We Own the Sky - M83

Each shade of blue
Is kept in our eyes
Keep blowing and lighting
Because we own the sky

Secrets from the winds
Burnt stars crying

Soft soft or cruel
Can't we change our minds?
We kill what we build
Because we own the sky

Secrets from the winds
Burnt stars crying

So many moons here
Lost wings floating

It's coming, it's coming now!
It's coming, it's coming now!
What's coming? What's coming now?
What's coming? What's coming now?

It's coming from the sky
It's coming from the wind

American History X

Powerful, Great Plot, Brilliant Acting, Fatalist and A Raw Feel.

Highly recommended for anybody even remotely interested in the American social fabric. I love how this film ends with a beginning and a tough beginning at that.At the end American History X the viewer realizes that life is going to get more difficult for the protagonist, he will find it even harder to stick to the choice he has made.

Beautiful.

Edward Norton Rulz.

Wire in the Blood - Prayer of the Bone

Too much style is never a good thing and this set in Texas tale of what is becoming one of my all time fav shows really suffers coz of it. That and the writing isn't upto par when compared with Season 1.

I probably should have watched everything in chronological order but I had this available and nobody can ever accuse me of being patient.

Memories of Murder

Probably the last word on police procedurals. It's hard to imagine how anything could top this film.

Wire in the Blood

Many moons ago I had picked up a Val McDermid book by random fluke at the BCL and had been mighty impressed by her writing skills. I had made a note to myself to read her other works but alas that was another addition to the list of things not done.

So many moons later in another Indian territory (so to speak) I came across this BBC series based on her books and it was a case of neki aur pooch pooch. I've just seen the first episode of Season 1 and by God ki kasam I'm hooked. Featuring an neurotic clinical psychologist and quite frankly yummy female cop , the show is one of the best British police procedurals I have seen.

Each show runs to about 90 minutes and with 3 shows per season and about 6 seasons till date I have quite a bit of watching to do. Splendid old chap. Simply splendid.

Protege

Johnnie To has some serious competition as the reigning master of Hong Kong and his name is Derek Yee. If I were to use one word to describe this film it would be........STUNNING.

Best of You - Foo Fighters

I've got another confession to make
I'm your fool
Everyone's got their chains to break
Holdin' you

Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Are you gone and onto someone new?
I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn't have
But had no use
I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose
My head is giving me life or death
But I can't choose
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh...

Oh...Oh...Oh...Oh...

Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You die to heal
The hope that starts
The broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I've got another confession my friend
I'm no fool
I'm getting tired of starting again
Somewhere new

Were you born to resist or be abused?
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh...

Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog

I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
Yeah
But it's on the table
The fire is cooking
And their farming babies
While the slaves are working
The blood is on the table
And their mouths are choking
But I'm growing hungry
Yeah
I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
Oho, ah
But it's on the table
The fire is cooking
And their farming babies
While the slaves are working
And it's on the table
Their mouths are choking
But I'm growing hungry (Growing hungry)
I'm growing hungry (Growing hungry)
I'm growing hungry (Growing hungry).....

The Killing Gene

There are 5 reasons to watch this b-grade gorefest. 

a) See Stellan Skaarsgard deliver what might be the worst performance of his career.

2) Exquisite handheld camerawork and brilliant lighting.

3) A reasonably interesting script with a decent plot twist.

4) Melissa George 

5) Melissa George

In case you are wondering who Melissa George is...........

Halo - The Fall of Reach

The reason that the Halo universe is probably the greatest fictional game universe ever created is the superb writing behind it. This fact is proven in this phenomenal prequel which provides the backstory behind the Spartans. The first time I played Halo was in Negi's apt in Bombay and I didn't leave the apt for 2 days straight till I completed Halo 2. It was so addictive and the only reason I haven't bought an Xbox yet is coz I would never leave the house.

Halo along with Half-Life and Unreal redefined what gaming could mean and it's a huge lesson to any developers out there to get a fucking good writer involved and spend the necessary time to flesh out each and every aspect of the story and the characters.

How I bleed to see Master Chief John 117 on the big screen.

One Night in Mongkok

Awesome film. Textbook example of great writing, acting and cinematography. Bleak as shit and twice as fun.

Electric Feel - MGMT

all along the western front
people line up to receive
she got the power in her hand
to shock you like you won't believe
saw her in the amazon
with the voltage running through her skin
standing there with nothing on
she's gonna teach me how to swim

said ooh girl
shock me like an electric eel
baby girl
turn me on with your electric feel
i said ooh girl
shock me like an electric eel
baby girl
turn me on with your electric feel

all along the eastern shore
put your circuits in the sea
this is what the world is for
making electricity
you can feel it in your mind
oh you can do it all the time
plug it in and change the world
you are my electric girl

said ooh girl
shock me like an electric eel
baby girl
turn me on with your electric feel
said ooh girl
shock me like an electric eel
baby girl
turn me on with your electric feel

do what you feel now
electric feel now
do what you feel now
electric feel now
do what you feel now
electric feel now
do what you feel now
electric feel now
do what you feel now
electric feel now

Mistaken for Strangers - The National

You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

Make up something to believe in your heart of hearts
so you have something to wear on your sleeve of sleeves
so you swear you just saw a feathery woman
carry a blindfolded man through the trees
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters
showered and blue-blazered, fill yourself with quarters

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

Blade of the Phantom Master

This has got to be one of the most bizzarely scripted anime films ever made. The love child of both Korean as well as Japanese lunatics the weirdness factor was never in doubt. I'm still scratching my head at the plotting and the character development. This cinematic insanity makes "Fist of the North Star" look like " There Will be Blood"

Red Cliff

There are a few things in life which are better than sex and this film is one of them. John Woo back at the height of his powers. I do miss the presence of Chow Yun Fat but rumor has it that he might just be making an appearance in the concluding part.

A Wednesday

A WEDNESDAY - 2008

A Wednesday offers a unique plot with nice twists and turns,engaging camera angles,  a fast paced and well timed storyline and a pretty good script. Fantastic acting by all four of the main cast: Naseer Ud Din Shah as the orchestrator-in-chief "Stupid Common Man", Amir Bashir as the duty-before-self-family-child Inspector Jai, Jimmmmiey Shergil as the only-too-happy-to-smash-your-bones Inspector Arif and Anupam Kher as the negotiator and narrator of the movie Commissioner Rathod.

Once I got to know that two of my favourite actors, Anupam Kher and Nasser Ud Din
Shah, are both in A Wednesday I expected it to be a great movie. Good direction by Neeraj Pandey. The movie is not a high budget flick (probably good and brings in a bit more realism). No compromise on production values. No songs (none are called for by the script anyway). Both of the super gods of method and character acting Anupam Kher and Nasser Ud Din Shah have dished out such flawless and realistic performances that I didn't once think of them as anybody other than the characters they portray. Neither has been able to out shine the other and both thespians emerge as winners. Need I say more.

My only two complaints (but please don't let me detract anything from A Wednesday you must see it never the less): The back ground music is possibly the worst I have experienced in a recently released Bollywood movie (absurd sounds are played at every characters introduction and also in between some of the most important dialogues which distract from the attention which these dialogues deserve) , and the details behind how Nasser Ud Deen Shah's character gains the trust of the four terrorist are murky at best. Oh and there is immense product placement in the first few minutes and this left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Oh and the reporter babe is umm...forgetable. Seems like the list is a bit longer than I thought.hm...

I liked this movie and wouldn't mind seeing it again or recommending it to others. Now I look forward to Neeraj Pandey's next effort. 


Must See Movie.

Intervention - Arcade Fire

The king's taken back the throne
The useless seed is sown
When they say they're cutting off the phone
I'll tell 'em you're not home

No place to hide
You were fighting as a soldier on their side
You're still a soldier in your mind
Though nothing's on the line

You say it's money that we need
As if we're only mouths to feed
I know no matter what you say
There are some debts you'll never pay

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

I can taste the fear
Gonna lift me up and take me out of here
Don't wanna fight, don't wanna die
Just wanna hear you cry

Who's gonna throw the very first stone?
Oh! Who's gonna reset the bone?
Walking with your head in a sling
Wanna hear the soldier sing

Working for the Church
While my family dies
Your little baby sister's
Gonna lose her mind
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

I can taste your fear
It's gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel

We can't find you now
But they're gonna get their money back somehow
And when you finally disappear
We'll just say that you were never here

Been working for the church
While your life falls apart
Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

Beowulf

Damn you Christopher Lambert. You know I am unable to dislike even the crappiest films you have been which includes "Knight Moves" but this scifi rendering of Beowulf is actually a lot of fun. I could almost imagine you being Connor Macleod of clan Macleod once again.

Red Mars

Cracking first installment in what looks to be an awesome space colonization trilogy.

State of Play

When you mix Bill Nighy, the BBC and the term "political thriller" in the same pot you get State of Play. As good a mini-series as you could ever hope to see. Watch out for the film remake by Kevin McDonald.

All these things that I've done - The Killers

When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on

I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand

Another head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no

Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out, yeah

And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be

Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out, yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

I got soul, but I'm not a soldier (x10)

(Time, truth and hearts)

Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me ou, yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down, yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You're gonna bring yourself down, yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down

Over and out, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done
(Time, truth and hearts)
If you can hold on
If you can hold on

Shamo

I was expecting something weird considering it was a HK adaptation of an ultra violent fucked up Japanese manga. On the fucked up scale it ranked pretty high considering even I couldn't read it after the first 30 or so pages. And that's no small feat when you take into account I managed to read about half of Ichi the Killer before feeling sick.

This film isn't for the faint hearted or for those who seek logic and well rounded characters in films. It contains none of that and sadly enough it also gleans over the most horrifying aspects of the manga. So in short it's a galli ka kutta which will appeal to neither the casual viewer nor to the otaku.

The film is not bereft of some charms though. The MMA scenes are extremely well done while the cinematography fluctuates between stunning and ridiculous. Acting is nothing to write home about though there are some very hot Chinese babes dressed up to look Japanese. I'm guessing the Robotech 3000 has something to do with it.

Not a must watch by any stretch of the imagination but def a solid primer on how not to adapt a a manga for the big screen. Very valuable lesson for me before I attempt to write a script based on "Strain".

Lisa - The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers

There's nothing I could call this
No architecture for the order of things
When I sat and watched you sleeping
Before the trucks arrived
Boxed up your better life
I wrote you letters for a while

Left to haunt this sad estate
In hollow walls and empty halls
But all I saw was
Some doll that you'd abandoned
So I crawled inside
Where the stiching helf me tight
And hoped that you'd come back to find me sometime

I hope that you forgive me
For being so severe
Your proximity was clouding my account of what was real here
You're eight years old
I'm stuck inside the wall
You always talk
But never hold me and I wish
That you would ask me how I'm feeling
There's so much I want to tell you
About the way I'm disappearing
And so many years have passed
since that
I left the house
I left the map
To my new wall
You must have never found it
And I heard that you got married
And I hope she helps you fall asleep these days

Cuz I knew the ways
When you were eight
You're not what I imagined
You'd become when we were younger
But I'm still in love with that one
And I've since found your parents' house
And live inside the wall
But you don't ask about me
When you call.

Kelly's Heroes

KELLY'S HEROES - 1971

Clint Eastwood, stands at one end of a town street; on the left side of the frame the camera focuses on his gun hanging down by his hip and on the right side of the frame in the background we see Clint’s enemy at the other end of the deserted desolate town street, Clint’s two amigos flank his sides, with their guns, cool and focused. Clint’s right hand is ready to draw, he twitches his head left to right, the audience knows he can draw, shoot and be done with it all before you can say the words “spaghetti western”. The theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly plays in the background, the three brothers in arms start walking towards the bad guy….except hang on a minute this isn’t The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, hells it isn’t even a western. Clint and his amigos are wearing allied army battle fatigues, brandishing sten guns and semi automatic pistols. The town isn’t a deserted mid Western ghost town, it’s a French rural town with a medieval era bell tower. And the enemy at the end of the street isn’t any gringo or villainous bad man, oh no it’s nothing as threatening as that, it’s just the German army’s most feared ground attach weapon…a Tiger tank. I’m talking about one of the funniest World War 2 movies, ‘Kelly’s Heroes’

