10,000 BC Movie Review

10,000 BC (action)
Cast: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle
Direction: Roland Emmerich
Critic Rating:

PRE-HISTORY pre-supposes loads and loads of super special effects and high octane action with quixotic characters that are bullish, bearish, bindaas folks who have more to distinguish them from their modern cousins than their animal skin underwear. Does Roland Emmerich's blast from the past pass this litmus test and give you the mandatory masala? Only partially.

You have the regular loin-cloth hero battling the woolly mammoths, the gigantic sabre-tooth tigers and sky-high grizzlies; and you have the humans feasting on mammoth steaks, like quintessential cannibals. You also have wispy witches and shamans and gibberish-speaking rival tribes raising their ugly spears in naked conflict. And you have the conflict: a simple tribe of mammoth hunters being raided by evil intruders who ride four-legged demons (read horses) and take away their women and children, including the blue-eyed talisman of luck (Camilla Belle) who must be saved if civilisation has to progress. And the only guy who can save her is her boyfriend D'Leh (Steven Strait), even though it means walking up to the end of the world and battling a fearful entity, venerated as the Almighty.

Ironically, the story is more exciting to read than to see, for although the canvas is large, the thrills are not larger-than-life. And D'Leh's transition to heroism has nothing wild and pre-historic about it. Even the recreation of the evil empire, where the venal Almighty runs riot over his battery of human slaves, evokes a sense of deja vu. As for Omar Sharif's narration, it's too low key to build up the drama. What remains is the nostalgic flavour of those good old period epics that the Hollywood factory once excelled in. Recreate the nostalgia and capture a fragment of pre-history.

The Get Smart Movie Review

After being in development since 1999, Get Smart The Movie is virtually finished production and is scheduled to be released June 20, 2008. The remake will star Steve Carell as Max, Anne Hathaway as 99, and be directed by Peter Segal. Other important cast members are:
Alan Arkin - The Chief
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - Agent 23
Terence Stamp - Siegfried
Ken Davitan - Shtarker
Masi Oka and Nate Torrence play Max's nerdy analyst friends Bruce and Lloyd.
David Koechner - Larabee
Bill Murray - Agent 13
Patrick Washburton - Hymie (cameo)
Terry Crews - Agent 91
The Great Khali will be playing the giant.
Bernie Kopell will be doing a cameo, as will several other interesting people. Dick Gautier, and Dave Ketchum will not be doing cameos and not all of them were even asked. Steve Carell has publicly announced that Barbara Feldon is not doing a cameo, but I'm hearing conflicting reports about that so they may be trying to have it remain a secret. It was not in the preview version I saw. The movie also will be dedicated to Don Adams and Ed Platt, which is a really nice tribute to Ed and his often-overlooked contribution to the series' success. Adding Ed's name to the credits is an incredibly classy move by the producers and should be applauded.
In the all-new action comedy "Get Smart," Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS' master plan — and each other — they discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick Shtarker (Kenneth Davitian) are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. Given little field experience and even less time, Smart — armed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasm — must defeat KAOS if he is to save the day. Inspired by the classic television series, the film also stars Masi Oka (TV's "Heroes") and Nate Torrence (TV's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip") as Control's crackerjack analysts Bruce and Lloyd; David Koechner ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy") as Agent Larabee; and Terry Crews (TV's "Everybody Hates Chris") as Agent 91.

Meet the Spartans (2008) - Movie Review

Meet the Spartans is another parody made by the same people who has made other parodies such as Epic Movie and Scary Movie. And we all know how those movies suck. Even RottenTomatoes.com has given Meet the Spartans a score of merely 3%.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This movie basically spoofed many things from Britney Spears to Paris Hilton, from American Idol judges (Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson) to American Idol contestant, Sanjay, not forgetting Ugly Betty, American’s Next Top Models (Tyra Banks, Twiggy, Ms. Jay), Ryan Seacrest, Donald Trump, Ellen De Generes, Rocky Balboa/Rambo, Spider-man 3, Transformers, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Cruise, Dane Cook, George W. Bush, Kevin Federline, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Dancing With The Stars, Deal or No Deal, Heroes, Ghost Rider, Casino Royale, Storm the Yard, You Got Served, Happy Feet and Shrek the Third. Even Brands like Subway, Gatorade, For Dummies, Dentyne Ice, etc. were not spared. Most of all, Chris Crocker - “Leave Britney Alone” YouTube video clip was used as Xerestron’s (transformed Xerxes) divine power.

Carmen Elektra, Sean Maguire and Kevin Sorbo in Meet the Spartans

Do you think it’s worth watching? And no, it’s not worth watching just because of Carmen Elektra. If you really insist to watch this movie, don’t forget to stay back after the credits as there are some scenes after that.

My ratings: 2 out of 10. Awfully disgusting. Most of the jokes only make sense if you have watched all the movies and TV series mentioned above, not forgetting the stars.

