Torna travel briefs I

Rows of flowers flash past us, as Raincloud and I breeze through the open road on my humble bike. It is Raincloud's birthday and we are off to Torna...

MUMBAI CROWS!

...waiting for the leftovers of the chicken legs, even as men stand around the roadside stall and munch away

THE TORNA TRAVEL DIARIES: COMING SOON

COMING SOON: THE TRAVEL DIARIES

As you are reading this post, I shall be at my grandmother's village.
So while I breathe oxygen for a week, and capture some in a glass bottle for the city, here are some pieces to keep you 'occupied'...

Movie Review: EMI: Liya hai to chukana padega: A 'Munnabhai' with less heart and dextirity

Too much of a Munnabhai hangover

It is not that EMI is a very bad film. The main storyline about the alarming trend of taking home loans and credit cards is promising. But the execution has too many shades of the Munnabhai franchise without the heart.

Sanjay Dutt plays Sattar, a Munnabhai like character, and his dialogues with his gang of recovery agents ( the good parts ) is similar to the two landmark Rajkumar Hirani flicks.

Unnecessary songs, some bad dialogues, too many characters, and a devious ending - a not so subtle promotion of Sanjay Dutt's political ambitions- it all makes for bearable viewing.

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace: Lifeless execution

Olga Kurylenko is the new bond girl

Daniel Craig is one good actor, and most of the time he does his own stunts. He is Bond, James Bond for the second time and the results here are worse than the first movie - Casino Royale. The story does have potential but what a waste!

Casino Royale was a mildly entertaining film about Bond's early years, and this one continues the story set up in the first one. Except, there is a new villain and a new girl here.

The acting is great, but the director spoils it all, the engaging moments are so rare, you almost beg for some life. The action scenes are shot in such a manner that you have to be gulp down style without any logical threads to it.

Craig and company need a great director and a tough screenplay in the next one. Financial success may come, but what about storytelling?

At you own risk, viewers...

Mathieu Amalric plays the Bond villain with amazing ease

Movie Review: Body of Lies: An unpretentious entertainer

Directed by Ridley Scott
Main Cast: Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Strong

Contemporary and pacy from the first to the last frame, Body of Lies is a speedy entertainer. We are drawn in to the games of deceit, lies, power, terrorists and the CIA (Central Investigative Agency) (In short, America saving the world).

DiCaprio plays a CIA agent riding danger in the streets of Iraq and Jordan, while Crowe plays his senior, adroitly controlling operations through his cell phone in America. As with his previous film American Gangster, Scott manages to hold our attention with his apt treatment and by extracting great performances from Dicaprio and Crowe - now a Scott regular. Its not a classic, but certainly not boring.

Last Word
Why did Amitabh Bachchan reject such a meaty role of Honey? Insecurity?