Tooth Fairy..... somewhat entertaining...

For lack of nothing else to do on Friday evening we decided to go to a movie at the dollar theater in Plano. The intent was to watch a Jackie Chan movie, but there was none playing at a night show. So we decided to watch The Tooth Fairy instead. This is a fairly entertaining kids movie... apart from a few minutes of fantastic ice skating and a some comedy frames there is nothing much worth watching in this movie.

The story traces the life of an aging ice hockey star who is named the tooth fairy because he knocks out teeth of his opponents. His girlfriend has two kids, the daughter just loses one of her teeth and the mother tells the story of tooth fairy. The protagonist tries to tell her the truth in a rude manner to the chagrin of the mother. The son doesn't like this guy because he is rude, and sarcastic.

The story moves on to fairyland when the player gets called to do some community service and then after some seriously boring drama and some funny scenes the movie ends with a soulful transformation of the protagonist. I definitely wouldn't pay the regular theater ticket to watch this movie....

Movie Review: Venkata in Sankata

Laughter all the way
Cast: Ramesh Arvind, Mukhyamantri Chandru, Umashree and others;
Director: Ramesh Arvind

All through my college days I would hear about the loss of quality in the Kannada cinema. I was never a big time movie watcher and hence it didn't do much to change my opinion. Now after coming to the US I actually started watching movies of all types, primarily out of boredom. Being a poor student I can't afford to do many of the cool things such as bowling, going to the movies, eating out, etc. So what is the best form of entertainment. Yes watching movies on youtube. As I watched English, and Hindi movies I decided to look for recent Kannada movies and watch them.

Yesterday I watched this notoriously hilarious Kannada movie Venkata in Sankata. Out of the 2 hr 21 minutes, if I said I laughed for 2 hrs it would not be false. The movie is completely funny and every scene has a bit of humor. Ramesh is a great actor and he has proved that he is a great director too.

The movie traces the professional life and adventures of police sub inspector Venkata whose fate always seems to be against him. His colleague somehow always seems to take credit for his actions and a frustrated Venkata is yearning to do something about it.

There is a terrorist attack in the city and Venkata is assigned the case. The way he goes about doing it and win forms the gist of the story. In between there is the heroine and few songs which add the necessary "oomph" factor to the movie. Even without these added gimmicks the movie is a good entertainer.

If you have lost hope about Kannada Cinema, watch this and I am sure you will change your opinion.

Movie Review: Mandinga

Slavery, Sexploitation and Incest

I would never have come across this flic if not for youtube's new movie channel. This a movie about the slavery era of United States of America, when being a white man was the most privileged status one could aspire for. The movie starts off with the arrival of the sister-in-law of a plantation owner from England. The guest's sister had died mysteriously and she pretty much comes to take her place in the plantation. The plantation owner as like every other white man lusts after the female slaves, though black and considered beneath animals.

One such slave girl is the virgin daughter of the chief of Mandinga tribe. A group of hardy, strong and supposedly exotic black people. She is raped by the plantation owner and predictably becomes pregnant and delivers a baby. The infant is hidden away by the other slaves who fear that the owner might kill it. Despite a long winded search the owner is unable to find the baby.

Meanwhile the white woman is lusting after slave men to satisfy her carnal cravings. A few years pass and the only son of plantation owner, Clarence, returns from England after completing his education. The white woman immediately latches on to him and starts a torrid affair with him. Clarence while at the market meets the daughter of the pastor and promptly falls in love with her and decides to get married. A fact detested by his aunt and paramour, who is awaiting for revenge.

The newly wedded bride gets pregnant and delivers a bonny baby boy but the infant is black and not white. This confounds everyone and they all decide that she has indeed cheated on her husband and hence a black child was born. Clarence returns and what takes place forms the crux of the story. If you can digest watching the gory sex scenes and sights of a woman forcing herself on a imprisoned man you will get to the part when the plot is revealed.

The movie is one of the several C grade flics churned out from Hollywood and clearly exposes the desire of white people to show off their superiority. Even the slave girl who is raped is supposed to be the daughter of a chief, a princess in short. Why? an ordinary slave girl couldn't have gotten pregnant from the rapacious owners??? Or is the director attempting to show that even when slaves were raped their social class was considered???

Movie Review: Mojave Moon

Only For Die Hard Fans of Angelina Jolie
I wouldn't have watched this movie if it were not freely available on Youtube and if I didn't have a few hours to kill and was feeling too lazy to go out and do something productive. Anyway the highlight of this movie is the surgeon's masterpiece Angelina Jolie, in her pre-famous avatar.

The movie starts with Al McCord, a divorced used-car dealer from New York, who is trying to make a new life in Los Angeles. When he is hanging out at his favorite restaurant with friends and gawking at the beautiful girls passing by. In comes the the thick-lipped and big-busted Ellie (Angelina Jolie) and starts talking to him. She convinces him to go with her to Mohave Desert, to visit her mother.

The road trip completely transforms Al's life, Ellie falls in love with him, he falls in love with her mother. Then there is her mother's jealous, violent and drunk boyfriend who is ultra-possessive not only of the mother but also about daughter. Al meets with Jolie's mother and spends some time with her and heads back to LA only to find a half-dead man in his trunk. Al gets back to LA and starts wondering what to do about the body and his car gets stolen. The rest of the movie is how they escape from Jolie's mother's boyfriend and how Al and the latter hook up.

This movie is completely passable, and only Jolie's fans could probably watch this movie without getting exasperated. There are some scenes where Jolie reveals her surgeon-sculpted body. There is absolutely no storyline at all. Take my advise don't watch it.

Movie Review: The Mini Skirt Mob

Story of a Manipulative Woman and Gullible Men

If you want to see to what extent a spurned female would go to take revenge on her former lover and his present partner then this movie is a much watch. The movie tells the story of Shayne, a glamorous, manipulative and sexy woman, who is head of a female motorcycle gang known as The Mini Skirt Mob. Shane and Jeff, a rodeo champion are former lovers. Trouble starts when Jeff decides to retire from rodeo, get married and settle down as a rancher.

Though outwardly Shane says that it is all over between her and Jeff, inside she is one angry and jealous woman. She wants to make life for Jeff and his new bride miserable and hence gathers up her motorcycle gang which includes former friends of Jeff, Lon and Edie (Shayne's sister), LG and others and follows Jeff's trailer as he tries to get out and spend a quiet moment with his wife.

What follows is 80 minutes of terror for the newly married couple and merriment for the viewers. The stand off ends with the death of every one of them except Jeff and his wife. It is surprising to note that the Hero (Jeff played by Jeremy Slate) has pretty much no role. He is portrayed as a gutless coward who seems to always try to avoid confrontation with his former girlfriend and her mob. I would say the movie is all about how Shayne plots trouble and manipulates the men in her gang like Lon to do her dirty work. It is worth watching once if you don't have anything to do... oh! yes it is available free on Youtube... I wouldn't pay to watch this movie....

Fun Movie for the entire Family

Title:Imagine That
Starring: Eddie Murphy and others
Genre: Family

With nothing much else to do on Saturday night we decided to head out for a movie at the Dollar theater. My feeling is going to a regular theater is just not worth the money ($8-12). Only this movie caught our fancy because of its funny theme.

Well what do I tell you about the movie? My early memories of Eddie Murphy is from his role as a cop in Beverly Hills Cop. He was a serious, no-nonsense policeman busting drug cartels, and beating up thugs. Now he seems to have retired from that role and taken up comedy, and he is doing a darn good job at that.

Imagine That features Eddie Murphy in the role of a single parent grappling with a serious job as an investment banker. He is faced by two major challenges, one at the work place where a competitor calling himself "..... White Feather" is threatening to take his job. At home his daughter is hallucinating about a magical land with three princesses, a queen, and a dragon.

The final message of the movie is delivered by Murphy's estranged wife "You have two jobs, one at the office and the other as a father. You need to give equal importance to both." Whew... I wonder why people in America consider parenting as a "Job". Anyway how he realizes the importance of being a parent and wins the sought after promotion is the gist of the story.

Watch out for some really funny scenes, dialogues, and acting. It is a movie of clean fun and entertainment for the entire family.

Movie Review: Never Back Down

I watched this teenage fighting movie recently. This movie showcases how teenagers in the US are addicted to youtube and mobile video devices. The movie features illegal fights, teen rivalry in high schools, Multi media messaging and how videos are propagated among school kids in the US.

The movie starts off with a high-school football (American of course) game. One of the star players Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) of the winning team is taunted about his father by a disgruntled opposing player. Short-fused Jake gets into a fight and beats him up, this brawl is captured by spectators on mobile phones and uploaded to YouTube.

Quite expectedly Jake gets benched, but he is not worried because he transferring to a different school. Along with his younger brother Charlie (Wyatt Henry Smith) and widowed mom, Jake moves to Orlando, Florida where the latter has received a tennis scholarship. Jake's penchant for fighting and getting into trouble, upsets his mom (Leslie Hope).

At school, Jake attracts the attention of an attractive girl, Amber, and thinks he is set. But there is more in store for him, the boy friend of the girl who has seen his football brawl on youtube invites him for a party and challenges him for a fight. Inevitably Jake ends up broken and with a black eye. Jake feels let down by the girl who is having feelings for him and ends up becoming angry and frustrated.

One of Jakes class mates takes him to 365 Combat Club in which he starts training in Mixed Martial Arts. Finally after some twists and urns, Jake ends up it n the Beatdown, a free no holds barred illegal fight. There he gets even with the senior and earns the respect of all school.

While the plot is quite mediocre, the execution and story telling is very effective. The photography is excellent and of course the girls are easy on the eyes. I'd probably suggest watching it once, that too only if you are a big fan of free style fighting.

Movie Review: Appaloosa

I watched this Western set in New Mexico in the late 19th century (around 1880s). Based on a novel by Robert B. Parker, Appaloosa has all the elements that are in Westerns: stunning photography, friendship, romance, betrayal, gun fights, horse riding, etc. But this has a little twist, there is a little politics which involves high powered people no less than the President of United States, himself.

Refreshingly in this movie there is not much "Native American Battering". There is only one brief scene when a group of natives attack the bad guys. But we will talk about it later. One thing I still don't understand about people here. Even in this day and age (Appaloosa was shot in 2008), they want to present Native Americans as Indians. I wonder when these people will understand that Indians are the peoples from the country of India. These tribals here are Native Americans

Let us get on with the movie now. Set in the city of Appaloosa, the movie starts with a cold blooded murder of a sheriff and his two deputies by a private rancher and settler Randall Bragg. The town's folk are worried about this and call in the deadly duo Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his partner Hitch (Viggo Mortensen). Two expert gunmen who are lawmen for hire, they help towns enforce law and tackle their lawless folk.

Barely have they settled in than a beautiful women named Alison French (Renee Zellwigger) alights from the train. Quite expectedly, Cole falls madly in love with her and she seems to reciprocate. But Allison is not the typical girl-next-door, she is one scheming individual who always wants to be the top-man's partner. This leads to loads of complications in the lawmen's work.

The rest of the movie is a tale of deception, gun fights, courts and how anarchic the US was during the late 19th century. The scenario was like who shoots first lives. I wonder how it would be to live in such situations. Anyway I'd recommend the movie to anyone who is interested in westerns. Otherwise just pass it.

Movie Review: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Year of Release: 2006
Genre: Comedy
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, John C Reilly, Gary Cole and others

If you are not first then you are last -Reese Bobby.

Young Ricky Bobby is waiting for his father to show up for the school's career day and talk about what he does. All other kids parents come and talk about their jobs but not Ricky's dad. After a while a totally stoned-on-pot Reese Bobby arrives and starts talking about his job: Part time racing driver and pot dealer. He makes a nuisance of himself and is thrown out of the school. As he leaves the school he advises his son: "If you are not the first then you are last". A statement that stays with Ricky.

When a quirk of fate gives him a chance to drive on the racetrack, he remembers his dads words and wins at all costs. Soon Ricky Bobby becomes a NASCAR stock car racing sensation and a national hero. Along with his loyal racing partner, childhood friend Cal Naughton Jr., call themselves the "Shake" and "Bake" team and always come finish in the #1 and #2 positions.

When everything is going fine flamboyant (gay) French Formula One driver Jean Girard arrives on the scene and challenges the "Shake" and "Bake" team. In the first race Ricky crashes and becomes a nervous wreck. The crash not only makes him lose his health, but also his career, wife and home to his best friend Cal. Devastated he moves in with his mom and starts delivering pizzas on a bicycle.

Reese Bobby once again enters the scene and helps Ricky get out of his nervous breakdown and hit the race track again, where he wins his title, fame and money.

The entire movie is one hell of a comedy with a number of amazing car races thrown in. Dialogues of Reese Bobby and his grand children are funny. Ricky's experience with the Cougar and his driving test all make it one entertaining film. Definitely worth watching once.

Movie Review: The Last Confederate

Praiseworthy Effort!!
One thing about Europeans and Euro-Americans (White people in the US) that continues to leave me awed is their ability to take up even the most trivial incident and tell a hugely successful story which will subtly enhance their image in front of the world. The Last Confederate is a movie which showcases the true story of American Civil War Hero Robert Adams is a similar effort.

The movie is set in a period just before the start of the American Civil War and narrates the story of the life of Robert Adams, during the civil war years. The story portrays the passion, courage and love of the protagonist for his land, people and way of life. Robert is a southern planter who enjoys the good life, served by slaves, meandering from one party to another, supervising agriculture, riding fine horses, etc. He wants to continue leading the same life like the greater part of the southern white population. He falls in love with beautiful Eveline, a teacher from the North (Pennsylvania) and wants to marry her.

But with the federal government abolishing slavery the southern states decide to secede which leads to the Civil War. Robert Adams passionate about his land, lifestyle and people decides to enter into the fray and is recruited as captain of the Confederate forces. During the course of the war he is captured and imprisoned, but manages to escape and reunite with his love for a brief period. He reenters the battles and fights till the end of the war and emerges as the only surviving confederate soldier (at least according to the movie), thanks to the pity of a Union soldier who just fires in the air and lets him go.

If one were to watch the movie without bothering about any historical knowledge/ perspective, then this is a brilliant story and one can't help but become a great admirer of Robert Adams. But I am a big time skeptic, so when I watch any movie I examine the story, narration and characters with an array of lenses. Ideologically speaking this movie is a sham, for one thing the makers of this movie are glorifying a man who fought for slavery. What can be a bigger insult to democracy and equality than this? Then what is great about Robert Adams? He fought for Confederates to protect his land, which his fore-fathers and millions of other white people illegally, inhumanly and unethically usurped from native American tribes. He fought to protect his family and to have the freedom to continue to lead the same way of life, which is commendable, if one looks it from his side.

Summing up, I would say this movie has a lot of lessons for Indians. Here is Julian Adams the great-grandson of Robert Adams who produced, wrote and starred in the film. Look at our country, the first film about Mahatma Gandhi was produced, directed and acted out by foreigners. Till date no descendant of Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Prathap, Chattrapathi Shivaji or any other Indian Hero has ever bothered to sponsor/ produce any movie to tell the true story of their ancestor. Robert Adams is no historical figure in the US, but now thanks to this movie, his place in the popular perception has been created.

Indian film directors make movies showcasing the glories of people who invaded and plundered our country, killed our people and attempted to destroy our culture, traditions and religion. The most glaring example of recent times would be Jodha-Akbar starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. I wonder if our people will ever become enough patriotic and aware of our country and strive to create an honorable place for its heroes in the popular perception. Yes some movies have been made such as few about Shaheed Bhagat Singh, but this is simply not enough.

Movie Review: Gangs of New York

The United States of America, perceived as the land of unlimited opportunities, heaven on earth, land of ultimate freedom, a place where wealth can be made, the world's most powerful nation, etc... But like every other nation in the world, it has its own share of slums, underworld gangs, thugs, crooks and prostitutes. This murky underbelly is carefully hidden away under the towering sky scrapers and grandiose buildings.

What was it to live in this land of freedom and opportunity a century and half ago? This is what the film Gangs of New York attempts to re-create and it does very successfully. Set in 1846 the movie stars Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and others. The story is pretty historical as it is a movie and there is a substantial amount of reality in this according to a National Geographic study.

The movie starts off in the year 1846 with the protagonist Leonardo DiCaprio getting released from the prison and returning to the neighborhood in Manhattan where he was born and grew up. As he approaches the five points neighborhood, DiCaprio is witness to hordes of Irish immigrants landing into the US, in a bid to escape sure starvation due to the Potato Famine and of course persecution from the British Crown and nobility. But the original settlers (who call themselves "Natives") don't want new immigrants and they are standing at the docks yelling humiliating abuses at the immigrants.

DiCaprio, himself an Irish immigrant-settler and has seen his father being murdered in cold blood by Bill the Butcher, the undisputed king of underworld in New York. Young DiCaprio is thirsting for revenge and his target is Bill the Butcher. DiCaprio starts off being a small time thief and gets into the Butcher's brotherhood of thugs. In his life of crime he tangles with Cameron Diaz who is another petty thief and pick pocket in the same gang. Love blossoms between the two much to the angst of DiCaprio's best friend, who reveals the former's true identity to Bill the Butcher.

DiCaprio's first attempt to kill Bill the Butcher fails and he is thoroughly beaten up and knifed. In retaliation DiCaprio decides to start his own gang of Irish settlers and wrest control of Five Points from the original English settlers (Natives). This coincides with the American civil war era when Irish immigrants were ordered to get drafted into the army to fight the southern states against slavery. In frustration the immigrants rebel and riot and of course there is the clash of gangs in which Irish emerge victorious.

The Gangs of New York is a brilliantly made movie and performances of all the stars are captivating and cinematography is hypnotic. It has a few subtle lessons about American history, social equations and immigration. The original British settlers who landed in the US and started killing native Americans and taking over their lands were intolerant towards Irish immigrants in the 19th century, now a substantial section of the white population of the US hates increased influx of Indian technology workers. Things are pretty much the same: American's hate immigrants, especially those whom they think are taking their jobs.

Another subtle reinforcement that the White people try to make is that America belongs to them and not to the native Americans who were here thousands of years before the settlers came in. It is common for people of color in the US to be referred to as "Asian Americans", "African Americans", "Indian Americans" but to themselves they say "Americans" implying that the country belongs to them. This movie in which the original settlers call themselves "Natives" is one such attempt. To understand these messages one must watch The Gangs of New York.

Movie Review: Sur - A Stupid Musical

I recently watched this Hindi Movie Sur - The melody of life starring singer Lucky Ali and other non-descript actors. The movie was supposed to be a romantic musical drama but failed miserably in the box office when it was released in 2002. I had liked one song in that movie when it was released and thought about watching it but never got down to going to the theatres for this flic. Now after wasting three hours in front of the idiot box watching this boring and quite stupid movie I am glad I didn't waste money and time to go to the theatres to watch this.

Anyway the movie features Lucky Ali as renowned singer Vikramaditya Singh (note the name - Vikramaditya - one of the most honorable Hindu kings in Indian history) who brings Tina Marie from Goa to nurture her talent and make her a great musician. In the school there is a student Aqib who is always ridiculing Tina's humble beginnings.

Over a period of time Vikramaditya trains Tina and ensures her trasnformation into a brilliant vocalist and talented music composer. But deep within Vikramaditya is jealous of her talent. Hence he starts snubbing her and insulting her at every opportunity and even steals one of her compositions and produces an audiotape which outsells his own previous ones.

The people who know the truth, Aqib and Tina are totally devastated by his actions. An angry Aqib quits the school and a devastated Tina returns home and decides to give up everything and become a nun. Meanwhile a guilt-ridden Vikramaditya hits bottle. His assistant Divya makes him realize his folly and he heads out in search of Tina with a vow of making her a star. He finds her in a convent and begs and pleads with her to sing with him again. Finally she relents and a few minutes before the program, Vikramaditya disappears, leaving the entire stage for Tina, who delivers an enthralling performance and wins everybody's hearts. Vikramaditya returns to his school humbled and continues teaching and mentoring young students. Tina goes on to become a great musical phenomenon.

Performances of all artists/ actors lack maturity and professionalism. Some of the songs are good, but apart from that the movie is completely passable.

Now if the movie is so bad why am I writing about it here. I was just wondering about the nomenclature of the artists in this movie.

Vikramaditya, the jealous, under-talented teacher who steals his students composition is named after one of the most honorable kings in India's history. Vikramaditya is known for the justice and fairness with which he ruled India.

Tina Marie, a Christian, is the highly-talented youngster who is mentored by the former. In reality it is the British (Christians) who stole everything from India.

Aqib, a muslim fights for justice and getting Tina her due. Quite surprising isn't it....

I wonder if the names were chosen purposefully or if it were just an accident? Only the director can answer this question...

Movie Review: Enemy at the Gates

I recently watched this 2001 movie Enemy at the Gates. The film is based on a true story of a Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev's fight against the German army during the siege of Stalingrad. The movie begins with a very sombre note of a under equipped Soviet army getting battered by the better equipped Nazi forces.

The main reason why I am totally impressed by this movie is the way in which a relatively unknown soldier is made into a national phenomenon and his name is deified to inculcate a sense of national pride and global respect. Vassili Zaitsev is a normal soldier fighting for his country like millions of others across the world. But by making a movie and highlighting the story of achievements in an exemplary movie format he has been made a phenomenon.

I wish our Indian film makers would learn from hollywood about the type of movies to be made. Instead of sticking to the stupid love-sex-violence formula which don't provide any intellectual stimulation, Indian film makers should start thinking about making movies which create a sense of national pride, patriotism and a sense of the Indian identity among its viewers who are primarily the uneducated and undereducated masses.

Plot Summary
The initial scene is specially scary when we see groups of young Soviet recruits being pushed into the battle. They have one rifle for two men and an officer is screaming on the megaphone: "When the one with the rifle falls, the one behind picks up the rifle and fights." The motivational speeches work and unarmed and under armed soldiers rush into a confrontation with the third reich, knowing well that they are facing certain death. If they advance the enemy bullet is likely to get them and if they retreat their own officers will kill them as deserters.

Vassili Zaitsev played by Jude Law is one of the soldiers who displays exemplary marksmanship and kills five German soldiers with as many bullets. This feat gets noticed by Political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) who writes about Vassili in the army newspaper and thus begins their journey to fame. Vassili goes ahead daily killing German officers and virtually creates panic among the army of the Third Reich. Not to be out done the Nazi army calls in their best sniper Major Konig (Ed Harris) to eliminate Vassili. At this point the story takes a turn and becomes a cat and mouse game between the two snipers leading to one triumphing over the other.

There is a little love triangle between Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz which leads to some complications in the story. Jude Law plays the central character Vassili and Rachel Weisz plays his lover Tania, also a Russian soldier. Their stellar performances are very efficiently supported by Ed Harris who plays Major Konig (German sniper) and Joseph Fiennes (Political officer Danilov).

Movie Review: Big Jake

For having nothing much to do at home I borrowed this movie from the library. I must say I kinda liked the movie set in 1909. The movie features John Wayne in the leading role of the title character Jacob "Big Jake" McCandles, an aging rancher and near-legendary gunfighter estranged from his pretty family.

The movie starts with a ruthless gang of outlaws raiding the MacCandles ranch. The gang led by John Fain (Richard Boone), runs havoc on the ranch and murders some of the workers, wounds McCandles' eldest son (Bobby Vinton) and kidnaps the youngest member of the family for a ransom of $1 million. Martha (Wife of "Big Jake" McCandles) (Maureen O'Hara) summons Jacob through some messengers and tells him to find their grandson.

Though Jacob and his wife have been separated for nearly 10 years, they still love each other dearly. Jacob arrives by train and discuss a plan to take the ransom to the kidnappers and free the boy. Jacob warns that "Pay or not, we run the risk of never seeing the boy again". Martha has what is well known as a million dollars in a big red strongbox. Jacob is to deliver the box to the kidnappers. Jacob is packed quickly and ready to go along with his trusted "Native American" gunrunner.

The Texas Rangers led by Buck are close at hand ready to attempt a rescue, as is Jacob's son James McCandles (John Wayne's real-life son Patrick Wayne), whose initial greeting of Jake reveals a somewhat strained relationship. Michael McCandles (Christopher Mitchum) arrives by motorcycle and tells Martha that he saw the little boy alive. He suggests the Rangers can use the automobiles and set an ambush for the kidnappers. Buck (John Doucette) and the Rangers try to get Jacob to come along with them. The Rangers take off to set the trap in their new automobiles and are themselves ambushed at the very place they were planning to ambush the kidnappers.

The rest of the story is about their journey through the stunningly scenic wild west territory of South Texas and Mexico. Their gunfighting with the villains and rescuing "Little Jake" the grandson of "Big Jake". The journey and the hunt for kidnappers also serves to unite the long lost father with this sons and family.

In my opinion this is a great movie to watch. Fast paced, straight forward narrative and stunning photography. Worth every second spent watching the DVD, I'd say.

Movie Review: In America

In America
Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Sarah Bolger and Emma Bolger.
Direction: Jim Sheridan.

I watched this movie at the Angelika in Plano, Tx last week. The broadcast was part of the Auteur film series conducted by the college. The theme of the movie, the trails and tribulations of immigrants in America, sounded interesting and hence I decided to take a look.

Anyway the movie begins with the typical scene of an Irish family illegally entering America from Canada. The protagonist family comprising Johnny and Sarah and their two daughters, the bubbly and outspoken younger one and the silent and introspective older child, are trying to make a new life for themselves in the big city. Set in the mid-1980s the movie portrays three or four major human sentiments: hope, determination, community, frustration and fear.

The family's attempts to settle down in a dilapidated building in which the elevators don't work, there is no air conditioning and erratic water supply evokes empathy from viewers. Personally speaking it came as a surprise that anyone could be so poor in America... and that too in Manhattan...

One of the most touching parts of the movie for me was the Halloween celebrations. The girls go to school dressed in home-made costumes and become a spectacle because everyone else is wearing fancy costumes. And after coming back home the girls decide to go trick or treating in their building and knock on every door in vain. And finally they reach the door of the "the screaming man," a reclusive neighbor named Mateo. This is the turning point of the movie, the reclusive Mateo becomes a family friend and supporter in crisis. He himself is afflicted with AIDS and dieing, but he gives hope and support to the family.

Underlying the plot of the movie the entire family is trying to deal with the loss of "Frankie", who passed away due to brain tumor. While the parents are in denial, the children miss their late sibling. The movie ends with the death of Mateo and birth of another baby girl to the family and the father accepting that Frankie is no more. A very touching movie indeed... must watch in my opinion.

Movie Review: Kidnap

This is the only movie that I have seen "First Day First Show" and that too in the US of A. Well, basically I got free tickets to watch this movie at Everest Movies on October 1, 2008. I had heard about Imran Khan, nephew of Amir Khan and his supposedly great looks, acting talent, et al... so I was pretty curious when I went in and sat down in the stadium-style seats at the Hollywood Theater in Irving.

Being a Hindi Movie I kinda expected the standard theme, five songs, 2-3 item numbers, probably a few fight sequences and some tearful emotional dramas and finally everything ending well. And Kidnap pretty much offers the same fare. But right in the beginning I would like to make few things very clear: Imran Khan has been over rated, his looks are average and acting so so. The story line of the movie is different but has not been handled well enough. Minisha Lamba just knows how to gyrate her hips with utmost vulgarity and display ample skin and flesh and that is where her talent ends. Sanjay Dutt is quite good but his age is catching up, he must look for some roles which suit his age from now on.

Well now let me talk about the story and screenplay of the movie. Sonia (Minisha Lamba) is the spoilt and stubborn daughter of Sanjay Dutt and ____ (again I don't know who the actress is). But the couple is divorced because Sanjay Dutt's wife doesn't like him taking her for granted. Sonia gets kidnapped by an unknown person who doesn't want money but her father. The kidnapper, Kabir (Imran Khan) doesn't say what he wants but says he has kidnapped Sonia for revenge.

An arrogant Sanjay Dutt engages private detective Irfan (played by some actor I don't remember his name) and there starts a cat and mouse game between the kidnapper and the father of the kidnapped. Finally after a series of different types of incidents the girl is finally set right and in the process Sanjay Dutt and his wife fall in love all over again and become united. As the story unfolds it is revealed that, several years earlier Kabir would have been falsely indicted in a kidnapping case by Sanjay Dutt and sent to jail. A physically scarred and traumatized Kabir comes out of jail thirsting for revenge. What is surprising is that while in jail Kabir becomes a computer, telecom and technology whiz.

Surprisingly throughout the movie when Sonia remains kidnapped, she has a fantastic set of revealing clothes. She never covers her chubby belly throughout the movie and I wonder if she was kidnapped with a full wardrobe, though there is no indication of that. Even in the clutches of her captor, Sonia remains fully made up, wearing nice clothes and no sign of trauma or stress on her face. Perhaps because she is with a hot hunk? or I don't know why?

And last but not the least the movie doesn't end with Kabir and Sonia falling in love with each other. They just go their ways, he becomes a software engineer and she just a partying socialite, spoilt daughter of rich parents.

The best part of the movie however is the chase sequence when Kabir gives a run to Sanjay Dutt through a semi-constructed high-rise. Both the action stars go into a several sequences of dangerous-looking stunts climbing up and down high rise building.

There are totally five songs, and three are item numbers for Sonia which serve only one purpose of showcasing her body in all kinds of sensuous (often vulgar) are completely unnecessary. The other two songs which star Sanjay Dutt are ok and fit into the story quite well.

Finally my verdict of the move is a 2 out of 5 and totally passable. Don't go unless you get free tickets... it is not worth your money.

Movie Review: Singh is Kinng

A film sans logic but a great entertainer
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Javed Jaffrey, Ranvir Shorey, Sonu Sood, Om Puri, Neha Dhupia;
Director: Anees Bazmee

The wait for this highly entertaining comedy masala flick is finally over. And does the film live up to the hype and expectations it created? You bet, it does; Singh Is Kinng has all the ingredients which make it a great entertainer: generous dose of laughter; drama; emotions and of course two hot heroines. All these will surely keep you glued to the silver screen.

