ENTERTAINMENT CIRCUIT

Oscar Nominated English Movies of 2009-Review Mash Up

2010-02-21T22:43:00.013+05:30

Here I on a shorthand basis review first 7 movies I have watched which are nominated for Oscars this year

Movie on target: AVATAR

Review: There are films small, big and a few of them are huge, this one is ahead of those, this is not a movie, this is a cinematic experience
Pluses: James Cameron's and his team's Brilliant vision, Beautiful environments, visually striking, solid sound, overwhelming Visual effects, full on entertainment with message.
Minuses: Almost No Storyline
Cast & Crew:
Directed by: James Cameron
Produced by: James Cameron,Jon Landau
Written by: James Cameron
Starring:Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, C. C. H. Pounder, Wes Studi, Laz Alonso and Sigourney Weaver
Music by: James Horner
Cinematography: Mauro Fiore
Editing by : James Cameron, John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin
Studio : Lightstorm Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners
Distributed by : 20th Century Fox
My Rating:★★★★★(Enchanting)

Movie on target: THE HURT LOCKER

Review: This film is a pure take on war situation in Iraq and about a man obsessed with his excitement of going on the death line and diffuse the bomb and his obsession with war its excitement, a 100% war oriented thriller, a masterpiece with non-manipulated thrills, you can almost smell the sand floating due to explosion and the adrenaline flowing through your head by the time Will(Renner) Diffuses the Bomb...
Pluses:Outstanding Screenplay, Jeremy Renner's performance, outstanding sound, Solid Thrills, Deft Execution, keeps you hooked
Minuses: Not Always appealing, Near Perfect thriller but not absolute.
Cast & Crew
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Produced by : Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro
Written by : Mark Boal
Starring : Jeremy Renner Anthony Mackie Brian Geraghty Evangeline Lilly Christian Camargo with Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce
Music by : Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders
Cinematography : Barry Ackroyd
Editing by : Chris Innis, Bob Murawski
Distributed by: Summit Entertainment
My Rating:★★★★(Great/fun to watch)

Movie on target: UP IN THE AIR

Review: Refreshingly Different, A story of man in business to be hired by bosses to fire other people and counsel them for future and his mentality to stay isolated and his reasoning behind his life proven well and beautifully, a simple movie about importance of settlement and independence, about calmness and rush.
Pluses: Brilliant performances by all leading crew members, thoughtful narrative, unlike usual stories on life, story does not deviates from its intention.
minuses: Slow at times, You always have to keep your mind synced to the screenplay to understand its sensibility, not always followable.

My Rating:★★★½: Nicely Made/Remembered once after watching it

Movie on target: DISTRICT 9

Review: A movie about an alien space-ship stuck over capital city of South Africa, what would happen if they were a means to be exploited, if humans could find a way to earn profit through them and what if they were given a shelter where the sensation of science becomes a part of human earth for 10 years, which would eventually turn into a slum, the aliens would interfere with human life and that would start involving crimes and what humans involved to control the situation would face and what would happen to aliens struggling to survive........exceptionally innovative an altogether new sight on aliens coming to earth and human reaction to it
Pluses: Very-Very natural execution, nice acting, Technically Polished, well written
minuses:Loses pace in between, could be a bit more coherent
My Rating:★★★½: Nicely Made/Remembered once after watching it

Movie on target: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Review: A fictionalized historical tale of Hitler's assassination and jewish revenge on Nazis(note:when I say fictionalized here, I mean, the storyline has got nothing to do with actual history despite of the names of a few characters and certain groups) with absolute trademark of Quentin Tarantino's style of storytelling, really interesting and strangely entertaining with its own share of violence and gore(as always in a film by Tarantino).
Pluses: Quentin Tarantino(his style of taking dialogues to carry the screenplay & use classic themes as soundtrack, his chapter-ed and Novel like narrative with twist at the end of every chapter), performances by all leading crew members, very well stylized, writing is flawless.
Minuses:Quentin Tarantino(long-long sequences of conversations that go on & on & on, TM:Quentin Tarantino), editing could be improved, little boring sometimes.
My Rating:★★★½: Nicely Made/Remembered once after watching it
(PS: I could easily give a 4 but reduced half a point because he irritates with his long dialogue scenes sometimes, that's why I rated Pulp fiction 3 and a ½ too):P

Movie on target:Up
Review: Journey of an old man on his dream adventure for the love of his wife and his own passion for the spirit of adventure and events that follow, beautifully coloured, wonderfully told you cannot resist falling in love with "Up" where this old "Balloon" man takes his house away for his adventure.

