Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sydney White 2007


Our fair maiden Sydney (Amanda Bynes) doesn’t have coal-black hair or sing with a sweet voice or have woodland creatures following her around. Instead, the tomboy grew up on construction sites with her widower dad (John Schneider), a plumber who guided Syd as best he could. But now the time has come for the gorgeous freshman to head to Southern Atlantic University to pledge her late mom’s once-dignified sorority, where she meets this story’s version of the Wicked Queen: the vain and evil Rachel (Sara Paxton), president of the sorority. Let’s just say Sydney does not fit in, and Rachel sends the soon-to-be fairest of them all to the curb. Luckily, there’s a condemned frat house right next door, with seven very socially challenged guys--each with a familiar "Dwarf"-like quality. They take Sydney in, and soon, with the help of one love-struck frat boy named Tyler Prince (Matthew Long), she and the seven doofuses campaign to take over the student government—and push out the Greek system that has ruled for too long.
Acting Tween sensation Amanda Bynes knows exactly where her bread is buttered. With star vehicles such as What a Girl Wants, She's the Man and now Sydney White, the comic actress keeps playing slightly different versions of the same character: a pretty, if goofy and klutzy, young woman whose vivaciousness usually changes everything for the better. And whether her fluff movies grate or not, you can’t fault Bynes, who clearly knows what works for her. Paxton (Aquamarine) is perfectly predictable as the mean girl, . But the seven guys playing the nerds do a nice job of reinventing their dwarfishness, be it sneeziness, sleepiness, bashfulness, dopeyness—you know the rest. The only dork who didn’t quite mesh with his inner-“Dwarf” was the one called Spanky (Samm Levine), who is more horny than “Happy.” I guess in the fairytale there really isn’t a Lusty dwarf, even though you’d think at some point at least one of them must have had a few untoward thoughts about Snow White. They were little but still men.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry



Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames
Directed by: David Dobkin


Date Seen; 22-11-08

Rating 2/5


Gay Movie.Say it isn't so. Not that Adam Sander as Chuck and Kevin James as Larry play idiot hetero fireman who fake being gay for health benefits. I mean that Sideways writers Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor actually contributed to a script that trots out every fag joke -- yes, even dropping the soap -- and then tells us how wrong it is to laugh. No comedy this year can beat this dud for mealy-mouthed hypocrisy

Brave One

Release Date: 2007-09-14
Starring: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen
Directed by Neil Jordan
Produced by Joel Silver, Susan Downey
Written by Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor and Cynthia Mort
Date Seen ; 20-11-2008

Rating 4/5

With Panic Room, Flight Plan, and now The Brave One, Jodie Foster is on the verge of becoming an action star. And odd career move for an actress on the down side of forty. If she has to get wrapped up in ass-kicking though, The Brave One is the way to do it. The movie takes a familiar genre, the vigilante revenge flick, and for a change takes it seriously. I’m not talking about the way Christopher Nolan takes Batman seriously, after all it’s still a guy in a cape running around overreacting to his parents’ death. Let’s face it, that never made a whole lot of sense. Get over it already Bats. The Brave One is an examination of what it might take for a real person to become a vigilante, an examination of what might drive a normal woman to become judge, jury, and executioner. The normal woman in question is Erica (Foster), host of a low-rent weekend radio show in New York City and engaged to a sexy, swarthy doctor. During and evening stroll in Central Park, Erica and her fiancée are attacked by a gang of thugs. Her future husband is beaten to death, and she’s left severely injured and hospitalized. When Erica gets out, she’s not consumed by a need for revenge, but rather completely overtaken by fear. The city she’s known and loved her entire life now terrifies her. After several failed attempts she finally makes it out her front door, jumping at shadows and fighting down the constant, overwhelming urge to run home screaming. Her tragedy has left her irrevocably altered, but she’d determined not to let the fear she now feels rule her. So, as so many have before her, Erica buys a gun. Still frightened but feeling empowered, she walks the city, fighting down her terror until tragedy strikes again. She witnesses a convenience store robbery and in an act of self-defense shoots the robber dead. It’s as if her eyes have been opened to an entirely new world. Erica faced her fears, and shot them dead. Determined never to be afraid again, Erica takes to the streets, intentionally putting herself in more and more dangerous situations as if daring the world to give her its best shot. The criminals of the city are more than happy to oblige, seeing only a seemingly defenseless white woman in a place where she probably shouldn’t be. When she attacks, Erica responds with deadly force, becoming a vigilante. With every encounter she grows more confident, but begins to wonder if she’s losing herself in the process. Tracked by the police and hounded by her own conscience, The Brave One uses her vigilantism as a way of exploring the terrible emotional toll taken on survivors of violent crime. Whether or not Erica gets the bad guys, or whether or not the police catch her becomes much less interesting than understanding what it is that’s driven Erica to this. More than anything The Brave One is about dealing with fear and surviving in spite of it. In exploring what it’s done to Erica, Jodie Foster gives one of the best performances of her career. So does Terrence Howard as a conflicted, honest police detective who befriends her, and then ends up hunting her. Director Neil Jordan’s carefully crafted film doesn’t have Jodie Foster swooping down from rooftops on a zip line, but it’s one of the best vigilante themed movies I’ve ever seen. The Brave One takes a fairly obvious, overused movie conceit and uses it to explore something much deeper and more real than you’d ever expect. That only serves to heighten the film’s tense, utterly believable action sequences, even if they aren’t the real focus of the script. If there’s any flaw in the movie at all, then it happens in the last five minutes when Howard’s policeman character makes an unlikely decision. His actions undermine some of the realism of the rest of the film has worked so hard to set up, but those five minutes aren’t enough to kill the smart work that came before it. Before you get all excited about the next man-in-tights superhero flick or watch Kevin Bacon shave himself bald and put on revenge-themed eye makeup for Death Sentence, make it a point to seek out The Brave One.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

