Is it worth watching ?

Teen Patti

2010-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Amrita Tripathi gives you the latest on Teen Patti.

Teen Patti, is the story of a mathematics professor Venkat Subramanium (Amitabh Bachchan) who is a perfectionist scholar in math and has rediscovered the randomness and has just 3 yeears left to retirement. With the suggestion and help of Professor Shantanu (R Madhavan) and three students he then tries to evaluate his thesis in practical sense and unveils the doors to the casinos and other underworld frames.

Starting it as an experiment they get trapped in a series of unpredictable situations, Prof Venkat starts getting a blackmail call which starts dictating when and where they should play. A good sequence of mystery is very well played out. The suspense is good and holds you for moments.

Later he gets the reward at Cambridge University, which he declines to accept, as he feels guilty for one of his student’s death and considers his knowledge as destructive and believes that knowledge should be constructively used.

Brilliant performance by AB like ever. In my view, no one else could have portrayed this role better than Big B, his presence itself makes the most of the scene. Tremendous energy and sync of the emotions.

R Madhavan is flawless and plays the negative shade very well in sync with his good persona and then the helper later in the movie. The new comers have justice to their roles and seem really confident in front of the camera.

Cinematography is world class and matches really well with the background music giving a pleasure to the audience in watching the phenomenal 3 hour flick.

My Ratings:
Direction - 4/5, story-line - 3/5, cinematography - 3.5/5, Music & background music - 3/5
Overall Rating - 3.5
Go for it to watch AB - 5/5 Ben Kingsley was good too.

Go for it and get the best out of your money.

Karthik calling Karthik

2010-03-01T08:57:00.001-08:00

Amrita gives you her take on Farhan Akthar's latest.

Much to my expectation I entered the theater with a little high expectation from Karthik calling Karthik, but to my dismay, I was disappointed right from the beginning, the star cast intro was catchy and innovative, but the initial 15 minutes were boring and dragging to show and explain the character of Farhaan Akhtar, just a little later the movie picks up fast and goes smoothly but fails to entertain well, not even a single scene to be called as a fantastic one. A slow melodrama, with least scope to the actors to give their best.

It could have been much better if it was a suspense thriller rather than a psycho patient’s story suffering from schizophrenia. Farhan (Karthik) is a schizophrenic, and is afraid to face people, one early morning he gets a call, just the time he is planning to commit suicide because he considers himself a failure, devoid of friends and love in his life. The call changes his life like a miracle, he suddenly becomes confident and successful, has his beloved Deepika Padukone (Shonali Mukharjee) by his side and is happily enjoying his life, all with the help of this caller, he discloses the fact to Deepika, about getting daily calls from someone who is called Karthik. Deepika insists that he has some mental disorder and must seek a psychiatrist help.

His life becomes hell after this as Karthik had asked him not disclose about their conversations to any one considering people will interpret that he is mentally disturbed. Rebuilding of Karthik's life back is what can sensitize people, a good effort to create a suspense there but still lacks the perfection.

Movie is just average, I can rate it as 3/5. A one time watchable movie. I suggest you go for Teen Patti or MNIK or rather 3 idiots and wait for KCK to be shown on TV.

Twilight: New Moon

2010-02-07T02:02:00.001-08:00

Amrita Tripathi gives her review of the 2nd installment of the vampire saga- Twilight.

Twilight, New Moon, went into my head like a story our grand parents narrate. The fantasy world of vampires, werewolf is creative. Directed by Chris Weitz, based on the novel of Stephenie Meyer, the film stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black.One of the USPs of this movie which amazes me is the fight between werewolf and vampire. Like in the first sequel I had loved the flying of Edward, this time I loved the charisma displayed on the screen by this scary wolf, Jacob’s scene where he runs to accelerate into a real large size werewolf, a totally unpredicted move in the story.The story line is pretty straightforward as Edward leaves Bella because, in spite of the fact that they accepted her they might end up hurting her as she is human.

Bella in his absence becomes heart broken and devoid of life, on her dad’s pestering to leave Forks and get back to her mother in Florida, she promises him to be with her friends. Jaocb becomes one of her best friend and eases her throbbing. While Jacob gets busy in finding Victoria, another Vampire who is finding a way to kill Bella, who has been a cause of her mates death. Bella engages herself in dangerous stints as she figures out the image of Edward asking her to stay back and protect her from the battering.

