movie_freak_dubai Reviews

Thattathin Marayathu (2012)

Romance at it's best ....you'll watch it with a smile on your face throughout!

[8/10 · 9 September 2015]

Let me get this out there from the beginning... I am a Malayalee but I very rarely watch Malayalam movies as I tend to find them too serious and depressing most of the time.

I went to see this movie in the cinema when it released and I just loved it. I found myself watching the story unfold on screen with a smile on my face throughout. The acting, the music and the background score were all excellent.

Don't get me wrong, this movie is not a "Oru Vadakkan Veerakatha " or a "Bharatham" but just like those movies and for better or for worse Thattathin Marayathu is surely a sign of things to come with a fresh youthful take on some of the usual story lines that repeatedly form the plots of most South Indian movies A light, frothy romantic film with new young actors that really hits the spot.

I rewatched this movie last night more than 2 years after its cinematic release and I still enjoyed it. You have the usual hindu boy meets Muslim girl story that you have seen a 100 times before but Nivin Pauly in the lead role pulls you in and you begin to root for him instantly. A lot of heroes in Indian movies resort to blatant stalking to get their girl and for some reason we tend to accept this behaviour as normal but its not. Nivin Pauly's easy likability and earnest smile is one of the key factors in how well audiences reacted to this movie and it is no surprise that 3 years later Nivin Pauly is one of the most bankable stars in Malayalam Cinema. I feel Thattathin Marayathu was absolutely vital in securing him this status.

Isha Talwar has little to do other than look pretty and ethereal on screen and she does it with aplomb. She too comes across as likable and the sort of person you could easily fall in love with from afar. The supporting case of Manoj K Jayan, Aju Varghese and others do a good job as well.

As a Malayalee with extremely poor language skills, even I loved the songs in this movie and found myself humming them for days after watching the movie.

In addition to Nivin Pauly, Vineeth Sreenivasan, a 2nd Generation member of the Malayalam film industry, deserves the major credit for the success of the movie as he wrote, directed and even sang a couple of the superhit songs.

I became a fan of Nivin Pauly after seeing this move and really enjoy watching his movies that released after this!

Undateable (2014–2016)

Not Legendary by any means but funny enough.

[6/10 · 9 August 2014]

Is Undateable in the same league as Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Frasier... no it definitely is not but I didn't hate it. I even laughed at some of the jokes.

Chris D'Elia is interesting in the lead role with a penchant for breaking out into weird expressions and weirdly well coordinated physical comedy. Brent who plays Justin is also reasonably good playing the socially awkward Bar owner. The only person I really don't like is the actor playing Shelly. I just don't get him or the character he portrays.

Some episodes are definitely funnier than the others and while channel surfing if I encounter an unseen episode of Undateable then I wouldn't change the channel but would sit down and see what happens.

The Killing (2011–2014)

For Crime fiction/TV aficionados... Love it

[8/10 · 9 August 2014]

First of all, I have never seen the original Danish TV show which provided the source material for The Killing so I will not be making any comparisons.

I am a sucker for good crime fiction and detective shows and The Killing ticks all the right boxes for me. Difficult to solve mystery and complex, flawed characters portrayed brilliantly by actors who have become stars in their own right after appearing on this show. Special mention to Joel Kinnaman, very interesting actor with interesting looks. Great screen presence. Mireille Enos is of course very intense.

Season 1 & 2 were outstanding in my opinion and the network execs who decided to bring the show back did a great thing as Season 3 was also pretty good.

Looking forward to Season 4.

New Girl (2011–2018)

Definitely grows on you! I like it!

[7/10 · 9 August 2014]

I am always on the lookout for decent comedy sitcoms. A decent comedy sitcom is a pleasant way to spend 20-25 min watching TV and have fun doing it.

New Girl is my latest attempt to find a show that can replace Friends or the first 2-3 seasons of How I Met Your Mother. While New Girl is definitely not in the same league, it is however a pretty good show. I find it more of a comedy drama that actually addresses certain issues more seriously than a normal comedy sitcom. Plus what is refreshing is the total absence of a laughter track which I tend to find rather annoying especially when I thing the on screen comedy does not deserve such obvious mirth e.g 2 and a half men.

For me the characters and the actors playing them are what makes New Girl a show that I can follow and stick with for a while.I have never been a huge fan of Zooey Deschanel but her general goofiness and oddball personality is rather endearing in this show. Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield are both excellent here. The former as Nick reminds me of a toned down version of Adam Sandler with similar dialogue delivery and talent for physical comedy and I feel that he is going to be the breakout star. Max Greenfield has the more flashier role as Schmidt and he does a great job. Hannah Simone is gorgeous.