EMI

Date seen: 21/11/2008
Rating: 2/5

Staring : sanjay dutt, arjun rampal, urmila


EMI dealing with the theme of credit cards and bank loans couldn't have had a more apt release timing in phase of global recession. Despite that it fails to generate interest for its juvenile outlook towards the issue. The story initiates in four individual installments. Ryan (Arjun Rampal) is a DJ at a nightclub and survives on credit cards to meet his high-end lifestyle. Anil (Ashish Chaudhary) and Shilpa (Neha Uberoi) opt for loans for their needs ranging from car, home to honeymoon. Chandrakant (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) takes a personal loan for his son's foreign education. Prerna (Urmila Matondkar) is seeking insurance cover of her deceased husband and needs money to manipulate the case. When they all are unable to repay their monthly installments, the bank hires recovery agent Sattar Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) to get its money back. While you expect Sattar and his gang to threaten the bank borrowers, the recovery agent seems to be on a divergently different drive. He acts as a marriage counselor for Anil and Shilpa who are on the verge of separation. He plays agony uncle to Chandrakant whose son steers away from responsibility. He works as a placement agency for Ryan offering him new job opportunities. And since the film lacked an obligatory love-track, Sattar bhai is made to romance Prerna. By now you know where the film is heading but the movie tagline still inspired me to sit through. Ticket liya hai, dekhna to padega. What next you ask? All the borrowers are changed beings and suddenly also capable enough to clear off their credits. If it was so convenient to compensate and if recovery agents were so accommodating, one wonders where the problem lied, in first place. And before you realize, the film ends with a message saying 'take loans responsibly'. Wish the producers would have invested more responsibly in better scripts. The basic message that EMI intends to give is how humans consent to loans without a foresight and consequently end up in trouble for lack of planning. But there is considerable lack of planning in scripting the film, particularly in the second half. The solution that it offers to credit concerns is absurd and impractical. The editing seems to be slack and some scenes in the second half are absolutely unnecessary. The acts are as uninspiring as the narrative. Arjun Rampal's mode of payment and performance are both plastic. Ashish Chaudhary and Neha Uberoi are equally artificial. Sanjay Dutt looks uninterested and his chemistry with Urmila is clearly cold. Manoj Joshi hams and Snehal Dhabi has been repeating the same sidekick act from Satya till Welcome. Malaika Arora shouldn't have attempted acting over the two item numbers allotted to her. Credit it to the lackluster direction but EMI fails to generate interest even in installments. You certainly can't bank upon this one for entertainment. The next time any call-center employee pesters you with free credit-card offers, recommend EMI to pay them back.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi Music review

Music of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, 2008’s most anticipated movie, directed by Aditya Chopra after a gap of 8 years has finally hit the stores. This film has a lot of expectations considering it’s the first release of Shahrukh Khan this year, debutant Anushka Sharma who is creating a lot of buzz among the crowd, combination of Shahrukh and Aditya which created history with DDLJ in 1995, and Yash Raj Films, which are looking for a big hit this year.In Bollywood, music of the movie plays a vital role in the success of the movie and if the songs are good then half of the battle is won. Looking back at the track record of Salim – Sulaiman, who also gave the music for Chak De India in 2007 and Fashion this year, winning half of the battle doesn’t seem to be a big problem. And yes, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi succeeds in every department. The power of this soundtrack lies in its simplicity. Let’s get a song by song review of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
Verdict- In an age where songs and their remixes are filled with rapping, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stays away from this. It’s, unequivocally, a gem for the music lovers and the best soundtrack of 2008.It takes you to those good old days when music was simple and great and at the same time, it has the modern touch to capture universal attention. There is nothing wrong with the soundtrack, no remix, no rapping and most of the songs are of short length which is a big bonus. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi is a kaleidoscopic soundtrack which is a must in everyone’s collection.

