Slumdog millionaire

This is the perfect epitome of how to make a movie (Makers of those dumb Indian flicks:Take a cue from this one) : Good direction,Awesome music,Excellent casting,Great storyline,Simply superb-overall

The movie really needs no introduction because it has been the talk of the world,ever since its release(and probably I'm the one who's running a li'l late to review it)!

If you haven't heard the story,already ,then this is it:The film is a romantic melodrama that follows the mysterious case of an Indian street orphan,Jamal Malik(Dev Patel), who wins the grand prize on "Who Wants to be A Millionaire" in order to reconnect with his lost love, Latika (Freida Pinto) - but was it all blind luck, or was he cheating?

The laudable contrivance in the movie is the nature of the very last question and what happens when it's asked, but by then the movie had me in its grasp and the ploy totally worked.

As for the movie's sound track,this is what I've got to say:

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I'm speechless (literally)- A.R.Rahman rocks !! No stopping him! There's this particular track-Dreams on fire (the song isn't played in the movie ) - the sound track's played  every time Jamal and Latika happen to bump into each other and my oh my - Its the best music I've come across so far in 2009.When I hear this track I literally go someplace else and zap back to reality only after hearing it for atleast 5 times straight! :)

Above : One of my favourite scenes from the movie.

(I'm not a pro when it comes to reviewing...and this one definitely deserves more praise than what I've given!!! Hope it bags the Oscar)If you haven't watched it yet-"you have wasted half your lifetime"-Go to the movies!!!

5 stars and a biggggggggggggg thumbs up from my lounger !!!

the pursuit of happyness

This is a realistic portraiture of the life of an ordinary person,struggling to meet both ends meet.Why wouldn't it be realistic - its based on the true story about a man named Christopher Gardner who wasted his life's savings in some crap medical tool that he finds hard to sell..Welcome to the story where : Bad things happen to good people ,over and over again - Christopher Gardner(Will Smith) is the man - stuck in every plausible sitch : wife leaving him,business failing,non-paying job, son to be taken care of,no shelter,debts..But Chris is determined to make it ! And how he does is beautifully depicted.Its is not even slightly boring..conversely it keeps you hooked to know what is gonna happen next!Eventually Gardner's dreams are fulfilled beyond his wildest expectations, and he becomes a multimillionaire - but the journey from the street to the boardroom took 10 years.The man in the final scene that walks by is actually Chris Gardner.

If you thought the 'y' in happyness is human glitch,you are mistaken.Watch the movie and understand:)

Yea..and one more thing.. The title defence is awesome - why is it called pursuit of happyness ?Chris' thinking pattern reveals some philosphy of life :why is it called pursuing happiness,because we can never get it??and only pursue??? Watch this awesome movie!

 4 stars from mylounger :)

Chetan Bhagat 's threesome

I've been looking forward to writing this for weeks...I 've read Chetan's works in chronologically reverse order..(not a good practice for a good reviewer-wannabe)Well well well.. Where can I begin??? Ok ..so here goes.. there is a certain nexus that is followed in the order of the review.Try figuring that out.

Three mistakes of my life.. Probably because I began with this book of his, that sums up for the time gap between reading this one and the rest of his works..In any case that doesn't mean it was a bad piece of work..I  for one, was impressed with the style of writing - that had the right amount of Indian touch in it... but there was a certain charisma that I felt was missing(strictly personal)...This one's just another installment in showcasing the everyday life of some of the most inconspicuous people of India.Business,cricket and religion -all blended in an unhealthy proportion..  After reading the book, I kind of felt that it had just one major objective:Making the Indian youth vigilant and aware of some of the biggest problems that plague its society.And..Job well done indeed !The title in itself is a terrific head turner.

Five Point Someone-What not to do in an IIT (the debut book)was another great piece of writing, not from the literary dimension but from the normal not so brainy types dimension(me included in that club).Even though I'm non-IIT ian, this book is closer to the heart of the 3..there was so much I could identify  myself with in the book.Totally loved the way he criticized the mugger-friendly education system in India..And yea..The way he managed to put the un-phrased thoughts sitting in the minds of many of us is something that puts me in awe..:O  I'm a downright lover of one-liners..(My gtalk statuses speak volumes about that,in any case) and this one's sprawled with a handsome amount of it making my read all the more fun !! :)

One night @ the call center - This 289 pager is a tale of six people working in a call center called “Connexions” in Gurgaon. A story of screwed-up love life ,pain, sorrows, ambitions, personal trauma and the happiness  - you name it !!This is the best of them all...I read this on my return journey from Chennai.. Man Was it fun!...Struck chords again !! ;).Management jargons, quasi Managers, Bosses who are real pain in the neck, how the society sees a call center guy…all these covered…I believe One Night@ the Call Center is fab!

One thing I noticed is that,Chetan always compares girls to something.. :O In 5ps ,"girls and icecreams are good to have..and esp together..." it went something like that..In ON@CC it was "Girls and automobiles are so much fun at night" !!!

There are lofty many things that make Chetan Bhagat a wonderful writer targeting Indian youth. His writing isn’t the same as JKR, where you apparated into a totally different world, isn’t the same as fantasy writers, who spend a large portion of their publications just explaining the jargon and commodities that they imagined, and neither is it like those philosophical  It just feels almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Me, and many others who are a part of the growing India. I would be waiting to read more from him… I wish he updated his 'once a year updated' blog more often!

Somehow,of all the reviews I've typed,this one seems incomplete.. :( Maybe adding a few one liners I enjoyed should do the trick..?!?Shall write a separate post for that) For reasons such as exceeding the word limit, imposed personally,I'd like to quit here !

Had it been priced @ 300, I would have picked a pirated 70 bucks copy…smart guys they are… making cheapo books,which make it fast moving!!As for the nexus ,any guesses anybody??

Hollow Man

This is one damn movie,portraying the evil life of a mad scientist who has just discovered how to make beasts invisible and undo it,as part of a military project for the pentagon.Evil,as he is,he tests it on himself and using this unique ability of invisiblity ,he stalks people...Until.... a certain point in which he looses whats left of   him in a spectacular battle on top of a lift.

Things I learnt from the movie:

If you are stuck in a cooler,with temperature dropping down real fast, you should look around and find something to make an electromagnet and using it, unlock the door(which is bolted using iron bar on the outside)Pretty interesting way haan.??

overall its a okay movie... 2.89 stars from my lounger

Eagle Eye

Am writing this review long after I watched the movie...So here's how much I remember of it :PIts a story about two complete strangers hooked together by a mystery phone call from a Woman they've never heard of..The calls make these guys do dangerous stuff,at the gun-end(figuratively).Using everyday technology the mystery woman(lets just call her MW) tracks down their every move(imagine someone breathing down your neck)..The MW's careful planning of disaster is stunning(especially the bomb triggering when a certain F note on the trumpet is played..Ingenious,though Not existing...Who knows??!!?!) MW turns out to be AI(Oopsys...did i spill too many beans?? ;)) and its a gr8t tech/sci-fi movie you shouldn't miss!
4 stars to it from my lounger.

Four Christmases

This is something I watched on Christmas eve(xactly one month after its release).Not the kinda movie you can watch as a family(nothing like the Grinch / Santa Clause / the like..)...Still I liked the core message of the movie : Christmas is a time to be with the family
Plot revolves around reese and vaugh who are the living together kinda family and the movie is the events happening on one day - Christmas, and how they learn about each other and their families and how their 3 year relationship takes a turn !
Four Christmases - worth 3 stars from my lounger !
You can watch the trailer here
Merry Christmas to all of you !!

Number 23

Another thriller movie day today.. I must say the movie opening is great...with all those groovy numbers and alphabets...And the flick is worth watching once or maybe twice to review all thats said at the end...A fast and sublime thriller,with an incredible storyline(an amazing feat by the writers- cooking up everything to somehow end up with the number 23) and not to mention the script !Story is: man(Jim Carrey) gets obsessed with a book reflects his life soo much - all events in the book match with real life incidents - he realizes that the book actually is the literary confession of a killer under the name Fingerlings- sets out to find who he is -his hunch turns out to be wrong! - the Book has the final chapter '23' missing,which is kinda like the missing link in the story - Watch the movie to find out the rest :P

So the killer turns out to be ?????? The movies worth a watch,i.e., if you have absolutely no great job to do and want some psychopath ,serial killer mind baffling story :D !

The end is no happy ending.But I absolutely love the way the script made up for that.... "Maybe its not the happiest of endings ..but its the right one.Some day I'll be off the parole and then we can go on living our lives..its only a matter of time....of course time is just a counting system,numbers with meaning attached to them(clock shown in film 2:15 [clock hands on 2 and 3 get it :P])......Isn't it?"

3.89 stars to it from my lounger for this movie with a twist thats totally jawdropping!

The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect(nice title huh?) is one super cool,never seen before,heard before kinda movie.. Its about this guy who has this supernatural syndrome(who wouldn't call it supernatural if you could re-write your destiny) which makes him to go back and forth in time and take the different crossings on the road of life.(Reminds me of one South Indian movie 12B,in which Shyam takes 2 crossings in his life..but thats just a movie portraying his life if he had chosen option1 and his life as in option 2) But in this story the guy having this memory problem (that causes him black outs) tries to rewrite his fate by going back to childhood and doing a particular something ;) differently each time.This trial and error algorithm goes on and on.. and what happens in the end is really dramatic !

Its definitely one of a kind thriller and deserves a 4star thumbs up from my lounger !

Camp Rock

Camp Rock - a Disney Channel original is kinda like HSM(High School Musical) Recycled.. The story basically revolves around this girl called Mitchie who wants to fit it 'for once' in the popular crowd..and does so by fabricating some story! Normal teen stuff ,right?
Camp Rock is this musical camp where she learns the lesson of her life.Mitchie is the cook's daughter, who helps in the kitchen(cos thats the only way she could afford the camp) Will the secret be out .(D'oh..thats wat always happens in such kinda flicks).Her original composition is heard by the teen pop star at camp() and he is in search of the girl with the voice(sounds sooo cinderella -like !!) Plenty of things happen at camp...wrong accusations,mishaps cos of wrong choice of friends,yielding to peer pressure,trust broken,offended relationships....She gets this super amazing friend,Caitlyn(my favourite character in the movie) and they rock the final Jam ,the musical contest.(even tho' they are held back for wrong reasons,they find a way to get to it)If you are a teen and haven't watched this,I suggest you do so !
P.S: The soundtracks in the movie are simply great..I loved the camp rock theme,Here I am (tat Peggy sings), and the duet........ 'This is real,This is me' track ..It is simply amazing!! I'm hooked on to this awesome song ,for now!
After watching so much horror ,the movie was a welcome break!
The Jonas Brothers star in this movie too :)

4 stars to it from my lounger !!
(3 for the movie, 5 for the music,so on an average 4 for the flick !I am good @ math )
Shall post the dnld links for the OST asap.

Silent Hill

I totally didn't expect Silent Hill to be half this gross..Well this horror movie is set in a creepy town called Silent Hill...Those of you who have laid their hands on the game will find the movie incredible and awesome and the like...But for the remaining sailing with me..you'll find enough horror in this flick ! That for sure , comes packed with some gross encounters ,like I said.
Routed from sleepwalking problems, Rose Da Silva decides to take her daughter Sharon to the town she talks about in her sleep, Silent Hill, to face her nightmares, where Sharon goes missing and Rose must fight the power of the town to get her back.
One word to describe this movie would be: Women in action (oh btw,thats 3 words )Its girl guts in action over there ,with more than a touch of darkness and a tint of (what do u call it...[thinkin] ) maternal emotions !
Unlike Shutter (refer previous post) the end was sort of abrupt...If it weren't for the rolling credits,I wouldn't have known the 2 hour torment of grossness and darkness had come to an end..I was half expecting that this movie had a sequel..to my disappointment,it doesn't !! Although the game has some 6 parts (I think)
Makes a good watch if u r in for a long movie of the horror genre !
3 stars to it from my lounger