Bas yun hi!

My Review - Barney's Version

2011-12-28T16:43:00.003+05:30

What's not to like about Barney's Version, really? Paul Giamatti, one of my very favourite actors, playing the title role of Barney Panofsky, a funny looking jewish guy, smoker, drinker and hockey lover. A man who admires art, is a total wreck, and yet somehow keeps landing these HOT women every now and then.

An adaptation of a novel by the same name by Canadian writer Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version is essentially a lifestory of Barney's(Giamatti) adventures in love and marriage to three beautiful(and out-of-his-league) women. Minnie Driver and Rosamund Pike(the Bond Girl from Die Another Day) play the two wives for whom Barney is married for the longest time. His beautiful relationship with Miriam(Rosamund Pike) is one of the highlights of the film. Giamatti is absolutely brilliant as the bumbling Barney. Easily one of his best performances;at least from the ones I have seen(Cinderella Man, Sideways, Lady in the Water). Dustin Hoffman plays an excellent supporting role as Barney's father, friend and guide and has some of the best one-liners.

Four stars and a Must Watch recommendation!

Giamatti received a Golden Globe for this one.

My Review - Funny People

2011-12-16T22:38:00.003+05:30

From the opening credits itself you get the feeling that this one would be a great watch. Directed by Judd Apatow and starring Adam Sandler and Apatow regulars like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Leslie Mann etc, Funny People starts on a good note.

George Simmons(Sandler) is a successful stand up comic slash movie star diagnosed with a rare life threatening disease. Simmons has no family or friends, GF or otherwise, leads a pretty lonely life sleeping with random women here and there and is seemingly, selfish. Ira Wright, played by Rogen, is a struggling stand up comic looking to make his mark while his roomies are making decent money with dim witted TV shows. They meet by chance and George takes Ira under his wings as an assistant slash confidant. George gets a friend and Ira gets to write jokes for him and learn from 'the best in the business'. Ira is also introduced to Laura(Mann), George's ex, who is married with two kids. She lets George know that she misses him and her husband(Eric Bana) also cheats on her just as George used to do. Meanwhile, the twist in the story comes from the fact that George starts responding to medicine and is on his way to recovery.

I had a lot of expectations from this one. I like Sandler, however low-brow and crass his movies might seem to be. But this one doesn't make the cut. Sandler is unconvincing as the womanizing George. He does not have 'that' personality. A 'Robert Downey Jr' would have been perfect here. The dialogues have an overdose of the word 'big cock' which get annoying after a point of time. The only saving grace is Seth Rogen, who in a stark contrast to playing a foul-mouthed guy in most of his movies, goes reserved and subtle here. Some of the moments he has with George, his roomies and 'the girl he likes' are the high points of the film.

At 2 hours and 35 minutes, its too long as well.

2 stars for the movie and 1 extra for Seth Rogen. *Rajeev Masand style*. Dissapointing!

My Review - 50 50

2011-12-09T00:24:00.009+05:30

Tagline It takes a pair to beat the odds.

50/50 stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as Adam (Leonardo Di Caprio's assistant/partner-in-crime from Inception) and Seth Rogen as his best friend Kyle (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, Kung Fu Panda). Adam on a routine visit to his doctor learns that he has a rare form of cancer which he may or may not survive. This, in a nutshell, is the story.

What happens from here is how Adam copes with the disease, with his girlfriend walking out on him, demands from his mother to let her take care of him, Kyle's ridiculous and supremely funny suggestions on how Adam should hit on girls in bars, his friendships with fellow cancer patients and his awkward and unique relationship with Katherine, played by the lovely Anna Kendrick(George Clooney's newbie assistant in Up in the Air).

Some moments in the movie are heart-wrenching, like when Adam discovers the cancer healing books Kyle has been reading, or when he hugs his mother not wanting to leave her, seconds before his surgery or when he has a nervous breakdown. The best part of the movie is that even though Adam's pain is visible, the suffering is never overdone(Sanjay Bhansali, some tips for you).

Subtle. Funny. Emotional. 4 stars.

P.S. - Bryce Dallas Howard is a total waste in the role of Adam's girlfriend.

My Review - World's Greatest Dad

2011-12-06T16:15:00.000+05:30

This was probably my first Robin Williams movie. Ahh I know. Sad. I always thought of him as a funny guy. But this recommendation for the 2009's 'World's Greatest Dad' from Mihir Fadnavis introduced me to a number of things - Robin Williams, the serious actor, Bobcat Goldthwait, the cult movie maker and a whole new style of Black Comedy.

Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a single father and high school English teacher. A kind of softish guy, who has his own dreams of becoming a successful writer. His son, Kyle, a 15 year old sex-obsessed sociopath, hates him and repulses every attempt made by his father to bond with him. Kyle only has one friend, Andrew, who spends his evenings at the Clayton house due to some issues at home(parents again). Andrew admires Lance for what he is what he is trying to be even as Kyle does not leave any opportunity to demean his Dad.

Lance's life is torn apart one fine evening when he discovers that Kyle has accidentally killed himself while ....emmm.......masturbating. To avoid embarrasment, he disguises the death as a suicide along with a (suicide)note that he writes himself. The unexpected twist that the story takes from here gives Lance whatever he has ever wanted in life, until it starts to suffocate him.

Williams gives a brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT performance as Lance Clayton. They way he portrays his loneliness, hesitation and love for his hostile under-achieving son is absolutely spot on. Refreshing story, perfect screenplay, apt dialogues and some fine performances by the entire cast make for a great watch.

Hats off to Bobcat Goldthwait for the brilliant direction!!! 5 stars and a Must See rating on this one.

Scary Movie Rules

2011-08-11T13:26:00.001+05:30

So this trend was trending on Twitter - #ScaryMovieRulesToLiveBy. So I started scanning. And started laughing. Some of them were really funny.

Below are the top five. And an extra one at the end.

Singham follows nobody

2011-08-03T11:51:00.000+05:30

Some may call it arrogance,some may call it attitude. I call it interesting.

Around 1.3 Lakh people follow Ajay Devgan including Farhan Akhtar and Karan Johar. Devgan follows nobody.

Bollywood, Box Office and ZNMD

2011-07-26T14:43:00.001+05:30

The Box Office never ceases to amaze you.

I have not seen Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara(ZNMD) yet. Plan to watch it over the weekend.

After watching Delhi Belly, I actually thought Farhan and Co will have a tough task making money off ZNMD. Apart from the fact that it was made at a budget of mindboggling 70 crores, DB had raised the bar all of a sudden, in terms of story, screenplay and pacing. But after the rave reviews it got, Mayank Shekhar of HT going as far as calling it a Dil Chahta Hai for this generation, I upped my expectations. Still, for the movie to break even was a bleak chance, I thought.

Bang comes this announcement from Eros Films, the co-producers.

"Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara grosses Rs. 108 crores in 10 days,with Rs 86 crores coming from India alone".

Zapped, aren't you? So what are your thoughts - a good movie making good money or a film which has many stars, a great story and great direction doing well?

Some thoughts on Delhi Belly

2011-07-14T11:53:00.000+05:30

I did not write a review for Delhi Belly because it does need one. Its a landmark film, in terms of putting together a 'transfer of diamonds gone horribly wrong' with a group of three friends who are having their own issues, GF wise, shit wise, landlord wise etc. Yes, the movie has abuses, more so in the maatrabhaasha, which should not make any difference to the average cinegoer, because that is what happens in real life.

And did not we want to see movies which are real in terms of story and setting; away from the snow covered peaks of Swiss Alps(YashRaj) or the streets of New York(Karan Johar)?

Considering the above, some of the feedback I got for the movie was extremely disappointing.

"Its a vulgar film."

Vulgar is a relative term right! I found Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Ram Teri Ganga Maili not just vulgar but offensive because they sought to hide the sleaziness of their Director beneath the weight of some religious figure. That is vulgar! Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla gyrating to "Main maalgaadi tu dhakka laga" is vulgar. Countless Govinda movies with double meaning dialogues is vulgar.

Calling a Santro this-is-what-you-get-when-a-donkey-f@#$%-a-rickshaw is simply stating that a Santro is an ugly car.

Right???!!!

The Casting Ouch

2011-03-17T10:55:00.004+05:30

this time, involving Khosla ka Ghosla and Love, Sex or Dhokha director and adman Dibakar Bannerjee.

My Review - Tanu Weds Manu

2011-03-17T09:39:00.002+05:30

I don't like Kangana Ranaut. I don't think she has a great dressing sense. And I totally hate that voice. Then the question is why?

Well the trailer was promising.

Okay the trailer seemed rocking.

And I got swayed by 'Sanskar saare U.P waale hain hamari gudiya main' and Kanpur and Lucknow and so on.

TWM starts on a promising note. Dr Manu(Madhavan) arrives from London to India and is whisked away by his family and Pappi(Deepak Dobriyal of Omkaara, Gulaal and Dilli 6 fame)to meet a prospective bride aka Tanu(Kangana). Our innocent Dr Saab falls in love with this girl who rejects him in her own words and says - Abe kitni aag hai. Soyi hui ladki ko pasand kar liya. Tumse milne ke liye maine char neend ki goliyan or teen quarter vodka lagaye they. Fate, in this case the script, makes them meet again at a common friend's marriage.

Clearly suffering from a severe Jab We Met hangover, TWM has an engaging and interesting first half with the highlight being the chemistry between Manu and Pappi and the dialogues. The film looses steam in the second half with the script heading nowhere and in the words of Rajeev Masand, the lead characters turning into caricatures. A special mention for Eijaz Khan, who plays Manu's friend Jassi and new comer Swara Bhaskar, who plays Jassi's wife Payal. Both of them do their bits perfectly and are among the better things in this film along with Deepak Dobriyal. Madhavan carries one expression throughout and Kangana's character Tanu comes off as selfish and cunning instead of looking gullible and naive.

Dissappointing! Catch it on DVD!

