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saumya14588
Reviews
3 Idiots (2009)
idiots...a lot of idiots
I am writing this very late, even though I saw the movie on the first day
it took a second fast-forward viewing on my laptop to compel me to opine on this film. And since brushing through the comments, I found a lot of good stuff written about it, I'd like to skip over the brownie points the film certainly deserves and focus on what I found so
disappointing.
1) sigh, the jokes
what to say, I actually felt embarrassed listening to them and hear people guffaw on stuff that evoked chuckles in the 70s. 2) over the top scenes which were just not required- Rancho taking a bath in the garden(!) in front of everyone? In most good institutes even walking on the grass is frowned upon
n here this chap doesn't mind spoiling the soil with his soapy water. (This is what annoys me about characters portrayed as non-conformists. They confuse it with plain indecency and ludicrousness, like when Patch Adams bared his bottom after getting his degree); n driving the scooter into the hospital itself
why couldn't he just stop at the doorway n make it a genuinely good shot??? 3) The timeline was all wrong; did no one do math at primary school? Farhan says they hadn't seen rancho for 5 yrs
ramalingam returns after 10 yrs to keep the bet
no one saw rancho after college finished
engineering is 4 yrs
the bet could not have been made before the second semester as they already have had at least one semester exams!!! Simple math will tell you its all goofed up. Kareena kapoor was engaged when these guys were in 1st-2nd year
so she waited 8 years to get married??? If that banker guy was so considerate and patient, he is the real hero 4) Anybody who has lived in hostel with room mates will tell you that in 4 yrs together, you get to know every minute detail about you buddies; these guys didn't even know rancho's hometown! 5) And these supposedly bright engineers and the doctor Kareena don't have even enough brains to look up the college records to find Rancho's address? They could have at least asked Boman Irani, who would have certainly known it considering he knew Chachad's monthly income! 6) Even with that lame, copied joke 'Do you know who I am', they are just ridiculing their own film; is it so difficult for a professor to find three students of a class whose faces he has seen from the college records? A cheeky antic like that would have meant instant suspension in a real IIT. 7) Hirani's idea of ragging is based on the fairy tales boys brag to wide-eyed fifth-graders; you just cant survive in a hostel if you electrocute a senior's winkie on you first day. I'd have loved it had they shown Rancho getting a beating from seniors in return for his actions
it would have truly highlighted the ragging problem. Instead they showed the whole bunch of seniors running scared on seeing a baby-faced fresher with a live wire. 8) And oh, they took the peeing joke too far, too many times
its disgusting. Ramalingam, a VP of some MNC peeing on a school building? Come on
9) I understand that the ridiculous arrangement barred Rancho from keeping in touch with any student from ICS
but what about Kareena? Was his love so shallow he didn't give a damn about her just to honor some crazy vow which didn't even involve her? How are they showing Indian women? She has no self-respect? She runs away from her wedding, betraying a guy who waited 10 years for her to a guy who left her in a heartbeat? And is it unnatural or materialistic to scream if someone spoils your 2 lac wedding dress or loses a 3 lac watch??? Again the problem with execution of an idea; there were a thousand better ways to expose that guy's shallowness
but all what rancho and his pals did was irritate him by damaging his property. 10) And the law breaking, which when done with timing looks good was just taken too far
getting an international flight stopped, fooling a taxi driver who'd probably lose his job, leaking university paper- they are criminal offenses-why do you need to portray new age thinking with a disdain for the law? 11) And finally even if we forget the fact that any decent college has a medical attendant, a health centre and generators always present to accord a movie a spicy climax, hirani spoilt it with the all-is-well cliché. Cant just one thing be normal?
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Fool Mental Jackrabbit
Since i am quite young, and consequently new to the domain of movies pre-1990 era, IMDb serves as my catalogue for catching up on all the masterpieces. so it was with quite a lot of expectation that i watched FMJ, in-spite of being shockingly disappointed earlier with A clockwork orange and 2001. Kubrick's work to me is...dysfunctional.
