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Reviews
A Wednesday (2008)
A Wednesday not to be missed.....
What would you think about a movie of the thriller/suspense genre, which runs for just 100 minutes, has NO songs, NO romance but bombs, police, chases, shoot outs, high end technology
.another one of the Hollywood action movie
ah well this time it is achieved in our Bollywood by Neeraj Pandey in his directorial debut "A Wednesday"
"A Wednesday" is a remarkable venture which enthralls audiences with the sheer simplicity of the plot and extremely proficient acting. Being a suspense thriller, I will not reveal the plot and concentrate on all other aspects of the movie. It has been a long time since we saw two of the film world's finest actors together in a movie. The wait has been worth it. The duo have put up such a fantastic performance that one is compelled to think why contemporary writers can't come up with subjects which will fully exploit the potential of such geniuses. Naseeruddin Shah changes moods with finesse. He is convincing as the simple inconspicuous citizen of the city and within minutes puts up an equally convincing face of a man with a mission who would not care of the means as long as the end is achieved. Anupam Kher as the Police Commissioner puts up a first rate act. The exchanges between the two are snappy and well written. The climax belongs completely to Shah which grips the audience.
Jimmy Shergill and Aamir Bashir have also done a good job as the clichéd Hindu- Muslim police officers. Deepal Shaw as the news reporter has done well.
The film takes a dig at the news hungry media today. The bit about Electric Baba is hilarious. It also mocks the failure of the state machinery to give a free hand to the police force as well as equip it with latest technology to combat terrorism.
The editing is smooth and direction very promising for a debut. There are a few lacunae like how do you show the Police Commissioner driving out alone from a Police Station in a state of high tension? How come the news once shown on TV doesn't spread like wildfire and other news channels start clamoring for it? However they can be overlooked for the viewing pleasure that the movie provides.
Rating 9/10
WALL·E (2008)
Love in the times of robots...
Love in Tokyo, Love on Titanic, Love in the times of cholera, Love amongst 101 Dalmatians, love in Taj Mahal, Love on 50 first dates, ..Think you have seen enough of Love?...well now see
Love of the ROBOTS
WALL E is a creative marriage of Shakespearean love and Asimovic machinery.
WALL E continues in the rich legacy of PIXAR movies following the greats like Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, The Incredibles. This animation movie runs for a good 100 minutes with the most minimal dialogues and at the end of it keeps you gasping for more.
The movie is about WALL E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) a robot for waste disposal management and how he is instrumental in the restoration of a derelict earth in the year 2815. The earthlings have long abandoned earth however they forgot to switch off one robot. So our WALL E is the only, lets say, living robot on earth. He goes about doing it mundane activity of waste management, while doing so; he identifies unique objects and collects them. WALL E powers himself with the solar energy. He knows how to mend himself and has spares available. Meanwhile a robot (EVE) is sent to earth for the search of plant life. WALL E and EVE meet and for WALL E its love at first sight. From then on, it's his pursuance for love along with the safekeeping of the plant for humans to come back to mother earth which goes through an engrossing inter galactic journey space fights and robotic clashes.
It's a silent film of sorts with maximum communication done through non speech sounds and visuals. One does not need speech, or the entire face for a personality, only the eyes are enough and this idea is established in the most amazing manner in the movie. WALL E exhibits a wide gamut of emotions from loneliness, fear, happiness, shy, love, resolve, pain, despair, blush and ecstasy to many more feelings, with only his eyes. The eyes convey a message in every frame that WALL E is present. Its one robot you will fall in love at first sight.
The movie is commendable for its concept, creativity and execution. There is attention to detail. The animation is very good. The screenplay is awesome. Right from the outset the viewers will relate to what WALL E experiences which are all emoted through his eyes and body language and robotic sound. There is a very intelligent use of the background score and for the space bit; the star trek theme is used. The humour is used subtly in evolving a feeling of hope for earth, even though the concept s apocalyptic in nature. The editing is slick and the pace is well set. All though in some parts one would be reminded of Monsters Inc.
It's a must watch and will be long remembered as one of the best animation movies of all time. It is one of the few instances where, an animation movie is visibly forthright in pushing humane issues. The movie has the spirit of a love story and the panache of a science fiction and is not to be missed. Please book your tickets today.
And BTW
4.5 on 5
Rock On!! (2008)
Rocking
From the first frame of the film you get the feeling of the Farhan Akhtar stamp on this film and going by his past records one can surely say that it's a good feeling. Little surprise that ROCK ON does live up to the expectations set, though not entirely.