Cast & Crew:
Directed by Pete Docter
Co-Director: Bob Peterson
Produced by: Jonas Rivera
Executive Producer:John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton
Written by: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy, Jim Capobianco, Aley Phelan(uncredited)
Starring: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson
Music by: Michael Giacchino
Editing by : Kevin Nolting
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures
My Rating:★★★★½

Movie on Target: The Blind Side

The Blind Side

Review: The Blind Side is a simple of movie of goodness and being good, Sandra Bullock plays a woman who adopts a strange but vulnerable Black Boy Michael and helps her to get a sports scholarship in top universities. A film with true story, sense and a heart. Wonderful!!!!
Directed by : John Lee Hancock
Produced by : Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, Gil Netter
Written by: Story: Michael Lewis Screenplay:John Lee Hancock
Starring : Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates
Music by : Carter Burwell
Cinematography : Alar Kivilo
Editing by : Mark Livolsi
Studio: Alcon Entertainment
Distributed by : Warner Bros.
My Rating:★★★★

As far as my choice is concerned, I would pick Avatar, but since full entertainment movies most of the times lose, so the next becomes "The Hurt Locker", anyways this time I am satisfied with the nominations, thus may the best movie win...:)

SALiL SHaNkaR

“Michael Clayton” is a Class-Movie Review

2010-02-20T03:28:00.003+05:30

Stylish Narrative, solid writing, brilliant performances come out with only one thing and that’s a class of a motion picture, from my side this one would be an almost flawless movie. I feel I have not seen such a movie in years, director Gilroy and his team do not commit a lot of mistakes, Extremely recommended.

Synopsis: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen's dirtiest work at the behest of the firm's co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack). Though burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer, his divorce, a failed business venture and mounting debt have left Clayton inextricably tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class action suit that Clayton's firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. But when Kenner Bach's brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.

Director Tony Gilroy’s Execution is brilliant, he handles all the major plot twists with exceptional deftness and holds its drama tight, I don’t think so he has left any loose ends anywhere, if yes then I was so mesmerized that I missed them. He makes sure that each and every frame leaves a deep mark on the viewer, more-over the non-linear Narrative also does not confuse, it rather heightens the effect of the screenplay.

Screenplay(Written by: Tony Gilroy) is mind blowing, the writing is close to perfect, if at all there is anything someone could find faulty, then probably it is its beginning which is a little confusing and abstract(this would be for a few people, I had no problem with it)……..this is a thoroughly content oriented screenplay, a solid plot and high on Drama, this screenplay not only plays, it builds…….

Performances by all the characters having a role, small or titular, leaves a solid impression, George Clooney is intense, dramatic, serious or simply speaking he is a powerhouse no one else could be visualized instead of him(he lost the oscar to DD Lewis, I think it was neck to neck competition, but Clooney was strong), Tilda Swinton is enchanting(I am not surprised that she was the winner of the oscar for performance in supporting role), Wilkinson is terrific, he lost his oscar but believe me it was a performance worth it…….

Music(James Newton Howard) is one of the best I’ve heard in a motion picture, the score goes on so evenly with the screenplay that you are in awe with it, outstanding score.

Technically, editing(John Gilroy) is great, almost all the scenes in the movie are adequate and not once this happens where you feel the story is cut lost, cinematography(Robert Elswit) is appropriate.

I would conclude by saying that this is a great film, this is a true dramatic legal/political thriller film(by politics I hereby mean, corporate politics), one of its kind, unique, brilliant, watch it, this is my recommendation for this weekend.

My Rating: ★★★★½(Awesome)

My Name is Salil & I Recommend “My Name Is Khan”-Movie Review

2010-02-14T04:46:00.001+05:30

There are only two types of films (for me)….one: films, I watch and I say I liked it, or I did not like it(in short I watch them and I forget) and Others are those, when I watch them and I say I am Glad I watched it……..My Name is Khan falls in the second category, you know I just love the way Hindi films are made with their intentions and goodness, I mean I am a huge fan of English movies, but there are a few things I think they probably will never be able to put into their films, that is, a true innocent heart and that is what Karan Johar has done this time and that is why exactly I recommend My Name is Khan to everyone this weekend.

My Name Is Khan

Synopsis: Born with Asperger’s syndrome Rizvan Khan, grown up under encouragement and teachings of his mother and private education moves to America to live with his brother Zakir and Zakir’s wife Haseena after her mother’s death, adjusting with new and different places he meets Mandira a hair dresser and the two get along well together and decide to marry and settle down and then comes the 9/11 and its after effects faced by Muslims in US which leads to a tragedy so severe that Rizvan is compelled to journey across the US to talk to the president so that he could tell everyone else that, before following any religion he is a human being, who loves others and deserves to be loved by others, not the hatred and inhumanity, he is innocent, he can define the right and wrong the way his mother taught him when he was a child, to tell everyone that his religious practice does not advertise terrorism, or in very simple words to say “My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist”.

Director Karan Johar is certainly not one of my favourite directors, those I always look forward to, but today I am overwhelmed by the sweetness and smoothness of his narrative, this film is really beautiful, and once the film is over I was very happy and pleased to watch this film. The way he executes the sensitive scenes between Kajol and SRK, he brings “Hum Honge Kamyaab ek din melody” and gets it sung in english translated version in a church, when Rizvan’s mother teaches him how Hindus and Muslims are equal or when he pats Jimmy Shergill, emotions are handled in the most natural way, I think I was happy to see Rizvan win ultimately. Mr. Johar you have shaken something deep inside, cheers for you.

The Screenplay (Shibani Bhatija) flows without hiccups or halts, it holds solid content and finely immersed subplots to leave an impact and get the message clearly.

Dialogues(Nirenjan Iyengar, Shibani Bhatija) are another high point of the film, they are meant to speak a human’s heart, and they do it without manipulation.

Music(Music for songs and Background Score by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Lyrics By:Niranjan Iyengar) is kept as decent as possible it is neither loud nor suppressed, songs played in background add to the flow of the film, Background Score which elevates the intensity(note the theme which plays), are all just so well placed.

