I am wondering, whether the movie gods happen to be totally impressed with my review writing skills or is this just reward for attempting to even write one in the least!!?? I mean hey, this is my third movie in less than a week!! Ok, touch wood , touch wood – I don’t to jinx that track record (also thanks to a very insistent movie buff who is keeping a record of his own – of being 15 minutes late for both the movies he planned)

So anyway,  today’s flick was the action packed Haywire – which suited the mood, since I caught it in the nick of time.

A  Hollywood favorite storyline. Agents / assassins hired and funded by the US government to bump off inconvenient men. But when money is the central motivator – even class agents are sold out in a wink. Betray your country’s most valuable weapon and you are in for a ruthless battle to the end.

Though it wasn’t a bad watch, far from it infact -I still came away thinking it lacked something. Maybe a meatier plot – more twists ….. more edge of the seat moments…..more guess work……unraveling of a baffling truth……

But, what I liked about the movie were 2 things:

One. The casting of the woman who plays the central character (Mallory) – Gina Carano. A trained “mixed martial arts” fighter was the perfect choice for a movie with brutal, sudden and very real hand to hand action. She is the kind of attractive but deadly woman you want in this kind of a film – something Angelina Jolie isnt able to do in movies like The Tourist, Salt, or even Tomb Raider for that matter. The fight scenes in these films just aren’t that fun to watch…..

Loved the opening scene in the roadside cafe – where the first major fight takes place. Ruthless. And it happens so quickly that once you recover from the suddenness of it, you’re saying “ouch” at every blow the two fighters deliver each other. But at the end of the scene, I had a satisfied smile on my face – saying, now THAT was Well Done!! Phew!!

What made it so good was that Gina Carano can “kick ass”!!!! and very convincingly so. No fragile woman stuff here!! Infact there is a reference in the film where another assassin is warned not to assume that she is a “woman” – as that would be a big mistake.

Two. The way there is minimal dialogue and distraction where it isn’t required. Just pulsing background score to match the movement onscreen. Allows the viewer to sort of be a part of the moment. Like when Mallory is trying to lose the police on her tail – zigzagging, climbing, jumping, running – but there is no hurry in shooting the scene. The director allows her the time to figure it out and the viewer can actually make sense of where she is going and how she intends to make her getaway.

3 big names in the movie – Micheal Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Antonio Banderas – but hardly any screen space so to speak for either. The first 2 didn’t really leave an impression, but I loved Antonio Banderas’ new bearded look – totally dig it! Very real and genuine again – the “not trying too hard” kinda feeling – which is so Banderas – in fact, not trying at all!

But none of them had much time on screen……so maybe that’s where the makers could have capitalized on having these 3 in the film and creating more interesting sub plots.

Channing Tatum is just a side kick to Gina Carano……nothing much to say there.

So there you have it.

I would give it a 3.5/5 just for the 2 main fight sequences and that’s why it is also worth a watch once at least.

Ciao!

(spoiler warning! i have divulged some details, though this is not a suspense so it wont really spoil your fun )

I walked out of the hall smiling and content. Wonderful way to wrap up the weekend. The Descendants is such a “human” movie. Watched it with my Dad and we both totally enjoyed it. I can’t / wont call this a movie review – but here is what made me like it so much.

The location – Hawaii. The breezy, overcast, deep greens and crystal blues – gave the movie a refreshing and calming feel.  I especially liked how Matt (G.Clooney) introduces us to his story – about how it irritated him that people always considered him so lucky to be  living in Hawaii and how his life must be like being on a permanent  holiday – but in reality how f***** up it actually was – and so Hawaii is as real as any place.

I’ve noticed that the narrative is a typical introduction to a lot of Hollywood movies, but this one is really well written in and I enjoyed it so much.

George Clooney takes the cake for sure. I haven’t seen him play such a vulnerable role in any of his past films where usually he is the smart, witty, on top of his game kinda guy. In The Descendants he plays a workaholic who suddenly finds himself as a single father to his two daughters, a ten year old and a 17 year old rebellious teenager – both of which are testing him in every way possible. Adding to that a comatose, dying wife who he discovers was cheating on him and a big land sale deal of ancestral property that his extended family is pressing him to sell, and you can understand what he means when he says he is barely keeping his head above water. He plays the role so heart-warmingly well and one just wants to give him a hug and tell him to hang in there.

The two girls playing his daughters are also very good, especially the 10 year old Scotty. The character Sid does very well in playing a helplessly stupid jock. He looks like he is misplaced and unnecessary but he carries his part very well adding the subtle funnies.

Its amazing how the director, Alexander Payne has managed to make all his actors underplay and yet keep the feel of the film so wonderfully natural and so real. There is humour in unlikely instances in the film and appropriately so lightens the mood without trivializing the moment. So even though there is tragedy in the film which is central to the story, it doesn’t bog you down and become a tear jerker – coz sometimes you just dont feel like crying your eyes out and yet want to associate with what the characters feel.