Alice, Edward’s sister inform Bella that Edward is trying to kill himself by coming out in public, by a powerful vampire Volturi, as he thinks that Bella has committed suicide, Both of them rush to save Edward.

Volturi, determine that Bella should either be killed or be turned into Vampire as she being human knows about the existence of vampires. Alice stops him by sharing her premonition with Aro, a Volturi elder that is able to read thoughts, in which Bella has been transformed to Vampire.Edwards’s family later suggests and votes that Bella be transformed into vampire. Later Jacob reminds Edward about the treaty the Cullens ad Quileutes made that they will not attack each other, as long as the Cullens never bite a human.

The movie is just average although some of the scenes are amazing. Apart from the story there is not much in the movie. The characters are well played but it lacks the aura of impressing people. A one time watchable movie.

Eagerly Awaited: Wall Street 2

2010-01-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Am eagerly awaiting the sequel to the very taut and interesting Wall Street. Ttitled Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, it brings back Michael Douglas as Gekko and also has Shia LeBouf in it.

View the trailer on IMDB. Description from IMDB is given below.

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/imdb/vi875627545/

Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gordon Gekko finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. Looking to repair his damaged relationship with his daughter, Gekko forms an alliance with her fiancé Jacob (Shia LaBeouf), and Jacob begins to see him as a father figure. But Jacob learns the hard way that Gekko – still a master manipulator and player – is after something very different from redemption.

An Experience - AVATAR

2010-01-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Amrita Tripathi gives her views on the 2nd highest grossing Hollywood blockbuster of all time !

Well, this is coming late but what a brilliant fantasy ride it was. While I realized that I had to continue it as some inevitable reasons let me come out of the show in middle of the movie and shut down my curious mind and let travel in another direction from the Navi’s , the Pandora and the amazing visual effects. I hit the show again this time for 3D and paying just 3 times of what I paid last and left the movie in between.

So, I am again into the theater meeting my nonetheless earlier experienced Navi’s kingdom through the eyes of James Cameron in 3D visuals. I am awestruck with the fairytale kind of situation in the Pandora, a planet some light years far from Earth which the Indian scientists want to conquer on and mix the Indian DNA’s to make people look alike the natives of Pandora called Navi’s (On earth AVATAR).

This was more like an experience than a movie, like a traverse which I wanted to continue for long but it had to end. I wish to again go and feel this entire multimedia instrumental work of the current technology which created this fantasy in front of my eyes.

The movie goes smooth by its storyline; the characters are played very well in sync with each other. The graphics are exemplary in today’s date. A movie like this comes once. Just another Titanic experience, which was of course brand new to movie watchers and this again a masterpiece by James Cameron.

A complete package of well done direction, screen play, background music, visual effects, photography makes it a must watch for all to experience the new phase in world’s Cinema. Like I said a fantasy trip which you would want to continue…

3 Idiots

2010-01-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

Amrita Tripathi gives you her views on '3 Idiots'.

It’s been more than 2 weeks since '3 idiots' released and I watched it. Ever since have heard and read a lot about it including some really contradictory statements about the movie. The movie as the director & producer say have been brought to life by one of the most famous writer of this decade Chetan Bhagat. To add here I have read all his novels and find his writing as the one which the generation of this decade can relate to and enjoy reading…and yes of course with some amendments done in the story of '5 point some one'…Raj Kumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra bring this biggest laugh riot of 2009.

Reading and hearing reviews can put anyone under stress whether to actually what to interpret but despite all ado, this movie has done amazing business in its first week of release and has been a real success in entertaining the crowd. In my lexicon a good movie is the one which can hold you tight for 3 hours, can make you go through the various emotions and feelings, make you laugh, cry, scare and most of all entertain you, that you feel that spending and getting a ticket for this movie has not been waste.

3 idiots does exactly the same. Most recently I read the blog of renowned reporter and writer where its said that 3 idiots is the movie which can be hit in the nation of idiots, I truly disagree and believe that though Indian cinema has grown and is spread across the globe and is getting all accolades for its work but it isn’t so powerful to start preaching, a normal person goes to multiplex to just get out of the stress and pass the time with loved ones instead to get a lesson of life, for that we have the institutes, schools and art of life kind of places…

The Indian government and Indian Institutes like IIM and IIT are of world known acknowledgment and are respected by the world for its topnotch quality students who are leading the various arena of the current global market. The movie though points a finger towards the current education system and some of its drawbacks we have encountered but it is not to teach the institutes how they should function. It’s a normal comedy meant to make the public laugh and go back home, I don’t understand why all the fuzz about it.