Technically this film boasts of probably the best technicians in our film industry Cinematography(DOP: Ravi K Chandran) is a visual pleasure, it is stylish yet it colourizes the pictures wonderfully, Editing could be improved, the whole media thing could be a little more exciting.

As far as Flaws are concerned mini-plots(although wonderful) could have been more hard hitting , the terrorist reporting could be a bit improved plot. These are all Minor flaws, not too strong enough to mark the ultimate effect of the screenplay.

Performances are outstanding in this film, SRK has done it, he has changed his image in my mind, of an ordinary actor(although I was impressed with him in Swades and Chak De India), this time he blows me over, with his Asperger’s syndrome he just does not over act like people do usually for their roles in mentally challenged characters, he goes so naturally that you forget Shah Rukh Khan is in front of you, you feel that as if it is Rizvan in front of you. Kajol does not need any explanation, she has been doing it, she was, she is and probably will always continue to be my favourite, she is enchanting as bubbly and mournful Mandira. Others would be the child artists Tanay Chheda who plays Rizvan as a child and Yuvaan Makaar as Sameer leave an impression, Zareena Wahab(Rizvan’s mother), Jimmy Shergill(Zakir), Sonya Jehan(Haseena) are appropriate.

Finally, I would say I loved this film, it is beautiful, it is clean and it is mesmerizing,whatever you are doing this week, do it, do not leave it, but add “Watch: My Name is Khan” to your do’s this week…….please watch it and encourage this film.

My Rating: ★★★★½(Awesome/Got Connected to it)

Chocolat - A soundtrack worth a lifetime!

2010-01-31T23:04:00.000+05:30

I was looking forward to cover a number of muscial peices, that I wanted to talk about, long time back... but due to some reason or the other, they were not discussed... anyhow.. lets do it right now! I shall start it with this one...

Last week On a DVD , I catched up with a Movie called Chocolat (2000) starring Johnny Depp. Apart from the excellence narration, strong lead performances and Compact screenplay, this one had a tremendous Musical score, that has left me spellbound! If ur someone, who has an apt desire to explore coutry background music of France and European layouts, then do watch this movie, for an expirience, that shall last with you for a long time!

Chocolat tells the story of a young mother, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives at the fictional, repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter and opens La Chocolaterie Maya, a small chocolaterie. Her Chocolate quickly begins to change the lives of the townspeople. How? To know this... I advise you to catch this awesome movie treated very differently in terms of its Direction.
On surfing net the other day ... I got aware of the fact, that The album was nominated for the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media. The original score was composed by Rachel Portman.

Amongst all the tracks in the movie... My personal favorite are these two -

1) Minor swing - an ultimate groovy acoustic guitar tune!

2) Caravan - A melody like this, comes...once in a life time. I am being told by a few people that this is based on the original score by Duke Ellington, but cover or not, this one was a masterpeice! Amazing!

This is what you call... Music, that leaves u in a state of bliss!

- AfterScript -
The early light is breaking
The morning sun is waiting in the sky
And I think I'm gonna break away
And follow where the birds of freedom fly
I need you give
I need to live
For the world is slowly turning
And the light of love are burning
In my eyes

In Ishq with "Ishqiya"-Movie Review

2010-01-30T18:09:00.010+05:30

This is what you call modern cinema. Ishqiya is one film high on entertainment as well as content. Truly speaking once you go inside cinema hall after you have a mind full of expectations where your mind wishes to experience something different(after watching those interesting promotional videos), director Abhishek Chaubey and his team does not disappoint, you just can't avoid your self from Loving "Ishqiya", this is a solid film, thorough entertainment.

Synopsis: Two thieves "Babban"(Arshad Warsi) and "Khalujaan/Ifteqhaar"(Naseeruddin Shah) are on the run from a bigger crook Mushtaq(Salman Shahid), to hide from him they end up at Vidya Balan's house expecting Mr. Varma who died in a gas explosion(shown in the beginning) and thus to survive all 3 stick together and troubles that follow with the 2 thieves falling in love with the widow forms an interesting, rather enchanting story, worthy enough to be listened.

Director Abhishek Chaubey's Execution in one word to describe would be "perfect" he handles a film with so many complicated scenes in a manner that it is hard to find even a single scene you cannot enjoy and most importantly he is a brilliant narrator(just note the accent and body language of each and every character who comes across the screen, even in the very beginning just look at the way the two crooks dance wearing a boxers and cowboy styled boots) Bravo director......

The Screenplay(Vishal Bhardwaj, Sabrina Dhawan, Abhishek Chaubey) full of ups and downs and believe me, you won't be able to judge what comes next, at the interval point whatever you might be expecting, or predicting about the plot, will not come out for sure.

Dialogues(Vishal Bhardwaj) are colloquial, funny, striking and outstanding, they are an important part of the proceedings and I personally feel, dialogues hold equal importance as the people who perform on screen

Performances even child artist in the film makes his presence felt, the main players are mind blowing, Arshad is a pleasure, Naseer has now reached a level that we fans are just too small enough to comment on his performance, Vidya Balan is astonishing(note her sadness and her eyes, with the tone, throughout the film).

Music(Music for songs:Vishal Bhardwaj & Lyrics Gulzar) most of the times is played in background and increase the beauty of the narrative, so does the licensed tracks from the other films which altogether even further smoothen the narrative & Background Score(Hitesh Sonik) add to the intensity of the proceedings.

