Ajay Devgn's Tezz Movie Review & Ratings (3/5) - Thrills

Tezz Hindi Movie Review, Tezz Movie Review, Tezz Movie Rating, Tezz Movie verdict, Tezz Movie story, Tezz Movie climax, 

Cast : Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Zayed Khan, Sameera Reddy, Kangna Ranaut, Boman Irani
Director : Priyadarshan
Producer : Ratan Jain
Music : Sajid-Wajid
Rating : 3/5

What do you do when a country, a culture and their purveyors wrong you irreparably? You plant a bomb in a speeding train and hold the establishment to ransom.

Taking a cue from Hollywood’s most watched bomb-maro-bomb rush-hour excursions into plunder-land “Tezz” springs forward a nicely-packaged expertly-cut he-dunnit. And that’s a very different genre from the whodunit.

Here we know Ajay Devgn is the closet terrorist. But since his fans won’t like it, Devgn is, with due respect to Mira Nair, a reluctant terrorist… how reluctant, we won’t reveal fully.

Devgn has a back story with screen wife Kangna Ranaut, who in keeping with her character’s British domicile, sports blonde hair. No, this is not a joke.

Luckily, Priyadarshan’s plot has a lot more going for itself than its leading lady’s hair-to-stay problems. The director creates a taut cat-and-mouse game between ‘terrorist’ Devgn and cop Anil Kapoor who in true Hollywood style, is on the verge of retirement from service when duty beckons.

There are enough men on duty on both sides of the law here to fill up one section of Tihar jail. The narration allows elbow-room for an army of actors laden with anxious motivations and tense expressions to match, all hurling like the speeding train towards an uncertain nemesis. Luckily, the plot finds itself a convincing finale. And we can go home feeling all is not lost for the slick action genre in Bollywood.

There is hope.

There are some jaw-dropping action sequences here. Some of them, like Devgn and Kapoor’s fist-to-fist in the grand finale and the search for Devgn in a hospital’s car park, are so expertly executed they make you forget how far Bollywood lags behind in the action genre from its firangi counterpart. But then again some of the stunts like the one where passengers from the bomb-threatened train climb into a safe train, are done clumsily enough to bring us down with a thud.

Curiously, Zayed Khan and Sameera Reddy who play Devgn’s accomplices in the terror crime are given one extended heart-in-the-mouth chase sequence each. They show remarkable agility in their given space. Ditto the film’s technicians. Thiru S. Appan’s camera looks at London with keen anticipation.

Aditya Dhar doesn’t come up with one memorable dialogue except, “Teri Maa Ki…” when Devgn while negotiating his ransom money with train executive Boman Irani drops his cellphone.

“He’s Indian, not Pakistani,” Boman confidently informs cop Anil Kapoor with a straight face.

The absurdities don’t swamp ‘Tezz’. True its title, the tale of a bomb and a Boman trying to diffuse the crisis, whizzes by at breakneck speed.

Priyadarshan’s tackles what’s a new genre for him, with pleasure and aplomb. Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani, Sameera Reddy and Zayed Khan furnish a flavour of slickness to a story that holds your attention till the end.

Not quite edge-of-the-seat, the thrills in Tezz are engaging enough to keep us watching.

Verdict : A slick action film with engaging thrills

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Super Hero - The Avengers Movie Review & Ratings (4/5)

The Avengers Hindi Movie Review, The Avengers Movie Review, The Avengers Review, The Avengers Movie story, The Avengers Movie climax, The Avengers Movie rating, The Avengers verdict, 

Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Fuffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
Director : Joss Whedon
Producer : Kevin Feige
Banner : Walt Disney Pictures
Rating : 4/5

In a multi-hero film it is tough to do justice to each character. Imagine a multi-superhero film? Yet to the delight of movie lovers, second-time feature director Joss Whedon proves himself to be a superhero as he pulls the impossible with fun, humour and unbelievable panache in “The Avengers”.

SHIELD director Nick Fury (Jackson) manages to assemble six superheroes when Loki (Hiddleston) threatens to destroy the Earth. Sadly, strong personalities don’t make a good team and our superheroes fight with one another.

It is only when everything seems lost, that our superheroes realise that alone they might be lost, confused souls, but together they become something they never thought they could be - the invincible avengers.

The film is so engaging that despite some flaws, you choose to ignore these. It is witty, smart and funny, with enough comic-book humour and elements of delight for everyone from a five-year-old to an 85-year-old.

So, everything you can imagine in a film with multiple superheroes - great action, good costume, witty writing, good subplots and most of all, the superheroes fighting one another - is there in the film. It’s been designed for success and this design works like a charm.

Not one character has been given extra attention while giving enough time to establish the characters of the two who don’t have a separate film yet - Black Widow and Hawk Eye.

“The Avengers” thus become a surprising example of too much being put in one film, yet it working out in the end.

The long-winding, extended climax is an absolutely delight. The length is just perfect. Any shorter and it would have not done justice to the characterisations and any longer would have made it boring.