My Review - The Kids are All Right

2011-03-16T20:16:00.010+05:30

The Kids Are All Right is essentially a story of a family involving a lesbian couple, Nic(Annette Bening) and Jules(Julianne Moore) and their children - 16 year-old son Laser and 18 year-old daughter Joni. Nic is the stricter of the two and the 'father' of the family in a way while Jules is more open, the 'mother' who stays at home and owns a landscape design(read gardening) business. Both Nic and Jules are called Mom by their children (:-P) and have become mothers using the same sperm donor, Paul(Mark Ruffalo).

It so happens that Laser wants to meet his biological Dad so he takes the help of his sister as he is a minor. This gives Mark an opportunity to meet both his children and 'enter' the family as such. The story takes a twist when Mark and Jules start having a secret affair. Also, as the kids start start spending more time with Mark, Nic becomes increasingly insecure of Mark being a control freak that she is. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Annette Bening is brilliant as the insecure and cynical Nic and Ruffalo is fantastic as the laid back and unassuming Mark. Julianne Moore does a great job as Jules swinging between her frustration in her 'marriage' with Nic and her fling with Mark. The kids are cute and they play their roles well. One of the best scenes of the film are when Mark comes to their home for the first time for lunch and when Jules addresses the family admitting her mistake.

A very 'real' film with real characters committing real mistakes. Don't miss it!

P.S. - At the end, I was left wondering when will Annette Bening win an Oscar. This was her fourth nomination. Sigh :-(

P.S. - The tagline for this film is absolutely SPOT ON!!!

My Review - The King's Speech

2011-03-11T13:20:00.003+05:30

A film that has to be seen from start to finish in one go. An underdog story in a way. Yeah, I know. Hollywood obsession!!! But the underdog here is a King, George VI, played brilliantly by Colin Firth, with all the right qualities except that he stammers and a King can't do that. Not certainly in an age where 'Kings have to invade the homes of their countrymen' via the radio and 'not just look respectable in a uniform and not fall of a horse'. And this is just the early 1900s, mind you :-P.

Enter Lionel Logue(Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist, with methods that are unorthodox and controversial. There are twists and turns subsequently and a final speech which King George VI has to deliver to the nation, needless to say, with Lionel's help.

Your heart goes out to the King as he stumbles, stutters and stammers throughout the film, feeling helpless and humiliated, to his wife who patiently supports him come what may and to his countrymen who are looking for hope and direction. Our very own Bhansali could take some pointers as to how to portray suffering in a dignified manner.

You can see why The King's Speech swept the Oscars. What worked for me was a great cast, fine performances, great setting, some brilliant camerawork and finally the uber snobbish British Accent. Colin Firth is brilliant(Did I say that already?) and Geoffrey Rush is a revelation as the speech therapist. I don't recall having seen any of his films(not a fan of the Pirates Series) but he is simply wonderful in this film as Lionel Logue. I thought he was better than Firth. The conversations between George II and Lionel are the highlight of the film. Helena Bonham Carter also chips in with a fine performance.

Highly recommended!

Bollywood needs mega blockbusters

2011-02-21T09:44:00.001+05:30

to go global. An excellent article in last Saturday's Economic times. Among other things, it also tells me that Dev D made 25 crores on a budget of 5.5 crores. Suppa!!!

My Review - Yeh Saali Zindagi

2011-02-16T16:30:00.000+05:30

This is going to be short and simple.

Went to see as it was highly recommended by a friend. Plus wifey has a thing for Chitrangda. Too many subplots, too many characters(half of which get killed off), uneven screenplay, improper dubbing(Yeah!) and amateur acting too(at least by Arunoday Singh). A lot is there to put you off.

What works here however is the story which is gripping in parts and makes you wonder what the f#$@ will happen eventually, earthy dialogues(some of them are real gems) and fiiinally Irfan Khan, Irfan Khan and Irfan Khan. Some of his lines are the real high points of the film wich could easily have been edited by 15-20 minutes to make for a thrilling ride. Sushant Singh is perfect as the corrupt inspector and some of the supporting cast is also near perfect. Chitrangda is all dusky and sexy but has a problem emoting in hindi. She would do great in Hinglish films I guess while Aditi Rao hasn't much to do than other than kiss Arunoday Singh. No. There are no 22 kisses. Arunoday Singh is passe while Saurabh Shukla is awesome as the haryanvi real estate guy.

I am giving it a little more than 3 stars. Don't expect much and you will have fun for sure.

Dell Adamo

2011-02-09T09:19:00.001+05:30

Rest in peace!

'The' Indian equivalent of the Oscars

2011-02-08T22:45:00.009+05:30

So what was new at the Indian equivalent of the Oscars? Ranbir and Imran are better hosts, Rekha(Jee) has a great voice and Gulzar Saab has the ability to keep things simple. Apart from this, everything was pretty much the same. How? You might ask.....here's how!

SRK looked stressed out. Dietary restrictions for Ra.One are taking a toll. Plus a realization that he is widely disliked in Kolkata and might not be number one ever again.

Aishwarya looked plastic, spoke in English(surprise surprise) and turned even more plasticky while presenting an award to Madhuri.

Yash Chopra said something which no one understood.

Priyanka Chopra did a Madhuri medley and spoke without an accent.

Madhuri spoke with an accent. Which surprisingly, is nowhere in sight when she appears on Jhalak Dikhla Jaa.

Arbaaz was found sitting with a smile throughout the show wondering - What the hell did I do right that Dabangg became such a blockbuster? I will tell you Arbaaz. The one thing you did right in life is dating Malaika. Hold on to her!

Shatrughan and Poonam Sinha were sitting in the front row trying hard to hide their Oh-I-am-so-proud-of-my-daughter-bit. It's become kind of a ritual. Every year some filmy family, some new debut and some tears for their child's 'hard work'.

A jury consisting of eminent people from the industry could not decide which one is better? Munni or Sheila. So they gave it to both. In order to please both Farah and Salman!

Best Actor Critics award went to no one from Peepli or Udaan but Rishi Kapoor for Do Dooni Chaar. It's just a coincidence that his son was hosting the awards. I have not seen Do Dooni Chaar; I am sure it's a nice, cute film but I don't think they match up to Peepli, Udaan or LSD(Love, Sex or Dhokha).

Best debutant director went to neither Udaan or Peepli but to Band Baaja Baarat. A 30% discount to Filmfare for hosting the awards in Yash Raj's studio is in the offing.

There were no Indians in the Best Playback Singer category - 3 nominations for Rahat Fateh and 2 for Shafqat Amanat nominations. I don't blame them. The kind of things Sonu Nigam is doing to his hair, they might just invent a Most West Indian style singer award soon.

Best Supporting Actor went to Ronit Roy for Udaan who went crazy for 20 seconds when his name was announced. You almost thought Shilpa Shetty had bought him for Rajastan Royals. Udaan is a brilliant film no doubt. But in no way was Ronit Roy better than Manoj Bajpai in Rajneeti.

Udaan won a lot of awards in spite of being an independent film(and a great film, I may add) and a commercial failure. Desi award functions are generally not kind to small films and here is why I think Udaan made it. Salman Khan ->; Dabangg -> Abhinav Kashyap -> Anurag Kashyap -> Udaan. Geddit???!!!

The 'Popular award for Best Director' went to Karan Johar for My Name is Khan. Read 'Most Popular film in Germany/Pakistan'. See once Yash Raj, Salman, Farah et all are satisfied, you just have to satisfy Karan Johar. KJo was himself surprised on getting this one. Proof? He just said two lines in his acceptance speech and left!!! :-)

Amongst all this drama, one individual rose above all. He came in a crumpled kurta-pajama, accepted his award for Best Lyricist for Ishqiya and said, in chaste urdu - ek shaqs ka shukriya ada karna chahunga - Vishal. Unki wajah se mere gaane jawaan rehte hain.

Thank you Gulzar saab for saving the day!

Inception - My thoughts

2011-02-06T15:00:00.001+05:30

My friends and few readers of this blog would note I had refused to see Inception at the time of its release. There was too much Inception baazi going on everywhere and I was sick of it. I did manage catch Inception some days back. And that too on a uncensored, uncut, extended Blu Ray version. And here are my thoughts.

Inception IS a brilliant film. The dream within a dream within a dream concept! How do these Hollywood guys think of stuff like this?

Chris Nolan has scored back to back centuries in the form of Dark Knight and Inception. Leonardo Di Caprio was in fine form as well. One could see the pain of loosing a loved one right from the start. Come to think of it, Caprio has had a dream run too. Aviator, Blood Diamond, Departed, Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island, and now Inception. I don't think any other actor has shown such consistency of scripts and growth as an actor. By the end of it, I was too drained(mentally) to think whether the last scene was a dream or a reality.

Having said all that in praise of Inception, I have to say that the film does not have any repeat value. It has if you are a Fight Club fan(pun intended) and you wish to absolutely find out whether it was a dream or a reality at the end, you would watch reruns of the movie or like a friend told me(I have seen it 10 times, at the time of release!). But for lesser mortals like us, with limited time and intelligence, one watch is all it takes. In no ways is it a Little Miss Sunshine or a Sideways. Or even a Cinderella Man.

But one thing I just don't understand is why(TF) was Nolan not nominated for Best Director in the Oscars???!!!!

My Review - Sideways

2011-01-24T13:41:00.008+05:30

Wonderful, a Hollywood comedy not set in New York. I finally managed to catch this 2004 comedy-drama a couple of days back. It's been there on my to-do list for a long long time.

So here it goes. Miles, played by Paul Giamati(Russell's Crowe's manager in Cinderella Man), and Jack(Thomas Haden Church, the guy who played the baddie in Spiderman 3) decide to spend a week in wine country before Jack's impending marriage. Miles, an English teacher, is an extremely frustrated middle-aged man, unable to come to terms with his unsuccessful marriage and career. He hopes to spend the one week tasting wines, playing golf and enjoying the countryside. Jack, on the other hand, is an actor and voiceover artist who wants to spend the week having a 'nice time'. For the last time! Once they arrive at the countryside, they happen to meet these women, Maya and Stephanie, to whom both of them take a liking to.

Based on a book, Sideways is lazy yet funny, untouched yet intelligent screenplay of a fun trip with its own twists and turns of emotions and what not. Although one is not desperately waiting for the next twist, you get attached to both the characters who are lovable losers in their own sort of a unique way. While watching this, I could get the Rainman/My Cousin Vinny feel. A perfect film for a lazy Saturday or Sunday.

Highly recommended with four stars!

Trailer - Sideways
Rotten Tomatoes - 97%
Roger Ebert's Review

P.S. - This $16 million film made $110 million at the BO. And Giamati was not nominated for an Oscar.

It's been a long time

2011-01-20T10:09:00.004+05:30

It has been, indeed!!! Almost nine months. A lot has happened. So much that I can't even recall. A new year has begun. And there are new resolutions. Like every year. Will try to keep up with my thoughts as fast as they come. And as fast as they go! :-P. Below are some of them...

Will complete my second play by the end of the year,
Will write at least six posts/reviews every month,
Will read more books(have already started reading The Ascent of Money BTW),
Will (try to) control my temper,
Will travel to either of Ladakh, Goa or Kerela this year,
and lastly, will open a PPF account(it's been six years....WTF!)

4 reasons why Love, Sex or Dhokha is a cult film!

2010-06-01T10:36:00.005+05:30

It is. A cult film. In case you have not seen it yet. Go check it out. Now to the hows and the whys.

Reason number 1 – The “characterless” Characters

Remember the last time you saw a Bollywood film, and you said – Arre yaar, aisa kahan hota hai? Or Shit yaar, Aise thodi hota hai!!! Whatever happens in LSD, actually aisa hi hota hai. Right from Shruti’s father(hypocrite and horny), to the girls in the dept store(one the silent types and the other the loudspeaker), from the item girl(willing to be exploited) to the pop star Lukki Local(waiting to exploit), from the TV producer(will do anything for TRPs) to the journalist(trying hard not to compromise on his ethics).

Reason number 2 – The Analogies

If you did not get the analogies here they are in the following order

‘Love ‘ Story – Nitish Katara Case
‘Sex’ Story – N number of MMS videos on youtube.
‘Dhokha’ Story – Replace Lukki Local with our very own Mika and the item girl with Rakhi Sawant. Put in a 24 hour Hindi news Channel and the picture completes.

Reason number 3 – The Acting

Need less to say, the nameless actors play their parts with great conviction and earthiness, right from Meter Down(guard), the actress’ father, both the girls in the dept store, the journalist, his boss, the item girl and the king of Pop – Lukki Local. Lukki Local takes the cake with his Punjabi accented English and his mannerisms. An actor to watch out for!

Reason number 4 – The Connection(s)

Dibakar Bannerjee does treat his audience with respect. All three stories are connected and only when the end credits roll the viewer realizes what happened when and where. In a space of 90 minutes, Dibakar Bannerjee weaves a tale of Love, Hypocrisy, Greed, Voyeurism, Jealousy and exploitation, all as seen through the invention we know as the camera.

A smashing film that gets the DESIBLAB 5 stars.

P.S. - I have not mentioned the sex scene coz it's not a sex scene. just like any MMS, it's shot as a private moment between two people.

My Review - Ishqiya

2010-05-17T12:11:00.002+05:30

Finally I saw Ishqiya. And I liked it. And I swear I won't listen to other people's reviews and NOT watch a movie. Simplistic, crude, earthy and very very enjoyable, Ishqiya talks of Gorakhpur and Faizabad, locations which the Johars, Chopras and even RGVs can neither reach nor understand. All three main actors give top notch performances with Naseer taking the cake. His expressions in the song "Dil to baccha hai jee" are alone enough for an award.

I give it somewhere between three and four stars.

Of US and Controls

2010-05-04T11:26:00.004+05:30

Sometimes I wonder if the US sub-prime mortgage industry was the only part of America's economy that was unregulated. I was talking to a friend today and suddenly it struck me that the US is ruled by cartels. Look at telecom - AT & T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile...you are stuck with either one of these. Locked phones, bound contracts, shoddy customer service(some of which is maybe outsourced to our country) etc etc.

Now look at Hollywood. Who rules? Fox, Warner Brothers, Sony, Universal, Paramount, Disney, DreamWorks(Maybe). The big six or seven. They are supreme. So much so that someone like Woody Allen,who now makes his movies only for European audiences, said - "In the United States things have changed a lot, and it's hard to make good small films now. They only want these $100 million pictures that make $500 million."

Some people would say the same about American automakers. They(Ford, GM, Chrysler) created and stopped innovating. And then the Japanese swooped in with their Toyota Production Systems and Kaizens and what not. But that is a story for another day!

Cricket in the USA

2010-05-04T10:10:00.002+05:30

Yay! The IPL gets a mention in the New York Times.

While we are still on the NYT, this bit about the big four competing and overlapping markets is interesting.

Iron Man 2 - Yoohoooooooooooo!

2010-04-29T10:19:00.005+05:30

Stylish. Very very stylish.

Life is not a movie

2010-04-29T09:05:00.005+05:30

...But its close to a movie.

Similar situations, no background score.

Fights, no dhishum dhishum.

Characterless people, no characters.

Me : A sucker for taglines!

2010-04-19T12:47:00.004+05:30

I am a sucker for taglines. Taglines. One liners. Punch lines. Whatever you might want to call them. And I have always been. Since I was a teen (I am a senior citizen now, IMHO) I was amazed by one liners and their inherent awesomeness. My first tryst with the greatest one liner was an ad for Bajaj Eliminator. It went like this.

A page on the right hand side of India Today magazine displayed a diamond and said

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Turn over the page and you would see the following specs listed under each other

150 CC
12 Bhp
0 – 60 kmph in 5 secs

Turn over another page again and it said

The new Bajaj Eliminator. WHY WOULD A MAN NEED JEWELERY?

I was never into bikes then but at that moment, I thought there was nothing better on this planet that could be said more stylishly. I came across more and more. There was an IBM Thinkpad one which went like this

For those who have arrived, but still like to travel. Awesome, Isn’t it?

Then 2 things happened which deeply affected my association with taglines. I started following Hollywood closely and I got introduced to Chandler Bing. Yes Chandler Bing of Friends fame. The relationship-phobic sarcastic guy who hates his job and in his own words ‘uses humour as a defence mechanism’. Chandler was brilliant with his one liners, a fact that made the character most popular after Joey and Rachel. He was sarcastic, witty and funny at the same(kinda like me). Sample some

1. (When Rachel asks him for advice)I'm not really good at giving advices. Do you want a sarcastic comment?
2. All right, look if you absolutely have to tell her the truth, at least wait until the timing's right. And that's what deathbeds are for.
3. (On being asked if Joey looks nineteen)Yes, on a scale from one to ten, ten being the dumbest a person can look, you are definitely nineteen.
4. Someone to Chandler: Wow, you have really gorgeous hair.
Chandler: Thanks, I grow it myself.

Some of them are pretty normal but it’s the way Chandler says it makes them better than they are.

Hollywood is more about style AND content and sometimes more style and less content. More often than not, every Hollywood film comes with a tagline. One of the initial ones I stumbled upon was for Money Train

Get on or get out of the way!

But some of the most favorite ones have been

• Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.(Shawshank Redemption) What a line!
• Leave no man behind.(This one is all about teamwork from Black hawk down – very powerful, hits you once you watch this one)
• When the country was on its feet, he brought America to its feet(Individual glory - Cinderella Man)
• A hero will be revealed. (What if you have to choose between love and duty - Spiderman 2 – Only if you are a spidey fan)
• It ain’t over till it’s over (Rocky Balboa)

And finally to some of my own

• One day my dad remarked while having lunch – Aaj sabjee main lehsun zyada ho gaya. My mom said yes I will let the cook know. To which I remarked – Hope she learns the lehson(lesson).
• A friend of mine said – Man you are a racist. I replied – No I am not a racist. I don’t discriminate. I hate everybody equally.
• This one too went to my facebook status - I will smoke, I might drink, I will do drugs, I will rape, I will molest, I will throw wrappers on the streets, I will abuse, I will overtake from the left...but I won’t have non-veg cause Navratra chal rahe hain....!
• It seems the IPL is fixed. KKR is doing well.
• One line Michael Jackson would have trouble saying - I am not kidding!!!

Smooth talker, ain't he?

2010-04-17T12:46:00.003+05:30

He might be corrupt, we don't know yet. But what we do know that our Minister of State of External Affairs is a smooth smooth smooooth talker. Sample this

My Review - Up in the Air

2010-04-16T15:59:00.004+05:30

After a long time, comes a comedy which is as serious as it is funny; as painful as it is insightful. It has some of the best one liners, some wittiest on screen conversations and some of the smartest women characters you wud have seen on screen in a long time.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a high flying executive whose job is to travel all over the US to fire people. For Ryan, firing is not about company policy or financial restructuring. Its an art. And art he turns it into, advising 50 yr olds on how to restart their careers all over again and how to do something they really really wanted to do(a Hollywood obsession). He does all this while pursuing his ultimate goal - frequent flyer miles. In between all of this, he gets into a casual relationship with Alex(played by the very sexy Vera Farmiga) and has to coach Natalie(Anna Kendrick). The movie mainly is about how these two relationships affect his attitude and thinking.

George Clooney fits the role to a T and does a remarkable job while charming you with his usual 'sexiest man alive' smile. Kendrick is lovable as the confused Natalie and Vera Farmiga is perfecto as the sexy Alex. The writing and dialogues are absolutely mindblowing. Sample this

" I am not racist. I just stereotype."

"There has never been a worse time for America. This is our moment."

"I thought our relationship was perfectly clear. You are an escape. You're a break from our normal lives. You're a parenthesis. "

I loved the ending where some laid off employees remark to the camera that if you have your family with you, you can battle almost everything and anything!

An intelligent and emotionally stimulating film. Must watch for our recessionary times! Highly recommended!

Aren't Indians simply

2009-09-04T11:13:00.004+05:30

awsome?