Fool's Gold Movie Review

Matt Damon does a mean Matthew McConaughey impersonation. The two hung out when they were struggling actors trying to break into the business, giving the former ample opportunity to study the latter's casual mannerisms. According to Damon's spot-on imitation, the chiseled McConaughey spends most of his time looking for an excuse to take off his shirt. Barbecue in the backyard? No shirt required. Church services on a Sunday morning? Leave the shirt at home.

This helps explain McConaughey's presence in Fool's Gold. The adventure-comedy is as pretty as it is dumb, but seeing as how it's set in the Caribbean, it does allow McConaughey ample opportunity to flex his pecs and sun his shoulders. Too bad for us it offers little else.

Only fools will part with gold, silver, or even copper pennies for a ticket to this disaster, which casts McConaughey as Finn, a one-track-minded treasure seeker whose marriage to Tess (Kate Hudson) ended up on the rocks because he couldn't stop diving for doubloons. Before they divorced, the two came close to finding a fortune in Spanish treasure that reportedly sunk off the coast of the Florida Keys. Now, with help from an eccentric billionaire (Donald Sutherland) and his dim-wit daughter (Alexis Dziena), they're giving the hunt -- and their relationship -- one last shot.

Director Andy Tennant is a competent filmmaker (Hitch, Ever After) who has made a bad film. Gold has no sense of adventure, and no thrills worth seeking. Scenes drag on too long and lead nowhere. Tennant applies a leaden touch to what needed to be a light caper. Stock characters are broadly drawn, from the murderous rap star (Kevin Hart) to whom Finn owes money to the rival treasure seeker (Ray Winstone) racing the couple to the gold. Sutherland plays his character as if he is hiding some big secret (he isn't). Dziena acts with her body. Hudson and McConaughey coast on what little chemistry they have, something which has long since been proven in other movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Like a good treasure map, the Gold screenplay scatters clues that suggest the film's trove of idiocy. Early in the picture, Tess's attorney chastises her for entering into a marriage with slacker, scuba-diving treasure hunter Finn. "You married a guy for the sex, then expected him to be smart," the lawyer lectures. Level the same accusation at any audience member who buys a ticket to this charade because of the sexy poster, then expects the story and dialogue to be intelligent.

The script, credited to Tennant, John Claflin, and Daniel Zelman, pays no attention to logic and frequently disrupts continuity. Here's my favorite gaffe: Tess lectures rail-thin Gemma (Dziena) not to play dumb to get people to pay attention to her. In the very next scene, Tess begs Gemma to prance on the deck of her father's yacht in a non-existent bikini so men on a neighboring boat will be distracted. Welcome to the land of fools, where mistakes like that are worth their weight in gold.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Review

A wronged barber in 19th-century London wielding silver razors on a mission of vengeance sings ''They all deserve to die!'' in the thrilling epiphany aria that's the first-act climax of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. As any besotted devotee of Stephen Sondheim's 1979 musical-theater masterpiece knows, they all do. Die, I mean. Thwarted just when he has the throat of the villain he most wants in his hands — the evil Judge Turpin, who sent the then-named Benjamin Barker to prison years earlier on false charges — the brooding tonsorial artist expands his killing plans to include all who sit in his barber chair. The legend of this grim reaper and the widowed baker, Mrs. Nellie Lovett, who assisted him by grinding up dead customers into meat pies has been around for over 150 years. But only Sondheim's music and lyrics could explain the barber's reasoning so eloquently: ''The lives of the wicked should be made brief/For the rest of us death will be a relief.''

In other words, to stage a proper Sweeney Todd, necks must be slit, human flesh must be squished into pastries, and blood ought to spurt in fountains and rivers of death. Enter Tim Burton, who has chopped and kneaded an almost dauntingly famous theater piece into something that stands up to the screen, and has tenderly art-directed soup-thick, tomato-red, fake-gore blood with the zest of a Hollywood-funded Jackson Pollock.

Burton's adaptation, starring Johnny Depp in the title role and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, isn't the most enduringly classic Sweeney Todd (that would be the original Broadway production, with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury) or the most brilliantly original (nothing beats the deconstructed 2005 stunner, with Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone). Songs have been cut and characters reproportioned in importance (the utilitarian screenplay, respectful enough of Hugh Wheeler's original book, is by John Logan, who co-wrote Gladiator). But this opulent, attentive production is splashed with signature style and hell-bent on entertaining Sondheimites, Deppsters, ladies who heart Alan Rickman in the role of the judge, and even Borat/Ali G-loving strays who wander in to see an uncontainably antic Sacha Baron Cohen in the role of a blackmailing faux-Italian con man. It's an impossible assignment, really, carried off with more-than-respectable panache

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Indeed, the movie is so finely minced a mixture of Sondheim's original melodrama and Burton's signature spicing that it's difficult to think of any other filmmaker so naturally suited for the job. (Okay, I'd love to see what American Psycho director Mary Harron would have done, but I'm sure DreamWorks wouldn't.) What Burton lacks (and I suspect he knows he lacks) in ease when it comes to directing fully liberated glee, real fear, and dangerous hilarity, he steadfastly attempts to make up for with compensatory floods of visual verve. Plus, he gets Depp, Bonham Carter, Rickman, and even Baron Cohen to sing.

