chetan_thebest2003 Reviews

Shaolin Soccer (2001)

It's good but could have been much better...

[7/10 · 25 June 2004]

You can term it as a battle between the good and the evil. It's all about how Sing (Stephen Chow) convinces rest of his 5 disgraced brothers to use Shaolin Kung-Fu as a medium to play soccer and ultimately win the championship against the Evil team headed by the notorious Hung (Yin Tse) and in this venture he is helped by Golden Leg Fung (Man Tat Ng) who plays the role of the coach and Mui (Vicki Zhao) who loves and helps Sing during his difficult times.

The first half of the film seems a bit boring (Sing preaching his brothers to make Kung-Fu acceptable and interesting for others) though some scenes make you laugh but you really like the film due to it's much funny latter half(the match scenes to be specific). And adding to the humour is some good dose of emotional scenes though sometimes they feel like becoming overdose. Chow, Zhao and Tse are good. The main ingredient of the film is it's special effects and that aspect has been handled well. But you feel that all this could have been much better and done in a more professional way. The match scenes act as the main attraction for the film. They make you laugh and you can't help thinking about the amount of innovativeness that has been used to execute those scenes. Overall the film is good and funny. It's suggested that you watch the movie with blank minds, lay back and just relax.

I would give it a 7 off 10.

Liar Liar (1997)

Yet another great visual treat for the Jim Carrey fans...

[25 June 2004]

It's a simple storyline : Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a lawyer by profession and liar by nature. Problem arises when his wife, Audrey (Maura Tierney) threatens to desert him alongwith his son, Max (Justin Cooper) and live with her boyfriend of college days Jerry (Cary Elwes). The reason for this being Fletcher's repeatedly false commitments to Audrey and Max, who get emotionally hurt every now and then due to this. The story gets a beautiful turn when Max on his 5th birthday makes a wish that his daddy would'nt lie for one whole day and as expected this wish comes true and thus Jim Carrey gets an opportunity to show his acting skills and yet again he gives a flawless performance as a comic actor. The ending is expected with Fletcher getting united with his family and rediscovering himself as a good father and moreover a truthful person.

This is yet another visual treat for the countless Jim Carrey fans who have enjoyed him in films like ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, DUMB AND DUMBER, THE MASK ...No amount of praise is sufficient to acknowledge his comic skills. It comes so naturally to him. The whole movie seems like a roller coaster ride with Jim Carrey giving you reasons to laugh like hell at many moments and then changing into an emotional person occasionally (though that makes you laugh even more !!!). I would claim it to be a MUST WATCH MOVIE. You can blame me to be a hardcore Jim Carrey fan or being partial towards him but every Jim movie portrays in it the versatility the actor possesses which is so rare nowadays..... He gives everybody a reason to smile (rather i should say LAUGH!!! that too like MAD... )

I would rate it 9 on a scale of 10.

Lakshya (2004)

A must watch movie and yet another masterpiece from Farhan Akhtar...

[9/10 · 19 June 2004]

The movie is all about having a LAKSHYA (aim) in our lives. It would'nt be inappropriate at all to comment that this film in one way points out at today's indecisive youth who are not clear about what they are going to do of their lives, and change their focus every now and then.

The story is about Karan (Hrithik Roshan) who is very talented but utterly confused about his future. Rather his girlfriend Romila (Preity Zinta) has since the very beginning ambition of being a news channel correspondent. Karan's indecisiveness widens the gap between him and his father (Boman Irani) who expects nothing from his son and the same thing ultimately results in his breakup with Romila too. This changes Karan's life and he gets determined of getting in the army and passes out from the IMA (Indian Military Academy) with a very enviable record. At the same time Romila too becomes a successful news channel correspondent. But both of them don't know what their futures has in store for them. They meet again after the turmoil in Romila's life from a broken engagement and this time the backdrop is the picturesque Kashmir valley and the event being the Kargil war. Karan has been deputed there as an army officer and Preity comes for a live coverage of the war. The story now flows ahead with the attempt of Indian forces to get back peak no.5179 from the Pakistani forces and the intersection of Karan's and Romila's lives at many instances acting as the currents. The ending is predictable but yet you would love to watch it.

