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Reviews
Boys (2003)
Revolutionary movie-making!
Firstly, this is to all the directors in Bollywood, take a cue from Shankar!
I'm not Tamil, but upon hearing the soundtrack, i just needed to watch the movie! And true to it, A R's music does hold the movie together, but it's also the great performances by the cast that actually did it for me! I saw the movie with subtitles so, I maybe a little off, but language shouldn't,t be a factor in judging movies. So here we go!
The plot seems to be a very tried and tested formula-college boys indulging in what college guys actually do; then poor boy meets rich girl, help each other out fall in love, elope, and through hard work achieve success. But, with a movie maker like Shankar, there's always more! As the plot advances and the Boys go through the tests of life, there are moments when you wonder if there is actually any other bad left that could happen to them! The range of problems cover almost everything ranging from pushy parents, arrested by cops, the usual finances or the lack of it, and the list seems endless! But even so, Shankar very carefully manages the script and prevents it from going haywire, most of it succeeds, thankfully!
Technically, the movie is as you'd expect a Shankar movie to be- brilliant! Some might disagree, but it is indeed the best in its kind! Shankar used the time-slicing method in the songs, not excellent, but worth a watch! The songs were well executed, "Secret of Success" had room for improvement. "Dating" was OK, "Maaro maaro" is too good! "Girlfriend" is vulgar in parts, but shot well!
Performance-wise the film scores a lot! Siddharth is too good, I saw him after RdB, and I know where he got it from now! Genelia, too, does a fantastic job, carefully balancing her character throughout the movie! The rest of the Boys too put up an authentic act as teens and the parents seem as natural as the can be-nasty, brutal and almost Fascist! Vivek steals a lot of the show as 'Mangalam Sir' and is pretty inspiring in some parts especially when he tries to convince the parents.
All in all, a great movie, with superb performances, great music and a cinematic delight!
Here are the Boys!
99 (2009)
A total laugh riot!!!
Me and my cousins just caught the movie today...and I must say, the movie left us laughing on the floor(figuratively, that is).
My one and only reason to go for this one was Cyrus Broacha, and after you've seen all his antics on MTV, you think what more can he offer. But watch out for him in this one!!! Ridiculously hilarious! Be it his humongous fat-suit or his Bombay attitude in Delhi, Cyrus makes you laugh and how! Didn't really expect anything from Kunal Khemu, but he does put up a pretty good act in this one! He gels perfectly with Cyrus and the two of them give a Laurel and Hardy type of feel to it! The supporting cast does a pretty good job, too. Boman Irani eases his part as a debt-ridden common man, befriending two bumbling extortionists(Cyrus and Kunal), and on the run from more of them! Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna too put up very realistic acts as underworld bookies and match-fixers respectively! Soha Ali Khan is not too good and not too bad, but doesn't stick out like an eye sore, thankfully! The best part of the movie is undoubtedly the slapstick comedy, hilarious situations and a very late 90's type of feel to it. Technically, I wouldn't say much, but in a time when Hindi movies are taking the off-beat theme, "99" scores a century!
The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman's better than ever!!!
Holy Cow! Batman's back! And this time its not only our Caped Crusader who gives an explosive performance, but believe it or not his arch-nemesis, The Joker(wonderfully, unimaginably, brilliantly portrayed by the Late Heath Ledger) is the actual show stealer. The movie keeps you hooked on to the screen from the very beginning till the credits start rolling. Christopher Nolan Proves it yet again that when it comes to movie making, he is THE Best!!!(Memento, Batman Begins & The Prestige proved it too) But The Dark Knight surpasses them all. With the kind of standard Batman Begins put, it was inevitable that The Dark Knight would deliver so much! The cast was amazing, as it is in any Nolan movie. Ledger's performance as the menacing, psychotic, scary, and every other word that can be used to describe a mad-man, was way, way, beyond amazing. Christian Bale's role as the multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne and as the Dark Knight was a hundred times better than any other person who have portrayed Batman.(No offense to Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney) The supporting cast was undoubtedly fantastic. Maggie Gylenhall added a lot of substance to the character of Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart was simply outstanding as Harvey Dent and the Two-Face. Sir Michael Caine, well, was as usual as his very great self as Alfred. Morgan Freeman put a lot of substance to Lucius Fox. Gary Oldman gave a stunning performance as Lieutenant and later on Commissioner James Gordon. Special effects were ground-breaking. Edge-of-the-seat chase sequences were one among the the many best parts of the movie. Also, Batman returns with a much more gritty and bone-crunching style of combat. Bottom line: A must see for any die hard fan of the Batman franchise, for those who wished that Batman Begins could have been better, to those who do not want to miss Heath Ledger's last and the best performance, not only of his, but also of any actor of our time. The Dark Knight will keep you on the edge of your seat for a long, long time!!!