Oh, Captain Jack Sparrow, gone to the really, really dark side! Burton has an affinity for the mayhem's Grand Guignol setting, of course. But more valuably, he has a unique collaborative relationship with his longtime leading man. And painted in chalky pallor and drop-dead under-eye shadows out of the Pirates of the Caribbean–Edward Scissorhands makeup bag, Depp propels the production through sheer graceful grit of stardom. He emphasizes the mourning man's melancholy (he misses his lost wife and the daughter who's now the hideous judge's ward) with a cold Sleepy Hollow ghostliness, rather than a hot, iniquities-of-the-world fury. Depp is a decent enough singer in a cast for whom vocal prowess isn't job No. 1 or even job No. 5, but singing almost doesn't matter, not while he's around: He's the most interesting person on the screen, and the demon barber he conjures is a fascinating interpretation.

As for Mrs. Lovett, she truly is a woman of ''limited wind,'' as Sondheim describes her and Bonham Carter sings her in a thin, breathy voice — it's difficult to believe that this particular bloody wonder can lift a rolling pin, let alone crank the handle on her hellish meat-grinding machinery. It's nice, though, how Bonham Carter's corpse-bride complexion complements Depp's; how Rickman's sadistic Judge Turpin oozes real erotic heat, not just twisted sexual tastes; and how honorably a big studio has, er, stuck its neck out to do right by one of the great American artistic creations of our time. B+

Michael Clayton - Movie Review

Michael Clayton the directorial debut of Tony Gilroy is not your typical legal thriller, it falls more in the visceral thriller movies like “Network” and “Constant Gardener”. The film manages to grab our attention immediately and without the normal recipe for a thriller movie. Michael Clayton isn’t a revelatory film, but it is a smart one that deals in
the grey world that we all live in, not the black and white one legal film are usually about.


The movie starts off with a fantastic monologue from Tom Wilkinson, some unexplained shots of characters in a degree of stress and an explosion to cap it all off, your attention is gripped. Michael Clayton (George Clooney), a "fixer" at a major Manhattan law firm. His job profile is that of cleaning up other’s messes, not litigating
in a court room, He calls himself a “Janitor”. Things are not looking good for him right now : his addict brother has run a business venture that Michael was a partner in into the ground, leaving Michael with thousands of dollars in debt; his relationship with his ex-wife is on the rocks, He hates the work, but the senior partner at the firm, Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), wants him to stay and assigns Michael to restrain Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), who is a lead attorney for a major case for the firm involving U/North, a huge, multifaceted corporation, has discovered startling evidence and begins plotting to publicly expose U/North, something that U/North’s lead corporate attorney, Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) cannot allow and begins looking at far more dangerous methods of containment. This is all I can say without spoiling the movie.


Michael Clayton is a thriller that works at a slower pace, but still manages to enthrall with its developments. Critical to the film’s success is its performances. George Clooney gives us a Michael who feels many aspects of his world closing around him and tries to keep all the balls in the air. Finally, Tilda Swinton’s Karen Crowder is a woman who is all about appearance and ensuring that no one rocks the boat of U/North. She has sold her soul to the devil and will do anything to keep the company intact.
For me, the one actor in this movie who comes close to a scene-stealing performance is Tom Wilkinson, who does a fantastic job at delivering Gilroy’s sharply-written
and very particular dialogue while portraying his character’s bi-polar disorder.

Michael Clayton is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires a strong attention span and does not spoon-feed the audience. If you can handle that, then it is a film experience that will provide some rewards

The New World- Movie Review

Terrence Malick is a wonderful director whose work is sumptuous and engrossing. With Badlands and Days of Heaven, both of which I haven’t seen in a preposterously long time, Malick’s lingering tones and rich, meticulous shots are fully on display. In his career, which has spanned decades, the gifted American director has only made four feature length films and one short.

Malick’s use of his contemplative and pensive directorial style makes his films captivating and involving in the most inimitable of ways, as he unfolds his stories by involving the viewer in the panorama, the characters, and the time period without the suspension of belief. Malick’s films have an opulence to them that is rarely duplicated by any working director today. I look forward with immense eagerness to his next film, Tree of Life.

2005’s The New World is surely no exception to Malick’s trademarks. Encased in the most beautiful naturalistic surroundings, this tale of discovery is one of the best films from 2005. Malick also wrote this story of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, and the settlement that is placed there by the English. The New World also highlights the story of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, treating their love story with tenderness and a sense of adventure. The New World features production design by Jack Fisk and costumes by Jacqueline West. The set design and the scope of the production are incredible to experience and still seem remarkable after several viewings of the film.

The New World is a film about the strangeness and complexities of the arrival of the English settlers to Virginia, first and foremost. Using Pocahontas as its central character, the film explores these notions with depth and detail as her character becomes accustomed to a new society and becomes slowly and reluctantly assimilated into it. Pocahontas is played by the wonderfully talented Q'orianka Kilcher. Kilcher was fourteen at the time of shooting and some of her scenes caused a great deal of controversy, leading to some editing by Malick of a few scenes between her and Colin Farrell. Kilcher’s Pocahontas is never addressed by name throughout the film.