Ghajini Preview


The film has always been in news because of various reasons and has created some amount of Hype around it already . But the trailer might slow down the hype to an extent. The trailer for me first of all was very “Thunda” and nothing except the music of it left me wanting for more .The first trailer of a supposedly Psychological Action Thriller shows the lead actor Dancing in some exotic locations of probably Namibia . The lead actor flaunting his six packs and the lead girl Shriya smiling her way into his heart in a fantasy land . If we leave the dancing part then there is very much less left in the trailer and that part also is very weak . We only get to see Aamir Khan throwing a punch at a person which is a typical South Indian film Punch that usually Rajnikanth throws in his flicks .For all the guys that don’t know this film is a remake of a south-Indian flick of the same name which in turn was majorly inspired by the Hollywood Psycho-Thriller “Memento” directed by Brilliant Director Christopher Nolan . You all might have seen The Dark Knight which is also directed by Nolan so you know his Brilliance . “Memento” is a very unusual film and if made in an exact manner as it is , would never work among Indian audience . It has a very non-linear Narrative style and something quite complicated for our audience that loves David Dhawan type of cinema . The story of memento is as such that there can’t be any song sequence anywhere . It is an intense film with no light moments . I don’t know how would the Director Murugadoss manage to break into a random song sequence in such an intense story .
I’ve not seen the Tamil version so can’t comment on the film but I just hope that it does not turn out to be a south Indian commercial film with defiance of all logic . From the looks of the trailer it looks like the film would be more commercial in nature and would work amongst commercial cinema loving audience . The only thing that I loved about the trailer was the fantastic music by ARR and the humming by Sonu Nigam . I always expect something like Lagaan or TZP from Aamir , off beat yet entertaining . I hated Fanaa though it was a huge commercial success . Its just that I don’t like to see Aamir in commercial cinema . One thing that goes against Ghajini is the fact that none of the Directors form South apart from Mani Ratnam have succeeded in Hindi film Industry . Ghajini won’t have much of future in South also since they have already seen the film with their favourite actor .
In all , the trailer didn’t work for me as I was expecting it to be something unusual . This turned out to be like thousands of trailers in the past and probably even worse . This trailer I am sure would be loved by Die-Hard Aamir fans since he is in a completely new look and also doing some good moves in the trailer . A very so so first trailer of a very much anticipated film of the year . I have huge expectations from this film considering the bad year this has been for films and I just hope Ghajini doesn’t turn out to be a Rajni .

Yuvraaj Review

Release Date: 21/11/08
One of the big releases of the year , the much awaited Subhash Ghai’s Yuvraaj , is all set to release and the first promos have hit the cinema halls . The film as we know starrs Salman Khan and Katrina together after a long time . In “Partner” they were not opposite each other . Apart from them the film also has Subhash’s favourite Anil Kapoor and Zaayed Khan . The music is by the maestro himself , A. R. Rehman and the Lyrics are by the wordsmith Gulzaar sahaab . The duo together have given musical masterpieces like Dil Se , Yuva and Guru , all being with Mani Ratnam . This time they team up with Subhash Ghai who has also given musical hit like Taal . Yuvraaj is also a film in the Taal category i.e. a Musical Love Story . Taal is one of ARR’s best works and the movie is also one of the best from Subhash Ghai . Lets hope they are able to create the same magic once again after almost Ten Years .
The magic that I am expecting gives a glimpse of itself in the promos of the film . The first trailer starts off with some musical notations being shown in the light of some candles . After that starts a beautiful orchestration in the background and we see a glimpse of all the lead actors of the film one by one . First we see a little younger looking Salman and then the eternal beauty Katrina playing a Cello . After her we see Anil Kapoor with a bouquet of flowers giving his innocent smile even at this age . Then at last we see Zaayed Khan walking on the streets . Then starts a series of some very short scenes all showing the Musical environment in which all the leads are living . The huge concert halls and musical notes etc. all giving you a glimpse of the scale of the movie and its background . Then at the end a line comes which is probably the tag line of the film “Music Binds Love ” . Then at the very end we see an even younger looking Salman peeping from behind a pillar into the camera .
The trailer in all gives out very few details about the story and just gives an intro of the leads . The music in the background also gives us a hint of whats in the store . The music is just fabulous as expected from ARR and this is probably the first time he will get to use the western orchestrations in a full fledged way since this film seems to be set in London which is home to the symphonies and orchestras . The music in Taal was more Indian and had a mix of Indian and Western . But in Yuvraaj we might get to see just western classical instead of Indian classical . I am more interested in the album than the film for the meantime .
The looks of the actors are also one thing to watch out in the trailer . Katrina looks like a hollywood heroine from the 50’s and looks like an exotic beauty . She is the only female lead and hence the second thing that the movie will be focussing on apart from Music would be of course her . The lead actors of the film would probably fight it out for the God’s Best creations , Music and Love . Then we also get to see the “Bhola” avatar of Anil Kapoor that he dawned in his first few films . Salman also looks quite younger and he might look good with Katrina in this one .
Overall , I am looking forward to both the Album and the film which will release soon .Subhash Ghai is also looking for a hit since a long time and I hope he gets that in this film and viewers get to see a complete film . The year in any case has been very bad with most of the films leaving disappointed. I also hope that my favourite Katrina acts this time which she can and not just dances to songs

