42 Kms.

42 Kms.
This is one album that one picks up with absolutely zero expectations. A project that has been in making for long (it was earlier titled ‘Marathon’), 42 Kms is releasing at a time when the word ‘marathon’ is becoming more and more identifiable, at least in the metros. Still, a film that is aimed for a niche audience with music by relative newcomers (Tubby & Parik) and lyrics by Shahab Allahabadi, 42 Kms doesn’t really make you overtly excited about what’s in store in its music. Opening track ‘Chand Zameen Pe’ takes its inputs from ‘Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai’ [Gangster] and ‘Aksar’ [Hijack]. Add to it the voice of KK and you know that the inspiration here isn’t coincidental. Featuring Rags & Clinton, ‘Chand Zameen Pe’ is an inspirational track about the protagonist’s belief in conquering the world with sheer hard work and determination. A number with a Western setting to it, ‘Chand Zameen Pe’ may have ordinary lyrics but is perked up to an extent due to contemporary arrangements and some good singing. Write your own music review of 42 Kms… Set in hip-hop genre, ‘Zara’ sees Sonu Nigam getting all husky in his rendition. Even though the beats here are catchy with backup vocals by Storm adding on to the hip-hop appeal, there is something still missing in the number that could create a good overall impact. ‘Zara’, which also appears in a forgettable ‘remix version’ sees Gayatri Ganjawala entering the scene 100 seconds into the song. In fact her presence still manages to perk up the proceedings a little and though there is no chance for this ordinary track to travel much distance, it may not be a bad watch on screen if aided by some seductive moves! default-300×250.tpl A number with a predictable base to it, ‘Ai Meri Zindagi’ is a conventional track about living life and being positive about the day to follow. A kind of number that has been heard a zillion times before, it may well have been somehow exciting if only the music and the singing were energetic. However, the composer duo follows a conventional route while Roopkumar Rathod and Mahalakshmi Iyer merely go through the motions only to make ‘Ai Meri Zindagi’ an overall forgettable outing. Shaan seems to be the only person on the scene who thought that by being ever-so-youthful and excited, he could make things happen for ‘Marathon’. He succeeds to an extent as well and even though the tune here is nothing new or extraordinary, it at least is peppy in sound due to a decently paced rhythm. Sunidhi Chauhan’s entry on the scene is good as well though the ‘antara’ portion is in complete contrast to the vibrant ‘mukhda’. An ordinary number but still better than the rest. However, the worst is reserved for the end and what’s even more pitiful is the fact that it has Udit Narayan and Shreya Ghoshal at the helm. A number straight out of ‘Aayi Milan Ki Bela’ and ‘Nadia Ke Paar’ days, ‘Aate Jaate’ is so boring and pedestrian that it starts making the rest of the album good. A love song set in a village, ‘Aate Jaate’ justifies its title and is best forgotten just ‘aate jaate’! 42 Kms is a below average album that doesn’t stand a chance. Except for ‘Chand Zameen Pe’ and to some extent ‘Tumse Milke Hua’, there isn’t much that leaves any impression whatsoever. OUR PICK(S) None really
Source: www.bollywoodhungama.com

Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye
EXPECTATIONS ‘Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye’ was a number originally composed by Jatin Lalit more than a decade back for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. While the composer duo has split, Lalit Pandit gets behind the scenes composing for this romantic comedy cum fantasy flick that also sees guest compositions by Siddharath Coutto. Though one doesn’t really carry much expectations from the soundtrack of this film due to it’s low key promotion, one is still ready for some kind of surprise considering PVR Cinema being the producers here. MUSIC Sound of exuberance is heard in ‘Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon’ which takes a peppy route and expresses the emotions of this young woman who seems to have found wings to fly around. Though it starts off quite well and has a good ‘mukhda’ to it, it becomes all too predictable and almost like a commercial as it moves on. Starting point for a song is good again in case of ‘Sehmi Sehmi’ but surprisingly the tempo isn’t sustained from start to finish of the song. A number about the emergence of a girl who was just within herself before the entry of the angel in her life, ‘Sehmi Sehmi’ ultimately manages to maintain a constant mood throughout even as one senses vintage Jatin-Lalit in the sound. However, the ‘remix version’ of this song was completely unwarranted! Write your own music review of Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye An inspirational track, ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ composed by Siddharath Coutto is set in rock genre and just like the score of Rock On, it’s popularity would depend upon it’s placement in the film and picturisation. However, one of the better tracks to come in the album is ‘Kab Talak’ (again by Siddharath Coutto) which is slow moving and is the kind that has to be heard in absolute silence with dim lights altogether. Set as a jazz track, this one is purely situational and should help the narrative to move on. default-300×250.tpl Soon after though comes the most boring song of the enterprise. There is nothing wrong in a track being slow or sad but still musically it should sound good. However, Lalit Pandit comes up with ‘Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron’ which perhaps could be one of his most underused tunes over last couple of decades that he has been on the scene. The best is thankfully reserved for the end with ‘Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko’. Straight out of a Karan Johar or a Yash Raj film, this delightful feel good number could well have been lapped up by a Shah Rukh Khan starrer and went on to become a huge hit. An ‘instrumental’ that comes in the end makes for a good end to this album which has it’s peaks and lows but still manages to somehow stand on it’s feet in the end. LYRICS Javed Akhtar is the prime composer of ‘Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye’ that also has Renuka Kunzru and Rohit Bhatia as the guest lyricists who contribute with a song apiece. Javed saab’s writing for ‘Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon’ isn’t really the kind that couldn’t have been delivered by a lesser lyricist and one expects a lot more in songs to follow. ‘Sehmi Sehmi’ though goes quite well with the film’s theme and gets the point across in the simplest way possible. Surprisingly though, his lyrics in ‘Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron’ are downright average and don’t manage to create any pathos whatsoever. However, ‘Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko’ much more than just compensates for it and is heartfelt as it goes with the emotions of the protagonist who is seeing a change in her life. Renuka Kunzru, who played the delightful ‘Mala’ in Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na writes ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ which is about making one’s life extraordinary by fighting against destiny and paving a path by your own self. Rohit Bhatia too writes something different from routine with ‘Kab Talak’ and tells the tale of a woman who simply loves the very essence of singing and giving her heart and soul when behind the mike. VOCALS Shreya Ghoshal is nice in her rendition of ‘Pahle Toh Meri Inn Ankhon’ but the tune itself is just about ordinary that doesn’t really give her a challenging enough platform to do anything extraordinary. Shaan isn’t in his best form for ‘Sehmi Sehmi’ which is surprising because he is seldom out of sorts in his rendition. In comparison, Runa Rizvi is reasonably perked up. Surprisingly, Alka Yagnik comes last in the scene and one can immediately feel that how much she is missed in the current music scene! It’s strike two for Shaan as he falters even in ‘Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron’, a sad track where he merely seems to be going through the motions and waiting to walk out of that exit door of the music studio! Anushka Manchanda goes full ‘rock on’ for ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ and though the number won’t turn out to be yet another hit in her young career so far, she is still reasonably charged up while rendering this one. Caralisa Montiero gets to croon ‘Kab Talak’ which is a performance oriented number. She does well, just as she has been doing with all the opportunities being meted out to her in last 2-3 years! New find Aishwarya, a mail singer, gets the best deal though with ‘Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko’, a number which is the best of the enterprise. He has a soft-n-silky voice, the kind that should work well for him in the world of playback singing. OVERALL For PVR Cinemas, the music of Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye won’t result in a Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na or a Taare Zameen Par moment. Still, as a part of the film, a couple of songs like ‘Sehmi Sehmi’ and ‘Kab Talak’ should do well. Even though a ‘Pathraon Ke Bane In Shahron’ brings down the tempo, ‘Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko’ more than just makes up for it. An okay album. OUR PICK(S) ‘Sehmi Sehmi’, ‘Kab Talak’, ‘Zindagi Me Nayi Bat Hone Ko’  [Play Songs]
Source: www.bollywoodhungama.com

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X-Men - The Last Stand

X-Men - The Last Stand
I am an advid fan of both the x-men comic books and the movies. I have been a fan of Marvel Comics for over twenty years. I feel that the characters depths were reached in the first two movies but were not carried on to the third, yet they seemed to add many more to […]

I am an advid fan of both the x-men comic books and the movies. I have been a fan of Marvel Comics for over twenty years. I feel that the characters depths were reached in the first two movies but were not carried on to the third, yet they seemed to add many more to the mix, and the special features were a travisty. These things lead to my actual review being closer to 2.5 stars.

I feel that the addition of new characters enhanced the movie and hindered it at the same time. Beast, played by Kelsey Grammar was very well done, to the point of him saying “Oh my stars and garters.” The Kitty Pryde character seemed one dimensional with no depth at all. She is shown to be a bit intelligent in the class room discussing Plato’s view of ethics, but then used as a third wheel of a love triangle dissolves the hope of any furhter depth. Colossus’s use of the “fastball special”, at the beginning the movie, was awesome to the point of ingenious, but that is where his character loses his appeal. He has next to no lines and begins to blend into the background in many scenes.

The plot is based very losely on the story arc “The Dark Pheonix Saga” and when I say losely, I truly mean losely. The comic story involved a much greater deal of internal conflict within Jean, in which Jean solves by comitting suicide. In this movie, her death only comes by the hand, or claws of, yup you guessed it, Wolverine. The depths of emotional conflict in Jean is never brought to the screen, except for her saying thank you to Wolverine at the end of her life. I felt no pythos or pain, that her life needed to be forfeited. I was unimpressed and unmoved by the representation of the pheonix/Jean saga.

Extras/Special features? These were all things picked up off of the floor of the editing room and pasted, any way they could, back into the movie.
3 Alternate endings that have no rationale behind them or connection to the movie. The world of Marvel, this section is a cheap way for Marvel to exploit the viewer into purchasing some of the lesser quality superhero movies. They show the trailers for Daredevil, Electra and FF. Ther is no in depth look into the world of Marvel Comics at all. For those who really want to be cheated out of their hard earned cash, buy the colectors edition of the DVD, it has different packaging and a comic that stars San Lee. Yeah!!!

The whole presentation from the coverr of the actual DVD to the Special Features seem as thrown together as the actual Movie. I as a viewer feel a bit let down by the conclusion of the trilogy. Marvel, does not seem to shy away from the open handed, gimmie your money approach to commerece, just look at the Civil War Strory in stores now, so I would have to say wait a few months and you will probally see a new release of the DVD that does not seem so thrown together.

Source: www.bestfilms.info

Victory
LAGAAN and IQBAL are landmark films on cricket. The response to LAGAAN specifically was so electrifying [and emotional] that theatres turned into stadiums during the penultimate cricket match in the film. VICTORY traverses a different route altogether: This one revolves around a cricketer, talks of the highs and lows in his life, how greed, arrogance and lust almost ruin his career, but how he regains his lost form and becomes a hero all over again. Write your own movie review of Victory The difference also lies in the fact that the sportsmen in the film aren’t actors, pretending to be cricketers, but real-life cricketers. And that makes the goings-on identifiable. default-300×250.tpl VICTORY may not be a true-life account of any one person, but you can’t help but draw parallels with people who led a wild life off the field. Also, any sports-based film works if it arouses the right emotions and VICTORY does so towards the final moments. But there’s a hitch. The film could’ve done with a shorter running time [instead of approx. 2.35 hours] and a tight script. More on that later! Final words? A few interesting moments don’t really help. This one tries to hit a boundary, but ends up taking a single. VICTORY tells the story of Vijay Shekhawat [Hurman S. Baweja], who hails from Jaisalmer. Soon, he becomes India’s latest world-class batting sensation and is catapulted to superstardom. However, the glam and glitter makes the young, vulnerable Vijay stray from his true vocation of cricket. Unfortunately, this leads to a loss of focus and to a miserable drop in his performance. But by the time Vijay realizes his mistake, he finds himself thrown out of the Indian cricket team. Suddenly, the hero becomes a villain in everyone’s eyes. His father [Anupam Kher] suffers a paralytic stroke. This tragedy awakens Vijay’s conscience. He wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his father and every Indian. Against great odds, he once again makes it back to the Indian team and gets to play in the finals of the Champion’s Trophy against Australia, where he plays a stellar role in enabling India to win the Trophy. Ajitpal Mangat chooses a difficult subject for his directorial debut. Placing immense trust on a newcomer [Hurman] and casting real-life characters could be tough and demanding, besides being expensive [cricketers’ fees and paying for the various stadiums]. But Ajitpal achieves the required results. The initial moments are very mediocre, but the pace picks up when Hurman goes astray, when he can’t digest success, when he falls into wrong hands [Gulshan Grover]. The graph is erratic; sometime interesting, at times boring. However, what rescues the film from failing are the penultimate moments, especially the one when Hurman faces the final ball. On the flip side, the writing isn’t convincing at several points. The first 30 minutes of the enterprise makes you break into a yawn, frankly. Also, the film is stretched in the second hour for no reason and could’ve done with some tight editing. The songs in this hour are a big deterrent. Ajitpal Mangat makes a confident debut as a director, but VICTORY would’ve made a stronger impact if the writing [screenplay: Ajitpal Mangat, Kannan Iyer] would’ve been watertight. Anu Malik’s music is listless. Barring ‘Balla Utha’ and ‘Money Money’, the remaining songs are of the fast-forward type. Cinematography is excellent. Hurman S. Baweja displays the required confidence. He gets the body language right, looks dapper when required and conveys the required emotions well. Only thing, he needs to control his expressions at times. Amrita Rao does very well, although this isn’t her film actually. Anupam Kher gets it right yet again, especially towards the second hour when he suffers a paralytic stroke. Gulshan Grover is very effective. On the whole, VICTORY is a strictly average fare. Barring a few moments in the second hour, there’s not much that you carry home.
Source: www.bollywoodhungama.com

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