Category: Awesome

Titanic (3D) | Movie Review

Now how does one rate a classic like Titanic?? I was 11 years old when the movie first released and I still remember the first time I went to watch it. I barely had any knowledge about movies back then, but the sheer grandeur and brilliance of this movie made me watch it a billion times over and over!! (Twice in the last five days in 3D!!)

After working on action classics like The Terminator, Rambo, Aliens and True Lies, James Cameron comes up with one of the best romantic, epic movies of all times. The way he adds fiction to the true story is absolutely brilliant. The script is too long, dialogues a little cheesy, screenplay a tad slow, but the whole package together is so beautiful that you end up falling in love with the movie. Bottom line, I’m no one to talk about this man.

Twenty-two year old Kate Winslet looks gorgeous as Rose DeWitt Bukate, and plays her role to perfection. Her performance in the climax is so bloody haunting that I have goosebumps even now thinking about it. Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal as Jack Dawson is one of his best works to date. The chemistry between them is probably the finest you will ever see on-screen. The rest of the cast, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, and every other actor, is excellent. It’s a shame that it didn’t win any Oscars for acting!

Cinematography by Russell Carpenter is absolutely splendid. The way he captured the romantic moments between Rose and Jack in the first half, and the disastrous sinking in the latter half is terrific. It is one of the best work on cinematography I’ve seen to date. Editing by James Cameron, Conrad Buff IV and Richard A. Harris is perfect. Music by James Horner is absolutely brilliant. Be it the foot tapping Irish music for the real party under-decks, the musicians playing till the last-minute before the sink, or the ever loved “My Heart Will Go On”, master-pieces!!

James Cameron spent over a year with 300 people to digitally remaster the 1997 version into 3D. And the effort pays off, for it was fantastic to watch this masterpiece on big screen again. The 3D effect wasn’t so great, but seriously, who cares?? It’s TITANIC!! 3D or not, go re-live this magnum opus all over again!

Verdict: NA

 

The Artist | Movie Review

I knew this was the toughest review I was ever going to write even before watching the movie, but boy, was it an experience. Jean Dujardin, man, take a bow, for you were out of this world!! (He now joins the list of my all time favorite actors :))

The moment you know that it’s a black and white silent movie, you have this notion in your head, a notion you cannot describe. But having enjoyed the all time Indian silent classic Pushpak years ago, I kinda was motivated to watch this film (even before it won the Oscars). I am glad I did.

The Artist is a movie which you can connect with. It’s very predictable at times, but brilliant, moving yet humorous performances by Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and every other cast member, not to forget the dog, Uggy, make you fall in love with the movie. Every character is so well written that you can emotionally connect with them. The cinematography, though in black and white, is absolutely mind-blowing, and the direction perfect. The background musical score adds so much life to the film. The screenplay was good, though, pardon my ignorance if that’s how it’s supposed to be in b&w classics, was kinda slow at times.

Overall, a fabulous film, one of the best I’ve seen so far. If you wanna have a delightful experience, go watch The Artist, with pleasure!

Verdict: 9/10

100 Degrees | Restaurant Review

Place: 100 Degrees 
Location: Necklace Road, Ranigunj, Secunderabad 
Cuisine: Continental 
Meal: Dinner (with mom and dad)

After a long long long wait, I finally got to visit my favorite restaurant in the town. I once used to be regular customer of this place, but it’s been a while since I’ve last been here. It’s a place with great ambiance. The closed is section is dimly lit, with a wine cellar feel to it. The atmosphere is really good, but the place can get really loud when it’s packed. They have party rooms and terrace area facing Hussain Sagar. We sat at a corner table on the terrace. The view from up here was pretty good.

I kinda already decided on what I wanted to have, so it didn’t take much long for us to decide on our order. We ordered a Spicy Cottage Cheese Pizza as a starter, Crumbled Melting Cheese Sizzler and Ajwaini Tandoori Paneer Sizzler for the main course, and a Vanilla French Kiss Mocktail as a thirst buster. The guy taking the order was decent, but he seemed to lack enough knowledge on the menu.

We asked our waiter to get us some bread before the meal was served. I asked for warm bread, and two portions of excellent bread was served.

The mocktail was very well presented, and served in about 10 minutes. It was a mix of peach, orange and pineapple juices with cream. It was yum. Mom loved it.

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I’ve been craving to have their pizza for a while now for I think they serve the best pizza in town. And I wasn’t disappointed. It was amazing. Not very thick crust (neither too thin), perfectly baked, and cheese melting in your mouth. Add to that the crunchy veggies and spicy paneer. Heaven!!

