Up in the Air: Takes off and Stays up there

The movie is a dark comedy that explores economic downturn, layoffs, 'casual' one night stands, relationships and what life is all about. The movie definitely has its funny moments but on the whole is a drama making its points in a 'smooth' way. There are no hiccups, no speed breakers, no 'now, where did that come from?' moments. The best part about the movie was its unpredictability. Even when you are half time in the movie, you can hardly realize where it is going to end up. For me that was brilliant stuff, since it does not fit into any of the typical stories. Performances are very crisp and controlled. Script is just perfect. Story is topical. Direction is very to the point. I loved how the importance of 'people and relationships' thing was played. Loved it. Go watch.

Plot: The movie revolves around George clooney playing a corporate hit man. He does what the bosses are too scared of doing. He tells the employees being fired that they are being fired. That they have to look at it as a new beginning and an opportunity to do what they always wanted to do. He doesn't care about relationships, Likes living out of the suitcase, Travels 322 days and spends the rest 43 'miserable' days living in his apartment and his ultimate goal is to reach 10 million frequent flier miles. He meets two women on his way. One is 'his own self but with a vagina' who is just looking for a casual relationship with him and Other, is a young cornell grad trying to automize the whole process of communicating the bad news to the employees through internet so that travel costs can be reduced. The movie moves further to explore George's confusion as to what his ultimate 'goa'l is.

Performances: George Clooney delivers another Michael Clayton and its hard not to get reminded of Clayton in almost every sequence. Vera Farmiga is almost perfect in her portrayal of an unemotional alter ego for George's role. Her charm is just too difficult to ignore. Infact, she does the same to the guys what George has been doing to the girls all his life. Anna Kendrick is also very balanced in both funny as well as emotinal sequences. 10/10 on the performance front.

Miscellaneous: Well, something that did not work for me was the endless advertisements from Hilton to American Airlines to Hertz. At times it started to feel like a 2 hour long product placement. That for me compromised on the essence of the movie. It was required to establish his travel schedule but it was just a bit too much for me. Secondly, at one point i thought the love story angle was a bit filmy but then as the plot unfolded i realized how important the same was.

Positives: Excellent Performances, Tight Script, Topical Story, Crisp Direction, Just the perfect balance.

Negatives: The product placements were a turn off.

Overall : Excellent. Must Watch. Don't miss it. I have a feeling that it may even make it to the oscar race.

Feel-O-Meter: 8.5/10 (yes i know some of you might think its too high but seriously i really liked the movie. It just hit the right chord for me)

PS: The movie may remind you many a times about Thank you for smoking and Michael Clayton.

My Name is Khan: Minus the hype, Above Average

My Name is Khan for me was just another post 9/11 movie. Another one in the same (or rather similar) league as Newyork, Kurbaan, Khuda Kay Liye. It tries the same old 'Muslims are not terrorist' and 'Islam does not stand for killing' trick in a slightly different storyline but rest all remains the same. Performances are pretty good. A Few scenes are very moving. There are some cute moments. Thumbs up to Karan Johar to try something different from his candyfloss family melodramas. Production quality is superb. Music is good. Written very well. Directed very crisply and does not bore you anywhere. The only problem i found was that you could feel that SRK was trying too hard to perform as an 'actor' or to pull off a forrest gump, which dint quite happen. Gets 'Filmy' in parts too. A must watch nonetheless. An 'Above Average' start to the for the 'starry' movies this year.

Plot: Rizvan Khan (Shahrukh) suffers from an autistic condition (which is not relevant to the plot). He meets Mandira (Kajol), a divorcee with a son. They marry and post 9/11 the son is killed in a racist act. Mandira leaves Khan thinking he is responsible for her son's death and asks her to tell the whole of the US including the President, 'My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist'. The movie is about his journey about the same.

Performance: This was the only department where i had (some) problems. SRK for me was just trying to hard to prove that he can act apart from the K Jo genre too. Well, the stage was perfect. Character was so well written that you would fall in love with him while 'reading' the script let alone watch the movie. There was also this 'Emotional Blackmail' with the autism angle. But still for me it was a 'good' performance not a 'great' one. May be i was expecting too much. (But hey, with all the hype already, don't think anybody wouldn't). Kajol as usual is as smooth as she has been in every role she has portrayed. For me she has always been one of the actors who would just get into the skin of the role with such ease that you simply forget that she is an actor but concentrate on the character. She does the same and obviously i was pretty happy with her performance. Overall, nobody else was noticeable.

Music and Background Score: 'Tere Naina', 'Sajda' and 'Noor e Khuda' were pretty good. Background score was not impressive and was just above average. Nothing major to write anything about on music actually.

