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Reviews
Mamma Mia! (2008)
It's kind of fun which holly wood generally doesn't offers...
Being used to the Indian movies makes you a fan of 'song & dance routine' in movies. So a musical is never surprising for us. In fact movies without nice song & dance may seem strange to many of us. For me it has been disappointing mostly, when it comes to Hollywood musicals, especially Chicago which was terrible or even Moulin Rouge. Why the hell they even speak dialogues by singing them, that's stupid (like singing & dancing around trees with changing clothes & all other ridiculous stuff is so sensible & smart, but we are used to it). Somehow the Hollywood musical doesn't seem to work much to me (The Enchanted and Music & Lyrics were nice though) but this was a clear exception.
The movie looks fresh and interesting, the performances are subtle and keeps you hooked having fun while watching. That's what you expect from a musical. The storyline is well known, (hopefully... it was not well known to me though) a girl searching for her real father out of all 3 men her mom has dated earlier. She plans her marriage and invites all 3 men to figure out who is it. And the story goes through twists & turns and lots of SONGS, coming to a happy ending (sounds like bollywood).
I haven't seen the Broadway show but this film is definitely captivating enough to hold the audience. It was interesting to see Mr Ex James Bond singing and dancing on musical tunes. Others looked good as well. Just one suggestion, if you enjoy the movie then don't leave theater immediately after it ends, there is a nice song and dance routine with the end credits (ABBA songs 'Dancing queen' & 'Waterloo'), so ENJOY the Hollywood's bollywoodization!!!
(Read my blog as well... http://iambetterthanthebest.blogspot.com/)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Its really awesome, you gotta watch it to experience it...
Yeah, I saw The Dark Knight yesterday night; the first day, last show of the movie. And the deal is it was awesome, so I want to share it here. There are lots of movies I have seen lately (Hellboy-II, Hancock, Wanted, Incredible Hulk and Ironman). I would share my thoughts about it very soon in coming blogs but here comes what I have to say for this one...
So as I said, it's really Awesome. I realized while watching Ironman that even superhero movies can be above just fantasy, having decent storyline & impressive concept behind it. And Dark Knight proved it even further. It's not some sci-fi superhero fiction with no sense around it (yeah, like Daredevil or Catwoman... it really sucked). This is one superhero film which has got an amazing storyline with lots of action, drama, great effects and some superb performances.
Christian Bale as both Batman and Bruce Wayne is unmatchable; I don't think any of earlier versions have even been close to him. He seems made for this role, suits the charm & style of Bruce or power & darkness of Batman. He has taken it one step forward in this movie and proved his mettle. Heath Ledger as joker has been really impressive; he may get some villain awards for this. I kind of didn't like his appearance initially in trailers (I was too stuck on Jack Nicholson's joker I guess) but he has done such a good job that he seems the perfect choice. He has presented a crazy psychopath villain in the form of Joker. Also Aaron Eckhart as both Harvy Dent & 2-Face has done a great job. Looks both noble man as Harvy & hideous villain as 2-Face. Every other character has been also well drafted & well played.
As for the storyline, I won't reveal much. But just to let know, In Gotham City, Batman has been fighting crime with Gordan. Harvy Dent as the District Attorney is trying to be a true hero by cleaning up the city of all the criminals & thug. But the city is terrorized by crazy killer Joker who just wants to unmask & finish Batman. He terrorizes the whole city by his mad ideas & the other 3 are trying to fight him. But joker does get his way on many occasions accomplishing his targets of destroying both the city & its people (including the heroes). What happens further, you need to watch it friend...
One more thing... you know that feeling when you come out of a great movie which you really-really liked and felt was pretty awesome. And there is this person or bunch of people walking in front of you and says that 'this movie was so boring, it's such a stupid movie' or something like that. And you just feel like ripping that person's head off who was not good enough to enjoy such a great movie and is now complaining. That's what happened yesterday, this guy was walking in front of me after the movie and he says,'this movie sucked, it was so bad. I slept all the time'. And I was feeling so angry over him thinking that if this jerk was awake he could have enjoyed the movie. But anyways, people are people and everyone has right to there opinion!!
(Read my blog as well... http://iambetterthanthebest.blogspot.com/)
Salaam-E-Ishq (2007)
fair fun, but little chaos...
The movie is fun to watch. It is an entertainer too. However some chaos erupted due to the huge star cast & mix up of stories. But it had to happen. 6 couples and more than 3.5 hrs is not an easy task after all.
