The Twilight Saga-Breaking Dawn: Part 1-Forever is just the Beginning!!!

A Global Phenomenon: That's what one would associate The Twilight Saga with nowadays and the box office figures are proof of that. The latest installment in the series is said to have been the third highest opening for a movie ever, making it fall short only of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. This in spite of the lukewarm response it has got from critics the world over. What this series has offered to teenage girls the world over is known to us, and us guys unfortunately have 'Edward' and 'Jacob's standards to live up to..but then again, at least we are human!..Now coming to the actual stuff...What exactly did I think of the movie...Well read on to find out..
The movie starts of with invites going out to all the family and friends of Edward and Bella for their wedding. The only reaction worth watching though is of Jacob's as he gets livid and has the only shirtless scene of the movie. Yes girls, that is it..So be prepared. The wedding is expectantly beautiful and has a surprise entry from Jacob as well in what I feel was the best scene of the film. Post this of course they have the honeymoon off the coast of Rio on a beautiful island, and this in spite of Bella still being human and well aware of the consequences. The first night is funny and passionate, but the next morning Edward realizes that this is not fun and games and refrains from doing anything else except play Chess for the rest of the trip. This gets too much for Bella and few days later they do it again. Then...something unexpected happens, Bella gets pregnant and Edward is more stunned than any guy who realizes that he is going to be a dad. All of this happens in the first half and the nature of it is quite slow paced. This I have no complaints about though because if you have read the books, you would know the love that Bella and Edward had for each other and the unison of the two demands a scale of importance. The second half is quite the real deal though and has all the elements to make you await the last installment. The way Edward tries changing Bella into a vampire though is not the way I would have pictured it, but nevertheless the last shot of the film makes you forget all else.
Coming to the actors, it seems that everyone got their make up right for the film. Edward doesn't look that white and even Bella looks kinda attractive. Taylor Lautner's performance though definitely stood out for me.
It's definitely a movie for the fans of the franchise and also if you have been following it but I would strictly not recommend the same who haven't seen any of the parts. I just wish the next movie would release sooner but sadly we'll have to wait a whole year for that one. I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Breaking Dawn: Part 1...

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2 Fast 2 Furious-It ain't the same without Vin Diesel!!

To be Aired on Star Movies
November 22nd
9:40am


To say that this was the most underwhelming film of the lot, would not be surprising. People who love the franchise obviously love it for the cars and the girls. But they also love it for 2 other reasons-Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.
One half of the duo, like everyone know, opted to not be a part of the movie which brought on Tyrese gibson to fit in Diesel's enormous shoes...Does he deliver?...Well read on and find out..

The story tracks O' Conner being nabbed by the cops at Miami and is asked to help them to take down Drug Peddlar Verone, played by Cole Hauser. O' connor agrees to take the job as it will clear all charges against him, but needs the partner of his choosing who turns out to be Roman Pearce, played by Gibson who also takes up the job to clear his name of charges levied against him, because of which he is still under house arrest. Now at the start they may not be the best of friends but they soon start seeing eye to eye, with difficulty of course and here starts the master plan of taking Verone down.
It has a typical GTA feel at times and Miami definitely adds up to the whole 'Gangsta' feel.
The Mitsubishi cars are expectantly high on looks and performance( the year is 2003 btw ) and the racing bits of the movie ,lives up to expectation.
The girls are a mixed affair though.
While Eva Mendes plays her role as an undercover cop/ Verone's mistress really well delivering just the right amount of oomph, Suki, the only female racer in the film, doesn't excite you with her looks or acting.
The surprise element of the movie has got to be Ludacris who shines in his cameo as Tej Parker, an ex street racer and a race organizer at the moment. there were moments where I wished that it was him who was Paul Walker's partner rather than Gibson.
Nevertheless it's a fun film and although it seems like a filler when we look at the whole series in context, it;s a no brainer that won't bore you...
So if you have the time, then definitely catch this on Star Movies or watch it on DVD.
I'm going with 2.5 out of 5 for the second installment in this thrilling series..

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Rockstar-without the drugs!!

It's been five days since I saw this movie and I was hoping the time passed by between then and now would bring about a transition in my judgement of this movie. I did not want to just be critical or negative about it. Hell, I actually wanted to like it. But if you have seen this movie and liked it, I suggest you read no further.

Saadda Haq-Aithe Rakh was the anthem that we have been chanting ever since the promos of the movie came out...The music definitely created a buzz and why not, with the likes of Rahman and Mohit Chauhan being at the helm of affairs. And this is one section that delivered exactly what was needed.
The second thing that went right was the casting of Ranbir kapoor. I must admit that I am not his biggest fan..but the pain of Jordan, the innocence of Janardhan and the person in between is brought out so effectively and earnestly by him, that I have got to say that as an actor, this is his best performance yet.

