In this interview, Anurag Kashyap and Bijoy Nambiar talk about their film Shaitan, and explain why it’s a passion project for them. Kashyap, who came on board to produce this film when Nambiar’s original producers pulled out, insists it’s a better film than his own debut Paanch.
(This interview first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 27, 2011
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Jamie Chung
Director: Todd Phillips
Anyone who swears by The Hangover is likely to be disappointed by its sequel, which as it turns out is a carbon copy of the earlier film. With The Hangover Part II, director Todd Phillips has made the exact same movie all over again. Except that he’s set it in Thailand, and the jokes aren’t that funny anymore.
So once again, a bachelor party spins out of control and the guys wake up the next morning with no memory of the previous night’s misadventures, only to realize that someone is missing. From there, it’s a mad rush trying to retrace their steps and to put the pieces together.
Two years ago, The Hangover crept into our cinemas quietly. With a cast of mostly unknowns and a director who was hardly A-list, the film arrived with no expectations whatsoever. Yet, that ribald comedy went down as 2009’s biggest surprise hit thanks to the novelty of its premise and the unpredictability of its characters and their behavior. Remember how shocked you were when one of them pretends to jerk off a baby? Or when they discover a tiger in the bathroom? Or when Mike Tyson shows up?
The new film doesn’t work because it’s missing that element of surprise. That joy of stumbling into an outrageous, unexpected joke has all but vanished in The Hangover Part II, whose gags feel so familiar that you wonder why you’re paying to watch the same film again. Our heroes Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) wake up not in a Caesar’s Palace suite on this occasion, but a fleabag hotel in Bangkok. Instead of finding a baby or a tiger in their hotel room, they find a chain-smoking monkey. And Ed, who’s the groom-to-be this time round, doesn’t wake up with a tooth missing, but with a tattoo on his face.
Gross gags are plenty in this sequel, as you would expect from a comedy set in the seedy streets of Bangkok. In The Hangover Stu woke up to discover he’d married a stripper. In this sequel, let’s just say he’s done something far more shocking. Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), that effeminate criminal from the earlier film returns too, and shows us more of himself than we’d like to see. They even repeat the end credits photo montage, a clever way to fill in the blanks from the blackout night; but while it’s more adult this time, it doesn’t have the same comic impact as it did in The Hangover.
The biggest disappointment in this film is Zach Galifianakis, who reprises his role as bearded man-child Alan. After practically stealing the earlier film with his hilarious one-liners and his deadpan delivery, Galifianakis plays Alan as a not-particularly-lovable weirdo this time. The only scenes in which we see that old spark are the ones in which Alan takes an instant dislike to Stu’s brother-in-law who he fears is threatening to infiltrate the Wolfpack.
The Hangover Part II is not without a few laughs, but the operative word here is ‘few’. The best jokes in this film, incidentally all appear in the trailer. I’m going with two out of five for The Hangover Part II. Prepare to seriously underwhelmed.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 27, 2011
Cast: Voices of Jack Black, Gary Oldman, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Jack Black returns as the voice of mighty martial-arts panda Po in Kung Fu Panda 2, the sequel to that 2008 animated gem. After establishing himself as the Dragon Warrior by vanquishing the evil Tai Lung and retrieving the Dragon Scroll in the earlier film, the new adventure involves Po’s search for his identity, and his quest for inner peace. He’s pitted against an evil peacock named Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman) who killed his parents when he was a baby, and who is now threatening to conquer China using a fiery canon that will all but end the ancient art of kung fu.
Naturally Po’s accomplices in this showdown against Lord Shen are the members of the Furious Five, and much of the fun and inventiveness of this film comes from the teamwork between them. Po himself is the star of the show, and those who enjoyed the earlier film will be happy to know there are still plenty of jokes about Po being fat, lazy and constantly hungry. In fact, the very first time we see him in this film, he’s accepted a challenge to stuff 40 buns in his mouth.
The action scenes are bigger and better than the last time, and the animation itself is exceptional in terms of textures and lighting. Flashback sequences unfold in rich, comic-book style, and a climatic sequence in which Po dodges deadly canon-balls is the most visually arresting set-piece you’ve seen in an animation film recently.
But Kung Fu Panda 2 is also a film with heart. There are touching scenes between Po and his adoptive father, and an important message in the end: that inner peace can be attained only by confronting the past, then letting go of it.
A very worthy sequel to the first film, Kung Fu Panda 2 is a treat for animation lovers. I’m going with three-and-a-half out of five for this return to awesomeness!
