Mohi's short reviews - Teil 2 ! (thats "part 2" in German)

Black Swan (2010)

Okay, So I will get right to it...saw this film on 16 January with a couple of friends.
plot synopsis : A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile the Black Swan, daughter of an evil magician.

The Good: wow. There's so much good here. From Darren Aronofsky's (usual) amazing direction and some great visual sequences, to Natalie Portman's mesmerizing performance . The Director's vision is clearly on display here.

The Bad: I don't feel like saying anything bad about this film. I felt the story wasn't that original enough though, and I believe the trailer is too revealing, so just avoid it for your own good.

The Verdict: The story may hit a note (good and bad) with dancers around the world whose whole life is consumed by dance...I can only imagine that. I found Mr.Aronfsky's previous outing, "The Wrestler" more appealing (probably because of the subject-matter concerns pro-wrestling), but "Black Swan" should earn him and Natalie Portman some well-deserved Academy Award nominations come this 25th of January. Recommended.

The first edition of "Mohi's film reviews" !

Okay, I have been wanting to do this for a long time now ; and that is reviewing films . So without further ado, here we go !

Raan (2010)

The good : Watched this film last night. The acting is pretty good at times. The best performances comes from Amitabah Bachan and Mohnish Behl, and Mr.Bachan's performance is award-worthy.

The bad: Feels too preachy at times. I like movies that contain a moral message and isn't made as a "moral message film", like this one seems. The acting also seems very forced at times and there's also over-reacting too. Neetu Chandra was the baddest one of the lot (sorry Ms.Chandra) Guess Mr.Varma didn't give her proper instructions.

The ugly: The score. I mean seriously, Even dialogue that weren't that serious, would contain music like it's a Star Plus soap-opera.

Verdict : One of Ram Gopal Varma's better films in recent years, the movie improves towards the third and fourth act. Relevant to this part of the media world. Very watch-able compared to the crap that mostly comes out of Bollywood.

Despicable Me (2010)

The good: Watched 4-5 days ago. A surprisingly funny and engaging animated film. I say surprisingly because most Dreamworks animations don't have that "x" factor when compared to Pixar films. Steve Carell shines as the villain known as Guru. And as usual, the animation is top-notch (still have to see one from Pixar/Dreamworks where it isn't !)

The bad: uhhhh, to be honest there's not much to right here. It's well worth the money. It doesn't go overboard in it's goofiness like other animated films (e.g. Robots, Horton hears a Who, Kung Fu Panda etc.)

The Verdict: A good film to enjoy with the family over a Sunday afternoon. And you won't be sitting still towards the end ; ) .

I did it, my first reviews posted properly online !

Back again after a long time - 8 Jan 2011

wow, I should update this blog more often, lol. did it last in August 2010, thats like 4 months ago. I might move on to tumblr or posterous, who knows. Anyways, a lot has happened in between. I got done with my first semester , which turned interesting towards the end, shall we say. I cleared in all of my papers, Thank God. The 2nd semester started out quietly, but got interesting real quick and it was fun. Through coincidence, I got involved in the team of script writing and the overall show itself. Made some good friends, too.

Ooo, while all this happening, I also grew a beard. started it out in late October, and kept it till the 1st of January. Got to saw for the first time how I look in my "manly" look, it was fun. In late December, I transformed it into mutton chops. Lol, I guess quite a few people noticed it in Greenwich and wherever I went. It was weird to see myself clean shaved again in the mirror, was used to seeing a beard on my face :\ , lol.

One of the highlights for me during 1st semester were the oral communication presentations. In the very first presentation assigned to us, I was the very first guy who came up and did one. Man, talk about pressure. And we hadn't even prepared for it, me and my group ! Anyways, I just opened my mouth, and in reaction of fear and nervousness said everything boldly and loud and clearly on purpose. Thankfully, I made a good impression on everyone and on our teacher, who praised me by saying I can be a teacher. ahem ahem : p

So, I got free on Thu. Since then, I've been basically slacking off, relaxing. The Karachi winter is in full swing, cold breeze in the morning and night.

it's 4:37am as I write this. Brother sleeping right in front of me,..only my laptop's screen is the main source for light..Nothing much planned on doing today. But I guess I will go to Itwaar Bazaar this Sunday to beat the boredom. My good friend Imran, who btw has gotten his green card visa, will be going away soon, permanently. He got it in December. We talked to each other on mid-night at New Year's, just like we have been doing for past 2 years now. Have to meet up with him before he heads to US after 6 days. He will be coming back in February though, and will leave for good after a few months.

Well, heres hoping 2011 is a good year for all of us. Ameen.

laterz.