Khatta Meetha

Its a Priyadarshan movie. I shouldn't have had more expectations after his De Dana Dan and that is the sole reason why I didn't leave the screen midway.
The pivot of the story is corruption. This time round the corruption in the construction business, road construction is explored.
But, the movie lacks direction. Somewhere in between you hear dialogues like "tu to grahan ke din paida hua tha. Tu to mhanoos hai. Tujhese kuch nai hoga" i.e. "You were born on the day there was an eclipse, you are unlucky. You will never be able to accomplish anything in life". Which made me think, is it this topic we are highlighting?
Somewhere in between, we have an honest person, become corrupt so that he can make money. So he makes roads which are of low quality. Okay, so this is the topic right?
But then, you see someone kill an innocent person, after pushing the blame of his wrong doings on him. And a reporter who is trying to unveil the truth of the incident. He is killed before he can reach the court etc. since he is killed by a politician So, we are now talking about politicians here.
But then, in between, we have good comical dialogues and scenes where the road roller keeps moving down a slope and breaks into someone's house. So this is a comedy flick right?

There was an effort I believe to bring out humour in theis corrupt world of ours, poignant humour (I hope this term exists). But, the effort failed terribly. Songs come and go in between for no rhyme and reason, reminds you of typical bollywood movies right? But we have come way ahead of that stage in bollywood, so why keep going back? And Priyadarshan...come on, if you can make movies like Hera Pheri, why make Khatta Meetha?

Akshay Kumar is the same as always, and it feels like an overdose. Rajpal Yadav does well, but cannot save the movie. Johnny Lever, do not accept such roles, so that atleast your previously hard earned honour remains intact. And the heroine, Trisha Krishnan is a part of the movie only for an effort of glamour.
Please, don't bother!

--
Zaru

Salt

Intention - make money
Achieved - using Angelina Jolie. She has fans .. a huge lot of fans. Then again she's doing all those cool stunts. So the shows are houseful.

Story - Is trivial. There is a traitor somewhere who wants to kill the Russian President, someone frames her and spreads the word that she is a Russian spy. The story is nothing more but her struggle to prove her innocence, find the real traitor and save her husband.

Direction - Even though the story was rather trivial, this movie could have been a lesser disaster. There is too much confusion throughout. You have no clue whether you are being shown the past or the present. At the end you are left with questions like "Who was this guy?" "Why was this guy in the story?" "Where did this mega destruction weapon fit in?"
and finally
"Why did I go watch this movie?"
and even worse
"Why was this show houseful?"

--
Zaru

Hotel Rwanda

This is a movie that released in 2004 that won many accolades internationally. I happened to find the name a little hatke and so decided to give it a watch. And believe me, you will not be disappointed.

In Africa, there were mainly two tribes the Hutus and the Tutsis. The Hutus believe they are supreme and the Tutsis are cockroaches and need to be eradicated. There is a radio station that keeps broadcasting how the Hutus should join forces and clean the earth of these cockroaches. It is in this state that there arises a civil war, with the Hutu army coming out on streets killing Tutsis..mainly the children so that they can finish off ther next generation and thus prevent any more from stemming. The hutu army called the militia killed mercilessly any Tutsi they saw.

Here we have Paul Russesebagina who strives in difficult situations to keep his family alive. It is a true story about Paul Rusesebagina, a Hutu and his wife Tatiana a Tutsi, and how he strives to save his family and also helps others in need against all odds.

Paul is a hotel manager of an international Hotel Mille Collines. He shelters almost more than a thousand Tutsis and takes them to security. We also see how corrupt the militia are and bow down if given booze and money. Also the UN who is supposed to intervene and help these people only makes arrangements to evacuate the whiltes from the province. They very easily turn their back on the others since they are black, they are Africans!

The movie is very well made. The best scene is where Paul is going to get supplies for the hotel and his car keeps hitting roadblocks and the expression on his face when he sees why. After he comes back to the hotel all his composure is lost. He knows he cannot tell his wife the truth for it will be too much for her to take. It gives you goosebumps. The performances of all the actors is so real that for the whole movie you feel it is you who is being tortured, who is fighting for life, who is striving to keep people safe.

I'd say do watch this movie when you can. Its an awesome movie and it makes me wonder...the same thing might have happened in Kashmir...but the Bollywood movies we make on such subjects never have such an effect on you. We should learn to keep serious movies serious and not add songs and love scenes to spice it up where not needed. 

Anyway, kudos to this director for such a fine piece of direction. Thanks!

I Hate Luv Storys

...and if you don't, you will if you live through the movie.
The movie's story is ...oops sorry I know its not present, but if you call it a story, then..it is based on how horrendously non-different all Bollywood love stories are. But, what do we have here, another typical mushy, happy-ending-always, dumb-dialogues and extra-exaggerated-climax-proposals. How "different" right?

The movie starts off and you know you've made a wrong movie choice. Anyhow, you can sit through the first half. But the second half, is super stretched as if it wasn't already a typical Bollywood movie.

Direction...I'd say not bad but wasted on an invisible script. Though there are places where the direction fell short, for example the song "I hate luv storys" is put there with no connection at all. If an average viewer like me can notice that, it should have been worked upon by the creative teams that develop and scan and rescan movies to check for flaws they could correct.
But, I'm sorry..it is the director's responsibility to make "actors" act..am I correct? Then I'm sorry the director has failed.
Imran Khan, Aamir's blood runs in him, but his expressions throughout the movie were the same. Be it a scene where he is laughing mischievously or a scene where he is supposed to be dejected on being rejected. Come on, don't play a chocolate-lover-boy character if you cannot at least portray the emotions of love. Sonam, I'd say has done a much better job. In scenes where she is supposed to be dejected, she at least isn't smiling..never mind the stone faced gaze which portrays no emotion at all.
Okay, can I also tear apart the dilaogues now that I haven't liked anything about the movie? No, I think I'll spare that, they were bad, but then there were worser things. So, please please don't bother. And if you do, let me know if your views differ.

Toy Story 3

This is a movie, you should really really not miss! It has been released in 3d too, but you could skip the third dimension. The 3d effects are clean just like in Alice in Wonderland, but not necessarily needed.

The movie starts with, sorry I cannot miss the part before the movie. There is an animation about day and night which is in no way connected to the movie. But it has been put there for your entertainment and your awe. It is very creative and only so, has made its way to Pixar. Do no miss that part (This is for all those like me, who generally miss the beginning of movies :P).

Now, the movie. It starts with a flashback, the kid playing with his toys. That part is particularly funny and cute and imaginative. Ever considered a death option like 'death by monkeys' :D Then reality dawns on Andy's toys. Andy has grown up and is moving out to go to college. He will no more play with his childhood favorites Woody and Buzz Lightyear. One statement that touched me was, one of the toys said "Yay, he touched me...he touched me". This was when Andy touched a toy to pick it up and place it in the storage trunk, where all his childhood toys now lied. All the toys like to be played with. But here they were feeling abandoned. Woody tries to keep all the toys together by explaining to them that even if Andy does not play with us anymore, he will not abandon us. He will keep us safe in his attic.
But then, as fate would have it, all the toys accidentally reach a day care center where there are lots of kids and toys they play with. All the toys are delighted that they would be played with after all, that is what they are made for. But woody is firm on his decision and feels that Andy needs them. He leaves the group and makes his way towards Andy. On the way he faces some difficulties and meets a small cute kid named (I don't remember her name) who takes very good care of her toys. And that's where he learns that the day care center is a nightmare for the toys. There is an evil bear who runs the place and the only way toys can leave that place is after they are dead i..e broken. Then starts the great escape and realization that Andy in fact meant to keep them in the attic and not abandon them.
The movie is very well made. The creativity and the thought behind each character is amazing. Even a toy's life is not as easy as it seems :).
What this movie did for me was, bring back all my childhood memories and transported me into a world where I had my Barbie dolls and Lego houses and all the dreams we then had as kids.
So, don't miss this movie. It is a must watch!