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1.2001:A Space odyssey(Kubrick)
2. Sholay(Bollywood)
3. Citizen Kane(Welles)
4. Amar Akbar Anthony(Bollywood)
5. The Seven Samurai(Kurosawa)
6. LOTR:The Two Towers(Jackson)
7. Lawrence of Arabia(Lean)
8. Guide(Bollywood)
9. The Empire strikes back(Irvin Keshner)
10. Modern times(Chaplin)
11. Fanny och Alexander(Bergman)
12. Lamhe(Bollywood)
13. M(Fritz Lang)
14. The Godfather Part 1(Francis Ford Coppola)
15. Psycho(Hitchcock)
16. The Shining(Kubrick)
17. Alien(Ridley Scott)
18. 8 1/2(Fellini)
19. Solaris(Tarkovsky)
20. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge(Bollywood)
21. Oldboy (Chan Wook Park)
22. The Passenger(Antioni)
23. Mera Naam Joker(Bollywood)
24. Goldfinger(Guy Hamilton)
25. Star Wars IV: A new hope (George Lucas)
26. Ladri de biciclette(the Bicycle Thieves)
27. There will be blood(P.T.Anderson)
28. Jaws(Spielberg)
29. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(Bollywood)
30. Casablanca(Micheal Curtiz)
31. City of God
32. Rear Window(Hitchcock)
33. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Allen)
34. Dewaar(Bollywood)
35. Casino Royale(Martin Campbell)
36. Harakiri (Kobayashi)
37. Terminator 2:Judgment Day(James Cameron)
38. A Clockwork Orange(Kubrick)
39. Schindler's list(Spielberg)
40. Dekalog
41. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimono)
42. License to kill(John Glen)
43. Cinema Paradiso
44. For a few Dollars more(Leone)
45. Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo)
46. Some like it hot(Wilder)
47. The Third Man(Reed)
48. A Woman under the influence
49. La Strada(Fellini)
50. Halloween(Carpenter)
51. The Elephant Man(Lynch)
52. Saving Private Ryan(Spielberg)
53. Rashomon(Kurosawa)
54. Persona(Bergman)
55. Zodiac(Fincher)
56. Sangam(Bollywood)
57. The Big Sleep(Howard Hawks)
58. 400 Blows(Traffaut)
59. Ben Hur(William Wyler)
60. Brief Encounter(Lean)
61. A Bout De Souffle(Goddard)
62. Le Samourai(Melville)
63. Unforgiven(Eastwood)
64. The Graduate(Mike Nichols)
65. Memento(Nolan)
66. No Country for old men(Coen)
67. On the waterfront(Kazan)
68. The red shoes (Powell/Pressburger)
69. Day of Wrath (Dreyer)
70. The bridge on the River Kwai(Lean)
71. A touch of evil(Welles)
72. Blade Runner(Ridley Scott)
73. The Godfather part 2(Francis Ford Coppola)
74. The Wrestler(Aronfsky)
75. It's a wonderful life(Frank Capra)
76. Vertigo(Hitchcock)
77. Pyassa(Bollywood)
78. The Terminator(Cameron)
79. Shree 420(Bollywood)
80. Silence of the lambs (Jonathan Demme)
81 The Good,The Bad and the ugly(Leone)
82. Forest Gump(Zemekis)
83. Pulp Fiction(Tarrantino)
84. Apocalypse now(Francis Ford Coppola)
85. Belle de jour(Bunuel)
86. Gattaca(Andrew Nicol)
87: Annie Hall (Allen)
88. Singing in the rain(Gene Kelly,Stanley Donen)
89. Goodfellas(Scorcesce)
90. Toy Story(John Lasseter)
91. The Shawshank Redemption(Frank Darabont)
92. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest(Forman)
93. The African Queen(Houston)
94. Boogie Nights(P.T. Anderson)
95. Raiders of the Lost Ark(Speilberg)
96. The Maltese Falcon(Houston)
97. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg(Jacques Demy)
98. Mulholland Drive(Lynch)
99. Gunga Din(George Stevens)
100. Batman Begins(Nolan)
101. Mughal E Azam(Bollywood)
102. Shane(George Stevens)
103. Notorious(Hitchcock)
104. Last year at Marienbad (Alan Rennais)
105. Blazing Saddles(Brooks)
106. Remains of the Day(James Ivory)
107. La Dolce Vita(Fellini)
108. Le Grande Illusion(Renoir)
109. The Adventures of Robin Hood
110. Raging Bull(Scorcesce)
111. Nausicaa of the valley of the wind(Miyazaki)
112. Trois Coleur:Bleu
113. Dracula(Tod Browning)
114. Kagaaz ke phool(Bollywood)
115. Key Largo(Houston)
116. Das Boot(Wolfgang Peterson)
117. Barton Fink(Coens)
118. The Man who shot Liberty Valance(Ford)
119. Pan's labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro)
120. Ikiru(Kurosawa)
121. Wild Strawberries(Bergman)
122. Scarlett Street(Lang)
123. Chinatown(Polanski)
124. Parinda(Bollywood)
125. 12 Angry Men(Lumet)
126. Do Bigha Zameen(Bollywood)
127. Nights of Cabria(Fellini)
128. Mr Smith goes to Washington(Capra)
129. Sunset Boulevard(Wilder)
130 City Lights(Chaplin)
131. Bringing up Baby
132. Magnolia(P.T. Anderson)
133. Awaara(Bollywood)
134. The Apartment(Wilder)
135. Die Hard(John Mctiernan)
136. Battle of Algiers
137. E.T.(Spielberg)
138. Fight Club(Fincher)
139. The three women(Altman)
140. The Great escape(John Sturges)
141. Milli(Bollywood)
142. Manhattan(Allen)
143. The Cremator(Juraj Herz)
144. Stalker(Tarkovksy)
145. The Treasure of Sierra Madre(Houston)
146. Frankenstein(James Whale)
147. All About Eve
148. Fargo (Coen)
149. Le Diabolique(Clouzot)
150. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead(Lumet)
151. The Naked City(Jules Dassin)
152. Road to Perdition(Mendes)
153. Spirited Away (Miyazaki)
154. Young Frankenstein(Brooks)
155. Sansho the baliff
156. Imitation of Life(Douglas Sirk)
157. Blowup(Antonioni)
158. Infernal Affairs
159. Robocop (Verhoeven)
160. Aparajito(Bollywood)
