Hereafter (2010) Review

Article first published as Review: Hereafter (2010) on Technorati.

Movie: Hereafter (2010)

Cast: Matt Damon, Cécile De France and Bryce Dallas Howard

Rating: 2/5

One of the biggest disappointments in recent memory for me has been the much hyped Hereafter starring Matt Damon. Being a fan of the actor and his work in films like Green Zone, The Borne trilogy etc. I expected him to carry the film on his shoulders and make it a wonderful experience. The performance from his was dull to say the least but it is not entirely his fault.

Hereafter lacks a script and that too in entirety. It is a patchy film with many tragic incidents put together but by the end hardly any one of them connects to the main protagonist in a way that is gripping or inspiring.

The acting is average and for a supposedly traumatic storyline they lacked the emotional magnetism required for the to make an impact.

The yawning stretches of continuous, seemingly unmoving scenes and situations makes for a very droopy and gloomy viewing experience with no depth of story or dialog.

All in all Hereafter is a shame and can easily be avoided. Don't be fooled by Matt Damon's picture on the cover, this is by far his worst till date!

Robot (2010) [Bollywood] Review

Article first published as Review: Robot (2010) [Bollywood] on Technorati.



Movie: Robot (2010)
Cast: Rajni kanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Rating: 4.5/5

It is very seldom that one is totally blown away by the action sequences and special effects in a Bollywood flick but Super star Rajni's Robot is an exception. It is the most expensive film ever made in the history of the Indian film industry.



Robot is the story of Chitti (Rajni Kanth) a humanoid-android made by a genius scientist Vasee (Rajni Kanth). Chitti is a unique Robot in that it can learn and execute humanly possible tasks but initially is rejected by the Artificial Intelligence Authorities because of its inabilities to differentiate between right and wrong. Trying to solve the problem Vasee gives Chitti the ability to feel and therein lies the biggest problem. Chitti falls in love with Vasee's fiancée Sana (Aishwarya Rai). When Vasee finds out he dismantles Chitti and garbages him only for him to get in the hands of Vasee's rival and mentor Prof. Bora. Bora makes Chitti into a demon by giving him an extra chip. What follows is a roller coaster battle between a creator and his most prized creation.


The acting by Rajni and Aishwarya has been outstanding. Aishwarya has looked the prettiest in a long long time and every glimpse of her in the film is a pleasure to watch. She looks like an object so attractive that a Robot can grow feelings for. Rajini as Chitti is outstanding with a Robot like expressionless face and digital movements.



What is most impressive in this Sci-fi flick is the quality of special effects. It puts films like Iron man 2 to shame with the formations that Chitti takes. One particular scene with the giant serpent is absolutely amazing! The look of the film is slick and sharp and parallels any Hollywood movie.

I felt very strongly that if Inception had the best special effects in Hollywood this year, then Robot was its apt counter part in Planet Bollywood.

7 Khoon Muaaf (2010) [Bollywood] Review

Article first published as Review: 7 Khoon Muaaf (2010) (Bollywood) on Technorati.

Movie: 7 Khoon Muaaf (2010)
Cast: Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Naseer-ud-din Shah
Rating: 3.5/5

Vishal Bhardwaj has pulled another gem out of his treasury of marvels. His new film 7 Khoon Muaaf with Priyanka Chopra leading the cast and greats like Nasir-ud-din Shah and Irrfan Khan supporting her was a treat to watch.

The film is a gripping saga of a woman's search for love and her extreme bad luck at finding it in the wrong companions every time.

Narrated by a boy who was brought up and educated by the very woman, the story of the film is about how a woman had the worst possible taste for men and how she never allowed her wrong choices to come in the way of her expressing her love. It is a story of her 7 husbands and how she murders each one of them.
Suzzanne Marie is the daughter of a very rich estate owner and is a woman who doesn't take no for an answer.

She gets everything she wants and that too on her terms. Sahab, as the narrator addresses her, has three loyal servants: a maid, a jockey and a butler. The narrator's first encounter with Suzzanne changed his life and she took the responsibility of educating him. He, however harbored a romantic attraction for her. Over the span of the years that took the narrator to grow from a 10-12 year boy to a grown-up forensic doctor "Sahab" married 6 men and then killed them one by one fabricating each murder to look like an accident. Each time helped by her servants and justified by the ill characters of her husbands she managed to escape the law.

Finally, she supposedly burnt herself to death and her burnt body came to the narrator for medical verification. The narrator confirmed her death, knowing that it wasn't her body. At a very old age the Sahab married one last time and the 7th husband was Jesus Christ. She became a nun and in the end confessed that she had committed 7 sins.

Priyanka Chopra is awesome! She should get another best actress award for this film. She just makes acting look so very easy.

The film is a great combination of story telling and acting. I have not discussed everything in detail to keep you interested in watching it. It deserves to be watched and enjoyed.

Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry (2009) Review

Movie: Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry (2009)
Cast: Joanna Angel, Grand Maitre de Valmont and Jenna Jameson
Rating: 4/5

I stumbled upon this film while searching for something kinky to watch and while I started watching it for fun, it took me by surprise and made me hooked up for the entire duration.
The film is a documentary by a photographer who wanted to take a closer and candid look of the porn industry. His aim was to film the porn stars in their work environment without indulging into porn.

The film maker planned a photo book on the porn industry and tried to tell the story of an industry that is tabooed yet followed in every nook of the world. He highlights how hard the adult starlets work and how seriously they take the work they do. He took classy and stylistic pictures of the very porn stars who are used to loud expression and acting.

What strikes me about the film is the in depth analysis of the porn industry in terms of emotions attached to it. I was impressed by the natural setting of the pictures taken and the girl next door attitudes of the starlets.

The inclusion of Jenna Jameson in the end and the backdrop of the AVN Awards makes for an amazing movie. It was a great experience that made me look at the porn industry more seriously and with a lesser judgment.