big_malique Reviews

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Not that bad ...

[7/10 · 8 August 2009]

I walked in to this movie, with no expectations what so ever. I had seen the trailers and like all modern day action flicks it had failed to put it's claws on me. It looked more CGI than anything else. SO when the movie stared I was expecting it to go from bad to worse but funny enough it never got to that point.

I mean the acting is bad, the dialogue is cliché, the outfits seem ridiculous there is completely no storyline. but somehow the movie holds on and paces along quite nicely. The action sequences are beautifully done and the movie entertains where it should. The viewer get treated to the latest technology in CGI but I never had the feeling of being draped into too much of it.

So let's be honest. This movie doesn't want to be the next Dark Knight, on the contrary it delivers the goods just as promised by the trailers. This movie sets out to be a thorough entertainer and that's exactly what it does. It might not be accurate to the original storyline, but it doesn't need to be. Because if it were, there'd be people bitching about that.

If you're looking for some brainless entertainment on a boys night out than go ahead it's definitely worth it's price.

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008)

Fresh, Fun & Filmi

[9/10 · 8 July 2008]

rarely do we see, a movie filled with freshness that feel real

The main leads, Jai and Nandini, Jai is a middle class charismatic guy who always has the right and peaceful answer for any situation. He's not Mr popular nor does he wants to be, but yet still he is because he just that charismatic. Nandini is not a conventional heroin, she's loud, rude, obnoxious, not the type of girl you'd wanna go for but yet grows on you and eventually makes you fall in love with her, because she's not polished.

Imran Many question are asked about the acting abilities of these youngster. Does he stand a chance in this cruel industry. Is he a contender against competition like Hritik, Ranbeer,... and others? He can give this industry a sure run for it's money with this performance he pulled off and he can surely be satisfied to be launched in a way that many newcomers dream about. Has he inherited his acting abilities from "aamir mamoon"? Well I'm sorry to break this to you, but no he hasn't. He might become a great actor, that depends on future projects, but one thing is for sure. This guy sure packs the goods to become a great actor.

Genelia This is a far more interesting review for me to write about, because before long there has been a more fierce competition between heroins in the industry then there has ever been between their male counterparts. When the elegance of Sri Devi, Rekha, Madhuri faded fresh faces like Karishma, Kajol,... came in when the seemed to have settled Rani and Pretty took their shine and nowadays it's an open invitation for anyone who wants to compete for the crown of Queen Bollywood. The requirements? Not just conventional good looks, a great voice,international presence and charisma is also required together with an acting ability that blows away any competetor. Genelia isn't any of these but that makes her so special, her unconventional approach to acting is just a joy to watch. She lights up the screen with her charisma yet her differ to all the sonam kapoors or the deepika's in the industry seems not to be out of place. She's looking at a bright future in this industry.

The movie Boy loves girl or the other way around, the typical "Bollywood" formula. Or is it? This time around it isn't because what makes this movie so special is it's reality, rare do we see characters utter words we recognize from conversations with our friends. Mostly it's actors having dialogue with each other which comes over extremely unnatural and forced. We are taken into the world of youngsters where life is all about "masa, party our pyar". What's important it's the freshness and the appeal of the youngster world in general. Things like colour pallets, fashion and style is extremely important to achieve the main goal. SRK & Kajol portraying youngsters in KKHH seems so unreal, yet Aamir and Saif pulled it off great in DCH.

What makes Jaane Tu... another great experience is the background music and score composed by the legend A.R. Rahman. From Kabhi Kabhi... to Pappu can't dance he's succeeded to put his stamp on this movie. The direction surely has it's flaws but doesn't every movie.

The Aamir Khan Factor Wel AKProductions has delivered yet again, in my opinion. It's very pleasing to see this company take shape into this industry finest production houses. Aamir has managed to create a company which has his persona and integrity all over it. Now what more can we ask for as movie-goers.

Like Stars on Earth (2007)

This has rocked the core in me !

[10/10 · 25 December 2007]

I sat down in my local theatre with no expectations at all, and what I was in for, for the coming couple of hours, was just mind boggling. Taare Zameen Par might not win any awards, might not get the praise it so surely deserves, but don't let that fool you. For this movie is not just a story about Ishaan, but a masterpiece ! Ishaan is a 8 year old boy who suffers from dyslexia, no matter how hard he tries he just doesn't succeed in day to day activities. But what is mostly the case in our hard society is that people don't understand him and his shortcomings. Most of the times they paint him off as a lazy-no good-brat and this drives his father so far that he will have no more of this nonsense and sends young Ishaan off to boarding school, where he gets treatened even worse. But one day arrives Mr Ramshankar Nikumbh, a temporary art-teacher and the only person in the world that understands Ishaan's problem. Taare Zameen Par moves on as Mr Nikumbh tries to understand and help out Ishaan with his problem. This starts a journey far greater and more beautiful we could ever imagine.

