Deja vu - Movie Review

DEJA VU - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Wow! what a convoluted plot! What starts out a simple investigation into a ferry bomb blast in New Orleans, takes quite a few twists and turns and turns into a weird sci-fi time travel movie. The sudden change of genre takes you by surprise and you are left trying to guess where the story is going.

Denzel Washington is competent as usual, as the protagonist. Paula Patton is beautiful and looks a bit like Halle Berry. Once you get over the plot change, this is not a bad movie to watch.

The time travel stuff gets really complicated and the film makers end up having no idea what they are talking about.

Definitely worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

I don't understand how crap like this can be passed of as cinema. There is nothing worth commenting about this movie. Even a big name like Denzel Washington fails to stop this movie from becoming a complete waste of time.

Please do NOT watch this movie.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 2.

Casino Royale - Movie Review

CASINO ROYALE - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Another bond movie in the long illustrious line of bond movies. I can never countenance anyone as James Bond except Sean Connery and then maybe Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig as the new James Bond is extremely disappointing. His movements are jerky and robotic. He lacks any expression whatsoever.

Eva Green as the requisite bond woman is sexy with pouty lips and thick eyelashes. Mads Mikkelsen as the bond villain is comic and one-dimensional.

However, the usual slick bond action is present along with the requisite fast cars. What is obviously missing is the high tech gadgets and Q. Dame Judi Dench as M is perfect.

Overall, worth a look.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

SHE SAID:

A unnecessarily long movie. It is a bit dull. I am pre-disposed to hating Daniel Craig. I have always felt that James Bond movies demean women and I see the same trend continuing in this movie as well.

I would not give this movie even a look.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 3.

Partner - Movie Review

PARTNER - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

This is a surprisingly good movie. One would not have expected such quality from looking at the cheesy publicity materials. Although loosely based on the English movie Hitch, this Hindi adaptation has worked exceedingly well.

The story is loose but funny. Salman Khan, who I have never considered as a serious actor, has proved yet again that comedy is his strength. Govinda is awesome as the bumbling middle aged man in love with a beautiful millionaire. Lara Dutta has got to be the most underrated actress in Hindi cinema. She gives a scintillating performance as a single mother. Katrina Kaif is wooden and has no talent whatsoever.

The dialogs are actually poem verses. The songs are jaunty Bhangra-pop.

Overall, a very enjoyable film.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

SHE SAID:

This is an OK movie. Nothing to rave about. The Salman - Govinda combination works out well for comedy purposes. The heroines are just eye-candy. The music is upbeat and easily forgettable. The dialogs are difficult to follow.

I would not remember this movie 3 months from now.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 4.

Sivaji the boss - Movie Review

SIVAJI THE BOSS - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

I am sorry, but I am not buying the hype and the box office success. This is a blatant attempt to pull a MGR. It is a clear attempt to brainwash the masses into helping with Rajinikanth enter politics. The lyrics in the song Balailaka actually talks about him not forgetting the Kaveri issue, which had been a debacle for him. It goes on to state that if he (annan) comes to Tamil Nadu, it will become America.

We can only hope that the audience of today is not as gullible as the ones who watched MGR movies in the yesteryears and voted for him. Other than the political aspect of this movie, it is just a normal potboiler. There is nothing remarkable about it.

The songs are very good. Rajinikanth looks every bit of his age. He looks really tired. It is amazing that he goes through all those strenuous moves at his age. Shreya is wooden and lacks much of any expression. Vivek is the winner. He gets great exposure on a really big stage along side the Super Star. This should be really good for his career. A surprising winner is Solomon Pappiah, who has shined as the next door neighbor of Shreya.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.

SHE SAID:

I liked the movie very much. It is highly entertaining and builds on the success of Chandramukhi. The topic of this movie is very current, when most NRIs especially from America are trying to come back and do something for the country.

A brilliant performance by Rajini. I hope we can be half as active at his age. Shreya is dull. I have no idea why people find her beautiful.

