The Harry Potter Series has been a benchmark for ‘The Twilight Saga’

The Producers of the The Twilight Saga are trying to copy the Harry Potter Series blatantly. There is no point. The Book has too little a material to be divided into two films. While, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is vast, and engrossing, and easily eclipses the Twilight Saga whether it’s dawn, twilight, or new moon.

Breaking Dawn was such a disappointment. There’s no battle. Nothing happens. It’s like she didn’t know how to write a battle so she just has the Volturi surrender and say, “Okay, we’ll let your baby live.” A real author would have the conviction to carry through with an actual plot that made sense, or gave us an ending that wasn’t fairytale happiness just to make fans happy by not killing anyone off. Sorry, but that’s not how good authors and books roll.

Let’s face it. They’re trying to copy Harry Potter, except the only difference is that Deathly Hallows needs to be put into two parts because so many characters die, and the last book has so much going on in it. On top of that, J.K. Rowling actually had the guts to kill off some of her beloved characters, and not just in Deathly Hallows, but before that too.

Everything in the Twilight series is focused more around a love triangle than anything else. Honestly, the books do nothing more than make teenage girls believe they need a guy to protect them. Edward is a masochist, and I don’t care if Bella is a klutz, or that she might need protecting. Everything has to be done Edward’s way, and he has control over her, which a lot of people neglect to see.

The books are poorly written compared to many other franchises, so why break it up into two movies when the book isn’t anything great to begin with. Breaking Dawn was my least favorite of the entire series because she ruined it. She gave it the fairytale ending, gave the fans what she THINKS they wanted, but really, they wanted an ending that left them longing for more, not pages and pages of boring dialogue with the good and bad guys, only to be given a setup, and then a complete downfall in the end. It’s completely ridiculous!

I hope they change their mind and make it one entire movie, and hopefully they make the movie a bit different than the book. I also hope that it’s not from Jacob’s point of view either. I found that entirely irritating and pointless. The book has always been from Bella’s point of view, and then she basically changes it, except the very last part of Eclipse where it is in Jacob’s also. Big whoop. I honestly think she is a crappy author, and people have made too much hype over Twilight.

Also, who gives a crap about ‘that’ sex scene? They went around it in the book, they should do the same in the movie! They’re only having the actors show skin to sell more tickets and get more money. That’s the entire point of this franchise. They’ve banked in on it because of all the merchandising. Archies has become basically a Twilight store the moment you enter. Trading cards, shirts, pens, jackets, sweaters, everything you can basically think of. They’ve started to cast out other fandoms like Harry Potter and it’s ridiculous. This is just so f-ing stupid. Like they haven’t made millions off these movies already.

Let’s face it. Twilight is not even original. The only aspect of Twilight that is original is that vampires sparkle, which is the queerest thing I’ve ever heard of. The whole vampire falls in love with a human, been there, done that. Two sides that are enemies join together to fight. Been there, done that. I think it was Stephen King who said the difference between J.K Rowling and Stephanie Meyer is that J.K Rowling can write. It is true. It’s kind of disgusting how Meyer is making millions for being a bad writer. At least in Harry Potter, stuff happens and they have a battle. At least with Harry Potter, she created a world that was original, and yes, she’s made lots of money because of the Harry Potter franchise, but she wasn’t trying to cash in on something that already existed. She is actually a good writer, unlike Stephenie Meyer who gets so much hype because of one series that has done well.

That brings me to another point. The only reason that The Host actually did well in sales is because it came out the same year as Eclipse. Other then that, she hasn’t written anything outside of the Twilight franchise and it’s sad that people think she’s an amazing author. Sure, J.K. Rowling hasn’t written anything outside of Harry Potter yet, but look at how long it took her to write all seven books. It took years, possibly even a whole decade, where as Stephenie Meyer had all four books out within four years, or less. Take your time if you plan on writing something decent, goddammit.

I read the books, but I’m not a hard-core fan like some of those Twilight freaks out there a.k.a the Twi-Moms. I do see the movies, but I’m not exactly excited about them. It’s just something to do. Anyway, that’s my little rant. I hope some people start to realize that Twilight isn’t all that great. It’s hogwash actually.

Early Predictions for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards®

Best Motion Picture of the Year:
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Avatar
3. Up in the Air

Avatar may nick it in the end. But it will be extremely unfair to not give The Hurt Locker the Oscar this time.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
1. George Clooney for Up in the Air

Colin Firth for Colin Firth for A Single Man could spring a surprise too with his first ever nomination. The early contender for the award, Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart won’t win it for me simply because the film was just an average one.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
1. Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side looks set to get her first ever Academy Award.

Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, and Carey Mulligan for An Education, look like outside bets for the Award. Personally speaking, I’d love to see Miss Mulligan win for her heartwarming breakthrough performance.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
1. Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds, will win it. He seems destined for the coveted prize this year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
1. Mo’Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

This was the hardest one to predict simply because the Nomination list is packed with some equally good performers in my eyes. Anna Kendrick looks to have an outside chance. But I hope Mo’Nique wins it. Her story is needed to be heard and acting to be seen.

Best Achievement in Directing:
1. Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker.

James Cameron for Avatar, will almost certainly lose to his ex-wife. Kathryn will become the first ever woman to win an Oscar (and only the fourth ever woman to be nominated). QT, the crowd favourite will lose out this time.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:

1. The Hurt Locker: Mark Boal.

He will almost certainly get it for the grittiest film of recent times. I’d also like Up’s writers Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy win something for the film’s sheer feel goodness.

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published:
1. Up in the Air: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner/ District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell.

This category was very hard to predict. These are my personal favorites. Not sure, if the Academy agrees with my choice. But I will be right. Up in the Air has the edge.

Best Achievement in Cinematography:
1. Avatar: Mauro Fiore.

This may throw a surprise or too. Barry Ackroyd for The Hurt Locker may win too considering the way he shot those grueling scenes in a seemingly unnerving way.

Best Achievement in Editing:
1. The Hurt Locker: Bob Murawski, Chris Innis.

This will be a close fight between them and Julian Clarke for District 9. Both of these movies are dited tightly. Will be interesting to see who actually takes it. But my best is on Bob and Chris.

Best Achievement in Art Direction:
1. Avatar: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair.

They may be the front-runners and my pick for the award, but Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer have a good chance with Sherlock Holmes too. But this will be Avatar’s because these are the awards the Highest Grossing Film of all time will have to be content with.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score:
1. Michael Giacchino for Up.

He has his name written in the Statuette. Such an amazing score.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song:
1. Crazy Heart: T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham (“The Weary Kind”)

Will win it, and deservedly so.

Best Achievement in Visual Effects:
1. Avatar: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones.

It’s a given.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year:
1. Up, Pete Docter.

This was my favourite Movie of the year until I saw the Hurt Locker.

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing:
1. Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson.

Best Achievement in Sound Editing:
1. Avatar: Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle.

Best Achievement in Costume Design:
1. The Young Victoria: Sandy Powell.

The Academy prefers to go with a periodic piece. It will win.

Best Achievement in Makeup:
1. Star Trek: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow.

An Oscar for the Trekkies. Yay!

I have predicted 19 Categories out of the 24. I would have liked to have predicted all of them. But it’s not possible for me to do so since I have not watched all the Documentaries, or the Foreign Language Films.

Confessions of A Fan

7^th of February, 2010,  10:25 PM.

So, I am sitting in a train coming back from a weekend outing with my parents, and writing this. It is hard to believe but the sole objective of my parents to take me to this trip was to deviate my mind from My Name Is Khan. But Alas! My parents did not really think that Shahrukh Khan and his film will make a foray into one of the deepest corners of West Bengal, and rather than deviate my mind from My Name Is Khan, it would end up exciting me even more. So here we were sitting in the Train Compartment yesterday, the 6^th of Feb, the man sitting a row ahead of us, turns his newspaper, and the headline disappoints my Mother. The headline reads, ‘Shahrukh Back in Mumbai’, and after an interval of just about 10 minutes Shahrukh is also Back in my mind. During the course of the train journey, I ended up asking that stranger for that particular newspaper, and ended up reading the same article 3 times. If anyone had asked me to do an exercise on that article, I would surely have topped! The Auto taking us to our Hotel was quite for 5 minutes, and the Auto Driver with the lack of Music in the rather uneasy atmosphere switched on the Radio. And Bang! Teri Kaali Aankhiyon Se.. were the exact words. My mother in her anguish asked the Driver to switch frequency. He did. The Song may have changed, but I kept humming the song for the next half an hour. It is fun to irritate your mother like this. Reached the Hotel, and to the utter discomfort of my disapproving parents, the billboard opposite our Hotel, was attracting everybody’s attention with the posters of My Name Is Khan. Obviously, Mum, could not do anything about it. I laughed regardless of what either Dad or Mother, thought about that ‘silly little’ poster. These few snippets from my two day tour go onto prove the Buzz that My Name Is Khan has created all over the Country. But a fan being excited about his Screen Idol’s next movie, compared to that of the normal man are obviously two different and contrasting things.

The top most thing on a Shahrukh Khan’s fan’s mind is My Name Is Khan. While the film occupies it’s position in a normal person’s mind just a passing thought. But whatever it may be, the film is at least there on the minds of so many people with the intense publicity garnered by it through the shameless and insane protests of the Shiv Sena against Shahrukh Khan, and the film. The media made a big issue out of it, rightly or wrongly, I don’t know. But whatever it is, My Name Is Khan came out trumps, but that fact cannot undermine the hurt feelings of Shahrukh Khan. But his fans, his admirers, and any forward thinking person residing in any part of the world, supported him (not necessarily his views). His stand for his own individuality made us all aware of the person Shahrukh is.

While I was holidaying, I had always made myself aware of the fact that the Advance Bookings for the Film will be starting on Sunday, the 7^th of February. But, sadly I did not have any internet connection to make use of when I needed it the most.  I got a Mobile Alert from kyazoonga.com stating that the Booking has been officially opened. I wanted to get the tickets there itself. But I couldn’t. I had to wait. A long 11 hours. Now that I am returning, I asked a stranger for his laptop, to check the seat availability for the first possible show on the 12^th. To my dismay, I saw only one ticket was left. I had to get it. But the last possible mistake I would make is entering my Credit Card details in someone else’s Laptop. That would be like putting your leg in the axe.

Anyway, I need to give the Laptop to it’s rightful owner.

8^th of February, 2010, 2:00 AM

Seeing the unavailability of tickets for your favourite Actor’s show could be the harbinger of a variety of feelings. He/She may be disappointed at not being able to catch the First Day First Show of SRK’s film. Also he/she may be happy that all the tickets have sold out in such a short duration. He/She may also be jealous of the people who will get to see the film FDFS (First Day First Show). But somewhere down the line, all these emotions jumble up, and you are left confused and dazed about the whole situation. But the love and craze for that Screen Idol increases manifolds.

I returned home an hour ago. And the first thing that I wanted to do was book the last ticket which was available. I was anyway, not hopefule of that seat being still available. But thankfully, due to a miracle it was (I mention ‘was’ ). I bought it. So, I will be seeing My Name Is Khan, the next release of my Favourite Actor, Shahrukh Khan, at Inox Elgin Road, Kolkata, 9:15 AM. That is quite an early show. I expect to give a few interviews for the First Reaction thingy. I also booked two tickets for my parents on Valentines Day for the same. I have no clue if they will be shocked by this gift. . I have to clear this fact that they do not hate Shahrukh Khan by any means. They just don’t like the fact that he sometimes becomes my priority. They think that studies should be the sole objective of a standard 11 student. Probably they are right. But I can’t help it. Shahrukh’s charisma just wins me over. He never fails to bedazzle me with his humour, grace, generosity, courage and will power.

It is hard to believe but when I switched on the TV, the first images that flashed on it were that of Shahrukh, appearing in Abhishek Bachchan’s show with the director of the film, and his long time aficionado, Karan Johar. The show was nice. Changed the channel to MTV, and the promos of Noor E Khuda were on Air. Isn’t this strange? It seems like Shahrukh won’t leave me alone.

