Saturday, 30 June 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Hemlock Society | Movie Review
10:06:00 am
AMY
Hemlock Society- A must watch
Hemlock Society... In one word is Wow...
As expected Srijit Mukherji doesnt disappoint... Possibly his most mature and best work till date... The satire wrapped in dark humour amidst romance, life and death gives an entirely new dimension to Bangla cinema... To match the sky high standards he had set for himself after the success of his first two films and to deal with a genre never dealt with before and to come out worth flying colours is a testimony to the man's brilliance....
Koel Mullick carries the movie forward and though in a different role she doesn't disappoint... The veteran actors do a great job as well, especially Dipankar Dey... Sabyasachi and Bratya Basu put in absolutely brilliant five minute cameos... But Parambrata easily steals the show through another mature and brilliant performance... He has improved in each film...
As always, Music, Camera Work and Dialogues from the backbone ofthis man's film.. This director has a profound likeness for closeups and we have a lot of that here as well.. The dialogues are brilliant, classy and intelligent.. Homour and intelligent resounds.. Music blends into the movie almost naturally and lingers on your mind..
All in all a must watch... Hats off to the director... This man has taken Bangla Cinema to a better level... Certainly his latest venture in to the unexplored territory of balance between life and death reinforces that beleif... It may be inferred that the future of Bangla Cinema is in safe hands.
Director: Srijit Mukherjee
Producer: Sree Venkatesh Films
Music Director: Anupam Roy
Story: Srijit Mukherjee
Screenplay: Srijit Mukherjee
Playback Singers: Anupam Roy, Shilajit Majumdar, Lopamudra Mitra
Star Cast : Koel Mallick, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rupa Ganguly, Dipankar De, Shilajit
Released On : June 22, 2012
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Teri Meri Kahaani | Movie Review
12:30:00 pm
AMY
Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra sparkle as lovers in Kunal Kohli’s old-fashioned film
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli’s Teri Meri Kahaani (TMK) is said to be inspired from the much-loved Taiwanese film Three Times, directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, which showed a connection between three love stories in different eras. But if you watch TMK with a clear mind, it manages to pull at your heart strings. The only issue is that sometimes it pulls at it too slowly.
Story
The story begins in 1960 in Pune, with Ruksar (Priyanka Chopra) and Govind (Shahid Kapoor) meeting in the train. Just another train saga, you would think. But it doesn’t turn out to be that. Ruksar is a freshly successful Hindi film heroine and Govind is a talented musician looking for work. Love happens but there are some obstacles – in the form of another lover for Govind. This era has been depicted with the help of some good (though not excellent) sets, but there was no need to show a tram in every scene. Kunal Kohli deals with the 1960 story in a Chaplinesque way – for example, comic moments without dialogues between the reporter (Vrajesh Hirjee) and Govind, and also the latter’s Raj Kapoor-Chaplin-like look.
The story jumps to 2012 London where Krish (Shahid) is breaking up with his girlfriend Meera (Neha Sharma). It’s also his birthday and the day he bumps into Radha (Priyanka). Their meeting is followed by fight, friendship, Facebook statuses, phone chatting, Ipad sharing, love, hanging out – and trouble when Meera posts censored pictures of her ex-lover online. All this seems normal. It’s 2012, right? But do Krish and Radha get back together?
Just when we’re figuring that one out, the film moves to 1910 in Sargoda, near Lahore. This is the best track of Teri Meri Kahaani and we guess that’s why it was given so much screen time. It’s the really old-fashioned era, and yet, Javed (Shahid) who is a hard-core flirt doesn’t take much time in impressing a girl and getting in between the sheets with her. Be it the village belle or the English memsaab’s daughter. But he truly falls for Aradhana, a freedom-fighter’s daughter. It’s pre-Independence and yet, marriage between a Muslim lad and a Sikh lass is not common. What happens in the end? Watch the film to know it.
Our take
Teri Meri Kahaani takes its time to unfold, often using nuances and subtleties to bring home the point. Although the film spans stories in 1910, 1960 and 2012, there is no masala here, no melodrama. It is simple storytelling at its best, in an old-fashioned way. And no, it is NOT like Dangerous Ishhq! The connection between the three love stories has not been established too well in the film – or maybe because the lovers do not have any past life flashes. It takes some time for the viewer to understand it. But once you know it, it seems like it’s the sweetest romance. But Teri Meri Kahaani is not a mind-boggling film, and some of you might not like it. Also, people did not always laugh at the right moments in the theatre, but the romance seemed to be liked by all.
