Change Your Image
agoyal1979
Reviews
Inception (2010)
Masterpiece is an understatement
Speechless! That's what me and my wife were when we walked out of the hall having seen this spectacular, mesmerising and fantastic piece of art. Yes, the depth and the dedication with which Inception is made and put to life simply cannot be categorised as movie-making but as a highly evolved art form.
I just don't know where to start praising the entire team behind the movie. Right from the script to the sound to the direction to the special effects to the acting, everything is picture perfect and takes you into a whole new world, as the script is quite literally meant to do. Every aspect of the film is so complete and so flawless that it could have easily masked minor flaws of other bits but go find a microscope or a telescope, and you wont find any.
Well, I cant really go into the details of the movie at all as that's something you need to experience yourself.
As for performances, everyone is perfect but simply have to say that Leonardo just doesn't stop surprising me. With recent feats like Shutter Island, Revolutionary Road, Body of Lies, Blood Diamond, Catch my if you can, he is just going from strength to strength. At a very young age of 36 he has achieved what the best have not achieved in their lifetime.
This is surely going to be a cult-movie like Matrix & Memento. The movie leaves many impressions and questions in your head that you want to talk about and understand. And the beauty is that there are no loose ends, everything is explainable.
Go for it if you liked Memento, Shutter Island, The Usual Suspects. 10/10
Raajneeti (2010)
Make room for Raajneeti and Ranbir!
Well, this was never going to be easy, making a movie that couples the complexity of Mahabharat with the Indian political setup. But trust Mr. Jha to attempt this difficult cocktail and pull it off quite well.
Set in the Indian heartland of MP, Jha lives up to his image of making movies of the soil. The camera work is super, the crowds and gatherings are managed very well and look very natural. The songs and the background music are good and fit well into the movie. The editing had some clear flaws and was very noticeable as the movie was packed with too many important scenes and needed smooth scissoring.
The movie is well-paced and manages to tie a large number of characters quite well. The 3 hours do not feel long and the typical Bollywood song and dance affair is minimised by weaving in only a couple of lines of the songs here and there. The 2nd half does get a bit too 'related' to Mahabharat while it could have carried on its own at times, making the script look a bit weak, but I would still not take too many points away for that as movies like these are not everyday material in Bollywood. Some of the context does look a bit overboard if you start thinking 'can this happen in real life' but just ignore and treat it like a movie.
In terms of acting, the high point of the movie is the trio of Ranbir, Ajay Devgan and Nana. Would be difficult to point who is the best but they do true justice to their roles. Kudos to Ranbir for going from one pillar of strength to another (Wake up Sid, Rocket Singh and now this). At such a short experience, he is able to reflect multiple emotions on his face in the same scene and he manages intense and light scenes very easily. Nana does a commendable job and his expressions are flawless. Ajay continues on his great journey of intense roles and delivers a powerful portrayal that seems like a continuation of his previous roles in Yuva and Gangajal. Arjun Rampal is better than his past roles but still needs to work on his acting. Manoj Bajpai is good but looks a bit theatrical at times. I found Katrina to be the weakest of the bunch, and the biggest reason is that for a movie from the soil, you need actors from the soil. Her dialogue delivery in Hindi still leaves a lot to ask for and that is not appropriate when there are people like Manoj, Ajay and Nana around whose Hindi rendition is inspirational.
Overall a must watch if you are a Bollywood buff, its surely part of the journey of the coming of age of Indian cinema.
My rating: 8/10
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
Where are you going with this?
This was a dialogue in the movie, and this is precisely my expression coming out of the unfortunate 2 hours of my life that I wasted on this.
Without any sense of objective or direction, the movie gyrates between trying to be comedy, drama, tragedy, but fails to succeed in any. The lead actors Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor have done their best in playing the roles, but the problem lies in the script, direction and execution. The first half hour is the worst, and there is some improvement after that, but still doesn't capture the viewer enough.
Just doesn't deserve any more of my time.
Stay away !
Shutter Island (2010)
Brilliance at it's best
Well, at the outset, if you are not one of those who like psycho thrillers like The Shining, this one is not for you. But if you are, read on.
Without going into any bit of detail about the plot and the shape of the movie, let me just say that Scorcese lives up to his reputation, and has brought together an excellent piece of movie making from all respects. The camera-work and light is excellent and gives an all through eeriness to the feel of the movie, highlighting its character. The script is tight and keeps you guessing and confused (as intended) till the last scene. But the strongest point I felt was the background score - oh it is so well embedded into the scenes that it almost sounds like your heart beating to the tension in the scene.
I can't say enough about Leonardo as the man just goes from good to better. His role selection and the rendering is simply perfect. Catch me if you can, The Departed, Revolutionary Road, and now this. He simply marches on. Mark Ruffalo and the others also fit in very well.
Excellent movie, surely worth a watch !
Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)
Bollywood comes of age, again!
It seldom happens after watching a Bollywood movie that you walk out assured that this has to be a Hollywood remake, going by the quality of the script and the execution, and then are surprised that it isn't. This is what happened to us when we came back home after watching KCK. First thing I did was checked on the internet but couldn't find any hint of this (to my happiness, surely I'll be disappointed if someone told me that it is a copy). KCK is a fresh flavour in an industry where outdated recipes are the order of the day.
The strongest point of the movie is the script. Taut and to the point. No fuss, no time wasted on useless banter. In the first ten minutes, you are in a 'zone' and that continues for the next 2 hours. The soundtrack is well embedded into the movie and the camera-work has a youthful feel to it.
We didn't have big expectations from the movie, being our first Farhan Akhtar enacted movie, and we only know him more as a director. But he surely lives up to it with a good rendition of Karthik (and surely takes up most of the screen area). Deepika Padukone doesn't have a lot to do, and it could have been any other girl with no big difference. Ram Kapoor and Shefali do well in their limited roles.
Wake Up Sid, Rocket Singh, 3 idiots and now KCK. In my opinion, Bollywood is taking a turn and for the good.
Chance Pe Dance (2010)
Load of Garbage
After spending 2 hours in the cinema hall digesting this movie, I had decided not to waste even a single extra minute. But then I thought, a few minutes of mine could save a lot of useful hours of a lot of people. In summary, if you have never seen someone selling domestic garbage packed in a shiny box, this is a prime example. UTV must have spent a fortune marketing this absolute disappointment.
I gave 3 to this movie. There are loads of reasons, but almost everything about this movie is really bad. The direction, editing, music, nothing has even a glimmer of hope.
Shahid Kapur surely doesn't deserve such a waste of a movie after Jab we Met and Kaminey. Genelia is now the 2nd actress in Bwood who has issues speaking the language. At some point, our directors have to understand that the lead actress has to be more than a pretty face. Most disappointing was Mohnish Behl, who I thought for some reason was trying to be like Annu Malik of Indian Idol.
Take my suggestion and avoid.