NDTV Movie Reviews

Jashnn

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:55:20 GMT

A film that you do need an advisory against is called Jashnn. It's a Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt production. So there's one thing you already know: the songs, one after another, are Sufi or Pakistani pop-rock. The budgets are super-tight, and so a lot of the screen actually ends up looking quite tacky. The leading man however is not Emraan Hashmi. They've this time invested in a gentleman who the audiences can still look at and think, "If this guy can be a hero, so can I." On every scene they give him chance to show off his histrionics. He doesn't disappoint. He is hysterical. The formula has seemed to work for the successful producers so far. If you look at it that way, what's missing here are two things. One there is no sex here. Or at least only talk of it. No sensual scenes. This may disappoint many. What disappointed me actually is that the script is original.

Why think of some rubbish when you can lift from a DVD I say! So, you watch a struggling musician; his sister who's a mad businessman's keep; his girlfriend who's that businessman's sister. Every second a new conflict keeps coming in, and everyone goes berserk for some reason or another. The Bhatts' have their purpose in place. And they've used publicity and the media to prop up such products in the past. I'm not sure about this one.

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Shortkut

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:25:11 GMT

Yet another super-sized dud of the week, is rightly called Shortkut. The director is the infamous writer-actor Neeraj Vohra. The idea of the film has been copied from the Malayalam movie Udayananu Tharam. This was remade in Tamil as Velli Therai or Silver Screen, which for a regional film was pretty good. Even this film's tagline The con is on has been picked up from the Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy starrer Bowfinger. Bowfinger had a similar storyline too. All that the filmmakers had to do use was attempt the short-cut, and mercilessly plagiarise. They couldn't even manage that, and have laid a stinking egg. Akshaye Khanna plays a supposedly genius screenwriter who's waiting to direct his own film. Arshad Warsi's character is a talentless actor who steals his friend's script and becomes a super-star. This sounds sweet and simple enough. But not in the hands of these filmmakers. The producer here has obviously confused big-budget to mean random lavish sets and holiday locations abroad for song-shoots. The actors believe they should ham it all up. You watch ten of them going over-the-top in one go. Amrita Rao, the leading lady, is certain she could make the Vogue cover. The only ones suffering is us. Clearly there isn't a more unbearable short-cut to excess. If you happen to catch this disaster, don't say, I didn't warn you.�

Morning Walk

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:16:12 GMT

Morning Walk, entirely owes its origin to Bengali middle-of-the-road cinema. In fact it could've well have been set in Kolkata. It's based out of Bombay, and there is just no bustle here. The neighbourhoods are calm, the bungalows are huge and Everyone walks and talks in their own pace. The movie is about old-life. Anupam Kher plays the retired professor who moves in with his son's family after a heart-stroke. Given that the actor started out playing an old man in his first film Saraansh 25 years ago, he gifted himself a life-long career. But it doesn't quite mean you could wear a black wig and look younger in flashbacks as well. It just looks hilarious. This gentleman runs into his illegitimate daughter and her mother, that's Sharmila Tagore, one fine day at a park. His daughter-in-law, that's Divya Dutta, is after money so she can get herself a house. His own newly-found daughter is super-excited to have found her dad. The grand-daughter, that's the child-star from Balika Vadhu loves him the most. He's found old-age love in Sharmila's character. There are just so many conflicts in the movie that you lose sight of a central plot. Yet, it's all quite sincere for most part, until they start pelting item numbers after sarod recitals for background score. With so much noise around us, a Morning Walk may not be the most terrible idea.�

Sankat City

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:25:43 GMT

Sankat City a low-budget, super campy independent movie. It stars Kay Kay Menon, one of the leading men of alternate films. He is of course in top-form. Kay Kay plays a super-smart car-thief. He loves, not eating them, collecting them. He has a poster of Gone in 60 Seconds in his room. But the stars of Pankaj Advani's debut movie are the caricatures of everyday life. The scenes pan out around the gutters of Mumbai. You find a spiritual baba with homosexual tendencies, a Punjabi builder, B-grade movie producer, Bengali seductress and finally a merciless don, that's Anupam Kher, who hilariously reprises his own role from Mukul Anand's Hum. All the characters, that get inter related in one way or another, are major crooks. They all want to make fast buck. And like many films of this genre, the plot revolves around a bag of money, actually two stashes of currency notes, that keep getting passed around, throughout the movie. The beauty of this fast-paced narrative is how it reveals a new twist every few minutes. It reaches a point where you may find it hard to trace the plot backwards. You may even lose the context of some characters. And you wouldn't even care if it all adds up or not. This one is purely for lovers of stylised capers. Of course given the budgets, it's not stylised enough. And sure there are quite a few flaws as well. But I'd suggest you don't completely miss out on this Tarantino and Guy Ritchie's child.�

Kambakkht Ishq

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:25:13 GMT

First of all, I'm sorry to be the messenger of bad news, but I must share this sorrow with someone. The most anticipated movie of the year 2009 Kambakkht Ishq, is quite definitely the biggest dud of the year so far. Considering the fact that it stars Akshay Kumar, each scene in the movie has humungous sets and top-notch action scenes. Akshay plays a playboy-stuntman, who has a knack of impressing women very easily. Even Hollywood actress Denise Richards pecks his lip for a nano-second in the movie and mentions to tabloids that he's a great kisser. Kareena Kapoor is a super-model by night and a medical surgeon by day. She hates Akshay for reasons you may neither understand nor even care to. The first half manages to scroll through with songs and dances. But then a bigger twist awaits you in the later half. The supermodel-surgeon operates on the playboy-stuntman and leaves a watch with a recurring alarm bell inside his body. Every few minutes, the alarm bell keeps ringing. She is scared that he will sue her and tries to seduce him. Even after reading this, you by any chance go and watch the movie, you'll realise that the film is infinitely more ridiculous. All you're left with, besides crash-sequences and Akshay Kumar with a bunch of bikini-clad women, is Kareena Kapoor in designer outfits. Now we know why Bollywood is going through an economic slowdown. Really, I dare you to watch it.�

The Class (Entre les murs)

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:14:04 GMT

Cinema is full of films about the beautiful relationship between a teacher and his or her students. There are so many, that sometimes, it becomes easy to forget that this relationship isn’t always so beautiful in reality. Laurent Cantent’s French film, The Class (Entre les murs) won the Palme d’Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival perhaps for the reality check it brings to the group of teacher-student films. The Class is the story of Francois, a young man who teaches French at a middle-school. His class comprises teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds, most of whom are of African-Muslim origin. It isn’t really a story that has any major dramatic event that defines the entire film or focuses on one central relationship. It is just the story of a teacher and how he deals with students who are sometimes innocent and confused, but also insolent and difficult. The most attractive thing about this film is its characters and how real they are. There isn’t any one central flaw in one student that a miracle worker in the guise of a teacher works towards fixing. They are real people, with small, everyday problems, and what is most important - they all have some problem or the other. Some are revealed, some are not, but to the student they are real. Francois is by no means the hero we see in such films. He is human, and he therefore has a range of emotions. As would be expected from any teacher who has to deal with a difficult bunch of students on a regular basis, he loses his temper, says inappropriate things, feels hurt, feels elated and is a bit unfair at times. He is not the last word in creativity, but he manages to extract some creative work out of his students when he tries. The students aren’t angels in the guise of students. They look out for themselves because that is how they live on a day-to-day basis. Between the teacher who tries hard to be loyal and yet maintain the dignity due to him, and the variety of students in the class, the film presents an interesting ensemble of characters. Its scope is greater and there is far more complexity and food for thought in this film compared to the run-of-the-mill movies that usually come our way. A statutory warning, if Mona Lisa Smile and Taare Zameen Par are your ideals as far as movies are concerned, do not watch The Class, you will be disappointed. If a reality check is something you can digest, please watch it, it is a refreshing treat.�

Frost/Nixon

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:01:30 GMT

Ron Howard hid his talent with his last directorial venture The Da Vinci Code very well. A clumsy adaptation of one of the biggest thrillers of our times, The Da Vinci Code, was inadequate to say the least. Howard has more than made up for the mistakes of The Da Vinci Code with his latest offering - Frost/Nixon. Starring two lesser known and drastically underrated actors – Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon is one of the best films this year. The film is about the famous Nixon Interviews conducted by British chat-show host David Frost in 1977, nearly three years after Nixon resigned over the Watergate Scandal. Nixon, at the time, was looking to publish his memoirs and re-enter public life after a self-exile of nearly two years. Frost, who had no prior experience in political journalism, needed brownie points and a massive hit to retain some popular, and not to mention, lucrative spots on American television. Attacking the most hated man in America (then) was the easiest way to win popularity and support. What he didn’t bargain for, was an incredibly prepared Nixon. In turn, what Nixon didn’t bargain for was an incredibly talented team of researchers Frost had. The film primarily revolves around the twelve days of the interviews. There are two strains visible in Frost/Nixon, one of great restraint while dealing with an explosive political personality and event, and on the other hand, an all-out, unabashed experiment with form, where the ‘real’ and the interpreted come together beautifully. The ascent of the film is gripping, something we don’t always expect out of political films, especially one like this, that hardly looks like a thriller, but is actually more intriguing than one. The unexpected nature of the interviews that were to cover everything from Nixon the man to the controversial Watergate Scandal, is the highlight of the film. Starting from a conceited Frost’s crashing confidence, to the ultimate turn of tables, the film achieves everything from satisfaction to excitement, even though the outcome of the interviews is widely known. Apart from this, Howard uses a clever way to make very subtle, almost non-existent links with the current state of US politics by framing the film is a documentary mode with the people involved in the Nixon Interviews being interviewed by an invisible director. Apart from the structure of the film, it is the actors who contribute to its unique, understated nature. Oscar nominee Frank Langella as Nixon is great. He oozes authority, and charisma; one look at his maneuvers during the interview, and we know why Nixon got away so easy. While his political cunning is there for all to witness, Langella shows heart in his portrayal of the ageing, ultimately defeated, Nixon. Michael Sheen as the he ever-smiling, flirtatious David Frost gives way to a falling star who needs to maintain his position in society despite life going quite awry thanks to one career decision. His transformation in the film can’t beat Langella’s, but it is still praiseworthy. Between masterful filmmaking and delightful acting, Frost/Nixon is the most recommended film out of the Oscar Best Picture Nominees. Other Oscar reviews: The Reader The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Slumdog Millionaire Milk�

You don't mess with the Zohan

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:18:38 GMT

You don’t mess with the Zohan is an Adam Sandler comedy, which in itself should give you a fair idea of what to expect. Here Sandler plays Zohan, an Israeli commando who is described as Rembrandt with a grenade. But Zohan gets tired of the incessant hate and violence. So he fakes his own death and escapes to New York where he pursues his dream of cutting hair or as he puts it: making everyone silky smooth. Of course Zohan who has an over-active libido, does more than just make everyone silky smooth. He starts to throw in some wild sex with haircuts and soon lines are forming around the block. But his American dream is soon cut short because some Palestinian wannabe terrorists get after him. You don’t mess with the Zohan is an unapologetically crude, lowbrow comedy but you have to admire the ambitions and intentions of the film. This is the Middle East crisis presented as absurd comedy. So the Palestinian terrorists keep calling a Hezbollah Hotline while the Israelis accomplish incredible feats with Hummus. Beyond a point, the jokes get repetitive and the film gets tiresome but Sandler, who is charming despite his oversized crotch, keeps bumbling along. This is vulgar, farcical and occasionally superbly funny material. I recommend that you see it but not with the family.�

Righteous Kill

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:21:59 GMT

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the same film is a cause for global celebration. Both are legendary method actors from the same generation but their paths have rarely crossed. In Michael Mann's 1995 Heat, they had one scene together and in the Godfather part 2, their characters never meet on screen. So you can't blame co-producer Avi Lerner for proclaiming that Righteous Kill is an event in world history. I hate to be a party pooper but the fact is that this event is a non-event. Righteous Kill is a staggeringly pedestrian cop drama, with an end-twist so lame that it makes Shyamalan's The Village look positively Hitchockian. De Niro and Pacino play grizzled New York City detectives, on the chase of a serial killer, who leaves a trail of dead bodies and bad poetry. This killer however is bumping out only nasty people who have somehow escaped the long arm of the law-think of me as a street sweeper he says. Are you hearing echoes of Dirty Harry or every other vigilante film you've seen over the last few decades? Righteous Kill is lazy pulp. Director Jon Avnet tries to pump up an ordinary script with diversions, high-speed, jump cuts and an uninspiring love angle, which requires De Niro to periodically ravage his girlfriend, who is also a crime scene investigator. She wants him to pull her hair hard and she gets aroused when she hears about him bashing up a criminal. The veteran actors seem only mildly involved in the proceedings. They share an easy camaraderie and clearly aren't interested in upstaging each other. But all their talent, reputation and charisma cannot salvage this clunker of a movie. In the climax, De Niro looks at Pacino and says: "We've got to end this thing." I couldn't have put it better myself. I suggest you watch Righteous Kill but only for its historical value.�

Mamma Mia

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:21:45 GMT

Mamma Mia is a delirious film. Let me take that back - the word film here is a gross exaggeration. This isn't a film at all. Mamma Mia is a string of highly contagious Abba songs hung together on the flimsiest of plots. It's contrived, campy and so excessive that it makes even the louder Bollywood products seem positively restrained. Based on the blockbuster stage musical, Mamma Mia boasts of a boatload of names - Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Tom Hanks as executive producer. But here they seem to have collectively decided to, cinematically speaking, slum it. As I watched these luminous actors belt out Abba hits like Dancing Queen and Voulez Vous, I thought: how can so many talented people create such a cheesy film? But Mamma Mia is no ordinary cheese. It's superbly vapid but also funny and exuberant. Yes, you will roll up your eyes up at this lame story of a young girl who invites three of her mother's ex-boyfriends to their gorgeous Greek island home so she can figure out who her father is. But, if like most people of a certain age, you grew up on the junky pop tunes of Abba, you will find yourself singing the songs loudly - India's got the sing-along version of the film so the lyrics run as subtitles and you are free to let loose your inner pop star. This is the best part of the film. The rest is bland photography, tepid melodrama and some cringe-inducing acting. Meryl Streep, one of the greatest living actors in the world, is embarrassingly over the top. She seems to be making up for all those years of nuanced, textured performances that won her 12 Oscar nominations and two Awards. But the most unintentionally comical moment in the film belongs to Pierce Brosnan who looks like he has a fierce stomach-ache as he bellows out SOS. Mamma Mia has been directed by British stage director Phyllida Lloyd who also oversaw the original London production of the play. Unlike the play however, the film feels strenuously long and torturously cheerful. Of course Abba fans are guaranteed to have a blast. This one is for them.