Language:

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Cast: Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Taylor Lautner, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Hector Elizondo, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts

Director: Garry Marshall

Music: John Debney

Reasons to watch: The star-cast.

Reasons not to watch: Absolutely no realism. Stone-age humor.

Storyline: It’s Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. The locals in Los Angeles are bracing themselves for all the chances on offer and the romantic cherry pies that is definitive of V-Day. Florist Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) has proposed to girlfriend Morley Clarkson (Jessica Alba) who is uncertain and reluctant to take the next step forward; Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner), a school teacher is all set to floor her apparently on-a-business-trip doc boyfriend (Patrick Dempsey); football star Sean Jackson (Eric Dane) is healing from the wounds of a bad breakup and is considering to ‘move on’; a long flight journey brings together Kate Hazeltine (Julia Roberts) and Holden (Bradley Cooper); having entered a new relationship with Jake (Topher Grace), phone sex employee Liz (Anne Hathaway) battles to sustain her ‘knack’ at daily gigs; sports correspondent Kelvin Moore (Jamie Foxx) hooks up with public relations consultant Kara Monahan (Jessica Biel) by hearing her out on a day she expresses deep sorrow and sings the blues; Grace (Emma Roberts) has a very important American Pie-like agenda of flummoxing her virginity before getting out of college for good; and finally (wait let me take a breather)…  yes, and finally after 50 years of happy married life, infidelity surfaces in the lives of Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine).

Climax Handling: You watch this movie and it will haunt you forever making you feel guilty for having spoiled a wonderful day because after 122 excruciatingly painful minutes, the movie is fittingly endless.

Points:

Holden: Stalin once said, “No retreat, no surrender.”
Kate: I think that was from a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

The movie is totally anachronistic like Holden’s statement and as ignorant as Kate’s response.

Rating: 4/10

Comments: Don’t waste your V-Day watching this mass celebrity gimmick. Save your money… Save your time…. And save your love!

Language: English

Genre: Comedy, Satire

Cast: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tasha de Vasconcelos, Ben Miller

Director: Peter Howitt

Music: John Powell

Reasons to watch: Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean shines in this movie.

Reasons not to watch: Not for those who hate Rowan’s satirical facial expressions.

Storyline: Fear looms large in the highly secure Tower of London as a plan is hatched to steal the crown jewels of the royal family. The British Government decides to assign the case to secret agent Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson), in order to prevent the theft. NO! This does not make English the best secret agent ever; it’s just that he is the only secret agent who is alive at the moment the Government needed one. Though English’s intentions are genuinely for the best and he dreams of being a smooth, stylish operative, the pathetic Brit strikes catastrophe everywhere he goes. As he tries to save the royal empire from the holds of French prison mogul Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), the mastermind behind the evil plan, English makes you laugh your hearts out as he goes about misusing Bond type gizmos, recklessly leaking his plans to his enemies, taking the most antagonistic route into Sauvage’s castle, and sky-diving into a hospital instead of Sauvage’s skyscraper — but, he somehow gets away with all his foolhardiness. Assisted by his loyal sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) and Special Agent Lorna Campbell (Natalie Imbruglia), English with his inane brashness literally fractures your funny bone throughout the movie.

Climax Handling: Really funny!!!! Though the rest of the movie is excruciatingly predictable, the climax is a complete surprise.

Points: He knows no Fear. He knows no Danger. He knows Nothing!

Rating: 7/10

Comments: A laugh riot spoof movie. Go crazy with Her Majesty’s most trusted Secret Agent — Johnny English.

1. The Book of Eli

Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals

Release Date: January 15th 2010

Summary: Denzel Washington is a lone warrior who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Gary Oldman has been set to portray the autocrat of a small expedient town who’s determined to take possession of the book in Eli’s guarding.

2. Extraordinary Measures

Director: Tom Vaughan

Cast: Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell, Courtney B. Vance

Release Date: January 22nd 2010

Summary: This is the story of a biotechnology executive and his wife, who hire a research scientist and defy all odds to pursue a cure for the life threatening Pompe disease in order to save the lives of their affected children.

3. I love you Phillip Morris

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Release Date: February 5th 2010

Summary: I love you Phillip Morris is a fact-based film about Steven Russell, a married father and also a convict in jail. The story is about his mad love for his male cell-mate, who eventually gets freed and Steven’s four time escapades from Texas prisons to meet his love.

