just saw…

the proposal, 2009 - yet another rom com that had its moments but the climax might just have been copied from a few tamil movies. popcorn stuff. 6.2/10

pasanga, 2009 - surprisingly fresh and funny. the movie is about kids all throughout. it will remind you of your childhood in a real sweet way. might have gone overboard at times but totally excusable. 7.5/10

vennila kabadi kuzhu, 2009 - first half and the romantic angle was a bit of a drag but picks up very well in the second. story set in a small village with a few villagers aspiring to win a kabadi match. the rural setting and the story-telling and the performances were all commendable - 7.3/10

love aaj kal, 2009 - yawn. 5.0/10

sphere - decent sci-fi. have read the book very long back so it spoilt the fun for me. nice time pass otherwise. 6.0/10

sideways - ‘if anyone orders merlot, am leaving’. lol. funny and thoughtful movie. might not be for all. the wine-tasting and roadtrip combo was nice and both the characters were real, quirky and adorable. giamatti’s best probably. 8.0/10

saroja, 2009 - was hard to genre’ize this one. every tense moment was broken by something hilarious. just sit back and go with the flow. bad acting spoiled it for me in a lot of places but still very fresh and nice attempt. 6.5/10

man on wire, 2008 - 1974. wtc. a french man illegally put a wire across the twin towers and walked across it for 45 mins. documentary and brilliant one. daring feat of human achievement 8.5/10

the third man, 1949 - orsen welles shows up only after 45mins into the movie but still stuns with his performance. beautiful b/w photography. good thriller. 8.4/10

breakfast club, 1985 - the story of high school misfits. cult classic 80s movie. if you liked napolean dynamite, you will like this too. 7.2/10

martian child, 2007 - an adopted misfit of a kid thinks he is from mars. one of those good tv movies. 7.3/10

l’appartement, 1996 - re-watched this because it sounded very similar to wicker park which was recommended by a friend. extremely good storyline and editing. good performance by vincent cassel and monica bellucci. must watch. 8.3/10

wicker park, 2004 - very close to the original with a better soundtrack but a hollywood ending. set in new york instead of paris. 7.4/10

observe and report - ugh. gave me migraine. 1.5/10

chennai 600028, 2007 - very good timepass. good fun if you grew up in chennai and love gully cricket. 7.0/10

yaavarum nalam, 2009 - decent horror starring madhavan. has ripped off good scenes from atleast 10 different horror movies :). doesnt rely on gory images or horrible sound effects for horror. quite good watch. 7.4/10

state of play, 2009 - how many more of these should we have before you stop it all together? 7.0/10

hellboy, 2004 - good timepass. good visual effects. 7.1/10

rain man, 1988 - i thought tom cruise did an equally good job as dustin hoffman. true classic. 7.9/10

tape, 2001 - richard linklater’s tape is shot for its entire 1.5 hrs in a single room. claustrophobic psychology drama of three friends meeting after years dissecting their past. non-stop talky movie. not for all. very inspiring watch for indie filmmakers 7.5/10

unnaipol oruvan, 2009 - havent seen the original ‘a wednesday’ so dont know how it compares. found the acting below par in the first 30 mins from everyone. sound effects were very distracting. otherwise was pretty well done. script was very predictable but nicely done nevertheless. 7.3/10

eeram, 2009 - crappy horror with unwanted romance and songs. avoid at all costs. 5.0/10

inglorious basterds, 2009 - will he ever break out of his paying tribute to movies within his movies? i wish QT will leave the story, script and dialogues to someone else and just concentrate on direction which he is good at. this movie caters wholly to the 18-25 crowd and holds very less for others. brad pitt was annoying with that accent. some of the action was overcooked. good entertainment otherwise. 7.5/10

zeitgeist, 2007 - re-watched 7.5/10

lost in translation, 2003 - loved each and every minute of this movie. one of those movies where the location itself plays a character (like paris in cleo de 5-7). i found it very inspired from agnes varda’s cleo de 5-7. scarlett pulls off a good character role which somehow reminded me of her role in match point. bill murray plays his to perfection as well. the direction of sofia coppola is worth a mention too. the climax could have lost a couple of mins which would have given it a different ending. must watch. 8.1/10

mulholland drive, 2001 - re-watched 9.0/10

heat, 1995 - re-watched 8.5/10

cube, 1997 - re-watched 7.8/10

a letter to three wives, 1949 - a ‘best friend’ of three women leaves city without notice and writes a letter to them saying she has left with one of their husbands without mentioning who. the invisible narrator (the friend) and the characters are loosely copied in desperate housewives which i couldnt stand beyond 2 episodes. this is a classic though. very funny and very innovative. whole story is made of three flashbacks. linda darnell steals the show totally. was a random choice and i was pleasantly surprised. 8.3/10