I personally take this movie as a fantastic effort of displaying the fun part as well as the pressure held by any student. Each and every actor has done their part with full justice. Aamir as usual competes with his own self every time he is seen on the big screen and heads away with the triumph, Sharman Joshi and R Madhavan again show their expertise in bringing a smile on your face with their innocent acts in the movie. A true masala movie blending in the way a normal Hindi movie is made and displayed.

I personally rate this movie as one of the finest comedy and suggest all to go with your family and loved ones to go and enjoy the 3 hours and yeah please don’t take it seriously and expect it to preach anyone, after all that’s what such movies are all about just to have FUN…

Note: Please fasten your seat belts, some hilarious torments are expected while journey from take off till landing. Wish you a comic and hilarious flight..

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi

2010-01-03T01:36:00.000-08:00

Amrita Tripathi gives you her views on Raat Gayi Baat Gayi.

Raat gayi baat gayi….a fantastic movie with excellent sceanic timing, amazingly surprising suspense which takes you through the gut and shakes you up heel when you hold your stomach and do nothing but laugh and smile. The apparently look alike of the Hollywood hit “hangover” is quite much the same and gives the sedulous picturesque show of the marital crisis which can occur at the quite normal parties and people getting along in such parties. The maestro of like Rajat kapoor, Vinay ptahak are in excellent form and have given their perfect performance which is unmatched.

The movie is shown with broken strings where Rajat Kapoor tries to remember about the last night stand out with Neha Dhupia and is worried if his wife(Iravati) already know about it who has behaved quite furious since the morning he wakes up and is victim of the hangover of heavy drinking. Much to his demise his friends Amit (quite into the similar marital crisis and thrown away from the house by his wife: Anu Menon (akka channel V’s Lola Kutty)) and Dalip Tahil are of generally no help. He tries to find out about what happens last night. The amazingly well played characters by Navneet Nishan and Iravati adds more value and presents you a top masala free yet quite entertaining and keeping you intact with the flow of the movie.
If you expect it to be a sex comedy, telling you are gonna be disappointed, but this parcel of great entertainment will give you a jolt with its entirely different story and the climax which stands truly well for the example of suspense…

Saurabh Shukla has done all the justice to his directorial career with movie. Sudhir Mishra and Ranvir Shore (the NRI trying to catch up all the lime light, throwing his amazing funny dialogues) are quite impressive with just few scenes. Neha Dhupia looks stunning and sexy and leverages with great justice to her character and her graceful seductive moves definitely calls for appreciation.

I suggest you go watch this one and get fully entertained for the money you pay…

Avatar in 3D rocks

2009-12-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

A visual extravaganza like no other. A must watch in 3D

Avatar is a 14 year dream in the making which takes you into its dreamworld

On Sabbatical !

2009-12-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Slightly off my usual track of mind, so no posts ! Will be back soon

Eagerly Awaited: 2012

2009-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Roland Emmerich and a topic of extreme interest to all doomsday believers across the world. Why wouldn't I want to watch it ?

2012 - Theatrical Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani

2009-11-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

My friend and fellow blogger Roshmi says, 'high time you wrote another blog post". Unfortunately the movie I am writing about is Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. Unfortunate because prior to this I did watch the delightful 'Inglorious Basterds' but somehow did not get to writing about it. It is just a coincidence that the previous review is also a Ranbir Kapoor film

Movie watching and blogging has taken a beating thanks to a hectic work and social life but then one had to take a break too.

Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani is Rajkumar Santoshi trying desperately to recreate the magic of Andaaz Apna Apna. This is the take of a young Prem (Ranbir Kapoor) who is the president of Happy Club in a small town. His only job is to con people and spend time with friends. When he is upset he stammers. In comes Jennifer (Katrina Kaif) who believe it or not is a an orphan living with step-parents (yup, they still think that angle works in movie today !). Prem being the very helpful kinds does end up helping Jenny and yes, very predictably falls in love with her but is just unable to express his feelings for her (yeah, remember the movies of the early 90s).

