Your best friend is suing you...for 600 million dollars

I must admit....the first time I saw the trailer of The Social Network, I was skeptical. I couldnt understand why Hollywood had decided to screw up the story of the founding of one of the biggest phenomenon of our times. I was sure the movie would be over-simplified, over-dramatized, and basically moronic, and the understated promo did nothing to change that. Having dismissed the movie, I moved on with life, and it was only today, the day the movie premiers, that the media coverage caught my attention - for some reason, everyone was talking about the movie. And not just because its a movie about Facebook but because its a good, (according to some, great!) movie about Facebook! That was so unexpected and totally unforeseen and 12 hours later, I was at the cinemas, with a bunch of friends, waiting for the saga to unfold, curious about how interesting and binding a movie about coders could be. And boy! Was I wrong or what! The Social Network is probably the best movie out of Hollywood this year....and yes! This is indeed the year when soon-to-be cults like Inception, Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me have enchanted audiences worldwide!

Director David Fincher, whose last effort - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - was a cosmetic bore, has done a fabulous job by extracting some noteworthy performances from the entire cast, and that is no mean feat considering the cast comprises of Justin Timberlake! Jesse Eisenberg is brilliant as Mark Zuckerberg, resembling the youngest billionaire in the world in look and (reportedly) mannerisms perfectly. Andrew Garfield as Eduardo is excellent and lends a load of credibility to the frames he is present in. Armie Hammer packs a sucker punch in dual roles of the Winklevoss twins, while Justin Timberlake takes you by surprise completely with his flamboyant, genius-bordering-on-self-destruction portrayal of that shrewd wolf Sean Parker, who not only gave the world Napster and Plaxo, but was also instrumental in making Facebook the phenomenon that it is today. But the real star of the movie is undoubtedly screenplay writer Aaron Sorkin, who creates such a spellbinding script full of energetic and relatable dialogue, it elevates the movie to an altogether different level. The background score deserves special mention for lending a lot of emotion and feel to the proceedings.

The movie is a part-fiction, part-real portrayal of the rise of Facebook, and while which parts are more real than others is debatable, herein lies a tale that catalogs the conceptualization and implementation of one of the most influential ideas of our generation. More importantly, it is a study in human psyche and the fact that, while you cant stop admiring Zuck for his spirited and almost single-handed launch of Facebook, at the same time, you cannot forgive him for being so influenced by Parker and being unfair to his best friend and business partner Eduardo, shows how well the character has been etched. Above all, the movie is an inspiration and a warning for budding entrepreneurs, who have dreams of making it big but can oversee friendships in the process. Although the movie paints Zuck as an a-hole and shows how inept he is/was at social relationships (while ironically building a social networking website!) , I found something ultimately inspiring in the way he went about his business. True - his motive was wrong, his conduct too, his maturity was virtually non-existent and he didnt get chicks or entry to the elite clubs, but in the end, he succeeded in building his vision and preserving it without giving in to the demands of others.

There's something to learn and a lot to observe in The Social Network. All wannabe entrepreneurs, all CS people, all Facebook users and all movie lovers, go watch the movie...NOW!

P.S. : Oh! and Aaron Sorkin FTW \m/ If they dont give him the Best Adapted Screenplay this year, the Oscars will just become another Filmfare for me.

He punched the highlights out of her hair!

When you go into a movie with so-so expectations and get to see something like Scott Pilgrim vs The World, its akin to going on an blind date with someone you met online 3 days ago and then finding out she works as a body double for Angelina Jolie...AND Scarlett Johansson....AND she reads Michael Crichton...AND her favorite director is Tarantino....AND she was the Miss Teen USA 2 yrs ago....I kno the chances of tht happening are rare, but wat the heck "Scott Pilgrim" is a rare gem! As professed by the makers, it is indeed an epic of epic epicness!

It will be stupid of me to dissect the story here and plus, u shud really go see the movie for urself! Michael Cera turns in a goofy endearing performance as Scott...I simply loved Kieran Culkin who plays the part of his gay roomie, altho not the way he loves other guys :D He gets the best lines of the film and gets 1-UPs on all! Alison Pill as the ultra-rye Kim, Johnny Simmons as Young Neil and Mark Webber as Stephen crank it up several notches as members of their supposedly ultra-lame, but IMO super-awesome, band Sex Bob-ombs (one of numerous supercool video-game references in the movie)! Anna Kendrick is super-dry as Scott's irritating sibling...Ellen Wong is super-awwww as Knives...Mary Eliz Winstead looks supercute and acts supercool as Ramona Flowers....but the real deal is the League of Evil Exes! Chris Evans, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman stand out prominently, more-so bcoz their characters are better written than others...

