Tanu Weds Manu

Director           Aanand Rai

Cast                 Madhavan, Kangana Ranaut, Jimmy Shergill, Deepak Dobriyal, Swara Bhaskar, Eijaz Khan, Ravi Kishen, Rajendra Gupta

Year                2011

Genre              RomCom

The trailers of Tanu Weds Manu have been around for so long now that people already know the story for sure.  There is a slim chance that you would have missed them in the halls.  And if you are a movie addict like this writer, then you would have probably been tearing your hair apart by now, wondering when the movie would be releasing finally.  It finally did yesterday.  Phew.

Director Aanand Rai (I wonder why people are so hell bent on numerology) uses a star cast which doesn’t have too many well known names (except Madhavan and Kangana) but has all the faces that you would have seen in some movie or the other in the recent past.  The fast paced first half starts off with the build up to Tanuja Trivedi (Kangana Ranaut) who is the kind of girl that most parents would want to be rid off sooner than later.  A graduate from Delhi University, she is the kind of girl who would give the best of guys a scare.  Smart, spunky, good looking and with a sharp tongue, she is far from being any man’s dream girl. She drinks, She smokes, She dopes.  And that combination is quite lethal for a traditional UP family.  Oh and did I mention the fact that she has had a few affairs and has actually run away from home a couple of times in vain. So much for being a “Sundar, Susheel, Sanskaron wali ladki” (Beautiful, Talented, Cultured girl – pardon my translation if incorrect)

And to fall into this trap is Dr. Manu Sharma ( Madhavan) who has come back from London thanks to parental pressures to get married – although I find that a bit hard to believe coz his parents seem to be the understanding kinds.  His mom is quite a nag but then which mom isn’t especially in these matters? Dad is super cool and so is Pappi (Deepak Dobriyal) his family friend.  The foursome make their way to Kanpur for the first step in the girl hunt – The Trivedi household – where there is complete and utter chaos coz – Jijaaji aa rahe hain (the brother in law is on his way – already? I thought the marriage is some time away).  The girl is obviously in no mood to get married.  Not because she is against the concept. But because her thrill in life is to be a rebel and go against everything that her parents ask her to do. And also because she wants to get married to her boyfriend.  But our hero is unaware of all this and still falls in love with a girl who has fallen asleep on a quart of vodka and 5 sleeping pills.  When she does come to her senses, she asks him to call off the wedding.  Now what?

The first half of TWM is quite entertaining with a lot of clean humour and truck loads of over acting by Kangana Ranaut which is not very successful in masking the sincere effort from Madhavan and a solid one from the rest of the cast.  One would be surprised at the attention to detail that the numerology believer director has put into finer points such as Delhi Airport being actually Delhi airport and not like most other movies where Hyderabad airport is called out as anything from New York to London to even Sydney at times.  It remains to be seen, however if the other scenes were actually shot on location. I could vouch for Lucknow and Kanpur but not for the likes of a Kapurthala.  What does not work for TWM though is the immense emphasis on every syllable that Kangana makes (That is the way she talks) and a second half that goes a way bit awry and very slow.  The music is apt for the locations but not too great.  Overall if you believe the successful formula of movies based on marriage that has always worked in India, you would enjoy TWM.  I give it a 5 on 10.  Its definitely watchable.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVdksjTQLjk&feature=fvst

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How do you know

Director           James L Brooks

Cast                 Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Katherine Hahn, Mark Linn-Baker, Lenny Venito, Molly Price, Ron McLarty, Shelly Conn

Year                2010

Genre              RomCom

The trailer says - How Do You Know….. when you are in love? How Do You Know….. when you are in trouble? My question to ace director James L Brooks is “How Do You Know….. WHEN YOU HAVE MADE A REALLY DRAB ROMANTIC COMEDY THAT ALMOST PUTS YOU OFF TO SLEEP”?  Surely you should know that Mr.Brooks.  Considering that you are an academy award winning and nominated director who has given us the likes of “As Good as it gets” and “Broadcast News” both of which were highly acclaimed movies – rightfully so.  But I guess everyone is human and has their lows.  I am sure hoping to God that this was your all time low Mr. Brooks.  I don’t think the world is ready for another really drab RomCom especially from directors like you.  We may just about lose faith in the concept. I am not kidding you folks.  I actually had to wake up my brother mid way through the movie and I don’t think he was to blame in any way.