As far as Technical aspects are concerned Cinematography(Mohana Krishna) is outstanding, He chooses appropriate colours with appropriate light and scenario to suit the proceedings. Sound in the film was little unclear due to synchronized recording a few dialogues are missed yet it was very important in such a film where body language had to be in synchronization with oral.

As for the Flaws this film uses strong language but this is a bit necessary for such a kind of a film, but the problem this holds is you cannot watch it with your girlfriend it has to be your Gang of boys to absolutely enjoy it(the way I did, I am glad I am single and I watched it with 2 other junk-headed friends of mine), also the climax of the film is a little unclear and we had to discuss why did Mushtaq did not do it to reach to a conclusion(and it came out to be a husband wife mess-up)(watch this film to know what I am talking about)(you know Indian head needs a simplified outcome).

Ultimately I would like to sign off and I would like to say that, just watch this film, watch this in cinemas please do not mess it up with low cost or free prints, this one is a made for cinema hall kind of a film, and certainly my pick this weekend, I wish a congratulations and thanks to the director Abhishek Chaubey and Producers Raman Maroo and Vishal Bardwaj for making this film.

Go watch this film, It is Highly recommended...

My Rating:★★★★(Great/Thoroughly entertaining/fun to watch)

By Salil Shankar

Friday Five - 1

2010-01-21T23:59:00.005+05:30

5 films that U must watch this weekend...If u have'nt watched any of these... Then go for... Highly recommended from my end! :)

Dear Friends...

2010-01-21T00:39:00.002+05:30

I shall start posting on this blog from 2nd feb, I am off to a break from virtual world... and I shall be back and start posting firstly here... :)
Tc and God Bless!!

Hindi Films of 2009

2010-01-18T20:49:00.003+05:30

The year 2009 was big in terms of Hindi movies...we had almost all the big names attached with this year....
here is my pick on the best and worst Hindi films(I watched) of 2009..
Note: Under each section the particular section of the film is rated, example: under technical achievement in action, the action of a film is rated in brackets, for film section overall rating of the film is given in bracket.
Rating system is given in the end.....
:-)

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN FILMS IN 2009

Here I would like to mention the most striking technical advancements I have seen in Hindi films...(I skip mentioning English movies because Avatar would beat them in each and everything......)....yet the films of 2009 had some shining examples that our Industry has grown up from simple cartoon like VFX to streamlined bullet shots in BLUE and from long songs in Switzerland to outstanding musical Narratives in Dev D.

Rating in the bracket is given on the basis of the technical excellence of the film and not its overall rating

Technical Achievement in Cinematography
Blue (Tech. Rating:★★★★)(Film:★½)

Blue

from the aerial views on the chase sequences to the underwater sequences Blue had everything in terms of visual quality
Cinematography: Laxman Utekar Underwater cinematographer: Pete Zuccarini

Other films with Sharp Cinematography

Dev D (Tech. Rating:★★★½)(Film Rating:★★)

A cinematographer in a serious film has the job of capturing and creating an environment which captures the mood of the characters and enhances the screenplay, the best part of Dev D it was a very polished product pulled back by its intentions and unclear motives, otherwise each and every scene of the film was full of colours and unavoidable beauty.
Cinematography: Rajeev Ravi

3 Idiots(Tech. Rating:★★★½)

once you go inside the cinema hall and expect 3 Idiots to be a very good film, it has to be a very good film in all respects, and any one point short may make film, with such high expectations, disappointing, yet this simply just does not happen, the Director of Photography makes sure that each and every scene is full of light and throughout the film, the colours he chooses, go direct in sync with the dramatic joyous, sad, variable and bright moods of young Students sometimes under pressure while enjoying otherwise.
Cinematography: Muraleetharan CK

Technical Achievement In Editing
3 Idiots (Tech. Rating:★★★★)

the most important aspect of this film is its flow, the smoothness with which the sequences occur and the way pace of the film is maintained...In 3 Idiots....while almost each and every scene seems to be in place and it is hard to find even a single scene not required.
(Editor: Rajkumar Hirani)

Other film/s with Notable editing

Wanted(Tech. Rating:★★★★)

A masala film without a great Plot can be held together only if all the scenes are entertaining and keep the viewer interested and appropriate doses of comedy, action, drama, songs are provided in the right places. Wanted is certainly one the well edited films of 2009.
Editor: Dileep Deo

Kaminey(Tech. Rating:★★★½)

Editing is a tough Job, and to keep the on goings interesting in a twisty, underworld film noir it becomes all-the-more difficult yet the editor in Kaminey makes that sure that the viewer is not getting bored by the usual bad guy v/s bad guy v/s partially bad guy drama and he chooses the scenes to get the thrills at the right time....in right place
Editors: Meghna Manchanda Sen, A. Sreekar Prasad

Acid Factory(Tech. Rating:★★★½)(FIlm Rating:★★★½) Editor: Hemal Kothari

Achievement in Action
Blue(Tech. Rating:★★★★)

Blue

While This film had nothing to boast of but its visuals and action scenes, scenes of the film were stylish yet so effective that even Hollywood was praising about its action sequences.
Action Directors: James D. Bommalick, Ravi Yadav

Other films with solid action
Wanted(Tech. Rating:★★★½) Action director: Vijayan
Acid Factory(Tech. Rating:★★★) Action Director: Tinu Verma

