I am moving to a new address http://bombaycinephile.blogspot.com
Just to align the name of the blog and the address - plus the address is easier to remember :)
From Rocket Singh onwards, new reviews are put up at http://bombaycinephile.blogspot.com. So change your blog feeds etc
This blog will remain, but wont be updated henceforth
Read More!
Movies to look out for this week
Rocket Singh : Salesman of the Year [IMDB]Story of a fresh graduate trying to find a balance between the maddening demands of the 'professional' way, and the way of his heart
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Shazahn Padamsee, Gauhar Khan
Direction: Shimit Amin
The Twilight Saga : New Moon [IMDB]Based on the Twilight book series. After Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family.
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
Direction: Chris Weitz Read More!
Paa
I watched the movie on Friday and I have had a couple of days to think over it while I was out of town. And I just don’t see what the hullabaloo about Paa is !!
Paa (like Taare Zameen Par) has been almost universally acclaimed by critics and all actors, especially Amitabh Bachhan, have been praised to the skies. There is talk of even making it India’s official entry to Oscars !! Yet, if you read those reviews, none of the reviews rate the movie at more than 3.5 stars. Whereas Taare Zameen Par was rated by most people at 4 or above. (Please note that Paa is nowhere similar to Taare Zameen Par, but it was the only movie I could think of which got such universal accolades.)
I think people have gotten a little too hyper at Amitabh Bachhan’s portrayal of a 12 year old. Make no mistake, it’s a great effort and not once through the movie do you get the feeling that there is Amitabh inside Auro. The voice is nasal-cartoony (the closest is drunk Anthony Gonzalves of Amar Akbar Anthony) and make up is top-notch ! But I think this was more an exercise in adulation – because I didn’t quite get convinced that Auro was an actual kid. There were far too many inconsistencies in the portrayal – both physically as well as in dialogues – to believe that it was a genuine 12-year-old.
The story is not much of a secret, but if you don’t know yet – Auro is a 12-year-old boy suffering from an extremely rare genetic defect called Progeria, which causes accelerated ageing of the body. So he resembles an old man in his seventies while he is still a child inside. Such children usually do not live too long. He is happy in school where his classmates are very supportive – and lives with his gynaecologist mum Vidya Balan and granny, who he calls Bum !
His sheltered life goes topsy turvy when he wins a creativity award and is noticed by upcoming idealist politician Amol Apte. Soon they become friends but they are unaware of their actual relation – that of Paa and son. The secret is revealed in a flashback, but how Auro and Amol come to know about it and what happens next is the movie.
The side-plots of slum redevelopment politics and the political fighting between Amol and his rival are actually interesting – they provide a break from the emotional drama and are also relevant to our times. The news bashing ofcourse, was a little overdone, but then again, our news channels haven’t been exactly blemish free. Abhishek Bachhan suits the intense young politician role totally – and seems to have modelled his appearance on Milind Deora, the south Mumbai MP.
The movie starts off with everyday scenes of Auro's life, his limitations of food and physical activity and bowel failures. Vidya Balan is very good as Auro’s mother – and she has more meaningful scenes with Auro than Abhishek - and Arundhati Naag is superb as the grandma used to the antics of her naughty grandson. Amitabh, as I have explained – puts in a great effort, but in vain. He didn’t convince me that there is a child inside Auro – even with his monkey dance and other antics. And without that, there is no movie.
It would have been a better movie if an actual kid had played Auro rather than Amitabh. Because the rest of the casting is pitch perfect. The climax is a little tacky and needs to be improved though, but to be fair to the director, he doesn’t go for needless tear-jerker scenes otherwise.
Although I didn’t get impressed by the movie, its not an opinion shared widely. So I would recommend you watch the movie and decide if it works for you.
Read More!
