A Cinephile’s Choice

It`s hard to number the following in any particular order.

- The American President
- Heat
- Frida
- Casino (minus the excessive bad language)
- Under Suspicion
- Simone (loved the drama and Al Paccino`s acting)
- Mrs Doubtfire
- Amistad
- Bicentennial Man (Touching!)
- A Beautiful Mind
- Moll Flanders
- Mulan
- Along Came Polly
- The Seige
- Shakespeare in Love
- Beauty and the Beast
- Ryan`s Daughter
- The Interpreter

Asif:

I liked the drift of this write-up. It motivates the reader to participate with his or her likes and dislikes in the world of cinema vs. critique an article and/or kill each other. There are plenty of articles to be analyzed, reviewed, criticized and buried. At least, over here interactors can take some break and rejuvenate themselves provided they want to.
Smart Sufiana Move!!!

Indian: I really enjoyed the following at the time I watched them.

- Lagaa`n (Theme and Plot)
- Lamhae` (Story)
- Taa`l (Music)
- Earth (Conflict)

re:#15 by kaurasach
Everybody has his/her definition of a good movie. For me, it is something that touches u from inside.
One can make a perfectly good movie without nudity. Among some newer ones i liked A few good men (Tom Cruise) and scent of a woman (Al Pacino was fabulous). None had nudity though there was some vulgar language in the latter.
Sridhar

re:#18 by Aha_Snark
(Um. Actually, she`s been here for a long time. Long before I saw you start to post, at any rate)
You are not a smart dude, are u?
If u were smart, u would click on the names. That will tell u how long each of us has been on Chowk. Actually me and Farzana bibi have been here since 2000. Long time, eh?
Sridhar

Re: # 27 Gandhi is insufferable as a movie.

is it the same Asif who frequents UP with scars left by the mulla?

then, I guess this kafir misdeeds like watching movies are his way of putting balm on the wounds inflicted by the mulla during ``lessons `` at the madrasa.

The fundoo twit, Asif N, seems to be civilizing himself or maybe someone didnt
tell him that human-representations even on the screen is unislamic.

That too watching kafir movies ? dude you will never get your reward and never
make it to heaven.

Anyway, if you are considering civilizing yourself - first watch
shatranj ke khiladi

then of course, watch one of the greatest of all movies - Gandhi.

these lists are incomplete without `Napoleon Dynamite`

``Swimming Pool`` is French I think, and was a surprising ``hit``.

These European movies are weird. They all have perverted sexual escapades, and then either they commit suicide, murder each other, or die in an accident.

The men and women in these movies look the same....women just have bigger nipples.

Re: # 23
Among french films, I never tire of watching Marcel Pagnol`s Baker`s Wife in b&w (La femme du boulanger), Manon of the Spring (Manon des sources) and it`s ``prequel``, Jean de Florette. The last two constitute the typical good versus evil story line but they are very engaging and the cinematography is excellent. Carrying on the theme of life in picturesque rural france, Juliette Binoche`s Chocolat is also very good.
For interesting portrayal of how zealots plot, take over power and drive religious strife (and scenes involving attractive human nudity), Queen Margot is noteworthy.

I don`t know about The Best Movie or even a list of Best Movies, but I enjoy watching some movies over and over again either because it comforts me to watch them or I see something new in them. I`d put in the later category Gladiator which reminds me more of a hindu epic. I also liked Bourne Identity for the car chase scenes.
The Apu triolgy has a timeless, spaceless quality to it although the extreme poverty depicted in it may be throughly alien to most of the readers here (not to me btw).
My Fair Lady is a lot of fun but I absolutely, positively hate The Sound of Music which my daughter uses against me when she is practicing on the piano.
Naseruddin Shah brought tears to my eyes in Monsoon Wedding. What an amazing actor!
I find the song-and-dance sequence of indian movies repulsive and yet strangely attractive, sort of like sodomy. (I don`t watch and I don`t do.)
Asif, you might like The Lover with Jane March. It`s very erotic, has a great story, and excellent photography.

Re: # 21
Romair
In Hollywood Brits and jews dominate, brits mostly in acting and jews as producers.
Ewan Macgregor (star wars), little known actor in Britain yet made it big in Hollywood.
Sean bean (the island), he used to live near me, his sister was married to a Pakistani guy.

Two best movies of all-time:

1. Bill and Ted`s Excellent Adventure
2. Austin Powers

Both had Canadians in the lead role...............

Re: # 18

Please see my reply to Ferzana. I might edit this essay and include some anectdotes/reasons and resubmit it. Let me see...

:-)

Re: # 2

FV, I was going to do that but I decided against it in the end. Maybe I will pick 10 films and write an in depth article about it then. We will see.

Re: # 11
By: rsridhar:
///It is exactly because people like FV come to Chowk that chowk has become a crappy place.///

Um. Actually, she`s been here for a long time. Long before I saw you start to post, at any rate.

///Why does she not say what her best movies were and let us decide how the list fits the personna. ///

Actually, she is not criticizing the choice of the movies, nor is this a competition of movies. Her disappointment stems from the fact that ``As a `cinephile` you must have an opinion or even interesting anecdotes, and that ought to have been reflected in the piece. Why did these films give you pleasure, what made you watch them over and over again?`` (quoting from her piece)

Anyone who`s watched at least 50 movies will have a list of ``top 50 movies``. If you call yourself a cinephile, a ``lover of cinema``, then it`d be interesting, I agree (and many in this extremely busy board have made the same point) if Asif had spoken even briefly about these movies.

Asif?