Meet the Spartans

Actors: Sean Maguire, Diedrich Bader, Kevin Sorbo, Method Man, Jim Piddock,
Travis Van Winkle, Ken Davitian, Greg Ellis, Carmen Electra
Writers & Directors: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Music: Christopher Lennertz

Meet the Spartans is a spoof film parodying the Greek warrior epic 300. The film tells the story of King Leonidas (played by Sean Maguire) who leads 13 Spartans — faithful boyfriends, soldiers — in defending against the invading Persians. Queen Margo (donned by Carmen Electra) tries to distract the men – king and soldiers — from one another. The plot of the film starts in ancient Sparta, where young Leonidas is groomed to defeat the evil Xerxes (Ken Davitian) and the invading Persians (led by Method Man). The actors in the film, however, miserably resemble physically to the celebrities they are spoofing. British actor Maguire, in the lead role, bears a slight physical resemblance to the actor he’s parodying, Gerard Butler while Carmen Electra, playing Leonidas’ wife, is leaned on for nothing more than her hotness.

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer’s script has not matured enough to influence the audience. The film has scene after scene of all the shallowest material. It also lacks originality. They have made the story all a copied plot. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer had directed and written the Hollywood blockbuster Epic Movie, an American 2007 parody film, made in a similar style to the romantic comedy franchises Date Movie and the Scary Movie series. The duo also co-wrote Spy Hard.

Critics have described the film as “disgusting, crude, stupid and not funny”. Some have said it “a 80-minute piece of trash”. Meet the Spartans is all about the atrociously unfunny parodies that litter the film from Happy Feet, American Idol, Transformers, Stomp the Yard, Dancing with the Stars, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, homosexuality, Ugly Betty, Anna Nicole, and bodily functions.

The music in the film is given by Christopher Lennertz. He was named best new composer in 2002 for his score for Clive Barker’s Saint Sinner. Lennertz’s collaboration on Ozomatlis Street Signs album garnered a Grammy Award. He was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Musical Composition in a Series in 2006 for his score for the pilot of the television series Supernatural.

Sunday

Actors: Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia, Irrfan Khan, Arshad Warsi
Director: Rohit Shetty
Music: Daler Mehendi, Shibani Kashyap
Lyrics: Farhad Sajid, Kamran Bari

‘Sunday’, a moderate thriller with little romance, revolves around solving the mystery of some incidents that took place on a particular Sunday night. The film begins with an element of suspense — a scene of a cold blooded murder, the body of a woman found floating in a lake with unexplained scratch marks on the neck of another.

The story starts with a simple girl named Seher (played by Ayesha Takiya) who one day decides to have a night out. She goes to a night club with her friend on a Saturday night and her drink happens to get spiked by some guys looking for fun. The drink takes effect and from then on she loses control of herself and ends up on the streets of Delhi meeting five persons on the way. The sixth one she meets tucks her in bed. She suffers from amnesia and is forgetful, the cause of all troubles. Then comes Mr Cop — Rajvee (donned by Ajay Devgan), who is confused as to whether the girl could be a suspect in the murder. After the night’s incident, Seher finds herself being chased by some gangster who thinks that she is trouble for them. Arshand Warsi (a cab driver) and Irfan Khan give the audience comic relief throughout the film.

Inspired by the Telugu film Anukokunda Oka Roju (2005), Director Rohit Shetty has directed ‘Sunday’ on the lines of Teesri Manzil. He has tried to give the audience more reason to be happy than any other recent comedy. The film evokes giggles and laughter although the story is not path-breaking. Shetty whitewashes his previous highly competitive works (Zameen, Golmaal) with this movie. The screenplay holds your attention all through the first hour. The second half is a bit slow. Shetty, however, steers it clear through uncomfortable waters with his expert execution.