Throw in a college sweetheart (Upen Patel), a rich businessman turned politician (Govind Namdeo), a noisy father (Darshan Zariwala), a goofy underworld don(Zakir Hussain)and a lot of songs composed by Pritam and what do you get ? You get a movie which has a few laughs, an extremely good looking Katrina who cannot act much, a very natural Ranbir and a movie that is too long and could have been far far better. Currently it is far from better.

Upen Patel should give up trying to act. Katrina Kaif should choose roles where she does not have to emote much and just has to look good. Ranbir Kapoor needs to chose better films. Rajkumar Santoshi (he puts in an appearance too) should watch a few more contemporary movies. We should be careful what we pay money for.

Is it worth watching ? Nope.

Wake up Sid

2009-10-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

Wake up Bollywood movie watchers. it's not everyday that you have a simple and yet delightful piece of entertainment.

'Wake up Sid' starring Ranbir Kapoor (as Sid) and Konkana Sen (as Aisha) is the tale of awakening of a young man. While this has been done and tested before right from the movies of the 70s, 80s and 90s, what Ayan Mukerji brings to you is completely believable, contemporary and realistic entertainment that takes you into the lives of two people.

The movie has some great dialogue which takes you right into it because it is so believable. the situations are so realistic. Yet, with all this realism the writer is able to provide you with an anticipation and therefore excitement of whether Sid will wake up and how.

The music is delightful, the performances are outstanding. Anupam Kher as Sid's dad and Supriya Pathak as Sid's mom put in their usual performance. I found the movie immensely likable because there will be at least one part in the movie which you will watch and sit back and say,'Hey, this happened to me'. This is why the movie relates to one and all. In a sense it takes a timeless theme of a young spoiled brat and takes you along on a journey of discovery. predictable, yes. Entertaining, yes

Is it worth watching? YES YES

Dil Bole Hadippa

2009-09-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Saw this some time ago but missed out on writing about it. After watching the latest offering from Yash Raj Films your Dil does'nt exactly go 'Hadippa'. Yash Raj Films better look deep into their story writing department and make amends.

What 'Dil Bole Hadippa' does is, it gives you an average time-pass entertainer along the lines of WANTED. The tale is of a young Punjabi lass Veera Kaur (Rani Mukherjee) who wants to play cricket. There is a team whose owner Vikram Kapoor (Anupam Kher) calls his son Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) back from England where he plays cricket. It is his dream that the local team win the 'Aman' (peace) cup which is held annually between the local Punjabi team and a team from Pakistan. Unfortunately for Veera, the bias against women and the fact that it is a males only team forces her to dress up as Veer Pratap Singh. There follows the usual comic instances of mix ups with rohan falling for Veera and expecting veer to help out with the romance. Largely predictable, the tale does not do much. the only entertaining factor is Rani Mukherkjee, who looks fabulous and is absolutely adorable as Veer Pratap Singh. The rest of the cast puts in a standard performance. What makes sure that this movie does not rise above standard fare is the very basic story and unimaginative plot.

Is it worth watching ? Wait for it to come on TV.

WANTED

2009-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

This movie was awaited by many for various reasons. Produced by Boney Kapoor under his banner of SK Films Enterprises which has not done well since 'No Entry'. Directed by Prabhu Deva, the dancing superstar who was debuting in direction in Hindi with this film. The film is a remake of the Tamil and Telugu films titled 'Pokri' (which in English means hooligan). The main USP of the film is Salman Khan who has not had a great hit in recent times.

All these reasons and more made it attractive enough to go watch this flick. I must say I was surprised...pleasantly. The tale is of a toughie Radhe (Salman Khan) who gets embroiled in the Mumbai underworld war and ends up working for Gani Bhai (southie Prakash Raj) who is based out of Bangkok. Radhe is unbeatable and extremely violent. He mouths of one liners about his commitment and loyalty only to money etc. He falls in love with a young attractive middle class girl Jhanvi (Ayesha Takia) and their romance is threatened by Radhe's profession. Enter a lusty and corrupt police inspector Talpade (Mahesh manjrekar) who sets his dirty eyes on Jhanvi too. While the relationship and romance runs along amidst many an action sequence, incidents and situations force Gani Bhai to return to India and there follows a major twist in the tale bringing the story to its violent and fairly predictable climax.

