Chase Movie Review

Friday, April 30, 2010

Rate: 2.5/5 

Chase begins with a high-octane chase and what follows are several twists-n-turns, before the jigsaw puzzle is solved. But the question is, does Chase provide those adrenaline-pumping moments? Nope, it doesn't! The problem is, the writing relies too heavily on the tried-n-tested stuff, which robs this thriller of those thrilling moments.

Final word? Chase is akin to soda. Opens with a lot of fizz, but falls flat thereafter!

Sohail [Anuuj Saxena] is a man on the run. DIG Ranveer [Rajesh Khattar] has vested interest in getting to the bottom of a murder in which Sohail is involved. Insp. Siddharth [Samir Kochhar] is the right hand of the DIG, who is monitoring Sohail's actions.

Enter Nupur [Udita Goswami], who is involved with Sohail closely. The other players of this chase are Surabhee [Tarina Patel], Sohail's love interest and industrialist Mr. Khanna [Aditya Raj Kapoor], for whom money is the solution of all problems. Also, there is Anthony D'Costa [Gulshan Grover], who is also in search for the truth.

The hunt for Sohail and search for truth takes us through the streets of Mumbai. The truth has the potential of blowing up the entire political system apart. Who is the victim and who is the criminal?

The sole aspect you carry home after watching Chase are the high-octane chase sequences, especially the one at the very start of the film. Otherwise, Chase harps on the age-old plot where an innocent man is framed for a murder he hasn't committed, the corrupt cops being hand-in-glove with an industrialist, an undercover cop who doubles up as a seductress and the journo-girlfriend who goes that extra mile to save her boyfriend. Besides, there's a Live sting operation, the mandatory songs and some steamy moments and a stylish video towards the end.

It is said that you are innocent till proven guilty, but what happens when the law is interested in punishing the accused without verifying his innocence or guilt? What happens when the law upholder are ruthless and have no scruples?

Chase - Get Set Go 

Housefull Movie Review

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 
Rate: 3/5 

Sajid Khan sounded very confident in his interviews before the release of “Housefull”. He even went on to predict the success of his second project which eventually raised the expectations level of the viewers to a great extent. And with the IPL season coming to an end, the movie was projected to be the first biggie to finish off the lean period. But unfortunately the final product presented before the audience does not fulfill all the promises made by its makers completely. It’s a mixed bag of comic moments blended with some emotional stuff which entertains only in bits and parts and ends up in a terrible manner.

The world's most unlucky man - Aarush (Akshay Kumar) believes his bad luck will only vanish if he finds true love. He marries Devika (Jiah) but finds out she is in love with a non-Indian. An attempt to suicide leads to him being rescued by Sandy (Deepika) and soon the two falls in love. But to win her hand, he has to win over her always suspicious brother, played by Arjun Rampal.

On the other hand, Aarush's friend Bob (Ritesh) is just as unlucky as him. He is married to Hetal (Lara), who suffers from a strained relationship with her father (Boman Irani). How everything falls into place is what this comedy of errors is all about.

Boman Irani sleepwalking while others sing Papa Jag Jayega, Akshay Kumar slapping a monkey and the monkey slapping him back, a tiger making a short appearance as a pet, references to homosexuality typical Dostana - Kal Ho Na Ho style, actors break dancing after a dose of electric shock, actors slapping each other.. and so many other such over-the-top slapstick sequences are all that Housefull is about. And to director Sajid Khan's credit, he's handled it all pretty well.

Story, sense, meaning... you won't find any of it in Housefull. Yet the film works, majorly because the situations are funny and the performances are top notch. Akshay Kumar is in super form, the actor perfects the act of a loser with a restrained performance. Deshmukh is good and shares good chemistry with Akshay. Boman gets his comic timing right like always. Arjun Rampal is wooden. Chunky Pandey has short - funny role and he does well.

The girls have nothing much to show except skin. Jiah Khan has just one song and a couple of lines to mouth. Deepika Padukone looks great in bikini with those long legs and awesomely sexy tummy. Lara Dutta's clothes seem to be getting shorter with each film.

