Here is what it looked like around my part of town, yesterday - wind blown and eerily empty for a Tuesday.
Not too much happening news wise but...
Anyways! Let's do this thing! PS apparently the Peoples' Choice awards were last night... did anybody vote? Clearly I did not since PC won a music debut award for "It's So Shitty." It goes beyond just annoyance - I'm actively embarrassed for PC. The song is supremely mediocre and she just gives the impression of somebody clinging desperately to youth. Maybe she's just really feeling the pressure with younger girls like adorable Alia along with Anushka, Deepika, Sonakshi, and especially Parineeti all coming up but the stench of desperation is overpowering. She's made a career playing "girlish" babes but you can't be "girlish" into your thirties without looking mentally challenged... though apparently it worked for a lot of people in Barfi.
And fans of non-camp might enjoy this book out called, "The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic." It sounds like a good read!
“To my mind, this book is a celebration of the small film,” Vetticad says sanguinely, while acknowledging that there is little to celebrate about the existence of such films as the rape-joke-laden Be-Careful. Indeed, her book is most engaging when it throws up eye-popping — and sometimes poignant — tidbits about poseurs, no-hopers and people who deserve wider recognition (such as the hearing-impaired Sohail Lakhani, who trained Ranbir Kapoor for Barfi!).
I'll definitely be putting in a order for this!
Some interesting odds and ends for you today...
NOW!
I know that all of our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Here is one of my favorite picturizations from a Yash Chopra film:
Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us ... in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain ...
Andrew Clark: ... an athlete ...
Allison Reynolds: ... a basket case ...
Claire Standish: ... a princess ...
John Bender: ... and a criminal.
Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question? ... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.
(from The Breakfast Club, 1985)
I’m just going to lay all my cards out on the table: Student of the Year is the best teen film to come out since John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club in 1985. Working from a smart script and with a talented cast of youngsters (and some heavy-hitting veterans), director Karan Johar crafts one of the best Hindi films of the year, blending poignant emotional drama with just the right amount of Bollywood glitz.
Bright, sunny Sunday morning! And I recommend everybody spend it in a dark theater watching Student of the Year. I'm still gathering my thoughts but should have a review up this morning!
You know me... I LOVE IT! There's a very nice retro feel from Bebo, who seems to be channeling a bit of Helen and Marilyn Monroe in her body language. And, also, how gorgeous does she look in that deep red?!
I cannot wait for this film.
The official website for Talaash is up and running though my brief investigation revealed nothing. Perhaps somebody else can figure it out and let us know if there is a nice Easter Egg or two hidden in it.
Ah, but Dhoom 4, you ask! Well, one of my favorite blowhards tweeted a picture of himself claiming just that. Now, who could it be...
NOW! On to news!
The happy couple is now married.
Ah... I remember when it all began...
(And a happy birthday to Hema Malini!!!)
I'm just about to leave for work but couldn't resist posting when I saw this pop up... *whistle whistle*
My friends, it’s a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things with writing reviews. So, forgive any rustiness. And, first, a caveat on my take on this film in particular. I saw it without subtitles so I missed all the dialogues and more fidgety bits of the plot. However, I would say that those two things only account for about 15-20% of the film. I had no difficulties following along thanks to the clear visual storytelling from KV Anand; emotive performances from Surya, Kajal, and the rest of the cast; and a smattering of English at crucial moments that I can only assume was there to help non-Tamil viewers like me. I have to admit that at times I forgot I couldn’t understand a word that anybody was saying.
So, you’ll have to forgive me if I get some details wrong but I think I got the main point of the film: Maattrraan is twisty-turny mystery masala film about living with loss, the price of perfection, and bawdy jokes about threesomes. Also, and quite delightfully to this old lefty liberal, it’s a big FU to Big Food and Big Pharma.
First of all, I've been neglectful and haven't yet mentioned that the Bumping Bollywood Band Botown has a new single!!! Unlike their previous songs, this one is original but it's still got the soul, so go check it out!
Secondly, my girl Hard Kaur knows what the people want and her single from her new album is... "Peeney Do."
And now onto gossip!
And rumor has it the trailer for the Imran Khan-Anushka Sharma comedy Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola should be out with Student of the Year. Based solely on the description on wikipedia, I'm expecting we're going to see 2 hours of Imran Khan being an urban guy out of his element and reacting while wacky "rustic" characters do increasingly crazy things. Ooof.
Where's my conjoined twin masala film?
I guess it will be Rani on DVD for me...
Anyways... I tried watching Ishaqzaade and you guys... it was so dumb. Parineeti was great, Arjun was decent, and the direction was good but the story was awful!!! The whole premise of the two falling in love takes a bigger grain of salt than the entire plot of Kambakkht Ishq! And there was a glossy sheen over everything that made it seem like Lafangey Parindey but set in UP. I couldn't sit through to the end but, damn, it could have finished with a roller skating contest for the minister's position and I wouldn't have been surprised. Actually, I might have preferred that.
While I was off I did watch a few movies and I hope to have some reviews written soon. Vikram's Thaandavam was, frankly, the best masala film I've seen all year. And, yes, that includes Ek Tha Tiger and Rowdy Rathore! Tamil films are really my favorite films these days.
I'm also that happy I missed most of the fuss over Barfi, which is exactly the kind of film I hate... I'm really dreading watching it for the 100 Crore Club series. Are they really sending it to the Oscars?! Ai yo! I would think something like Prakash Raaj's Dhoni would have a better chance. Anyways, I'll probably be avoiding most of the Jab Tak Hai Jaan promotional craziness for the same reason. Although since it's Shahrukh, I'm sure some of it will sink in. Sigh.
Anyways, I'm sure I'll be catching up with what happened while I was away for a bit so forgive any older news. It's new to me!
The Khiladi is back!! Come on, Akki, make me forget all about Joker...
What's funny is that this is being sold as a "continuation" of the Khiladi franchise but if I'm not mistaken, the Khiladi was always kind of a mock turtleneck wearing "cool" dude, not a homespun hero but I could be mistaken.
KHILADI! KHILADI!
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