The A Team: B Grade

The movie is nothing but nonsensical high on adrenaline low on everything else bull shit. The only thing worth going for are two (at best three) innovative action sequences done on a very huge scale. Rest all is.... hmmmm... actually nothing even mentioning. If you are a hard core action fan and has absolutely nothing to do and have free tickets, you may go and watch it. Else, Go watch Iron Man on DVD instead.

To be honest, i dont think that the story even matters here. So wont even bother giving details. Well lets just say, its about 4 army rangers (who incidentally who have stripped off their ranks and have put in jail through a conspiracy. And in full bollywood style, they are in the avenge mode. Then some action. Then some more action and in the end, there is some enormous amount of unrequired large scale action.

Okay, (possibly) for the first time i dont have anything to say about a movie. Simply because i dont even remember what happened or i was just too bored between the action sequences and did not bother to even pay attention. You might find it surprising but Jessica Beil couldnt help either.

But, i must praise the action sequences. The scale and the canvas was as huge as it can get. Some of the sequences were pretty novel too. Especially two sequences, one with the tank flying experience and the last one with the dock yard explosions. Those two sequences were like.. wow..

Overall : Must Avoid. If you are not a die hard action movies fan and can survive two long hours for two 5 min sequences.

Feel-O-Meter : 3/10 (thats also pretty high i guess)

PS: Yes, Even i am amazed at the length of the review, but honestly, dont have anything to say at all.

Toy Story 3 : Toys R Us

The movie is a treat to watch. It manages that fine balance of emotions, adventure and humour in the most perfect way possible. You actually start feeling for the toys as if you are living their lives. Watch Toy Story and you will think twice before throwing away your old toys. It is like melted butter, have no hiccups anywhere and is as smooth as a movie can be. There are no awkward sequences filled to increase the length or anything else. In the end it just leaves you with a 'happy' feeling out of the cinema hall. Must Watch (even for those who havent seen the earlier two installments).

The movie is about friendship and togetherness. Andy is 17 years old and is off to college now. The Toys are scared that they might be thrown away now since he might not love them anymore. Accidentally, the toys land up in a day care center, which is ruled by the cutest teddy bear that you can imagine along with the sweetest 2 year old kid (doll) that you can find. The center is is like the best place on earth they could have hoped for. But then, if all is well, then there is no point making a movie right? The movie takes its twists and turns, full of adventures and misadventures and an amazingly powerful emotional ending that may even leave you teary eyed, if you get involved in the movie.

The narrative is grippy, the voices are superb, the animation is neat, the characters (though are toys) are believable. You even start relating to the characters' dreams and despairs as the movie progresses. There is this edge of the seat excitement where its required. The best part is that the movie doesnt try to do anything special. It is as smooth as a movie can get. There are no special sequences which could divide the movie in parts. It IS indeed a story as a whole rather than a colleciton of some good and some not so good scenes. Almost nowhere in the movie you feel like getting up and going for a leak or popcorn.

I think the only thing which i wished was better, was the quality of 3 D effects. I mean to be honest, there was absolutely no 3 D feeling in almost every sequence. It just looked like a normal 2 D animation movie but less bright and vibrant because of the black 3 D glasses. I would suggest you to watch it in 2 D only.

Overall: Absolute must watch if you are the animation movies kinds, even if you havent seen the earlier two installments. I hadn't either but still absolutely enjoyed it to the core.

Feel-O-Meter : 8/10

Robin Hood : is not Gladiator

The movie was pretty good as expected but the only problem was that it was only good. I mean with Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe you dont expected 'good', you expect much better. Its just not the DVD you would want to buy as soon as its out. You would most probably prefer to watch it on HBO. The movie had everything working for it but just misses out something which just makes it fall short of a great one. Its just not special enough. Good Cast. Good Performances. Good Direction. Good Cinematography. Good Art Direction. Good Background Score. Good Scipt. Everything was Good. Just 'Good'. There were no complaints in any of the departments from my side except that it felt a bit longish. About 20 mins shorter and it could be every more gripping. Not a 'Must Watch' but surely worth a 'One time watch'.

Quite Unexpectedly, the movie is NOT about Robin Hood's adventures. Its more like a prequel. It tells the story of him before he became the outlaw, which gives me a feeling that it could be a series planned already and this was the first instalment just to gauge ground. Its about how robin longstride became robin hood. The story has no 'oh my god' moments or surprises, but still i would refrain from mentioning anything about it.

The performances are very grippy and solid. Russell crowe is phenomenal as always. Cate Blanchett is okay too. Mark Strong is pretty good in his villainous avatar. Overall, no where you feel uncomfortable and can relate to the actors as characters. Another thing that i liked about the movie was its lack of special effects and Gore. I mean Ridley could have spilled blood all over, slicing people in half with swords or cut throats here and there, but he doesnt do it. There is no 'extra' effort in making it disgusting or painful to watch. The 'Story' matters not the 'Action'

The best thing about the movie was to do with its look, sound and feel. Locations, Art direction, Background Score and cinematography are all top notch. You feel like you are watching an A Grade hollywood flick. Especially the wide angles from the sky give you that grand feel while watching and background score makes it even grander. Definite thumbs up there.

Overall : A Damn Good movie and definitely one time watch, and you won't come back home irritated (read: raavan). If you have to choose a movie to watch this week (or next). This is the one.

Feel-O-Meter : 7/10

The Karate Kid : Needs to Grow up..

There is absolutely nothing new in the movie. As you already would be aware, its about a kid who has had absolutely no prior training in karate, trying to learn it from his master. The training is pretty boring. The fights are pretty boring. The love angle seems too forced. It just doesnt seem to connect at any level possible. The worst part is that the 'Kids' seem more grown up than the grown ups themselves. There is too much of 'maturity ' in the way they carry themselves. They look like actors playing their parts and not characters. Give it a miss

The only (i guess) new angle to it is that the kid is african american rather than chinese. He has to shift to China since her mother is transferred. Then Bollywood kicks in, as he falls in love (yes.. there is a love story with a 12 year old Black Boy and a Chinese Girl). Then there are villains (all not even teenagers) who kick his butt and in order to save his ass, he has to participate in a karate tournament. And (obviously) Jackie Chan trains him and the kid wins the tournament in the end.

The movie failed at multiple levels for me. As already established, the Kids dont seem like Kids. It looks like a high school/college love story. There is too much 'No mercy' for kids in their pre teens. The fights seem to violent. The tournament itself, doesnt look like a kids' tournament. It looks like a bloody royal rumble or a world heavyweight boxing championship. The (12 year old) kids are out their to break each others' legs or necks with their deadly moves and the trainers ask them for 'No Mercy'. Even the Moms are cheering!!!

The training seems too 'Rocky Balboa-ish', with the kid flexing his biceps while training. Also, there was no 'training' per se. After a (not so much of a) routine for a couple of days, suddenly the kid learns karate with in 30 seconds or so. And then (obviously) he beats up the 'trained' kids one by one in the tournament. Too much to achieve with too little training it seems. And thus, movie loses its 'Oh.. It is possible'-ness.


Also, when the movie has 'Karate' in its title. You expect some karate in the movie and not a 10 min sequence at the end filled with 'ropey antics'. There was too little karate for a karate movie. There are no emotional moments. No Ohh poor kid scenes. Absolutely nothing that one might remember after one comes out of the hall.

Jackie Chan should stick to what he does best. Doing unbelievable non traditional martial arts stunts, which make you go, 'Ohhhh.. How did he do it?' rather than acting like a drunkard trying to (yes, only trying to) teach karate to a 12 year old kid.

Overall : An absolute failure at every level. Do NOT watch

Feel-O-Meter :2/10

Raavan: Good Cause Gone Evil

I write this review with utter disappointment and despair. I am more sad than frustrated or irritated. Cant believe that a film maker like Mani Ratnam could make such a movie. Infact, when i heard from so many people thats its pretty bad, i assumed that they would not have understood the plot and Mani would have made it too 'Interpretative'. But sadly i annoucne, that the movie is just one of the worst i have seen in recent times. It is just plain boring.

It had the most promising Storyline on paper, but unfortunately it stayed only on paper. The execution was as bad as it could have got. Actors are hamming to the core. Dialogues are pathetic. Narrative is slow. Music is as if Rahman just went to some old box of music sheets and gave it to Mani Ratnam as he was too busy composing for some international project. Background score is cacophonous to say the least. The only redeeming factor was excellent cinematography by Santosh Sivan, a few interpratations of Ramayana which were very thoughtful and... hmmm.. nothing else actually.

The plot itself was the backbone of the film. Imagine taking Ramayana and giving the 'Good vs Evil' a whole new interpretation. According to me, the central theme was 'Good is Who does Good' and nothing can be described in Good vs Evil just by itself. In the movie Raavan doesn't kill anybody in the movie who is not a policeman. He even leaves Ram and Laxman Alive when he gets his chance as well. But Ram uses Sita as a tool to kill Raavan. How Ram can become Ravana and how Ravana can be a hero just by their deeds. Phenomenal Storyline but the execution screwed it all.

One problem that i found was with the marketing, even the name of the film itself. When you name a movie 'Raavan' you already disclose every single thing about the plot and the audience is never interested in the story because they already know about it. Its a different high altogether when you go to the cinema hall and then 'decode' the inferences to the epic. Thats what raajneeti did amazingly well. You dint know it was based on mahabharata but as you went ahead in the movie, you started drawing parallels and had that 'ohhhh.. thats a nice way of putting things in perspective' expression. It would have been much more interesting had he not disclosed that it was based on ramayana. Then, 'finding' out that its based on the epic would be much more exciting and gripping. The characters like ram, sita, raavan, hanuman, laxman, supranakha,vibheeshana would make more sense.

As already established, it was amazingly written on paper in terms of giving a new dimension to the epic's interpretation. I just loved the parallels that mani drew with laxman cutting supranakha's nose and in the movie it is done through her rape. Even in hindi Naak Katnaa is equivalent to rape/pre marital sex itself. I think that was amazingly put across but such instances were too few to quote.

I just wish that movie is made again without the 'Stars'. Abhishek bacchan was the worst of the lot. He hams more than KRK. Has no idea what is doing and why. Just flexing his facial expressions and doing a nana patekar here and there. Aishwarya is doing nothing but flaunting her cleavage in skimpy and amazingly tight blouses. I wonder how she was breathing. (PS : Though i am not complaining here ;D ) Govinda was pretty sweet in his hanuman portrayal. Rest nobody had anything to do anyways.

Music (specially background score) was Cacophonous to say the least. God knows why 'Ranjha Ranjha' started playing in Rekha Bhardwaj's spooky tone in one of the sequences which was irritating to say the least. Suddenly Ganesh Acharya comes in the middle of a song sequence. There was no head and tail with any song what so ever. They were just there coz film maker thought I have to have a few songs if i am paying rahman for the job.

Overall: One of the most disappointing movies in recent times. I still cant believe maniratnam screwed such a great story. I just wish somebody makes it again with no 'stars'.

Feel-o-Meter : 4 (which i think is on the higher side, but 2 each for a couple of 'interpretations' in the narrative were very thoughtful and good cinematography)

Shutter Island : Scorsese Meets Shyamalan

The movie is an absolute edge of the seat stuff. From the very first scene when leonardo enters the shutter island, you can't even think of taking a call (boss' or natures included) and you just want to remain seated and witness scorsese's brilliance. Its a psychological blink and you miss thriller. Every 10 minutes you have a different question in mind. Whether this is happening or that? Sometimes you even start to feel schizophrenic yourself. Sometimes you feel its a thriller, Others it seems like a horror flick. But then, you don't expect the master to do a horror flick, right. The best part is its unpredictability. The screenplay is just amazing. Must Watch at any cost.


Well, Almost throughout the movie i kept thinking about M. Knight Shyamalan style of psychological thriller types movie making. It was as if the movie was not by Scorsese but by him. It was the same creepy feeling, the same 'I see Dead people' kinda feel to it. And it works amazingly well.

The only problem about this review is that i cannot divulge any details with respect to the storyline or else it'll be a spoiler. And the flip side is no matter how much i praise this movie, the review will not give you 'the feel' that the movie will deliver. The movie is about a mental institution headed by Dr Cawley (Ben Kingsley) where prisoners are sent to for treatment, at a secluded island. Edward Daniels (Leo), a US marshall comes to investigate the case of a patient who suddenly disappears from her locked room. Edward has his own history of being a US soldier in germany during second world war and a wife who died because a fire broke out in his house. To top that, Edward thinks that the institution itself could be practicing human experiments and the patients are the just the guinea pigs for those experiments. The movie goes back and forth from one story to the other layer by layer and the ending is just crazy (in a good way)

The Score by Gustav Mahler reminded me a lot of the great Hans Zimmer and i dont think i need to say anything more. It was just plain brilliant. It just took the movie to a different level altogether. It just sends chills through your spine in every single shot. The cinematography with all those grey tones was fabulous. The art direction and the sets were top of the line as well.

Overall an absolute cracker and a must must watch.

Feel-O-Meter : 9/10 (I know i havent said anything bad about it, then why 1 point less?? check out the PS note)

PS: I just wish that in place of Leonardo, the movie had Russell Crowe (even Bruce Willis would do). It would have taken the movie in a different trajectory altogether. Leo was not bad but he is just not as brilliant an actor to take the load of such a heavy script. His main problem is his looks. No matter how hard you try, you cannot take out 'Titanic' out of him. Just imagine Russell Crowe in the last couple of sequences in the movie while watching and you'll know what i mean. :)

Raajneeti: Absolutely Kick Ass

Raajneeti is definitely the film of the year (in the first six months of 2010) for me. It is an absolutely intense political drama which derives its roots from mahabharata. Prakash Jha imports the plot to the current times, removes all the unnecessary details, packages it with pretty saving grace performance by the 'non actors' some intense performances by the 'actors' and you get a cracker of a movie. It is in the same league as his earlier films like Apaharan and Gangajal but would be much more successful than the others because of its ensemble cast who can draw the 'non serious' movie going crowd as well. Dont miss it no matter what.

The movie (as already described) take its inspiration from the Mahabharata and Jha makes its own improvisations in the plot for commercial fitment and sets it in Madhya Pradesh (and not Bihar as in the earlier movies). Add to that an NRI 'kid of the family' Ranbir who comes for a vacation and gets absorbed in the violence and power politics (Think Virasat, Sarkaar etc). The cousin, Manoj Bajpai, wants to be the CM at any cost and is supported by Ajay Devgan. The movie leaps forward through a whole series of events through which every half an hour the power pendulum keeps swinging from one side to the other. The story is unidimensional but the screenplay backed by some powerful performances takes it to another level. For me, the interpretation of mahabharata and setting the characters in today's time was an awesome thought and executed beautifully.

Apart from a very gripping screenplay, the soul of the movie lies in the power packed performances by (almost) all the actors. Saying anything about Nana Patekar's performance is like belittling him. He is the choice of the lot and even when he is not delivering his lines, just his screen presence is enough. Next in line is Manoj Bajpai. Man, is he good or is he phenomenal. He plays the sidelined, power hungry, jealous cousin in a way only he could have. He has this 'feel' around the character that can only be felt and not described. I think its his best after Satya. No complaints from Ajay Devgan. I think he proves the 'Its all in the eyes' theory to the core. Ranbir does a very fair job knowing his acting limitations and sticking to them. It shows the maturity that he is gathering as an actor. The non-actors (Arjun Rampal and Katrina Kaif) are tolerable as well and you dont feel uncomfortable when they are on screen.

Overall : The first (i guess) Mahabharata improvisation till date. Definitely the best movie so far this year and a must watch.

Feel-O-Meter: 9/10

PS: I just wish they could cast somebody place of Arjun Rampal (who looks good till the time he doesnt open his mouth) and also the case with Katrina Kaif (Yes that irritating tooti footi Hindi is still as bad as earlier). and ya, it is NOT inspired from the Gandhi family.