161. Once upon a time in America(Leone)
162. The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah)
163. The Women(Cukor)
164. LA Confidential(Curtis Hanson)
165. Witness for the prosecution(Wilder)
166. Millers Crossing(Coens)
167. Dr Strangelove(Kubrick)
168. Double Indemnity(Wilder)
169. Seance on a wet afternoon
170. The Dark Knight(Nolan)
171. Broadway Danny Rose (Allen)
172. Casino(Scorcesce)
173. Jurassic Park(Spielberg)
174. The Age of Innocence(Scorcesce)
175. Metropolis(Lang)
176. Hiroshima mon amour(Alan Rennais)
177. Strangers on a train(Hitchcock)
178. Ankur(Bollywood)
179. Prem Rog(Bollywood)
180. Lost In Translation(Sofia Coppola)
181. The Usual Suspects(Bryan Singer)
182. The Thing(Carpenter)
183. A.I(Spielberg)
184. Umberto D (De Sica)
185. Eyes Wide Shut(Kubrick)
186. The Lady from Shanghai(Welles)
187. Network(Lumet)
188. Dead Poet's Society(Peter Weir)
189. Freaks(Todd Browning)
190. Rope(Hitchcock)
191. Don(Bollywood)
192. Captain Blood(Michael Curtiz)
193. A Fistful of Dollars(Leone)
194. Secrets and Lies(Mike Leigh)
195. Anand(Bollywood)
196. Reservoir Dogs(Tarrantino)
197. The Big Lebowski (Coens)
198. To Have and Have not(Hawks)
199. The best years of our lives(William Wyler)
200. Great Expectations(Lean)
201. Out of the Past(Jacques Torneur)
202. Arsenic and old lace (Capra)
203. Cool Hand Luke
204. Anatomy of a murder(Preminger)
205. Munich (Spielberg)
206. The Sixth Sense(Shymalan)
207. High Noon (Zinnemann)
208. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly)
209. Greed(Eric Von Stroheim)
210. Once Upon a time in the West(Leone)
211. Charade(Stanley Donen)
212. Duel (Spielberg)
213. Satya(Bollywood)
214. Brokeback Mountain(Ang Lee)
216. Forbidden Games(Rene Clement)
217. Il Bidone(Fellini)
218. Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?
219. Othello(Welles)
220. How Green Was My Valley
221. Throne of Blood (Kurosawa)
222. Jules Et Jim (Traffaut)
223. The Conformist(Bertolucci)
224. Mean Streets(Scorcesce)
225. The Haunting(Robert Wise)
226. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood)
227. The Roaring Twenties
228. Badlands(Mallick)
229. Repulsion(Polanski)
230. The Unknown(Todd Browning)
231. Black Narcissus (Powell/Pressburger)
232. Cries and whispers (Bergman)
233. The Misfits(Houston)
234. The Getaway(Peckinpah)
235. Bridges of Madison County(Eastwood)
236. Sullivan's travels(Sturges)
237. St Elmo's Fire(Schumacher)
238. Only Angels have wings
239. The Jewel Thief(Bollywood)
240. Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind.
241. Seven(Fincher)
242. The Iron Giant(Brad Bird)
243. The Woman In the Window(Lang)
244. The Killers(Robert Siodmak)
245. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon(Ang Lee)
246. In a Lonely Place(Ray)
247. 28 Days Later(Boyle)
248. The Purple rose of Cairo(Allen)
249. The Royal Tenenbaums(Wes Anderson)
250. Dirty Harry(Don Seigel)
251. Punch Drunk Love(P.T. Anderson)
252. Juliet of the spirits(Fellini)
253. Dersu Uzula(Kurosawa)
254. Mildred Pierce
255. Lost Highway(Lynch)
256. Rififi(Jules Dassin)
257. Fitzcarraldo (Herzog)
258. Chungking Express
259. Splendor in the grass
260. Hamlet(Laurence Oliver)
261. A Lion In Winter(Anthony Harvey)
262. Fury (Lang)
263. Dangerous Liaisons(Frears)
264. The Sting (George Roy Hill)
265. Patt Garrett and Billy the Kid(Peckinpah)
266. Ali: Fear eats the soul(Fassbinder)
267. East Of Eden(Kazan)
268. White Heat
269. Kiss Me Deadly
270. Do The Right Thing(Spike Lee)
271. Blowout(Brian De Palma)
272. Gladiator(Ridley Scott)
273. Empire of the sun(Spielberg)
274: Short Cuts(Altman)
275. Moon (Duncan Jones)
276. JFK
277. Klute
278. The Killer(John Woo)
279. Manhattan (Allen)
280. Last Tango In Paris (Bertolucci)
281. Get Carter(Mike Hodges)
282. Rocky(John Avildsen)
283. The Breakfast Club(Hughes)
284. Starship Troopers(Verhoeven)
285. Late Spring(Ozu)
286. Now Voyager
287. Days of Heaven (Mallick)
288: Dr Mabuse: The Gambler(Lang)
289. Heat(Micheal Mann)
290. The Magnificent Ambersons(Welles)
291. Oliver Twist(Lean)
292. Limelight(Chaplin)
293. Rushmore(Wes Anderson)
294. A Night at the Opera(Sam Wood)
295. Lost Horizon(Capra)
296. The Assassination of Jesse James by Robert Coward Ford(Dominik)
297: A Fish called Wanda
298. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell/Pressburger)
299. The Prestige(Nolan)
300. The Wrong Man(Hitchcock)
Ratings
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Lists
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My top 800 movies
I would love comments and recommendations from all you lovely patient people that managed to make their way through my entire list and feel free to point out any errors. Please feel free to criticize as well as compliment, I can take it.
I like to think my taste is quite diverse and I am generally open to all kinds of movies. Sit back and enjoy!. (Updated: 30th June 2016)
Reviews
Yakeen Ka Safar (2017)
Quite simply of the best Pakistani dramas ever
If you are fed up of the typical Saas/Bahu, troublesome Nand type dramas then be sure to give this a go.