Performances
If Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were ever lovers in real life and broke up, they have managed to hide it well. They excel as actors and show great chemistry. Shahid steals the show with his portrayal – coolly essaying three characters that are absolutely different from each other. His role as Javed in Lahore is what gets the whistles, as he is aided by dialogues laced with some colourful shayari every now and then. Shahid is good in the London story, too, and Piggy Chops complements him. She plays the pretty damsel with ease in all three roles, but strangely changes her accent only in the Lahore story. Cameos by Prachi Desai, Neha Sharma and Vrajesh Hirjee work.
Verdict: Teri Meri Kahaani is a light film and is to be enjoyed like that – without any stress. But it might not work at the box office.
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Neha Sharma, Prachi Desai
Direction: Kunal Kohli
Released On : June 22, 2012
Filmmaker Kunal Kohli’s Teri Meri Kahaani (TMK) is said to be inspired from the much-loved Taiwanese film Three Times, directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, which showed a connection between three love stories in different eras. But if you watch TMK with a clear mind, it manages to pull at your heart strings. The only issue is that sometimes it pulls at it too slowly.
Story
The story begins in 1960 in Pune, with Ruksar (Priyanka Chopra) and Govind (Shahid Kapoor) meeting in the train. Just another train saga, you would think. But it doesn’t turn out to be that. Ruksar is a freshly successful Hindi film heroine and Govind is a talented musician looking for work. Love happens but there are some obstacles – in the form of another lover for Govind. This era has been depicted with the help of some good (though not excellent) sets, but there was no need to show a tram in every scene. Kunal Kohli deals with the 1960 story in a Chaplinesque way – for example, comic moments without dialogues between the reporter (Vrajesh Hirjee) and Govind, and also the latter’s Raj Kapoor-Chaplin-like look.
The story jumps to 2012 London where Krish (Shahid) is breaking up with his girlfriend Meera (Neha Sharma). It’s also his birthday and the day he bumps into Radha (Priyanka). Their meeting is followed by fight, friendship, Facebook statuses, phone chatting, Ipad sharing, love, hanging out – and trouble when Meera posts censored pictures of her ex-lover online. All this seems normal. It’s 2012, right? But do Krish and Radha get back together?
Just when we’re figuring that one out, the film moves to 1910 in Sargoda, near Lahore. This is the best track of Teri Meri Kahaani and we guess that’s why it was given so much screen time. It’s the really old-fashioned era, and yet, Javed (Shahid) who is a hard-core flirt doesn’t take much time in impressing a girl and getting in between the sheets with her. Be it the village belle or the English memsaab’s daughter. But he truly falls for Aradhana, a freedom-fighter’s daughter. It’s pre-Independence and yet, marriage between a Muslim lad and a Sikh lass is not common. What happens in the end? Watch the film to know it.
Our take
Teri Meri Kahaani takes its time to unfold, often using nuances and subtleties to bring home the point. Although the film spans stories in 1910, 1960 and 2012, there is no masala here, no melodrama. It is simple storytelling at its best, in an old-fashioned way. And no, it is NOT like Dangerous Ishhq! The connection between the three love stories has not been established too well in the film – or maybe because the lovers do not have any past life flashes. It takes some time for the viewer to understand it. But once you know it, it seems like it’s the sweetest romance. But Teri Meri Kahaani is not a mind-boggling film, and some of you might not like it. Also, people did not always laugh at the right moments in the theatre, but the romance seemed to be liked by all.
Performances
If Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were ever lovers in real life and broke up, they have managed to hide it well. They excel as actors and show great chemistry. Shahid steals the show with his portrayal – coolly essaying three characters that are absolutely different from each other. His role as Javed in Lahore is what gets the whistles, as he is aided by dialogues laced with some colourful shayari every now and then. Shahid is good in the London story, too, and Piggy Chops complements him. She plays the pretty damsel with ease in all three roles, but strangely changes her accent only in the Lahore story. Cameos by Prachi Desai, Neha Sharma and Vrajesh Hirjee work.
