2011 | I'm just a...

Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows | Movie Review

With rotten status on rottentomatoes.com (59%), I was not so eager to watch Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows. But finally decided to give it go for Guy Ritchie, and Hanz Zimmer’s music. And I am so glad I did. Brilliantly shot, great acting, awesome direction and great music make this movie one of the best I’ve watched in 2011.

With its twists and turns, Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows is a typical Guy Ritchie film (If it weren’t for him, the film would have barely made it to the theatres). Plus points are direction, music and ya, Robert Downey, Jr., who comes up with a really good performance. I thought is was way better than the first instalment, for it had a much simpler story-line. Only drawback for me was the length of the movie.I would definitely recommend you to go watch the movie. I happened to love it for I went without any expectation, so do go watch it without any expectations!!

Verdict: 8/10

For a detailed review, read on…

Plot

Miscreant from the first installment, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) makes Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) deliver a package for him. The package happens to be a bomb which is diffused on time by Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.). Holmes discovers that Moriarty is responsible for a series of murders and terror attacks across Europe, but has no proof to prove his case. Holmes is trying to solve the case while his best friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law) gets married and is off on his honeymoon. To avenge Holmes’s intervention, Moriarty first poisons Irene, and then tries to kill Dr. Watson and his newly wed wife Mary (Kelly Reilly). The rest of the story is how Holmes saves Watson, and solves the case with his help.

Actors Performance

Robert Downey, Jr. is really good in the lead role. His antics and body language make you fall in love with his character. He generates ample amount of humor with his stupendous comic timing and one liners. His performance in the climax is really good. Jude law is good as Holmes’s long time friend Dr. Watson. He supports Robert Downey, Jr., while never overplaying his role. Rachel McAdams has a limited presence and is good. Kelly Reilly and Noomi Rapace are perfect for their respective roles. Stephen Fry was excellent as Mycroft Holmes. His comic timing, again, was superb. I thought Jared Harris could have come up with a better performance, for his face lacked expression on most occasions.

Story-Screenplay-Direction

Even since I’ve watched Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I’ve been a big time fan of Guy Ritchie. His films, similar to Quentin Tarantino’s, are very different and intriguing. Though not a caper film, Guy Ritchie makes this movie look like one. The story written by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney is very simple, and there’s nothing really great about the script, but with his typical style, Ritche gives the film the punch required for an action detective film. I loved the way he shot the train episode, and the climax. The last scene of the movie just happens to show his brilliance. Except for but the fight scenes towards the beginning, I thought that the screenplay was really good.

Other Departments

Music by Hans Zimmer is a definite asset to the film. I loved the theme score of the first film (it’s one of my favourites), and he doesn’t disappoint on this one either. The sound effects were alright (maybe could have been much better). Editing by James Herbert is alright. I don’t know if its something wrong with me, but again I felt that the film was a little too long, and needed trimming. Cinematography by Philippe Rousselot is pretty decent. I thought that most shots lacked enough lighting and were snowy, but I have a feeling that it was intentional. The CGI team did a pretty good job of recreating Europe of 1890’s. Production values are really good.

Don 2 | Movie Review

Did I go to watch the Don return, or was it Mission Impossible 5?? There were car chases, buildings being bombed, hi-tech bank robbery sequence, 300 feet jump off a building, a mask involved.. did I miss anything?? In one word, it was a potpourri of say all the MI, Ocean’s Eleven, and every other Hollywood action film of similar genre put together into a 2 hours 26 minutes film. But wait, it doesn’t end there; unlike all other films, this one has the bad guy playing the lead role.

Directed by one of my favourites, the film is very stylish, but is also long and disappointing. I expected something more sensible from Farhan. I never thought I would say this, but go watch the film only for Shahrukh. He’s perfect for such kinda roles, and he sure delivers. He tried to carry the entire film on his shoulders, but its the script which fails him. If you aren’t too fond of him, wait for the DVD to release.

Verdict: 6/10

For a detailed review, read on…

Plot
With the European mafia planning to kill him, Don (Shahrukh Khan) surrenders to the Interpol in Thailand. He is sentenced to death, and is sent to a Malaysian prison where he meets Vardhaan (Boman Irani). Don and Vardhaan escape from the prison and reach Berlin. Together, they plan to rob a bank while Interpol officer Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is trying to chase them down. The rest of the story is all about how the robbery is executed, and Don’s real motive behind the robbery.

