his wife to the neighbourhood.

The Hmong family gives him a new lease of purpose and he takes up the task of reforming Thao.

The screenplay is original as it can be and immediately connects with the cine goer.

The humour is in the right place and keeps the film moving along till the poignant final.

It is indeed sad to know that Clint decided to call quits to acting after this film.

His body of work will always be enshrined.

And "Gran Torino" is indeed one of his prized possessions!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Toy Story 3 : by Lee Unkrich

Toy Story is every child's story , the emotions , the hilarity , the sentiments , the anguish , the pain and the joy associated with our most cherished possessions !

I had mixed emotions walking into the theater to watch TS3 , excitement for surprises in store and sadness  to bid goodbye to my most beloved and heart warming Pixar characters

Buzz Lighyear and Woody .. (**sniff sniff***)

Toy Story 3 carries forward the legacy of Andy and his toys.

He is a 17 year grown up boy ready to take up college and has outgrown his toys.

It is an emotional journey where Andy is in a dilemma to keep his favorite toy Woody and shying away from the rest of them , to be kept in the Attic.

Destiny has it , the toys mistakenly reach a Daycare center , and Woody tries to convince the group about inadvertent action.

The adventure is made colorful with the discovery of new toys at the daycare.

Andy's toys realizes the mafia of the Latso , the Bear who pushes them to a group of young children who abuse and torture them.

It is a rollercoster ride where Woody returns to Sunny-Side to help his friends break out from Latso the devil.

The most "lump in the throat" sequence comes at the culmination...here it is  :(

"Andy takes the toys to Bonnie. He introduces each toy individually and is surprised to find Woody included, but decides to let Bonnie have him. Then together with Bonnie, Andy plays with his toys one more time before he leaves for college. As Andy drives off, Woody sadly waves goodbye to his former owner as he says "So long, partner". He is immediately comforted by Buzz and then introduces his old friends to his new friends." 

So long , to Infinity and Beyond :(

Rating :  4.5/5.0

Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai : by Milan Luthria

Ekta Kapoor is back with a gangster flick "Once Upon a Time in Mumbai" after the much acclaimed LSD

She has surely found her foothold in bollywood & Karan's and Yashraj's are helping by making crap :)

Milan Luthria returns after a sabbatical and he surely knows his craft.

The movie is a biopic on the life of Mumbai gangster Haji Mastan played by Ajay Devgan.

It is the journey of this man told in flashback by a stern police officer played by Randeep Hooda when Mumbai is rot with 93' bomb blasts.

It tracks down Haji's love interest in famous actress played by Kangana. The first half romance between the couple is the highlight of the film with dialogues as original as ever.

The screenplay is what binds me to this movie end to end. The rise and fall of Haji & the uprising of Dawood played with lot of restraint by Emraan Hashmi is terrific.

High Points ..

• Tet-e-Tet between Kangana and Ajay with witty dialogues
• Awesome background score and terrific screenplay
• Emraan's testimonial for Ajay to join his gang
• Haji Mastan's principles and way they are conveyed
• Music is as melodious as it can be , mastery of Pritam Da
• Crackling dialogues between the protagonists
• Hooda's strong presence felt!
• The Retro feel of the 70's is just perfect!
• Prachi Desai and Hashmi do justice to their roles. 

 

Once Upon a Time in Mumbai is full blown entertainer with  whistling in the aisles at every repartee!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Aisha : by Rajshree Ojha

 

Aisha is an all kapoor family affair with the father and daughter producing it , the younger sibling acting in it.

The film ,  a potpourri , is a drag with nothing much happening in the initial reels. Sonam plays Aisha , modelled on the famous character Emma, from Jane Austen's classic. 

Her modus operandi is "butt into other people affairs and be a perfect matchmaker"

Abhay Deol plays Arjun who is a Aisha critic and plays his part. In my opinion , for a guy of Abhay's talent , its such a trivial act after Dev D and Ek Chaalis.

Sonam still has a long way to go  , mediocre  in IHLS , and she has done nothing to change my opinion.

The supporting characters do justice to the script with Cyrus and Amrita taking all the accolades!

The music is spellbinding , Amit Trivedi is surely the man to watch out for after Rahman!

Gal Mitthi , Suno Aisha , Sham are melody at its best!

Final Verdict , film is purely for fashionista , from Dior to Klein to Armani! 

Rating : 2.5/4.0

Inception : by Christopher Nolan

                                              

Inception  'root' or a 'source' of an idea planted in a dream , seems intriguing, ain't it?  

Nolan has always generated a 'buzz' with his film-noir , non linear genre be it The Dark Knight , The Prestige or The Following.

Memento broke onto the screen a decade ago and provided us with a spectacle in story telling so rare that it dumbfounded us.

A script that has been worked on for over a decade, Nolan's endeavours are inescapable in its pure complexity and brilliance.. Being a die-hard Nolan fan , I was itching to watch this piece of creativity and what a revelation!

I simply cannot explain the idea incepted by Nolan through this cinematic endeavour , it is to be seen to be dreamt of!

To summarize , it is a journey of an dream extractor Cobb , played with aplomb by Leonardo  who wishes to spend a happy life with his little children after his wife's death.

Saito , a highly influential man , hires him for his last job to incept an idea into his rival's mind to bring down his empire!

The unique concept of entering dreams offers the opportunity not only for a unique species of heist but also a way to dig deeper and deeper into one's subconscious, and the ability to plant an idea which could define that person, or destroy them.

The ensemble in this subconscious labyrinth is exemplary with the Architect : Ariadne , the Forger : Eames , the Researcher : Arthur , and the Chemist : Yusuf  ... one heck of a maze!

No wonder it is steady at #3 of all time at IMDB.

Inception is a cinema experience so audacious, so incredible, and in the end so gratifying, that it truly is unmissable, and will remain a benchmark for many filmmakers in years to come.

Rating :   5 ⁵  / 5.0