The movie is yet another masterpiece from Farhan Akhtar,the Director after the tremendous success of "Dil Chahta Hai". This is also yet another testimony of Javed Akhtar's writing prowess. The lyrics and dialogues are superb. Moreover the choreography (Prabhu Deva) and photography (Christopher Popp) are worthy of praises. Hrithik Roshan gives another flawless performance after "Koi Mil Gaya". Another attraction is Colonel Sunil Damle (Amitabh Bachchan). Amitabh Bachchan gives those dialogues a beauty and charm which is so characteristic to himself. Preity Zinta is good in her role too. You can't pinpoint anybody or anything specifically as that would diminish other's efforts as all of them have performed commendably. The backdrop of Kashmir valley and the Himalayas has been so beautifully captured in the frame. Also the war scenes look so much authentic which is very tough job to do. The running time of the film is above 3 hours but you can't realize that ( you can't help it as you get fully engrossed in the film.....). Hrithik's dancing skills are unveiled so beautifully yet again. He can easily claim to have a rubber body--so flexible,so much in tune with the rhythm. Good music from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio once again. Actually i could'nt think of any flaw in the movie as every aspect has been given it's due attention.

I would claim it to be a must watch movie and rate it a hefty 8.5/10

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Brilliant performances by Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo. Jennifer Connelly is good too.

[17 June 2004]

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) lives in her paternal house. Her husband has deserted her. But the real problem arises when she is forced out of her own house on the grounds of non-payment of house-taxes since a long time. The tax authorities put up the house for sale and it is bought up by an Iranian immigrant Behrani (Ben Kingsley) who has come to U.S alongwith his wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son (Jonathan Ahdout). He wants to start his life afresh and that too with the same pride and honour which he had while he was serving in the Iranian army. But life is not all bed of roses as he had thought. Kathy is desperate to get her house back and is helped in her struggle by Lester (Ron Eldard), a cop and the new found love in Kathy's life. Lester too has a estranged wife. The first part of the story seems nothing unusual but what keeps you hooked on to the film is yet another revelation of the tremendous acting skills of Ben Kingsley that seems so much inherent to him. He has given yet another polished performance and has shown glimpses of his greatness as an actor. He speaks so less yet expresses too much with his eyes and actions. His portrayal of a disciplinarian who is proud of his country and culture, and would do anything for his family is exemplary . Another revelation is the actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo . She is too good in those scenes of her verbal discords with her husband. She plays the role of a lady with a golden heart to almost perfection. And how can you expect Jennifer Connelly to remain behind if she has got company of such great actors !!! The most stunning thing in her is her eyes and facial expressions. She uses them so beautifully to get into the body of the character. The scenes worth mentioning are the confrontations between Kathy and Behrani and the scene where Behrani almost goes insane when his son is hit by a bullet infront of his eyes. Another strong point of the film is it's ending . The director deserves kudos for giving such a nice, unusual and unpredictable ending . It's almost like the story taking a U-turn. You see that suddenly you get fully engrossed in the film despite majority of the first part being a bit flat.

Overall, it's a good movie with some very strong performances, intense situations and the presence of an element of surprise put in; which together act as an ingredient to fuel up your interest in the film and add up to the hype of it getting some really deserving Oscar nominations ( Best Actor in a Leading Role--Ben Kingsley, Best Actress in a Supporting Role--Shohreh Aghdashloo and Best Music,Original Score--James Horner ). A good movie to watch--- 8.5/10

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Jim Carrey is cooler than the coolest...

