Indian Releases

7 Khoon Maaf

Studios – UTV Motion Pictures, Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures Pvt. Ltd.

(Previous Film: Tees Maar Khan, Ishqiya)

Director - Vishal Bhardwaj (Previous Film: Kaminey)

In a nutshell....

Saat Khoon Maaf is a story about a beautiful Anglo-Indian woman, Susanna, who over a period of thirty five years marries seven times due to the untimely and mysterious deaths of her husbands. Susanna is accused for the strange circumstances of their deaths but it is to be found out whether she committed the murders out of pure necessity or to satiate her blood lust.

Well what can I say about this film! It's got every reason to be the pick of the week, in fact, the month. Vishal Bhardwaj's 100% success is good enough to pull audiences to the theatres. Plus, Priyanka Chopra is in the lead, who did a wonderful job in Kaminey and is currently one of the best actresses in India. It would be great to see her don various looks at different stages of life. Besides, there are some wonderful actors playing her husbands. This film is based on of the most prolific writers, Ruskin Bond's short story, which he later elaborated to 200 pages so that Vishal could make a film based on it. The idea of a woman marrying seven times and killing her husbands is novel and intriguing, not only for the Indian audiences but also for their foreign counterparts. The trailers look supreme, and this sure is a dark film and belongs to my favourite genres. The only problem I think this film can have is the acceptability by the masses because many of the usual audiences did not like Kaminey just because they did not understand it. But I don't care, as this one definitely seems to be a breakthrough film in Indian cinema. Go for it at any cost.

Runtime - 135 mins

Genre - Drama/Thriller

Rated - A

Principal Cast

Priyanka Chopra – Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (Last seen in: Anjaana Anjaani)

Naseeruddin Shah - Dr. Modhusudhon Tarafdar (Last seen in: Allah Ke Banday)

Annu Kapoor - Keemat Lal (Last seen in: Chintuji)

Irrfan Khan - Wasiullah Khan (Last seen in: Yeh Saali Zindagi)

Neil Nitin Mukesh – Major Edwin Rodriques (Last seen in: Lafangey Parindey)
John Abraham – Jimmy Stetson (Last seen in: Jhootha Hi Sahi)

Aleksandr Dyachenko - Nikolai Vronsky (Indian Theatrical Debut)

Vivaan Shah - Arun (Debut)

Principal Crew

Vishal Bhardwaj, Matthew Robbins, Ruskin Bond (short story - Susanna's Seven Husbands) - Writers

Guillermo Navarro - Directors of Photography
Sreekar Prasad - Editor
Vishal Bhardwaj - Music Director

Film’s USP

Priyanka marrying 7 times and killing her husbands

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLT-Nt-e_Vk

Anticipation Rating - 5/5

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Kaccha Limboo

tudios – Park Bench Motion Pictures (Debut), Sahara Motion Pictures (Previous Film: Wanted)

Director - Sagar Ballary (Previous Film: Bheja Fry)

In a nutshell....

Kaccha Limboo is about a school going kid's transition into adolescence. He faces problems from family, school, friends and everything else in his life. Thus he tries to get rid of all the unfortunate things happening around him as he just wishes to be happy and live life the way he wishes to. But life has different plans for him.

Being called a Kaccha Limboo is always a thing that hurts the ego and confidence of a teenager which is what this film largely focuses on. I believe it has a lot of potential to be successful and move the audiences, especially when it comes from the writer/director of Bheja Fry. The cast isn't full of stars but they know very well how to act and have been received well in the past. Thus this film should make some profit at the box office and some space in the hearts of the families who go to watch this film as it holds a lot for the growing kids and the way they should be treated with by their families.

Runtime - Unknown

Genre - Comedy/Family

Rated - U

Principal Cast

Vinay Pathak – (Last seen in: The Film Emotional Atyachar)

Sarika - (Last seen in: Y.M.I.-Yeh Mera India)

Rukhsar - (Last seen in: Allah Ke Banday)

Atul Kulkarni - (Last seen in: Allah Ke Banday)

Taheer Sutarwala - (Debut)

Principal Crew

Sagar Ballary - Writer

Parixit Warrier - Directors of Photography
Suresh Pai - Editor
Amardeep Nijjer - Music Director

Film’s USP

From the Director of Bheja Fry

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBA8QgwS9ls&feature=related

Anticipation Rating - 3/5

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I Am Number Four

Studios – Bay Films (Debut), Road Rebel (Previous Film: How Do You Know)

Director - D.J. Caruso (Previous Film: Eagle Eye)

In a nutshell....

John Smith, a teenage alien in human appearance from planet Lorien, possesses extraordinary powers and abilities. There are 8 such other individuals who escaped together from Lorien to avoid attacks from Megadorians, an evil race which wants to finish the Loriens. The 9 Loriens reside on planet Earth, concealing their true identities. They have to be killed in a set order and 3 have already been killed. John is Number Four.

Based on the successful novel of the same name, I Am Number Four has a completely unique storyline with a lot of promise in terms of entertainment and thrills. But there isn't a great star cast which might hamper this film's possible success. However, it's being promoted a lot, there has been a lot of buzz around it and I think it being different will work in its favour. A sequel, The Power Of Six, in which the focus will be on Number Seven, is already being shot and a special sneak peek will be shown at the end of I Am Number Four. Thus the makers are already sure that their film's going to do wonders especially because it is backed by good distribution and the novel's success.