4. The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Kiran Shah, Art Malik

Release Date: February 12th 2010

Summary: Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is a haunted nobleman and the disappearance of his brother lures him into his family estate. Reunited with his resentful father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out in search of his brother’s whereabouts which leads him to realize his ghastly destiny. Inspired by a yesteryear horror classic, The Wolfman might just bring the classic definition of ‘haunting’ back.

5. Shutter Island

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Release Date: February 19th 2010

Summary: Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

6. Alice in Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: March 5th 2010

Summary: An imaginary sequel to Lewis Caroll’s classic, Alice returns to Wonderland at 17. As she makes her way through, she realizes that the place has changed since her last visit. A change that she least expected — a sparely haunted, disordered and overrun Wonderland.

7. Green Zone

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Release Date: March 12th 2010

Summary: The successful duo that gave us two of the three roller coaster hits in The Bourne Series is back. Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up again for Green Zone which depicts the U.S led regime in Iraq. Matt Damon is a warrant officer who stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up by his own people as he goes in search of weapons of mass destruction believed to be hoarded in the Iraqi desert.

8. Clash of the Titans

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton

Release Date: March 26th 2010

Summary: Based on the 1981 film bearing the same name, Clash of the Titans is a story about the transcendental encounter over power between men and Gods. With the Gods fighting amongst themselves, darkness and destruction looms large which could very well destroy the world. Perseus (Sam Worthington) who is halfman-halfGod strives hard to save his family from Hades, the bloodthirsty and vindictive God of the underworld.

9. Ironman 2

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle

Release Date: May 7th 2010

Summary: Having disclosed his Iron Man identity to the public, Tony Stark the billionaire inventor is reluctant to share his scientific know-hows with the military. But, forces beyond his control hatch a devious plan against him.

10. Robin Hood

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Mark Strong, Russell Crowe, Kate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfadyen

Release Date: May 14th 2010

Summary: The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore. Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.

11. Shrek Forever After

Director: Mike Mitchell

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

Release Date: May 21st 2010

Summary: A sick and tired Shrek (Mike Myers) who seems to have lost his ‘ogre’ self, gets duped by Rumpelstiltskin who promises to restore Shrek’s ‘original’ self. This takes Shrek to an awry and perverse Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin is the King and ogres are the hunted. Moreover, the most disorienting fact is that Shrek and Fiona have never met in that kingdom. So, Shrek begins to materialize his efforts by trying to restore the actual Far Far Away and regain his true love.

12. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: Based on the popular video game, Prince of Persia is set in medieval Persia where a bold and daring prince joins hands with an emulous princess to find a time-manipulating dagger which is the only means of stopping an angry Grand Vizier who wishes to destroy the world by unleashing a huge sandstorm.

13. Sex and the City 2

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: It is an upcoming sequel to the 2008 movie, Sex and the City. The movie is in production stage right now and is slated for a May 2010 release. It comes with the tag-line “Carrie On” which is a sort of a pun in comparison to the “Get Carried Away” for the previous movie.

14. The A-Team

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson, Jessica Biel

Release Date: June 11th 2010

Summary: Having been framed for a crime that they never committed and now in the U.S military’s most wanted list, four Iraq War veterans look to clear their names with the U.S military. But yet, they are forced to go on a run. The movie is based on a 1980 classic action-comedy TV series that tickled the funny bone of an entire nation.

15. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Director: David Slade

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene

Release Date: June 30th 2010

Summary: Victoria is still on the run and is out to avenge James’ death. With the previous movie New Moon just ending in a standstill, Eclispe may just answer all the questions that were left unanswered. Meanwhile Bella’s feelings for Jacob leave her torn apart in this love triangle.

16. The Last Airbender

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel

Release Date: July 2nd 2010

Summary: Based on a Nickelodeon TV series, The Last Airbender is about the dangerous journey of a hesitant young child who strives to bring unity in a war torn world where civilization exists as four mighty empires.

17. Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

Release Date: July 16th 2010

Summary: After giving us the biggest hit of 2008 in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan returns with the story that is said to explore the architecture of the human mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a higher up executive who gets himself involved in a blackmailing scandal.

18. The Expendables

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts

Release Date: August 13th 2010

Summary: “The Expendables” is a story that follows a team of mercenaries whose task is to infiltrate and overthrow a dictatorial regime in South America. With an impressive starcast, this movie has already set the verbal “hyperboles” rolling.