Artists Performance
Shahrukh Khan is brilliant as Don. He suits such kinda roles to perfection. I cant think of any actor from the current generation who can do a better job than him. Hrithik Roshan just proves that in his brief cameo as Don (oops, sorry!!). SRK looked really stylish all throughout the film. I liked his antics (which are very decent unlike his regular films) and dialogue delivery. Priyanka Chopra has a limited role in the film. She tried too hard to get into the character, and failed miserably. Kunal Kohli was alright in his brief role. Strangely, both Om Puri and Boman Irani looked out of place. The guy who played the role of Jabbar, Nawab Shah, was pathetic. Lara Dutta was pretty good in her cameo.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
Written by Farhan Akhtar, Ameet Mehta and Amrish Shah (also credited for the screenplay), the film, as mentioned, relies too much on other films of similar genre. The first half of the movie was well written, and made sense, but the second half was like a half-baked cookie. The whole episode of the bank robbery, which forms the crux of the story, just doesn’t make sense. If anyone could walk into a bank and get into its safety vault so easily, I believe there would be a robbery every other day. And ya, why did Don need Vardhaan with him exactly?? The best part was Don going back into the bank with Roma in order to save the hostages. Even better, what’s with the bomb blast after Roma was shot?? The whole episodes involving Don and Roma seemed entirely ridiculous. The screenplay was decent, but too haphazard, especially towards the climax. For the first time, Farhan Akhtar fails as a director. Except for SRK, I thought that everyone looked out of place, with blank/straight faces for most of the movie. He shot the film very stylishly and even brilliantly in parts, but failed to generate performances from his artists.

Other Departments
The usual’s of an Excel production film are all here. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is a definite asset to the film. There are only three songs in the movie though. More than the music, its the background score and the re-recording which make an impact. Lyrics by Javed Akhtar, and dialogues by Farhan are good. Editing by Anand Subaya could have been more crisp. Cinematography by Jason West is again, fantastic. The action sequences were alright, but a little to much to handle. With the 3D, I could neither make head nor tail of most of the action sequences, cos everything happened really fast. Otherwise, the 3D effect was alright. Production values by SRK and Excel Entertainment are pretty good. It is apparently the first Indian film to be shot in Germany.

Analysis
Inspired from a whole bunch of movies, Don 2 lacks the punch of the first Don. Its not that MI – Ghost Protocol dint have its flaws, but it managed to cover them with the action and direction. But for this film, except for SRK, nothing else holds. Plus points are SRK, music, cinematography and a couple of action sequences. But its the senseless script script and mediocre direction which pull the film down.

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol | Movie Review

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol is not a great film, period. But thanks to its adrenaline pumping action sequences, a decent story, direction, and acting, it delivers to its expectations. The awesome cinematography just helps the case. I would have loved to hear better use of the MI theme though. It’s a lil boring in parts, but you’re too engaged to notice these flaws. It’s without doubt the best film of the series so far.

Watch it for sure, and if you do, watch it on IMAX (I’ve watched it both on IMAX and regular screen. The regular screen just doesn’t do justice to the film, there is no adrenaline rush!!). I’ve never seen the audience clap without any particular reason, but they did today for the spectacular sequences shot using the IMAX camera. They left me spellbound.

Verdict: 8/10 + 1 for IMAX

For a detailed review, read on….

Plot
The Kremlin is destroyed, and the Russians believe that the IMF is responsible for it, following which the US government disavows the IMF. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) takes up the mission of trying to find the guy responsible for the blasts, and stop him from starting a nuclear war. But he has to do it like a ghost, with only three team members, and without any kind of support. The rest of the story is about how Hunt, along with his team, accomplishes the mission: impossible.

Actors Performance

Tom Cruise is absolutely brilliant in the lead role. He looked old, yet fit, and performed the stunts with great ease. It takes real guys to perform the stunt on the Burj Khalifa without a double. He gets a close to perfect score on acting front as well. Jeremy Renner was very good as the ‘helper’. He looked really dashing, and at times, better than Cruise. Simon Pegg was excellent, and created quite some humor in the film. Paula Patton was alright. She has great body. I hate to say this, but Anil Kapoor was pathetic as Brij Nath. I don’t even understand why he took up such kinda sleazy role, which lasts less than 5 minutes (I don’t think an actor of his caliber should do such kind of roles, just to make a mark in Hollywood). Rest of the cast was alright.

