Director-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra disappoints in one of the year’s most eagerly awaited film. With a storyline that plays out like an epic Greek tragedy rife with scandal, deceit, murder, mayhem, vengeance, and performances that simply beg for awards, Vinod Chopra squanders the opportunity by being self-indulgent and pretentious.

Eklavya is an aging royal guardsman to the now-defunct monarchy of Devigarh, whose nominal head, King Jayawardhan is shown at the onset of reels passionately choking the life out of his ailing wife while his retarded daughter watches in stupefied silence. The Queen dies whispering Eklavya’s name.

Death of the queen signals the return of the prodigal son, Prince Harshwardhan, who learns a secret or two that have been hidden from him since birth. Events are acclerated as greed breeds enmity, and knives are drawn against unsuspecting targets. Deaths are inevitable, and so is vengeance in this dark and brooding tale that feels overdrawn even at a mere 100 minutes.

Two noteworthy scenes - one involving a flying pigeon and a blindfolded Eklavya, and another, the climactic sequence that involves Eklavya, a no-gooder and a moving train, are simply jaw-dropping.

In a film that revolves around Amitabh’s Eklavya, it was highly unnecessary to pepper the remainder of the cast with likes of such talents as Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan etc. But to be fair, the cast have turned in terrific turns despite their brief roles.

Boman Irani as the mad-with-vengeance monarch Jayawardhan delivers the requisite complexity to his role without going overboard. Sanjay Dutt as the lovable cop ACP Chauhar is a riot. Saif Ali Khan is suitable restrained as the conflicted Prince Harshwardhan. Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Shergill lend able support.

Now to the major role - Amitabh Bachchan as Eklavya is totally in character from the word go, but has not delivered anything exemplary. He is a veteran of his craft, and as such, plays out his character as required by the script, but there are no individualistic quirks or ticks that would render him unique. He is good but not mind blowing.

Camerawork is exemplary with favourable support from music and art direction. Production values are top-notch. Editing could’ve used a bit of supervising, and the writing could’ve done with a bit of tweaking.

Film has the feel of a Shakespearean play and features heavy exposition that would’ve been at home on a stage rather than the screen.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a highly regarded director in Bollywood, and therefore will retain that respect inspite of personal projects like EKLAVYA.

VERDICT: EKLAVYA is not a bad film, but is not a film that I can recommend either.

DURATION: 100 mins.
CAST: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan
DIRECTOR: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Severance is gory, funny, and clever by half. It is what SLITHER was aiming to be, and what HOSTEL should have been. Balancing comedy and horror is not an easy task, but the director does it effortlessly and admirably without venturing into camp.

A British defense company, Palisade Defense, sends a bunch of its employees to a retreat in an east European country, where they are to indulge in some R & R and some team building. The squabbling cluster end up in a hostile territory after their ticked off non-english driver dumps them and takes off. A hike through the woods brings them to a dilapidated lodge that may well be the dwelling of a lurking serial killer.

The motley staff comprise a clueless-but-I-am-in-charge team leader Richard (Tim McInnerny), his butt-kissing subordinate Gordon (Andy Nyman), the resignatory voice of reason Billy (Babou Ceesay), the caustic and defiant Harris (Toby Stephens), the nerdy Jill (Claudie Blakley), the office-hottie Maggie (Laura Harris) and the pot-headed but affable Steve (Danny Dyer).

As if the crappy lodge wasn’t bad enough, the staff are getting picked one by one as somebody has it real bad for Palisade Defense and its employees.

Sequences worth repeat plays - a rocket testing that brings to mind the famous quotes, “I shot an arrow in the air…”, and a fight sequence involving a hunting knife is totally blade-in-cheek.

Film also has a strong message to deliver which it does in big block letters.

The director and one-half of the writing team, Christopher Smith (CREEP), handles the funny, dramatic & horrific moments with aplomb keeping the pacing tight, the tension taut, the tender moments sensitive and the laughs coming at regular intervals. Most of the bellyfuls actually come at tense moments - and to his credit, the director never lets the genres spill into each other (no moment will induce an un-intentioned audience response).

The ensemble cast deliver uniformly able perfomances, with no one trying to overshadow or outshine the other.

Technically, film bears a polished look, and has been superbly lensed, expertly edited, with a dollop of nauseatingly good visual effects and a fantastic score. The opening gory sequence is set to a feel good soundtrack thereby setting the comedic tone for the entire flick.

VERDICT: If you thought SHAUN OF THE DEAD was funny, SEVERANCE is pretty delirious.

