From Kaminey to Basterds...

I was just going thru the archives of Bollywoodhungama.com (a.k.a. IndiaFM) to see which were to movies that came to screens during the almost 3 months that have passed since my last post... This was especially important since I couldn't remember anything significant in the period other than Kaminey, Wake Up S!d & Inglourious Basterds... I realised, that I really hadn't missed anything... There have been movies with great promise (What's Your Rashee, Blue), a few comedies (Life Partner, Do Knot Disturb, Daddy Cool) and those that just couldn't figure out what to do (Main aur Mrs Khanna), but most sank without any traces... There were some like Wanted & All the Best (both of which I unfortunately tortured myself with) which did bring in the masses but did little for us real cinema lovers...

Anyways, Kaminey was a revelation... The portrayals were superb all around, from Shahid (x2) to Priyanka to Amol Gupte... Even the Bengali bros. were effective in their roles... Vishal Bharadwaj continues to show his proficiency behind the camera... And of course, there was the music... Dhan Te Nan to Pehli Baar Mohabbat to the title track... all gems in their own genres... This is one movie I'd definitely but for my DVD collection...

Next up was Tarantino's masterpiece in the form of a spaghetti-western style world war 2 satire, called Inglourious Basterds (no spelling errors) ... The movie features a mind-blowing performance from a relatively unknown Austrian veteran actor, Christoph Waltz & another one from French actress Melanie Laurent... Waltz's performance almost gaurantees him an Oscar nomination... There are also some good performances by Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth & Daniel Bruhl... Of course, there's no doubt that all of these performances are fueled by Tarantino's brilliance as director... (I watched it twice on the big screen and it is going to become another part of my DVD pile)

Another one I watched twice in the cinema was Wake Up S!d, from newcomer Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan Johar... Ranbir plays the titular character of final yr student who hasn't grown up to a T (and wears some great Tees on the way.. :P) ... Konkona is great as usual as a goal-oriented woman from Kolkata who comes to Mumbai in search for a job & independence... Wont go on about it since this is a movie everyone should watch and learn from.. There is, quite literally, something for everyone...

Another good film I watched was Julie & Julia, which is directed by Nora Ephron and stars Meryl Streep & Amy Adams... The subtext of the title proclaims it is based on Two True Stories.. Amy Adams plays Julie, who is a government employee with ambitions of becoming a writer, and a love of cooking... she sets herself a goal of cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook (524 recipes in 365 days) and begins a blog about her 'adventure' ... This part is set in 2002-03... Julia Child is played by Meryl Streep, positioned in the 50s, when she was learning French cooking and subsequently wrote the book.. The two stories inter-twine as the movie progresses and parallels are drawn between Julie & Julia, and the problems they encounter and the solutions they find... Both Streep & Adams deliver good performances in an overall simple movie that succeeds in making one smile...

Moving on to what is in store this winter, 'Ajab Prem...' is releasing this week, along with Bhandarkar's Jail... I'm intrigued by 'Ajab Prem...' not only due to pairing of Ranbir & Katrina, but also because it is from Rajkumar Santoshi who is making a comeback to comedy after Andaz Apna Apna (heck, even the name makes smile... :D)... Then there is Kurbaan (Saifeena) on the 20th Nov and De Dana Dhan on 27th Nov (Akshay, Suniel, Paresh & Priyadarshan, with Katrina added for good measure, can they recreate the magic of Hera Pheri ?)... In December, there is Paa (Amitabh playing a 12 yr old, with Abhishek as father.. definitely must watch), then Rocket Singh (Ranbir again) and to end the year, 3 Idiots (Rajkumar Hirani's take on Chetan Bhagat's bestselling Five Point Someone)...

On the Hollywood front, we will have A Christmas Carol (Jim Carrey directed by Robert Zemeckis in a Disney film), 2012 (apocalypse expert Roland Emmerich is at it again), Avatar (James Cameron's epic which he waited to make until technology supported his vision) and Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. playing the world's most famous detective, with Jude Law as sidekick & directed by Guy Ritchie)...

Well, it promises to be a 'Cool' winter...