Movie Review: Iron Man

Honestly speaking i didn't liked Robert Downey Jr., this was the reason why i haven't watched this movie till now. Then i downloaded it and finally managed to spare 2 hours out of my usually packed schedule. In the end it was worth it.

I had heard that this movie was one of the best to release in 2008 alongwith "The Dark Knight", so my expectations were high. I didn't knew anything about Iron Man in general except that he was a member of Avengers. So in the beginning for viewers like us this movie provides a detailed background of Tony Stark, owner of a weapons making company. Some interesting twists and turns and Tony Stark gets involved with the terrorists, here starts his journey of becoming Iron Man.

The plot is nice, unlike other superhero movies which are far too unrealistic this movie has its plot grounded in reality. Action scenes are really well done. The best thing about this movie was that it showed the transition of Tony Stark from being a billionaire playboy to a superhero who fights against terrorism.

Direction of this movie is well paced and the movie doesn't slow down even when the story is heading nowhere. Some nice plot points like in the end a hint of making Avengers in future was nice. The only stupid thing according to me was that in the end Tony Stark admits in front of the whole media that he is Iron Man, that was unnecessary, exaggerated and over dramatic. Except the ending a superbly made movie, even if you are not aware of or interested in Iron Man do give this movie a try, its not a usual superhero movie, this one is a treat for movie fans. I have heard a sequel is in pipeline and it is likely to come within a year or two, that would be exciting.

Movie Review: Yes Man

A Jim Carrey movie. Now thats an exciting prospect for me. The reason for it is because for me Jim Carrey have always been an excellent comedian. His movies like The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar, Ace Ventura etc. etc. have left a positive impact on me. Jim Carrey recently has been unable to find his place at box office because his recent movies have failed, the last notable one being "Fun With Dick And Jane". I didn't watched that movie but i have heard that it was awful.

Back to "Yes Man". The story revolves around a man who always says "No" and has isolated himself from the rest of the world including his best friend. He just stays at his home, watch movies, goes to office and comes back. A purely routine lifestyle. His life changes for good when he attends a self-help session in which it is advised to say "Yes" at every possible opportunity. Jim Carrey follows the "Yes" philosophy and here starts the real fun. The story is very similar to "Liar Liar" but is different in its own way. The best thing about this movie for me was that i could relate to the protagonist in a unique way as i also live a very routine lifestyle and to pass my time on weekends i like watching movies. The "Yes" philosophy is very powerful if we look at it carefully. If we start saying "Yes" to everything, only if we want to, our life would change for good. The concept is really nice and the implementation in the movie is also not bad at all. The power of saying "Yes" is shown effectively by some strange situations that Jim Carrey lands up in.

About the screenplay and direction, it is poor in some sections. The movie loses its pace for few minutes in the middle but overall its a nicely paced movie. Performances from the entire cast is good. Jim Carrey is excellent without going overboard. The actress Zooey Deschanel looks cute and gives a credible performance. The only problem was that the age difference between her and Carrey was too apparent to ignore.

Some logical problems remain in the script but the excellent performance from Jim Carrey covers the flaws to a very large extent. In this movie Carrey demonstrates that he can still pull the audience to the theater solely on his "Star Power", the movie entirely belongs to him. Watch this movie for Jim Carrey and the idea of "Yes" philosophy.

After watching it do try to implement the "Yes" philosophy in your life. Its a very powerful concept, and who knows it may bring about a positive change in your life.

Movie Review: New York

I was apprehensive about the movie before i watched it. The reason was that movies on similar themes have been made in Hollywood regarding the 9/11 incident. Thankfully my apprehension proved to be wrong and the movie turned out to be really good. Right from the first scene the movie has a grip on the audience which it doesn't relinquish till the end.

The stars of the movie for me were Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irfan Khan. Neil Nitin Mukesh looks extremely cute. One of my friend commented that he is like a "Tubelight" because of his fair complexion and a person would have to wear sunglasses to look at him, rightly said. Neil looks natural in the role, the confusion, the conviction... all the mixed emotions are expressed well by him. Irrfan Khan's acting prowess needs no introduction and he does it again by doing justice to a role of cop. Irrfan contributes to the funny moments with his well delivered witty one liners. His scenes with Neil are good which adds intensity to the movie. The first half belongs to Neil and in the second half John takes over. John has also given a really good performance. Katrina gives her best in whatever she was given.