The songs in the film have been scored by six music composers. ‘Missing Sunday’ is a hip-hop number with a groovy beat. Mahua Kamath sings the song ‘Missing Sunday’ with an attitude and carefree abandon. Composed by Sandeep Chowta, the song features good musical arrangement and mixing. Kamran Bari and Mohammed Ali sing the romantic song Pyar Toh Hona Hi Hai. The Pakistani band ‘Suroor’ sound like ‘Strings’. Loot Liya is a masti song, sung with gusto by Daler and Sunidhi Chauhan, ‘Loot Liya’ has a very desi flavour with dholkis, dhols and baaja. Kashmakash by Shibani Kashyap is a situational track with a strong dose of drama. Cinematographer Aseem Bajaj captures Delhi with all its brightness. On the whole, Sunday is a well-made Bollywood entertainer and has the potential to click with moviegoers.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Actors: Jason Lee, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Jane Lynch, Celestina
Director: Tim Hill
Writer: Jon Vitti
Music: Christopher Lennertz

Alvin and the Chipmunks, which had been released in theatres all over on December 17, 2007, is a fun filled family film that children would love to see along with their parents. It is all about the life and return of the musical group Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Three chipmunks (names Alvin, Simon and Theodore) find refuge in the house of a struggling song writer Dave Seville (played by Jason Lee) when their favorite tree is chopped. The story starts in a hill background in a snowy forest. The chipmunks can talk and even sing. After landing in Dave’s house, they lend their cute voices to his songs and fancy dance moves and turn them into chartbusters overnight. The record company executive Ian (David Cross) sees big money in his future and takes over the act and pushes Dave aside. Dave then tries to save his little family before they face a show biz disaster. This film serenades family values as invaluable, going beyond money, glamour and the glitzy glutton’s life.

Director Tim Hill, one of the most “well known infamous” cartoon workers of the 90s and 2000s, has tried to make it a perfectly enjoyable flick for kids and mildly amusing for parents. There is sweetness in all the funny activities of the chipmunks with Dave. The plot is a little pretentious, but the film has several funny moments thanks to excellent computer effects and the three cute stars. The movie is entertaining. Tim Hill had directed feature films such as Muppets from Space, Max Keeble’s Big Move and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.

Alvin and the Chipmunks has new versions of some old songs like ‘Witch Doctor’ and ‘The Chipmunk Song (Don’t Be Late)’. These songs in new versions leave behind freshness. It also covers versions of songs such as ‘Bad Day’ and ‘Funkytown’ and new songs like ‘Ain’t No Party’ and ‘Get Munk’d’. Other songs in the film are ‘Abyss of Death’, ‘Don’t Cha’ and ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’. Christopher Lennertz, a musical composer for films, television shows, and video games, has given music for the film. He was recognized for soundtrack for the film Medal of Honor. His collaboration on Ozomatlis Street Signs album garnered a Grammy Award.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

Actors: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards
Director: Chris Weitz
Writer: Chris Weitz, Philip Pullman

“The Golden Compass” based on the first book of His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman is an extraordinary cinematic feat in realizing this astonishing world of demons and dust. The movie aspires to become a memorable The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter but falls short.

The movie depicts an inverted universe as we know and understand it. The story takes place in a strange parallel universe where witches are good, your souls is disparate from the body and takes the form of a beast called a daemon, animals talk and fight and the Magisterion (a Catholic church like organization) steals children for their own despicable reasons. Placed in this alternate universe, an orphan girl spends her days happily playing with local boys and hanging out at a nearby college. While she is there one day, she overhears a conspiracy against her uncle. She sets out to discover what is going on with a mysterious matter known as “dust” to rescue her kidnapped friend and find her uncle. What she discovers is a strange world of frightening possibilities and a plot that could pose a great threat to her world as well as our own.

Characters do not get enough time to develop. The movie seems rushed and there is a complete audience disconnect with the characters on-screen. Maybe, if the film was longer, lead characters could have been developed and the background characters could have made more sense and the movie could have an epic feel. Sadly enough, all this is missing and when the movie gets over, the general mood in the theatre is quite low, deprived of any energy.

The beastly attitude manifest in the movie and the conception of the soul as being separate from its corporeal vessel give the story atheist overtones that may not go too well with orthodox groups. Controversy apart, this epic is an honorable work of cinema and truly very impressive.

Despite various technical snags, actor performances are absolutely superb. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliot, Dakota Blue Richards and Ian McKellen are flawlessly perfect in their character portrayals. Sets and costumes also deserve a well-earned mention here.

In contemporary cinema, where all you get to see is fast action and monotonous, oft-repeated romances, “The Golden Compass”, a literature-based epic is cast in a different genre and is truly a class apart from the usual cinema.

