the_mantra_man Reviews

Rang De Basanti (2006)

Rang De Basanti - Reality Does Bite! ***Sheer Brilliance***

[10/10 · 30 June 2006]

RDB is the rise of a new genre of films for today's youth that will be hailed as one of the all time classics. If Yuva was the ignition RDB is the Spark that lights the fire.

A script that is almost flawless and executed with unimaginable comparisons to the pre-independence era is extremely hard to portray. Also to grasp the audience by the throat from the word 'Go' in this over critical world is stunning.

I've watched RDB about a dozen times now and I must say it is equally powerful for the message that needs to be conveyed regarding "doing" rather than "gossipping" and "being a spectator or passenger in the so called 'system'". We have all been there, we have all done it and are still doing it but RDB makes you more than just aware of it.

A virtual tag line "Koi Bhi Desh perfect nahi hota, Usey Behther Banaana Padtha hai" is quite adorable and delivered by different personalities with exactly opposite ideals, at different times in the movie. Was it right to eliminate a bad powerful person? Maybe Not but it is definitely a way to get the QUICK attention of the ever so unfocused youth of India, myself included.

R.O.P.Mehra has presented RDB for the youth and done full justice to them. At the end of RDB, one definitely feels that he has had some kind of rub-in with the government regarding MIG's. He seems to have put his heart and soul into RDB. I wouldn't be surprised if his closest kin was one of the pilots affected due to bad parts in the MIG's.

Aamir Khan as DJ (short for Diljeet) has essayed a role that is funny yet focused, comic yet concerned, silly yet sensible and a loafer who becomes a leader. The complexity of this character is probably lost because of the ease at which Aamir is able to become DJ. Being a Bombay-ite to transform into this ever so likable Dilli-ite with that awesome Punjabi "oye pehen de takke.." transformation was dumbfounding. On the other hand he is Chandrashekar Azard. No Doubt.

Siddharth as Karan Singhania & Bhagat Singh is a revelation. A calmness shown by him breathing life into a character who just "Loathes India" and becomes the voice of the 5 man "Rebels with a cause" is sometimes too hot to handle. The emotions and the sincerity of the character are given more than enough respect by Siddharth. He will go a long way in handling intense roles very easily.

Soha Ali Khan as Sonia urf Durga Bhabhi is fresh and practical. She does have lots of similarities to Saif Ali Khan but still stands out as her own woman, not just a Sharmila Tagor or SAK clone.

Madhavan in his short role as Lft. Ajay is very effective and has a magnetic presence that the group of friends look up to. His chemistry with Soha is simply natural.

Sharman Joshi as Sukhi has perfect comic timing and is a great sidekick to DJ's jokes. He does show his ability of serious shades when the film turns into a "fighting for a cause" saga from a light one.

Now, the newcomer that I think will get a lot of looks due to his personality and charisma is Kunal Kapoor as Aslam. His difficulty in dealing with a petty family clinging to old virtues and his loyalty to his friends is just too perfect. His physique can only add to his characters in the movies to come and he could be the perfect raw material for directors who want the next "Angry, Sensitive and Sensible" young man.

I just hope RDB does not stay just a movie but truly awakens India. This one is a 10/10 for sure.

Krrish (2006)

KRRISH - Kool RRiveting Indian Super Hero - Brilliant !

[10/10 · 28 June 2006]

Shorter version : Don't Miss It !!

Longer version (No Spoilers !!) :

Rakesh Roshan may become the biggest showman India has produced in Hindi, for he definitely knows his filmKRAFT. Producing a good quality product and probably the first mega-hit SEQUEL with a steady increasing pace, that goes from 0-500mph by the time the movie is over requires planning, control and execution. RR delivers big time.

Hrithik takes RR's vision and makes it even better by performing at the highest level. If we are talking about a SuperStar phenomenon after the Big B, with a combination of Personality, Built, Charisma and Consistency, IMHO Hrithik will be IT in the years to come. The improvements needed would be a little more aggressiveness in angry roles.

