100 years, 100 Movies: My favorite Bollywood films Part 1

100 Years, 100 Movies: My Favorite Bollywood Films

Part 1

With Bollywood completing its 100 years of cinema this year, I thought my blog should celebrate this milestone achievement of the second most popular cinematic industry in the world (it might even be the most popular in some cases). Of course I celebrate this as my 100th post on the first year anniversary of my blog.

So with that I decided to write up a post on my favorite Hindi films numbering to of course a hundred. Before I do that though let me lay out a few ground rules;

1) The selection process for my favorite 100 was very difficult, I may not have gotten it perfectly right for myself but still this is the 100 I ended up with. In this case I also decided not to fully rank these hundred. Meaning while they will be numbered 100-1, the films are not in ranking order and are just grouped randomly as such.

2) These are my favorite 100 films, not anybody else. This means that the selections are of my opinion and in no way should deter or disgust anyone else. These are also not the 'Best' 100 films in Bollywood, I haven't watched every Bollywood film to rank the best. While I  adore the likes of Guru Dutt's 'Pyaasa' and 'Kaggaz ke Phool', they list on best films but I don't enjoy them that much.

3) I haven't included films from the year 2013 as it is still in progress. At the end of the year the films from 2013 will have their own feature, still they will not be updated to this list. 

Once again fair warning, these films are not ranked in any order from least to most favorite or vice versa. These films are just numbered 100-1 for the sake of it. But they are my 100 favorite films.  Enjoy!

Reel Reviews: Thor-The Dark World

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

 

Movie: Thor-The Dark World

 

Release Date: 8th November 2013

Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Christopher Eccleston as Malekith, Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje as Algrim the Strong/Kurse,  Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard as Eric Selvig, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Zachary Levi as Fandral, Jamie Alexander as Sif, Clive Russell as Tyr, Alice Krige as Eir, Rene Russo as Frigga, Chris Evans as Captain America with Benicio Del Toro as The Collector and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.6/10

Pros:-An out and out hilarious second act weaved in with great dramatic development and action, the third act has a uniquely odd climatic fight scene

          -The writers utilize the Marvel brand of comedy to terrific effect         

          -Dialogue tries its best not to feed information to the audience when need be

          -Loki's redemption character arc is played out terrifically, the ambiguous twist at the end just makes It that much better

          -Alan Taylor brings a certain amount of his flavor to the film, he directs it with interesting and thoughtful visual aesthetic

          -Most of the performances are great, however Tom Hiddleston is head and shoulders above the rest

          -The VFX is stunning, the costume and set design's blend well with the VFX aspects of the film

Cons:-The first act takes a while to get going

           -The film has a by the numbers plot, with certain plot points and characters just dropped due to this it isn't particularly memorable

           -Character writing in the film seems sloppy, where Thor begins with some depth he ends up just being the bland hero with no character arc. Jane has same traits, but for most of it is a damsel in distress . Malekith is a bland villain, he isn't explored enough.  

           -While the comedy is great, the film is tonally all over the place 

           -Even though it has that gritty Taylor vibe, eventually the film feels like a factory made production. Alan Taylor doesn't seem to have been allowed a clear artistic vision of his own

 

Best Scene: The extended sequence on Svartalfheim, Thor and Loki pull a fast one on the villains and audience but fail. Eventually a massive fight ensues with Loki redeeming himself by 'sacrificing' himself for Thor.  

Best Performance: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Best Dialogue: "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"-Loki
"I don't. Mother did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you."-Thor

Coolest Comic Book Reference:The Aether along with the Tesseract is revealed to be an Infinity Stone. In the comics there are the Infinity Gems, which when placed on the Infinity Gauntlet gives the wielder unlimited power. This is the object Thanos (big purple guy) seeks.

Reel Reviews: Thor

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

The release of Thor: The Dark World means that its time to review the first film in the Thor franchise, Directed by Kenneth Branagh; Thor was probably the most riskiest property that Marvel Studios brought out on its road to The Avengers. The film however went onto become a blockbuster, and made stars out of talented actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. 

