Language:

Genre: Romantic comedy

Cast: Uday Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Dino Morea, Anupam Kher

Director: Jugal Hansraj

Music: Salim-Sulaiman

Reasons to watch: It is one of the first releases this year. So you will want to watch it.

Reasons not to watch: Story and screenplay by Uday Chopra — KEEP OFF!

Storyline: Abhay Sharma (Uday Chopra) and Alisha Merchant (Priyanka Chopra) study in the same university in California. Nerdy Abhay falls in love with beautiful Alisha, who is every girl’s ‘wanna-be’ in college. Abhay constantly keeps dreaming of a life with her, but Alisha neither knows his name nor recognizes his presence around her. Having saved her from drowning one late night, Abhay thinks this will serve as a ‘pick-up’ incident like in a zillion Bollywood flicks, but to his disappointment, Alisha leaves college the next morning and returns to India to reside with her father. Our poor geek-boy is left stranded and heart-broken. Seven years pass and Abhay still harbors his crush on Alisha, without being able to get her out of his head. At this point walks in Dino Morea who plays Siddhu, an insidious businessman who robs a groundbreaking software developed by Abhay.

The scene then shifts to Singapore, as Abhay, having drawn motivation from his father (Anupam Kher), decides to go in search of Siddhu. This trip turns out to be a shocker when he learns that Alisha works as the PR and Marketing Head of the company owned by Siddhu. With renewed hope Abhay follows Alisha to her home, only to discover that she is a single divorced mom. Then, a simple moment of mistaken identity leads to Abhay working as a male nanny for Alisha’s kid and he plods along with the situation. The rest of the plot can be divided into two parts — Part 1 is about how Abhay and Alisha get together with Alisha falling for Siddhu (whose real name turns out to be Varun) and Part 2 is “Revenge of the Geeks: Retrieval of the Secret Software.”

Climax Handling: Too tame and predictable. The message is contradicting — Real beauty lies in the inner soul — if this is what the movie tries to send across, then why doesn’t the same apply to Uday Chopra’s character? Seriously, there is no other reason for Abhay to fall in love with Alisha apart from her being a dazzling ‘beauty’. She has a screwed up forced accent and is a very good example of beauty with’out’ brains.

Points: 1 Beauty + 1 Geek = A messed up movie

Rating: 5/10

Comments: Pyaar impossible is impossible to watch!

Language: Hindi

Director: Jugal Hansraj

Cast: Uday Chopra, Priyanka Chopra, Dino Morea, Anupam Kher

Music: Salim-Sulaiman

Release Date: January 8th 2010

Plot: Pyaar Impossible revolves around Alisha (Priyanka Chopra) and Abhay (Uday Chopra) who attend the same university. Alisha is every girl’s ‘wannabe’ and every guy’s dream date, including Abhay’s. However, his nugatory looks, beyond doubt doesn’t attract a single soul of the opposite sex. The rest of the story is about how Abhay and Alisha fall in love despite his insignificant appearance. Pyaar impossible resonates a theme that sounds like Pyaar ‘I am’ possible.

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.

Language

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Cast: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin

Director: Nancy Meyer

Music: Hans Zimmer, Heitor Pereira

Reasons to watch: Meryl Streep’s performance is so heart warming.

Reasons not to watch: It just isn’t real. Doesn’t serve a wider audience.

Storyline: “It’s Complicated” ain’t that complicated as the title suggests. It is a middle-aged sex comedy but with more rom-com urges than absurd and derisory ones. Meryl Streep plays Jane, a divorced owner of a flourishing Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant. Alec Baldwin is Jake, who dumped her 10 years back to marry a younger woman, Agness (Lake Bell). While Jane is gradually coming to terms with the divorce, she meets Jake at the graduation of one of their three grown children (Caitlin Fitzgerald, Zoe Kazan and Hunter Parrish) on the East Coast. Jane ‘hooks-up’ with her ex and suddenly, they find themselves pulled into a drunken affair and Streep becomes the “other” woman. But again, Meyer’s movies always foreshadow most of the dramatic turns. Just when we get the impression that we are going to witness a renewal of lost love, Adam (Steve Martin) walks in. He’s the architect hired to re-model Jane’s kitchen. Adam himself who is in healing stage from a divorce, is smitten by Jane and soon falls in love with her. And Baldwin’s character, a comical embellishment of male disorientation with womankind, is never a plausible life choice. Looks like we’ve stumbled upon a love triangle — Well the only difference being the triangle made of 50 year olds!

Climax Handling: Perfect casting that has worked wonders for the climax.

Points: Some of the characters could have really been avoided.

Rating: 7/10

Comments: Yet another Nancy Meyer film about mature adults indulging in immature sexual escapades.

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.

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey and Robert Klein.

Direction: Marc Lawrence.

Reasons to watch: Hugh Grant & Sandra Bullock! You just won’t get bored after watching it over a million times.

Reasons not to: Can’t think of one, just watch it!

Story: It is about two different people from extremely different walks of life come together in New York City… Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock), a Harvard-educated lawyer was brought up to be an environmental activist and continued to be one. She spends her time working at the legal aid clinic and staging protests to stop the destruction of local landmarks. George Wade (Hugh Grant) is an immature, spoilt, philandering real estate tycoon who relies on others to do his work and lives in the hotel he owns. Lucy confronts George and convinces him from tearing down the Coney Island Community Center and ends up taking up a job as his counsel, with a huge salary and resources to offer to charity. He promises to protect the community center if she just works for him. George soon becomes completely dependent on Lucy and wants her advice in every aspect of his life, including choosing his clothes,shoes or even envelopes. After George calls Lucy in the middle of her friend’s wedding, she decides to call it quits and gives him her Two Weeks’ Notice. He tries to convince her to stay, and tries to block her from getting any other jobs. She begins to do everything to get fired by Wade. He finally gives in, and Lucy finds a replacement, June Carter (Alicia Witt), a young Harvard lawyer. She finally leaves when she discovers that George is going to tear down the Coney Island community center after all.

After she leaves, George realizes his folly and asks her for her advice on the first speech he wrote after she entered his life. She realizes that he intends to keep up his word because of his love for her.

Climax: Just like any other romantic flick they get married and live happily ever after (in her apartment)

Rating: 9/10.

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Christian Clavier, Nathalie Baye, Gérard Lanvin, Géraldine Pailhas

Direction: Alexandra Leclere

Music: Nice. I don’t remember the music much.

Reasons to watch: It’s a funny movie. You might as well be made to think how you would be if all your money was taken away by the giver. And what percentage of your relationship is money haha. No, but it is funny.

Reasons not to: Subtitles

Storyline: A millionaire’s wife spending away to glory, while the millionaire toils off all the time. His chauffeur, who earns hard money working too many hours for the millionaire, and his wife who doesn’t think twice about the household before quitting her job to pursue her ‘dream’ of becoming a writer. The connect of the chauffeur and the millionaire. The chauffeur’s advice on cutting down on the supply of money to see what the millionaire’s marriage is based on, really. On confiscating the credit cards of the millionaire’s wife, he sees that the wealth interests her more than their relationship. Meanwhile, the chauffeur tries to support his wife, and takes a shot at making their marriage last. What when the wife walks out of home? What when the the chauffeur’s wife secretly starts to earn so she can help without having to admit she understands the concerns of her husband? What when all four of these have dinner together?

Climax Handling: Very funny.

Points: He confiscates his wifes cards!!! He throws away her entire wardrobe!!! French people are awesome~

Rating: 7/10

Comment: Watch when foreign amusement beckons you~!

Genre: Rom-Com/Family/Chick Flick

Cast: Lance Bass & Joey Fatone (from NSYNC), Emmanuelle Chriqui

Direction: Eric Bross

Music: NSYNC, Al Green, Britney Spears, Vitamin C, Melissa Lefton, Jessica Folker

Reasons to watch: NSYNC, cute storyline, good music, a mild take on the influence of media

Reasons not to: Weak acting and weaker plot, predictability and mediocrity rules the roost here

Storyoline: Kevin(Lance Bass) is an advertising executive who meets a girl(Emmanuelle Chriqui) on a train. While they talk about petty things, cupid somehow gives Kevin the signals that she is the one for him. He however is foolish enough not to ask either her name or her phone number. In a frantic attempt to find her, he comes up with posters leading her to him. The media finds this interesting and runs a story on him. The matters worsen when Kevin has to find that one call from a number of fake callers pretending to be Her. At this moment his friends step in, and then everything goes berserk, from bad to worse.

Kevin and his friends spend the rest of the movie, finding the girl and in the process, finding more about themselves. Do they find her? Hmm.. Find out for yourself.

Climax Handling: Predictable yet cute

Points: A not-so-bad performance from singers of NSYNC, amazing soundtrack, a little take on the make-and-break powers of the media, this is one movie where the supporting actors support the movie more than the main lead.

Rating: 5/10

Comment: Worth a dekko. Well at least a casual one..

]]> http://www.themovieanalyst.com/2008/06/15/on-the-line/feed/ 0 http://www.themovieanalyst.com/2008/05/25/27-dresses/ http://www.themovieanalyst.com/2008/05/25/27-dresses/#comments Sun, 25 May 2008 07:40:08 +0000 Divya http://www.themovieanalyst.com/?p=43 Language: English

Genre: Chick Flick, Romantic Comedy

Cast: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Judy Greer

Direction: Anne Fletcher

Music Direction: Randy Edelman

Reasons to watch: James Marsden !!

Reasons not to: Weak and Predictable storyline, Average Background Score

Story: Jane has been bridesmaid 27 times. She pushes herself to any extent to help her friends who get married and can never say no to anybody and is so lost in that that she dosent give herself time.She strongly believes in “marriage” and one day hopes to marry a wonderful person. Kevin, who writes the Commitments Page for the Newyork City Journal, acts like a total cynic but secretly loves the concept of two people tying the knot. Jane loses the one man she loves, George, to her spoilt baby sister because of her over-sweet nature. Tess lies to George about her self and they fall in love and decide to get married. Kevin and Jane get together and begin to like each other just when Jane finds out that Kevin has written ridiculous article about her titled “The Perpetual Bridesmaid”. Also she reveals to George about how Tess has lied to him about herself and George calls off his wedding with Tess. Jane on the other hand realizes that she is in love with Kevin and gets back with him. One year later, Kevin and Jane get married and Jane is overwhelmed with joy as her 28th dress is a wedding dress.

Climax: Its touchy and hilarious at the same time as 27 friends of the bride dress in ridiculously comic bridesmaid clothes which the bride wore for their wedding.

Points: Mostly will interest the female audience as it is sappy and romantic.

Rating: 6.5/10

Comment: Perfect for a girls night out.

Cast: Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle Monaghan

Reasons to Watch: Hilarious movie, Farrelly Brothers’ work, Ben Stiller typical

Reasons not to: Same old love crap.

Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Music: No music… Supplementary.

Storyline: Guy waiting for a long time for the perfect person to come along. When she finally does, he doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about how, where, how soon, and what. He gets married to her! And then it’s all downhill from there, as a lot many things are unveiled. He does find ‘true love’. Immediately after he’s married to somebody else! Woot Woot!

Climax Handling: Very funny! This could as well be a serious issue, at that!

Points: Typical Farrelly comedy. The post wedding show-down discussions are awe

Overall Rating: 7/10

Comment: Watch whenever you need something funny!