NATIONAL TREASURE – BOOK OF SECRETS

Actors: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Justin Bartha, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Turteltaub
Writer: Cormac Wibberly, Marianne Wibberly
Composer: Trevor Rabin

“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is a follow up to “National Treasure”. The “National Treasure” highlights the fact that there is a treasure hunter in all of us. The possibility of having our name attached to discovering a lost civilization or an artifact worth a fortune is something that we all have dreamt of at some time in our lives or the other.

In this movie, treasure hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) once again sets on a new global quest to unearth hidden history and lost historical treasures. A missing page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth suddenly surfaces; it links Ben’s great grandfather as a chief conspirator in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Led by a sheer determination to prove the innocence of his dear ancestor, Ben follows a global chain of clues, which takes him from Paris to London and finally back to the US. The sojourn leads Ben and his crewmembers not only to astounding revelations but also to the trail of the world’s most treasured secrets. Ben Gates as a treasure hunter is able to do justice to his ancestor’s honor and unearths a lost city of gold.

“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” is a class apart from other action or adventure movies. The difference lies in the fact that this movie’s focus completely rests on cover-ups and vague riddles put in place by the US government officials and it does not stray far away from the civilized world. This entertainer is a great way to fill in two hours of your time. Although the storyline is familiar, the movie is fun, entertaining and exciting. Strong star cast, witty dialogues, flawless special effects and a good pace compensate for an oft-repeated story.

Plot, script, pacing and direction are absolutely superb. The globetrotting odyssey is real fun as interesting clues are discovered at each turn and each clue leads to the next. The director keeps the audience tension high and adrenalin pumping. He is able to secure complete audience interest and attention with fast-paced action. He also makes excellent use of well-known landmarks and interestingly uses the same, old familiar subject. It is nice to see locations like the White House, Windsor Castle and Mount Rushmore etc. that we can identify with.

The movie opens with a Disney cartoon. This is a rather unexpected way to open an action/adventure movie, but nonetheless this old-fashioned treat is always welcome.

MY NAME IS ANTHONY GONSALVES

Actors: Nikhil, Dwivedi, Amrita Rao, D. Santosh, Lillete Dubey, Pavan Malhotra, Mithun Chakraborthy
Director: E. Nivas
Producer: Bhushan Kumar
Writer: Maya Puri & G.P. Pawar

“My Name is Anthony Gonsalves” revolves around an orphan boy, Anthony (Nikhil Dwivedi) who is brought up by a gangster and dreams to become a super star. The gangster ensures that Antony grows up to be a good person by putting him under the tutelage of Father Briganza (Mithun Chakraborthy). All along, the boy is kept away from the reaches of the underworld. Anthony finds a mentor in Pavan Malhotra and works as a bartender in his bar. Soon, this boy gets a break in movies and falls in love with the assistant director, Amrita Rao.

When life was moving just fine for Anthony, both on the personal as well as the professional fronts, he unwittingly becomes eyewitness to a gory murder. This is where all his troubles begin. On one hand, he is a prospective eyewitness for the cops and on the other; there are gangsters who stop him from testifying to the police. Anthony is caught in a dilemma. The right path seems arduous, while the wrong way is easy. Which one does he finally choose?

The movie begins well, but soon begins to move round in circles till the intermission. Although it picks up pace in the second half, what unravels in nothing extraordinary.

“My Name is Anthony Gonsalves” suffers from a weak script and the dialogues seem plain amateurish. The plot is saddled with predictable twists and turns. The biggest turn off is the end, which any spectator can predict right from the outset.

Although the new comer Nikhil Dwivedi suits his character, his acting and in particular his juvenile voice leave a lot of room for improvement. But considering that this is his first movie, the start is not all that commonplace. Pavan Malhotra is simply terrific. Amrita Rao looks charming but her character is confined to only the outskirts. Mithun Chakraborthy gives a good performance but one wishes that there was more to watch of Mithun as Anthony’s surrogate father. Javed Sheikh as the cop also does a fine act.

On the whole, the movie is much better than what is outwardly appears to be. It makes a good time pass and the debutant Nikhil Dwivedi shows that you do not need a godfather to carve out a place for yourself in Bollywood.

