The year it is ...MMVIII... Gettin' Desi

WOW.. 2008 almost coming to an end... and i can hardly say with pride that Bollywood has seen her share of fame and glam. For starters we need original script writers :- A Wednesday and Aamir were the only two movies that seemed to catch that 'paisa vasool' script.

The first half of the year stoop up with Jodhaa Akbar and Raj Sarkar. A pre-historic movie and a sniff at the underworld. Both of them had their ups and downs but managed to get the cashier ringing.

The second half had actually a lot of them like Singh is King, Mumbai Meri Jaan , Fashion and Dostana.

And finally these are the movies which i personally felt captured it all...


Taare Zameen Par
If you haven't seen it, GRAB IT. Now I'd note be surprised if someone came up to me saying ''guess which movie is at the Oscar foreign category''. And that's what i call perfection to its par. The protagonist is eight year old Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) a dyslexic. He's already won numerous awards for his role.The surprise is the direction of Aamir Khan - no blah blah or Ohh Haa... just to the point and he got it right. The highlight is the climax. Very well executed and balanced

Its truly Taare Zameen Par ...

ROCK ON!

Id like to say a double WOW to this. The front cover or Rolling Stones - what could one ask for again? It glues you to your seats and transform you into this deep rock star dream. Its a movie about rock stars - fame - break up - getting back together - finale. And Abhishek Kapoor did a excellent job getting that chain in one piece systematized organised. Kudos to the Fab Four : Farhan Akthar (lead singer), Arjun Rampal ( lead guitarist), Purab Kholi (percussion) and Luke Kenny (keyboards). Getting rock into tinsel town is complete suicide but this movie broke its barriers and cam on the top. Excellent music (thanks Shankar, Ehsaan Loy). Check out Farhan Akthars singing and Arjun Rampals transition. Magnificent is the word to describe it. And its true what they say music is the breath of life.

Tune in and ROCK ON!

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

Seriously I'm still wondering what i liked in the movie and why did it become a HIT. No one knows (ppl say its Aamir Mamus marketing). But the movie did have the excellent formula of a super hit. Introducing Imran Khan, well portrayed and loved it. It had all sorts of unbelievable stuff in it. But i guess in some cases you've got to believe in the unbelievable.Funny, wacky and tipsy will by definition one of this years biggest hits.

But still why Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na

As for the performance Abhishek Bhachan for his don like Sarkar Raj, spidey like Dorna and gay like Dostana. Priyanka Chopra futuristic like Love Story 2050, fashionable like Fashion, friendly like Dostana and wonder woman like Dorna.

Still 23 days more for MMIX... Eagerly waiting for Ghajini and Rab Na Bana Di Jodi.

Batman

OK.. I've got to ecrire my words delicately. Lately have been occupied with a ton of things. its been almost 12 weeks I caught my last movie at Orange Cinema -BATMAN - The Dark Knight. For once i can say that its not a superhero movie - it is a SUPERVILLAIN movie.. Oh yeah it is..

The late Heath Ledger (watch out his powerful performance in Brokeback Mountain and The Four Feathers) as the Joker was intensively awesome. His grouchy voice, a almost humped back, scarped out head which made him an excellent Joker. Apparently i like the part where is says he gets angry with his dad so he starts chewing blades which in turn makes his mouth fully of cuts and bloody red.Though reviews did say he did a better job than Jack Nicholson. But according to me Nicholson did his best at his time and Ledger now. Whispers of a Oscar can be heard.

Synopsis: Superhero catches Super Villain.

Excellent Plot, eye catching special effects and powerful performances by Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Sir Michael Caine (as Alfred)

Two Face makes a appearance played by Aaron Eckhart - which i found extremely lame 'cos they got him at the last 30 min of the movie (i mean the character Two Face).

Its been speculated that the next instalment of Batman has Angelina Jolie (playing Catwoman), Johnny Depp or Mike Meyers (playing the Riddler)

Why so Serious.. Catch the Batman- The Dark Knight

Wanted

The first movie i caught this year at Orange Cinema. Had to watch it for three reasons : Angelina Jolie, Angelina Jolie & Angelina Jolie.. it also goes with my fascination for guns and shooting. And this is what this movie's all about... Guns - Shooting - Assassination.

Directed by a Russian first timer (in anglais), applauds to him getting Jolie , Freeman and McAvoy. Though I wouldn't say any acting talent to be appreciated.. but its worth a look. And its definitely a edge seater for gun - action lovers.

Its basically a normal middle class working guy who get drawn by action, thrills and excitement, that he joins a group of assassins (to avenge his father's death). They give him the rough & tough treatment where he eventually excels to become the best. McAvoy tries hard to put in an American accent (since he is Scottish), Joli and Freeman are always at their best.

Three cheers for the SFX. Well executed in their par. Dodging Bullets.. or shall i say Curving Shots... But at some point I do think its possible to curve the bullet only if practiced and done by an expert. You still get itchy weather things are precisely precise in reality.

As for me I LOVED it 'cos I'm a sucker for Guns.. And because I'm passionate about Guns, I had the honour to (professionally) shoot Black Powder Shooting with a Swiss champion.

