Gravity and the IMAX experience

"Please put on your 3D glasses" mentions a ladies voice and so reads the projection on the screen. Dutifully, I did put on my 3D glasses. In fact, a few mins earlier I had put them on for trailers and Pras laughed at me for having put them on earlier than required. Aaaaand... Whoa!!! There are things coming right at my face, frightening me and for a moment I was like, I don't want to sit for 2 hours through something like this. I turned to Pras to tell him that I wanted to go home but he had this look of amazement and content that I kept quiet. And then the calm, it was just the IMAX ad, which had to be par excellence. Come on, the entire movie is not going to be this bad... umm good and then the next round of trailers, one out of which was for Dhoom 3. Aamir's stunt of sliding under a moving truck on a bike. Please tell me, where did I see this before?

Okay, getting back to #gravity. Great cinematography and one does get a somewhat real glimpse of what it must be out there in space. Well, we've all seen those great pictures of earth from a satellite in many journals and magazines but seeing them on an IMAX screen is impressive. George Clooney makes the drifting in space on a jet pack seem like an everyday stroll in the park. It would be cool to do that once in while me thinks. The story line mostly talks about a medical engineer astronaut adrift in space but what really impacted me is how much we take the earth's gravitational forces for granted. The last scene where Dr. Ryan Stone gets walking was what left me 'wow'ed.

I always relate to some character or the other when I go through a film and in this one I could not relate to any character in particular. However, I kept asking myself a whole load of questions. Would I have the focus that would be required? Would I be able to keep the emotions aside? Would I be able to take the constant spinning and be okay to not feel grounded? A little upside down while doing my yoga routine and I feel light headed. A flight's take-off and landing make me feel dizzy sometimes. Whew!  And I am not going to think about claustrophobia now.

A must watch, if not for anything else, at least the IMAX experience.

A review of Phata Poster Nikhla Hero

So on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing but time to kill I played the DVD of "Phata Poster Nikhla Hero". Nice sunny day but for some reasons was confined to the four walls of the living room and went through the entire movie. Would I have bothered watching this movie had I been able to go out and do other things? A big "NO".

You may be wondering why then was I writing this post? Why waste more time right? Well, I am still stuck within the confines of the home and so thought I'd pen down what I thought of the movie.

If you are someone who has watched movies from the 80s, as soon as you watch the first part of this movie, you can get an idea of what you are in for with this one. A mother forcing upon her son to grow up to be an honest police officer rather than giving him a chance to follow his own dream and the son wanting to be an actor. A lot of drag and then a little of Munna Bhai followed by some terror plot. No, seriously why was this required? Oh right, to bring back the father from the dead. The biggest 80s influence is seen in the son versus father sequence. But the ending is not what one would expect. No, Shahid does not become an actor but becomes a hero cop.

Now, my thoughts... Could it be that the goal of the movie was to let people know that heroes exist not only in movies but in reality too and there could be a hero in you? No seriously, why else was this movie made? Me wonders why would actors even agree to make something like this? Would I do a movie if I was paid in 6 figures. Ummmm... Yes but only if it was the only movie I was going to act in.

Credit to Shahid for looking the age of the character and to Ileana for her super thin frame and great costumes. But I think her smile definitely needs some work.

My take on Chennai Express

So as a true SRK fan, I made it to the theatre to watch Chennai Express. I did not read any of the reviews except for the fact that King Khan had made it to the 100 crore bandwagon.

Except for a few minutes here and there, I could not stop laughing throughout the movie. The movie has scenes pulled in from various south as well as bollywood films but does not get messy. Yes, you should leave your reasoning at home when you decide to visit the theatre for this one. Deepika has done quite a good job and looks stunning in those designer South Indian Pavadae Daavani outfits. SRK's overacting does come through in some scenes but may be cause he knows he is redoing a scene from another movie. 

Chennai Express is a must watch for folks who have enjoyed SuperStar Rajinikanth's films as well as SRK's DDLJ, MNIK, KKHH, etcetera. Such are the folks who will be able to truly appreciate what Rohit Shetty has done. It is a complete masala entertainer and I don't for once consider it a time waste. There are times when I go to watch a movie where I don't need to use my brains as my brains are always at work when I am working. This did just that.

Kai Po Che! - A review!!

This comes from somebody who has not read a complete Chetan Bhagat book. And, I've not read "3 mistakes of my life", from which this movie is adapted. That said, it was refreshing to see new faces, well not so new, in this movie. For me, Maanav has stolen the show - loved him as Archana's husband(Thank you my dear friend for catching my typo) on the small screen and loved him more as "bhai-lu" in this film. I had to watch this movie just for him.

The start of the movie is as if Abhishek Kapoor has painted Dil Chahta Hai with a middle class brush. Gujarat is beautiful and I loved the fine line of surrealism that runs through the length of the film. Three good friends doing business together, each for different reasons with no prior understanding of what one is getting into - just driven by passion. Quite typical but if only I had that rich uncle.

The parts portraying the friendship of the 3 lads in good times are beautiful. "Kal Sunday Hai.. Kal Sunday Hai.. Daaru Peene Ka Din Hai" - an ex-colleague of my husband would dance around singing the same jingle on Sunday morning. I am sure there are many boys out there who would relate to these scenes. I've always wanted to see my husband have fun with his friends cause I've heard so much about how much fun he is to be with but these are things that I console myself with. He refuses to even talk about those times and I wonder where is that *fun* bone in him when he is with me.

Ok, back to the movie. The movie does have its own fair share of twists and not having read the book, I still struggle to figure what those 3 mistakes really are and in whose life. My mind shuts down when I go for a movie - I am going to be entertained, aren't I?

The inclusion of the massive earthquake that struck Gujarat years ago and the Godhra riots breathe some more reality into the film. I thought the movie to be a mish mash of sorts - seen many of the scenes in other movies.

I'd recommend watching this movie at least once if you are a cricket fan, sports fan, been a part of a boys gang, are a part of a boys gang or planning to start a business with your friends.

Inkaar - a review

What does one do to make a movie work? Put together two good looking people, add in some hot scenes and voila, there you have a perfect disaster. Well, that's Inkaar for you. A movie worth every miss, except if you are a Chitrangada Singh fan. Honestly, the woman can't act for nuts. Yeah, she does look sexy and hot but please save that accent. That don't buy me.

The story line is, well... ummm.. I don't think there is any real story. Come on, tell me, how hard is it to tell some one that you like/love them? Does one throw a sexual harassment case on someone with whom the relation has turned sour? Is sleeping with the boss the only way to get what one wants? If only all of us were in jobs where the bosses were waiting to get laid. Okay, I'm just kidding.

The promos screaming "Sexual Harassment" bought me and I was waiting to watch the movie. Protrayal of the female as the "taken for granted" and made to bear the brunt, is how it usually goes. Here, the lady gets what she wants, and at her will moves between cities. The surprise element for me was how it ended, with the guy quitting and heading back to his roots.

Okay, so what's nice in the movie. There's got to be something. I liked the way the movie is shot as a narrative. There's a touch of reality with witnesses taking sides. Deepti Naval's sarees are beautiful but the role does not do justice to her talent.

All in all, a good one to miss.