Pictured Moving

I watched this movie pretty much at my better half’s insistence. I was expecting a mush romance which it eventually also turned out to be. But this one is a fairy tale set in modern day New York. Nothing expectionally great about this movie except that the good ole musical seems to be back. Storyline is standard mish mash of a fairy tale and a standard hollywood romance so nothing is out of the ordinary. If you have to watch this get your hands on a rental DVD. The musical extravaganza in the songs is a treat to watch.

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Welcome? Firstly I wonder why would anyone name their movie ‘Welcome’. This mindless comedy that also has become Akshay Kumar’s 4th hit of the year dilutes the coming together of two powerhouse performers Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar after Parinda.

Why on earth would anyone make such a movie? The comedy is slapstick with some innuendos. Katrina Kaif is supposed to only look pretty while Mallika Sherawat walks away with the meatier cameo.

Ok I’m sorry I took my mind with me - didn’t do full justice to it. But then when you pay Rs. 200 for a movie you do expect to get some return. Right? Watch it at your own risk…preferably through cheap DVDs available in the market for less that Rs. 100.

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Raising Cain is another of Brian De Palma masterfully crafted suspense thrillers dealing with multiple personality disorders. It has John Lithgow who plays the character with the multiple personality disorder. Well directed and well performed by the entire crew. Take time off to watch this interesting psychological thriller.
 

My Take: Hmmm! ■■■■■

It’s a slickly done movie with inspiration taken from the Michael Douglas – Sean Penn masterpiece The Game and a host of other movies I’m sure. The songs are westernized with Hip Hop and Rap beats shot as though they are music videos. Abhishek Bachchan is impressive; Rietesh Desmukh and Nana Patekar are very good. Priyanka Chopra uhh…hmmm…uh…hmmm…is there in the movie. Watch it – it’s a nice movie but could have been much much better.It’s difficult for children of very successful fathers, I’m sure both Abhishek and Rohan Sippy would agree. But finally the pedigree will show.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

Kung Fu! Quentin Tarantino style. The second part of the movie, actually it’s just that he went about making Kill Bill and realized late that it had become too long for western audiences – so he clipped it into two. But true to the Tarantino style of story telling this one lives up to his reputation. This part however doesn’t have as much action if you have already seen the first part, but nevertheless there is more story telling and scene setting done here. That’s Quentin Tarantino for you jigsaw style filmmaking, the moviegoers have to put the pieces together.Uma Thurman, David Carridine & Michael Madsen show loads of style in their histrionics. Need to watch both the volumes back to back to enjoy the complete experience.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

What happen’s when an influential private equity megacorp Machurian Global using bad science tries to get their zombie candidate as the President of the United States? You get the The Manchurian Candidate. A more contemporary version of the 1962 film of the same name which had the Chinese as the bad guys and Frank Sinatra instead of Denzel Washington playing the protagonist, this is more a fictitious version of the controversial Fahrenheit 9/11.

Interesting plot though it gets a little intertwined in itself, it is a nice to watch movie, especially if you are the types who like a bit of political espionage that is inspired from reality.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

The 1990 movie on the Irish mob in New York, State of Grace is a well crafted thriller judded with stars of the likes of Sean Penn, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman. Good performances by each of these artistes, knowing the kind of actors they are they never disappoint you. My favourite bit is this dialog that Sean Penn says “You believe in the Angels, or the saints. And you believe it, but it hasn’t anything to do with reality.”.

It’s also the movie Sean Penn met his wife Robin Wright (Kelly of Santa Barbara fame) who co-stars with him.

Ofcourse this is not one of the best mob movies you would have seen, expecially not in a category which has Godfather in it.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

Monster in Law is a classic Saas Bahu (Mother in Law - Daughter in Law) relationship played by the ever so young Jane Fonda and the Oh so hot Jennifer Lopez. Insecurities about the one man, Michael Vartan, in their lives - son and fiance respectively is narrated well. I wouldn’t go and suggest that this is a must watch, but it is a decent movie to pass your time. J Lo does well in movies of this type where she ends up playing a poor girl thrust in a rich mans world.

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Picked up the DVD of Hello, Dolly!on one of my rare appearences at the local music/video store. A 1969 classic, it has my favourite female singer Barbara Streistand along with Walter Mathau. An elegantly done musical this one also has Louis Armstrong in his last appearence in a movie singing the title song as well. Musicals are a great fun to watch and I would recommend this movie to anyone wanting to get a peek into the world of musicals.

Though not in the same league as the director Gene Kelly’s earlier classic Singin in the Rain - this will however keep you entertained with its music. Worth a watch and the title song and dance sequence deserves multiple reruns, what with it being the Satchmo’s last appearence on the big screen.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

The angry young man of Bollywood now becomes the angry old man in Virudhh to combat allegations that his dead son is a drug peddler. The movie has a pretty interesting storyline which has some stellar performances by ‘once meek now resolute’ Amitabh Bachchan and ‘school principal turned strength of the family’ Sharmila Tagore. John Abraham as the dead son is impressive, so is Sanjay Dutt in a cameo. It’s interesting how storylines are written these days with the older generation in mind.

Do keep an eye on the over the top inclusion of surrogate advertisements during the movie. See how many products you can spot . The cast knowingly and willingly promote products that are sometimes tied into the movie storyline and sometimes leave you wondering whether the intermission just set in. I understand it is a novel way of branding, but please don’t make the viewers bear the brunt of it.

Nevertheless, do watch this movie for the essence of family values that this film tries to portray and for the performances by the top stars.

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