I have seen a thousand movies and I must say that I haven't seen a script acted out so well for quite a while now. For non-movie buffs let me explain good acting, there are a few ways to tell brilliant acting from good acting . Just look for the quality, view every character as the character itself and not as the actor behind it acting the part out. If you don't see the actor, only the character that means you are convinced of the quality of acting. A view examples, Marlon Brando played The godfather so convincingly that for years to come people didn't see Brando but Vito Corleone same goes for Pacino when he played Scarface and so forth. Taare Zameen Par is a work of great acting by everyone, it feels so real and the characters grow on to you as the movie continues. And this is very strange for a Bollywood movie. Let's be real this is the film industry who had us believing that Hritik was a jewel thief and that Abishek was a police officer, how entertaining it might be, but it just doesn't feel real. For a character to feel real, like they do in Taare Zameen Par, there is need for a great written script and clever dialogue. The actors just do what they are supposed to and the movie plays out nicely. Then there's only the editing, the background score, the location, ... to worry about. And if everything is according to a pallet, compare it to a painting, where every element blends in with the other we get a great movie. And only once in a while we witness a masterpiece and that's exactly what TZP is, and this time it's not because of Mr Khan but because of his apprentice Darsheel Safary. The young boy who played Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) is one of the best child- artists I've seen coming out of Bollywood and what a first starrer this kid got. I surely would like to see more of him in the near future. And for Aamir Khan's first movie TZP wouldn't have been the same without Safary. Although some credit goes to Mr Khan himself as well. Known to be a perfectionist, his directional debut is a clear-cut proof of this.

TZP is not just a movie about kids, it's a movie about life, society and yourself as a personality. The story moves you, into nostalgic days of your childhood when you were forced and pressured by your parents or teachers, into the world of a child who is ill-treated an misunderstood, into the hard truths of our society were failure is looked down on. If there ever was a movie who could make you smile, cry and enjoy the trip it's Taare Zameen Par. A great watch for everyone. This doesn't feel like a movie coming from Bollywood, but a movie for the masses. I surely hope this does well.

Chak De! India (2007)

A great watch

[8/10 · 25 December 2007]

What happens when the reigning actor in India joins a small banner film about sports, and not just any sport but specifically hockey. Not India's cup of tea, you might think, but surprising enough it works ! Shahrukh Khan is Kabir Khan, a washed out center forward of the former great Indian hockey squad. After a mishap in the world-cup final, where he misses a penalty-shot and gets blamed by the media for betraying his country, he makes a comeback. But as a coach not as a player and his goal is, to lead the women of the national Indian hockey squad to their first world-cup. As you can guess coach Kabir faces his lot of troubles; the hockey board who doesn't approve, the girls who wouldn't play under him. At first his goal seems not only far fetched but impossible at that. And what happens next is... magic. Not the best sports movie I have seen in my life, but Chak de is surely the most inspiring one and most surprisingly it comes out the land of love, love and love India. India is infamous for it's bad traffic, high pollution and romantic movies, so Chak de India comes as a breath of fresh air in the land where sports is a untampered subject. Don't get me wrong it shows, the script is not an original one, it's not the best written movie I've seen, the dialogues just don't come across naturally. The movie utilises before seen underplays, like the rivalry in the team between the two main strikers, the complete impossible goal, the failure of the main character (Kabir), ... The acting isn't the best piece of acting I've seen in a while, it's quite the contrary, this movie has a list of newcomers and a seasoned veteran to guide them, Shahrukh plays his role convincingly but yet he is not the star, for me this is Chitrashi Rawat who plays Komal, the tiny striker I think this girl has played her role to a "T" and together with Shilpa Shukla who plays Bindia Naik they keep their ground pretty well against King Khan. But the rest of the cast is just not up to the task and this shows. But enough of the negatives lets get to the points where this movie just stands out let's begin with the overall feel, because of the way the hockey matches are shot the movie lifts up 10 notches, the other is the perfect use of background music in comparison with slick editing, I think at this point I think the movie is easily comparable to Hollywood 'A-listers'. You know what's gonna happen but still because of the sheer craftsmanship the movie pulls you to the edge of the seat and just for that I give Chak De India 4 stars out of 5. If you're in need of something else than that sobby bollywood romance, go watch this and feel proud to be an Indian. Chak De India!!!

Rangeela (1995)

Aamir, Aamir only Aamir!!!

[10/10 · 18 December 2007]

Rangeela is a nice, significant little movie, consedering it's release time, when it was fit and famous to release bigstar love-stories, along came Rangeela, who dared to be... different.

The story evolves around Munna (Aamir Khan) & Milli (Urmila), Milli is a girl from the city of Mumbai who is a backup dancer in Bollywood movies, Aamir is a tenant who lives in the same apartment as Milli, he is a streetthug who makes a living by selling black cinema tickets. In turn of events Milli ends up with a role in a big Bollywood movie, and the world around her changes. Munna once her best friend, is in love with her but because this new turn in her life, get cut off...

The movie lacks certain grip, the greatest flaw here lays in the editing, the movie moves along smoothly but the editing lacks sharpness.

Other than this the movie is a must watch for every Bollywood fan, the music is marvelous (prehaps one of Rahman's best, next to Taal), the storyline is clever and refreshing, it dares to stand out, and portrays the aspect of love on a whole different level. The acting, the acting is just SUPER!!!, Aamir is the true star of the movie, he outshines everybody in every scene, Aamir has given a performance of a lifetime in the face of Munna. From the "AC idhar ghuma" dialogue to playing hurt from loosing his love to perfection. There is nobody in Bollywood who could have played the role of Munna like Aamir has, Urmila played a nice lovely girl and she did her role justice, Jackie plays a moviestar, but due to lack of meatyness in his character it's not one of his best, but there was no substitute to his charm

I gave this movie a 10, a rare high grade from me, but due to it's flaws Rangeela is and forever will be a Bollywood classics, it's great musical score throughout, the refreshing script and the marvelous acting will forever guarantee that

A must watch for every Bollywood fan, and a piece of art for every Aamir Khan fan.