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 27, 2011
Cast: Kate Hudson, Ginner Goodwin, Colin Egglesfield, John Krasinski
Director: Luke Greenfield
Something Borrowed, starring Kate Hudson and Ginnifer Goodwin, is a romantic comedy that’s more stupid than most romantic comedies tend to be. Goodwin stars as Rachel, a plain-Jane corporate lawyer who fell for her law-school buddy Dex (Colin Egglesfield) while they were still studying. But she stood back and watched as her best friend Darcy (Hudson) made a play for him. Six years later, Dex and Darcy are getting married and silently-suffering Rachel is gearing up to be Maid of Honor. But then, barely weeks before the wedding, Rachel accidentally confesses to Dex that she had a crush on him. They end up sleeping together, and Dex begins to think he might be in love with Rachel after all. Which leaves him with the unenviable job of either calling off the wedding with Darcy, or breaking Rachel’s heart all over again.
As an audience it’s not particularly hard to take sides, considering Darcy is a selfish woman who isn’t particularly nice to her best friend and who cheats on her fiancé. But hey, Dex is hardly a paragon of virtue; he’s happy to string both girls along if it means he can stall off making a decision. Which is why Rachel comes off as such a desperate loser, who’s happy to settle for a man with no spine. The only character who does have a backbone, but is quickly disposed off is Ethan (John Krasinski), a close friend of Rachel who warns her that Dex is all wrong for her.
There is very little chemistry between Egglesfield and the girls (both of them), as a result of which you really couldn’t care who gets to keep him after all. Despite itself, the film raises difficult questions about marriage and friendship, but the air-headed treatment seems to dismiss them with the suggestion that it all turns out okay in the end.
More infuriating than engaging, this wretched film leaves you feeling murderous towards its makers. I’m going with one out of five for Something Borrowed. It’s a dumb film for dumb people. Avoid it.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 20, 2011
Cast: Divyendu Sharma, Rayo Bhakirta, Kartikeya Tiwari, Nushrat Bharucha, Sonali Sehgal, Ishitta Sharma
Director: Luv Ranjan
Disguised as a light-hearted comedy, Pyaar Ka Punchnama is such a misogynistic film that you can’t help but wonder if it was made by someone who’s had his heart brutally stamped on by a woman. The plot is centred on three male roommates in Delhi who can’t stop moaning about their dull jobs and boring lives. When each of them falls in love, things begin to look up. But director Luv Ranjan offers female leads that are such scheming, insensitive shrews that the boys quickly realize bachelor life wasn’t so bad after all.
The film starts off promisingly enough, focusing on the ‘bromance’ between the three boys. Liquid (played by Divyendu Sharma) is a job-hating nerd, Chaudhary (played by Rayo Bhakirta) is a brooding guitarist who practically lives in his undies, and Rajat (played by Kartikeya Tiwari) is the funny one. They cuss at each other and rib the geeky one endlessly, but there’s inherent warmth in the relationship that’s reminiscent of Dil Chahta Hai.
Unfortunately it all goes downhill when the women show up. Liquid falls for a manipulative co-worker who exploits his goodness, Chaudhary doesn’t know where he stands with his girlfriend who can’t seem to shake off her ex, and Rajat makes the fatal mistake of moving in with an attention-seeking harridan.
Aside from one surprisingly insightful outburst by Rajat in the film’s second half where he explains why men can never win against the fairer sex, Pyaar Ka Punchnama is neither smart nor particularly funny. It falls into a repetitive rut of petty squabbles between the boys and their partners, and the women are singled out as the villains of the piece. Of course it doesn’t help that the three actresses – Nushrat Bharucha, Sonali Sehgal and Ishitta Sharma – don’t have one acting bone between them; and to top that, they’re so unflatteringly photographed it’s hard to understand what our heroes see in them.
Pyaar Ka Punchnama is positioned as a comic take on real urban relationships, but the jokes are mostly lame, and the conflicts so exaggerated that it doesn’t work on any level. At best, Divyendu Sharma gets a few laughs out of you in the early scenes, but it’s not enough to put yourself through the misery of enduring this interminably long film.
I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for director Luv Ranjan’s Pyaar Ka Punchnama. It’s about as much fun as walking on broken glass.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 20, 2011
Cast: Rajvvir Aroraa, Imaad Shah, Nishikant Kamath, Tisca Chopra, Satish Kaushik
Director: Prawaal Raman
404, directed by Prawaal Raman, is the third film in three weeks that features the spirit of a dead person as a prominent character.
