My first memory of Patrick Dempsey was when he was all of 25 years young in a movie called Run (remember that movie starring Sanjay Dutt & Urmila titled Daud? Now you know that even the name was ripped off). That was over 20 years back. But most of you would know him as McDreamy a.k.a. Dr.Sheperd from Grey’s Anatomy. Well, for those who fall in the latter category, let me assure you that Dempsey’s repertoire extends far beyond the walls of Seattle Grace Hospital.
Made of Honor (MoH) is one of Dempsey’s more recent movies. He plays the role of the Casanova – Tom, who is best friends with Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Yep. They have never heard of that Salman Khan one liner – Ek Jawan Ladka aur Ek Jawan Ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte (A young man and a young girl can never be “just friends”).
Or hasn’t he? Over a casual conversation with his friends, Tom realizes that the years that he has spent with Hannah, since their college days, are actually a good enough indication that he should consider moving from being just friends to much more. All of this, when Hannah is in Scotland for some personal work for over a month.
Tom lands up @ the airport specifically with the intent of telling that it is time to move to the next level. But instead, he is introduced to Colin (Kevin McKidd) – a Scottish Lord, an owner of a distillery and a lot of land in Scotland, with a line of royalty of sorts in the family and most importantly, Hannah’s fiancé. The wedding is in 15 days. And guess who is going to be the MoH and therefore best placed to break up a wedding?
Paul Weiland has been a Television director for most of his life and his claim to fame can be only some parts of the Mr. Bean series. So, I guess it was expected to have a TV like feel and nothing spectacular in terms of direction. With that expectation you would not fall short. In fact with that expectation, MoH is a very reasonable movie. Average on most counts and feel good at the end of it all.
The movie does have some interesting points (cannot call them high points). Patrick Dempsey juggling China, Kevin McKidd dunking in a basketball game, and of course the Scottish strongman tradition (amongst several others) where Tom fails miserably to say the least. But the best has to be Grandma Pearl and her pleasure beads. And of course – riding a horse into the altar as part of the climax. 6 on 10 for all of these.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3081896217/
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Friday, 28 December 2012
Jack Reacher
A nanny – Chrissy – who stayed back for a week more because one of the most important person in the world – the six year old she takes care of – wanted her to stay back for her seventh birthday.
A middle aged cleaner at a hyper market –Vida – who is struggling to make ends meet but wants her son to watch a basketball game as a birthday present and was on her way to the stadium to buy tickets.
A stoic owner of a construction company – Oline – who hates her business but takes over the reins of a dying enterprise when her husband kicks the bucket – deep in debt.
A husband – Darren – who leaves home in the morning after a fight with his wife but apparently wanted to make it up to her and bought flowers on the way to work (funnily).
A woman – Nancy – who is about to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary and has just picked up an expensive watch as a present for her husband and is walking down the pier without any care in the world.
What is common to all of the above? James Barr. A twenty something Iraq return sniper. Who has probably lost his bonkers and one fine morning decides to drive down to a desolate building facing the pier, pay for his parking and take all 5 of them out over a couple of minutes tops.
In the bargain, he leaves enough evidence at the scene of the crime that points towards him. And in a matter of 16 hours gets caught by the cops. When asked to confess, he simply writes on a piece of paper – CALL JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise).
Based on a book titled – One Shot – by Lee Child, Jack Reacher is the story of the protagonist of the same name who is an army investigator. He sees something amiss where everyone else sees an open and shut case. He doesn’t care much for the law but only about what is right and wrong. And goes to great lengths to protect the right. Much like a super hero but only human.
Written for the screen by Christopher McQuarrie (Known more for writing – Usual Suspects / Valkyrie), JR is definitely not McQuarrie’s best to date. He builds up the suspense extremely well for certain and leaves you waiting for the story to move to the next angle. The first few minutes have no dialogues and yet a lot spoken – very well done. But somehow, it doesn’t come upto the level of excitement that a Valkyrie or Usual Suspects generates.
A tough act to follow for certain but it could have been – with some right casting. Rosamund Pike seems over anxious to prove a point and looks very unconvincing throughout the movie. Tom Cruise is surprisingly composed but average – which is the best he can get to. And the support cast doesn’t contribute too much either.
In short, well written, reasonably directed, good story line but falls short primarily due to performances. Despite that, definitely worth a watch. 7 on 10. Make it a part of your weekend.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1158194201/
A middle aged cleaner at a hyper market –Vida – who is struggling to make ends meet but wants her son to watch a basketball game as a birthday present and was on her way to the stadium to buy tickets.
A stoic owner of a construction company – Oline – who hates her business but takes over the reins of a dying enterprise when her husband kicks the bucket – deep in debt.
A husband – Darren – who leaves home in the morning after a fight with his wife but apparently wanted to make it up to her and bought flowers on the way to work (funnily).
A woman – Nancy – who is about to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary and has just picked up an expensive watch as a present for her husband and is walking down the pier without any care in the world.
What is common to all of the above? James Barr. A twenty something Iraq return sniper. Who has probably lost his bonkers and one fine morning decides to drive down to a desolate building facing the pier, pay for his parking and take all 5 of them out over a couple of minutes tops.
In the bargain, he leaves enough evidence at the scene of the crime that points towards him. And in a matter of 16 hours gets caught by the cops. When asked to confess, he simply writes on a piece of paper – CALL JACK REACHER (Tom Cruise).
Based on a book titled – One Shot – by Lee Child, Jack Reacher is the story of the protagonist of the same name who is an army investigator. He sees something amiss where everyone else sees an open and shut case. He doesn’t care much for the law but only about what is right and wrong. And goes to great lengths to protect the right. Much like a super hero but only human.
Written for the screen by Christopher McQuarrie (Known more for writing – Usual Suspects / Valkyrie), JR is definitely not McQuarrie’s best to date. He builds up the suspense extremely well for certain and leaves you waiting for the story to move to the next angle. The first few minutes have no dialogues and yet a lot spoken – very well done. But somehow, it doesn’t come upto the level of excitement that a Valkyrie or Usual Suspects generates.
A tough act to follow for certain but it could have been – with some right casting. Rosamund Pike seems over anxious to prove a point and looks very unconvincing throughout the movie. Tom Cruise is surprisingly composed but average – which is the best he can get to. And the support cast doesn’t contribute too much either.
In short, well written, reasonably directed, good story line but falls short primarily due to performances. Despite that, definitely worth a watch. 7 on 10. Make it a part of your weekend.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1158194201/
Wednesday, 26 December 2012
American History X
How many times have we seen or heard of a point of view that seemed absolutely ridiculous and immediately taken a stance against it. And at all points of time, there is a simple piece of learning that we had all through school – there are always 2 sides to the story. Simple but yet too difficult to digest.
Especially when you are faced with the prospect of going head on against a neo-Nazi, shaven head, hot blooded young man who believes that ethnic races have all but invaded the US of A and are responsible for ALL the problems that the country is facing today. All of this is fuelled by the fact that he lost his father – a fire fighter – at age eighteen leaving him with the responsibility of handling a slightly warped family.
Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) picks up the cause for the white man at a very early age. He is extremely influenced by Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach) who is a smart operator who doesn’t have age on his side but surely has the strength of experience and capability to manipulate young white blood.
After his father is killed, Derek joins the movement with a vengeance and ensures that all ethnic communities are put through as much suffering as possible. So ransacking a supermarket that has been taken over by a Korean is just part of a day’s work for Derek. He is the uncrowned king in a manner of speaking.
All going reasonably well till a few African American goons decide to steal from him. Derek kills them and in the bargain gets 3 years in prison. Along the way, his brother Danny (Edward Furlong) also joins the white supremacists. But when Derek gets out of jail, he seems to be a completely changed man and no one is able to figure out why.
I speak a lot about intensity in my blogs and Tony Kaye gets that aspect bang on. He has used Edward Norton to the hilt. I have always believed that Ed Norton is a superb actor. Especially in roles that are dark or grey. There is a sinister tinge in him that makes your blood crawl in a weird way (Primal Fear). And he has given the character of Danny the harsh intensity that makes you hate him from the first shot itself.
It is not for some random reason that American History X is one of the top 500 movies on imdb. I only wonder why Tony Kaye never got around to making a better movie. Some brilliant work in AHX. Aspects like using black and white over colour in flashbacks just gives the movie just that additional seriousness it needs. All of it with a clear message at the end of it all. Not too many movies can claim that. 8 on 10. Must Watch it you haven’t.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV0VEstvjMM
Especially when you are faced with the prospect of going head on against a neo-Nazi, shaven head, hot blooded young man who believes that ethnic races have all but invaded the US of A and are responsible for ALL the problems that the country is facing today. All of this is fuelled by the fact that he lost his father – a fire fighter – at age eighteen leaving him with the responsibility of handling a slightly warped family.
Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) picks up the cause for the white man at a very early age. He is extremely influenced by Cameron Alexander (Stacy Keach) who is a smart operator who doesn’t have age on his side but surely has the strength of experience and capability to manipulate young white blood.
After his father is killed, Derek joins the movement with a vengeance and ensures that all ethnic communities are put through as much suffering as possible. So ransacking a supermarket that has been taken over by a Korean is just part of a day’s work for Derek. He is the uncrowned king in a manner of speaking.
All going reasonably well till a few African American goons decide to steal from him. Derek kills them and in the bargain gets 3 years in prison. Along the way, his brother Danny (Edward Furlong) also joins the white supremacists. But when Derek gets out of jail, he seems to be a completely changed man and no one is able to figure out why.
I speak a lot about intensity in my blogs and Tony Kaye gets that aspect bang on. He has used Edward Norton to the hilt. I have always believed that Ed Norton is a superb actor. Especially in roles that are dark or grey. There is a sinister tinge in him that makes your blood crawl in a weird way (Primal Fear). And he has given the character of Danny the harsh intensity that makes you hate him from the first shot itself.
It is not for some random reason that American History X is one of the top 500 movies on imdb. I only wonder why Tony Kaye never got around to making a better movie. Some brilliant work in AHX. Aspects like using black and white over colour in flashbacks just gives the movie just that additional seriousness it needs. All of it with a clear message at the end of it all. Not too many movies can claim that. 8 on 10. Must Watch it you haven’t.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV0VEstvjMM
15 Minutes
Director (The Death and Life of Bobby Z)
Cast
Year 2001
Genre Action
15 Minutes deals with a topic that has probably been spoken about over the past decade to death. In my limited knowledge, 15 Minutes could have been the first movie to deal with the topic. What is the extent to which the media can go to generate stories? What is acceptable and what is not? In the race for the highest TRP is it acceptable to take someone’s life?
Detective Eddie Flemming (Robert De Niro) is one of New York’s finest cops. Well at least he is the most popular if not the best there is. Why is that? He ensures that crime scenes are well covered by the news channels. So, the media gets there as quickly as he does. How cool is that? For the media that is. In return, he gets repeatedly featured in the important news segment and a show that is run by the famous Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer).
As Eddie is going about his day to day attention grabbing activities, 2 Eastern Europeans have made their way into New York City to settle some old scores. A Russian by the name of Emil Slovak (Karel Roden) and a Czech guy called Oleg Razgul (Oleg Taktarov). They are bank robbers and have come to NYC to track down an old partner in crime. A bank robbery from back home which left Emil and Oleg serving hard time.
Oleg is also a movie buff and doesn’t take time to steal a camera from a store. And when they find out that there is no money left (how surprising), Emil decides to cut open his old friend and wife. And as if that was not enough, they torch the place down. But Daphne (Vera Farmiga) sees this from the apartment across. Of course Emil and Oleg cannot take any prisoners.
The amazing part about the story as it unfolds is the manner in which Oleg and Emil actually take advantage of the rot that has set in the system to sell the footage of the killings and some more that they get done along the way to Robert Hawkins’ channel for a mere $1 million. Awesome isn’t it? Harsh truth I guess.
15 Minutes is one of the better movies on the topic. It is of course helped with some strong performances led by the man who played The Raging Bull and ably supported by Edward Burns & Kelsey Grammer. Karel Roden makes your blood crawl & cringe. Oleg Taktarov is more amusing than fearsome – exactly like his character should be. There is also a fleeting glance of the amazingly talented Charlize Theron.
In all, 15 Minutes is a decent watch. The performances prop up the movie to a level that it would not have been able to reach otherwise. But there is something missing in John Herzfeld’s direction that I am unable to place a finger on. Therefore, I will go with a 6 on 10. Watchable on DVD.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCa4c8D5THc
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Dabanng 2
Did you know that in a Zeus phone you can play songs and the package includes a camera as well? And did you know that in that phone, you cannot figure out that your own son is calling you to poke fun by pretending to be a woman who is cheating on her husband.
And did you know that the only way to be Dabanng other than being Salman Khan is to buy a Suzuki Hayate? Did you also know that you need to buy insurance to keep the future of your family safe? In fact, you can buy insurance products where you will earn continuously after death as well.
Did you also know that Hajmola is the best cure for an upset stomach? And that you could have more Hajmola to cure an upset stomach because of having too much Hajmola. And lets not forget www.xoom.com. That’s the latest word in money transfer. It gets your money across to your loved ones within 24 hours!!! WOW!!! I mean how cool is that? 24 hours??? Who could have thought of that???
Lastly, did you know that it takes a few weeks for Makkhi Singh (Arbaaz Khan) to figure out it was he who came back from the jungle. Oh come on!!! What am I ranting about? Maybe it is just my frustration and disappointment with all the irrelevant crap that I was put through for over 2 hours!!! Thankfully it was just a little over 2 hours but the 40 mins for ads and fillers also contributed
By now you would have figured out that there is very little to speak about in Dabanng 2. I know sequels are difficult to make and especially if you do not have the same director (Abhinav Singh Kashyap). But in case of Dabanng 2, it didn’t matter much. Arbaaz was as bad. Actually he was probably a bit better also. But that could not compensate for an absolutely stale story.
There was a title song, a street romaans (romance) song, a song in Dubai, a song with cops getting drunk and an item song. All by Sajid Wajid. Al sounded near identical if not actually identical. There were a few fight scenes. Actually lesser that Dabanng. And this time they weren’t even believable. Either ways, I should not have expected too much. Disappointing. It will do well but nowhere close to Dabanng. 3 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nPN1M9zVcI
And did you know that the only way to be Dabanng other than being Salman Khan is to buy a Suzuki Hayate? Did you also know that you need to buy insurance to keep the future of your family safe? In fact, you can buy insurance products where you will earn continuously after death as well.
Did you also know that Hajmola is the best cure for an upset stomach? And that you could have more Hajmola to cure an upset stomach because of having too much Hajmola. And lets not forget www.xoom.com. That’s the latest word in money transfer. It gets your money across to your loved ones within 24 hours!!! WOW!!! I mean how cool is that? 24 hours??? Who could have thought of that???
Lastly, did you know that it takes a few weeks for Makkhi Singh (Arbaaz Khan) to figure out it was he who came back from the jungle. Oh come on!!! What am I ranting about? Maybe it is just my frustration and disappointment with all the irrelevant crap that I was put through for over 2 hours!!! Thankfully it was just a little over 2 hours but the 40 mins for ads and fillers also contributed
By now you would have figured out that there is very little to speak about in Dabanng 2. I know sequels are difficult to make and especially if you do not have the same director (Abhinav Singh Kashyap). But in case of Dabanng 2, it didn’t matter much. Arbaaz was as bad. Actually he was probably a bit better also. But that could not compensate for an absolutely stale story.
There was a title song, a street romaans (romance) song, a song in Dubai, a song with cops getting drunk and an item song. All by Sajid Wajid. Al sounded near identical if not actually identical. There were a few fight scenes. Actually lesser that Dabanng. And this time they weren’t even believable. Either ways, I should not have expected too much. Disappointing. It will do well but nowhere close to Dabanng. 3 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nPN1M9zVcI
Saturday, 15 December 2012
The Last Act
Trust Anurag Kashyap to come up with an idea that can be best described as superb!!! One story that spans 12 cities. So what does Kashyap do? He decides to make the movie with 12 up and coming directors. One for each city. Now how cool is that for an idea?
So at around 3 in the morning… or it could be 2… or was it 4 am? Well, whatever the time was – a bunch of cops on their regular beat route find a dead body of a person who is quite smashed up. In the literal sense of the word. His face is smashed up beyond any recognition. Like someone has actually done a Raman Raghav on him – if you know what I mean.
With little there could have been done – the cops pick up the body and put it in the back side of their van along with some pieces of evidence. Their fear is that the public will start coming in (so I guess it was 4 am) and cannot handle such a gruesome sight.
Full points on that count but how in the blazes can you pick up a body from the middle of the road without any preliminary police work being done on site? And could you have made the body look a bit more realistic!!! This body looked like a large stuffed toy. Nevertheless, putting that basic error (that will eliminate The Last Act from the running for the Oscars) behind us, lets look at what the cops find along with the body.
A pamphlet of an English speaking course from Ghaziabad, A bank pay in slip from Kolkata, A mobile phone with a Delhi number, A pair of spectacles from Kalyan (close to Mumbai), An obituary about a surgeon and a godman, something written in Chinese on a pamphlet of a hotel from Chandigarh, An id card from an organization in Bangalore, A photograph of a weighing bridge in Hisar (Haryana), A watch with a sticker from a Lucknow dealer, A ticket from Bangalore to Chennai & a Coat from a tailor in Gwalior – Phew!!!
The next 2 hours covers how these things are all inter linked in some way to reach the eventual climax – The Last Act.
While there maybe several errors and some silly cost cutting measures, the story and the performances more than make up for it. The ensemble cast is simply superb. The only story I didn’t get was the one in Chandigarh – a bit too esoteric for my taste. The tempo is built up beautifully and while 12 directors leave their own stamp, the end product is seamless. Watch it because it is a different concept and well executed. 7 on 10. Definitely in my top 10 for the year. May squeeze into Top 5.
Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBKbxbNrWU
So at around 3 in the morning… or it could be 2… or was it 4 am? Well, whatever the time was – a bunch of cops on their regular beat route find a dead body of a person who is quite smashed up. In the literal sense of the word. His face is smashed up beyond any recognition. Like someone has actually done a Raman Raghav on him – if you know what I mean.
With little there could have been done – the cops pick up the body and put it in the back side of their van along with some pieces of evidence. Their fear is that the public will start coming in (so I guess it was 4 am) and cannot handle such a gruesome sight.
Full points on that count but how in the blazes can you pick up a body from the middle of the road without any preliminary police work being done on site? And could you have made the body look a bit more realistic!!! This body looked like a large stuffed toy. Nevertheless, putting that basic error (that will eliminate The Last Act from the running for the Oscars) behind us, lets look at what the cops find along with the body.
A pamphlet of an English speaking course from Ghaziabad, A bank pay in slip from Kolkata, A mobile phone with a Delhi number, A pair of spectacles from Kalyan (close to Mumbai), An obituary about a surgeon and a godman, something written in Chinese on a pamphlet of a hotel from Chandigarh, An id card from an organization in Bangalore, A photograph of a weighing bridge in Hisar (Haryana), A watch with a sticker from a Lucknow dealer, A ticket from Bangalore to Chennai & a Coat from a tailor in Gwalior – Phew!!!
The next 2 hours covers how these things are all inter linked in some way to reach the eventual climax – The Last Act.
While there maybe several errors and some silly cost cutting measures, the story and the performances more than make up for it. The ensemble cast is simply superb. The only story I didn’t get was the one in Chandigarh – a bit too esoteric for my taste. The tempo is built up beautifully and while 12 directors leave their own stamp, the end product is seamless. Watch it because it is a different concept and well executed. 7 on 10. Definitely in my top 10 for the year. May squeeze into Top 5.
Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBKbxbNrWU
The Hobbit – An Expected Journey
I wonder what the problem was last morning and surprisingly there is no coverage over the press about the delay in the screening of The Hobbit across Mumbai yesterday. That is the reason this blog has been delayed by nearly 24 hours. What should have gone up last afternoon @ the same time is going up today. Sorry folks. Some problem between the distributor and movie screens I am told. But no idea about the truth. Anyone?
Having said that, my joy knew no bounds when I walked upto the PVR counter in Mulund later last night and was told that the screening has started. Yipee!!! And although I did walk in a minute after the start, I was completely in awe of what I walked into as soon as I did. One would have thought that the magic that Peter Jackson have woven with LOTR would be difficult to continue with? You could not have been further from the truth!!!
The Hobbit (for those who are unaware), like LOTR is broken down into 3 parts – A Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and There & Back Again. It is (again for those who are unaware), a precursor to LOTR. If I were Peter Jackson, I would have probably made this before ;) :-p .
Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) – a Hobbit, is smoking a pipe and blowing smoke rings in yet another laid back, lovely morning in the shire when a very tall person in a grey cloak with a long grey flowing beard and a grey pointy hat, wielding a staff that is as long, walks upto him asking if he is ready to go on an adventure. The tall man is of course Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mckellan). But, Baggins, being the Hobbit that he is declines – not so politely at that. You see Hobbits are not the adventurous kinds.
But the sly Gandalf ensures that the Dwarves led by Thorin (Richard Armitage), son of Thráin, son of Thrór, make themselves welcome @ Baggins’ place. They share with Baggins their plan to travel to The Lonely Mountain – the Dwarves erstwhile homeland – that is currently guarded by the deadly Dragon Smaug. If anything, Baggins, freaks out more and refuses to accompany them. But the Took (his mother) blood in him ensures that he joins the gang the next morning – The Unexpected Journey.
There are 2 kinds of people in the world. Those who love The Lord of The Rings & those who do not know about The Lord of The Rings – if you know about it, you cannot, not love it. The Hobbit falls into a similar category mix. And no one but for Peter Jackson could have bought this project to life with the same consistency. It is a visual treat and definitely in line for the top 10 of the year. It may not win because The Academy may want to pick something different.
One cannot help but have the same feeling that you had at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. This 3 part affair gets really irritating. You want to see all parts at one go. IMMEDIATELY. But then That’s Peter Jackson for you. So, if you want to watch the next 2 parts – 2013 and 2014 Christmas it will have to be. 8.5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi650683417/
Having said that, my joy knew no bounds when I walked upto the PVR counter in Mulund later last night and was told that the screening has started. Yipee!!! And although I did walk in a minute after the start, I was completely in awe of what I walked into as soon as I did. One would have thought that the magic that Peter Jackson have woven with LOTR would be difficult to continue with? You could not have been further from the truth!!!
The Hobbit (for those who are unaware), like LOTR is broken down into 3 parts – A Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and There & Back Again. It is (again for those who are unaware), a precursor to LOTR. If I were Peter Jackson, I would have probably made this before ;) :-p .
Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) – a Hobbit, is smoking a pipe and blowing smoke rings in yet another laid back, lovely morning in the shire when a very tall person in a grey cloak with a long grey flowing beard and a grey pointy hat, wielding a staff that is as long, walks upto him asking if he is ready to go on an adventure. The tall man is of course Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mckellan). But, Baggins, being the Hobbit that he is declines – not so politely at that. You see Hobbits are not the adventurous kinds.
But the sly Gandalf ensures that the Dwarves led by Thorin (Richard Armitage), son of Thráin, son of Thrór, make themselves welcome @ Baggins’ place. They share with Baggins their plan to travel to The Lonely Mountain – the Dwarves erstwhile homeland – that is currently guarded by the deadly Dragon Smaug. If anything, Baggins, freaks out more and refuses to accompany them. But the Took (his mother) blood in him ensures that he joins the gang the next morning – The Unexpected Journey.
There are 2 kinds of people in the world. Those who love The Lord of The Rings & those who do not know about The Lord of The Rings – if you know about it, you cannot, not love it. The Hobbit falls into a similar category mix. And no one but for Peter Jackson could have bought this project to life with the same consistency. It is a visual treat and definitely in line for the top 10 of the year. It may not win because The Academy may want to pick something different.
One cannot help but have the same feeling that you had at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. This 3 part affair gets really irritating. You want to see all parts at one go. IMMEDIATELY. But then That’s Peter Jackson for you. So, if you want to watch the next 2 parts – 2013 and 2014 Christmas it will have to be. 8.5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi650683417/
Friday, 14 December 2012
The Collection
Have you guys seen the SAW series? If you haven’t and you come from my school of thought then you are lucky. If you have and you come from my school of thought then you may not want to experiment with The Collection. If you have and loved it then you should see The Collector (2009) first and then watch The Collection (2012). Simple 3 case scenarios I guess to figure out what you are going to do over the weekend. Especially because some silly distributors have decided to play the fool and not release The Hobbit this weekend.
Now, the writer of The Saw (Parts 4 through 7) and Piranhaa 3DD is a guy called Marcus Dunstan. It would seem that Mr. Dunstan, in his spare time also directs movies. The 2 that he has to his credit are The Collector and The Collection. And the smart fellow has left the option open for another. Maybe The Collective (corny – I know :-p).
Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) is the daughter of a rich man. A very rich man. Considering that she stays in a mansion (and I am mincing my words here). She is waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up for a night about town when he calls and cancels. As luck would have it, her friend lands up just in time to get into an underground discotheque – one that needs a password to enter (I almost burst out laughing here).
Arkin (Josh Stewart) is a small time criminal. He has disappeared from the surface of the earth. Chances are that he has been picked up by a serial killer who is running rampant. A really sick person who doesn’t seem to have a modus operandi. He kidnaps people and no one knows what he does with them. Man, Woman, Child – it doesn’t matter. Police are baffled and have no clue where to look for the guy (my 2nd instance of laughter).
Now, obviously when Elena goes to a password only place, the killer man is there. This time with some fancy gadgets and booby traps which kill the entire place – well almost – save for Elena. And guess who he has stowed away in a crate at the same venue? Arkin!!! Arkin escapes. Elena gets captured. Elena’s dad hires strike team to get her back. Guess who they go to? Arkin again!!!
After all of this, if you still want to watch The Collection then you are indeed a sucker for punishment. There are psycho killer movies and there are psycho killer movies which turn out to be more comical than horrifying. This is clearly the latter. Little or no direction. No essence of screenplay or the likes of it. A lousy story to add to your misery. And wait a second – total absence of acting or anything remotely close. Even more reason for you to hunt down the distributors of The Hobbit and make them suffer. Really suffer!!!! 2 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2982913049/
Now, the writer of The Saw (Parts 4 through 7) and Piranhaa 3DD is a guy called Marcus Dunstan. It would seem that Mr. Dunstan, in his spare time also directs movies. The 2 that he has to his credit are The Collector and The Collection. And the smart fellow has left the option open for another. Maybe The Collective (corny – I know :-p).
Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) is the daughter of a rich man. A very rich man. Considering that she stays in a mansion (and I am mincing my words here). She is waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up for a night about town when he calls and cancels. As luck would have it, her friend lands up just in time to get into an underground discotheque – one that needs a password to enter (I almost burst out laughing here).
Arkin (Josh Stewart) is a small time criminal. He has disappeared from the surface of the earth. Chances are that he has been picked up by a serial killer who is running rampant. A really sick person who doesn’t seem to have a modus operandi. He kidnaps people and no one knows what he does with them. Man, Woman, Child – it doesn’t matter. Police are baffled and have no clue where to look for the guy (my 2nd instance of laughter).
Now, obviously when Elena goes to a password only place, the killer man is there. This time with some fancy gadgets and booby traps which kill the entire place – well almost – save for Elena. And guess who he has stowed away in a crate at the same venue? Arkin!!! Arkin escapes. Elena gets captured. Elena’s dad hires strike team to get her back. Guess who they go to? Arkin again!!!
After all of this, if you still want to watch The Collection then you are indeed a sucker for punishment. There are psycho killer movies and there are psycho killer movies which turn out to be more comical than horrifying. This is clearly the latter. Little or no direction. No essence of screenplay or the likes of it. A lousy story to add to your misery. And wait a second – total absence of acting or anything remotely close. Even more reason for you to hunt down the distributors of The Hobbit and make them suffer. Really suffer!!!! 2 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2982913049/
Friday, 7 December 2012
Playing for Keeps
When you have the name Gabriele Muccino associated with your movie, you have to expect a lot of – and I really mean it when I say it – A LOT OF TEARS. He has that innate capability to build in moments that are poignant and force your lachrymal glands into overtime action. And if you don’t believe me then you have to watch Pursuit of Happyness and Seven Pounds.
But, if you walk into the screen expecting a tear jerker but intense movie like what you have seen Muccino make in the past – you are in for one hell of a shock. Playing for Keeps has only some amounts of background music that shows some semblance of his previous work. If anything, PFK, looks more like Nancy Myers has somehow found her way into Muccino’s mind.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am a huge Nancy Myers fan. But Muccino is expected to get some really intense and gut wrenching scenes into the movie. He is supposed to make you think about stuff. He is supposed to make you debate about right and wrong. Not trail the life of an erstwhile soccer player who is separated from his wife and kid and is now looking at some kind of redemption by trying to get back with them.
George Dryer (Gerard Butler) is our victim of a failed marriage. A famous soccer star in from Scotland in his hey days, his relationship with the love of his life – Stacie (Jessica Biel) – has always been strained thanks to his priorities being slightly warped. It has nothing to do with the fact that Stacie comes from across the Atlantic. However, when the marriage fails, George makes the arduous trip across the Herring Pond to do the right thing – finally.
He tries his hand at sports-casting without success. And after watching his son Lewis’ (Noah Lomax) soccer coach teaching the wrong things, he steps in to be the school soccer coach. Of course, doing that comes with its benefits (read – 3 soccer moms). Denise (Catherine Zeta Jones), Patti (Uma Thurma) & Barb (Judy Greer) are either divorced or cheating on husbands with guess who – George!!! – I thought you would never guess.
By now, you are sure that this is anything but a Muccino movie right? So you will agree with the disappointment that I faced. However, to its credit, it is only the story that is not Muccino. Everything else is. I am also convinced that if there is a serious romance movie that you need a lead actor for then Gerard Butler has to be your man. No one else can get the male emotions of being in love better than Butler. And of course it is an added benefit for you women that he is eye candy. 6 on 10. Decent watch. But wait for the DVD.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3070338073/
But, if you walk into the screen expecting a tear jerker but intense movie like what you have seen Muccino make in the past – you are in for one hell of a shock. Playing for Keeps has only some amounts of background music that shows some semblance of his previous work. If anything, PFK, looks more like Nancy Myers has somehow found her way into Muccino’s mind.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am a huge Nancy Myers fan. But Muccino is expected to get some really intense and gut wrenching scenes into the movie. He is supposed to make you think about stuff. He is supposed to make you debate about right and wrong. Not trail the life of an erstwhile soccer player who is separated from his wife and kid and is now looking at some kind of redemption by trying to get back with them.
George Dryer (Gerard Butler) is our victim of a failed marriage. A famous soccer star in from Scotland in his hey days, his relationship with the love of his life – Stacie (Jessica Biel) – has always been strained thanks to his priorities being slightly warped. It has nothing to do with the fact that Stacie comes from across the Atlantic. However, when the marriage fails, George makes the arduous trip across the Herring Pond to do the right thing – finally.
He tries his hand at sports-casting without success. And after watching his son Lewis’ (Noah Lomax) soccer coach teaching the wrong things, he steps in to be the school soccer coach. Of course, doing that comes with its benefits (read – 3 soccer moms). Denise (Catherine Zeta Jones), Patti (Uma Thurma) & Barb (Judy Greer) are either divorced or cheating on husbands with guess who – George!!! – I thought you would never guess.
By now, you are sure that this is anything but a Muccino movie right? So you will agree with the disappointment that I faced. However, to its credit, it is only the story that is not Muccino. Everything else is. I am also convinced that if there is a serious romance movie that you need a lead actor for then Gerard Butler has to be your man. No one else can get the male emotions of being in love better than Butler. And of course it is an added benefit for you women that he is eye candy. 6 on 10. Decent watch. But wait for the DVD.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3070338073/
Khiladi 786
Lets start by recounting the entire list.
1. Khiladi – 1992
2. Main Khiladi Tu Anari – 1994
3. Sabse Bada Khiladi – 1995
4. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi – 1996
5. Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi – 1997
6. International Khiladi – 1999
7. Khiladi 420 – 2000
Am I missing something here? I thought there were more but could find only 7 as of now. It has been 20 years since the first one but there is none that has come remotely close to the excitement that was generated with the first in the franchise.
Lets cut from the gut wrenching excitement of a murder mystery (remember it was 1992 and Khiladi was a good movie then) to a slapstick comedy in which Akshay Kumar pretends to do a Rajnikanth. You know my sentiments when someone tries to ape the great man no knowing that the closest they can come to is be an ape!!! Put these 2 in perspective and you have a disaster in the making.
Lets view some classic examples of atrocious dialogues
1. Duniya mein teen cheez aise hai jo hoti hai lekin koi dekh nahin sakta – Bhooton ka sansaar, sachcha wala pyaar aur Bahattar Singh (AK) ki raftaar (there are 3 things that exist in the world but no one can see – The world of ghosts, true love and the speed of 72 Singh – yes his name is 72)
2. Jilla (District) Malkanpur, Gaon (village) Taasi, Sar par haath rab ka (God’s hand on my head) aur haath pe Saat Sau Chhiyaasi (number 786 – god’s number – on my hands)
3. Bachpan se chhod ta aa raha hoon. Bag lekar school gaya toh master ne kaha School chhod doh. Bat Ball leke cricket khelne gaya toh doston ne kaha cricket chhod doh. Scooter leke ghar se nikla toh padosi ne kaha Malad chhod doh (I will not even bother to translate that one)
At the end of it all, K786 lands up being a cheap imitation of Dabanng and the great man. AK – please remember the next time. There was, is and can be only one Chulbul Pandey and that rule doesn’t change even remotely for Rajnikanth. So respect that space and create one of your one.
The only saving grace – believe it or not – is Himes Bhai’s moosik and his acting (pretty decent). How Mithun Da finds accepts such cheesy roles is beyond me. I can understand that about the rest of the cast especially Shri Raj Babbar. But you are Mithun Da. Why? Why?? Why???
Watch this one if you are a fan of extreme slapstick and AK. Because if you are not, then you may find it difficult to survive. 3 on 10
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdtpTrrxuo
1. Khiladi – 1992
2. Main Khiladi Tu Anari – 1994
3. Sabse Bada Khiladi – 1995
4. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi – 1996
5. Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi – 1997
6. International Khiladi – 1999
7. Khiladi 420 – 2000
Am I missing something here? I thought there were more but could find only 7 as of now. It has been 20 years since the first one but there is none that has come remotely close to the excitement that was generated with the first in the franchise.
Lets cut from the gut wrenching excitement of a murder mystery (remember it was 1992 and Khiladi was a good movie then) to a slapstick comedy in which Akshay Kumar pretends to do a Rajnikanth. You know my sentiments when someone tries to ape the great man no knowing that the closest they can come to is be an ape!!! Put these 2 in perspective and you have a disaster in the making.
Lets view some classic examples of atrocious dialogues
1. Duniya mein teen cheez aise hai jo hoti hai lekin koi dekh nahin sakta – Bhooton ka sansaar, sachcha wala pyaar aur Bahattar Singh (AK) ki raftaar (there are 3 things that exist in the world but no one can see – The world of ghosts, true love and the speed of 72 Singh – yes his name is 72)
2. Jilla (District) Malkanpur, Gaon (village) Taasi, Sar par haath rab ka (God’s hand on my head) aur haath pe Saat Sau Chhiyaasi (number 786 – god’s number – on my hands)
3. Bachpan se chhod ta aa raha hoon. Bag lekar school gaya toh master ne kaha School chhod doh. Bat Ball leke cricket khelne gaya toh doston ne kaha cricket chhod doh. Scooter leke ghar se nikla toh padosi ne kaha Malad chhod doh (I will not even bother to translate that one)
At the end of it all, K786 lands up being a cheap imitation of Dabanng and the great man. AK – please remember the next time. There was, is and can be only one Chulbul Pandey and that rule doesn’t change even remotely for Rajnikanth. So respect that space and create one of your one.
