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My Name Is Khan, a review by Tom

My Name Is Khan (2010/India) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Karan Johar Writing: Shibani Bathija (Screenwriter), Niranjan Iyengar (Screenwriter), Shibani Bathija (Story By), Shibani Bathija (Screenwriter) Length: 155 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch, English

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Stars:
Shah Rukh Khan as Rizvan Khan
Kajol as Mandira Khan
Katie Amanda Keane as Sarah Garrick
Kenton Duty as Reese Garrick
Benny Nieves as Detective Garcia

Plot:
My Name Is Khan is the triumphant story of an unconventional hero and the obstacles he must overcome to regain the love of this life. Rizvan Khan, a Muslim man who has Aspergers Syndrome, moves to San Francisco and falls in love with the beautiful Mandira. They marry and have a happy life; until September 11, 2001, when attitudes towards Muslims undergo an alarming change. After a series of tragic events leaves her devastated, Mandira splits from Rizvan, leaving him alone once again. To win her back, Rizvan embarks on a touching and inspiring journey across America to clear his name and prove his love to the woman who captured his heart.

Awards:
Won:

Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Actress (Kajol)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Director (Karan Johar)

Nominated:

Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Film
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Lyricist ("Noor-e-Khuda": Niranjan Iyangar)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Lyricist ("Sajda": Niranjan Iyangar)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Music Director (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Playback Singer - Female ("Noor-e-Khuda": Shreya Ghoshal)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Playback Singer - Male ("Noor-e-Khuda": Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan)
Filmfare Awards (2011)		Best Playback Singer - Male ("Sajda": Rahat Fateh Ali Khan)

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Scene Access

This movie is about a guy, who has a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome, who is told by his wife in anger to go meet the president of the United States and tell him "My Name Is Khan, and I am not a terrorist". This movie is about the journey of him to accomplish it, during which we see in flashbacks his life growing up and later meeting is wife, and finally the tragedy which lead to his journey. This movie also deals with the prejudice that Muslims have to deal with since 9/11.
I have seen this movie a few weeks ago in the cinema. I really enjoyed it and luckily it has already been released on DVD in the UK. This is the first Shah Rukh Khan/Kajol collaboration since 2001, before Kajol went on a baby break. And this alone was a reason for me to seek it out. This screen pairing never let me down.
When I mentioned it in passing to friend that this movie is running in the theatre, the first reaction wasn't positive because of Bollywood. But the next day he told me, that he has read a review now and he wants to see it. I ended up seeing this movie with three friends. They did all enjoy it. They were surprised that a Bollywood movie takes on such controversial topic like racial discrimination in the wake of 9/11. That didn't fit with their image of a Bollywood movie.
The movie goes on some occations a little overboard, but overall I really enjoyed it. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were both great in it. They have real chemistry together, even if he plays a man with a mental disability. In this regard it is reminiscent of "Forrest Gump". We have gullible but lovable guy, who goes out across the US. Both inspire the nation when they are they catch the eye of the media. And both have a loving relationship with their dream girl.
When I was watching this movie in the theatre, it was running in the "international cut" done for a film festival. It was missing about thirty minutes of footage. A complete subplot was missing, which was only touched upon through television reports. Here on this DVD it is restored, and I have mixed feeling about this sublot. It somehow doesn't really fit, and it had a better effect on me when only seeing it in parts through television reports. But of course I am glad that I now got the chance to see the full movie.
BTW, the movie has no real dance numbers.



Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on June 30th, 2010)

Colt Comrades, a review by Rogmeister

The Hoppy film I watched this time is from one of several volumes put out by Platinum, each containing 5 original Hopalong Cassidy films.  Besides the one I discuss below, this volume also includes Undercover Man, Three Men From Texas, Stick To Your Guns and The Dead Don't Dream.

Colt Comrades (1943) 
Director: Lesley Selander
Cast: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Gayle Lord, Earl Hodgins, Victory Jory, Douglas Fowley, Herbert Rawlinson, Bob Mitchum

The earliest Hopalong Cassidy movies came out in 1935 and I had actually started to watch them in order that they came out but I decided to move ahead in the series so I could catch an episode with a few other familiar faces.  Of course, I also had to "take a hit" with that idea as well because by 1943, Gabby Hayes had left the series and Andy Clyde had taken over the part of the "funny old geezer" role, playing a character named California at this point.  The first familiar face in this short film was Robert Mitchum (billed as Bob Mitchum in the credits), playaing a bad guy as he did in most of his handful of appearances in the Hoppy films.  He actuallyl winds up dead about 10 minutes into the picture but he gets it off to a quick start, gunning down a railroad man, stealing his mailbag and then being caught and finally gunned down himself.  The plotline has Hoppy and his friends using their share of the reward money for capturing him and using it to become partners on a cattle ranch with a man and his sister who are already there...the man here is the other familiar face in this film, George Reeves, later to be tht title star of TV's "The Adventures of Superman".  Apart from a few interesting plot twists, this is pretty much a standard Hopalong Cassidy movie which means it's got lots of gunplay, people running to the rescue on horseback and a fair smidgen of comedy relief.  At the end of the tale, so we don't expect Hoppy to be stuck on his own ranch for the rest of his cinema career, we learn he's been called back to work by the law due to other outlaw concerns.  Maybe that's why George Reeves didn't become a permanent member of the Hoppy cast, too.

(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on October 11th, 2009)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek
3.11 Wink of an Eye
Writer: Arthur Heinemann (Screenwriter), Lee Cronin (Original Material By), Gene Roddenberry (Original Characters By)
Director: Jud Taylor
Cast: William Shatner (Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), Kathie Browne (Deela), Jason Evers (Rael), James Doohan (Scott), George Takei (Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel), Erik Holland (Ekor), Geoffrey Binney (Compton)

An episode about some time-accelerated aliens who try to take over the Enterprise. A nice episode, but nothing really special.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on October 28th, 2011)