The perfect romantic comedy: London Paris New York
Love stories have been told again and again. Every now and then, a Jab We Met comes around – a film which that rises above the predictable. London Paris New York (LPNY) is one of those special films. Set in three lovely cities, this is story of Nikhil (Ali Zafar) a happy-go-lucky boy and Lalitha (Aditi Rao Hyderi) a simple, nerdy Madrasi girl, who fall in love with each other thrice in six years. And that’s it. That’s all the movie is. No impediments, no pretentiousness, no preaching, no ‘zaalim samaaj’ and not even a supporting cast. ...
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Cinema and class
Film as a revolutionary art form has for some time been at direct odds with the commercialisation of cinema, because it has put those on the margins in popular discourse. The decline of Pakistan’s local film industry has also coincided with changing economic structures in which the industry used to operate. Cinema has since long been associated with projection of national identity. With the advent of globalisation, film has been used to project various group identities and has also changed the paradigm in which culture functions. In the 1970s, Indian actor Amitabh Bachan had come to represent the quintessential anti-hero in ...
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What the Oscar means for Pakistan and Iran
When the name Asghar Farhadi was called out as the winner of the prestigious award in the category for Best Foreign Language Film, for his film ‘A separation’, I immediately texted my best friend, who happens to be Iranian, congratulating her, while doing a little dance of happiness for a fellow Muslim country’s achievement. Many of my Muslim friends also updated their statuses, even though they were not Iranians. However, when Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s name was called for Pakistan, in the category Best Documentary, Short Subject for her film “Saving Face”, my entire Facebook feed flooded ...
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Contraband hits and misses
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Contraband is an unremarkable heist movie, which features little in the way of action, and instead tries hard to build tension with narrative. The film stars Mark Wahlberg (Chris Farraday) as a former smuggler, who has given up the crooked life to live honestly with his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale) and children. The movie shifts into second gear when Chris’s brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), who also happens to be a smuggler, is forced to dump his consignment of drugs from a cargo ship in order to ...
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Puss in boots: A kitty with claws
If you liked Shrek, you’re going to love Puss in Boots. This is the story about the orange tabby cat, first introduced in Shrek 2, another cat, and an egg. It delves in to the exciting life of Puss before he met the green ogre and Donkey. Watching Puss in Boots made me realise three things: 1) Cats are funny 2) Self-obsessed Spanish cats in high-heeled musketeer boots are even funnier 3) Vain Spanish cats voiced by a husky Antonio Banderas are flat-out hilarious. The movie starts with Puss escaping a bounty hunter. He learns that the magic beans he has been searching for are ...
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Are you a part of Slackistan?
“You should talk about the film Slackistan.” The clock on the wall strikes 11 am: the boy behind me is watching the second hand tick by, his head slumped against the desk. The girl next to him is using her dupatta as a pillow-cum-blanket. Its the cliché free period, but today is too hot and humid to talk, let alone work. The only person wide awake is sitting right next to me. “You know, Slackistan?” she reiterates. The film Slackistan? What else could possibly be said about that one year old film? Article upon ...
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Avengers incorporated
Apart from sending the cash registers ringing, what do the films ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Captain America’ have in common? No, it’s not the good looks or the brawn of its leading male protagonists Salman Khan and Chris Evans. Both films represent an avenger taking on the forces of evil and hatred and emerging triumphant, if a trifle bloodied, after a fierce battle. In an increasingly insane world, is it any wonder then that we are increasingly drawn to a hero who will vanquish our demons and ensure that peace and harmony prevail? Actually I was dragged feet first to see Bodyguard ...
Read Full PostBhai log: Unintentional self-parody
Director Syed Faisal Bukhari, in Bhai Log (which literally translates to ‘Brother People’), has either made one of the worst movies ever to grace the silver screen, or a piece of satirical genius. I have trouble deciding, because I refuse to believe a director could be so blissfully unaware of his work diving to such depths in the pool of unintended self-parody. My interest in the film actually began after a friend invited me to join them for a viewing at Karachi’s premium movie theater, Atrium Cinemas. At first I was reluctant, but the feeling quickly dissipated after the ...
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Love mein ghum: Lollywood in a shiny, new package
A swirl of flashy colours and deafening screeching music, combined with gory action stunts, have defined Pakistan’s Lollywood cinema in the recent past. Weapon-wielding thugs and skimpily clad stout heroines have provided the dwindling cinema goers with a staple diet of grotesque violence and crude erotica. The phrase ‘revival of Pakistani cinema’ which springs up time and time again with a new release, seems to have been overused to the hilt Charged with the spirit of keeping the sinking ship of Lollywood afloat, the golden girl of Pakistani cinema, Miss Reema Khan, stepped into the director’s shoes coming up with ...
Read Full Post5 modern day video games you should be playing
Having worked for five years as a video games journalist, when I learned that I could do a top five blog on video games, I was quite excited. Initially, it started as a list of the greatest games of all times, but the comprehensive list grew too unwieldy to be any fun. I then decided that a personal top five would work better, but realized that talking about ten year old classics like Deus Ex and Baldur’s Gate served little purpose. For similar reasons, I decided against a ‘top five games of the past decade’ list, and it was too ...
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