Agneepath [2011] - Trailer Reaction

Being a huge fan of the original I approached the remake with a fair share of trepidation. Afterall the original has earned its fair share of fans for the performances of its lead antagonist and protagonist, dialogues worth memorizing and director Mukul S. Anand's stylish (for its time) film making. I waited with bated breath for the first trailer and the first thing that comes to mind is how wrong Hrithik is for the lead. He's too "pretty" to play a beloved gang lord from the slums of Mumbai. That is assuming he is still essaying that characterization of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. Oddly there's not one line of dialogue uttered by the lead so perhaps my feedback is unwarranted.

Like most of modern day Indian cinema this looks stylized. What appears to set it apart from the masala fare like "Dabang" and "Singham" is that it appears more grounded in reality. It would be wrong to expect hyper-realism from a commercial potboiler such as this and director Karan Malhotra appears to strike the right balance.

Though it is too soon to judge I feel I'll be disappointed with the villains. Sanjay Dutt's interpretation of Kancha Cheena looks over-the-top in a performance, I fear, might be grating on the nerves. Rishi Kapoor as a villain will either be a revelation or a laugh-out-loud case of bad judgement. Don't get me wrong, he's an extremely talented actor who has marvelously pulled off roles with shades of gray in the past.

As a fan it's natural for me to speculate. From the footage we've seen I gather that Kancha Cheena is now the main drug lord of Mandwa and not an international drug kingpin as in the original. The new villain, essayed by Mr. Kapoor, could very well be a retread of the Dhinkar Rao character. What say you the fans?

MacGruber [2010]

Coming Soon

Toy Story 3 [2010]

Toy Story 3 is probably Pixar's first cash grab sequel. It has no other reason to exist other than to wrap up Andy's arch. Not the most compelling reasons to exist but as with other Pixar movies this too promises a great time at the movies. Even though most of this sequel retreads over things we've seen in the original and it's sequel, its watching these lovable and familiar characters interact that makes this go-round worthwhile. I wish Pixar had taken a bold step with the climax but this being a Disney movie I can understand why they couldn't go that route. It's not John Lasseter and company's best work but neither is it their worst.

The A-Team [2010]

Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Brian Bloom
Writen By: Joe Carnahan & Brian Bloom and Skip Woods
Directed By: Joe Carnahan

I don't think the ME generation of today can fathom the importance of television in the 80's. If I recall we only had access to Channel 5 & 8 (Singapore) and RTM 1 &2 (Malaysia) (this was even before TV3). The whole family was glued to the idiot box no matter how bad the programmes were.

So I hope you can see why we're so attached to properties from that era. I'll save my more detailed justification for my generations attachments to entertainment properties from that era for another time.

The A-Team was a very popular show even with its wash-and-repeat formula. Writer-director Joe Carnahan (NARC, Smokin' Aces) brilliantly avoids such trappings and instead shows the origin of how these four very different men came together. It helps that he has recruited very charismatic group of actors with excellent chemistry for the leads.

His screenwriting partners Brian Bloom and Skip Woods could have helped strip some extra fat. It feels like there's one-too-many rescue/retrieve missions in the movie. The ballistic and ridiculously over-the-top ending threatens to leave a bad after taste but thankfully such woes prove a minimal inconvenience.

My Name Is Khan [2010]

Shahrukh Khan, in my humble opinion, isn't the most talented actor India has to offer but one can't deny his screen presence. In My Name Is Khan he is possibly tasked with a role very few people can pull off - that of an adult suffering from Asperger's syndrome. Shahrukh displays an uncharacteristic restraint in the role. Frequent collaborator (in fact he hasn't made a movie without Shahrukh) Karan Johar shows great growth as a director and this is possibly one of the most polished Bollywood productions in recent history. Being a product of Bollywood though it does suffer from too much sermonizing and scenes veering dangerously close to being "cheesy". Fortunately, director Karan Johar must have learned a few things about restraint from his leading man.