Movie Review: Wake Up Sid

How many movies have been made in which the protagonist is a confused boy at the beginning and when movie ends he has completely transformed in a responsible man, the answer is many. So whats new in this movie, the narration. The movie is told in such a way that today's generation can relate to it. It caters more to people living in metros, people in small cities would understand it but won't be able to connect with the characters.

The direction is ordinary. I don't see anything outstanding in this movie. It is for me a rehashed version of movies like Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya etc. The director does a good job in narrating it, but its not anything of special mention as the predictability factor is very high. By good job in narration I mean the sweet and charming college scenes showing friendship, love, heartbreak etc. and conflict with family. Other than that Ranbir's journey from a young confused boy to being responsible is something which we have seen so many times before.

The performances from the cast are normal. Ranbir looks every bit a confused youth. Konkana Sen is as always convincing in her role. But the problem is that the script is so very ordinary that it doesn't gives any scope for any actor to perform out of his skin. According to media this movie has been a big hit, for me this movie is average. It is charming but has got nothing new in it, its just a time pass movie.

Movie Review: All The Best

By the promos this movie positioned itself as a laugh riot with no logic. These are the movies in which you are expected to leave your mind at home. Such movies are found in abundance as in the name of comedy actors are asked to make faces and do silly things. Govinda and David Dhawan were masters of this genre but now experts and analysts say that even they have lost grip over audiences as people have got tired of this nonsense genre. But to prove them wrong once in a while comes a movie like "All The Best". Experts should understand that people will always love a good comedy as everybody likes to laugh but the main point is that people should laugh when they are watching it. "All The Best" succeeds in doing this.

The movie's plot is simple. Fardeen Khan to get more pocket money from his step brother Sanjay Dutt tell him a lie that he is married (he gave this idea on suggestion of Ajay Devgan). Ajay Devgan is Fardeen's best friend and he designs cars. One day when Sanjay Dutt shows up all the confusion starts of mistaken identity and lies to cover it up.

Except the leading characters all the characters are designed solely for the purpose of making audience laugh. Johnny Lever as a don is funny, the actor who plays Shukla in "Office Office" makes you laugh with its "Just Chill", Asrani also does a good job. The chemistry between Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan is amazing, both actors have amazing comic timing and they contribute to the humor generated in many scenes. In the end a happy ending comes where everyone is happy.

Movie's length could have been trimmed to some extent. But this fault is hidden by the fact that maximum scenes have some joke or funny situation in it. Don't expect to laugh at each and every joke. Some people will find some scenes funny while some people may differ. Still overall its an enjoyable ride which will make your mind light. Enjoy it and do remember the minimum expectation which the director has of you "keep your mind away while watching it", if you do this you are sure to find this movie a one time watch.

Movie Review: Wanted

Salman Khan is back with a bang with this one. I have read reports that this movie has struck gold at the box office. A much needed hit for Salman as he has had debacles like God Tussi Great Ho, Heroes and Yuvvraj in the past 1-2 years. The problem with Salman is that he is still doing the same roles as he was doing 10-15 years ago. The maturity that usually comes with time in a actor is not visible in him. Shahrukh and Aamir have raised their acting to another level altogether. Anywayz back to the movie.

Wanted is just what suited Salman Khan. A complete masala movie with not much thought behind it. A simple story of a guy taking on underworld on his own, as if he is a superhero or something. Salman is projected as a one man army (his name is kept Radhe to remind people of his "Tere Naam" fame). South Indian touch is pretty evident in many scenes which is because this has been directed by Prabhudeva. If you like seeing hero unfazed in all circumstances and even beating 10-20 people alone without any fear then this is the movie for you. Other South Indian touches are like a person traveling a long distance after being punched or kicked by Salman. The characters also exude similar touch as a underworld don, a female secretary to the don, an honest police commissioner etc. etc.