KRRISH does begin where Koi Mil Gaya ended...and as the movie progresses does seal itself as a true sequel. When you walk out in the end, you feel justice is served to KMG.

The humor in the first half, the sequence of events, the songs (which are part of the movie, rather than being stuffed into the movie) "Chori chori...", "Aao Suanoon Pyar ki.." and "Dil Na Diya.." (what an amazing dance number by HK in the 2nd half) are refreshing. Action scenes do have the signature of HongKong Martial arts master Siu-Tung Ching, a little less in the 1st half and it takes quite a bit to introduce the character Krrish, which comes into existence only 15-20mins after the interval. The action is increasingly more than you can imagine in the 2nd half. The special effects are first rate.

N.Shah is just amazing as Dr. Arya and it would have been nice to see more of him but would have made it unnecessary. If Rekha and Hrithik deliver the most emotional performances throughout the film, Hemant Pandey, Puneet Issar, Priyanka & friends provide the comic relief in the first half. Sharat Saxena is menacing with his looks. APSingh is the perfect B****yBoss and the Chinese guy Gin Xia for his brief stunts

Overall - Great Entertainer and yes I'd like a sequel to Krrish :-)

Some Dings at KRRISH - The first child actor who plays Krishna is quite irritating (thanks to only a 5 min role), Introduciton of the character Krrish could've been a bit sooner in the film, The films length (the last song could've been cut even if it gets under your skin over time due to its softness and awesome picturization).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

'Prisoned' to Watch - Chirs Columbus PLEASE come back!

[1/10 · 2 August 2004]

Expectations for one of the most exciting story lines in this series is just overwhelming and this movie does not come close. I thought third time lucky would mean another chance at an objective analysis of this movie. No way. Such an ordinary feel for this magical series. I felt imprisoned to watch it with buckbeak providing much needed relief from time to time. One thing that HAS to be mentioned is the evolution of these kid actors. They have almost become adults but so much more could have been done with their talent.

Chris Columbus - WHERE ARE YOU?? You left them at a time when they were just beginning to become more interesting. Darn, he would have cracked this story line and made this a $400+ domestic grosser in the US.

Another given in this series that is cemented - Hermione will be Ron's gal (especially the scene where she leans on him instead of Harry). Unless JKR has conjured Luna Lovegood to lead Ron another way and Harry to be Hermoine's intellectual, platonic counterpart in HBP there is no chance for a young potter-granger romance.

Six words for Harry Fans - This is just not good enough.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Azka-BAN this one!

[1/10 · 11 July 2004]

(some spoilers) If this HP movie has to be reviewed in one word that would be 'PITIFUL'. I think I was very soft the first time around giving it a 6/10. How the heck this is acclaimed the best of the 3 is just undigestable.

This style of movie making just does not fit the brilliance of a powerful story line, especially with the introduction of TWO of the best characters in the series SIRIUS BLACK and REMUS LUPIN. To top it off great actors like OLDMAN and THEWLIS (atleast he gets a better deal than Gary) are grossly underplayed.

Although the movie is supposed to be all about Black (the prisoner of Azkaban) and the very thought of him sending a shiver down powerful wizards/witches, his screen presence and introduction is downright ridiculous. Almost ZERO impact. The brilliance or build-up of an unseen fear without seeing it till the very end, is totally missing. Then its an anti-climax in the end, bah, is this it? This is SIRIUS and now we know (or do we?) why he escaped from Azkaban where most feared wizards (gone bad) are kept?

The concept of the foursome during school, the friendship between Harry's father James, Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew is just not explored or even mentioned properly. Why did Pettigrew betray James and expose their location to the you-know-who Voldermot is not at all explained!

