Definitely, Maybe. Now thats an awesome title for a Rom-Com. So whats the purpose of a Rom-Com? Going beyond all the BS and corny mushy lines, it all boils down to 2 fundamentals.
First, a couple watching the movie thinks of each other if they are watching the movie on their own. If they are watching it together, well thats a lot of gazing into each others eyes.....lots of the soft mushy BS making sense at the time....maybe some reuse of the corny lines after a fight.
Second, a Single viewer comes out of the theater wishing he/she falls in love the next time he (you know what lets stick to he....considering yours truly is in that category) boards a train or picks a coffee at the airport Starbucks. (Oops did I give away my thoughts?) He starts thinking of a lot of 'what ifs'. Should I have talked to her? God help a hopeless romantic coz it just causes the person to have a heartbreak. Did I become a friend and miss out on being her soul mate? Wonder if she is still single?
So does the movie fulfill these? Well kinda sorta in a way......Ryan Reynolds holds the movie together appreciably well. Isla Fisher is just sooo cute. (Did I say cute? Well I am not from California and I don't wear pink if it sounded that way) Rachel Weisz looks a million dollars each time she appears on screen. Kevin Kline plays the most refreshing role of the movie. Now hold on let me restate that. Kevin Kline plays the only refreshing role in the movie. Abigail Breslin tries to play this kind of a character. But I wish this was made with Dakota Fanning a few years ago. There needed to be an endearing heart melting character making us go 'awww'. She is too good an actor maybe to be just a kid on screen and make us feel for her. The film also lacked that one scene which remains with the user all his life. Having said that this is worth a watch on dvd. Pick it when it makes it to the Blockbuster store near you.....(Blockbuster better pay me serious moolah or I am backing Netflix in my next review)
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Om Shanty Om
After reading every review praising Om Shaanti Om vis-a-vis Saawariya, I had to see OSO before the Bhansali dud. I guess the reviews were written comparing the 2 movies or just for some plain hard cash. Well I didnt get my share so heres the truth as I see it.
The film starts off with Om Prakash Makhija (Srk) as a commoner extra in the movies and a fan\admirer of a starlet Shaanti Priya (Deepika). This seems reminiscent of the RGV flick Mast. The twist being, Om has ambitions of becoming a big star himself. What follows is a charade of almost every old actor in the business. A lot of it tastefully, some not so. This part is quite entertaining, I must say. Om saves Shaanti from a fire disaster ala Sunil Dutt-Nargis. Theres a very funny 'Rascalaa Mind it sequence' Unfortunately she is already in love with a producer Mukesh (an odd looking Arjun Rampal) The brief friendship between Om and Shaanti ends with their death courtesy Mukesh.
Flash-forward 25 yrs (or whatever) and you see Om reincarnated as Om Kapoor aka OK. He is a star son and we are served with a lot of funny anecdotes about star tantrums. But soon OK recalls his earlier birth and goes on a mission to make things right with the old producer rechristened from Mukesh to Mikey (an even odder looking Arjun Rampal). Deepika makes an appearance as a starstruck Sandhya aka Sandy and what follows is a comic revenge plot against Mikey. Sound familiar? Maybe you saw the stylish yet unsuccessful Sanjay Gupta caper "Hameshaa".
So is Om Shaanti Om justified the box office collections, hell no! What works for OSO is a good music track, Srk's new found abs and of course the divine looking Deepika. The movie is more or less a spoof of the 70s movies....but hey wasn't 'Main Hoo Naa' a 70s movie spoof as well? hey wait wasn't it made by Farha Khan? Well you shud get used to it now. Sooraj Barjatya makes wedding videos, Ramsays make 'scary' movies.....and well Farha makes spoofs. So get over it. The biggest downside to this movie is a complete lack of chemistry between Deepika and Srk. Though they look like million dollars individually, together they look well like Dad and daughter...well lets say big bro small sis to be non-acerbic. I would have thought Om could be played by a younger actor like Saif and this would have been a better movie. Regardless of the great box office collections, OSO would not find a place in my all time gr8 SRK movies....let alone all time great movies. But then again who cares? Go see this one for Deepika if you are a guy! Go watch it for Srk's 6 pack if you are a SRK fan! For the rest just have some guffaws!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Johnny Gaddar
Rating: 3/5
Audience: Urban Multiplex
Review: Johnny Gaddar the title suggests a cheesy movie and it almost is one, almost being the key word there. This one is a tribute to the cliched thrillers in the bollywood movie world and beyond. Sriram Raghavan has earlier directed the uber-fast and exciting Ek Hasina Thi. If you have seen that one, you would agree when I say that I had high expectations. Raghavan almost got the high bar he set with his first movie, again almost being the key word.