Story-Screenplay-Direction

The story of the movie is very simple. Someone blasts a building in Russia, the Russians want to attack US, but our hero (or rather his team) tries to stop them and evades the nuclear invasion. Actually, now that I am typing it, it sounds very familiar to X-Men: First Class. But writers André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum did a pretty good job with the simple script. They added quite a number of twists and turns, or rather challenges to our team. But its Brad Bird (director) who makes this simple script look amazing on-screen. Having directed animations like Ratatouille and The Incredibles in the past, he uses all his experience from the Incredibles count on this one. His take on the movie was absolutely superb, and I don’t think anyone else could have done a better job. His persistence on using the IMAX cameras really pays off. The shots are out of the world!! On the downside, there were a couple of dull episodes (the climax especially), and unrealistic scenes which could have been handled better. Screenplay was excellent. (I am now eagerly waiting for 1906).

Other Departments
Music by Michael Giacchino was pretty decent. He did a good job of the original MI theme composed by Lalo Schifrin, but the punch was missing (I wasn’t quite satisfied with it). He did a horrendous job with the Indian music though. Editing by Paul Hirsch is pretty neat. A few of the scenes could have made the cut on the final print. After 2 hours 15 minutes, you don’t feel bored, but you want the movie to end. Cinematography by Robert Elswit is absolutely brilliant. The IMAX shots in Dubai are spell-binding. Production values by Tom Cruise,J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are really good, but I wish they had shown real India instead of a set somewhere else in the world. And when you say Mumbai, shoot it in Mumbai, not Bengaluru.

Foot Note:
I really don’t understand why these Hollywood films make a mockery of India. I mean, when you say you are in India, shoot in India for God’s sake (they did in parts, but not completely). It’s not that we don’t have the resources or production equipment; we are home to the biggest film studio in the world. And I hated Anil Kapoor’s role more for the reason that it will now symbolize how Indians are to the rest of the world (just like Slumdog Millionaire did). And again, when you say you are in Mumbai, shoot in Mumbai. Oh btw, for my foreign friends reading this, no, we are not perverts like Anil Kapoor; no, we don’t have so many sexy BMW’s on road; no, we don’t have automated car parking systems yet; no, we don’t play that kinda sad pathetic music at our parties; and no, those Indian streets they show in the movie are not real.

On another note, you get to see Allu Arjun, Gopichand and a couple of other Indian stars on-screen.

And finally, this is what Wikipedia reads: The first public viewing of the movie across the globe was held in Hyderabad, India at Prasads IMAX. The movie released ahead of scheduled start on the 14 of December and the first show was at 10:30 AM IST. Yours truly was there!!

Puss in Boots | Movie Review

Its a story about how Puss turned out to be Puss, far before he met Shrek. Its a pretty decent watch, nothing as great as Shrek. Its got its own twist and turns, but the story lacks the punch. The animation was spot on, 3D effects not so great (definitely not an IMAX film).

Bottom line, its an average movie which will make you laugh, but doesnt leave you spellbound. Watch it at your leisure.

Verdict: 7/10

The Dirty Picture | Movie Review

Plot
The Dirty Picture tells the story of Reshma (Vidya Balan), a small town girl who wants to make it big in films. She runs away from her house to Chennai a day before her wedding. She tries to get a supporting role in a movie but is insulted for her looks and is rejected. She somehow manages to get the role of an erotic dancer at a later stage. Her act goes viral and she is christened ‘Silk’ by producer SelvaGanesh (Rajesh Sharma). She continues to act in sleazy film and achieves fame envied by her counterparts. The rest of the story is about how she handles the criticism and responds to it.

Artists Performance
Oh Vidya Balan, you have stumped me!
It’s an out-and-out Vidya Balan film and she oozes out oomph factor in each and every frame. She should be really appreciated for taking up such a role, shedding all her inhibitions. She looks dusky and really good during the first half of the film, and then puts on flab like crazy for the second half (I know how difficult it is to lose those tummy tires, god knows how she managed to lose it so soon). She was absolutely brilliant, and is sure to bag all the awards for best actress in 2012.

