Director-writer David S. Ward’s 1982 adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row (with material from another Steinbeck tale, Sweet Thursday) has its charms, principally some top-drawer talent on both sides of the camera; the cast is headed by Nick Nolte and Debra Winger, Jack Nitzsche composed the music, and John Huston supplies the voice-over.
Up in the Air transforms some painful subjects into smart, sly comedy--with just enough of the pain underneath to give it some weight. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) spends most of his days traveling around the country and firing people; he's hired by bosses who don't have the nerve to do their layoffs themselves. His life of constant flight suits him--he wants no attachments.
Salaam Namaste tells the romance of Nick and Ambar, two young, independent Indians living abroad in Melbourne, Australia. And it doesn't start out well for them. Nikhil "Nick" Arora (Saif Ali Khan) is an architect and also the head chef at the restaurant Nick of Time. Ambar Malhotra (Preity Zinta) is a medical student and, to help pay her bills, she also moonlights as a radio jockey at Melbourne's local Indian radio station, Salaam Namaste (101.5FM). Nick is a chronic oversleeper and wakes up one day very late for his radio interview with Ambar.
A film that travels three continents [Asia, Europe, U.S.A.] and 8/10 years, Hum Tum is a love story that relies heavily on romance and light moments. Though the storyline is wafer thin, the twists and turns in the film keep the interest alive to an extent.
It is not difficult to choose between a good and a bad, but choosing the better of two goods or lesser of two evils can be really hard. Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol) gets this advice from her father when she sets out for the first time to discover the world of her own. Of course, she never knew how these words would mean to her life till the cruel fate strike. Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol) is blind but beautiful and energetic. She doesn t want handicap to stop her from discovering her own life. So, she sets out for the first time to make use of her life to the fullest.
Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh is a rescue pilot with the Indian Air Force, who risks his own life to save the lives of others. One day, on duty, he comes across a stranded girl from Pakistan, Zaara. Zaara, a carefree, sprightly girl has come to India to fulfill her surrogate grandmother's dying wish. She meets with a bus accident leaving her stranded in a foreign land. Veer saves her life... and his life is never the same again... Twenty-two years later, Saamiya Siddiqui, a Pakistani lawyer on her first case, finds herself face-to-face with an aging Veer Pratap Singh.
Dil Bole Hadippa! (My Heart Shouts Hooray!) makes a good intro to Bollywood/Indian musicals. It has all the splash of full-out Bollywood but with terrific modern updates and a little something for everyone. For the ladies there's the predictable but crackling good rom/com tension between Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee. With all this wrapped up in a cricket championship with a little gender-bending to keep it off-balance, guys should find it just as entertaining.
New York is an extremely taut and highly emotive piece of political drama which begins with a bang. Indian immigrant Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is arrested by the FBI and grilled for his terrorist links by officer Irrfan Khan. Pleading his innocence, he is forced to flashback to his college days and his friendship with Sameer (John Abraham), the campus hero and Maya (Katrina Kaif), the campus hottie who stole his heart but loved Sameer. The breezy campus days give way to a more turbulent present when Omar is sent back into Sameer and Maya's life as an undercover agent for the FBI.
Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa. Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan). After having secured the Hindu Kush, he furthered his realm by conquest until his empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River. Through a shrewd blend of tolerance, generosity, and force, Akbar won the allegiance of the Rajputs, the most belligerent Hindus.
It has been a while since I sat through a film that made me smile, and at times even break into a hearty laughter. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na did both. The film, by Aamir Khan Productions and directed by Abbas Tyrewala, is about love. Jaane Tu, in fact, is a very bare bones film that you know the story of: young people growing up, growing apart and growing in love. So we have Jai (Imran Khan) and Aditi (Genelia D Souza), who love each other, but lack the insight and maturity to accept it.
