COUPLES RETREAT : At long last,India gets to witness the first post Oscar Hollywood venture of whizkid A.R.RAHMAN. Starring Vince Vaughn and Jean Reno, this Universal Pictures presentation directed by Peter Billingsley, a major telly star, focuses on the lives of four couples at different stages of their relationship who go on a vacation somewhere in the Bahamas, a place called Eden ,where they meet a yoga instructor,played by Jean Reno who counsels them on gelling well and making the best of their romatic lives.
Positioned as a comedy, Couples Retreat released in October 2009 and met with great success grossing over $150 million worldwide,but was not much appreciated by critics for the shallow portrayal and uninspiring theme.Interestingly,Couples Retreat was offered to A.R.Rahman,before he started off on Slumdog Millionaire. The music was recorded entirely in the United States with the Hollywood Studio Symphony and released by Relativity Music Group in October 2009. Incidentally, the tracklist of the album has one track written in Hindi and another written in Tamil,penned by A.R.Rahman himself.The song "Na Na" from the album has been nominated in the Best Song category at the Oscars.
Pre Movie Verdict : The fact that this is A.R.Rahman's first mainstream Hollywood assignment,would make this a crowdpuller,by virtue of the brillant background scores he is known for. Its possible that the sales of the audio released by SaReGaMa in India would pick up post the movie. The movie may do average business in India. Check it out to get a feel of ARs background.Something you may not want to miss!!
RANN: For some strange reason, Rann that was originally poised to release during the week of 22nd January is showing up finally on 29th January. At the risk of being repetitive,this Ram Gopal Varma film that has a fine breed of acting to flaunt in Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal,Ritesh Deshmukh,Gul Panag and Sudeep, the reigning star of the Kannada film industry,who was last seen in Phoonk, offers an interesting plot that takes a shot at the manipulation of the media.While speculations have been rife around the potential storyline, the air has been cleared by Big B and Ramu,who reveal that the plot revolves around the central character Vijay Harshvardhan,an owner of a popular news channel,who owing to some trying circumstances influenced by diabolical politicians conveys a false message through the news that impacts the lives of several people. The rest of the plot focuses on how he comes out of the mess and seeks justice against media manipulation.
Pre Movie Verdict: The trailers are dark and discomforting and that sets the tone for the movie and clearly sends out a message that Ramu is back with AB to stimulate serious thought as opposed to mindless munching of popcorn. Clearly, Amitabh has a huge role to play in this political thriller and it would be interesting to see Mr.Bachchan revert back to the image of the Angry Young Man of Deewar and Zanjeer,albeit in a sophisticated manner. Further, its almost twenty years since he played a character by the name Vijay which if you werent aware was the name of all characters he played since his entry into filmdom.
Going by Ramu's fetish for scripts that explore the intagibles and unknowns around the perceived reality we live in, Rann appears a winner hands down.For the first time,millions across India would get a glimpse of what happens within the news room. If not for anything else, Rann has sure notched up enough publicity with the media getting edgy on what Ramu wants to portray and that is bound to work in favour of the movie.
The movie should be worth a watch, put your thinking caps on and enjoy the magic of Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man all over again!!!
Pre Movie Verdict: The movie has all the ingredients to set the cash registers ringing.Both the trailers and music by Vishal Bharadwaj have caught on like a house on fire and for the first time, he attempts a dark comedy unlike his previous films wherein comedy was a certain forced element but stuck largely to the serious nature of the plot. Arshad Warsi reprises his 'Circuit" act by playing sidekick to the awesome Naseeruddin Shah whose recent performance in 'A Wednesday' had us asking for more. In all probability, we are going to see a mix of the gangster he played in Kaizad Gustad's sleeper hit Bombay Boys and Mithya.Vidya Balan charters into unfamiliar territory with this film. Depending on her portrayal of the negative shades of her character, Vidya Balan could well bounce back and carve a niche for herself as a character actress. Definitely worth picking our brains on this one and give it the much desired break to sit back,relax and enjoy a delightful experience come alive on screen, of course with the essentials:a tub of popcorn and a glass of Coke - Gimme a Large, Please.
Pre Movie Verdict : The movie may draw an average response, considering that the focus on contemporary history has taken a backseat,with most of the audience wanting to get a feel for comedy and adventure. With limited promotional activities, the movie could run at multiplexes.There is a possibility of the movie being chosen as a dvd/vcd flick. Nevertheless, an epic performance by Paresh Rawal as the disturbed Muslim mechanic awaits us...Go for it, if u are a fan of true cinema.
UP IN THE AIR: The Golden Globe Nominated winner for best adapted screenplay and nomination in the screen guild actors award starring George Clooney touches base on Indian theaters and is a movie you would love watching for either of the following reasons:
Either way, this film, an adaptation of the 2001 novel by Walter Kirn,directed by Jason Reitman the Canadian director who is known for movies such as Juno and Thank You for Smoking, focuses on the life of Ryan Bingham, a downsizing consultant, played by the legendary George Clooney and travels the world to lay off employees.He prefers the kind of life he lives because of his personal aspiration earn 1 million air miles that has so far been the achievement of a privileged few. He is pitted with a junior Natalie Keener played by Anna Kendrick,last seen in Twilight who is pushing the envelope to go economical by getting the firings done through the internet and over the telephone. It would be interesting to see whether Ryan Bingham does achieve those airmiles he dreams of and at whose expense.
Pre Movie Verdict : The story is a refreshing take on the reality of management consultants and given that it has George Clooney heading the show, it sure is going to receive a great opening.Adding to the stellar cast, is the nomination of the movie in the Golden Globes and the Screen Guild Awards,which is certain to drive the sales of tickets over the next couple of weeks.A clear winner that you must check if you are in the mood for some introspection or even plain fun. Have a blast.
Phew..thats a lot to catch up this week.Make sure you have enough money stashed away or ask your boss for an advance pay if you are planning to watch all of them.The last one is strictly for the impatient few among us..
Signing Off...
Eashwar
