Kismat Konnection

VERY cliche movie !! Didnt have a single standout feature - actually no, there was one - Vidya Balan's weird dresses !! Looks like the lady was trying very hard to shake off her 'worst dressed heroine' tag - and she came up with some really weird designs - like a big bunch of thin aluminum bangles on one hand and a broad black "junk jewellery" bracelet on the other (with a black dress). Trust me it looked really weird :) !!

Juhi Chawla was slightly irritating ... but since her screen time is limited, tolerable.

Overall, the unimaginative storyline with lack of twists (the director tries with the Boman Irani angle, but fails miserably) means this is a ho-hum story ...

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Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd

I decided to go through what other readers said about the movie before putting up my thoughts - and I am appalled - how can people not like this movie :o ??

A delightful roadtrip movie about couples on a honeymoon tour - it has some subplots like Abhay Deol and Minissha Lamba, which probably eluded the general public for what it was - a superb spoof - but overall it was a delightful & light-hearted movie.

Infact, I have met quite a few people whose major grudge against the movie was the superhero angle. C'mon people, cant you make out a spoof when you see one. Infact the Jignesh angle eluded most people too - I mean you dont expect a dashing smashing dude like Arjun Rampal with bulging muscles and long locks to respond to a name like Jignesh :D

All the actors do exceedingly well - the most memorable definitely being "Partho" Kay Kay, "Oscar Fernandez" Boman Irani (loved the accent) and Ranvir Shorey as the Gujarati groom. The fight scene between him and Kay Kay is one of the high points of the movie ..

The movie also follows a delightful little trick of introducing each plot with some FM commentary and an old hindi hit song depicting the situation. Memorable among them is the placement of the song "Saala main to sahab ban gaya" :D See if you can remember exactly where

I already have the DVD and I am really looking forward to Reema Kagti's next :)


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The Dark Knight

Absolutely bloody brilliant !!

And what a performance by Heath Ledger !! Definitely one of the best negative roles for a long time, if not the greatest ever.

(Infact I had serious misgivings about all the hoopla about Ledger's potrayal as The Joker in the days preceding the release - people were claiming it worth of a posthumous oscar etc. I thought they were just trying to generate free publicity for the movie !!)

But the first five minutes after the appearance of the Joker and all my skepticism disappeared. He's just done a bloody good job. So much so that although its a Batman movie, Christian Bale is a clear second string !! And this is not some attempt to glorify Ledger after his demise - the director Nolan must have sometime during the filming of the movie itself, realized how powerful the Joker was and gave him more space ...

But nevertheless - credit goes to ALL the characters. Christian Bale is the best batman so far and Christopher Nolan is definitely the best Batman director !!!
Michael Caine is lovable as usual as ever :) while Aaron Eckhart's two face look is really awesome!!

Summary - Do not miss the movie for anything


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Hancock

The movie joins the endless list of movies who show great promise in the first half but then fizzle away in the second half. Infact this one does something better - it explodes a pie in your face and you are like "WTF" !!

The first half has Will Smith in a parody of a superhero role - boozing his way through his life, smashing and destroying things without a care. Then he meets a PR guy, who sees a great branding opportunity in him - and befriends him. He invites him to dinner with his family, where his wife gives Hancock mysterious looks and Hancock too is attracted to her ...

After that, the movie just goes for a free fall. I wont tell you the entire story but lets put it this way - its not worth finding out. The second half becomes a stupid emotional drama devoid of any coolness or intelligence which was abundant in the first half - its almost as if they were directed by two different directors !!
So in conclusion, give it a miss and watch The Incredibles again :)


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Kung Fu Panda

I will start with listing the bad parts of the movie. Ever noticed how almost ALL animation movies (Ratatouille, Madagascar, Ice Age, Monsters Inc etc) - doesnt matter what animal or surroundings - is all about how the main character discovering himself/relationships/meaning-of-life etc etc ? Can you remember the last animation which didnt have this main theme ??

So now you are not surprised when I tell you that this movie also has the same theme, are you :) ?

But then again - what was the common thing in the above named movies apart from the fact that they are all animations ?

That they are all BIG SMASH HITS.

And so is this one. Doesnt matter how many times we have seen the same themed movie. The clever wizards at Dreamworks (or Pixar, for that matter) create such a witty situations, that you cant help get engrossed in each of these movies. Kungfu Panda is set in ancient China - yet nothing in the visuals remind you anything about Mulan, the other animation movie set in China. Its only when I sat writing this review that I realized that both of them are set in the same place - such is beauty of the story telling.

Jack Black as Po, the sleepy, lazy, kung-fu-dreaming Panda, has some really hilarious dialogues and the fight sequences are done superbly.
All in all, a great movie - something you will come out of, with a smile.


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Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

A delightful light romantic movie about friendship and love - deftly handled by the director and carried on the shoulders of its leading couple - Imran Khan and Genelia DeSouza. Actually the story is similar to the Abhay Deol-Ayesha Takia-Imtiaz Ali (director) debut movie 'Socha Na Tha'. The area where Jaane Tu scores is the support cast - Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Khan are a gem, while the other friends who are narrating the events are also very captivating. While it starts off in a bit humdrum way, at the end you are equally interested in what happens in the present tense between Jiggy and Shaleen as you are bothered about Imran and Genelia. In a way, you already know how the movie is going to end, but the brilliance lies in keeping you interested despite that. Music is the high point of the movie with Pappu cant dance and Kabhi Kabhi Aditi being played in every mall and pub. So in conclusion - go and watch it for just the joys and the romance of youth

PS - the much hyped debut of Prateik Babbar (about whom Amitabh Bachhan wrote so highly is his blog), while good, is not mindblowing.

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