Which Classic Movie To Watch Tonight: Man on Wire (Movie Review)

Which Classic Movie To Watch Tonight: Man on Wire (Movie Review)

Genre(s): Documentary

Directed by: James Marsh

Starring: Philippe Petit

Running Time: 90 minutes, Color

On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on

a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup.

Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTC’s security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan…

James Marsh’s documentary brings Petit’s extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as “the artistic crime of the century.” (Magnolia Pictures)

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 and 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic Movie to Watch Tonight:Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (Movie Review)

Which Classic Movie to Watch Tonight:Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (Movie Review)

Directer: Dibakar Banerjee
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Writer: Urmi Juvekar, Dibakar Banerjee
Starring: Abhay Deol, Neetu Chandra, Paresh Rawal, Manu Rishi, Richa Chadda, Archana Puran Singh, Manjot Singh
Music: Sneha Khanwalkar
Genre: Dark Comedy, Drama

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye is a movie about a Superchor. He is as ordinary as any man on the road. He is as calm as a cow. And most importantly, he is a thief with a charm, with a style, with flair so natural that he seems heroic. He will steal everything and anything right under your nose and you would not know it. I would rather go on to say, that Lucky is no less than Bond. He is the guy with brilliant schemes; he is elusive to catch; he is always chased and he gets what he wants.

From the makers of khosla ka ghosla comes yet another engaging film. Dibakar Banerjee portrays a real story with such detail that the audience is forced to get absorbed. From the dialect, to the inter-personal relationships, to the situational misery and humour, it is all too easy to relate. The film keeps a strong Punjabi flavour intact. Manjot Singh, who plays young Lucky, contributes to the realism of the film which is rather too beautifully extended by Abhay Deol. The cast is refreshing. Manu Rishi plays Bangali, who immediately became one of my favourite characters in the film.

Oye Lucky Lucky Oye is a film for all. It doesn’t have a plot that is a masterpiece. But the execution and the entertainment are worth applauding. It’s a film very rich in its flavour. Don’t miss it!

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * (4 Stars)

Which Classic Movie to Watch Tonight: Manorama Six Feet Under (Movie Review)

Which Classic Movie to Watch Tonight: Manorama Six Feet Under (Movie Review)

If great theatre can be timeless -- the Bard is freshly recycled on stage or screen somewhere in the world every single week -- the same must hold true for great cinema.

Following the thought that a fantastic screenplay is open to as much reinterpretation as a play, debutant director Navdeep Singh takes the tribute route by basing his first film on Roman Polanski's 1974 classic, Chinatown.

Small-town Rajasthan is no Los Angeles, and Abhay Deol is no Jack Nicholson. And yet Manorama Six Feet Under stands out as a dusty recreation of a superb film, crafted with earthy ingenuity.

For those who haven't seen Chinatown, this Hindi version is a strong, well-executed, tight thriller.

Deol's character, Satyaveer Singh, is built in distinct contrast to Nicholson's unforgettable JJ Gittes, a tough yet cultured and well-off investigator, while SV, when we first meet him, is a junior engineer just fired for having accepted a bribe. He's guilty -- the fee lies parked outside his house, on two modest wheels -- and a failed novelist.

His one attempt at a novel -- Manorama, the pulpiest of fiction with a lurid cover making the beautiful Hindi word 'upanyas' sound shameful -- sold just 200 copies. It is then that he sits and wonders what to do with his bitter, sarcastic wife (Gul Panag) and annoyingly energetic son when the door knocks and the femme fatale enters.

Only this isn't the stuff of Philip Marlowe. A soberly-clad Sarika breezes in and introduces herself as the Minister's wife, and says she needs SV to spy on her husband. Why me, the unemployed writer justifiably asks.

'Because in a town this small, we don't have private detectives. You're the closest we have,' she explains,' a writer who writes about detectives.'

And so it is that SV, tempted by unexpected adventure and a well-timed stack of banknotes, decides to go hide in the bushes and take a few pictures. As the noir genre demands, one thing twistily leads to another...

It's tremendously hard to discuss this film without constantly paralleling it with Chinatown. It's all there: the double-crossing, the false identity, the nose-break (though I wish Singh had himself jumped onto screen to slash it, just like Polanski's cameo) and the resultant bandage, the incest, the blackmail and surprisingly enough even the water issues, the original film being set around the California Water Wars.

Abhay is a candid, extremely credible actor. As is often with intelligent actors, he knows how to be natural without pushing for histrionics, and works the understated character perfectly.

Raima Sen is a strong actress, in an interesting role. Panag too is steadily finding her feet in the world of low-key cinema, played straight and fine. Vinay Pathak is solid as a liquor-friendly cop, but one laments his lack of screentime. Little needs to be said about Kulbhushan Kharbanda, the veteran still effortlessly able to toss an ice-cube at your spine.

The film is shot neatly -- goldfishes flit past eyes, nondescript checked-shirts blend into the sandy background -- with much grounded, rustic charm, and the pacing is good. The film, balanced on the edge of 'slow,' never quite loses the grip. And the end works.

