Einstein once said, "A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem." Ironically Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola is plagued by the antipodal of this statement. Full marks to Vishal Bharadwaj for attempting a satire, a path rarely tread by Bollywood, owing to the complexities associated with one. And this film clearly picks out, What 'NOT' to do while attempting a pasquinade.
Harry Mandola, (Pankaj Kapoor) is plagued by a disorder that eerily resembles a bi-polarISH disorder of some sorts. A rich industrialist, tired of his alcoholism and blinded by his rapacity for money, Harry shows his true empathic nature only under the influence of liquor. Bijlee (Anushka Sharma), Harry's only daughter is to be soon married off to her college sweetheart Baadal (Arya Babbar). Harry's trusted driver,Matru (Imran Khan), a lawyer by profession, on the other hand has fallen in love with Bijlee, head over heels.
Barring Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Azmi, the rest of the cast fails pathetically. The first half keeps getting more and more redundant as the film progresses. One can feel that the songs have been hammered into the script for cheap humor, except maybe one or two at the most.
A satire demands a perfect balance between witty humor and the gravity of film. MKBKM lacks wit and is overly dependent on humor. The audience is left perplexed by the end of the film, having little clue as to what the director wants to show.
No matter how weak the performance of the main cast, shoddy acting can always be compensated by some good cinematography, which again seems to be missing.

A brave, but wasteful effort.

Chris Nolan, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are back at it again.The film is based upon a novel by Christopher Priest, which goes by the same name. The movie shows how an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth can ultimately have dire consequences and revenge never pays of.
Hugh Jackman (Robert Angier) and Christian Bale (Alfred Bordenstart) out as assistants to a petty magician and eventually become adversaries when Alfred accidentally causes the death of Hugh's wife during a magic trick.
Alfred decides to part ways but soon put out of business by Angier. The two then get involved in a never ending battle, with each hell bent on ruining the other's performance.
Michael Caine puts up a comprehensive performance, complementing Hugh very well throughout the movie as his devoted assistant. The Prestige is truly mesmerizing and is one of Nolan's best.

Hotel Rwanda is one of those rare movies which beautifully hits the nail right on the head, leaving you with a feeling of guilt and shame. It's based on the true life story of Paul Rusesabagina, the general manager of Hôtel des Mille Collines and how he saves 1,200 Tutsi refugees from the massacre at the hands of Hutus ,in 1994, who form the majority of the population in the nation.
The film successfully transports us to the war hit city of Kigali. One cannot help but feel pity for the Tutsis who are mercilessly butchered by the oppressive Hutu regime, following the controversial assassination of the then President of Rwanda, Juvénal Habyarimana, as he is about to sign a peace treaty with the Tutsi rebels in Tanzania. Thus ensues a well planned massacre of the Tutsis.
Paul being witty and having influential contacts, manages to save over a thousands of refugees, including his wife, who is a Tutsi. With his imposing character he is able to bind his staff at the hotel, even during the toughest of times. He succeeds where even the UN security personnel surrender.
Don Cheadle's beautiful portrayal of Rusesabagina is as powerful as the script. The film exposes the futility of the U.N.O and the indifference of the international community towards the problems in Africa. Watch this and you will surely be moved.

Trust is a heart wrenching film about a minor who gets tricked into a relationship by an anonymous person she meets online. The movie deals with the dangers of social networking and the threat that public chat rooms pose to teenagers. It focuses on the importance of parental supervision when children are left online and raises the tricky question as to where should parents draw the line?
The acting is sloppy and lets the viewers down, but what the film lacks in performance, it makes up in a strong plot and good direction. One seldom comes across films with a strong social message these days as they are not quite the money spinners. Not quite the usual thriller film, watch this for it's relevance to the modern society.

The chaos theory, the butterfly effect and the domino effect, no matter what you call it, they have and shall continue to excite the human mind due to their complexities and the fact that how the tiniest of actions can bring forth huge repercussions. Mr. Nobody deals with the very same complexities. Just sit back and let Jaco Van Dormael play around with your mind for an hour and a half. Nothing is real, and everything is possible in this world. The concept of parallel universes has never been dealt with such detail and perfection. The story starts off in a distant utopian future where Nemo Nobody is the last mortal man as the entire human race has unlocked the secrets to immortality. The protagonist suffers from advanced stages of the Alzheimer's disease and is struggling to hold on to the last of his memories. And thus begins a roller coaster ride as a reporter tries to unravel the mysteries of Nemo's life which no one seems to remember either. This film is a philosophical and cinematographic marvel. The non linear narrative style has been utilized very efficiently and not for a single moment do you feel bored. You can't just watch this film, you have to live it.

The dilemma of delivering movies of baronial proportions such as the Lord of The Rings trilogy is that the makers can seldom revivify their own brilliance. The same is the case with The Hobbit. Don't get me wrong, the movie is great, pacy, crisp. Cinematography is at par with the trilogy's predecessor. However one is left desiring for more due to the absence of a pivotal character such as Aragorn. However given the fact that the book, The Hobbit itself is not as grandiose as the Lord of The Rings, Peter Jackson deserves a good deal of praise for his work. On the other hand, if you're one of the minority who are yet to witness the LOTR trilogy, this movie would be nothing short off breathtaking. The revolutionary 48 RED Epic digital cameras don't disappoint as well. Disregard all those skewed reviews which downplay the cinematography of the film. Martin Freeman just fits perfectly into the character of Bilbo and Ian McKellen is the best of the lot. His personification of Gandalf is as fluid and natural as ever. The only central character that falls behind is that of Thorin portrayed by Richard Armitage. Jackson should have dedicated more screen time, but then again we might get to know him better in the following sequels.
Had this been released before the Lord of The Rings trilogy, the film would have received better appreciation. I've been to the theaters twice to see this film and trust me it gets better with each viewing. Probably another show and I might bump it to a 9!!!

The directors of Bollywood are getting better day by day. After a period of forty years, they have finally mastered the art of making exceedingly good trailers. Its a pity though that they are still unable to replicate the same magic in the movies they make. Branding the movie as a "psychotic thriller" clearly shows that the makers of the movie have little clue as to what the genre actually means. Amir Khan's performance in the movie is average as the role is simply not challenging enough. The only positive in the entire film is Kareena's performance. Don't get me wrong but you can't disagree with the fact that Call Girls are her forte. Direction is highly mediocre and Reema Kagti has been unable to recreate her success with Honeymoon Travels. The dialogues are scratchy. You can easily make out Farhan Akhtar's pathetic phrases from Anurag Kashyap's deep thoughts. Now I simply can't understand why would you have two contrasting dialogue writers for the same movie. A large chunk of the plot is junk and could have been easily done away with it. Despite Zoya Akhtar's claims that the movie is based on a real life experience of her's, it would take a lot more than that to hoodwink a film buff as you can't help but notice the eerie similarities to Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense." Give this one a miss at the theaters and jot it down on the list of movies to watch at home on a lazy Saturday night.

Naxalism, a subject left untouched by mainstream bollywood, Abhay Deol, Om Puri and Manoj Vajpayee, in short it sounds like an instant recipe to a decent film and Chakravyuh just about falls short of being one. The dialogues are hilariously cheesy and disappointingly Prakash Jha fails to recreate the charm and brilliance which were evident in Rajneeti and Aarakshan. The central characters receive little time as Jha is clearly confused and has little clue on how to take the film further, right from the first scene. Little time is devoted to character development as Jha leaves everyone anxious and clueless about the past of the main characters, which could have been a game changer for the film.
In short, Chakravyuh fails to live up to it's potential and the makers have let slip an excellent opportunity to create a movie of substance.

Ever felt sympathy for the devil himself? Satan, Devil or Lucifer, no matter how you know him has always been a symbol of destruction and evil. The Devil's Advocate is a horror flick about a young defense advocate (Keanu Reeves) who's never lost a case. But all changes when he's approached by a senior partner of a law firm, based in New York.
Enter Al Pacino, the owner of the firm. His stupendous acting and brilliant dialogue delivery just about steals the show from Reeves, the main protagonist. Yes, Al is that good. Despite the predictable twists in the movie, director Taylor Hackford does a good job. Watch this and it's bound to change your perception of good and evil. Do keep an eye out for Pacino's speech towards the climax. Simply put, this is one of Pacino's best in a long time.

Talk of drugs and the first name that pops up to you is Johnny Depp, not because of he's history of drug abuse but because of the fact that he pulls of such roles with perfection. Blow is the biography of George Jung, how he starts off as a mere pot dealer and moves into the Medellin Cartel and becomes one of the most feared drug lords of all time, Pablo Escobar's right hand man in USA. Depp is brilliant as usual and carries the movie all by himself till the very end. Coupled with a good direction and excellent script, blow is definitely worth a watch.