From Evernote:

4 movies & dinner dates with Heartman

I caught up with a few movies over the last two weeks, some nice some not. And none of them left a solid impression on me.

Chalo Dilli was the first bet- partly becoz we saw it at 180 degrees option at BIG and it was pretty much the only movie they were showcasing at the late hour which we wanted. Comfy seats (180 degrees), a blankie to pull over, nice screen all made up for the cozy ambience- just the way I would like it for every possible movie (hint: notice how much I talk about ambience!)

So, coming to the movie part- distinctly "Due Date"ish .... I mean I could not even for a second forget that I was watching an inspired movie, pretty predictable in that sense. Thus, becomes hard for me to rate this for any shred of originality. Also, while, Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifinakis made for a pretty decent act in the original, the story line was slap sticky and for me it was the actors that really lifted the whole charade; This time similarly ,the actors- particularly Vinay Pathak , did it for me.

Lara Dutta- was decent ( considering the stuff she has done earlier!  ) and the only time she had me paying attention to her was when her character explained that she was an investment banker and told Vinay Pathak's  character of exactly what she did in "English"- which even I could not fathom! I could have sworn she was enacting  some advert professional earlier on in the movie :p

Then there was the Salman " Dabangg" Khan style entry of Akshay Kumar which was the other odd distraction.

Well, anyways- in sum and substance worth watching for Vinay Pathak- the story line modifications didn't grab me much.  6/10 for me.

Shor in the City, again much lauded in the media, but probably bcoz, it takes such a while before a decent or really good cinema comes by, that when something does comes close - you need to the appreciate effort.

To me, again a little under done, many loose ends in one of the main stories, strong performances by a few and predictable timelines and themes left an average impression. Don't get me wrong, it's a welcome change of a movie going by some real crap you come across, but it's just about allright.

Sendhil Ramamurthy makes for a huge eye candy- girls, he is easy on the eye and drool worthy!

And Pitobash, the nut case - Mandook, was a cracker performer.

Radhika Apte is a beauty and I hope she performs in many more movies to come.

6/10 for me.

Luv ka The End - a full on rip of John Tucker Must Die is a movie I really have nothing to say about. It caters to pre teens, has forgettable songs and okish acting skills. It's a flick and I will pass rating this one.

Fast Five or Fast and Furious 5 is very decent "flick", never been a fan of the genre, but I must admit this does wonders on a lethargic day. The action is sharp and crisp, stunts are awesome and it was cool to see Ludacris. The only weird bit was the final heist - stealing an entire money vault and dragging it thru the city and exchanging it midway for an empty one! Woah!

The picturization of Brazil was neat, and mainly the favelas were shot beautifully.

6/10 for me.