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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

U Me aur Hum : by Ajay Devgan

Ajay Devgan has been a prolific actor over the years and he teams with his wife Kajol to bring forth a canvas full of love , emotions and deep bonding!

It is a story about Ajay and Pia who meet over a cruise where Pia is a bar-waitress and Ajay , a charmer to the core....

He tries to woo Pia , and the movie has a lot of romantic moments you can identify with in the first half .

The latter half of the film is a revelation , not seen before performances and the actors prove their prowess .

"The turn of events when Kajol is diagnosed with Alzheimer makes you CRY for more... the bonding between the couple is brought to the fore!!! .... It is very high on EQ and the handkerchiefs will come out in numbers for sure!!!"

Best Scene of the Movie : When Ajay rushes back to the asylum to bring back Kajol

U ME AUR HUM ... is an extra-ordinary effort by a sensitive actor and has proven himself yet again this time in the director's hat.

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Goodfellas : by Martin Scorsese

Good Fellas is a typical gangster flick reminiscent of The Godfather Trilogy...

Martin Scorsese has always been an interesting director with his films showing his craft in rainbow colors ranging from high-voltage dramas to pure action adrenalin flicks.....

Its a story about Henry Hill , small village boy who always wanted to be in the big league, with the freedom to walk in fresh air , not giving a damn about the world around him...

The journey of Henry Hill takes off from his childhood days where he meets with the gang linchpin in the form of Rober De-Niro and Joe Pesci. It spans decades and how they build an empire ranging from killings to smuggling drugs.

The culmination of the film takes you by surprise , the performances pack a punch in particular Joe Pesci's award winning portrayal of Tommy De-Vito , the hale n hearty gruesome gangster!!!

Martin has done a good job , but The Godfather still remains the ultimate Gangster flick....

Rating : 4.0 /5.0

Monday, April 14, 2008

Krazzy 4 : by Jaideep Sen

PEOPLE , 

This is a warning to all movie lovers Krazzy as you maybe .....

Attempt to even enter a
theater playing this flick is hazardous to your health,wealth and general well-being.



Rating : GIVE ME A BREAK !!!!!!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Fargo : by Coen Brothers

Coen Brothers are known for their dark tales suitably tagged as neo-noir ... Fargo is one such black comedy!

It is about a car sales executive who is in severe debt and in urgent need of cash.

One fine day , in a snowy Minnesota winters , he hires 2 goons to plot kidnapping of his own wife , to rig a huge sum of ransom from his wealthy father-in-law.

The story takes a turn of events when the kidnapping goes gory and police gets involved giving the sales executive a pretty hard time .

The case is in the hands of a pregnant woman police officer played by Frances McDormand (wife of Joel Coen , the director of the film) who has done a commendable job , with funny anecdotes and small nuances , making it fun crime drama!!!

The end is predictable which makes the movie an anti-climax... nevertheless good
Oscar winning film!!

Rating : 3.0/5.0

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

V for Vendetta : by James McTeigue

V for Vendetta is a classy film bringing forth the governments' fictitious under-hand dealings leading to mass-killings due to human-experimentation's in a country plagued with problems ...

Wachowski brothers (Matrix Trilogy Fame) have adapted the screenplay for this film based on a comic-caper written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and it is Superlative!!!!

V played by Hugo Weaving threatens the government of the country to blow up the parliament on November 5th. The Chancellor takes immediate action and two officers are hot on his trail.

In the meantime , Eve played by Natalie Portman , is taken a hostage by V in an attempt to protect her.

The story moves along with jack-out-of-the-box approach , V unveiling his mask in every scene , uncovering his plans in every reel.

The second portion of the film surprises the audience when suddenly Eve finds herself captured n tortured in a prison cell , the events thereafter are intriguing.

Hugh Weaving(Agent Smith , Matrix Fame) done a good job with his voice doing all the work and Portman excels in some portions.

Worth Noting Dialogue :

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant and vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V " -------- (V's introduction)


Nice Watch....

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Friday, April 04, 2008

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest : by Miloš Forman


Can an actor carry a film entirely on his shoulders to make us revere him????



Jack Nicholson is the man to do this no mean feat!!!!!

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is deemed as a masterpiece in many ways and I am in full agreement.

Randle McMurphy (Jack) plays a deranged criminal who is charged of crimes which are unpardonable.He is transferred to a mental institution for his apparent mad-behaviour. Mc-Murphy wishes to spend his rest of the sentence in comfort and he takes this sacrifice along.

