The Great Gatsby

A very different movie that is kind of enchanting and has lot of pomposity and prospect at the beginning but somewhat loses steam as the story unfolds. There is still, though, somewhat an air of mystery on 'what-happens-next' which makes it bearable. But at the end, it makes one feel 'Is that all?' Quite dramatic and very Bollywood-ish style. Watchable once when there is nothing else to do...
Rating: Average

Agneepath (2012)

Waited a long time for the movie to end. Just too much violence. I guess I am not at that age when violence looks good on the screen. Either that, or the movie was just plain bad. Almost every scene depicted violence or negativity or some kind of negative scheming that makes your stomach turn. Even dialog is rubbish. It is so, because it is required so to match with the movie setting. And, in almost all movies like this (Company, Satya, etc.), pretty much everyone important dies. For me, it felt a pure waste of time. Wonder why I even watched it.
Rating: Average

Piku

A hilarious movie! Out-of-the-box and (at least, for me) a never-before concept for a movie! And yet, excellently directed, acted, casted, edited, written, etc.. A wholesome entertainer! Deepika's character portrayal could have been toned down but it doesn't matter. AB is just too good.
Rating: Good

The Book Thief

A beautiful, poignant movie about a young girl from Communist kin caught up in Hitler's world war era in the middle of Germany. The story is akin to Anne Frank but runs slightly on a tangent. The movie makes one thoughtful with complex emotions - thankful, because the war stopped; sad, because of what people endured. Some very good direction, casting, acting, cinematography almost makes this movie an edge-of-a-seat and gets the audience hooked till the very end. The best part of the movie was the background narration from Death. And punchline dialog. 
Rating: Good

Inside Out

After 5+ years, finally went to a movie in a theatre! Since our daughter was born in 2010, we had never been to a theatre. Never felt like going to a movie leaving our daughter behind, nor felt compelled to watch any movie in a theatre with her in tow. But now that she is 5, and almost takes in any 'villainous' roles in equanimity, we finally decided to go to a theatre. And we wanted to start off with an animation movie so that she gets used to the theatre atmosphere and yet is comfortable with the big screen. So, decided on Inside Out, since it seemed as good as it can get. Sure enough, it was an awesome movie - great concept, great direction, good animation. Totally joyous. And yet, looking at the movie, at times I felt sad that so many good memories are lost forever, even of my own daughter who is still just 5. Definitely a movie not to be missed!
Rating: Good

Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

A very realistic movie. Acting from everyone is excellent. The best scene is when the maid and her daughter are on camera. That's as natural as it can every get. A story in which there is a mix of rich and poor, richest and poorest. Mumbai is seen in all its true forms. The rat-killing profession is as worse as it can get. The Muslim woman's story on camera is touching. It starts out with such bubbling excitement and looking-forward-to-life. Since it is more like a diary, there is no real ending or real beginning for the movie. It is just a chapter of life in a number of lives - which can be as realistic as it can get.
Rating: Good

The Imitation Game

Wanted to read the novel before I saw the movie but the novel was over 700 pages with small font. So saw the movie directly since I couldn't wait! And what a movie! Superb story, awesome acting, good editing, great casting and excellent direction. Added to this, it's the true story of Alan Turing. What a man! Thank God, for sending this man to Earth in such a time as World War! Its as if God Himself was here to stop the war...
Rating: Must-see

Birdman

It started off well enough. Seemed very gripping. But then, there were these scenes of the hero flying and it seemed unrealistic. Still, good enough movie to see once. The movie is taken as if it is one long and that's something novel.
Rating: Good

Neighbors

Pretty comically intense movie about neighbors trying to outdo one another. Extremely adult-ish movie in relation to typical American college grads partying excessively. Simple story yet very thick in keeping audience captivated till the end. Nice, catchy dialog too.
Rating: Good

Entertainment

Total time-pass movie for a lazy weekend. So had very little expectations. But the dialog in the movie was truly amazing. Very innovative and comical with real humor. Had some real good laughs.
Rating: Good

Escape From Alcatraz

A simple movie about a powerful true story of Frank Morris' escape from Alcatraz prison half a decade ago. Minimal dialog, tight story line, yet edge-of-seat thriller. Feels good to see a movie based on same setting which I had once visited (Alcatraz). 
Rating: Good