The music / background score is brilliant. Soothing and calming are two words that come to me – the kind of stuff you want to play in the room while you do other things

Finally, without making this any more longer than it should be – to me the story was about accepting, dealing, forgiving and  moving on.  But also that its easier said than done. Congratulations to George Clooney and Alexander Payne – well deserved on all the praise, awards and accolades they have received and will receive

Extra enjoyment points for the 5 movie trailers they screened during the intermission and before the movie began, always makes the movie experience doubly enriching. The Titans and Ghostrider 2 with over the top special effects – impressive, though not sure if the 2 minute trailer will have the same effect in a 2 hour movie. Lets see if i ever get to those in a theatre

Do rate the post, helps me know if  I should write the next one

Consider this review a fresh perspective on the film, not at all influenced by the original Agneepath (AB’s claim to a lot of fame) – since i haven’t seen that one, though would like to now surely – to draw comparisons – and maybe i will write about that in a future post some time. But for now, lets stick to Agneepath – 2012.

Well for one thing, within the first 20 minutes of the film boredom set in, i was shifting in my seat, fidgeting, looking at other people to see if they were watching as “intently” as me. Of course the storyline is a simple one. Father gets killed by bad guy, son grows up to take revenge. The challenge was to tell the same story – only better.

One could say that the start was a wee bit promising – but it lost steam pretty fast. Especially the long drawn scenes of the violent hanging of Vijay’s father – the Master, leaves nothing to imagination and is basically not such a well executed scene. It doesn’t evoke the necessary feelings and just goes over the top, making you wish that they would just get on with it! For someone who hasn’t seen the original, the movie is also very predictable – maybe coz this storyline has been done to death, but still – i was looking for some pull!

Following the trend…..the grown up Vijay is very predictably introduced with a close up shot of his bulging biceps – which just makes me nostalgic, coz I have seen that shot in way too many Hrithik films. I think the directors need to stop obsessing over his biceps and really pay more attention to other detail – like how do we make this movie more watchable – other than putting a good looking starcast together

The introduction of the villain – Kancha was, well, disappointing too. He almost looks the part – more like a glob of muscle and flesh and i couldn’t help notice that his scalp extends to the base of his neck. You will know what i mean when you see. A bald head, shaved eyebrows (which is pretty much the only major change) and a stiff upright ring in a falsely pierced ear are the characteristics of this menacing bad guy. Sanjay Dutt’s tattoos thrown in for free add to his image and the black kurta / dhoti and chonch waali kohlapuris complete the look.

Other than that, the dialogue and conviction about how bad or psycho he really was, left a lot to be desired. I think there was a lot of untapped , unused and under utilised potential there.

I would say the same for Vijay Deenanath Chauhan too. The angry young man, is much too sentimental and i think there isnt a moment in the film that he doesnt have tears in his eyes – whether it is because he is happy, or because he is sad, or because he is drunk or  because he is angry. I owe that to a lack of  better direction, coz no matter what, Hrithik does put in all his effort to be a convincing character as always. But, he was just too much of a good guy in a bad situation. Maybe thats how it was meant to be, but then, not very believably so.

Priyanka Chopra…..hmmm. Well, firstly I didn’t even know she was in the film. With all the hype about chikni – chameli, which by the way is an unnecessary and untimely occurrence in the movie, Priyanka just ends up as a very “sidey” character. Anybody could have played that role. Infact they should have used a new face, who would have brought a fresh dimension and also looked the part and got noticed too. Hrithik’s character has too much of a central role to leave any room for hers. Other than Vijay’s love interest – she has no real presence or significance in the film. Also, I think Priyanka needs to stay away from the “marathi mulgi” image now – coz the wedding scene looks almost exactly like the one in Kaminey. Her character is also very similar to it and that does nothing for her either. I almost felt sorry for her.

So who wasn’t so bad you ask? I think Rishi Kapoor. Initially I almost laughed out loud seeing that he was playing a bad guy – so bad that he ran a flesh trade business and sold young girls who he kept trapped in a cage and was a drug lord too. But he pulled it off pretty much – and I think he was so much more convincingly sinister than Kancha.

In the end, picking up a cult film and remaking it does not guarantee anything, especially to the viewer. i did not go with any hopes, especially since we went on the first day of its release and had no reviews to fall back on. I think this was a lack of execution at many levels – direction, editing, screenplay and also the soundtrack – i dont think i enjoyed any songs in the movie.

A rich star cast but half baked everything else.

  Khush to aaj bilkul nahin hoge tum!!!

