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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Ra.One-The next level is here!!

It's the biggest week in India as far as movie releases go, and this might just be the most hyped movie in the history of Indian Cinema. Since the poster had released in January this year, we knew that something big was coming, and for the last three months the promotions were in full gear. Be it on serials, reality shows, ads, malls, road shows, or even your local toy store SRK left no stone unturned to ensure that EVERY person knew about the movie and would spend the amount he wanted and ensure a hit. This he has surely done wisely as we all know that the movie halls are going full and no matter what the amount of the ticket, people are just too curious as to what exactly the movie has to offer.
Now coming to the real deal, the movie itself-this was the first time that I wished that the National Anthem was played after the movie and not before beacause by the end of the movie I was proud-proud that this is a product of India and the level of visuals is definitely at par with Hollywood. My only regret is that I did not see the movie in 3D-the car chases, the gaming sequences and so much more what the movie has to offer is a delight to watch and will definitely make you go WOW on more than one occasion.
The story is simple and sadly full of loopholes. Shekar Subramaniam, played by SRK is a game maker but is far from being cool. He is loved by his wife but does not manage to gain his son's respect. His only way is to make a game on his son's request in which the villian is stronger than the hero to the extent of being almost unbeatable. Here starts the spiral of mishaps, deaths, and a age-old battle of Good vs Evil. the narrative is quick paced in the first half but drags and tests your patience heavily in the second half. Even the cameo by Superstar Rajnikanth is underwhelming and makes you feel that it was definitely a gimmick. Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra's cameos are better but still lacks the excitement a cameo is supposed to create.
The music is of course top notch with everyone from Hans Zimmer ( of Inception fame ) and The Prodigy to Akon contributing to some fine music in the film and creating the International Desi feel.
Kareena is more of an Ornament than anything else and the child actor Armaan, is just too irritating for my taste. Arjun Rampal shines as Ra.One and is a perfect fit for the role. Tom Wu, the Chinese-American actor shines as well in his brief role. About SRK of course, what can one say- he is a born natural and carries the movie on his not so broad shoulders and although he does not create an epic of a movie-it definitely is the biggest event of the year.
For the sheer honesty of SRK, for the brilliant VFX and the fact that Akon sings in Hindi-I'm going with 2.5 out of 5 for Anubhav Sinha's Ra.One...Watch it to see where India stands NOW!!!

Paranormal Activity 3-Repetetive yet effective!!!

To all those who have seen the first part with me, you'll know the impact this has had...No Sound effects, no fancy camerawork and the touch of realism is what makes this series so frightening and the latest in the series doesn't dissapoint...
This movie is about Katie and Christie's childhood and how the 'demon' we now know so well actually became a part of their lives...There's even a name given to it this time-'Toby'....Sounds funny, yes...but try laughing when he actually makes an entry!!!...
The new camera angles and the anticipation is what really gets you in the movie and as usual there are moments that will make you scream, jump off your seat or just cling on to the person next to you...there are repetitive moments like standing for hours together or dragging but yes, you still enjoy those just as much...even if you're not as scared as you were before...
Of course it answers a lot of questions from the 1st 2 parts but creates new ones as well and very obviously tells you to wait for the 4th part....
It's been the scariest trilogy so far for sure...Just hope that they are able to scare us just as much in the next movie as well....
I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Paranormal Activity 3...
Dont watch it Alone!!!!!

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Up in the Air-An unlikely loner!!!

There is a scene in which George Clooney is addressing an audience by asking 'What's in your backpack?' and has nothing to do with an actual backpack...It has to do with the burden that we carry on our shoulders in our day to day life without any necessity...That's how he lives his life in the movie....but the empty backpack signifies his loneliness more than his freedom!!
George Clooney's character Ryan Bingham is a lonely, but aggressive character whose life revolves around airports and planes...in short, the most frequent flyer you can imagine...I must admit that it excited me more than it should have because that's exactly what I would love doing...Anyways coming back to the story, Bingham wants to hit a number-10 million miles...no reason-just a number..and his job you ask?...it is to fire employees of various companies who are downsizing in the most strategic and effective manner...he has no commitment apart from his job, he lives his life out of a suitcase and seems happy in his rather empty life and happens to chance at a pretty female who he strikes an instant connection with!!...
Enters Natalie played by the very talented Anna Kendrick who wants to change the system of the company Clooney works for by firing people online and not having to travel all around anymore...Clooney's arguement-The Human Touch...and he takes Natalie across the country with him for a lesson or two in 'Firing management'...while he tries to manage his personal relationship with Vera's character!!!...
Won't give more away-but what unfolds is epic and in Clooney's own style it's just simply brilliant...
Definitely deserved the Oscar Nominations and worth a watch for sure....
I'm goin' with 4 out 5...
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Mr.Prime Minister-Unintentionally Hillarious!!!

"ChargeSheet"-Dev Anand's latest movie hit theatres last week...and I thought why not review his previous flick which I had the misfortune of seeing-that too in the theatre!!...
There are some movies that are BAD but there are movies like this which are so BAD that they make you laugh and laugh even more than genuine comedies and "Mr.Prime Minister" is one such movie.
Directed,Produced,Acted and even Sung by the so called legend-Dev Anand, he ensures that he is to be blamed for all the bullshit in the movie.
I don't even want to get into the story because it's too absurd to talk about-what I will do though is list out a few excerpts that made this movie hilariously memorable for me:
1. He is depicted to be a guy with no money to the extent that he has to tie a rope instead of a belt on his trousers-but he can afford a Sony Ericsson T610 which was among the more expensive phones then!
2. Tara Sharma is a secret agent from "AL QUEDA" and has all the numbers of the members stored on her phone!!
3. Dev Anand is seen smooching a Firang whose 1/3rd his age!!!
4. While he is on a helipcopter he speaks to people right below him over a radio and everything is clearly heard inspite of the loud helicopter blades and that's not all-there is a moment where he is talking to the people directly-even without the radio-guess he still has his vocal chords intact.
And of course there are these endless scenes where he is delivering cheesy dialogues one after another and the camera is just focussed on him for minutes together-it's hard to believe that a guy of his age and stature is so damn self obsessed.
I have not seen his earlier movies and I might be wrong but I don't see anything in him that would have made him a legend.
And to top it all he tries RAPPING-that is just the heights.
I'm going with 1 out of 5 for this crazy hillarious excuse of a movie..

Dev Anand should seriously consider therapy!!!!