Courtesy : Rediff.com

My Review - Kaminey

2009-08-22T11:20:00.013+05:30

At one point of time in Kaminey, there is a shot of Charlie(Shahid) with a revolver walking away from the camera on a railtrack and a shit scared Guddu(Shahid) running away with a guitar held close to his chest. You get the feeling that ah well...this is the end. And Baaam! It's not over. Not until a good 25 minutes of craziness, negotiations and violence.

It is this unpredictability and the brilliant brilliant writing which make Kaminey and its characters watchable. Immensely watchable. Kaminey is about twin brothers Charlie Sharma and Guddu Sharma, who hate each other's sights and how their lives get intertwined by a simple twist of fate or should I say a simple string of a guitar! :-) Charlie is a small time thug who dreams of getting rich 'through a chota shortcut' and Guddu has a panchayati raj type 14 year plan to settle down in life with his girlfriend Sweety(Priyanka Chopra). Apart from having a lovable ensemble of ganglords(Bengaali, African and Ladakhi) and corrupt cops(Lobo and Lele) from the Mumbai Police Anti-Narcotic cell, Kaminey has as one of its highlights Bhope Bhau, a 'Jai Maharashtra' spouting local politician, played by Amol Gupte, writer of Taare Zameen Par.

Kaminey is a treat to watch. Because it treats the viewer with some amount of respect and leaves it for him to see, understand and laugh. Reminiscent of the Coen Brothers in parts, Kaminey is both visually dark and emotionally entertaining. After enduring severe human rights violations in the form of a Ghajini and Love Aaj Kal (M not even counting the Kambakht Ishqs and CC2Cs), Kaminey gives you hope that there is still someone in Bollywood who can make rivetting, realistic and meaningful cinema (Apart from the Johnny Gaddaar dude).

Shahid and Priyanka come of age and its unlikely that they will be able to better this one in the near future. Amol Gupte is a revelation as Bhope and Shiv Subramaniam is absolutely hilarious as Lobo.

Ramgopal Varma used to say - I am the anti Yash Chopra. I am like the Al-Qaida and Yash Raj is the United States. I guess that mantle lies now with the wonderfully talented dialogue-screenplay-story writer, music director and director Vishal Bhardwaj.

The anti-thesis of Bollywood and the future of Bollywood is here. And he is awfome!

Karan Johar

2009-08-18T12:23:00.007+05:30

Once said,"2.6 Billion people know Tom Cruise. 3.2 Billion knew ShahRukh Khan".

Apparently the latter does not include a US Immigration Official. wink wink...

My Review - Love Aaj Kal

2009-08-03T21:09:00.010+05:30

I understand its difficult to make a Lagaan again. But Swades was almost there. Repeating a Dil Chahta Hai was always an uphill task. But Lakshya wasn't that bad. Munnabhai II seemed like a gone case. But with Lage Raho Munnabhai, Raju Hirani was the last man smiling.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, there was a trend in Bollywood. Boy and girl meet, fall in love and they are not able to decide. To be or not to be. NOT ABLE TO @#$%^N DECIDE???!!! Compounded their problems was the fact that there was always some 'ehsaan' from the 'friendz family' usually the girl's. This plotline was everywhere, Saajan, Dil to paagal hai, Kuch kuch hota hai, even the iconic Dil chahta hai.

Love Aaj Kal takes this stupidity even further. A day after their marriage, on their honeymoon, Vikram(played by Rahul Khanna, I hope he was handsomely paid) is left in the honeymoon suite by the bride Meera(Deepika) who wanders off in search of X boyfriend Jai(Saif). Meera darling here, is apparently 'still in the 90s mode'. She has been unable to decide yet again, the previous occasion being the day of the wedding, right before the pheras and after the jaimala. Phew!!!

B grade romantic comedies in Hollywood like 27 Dresses and Made of Honor are able to convey what Director Imtiaz Ali tries so hard to convey and falters miserably. So there are cliches(pyaar ek baar hi hota hai, she is the one - you don't know yet) and the mother of all - Meera is waiting in puraani Dilli for Jai dear in the end because 'woh apni galti maan ke waapas aayega'. GAWD!!!

The best part of Jab we met and Socha na tha was the breezy dialogue and what you get here is downright corny and unbelievable. Sample this from Jai in conversation with Vikram - Yaar, ho jaata hai, sab plan kar ke break up kiya tha, ab kya karun?

Deepika looks great but fails to deliver her dialogues properly, Saif plays Saif, the guy who is always confused, just like in Salaam Namaste, just like in Hum Tum, just like in Yeh Dillagi....etc etc. He is unconvincing as the young Rishi Kapoor. Rishi Kapoor is so-so, not having much to say. His love interest, the brazilian model, is cute and subtle. The song placement is awkward and the screenplay is confusing.

Love Aaj Kal tries to be both modern and conservative and therein lies its biggest flaw. And it makes Ghajini look better.

And you thought Deshdrohi was brilliant

2009-07-30T21:33:00.004+05:30

Trailer is even more mindboggling in the rashtrabhasha. I was unable to locate the video though. :-)

My Review - My Cousin Vinny

2009-07-30T15:21:00.007+05:30

No one recommended this 1993 courtroom drama to me. Or suggested. Or Praised. I had never heard of it or maybe I had heard but then I thought "Joe Pesci with Marisa Tomei...not worth it man".

I managed to catch this one on Star Movies yesterday and found it to be well L O L. My Cousin Vinny is about Vinny(Pesci), who travels to Alabama along with his girlfriend Mona Lisa(Tomei), to defend his cousin(played by "The Karate Kid") and a friend who are wrongly accused of a murder. Vinny is not your usual lawyer. He is someone who has zero trial experience having taken six years and six attempts to become one. He fumbles, mumbles, fails to get enough sleep, fights with his girlfriend, lies to the judge and does every damn thing possible to defend his cousin.

While Pesci plays his character to a T and Tomei is brilliant as the sexy Mona Lisa Vito(she got an Oscar for this one), it's the writing and the courtroom sparring between Vinny and the prosecution lawyer that are the movie's highlights.

Not many films get the DESIBLAB 5 stars. This is one of them. Don't miss it!

Rotten Tomatoes Rating : 89%

India's original angry young man

2009-07-11T10:29:00.005+05:30

Gavaskar Vs Tendulkar?

You can keep arguing over this but I don't think you can underemphasize the importance and the sheer genius of this first little master's contribution to Indian cricket and Indian sport. The original fighter, the original 'Ganguly', the one who scored 13 centuries in 27 tests against the mighty West Indies, the one who took the battle to the enemy's post, the one who never ever gave up, one can go on and on.

To whatever he did and achieved, I can only say, Thank You Sir! Thank you very much indeed!

Let Sarabjit hang

2009-06-24T21:27:00.002+05:30

Yep, that's what I believe in.

He was a spy. He was caught. And now they want to hang him. If we think he is innocent, we should well go the Israel way i.e. invade Pakistan, get Sarabjit, make history and alter some geography on the way. On the other hand, if we feel that we don't have the balls to do that, we could put this little charade on the fast track and hang this guy at least.

My Review - 17 Again

2009-06-18T11:39:00.007+05:30

After a long long time, I went to the theater to watch a movie. The choice was no doubt dictated by the better half. I chose to meekly follow as the reviews were satisfactory. There have been other films on the same theme, namely 13 Going On 30, which was a light, delightful, New Yorky comedy.

17 Again is about 37 year old Mike O'Donnell(played by Mathew Perry), leading a typical American life(pun intended) - job going nowhere, kids hate him, wife has filed for a divorce etc etc. Somehow he turns 20 years younger and gets a chance to/at redo everything. And everything he does - getting his daughter to break up with the college bully, teaching his son the tricks of the wooing trade and getting back with his wife. Assisting him in these tasks is his college geek buddy Ned(played brilliantly by Comedian Thomas Lennon) who falls for the college principal.

A nice and thoroughly enjoyable romantic comedy. Don't miss it!

P.S. - Somehow the better half found the lead actor cute. I thought he had a bad boy look. Whatever...!

The man who never gives up

2009-06-18T11:23:00.008+05:30

Arun Shourie once famously said in an interview to Swapan Dasgupta - I'm shameless. Nothing signifies that more than his piece here in the Indian Express. While the entire media has been singing praises of how Rahul Gandhi's dimples are the best thing to happen to India, Shourie Sir meticulously tears down the UPA's 100 day agenda. Worth a glance!

And since we are indulging in China bashing, here is DNA's Jagannathan with his brilliant take on the rogue state that is China.

My Review - 27 Dresses

2009-06-13T15:51:00.006+05:30

Starring Knocked Up star Katherine Heigl, 27 Dresses is a funny and light rom com about a girl who is always trying to please everyone, has attended 27 weddings as a bridesmaid and is madly in love with her boss. As with all rom coms, the setting is in New York and there is a good-at-heart reporter who has to 'do' a story for which the protagonist suits perfectly.

The movie starts with a bang, slows down and ends merrily. Not bad for a lazy sunday afternoon!

China's biggest threat

2009-06-12T19:36:00.003+05:30

is India.

Now that the knives are out in the open, can the UPA govt start sharpening theirs?

Also Read :

India Sleeps, China grows
A Beijing Editor takes his gloves off
Chinese in the Indian Ocean
Don't forget 1962 : Brahma Chellaney

Something I agree with

2009-05-31T12:18:00.009+05:30

A Top Ten list of hotties who should stop acting.

P.S. : Some of them are not even HOT!

A matter of choice

2009-05-31T11:55:00.003+05:30

On the nomination of Meira Kumar for the post of the Speaker, Congress party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi makes the following statement.

Congress would be creating a historical milestone by opting for the first dalit woman speaker. In the past also, Congress chose the first woman PM, youngest PM, first woman President.

Great! History has been created again. By the Congress party's refusal to accept the fact that they were always a 'crowd around a family'. My only question to him is - Did you have any choice, at least in the first two cases?

Sick!!!

I hope not, Harsha

2009-05-24T10:38:00.002+05:30

I hope not.

Its bad. But it ain't so bad!