I have just finished watching Season 1 and I definitely feel like watching Season 2 so that's a win for the makers of New Girl!

The Finder (2012)

Quirky

[6/10 · 22 January 2012]

Quirky show with a bit of potential.(Minor plot points mentioned below) This is a show about a ex- military man who likes to find things. He can find a bullet that was fired 20 years ago in the Florida swamp or he can even find where a plane crash landed even though it disappeared 10-15 years ago.

I have not really seen anything before which stars the same lead actor Geoff Stults but he does an alright job here as his main brief is to portray an eccentric quirky mind on screen a la Sherlock Holmes. Good to see Michael Clarke Duncan, who's an interesting actor, on the small screen.

This show might last a couple of seasons if it can keep the audience interested with little insights into how 'Walter' is able to find things and simultaneously revealing more about his slightly murky past. The Finder has a few characteristics of another hit Miami based show 'Burn Notice' but occupies a more light hearted space.

Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge (2011)

Youthful romantic comedy with a silly title !!

[6/10 · 19 January 2012]

This movie from the Yash raj films youth banner is relatively fast paced and enjoyable and is worth watching once. In fact the silly title actually takes a bit of sheen away from a well placed and youthful romantic comedy.

In my opinion, the script has similarities to Hollywood flick 'The truth about cats & dogs'. Its a love story set in the milieu of the social networking sites that have gone on to take over the world. A simple story of mistaken identities and

The lead pair perform really well and fit in effortlessly into their respective character's skins. Saba Azad is quite delightful as Preity. She had already impressed me earlier as the object of Rahul Bose's infatuation in Dil Kabaddi. Saqib Saleem is a new kid on the block and has acted quite naturally in the movie. In fact, the only scene where i felt the director and the lead pair was not convincing was the climax scene.

Supporting actors were competent in their roles but no one really stood out for me except for the lead pair.

Y Films which are an off shoot of the Yashraj banner seem to be the banner from which they'll bring out their youth oriented movies and if this is movie is any indication of their future output then we can expect some fresh films to be released soon.

P.S. - i really love the Y-Films logo and the intro clip.

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008)

A nice movie with a wonderful acting debut!!

[6/10 · 14 December 2008]

RNBDJ is not bad at all but there is one problem with the movie according to me.

I must say that this movie does start off really well with SRK playing against type by acting as a shy, geeky common man plus Aditya Chopra starts the movie off in unexpected fashion. I will not spoil it for you here in this review. But i must say it was clever and not what I expected after watching the promos. The first part of the movie really does motor along nicely but at this point something happens that I just cannot fully buy into.

VERY MINOR SPOILER HERE

As everyone must have gleaned from the promos Sahni i.e. SRK goes through a complete makeover/transformation to woo his lady love, the effervescent Anushka Sharma i.e. Taani. This is done with the aid of Vinay Pathak's character the childhood buddy of Sahni. He transforms into the ultimate cool dude with all the works : spiky gelled hairdo, new clothes, no moustache, funky jeans and a new motorbike. This transformation essentially leads to Taani not recognising her hubby at the dance tryouts. Plus there seems to be almost no awkwardness when Sahni becomes his new alter ego, with a snap of his fingers he is completely transformed into the typical filmi hero. IF you can believe this transformation then i can guarantee that you will love this movie but I was not completely taken along for the ride.

Anushka Sharma makes a wonderfully confident debut and I feel that she is the real star of the movie handling both the light and emotional moments with great ease. It does not feel as if this is her first movie.SRK is pretty good as the meek Sahni but grates slightly as his confident alter ego Raj; although it is still a vast improvement from his OSO 2nd half character. Vinay is OK .

The music was not bad with Haule Haule for me being the most memorable Keep an eye out for one song which has a couple of interesting special appearances. Adi Chopra has done a good job of directing the movie with a couple of inspired touches here and there but i really wish he would stop rehashing some of his Yash Raj hits in certain sequences.

I am sure this movie will be a big hit so do go and watch it if you are an SRK but I predict that you will leave the cinema admiring the lead actress. Do stay for the end credits (this is becoming an SRK movie trademark a la Jackie Chan)

Dil Kabaddi (2008)

Sparkling comedy with top notch performances

[7/10 · 5 December 2008]

First things first ....I really enjoyed this movie!!! This is basically a comedy based on the lives of two married couples and the numerous marital and extra-marital goings on that happen with these two couples. One could call it a mix of Life in a Metro with Pyaar ke Side Effects...... unfortunately the promotions on TV has not given potential audiences with this impression.