The only saving grace – believe it or not – is Himes Bhai’s moosik and his acting (pretty decent). How Mithun Da finds accepts such cheesy roles is beyond me. I can understand that about the rest of the cast especially Shri Raj Babbar. But you are Mithun Da. Why? Why?? Why???
Watch this one if you are a fan of extreme slapstick and AK. Because if you are not, then you may find it difficult to survive. 3 on 10
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdtpTrrxuo
Hotel Transylvania
I like it when movies are previewed on Thursday. I think all movies should have a paid preview a day before at least. Helps us lowly mortal bloggers get a one-up on the mainstream critics. Hopefully .
Sony Pictures is definitely doing its best to bridge the gap that has been existant in the animation business. A gap that one would have expected Disney to fill up but they have only one movie this year – Brave (my favourite and pick for this year’s Oscars). Dreamworks has given Madagascar (a close 2nd) and Blue Sky studios continue their Ice Age Franchise. Can you believe that there are no other Animation movies this year? Sad but true.
Adam Sandler adds his first full length animated feature to his repertoire with Hotel Transylvania – an exclusive resort meant for the monsters in the world who have no home otherwise and demand all the privacy that they can get. And who has built this hotel? None other than the Count himself. The Count. Oh come one of course you know the Count who owns Transylvania – Dracula (Sandler).
However, the main reason for building the resort is his daughter – Mavis (Selena Gomez) – who he wants to keep safe from the human race. A race that killed his beautiful wife Martha (Jackie Sandler) and left him to take care of Mavis alone. With that sole intent in mind and then the well being of fellow monsters such as Frankenstien (Kevin James), and Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi).
HT showcases some of the most exotic monsters of our time and puts the Count on a tailspin with the entry of Johathan (Andy Samberg) – a regular backpacking human – who inadvertently walks into HT unbeknownst to anyone. He, however, soon gains the confidence of all monsters thanks to his new ways – the count is still in the days of Mozart and Beethoven. Of course, he has to pose as Johnnystein – Frank’s arm’s cousin.
The plot gets convoluted in parts and Adam Sandler’s over the top antics continue even in animation format. An aspect that I have never enjoyed in his movies and probably never will. But the quality of animation is top notch. And the story at an overall level makes you feel good at the end of it all.
First time director Genndy Tartakovsky (only claim to fame being the TV Series – Dexter’s Laboratory) has a long long way to go in the world of great animation movies. I have mentioned this in the past and will continue to believe in it. Great animation movies should seem as good as a regular motion picture. Only with cartoons in it instead. HT falls a bit short on that count (all pun intended).
I was expecting quite a bit from HT and that’s probably the reason for my disappointment. I found the screenplay to be tacky and slapstick at times. But then with Sandler in the cast, I should have expected it. 6 on 10 from my side. Not a great start to the weekend but not too bad thankfully.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2571739673/
Sony Pictures is definitely doing its best to bridge the gap that has been existant in the animation business. A gap that one would have expected Disney to fill up but they have only one movie this year – Brave (my favourite and pick for this year’s Oscars). Dreamworks has given Madagascar (a close 2nd) and Blue Sky studios continue their Ice Age Franchise. Can you believe that there are no other Animation movies this year? Sad but true.
Adam Sandler adds his first full length animated feature to his repertoire with Hotel Transylvania – an exclusive resort meant for the monsters in the world who have no home otherwise and demand all the privacy that they can get. And who has built this hotel? None other than the Count himself. The Count. Oh come one of course you know the Count who owns Transylvania – Dracula (Sandler).
However, the main reason for building the resort is his daughter – Mavis (Selena Gomez) – who he wants to keep safe from the human race. A race that killed his beautiful wife Martha (Jackie Sandler) and left him to take care of Mavis alone. With that sole intent in mind and then the well being of fellow monsters such as Frankenstien (Kevin James), and Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi).
HT showcases some of the most exotic monsters of our time and puts the Count on a tailspin with the entry of Johathan (Andy Samberg) – a regular backpacking human – who inadvertently walks into HT unbeknownst to anyone. He, however, soon gains the confidence of all monsters thanks to his new ways – the count is still in the days of Mozart and Beethoven. Of course, he has to pose as Johnnystein – Frank’s arm’s cousin.
The plot gets convoluted in parts and Adam Sandler’s over the top antics continue even in animation format. An aspect that I have never enjoyed in his movies and probably never will. But the quality of animation is top notch. And the story at an overall level makes you feel good at the end of it all.
First time director Genndy Tartakovsky (only claim to fame being the TV Series – Dexter’s Laboratory) has a long long way to go in the world of great animation movies. I have mentioned this in the past and will continue to believe in it. Great animation movies should seem as good as a regular motion picture. Only with cartoons in it instead. HT falls a bit short on that count (all pun intended).
I was expecting quite a bit from HT and that’s probably the reason for my disappointment. I found the screenplay to be tacky and slapstick at times. But then with Sandler in the cast, I should have expected it. 6 on 10 from my side. Not a great start to the weekend but not too bad thankfully.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2571739673/
Friday, 30 November 2012
Talaash
Nearly 2 years since Aamir Khan’s last movie. January 2011 to be precise with Dhobi Ghat aka Mumbai Diaries. So it wasn’t too surprising to see that the paid preview shows @ Cinemax Versova were kept as the world’s best secret. Or is it just me? That I was too lazy to actually look it up is probably the reason I missed out on a show on the 0th day . Made a mental note to myself to ensure that I am more active (fat chance)
Honestly I have been cautiously optimistic about Talaash since the first trailer. This weird feeling that told me that whatever exciting was present in the movie has already been put into the trailer has been hounding me for a bit. Thank God it doesn’t fall under that genre and Reema Kagti has not really followed on the footsteps of her best friend – Zoya Akhtar. Also quite certain that Reema credited Zoya with the story along with herself because of the friendship and nothing else.
Talaash follows the life of Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) aka Sury (imagine being called Surjan your entire life =))) who is married to Roshni (Rani Mukerji). He is a Senior Inspector who is in charge of an area in Mumbai where the ill fated Sea Face Road lies. A few accidents have occurred over the past few years which have been unsolved. And on a fateful day, a well known Bollywood star – Armaan Kapoor (Vivan Bhatena) decides the take the aerial route into the Arabian Sea. Sury is called to investigate.
Along the way, Sury’s back story comes to life that involves a fateful accident where he loses his first born 8 year old. Roshni is to date recovering from it. Sury finds his work as a release out of it. A part of the story that need not have been stretched to the extent that it eventually has been honestly. And as he goes about digging dirt, he bumps into Rosy (Kareena Kapoor) who starts helping him out by dropping clues. All of them, at times when Sury has all but given hope of solving the case.
While I have made light of the story for purposes of easier reading, Talaash is a very intense story directed by someone who is only 1 movie old but has a long way to go in Indian Cinema. Reema Kagti gave me a few reasons to dislike Talaash. The stretched back story of Sury and Roshni’s son & the séance (planchet) scenes with Frenny (Shernaz Patel) were over the top. Kagti could have also cut a bit on Rani’s midriff and her impeccably manicured nails – especially when everything else about the look of Rani was that of a distraught housewife and was done well.
Talaash does get a tad predictable in several places but on the whole Kagti manages to hold the suspense thriller well enough for over 2 hours. The seasoned movie goes will take about 10 minutes to figure out the bad guy and about an hour to figure out the suspense element.
As regards the acting on display, Rani has very little to do. Aamir, as always has a commanding presence on screen despite his limited repertoire of 5 expressions. Nawazzuddin Siddiqui is brilliant as always. And for some reason, Kareena’s best performances come in the role of a prostitute (Chameli I hear was her last best one). The support cast holds its own. Ram Sampath’s music is perfect for the movie. This one should have been a Diwali release. 7.5 on 10. Very close to GoW but not as good is my final verdict.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi860529689/
Honestly I have been cautiously optimistic about Talaash since the first trailer. This weird feeling that told me that whatever exciting was present in the movie has already been put into the trailer has been hounding me for a bit. Thank God it doesn’t fall under that genre and Reema Kagti has not really followed on the footsteps of her best friend – Zoya Akhtar. Also quite certain that Reema credited Zoya with the story along with herself because of the friendship and nothing else.
Talaash follows the life of Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) aka Sury (imagine being called Surjan your entire life =))) who is married to Roshni (Rani Mukerji). He is a Senior Inspector who is in charge of an area in Mumbai where the ill fated Sea Face Road lies. A few accidents have occurred over the past few years which have been unsolved. And on a fateful day, a well known Bollywood star – Armaan Kapoor (Vivan Bhatena) decides the take the aerial route into the Arabian Sea. Sury is called to investigate.
Along the way, Sury’s back story comes to life that involves a fateful accident where he loses his first born 8 year old. Roshni is to date recovering from it. Sury finds his work as a release out of it. A part of the story that need not have been stretched to the extent that it eventually has been honestly. And as he goes about digging dirt, he bumps into Rosy (Kareena Kapoor) who starts helping him out by dropping clues. All of them, at times when Sury has all but given hope of solving the case.
While I have made light of the story for purposes of easier reading, Talaash is a very intense story directed by someone who is only 1 movie old but has a long way to go in Indian Cinema. Reema Kagti gave me a few reasons to dislike Talaash. The stretched back story of Sury and Roshni’s son & the séance (planchet) scenes with Frenny (Shernaz Patel) were over the top. Kagti could have also cut a bit on Rani’s midriff and her impeccably manicured nails – especially when everything else about the look of Rani was that of a distraught housewife and was done well.
Talaash does get a tad predictable in several places but on the whole Kagti manages to hold the suspense thriller well enough for over 2 hours. The seasoned movie goes will take about 10 minutes to figure out the bad guy and about an hour to figure out the suspense element.
As regards the acting on display, Rani has very little to do. Aamir, as always has a commanding presence on screen despite his limited repertoire of 5 expressions. Nawazzuddin Siddiqui is brilliant as always. And for some reason, Kareena’s best performances come in the role of a prostitute (Chameli I hear was her last best one). The support cast holds its own. Ram Sampath’s music is perfect for the movie. This one should have been a Diwali release. 7.5 on 10. Very close to GoW but not as good is my final verdict.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi860529689/
Friday, 23 November 2012
Life of Pi
Always a good idea to read the book before you see a movie. Especially if it is a well known adaptation. I read very little of Life of Pi (honestly due to my own sloth) since the night before. So I have no clue to if David Magee (Finding Neverland) has cut a few important parts from the final rendition of Yann Martel’s best seller. But from what I hear, the ones that were required were retained. And retained well at that.
Ang Lee has always been one to pick movies that are painstakingly painted. At the expense of being horribly slow. Life of Pi is actually fast as compared to most of his previous ventures – almost like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (both in terms of pace as well as special effects).
Life of Pi has its stunning moments which can come to life only on the big screen. The flying fish in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the bright Jelly Fish in the middle of the night with the Blue Whale deciding to rocket through, the carnivorous island that turns neon green at night or the scenes of Richard Parker roaring to define his territory like a Royal Bengal Tiger would. While I saw it in 2D in a random theatre in Goa, I am quite certain, the 3D version would be brilliant.
But all of this comes at the expense of a lot of factors. To begin with, there is very little acting on display. The entire cast except Suraj Sharma has very little time on screen. Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, Tabu, Adil Hussain and Gerard Depardieu are all fantastic actors to say the least but all of them put together have lesser screen time than Suraj Sharma. But Suraj Sharma has done brilliantly well to say the least.
There are also startling consistency errors that one would not expect from Ang Lee. Starting from how in the blazes does Richard Parker, manage to get the goat through the bars of its cage? Or how is there absolutely still water in the middle of the Pacific? Or how Pi (Suraj Sharma) can speak English without an accent and Pi (Irrfan Khan) suddenly develops one.
I would have also liked it if Ang Lee had stuck to Tamil with the entire Indian cast instead of pushing the screenplay in English. It would have turned out to be far more believable and distracted the audience from some of the obvious errors. I personally liked Life of Pi because of its stunning effects and so am giving it 7 on 10. Definitely watch over the weekend and decide for yourself.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2646320921/
Ang Lee has always been one to pick movies that are painstakingly painted. At the expense of being horribly slow. Life of Pi is actually fast as compared to most of his previous ventures – almost like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (both in terms of pace as well as special effects).
Life of Pi has its stunning moments which can come to life only on the big screen. The flying fish in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the bright Jelly Fish in the middle of the night with the Blue Whale deciding to rocket through, the carnivorous island that turns neon green at night or the scenes of Richard Parker roaring to define his territory like a Royal Bengal Tiger would. While I saw it in 2D in a random theatre in Goa, I am quite certain, the 3D version would be brilliant.
But all of this comes at the expense of a lot of factors. To begin with, there is very little acting on display. The entire cast except Suraj Sharma has very little time on screen. Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, Tabu, Adil Hussain and Gerard Depardieu are all fantastic actors to say the least but all of them put together have lesser screen time than Suraj Sharma. But Suraj Sharma has done brilliantly well to say the least.
There are also startling consistency errors that one would not expect from Ang Lee. Starting from how in the blazes does Richard Parker, manage to get the goat through the bars of its cage? Or how is there absolutely still water in the middle of the Pacific? Or how Pi (Suraj Sharma) can speak English without an accent and Pi (Irrfan Khan) suddenly develops one.
I would have also liked it if Ang Lee had stuck to Tamil with the entire Indian cast instead of pushing the screenplay in English. It would have turned out to be far more believable and distracted the audience from some of the obvious errors. I personally liked Life of Pi because of its stunning effects and so am giving it 7 on 10. Definitely watch over the weekend and decide for yourself.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2646320921/
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Drive
This one is a very tricky one to review. Because once you have seen Drive you will know that there can be only two kinds of people. Those who loved Drive OR those who hated Drive. There can be no in-betweeners. Now one can argue for the sake of arguing that s/he found it OK but that would probably a giveaway for the seasoned movie watcher that actually, you have probably not seen the movie.
And if you find it difficult to believe what I am saying, you need to put yourself upto watching Drive. And don’t worry. It will not be too much of a risk that you will take. Because if you come from the latter group of people, you would just walk out of the hall without batting an eyelid. The first few minutes have very little spoken word – in fact that’s how the rest of the movie is as well.
I am going to go out on a limb and question why Drive was not nominated for a screenplay Oscar this year. You had the likes of Ides of March which I thought was one of THE most over rated movies last year. But the striking effort of Hossein Amini (screenplay) to convert James Sallis’ 2005 novel to the screen has been overlooked by many. It is an art to just say what is required and leave the rest to imagination and Amini (Shanghai) does just that. I thought this was the best aspect.
And then there is the courage that Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn gets to the table in terms of going ahead with the screenplay. The courage to make the right cuts. The courage to leave a lot unsaid and give the audience credit for its intelligence – much as the world is moving towards spoon feeding. I thought Refn did a fabuous job and would have been in the running for a nomination. BAFTA acknowledged it, the Academy didn’t. Tough luck for Refn.
And why the academy thought that Drive was not good enough to make the top 10 for last year can make it to Reader’s Digest’s “Mysteries of the Unexplained” easily. Firstly, they had only 9 nominations and Drive could easily have been the 10th. More importantly, they had Terence Malik’s Tree of Life that made it to the top 9 and Drive didn’t. Weird I tell. But then, I am no one to comment on why Tree of Life made it. Maybe there was a subtle, higher than life message that I missed.
Closing off with remarks on how Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan who were amazing in the lead. Gosling has definitely come of age over the past year of two. And Mulligan could have easily pipped Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) for a nomination. You may or may not like Drive as I pointed out earlier but my verdict would still stand @ 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2772212761/
And if you find it difficult to believe what I am saying, you need to put yourself upto watching Drive. And don’t worry. It will not be too much of a risk that you will take. Because if you come from the latter group of people, you would just walk out of the hall without batting an eyelid. The first few minutes have very little spoken word – in fact that’s how the rest of the movie is as well.
I am going to go out on a limb and question why Drive was not nominated for a screenplay Oscar this year. You had the likes of Ides of March which I thought was one of THE most over rated movies last year. But the striking effort of Hossein Amini (screenplay) to convert James Sallis’ 2005 novel to the screen has been overlooked by many. It is an art to just say what is required and leave the rest to imagination and Amini (Shanghai) does just that. I thought this was the best aspect.
And then there is the courage that Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn gets to the table in terms of going ahead with the screenplay. The courage to make the right cuts. The courage to leave a lot unsaid and give the audience credit for its intelligence – much as the world is moving towards spoon feeding. I thought Refn did a fabuous job and would have been in the running for a nomination. BAFTA acknowledged it, the Academy didn’t. Tough luck for Refn.
And why the academy thought that Drive was not good enough to make the top 10 for last year can make it to Reader’s Digest’s “Mysteries of the Unexplained” easily. Firstly, they had only 9 nominations and Drive could easily have been the 10th. More importantly, they had Terence Malik’s Tree of Life that made it to the top 9 and Drive didn’t. Weird I tell. But then, I am no one to comment on why Tree of Life made it. Maybe there was a subtle, higher than life message that I missed.
Closing off with remarks on how Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan who were amazing in the lead. Gosling has definitely come of age over the past year of two. And Mulligan could have easily pipped Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) for a nomination. You may or may not like Drive as I pointed out earlier but my verdict would still stand @ 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2772212761/
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Amelia
Thank God for DVDs. Else this Diwali would have been a disaster of sorts. Firstly, the movie houses make way for the grand releases, both of which turned out to be duds to put it very mildly. What peeves you more is the fact that despite being duds, they are assured of screening for over 2 weeks. And that gave us a good opportunity to squeeze in a few movies that we have been wanting to watch for quite some time.
One of them being Mira Nair’s Amelia. The biopic, based on the life and times of the first female pilot in the world, whose life has been an inspiration for many a woman – and man – Amelia Earhart. Amelia (Hilary Swank) comes from Kansas where she grew up watching aircrafts in the early part of the century. A fascination that Nair, beautifully, yet briefly, brings to life with the titling.
