Valkyrie

The problem with films consisting big stars is the fact that their films garner humungous expectations. Unfortunately, very rarely do these films live up to our expectations and Valkyrie is no exception.

The film’s trailers were exceptionally promising and the whole ‘conscience v/s duty’ tag line made it all the more interesting. Although barring the first ten minutes of the film and a few scenes which can be counted on your fingers, Valkyrie which showcases the plot of few Nazis’ to kill Hitler fails to hold your interest, nor does it evoke any sympathy towards those involved in the plot.

Valkyrie is a story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) and a few others like him who are desperate to rescue Germany from the clutches of Adolf Hitler. These army men put humanity before patriotism as they get involved in this treason.

Stauffenberg (Cruise) for the sake of Germany plans and executes this ‘kill-Hitler’ mission, only to meet with devious consequences.

Valkyrie is pretty much a court-room drama and for a film of this genre to work, the suspense and script should be able to create that extreme impact. With Valkyrie, neither the dialogues, script and nor the performances keep you engaged! The story drags throughout and very rarely do you find yourself deeply engaged with the film.

Hitler’s atrocities are known to all but a brief flashback here and there describing his misdeeds could have given the film the background it needed. You do not feel for the protagonist as his intentions are not backed with credible reasons either.

Casting is another problem in this flawed film. The actor who plays Hitler is effective but he too is kept in the backdrop with nothing much to say. Cruise acts well but does not fit into the role of a German soldier... his accent, body language everything is supremely American which acts as the biggest flaw in the film. Other characters impress more than Cruise does but even those characters are not introduced well and before you try to register their identities the focus shifts on to someone else. Majority of other characters are British so even that takes away the authenticity needed for a film like this.

Cruise’s love for Germany, duty towards human kind and concern for his family – None seems convincing.

Operation Valkyrie is indeed a failed attempt of replicating the July 20, 1944, plot of killing Hitler.

Delhi-6

Thousands of people in Chandni Chowk watch with intensity as the Ramayana unfolds on stage when their attention is suddenly jarred by the appearance of a local politician in saffron clothes, who makes a spirited speech and disappears. The sequence, shot by director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in his consistently inventive, funny, entertaining and life-affirming cautionary tale Delhi-6 is highly comical.

But like most of the funny scenes in the film -- including the frantic search for the kala bandar (black monkey), who is reportedly harassing the citizens of Delhi -- the Ramayana scene is also linked to the darker situations that unfold in the film's last quarter.

The new film does not offer many complicated stories as those found in Mehra's previous hit, Rang De Basanti, but this film is a worthy follow up to its predecessor.

It may look like the film centres around Roshan (a thoroughly engaging Abhishek Bachchan ), born and raised in America, who returns to Delhi to leave behind his ailing grandmother (Waheeda Rehman). He falls for a free-spirited but conflicted woman (Sonam Kapoor), who is preparing to become next Indian Idol .

But the film is not just about two young people. It seeks to capture the bigger picture of a neighbourhood. Its episodes capture a raft of conflicts involving families, politicians and two religious communities, Hindus and Muslims. The film creates a wonderful world of a vast neighborhood in old Delhi. But its concerns -- including how the fear of the black monkey is manipulated by one community to punish the minority community -- have wider implications.

As Mehra says of his episodical film that while it is firmly centered in old Delhi and is filled with local colour, its concerns are universal.

Despite Abhishek and Sonam's romantic entanglement being a major part of the film, its appeal is enhanced by half a dozen glorious performances. Mehra deftly exploits the comic talent of Vijay Raaz,who is far more amusing here than in Monsoon Wedding ,as the pompous, corrupt and opinionated police officer. And then there is Rishi Kapoor's character, who cannot forgive himself for not having had the courage to declare his love years ago and who will now make sure that Roshan won't make the same mistake.

There is hardly a character in the film who is not anchored to the film, and Mehra ensures that even a small gesture adds to the film's proceeding.

Sonam Kapoor, who showed ample promise in her debut film Saawariya,not only looks alluring but has also grown into an actress of subtle power. Whether she is doing a comic scene, or dancing to the feisty Masakali song or executing an act of rebellion against her family's plans for an arranged marriage, she hits the right notes. It is indeed not an easy thing to hold your own in a film filled with an admirable ensemble cast.

Among the many amusing scenes that are also illuminating is the one that begins with dadi (Waheeda Rehman) suddenly taking ill. She is being rushed to a hospital in a cycle rickshaw much to the frustration of her grandson Roshan who is perhaps thinking the care she would have gotten in America. The rickshaw is stalled as hundreds of people have gathered to see a cow in labour in the middle of a road. The event has religious significance. But Roshan is petrified; he wants to get his grandmother to the hospital the soonest. He sets out to disperse the crowd and by the time he manages to do it -- you have guessed -- the grandmother has disappeared. We then see her gingerly walking towards the cow. She has more than recovered, and her heart is full of piety.

