MY SHOT AS AN AMATEUR CRITIC AT IMDB

MY TOP 3 NON-HOLLYWOOD & NON-BOLLYWOOD MOVIES OF THIS DECADE

1. CITY OF GOD (CIDADE DE DEUS) (BRAZILIAN) (2002)

A Piece of Cinematic Brilliance!!

Cidade de Deus (City of God) based on the ghettos of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is a GEM of Brazilian cinema. It is right at the top of my top 10 movies list. It is very much comparable to other very acclaimed Gangster movies like "The Godfather", "Goodfellas" and "Pulp Fiction".

The cinematography is excellent and the flashback sequences are mind blowing. I'm an instant fan of REAL cinema and 'City of God' just stands out against others in terms of the depiction of reality in purest form. Its really mind numbing & troubling to see the extent to which bribery, corruption & disorder prevailed in 1970s in Brazil.

The movie is a must watch for those who love REAL cinema. Those who liked "Blood Diamond" or "Lord of War" are definitely gonna love this movie. My verdict: 10/10.  

2. MAGNIFICO (FILIPINO) (2003)

 A Filipino classic that will definitely make you cry!!

The magnificence of "Magnifico" is just undeniable. After watching it, everything else I watched seemed so bland. This was the first Filipino movie I came across, and it instantly struck a chord. The movie was a welcome change after I had viewed scores of Hollywood flicks.

"Magnifico" is the best example of how a movie can work just based on fine & natural performances. The child artist is brilliant as an actor and so is the rest of the cast. It's hard for me to believe that just 260 something viewers at IMDb have voted for it (probably only a small number has seen it).

It's probably one of the finest movies in recent years. Highly recommended, a must watch: 10/10.


3. THE CLASSIC (KEULRAESIK) (KOREAN) (2003)

 It does more than justice to its name..Truly a CLASSIC!!

MOVIE MAKING DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER. "The Classic" is undoubtedly the most beautiful romantic movie I've ever seen. Such movies are made once in a decade. It has all the ingredients to be termed a Classic- the storyline, the screenplay, the evergreen music, the brilliant acting and what not!!

It turned out to be some sort of a turning point of my life. I was already very much impressed by "My Sassy Girl" & other Korean movies but this gem of Korean cinema by the same director as that of "My Sassy Girl" just made me a die-hard fan of Korean cinema forever.

Although I've seen lots of romantic movies- but I found most of them clichéd and not so appealing. But "The Classic" is a honest & simple movie with unmatched performances by the lead actors esp. by "Son Ye Jin". The parallelism with the 1960's love story exhibited by the director is top-notch.

This is straight at the top of my best romantic movies list along with "Titanic". A Must watch- 10/10.