Chandni Chowk To China To Crashing Way Way Down At The Box Office

I can confidently advise you to not waste your precious time and money (what, with recession and all!) and watch Chandni Chowk To China.I was dragged to watch it like a dead carcass with no feet and half way through I, the dragger, dragged the dragees out of the movie theatre.Akshay Kumar movies are usually known for senseless, yet entertaining banter but this one was just senseless.It was quite clear that the director had no basic plot.It was just a big huge enmeshed blob of confusion.
It had a little bit of Kung Fu Panda and Seeta Aur Geeta. Thats one combo I thought I'd never see!
And whats with Deepika Padukone and signing up for movies only with double roles? She is of mixed parentage in the movie; one, a Chinese mafia type girl, and the other, a ditzy Indian model.What cracked me up(only cause everything else was so lame) was Chinese Deepika's underworld name-Meow Meow.Everytime she came on screen, the sound effects produced a screechy 'Meeeeoowww'.

Akshay Kumar plays a vegetable cutter in Chandni Chowk who is mistaken by very dumb Chinese villagers to be the re-incarnation of their historic warrior.It thus involves the journey of a flabby paratha seller's son who eventually takes revenge by taking down the guy -crime master Hojo (lol) that bullies the villagers and that killed Akshay Kumar's dad and destroyed Deepika's family.Trust me, after all the boredom, you might look forward to the one on one action between the villan and Akshay, but you will be DISAPPOINTED.I'm a huge fan of martial art ass kicking scenes( I'm currently in my second year of Thai Kickboxing) and the scenes in Kung Fu Panda got me more riled up than this movie.Oh! Don't miss out on the super exaggerated cosmos energy move.Thats just dope.Bruce Lee must be spinning in his grave.

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

How many times has it been that you've day-dreamed of being a millionaire?

How many times has it been that you've felt things happen because that's how they are supposed to happen in our lives?

How many times has it been that you've felt that things happened around through a stroke of luck?

"Slumdog Millionaire" is one such story. It is the story of how an impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik became a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?" -- an endeavor made without prize money in mind, rather, an effort to prove his love for his friend Latika, who is an ardent fan of the show.

The beautiful, and at times horrible, twists and turns of Jamal's life which brought him to the hot seat and which inexplicably also helps him win the prize money and find Latika for good, would surely leave bound to your seat for the two hours.

A well paced movie with no meaningless time squandering around that is sometimes on view in movies which have the most innovative of concepts.

Give it a watch. It should be on your list for 2009.

Moliere (2007) Movie review by Red Soul

I just saw Moliere (2007). Didn't know it was a French movie.. I was expecting English dubbing at least. This was my second French pick-up after La Dolce Vita, which was also picked up by mistake. I didnt finish watching La Dolce.. but I enjoyed Moliere, even in French. Well I did have english subtitles.

I always wanted to read the French playwright's other works after I studied his "The Misanthrope" in my Art of Drama class. He wrote comedies and farces. In this movie, he wants to write a tragedy, but the strange events lead up the way how Moliere became what he became, the master at comedy!
The plot is a fictional account of his disappearance for a while from the public society. The time when he was away from his acting troupe, is what is the movie about. He meets people who later form characters in his plays. The movie is filled with sweet dialogue, picturesque scenes, and sensible acting. My favorite part was when Moliere, played by Romain Duris, acts out three different horses to teach acting. He says "acting is more about feeling than appearances" to teach a very shallow guy Mr. Jordain. This Mr. Jordain is so awkward, totally tactless. Even the villain was great.

I totally loved watching it. Couldn't help myself but watch the making of it too on DVD. Makes me want to learn french right now so that I wont have to rely on subtitles for other such movies.

Hooooligans!!

Holla mates,
I haven't been online offlate due to some studies. I thought of writing about this movie flick before the admins chuck me out of here.I don't have a habit of rating movies or anything like it. Frankly speaking, whenever it comes to telling or writing about favorite movies, I am usually blank. But, a few weeks back I was all alone until I thought of catching up with some movie. The only movie I could get hold of was "The Greenstreet Hooligans" which this post is all about.
I have always liked Elijah Wood (hate LOTR and such mythological stuff though). You all must have this 'chocolate boy' image kinda thingy about him. But, in this flick he's just acted the opposite. He's a hooligan. Now, coming back to hooliganism it refers to unruly and destructive behavior. Such behavior is commonly associated with sports fans, particularly supporters of professional football and university sports. The term can also apply to general rowdy behavior and vandalism often under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
This movie is all about English Soccer clubs and the inner complicacies involved with it like the fans, the managers, the player contracts, drafts, drugs and so on. I would not like to go much in detail because I feel tis worth a watch. If you are a football fanatic, tis a must watch for you.

The movie is basically about how an American College student--Matt Buckner(Elijah Wood) is accused of some false cocaine charges and is kicked out of the college. He then comes to stay with his sister and eventually falls prey to a violent English Football Firm run by his brother-in-law(the Green Street Elite). It then revolves round how he gets emotionally attached to the firm and the consequent brutal violence associated with it.The movie depicts the harsh reality behind soccer that exists in many countries apart from UK. The craze and zeal possessed by the football fanatics is just awe-striking. The extent that they go killing and hurting people is something which i could not even think of.No doubt, football is one mind-boggling game which like many other sports has its own issues and complications to deal with. I finally got to see what vandalism and hooliganism actually is in the real life. I am all horrified by now writing and recollecting about it.

cheers!!
P.S nice movie nevertheless for all ya action lovers out there...

Fantastic Four: The Rise of The Silver Surfer Movie Review (Switchblade)

Movie: Fantastic Four: The Rise of The Silver Surfer
Directed: Tim Storey
*ing: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon




Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.


When I first heard that a part 2 of the Fantastic Four was in the making I nearly soiled myself with excitement...coz not only were they bringing back the family of cosmically empowered superheroes, they were going to face off against one of the greatest heroes of the Marvel Universe...The Silver Surfer.

So what we have is The Silver Surfer aka 'Norrin Radd', a humanoid alien from the planet Zenn-La. When the peace-loving folk of Zenn-La were faced with extinction at the hands of the planet-devouring Galactus, Norrin traded in his freedom for the safety of his homeworld becoming the herald of Galactus. When Galactus needed to feed, Norrin as the Silver Surfer would scout the universe looking for planets to be devoured by the insatiable Galactus. Able to travel the vast interstellar distances with his silver surfboard and armed with the Power Cosmic (the same power that made our four heroes fantastic) the Surfer spent several decades serving his new master...until he came to Earth!

The movie kicks off with the wedding of Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd) and Invisible Girl (Jessica Alba). However the arrival of the Surfer puts a monkey wrench in the marriage machinery and the Four are off to kick Silver butt and drive away the intruder.




As with most of the super-hero movies that come out these days...the special effects in this installment are absolutely brilliant but sadly the story line is a bit too weak. From one fight scene to the next, the story flows quite smoothly but it lacks depth. At times it feels like there's just too much talk and not enough fighting.

Carried over from the first movie are the playful fights between the Thing and The Human Torch, The Invisible Girl's public wardrobe malfunctions and Mr. Fantastic’s inability to control his stretching powers making you feel like the director is at his wits-end trying to come up with new gags to keep the audience entertained.

The Silver Surfer, portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus from the Matrix trilogy), is one enigmatic character. In a struggle between saving the Earth and doing his master's bidding, he is the only character in the movie that the audience can really relate to. Good news for the villain lovers...the handsome Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon) is back! And he's badder, meaner and more powerful than ever before!!

Overall it is a good movie and a decent entertainer but it lacks the 'oomph' that the first movie had. This one had the potential of being a true summer blockbuster but sadly wont make too much of an impact at the box office.

Pros
Amazing special effects and fight sequences.
Julian McMahon is a really good actor and truly brings out the character of Victor von Doom.
Few elements of humor courtesy the Thing and the Human Torch.
The Silver Surfer...need I say more??

Cons
Once again...Shallow character development.
Jessica Alba looks fake! Too much make-up and very bad acting...IMO Charlize Theron would have made the perfect Invisible Girl.
Stan Lee (creator of the Fantastic Four) and his cameo appearances that are kinda getting on my nerves!
Why do they insist on making super-heroes dance?? Didn’t we have enough of Spidey doing the Salsa?? Now we have Mr. Fantastic shaking his elastic booty!!

Overall Rating: 7/10

PS - For those of you who are interested in getting to know the finer details of the movie, check out the Silver Surfer cartoon uploaded on youtube. The first and second parts of the first episode detail the transition from Norrin Radd to the Silver Surfer.

Cheers!!

Spiderman 3 Movie Review (Switchblade)

Movie: Spiderman 3
Directed and Written by: Sam Raimi
*ing: Tobey Maguire,Kirsten Dunst,James Franco,Thomas Haden Church,Topher Grace



Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Its been a while since I've written a review on any movie...and this movie in partcular is one that I've been waiting to see for nearly about a year now...yeah thats right... a whole year!

As I sat through the movie last night I thought to myself...aw crap!! The movie is a classic case of too much turning out to be not really enough... Handling a project with an emotional superhero is one thing but its a whole different ballgame if you got 3 supervillians to boot. Sadly director Sam Raimi wasn't able to delve into each of the villians well enough which resulted in a shallow character build-up.

The love triangle between Peter Parker, Mary-Jane Watson and Harry Osbourne (Green Goblin Jr.) seemed to be the major part of the storyline with the Sandman and Venom taking a backseat. Venom infact isnt seen until well into the second half of the film. The special effects are the saving factor of the movie with the fight sequences bigger and better than ever before...especially the four way finale which is a complete brawl between the four super-powered humans and Mary Jane hanging in the balance like the proverbial damsel in distress for the third time in the row..(she played in a very similar part in the previous two installments of the series)

So go watch this movie if you are a true marvel fan...if not..watch it anyway for the special effects. Afterall how can you miss a summer blockbuster? However those who are Spidey fans to the core might be left a bit disappointed coz of the high expectations that this movie has to live up to.

Pros
Amazing special effects and fight sequences.
3 supervillains for Spidey to handle.
Gwen Stacey looks really good :)
Brilliant performances by Topher Grace(Eddy Brock/Venom) and James Franco (Harry Osbourbe/Goblin Jr.)
Hilarious cameo by Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame.

Cons
Shallow character development.
Spidey crying his eyes out like a third standard girl in a pink frock.
Sam Raimi taking a bit too much liberty with the comic sequences involving Spidey (You'll know what i mean if you watch the movie)
Kirsten Dunst's (Mary Jane Watson) sub-standard performance.

Overall Rating: 6/10


Pop Quiz!

Spidey does one of the following in the movie...guess what it is??
(This is for those who havent seen the movie)

a. Steals a lollipop from a small girl
b. Plays the piano and does an impromptu salsa dance at a jazz bar
c. Goes out web-slinging completely naked and flashes the public


PS - If ur watching the movie make sure you catch the last scene where they show Mary Jane's hands close-up....someone forgot to wax! XD

Cheers!!