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Post by ShantiSal on Dec 1, 2015 8:07:59 GMT
Well, inspite of being distracted from NaNoWriMo by the Bajirao Mastani promos (yay), the Dilwale promos (eh), the Airlift teaser (yay), and about five billion Star Wars 7 commercials that seem to give away too much, I didn't actually sit down and watch any movies end to end until I was finished writing... Kalicharan (1976) is generally considered to be one of Shatrughan Sinha's biggest solo hits, was remade all over the South Indian films industries, and is an early film by Subhash Ghai. The basic premise is interesting: an upright widower policeman (Shatru) is killed by the minions of Standard Evil Mumbai Gangster (Ajit), and his mentor/surrogate father figure/superior in the police force (Prem Nath) finagles imprisoned vigilante killer Kalicharan (Shatru again) into impersonating him and bringing the bad guys to justice. there are two catches: one is that the mentor doesn't know that his hotelier/philanthropist buddy Din Dayal is actually the Evil Mumbai Gangster they are searching for, and the other is that Kalicharan is not terribly interested in taking up this policeman gig, at least until he's guilt-tripped into it by the mentor's daughter (Alka?) moping about her dead adoptive brother, and the dead policeman's two adorable children latching onto him believing that he is their father. Along the way, he bromances (with fisticuffs) a minor crook (Danny Dezongpa), romances the mentor's daughter's friend (Reena Roy), she makes a brief and unsuccessful stab at investigating the death of her brother (the police informant who tipped off Dead Policeman about the Evil Mumbai Gangster), and we get some painfully random and mostly kind of boring song picturizations: Reena dances barefoot in a flurry of soap flakes snow in what is supposed to be some place near Simla, Helen does a faux flamenco number in the most unflattering hair and makeup ever and Prem Nath gatecrashes it dressed as Santa Claus,* Shatru dances in some kind of Krishna-oriented festival (Handi, maybe?) and then suddenly Reena is doing a romantic rain dance number to the same tune...they sound like they ought to be entertaining, but only the Helen number really got there for me. Songs are catchy though. As for the rest of the movie, it's interesting in that the emotional content and the suspense often work in spite of the film's flaws, and seem to owe more to the inventive camera work and editing than to the occasionally random plot, the actors who go from reasonably good to painfully theatrical within the same five-minute scene, presumably due to poor direction, and the dialogue writer who is more interested in writing preachy lectures, catchy wordplays and punch dialogues than in making people interact in any meaningful way. I like Shatrughan and Reena well enough in general, and he has some fun with the uncouth convict impersonating the cop, but I don't think this film showcases them properly. Reena, for instance, was known for her dance numbers, but you would never guess that from her stiff, ill-at-ease poses in the songs here. *Okay, I can't blame you for not believing me, but will you at least believe the evidence of your own eyes? (warning, stretched-format video, but it's the best quality I've found. Santa Nath enters around the 2:22 mark) OMG - I was waiting for her to get tangled up in the flamenco flap. Quite a racy costume - very short at the front! The whole thing was quite bizarre
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Post by emily on Dec 3, 2015 5:18:01 GMT
After that San Bernardino news broke, I really, really needed something to lift my spirits, so I watched half of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai while I sorted laundry They've been adding all of K-Jo's movies to Netflix, starting with K3G then moving on to KANK and now K2H2. This is the first Hindi film I've watched in a long time and I really needed that over-the-top sweetness that is '90s Bollywood at its best. Also, TCM was showing the Apu Trilogy the other night. I already have seen Pather Panchali, so I have Aparajito and Apur Sansar in my DVR list waiting to be watched when I get the chance.
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Post by ShantiSal on Dec 6, 2015 11:25:04 GMT
We have had a very hot weekend. Up to 44 degrees C today. Too hot to do anything even with the air-con on. I decided to watch Jodha Akbar, I haven't seen it for a few years. That whiled away the afternoon. And this evening, a bit of silliness - Singh is Bliing. I giggled at all the silliness. Akki was charming.