19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One

Director: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: November 19th 2010

Summary: With Dumbledore gone and darkness spreading, it is up to Harry, Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes and destroy his soul completely. In their quest for the horcruxes, they stumble upon the mystical three ‘Deathly Hallows’ which they will need to succeed in their endeavour.

20. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Director: Michael Apted

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet

Release Date: December 10th 2010

Summary: Aboard The Dawn Treader, a wondrous Narnian ship captained by King Caspian; Edmund and Lucy along their irksome cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves headed for the very edges of the world in a journey encountering dragons, slave traders and merefolk.

10. Siva Manasula Sakthi

Director: Rajesh

Cast: Jeeva, Anuya, Santhanam

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Points: This ‘hyped’ entertainer just managed to tickle the funny bone in patches and was worth a few laughs, but nothing more. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja was a big hit.

9. Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu

Director: Susinthiran

Cast: Vishnu Vishal, Saranya Mohan, Kishore

Music: V. Selvaganesh

Points: With an entire cast of new-comers, director Susinthiran scored a hit. The individual characters rendered lasting performances. With a shocker of a climax, an excellent ensemble cast and script, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu scored a match-point.

8. Yavarum Nalam

Director: Vikram Kumar

Cast: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra

Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Tubby, Parik

Points: For all those who associated Madhavan with mushy romance, Yavarum Nalam was a complete volte-face. With a strong performance oriented role, Madhavan was bang-up on the job. It turned out to be a big break for Vikram Kumar who made a killing out of this movie which was also released in Bollywood as 13B.

7. Peranmai

Director: S. P. Jananathan

Cast: Jayam Ravi, Roland Kickinger,Vasundra, Saranya, Varsha, Tanusika, Liyasree, Oorvasi

Music: Vidyasagar

Points: What makes director S. P. Jananathan chalk up such storylines? After a brilliant directorial debut in Ee, he comes up with this oddball movie. This movie, though it did not serve the interests of all types of audiences, will remain in the memories of all those who watched it because it’s essence is ‘hard work’. Right from the director to every individual member of the cast has toiled it out in the Deccan jungles. Brave effort — That’s why it is here.

6. Naan Kadavul

Director: Bala

Cast: Arya, Pooja

Music: Ilaiyaraaja

Points: Naan Kadavul continues Bala’s winning streak that began with Sethu. Having chosen a very ritzy and productive subject like he always does, Bala throws reality at your face that could make you feel restless with a sense of discomfort. The movie was certainly a landmark for both Arya and Pooja.

5. Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru

Director: Nandhini

Cast: Ajmal Ameer, Rupa Manjeri

Music: Mani Sharma

Points: Does it satisfy the premise of a contorted kidnapping plot? Yes, in a way. With two hours of senseless, schizophrenic laughter and smothered romance, this movie was a feel good entertainer that kept me wanting the movie to go on.

4. Pasanga

Director: Pandiraj

Cast: Vimal, Vega Tamotia, Kishore, Sriram

Music: James Vasanthan

Points: Pasanga is a masterpiece. Movies about children have always been a rare and neglected genre in Tamil cinema which is a commercialized tinsel town. The movie comes with a big heart and an important message. It is a must watch, because movies of this kind are a rarity and Pasanga comes in the line of movies like Veyil, Paruthi Veeran and Subramaniapuram that are changing the scene in Kollywood.

3. Eeram

Director: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Nandha, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan

Music: Thaman

Points: Rationalism, originality, vigor — Eeram scores in all these POVs. The best part is that it actually makes you cling to the edge of the seat most of the time. No mean feat, considering the limitations of mainstream Tamil cinema.

2. Unnaipol Oruvan

Director: Chakri Toleti

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Ganesh Venkatraman, Anuja Iyer

Music: Shruthi Haasan

Points: Quintessentially Kamal! The starcast works wonders for the project. Unnaipol Oruvan surprises you and is a bizarrely fascinating movie. Though one can say that A Wednesday was definitely better in the ‘whole-movie’ aspect, the expectations in Tamil cinema are poles apart from Bollywood.