The main reason for me not liking this movie is that I hate South Indian movies and the Godly portrayal of their super confident heroes, i think it is too far fetched from reality and far too ridiculous (and in some cases stupidly funny also). But there would be a large audience out there who loves such things, that is why this movie has struck chord with the audience. Also Salman's star power adds to the charm. Salman's performance is decent and he doesn't do any stupid antics which we see him do in his so-called comic movies. The role of a cold blooded killer suits him, he gives good expressions and his superb physique goes well with it. Salman has a mass fan following and he would be able to carry this movie entirely on his shoulders alone. Ayesha Takia has a small role which is not that significant. Some scenes between Salman and Ayesha could have been avoided to give better pacing to the movie. Some songs also were forcibly included. Performances from Govind Namdev, Mahesh Manjrekar and the other cast is decent, they do justice with whatever they were given.

If you like South Indian movies in which Rajnikant, Chiranjeevi are portrayed larger than life then you would love this movie. For people who like to see some logic and reality, better stay away from it.

Movie Review: Public Enemies

I always wanted to see a Johnny Depp movie on the big screen. Finally i got the opportunity with "Public Enemies". It is based on the real-life story of John Dillinger, a bank robber during the great depression of 1930s. Johnny Depp is the star of this movie, he gives a steely performance. Everybody knows he can do different and weird roles but with this he reminds us once again that he can play a real life character also (he has done similar roles in movies like "Finding Neverland"). Johnny Depp has an excellent screen presence, audience just get captivated as soon as he comes on screen. Excellent performance from him. He is one of the major reason for this movie being good.

I would like to praise the director and the cinematographer for the 1930s atmosphere they created on screen. Whether it be in terms of surroundings, cars, buildings, clothes, music etc. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. The fault lies in the pacing of the movie. The movie after some time starts to drag on. Also John Dillinger's character is not much explored, he is shown as a person about whom everybody knew everything, but for someone like me who isn't aware of his history it becomes difficult. More should have been explored about his past, about the person himself so that the other side of the character could be showed. All the famous things he did would be known to many, but if in the movie they would have shown what kind of a person he was it would have helped in making this good movie a great one.

Christian Bale looks mechanical as if he is still doing the Batman role. Always looks serious, but probably that was the requirement of the character so here i would give Bale benefit of doubt. Otherwise, Christian Bale performance is nothing to boast of, decent but not great. Also there are not many scenes between Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, if they would have featured in more scenes together probably it would have spiced up the movie.

Overall a good movie, not entertaining but still a good one. Watch it for good performances, excellent cinematography, to gain some knowledge of the 1930s depression era and the bank robbers. But after you come out you will have a lingering feeling that something was missing, more could have been done. Michael Mann screwed up this wonderful opportunity he had. Still you can't criticize someone for making a good movie, but somewhere i felt that a great movie was reduced to being just good. I am saying all this because i had sky high expectations before i walked in to see it, and as it is said that expectations is the root of all disappointment, in the case of this movie it applies perfectly.

Movie Review: Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

First of all let me make it clear that i am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read all the 7 books at least twice. I remember plots of each novel as if i have to recite them in front of an examiner. All the character details i remember as if they are somebody who are very close to me. So my interest in Harry Potter movies is obvious. I am not one of those fans who wants the book to be made into movies exactly as it is, a director cannot fit a 500 page book into 2 hour movie, to do that he has to remove some things which are not that relevant in the broader scheme of things, but if a director removes relevant and the best part of the book then i think the "creative liberty" concept is being exploited. This movie is a classic case of exploiting the creative liberty given to the director.

This remains one of the best books in the Harry Potter series primarily because it delves into Dark Lord Voldemort's past. It gives us a rare insight into the character Voldemort which was not explored till the 6th book. But in the movie the focus has shifted from Voldemort to love stories of teenagers. The best parts of the book like past memories of Voldemort are skipped to give other plot points screen time. I never understood what the director David Yates was thinking here. If they are in a constraint from the studio to make a movie within 2-2.5 hours then the director should prioritize which things to show and which not to. Basically the most essential points should be shown and irrelevant plot lines should be skipped. Here, the director did exactly the opposite, only 2 memories of Lord Voldemort are shown, one when Dumbledore goes to the orphanage and the second one is in which Voldemort and Horace Slughorn have a discussion regarding Horcruxes. Other memories were shockingly left out. Other memories constituted around 1/2 of the book so you can be rest assured that the director has taken extreme creative liberties, unfortunately in the wrong direction.

