Bhool Bhulaiyaa : by Priyadarshan

Bhool Bhulaiyaa ... sounds like a roller coaster ride if you go by the name ... Expectations from a Priyadarshan movie are always "money a minute worth entertainment"

This time he brings us a horror maze with a pinch of comedy ; the backdrop of the film is a Haveli ( residence of spirits as usual!!) ..

The first half builds up the mystery which keeps the audience in tenterhooks . The gamut of stars ( again a Priyan speciality) add to the confusion in the movie ..

The movie really moves to a different zone as soon as Akshay Kumar ( a la' hyper psychologist ) enters the screen frame.

Once again he is in top form , proving that he is second to none in comic timing .. out-performing himself at every instance!

The music of the movie is par-excellence ... time n again Pritam has proven his mettle .. Hare Krishna Hare Raam has taken anthem proportions :) :)

The culmination of the movie is a drag (a Mix of Bhoot and Raaz) ... I just could not bear it !?!!?

But with "All's Well That End's Well" mantra .. it was not that bad :) ... the Song hype and Akshay makes this movie watchable!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Jab We Met : Imtiaz Ali

Jab We Met is a run-of the mill flick with the umpteen times explored formula of Boy-Meets-Girl syndrome.

So what novelty does Imtiaz Ali display in this attempt... though I liked his maiden venture Socha Na Tha ... The same kind of sensibility is evident here , with the set of actors chosen doing their part well!!!

Kareena and Shahid look good together with the girl packing a punch and the guy tolerating her histrionics!!

Moment of the Movie : Kareena's outburst on her ex-boyfriend over a call ... is executed with aplomb ...

Surprise package is ....... the Music for me ... it simply rocks , Pritam is in top form second to none (Himesh being the exception) .. the tracks just simply resonate and sound gr8.

A super-duper watch for sure .. watch it for a candy floss storyline with pleasing music :)

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Johnny Gaddar : by Sriram Raghavan

Johnny Gaddar brings in a thriller with a difference a la' "EK HASINA THI" for which the praise goes to the common factor between these two flicks , Sriram the captain of the ship.

Johhny , the protagonist is blurred by the money which his gang of six(including himself) intend to put to use as investments.

The audience here finds this thriller with an uncommon streak to it , THERE IS NO SUSPENSE IN THE MOVIE!!!!

Performance by Neil Mukesh as Johnny is just about ok for a newcomer. Striking resemblance to Hrithik gives him a face to watch out for too! The supporting cast do their job well and its good to see Dharmendra getting substantial roles after Metro.

Songless film with Rimi Sen as the female counterpart of Neil builds the interest for the cinegoer but there is no surprise element here.

Do watch the movie to encourage a well-made flick ... with a twist in the tale too!

Rating : 3.0/5.0

Memento : by Christopher Nolan

Have you ever imagined seeing a movie from the culmination to the first reel ???

Memento gives you an exhilarating thriller keeping the audience dumbfounded( confused too !) from end to start in this Reverse Chronological Drama ...

Though the movie came out in the year 2000 , I was fortunate to see it recently on a DVD and was instantly caught in a LABYRINTH.

The protagonist (superlative Guy Pearce) suffers from short term memory loss and is in deep inner turmoil to search for his Wife's Murderer.

To deal with the disorder , he uses tools like Polaroid Camera ,Tattoos,Paper Slips,Notes enabling him to hold on to memories !!!

Christopher Nolan's unique, non-linear , noir-narrative structuring ( black n white film reels) IRRITATES,SHOCKS,SPELLBINDS to say the least.

The performances are ex·tra·or·di·naire and the scripting prowess is proven to the hilt...

No surprises its in top 30 of all time movie list ....

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE EVEN FOR YOUR LIFE :) :)

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Chak De India : by Shimit Amin

un·der·dog : One that is expected to lose a contest or struggle, as in sports or politics.

pa·tri·ot·ism : devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty.

Theme of Sports where underdogs res·ur·rect from the ashes has been an unchartered territory since Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992) .

Chak De re-instills the patriotism ,to break into sweat for one's country,in a manner which is refreshing to say the least.