The tale takes you back to the good old days of tough heroes who beats up dozens of villains single- handedly, the dancing hero and heroine who are transported in moments from one city to another continent for the dance, colorful underworld dons. In essence this movie is what we call a masala movie. It is honest and does not disappoint you. Salman Khan looks very energetic, fit and extremely suited for this role. Amazing taht at about the age of 40 he is able to do what he does. Ayesha Takia looks very good but appears a little too busty. Prakash Raj as Gani Bhai is absolutely hilarious and has done extremely well. His cold expression to his immediate hilarious turns are so entertaining that you cannot help but burst out into laughter. Mahesh Manjrekar is suited to the T for roles of lusty, perverted characters and he does that well in this movie too. The action is over the top but yet gives one a boyish glee while watching. The movie is pretty much predictable so while Prabhu Deva's direction is also good and the beginning of the movie reminds you of the one of the great movies on the underworld -Satya. There are a few action sequences where the camera is all over the place, but otherwise overall the movie is technically watchable. This movie is bound to turn the fortunes of Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia and Boney Kapoor (producer).

Is it worth watching ? Yes, for a taste of good old Hindi film masala.

Unnaipol Oruvan

2009-09-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned previously about the Hindi hit 'A Wednesday' being remade in Tamil. I had also shared some photos from the Tamil film here. Unnaipol Oruvan stars Kamal Hassan (as the common man) and Mohanlal (as the Police commissioner ) and a few others.

The story has been adapted to Chennai very well. The retired Police Commissioner starts with recounting the strange case of when one day he received a phone call. The voice at the other end of the call says there are 6 bombs placed across crowded places at Chennai and will go off at 6 PM unless his instructions are followed. Then begins a journey of wits and intense conversations between the faceless/nameless person and the commissioner. The demands are simple, 4 captured terrorists are to be brought to a certain spot. Add to the mix 2 cops. One a controlled family man and the other a tough, brutal loner. Will they all be able to find the caller and stop the disaster that could follow ? The briskly paced thriller is going to give your answer.

While I follow Tamil I am not conversant or fluent with it so I must admit I missed out on the full impact of the dialogues and nuances of the language. The Tamil film stays pretty much loyal to the original Hindi version with some modifications to adapt to Chennai and a few added scenes and dialogues including a slightly prolonged interrogation scene of a explosives supplier. Mohanlal, with his strong screen presence and subtle expressions puts in a powerhouse performance. I cannot help but compare this to the Hindi version so would feel Mohanlal did better than Anupam Kher in the same role. Kamal Hassan is strangely controlled and composed and thankfully does not run riot with just a self-serving role and performance. Naseeruddin Shah was far more powerful as 'the common man' but then I may have gotten carried away due to my familiarity with Hindi in comparison to Tamil and the fact that the Hindi version was released first.n The background score is by Shruti Hassan and does justice to the movie. Director Chakri Toleti does a good job. You will only admire the original storywriter Neeraj Pandey for creating a thriller revolving around 2 central characters.

Is it worth watching ? yes.

Leverage does not leverage the viewer

2009-09-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

The show which airs at 11PM IST on AXN does not have the punch. It's the usual thieves robbing from the thieves .

Nothing spectacular about it. run of the mill mostly.

Unfortunately

Leverage on AXN

2009-09-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

'Leverage' debuts tonite (9 Sep 09) in India on AXN at 11 PM. The creators of the show are Chris Downey and John Rogers. The storyline is about a gang of hi-tech crooks who steal from the wealthy and from the other crooks. It is a 2008 Tv series that telecasts in india in 2009 as usual :)

the trailer seemed interesting enough.

Is it worth watching ? Will tell you tomorrow

India: 55th NATIONAL FILM AWARDS FOR THE YEAR 2007

2009-09-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Directorate of Film Festivals (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting), Government of India announced the Indian national film Awards.

Some notable and well known names were Chak De India, Taare Zameen par, Dharm, Om Shanti Om, gandhi my father, The last lear, Jab we met which won in various categories.

'Kanchivaram' a Tamil film won best movie and best actor (for Prakash Raj). The film directed by Priyadarshan is about the town's silk weaver community.

You can view the entire list of winners here

Wednesday in Tamil

2009-09-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

If you are a Hindi movie goer you would have watched the brilliantly scripted and directed 'A Wednesday'. Neeraj Pandey debuted as writer and director with this Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher starrer. I loved this movie and you can read what I had written about it in Hindi Cinemas: Ups and Downs-A Wednesday

Now, the movie is remade in Tamil and is due for release soon. It is named -Unnai Pol Oruvan, I think and has Kamal Hassan in the lead role. I have shared below some stills from the movie. it looks very interesting indeed.