The music is okay. The locals the film has been shot in (London, Italy) are good.

Amusingly, out of its entire star-cast the most entertaining cameo comes from Chunky Pandey as an Italian Hotel owner. I seriously found his few scenes in the first half as the most refreshing and funny moments of the entire movie. And I wish he was given more footage along with Akshay in the later part too. 

House full First Look Trailer

Kuchh Kariye Movie Review

Friday, April 23, 2010
Rate: 1.5/5 



Kuchh Kariye marks the debut of singer Sukhwinder Singh as an actor. As someone who has been an ardent admirer of his singing, I felt pained to see him cast in a film that has an apology of a script and non-existent direction. As for Sukhwinder's acting skills, the less said the better. He is expressionless, flaunts his physique like Salman Khan and wears garish outfits.

Sukhwinder, a musician, is in love with Shriya. They leave their hometown for better prospects. They meet Vikrum Kumar and Rufy Khan, who have also arrived in Mumbai to realise their dreams. They decide to make a film to bring about a change in society. But a terror attack changes everything.

It's difficult to categorise Kuchh Kariye in any particular genre. The story changes so rapidly and so haphazardly that you're clueless about the on-screen goings-on. In fact, not one department in the film is worth highlighting. The acting too touches a new low.

On the whole, Kuchh Kariye is a big yawn.

Bird Idol Movie Review

Friday, April 23, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5


Bird Idol offer more than what's being offered round-the-clock on television vis-a-vis animation shows? Will its target audience [the kids] prefer the animation film over popular animation shows on TV? The answer to both the questions is, unfortunately, negative.

Bird Idol creates a fantasy world where the birds of Mumbai are as human as the people who inhabit it. They go to school, watch TV, go out on dates and yes, even watch reality shows

, especially the musical show known for making stars overnight - Bird Idol.

However, as of now, the birds still play bird music, full of chirps, tweets and the like. A group of four friends [Hummi, Surili, Chidi and Tuktuk] introduce a sound never heard before in the bird world - human music. The music is a hit among the birds and it catapults Hummi's group to stardom overnight.

But the judges, old-time establishment musicians, begin to worry. What will happen to them? They hatch a plan to sabotage Hummi and his music before it's too late. Will they succeed? And what does the introduction of human music mean to the bird world?

The animation quality is top notch and the dubbing is in sync. But the problem is that the viewer doesn't carry the characters home, like I did when I watched Hanuman.

On the whole, Bird Idol is watchable in parts, but the lack of awareness will make the effort go unnoticed. 

Bird Idol - Theatrical Trailer

APARTMENT Movie Review

Friday, April 23, 2010
Rate: 1/5


A movie “Apartment” proves to be a very lazy thriller which lacks the much needed surprising punches at the right places. Actually, the most exciting part of a story based on schizophrenia is the past of its victim. But here the director takes you into the past of Neetu Chandra in the second half and comes back easily with no shocking happenings or secrets to be revealed to the viewers. This particular part remains the weakest sequence of the movie in absence of any emotional depth and compassion. After the first hour, the plot becomes very predictable and one keeps waiting for something surprising to unfold till the climax but nothing happens of that sort on the screen. And the movie finishes off on a tiring note, just like many other below average inspired products served to us in the past.
Out of the entire cast, only Neetu Chandra is able to deliver a fairly good performance where she tries to convey a lot through her expressive eyes. But still, she over-reacts in some scenes and also her reasons for becoming a victim child, remain unclear & unmoving. Tanushree is natural in her revealing outfits but she seriously needs to look after her weight. Rohit as usual is over energetic and doesn’t have much to but Anupam Kher is calm and cool in his short role of a film lyricist.
Technically the film is pretty routine, with not so great production values and simple camerawork. Although the director could have done without any songs in the movie, still he ropes in Bappa Lahiri to give him all the unwanted tracks which simply fail to impress from any angle.
On the whole, there are far better thrillers still remaining to be watched in the World Cinema and therefore this lousy copied Apartment should be better left empty. So, unless you feel an urgent need to watch it, just save your money for its DVD and give it a miss. 

