AB - Sarkar ya Superstar

Mind Blowing – That’s how I would describe this movie. The 2nd of the movies that have both the Bachchan’s, father and son. Loosely based on The Godfather and a rehash of the Thackeray family, this is one of the best films from Ram Gopal Varma’s stable. Wow performances from Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon and the others in the cast. The best thing about this movie is there are no songs, to the point effective dialogs and delivery, and to top it all speaking with your eyes performances. A must for ham actors to make them understand that acting is more about shutting their trap than opening it.

Abhishek Bachchan has been able to hold his ground in front of the doyen of Hindi cinema and more importantly his father Amitabh Bachchan. This guy is to be watched – He is the next big superstar in the making. And that could not have been more aptly shown when, he takes over the reins from his father in the movie. Watch out all you Abhishek Bachchan critics you will all eat crow now.

Don’t even dare watch this movie on cable or DVD – you will kill yourself for it later, watch it on the big screen.

My Take - Wow! ■■■■■

Virudhh or Vrudhh??

The angry young man of Bollywood now becomes the angry old man in Virudhh to combat allegations that his dead son is a drug peddler. The movie has a pretty interesting storyline which has some stellar performances by ‘once meek now resolute’ Amitabh Bachchan and ‘school principal turned strength of the family’ Sharmila Tagore. John Abraham as the dead son is impressive, so is Sanjay Dutt in a cameo. It's interesting how storylines are written these days with the older generation in mind.

Do keep an eye on the over the top inclusion of surrogate advertisements during the movie. See how many products you can spot . The cast knowingly and willingly promote products that are sometimes tied into the movie storyline and sometimes leave you wondering whether the intermission just set in. I understand it is a novel way of branding, but please don’t make the viewers bear the brunt of it.

Nevertheless, do watch this movie for the essence of family values that this film tries to portray and for the performances by the top stars.

My Take - Hmmm! ■■■■■

Herbie – Fully Loaded – More Needed

I will be a little biased here, not because of anything but because I am a sucker for underdogs winning, and I sure most people are that way. The movie is no great shakes, just that Herbie is back, the great old Volkswagen bug. Decent entertainer, with a predictable storyline attached to an impressive cast including Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton and Matt Dillon.

They could have done better on the stunts, because they seem too mediocre for today’s age and time. But who doesn’t want to see underdogs winning and who doesn’t get Goosebumps when the underdog gets a standing ovation. Worth a DVD watch if you want to watch this movie, else sandwich it with other entertainers if you are a movie hall buff.

My Take - Huh! ■■■■■

Madagascar - So near yet so far

Another offering from the hugely talented DreamWorks, this is a movie set in the New York Zoo, and is about how a Lion (Alex), Zebra (Marty), Giraffe (Melman), and Gloria (Hippo), escape out of the zoo in search of the Wild. Where they have freedom and don’t have to follow a routine of being entertainers to visitors coming to the zoo.

Interesting movie, though it doesn’t have as strong a plot like some other animation flicks that I have seen earlier, nevertheless a good entertainer. Chris Rock as Marty excels, Ben Stiller as Alex is good, and David Schwimmer as Melman is as doofus as Ross in Friends. The Lemurs from Madagascar are great fun, though I was not able to pinpoint the cast that played the lemurs.

Of course the soundtrack is old school with Frank Sinatra’s New York New York and my favourite Satchmo’s What a Wonderful World, but there is nothing to drive home about the animation. However, give it a shot – you won’t regret it.

My Take - Huh! ■■■■■