Forget originality Jake, this is Chinatown. This is a noir tribute where fans of the original will have seen it all before, yet sit through this freshly-developed retelling with a smirk on their faces, the kind of smirk that understands why a Chivas and soda could work with daal-baati churma.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)

Which Classic To Watch Tonight ~ Satya (Movie Review)

Which Classic To Watch Tonight ~ Satya (Movie Review)

Directer: Ram Gopal Varma

Producer: Ram Gopal Varma, Bharat Shah

Writer: Anurag Kashyap, Saurabh Shukla

Starring: J.D Chakravarthy, Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpai, Shefali Shah

Music Soundtrack: Vishal Bharadwaj

Background Score: Sandeep Chowta

Running Time: 171 min

Satya is a 1998 Hindi crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma with a

screenplay by Anurag Kashyap and Saurabh Shukla. It stars J. D. Chakravarthy, Manoj Bajpai, Urmila Matondkar and Shefali Shah. The film tells the story of Satya, an immigrant who comes to Mumbai seeking his fortune but instead gets sucked into the Mumbai underworld.

Satya was released on 1998 July 3 and was also dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. Made on a shoestring budget of INR 2 crore (roughly $400,000), the film became a surprise hit at the box office, grossing INR 15.5 crore and becoming the 10th highest grossing Indian film of 1998. The film went on to win six Filmfare Awards, including the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, and three Star Screen Awards.

The music for Satya was given by the young emerging music director Vishal Bhardwaj. Vishal had already won critical acclaim for his music of Maachis and expectations were high from him and he delivered in style.

All in all, India got the first glimpse of organized crime on the big screen with Satya.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)

Which Classic To Watch Tonight ~ Rock n Rolla (Movie Review)

Which Classic To Watch Tonight ~ Rock n Rolla (Movie Review)

Directer: Guy Ritchie

Producer: Steve Clark-Hall, Susan Downey, Guy Ritchie, Joel Silver

Writer: Guy Ritchie

Starring: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Chris Bridges, Jeremy Piven, Toby Kebbell

Music: Steve Isles

Cinematography: David Higgs

Genre(s): Action | Crime

Running time: 114 minutes

Language: English

RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton, and Tom Wilkinson.

Guy Richie’s RocknRolla is a lot like the overpriced bag of M & M’s I consumed whilst in the cinema. On the outside, M & M’s are visually appealing; boasting a vast array of colours and an elegant little “m” imprinted on every piece to add a hint of class. The chocolates are marketed to suggest that each colour has a distinct character, be it witty Red or moronic Yellow, and the word “new” are plastered on the bag every time a different size or colour is introduced into the family. However, no matter what the colour or size, as soon as a handful of M & M’s pass beneath your vision and into your mouth, you are quickly reminded that they all taste exactly the same. The same goes for Richie’s latest British gangster flick. Once you look past the abundance of colourful characters and beyond Richie’s distinct visual style, you soon come to realise that you’re being fed M & M’s of a different kind – a Muddled & Monotonous film that fails to distinguish itself from Richie’s previous, far more accomplished, mob films of the 90’s.

Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson), a ruthless London mobster who claims to own half the city, forces two small time gang members, nicknamed One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba), into his debt through an elaborate Real Estate scam. At the same time, a Russian billionaire with the intent of building a new football stadium in London strikes a deal with Lenny, asking him to use his many connections to get instant approval for the project. However, the delivery of Lenny’s €7 million payment becomes the target of a small time gang – consisting of who else but One Two and his partner desperately seeking a way to pay off the money they owe.

As muddled as RocknRolla may be, one must commend Richie’s visual style. The heart pounding intro, consisting of a unique and rapid camera movements and a thumping soundtrack, would probably get the residents of a morgue excited. However, once the opening montage fades out and the dialogue heavy scenes take over, Richie’s film is anything but Rockn’…it’s actually quite a drag.

Aside from some genuinely witty scenes of dialogue, most of the film suffers greatly from sporadic pacing. With such a high-octane opening montage setting the scene for a film that exists within a genre noted for its mature content, there’s a bizarre absence of action and excitment in the RocknRolla. Blink and you’ll miss the films singular sex scene, which completely arrives out of left field as though it’s a part of a romantic sub-plot tacked on at the last minute. Even those strong willed individuals who do retain interest throughout the film, hoping that the many loose ends are tied off neatly, will no doubt be disappointed by the anti-climatic payoff that results.

Returning to the motif of this review, RocknRolla is a lot like a bag of M and M’s; visually interesting to begin with, but a bland and repetitive experience overall. It’s a true testament to the saying that style is nothing without substance. Despite some solid performances and unique cinematography, the film is plagued by poor pacing and an over abundance of characters and subplots. It’s certainly better than what Richie has offered up recently, but you’d be hard pressed to find anything that’s not.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Doors (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Doors (Movie Review)

Directer: Oliver Stone

Producer: Bill Graham, Sasha Harari, A. Kitman Ho

Writter: J. Randall Johnson, Oliver Stone

Starring: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Kathleen Quinlan, Billy Idol, Josh Evans

Running time: 140 min.