I am a real admirer of artistic direction and deep, intriguing story lines with philosophical connotations, but i also firmly believe that every movie should be entertaining, be it at a superficial, sensual, intellectual or emotional level. Sadly, FMJ is none; just a collection of distraught, disturbing scenes that display a reptilian, hollow way of movie direction.
the first half of the movie, that primarily focuses on the android-like training of the marines, would have been effective had it been juxtaposed with the usual camaraderie and banter of the trainees (like in Band of Brothers). it was creepily unnerving to see and hear joker, pyle and company talk to each other like they were from different solar systems. i've never been to military training camps, but surely soldiers everywhere develop affectionate rapports with their colleagues, right? then we switch over to a make-do Vietnam where the movie gets even shabbier. the fighting scenes look like enacted in a theater (slow motions groans and blood spill), the dialogs seem to have been scripted by arnold, stallone and vin diesel and the storyline seems like a headless chicken, going nowhere and painfully bleeding to death. What kind of a person in his senses would walk onto the war-front, with a peace symbol and a gory message printed on his helmet at the same time, and then expect to justify himself by explaining Jungian philosophy to ticked off soldiers? enough said. time to put a FMJ in the original reels of this nonsense.
Seven Pounds (2008)
Seven Sounds...of boredom.
This movie epitomizes what Will Smith has slowly become- A transgressor of good themes. Just like in I am Legend and Hancock, a theme with amazing potential is dealt with in such a highhanded, absurdly depressing fashion that it leaves you wondering about Smith's psyche. Compare him to someone like DiCaprio, a lot of whose movies also end with his death but they sync with the script! Whereas with Smith, it's just his personal, arrogant tryst with "acting".
Seven Pounds has no body of logic, pun intended. Ben's method of choosing deserving recipients is idiotic. He chooses Ezra because he is slow to anger? WTF. What he really wanted was a jelly willed person who'd swallow a loadful of insults with a smile. Does that make a person good? Was Ezra not retaliating because he had a inferiority complex and fear of being hounded by a lunatic, or because he truly didn't mind the vilification? And apart from Dawson, there is no time given to show Ben's interaction with the rest of his beneficiaries. It's not clearly shown how Ben's brother receives his lung, and who gets the liver, bone marrow and kidney. I had to read the FAQ section on IMDb to get it straight. And he chose the Hispanic women because she was too proud to ask for help? My impression was that she was just scared out of her wits. The only creditable part of the whole slow-motion pseudo film-noire montage was the chemistry between Smith and Dawson. She was convincing in her portrayal of a sub-urban, lonely woman with a weak heart.
Ben however, came across as a very irritated, egoistical man who'd find it really tough to garner any sympathy from the audience. His was of redeeming himself for accidentally killing seven persons is a laughable short cut to get rid of his guilt. Being a fairly healthy, young man, he could have donated his body organs at the end of his natural life and still saved quite a few people. What you'd expect him to do is to do something for the unprivileged people throughout his life, thus really making atoning for his carelessness while driving. Especially since he was a MIT engineer with a bright career and money, there were a thousand ways he could have done so much more, like sponsoring/adopting needy children or setting up schools in sub-Saharan Africa and so forth. However, what he does do is donate his seaside mansion to an abused wife and her two kids; a place that could have catered to fifty kids if turned into an orphanage. Even if he was hell-bent on helping the Hispanic, could he not just have disposed her junky boyfriend? He was anyway going to suicide, so why not take a few bad guys with him? And making out with Dawson when she had a weak heart was akin to a homicide. Maybe the self-loathing chap wanted a last hurrah before going out. And where did he get a poisonous jellyfish? Besides, the poison would have made his heart useless anyway. Not to mention the danger posed to paramedics who'd have hauled him out of the iced water tub. His warning note wouldn't be of much help as any medic would first attend to a body rather than read notes.
And worst of all, the poor Dawson has to live the guilt all her life because he made double sure everyone knew what he had done.
School of Rock (2003)
funny attempt at creating a new genre- school rock
School of rock is in the end, a simplistic comedy movie and should be judged in that light. So I tried to ignore the logical bypasses in it, and after that it came out as a nice, clean entertainer. I felt the film seems funnier while watching than if you think about it after it ends. Jack Black brings a certain comic timing to it that makes you tickle, inspite of all his 'overacting' in parts.
The movie deserves credit for the concept, cast selection and situational humor. Also, in this age of cheap pop music, a little passionate infusion of Rock culture is a welcome change. The kids did a fine job considering their ages and the limited scope and screenspace presented to them, as Black dominated the movie quite thoroughly. The bottled-up principal and Black's room mates were fine too. The parents though, could have been better than the headless chickens shown.
