Ok so this is the diva's comeback movie.Madhuri Dixit is back & in a musical from the Yash Raj stable-Aaja Nach Le.So one expected this movie to be a sure shot success well in advance.So has the movie delivered to the expectations?Is the diva still retaining her magic?have the people connected to the movie in a big way.Well yes & no.Yes Madhuri still retains her magic even though she's aging but sadly the movie has not really lived up to its expectations.
Madhuri is dance student in a small town who runs away with her American boyfriend to the U.S when her folks want to get her married.Later she realises that he was not the person destined for her & lieves her own life seperately.She now runs a dance school in New York & has a daughter.One day she gets a call from her native town,as her dance guru is on his death bed.
By the time she arrives the guru is dead but she is even more shocked to see that the once popular Ajanta,amphitheatre which was the lifeline of the town is now in ruins & that its going to be brought down to accomodate a shopping mall instead.Her guru wanted her to prevent the same from happening.
Madhuri now takes up the cause & first meets up with the local M.P who is also the Raja of the place ( cute cameo by Akshaye Khanna) who challenges her by saying that nobody goes to Ajanta anymore to see any performance.To this Madhuri retailates by saying that she will ensure that she stages a performance there in 2 months time.
Akshaye agrees to stop the demolition if the performance happens provided if Madhuri uses people of the same town to perform.Our lady agrees for the challenge & how she goes about organising the show is what the rest of the tale is all aboutNo prizes for guessing how the story concludes.There are good cameos by a lot of good actors like Konkana Sen,Kunal Kapoor,Ranvir Sheorey, Divya Dutta,Irfan Khan, Akhilendra Mishra etc.
Sadly the music by Salim Sulaiman is a let down though the Laila-Majnu piece looks impressive ( lyrics by Piyush Mishra).But how do the sets resemble broadway sets is a big mystery ( in terms of grandiosity)?Overall the movie is just for Madhuri fans to relive their nostalgic memories.
Rating-2/5
Friday, December 28, 2007
Beowulf- A Quick Review
Robert Zemeckis ( director of Forest Gump,Back to the Future,Polar Express etc) is now back with Beowulf- a spectular visual treat.Its the next level of animation- using the latest advancement in the areas of graphic & animation to give it a near life like experience.
So you dont see cartoons of the characters as seen in most animation movies- here you have life like images of all the characters.You also have the liberty to make the use of technology to bring in good features like Ray Winstone ( Beowulf) has been shown flaunting his 6 pack abs!!!This is an interpretation of an 8th century English poem of the same name-Beowulf told in an entertaining manner.
A Danish King,Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is shown throwing a huge party for the townsfolk, owing to the inauguration of the newly constructed-mead hall.Amidst all the merry making & excessive mead drinking, one sees the young queen (Robin Wright Penn) completely bored & detached with the proceedings.Suddenly the entire proceedings get distrurbed when an ugly monster called Grendel breaks into the party & maims & kills more than half the people in the hall.
King Hrothgar then declares a huge reward for anybody who can kill Grendel.In come's Beowulf ( Ray Winstone) along with his team of men.Beowulf goes on to challenge & kill Grendel ( curiously he is in the buff while fighting Grendel).Then while the near dead Grendel retreats to his cave where Beowulf then comes face to face with Grendel's mother- who at times is a huge snake & at times becomes a temptress ( played by the ultra sexy Anjelina Jolie).
The story continues to gain momentum and moves ahead in time with Beowulf becoming king & going on to fight another great challenge in the end.I am purposely avoiding the story's progress as it needs to be seen to be actually enjoyed.While it maybe an advcanced animation movie, it certainly isnt a movie for the kids.There's violence in plenty & also hints of sex thrown in liberally.
All said and done its a good spectacle, do go for this.
Rating-3.5/5 (0.5 extra for the extraordinary animation work)
So you dont see cartoons of the characters as seen in most animation movies- here you have life like images of all the characters.You also have the liberty to make the use of technology to bring in good features like Ray Winstone ( Beowulf) has been shown flaunting his 6 pack abs!!!This is an interpretation of an 8th century English poem of the same name-Beowulf told in an entertaining manner.
A Danish King,Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is shown throwing a huge party for the townsfolk, owing to the inauguration of the newly constructed-mead hall.Amidst all the merry making & excessive mead drinking, one sees the young queen (Robin Wright Penn) completely bored & detached with the proceedings.Suddenly the entire proceedings get distrurbed when an ugly monster called Grendel breaks into the party & maims & kills more than half the people in the hall.
King Hrothgar then declares a huge reward for anybody who can kill Grendel.In come's Beowulf ( Ray Winstone) along with his team of men.Beowulf goes on to challenge & kill Grendel ( curiously he is in the buff while fighting Grendel).Then while the near dead Grendel retreats to his cave where Beowulf then comes face to face with Grendel's mother- who at times is a huge snake & at times becomes a temptress ( played by the ultra sexy Anjelina Jolie).
The story continues to gain momentum and moves ahead in time with Beowulf becoming king & going on to fight another great challenge in the end.I am purposely avoiding the story's progress as it needs to be seen to be actually enjoyed.While it maybe an advcanced animation movie, it certainly isnt a movie for the kids.There's violence in plenty & also hints of sex thrown in liberally.
All said and done its a good spectacle, do go for this.