The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson (Morrison's companion), Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as John Densmore and Kathleen Quinlan as Patricia Kennealy.

The film portrays Morrison as the larger-than-life icon of 1960s rock and roll, counterculture, and the drug-using free love hippie lifestyle. But the depiction goes beyond the iconic: his alcoholism, interest in the spiritual plane and hallucinogenic drugs as entheogens, and, particularly, his growing obsession with death are threads which weave in and out of the film. The film's tagline is: "The ultimate story of Drugs, Sex and Rock 'N' Roll."

"The Doors," like any Oliver Stone movie I've ever seen, is a big, too-long, unwieldy mess. But, all stylistic qualms aside, I enjoy it every time I watch it. It works not as a typical filmed story, but rather as sort of a hyped up documentary. In any event, it's got Michael Madsen in it--you gotta love that.

After wasting away my thirteenth year listening exclusively to Jim Morrison and friends, I approached this picture wearily--I am not typically fond of Oliver Stone, or Val Kilmer. I could not honestly imagine a more demonic pairing in my mind.

And everything I feared about the movie was true--Stone captures the manic energy of the Doors, but with way too much reverence. He's unable to see the Doors for what they were (cheesy rock band with some excellent songs); he obviously worships them as mythic rock Gods.

And, for the most part, his film is a true representative of their sound--all cock and bluster, with lots of flourishes thrown in to disguise the threadbare heart. But there's nothing wrong with that, because the narrative actually lives up to it's pretenses.

Stone sweeps the audience up, capturing the time perfectly. His movie has a free, meandering spirit, and the occasional flower-power overloads have their goofy charm (a trip to the desert is aesthetically pleasing, if not exactly respectable filmmaking).

And Val Kilmer IS Jim Morrison. The first time he begins to sing, it's almost painfully awkward--eyes closed, voice booming; it all reeks of faux white boy soul. But Kilmer has enough presence to overcome the essential cheesiness of portraying Morrison, and his quiet intensity is a joy to behold.

"The Doors" often wanders off into the wrong direction, but its energy is infectious and there's plenty of great music to keep us watching. The combination of these tunes and Stone's high minded approach form a cinematic mix that is at once enthralling and nauseating, kind of like two cars colliding.

He's crafted a winning valentine to one of the most celebrated bands of all time, and he's done so by celebrating the Dionysian excess instead of the music.

I think Jim Morrison would have appreciated the irony.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Hotel Rwanda. (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Hotel Rwanda (Movie Review)

Directer: Terry George

Produced: Terry George

Writter: Keir Pearson, Terry George

Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Ahmed Panchbaya, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno

Music: Afro Celt Sound System, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Andrea Guerra

Running time: 121 min.

Genre: Historical Drama

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle) during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The film, which has been called an African Schindler's List, documents Rusesabagina's acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees,

by granting them shelter in the besieged Hôtel des Mille Collines.

The film is set in 1994, during the Rwandan Genocide in which over 1,000,000 people, mainly Tutsi, were killed by extremist Hutu militias. Paul Rusesabagina himself was consulted during the writing of the film.

Hotel Rwanda starts where the tragedy begins. Rusesabagina is house manager of the luxurious Des Mille Collines. Along with checking in guests, he must use his wise business sense to buy supplies from a rebellious Hutu who strives to get Rusesabagina involved in taking a stand against the Tutsis. At first, Rusesabagina is in denial; afraid of getting involved and ignorant enough to believe that peace between the Hutus and the Tutsies is underway. Tension mounts when his neighbors are raided and beaten down simply because of their identity. When his own wife and children are threatened and the community is forced out of their homes, reality sets in for Rusesabagina. As chaos ensues, United Nations forces, previously stationed to help, leave the Rwandans with nothing but their own bruised will. Tutsi refugees turn to the Hutu Rusesabagina for help. Now, only one man can open his heart and his hotel to the hundreds of fleeing Tutsis and save Rwanda and its identity.

With Hotel Rwanda, Terry George crafts a script with delicate detail to expose the harsh reality of terror and hatred. This movie is about the fight; an ongoing battle for love, heritage, community and freedom. Hotel Rwanda goes the extra length beyond the death tolls, facts, and figures to a place that warms the heart. This film shines on the big screen not only as a heroic journey, but a way to channel the importance of peace in our world.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 and 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Love Actually (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Love Actually (Movie Review)

Directer: Richard Curtis
Producer: Tim Bevan, Liza Chasin, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Duncan Kenworthy
Writer: Richard Curtis
Starring: Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Linney, Martine McCutcheon, Lúcia Moniz
Running time: 135 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Love Actually is a 2003 romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are linked as their tales progress. The ensemble cast is composed of predominantly British actors.

The film begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out during a week-by-week countdown until the holiday, with an epilogue that takes place one month later.