The team of girls representing India at the World Hockey Cup are a bunch of players having pre-conceived notions of playing for one's own self and then the team.

Shahrukh playing a banished former hockey player takes up the challenge to coach with the dream of converting his silver medal to gold medal vicariously through this team.

Lets talk about the actors : Highlight performances ....

*Shahrukh as Kabir Khan quite surprisingly plays the character with conviction.

*The Hockey Stars aka state players ... oops .. Here we are talking of Team India ( as Kabir says ..)

Each one of them plays true to their potentials and have the audience in splits with their humour

(The best dialogue comes from our Haryanvi Dynamite "Ke Dabba Nahi Dikh Raha Hai Tanne , Roadways Ki Bus Na Baithi :) " whilst reserving a bunk in the players' dormitory ...

I found the 1st half engrossing and it truly built up the movie to the next level but the second half was predictable yet well-executed.

This is one of the few movies where I had a lump in my throat ...

Shimit truly deserve the accolades for bringing out the patriotism to the screens in an effective way.

Rating : 4.5/5.0

Rush Hour 3 : by Brett Ratner

Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan prove it once again that they are the best sidekick team of detectives on celluloid... !!

This edition of Rush Hour , has the humour in every inch of the reel .. courtesy Chris Tucker who is in great form ..

Jackie does what he intends to do best , eye-popping stunts which give an edge-of-the-seat experience.

The backdrop of the movie starts in LA , then the scene shifts to Paris , hunting the assasins of the Ambassador who was leading the investigation on legendary criminal organization.

Best Moment of the Movie hands down goes to

The Interrogation Scene done by the detectives in presence of a French Nun Translator....

I was on the floor watching it , uncontrollable comic timing keeps the audience in splits...

Any Glicthes ????? The action lacks the punch as compared to the prequels , but the hilarious sequences make your day ...

Tucker keeps getting better with his Comedy , Jackie keeps getting better with his stunts at this age !! ..

KUDOS!!! ... 1.5 Hours of absolute hysteria ... rupee per minute ... simply worth it :)

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Gandhi , my father : by Feroz Abbas Khan

Harilal Gandhi , son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , tried his level best to shy away from the pain of being a Gandhi !!

Gandhi , the father of the nation quotes 'Two people I could not convince my entire life , one was Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the other was my own son Harilal....'

Feroz Abbas , a debutant director from the field of theater , has moulded his own theatrical drama Mahatma VS Gandhi to a nicely woven screenplay which gives a different perspective to the 1947 independence struggle!

The film start to end, stays focused on the struggle of the son to come to terms with the ideals of his father .The obsession and the conviction of Bapu to fight for independence at the cost of family does not go down well with Harilal.

Akshay Khanna , looked jaded in parts of the film , but some of the sequences were executed with absolute finesse .Darshan Jariwala as Gandhi looks convincing with able support from characters like Kasturba(Shefali Chhaya) and Gulabo (Bhoomika).

Special Mention : The interweaving of characters in the actual footage of black n white filmography proves that Indian cinema has grown in leaps and bounds...

Watch it for the sheer pleasure of getting insight into the lives of Gandhi Parivaar!!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix : by David Yates

PotterMania has reached crescendo and the masses will never get tired of their bespectled hero..

Frankly speaking I am not a die-hard potter fan and have neither read any of the potter series :) This review is purely based on the celluloid experience.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix starts where the Goblet ended. The return of the Dark Lord creates a stir at Hogwarts , Dumbledore and Harry being the center of the blame-game and trials.

The hitler-like rules at Hogwarts applied by the hard-taskmaster forces Harry and Gang to secretly have magic classes to fight the Dark Lord aka Voldemort.

The actors have surely matured including Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as Hermione and Ron respectively. The premise of the movie lacks the exuberance of the previous films.

The culmination of the movie is nicely executed with edge of the seat experience.

To be really candid , it was a drag in portions and the audience (non-readers) and the audience ( readers) , expected more to say the least.

People , wait for the final installment of the book series , that would be a better option than watching this one ..

ONLY FOR DIE-HARD POTTER FANS!!!

Rating : 3.0/5.0

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom : by Shaad Ali

Caution : People having an iota of cinematic experience please stay away from the worst movie to come out in last 5 years .

Saving Grace: The Title track is foot-tapping..really is!!

Rating : Save me from this predicament..

Ocean's Thirteen : by Steven Soderbergh

Oceans' back with a bang ... Steven Soderbergh .. Take a bow!

The movie takes us back to the wit ,class, style of Ocean's Eleven which was somewhat missing in twelve .

George Clooney backs his team yet again with a vengeance in mind against an eccentric and arrogant multi-millionaire casino big-wig.

The objective is simple : Heist at all costs , Catching the big fish , Meticulous Planning , No Loopholes , Hit the enemy hard and strong

In all of this the masquerade tickles the funny bone of the cinegoer with unassuming confidence of Ocean and his team.

The methodology followed is just par-excellence with every minute details covered for instance :

1. Ending the feud in the dice factory
2. Having centerpieces at the Casino positioned on the day of the big night
3. Earthquake Simulation
4. Making a hash of the FBI Criminal Search Portal

Watching AlPacino back in action was a privilege as the ambitious casino ruler. Brad Pitt and George Clooney's chemistry is just sparkling driving the team through it all.

The Oprah Winfrey track had my stomach aching ... just the subtle dialogues by both of them made my day!!

Anything missing ?!? Yeah , where are the girls ???????? No Catherine , No Julia ...

Nevertheless , 13 is indeed lucky this season .. Applause :) :) :) ...

Watch it for absolute satirical comedy and finesse of the set of actors ...

Rating : 4.5/5.0

Shootout at Lokhandwala : by Apoorva Lakhia

Count the bullets and run for your life out of the theater!!!!

Rating : Are you kidding me ?!?

Cheeni Kam : by R. Balakrishnan

Sugar Sweet Story line ... Unusual Title for such kinda subject :) ... Cheeni Kam defines a subject explored in varied ways ( a la' Nishabd being the latest in the category) ; an older man besotted to a younger woman.

This flick stays away from the obsessive streak which has always been the undercurrent in the chemistry of a couple. Instead it has that innocence between Big B and Tabu who have performed with aplomb.

The character of a taskmaster Chef in the london suburbs eatery leaves the audience in splits with his witty one-liners.Tabu plays a delhite on a vacation has an uncanny knack of keeping a step ahead of the chef ( Big B ) in verbose games.

This sweet story has an amazing wordy tangos happening minute after minute; Special mention:

1. the Chef and his mother's constant cribbing about Gym errands!
2. 'Sexy' neighbourhood kid acting as a counseller and an advisor to the chef for his emotional upheavals.
3. Zafarani Pulao is the dish of the season!!

Paresh Rawal's his·tri·on·ics in the second half makes the movie a drag and leaves the audience to get the thing over ...

Nevertheless, watch it for super crackling chemistry between two of the finest actors in bollywood .. one time dekko for sure!

Rating : 3.0/5.0

Life in a Metro : by Anurag Basu

Message for all City Dwellers ... come into the reality of a Metro ... life is a race not a morning walk....

The movie throws light on the above aspect in such pratical way that you feel one is living the movie itself

The way the stories of couples are interwined in a maze of Emotions , Deceit , Infidelity , Loyalty , Detachment , Courage , Love and Hatred is par excellence ...

The best of the lot is Irfan Khan and Konkana Sen's chemistry which exudes innocence and at the same time imparting deep lessons which will leave indelible marks on the cinegoers psyche!

Kay Kay Menon,Shilpa Shetty,Shiny Ahuja bring out their best performances in a complex relationship tangle.

Sharman is awesome in an ambitious yet "down to earth" guy's character caught in a whirpool of bonds with his Boss, GirlFriend, Landlord ...

Kangana looks tired in a different role by her standards. Her look is pretty refreshing though.

It s hard to point the negatives but Dharmendra and Nafisa's lost in love therapy was not required !!

The movie throws light on every aspect of an individual trying to find his or her identity in today's fast paced world trying hard to strike a fine balance....