Rating-3.5/5 (0.5 extra for the extraordinary animation work)
Oram Po-A Quick Review (Tamil)
Ok you may have seen numerous rip-offs of Hollywood & other foreign action movies in Tamil Cinema.But could you have imagined watching a desi version of Fast & the Furious?Well for that aspect alone I would say Bravo to the husband-wife directorial team of Pushkar & Girija.Replace foreign locales & fast cars with Chennai and auto rickshaws & voila- you have the long delayed release-Oram Po.
Aarya plays an autodriver who competes in the illegal autorickshaw racing circuit of Chennai & is a champion for the same.His friend is Lal who plays Bigle, a big auto rickshaw service specialist.Aarya & Lal usually compete with another rickshaw service specialist-John Vijay who plays an enormously funny character called Son of Gun.
Aarya's rickshaw is mortgaged to a sethji& in order to repay the loan he & lal decide to compete against Son of Gun in a race.Aarya has an affair with Pooja ,a biriyani seller who is also Lal's fiancee.The night before the big race Aarya & Pooja have a major tiff regarding their wedding & so during the race Aarya loses his concentration & thus loses.
Following this Aarya & Lal also drift apart as news of Aarya's affair with Pooja ( thanks to Son of Gun) reaches Lal.Running parallel to this is the story of some missing precious stones of a smuggler.So what happens next?Do Aarya & Lal unite?What happens to Son of Gun is all told in the rest of the tale.
Overall its a decent attempt, quite fast paced & lively.Performances of all the cast members are good particularly John Vijay.G.V.Prakash Kumar's music is quite suiting the requirement of the movie.Take a bow- Pushkar & Giri- quite a decent debut movie.
Rating-2.5/5
Aarya plays an autodriver who competes in the illegal autorickshaw racing circuit of Chennai & is a champion for the same.His friend is Lal who plays Bigle, a big auto rickshaw service specialist.Aarya & Lal usually compete with another rickshaw service specialist-John Vijay who plays an enormously funny character called Son of Gun.
Aarya's rickshaw is mortgaged to a sethji& in order to repay the loan he & lal decide to compete against Son of Gun in a race.Aarya has an affair with Pooja ,a biriyani seller who is also Lal's fiancee.The night before the big race Aarya & Pooja have a major tiff regarding their wedding & so during the race Aarya loses his concentration & thus loses.
Following this Aarya & Lal also drift apart as news of Aarya's affair with Pooja ( thanks to Son of Gun) reaches Lal.Running parallel to this is the story of some missing precious stones of a smuggler.So what happens next?Do Aarya & Lal unite?What happens to Son of Gun is all told in the rest of the tale.
Overall its a decent attempt, quite fast paced & lively.Performances of all the cast members are good particularly John Vijay.G.V.Prakash Kumar's music is quite suiting the requirement of the movie.Take a bow- Pushkar & Giri- quite a decent debut movie.
Rating-2.5/5
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal- A Quick Review
Yes I know its too late to review a movie like Goal.My apologies for the same.Nevertheless I still have to do my duty.Goal is Vivek Agnihotri's next attempt after Chocolate & too things are quite obvious to the viewer while watching Goal- one Vivek continues to be fond of foreign subjects & two-the movie does try to cash in on the gains of a sports movie like Chak De India ( no harm in that though).
Goal is a football movie- a tale of a U.K based club ( Southall United Football Club) which comprises of make shift players of Indian,Pakistani & Bangladeshi origin.Arashad Warsi is the captain of the team & when the club faces the threat of having to move out of their bastion, they are left with no option but to win the English Premier League & stay put !!!
So Arshad first manages to get the coach-Boman Irani who once played for the same team & has a troubled past.John Abraham is an Indian who wants to make it big as a British Soccer player.But when he does not get his due outside, Boman convinces him to join their team.Inspite of Arshad's apprehensions & their regular rivalry the team unites,improves & plays well.
Of course there is the usual twist in the plot which leads to the grand finale- the final match being played in a grand fashion.And of course no prizes for guessing the end.Well so you want to know whats Bipasha doing in the movie?Well she's the physio of the team & Arshad's sister who likes John.
Overall a decent movie, lets face it.But its not a Chak De or an Iqbal.John is decent, while Boman & Arshad are just ok.Raj Zutshi does well among the others.Music is average with only 2 songs in the movie.Overall the producers UTV have made a profit on the movie as they sold it at a reasonable price.
Rating-2/5
Goal is a football movie- a tale of a U.K based club ( Southall United Football Club) which comprises of make shift players of Indian,Pakistani & Bangladeshi origin.Arashad Warsi is the captain of the team & when the club faces the threat of having to move out of their bastion, they are left with no option but to win the English Premier League & stay put !!!
So Arshad first manages to get the coach-Boman Irani who once played for the same team & has a troubled past.John Abraham is an Indian who wants to make it big as a British Soccer player.But when he does not get his due outside, Boman convinces him to join their team.Inspite of Arshad's apprehensions & their regular rivalry the team unites,improves & plays well.
Of course there is the usual twist in the plot which leads to the grand finale- the final match being played in a grand fashion.And of course no prizes for guessing the end.Well so you want to know whats Bipasha doing in the movie?Well she's the physio of the team & Arshad's sister who likes John.
Overall a decent movie, lets face it.But its not a Chak De or an Iqbal.John is decent, while Boman & Arshad are just ok.Raj Zutshi does well among the others.Music is average with only 2 songs in the movie.Overall the producers UTV have made a profit on the movie as they sold it at a reasonable price.
Rating-2/5
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