Dasvidanya review

Starring: , Neha Dhupia, Rajat Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Purbi Joshi and Sarita Joshi.
Director: Shashant Shah
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date Seen; 20/11/08

Duration 1 hr 53 Minutes

Final Verdict: Watch it for some really good bitter sweet moments, the film is definitely not a waste of your time and money but leaves you depressed


tells the the story of simpleton, Amar Kaul () who works as an accounts manager in a pharmaceuticals company. Amar’s only excitement in life is making a to-do list every morning and then ticking off everything that he accomplishes at the end of the day. But unfortunately, destiny has some other plans stored for him. He comes to know through his doctor that he is suffering from stomach cancer and now only has just three months left to live.
This news makes Amar wake up to the reality that how till now he has wasted his life. Never mustered thecourage to express his love, never brought a car or never ever traveled abroad, Amar has so many unfulfilled dreams left! He then sets about making a new to do list of 10 things. His last list of all the things he has to do before he dies. From making a foreign trip to telling his childhood love about his affections for her to meeting his school best friend with whom he has lost contact. The film then follows Amar’s journey towards fulfilling his wishes which also take him nearer to his death.
Completely, character driven, the charm of the film lies in its simplicity of its theme and its wonderfully etched characters. The screenplay is well woven with some moments that carry the power to remain etched in your memory even long after the film is over. The only spoke in the wheel is the Russian girl’s track as it slows down the pace of the film. There are moments however that instantly bring tears to your eyes such as a few scenes between Vinay and his mom played by stage veteran Sarita Joshi and Vinay finally expressing his love on a rainy night to Neha Dhupia. First timer Shashant Shah has handled the subject with a rare maturity.The film is a must see for ’s absolutely brilliant performance. One can easily rate it above his Bheja Fry act. Rajat Kapoor is good and so is Sarita Joshi. Neha Dhupia shows remarkable improvement as an actress while Ranvir Shorey appears completely disinterested. Saurabh Shukla is good as Vinay’s boss and Gaurav Gera as his brother.

tells the the story of simpleton, Amar Kaul () who works as an accounts manager in a pharmaceuticals company. Amar’s only excitement in life is making a to-do list every morning and then ticking off everything that he accomplishes at the end of the day. But unfortunately, destiny has some other plans stored for him. He comes to know through his doctor that he is suffering from stomach cancer and now only has just three months left to live.
This news makes Amar wake up to the reality that how till now he has wasted his life. Never mustered thecourage to express his love, never brought a car or never ever traveled abroad, Amar has so many unfulfilled dreams left! He then sets about making a new to do list of 10 things. His last list of all the things he has to do before he dies. From making a foreign trip to telling his childhood love about his affections for her to meeting his school best friend with whom he has lost contact. The film then follows Amar’s journey towards fulfilling his wishes which also take him nearer to his death.
Completely, character driven, the charm of the film lies in its simplicity of its theme and its wonderfully etched characters. The screenplay is well woven with some moments that carry the power to remain etched in your memory even long after the film is over. The only spoke in the wheel is the Russian girl’s track as it slows down the pace of the film. There are moments however that instantly bring tears to your eyes such as a few scenes between Vinay and his mom played by stage veteran Sarita Joshi and Vinay finally expressing his love on a rainy night to Neha Dhupia. First timer Shashant Shah has handled the subject with a rare maturity.The film is a must see for ’s absolutely brilliant performance. One can easily rate it above his Bheja Fry act. Rajat Kapoor is good and so is Sarita Joshi. Neha Dhupia shows remarkable improvement as an actress while Ranvir Shorey appears completely disinterested. Saurabh Shukla is good as Vinay’s boss and Gaurav Gera as his brother.

