Friday, October 30, 2009

London Dreams * * *


Vipul Shah's first film as a director in which you won't find hamare-pyaare-Akshay-Akshay. London dreams is a musical featuring Ajay Devgan (Arjun) and Salman Khan (Mannu) as langotiya yaars in Bhatinda.Arjun has a dream to make it big in the world of music and rock everyone like MJ did.He can do whatever it takes to reach there.Meanwhile Sallu's character is always game for fun and girls.He has a gift of music but is never bothered to exploit it.He is Just Chill all the times and loves his friend Arjun and wants him to fulfil his musical dreams.

Unfortunately Arjun's family suffered some serious humiliation courtesy Music in the past when his grandpa screwed up big time in front of a million people at Wembley,London.So music was a abandoned word at Arjun's.Arjun then moves to London with his uncle after the sudden demise of his father.He then runs away from his uncle to fulfill his dreams and in the process meets two Pakistani musicians and a hip-hop cum classical dancer Priya (Asin).They form a band named London Dreams .Arjun falls for Priya.But here comes the catch of the movie.Vipul Shah has portrayed Arjun as a dark character.When Arjun realizes that love can derail his train to Wembley, he decides not to reveal his feelings and performs a self-beating session which totally brings out his dark side.

Mannu on the other hand, plays saxophone in weddings and parties to make a living.But when Arjun visits his old pal, he discovers Mannu's gift of music and encourages Mannu to accompany him in London.And when Mannu hits London, he phods everyone with his musical gift, charms Priya with his chick-attracting gestures and makes Arjun insecure.Soon people start seeing him as the charm of London Dreams.Ajay is devastated by the turnarounds and decides to get rid of his buddy as there can be only one last man standing.He tricks Mannu into drugs which eventually breaks him from inside.Arjun gets to perform at the Wembley in front of the we-want-Mannu-crowd and undergoes a emotional breakdown in front of million people.He confesses his actions and criticizes the unfair bias the destiny had in store for him.Finally Mannu goes back to Bhatinda and the band breaks.

Om puri who plays Arjun's uncle convinces him that he did a wrong thing.He gives out an important message which many people need to understand.If we wish to make it big in some field of our interest, we need to understand that some others might have it as a gift.You can always win together.And you do not win when they loose.Anyways, few highs of the movie are: the superbly portrayed dark character by Ajay which surely will make him the best-actor-in-a-negative-role come this filmfare, awesome one-liners by Sallu and btw Salman actually acts after a long time and does it well but he needs to get over the dus-ka-dum accent, the chemistry between the two and Vipul's direction.Lows were: the music and the length.For a musical, you need some rocking music man !

Aladin * *



In the league of hatke Bollywood movies, comes yet another brave but rather disappointing attempt.Aladin is a fantasy movie with some cute romance and gentle comedy.But the plot moves at an awful pace.Based on the Arabian nights,its an Indian adaptation of Alladin and the Genie.Ritesh Deshmukh(Aladin) suits the character but Jacquellin Fernandes(Jasmine) isn't looking cute enough to pull a Jasmine.AB delivers a marvelous portrayal of the legendary Genie and is the highlight of the movie throughout.The way he brings out the character is sure to impress masses.His dramatization and one-liners keep the spirit of the movie alive.

The place where this extravaganza takes shape reminds you of the beautiful city Agrabah in the epic with the palace,drums and carpets.Aladin looses his parents in an accident at a very small age when they go lamp-hunting over mountains.Aladin somehow survives the ordeal.His grandfather supports him through school and college.From his childhood days,he becomes the target of his friends teasing him on his name.They always make him rub a lamp and then make fun of him when no genie results out.But one fine day he finds the thing he's destined to have.The Lamp.And with it comes the Genie and three wishes.Power comes with responsibilities.Yes it's also true for Aladin and not just spider-man.Aladin is the chosen one.The one who can stop the evil genie,the Ringmaster(Sanjay Dutt) who himself was a genie once but lost his powers as he tried to use them for his own good.Sanjay Dutt just sleep-walks over his lines totally matchless to AB's performance.The Ringmaster has some strange assets in his circus.The hot-scar-face damsel,a pseudo wolverine,a joker and a few etc which justifies the fantasy tag the movie carries.The Ringmaster with his weirdo's tries to regain his powers courtesy some comet crossing over the earth and eventually loses the battle to the Aladin.


The cinematography is superb and most of the scenes are beautifully shot.The music of the movie is different than the average run-throughs in most commercial flicks.The Genie-Rap which introduces AB's character is full of energy and charm.And the song you-may-be is so damn romantic that you see roses all around.Overall the movie is entertaining for child audiences and is a bit slow and not at all griping for the grown ups.So if you have some little ones in your family,take them for this cute joy-ride.

Friday, October 23, 2009

All The Best * *


This one is the mother of all comic flicks ever before.No one expected it to pull off a show so overwhelmingly hilarious and entertaining.The comic timings of Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan are superb with all other characters equally impressive as well. The real catch is they do it without a storyline to tell.But who needs a story when you just can't stop yourself from making that monstrous noisy laugh of yours amongst the crowd.

Its a wonderful situational comedy shot in the best of beaches of Goa. Veer(Fardeen) is into singing and is friends with Prem Chopra(Ajay) who is fascinated by hi-speed cars and runs a Gym with his wife Jhanvi(Bipasha) .Veer and his friends depend on the pocket money he receives every month from his rich bro Dharam (Dutt) who has the false impression that Veer is married to Vidya (Mugdha) who is actually his girlfriend.A surprise visit from Dharam starts a fun-filled and entertaining journey of chaos and mix-ups.The strong point being that it never becomes.

And guess who makes a strong come back into comedy.The return of the king.Johnny Lever.Yes he's back into business and in style.He, his little gang and Sanjay Mishra who just chills through all the way long have a lot to do with the success of this movie.Have to say that Ajay really rocks the show with his comic timings and well supported by Sanju baba.Fardeen is average and the two girls have nothing much to do but to be a part of the fun party.Music is mediocre but a couple of songs are really rocking and go with the pace of the movie.But had they not been there, it would have probably made the movie shorter and sweeter.It's a total entertainer and worth a go.Get ready to experience a laugh riot and an enjoyable stomach-ache.Just Chill !

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Blue * *


Blue is a new beginning.A bollywood action film made in angrezi isstyle.It actually gives you that english film wali feeling.Be it the superbly shot bike sequences which remind you of fast and furious.Be it the amazingly beautiful underwater photography.Be it the intense scenes shot in the moon light like the ambiance in Sin City.But how can Anthony(The Director) forget the most basic thing.You have to have a story-line man.Every other awesome thing will look dull otherwise.

Long back in 1949, when Britain decided to return a part of gold valuables taken from India before its independence, they send all this on a ship called 'Lady In Blue' which sunks somewhere near Bahamas.The reasons being mysterious.Aarav( Akshay Kumar) is a rich dude on a mission.He wants the lady in blue and he's aware of the fact that only Sagar( Sanjay Dutt) can do this job for him.Sagar is not willing to hunt down the lost treasure for reasons of his own.But when his little brother Sam( Zayed Khan) gets into trouble and also to make Lara dutta's dream to save marine life true, he finally decides to go deep into the blue.

Akshay Kumar performs the usual.Nothing new to it and nothing impressive.Sanju baba should really consider a retirement now.Katrina Kaif in her special appearance looks super cute in curls and that shiny little piercing below the lower lip just adds on to the flawless beauty she is.Rest performances are all mediocre.And the direction is so terrible that you feel like killing him and feeding it to the sharks.A R rehman ka jadu to chalega hi.His sizzling tunes and background score scores well.

Few things you won't miss in blue.One, Sanju baba has put on a lot of weight and probably this is the only reason he manages to get so much of screen space.No offense munaa bhai but you exactly portray all those fatso losers who somehow manage to have the hottest chicks.Two, Zayed Khan's new look is not bad as compared to his weird hair-do's in the past.Three, the treasure hunt seemed to be so lame and a baaye-haath-ka-khel and had no adventure element in it.It was like they only needed to decide when they wanted it.Four, Lara Dutta has never looked more hot and gorgeous.Who cares about the dolphins when you have such a fish swimming upside down and what not.So watch blue for its underwater photography,watch blue for its action sequences and watch blue for Lara and not Kylie Minogue.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Wake up Sid * *



Rich Dad, spoiled son. Considerate mom, insensitive brat.Only knows how to party hard.Flunks the college exam.Falls for an independent,smart and simple girl.A sudden reality check which changes everything.Come on Karan, haven't we seen this alot.And probably we have seen this stuff in a far better way courtesy Farhan in Lakshay.A yet another cliche under such big banner fails to impress.

Even Konkona seems to have lost that little magic she created in her previous few performances.Can't blame her though as her character hadn't much to say.Ranbir does pretty well than what was expected from him.But the character 'Sid' needed something more.A bit more energy in the first half and a bit more composure post reality check.Moreover,the movie is too long and terribly slow.

Although the movie has few things which can just make it over that average mark.The songs and the music is totally rocking.The song 'Iktara' is so soothing that you actually live the lyrics of the song.Few things you won't miss in the flick are Kashmira Shah and Ranbir's colorful and cute T-shirts throughout.If you just woke up on a lazy Sunday and have nothing to do, you can give this a go.But you will have to try hard to keep yourself awake.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Inglourious Basterds * * * *



A masterpiece from Tarantino with only less of blood and more powerful performances.The movie has everything in store for you but the real catch is something else.A superb and brilliant performance by an individual.And it's not Brad Pitt this time.The real basterd is someone else.Christoph Waltz steals the show with his best ever performance.We can never forget the way Heath Ledger portrayed the joker.And Waltz has done something similar to Col. Hans Landa.


The Inglourious basterds are a bunch of African-American soldiers which are dropped into the Nazi-occupied France to rescue the Jews and kill the Germans.This mercy less troop is led by Lt.Aldo Raine played by Brad Pitt who carries the African-American ascent brilliantly.The movie depicts the cruelty of the Germans on the Jews who hide themselves all over France.

Waltz who portrays Col. Hans Landa is given the responsibility to search and kill the rats.And no doubt he proves himself worthy of it.His mere presence is so powerful and keeps you wondering what is coming next.You cannot take your eyes off the screen when he is around.His every word and his every action seems so calculated.

The background score of the movie is so apt and beautiful at times.Be it the Beethoven's theme in the starting sequence or the dark melodies in between, all of them compliment the on-going plot of the movie.The cinematography is exceptionally good.The scene in which the theater is on fire and the face of Shosanna mocking the Germans being projected on the smoke is just breath-taking.And this is not it, Tarantino also delivers a strong climax.A superb movie after a long time.Do not try this at home, go to a theater near you !

Heil Tarantino !