Archive for August, 2009

28
Aug
09

Kaminey

A remake of Pulp Fiction? Yes and NO! Yes, because it does have the “feel” of Pulp Fiction and you can relate Kaminey to it. No, because even though it does feel like Pulp Fiction a little, it doesn’t matter since the movie has way more to offer! Kaminey is a great package, in terms of performance, plot line, humor, romance and action, which was much needed by the Industry and the viewers as well. It definitely reaches the top watch of this year, after Dev.D (In case you missed this one, then you have no idea what I’m talking about).


A “masala flick” which is perfectly directed, and so well, that it gives a whole new definition to “masala flicks”. What I personally feel, Vishal Bharadwaj tried his best that no one could typecast this movie; he molded two to three different genres of every aspect, in it. Ok, let’s start from the star cast first: Shahid Kapur & Priyanka Chopra, who are out-and-out “mainstream” actors, then Amole Gupte and Shivkumar Subramaniam (I remember his movie Parahar, brilliant!), the ensemble of actors was made from different forte. Then the humor in this movie is again a mix of different kinds, from lame jokes to dark humor to strategically placed punch lines, and situational comedy. There are loads of moments in the movie where you’ll really laugh-out-loud! And, same thing goes for the music (which is very good by the way)!

As for performances, kudos to Vishal Bharadwaj for squeezing out the best from Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra, now both of them can proudly go around saying they are “good actors”. Both of them have performed with such an amazing ease, watching them on screen makes it a delight! Amole Gupte too has done an amazing job! Speaking of actors, I just realized Kaminey has just 6 characters out of which only 4 have names.

Now comes Vishal Bharadwaj, ok, I’m going to be a little biased as I’m a big fan of this guy! He has done a great job on this movie, not his best but definitely great! But the movie does have brilliant cinematography! Very well balanced movie yet the second half feels a little dragged, and the masses might find the movie “dark colored”, you’ll find the whole movie has been shot either in dawn, dusk or at night. One more special mention goes to the sequence when both the brothers confront each other, for a moment you’ll forget there’s only one Shahid Kapur in real.

Even though the movie has the title which translates to Rascal in English, and it’s a Vishal Bharadwaj‘s movie, surprisingly it doesn’t have any strong swears like Omakra and Maqbool. So you can watch this one with your family without any awkward air.

What I personally feel, it’s because of Directors like him, Anurag Kashyap and Dibakar Banerjee, Indian Cinema has a meaning!

That pretty much sums up the whole movie, but I still feel there’s lot more to be mentioned here, but it might work as spoiler. One special mention and thanks to PVR guys who sponsored this movie for me. So, catch Kaminey at a PVR near you!


Rating: 3.5/5

Year: 2009

Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1274295

13
Aug
09

Rock Star

rock_star_film-posterSet in the 80’s, Rock Star is based on Tim “Ripper” Owens, who initially was in a Judas Priest cover band. He then left to join the real Judas Priest. Here the band is named Steel Dragon. Movie stars, Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, well quite an unusual pair, but it pretty much works it. There’s nothing so appealing and great about this movie, except for Rock, naked girls anddrugs. The usual underdog story, Rise and Fall.

You get a hint of the plot just by reading the tag-lines,

Every guy wants to be you. Every girl wants to be with you.

The story of a wanna be who got to be.

Dream big. Live the life.

Rock based movies don’t hit screens that often, so you will find only a hand full good ones (not including Biographies like Gimme ShelterThe Doors or Iron Maiden: Flight 666). The only good ones that I can remember at the moment are The School of Rock and Almost Famous [Do let me know if you know any].

Coming back to Rock Star, well it’s an average movie, with some cool Rock Concerts of that era. If you’ve been a fan of Van Halen, Judas PriestKISS.. then you might like this one. No exceptional acting skills display, despite Mark being one of the finest actors.

