Kumaré

There are a lot of interesting documentaries out there. If you ever are bored and looking for something to watch, go to the documentaries section of Netflix Instant watch. I have done that twice now, and both times were great documentaries. The first was for "The Imposter", and this time around I was fortunate enough to pick "Kumaré".

"Kumaré" is a study in religion and faith, but it does not attack religion or faith. Vikram Gandhi was brought up in a strong Hindu household. When he grew older, he began to have doubts of his families beliefs. So he set out on a journey to find where it comes from. Along the way, he meets several fake Gurus with huge followings and decided to make a documentary about how easy it is to fall for a hack.

At first, he starts out just seeing what he can get away with. And he finds he can get away with a lot, including drawing a phallic symbol onto someones head as well as having him meditate to pictures of Obama, Osama bin Laden and the picture of the character he created, Kumaré.

Eventually, he learns to love these people and he finds what caused them to turn to eastern Gurus and decides to try to help them realize what he already know. That they do not need a Guru, they just need themselves.

This is a great documentary with a great message and does a great job of not bashing any personal reliefs. Rather it shows the viewer that you do not need to define yourself by your religion and your beliefs, but that you can be whoever you want to be.

If you don't have anything to do right now, go watch it. It's worth it.

My Grade: B+

Shootout at Wadala

Has anyone else ever gotten the itch to see a ridiculous Bollywood action movie, or is it just me?

Starring the George Clooney of India (Seriously, take a good look at him... the one running with his shirt off) and directed by Sanjay Gupta (the Steven Spielberg of India... or perhaps the Michael Bay. I can't tell), "Shooting at Wadala" tells the true story of Manya Surve, an infamous Indian gangster. Wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit, Manya Surve became what the Bombay Police accused him of being in the first place.

Now, when I went to see this, I totally thought musical numbers in Bollywood movies were just a stereotype. Nope. They're real. Even in a movie as intense and serious as this movie was supposed to be. This is the equivalent of Daniel Day-Lewis breaking into a song and dance in the middle of "Lincoln". I just don't think it would have worked.

I'm gonna shoot you in the face... but first... WE DANCE!

This movie was exactly what I thought it would be. A ridiculous action movie. As much as I laughed at the musical numbers (more than 1), I could have done without them. And the movie could have been 30 minutes shorter. But overall I enjoyed it.

My Grade: B-