The New World strips away all of the fantasy and lore about the arrival of the settlers, choosing instead to see the events through the eyes of Kilcher’s character as her world suddenly has some very new, very strange visitors. The settlers begin to construct a fort with immediacy as Captain John Smith (Farrell) heads out to explore on his own. He meets Pocahontas and a bond is instantly formed after she saves him from certain death. The English, especially Smith, are as awed as the natives with the sumptuousness and the strangeness of this new predicament. We explore communications, customs, and ways of life through the eyes of the natives and the English, with neither side being portrayed as villainous or wrong. With Malick’s lens, we all are simply observers of the foundation and exploration of newness, strangeness, and the romantic notion of discovery.

Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama - movie review

Language:	HINDI
Genre:	Comedy
Director:	Chandrakant Singh
Producer:	Surendra Bhatia, Rajan Prakash
Cast:	Neha Dhupia,Rati Agnihotri, Anupam Kher, Khurana, Rajpal Yadav, Aashish Chaudhary, Amrita Arora, Mona Thiba, Sanjay Mishra, Razzak Khan, Allan Kapoor, Zia Biswas Riya Biswas
Music:	Siddharth, Suhas
Lyrics:	Kumaar

You know that feeling you get while undergoing molar surgery or when you have a head on collision with another vehicle while driving down a dark road? You get the same dreaded feeling of disgusted disbelief while seeing "Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama".

This movie is a piece of putrid tripe masquerading as mirth and camouflaged as comedy. At the end of this dreadfully droll drama, you look around and ask: "Why me?"

"Rama Rama Kya Hai Drama" could be a contender for the trophy of the worst comedy ever made in India. The lines that the two couples, Rajpal Yadav-Neha Dhupia and Ashish Chowdhary-Amrita Arora, throw at one another make you question the institution of marriage.

The plot is intensely anti-marriage. Perhaps the director or writer doesn't believe in it, but does he believe in cinema? The awry proceedings try hard to convince us that there are no rules governing the genre of comedy. Sure, but show us at least one genuine moment of humour in this homage to bilge.

Rajpal plays a man who is acutely unhappy with his wife and runs around on a fantasy binge, imagining other people's wives and girlfriends to be his own. Ashish, poor guy, looks constipated while Amrita Arora, who plays a hi-fi harridan, shrieks at him for imagined trespasses.

All this helter-skelter chaos of comedy would have been mildly amusing if the director had cared to even borrow a chapter or two from the protocol of comedy.

Director Chandrakant seems inspired by B.R. Chopra's "Pati Patni Aur Woh". We even get a reference to that lovable and naughty comedy, slipped into the domain of Rajpal's domesticity on a television screen.

Regrettably, the director has neither the sense nor the sensitivity to bring that sparkle which makes a sex comedy a beehive of chortles.

The buzz, if any, is in the screenwriter's head as he puts together episodes from badly written stand-up comic acts on marriage.

While Rajpal's habitual hilarity fails to carry the show, a talented actor like Anupam Kher is reduced to a parodic prop in this ode to amused anarchy as seen through the eyes of a director who has probably never known the difference between gags and genuine comedy.

Technically as shoddy as it gets, the camerawork and the sets remind us of a washed-out village that has been plundered by a particularly uncontrollable wild bull. Overall, the movie is a big bore.

Hindi Movie Review: Mithya(2008)

MITHYA is a very complicated film dealt in an uncomplicated manner by director Rajat Kapoor. The director handles the complexities of the film and the central character with aplomb to first set your creative juices flowing as a viewer. Then, long after the credits have rolled, you begin to unravel the mystery of the plot. There is finesse in direction and maturity in handling of the story.

When you look at the film from the director's point of view, you can feel his mind at play juggling with the various characters to paint a gripping drama. Though Ranvir is his trump card, he shuffles the other cast members around him to position them at telling points which lift the film to a different level. And when the final bullet pierces Ranvir at the end, your mind races back to Wolfgang Petersen's 1991 thriller SHATTERED, that had a super climax. But here, it's the anti-climax which works as the climax.

All the while you thought Ranvir was faking a memory loss, and were waiting for the director to deliver his final hit. But that does not come. What comes back is the recollection of his memory! For once the director has out-thought the viewer!!

Ranvir Shorey (VK) is a small town actor struggling to make it big. Unknowingly, he lands himself into the very vortex of underworld crime. His only fault - his face resembles that of the reigning Don (a double role played by Ranvir). Wanting to have the best of both worlds, the rival gang headed by Naseeruddin Shah (Gawade) abducts VK and puts him through physical torture before he agrees to impersonate the Don. Neha Dhupia (Sonam), who is Gawade's mistress, has a big hand in helping him (VK) make up his mind. She tells him that her brother has been abducted by Gawde; hence she is in the plot. By now the two are in love and VK agrees to impersonate. From then on the movie moves on at a brisk pace keeping you on the edge of your seat.