Mangal Pandey : The Rising

When I was watching The Story of India, I came to know about Mangal Pandey. Hence saw this movie, and it was an astonishing story. There were parts in the movie that could have been well-made (such as reducing the number of songs) but otherwise the legendary story or the folklore itself carries the movie on its back to make it a worthwhile watch. Aamir is superb, as always. I feel for William Gordon though I am not sure if he was a real person. And of course, I feel for Mangal Pandey himself, the real person and what he went through...
Rating: Good

Unbroken

Based on the autobiography, the movie gives justice to the book in many aspects - at least, as much as possible, and finishes some 50-70 pages before the book actually ends. And some pretty good acting, casting (except Watanabe whose features seemed very girly) and cinematography. A good, compact watch for those who don't want to read through 400 odd pages. But again, the book gives a more holistic picture than the picture itself but there are scenes which the viewer can easily understand by just seeing than comprehend the description from the words by reading.
Rating: Good

Home

First movie night organized in my daughter's school. Had total fun, under the stars, with popcorn and other snacks. Daughter too had a jolly time before the movie started, playing with her pals and on the park play structures. The movie itself was good, not superbish, but good enough to keep us in jovial spirits. Story theme seemed too far-fetched but that didn't matter much because of the pace of the movie. 
Rating: Good

The Story of India

An in-depth documentary on India, starting from the very first immigrants to the country thousands of years ago until freedom and Independent India. It is a marathon 6-part 6-hour documentary where the host Michael Wood takes us through this life of India with an ever-smiling face and churns up facts and places (such as the one where Akbar was enthroned, where Mahabharata was fought, where freedom fighters fought against British, Jallianwala Bagh, Taj Mahal, place where Gautam Buddha got enlightenment, etc.) at such quick pace that the audience is hooked all through. There is not a moment of ennui. It is almost a must-see for all Indians - to know our own roots. 

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Not sure why the title. Relatively easy-going movie. Not much humor or suspense or action or drama or anything to keep audience occupied. After 1 hour I thought the movie was over. 15 minutes later again I thought it was over. And it kept on happening until an hour later the movie finally ended! Editing could have been better, dialog too. Acting was good and so was casting and cinematography.
Rating: Average.

The Interview

A nice captivating story with underlying comedy involving international countries and nuclear bombs and what-not! Total time-pass yet hilarious, at times.
Rating: Good

Finding Nemo

A beautiful tale of 'dad' fish losing 'son' fish and how he does all it takes to 'find' him. Very touching yet comical, not to mention beautifully scripted & animated. Has a moral for the father as well as for the son.
Rating: Good

Sixteen Candles

A movie for the wifey. She likes this type - A typical American sixteen-year-old girl madly in love with a guy in her school who doesn't even know her and it's her birthday - and whatnot. Not much of comedy to call a rom-com but comes pretty close to it. Time-pass, watchable.
Rating: Average

Airplane!

Absolutely hilarious! Been a very long time since I saw such kind of a movie where the theme is only comedy and pays no respect to logic! Totally enjoyed!
Rating: Good

Clueless

Time pass movie about teenagers. But surprisingly, a very "clean" and "moralistic" movie. Light romance, light humor and faintly interesting. 
Rating: Average

PK

Nice movie, nice story, nice direction, nice concept, etc. But something lacked to not make it a "Must-see". Maybe the alien concept - literally speaking, and perhaps casting. Otherwise, a classy movie, almost on similar lines as the director Rajkumar Hirani's other movies (Munna Bhai MBBS, etc.). Every scene, every dialog, seemed to be well thought out. Even the humor is rich. Anushka seemed out-of-sort (for casting in this movie, not her acting) at times, maybe because she looked taller than Aamir. Aamir was awesome, as usual.
Rating: Good

The Lion King

I was 14 when this movie hit the screens and I had heard rave comments about it. But being a teenager I wasn't so keen on an animated movie then. Now, after 21 years, for the sake of my daughter, I got this movie from library! It wasn't all that great as I thought it would be although at times the comic and the animation are excellent. The story itself is very thin and predictable. Far too much violence and scary stuff for Kindergarteners. My daughter didn't like it that much. 
Rating: Average

Samsara

Kaleidoscopic images & videos spanning across many different countries with no commentary nor any subtitles. Shows many strange, unknown, unseen videos which are at times cruel and at times beautiful and other times plain boring. A very professional work of videography. Good documentary to see with kids since it doesn't really disturb when they keep asking hundreds of questions! Looking at the mute video, my daughter told the video 'You just have to use your words.' :-) (That's something we parents keep saying to her when she is upset and having temper tantrums!)
Rating: Average