So if you like A+A (Action+Angelina) you're in for an exhilarating surprise.

So this is what you WANTED.

Fetes de Gèneve - Fireworks

And here it is again... for the 7th times Again.. at the same place (La Perle du Lac) again....
It just couldnt get better. It was Spectacular.. especially when you felt you missed the Opening Cermony at the Beijing Olymics (i mean live).

I was more than excited to share it with a special polish friend Aga. We had a great time at the restaurant (from where we watched the fireworks). Since ive worked there for half a decade i got the best seats with Michelin serivice. It was creme a la creme.
We reached there on time. There was the usual cordially Bonjours, Bonsoirs and Comment ca vas from ex-employees and ex-bosses, they were rather Glad to see me. But it seemed they were more interested in my date rather than me ( its true Gentleman Prefer Blondes). And once we settled at our thrones, we were given the Food Menu and the Wine Menu Book (yeah they didn't have a Wine Menu Card but it was a wine book with different Wines from different countries and regions, the most expensive they had was USD 4000)

We started our course with two glasses of Champagne. Then we selected a 2003 french red wine from the region Bordeaux. It was smooth with slight hint of sweetness which went by par with the starter and Main Course.

Then as the evening passed by we had our starter: Goat Cheese topped with Baby Bean Sprouts layered with Croustillant and Olive Tepanade and Apricot sauce. Yummiest starter i had in my life, it just gave me a exploding flavour in my mouth. I can still feel the taste.

For the main course we had a sea fish called Lotte (Monkfish) topped with Baby Asparagus on a bed of soaked Bell Peppers with Lobster Sauce. We had it so gently and took our own time to relish the aroma and taste.

By the time we got our desert : Mint with Vanilla & Lemon with Peach Ice cream on Birds Nest with fresh Red Berries and coated with Raspberry Sauce. That's when i really understood the term 'melted in your mouth' the fireworks had started.. it was bigabang bagaboom. Lights were off -sparkles in the sky, stars twirling around other stars. It was excellent

We then finished with 2 espressos.(yeah its a french thing). Then after the aurevoirs me and Aga went across the lake for a walk to check the Geneva Festival (the last day at the games and etc..) which was crowded like a carnival. She was so happy i won for her a stuffed toy in one of the gun shooting at rabbits thing. Then we walked again till the old town (wow.. we sure walked a lot this evening)... Overall it was a exciting memorable evening...

Voila!! Fetes de Gèneve - Fireworks

WALL- E

OK to be Honest.. I had three reasons not to got watch this movie (again at Orange Open Air Cinema)

It had only 18% of Dialogues

Hardly any characters

1. WALL - E ' 700 yrs old

Had only one reason to go 'cos of the hype around it.

Final Verdict - Excellent piece of Creative Imagination.

Yes you heard me right. It is Magnificient. Kudos to Disney and Pixar for taking on this feeble script and showcasing it with talent and emotions and a message on screen.

Yeah Disney has a message... this time.. (Im glad its not about morals and friends and 'believe in yourself'..etc crap)

If you love creativity and have a vivid imagination.. this is your ultimate treat.

Its about our world (i mean our consumer products) which will apparrently be taken over by one consumer giant (a perfect example now. companies merging, taking over etc..). And due to this heavy production steep the waste increase and results in global warming... thats where the robots come in to clean the mess. The waste is now out of control.. which causes a possible natural nuclear disaster and wipes the world (thankfully teh homosapiens escape). Its scientifically proved that when a nuclear blast strikes its only the cockroaches that has a chance of surviving. And thats whats shown in the movie.

The cockrach and WALL-E are the last Living things on earth. And Wall-E is a junk cleaner. And its fun and starkling how he gets amused with simple things like the fire extinguiser, the diamond ring box, human beings on TV, companion ship etc. Then at last he meets a female robot whos come to earth to get proof that its still safe to live on Planet Earth.Meet EVE(EVA) and its hilarious how these two encounter different things.

Things to be noticed : Check out the emotions on the robots ( amazing piece of that we will experience in future), the relatiosnhip between WALL-E and Eve etc..

If youre creative and openminded you will LOVE this.

So this is WALL-E

Mamma Mia!

If you're a ABBA fan, Its a must .... It has all the right ingredients with a extra zest Rigani.

I saw this movie the day before at this open air cinema (which is opened only 1 and half months per year)

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical , based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

Ok.. I havent watched the musical yet.. but the Movie is a cent percent entertainer. The sings comes up suddenly at perfect timings.

Meryl Streep (she really is a Dancing Queen) is excellent. The last comedy role I saw of her was 'When Death Becomes Her'. And Seeing her again in Mamma Mia! was awesome, the way she blends comedy and musical and dance too (yeah you can see her shake her butt).

Extra credit to the possible trois peres - Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth & Stellan Skarsgard (not to forget their dancing too which is extremely hilarious)

Loved the Location- Greece (My first Destination when Swiss opens its borders end of Nov)

So its Mamma Mia!