The Fighter - A Knockout at the Oscars?

A Punching Hello, frEeK fellows!!!

The trailer for David O' Russel's " The Fighter" hits the internet today. The Fighter tells the true life story of Irish boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) who, coached by his brother played by Christian Bale, went on to become a boxing legend. Bale's character is an ex-boxer who succumbs to drug addiction and to his credit Bale looks the part of a recovering drug addict! Mark Wahlberg, reportedly trained for two years to get the fighting skills required for this movie.




The Fighter, is not a very new story, but what will set it apart, is the performance of its lead cast, and accordingly is being released in December, to be close to the Oscars.
Will it score a knockout at the Oscars? time will tell...


FreEk!

DABANGG - Return of the Man!!!

A Macho hello, freEk fellows!

Wet N' Wild Sallu!

For years, Bollywood cinema was dominated by stock character, the gareeb gaon ki gori, the evil (rich) zamindar/thakur/neta and of course the macho, boorish hero..who smashed the evil zamindar and swooped away the lovely gori all in a days work. When the Johars and Chopras of the world intervened and Bollywood shifted its focus to NRI cinema, where men in Armani wooed women in Gucci and the village background was replaced by the Golden Gate/Venice/Eiffel Tower etc. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Abhinav Kashyap's "Dabangg" threatens to return the macho hero of yore to his throne in Bollywood; does it succeed? read on...
What works: Dabangg is a rehash of the old gaon-in-distress story that Bollywood overkilled in the 70s-80s. Salman Khan plays Chulbul Pandey a boorish corrupt yet lovable cop who doesn't mind doing his job, as long he gets to make some moolah on the side. A misunderstanding leads to Chulbul seperating from his brother Makhanchand (Arbaaz Khan) and step father Prajapati (Vinod Khanna). Chulbul is also at loggerheads with Chedi Singh played by Sonu Sood. To add some meetha to this masala mix, walks in Rajjo (Sonakshi Sinha) to steal Chulbul's heart. While the plot is nothing new, its the little details that make this movie special. Chedi carries with him in his entourage a photographer, to capture his exploits! Chulbul manages to a dance sequence while bashing goons to a pulp! and yes, Sallu's bhabhi; the sizzling Malaika drops in to gyrate for the new national anthem.."Munni Badnaam"!

Bhala Mera cleavage, aapke cleavage se zyada kaise??

What Doesn't: The plot is old wine, in an older bottle, and actors such as Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Mahi Gill are wasted in slightly incosequential roles. But hey, I am just nitpicking here!

Verdict: Dabangg, rises over the maar-dhaad movies of yore due to one factor, and one factor alone: SALMAN KHAN! Sallu who previously portrayed the muscled buffoon in movies such as Wanted takes Chulbul Pandey a step further, from his tongue in cheek dailogue to his rippling muscles, he brings to screen a character worth remembering for a long time ( seriously in the recent past, after Munnabhai, which other Bollywood character is worth remembering?). The over the top action sequences ( apparently as much time was spent shooting them as a regular movie) and the pulsating movie add to this maar-dhaad-pyaar-vyaar-khichdi! Southern India always acclaimed Rajni as the king of the over the top films, where the hero performs superhuman stunts, passes ribald dialogue and has a laugh with the audience in doing so; with Dabangg, Bollywood has a Rajni of its own!! Critics always complained about Salman's lack of acting skills that put him notches below the acclaimed Aamir Khan, with Dabangg, Salman proves to the world, he may not be much of an actor, but he is the STAR!!

extra frEeky: I have a feeling Dabangg 2 will be upon us soon!!

THE BLACK SWAN - Best of the year?

A mid-week hello, frEek fellows!

Ask any freEk for the year's best movie so far, and the answer in all probability will be INCEPTION, Chris Nolan's dream opera, seems a shoo-in for the best picture awards next year; that is until this trailer showed up on the internet..

With such classsics like Requiem for a Dream, the Wrestler and the Fountain behind him, Darren Aronofsky is one of the best directors of our generation, and when he comes up with this dizzying trailer about jealousy, mystery, sex, and shaky camera work (did i also mention sex?) in the world of ballet, our freEk senses go in a tizzy!!!