Yet, you do miss a few elements while a few others jar. A cameo by Natalie Portman (from “Thor”), like that of Gwyneth Paltrow is missed. “The Hulk”, who so far we learnt couldn’t control his anger, in the climax suddenly develops it becoming an adorable green monster who’s as strong as he is cute. A little on how he got there, would have been better.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the evil but vulnerable villain outdone by his megalomania, does the best job of “acting”.

“The Avengers” is a watershed film because it is a new concept. It is the culmination of the build-up of multiple films - two “Iron Man”, “Hulk’, “Thor” and “Captain America”. This culmination also marks the beginning of a new franchisee.

Thus, this multi-hero film itself becomes a metaphor and a tribute to the literally thousands upon thousands of people who worked in unison in the films mentioned above to lead to this very satisfying end which is also a beginning.

Each one of them showed, like the film’s main theme of brotherhood, what it is to work together for a common goal. Perhaps in it lies a message for real life, that our governments could do the same with the world. For even in real life, planet Earth is in desperate need of saving with no superheroes in sight.

Verdict : Ups the bar for superhero franchisee

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Cabin In The Woods Hollywood Movie Review & Ratings ( 2.5 / 5 )

RATING: 2.5/5

Shot in 2009 but later shelved for three years due to MGM's bankruptcy, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is finally here after being picked up by Lionsgate. And I must say, not since Wes Craven's SCREAM has a horror genre so wickedly subversive and so twisted as this long-delayed shocker. This is the kind of movie where the less you know about the detail, the better. Written and produced by none others than TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Joss Whedon and directed by first-timer Drew Goddard (writer of TV's Lost), THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is no doubt one of the most original horror movies ever seen in years. But as original as this movie is so playfully displayed here, it's a shame that it's also a heavily uneven effort frequently ruined by preposterous outcome. More on that later.

As for the plot, here's all the outline you should know: Five college kids -- a shy bookworm Dana (Kristen Connolly), jock Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Curt's horny girlfriend Jules (Anna Hutchison), intellectual Holden (Jesse Williams), and stoner Marty (Fran Kranz) -- set out for a weekend getaway to Curt's cousin's secluded cabin deep in the countryside driving a RV. Once there, they can't wait to have fun time together but there's something seriously wrong with the cabin -- violent old paintings are found hanging on the wall, a one-way mirror separating two bedrooms, a mysterious cellar filled with strange artifacts and a particular scenario where Dana reads a line from an old diary that somehow unleashes a deadly force of evil.

But wait, there's more -- what's with the corporate office scene shown at the beginning of the movie and features two office employees (Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford), who both somehow controlling what happens in the woods in a mysterious control center?

It's especially rare these days to see innovative filmmakers like Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon dare to go the distance by turning the oft-familiar horror genre inside out and comes up something uniquely different. No doubt their collaborated screenplay is chock full of surprises that I bet a lot of horror fans, even the die-hard ones, never seen it coming as the movie progresses further. The result is a fun cinematic experience where you'll get to guess what's happen next. The final twenty minutes is particularly an extraordinary blast for (every) horror fans' wet dream-comes-true moments of wicked fun. I don't want to spoil it for you here, but let's just say it's something so gory yet outrageously imaginative.

However the same cannot be said with the way how Goddard and Whedon's imaginative screenplay is told here. Most of the time the movie is meant to be confusing because ultimately, it relies on the twist finale for viewers to understand what is really going on behind all the mumbo-jumbo madness. Too bad the explanatory finale is shockingly preposterous that will you leave you hanging with more questions than answers and a particular WTF-moment. Even some of the so-called subversive and self-conscious fun a lot of critics have been praising all over this movie is largely overrated.

Acting-wise, the cast are as typical as they get since the filmmakers intended them to be stereotypical. Still, Kristen Connolly is particularly engaging as Dana while Fran Kranz steals the show as a paranoid stoner who is blessed all the best lines in the movie.

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS could have been a game changer in term of recreating the familiar horror-movie convention, but it remains a flawed effort that doesn't reaches the feverish peak Wes Craven has set the standard in SCREAM.

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Mega Power Star Ram Charan's Racha Movie Review (3/5)

Racha Review – Racha Movie Review, 

 

Racha Movie Rating: 3/5

Banner: Mega Super Good Films
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Tamanna
Direction: Sampath Nandi
Music: Mani Sharma
Producer: RB Choudary 

 

Rating, Racha Telugu Film Review: Ram Charan is back after one and half years with Racha. His last film Orange didn’t fare well and this time he banked upon a commercial mass entertainer. Sampath Nandi directed this movie and Tamanna is the female lead. Let’s see how is Racha in detailed review…


Story:

Raj (Ram Charan) is a guy who makes money on bettings. His father (MS) falls ill and doctors say that his liver has to be transplanted. So Raj takes up a bet thrown by James (Ajmal) to make Chaitra (Tamanna) fall in his love. Chaitra is daughter of Ballari (Mukesh Rishi), a hardcore criminal and multi millionaire. Now Raj has a big challenge ahead of him. What happens next is to be seen on screen.

Analysis:

Racha has a routine plot and beaten to death narration. But having right mix of commercial elements is its biggest plus. The writers and the director got the formula right and have thrown in good twists at right intervals. The narration is also smooth and racy.