The writer responsible for the biggest British hits of the last ten years - Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jone's Diary - directs this vibrant romantic comedy, blending ambition with good sense by filling the profuse parts of his multi-storied script with excellent, experienced actors, and rising young stars.

"BILL NIGHY IS BRILLIANT"

Ten stories intertwine, loosely connected by friends of friends, family and next-door-neighbours. There's the new, bachelor prime minister (Hugh Grant) falling for the teagirl (Martine McCutcheon); his sister (Emma Thompson) suspecting her husband (Alan Rickman) may stray; her mate (Liam Neeson) grieving over his wife's death; his stepson (Thomas Sangster) longing for a girl from school...

The writer (Colin Firth) heartbroken in France; his newlywed friends (Chiwetel Ejiofor and Keira Knightley) whose best man (Andrew Lincoln) acts oddly; their Yank friend (Laura Linney) who wants a beau in Blighty; the sex-starved Brit (Kris Marshall) heading to the sexed-up United States; his best mate's buddy (Martin Freeman) falling for a pornstar stand-in.

And bestriding it all, Bill Nighy is brilliant as a washed-up Rod Stewart-alike rock singer, whose coarse cover of the Four Weddings... theme song is climbing the charts towards a seasonal number one: "Christmas," he sings, "is all around."

"A SOFT FOCUS SHORT CUTS"

Inevitably, some strands are almost forgotten and actors underused. A soft focus Short Cuts, the movie lacks the layered fluency of Robert Altman's work - or the hard edge. But while there's enough treacle to turn a bee diabetic, it is not without raw emotional moments - with Thompson outstanding in a tear-duct tingling scene.

You can almost see Curtis pressing the emotional buttons, but he does it so well you won't care. Warm, bittersweet and hilarious, this is lovely, actually. Prepare to be smitten.

Movie GooRoo Rating: * * 1/2 (2 & 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight : The Graduate (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight : The Graduate (Movie Review)

Directer: Mike Nichols
Producer: Joseph E. Levine Lawrence Turman
Screenplay: Calder Willingham, Buck Henry

Novel: Charles Webb
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels
Running time: 105 minutes
Genre: Comedy Drama

Few movies about the plight of the young have any sort of lasting, immortal cohesion. Check THE BREAKFAST CLUB, for instance. Good movie, doesn't hold up so well over time. THE GRADUATE, however, cannot be lauded enough, and though it's steeped so heavily in Sixties counterculturalism that it's a signpost for the whole movement itself, it still manages to be warm, funny, disconcerting, and ultimately, not so sure that the answers it presents are really answers at all.

Dustin Hoffman had his big breakthrough with this film, as did director Mike Nichols. From the outset, we're shown recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock's isolation from his family and the world around him, particularly in the opening shot of Benjamin on an airport moving sidewalk, framed expressionless against featureless concrete and being dragged toward…something. He not only won't make a decision about his future despite prodding from friends and relatives, he CAN'T. He's paralyzed from the soul up.

Ben finds a welcome, desperate, and near-joyless relief in the bed of Mrs. Robinson, his neighbor and the wife of his father's business partner. Their trysts are more confrontation than connubial, though Ben has no other answers, no other avenues, and he plummets headlong into an adulterous cycle…until Elaine Robinson, Mrs. Robinson's daughter, returns home from school herself. What then happens shatters Ben's suburban, comfortable dream world and forces him into action.

It can be argued that Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katherine Ross have never been better on screen before or since. They act as weights and counterweights in what is effectively both a conflict between generations and between good (which isn't always so good) and evil (which is not always truly evil). There are also some humorous supporting turns from screenwriter Buck Henry and Mr. Roper himself, Norman Fell, stretching his range as a landlord for a Berkeley apartment building. After all, this IS ostensibly a comedy, and a very funny one. It also shows the power of this story's execution that an audience can so identify with Benjamin, a character who behaves as a silly boob (even a nasty boob on his first date with Elaine) throughout most of the film.

This is just one of those films where everything's in synchronicity and everything works, where the camera is plugged into a higher power making the film transcend the vast majority of celluloid product. It's as if the film taps into the energy of the Sixties and Berkeley, California and post-adolescent angst and imparts that onto the viewer. Although many might consider this to be a film about protest, it's really about the difficulties of growing up and maintaining any sort of idealism in a plasticene, compromising culture, and how we're fated to fall into that quagmire no matter how good our intentions may be.

As a side note, THE GRADUATE also set a watermark in using pop songs in a soundtrack with Simon & Garfunkel's excellent original tunes, and although they genuinely convey mood and character here, songs later became vehicles to sell a soundtrack and not much else. How ironic that a film reacting in its way against faceless corporate lowest-common-denominatorism would spawn bastardized practices that would juice those companies for decades hence, huh?

Finally, that ending scene---it's arguably the best ending scene in film history, and it's certainly my personal favorite. Benjamin and Elaine on the bus---running from their parents and their responsibilities in a burst of vigor and energy, and where most films would have cut on their smiles and rolled the credits---Nichols chooses to linger----and see the doubts and the ramifications of their actions play across Benjamin and Elaine's faces. We can make decisions, and they may even be the RIGHT ones, but there's always a piper to pay. And even though we run from society, sooner or later we still have to live in it.

Heady stuff for a comedy. But it's still genius.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * 1/2 (3 and 1/2 stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Last King of Scotland (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: The Last King of Scotland (Movie Review)

Directer: Kevin Macdonald
Novel Written by: Giles Foden
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Simon McBurney, Gillian Anderson
Genere: DRAMA / THRILLER / HISTORY
Running time: 123 minutes

The Last King of Scotland tells the fictional story of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young fictional Scottish doctor who travels to Uganda and becomes the personal physician to the dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). The movie is based on factual events of Amin's rule.

In an incredible twist of fate, a Scottish doctor (McAvoy) on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin (Whitaker). Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin's savagery - and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.



The story starts with Nicholas (James McAvoy) and his traditional Scottish parents celebrating his becoming a doctor, seemingly following in the footsteps of his father. However, the young Dr Garrigan has no intention of entering the family practice and decides that anywhere (else) in the world would be more invigorating to start his medical career.

With this, Nicholas soon finds himself in Uganda, a country that badly needs his medical services and a land in the grip of changing power which he finds intriguing and through events find himself befriended by the new President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker).

Amin takes the young doctor under his wing and before long becomes his closest advisor. This closeness develops to the discontent of the local British government watchers.

The former regime make life difficult for Amin who ruthlessly rids his country of anyone who stands in his way.

As Amin gradually reveals more of his true character to Dr Garrigan he becomes more of a threat to his very existence.

Forest, who is perhaps more known for his TV work, pulls off the most powerful and captivating on screen performance of his career as the emergent, rising and obsessively paranoid Idi Amin.

An interesting movie that was well acted, directed and photographed certainly worth seeing. I thought the plot and pace of the movie moved along quite nicely and even though it was over 2 hours long it kept my interest for the whole movie and you can definetely see why Forrest Whittaker won the best actor Oscar at the academy awards recently.

Being based on a true story often makes movies struggle to truly captivate you because you have to stay reasonably true the facts of the story so they did an excellant job to create such an entertaining movie.

MovieGooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: City of God (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: City of God (Movie Review)

Directer: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Mauricio Andrade Ramos, Elisa Tolomelli, Donald Ranvaud
Writter: Paulo Lins, Bráulio Mantovani
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Alice Braga, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen
Running time: 130 minutes
Genere: Crime Drama

City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. It was adapted by Bráulio Mantovani from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins which was based on a true story. It depicts the growth of organized crime in this Rio de Janeiro suburb, between the end of the '60s and the beginning of the '80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is "Fight and you'll never survive..... Run and you'll never escape."



Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) narrates our journey into the slums of Rio de Janeiro, the City of God. A child of the 60s, he witnesses two decades of barbarity, greed, rape and revenge which fuel a catastrophic gang war.

Fear and an instinct for self-preservation keep him on the straight and narrow, but his childhood associate Li'l Zé (Leandro Firmino da Hora) grows into the ghetto's godfather - a ruthless, demented killer who makes Joe Pesci's "GoodFellas" psycho look like Mary Poppins.

For all its whiz-bang camerawork and outrageous entertainment value, the movie is grounded by its true life origins (Paulo Lins' fact-based novel), and the superb performances of a largely non-professional cast recruited from the streets. Gut-troubling horror follows cruel bellylaughs, and the relentless action is underscored by unforgiving poverty.

Shocking, frightening, thrilling and funny, "City of God" has the substance to match its lashings of style. Cinema doesn't get more exhilarating than this.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: V for Vendetta (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: V for Vendetta (Movie Review)

Directer: James McTeigue
Producer: Joel Silver, Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Grant Hill
Screenplay: Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
Music Original: Dario Marianelli, Music Non-original: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Ludwig van Beethoven
Running time: 132 minutes
Genre: Fantasy Thriller

V for Vendetta is a 2005 fantasy-thriller film directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Set in London, United Kingdom in a near-future dystopian society, the film follows the mysterious V, a freedom fighter seeking to effect sociopolitical change while simultaneously pursuing his own violent personal vendetta. The film stars Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond, Hugo Weaving as V, Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch and John Hurt as Chancellor Sutler.



Terrorism, homosexuality, religious freedom, the right to free speech…there’s a virtual cornucopia of hot button topics addressed in V for Vendetta. It all works because of the sheer artistry of the film and the performances of its ensemble cast, led by Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. Weaving turns in a simply magnificent, mesmerizing performance. Although his face remains hidden behind V’s signature Guy Fawkes mask, Weaving’s voice and physical presence remain the focal point of the movie and prove it’s possible to do with simple intonations what some actors can’t achieve through the full use of facial expressions. It’s amazing how much the motionless mask comes alive due to Weaving’s brilliant performance. Physically, Weaving’s movements are gracefully minimalistic and there’s not one iota of street mime in the way he brings V to life.

It’s deliciously, twistedly ironic that John Hurt, the hero of Michael Radford’s big screen adaptation of Orwell’s 1984, fills the role of the V for Vendetta version of Big Brother. As the high chancellor, Hurt not only chews up the scenery but also spits it out and stomps it to pieces.

Don’t expect Matrix-like action sequences. No, V for Vendetta is above that nonsense. This film may have been written by those Matrix guys – Larry and Andy Wachowski – but, fortunately, it doesn’t surrender itself (other than in one short sequence) to the style of that well-known trilogy. The fight scenes in V for Vendetta are beautifully choreographed yet remain viciously, realistically brutal. V doesn’t fly through the air or exhibit superhero powers other than his unparalled ability to dispatch his enemy with knives. And while the fight scenes are critical to the plot, they’re never turned to to move the film along when dialogue could do the job more effectively.

From the first moment Weaving hits the screen as V and delivers his introductory monologue, to the (literally) explosive finale, V for Vendetta is a visual feast for the eyes and an intelligent treat for the brain. V for Vendetta is refreshingly original and stunningly effective. See it and then prepare to talk about the film for days on end.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 and 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Sleepless in Seattle (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Sleepless in Seattle (Movie Review)

Directer: Nora Ephron
Producer: Gary Foster
Writer: Jeff Arch, Nora Ephron, David S. Ward,
Starring: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell
Music: Marc Shaiman
Running time: 106 minutes

Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American romantic comedy film inspired by An Affair to Remember and used both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. The climactic meeting at the top of the Empire State Building is a reference to a reunion between Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember that fails to happen because the Kerr character is struck by a car while en route. At one point, some of the characters discuss Affair, with Sam commenting that it sounds like a "chick movie."

A widower's (Hanks, A League of Their Own) love life has been zero since the death of his beloved wife a year and a half ago. His 8-year-old son calls a nationally broadcast advice program and drags his father on the air to talk about his problems.

While on the air, "Sleepless in Seattle" (as the widower is referred to) becomes the object of affection by thousands of women across the country, including a soon-to-be-married woman (Ryan, Joe Versus the Volcano) who makes it her mission to find this man and see if he's the one for her.

Sleepless in Seattle is a contrived, but still surprisingly effective romantic comedy that deftly portrays its characters and situations with assured ease, despite the farfetched premise. Writer-director Ephron (Bewitched, You've Got Mail) does a masterful job blending the comedy and tragedy into a satisfying union, and the actors give the ambitious concoction the believability it needs to succeed. It's an old fashioned kind of Hollywood production, so sweet and smart at times that it's almost impossible to not be enchanted on some level.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * (3 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: I Am Legend (Movie Review)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: I Am Legend (Movie Review)

Director: Francis Lawrence
Producer: Akiva Goldsman David, Heyman James, Lassiter Neal H. Moritz
Writer, Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman, Mark Protosevich
Novel: Richard Matheson
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan Running time Theatrical cut: 100 min.

In the very near future a doctor creates what appears to be a cancer vaccine. I genetically engineered virus that when injected into 10,000 cancer patients, cured every single one of them. The problem is, when you play God, you may find out you’re not as good at as you might think. The virus mutates into a plauge that pretty much wipes out the entire human race, killing the vast majority of the population almost instantly, while leaving some survivors…. but most of those survivors are turned into Vampire/Zombie/Rage Virus type beings who lose their humanity and kill every survivor left uneffected. Will Smith is the last human being in New York, and maybe the world, who is also a military geneticist (what great luck) who works tirelessly to not only survive in this new nightmare world, but also struggles to find a cure for the rest of those who are infected.

Ok, didn’t think I’d end up saying this… but Will Smith is pretty damn good in this movie. When you think about it, it’s not easy to carry a movie when you’re the only character most of the time. You’re interacting with yourself and a dog…. and that’s it. In that way I am Legend had a sort of “Castaway” feel to it, and while Smith doesn’t quite pull off a Hanks lone performance, he does do it quite well. We see him trying his best to lead something that looks like a normal existence, slowly loosing his sanity a little (there’s a great little scene where he’s trying to think of a way to pick up a mannequin) and yet save the world all at the same time. Lesser actors couldn’t have pulled that off, and Smith did, so kudos to him.

This one killed me. Will Smith is keeping careful detailed notes and memos as any good scientist would do. He even makes this video entry into this computer about how he noticed one of the infected guys stuck his head into the light for a second, which was unnatural behavior for them. However, in another scene, one of the infected (minor spoiler) sets an elaborate booby-trap for Smith to fall into. These are supposed to be mindless rage machines… and they this one shows complex reasoning and planning… and Smith never mentions it again in the movie… ever. I know that’s a minor point… but it really stuck out.

I didn’t have much hope for I Am Legend, but I’ve got to say I enjoyed it. Certainly not as good as it could have been, but a decent time at the movies nonetheless. Smith is solid, the premise is good than they move around in this eerily empty world very well. Not half bad action and suspence although it could have been a bit shorter since the film starts to slowly loose your attention after the first hour. Still… not a bad film.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * 1/2 (2 and 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Johnny Gaddar (Hindi)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Johnny Gaddar (Hindi)

Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Adlabs Films Ltd.
Writter: Sriram Raghavan
Starring: Dharmendra, Neil Mukesh, Rimi Sen, Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain, Ashwini Khalsekar, Govind Namdeo
Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Language: Hindi


The story is about a gang which does shady deals. One such deal promises to make the group a lot of money, but one member of the gang has his own secret plans, leading to unforeseen situations for the group. In the opening credits the movie is dedicated to James Hadley Chase (besides Vijay Anand), and while the story is not based on any of his novels, it does follow a somewhat similar plotline. Director Sriram Raghavan has exercised the same genre as his previous venture Ek Hasina Thi.

In the story, five regular partners are going for a deal splitting profit five ways as usual. It is all fine until one of guys, Vikram (played by Neil Mukesh) wants it all for himself and plans to elope with his mistress (played by Rimi Sen). The plan could not be executed without problems and none of the members of the group is a rookie.

In the movie, the viewer knows, at the very outset, who the actual traitor is, but his partners-in-crime don't. The protagonist finds himself forced to eliminate one member of the group after the other. Just when it seems that he is in the clear, there is a twist in the plot.

Story - brilliant, colors - vibrant, camerawork - creative, sound - unobtrusive, editing - slick, entire team - smart! Sorry, director saahab, I have run out of adjectives, so choose a superlative for yourself and I’ll agree.

It was refreshing to use my brain while watching a movie and finding out that the movie makers have also done the same while making it. Not flawless, but completely entertaining, Johnny Gaddar is a must watch!
MovieGooroo Rating: * * * * (4 Stars).

Which Classic to Watch Tonight : One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Which Classic to Watch Tonight : One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Brad Dourif, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Scatman Crothers, Christopher Lloyd

Director: Miloš Forman

Running time: 133 minutes

Czech director Milos Forman seems to be obsessed with rebellious characters that don't like to go with the flow. Just think about Larry Flynt in "The People vs. Larry Flynt" or Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon", in the two most recent movies of Forman. The central character in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" played by Jack Nicholson is also one of those characters, that wants to break the routine and even starts a revolt against the staff and nurse Ratchett in particular, in a mental institution.

The movie is perhaps more comedy and entertainment than heavy drama. Still that doesn't mean that the movie isn't filled with some powerful emotional sequences. The tension between the patients and the staff gets more and more notable and grows throughout the movie, which eventually leads to a 'wonderful' ending which I'm not going to spoil.

Yes, Jack Nicholson is truly splendid in his role and it seemed like he was improvising all his lines and actions during the entire movie. It was a really Oscar worthy performances, which he also received. Another Oscar winner for her performance was Louise Fletcher, which in my opinion is a bit too much credit. She plays her role well but nothing more than that. She did not deeply impressed me or anything. This movie also marks the debut for some today well known actors such as Danny DeVito (he looked so young and different!), Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif, who also received an Oscar nomination.

Really one of those movies that you must have seen at least once in your life.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 1/2 (4 1/2 Stars)

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Charlie Wilson's War

Which Classic to Watch Tonight: Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty, Emily Blunt, Shiri Appleby, Om Puri, Ken Stott, Denis O'Hare, Rachel Nichols

Director: Mike Nichols

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Consensus: Charlie Wilson's War manages to entertain and inform audiences, thanks to its witty script and talented cast of power players.

Charlie Wilson's War is the true story of how a playboy congressman, a renegade CIA agent and a beautiful Houston socialite joined forces to lead the largest and most successful covert operation in history. Their efforts contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, with consequences that reverberate throughout the world today. Oscar® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman team with Academy Award®-winning director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to bring George Crile's best-selling book to the screen.

Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a bachelor congressman from Texas who had a habit of showing up in hot tubs with strippers and cocaine. His "Good Time Charlie" exterior, however, masked an extraordinary mind, a deep sense of patriotism and a passion for the underdog, and in the early 1980s the underdog was Afghanistan--which had just been brutally invaded by the Russians.

Charlie's longtime friend and patron and sometime lover was Joanne Herring (Roberts), one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a virulent anti-communist. Believing the American response to the Russian invasion was anemic at best, she prods Charlie into doing more for the Mujahideen (Afghan freedom fighters).

Charlie's partner in this uphill endeavor is CIA Agent Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), a blue-collar operative in a company of Ivy League blue bloods. Together, the three of them--Charlie, Joanne and Gust--travel the world to form unlikely alliances among the Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, arms dealers, law makers and a belly dancer.