Runtime - 110 mins

Genre - Action/Sci-fi/Thriller

Rated - Unknown

Principal Cast

Alex Pettyfer – John Smith (Last seen in: Stormbreaker)

Timothy Olyphant – Henri (Last seen in: The Crazies)
Dianna Agron – Sarah Hart (Last seen in: Burlesque)

Principal Crew

Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Marti Noxon, Pittacus Lore (novel) - Writers

Guillermo Navarro - Directors of Photography
Jim Page, Vince Filippone- Editors
Trevor Ranbin - Music Director

Film’s USP

Unique story

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5djHG3hPu0

Anticipation Rating - 3.5/5

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Rabbit Hole

Studios – Odd Lot Entertainment, Blossom Films (Debut), Olympus Pictures (Previous Film: The Spirit, Adam)

Director - John Cameron Mitchell (Previous Film: Shortbus)

In a nutshell....

Becca and Howie lose their young son, Danny, by a car accident. Becca tries to find solace in a surreal world of a perfect family and friends. Her quest leads her into mysterious relationship with a young comic book artist, Jason, who was actually the driver of the car that killed Danny. On the other hand, trying forget his son's death, Howie seeks refuge in outsiders who provide him things that Becca can't. The loss of their son takes the husband and wife away from each other.

This film's an adaptation of a Pulitzer winning play, and does seem to be touching and moving. The performances especially seem to be the most important thing about Rabbit Hole, which explores various shades of the husband and wife who are trying to come out of a shock. I am looking forward to Nicole Kidman's act as she seems brilliant from the trailers. This film, I believe, should do well considering its decent success in the US.

Runtime - 91 mins

Genre - Drama

Rated - A

Principal Cast

Nicole Kidman – Becca (Last seen in: Nine)

Aaron Eckhart – Howie (Last seen in: Love Happens)
Dianne Wiest – Nat (Last seen in: Passengers)

Principal Cast

David Lindsay-Abaire - Writer

Frank G. DeMarko - Director of Photography
Joe Klotz - Editor
Anton Sanko - Music Director

Film’s USP

Explores a different situation of husband-wife relationship

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLrzt71dfAI

Anticipation Rating - 3.5/5

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Gnomeo & Juliet

Studios – Touchstone Pictures, Rocket Pictures, Starz Animation

(Previous Film: You Again, It's A Boy Girl Thing, 9)

Director - Kelly Asbury (Previous Film: Shrek 2)

In a nutshell....

Gnomeo and and Juliet are two garden gnomes who fall in love but have to face many obstacles as they are caught up in a feud between beighbours. The question is, will they find happiness among such madness?

Gnomeo & Juliet sounds exciting as nothing has really be done on gnomes before. The cast is spectacular and so is the director whose both the previous animated films have done really well. The grown ups might not enjoy but it sure seems like a treat for the little ones. The film's done a great job on the box office in its opening week at the US and UK box office.

Runtime - 83 mins

Genre - Animation/Comedy/Adventure

Rated - U

Principal Cast

James McAvoy – Gnomeo (Animation Voice Over Debut)

Emily Blunt – Juliet (Animation Voice Over Debut)
Dame Maggie Smith – Lady Bluebury (Animation Voice Over Debut)

Michael Caine - Lord Redbrick (Animation Voice Over Debut)

Jason Statham - Tybalt (Animation Voice Over Debut)

Julie Walters - Miss Montague (Animation Voice Over Debut)

Principal Crew

Alan Loeb, Timothy Dowling - Writers

Corey D. Smith - Visual Effects Supervisor

Catherine Apple - Editor
Chris Bacon, James Newton Howard, Elton John - Music Director

Film’s USP

Voice over debuts of some of the most famous British actors

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPQyg8XtGsw

Anticipation Rating - 3.5/5

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How Do You Know

Studios – Columbia Pictures Corporation, Road Rebel, Gracie Films (Previous Releases: The Damned United, Vampires Suck, The Simpsons Movie)

Director - James L. Brooks (Previous Work: Spanglish)

In a nutshell....

Lisa, a sportswoman, is trying to evaluate her life after she is dumped by the USA softball team because she is past her prime. As she is trying to recover from this emotional blow, she comes across her ex boyfriend George, who is a corporate guy in crisis. A love triangle develops between the two and Lisa's current boyfriend, Matty, who is a baseball player. The eventual question is How Do You Know when you are in love?

With such big names in the cast and a director who has won an Oscar, you'd imagine this one to be a great film with loads of emotions flowing around. However, this doesn't seem to be the case especially after I read the US reviews and saw the box office collections. I know going by the reviews is the worst way of judgement but then they've been quite overwhelming. I'd have had other ideas about the film had it not released in the US but right now I feel it's not the best choice for the weekend.

Runtime - 121 mins

Genre - Comedy/Drama/Romance

Rated - 12A

Principal Cast

Reese Witherspoon – Lisa (Last seen in: Four Christmases)

Owen Wilson – Matty (Last seen in: Llittle Fockers)
Paul Rudd – George (Last seen in: Dinner For Schmucks)

Jack Nicholson - Charles (Last seen in: The Bucket List)

Principal Crew

Richard Wenk, Lewis John Carlino - Writers

Janusz Kaminski - Director of Photography
Richard Marks, Tracey Wadmore-Smith - Editors
Hans Zimmer - Music Director

Film’s USP

Impressive star cast

Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlqxwkqWLaQ

Anticipation Rating - 2.5/5