Christmas inheritance

"Christmas inheritance"

Watched English movie 'Christmas inheritance', directed by Ernie Barbarash and stars Eliza Taylor, Jake Lacey in lead roles and Andy Macdowell and Neil Crone in supporting roles. Music is by Terry Frewer. This movie released in Dec 2017. I watched this Netflix film with Aditi. 

Ellie, heiress of Home and Hearth, a Christmas gifts and cards company, is known more as party heiress than successor of her father.  Her dad sends her to a village called Snow Falls, to meet Uncle Zeke, with a condition that she travels incognito and with only 100 bucks at her disposal.  Here she meets manager of local inn Jacob (Jake).

What will Ellie learn? Can she remain incognito? What will her fiancee do? What is Christmas inheritance?

This is a typical Christmas movie. Snow everywhere. Atmosphere of charity and giving. Helping each other. A romantic story. No very bad guys. No violence. All issues resolved at the Christmas party. Sweet end. So, everyone knows how it will end. It's what happens before it ends that matters. 

Eliza is outstanding. She portrays good at heart party heiress, who doesn't know bus ride, very well. She is beautiful,  she's a gymnast and she excels in acting, especially emotional scenes too. Jake is good,  but appears stiff sometimes. Other characters also do justice to their role. 

Director has maintained the balance in the movie. He does not over-do anything. He handles the movie deftly. Cinematography is good and village Snow Falls is beautiful.

The movie emphasizes the importance of basic characteristics of Tradition,  Friendship and Love. This is the inheritance in addition to the company for Ellie. It is also the message for Christmas from the movie team. 

All in all, a good family entertainment. 

Recommend watching. 

The terminal

"The terminal".

Watched English movie "The Terminal". This movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks as Victor Navorsky, Catherine Zeta Jones as Amelia Warren, Diego Luna as Enrique Cruz, Stanley Tucci as Frank Dixon, Zoe Saldana as Dolores Torres, Kumar Pallana as Raman Gupta and Chi McBride as Mulroy. This film released in 2004.

Victor Navorsky, a citizen of Republic of Krakozia (An imaginary east European country) lands at JFK. While he was in air,  there was a military coup in his country and government was overthrown. New government has cancelled all passports and visas. So now, American immigration is in a fix. They can neither allow him to enter nor send him back. To add to it Victor speaks almost no English. He is stranded at The Terminal. 

How long can Victor stay at The Terminal? How will he survive without money? Why had he come to New York? Who will he meet? What lives will he affect?

It's an interesting seed. The idea of a man stranded without passport and visa at a terminal is fantastic. How he gradually develops relationships, what drives him, what are his skills? this and such questions are answered as the story unfolds. Almost entire movie happens in The Terminal. Steven Spielberg handles the story delicately and tactfully. Even when the story slows down, he does not lose the audience, they stay with him. He also adds small special touches to the movie like the airport staff playing poker with lost and found items. The characters at the airport are conceived thoughtfully. They bring in variety and their own stories to the movie but don't overshadow the protagonist. 

Tom Hanks is fabulous. He portrays a man on mission who doesn't understand English but gradually picks the language. Although he is stranded he doesn't lose hope, he perseveres. Catherine Zeta Jones displays that she can act well. Kumar Pallana plays a memorable character. Others are also very good. 

The revelation of why Victor comes to New York gives the movie a shift. The light movie becomes emotional. With this the story and movie become whole. 

Recommend watching!

Rajma Chawal

"Rajma Chawal"

Watched Hindi movie 'Rajma Chawal', directed by Leena Yadav, starring Rishi Kapur, Anirudh Tanwar, Amyra Dastur, Harish Khanna, Manu Rishi, Nirmal Rishi and Sheeba Chaddha. Music is by Hitesh Sonik. This movie released in 2002. I watched this Netflix film with Aditi. 

A wedge is created between Rishi Kapur and his son Anirudh Tanwar after demise of his wife. To add to that, he moves from New Delhi to his old home in Old Delhi, against his son's wishes. To bridge this communication gap,  he opens a fake account of a beautiful girl, Tara, using a random photo from internet. When this virtual friendship is blossoming, luck brings them face to face with  this random girl.

What does Anirudh want? Will Rishi Kapur succeed in establishing communication with his son? What complications will this random girl create? Will there be a happy ending?

The story is light. It takes the expected route. There are hardly any surprises or twists. Acting by all actors is good. This film addresses a pertinent subject of lack of communication. Use of social media to make two people living in same house talk is today's reality. 

Cinematography is very good. Cinematographer takes us to the heart of old Delhi easily. The cosy atmosphere, old architecture,  narrow streets and close relations is captured very well. Music of Hitesh is decent and mostly pop. 

As far as acting goes: Rishi Kapur is good as usual. Anirudh gives an intense performance. Amyra is beautiful and acts well. Other supporting actors perform their duty diligently. 

Character development falls a bit short,  especially that of Rishi Kapur. He is a loving father desperate to establish communication with his son,  but towards the end of movie he suddenly becomes arrogant,  obstinate and ungrateful. Then he changes back to his normal self suddenly without any reason or explanation and no one minds. 

Director had a golden opportunity to make an important statement,  but he prefers to focus on making the movie fluid and light and misses the opportunity. Apart from these points she does well. She captures sights and sounds of Delhi and Punjabi atmosphere. She also gives some good touches e.g. when Anirudh is morose,  their servant fiddles with his guitar like a tanpura. She had a right blend of comedy, drama and emotions in this movie. 

