I watched Charlie! Which I don’t think is even on my To-Do List, but was recommended to me by a friend, and moviemavengal just posted a review and that it’s been added to einthusan, so I had to check it out.
Yay, Bollywoodhungama has posted the regular full global weekend numbers! In addition to all the Fan specific analysis they posted and I talked about yesterday.
I feel bad, I know I have a lot of faithful readers who are more here for the regional stuff than the Hindi, and I’m not going to have time to watch another regional film for another few days, not until I’ve seen Fan several more times. So I’m going to go ahead and post a review on a film I watched a while back and never covered here.
Hey! They are remaking Traffic! Well, they already remade it. They are releasing a remake of Traffic! I am a little worried that the trailer spoiled the movie.
Law Point! My third Malayalam film of the week! I have to get them all out now, because Fan-Fever starts next week and I will be dedicating my life to that for the foreseeable future. Anyway, I really liked the plot and the actors and the characters and all sorts of other things in this film. But the introduction of our hero was so evil, it kind of distracted me the entire time.
Continuing to work through the whole list of movies people recommended to me, Salt n’ Pepper! Such an adorable movie. Not like a super super great movie, but so lovable! Like a big floppy puppy!
So, this was an interesting movie! Almost too subtle for me to follow. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention (I was trying to finish it while getting ready for work).
I am so embarrassed! I got confused and accidentally watched the Tamil remake of Lucia first! And now I can’t go back, my primary reference is always going to be the second version not the original! The best I can do to make up for it is to review them both together.
(Luckily, moviemavengal did not make the same mistake, and was able to watch the original unspoiled! Check out her review here)
I saw a Malayalam movie in theaters! Because my friend convinced me I should be brave and risk no subtitles. It was really really good! And subtitled, thank goodness.
(if you want to see a different review, moviemavengal has posted hers here)
I actually went to a theater and watched a Malayalam film! I am so proud of myself. Of course, I cheated a little and picked a movie with a title I can actually pronounce without struggling.
One of the commentators (I would call you out by name, but you posted anonymously) challenged me to come up with something to say about the National Awards that were just announced. I never really know what to say about National Awards, but I can say why I don’t have anything to say, at least. And what my small, barely understanding it, reaction is.
Bollywoodhungama has the global figures for the weekend again. Yay! It’s my favorite part of the week! Well, not my favorite part (new release Friday beats it easily), but it’s up there!
This is one of those recent movies that was recommended in a sort of “well, it’s kind of interesting, you might as well” sort of way. Instead of the “You MUST watch this movie!!!” kind of way. And that was basically my reaction too, it’s okay, it was enjoyable, but it didn’t blow my mind.
I saw Varsham! The same day as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which was weird since they are very different movies who share an actress playing two very different heroines. But I think I liked Varsham better. At least, “liked” as in “willing to rewatch it multiple times and happy while viewing it.” Not so much “liked” as in “thought it was actual a deep and rewarding film with multiple layers and messages.” Continue reading
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa was one of the few non-Ratman Tamil movies recommended to me and, more importantly, was available through my library, so I watched it last weekend. And then the first song started and I went “Hey! I know this soundtrack!” Ever since Ekk Deewana Tha started being promoted 4 years ago, I have listened to the Ekk Deewana Tha/Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya/Ye Maaye Chaseve at least once a week, if not once a day. It is really really good. So that was an odd point of familiarity/unfamiliarity from which to start.
Well, sort of stuck in traffic, sort of got lost on the way and took a detour. Either way, appropriate! The point is, I got it two days late because someone at the mail center in India messed up and put in the wrong digit for my zip code, which meant it went to Dunkerton, Idaho, before it made its way to me. Actually, kind of remarkably it was only 2 days late, since that’s several hundred miles away from me. Also, remarkably, the funky Indian website where I ordered it was not at fault! I checked the original packaging and packing slip, and they had everything right, it was only when it was handed over to the private shipping company that it got messed up.
But, All’s Well that End’s Well, I finally got my DVD, and I was able to watch it in bits last night and while getting ready for work this morning.
(update: Moviemavingal just posted her take on it, including why it is and isn’t like the American style hyperlinks)
As a reward for letting Mani Ratnam make me cry again, I picked out a Telugu film that was recommended to me, and was available for free on youtube with subtitles. It did NOT make me cry, but it did make me go “wait, what’s happening now?” a lot.
I’m working through my list, and I just watched my second Ratnam movie of the week. It’s not even on purpose! I’m just looking at the films that are easily available/generally recommended. This one in particular apparently went to a bunch of international film festivals? The end result being, it is easily available from my library, and on a bunch of streaming websites. I mean, it’s also a really really good movie, but the reason I picked it to watch next was based purely on convenience.
Everyone is pretty much in agreement that the big story of the global box office this weekend is that Punjabi films are breaking records. But the flipside of that story is of course that Hindi films are doing TERRIBLE.
Well, happy-ish. He still doesn’t get Draupadi. But at least he reunites with Kunti and Arjun! Also, it’s a Mani Ratnam movie, so the directing is just all around excellent. But more importantly, Rajnikanth! It’s my first Rajnikanth movie (not counting Ra.ONE, because why would you?) and I have to say, he does impress!
I watched Thoovanathumbikal! Because it seemed to be the general consensus that it was the next best one on my list. And it was really good, but also really made me think and concentrate to understand it. Partly because I was struggling with a wacky subtitle situation.
So, I’ve been writing about and watching a lot of Malayalam films. But those aren’t appropriate for every situation. For instance, when I have a bunch of friends over who want to talk over/about a movie while we are watching it. In that case, I basically limit it to movies I have already seen on my own with complete and total focus, and also movies that still work even if you are wandering in and out of the room and telling me about how your classes are going and asking if you can make popcorn. So, last week we watched Magadheera (3rd time for me, 1st time with others in the room) and this week we watched Bijjugadu (4th time for me, 1st time with others in the room).
After seeing the news article yesterday about this movie maybe being re-released with Hindi dubbing, I got curious and tracked down a sort-of legal online source so I could stream it. And I am kind of stunned that it hasn’t been dubbed already, and that I’d never heard about it before.
So, I’ve been watching Hindi movies for over a decade, but there are still a few I haven’t gotten around to, and others that I’ve seen but still haven’t written about. And I’ve barely started on Malayalam films. And I’ve only seen a few Tamil (Jeans, Ok Kanmani, Kandukondain Kandukondain, etc.) and Telugu (Bijjugaadi, Bahubaali, Mirchi, etc.) as well.
You have all been super nice about giving me suggestions and requests, and rather than hunting through old comments and old emails from friends whenever I need to find something to watch, I am going to put them all in one place. And if you see something missing from my list, or a miss-spelling, or anything that should be removed/changed, or an additional note I should add to the film, just note it in a comment and I will update the list!
UPDATE: I’m working through the list, the ones I’ve already written about now have links to the related post.
UPDATE 2: If it is a Hindi film from 2016 or later, just assume that I saw it opening night and wrote a regular review and summary of it, and search the full archives of the site to find those. Too many of those to list here!
Different kinds of moving for them all, but all of them are moving about! And all 3 of them are so important, that any time they move, the whole industry has to move a little bit with them.
dontcallitbollywood 