Mission: Impossible - II (2000): stunts are thrilling but plot is dubious.

My review about this movie was long planned by me. But I went through several websites to look into some details of this movie. I found that some scenes of this movie (one being scene, in which Naya meets Ethan at the race course) were copy of some earlier hollywood movies. Now, you might be thinking that not only Indians copy. I also agree.

Apart from it, there is a glitch of overuse of mask in this movie. Even at the climax, you will be bound to ask "how did Hunt get the mask of Stamp". 

But, all I can say is that the stunts shown in this movie. The rock climbing scene in the starting of the movie was performed by Tom Cruise, without any stunt double. Another stunt during the injection gun scene and other in the climax are also thrilling. Even one of the scene has been copied in Dhoom: 2. Also I love the scene, in which Hunt blast the door, using a satchel charge and makes entry to disturb the deal (which is marked by a bird flying into the room and flares appear in the eyes of Ambrose).

Also the music given by Hans Zimmer has made me a fan of him. The tracks like Bare Island, Mano-a-mano, Injection Gun define the art of Zimmer. Apart from this, how can we forget the song Take a Look Around by Limp Bizkit? This song has used the M:I theme track very beautifully and in an interesting way. 

Behind Scene Facts (iMDB):

1. John Woo's final cut of the film clocked in at 3-1/2 hours. The studio balked at this length and told him that the final length could not exceed 120 min. This could explain why there are so many plot holes and continuity errors in the theatrical cut.
2. For the "knife-in-the-eye" scene, Tom Cruise insisted that a real knife be used, and that it stop exactly one quarter-inch from his eyeball, instead of somewhere vaguely near his eye, as John Woo suggested. The knife itself was connected to a cable that was measured carefully in order to achieve the effect and Cruise insisted that Dougray Scott use all his strength in the ensuing struggle.
3. The famous rock climbing sequence was filmed at Dead Horse Point in Utah. Tom Cruise was on cables which were then digitally removed. Ron Kauk was the climbing double and the overhang stunt was performed by main stunt double, Keith Campbell. John Woo was so scared each time but "Tom insisted on doing it".
4. The scene where Tom Cruise "peels off his face" to reveal Dougray Scott was achieved in one shot by shooting both actors against a green screen. Cruise, not wearing a mask, was simply told to place his hand in a pre-arranged position under his chin then pull his hand across his face. Scott wore a plain mask with sensors that could provide a computer with a three-dimensional view of his face. He then peeled off this mask to finish the scene. Cruise's face was superimposed on the mask as it is pulled away and the two images morphed together in the computer; the background of the 747 cabin was added in to replace the green screen. (Watch the scene with frame advance and you will see a slight transitional 'swirl' on the mask halfway through the scene). Kevin Yagher contributed some more traditional latex mask effects for other face-peeling scenes. 
5. This is the first movie that Metallica ever agreed to write a song for. 
6. Dougray Scott was originally slated to play Wolverine in X-Men (2000), but had to pull out when shooting on this film went into overtime.
7. The part of Mission Commander Swanbeck was originally offered to Ian McKellen. He was not able to accept the role, due to a prior theatre engagement in London and the part eventually went to Anthony Hopkins.
8. Luther Stickell's line "It's that simple, huh?" after hearing Ethan Hunt's explanation of what he thinks "Chimera" is was a joke about Mission: Impossible (1996), which was widely criticized for having an overly complicated plot. 
9. Tom Cruise's then-wife Nicole Kidman suggested Thandie Newton (Kidman's co-star in Flirting (1991)) as the love interest for Ethan Hunt. She was cast before the script was written.
10. SERIES TRADEMARK: At Hunt's meeting with Mission Commander Swanbeck, Hopkins offers him an espresso or cappuccino. At the preliminary meeting with Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible (1996), Hunt asked if they could get a cappuccino machine.
11. The sunglasses that Tom Cruise wears at the climax of the climbing scene providing him with his mission brief are modified Oakley Romeos that are now discontinued. They were modified for their appearance in the film in three ways: the ear stems are different (the commercially available model had curved ear stems while the movie version has straight stems), the lenses used in the film aren't mirrored (to prevent the film crew being seen in the reflection) and the most obvious modification being the earpieces grafted on to the frames.
12. According to Robert Towne, much of his script was written around action scenes that director John Woo told him he wanted to able to direct in the movie. 
13. Anthony Hopkins' character becomes the first person in any Mission Impossible episode or movie to actually use the phrase "mission: impossible." Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga also wrote the screenplay for Star Trek: First Contact (1996) which featured the first cinematic use in dialogue of the phrase "star trek." 
14. Andrew Lesnie was the film's original cinematographer. He left less than a month into shooting, due to "stylistic differences" with director John Woo.
15. The movie initially was rated "R", but was re rated "PG-13" after many action scenes were cut and the violence was trimmed down considerably. 
16. Oliver Stone was the first director attached to this film in the period after the first film's release. He reportedly wrote a treatment but backed out due to scheduling conflicts resulting from Tom Cruise's prolonged stint on Eyes Wide Shut (1999).
17. SERIES TRADEMARK: Ethan is suspended by a cable while infiltrating the Biocyte Labs. See also Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible III (2006). 
18. Steve Zahn was originally cast as Billy Baird.
19. Production was delayed because Tom Cruise was shooting Eyes Wide Shut (1999) with Stanley Kubrick for over a year.
20. Both Tom Cruise and John Woo attended a test screening of this movie in Warrenville, IL. 
21. Stuart Baird did uncredited re-editing work on this film and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) for Paramount in order to get the job of directing Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
22. Triumph Motorcycles supplied the Speed Triple and Daytona models used as Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott's rides respectively.
23. The knife used in the fight scene at the end of the film is a Kershaw Amphibian.
24. A brief shot of children playing "Ring Around the Roses" is shown. This is a subtle reference to the plague that would ensue should the Chimera virus be released onto the world. According to popular belief, "Ring Around the Roses" was a kids' song based on the medieval Black Plague. In this theory, the "ring around the roses" represented a ring of people around a grave with roses on it. "Pocket full of posies" refers to people carrying flowers in their pockets during the plague, to combat the stench of the corpses in the streets. "Ashes, ashes" refers to the mass burnings of bodies. "We all fall down" refers to the multitudes of people dying. In fact, the rhyme dates from Victorian times, and originally did not contain these specific references, which were created in improvisational children's playing. Nevertheless, the legend connecting the song with the plague persists.
25. In the final battle, the building's security systems shows a problem in Level 42, the name of a 1980s band with hits that include "Lessons in Love" and "Something About You".
26. Shipped to theaters under the fictitious name "Doll House" to deter potential thieves.