There are no dull moments in the film, which would work in its favor at the box office. Racha will be lapped up by the masses as it offers them right doses of mass entertainment. This film may not impress audience who seek variety and sensible narration. On the downside the film starts off on a weak note and only gains momentum after thirty minutes into the story.

Racha is over the top at times and that is what works here. If you are looking for some mass masala treat, Racha is the one for you. It has the potential to click at the box office.

Performances: 

Ram Charan did one man show in this film. He is at his best in the role of a slum boy with daring attitude. He imitated Chiru in few scenes and that will be liked by mega fans. His fluid dances and solid action sequences adds to the film. Charan can turn into a very big mass hero in the days to come. He is too good at portraying this type of roles.

Tamanna is a treat to watch. Her glamour is another positive point for the film. Tamanna’s skin show in songs, especially Vaana vaana song will win her more fans. Her performance is Okay too.

Ajmal is neat in an important role. Mukesh Rishi is usual. Brahmanandam provided comic relief and so did Ali in one lengthy comedy scene. Parthipan and Nazar are good in their brief yet important roles. The director made sure of using all the characters to have a free flowing screenplay and he did well.

Technicalities:

Sampath Nandi banked upon seasoned technicians for this film. Paruchuri Brothers did a fine job with the dialogues. There were few unnecessary and silly dialogues, but on a whole, dialogues are good. Music by Mani Sharma is a bonus. His background score elevates the film and keeps the audience interested. Songs are good on screen. Sameer Reddy’s cinematography is impressive. Editing by Gowtam Raju is adequate. The film is made on a grand scale.

Director Sampath Nandi exceeded everybody’s expectations by handling a routine script with complete command. He knows the pulse of mass audience. His direction in second half will impress. No nonsense approach is his biggest asset. Racha doesn’t bore at any point despite routine script.

Final Word:

Racha is for the masses. It has been a while since any mega hero did an out and out mass entertainer. Racha will be a treat for mega fans and will click with the B and C centers audiences. The success range will depend on how well they embrace it

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Aadi & Shanvi's Telugu Movie Review & Ratings (2.5/5)

Movie : LOVELY
Rating: 2.5/5
Cast : Aadi, Shanvi, Rajendra Prasad, Vennela Kishor, Ahuti Prasad and others
Directed by : Jaya B
Produced by : BA Raju
Banner : RR Movie Makers
Music : Anup Rubens
Release Date : 2012-03-30

Sai Kumar's son Aadi, who made debut with Prema Kavali, did his second movie Lovely under Jaya's direction. Aadi impressed one and all with his energetic performance in Prema Kavali. Is he a one film wonder or does he have the mettle to become a bankable star? Lovely explores his casual side and let's see how he and the film fare?

What is it about?
Maharadhi (Rajendra Prasad) is a multi millionaire, who loves his daughter Lovely (Shanvi) more than anything. His daughter falls in love with Akash (Aadi). Maharadhi believes that his daughter's choice will be as good as his. But the first impression of Akash makes him rethink. He decides to observe Akash by staying along with him and we get to know that Maharadhi himself has a dark past. What is that and what happens to Akash's love story sums up Lovely.

Performances:
Aadi doesn't have a big frame, but can pull of action episodes and he also can dance like a livewire. He confidently carries his role, but he is yet to refine his skills as an actor. There is one very heavy emotional scene during the climax and Aadi comes up with a blank face. That is not a good sign for an actor.

Shanvi is cute, but doesn't have the oomph to lure the masses. She neither possesses any acting skills. She is just a nursery kid in terms of performance. Rajendra Prasad is alright as a caring father. But he failed to deliver a natural performance. Maybe the poor characterization didn't help him much.

Vennela Kishore and Chinmayi have done a decent job and are very compatible and complimented each other in comedy sequences. Ahuti Prasad is loud and Paruchuri Gopala Krishna is over the top.

On the Technical Front:

Technically Lovely comes up with a mixed show. Music by Anup Rubens is nice. Most of the songs are shot well and his compositions are very catchy. Lovely title song will haunt the viewers. BGM is not bad either. Dialogues are Okay.
Cinematography is average. It is good in songs with rich visuals, but looked cheap during the talkie portions. Editing is jerky. Director failed to generate the feel in the movie. The film lacked natural appeal and everything seemed dramatic. These type of films need sensible narration and Lovely lacked it completely.

Analysis:

Lovely in spite of having a decent storyline, which has shades of Bommarillu didn't click due to poor screenplay. Initial scenes that show the bond between father and daughter are very artificial. Audiences get disconnected with the film right away. The love story doesn't have the soul. Director never tried to show how strong their bond is.

Biggest drawback in this film is the father - daughter bond is never explored. They hardly share any scenes. Hence, the father's sacrifices for his daughter seem forced and out of place. Even the daughter speaks high about her father only in his presence (of course her character isn't aware of his presence), which is another reason for this relation and emotions to look unnatural.