The medium paced film starts off the usual way. Our hero, Happy Singh (Akshay Kumar) is a simpleton who wants to help people but somehow ends up creating problems than helping. His attempts to help which turn into disasters are portrayed in a sublime manner which will leave you laughing out of your seat. The people of the village get frustrated with his antics and ask him to leave. Left with no alternative Happy and his best friend Rangeela (Om Puri) set out on an aimless sojourn.

Now the scene shifts and the spotlight is on Lakhan Singh aka Lucky (Sonu Sood), the King of the Australian underworld. Like all underworld dons Lucky also has a sidekick, Neha Dhupia and few henchmen: Javed Jaffrey, Yashpal Sharma, Kamal Chopra and Sudhanshu Pandey. Quite expectedly Happy’s journey leads him to Egypt and then to Australia where he becomes the king of underworld. During the journey he meets his lady love Sonia (Katrina Kaif) and finds warmth and affection in an elderly lady (Kirron Kher).

The action sequences of the movie are excellent and in typical Akshay style and once again he has proved that he can excel in comedy too. The timing of his funny dialogs and actions in the movie is just fine. Akshay Kumar is really the king of situational comedy and witty dialogue delivery. And of course Om Puri has also delivered a stellar performance which seamlessly blends with that of Akshay Kumar’s.

Sonu Sood too done a good job and Neha Dhupia looks sizzling and it seems like that is all there is to her. Javed Jaffrey adds some more laughter to the movie. And of course Kiron Kher in the role of an elderly lady has done a wonderful job.



As a director Aneez Bazmee has extracted great performances by everybody. Singh is Kinng will go down as another successful comedy flick in his portfolio. Ben Nott and Sanjay Gupta’s cinematography is excellent. Lilting music in the movie became a hit much before the the film was released. Pritam has done a great job in delivering numbers like Bootni Ke, Jee Karda and Teri Ore and the title track ‘Singh is King’ is catchy too.

Taking a bird’s eye view of the movie, I would say this is a must watch for all the fans of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. Akshay Kumar is definitely getting better at comedy, I had watched his movie Heyy Babyy and it was a great entertainer. And with Singh is Kinng Akshay Kumar has successfully created a niche for himself in the genre of comedy film heroes too. And coupled with his penchant for delivering stunning action shots, Akshay Kumar is definitely set to go places.

On the downside the movie has a pretty lame climax, I wish the director had added a punch to make the climax memorable. And then once the intermission is over the movie becomes painfully slow and boring when compared to the first part. Either ways it is a movie worth watching.

Movie Review: What Happens in Vegas

Disappointing comedy!

Title: WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
Director: Tom Vaughan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell and Queen Latifah
Genre: Comedy, Chick flick

What happens in Vegas is one of those total fantasy movies with completely outrageous plot. The movie starts off with a jaded looking Cameron Diaz and her friends planning a surprise birthday party for her fiancé. But her fiancé has his own plans, he comes home and before she could utter one word, he dumps her. A visibly distraught Cameron Diaz decides to take a holiday in Vegas and come back rejuvenated to her job.

At Vegas she bumps into Ashton Kutcher who has been fired from his job by his own dad and is combating depression. Both of them hit off in the casinos and in drunken stupor get married. Next morning while they are still not sure how to tackle the marriage and annul it, they come by a windfall of $3 million. Now the question is who gets the money, though both of them agree to split even, the judge plays spoilsport. In the court the judge dismisses their plea for annulment and orders them to live together for six months and get marriage counseling. If they fail in their efforts then they would be granted divorce.

The judge further says that if they stay together and show that they really tried to make it work for six months, they split the money evenly. But if one can prove that the other cheated, didn’t try to make the marriage work, quit from the marriage then, he/ she gets to keep all the money. Both Jack (Ashton) and Joy (Diaz) attempt every trick in the book to mess each other’s life so that they can claim the booty. The rest of the film is how each makes life miserable for the other and in the process fall in love with each other. Their divorce plea gets passed but they reunite and decide to get married again.

Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher have delivered a good performance as bickering newly weds. Queen Latifah in her role as marriage counselor seems so out of place, even with her funny accent and seemingly authoritative postures. She needn’t have accepted such a minor role in this movie. The only merits of this movie are the numerous comedy sequences, such as when Jack removes the toilet seat because Joy tried to give him potty training. The early morning sequence when Jack pees into the kitchen sink loaded with cutlery is really gross.

The movie disappoints in several counts, first Cameron Diaz seems to have lost all her beauty. She looks skinny, tanned, dehydrated and really old; almost like Ashton’s mother. Wonder if the movie makers couldn’t afford a better make up artist or wonder if she has really become old. The screenplay is mediocre and the dialogues are just average. It is ok to watch once if you have loads of time and no other options.

I’d give it a rating of 2.5 out of five.

Check out the trailer.

Movie Review: Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Genre: Adventure/ comedy
Directors: Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg
Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Jack Conley, Roger Bart and others

This is one of the rare comedy movies which had me laughing through and through. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is infused with a heavy dose of satirical humor. A chronicle of the adventures Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) when they get mistaken to be terrorists; arrested and sent to Guantanamo Bay following a misunderstanding aboard an international flight. The movie moves very swiftly from this stage, with the protagonists jumping from one hilarious situation into another including an encounter with a one-eyed hillbilly, participating in a Ku Klux Klan meeting, a bottomless party, etc.

The movie starts off with Harold and Kumar on a plane to Amsterdam to meet the formers girlfriend. Meanwhile Kumar has smuggled some weed (Marijuana) along in his invention “a smokeless bong” to enjoy a joint in the aircraft’s bathroom. But this gadget is mistaken for a bomb and air marshals who are part of every international flight tackle the duo and arrest them. Racist and arrogant FBI official Rob Corddry thinks that every colored individual is out to destroy America and should be put behind bars. As per Corddry’s orders the two are blithely shipped off Guantanamo Bay, from where they escape within the first 24 hours. The film’s title is a misnomer though, because the duo escape from Guantanamo bay in the early part of the film.

Naturally FBI is angry, intrigued and wants to get them at any cost. After escaping from Guantanamo Bay the duo get onto a boat along with a crowd of illegal immigrants and land on US soil. Their only hope is Kumar’s ex-girlfriend’s fiancé (Vanessa), who is linked to President George Bush. The duo decides to take help of their Florida-based friend Raza and travel from Florida to Texas where their friend is scheduled to get married.

From here on it is one adventure after another for Harold and Kumar, a series of miscalculations and encounters with the strange. Of course the adventures could be treated as separate and isolated episodes as there is no connection between them. This is kind of refreshing because one doesn’t need to track the story so closely and can just have fun at the theatres. The jokes and pranks would make you hold your sides and laugh. They land up in down town Alabama and bust a fire hydrant and fearing backlash from a group of African-Americans playing ball on the road Harold and Kumar abandon the car and run.

Quite expectedly the FBI is called in and Corddry lands up there and suspects the African-Americans to be hand-in-glove with the terrorists. Meanwhile it gets dark and the duo land up in the middle of a Ku Klux Klan meeting. They succeed in mugging two of the clan members and steal their robes and become part of the meeting for some time. But then they are discovered soon and run for their lives. Another funny sequence is the bottomless party, but I wouldn’t recommend this move to be watched with your family, for the language is quite sharp and below-the-belt humor can be disturbing.

This is definitely a socio-political comedy and everything that the duo come across is portrayed in a mix of sharp and hilarious cultural comedies. It shows the American paranoia that borders on racism and brands everyone colored as uneducated and a potential terrorist. All in all I would give this movie 3.5 out of 5 as an entertainer but surely not a family entertainer. Don’t take your kids to watch it.

Movie Review: Army of the Dead

Genre: Action/ Thriller
Director: Joseph Conti
Cast: Ross Kelly, Stephanie Marchese, Miguel Martinez, Mike Hatfield and others

How many treasure hunting movies can you recall? Quite a few I am sure. There have been quite a few movies about Inca treasure and how adventurers have been trying to get at it from time to time. From Mackenna’s Gold in 1969 to the Army of the Dead in 2008 the story has remained the same, groups of treasure hunters seek out the gold, find it and then fight over it, and at the end of the movie only the hero and heroine remain alive. Well Army of the Dead is a movie with a similar plot but with a little difference, here the hero and heroine don’t get any treasure at the end.

Army of the Dead has all the elements of intrigue, death, gore, death and heroics, but somehow fails to make its mark. While the movie is entertaining, with fast paced screenplay and enough thrilling action to keep you at the edge of the seat, it has nothing new to offer. It is quite understandable that it didn’t do very well in the box office.

The movie starts off with a group of students set out on an off-road driving cum camping outing into the deserts of Mexico. The trip is organized as a surprise birthday party for one of the students by classmates and their professor. But the professor has an ulterior motive, he wants to go into the Mexican wilderness and search for the ancient treasure. If it was just a treasure to be hunted it would be easy, but this cache of gold is fiercely guarded by an army of skeletons, who kill anybody and everybody who try to steal their gold. Whenever someone gets close to the gold, the stars turn black and the moon turns red and the army of skeletons is unleashed upon the treasure hunters.

Does the screenplay sound familiar? Of course it does, we saw armies of skeletons in The Mummy, The Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness. Now coming back to the Army of the dead, the skeletons in this movie are invincible, bullets do little harm, but fire does burn them to embers and electricity shocks them out of their wits.

The story is the same old plot, so there is nothing new in that. The acting is quite mediocre. I particularly hated the part when Miguel Martinez (the professor) gets a shock attack and starts jabbering and mumbling in praise of the army of skeletons and that nobody can escape. The love triangle in the film is totally unnecessary and the mercenaries hired by professor to help in getting at the treasure are pathetic.

In the final judgment I would give this flic 2.5 out of 5. Hopefully next time around Joseph Conti will do a better job of choosing the star cast and also drafting the story.

Here is a trailer of the movie: