A post for pre- Oscars 2016!

This year is not like any other year when it comes to Oscar predictions...this year, the awards like SAG, Globe and various others are going in a much varying way. It's not like a motion picture is winning it all and winning it everywhere like "Birdman" did last year.
I did give it a second thought that whether I should do it this year or not , since it's not so subtle as every year but then I though "C'mon, it's gonna be more fun this year, I get to use my gut feeling and all :p " So here you go guys, this is me trying to make oscar predictions like every year(though I had the draft ready for last year but failed to post it since I was travelling and all so )

Best Motion Picture:
This category had me quite irritated and excited at the same time. Spotlight which may win but won't coz you know, it's shot more like a documentary sort of a way and the voting might favor Spotlight and The Big Short but the real fight is indeed between " The Big Short " and "The Revenant" this year. Now you guys see the confusion that I was talking about previously. One subtle guess says "The Revenant" is the real deal this year but my gut feeling says "The Big Short" gets it this year.

Best Director:
This category's win will make Inarritu (Director of The Revenant) the first Director since 1950, to win 2 consecutive Academy in a row.

Best Actor:
Man, this guy has been the butt of all the social networking memes and jokes over the years, but make more jokes if you want right now 'coz after this time , you can't make 'em anymore because Leonardo DiCaprio will finally get an academy award this year. Yes, Finally! And that too for an oscar worthy performance not unlike other great actors who didn't get it when they really deserved it but eventually received  it for a performance less worthy when compared to their past roles. Fassbender may have been a strong contender but this time it's Caprio's year and Fassbender can wait.

Best Actress:
Brie Larson, for her absolutely brilliant performance in Room is hands down the most deserving contender in this category and she is going to get it this year.

Best Actor in a Supporting role:
Stallone after years when he returns in the Rocky franchise might actually really win this year with the only strong other contender  being Mark Rylance for his portrayal in Bridge of Spies. But frankly speaking I wanted either Ruffalo ( for Spotlight) or Hardy( for The Revenant) to win this year but you don't really always get what you want, do you?

Best Actress in a Supporting role:
Alicia Vikander for a terrific performance in The Danish girl should be winning it this year. Jury also might be quite impressed with her role in Ex-machine , so that's another plus point for her. And the only tough opponent being Kate Winslet for her fantastic role in Steve Jobs.

Best Cinematography:
With "The Revenant" again winning in this category too, Emmanuel Lubezki will be the first to win 3 in a row. His visuals are just too darn good to be ignored. Another chances here are "Carol" and maybe "Brooklyn" too.

Best Animated feature:
Inside out, will be winning it this year. Period. There's not much competition here in this category except "Anomalisa" being another great animated feature this year.

Best Sound Mixing/Editing :
These two has to go to Mad max for that epic background scores complementing the visual delight this movie had to offer. Also "The Revenant" is a great contender here too.

American Sniper : Clint Eastwood without a doubt hits a bulls-eye with this!

I went in expecting a normal war movie or at most a biopic kind of a movie about a war movie. I couldn’t be any wrong . It wasn’t just a normal movie. Sir Clint Eastwood , your contribution to the cinema keeps amazing me as the days go by and I watch on. Direction was really good , felt real and raw to say the least. Clint Eastwood hits a bull’s-eye with American Sniper.

You actually feel , what it is like to come back from a war or a tour as they term it. It shatters some , kills many and hits everyone with a intensity that they feel to recover ever. This is a true story about a Navy SEAL Sniper who is a true patriot and the way he saves many lives in turn , makes him a Legend. Bradley Cooper , this guy just keeps on getting better , keeps on outdoing himself. An inspiring character played in a best possible way by a fantastic . Bradley Cooper was nothing short of Phenomenal. He made the character looks so real and since he is makes it more amazing. His portrayal of Chris Kyle etches him on the list of “Great actors”.

This movie , without a doubt rightly has the right to be in by best war movies ever list. The believable account is what keeps you engaged and at the edge of your seat throughout. Some scenes are so well done , that you want to get up from your seat and shout”Go…go…go!”This movie describes pride , honor and respect so well that you won’t be able to stop yourself from getting engaged to this realistic motion picture. 

American Sniper ,  is an engaging , brutally powerful movie which definitely deserves to be among the best movies of the year ’14 and rightly  highlights the contribution of one of the greatest soldier in American history.

Interstellar : A journey of a lifetime!

Needless to say , Director Christopher Nolan nowadays is more like a brand that you trust in. For me , he is the only director who assures me and makes me say even before I am about to watch his latest offering : “ I am about to witness a magnum opus” and this was my Facebook status just minutes after I entered the theater for watching “Interstellar” . Man oh man was I right or was I right?