I got these pictures in an email forward and was unable to find any reference to it. The pictures carry a watermark which appears to be www.sify.com/movies. I visited the site but could not find reference to this movie so I acknowledge that the picture rights are with the portal or whoever the owner is and make no claim whatsoever on these pictures

The Final Destination

2009-09-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

This movie could be injurious to your health. Both your mental and physical health.

There, the cat is out of the bag. I have said 'injurious to your mental health' so you will presume it is a pretty crappy movie. But how could it be injurious to your physical well-being ? Read on and you shall know.

Directed by David Ellis, this is the 4th installment in the series. The series has had one film every 3 years starting 2000 and with each installment having the same name. I quite liked the first 2 parts. After seeing the 3rd part I have forgotten which is which. After watching the 4th I sincerely hope they do not make any more.

The plot and storyline is very similar to the previous film. A youngster has a premonition of an accident at a race track. The premonition is absolutely detailed and bloody gory. After this premonition he (Bobby Campo) saves his friends and a whole group of people. Unfortunately death has a list and if your name is on it, then you cannot escape. What follows is a series of premonitions, bloody deaths and race against time and death to take you to the ending of this painful movie.

Imagine seeing a racing tire come tumbling from the sky and decimating a woman and they actually show you the body. Imagine watching a lady who get a stone through her eye in front of her screen kids. The writers let their writing & imagination go wild in this direction. If you are able to sit through the movie (I put in an effort!) in a multiplex you are likely to bang your head in frustration against the headrest in front of you. Watch out. you will hurt your head and you have already paid for the ticket. This is why I said this movie is injurious to your physical well being too.

I do watch horror flicks and gory flicks but somehow this movie unsettled me and I think that's because it absolutely nothing to keep it together. The concept is old (after 3 movies previously), the actors were plain and so basically it falls flat. if Kambaakth Ishq was the worst Bollywood movie I can recollect in recent times, then The Final Destination is surely the worst Hollywood movie I will recollect in recent times.

Is it worth watching ? NO NO NO NO

Quick Gun Murugun

2009-08-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Knowingly or unknowingly, all of us in India who watch cinema would have come across some aspect of the impact of Quick Gun Murugun. Originally part of a series of fillers by a music channel on TV in India, sometime in the early 90s the character has had a profound impact on cinema and TV watchers. Recently in Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan potrayed a version of this Indian cowboy.

Directed by Shashanka Ghosh (who also directed the wonderful Waisa bhi hota hai part 2), the film brings to the big screen Rajendra Prasad as Quick Gun Murugun. Murugun, vegetarian Indian cowboy is killed by Rice Plate Reddy and goes to the 'Ministry of Death'. His petition to be sent back to earth is granted and he returns. But, 25 years have passed. The tale taht follows is the tale of Murugun's search and encounter with Rice Plate Reddy.

Leave your brains behind for this one. The movie is an extended version of the fillers we see in the whacky TV channels today. In that sense, while it quickly passes by on screen you do not have the feeling of watching a comedy flick. Only Indians would relate to this movie. It has a lot of nuances that relate to the day to day life of an average Indian be it the concept of vegetarian and non-vegetarian restaurants, or the traffic or concept of Maa (mother) etc.It is not really a spoof movie though there are numerous instances of other movies spoofed here. What this movie does do is that it reminds you of all the silly things in cinema and TV we have laughed at before we got too serious in our movie going and movie watching. The names of the characters be it Gunpowder, Rice Plate Reddy, Mango Dolly are hilarious. Incidentally this is the only 2nd movie I have reviewed after Quantum of Solace which begins with a Q.

Is it worth watching ? On TV maybe

Troy again and more...

2009-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Thanks to HBO, I get to watch some of my favorites like Troy again and again. I has posted this some time ago too.

This time though it sparked off some new thoughts thanks to my new blog which is focused on other aspects of interest to me like business and marketing.

What thoughts did the movie Troy spark off ? Read about it here.

Blindness

2009-08-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Based on a Novel by Jose Saramago, directed by Fernando Meirelles (who directed the Constant Gardener) this movie is outstanding in concept and idea.