City Of Gold Movie Review

City Of Gold - Review
Rate: 2/5


The film is embellished with a superior cast and each actor, irrespective of the length of the role, appears straight out of life. Seema Biswas, Siddharth

Jadhav [as Speed Breaker], Veena Jamkar [as Manju], Shashank Shende [as Anna], Sachin Khedekar, Vinay Apte, Ganesh Yadav, Satish Kaushik, Kashmira Shah, Sameer Dharmadhikari and Vineet Singh [as Mohan] put their best foot forward. Each one is memorable in his/her role. But the show stopper is Karan Patel undoubtedly. It's a sensational performance, which will make people sit up and notice this supremely talented actor.

On the whole, City Of Gold is a heart-wrenching and violent journey that has the stamp of a gifted storyteller, Mahesh Manjrekar. Recommended!

Muskurake Dekh Zara Movie Review

Friday, April 23, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5


Gashmeer Mahajani aspires to be a chef. He arrives in Mumbai, after his bride-to-be elopes from the mandap. He falls in love with Twinkle Patel, but the problem is, she loves someone else [Hiten Paintal], who, incidentally, turns out to be the guy Gashmeer's bride-to-be had eloped with. In the end, expectedly, Twinkle realises that her heart beats for Gashmeer.

If the story is as old as the hills, the execution of the subject is equally old-fashioned. Sincethe writing is so inferior, neither does the love story, nor the forced comedy track manage to catch your attention.

Gashmeer is energetic and confident, but needs to work on his styling. Twinkle is raw and it shows. Hiten Paintal has just one expression throughout. Ranjeet, Om Katare and Tiku Talsania are adequate.

On the whole, Muskurake Dekh Zara has no chances absolutely.

Paathshaala - Bollywood Movie Review - Shahid Kapoor, Nana Patekar & Ay...

Paathshaala Movie Review

Friday, April 16, 2010

Rate: 2/5                             


However, performances remain the only merit of “Paathshala”, with Nana Patekar very calmly playing the willing principal and Shahid Kapoor enacting the revolutionary teacher with elegance. Nana could have left an even better impact on the viewers only if his last speech had been given much importance by the writers. Shahid’s otherwise brilliant performance also fails to shine brightly in absence of a well defined character in the script. His teacher act also reminds you of the one recently seen in his last dud “Chance Pe Dance”. Still he looks very good and likable in his role of a Music cum English teacher. Ayesha glows on the screen with her cute smile. Sushant Singh, Sushmita Mukherjee and Anjana Srivastave are just fine but Saurabh Shukla plays it loud as the manager. The movie also has some actors in the supporting cast who can now be spotted in some famous tele-serials. For instance, just look out for the talented “Anandi” from the serial “Balika Vadhu” standing among the school kids.

Paathshaala brings back those dark memories because the film encapsulates these two incidents on celluloid. The problem with the film is, it gets very real at times, but gets farcical as well. The participation of kids in media activities doesn't have a hammer-strong impact. The chilly portion and the director capturing it on camera, or the press photographer munching samosa as the kids get ready with a pyramid, looks unreal, despite being identifiable incidents. Even the climax is confusing. What is Nana saying in the concluding reels lacks precision.

Director Milind Ukey has filmed some scenes expertly, but, as mentioned above, the film lacks the power to make you do a serious introspection.

Nana is very much in sync with his character. Ayesha is a complete natural, as always. Amongst the plethora of teachers and students, Sushant Singh does well, Sushmita Mukherjee is serviceable and Saurabh Shukla is so effective, you start hating him for his repulsive attitude. 

