Stumbled upon this link that every movie fan should look at once:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI_100_Years..._series
AFI's top 100 movies by the way are the list of 100 best American movies to come out of Hollywood. So if you are wondering where to start from, as far as movie watching goes, then maybe a peek here will do you good! (Although, not surprisingly, there are a lot of classic movies in the list)
I agree with Citizen Kane as the number 1 of the list. Go see that movie, but be patient!
Also check out the 100 most popular dialogues from AFI...
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Wall Street (English)
Movie: Wall Street
Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen (of 'Hot shots' fame), Martin Sheen
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/
What according to you, is an 'intelligent' movie?
Do you know what I mean?
Most movies are saying what they have to say ....spewing nonsense, in that process, at times. Most dont really respect your intellect as a discerning viewer.
(Some might argue though, that your intelligence does not matter in movies - people connect to certain movies based on their upbringing /their circumstances of life)
What I was trying to hint was that the movie 'Wall Street' moves on a certain different plane. It's got mystery, drama, deceit, action, emotions but never compromising the baselines of reality and technical truths.
Michael Douglas plays Gordon Gekko, a mean corporate big-shot prowler....and plays it deliciously (!!). Charlie Sheen is Bud Fox, a young small-time broker in the wall street stock markets and wants to make it big. The movie,in short, is how he gets trapped in Gekko's web, thanks to his greed to make it big - this way or that way. Gekko on the other hand has his agenda clear, which the director establishes slowly but clearly, and hence finds the perfect sacrificial lamb in Fox. What follows is a dangerous game - so watch the movie to see the result of the game!
The dialogue delivery and enactment by Gekko at many places is electrifying to say the least. Michael Douglas, although eventually has become popular for his adult thrillers, displays here a rare talent of playing the viscious scorpion extremely well. I LOVED EVERY MOMENT HE WAS ON SCREEN. One could watch the movie just for him. The role goes beyond an ordinary villainous portrayal, and the dialogues blend their way (like 'Greed is GOOD!') into everyday American Corporate Rhetoric. Take a look at this! This is a popular scene of the movie with some brilliant acting by Douglas.
Another movie of Douglas I liked a lot was 'The Game' for his *honest* portrayal of what emotions his character in the movie undergoes. (By the way, quiz time! The ending of The Game was recently 'flicked' by a popular Bollywood blockbuster. Do you know which? :) )
Another interesting relationship portrayed in the movie is the reel father-son relationship of real life father-son Martin and Charlie Sheen. Full points!
What you can't miss is the passion the director shows for capturing the intricate details of the stock markets and how he presents them so that it does not become completely an over-head transmission.
I was watching this movie 'Shikhar' starring Ajay Devgan and Shahid Kapoor the other day. Devgan plays GG (Gaurav Gupta) a builder out to take over a large amount of land to build his own empire. Just GG sounds fishy?! During half way I was convinced this was an attempted subtle remake of 'Wall Street' :-) by John Matthew Matthan. Both are about GREED! The place where Matthan fails is the editing and the climax clearly is 'specially ordered for Bollywood' - alas!
Watch the original - Wall Street - for some hi-fi politico-emotional stuff.
More suggested reading: Forbes Fictional fifteen
Added in 2011: 'Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps' - what was that all about!?
Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen (of 'Hot shots' fame), Martin Sheen
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/
What according to you, is an 'intelligent' movie?Do you know what I mean?
Most movies are saying what they have to say ....spewing nonsense, in that process, at times. Most dont really respect your intellect as a discerning viewer.
(Some might argue though, that your intelligence does not matter in movies - people connect to certain movies based on their upbringing /their circumstances of life)
What I was trying to hint was that the movie 'Wall Street' moves on a certain different plane. It's got mystery, drama, deceit, action, emotions but never compromising the baselines of reality and technical truths.
Michael Douglas plays Gordon Gekko, a mean corporate big-shot prowler....and plays it deliciously (!!). Charlie Sheen is Bud Fox, a young small-time broker in the wall street stock markets and wants to make it big. The movie,in short, is how he gets trapped in Gekko's web, thanks to his greed to make it big - this way or that way. Gekko on the other hand has his agenda clear, which the director establishes slowly but clearly, and hence finds the perfect sacrificial lamb in Fox. What follows is a dangerous game - so watch the movie to see the result of the game!
The dialogue delivery and enactment by Gekko at many places is electrifying to say the least. Michael Douglas, although eventually has become popular for his adult thrillers, displays here a rare talent of playing the viscious scorpion extremely well. I LOVED EVERY MOMENT HE WAS ON SCREEN. One could watch the movie just for him. The role goes beyond an ordinary villainous portrayal, and the dialogues blend their way (like 'Greed is GOOD!') into everyday American Corporate Rhetoric. Take a look at this! This is a popular scene of the movie with some brilliant acting by Douglas.
Another movie of Douglas I liked a lot was 'The Game' for his *honest* portrayal of what emotions his character in the movie undergoes. (By the way, quiz time! The ending of The Game was recently 'flicked' by a popular Bollywood blockbuster. Do you know which? :) )
Another interesting relationship portrayed in the movie is the reel father-son relationship of real life father-son Martin and Charlie Sheen. Full points!
What you can't miss is the passion the director shows for capturing the intricate details of the stock markets and how he presents them so that it does not become completely an over-head transmission.
I was watching this movie 'Shikhar' starring Ajay Devgan and Shahid Kapoor the other day. Devgan plays GG (Gaurav Gupta) a builder out to take over a large amount of land to build his own empire. Just GG sounds fishy?! During half way I was convinced this was an attempted subtle remake of 'Wall Street' :-) by John Matthew Matthan. Both are about GREED! The place where Matthan fails is the editing and the climax clearly is 'specially ordered for Bollywood' - alas!
Watch the original - Wall Street - for some hi-fi politico-emotional stuff.
More suggested reading: Forbes Fictional fifteen
Added in 2011: 'Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps' - what was that all about!?
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (English)
Movie: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross.
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/
People who follow classics will either a) have seen this movie several times and came to like it a lot or b) Have heard much talk about it and want to watch it at the first opportunity they can grab the dvd!
I was in the b) category till a week back. Wanted to watch this oscar winning movie and a hollywood urban legend badly. Also being a new fan of Paul Newman after watching his Hustler I was at a new eagerness.
Then I saw this ad saying they will air 'The Sting' on AMC on 15th and had to run!! That's because Butch cassidy was followed by an equally popular and acclaimed sequel called the Sting 4 years later (1973) and won multiple oscars too (A feat only paralleled by the Godfather series) Newman and Redford have since gone on to become one of the most talked about male co-star pairs in Hollywood. In fact Redford says this movie 'made' his life and career.
A movie about two train robbers who have become a legend. The blue-eye guy does all the thinking and the blondie just eats-shoots-leaves! :-) So much so that the train pilot lets go saying 'Who else would I allow robbing my train than you Mr. Cassidy?!' So they go around robbing trains and banks and the story goes so on and on. Whats so phenomenal about it, you might ask. So did I, to myself. Soon I had realised the director's motive. The dialogue and the story telling makes this movie one of the lightest westerns ever. There hardly is a serious moment in the movie; not even when you would think 'oh shoot now what do they do!?'. So relax, sit back and enjoy as the confident Butch kindles the silent 'kid' to keep going.
When there is actually a serious moment, LOOK it crept on you and you dint notice!
I'll never forget the effect the ending had on me - no fun in telling you though. So go watch it.
Some of the most hilarious moments in the movie according to me were:
- The intro scene of sundance kid in the bar where butch and the kid take 'panga' with some jerk of a guy
- The scene where butch and sundance 'dive' :=D
- Definitely, the scenes in Bolivia. Specially the bank robbing scenes.
Several other cheeky dialogues and scenes make it an exaggeratedly stylish western 'flick', a flick in the real sense.
Come back and tell me where else in Bollywood you felt strong influences from this movie. Easy guess - and you are right!
What's that song you hear, when you call Hutch for some pain they have caused you, and they put you on hold for many minutes?
Ah, I'm gonna leave this blog with just that song in my mind. If you din't know, BJ Thomas composed this very popular soundtrack for 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Apparently sold a million copies! The movie's an ultra-light experience, as light as this song.
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed,
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
La lla la laa...la laa
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross.
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/
People who follow classics will either a) have seen this movie several times and came to like it a lot or b) Have heard much talk about it and want to watch it at the first opportunity they can grab the dvd!
I was in the b) category till a week back. Wanted to watch this oscar winning movie and a hollywood urban legend badly. Also being a new fan of Paul Newman after watching his Hustler I was at a new eagerness.
Then I saw this ad saying they will air 'The Sting' on AMC on 15th and had to run!! That's because Butch cassidy was followed by an equally popular and acclaimed sequel called the Sting 4 years later (1973) and won multiple oscars too (A feat only paralleled by the Godfather series) Newman and Redford have since gone on to become one of the most talked about male co-star pairs in Hollywood. In fact Redford says this movie 'made' his life and career.
A movie about two train robbers who have become a legend. The blue-eye guy does all the thinking and the blondie just eats-shoots-leaves! :-) So much so that the train pilot lets go saying 'Who else would I allow robbing my train than you Mr. Cassidy?!' So they go around robbing trains and banks and the story goes so on and on. Whats so phenomenal about it, you might ask. So did I, to myself. Soon I had realised the director's motive. The dialogue and the story telling makes this movie one of the lightest westerns ever. There hardly is a serious moment in the movie; not even when you would think 'oh shoot now what do they do!?'. So relax, sit back and enjoy as the confident Butch kindles the silent 'kid' to keep going.
When there is actually a serious moment, LOOK it crept on you and you dint notice!
I'll never forget the effect the ending had on me - no fun in telling you though. So go watch it.
Some of the most hilarious moments in the movie according to me were:
- The intro scene of sundance kid in the bar where butch and the kid take 'panga' with some jerk of a guy
- The scene where butch and sundance 'dive' :=D
- Definitely, the scenes in Bolivia. Specially the bank robbing scenes.
Several other cheeky dialogues and scenes make it an exaggeratedly stylish western 'flick', a flick in the real sense.
Come back and tell me where else in Bollywood you felt strong influences from this movie. Easy guess - and you are right!
What's that song you hear, when you call Hutch for some pain they have caused you, and they put you on hold for many minutes?
Ah, I'm gonna leave this blog with just that song in my mind. If you din't know, BJ Thomas composed this very popular soundtrack for 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Apparently sold a million copies! The movie's an ultra-light experience, as light as this song.
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed,
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
La lla la laa...la laa
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