Sarfarosh (1999): tells how a dedicated police force should operate.

Though Aamir Khan had performed the role of an IPS offices before this movie in Baazi, this movie paints a good, inspirational and true picture of the crime branch police of Maharashtra. 

The early part of this movie entails the struggle of an honest officer behind his becoming an IPS officer. All civil services aspirants, particularly, those aspiring to become an IPS officer must watch this movie and learn how a good cop reacts to various problems regarding the heinous crimes like illegal drug and arms trafficking. 

Coming to the performances, no doubt, Aamir has played a very balanced and perfect role of an IPS officer. This role is better than what he did in Baazi. Mukesh Rishi (in the character of inspector Salim) has proved that he is suitable not only for negative roles but also for positive roles that too of an honest cop. Nasiruddin Shah (in the character of Gulfaam Hasan) is again a gem of the Indian cinema industry that performs for movies of classes and movies of masses. In this movie, which belongs to classes and masses, he proves to be villain of classes. Same can be said about Govind Namdev (in the character of Veeran). 

Believe me, this movie has everything- a good plot, all good actors and good music (specially song Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaaye). It is a must watch for all bollywood fans

Must Watch (Today's special): Rang De Basanti

Corruption is like a virus in the entire system of a nation, that needs a strong anti-virus to deal with it. This movie, though not an anti-virus, but was a means to produce anti virus for the system of a nation affected by the virus of corruption. If any Indian movie that could ignite the spark of revolution or revamping the corruption-infected nation, it was RDB. Embracing the mechanism of peaceful non- violent protest (candle march) and later switching to the desired mode of violence, this movie proved to be a blend of ideals that could change the Indian system or rather the system of any corruption infected nation.

Just like others, I also support the killing of the corrupt official (and it will not be called murder or Hatya rather it becomes Vadh) on the ground that such practice sounds correct on the lines of the Benthamite principle of maximum pleasure of maximum people with minimum pain for least number of people.

Also, this movie is best suited for the Martyr's Day (23rd march, 1931) as it not only shows the sacrifices of our revolutionary heroes but also how it can be imbibed in the actions of the youth.

I like dialogue of the movie:

"Jeene ke do hi tareeke hote hain. Ya fir jo chal raha hai use chalne do. Ya use badal ke dikhaao" (there are two courses of living a life- either let the things go their way or change the course of happenings). 

Lastly, the music of Rahmaan Saab  has never been such enthusiastic before. If the movie is a portrait, his music adds colour to it.

