shamirgupta Reviews

Housefull (2010)

Completely illogical but somewhat entertaining

[6/10 · 3 May 2010]

Houseful, another movie in a long list of Bollywood movies with stories "inspired" by a Hollywood movie.

However Houseful is unique as it has not been adapted from one but several Hollywood movies at one time. It has shades of William H Macy's The Cooler, Ben Stiller's starrer Along came Polly, Owen Wilson's You, Me and Dupree and Meet the Parents.

Being heavily adapted from so many sources makes the movie's storyline completely illogical and one would probably have to check his brain out when entering the theater to enjoy such a film.

Another thing that disappointed me was the background score. It did not support the film and felt very minimal and weak. Given the number of hit songs in the movie the background score was a complete letdown.

However, despite having the above mentioned flaws the movie still works. It has many moments which are very hilarious and which makes this movie a complete masala entertainer.

To conclude this movie may not be an intellectual masterpiece but the movie is still entertaining and is a complete paisa wassol

Ishqiya (2010)

One of the best Bollywood western/noir films ever made.

[8/10 · 8 February 2010]

One of the best Bollywood western/noir films ever made.

Vishal Bhardwaj has made a niche for himself by making movies which not only have an excellent storyline but take us into the heart and soul of India which lies in it's villages and small towns and the people who live in them.

The story was very good and the performances of all the actors was top notch. I especially liked Nasseruiddin Shah's performance. Nasser brought such depth and insight into his character that you could actually sympathize and empathize with him.

First time director, Abhishek Chaubey did a superb job of directing this movie and is a rising star in Bollywood. It was as if you were watching real life and not reel life.

The music was average, however the stand out piece in the OST was Dil to Bacha Hai. The song has an olden golden feel to it, similar to the songs Mukesh used to sing in Raj Kapoor movies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and highly recommend anyone who is not aware of the potential Bollywood has in producing good movies with great story lines.

Amusement (2008)

At most average

[4/10 · 16 January 2009]

After languishing for so long in 2008, Amusement is finally making its debut on DVD. I had high hopes for the movie after watching the trailer but it is nowhere near what I had expected it to be.

The movie can be summarized as a series of vignettes.Each vignette tells the tale of three women and their encounter with a psychotic killer, out to get them for they had done to him in the past. The plot is similar to Valentine (2001) but the movie was weighed, measured and found wanting.

For starters the editing could have been a lot better. The movie starts off with the Shelby story when it could have been much better placed when the psychiatrist questions Tabitha about Shelby. Another scene in which Lisa tries to enter the hotel and accidentally breaks a bottle, when the psycho steps out the bottle is still on the steps untouched and in one piece.

The story was not impressive at all. The whole Tabitha portion of the story of her babysitting her cousins and being attacked by the clown was very similar to Halloween (1978). The back-story which told why the psycho had such an animosity towards the girls in the first place should have been well explained.

The characters where not plausible at all. For instance, when Lisa sends her boyfriend to check on her friend at the hotel and when he doesn't come out, she doesn't call the cops, she goes in herself. I mean how stupid can you get. The movie is nothing more than a compilation of several slasher movies made in the past all jumbled up into one movie. No wonder why this movie never made it to the big screen.

If you want to watch a good horror movie rent out Halloween(1978), Psycho(1960) or The Changeling(1980)because this movie is nothing more than another futile attempt by Hollywood to create a decent, original horror movie.