2009-05-17T16:29:00.008+05:30

And the mandate goes to The Congress Party esp Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi.

Looks bad? Isn't it? It took me exactly 48 hours to figure out that this 'has' happened and probably 'why' this has happened.

This is not a vote for the UPA. This is a vote for the Congress, overwhelmingly. All across the country urban or rural, there has been a wave towards the congress. And so strong has been this wave, riding on socialist and populist measures of the UPA regime, that it has been able to overcome the non-performance of the Manmohan Singh govt.

Rahul Gandhi's positioning has been very clear. We are pro-poor whereas the NDA is the party of stock brokers and the rich(Yep he actually said that) which is ironical. While the NREGA, reservations in higher education, Loan waiver took care of the rural voter(unemployed youth as well as farmers), the Jyotiradityas, Sachin Pilots, Milind Deoras and Sandeep Dikshits ensured that the urban voter connects with them. If you don't agree with me then kindly check out the margin of victories in Delhi and Mumbai of Congress candidates(a fact also mentioned by Swapan Dasgupta). So a combination of youth with a heavy dose of socialism did it for the Congress.

About the BJP, well what to say. Varun Gandhi, 'weak' PM, not supporting the nuclear deal and some other factors like MNS were the main reasons I feel. The congress had supported the BJP in passing many bills(including private sector insurance) during 98-2004. But the way the BJP including Advani behaved in the nuclear deal was disgusting. Dunno about Modi. Even if he had any effect, the congress wave was too strong for him to withstand. He could hardly manage to hold on to his own seats in Gujarat.

Will they learn their lessons? I don't think so. Last I heard, M M Joshi was ready to take over any responsibility given by the party.(sic)

And now for the best part! Third grade politicians with ten to thirty MPs wanting to be PM have been resoundingly KICKED. So no Maya, no Mulayam, no Amar Singh(Sunil Bharti Mittal must be relieved), no Karat, no Yechury, no Pawar. Which means no statues, no ban on english, no moneymaking, no arm twisting, no dhamki-dena. For all these factors itself, this election has been worth it.

Lessons to learn from this election

Youth is the key
Negativity will not help
Socialism is back
Charisma is essential

Some other great columns on this verdict

Vir Sanghvi in HT
Tavleen Singh in Indian Express
Shekhar Gupta in Indian Express
S S Aiyar in TOI

The most controversial

2009-05-15T10:55:00.002+05:30

Top 10 movies of all time. Compiled by Rediff's Raja Sen.

My Review - Syriana

2009-05-14T14:11:00.010+05:30

If you are interested in the petropolitics and the violence of the middle east, if you are amazed why America never takes one step to reform the stone-age country Saudi Arabia is, if you wonder why Iraq was invaded, if you marvel at the fact that there are virtually zero democracies in the gulf region and if you wanted your own "How to be a suicide bomber?" guide, Syriana is the film for you.

Starring hollywood biggies like Matt Damon, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Jeffrey Wright and George Clooney(who won a Best Supporting Oscar for this one and doubles up as the executive producer), Syriana is slow and confusing initially as you get introduced to a myriad of characters going about their jobs in a ruthless manner.

Harvard educated Prince Nasir(played brilliantly by Alexander Siddig) wants to reform his oil rich country by bringing in democracy and granting voting rights to women. Assisting him in his reform process is Bryan Woodman(Matt Damon), an energy analyst who is loosing touch with his own family based back in the US. Somewhere else, Robert Gates(George Clooney), a veteran CIA officer, is entrusted by the US Govt with assasinating Prince Nasir.

What happens next is something to be seen - sibling rivalry, corporate greed, preservation of national interest(read OIL), treachery, assasination attempts and the birth of suicide bombers. Syriana is an eye opener for those who don't know and a confirmation for those who do.

Don't miss it!!!

The NDA's masterstroke

2009-05-11T15:50:00.008+05:30

Well great minds do think alike! The other great mind here is the inimitable Swapan Dasgupta, who writes

"The Narendra Modi-Nitish Kumar photo-op in particular was good piece of showmanship. NDTV was particularly agitated and made it appear that Nitish's main crime was to have reneged on an assurance to Barkha Dutt. However, I don't think that Nitish was too happy over being ambushed by Modi--such public displays are not his style."

Since this unspeakable act of communalism, doublespeak and treachery(pun intended) has happpened, NDTV is at it. As if Nitish and Barkha are committed to each other and having made a statement on a horribly biased news channel is treated as signed confession in the supreme court of India. Not that I believe Nitish will NOT move to the UPA if the numbers are with them, I am just happy at the plain simple fact that NDTV is bloody hurt.

Whoever conceptualised this(Was it Jaitley?) deserves a pat on the back!

On a totally unrelated note, is it just me or are Priyanka Gandhi's clothes really getting tighter and tighter as the elections are nearing the end phase?

We must hit back

2009-05-09T14:36:00.004+05:30

Says Vir Sanghvi. I have to say, Vir Sanghvi never fails to surprise me. Apart from Shekhar Gupta of the Indian Express, he is becoming one of the saner voices of the TOTALLY BIASED Indian media.

Pleasantly surprised!!!

I knew nothing.....

2009-05-03T15:07:00.005+05:30

I knew nothing about the Babri demolition - Says Kalyan Singh

Close on the heels of Kalyan Singh's confessions on the Babri demolition, some other notable public figures are readying their confessions. A sneak peek :-

I knew nothing about cricket - John Buchanan and/or Shilpa Shetty

I knew nothing about 'getting elected from the Lok Sabha' - Manmohan Singh

I knew nothing about socialism(read NREGS) - Sonia Gandhi

I knew nothing about hair oil, only gel - Shivraj Patil

I knew nothing about the flight to Kandahar and Jaswant in that flight - L K Advani

I knew nothing about Hindi - Pranab Mukherjee

I knew nothing about unbiased reporting - Barkha Dutt/Rajdeep Sardesai

I knew nothing about whose son I am - Sanjay Dutt

Kung fu Panda Redux

2009-05-03T14:53:00.003+05:30

Glossing over the events which have happened over the last 20 days, I am reminded of that beautiful line from Master Oogway in Kung Fu Panda.

"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."

Rajnath Jee listens

2009-04-30T12:36:00.003+05:30

finally. Remember this guy from good, old doordarshan?

Get your own Sehwag

2009-04-07T15:10:00.002+05:30

Says Harsha Bhogle, in his usual style.

Finally Aamir apologises

2009-04-02T10:38:00.002+05:30

Isn't this google ad priceless?

Where have all the speakers gone?

2009-04-01T22:53:00.003+05:30

It's funny right! For the last five years we have had a spineless PM and a spineless govt.

A PM who needs 'permission' even to go to the loo. A PM who slept while 'Indians' were getting killed in blasts and 'could not sleep' when Dr Haneef was in an australian jail.
A home minister who spent more time putting gel in his hair than running the ministry.
An external affairs minster who was incomprehensible and un-understandable, in either English or Hindi.
And lastly, a heir-apparent, indulging in poverty tourism and dalit-house-hunting, which seems to me racism of the worst kind and also tells me he was born even further away from his mother's birthplace Italy.

In view of the above, I thought the BJP had it on a platter. But they are fumbling. There was a time they had the best speakers(Sushma, Mahajan, Jaitley and the best of all Vajpayee). And look at them now. Last saturday I was watching 'The Big Fight' and the topic was Hate Politics. Balbir Punj of the BJP, whilst facing NDTV Aunty Brinda Karat and Mani Shankar Aiyar, was not only fumbling, mumbling and doing a Sonia i.e. reading out from his notes in a live debate, his debating skills left much to desire. The media as such does not give them any leverage, we know that. Add to this, some stupid statements here and there. And some stupid actions, too.

If the BJP wants to, or should I say, needs to improve its image in the minds of first time voters, they 'have to' get some new anchors fast which means, simply, add some new products to its portfolio. They might be a little foolish like Manish Tewari of the Italian National Congress but they have to be fluent, presentable and debatable.

Rajnath Jee, are you listening?

P.S. - Where the hell is Arun Jaitley? I know he is strategizing, but we need to see him on NDTV, Times NOW and CNN IBN day after day everyday taking on the likes of Sibal and Brinda.

The story of my life

2009-03-29T12:06:00.006+05:30

I understand that there's some problems
And I'm not too blind to know
All the pain you kept inside you
Even though you might not show
If I can't apologize for being wrong
Then it's just a shame on me
I'd be the reason for your pain
And you can put the blame on me

By Akon

My Review - Love Actually

2009-03-23T14:06:00.008+05:30

You must be wondering - a rom com, with nine different stories and starring Hugh Grant?!! Is it me or something has changed? Well actually after watching the extremely witty Notting Hill I wanted to check out 'any other great works' of the said writer(Richard Kurtis) and Love Actually was the only unseen one on the list. (other ones being the Bridget Jones series). Incidentally, this is one of Grant's and Curtis' highest grossing films worldwide.

So what did I think of it? Better than Notting Hill. No. Wittier than Notting Hill. At some places.

The best stories are the ones with the aging rockstar(Bill Nighy) and his manager, the boss(Alan Rickman, the baddie from Die Hard) and the secretary and the stand-in body doubles. The story about the Prime Minister(brilliantly played by Hugh Grant) and Sarah(played by Laura Linney), who likes a fellow colleague at her office, have a good start but are not developed quite as well.

A highlight of the film is this scene where the PM addressess the media alongwith the President of the US. And for this reason alone I give this film 3 stars.

Needless to say the Bollywood copy of this film was the very boring Salaam-E-Ishq!

I wanna be the PM tooo

2009-03-20T13:53:00.006+05:30

Dear readers and countrymen, here are the possible candidates for leading our great country into the 21st century.

1. L.K.Advani
If Manmohan Singh can work as the (remote)PM and do a great job, why the hell can't I?
Claim to fame
Currently is on the 'I love Jinnah' & 'I did know Jaswant had a ticket' communities on Orkut.