I watched Inglorious Basterds last night and I really enjoyed it. Plus I have a thing for war/nazi movies and books. I loved reading the ones by Leon Uris – like, Mila 18, Battlecry, Exodus, Trinity…….

So i decided, why not make a list of some good cinema, club it into  genres, and try n watch as many as I can

Genre: World War II / Nazi

1. Where Eagles Dare (1968) : though I saw this when I was pretty young, I’ve forgotten almost all of it. so this one’s gonna be a memory refresher!
2. Come and See (1985)
3. The Pianist (2002) – I haven’t seen it yet.
4. The boy in the striped pyjamas (2008)
5. Au revoir les enfants (1987)
6. The Counterfeiters (2007)
7. Downfall (2004)
8. Army of Shadows (1969)
9. Nuremberg (2000)

Genre: Assassin Films

1. In Bruges (2008)
2. Road to Perdition (2002)
3. A Bittersweet Life (2005) – south korean
4. Blast of Silence (1961)
5. The Killer (1989)

Genre: Mixed Bag – Good Cinema from 2009

1. 500 Days of Summer
2. Revanche
3. Moon
4. Goodbye Solo
5. Chop Shop
6. Gomorrah

So that’s the list for now!!!

Do add to my list……coz it feels like there’s so much good cinema we’re missing out on

Until next time……..happy viewing!!!

Rosary Beads - Mount Mary Church

Light a Candle - Mount Mary Church

The Bandra Worli Sea Link

The Fort at LandsEnd

Being a rather over cast day, I had to take most of the pictures in Black and White – which was good in a way, as it brought out a lot of character in the pictures.

The walls in Bandra are decorated with some very beautiful and interesting graffiti. You can find these on the outer periphery walls of schools and a few homes

Street DAWGS!!!

OOOh Close Shave..... Huh!!!!

Blue Smokey Girl

In Unity is Strength!

PEACE!!

Khush to tum aaj bahut hoge...hain!!!!

That Fish is gonna feed all of Bandra!

And a few more……..

Signs of The Good Times......!

Beautiful Blooms

Dramatic Flowers

Colours of Fire

Stairway to Heaven.....?

I sometimes hate doing that. I hate that I have to listen to reasoning that I don’t agree with and then end up understanding why that reasoning was being given in the first place. It makes my point of view weaker and my arguments against that reasoning seem futile. That other point of view actually starts making sense and then the purpose of my argument is empty.

More like, “I should have seen this coming”.

And, I disagree with what you say, but I also why it makes sense for you!

It’s not that you can’t stick to your side of the argument. You can. But if the other side of things start making some sense too (even though you beg to disagree), then sticking to your point adamantly just for the heck of it also doesn’t help.

Other times, it’s not so much the reasoning but the “person” you are getting reasons from -  that make your position as the opposer weaker. Or you end up feeling that, why am I fighting this one person – when all they are doing is trying to protect me. I may not agree with their beliefs but I do understand their concern and so maybe I’ll let my argument rest, so that their minds can rest.

But the trouble is, that once you get stuck in the rut of things like this, you end up not doing a lot of things, changing a lot of decisions very contrary to what you actually wanted to do, and just looking back at times gone by…..when u could have “been there, done that” but end up “never being there, never having done that”.

We make friends at every stage in life. As toddlers, as teenagers, in school, in college, as young professionals, at work…….a friend is always in the offing.

Some of these friends become better friends…….best friends. Some just become your family. They make that place in your heart and your life that’s so vital and central to you. They become a part of your support system. You feel comfortable in their presence, and re-assured – knowing they are around and will take care of you. They give you the opportunity to be yourself.  They’re just the people you need when you’re having  a hard time…..and definitely the people you need, when you want to have a good time

I recently met someone whose analogy on friendship intrigued me.

This person has decided that he doesn’t need any friend in life. I mean he has friends so to say, but he doesn’t have anyone he can speak his mind to. He chooses not to make any such friend. He can’t trust anyone enough to be able to do that. And he feels no “need” to able to talk to anyone either. According to him, if you have a problem, deal with it and get over it.

Anyway, it was difficult for me to understand this person. He has friends who confide in him, who consider him their best friend, but for him – it wont take a blink of a second to discard them if it came to that. Weird. Very weird for me. But I guess it works for him. So I leave it at that.

So why did i suddenly feel  like writing about friends?

Because they are PRECIOUS. And some stupid small incidents remind me that I have some awesome ones. And they are worth more than words can say

I think friends complete the picture of who you are. Because somewhere, they are a reflection of you and a tiny part of you can be seen in them. I don’t think I can see myself growing as a person without the set of friends that I have today. Each one teaches me something special and unique.

And I only hope I am as much (if not more) of a friend to them as they are to me

So well, as a complete matter of chance, I got to meet Abhay Deol – someone I totally adore!! I was sweating it out on d – (read: taking a brisk walk in really humid weather), when I got a call from a friend who works for an online Bollywood magazine.