There are numerous flaws in the screenplay and less talked about the climax is better. Except for songs and few comedic scenes, Lovely offers nothing novel. Moreover, most part of the film is extremely boring, very illogical and dramatically artificial. Lovely's future at box office looks gloomy and with so many big films lined up for release, it is ought to suffer 'sun stroke' in this hot summer.

Final Word: Lovely is a love story without soul!

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Danush 3 Movie Complete Review & NCB'S Ratings ( 3.5 / 5 )

Movie : 3
Starring: Dhanush,Shruti Hassan, Siva Karthikeyan

Director: Aishwarya Dhanush

Producer: Natti Kumar

Banner: R.K.productions Pvt Ltd

Music: Anirudh

NCB xclusively presents you the review of Dhanush and Shruthi Hassan starrer 3 Moonu directed by debutant Aishwarya R Dhanush.

Finally the Wait is over…..The KOLAVERI movie is here….. ’3′ hits the Screen,made by the ’3′ great artists who are the predecessors of ’3′ masters of Tamil Industry – Dhanush (son of Director KasthuriRaja who is also the producer of this movie),Shruti Hassan(Daughter of Kamalhassan), Aishwarya (Daughter of Rajnikanth as well as wife of Dhanush). Infact I didn’t find any other relation with this name and the movie….

The movie…its all about Ram (Dhanush) and Janani(Shruti) moving through all the feelings from their teenage +2 days till the tragedy after their marriage…and that is the suspense of the movie. The intro scene itself will give you a shock ,which is the funeral of Dhanush….ooohh ..I am sorry…I am not supposed this to say this…

The entire story runs in the Flashback….which is the real beauty and life of the movie. I am sure that everybody will resemble themselves to the teenage Ram who is driving a Yamaha RX100 bike,waiting under the tree for a passing look from the girl,joining the Tuition class with the best friend only to be with her for some time,and avoiding the best friend to have a ride in his bike with Girl friend…etc..etc.. These are the things to be highlighted about the 1st half,which made the movie…i should say THE BEST…

The 2nd half completely turns the mood and take you to another genre, which is the masterpiece of National Award Winner Dhanush – A Psychological Thriller. I really doubt about this phase which can entertain all the type of Audience because of a big transition,which is providing a Hot and Cold treatment with romance and bipolar disorder.

Dhanush lived in the character Ram,which resembles him to his ‘Thulluvatho Ilamai’ looks and ‘Kathal Kondein’ attitude. Shruti Hassan proved her acting skills specially in her teenage girl phase. Aishwarya surprised with her direction ability in the debut movie which is really appreciable. The main personality to be mentioned in Anirudh, the music Director. The boy made the world to dance with his Kolaveri Steps, pushed this movie to the next level with amazing background Scores. The BGM is a spicy add on to all the best scenes in this movie. There is a special applause goes to the parental characters did by Prabhu,Bhanupriya and Rohini. Altogether this is something changed the conventional patterns of tamil movie.Really Fresh

Verdict : Yo Soup Bwoys…it is SWEET and SOUR….. and TASTY

FROM OTHERS

Aishwarya Dhanush's 3 is an intense-romantic drama, which is youthful yet core. It can also be termed as an urban-centric film that chronicles a couple's three stages of being-in-love. The debutant director has etched a story - with limited characters - keeping the new-age sensibilities in mind and ensured to deliver what the modern-day men love to see on-screen. 

The movie, 3 begins on a death note and instantly tells the audience that the movie is not all about regular affair but there is something serious about it. But with in couple of minutes, a flashback takes us to a lively atmosphere where Ram (Dhanush) dressing up to go to college. On the rainy day, he leaves the house on his bike and sees a girl named Janani (Shruti Hassan) repairing her cycle in the middle of the traffic. It does not take much-time for him to fall in love, which makes to do the things what every boy does in the initial stage. 

In no time, their love blossoms and after facing some minor hurdles, Ram-Janani ties the knot. The first half of 3 goes like a usual love story, yet giving hints that the story takes a serious turn in the next half. In the second half, the tale takes a shocking twist where it is revealed that Ram is suffering from Bipolar Disorder, a psychological disease. Then, it subject focuses on his struggling to come out of the sufferings. The remaining part is advised to watch on-screen.

Aishwarya Dhanush's way of narration and maintaining the suspense till the end are impressive. She succeeds in the first half by keeping the story lively with some wonderfully written one-liners. The natural-progress of the love tale between the lead stars is interesting. But in the second half, she seems to have lost the grip on the script, as it is too dragging at parts. The filmmaker has convinced the two phases of the film 3 but the last stage somewhat fails to impressive the viewers.

Dhanush wins the heart with his impeccable acting. He reminds his looks of Thulluvadho Ilamai as a young boy in the first half and with his intense side of a mature man in the second. Especially, his performance in the climax scene and its penultimate sequence are heart warming. His co-star Shruti Hassan has equally compitated with him when it comes to performance. In fact, she has tried to give a natural touch to her role thereby avoiding overacting. Other actors like Prabhu, Bhanu Priya, Siva Karthikeyan have done justice to their roles.

