Bridesmaids-A Serious Comedy!!

2 Oscar Nominations:

Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo-Best Original Screenplay

Melissa McCarthy-Best Supproting Actress

It's not an unknown fact that comedies or rather chick flicks do not stand a chance at the Oscars. Forget winning, even securing a nomination is nearly impossible. But last year's hillarious and serious movie-Bridesmaids was taken seriously enough for atleast 2 nominations. Some might argue that they didn;t get nominated for the top awards, but what the hell..It's not like they stood a chance against the more 'Oscar-Like' movies anyway.But the fact that this film secured these two nominations shows that atleast a part of the Academy is coming of age.

Predictably not winning either of the awards in their respective categories(Best Original Screenplay Winner-Woody Allen,Midnight in Paris & Best Supporting Actress Winner-Octavia Spencer,The Help) this movie is still probably among the most entertaining movies of last year. And I don't just mean 'Leave your brains behind' kinda thing...This genuinely makes you laugh and genuinely involves you in the seriousness of it.

The movie is about 6 friends, one of who is getting married(Lilian) and the disastrous lead up to her wedding. The misfortune ofcourse centers around our central character(Annie) who is played by Kristen Wiig, the oscar nominated writer of this very film. That is probably the best thing that worked for this film as she knew exactly how to express her writing. It's a twisted turmoil where in scenes you don't know whether to laugh or cry. And that's not because you would be confused. it's because all these emotions flow through you at the same time!!...Anyway coming back to the story, Annie has a rival who wants to be the maid of honor, Lilian's new best friend-Helen who upstages and sabbotages everything that Annie does. this involves everything from catfights to screaming wars to even creating a situation where everyone is shitting in the basin of a bridal store!!...Sounds gross, yes...but this is a ride that you have got to take. And all the other bridesmaids do serve as main elements at different stages in the movie but nothing that I'd like to get into the details of. Ofcourse I can't help but mention Melissa Mccarthy's Oscar nominated role of Megan who is the future sister in law of our bride-to-be Lilian. She is absolutely hillarious in every scene that she comes and she makes sure that the smile stays on for long. Definitely a nomination well deserved.

Overall I would say there are two ways of looking at this film:

1. It's a Comedy with a lot of Serious moments.

2. It's a Serious Movie that's way too funny..

However you see it, I'm going with 4 out of 5 for Bridesmaids.

This is One Oscar Nominated Movie that should not be missed!!!

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Ekk Deewana Tha-Perfect Romance My A**

It's amazing how apt the title of a movie can be with a reference not only to the story or the plot but in this case the storywriter, the actor and the director as well....and of course, me as well for actually wasting my hard-earned money on THIS!!

It's not that it's not entirely a unwatchable movie-don't get me wrong, but the so called twists and turns of the movie piss you off more than it surprises you. It's a twisted love story that actually has so much potential, but it seems like everyone related to the movie was hellbent on seeking revenge on the producers and try and make this as bad as possible...

The story is of a Hindu Boy and Christian girl who are neighbours and have a romance developing like a gas on low flame, taking their own time and without any major heat. There are ofcourse, objections from parents, the difference in caste issues, and not to forget, the fact that she is elder to him as well.

It's all predictable for the most of it, and the parts that are not you would not even want to predict!!...

It's also amazing how some shots of Goa were disguised as being shot in Mumbai...I mean who does that nowadays!!...the scenes in kerala are decent enough and mildly interesting as that is one state that is hardly captured on film in hindi movies.

Now coming to the cast,

Prateik for some reason had all the young girls in the theatre screaming their heads off for him. i absolutely do not understand this for 3 reasons:

1. He does not look good,

2. He can't act,

3. He is SPACED all the time!!...

Basically you know by this that I hate the guy...ofcourse he does have a good body but this ain't a body building competition.

Amy Jackson has shed the bikini umage of her modelling days completely and has stuck to below rs.1,000 sarees throughout the film, which she still carries off to a certain extent but leaves much to be desired. Her voice has definitely been dubbed but for a foreign import, this was quite a decent performance from her for her first film.

There's also Amy's character-Jesse's uncle in the movie who makes an impact in the couple of scenes that he does appear with his frantic Malayalam, but sadly I do not know his name.

Rahman too seems to have been bored while composing music for the film barring the track that is quickly climbing the charts-Hosanna.

The tagline says-A Perfect Romance, More or Less-And after watching the film I can certainly say this..

Perfect Romance, My A**...Take your GF/BF for this and they WILL break up with you, I'm serious!!..

I'm going with 1.5 out of 5 for Ekk Deewana Tha...Guess the xtra 'K' didn't help after all...

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Ek main aur Ek Tu-More than just 'What Happens in Vegas'

When I first heard of this movie, I heard all sorts of stories that this is a copy of the Ashtom Kutcher-Cameron Diaz starrer-'What Happens in Vegas' and from the promos it did look like that!!...Also 20 minutes in the movie and you would again feel the same, but that's where the similarities end!!

