In the name of the Father (1993). I saw this old one on cable. It is a great movie based on a true story of how an irish family is wrongly implicated & imprisoned as irish terrorists. The biased, uncompromising and unrelenting approach of the British Police, shows them in poor light, as they were aware of the actual terrorists. The trials & tribulations that the innocents undergo in proving their innocence after 15 years is the story line. Great acting by Daniel Day Lewis.

Rumor of Angels(2000): A sentimental movie about the friendship between a boy & an old lady(Vanessa Redgrave) who helps him in getting over the tragedy of having lost his mother in an accident.

Just like Heaven(2005): A sweet romantic movie. The romance is between the ghost of a lady in coma & the new tenant in her apartment. It stars Reese Witherspoon.

We own the night(2007): Cops & Drug lords stuff starring Mark Wahlburg & Joaquim Phoenix. It is the routine hollywood stuff.

I am still to see the following 2007 movies: 'Eastern Promises', 'Gone Baby Gone', 'The Assassination of Jesse James', No Country for Old men', 'He was a Quiet Man', 'In the Valley of Elah', 'Into the Wild', 'Michael Clayton' & 'Atonement'. I have all these on divx format. The convenience of having a standalone dvd player that plays divx too is that one can record 6 english movies of good quality on a single dvd disc & watch them at leisure.

Eastern Promises & No Country for Old Men are 2 very good flims.

We Own the Night like Nidhi says is abt cops n The Russian mafia but Hollywood these days is "The JC" it doesnt care wot it sends out onto screens across the world such as this 1 scene where they show sum Russian guy wearing a religious pendant that has both a Christian cross & The Star of David on it!

If you dont know wot im on abt then just read Andrey Diky's book.

Into The Wild: Based on the true story of Christopher Johnson Mcandless, this is serious stuff, directed by actor & social activist Sean Penn. The movie is more of a documentary type giving an insight into the troubled mind of a youngster who is disillusioned with a materialistic society & a broken home. Off he goes into the wild, destination Alaska, to get a first hand experience of living without money & the comforts of life as well as the people he meets en route.

One narration in the movie goes something like this:
how important it is in life,not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong,to measure yourself at least once, define yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing the blind deaf stone alone, nothing to help you but your hands & your own head.


The Assassination of Jesse James: This stars Brad Pitt & Casey Affleck (Ben Affleck's brother). Casey walks away with the acting honours as Bob Ford, whose hero worship of Jesse James takes a full turn around as the story unfolds.

Michael Clayton: Starring George Clooney, this is an interesting movie in the thriller category.

Atonement: A class movie. After a long time, a good movie comes along. Good acting by all the lead players. A good script, based on Ian McEwan's novel of the same name, it has excellent background score by Howard Shore. Romance, Envy & betrayal, it's all there with the background of world war II. Joe Wright, who directed this movie as well 'Pride & Prejudice' (lovely movie) did an excellent job of it. Keira Knightley is as beautiful as ever.

It has been nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Supporting actress...

Click to view attachment

I did see 'Eastern Promises' & 'No country for Old Men'. They are ok, but a little too violent for my taste. ' No country....' has been nominated in 8 categories at the Oscars & it looks like it may win quite a few.

Mr Brooks, The Bucket List & 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days

Just got these from a mate... he says all 3 are good films I'll watch them n report.

YM bhai..watched the first two..they are Worth our time. Topic of the third film, somehow didnt fancy me... Please do let me know about that..

Hi,

Sorry didnt do this b4 I only watched that 3rd film last night... the Jack Nicholson movie was the 1st The guy is a hero, its all abt physical expressions with Jack and of course he has that eyebrow thing going 4 him which never gets old.

Mr Brooks & The Bucket List - They're last years films with big name actors Im sure most here have already seen them both, both are good films nothing to rave on and on abt but defo worth a once-over.


4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days



Is it that you're an anti abortionist? Sorry 4 the Q but after watching the film myself and understanding it a little I cudnt quite get why the subject matter might put u off... the film is a social realist type film, you know, life captured on camera type, its wot Hollywood has never been abt and wot Bollywood used to be abt.

