Many many reviews...

I've managed to catch up with loads of films in the last 2 - 3 weeks. Here are some brief reviews -

1. Khosla Ka Ghosla - A breath of fresh air. Amidst all the fanfare of the big budget films, remakes and sequels, this punjabi middle class story about a family protecting their plot of land from evil land sharks is a little gem. Natural performances, great script, genuinely funny at times and perfect casting...I would recommend this to all..quite in the Mukherjee/Chatterjee tradition. The second half tends to slow down and that perhaps is the only downer. Watch out for a surprisingly refreshing performance from Ranvir Shorey. 3.5/5

2. Jaan-e-mann - Old wine, new bottle. Starts well, some funny moments, and an interesting premise. Loses steam going forward and turns into the same old three way love story we are used to seeing. Sappy and melodramatic. Performances are nothing to write home about. Run of the mill stuff. Something of a return to form for Anu Malik, though. Some decent numbers. 1.5/5

3. Don - Don circa 2006 is a slick action thriller set in Malaysia instead of Mumbai, like its predecessor. Its a remake, so it is going to be compared to the original. People will want to be thrilled with the same scenes and dialogues that thrilled them in the 78 cult film. Some work and some don't. Akhtar tries hard and succeeds to a point, but the film drags in the second half. While the original didn't let up at all, here some situations are easily avoided. The songs seem to get in the way, baring a couple. Shah Rukh is good as the evil Don, but is unconvincing as Vijay. Some characters are given another dimension, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Om Puri appears for a screen time of 5 minutes... Arjun Rampal mumbles through his role and Isha Kopikar has nothing much to do. I did like Akhtar's plot twists in the end, but it could have been handled better. The middle part of the film lets it down badly. And Boman Irani should stay away from villainous roles for a while. Unconvincing as De silva and Vardhaan. Mixed bag. 2.5/5

4. The Departed - What a film! Martin Scorcese's best effort since Casino. A tight script and great performances from the cast, take this cops and robbers film about 2 moles on either side of the law to another level. Di Caprio puts in his best effort since 'Gilbert Grape' and Nicholson gets enough scope to showcase his hedonistic side..which is what we like about him in any case. Wahlberg and Damon are pretty good as well..with the latter giving an understated performance as the bad cop. Two hours plus just flew by during this gripping police drama. 4/5

5. The Prestige - Based on the novel of same name, this tale of two rival magicians in the early twentieth century is as gripping as it is inexplicable. Beautifully shot, good performances, some great magic, and some conspiracy theories thrown, this film seemed to have it all, till the end. The end takes away all the good work done till that point. A tragedy dealing with the bitter battle between friends turned foes trying to outdo each other with obsession of madmen progresses perfectly till the very end. Full marks for that...and Jackman and Bale do well. Scarlet Johannsen is used as eye candy. Not perhaps Nolan's best, but pretty good all the same. Worth a watch. 3/5

Cheers!
Abhishek.