Verdict: Teri Meri Kahaani is a light film and is to be enjoyed like that – without any stress. But it might not work at the box office.
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Neha Sharma, Prachi Desai
Direction: Kunal Kohli
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Shanghai | Movie Review
12:01:00 pm
AMY
Shanghai isn't setting new records - it wasn't meant to. Except, perhaps, push the envelope on cinematic creativity just a bit more for filmmakers who like to dream World Cinema-size, far from the crowd of maddening Bollywood cliches.
This film reminds us once again that Dibakar is a solid contender for the title of our most innovative storyteller in modern times. Intense and introspective, this is Dibakar's most assured work yet. But Shanghai isn't all about directorial genius. Shouting for attention beyond the perfectly-rendered acts of Abhay Deol and Kalki Koechlin - poster stars of contemporary arthouse - is the rebirth of Emraan Hashmi. This film should redefine the Serial Kisser - as a camera-savvy chameleon who has learnt the trick of changing hues as his director wants. Paunch and stained toothy grin in place, Emraan's our man to watch out for in Shanghai.
Dibakar and his co-screenwriter Urmi Juvekar set their tale in the Hindi heartland, in a smalltown aptly named Bharat Nagar. Without frills, the film starts off on a thriller note. A road accident leaves a prominent left-wing activist (Prosenjit Chatterjee) in critical condition. The activist, Dr Ahmed Ali, was in town to campaign against a business park that will render several families homeless. The only witness (Kalki Koechlin) is convinced the accident was a cold-blooded set-up for murder. The situation gets volatile when a petty porn filmmaker (Emraan Hashmi) turns up claiming he has video proof that could bring down the government. A top bureaucrat (Abhay Deol) is summoned for damage control.
The suspense unleashed through the chain of events that follow is balanced deftly with a subtext comment. For the record, the film officially adapts its plot from Vassilis Vassilikos' Greek novel, Z, already interpreted by way of a Costa-Gavras film of the same name in 1969.
Dibakar's film is different from what Costa-Gavras showed. If the Greek maestro made a sharp comment for Communism in 1960s Greece, Dibakar uses the Z template to lay bare the greedy political set that invariably piggybacks on the bogus dreams of progress they sell to smalltown India.
Shanghai is an angry outburst packaged well with wry humour. It is the heartland political thriller that several among the Bollywood lot have tried to make lately but didn't quite have the guts to. Just for that, this film is pure gold.
Director: Dibakar Banerjee
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Farooq Sheikh, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Pitobash Tripathy
Released On : June 08, 2012
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Jaaneman | Bengali Movie (2012) | Review
11:18:00 am
AMY
With Jaaneman (Bengali, 2012), director Raja Chanda takes up the challenge of handling the intricacies of making a crafty road flick, a genre that is tricky for even Bollywood film-makers. The movie also features actress Koyel Mullick and Soham together for only the 2nd time after Tarun Majumdar's Chander Bari (2007).
In Janeman, we meet Deba (Soham) - a young man who is on the run, having scorned the evil underworld lynchpin Sridhar. During the course of his journey, Deba comes across the beautiful Ria (Koel Mullick) at a bus terminal.
On the way, Deba and Ria stop at a gas station where they divulge their respective predicaments. Learning about Ria's need to get away from goons hired by her father, Deba decides to take her to Kolkata, where she would find some respite. Sridhar's men, who had been chasing Deba for so long, also need to be shaken off.
However, the duo gets a far-from-warm welcome at the residence of a relative of Ria in Kolkata. Will Deba and Ria be able to survive the threats that their respective pursuers pose? Can the love that has blossomed between the two on the course of the journey reach its desirable conclusion? Catch Janemon at the theaters and get all the answers!
Director Raja Chanda deserves praise for having the fortitude and gumption of trying to create the appropriate atmosphere for a road movie in Jaaneman. The action sequences in Jaaneman are at par with the best in the industry. However, he tends to play it safe as far as the incidents in the movie are concerned. The surprise element is weak, and the climax, while stylishly shot, does not defy predictability.
Performance-wise, Koel Mullick as Ria is easily the standout performer in the movie. The actress, who was last seen in the lukewarm 100% Love, does manage to rise above the script. There is a certain spontaneity and zeal about Koel's performance that comes across quite beautifully in the movie. Given her potential, Koel should definitely be more selective in choosing her roles.
Soham is clearly more at ease while essaying characters with romantic or comic flair, and while he did do a stellar job in the intense Amanush, Soham looks a bit outside his elements in an out-and-out actioner like Jaaneman. While it is, of course, not imperative for every leading man of Tollywood to have a Jeet-esque chiseled body, Soham surprises by sporadically coming up rather short as far as his expressions in the movie are concerned. The actor also needs to lose some of his baby fat.
Jeet Ganguli's title track is hummable, while the other tracks are acceptable without being exceptional (with Disco Nachaibo generating polarized reactions). The background score is not that bad, either. Camerawork, by Shailesh Avasthi, is efficient. Dialogs, penned by N. K. Salil, are as trite as possible.
Jaaneman is a fair attempt by Soham to break away from his chocolate-boy image and make his mark in an action road flick. Raja Chanda also makes a conscious effort to make something different. Jaaneman does not completely challenge Koel Mullick's acting prowess. We hope that the script of the upcoming Hemlock Society will take Koel near her limits.
Producer : Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films
Director : Raja Chanda
Music : Jeet Ganguly
Release Date : May 25, 2012
Battleship | Movie Review
9:31:00 am
AMY
While this summer has no lack of action adventure movies going for it, what with the likes of The Avengers, Prometheus, and The Dark Knight Rises on deck, Battleship is prepared to be the cleanest selection of the group. The blockbuster category requires that a movie be spectacularly large in its on-screen scope, and the movie Battleship does this – and little else. Like each of the interviews you may have heard thus far on the film, including our most recent interview on Battleship with Industrial Light and Magic, this movie is definitely a “popcorn” flick – that means you should come prepared to quite simply sit back and be entertained, and entertained well.
Plot Rundown
Take one part Air Force One, two parts Independence Day, and add in about 10 parts patriotic love for the Navy, and you’ve got an idea of what you’re in for in Battleship. One of several main protagonists in the film, Alex Hopper, (played by Taylor Kitsch) gets in a fight several years before the main bulk of the plot of the film, meets a girl, and is convinced to Join the Navy. At the same time in an unrelated event (also before the main plot line’s time) NASA sends a signal to a planet, the signal originating here on Earth in Hawaii.
Fast forward 7 years to the present, 2012, and both Alex and his brother Stone are stationed aboard Navy Destroyer ships sitting comfortably in Hawaii – the plot thickens! The girl from earlier in the plot, Samantha Shane (played by Brooklyn Decker,) is revealed as the daughter of COMPACFLT Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson,) the Admiral being a superior of both of the brothers. Alex is set up for a coming-of-age-type situation, there’s love in the air, and five alien ships plummet to the Earth.
The rest of the film takes place (for the most part) in battle sequences in both Hawaii and Hong Kong – where one of the five ships has made berth. Of course the Aliens want war, the humans want to kill the aliens, and everyone has an awesome time getting blown up. In comes the most interesting character in the whole film as the new improved Destroyer ships prove useless against the alien threat. In comes the USS Missouri, aka the Mighty Mo, aka one gigantic battleship which in real life acted as surrender site for the Japanese fleet in World War II.
This ship is so interesting, one of the viral ads for the movie was dedicated to it alone. Have a peek:
And all the bad guys get killed and all the good guys win in the end and it’s a great time had by all – as you should well expect.
Why you should see it
I can’t overemphasize the idea that this is an effects-driven film. If you want to be impressed by the level at which the film industry – specifically ILM here – is able to operate on here in 2012, jump right in on Battleship. In our chat with ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Pablo Helman, we got an early taste of what we were in for this past week:
“It’s a ride. The visual effects work looks great – it’s a popcorn movie – and in regards to how some people ask me: can I actually turn off that part of me that actually just enjoys the movie? It’s definitely something you want to do here, you want to sit back, turn yourself off, and just be surprised and wowed by the images.” – Helman
BONUS: The soundtrack is headed by Steve Jablonsky, perhaps known best for having this same role on the Transformers series. Jablonsky composed the music for this film’s soundtrack, these compositions featuring guitarist Tom Morello – best known as lead guitarist and activist from the band that once was Rage Against the Machine.
Why you might want to skip it
In contrast with several high-impact science fiction films, action films, and even straight up love stories released this summer, the plot line for this movie has not been put under guard basically whatsoever. You can read the ending to the film on Wikipedia, for crying out loud. As a result, you’re going to get exactly what you payed for: explosions, gunfire, aliens death, and lots and lots of robots. If you’re looking for all the visual effects with an added bonus of a storyline that’s truly engaging, head to the Avengers. Industrial Light and Magic made that film a visual masterpiece as well – double down for the summer!
Wrap-up
Battleship is a movie made for filmgoers looking to pick up some snacks, select their favorite theater seat, and tune out. This film is nearly pure entertainment, with just a hint of storyline twist and love interest to keep all parties attending the film from having a terrible time – that’s your action-hating date we’re talking about here. Make no mistake here though, of course, there is no having a terrible time at this film – it’s all fun and certainly brings on the big-money next-level action film power at right around an hour and a half long – in theaters right this second.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our ever-expanding [Entertainment hub] for the biggest premieres of the summer and the hottest interviews with the people bringing you the futuristic technology these films need – now and into the future!
Director Peter Berg
Producer Todd Arnow, Peter Berg, Brian Goldner, Duncan Henderson, Bennett Schneir, Scott
Starring Taylor Kitsch, Tom Arnold, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, Hamish Linklater, Brooklyn Decker
Release Date : May 18, 2012
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Rowdy Rathore | Movie Review
4:19:00 pm
AMY
This one has two Akshay Kumar but is not half as entertaining. There is practically no physical or personality difference between the two, other than a tiny tweak to their moustache. Also the film never uses the double role formula to its advantage - neither are the two mutually interchanged nor are they together through the film. Mr. Rowdy just steps into Rathore's shoes in the final few reels and what we see is Singham summarized once again.
The film, however, opens in a reverse narrative though that doesn't make the storytelling any better. Shiva comes into picture first and practically the entire first half is expended in his lousy love story with Sonakshi Sinha. And despite Prabhu Dheva and Sajid-Wajid being at the helm of affairs, the song-dance routine fails to engage. In fact it seems like producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali intruded creative space when you see a song like 'Chammak Challo' ending up in Saawariya zone. Beyond the introductory track, the other two numbers from first half are absolutely avoidable.
Hope arrives when the other Akshay (Rathore) comes into picture at interval point and one expects the graph of the flat narrative to ascend. Alas his entire account unveils in a flashback that reiterates the same Singham saga of an honest cop's fight against the system. So much so that some character actors replay their same roles from Singham - like the corrupt politician (Anant Jog) or the villain's sidekick (Ashok Samarth). Further a bullet has passed by Rathore's brain, which stands as an implied disclaimer for the viewer to leave their brains behind.
Remade from Ravi Teja starrer Telugu film Vikramarkudu (2006), Rowdy Rathore is an old-school masala potboiler. The basic problem is that there is practically no plot in the first half and the second half is completely predictable. Like Singham (2011) or his own film Wanted (2009), director Prabhu Dheva imparts enough power to his protagonist (rather two of them), making him a formidable force against the villain. But with no striking disparity between the two characters, he loses on the potential of having conspicuously contradicting characters like in most double-role dramas. That again kills the idea of having two Akshay Kumar when one would have sufficed.
The lack of originality is substituted with an overdose of action with a fight sequence popping up every ten minutes in the second half. The hero is the idealistic one-man army for whom terminating fifty armed goons in a stroke is a cakewalk. The action is not just heavy-duty and hardcore but at times head-banging also.
Akshay Kumar is charming as Rowdy and commanding as Rathore. He also pulls off the action convincingly. But there is much more to the actor's potential that the script fails to tap. Sonakshi Sinha plays the quintessential heroine whose biggest task is to put her midriff to display. Nasser as the excessively unkempt villain is expected to ham. Supreeth Reddy as the snarling baddie is too animated. Mushtaq Khan replaces the likes of Harish Patel and Ashok Saraf in playing the villain's comic sidekick. Paresh Ganatra, Yashpal Sharma and Gurdeep Kohli are functional. Akshay Kumar's dancing chemistry with South star Vijay and Prabhu Dheva in the theme track is more appealing than Kareena Kapoor's 10-second appearance.
Rowdy Rathore lives up to its name in creating too much noise for no reason.
Director: Prabhu Dheva
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Nasser
Verdict: Average
Released : June 01,2012