After Rajat, credit goes to Ranvir for his complex act enacted with puzzling precision! As the struggling actor, he handles the lighter moments with super timing; when abducted, he displays the confusion with clarity and when on his mission to impersonate, he projects the 'Chor gus gaya ghar mein role' with precision. But it is his 'memory loss' phase that has everyone around him and in the audience scratching their head in disbelief. A brilliant performance.

To borrow a line from the film, "Producer log star ke peeche bhagte hain, to hum actor ka kya hoga?" asks Ranvir in one scene. Well, all I can say is that the actor is on his way to stardom.

Neha Dhupia as the one in love with Ranvir plays her supporting role with ease. She slips into her character and stays there. After EK CHAALIS KI LAST LOCAL and this film, I'm convinced she has the talent. Vinay Pathak and Naseeruddin Shah along with Harsh Chhaya lend credible support.

TO GO OR NOT: Like BHEJA FRY which surprised everyone, I won't be surprised if MITHYA jingles at the box-office. Yes, the cities will have a huge audience! Don't miss this movie. It's a movie you won't forget.

BLACK AND WHITE: Hindi Movie Review

Starring : Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Anuraag Sinha, Aditi Sharma. Habib Tanvir Direction: Subash Ghai

Subash Ghai finally makes for offerings like Krisna.. This is doubtlessly the show man’s Jagte Raho. It comes with a sensitivity you simply do not associate with the film maker his style and grandeur.
Credit the film maker for his visible cross over. Even more important take a bow for a man who thrives on exaggeration to simplify matters and deals albeit simplistically, with the issue of terrorism. It is easy to fault his solutions. It is even easier to pick faults with the details. Yet pause and you would find that he has made a simple from the heart story that appeals .
There are different takes on terrorism. They are bound to be. It is seen arguably as the greatest problem handed over by the twentieth century to the new. It is easy to be judgmental about it. In fact it is the easiest response. Terrorism is a global face of national violence sometimes approved by governments , some where encouraged by it.
The protagonist Numair Qazi ( Anurag Sinha) has his early schooling in terrorism from the rough terrain of Afghanistan and comes to India with the idea of placing a bomb at Red Fort on independence day. He passes off as a victim orphaned by the Gujerat violence and conspires to live in the house of Gaffar Bhai (Habib Tanvir).

The strategy is to gain the confidence of Prof. Rajan Mathur (Anil Kapoor) a Urdu Professor and his wife a social activist Roma (Shefali Shah) Seen moving with a gang of unemployed youngsters invariably hanging around aimlessly he attracts the attention of the local police who are verifying information on the infiltration of a suicide bomber.
The story slowly builds up with Roma taking an instant dislike for the stranger and then being won over when he saves her daughter from a mob attack. Having gained entry into the household he slowly works a plan to gain an entry pass for the Independence Day parade. Life in all its hues and colours at Chandini Chowk slowly unfurl before his eyes. Time is ticking. So is his mind.

Withdrawn visibly and much to the disapproval of the Professor he sees life suddenly in a different light. He manages an n entry pass for the parade (a dig at how our system works!) and is all set to activate a liquid bomb. The final mind change talks of how terrorism needs to be handled. It takes on the serious question whether one can see and handle it as a mere law and order issue or can we afford a collective naivety of peace.

Yet when Dr. Mathur says that the protagonist came as a product of the terrorist world and has returned as a gift to humanity from India he make a sublime if naïve point. One wonders what the Mahatma’s answer would have been to global terrorism and what road he would advocate!! The script (Sachin Bhowmick, Ghai and Aakash Khuranna) is neat but lazy. Some times very simplistic. Some times even clichéd. At all times sensitive. As a Director Subash Ghai can be proud of making a film of the genre. This arguably is his best. It is truly a shift in the genre and a positive one at that.

Some fine performances add great value to the film. Seasoned by time Anil Kapoor proves yet again why he is taken seriously. Just the other day you watched him in Welcome. Now it is this. Amazingly under played, he still works within the frame work of our commercial films and understands its grammar without going over board. Debutant Anurag Sinha has a very defined and unidimensional role. He fits the bill perfectly. As to whether he is a good actor remains to be seen. Very studied and praise worthy performance. Habib Tanvir the great stage actor gives the film some great moments.

He adds great credibility to the script and watch the film just for him. Shefali Shah may be loud by her standards. Yet I suspect that is how the Director wanted her to perform. The character may be loud the interpretations not. This greet artist deserves a lot more. It would be to the eternal regret of our cinema if she is lost in the din and dust of our cinema.
Black and White is a sensitive document on terrorism without a solution. It is a story not a treatise.

SuperStar (2008) hindi movie torrent

clik the below link to get download location

http://www.4shared.com/account/dir/4508789/c96193e5/sharing.html?rnd=79

It's not often that you come away from a film thinking, "Oh hell, this one is far better than I thought!" Original, vibrant, tongue-in-cheek and yet moving in its sincerity, "Superstar" acquires its power and energy purely from its maker's ability to infuse potentially hammy situations with a bristling believability.