Phoonk 2 Movie Review

Friday, April 16, 2010
Rate: 1.5/5

Debutante director Milind Gadagkar uses every trick in the book to make Phoonk 2 work - night shots, secluded bungalow, eerie silence, captivating sound design and zany camera angles. Gadagkar does everything right, but conveniently forgets that any film, irrespective of its genre, works if the story is captivating and moves constantly. In this case, the story just doesn't move in the first hour, except towards the interval point.

The post-interval portions show some movement, but a number of questions remain unanswered. What do Amit Sadh and Neeru see in the jungles that they start running helter-skelter? Also, if the spirit could enter a body [in this case, the wife's], where does it disappear when the wife falls off the terrace towards the end? Ideally, you expect the spirit to come face to face and battle it out with the already cornered Sudeep and his two kids. But the spirit doesn't!

Gadagkar had a brilliant idea, but he fails to translate it well on celluloid. To make matters worse, the film just doesn't scare you one bit. The sound design is right, while the movement of the camera reminds you so much of RGV-directed movies.

Sudeep does a fairly okay job. Amruta Khanvilkar is expressive enough. The kids, Ahsaas and the kid playing her brother - are efficient. Neeru and Amit Sadh don't get much scope. Ashwini Kalsekar is hardly there. Ganesh Yadav, Zakir Hussain and Jeeva make brief appearances. Anu Ansari is okay.

Prince Movie Review

Friday, April,9,2010
Rate: 3/5

One of the savviest thieves in the world commits the biggest heist of his life. He wakes up next morning to realize he has a gunshot wound on his arm that he doesn't remember getting. In his quest to find answers he discovers his name is Prince, he used to work for a man named Sarang and his girlfriend's name is Maya. He is being hunted by the secret service of India- I Grip, the CBI and the biggest white collared criminals in the world. He is the most wanted man in the country because only he knows the whereabouts of the heist, which contains a secret that is linked not only to his loss of memory but threatens the future of the Human Race. Prince can rely only on his razor sharp instincts to salvage himself. The web of deception spins and Prince gets even more entangled. Nothing and no one can be trusted. Every day he meets a new girl claiming to be Maya, Every cop and criminal in the country is out for his blood. He doesn't remember where he has hidden the Heist. He doesn't know which side of the law he is on. His life is at stake. The future of mankind is at stake. Prince has no one but himself to trust.

Vivek Oberoi doesn’t pass off as an action hero and never knocks you off your seat with his stunts, though some of them are admittedly edgy. The girls are just eye-candies. Cinematography is good, music bad, dialogues worst. There’s a deliberate twist and turn thrown in every reel to keep you from dozing off. But by the time the film climaxes, you sincerely hope for a Prince-like memory erasure.

There’s more fun to be had when you learn that Prince’s memory has actually been stolen and stored on a chip in a coin which he must find to remember something so important as to threaten the humankind.

Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai Movie Review

Friday, April,9,2010
Rate: 1.5/5

Performance wise, Riteish Deshmukh si efficient. He enacts comic as well as emotional and romantic scenes very well. Jacqueline is easy on the eyes. Vishal Malhotra is excellent. Sonal Sehgal is impressive. Ruslaan Mumtaaz is perfect.

On the whole, Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is nicely made comic love story. The film has beautiful moments. The film mainly targets the youth. Good one to wacth.

Overall Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is a light-hearted entertainer targeted at the youth. It is a thoroughly entertaining film. Positives: 1. Milap Zaveri's direction is admireable. 2. Sajid-Wajid's music is pleasant. 3. Attar Singh Saini's cinematography is perfect. Negatives: 1. The story gets very old-fashioned in second half. 2. Technically the film is bit weak.

The cameos by Farah Khan and Akshay Kumar come as a whiff of fresh air, but some moments of chuckles and cackles don’t make an entertaining movie.

Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai -  Trailer

The Japanese Wife Movie Review

Friday, April,9,2010
Rate; 2/5

Performance wise, Rahul Bose is terrific this time. He leaves an impression on viewers minds. Chigusa is decent. Raima is perfect for her role. Moushmi Chatterjee, as Bose's aunt, brings light on screen every time she appears.