She asked me if I would like to be a part of an event they were organising for a few fans who could meet with Abhay Deol and interact and chat with him. Oh man, i jumped right outta my shoes!!! Of course i was going to go.

The venue was JW Marriot at Juhu. Swanky for sure! Most of us were there on time and Abhay Deol made his entry 45 mins later in true star style.

Well first impressions of seeing him in person:

1. Very Skinny!! Or maybe skinnier than I’d like. I think I would give him stiff competition in an arm wrestling match for sure! But then again, maybe I would give a lotta people competition in a wrestling match . Anyhow, what I mean is, he was skinnier than the average male. He could do with some muscle definition (ok I’ll stop at that!).

2. Very Chilled out and down to earth. No airs about being such a popular movie star. Of course, I’m sure he’s used to being a part of many such events and on a much lager scale too, but still, very friendly and forthcoming.

So anyway, we commenced with a round of questions that each one of us could ask him. Most of the questions were centered around his past roles and his forthcoming films and his reasons for being an actor, which he responded to very comfortably. Except, this one guy, who asked him the most ridiculous thing. So here’s what he said:

“I have heard that you are very passionate about girls. WHat do you have to say about that?”

Oh man, you should have seen the colour on Abhay Deol’s face. Turning a deep red and trying to deal with that question with every person’s gaze fixed on him. So after some initial mumbling n fumbling, he tried to put it in perspective for the guy who asked him the question. He said:

“Whether its girls or your work – what matters is, that you do it with passion. If you’re not passionate, it’s not worth it. So that’s whats really important.”

So well, after this tiny blip, the remaining session went on pleasantly. After most of the interactive event was over, we were allowed to get pictures clicked with him and then we were free to leave. There were some reporters from NDTV who wanted to do a short interview with him so we hung around to watch.

I guess it was Abhay’s day to deal with obnoxious questions and comments. So this reporter was referring to his forthcoming film which is supposed to be a love story, and asks him if he’s learnt anything from it – since he  can’t hold a relationship for more than a few months himself.

Wow!! That was a pretty offensive statement, and offended Abhay Deol was. But then again he toned it down tactfully and told the reporter that he needn’t answer that since she’d already made her judgments about him and that she seemed to know it all. I don’t think she realised what she said……

Anyway, once that was over, another reporter from NDTV came and requested that some fans sing for Abhay. Of course I wasn’t gonna make that much of a spectacle of myself, had it not been for the friend who took me there with her. Also, being the only ones who stuck around while every other fan had left, we weren’t really given a choice. A guy from my friend’s office was very confident that he wanted to sing, but the reporter pulled us in coz she didn’t want “girl fans” to be missing from the frame and just a guy fan serenading Abhay would have been kinda odd .

So we hummed along while that guy sang a song from one of Abhay’s movies. Abhay of course was very amused and kept giving us looks of encouragement so that we didn’t feel like fools as much!

In the end it was all good. We got to chat some tiddy bitty more and laughed around. We even got to take pictures on our cell phones with him. It was all very gracious on his behalf…..especially since we had made the effort to stay and sing. And as he left, there were some more moments of light conversation and laughter and bye byes….leaving us all dreamy-eyed!!!

Here’s my official magazine picture with him. It’s a treasure!!

I’m a sucker for movie stars!! and of course I’ve been quite the show off on Facebook….making it my profile picture and screaming to all my friends that I MET ABHAY DEOL!!!

Links to the website:

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/slideshow/2010/05/22/633/index3.html

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/broadband/video/Parties-and-Events/uaLNFc89/1/Bollywood-Hungama-Meet-N-Greet-With-Abhay-Deol.html

I’m through with standin’ in lines to clubs I’ll never get in
It’s like the bottom of the ninth and I’m never gonna win
This life hasn’t turned out
Quite the way I want it to be
(Tell me what you want)

I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub
Big enough for ten plus me
(Yeah, so what you need?)

I need a credit card that’s got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet
(Been there, done that)

I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
My own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher
And James Dean is fine for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

I’m gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair
And change my name

‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses, drivin’ fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair

And well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar
Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar

I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free
(I’ll have the quesadilla, ha, ha)

I’m gonna dress my ass with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves
To blow my money for me
(So how you gonna do it?)

I’m gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair
And change my name

‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses, drivin’ fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair

And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary of today’s who’s who
They’ll get you anything with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a drug dealer on speed dial

Well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar

I’m gonna sing those songs that offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills from a Pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writin’ all my songs
Lipsynk ‘em every night so I don’t get ‘em wrong

Well, we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses, drivin’ fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eat

And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair

And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary of today’s who’s who
They’ll get you anything with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a drug dealer on speed dial

Well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar
Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar