Movie Review: Once upon a time....once is enough

Genre: Crime/ Action
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangna Ranaut, Prachi Desai and Randeep Hooda

Now, I know the title I've given to this review makes this movie look really bad...that was not the intention. Once upon a time..is a decent attempt at a movie with smart dialogues intermingled with some really cheesy ones and a predictable, yet watchable performance overall. If there was ever a movie which got screwed due to the over-emphasis on dialogues and smart one liners..Once upon a time..would definitely be a part of that list.

Set in the 70s the movie focuses on the dark underbelly of Mumbai at its most nascent stages wherein smuggling was the route to overnight fortune and easy money. The movie starts with a narration from Ranbir Hooda (as per the credits he's supposed to have a guest appearance, though he seems to have as many dialogues and visibility as the other mainstream actors.) as a police officer who is repentent over a gross error in judgement he made and is willing to take his own life for it. After this, the movie gets into flashback mode as he recounts the lives of the two main characters, Sultan Mirza (Devgn) and Shuaib (Hashmi) and the paths they are willing to choose to realize their dreams.

Sultan Mirza, perfectly portrayed by Ajay Devgn is perhaps the most complex character in the plot and the director spends a good amount of time familiarizing us with the various facets of the character. He is a gangster, a smuggler yet there are some endearing qualities that put him into that grey zone, where one is not so sure what to think. His courtship of Rehanna (Ranaut) provide the lighter and more enjoyable moments of the film.

Shuaib, the other character, is easier to understand and he is your proverbial black sheep who is bent on becoming the biggest and greatest in the shortest time possible. While I've never been a fan of Hashmi, he has put in a decent performance, though in some scenes you wish there had been a more competent actor.

The song and dance routine is present but thankfully, only in patches and doesn't slow the movie down. With a plot line like this, too many songs would have completely ruined it but thankfully, that isn't the case

What the movie misses desperately is the underlying menace, the invisible tension of movies like Sarkar, Khakee or the more recent, Rajneeti, which had you watching each and every frame with rapt attention. While the background score does complete justice to the theme and pulse of the movie, the movie fails to be really gripping, even while attempting to be so.

All in all, its decent movie fare for this weekend. Ideally would like to watch this flick at home on a DVD but a visit to the cinemas wouldn't be a complete waste of your money.

Movie Review: The 'Inception' of Genius..

Genre: Sci-Fi/ Action
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseoh Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cottilard, Ken Watanabe and Tom Hardy

Mr. Nolan has done it again...Many years ago, when he was just starting out, he came out with the wonderfully convoluted, yet completely logical masterpiece 'Memento', that had people watching runs and reruns of the movie to try and make sense of what happens...Then, many years later, the Wachowski Brothers staked their claim with the revolutionary Matrix movie series (still won't like to refer to it as a trilogy, the third installment was a disaster) which had people having to revisit the theaters, if only to figure out what 'The Matrix' really was..Now, Mr. Nolan has reclaimed his throne of mind-boggling, complex and multi-layered genius with his latest offering - Inception

A wonderfully fascinating concept that uses our most creative figments of imagination - Inception uses our dreams to weave a plot that is sure to intrigue you, at the very least. Nolan builds multiple 'levels' (quite literally) into a plot that forces you to listen and think over each and every dialogue uttered by every character to maintain pace with the drama that unfolds over 140 minutes. 'Your mind is the scene of the crime' and 'The dream is real' - the taglines that this movie has been publicized with, are really apt for this movie and give away a lot more than one would think they do; it would be grave injustice if I were to reveal anything further of the plot.

I know this movie would be compared to the Dark Knight and some might even suggest that Nolan outdoes himself with Inception, but that would perhaps be over-stating the case. In my opinion, the movie tends to get too complicated for its own good and leaves some very pertinent questions unanswered. Some of the action too, is unwarranted and one wonders why it was really necessary to insert those set pieces, when a much different setting was a distinct and much more enticing possibility. However, my suggestion is don't compare this to anything you have seen before - because its the novelty, sheer creative imagination and complexity of the plot that are the charm of this flick

Fantastic performance by the entire cast, specially Di Capricio and Ellen Page further add to the quality of the movie but the movie really belongs to the director himself. Nolan asserts himself in all his glory, using a multi-layered, convoluted, plot to keep you interested all throughout. Imagine the kind of attention that he forces you to pay to something as insignificant as a single spinning top and you will know exactly what I mean. If all this were not enough, he ends the movie with an absolute masterstroke that practically carves his signature touch on to it.

Not at all a movie for the masses, so for those who like to watch movies with their brains left at home - steer clear of this one. On the other hand, for the enthusiasts looking for a challenge, march right away to the theater, if nothing else, only to marvel at the genius who could conceive, develop and transition to motion pictures such creative brilliance