Luck By Chance (2009)

Its a pity that I saw this movie only now, coz its such a good movie!! Farhan Akhtar delivers brilliantly, konkona sen is rock solid dependable as ever and the rest of the cast are upto a lot of good. Isha Sharwani in articular was probably supposed to be just eye candy which she gloriously was, but over and above she pleasing too. A pat on the back for director cum Farhan's sister, Zoya Akhtar.

Do watch this movie!

dasvidaniya (2008)

Vinay Pathak steals the show with yet another stellar performance.

A soft movie that deals with tremendous sadness, without making you feel sad.

A good watch
Dir: Shashant Shah

Concept 8.2/10
Performance 8.2/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Technical 7.5/10

Overall 7.8/10

Hellboy II - The Golden Army (2008)

Dir: Guillermo Del Toro (also of Hellboy I)

Hellboy II is an action tuxedo with a comedy lining. The comic element adds a neat touch to the wham and bam and full credit to the character of Hellboy for that. Played by Ron Perllman, Hellboy is a creature with inhuman strength and an attitude to match, not to mention a sense of humour.

The plot is irrelevant and should be seen as a pretext for some ass kicking. The movie does a good job of that.

Concept - 7/10
Performance - 7.5/10
Screenplay - 7/10
Technical - 8/10

Overall 7.1/10

Saas, Bahu aur Sensex(2008)

Dir: Shona Urvashi

Pretty nice movie! Doesn't give you a strong message what with the distracting love story ( bollywood will never get over that!) Notwithstanding that, its a fun movie serving you a slice from the life of middle class India. The myriad of interesting characters keep the movie alive.

Kiron Kher delights with her performance.

So if u're looking for some timepass, this is a great watch.

Concept - 7/10
Screenplay - 7.5/10
Performance - 8/10
Technical - 8/10
Overall - 7.6

A Wednesday (2008)

Dir: Neeraj Pandey

A very practical thriller!

No distractions in the screenplay; precise and incisive yet dramatic.

Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher essay towering performances tightly held by a strong supporting cast.

The screenplay is slick and the viewer never gets to loosen his grip on the handrest. Jimmy Shergill stands out in his role, though not so for aamir bashir

On the downside, the oversmart hacker sequence was made too filmy.

On the whole, this is the kind of cinema bollywood so badly needs.

Concept: 8.5/10
Performance: 8.5/10
Screenplay 7.6/10
Technical 7/10

Overall 7.9/10

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

I love Brit comedy! Its naturally funny when you have characters rattling off in short bursts at almost incomprehensible speeds. To top that, they try to give you the nonchalant, everyday expression that has 'big deal' written all over it. With such a combination, even Macbeth will sound funny. Here it gets better. We have a funny horror movie going

British cinema also seems to have an affliction for characterizing losers in their films. Probably that adds to the sarcastic comedy that is their forte. Shaun, our protagonist is one such loser living with a bigger loser (in all senses of the word) who's a close pal, and is desperately trying to get his failing relationship working. Into all this explodes an epidemic of dead-man-walking and suddenly we expect the fun to end. Surprise! Shaun, Ed (the bigger loser) and company are not losing their sense of humor over some silly flesh eating zombies. Rest assured, you'll laugh.

Special mention of Simon Pegg(shaun) and Nick Frost( Ed), who never let the movie go dull!

Concept 7/10
Performance 8/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Technical 7.5/10

Overall 7.5/10

Iron Man (2008)

A superb action movie! Near Perfect adaption of a comic superhero. near, cos nothing's perfect, but near also coz, it's a strong contender. Brilliant computer graphics, spectacular stunt sequences and a terrific Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man complete the movie. Nothing more needs to be said. It is meant to be an action flick, it means nothing less, nothing more. spotless entertainer!

concept 7.5/10
Performance 7.6/10
Screenplay 7/10
Technical 8.5/10

Overall 7.6/10

Hitman (2007)

On the face of it, its a good entertainer. there's solid action which is very well shot, there is a protagonist (Timothy Olyphant) who's got good screen presence and there's a climax. There's also the usual sprinkling of sensuality.

But, when you start to piece in the jigsaw, a lot of pieces are missing and i don't like that in a movie.

That minor issue, apart, a good action flick!

Performance 8/10
Screenplay 7.3/10
Concept 7.3/10
Technical 8/10

Overall 7.6/10

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Po, the Panda has Jack Black written all over it. It was as if Jack Black was dressed up like a panda. Such was the faithfulness in the toon's caricaturization. I've loved Jack Black in movies like Shallow Hal and School of Rock. He has a unique style of acting characterized by quips and jerks. All that is faithfully imbibed into Po's body language.

Kung Fu Panda is a good movie. It, however, falls short of greatness. The screenplay is the culprit. Most animation movies are meant to be comedies, but here we have a first half thats almost philosophical. There are goosebump moments and grand emotions and it is building up into a serious drama when it all becomes funny. Just like that! Couldn't help frowning at that, but once you accept it, it becomes enjoyable again.

I'm a big fan of the oriental martial arts, their way of life, the importance of honour, respect and courage. Its a lesson in principles. Kung Fu Panda enlivens all that while at the same time being your regular funny cartoon. Tough juxtaposition; unwarranted, somewhat pulled off..not much harm done.

Performance 7/10 (Jack Black rocks!, but the support is not very strong)
Screenplay 7/10
Technical 8/10
Concept 7/10

Overall 7.2/10

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)

Its a fantastic children's film which even adults would quite enjoy. So that makes it a good movie overall. doesn't it? Yes it does. Sensitive characters, brilliant graphics and a happy ending, Jay Russell, you've won my heart. I see that you've made ladder49. interesting!

Its a nice little feel good movie. you'll smile in the end, like this :)

Concept 6/10
Performance 7/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Technical 8/10

Overall 7.1/10

Trivia : Its based on a book by Dick King-Smith also credited with 'Babe'.

Its based on the legend of the loch ness monster

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

A tender love story that is quite a drag, but made tolerable and eventually, even likeable by the mere presence of hereby established, my favourite actress of all times, Meryl Streep. yeah, Clint Eastwood too, but i'm a guy.

Oh! Meryl Streep, how sensuous can you be? How naturally emotions unfurl on her face! how subtly her body language extends the feeling. she's poetry in motion and this movie is nothing without her.

If you're a fan of Meryl Streep, you know which movie not to miss.

Otherwise, its just another romantic film with a bad supporting cast!!

Concept 7/10
Performance 8.5/10 (+ 0.5 purely for Ms Streep)
Screenplay 7/10
Technical 7/10

Overall 7.4/10

Atonement (2007)

Never before have I seen such brilliant cinematography! The picturization and natural visual effects are worthy of the best awards. Seamus McGarvey deserves special mention for his work. Rather unfortunate that he couldn't convert his oscar nomination to a victory.

Based on the bestseller from Ian McEwan (won the Man Booker prize in 1998 for Amsterdam, by the same name, Atonement is a tale of 2 sisters. Wouldn't like to delve into the plot, but suffice to say that there's a lot of emotion to deal with.

The film tends to drag in some sequences where there is a lot of stress on picturization.

Concept 7/10
Performance 7/10
Screenplay 7/10
Technical 9/10

Overall 7.5/10

The Bucket List (2007)

its an OK movie. Its fun, touching towards the end and generally entertaining. The movie holds your attention inspite of the fait accompli obvious from the beginning. Major credit for that goes to the dynamic duo of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. They bring the movie alive. Also brilliant was Sean Hayes in his supporting role. His being a young man in the movie may actually have been uplifting for the mood.

Also by Director Rob Reiner is This is Spinal Tap (1984). want to see that.

Concept 7/10
Performance 8/10
Screenplay 7/10
Technical 7/10

Overall 7.2/10

Good Will Hunting (1997)

This is what terrific acting does to a movie. it skyrockets its reputation. Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Stellan Skarsgård make sure u don't take your eyes off the screen. That can seriously influence your opinion.

