King of Spades

So there it was. Much awaited post the success of Skyfall, the next 007 movie starring Daniel Craig yet again as the british intelligence agent- James Bond. The expectations were quite high. With M (Judi Dench) dying in the previous installment and the intelligence establishment under uncertainity , much was dependant on how things would lay out next. Hence the script had to be equally good if not better than Skyfall and tighter too. Well this is where exactly, Spectre let’s you down. What starts off superbly, filming a death parade in Mexico (day of the dead), followed by an amazingly shot hand to hand combat in a revolving chopper,  loses its steam midway. Bond, this time around, is after an organization called the Spectre .An organization, which from a long time, has been wanting to rule the world through an intelligence gathering system created by it. And to make the world leaders fall in line, it uses terror and its moles/contacts in high offices. Franz Oberhauser (Christoph...

Whenever you think of some of the best action and thrilling sequences that Hollywood has produced, the Mission Impossible (MI) series ranks right on top of your mind. Yes we do have the Bond, Bourne and Arnie movies, but the sheer consistency of MI when it comes to showcasing death defying concepts/stunts is something admirable. The 5th part of the installment just takes this to the next level. Within the first few minutes of the movie, when you see Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt) hanging on to dear life outside an airplane- a massive A 400, you know you are in take-off mode for a pure adrenaline rush. The plot is more or less what MI fans would usually expect. As it is, most logic goes for a toss because the fans of this franchisee are more pleased by death defying stunts than logic. IMF (Impossible Mission Force) is virtually disbanded as a unit and their main agent Ethan Hunt is on the run. His ex- colleagues are now a part of the CIA.  Ethan’s objective is to disband a syndicate tha...

The main difference between humans and animals is the presence of brain or rather our ability to use it. And what governs our brain or headquarters are emotions. They play a very major role in how we feel, what we do, how we respond to situations/people etc.  Any significant experience in our daily lives, triggered by these emotions, usually gets registered in us as a long term memory. These could be related to something that’s happened around a place or a person. And whenever one gets into a similar zone, these memories resurface and with them the emotions too. Which is precisely the reason why we gel with certain people or like certain kind of food/cuisine or places . And when it comes to a different kind, we just cannot stand them .They leave us with emotions like disgust, anger, sorrow and sometimes even fear . The other kind makes us feel wanted, happy. They bring in the everlasting emotion of joy into our lives thereby creating a strong mutual bond. This bond is what we id...

Macbeth-Maqbool Othello-Omkara Hamlet-Haider 3 indianised  takes by Vishal Bharadwaj  on the respective legendary works of William Shakespeare. The first time he attempted , the second time he re-created .But this time around, he not only does the above two but also succeeds in perfectly indianising miya Shaik peer. It’s ironical that the co-writer of Haider ( along with Vishal Bharadwaj) is a certain Mr. Basharat Peer! Reincarnation anybody? Seems unlikely given his credentials.Well we’ll leave that to some other blog. Set in tumultuous Kashmir, the state of India where god created heaven and man hell, Haider grips your attention right from the start.  Dr. Hilal Meer (Haider’s father) is taken away by the army for treating and sheltering a militant inspite of the prevailing insurgency.  Ghazala (Tabu) ,his wife takes refuge in the arms of his brother Khurram Meer (Kay Kay Menon) and that’s when the boy suspects a rat. Enter Roohdaar (Irrfan khan ) and the ...

Sometimes in the midst of commercial potboilers and movies made for critical acclaim, comes a Kahaani or Script that takes in the nuances and mixes sensibilities of both worlds. That’s when it stands apart from the routine and leaves an impression on you. You come out refreshed post the movie having seen something new. And Dawat-E-Ishq just does that. Here the central subject revolves around the unfortunate and grim-Dowry system in India. A well guarded secret in most Indian families.  Mostly observed in arranged marriages amongst families, who themselves are the initiators of the match! This is one evil in our society that has withstood the test of time and is deeply entrenched across all earning classes. Even literacy has done little to eradicate this evil mindset. All it has managed is change it to more ‘polished ’ words like gift or help. Doesn’t matter what achievements the girl has, what background she comes from. Her personality is too meager a point to even consider. ...

Talking apes effectively led by a leader who commands utmost respect. Humans who seek their help to reclaim their life. Sounds familiar? Well the sage Valmiki explored a similar legendary storyline thousands of years ago,which in India till today is a revered epic called the Ramayana.The movie- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,once again explores the beautiful bond that two of the most powerful thinking species known to our Planet,shared once.The bond of solidarity between the primate and the evolved of the species, against the advent of time for the survival for the fittest is beautifully brought to life in this movie. ‘Ape do not kill Ape! Because we are not like human’. This was the belief that shaped the previous- Rise of the planet of the apes.This thought was the foundation on which Caesar founded his dream and established his empire, his Home! Rise of the planet of the apes was a brilliant film to follow and Dawn nearly manages to do full justice to that,the only minor drawback ...

“Gujju Porn hai yeh …ekdum GUJUU PORN”!  “kaun dekhega, chod yaar. Boring picture che . Let’s do something else". Came the usual set of replies when I asked people about the most anticipated bollywood movie release this season- RamLeela. Well there was definitely something amiss admist all this. After all the movie looked to have all the perfect ingredients:-   Script adaptation of the evergreen tragedy Romeo-Juliet. Usually one’s first read.  And bollywood’s tried& tested success formula-Love tragedy. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a filmmaker known for treating every frame like a canvas. And this time after making black and blue experiments he was back in multicolour!   The songs, sets, their beautiful picturisation and… Actress of the year -Deepika Padukone. well she seems to redefine beauty in every movie she acts these days. So with all these and especially the last point in particular, i made up my mind to give it a shot. It was anyways a lazy Sunday af...

Change is good.   The moment we hear this we feel it’s a management jargon. Well it’s time you looked at it closer. Change is nothing but evolution. But then I never thought so when I heard it the first time. Rewind to school days. ‘Evolution of Man’,’ Stone age’,’ Survival of Human species’ and what not!   For me all these stand for just one word- History! Think it’s a subject forced upon us to become ratta popats   (talking parrots) of the highest order in school. You are supposed to be aware of your past but why memorise it.   Never understood the need for it like many students, but ya anyway mugged up before the exams . The only time I found these words interesting was on Flintstones. Stone Age suddenly appeared cool. Living in caves, pet dinosaurs and yes-Yabaaa Dabaa Doooo! The moment I saw the poster of Croods it seemed to be of a similar setting.   Wanted to see the movie despite my busy office schedule and finally got a chance this weekend. And...

Life of Pi released in theatres a couple of days back. It is based on a book of the same name by Yann Martel. The experience of reading a book can never be compared to watching a movie. Personally feel one must not compare but enjoy both experiences. Know many book lovers who never watch on –screen adaptations since they feel movies hardly justify the books they are based on, case in point- The Da Vinci code. However even though i am an avid reader myself, guess whenever a movie is based on a book, it just makes me more curious to see how it has been interpreted on-screen. How the director has bought to life the different scenes that we usually imagine while reading a book. It is not easy to match everyone’s imagination and portray it alive on-screen. Which is why making a story come alive on –screen when most people have read it, is all the more challenging i believe. And this is where Life of Pi scores. I had not read the book, so just went without any background or inhibition...

  The truth about the Dark knight is that he can take the blame… The truth about the Dark knight is that he can live in pain... The truth unveiled in theaters last Friday and has got me wanting to see it again!. Had huge expectations out of what was said to be the conclusion to the Batman trilogy. Perhaps similar to the expectations of the people of Gotham from Batman! The movie not only matched but went on to surpass it. This Dark Knight definitely rises and is mind-blowing to say the least! In the first one, fear made BruceWayne become the Batman… In the second, the Joker made Batman become the Dark Knight … But however in this conclusion to the trilogy, Batman overcomes his own fears to go beyond what he never did before and that’s what makes it a triumph of hope and human spirit. A narration of strong emotions where a man, not born super puts his mind over matter and rises to the occasion to conclude what is the best of the series so far.  Near-epic! ...

A simple heart-warming emotion is often the toughest to portray on-screen. Whether it was the carrom board shot in Munnabhai to revive the old man or the lie that Rancho narrates to make his friend speak in 3 Idiots, the scenes ended on a happier note with a feel good factor. The difference in Ferrari ki Sawaari is that the emotion stays on… case in point the scene in which Rustom, played by Sharman Joshi, goes to a bank to ask for a loan for his son. The simplicity of the character and his endearing emotion as a doting father lingers on even after the scene ends. It does not translate into a happier moment and that’s what makes Ferrari ki Sawari a common man’s story. Wouldn’t agree much or comment on the Parsi angle since am yet to meet a single parsi who is in need of a loan in the first place! The plot: Rustom (Sharman Joshi) plays a common man aka Raja Harishchandra and a doting father to his son Kayo. As the head clerk of the RTO, his income is less but that does not stop ...

7 Khoon Maaf----This was one of the most awaited films of the year and why not! Priyanka Chopra is among the leading actresses today in Bollywood and the director Vishal Bharadwaj has his own reputation of making unconventional subjects into a commercial success. Add to that the peepy soundtrack and the intriguing trailors and people were all geared up to watch this movie. The release date was also ironical – around Valentines---Daaarling! I too wanted to catch the film during the opening weekend but then couldn’t do so, due to other commitments. Just saw it the other day a well one month after release, but then guess by then 8th (aathva) khoon ho chukka tha! What reviews man and what negative publicity for the film. People just went overboard. FaceBook status messages, word of mouth ,Tweets all came heavy on this one. From messages like “7 khoon bilkul maaf nahi” ….to “Mera khoon ho gaya!!!” , the criticism of this film was everywhere on social media. This actuall...