Movie Recommendation: Merry Christmas

A mille-fueille noir that delights and surprises in equal measure

Merry Christmas as the name suggests, is a Christmas movie through and through, the undercurrents of Christmas themes are strong here, and Crime exists to add the extra punch. I love the idea. For people like me who cannot stand saccharine holiday films after a point, this is a perfect concoction of crime and the holiday spirit. (Alas the movie released 3 weeks later than it should have.)

Sriram Raghavan’s crime noirs are full of references to other classics, sly tricks and clever writing. Merry Christmas is no different. It’s been 24 hours and me and my brother are still finding little details that we missed, such is the layering here.

The buildup in the first hour is intense. It’s practically a slow-burning rom-com but as a viewer there are enough hints that there’s something off. Enough to keep your eyes peeled for any hidden clues, hints of crime or something being off. (Why isn’t the door locked? What’s that sound? Why did the record stop?) There are many, but it’ll probably take a couple of more viewings to grab them all! Vijay Sethupathi’s deadpan humor keeps you entertained along the way.

The second half picks pace and that’s when things get really interesting, as the Who? Why? How? of the crime unfolds. It’s a ride with delightful little cameos from Vinay Pathak, Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte.

The story is well paced, twists are timed well, I kept waiting for the next twist to drop given how sinuous the whole film is. Plus the whole film is littered with hints and foreshadowing which acts like an icing on the cake. You couldn’t ask for more intrigue honestly.

Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif are perfectly cast. Their performances uplift the movie even when the writing threatens to slag a bit.

Given how good the movie is overall, its minor foibles stick out even more. The ending could’ve landed better, I personally felt it to be just a bit unsatisfactory (again, perfect ending for a holiday movie, does it make sense when not in the festive spirit, probably not that much. I also felt that they played all their cards a little too early in the second half. I kept waiting for that one more twist that would end the film on a great note but it never came. And then there was that intriguing subplot with Radhika Apte which was left hanging without proper closure, I still wonder what happened there.

Overall, minor issues aside, Merry Christmas is a delightful, twisted holiday-noir film that cannot be missed.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Kahaani Review

Movie: Kahaani
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Story: Sujoy Ghosh, Advaita Kala
Actors: Saswata Chatterjee, Vidya Balan and Parambrata Chatterjee

Review By: Vidit Bhargava

There was hardly a moment when the audience gazed down on their cell-phones to chat with their friends in this 2 Hour movie about a woman finding her missing husband, who doesn't seem to exist. At first, this Sujoy Ghosh directed thriller may be ignored as a yet another attempt to fix in some exotic disease on our protagonist and present it to the audience in a new look. Clearly we've had enough of that non-sense. But Kahaani is a completely different thriller, with a tightly woven script and brilliantly written characters.

Even though, Kahaani has been advertised as a thriller, our characters are not put into unnecessary mortal peril or being kidnapped and being ported to different continents. This being reminiscent of most modern day thrillers, be it books or movies. Kahaani provides thrills quite differently. There is that uncanny touch to it, that puts you on the edge of your seat, thinking of what will happen next. All this is done with a very subtle backdrop and some good background music, which makes you feel as if you were along side the main leads solving the mystery.

There is little to disclose about the plot here, there are many twists and turns which are served to you during the course of this two hour thriller. The story revolves around a pregnant Vidya Bagchi (Played by Vidya Balan) who has arrived in India in search for her missing husband. But the problem is, that there are no records about the fellow at all. What follows next is Vidya's pursuit in find her missing husband, filled with appropriate twists and turns.

The Plot is original, but it is slightly inspired by popular literature like the Dan Brown thrillers. You'll find a few ideas taken from the 'Dan Brown Thriller Stencil' in this movie. There is a gruesome prologue, seemingly unconnected to the plot of the film, A hit-man answering to a unknown caller and executing murders by the confirmation of an MMS. There even is a subtle epilogue fixed into the movie. But truth be told, Sujoy Ghosh has created a thriller which is much better than Dan Brown's attempts using similar tools.

Also the screen play is slightly inspired from Satyajit Ray's mysteries. The scene about running hot-water and Vidya Balan Opening the Windows of her room and sitting on the sill to see the city-scape are an ode to Satyajit Ray. But the director never lifted stuff directly from the books. In-direct references are only a tribute to the famous director. 

Acting is top-notch. Parambrata Chatterjee As Satyaki is phenomenal. Nawazuddin Siddiqui over does a little as the curt Intelligence Officer but is fine most of the time. The scene where his bellowing at Vidya Balan suddenly changes to a polite 'plea' was done with great poise. Vidya Balan is on a roll, this is probably her best performance we've seen in years. Moreover her character was written brilliantly, keeping any question of a weak performance at bay.

One of the key elements of a good thriller is to create an element of shock and surprise at the end i.e. the point where the mystery unfolds. Sujoy Ghosh, does it quite nicely and puts the audience into a complete silence. Of course the effects on audience may vary from place to place, you may hear a sudden gasp, a loud whistle, some praises or even claps. Trust me, The mystery is that good, no one seems to have complained so far. I heard from lots of people about the movie, and all of them were spell-bound about the climax, they said it was one of the best they've seen in a thriller. Personally, I think that the climax was great but it could have been done with much more intensity and could have created a bigger impact. People sometimes go to a Hindi thriller with toned down expectations about its mystery but Kahaani is not a 'Kahaani' to be Underestimated. But all is not so good about the film, even though the mystery is more or less brilliant, it does leave a loop-hole or two, which leaves you slightly disappointed.

Anyone who has seen 'Kahaani' would really be dead scared of these words, "Namoshkar!... Main Bob Biswas. Ek Minute". Bob Biswas is easily the best hit man ever created in a Hindi Movie. Played by the talented Saswata Chatterjee, Biswas is an LIC Agent in the mornings, and a brutal Assassin after work hours. The character of Bob Biswas is exceptionally well written. The dual nature of Bob is what makes him so dangerous. He may look like a local Bengali, an every day working man with a job at one of the 'Daftars' with a tinge of charm. His polite demeanor, carefully masks his true blood and makes him look totally Harmless. Moreover, he doesn't even look like a Hit-Man, he is in his mid-ages, slightly overweight, gets tired easily and might not be the ideal choice incase of a quick escape. But that is hardly needed, since Biswas, is an Assassin of the first order, he completes his task without so much as a hint of suspicion on him. In a sequence in the film, Vidya Balan is thrown towards a speeding Kolkata Metro by our Assassin Bob Biswas , only pulled back in time to be politely asked to go away. The fear that creeps Vidya Balan and the audience is quite genuine. Bob Biswas, is a truly inspirational character. And Saswata Chatterjee pulls it off with great ease. I am sure, we'll be seeing more of him, in the near future.

Kahaani is an entertaining thriller which requires your grey-cells to be in great form. It's a blink and miss movie, you just can't move from your seats while watching the movie. It's certainty the best Hindi movie in 2012 so far and will be ranked amongst the classics in time to come. Also, the movie has a replay ability, even though most of the movie depends on a mystery. You'll still enjoy it because of its calm backdrop and awesome performances.

Rating: *** 1/2 /5 (Amazing)

iPod Touch Review

I know its coming rather late in the day, but yea, it is here:

Vidit Bhargava

Now starting with it, first of all this is my second iPod. Same memory. Bigger size and a touch-screen. The Primary question when you buy a gadget is Where does it stand in my Gadget wishlist. How do I view it? The iPod Nano is a simplistic yet eligant solution to portable music. I already have one. iPod Touch must come in Somewhere! This review of the new fourth generation iPod Touch reviews some areas where it helps and others where it doesn’t. So let me begin with the most marketed factors.

Gaming: The iPod Touch 4G with its powerful A4 chip allows for a powerful set of games. Mainly created by Gameloft (they develop the Assasins Creed for iPod) and Electronic Arts.Games like the NBA elite, NFS Hot Pursuit and FIFA 11 by Electronic Arts; Assasin’s Creed, Pro Evolution Soccer, Real Football and others by Gameloft Games and Infinity Blade (the earliest next gen game for the iPod) are some of the cool games that make the iPod a perfect NextGen Portable Gaming Console and make the iPod pose a serious threat to the likes of Nintendo DSi and Playstation Portable + You don’t have to cope with the hastle of having a CD or UMD. But My gaming has more often been concentrated with the less graphic intense but much more insanely addictive games like the Stick Cricket, Angry Birds, Star Dunk, Fruit Ninja and Tic Tac Toe. They are my favorites.

Game Center: The iPod Also has a game center. Though, not all games support it currently but iPod has a fare amount of games to challenge your friends and a have a great competition together + Games are increasingly adopting to the game center platform.

To some it all up, iPod Touch for portable gaming is a treat. It is one of the best portable gaming consoles with the best operating system and a wonderful graphics engine. Chuck your PSPs and Nintendos for the iPod Touch 4G, its a faster, snappier and cooler experience than those gaming consoles.

Music: The iPod as a music player is certainly great and that doesn’t change for the iPod Touch. It just gets better. With the powerful music UI and more imporantly the good quality of headphone listening the iPod Touch surely wins the Music Race among other touch-screen players.

iBooks: This is a place where the 3.5” touch-screen loses its touch. Reading a 3.5” Book is something that you won't want to read. At that small a screen, reading an eBook just becomes a painfull experience. You surely never want to read a book again on the iPod Touch. (iPad does that better)

Hardware: iPod Touch is paper thin, You tend to feel it will slip anytime. The screen is fine enough with a VGA camera in front for facetime. But the Real Hardware problem comes at the back. The iPod Touch still poses that abominable stainless Steel back which gets scratches on it ever so easily. It is something that no-one except Apple has a liking for. The plastic buttons are fine but still could have been better, as a matter of fact I liked the previous buttons. The Retina Display is good, but it lacks an IPS Panel. Sad.

Cameras: VGA in Front and HD recorder at back. Brilliant, but there is more to it, than what meets the eye, The Back Camera for still images is not worth it. It is not so good even for indoor or low light HD recording. VGA camera in front is surprisingly good and is suitable for FaceTime calls.

FaceTime: Facetime is something of an achievement. Users complain about the unavailability of 3G Video Calling feature for the iPhone 4 but Since the iPod’s life is based on WiFi, WiFi video calling doesn’t hurt at all. Moreover the ability to make Video Calls to a MAC, iPhone 4 and iPad 2 is just awesome. Having a facetime call with my cousins in Australia was a complete delight for both my grandma and me. FaceTime seems to go deep enough to create an emotional bond with the iPod.

Battery Life: Battery Life, frankly speaking, didn't impress me much. The iPod Touch looses battery too fast when doing some next gen gaming or watching movies.

Everything else: The iOS 4.3 is good, but still has a few rough-edges (the screen flickers sometimes). The Web-Experience is wonderful, and with Nitro-Engine thing, it is even better. The A4 as I've said before is very powerful.

Wrapping it up, the iPod Touch 4th Generation is a powerful gadget which proves to beat many serious competitors hands down. Add to that the not so exorbitant price of 15K. It is a delight to have a Portable Gaming Console, HD Recorder and iOS device at that low a price.

Rating: 8.4/10

New Rating Scale out of 10:

1 - Pathetic! I Survived it

2 - Very Bad. I want my money back!

3 - Bad, but with a few good things.

4 - Okeyish

5 - Not Bad, But Needs a lot of Improvement

6 - Good but there are many things that could have been better

7 - Nice. Value for Money

8 - Very Good. But Not Perfect

9 - Perfect but Still I'll save 1 for something better next time

10 - The best thing I've ever seen, I need nothing more! (This is virtually impossible)

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P.S. You'll be reading more from me, once my exams are over i.e. 28th March

Best Of 2010 - Movies

Vidit Bhargava

Ah yes, it has been a long time that I have written something abou anything on this blog (I had been busy with a lot of other work) . So here comes a post that is delayed by at least 24 days but just in time for the tweeple awards (about which I will write in a short time).

This list, I will caution you is just a list of the best movies I have seen throughout 2010 (roughly 30). So you may or may not think that it is a complete list + There is no top 5 here. All the good movies have made it to the list:

Hindi Movies

1. Peepli [Live]

The movie didn't make it to the Oscar's final list of nominees but ignoring it is something to say. Peepli Live was one of the more unconventional movies of 2010 which beat the glamorous sets and flashy clothes type of movies. Peepli Live was funny, enlightening and gripping through out.

2. Udaan

One of the best written movies of 2010. The tale of Rohan's escape from his authoritative father is just so promising. Udaan does get the 2nd spot for its sheer brilliance of writing, direction and acting. Amit Trivedi's Music is the icing on the cake.

3. Phas Gaye Re Obama

An innovative dark comedy about a bankrupt NRI who joins hands with recession stricken gangsters to have a 50-50 share in whatever they earn from selling the NRI to a higher gangster. The movie is short, simple and comic. Starring Rajat Kapoor, Manu Rishi, Sanjay Mishra and Amol Gupte in lead roles all of them have done a wonderful acting. At a running time of approximately 90 minutes the movie is one of the most exciting watch of 2010.

4. Robot

Breathtaking Sci-Fi effects, Rajnikanth Style action and a well researched plot are enough to make this Tamil Movie a must watch at all costs. Seeing 1000s of Rajnikanth turning into a giant snake to gulp in a car was just one of the sci-fi effect we had seen throughout this visual wonder.

5. Rajneeti

The movie showcased one of the not so frequently raised topics in movies and did it in a thrilling way. Rajneeti was one of those movies in 2010 that was awesomely grippy in the first half as well as the second half. Ranbir Kapoor's acting was also a plus point.

6. Dabanng

Dabanng can surely be called the entertainer of the year. A hairline plot which doesn't matter is not of much importance when you've got some really catchy and cool dialogues with some good action. The movie is completely entertaining to say the least.

7. Tere Bin Laden

Waking up a new kind of comedy in Indian movies. Ali Zafar's Tere Bin Laden was entertaining, funny, low budget and wonderful. Even when competing with some seriously good scripted drama of Udaan. The movie did well and was just good enough to be called slapstick or badly scripted.

8. My Name is Khan

Last in the list but not bad at all. My Name is Khan was something different that had been done with the movies but the movie was itself a repeat of mass success. Even though, the plot, when you think now doesn't make much sense but the movie as a whole is credited with Shah Rukh Khan's wonderful acting and the message it tries to convey and conveys successfully.

English Movies

1. Inception

IMDB ranks it number 1, it is the top contender to academy awards and so do I think it is. The Best Movie of 2010. Inception wins it hands down. The dream into dream into dream action and science fiction could only have been created by Christopher Nolan. Inception is a well crafted plot with amazing action and amazing acting.

2. Toy Story 3

Usually Animated stories turn out to be boring at some point of time. They loose their charm easily and just please the kids, but it isn't so with the Toy Story 3 (Yeah! There was another jinx with the 3rd in the series thing!) Toy Story 3 is the best ever in the series. Wonderful animation with a touching plot makes for fun watch of 90 minutes. What more, with 3D Glasses!

3. The Social Network

The Social Network is undoubtedly one of the best of 2010. The Nerdy topic of Facebook's creation displayed enigmatically and interestingly in a movie by David Fincher is a success in itself + The wonderful acting and some really interesting drama makes this movie a worth watch.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.. That's the max I'll say. True Harry Potter Fans do love this movie. Even though in parts, the movie has been carefully and interesting adapted from the book. Not much is left behind and the movie does complete justice to the book. (Yea, finally after the 1st part :D) .

5. Karate Kid

It may not be in the best list. But Karate Kid is one of the best according to me. The inspiring story remade into today's world is .. just inspiring. And if a movie inspires you to learn Kung Fu you can't help it but put it into the best of the year category.

6. Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2, though not as good as the Iron Man 1 is still good and interesting. They made the sequel and they did it the right way, even though the movie didn't have all that action as in the first half but Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson were enough to pack power in the movie.

Top 10 iPhone Apps

Top 10 iPhone Apps

The iPhone Apps which changed the shape of the phone we all love to use:

1.iVideo Camera for iPHone 3G.

2.ESPN Scorecenter

3.Paper Toss

4.Sketchbook

5.Smule - Leaf Trambone

6.Quick Office

7.Air Sharing Pro

8.Awesome Notes

9.Awesome Notes

10.Hatke Radio

Top 10 Green Cars Launched this year

T1.Citroen C1 ev'ie

2.Mitsubushi iMiEV

3.Toyota iQ

4.Ford Fiesta ECOnetic

5.Toyota Prius Hybrid

6.Volvo S40

7.Honda Insight Hybrid

8.BMW 318d Saloon

9.Vw Passat Bluemotion

10.Citroen C3 Picsso

Top 10 Mobiles

OK without talking much I will start with the Awards for the best mobiles this year.

-Basic Phones

Motorola leads here:

1.Motorola i335

2.MOtorola V195s

-Mid-Range Phones

Sony Takes the lead, which is closely followed by HTC:

1.Sony Ericsson Naite

2.HTC Star Touch

-Camera Phones

These are the camera cum phones which are, like 5MP Cameras, even 12MP cameras. Sony Ericson All the way.

1.Sony Ericsson Aino

2.Sony Ericsson Satio

-Smart Phones

The Apple iPhone wins it again. No beating to the smart phone, with every app in the pocket. While Blackberry still remains closest to the iPhone.

1.Apple iPhone 3G S

2.Blackberry Storm

-Touchscreen Phones

The HTC Phones this year wrecked the touchscreen competitors' ship.

1.HTC Hero

2.HTC Diamond 2

Top 5 Gadgets of the year

1.Sony Rolly

The Rolly from Sony is all about fun. It is essentially a robotic MP3 playing robot that dances to the music you play. It comes with Rolly Choreographer software to create your own motions and even share them online with others. But if you don’t want to create your own it comes with an Auto and Self Motion modes which will analyse the music and create the type of style dance you request.

2.Transparent Toaster

This transparent toaster allows you to see your bread while it is toasting so you can make sure you never burn toast again. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology. Although the glass unfortunately does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, the vendor explained with some research and development this appliance will be hitting the shelves by 2009. The concept was developed by the Inventables Concept Studio.

3.40" OlED TV

Currently your best bet for an OLED is the Sony XEL-1 which I also included in my top Christmas gadgets list. It’s not the best price screen per inch but certainly is the best looking on the market. But as with all good technology the price will start to come down and screen sizes will go up. Samsung have already prototyped early this year a 40″ Full HD OLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and is under 1cm thick.

4.USB 3.0

All you speed freaks out there look out for USB 3.0 coming soon. Apparently the connector, although looking very different, are back compatible - which is great news. The speeds we are looking at for this bad boy is 4.8 Gbit/s (600MB/s) which will make it the fastest consumer connector (Firewire S800T is a long way off). How does this compare to USB 2.0 that you will no doubt be using now? Well USB 2.0 can manage a rate of just 480 Mbit/s (60MB/s) - that is a 10 fold increase to USB 3.0.

5.Magic Mouse

Though not that impressive, as we expected to be from Apple but the Magic Mouse is still the beginning of the era of Multi-Touch Mouse. The Magic Mouse is the very Mouse, I have wanted to have.