Juno : by Jason Reitman

Jason Reitman has a novel way of presenting things (reminiscent a lot of "Thank You For Smoking")


Juno is a breath of fresh air ...... n' simply irresistible

Ellen Page plays Juno , a sixteen year old , who in a fit of sexual arousal , gets into unwanted pregnancy .. !!

The umpteen preg tests undergone by Juno , makes her take this development as casually as the daily sunrise :) :)

Her boyfriend who is in the thick of things , is heart broken when Juno decides to abort ... and then out of the blue , the conscience makes her think otherwise.

Her family is damn supportive , and her decision to raise the new born vicariously through a sweet couple in need of a child , is superbly handled.

The film is all about the relationships tango between Juno , her boyfriend , her parents , her class-fellows and last but not the least the adopting couple!

The dialogue writer has done a commendable job in putting up a witty show , Ellen Page blurring out words at a rate of knots. The hilarity is just extra-ordinary leaving the cine goer into splits.

Special Mention : The background score with super acoustic guitar riffs , is just terrific and very pleasing to the ears ...

Felt bad that Ellen missed out on the Oscar yesterday.......
Watch it for a simple , innocent , serious , outrageous , whacko ride!!


Rating : 4.5/5.0

Se7en : by David Fincher

Seven Deadly Sins :

PRIDE ,
GLUTTONY ,
LUST ,
GREED ,
ENVY ,
WRATH ,
SLOTH ..

David Fincher is at it again , It cannot get better than this ... !!

Zodiac was a disappointment , Fight Club was a revelation ..

Se7en is just terrific , this is an understatement ....

Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt play detectives on the trail of psychic murders , flabbergasted by the events. Detective Sommerset (Freeman) is about to retire and detective Mills (Pitt) is the new kid on the block.

This bridge of experience and youth , gives freshness to the film starting at Sin Number One GREED.

The murders are gruesome ... gory toooo!!! The detectives have no clue , no evidence , until things take a flip , confusing the audience for sure.

The end reels had me DUMBFOUNDED ... the director shooting a bolt from the blue!!

Full Marks for captivating the cinegoer and shocking at the same time !!!

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Mithya : by Rajat Kapoor

Mithya .... meaning "a lie" is not a typical bollywood potbolier , it breaks the cliche' to the hilt.

The team of Bheja Fry collaborate for the most unexpected ride of 2008 ,with Rajat Kapoor in the thick of things behind the camera.

Ranvir Shorey , plays a struggling actor frustrated with the knick - knacks of bollywood world. Unexpected events at a night out in mumbai street , creates a storm in the life of VK (Ranvir) .

The story is a maze of events involving the two underworld gangs and VK is in this muddle. Naseerudin Shah , Saurabh Shukla , Vinay Pathak , and many more are the pawns of a Chess Game and someone is surely checkmated!!!!

The script by Rajat and Saurabh Shukla is well-written and reminds us of Ramu' s Satya and yesteryear's Don. The performance by Shorey is once again superlative , he is definitely the king of off-beat cinema in India!

Neha Dhupia is just ok , and the supporting cast gives much needed impetus to the story!

Watch this film for Ranvir only and the unconventional story-telling .

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Atonement : by Joe Wright

Atonement .... as the bible says "satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends, reconciliation" 

It is a story of two people madly in love with each other , James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.

The youngest of the three sisters Briony , misinterprets each moment shared by them as an act of erotiscism on the part of Robbie ( played by James ) .

The circumstances build in such a manner which implicates Robbie into a false charge solely on Briony's testimony.

The film then shifts 4 years ahead , England is at war during WWII , Robbie given a choice between prison sentence and joining the army , chooses for the latter. Keira Knightley ( Cecilia ) meets Robbie and the lost love is found!

The twists n turns in the second half , are out of this ordinary, with the narration leaving the cinegoer dumbfounded.

Hats off to the performances , James is into the character with ease , since I saw him in Last King of Scotland. Keira is passe ' , could have done a bit better .

The supporting cast is great ,particularly Cecillia's younger sister Briony. The background score is awesome , particularly at every instance of Briony's intro , the piano keys surely rings alarm bells!!

The finale makes me hail the writer of the book as well the screenplay adapted by the director Joe Wright!! ..... am teary eyed at the end of it all!!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Michael Clayton : by Tony Gilroy

Michael Clayton played by George Clooney is about an attorney termed as a FIXER hired by a law firm to control unlawful situations.

Arthur Edens ( a leading attorney of the firm U-North ) is in a middle of a controversy when he incoherently talks at a hearing.

George Clooney is summoned to help him get out of this mess and he discovers that Arthur is into mental illness due to non-medication.

The turn of events puts Michael Clayton in a fix where he is in a tangle of deceit and trickery. The film meanders with the sole purpose of finding the truth which has been mis-represented , Michael Clayton is the man to find it!

The performance by George Clooney is worth noting after seeing him in Ocean's Thirteen long since. Tom Willkinson is just about ok as an eccentric attorney stuck in a lawsuit .