The direction is good overall. From a new director an extremely mature treatment of such a sensitive subject is a pleasant surprise. Still there were few scenes that could have been avoided, the screenplay lets you down at some occasions, sometimes the sequencing of scenes could have been better, but such occasions are not many. Its a well-paced movie right from the first scene. After the so many flop movies by Yash Raj camp comes a movie that is sure to satisfy the audience. Well done Kabir Khan, the director for doing justice to a complex script and well done to all the star cast for pulling up such good performances. This movie will surely be a success.

Movie Review: Kambakkht Ishq

Before watching this movie i had heard many negative reviews about it. Many critics giving it one or two stars out of 5 in leading newspapers or magazines. Critics were criticizing Akshay Kumar on the same grounds that they were doing during "Chandni Chowk To China", that his movies don't have any story or script, they just rely on Akshay's funny hysterics. Even one of my close friends said that her friends had gone to watch it and they left the theater half way during the movie.

Still i had the determination and the courage to watch it, and in the end it was very satisfactory to say the least. The movie entertains you during its 2 hour 16 minute run. The first half passes swiftly and during the second half somewhere the movie pace slackens but it makes up for it when judged in its totality. The biggest criticism of this movie that's doing the rounds is that it is cheap and vulgar. Except the liberal use of words like "dog" and "bitch" i didn't felt anything was vulgar. Other topics or jokes have been presented in an exaggerated manner in other movies like "Kya Kool Hai Hum", a movie notoriously famous for its vulgar comedy. There have been many comedies with a vulgar touch like Masti, No Entry and i would put this movie in the same league. Its bordering on the edge of vulgarity but nowhere crosses it. And also nowadays Indian censor board and movies are getting more and more open.

Lets get back to the movie again. Akshay Kumar as usual delivers in his role which he has now enacted multiple times. Kareena Kapoor looks uncomfortable in some scenes but still does justice to the character. Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora are there for few minutes only, still they do justice with whatever they were given. I found Javed Jaffery's overacting funny in few scenes. Boman Irani is good in the only scene in which he featured. Kiron Kher is as usual playing the same role which i have seen her play in her past 10 movies or so, a caring mother or aunt. Cameos from Hollywood stars are insignificant and they are there for a few scenes only so they don't make much of an impact.

The movie works in parts, somewhere very good, somewhere bad. Some scenes are funny, where as some scenes tries painfully to be funny with no success. Also the movie lacks where all the critics point out. There is not much of a story, we have witnessed similar stories for years. Screenplay is not that good, some scenes are unnecessarily loud. If this movie succeeds, which i have heard it has as it has grossed Rs 100 crores in such a short time, it would be only because of Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor's screen presence. They both carry their characters with absolute panache. The movie has many funny moments in first half and some dull moments in the second half, but overall its a joyful ride and can easily be considered a one-time watch. Finally Akshay Kumar delivers a hit after his recent debacles like 8x10 Tasveer, Chandni Chowk To China and Jumbo. And he does that in the similar fashion in which he is criticised time and again by critics, here is one actor who doesn't gives a damn about critics' views and audiences loves him this way only. Way to go Akshay!! Well Done...

Roger Federer: 15th Grand Slam And Counting

Oh yeah! I witnessed tennis history in the making. This is what i can say years down the line after today. Many years ago i saw Pete Sampras broke Emerson's record of most grand slams victory and today i saw Roger Federer breaking Sampras's record. And to cap it all what a great match it was. Wimbledon has got a history of coming up with great finals every now and then and this one too would go down as one of the best finals ever. In the stands were watching great players like Sampras, Laver, Borg and in the commentary box McEnroe. The finals i think wouldn't have disappointed any of them.

Roger Federer lost the first set and was on the verge of loosing the second too in the tiebreak when he was 6-2 down. But amazingly Federer came out of nowhere to win six points in a row to win the set 8-6. Third set again a tiebreak but this time it was easier for Roger Federer. In the fourth set Roddick managed to break Federer's serve and eventually win the set. But the highlight of this match would remain the fifth set. Longest ever in a men's final. Finally Federer prevailed 16-14.