I came to know about this movie post a few months after “The Dark Knight rises” released, and I was so excited to watch this that the wait was becoming intolerable in a figurative sense or way :p The trailers did promise you a intense emotional drama coupled with a Space Odyssey.

And now coming straight to the experience while watching it. The feeling that I had throughout was something I have never experienced in a movie theater. It was something surreal. There’s something about this movie that makes you lost. Lost in a good way (that was quite obvious I know)

The cinematography , the Music , the acting was something that can’t be put into words .You need to watch it yourself to believe and feel it. Mathew MacConaughey ‘s first movie after the one that he won the academy award for , and he stands up to the fame , to the name that he has created for himself in the industry with his absolute back to back amazing performances. He is that emotional factor in this movie that gives this movie the human touch that it requires in the sci-fi world created, crafted and executed to perfection by Nolan. The other cast including Anna Hatheway , Mackenzie Foy(the lil. girl) , Jessica Chastain , Wes Bentley and all the rest of ‘em gave equal top notch performances.

The music by Hans Zimmer deserves a special mention as this is without a doubt ,so far his best best work and when the music begins to crescendo(exactly in sync with how the movie’s intensity quotient proceeds) you are just sucked right in.

I am now gonna say it out load “ This is the most perfect complete Cinema that I have seen in years , by years I would say a release in the last many decades”

By perfect Cinema I meant , this is not only a Space/Human Odyssey but it has Drama , the edge of your seat thrill , the Suspense ( the best that only Nolan can pull of lately)  , emotions , beauty , a lil. touch of humor at times . I mean what more do you want. To put it simply : If a movie with a run time of around 3 hrs can make you crave for more, then you can say confidently that this is some unparalleled greatness of a magnum opus.

To conclude by saying the least …. “Interstellar is a pure instant classic work which is nothing less than a masterpiece. It is an era defining beginning to a new level of Filmography and storytelling that is beyond everything that you have seen so far and this is what Nolan offers in reply to the huge expectations built on him after every single work of his. Stellar , top notch , unparalleled , masterpiece , epic are some words that still won’t come close to justify the beautiful grand Interstellar journey that you tag along with Christopher Jonathan James Nolan."

Interstellar : A journey of a lifetime!

A post for Post-Oscars!

To say the least , 86th Annual Academy Awards was Bang on! :D

And If I say ,”Man , I’ll be damned if these are the academy award winners this year”, then that would be an understatement and that would make me a humble person. But then again , I am not that humble , right?....You guys know me. I am not :p
So , I am overjoyed to say “I told you so” :p
Yep , I am talking about the guesses I made via my previous blog post. To state the truth , I was literally flabbergasted while watching the event this morning (ya , I got up at 5:30 a.m. to see the Oscars .Thinking about that , if I would have got up during my academic years with the same dedication then probably I could have ended up as a scientist somewhere :p :p) to see , how accurate my guesses were and a lil.shocked too  o_O

Check out the following screenshot:

You guys can also watch the repeat telecast , which airs at 8:00 p.m.(Indian Time) today i.e. 3^rd  March on Star Movies. J

And the Oscar goes to....!

If you are a Movie Aficionado , you truly are as excited as I am then. And Academy awards are definitely the most prestigious award an entity on Celluloid can receive , not that the other awards are not important but an Oscar is indeed the maximum you can go.

So , yeah they are just a couple of days away , and I had this urge to write a post depicting my excitement and off course some guesses are on the way too.

Like we do for our home awards like IIFA ,Stardust etc. For me , Farhan Akhtar’s role in the Biopic was a clear winner and also a definite favorite for many too. Wasn’t sure about the best actress in a leading role , my top considerations would have been Sonakshi Sinha for Lootera and Deepika for Ram-leela I guess. But was sure about the Best film though , It had to be Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for it’s direction and screenplay . I personally wanted “The Lunchbox” to win the Best film award, but then again since I know how the Jury have been in the past years, odd were against it. A little commercial touch has to be there , to make it to the top. People say , Indian audience needs to be mature now, I say “Jury , you guys be mature first”. My best Bollywood films from the year 2013 are : The Lunchbox , Madras Café , D-day and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. And the movie that I can watch again and again, has to be Yeh Jawaani hain Dewaani , don’t know why but lately that movie is definitely my feel good movie after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara .:D

Now, coming back to the 86^th Annual Academy Awards , the year 2013 has indeed had some epic roles/performances  and there have been movies being tagged as “Cult” Classics. Plus  the movies this year being nominated are not particularly that exact “Oscar type” material as many may see. It’s like when I ask one of my friends  to tag along for a academy award nominated movie , he says“ I am not in for that slow,  boring , sadistic stuff man , I would rather sleep here on this couch”. It is the case with many , most of us think that an Oscar movie has to be Slow and extremely boring . But that is definitely not the case ,ones who appreciate it as a work of art rather than just  a commercial stuff would know the difference for sure. And what I could feel this year was , most of the movies being nominated are equally enjoyable too. Like American Hustle , The Wolf of Wall Street, Gravity, Her, Nebraska ….these movies were intriguing and engaging to almost everybody.