I caught this on DVD over the weekend and was shaken. The movie is about a epidemic of blindness that strikes people. When an Ophthalmologist (mark Ruffalo) gets infected from a patient his wife (Julianne Moore) pretends to be sick from the blindness too when the government quarantines the infected. The blindness instead of being dark lets people only see bright whiteness. With no cure in sight while the outside world goes through the usual motions, the viewer is taken inside the quarantine facility. Trying to leave the facility means sure death by bullet of the guards.

The quarantine facility becomes a reflection of our society and is like a mirror to the quarantine we all exist in. When the infected increase and the food rations start to dwindle the Doctor's wife is the only sighted witness to the human behavior that unfolds.

I found the movie to be deeply disturbing because, in a manner it shows us what we would be like if there were no laws and civilization as we know it lost its threads of order. When we look around and see all the strife, chaos and bloodshed in the world which is largely driven by individuals and groups, it only frightens us. The story is simple, to the point, well directed and well enacted.

The movie is not just an entertainer but is a wake up call for all human beings.

Is it worth watching? Definitely yes. It has some disturbing and graphic scenes so do not watch with your kids.

Frost/Nixon

2009-08-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Directed by Ron Howard, the tale of the battle of wits between a talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) and the impeached President Richard M Nixon (Frank Langella) is an engaging watch. It will remind you of the Clooney directed Good Night Good Luck which had a tale of the TV host taking on the paranoid Senator McCarthy. It is unfair to the compare the two movies as both are good in their own right. Both are stories based on political upheavals in US history.

Frost/Nixon looks at the era which created a dubious milestone in US Political history. After Richard Nixon resigns his presidency over his involvement in the Watergate scandal, entertainer and talk show host David Frost, impressed by the huge TV audience that followed the issue worldwide wants to have an interview with the president and get to him to offer something of an apology and confess. With doubts on the business viability of such a telecast as well as the fact that Nixon is a shrewd statesman who has handled many a debate with ease, makes it an uphill task fro Frost. He has author James Reston Jr (Sam Rockwell), Political journalist bob Zelnick (Oliver Platt) in his corner.

The movie is a must watch because it gives you an insight into the American people and into the minds of one of the most controversial president's in US political history. As it says at the end of the movie, the one contribution of this scandal is that any political scandal thereafter would always have a 'gate' suffix. The movie is fast paced for a political drama and has excellent performances by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. Kevin Bacon also appears in a supporting role.

Is it worth watching ? Yes. Definitely.

Kaminey

2009-08-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

Vishal Bharadwaj via last.fm

Vishal Bharadwaj, one of India's most talented film and music director's returns to the big screen amidst recession and swine-flu with an entertainer. Vishal's previous films Omkara (based on Othello), Maqbool (based on Macbeth) were dark character based screen scorchers while Blue Umbrella and Makdee were more focused on younger audiences. All of them had great characters, great casting and wonderful music.

Kaminey (which means scoundrel ) surprised me. Initially the film was slow and very localized, almost like a local feature and not a film made for national audiences. Then it took off. The tale is of twins Charlie, a gambler and hooligan and Guddu, a straight forward young man. The first half of the filom largely goes in introducing all the many characters and I say the film is surprising because you will remember all the characters. That is the magic that Vishal as writer, director and music director is able to bring with this film.

The film is predictable, yes, but then all the elements such as the music the character really make u enjoy this movie. The ending is highly predicble and yet immensely enjoyable. I really loved it. It reminded me of some my fav films of Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino and the rest. The dialogues are nice and very very characteristic of the character. Priyanka Chopra as the Maharastrian girl who is pregnant with Guddu's child and also sister to a don turned politician Bhope (Amol Gupte) is refreshing and attractive. Amol Gupte, Tenzing Nima (as drug lord Tashi) are brilliantly cast. In fact I would boldly venture to say that the casting as a whole is perfect, right for the 2 drug enforcement cops to Tashi's assistants. The film mixes a lot of elements that only audiences in India would relate to such as the Maharatra focused politician etc.

I do not want to reveal anything much about the story as I want you to see it for yourself. When i listened to the audio music prior to watching the movie I wasn't too impressed except with the peppy 'Dhan te nan nan' but once I watched the movie every song seemed so much nice. Lyrics are wonderfully crafted by Gulzar. What makes this movie stand out is that all elements of this movie fit together so well. I will watch this one again

Is it worth watching ? yes yes yes