Technically, the songs of 3 does not require introduction, as the audio of the film have become a massive hit. Especially, the track, 'Kolaveri di...' not only drew the nation's attention but our neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Srilanka. Cinematographer Velraj's work is praise worthy but Kota Bhaskar's editing is not up to mark. The editor could have easily reduced the movie by at least 10-12 minutes, as the film gets boring at parts. 

Verdict: On the whole, 3 has a engaging tale backed by wonferful performances of Dhanush and Shruti Hassan. The film gets 60 out of 100.

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21 Jump Street Movie Review & Rating (3.5/5)

RATING: 3.5/5

When I first came to know that (yet) another old TV show is dusted off for a big-screen adaptation, I wasn't that excited at all. After all, that show happens to be the once-popular 21 Jump Street which starred then-young Johnny Depp who became a star here before he gradually earned his distinctive reputation in the Hollywood cinema. Back then, the story about an undercover police unit composed of young-looking officers specializing in youth crime is refreshingly new. But now, it's seriously a worn-out cliche. Then there's the casting of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum -- oh, wait -- Channing Tatum does a comedy? I smell an immediate recipe for disaster here, but directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord's (2009's CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS) live-action debut here seriously caught me by surprise . For all those naysayers out there, this big-screen version of 21 JUMP STREET is surprisingly funny and very entertaining as well.

Like the TV show, the movie revolves around Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum), two young-looking cops who both transferred to the 21 Jump Street division where they will be going undercover posing as students to infiltrate the drugs-dealing business that has been going on at a local high school. Both of them go by their names of Doug and Brad, and once there, they must find way to investigate the rampant use of a dangerous hallucinogenic called H.F.S. Their first lead is a dealer and classmate Eric (Dave Franco), whom they are trying to get close with, in hope that one day he will lead them to the mysterious supplier.

Story-wise, Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill's screenplay is actually nothing new at all. But what makes it refreshingly different than most like-minded script out there is the way how the execution is played out in such a hilarious manner. While there are times the script is trying too hard to be funny, rest assured most of the scenes never fail to elicit some genuine laughs. Thanks to the hard R-rating, Bacall and Jonah Hill let the story rip with all those colorful profanities like nobody's business. Added to that, is some of the worthwhile self-parody gags throughout the movie, especially the highway car chase scene involving the theory of exploding vehicles.

Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller knows well how to keep the pace as entertaining as possible, while the cast here are no doubt the main star attraction here. Jonah Hill proves once again he's one of the genuine comic talents working today, but it was Channing Tatum who totally hits the ballpark with his surprisingly hilarious performance. Personally, I always thought Tatum's acting skill is always wooden at any given genre he's been involving so far (action, drama, romance) but he's finally proved himself as an excellent performer. In fact, both he and Jonah Hill are terrific together. And that's not all -- the rest of the supporting cast are equally playful and memorable as well, including Brie Larson as love interest Molly and Ice Cube at his profane best as Captain Dickson.

Apart from a flair of comedy, Phil Lord and Chris Miller does show some genuine talents in term of delivering well-crafted action sequence. Case in point is the aforementioned highway car chase scene and the violent shootout finale. Overall, 21 JUMP STREET is one of the best action comedy movies really need to be checked out for. And while you're at it, there's a surprise cameo appearance (priceless, indeed) throughout the movie.

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'This Means War' 2012 Movie Review & Ratings (1/5)

RATING: 1/5

Crude, childish, uninspired, lazy, awful... I can go on and on, because McG's latest action-romantic-comedy THIS MEANS WAR sees him hits a new low since 2003's CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE. On paper, THIS MEANS WAR looks gamely potential: it has three charming leads of Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon and a high-concept premise that recalls the work of TRUE LIES (1994)and MR. & MRS. SMITH (2005). Too bad what is presented on screen is completely a garbled mess that neither funny or romantic. Even McG botched big-time the way he orchestrated the action sequences. Well, something is terribly wrong here...

Meanwhile, here's the story: FDR (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are best friends who both work as secret agents for the CIA. They are very good on what they does, except they are kind of loose cannons. Following from a botched assignment in Hong Kong that saw international hit man Heinrich's (Til Schweiger) brother gets killed, both of them are immediately grounded at their Los Angeles headquarters and reduced to office duty. Then one day both of them decide to try online dating to get their potential soulmate. Through a series of coincidences, both of them end up dating Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), a career-driven woman has a wonderful job testing consumer products. Actually it was Tuck the one who first met Lauren through a popular dating website where they have a brief but memorable coffee date before she bumps into FDR at the video store and flirts with him over the debates of Alfred Hitchcock's movies. Not surprisingly, FDR falls for her at the first sight and decides to ask her out. When both of them finally realize they've been chasing the same woman, they strike a gentleman's agreement that they will both keep dating Lauren and let her pick the best man. Of course, they start to play dirty by using every state-of-the-art tool at their disposal to gain Lauren's attention until one day, Heinrich has made his comeback to plot a revenge against FDR and Tuck for causing his brother's death.