The Plot: JG begins on a very intriguing note and keeps you interested all through. There is never a dull moment. The movie though a thriller, has no elements of suspense. It makes this one churn up a different brand of storytelling. The lack of suspense does get to you in the second half. I am cruel enough to give away the plot.
The protagonist or should I say antagonist is a double crossing average Joe "Vikram" played by newcomer Neil Mukesh. He is involved in a heist with the stately ex-smuggler Seshadri (Dharmendra in a good role sans the English tit bits...he seems to be on a roll after Life in a metro...Whatever happened to Main tumhara Khoon Pee jaaoonga Kutte), temperamental gambler Prakash (Vinay Pathak the new Mr. Dependable these days when it comes to comedy and\or drama), sinister Shardul (Zakir Hussain.....Remember Rashid from Sarkar?....another feather in his cap this one) and the calm Shiva (Daya Shetty). And as fate would have it....(thats what he says!)...he ends up double crossing them for the money. The supporting cast also has Govind Namdeo (awesome as always), Rimmi Sen (watever happened to the girl from Shik dum!!!) and Ashvini Kalsekar (Not found on the main credits but amazing actress if directors use her well which has been done the second time after Khakee). The soundtrack is exquisitely fused with the storytelling and brings out the mood of the screeenplay perfectly. The movie falters marginally in the dialogue department. There aren't very many one liners which become part of your vocabulary after the movie. Neil Mukesh does a commendable debut. But somewhere I believe he underplays his character, unfortunately putting him in the Fardeen bracket. I sure do hope that the portrayal was due to the character he was playing and hope to see him in his next flick. All in all, a good movie worth a dekko.
Audience: Urban Multiplex
Review: Johnny Gaddar the title suggests a cheesy movie and it almost is one, almost being the key word there. This one is a tribute to the cliched thrillers in the bollywood movie world and beyond. Sriram Raghavan has earlier directed the uber-fast and exciting Ek Hasina Thi. If you have seen that one, you would agree when I say that I had high expectations. Raghavan almost got the high bar he set with his first movie, again almost being the key word.
The Plot: JG begins on a very intriguing note and keeps you interested all through. There is never a dull moment. The movie though a thriller, has no elements of suspense. It makes this one churn up a different brand of storytelling. The lack of suspense does get to you in the second half. I am cruel enough to give away the plot.
The protagonist or should I say antagonist is a double crossing average Joe "Vikram" played by newcomer Neil Mukesh. He is involved in a heist with the stately ex-smuggler Seshadri (Dharmendra in a good role sans the English tit bits...he seems to be on a roll after Life in a metro...Whatever happened to Main tumhara Khoon Pee jaaoonga Kutte), temperamental gambler Prakash (Vinay Pathak the new Mr. Dependable these days when it comes to comedy and\or drama), sinister Shardul (Zakir Hussain.....Remember Rashid from Sarkar?....another feather in his cap this one) and the calm Shiva (Daya Shetty). And as fate would have it....(thats what he says!)...he ends up double crossing them for the money. The supporting cast also has Govind Namdeo (awesome as always), Rimmi Sen (watever happened to the girl from Shik dum!!!) and Ashvini Kalsekar (Not found on the main credits but amazing actress if directors use her well which has been done the second time after Khakee). The soundtrack is exquisitely fused with the storytelling and brings out the mood of the screeenplay perfectly. The movie falters marginally in the dialogue department. There aren't very many one liners which become part of your vocabulary after the movie. Neil Mukesh does a commendable debut. But somewhere I believe he underplays his character, unfortunately putting him in the Fardeen bracket. I sure do hope that the portrayal was due to the character he was playing and hope to see him in his next flick. All in all, a good movie worth a dekko.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Life in a Metro
I saw this flick at 2 am. I was planning to see a part of it and then leave the rest of it for the next day. Well it turned out that this one had a way of keeping me hooked on right till the end. There are very many movies which have tried to do the multiple story lines mixed into a single movie. I have never come across a tighter script and a better directed than this one among any of the Indian films. Each one of the story lines was captivating in its own right.
Lets start with the most endearing, impeccant and sinless one. Dharmendra still has the ability to light up the screen with his smile. I wish he had not become a mockery of his old self in the past few decades and only acted in roles which suited him better. I am thankful that Nafisa Ali was cast instead of someone like Hema Malini or Sharmila Tagore as it would have made the story very filmi.
The track involving Irfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma is probably the most mirthful of the lot. It has a lot of guffaws laced with a few thoughtful moments. Irfan Khan is the usual brilliance personified. Konkona does not tread too many untrodden paths but gives in a good performance nonetheless. 'Take your chance, baby!' is probably the best advice given on screen.
The romance between Shilpa Shetty and Shiney Ahuja is very well directed. It has a lot of moments which have the romantic undercurrent in the face of adultery and could have been a full length movie. They exude real good chemistry on screen. Though Shiney does not have a meaty role, he does his bit pretty well. Shilpa Shetty has been looking better with age. She looks ravishing in every frame of the movie. Her scenes with Kay Kay Menon have her go beyond what she is given credit for. Her breakdown scene is the most amazing. Kay Kay acts very well in the role presented to him. But I would have liked his character have more grey shades than black ones. There is no part of his character that we want to align ourselves with. Overall though the 'triangle' is something Karan Johar ought to look at for how sensitive issues like adultery needs to be handled. It is notches above KANK from the gloss factory.
Now lets look at the most complex and probably the most controversial story of them all. The film maker must have seen the candy floss 'Yes Boss' and said to himself 'Well that was a good movie. But is that how it would have taken place in real life?' Carnal pleasures have never been shown in a form as raw as this one. Even so there is not a single scene made to titillate the audience just for the heck of it. Kangana Ranaut for once delivers a scratchy performance. She has the look, talent and charm of the younger Juhi Chawla. But she botches one of the better roles of the movie in some scenes due to bad diction. Sharman Joshi as the modern day 'Rahul' is a perfect fit. He shows a lot of range in his acting repertoire and holds this track together. I feel he is one actor who should be given his rightful place in the film industry.
The camera work is imaginative all through. The music is melodious and holds the film together during the songs. The songs convey the feelings of majority of the characters whenever they play. All the songs have scenes intertwined in them so they do not impede the story lines. The star of the show has to be the director. Anurag Basu is in prime form with this one. I think he will be one to look out for in the long run to give us very good cinema.
All in all this one is for someone who likes drama driven thoughtful films. It has enough to keep you interested in all frames.
Lets start with the most endearing, impeccant and sinless one. Dharmendra still has the ability to light up the screen with his smile. I wish he had not become a mockery of his old self in the past few decades and only acted in roles which suited him better. I am thankful that Nafisa Ali was cast instead of someone like Hema Malini or Sharmila Tagore as it would have made the story very filmi.
The track involving Irfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma is probably the most mirthful of the lot. It has a lot of guffaws laced with a few thoughtful moments. Irfan Khan is the usual brilliance personified. Konkona does not tread too many untrodden paths but gives in a good performance nonetheless. 'Take your chance, baby!' is probably the best advice given on screen.
The romance between Shilpa Shetty and Shiney Ahuja is very well directed. It has a lot of moments which have the romantic undercurrent in the face of adultery and could have been a full length movie. They exude real good chemistry on screen. Though Shiney does not have a meaty role, he does his bit pretty well. Shilpa Shetty has been looking better with age. She looks ravishing in every frame of the movie. Her scenes with Kay Kay Menon have her go beyond what she is given credit for. Her breakdown scene is the most amazing. Kay Kay acts very well in the role presented to him. But I would have liked his character have more grey shades than black ones. There is no part of his character that we want to align ourselves with. Overall though the 'triangle' is something Karan Johar ought to look at for how sensitive issues like adultery needs to be handled. It is notches above KANK from the gloss factory.
Now lets look at the most complex and probably the most controversial story of them all. The film maker must have seen the candy floss 'Yes Boss' and said to himself 'Well that was a good movie. But is that how it would have taken place in real life?' Carnal pleasures have never been shown in a form as raw as this one. Even so there is not a single scene made to titillate the audience just for the heck of it. Kangana Ranaut for once delivers a scratchy performance. She has the look, talent and charm of the younger Juhi Chawla. But she botches one of the better roles of the movie in some scenes due to bad diction. Sharman Joshi as the modern day 'Rahul' is a perfect fit. He shows a lot of range in his acting repertoire and holds this track together. I feel he is one actor who should be given his rightful place in the film industry.
The camera work is imaginative all through. The music is melodious and holds the film together during the songs. The songs convey the feelings of majority of the characters whenever they play. All the songs have scenes intertwined in them so they do not impede the story lines. The star of the show has to be the director. Anurag Basu is in prime form with this one. I think he will be one to look out for in the long run to give us very good cinema.
All in all this one is for someone who likes drama driven thoughtful films. It has enough to keep you interested in all frames.
Monday, March 19, 2007
300 - The Movie
As mentioned in my earlier Blog, I recently saw the much in talk movie 300. Although I wanted to see it on Imax, the tickets and shows were far and between leading me to settle for the normal screen. As a pre-cursor to the hype related to the movie, I read up the wikipedia posts related to it. This movie has been made from a graphic novel also known by the same name. As a good History student in school, (for those of you who did not know me back then, I had once contemplated a career in archeology) I was intrigued by the amazing quality of the post and how it got me involved in this 'against the odds' fight.
Having said that, my reading exercise also let me form my expectations for the movie to be a fantasy kind of a historic and not an out and out historical account of the battle. The one thing that came out of the comments made by the makers was that It was a literal conversion of the graphic novel. So those of you who are wanting a gripping authentic account of the battle and era, you would be disappointed. For the real account refer this
Now lets get to the real deal, the movie itself. For a person who likes action movies, this one does not let you down. Even if you leave out the rest of the movie and watch the battle scenes, you would be treated to your money's worth or more. The skill of the Spartan soldiers is hyped to super human proportions and the 6 packs on each one of them, holds testimony to this claim. (btw if you felt this was done using special effects, think again.... Look at this routine for the actors who played Spartan soldiers). The movie seems more like an opera than a movie and has the same kind of aura about it. This is established by the over-emphasized dialogues like 'This is Sparta' or 'Remember Us' or 'Tonight we dine in Hell'....They are loud and spine chilling in some cases. King Leonidus has a distinct Maximus (of gladiator fame) hangover and lives up to the comparison.
There is nothing that really surprised me in the movie as the story is small and predictable. The best scene for me was the war scene with the Immortals wherein the Spartans use the dead bodies of the earlier parts of the Persian contingent. (Well the sight of the Oracle comes close to being my favorite too...ah what a sight!!!)
Now lets get to the flip side! The war depicted against the Persian Empire or the 1000 Kingdoms of Asia seems like a bit of a deja vu in the reverse chronology considering the current state of the world. And I hope it doesn't give the viewers the wrong view of the people from that region. Also, the battle scenes though spell-binding, do not get you emotionally attached to the Spartan soldiers. And as said earlier, there wasn't any attempt at making this a realistic tale. The 'Lord of the Rings' kind of effects and characters are entertaining and eeeky at different moments in the movie. All in all a movie worth watching once. Not a collectible though.
Having said that, my reading exercise also let me form my expectations for the movie to be a fantasy kind of a historic and not an out and out historical account of the battle. The one thing that came out of the comments made by the makers was that It was a literal conversion of the graphic novel. So those of you who are wanting a gripping authentic account of the battle and era, you would be disappointed. For the real account refer this
Now lets get to the real deal, the movie itself. For a person who likes action movies, this one does not let you down. Even if you leave out the rest of the movie and watch the battle scenes, you would be treated to your money's worth or more. The skill of the Spartan soldiers is hyped to super human proportions and the 6 packs on each one of them, holds testimony to this claim. (btw if you felt this was done using special effects, think again.... Look at this routine for the actors who played Spartan soldiers). The movie seems more like an opera than a movie and has the same kind of aura about it. This is established by the over-emphasized dialogues like 'This is Sparta' or 'Remember Us' or 'Tonight we dine in Hell'....They are loud and spine chilling in some cases. King Leonidus has a distinct Maximus (of gladiator fame) hangover and lives up to the comparison.
There is nothing that really surprised me in the movie as the story is small and predictable. The best scene for me was the war scene with the Immortals wherein the Spartans use the dead bodies of the earlier parts of the Persian contingent. (Well the sight of the Oracle comes close to being my favorite too...ah what a sight!!!)