As for the drawbacks, I found several though some might be overlooked in the movie's genre. Black comes across as a non conformist with his aversion to dieting, drugs, girls and rest of the habits dogging most rock wannabes. However, some of his takes on Rock music are so cliché' it's difficult to accept his credibility as a free-thinking musician. The over-the-top antics on solos, diving in the crowd, praying to some rock god, driving a junky wagon are just the sort of stupid conformism he fights against. While he dresses in a school uniform for the concert, the rest of the kids are in some alternate, disjointed clothing and sporting crazy hairdos disputing the very theme of the movie- That you don't need to be a freak and lead an unhealthy lifestyle to be a rock artist. Also the slanders to classical music were uncalled for; the very reason that those kids were able to pick up rock instruments so fast was because of their training in classical. Ahem, they could have made someone else sing the songs
Jack was really ordinary in the concert.
But yes, if taken in a light hearted way, the movie was a genuine entertainer and well worth a watch.
Kaminey (2009)
Kaminey...the rascals are here!
At first when I heard the title 'Kami**y', I thought it was kept for its eye catching appeal. I mean, I couldn't remember a single Bollywood movie which had kept a swear word for a title. Then I saw it
oh yes, it fits it perfectly! The best thing about the movie is that it doesn't focus on any lead character; its not about the stammering Guddu who is thumped throughout by everyone and who doesn't bat an eyelid before choosing his wife over his brother; its not about Priyanka who is bold enough about her knowledge of "home science", is cool about abortion and even shooting her sly brother when irritated enough. And it's not even about Charlie, whose greed doesn't abandon him till the very end, even after he is shot; mercifully there was no cliché 'bad guy giving up a shady life eventually' scenario here. And that is how it is in reality- morals hardly ever substitute for money.
And thus the movie is actually about the kami**y, the cold blooded men who do anything for the two driving engines of ambition- power and money. The movie commendably manages to bring together the baddies from all facets of society; from the sophisticated Bengali bookies to the jingoistic, vituperative local goons wannabe politicians to the ruthless underworld to the blatantly corrupt underbelly of the police. Even a few foreign drug peddlers thrown in for good measure! The end is gory and satirical, with shades of Enemy of the State. Add to this the jagged, raw music reminiscent of Pulp Fiction, dark humor that often has you in splits and the style of narration, which makes you think rather than being spoon fed the plot and what we have is another masterpiece after Omkara.
Its tough to find fault with a gem like this but perhaps the only area that lacked conviction was the appearance of the mafia in the enemy's lair with their guns not drawn and just half a dozen men. Not surprisingly, it does little to mar the beauty of it all. A must watch!
The Contract (2006)
The contract...to bore u to death
a lots been written already, and satisfactorily its mostly bad so i'd like to just add a few points that make this movie so disgustingly lame.
1) Freeman shoves the billionaire's son in front of a speeding vehicle to kill him in broad daylight...for a secretive man he doesn't give much thought to neighbors, passerby or the motorist reporting him.
2) he takes a team of 4 military men to snipe an old goat whose supposed to be attending his son's funeral including a field tracker so you'd think getting at the target would be more difficult than shooting him from behind a bush.
3) the marshals escort Freeman in a car which doesn't even have bulletproof glass n fall for the pre-historic trick of faking a roadblock. Their captain even tells his man to go help the road blockers as if they were out on a picnic.
4)freeman didn't seem all too wet after coming out of the river. Then cusack decides to risk his son's life just cuz his ego was taunted by freeman? 5) the bad guys say that by morning every cop in the state would be after them...but all we see was the three dysfunctional feds, two fat cops and two paramedics in a copter! 6) the shooting is awful..really pathetic and the only thing that sucks more is the goofy romance shown between cusack and the girl...
7) lastly there is no state alert for freeman n he rents a room at a motel, places the kid in it n then gets a sniper gun and is at the graveyard. the sniper, getting paid half a million!, misses again and is mercifully killed. Freeman doesn't even ask him who hired him. Very professional, all of it.
i think its Freeman's worst yet...truly terrible
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Astro...NOT Farmer
I believe the people are getting way too generous to be giving this piece of Ranch Junk a rating of over six! Those of u who have been lucky enough not to watch this till now and are craving for a "Pursue ur Dreams and don't give up hope" sort of cinema, watch October Sky. You'll get more than your money's worth.
A movie like this works when you can identify with the aspirations of the lead and sympathies with his limitations and difficulties faced in achieving them. I doubt anyone other than a sadist can do all this with Farmer. I mean, how deranged and cold blooded can a man be? First, he spends all his time and money building a rocket out of junk (SwatKATs anyone?), bringing his family to bankruptcy. Second, he pulls his baby daughters out of school so he can teach them science (and make them bring him food n praise his tin can incidentally). Third, he makes his 15 yr old bald son controller of his mission, a work that's usually done by people double PHd in aeronautics or its like...Fourth, he decides to launch his rocket out of his barn, as if that wont incinerate his the damn barn, his house, ranch, his cattle and his family who watch from a few meters away from a rickety trailer! Hold on, in his first attempt he did it while his wife was snoozing, giving her a wake up call with shattering window glass as he took off! Fourth, he buys a joyride for his kids, when he is going bankrupt..and when his very understanding wife points out they are running out of money to buy even food, he goes hysterical howling about there being enough food by tearing a carton full of canned food. Next, his wife makes a silvery space suit for him as if he was going in a costume party. And yeah, he reenters the atmosphere suddenly being off course and lands almost in his backyard...and all these years the poor NASA had to launch aircraft carriers in 1000 or so square mile radius to find earlier astronauts. And lastly, he refuses an offer by bruce willis to go to space in a NASa shuttle cuz of his weird ego, risking his family no probs! Man, i think they should have named the movie "The Astronaut Joker", so at least it would have justified all this dark comedy.
Prison Break (2005)
Prison Break when it started...but now, give me a break
The series is undoubtedly one of the best in terms of storyline, acting and cinematography. A lot of the positives however have already been mentioned by other people here, so I'd mention some of the flaws I've observed.
1) Michael plans everything out, except for disguising himself and his brother after they break out. They occasionally walk around with caps and shades, but honestly he could have at least come up with wigs, beards or colored contact lenses.
2) Teabag seems to be invincible. You chop his hand off, and he manages to carry it all night to a vet and get it reattached without even taking anesthetics! With that kind of a blood loss and pain, i dunno if anyone can keep conscious for more than a few hours. You torture him, ripping his stitches n all, and he manages to actually detach his hand off n escape!Pin his hand to the floor with a knife, or beat him black and blue, he is healed and active in no time...way to go.
3) US prison guards are one heck of a trained unit! A guy with a severed hand manages to stumble to freedom under their noses when they had cordoned off the area and had sniffer dogs hounding the countryside( the smell of his dripping blood should have had dogs tearing after him). A bunch of exhausted outlaws manage to outrun them, after they had missed their plane and were just a couple of hundred meters ahead of them! Next, Bellick can't even take a shot at Michael, who was hanging from a train and was not more than 10 meters away.
4) The Panamanian general was so stupid as to go arresting organized criminals with a couple of lazy soldiers? How can Whistler live in a wall in a smelly sewer, eating raw rats for weeks n still emerge out looking so normal? Most people would have been driven insane, looked underfed and would be riddled with diseases...but he looked in prime health. Some stamina, mate! 5)Mahone, with all his wit n cunning, could not have faked the encounter of that 'baseball card thief' any worse. I mean, he was wicked enough with Abruzzi and the retarded guy, so how come he shot the kid in a manner even a school boy would not take be genuine? 6)The manner in which Mahone n Schofield managed to go in and retrieve the computer guy's device from a high security premise was laughable...What kind of professionals fall for the age old trick of false alarm n all abandoning of posts to check it out? 7) How can a MNC like Gate not have photo record of one of it's employee?If Teabag can pose as an award winning salesman in US where his posters r all over the place , then its really a cause of worry for homeland security, huh!
Heroes (2006)
Heroes or Zeroes?
The problem with superheroes is that they never use their powers intelligently, the exception being Batman who incidentally doesn't have a supernatural ability anyway.