So, if all this went well and it is directed by Imtiaz Ali who has churned out brilliant movies back to back, what went wrong??

HIM- Imtiaz Ali has made some of my most favorite movies-Jab we met, Love Aaj Kal and even Socha na tha. But with Rockstar, he gets so self obsessed with his script that he doesn't really see the logic in it. Also the editing is horrible had felt completely mismatched for a movie that lasts almost 3 hours!! I actually felt that he should have gone for a straight-forward narration rather that the 'experiment' he tried. Also the scripting is really loose and the movie gets intolerable in the second half. The biggest character flaw has to be that Jordan, who idolizes Jim Morrison, doesn't get into drugs...now what kind of ROCKSTAR is that???

NARGIS-Probably the worst element of the movie, she sticks out like a sore thumb. Her acting is painful to watch...Her dubbing is even worse...I actually felt Katrina would have been thousand times better in her place. She should just get back to her modelling or taking care of her kid or whatever but spare us the horror of seeing her in the movies.

I don't want to give out much of the premise as most of you'll know the basics thanks to the promos. I don't know how many of you'll might agree or disagree with me but this is how I felt.
Please do share your views as I would like to know what you'll thought of it.

My suggestion-save your money and go watch Ra.One again ( you read that right )

I'm going with 1.5 out of 5 for Imtiaz Ali's ROCKSTAR...

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Home Alone-Don't try this at Home!!

To be aired on Star Movies

November 7th

6:50pm

The holiday season beckons and it's time to revisit a classic. This 1990 comedy directed by Chris Columbus is seen by all and forgotten by a few. It's probably among the first kids' movies that I ever saw, and you have to give it up for the recall value of this film which still doesn't look dated 21 years later and still holds it's own in spite of the repetitive gags.
For the ones who haven't managed to see this yet, here's a glimpse of the plot-Mackaulay Culkin, our very own John McCalister is a kid who doesn't like his family very much. He hates being bullied by his elder brother Buzz...Hates the fact that he has to share a bed during the holidays with his cousin who pees in his sleep. and hates the fact that he has to go with his huge family for a holiday to Paris.
Fortunate for him-he gets left behind accidentally and has the whole house to himself.He eats junk food, trashes his brother's room, watches a gangster film and more-basically everything he probably wouldn't be allowed to do otherwise. The fun is short lived though as there are 2 burglars waiting to thieve the house as they think no one is home...But little did they know that the 8 year old boy was going to be a living nightmare for them..Actually did I say the fun was short lived?...It just got started...Gag after Gag you're in awe of Kevin's character and the cuteness with which he tackles the bad guys.

Each booby trap is better than the other but my favorite moment has to be when the pizza delivery guy gets scared by the voice overs of a gangster flick which Kevin very tactfully plays the dialogues of.or also the scene where he re-creates an entire party in his house to fool the bad guys with objects lying around the house.

It's cute , it's ingenious and it's a movie that will never be forgotten.
I'm going with 4.5 out of 5.

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Get Smart-A watchable action comedy!!

To be aired on WB

November 4th

6:50pm

When this movie had released in 2008, it grabbed a lot of attention. After all it was a great casting coup. There's the 40 year old virgin-Steve Carrell. The Devil who wears Prada-Anne Hathway and of course for all WWE fans-there's The Rock & the great KHALI!!!...and it is this very odd group of people who capture the essence of the movie, which is partly action and has a James Bondish feel while suddenly it changes to a spy comedy on the lines of Austin Powers or Johnny English. Although it must be said that for most of the time, it is balanced pretty well.
Get Smart is based on a 1960's television version of the same name and follows the adventures of Max, played by Steve Carrell who works as an analyst for a top secret Government intelligence agency known as CONTROL and he longs to become an agent to face the real stuff outside the underground office of his. He is sort of the office idiot but is extremely good at the job he does, so much so, that his chief is hesitant to make him an agent as he is too good at his current role. After a mishap at the office though he gets his opportunity to live his dream of being an agent as he goes on a mission with Agent 99-Anne Hathway. to Russia in order to put an end to a plan involving the end of the world-but obviously.
Now the thought of Anne and Steve Carrell together might surprise everyone but to my surprise the odd couple did pull it off with a few gags and it definitely helped that she looked absolutely gorgeous.
Now what are Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and 'Khali' doing in the movie you ask?..Well, The Rock is Agent 23 who is suave and the killer agent but is forced to do a desk job while Steve takes his place. It's a relevant role in the movie. Khali though is just purely there because of his size and no reason whatsoever.
Now although this is an action comedy, it doesn't have too many laughs nor does it have too much action..but the little of both that is there is good enough to carry the movie.
My favorite sequence in the movie is when Anne Hathway and Steve Carrell have a dance battle of sorts, in Ballroom dancing ( with different partners )...It's one of the more hillarious scenes in the movie and stays with you till the end.
Overall, there's not a lot to take back although it's not a movie that should be taken too seriously as well.
It's good entertainment for your home viewing.

