Planes Review : Old formulaic 'Cars' spin-off

Planes is an endearing crop-duster's tale about how he achieves something that he was not built for. Dusty is made for spraying fertilizers over thousand acres of farmland. He flies low, but dreams big. His dream is to participate in an highly competitive, across-the-world air rally, along with the finest racers from around the world. Even after repeatedly told by his friends, except Chug, about his flying capabilities, he wants to reach for the sky. That reminds me, he is afraid of heights too.

Trained under a retired US Navy jet named Skipper, Dusty learns a few things about racing and starts his adventure on the race course. Many other racers join him from all around the world. A hopeless romantic from Mexico, El Chupabra, an ambitious Indian, Ishani (dubbed by our very own Priyanka Chopra), a British Bulldog, and a canadian beauty, Rochelle. But his main competition was from the sly, wicked, three times champion, the RipSlinger. The race begins, and Dusty goes through a few hoops, and his fear of heights and emerges winner in the end, of the race and hearts.

The story is one we have been dumped with a million times over. It is the same formulaic underdog story, that ceases to get boring. Even if it does, nobody will stop telling. Dusty starts at a very bad last position at the start of the race, and wins by a nick in the end. Well, the director had in my mind that this is possibly a children's movie, and they are not really going to complain about a repetitive
underdog story. Parents who come in with them, will be more or less happy about the clean and moral entertainment too.

The animation of the film and dubbings have always been of great quality at the Disney's. The screenplay injects a few laughs here and there, but never anything that has not been seen before, especially in its original 'Cars' series. The character sketches are cute, but not ones that remain in your hearts. We still would want a flawed Steve Mcqueen, and his rusty friend back, though their second venture wasn't all that great. The main character Dusty, voiced by Dane Cook, was the usual simple, good-hearted, underdog, who would place others interest before his dream of winning. Its tiring to see the same old character stereotypes in Disney movies, which have garnered a reputation for itself over the years now.

The races are challenging, but we do not see too much in the script that helps us to believe in Dusty. The methods in which he wins races are not epic, or inspiring as it should be, or as it has been shown in 'Cars'.

Planes might be a familiar fun ride for those who are looking for a relaxing day with their kids. There is nothing new in the movie, but the fun of a Disney movie is still something you would barter for your kids. Planes is same as the Cars, minus the character development and even the race thrills.

Arrow 2x04 "Crucible" reveals more than its predecessors

Arrow's second season has been getting  good reviews since its premiere a month ago. To justify those, i would like to add that there hasn't been one episode till now that would let you rest. The very first episode ended with the intro of Black Canary, and for the past two episodes they have build up on her character. We know she is ruthless and very agile. That has made the viewers happy and content, but Arrow doesn't waste much time to give you more. In 'Crucible', Green Arrow unmasks the Canary...and ho! He was in for a shock!

The dynamics between the Arrow and the Canary has also been stepped up in this episode. Where they used to fight crime alone, in their own ways, this episode helped them to team up against a crime warlord called the Mayor. We are surely going to see a lot more of them together, as it was also revealed that they knew each other, and also had to go through some serious stuff together on the island.

Another important reveal was that of the character named Brother Blood. This character from the DC world, is trying to build an army for himself to rule over the Glades. Now we come to know that one of the characters from the previous episodes is Blood. Maybe easy guesses for the fans. He wears a mask that looked very similar to the one that Scarecrow covers himself with, in the Dark Knight trilogy. Not to confuse that with this anyways. But it certainly seems like they would like the viewers to associate  themselves with the Nolan universe.

Here we also have Laurel trying to drown her sorrows in booze, and her father with his experience trying to dissuade her of it. Roy and Thea helps each other, while Canary's sidekick Sin gets injured in a shootout. Something with Felicity rubbing Ollie's chin ;). Lots happening in every episode, and a lot of characters have been already pushed onto the screen. The only problem now for the producers is to find them space and time to interact with the viewers. Well the very next episode is titled the "League of Assassins". So i take it that DC is not going to slow down, but just keep delivering you with more kicks. Well, i hope the next one tops this episode, because for now this has been my favourite.