This scene would have to be rated as the second best spoof scene in movie history. The best scene, of course, is the Apocalypse Now reference in Hot Shots Part Deux with father-son duo Martin and Charlie Sheen spontaneously saying “I loved you in Wall Street” to each other. Check out this ultra fantastico scene here

Released in 1970, Kelly’s Heroes, starring Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, and Telly Savalas amongst others, is set in the immediate aftermath of the D Day landing of June 1944. Clint Eastwood is “Corporal Kelly”, an ex-officer who took the fall for a strategic level error and ended up hating officers in turn , is now all set to make himself a multi-millionaire by stealing 16 million dollars worth of Nazi gold hidden inside a bank in German held France. Telly Savalas, is “Sergeant Big Joe”, a no nonsense leader who commands absolute respect and faith from the men under him and whose first priority is to get his men alive to Berlin and second is to ensure they get every possible opportunity to be amongst women, clean linen, women, hot showers, women, great food, women…Donald Sutherland is the spaced out flower power Sherman tank commander named “Oddball”.

Telly Savalas has dished out the best performance in Kelly’s Heroes. Every scene involving him is masterly, every dialogue he says makes one believe in Big Joe. Savalas steals the thunder from under Eastwood in this movie. The scene where Savalas and his men argue about whether or not to go ahead with the 16 million dollars gold heist is one of the most life like scenes I have ever seen. Savalas wants to point out to his men the unspoken rules of surviving in a war, he wants their safety at all costs but they want him, their leader and saviour, to see their point that this time they’ll risk their lives for themselves, they want him to head it because they know he’s the best and he will take care of them. Savalas is strong, Savalas is genuine, Savalas is concerned, Savalas is experienced, Savalas is practical, Savalas is tough talking, Savalas is human, Savalas is a man, Savalas is real, Savalas is all knowing, Savalas in our Sergeant, Savalas is God, or in other words Savalas is just a Greek raised in NY.

Clint Eastwood doesn’t play Corporal Kelly, he plays Clink Eastwood. Standard Eastwood fare with lots of tough monosyllabic emoting thrown in for good measure. Of course it is a high standard.

And yet it is Donald Sutherland as Oddball who absolutely runs away with the movie. In between the gypsy café set up for his tank squad in the middle of a war zone, his constant love affair with positive waves, his reliance on music played loud out from his tanks' speakers to confuse the Germans, his multi coloured paint firing shells, his faith in karma and the power of positive thinking, and his lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds inspired facial expressions one can only think about how Oddball must be the progenitor of all the hippies of the world. All through the movie, Donald Sutherland seems genuinely happy to be playing Oddball. It’s as if in real life he’s Oddball who plays Donald Sutherland while off the set. Maybe he is. I’ve given some of his best dialogues at the end of this review.

Movie run-time is approximately 2:15 minutes and perhaps 15 minutes too long. The final battle sequence could have been a bit shorter. However the cinematography is top notch, and the panoramic shots of the French town from the medieval bell tower accomplish the task of putting the viewer right into the battle sequence. Most of the war props and equipment are authentic or quite close to it.

Eastwood, Sutherland, and Savalas made many other movies before and after Kelly’s Heroes but this movie will always feature in the best movie list for all three of them.

Will Kelly, Big Joe, Oddball, Crap Game, Cowboy, and the rest of the men make it alive, will they be able to get through behind enemy lines and into the town, will they be able to dodge their gung ho red bathrobe with 3 stars pinned on it wearing general, will they get the gold, and will they be able to negotiate the Tiger tank?

Sample some of the choicest dialogues from Kelly’s Heroes:

Oddball: “Oh yeah man….(mumble)….(mumble)….I mean…(mumble)….no sweat”

Oddball: “ Oh man, don’t hit me with those negative waves in the morning. Think the bridge will be there and it will be there”

Oddball: “ To a New Yorker like you a hero is some type of a sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers”

Oddball: “Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here?”

Crap Game, referring to a German : “ Make a deal, maybe the guy’s a Republican, business is business”

“Oh Oddball, that nut’s gotta be nuts”

“He maybe nuts but he’s not crazy”

“Is this why we pay taxes, to be bombed by our own airforce?”


Kelly's Heroes is not the best war comedy ever, there are other contenders for that title such as "1941" but Kelly's Heroes is a MUST SEE MOVIE