Minia's Mundane Musings

Bulbbul First and foremost let me tell you this one isn't scary at all. It's supernatural, but not at all scary.  And if I am saying so, you better believe it! Coz I am a fattu of the first order and scary movies aren't my jam at all. Now please excuse me, whilst I launch into a rave fest! First time director, Anvita Dutt, I doff my hat to you! And Tripti Dimri is amazeballs! It is a story of a woman taking revenge and she does this so clinically that it's a pleasure to watch.  I am scouring my brain now to describe to you her performance and all I can say is that you can't miss this one. I am going to look for her first movie too. She is very very good, and her transformation into the lady of the manor is absolutely flawless. She plays the confused young girl so well that to watch her as the self-possessed thakurain is the highlight of this movie for me. Her pain touches you to the core and one just can't get over how real it seems. Her main scene is of course ...

If one believes in a parallel universe, life is fucking easy. Koi darr nahi hota, koi galti ho bhi gayi, Toh kisi aur universe ki kisi aur life mai sahi kar lenge. Is story mai agar Laila Majnu hain, aur judaii ka namak chakh na hi hamari kismat hai,  Toh kisi aur story mai toh pucca hum Prithviraj Samyukta ban jaate! Shayad jo hum sapne dekhte hain, wohi hamari parallel life hai. Is liye toh wohi itni zyade achhi lagti hai. Ek hi zindagi hai aisa soch kar hum hi depress ho jaate hain. Aisa sochein ki kahin aur kisi aur solar system mai humein hamara mukkamal jahan mil gaya hai. Mere parallel universe mai jhanko zara, Wahan koi rok tok nahi hai, Na pyaar jatane mai, Na ruthne manane mai, Na haq jatane mai, Koi tanhai nahi hai aansoo mai bheegi hui, Koi guilt nahi dil ki baat kehne mai. Tum meri jaan, mere kis universe mai ho? Is wale mai? Ya parallel wale mai? Socha toh samajh aayi ki do hi shabd hain mujh pe laagu - DISPOSABLE aur DISPENSABLE. Hai! In gajab labels ko rehne do yahi...

Gulabo Sitabon I waited so long for this one and it doesn't disappoint at all. Be very clear that this movie has 3 protagonists. Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurana and the Haveli. The screenplay has so much good spilling out of it. It is so nuanced, that it thrilled me. The covert humor, the laughs when you least expect them.. trademarks of a Juhi Chaturvedi writing. Consider the opening shot where the avaricious landlord removes bulbs from their holders to save electricity and sell them. Just a few seconds and you immediately know that you are looking at a miser and it's so funny. Amitabh Bachchan has been morphed into this hunched over sorry little old man. He IS Mirza. It is a complete credit to the skill of this stalwart that at no point do you feel you are watching a man with a heap of prosthesis on. Each time you see him, you see only the man doing something more abhorrent than before. He is the Grinch and Scrooge rolled into one. I mean come on, he actually makes...

This is the VIP-Bodyguard genre. It has the stalwarts – Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich. Although to be fair given that this movie was made in 1995, John Malkovich was still starting out and Clint Eastwood was trying out new genres, having given up the American Westerns. For me the best one in this genre will always be the Michael Douglas starrer – The Sentinel, followed by The Jackal and then probably this one. The problem with this one is half-baked relationships and the lack of empathy that Clint’s character has. Also it behaves more like a police procedural rather than giving us the thrills that a chase should. Clint Eastwood goes halfway between being Bridges of Madison County and Dirty Harry and thus the resultant Clint is a mongrel with the heart of a tramp and the looks of a lady. His wife leaves him, no issues, he is ok, the president dies on his watch and the best he can do is a sneer, his partner dies saving him and his eyes aren't even wet, and then are his...

Casino (1995) I caught this on NetFlix, because it was highly recommended by a fellow movie buff, and thanks for the recommendation. Vikas Dev Chaudhary It was certainly a movie I liked. What's not to like? Martin Scorsese and Robert de Niro, a deadly combination. But let me issue a disclaimer here, I was quite swept away with the utter beauty of Robert de Niro, he was in his early 50's at the time this movie was shot, and he is utterly gorgeous! A man dressed in yellow and red and turquoise and still looking as buff as the day is long! Utterly yummy! So the disclaimer actually is there were points in the movie when I was just watching him and not paying attention to the plot at all. I didn't care why his wife disliked him, all I was thinking was, " You stupid Cow! How can you even think of someone else with this guy in your life?" 🤣 🤣 😂 But that aside, this movie is an ode by the director to the actor. And though they both do ju...