Set on a medical campus, this psychological thriller stars newcomer Rajvvir Aroraa as Abhimanyu, a freshman who stands up against the harsh ragging meted out to younger students at the hands of college seniors. When campus bully Chris (played by Imaad Shah) disregards Abhimanyu’s complaints and continues to harass the juniors, our young hero decides to move into Room 404 of the college hostel. This room has remained locked since a student committed suicide inside a few years ago. Rejecting his friends’ theories that the room is haunted, and insisting that he doesn’t believe in ghosts and spirits, Abhimanyu earns the respect of the visiting psychology professor (played by Nishikant Kamath) who encourages him to falsify these supernatural stories. But as the ragging only intensifies, Abhimanyu finds himself being visited by the spirit of the room’s last occupant, leaving him to question what is real and what is imagined.
Ominously shot, but without the standard tropes of bad horror films, 404 unfolds a little too lazily for its own good. Director Prawaal Raman relies heavily on atmospherics and gives us a moody thriller for the most part, till too much dialoguebaazi undoes all the good. There is some nice understated acting too, but the film never succeeds in spooking you out completely because of its overbearing background score.
I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for director Prawaal Raman’s 404. It’s tense and eerily treated; and it almost works.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 20, 2011
Cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Sam Claflin, Astrid Berges-Frisbey
Director: Rob Marshall
In an early scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Judi Dench makes an uncredited cameo as a British aristocrat in a horse carriage, whose ear Jack Sparrow nuzzles mischievously before taking off on a new adventure. Clearly disappointed from getting less than she’d hoped for, she asks: “Is that it?” Good question, and one that you find yourself asking at the end of this underwhelming fourth installment of the Disney franchise that clocks in at an excruciating 2 hours and 16 minutes.
A far cry from the first film, a swashbuckling adventure that was irreverent and inventive in equal measure, this fourth outing feels like a cynical rehash of the old formula. So Johnny Depp puts on the eyeliner once again to play mad pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, but the actor appears to have dialed down some of the character’s flamboyant histrionics as he embarks on a quest to locate – of all things – the Fountain of Youth. How appropriate, considering this film itself could do with a healthy shot of rejuvenation.
Franchise regulars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley don’t return for this new episode, but in their place we have pretty newcomers Sam Claflin as a Christian missionary and Astrid Berges-Frisbey as a lovelorn mermaid lending the film its romantic subplot. Also joining the cast is Penelope Cruz as Angelica, an old flame of Jack’s, and daughter of the fearsome Captain Blackbeard (played by Ian McShane) who is desperately seeking out the Fountain so he can protect himself from impending death. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Rush mysteriously returns as Captain Barbossa, now with one wooden leg, who has joined the British side as they race against the Spanish in their hunt for the Fountain.
The only scenes worth recommending in this film are a handful of the action sequences, especially a mermaid attack that is nicely done. Since much of the story unfolds at night, watching the film in 3D only makes the images look darker than they already are. ((pause)) Helmed by Chicago director Rob Marshall who takes over from franchise regular Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is an average film at best, and one that will no doubt come as a disappointment to those who’ve embraced the series. It has neither tension nor urgency, it’s well mounted and occasionally stunning to look at. But the fun and the energy is so badly missing.
I’m going with two out of five for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Brace yourself before stepping into these choppy waters.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 13, 2011
Cast: Raj Kumar Yadav, Kainaz Motivala
Director: Pawan Kirpalani
In Ragini MMS, a young couple head off to an abandoned bungalow on the outskirts of the city so they can finally have some privacy and do the nasty. Uday (played by Love Sex aur Dhokha‘s Raj Kumar Yadav) has previously arranged to have every corner of the house rigged with video cameras so he can secretly film his steamy encounter with Ragini (played by Kainaz Motivala) and hand over the footage to a shady producer who has promised him a film role in return.
By the time he’s able to shoo away her friends who dropped in for a surprise visit, Uday can barely keep it in his pants any longer. The couple retires to the upstairs bedroom and just as things start to get hot and heavy, an angry spirit decides to make its presence felt.
Director Pawan Kirapalani relies on familiar tropes to deliver plenty jump-in-your seat moments, but he disregards the genre’s most important rule – don’t show the ghost; what you don’t see is always more scary. But because he does show the ghost — and so many times in fact — much of the thrill of watching this film is diluted.
The movie benefits from an inspired performance by Raj Kumar Yadav as the short-fused, profanity-spouting cad who’s desperate to exploit his shy but eager-to-please girlfriend. Borrowing visual references generously from previous hits like Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project and so many Ramgopal Varma offerings, Ragini MMS delivers very little in terms of novelty. Still, in constructing a story around sex and scares, the makers of this film adopt Hollywood’s foolproof B-movie formula and come up with a watchable but ultimately over-long adult movie.