The inmates there in the hospital are a bunch of frenetics and the set of actors so chosen have performed magnificently. The story moves along with the McMurphy forming deep camaraderie with the patients.

The tyrant Nurse Ratchet played by Louise Fletcher was the doppelganger of Jack Nicholson's character and the friction between them made the film tangy and zippy!!!!

Key Moments :
  • McMurphy breaking the ward glass window to fetch the cigarette packs.
  • Argument on watching the World Series on Television.
  • The End Reels makes me sentient.
First Film to win all 5 Major Oscars .....

Best Fim , Director , Actor , Actress , Screenplay.

Do I need to say more??!?!?

Rating : 5.0/5.0

Monday, March 31, 2008

Snatch : by Guy Ritchie

Snatch is the follow up to the movie Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels ... and ...

Guy Ritchie disappoints me big time with repetitive drama and heist plot.

The Oasis in the Desert .. is

Mickey O'Neill played by Brad Pitt is the surprise package , the guy can act ... with a terrific Irish Accent.

Rating : 2.0/5.0

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels : by Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie is considered to be an innovative man behind the camera and he proves it with Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

The premise of the film revolves around 4 separate gangs working at tandem for a Stock of Money and an antique pair of Gun Barrels worth a fortune.

4 guys decide to pull of a coup on a gangster in a card game and pool in a huge sum to allow Eddie , the gambler of the group beat Hatchet at his own game.

The quartet find themselves in a soup when Eddie loses and they are in debt.

Meanwhile there is a race to get hold of two antique barrels, and this maze of gang-war and heist stories puts the cinegoer in splits.

The theatrics in the movie are simply outrageous , a typical comedy-of-errors , hilarity at its best!!

Best Moment of the Film : The Penultimate Scene ( last 15 minutes of the film are awesome!!)

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Friday, March 28, 2008

Pulp Fiction : by Quentin Tarantino


Pulp Fiction , is deemed as a cult film in many ways re-defining cinema and setting an example for later movies . I was fortunate enough to see it last night , and for me it is hard to fathom to say the least!!!!!

Quentin has always amazed me with his non-linear structuring , punchy over-the- top dialogues as seen in his recent films like Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs ... had I seen Pulp Fiction earlier , would have appreciated it a gr8 deal.

Still , the film stands out in some ways ....

1. Vincent ( played by Travolta ) and his chemistry with Wallaces' wife Mia (played by Thurman)

2. Jules ( played by Samual L ) baleful biblical pronouncement to kill a guy who had transgressed against their boss Wallace.

3. The rig at the restaurant where two amateur goons (Pumpkin and Honey Bunny) try to rob the place and are confronted with Vincent and Jules ( not again :) :)

4. Bonnie Situation , was the funniest of the lot where in 2 hitman do a clear up job of murder done accidentally by Vincent.

Performances are good particularly , Samuel Jackson who has a mean look ... Bruce Willis' story is not even worth mentioning let alone his acting... Travolta's jig reminds of his Grease dayz ... and Uma Thruman is just about ok.

A lot of things puzzled me in the film , and still do , and will continue to do so as it has for audiences galore .... .... INTRIGUING FILM

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Monday, March 24, 2008

Race : by Abbas Mustan

RACE .... Abbas - Mustan have got it right this time ...

The film is a typical edge-of-the-seat thriller... making the cinegoer gasp for more ...

Saif and Akshaye play step-brothers , owners of a Ranch and dealing in the big time moolah!!

The girls in the film Bipasha and Katrina have a performance packed roles ... Bipasha playing the love interest of Akshaye and Katrina , Saif's silent admirer...

Sudden turn of events , puts the life of the 2 brothers in jeopardy , and hence unfolds the web of DECEIT & SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!!!

The music of the film is racy and gels with the movie superbly , Pritam does it again after Jab We Met!! , songs worth mentioning is the title track and the Atif Aslam song which is melodic to the ears.

The Post-Interval Events with the intro of Anil Kapoor ( the cop) and his sidekick Sameera Reddy spice up the storyline to the next level....

Noteworthy Performances : Akshaye Khanna is superlative , Saif a close second!

Any Glitches!?!!? ----- Too Many Twists Spoils the Plot Somehow

SUPER SLICK , SMART , SEXY THRILLER ....... GET SET GO!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ek Chalis Ki Last Local : by Sanjay M. Khanduri

Ek Chalis ki Last Local ... is a a genre chartered many times and is termed as a "black comedy" a la' "Jaane bhi do Yaaron"

It is a story of a roller-coaster night of 2.5 hrs , where the life of a call-center exexcutive is turned upside down!