On the Whole, Aparna successfully creates a world that's so simple and relatable with such a compelling story. The purity and simplicity of this film wins over. The film has the potential for dedicated place audience anywhere.

Overall The Japanese Wife is a decent emotional journey that keeps you hooked for its pure love story. Positives: 1. Aparna Sen's direction is mind blowing. 2. Performances by leading actors are wonderful and impressive. 3. The climax of the film is fantastic. Negatives: 1. Relationship between Rahul and Raima isn't too convincing. 2. The sequence of Rahul visiting different doctors could have been reduced.

Pankh movie Review

Friday, April,2,2010
Rate: 1.5/5

There’s hardly anything to write about performances. Maradona’s rawness suits his character well but Bipasha disappoints big time. Her dialogue delivery and her facial expressions have a range too narrow for her character. However, her laughable costumes and overdone make-up do add some humour to the film.

In a nutshell, ‘Pankh’ is a flight best avoided.

Desperately trying to appear profounder, deeper, subtler, darker, edgier and disturbing than it actually is, director Sudipto Chattopadhyay’s movie Pankh is an abstract, delirious flight into the psyche of a man less ordinary.

The story revolves around a 21-year-old guy named Jerry (Maradona Rebello) who used to be a child actor named Baby Kusum. As a kid he was forced by his ambitious mother (Lilette Dubey) to play girl roles and grew up to be a psychologically scarred young man confused about his sexual identity. On top of it he has to live with constant taunts and sexual exploitation from people he comes in touch with.

Sadiyaan Movie Review

Friday April,2,2010
Rate: 2/5

Performance wise, Rishi Kapoor, Rekha and Hema Malini have proved that Old is Gold. They are the lifeline of the film. Luv Sinha conveys a rawness and innocence that go well with his character. His dialogue delivery and body language need fine-tuning. Ferena is a decent actor, but needs to work on her makeup and wardrobe.

On the whole, Sadiyaan is a film about relationships. In fact, the film is a treat to watch the two highly talented actresses share screen space after a really long gap. Nice work by Raj Kanwar.

Overall Sadiyaan is an emotional drama narrated in an old-fashioned style. Positives: 1. Mind blowing performances by Rishi, Rekha and Hema Malini. 2. Dialogues by Javed Siddiqui are brilliant. 3. Anshul Chobey's camera work is excellent. Negatives: 1. Production designs and costuming looks totally out of place. 2. Adnan Sami's music is poor.

Well Done Abba Movie Review

Friday, March 26, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5

Performances are good but a special mention should be made of Boman Irani and Minissha Lamba. The latter plays a spunky village girl who doesn’t wear burqa and wants to complete her education before tying the knot. Rajit Kapoor adds his own underplayed brand of humour as a cop.

A film with its heart in the right place, ‘Well Done Abba’ is sprinkled with a few funny moments but overall it fails to offer anything refreshingly entertaining or enlightening.

Director Shyam Benegal’s Well Done Abba takes a satirical, tongue-in-cheek look at the system teeming with corruption through the eyes of a man who decides to avail a government loan to dig a well in his field.

Hum Tum Aur Ghost Movie Review

Friday, March 26, 2010
Rate: 2.5/5

Hum Tum Aur Ghost has skilled performances, starting with Arshad, who's likable and believable. A complete natural, this is among his finest works. It's a new Dia you get to watch in this film. Not only does she look ethereal, but is exceptional in the acting department as well. Boman is tremendous, especially in the sequence when he's meeting his wife again. Sandhya Mridul doesn't get much to do. Zehra Naqvi is convincing. Shernaz Patel is wasted. Ditto for Tinnu Anand. Javed Sheikh is as usual. Asawari Joshi is perfect for her part.

On the whole, Hum Tum Aur Ghost is a terrible waste of a terrific idea. Disappointing!

Arshad Warsi - who has been credited with the story of Hum Tum Aur Ghost - has denied that the film is inspired by Ghost Town. Yet, there're some similarities and that could be coincidental. So far, so good!