With Heroes, the problem gets worse. For not only are the characters perpetually confused about their abilities, even when they do manage to use them it doesn't look spectacular (their de-facto saving grace). Its amazing how none of them try to explore the extent of their powers by practicing in free time but are totally engrossed in the tragedy of their everyday lives as if having special powers was just a Sunday hobby. Along the way, logic is given the bypass and the screen play is erratic, mostly leading to anti-climatic endings. I'll assess some of the main characters here- The main protagonist is Peter Petrelli, and he not only absorbs everyone's ability, but also their idiocy. His brain becomes increasingly dysfunctional with every episode, and he looks more and more bewildered and retarded with every power he absorbs. His trademark expression is the one u see on a guy after he is slapped within an inch of his life. He is taught to control his powers by an invisible tramp in Batman Begins style( during his time with The League of shadows),but looks too rushed n unconvincing. He absorbed a host of abilities from Sylar apart from telekinesis like freezing, hearing, liquidation of metal n sylar's own ability to know how things worked but never ever uses them. there is also no mention of what abilities he picked up from Deveaux n his own mother n father...At the end of season one, he doesn't use his ability of time travel or flying when about to explode, n has to rely of his brother to scoot him off into the sky to save the day. Its amazing how his bro, keeping so aloof from his ability is able to use it so much better than the ever trying Peter. By the way, did no one is US question when a nuclear explosion happened over New York? 'Save the cheerleader, save the world'?honestly, it could not be lamer than this. Her story is the most irritating of all, for inspite of being given lot of screen space, her character doesn't evolve. Every scene with her has to end with her dad hugging her(Claire-bear?) n planting a kiss on her head, so much so that the series appear to be a tributary to the never ending pathos of a father who has a teenage daughter. One would have thought that at the point where Noah fakes her escape by taking a bullet n getting his memory erased would put an end to the melodrama n we'd c a new, tough claire emerge...but no..the dad made a return..only to be shot in the head n just when we again started to get our hopes up...alas, he is brought back to life to torment us with his whining( He cares for his son a tad more than he does for Mr.Muggles). The injuries she self inflicts continuously r random n psychotic, n after 2 seasons n hours of screen time, we end up seeing her making a video of herself again...trying to come in front of a train! What the hell is that for?Who cares how mangled she can become? Then we have doctor Mohinder, who speaks with a fake British accent n is easily the clown of the show. 1) He speaks in English with his father, mother, friends, colleagues n even street urchins, all of whom are Indians, rather than in his native Tamil or at least Hindi!When they can show Hiro speaking in Japanese, Maya in Spanish...then why the exception for Indians? 2) From what angle does Prof. Suresh look like Mohinder's dad? 3)How did he manage to get a license to drive a taxi in New York just like that? 4)How can he put his work on the properties of Claire's blood on the internet n the company do nothing about it? 5) why is a metropolis like Madras( n incidentally a Tamilian will pronounce it as Chennai for sure) be shown to be a village? 6)Evolution is cited to be the reason for the special powers...well, then how can abilities of people like Micah be accounted for? Mother nature knows about existence of computers? or of the guy who can turn metal into gold...nature wants to make some people rich through evolution? There was too much delving on the personal life of Parkman...heck, who cares about his stupid wife? Sylar collects abilities but likes to use only telekinesis, in a Star Wars fashion too. Blonds can sneak upon him inspite of his advanced hearing, he cant take a scissor away from his 70 something mother without stabbing her with it n a boy can run him through with a sword, even when he saw him coming. And how did he manage to crawl all the way from the middle of a dense jungle into US in season 2? Hiro had acted well for most part, but u gotta say that with ability like his..u don't need anyone else to save the world..all u need to do is stop time n chop all bad guys' head off, right? Err...Wasn't the space-time continuum broken when he went back to past to warn Peter about saving the cheerleader n new york didn't explode? It was definitely more important a change then if he would have saved his father...N how lame is practicing sword fighting for half a day in a storeroom n coming out ready for battle?? i guess i can go on rambling...but have to say...Heroes turned out to be big zeroes...
Ghajini (2008)
Aamir not at his best...
For the past 10 years Aamir Khan (AK) has been the torchbearer of Bollywood, often saving it from becoming the laughing stock of the film fraternity, which regrettably it threatens to ever so often by relying on sheer star power and publicity to get senseless movies to top the Box Office (read OSO and RNBDJ). His films generate curiosity which is unprecedented, the build up to the release often like the lull before the big storm. Sadly, with Ghajini the storm never arrived.
