Yuh Hota to Kya Hota?

4 sets of people, different reasons, destination America, fate?
Naseerudin Shah's directorial debut was keenly watched and anticipated, a hatke movie, an effort to confluence art with commerciality, result - a failure at the box office. I didn't quite enjoy the movie.

Lage Raho Munnabhai

This feel good caper will make you pause,ponder,laugh and cry.An original from the house of chopra's ( Vidhu Vinod ) Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a breath of fresh air in Indian cinema, when all other producers doles out inspiratio,this original piece of work by Raj Kumar Hirani is a sweet pinch of reality we all need. A slice of Gandhi garnished with mumabaiya lingo, sweetened by Sanjay/Arshad and Vidya Balan with their acting prowess, brought to life by Hirani's brilliant direction and Shantanu Mitra's fitting score.
A must watch!

Omkara

After Kishore Kumar I cannot think of any other who's as versatile as Vishal Bharadwaj, The writer director co producer music director singer ......did a kick ass job with OMKARA, he had already earned the applause with Maqbool, but this shakespeare written vishal inspired Omkara has won a lot many cinegoers heart with his narrative brilliance. This earthy feel movie reveals saif the actor yet again. If you are looking to feast your eyes and ears to a hatke movie Omkara will surely please your appetite.

Golmaal

Nonsense fun, that's what this movie is all about,
Highlight: funny one liners and sharman joshi

Worth a watch on DVD...
Caution: please take off the "critique" in you when you watch it.

Taxi # 9211

Milan Lunthria proves himself as a good copy cat director by xeroxing "changing lanes" in ditto. Taxi#9211 is a brilliant film if you haven't watched the original, but because I enjoyed the morgan freeman/ben affleck starrer hollywood entertainer, this taxi was a bumpy ride for me. If you haven't seen the movie I will strongly recommend you, the music is nice , Vishal Shekhar does a pretty good job in stealing the limelight from the Nosy Reshammiya for a bit. John and Nana is awesome....

Watch it!

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna

First things first, this movie is definitely worth one watch. Nothing much can go wrong in a Karan Johar movie. When you have all the given of a Box office success the chances of a black friday is as remote as finding nemo in your aquarium.

Larger than life charachters, stellar stars, New York, mellifluous music, an appetising TV campaign, the curious interviews .....Karan made sure he reached and sold the movie much bfore it hit the screens.

Will it be a HIT, i am sure it already is,

Is the movie great : Nah!, its a flawed script dowsed in glamor and glitz.

Will you get entertained: You bet!, first half is funny, Amitabh and Abhishek steals the show, Shahrukh swims the "karan sea" with ease, Rani and Preety looked great ( courtesy: Malhotra) and did their jobs.

Any other highlight: Shankar Ehsaan Loy came out with one of their best alopathic tunes ( tunes that instantly replaces chartbusters ) and will compel you to sit thru the numbers when they run. All the numbers are brilliant to ears ( Mitwa and the theme song is soothing ) and on screen, Farah Khan does her duties as a friend and a choreographer, won't win her any awards though..

Will you cry: May be, depends on how much you can control...

How long is this movie, three episodes of Mahabharata ( 3 hours ),

Anything missing in this movie: YES, soul, it doesn't have the punch, its a never ending gift wrap, you realise that the gift was the experience.

Go watch,you have seen much crappier movies.

Mixed Doubles

Rajat Kapoor's directorial debut "Raghu Romeo" failed to romance the crowd, with Mixed Doubles Rajat swung with "wife swapping" and delivered some fun but a lot of discomfort, MD is fun flick catered to the multiplex crowd, its a bold theme so you may want to watch it alone.

Phir Hera Pheri

With Priyadarshan having his hands full, Nadiadwala's bet their monies on writer/director, Neeraj Vohra to direct the much awaited sequel"Phir Hera Pheri". Living to the cult of "hera pheri" was tough and Neeraj fell way short of expectation in good comedy.
Phir Hera Pheri scored for three reasons:
1)The prequel was a all time hit
2)Same look and feel
3)Brilliant pre release publicity

The movie will tickle you in spurts, a paisa wasool affair if you are looking for nonsense fun.

