September 2006
Monthly Archive
Sun 17 Sep 2006
Not a sequel, nor a prequel, “Lage Raho Munnabhai” (aka Munnabhai Meets Mahatma Gandhi) is an uplifting equal. Munna & Circuit, the lovable thug & his yes-can-do sidekick return from their original iconic outing (Munnabhai MBBS) for another roller-coaster of a comedy that you will not forget for days to come.
Multi-hyphenate Rajkumar Hirani & producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra are a bunch of smart cookies – they did not revisit the same sets as the original (the downside associated with such sequels are legendary), but in fact have cut and pasted the crowd-pleasing duo (with their personalities in tact) on to a different board (a la “A Fish Called Wanda” & “Fierce Creatures”. This also allowed them to bypass the terribly unbecoming Gracy Singh from the original in favour of the fantastic Vidya Balan). Most of the other actors from the original return in various avatars for the second innings. The results are simply terrific!
LRM has Boman Irani as an unscrupulous building contractor Lucky Singh, who has Munnabhai & Circuit on his payroll to do his unlawful biddings. One such errand involves clearing out a bungalow full of elderly bunch who are being taken care of by a lovely radio jockey Jhanvi (Vidya Balan). In a twist of fate, Jhanvi is the voice that Munnabhai is besotted with to the point where he lies that he is a history professor specializing in Mahatma Gandhi. That lie costs him hours at a monumental library soaking up details of the great pacifist leader, as a result of which Munna starts seeing Gandhi in person. The father of the nation begins imparting him his experiements with truth which Munna heartily implements to often hilarious effect.
The diamond maybe flawed, but it is brilliant nonetheless. Few clichéd & teary-eyed moments do not alter the film’s ingenuity which is transplanting familiar characters into a new setting while retaining the core spirit of the original, a simple narrative is employed for a complex storyline, film is played to the galleries & the intelligentsia alike dishing out philosophical musings with considerable charm without going overboard on the preachiness or the ham-factor (two things that usually plague a cocktail of this ilk). Points about country’s state, corruption, superstition, blind faith in astrologers and gurus etc are all put across emphatically with tongue firmly in cheek.
Sanjay Dutt is flawless as Munnabhai, the short-fused goon with a heart as big as a crop circle. Arshad Warsi has been given wider exposure, and he doesn’t disappoint. His rapid fire quips and solutions-per-second antics keeps the crowd in splits. Matching them in beauty and talent is the bewitching Vidya Balan. Dilip Prabhavalkar as Mahatma Gandhi is serviceable. Only Boman Irani disappoints as the scheming Lucky Singh, as his histrionics sometimes take a plunge in river camp.
Writer-editor-director Rajkumar Hirani is in complete control of the project and technically well experienced. His creative envisioning of a pedestrian song “samjho ho hi gaya” that converts the drab surroundings into a brilliantly lit wedding set in a blink of an eye (without ever calling attention to itself) speaks volumes of his expertise in all the machinations of filmmaking. With people like Hirani, there is hope yet for Bollywood.
RUNTIME: 130 Mins.
CAST: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan
DIRECTOR: Rajkumar Hirani
Sun 10 Sep 2006
Not likely to stoke the same level of enthusiasm that MAY sparked, the most anticipated feature from Lucky McKee leaves the faithful standing naked in a cold monsoon shower. Aside from it’s obvious Argento influence, the presence of iconic cult star Bruce Campbell as a cast member was reason enough to ensure a mile long drool. Unfortunately, the sum of good parts does not a satisfactory movie make.
Heather (Agnes Bruckner) is a problem child with a fascination for burning places down. Her parents (Emma Campbell & Bruce Campbell) bring her to an all-girls private academic institution located deep in the woods, and run by the unruffled Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson) and her bunch of anally-wound teachers. Of course, the academy has a dark past that comes a knocking on the unfortunate of the students (talk about twigs going bump in the night!), and it is up to our intrepid heroine to reach to the bottom of the mystery, while clashing with the resident bully (who re-christens her “fire crotch”), creepy teachers that will not stand her tardiness (Marcia Bennett as the tic-ing Ms. Mackinaw sends a shiver down the spine and out the kazoo) and to prevent further students from ending up as dead foliage in their beds.
Firstly, let me tell you what there is to like in “The Woods” – it is pretty eerie, the lighting and visuals are dark and foreboding, the performances of the key players are note-worthy, and the music is simply fantastic (special mention to the choir music). A feeling of dread is constantly in the air. Where this film also scores is when it doesn’t try to be a horror film and deals with the pains of being a teenager – the normal conversations between the girls, family backgrounds, silly fears, emotional outbursts etc are really engaging.
What prevents this gothic chiller from going for the jugular are clichéd ‘boo’ moments, non-complimentary SFX and some terribly corny dialogues that result in unintentional moments of hilarity. Besides that the gap between the thrills and the spills is too long. For an “R” rated film, it feels like a PG-13 picnic (except for the climax). Lastly, not enough screen-time is allotted to Bruce Campbell who gets to chew only a boundary of the scenery (a sequence of peril has him utter a couple of exquisite one-liners).
For the die-hards and to those that have no inkling to the director’s previous body of work, THE WOODS might come across as refreshingly different. For those who have savoured every bit of MAY and/or fans of Bruce Campbell, it will be a terrible let-down. Imagine Neill Marshall having directed THE CAVE instead of THE DESCENT. Get the drift?
RUNTIME: 92 mins.
MPAA RATING: R for horror violence and language, including sexual references.