Its a good movie for its actors. The plot is just another set-someone's-life-straight saga otherwise, even bordering the absurd at times. Oh well! its outright text-book cinema when you consider minnie driver's role

Concept 6/10
Performance 9/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Technical 7.5/10

Overall 7.5/10

Meet the Spartans (2008)

Well made spoof! I think sticking to one movie did the trick here. Epic movie was such a disaster! Maybe that brought down the expectation from directorsJason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer famous for the scary movie series.

Some of the jokes were very classy and imaginative. good fun!

Concept 8/10
Performance 8/10
Screenplay 7.7/10
Technical 7.8/10

Overall 7.9/10

Michael Clayton (2008)

Its a good movie, not a great one. What will happen in the end is quite evident 15 minutes into the movie. It was always a question of how exactly, and the drama unto then was a bit of a drag.

Tight performance from the cast, no doubt about it, but you didn't expect less in the first place.

I didn't find the screenplay quite appealing, especially the idea of a flashback. It just didn't serve any purpose. I'm still battling with a few loopholes in the plot. I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

Its a watch it forget it movie. Surprised how it made it to the oscars. Star power, i suppose cos its packed with the who's who of hollywood. Check out the cast . If you liked this movie, u'll also enjoy Syriana. Thats George Clooney again

Performance 8/10
Concept 7.5/10
Screenplay 6.5/10
Technical 8/10

Overall 7.5/10

the namesake (2006)

the namesake is a light story well told. It absorbs you into the life of the ganguli family as it is lived, from the start to a the beginning of the end. there are the moments, good and bad that touch upon you...a sensitive film, well made.

Special mention of Irfan khan and Tabu for their convincing performance

Also by the director, Mira Nair : monsoon wedding (2001) and do watch out for Shantaram when it hits the screens next year

i wanna experiment with 11'09''01 - September 11 (2002)

Concept 7/10
Performance 8.3/10
Screenplay 7.8/10
Technical 8/10

Overall 7.8/10

Juno (2007)

juno is a 16 year old pregnant girl. yeah! the movie starts with her testing positive for pregnancy and the rest is an interesting cocktail of emotions delivered through extremely witty dialogues and myriad expressions.

The plot is a shocker from the indian perspective of things, but the triviality with which it is treated in the film makes for some eye popping. That quite adds to the film's appeal. However, it is the marvellous performance from the cast that takes you through the film effortlessly.

a fun film

Performance 8.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Technical 7/10
Concept 8/10

Overall 7.9/10

The Mistress of Spices(2005)

An ethereal movie devoid of much logic. a film for dreamers, but ofcos a good dream. Ash looks delicious throughout the movie. Unfortunately i can't say the same for the male lead, Doug who looks very ordinary if not a bit revolting. Does this reflect a budget constraint, coz certainly ash deserves a better looking male lead. I was so much disappointed by Doug, that i hoped they wouldn't get together in the movie.

Technically, the movie is very impressive. The blurring effects and camera angles used almost give life to the inanimate spices. Great use of colours as seen bright red chillies with verdant stems and colourful heaps of other spices. In fact, i never knew we had so many types of spices. quite enlightening.

Concept 6/10
Performance 8/10
screenplay 7.5/10
technical 8.5/10

Overall 7.5/10

Dil Dosti Etc (2007)

The character of Apurv (Immaduddin Shah) is probably one of its kind in bollywood. His nonchalance in the face of the shit that he gets himself into is remarkably portrayed. Father's son after all!! On the other hand, Sanjay Mishra (Shreyas Talpade) is cliched to the core. Director Manish Tiwary, probably wanted to exemplify the contrast, but to me it spelt disaster. The film lost its freshness and took on familiar hues.

There is no lesson in the movie, not that there should be one; rather i now appreciate the fact that there is no subtle preaching. It is just another example of how life can be, how different life can be for different people.

I enjoyed the movie, hassle free entertainment

Performance 8/10
Screenplay 8/10
Concept 7.5/10
Technical 8/10

Overall 7.9/10