Actually I will disclose a true story. My parents watched this drama years ago when it first came out, I remember watching only a few minutes and there was one scene that stood out that appears towards the end few episodes (the scene where Ahad Raza Mir recognises a character from his past which changes the course of the drama).
That scene really stood out for me, so when I decided to give Pakistani dramas a go I desperately hunted for this drama on Youtube.
I eventually found that scene in this little gem of Pakistani cinema.
Yakeen Ka Safar is one of those dramas that I would consider better than most movies, it's that good.
Unlike most dramas, I wouldn't have minded this drama to be a little bit longer it is that good.
This drama is just full of emotions and drama.
Hira Mani and Sajal Aly excel in the female leads whilst Ahad Raza Mir is excellent in the male role.
The very underrated Farhan Ali Agha also more than delivers the good in a supporting role.
The only thing I would say against this is that I did not like the acting of Hira Mani's husband at all.
Yes it takes time building up the drama and dynamics of the characters but this leads to a very fitting finale.
Ishqiya (2020)
Nice watch
This drama is nothing new but works because of the strengths of it's main actor, Hania Amir, Ramsha Khan, Feroze Khan and the wonderful Gohar Rasheed.
I liked the opposing personalities of the two sisters, whilst one is a dutiful daughter who doesn't want to disappoint her parents (Ramsha Khan), the other is a free spirit who says and does what she feels fit (Hania Amir).
Feroze Khan (who I thought was boring in Habs) excels in this as the spurned lover who marries his lover's younger sister after she leaves him and marries according to her parents wishes.
His constant bullying of his ex lover might seem a bit difficult to watch but he remains one of the most engaging characters in this drama.
Overall nice enough little drama which doesn't fall into the trap most dramas fall into and is relatively short.
My rating for Ishqiya: 7.5/10.
Tere Bin (2022)
OK watch but there are better Pakistani dramas
OK so I might be Muslim but I only recently started watching Pakistani dramas in the past year.
I like how most of these dramas are rooted in reality and how they are so relatable to anyone who watches them.
Anyways onto the recent ratings smash, Tere Bin.
To be honest I wanted to like this more than I did given the praise it's received.
Onto the positives Yumna Zahdi and Wahaj Ali are excellent in the leads and have great chemistry.
Veteran Bushra Ansari is also great in a supporting role whilst Sabeena Farooq adds the mandatory villainy.
The wonderful Mehmood Aslam also excels in a short role but is sadly underutilized.
If this drama had been at least 20 episodes shorter then I would have had a higher opinion but this drama was stretched to 58 episodes. To fill time we have to fast forward the moments where the characters are staring into space and the flashbacks (the last 5 episodes are definitely guilty of this).
Anyways everything is wrapped up in a nice bow at the end, although we do not see the characters taking revenge against Malik Zuber, who basically disappears after taking his heinous revenge.
Anyways it is a decent enough watch, even if you do have to fast forward at some points.
My rating for Tere Bin: 7/10.
Koyla (1997)
Vastly underrated effort from Rakesh Roshan
Koyla marked Shah Rukh Khan's third and last collaboration from King Uncle and Karan Arjun.
Karan Arjun ended up being a bumper hit, which lead audiences to have enormous expectations from Koyla. With expectations like that, Koyla was bound to fail, and it did (even though it did make a good amount at the box office). The reason for the failure is probably due to the fact that there is hardly a light moment but I like it for that very reason.
To be honest I didn't like Karan Arjun back then gradually warmed to it. I do however consider it to be the weakest of the collaboration and find it to be quite run of the mill stuff with Amrish Puri replaying his greedy thakur routine with Rakhee Gulzar sleepwalking through her hard done by women routine that she has been doing since Ram Lakhan.
Anyway I digress, I have always enjoyed Koyla. I recently revisited and was a enjoyable experience.
I consider this to be one of Amrish Puri's strongest roles, he is absolutely ferocious in this. Ranjeet, Jack Gaud and Salim Ghouse lend him good villainous support.
A recurring angle that appears in Rakesh Roshan movies is the protagonist is portrayed as weak but gains strength later, whether it is Rekha from Khoon Bhari Maang, Shah Rukh Khan in this.
It must have been a challenge making the lead actor's role mute in the first half but I believe they managed it quite well.
Shah Rukh Khan is good in the lead.
Madhuri also does well in the female lead as the woman who is deceived into a marriage with Amrish Puri.
Anyways Koyla is a good entertaining role that was sadly overlooked at the time.
Zindagi Ek Juaa (1992)
Underrated effort from Prakash Mehra
When you think of Prakash Mehra, 3 movies might come off the top of your head,
Muquaddar ka Sikandar, Laawaris and Namak Halal.
Zindagi Ek Juaa gets forgotten when talking of his best works as it flopped at the box office but I feel it is very underrated.
I have heard that apparently Mr Mehra had wanted to make this movie during the 80's but the plan failed through and instead he opted for Laawaris.
The opening sequence when Anil Kapoor tells the story reminds me of Amitji's Shakti (in which Anil Kapoor had a small appearance before he became a star).
Maybe it is just a coincidence and I am looking too much into it.
Anil Kapoor shines as the ordinary man thrust into the underworld.
Madhuri does well in a lengthy role.
Anupam Kher is good whilst Amrish Puri is his usual tremendous self as the lead villains.
Suresh Oberoi also does well in a supporting role as the decent policeman who tried to assist Anil Kapoor.
The music by the late Bappi Lahiri is fantastic and I consider this to be one of his best works.
The title song is excellent, Dil To Dil Hain by Asha Bhosle has a wonderful haunting feel to it, the song has remained in my mind ever since I saw the movie 30 years ago.
Overall memorable work from a talented filmmaker.
No Time to Die (2021)
Slightly better than the IMDB reviews will lead you to believe
I must admit I was initially a bit sceptical about Bond's latest offering. The delayed release only further increased my fears that this movie is doomed to fail.
After finally seeing it I must admit I was a tad bit relieved.
This movie is in by no means great but it is not terrible either.
