Namaste London (नमस्ते लंदन) (Hindi, 2007)

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Why do I get conned into watching such movies? That it has Akshay Kapoor and Katrina Kaif should have warned me, and it did. Perhaps I was starved of Bollywood films as none had come to Ipswich in past couple of weeks, that I went into the movie thinking maybe, it will be semi-decent. पर नहीं, कौआ कितने मोती खा ले हंस तो हो नहीं जाएगा (An ugly duckling can't turn into a swan).

Namaste London, in its attempt to portray an Indian girl born in Britain and having supposedly British values being brought to appreciate the love that India and Indian men can give, ends up being a poor mockery of both Indian and British cultures. Some cliched pop-patriotic jingo, some badly shot scenes of London, some boring music and a stupid screenplay leave your head reeling.

Enough said. Just avoid the movie.

Rating - ✘✘✘✘

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (Hindi, 2007)

A friend asked me about the movie.
Have you seen Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.?
Yes.
Is it good?
Average.
Describe it in two words.
Unfulfilled Promise.
Describe it in one sentence.
Enough good memorable well-executed moments in the movie, roughly patched together with enough extremely boring moments, leaving you with an overall "So-So" feeling.
OK, get on with your review

Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. is the story of a group of honeymooning couples travelling from Mumbai to Goa on a bus. Its the story of every couple's journey of getting to know each other, and in the process knowing oneself, in a way that only marriage can make you do. The movie is a comedy, and this nirvana comes with hilarious consequences for most of the couples. Be it a guy telling his wife that he is a gay, or a couple finding out that they are superpowered, or a wife running away with her lover midway through the honeymoon, or a guy becoming conservative once he is married, the fun continues. The story drags on at times, but overall its okay.

The chemistry between Nahid (Shabana Azmi) and Oscar (Boman Irani) as a middle-aged couple in their second relationship is very good, and these two wonderful actors leave their mark in the short roles they have. The superpowered couple Aspi (Abhay Deol) and Zara (Minissha Lamba) are shown are ultra-matched couples who think the same thoughts, wear the same dresses and never fight may seem funny or may get on your nerves, depending on your mood. Partho (Kay Kay Menon) and Mili (Raima Sen) give very convincing performances of an insecure middle-class male trying to dominate his wife by keeping her in the bounds of conservative behaviour.

Overall, some very good performances leading to some good moments in the film. Watchable.
Rating - ✔✔

Meet the Robinsons (English, 2007)

After a long time comes an animation movie with an all old-world charm, wrapped in a futuristic wrapper, just the way we like our animation.

Lewis is an orphan who is a bit different, he is an inventor. All his attempts to impress prospective adoptive parents through his inventions keep on failing with disastrous results. In his gloom, he meets a boy named Wilbur Robinson, who whisks him to future, where Lewis meets the Robinsons family and helps them fight the Bowler Hat guy. Lewis is in for one surprise after other, as every member of the Robinson family is weird, and in a different way.

The way Lewis learns that being different is OK, and that failures are to be celebrated as they are but a step to success, is beautifully portrayed in the movie. A very well executed movie with an interesting storyline and an inspirational message. It makes you laugh, it makes you smile. And to bring in the old-world feeling, the movie is preceeded by a short Mickey Mouse clip. Brilliant touch.

Recommendation - Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating - ✔✔✔

Mr. Bean's Holiday (English, 2007)

The magic is broken. Having seen so many antics of Mr. Bean on the TV, I was soooooooo looking forward to this movie. And it ended up being the very definition of a damp squib.

Mr. Bean's Holiday is about Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) taking a holiday in South of France. Being Mr. Beans, there are of course a series of troubles, stupid mistakes, supposed-to-be-funny scenes etc. However, there is no fun. The movie feels like a 25 min. TV episode stretched to a full-length movie. It moves at a very slow pace. By the time you make up your mind to laugh at something, that scene os over and the next funny scene comes after 10 min and gets over immediately. Further, there is nothing new in the foolish sequences, it all gives a felling of being old hat.

Recommendation - Avoid the movie. If you are interested, go rent the TV serial DVD, much more fun to watch.

Rating - ✘✘