Short Movie Review # 10: Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

When did I last enjoy an English movie so much ? Stardust ? Die Hard 4.0? That was almost a year ago.

But surely not as much as I enjoyed this one. Indiana Jones is the most paisa vasool movie Ive seen in recent times. It has almost non-stop action, with dollops of witty dialogues, delivered by a dead pan Harrison Ford in top form.

Set in the 1950s, the sets are breathtakingly realistic. The adventure of Indiana Jones, as he tries to return the magical " cyrstal skull " to its rightful place in the "City of Gold", shifts from America to Peru to the Amazon before you can blink. Old fashioned KGB villians, with corny lines like " We will make you talk the old fashioned way

!" make for delightful viewing.

This movie does not waste any time in egetting to the point , and there is no pseudophilosophical small talk like in National Treasure. This is a real treasure hunt movie, with the action where its supposed to be. Not in books or museums, but in jungles and caves.

Ford is the heart and soul of this caper, defying his age and carrying out the physicality that this role demands , with smooth finesse. The ending leaves us wide open for a sequel.

Not remembering the first 3 parts clearly, I feel compelled now to do some catching up.

A must see for the special effects, continous thrills, dialogues and a nice comfy old time action sequence feel.

Rating : 4 stars

Short Movie Review # 9 : Sarkar Raj

There is one crucial diktat, that directors  must follow when making a sequel. It HAS to, and I mean HAS to be better than the first part. ( take for example, Lage Raho, Dhoom 2 and Krrish). There are no ifs and buts to this. 

Very simply, Sarkar Raj isnt.

RGV has tried almost the same story line as Sarkar, with the additon of an utterly confusing issue of a power plant. The movie starts of in Godfather-1 style, with Sarkar's 60th birthday celebrations at the Nagre household. Within the first 5 min itself, the villians this time around, Sayaji Shinde and Govind Namdeo are shown to be plotting the Nagre downfall. Another bad-un joins them later.

Then, almost as if in a hurry, the powerplant proprosal comes to the Nagres's , brought by Aishwarya Rai (who by the way looks stunning throughout the movie.) Amitabh dissaproves it while Abhishek is convinced it will serve the greater good of the people of Maharashtra in the long run. Amitabh agrees to support his son.

The plot moves to Thakarwadi, where they meet with Rao Saheb (Dilip Prabhavalkar), Amitabh's political mentor, to garner his support. He agrees but  his nephew, Sanjay Somji ( bearing a striking resemblnace to Raj Thackeray) opposes the power plant project and begins instigating the villagers against the Nagre's. Then begins the fight for Abishek to complete the project, which has now become his dream. But at what cost?

To reveal more of the plot would be letting out quite a few spoilers. The drawbacks of the movie are:

- the same basic plot as Sarkar: a few bad guys plotting throughout the movie to finish off the Nagre's, and the revenge formula  in the end.

- The govinda-govinda track is over used

- The second half is way too slow

-  The extreme close up technique that was so effective in Sarkar gets a little tiring towards the end

-You really dont feel as if you are seeing something different ( the same asasination attempts, the visits to the hospital, the revival, the revenge)

Where Sarkar Raj redeems itself is :

- an almost natural chemistry between the father-son duo. One of the highlights of the movie is when they hug each other just before the interval, trying their best to forget Vishnu Nagre. The father, a stiff, but broken man. The camera pans to both their eyes , which speak volumes without saying a word.

- Amitabh in top form. Consider this as a hint, but if you thought this movie was about Abhishek, think again. Its Amitabh all the way. He carries on from where he left off the last time. His expression after seeing the wrecked, bombed car has to be seen to be believed.

- Aishwarya- always a sincere perfomer, she really gets to show her acting histronics towards the end.

In the end, you somehow wish RGV shoudnt have been so brave. Far too many experiments, and one really big one, which goes against the very concept of the Sarkar legacy. 

Traitors where u least expect them, the predictable villanous looks with dirty teeth, more punch lines than normal sentences, it gets all a bit too heavy in the end. 

The last 20 min of the movie is a complete drag, a big contrast to the last part of Sarkar, which was the high point of the movie.

And yes, like you cheered during the final frame of Sarkar, dont be surprised if a loud chuckle escapes from your mouth during the final frame here.

After this one, we can all truly say: "Sarkar Khatam".

Rating : 2.5 stars

Dangerous Weather...

At 4:20 pm yesterday, the weather was hot and oppressive. I was longing for the clock to strike 4:30, then a short 15 min ride home, and into the comforts of my AC room and bed.

But that was not to be.  

On my way home, abruptly as if almost as a prank, it started drizzling, then raining then pouring, and then it was mayhem. Lightening every 2-3 minutes, none of the signals working, periliously deep potholes, traffic snarls and bikes skidding. 

Pune is known for its abrupt weather, and I wasnt really surprised. there had been times when I had left my house ( abotu 11 kms from college) wearing my glares, had had to remove them halfway as it had turned cloudy, and then by the time I reached college, I would be drenched.

Yesterday I was completely unprepared. After spending the first 2 min packing away my earphones to safety, I set off towards home, wondering, why this city crashes everytime it rains for the first time. The route to my house is relatively simple. But that day  ended up taking almost 6-7 detorus. Reason ? Fallen tree branches!

I saw all shapes, sizes and varieties. After almost every 5-6 min, there was a branch leading to either a traffic jam or a totally closed road section. It had become almost funny, with fellow riders passing comments and almost enjoying the situation. There was a lane in which a group of people , were lifting a big branch out of the way. They were doing it entirely for the good of the commuters.

Completely soaked to the bone, shivering and tired, I finally reached home an hour after setting off from college. And as expected, there was a power failure. The day Pune does not have a power failure after the first rains in June, ill eat my hat.

The good part was, the amazing smell of the mud made you forget  all these problems. 

And bring back other memories... "Dangerous Weather !!!"