Transformers - Don't know what the hype is all about

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox
Directed by: Michael Bay
Produced by: Steven Spielberg, Brian Goldner, Michael Bay

Even though I am not a big fan of comic books, however I do enjoy good flicks regardless of the fact if I have read the comic/novel or not. This movie has been trying to catch my attention for quite some time now, it had amazing ratings on IMDb and most of the times they are very accurate, viewer response seemed to be great and there was a hysteria surrounding this. Still I avoided to be taken in by the release of this movie for first few weeks, however later I decided to check it out.

But I must tell you that I am not an American and hadn't heard about any comics that went by "Transformers" it was totally a new concept for me. And was I disappointed !! I simply failed to make any sense of the movie, then I thought it might a no brainer and decided to concentrate on action sequences and special effects, however I was not able to understand what exactly was happening on screen. My mind simply went numb. The robots were so complicated in design that I was not able to make what they were trying to do. The scenes seemed to be too much crowded and complicated, it was difficult to comprehend who was doing what. I understand that this was a comic book adaptation however there have been lot of movies in the past like Batman series, Spider Man Series that I have loved, and that too without reading any comics.

Maybe this movie is working because of the fans that it got from the comics and earlier adaptation, otherwise I don't see any other reason for it to be just any other movie on the block.

So for the sake for Die-hard fans, I sincerely hope that producers would put in more effort on story and screenplay rather than special effects, when they come out with the second installment, which I am sure that they will, given all the commercial success this one got.

My Rating : 6/10

Johnny Gaddaar - Must See !!

Starrring : Neil Nitin Mukesh, Dharmendra, Vinay Pathak, Zakir Hussain, Rasika Joshi, Rimi Sen, Govind Namdeo, Daya Shett
Director : Sriram Raghavan
Producer : Adlabs

There have been very few proper thrillers coming out of Bollywood, and counting few good ones in them is easy task. However here comes a movie that has the potential to redefine the genre. Most probably this movie will prove to be a dud at Box office, however it will sure go down as a cult for generations to come.

In most of the thrillers that I have seen, I am able to second guess the director on what he is going to show. However this movie is something that didn't let me do that. Even though the pacing seemed to be slow in parts, however it actually was never slow. Every few minutes the events took a dramatic turn, and even though you realize that this could have been expected, however it was not.

The writing is of top notch standard and so it the screenplay. All the actors have delivered a wonderful performance, and Neil Mukesh didn't give the feeling that he was a new comer to the industry and making his debut. Dharmendra, Zakir Hussein, Vinay Pathak all fitted their role perfectly. Zakir Hussein deserves a special mention.

This is type of cinema that I prefer to enjoy alone, not with friends Or with family. Simply go into the theater and immerse yourself.

My only regret is the way the music was used. Initially only the title track was released but later there was an elaborate album. And it was one of the best score to hit the shelves in a long time. The album gave an impression that it was not typical Bollywood fare, however would be used in background. It had some excellent themes and instrumental pieces and sometimes it gave an impression if modern day Hollywood themes were inspired from Bollywood of 70's, and one expected those pieces to play a pivotal role to elevate the movie. However they were hardly used in the movie, except for couple of occasions.

Since I have heard the original album, that is the reason my expectations were sky high from the background music and theme music of the music, but still its a rare masterpiece coming out of Bollywood. This one deserves an elaborate DVD version.

But anyhow the end product is a movie that has full potential to become a cult classic. This one is going to be talked about for a long time to come.

My Rating : 9/10