2. Mayawati
If I can be number one in corruption, why can't i get the number one job in the country?
Claim to fame

Statues
Corruption
More statues
More Corruption

3. Sharad Pawar
We need a Maharashtrian PM especially since we have such a dynamic maharashtrian President.
Claim to fame
He is a Maharashtrian(Didn't I say that earlier?)

4. Jyoti Basu
The time has come to rectify the historic blunder.
Claim to fame
His leadership. His vision. His age. His walk. His talk. His coverage on NDTV.

My Review - There Will be Blood

2009-03-17T15:29:00.015+05:30

There will be blood is about the struggle and rise of Daniel Plainview(Daniel Day Lewis), a manipulative and eccentric oilman during the oil boom of the late 19th century in the US. In his pursuit of oil and wealth, he comes into regular conflict with Eli Sunday(Paul Dano, the elder brother from Little Miss Sunshine), a young preacher who is himself looking to make some easy money from the same boom.

Like all of Paul Thomas Anderson's previous movies(Punch Drunk Love and Magnolia), the narrative of the movie is slow. But that does not bother you because of the wonderful cinematography and some equally wonderful acting.

Somehow I felt that the film was more about Plainview's rags to riches story and subsequent loneliness than the fight between him the young preacher as suggested by reviewers.

Daniel Day Lewis, who won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe for this one, gives a powerful performance as the eccentric Plainview.

Definitely a one time watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon!

My Review - Tropic Thunder

2009-03-17T12:51:00.007+05:30

Tropic Thunder starts with a promo of Scorcher, an action film starring Tugg Speedman(Ben Stiller), ready with a gun and a baby(?!!!) to save the world. Then come the promos of Scorcher II, III, IV and V. In this hilarious satire-action-comedy partly written and wholly directed by Stiller himself, three actors from different genres come together to make a war movie. So Stiller plays Speedman(modelled on Stallone), Downey, Jr. is Kirk Lazarus, an australian actor(loosely modelled on Russell Crowe) who goes great depths to 'get into' the character and Jack Black is Jeff Portnoy, an actor who has done films like The Fatties(a take on Eddie Murphy) and is addicted to drugs. Speedman is desperate for a hit, Lazarus is desperate to be in character even between shots and Portnoy is desperate for cocaine.

The story is simple, the screenplay is apt and the satire is immensely enjoyable. Watch out for the scene where Lazarus(Downey) advises Speedman(Stiller) never to go full retard while playing a mentally retarded character. There are cameos by almost half of Hollywood including the much appreciated cameo of Tom Cruise as Less Grossman, the producer of the film.

I give it four stars and put it on my must see list.

Also See

Roger Ebert's Review of Tropic Thunder

I love the Third Front

2009-03-13T10:42:00.006+05:30

The third front has been (re)launched with a new vigour and a new avataar, which will be pro-minority, pro-dalit, pro-OBC, pro-farmer and pro-poor(whatever that means).
What this means that some unemployed politicians dying to get some votes(and ministries thereafter) and prove their SECULARISM will get together at Deve Gowda's residence and watch him sleep. BTW, our former PM also has the ability to sleep with his eyes wide open. Don't believe me, check him out yourself.

P.S. - What the hell is A B Bardhan doing?

What I learnt from Kung Fu Panda!

2009-03-12T12:37:00.011+05:30

This very cute and very very inspiring film does not need a review. It is a must see film and a must have DVD. I don't know if its just the state I am in where the lessons from the film seem to be very apt and bang-on-target. While Rashmi Bansal and some other bloggers have come out with their own Management Lessons from Kung Fu Panda, here is what I learnt from this very 'awsome' movie.

There are no accidents... : What is is meant to be and how it was destined to be. Do not regret.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present : Learn from the past. Do plan for the future but live in the present. I loved this line. Absolutely!!!
No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach : If a young boy is destined to be a scriptwriter/storyteller/director he will be one. He can't become a doctor. On a different note, if a young boy is meant to redefine music through algorithms, then no point forcing him to go to Indian Idol.
There is no secret ingredient in the secret ingredient soup : To make something special, you just have to believe it's special. Love this thought! Totally!
Hollywood not only makes great movies, they make the movies with the best messages too : The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, A Beautiful Mind, Rocky, Little Miss Sunshine, Crash, Spiderman 1 & 2. Need I say more.

The only film which I give 5 stars. Highly recommended!!!

My Review - You don't mess with the Zohan

2009-03-12T12:15:00.003+05:30

Adult humour is okay, but this movie about an ex-Mossad agent(played by Sandler) coming to New York and wanting to be a hairstylist is crass, crude and downright vulgar. Adam Sandler seems to be taking a lot of liberties first with Click and now with Zohan. The only bearable part of this very stupid film is the beautiful Emmanuelle Chriqui and the funny Israeli-Arab accent spoken by almost the entire cast.

For hardcore Adam Sandler fans only!

My Review - Scarface

2009-03-03T12:24:00.019+05:30

I remember the first time I saw Agneepath. I remember the last time I saw it. I remember the dialogues. I know the scenes which I really like. I remember "Apun ka naam Vijay Dinanath Chavan, poora naam, maa ka naam Suhasini Chavan, gaon Mandwa".

Now that I have seen Scarface, I feel let down. Cause Agneepath is a copy, certainly not a scene-by-scene DVD copy like Zinda, but the concept, styling and character detailing has been lifted straightawayfrom the 1983 Brian De Palma crime drama about a cuban refugee's rise to the top of the Miami underworld.

Watching Scarface is a treat cause you get to see Al Pacino in full form; his volatile character being one of the highlights for this film. One also gets to see the 1980s Miami and a very young Michelle Pfeiffer.

Highly Recommended!

I am back

2009-02-28T21:10:00.004+05:30

Tired, lazy and groggy as one can be from a Goa trip which got extended because of reasons beyond control. Will get back to regular blogging soon.

P.S. - Meanwhile on the way to Goa and back I have discovered one of the greatest music albums ever made by a Bollywood composer. Yes!!! Dev D is the best (original)music to come out of Bollywood in a decade. Check it out, if you still haven't.

My Review - Notting Hill

2009-02-18T15:48:00.008+05:30

This is such a funny thing. Just day before yesterday, my wife was telling me all about Notting Hill, how it's the most wonderful(est) romantic comedy ever made and how she remembers each and every line of it and how blah blah blah...by the time she had completed, I was off to sleep.

Coincidentally, it was playing today on HBO and I managed to catch it along with sandwiches and tea. An engaging first half , an innovative ending(though not an airport one), a little boring in the second half is how the movie sums up. The writing in some scenes is pretty amazing especially the 'apricot and honey' bit. Hugh Grant is cute as usual and carries the same expression throughout(Britain's Shahrukh, anyone..eh?). Julia Roberts is... well Julia Roberts.

Total ChickFlick. One time watch!!!

P.S. - An interesting fact is the this $40 Million movie made almost $350 Million dollars in total. That is almost an I, Robot. Also, this is Hugh Grant's biggest hit.

My Review - Rainman

2009-02-10T10:42:00.012+05:30

My first introduction to Tom Cruise was in late 1990(I was 13) when I saw his poster at a friend's house. This girl was crazy about Tom Cruise. It was Cruise, cruise and cruise everywhere for her. And I thought huh, yeah he's good looking so what? As my passion for movies grew over the years, I consistently avoided Cruise's films based on this presumption alone. Not that I heard much about Rainman, Born on the fourth of July, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Color of Money etc but I did check out the Mission Impossible series but then that is more of Manmohan Desai kind of cinema. The only Tom Cruise movie I had heard about a lot was Jerry Maguire. So on a relatively sunny day of the cold Delhi winter season in 2003, I saw Jerry Maguire. And INSTANTLY became a Tom Cruise fan.

This little piece of history is important not because I am his die-hard-will-watch-his-movie-first-day-first-show fan but because Cruise has always been a fantastic actor.

In Rainman he plays Charlie Babbit, a car dealer who is in a bit of trouble and requires a substantial sum of money to clear his dues. Somewhere at the same time, he gets to know that his estranged father, with whom he never ever got along, has died. Expecting to gain something from this father's will, he is surprised to learn that he has just left him an old car and donated his entire wealth($3 Million) to the mental institution where his autistic brother(Raymond/Dustin Hoffman) lives. Charlie kidnaps his brother and take him along with himself to meet his lawyers. Since Raymond is afraid of flying, they go by road from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. What happens eventually forms the crux of the movie. Although Dustin Hoffman is perfect(He won an Oscar for this one) as the autistic Raymond, it is Tom Cruise who shines as the icy cold Charlie Babbitt. His journey from being frustrated and irritated at Raymond's actions to a caring and protective brother is touching. The plot is simple and the storytelling is brilliant.

Highly Recommended!!!

Dev D - First Reviews

2009-02-07T14:39:00.005+05:30

Anurag Kashyap gets an average of 2.9 i.e. 3 stars.

Rediff - Raja Sen Review - 3.5 stars
Rajeev Masand - CNN IBN Review - 2 stars
Taran Adarsh - IndiaFM Review - 1 star
Anupama Chopra's Review - 3 stars
Nikhat Kazmi - TOI Review - 5 stars(huh??!!!)

Disclaimer : These are the reviews which I follow. The rest do not matter. Taran Adarsh's review is just for cosmetic purposes.

My Review - Sex and the City

2009-02-05T08:54:00.006+05:30

Caught Sex and the City(SATC) on DVD. The TV series ended on a very happy note with Carrie back with Big, Miranda settled with Steve, Samantha confessing(shockingly) to Smith and Charlotte getting a baby through adoption. My only intention was to see where would Michael Patrick King take the story next. Unfortunately, King fumbles and so do the girls(you can't really blame them, they are just following the script). Although die hard fans of SATC would love to see the girls doing their usual routine in New York, the plot is twisted and turned in the worst possible way to make it look like another chapter in their lives.

Dissapointing. Some things should just be left untouched.

My Review - Luck by Chance

2009-02-03T10:32:00.009+05:30

After the dissapointments which came last year in the form of a Hancock or a Hulk, a Ghajini or a Rab ne(and please don't even get me started on the Tashans, Singh is Kings and suchlike), I was really looking forward to watching Luck By Chance(LBC).

