No Strings Attached

Is it just me, or is there really a dearth of good movies? After the highly disappointing Tanu weds Manu, the case in point is No Strings Attached.

The movie opens to show chance meetings between Emma (Natalie Portman)and Adam (Ashton Kutcher)and before long they end up in bed. Both decide to keep the relationship about sex, yes you guessed it, without any strings attached. No dating, no flowers, no interference in each other's life. They are free to see anyone they want, although, they don't is another matter! This situation works out well for both of them, as Adam is in no mood for a relationship after his girlfriend ends up with his dad! and Emma is a cynic who wants no emotional dependence. So far so good. The problem starts with Adam actually falling in love with Emma; who wants none of it (case of role reversal!)

Nothing ground-breaking happens next, except Adam trying to win her over with his "love". She finally comes around. Lo and behold...a happy ending.

There is nothing romantic or comic about this romantic comedy. no endearing moments, nothing to hold it together. The chemistry between the lead pair is zilch, so much so that they appear almost uncomfortable with each other.

Completely avoidable.

Patiala House

A movie about the clashing ideologies of father and son. Now where have we heard this one before?! Anyway, moving on!

It is always a delight to see Rishi Kapoor on screen. One of the most popular Kapoor of his generation, he manages to make his mark and hold his own even today. So be it the lovable cafe owner cum love guru to Saif in Love Aaj Kal, a middle class school teacher struggling to make ends meet in Do Dooni Chaar, and now as the patriarch of the Kahlon family in Patiala House, Rishi Kapoor lights up the screen.

The movie talks about the racism faced by 1st generation Punjabis in the 50s & the 60s in England. Bauji (Rishi Kapoor) becomes the face of the Punjabi community fighting for respect and individuality in Southhall. This means that he abhors the English and does not want an iota of their influence/culture into his family. As is the case, their is a flip-side to this stand. The entire family has to adhere to his diktats, which means that their dreams and aspirations are put on hold. So in keeping with Bauji's wishes Gattu (Akshay Kumar) gives up his dreams of playing cricket as a member of England's squad. Years later Gattu, by quirk of fate, is given a second chance to play for England and realise his dreams. The entire family conspires to help Gattu realise his dream in the hope that they, too, might be given a chance to live the life of their choice.

Anushka Sharma plays the love interest of Akshay, even though the movie is less a love story and more a story of father-son conflict. It must be said that Anushka manages to hold her own ground in front of stalwarts like Rishi Kapoor & Akshay Kumar. She seems to have effortlessly endeared herself to the audiences with her chirpy charm!

This is Akhay Kumar's most restrained performance and he totally excels in his portrayal of a man conflicting between his respect & loyalty towards his father and his love for the game of cricket. Wish his many such roles of substance and less of buffoonery!

Dimple Kapadia plays Rishi Kapoor's wife in the movie, and yet again they make a lovely pair.

Music of the movie is good, and we have another wedding anthem of the season, although you will have to wait till the very end of the movie for it!

Tanu weds Manu

Never judge a book by it's cover, they say. Never judge a film by it's teasers, I say! With all the reality shows on the idiot box, marketing a movie has become really easy. And the slickly edited promos make the job really difficult for the audiences to judge the movie.

If you haven't seen Tanu weds Manu as yet, take my word for it...do not waste ur time or money! If u want to decide for urself, go ahead, watch it, just don't tell me, I didn't warn u!

The movie opens with London based Manoj Sharma (Madhavan)coming to India to get married. His parents have lined up a bevy of girls for him to "see" and "select". First girl he meets is the Kanpur based Tanuja Trivedi (Kangana R), who, he, falls in love with...without even exchanging a word! The kahani mein twist is that Tanu is in love with someone else, what follows is useless nonsense.

Madhavan is completely wasted in the insipid role. Jimmy Shergill, likewise. Ravi Kishen is in blink and miss role. The only saving grace are Deepak Dobriyal & Swara Bhaskar, both of whom are very fine actors. About the rest, less said the better.

The music of the movie does not help it either. "Rangrez", with it's Sufi bent manages to make a mark. The movie also gives us the wedding anthem of the season with "saadi galli".

Inception

Moving, swifty, on from one bizarre concept to another. From tinkering one's mind to tweak the memory (The Manchurian Candidate) to manipulating with dreams, wow, Hollywood sure conjures up bizarre concept movies. Sometimes its a bit too much to comprehend, but when you have the oh-so-delicious Leonardo, well, then anything goes!

Inception is a movie about dreams, the very private, subconscious mind, which springs into action when we sleep. There are no boundries in the dream world, everything is possible nothing too outlandish, there are no limits, no inhibitions and certainly no pretensions, that plague us, when we are awake. Now, imagine a possibility that this world is not private anymore, that dreams are not just fantasies locked up in an impregnable world. That someone can very well invade this sacred oasis and steal your deepest, darkest secrets. This is the premise of the movie.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo) plays a skilled thief, who specialises in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets, by entering the subconscious mind during the dream state. So the subject and the thief are in a dream state together, sharing a dream! No, he does not do it for fun, this is the new avtaar of corporate espionage. And Cobb is a specialist. The movie takes this bizarre concept and spins it on its head (yes its possible, it's Hollywood after all, not Bollywood, where dreams are elaborate song & dance sequences!!). Hence the next logical step, not to steal a secret, but to implant an idea! This would require a sequence of dreams, all planned to perfection, and dreams within a dream and the very real threat of being stuck in a dream; danger of being stuck in a limbo and never waking up! Imagine that!!!!