CAST: Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Bruce Campbell
DIRECTOR: Lucky McKee
Sat 2 Sep 2006
Vishal Bhardwaj has become something of a desi Kenneth Branagh. He has developed a knack for undertaking Shakespearean plays and moulding them suitably in unusual Indian set-ups. His previous outing was setting Macbeth in the Mumbai underworld (MAQBOOL) - and he had done a fabulous job. His second is an adaptation of Othello with a distinct UP flavour. Although the cook-up tastes great, it still leaves a lil’ something to be desired.
Everyone who’s been to school, and read any version of Shakespeare’s tragedies would know what Othello is all about. If not, you might have seen the Laurence Fishburne-Kenneth Branagh film version, or the high-school setting intriguingly titled “O” with Mekhi Pfifer-Julia Stiles.
Omkara’s version sees the titular character (Ajay Devgan) as a half-caste who is also the trusted right hand to a jailed powerful politician. He has a small army of goons to do the politico’s needful, among whom Kesu Firangi (Viveik Oberoi) and Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) are his trusted loyal aides. Problems start brewing when after winning the local elections, Omi is promoted to be the politician’s local link, and he in turn appoints Kesu, rather than Tyagi as his chief lieutenant.
Tyagi’s wounded pride takes on a darker shade, and he set’s upon a path where the power of a word well placed can result in a blood-soaked tragic climax.
It’s a difficult adaptation - Othello is a dark play with varied psychological shades to it. Add to it the fact that the Hindi version is set in the rustic soils of Uttar Pradesh with an authentic UP dialect sewn with heaps of expletives. The director who actually started his career as a gifted music-director, has an uneviable job of juggling musical score, writing & directing credits. He is quite capable, but the canvas of his current affair is much grander than his previously tightly-budgeted Maqbool. And a few cracks show.
Ajay Devgan is spot on to play the simmering Othello, and to a certain extent he plays that part wonderfully. His body language, and his steely gaze make sure that he means business. But there was much work needed for his gradual transformation from a doting sensible lover to a monster consumed by jealous rage and suspicion.
Saif Ali Khan steals the entire show with his hypnotically conniving and crafty Tyagi. He has invested a lot of effort in bringing out a character that you begin to hate with a passion. His body language, the effortless ease with which he mouths the UP dialect (trust me - it’s no mean job) and his chameleonesque shades just cement his reputation as a consummate actor of high calibre.
Konkona Sen Sharma as the Langda Tyagi’s unwitting accomplice is another scene stealer who truly shines out from the rest of the crowd, and that inspite of having a subsidized role.
Viveik Oberoi as Kesu & Bipasha Basu (in a sp. appearance) as his mistress Billo ChamanBahar are adequate. Kareena Kapoor as Dolly works well with her character but comes up short in lending authenticity to her role. She does shares a good chemistry with Devgan though. Naseeruddin Shah is good but has been cast in an inconsequential role.
Cinematography, costumes, set-designs & music (except for the incompatibly rousing orchestrations) are all commendable. The songs, on the other hand could’ve been done away with entirely - they hamper the proceedings (especially an ill-timed title song filmed during a violent scuffle).
In conclusion, the small faults not withstanding, this is a terrific work and a must see on every cineaste’s list.
Runtime: 151 mins.
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Sat 2 Sep 2006
“Man never listens”, is narrated at the beginning of M.Night Shyamalan’s latest offering. Prophetic words where this film is concerned! Although aware of all the muck that Shyamalan’s latest had been critically awarded, I was reluctant to buy the bad vibes. You see, I’m one of those who just happened to like “The Village”.
But this time round the critics were right - there are no words to describe how terrible this film is. Truly wonder if I could do any justice either, since it has already been torn to shreds by the best in film criticism. My heart bleeds for the likes of Paul Giamatti & Jeffrey Wright (two awesome talents), who were misled into this project. For chrissakes, didn’t anyone see the rushes at all?
It is purported to be a modern day fable - probably made for cable. I mean, this thing wouldn’t get past the HBO’s office peon. I was found to be alternately abusive (at the exploitation of such good actors) and laughing (at the hokey script and dialogues) while viewing the flick.
Plotwise (dear JC, need I really?) it’s abt a building supe (Paul Giamatti) who comes across a sea nymph known as a “narf” (here I go laughing my ass off!) in his swimming pool! (gimme a sec guys, while I collect myself).
Where was I? Oh yeah, this sea nymph (anaemic-looking Bryce Dallas Howard) has come to relay something of significance to a vessel (not a commode), and is being threatened by the wolf-like grassy creatures called “scrunts” (shit! this is too funny).
So, anyways - our supe along with some people staying at the motel decides to help this lady in her goal , and send her back (with an eagle, no less) without letting the fearsome scrunts have their way with her. Seriously, that is the plot (which I believe was zealously guarded during the shoot. They shouldn’t have bothered). There’s bit more - but am not interested in going about it.
Pros - very meagre, gotta scrape the surface. The SFX (scrunt effects), perhaps?
Cons - Where do I begin? Bad characterizations (one dimensional?), some major miscasting (WTF is Shyamalan doing in this film? Dude’s a constipated performer of a special order), nauseatingly cliched dialogues mouthed by straigh-faced veterans, annoying characters (Bob Balaban as an anal film critic. Shyamalan is makin a very strong point with this character) and a flow that would make Ed Wood prance with glee.
A movie so bad, from a director who’s highly regarded, with couple of actors that are pure gold is gonna jump start the home version of the drive-in midnight madness, and gain cult status in the process!
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some frightening sequences.
Runtime: 110 mins.
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sarita Choudhary
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