Watch the teaser for next episode :

Dhoom 3 Trailer review

So, Yash Raj Films released their new trailer online on youtube just an hour ago, for which the ardent fans were eagerly waiting. Did they get what they came to see?

The first impression of the new trailer is actually good compared to the previous teasers which just introduced the characters. This is also an 2 min intro trailer for Aamir. Now we even know Aamir's name in the movie - Sahir, the clown thief. In the previous trailer where Aamir with his little motorcycle trick looked totally out of the place, has come out with a better image for his character in this one. He looks and behaves like a thief in here. The odd expression he does with his mouth while engaging in action scenes is very off putting, and it still continues. The baby look and charm that falls on the face, that expression being one factor why i believed earlier why Aamir was not cut out for this role. Imagine....Aamir not being cut out for any role? I always worried the makers would try to macho up Aamir, but luckily we can see thats not happening too much here. He is not going to be a John Abraham or Hrithik Roshan, but will come up with his own brand of action sequences. So looking forward to see what else is there in his kitty in this movie.

Katrina just comes on screen in what seems like a song, tries seducing Aamir and goes off. She works with Aamir in his circus company it seems. All we see of her is she doing some extra stretchy dance steps in white powder. Abhishek gets some dialouges in this trailer, but he looks exhausted, and the producers had the brains not to use too much of Uday Chopra, which actually saves the trailer. That duo is getting old. The may get their trailers in the coming days.

Some really inspired (from other hollywood movies) action and nail bitting fight sequences are in store for you. So why not watch and decide yourselves where you wanna be on Dec 20th. Enjoy the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeF_b8EQcK0

Escape Plan is not the perfect prison break

When two of the most renowned action superstars come together in a movie, the expectations for the amount of 'BAM BAM' increases accordingly. Thats why movies like 'Expendables' are filled with those to the brink. But in a movie where guts can be of no use without brains, firepower doesn't really help. Maybe the two aging stars also decided that they want to do an action film without requiring them to do too much of jumping and crashing. So they came up with a prison break idea.

Escape plan treads on familiar storyline most of the times. An ex-lawyer(Sylvester Stallone) who now works for a security company breaks out of prisons for money, is invited to break out of a high security prison for the most dangerous criminals of US. He is unaware that he was being set up. Once inside, he gets to know that this is no prison of any ordinary kind, and his skills were of no use in there. Plus, he had to worry about the evil warden (Jim Caviezel). He then befriends an ex-software guy (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has been put into the prison for some path breaking software that posed a security risk, and such stuff. Using Stallone's prison breaking skills, and Arnold's connection within, they make an Escape Plan.
Stallone and Schwarzenegger, have aged and little comes out from their faces emotionally. So only hard hitting punchlines, or blatant dialogs could actually tell you what the characters were feeling. The only relief there was Jim, whose villain character did seem to have a little potential. Plus, there is something so silently eerie about Jim Caviezel which worked in his favour.
The first half moves at a snails pace, trying to set up the scenario for the audience. Couple of times it was difficult to know what Stallone was saying with his mouth so scarcely moving at all. But the second half of the movie gathers some momentum, as the Escape plan is in place. But the script isn't all that brilliant to make the audience gasp with excitement.
The Escape plan might work for ardent Stallone-Schwarzenneger fans, but for the rest who wants a decent action thriller might feel wanting for more than what is given.

Dark Knight REVIEW~

The film is much more darkerthan the last movie, and cooler at the same time. New gadgets, new plots....and the biggest of all.....the best villain of our times, the JOker made memorable by the late Heath Ledger. Yup, he is the reason why all crowd themselves at the theatre. Happy news....it just gets better!

It can be termed as one of the best in recent superhero movies. It has its share of action, adventure, plots, and emotions which makes the movie a wonderful mix that we would love to see. There is a beautiful message hidden in the story too.

The prime attraction is ofcourse the wonderful potrayal of all time super-villains, the Joker. Heath Ledger has done it to more than perfection giving it an insanely brutal angle and look. Very sad that this great actor could not showcase his "best to come". Batman is again the sacrificing soul with playboyish reputation in real life. Bale has done his job. So has Ekhart as the attorney, turn badguy, and Caine as Batmans mentor. Maggie gylenhall as Batmans girlfriend didnt have much to act though her role was important.