Aamir has well earned the tag of Perfectionist, but this film ridicules the very same, even keeping in mind that he had given the director a free reign to make this 'fantasy'. The film, in lieu with Sanjay Singhania is beefed up with flaws, some so obvious that even the license of a fantasy shouldn't excuse for them. The inspector doesn't think of taking any constabulary or backup with him while waiting for AK to show up in the bus, he doesn't plant a cop on the bus nor does he notice AK getting off it though he was chasing it with a clear view. Then in true South Indian fashion, he goes to arrest AK solo and unarmed, in the end resolving to smash him with a baseball bat...thats police procedure for u. AK leaves his fingerprints on everything concievable, never hides his face or name and address nor does he even believe in locking his flats' doors...just goes on a killing rampage that goes unnoticed.
Ghajini is head of a pharma major, yet struts around with street loafers and strongmen without arousing suspicion. When AK kills his man in the parking lot, his croons descend on him firing bullets, yet don't give a chase when he disappears around a pillar! Ghajini sports a switch on/off haryanvi accent, yet dresses in South Indian fashion for the most part and is perpetually in his 'factory' with his croons when shown at work. Is he head or sales manager? even though he has a laughable army of thugs to do his dirty work, he openly hounds his victims, killing them brutally without fear of arrests or suspicion of his involvement. And yet he is shown to be concerned his name would be dragged if his men shot a drugged AK, and rather decides to turn him into a 'vegetable'. Someone should have told him that the kind of arrangement AK had made originally, he could have done it again too. And when he finally decides to wait for AK to show up for the finale, he chooses a slum to be his den and arms his men with the toolbox ( hammer, rods, axes, logs etc)to fight. What happened to the pistols they were brandishing throughout the movie? Surely, it would be a much safer option against a pumped up monster? Even the fabled ghajini himself doesn't even carry a pistol...talk about love of the gore.
Asin was really refreshing and held up well against a charming AK..yet was essentially thick as a Big Mac. She roamed around with him for over an year, yet never noticed his very obviously expensive Van Huesen apparel, his expensive shoes, watch, goggles, cellphone....? And if u converse for over an year with a Harvard educated bloke, is it possible to confuse him with a broke, struggling actor? Did she never notice his credit cards, never asked about his work, about his background...? surely a girl does that to a guy she is going out with and agrees to marry. What the heck, she never even inquires where he lives.
And how come she kept bagging advertisements, when AK proved not to be beneficial at all to her ad firm. And Sanjay Singhania was surely no Dark Lord or Voldemort who kept his face hidden...so why the hell did no one ever see through Sachin?
Jiah Khan didn't look bright enough to be a medical student, especially after the way she waded through Ak's carnage in the slum to keep a tab on his destruction after having read how brutal Ghajini can be...what kind of girl is not freaked out by a guy who plays hockey with 6 inch thick metal pipes and live human heads for balls?
The movie would have been far more interesting had the director shown how AK started out after Asin dies and he received head injuries...glimpses of how he builds up his physique, collects info on the crooks and adjusts to his wretched lifestyle would have been nice. They never show how he gets to eat...also, beefing up muscles is one thing...but becoming a street fighter another. They never show how he trains to fight....some of his moves were from the olympic wrestler's dictionary.
Well...overall it is a good masala timepass flick...but fell way short of the expectations from Mr.Khan.
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008)
The title says it all...you cant know about this one
After quite sometime, Bollywood promised to deliver a movie that appeared delightfully fresh and tempting...at least in the promos. Lets face it guys- An Aamir Khan production, Rehman's youthful music and charming looking freshers really had me rubbing my hands, bringing with it the nostalgia of a Dil Chahata Hai, but alas! the last thirty minutes or so makes you feel terribly betrayed; a kick between your legs, yipes! The plot, as admitted by the makers themselves really had nothing new, the same'ol best friends discovering that stupid cupid had a couple of arrows for their butts after all. What was promised however, was a certain freshness in its depiction, and with Mr.Khan's banner, we tend to associate that with a gravity of realism in the story. The movie started of nicely enough, peppered with great songs and lots of partying and goofing, with Imraan really putting in a convincing portrayal of a sweet guy. I found the songs to be too closely packed in the first half, with the last half missing out on everything.
One particularly disappointing thing about the film was that it had no surprises to offer...you knew where it was heading all along. The moronic horse which somehow managed to creep into every scene told you it would sooner or later come into action..and sadly in did that in the filmiest of ways, the same type that spoilt Metro. The comedy in the movie is great in patches, though mostly you get the feel its the kind that is customized for the bunch of friends shown, what we call internal jokes. The first cameo by the Khan brothers in the disco was fab, but the brothers reunion in the jail was dragged out of the 80's graveyard of bhai-bhai movies.
Somewhere in the second half, the movie drifted away from reality and became the masala flick which is so hard to digest, from French salad to French fries. The director tried to explore too many characters, with only Aditi's brother really coming through flying colours. He was brilliant. Both Jai and Aditi's love interests were too shallow, and it would have been interesting had the director shown Aditi's fiancée to be a decent guy rather than a brawny, possessive womanizer. Both Paresh Rawal and Naseeruddin Shah were wasted, and could have had more screen space. Lastly, the underlying hint of brawn as a pre-requisite of masculinity was sad to see ( the movie would have made Gandhiji roll in his grave).
Overall, it was refreshing, especially the music, though the ending was rather tiresome.
Gattaca (1997)
We knew about fitting in someone's shoes...well, now you have to fit in someone's genes
The movie is one of the finest in its category, with a cleverly knitted plot of threads of sci-fi, drama, irony and the human spirit to endeavor and achieve against all odds.
The chemistry between the two Jeromes is great, with both the actors putting in credible performances. The twists in the end, with Anton and the doctor are well inducted in the story and justly highlight the accomplishment of the genetically inferior protagonist.
Not taking anything away from the brilliance of the director, there are several oddities in the plot like the inability of Eugene to get artificial limbs in the supposedly futuristic age or the inhuman treatment affected to genetically inferior people even though there is a mention that genetic discrimination was illegal ( especially the way they are treated by the police during the investigation reminds one of Jews in the Holocaust ). And you can hardly expect space travelers to don three piece suits while boarding space ships, no matter how advanced technology might be. Another point to note is the contrasting behavior of the detective while questioning an elite employee ( Eugene ), when he started apologizing for a mere offensive remark and his unapologetic boldness while hinting an accusation at the Director of the firm! Minor oddities not counting, the film was a refreshing experience and a certain to make it to the best 'hope' films of all time.
Eklavya (2007)
To be or not to be...The Eklavya ( of Mahabharata )
On paper, this movie had all the makings of a classic...a hugely talented superstar cast, a unique and creative storyline and an artistic assortment of cinematic spices like emotion, tender romance, jealousy, greed, mystery and a lip smacking element of surprise in the end. Yet sadly on screen, the director fails to synchronize all these tools into a well oiled machine; in short, the movie fails to grip the audience.
going by its length, under two hours which is remarkably short for a Hindi movie, one would have expected the movie to unfold at breakneck pace...the kind of tempo that keeps your hips gyrating on the edge of the seat; however, the pace is sluggish for most parts.
set in a captivating palace of Rajasthan, it traces the emotional roller coaster ride of the royal palace guard Eklavya ( amitabh bachchan in a memorable performance ) who is put to the cruelest of altars in the end when he is faced with a choice between his loyalty and his son...
Saif ali khan as the son, Vidya balan and Sanjay Dutt all give beautiful performances, although the focus never really manages to shift out of the magnetic persona of Amitabh, who plays the role with such rigorous conviction that every crease in his face or every hint of a tear in his eyes more than makes up for the lack of dialogs in the movie..Eklavya is a movie of personal choices and the overly challenging task of choosing the lesser of the two wrongs, or for that matter, the better of the two rights...
barring the tortoise pace, which is not quite so bothersome as the screens blank under a couple of hours, the movie is quite worth watching for the sheer gravity of performances.
Main Hoon Na (2004)
A comedy of Errors.....what the heck, its not even a comedy!
I honestly think that people from the Bollywood fraternity should think twice before venturing into the complicated and demanding field of movie direction.
Main Hoon Naa is one of the most ridiculous movies ever to (dis)grace the screen. The film solely relies on the acting prowess of Shahrukh. The movie neither has a strong story line neither good action sequences. Farah Khan had tried to bake mush and brawl with sentiments and songs, but had ended up putting the owen on fire.
The opening action scene sums up the clumsiness of the director. In a high profile interview of the General of the Indian army, in a building guarded like Alcatraz by the armed forces, the terrorists are able to enter as audience with guns sticking out of their butts. Great! So the profound security system didn't even bother to search the audience before letting them in! ( you get better security at railway stations ).
