First things first: Celine Song’s The Materialist doesn’t quite reach the quiet brilliance of her debut, the magnificent Past Lives. Yet, it’s still a relationship drama worth your time.
Dakota Johnson (yes, of 50 Shades fame) shines as Lucy, an upmarket New York City matchmaker for the rich and privileged. She approaches romance like an M&A deal, quipping, “Marriage is a business deal and it always has been.”
Her carefully constructed world collides when she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal) — a charming private equity prince with a $12 million penthouse and impeccable style — at a client’s wedding. At the same event, Lucy’s past resurfaces in the form of John (Chris Evans), her struggling-actor ex who’s working as a waiter. Their breakup years ago, heartbreakingly, was over a parking fee.
Celine frames Lucy’s dilemma in modern Jane Austen fashion: should she choose the wealthy, flawless suitor or the imperfect, impoverished man who once held her heart? Classic setup, updated for Manhattan.
The film is peppered with witty (and often depressing) “wish lists” from Lucy’s elite clients — a satirical mirror of transactional love. A side plot also hints at the risks of modern dating.
Song still delivers memorable moments:
Lucy admitting she left John not for incompatibility, but for his poverty.
Lucy seduced by Harry’s luxurious lifestyle, yet starved of intimacy.
Lucy and Harry, seemingly the perfect match, inevitably drifting apart.
Dakota Johnson gives a grounded, honest performance. Pedro Pascal oozes charm, while Chris Evans taps into raw vulnerability. The film itself, though, is uneven. The screenplay meanders, and the writing never fully soars.
Still, Celine’s words resonate: “Love is the greatest mystery in everyone’s lives, and therefore one of the most important themes in cinema.” Couldn’t agree more.
💡 The Materialist may not be flawless, but it’s a smart, satirical look at the math of love in a material world — and a worthy weekend watch.
Past Lives: A Poignant Painting Of Relationships, Identities & Possibilities!
One of the year’s best and a must watch movie! A slow burn movie that touches your heart! A though provoking movie that spans time and continents!
Celine Song’s debut movie beautifully captures the lives of two childhood friends over a two decade period where they explore their relationships in the backdrop of life events. Nora & Hae Sung are academic rivals and friends who once go on a parent brokered ‘play date’. The boy is in awe of the girl but she emigrates to Canada.
Thanks to social media and digital world, they reconnect after twelve years but begin to drift apart again as Nora is committed to her ambition and explores the life she desires. Hae Sung finally meets Nora after another twelve years, as he plans a vacation to New York to meet the established playwright Nora, who is married to writer Arthur. How the meeting unfolds and unravels the nostalgic emotions is what makes Past Lives a brilliant and reflective piece of art!
The Korean concept of “in-yeon” is central to the movie.
The movie thrives in the power of saying the unsaid – eye contact, silence, stillness, music, backdrops etc. Watch the powerful ending…..soul moving!
The movie is a master class in story telling, cinematography, music, acting and direction. Hae Sung (Yoo Teo) wins your heart as a handsome, sweet, dignified, mature and totally romantic protagonist. Nora (Greta Lee) is confused, vulnerable, practical and emotionally torn. Arthur (John Magarro) makes a great impact as Nora’s husband. Celine Song’s direction is truly amazing – full marks to her for a perfect debut.
Past Lives – A movie about love, loss, marriage, career, culture, diaspora, nostalgia, relationships and destiny! How our relationships affect our lives!
Parasite Review: Parasite Is A Masterpiece! Oscar Worthy!
A Highly Provocative Movie That Challenges Our Thinking – In The Modern Capitalist World – Who Are Real Parasites?
The Tale Of Opportunistic Kim Family Meets Wealthy Park Family. This Is A Mixture Of Comedy, Mystery, Drama & Tragic Commentary. Social Satire Par Excellence!
Excellent Story & Screenplay With Amazing Visual Poetry. Clever Direction & Mind-Blowing Acting! Must Watch!
Joker movie is a cinematic experience par excellence.
Director Tod Phillips has reimagined the classic character and presented a
very gripping tale.