Behind Reel Facts (from iMDB):

• A.R Rehman worked on the music of this film for three years.
• India's official entry to the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2007.
• Shah Rukh Khan was the original pick to play DJ, but the shooting for the film was in Delhi, and Khan was forced to decline because he was shooting Paheli (2005) at the time, and did not want to conflict schedules.
• The film was to be made both in Hindi and English versions. The English version was to be titled "Paint It Yellow". The plans for the English version were dropped subsequently.
• The role played by Siddharth was also initially offered to Farhan Akhtar. But Farhan was not ready to act.
• Aamir Khan was initially uncertain about taking on the role of DJ, as he was in his 40s and DJ was 25 years old Punjabi in the film. He eventually accepted, though, and hired a tutor to aid him in Punjabi speech and accents.
• Rang De Basanti is based on a poem written by Dushyant Kumar.
• Arjun Rampal was signed to do the film, but was irritated with director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's indecisiveness about what he wanted to do with the characters and the script. He called him "very confused" and "unprofessional" and dropped out. Arjun Rampal also stated his regret in even agreeing to do the film in that he lost a lot of good work in the three months he spent committed to it.
• In India, the color of saffron represents sacrifice. When someone says, "Main rang de basanti", ("paint me saffron") it means that person is ready to be sacrificed for a great cause. saffron is also a predominant color in the movie.
• Shah Rukh Khan was the original choice for Flight Lieutenant Ajay Rathod's character, but he couldn't do it owing to his busy schedule. This cameo turned out to be the best bet of Madhavan in his career in Bollywood.
• Hrithik Roshan turned down the role of Karan (Siddharth).

Agneepath (2012): Sanjay Dutt is back.

This movie was in news since Hritik accepted the role played by Big B in the earlier Agneepath (1990). Though the names are same and plot of the movie is also, significant remake of the old Agnipath, there is a huge gap in both these.

While the old Agnipath was full of bold and emphatic performance of Amitab Bachchan (playing the role of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan) and was also known for his dialogue delivery, the 2012 Agnipath promises a new ray of hope to emulate the performance of the legendary Joker (obviously, the negative role Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight). This movie has kept the audience glued with the performance and style of Kaancha (role played by none other than Sanjay Dutt). 

In my opinion, India is close to getting a substitute of the Joker. His performance weights much more than that of the hero of the movie (the equation matches that of The Dark Knight in this sense). Though the dialogues of Hritik are not that bold as of Big B, his performance is well fitted to the role.

Apart from it, you can't ignore the role of Rauf Lala (played by Rishi Kapoor). This time, Rishi Kapoor has made a punching come-back to complement this movie. Even, sometimes the people might become confuse to choose the best villain between Kaancha and Rauf.

Music of the movie also deserves applauds, specially the song Abhi Mujhme Kahin.

The hidden facts.

• In Sanjay Dutt's 30 years career, this is the first time he appeared bald in a film.
• Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor last worked together in Sahibaan (1993) where both were lead heroes.
• The film was an official remake of the original Agneepath but several things were changed, like the backdrop of drugs was introduced, the reason for the death of Vijay's father was changed, Mithun's character was done away with, and Rishi Kapoor's new character was introduced.
• Hrithik Roshan sports a number of colorful vests in the film, actually those were white vests which his designers colored using dye.
• Hrithik told in an interview that while fighting with Sanjay Dutt he was really injured and his acting in the end was real.
• The scenes depicting Mandwa was shot in Diu in freezing temperatures. For the song Cheekni Chameli the set was created in Mumbai.

Notable Role (5/1000): John Abraham (Jism)

I saw the movie Jism, after over 5 years of its release. I appreciate the direction and the music as well. But above all, I was inspired by the performance of John Abraham (playing the role of an alcoholic lawyer- Kabir), who lives a playboy lifestyle. 

No doubt, it was his first movie, yet he performed his share best in this movie. Specially his style of smoking and lighting the cigarette, that probably inspired youth to adopt smoking as a style statement. 

I suggest you to go watch the video of the songs Aawarapan Banjarapan and Shikaayat Hai to notice his in-depth performance (notably, the scene in which he feels guilty of committing a murder and cries below the shower of his bathroom). 

Aawarapan Banjarapan song.

Shikaayat Hai song.

Jism climax.

Raanjhanaa: Dhanush has left his mark on Bollywood.

It was the noon of a day of March last year, when I opened Youtube to watch some upcoming movies of Bollywood. Suddenly, I came across the trailer of the movie Raanjhanaa, presenting Dhanush in lead role. It was then the scorching summer of June in the same year, when I went to watch this movie.

Guess what? All the sacrifices I made to watch this movie was refunded in the terms of entertainment. I, just could not imagine that Dhanush, who hails from Southern part of India, will be able to perform the role of a Desi Launda of Banaras. Hardly, anyone dn emulate his performance in this movie. Talking about the other actors, the role of his friend Murari played by Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub and his one sided lover Swara Bhaskar should be appreciated. 