The four leads are impressive. Soha Ali Khan has become matured into a little dynamo of an actress, good things come in small packages. Although I must say that i did not really like her with the short hair in the latter half of the movie. Konkona, one of my favourite actresses, is as always wonderful. She has captured the essence of the character and her dialogue delivery and timing is top notch....there are times in the movie that I am sure the audience had no choice but to be reminded of an ex girlfriend or dare i say it their wives!! Rahul Bose is back to form with this one although he has done this style of acting before in Pyar ke side effects. Irrfan Khan has officially become the SRK/AmirKhan/Salman Khan of the parallel cinema world ( if we can call it that now). He gives a wonderfully natural performance that endears him to the audience although we may not condone his actions in the movie. His dialogue delivery and timing in certain scenes make you really laugh out loud. His performance is probably the one that stays with you after you leave the cinema.

There are a number of small but wonderful supporting performances in this movie as well but I have to mention two in particular : Saba Azad and Payal Rohatgi. The former is an unconventional beauty but she sparkles with her screen presence and wonderfully natural dialogue delivery. The latter 'item girl' is slightly grating on the nerves with her screeching but then we are not supposed to like her anyway as per the demands of the role. I still feel that she had the funniest sequence in the file. PLease take note of the 'dumb blonde' like scene at the party.

Kudos to the director, script writer and also to the dialogues writer since they managed to deliver a tight, taut film that does not flag at all after the interval. Nor does it veer off into melodramatic saga a la Karan Johar's KANK. ALso a special mention to the song from Rahet Fateh Ali Khan, the man has magic in his throat.

There may be only one downer to the whole experience as some of the topics like sex and extra marital affairs would not be condoned by the family audience (hence a rating of only 7) but no one can deny that things like this are happening daily in todays metropolitan cities

Rock On!! (2008)

Could usher in the start of a new bollywood genre....Excellent and Enjoyable!!!!

[8/10 · 3 September 2008]

Farhan Akhtar has done it again! Rock On is an excellent movie and one that I would definitely would not mind watching again, in fact I am definitely going to go again. Just like how Dil Chahta Hai started a new movement in Indian cinema, I am sure that now, more projects of the same type will start coming out of the woodwork. I just hope that they can measure upto the quality of Rock On.

The casting was good and the ensemble cast gave great performances. Purab kohli, Luke and Arjun Rampal were all good although Arjun Rampal was still a bit stiff with the guitar in hand. On the other hand Farhan looked like an absolute natural playing the guitar, he had excellent stage presence as the lead singer. As for the heroines, Suhana and Prachi were good although I quite liked the former, she has striking looks and has pretty good acting chops. Hope to see more of her in the future.

Farhan Akhtar was excellent, in my opinion he has given a subtle but pitch perfect performance that was very natural. It should put several veterans of the big screen to shame......I won't name any names but just imagine some of our existing Bollywood heroes hamming it up on stage and compare them with the Farhan performance.

The music was excellent. How good does it feel to look at an actor actually singing his own songs........so much more real and I am sure that it helped Farhan to take his performance to new heights. Akhtar's singing wasn't perfect but it had the raw quality which went well with the overall feel and theme of the movie. SEL & javed Akhtar also deserve their plaudits. I don't see why people were complaining about the music.

Abhishek the director has to be given a lot of credit for the final product, which although has a lot of clichés still manages to hold our attention and makes us root for his characters. Well done.....hope he will not come up with a damp squib after this.

Farhan Akhtar has become one of the few film personalities in Indian cinema whose name has become synonymous with high quality films. When I see Farhan Akhtar's name attached to a product either as a director or a producer then I would definitely make the time to see the film as I would in the case of Hollywood names such as Steven Spielberg or a Denzel Washington. Fine, he is not in the same league yet but now that Farhan has added the acting feather to his cap we can expect high quality output from him as an actor as well as as a director and a producer.

Om Shanti Om (2007)

Masala entertainment with a couple of inspired comic sequences.

[6/10 · 9 November 2007]

To say I was disappointed with Om Shanti Om is putting it very mildly indeed.

The plot was wafer thin, with a few and I mean A FEW good scenes/sequences here and there such as SRK's take off on Quick Gun Murugan, the title song was fun as the cinema audience enjoyed the appearance of their favourite stars and even Manoj Kumar at the premiere. The best sequence in the movie was probably the Filmfare awards sequence where they showed the nominations for the best actor.........with some interesting cameos especially from the person who I think stands out in all of his recent movies ---- Akshay Kumar..do not miss his nomination video!!!!!