Despite the involvement of screenwriter Simon Kinberg, who also responsible for that 2005's box-office hit, MR. & MRS. SMITH, it's very sad to see the plot is as if written by an amateur who is just experiencing puberty. I mean, the way how FDR and Tuck deal against each other to win Lauren's heart cries total juvenile in their actions. Even at one point, Lauren screams, "You have the emotional maturity of a 15-year-old!" to FDR after his attempt to impress her is too shallow for her liking. If Kinberg, co-writer Timothy Dowling and director McG are somewhat trying to ape screwball approach here, well, they have totally misjudged all those childish gags as good sense of humor. Okay, there are some minor chuckles here and there (in which you have already seen them one times too many in the heavily-promoted trailer) but most of them are just shockingly dull and unfunny. And same goes for the tasteless romance too.

Then there's the clumsily-edited action sequences. It's kind of shocking to see McG, who previously shown some of those flairs in 2009'sTERMINATOR SALVATION, is totally lost here. All the potential excitements here are frantically shot with lots of intense close-ups and rapid-fire editing as if McG is rushing to the finish line.

But the most embarrassing of all are the wasted talents of Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon here who obviously made a total fool of themselves playing adult roles with a mind of -- here I go again -- 15-year-old juvenile kids. All three of them may have been easy on the eyes, but their ill-fated performances are simply amateurish. Not even the presence of normally-perky Reese Witherspoon (a veteran in romantic comedy genre) can saves this pile of junk here. Sure, she does look a lot more sassy and sexy than usual but that's just about it. Til Schweiger, on the other hand, appears nothing but a thankless role as a cardboard villain.

THIS MEANS WAR is seriously a monumental waste of time. Even if it's meant as a movie not to be taken seriously, it's still an overblown piece of cinematic embarrassment.

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One for the money (2012) Movie Review & Rating (2/5)

RATING: 2/5

Believe it or not, the big screen adaptation of ONE FOR THE MONEY, which was based on the first novel in Janet Evanovich's best-selling series of novels featuring feisty bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, has been in development for nearly two decades. But despite all the time invested and potential franchise might be in bloom (since Evanovich has went on publishing 18 successful novels and still counting), it's sad to say that ONE FOR THE MONEY is nothing more than a strictly by-the-numbers effort weakened by predictable script and forgettable characters.

The movie follows the (mis)adventures of a New Jersey native Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) who has been out of work for 6 months after losing her job as a Macy's lingerie manager and she is also desperately out of cash to pay her bills. After witnessing through the window as her car is being towed away, the only way she can hope to get fast cash is convinced her cousin Vinnie (Patrick Fischler), who is a bail bondsman, to give her a job as a bounty hunter. Coincidentally, she finds out that former lover Joe Morelli (Jason O'Mara), who once broke her heart in high school, is among the most wanted man who is $50,000 worth of bounty. With such huge reward, she is determined to find and capture him at all cost, only to find out that the case isn't exactly what it seems at the first place.

Veteran TV director Julie Anne Robinson (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice) and screenwriters Liz Brixius, Karen Ray and Stacy Sherman doesn't make much effort in this movie other than throwing everything but the kitchen sink. Most of the comedy elements are as pedestrian as they goes, while the story is all painfully corny. Not only that, the movie slogs along lazily with tepid romance between Katherine Heigl and Jason O'Mara, and even the action scenes are so disappointingly brief, yet unexciting.

The cast, in the meantime, are mostly mediocre. As Stephanie Plum, Katherine Heigl is attractive enough to watch for. But despite her attempt to play a feisty bounty hunter with penchant for dressing sexily, she isn't sexy or funny enough to make her character memorable. Instead she comes across more like a hysterical, sitcom-variety caricature while her Jersey accent is terribly unconvincing. Jason O'Mara is rugged enough to pull off a good heartbreaker, even though his character is largely forgettable while the rest of the supporting actors are all wasted with underwritten roles.

Given its poor box-office run in the U.S. (with a mere $19.6 million) since its original release a few months back in late January, any chance of expanding the franchise is highly unlikely. Personally, I think this one seriously needs a fine-tuning reboot sometimes in the future (provided if that ever happen).

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Saif Ali khan and Kareena kapoor (Bebo) Agent Vinod Review & Rating

  Starring – Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Banner – Illuminati Films, Rising Sun Entertainment
Genre – Action / Spy thriller
Music – Pritam
Producer – Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan
Director – Sriram Raghavan
 Rating - 2.75/5

 

Sriram Raghavan and Saif Ali Khan’s ‘Agent Vinod’ that took more than expected time to complete takes all the more time to actually forever to finish on-screen. Let it be the interval or the climax, you just wanted the film to end. Two hours forty minute is a little too long for the thriller and this is just one of the woes that the film suffers from. Though, it does has a few ups to. Read on to find out.


Story:
The film has a been-there seen-that story of an Indian RAW Agent who is on a mission to crack a code that leads to a nuclear attack on the country’s capital New Dehli. A few betrayals, loopholes, and finally, Agent Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) manages to diffuse the bomb with Iram Parveen Bilal’s (Kareena Kapoor) help.