Achievement in Sound Design
Blue(Tech. Rating:★★★★)

Blue

Films Have come a Way ahead when It comes to sound and Blue was a shining example of a technically advanced product…..the solid cracking sound of explosions or the underwater sound effects blue was way ahead as far as sound in Hindi films is concerned:
Sound Designer: Resul Pukutty

Other films with brilliant Sound Design
Acid Factory(Tech. Rating:★★★½) Sound Designers:Nimish Cheda(Design), Harjeet Singh(Design), Ajay Kumar(Mixing)
____________________________________________________

Achievement in Writing
Indian Films have now moved ahead from usual hero falls in love with heroine and smashes villain, now movies are more story and subject oriented and much more than just boy loves girl flicks. 2009 has seen a few outstanding examples of writing, and here I mention few of my personal favourites.
Rating in the bracket is given to the writing of the film

Original Story
Rocket Singh: Salesman Of the Year (Story Rating:★★★★★) Story by: Jaideep Sahni

Rocket Singh

Originality in Indian films is a challenge and Rocket Singh challenges that challenge......simply a true film with true intentions about a Sikh who just wishes to work honestly, Rocket Singh was certainly the best original Story of the year 2009.

Other films with good original stories

New York(Story Rating:★★★)Story by Aditya Chopra
Baabarr(Story Rating:★★★)Story by Ikram Akhtar

Original Screenplay
New York(Screenplay Rating:★★★★) Original Screenplay By: Sandeep Srivastava

New York

Story is the basis of the film but it’s the screenplay and the events on screen that a viewer sees and connects to and New York is successful in keeping viewers interested & stuck to the on goings and doesn’t allow the audience to guess it right what comes next.

Other films with good original screenplay
Rocket Singh: Salesman Of the Year(Screenplay Rating:★★★★)Original Screenplay by Jaideep Sahni
Kurbaan(Screenplay Rating:★★★★)Original Screenplay by Rensil D’silva
Acid Factory(Screenplay Rating:★★★½)Original Screenplay by: Suparn Verma, Sanjay Gupta, Milind Gadagkar

Adapted Screenplay
3 Idiots(Screenplay Rating:★★★★) Screenplay By: Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Story Adapted From Chetan Bhagat’s 5 Point Someone

Story can be lifted from whichever medium available and adapting something doesn’t mean losing creativity, while the story could belong to anything it cannot be necessarily turned directly into a motion picture, while 3 idiots used 5 Point Someone in a way that it appealed to everyone and rest is a record.

Another well Adapted Screenplay
Wanted(Screenplay Rating:★★★)Screenplay by Shiraz Ahmed, Story Adapted from Telugu Film Pokiri(well this could better be called as a Rip off rather than being called as A remake or Adaptation)
(Although Dev D was also an adaptation of Sharatchandra Chatterji's Devdas, But I do not find its screenplay competant enough.....)

Dialogues
3 Idiots(Dialogues Rating:★★★★★) Dialogues by: Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi

The Dialogues in a film make you cry, make you laugh and in 3 Idiots they make you a part of the films proceedings, whether be it the speech by Chatur or Raju’s Attitude or Rancho’s explanations certainly the best Dialogues were penned down by the makers of 3 Idiots.

Other Shining dialogues
Rocket Singh(Dialogues Rating:★★★★)Dialogues by Jaideep Sahni
Wanted(Dialogues Rating:★★★) Dialogues by Shiraz Ahmed

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UNFORTUNATE FILMS OF 2009

A few have that ability to tell a story in a different way, the way where they do not compromise for commercial profits and hence are unable to leave a mark at the box office despite being a sincere attempt and a decent production. In this section I mention those films which despite being good could not make a lot of cash for their producers.

Rating in the bracket is the overall rating of the film
3.Baabarr(My rating:★★★½)

Baabarr

This film when did it come and when did it leave?...this is a very good question....when I heard it was a good film.....I did not bother....but when one of my friends recommended it and I watched it....I found it to be outstanding although pulled back by its useless aggression(director:Aashu Trikha) and violent screenplay(writer:Ikram Akhtar) making it to be not very appealing for everyone. This film did not make any mark at the Box Office and left cinema halls without any noise(Producers :Sunil Saini, Mukesh Shah).

2.Kurbaan(My rating:★★★★)

Kurbaan

I personally feel that this was a very well made film both as a thriller(Story: Karan Johar, Screenplay: Rensil D'Silva) as well as a thematic discussion based(dialogues:Anurag Kashyap,Niranjan Iyengar) social film.....needed to be encouraged but did not work on ticket windows.....whether it be minor goof ups in the plot or unappealing story line and a little unconventional execution(director:Rensil D'Silva)....This Film could not make upto its investments and flopped(Producers : Hiroo Yash Joha, Karan Johar).

1.Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year(My rating:★★★★)

Rocket singh

One of the best films to come out in 2009 couldn't even gather sufficient audiences to make successful even by the word of mouth, although due to its extremely low budget(Rs. 5 Crores) producer(Aditya Chopra) was just able to pull his money back, the film went on to be a flop. I have a very deep sympathy with the makers who had kept details and neatness with simplicity(Director: Shimit Amin) with clear objectives and truest intentions(Writer: Jaideep Sahni) in the film. Although this film did not work at the box office yet it earned a place on one of my favourite films of all time(see all my Flixter Favourites, This one is placed above 3 Idiots on No.15...bacause I just loved Rocket Singh...)