And it was a matter of time, with the right encouragement that she finds herself in the office of a leading publisher of the 20s – George Putnam (Richard Gere). Putnam enlists Earhart’s services for a Trans Atlantic flight due to leave from New Foundland and find their way to St. Patrick’s country. Putnam intends to sensationalize the flight as the first one with a woman commander. A wonderful play on words – because Amelia is expected to do very little other than just stay on board.
But when the flight fails to take off, Amelia uses the opportunity to actually lead the expedition the next day. So what if the effort finds them reaching St. James’ country instead. Amelia finds herself in the record books for being the first woman to complete a Trans Atlantic flight. The first of many records that she would set. And fall short eventually of only her first attempt to circumnavigate the globe. A record that – most people in aviation would agree – should have been rightfully hers.
Nair, through the little under 2 hours of the movie, uncovers various facets of Earhart’s life. Her love affair with Putnam. Her affection for Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) and his son Gore. Her pioneering effort with respect to aviation in general and the formation of the 99ers, the first flying club for ladies in the US. Her pure love for flying without any desperation to be called the best – because she firmly knew that she was.
A good watch overall. Swank has as always given a 100%. Gere as always is understated and yet charming. Everyone else has very little to do. I thought this was as good an attempt that Mira Nair has ever made. You can decide for yourself. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2446393881/
One of them being Mira Nair’s Amelia. The biopic, based on the life and times of the first female pilot in the world, whose life has been an inspiration for many a woman – and man – Amelia Earhart. Amelia (Hilary Swank) comes from Kansas where she grew up watching aircrafts in the early part of the century. A fascination that Nair, beautifully, yet briefly, brings to life with the titling.
And it was a matter of time, with the right encouragement that she finds herself in the office of a leading publisher of the 20s – George Putnam (Richard Gere). Putnam enlists Earhart’s services for a Trans Atlantic flight due to leave from New Foundland and find their way to St. Patrick’s country. Putnam intends to sensationalize the flight as the first one with a woman commander. A wonderful play on words – because Amelia is expected to do very little other than just stay on board.
But when the flight fails to take off, Amelia uses the opportunity to actually lead the expedition the next day. So what if the effort finds them reaching St. James’ country instead. Amelia finds herself in the record books for being the first woman to complete a Trans Atlantic flight. The first of many records that she would set. And fall short eventually of only her first attempt to circumnavigate the globe. A record that – most people in aviation would agree – should have been rightfully hers.
Nair, through the little under 2 hours of the movie, uncovers various facets of Earhart’s life. Her love affair with Putnam. Her affection for Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) and his son Gore. Her pioneering effort with respect to aviation in general and the formation of the 99ers, the first flying club for ladies in the US. Her pure love for flying without any desperation to be called the best – because she firmly knew that she was.
A good watch overall. Swank has as always given a 100%. Gere as always is understated and yet charming. Everyone else has very little to do. I thought this was as good an attempt that Mira Nair has ever made. You can decide for yourself. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2446393881/
All The King's Men
Before you watch the movie, first watch this snippet of about 7 minutes. This is a speech that is given by Willie Stark (Sean Penn) when he first realizes that he is being played for, in the upcoming election. More importantly, he realizes somewhere in his head that he has what it takes to be Governor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw_uTjf6VPc&feature=related
Based on the 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warner of the same name, All The King’s Men tracks the life of Willie Stark who is married to a school teacher. An accident in his county where a school caves in due to poor construction moves him to take up the cause of ensuring standards. One thing leads to another and before you know it, he is running for governor.
But as mentioned earlier, he was only being played for the part to ensure that there is a vote split between the other chief competitors. The scheme fails thanks to some great campaigning by Stark and he wins the race. The rest of the story is Stark’s movement from being an up-country politics unfriendly person to one who climbs the learning curve of dirty politics at the speed of light. He moves into being a dark scheming character – continuing to fight for the deprived – but playing his cards like a pro.
The director, Steve Zaillian, is actually better known for his prowess in screenplay (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, Moneyball, The Millenium Trilogy) and has had several nominations in the category. But when it comes to direction, he had two, not so well known but decent movies to his credit before he made ATKM. Arguably, ATKM was his best effort to date. There are a lot of segments where you maybe a bit lost but the pieces fall together as the movie trudges along.
One can fault Zaillian for pace but as I have always said, there is a thin line between slow and intense and I thought Zaillian did a good job flirting with the line. What works for him are the right cuts that ensured that moves the unnecessary stuff out. And of course the screenplay that’s Zaillian’s forte anyways – rocks.
ATKM is otherwise an actor’s movie. Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson & James Gandolfini. All Zaillian had to do was not screw up. And these 7 names would have done the rest. That’s exactly what happened. You will not get bored for certain. But as warned earlier – slow. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV_Yad1i36w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw_uTjf6VPc&feature=related
Based on the 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warner of the same name, All The King’s Men tracks the life of Willie Stark who is married to a school teacher. An accident in his county where a school caves in due to poor construction moves him to take up the cause of ensuring standards. One thing leads to another and before you know it, he is running for governor.
But as mentioned earlier, he was only being played for the part to ensure that there is a vote split between the other chief competitors. The scheme fails thanks to some great campaigning by Stark and he wins the race. The rest of the story is Stark’s movement from being an up-country politics unfriendly person to one who climbs the learning curve of dirty politics at the speed of light. He moves into being a dark scheming character – continuing to fight for the deprived – but playing his cards like a pro.
The director, Steve Zaillian, is actually better known for his prowess in screenplay (Schindler’s List, Gangs of New York, Moneyball, The Millenium Trilogy) and has had several nominations in the category. But when it comes to direction, he had two, not so well known but decent movies to his credit before he made ATKM. Arguably, ATKM was his best effort to date. There are a lot of segments where you maybe a bit lost but the pieces fall together as the movie trudges along.
One can fault Zaillian for pace but as I have always said, there is a thin line between slow and intense and I thought Zaillian did a good job flirting with the line. What works for him are the right cuts that ensured that moves the unnecessary stuff out. And of course the screenplay that’s Zaillian’s forte anyways – rocks.
ATKM is otherwise an actor’s movie. Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson & James Gandolfini. All Zaillian had to do was not screw up. And these 7 names would have done the rest. That’s exactly what happened. You will not get bored for certain. But as warned earlier – slow. 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV_Yad1i36w
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Son of Sardaar
And after a painful start at the movies to Diwali, I moved from Screen 4 to Screen 2 @ PVR Mulund for the 1305 show of Son of Sardar. By this time, I was quite certain that it would be a “Dud Diwali” @ the Box Office in terms of quality of movies. But in terms of collections, the cash counters would ring in like most Diwalis to date. I must say that I was hoping against hope when I walked into screen 2. My hopes were going to be ill placed once again.
You are all aware of my aversion to slapstick comedy. And Ajay Devgn seems to be taking to that genre quite seriously. Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt had already made themselves comfortable here and to see 3 of these on the same screen was probably my worst nightmare coming true. The only other person missing who would have completed the horror would have been AK. Thank God for small mercies. Thank God once again that Salman makes his presence felt only for about 30 seconds in all.
The Randhawa and The Sandhu families are at each other’s throats for a while and just the smallest of sparks sets off a blood bath of epic proportions. Enough for the surviving mother to send her child off to Rani Ka Des (The Queen’s Country). Many moons later, Jaswinder aka Jassi (Devgn) gets a notice from the government (wonder how they got his address) that he has received land worth Rs.50 lacs as part of a will (wonder whose?). So he has to get back home and claim it.
Of course, before he leaves, he is briefed about the long standing family fued. A fued that has left Shri Billu Sandhu (Sanjay Dutt) unmarried to Parminder (Juhi Chawla) for the past 25 years – some vow about not getting married till the last of the Randhawas are turned to ash (what is with this Diwali and promises to God and sundry???).
Along with Billu are his cousins who have promised not to have ice cream and Coca-Cola respectively – erm? But somehow Jassi finds his way into their house and conveniently refuses to leave. And the Sandhus don’t kill anyone within the four walls of their house. A matter of principle. So we need to wait for over 2 hours to figure out what will happen at the end of all this crap.
In between you have to sustain a barrage of slapstick dialogues. Lets give you a flavor of some of them.
1. Mein waapas nahin jaoonga. Wahan pe log mujhe “Hindustan Lever” bulayenge. (I will not go back. They will call me “Hindustan Lever” when I return)
2. Power waale chashmey aur Billu ki kasmey, ek baar chadh jaati hai to utarti nahin. (Powered glasses and Billu’s promises cannot be changed – apologies for the crude translation)
3. Yeh Real hai? Nahin ji yeh NaReal (Nariyal - coconut) hai (No translations for this one. I just cannot come close to what it means).
If you enjoyed this sneak peak, then there are 30 or more such absurb one liners waiting for you. You will love whats in store. I have not shared some of the more atrocious ones in this forum. Lest, I lose a few followers.
If you ask me whether SOS is better or JTHJ, I would go with the latter because it is the better of both evils – but that’s because I don’t like slapstick. If you want some mindless fun to ensure that your Diwali is not ruined by a fake Yash Chopra movie then SOS it should be. Either ways both rank a lowly 3 on 10 on my rating scale. A “Dud Diwali” indeed. After RA One last year – expected much better.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOlcpr7qEv4
You are all aware of my aversion to slapstick comedy. And Ajay Devgn seems to be taking to that genre quite seriously. Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt had already made themselves comfortable here and to see 3 of these on the same screen was probably my worst nightmare coming true. The only other person missing who would have completed the horror would have been AK. Thank God for small mercies. Thank God once again that Salman makes his presence felt only for about 30 seconds in all.
The Randhawa and The Sandhu families are at each other’s throats for a while and just the smallest of sparks sets off a blood bath of epic proportions. Enough for the surviving mother to send her child off to Rani Ka Des (The Queen’s Country). Many moons later, Jaswinder aka Jassi (Devgn) gets a notice from the government (wonder how they got his address) that he has received land worth Rs.50 lacs as part of a will (wonder whose?). So he has to get back home and claim it.
Of course, before he leaves, he is briefed about the long standing family fued. A fued that has left Shri Billu Sandhu (Sanjay Dutt) unmarried to Parminder (Juhi Chawla) for the past 25 years – some vow about not getting married till the last of the Randhawas are turned to ash (what is with this Diwali and promises to God and sundry???).
Along with Billu are his cousins who have promised not to have ice cream and Coca-Cola respectively – erm? But somehow Jassi finds his way into their house and conveniently refuses to leave. And the Sandhus don’t kill anyone within the four walls of their house. A matter of principle. So we need to wait for over 2 hours to figure out what will happen at the end of all this crap.
In between you have to sustain a barrage of slapstick dialogues. Lets give you a flavor of some of them.
1. Mein waapas nahin jaoonga. Wahan pe log mujhe “Hindustan Lever” bulayenge. (I will not go back. They will call me “Hindustan Lever” when I return)
2. Power waale chashmey aur Billu ki kasmey, ek baar chadh jaati hai to utarti nahin. (Powered glasses and Billu’s promises cannot be changed – apologies for the crude translation)
3. Yeh Real hai? Nahin ji yeh NaReal (Nariyal - coconut) hai (No translations for this one. I just cannot come close to what it means).
If you enjoyed this sneak peak, then there are 30 or more such absurb one liners waiting for you. You will love whats in store. I have not shared some of the more atrocious ones in this forum. Lest, I lose a few followers.
If you ask me whether SOS is better or JTHJ, I would go with the latter because it is the better of both evils – but that’s because I don’t like slapstick. If you want some mindless fun to ensure that your Diwali is not ruined by a fake Yash Chopra movie then SOS it should be. Either ways both rank a lowly 3 on 10 on my rating scale. A “Dud Diwali” indeed. After RA One last year – expected much better.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOlcpr7qEv4
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Samar Anand (Shah Rukh Khan)… oops… I am sorry… Major Samar Anand (Shah Rukh Khan) is pushing 40 I would guess. His hobby is on the lines of what James Bond says in Skyfall – reincarnation. Only, Samar believes in playing an extremely risky version of Russian Roulette. And he isn’t doing it with a gun which has one bullet. He is doing it with Bombs. Yep. Our hero is labeled as “The man who cannot die”. He disposes bombs for a living – without protection that too.
And why does he do that? The nosy and extremely irritating Akira Rai (Anushka Sharma) is about to find out. How? Because she decides to dive into the freezing waters of what one can only assume was the Pangong Lake. Did I mention it was in her Puma bikini (Saurabh – please ensure you pay me money for the additional publicity). Well, as luck would have it, Major Anand waits for her to drown and then rescues her. Army protocol you see. Watch when a half naked woman jumps into the water and rescue only when she goes under (if you know what I mean).
Army protocol also dictates that after resuscitation, you should leave your fatigues with the chick and your personal diary so that the back story comes to life where Samar Anand is a 25 year old who can barely speak English and makes a living by doing multiple jobs including singing the same Punjabi song on the London Bridge everyday. Coincidentally, the woman – Meera (Katrina) who he makes the song for is willing to pay 500 sterling to learn the song and impress her father – Mr. Thapar (Anupam Kher who has been wasted) – who turns 50 in a month.
A passionate love story develops but when Samar has an accident, Meera, who has a current account with Mr. Jesus of Nazareth (Samar saw her first @ the church where she swore to give up chocolates in return for… never mind), asks for Samar’s life to be spared. In return, she promises never to see him again. Erm. WTF????
By this stage of the movie you are half tearing your hair apart. And if you check my twitter post out, I refuse to believe that Yash Chopra directed this movie. So what if the end credits show video footage of the great man directing people who look like the cast of the movie. Impossible!!! I request the Chopras to come clean of this cheap marketing gimmick. I am quite certain, this is an Uday Chopra directorial venture. Even Adi and Karan Johar cannot make such pathetic cinema.
The number of loop holes that the story has can substitute for perforated sheets. The execution is tacky – green screens for jumps into water @ Ladakh should at least look right. Yash Chopra could not have signed off on this final product. Other than the title poem (lyrics at the end of this review) there is no semblance of a dialogue or screenplay worth mentioning. The direction seems non existant – which is why I repeat – THIS IS HAS TO BE UDAY CHOPRA!!! NOT YASH CHOPRA!!!
And the movie just doesn’t seem to end. It took about 90 minutes to get to an interval which was also cheating. It first seems that the interval has come in and your much needed loo break is around the corner. And then they continue for 5 more minutes. Unfair. I call for a ban on such cheap tactics.
Shah Rukh Khan makes it 2 flops in a row with this Diwali. But the movie will make tons of money and cross 100 crores within this week. Sad but true. 3 on 10 only driven by a reasonable performance from Anushka (although she could have toned herself down a bit). And of course – the ever dependable A R Rahman who saves the movie with a soundtrack that can be heard.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0UXgoJ9Shg
Teri aankhon ki namkeen mastiyaan
Teri hansi ki beparwah gustakhiyan
Teri zulfon ki leharati angdaiyan
Nahi bhoolunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Tera haath se haath chhodna
Tera saayon se rukh modna
Tera palat ke phir na dekhna
Nahi maaf karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Baarishon mein bedhadak tere naachne se
Baat baat pe bewajah tere roothne se
Chhoti chhoti teri bachkani badmashiyon se
Mohabbat karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Tere jhoote kasme waadon se
Tere jalte sulagte khwabon se
Teri be raham duaao se
Nafrat karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
And why does he do that? The nosy and extremely irritating Akira Rai (Anushka Sharma) is about to find out. How? Because she decides to dive into the freezing waters of what one can only assume was the Pangong Lake. Did I mention it was in her Puma bikini (Saurabh – please ensure you pay me money for the additional publicity). Well, as luck would have it, Major Anand waits for her to drown and then rescues her. Army protocol you see. Watch when a half naked woman jumps into the water and rescue only when she goes under (if you know what I mean).
Army protocol also dictates that after resuscitation, you should leave your fatigues with the chick and your personal diary so that the back story comes to life where Samar Anand is a 25 year old who can barely speak English and makes a living by doing multiple jobs including singing the same Punjabi song on the London Bridge everyday. Coincidentally, the woman – Meera (Katrina) who he makes the song for is willing to pay 500 sterling to learn the song and impress her father – Mr. Thapar (Anupam Kher who has been wasted) – who turns 50 in a month.
A passionate love story develops but when Samar has an accident, Meera, who has a current account with Mr. Jesus of Nazareth (Samar saw her first @ the church where she swore to give up chocolates in return for… never mind), asks for Samar’s life to be spared. In return, she promises never to see him again. Erm. WTF????
By this stage of the movie you are half tearing your hair apart. And if you check my twitter post out, I refuse to believe that Yash Chopra directed this movie. So what if the end credits show video footage of the great man directing people who look like the cast of the movie. Impossible!!! I request the Chopras to come clean of this cheap marketing gimmick. I am quite certain, this is an Uday Chopra directorial venture. Even Adi and Karan Johar cannot make such pathetic cinema.
The number of loop holes that the story has can substitute for perforated sheets. The execution is tacky – green screens for jumps into water @ Ladakh should at least look right. Yash Chopra could not have signed off on this final product. Other than the title poem (lyrics at the end of this review) there is no semblance of a dialogue or screenplay worth mentioning. The direction seems non existant – which is why I repeat – THIS IS HAS TO BE UDAY CHOPRA!!! NOT YASH CHOPRA!!!
And the movie just doesn’t seem to end. It took about 90 minutes to get to an interval which was also cheating. It first seems that the interval has come in and your much needed loo break is around the corner. And then they continue for 5 more minutes. Unfair. I call for a ban on such cheap tactics.
