Sunday, September 25, 2016

The Big Short

I tried to read the book but it seemed too tough to understand, and very vague. The concepts of subprime mortgage, CDO and other wall street jargon never went into my head. So I started watching the movie with the same thought that I might not be able to understand it. But the movie was super awesome! It explained concepts very easily. The whole book has been made very cleverly into a thrilling, captivating story. And to think, it is all true story. Best part is, wherever (few scenes) it is not a true story, the narrative confesses it - humorously! The whole story revolves around the 2007 mortgage crash in US economy - and how four individuals made money out of it.
Rating: Must-see

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Death of a Salesman

I saw a colleague of mine reading a book of the same name, and I was compelled to know more about it. As it happened, my local library had this movie. Still, I was in two minds - whether to see or not, especially it was because it seemed so old. Finally made up mind and got the DVD. It started off ok. There seemed to be too much of conversation and without subtitles, I was just able to make out the gist of what was happening. Almost the first hour of the movie was just a simple conversation in a lower middle class house. Finally, the second half opened up the movie into things unbeknownst to the viewer. Dustin Hoffman's acting is superb. His character is very nicely woven and the amount of talking he has done is unbelievable - and with that flair of a salesman! As it happens, the story of the family unfolds based more on just conversation rather than actual events shown on screen!
Rating: Good

The Buddha: The story of Siddhartha

Its more of a documentary than a movie. A very neat, clean narrative of Gautam Buddha from his birth till his death. I felt it was rather slow at times and it could have been made shorter. But still, the commentary was very good and captivating. The choice of words used to describe the narrative is super awesome. Too many things in the movie to learn - and instill in life. So, worth the watch.
Rating: Good

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Wow, what a movie! Superb acting, direction, screenplay - and the thought behind each and every scene is absolutely powerful. Paresh Rawal's role and acting is unmatched. The movie is based on the actual train bombings that took place in Mumbai on July 11th 2006 but the tale itself is a fiction of many lives who were affected by the bombings one way or the other. A high-impact movie with "punchful" dialog and scenes. Absolutely gripping with subtle, wry humor. 
Rating: Must-see

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Man Who Knew Infinity

The amazing true story of Ramanujan beautifully pictured. It is captivating from the beginning till the end. It is astonishing how Ramanujan came up with all those theorems and conjectures and what not. The story itself is so thrilling that the movie hardly needs any brilliance and yet the movie-making does not fall short. The acting, screenplay and direction are all as neat as it could be. 
Rating: Must-see