____________________________________________________

Music Achievements in 2009

Music is an integral part of Hindi films and 50 years into films now, yet still the best of the films have music placed in each and every inch either in form of songs or background score, in 2009 we have seen a genuinely beautiful collection of brilliant soundtracks and the best of my choice, I will discuss.

Rating in the bracket is given to the music of the film

Best Music in a Motion Picture(Songs)
Dev D(Rating:★★★★★)

Best Music For Songs:Dev D

Making music for a film like Dev D was a herculean task yet the composer did it in a way which I personally feel was the best in 2009. To produce an album of 18 tracks(yes with 15 different tracks and I am not talking Remix versions here + 3 Theme Tracks) which becomes the garland of music and simply speaking Dev D is my choice of motion Picture album of 2009.
Music By: Amit Trivedi, Lyrics By:Amitabh Bhattacharya & Shellee

Other Great Sound tracks in 2009

Delhi-6(Rating: ★★★★½) Music By: AR Rahman, Lyrics By: Prasoon Joshi
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab kahani (Rating:★★★★) Music By: Pritam, Lyrics By: Irshad Kamil
Kaminey(Rating:★★★★) Music By: Vishal Bhardwaj, Lyrics By: Gulzar

Best song of 2009
Masakalli (Rating:★★★★★)

song of the year: Masakalli

This particular song is one whenever I listen my mind goes on roller coaster ride and so does anyone else’s this is one hell of a song so twisted in melody that any soul just can’t avoid himself from being mesmerized by this particular song. Masakalli is my choice of song for this year.
Music By: AR Rahman, Lyrics By: Prasoon Joshi, Singer: Mohit Chauhan, Film: Delhi-6

Other great songs in 2009

Dhan Te Nan(Rating:★★★★½) Music By: Vishal Bhardwaj, Lyrics By: Gulzar, Singers: Vishal Dadlani, Sukhwinder Singh, Film: Kaminey

Pardesi(Rating:★★★★½) Music By: Amit Trivedi, lyrics By: Shellee & Amitabh Bhattacharya, Singer: Tochi Raina, Film: Dev D

Emosanal AttyaChaar(Rock Version) (Rating:★★★★)Music by: Amit Trivedi, Lyrics by: Amitabh Bhattacharya & Shellee, Singer: Bony Chakrawarty, Film: Dev D

Aahun Aahun(Rating:★★★★) Music By: Pritam Lyrics By: Irshad Kamil, Singers: Master Salim, Neeraj Sridhar, Suzie Q, Film: Love Aaj Kal

Best Music in a Motion Picture(Original Background Score)
Salim-Sulaiman for Kurbaan(Rating:★★★★½)

Best Background Score: kurbaan

As hindi films are evolving and becoming more and more theme oriented, stories are becoming independent of songs, and the elevation of screenplay Goes in the hands of the Background score, as for a dark serious mature subject like Kurbaan the composers made sure that appropriate music for a scene leaves a further deepening impact.

Other Great Scores in 2009

Dev D(Rating:★★★★) Background Score By Amit Trivedi
New York(Rating:★★★★) Background score By Julius Packiam

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MAINSTREAM ACHIEVEMENTS :

Although a film is produced with the people backstage, its the people who, when shown to audiences, pull them to cinema halls and their way of carrying a film is what generates curiosity amongst the audiences, here I would write about the Best of the performers on-screen who simply were awesome and proved their metal when it came to performance & bowled me over.

As far as Direction is concerned, the director is the captain of the ship called a film and it's his vision we see on the screen through the actors and the architecture of a film lies inside the director's mind, he/ she is the one who tells the story to the audience, and decides which way the audience will not loose interest in his storyline and subject therefore, The best narrator of a story, the Director whose vision enchanted me in 2009 is also discussed in this section.

Ratings in the brackets are given to the performances

Achievement by an Actress in a Supporting/parallel/negative Role:
Kirron Kher for Her portrayal of Nasreen/Aapa in Kurbaan(Rating:★★★★)

Kurbaan

While this year had very big names to boast of but as long as actresses were concerned, specially under this category it was hard to find one yet there is one example who stands equal strong as all the other characters in the film and that was the role portrayed by Mrs.Kirron Kher in Kurbaan, I as mediocre fan of films is just too small of a person to rate a maverick performance who smashes you hard in face when revelations about the character come in front. A rare performance portrayed by a rare performer.
Kudos to you ma’am.

Other Notable Performances under this category
Gauhar khan as Koena in Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year(Rating :★★★½)

Achievement by an Actor in a Supporting/parallel/negative Role :
Om Puri For his Portrayal of Chaturvedi in Baabarr(Rating:★★★★½)

Baabarr

Surprising! To be honest this performance is one where any one doesn’t even come close to Mr. Puri as far as performances are concerned, in his portrayal of a corrupt cop he excels and becomes the show stealer and shows that it’s not anyone’s but his film and he rules all the way…

Other Notable Performances under this category
Chandan Roy Sanyal as Mikhail in Kamiey (Rating:★★★★)
Boman Irani as Viru Sahastrabudhdhe in 3 Idiots (Rating:★★★★)
D Santosh as Girish Reddy in Rocket Singh: Salesman of the year (Rating:★★★★)
Irrfan Khan as Roshan in New York (Rating:★★★½)

Achievement by an Actress in a Leading Role :
Priyanka Chopra’s Portrayal of Sweety Shekhar Bhope in Kaminey(Rating:★★★★½)

Kaminey

Although many would argue that her best performance this year would be What’s your Raashee? as she portrayed 12 roles in a single film but I am not counting her over here because of two reasons:
1. I have not watched What’s your Raashee?
2. She could not create the buzz which could persuade me to watch the film ignoring everything and just to watch her perform.
But as far as her portrayal in Kaminey is concerned she played her part of a Bubbly Marathi Girl with an ease which was awe inspiring and proved her to be the best of 2009.