Noteworthy , not oustanding.

Rating : 2.5/5.0

The Prestige : by Christopher Nolan

This is the second Christopher Nolan installment after Memento which I have seen from start to end , and he dumbfounds me each time !!!

The Prestige is a period film set in London , where in MAGIC is the bread n butter of aspiring artists and a delight for the audiences.

Christian Bale plays Borden and Hugh Jackman plays Angier , two ambitious Magicians. Michael Caine plays the veteran , having all the tricks up his sleeves.

One fine day , Borden in his charm for experimentation , makes a blunder , which turns Angier as his only foe. The Prestige at this point comes out as a survival of the fittest (magician !) with both of them trying to out do each other.

The turning point in the film is the Transported Man trickery performed by Borden(Bale) , making people marvel him.

This cat and mouse duel in between all the ABRACADABRA ... culminates in such a manner never seen before.. !!

The director has always been an expert in non-linear narration (a la' Memento) , and comes out good this time too.

Awesome execution of the plot!!

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind : by Michel Gondry

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ... !?!?!?!?

This theatrics by Michel Gondry is intriguing and bizarre to say the least and you will definitely believe it when you see it!

This Valentine , relationships which have been going wrong can have a look at ESOSM , where in protaganists , Kate Winslet and Jim Carey carry the film through with maze of events hard to fathom but compelling for sure.

Jim Carey on a regular day realizes a series of events where-in someone else is controlling his memory to wipe out all the minute details of his ex-girlfriend.

The doctors have already wiped out the memory from Clementine's (Kate) mind pertaining to Joel ( her beloved) . Joel , in a fit of rage decides to undergo the same treatment.

The film at this point shows the sequence of events in the past related to their relationship and how Joel tries to hold on to memories which doctors are trying to wipe out ...

PHEW!!! ... What a Concept!!! ...

Kate and Jim are superlative ... watch it for the sheer eccentricity in love !!

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Sunday : by Rohit Shetty

Sunday is one hell of a hilarious ride with a pinch of suspense adding a cherry on top of the cake.

Rohit Shetty after Golmaal , enthralls the audience with this film similar to the genre of Welcome / Golmaal / Dhol / Dhamaal .

The "USP" of this movie is the murder mystery in between all the whacko hilarity.

The plot revolves around this girl played by Ayesha Takia who is a animation dubbing artist caught in a maze of events she does not re-collect.

Ajay Devgan plays a semi-corrupt cop , handling the re-occuring crimes in and around Delhi.

The best of the lot are Irrfan Khan ( wannabe bollywood superstar) and Arshad Warsi (the street taxi driver) .... they just make a lethal combination ... having me down on the floor , laughing out the loudest !!!

The post-interval portions of the film intrigues the cine-goer as the suspense is unraveled!

A BIG THUMBS UP TO THE DIRECTOR FOR A ROLLICKING RIDE
....... eagerly waiting for Golmaal Returns!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

No Country For Old Men : by Coen Brothers

Coen Brothers have come up with an exceptional story - telling experience through this film.

"No Country For Old Men" , is about a drug-deal gone wrong in the middle of Texas dessert.

The premise of the film revolves around three people , THE PSYCHO kingpin of the drug deal and a professional hitman , THE HUNTER finding himself in the whirlpool of deceit and homicide , and the SHERIFF on the trail of these crimes!!

The performances are exemplary in particular the hitman played by Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem , a Spanish actor. The potrayal is of a cold-blooded killer who is after the million bucks stolen from the drug deal by the Hunter played by Josh J. Brolin .

The screenplay is gripping and cinematography is worth mentioning . The deserts of wide open country - Texas have been captured superbly.

Glitches!?! .... The climax could have been more spicer :) .... hope it wins the Oscar this year!

Rating : 4.5/5.0

The Holiday : by Nancy Meyers

The Holiday is one of the few movies I have seen directed by a woman in hollywood, and I can tell you it has a lot of nuances which a sensitive lady can present on celluloid!!!

The Holiday is all about relationships , how people behave and react to a person he/she loves till the end of time , unrequited love , trust , honesty , guilt , passion , tears , smiles and what not!

Cameron Diaz in L.A is frustrated seeing her boyfriend cheating on her and Kate Winslet is in love with a guy not reciprocating the same in London.

The two women swap homes for the holiday season of 2 weeks and their lives are replenished with vigour and joy!! Jude Law comes as a refreshing person in Amanda's Life ( played by Diaz) . Winslet finds solace in a 90 year old neigbour , long forgotten film legend..

Jack Black is the sweet boy next door music arranger bringing happiness back into Kate's life.

The story enlightens us of most talked about emotion called LOVE ..........

..... and it is highlighed well enough creating an instant connection as an audience for me!!!!!

Significant Dialogue from the film ....

"I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible, and how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you, and it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong, or how you could have misunderstood, and how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new, and you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again, and little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade" ---- IRIS ( Kate Winslet )

Diabetics stay away .... Sugar Coated Motion Picture!!!!!!!!

Rating : 4.0/5.0