Starbuck: Film Review

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, Gala Presentations
Production Company: Caramel Films
Cast: Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand, Julie le Breton, David Michael, Patrick Martin
Director: Ken Scott
Screenwriters: Ken Scott, Martin Petit
Producers: Andre Rouleau, Valerie d’Auteuil, Jasmyrh Lemoine, Danny Rosner
Director of photography: Pierre Gill
Production designer: Danielle Labrie
Music: David Lafleche
Costume designer: Sharon Scott
Editor: Yvann Thibaudeau
Sales: Charlotte Mickie, eOne Entertainment
No rating


A lovable underachiever unwittingly spawns his own village in Starbuck, Ken Scott's crowd-pleasing comedy exploring various meanings of fatherhood in the modern age. Already slated for a Dreamworks remake starring Vince Vaughn, the Montreal-set charmer would be an easy sell in multiplexes if not for pesky French subtitles.
 
Patrick Huard plays David, a delivery man for his family's butcher shop who learns that his lucrative late-80s stint as a sperm donor has resulted in a staggering 533 successful pregnancies. Over a hundred of those now-twentysomethings, having learned they share the same biological father, are suing the fertility clinic to reveal the identity of the prolific donor code-named Starbuck.

Panicked by the prospect of being unmasked, but curious about his progeny, David becomes a covert guardian angel. Working through plaintiffs like the list-checking hero of My Name is Earl, he spies on youths and finds himself doing favors both small and life-altering; eventually he joins their community of fellow-adoptees, making a half-true excuse to get to know them without revealing himself.

Huard, whiskered and beer-bellied, projects a bumbling benevolence that works well here, leaving David -- a man-child who has avoided fatherhood in its traditional form, and whose girlfriend is understandably reluctant to share her surprise pregnancy with him -- pleasantly surprised at how well these encounters play out. Viewers will likely share that surprise, as will cynics who understandably expect much more sappiness than the film delivers. (Opportunities for sentimentality are everywhere, of course, but a comically oversized group hug is about as syrupy as things get.)

Scott and collaborator Martin Petit's script never really explains the urgency of the legal battles over David's anonymity, and some ante-upping contrivances in the third act ring false. But the laughs don't flag, thanks in part to David's friend Paul (Antoine Bertrand), a dad who has actually had to live with the kids he fathered: Acting as David's attorney, he does everything he can to keep his pal away from the joys of parenthood.

Trailer:

Rowdy Rathore: Film Review

Producer: Ronnie Screwwala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Director: Prabhudheva
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Sameer Anjaan, Faiz Anwar
Genre: Action
Recommended Audience: Parental Guidance
Film Released on: 01 June 2012

Trailer:

Review:


Much earlier, in my review of Prabhudheva’s maiden venture Wanted, which got Salman Khan back in the game and allowed him to do many more masala entertainers and South remakes, I had stated that I love masala entertainers. Trust me, there’s nothing better than a cocktail of genres defying your otherwise potent logic when you leave your overworked brains behind to enjoy a movie that should provide nothing but (in the language of the well-remembered Silk, played by Balan in The Dirty Picture) “entertainment, entertainment, aur entertainment.”

And that’s exactly why I haven’t really shoved Sajid Khan’s outspoken logic of his films working, because he knows exactly what he’s doing when he’s making films that don’t require logic. With Akshay Kumar’s last Housefull 2raking in huge moolah after Desi Boyz having decently performed at the box-office, he’s obviously expected to keep his record consistent after many pitfalls in the last two years. And this is when Rowdy Rathore makes its entry in a safe zone. And why do I say that? Well, the IPL season is over, and so movies can safely release without any fear of focus deviation (though this season we have also had some back to back hits like Vicky Donor, Ishaqzaade andHousefull 2). So does RR manage to win the hearts of the audience like Wanted did?

Set in Mumbai and fictional Devgarh, the movie talks about Shiva, who’s a thief and has a weird fetish for women’s waists. He’s a manipulator and lives with a friend he regularly manipulates. He meets Paro, they dance for a while, and he keeps touching her waist (for some odd reason this gets annoying). From nowhere, a girl comes in the picture and mistakes him as her father. Then there’s a double role, a misunderstanding between lovers and other stuff. And you can predict the ending. I know the synopsis sounda pretty ironic to say the least, as the story offers nothing new, but honestly enough, the tight screenplay by Shiraz Ahmed was engaging enough to say the least, even though the story was beaten to death.

