Well well... Whatever he is, Justin Biebers' gonna rock Oralando soon some time in January next year. Though he's got much more on the trip, Orlando will be the best attraction whose tickets are only available at 'ticketamerica.com' (orlando justin bieber) Ottawa (ottawa justin bieber) and Philadelphia (philadelphia justin bieber) making it to the second and third. Justin Bieber fans rope up. Make it to Orlando.
The actor - who recently split from long-term love Vanessa Paradis - initially met Amber on the set of movie The Rum Diary, but the pair are believed to have gotten closer and are now an item.
A source told Us Weekly magazine: "They are 100 per cent dating. He treats her really well."
Bisexual Amber, 26, also became single recently, splitting with girlfriend Tasya van Ree.
Johnny Depp has children Lily-Rose, 13 and Jack, 10 with Vanessa - who
he dated for 14 years - and is believed to have ended their relationship
because he considered her to be boring.
A source said: "Johnny didn't want to be with Vanessa anymore. They had
grown so far apart, and he wanted to be free and try new things. He was
bored with her, being with Vanessa was making him miserable. The spark
had gone, and there was nothing left. Johnny just wants more from life
and believes Vanessa deserves to be happier too. He's not embroiled in
some hot and heavy new romance and he has no plans to jump straight into
something straight away, but he is keen to have some fun again."
Lindsay Lohan was spotted smoking and joking with porn star James Deen on Sunday night.
The two are expected to co-star together in Bret Easton Ellis' upcoming movie "The Canyons."
The "American Psycho" author Ellis revealed on Twitter this month, that Lohan would join his latest project.
However, according to RadarOnline, sources close to the actress claimed
that she was having second thoughts, because of graphic nude scenes in
the film, the New York Post reported.
"Lindsay and her team are concerned about the nudity that is involved.
Lindsay would be required to do full frontal nudity, and the sex scenes
are very, very graphic," a source had said.
But it looks like
she's come around as Lohan was seen having dinner last night with Deen
and Ellis at LA restaurant The Churchill, according to Web site
X17online.
And Lohan and Deen were also photographed taking smoking breaks and smiling together outside the restaurant. (ANI).
For more hollywood and Bollywood gossip news,click here.
Story: Agent J has to stop the alien criminal from assassinating his partner, Agent K... in time. But how?
Movie Review: Let's rewind history. Shall we! It's been a decade since the Men in Black (MIB) put on their suits for the last time ever: first in 1997 and then in 2002. So it won't really be a bad idea to brush up a little on why we liked (and missed) the secret society of protectors. Well, the MIB gave us good comedy, great special effects, inspiring performances, and ample action. Welcome to Circa 2012 and nothing much seems to have changed.
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Jemaine Clement
Genre: Sci-fci
Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER IN HD
There's Agent J (Will Smith) who still gives us rib-tickling moments with his one liners. In his own words: 'Men for me are 'K'; women for me are 'O'. I refer to couples as 'OK'!' There's the grumpy, agent-of-hardly-any-words, K (Tommy Lee Jones), and tales of his heroic deeds and achievements that have been saving planet Earth. And above all, there are aliens, once again seen as our next-door friendly refugees who are still using New York as their hideout from mean intergalactic creatures. Of course, now we have Boris the animal ( Jemaine Clement), who has just escaped from the Lunar prison and is on the lookout for Agent K for settling scores of the last forty years. Agent J, on the other hand, is on a spree to change the course of his buddy and partner's life... and that of mankind. All this, simply to save the future while he travels back in time.
Once the time travel begins (in the movie), it is simply a trip down memory lane. You are actually transported to the USA of the 1960s... in time to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and man's maiden journey to the moon. Don't miss out the setting, the headline makers and the style statement of the Big Brother then. And just incase you thought the Smith-Jones pairing is what kept the MIB series alive, here is more. No doubt, the two have put up a great show in all MIB movies, but taking the partnership forward this time is the Will Smith (Agent J) - Josh Brolin (Agent K, the younger one) bonding. In fact, it's hard to believe that Agent K of the 1960s is not really Agent K of 2012. So convincing is Brolin as the young Tommy Lee Jones. As for Will Smith, he fits the bill (the MIB suit in every sense of the word) as always.
Now, for the special effects. The monster show where Smith fights it out with a huge fish that attacks diners is surely worth every penny. The moment when Smith jumps off the Empire State Building to travel back to the past is worth every cutting-edge moment. Add to that some cool gadgets -- the state-of-the-art MIB workplace and the wheel Hoover-bike, for instance -- and you are left high and dry.
Sadly, it's the 3D that does not really spruce up the drama, but once you know you are in for some real MIB-isms (a hi-tech, buddy sci-fi comedy that features everything weird, creepy, funny and wonderful in and around the universe), you don't really care.
Story: Low-life thief Shiva and top-cop Vikram Rathore are identical. Vikram's killed by foes but his daughter thinks Shiva's her dad - can this Rowdy win respect?
Movie Review: In case I get a spelling wrong, that's because my ears are still ringing with all the seetis and taalis at Rowdy Rathore. The film's an unabashed, gunpowder-hot, sambar-spiced star-vehicle which runs along energetically most of the time because its star - Akshay Kumar, essaying a double role as Rathore and Shiva - is worth it, something that's emphasized often. At one point, a girl asks Shiva, pursuing pretty Paaro (Sinha) from Patna, 'Na tum mein Hrithik ke looks hain, na Shah Rukh ka charm, na Aamir ki cuteness, na Salman ki body - what's so cool about you?' Akshay drawls back, "Lagta hai Khiladi ko bhool gayi aap." Cue for crowd - erupt in rapture.
ROWDY RATHORE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
Multiply that moment by 100 and you have Rowdy Rathore, a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar - lots of Akshay Kumar, channeling vintage heroes Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, adding a dollop of Jeetendra, topping with his trademark flair as he snarls, tongue deeply in-cheek, "Don't angry me!"
A lull in its second half aside, Rowdy's mostly quick-stepping, moving from Mumbai's malls to medieval Bihar where Baapji (Nasser) and his hamming henchmen terrorise Devgarh's townsfolk through pillage, beatings and rape. Till cop Vikram Rathore (Kumar) arrives on the Shramjeevi Express, assaulting local yokels with handy gannas, infusing new meaning to 'sugar-cane'. With terrific overhead shots capturing his exploits, the fearless Rathore even bumps off Baapji's vicious beta Munna, so Baapji won't rest till Vikram is killed.
SEXY SINHA: SONAKSHI SINHA
Despite an injury to his brain (which the doctor says causes 'hammo-rage'), Vikram and his little daughter Chinki reach Mumbai. Here, their paths cross with Shiva who adopts Chinki when Vikram's felled. And goes to Devgarh where he tells Baapji, 'A village can have only one Rowdy.' It's time Baapji - or 'lemon-chus', as Rowdy addresses him - shoved off.