The whole movie is divided into two parts: the romantic and comedy part pre-intermission and serious and emotional part post-intermission. Apart from it, the dialogues of the movie and its climax both have given a good shape to the whole flow of movie. 

As always, the Music of Rahmaan saahab is always a memorial part of a movie, which is true in this case as well.

Facts undisclosed yet.

1. This was the first film of Dhanush in Hindi. For this film , he took special Hindi coaching classes.
2. Earlier , actor Shahid Kapoor was roped in to play the lead role , but later Dhanushreplaced his role (thank God he accepted, otherwise... everyone knows).

300: Rise of an Empire: finally happy again to find my answer.

No doubt that the Hollywood movie makers invest huge and also do a good R&D for movie business. So, they did in this movie. 

Though they have shown graphics and actions scenes very beautifully, that deserves applauds, it didn't seem to be at the equal footing to its previous part. 

Also, what I want to share is that we always think that Indian movies only have crap stunts and scenes. Then, we think whether Hollywood movies also have such craps. So, we can find answer in this movie.

I must emphasise that there is a scene in the climax, in which the hero of the movie Themistockles (role played by Sullevan Stepleton) shows his extra ordinary capacity to take his horse though the broken ships to the ship of the enemy without caring about the ocean in between. Guess, what he finds. He is able to take the horse successfully (no sensible person will find any logic behind such stunt). He might have been insipred by the performance of Chetak (legendary horse of Maharana Pratap).

Concluding my review,I would suggest that if you want to go for action scenes and bloodbath, you should go for it.

Yeh Saali Zindagi: has everything that a good movie should have.

What will you expect, when you have best spices for the dishes to be served at the dinner? You will get applauds for your preparation and your guests will again persist you to invite them. 

Same holds true for this movie. Here, although we have best spices like Irrfan, Saurabh Shukla, Yashpal Sharma (as Bade), Prashant Narayan (as Chhote) and Shushant Singh, the whole recipe would have been not so tasty, had there been no good quality of salt and vegetables like Arunoday Singh, Chitrangada Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari and Vipin Sharma. With some desi gaalis (specially the dialogue Udta Hua Teer...), this movie has tried to expose the interaction between various classes of persons of the society. 

This movie shows some overlapping between three lives, which give birth to a tragedy, for which everyone keeps on guessing the solution. To put it in simple words, Hero A loves Heroine A, but she loves a Dude. This Dude is the target of Hero B, who was abducted along with his fiance. The object of Hero B is to get money to buy happiness for Heroine B, along with the other object of getting his boss out of jail. How all this becomes possible and how the main Villain creates a mess and how the dude gets flying arrow as reward (Udta Teer) is best understood and enjoyable after watching the movie itself.

Just no need to guess Hero A/B or Heroine A/B. Watch the movie and you will understand it. 

Concluding the review, I can say that Sudhir Mishra is a good chef and the guests will expect similar dishes again and again from him.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (Trailer)

This summer, Michael Bay bets on Transformers with resurrecting Optimus Prime.

Highway: awards will go to the NHAI.

Last week, I expected that Imtiaz Ali will add a new gem to the rare collection of good Hindi movies. But what I observed is that he was unable to create it. Yes, I am talking about Highway, that was released last Friday.

This movie has neither a conclusion nor a happy ending. All it has is the scenes around highways and destinations. If you are planning to book tickets for it, think twice (you can save it for Ragini MMS 2 :P). 

The positive point about the movie is that Aaliya Bhatt has proved her talent in this movie. No doubt, Randeep Huda is always good in his roles. But where is the story? Even if both Randeep and Aaliya do justice with their roles, its like swimming in a water-less pond, as the movie lacks a good story.

Watching this movie, I concluded that the lead role was performed by the highway itself. Hence, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) should be give award for the best leading role.

Haasil: kudos to Irrfan and Tigmanshu.

If there is any movie of the Bollywood that probably marks the identity of Allahabad and the college life of that city, it is Haasil. Entire movie is like a sweet dish (soaked in the sugar of Eastern U.P. dialect). 
Even the fans of Ranvijay Singh (character played by Irrfan Khan, for which he bagged Filmfare award for Best actor in negative role), have adopted the style of conversation in his way of dialoguebaazi. 

Credit goes to Tigmanshu Dhulia for the beautiful and real depiction of student politics and life. As we have already seen, he is both a good actor and a good director (except the crap Bullet Raja). Jimmy Shergil and other characters of the movie have also performed well in their characters, but they will always be way behind Irrfan.
Though I haven't watched this movie in a cinema hall, I can imagine that had I been in the hall, I would have witnessed taaliyon pe taali (applauses for his dialogues) for every dialogue of Irrfan Khan.

Had this movie not been produced, Bollywood wouldn't have witnessed a gem like Ranvijay Bhayya (oops... I meant Irrfan Khan).