One thing for sure this movie warrants a different type of BAN. Ban it from your hearts, don't waste your money and pray for the next one to be half as exciting as the story line. Its quite surprising when people say I'm looking forward to HP4 (Goblet of Fire). Mind you, its not because HP3 was good but because you want to be associated with better film making.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

PoA has "magic" but "not magical enough" like the previous 2 ****Spoilers A-Plenty****

[1/10 · 13 June 2004]

(6/10, out of which 4.5 goes to Buckbeak) How I looked forward to this movie cannot be summarized in a paragraph.. and then when I saw it...hmmm...this looked like a regular movie that had some magic but was in "No way Magical enough" as I quite liked the Chris Columbus presentation and his attention to detail in the previous two.. Don't get me wrong, Cuaron does a pretty good job but his style is more 'Artsy'.

The first one was just cute.. and curiosity got the better of all of us in 'How is Harry Potter going to be depicted?' on screen.. CoS was more mature. Very occasionally it did seem that the movie's were long (if you have watched the DVD's enough) but they captured the essence of the books and there was a continuity to the scenes even for the non-Harry folk.

I guess the length of the previous two movies must have made some kind of impact on the way PoA has been condensed. The pace of PoA was "too fast" compared to the previous two. From the initial scenes, Harry in his room to Aunt Marge to Harry leaving the Duddleys was < 10 minutes (or so it seemed). Magnolia Crescent and the 'black dog' was a trifle slow and then came the triple decker bus which was pretty brisk. The introduction of Sirius Black was not menacing enough by 'Stan' the conductor on the T.D. bus. Gary Oldman definitely deserved more (+5mins)*

The entry into Leaky Cauldron and the inn-keeper 'Tom' (who looked like a character from 'Adams Family') swinging Harry off the street to meet 'Cornileus Fudge' (whose name is not even mentioned) was moderately funny. The re-union of Harry, Ron and Hermione lacks any friendship or bonding strength and 'Mr. Weaselys' warning to Harry isn't any more serious than watching 'Saturday Night Live'.

I was particularly disappointed that 'AZKABAN' prison is just left to imagination (more like a passing comment) and the crime that Sirius committed, killing 13 with one curse & Pettigrew losing a pinky is NOT even shown in an abstract fashion (like Voldermot killing Harry's mother in HP1(+5mins)*

The trip to Hogwarts with the train stranded and the Dementors/Lupins introduction was kinda neat (especially the fading of Harry - the soul screaming etc) but a gifted actor like David Thewlis could have had two more minutes at that point, especially when he explains what a dementor is (+2mins)*

Cut, horseless carriages, cut, 'Choir group – very neat with Something Wicked This Way Comes', cut, 'Welcome Welcome' says DumbleDore, introduces Hagrid and Lupin.

THE BEST PART - the Hippogriff and Hagrid's class, Harry's first flight on BUCKBEAK. The special effects team deserves an award for Buckbeak who IMHO was the SAVING GRACE or the HERO of the film, continued to impress me till the very end.

Quidditch with the dementors swooping on Harry (very imaginatively handled) who falls and is going to be stopped by Dumbledore (very unimaginative after he starts falling as it fades dark and pop comes the next scene in the Hospital Wing). Divination room was much different than the book without the trap door etc although Emma Thompson was funny.

Fat Lady was wasted. Sirius coming to kill Scabbers was cut. The FireBolt and its introduction without Hermione's suspicions looks 'hollow' in the end. Honeydukes (getting there was assumed) and Marauder's Map needed some more time (+5mins)*. Changing 'Three Broomsticks' to 'Hogs Head' was weird. Who is Sirius to Harry (as explained by Mcgonnagal) did not give enough detail (+5mins)*.

Lupins class, Harry's scenes with Lupin, his encounter at night with 'Peter Pettigrew' in the courtyard and the last 40 mins with Lupin, Sirius, Snape and the dementors which is the CRUX of the movie was done very well although 'Who exactly is Peter Pettigrew' is not communicated clearly even in the climax. Hermione's Time Turner, which is confusing unless you have read the book could have used additional time (3mins)*

All in all this movie would have made a 'magical' impact on me if we could have experienced those extra 30 minutes of detail to bring continuity in the film, but that was not to be. Maybe the DVD will be better.. I sure hope so.