I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for Ragini MMS. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it keeps you engaged for most of its 100-minute running time.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 13, 2011
Cast: Partho, Divya Dutta, Amole Gupte, Divya Jagdale, Raj Zutshi, Aditya Lakhia
Director: Amole Gupte
Few films have the heartwarming impact of Stanley Ka Dabba, which takes you right back to the wonder years of your school life. Those hushed whispers in the back benches, sharing sandwiches out of each other’s tiffin boxes, ganging up against a cruel teacher…it all comes back to you in a flash, as you sit there watching this film unfold on screen.
Director Amole Gupte (writer of Taare Zameen Par) leads you once again into the classroom. But while you knew from the outset exactly what point Taare Zameen Par was making, the lesson in Stanley Ka Dabba is woven in seamlessly. So engrossed are you in the story of how Stanley must tackle his dabba problem that the climax creeps upon you and catches you unaware.
Stanley (played by Partho) is the most popular boy in Class 4. His friends want him around all the time, whether it is to play football after school, to bellow out the Kaminey song, Dhan tan tan at the top of his lungs, or to listen to those wild stories that he spins without a blink of an eye. We learn early on that Stanley does not bring his own tiffin lunch. The director doesn’t spoon-feed us with the reason, only giving us a shadow of pathos in the scene where we see the boy secretly quenching hunger pangs by drinking straight out of a tap in the school toilet.
Amole Gupte himself steps in as Stanley’s bête noir, playing the character of Hindi teacher ‘Verma Sir’, who picks on Stanley for sharing his friends’ dabbas at lunchtime everyday. Ironically, Verma himself is obsessed with food, and so overpowering is his gluttony to dig into their tiffin boxes that he scurries off in search of the students each time the lunch bell goes off. When he discovers they’ve been hiding from him, he vents his anger at Stanley who unlike him, is always welcome to their food. The spirited boy does retrieve his dignity by the time the film reaches its bittersweet finale, and you’re left with a lump in your throat. There’s a touching message in Stanley Ka Dabba, but Gupte tells it with the love of a true storyteller, never bludgeoning the audience on the head with it.
There are moments when his screenplay lags — like that extended interschool concert scene — but it’s saved by strong performances. Stanley is played astoundingly well by Partho, as an endearing, bright boy who creates a wonderfully imaginative lighthouse as a science project, only to be chided by his disapproving teacher for not sticking to his notebook. Partho makes you believe that Stanley is both resilient and vulnerable; you’re spontaneously drawn to his side. Divya Dutta is the teacher we all know, the one who believed in your talent and who egged you on gently despite everything. As ‘Rosy Miss’, she lightens up Stanley’s life and the screen each time she walks into class. Gupte too is brilliant as ‘Khadoos‘, the teacher who lashes out at his students to feed his own ego and avarice.
But one of the most vivid characters in Stanley Ka Dabba is the food itself. I was reminded of Ang Lee’s early Taiwanese film Eat Drink Man Woman, where food forges relationships. Here too, we see it in the love with which each mother prepares her child’s lunchbox, or how it binds together Stanley and his friends.
I’m going with four out of five for director Amole Gupte’s Stanley Ka Dabba. This is a film with the perfect ingredients; made with honesty and a touch of innocence. No wonder it leaves you feeling very rewarded.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
May 13, 2011
Cast: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
When used imaginatively, 3D can transport you to a whole new world like it did with Avatar. It can make flying feel like a beautifully choreographed dance, like it did in How To Train Your Dragon. Even a bike ride through a digital grid in Tron: Legacy felt like the most exhilarating journey you’ve taken. Expect no such pleasures from Priest, which as it turns out is not only a dreadful waste of time, but a sinful waste of 3D too.
Set in the aftermath of an epic war between humans and vampires, this mostly dimly-lit film stars Paul Bettany as a renegade warrior priest who, defying the orders of the Church, heads off into the vampire heartland to hunt down the fanged troublemakers who’ve kidnapped his niece. He’s assisted on this crusade by the girl’s sheriff boyfriend (played by Cam Gigandet) and a warrior priestess (played by Maggie Q).
So heavily reliant on CG elements that it forgets to pack in a coherent story, Priest takes itself way too seriously for an action fantasy film. There isn’t even a hint of humor or the slightest wit that might serve as relief from the relentless action scenes; and aside from a thrilling climatic set-piece on a speeding train there’s nothing original about the crash-bang-boom sequences in this film.
I’m going with one out of five for Priest. I can’t think of any reason why you’d want to put yourself through this punishment.
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)
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