ROCK ON is a predictable story. Take DIL CHAHTA HAI and JHANKAR BEATS, make a gang of 4 friends instead of 3, subtract a little bit of humour, keep the pace of the movie tight and you have a new concoction
and it does not fail to impress
The story is about 4 friends Aditya, Joe, KD and Rob who had a dream to make it big as a Rock band. On the way to achieving it they fall out and give up on music to pursue individual lives. Ten years later Aditya's wife, Sakshi discovers the past life of her Investment banker husband, which was concealed from her, while stumbling upon photographs and videos of his rocking days. Meanwhile KD is into his own business; Rob is into small time jingle composition and other freelancing stuff while Joe sells guitars. Sakshi works to reunite Aditya with the rest but, Aditya is not too keen. KD, Rob and Joe however, get together and decide to revisit the past jamming sessions. Aditya fights the ghost of his past which was affecting his marital life as well and joins them. They start jamming again and rekindle hopes of performing on stage as a band through a competition. Joe's wife Debbie is kept in the dark about the reunion since she believes that Joe was a victim of Aditya's ego. She secures a job for Joe on a cruise which will give them good money. Suddenly the band comes to know about Rob carrying a malignant brain tumour and realize that this could be his only chance to perform on stage and he wishes for it. Thus the story culminates into the predictable climax of the competition finale and the homecoming of Joe. There are similarities between DCH and Rock on in terms of the ego clashes, the Gujarati friend who works hard to bridge the chasm amongst the group members while also trying to impress girls in his spare time. The climax provides a sense of déjà vu for those who have seen Jhankar Beats.
Farhan Akhter as Aditya is the mainstay and does a good job for his debut. He definitely looks a rock star. Purab Kohli as KD is funny and convincing. Luke Kenny as Rob does need to work on dialogs and Arjun Rampal as Joe has shown a delta improvement in his acting skills, little consolation that the kid who plays his son acts more naturally than him. Prachi Desai as Sakshi shows promise on her debut and Shabana Goswami as Debbie does a good job too. Shankar Ehsaan and Loy's music is first rate. The music is reminiscent of vintage rock and one would leave the hall humming 'Sindbad the Sailor' as well as the title track 'Rock On'. Both are quite zesty and peppy. Farhan Akhter has a grungy voice and since he has sung these songs quite well, it makes the character that much more believable as a rockster. Javed Akhter's lyrics show a new side to his talent. They are almost 'Gulzaresque' set on rock music. The direction is slick. The dialogues are average. The film does invoke a sense of nostalgia as well as belief to pursue what is closest to the heart rather than live a mechanical life to earn your daily bread.
The film will have limited appeal and will only pass muster with those living in metros and also among those who listen and enjoy Rock Music. People who fulfill these criteria should go and see the film. I would give it a 3 on 5 rating.
So go ahead and enjoy some cool Hindi Rock
!!!
Dor (2006)
Dor-A refreshingly different film
Before I set about describing the plot, it should be mentioned that an honest and sincere attempt at anything will always elicit applause and appreciation. By no means is this film a masterpiece; however you can easily see the attempt that it makes in being one and purely for this reason it deserves a viewing and when you do give it an audience, it will give you many more reasons to watch it again.
The story is about two women who happen to be connected by a strange quirk of fate. Zeenat (Gul Panag) and Mira (Ayesha Takia) live in breathtaking geographies of their respective states. Zeenat in Himachal Pradesh has her home nestled in the lush green hills overlooking the undulating river as she cuts lovingly through the hills. Mira on the other hand lives in the barren state of Rajasthan which glows with its harsh painful beauty, "havelis" proclaiming the patriarchal society. Both these women have just begun their married life in absolute love with their spouses, however for economic reasons their better halves have to go to the gulf. In the far off land, Mira's husband is killed and Zeenat's husband (Amir) is held responsible for his death. The harsh law of the state doesn't allow him to be expedited and believes in an eye for an eye, so Amir will have to part with his life unless Mira decides to pardon him. Thus begins Zeenats journey to track down Mira armed with nothing but a photograph and her strong will power to save her loved one at any cost. She meets Shreyas Talpade on the way who is "masquerade" or a "bahurupiya". Shreyas helps shorten her search through ingenious ways and using his masquerading talent. Beyond this it is best watched on the large screen.
The film has one of the best background soundtracks, haunting and apt with the look and feel of the film. The cinematography is amazing, the way the camera captures the beauty of both lands is awesome. Memorable scenes are the Himachal hills with the river and the blue houses of Bikaner among many great scenes. There is a tendency to start most scenes with a non descript object in focus and then shifting the gaze to the characters but before it becomes too noticeable, it is rectified. The acting is outstanding. Gul Panag is very convincing as the strong willed woman, however the anguish and the pain of knowing that she could loose her loved one is not depicted well. Ayesha Takia does a great job of a nubile young widow who has to confine herself to the life of a prisoner just because she has lost a husband. Her accent is not very convincing. Shreyas Talpade is the pick among all. His mimicry talent is beautifully showcased here and his accent is flawless. He leaves you with quite a few memorable scenes, especially the one in which he declares his affection for Zeenat. Nagesh brings out certain subtleties which declare his talent for serious cinema. How ever certain elements stop this film from being a great work. The character of Mira could have been made stronger if the decision making for her would have been complicated by lessening the complications in her life, this would have brought out her character in full. The pace of the film might not find favour with the majority of the audience. The climax of the film leaves a lot to be desired. In spite of all its shortcomings, Dor should not be missed. It is very rare that such serious cinema is attempted in commercial domain which seems to be obsessed with celebrating philandering on the streets of New York and forcefully pushing the media to discuss the same on prime time. The film doesn't for once become larger than life and sticks to the portrayal of human behaviour and relationships through trying times and decision making. May not be for the front bencher's but definitely for the connoisseurs.