The Lego Movie

Wow, what a movie! Awesome story, great animation, superb humor and even parenting morals. The movie starts off with a bang and rides on a roller-coaster at break-neck speed until the very end. Added to this - we saw it under the stars on Walnut Creek Civic Park. Great ambience despite the chill. Totally, totally enjoyed from beginning till end - including Kurkure and Aloo Paratha! Reminded us of the movie we saw in Irvine Park.
Rating: Good

Inequality for all

An excellent documentary on inequality of wages - where rich become richer and poor become poorer. Robert Reich gives the cause, effect and solution for this economic turmoil in America over the last century. Superb narration, witty and gripping. 
Rating: Good

The Little Mermaid

Another Saturday night movie for the daughter. This time it was her little mermaid Ariel. Very easy-going story and movie about teenage love and "kiss of true love" - but kind of too much for a 4 year old but anyways. Time-pass.
Rating: Average

The Way Back

Nowadays, I am reading the novel and then seeing the movie. This favors the book, I guess, unless the movie is really made well. Just so, since this movie only depicted 50% of what is actually in the book, I felt the book was much better than the movie. Even so, the movie at times runs very thin and doesn't quite capture the attention as much as the novel. Why don't film-makers just take the novel, I don't understand. 
Rating: Average

100 Days of Love

Maybe had high hopes for this movie especially after having seen another Malayalam movie Bangalore Days, or maybe the beginning sounded good. Either way, this movie is too light-weighted and is an absolute time-pass. Although set in Bangalore, it has pretty much no stuff in it but one can just linger till the end just to see it through just for of an occasional laughter here and there. Not even sure about the significance of the title.
Rating: Average

Tanu Weds Manu

Hoping it to be a rom com, we were severely disappointed. The movie has a very thin story line and it goes from good to worse. At the end, we were like 'Oh Please!' The name gives away the ending anyways.
Rating: Average

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Trailer seemed interesting and comical but the movie itself was pretty average. Stories of about a bunch of retirees which intertwine at a retiree home in India. Each of the tales seemed superfluous and one feels - is it all really needed? Nothing comical about it in the end, but good direction, acting and dialog nevertheless.
Rating: Average

Up

It started good but lost its steam after some time. Good imagination but it just went out of bounds when an old man who cannot climb down the stairs on his own tries to hold on to his full house - literally. Total time pass movie for kids.
Rating: Average

12 Years a Slave

So, I read books and see movies. And then I compare which was better. Sometimes the movies are better, sometimes the books. In this case, it was the book. The movie only made me understand parts of the book that I could not comprehend reading but other than that, it did not evoke any other emotions. I felt there were quite a bit of scenes that were quite unnecessary and could have been edited. Also, there seemed to be an escape scene which the author had written in great detail which was missing in the movie. Nevertheless, if you don't want to read a 200-page book and instead know the story in 2 hrs, go for it!
Rating: Good

Enchanted

This is a fun movie that can be welcomed on any weekend. Again, girly, princessy stuff that can make daughters go 'Awww' but it has a twist within 30 minutes of the movie when the animation turns to real human beings and mean adults right on Times Square. Kinda sci-fi jazzy stuff, only it is more for kids! The dramatic ending is very, very sloppy and totally unneeded and could have been edited after the proverbial 'True-love-kiss'.
Rating: Good

The Princess Diaries 2

The prequel was much better. This sequel seemed pretty awful, very boring and at times even ridiculous - all due to a very thin story line. Another weekend, girly movie but highly avoidable. Oh, by the way, if you are wondering why I am into so many girly movies - it is to give company to wifey and daughtery!
Rating: Average

The Princess Diaries

A lazy Sunday time-pass movie about a teenager who suddenly comes to know she is a Princess of a country. A predictable tale and ending.
Rating: Average

This is the End

Truly pathetic. A doomsday picturized for real-life actors. Some comical dialog and scenes but overall quite yucky and heavily avoidable. 

