prasad-hattangadi Reviews

Avatar (2009)

Ahead of time

[10/10 · 19 December 2009]

When Akira Kurosawa made Seven Samurai in the 50s he never thought that people will consider his movie a masterpiece and him one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century. His passion for excellence was his driving force and being a perfectionist he made it with all his heart no matter how much time it took. There are very few directors who master the art of movie-making not because they know it, but because they want to make something different every time and excel in their field. James Cameron is one of them. When he made terminator it was ahead of time, same was the case with Abyss or Aliens and Titanic. And now its Avatar. Some viewers did not like the movie mainly because they went with too much expectations about the story and performance. This movie is not about the story, its not about the actors, its neither about performances but its about taking your viewers to different world, its about making them see something they have never seen before. When you watch it again you will realize that such movies can never be made again. The CGI created on screen is so advanced and complete that you enter a different world altogether and leave the theater spellbound. And watch it on 3D as such movies are made for 3D. Mark my words 30 years from now people will realize that Avatar was a masterpiece and James Cameron the greatest movie-maker of 21st century.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Too Good

[10/10 · 22 March 2009]

This movie has many stories to tell. Every scene has its own story. I like the way Morgan freeman narrates in the movie which makes it all the more interesting. The scene where Andy gets beer for his coworkers. Also when he plays the two Italian singers on prison radio. Brooks last few days.And how Red comes to terms with his freedom. I recently watched it for the first time and can't believe how i could miss this for so long. I Also cant believe Morgan never won Oscar for this. I cant think of any better performance than this.Truly deserves the number one spot. Since last week i have watched it 3 times and plan to watch it again. Thank you Frank Darabont for giving us hope.

Rock On!! (2008)

Could have been so much better

[1/10 · 30 August 2008]

Chasing your dream has always been difficult, this movie make you want to be young again. The show stealer is definitely Farhan Akhtar who gets the meaty role. Some how the character of Arjun Rampal is not well written.Arjun looks great with long hair very close resemblance to "Metallica" lead singer James Hetfield in "nothing else matters" but still you feel Arjun is not given his due in the movie. Purab Kohli does well and reminds you of Saif Ali Khan in "Dil Chahta Hai". Nothing much was expected from Luke Kenny and keep the same expectations when you watch the movie. The first half is very slow and script lacks the charm and depth. Music by Shankar Ehsan & Loy is great But when you watch this movie you know something is missing. Its just the difference between Dil Chahta Hai and Rockon or should I say a great movie and a good movie. The movie fails to grab you with both hands, you don't feel the impact and especially due to climax scene which is so much predictable. Rob (Luke Kenny) character also suffering from critical illness makes you feel its too filmy. The video of Tum Ho Toh has been done wonderfully but when you leave the theater you feel the movie could have been so much better. This is the very reason i like Aamir Khan films because he builds characters from the script and not the other way round. But still i will rate it 6 because of excellent music and great performances.

Johnny Gaddaar (2007)

Closest to Hollywood Thrillers

[10/10 · 30 September 2007]

Sriram raghavan again throws an ace with this movie. This man has incredible talent and is the director to watch out for. Best thing about the movie is it keeps u thinking throughout the movie what will happen next.Good thing is that he has not added any boring songs which could have ruined this movie instead used it as background score in most scenes.This movie is closet anyone can get to Hollywood thrillers. Niel Mukesh is a great find and the star to look out for. Sadly when i watched this yesterday half the theater was empty. But each and every person in the theater enjoyed it and gave a standing ovation when movie was over. Unfortunately the movie is released at the wrong time. Imagine so many good films hitting the screens like dhol,dhamal,loins of punjab,Manaroma and to add Chak de India. But this is one of a kind and i enjoyed every bit.

Jungle Book (1942)

The Greatest Animal Classic

[10/10 · 8 October 2006]

I had seen this movie in late 80's when i was a kid. I loved it. When i first saw this movie, i knew it was old maybe released in late 60'- early 70's. Few days back i saw it again after many many years on TV. And I was shocked to find this movie was released in 1942. Which is years before the independence of India and this makes the movie older than most of the so called Great Hollywood Classics. During the time it was released it might not have been heard by many.Mostly forgotten over number of years. But i have no doubt its one of the first Hollywood movies to star an Asian actor in the lead.And probably the first Indian actor. Also the first color movie which involves lots of Animals.I'm not surprised that few 100 people have voted for this movie. Maybe because it was released during the world war days.I was really surprised this movie was given a rating of just over 6. And why is that? The Movies good. it involves animals..Its made for Kids. Then i felt maybe because some don't want to see an Asian actor Leading in a Hollywood Classic. When you see movies like the much hyped king kong (1933)which was released just 9 years before this movie and was a B&W Classic and involved a stuffed monkey dancing on a sky scraper to get a vote of 8 and voted by almost 18,000 people i think this justifies my Answer.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

A Must watch!!

[10/10 · 12 April 2006]

I saw this movie as soon as it released simply for aamir khan. And again this man has not disappointed me. There is absolutely no other actor in Hindi film industry who has the guts to sign only one film every year and produce super hits. It requires a lot of courage and even shahrukh khan accepts it. Coming to the movie. It has some fantastic songs,the flashback and camera work is excellent. I won't be surprised if the camera man and editing wins national award. By far the best portrayal of bhagat singh and other freedom fighters.I have watched all the bhagat singh movies but no other movie really made such impact. Mainly because the previous films failed to describe the true spirit of those young freedom fighters and were melodramatic. Only thing which surprised me was the killing of defence minister which was made to look very easy. But the biggest surprise was the end. And the end was so fast and unexpected that suddenly it makes u think an u forget everything else.I wouldn't say the movie is outstanding or the greatest Hindi movie ever made. But once u watch it, it hits u hard and hits you exactly where it should.

Mangal Pandey (2005)

Amir Khan - A Marketing Genius

[10/10 · 19 November 2005]

I watched it in the first week itself. the story isn't good, the direction is bad but only thing what makes this movie worth watching is Amir Khan. No doubt hes a true legend. Amir Khan has always given more than 100% in every movie hes acted. Even after working for only around 40 movies in 10 years hes managed to stay in limelite and produce masterpieces. Very few actors can actually rise above the script and direction and singlehandedly make the movie run house full even before its release. Amir khan is one of those very few Stars. Even Shahrukh khan with his media presence and Yash/johar clan cant make movies a hit before release. Amir khan new this movie might not be a big hit. He marketed it in such a way that the distributors recovered everything in the three weeks of release.

Agneepath (1990)

Outstanding Performance

[10/10 · 18 November 2005]

I had never seen this film before 2000. nearly four years ago i made a friend on chat from rwanda(mid Africa). He was all the time praising about Amitabh bachan in this movie. i decided to watch and see myself, there must be something about this movie that makes a non Hindi speaking guy watch it umpteen times. The movie isn't that good it has an average story, good direction but its Amitabh's greatest performance ever. The deep voice, the amazing screen presence, his eyes say everything, the way he sits, the way he talks is absolutely mindblowing. no other actor i have seen could show so much emotions with his eyes. Many people say its like the Marlon brando character in Godfather. But i don't think thats correct. In fact hes added a new dimension to godfather's character. I have no doubt after watching this film that amitabh is the greatest Indian actor ever. And shahrukh will always come second.Trust me - Just watch the movie.