Movie: Thor

 

Release Date: 6th May 2011

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard as Eric Selvig, Colm Feore as Laufey, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Joshua Dallas as Fandral, Jamie Alexander as Sif, Rene Russo as Frigga, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Maximiliano Hernandez as Agent Sitwell, Dakota Goyo as Young Thor, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye with Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:-The scripts fish out of water type comedy is hilarious and makes the slow first and second acts entertaining

          -Loki's descent to villainy is written good

          -Branagh brings a terrific Shakespearean flare to his work, it sits perfectly alongside the comic book elements as well as the Norse Mythology

          -The multiple references to the universe, cohesively ties the film well

          -All round the performances are spectacular, Hemsworth handles himself well as a lead where as Hiddleston is a revelation far outshining his more accomplished co-stars

          -The visualized concept of Asgard, Jotunheim and characters is great

Cons:-The film follows some base tropes for an origin hero, just the situation is tad different

           -Thor humility character arc is developed too fast, where as his romance with Jane and the two actors chemistry is non existent

           -Supporting fan favorite comic book characters aren't developed enough and are generically wasted

           -The action sequences apart from Thor's hammer aren't really special, the final fight is a bit off a disappointment

Best Scene: When Loki finds about his true parentage, his confrontation with Odin is spectacular. Hiddleston brings his A game against a talented thespian like Hopkins, and far outshines him. 

Best Performance: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Best Dialogue: "Loki, this is madness?"-Thor

"Is it madness? Is it? IS IT? I don't know what happened on Earth to make you so soft! Don't tell me it was that woman?... Oh, it was. Well maybe, when we're done here, I'll pay her a visit myself"-Loki

Coolest Comic Book Reference: Thor is given the alias of Doctor Donald Blake when he is one Earth, in the comics when he is banished to Earth Thor adopts the identity of Donald Blake. 

Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Masters of Evil Part 1

MCU

Golden Rogues

Masters of Evil AKA B-list villains who make a good team to face B-List heroes

It seems like the past few weeks have had a villainous impact on me. 

With DC comics New 52 going through their villains month phase and Iron Man 3 releasing on dvd reminding fans the destruction of the Mandarin as a formidable force (although I have gotten over it, but we'll talk about that later), not to mention Oliver vowing not to kill anyone and in turn building his own Rogues gallery (Arrow Season 2). I have also gotten fixated with the darker side, and in turn beginning to build the rogues galleries for my own created superheroes in my Heroverse (ya I know, lame name). 

All this coupled together with the unofficial release of Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser, reminded me that I never really lived up to the promise of an article regarding the robotic menace that is Ultron. 

While we were teased with Thanos (purple gorilla) at the end of Avengers, it seemed Whedon pulled a swerve and added Ultron to threaten our favorite heroes in their second outing as a team. 

At first I was confused, but it makes sense after all. Thanos is nigh powerful and a major threat to not just the Avengers but the whole Marvel Universe, he should be kept at the back for a trilogy finale in Avengers 3 (hopefully though not a franchise last). 

Ultron on the other hand makes sense because of the sequel look. Most comic book movie franchises have always had their second installment as the best and sometimes most personal, it also most of the time includes the arch nemesis of the hero. 

Lets look at some modern day examples; Spider-Man 2 had Dr. Octopus, yes most people would claim that the Green Goblin is Spider-Man's true nemesis but they couldn't be anywhere far from the truth. 

Dr. Octopus is an image of who Peter Parker could have become had he not learned his lesson of responsibility early in his youth, he would have grown up to be as spiteful of the world as Otto Octavius even prior to the accident that made him Doc Ock. Not to forget that in the past few years Goblin has eclipsed Spider-Man and has become an Avengers villain (including one time leader) in his own right. Also there's the thing about Octopus taking over Peter's body in current continuity. 

Back to topic...another example would be The Dark Knight, it brought Batman in the film to his knees and only because he was up against his most hated foe; The Joker. 

All in all, the superhero sequel is one that includes the heroes greatest villain, biggest mistakes and most emotionally tormenting time. 

This for a team of heroes like the Avengers clearly spells as Ultron. 

Now onto a bit off Ultron...

Man of Steel: Kingdom Come Review

Man of Steel

Kingdom Come Review

While I understand that Man of Steel month is over, I couldn't help but giving Superman another go. Prior to my Man of Steel review I promised a look at where to start with reading Superman comics like I did with Iron Man.  

Unfortunately, once I sat down to put this list together, I realized that my Superman knowledge was limited and that complimented my own article regarding my non existent interest in the big blue boy scout. 

Then I got a chance to grab a bunch of Superman books, Man of Steel's release jogged a new ambition in me and now I hold seven special books on the first superhero in the world. 

These are the seven books, by the end of the year I will hopefully have reviewed all of them

So I've been on a kind of Superman binge this past month, any time I can catch break from work I pull out one of these bad boys and start reading. 

As you may have noticed my review format has changed. I'm tired of doing the formulaic method, instead I insist on just reviewing the book in a free style method. Its much more fun. 

Also from now on my reviews will reflect the format of the book I have; such as my Kingdom Come is a trade paperback edition, though you can get it in hardcover and Absolute editions. This is because, I've stopped reading comics from a illegally downloaded digital format (its the reason I actually stopped my weekly reviews), so as to save me from a guilty concious. 