1. Nadodigal

Director: Samuthirakani

Cast: Sasikumar, Vijay Vasanth, Ananya,Bharani, Abhinaya

Music: Sundar C Babu

Points: Every character has lived under the skin of characterization in the movie. It is nowhere near Subramaniapuram in terms of intensity, but with a logical storyline and realistic depiction of relationships, it consumes you into it’s screenplay. Nadodigal is unquestionably not only the best tamil movie of 2009, but also one of the finest films Tamil cinema has ever produced.

10 – Where the Wild Things Are

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener

Points: Moving sleekly from being splendorous to farcical, it creates a profoundly simple cohesion between the  two worlds of fantasy and reality. But having been adapted from a book that was enthralling, it needed to be better.

9 – A Serious Man

Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Fred Melamed, Richard Kind, Aaron Wolf

Points: The Coen brothers hit the deck again with their fleckless film-making and Roger Deakins’ editing gave way to fabulous cinematography.  But this movie missed in shades due to a lack of modicum of empathy and humanity.

8 – Up in the Air

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick

Points: This movie proved to be a capper for Clooney who has had a great year. Up in the Air is a movie of immense etiquette and unobtrusive aspirations. For a dry comedy flick, it had an essence of unfortunate exigency in it. It was worth a watch, but I doubt if it deserved the price of a ticket.

7 - (500) Days of Summer

Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clark Gregg, Minka Kelly

Points: (500) Days of Summer struck a chord with a male skewed audience by redefining the romantic comedy genre. Substantial performances by the lead characters with entertaining musings.

6 – District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka

Points: District 9 is an inhumane and rapacious tale. With a powerful and captivating script, it is a figment of modern day fiction with a contemporary theme. District 9 came out with all guns blazing – tyranny, avarice, hegemony and a conflict of cultures at odds.

5 – Fantastic Mr. Fox

Director: WesAnderson

Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray

Points: Absolutely ‘Fantastic’. This puppet fantasy movie is filled with hilarious and delightful moments that will make your hearts reach out to heaven. The best animation movie this year after Up.

4 – The Hangover

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha

Points: It is totally insipid, stupid, unweaned and definitely that sort of movie which would lead to your mother spanking your ass for watching it. But that is exactly what worked for the movie. Defines the word ‘hilarious’.

3 – The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly

Points: The Hurt Locker is full of cutting-edge realistic action and visceral human drama thats all in all makes it a gripping film. A true to reality depiction of modern day warfare that silently questions the purpose of war.

2 – Up

Director: Peter Docter

Cast: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger

Points: How does Pixar continue to do it? Previously it was Wall-E, now it is Up. Coming from a collaboration of Disney and Pixar, Up has raised the standards of film-making (both animated and ordinary) in Hollywood. I never thought I would relate myself to this movie because it was about an old man who ties balloons to his house. But, within less than five minutes into the movie, something in me told me, ” NO, I don’t want this movie to end.”

1- Inglourious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth

Points: Quentin Tarantino seems to be hanging on to a lost world of movie-making and setting his own standards which he matches every time he comes up with a  wonderfully complex story such as this. Tarantino gives life to this intriguing and absorbing World War II drama by adding a touch of fantasy and signature Tarantino-style visualization.

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Ana de la Reguera, Jason Lee, Michelle Trachtenberg

Director: Kevin Smith

Official Site: http://copoutmovie.com/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Capsule look:

Jimmy (Bruce Willis) and Paul (Tracy Morgan) are “partners-against-crime” in the NYPD. They go on a hunt for a memorabilia gangster, when Jimmy’s invaluable mint condition baseball card goes missing. 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan is said to have shouldered all the comical sequences. This is the first time Kevin Smith has directed a movie, not having penned down the script.

10 – New York

Director: Kabir Khan

Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Irrfan Khan

Where it scored: Great individual performances. It turned out to be the meatiest roles ever done by John Abraham and Katrina Kaif.

Where it missed out: Got predictable after the first half. A lot of ‘filmy’ element was involved and the the director pretty much lost a sense of practicality towards the end.

9 – Love Aaj Kal

Director: Imtiaz Ali

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Rahul Khanna

Where it score: Two parallel love stories narrated in a unique and wonderful manner. Depiction of modern day relationships without any filmy clichés was commendable.

Where it missed out: Unnecessary interruptions in the form of songs. Failed to meet the expectations the viewers had after Imtiaz Ali’s previous venture - Jab We Met.