Shah Rukh Khan makes it 2 flops in a row with this Diwali. But the movie will make tons of money and cross 100 crores within this week. Sad but true. 3 on 10 only driven by a reasonable performance from Anushka (although she could have toned herself down a bit). And of course – the ever dependable A R Rahman who saves the movie with a soundtrack that can be heard.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0UXgoJ9Shg
Teri aankhon ki namkeen mastiyaan
Teri hansi ki beparwah gustakhiyan
Teri zulfon ki leharati angdaiyan
Nahi bhoolunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Tera haath se haath chhodna
Tera saayon se rukh modna
Tera palat ke phir na dekhna
Nahi maaf karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Baarishon mein bedhadak tere naachne se
Baat baat pe bewajah tere roothne se
Chhoti chhoti teri bachkani badmashiyon se
Mohabbat karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Tere jhoote kasme waadon se
Tere jalte sulagte khwabon se
Teri be raham duaao se
Nafrat karunga main
Jab tak hai jaan
Jab tak hai jaan
Chasing Mavericks
This one is based on a true story and released last week. Didn’t post the review earlier because most of you would have missed out on reading it on Sunday. Diwali typically assures me some solid hits :-P and more importantly, I thought you should not miss out on a good movie – at least a good concept.
Jay Moriarty lived for all of a little over 22 years. 1978 to 2001. But in those 22 years he set an example for people across all fields of work. A simple concept of being in love with something so much that you don’t need to be asked twice to do it. A concept of having a passion in life that supercedes everything else that you have. For Jay Moriarty it was surfing.
He grew up in Santa Cruz, California where there were myths of what were called Mavericks. Waves which could touch upto 80 ft – all rumoured with absolutely no confirmation whatsoever. As a child of nearly 9 years, he is saved from drowning by Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) who eventually goes on to become Jay’s father figure of sorts. Jay’s father leaves him and his deranged mother, Kristy (Elisabeth Shue) around the same time.
Jay grows upto be a champion surfer at the age of 16 and rules the roost in the Santa Cruz circuit. But there is something about Frosty that Jay intends to catch up on. Every once in a while Frosty leaves home @ the unearthly hour of 4 am. One such morning Jay jumps onto the van (the back side) and gets to where Frosty goes. Only to be introduced to – The Mavericks – they actually exist. This time around they were only about 30 ft or so but that itself is quite a bit right?
What follows is a rigorous training programme that Frosty puts Jay through so that Jay can ride the mavericks before the end of the season – something similar to what Miyagi does in Karate Kid. But a very effective programme focused on the 4 pillars of human strength – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
I liked Chasing Mavericks because of the inspirational story that it provides. Unfortunately that is where it ends. Gerard Butler is less than his usual intense self. Michael Apted (World is Not Enough) & Curtis Hanson (L A Confidential) are both Academy award nominated directors but don’t really come up with the goods this time.
There has been an effort put in to give a feel of the 80s / 90s visually. And the surf sequences are quite well done and keep you on the edge of the seats. But the overall finishing, the attention to detail, the finer nuances that one would expect from the likes of Apted and Hanson are sorely missing.
To end with, I quote, “We all come from the sea. But we are not of the sea. Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again”. Inspiring story. Average movie. But watch it. 6 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3341722905/
Jay Moriarty lived for all of a little over 22 years. 1978 to 2001. But in those 22 years he set an example for people across all fields of work. A simple concept of being in love with something so much that you don’t need to be asked twice to do it. A concept of having a passion in life that supercedes everything else that you have. For Jay Moriarty it was surfing.
He grew up in Santa Cruz, California where there were myths of what were called Mavericks. Waves which could touch upto 80 ft – all rumoured with absolutely no confirmation whatsoever. As a child of nearly 9 years, he is saved from drowning by Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) who eventually goes on to become Jay’s father figure of sorts. Jay’s father leaves him and his deranged mother, Kristy (Elisabeth Shue) around the same time.
Jay grows upto be a champion surfer at the age of 16 and rules the roost in the Santa Cruz circuit. But there is something about Frosty that Jay intends to catch up on. Every once in a while Frosty leaves home @ the unearthly hour of 4 am. One such morning Jay jumps onto the van (the back side) and gets to where Frosty goes. Only to be introduced to – The Mavericks – they actually exist. This time around they were only about 30 ft or so but that itself is quite a bit right?
What follows is a rigorous training programme that Frosty puts Jay through so that Jay can ride the mavericks before the end of the season – something similar to what Miyagi does in Karate Kid. But a very effective programme focused on the 4 pillars of human strength – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
I liked Chasing Mavericks because of the inspirational story that it provides. Unfortunately that is where it ends. Gerard Butler is less than his usual intense self. Michael Apted (World is Not Enough) & Curtis Hanson (L A Confidential) are both Academy award nominated directors but don’t really come up with the goods this time.
There has been an effort put in to give a feel of the 80s / 90s visually. And the surf sequences are quite well done and keep you on the edge of the seats. But the overall finishing, the attention to detail, the finer nuances that one would expect from the likes of Apted and Hanson are sorely missing.
To end with, I quote, “We all come from the sea. But we are not of the sea. Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again”. Inspiring story. Average movie. But watch it. 6 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3341722905/
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Trouble With The Curve
When Clint Eastwood is involved in a movie, you can expect it to be nothing short of intense. And first time director Robert Lorenz should not have been a stranger to this fact. Lorenz has assisted Eastwood in several of his movies – Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River to name a couple. So it would have come as no surprise to see Eastwood, all over his movie at the end of the day – not just as an actor but also as a director – Trouble With The Curve seems to be directed more by Eastwood than Lorenz. And I speculate that it is not because Lorenz is Eastwood’s protégé.
Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill) is a teenager who is THE most talked about baseball player in recent times. He has been hitting the right notes with the press and the big home runs in the college leagues. Rumours are that he is going to be the first pick in the upcoming draft for the Red Sox. But the people at Atlanta Braves believe that they have a chance of pipping them.
The Braves’ best scout, and arguably one of the best in the business, is Gus Lobel (Eastwood). Gus is not the most popular of all scouts in recent times because of his crabby behavior – people get senile and crabby beyond 60 is what I have heard. As if that were not enough of a worry for him, technology is taking the game into the computer and scouts are no longer the “in thing”.
Complicating it further is Gus’s rapidly deteriorating eyesight. Thank goodness for this daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) – named after the inimitable Mickey Mantle – still is concerned about his well being albeit reluctantly. So when Pete Klien (John Goodman) who is Gus’ boss, asks Mickey to accompany Gus on his latest road trip, she is caught in two minds. The first one that asks her to stay back and work harder than she has for the past 7 years so that she makes partner. The other that tells her to join her dad on the road; for what its worth, he is her father.
The movie carefully peels the layers on a complex relationship between father and daughter. It adds the nuances of how traditional scouts went about their lives and their roles in identifying the best of the best. It builds a case for that age old adage – you cannot sit in air conditioned cabins and decide who is a better player. No substitute for being right where the action is.
What works further for TWTC is the strong star cast. Eastwood, Adams and Goodman are as always superb. And there is this young man who I have firmly believed is a far better actor than a singer. He answers to the call of Justin Timberlake. Now why would Justin sing when he can act so well. I see a few nominations here – Screenplay, maybe movie, all 4 acting nominations. Will it win any? Not sure. What I am sure of though is that you should not miss it. 7.5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2083383/
Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill) is a teenager who is THE most talked about baseball player in recent times. He has been hitting the right notes with the press and the big home runs in the college leagues. Rumours are that he is going to be the first pick in the upcoming draft for the Red Sox. But the people at Atlanta Braves believe that they have a chance of pipping them.
The Braves’ best scout, and arguably one of the best in the business, is Gus Lobel (Eastwood). Gus is not the most popular of all scouts in recent times because of his crabby behavior – people get senile and crabby beyond 60 is what I have heard. As if that were not enough of a worry for him, technology is taking the game into the computer and scouts are no longer the “in thing”.
Complicating it further is Gus’s rapidly deteriorating eyesight. Thank goodness for this daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) – named after the inimitable Mickey Mantle – still is concerned about his well being albeit reluctantly. So when Pete Klien (John Goodman) who is Gus’ boss, asks Mickey to accompany Gus on his latest road trip, she is caught in two minds. The first one that asks her to stay back and work harder than she has for the past 7 years so that she makes partner. The other that tells her to join her dad on the road; for what its worth, he is her father.
The movie carefully peels the layers on a complex relationship between father and daughter. It adds the nuances of how traditional scouts went about their lives and their roles in identifying the best of the best. It builds a case for that age old adage – you cannot sit in air conditioned cabins and decide who is a better player. No substitute for being right where the action is.
What works further for TWTC is the strong star cast. Eastwood, Adams and Goodman are as always superb. And there is this young man who I have firmly believed is a far better actor than a singer. He answers to the call of Justin Timberlake. Now why would Justin sing when he can act so well. I see a few nominations here – Screenplay, maybe movie, all 4 acting nominations. Will it win any? Not sure. What I am sure of though is that you should not miss it. 7.5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2083383/
Stolen
2 movies from Simon West in about the same number of months and in both of them he comes kind of a cropper. Expendables 2 did not have anything worth writing home about at all. Stolen, again, doesn’t give too much to look forward to. I wonder when it will start turning around North for West (that was really corny wasn’t it? :-p).
Written by David Guggenheim (as if it matters to anyone – I just picked out the name because Guggenheim sounded exotic :-p. Geez this review is getting cornier by the sentence. Just like the movie), Stolen is Nicholas Cage’s answer to Liam Neeson. It is as if Cage has decided that if Neeson (who is 60) can search out his daughter in 72 hours in Paris then he can do better. As if that wasn’t bad enough for Cage (who is 48), Neeson does it again and this time faster.
So Cage says, lets make a movie where my daughter (in the movie) gets kidnapped by a friend who is also an ex-con like me. OK hang on. Lets spice things up a bit. Lets make Nicholas Cage the best bank robber in all of the US. Lets give him a name – Will Montogomery aka Gom. He is being sought by the FBI for multiple robberies in New Orleans. And is responsible for many a sleepless night for Tim Harlend (Danny Huston) who is the FBI lead on the case.
A tip-off to Harlend and Gom who has planned a heist with Vincent (Josh Lucas – what the hell is a gorgeous RomCom lead actor doing here?). 2 other people in the heist – The absolutely gorgeous Riley Jeffers (Malin Åkerman) & the utterly misbehaved and ugly Hoyt (M C Gainey). When Vincent decides to do away with an innocent bystander – a janitor – after the heist, Gom stops him and in the process, Vincent gets his leg blown off – figuratively of course.
The three stooges make away but Gom gets left behind. A chase sequence that reminds you, why Gone in 60 Seconds is one of the best car chase movies ever made, ensues. Gom gets captured but before that happens, he burns $10 million of hard cash. Yep. He burns it. So he doesn’t get 18 years. But gets away with 8 years in the slammer. But that’s when the party begins. On the day of his release, One-legged-Vince, now has kidnapped his daughter Alison (Sami Gayle). He wants $10 million.
While Stolen has its moments, overall, it is a yawn feast. Thankfully, it is only about an hour and a half short. And the fact that I am not a Nicholas Cage fan didn’t quite help much. Thank God for the brief period of time that Malin Åkerman comes onto the screen. Helps have some eye candy. Quite avoidable. And if you have seen Taken then immensely avoidable. 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3234440473/
Written by David Guggenheim (as if it matters to anyone – I just picked out the name because Guggenheim sounded exotic :-p. Geez this review is getting cornier by the sentence. Just like the movie), Stolen is Nicholas Cage’s answer to Liam Neeson. It is as if Cage has decided that if Neeson (who is 60) can search out his daughter in 72 hours in Paris then he can do better. As if that wasn’t bad enough for Cage (who is 48), Neeson does it again and this time faster.
So Cage says, lets make a movie where my daughter (in the movie) gets kidnapped by a friend who is also an ex-con like me. OK hang on. Lets spice things up a bit. Lets make Nicholas Cage the best bank robber in all of the US. Lets give him a name – Will Montogomery aka Gom. He is being sought by the FBI for multiple robberies in New Orleans. And is responsible for many a sleepless night for Tim Harlend (Danny Huston) who is the FBI lead on the case.
A tip-off to Harlend and Gom who has planned a heist with Vincent (Josh Lucas – what the hell is a gorgeous RomCom lead actor doing here?). 2 other people in the heist – The absolutely gorgeous Riley Jeffers (Malin Åkerman) & the utterly misbehaved and ugly Hoyt (M C Gainey). When Vincent decides to do away with an innocent bystander – a janitor – after the heist, Gom stops him and in the process, Vincent gets his leg blown off – figuratively of course.
The three stooges make away but Gom gets left behind. A chase sequence that reminds you, why Gone in 60 Seconds is one of the best car chase movies ever made, ensues. Gom gets captured but before that happens, he burns $10 million of hard cash. Yep. He burns it. So he doesn’t get 18 years. But gets away with 8 years in the slammer. But that’s when the party begins. On the day of his release, One-legged-Vince, now has kidnapped his daughter Alison (Sami Gayle). He wants $10 million.
While Stolen has its moments, overall, it is a yawn feast. Thankfully, it is only about an hour and a half short. And the fact that I am not a Nicholas Cage fan didn’t quite help much. Thank God for the brief period of time that Malin Åkerman comes onto the screen. Helps have some eye candy. Quite avoidable. And if you have seen Taken then immensely avoidable. 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3234440473/
Friday, 2 November 2012
Love Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana
What is it about Punjabis and Punjab in general that makes them an ideal target for movies of any kind. Is it their loud nature that gives them a character that is quite unique as compared to any other sect, caste, creed or society? Or is it the fact that they are super colourful. Or maybe it the fact that they drink like there is not tomorrow. Or is it that they are just very large hearted characters - especially the Sardars.
Or is it just their Chicken and their capability to gorge on tons of the 2 legged creature that has become an integral part our lives as well? Considering that the earlier points were already beaten to death, Sameer Sharma - himself a Punjabi probably - must have definitely said to himself that it was time to get the humble creature into tinsel town. Not too many movies have been made which have a chicken as its central character right? Talk about identifying and opportunity.
For those who are getting other ideas, the central plot of the movie revolves around a chicken dish eponymously named by the inventor's wife. The inventory - Shri Khurana aka Darji or Grandfather (Vinod Nagpal) who figures out by chance, a recipe that sets the village of Lalton in Punjab on fire. But the recipe remains a secret. One that only Darji knows and now that he is senile with one foot in the grave, it would, in all probability go with him to the grave.
And so, when Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor) comes back in the hope that someone back home will help him solve the gangster problem of £50000 that he has got himself into, he is in for a not so pleasant surprise. Now, he doesn't have the money. The family doesn't have the money. Darji doesn't remember him or the recipe. And the deadly gangster (hilariously deadly) Shanty is after Omi's life. To help Shanty,a we have his absurd younger brother - Manty.
So, as you can see for yourself, there is very little that upon have to look forward to with LSTCK in terms of a story. The screenplay and dialogues are also nothing out of this world. They suit the purpose of the movie and give it a major Punjabi flair for certain. Maybe there were some nuances that the Punjabis would get but I wasn't too excited to be honest. Amit Trivedi's music is also not his best performance to date by a mile.
Kunal Kapoor has always been and will continue to be a director's actor. As Sameer Sharma is definitely not the kind of director who could inspire much confidence in any of the cast. Huma Qureshi takes off from where she left in Gangs of Wasseypur. Here is a girl who is here to stay. A pity that she will never move into commercial cinema coz she is just to large for the screen.
The rest of the cast are people who come from theatre and give the movie the fillip that it needed to stay afloat. But for them, Luv Shuv could have been a disaster. 5 on 10. Worth a demo but u could wait for the DVD or see it on TV.
Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9oO8bd7qM
Or is it just their Chicken and their capability to gorge on tons of the 2 legged creature that has become an integral part our lives as well? Considering that the earlier points were already beaten to death, Sameer Sharma - himself a Punjabi probably - must have definitely said to himself that it was time to get the humble creature into tinsel town. Not too many movies have been made which have a chicken as its central character right? Talk about identifying and opportunity.
For those who are getting other ideas, the central plot of the movie revolves around a chicken dish eponymously named by the inventor's wife. The inventory - Shri Khurana aka Darji or Grandfather (Vinod Nagpal) who figures out by chance, a recipe that sets the village of Lalton in Punjab on fire. But the recipe remains a secret. One that only Darji knows and now that he is senile with one foot in the grave, it would, in all probability go with him to the grave.
And so, when Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor) comes back in the hope that someone back home will help him solve the gangster problem of £50000 that he has got himself into, he is in for a not so pleasant surprise. Now, he doesn't have the money. The family doesn't have the money. Darji doesn't remember him or the recipe. And the deadly gangster (hilariously deadly) Shanty is after Omi's life. To help Shanty,a we have his absurd younger brother - Manty.
So, as you can see for yourself, there is very little that upon have to look forward to with LSTCK in terms of a story. The screenplay and dialogues are also nothing out of this world. They suit the purpose of the movie and give it a major Punjabi flair for certain. Maybe there were some nuances that the Punjabis would get but I wasn't too excited to be honest. Amit Trivedi's music is also not his best performance to date by a mile.
Kunal Kapoor has always been and will continue to be a director's actor. As Sameer Sharma is definitely not the kind of director who could inspire much confidence in any of the cast. Huma Qureshi takes off from where she left in Gangs of Wasseypur. Here is a girl who is here to stay. A pity that she will never move into commercial cinema coz she is just to large for the screen.
The rest of the cast are people who come from theatre and give the movie the fillip that it needed to stay afloat. But for them, Luv Shuv could have been a disaster. 5 on 10. Worth a demo but u could wait for the DVD or see it on TV.
Watch the trailer on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB9oO8bd7qM
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Ted
Ted is one of the movies that has seen the light of the day, a bit late in India. A phenomenon that isn’t too common place. Especially with movies of this genre. Ted is nothing but a randomly made, slapstick, very predictable, romantic comedy with no class, that is labeled as entertainment by various segments of society that we live in. Something that has ceased to surprise me over the years.
John Bennet (Mark Wahlberg / Bretton Manley) is a loser. He has no friends whatsoever and is more often than not, bullied by the kids in his neighbourhood. Ergo he is also a loner. And like most kids, he hates to be a loner / loser. One Christmas, he prays for his Teddy Bear to come alive and be his friend. Well guess what – it is not for nothing that they say we should choose what we wish for very carefully.
Miraculously, Ted is alive the next day and goes onto become an overnight sensation that is lapped up by most Television channels. However, he never forgets that John is his best friend and ensures that they spend a lot of time together. Needless to say, John cannot imagine a life without Ted. What the wish however came with is a lifetime guarantee.
And now, 27 years later, John is a not so ambitious car salesman making about $30K per year and the best thing that has happened in his life after Ted is the gorgeous Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) – a successful executive in a large organization with a boss who doesn’t lose half an opportunity to hit on her. John and Lori have been in love for nearly 4 years now. People grow up out of Teddy Bears and isn’t it time to move away from Ted, now that John has pretty much decided to spend the rest of his life with Lori?
You may just about enjoy the first few minutes of cheap humour because it doesn’t quite feel too cheap honestly. With director Seth MacFarlane also giving the voice of Ted, there are some dialogues that will bring a smile to your face. But soon, most of the screenplay starts getting boring and half way into the movie you are suffering from an overdose of slapstick.
The performances are also nothing much you will really look upto. The story is quite good but lands up becoming kind of an overkill. You don’t leave the movie hall feeling happier than when you walked in and that to me is a clear indicator that you don’t need to waste your money on watching Ted on the big screen. Wait for the DVD or actually better still, watch it on TV if and when it airs. 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3048383257/
John Bennet (Mark Wahlberg / Bretton Manley) is a loser. He has no friends whatsoever and is more often than not, bullied by the kids in his neighbourhood. Ergo he is also a loner. And like most kids, he hates to be a loner / loser. One Christmas, he prays for his Teddy Bear to come alive and be his friend. Well guess what – it is not for nothing that they say we should choose what we wish for very carefully.
Miraculously, Ted is alive the next day and goes onto become an overnight sensation that is lapped up by most Television channels. However, he never forgets that John is his best friend and ensures that they spend a lot of time together. Needless to say, John cannot imagine a life without Ted. What the wish however came with is a lifetime guarantee.
And now, 27 years later, John is a not so ambitious car salesman making about $30K per year and the best thing that has happened in his life after Ted is the gorgeous Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) – a successful executive in a large organization with a boss who doesn’t lose half an opportunity to hit on her. John and Lori have been in love for nearly 4 years now. People grow up out of Teddy Bears and isn’t it time to move away from Ted, now that John has pretty much decided to spend the rest of his life with Lori?
You may just about enjoy the first few minutes of cheap humour because it doesn’t quite feel too cheap honestly. With director Seth MacFarlane also giving the voice of Ted, there are some dialogues that will bring a smile to your face. But soon, most of the screenplay starts getting boring and half way into the movie you are suffering from an overdose of slapstick.
The performances are also nothing much you will really look upto. The story is quite good but lands up becoming kind of an overkill. You don’t leave the movie hall feeling happier than when you walked in and that to me is a clear indicator that you don’t need to waste your money on watching Ted on the big screen. Wait for the DVD or actually better still, watch it on TV if and when it airs. 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3048383257/
Skyfall
It’s a dark corridor in a not so great looking room. Just that kind that James Bond (Daniel Craig) would find himself in. He takes a few steps. Prepares to take aim, walks into a slightly brighter room where 2 bodies are lying on the floor. In the next room, lying on a single seater sofa is Agent Ronson (Bill Buckhurst) who has been shot and is losing blood. Bond helps Ronson by putting some pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding but duty calls.
There is a laptop that’s lying smashed on the floor. The Hard Drive is missing. The drive that contains the identity of every MI6 agent under cover with several terrorist organizations across the world. Bond is asked to give chase and joined in a by-lane by an unidentified gorgeous dark lady (Naomie Harris) and a chase ensues. They bring a black Audi down but the killer – Patrice (Ola Rapace) gets away on a police bike.
A superb chase sequence ensues that leads you across the streets of Istanbul and then onto the roof tops. All through the chase, you are holding onto the arms of your seat. Unidentified gorgeous dark lady cuts off killer on bridge. Killer is smart and jumps off the bridge onto a train that’s passing by. Bond follows suit. Gun Shots flying all around the place. One gets Bond on the right side of his chest when he is getting into an excavator that is being transported by the same train.
Killer is smart. Tries to delink the two bogies. Bond is smarter. He uses excavator to grab onto the top of the bogie that’s ahead. Crushes a few VW Beetles in the process and jumps onto the front car. Fist fight time. That goes over a few kilometers inside tunnels across the hills. In the meantime, unidentified gorgeous dark lady has overtaken train and is setting up to take a shot.
No clear shot available. M (Dame Judie Dench) orders her to, “Take the bloody shot”. Bond is hit. Falls off the train into a ravine and a river a few hundred feet below the bridge. Cut to Skyfall by Adele that reminds you of Shirley Bassey singing the early Bond tracks. By now, you are quite certain – this is a great Bond movie coming up.
The entire cast oozes complete class. The classic Bond sarcasm still intact. Just enough chases and fights to ensure that the concept of Bond doesn’t take the back foot. Very slow and intriguing build up to the climax. A villain that makes your blood crawl and has unfortunately not been given sufficient screen time – Bardem enters halfway into the movie. If anything was missing, it would have been the women who weren’t available in plenty like they usually are.
For a Bond fan – superb movie. For someone who isn’t – you may not like it. I loved it. Especially the Sam Mendes touch – not someone who you would associate with a Bond movie but then – once a class director, always a class director. Ensure this is part of your weekend. 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi973841433/
There is a laptop that’s lying smashed on the floor. The Hard Drive is missing. The drive that contains the identity of every MI6 agent under cover with several terrorist organizations across the world. Bond is asked to give chase and joined in a by-lane by an unidentified gorgeous dark lady (Naomie Harris) and a chase ensues. They bring a black Audi down but the killer – Patrice (Ola Rapace) gets away on a police bike.
A superb chase sequence ensues that leads you across the streets of Istanbul and then onto the roof tops. All through the chase, you are holding onto the arms of your seat. Unidentified gorgeous dark lady cuts off killer on bridge. Killer is smart and jumps off the bridge onto a train that’s passing by. Bond follows suit. Gun Shots flying all around the place. One gets Bond on the right side of his chest when he is getting into an excavator that is being transported by the same train.
Killer is smart. Tries to delink the two bogies. Bond is smarter. He uses excavator to grab onto the top of the bogie that’s ahead. Crushes a few VW Beetles in the process and jumps onto the front car. Fist fight time. That goes over a few kilometers inside tunnels across the hills. In the meantime, unidentified gorgeous dark lady has overtaken train and is setting up to take a shot.
No clear shot available. M (Dame Judie Dench) orders her to, “Take the bloody shot”. Bond is hit. Falls off the train into a ravine and a river a few hundred feet below the bridge. Cut to Skyfall by Adele that reminds you of Shirley Bassey singing the early Bond tracks. By now, you are quite certain – this is a great Bond movie coming up.
The entire cast oozes complete class. The classic Bond sarcasm still intact. Just enough chases and fights to ensure that the concept of Bond doesn’t take the back foot. Very slow and intriguing build up to the climax. A villain that makes your blood crawl and has unfortunately not been given sufficient screen time – Bardem enters halfway into the movie. If anything was missing, it would have been the women who weren’t available in plenty like they usually are.
For a Bond fan – superb movie. For someone who isn’t – you may not like it. I loved it. Especially the Sam Mendes touch – not someone who you would associate with a Bond movie but then – once a class director, always a class director. Ensure this is part of your weekend. 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi973841433/
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Cloud Atlas
Spoiler Alert – There are several brilliant actors in this movie who play multiple characters – upto 6 of them each. We start with the great Tom Hanks who is definitely on his way to an Oscar nomination if not an eventual win that will take him to the maximum Oscars won by an actor in a lead role. I called it a spoiler alert because it is an intrinsic part of the movie.
There is Hugh Grant who has come up with what could be argued as his best performance to date. There is the ever dependable Jim Broadbent whose powerful presence and even more powerful characters take away the sheen from the performances of those who aren’t as experienced as this brilliant actor. And then there is the most under rated of all – Hugo Weaving who looks and acts as sinister as ever.
And I haven’t touched upon the other people in the star cast – Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, James D’Arcy – oh the list goes on and on. Needless to say, Cloud Atlas is a movie that owes a lot to its actors. Full marks to the casting directors.
Full marks again to the Wachowski Brothers (or should I say siblings, now that Larry is Lana after his sex change operation) who have collaborated with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run / The International) after a hiatus of 4 years. And what a project!!! To get David Mitchell’s Epic Science Fiction novel of the same name onto the big screen was a project that – let me stick my neck out here – only the Wachowskis were capable of pulling off.
Cloud Atlas is a complicated series of 6 stories in different time periods from 1849 in the South Pacific to what I could only call as a really distant future. The movie calls it 106 winters after the fall @ the Big Isle. All central characters in each story can be perceived as reincarnations of the central character from the previous story. Each one of them is identifiable through a birthmark that resembles a comet.
Now I haven’t read the David Mitchell book yet but have made a mental note to get my hands on it at the earliest possible. I suggest you do as well. And if you can manage to hold back your patience and not watch the movie till you read the book, it will hold you in good stead for sure. Hazarding a guess – The Wachowskis would have stayed true to the book with some not so subtle changes that are signature to them.
Cloud Atlas is the kind of movie you will watch only if you love Epic movies and are excited about the idea of multiple story lines that are around a central connect of some kind and totally confuse the heebijeebies out of you. If you don’t like such movies then avoid it like the plague. In my books – 8 on 10 and must watch. Will watch again during the week for certain. Loved it!!! Go Wachowskis!!! Definitely top 10 for the year!!!!
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/
There is Hugh Grant who has come up with what could be argued as his best performance to date. There is the ever dependable Jim Broadbent whose powerful presence and even more powerful characters take away the sheen from the performances of those who aren’t as experienced as this brilliant actor. And then there is the most under rated of all – Hugo Weaving who looks and acts as sinister as ever.
And I haven’t touched upon the other people in the star cast – Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Keith David, James D’Arcy – oh the list goes on and on. Needless to say, Cloud Atlas is a movie that owes a lot to its actors. Full marks to the casting directors.
Full marks again to the Wachowski Brothers (or should I say siblings, now that Larry is Lana after his sex change operation) who have collaborated with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run / The International) after a hiatus of 4 years. And what a project!!! To get David Mitchell’s Epic Science Fiction novel of the same name onto the big screen was a project that – let me stick my neck out here – only the Wachowskis were capable of pulling off.
Cloud Atlas is a complicated series of 6 stories in different time periods from 1849 in the South Pacific to what I could only call as a really distant future. The movie calls it 106 winters after the fall @ the Big Isle. All central characters in each story can be perceived as reincarnations of the central character from the previous story. Each one of them is identifiable through a birthmark that resembles a comet.
Now I haven’t read the David Mitchell book yet but have made a mental note to get my hands on it at the earliest possible. I suggest you do as well. And if you can manage to hold back your patience and not watch the movie till you read the book, it will hold you in good stead for sure. Hazarding a guess – The Wachowskis would have stayed true to the book with some not so subtle changes that are signature to them.
Cloud Atlas is the kind of movie you will watch only if you love Epic movies and are excited about the idea of multiple story lines that are around a central connect of some kind and totally confuse the heebijeebies out of you. If you don’t like such movies then avoid it like the plague. In my books – 8 on 10 and must watch. Will watch again during the week for certain. Loved it!!! Go Wachowskis!!! Definitely top 10 for the year!!!!
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/
Friday, 26 October 2012
Rush
I have immense respect for Emraan Hashmi and his choice of movies. When he is part of a Mahesh Bhatt venture, you can be rest assured that the quality of music will be brilliant, the movie will be just about average, there will be at least one hot woman in the movie and to top it up, there will be a few kissing scenes and a love making scene if you are lucky.
To get this recipe bang on right from the first time and then to repeat it time after time can be only classified as an art form. One which Hashmi has mastered over the years. Or has he? Lets start the process of picking apart Rush. But first a quick look at the story
We have Sam Grover (Hashmi), who is a successful crime reporter @ Pulse 365. He gets an opportunity to interview a contract killer Prince (Murli Sharma) who spills the beans on some killings he has been part of in the cent past. But things go awry when the cops start chasing Sam and the big bosses take offence to the coverage of the killing of a reputed socialite. Sam is asked to leave.
But waiting to pounce on the opportunity are Lisa (Neha Dhupia) and her boss Roger Khanna (Aditya Panscholi) who seduce Sam with a more than lucrative offer. Sam is to replace the recently murdered editor in chief of Crime 24 (owned by Roger). Despite sme doubts, Sam takes up the offer but soon starts smelling a few fish.
Rush is peppered with several inconsistencies throughout. Firstly, the entire operation of Crime 24 seems to be too easy to be believed. More importantly, no one actually understands how they are always first on the scene every single time. Then there is the ease with which Sam manages to get his girlfriend Ahana (Sagarika Ghatge) out of the clutches of kidnappers. All too much to be believed.
Unlike most Hashmi movies, the music is average at best and really badly timed. The dialogues are insipid and sometimes just downright low standard - Jo Adams risk nahin leta, USA future risky ho jaataa hai (one doesn't take risks has a risky future). What was the script writer thinking???? The only thing better this time owns the presence of 2 really hot women (not including the bikini clad Eurasian models). Hashmi gets lucky with both (grrrr)
Lesser said about newbie director Shamin Desai, the better it would be for his career. Hashmi and Dhupia do reasonably well in their roles but to too great. The rest of the cast is either non existent or just downright bad. No reason for the show to have been houseful @ PVR Goregaon. Don't waste your time on this one. 4 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJkQEVWHl3A
To get this recipe bang on right from the first time and then to repeat it time after time can be only classified as an art form. One which Hashmi has mastered over the years. Or has he? Lets start the process of picking apart Rush. But first a quick look at the story
We have Sam Grover (Hashmi), who is a successful crime reporter @ Pulse 365. He gets an opportunity to interview a contract killer Prince (Murli Sharma) who spills the beans on some killings he has been part of in the cent past. But things go awry when the cops start chasing Sam and the big bosses take offence to the coverage of the killing of a reputed socialite. Sam is asked to leave.
But waiting to pounce on the opportunity are Lisa (Neha Dhupia) and her boss Roger Khanna (Aditya Panscholi) who seduce Sam with a more than lucrative offer. Sam is to replace the recently murdered editor in chief of Crime 24 (owned by Roger). Despite sme doubts, Sam takes up the offer but soon starts smelling a few fish.
Rush is peppered with several inconsistencies throughout. Firstly, the entire operation of Crime 24 seems to be too easy to be believed. More importantly, no one actually understands how they are always first on the scene every single time. Then there is the ease with which Sam manages to get his girlfriend Ahana (Sagarika Ghatge) out of the clutches of kidnappers. All too much to be believed.
Unlike most Hashmi movies, the music is average at best and really badly timed. The dialogues are insipid and sometimes just downright low standard - Jo Adams risk nahin leta, USA future risky ho jaataa hai (one doesn't take risks has a risky future). What was the script writer thinking???? The only thing better this time owns the presence of 2 really hot women (not including the bikini clad Eurasian models). Hashmi gets lucky with both (grrrr)
Lesser said about newbie director Shamin Desai, the better it would be for his career. Hashmi and Dhupia do reasonably well in their roles but to too great. The rest of the cast is either non existent or just downright bad. No reason for the show to have been houseful @ PVR Goregaon. Don't waste your time on this one. 4 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJkQEVWHl3A
Ajab Gazabb Love
Jackky Bhagnani and Uday Chopra have two things in common. Rich fathers who produce movies. And more importantly those who are willing to ignore the fact that their sons are incompetent actors and nowhere remotely close to good looking. Regretably, one of these days their luck is bound to run out because their families will start figuring out the losses they are making repeatedly. And apparently, the additional k in the name hasn’t made any difference to Jackky’s competencies and luck.
Along with Jackky in Ajab Gazabb Love, we have to tolerate several people. Arjun Rampal in a double role that is excruciatingly painful. And it has very little to do with the corny names – Karan – Arjun. It has a lot to do with the constipated attempt that they falsely call acting. There should be a penalty for lying to the people in this manner including ban on any further performances till marked improvement is noticed.
Then there is the newbie Nidhi Subbaiah who could not have picked a more horrible movie to debut in. Usually in a good movie, even if her acting was below par, it would have gone un-noticed thanks to the really good looks. Unfortunately for Nidhi, she is as horrible an actress as the movie is. The support cast led by Kirron Kher 7 Darshan Jariwala can do very little to salvage any pride for the movie.
Rajveer (Jackky) is a multi millionaire whose father (Jariwala) is a massive industrialist. They are in the business of cars. And Rajveer has worked for nearly 2 years building his DC – Dream Car. While his mother (Kirron Kher) is waiting for her DB – Dream Bahu. And that is not the corniest line in the movie. There is more.
Anyways, our hero sees a girl listening to music and walking down the escalator of his office and falls in love immediately. Only to find out in a couple of days that she hates rich people. So to make her fall for him, our hero decides to get his entire family pretend to be miserably poor. That, in sum and substance is the story.
I wonder what director Sanjay Gadhvi thinking when he put in so many cavalcades in the movie. Everyone and their uncle comes with their entourage of 6 to 7 cars that would put the Prime Minister’s rally to shame. And then there is the usual useless fat friend who speaks in horrible Hindi – and I am being nice when I say that.
All in all, a horrible waste of time. The best part of the movie was the trailer of Jab Tak Hai Jaan in the interval. 1 on 10 for Ajab Gazabb Love
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VrAvbrSm00
Along with Jackky in Ajab Gazabb Love, we have to tolerate several people. Arjun Rampal in a double role that is excruciatingly painful. And it has very little to do with the corny names – Karan – Arjun. It has a lot to do with the constipated attempt that they falsely call acting. There should be a penalty for lying to the people in this manner including ban on any further performances till marked improvement is noticed.