KKrish

Krish is worth a big screen watch for the best on screen special effects till date for a bollywood flick. There are two actors in bollywood that you can blindly bet your 100 bucks on, Aamir is one, the other is Hrithik.

The success of Krish rides on Hrithik's performance and the special effects. Rajesh Roshan dug his "Kamchor" days to come up with few lilting tunes for the movie.
In all a family entertainer.

Gangster

My first movie in India, Gangster doesn't live up to the hype that the critics in India lifted it upto. A story of how the gangster's love become the reason for his death is fairly colored by Emran Hasmi, Kangana Raut and Shiny Ahuja on Anurag Basu's Canvas. The Bhatt camp has a panache for music and Pritam gives them reason to cheer about this time with numbers like, Bheegi Bheegi , Ya Ali ..... Of the actors Kangana leaves a notable mark, Hasmi is usual, Shiny Ahuja somehow couldn't impress me, he is a great actor and performed stellar in Hazaron Khwahise but as the Gangster he shined without dialogues. In summary, Gangster is worth a DVD watch.

Malamal Weekly

This one has laughs in spurts, an avoidable priyadarshan movie after the disastrous "kyon ki". A plot that had a lot of potential goes waste because of poor content work.

Passable.

Shower

Shower is a simple story brilliantly told, Da Ming receives a postcard from his mentally ill younger brother and rushes home thinking his father was dead. A businessman by profession, Da ming gets immersed with love and warmth and find himself at home among his aging father and retarded brother. Beautifully depicted, Shower will shower you with pleasant feeling and leave you fresh.

Watch it!

15 Park Avenue

15 Park Avenue is the story of a schizzophrenic girl's struggle thru the experience of her family. No doubt its a "hatke" movie, but my only point to Ms. Sen,Why make such sad and depressing movies, you don't have to prove your prowess as a director NOR Konkona needs to prove herself as an actress anymore...

Cinderella Man

Cocoon, Apolo 13, Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man have one thing in common - Ron Howard. Cinderella Man is a warm and engaging tale of Jimmy Braddock's ( played by Russel Crowe) triumph at the heavyweight boxing title in the 1930's. A true story,Cinderella Man is an inspirational tale of a fighter whose determination, will, perseverance take him to the heights of success after being written off by the press and the boxing council. Ron Howard does a brilliant directorial job. Russel Crowe pays Jimmy Bradock with a lot of conviction, supported beautifully by Renne Zelwegger and Paul Giamatti.

Watch it!

The Weatherman

Nicolage Cage is one of my personal favorite."The Weatherman" played as David Spritz by Cage is the story of a weatherman separated from his wife and children unearthing the dilemma of professional and personal life. The Weatherman's highlight is performances by both Cage and Caine.
Caution: Strong sexual language.

Definitely Worth a Watch!

Décalage horaire (2002)

Juliette Binoche and Jean Reno stars in this Canadian/French production, Décalage horaire ( Jetlag). Reno ( Felix ), a stressed out chef turned businnesman collides repeatedly with Binoche (Rose), a beautician in the airport. Love happens.
Passable.

Under the Sun (Under Solen )

Under the sun is a heartwarming love story of a illiterate simpleton farmer (olof) and his housekeeper. Under Solen is a picturesque movie combined with brilliant performances by the main protagonist. Without giving much about the story I highly recommend this sensual lovestory to the romantic at heart.
Watch!

Zinda

I haven't seen the inspiration "Oldboy" but Zinda is not a bad attempt, you can always expect Sanjay Gupta to give you a sleek product and you get that with Zinda, Sanjay Dutt gives a brilliant performance supported by John Abraham. I will recommend Zinda if you are in the mood to see a "hollywoodish" kinda movie.

If you are a Sanjay fan, this is a must watch.

Manchurian Candidate

You can check the review on Yahoo

Training Day

On the first day of his job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears as.
Ethan and Denzel does a great great job, the movie however is Okay.
If you have options, Pass.

Wind will carry us

This was my second Iranian movie, what intrigues me about foreign flicks is the concept. To read the story you can check this link.
I loved this movie, it has a earthy flavor with realism at best.