Naseeruddin Shah is excellent in the role of the elderly actor who sleeps around with all his female co-stars. I cant imagine anyone else doing a better job. Its one of the best roles Tusshar Kapoor could have got, and he doesn’t disappoint. He looked idiotic in his costumes, but he does justice to the role. Emraan Hashmi has limited presence in the film, and portrays a character very different from his usual genre. He was very good as well. Rajesh Sharma (SelvaGanesh) was excellent as the director. Rest of the cast was alright.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
It is very difficult to make a film based on the life of an actress who committed suicide (Silk Smitha). But writer Rajat Aroraa (story, dialogues and screenplay) comes up with a very good script without going too deep into details on Silk’s personal life. The plot of the film is something similar to that of Kalki Koechlin role in Dev.D – people want and watch girls in skimpy clothes doing sleazy dances on-screen, but then insult the same girls and label them as sex-sirens off screen. The story revolves around how Silk handles this situation, and how she gives in into it towards the end. Though well written, the story tends to lose steam towards the second half of the movie. Dialogues are brilliantly written and act as the second lead in the movie. Screenplay could have been more effective towards the climax. Direction by Milan Luthria is good. He’s certainly improved on his directorial skills since Taxi 9211.

Other Departments
Music by Vishal-Shekhar is alright. Audiance were going nuts for “Ooh La La”. Background score is good. The south-Indian track “Naka Muka” is very effective as the BG. Cinematography by is pretty good and editing by Akiv Ali is decent. Production values by Balaji Telefilms are very good. They did a very good job recreating the 80’s.

Analysis
As already mentioned, it’s a Vidya Balan’s film. If it weren’t for her, this film would have been crap. She has portrayed the best role of her career so far. Brilliant dialogues, superb acting by Vidya and Naseeruddin Shah, effective background score, and the oomph factor are the plus points of the film. On the flip side, since its based of a true story, it might/will bore you. It’s not a great film by any means, and even I found it boring at times, but Vidya made sure that I walked out of the theater satisfied.

To quote Vidya, ‘Filme sirf teen cheeso ke vaaje se chalti hain – entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.’ She definitely was Entertainment!!

Verdict: 7/10 + 1 for Vidya 🙂

Desi Boyz | Movie Review

Plot
Jerry (Akshay Kumar) and Nick (John Abraham) are two friends living in London. Both of them lose their jobs during recession period. Unable to find anything else, they end up working as male escorts with ‘Desi Boyz’ as Rocco and Hunter. Nick’s fiancee Radhika (Deepika Padukone) soon finds out about his job and dumps him, and Jerry loses custody of his nephew to a foster home. Rest of the story is about how Jerry and Nick accept responsibility and find better jobs.

Artists Performance
After delivering series of flops for the last 3 years, I don’t know what better I was expecting from Akshay Kumar’s movie (other than the loud cheap comedy and double meaning dialogues that is). On the scale of pathetic acting, he scores a perfect 10. He’s a 44-year-old guy, why doesn’t someone tell him that he should start acting in sensible movies now at least. He’s a good actor, but I don’t understand why he’s wasting his talent by acting in such second grade movies.

John Abraham scores even better than Akshay, for he cant even act. As in Force, his body looked a little too beefed up. He seriously needs to go train at an acting school before it’s too late. Deepika is alright as Radhika, but even she needs to find better scripts to work on. Chitrangda Singh had no major role, and looked horrible in the film. Anupam Kher and Omi Vaidya are wasted. The kid couldn’t act for nuts. Rest of the cast was mediocre.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
David Dhawan was very famous for his cheap comedy, but his movies did make sense even if they were too loud. But his son, Rohit Dhawan (story, screenplay and direction) seems to have forgotten to use his brain while scripting and filming this movie. The story made no absolute sense. The best part is that Jerry doesn’t lose his job because of recession, but because of his careless attitude. But then, he’s good enough to become male escort. Nick joins him because he doesn’t want to leave his friend alone (I have tears in my eyes). I don’t wanna talk of rest of the movie, cos it will take forever for me to finish. To nail the coffin, direction is pathetic. Forget John, he couldn’t even make the kid act. Screenplay was mediocre.

Other Departments
Barring two songs (Desi Boyz and Hero), music by Pritam is nothing great. I liked ‘Hero’ song quite a bit. Background score by Sandeep Shirodkar is alright. Cinematography by Natarajan Subramaniam is pretty decent. With so many films being shot in London, he dint have anything new to capture. Editing by Nitin Rokade was alright. Production values could have been much better, for the sets used in the film are worse then the ones used in 1950’s (a very bad painting of a skyscraper at the window is supposed to make us believe that the courtroom is in London).

