Terminator Salvation

Okay.. First things first. Think of the ruthless terminator from the first movie and just make him around 60 Ft tall with mototerminators(which are nothing but terminators + ducati bikes) coming out of his thighs driving at a more than 120 mph dodging cars, bullets, flying pieces of scrap. Whats the first reaction??? Kick ass.. right?? Not really.. coz when you realize that THIS is all what the movie offers especially given the responsibility it carries on its shoulder given the legacy of the franchise. It isnt just enough..

Secondly. set your expectations straight.. What do you want to see in a Terminator Movie?? Kick Ass action, Ammmazing Special Effects and Hard core Chase Sequences. and THATs all the movie delivers.

As far as the story goes. I am sure that nobody is bothered about it anyways. Terminator Series has never been known for its screenplay or storyline, but for its futuristic look, crazy action sequences and a bit of masala. This is no different but to be honest. FEEL NAHI AAYI YAAR.

For starters, it dint feel like a Terminator movie at all. The franchise is known for its hard core feel and not toyish stuff like the transformers.. This feels like the sequel of the latter more than the former. And i guess thats where the problem lies. No where in the movie you get the FEEL of the original series. It feels like a different movie altogether with just a couple of characters taken from the original. McG has its share of blame to take in this case. I mean he still has too much of Charlie's Angels in him left, to fit in the shoes of Mr Cameron.

The storyline is not relevant except that John Connor is all grown up and is fighting the machines in 2018. Rest is all the same. A Terminator is sent to kill him the only difference being that the terminator this time around is in the form of a spy and he (or rather IT) doesnt even know that he is a machine himself. He considers himself as a man full of emotions!!! Nice twist to the story.. Performance wise, there was nothing to mention, even Christian Bale couldnt do anything about it coz there was nothing in the movie that he COULD do too. Its not a character specific movie but Franchise specific.

The problem lies is the Zabardasti ka Masala too.. Arnie makes a guest appearance, just for the heck of it. and All the good work that is present in the first half wrt the special effects goes waste when the movie becomes a drag and starts preaching the basic difference between the man and the machine and blah blah blah starts. So much so that you stop empathizing with the characters too. The Final battle too doesnt impress much. I guess the movie should have ended at the interval and a lot of people would have come out of the show happier.

Bottomline: If you have wella time, some extra bucks, already seen other movies this weekend and are an ardent T-series fan. Go for it. But come out before the second half begins coz it spoils the amazing stuff portrayed in the first half. Dont apply brains. Dont care about the minute details. Just go for the mind blowing action and especially the moto-terminators, coz they ROCKK..

Feel-o-Meter : 6/10

Dev D: Mr Rahman here comes Mr Trivedi. Run and Hide!!!!!

Well.. Firstly, i know i am writing it like 6 months too late but what the heck. The FEEL is still the same. Most of us are already aware that it is a Sooooper Album and complements the movie in every way possible. Its like a central character in the movie itself and lyrics don't feel like songs but a narrative. Without the sound track, i guess its very difficult for somebody to actually even imagine the movie.

Dev D. is the most versatile and complete album that i have come across in a VERY VERY long time. I mean i am just crazy about every f**kin track. There is not even a single song out of the 18 on the album, which can be classified even as Average. It is just amazing how different can all 18 songs be from each other and Still bind the movie together.

Sometimes, i actually wonder if Amit Trivedi himself composed all the songs!!! Its very difficult to imagine somebody compose songs so different from each other and including genres like rock, pop, folk, bhangra, semi-classical and EVERYTHING works!!!!

I am not sure how many would have noticed the 'By Gods' in "Paayalia". I am amazed to even imagine how he would have actually thought of putting these words in the song randomly and it is nothing short of genius. I think the soul of the music lies in the how different instruments have been used so imaginitively together and Amit Trivedi manages to get just the right mix.

Emosanayal Atyachar which obviously is the most popular track of the album for its DIFFERENT brass band sound and since everybody has already heard it like a million times so no point discussing it further. But i must appreciate that even the rock version although doesnt give the full FEEL of an international rock band still is not that bad either.

Bhangra songs like Hikknaal and Mahi Menu are just as good as they come. Former is fully unadulterated and rustic, and latter is more on the UKish bhangra pop.

Pardesi's fusion FEEL with English Lyrics at the beginning and then completely to folkish stuff, Use of Electronics, Turntables along with Sitar is out of the world.

In terms of vocals too, Amit leaves his mark in ALL the songs that he has sung, be it Duniya (specially when he says Horran bajaye), Aankh Micholi, Nayan Tarse or Saali Khushi.

Now the problem is that i think i can deliver a lecture or write atleast a post for EACH of the track but i dont really if others get the same FEEL that i get from the album or not. So wont even talk about it anymore.

The bottomline is that arguably this is the BEST ALBUM by far since a pretty long and i am just in love with it and Amit Trivedi is nothing short of GOD in terms of versatility. I would love to see how he beats THIS the next time he composes. Mr Rahman, you've got competition!!!! and IF this is not a flash in the pan, Start worrying as well.. Because THE trivedi has arrived.

Whats this 'FEEL' all about!!!!

"Best Feelings are those which don't need any words to describe them"
This ghisa pita cliche has been used by me like god knows how many times and again it has come back with an idea to have a blog dedicated to 'FEEL'. Something that cant be explained. But just felt.

Okay.. First things first. Everybody who knows of this one phrase can relate to it automatically. Others no matter how much i explain, can just never get it. So why bother??

FEEL aana is more like something that can never be defined, but may be described after a hell lot of an effort, which i am definitely not in a mood to put in right now. Ye woh bala hai jo Direct Dil se nikalte hue dimaag mein ghar kar leti hai aur phir jaane ka naam nahi leti. ;-)

Its a phenomena wherein you look, hear, smell something in this world and are just spell bound by it. No matter how trivial or normal it might appear to the junta around you. YOU are the only one who can experience it and normally it happens with in a zillion-th portion of a milisecond.

Have you ever experienced a new play or a song or a movie or a book or god knows what and just found it toooo ammmazing and just couldnt find words to describe it to somebody else. Thats what 'FEEL' aana is all about.

The funny part is that if i cant describe something in words, how the hell do i plan to WRITE on this blog!!! But, that shall be taken care of sometime later. Abhi toh.. Lets start.. and i hope with in a few posts.. The concept will be clearer..

Anybody who has a clearer understanding of the concept.. Pls write back so that i can incorporate the same in the blog too..

Take Care..

Wolverine: X Men Origins

I think the problem was with the expectations. I expected too much out of the movie. I mean, you take one of the finest action trilogies from hollywood and then base a movie on the most popular character of the series, the expectations were always supposed to be very high. So even though the movie is pretty good. When you go in the theater with such a high level of anticipation. 'Pretty Good' is just not enough.

The movie has got everything. From Spectacular Action sequences, Great Casting, Decent Story line, Phenomenal Special Effects. But Still... There is something missing. It promises so much and ends up with another 'good movie' feeling rather than 'Man, It was awesomme'.

Well. Nothing to mention about the storyline. As the name suggests, It talks about Wolverine's origin and is a prequel to the X men series. It talks about Love, Hatred, Revenge, Anger, Everything possible. But mentions everything so quickly that you seem to lose your way in the middle somewhere.

Technically, the cinematography is amazing. The Action sequences are spell binding. Special Effects too cool even for the current hollywood standards.

But the movie neither scores on the script nor on the performance. One thing thats worth mentioning is Hugh Jackman and the effort that he has put in to get his new physique. He surely gives our own Aamir 'Ghajini' Khan a run for his money. Man, He looks soo ammazing.

Bottom Line: If you have not seen earlier X Men movies. Dont get lost. Just enjoy the action and in case you are a woman then Hugh's huge muscles and come back. Dont apply too much brains and its gonna be worth it. 'Pretty Good' but not too great.

Star Trek

First, an honest confession.. I generally dont really like sci fi and action flicks, but still LOVED it..
Star Treak is not your regular run of the mill sci fi movie with great graphics, amazing sound track or crazy special effects. Actually its all that AND much more..

Its like a bollywood masala movie, with everything thrown into it. From Spell binding action sequeces to Great Emotional Connect. From a bit of rona dhona, senti wenti to Phenomenal Special Effects.. From poori Filmi Revenge ki kahaani to Ammazing One Liners..

Fulltoo paisa vasool and If you are a physics student (unlike me). You' get a lesson on two extra in the same ticket!!!

As far as i remember, Movie talks about the revenge of the villain who wants to destroy all the planets through a process by which he creates a black hole with in a planet and the planet consumes itself with in like what 10 seconds o something and blah blah blah.. etc etc... And the parallel track is obviously of kirk and spock with kirk's father's sacrifice for saving a few hundred and people etc etc and spock's' inherent dilemma wrt his half vulcan and half human identity. Add to that Well.. If the movie is as gripping, I dont really care about the part actually..

In short, The movie is fast paced. The script is tight. The action is sharp and the Adventure is captivating. Just go,sit back, Relax and Enjoy the ride. Ek baar to banta hai yaar..