Scenes: Two scenes were very moving. One, when the son dies and Kajol is furious over Khan and asks him to leave. That for me was the one of the best scenes in the movie. Other, when Khan is narrating his love for his dead son. That scene for me wiped out every 'Overperformed' sequence by SRK. He redeems himself to the fullest. Its hard not to have tears in your eyes in both the sequences.

Positives: KJo coming out of his comfort zone. Well Written. Well performed. The 'Smooth' factor.

Negatives: SRK's usual 'Overperformance', Gets a bit 'too filmy' in a couple of scenes.

Overall: Worth a Watch even without the hype.

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10 (Coz i did not get too 'Feely' anywhere during the movie. For me it was another above average movie. Does NOT deserve a 9 or a 10 in my books)

Striker: Pretty neat From Break to Finish

Striker is one of those movies which leave you with a surprised reaction. More often that not, you will not even notice this movie unless it releases during a lean week. You would go with almost no expectations and come out pretty happy that you watched it. Almost no marketing halla. No star power to attract you. No Reality Show appearances by cast. Its a very honest movie (And you can feel that). New story. Decent performances. Gripping Script. A couple of very well written dialogues. Some nicely executed scenes. Its one of those movies, you will not fall in love with but still would like it. Give it a dekko if you have some free time at the weekend. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

I just wish they would have taken a slightly more credible cast (Please remove Sidharth and Aditya pancholi and take more credible 'actors' ) and marketed the movie slightly more aggressively (even the poster made it look like a B-grade movie only) so that more people could actually come to the theaters to see this movie. Its a cause gone lost because people are just not 'interested' enough to watch and are missing on a pretty good movie.

Plot: The movie is a (declared) inspiration from a series of true stories happened in a small locality called malwani duing 19992 babri riots. It travels between the late 70s to the early 90s and is a story of a young carrom player who gets entangled in the carrom mafia because of his family circumstances. He doesn't want to play for/with them but he has to. There are sub plots of the local underworld manipulating the hindu muslim equation during the babri masjid riots, Two love stories, A hindu-muslim brotherly Friendship also which actually take the movie ahead in a pretty smooth manner.

Performances: I think Siddharth could not do justice to his role there. It had immense potential and he seemed fake in a couple of sequences. His voice doesn't add any positives either. Aditya pancholi (in his 'as fake as you can get' scarred face )was a perfect example of miscasting. Anybody else could have done wonders to his role there. But to me the actual 'hero' of the movie was Ankur Vikal (who also featured in Maqbool and Slumdog millionaire in small roles) who plays a cocaine snorting, over energetic, high on life friend who motivates the hero to start playing again. He is absolutely fabulous and reminds of Deepak Dobriyal of Omkara and Chandan Roy Sanyal of Kaminey. Seema biswas does okay in a couple of scenes she has. Others all have done a pretty decent job and you never feel uncomfortable anywhere.

Music: 6 Composers. Yes the movie has 6 composers and all the tracks are pretty good. A couple of them especially Cham cham sung by sonu nigam remind of A R Rahman and i was actually wondering if Rahman has composed those or not. Yun hua by Vishal Bhardwaj reminds you of Kaminey title track. Maula has that typical Sufi feel and is definitely good. Overall a pretty good album to have.

Technicals: Cinematography is crisp with some really good close (especially night) shots. Pretty good there too. Background score by Amit Trivedi helps the story move ahead. Especially towards the end when the intensity increases and he uses a bass guitar to provide that thumpin feel. Amazing it was. Although much was desired in terms of production quality. The sets actually looked like sets and that was a thumbs down from my side.

Positives: Gripping Script. Fresh Story. Decent Performances. Good Music. Great Background score. Some Very Good Dialogues.

Negatives: Miscasting (especially aditya pancholi) . Almost No Promotion. A couple of sub plots (like the second love story) not required.

Overall : Definitely a watch if you are not saving for My Name is Khan next weekend (!!!) You will not be disappointed.

Feel-O-Meter: 7/10

Ishqiya: Real, Rustic and Remarkable

The movie is an absolute treat to watch. Everything is just about perfect. Performances. Script. Dialogues. Direction. Music. Technicals. Everything. Its as gritty (and grippy) as it gets. Its like omkara part 2 with 'characters' staying with you even after you leave the cinema hall. Must watch.

Plot and Narrative: The movie is set in eastern UP village of Gorakhpur and is a story of two thieves who take shelter in a woman's house running from a don because they owe him money. In order to get 'out' of their problem, they land up in a bigger mess. There are twists, turns, plots, subplots, confusion and chaos and thats the fun part. Cant provide 'details' since it may spoil the fun. It starts on a lighter note but somewhere in your heart you know that its going to turn darn pretty soon and it does with utter smoothness that you hardly feel any jerk.

