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Reviews
My Hot Mom Gandhi (2014)
Back in my day, Halloween was for ______ people...
Charming, sweet, comfortably edgy, and downright hilarious. The filmmakers (disclaimer: I know them from other projects) basically drive through SF (there's a really cool turning angle) while talking about different outfits to don for Halloween, with each idea worse / better than the other.
Also, watching this gave me some Halloween ideas. Thanks, Reena and Shane! I'm either winning best dressed or getting egged. October 31st will decide.
The cinematography is reminiscent from the earlier days of Wes Craven horror films. Actually that's a lie. This is one of those films where superior lensing won't make it better. But can make it feel overproduced, which is a road I'm glad they didn't take.
Acting comes of natural and easy to swallow. The reactions of the side characters could have been more developed, but it's really fine the way it is.
CAAM fest liked it plenty. This short is more on the lines of a Jimmy Fallow insert / digital short than a indie short film. As they say, "this is scalable comedy'
Melancholia (2011)
There are no colored people
Everyone is white.
That's my only complaint. Otherwise, pretty solid stuff. Kirsten Dunst plays a weak character with much resolve. She plays off of Charlotte Gainsbourg in the first half, and the roles switch in the second. I found the beginning of the film to be lengthy, but necessary. The third act will leave you feeling trapped with the characters, and it is harrowing. The set location is stunning, and I believe it is where parts of X-Men First Class was filmed? There is nudity so don't bring your kids. In its entirety this film somewhat reminds me of Tarsem Singh's The Fall since it looks like the director wishes he was a painter. You will leave the theater feeling sadder and more fatalistic than usual.
Kunjo (2009)
I just really liked it
I had the good fortune of watching this at the Indian Film Festival of LA last year. It ended up winning the audience award, and rightly so. Kunjo is one of those rare films that can absorb you into a world of relative material absence, have you feel empathetic for the characters in it without feeling terribly sorry for them. The cow scene is something I've never seen before on screen... or IRL for that matter! I was lucky to meet with the director and cinematographer afterwards - both swell folk. Filmmakers who deal with social issues and class differences in India tend to lean towards the dramatic. Or have an air of preachiness or guilt inducing designs since most film festival audiences are middle to upper class. Kunjo does neither but has the effect of both. It simply favors the story of a girl and a day in her life over these things.
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Putting Sci-Fi back on the map
What makes BSG truly remarkable is that unlike Star Trek, which was pure science fiction and the infinite permutations between the universe and the human imagination, and unlike Babylon 5, which seemed to be cheesy and forced at times, BSG is a futuristic military space drama, with well choreographed action sequences, realistic human problems, complex characters and character interactions and dilemmas that give you something to think about before bed. The story is 'tighter' than most TV shows and rarely drags on. It is deep and quite dark at times but never gloomy. And when the characters laugh and smile and have a good time it doesn't distract attention from the impending issues, which is mainly to survive in space. Apart from the story, the set and lighting seem to be in symphony, kudos to those responsible. Even though the only colors ever used are blue, black, red, white and gray, it is only so as to reiterate the 'serious' atmosphere of the series. This is a departure from Babylon 5, where the tropical color schemes and the pseudo-alien backgrounds at times seemed almost comical and proved to be a distraction. Also, BSG features no 'aliens' as such. The enemy is a cybernetic race created by humans. In essence, BSG is a future where humans are trying to survive a robot-led onslaught. But this is no terminator, it is light years ahead in every sense.
Furthermore, BSG seems to be the only original show on the SCi-Fi network worth watching, considering how they manage to ad cheesy humor to all the other shows and, with some help from bad acting and equally bad directing, turn potentially great ideas into lame programming fillers. It would be much appreciated if they could make more shows like BSG. Perhaps they should start with Eureka.