BOMBAY TO BANGKOK

Actors: Shreyas Talpade, Lina Christianson, Vikram Inamdar, Yatin Karyekar, Naseruddin Shah, Vijay Maurya, Manmeet Singh, Naseruddin Shah, Jeneva Talwar
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Producer: Subhash Ghai, Elahe Hiptoola, Rahul Puri

“Bombay to Bangkok” traces the journey of Shankar (Shreyas Talpade) from Bombay to Bangkok. It is a story about a small-time crook in Mumbai (Shankar) who steals some money from a local Don (Naseeruddin Shah). Now that he has the money; Shanakar is worried for its safety. Thus, he masquerades as a doctor and finds escape into a team of medical practitioners headed for Thailand for relief work. Unfortunately, amidst all the confusion, Shankar looses his moneybag. While he is struggling to restore normalcy in his life, his world turns upside down in Bangkok where he meets a lovely Thai girl, Jasmine (Lena) who works in a nightclub. Sadly enough he cannot communicate with her because she is a Thai and he is not conversant with the language.

A ray of hope comes his way when Jasmine comes to Shankar’s hotel looking for a doctor. Shankar posing as a doctor gets caught into a whirlpool and Jasmine gets involved in his adventures as the duo attempt to escape the Don and his son.

“Bombay to Bangkok” brings Nagesh back to the genre of comedy. In this light entertainer, he goes a step further in his creativity and incorporates every possible masala to make this movie a true comedy of errors. The plot is well carved and quite interesting. The movie could have come nearer to a super success had it not been for the lack for tuning in its screenplay. But Nagesh’s veteran execution of the plot does make quite a difference, even though the overall impact is missing.

Shreyas Talpade is a real talent and his performance in the film reiterates this fact. Lena looks good but there is a general disconnect between her dialogue delivery and expressions. Naseeruddin Shah’s presence is hardly felt.

The music is soothing but nothing worth humming. Although various scenes do raise giggles amongst the audience, the overall zing for comedy is sadly missing. Nagesh has shot the movie in Bangkok but has failed to capture its spectacular beauty in his lens. The movie remains confined to the outskirts of the metropolis.

In general “Bombay to Bangkok” has a few enjoyable moments but that is all about it. The film could have been a huge success but lacks behind. Thus, it is no wonder that it has failed to make a noticeable impact at the box office.

HALLA BOL

Actors: Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan, Pankaj Kapur, Kareena Kapoor, Ruby Bhatia, Mukesh Tiwari, Lekh Tandon and Darshan Jariwala.
Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Producer: Subhash Ghai, Elahe Hiptoola, Rahul Puri
Writer: Nagesh Kukunoor
Lyrics: Dushyant Kumar, Mehboob, Sameer

“Halla Bol” is a clone of Rajkumar Santoshi’s earlier film “Damini” and reminiscent of the much publicized Jessica Lal murder case. Much like “Damini”, this movie too communicates a social message but this is where the similarity ends. “Damini” was miles ahead of its times. Excellent star performances, tight script and outstanding courtroom scenes made the movie a true masterpiece.

The script of “Halla Bol” is very old. The movie traces the rise, fall and rise again of its protagonist, Ashfaque. Ashfaque (Ajay Devgan) is a small town boy who dreams of making it big in Bollywood. He joins a street theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) who uses street theatre as a platform for social awakening. Ashfaque struggles to give creative vent to the actor in him and his determined struggle pays off when he gets the much-desired break in movies. He gets a new screen name- Sameer Khan.

With the passage of time, he gets bigger and better roles and moves up the ladder of success in a short span of time. Soon he becomes Sameer Khan, the superstar who can enact any role to perfection and win audience applause. Amidst all the adulation and appreciation, he slowly forgets his own identity, loses his real self and becomes a masked character displaying attributes of various screen roles enacted by him. Corruption overpowers his entire system as he gets alienated from all loved ones including his wife Sneha (Vidya Balan). An incident at a party changes everything shaking the entire life of Sameer Khan. He gets entrapped between his human self on one hand and the corrupted superstar image on the other. Good sense prevails, as he is able to get rid of his corrupted image and emerges as a true-life hero.

