Jeeves in the offing(1960) aka How Right you are, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, Genre: Humor, 4/5

This is the third Jeeves and Wooster book I have read this week. Unlike the other two (Carry on,Jeeves and the Inimitable Jeeves) which were collections of short stories, this is a novel. But that does not hinder the wizard Wodehouse whose word play, as usual, would leave you breathless.

This book has one important exception with regard to the other Jeeves/Wooster books. Jeeves goes on vacation during the start and turns up pretty late in the end. However, this just gives Wooster more excuses to indulge in silly stuff. The reader is surely going to be amused(as usual) by the antics he indulges in.

Wooster finds out he has been engaged while surfing through the matrimonial pages of the Times(see above photograph). He is invited by his aunt Dahlia to come to her village home wherein he crosses path with his old nemesis, Sir Glossop, the "loony doctor", who for reasons of his own is playing the butler. He is asked by his aunt to help in thwarting the advances of a New York playboy towards a young lady who is also a guest there. The father of the lady was Wooster's principal in school and Wooster still gets incubus starring him.

I read three fourths of the book yesterday and finished the rest today morning. I just could not get into the rhythm of the day before and hence found the enjoyment abating a bit.

Hence for reasons of my own I gave this a four rather than a perfect five which it would have got if I would have finished with yesterday itself.

As for Wodehouse, I don't have the appropriate superlatives in my vocabulary to do justice to his talent. I would just say that the time I spend engrossed in his books is the best time of my day. He takes my mind away from all its daily worries and I love him for the same.

Half a rupee(2013) by Gulzar, Genre: Drama(Short stories), 5/5

If you are a regular visitor to this blog, then you might have noticed how I have been dishing out these perfect scores to so many books recently. I love tearing a work of art to shreds as much as the next critic. However, I have been truly fortunate to read some excellent books the past month and hence this string of 5/5.

I love being proved wrong when it comes to books or movies against which I have prejudiced myself before reading or watching.

I would begin this review with a confession. I did not know Gulzar wrote anything other than poems and lyrics. When the light of my life (who has been named after Gulzar's daughter by her father) told me about this collection of stories, the first thought which passed through my mind was "big deal".

I have read many short story collections. I didn't think this would be anything different.

Gulzar begins with a story about Javed Akhtar's youth. It is a mildly poignant tale. My cudgels against the book were up by the time I finished through the first part of it which had stories about celebs.

Sometime during the second part of the book, I knew I was in the hands of a master. The way he talks of Mumbai, love, suicide bombers is sure to leave an indelible mark on the psyche of the reader. There is a poetic touch to his stories which is generally missing in the tales narrated by other raconteurs.

I counted the number of stories which moved me. 21 out of 25. A near perfect experience, this should be read by book lovers as a proof that we have amidst us such a towering personality and we should be glad,inspired and consider ourselves lucky for the same.

Hats off to Gulzar Saheb. 

Eega(2012) Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy, Runtime:140 minutes, 4/5

This is a truly astounding and humbling experience.

Astounding because this blows apart all the expectations which the viewer may have before he sees it.

The casual viewer will approach this with a very high degree of skepticism. This is the tale of a person who is killed by a gangster is reborn as a fly to seek revenge. The story reeks of ridiculousness.

However 30 minutes into it and you know you are in for the ride of your life. The ingenuity shown by the eponymous character in pursuing vengeance and the director in creating the scenes is breath taking.

The scenes are created perfectly. The confrontations between Eega(House fly in English) and the construction magnate villain (played superbly by Sudeep) are full of fun and will have you teetering on the edge of your seat.

The CGI is world class and the watchers of the regular Indian fare will be totally delighted and amazed.

The screenplay is first rate and extracts the maximum out of a simple and highly improbable plot.

This is an experience of a lifetime. Never believed i would be so moved by an Indian regional flick.

 Truly made my day. Very highly recommended.

Gangs of Wasseypur(2012) Part One Genre: Action/Crime/Drama, Runtime: 160 minutes, 4/5

This is a review I wrote a life time back in June 2012. I am collecting all my reviews at one place and hence I am posting this here.