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Miss Braganza!
Junior artiste
Posts: 60
Favorite actor: Rahul Bose, Irrfan, Ranveer Singh, Rajesh Khanna
Favorite actress: Konkona Sen Sharma, Vidya Balan, Sharmila Tagore
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Dear Zindagi, Befikre
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Post by Miss Braganza! on Dec 7, 2015 1:08:22 GMT
Work has been a fiery hellscape up until last Friday, and in the approximately 15 minutes of free time I had each day I wanted to be in my happy place, which is Kolkata in 1963. So, over the course of the week I watched Sesh Anka, a Bengali movie starring Uttam Kumar and pre-bouffant Sharmila Tagore. I really liked the visuals and the music, and it has a twist ending which, while not real super believable, is certainly a surprise.
Then this weekend I finally got around to Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and I just don't know. Again. loved the gritty atmosphere and the music, really enjoy Abhay Deol in anything that isn't One by Two, it was clever and funny in spots. I really liked the fact that he didn't have a heart of gold; it made the emotional scenes more touching I think. (The soundtrack going Pyar! Pyar! Pyar! Pyar! at the beginning of the disastrous trip!). But somehow I felt a bit bored by it, and I don't know why. As I long time Bengali film fan I'm quite used to movies where nothing happens, but I think I expected this to be a bit more plot-driven.
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filmilibrarian
Guest appearance
Posts: 102
Favorite actor: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
Favorite actress: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Anushka Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma, Deepika Padukone
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Padmavati, A Gentleman, Lucknow Central, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Mubarakan, Simran, Chef, Ittefaq
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Post by filmilibrarian on Dec 7, 2015 14:50:34 GMT
This weekend I watched O Kadhal Kanmani (OK Kanmani). Really enjoyed it, especially the charming leads. It does draw obvious comparisons to Shuddi Desi Romance and what I appreciate about this non-Bollywood, more realistic take on the subject of live in relationships is that it just quietly goes about telling its story without the sometimes forced sparkle and cheesy plot devices that SDR had. And finally seeing Prakash Raj in a low-key tender role was nice and Leela Samson was wonderful as Bhavani.
Also watched Amar Prem with Sharmila Tagore and I continue to enjoy her tragedy queen stories.
And, non-Bollywood, watched the new The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't understand why it didn't do better at the box office. I could picture Siddharth Malhotra as Napoleon Solo (I really want to see him in a suave, witty role someday) and Sushant Singh Rajput as Iliya. Maybe Parineeti as Gabby Teller.
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Post by moviemavengal on Dec 7, 2015 16:22:57 GMT
This weekend I watched O Kadhal Kanmani (OK Kanmani). Really enjoyed it, especially the charming leads. It does draw obvious comparisons to Shuddi Desi Romance and what I appreciate about this non-Bollywood, more realistic take on the subject of live in relationships is that it just quietly goes about telling its story without the sometimes forced sparkle and cheesy plot devices that SDR had. And finally seeing Prakash Raj in a low-key tender role was nice and Leela Samson was wonderful as Bhavani. Isn't it great seeing Prakash Raj be the sweet tender husband? O K Kanmani is being remade in Hindi, and the casting was announced a few weeks ago: Listen, I like Aditya okay, but he's no Dulquer.