I'm going with 3 out of 5 for Get Smart.

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Die Hard-Classic is an understatement!!

To be aired on Star Movies
4th November
2:05pm

Who hasn't heard of Die Hard??....My guess..practically no one..This Bruce Willis classic might not have been seen by all, but definetely one has heard about it. if Sylvester had Rambo, Arnold had Terminator, then Bruce Willis is associated with the Die Hard movies in the same way. The first installment is obviously like most franchises the best of the lot, and Die Hard is no different. Also keeping in mind that this was a movie that was shot in the year 1988, it's somthing that people will still enjoy and connect to.
The premise is such...John McClane, a NYPD officer is on his way to LA on Christmas Eve to attend a party of his wife who he hasn't spoken to or met in months. McClane is driven to the Nakatomi Plaza building for the company Christmas party by a limo driver named Argyle. The party is disrupted by the arrival of twelve armed men led by Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman. They cut the telephone lines and seal the building doors, trapping Argyle and the limo inside the parking garage and replacing the building guard with one of their own men. Hans and his group secure the party goers as hostages, but McClane manages to escape. With his wife hostage he tries to rebel among the group of 'terrorists' whose real motive is really something else. Watch how he tries in true blue action hero style to take them on in pure brawn fashion.
Among the actors, Bruce Willis is amazing and looks so young..If you haven't seen any of his earlier films then this look of his will come as a real shocker. Alan Rickman is more menacing than ever ( than includes him as Snape ), and in his trademark style delivers the dialogues with the right amount of.....pause.
Reginal Veljohnson and De'voreax White too shine in their brief roles as Sgt. Powell and Argyle respectively.

It's a movie that still stands the test of time and with sequels still being planned, it's a franchise that's here to stay.
I'm going with 4 out of 5 for Die Hard.
Watch it if you miss the classic action movies.

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Peepli Live-a hillarious sad story!!

To be aired on Zee Premier 

13th November

1pm

In spite of it being the Official Indian entry to the Oscars last year,this was a movie that didn't do too well...and frankly I might have not seen the movie in the theater myself if I hadn't got a free ticket...Because apart from the fact that this is an aamir khan production, there's nothing else that would interest a person to go and buy the ticket...But what this movie lacked for in publicity, it made up for in content. The fact is that Peepli Live is such an honest movie, that it will connect with you even if you have no idea or connect with the rural India...because that's exactly what this movie talks about and also delivers a message in the most subtle way possible along with loads and loads of comedy. In short it's the perfect Indian comic satire.

The premise is based in the fictional village of Peepli in Mukhya Pradesh where two brothers, Natha and Budhia are poverty stricken and find it hard to keep the house running. Neck deep in loans the brothers pretend to go farming and end up drinking alcohol instead, with an attempt to erase tensions of their land or house being stripped off. Ultimately of course the bank demands the repayment of the loan, failing which, they would be homeless. Natha is encouraged by his brother to commit suicide so that the Government will provide Rs. 1 lakh to the family which would be an end to all their problems. I know it sounds depressing so far but here's the twist...Natha and his brother are overheard by a news reporter about this at a tea stall and what follows is chaos in the Little village. News channels, politicians everyone make their way and Natha is an instant celebrity or in other words the news of the hour.This is probably the best hour or so of black comedy that you will ever see in Indian cinema. ( barring Delhi Belly of course, which co-incidentally is also an aamir khan production ).It's funny, it's brutal and will change your perception of rural India all together. The ending is unpredictable too and does not demand patience at all.
Among the performances, Natha, played by first time actor-Omkar Das Manikpuri has to be the pick of the lot. He holds the movie together and is an absolute delight to watch. there could not have been a better Natha. Also Kumar Deepak, played by Vishal Sharma is the ultimate hindi journalist you would have ever seen for whom no small story is small enough.
And one has to really credit Indian Ocean for the soulful background song that catches the movie's mood just right. Last and definitely not the least-Director Anusha Rizvi, a former journalist herself gets everything right in her debut venture, and this is hoping that there's many more movies just like that...Kudos to her...
I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Peepli Live. It is time well spent.

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