I belong to the majority when it comes to “Titanic”. When I saw it in Arun theatre here in Belgaum 15 years ago and watching it over a gazillion times on television, “Titanic” even today is an engaging and flawless piece of brilliance.

Director James Cameron re-releasing the film in 3D ( which he refers to as “his baby”) to mark the 100^th anniversary of the actual incident, once again proves that 3D too is an art. So far, Martin Scorcese (for Hugo) and James Cameroon (no prizes for guessing!) are the only filmmakers who have succeeded in using the 3D technology and know where, when, why and how to use it whereas other mind numbingly painful films like John Carter, Wrath of the Titans, Transformers: Dark of the moon just use 3D for the sake of promotion!

Remember when it first released in 1997, the emotions that you invested at that time sitting in the dark hall, the way you were shamelessly tugged into and almost felt like a part of the narrative? If you want to experience the same, I strongly recommend you to go and watch the 3D version because whatever you had invested emotionally 15 years ago, I guarantee you will have a much better and a bigger experience because this time you feel as if you are on the ship!

Every scene is so overwhelmingly stunning, be it the scene where Rose tries jump of the railing, the iconic scene between the leads against the backdrop of the twilight and ofcourse where the 3D plays the lead, its when the ship sinks!

Like the normal version, the 3D version too is once in a lifetime experience. It’s a beautiful trip down the memory lane when you are all nostalgic about the innocence of the leads, the chartbuster Celine Dion track, the jaw dropping visual effects and the scene where Jack freezes to death. Well what I’m trying to say is once the lights are back on, you suddenly realize that “hey, this is what my reaction was when I saw it for the first time!”

This is so far the only love story I have enjoyed and I can bet even you watching it again after a span of 15 years in theatre and still come out thinking about the film long after you have left the cinema. If you haven’t seen it, watch it! Its an experience you cannot afford to miss.

Housefull-2 is a treat from Sajid Khan. Movie has 12 main people who are described as “The Dirty Dozens”. Star cast consists of Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade, Asin, Jaqueline Fernandes, Zarine Khan, Shazhan Padamsee, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Boman Irani, Johny Lever and Chunky Pandey.

As we all know Sajid Khan was heavily criticized for Housefull but the movie had a success at box office. He is back with Housefull-2 and has said he doesn’t care for the critics. We cannot expect more from a Sajid Khan movie as he has always said that his main aim is to entertain. Sensibility is least expected in such movies.

Though there is a big star cast, Akshay Kumar carries the movie on his shoulders and is the main and important person in the movie. Well I should say it is better than Housefull. More people in the house equals more fun. Performances by Johny Lever and Akshay Kumar are very nice.

Sajid Khan as a director has done a reasonably good job and the dialogues are very funny. Four leading ladies don’t have much to do in the movie. Rishi Kapoor and Randhir Kapoor have given their best.  Mithun Chakraborty has a considerable role and has done pretty well. Coming to the music of the movie, Anarkali Disco Chali and Pappa Tho Band Bajaye are the two hit songs in the movie. Overall music is above average.

Needless to say I shouldn’t talk about the acting of the stars as it hardly matters in such movies. In the end it’s a madcap comedy and one does come out laughing from the theatres. Intelligence doesn’t have anything to do with this movie. Go in with a promise that you will be entertained. I give 3.5 out of 5.

When was the last time you strongly recommended a film to your fellow movie buffs and ran after his/ her life unless and until the person finally watches it or when was the last time you came out of the cinema wishing you could go back in watch it all over again?

Stripped to its bone, director Sujoy Ghosh’s “Kahaani” is an edge of a seat thriller that never loses the grip on your attention and displays a strong characterization, a rock solid screenplay, the spot on dialogues, and the word which is somewhat forgotten in bollywood these days, Originailty!