Tears,Laughter,Anger ... you name it has myriad of emotions ... kudos to the director for handling it with aplomb..

As far as the music is concerned , breakthrough tracks in terms of guitar riffs and rocking feel given by the newly formed band Metro headed by Pritam ( of Dhoom and Dhoom2 fame)

Memorable Sequences : 1 . Climax itself 2. Theater Play Sequence 3.Beach Side Convo between Irfan and Koko 4. Sharman's matchmaking exercises brings the house down!

Watch it for sure .. I have seen it twice already!

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Spiderman 3 : by Samuel Marshall Raimi

Spiderman 3 has been the most anticipated movie of the year . People were dying to see the super - hero antics yet again with Web-Slinging Action from our own Toby Maguire as Spiderman aka Peter Parker

Hold on ... ill give you the verdict ... hang on to your seatbelts ...

What do you expect in a superhero action flick .. LOADS of ACTION .. on this account Spidey 3 rises above the expectations of the cinegoer.

Spidey 3 starts where it left in the prequel , MJ and Peter in love and happy in each others company. NY loves Spiderman , MJ loves Spiderman , Everyone adores Spiderman !!

Let's talk of the flip side , Spiderman's nemesis :

1. Sandman : CGFX make this character unbelievable reminicent of Mummy

2. Venom : Spidey vs Spidey Action ; Alter-Ego of Spiderman kicks ass

3. Green Goblin Jnr : Green Goblin Junior is awesome with his py·ro·tech·nics

Speaking of Performances , Toby Maguire is above average , giving the impression of being a tired super hero ! Kirsten Dunst is about ok. The villiany of Venom rocks big time and gives you spine-chilling sequences in a short but effective role.

Best Sequence : End of Venom in the climax

All in All , the flick gives you awesome action but the audience feels void coming out of the theater gasping for more.

Rating : 3.0/5.0

Bheja Fry : by Sagar Ballary

Bheja Fry ; guys if you wanna have one-hell of a whacky ride , its worth the effort.

The film is conglomeration of set of people indulging in Music , Adultery , Infidelity , Income Tax with Bharat Bhushan as the center piece in the entire gamut.

Vinay just immerses into the charatcer of a babble mouth singer never short of brain-drained notions. Aspirational without being inspirational , he enter into an unfamiliar territory of big time music producer

Rajat Kapoor is a 'life is hell' philosophy follower with constant searchfor solutions to his problems starting and ending on his relationships!

Hilarious to say the least , snippets which are worth noting down , smiling just as I write (can't control it)

** Vinay's art of opening his briefcase : Just observe his eyes roll up and then dwon when he changes the number combination of his case

** Ranvir Shorey playing Vinays IT Inspector Friend : He is just brilliant at his skill of giving superlative expressions , suspicious at every ounce in the house of the music producer

** Vinay again dialling the phone : 'It's Ringing' and 'Redial' announcements with every call he makes

** Milind Soman ( where was he ??) : Forgetting Vinay's name brings the house down

Summing up such a Fry which is delicious to say the least , is difficult , but the bheja says watch it again!!!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Blood Diamond : by Edward Zwick

Diamond are precious .. really are .. but do we need to shed blood for it ???

Blood Diamond is an absolutely exhilarating experince giving an insight into Diamond Smuggling Nexus !

Sierra Leone in Africa sets the film on a scale of a civil war with innocent people being forced into slavery.

The black african actor here playing the role of Solomon Vandy strikes the cinegoer with his balanced yet vulnerable persona as fisherman carrying his heart upon his sleeve.

Leonardo yet again surprises with the mean potryal of a smuggler and culminates with a sensitive side to the well-defined character of Danny Archer

Connelly has come a long way from 'A Beautiful Mind' and plays a frustrated yet 'knowing her job' journalist craving for evidence on the nexus.

High points of the movie

1. The Air Strike on the REBELS

2. Escape of Danny and Solomon from the bloody civil lines

3. Solomon's reunion with his family

Djimoun Honso , the african actor truly desrved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar instead it went to Alan Arkin

Go and buy a ticket / pick a dvd / do whatever .. WATCH IT

Rating : 4.5/5.0

Pursuit of Happyness : by Gabriele Muccino

Pursuit of Happyness brings in hope and aspiration "things will turn out best"

'Do your job , Try to the fullest , Make a sincere effort' are the three well-defined mantras which make the backdrop of the movie.