MPAA RATING: Not Rated
DURATION: 95 mins.
CAST: Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Danny Dyer
DIRECTOR: Christopher Smith

Blazing promos don’t necessarily translate into a memorable film - something that holds true for this long delayed super hero production. Problem lays in the scripting and pacing department - a blame that can be squarely laid at director Mark Steven Johnson’s feet, whose previous work, DAREDEVIL, didn’t exactly set the box office on fire.

Johnny Blaze, a teenage stunt rider, unwittingly trades off his soul to the devil to save his cancer-stricken father. Though cured, father is still snatched away by the reaper in a stunt gone awry. If that isn’t heart breaking enough, young Johnny also misses out on the love of his life Roxanne, who shuttles away to another city.

Many years later, Johnny Blaze is a death defying (literally) stunt rider whose reputation borders on legendary. Re-enter Roxanne, as a reporter who wishes to interview him, and in the process rekindles old flames. To put a damper on all the fun, Devil has a mutiny on his hands from his son Blackheart, who wants to bring in the end of days a bit earlier than expected and dethrone his father. So, the fiery old bugger calls upon Blaze to be his bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider, and send Blackheart and his cronies back to Hellsville. GR also has to deliver the San Veganza contract which gives huge power to whosoever owns it.

In between all this, a cemetary caretaker seems to know a lot about Blaze’s dilemma, and offers some clues and useful hints about being a Ghost Rider. The old flame or being inflamed - what will Johnny choose?

As the titutal character, Nic Cage simply doesn’t cut it as the Ghost Rider, because it requires an over-the-top scenery chewing performance which the talented actor fails to deliver - this role was meant for the likes of Colin Farrell. But to be fair to Cage, he tries hard enough.

Eva Mendes as his love interest Roxanne, provides oomph and has nothing else to do except look good in figure hugging low-cut dresses.

Wes Bentley is god awful as Blackheart, and his cronies steal away his thunder - especially the earthy demon.

The only ones to register impact - Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles and Sam Elliott as the care taker. Peter Fonda was an unusual choice to play the devil, but he does it admirably - with a special mention to his intimdating low-key grunt. Sam Elliott on the other hand is a charismatic actor, whose presence is welcome in any drabby affair.

Pros - For the less discerning crowd, Eva Mendes’ attractive racks and the SFX laden action set pieces should be a rewarding experience. Some funny sequences have their moments.

Cons - The SFX has been inadequately rendered (its quite obvious that the flames are CGI).
Major flaws in screenwriting department (handled by MSJ himself) should have been handled by executive producer David S. Goyer, who knows a thing or two about grim super heroes.

Verdict - This flambe is not so hot.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for horror violence and disturbing images.
CAST: Nicolas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda
DIRECTOR: Mark Steven Johnson

A timely statement on the role that the media plays in our lives, and how it can be used/abused if you just know how to play them. As the title suggests, the breaking news that rankles the police department involves some heavily armed thieves who make good their escape from Inspector Cheung and his men, but not before a policeman who begs for mercy is humbled by the leader in front of the TV cameras (thereby seriously tarnishing the image of the cops in the eyes of the media and people). Suddenly HK is not a safe city anymore, and legislative enquiries are set in motion. The police department decide to use the very media that has tainted them to clean up their reputation.

Commissioner Rebecca Fong leads every security unit at her disposal (OCBs, CIDs, PTUs & SDUs), short of the military, to cordon off a residential apartment complex, where the bank robbers and coincidentally a couple of contract killers, are laying low. Against the backdrop of a swarm of reporters, news channels and news agencies, a “show” of strength is played out, where guns and explosions rock the complex and criminals hold hostage, buy time, play the media and try to make their getaway. Against all the mayhem, a committed cop Cheung and his motley crew fend off bullets, grenades, orders and other units, to march on ahead to “nail those bastards” at any cost. Everything and everyone turns a shade of grey before the film reaches the climax.

Richie Jen as Yuen, the leader of the robbers comes across as soft spoken, charming and thoroughly intelligent, who is always two step ahead of cops, and knows how to use the media to his advantage. Kelly Chen is equally good as Commissioner Fong, a calm and calculated woman who grasps the opportunity to further herself. Despite such stellar performances surrounding him, Nick Cheung shines out as the tunnel-visioned cop Cheung who believes in action speaking louder than words.

Johnnie To turns an otherwise routine cops-and-robbers actioner on it’s head, and fashions an immensely enjoyable fare that you can watch as a side dish to MI:III. He has creatively grown since his slow-mo days, and doesn’t rely on big stars for his films, but rather on good scripts and capable actors that suit the characters .
For those of you looking for some more stuff from the talented To, kindly check out RUNNING OUT OF TIME, PTU, the hugely popular ELECTION and the current smash hit EXILED.