The Namesake

A Bengali-English movie about Indian couples stay in America in 1980s and the radical shift in culture especially for the newlywed brides. Based on Jhumpa Lahiri novel which I later remembered having read. A good movie. Nothing great, nothing bad. 
Rating: Good

Mardaani

Another female-oriented power-punch movie but seemed far-fetched plot at times, especially when villain killed whosoever with ease but spared the cop until too late. Apart from that, story is captivating. It is shocking to know that even a road-side pani puri is dangerous for girls in India.
Rating: Good

Drishyam

Wow. Brilliant. Another movie seen on airplane en route to Abu Dhabi from SFO. Had heard about this  movie a lot and it lived up to it's expectations. A simple story with a simple twist that can happen to any simple middle-class family. Well directed and well acted, its as good as any edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Rating: Must-see

Language seen: Telugu but original Malayalam

Excuse my French

An Arabic movie seen on airplane while coming from SFO to Abu Dhabi. Seemed overly hyped but it was a let down. IMDB states genre as Comedy but I didn't find anything to laugh about. It portrayed a very dark side of life indeed.
Rating: Average

Mary Kom

Wow, what a movie! What a true story! Such unmatched skill, commitment and dedication - and to think I never knew about this person until I heard about this movie (like many other Indians, I am sure). Great acting by Priyanka, and such sad state of affairs to see growth of Boxing as a sport in India, with all its prejudices. But thoroughly enjoyed the movie, nevertheless.
Rating: Must-See

22 Jump Street

Similar to 21 Jump Street. Nice, easy, light-hearted, little bit of action, a touch of romcom, etc. Good for a Lazy Sunday.
Rating: Good

Cha-Cha-Cha

A simple romantic Spanish comedy that gets complicated with lies and spies and devious plans. Quite interesting. 
Rating: Good

Philomena

When I started seeing this movie, I was expecting it to showcase what is written in the book. But I was surprised to see the movie was totally different than the book.While the book concentrated entirely on the child, the movie concentrates more on searching the child and the author's interaction with the mother. Very touching at times, very beautifully taken. Excellent acting. But I wonder why some scenes are so opposite to what is in the book.
Rating: Good

Cars 2

Wow, what an excellent movie! Thoroughly enjoyed it. Had a smile on my face almost the entire movie! It has romance, edge-of-the-seat James-Bond-ish thrill, mystery, drama, sci-fi and loads of comedy. Superb animation with lots of colors and imagination. Awesome dialog too, making it a wholesome entertainer!
Rating: Must-see

The Bicycle Thief

A pretty average-ish movie. The story kind of never moves forward. The title gives away what's gonna happen in the movie anyway. And then pretty much nothing happens! Not sure why all the hype about this movie.

Sleeping Beauty

The Sunday movie for the kiddo. Considering that this movie was made in 1959, it is quite an achievement in animation. Pretty straightforward story about a prince, princess and an evil witch. But nice humor in between. Although the daughter wished there was no evilness in the movie :-)
Rating: Average

The Boy With The Striped Pajamas

A holocaust movie although taken more from the German angle with a childish touch. Edge-of-the-seat at times but ends quite flatly. A nice, short story of the woebegone bygone era.
Rating: Good

Shaadi Ke Side Effects

Nice rom-com after a long time. Some very typical married life conversations, very typical post-child-birth life situations, etc. making it very comical and humorous indeed. Also, the basic characteristics & conversations of a typical male and female. Enjoyable.
Rating: Good

Frozen

A movie for the 4-year-old daughter, but my wife and I enjoyed it more than her. There was too much 'scary/sad' stuff for her to enjoy, with snow monsters and Elsa's hands freezing everything around her and making her (Elsa) cry, etc. In fact, after the movie she went into a shell with no smiles and laughs and started saying 'I don't want Frozen any more'. But later on, she warmed up to the story & now has become a huge fan of this movie - been seeing it forever! And wifey and I enjoyed it anyways! Good catchy story.
Rating: Good

Moneyball

Awesome true story of Billy Beane and how he churned out a bunch of low-key baseball players into a team that won 20 consecutive games, a record of its own. Very inspiring and touching. Brad Pitt is awesome in his role. Although story and movie is good, it kind of lacks a superior touch that could have made the audience go 'wow' as in the movie 42.
Rating: Good

Bangalore Days

Wow, what a fantastic movie! One of the rare Malayalam movies that I saw, and thankfully, this one had subtitles. This movie has sufficient quota of every movie element  - comedy, romance, tragedy, drama, suspense (not much of thrill though). It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me go 'Wow'. Excellent acting, excellent direction and good intertwining of life-stories of 3 cousins. Almost all characters in the movie have a personality of his or her own and is right in his or her actions, although it brings out different shades of emotions in the others around. Definitely, a must-see.