Movie Time

I probably watched a record number of movies over the last two weeks of 2009 than compared to the whole year. So much so that now every time I would switch on the movie Kochunni would stop playing with his cars and run shouting “Samayam Aayee” (Its time) and sit down cross-legged on the floor, with a wicked grin lighting up his face. Then when the movie would not start immediately but rather the credits would start to roll, he would impatiently look at me as if I did something wrong with the DVD.

3 Idiots turned out to be a great movie, equal doses of laughter and sadness, wonderfully placed songs, good acting and overall a great performance. The climax though a little melodramatic worked for the movie and I am eagerly waiting to watch the movie again on DVD at home. Even though the movie has a lot of well-placed humor it wasn’t a kid friendly movie by any measure and a couple of scenes were probably downright inappropriate for kids, so my two cents if you can leave the kids behind take that option.

Whats your Rashee turned out to be somewhat better than expected, probably because our expectations were lower. Priyanka actually pulled off her 12 roles with some of them executed especially well, though Harman was disappointing. But worst of all was the climax which was a total let down, which is I think the reason reason why the movie so unsuccessful, of course having 13 songs also doesn’t help unless all of them are equally great numbers either. My two cents, keep this movie for a lazy afternoon and if you have some Gujju friends call them over for some time pass!

Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year was the movie we watched on New Year’s Eve rather late into the night. Turns out Ranbir Kapoor is – an absolutely great performer, he does well as the underdog that as audience we want to cheer him along though not for a moment do we feel that he is unreal. The story is executed well from all points of view, the office politics –the bickering colleagues over sales quota to party nights when the team hits the numbers ; as well as the little love story of the main protagonist. The supporting characters from the receptionist, the server guy, the grandfather do their part very well and you see enough of their daily struggles that it draws you into the movie even more. Then again, it’s a slow running movie, but if you are patient you are duly rewarded with a good movie.

X-Mas Time!

Christmas weekend resulted in a trip to Dallas and spending time with family and friends. Kochunni was anxious this year to get "shoes that light up" from Santa, though luckily he did not seem to care that we will not be at our home for Santa to come. We made sure to buy the shoes and took it with us to Dallas. Rest of the christmas shopping this year turned out to be easy with online shopping.

Christmas eve had bright snowflakes hitting the ground that by evening turned the whole area into a white Christmas. After some nice dinner we put the kids to sleep and packed up all the gifts and put them under the tree. The older kids woke up early and woke up Kochunni asking him to come check out the treasures that Santa had left behind. Everyone got what they had wished for and then some more. It turned out to be a great day to stay indoors, eat wonderful food and watch a movie. This weekend seemed like the back-to-back movie outing that started out with 3 Idiots at the theater, Wake up Sid, Whats your Rashee and all the home movies.

We also went on a photo session for the kids and as it turns out my son is a teenager already when it comes to photo sessions – he wouldn’t look when asked to, no smiles and make absurd faces that practically made half of the photos useless. But we managed and bought a whole slew of pictures that now I need to figure where to hang them.

In all, a great Christmas weekend.

Merry Christmas!

To Russia, With Love

How cute is this? This guys seems to know Hindi and Russian and can definitely sing a tune.



Original Songs:
Jimmy Aaja


Goro Ki Na Kalo Ki

Kinda dumb. Don't You think?

Movies, I admit are one of my weakness. Does this make me any less smart?

Wanna watch a movie where a ‘pharin-returned’ (foreign) hero is so dumb that he keeps his hard-earned cash with him rather than a bank and then goes on lose it all in a fight with the bad guys on a rainy afternoon – watch Maine Pyar Kiya

If you want to watch a couple fall in love with one massive blow out kiss in rain and then never ever communicate with each other, watch Raja Hindustani

If you really craving for some melodrama about a guy only noticing the woman of his dreams – “the Bharitya nari in chiffon saris” watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

For a simple way of life becoming so messy and complicated with one trip down the flight of stairs watch Hum Apake Hai Kaun. Stairs=death, take the elevator always!

So why do I sit and poke holes at some top movies from yesteryear's because of this question that seems to be on everyone’s lips these days – Three not so great plots or stories – Rab De, Ghajini, Chandini Chowk are churning out money like popcorn (haven’t watched either of the above mentioned ones). Time and again, people have spent money and time to sit through movies that have gaping holes in them, to make them ‘blockbuster’ of the year. Does this mean the audience which is You and I, are idiots or better at suspending our rational thought for 3 hours? Pray tell.

To me its personal - I could only watch KKHH once and that too was a pain in ass, because the portrayal and the story of Shahrukh’s character and Kajol (Rahul/Anjali) felt so wrong to me. Clothes maketh a man, but what about personality, compatibility, do they not count in a relationship? I felt so bad on the whole – I mean you could make KKHH part two with Rahul and Anjali’s kid trying to re-unite Anjali and Aman (Salman), because oh Rahul dies on his way to work! Jeez! And what with 8 letters, didn’t she have time to write a few more? On the other hand I can still watch MPK especially the first part for the innocence, the laughter and fun portrayed. On the other hand I could have choked myself to death watching Kabhie Kushi Kabhie Gam – especially every time the song came on, which was like every minute. There have been decent movies too with a plot and a storyline– Lagaan, Rock On, Dil Chahta Hai etc that make movie watching a fun experience. Unfortunately they might not be the biggest blockbusters. On the whole the theater run is scared, movies that don’t get the best reviews are for a DVD rental or TV movie only. That’s just me.

The point, yes there is one, is when you go watch a movie you have the suspend your beliefs, but the distinction is by how much. How much suspension might depend of how much you like the star, how much you ‘want’ to like the movie, how much fun you had while watching the movie and so much more. I don’t think ‘dumb’ movies are restricted to any particular language or country either, it’s what you are exposed to and how the matter is presented that matters. For instance, so many movies portrayed a hero who could beat up bad guys and emerge triumphant at the end, heroes who don’t even looked the part, but Matrix changed the dynamics of the plot/story to actually portray the same by calling it all an illusion, and that worked. This time around, it looks feasible. But certainly not all plots lends to justification of the story or a scene like the 100 year old Harrison Ford surviving a nuclear explosion by sitting inside a refrigerator. WTF!

So go on, have a popcorn, waste the $’s, suspend your beliefs and ENJOY ‘if’ you can or move over the dumb patrol is already on the scene. :D

A Wednesday

Reviews are a matter of opinions, you take it or leave it, but it also adds a little perceptive to our thoughts. We saw the movie ‘A Wednesday’ at our cousin’s house at my jiju’s insistence – really it was the battle was between Bejja Fry and Pirates of the Caribbean and somehow this little known movie won. Its just a story that happens on a Wednesday and therefore the name, It has elements of Fox’s 24 and Bruce Wills Die Hard but still is intrinsically Indian and no, not with song and dance (of which there is none) but just the visuals and the straightforward dialogues. With a great cast Shergill, Shah, Kher it promises a thriller ride for everyone (not kids of course). A couple of newcomers (I think) the TV reporter, the good cop, have done their work well too add to the whole experience.

The movie talks about terrorism in the background but mainly its about our society - the one we all live in and breathe or at least try to. Crisp (most of the time) and edgy it’s a decent movie from start to finish.



Ok, my first review reveals nothing about the movie, but that just it – for this one, go without reading too many reviews or plot lines, otherwise it will spoil the experience – I don’t want to give anything away, just know that it’s a good ride and if you don’t like it come back and we can have a discussion about it, ok? :D