I watch Bollywood now n then and knowing jack abt Bollywood I ask abt the performers, who's this, who's that, and they tell me, he's related to him, he is his son, she's her daughter, she's the mother of them both and its not long b4 that to you put together that only a few families between them have near total control over bollywood. The production companies, the distribution groups or any other parent, brother, sister companies... to a point the same ppl are involved and its very hard 4 sum1 new in any area to make a mark in bollywood and bollywood isn't small most of the world is its audience. Hollywood is the same, you just have to multiply everything (the good and the bad of Bollywood) by the power of 10 and you get to Hollywood's level the entire world is Hollywood's audience. Between them, they dictate world cinema.

This writers strike has helped other film making nations, Germany, Russia, France and even Korea now they always made quality films but coz of Bollywood n Hollywood they didnt always get a look-in. Now that Hollywood's production has been hit by this strike other countries can now get to showcase their talent such as Romania with this 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days film.



Bah! I have little doubt that after watching you will list the 3rd in your Films That Shook Me thread.

No ..YM..i never said it that way. But the review i read was not palatable to me thats all.
I think it is strictly personal whether to let the life in you to see the world or not..



Really?? Now you made me very inquisitve indeed..Gonna watch it ASAP...
Hey..btw, have you watched the film i listed in that section?? I wouldnt put the first too also in that thread. They are common place entertainers.. arent they?

'Mr. Brooks', i do remember having seen this movie a few months back. It is a sort of serial killer stuff with a sophisticated touch, not the gruesome stuff though. Kevin Kostner acts the lead role of a rich guy, who is stuck up with this mania of proving his adeptness at knocking off his victims just for the heck of it. A killer with a soft touch. Demi Moore is there too, in an almost inconsequential role.

'Awake'. It is an interesting plot, though in reality it may seem a trifle far fetched in present day medical practice in the West.

The other movie i had time to see was 'Breach'. Based upon the true story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who sold out to the soviets, names of soviet defectors & double agents, as well as other secrets which embarassed the US authorities no end.

I do have the following movies with me which i have not seen yet: 'There will be blood' , 'Enchanted', 'Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of fleet street', ' The Darjeeling Limited' & 'Things we lost in the fire'.

I asked a friend for some comedy stuff & he gave me a few old movies which i am not much aware of. 'The Early Bird', ' A stitch in time' & 'On the Beat' all starring 'Norman Wisdom' and another one 'Silent Movie' with Mel Brooks.

Lastly, i saw one Hindi movie which no one would have even heard of 'The Angrez', It was hilarious stuff based on the antics of two NRI's & a bunch of hyderabadi riff raffs. I enjoyed the hyderabadi language & comedy. Funny all the way through.

William Hurt was cool in this.

Nidhi... I too watched The Angrez...kind of run away comedy. lighter kind. You will love Silent movie..it is a rip roaring film.. watch out for cameo roles of Paul Newman, Burt Reynolds..James Caan..Liza minelli..Marcello marceau...and others. Watched " early bird " too..kind of funny film.
My picks for comedy would be..." getting away with murder" starring Jack lemmon and Dan Aykroyd.., What about Bob starring bill murray..etc. Try ' with out a clue" starring Michael caine and Ben kingsley.. a spoof on Sherlock Holmes... it was so hilarious.

'What about Bob' is a hilarious movie, i had seen it quite sometime back. 'Without a clue', i have it with me but am still to see it. I do have 'Fawlty Towers' the British comedy serial & did enjoy John Cleese's tongue in cheek approach to comedy.

At long last, I had the opportunity to see 'Brokeback Mountain' & 'The Illusionist' on cable. Brokeback, is a sentimental love story of a gay couple(actually they seem to behave bisexually in the movie). Though the movie is slow, Health Ledger has played the role of Ennis with aplomb.

