Waltz with Bashir

This is the only Oscar 2008 nominated movie that I am blogging about (apart from Slumdog millionaire ofcourse), though I have watched atleast 5 of them (Changeling, Milk, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, The Reader). Not that I dont find the others worth blogging about, but this movie deserves to be mentioned.
Broadly, the movie is about events leading up to the Sabra & Shatila massacre of 1982.
The movie is presented in a very interesting way and definitely worth a watch.

Spoiler ahead:
For me the highlight of the movie is - discussions about how our memory behaves. Two examples of interest are:
- The experiment where they showed people images from their childhood, where 9 out of 10 aspects of the image were real, and 1 was fake. Since the mind recognizes the 9 / 10 aspects, it believes that the 10th one is true too!
- To survive the war, one of the soldiers imagined that he is viewing the war through a camera, and that he isn't a part of it, but a mere spectator. Hence, he could not remember even the most horrific images that he saw - because he had conditioned himself to believe he isn't a part of it!

Luck by chance

There is a striking resemblance between this movie and Madhur Bhandarkar's Page-3. Both revolve around the lives of people in the show biz - stars and their tantrums, new comers, and the transience of their relationships. What sets this movie apart is the sensitivity with which the subject is handled... And the music... The songs fit in so perfectly into the movie!

[spoiler alert]
My favourite part of the movie is the dialogue between Konkana and Farhan at the end of the movie. When Farhan apologizes to Konkana, saying that he now misses Konkana's love and support for him (with Konkana touched to tears in the background), I was just about to dismiss the movie to be a typical cliche! But then wham comes Konkana's retort - 'Where do I figure in this equation? You are just here because you are guilty'. This practical outlook is probably what made me respect this movie. There was no hatred in her for Farhan at that point- just a plain no-nonsense, grounded outlook towards life. Hats off!
[/spoiler alert]

P.S. - I think Javed Akhtar has picked the most poetic names for his kids - Farhan (means merry) and Zoya (means alive) :)

Slumdog millionaire

Directed by Danny Boyle, music by AR Rehman, starring Anil Kapoor.. If this sounds interesting to you, you should watch the movie.
Though it has as cliched a story line as it gets ('love', yawn), it paints a very different picture of the Indian slums. Definitely worth a watch!

Pursuit of Happyness

This is a typical feel-good movie, but the most appealing part of the movie is the fact that it is based on a true life story.
Cliched as it may sound, for me the take-away from the movie is the dialogue between Will Smith and his son, when they are playing basket ball. Will Smith at first discourages his son from pursuing basket ball. However, he realizes his mistake soon afterwards and asks his son NEVER to listen to people when they tell you something cannot be done - because people cant do things and hence they tell others it cannot be done.
So true - never let people judge you. Trust yourself, give life your best shot, and wait for things to fall into the right place :)

Cinema Paradiso

A classic! About growing up, growing old, and never growing out of your first love :)
Hilarious, touching, nostalgia evoking at the same time.
[spoiler ahead]
For me the most amazing part of the film was the revelation that Alfredo did not tell Toto about Elena's visit before she left.
Sometimes we make choices for our loved ones, thinking we know what they want better than they do...
But then, isn't finding out what you want, and then pursuing it the best feeling ever?

Its funny how you can make choices for your loved ones with utmost conviction at times, and fail to make even the trivial-most of choices for yourself :)

Back to the main topic - this movie is a must-watch! (make sure you watch the longer 170 mins version, not the shorter 120 mins one)

A Wednesday

What can be said about this movie without letting the plot away, apart from the fact that it is brilliant! Thought provoking, different and well made!
Given the racy movies that are released these days, surprise ends to movies are almost expected (much like surprise birthday parties ;) ).
But this one is different. It is bound to make you think.
Definitely worth a watch...

Sophie's choice

Based on a novel of the same name, this movie is one of those you should watch when you aren't feeling sleepy.
Not that it is entirely too boring, but the movie is a long one!
Meryl Streep, the protagonist (i.e. Sophie) simply amazes you with her ability to flawlessly put on an accent of a woman who does not know English.
The theme (i.e. Sophie's predicament and the choices she makes) is different. But if you are looking for a movie full of fun and frolic, you might want to check out a Govinda film instead :)

Spoiler alert:
The haunting moment of the film is when she tries to make use of her fathers anti-semitic speech (which was the reason why she loathed her father in the first place!) to get out of the concentration camp.
I found it very weird how Sophie suddenly decides to spend the night with Stingo, after he proposes to her.
Women are supposed to be complex - but to men, not to fellow-women!