Black Swan features Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as well as the legendary Vincent Cassel
(the guy who married Monica Bellucci) in a tale set against the New York Ballet. The trailer reveals Aronofsky's now-trademarked k camera work, and one hope the movie lives upto its promise!!!

Inception, finally seems to have some competition!!

freEk

extra freEky - I'm getting a Fight Club vibe from this, and you?

Predators - Review!!!

A Jungli Hello, frEek fellows!!

For all the action buffs amongst us, John McTierman's 1988 "Predator" remains a masterpiece. It pulled of the impossible task of making Arnold Schwartznegger, look scared and introduced the world to the bad-ass alien hunter species known only as the PREDATOR. Sadly, none of other sequels (Predator 2) or even the cross-over with the alien species (Predator Vs. Alien 1 & 2) failed to live up to the tone set by the first one, which is a shame given that you would expect better movies due to better CGI, make-up and so on! When Robert Rodriguez, announced a re-boot of the Predator franchise to be helmed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy), much hype was generated. When Oscar winner Adrien Brody was added to the cast, the hype bubble grew bigger! And when the final product released...

What it is: Continuing the tale of the Predators "hunting" other species, Predators tells the tale of several humans who find themselves on an alien planet, these being: Royce (Adrien Brody); A mercenrary, Mexican drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Spetsnaz soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Israel Defense Forces sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), Revolutionary United Front officer Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), Yakuza enforcer Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and doctor Edwin (Topher Grace).

What Works: On a much larger scale than the 1988 original, Predators features some great visuals, the dark jungle locations are put to great use, the usage of CGI to create alien creatures is also nicely interspersed. The movie also benefits from the unique casting. While many had cried foul over casting someone like Adrien Brody (obviously much skinnier than Arnold), you may realise, that real-life soldiers/mercenaries, are actually lean rather than the bulk-a-saurus that Arnie was!! The fight sequence between Hanzo and a Predator, is one of the highlights of the movie ( cheesy, but fun!!)



What doesn't: The original Predator featured only one Alien, massacaring an all star team of mercenaries, hence the concept of a rag-tag team of convicts taking down several predators is a bit unsettling!!! While Adrien Brody does his best to play the "mercenary-with a conscience" none of the other characters do make a lasting impression.

Verdict:


A measly 2 FreEkies!!


Extra FreEky: Manliest Greeting ever...

AMOL PALEKAR KI INCEPTION!!

A much delayed hello my FrEek fellows,

Heartfelt apologies for staying away from my blog so long. If you are half the freEk i think you are, you have already been overwhelmed by what the critics have called the greatest movie in the last five year; INCEPTION!!!

Chris Nolan's masterpiece has everything going for it, a great cast, amazing visuals, a stirring starcast, and yes, a less than simple plotline!!!! Without spoiling much, it suffices to say, that you will have been left scratching your head, there are a lot of webpages that have sprung up, trying to explain the convulted web of dreams..

still confused? fret not folks!! for Bollywood's favourite friendly man, Amol Palekar has taken upon himself to explain the cinematic twists and turns of Inception, and that too in sing-song manner!!!

don't believe me?? take a look!!

Think about it, wasn't Inception after all "Sapne main dekha Sapna" phenomenon? Trust the great Amol Palekar to helps us out of this cinematic mess!!

Stay freEked!!

KITES review - Kati, Phati Patang!!!

A Patangi hello, freEky fellows!

Ever so often our desi stars get the urge to try their luck on firangi shores. Dharmendra tried this with Shalimar, Amitabh was to dive into the now cancelled Shantaram, and reportedly SRK turned down a role in the Bond thriller Tomotrrow Never Dies. It is now the turn of Hrithik to aazma his fortunes on videshi audiences and he does this, as usual with the help of papaji and uncleji dearest who collaborate with him in their latest bilingual outing.. KITES What it is:In a plot, suspiciously similar to the Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn starring thriller called “REVENGE”...

Hrithik stars as “J” a swashbuckling salsa expert (what an Indian is doing teaching salsa to the Spanish, is best left unanswered!!) who also runs a side-business of marrying illegal immigrants from Mexico to bring them into the USA. When the “bigdi-raeez” daughter of a ruthless casino owner played by Kangana Ranaut takes a fancy to him, he decides to play along and seems well until he discovers that the casino owner’s daughter-in-law is one hot chick (Barbara Mori). Aur pyaar ho jaata hai..

What works: a) Hrithik in his Macro Man banian and Hot Chick in various brands of lingerie, make a stunning couple, their chemistry is certainly sizzling!! b) Kites is touted to be one of the most expensive Bollywood movies ever, and the car chases and lavish desert shots justify the costs well spent! c) With only one song sequence, Kites thankfully does not have a “I don’t know what you say…” (EK DUJE KE LIYE) like number where the bilingual lovers croon to each other!!

What Doesn’t: a) With a wafer thin plot-line Kites is essentially a mish-mash of the star-crossed lovers tale such as Ek-Duje Ke Liye, Qayamat se Qayamat tak with a firangi chick! In fact, it bears eerie similarities to Enrique Iglesias’s video “HERO”.


b) Acting talent such as Kabir Bedi and Kangana Ranaut are reduced to playing over-exaggerated characters and are thoroughly wasted!! Verdict: Despite the lavish setting and the sizzling Mori, Kites leaves you unsatisfied. Given that it is to have a huge US release (with a version re-edited by Brett Ratner) it leaves you with a feeling that it is perhaps a show-reel of Hrithik Baba’s acting “talents” meant for western directors and audiences, in much the same way Roshan Sr. had lovingly crafted “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai” to previously showcase Hrithik’s talents for the Indian junta a decade ago!

Extra freEky: Ratner has just announced an upcoming movie with Hrithik (big surprise !!!)

The Avengers : The Biggest Superhero Movie Ever!

A Super-heroic hello, my freEk fellows!!!

Over the last few years, comic-book giant Marvel has got its act together and taken creative control of the screen adaptations of its comic book properties. As a result, we got to see the the reboot of the Incredible Hulk, the awesome Iron Man and its sequel. but Marvel isn't done yet!!

Those who have watched the above movies will clearly remember the cameo by Tony Stark
(Robert Downey Jr) in the Hulk movie, which went something like this...

Tony makes the mention of the "Avengers Initiative" in his brief yet snappy cameo! freEks will also remember my previous post where I had scooped out the presence of another superhero in the Incredible Hulk, that superhero being none other than Captain America! take a look...

Not to be content with one Captain America cameo, Marvel also shoved Captain America's trademark shield in both the iron man movies...
IRON MAN 1:

IRON MAN 2:

If that's not all, IRON MAN 2 contained a post-credits scene hinting at the arrival of yet another superhero: THOR!!

Check out Thor's Hammer in the last frame!

The Avengers Movie:
What does this crossover brouhaha mean you ask? Well, the frEek has all the answers! Marvel will shortly roll out movies featuring Thor directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Chris Helmsworth, the first image has already been leaked out...

chris hemsworth as Thor

The next on the block is of course Captain America directed by Joe Johnston and starring Chris Evans.

Actor Chris Evans will star as Captain America

As a final coup-de-grace, Marvel plans to unite all these characters in what will be known as the "Avengers" movie which in turn is modelled on the comic book superhero team of the same name. Marvel has gone ahead and signed sci-fi director extraordinaire Joss Whedon as the director for the same. Still don't believe it? here's further proof:

The above picture, is a capture from Iron - Man 2 showing a map of "super -powered" individuals across the globe, as indicated from the circles on various continents. These are the superheros that Nick-Fury (Samuel Jackson) wants to unite as the Avengers. Apart from the circles in the Americas ( Iron Man, Hulk) of particular note are the ones in the North Pole (being the frozen Captain America) as well as one in the middle of the ocean could

this be a secret nod to yet the introduction of "NAMOR" who is Marvel's underwater superhero? time will tell!! So there you have it folks, an exclusive freEk-peek at the superhero extravangza starring Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and a slew of smaller superheros!

Will this be the greatest cinematic miracle since buttered popcorn or a mish-mash of many genres? We can only wait and freEking watch!!

That Extra FreEky: You always hear it here, first folks!!