Then there is the newbie Nidhi Subbaiah who could not have picked a more horrible movie to debut in. Usually in a good movie, even if her acting was below par, it would have gone un-noticed thanks to the really good looks. Unfortunately for Nidhi, she is as horrible an actress as the movie is. The support cast led by Kirron Kher 7 Darshan Jariwala can do very little to salvage any pride for the movie.
Rajveer (Jackky) is a multi millionaire whose father (Jariwala) is a massive industrialist. They are in the business of cars. And Rajveer has worked for nearly 2 years building his DC – Dream Car. While his mother (Kirron Kher) is waiting for her DB – Dream Bahu. And that is not the corniest line in the movie. There is more.
Anyways, our hero sees a girl listening to music and walking down the escalator of his office and falls in love immediately. Only to find out in a couple of days that she hates rich people. So to make her fall for him, our hero decides to get his entire family pretend to be miserably poor. That, in sum and substance is the story.
I wonder what director Sanjay Gadhvi thinking when he put in so many cavalcades in the movie. Everyone and their uncle comes with their entourage of 6 to 7 cars that would put the Prime Minister’s rally to shame. And then there is the usual useless fat friend who speaks in horrible Hindi – and I am being nice when I say that.
All in all, a horrible waste of time. The best part of the movie was the trailer of Jab Tak Hai Jaan in the interval. 1 on 10 for Ajab Gazabb Love
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VrAvbrSm00
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Chakravyuh
Naxalite - a member of an extreme Maoist group in India that originated in 1967 in West Bengal and which employs tactics of agrarian terrorism and direct action. Named after Naxalbari, a town in West Bengal where the movement started.
That’s how the world knows them. But every coin has 2 sides is what they say. And Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh tries to paint a picture that gives us a perspective of both sides of the story. At no point of time in the movie does Jha take a side. He leaves it to the intelligence of the audience to figure out right or wrong by themselves.
Adil Khan (Arjun Rampal) is married to Rhea Menon (Esha Gupta). They are both cops and with a great amount of difficulty ensure that they get posted at the same location – Bhopal. Adil’s best friend is Kabir (Abhay Deol). They completed their graduation together and then join the police force. Kabir is a hot head and stands for what is right. He gets into a fight with a cop and is forced to leave the forces.
Seven years later, after several failed business attempts, Kabir re-surfaces and makes up with Adil. At the same time, Adil decides to take up a challenging posting deep in Naxal territory. Stupid decision but one that prompts Kabir to step in to help him. They plan to seed Kabir into the Naxal group led by Govind Suryavanshi (Om Puri) and Rajan (Manoj Bajpai). The group is ably supported by Naga (Murli Sharma) and Juhi (Anjali Patil).
As Kabir goes about building his credibility and playing the role of an informer, he slowly but surely starts seeing merit in what the Naxals are upto. How the poor get more and more marginalized and how the rich (read politicians) squeeze the maximum out of the land. But he is also well aware of the fact that the way the Naxals are going about their job is not the best possible way. That’s where Jha strikes a fine balance.
Which side is right in the war where truck loads of blood is being spilt through ages of in-fighting? At the end of the day, if there are 2 parties losing they are the police force and the naxals. The people who are in power, running the country are sitting pretty and laughing their way to the bank. Only a matter of time before this entire movement reaches a boiling point and both cops and naxals start targeting who need to be targeted.
Prakash Jha’s attempt, however, falls flat. Mainly in the aspects of finishing. The cheapest of all green screens gives an effect that’s over 30 years old. The sound mixing and quality was poor. The stunts were even worse. Adil Khan charging into a band of naxals like Bajirao Singham was comical to say the least. Why would Jha stoop to such levels is beyond understanding.
The screenplay and dialogues were not too great either. Abhay Deol is fast losing his edge as an actor who takes his role seriously. Esha Gupta has about 6 minutes and 32.83 seconds of screen time where she manages to hold her own. And Arjun Rampal is as always only eye candy for the women. The music is not too inspiring either. Overall a very disappointing effort from Jha. Without the good story line it would have been a disaster. 5 on 10. Watch it on TV.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnamEA8iLGY
That’s how the world knows them. But every coin has 2 sides is what they say. And Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh tries to paint a picture that gives us a perspective of both sides of the story. At no point of time in the movie does Jha take a side. He leaves it to the intelligence of the audience to figure out right or wrong by themselves.
Adil Khan (Arjun Rampal) is married to Rhea Menon (Esha Gupta). They are both cops and with a great amount of difficulty ensure that they get posted at the same location – Bhopal. Adil’s best friend is Kabir (Abhay Deol). They completed their graduation together and then join the police force. Kabir is a hot head and stands for what is right. He gets into a fight with a cop and is forced to leave the forces.
Seven years later, after several failed business attempts, Kabir re-surfaces and makes up with Adil. At the same time, Adil decides to take up a challenging posting deep in Naxal territory. Stupid decision but one that prompts Kabir to step in to help him. They plan to seed Kabir into the Naxal group led by Govind Suryavanshi (Om Puri) and Rajan (Manoj Bajpai). The group is ably supported by Naga (Murli Sharma) and Juhi (Anjali Patil).
As Kabir goes about building his credibility and playing the role of an informer, he slowly but surely starts seeing merit in what the Naxals are upto. How the poor get more and more marginalized and how the rich (read politicians) squeeze the maximum out of the land. But he is also well aware of the fact that the way the Naxals are going about their job is not the best possible way. That’s where Jha strikes a fine balance.
Which side is right in the war where truck loads of blood is being spilt through ages of in-fighting? At the end of the day, if there are 2 parties losing they are the police force and the naxals. The people who are in power, running the country are sitting pretty and laughing their way to the bank. Only a matter of time before this entire movement reaches a boiling point and both cops and naxals start targeting who need to be targeted.
Prakash Jha’s attempt, however, falls flat. Mainly in the aspects of finishing. The cheapest of all green screens gives an effect that’s over 30 years old. The sound mixing and quality was poor. The stunts were even worse. Adil Khan charging into a band of naxals like Bajirao Singham was comical to say the least. Why would Jha stoop to such levels is beyond understanding.
The screenplay and dialogues were not too great either. Abhay Deol is fast losing his edge as an actor who takes his role seriously. Esha Gupta has about 6 minutes and 32.83 seconds of screen time where she manages to hold her own. And Arjun Rampal is as always only eye candy for the women. The music is not too inspiring either. Overall a very disappointing effort from Jha. Without the good story line it would have been a disaster. 5 on 10. Watch it on TV.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnamEA8iLGY
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Argo
I have always respected Ben Affleck as a director in comparison to Ben Affleck the actor. Most movies where Affleck has been in the lead role have exposed his weakness. I can think of probably one movie where his performance as an actor was quite controlled and well executed – Valentines Day (if I remember correctly).
But the minute our man dons the director’s hat, he seems to be much better placed. I thought The Town was slow but it was quite well made. There was an effort to paint a picture with each character and the overall story. Ditto with Gone Baby Gone. Both were very intense movies.
I have heard that both Affleck and Matt Damon – the young guard of Hollywood about 20 years back are great thinkers when it comes upto cinema. Screenplay and direction. With Argo, Affleck has definitely taken himself to the next level – both as a director as well as an actor.
Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé), Joe Stafford (Scooty McNairy), Bob Anders (Tate Donovan) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane) owe their lives to one Antonio Joseph Mendez (Ben Affleck). Tony was or should I say is an exfiltration expert of sorts – someone who specializes in getting people out a particular troubled country and take them back home.
Why does he need to do that because the 6 of them are holed up @ the house of the Canadian Ambassador to Iran – Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). This is after the revolutionary Iranians take the US Embassy Hostage on the 4th November 1979. Our 6 diplomats escape just in the nick of time and find their way to Ambassador Taylor’s house after being rejected by a couple of other embassies.
Along with Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and Academy award winner John Chambers (John Goodman), Tony hatches a plot to make a sci-fi movie – Argo. It would be set in a middle eastern location. To ensure that there are doubts which creep up, the team does everything that a movie maker would have been expected to do from the script to the director to press releases to posters – the works.
Argo differs from most other espionage movies on two major counts. Firstly there is a distinct addition of humour that makes it easy to watch. There are almost no action sequences but enough and more of edge of the seat drama. Other than these 2 aspects there is a stunning start with a background of the revolution which grabs you by the scruff of your neck and pushes you down to your seat.
Great use of fade in and fade outs at the appropriate moments. Some really good camera work there. The use of 2 audio tracks overlapping like when the Iranians are proclaiming that severe action will be taken on the hostages and the Argo screenplay reading is being done for the press – superb!!! The screenplay is fantastic.
My prediction – Argo should get nominated in the top 10 of the year. It would get a nomination for screenplay and just maybe (an outside chance based on the Hollywood movies that I have seen this year) a nomination for direction for Affleck. If none of these work out… Argo Fuck Yourself (watch to understand). 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1537319449/
And read the article on the Canadian Caper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Caper
But the minute our man dons the director’s hat, he seems to be much better placed. I thought The Town was slow but it was quite well made. There was an effort to paint a picture with each character and the overall story. Ditto with Gone Baby Gone. Both were very intense movies.
I have heard that both Affleck and Matt Damon – the young guard of Hollywood about 20 years back are great thinkers when it comes upto cinema. Screenplay and direction. With Argo, Affleck has definitely taken himself to the next level – both as a director as well as an actor.
Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé), Joe Stafford (Scooty McNairy), Bob Anders (Tate Donovan) and Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane) owe their lives to one Antonio Joseph Mendez (Ben Affleck). Tony was or should I say is an exfiltration expert of sorts – someone who specializes in getting people out a particular troubled country and take them back home.
Why does he need to do that because the 6 of them are holed up @ the house of the Canadian Ambassador to Iran – Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). This is after the revolutionary Iranians take the US Embassy Hostage on the 4th November 1979. Our 6 diplomats escape just in the nick of time and find their way to Ambassador Taylor’s house after being rejected by a couple of other embassies.
Along with Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and Academy award winner John Chambers (John Goodman), Tony hatches a plot to make a sci-fi movie – Argo. It would be set in a middle eastern location. To ensure that there are doubts which creep up, the team does everything that a movie maker would have been expected to do from the script to the director to press releases to posters – the works.
Argo differs from most other espionage movies on two major counts. Firstly there is a distinct addition of humour that makes it easy to watch. There are almost no action sequences but enough and more of edge of the seat drama. Other than these 2 aspects there is a stunning start with a background of the revolution which grabs you by the scruff of your neck and pushes you down to your seat.
Great use of fade in and fade outs at the appropriate moments. Some really good camera work there. The use of 2 audio tracks overlapping like when the Iranians are proclaiming that severe action will be taken on the hostages and the Argo screenplay reading is being done for the press – superb!!! The screenplay is fantastic.
My prediction – Argo should get nominated in the top 10 of the year. It would get a nomination for screenplay and just maybe (an outside chance based on the Hollywood movies that I have seen this year) a nomination for direction for Affleck. If none of these work out… Argo Fuck Yourself (watch to understand). 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1537319449/
And read the article on the Canadian Caper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Caper
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Premium Rush
One would be fair to wonder how we are seeing a lot of Joseph Gordon Levitt of late. Last week with Looper and now with Premium Rush. That’s 2 movies in 2 weeks. The Dark Knight Rises earlier this year. And Lincoln – that is yet to be released. Quite a line up for someone who till recently was considered to be a baby in Hollywood. 31 is definitely a baby by Hollywood standards.
Did you know that Hawala is a word that is not restricted to only India? I was kind of surprised when I heard the word come up not once but twice through the movie. First when the old Chinese man says it (in subtitle) and then the corrupt cop, Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) tells Nima (Jamie Chung) that she will not get too far ahead with the Hawala money that she intends to transfer. Nima does transfer the money but all she gets in return in a small chit of paper with a smiley from the old Chinese Man.
That is the simple package that Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is asked to deliver as part of his responsibility as a cycle courier guy for Security Courier. It would seem there are 1300 such couriers in NYC (That’s quite a number right. But then that’s quite a city from what I hear). But our man has no clue about the contents of the envelope. It is only when Bobby Monday starts chasing him down the streets of NYC does he start suspecting that there is something fishy about the package.
David Koepp is not the most well known director of our time but he is definitely known for his screenplay. The star studded list includes Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spiderman and Mission Impossible amongst other big names. So it comes as no surprise that Premium Rush turns out to be a thrill a minute ride that runs through the Big Apple.
Premium Rush was portrayed through all its trailers as a movie that was studded with edge of the seat chase sequences on bicycles as against the regular cars or bikes. That definitely upped the intrigue value of the movie manifold. Unlike Looper, Premium Rush shows just what is required in the trailer and not the entire movie.
In fact there is a lot more that the movie has to offer other than the trailer and that adds to the great 90 minute ride. As the sign off line says – Fixed wheel. No Gears. Steel Frame. Enjoy the ride!!! 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2131665433/
Did you know that Hawala is a word that is not restricted to only India? I was kind of surprised when I heard the word come up not once but twice through the movie. First when the old Chinese man says it (in subtitle) and then the corrupt cop, Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) tells Nima (Jamie Chung) that she will not get too far ahead with the Hawala money that she intends to transfer. Nima does transfer the money but all she gets in return in a small chit of paper with a smiley from the old Chinese Man.
That is the simple package that Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is asked to deliver as part of his responsibility as a cycle courier guy for Security Courier. It would seem there are 1300 such couriers in NYC (That’s quite a number right. But then that’s quite a city from what I hear). But our man has no clue about the contents of the envelope. It is only when Bobby Monday starts chasing him down the streets of NYC does he start suspecting that there is something fishy about the package.
David Koepp is not the most well known director of our time but he is definitely known for his screenplay. The star studded list includes Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spiderman and Mission Impossible amongst other big names. So it comes as no surprise that Premium Rush turns out to be a thrill a minute ride that runs through the Big Apple.
Premium Rush was portrayed through all its trailers as a movie that was studded with edge of the seat chase sequences on bicycles as against the regular cars or bikes. That definitely upped the intrigue value of the movie manifold. Unlike Looper, Premium Rush shows just what is required in the trailer and not the entire movie.
In fact there is a lot more that the movie has to offer other than the trailer and that adds to the great 90 minute ride. As the sign off line says – Fixed wheel. No Gears. Steel Frame. Enjoy the ride!!! 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2131665433/
Friday, 19 October 2012
Secondhand Lions
I first saw Secondhand Lions on my trip to Singapore way back in 2004. It was part of the inflight entertainment on Singapore Airlines. And I remember having searched for the DVD for quite a while before I eventually found it. Needless to say, I picked it up the moment I laid my eyes on it.
And I do not usually let an opportunity by to watch it again. So, when Prarthana said she had not seen it, I had to make the most of the opportunity. Took us a few weeks to get around to eventually seeing it but I would not be lying if I said that both of us enjoyed it thoroughly. She was seeing it for the first time. I had lost count.
Garth (Michael Caine / Kevin Haberer) and Hub (Robert Duvall / Christian Kane) are seventy something young men – I say young because of their immense zest for life. They are now retired and rumour has it that they are loaded. Not with assets and money in the bank. But with hard cash. Cash they have stowed away somewhere on their estate. Far away from most civilization.
Cash that has various theories about its origin. One of them states that Garth and Hub were extremely famous bank robbers of the 1940s. Led by the brave and courageous Hub. Backed with the intelligence of Garth. A more popular story was about them being bounty hunters and the money was hard earned and to a significant extent given by a Shiekh (Adam Ozturk) who Hub defeated while wooing their mutual love interest – Jasmine (Emmanuelle Vaugier).
So, when Mae (Kyra Sedgwick), gets wind of the fact that her uncles are loaded, she decides that the best way to get her hands on the money is by leaving her son Walter (Haley Joel Osment) with them. Truth is that she wants to leave a life that is far more adventurous than handling an eleven year old. The rest of the story is about how Walter actually builds a strong bond of trust, love and most importantly faith with his uncles.
I must forewarn you that there is a possibility of shedding a tear of joy or two while you watch Secondhand Lions. Thankfully it will be a tear of joy for a wonderful story of faith. Of how we choose to be either happy or sad. To be either trusting or skeptical. And it is the faith that we have around the stories that we hear that gives us the strength and happiness to go though life – one day at a time.
Director Tim McCanlies’ best piece of work would be this one. And he probably had very little to do with it. The sheer ease with which Duvall, Caine and Osmont essay their characters is just stunning. Needless to say, Secondhand Lions is a movie worth watching due to 2 aspects – Story and performances. Both of which are superb. Don’t miss an opportunity to watch this one. 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-COMJckISVY
And I do not usually let an opportunity by to watch it again. So, when Prarthana said she had not seen it, I had to make the most of the opportunity. Took us a few weeks to get around to eventually seeing it but I would not be lying if I said that both of us enjoyed it thoroughly. She was seeing it for the first time. I had lost count.
Garth (Michael Caine / Kevin Haberer) and Hub (Robert Duvall / Christian Kane) are seventy something young men – I say young because of their immense zest for life. They are now retired and rumour has it that they are loaded. Not with assets and money in the bank. But with hard cash. Cash they have stowed away somewhere on their estate. Far away from most civilization.
Cash that has various theories about its origin. One of them states that Garth and Hub were extremely famous bank robbers of the 1940s. Led by the brave and courageous Hub. Backed with the intelligence of Garth. A more popular story was about them being bounty hunters and the money was hard earned and to a significant extent given by a Shiekh (Adam Ozturk) who Hub defeated while wooing their mutual love interest – Jasmine (Emmanuelle Vaugier).
So, when Mae (Kyra Sedgwick), gets wind of the fact that her uncles are loaded, she decides that the best way to get her hands on the money is by leaving her son Walter (Haley Joel Osment) with them. Truth is that she wants to leave a life that is far more adventurous than handling an eleven year old. The rest of the story is about how Walter actually builds a strong bond of trust, love and most importantly faith with his uncles.
