Shootout at Wadala

Manohar Arjun Surve (John Abraham) scored 78% in his graduation exams in 1970.  At that point in time, it would have been stunning and would have put him at the top of his class.  But the Mumbai police had slightly different plans for the body builder from Dadar thanks to his involvement in a murder that his brother committed.

Bombay Talkies

Last Friday (26^th April 2013), I was watching The Front Row with Anupama Chopra.  It was the 1^st anniversary edition and the one that previewed Bombay Talkies with its four directors.  During the show, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee were waxing eloquent about Karan Johar.

Aashiqui 2

First of all, why is it that movie makers these days resort to using the name of a movie that is over 20 years old to mislead the audience? Is it because they know that their movie is so bad that if not for these cheap efforts, no one will come to see it? Can you think of any other reason for them to do this?

Iron Man 3

You remember what I always say about sequels and their directors.  I keep insisting that sequels should be directed by the same director.  So in this case it should have been Jon Favreau.  But believe me when I say this.  Moving to Shane Black for Iron Man 3 was probably the best thing that has ever happened to this franchise.

Scary MoVie

Lets use this opportunity to run a survey.  You have to be absolutely true to yourself in this survey.  Remember there are no right answers or no wrong ones.  There are just answers that you have given to yourself. This survey will not be recorded or shared with anyone.  There can only be 2 answers – Yes or No.  Are you ready? Here goes.

The Host (2013)

How many of you are fans of Stephenie Meyer? The same person who tortured us with the Twilight series and the movies that came in after that.  Even if you are a fan, you will find The Host to be one of the biggest drags that has ever graced cinema – one that will challenge every single muscle in your eyelids from not dropping off.

Firstly she has moved from Fantasia to science fiction – a genre that she should keep away from for the rest of her life.  Because there is nothing in SciFi that can be slow.  Right? But Meyer thinks differently and therefore she has challenged the status quo only to get egg on her face.

We have reached an age on earth where there are little or no worries There is no pollution.  The ozone layer has come back to the way it used to be.  There are little or no instances of terrorism.  It is a peaceful existence. But there is more to it.  We have been invaded by an alien force which has got us to this situation.

Hell.  I say get those aliens into this world soon.  It would seem that they take over human beings like parasites.  They use their bodies to survive after erasing their memories.  They have taken over mother earth and the last living human beings are struggling to stay alive and keeping away from the Seekers.

One of the last few humans is Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) who gets captured by The Seeker (Diane Kruger).  She gets her new soul which will be called Wanderer and eventually Wanda.  However, Melanie’s mind resists the change and slowly but surely converts Wanda into an empathizer and eventually a supporter of the human race.

By now, if you haven’t clawed your hair apart or scratched your face like you see in those zombie movies, then you should be given a medal (1 am first in line there).  If that doesn’t kill you, don’t worry, the complete lack of any sensible screenplay or dialogues will definitely manage it.

What is surprising is that an otherwise sensible director, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, In Time) actually agreed to direct this piece of writing.  That it was produced by Stephenie Meyer herself comes as no surprise because no self-respecting producer would have probably agreed to it.  Ditto for Saoirse (Seersha) Ronan and Diane Kruger who are fine actresses and find themselves in this silly soup.

Do you remember that Tom & Jerry episode where Tom is feeling so sleepy that he has to use matchsticks to prop his eyebrows up? Take as many matchsticks as you can because you will need them.  The Host is better than most of the sleeping pills available in the market.  3 on 10 purely because of some decent performances and effects.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1617274649/?ref_=tt_ov_vi

The Croods

The most surprising part that I found about The Croods in my research is that the story is co-written by John Cleese.  The John Cleese from Fish Called Wanda? I beg the makers to clarify.  The imdb link indicates that.  Either ways, it will not impact my rating of the movie because it turns out to be one that is slightly above average at best.

Ek Thi Daayan

Most of you are familiar that I have been making reasonable attempts over the past year or so, to overcome my morbid fear of Horror.  And most of you are also aware that I have done a good job out of it.  I am still a “fattu” (scaredy cat) but it takes more than what it used to, to scare me.  There are enough and more instances in Ek Thi Daayan that scared me and will scare quite a few of you as well.

The Place Beyond The Pines

I had seen Blue Valentine when it released a couple of years back and was quite wary about The Place Beyond The Pines.  Derek Cianfrance gave me the impression of being an arty farty director in his previous outing.  Michelle Williams of course did a fine job in that movie one and earned herself a nomination.

Nautanki Saala!

My favourite Rohan Sippy movie was Bluff Master.  I really liked it.  I wonder why he made Kuch Na Kaho in the first place.  And with Dum Maro Dum I was a tad disappointed with the eventual execution of an otherwise good storyline.  But everything said and done, BM and DMD were very slickly made.