Under The Scanner: The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

My last review had the protagonist playing a journalist.This time also,the lead protagonist is a journalist,the only difference being is that this journalist is probably the world’s most famous Scribe,the one whom we all have adored and loved since our childhood.Yes, it is the Belgian boy Tintin.

Making a film on such an iconic character is always very challenging coz if things go wrong, brick bats are very harsh.It becomes more challenging for an acclaimed director like Spielberg coz criticism is even more harsher for the bigwigs.

But nothing to worry about as this film not only brings Tintin alive to screen in a truly rocking way but also is Spielberg’s return to top form.

Based on three Tintin stories- The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham’s Treasure (1944,this one could have been confusing but is not so.Spielberg alongwith the screenwriters do a mighty great job of taking three stories and mixing them into a totally coherent & entertaining film.

The film begins with Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy in a market place where Tintin is getting his portrait done by an artist.Snowy notices a pick-pocket in the market and goes after him but loses track of him.There in the market,Tintin discovers a beautiful model of an old three-masted sailing ship ‘UNICORN’.He buys it but then is persuaded by both Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and a mysterious man by the name of Barnaby to give the ship model to them.Tintin rejects their proposal but is intrigued by the fact that why would these two persons be so interested in buying an old ship model that much.

At Tintin’s home,a fight ensues between Snowy and the neighbour’s cat in which the ship’s model gets broken.A parchment scroll slips out of the ship’s mast and rolls down under the furniture.Snowy tries to alert Tintin of the scroll but fails as Tintin goes out to research about the Unicorn.

On the other hand,ineffective detectives Thomson & Thompson try to catch the kleptomaniac thief Astride silk.Tintin meets Sakharine and comes to know that two more models of the ship exist.Back home,he finds his house burgled and the ship model stolen.Luckily,he is able to retrieve the scroll which had been lying under the furniture.Mr.Barnaby comes to warn Tintin to stay from this mess but is shot dead.Meanwhile,the next day The kleptomaniac thief Astride silk steals away the scroll from Tintin’s pocket and Tintin Himself alongwith Snowy gets kidnapped by Sakharine’s men and is imprisoned on SS Karaboudjan.There he meets the perennially drunk captain of the ship Haddock, who has no idea on what is going on his ship.In fact, the ship is now actually controlled by Allan,who is Haddock’s first mate and works for Sakharine.

Tintin,Snowy & Haddock manage to escape from the Karaboudjan.Then,Sakharine sents A seaplane to catch them but Tintin manages to capture the plane and fly towards Moroccan port Of Bagghar.But sadly their plane crashes and they land in a desert.Now,in the absence of alcohol,the normally drunk Haddock starts reminiscing about his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock.Now this Ancestor was the captain of the Unicorn ship in the 17th century,who after losing a fierce and vicious battle to RED Reckham[who wants to capture the ship's treasure],manages to escape from Red Reckham’s prison on the ship.After his escape,Francis haddock sets the Unicorn on fire and lets the ship sink so that Red Reckham can’t get his dirty hands on the ship’s treasure.It now becomes clear that there are three scrolls,each hidden in three ship models which would give the location of the Unicorn and it’s treasure.It is the same treasure that Sakharine,a descendant of Red Reckham,is going after with all his power.

The two detectives manage to retrieve the scroll from Astride silk and hands it over to Tintin who in turn hands it over to Captain Haddock,who promises to guard the Scroll with his life.With one scroll in Tintin’s hands and another scroll in Sakharine’s hands,we get to know that the third and the final ship model which contains the scroll is safely enclosed in a bullet proof display case,owned by Wealthy Omar Bin Salaad.So,Tintin is quite sure that the final scroll will not reach Sakharine’s dirty hands and goes to attend a concert by the famous MILANESE NIGHTINGALE-Bianca Castafiore.