[7/10 · 17 June 2004]

One thing i must admit is that i saw this movie only because of Jim Carrey. It's a reason enough to watch any comedy movie as Jim has carved a niche for himself in this category and this film ain't different; rather it strengthens his position of being the most loved and admired comic actor's of all times. Another great aspect of this film is Jim's co-partner in comedy, Jeff Daniels. He gives good company to Jim and adds more humour to already saturated comic situation's !!! The main plot revolves all around two lovable idiots and best friends Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) who can easily win the joint-crown for being two of the most foolish guys in probably the whole Universe !!! One fine day Lloyd meets a lady, Mary (Lauren Holly) in due course of his life and his heart-bells ring at once. And he finds a chance to meet Mary again : courtesy her suitcase which she forgets in the airport while boarding a plane to Aspen and which is picked up by our loverboy Lloyd (ofcourse..whom else can you expect to pick it up???). So from here takes off Lloyd's and Harry's adventure to return the lady her belonging and their experiences during this journey acts as the much needed fodder for the film. Jim Carrey is cool as usual. Can't have been better. He is so versatile, so fluid, so PERFECT...Does he realise that he is the best guy around who can use his face so well ?? It's amazing to watch him mould his face into thousand expressions in fraction of a moment !!! Jeff Daniels gels with Jim so well and both of them play the role of being the most imperfect guys in the most perfect manner...Jeff really is praise-worthy in his attempts of matching the skills of Jim, the comedian and gives him serious competition throughout. He makes you think sometimes that who is more funnier?? Also Lauren Holly's contribution of adding a glamorous look can't be ignored. You must watch this movie.It can make dead persons burst into loads of laughter. You can term it Jim Carrey's charisma or Jeff Daniels struggle to outsmart himself as a comic actor but what matters is that you shouldn't give this movie a miss until and unless you are blind!!! as even aliens would laugh at this movie no matter what language it is in... I would give it a 7.5/10

Notting Hill (1999)

A simple,feel good romantic movie

[7/10 · 15 June 2004]

William Thacker (Hugh Grant) is a bookshop owner and Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) plays the real life character in the reel life too of being a very famous actress. The story starts when Anna one fine day comes to William's shop to buy a book. If you watch this movie don't expect anything.It's just a feel good movie and does'nt provoke you to think .

The best part of the movie is that it's a simple story with simple performances by both the leading actors. Worth mentioning is William's room-mate Spike(Rhys Ifans) who adds some elements of fun to the story every now and then. The story spans both William's and Anna's lives after they meet each other (a cake of life with some problems between the two to serve as toppings !!!). You watch the whole film in one mood so it seems rather monotonous yet you would like it as there has got an appeal in simplicity too which makes this movie click. But the problem in this film is that it does'nt have anything unusual. You can give this movie a miss like any other simple movie.Nothing to watch for. The role of William and Anna could have been done by any other actor, so can say that actors of such caliber have been not used upto the mark. The story is predictable and ending is rather too flat.It could have been better had it not taken the usual path as to strive you got to be different. Yet the main motive of the movie seems to be making a routine film rather than trying to be different. Overall : a simple,feel good,romantic movie.

Dunston Checks In (1996)

Watch out for the Orangutan!!

[5/10 · 15 June 2004]

The story goes like this--Robert Grant (Jason Alexander) is a father to two kids, Kyle Grant (Eric Lloyd) and Brian (Graham Sack). He is the Manager of a hotel that's owned by Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunaway) and she promises Robert of some days holiday and a hike in pay and scale if he can convince a visiting undercover reviewer that their hotel is suited to be 6 star. Here enters into the frame Lord Rutledge (Rupert Everett), a thug and crook with intention of stealing jewelry and along with him comes his partner - an orangutan named Dunston!! All the drama unravels when Dunston tries to get out of Rutledge's world of crime and in his mission he gets help from Kyle and Brian. Of course the most appealing part of the film is the Orangutan. He really looks cool and has performed superbly . The other guy who adds an element of humour to the story is Lionel Spalding (Glenn Shadix), the real undercover reviewer. Overall, the film is simple, a bit humorous with no exceptional performances. You only watch this movie for the monkey as apart from that there is nothing new to watch out for in this movie. You can give it a miss if you are expecting a bit too much !!!