Other Notable Performances under this category
Kareena Kapoor as Avantika in Kurbaan(Rating:★★★★)
Now that was close…..while Priyanka had beautiful 2009 we cannot deny that Kareena Kapoor bagged the best of the films of 2009(including 3 Idiots), but her portrayal of concerned and vulnerable Avantika is probably the best one can have from an actress of her caliber.
others
Vidya Balan as Vidya Arte in Paa(Rating:★★★½)
Mahi Gill as Paro in Dev D(Rating:★★★)

Achievement by an Actor in a Leading Role:

Shahid Kapoor’s portrayal of Charlie & Guddu in Kaminey(Rating:★★★★½)

kaminey

Unbelievable, astonishing, outstanding, enchanting………this one performance was certainly the best Shahid Kapoor could have done till date, in a film full of performances he stood tall and was never overshadowed by anyone and with his great Body language he Showed everyone who is the boss here.

Other Notable Performances under this category
Ranbir Kapoor as Harpreet Singh Bedi in Rocket Singh: Salesman Of the year (Rating:★★★★½)
Although Shahid might be the best Bollywood could have this Year but Very close behind was Ranbir who offered a bouquet of performances and the best being of him playing the sweet honest Sardar who teaches Work Man ship and “Hard work pays and so does Honesty” in the most honest way. (Note His eyes when his Grandfather comes to Bail him).
Others
Aamir Khan as Rancho/Phunsuk Wangdu in 3 Idiots(Rating:★★★★)
Amitabh Bachchan as Auro in Paa(Rating:★★★½)

Achievement in Direction
Rajkumar Hirani, Director of 3 Idiots (Rating:★★★★½)

No surprises here, when a director obsessed with providing wholesome entertainment gets an idea of a good film he does wonders and astonishes everyone, Raju as always just does not disappoint and makes sure that each and everything from technical excellence to astonishing performances, each and every scene of the film is just awesome and enjoyable. This One certainly belongs to Rajkumar Hirani and no one else because he actually followed what he wanted to say...i.e. "Chase Excellence, success will follow"....that's what he did....by making movies like Munnabhi(MBBS & Lage Raho) & 3 Idiots "He chased excellence and we all know that success has indeed followed him"........Hats off Mr. Hirani.....

Other Notable Directors
Shimit Amin, Director of Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year(Rating:★★★★)
When a director creative enough to bring a usual story of an ordinary man in an extraordinary way with enormous amount of detail, the film might become deep enough to touch everyone, while the film did not appeal to many and bombed at the box office, but I, as movie fan, think that he made a very beautiful film which I loved, without wax.
others
Rensil D’Silva, Director of Kurbaan(Rating:★★★½)
Imtiaz Ali, Director of Love Aaj Kal(Rating:★★★)

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Films Of 2009

"I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained."- Walt Disney

A film is watched for entertainment yet films now have become a bit more than entertainment itself and people love to listen new stories in the most innovative manner, this section lists out the films which able to entertain yet speak their soul and promote their intentions well, while others who failed to do so.
This is the final category and here I Discuss about the overall performance of the films which released and mesmerized me with their awesomeness or awfulness...

Note: Ratings in the bracket are overall ratings of the film

WORST OF 2009

Genre Films

Worst Love Story:
Kambakht Ishq(My Rating:★.....couldn't even watch this for more than 15 minutes...)

Kambakht Ishq

Worst Action Film
Blue(My Rating:★½)

Blue

Worst Thriller
Raaz-The mystery continues(My Rating:★★)

Raaz-The Mystery Continues

Worst Comedy
Love Khichdi(My Rating:★★)

Love Khichdi

Worst Drama Film
Gulaal(My Rating:★½)

Gulaal

Worst film everyone watched
Blue(My Rating:★½ (strictly for visuals and Action))

Blue

Major Disappointment
Chandni Chowk to China(My Rating:★½)(HA HA HA....you think I can bear an Awful Rip-Off of an outstanding Kung-Fu Panda for more than 10 minutes)

CC2C

Overall Worst film
Delhi-6(My Rating:★)

Delhi-6

Surprising! I didn't mention it above........only because This film is not watchable even if you watch it for free.......A huge Huge disappointment.....Normally I do not leave a film in between even if it is high on awfulness(unless I am Highly pushed to do so...).....but you know what I did with this film.........I returned and watched it till the end....yes...just to see How more predictable and so as usual a film may go.....A major and extreme disappointment.......

Fortunate films of 2009

Under this section I mention the films which were good enough(or may be not)....to just be able to get their money cleared from cinema halls but they went on to be Surprise Hits and I was surprised by that.
I personally feel that these films could be just average but went on to be Hits of 2009 and I kept wondering...(was it that good really........????)