There is lots of action, as per expected with Bond (obviously to compensate for lack of a strong plot).
Craig does well as do the the rest of the recurring actors.
It does however have some shortcomings.
Jeffrey Wright, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Lea Seydoux all do well in their recurring roles.
Lashana Lynch is sufficient, however Ana De Armas is terrible in her role and has very little to do.
Waltz is wasted here I thought, if you bring Blofeld back at least have the decency to make him the lead villain!.
Instead of Blofeld we have Safin, who is devoid of any character traits or mannerisms a Bond villain should have. The villain was dull beyond belief.
Personally Malek was the wrong choice for the role as a leading Bond villain, he didn't have the charisma to pull this off.
Craig has said in the press that this will be his last Bond movie, in my opinion Craig is leaving at the right time before he becomes embarrassing in the role (like Moore in A View to a Kill).
In that respect, it is a fitting exit for Craig as Bond with some nicely done emotional moments.
Overall, this is not the best Bond movie but I would rank it at No 19 on my rankings of James Bond movies ranked best to worst just above Tomorrow never dies.
Insaniyat Ke Dushman (1987)
Bloated 80's Bollywood masala
Back in the 70's/80's Rajkumar Kohli had a real knack for making star studded masala movies like Nagin, Jaani Dushman and Raj Tilak.
In 1987 he delivered his latest star studded offering, Insaniyat Ke Dushman, which although it was a massive blockbuster it nevertheless proved to me Kohli was losing his touch.
This is as typical a 80's Bollywood movie as they come with a larger than life heroes, outlandish villains and off course a mandatory rape scene.
This movie just really irked me from the moment it started. It had an interesting premise, a law student pitted against his mentor in a courtroom battle but sadly it is not utilized at all due to too many plot elements and lackluster writing.
Dharmendra does well in his typical action hero routine, the screen just lights up whenever he appears on screen.
Raj Babbar does well but Shatrughan Sinha looks past his prime.
Sumit Sehgal is given a raw deal here, he is basically a background set piece whilst his fellow co stars are given meatier roles.
Anita Raj, although stunning as always is really mismatched here with Sehgal and is only in the first half.
Dimple Kapadia is only on screen for a few moments, her love story with Babbar feels really forced.
Shakti Kapoor is incredible in this, he is given ample screen time to show of his villainy.
Amjad Khan on the other hand fares really badly in this movie, he looks very overweight and a shadow of his former self. In a way his role in this kind of reminded me of his role in Barsaat Ki Ek Raat but this time Khan essaying the father role.
All in all very disappointing fare given the talent involved.
Race 3 (2018)
Race 3- Quite simply a headache inducing experience
I normally have very good judgement when it comes to movies and am very selective when it comes to cinema viewings but I was with someone who wanted to see this movie. After seeing this movie I am seriously considering terminating the friendship!.
I thought the original Race was quite decent so I had a brief idea on what to expect (IE lots of twists and turns) but this movie went really overboard with twists that it was hard to keep up with the plot.
That said I will try to explain the plot and twists as coherently as I can.
The plot as it is revolves around a criminal organization which consists of boss Anil Kapoor, dead brother's son Salman Khan, right hand man Bobby Deol, faithful worker Sharad Saxena and Anil's twin children Saqib Salaam and Daisy Irani.
They hatch a plan to blackmail politicians by laying their hands on some information in a hard disk that exposes them in a compromising position which they would pay any money for Anil Kapoor not to leak to the media. The disk is in in a locker in Cambodia.
That is the barebones of the flimsy plot, to elongate the movies length to make for the flimsy premise there is deception and double crossing all over.
Jacqueline Fernandez meeting Salman Khan and then leaving them, then Bobby Deol introduces as his fiancée, when confronted reveals that she was hired by the twins to steal money. When truth comes out Salman, Jacqueline and Bobby decide to join hands to expose the crafty two.
Then when retrieving the hard disk in Cambodia Salman taken hostage by Cambodia's army on the orders of Bobby Deol, who is in fact dating Daisy and is in cahoots with them.
Salman Khan manages to escape with the help of Jacqueline and avenges his betrayal at the hands of Bobby and the twins. After that his car is blown up by Anil Kapoor. He is informed what his uncle planned to do by Sharad Saxena.
Then in the finale comes the biggest twist of all. When the gang meet the politicians, the wrong disk is played and in the disk Salman's dying mother's video which reveals that Anil himself was responsible for killing his brother and had been slowly poisoning his bhabhi after taking her in after murdering his brother. His brother was against the idea of Anil selling drugs and hence Anil disposed of him.
Anil's demands for the politicians is that some of their land is to be reserved for his drugs empire.
Not only that Salman's mother reveals that the twins are not really Anil's kids but hers and her husbands, making Salman and the twins siblings and Anil's offspring is none other than his right hand man Bobby Deol!.
Now onto who switched the disks, it was none other than Salman Khan who had come to know that his uncle has murdered his parents and had been waiting for the right moment to expose his uncles wrongdoings.
Like me you must have been confused reading it but that is the entire plot of the movie complete with twists and turns. There was some stuff about some sort of will if I recall but by the end my head was so screwed over by the absurdity of the movie I blanked it out. Trust me I have saved you from watching this tranwreck by revealing the twists.
There are many laughable moments, like the scenes with Salman Khan flying (yes flying!).
The songs too are a disappointment, with the exception of "Allah Duhai" which was taken from the original.
The performances too are disappointing. Jacqueline and Daisy are meant to add sex appeal to the proceedings but fail miserably, particularly Daisy whose blank expressions really irked me.
The only saving grace is the wonderful Anil Kapoor, who is still the ultimate badass after more than thirty years in the industry.
I would go as far as saying Race 3 is one of the worst Bollywood movies I have seen and by far the worst movie I have had the displeasure of seeing on the big screen.
At the end hey hinted at a potential fourth addition to the series, which just proves that the makers really have no sympathy for the audience, they just want to milk every bit of money out of them.
Immaan Dharam (1977)
One of Salim- Javed's lesser works
Amitabh Bachan is a mega star who had a string of memorable movies during his heydays of the mid 70's. That said some of his movies aren't that well known. Imaan Dharam is one of those rare movies of his that I had never seen.