Analysis:
'Agent Vinod’ starts on a promising note in Afghanistan where a Vinod is trapped by at a Lashkar hideout. He along with his team member Rajan Gandhi (Ravi Kissen) find a way out of it with bullet firing and bombings. The movie has traces of the Bond series, Raghavan’s ‘Ek Hasina Thi’, Anubhav Sinha’s ‘Dus’ and Mani Shankars’ ’16 December’. The film has a few moments that are really good and you want them to stay but the graph isn’t stable and has its ups and downs. The film also had a number of loopholes, with unexplained situations, wasted actors and so on.


Performances:
Saif Ali Khan is his usual self in the film not too good, not too bad. His dialogue delivery entertains but then again in parts. Kareena Kapoor could not play her part confidently as we have seen her playing ‘Geet’ from ‘Jab We Met’ or ‘Naina’ from ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’. She was really out of her comfort zone and we could see that. Though, there were moments when she was good. Also, in her mujra song, she was sweet rather than seductive that she was meant to be. Ram Kapoor played his cameo really well and so did Gulshan Grover and Prem Chopra. Adil Hussain was impressive as the bad guy. Maryam Zakaria and Malika Haydon were decent in their item numbers.


Technicalities:
Director Raghavan puts in the tried and tested Bollywood formula and that is where he totally spoils it. The film drags a lot. A few camera angles were interesting and picturization of a few scenes steals the show. Cinematography is like most bond movies but is good. Pritam’s music is average and Mika’s ‘Pyaar Ki Pungi’ is the best. Bebo’s mujra is strictly okay. Saif and Bebo’s chemistry though makes it a good watch. A few dialogues too are entertaining and the climax is pretty much predictable.


Plus points: 
Few camera angles, a few dialogues, Saif and Bebo’s chemistry and ofcourse, Ram Kapoor (you can practically watch the movie for him)


Minus Points:
stretched, clichéd


Final Word: 
The film is strictly a once watch!!

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Salman's Bodyguard Hindi Movie Review

Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Babbar, 

Asrani, Mahesh Manjrekar, Aditya Pancholi, Chetan Hansraj

Directed by Siddique

The beauty of a Salman Khan film is that it doesn't claim to be anything but just that. But when you pack in sappy melodrama, clichéd characterisation, a pathetic love story and action scenes choreographed in outer space, not even a Katrina Kaif item number can save the day.
The film is based on the life of a certain Lovely Singh (Salman Khan) who is, (as his name suggests?), a bodyguard. An unshakeable, unbreakable, fighting machine, who leaps out of a train to land on top of another zipping through in the opposite direction. David Blaine: be ashamed, be very ashamed.
Lovely's first vulgar display of power is when he swings by a certain port to rescue a group of girls being trafficked to Thailand in a container. After busting several noses and cracking a dozen skulls, one of the baddies unleashes a huge container that lands on Lovely. But our Superman without a cape is indestructible and the container carrying a million thermocol balls is smashed across. Human trafficking: understandable. Smuggling a million thermocol balls: one wild party in Thailand?
Soon Lovely is commissioned to protect the daughter of a very eminent master of the universe (or atleast of a small village in India), Sartaj Rana (Raj Babbar). Following Bollywood's guideline for clichés, Lovely has a history that has left him forever indebted to the great Rana. Anyway, the daughter in question is Divya (Kareena Kapoor) who's mostly occupied doing girly things with her live-in friend played by Hazel Keech. After much-half-hearted-opposition, Lovely is employed to protect Divya, a duty performed mostly by walking around her with shoulders arched like a lobster.
Before we know it, the emotionless Lovely turns down-right spastic as he falls in love with an anonymous girl who stalks him by calling him about 3528 times a day. An obnoxiously fat excuse for a comedian plays an odd sidekick to Lovely as passage of time becomes extremely painful. How the film concludes won't make it to Kaun Banega Crorepati's first round of questions but those who brave to sit through this can surely crack 'Who Dares Wins'.
Things about 'Bodyguard' that are incomprehensible or retarded or both: 1. Each time Lovely gets a phone call his body jerks ahead like someone has kicked his behind. 2. There is a quirky scene involving a remote controlled helicopter that is let loose on Divya. As it slashes through fruits, furniture, the special effects are tacky enough for it to seem like a housefly that can be easily swatted down.
Among the performances, Salman translates innocence with idiotic grins and expressions that can't be briefed here. Kareena's character is not important enough to be able to decide the fate of this film. Raj Babbar only reinforces the logic behind him being scarce in films, drifting between loud and controlled hamming.
The music covers the landscape, from the chirpy, 'I love you' to the full-blast disco-dhol number, 'Desi Beats'. When director Siddique said that Salman Khan will be seen here in an avatar he has never been seen in, he wasn't lying. But the pertinent question is, do we want to see Salman in an emotionally challenged, Forest Gump-ish state?