You've seen films about doppelganger-transference where look-alikes cross the line into each other's realm of vision to exchange lives. "The Prince and The Pauper" did it long before "Raja Aur Runk" and "Duplicate". Most films about double roles simplify the moral lines to the extent that Ram and Shyam become figures on either sides of the coin.

Rohit Jugraj tosses that coin into the air and lets it fall languorously and neatly to the ground.

That he has set this feisty, funny and exhilarating fable of the prince and the super-prince (forget the pauper) in the film industry, is a happy occurrence that gives the narrative a zest to make in-house jokes without tripping over on its own cleverness.

This would be as good a time as any to state that Kunal Khemu, who plays the earnest junior artiste and the spoilt but still-decent producer's son who cannot value the gift of Bollywood like his more humble middle-class doppelganger, is a revelation. He brings to the two characters more than just a surface dissimilarity.

Khemu doesn't try to make the characters of Kunal and Karan different from each other. Often, as in a critical pre-interval sequence when the plot takes a literal somersault, we see the two as the yin and yang, mirror images looking into one another's soul with disarming transparency.

Not too many 20-something actors today can carry off the discomforting predicament of baring their soul through tight close-ups. Khemu dares the unthinkable. Not too many actors have carried out the double-role tradition with such casual aplomb. Happily, the special effects bringing the two Khemus together is not the only thing special in the narration.

Khemu has a director who also dares to dream the impossible. While keeping the narrative on a fun and frisky plane, Jugraj brings in moral and ethical issues in the second-half when the junior-artiste is forced to replace the guy from the affluent producer's family.

Watch out for the sequence where the junior-artiste poses as the star to visit his grieving parents. The camera microscopes the son's dilemma as he must pretend to be a stranger before his bereaved parents. The background score by Sanjay Choudhary creates just a hint of melodrama before backing off.

Fully filmy? Yes, but not quite. Jugraj always leaves scope for subtleties. There is a mildly stirring dimension of authenticity in Jugraj's narration as though Ram Gopal Varma's "Rangeela" had suddenly and happily mated with Farah Khan's "Om Shanti Om" to produce a film that takes us beyond the expected in pursuit of happiness that's got very little to do with celebrating the spirit of the double role.

At times the glam-quotient required to make Bollywood's dream factory look believable is overly sham. The affluent Khemu in a swimming pool with various bikini-clad blondes looks just too much like whoosh-fulfilment.

"Superstar" represents the wry and slightly cynical view of the outsider peeping nervously and enviously into the glittery world of the entertainment industry. But the sense of wonderment is well contained. Neither the humble wannabe nor the privileged producer's son are portrayed with cynicism so that when the personality transference between the two occurs unexpectedly, we aren't looking at a morality-play but a Bollywood take on Bollywood with the conventions turned on their head.

Jugraj constantly refers to Bollywood biggies from Amitabh Bachchan in "Deewaar" to Ayesh Jhulka in "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar" to Salman Khan in "Andaz Apna Apna".

The in-house humour pervades the plot without overwhelming the basic layering of storytelling.

We watch the characters as spin-offs of Urmila Matondkar in "Rangeela", Shah Rukh Khan in "Om Shanti Om" and Rishi Kapoor in "Karz". But we're also looking at a world where artificiality is not just a way of life and death. It is also the only way to function.

Watch "Superstar" for Jugraj's fresh original take on Bollywood's dream factory and Kunal Khemu's sincere and warm performance as the wannabe and the star who share more than just a passing affinity with the Rams and Shyams of showbiz.

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No Country for Old Men (2008) DVD(Oscar award movie)

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An ordinary man stumbles across a ring of corpses surrounding a fortune in cash and a mountain of heroin. A bad man follows in search of the money; a good man follows in search of the man. This is the set-up for the newest film from Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men-- an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, and a brilliant example of how plot devices as simple as murder and money can be used to explore larger sweeping themes of mortality, morality and more -- while still delivering rousing, intelligent pure entertainment.

Llewelyn Moss (josh brilo) is out hunting when he stumbles across a scene of murder -- broken glass, bullet-ridden cars and bodies. A pick-up truck is full of heroin; he tracks his way to a lone corpse under a tree and an attaché case full of cash. It's two million. It's there for the taking. So he does. Soon, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) comes looking for Moss and the money, leaving a trail of dead men in his wake; local sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones
) tries to figure out the why and wherefore of the murder scene and tries to track Moss so he can stop Chigurh.
Many will mock or knock No Country for Old Men as Fargo, Texas style -- in truth, No Country for Old Men has much more in common with the lesser-seen Coen films Blood Simple and Miller's Crossing. The money only matters as something for people want; the murder as something that people do. The common perception of the Coens is that they're quirky comedians, but in many ways, they're also methodical moralists -- and No Country for Old Men gives them a canvas to explore in the broad burnished vistas of the West, and in the lives of those who live there.