Now once the fighting starts between Ram( shahrukh ), who like all Indian heroes goes alone, and Raghav( Suniel ),we get to hear that "backup" is on the way. However, Raghav after flooring Ram, walks away coolly from the building with his croonies! Hats off to our armed forces.
Now the story starts to really rot, when the General tells Major Ram that to ensure the success of Project Milaap, he must go and protect his daughter, who was supposedly on Raghav's hitlist and because she is not on talking terms with him , the great General. What was the director thinking? Does she believe that international decisions for India are governed by the whims and fancies of the Indian General? doesn't government or the rest of the defence board have any say in it? killing the general's daughter will destroy the project, which means the general will be so heartbroken that he will pull it off? Ha.
Then you have the usual bastard brother-legal brother love-hate drama to contend with, which in moments is humorous and enjoyable. However, the setting of the college is completely, and i mean completely, Bollywood style, with an idiotic principal, cartoon like teachers and a useless bunch of students who think study is a crime and manage to remain in the college after failing for years together. You see the faculty cheering when students engage in deadly stunts! Its a disgrace to the academic world, this movie! Hold on...the package also includes some completely moronic stunts, including one in which Ram manages to chase down a speeding SUV in a rickshaw! Really, the SUV manufacturers ought to have sued the producers. And by the way, what kind of trained terrorists can't shoot down a guy paddling a rickshaw like a circus monkey, especially when they are equipped with machine guns ans bazookas! The love stories are completely artificial and irritating as well. What kind of girl goes nuts over a guy who is a certified failure, has no money, dresses like a tramp, has no artistic skills and who considers her an ugly chick and doesn't mind speaking out his mind? beautiful girls have no taste left or what? And Ram, for all his army background, behaves like a loafer in front of Sushmita Sen.
The ending is as pathetic as rest of the movie, and is so predictable that i don't want to tell it just so to see the satisfaction on your faces that you got it right. See it only if you idolize shaharukh khan.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
A story of two couples in New York who cant decide on whether to suffer their own spouses or to suffer the other's .
Its just another candy floss mushy movie from the Karan Johar stable. Honestly, the guy has become so predictable in his ingredients, that its hard to tell the difference between the set up of one movie from the other. Lavish locations ( right now, he is after New york), punjabi weddings, one sad song, one disco song, one party song...., and very flowery, unnaturally polished language ( he just has a weird fascination for the word "sexy" for some reason ) The movie starts off on a very ignorant note, neatly reflecting on the IQ of the director. Dev ( Shahrukh Khan) is in the middle of a football match with a jam packed stadium. Anybody who knows a little about USA knows that football hardy generates any fervour there, let alone the frenzy of the spectators shown in the match.
Anyway, he obviously emerges as a winner in the match and signs a big contract. Meanwhile his wife Rhea ( Priety ) is appearing in an interview for an editor's post for a fashion magazine, dressed very appropriately like a slut. Again the director's ignorance is highlighted by the dresses he thinks fits a professional NRI woman of high fashion sense. Pathetic.
Things all go wrong between the two, when Dev gets crippled in an accident after delivering a very sharukh-type lecture to Maya ( rani ) on marriage and living life to the full. Honestly, people who are facing jolts in their own marriage should not really go for marriage advice. So while Dev sits in his home with his career over and wife being the income earner, Maya marries Rishi ( Abhishek ) and is the worst possible kind of wife ( refuses romance all the time ), but johar in his own belief of woman being goddesses always shows poor Rishi to be the dirty culprit.
Another example of the director's stupidity arises by the way he tries to raise a few laughs by showing a football match between a regular boys team and a team coached by Dev. The skills which Dev the great must have had are justly shown indeed when he even fails to coach his own son even the basics of football. ( his son picks up the ball and hands it back to the keeper instead of tapping it in the empty goal ). Stupidity must have a limit.
Amitabh Bachchan, playing a playboy and Rishi's father is probably the funniest and the sickest character in the movie. The director must be applauded for the way he tries to convince the audience that amitabh, engrossed with call girls infront of his daughter in law, is just and good and moralistic, in a sickening speech delivered in a party.
Things get interesting when Maya and Dev get together to repair their crumbling marriages, but end up loving each other, in and out of bed. However, their marriages actually do get revived in the meantime and now they face a situation where they have to choose....
PS: the ending will make u wanna throw up, its so mediocre. The songs and the acting are the only things worth watching, apart from your watches ( 193 minutes ).