Review
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I’ve spoken of formulaic movies in the past, and how I get antsy if they don’t try anything original within the framework they operate under. If you’re going to ride the shoulders of giants, the least you can do is jump. Otherwise, what good are you? Chak De India is a formulaic sports movie from…
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No, I haven’t seen the movie. I’m not sure I want to, either. I’ve had enough disappointing three-quels this year to last me a lifetime. Then again, I did watch AKS and JBJ, so… Anyway, I just read James Berardinelli’s review of the movie. He’s given it one and a half stars, which on a…
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See, a heist movie typically has three parts: The Setup: Introduce the characters, give some idea of how they relate to each other, explain why they’re interested/involved in the crime to be committed. You don’t have to be elaborate, or even truthful here. The idea is to just set things up before the actual heist.…
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If I had to pick just one director who has enriched my life the most through his work, it would have to be Akira Kurosawa. I have not watched many of his movies. Just three, in fact. But two of them have left a profound impression. The first was Rashomon, which I saw years ago…
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It’s always about the money. The Die Hard villains might blow up a whole lot of stuff, appear to be terrorists of various kinds, but at the end of the day, it’s the money they’re after. That statement is equally applicable to movie producers. If the first movie made money, make a second one. If…
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Music and Lyrics is what I’d call an easy rom-com. The humor is low key, the laughs aren’t forced, the movie’s amiable and friendly, and you walk out feeling content. The only part where I laughed out loud was during the music video that played over the opening credits. But I did have a good…
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At one point, the narrator Cutter says of the audience that has just witnessed a magic trick being performed: “Now you’re looking for the secret, but you won’t find it. Because you don’t really want to know.” The Prestige tells the story of two magicians obsessed with each other’s downfall. But at a deeper level,…
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What is it with Hindi movies and infidelity? For a while now, this has been the focus of a number of movies beginning with the execrable Murder. Abbas-Mustan’s latest thriller Naqaab is yet another in this series. Much bile has been vented about the tagline – The most shocking thriller of the year – in…
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Yet another movie waiting to be made, and for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Hitch is one of the most obvious targets for a Hindi movie remake, and it was even more obvious to me, even while watching the original, that Govinda would do well in the Kevin James role. Secondly, if Govinda was making…
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The problem with Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. is simply this: it never really takes flight. It is well conceived and occasionally well written. There’s much warmth and sexiness on display. And it’s far more interesting than the other honeymoon movie that came out around the same time – Just Married. But somehow, it just doesn’t…
24 frames per second 