The best features other than performances are surely its Hi tech action, the supercool gadgets, wonderful movie plot, cool dialouges and easy flow of narration. There were two scary instances when i jumped out of my seat, also many other when i had to clap.

Background music is awesomE!!!
...and so is the cinematography and stuff.

rATING 9.5/10

The movie had promised a full guarantee of youthfulness, fun and romance in the promos and ads and that is why I had gone to see the movie. Also because of A R Rahman too.....and backup Aamir Khan. The movie is what we have expected. Theres not much to the storyline, and by now everyone must be knowing what it is about. We just have to sit there in the theatre and just watch the 6 ppl gang have their fun and masti, liking them, and coming out loooking happy.



As all this indicates Jaane Tu is a fun-filled feel-good genre movie with a happy ending. It is the story of twoo friends who doesnt realise they are in love with each other until they are late, but late is never "too-late" for our cinemas. The treatment of the story is what delights our viewers. Its not about any rich spoilt boy, or a destitute who can afford a BMW or such stupid craps. Our hero os a down to earth person who would not even like to carry around a mobile. He gets dropped at home everyday on his frnds car though. The friendship they shared, esp. with Aditi is really cute. Their simple story actually catches our heart.

The first half is all fun. Lots of jokes comedy and events. The second half concentrated on the story and had a very out of the world climax, according to me. Many liked the climax they say, bcos it was funny anyway, but some think otherwise. The second half should have been what we say emotionally contained, and though this was supposedly a fun film, if it had been able to bring out a tear towards the end, it would have been more touching. But thats where the film misses out. The songs were a treat to your ears, and i am particularly disappointed that 3 songs were clearly missing in picturisation, and that "Kahi toh" should have been on a better occasion.

The characters of the movie has been real good. Imran has done a cute job and has proved he can do a colg boy role with ease. Genelia is more experienced, but is getting used to Hindi only now. She is a real treat to watch. So are the other guys in roles of their friends. Special roles like the brother of Aditi done by Smita patils son, and Nasurdeen Shah, as Imrans dead father speaking from the portrait were super cool characters. The Khans as the "Nikamme Rathods" do a good job and tickle a few ribs for u.

Overall though the film leaves u wanting at a few places, you ignore it as it makes u feel good.

rating 8/10

Dasavatharam review

i ve been just out watching this so called magnum opus that i feel nothing else is more important than to discuss about it. After all its the legend Kamal Hassans story!


Well seriously i had a lot of expectations from the movie, and thought that there would be something about the story itself that raised my expectations more. To tell the truth, actually the story is a good one i felt. But the treatment and the way it is implemented is not up to the mark. Actually what is intended by the movie is not understood until the very end. We see a lot of characters coming in and going out and leaves us confused why are all these people here [10 of them are Kamal himself, so we tend to think its just to fill up his Dasavatar]. The characterisations i feel was a bit confusing.

But the story is straight forward and simple at the end and comes to the conclusion that God knows his way and does his best to protect the world from any big disasters. The disaster in here being a threat of release of a biological weapon that could destroy a large part of the world. So nothing much to say about the story. But i am guessing Dr Kamal hassan actually might have intended a bigger message out of his film than actually what we see.


The ten characters that Kamal plays are fine, but nothing great as of such. The Telegu Detective, Foreigner villain, Japanese fight master are my pick out of his performances, but still nothing great. Asin , Mallika, Jayaprada, all does their jobs well. Rest of the characters were also just okay. So nothing so new in acting side as would be expected of a Kamal movie.

The movie scores on the technical side actually. The amount spend really is seen here. The starting of the movie and the climax are the best parts of the movie. In between its just some script to run the story. Its gets boring in the middle somewhere, and what keeps us there is the curiousity to know how the movie shall end. The action and Graphics are the highpoints of the movie, and its worth a watch for those.


The music disappoints very much. Except for Mukunda and Ullaga nayakan, the songs are ordinary. Even the background music is just average.


So what i say is that the movie is a one time watch to see Kamal do ten roles together, and for the high tech Graphics and action.

I rate the movie at 6.5/10