Movie:Chandni Chowk to China
Language:Hindi
People:Akshay Kumar,Deepika Padukone,Nikhil Advani
Rating: 1.25/5
So finally Warner Bros. decided to take a plunge into bollywood, They would've planned to piggy back on Akshay Kumar's success had leave a mark on Indian film Industry. Well,they left a mark alright, something they most definitely had not expected.
My primer to Chandni chowk To China (also know as CC2C) was its trailer before Ghajini was about to begin, and my first impression was that the trailer was definitely different and had a hollywood touch to it. Later did I realize that it was a Warner Bros. production.
So then what does CC2C contain : Akshay Kumar, comic scenes , twin sister-reunion, memory loss, kung fu, flying action sequences , Made in china products ofcourse the great Wall. Everything right? oh yes there was one small part missing THE SCRIPT. I am serious it does seem that the movie is made "on the fly" if you are unfortunate enough to watch it, you would feel the same. Nikhil Advani has to take the blame on this one. After he made Kal ho na ho, He had mentioned in one of his interviews that this (KHNH) is not his kind of cinema more in Karan Johar's alley. Well Mr Advani if CC2C and Salaam-e-ishq are your kind of cinema then God help you ...and us.
So is CC2Cnot watchable from scene 1? Not true. Initial scenes of the movie are definitely watchable, some comic relief by Akshay , however it degrades exponentially as soon as the China component comes in .
Read this in one of the reviews that the "movie takes itself seriously", I do agree to this If they would have really gone ahead and made this just a spoof movie like Scary series . It would have been creative and possibly funny. Akshay Kumar seems to have put a lot of effort into this movie, I also read somewhere that he helped out Nikhil changing some of the scenes/storyline. I bet Nikhil's version was shoddier. Most part of my rating is because of Akshay Kumar's effort. All in all dont try to watch this movie as that would encourage Mr Advani to make Chandni Chowk To Africa!!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Die Walküre
Movie:Valkyrie
Language:English
People:Tom Cruise
Rating: 3.25/5
This one is for the History fanatics, okay If not fanatics then at least for them who are interested/fascinated by World War stories. The film is about one of the assassination attempts on Hitler from within the German Camp.
Tom Cruise plays the leader of the German Revolution Camp (Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg) .
For me Tom Cruise did quite well, and he also looks German (doesn't he?) . His camp consists of officers from the military as well as some politicians. They try to use Hitler's own system against him.
The reason I say Hitler's "own" system is because, One of his good achievements was that he was able to organize /regroup Germany after World War I (Well, may not be for the right cause). But he had converted Germany to run like a well oiled machine. His military mind was such that he had thought everything (Well, almost everything ... bunker,cyanide) . Anyways he had kept a Reserve army to regain Berlin, in case he died -Fail Safe mechanism.
Tom Cruise's (Colonel Stauffenberg) men decided to use this Fail-Safe system to their advantage. The movie keeps the audience hooked on to it at all times, be it the command sending routine or strategy discussions at the Wolf's Lair . There are a few surprises as well along the way. I would definitely recommend this movie, and if you want to increase your World War II knowledge before you see this movie google some stuff up like "Wolf's Lair", "Hitler's inner Circle","SS/Schutzstaffel".
Language:English
People:Tom Cruise
Rating: 3.25/5
This one is for the History fanatics, okay If not fanatics then at least for them who are interested/fascinated by World War stories. The film is about one of the assassination attempts on Hitler from within the German Camp.
Tom Cruise plays the leader of the German Revolution Camp (Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg) .
For me Tom Cruise did quite well, and he also looks German (doesn't he?) . His camp consists of officers from the military as well as some politicians. They try to use Hitler's own system against him.
The reason I say Hitler's "own" system is because, One of his good achievements was that he was able to organize /regroup Germany after World War I (Well, may not be for the right cause). But he had converted Germany to run like a well oiled machine. His military mind was such that he had thought everything (Well, almost everything ... bunker,cyanide) . Anyways he had kept a Reserve army to regain Berlin, in case he died -Fail Safe mechanism.