I must forewarn you that there is a possibility of shedding a tear of joy or two while you watch Secondhand Lions. Thankfully it will be a tear of joy for a wonderful story of faith. Of how we choose to be either happy or sad. To be either trusting or skeptical. And it is the faith that we have around the stories that we hear that gives us the strength and happiness to go though life – one day at a time.
Director Tim McCanlies’ best piece of work would be this one. And he probably had very little to do with it. The sheer ease with which Duvall, Caine and Osmont essay their characters is just stunning. Needless to say, Secondhand Lions is a movie worth watching due to 2 aspects – Story and performances. Both of which are superb. Don’t miss an opportunity to watch this one. 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-COMJckISVY
Delhi Safari
I must admit first of all that a few minutes into Delhi Safari, I started losing interest and my ability to stay awake for too long. I, however, managed to stay awake all the way through using quite a bit of my will power in the process.
Now, Delhi Safari is not just an outright bad movie by any stretch of imagination. It is just that we may be the biggest suppliers for animation world over but when it comes to creating animation movies ourselves, we fall woefully short. I wonder why?
Delhi Safari tracks the story of a bunch of animals who stay in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivili, Mumbai. Thankfully, the animals are the same ones that are found around this area. A family of leopards – Sultan (Suniel Shetty), Begum (Urmila Matondkar) and their cub Yuvraj (Swini Khara).
Then there is the laid back and sensible Bagga the Bear (Boman Irani). But the chief mischief maker and the grey character is the monkey – Bajrangi (Govinda) who harbours hopes of ruling the jungle because as per him – the monkeys used to rule the world much before man came in.
Trouble starts brewing when rampant construction starts moving into the park and in the bargain, Sultan gets killed. The rest of the animals, pushed by Yuvraj’s innocence and confidence decide to take their voices all the way to Delhi – to the powers that be. Accompanying them is Alex (Akshaye Khanna), a parrot – who is the only animal who can speak the language that us humans understand.
Now, here was a superb opportunity to pivot India into the fascinating world of animation. There was a story that had a strong social angle. There were characters which were created quite well and true to the local landscape. The voice overs were to be done by a bunch of really talented people – Govinda, Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Shukla and even Prem Chopra were really good with their voices.
But there were the tacky dialogues and weak one liners that fall flat. And most importantly, when you feel that the paws of the animals don’t look like they are touching the ground – you feel the disappointment. Why not spend that extra bit of money to get the end product finished well. Always the case with Indian animation – penny wise, pound moronic – not just foolish. 5 on 10. Watch on TV if ever it comes up there.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMem1yAmAQw
Now, Delhi Safari is not just an outright bad movie by any stretch of imagination. It is just that we may be the biggest suppliers for animation world over but when it comes to creating animation movies ourselves, we fall woefully short. I wonder why?
Delhi Safari tracks the story of a bunch of animals who stay in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivili, Mumbai. Thankfully, the animals are the same ones that are found around this area. A family of leopards – Sultan (Suniel Shetty), Begum (Urmila Matondkar) and their cub Yuvraj (Swini Khara).
Then there is the laid back and sensible Bagga the Bear (Boman Irani). But the chief mischief maker and the grey character is the monkey – Bajrangi (Govinda) who harbours hopes of ruling the jungle because as per him – the monkeys used to rule the world much before man came in.
Trouble starts brewing when rampant construction starts moving into the park and in the bargain, Sultan gets killed. The rest of the animals, pushed by Yuvraj’s innocence and confidence decide to take their voices all the way to Delhi – to the powers that be. Accompanying them is Alex (Akshaye Khanna), a parrot – who is the only animal who can speak the language that us humans understand.
Now, here was a superb opportunity to pivot India into the fascinating world of animation. There was a story that had a strong social angle. There were characters which were created quite well and true to the local landscape. The voice overs were to be done by a bunch of really talented people – Govinda, Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Shukla and even Prem Chopra were really good with their voices.
But there were the tacky dialogues and weak one liners that fall flat. And most importantly, when you feel that the paws of the animals don’t look like they are touching the ground – you feel the disappointment. Why not spend that extra bit of money to get the end product finished well. Always the case with Indian animation – penny wise, pound moronic – not just foolish. 5 on 10. Watch on TV if ever it comes up there.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMem1yAmAQw
Student of the Year
Let me at the outset clarify for the benefit of the younger generation who will be the key target audience for Student Of The Year. Just because the business tycoon Nanda (Ram Kapoor) decides to wear a striped tie over a striped shirt and a striped jacket with striped trousers – DOES NOT MAKE IT ACCEPTABLE FORMAL DRESSING!!!!! Ram Kapoor could have, with a little bit of common sense, refused to make such a clown of himself in front of a billion Indians. Thankfully, the gaffe is not oft repeated during the extended 3 hours that you have to tolerate SOTY.
If you walk into SOTY expecting the usual cheesy Karan Johar movie which includes any or all of the following, then you would probably leave the cinema hall very satisfied
1. There will always be a super rich boy – Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) and a super rich girl – Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt) who will be either great friends or having an affair. In this case it is the former.
2. There will be a school or a college – in this case school – St. Teresa’s. The school will be situated in an exotic location in India – say Dehradun – but will seem like it is actually in Switzerland and have a Highland Metroploitan Hospital. Metropolitan??? Dehradun???
3. Students of a School are allowed to dress in the fanciest of clothes. Boys in Tight T shirts that show rippling muscles and if not good enough can lose the T Shirt to reconfirm your deepest doubts. Girls will be in various stages of skimpiness but will be the homely “ghar ki bahu” types in behavior when it comes to it.
4. There will be a not so rich academically brilliant boy or girl who will enter the life of the school and will shoot to fame. In this case it is Abhimanyu (Sidharth Malhotra). But even this not so rich boy will come from a household that is an independent villa with 4 parking lots and cutlery at a dining table that is worth killing for – emphasis on killing and not dying.
5. There will be a series of events that will lead to some misunderstanding or a fight between the lead trio – in this case it is a doubtful relationship between Ro (that’s short for Rohan) and Shanaya where Abhi comes in as a prospective option for the woman. And there is of course the annual SOTY contest that has been conducted under the aegis of Dean Yoginder Vashisht (Rishi Kapoor) for over 25 years. The dean has since then retired and stays in his own 23.83 bedroom villa and continues to talk to his bonsai plants. Did I mention he was gay?
So if you expect all of this and the latest in fashion and some gorgeous bodies in various stages of dress and undress then SOTY is just the movie for you. Don’t expect much in terms of dialogues or screenplay or whatever it is that makes movies better than the rest. Definitely expect corny one liners like “Tata ke stocks hila dega aur Bata ke rates badha dega” (He will get the stock market rates of Tata down and the retail rates of Bata up).
You can also expect weird situations like when Abhi threatens his grandmother (Farida Jalal) – “Tumhe kuch ho gaya toh mein tumhare saath baat nahin karunga” (If something were to happen to you, I will not talk to you ever). Dear Abhi – your Dadi was on her death bed. If something untoward were to happen to her then it would only be death. How can you speak to hear after that anyways?
Karan Johar all over from frame 1 to frame 26543 – 3 hours of standard mush. With loads of crappy dialogues and slapstick one liners thrown in. Watch it at your own risk. But if you liked his previous movies then this is a must watch. 3 great looking human specimens on display though. Which Karan Uncle is quick to take the credit for from the first frame itself. All the best if you decide to watch it. 4 on 10.
Oh and one more thing. A couple of great tracks - especially the Radha one. And it is definitely better than Aiyya if you were to ask me.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fivOhPjX9YM
If you walk into SOTY expecting the usual cheesy Karan Johar movie which includes any or all of the following, then you would probably leave the cinema hall very satisfied
1. There will always be a super rich boy – Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan) and a super rich girl – Shanaya Singhania (Alia Bhatt) who will be either great friends or having an affair. In this case it is the former.
2. There will be a school or a college – in this case school – St. Teresa’s. The school will be situated in an exotic location in India – say Dehradun – but will seem like it is actually in Switzerland and have a Highland Metroploitan Hospital. Metropolitan??? Dehradun???
3. Students of a School are allowed to dress in the fanciest of clothes. Boys in Tight T shirts that show rippling muscles and if not good enough can lose the T Shirt to reconfirm your deepest doubts. Girls will be in various stages of skimpiness but will be the homely “ghar ki bahu” types in behavior when it comes to it.
4. There will be a not so rich academically brilliant boy or girl who will enter the life of the school and will shoot to fame. In this case it is Abhimanyu (Sidharth Malhotra). But even this not so rich boy will come from a household that is an independent villa with 4 parking lots and cutlery at a dining table that is worth killing for – emphasis on killing and not dying.
5. There will be a series of events that will lead to some misunderstanding or a fight between the lead trio – in this case it is a doubtful relationship between Ro (that’s short for Rohan) and Shanaya where Abhi comes in as a prospective option for the woman. And there is of course the annual SOTY contest that has been conducted under the aegis of Dean Yoginder Vashisht (Rishi Kapoor) for over 25 years. The dean has since then retired and stays in his own 23.83 bedroom villa and continues to talk to his bonsai plants. Did I mention he was gay?
So if you expect all of this and the latest in fashion and some gorgeous bodies in various stages of dress and undress then SOTY is just the movie for you. Don’t expect much in terms of dialogues or screenplay or whatever it is that makes movies better than the rest. Definitely expect corny one liners like “Tata ke stocks hila dega aur Bata ke rates badha dega” (He will get the stock market rates of Tata down and the retail rates of Bata up).
You can also expect weird situations like when Abhi threatens his grandmother (Farida Jalal) – “Tumhe kuch ho gaya toh mein tumhare saath baat nahin karunga” (If something were to happen to you, I will not talk to you ever). Dear Abhi – your Dadi was on her death bed. If something untoward were to happen to her then it would only be death. How can you speak to hear after that anyways?
Karan Johar all over from frame 1 to frame 26543 – 3 hours of standard mush. With loads of crappy dialogues and slapstick one liners thrown in. Watch it at your own risk. But if you liked his previous movies then this is a must watch. 3 great looking human specimens on display though. Which Karan Uncle is quick to take the credit for from the first frame itself. All the best if you decide to watch it. 4 on 10.
Oh and one more thing. A couple of great tracks - especially the Radha one. And it is definitely better than Aiyya if you were to ask me.
Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fivOhPjX9YM
Thursday, 18 October 2012
Taken 2
Taken was directed by Pierre Morel who had no experience with direction. But Morel was responsible for the cinematography of Transporter 1 and 2. The fetish of the producers of the franchise with Transporter stays. This time, they have taken to (all pun intended), the director of Transporter 3 – Olivier Megaton. The fact that both names – Pierre and Olivier – sound French, is not the only similarity I guess.
Olivier would have know for certain that he had big shoes to fill in when he picked up Taken 2. Taken was an absolutely edge of the seat drama that most of us would have enjoyed. So if Mr. Olivier had just stuck to the drama and the thrill that he is used to creating (Transporter 3, Colombiana), Taken 2 should have been a walk in the park. But I guess the expectation was too huge and it comes up just that bit short on Taken.
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back with his obsessively protective behavior – one really cannot blame him for that considering the events that took place in Paris not too long back. But Kim (Maggie Grace) is now nearing adulthood and already has a boyfriend Jamie (Luke Grimes). Much as Lenore (Famke Janssen) asks her ex-husband not to interfere, his natural self gets the better of Bryan.
Simultaneously, a bunch of Albanians led by Murad Krasniqi (Rade Serbedzija) is plotting revenge. Revenge on Bryan for killing Murad’s son – Marko – in Paris. And as the poster says very subtly – They picked the wrong guy to seek revenge. So the setting moves from Paris to the extremely rustic and beautiful Istanbul with loads of bylanes which form a luscious recipe for inch perfect car chases.
Taken 2 – as mentioned earlier & as the lady on the seat behind me in the theatre commented was definitely not as good as Taken 1. One of the several reasons could be the fact that it took a long while to get to the part of being “Taken”. Add to that, the aspect of age having caught up with Mr. Neeson dramatically over the past 2 years and the hand to hand combat sequences seemed distinctly slower than the previous occasion.
Taken 2 also had some finishing issues with some clear consistency errors. It just didn’t seem to fit as well. I also have a basic question related to physics. If sound takes 4 seconds to travel then @ 340 m/s the distance should be 1540 meters i.e. 1.5 kms right? Why the, does Bryan, ask Kim to draw a circle of 4.5 kms when tracking him down? Would love to understand that.
As such, Taken 2 is definitely worth a dekko and if you haven’t seen the first part then you will enjoy it. But overall, it comes up as a 6 on 10 in my books.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1529652505/
Olivier would have know for certain that he had big shoes to fill in when he picked up Taken 2. Taken was an absolutely edge of the seat drama that most of us would have enjoyed. So if Mr. Olivier had just stuck to the drama and the thrill that he is used to creating (Transporter 3, Colombiana), Taken 2 should have been a walk in the park. But I guess the expectation was too huge and it comes up just that bit short on Taken.
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back with his obsessively protective behavior – one really cannot blame him for that considering the events that took place in Paris not too long back. But Kim (Maggie Grace) is now nearing adulthood and already has a boyfriend Jamie (Luke Grimes). Much as Lenore (Famke Janssen) asks her ex-husband not to interfere, his natural self gets the better of Bryan.
Simultaneously, a bunch of Albanians led by Murad Krasniqi (Rade Serbedzija) is plotting revenge. Revenge on Bryan for killing Murad’s son – Marko – in Paris. And as the poster says very subtly – They picked the wrong guy to seek revenge. So the setting moves from Paris to the extremely rustic and beautiful Istanbul with loads of bylanes which form a luscious recipe for inch perfect car chases.
Taken 2 – as mentioned earlier & as the lady on the seat behind me in the theatre commented was definitely not as good as Taken 1. One of the several reasons could be the fact that it took a long while to get to the part of being “Taken”. Add to that, the aspect of age having caught up with Mr. Neeson dramatically over the past 2 years and the hand to hand combat sequences seemed distinctly slower than the previous occasion.
Taken 2 also had some finishing issues with some clear consistency errors. It just didn’t seem to fit as well. I also have a basic question related to physics. If sound takes 4 seconds to travel then @ 340 m/s the distance should be 1540 meters i.e. 1.5 kms right? Why the, does Bryan, ask Kim to draw a circle of 4.5 kms when tracking him down? Would love to understand that.
As such, Taken 2 is definitely worth a dekko and if you haven’t seen the first part then you will enjoy it. But overall, it comes up as a 6 on 10 in my books.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1529652505/
Taken
I saw Taken for the first time only about 2 years after its release. It was before I started blogging. And my inputs were restricted to a facebook post that I don’t quite remember. What I do remember is an edge of the seat drama that kept me glued to the screen and made me wish that I had an HD connection – the ads just ruined the stunning pace that the movie gets into within 15 minutes of the start and stays there all the way to the last frame. Truly a Thriller fan’s delight.
And as I had the good fortune of watching Taken a few minutes back on Star Movies (this time on HD), I kind of managed to put a finger on what is it that I missed in Taken 2 that prompted me to slot a score of only 6 on 10 for the sequel. One word – INTENSITY. The complete commitment that one can see in Liam Neeson’s eyes as the father who is desperate to get his daughter back from the clutches of a ruthless bunch of Albanians who are driving a flesh trade operation through Paris.
Unfortunately for the Albanians led by Marko (Arben Bajraktaraj), Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) turns out to be an exceptionally well trained and equally ruthless ex-CIA operative. And as he says in as many words when his daughter is kidnapped, “I don’t know who you are. But if you do not let my daughter go right now, I will find you. And I will kill you”. The manner in which Neeson tells Marko can be best described in 2 words – SPINE CHILLING. And that my friends was the missing ingredient in Taken 2.
Within 72 hours, using some of the most obvious techniques and common sensical methods – backed with an ice cold calm, Bryan goes through the task of tracking down his daughter and getting her back home safe and sound. He is definitely helped with some movie luck – dodging bullets and the likes. But any such instances are fleeting in nature and well edited.
There are very few consistency errors (if any). All members of the cast do their best despite the ominous presence of Neeson and one has to accept that this was a lead character movie all the way through. But the composure of the cast goes a long way in the making of the end product.
Taken is also crisply edited. The entire movie is under 90 minutes but does not compromise on any aspect whatsoever. Taken must be screened to as many movie makers in this part of the world as possible. Just to prove a point that “Less is indeed more”. 7 on 10 and put it on your must watch list for certain.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3488219417/
And as I had the good fortune of watching Taken a few minutes back on Star Movies (this time on HD), I kind of managed to put a finger on what is it that I missed in Taken 2 that prompted me to slot a score of only 6 on 10 for the sequel. One word – INTENSITY. The complete commitment that one can see in Liam Neeson’s eyes as the father who is desperate to get his daughter back from the clutches of a ruthless bunch of Albanians who are driving a flesh trade operation through Paris.
Unfortunately for the Albanians led by Marko (Arben Bajraktaraj), Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) turns out to be an exceptionally well trained and equally ruthless ex-CIA operative. And as he says in as many words when his daughter is kidnapped, “I don’t know who you are. But if you do not let my daughter go right now, I will find you. And I will kill you”. The manner in which Neeson tells Marko can be best described in 2 words – SPINE CHILLING. And that my friends was the missing ingredient in Taken 2.
Within 72 hours, using some of the most obvious techniques and common sensical methods – backed with an ice cold calm, Bryan goes through the task of tracking down his daughter and getting her back home safe and sound. He is definitely helped with some movie luck – dodging bullets and the likes. But any such instances are fleeting in nature and well edited.
There are very few consistency errors (if any). All members of the cast do their best despite the ominous presence of Neeson and one has to accept that this was a lead character movie all the way through. But the composure of the cast goes a long way in the making of the end product.
Taken is also crisply edited. The entire movie is under 90 minutes but does not compromise on any aspect whatsoever. Taken must be screened to as many movie makers in this part of the world as possible. Just to prove a point that “Less is indeed more”. 7 on 10 and put it on your must watch list for certain.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3488219417/
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