Rating: 2.5/5

Year: 2001

Torrenthttp://www.mininova.org/tor/817165

Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202470

13
Aug
09

Angels & Demons

Angels and Demons PosterAngels & Demons was published before Da Vinci Code, so it is actually a prequel, yet in the movie they refer to the circumstances of the Da Vinci Code as if it were a prequel. That implies,

Angels & Demons, the book – Prequel

Angels & Demons, the movie – Sequel.

With all due respect to Mr. Dan Brown, I’ve always found his work overrated, especially when it comes to movies. In both the movies Tom Hanks was projected as the essence of story, which is the fact, but honestly the story falls flat on me, so even he fails to make it up for it.

Anyway, coming back to Angels & Demons, let’s put it this way, if you enjoyed National Treasure and get fascinated with Catholic history, then watch this one. Don’t raise your hopes. Ewan McGregor and Tom Hanks have done usual work, yes usual, being a veteran.

I would have given the movie a little better rating and credit, had it got me riveted to my seat, which it didn’t.

Rating: 2.5/5

Year: 2009

Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808151

04
Aug
09

Love Aaj Kal

Haven’t we’ve had enough of all the “guy meets girl, separate (enter the song “Dooriyan”), realize they’ve made a mistake when it’s too late” bullcrap movies? Unfortunately, NO! And sadly enough, I don’t even see it happening anytime soon, especially after looking at the box-office opening of Love Aaj Kal. To put it simple for you, picture a movie with Hum Tum & Jab We Met sorts humor, and cheesy dialogs of any corny Hindi movie, with usual London in the background and some “peppy” soundtracks and of course, a “Mr. Cupid” (Rishi Kapoor in this case, same as Hum Tum but not as Saif’s father this time), you have Love Aaj Kal. By the way, by “Cupid” I mean the guy who puts all the sanity in the actor to go after his “love” and also, he’s been through the same and blah. Movie has some witty jokes thrown at the right moments but that’s about it. No. of times I saw my watch: 5 [In a 2 hrs movie, that’s a lot, it felt neverending]. Saif Ali Khan (Jai Vardhan Singh) has sort of replayed the character of Karan Kapoor (Hum Tum). As for Deepika Padukone (Meera Pandit), to put it subtly, she doesn’t know how to act. She looks great on the big screen and knows how to dance, but story ends there. The girl has potential but it can only be tapped if she joins an acting school.

By the title Love Aaj Kal, they simply mean how love stories used to be in the past and how they are now. Anyway, if you don’t have anything better to do (like today, I didn’t) go for this one, better yet wait for the DVD.
Rating: 1.5/5 (Generous)

Year: 2009

02
Aug
09

Cidade de Deus (City of God)

Foreign Cinema at its best!

This movie is so strong, so hard hitting, it’s able to leave a very strong mark in your memory, which is the best compliment for any movie. Cidade de Deus was on my list for a very long time, but it takes me a lot of time before I brace myself to start a movie with subtitles, but I’m glad I finally saw it!

Based on a true story, set in Brazil, movie covers every essence of a “Drug movie”, violence, sex, blood, and the extra topping in this one, Children Gangsters. If you thought you saw it all about Children holding guns in Blood Diamond then watch this, it’ll definitely prove you wrong. With all the bloodshed and gore, movie does have some really heart wrenching moments as well.

The cinematography of this movie took me aback! Especially while introducing new characters, and adding extra angle to the story, brilliant! Same goes out for the performances by every single character in the movie. The only glitch was the movie feels a lil dragged and I was starting to feel the movie is overrated, but just as you start to feel that, BOOM, it picks up the pace! Look out for the kid who portrays young Lil’ Dice, one of the finest performances by a child artist I’ve ever come across.

This is a must watch for everyone, especially for those who thought Slumdog Millionaire was the best movie to be shot in slums. Time to discover underbelly of Brazil, real dark!

Rating: 4/5

Year: 2002

 

Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/City-God-Alexandre-Rodrigues/dp/B0000D9PNX

 

Imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248

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Shivam Sharma