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Swades: We, the People, a review by dfmorgan

Swades: We, the People

Year: 2004
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kishori Ballal, Gayatri Joshi
Overview: Set in modern day India, Swades (Our Country) is a film that tackles the issues that development throws up on a grass root level. A country that is grappling with problems that development throws up, the India of Swades is colorful, heterogeneous and complex, with people of diverse cultures and attitudes. It is to this environment that Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan), a bright young scientist working as a project manager in NASA, returns to on a quest to find his childhood nanny. In his attempts to persuade Kaveriamma (Kishori Ballal), the symbol to him of motherhood and family, to return to America with him, he gets drawn into the life of a village called Charanpur and finds himself searching for answers to the questions of progress and development that the village is facing. His curiosity is piqued by Gita (Gayatri Joshi - film debut), an admirable young woman teaching in the village primary school, who chooses to live here despite problems like casteism, prejudice and a lack of basic amenities.

The film uses the contrast between the highly developed world of NASA, which has been at the forefront of advances in space research, and this world back home in India, which is at the crossroads of development. What was a simple mission, prompted by nostalgia and affection, turns into a journey into the heartland of rural India, both literally and metaphorically. His quest becomes the journey that every one of us goes through in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called "home".

Watched: 17th. Oct 2010
My Thoughts: An excellent film. At its heart a love story with no real surprises but there is more with Mohan (Shah Rukh Khan) discovering himself along the way. Following his arrival at the village, where his nanny Kaveriamma (Kishori Ballal) now lives with Gita (Gayatri Joshi), Mohan finds himself attracted to Gita and also gets involved in the village way of life and the way that things are run there. This all leads up to an event where Kaveriamma gives him a task to complete and whilst on this task Mohan has an insight into the inherent problems of local village life. After this Mohan is attending a festival where the village council question him and he in turn questions them and he decides that action is needed to show his commitment. This is not the end though there are still a couple of further trials and tribulations.

I did enjoy this very much even though the picture quality was very grainy at times, this I put down to the original material as the poor quality generally appeared on interior shots where maybe the director was limited on film stock or equipment to achieve his aims.

My Rating: An enjoyable 4

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on October 17th, 2010)

Doctor Sleep, a review by addicted2dvd

Doctor Sleep (2019/United States) Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Mike Flanagan Writing: Mike Flanagan (Screenwriter), Stephen King (1947) (Original Material By) Length: 152 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Atmos: 3D, English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Russian: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

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Stars:
Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance
Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat
Kyliegh Curran as Abra Stone
Cliff Curtis as Billy Freeman
Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Featurettes
• Digital Copy
• Director's Cut on Blu-ray

Oh wow! I loved this. A fantastic follow-up to The Shining! These films will definitely be a double feature I watch again in the future. The entire cast was great but I must say for me Kyliegh Curran stole the show in the part of Abra and Ewan McGregor was great as an adult Danny. I can't recommend this one higher. And if you really want a treat watch it right after The Shining for an awesome double feature!


(From Doctor Sleep on March 20th, 2023)

"Due South" marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

As I said in the other thread I got my set today. And well... I just couldn't help myself. I had to give the show a try. So I watched the pilot movie.

Due South: Pilot Movie
Robert Fraser is killed in a 'hunting accident' in the Northwest Territories, his son Benton investigates, which ends up leading him to Chicago, where he pairs up with a smart-aleck cop named Ray to find his father's killer.

My Thoughts:
OK... I must say... so far I like what I see. I really like the characters. This story did a really good job introducing everyone.... giving enough time to all the characters to give you a good feeling who they are. It did a good job showing someone that was truly out of place and the differences in the way he works compared to what they are used to. While watching this episode my mind kept flashing to the Dukes of Hazzard spin-off series called Enos... which was also about an out of place officer of the law (in that case a country cop) in the big city. I must say I am looking forward to watching more of this show. Though I must admit that I don't know how well the ghost of his father will fit into this series... such a supernatural twist to the show seems so out of place going by what I seen so far.

My Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on June 9th, 2009)