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Movie Review : That Girl In Yellow Boots

  Director :  Anurag Kashyap
Music : Naren Chandavarkar
Starring :  Kalki Koechlin, Naseruddin Shah, Shiv Subramaniyam, Divya Jagdale, Kumud Mishra, Prashant Prakash, Gulshan Devaiya, Kartik Krishnan, Mushtaq Khan, Ronit Roy, Makrand Deshpande and Rajat Kapoor 

Dark.Disturbing.Distressing.Kudos to Anurag Kashyap for handling such a volatile subject with deadpan honesty. Kalki Koechlin hits the high note with this daring performance handling the emotions that come her way with immense maturity. Your heart goes out to her as Ruth who comes to India from the UK in search of her father. All she wants is to be loved and love in return. She misses that stability of a father's presence in her life and though she hardly remembers her father, she knows she now needs him in her life. She was five when her father left the family and her 15-year-old step sister was involved in a 'sexual mishap'. That incident scarred her for life and she is in search of answers, which brings her in search of her father.

What Anurag Kashyap tried to experiment with in NO SMOKING, he has succeeded with THAT GIRL IN YELLOW BOOTS. Kashyap is known for experimenting with alternate cinema throwing in that shock value. With this film, he shocks. BIG TIME. And the shock absorbed by the central character Ruth, played by Kalki and the way she handles it is stupefying to say the least. Kashyap has taken care of the little things that form the larger picture on the screen that adds value to an emotion.

Kalki's Ruth is actually an extension of DEV D, another Anurag Kashyap film. In DEV D, Kalki as Chanda works as a prostitute by night to fund her studies after being disowned by her family after being trapped in an MMS scandal. Here, she lands a job in a massage parlour without a work permit. She has all sorts of customers coming for her 'services'.

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Thala Ajith's Mankatha Tamil Movie Review Read This Superb

Starring: Ajith Kumar, Trisha, Arjun, Andrea Jeremiah, Lakshmi Rai, Premji, Anjali, Vaibhav 
Direction: Venkat Prabhu
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production: Dayanidhi Azhagiri, (Cloud Nine Movies)

Mankatha after having played 'uLLe veLiye' for quite a while, strikes finally, AND in style! For his golden jubilee flick, Ajith, the 'golden hearted' lad of Tamil cinema teams up with the uber cool Venkat Prabhu and his gang of boys and the effect is exciting to say the least.

When you have the handsome Vinayak Mahadev (Ajith) team himself with a few boys on his 'Money' mission and when there is cop Prithviraj (Arjun) who is hot on their trail, what you get is a heady cocktail of events that suck you into the premise of Mankatha albeit a bit late.

For Venkat Prabhu, it is a huge responsibility to fuse in his irreverent style of film making with the sensibilities of Ajith's image and the director has not compromised one bit here and kudos to him for this.
Mankatha unfolds languorously and takes its own sweet time to establish the premise when the major portion of the first half keep flitting in between many tracks with three romances. When you start wondering whether the movie is going anywhere at all, it shifts to third gear to be only brought down by a song or two. And when the director finally decides to cast everything else away and focus on the central plot, the story takes an interesting detour and mutates into a Grand Prix race all the way from the second half with Venkat Prabhu reserving all his aces for the climax.

There is always no dearth of humor in Venkat Prabhu's films but in Mankatha it is a bit muted when compared to his other works. Mostly the comic lines are at the expense of Premji and the best example is his analogy with Youtube sensation Sam Anderson. Dialogues like - "Light pottutu daan otta koodadhu, lightaa pottutu ottalam" bring cheers. And the typical Venkat Prabhu's conceptualization of humor in a serious situation still finds place but they are few.

The cat and the mouse game is exciting and the best part is you are never able to realize how many cats and mice are involved in the game. Even better is the fact that you cannot be quite sure of who is playing the double cross on whom and it is not until the final frame that you can put all the pieces together. Hats off to Venkat Prabhu for keeping the audience guessing all the way and scripting an absolute cracker of a climax! The chess board sequence just before the interval block is unique and intelligent. 

The portions that looked unnecessary additions in the first half are all neatly explained in the context of things at the end, leaving no loose ends. 

With an ensemble cast, there is every likelihood that at least a few would be relegated to the sidelines but all of them are there deservedly.  

When we talk about performances, Ajith is unarguably the pièce de résistance of Mankatha and it is his uninhibited performance that captivates the audience. For him, it is a superb knock on the field well laid out by Venkat Prabhu. He simply sizzles in his action shots and his cute expressions in dance sequences are a revelation. The consistency in Ajith's characterization is a major plus for the film. Next to Ajith, it is action king Arjun who has held on to his fort. Premji, Jaiprakash, Vaibhav, Mahat and Ashwin round out the supporting cast who blend in with ease with the story. As it is a men's film, women have nothing to do in Mankatha.

On the downside, the number of gun battles and their lengths may tire you a bit and the vital heist which should have been extremely powerful lacks the fizz. Songs are not a value addition to the film at all and are mostly road blocks sans 'Machi open the bottle'.

Success of a cinematographer and editor lies in their unobtrusive work in sync with the subject, and cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan and editors Praveen & Srikanth score in this department.

"Unakku ide maadiri 500 pondaati kedappa daa." - with this dialogue, Ajith completes his mission of breaking all the syntax of a Tamil hero and has gone on to prove that an actor should strictly treat the script as the hero. Take a bow Ajith! It is a memorable 50^th film indeed.

What i say: Ajith's 'Golden' gamble with Venkat that has paid off !

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