Deepika Padukone is beautiful but I felt that the 70's outfits did not really suit her modern model's figure although she was not bad at all. She was gorgeous in the 2nd half as a modern girl. SRK was 'OK' but I felt he was far better in Chak De plus I always hate him when he tries to be cool and act all hip. Shreyas Talpade was wasted but performed well....Kirron Kher was good and seemed to be the only person who performed in the right spirit for the movie i.e. with her tongue firmly in cheek. Arjun Rampal was also good although I still feel that Bollywood make up people still have a long way to go to make people age properly on celluloid.

Farah Khan's direction was good and innovative and even inspired in places but you have to place the blame on her for the script.... plus her choreography has gone down the drain. Dard E Disco could have been a classic but it was choreographed so poorly but the visualisation was taken to the next level simply because of the SRK 4 pack or was it 5-pack????

At least now we will see evidence of the full box office clout of the King Khan as I feel that this movie is going to make money especially since Sawariya seems to have received poor reviews.

Final Verdict - Masala film with some inspired comic sequences

Chak De! India (2007)

Very enjoyable movie with an excellent ensemble cast

[8/10 · 9 August 2007]

I have always loved good melodramatic underdog sports movies such as Remember the Titans,Invincible etc and now we have the bollywood version with Chak De India.

Hats off to the production team and the director for coming out with a fresh and very high quality product with excellently filmed hockey scenes that are quite realistic. I loved the wonderful cast of unknown girls who make up the Indian national women's hockey team. All of them had a part to play and they played them beautifully while executing some rigorous hockey action. They were excellent and gave wonderfully natural performances that should shame some of the already established actresses. Special mention should be given to the actress playing Bindya Naik. My favourite was the actress who played the spirited but pint sized forward from Haryana, she was really cute and funny in a tomboyish sort of way.

Shahrukh Khan was excellent in this movie..... his best performance since Swades in my opinion as he played against type. Had some wonderful moments with the girls and drew lots of cheers and laughs from the audience. If the movie succeeds then a lot of the credit has to go the King khan's crowd pulling power.

If this film succeeds and I sincerely hope it does, I think Amin (director) and Yashraj films are going to start a whole new trend a la DDLJ with a whole slew of sports related movies coming from Bollywood. I am sure cricket will be next on the agenda.

A thoroughly enjoyable ride....go watch it.

P.S. - some interesting trailers shown as well Laga Chunari Main Daag, Aaja Nachle and Goal (the Indian bend it like beckham maybe?)

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)

Disappointing movie!!!

[5/10 · 17 June 2007]

I read in an Abhishek interview that when he was initially presented with the JBJ story idea (while shooting Bunty babli) it was set in a Delhi train station platform......i can just about imagine the charming scene. Abhishek and his heroine chatting over a cup of chai next to the tea stall. How did that potentially charming romantic tale turn into this over the top Bollywood film based in London? Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was an utter disappointment to me considering the same banner and director came out with the thoroughly entertaining Bunty Aur Babli. The movie felt like a 2hr long music video/ fashion show. I felt the person who would get the most mileage out of the movie would be the fashion designer/stylist of the movie which had a lot of outlandish costumes none more so than the attire of the Big B in the title song.

The first half felt awkward although there were a few funny moments thanks to the Lara and Abhishek. The movie picks up in the 2nd half but it was more due to the performances of the actors rather than the progression of the story. The actors did a relatively good job considering the weak script. I felt Lara Dutta and Bobby Deol were the standout performers from the movie as they had the opportunity to portray characters that had different shades to it. Lara was especially cute with the French accent and the potty mouth of the 2nd half. Bobby had some excellent comic moments in the 2nd half. Abhishek took a bit of a risk by playing such a loud character...he does go a bit over the top at times but I still think he is a good actor and he has his moments. For me Preity Zinta has been repeating herself in all her movies recently (except maybe Lakshya)...ever since Kal Ho Na Ho, she seems to be playing the same character over and over again i.e. an Indian who is either born and brought up abroad or living abroad. She too improves only in the 2nd half when she is not trying to put on an accent. There was not enough chemistry between the lead pair although you could see that they are buddies.

The music was excellent although Shaad Ali managed to drag all life out of the catchy title song since it pops up all over the film. The slow romantic number was also good.

I feel that Yash Raj films are catering more to the NRI crowd with their movies and subsequently took the soul out of this movie by presenting on this enormous scale.. you cant really blame them as it is a business and they need to recoup their costs.

The film has its moments but it is in no way anything more than an average product.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Gripping finale but we need more Jack Sparrow

[8/10 · 25 May 2007]

I thoroughly enjoyed Pirates 3 and it did not drag too much unlike the SPidey 3.

The movie is bigger than ever and all the characters introduced the first 2 movies make a reappearance in the third movie with a few welcome additions such as Chow Yun Fat.

Although most of the characters and their story arcs are given equal importance and taken to their proper conclusions i still feel that we did not see enough of Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp brings his own brand of movie magic to the screen whenever he appears as Captain Jack Sparrow and I personally feel that he could have had more scenes in this movie. Although the movie makers did try to repair this travesty by using his many clones in certain scenes.

All the other performances are good... Keira Knightley came to the fore in a more central role while Orlando Bloom was pushed slightly into the background which was a good thing in my opinion. Geoffrey also had a major role in this. I still feel that the Calypso/Davy Jones story arc was not really required. Wonderful little cameo from keith Richards the muse for the Sparrow characterisation.

All in all a satisfying sequel with a slightly surprising ending but well worth the price of admission.

I only have one complaint...bring back Captain Jack Sparrow/Johnny Depp for another movie without too many other characters to distract the audience from this amazing character.

Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007)

Classy movie with brilliant performances

[8/10 · 19 February 2007]

Is it me or has Bollywood really stepped up to a new level these past two years. Performances, locations, directors, make-up and art direction are entering new heights of excellence. While this movie is not perfect, Kudos to Vinod Chopra and his production team in providing the cinema going public with a classy movie. Great locations, great back ground music and powerhouse yet subtle, nuanced performances make this a great watch in the cinema.

Bollywood actors seemed to have learned how to underplay and downplay the usual melodrama to give performances that leave a lasting impact. The Big B does not really have much dialogue but his protective and watchful presence can be felt throughout the movie even when he is not in the scene. Now for the Vinot Chopra regulars - After a good performance in the disappointing salaam namaste, saif has been cranking out great performance after performance ( being cyrus, omkara) and Eklavya is no different. He really holds his own against the big B. The supporting cast are all wonderful - Boman Irani was powerful, Jackie had a strong menacing role which was ably suppported by Jimmy Shergill, Vidya Balan mesmerizing as always. Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore were effective and of course the always excellent Sanjay Dutt in a small role that lightens the mood somewhat.

Yes the movie does have a huge star cast but in my opinion the true stars of this movie are the director Mr. VV chopra and the astounding palace/fort location used for the film shoot.

This movie can be considered a novelty in Bollywood and I feel it deserves to be watched. It looks as if Yash Raj films, VC films and to a small extent RGV films seem to be at the forefront of Bollywood film making in terms of excellence, profitability and risk taking.

Salaam-E-Ishq (2007)

****Entertaining but so long****

[7/10 · 28 January 2007]

Did i enjoy this movie? A definite yes!!!! Could the movie have been better and much shorter? Definitely YES!!! Let's discuss the six pairs. This may contain very minor spoilers

1) Akshaye & Ayesha Takia - Akhsaye was excellent in the movie, restrained when required and suitably over the top when required. Great comic timing and expressions. Ayesha was grossly underused but still held her own. Good and realistic story. Their wedding was the common string that drew all the six couples together.

2) Govinda & Shannon - These two were probably the best thing bout the movie... well acted by both. This should have been Govinda's comeback vehicle not Bhagam bhagg. Shannon was surprisingly good unlike the other foreigners in Hindi movies. Great climax scene.

3) Sohail & Isha - this pair drew the most laughs and i was pleasantly surprised by salman's brother's excellent comic timing. COuld have been linked better with the rest of the movie by possibly creating some sort of relationship with the Akshaye/Ayesha story and family.

4) Anil/Juhi/ Anjali - very well acted by the trio and so great to see Juhi..love her. Unfortunately the story was a straight lift from the Shall we Dance movie with Richard Gere/Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon. Anil looked extremely suave and dashing with his goatee and new hairstyle and his newly shaved chest!!! But Please do not do the clean shaven look again. Please!!!!

5) John Abraham/Vidya Balan - Wonderful chemistry with this pair and well acted as well. Vidya proves herself again while John was suitably restrained and improved his dialogue delivery. Played integral role in persuading Akshaye of the true meaning of love.

6) Salman & Priyanka - The most disappointing pair. Their story was the most filmi and the audience could not empathise as they could with the other five stories. Salman had the most disappointing and least thought out role but salman being salman brings his own magic and charisma to the screen. Priyanka was too over the top at the start but improved drastically towards the end.