Analysis
Unless you are jobless like me, or unless you have a thing for cheap senseless humor, please avoid this film at all costs. It’s an absolute waste of money. The story is pathetic, direction worse, and acting mediocre. I wish Akshay Kumar would stop acting in such ‘ghatiya’ movies.

If you want to watch this film even after reading this review, go watch this film with a group of close buddies so as to have a laugh at least.

Verdict: 4.5/10

Rockstar | Movie Review

Spoiler Alert!!

Plot
Rockstar Janardhan Jakhar/JJ/Jordan (Ranbir Kapoor), a middle class Haryanvi guy is a wannabe Jim Morrison. His college canteen owner, Khatana bhai (Kumud Mishra) philosophizes that a person needs a heart break to create awesome music. Going by this, JJ tries to woo the heart-breaking chick of the college, Heer (Nargis Fakhri). After a series of comic episodes, they become very good friends, and JJ helps organize Heer’s wedding. The rest of the story is about how JJ and Heer realize their love for each other, and how the heartbreak makes JJ a Rockstar!

Artists Performance
Ranbir Kapoor is fantabulous in the lead role. Its clearly visible that he had put in a lot of effort into this character. He has about five different get ups in the movie, and he carried all of them with ease. The only problem was his characterization (Il get into that later). Nargis Fakhri is a good find and looks really beautiful (though I thought that she looked very very lean). On acting front, she ain’t that great. It looked like she tried to imitate a number of actresses through the film. She’s definitely got talent which can be probably be put to use in better films. Shammi Kapoor has a very small role, and was good. Kumud Mishra is excellent as JJ’s manager. Aditi Rao Hydari was good as the journalist, who later becomes JJ’s ***. The rest of the cast was relatively new, and alright.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
Boy oh boy, where do I even start?? After roaring success of Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, director Imtiaz Ali seems to have lost his head. With Rahman to support him on music front, all he could churn out was a pathetic story; a married woman suffering from cancer, who cant even stand on her feet, sleeps with the lead actor, gets pregnant, and then slips into coma. And this forms the core story around which our loser becomes a Rockstar. Seriously dude, WTH?? I don’t even want to get into rest of the details. The first five minutes of the film had brilliant screenplay and so I was hoping for one hell of a film. Even the first half of the film actually turned out to be good. But post interval, everything went down the drain. The guy sitting in the next seat kept repeatedly asking his friend “Why is he doing this???”. We all need an answer Imtiaz!.

Being titled Rockstar, there is nothing rocking about the script. All the characters were very badly scripted, worst being Jordan. This guy seriously doesn’t know what he wants. He initially cant even pronounce Prague properly, but then becomes perfect at everything. He is supposed to be in love with Heer, but is more than happy to kiss and play around with other girls. There was absolutely no conflict point in the movie for Jordan to actually go through pain, cos Heer is more than willing to sleep with him (forget constantly kissing him backstage, while her husband is sitting in the front row). The most disappointing part was the lead up to ‘Sadda Haq’.

Imtiaz was able to get awesome performance from Ranbir, and even from Nargis in parts, but with such a weak, draggy script, Rockstar/Imtiaz disappoints!!

Other Departments
The pre Slumdog Millionaire Rahman is back, and he absolutely mesmerizes us with his music (though it aint exactly Rock music). The background score is very good as well. I loved the way he mixed the tracks for the bg. I was disappointed on the fact that my favorite song ‘Sheher Main’ was missing in the film. Lyrics by Irshad Kamil are a lil too complicated to figure put, but good. Cinematography by Anil Mehta is excellent, but most of the shots in Himachal looked similar to the ones in Jab We Met. Editing by Aarti Bajaj is pathetic. The story itself was such a drag, and on top of it, there are like ‘n’ number of scenes which could have made the cut but dint. Production values by Eros and Ashtavinayak are excellent.

Analysis
I’ve been waiting for this film for a long time now, and was really hoping that it would do well. But alas, it competes with Ra.One on the level of stupidity (actually, ignore that, nothing can ever be compared to Ra.One). As mentioned, the first of the film is pretty decent and promises a good film, but the interval bang and post interval episodes are pathetic. I really couldn’t understand why Heer would sleep with Jordan in the first place, and then scream her lungs out after everything was done. And this leads to ‘Sadda Haq’ (listen to it lyrics, then you’ll probably understand why I keep saying that). The audience started clapping when Heer slips into a coma, which proves how good the movie was. And later when she steps onto the stage for ‘Tum Ho’, followed by the end credits, I could hear at least ten people scream ‘What the …’.

So that basically sums up my Rockstar experience. I got out of the theatre with a nice head ache. Except for the music, this film doesn’t even deserve a one time watch.

Verdict: 5/10

PS: Go get a DVD of a Telugu movie ‘Prema’ which runs on a pretty similar but much better story line instead of watching this!!

The Adventures of Tintin – TSOU | Movie Review

Plot
Tintin (Jamie Bell), a young journalist, happens to buy a model ship named Unicorn. Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig) tries to buy the model from Tintin, but fails. The model is stolen from Tintin’s possession, and he soon discovers that there’s more than meets the eye. He goes on about an adventure trying to solve the puzzle, and meets Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis) through his journey. The rest of the story is about how they solve the mystery together, and discover the lost treasure of the Unicorn.

Artists Performance
Honestly, it was quite difficult for me to judge the artists performance, as it was motion/performance capture film. It was also hard to imagine most actors in their respective roles. Jamie Bell was alright in the lead role. Andy Serkis was brilliant as Capt’n Haddock. His comic timing was superb. Daniel Craig was good as the sinister. He was the most difficult one to imagine (James Bond playing a negative role!!). The true star of the movie though was Snowy. He was a brilliantly created traditionally animated character.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
Based on three of Herge’s original comic books (The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure), screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish was very well written. Ive never read the comics myself, but do remember watching the cartoons as a kid, and I thought these guys did a pretty good job of combining the three to write an effective screenplay. I did feel that it was a little too long at times, but with a running time of 107 minutes, it actually wasn’t. Direction by Steven Spielberg was again very difficult to judge. Id say that he did a pretty good job. I thought a couple of scenes in the movie were brilliantly shot: the one where Haddocks recalls the story of the Unicorn (running in parallel to reality), and the scenes after Haddock blows the dam in Bagghar. Though he dint direct the movie, the motion capture work by Peter Jackson does deserve a mention in this section.

Other Departments
Music by John Williams was a disappointment. For a franchise of such magnitude, I expected a haunting theme music. Cinematography by Janusz Kamiński was excellent. The zoom out shots were really good. My only problem was with the 3D. Except in a couple of scenes, there were no 3D effects. It looked like a 2D film being screened on 3D. Editing by Michael Kahn was pretty decent. The animation was of top notch quality, and every character and location looked very believable.

Analysis
First thing I’ve realized after watching this movie is that its very tough to review an animation film (at least, this one was made using motion capture). Though everything seemed to have worked really well for the movie, I somehow wasn’t totally satisfied when it ended. The spark you expect in an animation was missing. The story also seemed a little complicated. It is a adventure film with its share of fun moments. Overall, a pretty decent watch, but not a classic!!

Verdict: 7.5/10

Palace Heights | Restaurant Review

Place: Palace Heights
Location: Abids, behind Taj Mahal Hotel
Cuisine: Multi-cuisine
Meal: Dinner (with a couple of friends)

Palace Heights is one the oldest restaurants in the city. Its located in a small lane behind the Taj Mahal hotel, on the 8th floor of Triveni complex (It can be a pain to find). The interiors and decors are very well done, and the elevation gives us an exquisite view of the city.

Its been a while since I last came to this place and I was kinda excited to be here. My friends wanted to go to Santosh Dhaba, but I somehow convinced them to come here, promising them awesome food.

They have a huge menu, right from Punjabi, Chinese, to Mexican food and Sizzlers. They even serve drinks. We ordered Vegetable Gold Coin and Chilly Paneer for starters, Malai Cheese Kofta and Paneer Khurchan along with Kashmiri Naan, Masala Kulcha and Stuffed Paratha for two of us, and Chicken Biryani for the third.

It took forever, and I mean forever for the starters to arrive. After 30 minutes, and reminding the guy a couple of times, the Gold Coins and Chilly Paneer were finally served, with Schezwan sauce and some kind of chutney.

The Gold coins were crispy and very well baked. They had few cashew nuts here and there, the bread was good, and the stuffing was tasty. The Chilly Paneer was excellent. It’s probably the best I’ve had in recent times. Even my friends loved it. The Paneer was fresh, and well fried. It wasnt too greasy though. Not so spicy either.