3. Kaminey(My rating:★★★)

Kaminey

When I watched this film I thought okay, its entertaining(Director: Vishal Bhardwaj), just enough and I usually watch films only once(unless it is exceptionally good), but for me, even my one time watch is sufficient enough for a film well made to leave a mark on my mind.....to be honest, I enjoyed Kaminey because of its twist and turns(Writers:Vishal Bhardwaj, Supratik Sen, Abhishek Chaubey, Sabrina Dhawan), but instantly forgot it and thought that the producers may get their investment covered up but this one turned out to be a Hit and Ronnie Screwwala(Producer) Definitely was smiling.

2. Paa(My rating:★★★)

Paa

Over-hyped and well publicized with high critical acclaim, this film certainly had its share of sensitive Scenes(Writer & Director:R Balki) which go deep inside your heart........but that is the exact point:The film JUST had its SHARE of Scenes and not at all consistently spellbinding....still Abhishek Bachchan(Producer for AB Corp.) and Sunil Manchanda(Producer) were able to find a hit earned reasonable profits.

1.Dev D(My rating:★★)

Dev D

TADA......and so we have our winner.......I personally feel this one was too ordinary to be called as a Hit, I don't Know How Critics and so many people fell in love with this Film......well as far as I am concerned may be its my strong disbelief in Devdas or an ordinary love story or whatever Damn reason I found this film to be thoroughly AS-USUAL(Screenplay/writers: Anurag Kashyap, Vikram Motwaane) types and extremely boring.....the only thing that worked was Terrific Music(Both For Songs as well as its Background Score) which I think saved the film from being a disaster and a few very well detailed scenes(Director:Anurag Kashyap) which made continuity thus making unlikeable(that's my opinion) Dev D to be unignorable(believe me If you start watching it you will not be able to leave, yet in the end you may either like it or dislike it....I disliked)...and I just thought may be because of the hype film may just get its money back...and what this film became everyone knows and Ronnie Screwwala(Producer) certainly must be glad that Dev D was a UTV Product.

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BEST OF 2009
Genre wise::
Rating in the bracket is the film's overall rating.

Best Comedy:
All the best(My Rating:★★★½ )

All the Best

Best Action Flick
Wanted(My Rating:★★★★)

Wanted

Best Drama Film
3 Idiots(My Rating:★★★★)

Other films I liked In this genre:
Rocket Singh(My Rating:★★★★½)
Baabarr(My Rating:★★★½)
Paa(My Rating:★★★)

Best Love Story
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani(My Rating:★★★)

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani

Best Thriller
Kurbaan(My Rating:★★★★)

Kurbaan

Other film/s I liked:
New York(My Rating:★★★★)
Acid Factory(My Rating:★★★½)

Best film No one Watched
Rocket Singh: Salesman Of The Year (My rating:★★★★)

Rocket Singh

Major Surprise/s
Baabarr(My Rating:★★★½)

Baabarr

Honestly speaking I did not even Know about this film until I watched it, this one film based on UP underworld was rich in story, content and performances, a true good film...

Acid Factory(My Rating:★★★½)

Acid Factory

Sometimes you have very weak expectations from a film but when you just watch it, you are thoroughly surprised by its goodness yet the film out of low expectations doesn't work, this happened with Acid Factory. It is an edge of the seat thriller, a kind which comes rarely and astonishingly in an absolutely different way.

Overall Best Film
3 Idiots(My Rating:★★★★)

3 idiots

In this film, with events on screen were almost close to flawless and perfect(Screenplay:Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chpra)........with the Great speeches, one liners and youthful feel(Dialogues:Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani)....but since nothing is perfect....its only flaw at all was the strange song, zoobi-doobi......seemed uselessly forced and the loose ends like it gets a usual college kind love story at a few times(although through this great film these minor hiccups do not matter much), it goes extremely in sync with everyone inside the cinema hall, loved and enjoyed by all certainly this was the best film of the year according to me....because I just loved it, and was happy that this film was made because films like these must be made & encouraged.

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Note: Reviews & Ratings mentioned are my personal opinion and are bound to clash with the others and I stand By my opinions because they are strictly mine....:-)

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My Rating Legend:
★:Awful/Unbearable/Slept in the movie
★½ : Weak/Poor/Almost Slept
★★: Just Passable/ Somehow Bearable
★★½ : Fair/Watched till the end/Okay types
★★★: Good/Forgettable
★★★½: Nicely Made/Remembered once after watching it
★★★★: Great/Thoroughly entertaining/fun to watch
★★★★½: Awesome/Got Connected to it
★★★★★: Unbelievable/Perfect/Enchanting/Outstanding/WoW/Watchable or already watched more than once

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with this I conclude with my post, a special thanks to Pulkit for giving me a space over here(you rock dude) and If you read this please comment and react to this Note
I would love to discuss films*…:-)

Regards:

SALiL SHaNkaR

*-Phew, this is the bulkiest and most tedious note I have made since I started making notes/posts. Which is now complete........
PS:I wrote this on my facebook notes when this mugger Pulkit Tiwari pulled me into his space.... :-D
(Yipee I have Done It......)......:-D
Next year, if I analyze films, and make a note of it, certainly I will not do it within the time frame of 24 hrs..Its 9:00 PM in the night......and....was damn tiring when I wrote this, you know...:-P....