And from last couple of years , I do make sure I watch every single movie nominated for the academies. It’s kind of a ritual now. :p At least all the ones being nominated for Best Picture, I make sure I cover ‘em.”Watch ‘em all before the Red Carpet event”. So unlike last year I successfully watched every single one of ‘em this year . It gives you a feeling of content when you are actually watching the award ceremony and you can know who’s being acknowledged for what.

So here are my guesses or let say my gut feeling about the main event.

Best Picture – 12 years a slave

Best director – Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity

Best Actor Male – Matthew McConaughey  for Dallas Buyers Club

Best actor Female – Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine / Sandra Bullock for Gravity

Best Actor Supporting male – Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actor Supporting female -  Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen/Original Screenplay -  Her

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year – Frozen

Best Achievement in Cinematography – Gravity

Best Costume – American Hustle/The Great Gatsby

Phewww….that’s a hell lot of guesses . Yeah , let’s see what’s in store for us.

Sadly ,there are chances that  Leonardo Di Caprio will miss out again , after yet another worthy performance for the Academy Award.  The Aviator and The Wolf of wall street are his career best performances so far,according to me.  On one side we have Leonardo Di Caprio , who hasn’t got an Oscar yet , and on the other hand we have Meryl Streep being nominated for the 18^th time now, though she has won 3 Oscars. Yep , you heard that right , 3 Oscars for real. Caprio , it’s not like your career has been torpedoed by other performers , it’s just hard luck man . We all know you are one of the finest actors and we do understand your level of frustration too (by the sarcastic  comments he made on some actors) , so there….there…I sincerely wish ,you get it this year.

P.S. – I know people , for whom watching an Oscar winning movie scares the living daylights out of ‘em. But it is not true from a last couple of years atleast. They are deserving and equally enjoyable too. J

I still consider myself as naïve in watching some serious stuffs , but over the years I have learned to enjoy ‘em .

So do watch ‘em if you get a chance. :D

Another Important thing : When can you catch the event screening live?....If you are in India then make sure you do ‘ve a strong …strong cup of coffee for the event ‘coz you gotta tune into Star Movies  at 5:30 a.m.3^rd Feb March 2014 Indian time and 2^nd Feb March 2014 8:30 p.m U.S. time.

P.P.S – Eagerly waiting for “And the OSCAR goes to….” J

Gravity (2013) : Movie Review

To begin with  , you are in for a visual treat that you haven’t experience before.

Won’t give out any spoilers ,so you guys  don’t have to worry about anything spoiling your movie watching experience. What I am gonna do here is : Convince you to go watch this movie ASAP ‘coz it is one of those movies that when watched later on Television or your PC on a Blu-ray print can make you think “ Damn , should have watched it in the theatres!”.

This movie starts off with a space scene … obviously ..:p.

You see Sandra Bullock , George Clooney & an Indian guy talking blah blah to a guy who’s down here at mission control I guess. "Blah Blah" is supposed  to mean some research & NASA stuffs .The movie never feels as if you are watching it , it feels as if you are experiencing it. You find yourself floating  in outer space & trust me as exhilarating & thrilling as it sounds , it is scary as well. You don’t want yourself to be floating miles away from where you are right now & that too all by yourself. Think about it & the next moment you will realize the scary part that I was talking about.

Direction….my oh my!...this was one hell of a presentation by Alfonso Cuaron. Remarkable cinematic experience in every possible sense &dimension. He has probably left no stones unturned for this one. Frankly speaking I still strongly feel that some of the shots are indeed taken in outer space . As ridiculous as it sounds , this is what makes his direction so great. So real , attention to details & was able to capture the true beauty of the planet earth. While watching this, you get a glare or two at times & that  feels surreal.  You feel as if you are watching a blend of fantasy & facts. Can’t decide between you want to believe it or you need to. So what more to say about the direction , it’s simply amazing or I must say class apart.

George Clooney is the charm in this movie. His dialogues are funny ,nice ,straight & deep at the same time. A well acted role played by him. You enjoy watching him act/float/play an astronaut . Coming to the leading lady of the film , Sandra Bullock. What can I say about this wonderful actress . We all know how amazing an actress she is. As flawless as her beauty is , her acting is the same. This is definitely an Oscar nomination role. Can’t say “An Oscar Winning role” because what if there are some better roles to come our way in the near future , so saying that at this point of time is not justified I guess. But she’s going to be a tough contender for the academy award this year. Acting was simple yet so engaging. Clooney’s wit and charm is a lighter force of our dark tale, and is a perfect balance to Bullock's frantic demeanor.

This movie makes us question our existence ,roles that we play in our lives and is our life worthwhile in all phases.

Throughout the movie we don’t know whether people are gonna survive or not, either ways, we know one thing for sure :“It is gonna be one hell of a ride & we will have one hell of a story to tell” .

All in all this movie is remarkable, outstanding , captivating ,visually stunning, engrossing , heart-warming , heart-stopping, jaw dropping  & definitely  one of the best sci-fi movies one ought to watch .

This Gravity has an intense surreal emotional pull indeed.

P.S. - James  Cameron said “ Gravity is the best space film ever made” &to that  I would say “True that!"

The Lunchbox : Movie Review

The Lunchbox:

The movie starts off slow & slowly catches pace. Not that ,it’s a thriller which needs to catch up pace or something . The movie starts off with the scene where a housewife makes a meal ,packs it in a tiffin & a dabba waala(tiffin guy) fetches the box (dabba) & delivers it to a specific office place.

So starts the story which weaves  beautiful , outstanding & fantastic things all together.

It mesmerizes you at times, making you think and realize how two lonely people who are total strangers can find company & love in each other in this hustle bustle world.

The film keeps you interested through out . Some may find it as a drag (the one’s who went in for a masala movie despite the trailers shown repeatedly on every possible channels which shouts that “IT IS NOT A COMMERCIAL MASALA MOVIE”) , for them it may be boring. Not judging anybody here. Everyone has a right to like or not like something, right. It makes me feel immense happy to see how Indian cinema is evolving to a place much beyond our sights & thoughts. There are some film makers around us who do believe that their viewers deserve  decent ,sensible stuffs & are mature enough to digest it.

Story is simple but the execution makes it a brilliant watch. I come across many people who have given up on Hindi Cinema due to the commercial masala movies being the top priorities here. This movie’s for those who think bollywood movies have become nothing more than 150-180 minutes of non-stop senseless action/drama which is just not worth the time or money.

Acting was kept simple & effective. Irfaan Khan no doubt ,delivers as promised as per his reputation & female character named “Ila” played by one Nimrat Kaur does justice to her role. Does a great job. Not to forget Nawazuddin Siddqui. Wonderful acting by him as well. Again, simple yet effective.

This film is simple , captivating , beautifully shot with average cinematography, heartwarming & definitely one of the finest movies to come out this year.

A lunchbox with a meal lingering your taste buds & satisfying you to the core , leaving you with no space for deserts.

P.S. – Brilliant ending is something to watch out for. It will keep you satisfied & at the same time wanting more.

A few Mind-bogglers

Here are some movies that can make you go/think "Wht d..."
Won't add the movies that has an awesome twist or a climax that you never saw coming like Fight Club , Sixth Sense to name a few but would add the movies that though complicated were a satisfying watch ,made u think alot & left a strong impression on you for days after watching it.

> MEMENTO

> MULLHOLLAND DRIVE

> STAY

> Mr. NOBODY

> EYES WIDE SHUT

> LOST HIGHWAY

> BEING JOHN MALKOVICH

> JACOB'S LADDER

> VANILLA SKY

P.S. - To be continued....

Go-to websites:Movies/TV Shows

So when it comes to movies there are people who just can't get enough. Not in a lame way but in a complementary way ofcourse.
You always wish to invest 120-200 minutes of your time in something that is worth it.
I myself tend be a lot choosy when it comes to movies n stuffs. I believe movies do play an important part in your life , it varies from person to person , how they perceive things. Certainly there has to be a reason why maximum percent of the world population tend to choose movies as their prime source of entertainment . "Ahh , weekend.. nothing better to do , let's go to the movies". We all have been there & i guess we still are.
So , in this hustle bustle world where technology is involved in almost every aspect of our life, we do require a mode of recommendation so that we can invest that 150 minutes wisely. We do right.
Following are some go to websites that can help you decide easily,wisely & quickly what movies/tv shows to watch/download & what not to.

http://www.imdb.com/

http://www.nanocrowd.com/

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/

http://www.criticker.com/

http://www.jinni.com/