Their success was remarkable. Funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually. The Red Army retreated out of Afghanistan. When asked how a group of peasants was able to deliver such a decisive blow to the army of a superpower, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq responded simply, "Charlie did it."--© Universal Pictures.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * 4 Stars

Which Classic to Watch Tonight - Pearl Harbor

Which Classic to Watch Tonight - Pearl Harbor

Directer: Michael Bay

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer Michael Bay

Writter: Randall Wallace

Starring: Ben AffleckJosh Hartnett Kate Beckinsale Cuba Gooding, Jr.Tom Sizemore Jon Voight Colm Feore Mako Alec Baldwin

Music: Hans Zimmer

Cinematography: John Schwartzman

Editing: Chris Lebenzon Mark Goldblatt Steven Rosenblum

Running time: 183 minutes

It is a dramatic re-imagining of the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base and the subsequent Doolittle Raid and was produced by Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer, who had previously worked on blockbusters such as Armageddon and The Rock. Some of its scenes were among the last to be filmed in Technicolor.

Ben Affleck stars as Rafe, a cocky fighter pilot who lives to fly. Josh Hartnett is his lifelong buddy, Danny, an equally talented flyer, and Rafe's polar opposite in the personality department. He's mild-mannered, humble, even a bit of an introvert. Their friendship has endured since their youth, growing up together on a farm, dreaming of becoming pilots. Both end up as pilots stationed together in the U.S. Air Force, honing their talents and chomping at the bit to put their fighter pilot skills to the test in actual combat.

Kate Beckinsale, looking beautiful and straight out of a 1940's glamour magazine, is Evelyn, the nurse who wins the hearts of both Rafe and Danny. Rafe meets her first during an examination to determine fitness for duty. He charms and clowns his way into a date, and the two fall quickly in love. Rafe leaves Evelyn and Danny behind when he volunteers for a tour of duty with the British Royal Air Force. As a member of the highly respected "Eagle Squadron," Rafe battles the Nazis while America remains uninvolved in combat. Word reaches Danny in Pearl Harbor that Rafe has been shot down and is presumed dead. Danny and Evelyn eventually turn to each other for comfort, and wind up in each other's arms.

The love story consumes a good two-thirds of the film with military maneuverings and the attack on Pearl Harbor taking a backseat to the romance. True, the love story is a bit clichéd and the history lesson included in the film is oversimplified. However, as "Saving Private Ryan" proved so stunningly able to do, this film brings the war and the honorable men and women who lived through it or died fighting it, back to the collective forefront of the minds of audiences who, prior to the film, may not recall much about the battle. Chances are good an overwhelming percentage of filmgoers who pay to see this romantic drama based on the devastatingly real event, weren't even alive on December 7, 1941.

The film alternates between gritty realism and moments of levity. Real historical figures Col. James H. Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) and Doris "Dorie" Miller (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a minor role that should have been given more screen time) are sprinkled throughout the film, adding a touch of authenticity to the daring-do of the main fictional characters portrayed by Affleck and Hartnett. Baldwin and Gooding both steal scenes whenever their characters are involved in the action. The romance is one that's been done before, but it's affective, entertaining, and beautiful nonetheless. The battle scenes are impressive and overwhelming in their ability to seemingly transport you back in time. I'd recommend this to anyone who isn't looking for an exact retelling of history but is interested in a gripping fictional account of the months leading up to the start of America's involvement in World War II.

Movie Gooro Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars

Which Classis to Watch Tonight - A Beautiful Mind

Which Classic to Watch Tonight - A Beautiful Mind

Director: Ron Howard

Producer: Brian GrazerRon Howard

Book Witten By: Sylvia Nasar

Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany

Music: James Horner

The story begins in the early years of Nash's life at Princeton University as he develops his "original idea" that will revolutionize the world of mathematics. Early in the movie, Nash begins developing paranoid schizophrenia and endures delusional episodes while painfully watching the loss and burden his condition brings on his wife and friends.

The film opened in US cinemas on December 21, 2001. It was well-received by critics, grossed over $300 million worldwide, and went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for Best Leading Actor, Best Editing, Best Makeup, and Best Score. The film has been criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of some aspects of Nash's life. The film fictionally portrayed his hallucinations as visual and auditory, yet factually they were exclusively auditory. Too, Nasar concluded Nash's refusal to take drugs "may have been fortunate," since their side effects "would have made his gentle re-entry into the world of mathematics a near impossibility"; in the screenplay, however, just before he receives the Nobel Prize, Nash speaks of taking "newer medications."

Crowe’s Nash is a tick-heavy, fidgeting kid from West Virginia. You could call him a nerd, but he’s not really a nerd. He’s simply in a world all his own. Connelly is perfectly cast as the beautiful and sympathetic Alicia, a woman who loves Nash for reasons that we don’t quite understand — and apparently neither does she. She is drawn to him by his ineffectiveness in society, his awkwardness around women, and his inner passion to distinguish himself in the world of science. Despite looking like a man devoid of emotions, Nash is full of passion, and Alicia sees it when no one else does. Watch it to appreciate the book even better.

Movie Gooroo Rating: * * * * (4 Stars)