Saturday 31 October 2009

Movie Review: LONDON DREAMS: Killing with the formula


An ambitious Indian musician making his mark in the London music scene brings along his childhood friend from India to be a part of his band only to discover the friend overshadows him with his gifted talent. Driven by jealousy and madness, the musician must achieve his dreams at any cost, and so unfolds the story.

The premise inspired from the 1984 Hollywood film Amadeus has its moments, but Hindi film escapism and musical song sequences ensure that the effect is fleeting. Salman is a surprise, he does manage to convey the freedom of his character, while Ajay Devgn - playing a man in a maddening pursuit of his dream, though good, is ineffective because his character is too glum, too hidden (despite been a musician).

Watch it for Salman's carefree portrayal, the rest is all old stale wine, in an old bottle.

Friday 30 October 2009

THIS IS IT: Michael Jackson's Swan Song


No one could live a song like Michael Jackson did, and it is more than evident in the new documentary film THIS IS IT, a collection of rehearsals for Jackson's 'farewell tour' that never happened due to his death in July.

Well, Jackson is more than alive in this film, with no signs of any weakness or ill-health, he dances like magic, sings with a passion as he only can. We also get to see how much goes into a stage show, the side-dancers, the musicians, the choreographers, the light designers and visual effect creators, but finally it is MJ who stands out.

Go, watch it on 70mm at the theaters for the posters say ' for two weeks only'. Unless they are kidding.

Monday 26 October 2009

Movie Review: ALL THE BEST: Mix of charming and degrading comedy


Director Rohit Shetty arguably gave a new genre of Hindi film comedy to the screen especially with Golmaal (2006) and its sequel Golmaal Returns (2008). His latest release All the Best is loaded with the same template. The thin storyline and characters exist for the resultant comedy, so it is like every scene playing out like a series of skits, ranging from clever lines and expressions to cheap 'do anything for the laughs' kind of thing. Then there is also the celebration of the 'invincible hero' beating up villains, alas, without any comic inventiveness. The female leads have little to do, it is the Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt banter that keeps us entertained, Fardeen gets to do his bit too. Pritam's music is good decoration.

Bearable popcorn entertainment, you could munch the whole packet empty without realising there is none left. Why? Because you have tasted it before. All the Best is that kind of comedy, you will not mind sitting through it.

Saturday 10 October 2009

Hungercloud in the city

He brings with him a relentless frenzy, a large appetite, tales of his 'luv' and a frantic desperate search for a stable job. We shall follow his adventures with Cloud in subsequent posts.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Movie Review: Wake Up Sid: Ranbir dazzles


Wake Up Sid, directed by Ayan Mukherjee is a breezy 'coming of age' tale of a rich, carefree brat Sid -Siddharth Mehra. Sid (Ranbir Kapoor) as he is called by friends, is just out of college and believes in living in the moment. "Who knows where we will be tomorrow?" he declares to his friends in a short monologue. This also means he has no sense of responsibility, or any clue as to a profession or living life on his own terms. Chancing upon a older, more career-focused Aisha (Konkana Sen Sharma), new to Mumbai, he helps her find a rented abode. Things go breezy and carefree on celluloid, until the final year results arrive, and Sid discovers that he has flunked. Angry and arrogant, he leaves home after an altercation with his bath shower firm-owning father (Anupam Kher).  Helpless, he moves in with Aisha. Similar growing up shades were seen in Farhan Akhtar's sparkling directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai and in his second movie Lakshya.

Ayan keeps it simple, and it is the chemistry between the main characters played by Ranbhir and Konkana, the clash of their mismatched personalities that keeps the film going. Apart from characters like Sid's college friends and his parents (Anupam Kher excellent as the strict father, Supriya Pathak charming as the English-learning mother) - the Shankar-Ehsan-Loy soundtrack is the movie's strength too.

Sunday 4 October 2009

I am only sleeping...



I'm only sleeping by THE BEATLES

Everybody seems to think I'm lazy
I don't mind, I think they're crazy
Running everywhere at such a speed
Till they find, there's no need

Please don't spoil my day
I'm miles away
And after all
I'm only sleeping

Friday 2 October 2009

Movie Review: What's Your Rashee?: Stretched with loose ends..


There is no denying that Ashutosh Gowariker's foray into the comedy genre does raise the laughs at times. What doesn't go well is the storyline devised to create the comedy and the three-hour plus running time.

All is well when NRI Yogesh Patel is emotionally blackmailed by his parents to marry within a fortnight in order to repay his brother's debts. Left with no choice, he decides to meet a girl from each rashee (sun sign) and then decide. Priyanka Chopra playing all the 12 girls could have been an absolute joy if only the screenplay would have been more inventive at setting up each girl-boy meeting. What we get is a mixture of brilliance, sharp characterisation to superficial, repeated scenes. It is all 'what could have been', for Priyanka is captivating in parts and Hurman, otherwise bound in a limited role, strikes a fine chemistry with her. Darshan Jariwala and Anjan Srivastav lead the impressive cast of supporting actors. What's Your Rashee? is still worth a watch for the moments of magic that this marathon movie sparkles with, if occasionally...

The music
No comparisons to AR Rahman please! Sohail Sen's music is pleasant and quite an effort considering there were 13 songs to be composed. The background score is OK, for a debutant. Sen certainly deserves another opportunity.