Radio
Most of you probably would never consider watching a Himesh movie. But if you decide to, I would suggest you give Radio a try. Not because he has really improved as an actor – he isn’t anywhere close. But this movie is overall entertaining, its completely set in young sensibilities (coffee, facebook etc) and is in a way pleasing on the eyes (the two leading ladies ofcourse)
Debutant director Ishaan Trivedi has a lot of ideas, but he hasn’t got the execution down to a pat yet. The story he narrates is very in our times – a young couple divorced but still friends, attraction towards someone at work and commitment issues. He chooses to go with chapter-wise screenplay (reminiscent of Pyar Ke Side Effects) and goes back-and-forth a couple of times – which is part of why the movie appears refreshing. Non linear timelines or chapter-wise narration aren’t new things – but are pleasantly executed in Radio. Especially check the chapter names.
But the main reason you should watch Radio is our man Himesh Reshammiya. While he isn’t dancing or judo-kicking villains this time, he has some of the funniest one-liners of the year. Delivered seriously, ofcourse. So, while the movie for the most part, is very sorted out, few of his dialogues that are so incredible cheesy and banal that you cant help but burst out laughing. It’s a case of so-bad-its-good, but only for certain one-liners. It helps keeps the mood cheery through the movie. If the director wasn’t a debutant, I might have even considered it was a deliberate ploy.
The leading ladies – Shenaz and newcomer Sonal Sehgal – do their job well. Come to think of it, doing well against Himesh shouldn’t be that much hard work, but hey they suit the roles. Shenaz is perfect in the role of vivacious RJ Shanaya, and Sonal does reasonably as the somewhat immature Pooja. Have to put in a word of praise for the stylist – all the three leads look very trendy and smart, without trying too hard to be cool and casual. Same applies to the workplace – its what you would expect a radio station to be. Believable.
Then there is Paresh Rawal in the role of Jhandu Lal, a bakra caller. He has a couple of random scenes but they are all good fun – all calls ending with “saale #%^&@*” !!
If the same movie had been made with better actor/s, it would probably have been a good romantic movie. The idea and execution is refreshing & realistic – and music is one of Himesh’s better works. The storyline is not without its faults – and the parents are over-the-top – but like Wake Up Sid, the freshness of it all makes you overlook those niggles. Himesh provides the not-intended comic effect – and frankly I liked the movie as it is. There, I said it. I would recommend you check Radio out and make your own opinion.
Read More!
Movies to look out for this week
Paa [IMDB]A politician's relationship with his unusually developed son - the child suffers from a disease that causes him to age rapidly, rendering him an old man
Cast: Abhishek Bachhan, Amitabh Bachhan, Vidya Balan,
Direction: R. Balki
Radio A recently divorced RJ gets attracted towards his new colleague. But he is also friends with his ex-wife. Its complicated
Cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Shenaz Treasurywala, Sonal Sehgal
Direction: Ishan Trivedi
Tinker Bell & the Lost Treasure [IMDB]Tinker Bell journey far North of Never Land to patch things up with her friend Terence and restore a Pixie Dust Tree.
Cast: Lucy Liu (voice), Mae Whitman (voice)
Direction: Klay Hall
Read More!
De Dana Dan
Priyadarshan’s De Dana Dan joins his fairly long list of slapstick, helter-skelter comedies that make us laugh for a scene or two, but leave us exasperated for the rest of the movie. This one had the added pain of Archana Puran Singh, Paresh Rawal and Manoj Joshi competing for the loudest-voice-on-cinema award and gunning solely for your eardrums. I might have viewed the movie as a timepass, if only the shouting and screaming didnt give me a massive headache.
The theme is similar to his previous works (Hera Pheri series, Bhagam Bhag, Malamaal Weekly) – poor guys wanting to make the quick buck and getting involved with all kinds of random characters along the way – which culminates in a massive free-for-all in the climax. Here Akshay and Sunil Shetty kidnap a dog to strike it rich and then gatecrash into Chunky Pandey’s wedding at a hotel – who is marrying to escape debtors. Then there is a whole assortment of characters from the bumbling hitman, drunk waiter, hooker, an Indo-Chinese don to an investigator and the Indian Ambassador, no less.