Now onto the review...

My 5 Minute Cinematic Experience in the Theater

My 5 minute cinematic experience in the theater

As I sit here writing to you, it has been a couple of minutes since I reached home to vent my fury out on this blog. My boiling rage is targeted at the general public, what now I truly believe as the not so smart film-goer. 

For those people it seems cinema is a way to have some dumb fun with the family or friends. 

Yes, yes I know films are supposed to be for the entertainment of the crowd. But cinema itself was created as an art form, it is meant to be for a Director and his team as a painting is for a painter, especially for those with true creative vision. 

Just cause a few movies don't include crass jokes, spoon feeding amounts of exposition or high profile 'actors' (in quotes for obvious reasons...they can't fucking act!).

Ok so back to the point; I went today to watch a relatively low key Bollywood film by the name of Prague. Don't bother searching for showtimes in your areas, your bound not to find them easily.

Prague a true indie film in Bollywood may not have got overtly great reviews, but it did get some good recognition this past week. Unfortunately box office numbers would say otherwise, and thats where my experience comes in.

Prague would have been great to watch. Especially with it starring one of the most under-appreciated young actors working today; Chandan Roy Sanyal (D-Day, Kaminey)


I set out to watch the film close to a nearby theater, as I reached the ticket counter I was informed that the showtime had been cancelled and I was the first in three days to come watch this film. That angered me to ungodly proportions. I get that the movies showing is a business, and if a film doesn't run it needs to be removed.

But shouldn't it be fair, that any film be given a chance to survive through the weekend? After all it was a small film with only one showtime through the day. That means in a weekend there would be only three shows, and as far as I'm concerned in three shows one customer is better than none. In the end it seems from the timings I read, there was not other show set to replace Prague through the weekend. So clearly this theatre doesn't seem to want my money.

Maybe I'm looking at this from a selfish perspective, maybe this huge rant isn't justified but I still want to write (not that you have to read it).

All I know is that today I wasted 5 minutes and 80 rupees of my life just to catch a glimpse of what could have been a great intellectual cinematic experience.

What I feel sad for is the makers who decided to go ahead and distribute something as different as Prague knowing that they might not make their money back, what I feel sad for is the people who worked in making this film because they potentially lost at least four-five customers more that could appreciate their hard work.

Instead all those mindless fucking Indians can go watch the misogynist piece of crap that is Grand Masti (currently earning money that it isn't even worthy of).

Truly in some smaller way I have just seen a part of a smaller but greater class of Indian cinema die. I might be a bit bias, Prague might not be that great; but as I said it still deserved a chance to be seen.


Aneesh Raikundalia  

Justice will Prevail

Justice Will Prevail

 

 

For those not in the know, yesterday a devastating attack occurred at the premier Kenyan shopping mall Westgate by the terrorist forces known as the Al-Shabaab. As of yet it is day two in a stand off between Kenyan forces and a part of this terrorist organization at the mall, in the crossfire till now there are multiple innocents stuck. 

There is no knowing how many they are or how hurt they are, some could also be unfortunately dead. 

By yesterday many innocent shoppers have either found their way out or been rescued, some have succumbed to their wounds others still battle for life in countless hospitals around the city.

To those suffering, to those hurting and to those victims of this cowardly attack, I say; I am not a godly man, but I pray for you today in hopes that if there is a god may you get well and may you prove to these spineless people (who sought to destroy our great nation by this heinous crime) that the spirit of humanity and the spirit of our beautiful nation remains intact. 

To those who we call our leaders, no matter who you are or what position you work in; it is to you our country looks for strength and hope in such crises. It will be you who will help rebuild this nation to a better position than it ever was after this destruction.

To those lined up hour after hour in hopes to help give blood to our fellow man, I say; Thank You. You prove that above all humanity prevails, your bravery and kindness shows the unity this country is bound by. 

To those fighting the evil outside Westgate.  We cheer you on, we know that those passed away cannot be brought back, but your fighting will at least save those that can be brought back. 

To those whose families are safe, cherish these moments but don't forget the one's we lost. As a country we are a family, don't forget the ones passed away are not just nameless faces but also they were Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Daughters and Sons.

And finally to the attackers, I weep for you. I weep for you, knowing of your closed mindedness against accepting those of a different cast, race or religion because it doesn't matter. After all we are all human. I know one thing, your crimes will never be washed away. You will fall and Justice will prevail. 

Once again may god bless those in trouble. Kenya stand strong, stand unified, stand proud, we will not lose this fight. 

Aneesh Raikundalia