Govinda's story is sweet & fun to watch & so is Akshay & Aisha's. Salman Khan again went over the top with Priyanka, need to work on it. Anil Kapur & Juhi are gud but nt much to do though. Similar was the case with John & Vidya. Sohail & Isha had just 4 scenes but of course there story ws nice & fun. Sohail seems to working gr8 on his comedy skills.
The transition between stories and scenes are good. And the song & music is just amazing. Cinematography is real gud too. But Nikhil needs to come up with a nice story to tell with similarly gud presentation. He needs to come out of shadow of Karan.
But still a nice attempt & a fair treat ;-)
Comfort and Joy (2003)
nice li'l movie, nice li'l story...
Its a nice little movie with a nice little story. May be it seems complex to few people. But it is more like the parallel world or time machine concept. Jane travels to future time, 10 yrs ahead & sees her as a new Jane. This view completely transforms her current life & changes her to the future new Jane.
Jane Berry is a successful enterpeunor, who is single & hates family or people. On a Christmas when she is driving back home in her jaguar when she has an accident & hits a pole. Sam (Steven Eckholdt) comes to her rescue to take her out from her wagon now & tells her that he's his husband for last 10 yrs & she has 2 kids with him. 10 yrs back she has dumped her boyfriend & left her job for Sam. Jane is completely psyched out to find herself in a new world where she is a new Jane who is completely different from the previous Jane.
Slowly she starts getting used to things & starts liking the place and people as well. After a small fight with her parents on Christmas dinner she is completely impressed by Sam & her family. She kisses Sam and again drools, finding her in her jaguar again after that accident. Sam comes to her rescue and she is back in her original world. She tells Sam that she knows him & is in love with him to which Sam is shocked to hear. They move together to Sam's house to lead a happy life in future!
A nice concept, nice presentation too...
Bhagam Bhag (2006)
Nice Sparks but no BLAST!!!
Think of it. Comedy King GOVINDA, Comedy Champ Paresh Rawal & Comedy Star Akshay Kumar. Then Priyadarshan is the Director. What else can you look for, what better combination can you make! Of course expectations have to be high, higher, highest.
Bhagam Bhag is a nice movie with lots of its own moments of laughter, some very funny dialogues, nice scenes and beautiful song & music. But is that just enough when we have the Champions around. Don't we expect more, a BLAST may be?
Its story of Champak Chaturved (Paresh Rawal) who has a theatre group in India and he performs shows all over the country. Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda) are actors in the group who are very naughty natured guys who never miss any chance to flirt with girls, even the girls in the group. They Go to London for a series of show but there heroine runs away. They discover a girl Munni (Lara Dutta), who suffers from amnesia to act in their drama and just as Bunty and Munni fall in love, her memory returns and it brings chaos into their lives, including a murdered husband! A series of funny event start which lead to an unexpected climax. Initially it seems Arbaaz & then the Commissioner (Jackie Shroff) who is behind all the mystery which further leads to strange ending.
So its an OK movie with OK storyline & concept. Of course all of these are not major elements of a Priyadarshan movie. The major element is laughter, which doesn't seem as strong and powerful here. Akshay, Paresh & of course Govinda rock & roll. It's a nice come back for Govinda but again it could have been better. Same with the whole movie.
Priyam Sir, we expected more, a lot may be...
Casino Royale (2006)
Its a new BOND, new BOND Film, really...
Undoubtedly Daniel didn't look as suave & sexy as Pierce or Sean as BOND, and it was expected that he may fail the 007 stature. However that really didn't happen. He managed to fit the role & make it as real as possible. Daniel does not looks like previous Bonds, neither that techy not as savvy. But he looks brutal, he looks hard, he looks raw & he looks REAL.
Movie has a fair storyline telling how James Bond, 007 came into existence. How he became the BOND he is known as. And all of it has been portrayed nicely. A slick storyline has been well presented and executed.
Its story of a man who has been unexpectedly & untimely promoted to the stature of a double 'O' (007) agent. He wants to do a lot & has his own ways of doing things. He's sent to play a game of card where millions are on stake, so as to defeat & capture Le Chiffre & Terrorist Funding Organizations. Vesper is his associate or financial adviser. He looses the money & then wins the game unexpectedly. For this he is captured & tortured to get the money back. Bond is as hard & strong so he never looses it until he is rescued. Till this time he has lost his heart to Vesper & wants to be settled with her. He transfers the money to the account stated by Vesper which is not the Govt account but actually he has been cheated by Vesper. She conned him & takes all his money to his boyfriend. Bond finds the cheats kills them. Also he kills his feelings, his love and becomes JAMES BOND 007! A few scenes, like the chase sequence or the climax look magnificent, and so does the movie. Eva Green is as beautiful & gracious in the role of Vesper. Mads Mikkelsen also looks okay as the Le Chiffre (Gulshan Grover could have been a fair choice too).
At the end movie really belongs to Daniel Craig & he is the real star of the movie (he had to be of course). He has portrayed Bond in a new color which looks different but great (would have loved to see Hrithik Roshan as the BOND too, he really rocks). Its a different but great Bond Film. Seems Bond may see a new light with his new ventures with Daniel.
ALL THE BEST!!!
Kabul Express (2006)
Fair Movie but not really worth the Fare!
Kabul Express has been in news for some time & people have been waiting for it. At least it is not worth the wait. Its a nice movie actually shot extensively in Afghanistan showing 2 rookies on their journey to newly liberated Afghan country. They have an Afghan guide with them. Its a journey where they discover the truth about humanity, the truth which is common to all the humans.
They meet a Taliban commander and he travels forces them to take him to Pakistan border. Pakistan govt has already decided not to let anyone enter in Pakistan (they say that no Pakistani is in Afghanistan, in spite of the fact that lots of them are there with Taliban). The Pakistani Taliban commander is running for his life from Afghan Army, not knowing that his own people are not ready to accept him.
There are a lots of nice moment in the movie during their journey. People from 3 countries fighting for their pride (war of words between Indian, Pakistani & Afghan). There is also an American journalist who's looking for some spice & news. Then there's Taliban's daughter who doesn't wants to meet his father.
Lots of content lots of emotions however movie seems week at the point of execution. It does looks quite real in some terms (as the location and lots of people are real) but seems like a documentary at places. Arshad has done a good job & so has Salman Shahid in the role of Taliban Commander.
Only if the movie could have been made in a more appealing way it could have strike a chord with masses too...
Baabul (2006)
Long on content, Short on Time & Expression...
It's clear here that Ravi Chopra has tried to capitalize on success of Baghbaan. He has tried to collect a similar cast & similar slot but not the plot. The story is too long expressed in too short of a time. Movie has an OK storyline & good concept of Vidhwa Vivah (not sure how much it holds true in 21st century though, its far more different now) but the execution does not give enough time to emotions. The movie moves so fast that its difficult to enjoy the happiness & feel the pain of characters.
In first half of the movie it's like a budding love story (Chalte-Chalte), an existing love triangle (KKHH), father-son relationship (Viruddh/Waqt), a happy family story and lots of stuff. And suddenly in second part it becomes a sad story of reincarnation of love (Hum-Tum), re-marriage, traditions & what not. Movie has so much to express but the screenplay does not allow it to be shown efficiently on screen. Movie does has a few gud moments but hardly any time to really enjoy or feel them.
Amitabh & Rani have been gr8 as always Amitabh-Hema still look stunning. Even Salmaan & John have given nice performances. Not sure what Parmeet & Aman were doing in the movie though, they have got better work on small screen I guess. Overall performances are fine & movie looks okay too (cinematography). Songs & Music also seems fare.
In all the movie is fine & okay for one time watch. However with such a great cast & return of team Baghbaan (even the concept is nice), everyone expected a lot better. That's right...
Don (2006)
Its Different but not better, but it's GOOD...
Yeah, I am kind of updating the rating and review here. Below was my 1st time of impression of the movie, but with time now I realize taht it was not that bad actually. It was kind of FUN.
No one could have done it better than this as a remake for sure. Shahrukh looks pretty suave and cool as DON, he has always been good whenever he tries something different but we don't really appreciate it much. We just want to see him as a lover boy doing romance I guess. Kareena & Om Puri would still be considered as wasted but Priyanka and Boman were not bad. The new take on climax was really interesting too. Waiting for DON-II and hope this one really rocks!!!
********************Old Review********************
Farhaan tried to make a different movie by giving some crucial twists to the whole story. However it seems that he was too engrossed with his twists & cinematography that he forgot to give due attention to the actual story and plot. Movie gets too lousy at a lots of points and story moves in such a way that keeps the audience wondering what is actually going on.
Shahrukh is a good actor & has tried well to live up to the expectation of the role. Cinematography & camera work is also fare. However why Kareena Kapoor & Om Puri were wasted in the movie. Boman Irani also didn't impress much with his performance (Om Puri could have been better). Arjun Rampal did a fare job but could have done with a better actor as well (remember Pran).
Even if we don't compare it with the original DON, still a lots of things have been missing & been put in the movie. Hope DON-II will be a better deal....
Jaan-E-Mann: Let's Fall in Love... Again (2006)
A technically imperfect movie with lovely story telling but victim of bad promotion....
This is a movie which was not at all as I expected, so not up to expectations. But the expectations were so low and poor that it has crossed all expectations and has presented itself as a very enjoyable movie. The best thing about the movie is it is a very positive story told beautifully.
Undoubtedly it is not a 'very' different story but of course the same story has been told differently and surprisingly in a very interesting manner. It is good romantic comedy as compared to the emotional drama as presented by its trailer (and its very difficult to understand why Shirish tried to present it in that way through its trailer and promotions!). The worst thing with this movie is its really poor and insensible promotion.
Movie also suffers with some technical imperfections like average cinematography and screenplay (its not bad at all, but could have been far more better with such a good cast, technology and budget!). One of the worst scene of the movie, which has also been used in promotion where Preity is dancing with Salman and Akshay alternatively and camera is taking rounds around them. The transition from Salman to Akshay and further is very inappropriate and does not looks beautiful (at least now a days it could have been very smooth without cutting the scenes and presenting other actor in next shot!). The same scene being used in promotion as well created very bad impression, it can and should still be improved. Even the whole promotion campaign should be revamped.
However movie still is very good and has an amazing feel good effect (with its climax as well!) which makes it worth watch. Good work Shirish, keep it up!!!
Awara Paagal Deewana (2002)
A good comedy with nice action!!
It is a good comedy movie. Of course the action scenes have been stolen from Hollywood movies, but seems good in the movie. At least it was an Indian movie with crisp action scenes. And Akshay really suits the action scenes pretty well. But the main power of the movie is its sense of comedy. All the actors have done a commendable job in comedy. Undoubtedly Paresh Rawal was best of the lot by playing a short memories person. There is not much in the plot but whatever it is, has been executed pretty well. However they could have done with some original ideas for action scenes as they were already spending a good amount on shooting those scenes. Even the climax of the movie was fine. If possible, they can come with a good sequel to the movie!!!
Yaadein... (2001)
Never expected this from Subhash Ghai!!!
Its really an awful movie. How a director like Mr Ghai can ever do this? That too with a star cast of Hrithik & Kareena. And on the top a good actor like Jakie Shroff as well. Although Jackie's performance in the movie was good. But the whole storyline & plot is sickening, does not makes much sense.
Two people are in love and there parents are friend as well but they can't marry. They are not sure of there love as well. In a family only one daughter tries to be father's good girl. Rest try to create as much problems. And people expect some senseless values for an Indian bride (questions Jackie asks Hrithik's would be wife). And on the verge is the climax where like any typical movie, everything is taken care of and everyone's happy.
How could he get such a bad performance from actors like Kareena and Hrithik? The songs of the movie are still okay. But the movie does not even have moments to enjoy. Starting from the beginning till climax, movie really bores you. On the whole a very slow paced movie which is not worth even watching!!!
Rang De Basanti (2006)
Really, a great movie!!!
Undoubtedly a great movie. It is not just a movie but it is an awakening call for all the Indians. The movie presents a very important issue in such an intriguing manner that the audience is stunned. It has an exceptionally good storyline. Movie has also been executed wonderfully. All the performances are really above the mark. Of course! it has been over dramatized at places or in the end (like killing of Defense Minister & above all all the people getting killed at the end) but still it really strikes the audience. Rakeysh Mehra has done a commendable job in making a movie like this. Its really not just a movie, its a revolution. I wish, it surely gets an Oscar for India!!!
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Wonderful Movie, Technically PERFECT!!!
Its a wonderful movie with exceptional performances and a great storyline. The execution of the movie is perfect as well! Aamir Khan's performance as Bhuvan is exceptionally good. He was completely into the role. All other actors were also great. However Rachel & Paul have done a commendable job in the Movie. The movie was a bit long but still the plot was so binding that they were able to carry on the interest. Ashutosh has done a great job in creating the sets and cinematography. It really identifies with the essence of movie. Songs and Music was also very good. It also has a wide international appeal of unity & strength. I am still not able to understand why it couldn't get a Oscar!!!