Doctor_Wordsmith Reviews

Aaja Nachle (2007)

A fun time-pass movie

[6/10 · 16 January 2008]

Aaja Nachle is nothing special, but I wouldn't say that it's a waste of time to watch. Essentially, it's kinda like RDB meets Swades, except with a woman as the NRI who returns to India, and a much, much, much lighter story. You can read the plot summary elsewhere, so I'll just focus on other stuff: The film has some fun music, a few funny scenes, great dance sequences (duh!), and is generally well paced and entertaining. I would have liked to see more of Akshaye Khanna's character, though. The film's problem is mostly that it's really thin on plot, and does not take much time to develop the characters.

Overall, this film is nothing amazing, but it's a fun entertainer.

Om Shanti Om (2007)

Not quite the entertainer I expected

[6/10 · 24 December 2007]

After hearing all about this movie's success, listening to it's soundtrack, and hearing about how it's pure entertainment, I was really looking forward to watching this film today. I had heard such great things, that I was hoping to finish and give it at least 8/10 stars, and a glowing review...

Unfortunately, the movie earns neither of these things from me. While I wasn't a huge fan of Farah Khan's last film, Main Hoon Na, I did enjoy it's satire of a typical Bollywood film- separated family, OTT action scenes, violin players coming out of nowhere whenever the girl approached- it was just some great fun, but still had a good plot and decent characters that allowed MHN to stand on it's own as a film.

The same can't be said about OSO, which feels less like the spoof of the 70s film I was expecting than a string of funny skit-like spoofs, weakly tied together by a reincarnation plot. But what seems to be a bigger problem is that it's hard to tell where the to draw the line between the purposefully over the top acting and the truly serious stuff. Even knowing that it was meant to be over the top, the more serious scenes (which were needed to move the plot forward) just annoyed me.

I know that most people's definition of "masala entertainer" means "no brains required", but that to me does not mean that the movie should have no coherent plot or likable characters. Some of my favorite SRK masala films- like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, for example, are entertaining for me because of the way they make us care for the characters, even though their situation may seem a little ridiculous or unbelievable. I felt no such connection to anyone in OSO, and that to me, took away a lot of the "entertainment" factor.

The film has some plus points- there are a few really funny scenes that do a pretty good job of mocking Bollywood. (my fav was the Filmfare Awards- that was absolutely perfect) Also, the music is excellent- probably my favorite soundtrack from Vishal and Shekar.

Overall, if you don't care much about plot or characters in your entertainment film, I highly recommend this one. But if you're like me, and you prefer your "mindless entertainment" to at least make a little bit of sense, this may not be the film for you.

Dan in Real Life (I) (2007)

A well-made, sweet movie!

[7/10 · 24 October 2007]

I saw a special advance screening of this today. I have to let you know, I'm not a huge fan of either Dane Cook or Steve Carell, so I really had no expectations going into this. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Dan in Real Life is the story of a widower with 3 daughters who goes to spend a weekend with his family. While at a bookstore, he meets the woman of his dreams, only to find out that she happens to be his brother's girlfriend.

This movie is pretty well made- the soundtrack, cinematography, and acting are all top-notch, especially Steve Carell. My problem with it was mostly that there seemed to be a lack of character development, mostly with Dane Cook's character. We never really get a close look at the relationship between Dane and Steve's characters, and I felt that it could have helped a bit in showing what Dan's inner conflict about being in love with Dane's girlfriend was like. Other than this though, Dan in Real Life is definitely a solid, sweet film- definitely a nice break from all the horror and action movies we've been getting this year.

The Ex (2006)

Fun little movie, especially for fans of Jason Bateman or Zach Braff

[6/10 · 20 May 2007]

Before I actually start reviewing, I should probably mention that I'm a pretty big fan of Scrubs and Arrested Development. So, I had some pretty high standards for a film that included the leads from both those shows. If you go in expecting something as hilarious as Scrubs or AD, you might be a bit disappointed...

Ignoring that, I wouldn't really call The Ex a bad movie. It has a good share of stupid humor (such as thinking of naming the baby "boobies"), but it's still fun and entertaining. As you may already know, it is the story of Tom Reilly (Zach Braff), a slacker who can't hold a steady job, and his wife, Sophia (Amanda Peet), a lawyer who brings in the income. Sophia decides to become a stay at home mom, but Tom ends up losing his job, and they decide to move to Ohio so that Tom can work at his father-in-law's Ad Agency. Here, he is forced to work for Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman), a wheelchair bound terror,(although only to Tom).

Without a doubt, Bateman's character was the best part of the movie. After seeing him play the only level headed guy in Arrested Development, it was definitely fun to see him play a complete jerk like Chip. Braff does an pretty good job too- it was fun seeing him get tortured by Bateman.

In conclusion, The Ex is a fun little movie. Nothing great or memorable, but a good way to spend some bucks on a matinée show or DVD. Don't go out of your way to see it, though. (I only saw it because Shrek 3 was all sold out)