'What Happens in Vegas' is not one of my favorite movies but I'm glad this took a different and fresh route. The story is of 2 weeks in Imran Khan's character-Rahul Kapoor's life and how it changed the rest of his life completely. While he is a high society product, and an architect whose without a job, Kareena's character is completely different from his. She is a high spirited hairdresser and lives life as it comes. Now similarities with Jab we Met are there, yes. But it genuinely is fresh and different on screen. While you would expect this movie to follow a typical romantic comedy structure, it surprises you by taking a different turn each time which sometimes might leave you pleasantly surprised but at times a little underwhelmed. It has a topsy turvy kind of feel to it and doesn't leave you disappointed at the end.

Now the chemistry between Imran and kareena is surprisingly good. There is definite chemistry and a feel that was definitely missing in a movie like probably 'Anjana Anjani' where such chemistry was required but not achieved. These two take the movie till the end and even overshadow some of the senior actors like Ratna Pathak Shah and Boman Irani, who play Imran's snobbish parents.

Among the supporting cast Kareena's dad-played by Nikhil Kapoor is probably the coolest dad you will ever see on screen and the scenes with him are absolutely the funniest in the movie.

There's also a cameo by Ram Kapoor which would make all our parents happy for sure!!

Overall the only thing lacking in this movie is a script that flows easily. It is tedious at times and not exactly as mushy as you would expect a valentines release to be...

Overall it's a good watch, keeping the season in mind. Go and have a good time at the movies.

I give it 3 out of 5.

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Coriolanus-Shakespeare with a Twist!!!

There is something extremely interesting about all of William Shakespeare's work. They are extremely similar in the sense that they all involve betrayal, death or loss of power. It's DRAMA at it's best and noone captured it better than him for stage which now have been made into some brilliant adaptations with modern day versions like Romeo + Juliet or closer home, Maqbool and Omkara. Coriolanus is another one of his brilliant works but debut director, Ralph 'Voldemort' Fiennes takes the daunting challenge of not only adapting  the play into a modern day setup, but also star in the pivotal role which by no means is a easy task.

Now Ralph's character in the movie is that of a Roman Soldier whose somwhat like a dictator of sorts but a hero nevertheless. He has done more for the country than your average Joe in terms of defending the very ground that is his birthplace, but make no mistake, he does not do this for the people. In fact, he despises them. Ultimately even his heroism gets overshadowed by his sheer arragance and disregard for the common man, and is banished from the very place he fought all his life to protect. Even his fellow politicians and his own mother are manipulative enough in the process and there is nothing that can save him from being banished.

Now I'm sure you've seen the poster above and are wondering where Gerard Butler fits into all of this. Well, he is Coriolanus's sworn enemy, Tullus who ultimately becomes his ally to seek revenge on Rome and post this what happens is typical Shakespeare which is a good thing if you are a fan of his like him.

Now the one real problem in this movie is 'language'. Every dialogue is recited just like the play in Shakesperean English, without subtitles whatsoever, so it can get a bit frustrating at times as you have to give the movie your undevoted attention if you do not want to miss out on anything. Apart from that it's a stellar performance from the debutant director who is absolutely amazing with his acting as well. butler is decent as he has nothing much to do honestly but definitely makes his presence felt in his brief role.

I'm going with 3 out of 5 for Coriolanus....

Ironically both the movies I saw in jan were real similar-Agneepath and Coriolanus in terms of basic plot and the REVENGE factor. and with grey shades in all characters involved. So now here's looking forward to this month's releases. it's Valentine's Month, so you can be assured that there are some great chick flix coming up. just stay tuned and.....

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Agneepath-Return of the Angry Young Man!!!