The excitement that I have been in for the last 3 weeks or more, parallels the excitement of the release of Om Shanti Om, and the start of IPL Season 1. Every discussion related then and now, was and is about Shahrukh. Anyway, the excitement still has not been able to override my sensible side. There are certain fears and apprehensions going through my mind. First of all, what if the audiences do not ‘connect’ with the film? I am sure they well. But still, what if they don’t. You just don’t want to hear from a fellow member of the audience that the film did not live up to theirexpectations. You just don’t. The moment you hear someone utter those words, it pinches your inner feelings very brutally. With Shahrukh Khan, coupled with Kajol, comes a plethora of expectations, and unbound anticipation. Secondly, What if the Critics don’t rate the Movie too well? For a Movie of this genre, the ratings of the Critics are going to be very valuable. But I know that critics will love the film. I just know it. And even if they don’t, damn with those jackasses. Thirdly, what if some disruptions are caused by certain elements of the Society. Shiv Sena being my primary concern. I desire for a swift release of My Name Is Khan across Maharashtra. Fourthly, February and March are generally considered to be times of Examinations. The fans will come to the see the film regardless of their examinations, but the non-fans certainly will wait for a few weeks. That may not favour the second week’s collections favourably (The Fans will pull it through the first week). Fifthly, Will it be able to top the collections of Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots? Okay, however much we may deny it, but a fan of Shahrukh Khan will never like to see Shahrukh being toppled in the Grossing Arena by anyone, least of all, Aamir Khan. So every fan must be hoping that the weekend collections itself help My Name Is Khan to set some records both domestically and abroad. I am very sure it will create new benchmarks outside of India, but India does remain a doubt. Finally, will it falter with the over expectations from the millions of Shahrukh Khan Devotees? No, it won’t. His fans would love it any which way. This is one doubt I do not need to be worried about.

I asked my brother, and fellow Shahrukhaholic, Mansoor Zia about his expectations from the film. He replied, “I am not expecting anything but hoping for everything”. I guess this is what every Shahrukh Khan Buff must set in his mind. We should go into the theatre looking at My Name Is Khan just as a film, and hope to come out of it enriched with hope for humanity and with genuine love for all in our hearts and I am sure, Shahrukh Khan and My Name Is Khan will not disappoint us come 12^th of February, 2010.

With love,

Dipanjan

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani Movie Review!

The year could well turn out to be that of Ranbir Kapoor’s.  After giving a stupendous performance as Sid in Wake Up Sid, and waking a generation up, he returns as Prem Shankar Sharma in which has been touted as the Funniest Romantic Comedy of the Year, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. The film also marks the return of Raj Kumar Santoshi to a Genre through which his film Andaz Apna Apna attained Cult status Years after it released. It was always a mystery as to why Rajkumar Santoshi did not make any film belonging to the Comedy Genre after that. But now that he has, it is well worth a ride. And it won’t take years for the film to attain Cult Status. It is easily one of the funnier films Bollywood has produced recently. Just don’t try to find any logicality in this film. This is Pure Paisa Vasool Movie, and it should be received as that.

The Basic Premise of the Movie is that Prem Shankar Sharma is a Ninth fail Happy-Go-Lucky person who ends up in the Biggest of Problems, as the Savior i.e. He is the president of the Happy Club, the local Club whose soul objective is to Unite Lovers and see everyone Happy in the Fictional City. He is not aware of what it feels to be in love, only until he meets Jennifer i.e., the new girl in town. He conjures up a friendship with her, which as told by him, will have “No Complaints, No Demands.” Jennifer is an orphan whose so-called parents want her to get married to a rich Catholic lad from Goa, Tony. She is abducted to Goa where they will get her married to Tony forcefully. Prem lands up to save his ‘friend’, who he loves but is never able to confess that in front of her. Prem is able to Kidnap Jenny, although he came to know that she actually loves someone else. She loves Rahul, who in the form of Upen Patel lands up suddenly into the story-fold. Now from thereon, the story takes some more Humorist twists and turns, when we end up with a ‘Bollywood’ Climax.

The Film belongs to Ranbir Kapoor, who is slowly but surely turning out to be the “Lambi race ka Ghoda.” He is able to play Prem with a certain ease that makes you feel as if he himself is Prem. Same happened with Sid in WUS. He goes under the skin of the characters he plays very subtly, bringing in some aspects of his life into the fold. He is truly Superb in this film. His stammering could have been better, but since it is a light-hearted film that slight mistake is pardonable. Katrina Kaif is as affectionate as over, and after New York delivers one of her performances. Slowly but surely, she is starting to act, instead of just Starring in Films. That is a positive sight. She still has some room for improvement. Darshan Jariwala as Prem’s father is turning out to be a popular actor of this Genre. With films like Life Partner, What’s Your Rashee? and now this, he is playing the role of a Dad superbly. Kudos to the man! Upen Patel is one of the weakest links of the movie. He is an eyesore throughout this two and a half hour long film. He needs to attend acting classes for some years, before taking up any other acting assignment if he wants to stay alive in this Industry any longer.

The Music by Pritam is one of the reasons why this film has received the year’s Biggest Opening in some circles. Most of the songs are great. Atif’s renditions of “Tu Jaane Na” and “Tera Hone Laga Hoon”, KK’s “Main tera Dhadkan Teri” and Javed Ali’s “Aaa Jao Meri Tamanna” are the pick of the lot. Each and every song is picturised beautifully. Neeraj Sridhar sung “Prem Ki Naiyya” provides a Comic touch to the film. Ranbir’s charm helps in the song picturisations. The choreography of the songs are in sync with the mood and setting of this fun film.

While it will be wrong to say the film is flawless, it will also be wrong to see the film and still find logic in it. Most of the funnier gags did not have any logic involved with them. But who cares man! We go into the theatres to have fun, and leave our Boring life back, and enjoy our Money’s worth. Therefore, the funnier moments in this film, are undoubtedly one of the better ones we have seen in recent times.

Rajkumar Santoshi, the director of such intense movies as Ghayal, Damini, Khakee and Family returns to a Genre he dazzled the audience with after a long ga of 15 years. Nobody can forget the Chemistry of Amar-Prem in Andaz Apna Apna, and the audience expected no less from this one. And thankfully, the audience is not disappointed the least bit. The film is written with the youth of the 21^st Century India in mind, and this is pretty evident in the styling of the film. The cinematography by Thiru is top-notch. His lens makes the fictional town come alive. Editor could have been a little tighter. But, It’s alright.

Overall, I can safely say that if you go into the theatre with an open mind, you would not be disappointed by this film the least bit. It is so damn funny, and I forgot to say so Romantic. Some of the dialogues will stay with you for a long time. The Chemistry between Ranbir and Katrina is another one of the things that you need to watch out for! It is much more than crackling. The film is a must watch! Going to the Cinemas is Fun again!

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The start of my long standing admiration for SRK…..

First up let me assert that I am a 15 year old boy, and that is why I cannot say I have seen the phenomenal growth of the chirpy young kid from Rajinder Nagar, Delhi. He may not be a kid anymore but still is as young as ever, if that matters. But, what I will be writing is basically how I became an admirer of his and how he still continues to be my Idol from the Indian Film Industry.

Let me then, start, by narrating the incident which sowed the first seeds of his admiration in my mind. I have to say that the first film I watched of SRK in a theatre was Kuch Kuch Hota Hoi. I was a 5 year old toddler then, and therefore the scenes where SRK is shown mingling with his daughter, was especially appealing for me and it eventually made me feel that he was great with children. Although I was ignorant then, I realize now that KKHH kick started the process of me becoming a SRK admirer.

Another important factor which transformed me into a SRK fan, was that my Mother’s brother bears a striking resemblance to SRK, and that is why I always felt, during those days that I am interacting with King Khan (phrase coined much after then) at a daily basis. And this uncle of mine, also was an avid fan of SRK, so he used to watch every SRK film’s first, second and third show, which used to baffle me. I thought to myself, “Is Mama mad?” This feeling was not only limited to me, but, every other family member was quite worried as well, and that too strikingly enough.

My Uncle used to see all those movies alone, without anybody accompanying him. My study pressure was a lot less then and hence my Mother asked him to take me along with him to one of those shows. As scheduled my mom I went along with Mama, to the first day second show of Baadshah. Keep in mind I was all of 6 then. The special effects and all the gadgets and gizmos mystified me. Come on, what else did a six year old want then? Only some magic and a little dose of Scooby Doo. Huh!

Looking back now, I feel Shahrukh would have been better off without doing that film. But that’s just a personal opinion.

As I enjoyed the movie, my Mom thought that the Best way to keep me off my naughtiness was to send me to a Shahrukh film with my Mama. And I and Mama willingly agreed.

Then started a time when I saw a lot of his movies one after the other. They were Josh, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. I was undergoing the process of development then, so I think those movies have definitely influenced my being. But not as much as his later films. Will talk about them later.

Josh made me look at life with a rough attitude, although that feeling has vanished now, the film still remains one of my favourites.

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani enraged in me a feeling of patriotism to which I had been to alien before that. And Lagaan, along with it that year turned me into a Patriot.

Mohabbatein started the engraving of a feeling of love for Music, which has multiplied manifolds in the next few years.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is perhaps the most important as far as influence is concerned. My parents have never been the same for me again. I look at them with a lot more respect and love and a feeling of togetherness has also shown up in me.

I will continue with this and how SRK’s life and times have predisposed in me and has left in me a deep-seated mark in my mental and emotional set up of life, as a whole, in my next few posts.

Bye,
Dipanjan