Apur Sansar

Amole Gupte was the person who was supposed to direct the Hindi film, Taare Zameen Par, which was in the end directed by Aamir Khan. The film was an exceptionally powerful film that featured a well researched and superbly constructed writing from Amole himself. Amole Gupte makes his directorial debut with yet another film with children as its focus. The teasers of the film revealed students in a similar light of taare zameen par. But the film is different from TZP but yet another brilliant portrayal of the life of a school boy. The film has a very simple storyline and works with only few characters and all of them centered mostly around a school. The writing is makes itself seem plain simple by giving characters that could not be more real. But I'm not quite sure if the ending of the film satisfied me enough though I have a half mind feeling that it was an intelligent ending. The films highlight should be the performance of the child artists in the film. Partho, son of the d...

Antony Zimmer is the film that inspired the film, The Tourist. Antony Zimmer is a film that works in the genre of an action thriller. The editing should be the best part of the film. It has been brilliantly handled right from the opening of the film. The stylized jump cuts and the smart pacing of the film keeps the momentum going which the remake did not quite. However, the writing of the film does not offer a lot of surprises and makes the total experience of the film rather too un-special! The stylish execution and the visuals of the film does look neat and the performances are just about right. The climax of the film works better than the remake but the ending deserved to have been something more worthwhile. Antony Zimmer is not a great watch but one that is worth seeing for the excellent job with the footages by the editor.

Primal Fear is a thriller that is made brilliant by the actors in it. The film that was made in 1994 by Gregory Hoblit  is based on a novel by William Diehl. The film has an interesting plot for a crime thriller and the plot developments has been handled quite neatly though certain elements are part of the cliched set up of a thriller. The scenes have been interestingly shot and put together. The courtroom scenes have been terrifically edited and brilliantly constructed. Most of the major developments in the film happen in these courtroom scenes though a lot of the things are happening outside it. The dialogues and the chemistry between the two leads, Richard Gere and Laura Linney makes the case in the film even more interesting. The true star of the film however is Edward Norton who also happens to be debuting with the film. His acting capabilities take the film to a new level. The music also works well with the flow of the film.

Kiran Rao is the wife of Aamir Khan and also a writer and director. Her debut film, Dhobi Ghat, is an Indian film set in Mumbai around four characters and one that runs without an intermission. I had to mention that the film did not have an interval because of the fact that most films in India are used to one! The writing of the film may not be liked by all. Some might find the climax of the film rather unsatisfying but to me it worked. The endless nature was well portrayed by the maker. The four leads are likable as well. Surprisingly Aamir Khan would be the weakest if I am to say! Monica Dogra is splendid. She shares the maximum screen time in the film alongside Prateik Babbar, who is no less stunning. Monica Dogra manages to look convincing and makes an impression. Kirti Malhotra plays a small role but that is just as effective as the other characters. But something about her seems incomplete and that was disappointing. AaaPrateik Babbar is totally believable as the dhobi and the fi...

I don't know if fight club could be called Fincher's best film till date but I'm sure it is no less good! Fight Club's greatest strength lies in the way it has been made. The content is great but great contents does not necessarily make great movies. Chuck Palahnuik deserves credit for coming up with a dark novel that its share of fun, action and mystery. It is primarily the brilliant construction of the novel that has laid the foundation for this film. Jim Uhls has made the screenplay smartly. The use of voice overs, and the dialogues add much strength to the content of the film and also to the character of the narrator. Working on a film of this sorts and having no name for one of the lead actors is just crazy. Fight Club has a plot twist that hits you right in your head. The film has left its clues but I realized everything only on my second viewing. There is the David Fincher stamp of filmmaking all over fight club. The way the camera would move from one place to an...

Charlie Kaufman writes the way he lives... With Great Difficulty. His Twin Brother Donald Lives the way he writes... with foolish abandon. Susan writes about life... But can't live it. John's life is a book... Waiting to be adapted. One story... Four Lives... A million ways it can end. The above is precisely what the Spike Jonze film Adaption is about. Charlie Kaufman is a truly mad guy. If one would ask me what kind of a film adaption is this, I would simply stand confused. Was it a documentary? Was it a drama? I don't know but it was too good a film. More than the quality of the film as a whole I was impressed with the kind of writing that Charlie Kaufman came up with and the smart way with which Spike Jonze executed it. The writing is the highlight of the film. It is about the struggle of Kaufman in trying to adapt the novel The Orchid Thief rather than being an adaption of the novel. The characters would all seem real and Spike would make every viewer believe. Ofcourse...

Shaitan marks the debut of Bejoy Nambiar as a feature film maker. I had seen the short film, reflections, he had made with Mohanlal in the lead. Reflections was a weird film and that is what aspiring filmmakers come up with rather than the life of a college student or some shit in those lines! The trailers of Shaitan were underlining that he had something. As Anurag Kashyap promoted Shaitan over twitter I was actually moving to the edge of excitement. On June 10th, I managed to see the Shaitan at PVR cinemas in Chennai. The first 10 minutes of the film with the super awesome with the Bali track from Prashant Pillai, the photography of Madhie and Bejoy's crazy eye for visuals. It was a treat at the cinema. The fight club like shots with the camera moving 180 or 360 degree was pure awesomeness. And the ultra slow motion shots, even better. I loved it all.  I had very little clue as to what Shaitan was going to be about and that was the best part. Sreekar Prasad's slick editing m...