These guys should stop playing so thrilling finals as it would be bad for their fans health. First was 2007 final, which Federer won in 5 sets, 2008 final, which Federer lost to Nadal in 5 sets and now this. My heart was beating much faster than its normal speed in the 5th set at many moments. My heartbeat was highest when at 8-8 Roddick was 15-40 up on Federer's serve and i thought this is over for Federer. But he is not the greatest player ever for nothing, he kept his temperament and went on to hold his serve and eventually win at 16-14.

This was No. 15 grand slam for Federer. How appropriate it is that Federer started his rise to greatness here as his first grand slam came at Wimbledon. Today, six years later he stamped his greatness at the same tournament by winning the 15th grand slam, the highest in tennis history.

In the end, i felt really bad for Andy Roddick. He threw himself around and played his heart out. He should not feel bad as he did whatever he could. Roddick is one of my favorites and i believe him to be a good player. The problem is he is a good player in a generation of the two best players ever...Federer and Nadal. This is the reason why he has not won more grand slams, nor does he gets much media attention. Going by this tournament's performance Roddick is playing a lot better tennis than what he was playing one year ago. He always served well, but now it has become more consistent. He also moves on the court well, creates awkward angles for opponents, attacks nets whenever an opportunity comes and lastly is fitter than before. Overall he is a nice guy, has a nice sense of humor, always gracious in defeat, and if Roddick can maintain the standards he showed in this tournament, he would go on to win at least 1-2 slams more, lets hope he does. I think he deserves it after the hard work he has put in and the improvement he has shown in the past year.

Now, back to Federer. In this match Federer didn't outclassed his opponent, as he usually does, today he outlasted his opponent. While everybody is showering accolades on Roger Federer for becoming the greatest tennis player in the history, even though he is my favorite, i don't think he played his best tennis. Federer was not able to score many points on Roddick's serve. Roddick was serving well, but the way Federer looked helpless on many occasion was a matter of concern. Federer managed to break Roddick's serve only once in entire match and that was in the 5th set. The last game of the match was not won by Federer, Roddick lost it. Roddick's shots went into the net, wide, over the line to gift Federer the only break of the match and with it the grand slam trophy. Federer was not attacking even the second serves of Roddick. Today Federer sliced the ball a lot, the attacking Federer who went for winners by creating opportunities, today waited for opportunities to come and then grabbed it. That's not Federer style and if he continues to slice the ball so much and wait for the opportunities he won't come out victorious against younger and more athletic opponents like Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. I hope that today was just an aberration and we all would again see an attacking Federer. But today he was a shadow of his own self, his shots were going long, into the net, he didn't hit passing shots that well, sliced the ball more than it was needed, played defensively. All in all Federer today was holding his serves and was hoping that Roddick loses his nerves, or breaks under pressure. Finally Roddick was fatigued in the end couldn't get anything right (his first serve) and got everything wrong (his shots going in the nets or going wide or long) in the last game. Nobody can deny that Federer is the greatest player ever to play the game but for how long can he continue winning grand slams against younger opponents is a thing to watch out for. For now lets enjoy the moment as we all saw Roger Federer making tennis history. Congratulations Roger Federer....the greatest tennis player ever.

Michael Jackson - A Genius

Today we had some celebration in our office. There was placed a Karaoke machine in which you can choose among a list of available songs and then sing it. The machine will provide you lyrics as well and would give you the rating for your singing ability out of 100.

I gave tribute to Michael Jackson by singing the two of my favorite songs - "Beat It" and "Bad". In the "Beat It" i was rated 56 which i would say was "Not Bad", but my singing in reality was horrible. But that's not the point, the point is for the first time in my life i sang in public a song of Michael Jackson, that made me feel proud and in my heart i somewhere said to myself that "Michael, this one is for you". Whenever i will dance anywhere my heart will say the same thing again and again, because Michael Jackson is one of my childhood heroes and nothing in this world can change that, not even his death.

After his death, his old albums, more than 10 years old and even 25 years old are back in best selling category. This shows what he meant to his fans and the music world, he wasn't treated well in the last few years of his life but the satisfying thing is that just after his death his critics are also beginning to appreciate what he really was...A Genius.

From now on whenever i will sing or dance that would be for Michael Jackson. My tribute to him won't be restricted to one or two blog posts, it will continue for my entire life.