Chandni Chowk to China (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I grew up on Hong Kong martial arts films, recently visited the Forbidden City Palace and Great Wall in Beijing, and heard this was the first Bollywood kung fu comedy, so I went to watch this movie on its opening night. I absolutely loved it.
I'm not familiar with Bollywood, but I thought the movie might be goofy-silly from the trailer. It was so much more than that.
The plot is well summarized by another reviewer, so I won't go into it in detail. Basically, a comedic buffoon in India is tricked into going to China to help an oppressed village. Along the way, he finds love, kung fu, and himself. The plot was complex but fun. The movie is in Hindi (spoken by the characters from India) and Mandarin (spoken by the characters from China) with good English subtitles.
In some points where the plot stretched credibility, I figured it was a Bollywood thing, and just went with the flow. For example, the heroine's family situation, airport incident, the drunken master fight, the kung fu training sequences, were all a bit unrealistic, but great fun.
The costumes and dancing were great (who knew a womem could dance in the long chinese cheongsam dresses?). I especially liked the scenes set in the Forbidden City Palace and the Great Wall. I read that this was the first fight scene permitted to be filmed on the Great Wall, and having been on the beautiful, windy, and super-steep steps of the Great Wall, I loved each and every Great Wall scene. I read that they shut down tourism for the filming, which is impressive given how packed the tourist site normally is.
I expected a lot of eye candy going in, based on the trailer, but I was caught completely by surprise by just how funny and dramatic the movie was. My friend and I laughed so hard that we cried through many points of the movie (laughing so hard our eyes were shut and I missed some of the English subtitles). There were some very touching points in the movie, aptly scored by a beautiful musical score.
The hero was an amazing actor. Initially, he is a completely pathetic and cringe-worthy coward. There was a lot of slapstick and very funny physical humour. By the end of the movie the hero was James-Bond handsome and riveting. I often see female characters have this physical transformation in movies (mouse to model) but have never seen this in a male character. The hero was completely believable and his transformation was very touching.
Some of the martial arts scenes might seem over the top, but the Hong Kong film martial arts are just like that, with exploding boxes, water rising, internal strength forces battling it out through palm stances, windstorms, etc. It was just like a really good martial arts film with Bollywood dancing and plot touches.
The movie was longer than I was used to, but I figured that was a Bollywood thing and enjoyed every minute of it. Be warned, though, there is quite a bit of casual physical discipine between adult children and their parental figures, which was a bit of a surprise to me.
There were some corny points, which I initially thought was bad directing, but the rest of the theatre laughed extremely hard right away, so I guess it was a sly spoof device used in Bollywood movies. For example, one of the funniest scenes for me is when the Indian/Chinese friend of the hero sees the assassin for the first time and after a stunned silence, bursts into song. The entire audience was howling with laughter and clapping, as the comedic timing in that scene was just perfect.
I highly recommend this film to everyone. More than 24 hours later, I'm still thinking of the film and smiling in memory of some of the scenes. I'm definitely going to get this on blu-ray when it comes out.

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Have you ever dreamed of being more than your circumstances? Sidhu (Askay Kumar) longs to escape his dreary existence cutting vegetables at a road-side food stand in Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets in Delhi, India. When two strangers from China proclaim he is the reincarnation of a Chinese war hero, Sidhu envisions fame, fortune and adventure. Journeying with them back to China, Sidhu meets the alluring Sakhi (Deepika Padukone) and love blossoms. But can it survive the vicious smuggler, Hojo (Gordon Liu) and his cadre of kung-fu assassins?Megalomaniacal villains, crazy inventors, Chinese mystics and outlandish kung-fu assassins all get thrown together in this joyful, uplifting adventure full of beautiful landscapes, attention-grabbing songs, and high energy dancing.Featuring top Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone and produced by acclaimed father and son duo, Ramesh and Rohan Sippy, Chandni Chowk to China promises to excite.

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The Mistress of Spices (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Came across this by sheer accident and I'm very grateful for it.
"Mistress of Spices" is a nice cross between "Bell, Book, & Candle" and "Like Water for Chocolate", with a dash of "Practical Magic". The rules are the same the Heroine maintains her powers and influence over the lives of others though selflessness and the manipulation of food stuffs. However to fall in love will result in negative consequences.
Arguably the main character of the movie is the Spice Bazaar itself. The set is lush in color and design, it is so remarkable that while watching the movie you might feel as though you are standing right in the middle of it and will begin to imagine the scent of all the combined spices.
Aishwarya Rai's natural radiance gives Tilo a gentle warmth that conveys a concern for others with very little effort and it's nice to see Dylan McDermott return to playing a handsome romantic lead who combines sensuality with respect. The two leads are charming, classy and beautiful, the story is stimulating and dreamy in quality compared to so many other romance movies which leave nothing to the imagination.
For a soothing and vibrant viewing experince, a bit of romance, and a touch of class with a satisfying ending. This movie is highly recommended - especially for repeat viewings, the Spice Bazaar is a pleasant place to visit.