Lisa Jorgenson (Reese Witherspoon) is a softball player for the United States National Team.  She is about to be cut from the list of the final 18 for the year.  She is 31 years old (Gawd I am going to die with so many movies about 30+ people) and the head coach thinks she is slow…. By about 0.3 seconds …. Which may actually cost them a game or two (No wonder they say sports is getting extremely competitive these days).  The rest of the coaching staff doesn’t agree with the argument but don’t have much of a choice.  Lisa loses her place in the side and to make matters worse finds herself in a weird relationship with ace baseball player Matty (Owen Wilson) whose idea of being a long way into a relationship is that he has only one bridge to cross – nameless sex.  And if that is not sufficient, enter the 3^rd corner of the triangle – George (Paul Rudd) who is facing an indictment thanks to some crimes that his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson) has committed over the past few years.  All of this leads to a confused state of mind that Lisa finds herself in – torn between a rich future with a star baseball player who makes $14 million a year and gifts her Cartier diamond watches and the not so rich almost jailed flat broke man of her dreams.

The movie is so slow that it can compete with a snail or a tortoise for who would finish last.  The editing is totally awry.  In fact absent.  Ditto for the acting and I wonder where the June Carter (Walk the Line) version of Reese Witherspoon disappeared.  Although she still delivers a strong performance.  Jack Nicholson continues to be the saving grace.  But the trio of the constipated Paul Rudd, the over confident Owen Wilson and the extra hyper pregnant Katherine Hahn make a mash up of what could have been a decent movie with a zillion or so cuts.  The saving grace are a few of the dialogues and some funny moments.  But there is little or almost no romance in the movie.  It is just the overall feel of the movie that makes me classify it as a RomCom but seriously – where is the romance?  Imminently avoidable.  Loads of other movies available to see anyways.  4 on 10 for the bit of humour and some strong acting from Jack Nicholson and Reese Witherspoon.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3436250649/

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Gnomeo & Juliet

Director           Kelly Asbury

Cast                 James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Ashley Jensen, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, Julie Walters, Patrick Stewart, Richard Wilson

Year                2011

Genre              Animation

I am an amateur critic and would probably not understand the finer nuances of animation.  But in my not so expert opinion, I think Disney has given us a lovely movie yet again.  This time with director Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2; Spirit : Stallion of the Cimaron) they give us an adaptation of a The Bard’s classic and make no bones about it when they start the movie by saying “The story you are about to see has been told – A LOT”.  It is definitely just another Romeo and Juliet movie but it is told a bit differently and Disney has ensured that it doesn’t turn out to be insulting to a classic like Rob Letterman did to Gullivers Travels.  In fact it is an extremely entertaining animation movie for both adults and kids alike.  And rest assured, the kids will totally love it.

In Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birth place) stay an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Capulet (Richard Wilson) and an equally elderly lady called Ms. Montague (Julie Walters).  They are forever at loggerheads with each other. But this enmity is not restricted to just them. Even their ceramic garden gnomes come to life when there are no humans around and take the fight way too seriously for their own good. In the Blue corner is a team of gnomes led by Lady Blueberry (Maggie Smith) and her son Gnomeo (James McAvoy) along with their trusted ally Benny (Matt Lucas).  In the Red corner is Lord Redbrick (Michael Caine), Tybalt (Jason Statham), Fawn (Ozzy Osbourne) and the extremely cute martial arts expert, Juliet (Emily Blunt).  Their fights range from ruining the opponents garden to their favourite “national” pastime – Lawn mower racing.  The not so obvious twist in the tale is when Gnomeo meets Juliet and it is love at first sight.  Of course they take a few minutes to figure out what they are getting into but as Juliet’s frog nanny – Nanette (Ashley Jensen) puts it – the relationship is DOOMED from day one.  And things only get worse when Tybalt decides to raid the Blue Lawns and destroy a flower that Gnomeo’s late father had lovingly planted and the Blue Army had tended to all these years.

A slew of corny one lines and references to Shakespearean classics do not prevent this movie from being great fun to watch.  Stuff like Juliet being stuck to her pedestal with the “Taming of the Glue” or the fact that the warring elderly couple stay on Verona Drive or Nanette telling Gnomeo’s pet mushroom “You look like a fun gi”.  And it is garnished with Elton John songs from the past 3 decades.  The voice overs are excellent.  The distinctly identifiable ones are those of Michael Caine, Ozzy Osbourne and surprise surprise Hulk Hogan as the Terrafirminator – the mean lawn mower that sets you back by a 1000 pounds of hard earned money only to cause the complete destruction of the back yards.  The resulting product spread over just under 85 mins is a lovely way to spend a weekend afternoon.  And it would not matter if you don’t see it in 3D coz the effects are quite bland.  A very entertaining flick but on second thoughts, may not make it to the Oscars this year.  Guess there were many other animation movies that were better off.  I give this a 6 on 10.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi854264089/

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Saat Khoon Maaf

Director           Vishal Bharadwaj

Cast                 Priyanka Chopra, Niel Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Vivaan Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Usha Uthup, Ruskin Bond

Year                2011

Genre              Drama

We have all grown up with Ruskin Bond and his writing in a variety of genres.  But who would have thought that we would actually land up watching one of his more intense but yet casually written short stories make it to the big screen.  Trust Vishal Bharadwaj to take up four pages of scribbled lines and chase one of the best Indian authors of our time to convert it into a 150 minute screenplay.  And not just that, he has also managed to convince him to appear on screen in a 30 second cameo.  The story titled Susanna’s Seven Husbands is now set to be permanently etched in our memories.