We were pretty full by the time we were done with the bread and the pizza, even before our main course was served. We were even contemplating on canceling one of the sizzler, but they were already out.

I’ve already tasted the Crumbled Melting Cheese sizzler once before, and it looked delicious. Like always, though I knew it was gonna be piping hot, I couldn’t stop the temptation and burnt my mouth. It was cheesy and creamy, just the way I like it. The cottage cheese cutlet was well cooked and had a good flavor to it. The barbecue sauce on top, and fried rice served underneath were yummy. Overall, excellent!!

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I ordered the paneer sizzler with an Indian touch for Mom and dad. It was spicy, and had a very authentic taste to it. The huge chunks of paneer were well marinated and cooked, and the gravy was pretty tasty. It kinda felt like having Pulao with Paneer Tikka Masala, with loads of vegetables in between. Again yummy.

Overall, an awesome meal. Right from the bread, everything was great. The ambiance is excellent and service is pretty neat. Only problem with the waiters was that they did not understand English, and so everything had to be translated into Hindi. But they were sweet, and made us feel comfortable. Of all the Ohri’s restaurants in the city, I think this place has the best value for money, for it ain’t as expensive as other restaurants in their chain. The buffet they serve is also pretty decent and reasonably priced. But again, as it is with every Ohri’s restaurant, the tax is exorbitant (200 bucks for a bill of 800).

This place definitely serves the best pizza in town (not the one served with the buffet, please). Go grab a bite soon, and do let me know if there’s anything better than what they serve, cos I’d love to try it 🙂

Food: 9/10*
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1006/-

Verdict: 9/10*

*With some feedback, and my own prior experiences, I’d like to make a note that this place is pretty inconstant on their food quality. I was served good food on this particular night, and I guess I was lucky. Make sure that you ask the manager for a replacement in case something’s wrong (these guys are pretty good on their customer relations). And please do provide your feedback on your experience in the comments.

Super 8 | Movie Review

Plot 
Super 8 tells the story of Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a 14-year-old boy who recently lost his mom in an accident. His dad, Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler) is the Police deputy of the small town they live in. Joe and Jackson are going through a tough phase with the recent death. Joe, his secret crush Alice (Elle Fanning), and his friends are shooting a Zombie movie at an old train depot, when a huge train crash occurs. The event gets recorded on their camera. The rest of the story establishes reason for the crash and its consequences.

Artists Performance
Every artist in the film was absolutely brilliant. Joel Courtney was excellent as the lead kid. His expressions were good towards the climax of the movie. Kyle Chandler was good and fit the bill perfectly. Riley Griffiths was fantastic as Jack’s best buddy, and the director with a secret crush on Alice. I loved the scene where he asks Jack if he could manage things without him. The best performance though, is by Elle Fanning. I was absolutely spellbound by her act as the heroine (like everyone else), and even as the zombie. She looked really mean and scary while dressed as the zombie. Other friends of Jack were great. It was a perfect ensemble of cast.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams, Super 8 is one of those freaky, sci-fi alien movies which makes an impact. It was like watching a Steven Spielberg’s film, but with a different take on things. I loved the screenplay. The way he scared the living hell out of the audience, without actually showing us the alien was brilliant. Also, I liked the way he established the animosity between Jack’s and Alice’s dads as the story progresses. The direction was spot on. He was able to generate the best out of the kids, while infusing subtle humor throughout the film. The movie never lost its momentum. The Zombie movie during the end title credits was brilliant.

Other Departments
I’ve seen quite a lot of movies, but I’ve never watched anything which literally made me jump of my seat for its sound effects. This film did that. Credit goes to Michael Giacchino for the mind-blowing music, re-recording and sound effects. CGI effects house Industrial Light and Magic are really good. The train crash scenes had the best effects, and was very well canned. Cinematography by Larry Fong was excellent. As already mentioned, the way the alien was never shown properly in any frame until the climax was brilliant. Editing by Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey was perfect. The film never dragged. Production values by Amblin Entertainment (Spielberg), Bad Robot Productions (J.J. Abrams), and Paramount Pictures are excellent.

Analysis
Its one of the best movies I’ve watched in recent times. It was spooky, freaky and humorous, all at the same time. The actors fit the bill perfectly, and did an awesome job. I felt that the movie had a message infused into it. Plus points are the casting, brilliant screenplay, direction, and the sound effects. I cant think of any negatives. It’s a film to be watched in a theater. I absolutely loved it, I hope you do too.

Verdict: 9/10

PS: The film released about 4 months ago in the U.S, but released just a couple of days ago in India. I’ve been waiting all along to go watch it in the theatre. And it was worth the wait!!