Direction/script - All the six pairs were handled rather nicely but in my opinion the salman khan and priyanka story was not required in this movie at all. In fact the whole London shoot was not required. Unfortunately by extension neither was the Anil Kapoor storyline which was also set in London. This would have been sad as the actors did well. I felt Salman and priyanka was there just to sell the movie with their star power.

The movie should have revolved around Akshaye and Govinda story lines with more scenes given to their pairs(+form a link between sohail/isha to this main storyline for some excellent laughs). The John/Vidya angle should have been given a cameo/special appearance treatment to show akshaye the error of his ways. The movie could have been much tighter and we could have enjoyed more of Akshaye and govinda.

Watch this movie for the stars and let's hope govinda & akshaye khanna get more chances to shine.

Guru (2007)

****** Intelligent movie with great Abhishek performance ****

[7/10 · 21 January 2007]

Guru is a movie that is definitely worth a watch. Mani ratnam has scripted a movie that is very different from the usual bollywood movies and while the movie has numerous flaws and holes, i personally feel that it was a worthy effort.

The movie is held together by a towering central performance by Abhishek Bachan who has in my opinion finally put to rest his critics. It was a performance with many nuances, excellent dialogue delivery and all delivered with confidence and conviction. Ash was surprisingly likable, and was not as irritating as usual. These two performances just proves that if you give actors good material to work with they are capable of great things. The unrealistic dialogues and typical bollywood melodrama are not visible in this movie. AS for the supporting cast (mithun, Madhavan , Vidya Balan), they all did well. although certain aspects of Madhavan and Vidya Balan's relationship was not required.

For me the disappointing aspect was the music... this movie did not need any songs. A.R. Rahman was a tad disappointing plus i thought the lyrics were not that great either.In fact if the music was integrated in to the background then i personally feel that Mani ratnam could have had the opportunity and time to fill in the gaps and holes in the script and make it a tighter movie.... that too all well within the right time. Mainly more scenes in Turkey showing the making of the man Guru and more on the growth of Shakti corporation.

Mani ratnam needs to be applauded for his efforts and while this movie could have been brilliant it does fall short of expectations. All said i would still love to see other directors attempting to make a movie as novel as this and would always make time to see a Guru in the cinema.

Prison Break (2005–2017)

Tense & Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 7 December 2006]

I have been really enjoying TV these days with Heroes, grey's anatomy and Studio 60 so i had enough on my plate before Prison Break popped up and got me completely hooked.

Good cast especially the supporting cast of inmates and prison staff. Wentworth Miller is not bad in the main role but I like Dominic Purcell who always looks like he is just waiting for a chance to explode... he has internalised all his emotions to such as extent.

As for the story, well u guessed it.. it's about a prison break but the writers keeps you wanting more episode after episode with their twists and obstacles placed in Michael's way. Although you knew it will not be all plain sailing for Michael, his smug attitude seemed to suggest he had it all worked out but after the first two episodes things get really exciting as the shows writers start having fun. Although some of the situations are contrived and probably unrealistic in a real world prison, I feel that the acting and the writing transcends it and keeps the viewer wanting more week after week. This show can not go on for 7-8yrs as it will lose its gripping power but I hope the creators takes it to a nice place and gives all the viewers the right amount of closure.

Excellent television that makes you want to forget going to the movies!!!!!!!!

Dhoom 2 (2006)

all style and no substance

[5/10 · 28 November 2006]

Extremely disappointed with this movie... i rather enjoyed the first one coz it veered away from the usual bollywood fare at the time. The bikes, great music and good cast made it an enjoyable ride.

Unfortunately this one could have been awesome considering the cast but the director just went overboard and gave all the cast fake tans and skimpy designer wear rather than focus on giving the audience the thrills they deserve.

First up - the action was so badly done that the only thing missing was for the audience to actually spot the wires... e.g. the back somersault off the train. AND the train in the opening sequence was going so slow that i could have outrun it on foot.

Second - The cast looked awesome although abhishek did look like the odd one out. Hrithik was by far the best, which was only coz he had the author backed and meatiest role. Great dancing and he looked the part with his amazing physique and build. Surprised that Abhishek who was also in part one had such little to do... he was more convincing towards the end. Uday was OK.. some fun sequences.. like the take off on Baywatch. Ash looked pretty amazing but she was trying too hard by pouting and wearing short stuff but Biphasha looked sexy effortlessly although she had nothing else to do. Why even give her a double role i do not know.

Third - The director who gave us such a fresh product the first time around just focused on using all the clichéd stuff rather than trying to fulfill his promise of delivering another fresh take on the action comedy genre. Part one had a few imaginative robberies while part two supposedly bigger and better had only one in my opinion... the second one where hrithik and ash hook up.

Anyway if u do want to see dhoom 2 then watch it for Hrithik who simply blows everyone else off the screen.

World Trade Center (2006)

Bit disappointing BUT everyone needs to see this

[6/10 · 11 November 2006]

First things first... when 9/11 happened 5+ years back i was probably too young to understand what really happened and how it affected people. I am not American and i live in asia so things are viewed slightly differently. While i have seen the news and heard about happened i could not empathise with what the new yorkers felt till i saw this.

Some parts of this movie are much scarier than what any horror movie can ever be. The feeling of your world coming down around you is just so scary. The scenes with the tower were done tastefully but i still think u needed to combine the scenes with the trapped people with more scenes of the towers disintegrating. No scenes with people in the offices... no scenes with people on the stairs climbing down while rescue workers are going up.PLUS why only focus on the survivors.... one tends to forget about the 2749 other people that died. The audience should be trusted to take the bad with the good. at least maybe show more on the other people that were rescued from the wreckage.

Dialogue was mediocre and the acting was good especially pena... whose emotions did not seem forced although he would have been better served with some good dialogue. Cage was surprisingly wooden and the dialogue did not help. kudos to stephen dorff for a hard hitting but small role towards the end. Maria bello did not have much to do while maggie gyllenhall did good with her role.

Not what i expected from oliver stone at all.... i expected him to let go at the audience and let them feel the devastation and the destruction but in the end it was almost a clichéd Hollywood movie... he took the soft option. Maybe studios felt that the American people were not ready for a movie on this but i think they would have appreciated it. Plus thru a movie, an even bigger audience could have been reached and touched by the braveRy and fortitude shown by the people after such an attack.

I feel there are many other 9/11 stories that need to be told.... and probably told in a more visceral way but i still think that people need to see this movie and understand what happened.

Jaan-E-Mann: Let's Fall in Love... Again (2006)

Enjoyable but flawed!!

[6/10 · 9 November 2006]

I saw Jaanemann after Don and I must say I enjoyed it.

But as I always say why drag it on for almost 3 hrs .... when a tight 2hrs 20 min would have been more than enough. The story is the eternal love triangle but done in a fresh and innovative way by the first time director Kunder. He uses a novel approach with innovative flashbacks and song sequences to tell the story. The first song with Salman was well picturised and was used as a means to tell the flashback without boring the viewer. Flashback scenes were nicely done and using perspectives of all the three main players. Also had a couple of nice twists, one of them in the second half was especially good in providing a valid reason behind the changing relationship between salman and preity.

The acting... for me the most likable was Akshay with his goofy laugh. Excellent acting and get up for the nerdy role. PLus excellent chemistry with Salman Khan. But Salman was also quite good and don't be fooled... this is a salman khan movie all the way. He changed gears nicely playing the college rocker then the no-good husband/akshays mentor and finally the reformed husband with elan. He even cried and looked sad through out the latter half without going over the top. Is it me or did Preity Zinta have nothing to do in this movie except look great in her western outfits and appear in all the songs.. i did not think so. In one of the songs they used a cardboard cutout of hers and i think it would have played her role in the rest of the movie as well.

MInor spoiler - Why oh Why did Anupam Kher have to play a midget and why did he have to have a double role... one role could have been played by another actor and there was no need for a midget at all. It was a bit cheap plus it did not look even remotely convincing as Kamal Hassan's midget act in '' Appu Raja'' almost 15 yrs ago. PLus why do all the foreigners in the movie speak with an Aussie accent if they are supposedly in New York? Music was melodious.. good qawwali type number and the song 'Ajeeb' was pretty good. Song picturisation was the usual New York thing although the first song was done in the old Hollywood musical style with some beautiful and elaborate sets.

Shirish Kunder wore many hats for this production as he was in charge of direction, story, dialogues, and editing. Probably the one that did not stand up to the test was editing which by the way was how he made his living before this movie.... could have trimmed another 20 minutes from the movie easily by getting rid of most of the midget. Anyway he has done his best to make a different product and I'm sure he'll do better in other projects. He did go a bit overboard with the CGI in some scenes but kudos to him and best of luck for the future.

This movie is definitely worth a watch.

Don (I) (2006)

Slick Hollywood Presentation but lacking pace.

[6/10 · 3 November 2006]

Don..the Chase begins is not a bad movie and for a Bollywood production, i would say that it compares favourably to anything Hollywood brings out these days in terms of its presentation and slick look. But the movie is a thriller and unfortunately for me, the movie never had the pace to feel like a thriller. Even the original Don seemed to move quickly.