I’m not going reveal  anything, not even the minute details of the storyline  because it may be a spoiler for those who haven’t seen it so let me lay out the basics, as you all know, a pregnant Vidya Bagchi is in search of her missing husband in the great ruined Indian metropolis , Kolkata.

“Kahaani” is one of those rare films which shamelessly sucks you into its world takes you on a killer of a ride. Films like “Shor in the city” and “Salaam Bombay” which has Mumbai like an actual character, similarly “Kahaani’ has Kolkata playing an integral part. The crowd, the durga puja, ‘v’ pronounced as ‘b’etc. Agree these sound clichéd but they seem so real that you actually find yourself asking for more thrills and chills! The camera work is so brilliant especially in one scene where the camera goes round about the Howrah Bridge, and also the manner in which it captures the mean streets and creepy subways of the city.

It’s been quite a long time and I can’t recollect when was the last time I saw a hindi film where all the characters are there for a reason, where there are no nonsense nor pointless additions in the cast. Every character in this film is so well written that you end up relating yourself with that character, not any specific, it can be any of the character be it the chai wala who helps Vidya, the boy in the guest house who befriends Vidya, the good cop, the bad cop, be it anyone.

One of the biggest highlights of “Kahaani” is the top notch acting from its lead Vidya balan to the supporting actors Parambratta Chatterji or the brilliant Nawazuddin Siddique who plays the hardned intelligence officer with ease. Now I never expected an actor like Nawazuddin Sidduque to command the camera so effectively. For those of you who don’t know who he is let me remind you he earlier starred in big budget films like “New York” and “MunnaBhai MBBS” and finally lands himself a role which respects him as an actor. And finally there is Vidya Balan who once again proves (fourth time in a row after Ishqiya, No one killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture and now Kahaani) that she can carry a film without any star presence and boy she does it so well!

“Kahaani” is a story which deserves to be told. Don’t miss it for anything this week as it would be your best bet at the box office! That’s Four out of Five for Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani. Finally an original storyline!

The protagonist of “John Carter” played by Taylor Kitsch can jump an unbelievably long distance which turns out to be one of his “special powers”. If I had such powers, I would happily jump to another screen and maybe I wouldn’t feel cheated the way I felt with this cheap adventure!

It’s still hard for me to believe that Andrew Stanton who gave us memorable gems like “WALL.E” and “Finding Nemo” is responsible for this unfortunate mess of a film where 2 hours and 10 minutes feels so long that every five minutes you are keeping a track of the time.

Taylor Kitsch plays the title role John Carter, as a former civil war soldier in Arizona who comes across a mysterious cave and a powerful pendent which transforms him to Barsoom(that is what mars has been nicknamed in this film). And now you exactly know what is going to happen next. Our hero is responsible for both the aliens and the humans, (yes humans on mars!) well being by killing the evil.

“John Carter” is like having a cup of tea and later you realize that the milk out of which it was made of was spoilt! Now one cannot expect a logical story from a fantasy adventure, but John Carter neither has that craziness nor the cheap thrills forget thrills and it is also undeserving for a normal “popcorn entertainment” tag. To be honest, I enjoyed “Prince of Persia” which bears a similar tone but is a time pass entertainer.

Now John Carter isn’t a new character, it’s actually a 100 year old fantasy novel series which is finally made into a film and boy, what a bad way to start! I have never read any of the novels so there is no question of me being a fan. But for those who follow John Carter and call themselves die hard John Carter fans too will find themselves yawning in this ridiculously lame ride.

I’m going to go with half out of five, yes half and believe me I’m generous. Not every fantasy novel deserves a film. Some stories are just meant to stay in the books!

Sitting in my room and watching “Rango” on my laptop, I felt like saluting director Gore Verbinsky’s remarkable vision.  It’s undoubtedly the best animated feature of 2011!

The 84^th Academy award came up with infuriatingly ridiculous nominations with “Puss in the boots” and “Kung Fu Panda2” for the animated film category excluding where “Rango” the only film which deserved the nomination and I’m glad that it won the Oscar.