Kar Shapath,Kar Shapath,Kar shapath....Agneepath,Agneepath,Agneepath!!...These lines of poetry by Harivanshrai Bachchan might sound familiar to a lot of people thanks to the original movie as well as Amitabh's rendition of it on KBC numerous times....It's a poem that was the inspiration for not just the title but the emotions and decisions of our very own Vijay as well...Now before I get started, I must say that this review is completely individual and will bear no comparison with the original.Reason being that I honestly haven't seen it...So that is good in a way to give an unbiased review I guess...so let's get down to it...
It's been a week since this released in cinemas and is making the money that it expected for sure...While some people are finding the length too long, others seem to find it too old of a plot to be relevant today.The first bit, yes I agree that the length could have been shorter keeping in mind the sensibilities and patience of audiences today...but the latter I absolutely disagree with.
The retro strory of typical Bollwood Ishtyle Revenge is what is the high point of this movie and you can still get a charge by the emotions even today as well.The raw action is what people have been craving for rather than wires and stunts done in front of green screens. if that wasn't the case, then movies like Singam, Dabanng and Wanted would have not done as well as they have, and therefore that's something that goes down well with me about the movie.
The story is a typical revenge story where Hrithik's character, Vijay Deenanath Chauhan is out to avenge his father's death against the evil villian, Kancha and the movie is the journey of how it all happens.
 One of the most chilling and well shot scenes is thje initial one where Vijay's dad passes away.It's heartbreaking and you can feel the pain that Vijay is going through as a mere 12 year old boy. It's a scene which is re-visited time and again in the movie and stays with you for long.
Another of my favorite scenes from the movie is when Hrithik renders the super famous Vijay Deenanath Chauhan dialogue on a beach in Mumbai during ganesh visarjan while stabbing his childhood rival repeatedly. It's a scene that guarantees the seetees.
While Hrithik's intro shot reminded me a lot of Krrish, I still tried to keep those painful memories away and I must say that this is one of Hrithik's best performances to date. i do not know how Amitabh acted in the original but I guarantee you that you will love Hrithik as Vijay as well.
Sanjay Dutt is terrifying as Kancha and although his acting is not quite up to the mark, the 'Voldemort' look-alike looks take him through as the perfect villian for the movie.
The surprise package has got to be Rishi Kapoor who we are not too used to seeing in a negative role but he does his role to perfection as Rauf lala-a drug and human trafficer.
Now in the midst of all this it seems like Katrina and Priyanka were playing a game of-'Who is more irrelevant?' in the movie because Chopra literally has just a 15 minutes role and Katrina's item number is far from being hot!!!...
Overall, a movie that will take you back to the good old simple days of Bollywood Masala and definitely worth a watch with a huge group, in the theatre where you know there's going to be a lot of people making a lot of noise.I'm going with 3.5 out of 5 for Karan Malhotra's Agneepath!!

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I am Number 4-not in ratings unfortunately!!

Michael Bay is no stranger to Sci-fi thrillers having directed the very famous Transformers series...Unfortunately as a producer, his touch is clearly missing. I am number four is the kind of movie that fits into a few genres such as thriller, sci-fi and even a touch of teenage romance.And if you haven't figured it out already, that precisely is the biggest problem with this film.
John Smith( Number 4 ) is one among 8 special being from an alien planet who have escaped from there for the future of their kind and save themselves from the mogadorians. He lives with his so called dad and moves from city to city in order to be safe. The tension heightens when 3 of the people from his planet die in sequence and he is indeed number 4, next on the list. He must not only save himself, but protect the rest and some closed ones too.
The obligatory romantic track is kind of sad, but is a good distraction from the actual story which can get boring sometimes.
Although the story is a bit of a drag, this movie still managed to accumulate a lot of one in the box office and knowing that this is inspired from a book series of 6 books, one can safely assume there is more to come. The biggest disadvantage though is that they have created a sad reputation for the franchise with just one movie...Can the next on be a turning point, or will it be the same as this...only time will tell...
Till then, I would certainly not reccomend this movie to anyone unless you are absolutely in love with sci-fi.
I'm going with 2 out of 5...

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The Green Hornet-A superhero comedy!!

About the same time last year, this movie had hit theaters. It was another 3D movie and with an unlikely cast of Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz and Chinese Singer and Actor, Jay Chou. Also co-written by Seth Rogen this movie has his signature style of a laid back black comedy mixed with some action in the middle. Also of course is entwined the superhero part which doesn't quite fit together but is pretty good in bits and pieces.

The story follows the life of Britt Reid ( Seth ), a spoilt brat who had a bad childhood and all the money in the world.He is introduced as a character who is brash and the said lifestyle a result of the lack of love and attention from his dad ( played by Tom Wilkinson ) which resulted him in getting drunk every night and of course, sleeping with different girls. The twist in our protagonist's life occurs at the loss of his father which leads to an unlikely relationship with his official 'coffee maker'-Kato who is literally an example of being more than what meets the eye. He is funny and slick and probably a key factor in helping this movie stay together.
Reid's disinterest in his Dad's empire leads to a crazy idea of developing an anti hero to save their city. The name of course is The Green Hornet and along with Kato, they paint the town green. Add to it a funny yet ruthless villain and we have a drama all set to take place.
Cameron Diaz's presence is highly questionable in the movie but I must agree that she is a sight for sore eyes. And James Franco's cameo in the beginning is simply brilliant...
Overall it has all the elements that you would want from a blockbuster but they don't always get it right.
While Kato's action scenes are slick, his relationship with Reid is comical and yet has a certain charm to it...But what this fails in is striging it all together effectively.
Also this movie could have easily been at least 20 minutes shorter and it would have been so much better.
Not a bad watch at all I would say, and it's quite watchable.
I'm going with 2.5 out of 5 for the green hornet.

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