In his review Rajeev Masand spoke about the opening credits sequence and indeed it is mindblowing especially the shot where Zoya's name comes. LBC is a part-serious part-hilarious look at the hindi fIlm industry. A place which is full of punjabi producers, kanpuria strugglers, overprotective divas, dumb stardaughters, selfish friends and manipulating magazine editors. Zoya Akhtar, having seen most of the behind-the-scenes action herself, narrates the story of Vikram Jai Singh(Farhan) and Sona Mishra(Konkona) beautifully. So you have Zafar Khan(Hrithik), reigning superstar walking out of a producer's film to play second lead in a Karan Johar movie, the flop actor(Sanjay Kapoor) of a big producer turning director, a yesteryear's actress(Dimple) scripting every move of her daughter(Isha Sharwani) to make her entry into Bollywood easier and the saddest but the funniest of the lot, producer Romi Rolly(Rishi Kapoor) who is trying to manage everybody.

There are cameos by almost half the fillum industry(Aamir, SRK, Abhishek, Vivek, Ranbir, Dia, Akshaye Khanna, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Manish Malhotra) including a brilliant two scene cameo of Anurag Kashyap as a (DVD copycat) writer. The pace is somewhat slow but the gags and punches keep you in the loop. The entire cast plays their part to a T but the highlight is Rishi Kapoor as producer Romi Rolly. He is funny, cunning and emotional at the same time. The only weak link I found in the film is Farhan(who is unconvincing in some scenes) and the music.

Luck by Chance is an exciting debut by Zoya Akhtar. Not to be missed.

Also Read

Anupama Chopra's Review

IndiaFM - Taran Adarsh Review

Nikhat Kazmi - TOI Review

Best of the the 80s

2009-01-30T21:08:00.005+05:30

On Rediff. I keep saying every now and then that the 80s were probably the worst time in Indian cinema. And when I look at this list which has Mirch Masala, Chashme Baddoor, Jaane Bhi Do yaaron etc on it, I feel like an ass.

Must see!

Isn't this

2009-01-28T12:43:00.003+05:30

interfering in other countries' internal affairs? Especially when we as a country have always opposed Pakistan's interference.

Also read : Jug Suraiya on internationalizing Kashmir

Chandi Chowk to China - A lesson

2009-01-19T20:26:00.009+05:30

For everybody concerned. I don't agree with the premise that content is the king in Bollywood. Om Shanti Om was unbearable in the second half. So were Welcome and Singh is King. And the less said about Ghajini, the better. In the business of movies, exclusivity is the key. A fact which was recognized by some superstars quite early. Aamir, SRK and Hrithik have restricted themselves to one film a year, which ensures if nothing else their movies get a great opening and hence break even. And more or less, their roles are different in every film even if they are low on content.

Aamir leads the way in this strategy. A look at his last five films(The Rising, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, TZP, Ghajini) gives you an idea of the way he has built his brand. Even though The Rising was not a super duper hit, it got a great initial which made it to break even(an added fact was that it was Aamir's first release in five years). Every movie since Aamir has been getting a new hairstyle and the media has been lapping it up. He has been living his characters through the media. The media's limited access to him has only added to the exclusivity factor. And the results are there for everyone to see.

Not many Bollywood commentors look at this fact but even SRK has been working on not more than two films per year. Since Paheli, he has not failed.

Akshay unfortunately has not learnt his lessons. His movies are neither high on content(Unlike Aamir's) and neither is he a great talker(Unlike SRK who visits every TV show and every reporter's house to promote his film). It worked for some time(Namaste London, Welcome, Singh is King) but now Brand Akshay Kumar is showing signs of cracking. Since any industry should not have a monopoly, a strong Brand Akshay Kumar is required to keep the Khans and Roshans in check. But the key question is can he salvage it?

Chandni Chowk to China - First Reviews

2009-01-16T19:51:00.005+05:30

Initial reviews are not so flattering. Has this become the rule - big superstar, big film equals brain dead/mindless?

My Review - Ghajini

2009-01-10T14:44:00.009+05:30

You could say I spolied the fun myself by watching Memento a week before Ghajini released. But however intelligent Memento might have been, the association of a certain Mr Aamir Khan in this film always made me believe that if not anything Ghajini would have a plot aka storyline. Ghajini is a waste. Of time. Of energy. Of all those things which a cinegoer invests while watching a movie. And here is why

Asin is overweight and irritating.
The whole lovestory subplot(including the Sanjay Singhania bit) is impractical and stretches too far even by Bollywood standards.
Aamir looks great with all that body shoddy and the hairstyle but why he gets into those Sunny Deol style screaming and shouting is something I did not get.
I was hoping Murgadoss will concentrate and build upon the initial story as to when he starts tattoing on his body but no, the movie starts of with a ridiculous killing-with-a-tap scene; the buildup of whom is not clearly shown.
Inspector Arjun Yadav - Who? Why? From where?
The entire film has a distinct South Indian feel which ain't bad but it ain't no good either.
The best part about Ghajini is Ghajini himself i.e Pradeep Rawat aka the guy who played the sardar in Lagaan. His haryanvi accent gave me some pleasure in three and a half hours of pure agony.

My nomination for the Worst Film of the year 2008.

P.S. : After watching the end credits roll, I sent a message to my dear friend - 'Is Rab Ne even worse'? Got the reply - 'Yep'.

This is hilarious

2009-01-09T23:12:00.002+05:30

...and also a revelation. A reasonable Pakistani. Must see

Thank you India Uncut!

The Bollywood Roundup : Top films of 2008

2009-01-03T10:05:00.011+05:30

The year 2008 has been bad, not only with the terror attacks all over India, the stock market meltdown and the slowdown but also terrorism spread from the likes of Mimoh, Tushar Kapoor and Harman Baweja. In a year when the biggies came out with Jodha-Akbar, Tashan, Race, Rab Ne Bana di jodi and Ghajini, you had chotu filmmakers coming out with Aamir, Mithya, Dasvidaniya, Dil Kabaddi etc. So amidst the gloom and the doom I present my best films list of the year.

Number 5 - Mithya
That Ranvir Shourie is talented actor is very well known, what was not known to us that a combination of Shourie+Vinay Pathak+Rajat Kapoor's wacky direction would be a dark comedy with a bundle of surprises. Watching Mithya I was reminded of a line from the Tom Hanks' starrer Forrest Gump - Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. The movie starts of on a wild note...goes slow in the second half and the ending well.. breaks your heart. Ranvir Shourie is brilliant and so is pal Vinay Pathak.
Rajeev Masand Review of Mithya.

Number 4 - Race
Having a plot which is as straight as a jalebi, Race is one of those typical 90's films of Abbas Mastan. The only difference being that you have more cleavage, mindblowing 'copied' music(as a certain Mr Pritam is the music director), countless twists and turns and jokes so silly that they make you laugh. Sample this line from Anil Kapoor - Ganna chusenge bolne main accha nahi lagta isliye bol raha hun ganna khayenge.
Movies are for entertainment and if you agree with that, Race is a total paisa vasool.

Number 3 - Aamir
Inspired from the filipino film Cavite and brilliantly executed by debutant director Rajkumar Gupta, Aamir is an answer not only to the radical islamists in India but also to the current UPA govt, which undertook the Sachar comittee report. On being taunted that he was one of the lucky few, Aamir replies - "I was not lucky. I studied in govt schools and colleges, worked hard, got a scholarship and made my destiny on my own".

Number 2 - Jaane Tu..ya Jaane na
Movie Talkies called it "One of the coolest, warmest, hippest and funniest musical romantic comedy in years has arrived, and a new Khan is born." I would add 'funniest' and the remove the latter line. Jaane Tu is also an example of how great writing and great dialogues can make a simple film work. The gags in Jaane Tu are the funniest I have seen in any Bollywood film since Khosla ka Ghosla.

And the Desiblab Film of the year is...

Number 1 - A Wednesday
I have reviewed the film previously. And there is nothing more to say that in a year when the aam aadmi was the mainstay of Bollywood, media and Madam Sonia, 'A Wednesday' is the perfect candidate for the film of the year.

Also ran - Jodha Akbar, Dostana, Ghajini, Dasvidaniya, Golmaal Returns, Fashion and Rock On!

Farhan's scoreline

2008-12-22T14:00:00.008+05:30

Farhan - The Good

Dil Chahta Hai
Lakshya
Rock On(Audio)

Farhan - The Bad

Don - The chase begins again
Rock On(Video)

Farhan - The Ugly(iest)

Oye! It's Friday!

The final score reads 3-2-1.

Back with a BANG!

2008-12-22T12:45:00.004+05:30

It's been a long long time actually. First, I had my final semester exams, then dissertation susmission, a marriage and then a crisis on the personal front, all of which are either over or have been resolved. A lot has happened since my last long post, attacks on Bombay being the major happening. Amongst all the crap that has been floating in the media(print as well as TV), I saw some very very few articles/columns being able to see reason and talk sense. Some of them are as follows.

GreatBong's posts on 26/11 and the press coverage
Offstumped and the Acorn are as usual, at their best.
M J Akbar's(for whom I have newfound respect now) piece, here and here.
Swapan Dasgupta, as usual everywhere.

Amongst the English channels CNN IBN is the worst. Their coverage as well as their anchors as well as their bias against you know who. NDTV was better but then they have Barkha Dutt no. Whenever NDTV tries to do well, she tries equally hard to show how minorities have also suffered.

Madam Barkha, we Indians are not fools. After the Gujarat riots, there have been almost 8-12 terrorist attacks on India and nowhere have Hindu mobs targetted muslims. So puh-lease stop treating us as kids and behaving as the epitome of (pseudo)secularism.We are more mature than you think.

Amongst the good things that happened was India's win against England and Sachin's knock. And now Dravid's knock too. But the best bit of cricketing news came from down under. So you see arrogance is fallible!!! LOL! On the subject of cricket, Harsha's latest is as usual, ORGASMIC!

