'Up' an animation with lots of action and emotion (IANS Film Review - Rating: ****)September 20th, 2009 Film: "Up"; Voices: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson; Director: Pete Docter; Rating: ****
Now this is turning out to be too bad to be true. Just like "District 9" last week, even "Up" has arrived at Indian shores sans any fanfare.
'I Can't Think Straight' empty to the core (IANS Film Review; Rating: *1/2)September 12th, 2009 Film: "I Can't Think Straight"; Cast: Starring Lisa Ray, Sheetal Seth; Director: Shamim Sarif; Rating: * 1/2
It's a pity that films about alternate sexuality have to come wrapped in diverting and or glamourised packaging. Hence Deepa Mehta's much-applauded "Fire" was not so much about lesbianism as about two neglected daughters-in-law in a crowded Delhi home finding comfort in each other's arms.
'Ruslaan': Tacky film on a serious issue (IANS Film Review; Rating: *)September 12th, 2009 Film: "Ruslaan"; Cast: Rajveer Sharma, Megha Chatterjee, Smita Jaykar, S.M. Zaheer, Shahbaaz Khan, Ganesh Yadav, Asrani; Director: Mohan Sharma; Rating: *
The audience can't really be blamed if they make up their minds weeks before the release of the film based on its promos.
'Fox' - this thriller lacks suspense (IANS Film Review; Rating: **1/2)September 5th, 2009 Film: "Fox"; Cast: Sunny Deol, Arjun Rampal, Udita Goswami, Sagarika Ghatge, Vipul Gupta; Director: Deepak Tijori; Rating: **1/2
It isn't too tough to crack 'Fox'. You end up realising the identity of the culprit in this suspense thriller 15 minutes after the interval.
'Perfect Mismatch' loses plot along the way (IANS Film Review; Rating: *1/2)July 25th, 2009 Film: "Perfect Mismatch"; Cast: Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Anubhav Anand, Nandana Sen; Director: Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad; Rating: *1/2
"Perfect Mismatch" ought to be called one of the most misguiding film titles in a long time. The entire plotline seems like a big scam.
'Night At The Museum 2' - A guided tour down memory lane (IANS Film Review - Rating: **1/2)July 24th, 2009 Film: "Night At The Museum 2"; Cast: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams; Director: Shawn Levy; Rating: **1/2
"Night At The Museum 2" packs in quite a lot. No, not from the script or pace perspective, but in terms of characters and especially their historical relevance.
'Short Kut' not funny enough (IANS Film Review; Rating: *)July 11th, 2009 Film: "Short Kut - The Con Is On"; Director: Neeraj Vora; Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Arshad Warsi, Amrita Rao; Rating: *
"Short Kut" was not a bad film to begin with. It was probably a terrific idea for a comedy of misguided zeal - a hammy actor, Arshad Warsi, stealing a struggling scriptwriter Akshaye Khanna's great plot and becoming a superstar.
'Transformers' - watch it if you like the sound of metal (IANS Film Review - Rating: ***)July 10th, 2009 Film: "Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen"; Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Ramn Rodrguez and John Turturro; Director: Michael Bay; Rating: ***
How much of metal can one bear in a 150-minute film? There are loads of metal elements clashing with each other on screen while the entire auditorium is resonating with metallic sounds of various proportions all around you. So what you end up seeing and listening to is more of metal and less of human beings, hence turning "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" into yet another entertaining affair for those who swear by Hollywood fantasy flicks.
'Ice Age 3' - a complete 3D animation entertainer (IANS Film Review; Rating: ***1/2)July 4th, 2009 Film: "Ice Age 3"; Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier; Voices: Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg; Rating: ***1/2
The characters from "Ice Age" are back and this time around they have dinosaurs for company. Not just that, they enter Dino-land for an adventure that is far better than what one saw in the first two instalments, courtesy a new character called Buck, who perks up the story.
'New York' a brilliant film and a must watch (IANS Film Review - Rating ****)June 26th, 2009 Film: "New York"; Cast: John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Katrina Kaif, Irrfan Khan Director: Kabir Khan; Rating: ****
When a hardcore commercial flick gets a standing ovation and a huge round of applause at the end of the show, you know that there is something definitely right that the director has done. In this regard, Kabir Khan can take a bow because he has done exceedingly well in making a film that is not frivolous, has a message and still carries enough commercial ingredients to reach out to masses as well as classes.
Want to shed your pent-up tears? Go for 'Raju Maharaju' (IANS Film Review, Rating:**)June 20th, 2009 Film: "Raju Maharaju"; Cast: Sharwanand, Mohan Babu, Ramyakrishna, Jayasudha, Tasu Kaushik, M.S. Narayana, Brahanamandam, Nasser, Sunil; Director: Durga Shankar Nath; Rating: **
For those who have loads and loads of tears to shed, don't miss watching "Raju Maharaju" which reminds one of the films frequently made in the '80s.
Bharath re-unites with PerarasuJune 6th, 2009 After giving a hit flick Pazhani, Bharath and Perarasu are all set to yet again join hands for another commercial flick. Their earlier film proved to be a mega-hit and now Perarasu has officially announced about his next film with Bharath.
Dileeps brother turns producerJune 6th, 2009 Dileep’s brother Anoop who was until now assisting the actor with his production house Grand Production and Manjunatha Films work is all set to debut as a producer with Mamas Chandra’s upcoming flick Papi Appacha. As the name suggests, the flick is going to be an hilarious one.
'Team' a completely dated masala flick (IANS Film Review; Rating:**)June 6th, 2009 Film: "Team - The Force"; Cast: Sohail Khan, Amrita Arora, Arti Chhabria, Vrajesh Hirjee, Yash Tonk, Sayyaji Shinde and Kulbhushan Kharbanda; Director: Ajay Chandhok; Rating: **
Amrita Arora would perhaps have been left squirming when informed that her two-year-old film "Team - The Force" is finally making it to the theatres. At a time when she is looking forward to films like "Kambakkht Ishq", which stars Akshay Kumar and Kareena part from Hollywood biggies, old demons in the form of "Team..." are coming out of cold storage.
'Detective Naani' lazy weekend viewing with kids (IANS Film Review)May 23rd, 2009 Film: "Detective Naani"; Director: Romilla Mukherjee; Cast: Ava Mukherjee, Zain Khan, Simran Singh, Shweta Gulati, Amit Varma, Amrita Saluja, Ankur Nayyar and Hemu Adhikarie; Rating: **
As the title suggests, "Detective Naani" is a simple story about a granny (Ava Mukherjee) who has those intrinsic detective traits to her. She may not be trained like the CID officers she comes in contact with as the story progresses, and nor is she expected to be physically agile like youngsters.