Iqbal

WOW! What a movie
A truly triumph of the human spirit, a heart warmer and a BIG winner all the way. Nagesh Kukunoor is an inspiration for all the wannabee film directors. Subhas Ghai has found his band of filmmakers and you can surely expect "classy" product coming out of the mukta arts banner, watch out only if Mr.Ghai takes the hot seat.
Coming to IQBAL, this was one good movie I have seen in many years, Shreyas Talpade as Iqbal rocks, Shweta Prasad as khadija and Naseer as Mohit gives a effortless mind pleasing performance. The winning script talks of a deaf and dumb village simpleton's dream to play for the Indian cricket team.
If you haven't yet watched this movie , GRAB it!!!!!!
Another big feather on Nagesh's CAP.

Rang De Basanti

When great minds come together you get to see products like "Rang De Basanti".Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's claim to fame was a box office disaster called "AKS", a poor copy of a hollywood block buster "face-off".With Rang De, not only he erased his previous failure but also made a BIG name with the Bollywood bigwigs.

Rang De Basanti colors the screen thru the eyes of a british journalist who's persistence in documenting her grandfather's journal sees charachters from the past inspiring a bunch of hopeless wanderers.

A movie cannot make everyone happy, Rang De also has its share of "script glitches" but this engaging movie will sway you extreme emotions, will make you cry and laugh and provoke you to be an Indian.

AR Rahman fills Rang De with youthful energy with his uplifting and fitting score, worthy of a mention are the title track by Daler & Chitra and Roobaroo by Naresh Iyer.

Rang de is an all out AAMIR movie, out of the world performance by this khan. Special mention is the scene where breaks down in front of Sue after the flight crash incident. Who ever did the casting for this movie deserves a BIG APPLAUSE. Everyone from Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Alice Patten, Siddharth, Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan, Anupam and Kiron Kher leaves their own mark inspite of Mr.Khan stupendous and realistic portrayal of "DJ".


A MUST MUST Watch on the BIG SCREEN.

Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster has fallen prey to its own campaign, a movie touted in the media as a comic caper had audience finding few laughs in real. A victim,I waited dearly for the tickle on this good effort gone vain. For a moment I thought Rohan got his ducks in a row, with a steller hip hop music video choreographed by the goddess Farah Khan "right here.right now" and a equally convincing star cast BUT it failed to "entertain" period.
I remember attending an ad seminar years back in Pune, the presenter had shared a great business insight - he said you will see great Ads but for some reason no one buys the products. Bluffmaster is a great example of that.

One final word : this movie is a far far better product than his previous effort " kuch na kaho"

Constant Gardener

Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz starrer constant gardener is the story of a widower who is determined to get to the bottom of secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption. Both Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz is stellar in this political thriller.
Worth a watch.

Flight Plan

Jodi Foster scores in Flight Plan on this edge of the seat thriller about a mysterical disappearance of a lil girl mid air. Hollywoodish at the end, this movie is definitely Worth a watch.

I liked it.

Wah! life ho to aisi

All out children flick. Few funny moments, Sanjay Dutt rocks as the yamraj.
Passable!

Neal "N" Nikki

Cleavagexplosion.
That's what this movie is all about. You will also find unbearable and irritating Tanisha along with gayish Uday.
Mr> Chopra ,have you gone insane.........

Apaharan

Prakash Jha made a solid impact with his debut effort "damul", In the last decade we saw mr.Jha transitioning into maintstream movies dishing out cinema representative of the perils of our society through realism. "Apaharan" narrates the recent spate of abduction and kidnapping that continues to terrorize a dilapidated Bihar. Mr. Jha's capability to handle sensitive topics is visible with Apaharan, the movie grips you thru the intermission and loses you therafter, Nana does a commendable job, Ajay looked too old for his character, Bipasha is used an icing, in all a honest movie that does entertains you in bits and pieces.

Worthy of a DVD watch.

Nobody Knows - Japanese

Grizzly Man

Tragic, lonely , bizzare and extraordinary tale of Timothy Treadwell, his love for the Grizzly bears who ironically took his life. Sad but amazing documentary, a journey into the life of a wildlife protectionist, who was more part of the wild than human habitation.