Abhay Deol has come a long way since his debut in Socha Na Tha .. and he has improved in leaps and bounds...

The movie starts at a train platform , Abhay misses his last local train and is stranded , biding time to reach his destination or wait for the morning train.

As the film unfolds, the call center executive encounters plethora of people ranging from a prostitute to road side goons to card-gamblers.

The Card-Game sequence is well-executed , capturing the excitement to the maximum.

Post-Interval the film , becomes a tad boring with a few stories webbed together...

Culmination of the film is reminicent of the hollywood flick Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels which I just saw a few dayz back.... nice attempt by the new director!

Performances : Kudos to Abhay! and the bar girl singing the Kukudu Song is gut-busting!!!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Hotel Rwanda : by Terry George

Hotel Rwanda is yet another movie which highlights the dark hours of an African Nation.

The movie is based on true to life events of mass killings which occured in Rwanda in 1994 , where milllions died due to hatred amongst two sections of the African Tribals ....... Hutus and Tutsi!!

The film is about a Hotel Manager taking upon himself to shelter the helpless Tutsi people who are the primary targets in this bloodshed.

Hotel Rwanda is a very realistic film giving insight into the state of an African Nation ( a la' Last King of Scotland ) ... the ghastly act of killings has been depicted in a very never seen before mode!! ... may cause the cinegoer to switch the film off ... ( not for the faint- hearted)

The manner in which , beating the odds , Paul Rusesabagina , saves many tutsi lives in a crisis civil war scenario makes me stand up and applaud the man .

The performances are exemplary in particular Don Cheadle playing Paul Rusesabagina .

These true life events pictured in the movie gives us hope that there is SPACE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD...

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Sin City : by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez

Sin City is not a run-of-the-mill flick , it is a film with the novelty of watching something eye-catching in a long time!

Sin City : the film is based on a series of comics by Frank Miller by the same name, the USP of the film is the narration in neo-noir pattern as seen in Usual Suspects and Memento .....

The movie is divided into three stories told in a true comic craper style with lot of flair , over-the-top dialogues , hardcore histrionics.

The film is set in Basin City (a fictional town) where in Crime , Sex , Gang-War and Killings are the high points of people inhabiting the same.

Let's talk about the stories:

1. That Yellow Bastard (Part 1) : Saviour n a Girl n a Mutant

2. The Hard Goodbye : A Typical Revenge pot boiler

3. The Big Fat Kill : Gang-War

4. That Yellow Bastard (Part 2) : Culmination of Part 1

My personal favorite is story # 2 , has a lot of masala and dramatization ....!!

The starcast is huge and its good to see an ensemble of talent in one reel ranging from Bruce Willis to Benicio del Toro to Jessica Alba to Elijah Jordan Wood.

The movie is worth a dekko , go for it , i'll grab the copy of the comic series ...

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Friday, March 14, 2008

Ratatouille : by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava

Pixar has always impressed me with their state of art animation studio works and Ratatouille is no exception!

The storyline is very unreal yet believable where in a rat possesses a natural finesse for cooking... he is dying to become a CHEF!

Gusteau is the world famous french restaurant where in the late connoisseur of food ... has left a legacy in the hands of wannabe chef's ..

Rat being a rodent it is , has a talent unmatched to sniff the aroma at a distance with the acumen to experiment with platter of dishes!!

The animation is terrific , reminding me of Toy Story and Finding Nemo as other acclaimed movies coming from the Pixar studios!

The rodent is adorable and the audience embraces it with benevolent arms! ...

Must Watch ... family,friends,kids ... grab a copy! ... Oscar truly deserved!

Rating : 4.5/5.0

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Jodha Akbar : by Ashutosh Gowarikar

Jodha Akbar ... had many expectations from this historical drama coming straight out of Lagaan and Swades directorial den...

I am honestly very very disappointed .. The film has proven to be Discovery Channel Documentary to say the least .. it has zero entertainment value with the length of the movie bugging the cine goer to the hilt!

The music was nothing to cheer about , the performances were ok types with only Aishwarya stamping her prowess , Hrithik seemed lost in the crowd !!

The saving grace were the war scenes and the penultimate fight reminiscent of TROY!

The Legacy of Lagaan ... may not be repeated for many years to come ... pull up your socks Mr Gowarikar !!

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Monday, February 25, 2008

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

Friday, February 22, 2008

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

Sunday, February 17, 2008

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

Friday, February 15, 2008

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
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