Dostana Review

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Bobby Deol and Kirron Kher; Director: Tarun Mansukhani

Date Seen; 15/11/2008 Duration 2 hrs 30 mins

rating: 2/5

Final verdict: No sense, but for the laugh glamour and songs you can see it once.


Dostana’ rocks when it’s funny. But it shocks when you see a nicely developed plot lose its substance and become just a bland and emotionless tale of friendship and love in the second half.You have to have a slightly cheeky sense of humour to like a film like Dostana , which is packed with over-the-top gay gags and ample gloss to glaze your eyes. There’s Shilpa Shetty in half-covered bikinis, Priyanka Chopra in beachwear and John Abraham in pulled-down (not all the way) underwear. If that doesn’t interest you (which I doubt), the humour in ‘Dostana’ would entertain you enough to sit through the length of the film without much bum adjustment. The
problem is that all the bonhomie and hilarity in ‘Dostana’ fail to culminate into a story that touches you. Sam ( Abhishek Bachchan ) and Kunal ( John Abraham ) are young bachelors in Miami who keep running into each other coincidentally. Both are out to look for a house when they come across a lushly decorated apartment in a Miami high-rise. The only hitch is that a girl named Neha (Priyanka Chopra) already lives in a room there and her aunt won’t rent the apartment to guys for obvious reasons. To be able to rent the place, Sam and Kunal invent a lie that they are a gay couple and, therefore, Neha has nothing to fear from them. After Sam and Kunal move into the apartment, they have to pretend to be a gay couple all the time. This leads to a series of humourous situations where the duo are confronted with Neha’s gay boss ( Boman Irani ) and Sam’s conservative Punjabi mother ( Kiron Kher ).Trouble begins when Sam and Kunal fall in love with Neha but she is blissfully unaware of their feelings, because she is convinced they are gays. She rather loves her new boss ( Bobby Deol ).‘Dostana’ is a full-on fun film that doesn’t trouble itself with authentic depiction of gay love. The men-in-love are shown predictably effeminate and pansy (their brawny bods notwithstanding) and a viewer doesn’t feel that the gays are being mocked because it’s all in good fun and banter. After all, the lead pair doesn’t play gays, but only straight men pretending as gays. Only one character is gay in the film and that’s brilliantly portrayed by Boman Irani.Abhishek Bachchan is the driving force of ‘Dostana’. The actor plays his over-the-top character with such ease and conviction that you don’t mind one bit even when he ends up making faces to make you laugh. John Abraham’s performance is restricted to a few expressions, the most repeated of which is a frozen, fixated look that he often gives to the other actors in the frame. ‘Dostana’ proves yet again that John – no matter how hot or cool he looks – is yet to become an actor.Priyanka Chopra looks superhot and acts well. Kiron Kher overperforms in a scene or two, while Bobby Deol appears uptight and restrained.The movie’s production values and the styling of the characters are topnotch. The music, though not impressive, blends sweetly into the narrative. But more outstanding is the background score, which actually adds an extra punch to the humour.‘Dostana’ might have been a roller-coaster joyride had the director ( Tarun Mansukhani ) known where to take the story in the second half. The plot merely skims through the three romantic tracks (between Abhi, John, Priyanka and Bobby) without making you feel for a single one of them. So even though the film entertains you, it doesn’t touch your heart the way it could have.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Dostana Preview Download



Abhishek Bachchan as Sameer Born and raised in London, now in his early thirties, Sameer works in Miami, as a male nurse at St. Steve’s Hospital. A goofy kind of guy, who yet has the ability to charm his way into anybody’s life. Sameer is the man with the plan. Plans he seldom thinks through their consequences.

John Abraham as Kunal

Kunal is a guy in his early thirties. Tall, suave, confident and good looking who has this brooding quality about him that makes girls swoon over him. Which he plays to his full advantage. He’s a fashion photographer who is pretty straight edged, responsible and an organized man who has a life in order except for his residence permit as he is an illegal immigrant.


Priyanka Chopra as Neha


Neha Melwani is a 27 year old, contemporary Indian woman. She is a smart, gorgeous and stylish woman, working at a fashion magazine called Verve. Hard working and someone who loves her work, she longs to settle down and have a family. She is respectful, intelligent and also innocent which sometimes lands her into trouble.SynopsisIt's all happening in the Beach Party Capitol of the world...Miami. When Sameer (Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal (John Abraham) are turned down for an apartment because the landlady doesn't want two strapping young men to corrupt her young sexy niece Neha (Priyanka Chopra) they go to plan 'G' - they pretend to be 'Gay' to secure the apartment.All is well till they meet the sexy siren Neha and thus begins a journey of fun frolic and a test of friendship like never before.When Neha's boss Abhimanyu (Bobby Deol) enters the fray as the third contender for her affections, it gets even hotter under everyone's vests and bikinis and the boys get down and dirty in sunny Miami.‘Dostana’ also features Shilpa Shetty in a guest appearance for an item song where she is seen jiving along with Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham on the Miami Beach.The movie has music by Vishal-Shekhar and lyrics by Anvita Dutt Guptan, Vishal Dadlani and Kumaar.The costumes for John and Abhishek are done by Aki Narula , while Manish Malhotra has done costumes for Priyanka Chopra.A youth-oriented film, ‘Dostana’ is scheduled to hit the screens worldwide on 14th November.

Release tommorow! Download Link Soon

Story of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi


A simpleton Surinder Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) loves his wife but is unable to reach out to her. Meanwhile, a dance competition on the lines of the dance show Nach Baliye is held in town.

Seizing his chance, Surinder transforms himself from a simpleton to a hip personality with a new name -- Raj Kapoor .He partners with his wife, who is unaware that her dashing dancing partner is really her husband. She gradually starts falling in love with Raj only to realise the fact that he is her husband.
Releasing on Dec 12

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Movie Review: Karz

Star Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Urmila Matondkar, Danny, Raj Babbar and introducing Shweta Kumar; Director: Satish Kaushik; Rating: 1/5
Date Seen 24/10/2008
Download Here




This remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1980s super hit Karz has basically the same storyline as the original with a little twist added to it. So for all those who haven’t seen the original, the plot goes like this – Kamini (Urmila) marries Ravi Verma (Dino Morea) for his riches and bumps him off immediately after their marriage. Two decades later, the biggest music sensation in South Africa, Monty (Himesh) one day suddenly during a rehearsal starts playing a tune and goes into a trance, with intense visual flashes of a mansion, a temple, a beautiful girl and ends up collapsing unconscious. Further a flash back reveals that Monty was actually Ravi Verma in his previous life, married to a beautiful girl called Kamini. Monty now has the grave realization of having been reborn in his current persona. His beautiful love interest (Tina) is none other than Kamini’s foster daughter. From here starts Monty’s new journey. A journey of revenge! How he accomplishes it and gives justice to Ravi Verma’s hapless old mother and sister forms the rest of the film.
The basic premise of this film is even exciting for anyone of today’s generation. But one thing that one needs to keep in mind while watching this film is that it is not completely aimed at the multiplex going audience. It has been treated like a typical masala film aimed at the masses and to enjoy one needs to keep his brains back at home.
The things that work are - The enthusiasm of Himesh in reprising Rishi Kapoor’s Monty. Himesh has given it his all and his efforts show. You root for him in the second half when he starts playing games with Urmila. The action sequences, especially the climax ones are mind blowing. Another good plus is the performance by Urmila in her first ever full blown villainous role. Her venomous act is bound to get her few awards this year for sure. She has even exposed her body a lot in those glamorous dresses. Gulshan Grover (as Sir Judah) in his unusual get up leaves a mark. Danny as the every helpful Kabir chacha (played by Pran in the original) and Asrani lend able support.
But the things that don’t really work are – The pairing of Himesh and debutante Shweta Kumar. They share an extremely thanda chemistry. Considering it is her debut film, the poor gal hasn’t been properly presented as well. In the acting department she still has a long way to go. The styling of the film is extremely poor excluding that of Himesh’s. The set design is straight out of the 80s films. Also, despite having so many dance numbers, there is not a single song that stays in your mind thanks to some really pathetic choreography with those now mandatory firang dancers around. The high point of the original Karz, the Ek Hasina Thi number falls flat in here in its new version. As a director, Satish Kaushik fails to add any independent distinct style.
I suggest dont see it its a waste.

