Double Feature: Don (2006) & Je Crois Que Je l’Aime (2007)

While I was just about to hatch a schedule to get some Academy Awards nominated movies for this year within this next month, Netflix has decided to rule my life.  So many movies expiring.  I had about a week of break before it all started up again. Although, I’m working on reviewing everything I watch, I might just end up saving a few of these next few Netflix for the future while I get the more urgent issue done.

Still, here’s a little double feature for two foreign movies…

DON (2006)

Director: Farhan Akhtar

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar, Boman Irani, Om Puri

A simple man (Vijay) from the city of Mumbai is recruited by a police officer to masquerade as the Don, the leader of an international gang of smugglers. But things go wrong, the officer is killed and now Vijay is on his own, with only his lover (Roma) and a lame ex con artist to help him to prove his innocence. – IMDB

Don is an Indian action thriller with a runtime with 171 minutes (a little less than 3 hours), it took me about 3-4 evening to finish.  Unlike Kahaani, which was a little shorter, this one had an incredible issue with pacing.  It was just so boring and I kept falling asleep so I had to turn it off.  Its not really a problem with the story because as it is a thriller, the little twist ending was decent.  I’m pretty sure the thought would have skimmed your mind at the turning point of events but if you were like me, you might dismiss it.  The last hour was massively better than the first two thirds.  I am glad that I didn’t give up and just turn on something else. I did have another 2 Indian movies in queue ready to expire.

I’m not exactly sure if there is a hype for Don. Seeing as there was a sequel, I figured the first one must have been relatively well received. This one is definitely far from one I’d ever venture to see again.  So slow, felt extremely long and man, I just wasn’t buying Don as Don.  The songs weren’t particularly appealing to me either. The only actor that saved this movie was Boman Irani who plays DCP de Silva.  That man acted the hell out of that role. By the way, this man was the Professor in 3 Idiots (review HERE) and he was so awesome in that one also!

I’m taking a little break before I check out Don 2 but I’ll eventually do it, maybe when its bordering on Netflix expiration again 😉

JE CROIS QUE JE L’AIME (2007)

Director: Pierre Jolivet

Cast: Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Bonnaire, Francois Berleand, Kad Merad

Lucas, a wealthy, 43 year-old divorced businessman, is irresistibly attracted to Elsa, a 38 year old renowned sculptor from whom he has commissioned a piece to decorate the reception at his office. –IMDB

Je Crois Que Je L’Aime (English title: Could This Be Love) is a French romantic comedy.  The only reason this landed on my Netflix queue was because I had previously seen a movie called Queen of Play with Sandrine Bonnaire and she was pretty amazing in that one.  Coming to this one, Sandrine Bonnaire still holds the charm as the female lead as a ceramic artist passionate about her work and willing to give up a job to avoid any trouble of difference in opinions.  Still, being caught where she needed the money, she gave her new employer, wealthy businessman Lucas a second chance.  Sandrine Bonnaire plays the more serious Elsa.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that Lucas, played by Vincent Lindon, has a certain chemistry. The story is more mature as these actors are older than the average romantic comedies.  Its a different vibe.  I don’t have a problem with these things, love is love, age isn’t really an issue.  However, the story didn’t really build up from much. Thats not saying that its not good because it has a good bit of fun moments mostly because Lucas is so afraid that being tricked out of his money in his previous relationship, he ends up being suspicious before falling in love but he just can’t help falling in love with Elsa, so he hires a private investigator to check her background and track her and the lack of communication between those two are absolutely hilarious.

There are some funny and sweet moments but the story was not built up properly so it had choppy moments.

Overall… Je Crois Que Je L’Aime was more entertaining than Don. Although both of these are average, beware of Don’s length and pacing before you attempt.  Consider yourself warned 😉

Have you seen either of these? Thoughts? 

3 Idiots (2009)

A writer and fellow blogger, Ankit Raj Bachchan asked me to search up and review some Indian movies in the beginning of March.  I have never watched any up to date and I asked him to give me some time.  However, I got a promotion on my tablet to buy 1 movie and get 2 free. By the time the voucher got to me earlier this week, I managed to see that it had 3 Idiots available to download, I swept it up right away.  I knew nothing of what to expect from it, nothing about the story, the actors, etc.  This is completely new and fresh to me so reviewing this is going to be a challenge in itself.  However, I did know from what Ankit told me is that it is THE biggest blockbuster of Indian cinema!

Director:  Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani, Omi Vaidya

Farhan (Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi) get news of the whereabouts of a lost college best friend, Rancho (Aamir Khan).  Due to this, they both go to look for him. During the trip, they think back to how they met, their college years and all the hardships that they’ve been through that has gotten them to not only where they are but also how strong their friendship actually is.  With their memories, we see Rancho is not only a lost friend but also that he inspired them to be who they are today and to live life without fear and to follow their passion.  He taught them how to think differently even if everyone else thought they were being idiots.

I’m going to start by saying this is a comedy/drama with hints of romance.  When I first turned on the movie, I almost fainted and asked myself what I got into because no comedy that I’ve ever watched lasts 2 hours and 51 minutes *faints*.  However, I have to say, I’d gladly give those 2 hours and 51 minutes again to the movie.  It was a bit cheesy in parts but all in all, this movie was funny, enjoyable and inspiring.  Maybe its because I can somewhat relate to the university days of studying in fear of what people would think (maybe even a bit right now).

In the first half of the movie, we had spontaneous singing and dancing with catchy tunes.  I always like a bit of that.  At first, I was laughing at the first song All izz Well because it was so random from start to end. Then after that, it was stuck in my head for the day after until we hit another song, Zoobi Doobi.  Forget about this one, its still in my head and I only know those two lines and the following melody.  Its right here if you want to hear it, the scene is quite fun and cute, give it a shot. I couldn’t find a good video with english subtitles, this one skips a little, but still check it out! I guarantee smiles at the minimum 🙂

Thats just the start because you still have songs here and there.  However, this is a really awesome story.  It never really makes you feel like its too long because they constantly crack some witty jokes and adds some silliness.  There are twists and lessons, ups and downs, obstacles and it has these heartwarming and touching moments.  It did really well in showing a developing and strong friendship, of being able to do anything for your friends.  Also, it brings up school (and some apply to life) issues about studying, searching for their future, the inspiration, conquering one’s fears to move forward.

I don’t know anything about the director or the actors but I’d say that they did a superb job at bringing this movie to life.  The whole cast was fantastic, the story was set in a way to lure the viewers continuously with its change and balance between good and bad events that occur to our 3 main protagonists.

I’m definitely recommending this.  I was extremely pleasantly surprised! Its worth those close to 3 hours that you spend because chances are you won’t feel them pass you by because it just turns into a fun ride packed with some good laughs (and maybe pick up some thing extra)!