Tom Cruise's (Colonel Stauffenberg) men decided to use this Fail-Safe system to their advantage. The movie keeps the audience hooked on to it at all times, be it the command sending routine or strategy discussions at the Wolf's Lair . There are a few surprises as well along the way. I would definitely recommend this movie, and if you want to increase your World War II knowledge before you see this movie google some stuff up like "Wolf's Lair", "Hitler's inner Circle","SS/Schutzstaffel".
Monday, January 5, 2009
Dawg bana Crorepati
Movie:Slumdog Millionaire
Language:English
People:Danny Boyle,Dev Patel, Irfan Khan ,Sourabh Shukla
Rating: 3/5
Don't go by the Indian "Star" cast in this movie, this is a Hollywood movie, not Indian made .However the story does have a bollywood touch to it. Story is very much based out of Bombay ( or Mumbai as it is called now) .
The movie is about a young kid Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) who was thrown out of his home (slums near the airport). He and his brother move around the country trying to make a living. In due course of the movie The Brothers fight over a girl Latika, Jamal's love interest, and get seperated. Movie advances on to the show who wants to be a millionaire where everything unfolds.
On first look you would say this isn't a great story, you are right this isn't one . It definitely a run of the mill story , more like bollywood ishtyle. This is where the director comes in , Danny Boyle has played with the story and managed to get best from his actors to keep his audience always involved . Movie is laid out nicely with some very good music by AR Rehman, not sure how this guy keeps churning such nice tunes time and again.
As the movie pans out, Mumbai also plays a character in this movie. As is the case in all Hollywood and Madhur Bhandarkar movies, The negative side of Mumbai/India is highlighted, that's what sells it seems. Unfortunate part of this is, what is shown in the movie is true and is a part of Mumbai. Good part is this is not the only component of Mumbai or India . Movie makers have not really able to package the better part of the country into a film. May be they don't want to ?
On the acting front 18 year old Dev Patel has acted well, Irfan Khan and Sourabh Shukla justified their roles. However Anil Kapoor and Mahesh Manjrekar (Notable omisson from the people list above) ham it up , Mean while the younger version of Jamal Malik (Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) has done a good job , Amitabh autograph scene is a must watch but preferably not immediately after dinner [:)].
This movie is not released in India yet (I think), but If and when it releases some directors in India should watch this movie and learn, Sometimes just keeping it simple works. If you haven't seen this movie yet , It should come on DVD soon considering its nominated for 4 Golden Globes.
Language:English
People:Danny Boyle,Dev Patel, Irfan Khan ,Sourabh Shukla
Rating: 3/5
Don't go by the Indian "Star" cast in this movie, this is a Hollywood movie, not Indian made .However the story does have a bollywood touch to it. Story is very much based out of Bombay ( or Mumbai as it is called now) .
The movie is about a young kid Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) who was thrown out of his home (slums near the airport). He and his brother move around the country trying to make a living. In due course of the movie The Brothers fight over a girl Latika, Jamal's love interest, and get seperated. Movie advances on to the show who wants to be a millionaire where everything unfolds.
On first look you would say this isn't a great story, you are right this isn't one . It definitely a run of the mill story , more like bollywood ishtyle. This is where the director comes in , Danny Boyle has played with the story and managed to get best from his actors to keep his audience always involved . Movie is laid out nicely with some very good music by AR Rehman, not sure how this guy keeps churning such nice tunes time and again.
As the movie pans out, Mumbai also plays a character in this movie. As is the case in all Hollywood and Madhur Bhandarkar movies, The negative side of Mumbai/India is highlighted, that's what sells it seems. Unfortunate part of this is, what is shown in the movie is true and is a part of Mumbai. Good part is this is not the only component of Mumbai or India . Movie makers have not really able to package the better part of the country into a film. May be they don't want to ?
On the acting front 18 year old Dev Patel has acted well, Irfan Khan and Sourabh Shukla justified their roles. However Anil Kapoor and Mahesh Manjrekar (Notable omisson from the people list above) ham it up , Mean while the younger version of Jamal Malik (Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) has done a good job , Amitabh autograph scene is a must watch but preferably not immediately after dinner [:)].
This movie is not released in India yet (I think), but If and when it releases some directors in India should watch this movie and learn, Sometimes just keeping it simple works. If you haven't seen this movie yet , It should come on DVD soon considering its nominated for 4 Golden Globes.
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