gishu_pillai Reviews

Dangal (2016)

Well made movie to shed light on a inspiring real life miracle

[9/10 · 24 December 2016]

Aamir if you ever read this... Sabaaas!!!

Mr. M Phogat, you are a true inspiration.

Casting was top-notch. Aamir was good as usual. The background score & music enhance the story telling, two thumbs up. The duels are shot well - real nail biters. Like every human being, the protagonist has flaws - the movie downplays it a bit.

Personally, I think Taare Zameen Par was a better movie. Dangal however has better mass appeal and would probably make a helluva lot of more money. Clever script that intertwines the girl child issue, rags to riches, a dash of national integration and patriotism & the apathy to pursuing sports in India.

Recommended.

Dark Floors (2008)

Save a couple of hours of your life.. skip this one.

[2/10 · 10 November 2008]

The fact that I came back to wikipedia n IMDb to check if there really was a thread of reason in this film speaks for it. The film begins with a little girl in a wheelchair(TM Silent hill, etc.) who has a mysterious illness.. the diagnosis at the hospital blows up the scanning equipment. Single dad decides he can do better for his daughter and they begin their exit.. On the way to the lift, they pick up the female lead doc who tries her best to convince Dad to return her to the hospital's care. Security guard, a suit and an old man in the lift.. they begin their descent. Lift stalls, light goes off.. old man has a seizure.... When the lights come back on.. time has stopped, the lift opens at an intermediate floor and the entire place is deserted. From there on its monsters and spooks trying to get them and its them trying to save their hides.. just about. You'll find parallel dimension forward references galore... and in the end you are none the wiser. It's like they forgot that a movie needs to have an ending for it to all make sense... but then I read that the monsters in the film are actually members of a rock band something like KISS but uglier/scarier and this was kinda of "the Lordi Movie". Keep it to yourselves.

A Wednesday (2008)

Relevant to the current situation in India

[8/10 · 6 September 2008]

I gave an extra point just for the fact that this is relevant cinema. Instead of churning out the next round of mindlessness that earns 140 crores due to the multiplexed masses, this one tries to talk about the current helplessness faced by the common man in India. The topic for discussion is terrorism. The movie begins with a phone call to the Police Commissioner informing him of bombs and asking for the release of 4 terrorists.. The movie then predictably moves into the Negotiator and clock ticking genre.

The acting is well done, the plot maybe not that believable but the dialogue at the end is gripping and humane. Naseer and Anupam are as good as they are - no surprises there. There are no songs (GOOD!) and the movie chugs along at an okay pace.. The movie doesn't have a solution... rightly so coz terrorism has none too I believe. It just voices out the anguish of the little the common man expects but has become a rarity now. Expect no hitchcockian twists and you should be happy for the price of your ticket. Certain things that we "get used to" leads to the entire society being trodden upon. Not saying NO at the right time leads to a heavy price in the future. Recommended for a late night snack watch.

Sarkar Raj (2008)

Sarkaar ke Raj mein Something isn't quite right

[7/10 · 7 June 2008]

The movie isn't bad mind you. Abhishek and Amitabh all the way.. no let downs here. They deserve their applause.

A sequel of Sarkar (RGV's tribute to the Godfather movies). Aishwarya is the daughter of a profit mongering power tycoon, who intends to setup a power plant for the entire state, that will displace truckloads of villagers from a rural area. This is used as a facade for a ruthless power struggle to displace the vice-like grip of the Godfather family.

The body count keeps piling up.. The movie has pace and a plot.. The minions mayhave had a bit of more character building.. The second half could have been stronger. I can't get my finger on what I would have liked to be diff.. For me the bad guys could have used a little more work with the detailing - They pale in comparison with The aging don and his 'man of few words heir to the throne' son are well done. Ash is a prop.. The unveiling of the entire plot seemed a bit far fetched or too sudden to believe...

For me not as captivating as Sarkar... but a sequel has a tougher job that the first movie.. no hiding from that.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

"That tune that keeps playing throughout the movie.."

[8/10 · 16 February 2008]

Must watch... A almost black and white, 2 hour+ war movie (from the Japanese perspective against the US for the island of Iwo Jima) made in 2006 that grips you till the end.

Things of note: - That haunting tune that keeps playing - The Japanese culture of honor in dying for your country, even if it via suicide - Clint Eastwood and the story writer for making this - The movie is very well written.. doesn't lag at any point - General Kuriyabashi and Saigo and everyone else... brilliantly acted - How an idiot up the order of command can needlessly risk his troops - for the sake of his own interpretation of glory? War is one place where insubordination is unacceptable. - How both sides fighting the war are after all human and vicious by the same proportion.. - The extreme irony and hopelessness in war. In those times, people being drafted in against their will due to social / patriotic pressures. How they sacrifice themselves for their family that they have to forsake...

Recently there were a bunch of morons rioting in Bombay, India because a leader of a fading upstart party set them off with a speech against a section of migrant people from another state IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY!!! I would personally pay for each one of those idiots to watch this and appreciate true freedom.. and respect the other person for what he is ... a human being! People fought for India's freedom... only to now hand it off to a new bunch of leaders who are waging wars behind their own security cordons by inciting mobs against their own brethren. Innocent people are killed/injured for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sickens me to no end..

The movie also highlights the signs of a good leader.. compassion, intelligence and 'I will always be in front of you!'

All in all, thank you Clint Eastwood and everyone involved in making this movie.

Like Stars on Earth (2007)

Star Struck

[9/10 · 25 December 2007]

I already knew when I walked into the theatre - what the movie was gonna be about.. A kid with some disorder and how the open-minded new teacher rescues him and helps him beat the odds. Something like that..

But even then, Aamir has managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat again. He made me cry my eyes out!

The disorder here is dyslexia... the pointed comment on today's parents goading on their children relentlessly to be toppers. The lesson... each child is different.

He got a new kid who holds the movie on his own till the interval, after which Aamir joins into the act. The movie begins with a frisky lil kid who lives in his own world.. how he can't read.. doesn't fit in with the rest... soon how he recedes into a shell. Finally how the new art teacher finds him again and brings him out. The music fits well into the movie and switches with the mood in the film. You feel for the kid, his mother, his family,

Aamir may be accused of perfectionism and hijacking directors... but then he has proved he is too damn good at it. So shut up and watch!

Manorama: Six Feet Under (2007)

Thodi si saavdhani, zindagi bharke liye asaani :)

[7/10 · 9 December 2007]

Rajasthan... Abhay (SV) is a failed novelist .. self proclaimed biggest failure 'manorama' in the history of literature. Married and Nagged .. he meets Sarika (Manorama) who asks him to spy on her husband - the local Biggie Rathore. Soon enough she turns up dead, people are breaking his fingers, bodies are found, people are not what they are seem, while SV racks his brain trying to get to the bottom of all this.

Its slow to begin with but by the end it doesn't disappoint with some very good twists and siblime undercurrents.. like how the big guy doesn't always win. I liked that.. realistic without being preachy. Its nicely done.. not slick like Johnny Gaddar which came around the same time. But its a different treatment for a diff film

Abhay deol, this guy has been selecting a nice set , quietly, leaving his mark one movie at a time. Vinay pathak's character just tapers off in the second help, but you can almost see his rustic 'devil may care' attitude.

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

SuperFreak !!!

[8/10 · 14 October 2007]

This movie just comes up from behind and smacks you behind the head.

A bickering family is a family nonetheless and this movie just underlines that. Characters each with their demons get together to help the smallest one reach the top of a talent competition The road trip has its moments of happiness and sadness.. The movie touches a lot of nerves on the way to the finale

The end is just awesome. I give it an extra hoist to get it up to 8 just for that.

All rise and yell "Yeaahhhh!! Alright!! " like that guy in the audience.

PS: Thanks for introducing me to Rick James' SuperFreak guys