Although Ajay Devgan displays remarkable acting prowess in his scenes, it is a pity to watch such a great actor get saddled in roles like these. Pankaj Kapur as a reformed dacoit is absolutely brilliant. Vidya Balan sadly enough has hardly any scenes where she can bring out the honed actress in her. Rajkumar Santoshi seems to have lost his Midas touch. Music is okay but nothing worth remembering. Deprived of quality script, direction and music, “Halla Bol” fails to make any significant impression on the box office.

Showbiz

Actors: Tushar Jalota, Mrinalini Sharma, Gulshan Grove
Director: Raju Khan
Producer: Mukesh Bhatt
Music Director: Lalit Pandit
Writer: Praful Parikh, Rajiv Kaul ,Anees Bazmee
Lyricist: Sayeed Qadr

The story “Showbiz” gives the impression to the people that it would have something to do with fame game. However, there is nothing of that sort in the movie. It is the debut film of choreographer Raju Khan who tried his best to bring forth some interesting facts about the tinsel world of glamor. The plot line of the story is that TV channels are always looking for spicy stuff to boost their TRPs and gain recognition in the eyes of viewers. There are a couple of channels who even resort to unethical practices by fabricating the story and tampering with the facts. It is portrayed how only that part of story is shown that can catch attention of the people. There are some news that are largely edited before being aired on the television. The news channels ignore the core aspects and pick the elements that can cause sensation.

NNN News is a TV channel that is owned by Gulshan Grover. He hires journalists who have mastery in twisting the story and give it an entirely new turn. The basic theme of the movie is that, in the contemporary time, media is serving as one of the most potent weapons in the hands of people possessing power and wealth. Media is no more playing the role of watchdog by keeping a track of the activities of Government and other authorities who are responsible for maintaining the law and order and establishing the rules and regulations for the country. Raju Khan missed out on few things; first and foremost being the right balance between media and glamor world.

Tushar Jalota ( Rohan Arya) has played the role of a much sought after singer. He is often used by media person Sushant Singh to increase the popularity of his channel. He keeps on fabricating stories one after the other to sensationalize the whole atmosphere. He goes to the extent of cooking up the story of his car accident in which it is shown that he was drunk while he was driving. There is a lady who meets with the accident and it is deliberately shown that something went wrong with her. The zipper of her blouse was intentionally pulled down to add to the sensation. The movie shows how the media persons have started compromising on their moral values to earn their living. Mrinalini Sharma and Tushar Jalota have been able to make a good start as a newcomer. Music is okay but there is nothing extraordinary.

I Am Legend

Director: Francis Lawrence
Producer: Akiva Goldsman
Star Cast: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Willow Smith, Charlie Tahan
Lyricist: White Zombie
Writer: Akiva Goldsman, Mark Protosevich

“I am Legend” is a thriller movie based on the novel by Richard Matheson. It is based on a very different theme as to how does it feel if you are the only one surviving on Earth. The movie revolves around Will Smith who is the lead actor in the movie. He has played the role of Robert Neville, a sharp minded scientist who is apparently the only survivor of the deadly plague that has wiped off the entire race of humans. His only companions are the flesh eating zombies. He tries his best to lessen the adverse effects of the fatal situation. He strives hard to reverse the situation and give new life to the virus affected zombies by using his blood that is immune to the virus.

Neville is in lookout for means to rescue zombies so that they can live a normal life. He works in his lab in the basement and observes zombies. He conducts extensive research to find a solution to help them combat the problems and deformities caused by virus. During his study, he notices several differences between him and the zombies and he makes note of the same. He ensures that he is back home before the sun sets. He protects himself from the zombies during late evening till night as it is during that time that they wander about in hunt for human flesh.

It is a high budget film that has the best of all in terms of directions, cinematography and other vital aspects. It has turned out to be a big hit among the people. The movie has been able to leave an impact on the minds of viewers, as it has used locations that were actually deserted in the New York city. This has made the movie more powerful and thought evoking. The life of cannibals is shown very realistically; how they come outside during the night time. Will Smith has been widely appreciated for his fabulous performance in the film.

Overall, it is a good movie that is indeed worth watching in theater. It has the capability to touch your heart. Some of the scenes in the movie are very sad. It can be however said that there could have been lot more innovation in the movie.