Pictured Moving

Let me first admit that I’m not a fan of fiction or fantasy books, especially the latter and I always feel that tto he Harry Potter series is a media beast that is thrust on is. It is like if I have not read or seen Harry Potter then I’m this ‘atheist’ of this world. So I succumb to this and end up to watch ‘The Order of the Phoenix’.

I ate popcorn, snoozed a little, saw a little, was bored a lot and walked out of the theatre feeling what on earth do these Potter fans see in this movie or book (I can’t comment on the book as you know why by now). Maybe I’ll watch the next one in Hindi, probably then I’ll enjoy the movie.

Less said the better - I’m just waiting for some doofus to tell me whether Harry Potter will live or die in part 7 and rest in peace.

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A man in his car hits a dead man at 11:14 in the night that falls from a flyover above, he tries running away from the cops - lands up at a family whose girl has gone missing. Girl’s boyfriend is trying to get money for her abortion, robs the store he works in. Girl’s dad finds girl’s ex boyfriend dead in the graveyard and decides to fix the crime scene…..girl dies in car crash….it so happens that girl is connected to nearly everyone in the movie. Confused! Even I was when I saw the movie on DVD. Forced connectivity to create a suspense thriller all comes to naught. Watch this at your own risk.

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This Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy Wedding Crashers is about two guys who have a fetish for crashing in weddings. The goal however is to bed single women at weddings. They have their set of rules that they work on. However it leaves a lot to be desired, and does not deserve the hype that it generated. Watch it at your own risk.

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This Jim Carey starrer A Series of Unfortunate Events is part of the series of unfortunate Carey gags that by now have become predictable, staid, ridiculous, and hamming at its best. Please! Please! I beg you run away from this movie even if someone gives you a million dollars. Alright for that kinda money watch it with you eyes open fantasizing about something else and set the DVD on a dubbed version you don’t understand.

What on earth were powerhouse talents like Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman doing in this production; ‘Is money everything in this world?’; Come on guys have some self respect and give some importance to the reputation you have before signing on the dotted line. It is an interesting plot and all that, but…it leaves a lot to be desired. Watch at your own risk.

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The sequel to the popular Meet the Parents is watchable albeit on DVD only. It looks a little overboard in terms of the storyline. Splendid performers like Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand being wasted in this comic family drama. I do not consider Ben Stiller to be a great performer so he of course has been used excellently in a doofus comedy that does full justice to his talent or lack of it. Robert De Niro should stick to the Analyze This types rather than this brand of comedy.

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No Entry!. If you have a chance to watch this movie, just keep your brains aside. This mindless comedy of infidelity is better watched by hiring a VCD or better still watch it when your cable guys gets a copy screened for you. Ofcourse as the name suggests this is a No Entry for you in a cinema hall. Performances or should I say hamming is the flavour of the day.

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Well, that’s probably the only thing that was good about Charlie and the Chocolate factory, the cute chocolate faced Freddie Highmore who plays Charlie Bucket. Johnny Depp is wasted as Willy Wonka and looks like a poor cousin of Edward Scissorhands sans the scissors ofcourse. Tim Burton can definitely do a better job than just pick out an old classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory and redo it badly.

I nearly slept during the IMAX experience, so did my wife. Frankly I didn’t get it, why waste precious IMAX film for a film that doesn’t need it. My advice to Tim Burton, if there is no possibility to get that tickling feeling from your toes to your loins while watching a film, keep IMAXing aside and stick to basics.

All in all if you still want to compare the old to the new, stick to a DVD hire. Just not worth the IMAX experience especially if you haven’t seen an IMAX film before, you will wonder what’s the big deal of IMAX.

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I will be a little biased here, not because of anything but because I am a sucker for underdogs winning, and I sure most people are that way. The movie is no great shakes, just that Herbie is back, the great old Volkswagen bug. Decent entertainer, with a predictable storyline attached to an impressive cast including Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton and Matt Dillon.

They could have done better on the stunts, because they seem too mediocre for today’s age and time. But who doesn’t want to see underdogs winning and who doesn’t get Goosebumps when the underdog gets a standing ovation. Worth a DVD watch if you want to watch this movie, else sandwich it with other entertainers if you are a movie hall buff.

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Another offering from the hugely talented DreamWorks, this is a movie set in the New York Zoo, and is about how a Lion (Alex), Zebra (Marty), Giraffe (Melman), and Gloria (Hippo), escape out of the zoo in search of the Wild. Where they have freedom and don’t have to follow a routine of being entertainers to visitors coming to the zoo.

Interesting movie, though it doesn’t have as strong a plot like some other animation flicks that I have seen earlier, nevertheless a good entertainer. Chris Rock as Marty excels, Ben Stiller as Alex is good, and David Schwimmer as Melman is as doofus as Ross in Friends. The Lemurs from Madagascar are great fun, though I was not able to pinpoint the cast that played the lemurs.

Of course the soundtrack is old school with Frank Sinatra’s New York New York and my favourite Satchmo’s What a Wonderful World, but there is nothing to drive home about the animation. However, give it a shot – you won’t regret it.

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Had a chance to see A Lot Like Love, the Amanda Peet - Ashton Kutcher love story. Nothing exceptional in this movie. Boy meets Girl, both are indecisive, take 6 years to realise they are in love with each other, and it has a happy ending.

Ashton Kutcher has come a long way from his That 70s Show days. Amanda Peet however seems to have stolen the show to an extent in this movie. Old Uncle Oscar will however not wince.

Easy going weekend movie or stay at home and watch movie. If you don’t see it, you haven’t missed much. It’s a lot like any other love movie…

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