Journal d'un curé de campagne aka Diary of a country priest (1951) (5/10)

The movie starts off very promising and has some excellent performances, but unfortunately gets lost in its own melancholy tune. The sad priest does look sad and the townsmen do look menacing without appearing so. Indifferent. Nothing much seems to happen. If anything, its a version of a series of unfortunate events. The finale is the moment when the priest finally realises the ultimate truth. But then it is a bit late for him, and the others won't get enlightenment until they themselves experience it. A sad story of the entire history of humanity.

Journal d'un curé de campagne aka Diary of a country priest (1951) (5/10)

Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari aka The cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) (7/10)

Extra credit needs to be given to the movie since it is almost 100 years old. The suspense is well maintained about a series of murders unleashed through a fair. The atmosphere is well maintained. One of course has to read the words rather than hear them. Especially the graphic is very good, the lines inside the asymlum being an excellent example. however, in the end, it seems to live for the punchline. I wish less movies put so much of their worth in the last minute or two.

Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari aka The cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) (7/10)

La Invención de Cronos aka Cronos (1993) (5/10)

This movie from Mexico has a simple idea of a device that can prolong your life. As always, there is a catch. The storyline is fairly straightforward and does not have many twists and turns. A social cum psychological angle is explored rather a scientific one. Thus the inner workings of the device are not explained making it less interesting. Why some other people act the way they do is not clear at all.

La Invención de Cronos aka Cronos (1993) (5/10)

Casino Royale (2006) (7/10)

Another Bond movie. The first in sequence. A new Bond, and Daniel Craig is good. So is the title sequence. The first chase sequence is great, though a bit too actiony. Too much emphasis on a card game and without much logic. Far too much emphasis on the use of cell phones to sniff out people. In this movie it becomes a substitute to all the typical gadgets which are conspicuous by their absence. The cell phone use is logical, but not novel at all. If you leave out these ingredients, not much is left in the movie. Venice seems to dissect the movie in to two parts. That lull is long enough to make you believe in the first part that may be the movie is over, and then it goes on for so long that you know that it can not be over. It could have been done differently. You come out feeling you have seen a good movie, but not a great one. M is good.

Casino Royale (2006) (7/10)

Eragon (2006) (4/10)

Using something "extra"-ordinary to try getting special appeal is what this movie does with dragons. But its already an old tool. Harry Potter inc. has used it in the recent past. The war scenes between the "good" and the "bad" sides are LotRingy, but not as good as its fraction. The characters do not stand out. The story has nothing exciting about it. Given that, it is well made and will keep small children's attention for the most part as it is fairly fast paced with some magic, recklessness and resulting twists thrown in. You hardly get to see the king in action, but clearly he is being reserved for sequeals, as is another character introduced in the movie.

Eragon (2006) (4/10)

Eating Raoul (1982) (6/10)

A black comedy. Almost dark. Partway through it I thought it was like Marc Caro's Delikatssen (1991). But this has many twists, or rather kinks in the story. Played with rather straight faces. But believable. Almost like the aunts in Arsenic and old lace. Rather direct at times. Well, almost always. Multiple scams. I wonder which of these go on in the real world. If you would rather not know, don't watch it.

Eating Raoul (1982) (6/10)

Dawn of the Dead (1978) (3/10)

An outcropping of zombies after live people (why don't they attack other zombies?) I can understand if there is no art in such a movie, if there is no great photography, or perhaps even no scientific basis IF (and that is a very important if) it manages to scare you. Nothing of that sort either. The saving grace was perhaps that it was not downright ugly (though it did have some elements of it).

Dawn of the Dead (1978) (3/10)

Gosford Park (2001) (4/10)

Excellent performances by good actors is the saving grace of the movie the theme of which many will like and the costumes many will adore. Mainly about the interrelationships between different people in the high-society (lords and ladies) and between their servents and between the two classes. Served foolishly by some packagers as a murder mystery. Was reminded at times of Party (Hindi). Elegant, but vacous. So true that it is mundane in terms of not offering anything new.

Gosford Park (2001) (4/10)

La Cage Aux Follies AKA Birds of a Feather (1978) (4/10)

This French movie has a potentially good, though a bit weird premise. The son of two gays, one of them a drag queen, decides to marry. Large possibilities for interesting situations, but it mostly drags on. Or rather, it does not much take off. Except for about 15 minutes late in to the movie there are a few complicatedly funny situations, but that is about it.

La Cage Aux Follies AKA Birds of a Feather (1978) (4/10)

Kannathil Muthamittal AKA A Peck on the Cheek (2002) (8/10)

This is a wonderful Tamil movie on the one hand about a girl wanting to discover her roots, but, on the other, more about war and the toll it takes. It is set in Sri Lanka, but it could be anywhere. The interweaving has been wonderfully done and the performances, especially by Keerthana are simply superb. Reminded me of the book Kite Runner. Though it is a different story and a different setting, the similarity of strains are striking. It was a pity that most songs did not have English subtitles.

Kannathil Muthamittal AKA A Peck on the Cheek (2002) (8/10)

Z (1969) (8/10)

Z is about an idealogue very pertinent to the current world where nuclear weapons are spreading left and right. It is about a peaceful, Gandhian way of protesting against superpowers and nuclear armament. As usual, people whose interests lie with furthering the arms and their followers, often blind, brand such people leftists and communists (and these days as seculars) and try to do away with them. When the police join in with such "rights", it becomes a deadly combination. Otherwise well-meaning politicians (is there such a thing?) can also then be afraid to raise their voice. What about the judiciary? Is that arm which is supposed to separate church and state, and rule impartially capable of managing that pressure? How many men does it take to change a light bulb, really? Seriously recommended. BTW, its French.

Z (1969) (8/10)

Marmoulak AKA The Lizard (2004) (5/10)

One can survive through this Farsi movie which has a good plot but is rather wasted by the way the story is told. It is literally told rather than acted out in much of the part with hardly any performing, especially the relatively slower first half. Also the cuts are not representative of the elapsed time between them and one has to just assume it based on whatever happens next. To add to it the shade of the English subtitles almost always matched the color on which they were seen. The germ is good. A wolf in sheeps clothing evolves. Gradually. That was the good part. Until the end you are not sure which side is he on. Not even at the end. the best part was the questions he has to answer about praying - on the North Pole and in space, and precaustions before a man and woman go to space. Alas, the lighter moments were few and far flung. I wonder why serious movies have to be just that.

Marmoulak AKA The Lizard (2004) (5/10)

Cactus Flower (1969) (8/10)

An excellent comedy about husbands and wives and past and current and future boyfriends who aren't. But it is much more about Sergent Ingrid Bergman and the absolutely innocent Goldie Hawn. A comedy that keeps on getting complex without the misunderstandings that are often the mainstay of such plots. Here it is plain white lies, and sometimes other shades of gray that deliberately mislead just one person. Excellent framing and color combinations are a treat. The highlight clearly is the dentist dance. Do try it once you see it.

Cactus Flower (1969) (8/10)

Ostre sledovane vlaky aka Closely watched trains (1966) (7/10)

This Czeck movie is a delightful study of human nature. Set around a small railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia it is mainly a story of a young man trying to discover adulthood. He handles the signals at the station which is sometimes used by ammunition trains closely watched by the German troops. His journey is unfortunately not easy and is fraught with hot water, practically and self-fetched too. But that experience puts him in the hands of a doctor who has words of advice for him. He tries to folow the advice literally creating some uncanny exchanges. People continue to be themselves though, including our hero Milos which finally turns out to be good for him. May be not entirely.

Ostre sledovane vlaky aka Closely watched trains (1966) (7/10)

Time after time (1979) (7/10)

A fun thriller. Barring the obvious unscientific license needed for most any time machine mechanism and associated gizmos, its a well made movie. The standard gimmicks of futuristic newspapers are there and at times it seems a bit slow (but does not drag). No attempt is made to reconcile a single timeline to avoid paradoxes and hence the director could stick to making it more of a story. The contrast between two cultures is brought out well, and it is clear that we are evolving only in terms of external implements. As Jack-the-Ripper said, the innards are getting rawer.

Time after time (1979) (7/10)

Onibaba aka Demon Women (1964) (4/10)

Onibaba is a Japanese classic based on the disturbing times in Japan a few centuries ago. My mistake was to start watching it as a horror movie and anticipating something like Jim Carrey's mask. Well, there were elements of that, but this was so different. This was and was not supernatural at the same time. It was more about primal instincts - those of food and sex. Very well mixed with religion and some good shots of Susuki grass. But much of the suspense, or mystery did not seem to matter much to me and as a result I was left rather unimpressed.

Onibaba aka Demon Women (1964) (4/10)

Secret Honor (1984) (4/10)

I do not think there was anything intrinsically wrong about this movie. It just did not get me going. perhaps it was just the monologue nature of it. I wanted to learn more about the subject, about Nixon's feelings, so it was not as if I started viewing expecting some dancedrama. In the end I did not finish watching, so I am not fully justified in giving it a 4. But thats the closest integer that came to my mind.

Secret Honor (1984) (4/10)

Champagne for Caesar (1950) (7/10)

The movie captures well the heralding of the idiot box as well as mindless quizes taking over people's brains. A cute movie with a few interesting turn of events keep you guessing. Vincent Price is inimitable and it seems he could have very well impressed some of the later day kumars to take on his style.

Champagne for Caesar (1950) (7/10)

Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand aka Turtles can fly (2004) (7/10)

Turtles can fly does not fail to move you. A border town torn by war with the biggest drawback of lack of information. what is the war for, who is really waging it, what is in it for them. All this is shown with children in the foreground living a parallel hell, maturing beyond age while retaining the values that make life so full for many. But then there are those who can not cope with it and all have to coexist. Rather the rational and irrational wish to go together. The niche is well treated, but is unfortunately
not generalisable to wars around the globe. A joint Iran-Iraq venture.

Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand aka Turtles can fly (2004) (7/10)

omkara (2006) (6/10)

A rendition of Othello in Hindi in Indian estyle. Well made, but slow and in the end seems a bit pointless. Saifalikhan has carried on with great naturalness that seems to come naturally to him. Shots involving the last wedding seem a bit uncoherent. While the cellphone has become part of the village life, it sticks out as the only piece of technology wildly made use of in the movie. Last shot seem to defy certain principles of physics.

Omkara (2006) (6/10)

lage raho Munnabhai (2006) (8/10)

lage raho is not a sequeal of an earlier movie (munnabhai MBBS) and hence it is okay for it to be good which it is. Taking the way of humor, the much needed anti-violent stance is very well elucidated. Arshad Varsi plays the perfect sidekick. Bomman Irani and Vidya Balan have also done an excellent job. Well developed story with a twist or two in the second half and very well paced.

Bande me tha dum
Vande mataram

lage raho munnabhai (2006) (8/10)

Signs (2002) (4/10)

I started watching this movie with some expectations but it turned out to be rather drab. It turns out to be a cheap science fantasy combined with weird ideas about faith and incoherent flashbacks. Theoretical suspense is what Jay called it. The book on aliens was fun though.

Signs (2002) (4/10)

Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie aka The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) (7/10)

This discreetly charming French movie is about meals, or perhaps non-meals. Or may be it is about dreams of meals. Or perhaps dreams of non-meals. Whichever way you see it, it is not run of the meal. Six simple lives complicated by all those concerns that come with bourgeoisness and the need to be discreet. Some may find it a bit non-sensical, but try to look for a higher order sense and make a meal of it. Do enjoy the dreams.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) (7/10)

Rajio no Jican aka Welcome back, Mr. McDonald (1997) (7/10)

A wonderful Japanese movie. On the one hand it seems pure slapstick, but it brings in elements of various cultures, generations as well as different shades of emotions beautifully. Will keep you laughing to the end. I am happy they kept LA out of it. A live radio show and the ego of an actress starts it off. Will she also be able to finish it? Given the number of twists, its a mundane question. highly recommended.

Rajio no Jican aka Welcome back, Mr. McDonald (1997) (7/10)

jhankar beats (2003) (7/10)

This is a good movie. work/passion competion, different stages of meeting/separating, wins/losses. Slow at times, revolves around songs without the songs themselves being the centerpiece. Many hilarious moments. Caution: RD fans may become nostalgic. If they do, that is their own fault.

I wonder why the competition is titled 2002 when the movie is from 2003.

jhankar beats (2003) (7/10)

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) (7/10)

A delightful English comedy, the stuff that classic Hindi movies are made of. The usual misunderstandings and naming confusions and lost babies and all that. Recommended. Sicily is so original in her diary! And The Lady's questions to decide her daughter's suitors!!

The Importance of Being Earnest(2002) (7/10)

daranaa zaroorI hai (2006) (5/10)

Getting frightened was not really necessary. There were a few starts, but thats it. On the plus side, it was not ugly as some English movies of this genre tent to be, nor were there unnecessary sequences as Bollywood movies tend to have.

There were two main themes used repeatedly except in the last piece. The glue itself was no very, err, holding. A movie one can survive through.

But then seroiusly what horror elements can directors bring in that have not already been tried? Perhaps some sci-fi, or even sci-fan. Cloning? Extra-terrestrials? These too have been used, but they have many more dimensions that are still unexplored.

daranaa zaroorI hai (2006) (5/10)

S1M0NE (2002) (6/10)

The movie makes a good start, stutters a bit, and then things are okay again. Victor could have dealt with S1M0NE a bit differently, but oh well. The procedures seem too simplistic as shown, old love predictably or unpredictably resurfaces and you can love complex systems in no time. All people can be fooled all the time. If you like sci-fi, you may like this. if you like sci-fi with some emotions, you will love this. If you love emotional movies but hate sci-fi, you MAY (or may not) like this.

S1M0NE (2002) (6/10)