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filmilibrarian
Guest appearance
Posts: 102
Favorite actor: Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor
Favorite actress: Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee, Anushka Sharma, Konkona Sen Sharma, Deepika Padukone
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Padmavati, A Gentleman, Lucknow Central, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Mubarakan, Simran, Chef, Ittefaq
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Post by filmilibrarian on Dec 7, 2015 16:47:00 GMT
This weekend I watched O Kadhal Kanmani (OK Kanmani). Really enjoyed it, especially the charming leads. It does draw obvious comparisons to Shuddi Desi Romance and what I appreciate about this non-Bollywood, more realistic take on the subject of live in relationships is that it just quietly goes about telling its story without the sometimes forced sparkle and cheesy plot devices that SDR had. And finally seeing Prakash Raj in a low-key tender role was nice and Leela Samson was wonderful as Bhavani. Isn't it great seeing Prakash Raj be the sweet tender husband? O K Kanmani is being remade in Hindi, and the casting was announced a few weeks ago: Listen, I like Aditya okay, but he's no Dulquer. Mixed feelings about the remake. It could be really good. I think Aditya Roy Kapur isn't bad, but he has yet to wow me. Daawat-E-Ishq was close and I wanted more about his character in YDHD. Shraddha Kapoor will probably be the weak link for me. I just don't get her appeal and I think she lacks screen presence, but she may grow on me. More interesting to me would be who they cast as the older couple. I bet they'll be really unoriginal and pick Anupam Kher for the Prakash Raj role. I would love to see Ronit Roy (I know he's a little too young but they could do something with makeup) and Ratna Pathak.
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Post by chrisanthi on Dec 8, 2015 5:24:12 GMT
Highway - I liked this despite the fact that some things didn't make sense and they used one of my worst plot points. I thought Randeep and Alia were both very good but, for the life of me, I don't see ow her character would have fallen for his.
Main Tera Hero - Most of the first half was light, fun and enjoyable. The second half was not as fun and enjoyable. All in all, I didn't like this. I did, however, like a few of the actors. Varun was charming and he's definitely been studying SRK;s movies. I like Ileana and I liked her in this. I also liked the guy who was in love with Ileana and the couple who played Varun's parents (unfortunately I don't know any of the actors' names). I didn't like Nargis Fakhri at all. I don't think her character was supposed to be a bimbo but she definitely came off as one. I kept thinking that Ktrina also played a bimbo in Tees Naar Khan but she plyes her as a parody which made it interesting; Nargis' perfrmance was boring. When Katrina Kaif has done a better acting job than you, then you know you have a problem.
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Post by dancelover on Dec 8, 2015 17:01:16 GMT
We can find such data on a current movie in its Wikipedia article. Seenu's (Varun's) parents are played by Manoj Pahwa & Supriya Shukla. Unfortunately Wiki does not give all data. For MTH it does not give names for those parents. D [snip - d] Main Tera Hero - I also liked ... the couple who played Varun's parents (unfortunately I don't know any of the actors' names).
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Post by moviemavengal on Dec 8, 2015 17:35:30 GMT
It's been awhile so this is a bit of a list! Dabangg 2 - Not as enjoyable as the original. The music wasn't as good either. King - I took a chance on this Telugu movie in a bundle from Bhavani DVD. I thought Prabhas movies were crazy, but they have nothing on this Nagarjuna Akkineni TRIPLE role gangster/pretending not to be a gangster to get the girl/revenge film. I couldn't tell if parts were supposed to be spoofs of other Telugu movies, or it was simply insane. Tamasha - I liked it! I went with a friend, Margaret, and she was irked that the last quarter of the film focuses solely on Ranbir's character. I know we've seen this type of don't-be-an-engineer-it will-crush-your-soul-be-an-artist film before, but I enjoyed the ride. The Corsica scenes were absolutely stunningly gorgeous, and I thought Ranbir and Deepika acted very well. Size Zero - I went to see this Telugu Anushka Shetty Rom Com at my local theater, and it had no subs! I stayed and watched it anyway. I got the gist of the plot, with the help of the random English phrase here and there. It was cute and I'll watch it again when it comes on Youtube with subs. Arya, the lead actor/romantic interest of Anushka, intrigues me. He's a hotty! Once Upon a Time in Mumbai - This period gangster film was just okay. I have a bit of a crush going with Randeep Hooda after watching Highway, and he was the best thing about this movie for me. I'm really not impressed with Emraan Hashmi, and I've seen Ajay Devgn be more compelling than this. Akele Hum Akele Tum - On a whim, I checked what Aamir Khan movies are on Amazon Prime. Akele Hum Akele Tum was on there, but formatted for square TV, which was annoying. But I really, really liked this Kramer Vs. Kramer remake. 16 years after K v. K, the Bollywood version probably had the same impact with the divorce case -- but being Bollywood, they changed the very last bit of the ending. Indian traditional values, after all. I had never seen another movie with Manisha Koirala other than Dil Se. I thought she was very good in this role, and Aamir was such an asshole in the beginning that you were sympathetic to her leaving. Seeing Aamir as a dad is my total catnip. So much of the movie is just him and the adorable little boy and I loved that. The breakfast scene the morning after she leaves and many others are straight from K v. K, but they work very, very well. Aamir is less sympathetic at more than one point than Dustin Hoffman was, from what I remember. Typical Aamir is a hothead type stuff, but he does it so damn well! I don't remember Dustin drinking, but I do remember him having a few blowups. I thought changing their careers to both being in the entertainment industry was brilliant. Of course it gives a reason for musical numbers, but besides that it was believable that she could have made it so fast in the time she was gone. I'm in the middle of watching Magadheera. The Blu-ray FINALLY arrived yesterday. It is SOOOOO good so far! Worth the wait.
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Dec 8, 2015 23:19:45 GMT
Well, stayed home due to bad weather, and tried to get Christmas decorations up. The artificial tree was a pain to assemble, as usual, the light strands were misbehaving, as usual, and at first I couldn't find the little hook things to attach to the ornaments.
So, I watched my new blu-ray of Brothers, skimming through some of the Jackie Shroff-centric scenes, and watching a bunch of sweaty, angry guys beat the crap out of each other helped me get the frustration out of my system. Basically, I liked it about as well as I did the first time, and the blu-ray looks great, but I will save my other comments for the thread. One line summary of this re-review: "On a second viewing, however, I am increasingly convinced that this is a story about Gary and David proving themselves to Monty, not the other way around."
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Post by emily on Dec 9, 2015 7:24:44 GMT
Finally found Pinjar, a movie I've wanted to see since I saw Rangeela, on YouTube with subs. Heavy, heavy stuff. I thought it probably was going to be, being about Partition and all. Urmila was good, although a bit too over-the-top drama in many scenes for me. The real star, IMHO, was Manoj Bajpayee...God, he was fantastic! The dude can act. Beautiful soundtrack, and I loved the ending.
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Post by ShantiSal on Dec 9, 2015 21:51:28 GMT
Was very tired after days of high heat & lack of sleep followed by a night of thunder & lightning, a frantic dog and lack of sleep so needed something not very taxing. I rewatched a movie that I consider an old friend - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - over a couple of evenings on Netflix. I still love it. Am about halfway through Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
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Post by moviemavengal on Dec 10, 2015 5:28:44 GMT
Magadheera!! I LOVED it! I've had a devil of a time trying to get the Blu-Ray once the popularity of Baahubali made it out of stock everywhere I looked. It was worth the wait, and I'm so glad I bought it. Mikko gave it five stars and so do I! Full thoughts here on the thread I created for it.
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Mikko
Dancing in the chorus
Jai Maahishmati!
Posts: 36
Favorite actor: Rajinikanth
Favorite actress: Anushka Shetty
Upcoming release you're most excited about: 2.0, RRR
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Post by Mikko on Dec 10, 2015 6:44:51 GMT
moviemavengal I'm happy that you've finally seen it! Last week I watched Action Jackson (because it has a cameo by Prabhas) and it was a surprisingly good action movie. There was some action going on almost all the time and there were no boring scenes in between. (Except that some jokes were really bad...) Easily the best of the four Ajay Devgn films that I've seen. And then I watched a 1985 Tamil horror film Yaar? (because it has a cameo by Rajinikanth) but I didn't understand much as it didn't have subtitles. But at least I've now seen people chased through a forest by a tiny minihelicopter that is strong enough to cut trees that are too close to it.
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