It has been nearly 5 years since I went and saw a movie first day first show in the theaters. But such was the level of anticipation with "gangs of Wasseypur" that I found myself standing in front of the ticket counter at quarter to nine in the am.

The movie, which is 160 minutes long, starts with a shoot-them-up which may be the most authentic shoot-to-kill scene in Hindi cinema.

It tells the story of rivalries between different sects of Muslims: the butchers, Qureshis, and the Pathans, Khans and extend over a period of three generations.

The narration starts from the pre- independence era when the British owned the mines in Dhanbad. After independence, these mines pass on to the wealthy landlord who hires an exiled Pathan to act as his strongman. The Pathan, the father of Sardar Khan (Manoj Vajpayee) has been kicked out of his village, Wasseypur, after a confrontation with the local musclemen, the Qureshis, and is now forced to work in the mines of Dhanbad. He starts becoming too big for his shoes and is bumped off by the landlord thus beginning a series of killings and counter-killings.

 The acting by the "star" cast is stunning with Manoj Vajpayee leading the pack in as good as a performance as "Bheeku Mahatre" in Satya. When he stares greedily at the back side of Reema Sen (here resurrected after being in the wilderness for nearly half a dozen years), you can feel the lust as a physical thing. He is backed by a very strong ensemble cast.

The real strength of the movie is its dialogues. The words, replete with the choicest of abuses, feel as if they were wiretapped. The conversation rings true to life and had me laughing at the sheer vulgarity of it. The patois is captured very faithfully. The only negative point about the movie is its length which could have been edited somewhat in the second half when the third generation takes up (like the long Godfather III, if you may).

Anurag Kashyap has put his soul into the movie and that is visible from every frame of the movie. The direction is among the best I have seen in Hindi cinema and only increased the expectations from the second part of this opus. And that is why I am jealous of the lucky bastards at the Cannes film festival who got to see both the parts back to back. The movie ends at a tantalizing junction and the prospect of meeting with these barely lovable characters for a second outing left me salivating.

Silver Linings Playbook(2008) by Mathew Quick, Genre: Drama/Comedy, Rating: 5/5

This is one of the best books I have ever read, extremely funny and very poignant. It is very hard to believe this is the author's first book.

I read this after seeing the film version and hence I had a fair idea about the plot line. However, this book again goes on to prove how difficult it is to adapt an excellent book faithfully for the big screen.

The book is narrated by Pat who is brought  home from the sanitarium aka "the bad place" by his mother. He wants to be united with his estranged wife, Nikky. He believes she loves men with huge upper body with great stamina and thus he starts working out fanatically. He lives with his father who is a crazy EAGLES fan and a small time bookie. He is introduced to Tiffany by his friend. She also has a chequered past like Pat. Another important character here is the consulting psychiatrist, Dr. Cliff, an Indian American who is also a huge EAGLES fan.

The script writer made several important changes to the book to make it more cinema friendly. However, it seems idiotic to change what was a near perfect end in the book to something which was cliched and could be seen from a mile away.

The narration is funny and full of innocent statements by Pat which would have you howling in delight.

This is a must read for anyone who loves a funny book. It will tickle you and also will strike a chord emotionally.

The inimitable Jeeves (1923) by P. G. Wodehouse, Genre: Humor, 4/5

This is the second Jeeves and Wooster collection which I have read this week after Carry On, Jeeves.

This is actually a semi-novel in that the stories follow a definite strand. The book begins with good old Bingo asking for help from Jeeves and Wooster to impress a girl he has fallen in love with. This collection then moves on to the first encounter between Wooster and his nemesis Sr Roderick Glossop. Wooster's rowdy cousins Eustace and Claude are introduced.

There are some stories which are based in the village and have gambling as their main motif. They were the weakest stories for me and that is why I didn't give this "full marks".

The book ends with two of the best stories of the collection and really made my day. It could well have been titled "The Inimitable Wodehouse".

Mirch Masala(1987) Genre: Drama/ Thriller, Run time: 115 minutes, 3/5

The film is set in an India before independence. "Baap Gee" (Nasseruddin Shah) is a tax collector (subedar) of a village. Sonbai (Smita Patil) is a village belle who is married to Raj Babbar. They are a childless couple.Babbar goes to the city for employment.

