90s London and the End of the World (Naked reviewed)

{FILM DIARY}
Naked (UK, 1993)
Seen: Saturday, 11th April 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 131′
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Ewen Bremner, Susan Vidler, Gina McKee
Production House: Thin Man Films, British Screen Productions, Channel Four Films
Plot: Johnny flees Manchester for London to avoid a beating. Once in London, he [...]

Osama - the most internationally successful Afghan film ever

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Osama (Afghanistan/Netherlands/Japan/Ireland/Iran, 2003)
Seen: Saturday, 11th April 2009 (DVD)
Runtime: 83′
Director: Siddiq Barmak
Cast: Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar
Production House: Barmak Film, Makhmalbaf Productions, Hubert Bals Fund, LeBrocquy Fraser Productions, NHK
Plot: During the Taleban regime in Afghanistan, a widow decides to dress her daughter up as a boy, so that at least one family member can [...]

Fire - India’s classic lesbian film

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Fire (India/Canada, 1996)
Seen: Saturday, 11th April 2009 (DVD)
Runtime: 108′
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: Javed Jaffrey, Nandita Das, Kushal Rekhi, Shabana Azmi, Ranjit Chowdhry, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Alice Poon
Production House: Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Trial by Fire Films Inc.
Plot: Sita marries into a traditional Jain Indian family. She becomes disillusioned with her new life - it is not [...]

The platonic loves of 12 year old gay boys (Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros reviewed)

{FILM DIARY}
Ang pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (Philippines, 2005)
Seen: Saturday, 11th April 2009 (DVD, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 100′
Director: Auraeus Solito
Cast: Nathan Lopez, J.R. Valentin, Soliman Cruz, Neil Ryan Sese, Ping Medina, Bodjie Pascua
Production House: Cinemalaya Foundation, UFO Pictures
Plot: (from imdb)
A 12-year-old gay who comes from a criminal family falls in love with a handsome policeman.
Trailer

Impressions In Short
This [...]

Of Big Dreams and Creative Crimes (Man on Wire reviewed)

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Man on Wire (UK/USA, 2008)
Seen: Wednesday, 8th April 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 94′
Director: James Marsh
Production House: Discovery Films, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Red Box Films, UK Film Council, Wall to Wall
Plot: This is a documentary about Philippe Petit and the team behind him. Petit is a French tight rope walker, who has performed in some very [...]

Brideshead Revisited aka the joys of subtext in British costume dramas

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Brideshead Revisited (UK, 2008)
Seen: Monday, 6th April 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 133′
Director: Julian Jarrold
Cast: Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Patrick Malahide, Ben Whishaw, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon
Production House: 2 Entertain, BBC Films, Ecosse Films, HanWay Films, Screen Yorkshire, UK Film Council
Plot: England in the early 20th century. The story of Charles Ryder, a wannabe painter from a [...]

Po-Lin aka the Poland that doesn’t exist anymore

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Po-lin. Okruchy pamieci (Germany/Poland, 2008)
Seen: Wednesday, 1st April 2009 (cinema)
Runtime: 82′
Director: Jolanta Dylewska
Narrator: Piotr Fronczewski
Production House: A Jour Film, Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Angelegenheiten der Kultur und der Medien (BKM), Bomedia, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, PISF
Plot: A documentary about Poland’s Jewish community in the 1930s.
Trailer

Impressions In Short
The informative value of this film is huge and I [...]

Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and their chemistry (Dhoom review)

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Dhoom (India, 2004)
Seen: Monday, 30th March 2009 (DVD)
Runtime: 129′
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, John Abraham, Esha Deol
Production House: Yash Raj Films
Plot: A gang of bikers is on a large scale robbing spree and a policeman is trying to crack their case.
Trailer

Impressions In Short
I like Abhishek and John together *grin* But the film [...]

The difference between Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi reviewed

{FILM DIARY}
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (India, 2008)
Seen: Sunday, 29th March 2009 (cinema, special screening)
Runtime: 167′
Director: Aditya Chopra
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Vinay Pathak, Anushka Sharma, Bipasha Basu (cameo), Lara Dutta (cameo), Kajol (cameo), Rani Mukherjee (cameo), Preity Zinta (cameo)
Production House: Yash Raj Films
Plot: Surinder, a shy boring middle class kind of guy is trying to make [...]

Taare Zameen Par reviewed aka dyslexia as a central theme in a film

{FILM DIARY}
Taare Zameen Par (India, 2007)
Seen: Saturday, 28th March 2009 (cinema, special screening)
Runtime: 165′
Director: Aamir Khan
Cast: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tanay Chheda
Production House: Aamir Khan Productions, PVR Pictures
Plot: The story of Ishaan Awasthi, a little boy who struggles with school because of dyslexia.
Scene From The Film
This is a sort of song number from the film [...]