'The Illusionist' is a lovely movie. It has everything that keeps one's interest; romance, thrill & very good visuals. Ed Norton does great as the illusionist. I did see his ' Painted Veil' too sometime back. It was another fine movie. With the Chinese red revolution as the background, it is about a doctor whose marriage is on the rocks & who has to deal with the outbreak of cholera in a village. Lovely visuals & a fine performance by Ed Norton. There is a very nice tag line for this movie 'Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people'.

'Zodiac' is another movie, i had seen earlier. It's a very interesting film based on the true story of a serial killer.

'The Namesake' by Mira Nair is a very nice film. It is about the cultural gap between two generations of a family settled in the USA. Irfan Khan & Tabu have done a great job as the lead pair.

More later..............

Made plans 2night to go n watch There will be blood. Im told that Day-Lewis is the same in this as he was in Gangs of NY... that was pure quality (Day Lewis and not the film).

'There Will Be Blood'. I have just seen this movie. It's Daniel Day Lewis, all the way through. His performance is great. He really gets into the character of this ruthless oil drilling entrepreneur. When you look at his performances in his earlier films like 'The Last of the Mohicans', 'In the Name of the father' etc, you can make out the effort that he puts into his roles.. Look at the range of his characterisation, each one different. His role in this movie truly deserves the academy that he got. The movie itself is slow paced, not much of a story line, but Day Lewis keeps up the tempo.

I have with me two documentaries titled 'Why We Fight' & Naom Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent'. Both should be interesting.

Class film! Class film! Im sorry, but I just have to do this:

"A bas*ard from a basket!... a bas*ard from a basket!" Lol!

It makes you think tho at the top, top level, if you're obscenely rich, sumwhere along the way you have had to pay heavily 4 it.

To clear the confusion, that's a dialogue
from the movie.

As the saying goes 'Behind every great fortune there is a crime'. Of course, one can't generalise.

Here's 1 more:

If I go there and find that you've wasted my time I'll come back and find you and take more than just my money back. Is that ok with you?

As a rule i mostly avoid the animated movies, but a couple of days back i happened to see ' The Enchanted' upon being informed that it is only part animation. It is a sweet & entertaining movie for the whole family. You get thrown from animated characters into flesh & blood ones. Good animation, some nice visuals & lovely songs. Great entertaining stuff for the kids as well as for the dreamy eyed romantic ones.

Serious? But why? I love them kinda films I mean dont get me wrong I wudnt go pictures n watch them but at home, Im all 4 it... maybe not Enchanted but you know, the good stuff like Shark Tale, Shrek (I cant think of anymore right now but I know there are more quality ones out there coz Ive seen a few).

Does this mean you've not watched Beowulf?

'Beowulf'. I have it with me but could'nt make up my mind to watch it. I would one of these days.

W8 4 a blu-ray or HD copy and even then you sud really watch it on a minimum 40inch tv otherwise you wont do it justice! Im not kiddin I watched this film with unqualified admiration, the skill n technology used in this is extra special.

I am pretty sure that it would be a visual treat to watch such a movie on a blu-ray HD disc. But again I would need a 42" HD TV either Plasma or LCD (720p or 1080p) & for the added dolby or dts effect i would need a 6.1 exi dolby digital decoder / amplifier with the full quantum of 7 speakers plus a sub-woofer. I can well imagine the audio-visual effects, but alas it would make such a dent in my meagre financial resources, that i may be out on the streets. I would rather wait a wee bit longer before i go in for such an investment. For the present, your description of the effects will make me visit the local movie theater, which i have not gone to in ages.

But i always ask myself the question whether any movie that is worth seeing, is it worth going to see? I am one lazy couch potato.

Let's hear more of your reviews

Lol! Nice. Touche even.



On Beowulf? Nothing much to review in all honesty. A film in the same genre 'ancient hero kills monster'. There are bits where its stupid and cheesy but just like 300 it gets away with it and remains entertaining. Simple and easy to enjoy. There's a mesmerizing witch with radiant red hair in the film, if you are intrigued by that (I am). It's a Canada, Iceland & UK co-production, the settings are at spectacular Iceland and the director whoever he is didnt need Hollywood or Angelina to tell a grim epic tale of manslaught and revenge.