Mehra and Joshi do not ridicule her faith. But the sequence also serves as a powerful reminder of generational and faith gap between two people who love each other, and who can indeed tolerate each other's opinion.

The climax, which also involves the black monkey, has been imaginatively devised but nevertheless, it is a bit labored. However, it also serves as a good moral ending and could send viewers home in a happy mood.

There may be mixed reviews about this movie,but in my opinion it is a worthy follow-up to RDB and definitely a enjoyable movie.

And one more thing. A.R.RAHMAN is the GOD OF MUSIC

Only drawback : Abhishek's worst American accent.

Billu Barber

Shahrukh Khan, the name is enough for a movie to get noticed and add Priyadarshan's name to that and it is sure to make everyone's head turn. But with an average soundtrack and a not so special trailer, the question in everyone's mind was whether it would be worth the ticket price.

Its another remake of the Malayalam movie Katha Parayumbol, the movie had been already remade in Tamil with Rajinikanth called Kuselan but while the first was a superlative movie the latter was an average one which bombed at the box-office. Thankfully Billu Barber is inspired mostly from Katha Parayumbol than its Tamil counterpart (Priyadarshan is usually very faithful to Malayalam originals), but still the magic seemed a little missing.

The movie is a decent one which has its moments but the slow pace and too many songs make you restless. Priyadarshan proves once again how competent a director he is, with too many characters the need for a professional at the helm is a must and who better than Priyadarshan? But he does loose his grip when too many unwanted songs are added and the second half moves at a snail pace.

Technically the movie is decent with cinematographer Manikandan's work clear as crystal but with steady cams mostly he is in no mood to experiment. Editing by Arun Kumar is a let down and snipping at least 20 minutes off the running time would do a world of good to the film. Music by Pritam has nothing to write home about, and none of the songs stay with you after the end of the screening. Dialogues by Manisha Korde and Mushtaq needs special mention as it makes the proceedings enjoyable.

Acting wise, Irfan khan comes up with a performance which is extremely enjoyable and this is sure to make him a hit among the masses. Lara Dutta comes up with a brilliant performance, she is a complete natural as a homely house wife. There is a battalion of supporting artists but among whom Om Puri and Rajpal yadav impresses us the most. Shahrukh as Sahir Khan is good but still has to work on his emotions, especially his emotional sequence at the climax.

Overall Billu Barber is a decent one time watch. The climax is the high point of the movie and some of the dialogues does crack you up. Go for it but I would recommend Katha Parayumbol if you had not yet seen it.

Sarvam - Soundtrack

‘Trio strikes back’ wouldn’t be apt as often clichéd every media channel would comment the same. Precisely, it isn’t the same score you heard for ‘Arindhum Ariyamalum’, ‘Pattiyal’ and ‘Billa’. All the songs are catchy and sure on screens as you know Nirav’s pitching cinematography is sure to work wonders. Yuvan’s stupendous touch is sure in all Vishnuvardhan’s piece for he considers him as his ‘Special Buddy’.

1. Adada Vaada

Singers: Ilayaraja, Yuvan Shankar Raja

Ever imagined about heeding to an unique tune of Ilayaraja’s voice with the rhythmic style of 50 Cents. Here’s the one. ‘Adada Vaada’ has it all starting with Yuvan’s humming at interlude followed by Maestro’s rich voice. The flute note is replicated from the famous pop tune that’s used as polyphonic ringtone in many mobiles. It’s a sure chartbuster.

2. Neethanae
Singers: Yuvan Shankar Raja

The rhythm doesn’t get you mesmerized. It would be better if Yuvan can stop imitating A.R. Rahman on the same intonations. It may click on the screens.

3. Sutta Suriyanae
Singers: Vijay Yesudas

The first line of this song seems to be the yesteryear tune of Ilayaraja and rendered by Yesudas. Vijay Yesudas’ voice dominates the instrumentations.

4. Kaatru Kullae
Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Water drop programmed as rhythm is a commendable factor. But again, Yuvan is imitating Rahman’s way. It would have been better if Karthik had crooned for this piece. But, it’s a nice song about the young lad’s pathos about missing his girl.

5. Siragugal
Singer: Madhushree, Javed Ali

A poignant melody with good singers on the lead. The melodious tune is sure to turn one of the best top-charting songs of this year.

6. Theme Music

Extraordinary, Fantabulous!!! Yuvan has the knack of spelling the best when it comes to theme music. The first part is carried through with Ceylon-rap song while it suddenly transcends into the other mood of spine-chilling thriller (more or less the same as ‘Billa’ signature tune)

As a whole, Sarvam has good tunes that will keep us entertained for sometime as there aren’t any melodies to heed over and over. Keep listening to the songs and it’s worth doing so.