Though we were miffed because of the long wait, perfect start to the meal. And then came the rest of the stuff we ordered.

The Paneer Kurchan was alright. I’ve never actually tasted Kurchan before, so had nothing to compare it with. It pretty much tasted like a blend of Paneer Butter Masala and Kadai Paneer. I thought that it was pretty dry with not much gravy to it.

The Malai Kofta in my opinion was really good. It was very creamy, and the kofta ball was very soft. I couldn’t feel any cheese, but there were quite a few nuts in there.

The Kashmiri Naan was pretty good. There were three huge pieces of it. It was a little sweet, but no so much to spoil the taste of the subzi. The first two pieces were well-baked, but the third was a little too crispy. The Masala Kulcha was alright, and the Stuffed Paratha was excellent.

My friend was happy with his Chicken Biryani.

For a restaurant of such high reputation, the service was pathetic. About three guys were rushing us to place the order from when we were seated, but no one bothered to respond after the food was ordered. We actually didn’t know who was in charge of our table, cos there would be a bunch of them when food was served, and they would disappear into thin air thereafter. My friend had asked for paper napkins, and each guy would point fingers to the next one to get them.

Having pulled my friends from a cheaper, better place to this one, I was almost thrashed when we got out of the place. The food was alright yes, but the prices were exorbitant. It wouldn’t have mattered so much if each of us enjoyed our meal, but thanks to the horrible service, we were quite disappointed. The starters were great, and the rest of the food was alright. The quantity of food served was pretty decent (we had leftovers packed up). The ambiance was definitely a plus, but the place was too loud at times.

Overall, a pretty average meal.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Service: 4/10
Price for 3: Rs. 1300/-

Verdict: 7/10

Real Steel | Movie Review

Plot
Real Steel is set in the future, where robot fights are a craze. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer, who survives on unsanctioned robot fights. He comes to know that his ex-girl friend is dead, leaving him his 11 year old son Max (Dakota Goyo). To clear his debts, and buy robots, Charlie gives Max’s custody to his ex’s sister Debra on payment of 100 grand. Max stays with Charlie for a couple of months before Debra can take him along. During these two months, Max discovers a obsolete scrap robot Atom, and pesters Charlie to train Atom. The rest of the story is about how Max changes Charlie’s life, and how Atom goes on to become ‘The People’s Champion’!

Artists Performance
Hugh Jackman is excellent as the careless, indifferent father, who isn’t serious about anything in life. He plays his character to perfection. The true star of the movie though is Dakota Goyo. He brings in a lot of innocence to his character while thinking very maturely, and was really really cute. His expressions while talking to Charlie are brilliant. Evangeline Lilly has a limited role in the movie, and was good. I would have loved to see more of her on screen.

Story-Screenplay-Direction
The story of the film is very very predictable. Its got a Rocky Balboa kinda theme to it, but instead of boxers fighting out, its robots. Story byDan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven is pretty decent, but director Shawn Levy couldn’t get everything right. The story seems to drag many a times. He tried to play with a number of emotions, instead of sticking to one thread. He handled the scenes involving the kid very well. He was able to generate subtle humour through the father-son relationship. Screenplay by John Gatins could have been better, but I have no qualms.

Other Departments
Music by Danny Elfman is alright. I liked a couple of soundtracks. The sound effects weren’t as great as Super 8, but were pretty decent. The Animatronic robots used looked very real and believable (Tom Meyer). Cinematography by Mauro Fiore was excellent. The scenes involving shadow fighting were shot brilliantly. Editing by Dean Zimmerman could have been way better. As already mentioned, the film dragged in parts, and a lot of scenes could have made the cut. Production values by DreamWorks are good.

Analysis
I didn’t like the trailer, and therefore was planning to skip watching this movie. But I finally did after a number of people told me about it (and in fact asked me for a review). And thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. But I wasn’t too happy either (mainly because of the Dolby turning on and off during the movie in the theatre, Inox). It was a pretty decent movie which had its moments. The climax of the film was brilliantly shot, and makes up for most of the flaws in the movie. Plus points are Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and the shadow cinematography. But on the downside, I could see similarities to a number of hit flicks. I actually felt like I was watching a Bollywood film because of the drag and sentimental scenes.

It’s Rocky Balboa, but instead of Sylvester Stallone, you have Atom fighting the fights.

Verdict: 7.5/10