They ought to, they're damn attractive I tell you. 4 sumthin that is all computer imagery there are times which fool you into thinkin that thatz live... that is a lot of man-hours, you can tell a lot of hard work went into this. Wots the rate, 30 frames per second? Thatz a few 100 computers plus a couple of super computers all rendering and processing effects, and it shows in the enhanced depth n texture of the film. Audio? There is this scene where you see gravel falling through a hand and you can hear every drop! My personal take on this is that this is the future generation of PS games (graphic wise).





Even if its a little mission... this 1 is totally worth it!

August Rush(2007): This is a very sweet movie. You have romance & music, which keep it interesting & entertaining. It has a little bit of the 'Oliver Twist' type of tale interwoven into the main plot.

Derailed(2005): Clive Owen & Jennifer Aniston star in this thriller. An interesting movie with a twist to the tale. It has intrigue, suspense & action.

i saw Stardust....another fairy tale movie....really liked it tho...far far better than enchanted

Stardust is a very charming movie.I watched it last week.Modern technology has enriched the movie's story with some nice graphics.

I loved Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer.

I sure would like to see 'Stardust' as soon as i get hold of a copy.

The Miracle Worker(2000). I had seen this TV movie a couple of years back. It was a lovely movie based on a particular period of Hellen Keller's life story. It is a very poignant & sentimental drama with great acting by the lead players. Hallie Kate Eisenberg & Alison Elliott did great justice to their roles as Hellen Keller & Annie Sullivan (teacher). A movie that is worth seeing. There were such movies based on Heller Keller in 1962 & 1979 too.

I rarely see Hindi movies. Sometime last year i had the opportunity of seeing a movie called 'Black' upon a friend's recommendation. I couldn't believe my eyes, that here i was watching blatantly plagiarised stuff with the role of the teacher being played by Amitabh Bachhan. There is no credit to either to the Hellen Keller institution or the movie. Worst of all i watched a television interview by Amitabh wherein he adores the great qualities of this guy Sanjay Leela Bhansali as a director. If there is an academy award for plagiarism then this movie should get it. Amitabh role was so melodramatic in comparison to Annie Sullivan's subtle & refined role as the teacher. I presume that both Amitabh & SLB got quite a few award for this movie. They are the true miracle workers.

Nidhi...I exactly know how you feel. I have the 1962 oscar winning version of Miracle worker in my collection. To be frank, most of the films coming out of Amchi Mumbai are totally plagiarized from english films. The only complaint i have is the least any director / Actor can do is to acknowledge the originals.. That doesnt lower them in any way. Which they doesnt seem to understand. I keep saying that there is no copy right in India, there only Right to Copy !!
I have seen many good films like The usual suspects etc in Hindi...and then the blatant true copy of the french film ' the dinner game" into Bheja fry, which was applauded as the most original creation !!
Recently, I happened to watch the film ' Dus kahaniyaan" ..and it was a real rip off. there are ten stories and the people who took credit for them are either in the opinion that Indian people are ignoramus..or that they can get away with it....they are stories taken from Roald Dahl, OHenry...you name it , they have it.. Life goes on.. .

Leon too! Going through the channels I came across this. Sum 30 year old woman was pretending to be a 12 year old and it wasnt funny I tell you. I kept watching on coz I wanted to know who plays Gary Oldman's role... its was sum loser I kid you not, my stomach turned.

That is Bichhoo..and the actor was Ashish Vidyarthi. We want romance in a film and fights and masti...all wrapped into one impossibly illogical thing. Welcome to Bollywood..

An office colleague gave me a DVD of 'Jodha Akbar'. After viewing the film for 45 minutes I hit the sack. The movie worked like a sedative, it was such a drag. The battle scenes were terrible & the acting of Hrithik Roshan in the role of Akbar was pathetic. They could have put him in Birbal's role which would have been more appropriate. Imagine an emperor wrestling with an elephant.

That is one fine Review Nidhi. I am afraid to go near the DVD. Especially after seeing Mughal e Azam, where Prithviraj Kapoor defined Akbar's role..there is no chance for anyone, leave along Hrithik.
Interestingly i remember an observation of those days...If you see the film even today, after Pyar kiya to darna kya song by madhubala, we can see Akbar's eyes turning redder...by the second, as if they are going to spit blood. When asked about that, Prithviraj kapoor said that he forced his feet against the floor, to bring the blood into his face..and eyes. Those are the days...

Come on guyz we have a good little thing going on here lets not mess it up by bringing Bollywood into it.

Sure YM. Just a little diversion to break the monotony

I am truly grateful. I like this thread man.

Amistad(1997): I don't know how i missed this great movie earlier, it was released in 1997. I came across it a year back at the dvd store. This is class stuff with excellent acting by Morgan Freeman & Anthony Hopkins. A good story & script. The dialogues are great, some of which are sure to touch a tender chord. A movie which one should not miss. I thought that Steven Spielberg was capable of making only those sci-fi & adventure stuff, not these type of movies.

There is a nice tagline for this movie: Freedom is not given. It is our right at birth. But there are some moments when it must be taken.

Nidhi...I too missed it out but saw it in 2000. It was indeed a poignant film. There were great performances all around..Leaving the stalwarts like Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins..Djimon Honsou's performance is unforgettable. The intensity of his looks will haunt us for ever. What touched me deep was the main case of argument.."whether the cargo on board is a merchandise or not " ...How low can humankind stoop !! And to think that it is a real story ...
Spielberg has this touch always...remember ET...or Schindler's list.. He sure has the art to touch us.
And I came to know that though everyone was moved with the film., it was released in an inappropriate time and hence was not considered for an Oscar !! Thus the obscurity.. May be the producers should learn something from Clint Eastwood..

I have a copy of Amistad and guys when I watched it last year I was carried away by the way Spielberg has shown heinous system of slavery.

The courtroom drama by Anthony Hopkins was speechless.I read a lot abt Lisbon,where Humans were sold like animals, but this was the best movie which has explicitly shown the plight of man.

A must watch movie.

The Water Horse:Legend of the Deep(2007): An adventure movie for the kids. Based on the tale of the Loch Ness Monster, it has the picturesque landscape of Scotland as the backdrop. A good entertainment for the entire family with some great visuals.

Bee Movie(2007): That's a great animation. The kids would love it. The audio effects are a buzzing delight. The voice over's are very good too.

One dialogue from the movie: The lawyers are blood sucking parasites with a briefcase.

American Gangster: The movie stars Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe. Denzel's performance as the gangster is very convincing. Though it is a long movie, director Ridley Scott keeps it interesting right upto the end. It is different from the routine gangster movies. The movie is based on the true story of gangster Frank Lucas.

Have always wanted to see this movie...more so because the historical incident was the inspiration for the great short story by Herman Melville "Benito Cereno"(1857) where he uses this incident as an opportunity to comment on race relations. The main characters are Captain Delano, an American, who visits the ship of Benito Cereno, the Spanish captain and Babo, the African slave who has rebelled and has the captain of the ship captive. A great deal of the irony of the situation lies in the fact that Capt. Delano, who is the narrator of the story, completely misunderstands the situation and views Babo as the loyal slave who serves the captain.

Thanks to all the contributors of the thread and Nidhi for initiating this, read all the new additions with great interest.

You are welcome, anytime.

Have any of you seen the movie 'The Four Feathers'(2002) directed by Shekhar Kapur? I presume it may be a good one.

Return To Me(2000): That is one beautiful romantic comedy. It has some very touching moments too. I saw it again on cable . It stars David Duchovny (X Files fame) & Minnie Driver. Definitely worth watching. Watch it with your partner, you'll enjoy it.

Alas, yes I have. Against all the bad reviews, I chose to go and watch it in the theatre(don't ask me how it managed to get a commercial release in the US) because there is always a little something in his movies that makes them different. It was terribly boring and I could not figure out a single reason why he would have made it. I have not read Mason's book and I do not know much about the context or the historical background so I may have missed the bus altogether.

Madz have you read any of those Golden Compass books?

The above is an open Q now... any1 can answer.

Has any1 even seen the film?