maneckk-414-209658

It is somewhat ironical that the man who always signed his name in the lower case 'steven p. jobs' has the movie in his name titled in capital JOBS. For me this was the most awaited movie of the year, more so because of having read the biography a couple of times. The ironies however does not end with the case of the font but the perfectionist he was, I am sure if among us today he would have wanted some (major) iterations in the movie before his actual story came out to the public. A movie reaches out to a much wider audience exponentially than a book and those of you who have read the book should agree with me that movie did not do complete justice to Jobs biopic.

Joshua Michael Stern who is known for directing dramas, has concentrated more on the dramatic side of Jobs rather than the genius his was. He has failed to explain the reason behind his outbursts, his mad passion for perfection, and the primary reason for the personality that was the Steve Jobs. I would not dwell into the particular events but Stern could have shown the cause and consequence for the milestones he achieved. Whether it was shortage of time or bad script writing the movie would fail to connect with audience who do not much about Jobs. Moreover, important events which made Jobs what he is like the creation of NeXT, the buying of Pixar and his fight with cancer are completely missing.

Ashton Kutcher has come a long way from portraying the stupid kid in That 70's show to portraying one of the geniuses of our generation. He is eerily similar to the original Steve Jobs and full marks to him for taking on the nuances, the body language and the talking style of the Apple founder. The jaw line was perfect and as a young Jobs he was flawless. The script could have given him more to showcase his acting prowess but sadly the whole movie cracked around there. I am sure Jobs family would also share the view of Kutcher doing a brilliant "JOB".

The only other character worth mentioning is that of Mike Marrkula played by Dermot Mulroney a brilliant actor with an equally brilliant performance. Matthew Modine, James Woods, John Getz and others are just supporting the main man as the in his real life it was all about himself. The music is good and you get to hear some famous Bob Dylan songs in the movie, as Steve was a big Dylan fan all this life.

Even though for me Steve Jobs life has been a 5/5, I had expected a much better product from the production and so would have Jobs. A 3/5 from me sadly for the movie and for all the Jobs and Apple fans this is a must watch. However I would suggest you read the book before going to the movie. Alternatively, if you have seen the movie and not the read the book, now is the time to pick it up and do it.

The most awaited movie of the year, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is the story of one of the greatest athlete India has ever had. A story of achievement & disappointment, milestones & nightmares, passion & apathy. Most importantly a story of grit & determination and the struggle to achieve success besides all odds. To describe or write about a movie of this stature one cannot find enough words to express oneself. But, I will definitely try and summarize it from the heart on the different levels the movie worked for me.

I came out pretty impressed with the way Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra has managed to depict the life of "Flying Sikh" in a movie slightly over 3 hours and NO, I did not get bored at any time in the movie. The script demanded the detail and though some sequences definitely match upto speed of the man on whom the movie is made, the rest of the film jogs along just fine. The race sequences have been shot very well and the climax is enduring and keeps you on the edge though most of us already knew the outcome.

A true account of the life of Milkha Singh, the movie starts with him loosing the legendary 1960 Rome Olympic race and flashes back to his life tracing the journey from his child hood (born in the undivided India now Pakistan) to the great athlete he ultimately becomes making India proud. The various times in his life are brilliantly interwoven into the plot from the time he lands up in Delhi as a refugee from Pakistan to taking up the life of crime and then moving onto the Indian Army which ultimately changes his life. The sequences where the natural athlete in him is discovered by a Services coach and his ambition to wear the Indian sports contingent blazer are emotional yet inspiring. Full marks to Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra for using his signature style of inter-weaving flash backs with the present to tell a story which is not only inspiring but emotional to the core. He has been able to effectively depict how necessity drives a man to ambition and that ambition converts to passion. Mr. Mehra will make you fall in love with Milkha Singh and you'll end up wondering why you never read or heard about this awesome man.

Farhan Akhtar has been the best at whatever he does besides acting, including directing & singing, but I am sure he would also be contemplating that this is his best performance till date. There was no Farhan Akhtar in the movie, you could only see Milkha Singh in the movie. He became one with the character that one could not differentiate between the two. His rigorous training sessions to acquire the lean body of the athlete definitely shown in the movie and his dedication matched that of the original Milkha Singh. Some sequences have of course been dramatized for the movie effect but Farhan makes them look so believable, you end up disputing the fact that they actually happened. The part where he tells his coach that he will wear the Indian team blazer one day has makes you want to do the same. Farhan's look is as close to the real Milkha one could get. The original athlete's nuances, the running style and the inner turmoil which he went through has been picked up closest to the original and though it has already been said countless times, no one could have done a better job of portraying this character.

Only 2 actors that can be mentioned in the same breath as him are Divya Dutta and Pawan Malhotra. Divya Dutta as Milkha Singh's elder sister, the one who looked after him after his parents were killed, gives a powerful emotional performance and ups the emotional quotient of the movie manifold. Every time she comes on screen you can't help but cry even when she doesn't say much. Pawan Malhotra who has proved himself time and again as an actor, once again proves as Milkha Singh's coach that there no a better actor than him when it comes to supporting roles. The large than life character and the actual influence this coach had on Milkha's life is portrayed by flawless ease and his comprehension of the character adds another dimension to Milkha's character. The young Milkha Singh portrayal by young Master Jabtej Singh is equally brilliant and the intensity the kid showed as the young Sikh makes him a deserving for future accolades. Yograj Singh (cricketer Yuvraj Singh's father) as Milkha's coach Ranvir Singh and Prakash Raj (finally he gets a break from playing baddie in Cop movies) as his unit's commanding officer support the lead character well. Sonam Kapoor as Milkha's love interest gets the best composed scenes, and though she does not have much to say in the movie, she delivers an effective understated performance. Rebecca Breeds from Australia in her first Indian movie gives a pleasant and light performance in the otherwise intense movie.

Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, forms an integral part of the movie. The title track "Zinda" is something you'd come humming out of the theatre. My favorites were the Army barrack song "Havan Karnege" and the "Slow motion Angreza" shot in an Australian pub. The music is easy on the ears and difficult to forget.

Milkha Singh ran for our country for long and has been remembered for time immemorial. A rare sports person and you can read about him all over the internet. This movie does complete justice to his biopic, both as a sportsman struggle and symbolically conveying that life's struggles don't have a finish line.

The movie takes Indian cinema to another level and though there will be many more to come this year, my nomination for the Oscars is definitely Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Irrespective of your preferences this is a must watch for all Indians.

A movie for me, most of the times is either good or bad or somewhere in between. Very few movies evoke a response like, Why? Though I have been contemplating writing a review … a friend suggested I should write one if I completely wanna crash it.

Now we all know that World War Z stands for a future war to prevent extinction of mankind and 'Z' for the obvious reasons meaning Zombie. But coming back to my point why World War Z should have been called World War 'Y' … Lots of 'Why' in my head after the watching this Brad Pitt Production.

'Y' did Brad Pitt produce such a movie especially after the his last highly acclaimed production Moneyball?

'Y' did Brad Pitt act in such a movie?

'Y' did the World War Z happen and how did the zombies come about spreading like an epidemic?

'Y' on earth the zombies or the "UNDEAD" who are on a mad warpath totally able to annihilate some of the finest armies of the world?

'Y' is there a sermon by some scientist about mother nature being a serial killer and some other philosophical bullshit which virtually has no context to what is happening?

'Y' does Brad Pitt manage to keep his cool and look hot 'n' sexy despite being in a life ending accident, mauled by Zombies, surviving a sure- shot death air crash and still be the only one to come with answers?

'Y' most importantly when we have so many uber-cool villains, technologically advanced aliens and our home grown vices did the production team had to depend on a 1980s lame formula of introducing funny faced Zombies to end our existence? Surely, we as a race deserve a more worthy nemesis.

'Y' could not the movie start with a much stylish origin and end with the good guys winning … it is just horrifying to think that they might be cooking up a sequel to it.

'Y' was the climax (like a friend suggested) straight out of Michael Jackson's thriller video and the audience couldn't help but laugh even in such a grave situation?

'Y' ………………. ?

Just look out for Brad Pitt in the movie … oh wait … there is no one else you'll see so don't worry about it.

The flip side to it is, spend 116 minutes in an AC cinema hall in this sweltering heat and enjoy the 3-D effects if you must.