Joaquin Phoenix is Arthur Fleck – the clown on hire and a struggling
stand-up comedian. He lives with his mother in a rat-hole apartment in Gotham
city. He adores the celebrity TV comedian and talk show host Murray Franklin.
He wants to be famous like him. He has a silent crush on his neighbour. He has
mental health challenges and he finds an unlikely connection with one of the
most powerful man in the city. The story unfolds and slowly showcases his rise
as Joker.
The beauty of the movie is in details….Cinema at its best!
The moment of Arthur trying to be friendly with a boy in the bus. The scare
of the dwarf clown trying to open the door. The pain of unconquered love when
he visits his desired love. The sadness of funding cuts. The despair of being
fired. The anger and cries of unravelling a difficult past.
Joker’s dance on the steps – Oh my God! What a capture!
Director has captured the loneliness and despair in beautifully captured
shots. The lonely steps. The lonely train on a dark night. The flickering
lights. The dull apartments. The empty lives. The dark people. Everything he
shows has a meaning. Everything he has shown has a context. Even the ‘Charlie
Chaplin’ movie in the theatre.
The world is falling apart. The garbage collectors are on strike and
streets are stinking. The funding for social services is down because “they” do
not care about such things. The divide between rich and have-nots is widening. The powerful Thomas
refers to the have-nots as Clowns. Arthur beautifully asks: Is it me who is
crazy or the whole world is getting crazy?
Eventually the clown’s actions start resonating with many in the world!
Ambition. Love. Illusion of Love. Failure. Loneliness. Grief. Struggle.
Celebrity Cult. Power. Pain. Everything is captured and shown subtly.
Joaquin Phoenix gives a masterclass in acting! The way he has sunk into the
character and portrayed all the emotions – too good! He rules the screen. He
owns the movie.
Director Tod Phillips has challenged the citadel of great directors with
this movie. Oscars all the way!
We can only speak by our paintings
Vincent Van Gogh
Loving Vincent brings alive the magic of Vincent van Gogh. The movie, made of oil paintings, is a visual delight. The film’s 65,000 frames are actual oil paintings on canvas – painted in Van Gogh style by more than 125 painters. What a thought! What an execution! What a result!
The movie is a cinematic experience not to be missed! It’s like Van Gogh’s paintings and characters coming to life as you experience the story. The efforts and detail-oriented execution of 6 years of creative work bring rich results on screen. The director Dorota Kobiela had planned this as a short movie with crowd-sourced funding but the project gathered momentum and it has become a mammoth masterpiece. The film was made at a cost of USD 5.5 million – a fraction of Marvel and DC budgets! Dorota Kobiela deserves a rich applause for this magnificent and innovative work!
Loving Vincent is the first fully painted animated feature film which revolves around the mystery of Vincent van Gogh’s death. Postman Joseph Roulin asks his son Armand to deliver Van Gogh’s last letter to his brother Theo, but both the sender and the recipient are dead. It’s almost one year since Van Gogh’s death and Armand tries to find out the real cause. There is no conclusive evidence. During his pursuit, the audience discover Van Gogh’s genius, his approach to life, his loneliness, his troubled childhood, his professional challenges, his relationship issues and other facets of his life.
What impressed me the most was that he created his masterpieces and genius body of work within a decade. He had more than 2000 works of art in a decade – we do not need a lifetime to create works that are timeless!
Watch Loving Vincent Trailer
Watch The Making Of Loving Vincent – Painting Techniques
Star Wars – The Force Awakens is breaking records like a pack of cards. It is the fastest movie to reach USD 1 Billion mark and will be the top movie of all time. The movie is a box-office blockbuster that dwarfs every other movie franchise.
How did it happen?
1. Disney’s Smart Acquisition: Disney is an entertainment giant with a sharp strategy of picking a cool movie franchise and rejuvenating it. Disney paid $4 Billion for the acquisition of LucasFilm and started its redevelopment. Disney’s method is to acquire companies with franchise potential, set its strategic talent to make the acquisition work and power it with its marketing and distribution weight. Disney knows how to exploit the IP from the acquisitions – the magic has worked with its acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel. Disney will milk this further with “Star Wars” area at Disneyland.