The movie is a medley of rocking music, crack-you-up lines, superawesome fight sequences and hilarious scenes, all peppered with ultracool video game references...and a lot of insanity and randomness, which makes it epic-er...This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Kill Bill of "our" generation!

Altho I dont wanna give any of the good stuff away, I have to admit I am madly in lesbians with this movie! I wish I was Scott, not bcz he is part of an awesome band, not bcz he has one awesome chick stalking him while another awesomer chick totally leads him on, not bcz he has nothing els to do in life but be himself; only bcz life with cool background music and video game references rocks!!

The real superhero...

...is Robert Downey Jr! How else can you explain Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 2 is succession!! He has now officially displaced Leonardo DiCaprio as my favorite Hollywood actor.

Getting back to the movie, Iron Man 2 is no The Dark Knight, but it is not Transformers 2 either, nor is it Spiderman 3! I guess you see where I am going :D While it explores less of psyche and more of the superficial, Iron Man 2 delivers what all superhero movies are intended to deliver in the first place - loads of entertainment and action - and it does that without disrespecting the IQ levels of the audience, which is more than you can ask from this genre! While it does not delve into depths of almost any of the characters' psyches, save Tony Stark to some extent, the film is so edgily written and performed that you are willing to overlook that fact. While Mickey Rourke as Whiplash and Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury get sort of a raw deal, they nevertheless shine to the extent they can. Gwyneth Paltrow is adorable as Pepper Potts and Scarlett Johannson burns the screen with her chutzpah. How I wish there was more of her in the movie. I need not repeat the fact that she is H-O-T, she is superhot in this one! Sam Rockwell is brilliant as Hammer. But the real superhero as I mentioned is Robert Downey Jr.! He builds on top of the Tony Stark character he conceived in the first part and while the focus is more on his situation this time than on his psychology, the filmmakers are lucky to have him since he comes up with such an eccentric, delicious and towering performance that overshadows everything else including the half-baked characterizations, the unoriginal and underdeveloped rationale to Whiplash's action, the kick-ass action set-pieces (though we all have seen better!) and even Scarlett Johannson's assets! Now if that isnt a superpower, what is!

Its an entertainment fest, laced with lots of sarcasm and punch! And while it misses the chance of being another Iron Man or The Dark Knight, Iron Man 2 leaves dumbass flicks like Revenge of the Fallen and Clash of the Titans light years behind, both in terms of pure adrenaline and sheer joy!

P.S. : I wouldnt mind seeing an entire movie on the Black Widow, btw! :D

Worth more than a LOOK...

Just finished watching Look, an unheralded, little-known movie, which is clearly the "inspiration" behind LSD. (I am highly surprised no one found out about this movie yet! Quite a few concepts in LSD are clearly clearly taken from here!)

Look is a brilliant film in all respects, true to the core and very neutrally narrated...The stories are gut-wrenching and leave you with an aftertaste alright, but its to the credit of the director that he whips up such a simple yet complex inter-twining of tales that is not only delightfully novel but entertains! The stories keep you hooked because you want to know how they end, and the director manages to tie up all loose ends except a couple that are kept open on purpose. The end is just hard-hitting and overall, the movie brought back memories from a lot of good flicks like Life in a Metro and Mumbai Meri Jaan, not for the similarity in story but the similarity in feelings they evoked. Performances are extremely competent and most of the characters are underplayed beautifully.

The songs in the movie deserve special mention, especially noteworthy is High. Just marvel at the lyrics -

Opening a can of worms

That are now out of date

No matter what you do

Dont you dare throw them away.

A harlet sparks the boat

With regurgitating grace

We hide under a broken rainbow

Waiting for the rain to fade.

B'coz Deja Vu

Sounds like something not true

But I think

That I have seen it with you.

I am sure

I have never been here before

There's a dead marker

That is writing on the floor.

High...

About the shooting rains

Where the kids play

In that weather....we were high

And feeling okay

Where the cards change is where we...rely

High....

This is cinema that deserves to be watched! (Just read on imdb that it won the Best Film by the Grand Jury at the CineVegas Awards. At least someone saw and appreciated it!).

P.S. : You can watch the movie here. It contains a considerable amount of nudity and violence so watch it at your own peril if you are too judgemental!

A Hangover i'll never forget!

Wow! Simply brilliant and amazingly hilarious "comedy" that redefines slapstick! A very interesting plot, handled exceedingly well by the director to ensure that the movie steers away from the Hollywood comedy cliche scene and becomes a classic in its own right! Not to mention fitting performances by the entire cast, especially by the little-known Zach Galifianakis, who redefines weird in the role of Alan! Rocking performance by him lifts the movie to a differnet level altogether, making it the Titanic of Hollywood comedies! Dont miss it for anything in the world! THE best comedy in recent times!

Wanna be 17 Again? :)

I went to see this movie just bcz we cudnt get tickets to Angels and Demons and we hd a lot of time to kill...My expectations werent much...i expected to see a run-of-the-mill, going-back-in-time Hollywood comedy, with liberal doses of chic-lit teen stuff! It was a pleasant surprise to watch a pretty decently etched out screenplay, with touching as well as funny moments, well directed and enacted! Surprisingly, Zac Efron was pretty decent and it was gr8 to see Mathew Perry again on the big screen, though why he has to be Chandler-ish in each and every role is beyond me....but undoubtedly, the show-stealer was Thomas Lennon as the nerdy Ned! His portions truly rocked and reminded me of some scenes frm The Big Bang Theory. Decent watch and perfect date movie! :)

Slumdog is an interesting movie....

Watched the movie more thn a week ago but getting tim only nw to write smthng abt it...the movie is an underdog-cum-triumph of the human spirit story, which hs its breath-taking moments....altho the plot hs a few gaping loopholes, the direction and razor-sharp editing more thn make up for them...and thrs tht meastro touch by Rehman, tht elevates the movie to a diffrnt level altogethr...the performances are awe-inspiring, esp by the kids...gr8 work thr by the director again...

coming to the accusations tht the movie portrays india in poor light, i wud lik to say, ths is a movie and if u cant digest the truth, go watch drona...also, if ths movie portrays india in poor light, wt picture do u thnk movies lik tashan, cc2c and rab ne present to the outer world of india? bacchan can go tk a break...i never expected an actor of his stature and maturity to say smthng lik ths in hs blog! gues hes not as sane as i thot he ws!

all the gimmickry of glorifying the west and the cliched item dance in the end aside, ths is an awesome tale told wit aplomb and finesse by the team...so much so tht u r willing to accept watevr they present on ur platter...and there-in lies the victory of the movie! Brilliant with a capital B!!

Aaaannnnd...Here.......We.......GO!!!

To say that 'The Dark Knight' is a masterpiece would be a gross gross understatement...I can safely say tht i have seen no movie with so many layers to it, movie which not just keeps you on the edge of the seat for those blessed 2.5 hrs but which also makes you question ur own beliefs on morality and good and evil and above all, which makes you feel great after those 22 reels in the dark are over, not bcoz ur finally done with it,but bcoz u want more!!! Kudos to Nolan and his team for giving us this dark,brooding,intelligent and yet,adrenaline-pumping,pulse-racing rocker-of-a-movie, which no doubt, will go down the annals of history as a well-deserved classic!

I dont feel inclined to review the movie, simply because reviewing somethng as phenomenal as this is akin to insulting the movie-making effort! Just a word or two about the best performer of the show...You may hv read reams about how great Heath Ledger is as Joker, how he fleshes out the character in his own inimitable way, blah blah blah....All i hv to say is.... Ledger takes the audience by the scruff of the neck and immerses them in a whirlpool of such masterful psychological deceit that you connect to your own darker side like never ever before....Now if tht performance doesnt deserve an Oscar, nothing does...in fact, they shud rename the Oscars and call them the Joker's :) An overstatement probably, but just watch the Joker slurp away gleefully in the most tense of moments and u'll know wat i mean! :) His dialogue delivery, his swagger, the philosophy behind his character just blow you away...

That Nolan is a master at his job was evident in Memento, the lesser known Insomnia and Batman Begins...With TDK, he proves he's not just a gr8 storyteller but also adept at making you delve deeper into your psyche and question ur long-held conventions....

The Dark Knight raises the bar so high tht few movies probably might manage to become even half as entertaining and thought-provoking, if they care to try hard enough...Its one of those rare movies which you will watch again and again and again and again and again.....and yet everytime find some new layer till then hidden frm view...

A stupendous, worthy-of-a-bow effort!

Ba'SIN' CITY...

Saw Sin City day before...and now i know why some ppl rever Frank Miller...he sure knew how to grab the reader's attention and then keep it tht way! and the fact tht he hs co-directed the movie with Rodriguez (and Tarantino as guest director) without having any prior experience behind the camera just tells u how good he is at bringing,wat he hd in mind and on paper, to life on the screen ...
excellent movie wit a good story (very good for a comic book actually!) replete with twists and turns and excellent use of color and camera and of course,the clincher-amazing dialogues tht'll stay with u for ages! i loved 300 when i saw it and thts wat prompted me to watch sin city...hope to read the original graphic novels some day!

GO FOR IT with a capital G!