Chalo Cinema

It's gotta be cool!

Fast and Furious 4
Action
Dir: Justin Lin
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster
Theater: Inox, Fame Shankarnag, Fame Lido
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What do you get when you have very cool muscle cars, driven by men with plenty of attitude? An action packed entertainer that sends your senses racing.

What's it about: This sequel of the popular Fast ad Furious series brings back the old team, real men driving some real cool cars and effortlessly carrying off few cool stunts.

The most wanted fugitive Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) comes back loaded with anger and plenty of muscle to bust the guys responsible for the death of his girlfriend. He meets a friend he loves to hate, FBI agent Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker). They team up to confront their enemy.

What's hot: Vin Diesel the man spells out 'action' and carries attitude in style! He has taken private classes to carry out the stunts in the movie all by himself.
The cars, the Mexican deserts and the tunnels, sends you reeling in anticipation for more action. The witty humour that subtly exists between Dom and Brian in the movie is quite cool too.

What's not: For those of you expecting to see too many dare devil stunts, well, this movie just gives you the right dose.

Verdict: Watch these men pushing the limits behind the wheels, with great ease.

For those of you who enjoyed watching the other sequels of the movie, this is not going to disappoint you. You will watch the movie hitting the finish line in style, leaving you asking for more.

Long-winded, by any stretch

Tasveer
fiction
Dir: Nagesh Kukunoor
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Takia, Sharmila Tagore
Theater: PVR, Inox, Fame Lido
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What's it about: Jai (Kumar) protects the environment from bear poachers. In his spare time, he's also a picture peerer. The kind that looks into your 8X10 and knows your 'secret'. He gets the news that daddy dearest (Benjamin Gilani) has suffered a heart attack. A grieving son returns home only to meet up with obsessive-compulsive detective Habibullah Pasha (Jaaved Jaaferi). This guy's a wannabe Monk (the detective from the TV show). Intrigued by the possibility that his dad could have been murdered, Jai puts his power to use. One by one, he pieces together a puzzle. Just one catch; every time he uses his power, he needs a blood tranfusion if not out of the trance-like state in a minute's time. What he finds are unsavoury details.

What's hot: This murder mystery has its first song 45 minutes into the film. The only other song runs during the title and end credits. That's a relief.

What's not: The film, at two hours plus, stretches your patience with the same dream sequences over and over again (down to the very last detail). I also keep forgetting this is an Akshay Kumar film and the guy just needs an excuse to jump off cliffs for no apparent reason. He even develops an accent; one that could rival Sallu's. Jaaferi seems out of sorts in a suit and linguistically seems more at home in a lungi. Sharmila is cast opposite Benjamin Gilani and is supposed to be having an affair with Girish Karnad. The three (or maybe two) might be known for their acting skills, but they share zero chemistry. Akki's not acting in this one. He's sleepwalking through it. Kukunoor takes too long in establishing a scene and spends too little time on judging its merits and demerits. Riddled with loopholes and marred by inconsistencies, the film insults your intelligence and assaults your patience.

Verdict: Seriously? Could I paint a clearer picture?

Long way to go!

Ayan
Drama
Dir: K V Anand
Cast: Surya, Prabhu, Tamannau00a0
Theater: PVR, Inox, Lido
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Director K V Anand has a long way to go to prove himself. Anand started his career as a photojournalist and then worked as a cinematographer with P C Sriram and won the National Award for his debut film Thenmavin Kombathu in Malayam.

What's it about: This movie is a potpourri of two popular Hollywood films Catch Me if You Can and a Spanish film Maria Full Of Grace. Though the film tries to keep up the same pace as the original flicks, what it lacks is a good narration. Surya does grab your attention as the lead performer, but it stops at that. The actor, who is experimenting on various roles after his success, seems to be making the wrong choices with scripts.

What's hot: Actress Tamanna Bhatia has given a good performance. She has added a lot of value to her role. Thumbs up for M S Prabhu's camera work. The action sequences, songs and the locations are portrayed well, thanks to Prabhu. Stunt master Franz Spilhaus gets all the credit for carrying out the main action stunt in the streets of Congo.

What's not: The movie has failed to deliver its effect though it is targeted to be a commercial flick. This cannot be counted as one of Surya's best performances. The screenplay and the narration lack the strength to create an impact.

Verdict: We love the cinematography of K V Anand, but we sure do wish that we could expect the same from his direction.

Talk about cliches...

Jaaji Mallige
Drama
Dir: Anathraj
Cast: Ajay, Gauri, Nagkiran, Komal
Theater: Santosh, Prasanna, PVR
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Jaaji Mallige is a remake of the Tamil film Devatain Kandain. Though director Ananthraj has done a decent job with the screenplay and script, the first half of the movie is pretty boring.

What's it about: Ramu (Ajay),u00a0 sells tea to various stalls and offcies. He meets a college girl Uma (Gauri) at one such stall. The two soon start talking and open up about their lives to each other. Uma even decides to help Ramu in his business. Before they realise it Cupid plays his role and our jodi is love-struck . Uma is plagued by an illness, and she consults her family friend's doctor Prashant (Nagkiran), who takes a liking towards her.

Uma also responds to his feelings driven by the love for money. Disappointed Ramu takes the matter to the court feeling completely cheated. Watch the movie to find out if Ramu wins his love back or if Uma succumbs to the love of her life over money.

What's hot: Actor Komal's role in the movie brings in a factor of humour, which is quite a relief. M R Seenu's camera work is also worth mentioning.
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What's not: The music and the dialogues are quite lame and boring.
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Verdict: Avoid it.