just saw…

have not been watching movies much lately. this is over the last 2-3 months

the sting, 1973 - one of the best con movies of all time. it has robert redford and paul newman in it. need i say more? maybe paul newman’s 2nd best performance after cool hand luke. same director as butch cassidy and sundance kid as well. very difficult to find flaws in ths. classic. 8.4/10

in the loop, 2009 - well where do i start.. its a bbc production. its a political satirical comedy. its as funny as dr. strangelove in mocking war. ive seen it 4 times already. brilliant brit humor. must watch if you like brit comedies. remember to keep the subtitles on though. 8/10

go, 1999 - i hardly remember anything from this movie except it was total timepass. drug deals gone bad and amateurs trying to rip off pros and black comedy etc etc. like pulp fiction. am tired of these flicks. give it a shot if you are into that genre. 6.5/10

the international, 2009 - total timepass thriller. must watch for the shootout in the gallery. otherwise very so so. 6.5/10

event horizon, 1997 - timepass sci-fi. a spaceship has come from the future and blah blah. decent horror too. very similar to ’sphere’ i thought. 6.0/10

alien, 1979 - a timeless classic. arguably ridley scott’s best work. the thrills and the chills last for days. near perfect movie. its amazing the amount of work that has gone into making the spaceship as realistic as possible. check out the piping and cabling work in every frame. ridiculous effort has gone into this and it shows. the sets are important in a scifi (think 2001: a space odyssey) and this movie shows you why. 8.9/10

scoop, 2006 - must admit i saw this just for woody allen and scarlett johansson (in that order). one of the lesser funny woody flicks but funny nevertheless. woody as the magician splendini was hilarious. 7.0/10

the orphan, 2009 - pretty decent horror/thriller with a good twist ending. lots of gore as well if you are into that sort of thing :D. left me blood thirsty on an otherwise pleasant sunday. 7.1/10

yuke yuke nidome no shojo (go, go second time virgin), japanese 1969 - gorgeous b/w photography. almost entirely shot in a single apartment complex. a raped girl and a sexual abused boy on a spree exploring the bleak side of life. dark and freaky. 7.6/10

we - a documentary film on war and world politics based on the words of arundati roy. not sure how much of it is fact and how much propaganda. pretty good soundtrack surprisingly. havent checked on the sources so cant rate.

wake up sid, 2009 - decent timepass that wanted to take itself seriously but failed doing so. one thing i learned from wake up sid is that photography is the solution to india’s obsession with engineering and medicine. 6/10

ni na bian ji dian (what time is it there?), mandarin/french, 2001 - portrays urban loneliness in a heart wrenching series of frames. story of a mother who has lost her husband, a son who has sold his dead father’s watch and a girl who has traveled from taipei to paris who forges an instant connection with the guy who sells her a watch. very slow, surreal and dark. not for everyone. 7.9/10

this is it, 2009 -  it wasnt a total marketing gimmick and definitely wasn’t all a last ditch attempt to squeeze cash. watch it and pay your tributes to the man. 7/10

ajab preb ki gajab kahani, 2009 - crap. #@$@#$!%$ 1.0/10

district 9, 2009 - one of the decent sci-fi flicks of recent times. mainly due to the splendid acting from the lead. good concept and good execution. fluffy and sappy ending kinda killed it. 7.5/10

star trek, 2009 - should have been called ’star trek for newbies’. after watching having watched some startrek tos and startrek tng, this movie is a mockery of the franchise to make some quick money. sigh 7/10

3 idiots, 2009 - the comedy was fun. way too much manipulative and drab and sappy otherwise. aamir khan shines on an otherwise pointless film. there is atleast 45 mins of rejected scenes from munna bhai. another film that seems to drive the point that photography is the next replacement for engineering and medicine. lol. too much masala and very formulaic. 6.5/10

glengarry glen ross, 1992 - one of the best talky movies. excellent cast with al pacino, kevin spacey etc. a script adapted from theater and shot very much in similar fashion shines in captivating the viewer from frame 1. a bunch of salesmen battling it out against each other in a dog eat dog scenario. very clever film with loads and loads of awesome dialogue. its like reading a book. 8.3/10

dorian gray, 2009 - based on the oscar wilde book. the movie is little too cinematic focusing on the horror element more. the guy playing dorian was too plastic and unconvincing. 6.6/10

the final destination 4, 2009 - yawn yawn yawn. ugh 3/10

surrogates, 2009 - cool concept for a scifi but repetitive human vs machine, technology, religion blah blah elements. some normal action. bruce willis kinda holds the movie a bit. good timepass beer movie 6/10