Reviewed: Hall Pass [2011]

The premise for this movie is an interesting one and brought with it the chance to lay down some solid comedy. With the Farrelly brothers producing the likes of Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary, hopes were higher than usual for this type of film. Rick (Owen Wilson) is married along with all his closest friends but this doesn't stop him and his mates sharing a jovial joke or two about what they would be getting up to if they weren't with the other half. In fact the first half an hour of the movie you will spend wondering whether you have happened upon sex crazed teenagers trapped adult bodies given how horny they all seem to be.
Rick and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) believe that they have honed their abilities to leer at women with extreme subtlety and are sure that they are never caught in the act. Their spouses however are well aware of their antics and on most occasions spot or overhear their husbands. After going just that bit too far both Rick and Fred are granted a 'hall pass' from their wives. An entire week to spend doing whatever or whomever they want.
The movie is broken down into the 7 days that they have and the mischief that they get up to. For the first few days Rick and Fred are joined by their mates who watch as they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. Even after copious amounts of alcohol and a quick read up on the latest internet chat-up lines neither one is bringing their A-game to the table. Parallel to this however are the wives who both go to Cape Cod for the week and being spouse free themselves find that male attention is quite easy to come by. Rick and Fred's friends who include Stephen Merchant (am not sure how they managed to get him in this but he should probably have given it a wide berth) are not engaging and except for a golf scene involving brownies laced with weed they don't contribute to either the plot line or the comedy.
The Farrelly brothers have gone the way of lude and crude and for some that will cater to their comedy needs. 'Over the top' and 'gross-out comedy' have been muttered when talking about this movie and I would agree wholeheartedly. For me though there is only so much laddish humour I can take before it starts to become a bit repetitive. There are some good moments hidden away in a sea of average especially towards the end but they are fewer and farther in between than I would have liked.
It's a shame the movie didn't begin half way through because this is when I felt it started to stutter into life and even after the credits started rolling there was still some laughing to be had. Hall Pass has set itself up to cater for a certain type of viewer and it will be one of these movies that you either end up loving or hating. I'm usually a fan of toilet humour and a bit of banter but this just didn't quite cut it.

Movie Review: Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey - Foul Play

There are a million reasons why any director decides to make a film but try as hard as you might you'd never be able to understand what inspired Ashutosh Gowariker to make Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. Inspired by true events that took place 80 years ago, Gowariker's film shows a complete lack of passion that is usually associated with his films.
Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Story
Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is about a bunch of motivated young men spurred on by Surjya Sen (Abhishek Bachchan) who stunned the British Empire by a series of raids in Chittagaon. Based on Manini Chatterjee's Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34 the film starts with a bunch of teenagers who are shunned away from their football field by British soldiers who set up a camp on their playground. Irritated by their ruler's high headedness the boys trace Surjya Sen (Abhishek Bachchan), a school teacher and a known revolutionary, and ask him to get their field back. Surjya promises to do something but a few days later the boys show up again only this time enraged by the enough to want more than just their football ground- freedom. Deciding to take up arms against the British Surjya convinces his comrades to include the boys in their army's plan of attacking the British armory and taking over Chittagong.
For a story and characters that are as real as the day Gowariker's screenplay fails to make the viewer connect with what's happening on the screen. A story spread over four years ends up looking like a disjointed television show that is forced upon you. Gowariker splits the tale of the uprising in two distinctive parts and while choosing to devote much of the screen time to the build-up isn't a bad choice, the execution ends up being half-baked. Gowariker's screenplay lays great stress on long and, at times, rather boring 'training' sequences where the transformation of aimless teenagers into impassioned freedom fighters hardly comes across.
Inspiring to be an honor to a forgotten chapter in Indian history, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey had a great foundation in the form of Chatterjee's book but Gowariker's apparent lack of interest especially in the first half of the film makes it a failed opportunity. Leave aside the fact that the characters of Kalpana Dutta (Deepika Padukone) and Pritilata Waddadar (Vishakha Singh), who join Sen and his army, are not fully explored but what's strange is that they are treated like props. The years that followed the uprising were as important as the event and yet in the second half Gowariker simply breezes through the vital episodes, like the attack on Pahartali and the entire underground resistance.
Loose Points in Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
Besides the lackluster screenplay the all round acting also lets Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey down. Bachchan plays Sujya Sen with strange conviction and has an almost idiotic grin for the better part of the film, Padukone looks lost and Sikander Kher who plays Nirmal forgets to change his expression on cue. All the main actors have such pronounced nuances that the film looks staged and theatrical. Some of the boys in the supporting cast provide great moments like the one towards the end of the film where four of them take their own lives before being caught by the British.
Unlike Bryan Singer's Valkyrie, where even though all the characters are German and yet they speak non-accented English, Gowariker decides to use heavy Bengali accent that is almost funny. Everyone seems to have a roshogolla in their mouth while speaking their lines and try as hard as you might you will crack up when someone says 'Kolpona' 'Shurrrrjo', 'Gonesh'; either the actors should have been guided by accent and dialogue coaches or Gowariker should have stuck to plain Hindi.
For a director who raised the benchmark when it came to firang actors portraying pivotal characters in Hindi cinema (Captain Russell from Lagaan), Gowariker, strangely enough, settles for mediocre and downright unconvincing actors who play the British. Hardly viewing the entire episode from the other side, Gowariker's complete blas depiction of the British officers steals the fervor from Sen and his comrades. Imagine Bob Christo trying to go serious and you'll get an idea how bad the foreigners in Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.
Final Words on Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey
Like all Ashutosh Gowariker films Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is blessed with a great production design and the detailing of the period is impeccable but like What's Your Raashee the music, once again, takes a beating. Sohail Sen's music manages to evoke traces of AR Rahman and the title track isn't all that bad but the score lacks the punch and his non-stop background score bludgeons the senses.
There are some scenes towards the end that really hit you in the gut but that's all there is to Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. What's sad is the fact that Manini Chatterjee's prologue packs in more than Gowariker's entire film. Gowariker's indifferent and apathetic approach makes you feel angry and cheated. If a true story about a bunch of teenagers led by an idealistic teacher who laid down their lives for a dream that most would have been dismissive of can't evoke passion in the viewer then I don't know what would.

Vidya Balan New Fresh Wallpaper and Photos, Bollywood Movies Actress Vidya Balan Celebrity Pictures and Biography-Filmography

Vidya Balan was born on 1 January 1978 in India. She is very attractive Indian actress. She has worked in several top movies of Bollywood. She is very famous for love story movies in Bollywood. Vidya Balan also a good dancer.


Filmography
Debut Film: Bhaloo Theko(2003), Parineeta- Bollywood (2005)
Famous Movies: Halla Bol (2007), Bhool Bhulaiya (2007), Heyy Baby (2007), Eklavya- the Royal guard (2006),Salaam-e-ishq, Guru (2006), Lage Raho Munnabahai (2006), Parineeta (2005)
Latest Movies: Heyy Baby, Halla Bol, Bhool Bhulaiya
Upcoming Movies: Kismat connection, Mukti
Awards : Filmfare Best Film Debut of the Year (2006) for Parineeta, Fair One Filmfare Face of the Year (2006), ZEE Cine Award for Best Female Debut (2006), IIFA Best Female Best Debut Award (2006) for Parineeta, Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow (2006)
Other Facts: Vidya is very religious and has firm faith on Sai Baba. She is an ardent social-worker with organizations such as Harvards Aids Institue and Hale House.