But the evil Sakharine has other plans.He manages to get Captain Haddock drunk and take the first scroll away.The third scroll,safe in the bullet proof case gets broken down by the voice of the milanese nightingale [you know how some western women with their high-pitched and wooooooo hoooooooo singing can break people's head and glasses] and Sakharine Gets his hawk to fly down and take the third scroll away.Tintin&Co try their best to stop Sakharine from going away and give him a mighty chase but Sakharine manages to walk away.Now with all three scrolls that are needed to indicate the location of the treasure and the ship with Sakharine,what would Tintin& co do?How can they stop the sinister Sakharine?For that you need to watch this rocking film.

This film is so well written and well directed that almost every scene is a treat to watch and brings joy to the soul.Every emotion and every expression is brilliantly brought to the screen.All the adventures that Tintin & party indulge in,be it the chase&escape sequences or the battle ones,all of them are thoroughly Entertaining and engrossing.The film has been shot with an inspired visual flair that is both dazzling and spell binding.

The film does have some minor flaws like some unnecessary humour and little confusion but nothing major to distract your attention and force you to go for a loo break.Instead it keeps you hooked from the beginning to the end.

In short, a truly enjoyable roller-coaster ride of fantastic entertainment that can be enjoyed both by the readers and no-readers of Tintin.Hats off Spielberg for bringing not only the story but also bringing alive the true essence of Tintin to Screen.

Major cast-1] Jamie Bell-Tintin

2] Andy Serkis-Captain Haddock & Ancestor Haddock

3] Daniel Craig-Red Reckham & Sakharine

Major Crew-1] Steven Spielberg-Director

2] Steven Moffat,Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish-Screenplay

3] Herge-Story

4] John Williams-Music

5] Janusz Kaminski-Cinematography

6] Michael Kahn-Editing

7] Lesley Burkes-Harding-Costume Design

8] Andrew L.Jones & Jeff Wisniewski-Art Direction

What’s HOT-Almost Everything.

What’s Not-Minor glitches like small confusing portions or unnecessary humour at small places.

Rating-4.5/5

Verdict-Not to be missed at any cost.

Under The Scanner:Rum Diary(2011)

So, Rum Diary Gets the distinction of being the first film that I am going to review on this blog.Why so? The answer is a simple one.Johnny Depp happens to be my favorite Hollywood actor of today.So when Rum Diary released in India a few months ago, i rushed to the theaters since it starred Johnny sir in the lead.My excitement was even more as this one has Johnny Depp not only as a lead actor but also in the role of the producer of this film.More so, this film was based on a novel by Hunter S. Thompson ,whom i like a lot.So, i went with a lot of expectations but alas, the film was not so good.

The film begins with the famous song “volare’ and the first shot is of an aircraft flying over the sea.Set in 1960′s , the film sees Johnny Depp as a journalist who has migrated to Puerto Rico from the US as he finds New York too noisy & mad and too conventional too.The newspaper that he now works for isn’t exactly flourishing.It’s Downtrodden editor wants him to write about the Big people and their interests only as he feels that these people are his chief audience.Johnny boy on the other hand is more interested in writing about about the poor locals of Puerto Rico and wants to use his writing power against the American Capitalists who want to turn Poor Puerto Rico into a commercial haven.During his stay , he becomes Obsessed with Chenault ,the girlfriend of an American Capitalist Sanderson.Depp also befriends his colleagues Sala and the perennially drunk Moburg,whom his editor boss just can’t stand.

Adapting the rum culture of the island,Depp whole life starts revolving around his obsession with Rum and With Chenault.Chenault’s boyfriend, the powerful Sanderson and his capitalist friends engages Depp to write favorably about their new unsavory scheme in his newspaper , so that public opinion can be turned in favour of their unscrupulous means.Johnny boy picks up the offer and is offered a lot of money.