Wow!!!

2008-12-16T10:00:00.002+05:30

2 months and 1 post.....have to get back to regular blogging. Have a lot on my mind - terror attacks, India's win, Sachin's century blah blah blah.

Harsha Bhogle's latest

2008-11-02T11:25:00.004+05:30

is a masterpiece. Sample this

On Laxman

"This double hundred was flawless and like a master cutter shaping a diamond, VVS Laxman eroded the Australian bowling. They respect him there far more than we do in India and this innings was an example of why that is so."

"There is something deeply satisfying about a man who doesn’t thump his own chest, doesn’t give the two fingers to the opposition, is in the news for the right reasons and doesn’t know what a brawl means."

"He was treated very shabbily during the IPL, was prevented, in a most bizarre episode, from playing for a month in England and had to witness the swords being sharpened for his execution. Don’t forget this is a man who gave up a million dollars a year so the Deccan Chargers could get better players and help develop cricket in his state. In England they are going crazy over a million dollars per player. Laxman gave up a million a year for three years! At the end of the first season in the IPL, he was sacked when he had been captain for six games and the job was given to a man who had led in the other eight!! And not a thank you for the extra three million!"

My Review - The Insider

2008-10-29T20:27:00.005+05:30

You have two great actors, a great director, a great real-life script, seven Oscar nominations and what do you get in the end - a movie which manages to indulge in some foreplay but fails to give you the orgasm. The Insider could have been a gripping drama about corporate fraud, greed and standing up for your beliefs(which is such a common plot in Hollywood) but this two and a half hour film fails to keep up the pace. Al Pacino gives you some fine moments and thats it. Russell Crowe it seems used this film to prepare for 'A Beautiful Mind'.

Maybe because I saw it on DVD. Maybe I had too many expectations. Maybe life is not that fair. Maybe. Try this one of you are a Pacino fan.

Finally its here - Ghajini Promo

2008-10-29T17:51:00.002+05:30

Looks good na?

2008-10-21T20:48:00.002+05:30

There's something about Dhoni

2008-10-21T20:35:00.001+05:30

I agree, finally!

Best of the 70s

2008-10-16T14:58:00.003+05:30

Close on the heels of Best of the 60s, comes Rediff's Best of the 70s.

My Review - Patton

2008-10-09T12:40:00.007+05:30

My obsession with world war movies continues. Patton is a 1970 Hollywood film which won seven Oscar awards including Best Film, Actor and Director. It is based on George Smith Patton Jr, who was a brilliant but eccentric US military general in world war II. My father used to mention a lot about him along with Rommel(who was a German General). It has been on my to-do list for a long long time. The film documents the general's exploits in the buildup to the second world war. George C Scott, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1970,(and refused it famously) is brilliant as Patton. The film does not focus on the war as such but more on Patton's personality and his views and opinions on a host of issues like reincarnation, war, honour etc.

Watch it for George C Scott's brilliant performance!

My Review - Out of Africa

2008-10-09T11:38:00.014+05:30

Casually surfing through Wikipedia, I stumbled upon this movie and I got to know that this real-life romantic drama got a Best Oscar for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay among others in 1985. I saw this movie last Sunday. If you are the one who has Discovery and Nat Geo as their favourite channels and Big Cat Diary as one of your favourite shows, you are bound to love this movie. The pace is slow and boring at times but it tells of a much simpler time and very simple people(African tribals). Meryl Streep is brilliant with her Dutch accent, Robert Redford is sexy and the cinematography is mindblowing. Some of the supporting cast also does well in their tiny but significant parts. A perfect watch for a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon!

Bush floors India

2008-10-09T11:34:00.001+05:30

How can any Indian not like this guy?

Absolute bliss

2008-10-01T11:48:00.003+05:30

How would you feel when you saw the director of the last decade's best comedy giving an interview almost two years after the release of the film?
The answer is bliss!

My Review - A Wednesday

2008-09-28T17:20:00.004+05:30

A lot of people recommended this film to me, including some of my dear friends and I have to say ‘A Wednesday’ is THE best film of the year. Ten minutes into the movie and you are hooked; anticipating what's going to happen next. Anupam Kher(after a long long time) gives an excellent performance as the Bombay Police Commissioner. Jimmey Shergill hardly has five lines, enough to make an impact. Amir Bashir is cute as usual. But the role of the film is with the nameless character(the common man) played by Naseeruddin Shah, who gives an inspiring 10 minutes speech at the end after which you cannot help but stand up and clap. Continuously!

Must Watch for every Indian!

My Review - Apocalypto

2008-09-28T17:05:00.008+05:30

I read a lot of great reviews and went for this one. Got the DVD and saw it with my better half. I am thankful I am still married! Depiction of Mayas and the Maya Civilization is nice and the cinematography is excellent. The first half has a lot of brutal violence(Be ready to see human sacrifice with hearts being ripped out) which is pointless cause it does not lead anywhere.

The actual fun is in the last 50 minutes when the chase begins. Its like you want him(Jaguar Paw) to run run and run faster. This would have been a top of the line film had the chase started 30 mins into the movie. Great idea, bad execution. One time watch strictly!

How could you

2008-09-19T14:33:00.000+05:30

Goldie Behl....how could you?

Top 10

2008-09-17T12:29:00.003+05:30

Hollywood films about politics

My Review - Rock On

2008-09-07T14:34:00.007+05:30

Finally I saw Rock On. And I have to say that Rajeev Masand's review is spot on. The film has its moments but its not a cult film(which I am guessing most of us thought it will be right?!!). First the bad things. Some of the dialogues and scenes are very awkward - the one where the band members fight or the scene where Aditya(Farhan's character) leaves his girlfriend overnight etc. The first half is painfully slow and Aditya's attitude seems irritating. The second half has its moments(when Prachi watches her husband in a new role and the channel V performance) but the cliches are hard to miss.

About the cast, Purab is the funniest. Farhan, sadly, is a better singer than actor. Shahana Goswami(plays Arjun's girlfriend and wife) is a revelation(she is sexy, dusky and can act). Arjun Rampal has given a nice understated performance. But the real scene stealer is Prachi Desai(sooooooooo cute) who looks so damn fresh and so elegant. Also, I have to add that the songs make much more sense once you see the movie. You can't help but admire Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for their mindblowing music. Pichle saat dinon main and Yeh tumhaari meri baatein are the best songs.

I would conclude by saying what Rajeev Masand said - Watch the film Cause at least it tries to be different. Three out of five stars is what the film deserves.

Rock on gets four

2008-08-28T21:09:00.004+05:30

out of five.

Bloody Americans are good!

2008-08-27T14:03:00.003+05:30

And the reason is below.

American television has consistently pursued creativity in the form of a Lost, a Prison Break, an Apprentice, a Beauty and the Geek and/or the latest offering - The Moment of Truth. A show in which one can make a lot of money and at the same time, make you loose all your loved ones. I loved this episode especially the segment where he hugs his mother after answering a question concerning her.

And another one on a little naughtier note...!

Whom do you believe?

2008-08-27T09:50:00.005+05:30

India's most secular 24 hour English News Channel or India's number 1 website.

My Review - Bachna Ae Haseeno

2008-08-24T11:45:00.007+05:30

Once again I got swept away by good...sorry excellent marketing by none other than my better half to see this latest Yash Raj offering. And because of financial constraints, I had to bloody well go at 08:50 AM to catch an early morning show. Since I TOOK the pain, here is the review.

BAH is one of those typical Yash Raj romantic comedies which is good only in parts. Most of us know the story by now. One confused guy gets three girlsat different stages in life, two of whom he rejects himself and the third girl rejects him and blah blah blah... The first track with Minissha Lamba aka Mahi is irritatingly slow and has a DDLJ hangover. Its actually in the second track with Bipasha aka Radhika where the movie lifts itself. The third track with Deepika is also good. Deepika's introduction is quite cool.

The movie has too many songs in the second half. The balle-balle and luckyboy songs was not all required. A lot of reviewers gave the second half thumbs down. I felt that the second half was much better than the first. About the cast

Minissha: Badly written character. I pray to God that there are no girls of that species in our country. And those green harem pants need to be thrown away fast.

Bipasha : Does what she is supposed to do. Show cleavage, play the 'fast' girl and smooch Ranbir. Smooch as in smooch. Not a peck. A smooch! Saif should be angry!!!

Deepika: The lady looks like a million bucks in this film, much better than OSO, but for Gawd's sake she can't act. Has to improve her dialogue delivery, A LOT. Seems that she did the role only for Ranbir given that her role is the shortest.

Ranbir : Best of the lot. Looks great. Does well in the comedy scenes though falters badly in the scene where he proposes to Deepika. Will have the girls drooling over him including the one who marketed this movie to me.

All in all, okay for a young college group but for serious cine lovers.....TRASH!

My Review - Platoon

2008-08-22T12:18:00.008+05:30

Last to last Monday, I saw Platoon, the supposedly iconic 1986 film by Oliver Stone. I was pleasantly surprised to see 'some' negative portrayal of Americans as Hollywood generally has a legacy of hyping up all things American. I found it to be an average film maybe because I have seen so many war movies of the 90s and 2000s and now I am going backwards. Watching Charlie Sheen in a serious role was a bit awkward as I am used to watching him in stuff like Scary Movie and Hot Shots. I quite liked the character of Willem Dafoe, the Officer with morals. All in all, a one time watch.

Kashmir Vs Democracy

2008-08-22T11:29:00.009+05:30

I got to know this from my brother. India's best blogger is asking - "Is Kashmir more important than democracy?" and also providing links to Swaminathan Aiyar's latest as well as Vir Sanghvi's latest.

Well, I seem to agree with all three of them. We should 'gift' away Kashmir to democracy. Similarly, we should conduct plebiscites in parts of western UP, parts of Assam, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad etc etc. We should also ask Shabana Azmi to take part.

And after all this is done, we can kiss India goodbye.

P.S. - Fortunately for us fundamentalists and nationalist elements, there are individuals who have other ideas.