MUST MUST SEE!

Crash

"WHAT A MOVIE" "ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT", I will eagerly wait for what Paul Haggis has to offer in the future. CRASH will strike a chord immediately, engagin you in this emotional thriller where multi ethnic characters intersect each others lives struggling to overcome their own fears.
UNDOUBTEDLY one of the best films I have seen in months::::

DON't MISS!!!!!!!!

Must Love Dogs

Let me keep this short, you MUST LOVE Diane Lane and John Cusak to enjoy this movie, for others PASS.

Deewane Huye Paagal

What happens when an ensembe of comic actors team up? well they make you laugh. DHP attempts to do just that, Inspired heavily from "there's something about mary", DHP is a nonsense or in assamese "fotooa" comedy that will appeal to masses and to people like me who looks at an occasion to laugh, Akshay rocks in this Vikram Bhat directed comic and Vijay Raaz as always is humorous, this guy makes me laugh with just his presence.
If you are not into "non sense " movies, If you are a self proclaimed movie critic and look for meaning in movies, this movie is not yours to watch.

I ENJOYED.

Mr.Ya Miss

What did Antara Mali tried to prove with this sub standard movie?
My only note, learn from others, donate your dollars to the needy instead.

Ek Ajnabee

Apoorva Lakhia's second attempt to Bollywood fame with a copy of Man on Fire does deserve few applause, its a well made film with Amitabh and Perizaad stealing the show all the way. Although this movie manages to get you thru to the end, the final twist can make you leave the theatre saying " What was that?". Arjun Rampal is wasted, Vishal Sekhar's title track wil make your hip hop....Worth a DVD watch...

Bad Education ( Mala educación, La )

Pedro Almodvar is a par excellence story teller, his latest offering starring his favorite team of actors, specifically Gael Garcia who excels in the role of a lifetime playing three characters, Juan/Agnel/Zahara.
Plot Outline: An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends. ( Courtesy - IMDB)
Caution: Subject deals with homosexuality and transgenders.

I think Pedro is a stellar movie maker.
Enjoyed it!!

Seeing other people

A Sundance production, movie about an engaged couple who decides to have "no strings attached" sexual flings with others before they get married, an "real" adult comedy you will enjoy.

Good Watch!

March of the Penguins

There are few documentaries you should see, one obviously is "March of the Penguins" and the other " The winged migration". These are GEMS, you will have to see it to believe it. "March of the Penguins" is beyond brilliance, for someone to think about filming these penguins and bringing it to our cozy comfort living rooms is for me the ultimate gift one can give, and to top it Morgan Freeman gives voice to these cute and curious creatures. "March of the Penguins" shows the agony and ecstacy of the "emperor penguins" that inhabitates Antartica.

Beyond words!

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Didn't like it, so not wasting time writing on it.

The Film

Thanks to the multiplexes, now we at least have production houses backing directors with "hatke" topics, Junaid Memon's "the film" surprises you with freshness and good twists, a movie about 6 wannabe bollywood stars and how each falls prey to ......... ( see the movie)...

Home Delivery

I liked this movie!
It really has few genuine funny moments, from quality perspective, its a much superior product over "Jhankar beats", but it does fall short of expectation on the script, it drags in between, in my opinion the basic reason for its untimely demise. Sujoy Ghosh's attempt deserves accolades but guess he should focus more on the content the next time. Ayesha Takia is spontaneous, Vivek is convincing ,Saurabh Shukla is brilliant, Tikoo talsania reminds me of his role in "dil hain ke manta nahin" - funny, Boman Irani is effortless.
Watch it ! ( without expecting much )

Ek Haseena, Ek Khiladi

This was one movie, I had zero expectation and was pleasantly pleased with debutant director Suparn Verma's slick handling of this con caper. KK is brilliant, Koena Mitra's transition to lead actor from a item girl is convincing, she sizzles the screen with Fardeen. Pritam scores with "Ishq hain Jhootha". Check this Twister....

Kyon Ki

Just wanted to say the Priyadarshan fails with Kyon Ki, very dissappointed.
Avoid it.