Why title Rajma Chawal? Well apart from one scene that shows them eating Rajma Chawal the words are never uttered. May be title is because it's the identity of Punjabi's and the characters are Punjabi. But the title could have been anything else like Chole Bhature, Facebook, Tara, Baap, Rishte etc... However,  the title and Rishi Kapur were the reasons we watched it. 

Watch it as a 'time pass', don't expect substance. 

Time please (टाईम प्लीज)

"Time please (टाईम प्लीज)"

Watched Marathi movie "Time please (टाईम प्लीज)".

This film is directed by Samir Vidwans and stars Umesh Kamat, Priya Bapat, Siddharth Jadhav, Sai Tamhankar, Vandana Gupte, Seema Deshmukh and Milind Phatak. Music is composed by multiple music directors. This movie is based on Marathi play 'Nava gadi nava rajya (नवा गडी नवं राज्य)'

Umesh and Priya have arranged marriage. Umesh is mature,  serious, working professional. Priya is still like a college girl,  fun loving,  not interested in house work. Entry of two characters changes the situation. Priya's best friend, Siddharth, who appears villager but is a fellow at Oxford and Umesh's college friend, cigarette smoking,  Sai. A series of events lead them to think that they are incompatible.

Priya excels in her role. Umesh does justice but can't scream when angry,  Siddharth acts easily but his flamboyance is overdone,  Sai under plays the role and impresses. Vandana Gupte is mostly wasted. 

Most of the movie happens indoors but the outdoor locations are carefully chosen. Sometimes, the set is apparent. Music is ok. 

Direction,  however, is found short. Director had a golden opportunity to make a profound statement. But he misses it and makes the movie more superficial. He could have used character of Vandana Gupte more effectively. He also struggles to tie the loose ends. There are continuity issues. When Priya's mom tells her why she does not get transferred to Pune, audience comes to know that she works and works out of Pune. How does she know to go to the rendezvous on her birthday.? Editing needs improvement.

Any novelty? For all titles, names are written in English and surnames in Marathi. Don't know why,  but that's the novelty. 

Give it a miss. 

Tumbbad

"Tumbbad"

Watched Hindi movie "Tumbbad". This movie is directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi and Adesh Prasad. It is produced by Sohum Shah, Mukesh Shah and Amita Shah. It stars Sohum Shah, Anita Date (Mazya navraychi bayko fame) and Mohammad Samad in lead roles. It was released on 12th Oct 2018 and is one hour 45 minutes long.

There is a Wada (Mansion) in Tumbbad where a hidden treasure is rumoured to be hidden. Strange things happen. Vinayak returns to Tumbbad, from Pune, to search this treasure from his ancestral Wada. Hastar, the fallen son of Devi, cursed to be forgotten, is worshipped here. A worship that is dangerous and that makes Vinayak wealthy. 

What is the secret of Tumbbad? Who is Hastar? Where is the treasure?

Its a period horror film. It starts about 35 years before independence and ends just after independence. Generally I am not into horror films but I read good reviews of this one and Priya recommended it,  so I decided to watch.

Art director has created the uterus of Devi in this movie where Hastar resides. Hastar can't cross grains or grain powder and craves for it. They have chosen very good locations for the film. Vinayak who displays greed throughout the movie fulfils his fatherly duties towards the end making him human. 

Director has used rain as a character in the movie. It also adds to the eerie atmosphere. The wetness seeps into the audience. Normally a movie is not divided into chapters. A book is.  But here the movie is divided into chapters. A novelty!

Sohum and little Samad have acted very well. Samad, especially, shows lot of potential at young age. This is a promising kid. We have known Sohum from films Ship of Theseus, Talwar and Simran. He is handsome and plays his role very well. 

The movie creates an impact. There are scenes that make the audience jump. There are scenes they increase the heart beats. Good thing is that despite being horror movie,  it's not gory. It's a good movie, good direction, cinematography and acting. 

Music is largely relegated to background music. But background music plays the role of a character in a horror movie. Credentials say that music is by Ajay-Atul and Jasper Kyd, don't know who is responsible for background music. 

A couple of improvements are in order. Characters turn the grinding stone (जाते) in wrong direction, not once,  not twice but thrice. Sometimes the dialogues were not clearly audible.

Watch if you don't mind the genre. 

Two weeks notice

Two weeks notice

Watched English movie 'Two weeks notice', directed by Mark Lawrence, starring Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock & Donald Trump. This movie released in 2002.

The movie stars Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Heather Burns, Robert Klein and Donald Trump. It's directed by Marc Lawrence. 

Hugh Grant is a billionaire and owner of Wade Group. Sandra Bullock is a Harward attorney working for common, poor & destitute and fights against the likes of Trump and Grant. By the twist of fate Sandra becomes chief counsel of Wade Group. 

Hugh makes Sandra's life a hell by calling her at odd hours for something as minor as 'What colour shirt should I wear?'.  She decides to resign,  after almost an year because he breaks the promise made while employing her, and gives two weeks' notice.

What happens when a handsome hunk and a fiery lady work together? Well it's anybody's guess. How it happens is what matters.

Hugh Grant portrays a character of casual, careless, good at heart,  impulsive, handsome,  flirty billionaire. He does not come out as arrogant but rather as a lost soul. Sandra is a perfect choice for badly dressed, fiery,  compulsive eater,  compassionate attorney who sees opportunity of changing the system by being the part of it. 

Other characters remain on the periphery and aren't much to write about. Donald Trump makes a guest appearance. 

Direction is good. The touch of ordering Chinese food is good. Their understanding while eating salad is subtlety suggestive. Music is fine. Cinematography is good. 

The movie runs for under two hours. It's a light movie and good to watch with family. This movie makes a good family evening. 

Recommend watching.