But things go wrong on holiday trip to an island where Sanderson wants to build a hotel.Chenault gets in mighty trouble due to her foolishness from which J0hnny boy is not able to save her.Sanderson breaks up with Chenault and withdraws his offer made to Depp.Realising that Depp might use his pen to uncover his fraudulent ways,Sanderson goes all out to close his newspaper down while depp goes all out with help of his two friends and Chenault to bring the true face of these American capitalists out in public.What happens then?You better watch out the film for that.

The film has got a good and thoughtful plot but the problem lies in the execution.Director Bruce Robinson,by no means a bad director,is somehow not able to give the film his best touch.The first half is quite boring and it seems that the filmmaker is losing interest in making the film himself.Thankfully,the last few scenes before the interval in which Depp and Rispoli are being chased around by angry natives is a very well written and directed scene which makes you return to the film after the interval.

Second half is definitely better with some well written and directed scenes which showcase the struggle that Depp’s character goes through to unmask Sanderson and his Colleagues.Performances wise and technically, the film is okay.But sadly when the film ends,you seem to have missed something.This film has everything except Soul,spirit & essence and is not able to do justice to the film’s storyline.It also suffers from Hollywood’s tendency to add those typical and boring Yankee scenes of abuse & sex.

In short, a one-time watch.

Major cast-1] Johnny Depp-Journalist Kemp

2] Aaron Eckhart- Capitalist Sanderson

3] Michael Rispoli-Sala

4] Amber Heard-Chenault

5] Richard Jenkins-Editor Lotterman

6] Giovanni Ribisi-Moburg

Major Crew-1] Bruce Robinson-Director,Screenplay & Dialogues

2] Hunter S. Thompson-Novel[story]

3] Christopher Young-Original Music

4] Dariusz Wolski-Cinematography

5] Carol Littleton-Editing

6] Dawn Swiderski-Art Direction

7] Collen Atwood-Costume Design

What’s Hot-Good storyline & an unconventional ending.

What’s not-Shoddy screenplay,Average direction & lead heroine Amber Heard’s acting.

Rating-3/5

Verdict-One-time watch.

Under The Scanner

Well, so far i have just been writing about Music.My first four posts were all about music.But what about Movies? The same movies without which i cannot live.So to write about movies, i am starting a new series ‘Under The Scanner’ in which i will review films Cutting across the boundaries of language,time and genre.

Every movie which i would review here will have the following characteristics-

1] The basic plotline of the film given mostly through pics backed by some writing.The new films that i would review though will not have many pictures in their review as it would not be possible to capture their pics as i do not believe in piracy.

2] Details of cast & crew.

3] A detailed and in-depth critical & commercial analysis.

4] What’s Hot & What’s not

5] Things to remember

6] Trivia & Info On the film

Hope to write well and looking forward to a great time.Well, that’s all for now as i have to prepare for the battle ahead.

Best of luck And Cheers.

My Take: Desi Boyz(music review)

After two soundtracks from V-S,it’s time to review an album from Pritam-my Favorite Music Director of this generation.So,let’s take a look at Desi boyz,which is Pritam’s latest offering.

The title track-Make Some Noise For Desi Boyz-is a typical Pritam punjabi number.A little on the louder side,this one sung by Pritam regular K.K. & Bob is a good listen but Pritam has deliverd much better numbers in this Punglish genre of his.It’s remix offers nothing new and is better skipped.

Next up is Subha Hone Na De and this is as rocking a song as one can hope and get.With overall club ambiance,this one with it’s very catchy tune and super cool orchestration is the dance track of the second half of 2011,just like Chaar baj gaye was the dance track of the first half of the year.Also Sung very well by Mika & Shefali Alvares,Even though a lot of the singing is auto tuned.This number also comes in another version ‘Tu Mera Hero’ and a remix.Both these tracks offer nothing much different from the original one.

Jhak Marke [a kind of a sequel to Zor ka Jhatka] is the next track and has a catchy tune too.Very massy and folksy,complete with funky wedding shehnai, this is another hit track.A truly good track sung by Neeraj Shridhar & Harshdep kaur,this one is the second best track of this album after Subha.Lyrics by Irshad Kamil are funky and deserve a mention.It’s remix is again disappointing.

Allah Maaf Kare sung by Sonu Nigam & Shilpa Rao is quite catchy and has got a nice vibe to it.It starts promisingly but later falls flat as it gets a little louder and the tune gets a little stale.It’s remix also does not impress much.

The last track ‘Let It be’-sung by Shaan has some awesome lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya.A soft soothing number,this one is really beautiful and has got some awesome guitar work in the beginning like jhak marke.[i forgot to mention about the beautiful guitar work in Jhak Marke earlier.]This one , thankfully has got no remix and that’s a good thing.

In short,this one’s a true-blue Commercial Masala album and is entertaining from beginning to end and suits the mood of an Akshay Kumar Commercial film perfectly.

Ratings-1] Make some Noise for the Desi Boyz-3/5

2] Subha Hone Na De-5/5

3] Tu mera hero-4/5

4] Jhak Marke-3.5/5

5] Allah Maaf Kare-3/5

6] Let it be-4/5

Album Rating/Marks-22.5/30

Verdict:Total entertainer.Buy this one for sure.

My Picks: Subha Hone Na De , Jhak Marke & Let It be.

My Take:Dirty Picture(music review)

After Ra.One, i am back with another of Vishal-shekhar’s soundtracks-Dirty Picture.Based on Tamil Sex Symbol-Silk Smitha’s life and set in 1980′s,one can expect some corny and disco tracks that were common in that era dominated by Bappi Lahiri songs.

True to belief,the album starts with a song sung by Shreya Ghoshal and of course Bappida-Oh la la,Tu hai meri fantasy.Full of corny lyrics,this one is a total jhakas 80′s song but other than that fact it is just an ordinary number.Far better corny songs were made in the 80′s but this is a good one and will be [is already ] a hit.It’s dhol mix is pretty average and can be skipped.

Up next,Comes Ishq Sufiyana sung by reality show winner Kamaal khan and picturised on Emraan Hashmi,is quite obviously a soft romantic sufi number which is heavily inspired by Ouatim’s cult song ‘Pee Loon’.It’s a good number but stands nowhere close to Pee loon.

This song also comes in a female version-sung by Sunidhi Chauhan.The female version is not as good as the male one as Sunidhi’s voice is not suitable for the sufi genre.

Next Comes Honeymoon ki raat-a bad corny number with disco beats which might look good on screen if picturised well according to the situation.This one has vocals by the Seductive Voice of Sunidhi Chauhan.

The final track is Twinkle Twinkle,sung by Shreya Ghoshal & Rana Mazumder is another typical 80′s song with lyrics like ‘thirsty thirsty ankhen teri,tasty tasty bahein meri’ is better avoidable even though it again pays tribute to Panchamda-this time by Rana Mazumder singing in Panchamda’s iconic style.

The whole album is quite a nice reminder to the music of the 80′s but does not have enough ammunition to better the stuff produced like this in the 80′s.

Ratings-1] Oh la la oh la la-3.5/5

2] Ishq Sufiyana-3/5

3] Ishq Sufiyana[female]-2.5/5

4] Honeymoon ki raat-2/5

5] Twinkle Twinkle-2/5

Album Rating-13/25

Verdict-Pretty Avoidable

Top picks-Oh la la oh la la & Ishq Sufiyana[male version]

My Take:Ra.One (Music Review)

Well,here comes the first music review on this blog.Thought of starting with something big and found Ra.One to be the best fit as it was a highly hyped and anticipated movie starring Bollywood Badshah SRK.It’s also the most expensive bollywood movie ever made.So,naturally its music was also highly anticipated.Listeners were waiting with bated breaths to catch their hands on this album even more so when the news came that Akon has rendered not one, but two songs for this film.So,let’s take a look on how the album actually shaped up in my opinion.

The album’s central song -the one sung by Akon ‘Chhamak Challo’ is truly an international song.A brilliant fusion mixing Western beats with Carnatic music,this one truly rocks’.With Rhythmic and very filmi poetry by Vishal dadlani in the lines like ‘tu meri chhamak challo,teri picture ka mein hero’ ,beautiful Instrumentation especially the bagpiper played in the song,some Tamil lyrics thrown in between sung by Hamsika iyer Gives this song a huge boost which otherwise has a flat tune .But what makes this song truly memorable is the exemplary singing by Akon.His hindi pronunciation is just too good for a non-indian.Infact it’s better than the likes of Katrina kaif , Salman khan and Imran Khan.No doubt that this song is burning the charts and has stayed on no.1 spot on the countdowns for a long time.

Chhamak Challo also comes in four other different versions ,namely-Punjabi mix,Club mix,International mix and JUST PLAIN REMIX.None of these versions are worth listening after you have heard the original except for the International Mix which is as good as the original one.

Dildaara-A sufiyana version Of Ben.E.King’s Stand By Me is a good Adaptation but pales in comparison to the original.Good attempt but not so good execution although it is sung marvelously by Shafqat Ali.

Akon’s second track ‘Criminal’ which also has vocals by Vishal Dadlani & Shruti Pathak has a groovy tune and very catchy beats but somehow falls flat later on with it’s ‘Ishq na kariyo’ refrain.Again,it’s Akon’s vocals that takes the cake in this song.

Bhare naina sung by Nandini is a pretty average Depressing number.Siddharth Coutto sung ‘Right by your side‘ is lively and youthful but lacks punch.Also it falls squarely in ‘heard often enough to not to be enjoyed again’ category.’Jiya mora Ghabraye ’, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani is cacophonous rock going here,there and everywhere.’Raftaarein’ is a not very innovative and good tribute to Panchamda.It’s just seems to be on encashing on Panchamda’s everlasting and popular Grunge style of singing.

Now,comes the theme tracks and there are three of them-IM ON,COMES THE LIGHT & SONG OF THE END.IM ON & COMES THE LIGHT seem to be each other’s brother and evoke feelings of majesty but fail to evoke any genuine feelings of fear which they are supposed to do.Song of the end is quite nice though but again nothing exceptional.

Overall,barring Chhamak Challo, [ Criminal & Dildaara to some extent] this one is a huge disappointment since expectations were huge.VISHAL-SHEKHAR deliver a so-so album with one truly great song in the form of CHHAMAK CHALLO.

Ratings-1] Chhamak challo-4.5/5

2] Dildaara-3/5

3] Criminal-3.5/5

4] Bhare Naina-2/5

5] Raftaarein-2.5/5

6] Right by your side-2/5

7] Jiya Mora Ghabraye-1.5/5

8] Song of the end-3/5

9] Im on-2.5/5

10] Comes the Light-2.5/5

Album rating-27/50

Verdict-Purchasable/Timepass

Picks-Chhamak challo [definately],Dildaara & Criminal.

MY TAKE:ON MUSIC

MUSIC ,it's a word that brings joy and happiness to almost every homo sapien on this planet.Almost everyone listens to music and each one has his/her own take on what is good music.Someone had said famously 'THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF MUSIC-GOOD MUSIC AND THE OTHER KIND.But even then what is good music for one may not be good for the other.In such a situation ,it becomes very difficult to criticize a song which you may not like but is a hot favorite with others or vice-versa.It becomes more difficult for person like me who doesn't believe in lines like 'shit!you have got such a bad taste' or 'are you insane!you like this song'.I thoroughly respect other people choices,views and tastes.

But i also want to express myself freely.So, I am starting a new series called 'MY TAKE' in which i would review movie soundtracks and albums,both old and new ones cutting across various languages.These reviews would give an idea on what constitutes good music for me.Your good comments are welcomed with full love and affection.Honest criticism will also be appreciated but rude and foul language will not be tolerated at all.