8 – Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year

Director: Shimit Amin

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Manish Chaudhary, Gauhar Khan, Naveen Kaushik, Mukesh Bhatt

Where it scored: A breath of fresh air with restrained melodrama, real-life clogs and sensible character portrayal.

Where it missed out: The movie got a mixed response as it was a seemingly long movie which required a lot of patience to watch. Music by Salim-Sulaiman was a big let down.

7 – Wanted

Director: Prabhu Deva

Cast: Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Prakash Raj, Govind Namdeo, Inder Kumar, Aseem Merchant

Where it scored: It was a no brainer. A total commercial ‘masala’ entertainer that kept the audience at the edge of their seats. Half the battle was already won because of the pre-release hype.

Where it missed out: Prabhu Deva could have tightened the script a little more. The songs were absolutely disastrous.

6 – Luck By Chance

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rishi Kapoor, Isha Sharvani, Dimple Kapadia, Hrithik Roshan and others.

Where it scored: It was quality cinema at it’s best. The honest depiction of the way Bollywood works struck a chord with many aspirants who wish to make it big in Hindi cinema. Zoya Akhtar excelled in her directorial debut. Realistic performances by Farhan Akhtar and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Where it missed out: Nothing new in the plot. Very slow – paced first half that makes you feel drowsy.

5 – Three Idiots

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya

Where it scored: Absolute laugh riot with a tinge of emotional moments and a social message – signature Rajkumar Hirani style. A dazzling Rang De Basanti starcast and amazing individual performances by Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor and Omi Vaidya added to it’s success.

Where it missed out: Much was expected of this movie and it lacked the genuineness and high standards set by Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS.

4 – Kaminey

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amole Gupte, Tenzing Nima, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Where it scored: With only a normal storyline, Vishal Bhardwaj proved to be a master story-teller. Shahid Kapoor sky-rocketed to stardom with a scintillating performance.

Where it missed out: A violent ending did not find universal acceptance.

3 – Dev D

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Cast: Abhay Deol, Mahi Gill, Kalki Koechlin

Where it scored: Randomness happens often in our newly-experimental cinema, but it’s always great to see a film where no detail is an accident, where the director gets to execute his vision exactly as he wants — and this seemed pretty darned close.

Where it missed out: The critics gave the movie good reviews and this raised the expectations. Even so, this was a rather radical project; a movie that could well have done more but accomplished far more than enough, and I think the only reason we expect even greater things is that it really, really whets our appetite.

2 – Wake Up Sid

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Rahul Khanna

Where it scored: Rendering flawless performances, Ranbir Kapoor matured as an actor and Konkona Sen Sharma was as elegant as ever. It was an absolute feel-good movie that catered to a wider audience who could relate themselves to the movie and it’s characters. The movie redefined the true meaning of ‘platonic relationship’.

Where it missed out: Did not really miss out on any grounds. It is in the No.2 position only because Paa ended up being a better movie.

1 – Paa

Director: R. Balakrishnan aka R. Balki

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan

Where it scored: Amitabh Bachchan carries the movie on his shoulders! A different story is always welcome amidst the flurry of hogwash that Bollywood offers every year. Vidya Balan rendered a strong performance.

Where it missed out: Negative aspects of this movie include a weak music section and the length of the movie. But, nevertheless Paa was a ‘one-of-a-kind’ movie.

Language:

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Cast: Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Music: Shantanu Moitra

Reasons to watch: It is Christmas time and good laughs are guaranteed.

Reasons not to watch: Some scenes drill in the film’s message too often.

Storyline: Rancho (Aamir Khan), as it turns out, can do just about anything. Right from electrocuting his senior with a spoon and two wires to delivering a baby using a vacuum cleaner. He remains an oddball among all the students studying in the Imperial College of Engineering run by Hitler’s reincarnation, Viru Sahastrabuddhe (Boman Irani), fondly known as ‘Virus’ among students. Rancho’s motto is to strive for excellence rather than success. But half-hearted efforts or fear or even worse, a mechanical methodology of studying will not help in the attainment of excellence. Enter – Farhan (Madhavan) whose dream is to become a wildlife photographer, but is forced into engineering by his dad; Raju (Sharman Joshi), a poor lad whose fear of failure thwarts him from achieving his dreams; and Chatur (Omi Vaidya) who is a mechanical mugging machine. Rancho’s efforts to help his friends live their lives by instilling his ideals in them, pits him against ‘Virus’ who sees him as a threat to his conservative ideology of education. But soon after helping his friends in achieving their dreams and touching their lives (Hirani’s signature touch that leaves you with moist eyes) in some way, Rancho disappears. The film is almost shown as a flashback, with Farhan and Raju going in search of their long lost buddy after ten years.