The movie makes for very interesting viewing. Leonardo is ably supported by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page (nice to see her after Juno), wonderful cinematography and attention to detail. Christopher Nolan delivers again. Must watch. Sweet dreams!

The Manchurian Candidate

The US government does a lot of things, apparently for a reason, although not many comprehend it, let alone agree. Nevertheless this small fact doesn't deter them from trying their many stunts. The Manchurian Candidate, for example, is supposedly based on true incidents. Obviously there is no one to corroborate it, but what a helluva movie this turns out to be. Must see for sure.

The human mind is one amazing apparatus. It can take us to dizzying heights of euphoria and in a flip second it can plunge into despair and depression. It would not be wrong to say, that our mind, indeed, does have a mind of its own! and it does one helluva job storing, memories, information and the sundry tid-bits. It's all there somewhere in its dark crevices, to be accessed at the appropriate time. But, imagine, what if someone tinkered with your mind? you know, tweaks your memory a little bit...for their own sinister needs? How does the idea of brain manipulation sound?

The movie begins with a group of soldiers in Iraq during operation desert storm. The party is ambushed; Captain Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), the platoon's commanding officer, is knocked unconscious. Seargent Raymond Prentiss Shaw (Liev Schreiber) emerges as the hero, who saves the platoon. For his heroics, he is awarded the medal of honor and eventually emerges as a popular vice-presidential nominee. All is well until, (now) Major Marco is haunted by incessant dreams of the ambush. Is all what it seems? did Raymond Shaw deserve the adulation and honor, so generously heaped on him? What if the reality is not what it is?

The pursuit of truth reveals more than what Major Marco, could have ever imagined. As he tries to put semblance to his sanity, he uncovers a plot of bizarre ramifications,if revealed, it could destroy the present career of Raymond. The murky web of deception and lies that exposes the personal agenda of the power brokers who have become hungry beyond reason or reality. The powerful consortium of the US government & the rich corporate world, which together profits from the war and resultant chaos. Anything and everything is justified in their pursuit of power & control. In this mission of exposing the truth, one can trust no one and believe no one. Just imagine if the people you trust the most are the ones you need to be distrustful of. Paranoia rules.

The Manchurian Candidate is a remake of the 1962 thriller of the same name. The movie has been updated from the Korean war to Iraq war. With stellar performances by Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, this political thriller is a must watch.

It will make you question...what if...?

The invention of lying

If weren't for lies, truth won't be truth! Imagine living in a world, where no one lies. All everyone says is the truth, and by that I don't mean "honesty is the best policy" kind of truth, I mean really the truth, like a Pepsi Ad with a tag line that says: Pepsi: when they don't have coke! or imagine going out on a first date and the middle of dinner, the girl says, in a very of fact manner: so i dont think I will be going out with you again, because we will never marry, with your gene pool, we will end up with little fat kids with snub noses, I dont want that!!!!

This is the honest world that Mark (Ricky Gervais) inhibits, he is fat, no girl-friend, an unsuccessful writer...a loser, in short. By chance he discovers that a little fibbing did not hurt anyone. When his mother's on her deathbed, scared at what lies in the after-world, Mark conjures up a fiction. The hospital staff overhear his description of a happy after life, with all the loved ones waiting on the other side, and the heaven. They belive every word of this story and tell others. This sets a hilarious set of events, that change Mark's life!

Do watch the movie for the fantastic deadpan acting talent of Ricky Gravis (of the, The Office fame), ably supported by Jennifer Garner. It's a radical comedy which does not fail to deliver.

More honest truth from the movie? here goes

...I'm just too far out of your league...
...your baby is so ugly, it's like a little rat...
...yes, that dress makes you look fat...

Watch the movie for more, but then again there are some matters, where honesty is really the best policy, what are those? well, there is only one way to find out...

If only

How many times in life, while we are busy with the business of making a career and sundry stuff like that, do we start losing touch with reality. You know, take people for granted, parents, friends, your significant other and even yourself. There is always something important to attend to before we can set our affairs in order, and once we are done, something else pops up and then yet another something else. This vicious cycle continues, and before we know it, we are sucked so deep into the whirlpool that all things become secondary. When do we realise that the elusive perfect day, that we have been waiting for, when all will be in order, is just a myth, a figment of wishful thinking? When do we pause, take a moment to consider and stop taking people in our life for granted? Do we really need to be jolted by tragedy? Something to ponder, huh? Isn't "someday" a code for never?

If only, is a beautiful movie about a much in love couple, Samantha (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ian (Paul Nicholls...sexy british accent BTW!). Sam is a gifted musician and Ian a successful business man, who is so busy with work, that he hasn't a minute to spare for his girlfriend. Untill a fateful accident takes Sam away from him. But then, this is reel life and not real life. Hence Ian get to relive the day once more. Which, he thankfully, spends with Sam, listening to her, talking to her and basically sharing his life with her. Now if you think I have given away the plot, let me assure you I have not. Do watch the movie...promise you'd love it.

So the moral of the story: love, appreciate and cherish the people in your life, for a split second can take them away, and you would be filled with regrets which are hard to get over. For in life there are hardly second chances. For, how can you be in love somebody and not know how to love them?

Its a beautiful movie, with wonderful English country-side and fanstic chemistry between Jennifer and Paul. Its a movie that would certainly find a place in your DVD rack.

Let me leave you with a line from Sam's diary: there is always one in a relationship, who loves more. I hope it isn't me...

Do watch the movie and hope it is not "someday"