Movie Review: Fashion

Movie star Cast: Mugdha Godse, Priyanka, Kangna, Arbaaz, Harsh Chhaya, Madhur, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Neil Mukesh, Arjan Bajwa, Sameer Soni and Kitu; Director: Madhur Bhandarkar; Rating: 4/5
Date Seen: 3/11/08
Fashion begins in Chandigarh, where aspiring model Meghna Mathur (Priyanka) expresses her wish to go to Mumbai to her parents. While her dad (Raj Babbar) out rightly denies her permission, her mom (Kiran Juneja) is supportive. Against her dad’s wishes, Meghna leaves her house with dreams in her eyes to strike it big in the modeling world. But it is not a path of roses for her as she experiences some major difficulties in her initial days in Mumbai. But she gets a good helping hand with an old acquaintance, Rohit (Ashwin Mushran) an aspiring designer who assists big shot designer Rahul Arora (Sameer Soni). She keeps bumping into another struggling model, Maanav (Arjan) while making the rounds of modeling agencies for auditions. Meghna becomes good friends with Maanav and even starts sharing his apartment after she faces accommodation problems. Meghna gets noticed by India’s top modeling agency Panache’s top official, Anisha Roy (Kitu) who brings her to Panache boss, Abhijit Sareen’s (Arbaaz) notice. Abhijit gets impressed by her ambitious nature and go getter attitude. Panache’s face is Shonali (Kangana) but though very successful, her drug habit starts becoming a problem for her and subsequently for Panache. Abhijit decides to terminate Shonali’s contract and ropes in Meghna in her place. Soon, Meghna is everywhere – right from being the showstopper at the biggest fashion shows in town to fashion magazine covers to print ads to TV commercials. The overnight success spoils Meghna and the budding love relationship between her and Maanav also comes to an abrupt end. What happens after Meghna reaches the pinnacle of success in the modeling world and how her journey also invariably leads to the downfall of Shonali and what shocking things further await Meghna forms the rest of the film.
After Chandni Bar, Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal, Madhur has hit a master stroke with Fashion exposing the murky underbelly of the most glamorous profession in the world. Never getting preachy and avoiding stereo types Madhur efficiently handles the subject without getting judgemental even once. He has outshined himself in the technical department making Fashion is most slick product till date. His perfect casting also lifts the film to a completely different level. In fact one wouldn’t be surprised if Madhur manages to win a National Award with this film as well! Also, perhaps for the first time his climax is not dark where the protagonist ends up being a loser! The film has a bitter-sweet ending.
The screenplay by Madhur, Anuradha Tiwari and Ajay Monga peeks deep into the reality of the fashion world and touches every single aspect of the industry such as casting couch, gay designers, wild lifestyle of models who can’t handle success, backstage dramas during major fashion shows, manipulative head honchos and attitude problems of successful people. After holding the audience’s attention captive for a major portion, the screenplay tends to drag towards the finale moments. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues strike a chord.
Priyanka in the most challenging roles of her career, delivers the goods successfully. Kangana despite a short role ends up giving an award worthy performance. Even though it is her debut film, Mugdha Godse shows extreme confidence. Arbaaz Khan is good and so is Sameer Soni. Arjan Bajwa acts well. Kitu Gidwani is graceful whereas Ashwin Mushran is very like able.
Fashion is a must watch for many reasons so go for it and trust us you wont be disappointed.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Shoot on Sight


Movie Review: Shoot on Sight;

Star Cast:Naseeruddin Shah, Brian Cox, Greta Scacchi, Om Puri, Laila Rouass and Gulshan Grover;
Director: Jagmohan Mundhra;
Rating: 3/5
Date Seen 21/10/08

Shoot on Sight, the title refers to a contentious, post-9/11 British law-enforcement policy, doesn’t make pulses pound in the tradition of a big Hollywood police thriller but instead focuses on the human story and that’s what is more commendable.

Tariq Ali (Naseer) is a Muslim police officer at Scotland Yard Commander. Ali, born in Pakistan, is married to an English woman, Susan (Greta Scacchi) and with two kids, is tasked to investigate the police shooting of a suspected Muslim terrorist on the London Underground. Distrusted by both his British superiors in the London police, and his fellow Muslims, he finds his inquiry hampered from all sides. When evidence surfaces pointing to the slain man’s innocence, as well as the existence of a terrorist cell operating in his own backyard, Tariq must faces the realization that sometimes the right decision is the hardest one to make.

Shoot On Sight is based on the aftermath of the infamous 7/7 bombings in London and the killing of Jean Charles De Menezes on the London Underground. Carl Austin’s screenplay does proper justice to the subject by showing view points of both the sides aptly. The family interplay surrounding Tariq and his clash of values with Westerners, and his patient but increasingly torn wife, played by Greta Scacchi, who is an outsider to their culture trying to blend in has come out superbly. The film appears a sincerely decent effort by Jagmohan Mundhra whose last film was the Aishwarya Rai starrer Provoked. What actually make the film interesting are the performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri who plays the fanatic preacher and dangerous Jihadist Junaid. Greta Scacchi and Brian Cox also lend able support. Gulshan Grover and the beautiful Laila Rouass impress in their cameos.