The Bad
Priyadarshan’s attempt at hilarity by mixing up so many characters fails completely. The usual mistaken identities and misunderstandings are garnished with Tom-and-Jerry type chase sequences – but get you to chuckle only once every half hour. Akshay tries hard in his scenes but with so many other crazy things happening, he doesn’t sound any better than the others. And most of the other lead actors – Katrina, Sunil Shetty, Sameera Reddy etc do not have much to do and seem to be just going through the motions. If you were looking forward to the chemistry of the Hera Pheri trio, they never actually come in a scene together - and there is no spark between Akshay and Sunil to be seen anywhere.
The Good
The bright points of the movie are Rajpal Yadav and Johhny Lever – their scenes are mostly funny. And Asrani still gets a few good laughs in the end.
I have a pretty high tolerance for low-brow comedy, but this was asinine even by my low standards. The first half was especially dull, and the second half has most of the screaming, so its hard to recommend anything in this movie wholeheartedly. The rain song between Kat and Akshay in the movie has also been snipped off – just in case you were planning to go for that. And if you still HAVE to watch it, just take a good pair of earbuds along.
Read More!
Movies to look out for this week
De Dana Dan [IMDB]The usual Priyadarshan mad-cap comedy with the Hera Pheri trio and 27 other actors
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif
Direction: Priyadarshan
Ninja Assasin [IMDB]A young ninja turns his back on orphanage that raised him, leading to a confrontation with a fellow ninja from the clan
Cast: Sung Kang, Randall Duk Kim
Direction: James McTeigue
New in Town [IMDB]A Miami businesswoman adjusts to her new life in a tiny Minnesota town.
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr.
Direction: Jonas Elmer
Read More!
A Christmas Carol
The Disney version of one of the most famous christmas stories, A Christmas Carol was perhaps released a bit too early to cash in on the festive season. I watched it on Thanksgiving Day though, so there was some holiday spirit. Made with motion capture and in 3D, the visual quality of the movie is terrific – the animations having a wonderful life-like quality and you easily forget you aren’t watching a movie with regular actors. But unlike Disney regulars, this movie has a few scenes which are quite scary – I am afraid the kids might take home a few nightmares after this movie.
The story hasn’t been tampered with much – on the christmas eve of 1842, miser Ebenezer Scrooge’s dead partner Marley visits him and foretells the arrival of three ghosts – of Christmas Past, Present and Future. The three ghosts show Scrooge his past, present and what could happen in the future – making him see the error of his ways. The visualization of the ghosts ofcourse has been adapted – which is where the movie becomes a little un-Disney.
The Good
Visuals are great, and appear even better if watched in 3D – but it’s not a necessarily-3D-movie. Meaning you would enjoy the movie almost as much without 3D. The motion capture technology enhances the facial expressions and body movements, so Scrooge’s frightened face looks just like an actual old man’s. But then, coming from Robert Zemeckis (maker of Back to Future, Forest Gump, Cast Away & Beowulf), technical perfection is to be expected.
The screenplay is tight – there is no slack anywhere once the ghosts appear – and on the whole it is quite thrilling. But even with this fast screenplay, the moments of tenderness in clerk Cratchit’s family or Scrooge’s nephew Fred’s toast are unmistakable and lend this movie its soul.
Scrooge’s voice is almost unrecognizable as Jim Carrey’s – and other big names like Colin Firth, Gary Oldman & Robin Penn Wright make up the rest of the cast.
The Bad
The appearance of the final ghost is a little over-the-top frankly. Looking like the grim reaper and chasing Scrooge around in London in a carriage drawn by fiery-eyed-black-horses, it caused me to jump a couple of times. Accustomed to sugar-coated Disney movies where bad things are masked in a lot of funny gags, this was a little too grim. I don’t think this Disney movie is going to be too popular with the kids
Though its an animated version of a traditional christmas tale, it lacks the joyfulness and happy nature of Disney classics like Tarzan or Mulan. While A Christmas Carol too ends on a happy note, the overall mood and cinematography of 19th century London is certainly dark. A grown up and mature Disney movie, you might call it. Its definitely worth a watch, but I cant help wishing for a more feel-good holiday movie.
Read More!