Performance: EVERYONE and i mean EVERYONE delivers. Be it Naseer in his 'Dil to baccha hai ji' portrayal of a 60 + lover who covers his grey hair with surma and is in love with a much younger woman though he cant express it. Be it 'high on libido' Arshad Warsi, who as soon as entering a new village asks 'where is the red light area'. Be it a cold blooded and manipulative Vidya balan in her 'Ch*****m sulphate' act. Or even the other character actors like Tai, Nandu, Verma, Mushtaq etc etc. Everyone just delivers perfectly. No overacting. No underperformance.

Music: The music is already topping the charts with 'Dil to baccha hai ji' leading from the front. Even 'Ibn e Batuta' ' strikes the right chord to set the pace for the movie. A mention about lyrics must be made while discussing music for the movie. Dil to baccha hai ji explains the mention make up of an old man who does not have love in his life so perfectly that it makes Naseer's performance much easier. Remarkable to say the least.

Miscellaneous: The whole 'eastern UP' setting has been captured in a very rustic way. It reminds of Omkara in every frame. Dialogues are like the soul of the movie. They are very crisp and so well written that it just strikes a chord even if you do not belong to north India and can't understand the meaning fully. They are explicit but that is exactly what the plot required. This is the kind of language which is spoken there. The Kids know more about 'Tamanchas' than 'Potty training'. It has to be that way, else soul of the movie would have been compromised with. Also, the liplock between Arshad and Vidya again was required to show that the woman can go to 'any' length to get what she wants.

Positives: Script. Dialogues. Performances. Music. Direction.

Negatives: A Bit confusing in parts. Not a universal Appeal

Overall: An Absolute must watch for anybody who liked Omkara and loves VB's cinema. (Even though its not directed by him but you can see HIS influence everywhere)

Feel-O-Meter: 9/10 (Yes, you might think thats a bit too high but hey I have never been known to hide my 'feel-ings' ;)

PS: How many of you guys think Ishqiya is actually a combination of Ishq+Chu***a. Just a thought ;)

Rann: Fights and just about Survives

The story was good and the intention was great but it suffers on the count of being too preachy and lengthy. Its good in parts but if you are not the serious cinema lover, then there is no 'entertainment' value in it. The performances are very crisp and impactful though. Watch it if you are looking for some serious work by technicians and actors.

Plot and Narrative: The movie is about the media-politics nexus and how they use each other for their own benefit. How news are not shown but 'made'. How news channels are nothing but loudspeakers for political parties. How a news channel is mis-used by a political party to topple a government. And in the end in true triumph of good vs evil style. Order is restored with a long (rather too long) and preachy speech by the lead character to drive home the point.

Performances: Everyone delivers. Amitabh Bachhan in his larger than life media persona commands respect. Sudeep (Phoonk fame) reminds of 'Bhawani' of Shiva in every frame. Ritesh delivers a very controlled and (thankfully) not exaggerated performance and does not over acts anywhere. Paresh Rawal is good and Rajpal Yadav funny as usual. Even Gul panag is decent in a couple of dialogues that she has. Mohnish Bahl, Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Rajat kapoor are pretty good too. There are no hiccups here.

Technicals: The cinematography is experimental and delivers well especially in terms of camera angles and usage of shades of grey in the background. I just loved the close shots. Almost the whole movie is shot in close ups and that proves the weight being placed at actors' shoulders. Music is pathetic to the extent of being cacophonous but the background score accentuates the overall feel of movie. It gives a very broad dimension to the sequence and makes it larger than life.

Miscellaneous: At times the movie feels like a sermon, almost preaching media to being responsible. It begs media houses not to take sides while presenting, which is where it gets boring. Length is another problem area. Sometimes, you even feel like going outside to take a stroll and come back. It could easily have been made a good 30 minutes shorter and would have increased the impact as well. The end speech by Amitabh Bachhan again becomes too lengthy and too preachy. Dialogues are very well written especially while mocking the media and its functioning, when it compares Making news with Making Movies, stating that in reality they are both the same. A news is nothing but a small 5 minute movie only.

Positives: Performances, Technicals, Background Score, Good 'Thought'

Negatives: Preachy, Lengthy, Too Serious, Dark, Monodimensional, Boring at times

Overall: Go if you are a 'serious' cinema lover and can tolerate long stretches of boredom for some good performances.

Feel O Meter: 6/10

Chance Pe Dance: Take no Chance

Chance pe Dance is another 'Struggler turns hero' story which tries everything but still fails to impress. Its like a music video and the director tried to make a movie around it. Performances are pathetic. Shahid and Genelia both ham in 90% of the movie. Music is bad except two songs. There is a kids plot thrown in (i guess) just to stretch it till 2 hours. Full of cliches. No humor. No story. No chemistry. Just nothing, except Shahid's ammazing dance moves (but i guess, that you can watch on Music channels itself).

