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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Dimple and Alexander
The movie Mere Brother ki Dulhan is full of twists and turns. In fact, it is so twisty that I am tempted to use the old chestnut that appears in about ninety-eight percent movie reviews in our papers: ‘a rollercoaster ride’ — except, this movie is really a donkey cart where the donkey routinely mistakes his own backside for his face. In the movie Katrina Kaif plays Dimple. But she’s not just any Dimple, she’s Dimple urf D, which means she’s free-spirited and spontaneous too. Someone who was born in London and bred there for 18 years before showing up ...
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Bhai 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 ...
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I loved Zindagi na melegi dobara!
With light-hearted humor, sarcasm and striking couples, Zindagi na melegi dobara (ZMND) creates a sense of romance that reverberates through the streets of Spain and into the cinemas all over the world. This movie conveys important life lessons to its viewers, the foremost of which is that life must be lived to the fullest. The picturesque scenes, great comedy and interesting plot make ZMND a very enjoyable movie. Kabir (Abhey Deol), insists that his best friends Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) and Imran (Farhan Akhtar) take a trip together to celebrate his upcoming nuptials. Their trip marks many breakthroughs for the men, like ...
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On ape-administered territories and a hero’s kidnapped son
A famous Pakistani musician had a Facebook status last week that read, “Planet of the Apes: Based on true events in Pakistan.” This is debatable. The Planet of the Apes franchise is based on themes of racism and intolerance based on dogmatic beliefs and bigotry. While the 1968 original and its four sequels were much more explicit in delivering this argument, with scenes, props and bits of dialogue quite clearly meant to illustrate the point, the recent reboot/prequel portrayed the problems in a much more sublime manner, and focused more on ambition, abuse and revolution, all linking to the same ...
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The Smurfs is a flop!
The Smurfs is a 3D adaptation of our beloved childhood cartoon, but this time the blue Smurfs drown in the deep blue sea, and even Neil Patrick Harris, who has proven he can save just about any sinking ship, cannot make this boat float. For those unfamiliar with the concept, The Smurfs are mythical characters who come from a magical village. Each Smurf is named after its personality trait. The 3D animation starts off with a vibrant essence of colours, showing happy, joyful Smurfs living harmoniously in their village which is magically isolated from the human eye. The Smurfs keep away from an ...
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The Capital Vulture: Pindi in 3D
“No cigrahtt.” “But…why?” “No.” “Ok…so can I just leave my pack with you-” “No!” This is usually the sort of scene that awaits me at Cinepax, the crown jewel of Rawalpindi. Because Islamabad proper doesn’t have any massive entertainment venues, we have to leave the city for a movie. Still, Cinepax is no longer a novelty (thank God). People are getting accustomed to going to the movies; they’re learning to behave themselves. The crowd has become tolerable. Yet some issues remain unresolved. Not allowing gum and lighters I understand – there are Rawalpindi sociopaths out there who’re fond of pyrotechnics and sticking masticated Juicy Fruit wads ...
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Delhi belly: Bollywood’s successful attempt at adult humour
Much has been said about the expletive filled language used in Delhi Belly. However, there are very few films which make you cringe with delight, and this movie happens to be one of them. In Aamir Khan Productions’ latest venture we meet three roommates, living in the filthiest bachelor pad ever in Delhi: 1. We have journalist Taashi (Imran Khan), who is stuck in limbo and has to decide whether he really wants to marry his annoyingly shrill OCD airhostess girlfriend Sonia (Shenaz Treasury) and sought after by his sexy co-worker Menaka (Poorna Jagganathan). 2. Photojournalist Nitin (Kunal Roy Kapoor) who suffers one ...
Read Full PostTransformers 3: Great effects, greater flaws
Watching a Michael Bay movie must be similar to what I imagine it is like for patients on the receiving end of a colonoscopy – there is always a bit of a fear. After all, this is the director who, in 2001, took a historic tragedy and unintentionally turned it into a three-hour comedy in the form of Pearl Harbor. The experience is numbing, considering that you can fit the plots of Bay’s entire work on the back of a matchbook; after either ordeal is over, any enjoyment you may have felt is accompanied by feelings of guilt. Dark of ...
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