MPAA RATING: Not Rated
DURATION: 86 mins.
CAST: Richie Jen, Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung
DIRECTOR: Johnnie To

Whatever he may do/say off camera, there’s no denying that Mel Gibson is a master of his craft, and it is a damn shame that he has been overlooked for his brilliant efforts twice in a row for the Oscars. Perhaps a holocaust film by Gibson might find redemption with the Hollywood bigwigs.

Anyways, I am not here to blog on Gibson but rather on his his latest effort, and as word has travelled around the critical grapevine, it is one heck of an intense and visceral experience that leaves one virtually breathless. But, it is not for the faint of heart (film had some audience members gasping in horror, while a lady friend peeked through shielded hands during the bloody moments).

Apocalypto is set during the declining years of the Mayan civilization, and revolves around Jaguar Paw, a young warrior who hunts in the nearby forests with his father and other able males of the community. A brutal attack on their community by powerful Mayan warriors renders majority of the dwellers enslaved including Jaguar Paw, but not before he has tucked his family to safety. Others are killed while children are left to fend for themselves. The slaves are taken to the city where the women are sold off and the men have untold horrors awaiting them. Jaguar Paw, due to strong survival instincts, escapes his captors and flees to the jungle where a cat-and-mouse chase ensues between the wounded Paw and a bunch of ruthless warriors headed by the unshakeable Zero Wolf and his psychopathic sidekick Snake Ink who has it real bad for Paw from the beginning. If that is not enough, dangerous creatures make their presence felt, and time is ticking away as his family faces imminent death.

Although an action adventure by genre, film is human at it’s core with a fine sprinkling of genuine humour and tender displays of emotional moments (even amongst the loathsome). Only a master craftsman can pull off such a difficult trick and Gibson balances it effortlessly with the help of his talented bunch.

Film boasts of striking visuals and breath taking imagery that brings to life an entire civilization right before our very own eyes. You simply can’t avoid getting awed whether it is a tapir hunt in the jungles, or the intoduction of the city with it’s sickly dwellers and their towering temples. Not to be outdone, the make-up wizards have done a terrific job on the various body piercings that the culture adopted as a sign of beauty and respect. Musical score by the legendary James Horner complements the proceedings while special mention has to be made for the exemplary camera work by Dean Semler, crisp editing by Kevin Stitt and John Wright, and authentic looking costume design and art direction.

Of course, all this would be naught if it isn’t supported by able performances. Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw heads the cast and is quite good in the physically and emotionally demanding role. Raoul Trujillo (last seen in Terence Mallik’s A New World) is awesome as Zero Wolf, the leader of the pack who makes it his sole mission to capture Paw at any cost, and Rodolfo Palacious as Snake Ink, is quite appropriately named as he makes the slithery reptiles seem tame by comparison. Rounding it off, Dalia Hernandez as Jaguar Paw’s spouse, and the little wonder Carlos Emilio Baez as her son are note-worthy in their respective roles.

Mel Gibson deserves a standing ovation for packaging an action adventure in an intricate period set-up, while keeping an eye on historical accuracy (in addition to research, Gibson had on hand archaelogist Richard Jensen as consultant), and period detail (people criticising him for historical inaccuracies may not have heard of cinematic liberties - it’s a maintream action adventure, for goodness sake!). His choice of relative unknowns to head the cast of a big-budgeted feature was wise as well, since the film is physically demanding (there were reported injuries on sets and dangerous stunts had to be performed by the cast, while temperatures soared through roof). Simply an amazing work.

Verdicto: Its ‘bloody’ terrific!

MPAA RATING: R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images.
DURATION: 139 mins.
CAST: Rudy Youngblood, Daklia Hernandez, Raoul Trujillo
DIRECTOR: Mel Gibson

“Del Toro’s labyrinth, is a phantasmogrically dark trip,
reality vs fantasy, with nary a foolish slip”.

[d3 update: apologies are in order since I have been vacationing in Melbourne, and have not been able to commission time - till now - to plug in my reviews]

Mexican film maker Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2, Devil’s backbone) revisits similar paths that lead to The Devil’s Backbone, and spins a spellbinding tale of war, fantasy and a young girl’s yearning for her dead father.

It’s Spain during General Franco’s fascist rule, and Ofelia and her very pregnant mother make a perilous journey deep into the countryside to join her step-father, the sadistic Captain Vidal, at his new outpost. Inspite of a cold reception from the Captain, Ofelia finds a friend in the Captain’s trusted housekeeper Mercedes, and in a grasshopper that later turns into a fairy, and leads her to an ancient stone labyrinth that is the lair of a faun, the crusty Pan, who informs her that she is the lost princess of a magical kingdom. In order to reclaim that right and join her anxious father, the king, she has to complete three dangerous tasks before the next full moon that will qualify her as the rightful heiress.
While Ofelia tries to complete her tasks, the Captain has to deal with the revolutionaries, his wife’s ailing condition, possible traitors among his loyal hands and a step-daughter whom he is not too fond of. As days progress, events turn darker by the hour to everyone’s detriment.

Pan’s Labyrinth is not an easy film, and Guillermo Del Toro is deserving of the majority of the credit for a skillful rendition of a complex tale of dramatic and tragic proportions that incorporates fantasy with harsh reality. Lending terrific support to his vision is Sergi Lopez as the terrifyingly sick Captain Vidal and Ivana Banquero as the innocent Ofelia, who delivers a performance worthy of a veteran.

Earning equal kudos are the technical wizards in the visual, sound and make-up departnments, the cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and the music dude Javier Navarette who delivers a haunting score to the proceedings.

People expecting a regular horror fare might be disappointed - but if you were taken in my Cronos and The Devil’s Backbone, you will love Pan’s Labyrinth. Another feather in Del Toro’s cap.

Verdict - A must see for every discerning viewer.

DURATION: 119 mins.
MPAA RATING: R For graphic violence and some language
CAST: Sergi Lopez, Ivana Banquero, Maribel Verdu
DIRECTOR: Guillermo Del Toro

But first things first - the plot (or lack thereof since it has been lifted from several Hollywood flicks) concerns Aryan/’A', the mysterious international thief who has not been identified till date. With the help of a local cop Jay Dixit & his sidekick Ali, ACP Shonali (Bipasha) is soon hot on the slippery thief’s heels who is good with disguises and gizmos. Although Aryan gives Jay Dixit & his team the slip, it only strengthens the local cop’s resolve, and soon we are on a chase that takes us from the streets of Mumbai to the beaches of Rio with a couple of well executed stunts to whet our appetite. In between all the chase, Aryan also falls for the bewitching charms of a copycat thief, Sunehri, who wants to pair up with the ace thief at any cost. And that in a nutty shell is what D2’s mostly about.

Now the performers - and I usually don’t say this about the male actors - Hritik Roshan, as Aryan, simply looks like a chunk of hunk. He has been framed so glamourously, it’s a sin. Women have been found to be drooling all over themselves, while their male escorts are sulking in low self-esteem. Roshan not only delivers in looks, but also enacts his role with conviction. Whatever he wears, he turns it into a fashion statement, and his dancing skills are simply overwhelming. He moves with the grace of a Cheetah, and sports a chiselled visage worthy of a Greek God.

In comparison to Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan fares very badly in his reprised role as Inspector Jay Dixit. He not only looks like a homeless person, but his wardrobe has gone from bad to worst. Role-wise, he simply offers a continous scowl and a sour-mood to go along with it.

As Ali, Uday Chopra, though limited in his screen presence, manages to entertain as the buffoonish foil to Jay’s humourless cop. As his love interest, Bipasha Basu (in twin roles of Shonali & her sister) has limited footage, and provides oomph and sex-appeal.

And finally, Aishwarya Rai. Cast as the copycat thief Sunehri, she and Hritik make a good pair but fall short of major steam. Her performance is strictly okay and gets overshadowed by her beauty and glamour.

Director Sanjay Gadhavi has nothing to worry from this review, since his film has already been declared a huge hit back home. But his handling of the film leaves a lot to be desired. He was more at home with Dhoom, but in D2, his flourishes are erratic at best - too many slo-mos, not enough juice and major slackening of the pace post-interval leaves a discerning viewer visibly restless. The holes in the plot don’t help either.

What is there to like? Hritik, babes in bikinis, Rio De Janeiro and a few well executed action sequences.

Anything else to criticize? Music sucks big time. Pritam simply rehashes his tunes from the first outing. Only tune that retains it’s hum-factor is ‘Crazy Kiya Re’, and visually it’d be ‘Dhoom Again’ and ‘Touch Me’.

Verdict - Watch it if you are a Hritik/Aishwarya die-hard fan, else you ain’t missing much.

DURATION: 151 Mins.
CAST: Hritik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra
DIRECTOR: Sanjay Gadhavi.

“A twist in tale, and the genre too,
Entertaining stuff, for me and you”

Immensely watchable flick keeps the proceedings intriguing enough, but falls a bit short of a whopee! Better than ‘Headspace’ but less masterful than Neil Marshall’s ‘The Descent’.

Writer-director & SFX-supervisor, Sheldon Wilson, spins a mysterious tale of a small town whose long-time inhabitants are in the process of relocating their homes due to the completion of a dam, and that includes the Sheriff and his staff of two. Things turn weird on the day of their departure.

It all starts with the appearance of a naked young boy at the sheriff’s office. He is carrying a hunting knife, and seems to be oozing blood from every pore of his body. A bloody trail leads to the surrounding woods where quite a few disappearances have taken place in the past. The fingerprints & blood samples from the boy point to several different people and bloody messages keep popping up all over the town. That’s not all - seems like similar things are happening at other places too. Nothing is at all what it seems in this twisty little take on the horror genre.

Although made on a restrictive budget, the film is technically polished, with excellent lenswork and razor sharp editing to boost the pace. Music complements the tech wizardry at every turn followed by commendable SFX. Actors are neither A-listers, nor cult-material but they get the job done. Director Wilson displays a huge improvement from his debut vehicle ‘The Night Class’, and displays a flair for the horror genre.

Where the film falls short is in it’s climactic disclosure which stretches the fabric of credulity to the point of a tear, and leaves you with a few groans… but just a few. Another aspect going against the film is it’s title - which comes very close to sounding like Danny Boyle’s directorial splash. It makes the film out to be a wannabe, and that’s quite unfair.

Overall, highly recommended for the DVD crowd.

MPAA RATING: R for strong violence and gore, nudity and some language.
DURATION: 97 Mins.
CAST: Timothy V. Murphy, Stan Kirsch, Lindsey Stoddart.
DIRECTOR: Sheldon Wilson

“SRK may go over the top, but ‘DON’ remains cool,
Style over substance, is the operative rule.”

DON begins, 007 style, with a deal set-up in Paris where an unarmed Don turns the tables on his opponents in a stylishly choreographed action sequence, subsequent to which the titles flash to a thumping score. And so the remake of the 1973 blockbuster blazes across the screen in its signature green hue.

Story goes thus - Don runs various illegit activities on behalf of his boss Singhania, and operates from Malaysia. Inspector D’Silva is the man who makes it his sole mission in life to capture Don, and shut down Singhania for good. He is able to capture a fatally wounded Don, and loses him to death, but not before he has recuited a lookalike, Vijay, to infiltrate Don’s gang for an incriminating computer disc. Vijay is almost successful in his task before all hell breaks loose, and he becomes wanted not only by the police, but also by his gang members. Film springs several surprises that deviates from the original storyline, and brands it’s own mark on the remake.

So why am I endorsing this film even though it has terrible performances, uneven pacing and a plot filled with more glaring holes than a paper-target in a shooting gallery?
Firstly, the film has been stylishly rendered, and the action sequences are worth the price of the ticket alone. The theme music that reverberates through out the film is excellent. All the actors look ultra cool, and you could be forgiven to think that you might be watching a Honk Kong crime actioner. Finally - I absolutely loved the surprise element and wish more directors would deviate from formulaic story arcs. This is one remake that dares to go better on the original in that department.
Few songs register with the viewer - “Yeh Mera Dil” though well choreographed causes temporary blindness due to Kareena’s recently adopted pounds, but “Main Hoon Don” does the film proud in style & execution.

Where it suffers from the original?
SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) is obviously a terrible choice to step into a role made famous by legendary Amitabh Bachchan. Hritik Roshan, or Akshay Kumar would’ve rocked the viewers with their portrayals.
Then there are the previously stated holes in the plot - it seems likely that the scenes were played out in the director’s mind but he simply forgot to jot them down. The original never had that problem, but then it also had a simple narrative.
Major actors have been sidelined to showcase King Khan.

Director Farhan Akhtar has been fascinated with the original since he was a kid, and that passion shows in each and every frame. His technical crew are upto the task, and Don emerges as one of the most technically superior product from Bollywood. But Akhtar loses himself in all the glitz, and fails to extract meaningful performances from his principal cast.

Shah Rukh Khan as Don/Vijay is smug enough to carry off the designer wear and flashy cars, but absolutely goes over the top when it comes to performance. Priyanka Chopra as Roma is appropriate and has nothing challenging to do except look hot and lethal. Boman Irani is the only one who earns an honest paycheck as the tunnel-visioned Inspector D’Silva. Arjun Ramphal as the handicapped Jasjit, a man who has scores to settle and a kid to find, is suitably restrained but does not get much scope. Om Puri, Isha Koppikker, Pawan Malhotra, Chunkey Pandey & Kareen Kapoor have been cast in guest/special appearances.

Don is an unabashed popcorn entertainment and I liked it.

DURATION: 171 mins.
CAST: Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Ramphal.
DIRECTOR: Farhan Akhtar