2. Go Beyond The Creator/Founder: George Lucas is a visionary in every sense of the word. Creating Star Wars when limited technology and meagre resources existed is nothing but a stroke of genius. But Star Wars was stagnating in recent times. It required a passionate J J Abrahams to reinterpret and bring new glory to Star Wars. He understood the masterpiece of George Lucas and what made it work in the first place – maybe even bettering Lucas in some instances. Creator/Founder can sometimes be too close to her work and may not help the cause. Also, the creator needs to switch gears as required – every stage of organisation and movie franchise needs different skills. Hence J J Abraham nurtured the franchise in a professional manner and delivered a mass entertainment product.
3. Product Development: Star Wars – The Force Awakens has succeeded primarily due to the good content. No marketing can help a bad movie – especially in these days of social media and word of mouth power. Even Nostalgia can take you so far – else all other Star Wars movie would have been equally big hits. The chief victory of J J Abrahams and team was to stick to the core USP of Star Wars. They knew what the fans wanted, they knew what made sense, they avoided distraction and stayed loyal to the identified market segment. They stuck to the formula of the original in all aspects. Though some fans expressed disappointment with the movie lack of imagination and innovation and dull length, the overall product play worked.
4. Innovative Marketing: Trust Disney to ensure marketing genius. They leveraged Nostalgia to maximum effect – ensuring that all adults re-live their childhood stories. Disney is expanding its base beyond the children and this was a master-stroke. They also released Star Wars merchandise ahead of time – to create more ambassadors. They carefully planted stories of return from misguided prequels thereby raising expectations of the new movie. The usual marketing template of promotional tie-ups, clothing, games etc. was effectively leveraged as well.
5. Distribution: The distribution strength of Disney ensured a global release on a large scale. Christmas timing ensured that no one could not escape Star Wars. It brought lot of new audience to cinema. So when you have a great product, go all aggressive.
“Broken Horses Is About Breaking Prejudices” said Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the interactive evening discussion at SOAS, London.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra was the Guest Of Honor at the ‘In Conversation’ interview session hosted by the National Indian Students Union UK and SOAS South Asia Institute. The evening discussion was chaired by renowned author and SOAS’ Professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema – Professor Rachel Dwyer.
Vidhu is the first Indian filmmaker to write, produce and direct a Hollywood film. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s emphasis during the entire evening was to drive the point that Indian cinema can match Hollywood but we choose to speak our people in our language. Our Indian people are different and hence Indian cinema is different. Expressing love through song and dance is normal – he also did the same in his early days. Indian cinema is not deficient or subservient – It is different.
His motivation for Broken Horses was the same mantra. Hollywood has looked down upon Bollywood. There are prejudices. He wants to break those. He wanted to tell the world that an Indian can produce a Hollywood movie. A Hollywood movie that only had Vidhu as an Indian name in the entire credits – all lead actors, crew and team were Hollywood. The movie was also a true blue mainstream movie – not a diasporic or NRI linked themes.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s earlier movie Eklavya had an impact in Hollywood. It was India’s official Oscar entry as well. It led to opening of few thoughts for a Hollywood movie. And after viewing a screening of The Departed, the urge grew stronger. Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu started worked on a script. Parinda was the initial inspiration (Parinda was also nominated at Oscar) – but after 63 drafts – the 64th movie emerged which was Broken Horses.
Professor Rachel Dwyer brought many important perspectives and Vidhu’s answers to those were the highlight of the evening. There was an interesting conversation about business sense in Indian cinema. Vidhu has been successful with PK, 3 Idiots, Munnabhai etc. His movies seems to bring loads of money and deliver a social message as well. It was rare in Indian cinema. So what contributed to his strong business sense? Vidhu intact said that he had poor business sense. If he was to be interested in business, he should have made 4 Idiots and 5 Idiots after 3 Idiots. He cast Sanjay Dutt in the lead when he was undergoing trial. He made cinema for the sake of cinema. He wanted to deliver a good body of work and hopefully people will remember him. He is successful is a miracle, not a science.
Vidhu said that he has never followed a beaten path. Maybe because he has educated in school of life and not formal education.