Will-Smith plays a happy chappy making a full-strength effort to support his family ( a 4 year old kid and his wife played by Thandie Newton) .

The narration of the movie is handled with aplomb with first-person account of the different phases in his life

1. Stupid Phase

2. Running Phase

3. Happyness Phase

to name a few......

Based on a true - story of a small town bone-density scanner medical agent (Chris Gardner) , his never-say-die attitude reaping rich rewards of making him a stock broker and eventually opening his own investment firm.

Will Smith excels yet again in an emotional saga bringing happyness and sorrow vicariously for the cinegoer.

Recommended for people with high EQ .. nice sweet watch.

Rating : 4.0/5.0

The Namesake : by Mira Nair

The Namesake depicts the life of a typical middle class Bengali Family caught in a cross-cultural maze on the other side of the world.

Irfan Khan excels as an eccentric father obsessed with a famous Russian author named Gogol. Irfan's counterpart played by Tabu complements the actor superbly with a sweet , non-melodramatic performance.

The journey of the family starts with the couple acclimatizing to the unexplored milieu. Addition to the family with a son and daughter adds to the flavour. Americanization of the children has been dealt with aplomb and depicted in subtle manner.

Naming of the son "Gogol" lends the backdrop of the film and how the son copes with consequences of the same. Kal Penn , who plays "Gogol" is pretty good and allows the parent-son relationship a kick.

Some of the highlights would be :

1. Gogol introducing his phirang girlfriend to his parents

2. Taj Mahal visit of the family

3. Emotional Climax

Mira Nair may have done full justice to Jhumpa Lahiris book ( though I have not read it :) ) .

Coming from the director of Monsoon Wedding , the movie is a must-watch .

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Guru : by Mani Ratnam

Mani Ratnam has proved time and again that he is the best we have in the country today.

Guru marks the resurrection of Abhishek Bachchan. He has pulled a rabbit out of the bag with fleeting glimpses of his dad. To his credit , he comes out trumps in carrying the entire movie on his shoulders.

Aishwarya Rai excels in parts , though the chemistry between the couple is electrifying.

Announcement of their off screen engagement did put the cat among the pigeons.

A.R. Rahman has time and again proven that he is the master of his art.Melody comes naturaly to him and his tracks grow on you with time.

Support from Mithun Da , Madhavan and Vidya Balan creates a superlative milieu for a cracling web of relationships.

I was a little disappointed with the climax.It was built up very well till the culmination which left a lot to be desired.

Anyhow , a fine attempt by Mani to go into life of a Corporate Giant like Dhirubhai and do justice to it.

Verdict: Abhishek is here to stay!!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

The Departed : by Martin Scorsese

****ing Rat... This could have easily been the title of the film...Jack Nicholson and company going beserk with their mean Boston twang ;

going **** this **** that....

The Departed has become a cult film in many ways and I am listing those below

* Matt Damon; Leonardo Di Caprio and Jack have put in so much into their roles making the viewer gasp on the transformation

* Oxford Dictionary is put to sword with downright usage of Slangs and Unmentionables ( if you found Omkara out of your scope ; wait for this one ;) )

* The Plot is just supelative ; screenplay keeping the audience into a maze.

* Dropkick Murphy's Soundtrack playing in the background "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" adds to the flavour ( this is my current ringtone FYI)

* In terms of Performances KUDOS to "Leonardo Di Caprio" (my pick for this movie..u can choose yours)

* Chilling Potrayal of "Frank Costello" with lecherous undertones ....

* Best Sequence of the Movie : The Shootout at 344 (nicely executed)

* Glitches ( if any ) : Climax could have been better and spicier.

My Concluding Note:
You might win the rat race but you are still a rat!!
( Apt Punchline for the movie ; Alas! Martin didn't contact me ; )
DARE NOT MISS THIS ONE

Rating : 4.5/5.0