Llewelyn isn't a bad man, we quickly see -- or, maybe he is; either way, he's the one who found the money, and he's the one who wants to keep it. There's no sense of doubt about the means and motives of Chigurh; he's a flat-faced, slow-paced killer, and from the first time we truly see him -- red-rimmed eyes, grimacing face splashed with another man's blood, thrashing about a tile floor in the business of murder -- we're hooked on following him and his murderous ways. Sheriff Bell comes along to the murders late, but we've heard his dry, thoughtful voice-over from the outset -- he's our link to the story, and we're lucky to have him.

All of the actors are excellent -- Jones captures the confusion and hesitancy of a man who feels the world becoming a darker place around him; Bardem combines the physical and emotional to craft an indelible portrait of an unstoppable killer with an unhesitant hand and a psychopath's philosophy. But it's Brolin who surprises here -- after years of junky performances, he wears Llwellyn like an old shirt -- time and care pressing down on him, but still alive and ruthless in action.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins captures everything from mid-day open-sky vistas to claustrophobic night time urban action; in timing and tension, No Country for Old Men is one of the most suspenseful films the Coens have ever made, which says a lot. Cormac McCarthy's novel has also been impressively well-adapted -- improved and altered, but nonetheless full of McCarthy's clear, concise yet poetic voice. With all of the seemingly standard-issue thriller plot devices in the piece -- money, guns and trouble -- there's a dim chance that some might not catch the smaller, subtler themes of No Country for Old Men, which would be a shame; this is a story about death, not just murder; this is a story about want, not just money; this is a story of principle, not just pursuit.

No Country for Old Men is a morality tale written in blood and muzzle flashes, but all of the shock and power in the close-quarters lunge and rush of it can't hide that it's also a serious, thoughtful work of art that lies uneasy in your mind long after it's stirred your blood. The film may have headlong gun battles down dark alleys and range across borders in as the characters follow each other through the West, but what it really explores is the human soul: How we live, how we die, what we regret, what we fear.

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Jodhaa Akbar.2008.Pre.DVDRip Torrent Download

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Let's get one thing straight: You haven't watched anything so opulent, so magnificent like this in a long, long time on the Hindi screen. It's not just body beautiful, but there's soul as well.

It requires courage, prowess, patience, aptitude, knowledge, passion and of course, loads of currency to attempt a movie like JODHAA AKBAR. But more than anything else, it requires your firm belief in the subject, the belief to attempt a historical when historicals are considered an absolute no-no in the industry, the belief to spend almost Rs. 40 crores in a film that could go either ways.

Only when you're convinced yourself can you convince millions of moviegoers. And convinced you are after watching JODHAA AKBAR, a film of epic proportions.

Now let's clear a few misconceptions pertaining to the film-

It's blasphemous to compare MUGHAL-E-AZAM and JODHAA AKBAR. While MUGHAL-E-AZAM was primarily about the legendary romance between Salim and Anarkali, a subject that has been attempted quite a few times on the Hindi screen before, JODHAA AKBAR is about the relationship that the young Akbar shared with Jodhaa.

A lot has been said and written about its length [3.20 hours]. Does the viewer of today have the patience to watch a really lengthy film in today's times? But once into JODHAA AKBAR, the sequence of events, the drama, the romance, the war every aspect keeps you mesmerized. Oh yes, the length does pinch you at one crucial point [second hour, which is relatively shorter], when a song breaks out. Otherwise, the 3 + hours are very well spent.

When you watch historicals like MUGHAL-E-AZAM and RAZIA SULTAN, the usage of chaste Urdu is difficult to comprehend at times. Not here! The language is simplified - Akbar speaks in Urdu, Jodhaa in Hindi - and it's easy to decipher.

As a cinematic experience, it would be wrong to compare JODHAA AKBAR to any of Ashutosh Gowariker's previous endeavors. Why, it would be erroneous to compare the film with any film ever made before in this genre. This one stands out and stands out the tallest.

To sum up, JODHAA AKBAR leaves you spellbound, enthralled, entranced and awestruck. Ashutosh Gowariker makes the legendary characters come alive on screen. Take a bow, Ashu!

Set in the sixteenth century, JODHAA AKBAR is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Little did Akbar [Hrithik Roshan] know that when he married Jodhaa [Aishwarya Rai Bachchan], he would be embarking upon a new journey -the journey of true love.

The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer [Kulbhushan Kharbanda], Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar's biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of this defiant princess.

One of the prime reasons why JODHAA AKBAR works is because the present-day viewer is unaware of the romance between Akbar and Jodhaa. Sure, we all know of Akbar as a great emperor, but the love story makes for a refreshing subject. And the execution of a number of sequences makes JODHAA AKBAR extremely special.

Some instances:

* The war sequence at the very outset. You realize the scale and magnitude of the film at the very beginning.

* Hrithik taming an out-of-control elephant. It's hair-raising.

* The two pre-conditions set by Jodhaa, before her marriage to Akbar. Very interesting.

* The confrontation between Ila Arun and Ash at the kitchen, when Ash decides to make the meal herself.

* The immediate sequence, when Ash is asked to taste the food herself by Ila before she's about to serve the food to the Emperor and his associates. Once done, Hrithik demanding that he be served the meal from the same platter that Jodhaa had used.

* The intermission point, which sows the seeds of a misunderstanding between Hrithik and Ash.

* Post-interval, Hrithik returning to Amer to get Ash back to Agra and the welcome ceremony by his mother-in-law [Suhasini Mulay].

* The sword fight the very next morning, between Hrithik and Ash.

* The 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' track, when the entire kingdom hails Hrithik.

* The fight in the climax [reminds you of the fight between Brad Pitt and Eric Bana in TROY]. Amazing moments indeed-

Ashutosh Gowariker knows that historicals have to be simplified while narrating on celluloid so that the moviegoer is able to grasp and comprehend the plotline and the sequence of events. Thankfully, JODHAA AKBAR is not in the least difficult to decipher. Gowariker's handling of the subject deserves the highest praise, for it's not everyday that you come across a film like JODHAA AKBAR.

A.R. Rahman's music is not the type that you take to instantly, but yes, it gels beautifully with the mood of the film. 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' and 'Jashn-e-Bahara' are the best tracks in terms of tune. In terms of choreography, 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' is awe-inspiring, while the execution of 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja' is outstanding. Rahman's background score is simply extra-ordinary.

There's no room for dullness in Haider Ali and Gowariker's screenplay. The writing is tight, the drama keeps you hooked and the romantic track is wonderful. The film also talks of secularism, an issue so vital in today's times. K.P. Saxena's dialogues are amazing. At places, soaked in acid. The writer comes up with several gems, yet again. Kiran Deohans' cinematography matches international standards. The movement of camera at various places, especially in the battlefield, is breath-taking. Also, the D.O.P. captures the grandeur to the fullest. The production design [Nitin Chandrakant Desai] is, again, awesome. Recreating the bygone era requires not just money, but also the vision and Desai proves his supremacy yet again.

Be it the war sequences or the sword fights or general action, Ravi Dewan's contribution to the film is incredible. Especially noteworthy is the fight between Hrithik and Nikitin Dheer in the climax. It's simply outstanding! Editing [Ballu Saluja] is perfect, although the romantic song between Hrithik and Ash can be shortened in the second hour. The costumes [Neeta Lulla] as also the jewelry also deserve special mention.

JODHAA AKBAR also works because of the right casting. It's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role of Emperor Akbar. Hrithik seems born to play this role and he enacts it with such precision, such flourish, such confidence that it leaves you asking for more. A mind-boggling performance without doubt!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is superb. Oh yes, she looks ethereal - a compliment she has heard a trillion times before. What's new in that? But watch her emote in this film. You realize the amazing talent that has hitherto not been tapped by any movie maker. A flawless performance indeed!

JODHAA AKBAR has a host of characters, but the ones whom you carry home, besides Hrithik and Ash, are Sonu Sood [excellent], Nikitin Dheer [fantastic], Ila Arun [electrifying; her finest work so far], Punam S. Sinha [graceful], Kulbhushan Kharbanda [perfect], Raza Murad [effective] and Rajesh Vivek [good]. Amitabh Bachchan's rich barritone voice adds lustre to the magnum opus.

On the whole, JODHAA AKBAR is, without a shred of doubt, a brilliant film in all respects. This historical has all it takes to prove the first blockbuster of 2008. Very strongly recommended!

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iphone features

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/

It has been nearly a year since Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage at Macworld San Francisco and devoted nearly his entire speech to the introduction of the iPhone. Since then, it has become a favorite addition to our MacRumors Editors’, as well as 5 million other users’ pockets. Looking back, what are some of our favorite things about the iPhone? What are some things that we still hope are coming?

iPhone Loves
One of the things that sets the iPhone apart from every other phone is its multi-touch interface, which makes using the iPhone so intuitive. I still impress friends with the ability to pinch photos, and still think its fun to to do myself. Of course, getting those photos, movies, and music onto the phone is a snap… All you have to do is plug it into its dock and it syncs. The ease of which this happens really can’t be understated.

Bringing a full-featured web browser onto a mobile device was a smart move by Apple. Safari is by far the best mobile internet experience I’ve had. Mind you, it has its limitations, but it’s the best out there.

Of course, what Apple hasn’t done, the development community has done in the way of hacking the iPhone into allowing native 3rd party development. I now can’t live without my “jailbroken” iPhone and its assortment of games and utilities.

iPhone Wants: Software
What the development community has done through hacks, Apple has promised to provide via an SDK this coming year. However, I officially make my plea to Apple to make this SDK free to developers so that we can continue to see the kind of viral development that the iPhone has seen.

While I love the iPhone’s OS, Apple does have some refining to do. For one, the lack of copy and paste ability continues to be a very real hindrance towards the productivity of the device. Also, voice dialing remains absent, a feature which is key to using the iPhone safely while driving.

iPhone Wants: Hardware
Any hardware upgrades would require replacing the current iPhone or perhaps the development of a 3rd party dongle, but some of the more sought-after hardware revisions include the inclusion of GPS (3rd party dongle in development?), 3G, and the elimination of the recessed headphone jack.

Of course, any (partial) list like this is completely subjective. What do you want to see out of the iPhone in this next year? We are waiting.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/