Now that I have seen it I know the reason behind it's obscurity and that is that it is a very poorly conceived movie.
What was even more shocking was that it was written was Salim Javed, who in the previous year had written the Yash Chopra classic Dewaar and the record breaking Sholay.
The main problem is that there are two many distractions and characters that deviate from the main plot, such as Helen hiring Amitabh's character to pose as the father to her daughter amongst others.
The writers made some bad decisions with the writing, like when Shetty reveals Sanjeev Kumar;s innocence two hours into the movie and as a result he is subsequently released from jail and Prem Chopra and company are exposed. If I were the writer I would have kept him in jail until the last scene adding to the dramatic impact.
Salim's Javed's scripts are known for their great emotional moments, who can forget Jai's death at the end of Sholay. Sadly Helen's death doesn't have any impact whatsoever. The reason being that we saw too little of her considering she was the female lead opposite Amitabh.
Amitabh and Shashi didn't make much of an impact, Rekha was grossly underused as the movie gave more precedence to the stunning Aparna Sen. Sanjeev Kumar on the other hand shines as the do gooder who sets the two leads on the path of righteousness.
The songs aren't that particularly memorable either.
What Imaan Dharam does have is a wide assortment of villain actors like Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri, Sudhir, Shetty (father of Rohit Shetty no less) and Mac Mohan.
Overall I expected much more from the talent involved
Ram Balram (1980)
OK movie but not the usual Vijay Anand standard
Vijay Anand, who had previous directed such masterpieces like Guide, Jewel Thief and Johnny Mera Naam returned in 1980 with his most commercial movie starring two of the biggest stars at the time, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachan.
Whilst it is good to see the pair return after Sholay, the movie itself isn't really upto scratch.
It is a very typical masala movie with the usual lost and found formula.
The story as it is revolves around Japatpal (Ajit) who falsely claims himself to be the illegitimate brother of two wealthy brothers and kills them.
Then he drowns their wife, leaving him with all the wealth and the responsibility of bringing up the sons of the brothers, Ram and Balram. He decides to make Ram a cunning thief whilst Balram becomes a policeman.
They get into all sorts of scrapes, meeting their leading ladies (Rekha and Zeenat Aman), getting involved with crooks before being reunited with their mother and how they seek vengeance against Japatpal forms the rest of the story leading upto a prolonged finale.
It does have some strong points, the music is superb, particularly the song Ek Raasta Do Rahee (lifted off Bee gees song That's the way I like it).
It also has the distinct advantage of having not one but 4 villains in the form of Ajit, Sujit Kumar, Prem Chopra and Amjad Khan in supporting roles.
The leads are perfectly fine but it is Ajit as the evil Jagatpal who steals the show. I remember seeing this movie as a young child and being completely terrified of him.
The only other significant movie Anand made after this was Rajput, which like Ram Balram took a long time to get made because of the star's busy schedules.
All in all one might consider this movie to be a forgettable fare from a director of Vijay Anand's calibre.
Janam Se Pehle (1994)
Really bizarre revenge drama
Revenge movies have been the norm in Bollywood for many decades, it is pretty unusual to find one that sticks out. In the case of Janam Se Pehle it stands out for the wrong reasons.
Janam Se Pehle sticks out because it deals with the main character getting revenge on the men who molested his mother which he has recollections of whilst he was still in her womb (yes her womb!).
The movie begins with the man (Raj Babbar) killing three of the men and the police arresting him. Lawyer (Farah Naz) is intrigued by the case and seeks to help him.
A moderately enjoyable climax, which takes place in a courtroom is ruined completely by an atrocious, rushed final scene which ruins what little tension the finale had.
Reading the synopsis beforehand I knew this was not a movie to be taken seriously, the first half is a hard to sit through because of a campy B-movie feel to it. The second half is slightly more interesting as it transpired that there was another unidentified individual involved in the assault.
This was a movie that was unreleased for years for an unknown reason and that shows, it is that unmistakable late 80's feel to it and the main leads look significantly younger.
Overall this is a pretty disappointing movie and a waste of the talent involved.
Kudrat (1981)
Finely crafted murder mystery from Chetan Anand
I have to admit I do have a soft spot for Bollywood reincarnation tales like this, on top of that I am also a fan of murder mysteries, needless to say I have seen Chetan Anand's Kudrat many times after being exposed to it in the late 90's.
When released it was considered a disappointment or an average success at the box office, maybe it was released too soon after Subhash Ghai's reincarnation thriller Karz, deservedly so I might add as it is the more superior movie but Kudrat is a damn fine movie in it's own right.
From the first reel we are exposed to the reincarnation element of the movie as Chandramukhi (Hema Malini) says she has been to Simla before, when she left Simla when she was only a few months old and wouldn't have any recollection of it.
There she meets psychiatrist Naresh (played by Vinod Khanna) and he is attracted to her. On meeting lawyer Rajesh Khanna she is drawn to him and can't shake off the feeling that he is her reincarnated lover Manav.
Then there is the characters of Janak Singh (played by Raaj Kumar) and his daughter Karuna (Priya Rajvansh) Janak Singh has raised Mohan as his own and has high hopes of him marrying his daughter.
Circumstances however keep bringing Mohan and Chandramukhi together.
The first half chugs along quite nicely as a reincarnation love story but however that all changes when Chandramukhi keeps Janak Singh for the first time and becomes inconsolable.
When calm she alleges that Janak Singh raped and murdered her in her previous life as Paro. Naresh desperately tries to convince Mohan into filing a case against Janak Singh, putting Mohan into a quandary as it would mean going against the very person who brought him up.
Watch Kudrat to see how the movie unfolds as Naresh and Mohan try to build a case against Janak Singh leading to some very filmy but gripping courtroom scenes.
Some people might be disappointed by the final scene in which the killer confesses the truth without the prosecution giving any evidence but the finale speech they make is so powerful I can personally overlook that.
What I like so much about this movie is how skilfully Anand reveals the twists and keeps the suspense throughout.
Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini all deliver fine performances. Raaj Kumar is his usual self and doesn't experiment. I suppose it was what the audience expected of him and he didn't want to disappoint them by not giving them what they wanted.
Chetan Anand discovery Priya Rajvansh is also pretty decent. Sadly she didn't find much other work outside of Chetan Anand movies. Maybe it was her distinctive voice that held her back.
A sad fact about her is that she was murdered in 2000 by Chetan Anand's own sons in a dispute over property.
They are joined by a whole host of recognisable faces in Bollywood including Satyen Kapoo, A.K. Hangal, Pinchoo Kapoor, Aruna Irani and many more.
The best thing about Kudrat however is the truly exceptional music by lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and R.D. Burman. Tune O Rangeele by Lata and the very catchy disco song Chodo sanam being the best of the bunch.
To sum up my thoughts Kudrat is a criminally overlooked movie and deserves to be seen by fans of Bollywood suspense thriller.
Arpan (1983)
An unconvincing melodrama
Maybe after watching Bollywood movies for almost thirty years since a young age I have become somewhat cynical to Bollywood movies. Ten years ago I probably have lapped a movie like Arpan up but as it turned out I actually disliked it quite a bit. The story goes like this, Jeetendra has to leave his girlfriend (Reena Roy) when he goes abroad for a job. In the meantime Roy's employer (the magnificent Raj Babbar) takes a fancy to her too and when she turns him down, he decides he must seek vengeance on her so he learns that Jeetendra's unwed sister is pregnant,he uses to his advantage to blackmail Roy into marrying him, which she does to save the honour of Jeentendra's family. On his return to India, Jeteendra is left devastated, not knowing the real reason why Roy ended up marrying her employer.
The second half deals with how Babbar abuses Roy, Jeetendra trying to movie on with his life and how things comes to a head when the truth comes out.
That is the basic gist of the plot, the first half is tolerable but the second half has a lot of unnecessary melodrama, most of it completely unconvincing, like whenBabbar finds out that his days of drinking have finally taken a toll on his health and he suddenly changes his attitude towards his wife andshe believes him without batting an eyelid.
Then there is the tearjerker finale, which comes completely out of the blue and serves no purpose whatsoever other than to manipulate the audience. To be honest by that point I couldn't really care less.
The one thing Arpan does have going for it is some wonderful music, courtesy of Lyricist Anand Bakshi and Lakmikant Pyarelal. Pardes mein ja kar pardesiyan and Mohabbat Ijarat baan gaye are superb.
All in all I expected better from J. Om Prakash, whose Apnanpan and Asha I actually liked quite a bit.
If you do like emotional dramas then there are better movies out there to sink your teeth into.
Completely forgettable fare
Insaf Ka Tarazu (1980)
Gripping rape drama
In a typical Bollywood movie of yesteryears rape was depicted in a trashy and disrespectful way with the heroine yells out "Bachao Bachao (save me, save me).
With the rise in rape in countries like India, directors have started to tackle the subject on a more sensitive manner.
Insaaf Ka Tarazu is probably the first Bollywood movie to tackle the subject of rape in a mature and sensitive way. Who better to direct it than the wonderful B.R. Chopra who has experience with dealing with social issues like his masterpiece, the man VS machine saga Naya Daur.
Insaaf Ka Tarazu is a very enjoyable and well made movie.
Now onto the performances. Zeenat Aman is brilliant, her transformation from beauty queen to a disgraced woman was believable and well acted. Her finale speech was so moving and inspiring to rape victims.
The shining star of the movie however is the woefully underrated actor Raj Babbar as the devious Ramesh Gupta. I never expected such an unforgettable performance from an actor with only a few films behind him. It's sad that post Ghayal he got stuck in supporting or villainous roles.
Even child star Padmini Kholapure showed signs of a seasoned performer and she would go on to have a successful career as a lead heroine. Shreeram Lagoo's performance is also commendable as the conniving lawyer Mr Chandra.
It's reassuring that back in the days when rape was seen as nothing more than an exploitation device in Bollywood, there were some directors who went against the grain and made a movie that is a tribute to womanhood.
Karzzzz (2008)
Quite simply one of the worst Bollywood movies I have seen in a long time
I am normally quite tolerant when it comes to movies but this movie tried my patience to no end.
Given my affection for the original Karz, I was a tad apprehensive about giving it a chance, which was why I put it off for a good number of years. After hearing Himesh Reshammiya's version of Ek Hasina Thi I was swayed and decided to give it a shot. The song had such a haunting quality and was frankly surprised by how good it was. Sadly the song is the only decent thing about this movie.
Honestly I am surprised how Satish Kaushik could make such an amateur movie, I wouldn't expect this kind of movie from a film student let alone a veteran director. This movie is a failure in almost every department. Honestly it's worse than a B Grade movie.
The performances from the leads, Himesh and Shweta Kumar (daughter of director Indra Kumar) are two of the worst performances I have seen in any movie. Himesh somehow managed to bag a few more movies but Shweta only managed to star in her dad's Super Nani after this. Even seasoned pros like Urmila and Raj Babbar ham it up really badly. I was surprised at Urmila particularly because I thought she did well in the Ek Hasina Thi number, her expressions during the song were spot on. Although I never expected to measure upto Simi Garewal, I expected better from her.
It was embarrassing to see Gulshan Grover slumming it in a thankless role.
Some very poor choices have been said throughout this movie, like for instance in the scene where Himesh goes to see Asrani to know the whereabouts of Ravi Verma's family and for some inexplicable reason mid conversation it shifts to a comedy track and then goes serious again. What should have been a good dramatic moment is ruined completely.
Another disappointment was that apart of Ek Hasina thi, there are no other good songs in this movie.
Given the classic status of the original, the people involved should at least have done a half decent job so that it does justice to the former.
When Karzzz should have been thrilling and suspenseful, it evokes no other reaction for me other than sheer disdain for all the people involved in the making of this movie.
Seeing the end result must have been a real slap in the face for Subhash Ghai and everyone else involved with the original. I would love to hear their reactions to the atrocity that is Karzzz.
In my opinion it is up there with such Hollywood atrocities like Batman and Robin and Superman 4: A Quest for Peace.
OK rant over, thank you for listening.