Few examples of the creative insertions done by the director: I didn't understood the logic of the scene in which "The Burrow" burns down. Burrow plays an integral part in the next book and it would be interesting to see how they fit this into the next part. No explanation is given of the love between Remus Lupin and Tonks. The focus is more on Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger love triangle. Harry's love life is also one of the focus area. The worst part was the ending in which Harry is looking from the floor below as Dumbledore is being killed. Harry Potter would be expected to fight till his last breath for his loved ones and Albus Dumbledore was one of them. But in the movie he just watches as a spectator to his death. They could have used the Petrificus Totalus charm to justify that, as was done in the book, but they didn't did that. The fight in the climax which was another highlight of the book, is not shown, the conversation in the end between Snape and Harry is trimmed. The use of cupboard is not explained that well, only people who have read the book would be able to understand what exactly was the use of the cupboard. There was no discussion about the possible Horcruxes which would help Harry in finding them in case if Dumbledore is not there. I could go on and on about the bad points of this movie, it is nonsensical and on entirely different lines as compared to the book. Creative liberties if taken by director is fine if it enhances the overall impact of the movie, but in this case all the good points are left out and he has stuffed this movie with irrelevant things.

This one is the biggest disappointment in the series so far. I have heard that Warner Bros. have contracted David Yates to direct the 7th part also. Lets hope he does justice to the book in that.

There would be people who haven't read the book and would love this movie, for them "Ignorance is Bliss" applies. If there is some one who liked this movie, give the novels a try, you will surely fall in love with the books, all 7 of them, they are simply amazing.

Movie Review: Dil Bole Hadippa

Nowadays i am busy so i don't get much time to watch movies. The only reason i watched this one was that I am a cricket fan so i thought to give this movie a try on my laptop.

Cricket is probably the biggest thing in India (after things like religion, caste etc.). Many movie makers have tried to harness the popularity cricket enjoys among the masses. The list includes famous people like Dev Anand who tried to do this by making "Awwal Number". I remember a movie named "All rounder" as well, i haven't watched it though. After these unsuccessful attempts came "Lagaan" by Ashutosh Gowariker. The only movie that featured cricket and could enthrall audience with it. Then came movies like "Victory" and finally came "Dil Bole Hadippa".

A sort of female version of "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". Mixed with some "Chak De India", a few rip off scenes from DDLJ and "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun". But the movie fails to create any sort of impact. First of all the plot is unrealistic, nobody was able to identify Rani Mukherji till the climax when her contact lens falls off. The premise itself is bad but the movie could have worked if the things would have been handled differently. The movie drags on sometimes and some supposedly funny scenes like Shahid Kapoor's blackmailing of Veer to meet Veera were not funny at all. This is just one example, many funny scenes were forced in, which reduced their impact by far. The climax was again too dramatic to be true, with 40 for 9 they managed to make over 200 which is nearly impossible.

The plot is pretty simple, there is a Aman Cup played every year between two villages of India and Pakistan that are at the border. India have been losing for past 9 years so the coach Anupam Kher decides to call his son Shahid Kapur from England to lead his team to victory. Then Rani Mukherji to get selected becomes Veer Kaur and here starts the boring part.

The performances from Shahid and Rani are honest. Both have played their parts well, Rani Mukherji does goes overboard in some scenes as Veer, but probably that was the requirement of the character. Shahid Kapur justifies his role pretty well. The biggest problem lies in the treatment of these characters. Unnecessary scenes are aplenty and that drags the movie down. And when in the final match the audience are expected to get involved but alas the involvement level further goes down. In "Lagaan" audience cared about the outcome of the match, they wanted Bhuvan to win and England to lose, their was a feeling that so much is at stake and India deserved to win as they have been treated unfairly. In "Dil Bole Hadippa" its like moving mechanically. The connection with the characters is just not there. The movie is a decent attempt but lacks in connecting with the audience, in the end this is what is that matters most.