My Boss's Daughter (2003)

Tom accidentally house-sits for his boss Jack. He has to take care of the boss's owl OJ. The boss doesn't care about his son and daughter and he is a stickler to rules, cleanliness and a tyrant on the whole. Tom is in love with the daughter and she also reciprocates.

A lot of crazy people and a drug dealer TJ come to the house when Tom house-sits and the owl flies away due to drug effects. Finally after all the mess in the house is cleared, everything is sorted out and Jack also realizes the value of his children. Tom gets his lady and also the valued promotion to the creative department.  

Hits

• Ashton Kutcher is the only reason to even half-sit through the movie. The casual style and his neat looks are always a plus. He elicits the few laughs that the movie throws up. 

Misses

• The jokes are lame. 
• We actually wait for the movie to get over

VERDICT

A lame movie that was supposed to be a comedy. Forget it. 

Killing Me Softly (2002)

Alice dumps her boyfriend and falls madly for a wild mountaineer named Adam. They meet on the streets of London. Following some mad and wild sex, they decide to get married. Adam is a very weird guy who is literally mad about his wife.

She finds some mysterious letters from other women and their photos, and starts doubting Adam's fidelity. Finally she comes to know of the truth behind those women and who killed them. A decent thriller with a weird twist.

Hits

• Heather Graham is super hot and bold and has no inhibitions in being nude. She is smoking sexy. Her eyes are expressive.
• Joseph Fiennes is literally a beast and he is perfectly cast
• The sex in the movie is so wild and real. The lead players have literally done it.
• The music score by Patrick Doyle is grand, dramatic and it is like an opera symphony

VERDICT

Decent thriller with a guessable but weird twist in the end. 

The Guardian (2006)

This movie is dedicated to the US Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Ben Randall is a big legend in the force who has lost just 22 lives in his long career. After a mission in which he loses his close friend and he is injured badly, he is sent to the A School to train kids who aspire to be on the rescue force.

Jake Fischer is the brightest young prospect there. Ben helps him get his act together. Both share a lot in common. Jake learns the aspects of working together as a team and he expectedly graduates as a top candidate. In the end just as he is about to retire, Ben answers his last call of duty to save Jake from one last dangerous mission.  

Hits

• Great VFX shots of the dangerous sea, the rescue mission and the chopper flying over. 
• Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher share amazing bonding. Kutcher epitomizes 'cool','dashing' and 'debonair'. He acts very naturally too. Costner looks fit and handsome despite his age. Melissa Sagemiller as Jake's girlfriend looks very pretty and their chemistry is another highlight of the movie. 
• All the other characters in the 'A' school make the scene look very authentic and life-like. The training scenes and methods are intense. 
• The dialogs highlighting the courage of the coast guard make us go 'wow'. 

Comments

• The sad ending looks forced and dramatic

VERDICT

Nice male bonding movie. The movie as a tribute to the US coast guard, is highly praiseworthy. 

The Fighter (2010)

This is a true story of Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, 2 step brothers. They live in Lowell. Their's is a big family comprising many sisters, their mother Alice and Micky's father George. Dicky is Micky's boxing coach and dear brother. Dicky's ticket to fame and popularity in Lowell, is his fight with Sugar Ray Leonard around 14 yrs earlier. Alice manages Micky's career. The family as a whole, is very possessive about their 2 sons.

Dicky is a drug junkie and his is a case of wasted talent. HBO makes a movie on him to show the effects of drug addiction (crack). Micky's career is also jeopardized by Dicky's eccentric and crazy ways. Finally Micky meets his soul mate Charlene and better sense prevails. Slowly, Micky gets the right connections, leaves the distractions and emerges as a boxing champion. Reformed brother Dicky is also by Micky's side during his crowning moment of glory - the welterweight championship

Hits

• Christian Bale's makeover is a big surprise. He looks so lean, his teeth are dirty, his hair is crazy and his entire mannerisms border on the eccentric and crazy. The way he jumps from the building's window to escape his mom is hilarious. The way he gets his act together after he realizes that he was used by HBO as a case study, is a major turning point of the movie. Class act. 
• The huge possessive family comprising so many sisters is something new to Hollywood. Melissa Leo must rank among the most glamorous moms. She looks sexier than most of her daughters. 
• Mark Wahlberg's aggression is suited to this boxer role. He looks solid and his boxing fights are quite authentic. Amy Adams looks smoking hot as Charlene. Jack McGee as George and Mickey O'Keefe are 2 more middle aged men who are a vital part of the movie 

VERDICT

An uplifting, true sports story that has equal importance on family ties. Christian Bale leads the way

Apocalypto (2006)

A small village in the forest, where all the people live as a peaceful community is suddenly ravaged by the Holcane warriors who have come to capture all the inmates of the village for human sacrifice. The declining Mayan kingdom believes that human sacrifice would save their kingdom from the impending drought and bad times.

'Jaguar Paw' singlehandedly takes on the Holcane warriors after he is saved just in the nick of time by the solar  eclipse. As his buddies die around him, he literally goes through a hell of pain to get back to his pregnant wife and young kid, who are hidden in a deep pit. Finally, he seeks a new beginning in his own forest with his wife, young kid and his newborn baby. He epitomizes the term 'one man army'

Hits

• Such pain, raw action, high octane visuals have never been seen before. Mel Gibson continues from where he left off in Passion of the Christ.
• The action is on a scale never seen before. Jumping from the top of the waterfall, running across a field through a slew of arrows and spears, escaping the clutches of a fearsome jaguar, coming out of quick sand, eliminating the last set of Holcane warriors singlehandedly etc. etc.

Comments

• The customs detailing human sacrifice are too much to digest for the faint hearted
• The torture scenes are one too many
• The raw action and pain are also not meant for all. 

VERDICT

Hats off to Mel Gibson for his intricate effort and detailing to show a brutal civilization. High octane stuff. 

Classic Revisited: Crash (2004)

The movie is a collection of several sub-plots. Each plot has racism as the prime focus. The insecurities faced by the minorities in America be it, the blacks or the Persians, lead them to vent out their frustration and anger onto the society. Each character is inter-connected in a beautiful and ironic way. 

Finally all the characters realize that the value of human life is more precious than mere trivial concepts like racism and communal hatred. They encounter some harsh realities before their final realization. 

Hits

• The screenplay is gripping and has tension throughout. All the sub-plots are equally interesting and the way they all coincide, leading to the climax is so glitch free. 
• The locksmith's encounter with the enraged Persian, the policeman saving the life of the woman whom he had molested a few days back, the  black cop getting to know about his long lost brother, a good white cop pulling his trigger in a haste etc. etc. are all instances that elicit the maximum involvement from the viewer.
• The soundtrack by Mark Isham is haunting and adds to the soulful impact of the film

VERDICT

A movie where the "director is the king". Brilliant screenplay interwoven with a very relevant message. 

The Dirty Picture (2011)

The Plot
It is the real life story of the late South Indian item queen 'Silk' Smitha, with extra masala flavor added. Silk's journey is well documented, from being an ambitious small town girl named Reshma to her encounters in the film industry with various men ranging from a big star Suryakanth to his brother Ramakanth and finally finding a soul mate in a director named Abraham who initially hates her.

Silk carries her reel life glam avatar in her real life as well. She shuns the rules and lives her life the way she wants. She dresses uber glamorously, smokes and drinks to her hearts-fill. She is looked down upon, by the majority of the industry and she is betrayed by most of the men she trusted. Ultimately, she suffers major financial losses and decides to go away in peace.

Hits

• Vidya Balan. SEXY, SEDUCING, DARING, BOLD, VAMP-LIKE etc. etc. It is a shocking make-over where Vidya exposes to the maximum extent permissible on an Indian screen. It is a cleavage fest on screen and it is jaw dropping stuff. The over exposure of her belly could have been avoided. 
• Her acting skills have always been terrific. Be it the sexy/bold attitude or her anguish, she is the best actress around by a mile. Perfect combo of skin show and acting caliber - Kate Winslet like. She is a benchmark in daring and guts among the mainstream Indian actresses 
• Naseeruddin Shah as the southern superstar Suryakanth is natural and elegant as the ageing superstar. His mannerisms and casual attitude are classic. Emraan Hashmi is intense and earnest as always. 
• The dialogs send the masses into a frenzy. Such punch and raunchy in their meaning. 
• The songs are already popular. Oh La La and Ishq Sufiana are the picks. 
• The period feel is quite authentic save 1 or 2 glitches. 

Misses

• The item song featuring Silk and Shakila in the 2nd half is a sore miss. 
• The skin show becomes too much to digest beyond a point.
• The delightful Ishq Sufiana song doesn't suit the overall mood of the film. 
• Tushar Kapoor with his soft voice, is the biggest minus of the film 

VERDICT

A Vidya Balan festival. Sure to become a blockbuster among the masses.