This involves toe-curling violence though. A guy gets stabbed in the mouth, a head's crushed on a rock, swords slash through navels. Against the gore, Shiva's dancing with Paaro provides breezy relief but the music itself is unmemorable. In a Prabhudheva picture, expectedly the dances are eye-catching, some moves like sweet caresses, some sexy little bites. Sonakshi glows as Paaro, a spunky Indian beauty showing flashes of her star-father's confidence when she snarls at the villains, 'O saand ke bhes mein kukur." This Patna girl's stepped out in style with Rowdy. But the same can't be said for those playing Devgarh's dread-struck. Apart from Yashpal Sharma (sincere as a junior cop), the rest are unconvincing, as is the villainous set-up itself, located somewhere oddly between feudal Bihar, accented Andhra and Sholay's bandit lair.
Indeed, Rowdy Rathore pays homage to iconic filmi characters - identical heroes, golden-hearted chors, brave Men in Brown beating evil people to pulp. However, it pays most homage to its own star, Akshay Kumar, who pulls off Shiva with style but Vikram less so, possibly because all that violence overwhelms acting itself. Not that the crowd seemed to mind. As Shiva exhorts a woman raped by Baapji's son to beat him up, the girl next to me cried, "Why doesn't she?" Her neighbour replied, "She will." And she did - much to the crowd's Rowdy delight.
Tip-Off: Fans will love Akshay's mooch-twirling masala-act but be ready for hardcore action too - some pretty gruesome.
Story: Damyaan, the evil snake of Sonpur, is simply a step away from being over powerful and immortal since he has access to the Book of Magi. What's stopping him? The curse that has him locked inside a palace for ages... a curse that shall be broken should the king of Dholakpur set him free. Now, the king does set him free (by mistake) and then chaos forms the order of the day. Can Chhota Bheem and team stop Damyaan from doing the unwanted? Can Chhota Bheem and his team make Dholakpur one happy place to live happily ever after in?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Voice by Kaustav Ghosh, Rupa Bhimani
Direction: Rajiv Chilaka
Genre: Animation
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review : Jham, jham, jhambhura! Now we know why our tweeny lot always maange more of Chhota Bheem. After all, our hero can do anything and everything that every Bollywood mainstream hero does. Chhota Bheem can save the girls from being kidnapped. Chhota Bheem can fight a dozen of bad guys at the same time. Chhota Bheem can fight tigers and snakes. And, most importantly, Chhota Bheem knows how to be in sync with the time - he can play (and win) the T20 cricket tournament in town. Not to miss out is his looks: Chhota Bheem is a hit with girls in his kingdom (He looks rather cute), and has a couple of pretty things hitting on him!
Now for the movie. Talk of animation and it's bright and colourful, though not really sharp.
Next, talk of music and there's ample to tap your foot. In fact, the theme track (sung by Shaan) works well. As for the fun, it's all in there to make our under-12s happy. Case in point, Chhota Bheem goes all dishum dishum with Damyaan, Bheem and his team being gifted with magical powers. However, the wait for fun unlimited is a bit too long. And if tween claps is what you are on the lookout for, there's ample scope particularly when our little hero fights one enemy after the other... all in a row: first the giant spider, then the tiger, then the MMA warrior, then the snake guy.... Finally, those into sci-fi stuff can have there share of time travel as well - of course, it's absoluetly desi in every sense of the word.
Sadly it's the voice-over that just does not seem to connect well specially for a face like that of Chhota Bheem. But then you might choose to overlook that considering there is hardly happening entertainment for kids in desi cinema. Right bachcha party?
Story: It does not take long for Edgar Allen Poe's murder mystery tales to turn into reality, courtesy a serial killer. Now, what will it take to stop those gruesome murders?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson
Direction: James McTeigue
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Those into Edgar Allen Poe shall be left satisfied. The first shot of the movie tells you this one is possibly on the lines of a biography: There have been lots of theories as to how Poe died; The Raven adds a new dimension. Those into his tales of mystery too shall have no reason to complain. The Raven is an amalgamation of a couple of whodunnit tales from the greatest inventor of the detective genre. And those into neither, can treat The Raven as your usual dose of murder, mystery and thrill.
THE RAVEN OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
First, it's two women who are murdered in a locked room. Enter detective Emmett Fields ( Luke Evans) who traces it back to Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Next, a man is discovered sliced into two, just as in Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. Enter detective Fields... this time with Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) himself. Interestingly, it's Poe himself who ends up solving his own murder mysteries. But then you've got to pay the price. In this case, blood, gore and soul-stirring crime, specially when the pendulum cuts the man into two. As for John Cusack, he is bang on as Poe when it comes to the looks. As for Poe's character, it comes rather naturally to the actor.
Back to the murder and thrill. There are tense moments, chases, one puzzle leading to the other. There's also a Victorian setting, a serial-killer, his tricks... and of course, Edgar Allen Poe's macabre tales.
Like other Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) films, Department has an idea - a force to finish the underworld by stepping over the law's boundaries. But like other RGV flicks, this one also blasts itself out of the water, leaving you savouring jarring camerawork, flimsy acting and over-the-top violence. Inspector Mahadev Bhosle (Dutt) creates Mumbai's department to battle, ahem, mafia dons Mohammad Ghori and Sawatiya (Raaz). Bhosle inducts Shivnarayan (Daggubati) and with skulls crashing on walls, children flung out of windows and criminals impaled on rods, they take on the underworld. So far, so gross, but the film pulls along, powered largely by Daggubati whose smokin' machismo holds Department together - but not for long. That's despite Bachchan popping up as don-turned-politico Sarjerao Gaikwad, all silvery hair, dark glasses, manic laughter and a tinkling bell. Bachchan's clearly having fun - but few viewers are.
That's because Department, which should've been a taut, tense encounter between three strong men, is instead ripped to shreds by too many weak actors given puzzlingly large roles. There's a most non-don-like Raaz, living in a shed, sporting an enviably slender waist exposed by mysteriously thin dhotis. His sullen sidekicks DK (Singh) and Naseer (Shalini) make one of the most unattractive screen duos ever. They mouth lines banally, shoot bullets expressionlessly, blow smoke dully into each other's mouths, yet have more screen time than Bachchan even. Others - like Shiv's wife Bharti (Sukhani, pleasant) - have little to do except dodge those bullets and bodies.