Plot: The movie is Luck by chance (funny that even the names are similar), Naach and School of Rock combined. Its full of cliches. The struggler doesnt have money,gets ditched by 'friend', is thrown out of his house, takes up a job as a dance teacher in a school, (with in 20 mins that plot is over btw and suddenly you are like, 'What?? Thats it??), has to participate in a reality show, etc etc etc. The movie tries to stuff so much that none of the storylines seem complete. Suddenly one scene gets over, other plot starts and the process goes on. I wonder if they had a story to start with or just thought of 'Hey lets go and make a dancer-struggling actor story with a few good dance moves and add some marketing'

Performance: I dont think Shahid kapur has matured enough as an 'actor' to take up the responsibility of managing a movie on his own. He looks stupid when he tries to be funny and almost funny when he tries to be emotional. I think he needs to go and take some acting lessons. He dances Damn neat and thats all is to it. Genelia (obviously) is as cute as she is. (Btw thats why i went to the movie anyway). Just that poor thing cant act and has a squeaky voice. There is nobody else to even mention about. Parikshit sahni (although repeats his 3 idiots cameo) is pretty good in that one (or two) scene(s) that he has. The lead pair looks cute together but still no chemistry there too.

Technicals: The movie has nothing to offer there as well. No sense of direction (as to where the movie is going). Even 2 hours seem long enough. One of the songs, shows Genelia and Shahid taller than most of mumbai buildings running in the city, is nicely done but again is an old idea and reminds of 90s music videos. Choreography is Amazing though and i guess thats the only saving grace for the movie.

Music: Funny part is, its a dance movie and still the music sucks. Pe Pe Pein and Pump it up are nice and VERY foot tapping. These two have what i call 'The shoulder effect'. When your shoulders start moving to the beats. But that isnt enough i guess. Other songs are just pathetic.

Points to be noted: Genelia portrays a choreographer and dances so pathetic that you seem to start ignoring her cuteness. The School of rock theme just starts, stretches but ends abruptly in a 1 min song and the kids end up winning. You cant seem to relate with the 'strugglers' struggle. You feel irritated rather than touched. Pathetic.

Positives: Choregraphy, Dance moves, Two songs, Genelia and one or two scenes here and there

Negatives: Everything else sucks

Overall: Only if you are hard core dancer and don't mind watching a movie for the final song.

Feel-O-Meter: 4/10

Sherlock Holmes: Stylized with No soul

The movie is not the best ones i have seen but also not the worst ever. Robert Downey Jr is pretty good. Cinematography is VERY good. Background score scores. Not impressed by the plot or the direction. Not at all a typical guy ritchie. Leaves much to be desired. Watch it if you don't have anything else to do.

The movie spends too much time to reach the point. Its only 2 hours but still feels longer. Its more like a graphic novel than a movie. CGI graphics, scenic (but computer generated) locations, No great performances(RD is pretty good though), Zabardasti ka old married couple like bickering between Robert and Jude through out the movie. Too much of mechanical locha(s) for me to handle. Also, i never thought of sherlock holmes as an action(!) hero, fighting bare chested in brawls.. and Whats with the smelling EVERYTHING and finding what would have happened (!!!!). I wonder if he was a sniffer dog in his last life!

Moreover, the movie never felt like a guy ritchie. It tried to be funny in parts but i felt that it was trying too hard there. I understand that all guy ritchies cant be lock stock or snatch but still, this definitely wasn't something i would remember anywyas. I think the plot was too simplistic. Had he taken a more twisty plot. The movie could have been almost wonderful.

Plot: Set in victorian ear when london bridge was under construction. The villain gets resurrected (!!!) to take over England (and then the world), Sherlock and Watson trying to find out how it happened, A series of murders. Add to that some witchcraft. Some mechanical locha and last 10 mins which explain everything.

Performance: RD does his best to look hot, cute, charming, funny, and he succeeds there but i dont think thats enough. May be i just never related him with the character. Jude law looks more like RD's wife than his sidekick. Nothing to mention there. Rachel McAdams anyways had nothing to do but to look pretty. Mark Strong is pretty good and looks scary in parts.

Technicals: Damn neat cinematography. Although you know that its all CGI etc but still the set up looks believable. Especially the slight Sepia tone during the day and 300 like tinge during the night sequences were just amazing. Also, the dockyard fight sequence was done damn neat and you almost feel you might get hit by the flying objects. Hans Zimmer's background score is another strong point. Although, the sequence where violins are playing while the bomb blasts take place (in full slow motion style) was over done according to me.

Positives: Cinematography, Background score, RD's charm and end credits(yes, you read it right!!!!)

Negatives: Too stylized. Doesnt have a soul. Nothing stays back with you after you get out of the theater.

Overall: Watch if if you don't have nothing else to do.

Feel-o-Meter : 6/10

PS: I have not seen/read any sherlock holmes stuff earlier so might miss out on the characterizations bit.