Shah sees Patil at the village lake and begins to lust for her. There are unseen and horrendous consequences for all the protagonists.

The movie was produced by National Film Development Corporation was it seems they did not give more than a couple of hundred bucks for the same. It looks badly dated at many places.

The side characters get meaty roles and do justice to them. Suresh Oberoi plays the village head Mukhi (short for Mukhia) who is hand in gloves with the subedar. He spends nights with another woman and neglects his wife played superbly by the excellent Deepti Naval.

Benjamin Gilani plays the village teacher who emphasizes on the education for the girl child. There is Paresh Rawal in one of his earliest roles as a village wise ass. He gets a few lines but impresses in his part.

The music is nothing to write home about. The movie is lifted out of its mediocre production values by stellar performance by Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shah. Ketan Mehta, who is both the writer and the director, does a commendable job with the obviously limited amount of funding he must have had at his disposal.

This can be seen by movie buffs who want to see great acting. It has its heart in the right place but sometimes, like in life, it is not enough.

Carry on, Jeeves(1925) by P.G. Wodehouse, Genre: Humor, 5/5

 

I have already reviewed the first story of this excellent collection, Jeeves takes charge wherein Jeeves meets Wooster and this great friendship takes off.

This books has ten stories. Nine of them are narrated by Wooster. The last is told by Jeeves. 

The characters are so deftly etched. Bingo, Aunt Agatha, Sir Roderick Glossop, Aunt Dahlia and above all Wooster and Jeeves seem so familial in their antics.

The way Wodehouse plays with English is breath taking. He presents the mundane in a shining light. His prose is perfect. If you are ever in the need of getting your spirits lifted, just dive head on into his books.  

Can't be recommended highly enough. Beg, borrow or steal. But do yourself a favor. Read Wodehouse. He will brighten up your galaxy no matter how radiant it might happen to be at the moment. 

Hana-bi aka Fireworks(1997), Genre: Crime/Romance, Runtime: 94 minutes, 4/5

 

I was led astray by the above poster.

 I have never seen anything by Kitano but have read that he is an accomplished master of action and drama and that was what I was expecting, lots of violence and blood shed. 

What I did not expect was an amazing directed movie which delves in the psyche of the protagonist so deftly. It grips the viewer by the balls and squeezes slowly. The viewer doesn't know whether to enjoy the sensation or be blown apart by the sheer brilliance on screen.

The movie tells the story of a cop whose partner has become paralyzed during a routine surveillance gone horribly wrong and consequently estranged from his family. The wife of the aforementioned cop is dying of leukemia. He has guilty conscience. He leaves the force and then goes on a different route.

There is blood and gore. It never comes across as gratuitous. I often read some Hindi director fellow's interview as to how artistically the action scenes have been shot. Those fuckers should be made to watch this dozens of time so that they can understand the first thing about sophistication and style in direction.

The romance between the cop and his wife begins to bloom late in the movie but by the end it blossoms and some scenes may leave you with a dry throat.

Kitano, who essays the role of the cop along with directing this, truly has done a stellar task. This is a must watch for movie buffs who like their movies simple, sensible yet scintillating.

One shot aka Jack Reacher(2005) by Lee Child, Genre: Mystery 4/5

 

For those of you who have been living under the rocks for the past fifteen odd years (as I was), Jack Reacher is the powerful creation of Lee Child aka Jim Grant. He is this 6'4" giant, an ex military investigator who has his own rules. He is a loner, a maverick and a stickler for justice. Women fear him and are fascinated by him in equal measure. He is what every man aspires to be, a lethal combination of Socrates and Schwarzenegger.

I have recently got into Reacher and this is his third book I have read in the past month, the others being Gone Tomorrow and 61 Hours. This is by far the best of the lot.

For those of you who have still not seen the movie version starring Cruise (in the casting disaster of the year), I would not be writing any spoiler.

A lone sniper fires six bullets and kills five people in a random act of cold blooded murder. When the suspect is arrested, he asks for Reacher.

The book has believable twists and just the necessary dose of mind numbing and brutal violence. There are some clever bits written to relieve tension. 

This book is like a bear trap. It will clamp down on any one who chooses to open its cover. 

Highly recommended.

Arth(1982) Genre: Drama, Runtime: 136 minutes, 4.5/5

 

I am mortally afraid of works of art which are proclaimed as classics by critics and the public. My bullshit antenna goes up and I end up avoiding such mainstream crap most of the time.

The name of the file which I downloaded from the net was "Arth- A Mahesh Bhatt Classic". The nomenclature got my hackles up and I was all ready to tear this apart with my words. I wasn't prepared for the emotions which were about to be unleashed by this cinematic piece of art.

This is a semi autobiographical movie. Mahesh Bhatt casts Kulbushan Kharbanda as himself, a director of advertisements and movies, who falls in love with an actress. Smita Patil plays the role of Parveen Babi. He decides to move in with the actress and leave behind his wife, essayed here by Shabana Azmi.

The dialogues ring true. It seems as if Mr. Bhatt had a small recording device with him when he was having huge rows with his wife and mistress. The direction is excellent. Mr. Bhatt never allows the drama to go over the top and become mawkish. He has a feel for the feminine mentality and the women characters come across as strong and not cardboard caricatures.

The music was composed by the late Jagjeet Singh and the songs include "Tum itna jo...

', lines which have since become immortal.

The acting is the strongest forte of this seminal classic. Azmi gives the performance of a life time as a woman who sees her world go up in smoke. She is vulnerable,teary eyed and then graceful. 

This is a must watch for lovers of great drama. You would be blown away by what has increasingly become a rarity these days, an ultimate Hindi movie.

Jeeves Takes Charge (First story from Carry On, Jeeves) (1925) by P.G. Wodehouse 5/5

I am spoilt for choice.

I went online to Flipkart, searched for Wodehouse and found out about the Jeeves and Wooster box set. 14 books are available in two sets and at nearly 40% discount. Flipkart is offering an additional discount of 10% for all orders above Rs 800. This turned out to be the best grand I have blown in quite some time.

I ended up getting seven Jeeves books and it was terribly difficult to decide the book to begin with. Hence was spoilt for choice. Finally decided on Carry on, Jeeves.

Jeeves takes charge is, chronologically, the first Bertie-Jeeves story. Wooster is nursing a deadly hangover, he has fired his previous butler for stealing stuff and is waiting for a new fellow and that is when Jeeves turns up and one of the most enduring partnerships in literature begins.

I would not divulge any more detail about the story. Suffice it to say it is right up there, with Wodehouse's best. There are so many funny lines that the reader won't be able to stop guffawing.

Recently Wodehouse and Lee Child have been two authors who have blown me away and nearly made me play hookey from office. They are truly distinct in what they write and their characters. I cannot wait to go back and immerse myself in the world of Wodehouse.

Best in show(2000) Genre: Comedy, Runtime: 85 minutes, 3.5/5

 

This movie was downloaded to impress a lady. She cares a lot for animals,especially dogs and I specifically searched for films which had dogs as the motif. I hadn't heard of this gem before and man, am I glad I watched this.

The movie is shot "mockumentary" style. Five different sets of dog owners are shown as they get ready for the ultimate showdown for dogs, The Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. 

There is a terrier owned by Eugene Levy and his beautiful wife who keep on running into her old lovers. There is a Weimaraner who is "objecting" to the coupling of her owners,emm, the four legged mammal style. The defending champion is a puddle who is owned by a billionaire who is also a billion years old and his trophy wife. Two gay guys have a shih tzu.

The movie is not a laugh riot but has very smart and witty lines interspersed with great observations. The acting is universally good but the star of the movie for me was undeniably Fred Willard who plays the sarcastic commentator to perfection. His dialogues often brought the house down and had me in splits.

This is without doubt a must watch for dog lovers and also for people who love witty comedies a la Woody Allen.

Two thumbs up for Best in Show. Please check it out.

And to the lady who shall remain anonymous, thank you because without you in my life I would never have bothered to pirate and watch this.

Six short stories by P.G. Wodehouse: Read it online; 3/5

    I am on a mission to read everything which Wodehouse has ever written and hence ended up reading this.

This can be renamed "five stories and an opinion piece". The tale, which is not quite a story, is actually an article about divorce.

The five stories vary in their subjects from romantic trouble to a king who doesn't know the meaning of work to a man who begins to be known by his wife's surname.

I read this because I wanted to smile a bit and it was, at 35 odd pages, rather small in length and hence promised a breezy read.

The book is funny in parts. I loved the first story about the romantic tangle which gets resolved via a competition. Then there was a really funny bit about a serious poem which draws out guffaws from its listeners.

However, the book generally fails to rise to the stratospheric heights of rapier sharp Woodhousean wit. 

Check it out online if you must if you are a die hard Woodhouse fan. For others, they can safely skip this without any regret.

Death Wish II (1982) 2/5

 

Paul Kersey, the vigilante from the path breaking Death Wish, is back.

 Then his wife had been murdered. Bad luck follows him here also and he ends up loosing his daughter and housekeeper who are brutally raped and murdered. And then it is payback as usual as Kersey gets back to his vigilante ways and kills the attackers one by one. 

Charles Bronson essays the tough but caring guy persona perfectly. 

But unlike the first part, there is not much scope as far as the script is concerned. He just finds the attackers while he is roaming the streets and kills them. There is no element of the planning and chase which made the first part such a joy to watch and the retribution such a satisfaction. 

You can also catch a glimpse of Laurence Fishburne, Morpheus of Matrix fame, in one of his earlier roles as one of the attackers. 

The action is good but the nudity is gratuitous. This is a sequel which was really not needed other than to earn some quick buck. There is no novelty and it seems like a poor rip off of its precursor

 Watch the first part. It was the inspiration for the Kevin Bacon starer Death Sentence.

50/50(2011) DVDRip 3.5/5

 

This is a sensitive and delightful portrayal of a young man's fight against the big C, Cancer. 

Gordon-Levitt has back problem and he finds out that he has cancerous growth in his spinal cord. 

Rogen is his close friend who helps him in these trying times. However, he also uses him for getting laid himself.

 Anna Kendrick is the psychotherapist who counsels Levitt and slowly begins falling for him. Philip Baker Hall is an old cancer patient whom Levitt meets in the hospital. Angelica Houston plays his mother who has her hands full what with a husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's and a son recently diagnosed with cancer. 

The acting is great all round with Levitt and Rogen outperforming every one else due to their great chemistry and fantastic characters.

 Rogen gets to mouth some very hilarious lines. The direction is very balanced and Levine never makes this an over the top sentimental affair. 

The travails of a person who has just learnt he has cancer are shown in a realistic manner.I liked it quite a bit.

 In Hindi movies, the cancer patient is shown as a hero who is running around, uniting lovers and shaking his ass at weddings. Wish the Hindi film makers could learn something from a movie like this.

2016: Obama's America(2012) (DVDRip)

 

1/5

This is a farcical documentary made by Dinesh D' Souza, an Indian immigrant from Mumbai, who went to the US 3 decades back and is now a successful author. 

The director wants to know what is inside Obama's mind and what will be the state of the States if Obama is reelected. 

Dinesh goes on to find information about Obama's father, his teachers and his colleagues. 

He believes that Obama is hiding something because the title of Obama's books is dreams FROM my father and not OF my father. 

The documentary is full of stupid question answer sessions and baseless insinuations. The scenes wherein Dinesh's childhood is recreated in India are pathetic and even hilarious. 

The shots which show D' Souza moving his head solemnly as if recording something of great importance for the posterity are frankly laugh out loud.

 This is easily the most ludicrous documentary I have seen in the last 2-3 years. 1 out of 5 for this. 

Watch this for the unintentionally funny dialogues and acting by D'Souza. 

The Hidden Face aka La cara Occulta (2011) (DVDRip) 3.5/5

 

3.5/5

I first heard of this movie when there was a buzz about it being the inspiration for Murder 3. Downloaded it a few months back and finally ended up seeing it this Saturday.

Adrian is an orchestra conductor who comes home one fine day and finds a video of his girlfriend. She tells him that she has left him and Adrian should not try to find her. 

Adrian,like millions of males before him, goes into the Devdas mode and starts drinking heavily. During his binge, he meets a pretty waitress who soon starts living with him.

However, everything is not all hunky dory. Soon, the new girlfriend begins suspecting that the house is haunted. Adrian,meanwhile, is the main suspect in the disappearance of his ex.

This is a gripping thriller with believable characters and motivations. The editing is top notch and the movie seldom drags.

I haven't seen Murder 3 so I don't know how badly this was made for the Indian audience. 

This should be definitely seen by lovers of thriller genre. They would find this to their liking.

Pyscho: the book by Robert Bloch; read on the net, 5/5

Link:

http://www.readbag.com/websupport1-citytech-cuny-faculty-fmasiello-readings-robertbloch-psycho

I had wanted to read this for a long time. But the prize of the book (close to 500 Indian bucks) and the relatively small size of the same (200 odd pages) had stopped me from buying the same. Yep, I am a cheapo at heart.

I finished reading this a week back. After completing it, I made a promise to myself. That I won't be reading any other book for at least a month because all of them would end up being compared to this in terms of the the content and the characterization and all of them would be at a severe disadvantage.

This is a stunning book. Let me write that again. This is a STUNNING book. In its narration,it is completely different from the movie. Here, a lot of events happen from the point of view of Norman Bates.

The scenes wherein Bates is in consultation with his mother would leave your flesh crawling.

The dialogues and the pacing should be the benchmark for all aspiring thriller writers.

This is a must read for all the fans of the eponymous movie. It is a necessary piece, one which complements the movie perfectly.

I envy all those who would read this for the first time. You are in for the time of your life.

After reading it, I have ordered a hard copy from FlipKart. Yeah, I am a sucker for what they call the "pulse pounding entertainment". It is a must have for every collection. Can't recommend it enough.

Cruising(1980) (DVDRip)

         

1.5/5

Can an Al Pacino movie make you want to scream and hurl things at the nearest mirror, out of frustration? The ones after 2000 probably can. For me, his earlier works have been among some of the finest times I have ever had while experiencing cinema. But this was an exception.

The movie's title is a double entendre. Cruising, besides its usual literal meaning, also means looking for a sex partner. An increase in my fornication related vocabulary was the only contribution of this below par shit fest.

There is a serial killer who is murdering gays who frequent S & M clubs. The murdered persons have a type which fits Mr. Pacino to a T. Pacino is a detective and his superior calls him up and asks him to literally put his ass on line. 

Pacino does that. The question is whether the lure of the bait is strong enough to attract the killer?

The mystery is shockingly pedestrian. The direction by the erstwhile king of thrillers, William Friedkin, th creator of the Exorcist and the French Connection, is lackluster. 

The question which boggled my mind after watching this was why did Pacino act in this? Sure, the setting is different and the idea of playing a cop who is exploring the seedier underbelly might have sounded attractive. But the translation on screen is zilch. Pacino doesn't get any chance to show his histrionics and nearly sleepwalks through the role.

The ending is as obscure as it gets and made me wanna shoot someone as a compensation for the hundred odd minutes I wasted watching this crap.

Meant only for die hard fans of serial killer movies. Pacino lovers, stay the fuck away from this. You may just end up hating him for doing this.

Darkest Fear(Paperback), Second Hand, Bought from Pune : 4/5

This is the second Coben book I have read after Gone for Good. It stars his hero, Myron Bolitar, the player turned agent who solves mysteries along with his faithful and borderline psychotic friend, Win and others.

The stakes are higher than usual( I think) because this time it is personal for Bolitar.

The pacing is good. The humor frequently cracked me up. Coben, although not in the same class as DeMille when it comes to subversive wit, does comic lines well and the unexpectedness of them along with his observations about life lit up my reading experience.

All in all, this is a pretty good read and with the excellent font size and spacing,which is the case with nearly all Orion books, it makes for a perfect night time companion.