Saturday 28 December 2013

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D

So my good friend and soon to be collaborator Srinath Bharadwaj posted his views on Walking With Dinosaurs a little over 12 hours back and I threw back my head to say, “He’s a new kid.  He is obviously over excited about a Dinosaur movie.  It will be yet another dinosaur tale with all sorts of corny puns that leave you a tad exasperated but with good effects”.  In fact I had already written my summary line on that thought.

Friday 27 December 2013

Kalyana Samayal Saadham (Wedding Feast) (Tamil)

If I remember correctly, the last Tamil movie I reviewed was also coincidentally the first movie on this blog.  It was called Ravanan (Ravan in Hindi starring AB Jr.).  It was one that I enjoyed quite a bit.  Sadly, it took an alignment of my schedules to accommodate another movie to watch my 2nd Tamil movie in over 3 years – on the big screen that is.  Mental note made – should watch more Tamil movies in 2014.

Mahabharat (Animation) (2013) (Hindi)

The trailer starts with the predictable, “Yada Yada hi Dharmasya….” (for translation, visit - http://www.asitis.com/4/7.html).  That and the really bad quality of animation visible on the trailers prepared me for pretty much the worst.  The fact ironically remains that India will be the largest exporter of animation in the world (citation needed) but will not spend money in making a quality animation movie.

Thursday 26 December 2013

Oldboy (2013) (English)

Oldboy started in 1996 as a Manga written by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi.  There were 8 volumes released over 2 years.  South Korean filmmaker Park Chan Wook made this into a trilogy that I am desperate to get my hands on - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) – Themes of Revenge, Violence and Salvation respectively.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Several factors have contributed to this extremely later review of The Hobbit – The Desolation of Smaug.  Firstly, I saw the movie on a Sunday (15th December 2013) as against the Thursday (12th December 2013) preview that was organized @ PVR Juhu – Now that was on principle because it is nothing less than rank insulting to watch The Hobbit at any other screen but for an IMAX one.

Friday 20 December 2013

Dhoom 3

I left home this morning around 8:35 am for an 8:30 am show - you see PVR Cinemas usually plays upto 17 minutes of advertisements into the show time. So an 8:30 show will usually start @ 8:47. And if it is a Yash Raj film (or any big banner one for that matter), it would not have started before 8:55. But more importantly, I had Blackie and Whitey (the dogs in my building) looking @ me eagerly, as if to say, "what's the point of you going for a Dhoom movie. Spend time with us. It may be more exciting".

Saturday 7 December 2013

Club 60

What is this fascination that Bollywood has suddenly got into with farting? And why would you make a man who is playing a 60+ year old fart ad nauseum ad inifinitum? And then, you make him wave his tennis racquet behind himself in an attempt to “clear the air”.  That is followed by a sheepish grin and an apologetic smile to his tennis partner.  That apology should instead be directed to the audience who has had enough of people farting on screen!!!!

Friday 6 December 2013

R... Rajkumar

I have always been a fan of Prabhu Dheva's work primarily because he is committed to the genre of masala movies. Committed to the extent that he has chosen to do high quality work in this field. I was amongst the few who really liked the way Rowdy Rathod was executed. The attention to detail, the consistency of script, keeping it larger than life and yet very grounded, usage of right doses of good quality humour - all hallmarks of a good PD movie.

Hunger Games : Catching Fire

Apparently Gary Ross (Director of Hunger Games) turned down the opportunity of directing the sequels.  After approaching 8 more directors including the likes of Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) and Joe Cornish (Star Trek 3), the opportunity landed on Francis Lawrence’s table who has then proceeded to give us a rendition that tempts me to ask him to remake Hunger Games 1.

Thursday 5 December 2013

Delivery Man

So it has finally happened!!!! Hollywood has released a movie after a Bollywood movie with the same story.  And that’s what most people will be thinking of after watching Delivery Man or even reading the reviews.  To them, I would like to say that we should not get too far ahead of ourselves before investigating all the facts.  A good piece of advise that a wise man had given a long time back I am sure.