Vidhu shared interesting anecdotes – the making of Kuch Na Kaho song, the revival of R D Burman, the fight for “Give Me Some Sunshine” song, the initial reaction to Munnabhai, his return to Kashmir to see his pooja room being cleaned and maintained neat by a namaazi etc.
On differences between West and Indian Film Industry, he noted that Indian industry was very warm but inefficient while Western industry was cold but very efficient. Indian cinema is improving but West is more professional.
The session was wrapped up rather quickly – everyone wanted more. Nevertheless, it was a great evening and a commendable session. The evening had started with a wonderful dance performance – it was mind blowing performance to songs of Vidhu’s movies. Then there was an amazing rendition to the wonderful songs of Vidhu’s movies.
Then, Professor Michael Hutt, Director of SOAS South Asia Institute, welcomed the illustrious guest of honor, Shri Vidhu Chopra and Professor Rachel Dwyer. In his welcome note, Professor Hutt noted that SOAS was the first British university to offer a degree on Indian cinema. He mentioned about the encouragement and support provide to Indian Cinema and South Asian Cinema at SOAS.
A 90 minute talk show was highly desirable. I am sure Sanam Arora and her wonderful team will listen to our wishes. They did a great job organizing this event !
One must credit to Vidhu for the great body of work – from Parinda to 1942 to Munnabhai to 3 Idiots to PK. He has allowed other talent to grow – Sanjay Leela, Raj Kumar Hirani, Pradeep Sarkar etc. Even Eklavya, Mission Kashmir, Ferrari Ki Sawaari were brave attempts. After 3 Idiots, he supported Sharman Joshi when the entire industry was waiting for his call.
He is releasing Broken Horses in India in English only – for proving a point that it is English movie. Not dubbed in Hindi. It is indeed risky. Ash thinks that when even Spiderman is released in Bhojpuri and South Indian Languages, he should reconsider this. Point is already proven I guess. James Cameron is endorsing Vidhu. Movie is ready. Point is proven.
Wishing him all the success. Broken Horses is a brave attempt. It is a statement. It is breaking new ground. And for that he deserves all our support !
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Broken Horses releases on 10th April 2015 through UTV Motion Pictures. Set in the shadows of the US–Mexico border gang wars, Broken Horses is an epic thriller about the bonds of brotherhood, the laws of loyalty, and the futility of violence.
Mobile Monday Ahmedabad has organized a session to unveil the technology mantras behind the entertainment Industry.
Mr. Siddhesh Bhobe, CEO of eMee and AVP of Persistent Systems Ltd – a leading player spearheading the role of technology in the entertainment industry, will conduct the interactive talk. The session will highlight how Mobility, Big Data and Social Media have been helping out Indian Movies in reaching INR 500 Crores in revenue. This interactive session will be held on Saturday, 23rd Aug 2014 at CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad between 03:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Like all Mobile Monday sessions, the event is open for all and registration is free at the Mobile Monday website.
The influence of technology is rising in all spheres of business and commerce including the entertainment industry. Through use of Big Data Analytics, Social Media and Mobility, Mr. Siddhesh and his team have created a huge impact in the success of big banner productions including King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Chennai Express’. They were also the brain behind Mr. Perfectionist Amir Khan’s much talked television debut series ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Their most recent project is on the verge of release and is already creating huge impact across the nation – the highly awaited action sequel of the famous director-action superstar Jodi where the lead character plays the role of a lion hearted brave police officer.
Mr. Siddhesh graduated from IIT Mumbai in 1998 and joined Persistent Systems Ltd in Pune and went on to become the President & CEO of eMee – a digital and new technologies arm of Persistent Systems. eMee helps Bollywood and Hollywood production houses with their Social Engagement Analytics, which includes Consulting for End to End Social Media Strategy, measurement and monitoring of social media trends along with User behavior tracking and analysis.
Mobile Monday is an open community platform of mobile industry visionaries, developers and influential individuals fostering brand neutral cooperation and cross-border P2P business opportunities through live networking events to demo products, share ideas and discuss trends from both local and global markets. Mobile Monday Ahmedabad exposes local developers and companies with their global counterparts and discusses new trends, innovation, business strategies and results within the mobile area.