A single legged, hot tempered Keerti Chakra winning Major from the Indian Army who is as possessive about his wife as our friends across the border are about the blasphemy law is Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes’ (Priyanka Chopra) first husband – Edwin Rodrigues (Niel Nitin Mukesh).  He is followed by a drug addict who plagiarizes songs from his college band called Jamshed Singh Rathod aka Jimmy Stetson aka Jim.  A closeted sadomasochistic poet Wasiullah Khan (Irrfan Khan), A Russian Spy with a wife and kids in Russia – Nikolai Vronsky (Aleksandr Dyachenko) and an Inspector who grows into being a senior intelligence officer Keemat Lal (Annu Kapoor) are the next 3.  Bringing up the rear is a Bengali medicine man Dr. Madhusoodhan Tarafdaar (Naseeruddin Shah) who has severe financial problems.  Did I count seven?

What works for SKM is the fact that Vishal Bharadwaj can make anyone act.  Niel Nitin Mukesh has been given a fresh lease of life but I have my doubts on him being able to sustain it for a longer period.  John Abraham is impressive despite his best efforts not be.  And Aleksandr Dyachenko in his first outing is equally good despite dialogues such as “Mein Tum Se Amar Prem karta hoon” and “Mere Paas Maa Hai”. Corny but well executed.  Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan and Annu Kapoor are anyways amongst the finest actors that this country has seen.  Priyanka exceeds herself yet again.  Usha Uthup as Susanna’s nanny Maggie, leads the support cast with a fabulous performance as her partner in crime. The music is atypical Vishal Bharadwaj and very clearly seems to be made specifically with SKM in mind. The Dialogues are sharp and to the point.  Narration is solid and the movie needed the time that was given to it.  The use of light is superb in some scenes.  Lovely editing.  Nothing seems out of place.

So why then would I give a movie narrated in third person by Arun Kumar (Vivaan Shah) as a story to his wife Nandini (Konkona Sen Sharma) only 7 on 10.  Well the surprisingly bad sound editing (at least in the print playing in PVR Mulund) kept aside I am unable to decide if I thought the movie was too perfect or had an X factor missing in it.  That Vishal Bharadwaj gives a lot of credit to his audience’s intelligence could also have been a reason why I probably walked out of the hall feeling a tad incomplete.  Somehow I am quite sure that this isn’t VBs best work to date.  Omkara continues to be on top.  Movie of the year so far though.  Watch it.

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLT-Nt-e_Vk

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Patiala House

Director           Nikhil Advani

Cast                 Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Tinu Anand, Jeneva Talwar, Armaan Kirmani, Soni Razdan, Devansh Daswani

Year                2011

Genre              Drama

In marketing parlance, hype is defined as “an ingenious or questionable claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect” or simple put exaggerated publicity; hoopla.  And why are we discussing the concept of hype? Isnt this supposed to be a blog that reviews movies and not give a lecture in marketing and choicest terms.  You would be right on both counts.  But how in the blazes am I supposed to explain a character called Askhay Kumar who is the least talented of all actors that Bollywood has to offer today but is still one of the highest paid actors around – and if sources are to be believed – THE HIGHEST PAID ACTOR in Bollywood today.  It has been nearly a decade that we saw AK with any semblance of acting talent left in him.  I am referring to his comic timing in Hera Pheri which has since then deserted him.  In what can only be described as a desperate attempt to try and portray himself as a versatile actor, our man has attempted Patiala House and has come up with one of THE most insipid performances that one could have expected out of anyone.  The only way he is going to get somewhere is if he ensures that the producers pick up a cast who is worse than him.  On current form, it would still be difficult for AK to make any headway.

Gurtej Kahlon (Rishi Kapoor) is a man who is obsessed with the idea that all Brits are part of this large scheme that is ensuring that he and his family are treated like second grade citizens.  And everything can be sorted out by shouting and screaming of course.  Now all of this stems from a series of racially discriminating incidents in South Hall and the death of a key member of the community which is often referred to as Mini Punjab.  Gurtej takes it upon himself to get him and his people a right to a first grade citizen life.  Only, somewhere along the way he also forgets that his mission has been achieved a long time back.  He continues to run Patiala House like a dictator would with no one in the family or for that matter the community being allowed to have a mind of their own.  He also doesn’t let his own son Parghat Singh Kahlon aka Gattu and eventually aka Kaali (Akshay Kumar) pursue his dream of playing cricket (which he is damn good at) for England.  Gattu now runs a store in South Hall.  Till Simran (Anushka Sharma) and Zeeshan (Devansh Daswani) walk into his life and start asking questions.  Along with the rest of the oppressed family they force Gattu to take his 2^nd lease of life (he gets a call 17 years later) seriously and go for the trials.  Obviously you know what will happen next.

Nikhil Advani doesn’t seem to have learnt from his CC2C debacle or for that matter his previous 2 attempts. Maybe they should make it mandatory for people to have experience before they get into mainstream direction.  To make matters worse, he also takes the credit for writing the story.  Its fiction but there should be some logic or consistency in the story. How can the cricket board of a country decide to sack every single player for lack of performance.  At least call it out as some fraud or match fixing allegations. Just sacked.  Right from the insipid titling of the movie one can make out that the next 150 minutes are going to be a bit of a challenge.  There are moments when the screen light up with Anushka’s smile (does anyone in Bollywood have a better one today) and some quirky moments and yes the overall concept is endearing but that doesn’t qualify it to be even an average movie.  Rishi Kapoor, I thought for the first time took his role a bit too seriously and was just that wee bit over the top.  Dimple shows her class in the 3 minutes of screen time that she has and does a far better job of it than AK.  I have said this earlier and I say this again – Anushka Sharma is the next big thing in Bollywood.  Solid talent and huge levels of talent to boot.  A bit over the top here but only a wee bit and that too in parts.  Other than that, music is the only saving grace of Patiala House.  Shankar Ehsaan Loy again delivers a solid performance here.  Overall a 4 on 10.  Oh and yes, a minor highlight of the movie would be the actress who goes by the name Selina Hotwani.  How Hot I say. Have a lovely weekend folks

Watch the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EqgIh5lEu8&feature=fvst

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Inside Job

Director           Charles Fergusson

Cast                 Matt Damon

Year                2010

Genre              Documentary

I have never reviewed a documentary before.  I know there is always a first time for everything but I am a wee bit circumspect about how to go about doing this.  There is no cast you can credit for acting or bringing the concept to life in a manner that blows your pants off.  It’s actually representation of fact right? And therefore even more difficult to leave the audience with a feeling of actually having watched a movie.  The capability of using factors such as editing should be even more in case of a documentary than a feature film is what I would assume.  Do let me know your inputs.  Would be more than glad to hear them out.  Now, I wasn’t going to let my thoughts prevent me from watching “Inside Job” because I like documentaries anyways.  And if it was about the Financial Meltdown that the world faced in 2008 then I am even more interested. So there was no option actually in the matter.  I guess I will figure out how to get better at reviewing them as time goes by.

Narrated beautifully by Matt Damon in the ice cold, sarcastic style that he uses in most of his movies, Inside Job (IJ) takes a hard look at not just the time that the bubble burst around the 15^th September 2008 with the Lehman Brothers collapse but also at the entire process that led upto it and more importantly what next?  The documentary is divided into 5 parts.  “How did we get here” – that covers the period from the Great Depression (1929) all the way upto the dot com bubble bursting (Y2K) – which talks about how the guys in power actually went about setting laws that were bound to fail sooner than later.  “The Bubble” is Part 2 which covers the period of FY 2001 – ’07 and deals with how the entire concept of a the boom in the economy was a figment of people’s imagination.  Part 3 is aptly titled “The Crisis” which covers FY 2008 and how one by one the big guys who were all in cohorts with each other slowly but surely started disintegrating.  What gives IJ the edge over a lot of documentaries that I have seen in the past is that it doesn’t stop at this.  It goes ahead into Part 4 which deals with “Accountability” and how the people who were responsible for the entire shit that we are in have actually gotten away scott free.  And most importantly, it goes into Part 5 titled “Where are we Now”.  Here the makers of the documentary give a clear call to action to almost everyone concerned by showing that despite the meltdown there is almost nothing that has been done about Financial Crimes.  Shocking to say the least.

Inside Job clearly touches a chord within you that I have come to associate with good documentaries such as Farenheit 9/11.  The extent of research done to come up with this Oscar nominee from last year is superb to say the least.  And the makers have also managed to connect the dots to aspects such as how the education system is being influenced to move us in the wrong direction with respect to Financial / Corporate Governance.  An aspect that has probably never been covered before.  Even for the financially challenged like this amateur critic, IJ does a fantastic job of breaking down the complications of the industy into smaller understandable units through use of graphical and figurative representation.  Excellent use of music enhances the overall feel as well.  At the end of 120 minutes, my respect for the United States (which was always low) has gone down even further.  The part that’s worse is that nothing has been ever done about penalizing politicians in any part of the world.  And sadly enough nothing will ever be done.  Sad but True. But a must watch definitely.  7.5 on 10 definitely. Whether it would win an Oscar or not I am not sure coz I haven’t see the other ones.  Definitely a front runner.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi751502873/

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