Now lets get to the flip side! The war depicted against the Persian Empire or the 1000 Kingdoms of Asia seems like a bit of a deja vu in the reverse chronology considering the current state of the world. And I hope it doesn't give the viewers the wrong view of the people from that region. Also, the battle scenes though spell-binding, do not get you emotionally attached to the Spartan soldiers. And as said earlier, there wasn't any attempt at making this a realistic tale. The 'Lord of the Rings' kind of effects and characters are entertaining and eeeky at different moments in the movie. All in all a movie worth watching once. Not a collectible though.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Guru says 'I Am Bani yeah'
Its 2 am and I just got back from a screening of 'Guru'. What compelled me to write this blog at this late hour?....Well I just told you I saw Guru.....Well if I yap abt the stellar performances of the lead and support actors in the film...then I would be aping what every newspaper reviewer has done or what any other amateur blogger has done (well I am confident I am not an amateur any more....a confidence I drew from Gurukant Desai) .... So instead of doing the usual routine, I would like to say how well the book 'The Polyester Prince' has been adapted for big screen keeping all lead characters intact. If you haven't read it...well you are missing out on a piece of history u ought to know about.
The film delves into a lot of jargon..well not a lot of it (non-convertible debentures and all)...which could have been avoided or explained better considering you are making a mainstream movie....u say its not mainstream???...well what was the future Mrs. Desai doing dancing at the start of the film or Mr. Desai in the middle of the film. What such roadblocks of musical boredom did was consume precious film reel...taking away a chance to film some more insightful scenes into the success of Gurukant Desai....which has a few chapters...90% of them showing some kind of manipulation....
So what could have made the movie interesting?...Lets see how about a common mans life change during the course of the film due to his investments in Guru's company?....Hmm that would have made the film an account of a Hero...in the cliched bollywood sense.....maybe......The episode of the protagonist against the cartel of bears in the stock market would have been a really good and easily understandable part of the original protagonist's growth...Unfortunately this is not one of the episodes covered.....The remark about needing a license was sharp, witty and yet I believe went unnoticed by a generation which knows nothing about the post independence era from conventional sources of education....So a small anecdote or insight into the license era would have been welcome.....The scene between Guru and the newly appointed prime minister...oops i meant minister was not sinister enough and did not suggest the kind of pressure it put on the minister...they should have stuck to the bag containing the bribe being returned to the minister...as that was the unofficial scene between u knw who and u already knw who.....And that was too sensational for the book too.....Hmm well these are some of my opinions and I don't expect Mani Ratnam to follow them....(as if....)
All in all the philosophy of the real life person or the character come through right in the last few scenes where he challenges the way business was carried out before he came along....And that is one of the scenes which really touches the viewers...Most other scenes though brilliant just don't tug at your heart....
Last words...Heres looking forward to some great future work from Mithunda and of course 'Abhishek Amitabh Bacchan' (poora naam haaaiin)
The film delves into a lot of jargon..well not a lot of it (non-convertible debentures and all)...which could have been avoided or explained better considering you are making a mainstream movie....u say its not mainstream???...well what was the future Mrs. Desai doing dancing at the start of the film or Mr. Desai in the middle of the film. What such roadblocks of musical boredom did was consume precious film reel...taking away a chance to film some more insightful scenes into the success of Gurukant Desai....which has a few chapters...90% of them showing some kind of manipulation....
So what could have made the movie interesting?...Lets see how about a common mans life change during the course of the film due to his investments in Guru's company?....Hmm that would have made the film an account of a Hero...in the cliched bollywood sense.....maybe......The episode of the protagonist against the cartel of bears in the stock market would have been a really good and easily understandable part of the original protagonist's growth...Unfortunately this is not one of the episodes covered.....The remark about needing a license was sharp, witty and yet I believe went unnoticed by a generation which knows nothing about the post independence era from conventional sources of education....So a small anecdote or insight into the license era would have been welcome.....The scene between Guru and the newly appointed prime minister...oops i meant minister was not sinister enough and did not suggest the kind of pressure it put on the minister...they should have stuck to the bag containing the bribe being returned to the minister...as that was the unofficial scene between u knw who and u already knw who.....And that was too sensational for the book too.....Hmm well these are some of my opinions and I don't expect Mani Ratnam to follow them....(as if....)
All in all the philosophy of the real life person or the character come through right in the last few scenes where he challenges the way business was carried out before he came along....And that is one of the scenes which really touches the viewers...Most other scenes though brilliant just don't tug at your heart....
Last words...Heres looking forward to some great future work from Mithunda and of course 'Abhishek Amitabh Bacchan' (poora naam haaaiin)
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