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Wonderful!!! Simply outstanding!!!
From the very beginning I've been an Aamir Khan fan. His acting skills are beyond comparison. And now his he has also established himself as a fine director. Taare Zameen Par is not only an emotional and heart-warming movie, but also is very sensible, unlike most bollywood mind-bogglers. The real show stealer, however, was Darsheel Safary. I gotta admit, Aamir Khan was indeed lucky to get a fine kid like him. He's the one who holds the movie together. He put spirit in Ishaan's character. The plot is very unique as compared to most bollywood films. However, in actuality, dyslexia is very common among children, and this movie has been instrumental in spreading awareness about dyslexia and various other disabilities. Everything in this movie has been put together so well. The reactions schools, teachers and parents have towards children who are *unconventional* or more commonly described as *different* has been portrayed with exceptional skill. Bottomline: Masterpiece of a film, wonderful acting, great music. Definitely a must watch for kids and especially parents and teachers.
Ong-Bak (2003)
Brilliant movie!!!
Every generation has their Martial Arts icon. The 70's had Bruce Lee, followed by Chuck Norris. Later there was Segal, Van Damme, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan. Tony Jaa is the icon of the 21st century and will be the best after Lee. Ong Bak is a complete martial arts extravaganza, introducing the deadly yet awesome and elegant art of Muay Thai and Muay Boran., which were previously unknown to the world. His style is a blend of traditional as well as modern moves. Some of the knee strikes and flying kicks were really brilliantly choreographed. Each and every scene from the market chase to the fight club and the final showdown in the cave were brilliantly shot. The best part is that he didn't use any CGI or wire-fu. His side kick, Humlae, was a nice character. Bottomline: Excellent movie, mind blowing choreography, superb stunts, pretty good story line, cool acting by Jaa and the others...any more reasons you need to watch it?
High School Musical 2 (2007)
Pretty satisfying....but not that good!
Alright, I was really excited about this one. But it kinda let me down. Not that it was boring, HSM2 just didn't have that magic of the first one. The script grew weak in many places, particularly the relationship between Troy and Gabriella and Sharpay just bored the hell out of me. The only worthwhile characters in this movie were Chad and Ryan(surprisingly). The choreography was fantastic, definitely much, much better than the first one, the songs were also pretty OK, but 'I Don't Dance' was rocking. That song had got the best choreography and music of both the movies. Bottomline: Pretty good movie, but watch it with lots of patience and don't miss the song I Don't Dance.
Anthony Kaun Hai? (2006)
A really good and well made movie!!!
One of my friends told me about this film and I made up my mind to watch it. The result: a surprisingly well made movie! Arshad Warsi's acting was too good. Loved Minnisha Lamba's role too. Sanjay Dutt's extended guest appearance was not as I had anticipated, but pretty good none the less. And I particularly liked Gulshan Grover's role as the Interpol cop. Anusha Dandekar was completely useless in the movie. Raghuveer Yadav was also nice. I loved the whole setting of the movie. The Thai essence was very well captured in the movie. The locations were awesome. The whole feel of the movie was really nice. Some of the songs were shot in really nice places particularly the one "Tune Mera Chain Vain Le Liya". Himesh's music was more or less like his other movies. But I liked "Saawariya" the best. The humor in the movie was pretty good. I loved the two Hit-Men who tried to kill Arshad. The chemistry between Arshad and Sanjay was a little cold, but is worth a watch. I love Minnisha Lamba in the mo via. She really looks very pretty. Bottom Line: It is a movie with a very different plot and idea than the other Bollywood movies. Definitely a movie worth watching. If not for Sanjay Dutt, watch it for Arshad, he really rocks!!!
Anniyan (2005)
How Anniyan influences people
When I first read the preview of this movie in the papers, I really wanted to see it somehow. After about a couple of months it released on VCD and I immediately got it. After seeing it was a little disappointed as i thought in would have aliens and magical curses and and stuff. But any way it was an enjoyable experience. The action sequences are ground breaking for Indian cinema. Vikram's acting is totally fantastic! It is a must watch for all action movie buffs. Plus its got catchy songs too! It truly reflects the nature of corruption seen in India and gives a strong message to everyone that there is always someone to deliver justice and punish those who sin.