Kareena Kapoor as Pia adds to the on-screen vivacity. Though her expressions give you an impression of a Jab We Met hangover, she excels in her role as daughter of ‘Virus’ and Rancho’s romance with finesse. Omi Vaidya as Chatur (hats off to him) cracks you up with his portrayal of a typical innocent engineering student who is obsessed with being No.1, which surprisingly turns out to be the life-line of this movie.

Climax Handling: Though not up to the standards set by Munna Bhai MBBS, Rajkumar Hirani and co-writer Abhijat Joshi give us a mix of emotions at the end; a lump in the throat, the never ending slapstick and a satisfaction of having watched a totally refreshing movie.

Points: More or less based on Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller Five Point Someone, 3 Idiots takes many a light-hearted jabs at the Indian education system, evoking apposite wringers about the congruity of learning by rote, the usual rat’s race for high grades, and the alarming consequences of parents squeezing their wards into pursuing long-established educational streams.

Rating: 9/10

Comments: ALL IS WELL! Go for it!

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Manish Chaudhary, Gauhar Khan, Naveen Kaushik, Mukesh Bhatt

Director: Shimit Amin

Music: Salim-Sulaiman

Reasons to watch: Films like this are rare and hard to come by.

Reasons not to watch: The first half tests your patience.

Storyline: Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor) is a quixotic B.Com graduate with an embarrassing 35% aggregate. In spite of his abysmally low marks, he lands a job as a salesman, working under a boss who sets impossible targets. For a morally upright person, he finds himself in a soup; a work environment that defines dishonesty and incapability – a team-leader who goofs-up conveyance vouchers, co-workers with a ruthless sense of competition, a maintenance guy who is addicted to porn and a receptionist who would literally go to ‘any extent’ to get a work upgrade. This depiction of a workplace is more realistic and defies the usual boilerplate that engulfs Bollywood. With a sanguine conviction that a business can be run in an ethical manner, Harpreet puts together a team comprising fellow colleagues and sets up his own business within the company he works for. Working discreetly and prudently, they progress steadily and eventually their business measures up and pits them against their boss.

Climax Handling: A breath of fresh air with restrained melodrama, real-life clogs and sensible character portrayal.

Points:

“ Risk toh Spiderman ko bhi lena padta hai, main toh phir bhi Salesman hoon ” (Even Spiderman has to take risk, I am just a Salesman).

The makers have also risked promoting this off-beat movie and looks like the gamble has paid off.

Rating: 8/10

Comments: Jaideep Sahni’s script is the heart of the movie. Ranbir Kapoor matures as an actor and renders a scintillating performance.

Language: Hindi

Genre: Comedy, Action

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Kirron Kher, Ranvir Shorey, Javed Jaffri, Neha Dhupia

Reasons to Watch: No exercise of brain required, Akshay Kumar, Ranvir Shorey in a different role, some kinky but funny moments

Reasons not to: Hardly any story line, Om Puri and others wasted, largely unbearable songs.. too many reasons actually

Director: Anees Bazmee

Music: Typical Preetam Stuff, Period. And Snoop Dogg comes in the credits and fails to impress.

Storyline: Happy Singh is a happy go lucky villager who wants to help people but ends up causing a lot of trouble. To do away with him for a while, the villagers send Happy Singh to Australia to bring back Lucky Singh, a don in Australia who is from the same village. Happy is accompanied by his friend Rangeela and by some accident; they end up in Egypt rather than Australia. Here Happy meets Sonia and falls in love at first sight. Somehow Happy manages to reach Australia and ends up replacing Lucky Singh as the new don. Being the nice person that he actually is, Happy begins helping people and thus manages to show light to Lucky Singh and all his accomplices to cause a change of heart. Till something goes wrong again…

Climax Handling: Funny…

Points: Typical run-of-the-mill entertainer, lifted on the shoulders of Akshay Kumar, Katrina looks stunning and that is all that she has to do, Ranvir Shorey does a strangely different role.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Comment: Worth a casual look, go for it with a group of friends and come out laughing(at least smiling..)

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