Minor SPOILER.....New Don has lots of twists and unfortunately for me I knew how the movie would end as the incessant promos and trailers on TV spoiled it for me way before the end of the movie.

I did see the original Don a long time ago on video, while the King Khan has done his best to make the film his own, the Big B is still the King. As the Don, he is still only shahrukh being cool rather than being Don. As Vijay, shahrukh actually looked like he was acting but we didn't see much of that character. It is never more apparent than in the 'Khaike Paan Bana Raswallah' song, Bachan made it into an iconic song while in the new Don, i felt the song was not even needed in the narrative. Supporting cast were OK... no real standouts except for Kareena Kapoor in a great little sexy cameo. Boman Irani, Priyanka, Arjun Rampal are OK. Rampal looks great on screen, love that voice but he is a bit wooden.Songs were not required and if you had to have them then just Kareena's song and the title track would have been more than enough.

Farhan has come up with a great project and although there were a few inspired scenes from Con Air, Face Off, I think he would do well in Hollywood if given the chance. Farhan Akhtar is a director who has come up with some good movies in the past and while Don was not as good as I expected, i'm still a fan and wait anxiously for his next movie.

Lee Evans: Wired and Wonderful - Live at Wembley (2002 Video)

Vintage Luv!!!!!

[7/10 · 18 October 2006]

For me Lee Evans is the best stand up comic that I have seen. I haven't seen too many but he compares more than favourably to Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Billy Connolly, Martin Lawrence, Robin Williams.

The physical comedy and facial expressions are just out of this world. Not to mention the wonderful accents and voices he uses. What's so great about his routine is that he takes the mickey out of daily, everyday stuff. There are times where the material may not be funny but the physical comedy portrayed by Evans on stage is enough to lift the material to a new level. I think this DVD is a laugh a minute riot. The huge crowd at Wembley seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did. My rating is only a 7 coz I think the XL tour is a bit better than this.

The length could have come in at 1hr40 but i still laughed my head off. The musical segment was a bit long but why not... if you can sing and play the piano then why not show off to the world... I would!!! Lee Evans has the same manic energy of a Robin Williams but I feel he doesn't ramble on as much as Williams. I think you need to give this guy a few more movie roles.

Do watch this and you'll definitely experience shortness of breath from all the laughing.

Syriana (2005)

Thought provoking

[8/10 · 13 September 2006]

I must say i rather enjoyed watching Syriana. It was a thought provoking film and since i live in Dubai, an oil rich city, it was of special significance to me. Not to mention, a lot of the scenes were shot in Dubai.

Had to wait for the DVD since there were a few scenes cut in the cinema version which were considered unflattering to the Arabs.

Good performances are littered through out the movie. Clooney, Siddig, Jeffrey Wright and Matt Damon stand out. There are many stories in this movie but there is also a definite payoff at the end. The only track which did not convince was the story of how the young Pakistani labourers became terrorists... the scenes were well shot and convincingly acted but it wasn't clear how they went from being labourers to terrorists.

In any case, a good movie that is worth watching... you might learn something new.

Lady in the Water (2006)

Not the best shyamalan flick

[6/10 · 10 September 2006]

I'll be frank... i did not enjoy this as much as his other movies. But let's be honest, it is not a bad movie at all as the audience still wants to know what happens in the end.The cast was pretty good i thought except Bryce Howard did not seem to have that ethereal quality that was required for the 'Narf'... maybe someone like Uma Thurman would have been nice. Paul Giamatti was good as always. Shyamalan himself was miscast i thought.

Possible Spoiler : The problem with this movie was that it did not draw you in like Unbreakable, signs and 6th Sense.... the main characters in those movies did not believe what was happening to them and took their own sweet time to admit the truth and took the audience along with them. In this movie Giamatti was quick to believe and so were the rest of the building tenants in forming 'the Guild' and being the Interpreter. As for twists, there were more than enough twists..... but i felt that they were a bit too well telegraphed and most moviegoers would figure it out anyway.

No matter what you say about Shyamalan... people will still go to see his movies.. even if it is just to see him fail.

Prime (2005)

Nice real romantic movie

[7/10 · 9 September 2006]

Prime was quite a nice little movie. I enjoyed watching it.. its not your typical Hollywood romantic comedy. IT's intelligent and had some nice performances.

Uma Thurman just lights up the screen... its amazing. She is not what you would call a classic beauty but she has that quality about her that makes you want to look at her. Great screen presence.

Surprisingly this movie ended like i thought it should end.. realistically. Nice little scene at the end of the movie.

Although the ending was in line with the rest of the movie i still wanted something more for David & Rafi.. maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic.