2 September - Dasvidanya

Now I can really say that Bollywood is growing up. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie which is humorous and also leaves you emotional and teary-eyed. Dasvidaniya is heartbreaking and humorous in equal measures. It's about a 37-year-old simpleton Amar Kaul(played by Vinay Pathak) who soon after discovering that he has stomach cancer and only three months to survive makes a list of things he'd really like to do before he kicks the bucket. Though I must say the movie doesn't survive on the plot but the characters who inhabit it. Each and every person in the film be it Amar's cranky mother with a hearing problem, his dosa-chomping boss, his guitar teacher all deliver so that make never miss a beat. Even Ranvir Shorey in only a cameo is delightful.There was only one phase where Amar is taken to tantriks and stuff which seemed out of sync otherwise it's a real must see. A 8/10 for this beautiful movie which real tries to define the way of living a life and not life itself

2 September - Life Partner

'Life Partner' is about two best friends and a divorce lawyer who tries to convince these two that they have committed the biggest mistake of their lives by getting married. It moves on where they hit a rough patch in their marriage and turn to Govinda (The Divorce Lawyer) to solve their case. The movie is extremely unfunny and is a recycled mess of so many movies. It uses the formula of long gone hits and tries reinforcing every Hindi movie cliché you can think of - conservative in-laws clash with modern, progressive bahu; spoilt-little rich girl can't perform even the most basic chores around the house; spineless husband is torn between love for his wife and respect for his father. Had the acting been good it would have covered up for the mess but the long forgotten Govinda tries to woo you along with blond girls with his outdated steps and tight clothes which are too tight in the wrong places. Well the producers must really have to use their think-tank about casting Govinda as the ultimate Casanova. Competing equally in the yelling department with Govinda is Genelia D'souza whose squeaky dialogue delivery literally makes you want to rip your brains out. The only good thing about the movie is Prachi Desai. Not that I'm complementing her acting but it's that her not so lousy performances is luckily overshadowed by others in the movie. It's a plain dumb movie and did the Director really think that by shooting in South African locales would really overshadow a bad script and even worse acting. A big thumbs-down and a measely 2.2/10 for this movie which is a real challenge to sit through

1 September - I Love You, Man

In the recent past the Hollywood mainstream romantic comedies have come to nearly look alike. With 'I Love You, Man' striking an altogether different chord in the comic genre it does stand up different from all of these. Paul Rudd(I'll always remember him for being Phoebe's arm candy in 'Friends') measures up to his character beautifully and his chemistry with Jason Segel is presented in a way that neither looks gay nor too heterosexual. It lies perfectly balanced between the two. Rudd displays a rare comic sophistication and matinée charm as he essays the role of a friendless ladies' man on the lookout for a suitable best man for his upcoming nuptials and Jason on the other hand as the alpha male who arrives to shake Peter out of his premarital complacency. It's a real light-hearted comedy with great comic timing and and of course has it's bit of emotion. It's a 7.8/10. Go enjoy this "Rom Com"

29 August - Terminator Salvation

I don't know why the filmmakers are dragging and just worsening movies by pulling this title to any lengths. James Cameron had made such a beautiful movie and all that followed after was pure crap. Sequel after sequel the Terminators are just becoming pure dumb. They just continue to hammer John Connor and he yet continues to evade them and keeps landing on softer ground or as in this case gets a new heart altogether from another Terminator. Of Sam Worthington I really had hopes, but he too disappoints. Maybe I'll just wait for the AVATAR movie to change my perception of him(the trailer being out and looking as good as ever). What amazed me most about the movie was where were the women in the movie?. Other than some of their presence here and there they are completely lost between men and machines. If for some consolation there is the Mototerminators whose effects looked good but overall this movie just plainly sucks and should be just flushed down the shit-hole. For this très mal movie it will be a 1.75/5

26 August - The Hunt For Gollum

Being an avid follower of the Lord of the Rings series I wanted to just see what some fans had come up with and I must say that I was extremely impressed. Made on such a small budget, this short film has a great story and cast which mainly focuses on Aragorn and his expedition to search and find Gollum before he can lay his hands on the Ring of Power. Being a perfect Ranger that he is, he must sniff him out, battle orcs and the Nazgul and must prevent Gollum from lay his hands on the Ring. This 30 min. film fits everything so beautifully in such a short span of time with scenarios and fight sequences(which I didn't really expect to be so good with this budget) that are extremely good. A must see for all the LOTR fans as they wait for The Hobbit to hit theaters and for the others just watch it to appreciate the talent by these die-hard fans who have done so well in extracting this beautiful story from the main plot of LOTR. Kudos to the makers. I give it a 8.2/10.

14 Aug - Kaminey

Have you ever been to a movie since a long time which after just coming out of the theater you wished going back to watch it once again. It’s an audacious, original roller coaster ride. Though it uses the usual Bollywood formula formula of twin brothers and the actress being the sister of the a gangster but the way Vishal Bharadwaj has put them together and sewn it into a complete thriller is amazing. The darkly-lit scenes and gritty humor make it reminescent of the Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie flicks. I wish to add that KAMINEY is not the usual masala film. Sure, it's a well-made film, but there's no spoon feeding here. One has to be attentive, very attentive to grasp the goings-on and also the twists in the tale. I usually loved this scene where the police officer asks Guddu to sing every sentence as he is having trouble mouthing the words due to the stammering. Priyanka Chopra in her small yet lovable character is absolute class. The last geng war scene is really well shot and has real combination and culmination of both violence and romance. My advice to movie-goers is that you sit through the 1st half cause you are in for a treat in the 2nd half. So Kaminey is as Charlie would say a Fuperb movie and maybe a 4.7/5 ought to do the trick

2 August - The Spiderwick Chronicles

Being a fantasy fan myself I'd sat down to this expecting to see fictional fantasy creatures bring out their fantastic ways. I must say that the movie did strike a balance between real and imaginary and the numerous action sequences were well laid out and fast-paced but still i did not feel the tingle when I watched the Harry Potter and LOTR series. The Spiderwick Chronicles succeeds in bringing the fantasy world to life with excellent CG effects but I felt that the story lacked in depth. This does happen when you try to abridge five books to a single movie. I felt that i mainly concentrated on the main character Jared and his posession and fight for the field book, but complketely ignored having a good background story to accompany it. There is one creature A Griffin which somewhat looked to me like a the Hippogriff of Sirius Black from the HP movies. The movie isn't that funny, but it also isn't that annoying and atleast it made me sit in chair for the entire movie. I give it a 7.8/10 and go watch it for mild entertainment