Director Prabhudheva’s execution of the material didn’t waver to give it a Hindi touch though; I still felt like I was watching a South masala film, and this was probably what really put me off. Comparing the execution to his last Wanted, this one was typically South and though Akshay Kumar was back in form, the whole ‘borrowed’ element was kinda spoiling the fun. Also with the first hour being as cheesy as the definition of the term cheesy can get, all through till the intermission point, I was wondering where was this going, until the second hour actually came by to break the monotony with Kumar’s traditional comic timing and action, all melded into one entertaining package.

Technically, the cinematography was great, but the camerawork ranged from experimental to annoying at best, what with those crash zooms making us mad. The music and lyrics are dated and the background score fits in well with the music.

Akshay Kumar is in full form here. After delivering a critically decent Patiala House and a commercially decent Desi Boyz, and starting this year with a bang in the form of Housefull 2, rest assured, this role is tailor made for him, and he gives it his best. Sonakshi Sinha proves here that she can act, but the annoyingly weird focus on her midriff was something she definitely deserved; of course, she should have gotten a role much better than what she was offered. Nasser is powerful, but that accent for a Bihari goon – that’s a fail. What on earth was Kareena Kapoor doing in that weird 10-second cameo? Others are decent.

Overall, the movie’s a perfect masala-entertainment package, with all the ingredients fitting in well to gel with the audience in India universally. But for a man who’s already impressed in his first outing in the Hindi film belt, this one’s slightly weaker. With the box-office opening and the thundering collections speaking for themselves, I don’t need to say a lot, but unlike Wanted, Dabangg or Agneepath’s revamp for that matter, this one lacks that X-Factor. Bhansali though can breathe a sigh of relief, as his second production can finally break even and give boost to his production house. A one-time watch only!

Ishaqzaade: Film Review

Producer: Yash Raj Films
Director: Habib Faisal
Starring: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Kausar Munir 
Recommended Audience: General
Film Released on: 11 May 2012

Trailer:

Review:
Based on an imaginary town of UP named Almore, Ishaqzaade is a passionate love story which has already generated a lot of buzz even before release due to the attractive new faces, fresh music which you can listen to in a loop, a bold and rebellious Parineeti (Chopra) who is shown with guns and a young lad marking his debut (Arjun Kapoor) who can make girls swoon with his reckless attitude!

Habib Faisal is definitely an intelligent director who shows all the nuances of small towns of UP compared to metros and also the ruthlessness, arrogance, plots, passion along with aggression in the rustic aura which doesn’t fail to impress you. Three cheers to cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, who captures it in a natural way whilst all the songs are shot within the suburbs of Almore which makes it look realistic (instead of the Alps of Switzerland like in a typical Yash Chopra song!). Good to see a comeback from Aditya Chopra and I feel glad that bollywood has finally come out of its comfort zone of Mumbai and Delhi and is all set to show the nativity of places like Kolkata in Kahaani, Lucknow-Kanpur in Tanu Weds Manu!

The long-standing political rivalry between the Chauhan’s and Qureshi’s makes even their heirs loathe each other. They grow up and the ambition to eradicate each other’s dynasty is just ablaze. Zoya (Parineeti) or rather Parma’s (Arjun Kapoor) Joya is so damn natural. Her sparkling eyes and body language show how strong, confident and passionate she is to be on her Dad’s MLA throne no matter whatever it takes. She is not in the league of village girls who are submissive and are not extravert. She doesn’t mind trading a Katta (Pistol) with her brand new gold jhumkis to safeguard herself and shoot any culprit that gets in her way. On the other hand she is so innocent to trust anyone and believes that she can make things work. She steals the show in the first half where she even wears her dads resized black kurta for election canvassing! Am sure this attire will soon become a style statement among girls who will try imitating Zoya!

Parma’s reckless “Go to hell” kind of intimidating character along with that silly grin will already have won many girls’ hearts. Apparently he reduced his weight from around 120kg to become what he is now and Salman Khan was his trainer. Well after watching the film you can see the results; toned abs and a firm body! Being the Bombay boy he is so lively that you will believe he is one such rebel kinda launda who always roams around flaunting his gun. The chemisty between the two is sizzling! He is a fiery and self assured guy who makes a fantastic debut and doesn’t need the back up of a dad or cha-chas. He is a lot better than all of them.

By Interval you will realise Parma is a sleazy chap whose morals are zero. The scene where his mom dies pleading Parma to correct his mistakes and in the immediate next scene where Zoya cries will definitely evoke emotions in you but in second half, his hate turns to love so rapidly that it surprises you. Admittedly, the film is a bit slow in the second half and haphazard. The ending may leave you a little speechless!

The plot whilst predictable, is not boring till the end and the religious differences and hatred which makes politicians or factionists kill each other is shown naturally in a way that it still happens in many remote parts of India. Hatred is the same even in cities but the hatred of religious communities towards lovers is much stronger in villages. Anil Rastogi (Parma's grand-father), Natasha Rastogi (Parma's mother) and Ratan Rathore (Zoya's father) are natural to the core.

From the remaining cast, Gauhar Khan deserves a special mention here as she lives up to the role of a prostitute in Kwality baar performing to two sizzling numbers; “Jhalla Wallah” and the foot-tapping “Chokra Jawaan”. Needless to say the rest of the songs are quite gripping and are already popular. Kudos to Music Director Amit Trivedi.

Ishaqzaade is a full paisa vasool movie and it’s tough to split the young stars for the acting honours. Parineeti at her best generates high voltage and adds spice to the drama here but Arjun makes a stunning debut too, one which might land him an award! Go watch it without hesitation!

Dangerous Ishq: Film Review

Producer: Reliance Entertainment 
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Starring: Karisma Kapoor, Rajneesh Duggal, Jimmy Shergill, Divya Dutta, Arya Babbar, Gracy Singh, Ravi Kissen, Ruslan Mumtaz
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
Lyrics: Samir Anjaan and Shabbir Ahmed
Genre: Thriller
Recommended Audience: General
Film Released on: 11 May 2012

Trailer:

Review:
Karisma Kapoor as Salma, Geeta or Sanjana gets news of death of her lover’s death / kidnap multiple times in the movie. Her dovey eyes turn red just too often, her voice cracks, she breaks down just as often. Every time she does this you don’t have dialogues but you hear loud Himesh vocals (as loud and as listenable as ever) in the background. You want to relate to the girl, you want to feel bad for the one who died or at least feel concerned. But you just cannot. Dangerous Ishq is a romantic thriller that spans across centuries to get the lovers connected but fails to connect to the one sitting on the other side of the screen. The movie marks the comeback of Karisma Kapoor, one of the most famous actress of the last decade who has earlier proved the mettle of her acting genes in films like Dil To Pagal Hai, Zubeida, Fiza and Raja Hindustani. So did she succeed in her lacklustre comeback film? Did Vikram Bhatt succeed in putting her comeback in a 3D success unlike Mimoh’s comeback in Vikram’s last film (Haunted)?

The movie is about a girl’s journey through various births to unite with her lover. Super model Sanjana’s (Karisma kapoor) boyfriend, Rohan (Rajneesh Duggal) gets kidnapped from his beach house. Sanjana is admitted to a hospital, and there starts the story which is told in a non-linear narrative and moves back and forth in her various births to give Sanjana clues for her current mission. There is an India-Pakistan partition angle thrown in with a Hindu-Muslim love story, there is a love story thrown in for Aurangzeb’s brother and there is one more from Chittorgarh at the time of Mirabai. There are various colors and shades in roles of a sisterly friend Neetu ( Divya Dutta), a brother (Ruslaan Mumtaz) and a cop who is trying to solve the case (Jimmy Shergill). The canvas is so big and ambitious that it wouldn’t have been easy for any director to make a success of it and if truth be told the director struggles throughout here.

To answer the important part first, yes Karisma kapoor comes up with an earnest performance. She surely enjoyed facing the camera after so many years and she looks beautiful in the movie. Her characters had many variations and major screen time. She was a supermodel, a Pakistani Hindu, a Mughal time lover and a maid to Meerabai at different times in the movie. But good actors alone can’t make good films; a script needs to support it too. Rajneesh Duggal’s roles were bad story writing and his acting made it worse. The story is about two lovers who are separated in every birth and they meet again in the next. But unfortunately the movie is only about one of them. You hardly relate to any of the roles that Rajneesh Duggal plays. In fact, you relate to the villains more than him and that was a pity, as you really don’t relate to Karisma’s stories because of it. In fact during a few points in the film I even thought that the leading lady should actually pair up with the villain, it would be a match of equals at least. Ravi Kissen, Arya Babbar, Sameer Kochhar and Jimmy Shergill, all played their roles with required fervour. Ravi Kissen shines in his small role of Durgam Singh. I wish Jimmy Shergill and Divya Dutta could have had a larger screen time. Both of them are grossly underutilized in this film.

Vikram Bhatt’s creation of a back drop and addition of gloss and technology is as beautiful as in all his movies. But unfortunately his story telling is just as bad as well. The biggest deal breaker for this movie is in the writing department. Story (Amin Hajee) is not paced well. Characters are completely underdeveloped particularly the ones like Mirabai (played with conviction by Gracy Singh), which are almost caricaturized along with the use of clichéd dialogues. Screenplay by the director himself gets bumpy at times. There are scenes like a false trap where police officers die- completely unnecessary and don’t add to the story. At the same time there are important parts of stories which we run through and don’t get time to soak in. Dialogues by Girish Dhamija are clunky. It is not easy to digest a Rajasthani Rajput senapati using words like “Berukhi ka Raaz”, daasi using words like “Kismat” and “Zindagi”. Surely the Urdu words are a part of life in today’s Hindi culture but language is an important tool to give a sense of time. Girish Dhamija misses it completely. Film editing by Kuldip Mehan also has nothing to negate the effect of writing. The pacing of the movie is also badly misplaced.

A special mention here for action director Abbas Ali Mogul and 3D effects from EFX Prasad. It is one of the first movies where 3D isn’t added as a gimmick and still is well managed. There are occasional in your face moments but mostly the 3D here adds another dimension and you can see the depth and space more clearly. Vikram Bhatt has to be lauded for his efforts in lapping up new technology and giving utmost detailing in framing of sequences. Pravin Bhatt’s cinematography is apt. Play of light and especially shadows during various stages of the movie adds to the non-existing story telling. Production design needs a very special mention here. Tackling various timelines and historical context setting is not easy but the sets and design completely lives up to it. Music by Himesh Reshammiya is always an highlight when he sings less. “Tu Hi Rab” and “Naina Re” though loud in their vocals, overpowers the scene they appear in. If the story telling was sharper, music would have gelled beautifully in the movie.

There is a scene in the latter half of the movie where both Sanjana and Rohan are declared dead. You almost feel that the movie ended. I was very scared that Vikram Bhatt was planning for a sequel but the end turns up like good news, even if it’s not a good climax. And that feeling more or less summarizes the movie. If you are watching the movie as a Karisma Kapoor fan, you will not be disappointed by her performance but the movie is at best average. The backdrop of the movie could have made it an interesting effort. Past life regression and finding “aatma ki aawaz” aren’t new themes but could have been presented in a more engaging manner. The movie doesn’t do anything interesting for the director and other actors, but surely Karisma Kapoor’s hard work would not go unnoticed. Welcome back Lolo.

Jannat 2: Film Review

Producer: Mahesh Bhatt
Director: Kunal Deshmukh
Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Randeep Hooda
Music: Pritam 
Lyrics: Sayeed Quadri, Sanjay Masoomm, Mayur Puri
Genre: Thriller
Recommended Audience: Adult
Film Released on: 02 April 2012

Trailer:

Review: The original Jannat (2008) was watchable due to the cricket concept, exceptional music (by Pritam), a better heroine and an interesting story! Jannat 2 is a tossed, stashed rather crushed version of the original with fewer stellar songs and a new female lead (who most of the times reads news headlines when it comes to delivering a heavy dialogue!). Esha Gupta must have been hoping that the audience would go wild seeing her curves but she should realise there’s no scarcity of that in Bollywood today! Perhaps the surprise element of the movie is that the lover boy himself is even more irritating than the female lead. Once upon a time it was a delight to watch Emraan Hashmi showering us in these romantic / gunda roles. Sadly his presence here is that of a bored actor- bored of kissing, bored of muttering those stereotypical dialogues and bored of essaying the role of the gunda. The last such film that he looked remotely interested was Once upon a time in Mumbaii where he lived up to his role. At least Randeep Hooda does a good job as a police officer here. His fresh addition to the movie provides for good acting and dialogue delivery but you can’t say he is performing a new or improved role from his previous films including OUATIM. Then we come to the story. Whilst there are one or two twists in the screenplay, it lacks the suspense element required for such a thriller. Post Interval you will eagerly await the end of the movie! Instead of focusing on the story and screenplay, Director Deshmukh and Producer Bhatt spend all their time trying to make scenes really hot and sensuous here but they still fail at that (showing a hidden / blurred half naked butt isn’t what the audience is after!). Ultimately, Jannat 2 cannot be recommended unless you’re a die hard Emraan fan and don’t forget to catch the music by Pritam (especially “Tera Deedar Hua” and “Tu Hi Mera”) which is arguably the highlight of an otherwise drab film. Bas Ab Yehi Mannat Hai Ke Na Bane Ab Aur Ye Jannat !