Superman Returns

Superman Returns
Last summer, director Christopher Nolan reinvigorated the BATMAN legend with a character-driven thrill-ride chock full of surprises and endless invention, but the same can’t be said of Bryan Singer’s SUPERMAN RETURNS, which feels like a retread for much of its lethargic and bloated running-time. I can’t say this was a major disappointment since my expectations […]

Last summer, director Christopher Nolan reinvigorated the BATMAN legend with a character-driven thrill-ride chock full of surprises and endless invention, but the same can’t be said of Bryan Singer’s SUPERMAN RETURNS, which feels like a retread for much of its lethargic and bloated running-time. I can’t say this was a major disappointment since my expectations going in were modest at best, but this thing was sooo shockingly mundane; nothing in this movie stirs up much excitement or comes close to matching the awe and wonder Richard Donner’s film fashioned so exhuberantly.

With few exceptions, the casting is disastrous: Bosworth takes the plucky Lois Lane and imbues her with the sum energy derived from digesting a handful of sleeping pills; Spacey’s Luthor, while more faithful to the source material than previous screen versions, isn’t half as memorable as Gene Hackman’s playful take on the character, and Frank Langella is sooo lackluster a Perry White I’m not even sure he was awake when his scenes were shot. As for Routh, he improved as the film progressed, but he still looks more like Superboy (or, more precisely, RUSHMORE’s Max Fischer) than the Man of Steel. (His adolescent looks and awkward first attempts to mimic Christopher Reeve’s Clark Kent are painful to watch)

The missteps in casting could have been glossed over if the film delivered some truly jaw-dropping scenes of Super-derring-do, but there’s little suspense or excitement to the action set-pieces that seem regurgitated from previous films, and the special-effects — the one area it was reasonable to expect improvement in leaps and bounds — are competent but unambitious and not that big an upgrade from what Donner achieved in 1978. In fact, director Bryan Singer, who did such a fine job with the first two X-MEN films, seems so intent on capturing the style of the Donner classic that he leaves little of his own imprint on SUPERMAN RETURNS. SUPERMAN RETURNS most reminds me of Tim Burton’s “re-imagining” of PLANET OF THE APES; each had heaps of money lavished on them, but both are completely lifeless. And since when did Clark Kent wear glasses as a young boy??

Ultimately, this new SUPERMAN may appeal more to those who didn’t grow up with the Christopher Reeve movies, but at 2 1/2 hours, it may be too slow to become the smash Warner was hoping for; it certainly won’t rule the box-office for 13 consecutive weeks as the 1978 original did. In the end, it’s ironic the filmmakers chose to feature the song “Heart and Soul” when SUPERMAN RETURNS had neither.

Source: www.bestfilms.info

Fired
At the H.W.L.S Head Office in London, the egotistical maniac, Joy Ahluwalia, the CEO of the company, decides to repair his scandal-ridden work record and prove to himself and his partners that he can, indeed, care for his family and be an able leader in an economic meltdown that affects everyone. He is responsible for firing almost half the employees in London and implement major cut-downs. In the turmoil that follows, he decides to sack the manager Ruby, a 29-year-old seductress with whom he has been having an affair that affects his personal as well as his professional life. After a day of ultimate stress Joy finally decides to finish off all his paperwork and stand proud in front of his partners for a board meeting that will definitely change his life. Almost after 5 hours of the firing incident, the final two hours in the office are stressful. The real time depiction of the horrific time spent by Joy at the empty office filled with the curse of people who have been recently fired is the crux of the film Fired. It’s a supernatural influence that keeps Joy haunted in his own empty office, and also the twin demons of Prozac and insecurity that turn a happy go lucky man into a stark-raving suicidal guy. In a matter of couple of hours the strong man Joy turns into a pleading mad guy seeing ghosts of his lover and her kid at every nook and corner. Everything around in the seemingly nondescript office becomes the targets of his paranoia, fed by the crazy hallucinatory effects of his anti depressant pills. Fired is a real time depiction of the last two hours in the life of a CEO who has recently fired almost half his employees, set in an empty office space, which also acts as a major character, enhancing the suspense of the film.
Source: www.bollywoodhungama.com

Love Sex Aur Dhokha
Love Sex aur Dhokha aka LSD takes us into the heart of three stories unfolding across and weaving through each other - contemporary, unusual, real tales of love. In a second rate film institute somewhere deep in the redneck hinterland of North India, a final year student gears up for his diploma film. In pristine tackiness, with an amateur small town cast, Rahul starts etching out the perennial themes of Great Star Studded Backlit Bollywood Love in his magnum opus…And then he falls in love with his heroine, Shruti. Somewhere in the same city, Adarsh - the all knowing, tech savvy, never short of words, security camera agency exec - installs four security cameras in a small upcoming 24-hour departmental store franchise. Always floating bizarre scam ideas to get rich, Adarsh hits upon the idea of making a porn clip through the security cameras in the shop. He starts to woo Rashmi - the plain, pimply, dark and quiet salesgirl - almost disinterested in her… when suddenly, a shootout happens in the store! Rashmi hares around, totally in charge, and saves a life. For the first time, Adarsh notices a woman in Rashmi! In another corner of the city, Prabhat - a misogynist sting journalist - teeters on the brink of total meltdown. Going through a divorce, about to be fired from his job, he attempts a series of failed suicides… On one of them, he meets Naina who is also trying to commit suicide - she had been promised a music video by Loki Local, India’s reigning Bhangra Hip Hop star… she slept with him for the same but the video finally went to a Russian blonde. Prabhat can see the sting right in front of his eyes! Prabhat and Naina come closer over a series of attempts to seduce, blackmail, threaten Loki. They plan the final sting where Loki will be caught on tape trying to buy footage of his indiscretions… The world we live in & LSD: A world driven by reality TV shows and voyeur cam clips on cell phones, the new media revolution caters to that largely suppressed hunger for ‘discovering without being discovered’. From sting operations to sex scandals to a seemingly innocent home video of a couple making love - Indian youth has seen it all. BUT as a viral. Without necessarily paying for it. A world that attaches a premium to making personal life public deliberately / accidentally / unintentionally - Papparazzi - Twitter - CCTVs
Source: www.bollywoodhungama.com

Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man?s Chest
Already breaking box-office records with each passing week, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” promises to be the top grossing film of 2006… and possibly of all time without question. Millions of people, eagerly waiting since the premier of the first installment, have generated $400+ million in sales for this movie thus far and […]

Already breaking box-office records with each passing week, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” promises to be the top grossing film of 2006… and possibly of all time without question. Millions of people, eagerly waiting since the premier of the first installment, have generated $400+ million in sales for this movie thus far and the numbers continue to grow. But sales… those are just numbers, at the end of the day, the true question is… How does this “Pirates” stack up to the first?

Although this movie was relatively well done, it pretty much is a two and a half hour teaser for part three, which is a bit disappointing. It really lacks the sarcasm and witty humor that made the first one such a great movie among all ages. The jokes and one liners in “Dead Man’s Chest” fall a bit short of funny, and by the end of the film are just lost in the epic that this movie tries to be. The plot seemed a bit dull (chasing a human squid around the seas, while trying to recover a beating heart in a chest), but it would have been ample if the movie would have just cut out the filler and kept the time around the two hour mark. It was obvious that the audience (in the two times I’ve been to theatres to see it) was growing quite restless and bored.

With that being said though, I should point out that Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow) does, in fact, make it more than obvious that he carries this movie. His ability to take on a character in full and entice movie-goers all at once is astounding. He creates and refreshes a charcater that adults and children alike will find appealing, funny, and eccentric.

Overall, “Dead Man’s Chest” follows the makings of any sequel… lack of developed plot, quite the teaser, and overdone. But it’s still worth seeing… even if just to have more background for the upcoming Pirates III. Some scenes might be a little much for children, but it is a film that would be great for a family outting.

Source: www.bestfilms.info

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