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(Romance) Tilo runs a spice store in San Francisco and has a magical gift of seeing into her customers' lives and desires.But, when a handsome, enigmatic American with a secret past enters her store, Tilo’s own desires are stirred for the first time.

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My Girl (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Excellent cast. Wonderful acting. Lee Da Hae pulled off the comedic scenes nicely, and everyone else within the drama also did a very good job. From the get-go I was immersed into the story of what is "My Girl". The plotline is your typical drama, with quarreling, jealously, lovers left and right and whatnot, but this is a must see if you are a fan of any of the actors. Being rated as one of the top ten dramas in Korea in 2006, I can see why this has made it up there. Check it out and I am assured you shall be pleased. Read plently of summaries, reviews; get a feel for this drama and you'll fall in love with it.

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MY GIRL - DVD Movie

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Bollywood Hero (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Haven't done a Bollywood review in a while and after this one, I still won't have. BOLLYWOOD HERO is about as legit a Bollywood flick as Chris Kattan makes dashing leading man material. And that's the core conceit of this three-part television mini-series, really. Chris Kattan as the romantic lead? Who would've thunk it? At first glance (and second and third), the guy doesn't have the looks or height or charisma to pull it off. Dude has the sex appeal of icky and he's about as polished as a salty longshoreman with pit stains.
Chris Kattan, the most hated man in India? How did that come about? Chris Kattan, in one of those meta-fiction moments, plays Chris Kattan and the thing starts with what may be a close approximation of his life and career in real. Chris has had enough of languishing at the bottom, playing his silly parts (his latest opus has him playing an alien called "Klaptar"). He yearns for the leading role, yet realizes he'll never get a whiff in Hollywood. He runs into fledgling director Monty Kapoor (Ali Fazal) who offers him the lead role in a Bollywod movie titled Peculiar Dancing Boy. Chris snaps it up.
But Mumbai, India isn't kind to Mango, culture shock being a mothereffer. Hapless and bumbling, forced out of his comfort zone (if that's what you call getting kicked around in Hollywood), Kattan takes on this endearing underdog quality. It turns out that when refraining from mugging so much in front of the camera, dude becomes quite likable. And I think that this toning down results in better comedy. And we've all been there before, with committing some social gaffe. In Chris's case, it's a grossly inappropriate public display of affection which makes Chris persona non grata in the eyes of India, and this jeopardizes Peculiar Dancing Boy. Can Chris Kattan, stranger in a strange land, rally the fractured cast and crew? Can he turn himself into a respectable dancer? Because in Bollywood, song & dance productions are a big deal. Can he be the romantic lead in real life and win the level-headed but suspicious movie producer Priya (Pooja Kumar)? Answers: Yes, no, maybe.
BOLLYWOOD HERO was broadcast on the IFC network on August 2009 and I caught up with it in its weekend re-airings, liked it enough to tune in on three separate Sundays. This is a send up of Hollywood and Bollywood, although the actors do make you care about the story. I'm a big fan of Bollywood, so I got all the digs. People not familiar with Indian cinema and its sensibilities may be a bit at sea with some of the bits. Chris Kattan not being able to dance - or dance well - is a bigger deal than you might expect. Bollywood supporters who aren't into westernized versions of Bollywood may also turn up their noses at this. So be it. This isn't to everyone's taste.
The ladies of India, exotic and gorgeous, and I'll try to restrain myself from bringing up Aishwarya Rai, surely the most beautiful woman on the planet. Ash isn't in this one, but we do get lovelies like Pooja Kumar, Rachna Shah, and the stunning Neha Dhupia. Several of Kattan's SNL pals pop in, as well as a hysterical, self-mocking cameo by Keanu Reeves and a co-starring turn by Julian Sands who, oddly, doesn't play himself (every other western actor plays him/herself). Chris Kattan is surprisingly good in the lead and is believable in the romantic scenes (he and Pooja Kumar have nice chemistry). Again, I think it's key that Kattan tempers his usual over-the-top antics (although, okay, a bit of foolish trickles out). This may be the only crack dude gets playing the leading man, and he makes the most of it.
There are several song & dance numbers here, and they're... okay. But don't kid yourself that the musical production is as lavish as what you'd see in your average Indian cinema. But I dig that the film borrows the very catchy "Dhoom Taana" song from Om Shanti Om.
It's a spoof and sometimes it gets really silly, and yet there's a solidity at the core of BOLLYWOOD HERO. There's even a bit of that same message from SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS thrown in. A recurring annoyance when I saw this mini-series on the IFC channel - and, holy Sharukh Khan, I hope they don't make it in the DVD as a bonus feature - are those commercials of Kattan shilling for the Palm Pre smartphone. I got fed up with all that "AllaKattan!" nonsense (it's what Kattan yelled whenever he used his "magic" smartphone). There's silly, and then there's just inane.
Surprisingly, BOLLYWOOD HERO deserves a rating of 3.5 stars out of five. And this is in huge part because of Chris Kattan's performance, not in spite of it. I'll also mention that the third act doesn't really live up to what the first two episodes had built up to. But if it inspires you enough to give Bollywood a try, then it's done its job. If it inspires you to give Kattan's other films a try, well, that's just flirting with disappointment.