A very good family entertainer with excellent songs and great locations.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 7.

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - Movie Review

KABHI ALVIDA NA KEHNA - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

Is it me or have filmmakers lost any vestige of social consciousness, if they had any to begin with. Is this the message that needs to be sent to young couples in India? Are they not already confused by the onslaught of American culture? If all our parents had decided that they needed love in order to stay married, we would all come from broken homes.

Amitabh Bachan is classy as the philandering father, but he needs to be careful about what he endorses. Being the legend that he is, he does not want to send the wrong message to his audience.

Shah Rukh Khan is stale as the husband who is a failure due to fate. He really needs to learn new moves. His usual overacting is getting tiresome.

Preity Zinta as the highly-driven successful wife to Shah Rukh Khan, has got nothing much to do except look pretty and dance, both of which she does quite well.

Abhishek Bachan as the overly affectionate husband is truly excellent. His understated humour and strong emoting skills sparkle. In places he looks and sounds exactly like his dad.

Rani Mukherjee as the wife unable to handle overt affection of Abhishek, is wooden. All through the movie she looks confused and towards the end her makeup less tear streaked face becomes a fixture. It almost seems like the director - Karan Johar had promised her a big part and that is why she gets a meaty role but is unable to deliver.

Kirron Kher - note the extra "r" in her name. Some numerologist made a lot of money on that one. She however, continues to act superbly, as Shah Rukh's mom.

Are there too many close up shots of the actors, or do I just feel that way, because I sat on the front row on opening night?

The few saving graces for this movie are Abhishek Bachan, New York and the humour in the first half. Abhishek, we have already talked about. I just can't believe that he is thought of as an unlucky actor. New York, at least as shown in the beautiful camera of the movie, is breathtaking. Of course as those of us who have visited New York know, it is a dirty, vicious, dangerous city.

Finally, I read somewhere that Amitabh Bachan sent a bouquet of flowers to the director. I am thinking that if Amitabh really agreed with the sentiments of the movie, he would not have stayed married to Jeya for so long.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 6.

SHE SAID:

What a disgusting movie. What started out as a funny, smart film, starts to become rotten in the second half. Up until the point where Rani and Shah Rukh sleep together, I was waiting and hoping for the two of them to realise their mistakes and go back to their spouses.

What is the world coming to? I am very disappointed.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 3.

Basic - Movie Review

BASIC - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

A classic whodunnit, where a person who is hated by everyone, dies. All the people who hate this person become suspects. There are so many twists in the tale that it becomes difficult to hold on to the plot thread after a while. This movie is still a very good thriller. The actors have done a fantastic job. John Travolta is his brash overconfident self. Samuel Jackson kicks ass as the man everyone loves to hate. Connie Nielsen is excellent as the local officer being passed over in favour of an outsider. Timothy Daly of Wings fame is adequate.

All in all an explosive movie. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I
give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

John Travolta is cute and he is such a great actor too. But for his presence this movie would have been one more loser consigned to the hell of late night reruns.

Worth a watch once. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this
movie a 4.

Changing Lanes - Movie Review

CHANGING LANES - MOVIE REVIEW

HE SAID:

What a mind blowing journey through the venal landscape that is modern law! And what a blistering portrayal of a father with lots of problems trying to hang on to his children and family! The actors are amazing. Each and every line of dialog is sculpted so beautifully. In short a sleeper hit. The film resonates so closely with our life that we are constantly agreeing with how the characters feel.

Samuel L. Jackson is a fantastic actor, who brings a lot of vigour and enthusiasm to his roles. Ben Affleck is surprisingly good and delivers a performance way beyond his usual wooden self.

Definitely worth watching.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 8.

SHE SAID:

Nothing special. A decent movie with a good performance by Ben Affleck. The methods the two protagonists use to get even with each other is interesting.

Worth watching once.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I give this movie a 5.