The Big Bang Theory: The Long Distance Dissonance (2017)
......And now Big Bang Theory has officially become a soap opera
It's been a long time coming but the show is finally scraping the bottom of the barrel.
First Howard and Bernadette got married, then Leonard and Penny and now the unthinkable has happened....Sheldon has proposed to Amy!.
I used to adore the show, still get some great laughs from watching the earlier seasons. That said the past couple of seasons have been concentrating on their separate lives and the plot lines have become boring, for instance the episode where Howard and Bernadette try to get the raccoon out of their hot tub or the guys working on their guidance system in this season. For some reason the writers have forgotten that they're making a sitcom and now are trying to make a soap opera by making the characters pregnant or getting them married off.
Friends managed to send the characters off in different directions and still be very funny but it seems the Big Bang Theory writers have been less successful. I no longer have belly laughs when I watch this show, only very minor chuckles, which for a sitcom is simply not good enough.
I have stuck by the sitcom out of loyalty but the final nail in the coffin was the season ten finale, which compelled me to write this review.
I never thought I'd say this but the show has outstayed its welcome by a couple of years.
Now that the finale ended with a cliffhanger it seems they'll be at least one more season.
I can only hope the producers decide that enough is enough and finally pull the plug after the 11th season. Although I am still unsure whether I'll be watching.
King Uncle (1993)
One of Rakesh Roshan's most underrated movie
I consider King Uncle to be a very overlooked movie. At the time of it's release it didn't make much of an impact at the box office. It's a shame really because it's a very enjoyable, fun filled movie with Jackie Shroff on great form in the main lead.
Anu Agarwal and Nagma provide good support and this movie is also notable for having an early performance from Shah Rukh Khan, before he really hit it big time with Darr. There is a pretty decent supporting cast consisting of Deven Verma, Dilip Tahil amongst others. As the main villain, I found Paresh Rawal to be terrifying as a child. Off course now he's more known as a comedy actor, I wish he would go back to doing the odd serious role like this one once in a while.
That said the highlight of the movie is Pooja Ruparel as Munna. Her acting is just so natural. After DDLJ, she disappeared from movies but in the past couple of years it seems that she's making a comeback, which is great news. The songs, as per usual in a Rakesh Roshan production are absolutely top notch. All in all rewatching King Uncle makes me feel nostalgic about a very happy childhood.
Baseraa (1981)
A very enjoyable family drama
Mental illness is a subject that generally serves as a sideplot in Bollywood, for example the typical Bollywood movie would have the mother losing her mental balance after the death of her husband (Meri Jung). With that in mind I approached Baseera with an open mind and was very surprised by how mental illness is so pivotal to the plot. Rakhee is superb in the lead as a woman who becomes mentally ill after seeing her beloved sister as a widow and how she returns to her home after 14 years after making a recovery. Unfortunately her husband has married her beloved sister in her absence (not to mention fathered a child by her) and how the family try to keep up the pretense that everything was as the woman left her house all those years ago and what happens when she finds out. Yes the scenario is improbable to say the least but the cast really make the movie work. Other reviews have stated that the ending is bad but the way I see it is that the scenario is so tricky that there was no possible good way to resolve the situation. Shashi Kapoor is tremendous as her husband and Rekha as her husband whilst former 80's actress Poonam Dhillon and Raj Kiran lend excellent support. It was only after seeing it that I found out that the immensely talented Gulzar Sahib had a hand in writing this movie, which explains why this movie is of such high quality. All in all Baseera is a highly enjoyable drama and far better than the usual masala flicks.
Dilwale (2015)
Meaningless fare from Rohit Shetty
I used to really like Shah Rukh Khan's movies, he used to make good enjoyable movies. Nowadays I feel he is contributing to the regression of Bollywood cinema with movies like Dilwale, Chennai Express and Happy New Year. He was once the king of Bollywood but now it seems his contemporaries have now whizzed past him and doing more meaningful fare, like Akshay Kumar with Baby and Airlift or Salman Khan with Bharangi Bhaijaan. Anyways back to Dilwale, it is basically a rehash of much better movies, like of instance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in the case the siblings of Shah Rukh and Kajol reuniting them with typical Rohit Shetty action thrown in for good measure, the result being an uneasy mix of romance and action. The movie is littered with many unnecessary scenes and plot lines which serve no purpose other than to fill the time. Onto the performances Shah Rukh and Kajol were good but it was Varun Dhawan who impressed in this movie. I did see him in Student of the year but for some reason he didn't impress me that much. He has a promising career ahead of him in Bollywood. His co star Kirti Sanon is as wooden as they get. Bollywood veterans Kabir Bedi and Vinod Khanna are decent enough in small roles whilst comedy king Johnny Lever is tolerable and Boman Irani hams it up in a villainous role. To make matters worse the ending I thought was a bit of an anticlimax.
All in all disappointing fare given the talents involved. I suppose the only good thing to come out of this is that I was planning to see this movie on the big screen but was putt off after the reviews started coming in.
Akayla (1991)
A lesser effort from Ramesh Sippy
At the time there must have been a huge buzz surrounding Akayla as it was directed by Ramesh Sippy, who directed Amitabh Bachan in Sholay, Shaan and Shakti. This movie also reunited Big B with Shashi Kapoor, who were last seen in Namak Halaal. Unfortunately the end product is a pretty average effort. To be honest I hadn't seen it in it's entirety for at least a decade.
As a movie it shouldn't have worked at all but it remains watchable thanks to Big B, who carries the movie on his shoulders. He is really intense in this movie, which is what the audience at the time expected at the time from him. That said even he isn't able to salvage the mediocre material. He is supported by a decent cast in supporting roles, consisting of Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi, Amrita Singh and Aditya Pancholi and a special appearance by Helen.
There isn't really a script to speak of really, the entire movie is basically Amitabh confronting the villains again and again. The main villain himself, Keith Stevenson is very weak. I am wondering why the directors went for him when they could have found a better villain like Amrish Puri or Raza Murad etc. Stevenson really hams it up with a double role. The songs are decent, particularly Aag lag jaye, which is a great song.
All in all I think without Big B's performance it would have been a much worse movie than it is.