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Chris Kattan is fed-up with not being taken seriously by Hollywood, so he accepts an offer to star in a big- time Mumbai production called \'Peculiar Dancing Boy\'. But before he can conquer India, Chris will have to survive a whole new land of culture clashes, jealous rivals, runaway egos, power hungry starlets and extreme dancing lessons. How far does an actor have to go in this world to fight the bad guys, get the beautiful women and finally play the hero? Maya Rudolph, Julian Sands, Pooja Kumar, Rachna Shah, Ali Fazal and Neha Dhupia co-star in this IFC musical comedy miniseries event – featuring key members of the Oscar® winning production team from SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – with guest appearances by Jennifer Coolidge, David Alan Grier and Keanu Reeves.

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Second Generation (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)There has been a recent deluge of movies that have tried to ride Bollywood's wave of bubble-gum popularity ("Bend it like Beckham", "Bride and Prejudice", etc.). While such movies are enjoyable in their own right, none of them offer any huge revelations about Indian families, and more importantly, never come remotely close to capturing the cultural and emotional complexities of Indian diaspora as does "Second Generation."
This is an insightful film that pulls no punches in portraying the pain, struggles, and strife found in immigrant South Asian families living in the West. Heere (Parminder Nagra) is a Hindu girl engaged to a white man and as a result, is practically ostracized by her family. Despite her best attempts to bring a semblance of normalcy into her life, she finds it impossible without the approval of her father (Om Puri). In addition to playing the daughter to the tragic patriarch, Parminder also appears as his dead wife, by whom he is haunted. Her past (and soon to be renewed) love interest, Sam (Sameer) brings another dimension to the film. He is the rebel Muslim who leads a double-life of clubbing, drinking, and illicit sex unknown to his father (Anupam Kher) and more shockingly, is in love with a Hindu Girl. Heere does eventually find herself and her true love in the end, but only after much emotional trauma and grief.
Parminder plays a more feisty character in this film than she did in "Bend it like Beckham." In her own words (according to a recent interview in the Guardian), she's "more outspoken, edgy and grown-up than Jess, who would never go against her parents." The movie is also definitely star-studded--alongside Parminder are venerable veterans such as Om Puri, Anupam Kher, and Roshan Seth. Granted, there are a few awkward scenes that don't flow too well, but these are minor flaws that are more than just redeemed by the rest of the production. Finally, the film has a fantastic soundtrack with memorable beats by the impressive Nitin Sawhney.
"Second Generation" is touching and poignant, and for those of us who truly are the second generation, it definitely hits close to home.

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Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER) stars in a vivid drama set chiefly in the curry factories, night clubs, bedrooms, and kitchens of London’s Southall neighborhood. Part King Lear, part passionate romance, the story revolves around the fall of an aging patriarch (Om Puri, East is East) with three daughters. The youngest, Heere (Nagra), a runaway from her repressive family, is engaged to white music journalist Jack (Danny Dyer, Human Traffic). Her father’s illness and her sisters' treachery draw Heere back into the family circle and back into the arms of her first love, record label and club owner Sam Khan (Christopher Simpson, White Teeth). Also starring Bollywood superstar Anupam Kher and featuring an electrifying soundtrack by award-winning British-Asian musician Nitin Sawhney.

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