Julie Taymor’s ‘The Tempest’ has failed to woo the masses the way it was expected to do. People had great expectations from the director of ‘Across the Universe’, ‘ Frida’ and ‘Titus’. Though she tried her best to deal with the movie, ‘The Tempest’ could not make a place with the audience like the other movies in her closet did.

The only positive thing about the movie that makes it attractive is the casting of the veteran actress Helen Mirren in the role of Prospera. It is her wonderful performance and gorgeousness that has been able to anchor the movie a bit. The storyline goes like this. Prospera, played by Mirren, is the Duchess of Milan who is under exile and has found some opportunity to take revenge from her enemies.

Prospera is exiled on an island and she has the company of her daughter Miranda (played by Felicity Jones), Caliban (played by Djimon Hounsou) and a mischievous spirit Aerial (Ben Whishaw). She gets the chance of seeking revenge when another ship brings her enemies near to her. Among her enemies is her brother Antonio (played by Chris Cooper), whom she hates, Alonso – the Emperor of Naples (played by David Strathairn), the counselor of the King of Naples Gonzago (played by Tom Conti) and last but not the least Sebastian – the younger brother (played by Alan Cumming).

Prospera’s aim is not only to be free and gain back her title; she also desires to marry her daughter Miranda to Prince Ferdinand (played by Reeve Carney), son of King Alonso. But Caliban plots against her and plans to kill her. He also wants Miranda and thinks that killing Prospera will make him get Miranda as well.
Talking of the acting prowess, all the actors have done their parts quite well. Nothing needs to be said of Mirren. She is the one, who has kept the characters in sync and made the story interesting. All the characters in the side roles have also portrayed their parts to the best abilities. Alfred Molina as the drunken butler Stepahno and Russel Brand as the cowardly tailor Trinculo have a lasting impression on the audience.

Prospero in The Bard’s ‘The Tempest’ was a male figure. However, things have been changed here and the change well appreciated and accepted. The autocratic wizard has been given a new face altogether. The softer side of Prospero has been brought out here, where she seeks the happiness of her daughter Miranda with Ferdinand and wants them to have a happy life. However, the director should have restrained from using those special effects, which had almost marred the movie. The acting cast somehow managed to save it.

C.S Lewis has written wonderful books for children and has been highly successful in creating a world all by itself. The Narnia novels are such books that are loved by children across the globe. Like the Harry Potter books, the Narnia novels have also been portrayed in films. The previous Narnia movies like ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ are extremely popular with people of all ages to this day. ‘The Chronicles of Narnia -The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ is almost like a sequel to the previous movie. The movie is not only entertaining but also emotionally satisfying.

‘The Chronicles of Narnia -The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ is from the very able and experienced hands of the veteran director Michael Apted. He has played a major part in many films that have grabbed an Oscar. Not only that, he has also been an integral part of action movie, which also includes a James Bond movie. In the hands of such an able director, this movie was sure to show colors. Lewis’s Christian allegorical fantasies have been wonderfully portrayed in the movie that are even lacking in the very popular Harry Potter movie.

The story is couple of years after ‘Prince Caspian’. Here the two young Pevensie kids – Lucy (played by Gergie Henley) and Edmund (played by Shandar Keynes) are trapped badly in the World War II of Britain and are somehow managing to save themselves from the constant bombarding that is going on there. They are also accompanied by their unbearable and incorrigible cousin Eustace (played by Will Poulter). However, Lucy suddenly realizes that one of the paintings in her room has something ‘Narnian’ in it. In the spur of a moment, all the three kids are washed away by huge waves and are drowned under the sea. They are rescued by Caspian (played by Ben Barnes) and his crew and board the ship by the name ‘The Dawn Treader’.

There are more challenges that they have to be face, many jobs that they have to complete and so on. The movie has some very interesting moments. The movie also preaches good things through a brave and chivalrous mouse called Reepicheep. The sermons in the movie are dealt in a great way and do not look like sermons being preached and fed to the kids. The other effects in the movie are just great and are sure to be liked by children and adults alike. The movie is a must watch for people of all ages.

Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan was one of the most awaited and anticipated movies that released in 2010. The movie received unprecedented hype for Katrina Kaif jiving to ‘Shiela ki Jawani’, but on the whole it fell by the face completely. Farah Khan’s previous movies were also fun-filled and had subtle humor. Her movies also had satirical elements that mocked the society at large. This movie was also attempted at that. However, it failed to do so completely.
Akshay Kumar plays Tabrez Khan – a jailbird, whose passion is to rob and he makes a living by that. He flees by deceiving the police time and again. His biggest challenge comes when he is asked to rob a train, which is carrying a carriage full of treasure. He is hired by two a duo of crooks called the Johari Brothers, namely Rajiv and Raghu to accomplish the job. Tabrez Khan loves to call himself Tees Maar Khan and takes up the job with lots of vigor and enthusiasm.
He proclaims the job to be an easy one. However, there are many things that come in the process. To attain his goal of robbing the carriage, he creates a plot. Tees Maar Khan involves an entire village and the foolish villagers. Among the bunch of idiotic villagers, is his brainless girlfriend Anya, played by Katrina Kaif, an Oscar obsessed movie star, played by Akshaye Khanna and some crooks. Katrina Kaif wants to be an actress and is shown to act in some stupid movies.
Tees Maar Khan was meant to be a total fun movie. But it somehow failed to impress the masses. The beginning of the movie is pretty good as the action on starts from the word go. There are too many things happening in the movie but the plots are not connected. As a result, it looks like a haphazard piece of work. Tees Maar Khan becomes intolerable after the interval. All the plots come together and there is no connectivity between them.
Farah Khan has always tried to do something new with age old ideas, but Tees Maar Khan failed in that also. The film was made as a spoof and remained a spoof till the end. There is nothing special and remarkable about Akshay Kumar. The less said about Katrina, the better. Apart from the ‘hot’ Shiela ki Jawani number, there is nothing she has done. The only surprise in the movie is Akshaye Khanna. He has stepped down from his sober and simple style to that of an edgy superstar, who has lost the Oscars for Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire. The music by Vishal-Shekhar also fails to make a mark.
To sum it all, Tees Maar Khan has proved to a flop in all sectors. Not even worth a one-time watch.

‘Faster’ is a movie, which would be loved by people who are interested in a lot of action. The movie has a plot, which is nothing new or unique, but the action in the movie makes it thrilling. Directed by George Tillman Junior, the movie has Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Dwayne Johnson in the lead roles.

The plot of ‘Faster’ centers around three main characters, Driver played by Dwayne Johnson, Killer played by Oliver Jackson Cohen and the Cop played by Billy Bob Thornton. The story begins with Driver. He has spent 10 years in prison in charge of some robbery. After he is released from jail after 10 long years, he sets himself a target of killing his brother’s murderer.

It is from here that the chase game begins in the movie. Driver, after being released from prison, engages himself completely to avenge the death of his brother, who was murdered after a bank heist. Driver had set himself to kill all the suspects that were related to his brother’s murder.
To stop Driver from avenging the death of his brother, another assassin, Killer, is appointed by someone who wants Driver to be killed. He is sent after Driver so that he can stop the rampage that Driver has planned and kill him instead. On the other hand, there is the Cop, Billy Bob Thornton, who is trying his level best to get to both Driver and Killer and bring them justice as much as possible.

There are some notable things in the movie, for which it becomes interesting even when there is nothing in the plot. First, the action in the movie is superb. Dwayne Johnson’s strong and rough ‘Rock’ physique has been a great attraction for many viewers. Here he is the hero – silent, fuming inside for revenge and murderous in his looks and intentions. The best part about the action in the movie is that it seems real to the eyes. There is minimal superficiality that is projected.

The cinematography of ‘Faster’ is also worth praises. There is a vintage look to the entire movie. The movie looks as if it is shot in the 1970s. This effect in the movie has made it stand out among other movies. The only negatives in the movie are its plot and dialogues. But ‘Faster’ is a movie for action-loving people and others can go for a one-time watch.

As the name implies, ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama’ is a comedy movie. Directed by Subhash Kapoor, the movie tells about a serious issue, which the world faced just a year or two back – global recession/meltdown in The United States of America. The entire movie is based on this theme, but is dealt with in a different way. The starcast of the movie speaks for itself. Viewers can see veteran actors like Rajat Kapoor, Amol Gupte, Sanjay Mishra, Neha Dhupia and Manu Rishi in the movie.

The movie revolves around Om Shashtri (Rajat Kapoor), who is a NRI. He is an American citizen but an Indian by origin. Now this man is a severe victim of recession and has turned bankrupt overnight. He falls in serious trouble when the bank asks him to pay the mortgage amount of $100,000 in a period of 30 days. If he is unable to do so, he will have to vacate his house. Om is in serious trouble as how to arrange for the money. After a lot of thinking, he is left with no option and decides to come to India. He comes to his homeland so that he can sell a part of his ancestral property and arrange a part of the money.

However, things turn haywire after he comes to India. After some days of landing in India, Om is kidnapped by a local gangster Bhaisaab (Sanjay Mishra). The recession-hit kidnapper thinks that Om is still a millionaire and thus kidnaps him. But he is highly disappointed on knowing the fact that Om has become bankrupt. Bhaisaab’s interest in Om dies and he tries to sell him to some other gangster for a price. The second gangster then sells him to a lady don played by Neha Dhupia, who is supposedly playing Lady Gabbar Singh. The story is about the plight of Om Shastri. The rest of the movie concentrates on how the protagonist comes out of the trap of the gangsters and if he is at all successful in paying off his debts and saves his house in USA.

All the characters in the movie have done their parts brilliantly. Rajat Kapoor, one of the most talented actors in the country today, has done a commendable job. He looks like a real businessman, who has lost everything. Sanjay Mishra is a good actor and has proved that here too. Amol Gupte is superb as a minister, who is allegedly involved in the underworld racket. The characters are well-knitted. Kudos to the scriptwriter for that. On the whole, ‘Phas Gaye re Obama’ is a nice, entertaining movie to watch with a strong social message.

Anees Bazmee’s ‘No Problem’ was aimed at providing full time entertainment to the masses, but does not succeed in doing so. With large number of haywire characters and exaggerated actions and dialogues, ‘No Problem’ becomes a pain to tolerate after sometime. The plotline is bizarre (does not even a proper plotline), there is no logic behind the events and innumerable other hitches, which cause lot of problems in ‘No Problem’.

Apparently, there are three plots that run simultaneously in the movie. The director has tried to interweave the three plots but failed in doing so. The movie is based in South Africa. The first plot revolves around Raj (Akshaye Khanna) and Yash (Sanjay Dutt). They are crooks and childhood buddies. They plan to rob a bank, which belongs to Zandulal (Paresh Rawal) and succeed in doing so before fleeing to Durban. Zandulal’s motto is to hunt down the two robbers and the attempt continues throughout the movie.

The second plot of the movie revolves around Arjun (Anil Kapoor) and his wife Kajal (Sushmita Sen). Arjun is a Senior Inspector in Durban, but his wife is a psycho. She has intermediate fits of insanity, during which, she attempts to kill her husband. Shakti Kapoor plays Arjun’s father-in-law and also the Commissioner of Police of Durban!

Adding to more pain, comes the third and final plot of the movie, which centers on Marcos (Sunil Shetty) and his gang of criminals. All the three plots come in contact with each other and intermingle creating only confusion. The only thing that connects these plots is the chase for some diamonds (no one knows whose diamonds, from where they come!). More is left. There is a pathetic love-story in it too. It’s between Kajal’s sister Sanjana (Kangana Ranaut) and Raj (Akshaye Khanna).

Unlike the other Anees Bazmee movies like ‘No Entry’, ‘Singh is King’ and ‘Welcome’, this movie lacks the crackling dialogues and the very funny sequences. The music, song and dance sequences also fail to woo the audiences this time. The script is very weak and fails to connect one sequence to the other. The punch lines are so weak that they are not even able to tickle the masses. The only thing that is worth appreciation in the movie is its cinematography. The locales in South Africa are well-shot and present a beautiful picture. On the whole, the first half is still better, but the second half has serious problems!

The master of period films like Lagaan and Swades, Ashutosh Gowariker has another gem from his closet, ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey’. The movie is based on the book by Manini Chatterjee, namely, Do and Die. And to say truly and frankly, the director has done full justice to the book. The movie revolves around Surjya Sen, an unsung revolutionary of Bengal. It is about the Chittagong uprising of 1930. Gowariker has shown his class in the films with patriotic flavor and this movie is no different.
The story is simple and the director has done his best to keep it simple. ‘Khele Hum Jee Jaan Sey’ is based on the life of Surjya Sen, a revolutionary from Bengal, who kindled the Chittagong uprising in 1930 against the Bristish colonizers in India. Surjya Sen or better known as ‘Masterda’ in Bengal has been an unsung hero. Though his name is well known in Bengal, he is not much heard of in other parts of India. His contribution to the revolutionary movement against the Britishers is nothing less than the known faces of Indian revolutionaries.

Surjya Sen (played by Abhishek Bachchan) is a school teacher and aims to free India from the shackles of British rule. He makes a plan to do so and along with some more revolutionaries prepare to strike at the Britishers. His aim is to inspire Chittagong as well as the entire nation to wake against colonialism and fight against the colonizers. In his struggle to freedom, he is joined by Kalpana Dutta (Deepika Padukone), Nirmal Sen (Sikander Kher) and Pritilata Waddedar (Vishakha Singh) and many other people. Many of Surjya Sen’s friends and compatriots have been sent to jail and want more people to join the freedom struggle. When people understand the motto of ‘Masterda’ and his group, they join them willingly and happily.

On the night of 18th April, 1930, a group of 64 people carried out a series of well calculated attacks, which shocked the Britishers and took their breath away. Out of the 64 people engaged in the attack, there were 56 young boys – fearless and willing to die for the nation, five revolutionaries – they had planned to free Mother India and two young women – who wanted to prove that they too had a role in freedom struggle.

To talk of the actors, all of them are brilliant. Abhishek Bachchan has done a fantastic job and it seems that he is in the character of ‘Masterda’ till the end. Deepika is away from her glam-look and looks a simple girl. She has shown her mettle in the movie. Special mention needs of Sikander Kher and Vishakha Singh. Both their performances are too good and they will be noticed from the very beginning. Music in the movie is good with soft and soothing numbers. However the movie would not have been affected without the songs. Cinematography and screenplay are very good. Kiran Deohans and Seetha Sandhiri has captured the pre-independence era of Chittagong (shot in Goa actually) perfectly.

On the whole, this is a must watch movie and the cine-goers will love it.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has come up with another masterpiece from his closet-Guzaarish. He has a knack of creating his own world for his movies as in ‘Black’, ‘Saawariya’ and many more. In the recent times, many movies have been made on various human disabilities and the ways to deal with them. In ‘Paa’ and ‘Black’, Amitabh Bachchan played the role of an individual, who suffers from progeria and schizophrenia respectively, in ‘My Name is Khan’ Shahrukh Khan is shown suffering from asperger syndrome and in ‘Taare Zameen Par’, the protagonist is shown to suffer from dyslexia. In ‘Guzaarish’ too, the protagonist suffers from one such ailment.

‘Guzaarish’ is about the life of an accomplished magician of Goa, Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan). During one of his tricks, he suffers from grave injuries and turns into a paraplegic, which means that his lower part of the body becomes numb. He is confined to a wheel-chair after that. Next Ethan takes up the job of a radio jockey at a FM radio station, namely ‘Radio Zindagi’. Through the radio, Ethan propagates ideas of hope, life, sunshine and laughter. But his real face does not come infront of the world. After fourteen years of such life, Ethan thinks of appealing for mercy killing (euthanasia, which Ethan terms as ethanasia) and also files a petition in court for the same.

Sofia (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is Ethan’s nurse and takes care of him. They also share a very intense but a silent love story. When Ethan decides to appeal for mercy killing Sofia is taken aback. But his decision is supported by his lawyer and friend Devyani (Shernaz Patel) and his mother Isabel (Nafisa Ali). While all this is going on, a young man Omar (Aditya Roy Kapur) comes to Ethan to learn magic from him. On seeing Omar’s interest and love for magic, Ethan decides to teach him the tricks of the trade.

According to many critics and viewers, the story is inspired from several Hollywood movies like ‘The Prestige’ and ‘The Sea Inside’. The cinema is complex and the director has done his best to bring the theme clear to his viewers. The excellent screenplay is done by Bhansali himself and Bhavani Iyer. The music of the movie is excellently suited to the theme and setting. The songs are beautifully and exquisitely written and composed and have a very earthy yet contemporary feel in them. Though some pieces are quite philosophical, the songs and the music are memorable.

Cinematography of the movie is outstanding and all credit for the same goes to the cinematographer Sudeep.K.Chatterjee. The subtle background score by Tubby and Parik, the costumes by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the dialogues by Bhavani Iyer and Vibhu Puri, all leave a terrific impact on the mind of the viewer. The protagonists Hrithik and Aishwarya have also casted magic in the movie. Both have created new avatars of themselves and are sure to be loved by the masses. The supporting cast is also worth great appreciation. A sensible movie, ‘Guzaarish’ is sure to be loved by a section of the masses. However, it is not a movie for all.

After a long time, Yash Raj Films has churned out a movie that is appealing to the masses. Produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by debutant director Maneesh Sharma, ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ is a good movie to watch. With a simple storyline, the director has brought out the best from the actors to give the audience a real life feeling to the movie. The dialogue and the screenplay by Habib Faisal also need a mention here. The settings of the movie as well as the characters in the movie seem to be real-life, with whom one can associate easily.

The two protagonists in the movie are Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma) and Bittoo Sharma (Ranveer Singh). Shruti is a bubbly, chirpy and vibrant girl, who belongs to a middle-class family in Delhi. She is a perfectionist by nature and tries to do everything in a perfect way. She has some ambitions, which she wants to fulfill within 5 years before her ‘arranged’ marriage. She struggles a lot to achieve her goal and starts her Wedding Planner Business (it is ‘Wedding Planning ka Bijness’ to them).

In total contrast to Shruti is Bittoo. He is a happy-go-lucky guy, who believes in living life to the full always. He is least concerned about the future, bunks classes in Delhi University and passes his exams by a borderline. Belonging to a family of sugarcane farmers in Saharanpur, Bittoo is not interested to farm in the sugarcane fields. The wish of doing something different brings Bittoo and Shruti together in Delhi. They plan and start their wedding planner business and name it as ‘Shaadi Mubarak’.

The real drama starts now with the various weddings that they plan together. The best part of the movie is that nothing is overdone here. The settings are normal and natural in the various streets and bylanes of Delhi. This has also helped in capturing the real flavor of Delhi and its weddings. There is lot of enjoyment, fun and frolic in the movie along with good, foot-tapping music. The first half is very good with the business planning, arranging weddings and also the struggles sometimes. However, the second half slops down a little with a bit of dragging and long marriage sequences.

Both Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma play their roles to perfection and both are convincing to the audience. Ranveer Singh is a newcomer to the block and has made his mark in the first movie. Anushka has also done a good job this time, in comparison to her other movies. ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ is an interesting and entertaining movie to watch.

The much awaited and hyped ‘Break ke Baad’ has finally released but fail to woo the viewers and is not able to make a desirable place in their hearts. In simple terms, the movie is an amalgamation of many blockbuster films, but fails to connect with the audience. ‘Break Ke Baad’ is Danish Alam’s debut film but he has to rectify a lot of things in his next movie.

The movie deals with a much-talked issue of the present society, i.e space problem in a relationship. The script as well as the screenplay of the movie is shoddy and fail to make a mark. The only positives from the movie are the protagonists – Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone. The plot revolves around them, but with the various screenplay glitches and weak script, they also have very little to do. The music by Vishal-Shekhar is lilting but could have been better.

There is a Hollywood touch to the movie – in the approach and responsiveness, in the urban set up and all. A simple love story has been dealt in a different way. The story goes somewhat like this. Abhay (Imran Khan) and Aaliya (Deepika Padukone) are childhood buddies and Abhay has a strong liking for her since adolescence. It is then that he realizes that Aaliya can be the woman in his life.

Aaliya on the other hand is an ambitious girl, who wants to fulfill her desires. She goes to Australia to pursue her studies and attain her goal. At this juncture, the couple gives a break to their relationship and both concentrate on their respective lives. Abhay realizes his skills and Aaliya feels that she needs someone with whom she can share her happiness and success.

It is at this point that the couple decides on coming back together again and gets married. So the story is all about breakups and getting connected again. In between all this, there is a lot of drama and events, which can only be seen and understood on watching the movie.

Both Imran and Deepika have done well on their part. Imran has delivered commendable stuff after all his flops after his debut movie ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’. Deepika has shown her talent well and is appreciated for the same. Both the actors are vibrant and are very convincing to the urban youth. Other actors like Navin Nischol, Sharmila Tagore,Shahana Goswami and Lillete Dubey have done their parts well but were underused.

On the whole, Break ke Baad is a complete urban movie for the youth, but with a very weak script and screenplay. One time watch is OK, but definitely not a second one.