Beta (1992)
Indra Kumar's best
Family dramas like this one were all the rage in the 80's/early 90's so on paper Beta would have felt like more of the same. Beta however is heads and shoulders above other movies of it's kind thanks to the cast.
Aruna Irani deserves a very special mention, she was superb in a negative role and in my opinion this is her best performance. Madhuri is also tremendous, the scenes between her and Aruna Irani are electric. Anil Kapoor does well too in the male lead but in my opinion he is overshadowed by the two women. Among the supporting actors the late Lakmikant Berde deserves a special mention as he is hilarious in this movie whilst Anupum Kher does well in a negative role.
The songs are simply excellent, particularly Dhak dhak karne laga and Koyal se teri boli.
Yes the ending is a tad bit too melodramatic and unrealistic but that's what the audiences went for at the time.
Indra Kumar has made some pretty enjoyable movies like Dil, Ishq, Mann and Masti but Beta is without a doubt my favourite from him
He did very recently try to make another melodrama Super Naani but the movie was a total washout. I seriously believe that these days nobody would go for movies like Beta, they were most definitely a product of their time in the nicest way possible.
I revisited it only a few days ago after having not seen it in at least two decades and it was just as good as I remembered.
So on a closing note I would just like to say that Beta is without a doubt one of the best Anil Kapoor- Madhuri collaborations.
Maqsad (1984)
A pretty typical 80's Bollywood blockbuster
Maqsad when released became a huge success and it's not hard to figure out why. It had everything the movie going public would have wanted from a Bollywood movie (action, comedy,romance and drama). Reviewing it 30 years on and after I have seen it for the first time I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. Maybe it's because after watching so many blockbusters from the 80's, I have become somewhat cynical towards them. For instance Shreeram Lagoo at the start depressing over their poor status frankly annoyed me. Plotwise it is pretty much all over the place, with the writer trying to cram in as much as they can into the movie. The movie doesn't really get going until almost two hours into the movie when someone is killed. The music, by Bhappi Lahiri wasn't that remarkable either. It is however worth watching just for the superb cast consisting of Jeetendra, Rajesh Khanna, Jaya Pradha, Sridevi and a supporting cast of well known names like Om Shivpuri, Waheeda Rehman, Amjad Khan, Shreeram Lagoo and a special appearance from Shatraughan Sinha. Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Kadr Khan and Shakti Kapoor provide the mandatory villainy for a Bollywood blockbuster of the 80's. They go through the motions basically, nothing special to make them stand out among the standard Bollywood villains. I can understand that movie making has changed vastly over the years and Maqsad was clearly a product of it's time. Maybe if I had seen the movie in my childhood then I would have had a much different opinion of it.
Iron Man Three (2013)
All in all a bitter disappointment
I haven't reviewed something on IMDb for quite a while but after seeing Iron Man 3 today I felt compelled to express my thoughts on it. First of all let me say that this is my first 2013 release that I've seen. I really liked Iron Man and also quite liked Iron Man 2 so I was quite looking forward to seeing the third instalment. This is the first Iron Man movie Jonathan Favreau didn't direct, I really feel that if he had decided to direct the third instalment we would have been given a better movie than this debacle. All in all I frankly thought it was positively dire on all levels. The returning cast members I felt weren't really up to scratch. Special mention to Paltrow who I've always felt was badly miscast as Pepper Potts. The villains I thought were incredibly poor in this one. I really felt there was no meat to their characters whatsoever and no special character trait that would make them awesome villains. Pearce I thought was disappointing but the biggest disappointment was from Ben Kingsley. He basically did what he's been doing for years, pimping himself for Hollywood in substandard movies in insignificant roles that do nothing for his career. To sum my thoughts in one sentence I just felt it lacked the emotional power of the previous Iron Man movies, I didn't really care for any of the characters.
Without giving too much away the one thing that surprised me was the conclusion. I can only hope that my next cinema experience is better than this one, although it wouldn't have to do very much to surpass it. All in all a very bitter disappointment. My rating for Iron Man 3: 5.5/10
The Flintstones (1960)
The greatest cartoon of all time bar none
I adore The Flintstones, loved it as a child and love it as an adult. The plot is relatively simple, it deals with neighbours and best friends, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble and their wives, Wilma and Betty. In a way Fred and Barney are like an old married couple, they fall out in almost every episode yet they end up calling a truce towards the end only to fall out in the next episode. What really works for the show is Fred and Barney's different personalities, Fred is hot tempered one but ultimately good at heart whilst Barney is the easy going comedian(his wisecracks provide some of Flintstones best comedy moments).
They live in the Stone age but they still have appliances we have nowadays, only they're run by an animal of some kind. For instance the shower would be operated by a elephant. It started of with just The Flintstones and the Rubbles but as the seasons went on the family started to get bigger and bigger, The Flintstones had a baby girl called Pebbles whilst the Rubbles adopted a boy called Bamm Bamm. In the last season another character was introduced called the Great Gazoo. The Flintstones for me will never get boring and I will continue to love the show.
Kurbaan (2009)
Very underrated Karan Johar production
Since the success of Aamir Khan's Fanaa there has been a surge of terrorist themed Bollywood movies, (A Wednesday, New York and now Kurbaan). I've deliberately left out My Name is Khan because it wasn't about the terrorist themselves but about how the common man is affected by their actions. I remember Yash Raj's New York came out now long before Kurbaan and was a pretty big hit. Maybe that's the reason why Kurbaan went largely unnoticed. Another reason could be that it lacks the hallmarks of a Karan Johar production. In a typical Karan Johar movie there's plenty of songs and dancing. and occasionally funny in places. It's a shame really because it's far better than I expected.
Where Kurbaan excels is that it is a far more brutal movie than any of the terrorist themed Bollywood movies I've mentioned. In a typical terrorist themed Bollywood movie someone would come along and stop the bomb from exploding or the terrorist would have a sudden change of heart. In Kurbaan the bombs do actually explode and many are injured or killed. The highlight for was not any of the main leads(they were all great however) but it was Om Puri. I've never ever seen him act so serious in the movie but I suppose his role as the leader required him to do that. On a end note I would encourage fans of Bollywood to see this movie, you won't regret it.