Watch Department Movie Trailer (HD)
The violence might even have clicked, considering the tale's twists - but crazy camerawork makes you forget all that. Varma's experimented, placing multiple cameras at different angles, treating you to close-ups of bottles pressed to mouths, lips sucking cigarettes, zooms up Dutt's hairline. The camera even flips upside down, puncturing the tension that should've vibrated between Bachchan and Dutt. One line - "Chamatkaar ko namaskar" - nails it. You stagger out sensing something wasted - Nathalia Kaur's item number's more hideous than hot, the prettiest thing around is a translucent tea-cup, the action is mind-numbing. Losing the plot and three strong stars, Department shoots itself in the foot.
Story:Where love and hate collide, this love story is born. Two people who're raised hating each other, break the unwritten family dictat; and fall in love. These outlaws of love thus start a new war.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Direction: Habib Faisal
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review:It's the war of the roses. And it's as (t)horny as it can get. Splattered with bandooks and badmaashi, goondas and gaalis - starts this ajab prem kahani. Firebrands Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) are childhood hate-mates, born into politically warring families who've avowed to hate unto death. So, in the rustic and earthy brown landscape of small-town Almore - where pocket guns are a fashion accessory, and local yokels could kill for anything - diesel or dancing girl Chand (Gauhar Khan), the Queen of 'KwalityBaar' - a love story blossoms between loveable rowdy rascal Parma and feisty, free-spirited Zoya. They growl at each other with the same fierce passion with which they grope each other and get-it-on. Most riveting in this love-hate plot, is the (fore)playful chemistry between the two, with their volatile verbal wars, and sexed-up lovemaking; even between chases and gunshots. Rare indeed to find such a beautifully complementing debut pair onscreen.
ISHAQZAADE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
In an impressive debut, Arjun Kapoor believably plays Parma with dollops of arrogance, energy and unabashed guts; chomping with the same crudity with which he shoots, spits gaalis, pisses on posters, manhandles his girl and makes raw love. He uses his boy-man charm topped with that infectious 'batteesi' effectively, and keeps up the temperatures throughout.
Parineeti Chopra is fabulously effervescent. As the 'mango 'ishmile' flashing Zoya, she's adorable and admirable. She lacks the obvious, larger-than-life mega-screen presence, but wins you over with her 'item'bomb' simplicity.
Gauhar Khan 'reveals' a lot more, of her acting skills that is.
UPCOMING VOLCANO: Parineeti Chopra
Director Habib Faisal takes you into the heart of this small-town story, creating a politically-divided Almore with elan - penning gripping characters (a rigid and arrogant Dadda, a suppressed, dukhiari Amma, two overbearing brothers), but fails to maintain the crescendo in the second half. After highlights like a sensitively shot lovemaking scene on a rusty train berth, a subtly picturized romantic song (Pareshan), and a shocking pre-interval scene, it starts falling apart like a house of cards; ultimately folding into a predictable climax. The flatness of the second half is what takes away from the pace of a launch vehicle that could've been memorable.
'Ishaqzaade' starts with a bang-bang, but ends up firing blanks.
Story: Logan Thibault walks all the way from Colorado to Hampton in search of the woman he thinks was his lucky charm while he was serving as war soldier in Iraq...
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart, Jay R. Ferguson
Direction: Scott Hicks
Genre: Romance
Duration: 1 hour 41 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: The problem with screen adaptations of novels written by Nicholas Sparks is that if it's not bang on (in story and spirit), it might get Nicholas fans a little disappointed. Remember Nights in Rodanthe? And if it's minor changes in the plot that we're talking about, as in The Lucky One, we don't really know how Nicholas fans are set to react.
Logan Thibault ( Zac Efron), a marine having served three tours in the Iraq war finally decides to call it quits. But before that he has an unfinished task: He is hell bent on finding the woman whose picture he has been carrying all throughout the war. For the record, his friend and now he himself, feels that it's Beth's picture which has been saving grace, literally. So out he is on a mission to find his lady luck, meet her and as Dame Fortune would have it, fall for her. But then love, as we know, has never really been that simple.
The setting is perfect: the woody countryside, streams running into nowhere and a laidback life led by the inhabitants. Coming from one of the best selling contemporary romantic authors, this romantic plot is nothing short of perfect. The performances good: Zac, like Logan in the pages, is a man of few words, seldom smiles and is pretty cool at his job -- walking the dogs. Taylor Schilling's Beth, again like the pages, has her highs and lows as she goes about proclaiming to be a 'damn-good-mother'.
The Lucky One Movie Official Trailer (HD)
But all said and done, something still seems to be missing out there. Now what is it? Is it Logan who in the very first meeting with Beth (unlike the book) is ready to play plot spoiler? Or is it director Scott Hicks who (unlike the book) does not let the romance and Sparks-ian mush brew between the two love birds? Or is it the bonding (unlike the book) between the nanny and her granddaughter that never really happens? Or finally, is it Zeus (the loyal dog) who (unlike the book) barely has screen time, leave alone being the hero in the end? Yes, the hero is someone else here.
Now, don't go looking for The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, and you might not end up complaining.
Story:Navin and Nandini are to marry - but Navin dies in an accident that wasn't supposed to kill him. He returns in Sudeep's chubby body - but will 'Fatso' get his girl?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Purab Kohli, Gul Panag, Neil Bhoopalam, Gunjan Bakshi, Brijendra Kala
Genre: Romance
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Think of all those uber-cool Mumbai movies you've seen - Dil Chahta Hai, Bluffmaster, Wake Up Sid - put them in an imaginary blender, switch on, and hey presto, you have Fatso, frothing over with shots of surfing sea, rain-soaked skies, stylish bars.
Fatso Movie Official Trailer
Add a group of friends led by Navin (Kohli), who pops the question to Nandini (Panag) before crashing headlong into a truck and you have Fatso's main course - how to live after death. And what to do if your buddy, thinking you're in the great beyond, makes a move on your girl.
Fatso's a whimsical film with a rhythm somewhere between jazz and an old Bollywood song. Starting on an innovative note, it's brightened by Kohli's sparkly performance, Panag's dimpled smile and every shot of Mumbai that's made prize-winning cliche-level. Its most stunning sequences however occur in the grim sarkari office everyone apparently visits after they're dead - there is no heaven or hell, posits Fatso, just hundreds of peons, files, queues and babus, eternally occupied in 'mittings'. But Navin refuses to rest in peace till returned to earth - as fat friend Sudeep (Shorey). With Shorey literally getting a new lease of life, having visibly restrained himself as the much-mocked 'saand' of his group, you imagine Fatso's second half will rev up.
Alas. Here's where Fatso flops down heavily. Any sense of magic, of life rescued from death, love saved from vanishing, even the funny ironies of a slim guy stuck in a fat form, is totally missing. The 'friends group' is unconvincing. Kala's notable as a chatty clerk escorting souls about while Panag stands out in the silence of someone hit by grief. A cafe sequence, where Navin sees Nandini ordering spaghetti, then crying in the ladies' room, is moving. But otherwise, strangely flat acting and banal lines leave Fatso more heavy than cheerful.
The film seems overwhelmed by its own smart styling - little details like a dress drying on a clothesline, a girl rubbing hand-cream onto her palms, are clever. But there's too much style, not enough substance. No-one but pretty Tanuja (Bakshi), whose boyfriend Yash (Bhoopalam) hits on Nandini, seems to have a job. Life's a round of bar-hops with holidays when the living gets dull. The movie's peppiest number - 'Fatso! Na jaane kab last time sofe se khara hua' - is reserved for its feeble end, pushed wearily by Shorey listing everything he loves - mangoes to mosquitoes - before Panag mercifully plugs his outpourings with a kiss. Willing, yet weak, Fatso joined a good gym - but could have done with a much stricter trainer.
Story:A rookie guns dealer goes undercover for a cop who is out to crack the illegal arms racket. Caught in a web of lies and miscalculated moves, he becomes the target of suspicion and gun-war.
Movie Review: 'Guns for a cause - Nothing illegal about it!' That is gun dealer Sonu Dilli's ( Emraan Hashmi) theory - If everyone in the world owned a gun, there'd be no war, only peace. He's as easy with his guns as with his gaalis, and like a self-proclaimed KKC (kutti, kameeni cheez), 'humps' a woman, ridiculously to the rhythm of 'ek rasta, do rahi ...' (climaxing to aha aha!). ACP Pratap (Randeep Hooda) is the always bloodshot, almost 'Devdas'esque cop, wallowing in grief at the loss of his wife, killed in one such shootout. This cop of 'caliber', has a personal agenda, he tracks down Sonu Dilli (forever with his pants down), and takes him under his wing as an informer who can expose the illegal gun racket, led by the deadly Mangal Singh Tomar (Manish Choudhary). In the meanwhile, Sonu is shot in the heart (by Cupid), and his ladylove Jaanvi (Esha Gupta) is a doctorni who believes he runs a shop called 'Kareena Cut Piss' (read: cutpiece). Sadly, it's not a 'bullet-proof' plan, all hell breaks loose, with everyone gunning for something, and Jannat seeming like a faraway destination.
Emraan plays Sonu Dilli with a brusque Haryanvi accent, which is forgotten halfway through the movie. He's impressive in intense scenes and panic moments, portraying conflicting emotions with aplomb. He's crass and cool at the same time, wooing the lady, kissing and making love - in true Hashmi style.
Jannat 2 Official Trailer (HD)
The man to watch is hot-gun Randeep Hooda. Explosive in this one. Brooding but brave, intoxicated but vigilant. In this angry young cop avatar, he stuns you with silent pain and frantic outbursts. The film almost rests in his able holster. In probably the best performance of his career, Randeep is 'bang on'.
Debutante Esha Gupta struts ravishingly at times, though expressionless; shoots off a few dialogues, romances Emraan in Sufi-ish songs, and kisses back passionately. Her role is essential to the plot, but is under-written and she is over-exposed (ahaan).
Manish Choudhary is as evil as he can get. More pungent than gunpowder, deadlier than his weapons. He's the baddie that we love to fear.
Hot & Sexy ESHA GUPTA
Director Kunal Deshmukh shoots off gritty action and gushy romance, combined in unequal proportions. The chase sequences give you a shot of adrenaline and the action is high-tension. Although random romantic moments and too many songs break the pace of the story (Shagufta Rafique). The climax is touching, but for a thriller, there are several predictable turns, minus the twists. The dialogues are crude, but suit the rawness of the film, and the actors use cuss words as liberally as their guns. The music (Pritam) is memorable, but only till the next Bhatt album release.
Jannat 2 is a decent crime caper, but doesn't shoot you between the eyes.
Tip Off: If you don't have an appetite for crude desi gaalis, be armed before watching this one!
Story : Once upon a time there was boy named Hugo Cabret who lived in a train station. Despite being single and young, he searched hard to find a secret message from his father. The message, like magic, reached all the way to the right person, till dreams were re-lived.
Movie Review: For the time being, let's keep all this aside: After having released in the U.S last year, Hugo finally releases in India today. Hugo went on to nab 11 nominations and five Oscars this year. With Hugo, directorMartin Scorsese for the first time ever enters three-dimensional territory. Instead, let's talk of this: The Eiffel Tower of the 1930s has never looked so inviting; the snow falling atop the wooden roofs and window panes of old France has never looked so mesmerizing; the world of clocks has never seemed so hi-tech. For starters, Hugo is a visual treat. And now we know why it grabbed the Oscar for Best Visual Effect this year.
But then adding life to all that eye candy is Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), the orphan boy in town, who lives in a railway station, steals croissants, and gets his five minutes of laughter when he spots the odd ones out at the station when peeping from the huge clock tower. Like all restless kids, Hugo too is on the lookout for his 'purpose' which in this case is understanding the secret message his dad (an unfortunately hardly-there Jude Law cameo) brought forth by an old piece of automaton. Helping him in his purpose is yet another kid, Isabella (Chloe Grace Moretz). For her, the 'purpose' is rather simple: adventure calling. Fun while the two are out coding and decoding messages, sketches, and looking out for the right key to get the automaton started. Once functional, you realise there is much more to the movie -- the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies, all his surviving films, his collection of mechanical models called automata, his determination of making dreams (filmmaking) come true.
Watch Hugo Official Movie Trailer (HD)
Now, for the ideation. Hugo lives up to the pages it owes its creation to - Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And why just the plot, Martin Scorsese ensures even the feel of the movie is in sync with the literary version. With 284 pictures between the 533 pages, the book appeals to all for its words as well as pictures. With hardly any dialogues, the movie depends equally on its performance as it does on the picturesque setting. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz are quite successful in taking you back to the Dickensian era... and perhaps a 1930 version of Potter's 9-3-4 platform. Watch Asa go all out to give Chloe her first taste of real adventure - they sneak into a cinema hall. Watch Chloe kiss Asa for the first time ever on his cheeks - something that makes our kid grow up. But the real winner is Ben Kingsley who, as the owner of a small toy shop, 'fixes' whatever little seems to be amiss, both when it comes to machines... and the silent pauses.
Tip off : If the tick-tock of clocks (Hugo is quite low on dialogues) sounds like music to your ears, and the huffing-puffing of steam engines (Hugo brings to life the old French charm) looks like wizardry to your eyes, you are sure to like this one.
Well well... Whatever he is, Justin Biebers' gonna rock Oralando soon some time in January next year. Though he's got much more on the trip, Orlando will be the best attraction whose tickets are only available at 'ticketamerica.com' (orlando justin bieber) Ottawa (ottawa justin bieber) and Philadelphia (philadelphia justin bieber) making it to the second and third. Justin Bieber fans rope up. Make it to Orlando.
The actor - who recently split from long-term love Vanessa Paradis - initially met Amber on the set of movie The Rum Diary, but the pair are believed to have gotten closer and are now an item.
A source told Us Weekly magazine: "They are 100 per cent dating. He treats her really well."
Bisexual Amber, 26, also became single recently, splitting with girlfriend Tasya van Ree.
Johnny Depp has children Lily-Rose, 13 and Jack, 10 with Vanessa - who
he dated for 14 years - and is believed to have ended their relationship
because he considered her to be boring.
A source said: "Johnny didn't want to be with Vanessa anymore. They had
grown so far apart, and he wanted to be free and try new things. He was
bored with her, being with Vanessa was making him miserable. The spark
had gone, and there was nothing left. Johnny just wants more from life
and believes Vanessa deserves to be happier too. He's not embroiled in
some hot and heavy new romance and he has no plans to jump straight into
something straight away, but he is keen to have some fun again."
Lindsay Lohan was spotted smoking and joking with porn star James Deen on Sunday night.
The two are expected to co-star together in Bret Easton Ellis' upcoming movie "The Canyons."
The "American Psycho" author Ellis revealed on Twitter this month, that Lohan would join his latest project.
However, according to RadarOnline, sources close to the actress claimed
that she was having second thoughts, because of graphic nude scenes in
the film, the New York Post reported.
"Lindsay and her team are concerned about the nudity that is involved.
Lindsay would be required to do full frontal nudity, and the sex scenes
are very, very graphic," a source had said.
But it looks like
she's come around as Lohan was seen having dinner last night with Deen
and Ellis at LA restaurant The Churchill, according to Web site
X17online.
And Lohan and Deen were also photographed taking smoking breaks and smiling together outside the restaurant. (ANI).
For more hollywood and Bollywood gossip news,click here.
Story: Agent J has to stop the alien criminal from assassinating his partner, Agent K... in time. But how?
Movie Review: Let's rewind history. Shall we! It's been a decade since the Men in Black (MIB) put on their suits for the last time ever: first in 1997 and then in 2002. So it won't really be a bad idea to brush up a little on why we liked (and missed) the secret society of protectors. Well, the MIB gave us good comedy, great special effects, inspiring performances, and ample action. Welcome to Circa 2012 and nothing much seems to have changed.
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, Jemaine Clement
Genre: Sci-fci
Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER IN HD
There's Agent J (Will Smith) who still gives us rib-tickling moments with his one liners. In his own words: 'Men for me are 'K'; women for me are 'O'. I refer to couples as 'OK'!' There's the grumpy, agent-of-hardly-any-words, K (Tommy Lee Jones), and tales of his heroic deeds and achievements that have been saving planet Earth. And above all, there are aliens, once again seen as our next-door friendly refugees who are still using New York as their hideout from mean intergalactic creatures. Of course, now we have Boris the animal ( Jemaine Clement), who has just escaped from the Lunar prison and is on the lookout for Agent K for settling scores of the last forty years. Agent J, on the other hand, is on a spree to change the course of his buddy and partner's life... and that of mankind. All this, simply to save the future while he travels back in time.
Once the time travel begins (in the movie), it is simply a trip down memory lane. You are actually transported to the USA of the 1960s... in time to witness the launch of Apollo 11 and man's maiden journey to the moon. Don't miss out the setting, the headline makers and the style statement of the Big Brother then. And just incase you thought the Smith-Jones pairing is what kept the MIB series alive, here is more. No doubt, the two have put up a great show in all MIB movies, but taking the partnership forward this time is the Will Smith (Agent J) - Josh Brolin (Agent K, the younger one) bonding. In fact, it's hard to believe that Agent K of the 1960s is not really Agent K of 2012. So convincing is Brolin as the young Tommy Lee Jones. As for Will Smith, he fits the bill (the MIB suit in every sense of the word) as always.
Now, for the special effects. The monster show where Smith fights it out with a huge fish that attacks diners is surely worth every penny. The moment when Smith jumps off the Empire State Building to travel back to the past is worth every cutting-edge moment. Add to that some cool gadgets -- the state-of-the-art MIB workplace and the wheel Hoover-bike, for instance -- and you are left high and dry.
Sadly, it's the 3D that does not really spruce up the drama, but once you know you are in for some real MIB-isms (a hi-tech, buddy sci-fi comedy that features everything weird, creepy, funny and wonderful in and around the universe), you don't really care.
Story: Low-life thief Shiva and top-cop Vikram Rathore are identical. Vikram's killed by foes but his daughter thinks Shiva's her dad - can this Rowdy win respect?
Movie Review: In case I get a spelling wrong, that's because my ears are still ringing with all the seetis and taalis at Rowdy Rathore. The film's an unabashed, gunpowder-hot, sambar-spiced star-vehicle which runs along energetically most of the time because its star - Akshay Kumar, essaying a double role as Rathore and Shiva - is worth it, something that's emphasized often. At one point, a girl asks Shiva, pursuing pretty Paaro (Sinha) from Patna, 'Na tum mein Hrithik ke looks hain, na Shah Rukh ka charm, na Aamir ki cuteness, na Salman ki body - what's so cool about you?' Akshay drawls back, "Lagta hai Khiladi ko bhool gayi aap." Cue for crowd - erupt in rapture.
ROWDY RATHORE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
Multiply that moment by 100 and you have Rowdy Rathore, a peppery pot-boiler brimming over with action, slapstick comedy and romance, dynamite lines and Akshay Kumar - lots of Akshay Kumar, channeling vintage heroes Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, adding a dollop of Jeetendra, topping with his trademark flair as he snarls, tongue deeply in-cheek, "Don't angry me!"
A lull in its second half aside, Rowdy's mostly quick-stepping, moving from Mumbai's malls to medieval Bihar where Baapji (Nasser) and his hamming henchmen terrorise Devgarh's townsfolk through pillage, beatings and rape. Till cop Vikram Rathore (Kumar) arrives on the Shramjeevi Express, assaulting local yokels with handy gannas, infusing new meaning to 'sugar-cane'. With terrific overhead shots capturing his exploits, the fearless Rathore even bumps off Baapji's vicious beta Munna, so Baapji won't rest till Vikram is killed.
SEXY SINHA: SONAKSHI SINHA
Despite an injury to his brain (which the doctor says causes 'hammo-rage'), Vikram and his little daughter Chinki reach Mumbai. Here, their paths cross with Shiva who adopts Chinki when Vikram's felled. And goes to Devgarh where he tells Baapji, 'A village can have only one Rowdy.' It's time Baapji - or 'lemon-chus', as Rowdy addresses him - shoved off.
This involves toe-curling violence though. A guy gets stabbed in the mouth, a head's crushed on a rock, swords slash through navels. Against the gore, Shiva's dancing with Paaro provides breezy relief but the music itself is unmemorable. In a Prabhudheva picture, expectedly the dances are eye-catching, some moves like sweet caresses, some sexy little bites. Sonakshi glows as Paaro, a spunky Indian beauty showing flashes of her star-father's confidence when she snarls at the villains, 'O saand ke bhes mein kukur." This Patna girl's stepped out in style with Rowdy. But the same can't be said for those playing Devgarh's dread-struck. Apart from Yashpal Sharma (sincere as a junior cop), the rest are unconvincing, as is the villainous set-up itself, located somewhere oddly between feudal Bihar, accented Andhra and Sholay's bandit lair.
Indeed, Rowdy Rathore pays homage to iconic filmi characters - identical heroes, golden-hearted chors, brave Men in Brown beating evil people to pulp. However, it pays most homage to its own star, Akshay Kumar, who pulls off Shiva with style but Vikram less so, possibly because all that violence overwhelms acting itself. Not that the crowd seemed to mind. As Shiva exhorts a woman raped by Baapji's son to beat him up, the girl next to me cried, "Why doesn't she?" Her neighbour replied, "She will." And she did - much to the crowd's Rowdy delight.
Tip-Off: Fans will love Akshay's mooch-twirling masala-act but be ready for hardcore action too - some pretty gruesome.
Story: Damyaan, the evil snake of Sonpur, is simply a step away from being over powerful and immortal since he has access to the Book of Magi. What's stopping him? The curse that has him locked inside a palace for ages... a curse that shall be broken should the king of Dholakpur set him free. Now, the king does set him free (by mistake) and then chaos forms the order of the day. Can Chhota Bheem and team stop Damyaan from doing the unwanted? Can Chhota Bheem and his team make Dholakpur one happy place to live happily ever after in?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Voice by Kaustav Ghosh, Rupa Bhimani
Direction: Rajiv Chilaka
Genre: Animation
Duration: 1 hour 27 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review : Jham, jham, jhambhura! Now we know why our tweeny lot always maange more of Chhota Bheem. After all, our hero can do anything and everything that every Bollywood mainstream hero does. Chhota Bheem can save the girls from being kidnapped. Chhota Bheem can fight a dozen of bad guys at the same time. Chhota Bheem can fight tigers and snakes. And, most importantly, Chhota Bheem knows how to be in sync with the time - he can play (and win) the T20 cricket tournament in town. Not to miss out is his looks: Chhota Bheem is a hit with girls in his kingdom (He looks rather cute), and has a couple of pretty things hitting on him!
Now for the movie. Talk of animation and it's bright and colourful, though not really sharp.
Next, talk of music and there's ample to tap your foot. In fact, the theme track (sung by Shaan) works well. As for the fun, it's all in there to make our under-12s happy. Case in point, Chhota Bheem goes all dishum dishum with Damyaan, Bheem and his team being gifted with magical powers. However, the wait for fun unlimited is a bit too long. And if tween claps is what you are on the lookout for, there's ample scope particularly when our little hero fights one enemy after the other... all in a row: first the giant spider, then the tiger, then the MMA warrior, then the snake guy.... Finally, those into sci-fi stuff can have there share of time travel as well - of course, it's absoluetly desi in every sense of the word.
Sadly it's the voice-over that just does not seem to connect well specially for a face like that of Chhota Bheem. But then you might choose to overlook that considering there is hardly happening entertainment for kids in desi cinema. Right bachcha party?
Story: It does not take long for Edgar Allen Poe's murder mystery tales to turn into reality, courtesy a serial killer. Now, what will it take to stop those gruesome murders?
Critic's Rating:
Cast: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson
Direction: James McTeigue
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Those into Edgar Allen Poe shall be left satisfied. The first shot of the movie tells you this one is possibly on the lines of a biography: There have been lots of theories as to how Poe died; The Raven adds a new dimension. Those into his tales of mystery too shall have no reason to complain. The Raven is an amalgamation of a couple of whodunnit tales from the greatest inventor of the detective genre. And those into neither, can treat The Raven as your usual dose of murder, mystery and thrill.
THE RAVEN OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
First, it's two women who are murdered in a locked room. Enter detective Emmett Fields ( Luke Evans) who traces it back to Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Next, a man is discovered sliced into two, just as in Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. Enter detective Fields... this time with Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) himself. Interestingly, it's Poe himself who ends up solving his own murder mysteries. But then you've got to pay the price. In this case, blood, gore and soul-stirring crime, specially when the pendulum cuts the man into two. As for John Cusack, he is bang on as Poe when it comes to the looks. As for Poe's character, it comes rather naturally to the actor.
Back to the murder and thrill. There are tense moments, chases, one puzzle leading to the other. There's also a Victorian setting, a serial-killer, his tricks... and of course, Edgar Allen Poe's macabre tales.
Like other Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) films, Department has an idea - a force to finish the underworld by stepping over the law's boundaries. But like other RGV flicks, this one also blasts itself out of the water, leaving you savouring jarring camerawork, flimsy acting and over-the-top violence. Inspector Mahadev Bhosle (Dutt) creates Mumbai's department to battle, ahem, mafia dons Mohammad Ghori and Sawatiya (Raaz). Bhosle inducts Shivnarayan (Daggubati) and with skulls crashing on walls, children flung out of windows and criminals impaled on rods, they take on the underworld. So far, so gross, but the film pulls along, powered largely by Daggubati whose smokin' machismo holds Department together - but not for long. That's despite Bachchan popping up as don-turned-politico Sarjerao Gaikwad, all silvery hair, dark glasses, manic laughter and a tinkling bell. Bachchan's clearly having fun - but few viewers are.
That's because Department, which should've been a taut, tense encounter between three strong men, is instead ripped to shreds by too many weak actors given puzzlingly large roles. There's a most non-don-like Raaz, living in a shed, sporting an enviably slender waist exposed by mysteriously thin dhotis. His sullen sidekicks DK (Singh) and Naseer (Shalini) make one of the most unattractive screen duos ever. They mouth lines banally, shoot bullets expressionlessly, blow smoke dully into each other's mouths, yet have more screen time than Bachchan even. Others - like Shiv's wife Bharti (Sukhani, pleasant) - have little to do except dodge those bullets and bodies.
Watch Department Movie Trailer (HD)
The violence might even have clicked, considering the tale's twists - but crazy camerawork makes you forget all that. Varma's experimented, placing multiple cameras at different angles, treating you to close-ups of bottles pressed to mouths, lips sucking cigarettes, zooms up Dutt's hairline. The camera even flips upside down, puncturing the tension that should've vibrated between Bachchan and Dutt. One line - "Chamatkaar ko namaskar" - nails it. You stagger out sensing something wasted - Nathalia Kaur's item number's more hideous than hot, the prettiest thing around is a translucent tea-cup, the action is mind-numbing. Losing the plot and three strong stars, Department shoots itself in the foot.
Story:Where love and hate collide, this love story is born. Two people who're raised hating each other, break the unwritten family dictat; and fall in love. These outlaws of love thus start a new war.
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Direction: Habib Faisal
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review:It's the war of the roses. And it's as (t)horny as it can get. Splattered with bandooks and badmaashi, goondas and gaalis - starts this ajab prem kahani. Firebrands Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra) are childhood hate-mates, born into politically warring families who've avowed to hate unto death. So, in the rustic and earthy brown landscape of small-town Almore - where pocket guns are a fashion accessory, and local yokels could kill for anything - diesel or dancing girl Chand (Gauhar Khan), the Queen of 'KwalityBaar' - a love story blossoms between loveable rowdy rascal Parma and feisty, free-spirited Zoya. They growl at each other with the same fierce passion with which they grope each other and get-it-on. Most riveting in this love-hate plot, is the (fore)playful chemistry between the two, with their volatile verbal wars, and sexed-up lovemaking; even between chases and gunshots. Rare indeed to find such a beautifully complementing debut pair onscreen.
ISHAQZAADE OFFICIAL TRAILER (HD)
In an impressive debut, Arjun Kapoor believably plays Parma with dollops of arrogance, energy and unabashed guts; chomping with the same crudity with which he shoots, spits gaalis, pisses on posters, manhandles his girl and makes raw love. He uses his boy-man charm topped with that infectious 'batteesi' effectively, and keeps up the temperatures throughout.
Parineeti Chopra is fabulously effervescent. As the 'mango 'ishmile' flashing Zoya, she's adorable and admirable. She lacks the obvious, larger-than-life mega-screen presence, but wins you over with her 'item'bomb' simplicity.
Gauhar Khan 'reveals' a lot more, of her acting skills that is.
UPCOMING VOLCANO: Parineeti Chopra
Director Habib Faisal takes you into the heart of this small-town story, creating a politically-divided Almore with elan - penning gripping characters (a rigid and arrogant Dadda, a suppressed, dukhiari Amma, two overbearing brothers), but fails to maintain the crescendo in the second half. After highlights like a sensitively shot lovemaking scene on a rusty train berth, a subtly picturized romantic song (Pareshan), and a shocking pre-interval scene, it starts falling apart like a house of cards; ultimately folding into a predictable climax. The flatness of the second half is what takes away from the pace of a launch vehicle that could've been memorable.
'Ishaqzaade' starts with a bang-bang, but ends up firing blanks.
Story: Logan Thibault walks all the way from Colorado to Hampton in search of the woman he thinks was his lucky charm while he was serving as war soldier in Iraq...
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart, Jay R. Ferguson
Direction: Scott Hicks
Genre: Romance
Duration: 1 hour 41 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: The problem with screen adaptations of novels written by Nicholas Sparks is that if it's not bang on (in story and spirit), it might get Nicholas fans a little disappointed. Remember Nights in Rodanthe? And if it's minor changes in the plot that we're talking about, as in The Lucky One, we don't really know how Nicholas fans are set to react.
Logan Thibault ( Zac Efron), a marine having served three tours in the Iraq war finally decides to call it quits. But before that he has an unfinished task: He is hell bent on finding the woman whose picture he has been carrying all throughout the war. For the record, his friend and now he himself, feels that it's Beth's picture which has been saving grace, literally. So out he is on a mission to find his lady luck, meet her and as Dame Fortune would have it, fall for her. But then love, as we know, has never really been that simple.
The setting is perfect: the woody countryside, streams running into nowhere and a laidback life led by the inhabitants. Coming from one of the best selling contemporary romantic authors, this romantic plot is nothing short of perfect. The performances good: Zac, like Logan in the pages, is a man of few words, seldom smiles and is pretty cool at his job -- walking the dogs. Taylor Schilling's Beth, again like the pages, has her highs and lows as she goes about proclaiming to be a 'damn-good-mother'.
The Lucky One Movie Official Trailer (HD)
But all said and done, something still seems to be missing out there. Now what is it? Is it Logan who in the very first meeting with Beth (unlike the book) is ready to play plot spoiler? Or is it director Scott Hicks who (unlike the book) does not let the romance and Sparks-ian mush brew between the two love birds? Or is it the bonding (unlike the book) between the nanny and her granddaughter that never really happens? Or finally, is it Zeus (the loyal dog) who (unlike the book) barely has screen time, leave alone being the hero in the end? Yes, the hero is someone else here.
Now, don't go looking for The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, and you might not end up complaining.
Story:Navin and Nandini are to marry - but Navin dies in an accident that wasn't supposed to kill him. He returns in Sudeep's chubby body - but will 'Fatso' get his girl?
Critic's Rating:
Direction: Rajat Kapoor
Cast: Ranvir Shorey, Purab Kohli, Gul Panag, Neil Bhoopalam, Gunjan Bakshi, Brijendra Kala
Genre: Romance
Avg Readers Rating:
Movie Review: Think of all those uber-cool Mumbai movies you've seen - Dil Chahta Hai, Bluffmaster, Wake Up Sid - put them in an imaginary blender, switch on, and hey presto, you have Fatso, frothing over with shots of surfing sea, rain-soaked skies, stylish bars.
Fatso Movie Official Trailer
Add a group of friends led by Navin (Kohli), who pops the question to Nandini (Panag) before crashing headlong into a truck and you have Fatso's main course - how to live after death. And what to do if your buddy, thinking you're in the great beyond, makes a move on your girl.
Fatso's a whimsical film with a rhythm somewhere between jazz and an old Bollywood song. Starting on an innovative note, it's brightened by Kohli's sparkly performance, Panag's dimpled smile and every shot of Mumbai that's made prize-winning cliche-level. Its most stunning sequences however occur in the grim sarkari office everyone apparently visits after they're dead - there is no heaven or hell, posits Fatso, just hundreds of peons, files, queues and babus, eternally occupied in 'mittings'. But Navin refuses to rest in peace till returned to earth - as fat friend Sudeep (Shorey). With Shorey literally getting a new lease of life, having visibly restrained himself as the much-mocked 'saand' of his group, you imagine Fatso's second half will rev up.
Alas. Here's where Fatso flops down heavily. Any sense of magic, of life rescued from death, love saved from vanishing, even the funny ironies of a slim guy stuck in a fat form, is totally missing. The 'friends group' is unconvincing. Kala's notable as a chatty clerk escorting souls about while Panag stands out in the silence of someone hit by grief. A cafe sequence, where Navin sees Nandini ordering spaghetti, then crying in the ladies' room, is moving. But otherwise, strangely flat acting and banal lines leave Fatso more heavy than cheerful.
The film seems overwhelmed by its own smart styling - little details like a dress drying on a clothesline, a girl rubbing hand-cream onto her palms, are clever. But there's too much style, not enough substance. No-one but pretty Tanuja (Bakshi), whose boyfriend Yash (Bhoopalam) hits on Nandini, seems to have a job. Life's a round of bar-hops with holidays when the living gets dull. The movie's peppiest number - 'Fatso! Na jaane kab last time sofe se khara hua' - is reserved for its feeble end, pushed wearily by Shorey listing everything he loves - mangoes to mosquitoes - before Panag mercifully plugs his outpourings with a kiss. Willing, yet weak, Fatso joined a good gym - but could have done with a much stricter trainer.
Story:A rookie guns dealer goes undercover for a cop who is out to crack the illegal arms racket. Caught in a web of lies and miscalculated moves, he becomes the target of suspicion and gun-war.
Movie Review: 'Guns for a cause - Nothing illegal about it!' That is gun dealer Sonu Dilli's ( Emraan Hashmi) theory - If everyone in the world owned a gun, there'd be no war, only peace. He's as easy with his guns as with his gaalis, and like a self-proclaimed KKC (kutti, kameeni cheez), 'humps' a woman, ridiculously to the rhythm of 'ek rasta, do rahi ...' (climaxing to aha aha!). ACP Pratap (Randeep Hooda) is the always bloodshot, almost 'Devdas'esque cop, wallowing in grief at the loss of his wife, killed in one such shootout. This cop of 'caliber', has a personal agenda, he tracks down Sonu Dilli (forever with his pants down), and takes him under his wing as an informer who can expose the illegal gun racket, led by the deadly Mangal Singh Tomar (Manish Choudhary). In the meanwhile, Sonu is shot in the heart (by Cupid), and his ladylove Jaanvi (Esha Gupta) is a doctorni who believes he runs a shop called 'Kareena Cut Piss' (read: cutpiece). Sadly, it's not a 'bullet-proof' plan, all hell breaks loose, with everyone gunning for something, and Jannat seeming like a faraway destination.
Emraan plays Sonu Dilli with a brusque Haryanvi accent, which is forgotten halfway through the movie. He's impressive in intense scenes and panic moments, portraying conflicting emotions with aplomb. He's crass and cool at the same time, wooing the lady, kissing and making love - in true Hashmi style.
Jannat 2 Official Trailer (HD)
The man to watch is hot-gun Randeep Hooda. Explosive in this one. Brooding but brave, intoxicated but vigilant. In this angry young cop avatar, he stuns you with silent pain and frantic outbursts. The film almost rests in his able holster. In probably the best performance of his career, Randeep is 'bang on'.
Debutante Esha Gupta struts ravishingly at times, though expressionless; shoots off a few dialogues, romances Emraan in Sufi-ish songs, and kisses back passionately. Her role is essential to the plot, but is under-written and she is over-exposed (ahaan).
Manish Choudhary is as evil as he can get. More pungent than gunpowder, deadlier than his weapons. He's the baddie that we love to fear.
Hot & Sexy ESHA GUPTA
Director Kunal Deshmukh shoots off gritty action and gushy romance, combined in unequal proportions. The chase sequences give you a shot of adrenaline and the action is high-tension. Although random romantic moments and too many songs break the pace of the story (Shagufta Rafique). The climax is touching, but for a thriller, there are several predictable turns, minus the twists. The dialogues are crude, but suit the rawness of the film, and the actors use cuss words as liberally as their guns. The music (Pritam) is memorable, but only till the next Bhatt album release.
Jannat 2 is a decent crime caper, but doesn't shoot you between the eyes.
Tip Off: If you don't have an appetite for crude desi gaalis, be armed before watching this one!
Story : Once upon a time there was boy named Hugo Cabret who lived in a train station. Despite being single and young, he searched hard to find a secret message from his father. The message, like magic, reached all the way to the right person, till dreams were re-lived.
Movie Review: For the time being, let's keep all this aside: After having released in the U.S last year, Hugo finally releases in India today. Hugo went on to nab 11 nominations and five Oscars this year. With Hugo, directorMartin Scorsese for the first time ever enters three-dimensional territory. Instead, let's talk of this: The Eiffel Tower of the 1930s has never looked so inviting; the snow falling atop the wooden roofs and window panes of old France has never looked so mesmerizing; the world of clocks has never seemed so hi-tech. For starters, Hugo is a visual treat. And now we know why it grabbed the Oscar for Best Visual Effect this year.
But then adding life to all that eye candy is Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), the orphan boy in town, who lives in a railway station, steals croissants, and gets his five minutes of laughter when he spots the odd ones out at the station when peeping from the huge clock tower. Like all restless kids, Hugo too is on the lookout for his 'purpose' which in this case is understanding the secret message his dad (an unfortunately hardly-there Jude Law cameo) brought forth by an old piece of automaton. Helping him in his purpose is yet another kid, Isabella (Chloe Grace Moretz). For her, the 'purpose' is rather simple: adventure calling. Fun while the two are out coding and decoding messages, sketches, and looking out for the right key to get the automaton started. Once functional, you realise there is much more to the movie -- the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies, all his surviving films, his collection of mechanical models called automata, his determination of making dreams (filmmaking) come true.
Watch Hugo Official Movie Trailer (HD)
Now, for the ideation. Hugo lives up to the pages it owes its creation to - Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And why just the plot, Martin Scorsese ensures even the feel of the movie is in sync with the literary version. With 284 pictures between the 533 pages, the book appeals to all for its words as well as pictures. With hardly any dialogues, the movie depends equally on its performance as it does on the picturesque setting. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz are quite successful in taking you back to the Dickensian era... and perhaps a 1930 version of Potter's 9-3-4 platform. Watch Asa go all out to give Chloe her first taste of real adventure - they sneak into a cinema hall. Watch Chloe kiss Asa for the first time ever on his cheeks - something that makes our kid grow up. But the real winner is Ben Kingsley who, as the owner of a small toy shop, 'fixes' whatever little seems to be amiss, both when it comes to machines... and the silent pauses.
Tip off : If the tick-tock of clocks (Hugo is quite low on dialogues) sounds like music to your ears, and the huffing-puffing of steam engines (Hugo brings to life the old French charm) looks like wizardry to your eyes, you are sure to like this one.