A lonely lizard voiced by Johny Depp, who is used to live life the “human way” finds himself in the middle of the desert after the terrarium falls of the owner’s car by accident.  An Armadilo, a hawk, crawling in the desert   “the good, the bad and the ugly style” and finally lands up in Dirt, a small town into the cavernous of the desert populated with rodents and reptiles. The town is on the verge of being wiped out because the supply of water is alarmingly low.

Rango reminds us of the old western classics or let me put it this way, people who fantasize about the west in their mind and how cool the saloon brawls are, how cool is the dual in the noon is all picturized perfectly in this film. Instead of giving us the cute and endearingly goofy characters, director Gore Verbinsky decides to come up with ugly, merciless yet fascinating creatures which can be the reason behind the reason why this film couldn’t appeal to the young animation fans.

Rango is one gem of a film which demands patience but leaves you rewarded at the end of the film. The film does well in almost each and every department. Right from its animation to the spot on voice over by each and every actor who are responsible for their respective characters. The writing is razor sharp and the narrative keeps you engaged.

There are few films which are perfect with each and everything and “Rango” is one such film. Each and every line is a gem, brilliantly written scenes deserve repeat viewing. Marvelous would be an understatement to the narrators of this film, the four owls and their unbelievably negative attitude towards Rango’s survival in Dirt. And finally, if you ask me about my favorite part of the film, it has to be the background score! Hans Zimmer once again proves his blazing versatility by making it easy for us to actively chip in to the west.

There were films better than “Rango”, like “the artist” or the “descendants”, but “Rango” is my favorite film of the year! And as my friend(Miko) had predicted months before the academy, “Rango” had no competition. A winner all the way!

Now “Ek main aur Ek tu” is a film you’ll either like or passionately despise. Like? Because there is some change you are expecting in a hindi film from a long long time. Despise? Because you may not be used to the unusual conclusion of this film. If you ask me was I satisfied with the unconventional ending, then I have to admit, I was!

I went to watch Agneepath well after reading many opinions on Facebook and after reading a couple of reviews online.  What I got was a mixed bag of reviews. Hence I decided to put forth my review.

In short save your money. Don’t watch this movie in a Multiplex or any theater. Wait for the DVD and even then rent it, and not buy it.

Now for the long version.

Where do I begin? The shoddy direction, the pedestrian acting, the weak script, the bad VFX. I can go on and on.

Against my better judgement I decided to watch this movie. It started off well with the build up, but once the all important lynching scene is over, the movie loses pace. More time is spent on unnecessary details.

With “Midnight in Paris”, director Woody Allen returns to solid ground! When I saw the first look of this film with Allen being credited as the director, the first thing that came to my mind was another random oscar material, but hell no! This is definetly an oscar material but it ain’t random! As one of my friend reccomended this film and the way he put it across, this is truly an artist’s wet dream!

A romantic fantasy comedy which centres around a small group of Americans visiting Paris for business and pleasure. Owen Wilson stars Gil Pender, a hollywood screenwriter who is on a vacation in Paris with his fiance Inez(Rachel McAdams). Unlike other films whose basic plot can be explained in simple words, Midnight in Paris is one such film that it has to be seen especially for all those who call themselves “movie buffs”!

Woody Allen handles the concept of love, Gil’s child like enthusiasm to know how his writing is, and all the other aspects of human nature so well that we are bound to see ourselves in Gil! Each and every line is a gem backed by a rock solid screenplay and the treatment to this film bears Woody Allen signature! Its a tough job to find out “what is the best thing about Midnight in Paris?” because everything from the acting, direction, cinematography and the overall production design is topclass and yes the French capital also adds up as an important character in this film!

“Midnight in Paris” is a winner all the way! So with no hesitattion I’m going to go with 5 out of 5 for Woody Allen’s lovely painting on the celluloid!