The story of my life

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

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

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

1. Statues
2. Corruption
3. More statues
4. 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

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

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

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!

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.

1. There are no accidents... : What is is meant to be and how it was destined to be. Do not regret.
2. 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!!!
3. 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.
4. 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!
5. 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

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

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!