Handsomely shot, the film strives to be multifaceted without quite reaching the moral and ethical complexities it tries to grasp.

Vantage point

Rating 4/5
Date Seen 29/10/2008

Directed By:
Pete Travis

Cast:
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Zoe Saldana

Thomas Barnes and Kent Taylor are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide. In the crowd is Howard Lewis, an American tourist videotaping the historic event to show his kids when he returns home. Also there is Rex, an American TV news producer who is reporting on the conference. It''s only as we follow each person''s perspective of the same 15 minutes to and immediately after the shooting so that the terrifying truth behind the assassination attempt is revealed.

Movie Review: Heroes


Movie Cast: Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sunny Deol, Mithun Chakraborty, Bobby Deol, Sohail Khan, Vatsal Seth, Dino Moreo, Riya Sen, Amrita Arora and Monish Behl;
Director: Samir Karnik;

Rating: 4/5
Date Seen : 30/10/08

Samir Karnik after two back to back flops (Kyon Ho Gaya Na and Nanhe Jaisalmer) makes a grand comeback with a Heroes, a good film that tugs your heart strings and makes you think.

It tells the story of two aimless youth Sammy (Sohail Khan) and Ali (Vatsal Sheth) who have to travel a thousand miles to deliver three letters as a part of their film school assignment. But little do they know that the journey they have embarked upon will end up giving a new meaning to their life. Unfolding in three chapters it tells peaks into the lives of Balkar Singh (Salman) and Kuljeet Kaur (Preity) in the first chapter, brothers Vikram (Sunny) and Dhananjay Shergill (Bobby) in the second chapter and that of Dr. Naqvi (Mithun) and his son Sahil (Dino) in the final chapter.

How Sammy and Ali’s encounters of heroes in real life changes their attitude towards their own life and our country forms rest of the film.

It is a very good subject that doesn’t involve any jingoism from our country’s army men characters to prove their love for the nation. Though the opening sequences (including a mindless song) appear a little irritating, the film takes a good turn once the chapters start unfolding back to back. The culmination is the high point of the film which makes us all feel proud for country and our army men and also makes us realize at the same time that you don’t have to be in the army to be a real hero. Every common person has it in him to be a Hero. The title of the film couldn’t have been more apt.

Scenes between Salman and Preity, Bobby and Sunny have turned out very well. You are in tears in most of the places. This film is a pleasant surprise if you go in without any expectations. The performances by every single actor take this film above average. Salman and Preity not only look like a real couple but they are very much in character appearing real Punjabis. Sunny gets some whistle blowing moments after a long time in a Bollywood film. Bobby in a short role impresses and so do Dino and Mithun. Vatsal shows remarkable improvement as an actor post his disastrous debut in Tarzan the Wonder Car. Sohail with his witty one-liners keeps you engaged and shows the transformation of his character very well. Amrita and Riya hardly have any role to speak about.

Samir Karnik deserves kudos for choosing a great subject and narrating it very well. He has very well incorporated strong emotions that bring a tear to you eyes. Don’t miss this film; we are sure you will come out a changed person when you see it.

Hari Puttar


Rating 2.5/5

Date Seen:1/11/08

Movie: Hari Putar; Star Cast: Sarika, Jackie Shroff, Zain Khan, Swini Khara, Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz; Director: Lucky Kohli, Rajesh

Hari Puttar- A comedy 'with only errors'

The worst part about the movie 'Hari Puttar' is that it is completely an uplifted movie. The title is stolen, the story is stolen, only the sad music is something which is original (that too we aren't sure, so don't blame us!). The best part of the movie is, opps, sorry there's no best part in it.

We wonder after watching Home Alone movies- all the three series, how can people like this blunder. An utter nonsense movie and a big time disgrace to the legendary 'Home Alone' series.

The movie came into limelight much before its release, all thanks to the great Warner Bros, according to whom (and the world too) that the producers of the movie 'Hari Puttar' stole the title from the much famed 'Hari Pottar' series and then a concept entirely stolen from 'Home Alone' series. We wonder why did the makers of Home Alone series spare them when Warner Bros. didn't.

Anyways we didn't see anything new or creative in the movie. All innovative ideas and creativity were more like music man Pritam's case- STOLEN OR COPIED.

'Hari Puttar' is good for people who either couldn't make to see the Home Alone series or didn't have enough cash to buy their DVD. Such people will enjoy this movie to the core and will later curse them too (if they happen to see the original Home Alone series).
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