Verdict: Decent score by Yuvan

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The ancient Greeks had a riddle: what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night? The answer is man: he crawls at the start of his life, stands upright in his prime, and hobbles along with a cane in his later years.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, loosely based on a 1922 short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, is also about the span of a human life.

Nominated for 13 Oscars this year, it's a drama, rich in ironies both funny and bitter, about the inevitability and indignity of aging, as well as the gulf that exists between how old we feel and how old we actually are.

Brad Pitt plays Benjamin, born an aged whelp at the end of the Great War and promptly abandoned by his shocked father (Jason Flemyng).

He's taken into care by Queenie (Taraji P Henson), the caretaker of a retirement home, one of whose residents, upon discovering he has cataracts, parched skin and severe arthritis, remarks: "He looks just like my ex-husband."

Not only does he survive, he actually gets younger. He becomes friendly with Daisy, a resident's granddaughter. Soon he's taking steps into the big wide world, visiting a brothel, joining a tugboat crew, hanging out with tattooed bruisers.

He goes to sea too, to Murmansk where, in one of the film's happiest sections, he has an affair with the aristocratic, English Channel-swimming wife (a wonderful Tilda Swinton) of an English trade minister.

Death and disappointment follow: he loses shipmates to an attack by a Nazi U-boat; he returns to New Orleans where he's reunited with Daisy (Cate Blanchett) who has grown into a sensual ballet dancer and whom he woos to no avail, even after he travels to Paris to visit her following a terrible accident she suffers.

A lot more happens in the film. Characters appear, disappear, reappear. Affections ebb and wane. America – the clothes its citizens wear, the wars it wages – changes. And, like a less sentimental version of Forrest Gump, at the centre of all this motion is Benjamin himself. Even he is unstable, getting younger as the people he cares about hurtle in the other direction.

Benjamin's wisdom, if that's what he grows into, comes from being a witness as much as a doer. It's the people around him – a revivalist preacher who makes him walk, a retiree who has been struck by lightning seven times, even the passionate and headstrong Daisy – who amass the experiences that allow him, in flatly-delivered voiceover, to talk about the importance of "having to let go" or of how "our lives are defined by opportunities".

Pitt is an actor who has long coasted on his good looks. His character here, in spite of hugely skilful digital make-up, is still more handsome in his sixties than many people half his age. But, though he's rarely called upon to show signs of an interior life, he carries the film pretty well, twinkling as he never did in his dead-eyed sleepwalk through Meet Joe Black (1998).

It's something of a surprise that the film is directed by David Fincher, best known for cold, muscular works such as Seven (1995) and Fight Club (1999).

Here he has cushioned his clinical edginess the better to serve a screenplay by Eric Roth (who also wrote Forrest Gump) that touches on unhappier aspects to aging (Benjamin asks Daisy: "Will you still love me when I have acne? When I wet the bed?"), but doesn't pursue them.

There are other aspects of Benjamin's story that, oddly in a film that lasts the best part of three hours, are left undeveloped. It's strange, given the often traumatic nature of black American history through the course of the 20th century, to say nothing of his being raised by a black woman, that race goes unmentioned.

It's also strange, verging on overwrought, to set the story on the day of Hurricane Katrina. Time races by mercilessly, sure, but usually not so apocalyptically.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button fascinates at a technological level: we're shown a tantalising and entirely plausible vision of what Cate Blanchett might look like in 30 years; Brad Pitt seems no older than he did in Thelma and Louise (1991).

But it's also the anti-Slumdog Millionaire: a film that's stately, tasteful and genteelly melancholic rather than fevered, rollicking and euphoric. It's a film about time that seems almost out of time.

Naan Kadavul

Call it breath-taking, stunning or out-of-the-world. Any amount of appreciation would fit well for this film. Bala, considered the maverick director of Tamil cinema believes in quality rather than quantity and has come up with a film that spells both charm as well as fear on you.

Technically rich visuals, soul-stirring songs and splendid re-recording apart from top-notch performances by the artistes make 'Naan Kadavul'.

In the recent past, there were very few films that cast a spell on the audience. Novel themes and innovative storylines virtually dried up in Tamil Cinema. Been in the making for over three years, Bala has come out with a movie that is strikingly different from the rest. Certainly several notches above the rest.

The dark realities of our lives, which we have never bothered to know until now, have been pictured realistically by Bala. The life among 'Agori' Sadhus, the troubled life of blind beggars controlled by the mafia and the lives of mentally-challenged people have been narrated in a way that is new to Tamil Cinema.

Bala, who proved his mettle with films like Sethu, Nandha and Pithamagan, has gone on to greater heights with Naan Kadavul. The lives of saffron clad Sadhus have been poignantly brought out in the first half, while the screen goes red towards the latter part.

Bala, who has chiselled the actor in Vikram and Suriya, has taken all pain and efforts to bring out the real and true actor in Arya. He succeeds in his mission at the very word go.

Bala scores straightaway with a poignant and touchy narration in the beginning which slowly picks up momentum to end as carnage. Arya with his frightening looks and immaculate body language brings out an animal before us. His rugged looks complimented by his rustic performance add value to the movie. His performance towards the climax will be remembered for years to come.

Pooja as a blind beggar stuns one with her performance. Hitherto seen as a glam doll, she has come up with loads of expressions and is sure to make the industry look back at her as an actress, who can deliver emotional outbursts at ease.

Equally impressive are Azhagam Thamizhmani and Rajendran. The typical Balaisms are visible in every character in the movie. A whole lot of the cast includes Sadhus and beggars who fit their roles well.

Arthur Wilson's camera is sheer poetry. His capturing on lens the crowded Kasi and the ruthless struggles of Rudhran deserves appreciation. What can be said about maestro Illayaraja. Not just his songs but his extraordinary re-recording brings the right feel to the whole film.

Jayamohan has added strength with his delicate dialogues. Though very few in the film, they are hard-hitting and sensible.

Kudos to producer Sreenivasan for sponsoring such a bold attempt. All said, it is a Bala special loaded with his trademark style and mannerism. Though many scenes are devoid of logic, Bala's magic makes us forget them.

In one word, Naan Kadavul is a movie to cherish and celebrate.

Luck by Chance

Brilliant music and a special appearance coup which leaves even the Yash Raj movies far-far behind, this Konkona Sen, Farhan Akhtar starrer is easily the most awaited movie of the season. A lot was riding on Farhan as his acting debut was the stunning Rock on. And add to the excitement is the directorial debut of Farhan’s sister Zoya. Will this movie turn out to be a lucky affair for the Akhtars?

With a half impressive trailer, I had little expectation, and I should say I underestimated the Akhtars.

The movie is more of a satire on Bollywood (or should I say the Hindi film industry). The movie is about Sona Mishra (Konkana Sen) a struggling actress who wants to make it big but still getting the second fiddle roles. She meets a young vibrant Vikram(Farhan), falls in love and somehow due to her he gets his first break. How the couple’s life gets complex after Vikram getting a break forms the rest of the story. The pain, the misery, the sacrifice people have to go through to achieve stardom or even getting recognized in this Industry is well shown.

Zoya Akhtar has chosen a difficult path for her first movie but has sailed through quite easily. Many scenes are handled so intricately that it shows no sign of a debutants work. There are many messages passed on to our youngsters without getting too preachy. But she has confused herself and us, as the story of Sona Mishra soon wanders away and shows the life of Farhan more. If only she stuck to Sona a little longer her pain could have affected the audience too, which would have made a brilliant movie. The scene when Dimple- talks about her past life, is not needed and clearly shows just the desperation of the director to scrape in a emotional dialogue. Why was Farhan’s friend given more weight in the first half, and his role cut half way cruelly? Even the screen play post intermission does go out of steam for a while but not too much to complain about. The last end credit role was a lift from Michael Clayton but does give the touch, which is needed.

Cinematography by Carlos Catalan is brilliant. The work in Baawre song needs special mention. Editing by Sreekar Prasad was good but if only the work in the second half was better he could have got ace marks. Music by Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy was engaging, sounded much better on screen too. Yeh Zindagi bhi, Sapnon se Bhare naina, and Baawre were the pick of the lot. Baawre was well choreographed and Yeh Zindagi bhi, the title credit song was well picturized.

The movie clearly belongs to the talent powerhouse Konkona Sen, she has given a performance which is sure to add some more fans to this rustic beauty. Farhan Akhtar who was decent in Rock On excels as Vikram, a role which demanded a seasoned player was given life by this two film old talented youngster. Isha Sharvani looks cute and has acted with maturity in a role, which is on a girl who lacks it. Dimple Kapadia and Juhi were likeable. Sanjay Kapoor was passable. Hrithik in a cameo excels. Rishi Kapoor as the producer was exceptional in both comic and tragic sequences. The special appearances will surely fill this page up but Shahrukh does get the best role and does impress with his natural elegant characteristics. Saurabh Shukla and Anurag Kashyap come a close second.

Overall it’s a well made entertainer. A movie, which will be loved by the multiplex audience but a single screen will be a tough place to woo the audience. A movie which will make you laugh but tries desperately to make you cry too - that could be a minus. But go for it, it’s worth the ticket price.