New York - Your Reviews post here! - Page 5

I totally agree. All the actors gave mindblowing performances and the story itself was moving and beautifully executed. It is definitely one of my favorite movies.

New York - A Box Office Dud

Made by a Muslim director Kabir Khan, New York is post 9-11 America as seen through angry, vengeful Muslim eyes.

Consider the 9/11 facts.

After a bunch of Muslim terrorists living in America ram airplanes through the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and try (and fail) to ram another into the Capitol building in Washington DC, kill several thousand innocent Americans and cause economic damage running into tens of billions of dollars, America did what any country in its right mind would do at that time - it arrested/detained some Muslims of Middle Eastern origin living in America (exact number is debatable) who had been detected engaging in suspicious activities. And in the process of extracting information from them to prevent another horrific attack on the homeland some of these Muslims were most likely roughed up.

These (above) are the undisputable facts.

But the big picture you get from Yash Raj Films' New York is one of America's FBI randomly picking up Muslims at train stations and cabs across America, stripping them, pissing on their faces and heads, torturing them, making them wear dog leashes and harassing them endlessly.

That is fiction, a bad yarn penned by a malicious idiot going by the name of Aditya Chopra.

You say this is a movie and so it's fine to play fast and easy with the facts.

Really? Try making a Bollywood movie on the massacre, endless harassment and horrific rape of Muslims in Kashmir (which is not fiction by the way).

Aside from the fact that New York the movie never provides a proper context of what justifiably led America to engage in some unsavory practices (the full extent of which we may never know) and plays havoc with the facts, the movie is not a edge of the seat thriller but au contraire a lengthy, predictable Bollywood production with mediocre photography, below par routine by Katrina Kaif, below average music and OK performances by Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham, and entrenching Irrfan Khan as the new Iftekar of Bollywood movies.

From Laaga Chunari to New York
Having delivered a seemingly endless run of trashy, mushy Bollywood films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachle, Tashan,Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, the sagging Yash Raj banner trudges its way across the Atlantic to America and decides to get into an experimentative mood with New York.

But in the hands of this unimaginative, amateur duo (director Kabir Khan and Aditya Chopra, credited for the story) who take the easy way out, the movie never rises above the banal eastern 'intellectual' stereotyping of America as a rogue nation, a racist nation, and a trigger-happy nation.

And that derails whatever possibilities the movie could have had with a bold topic like 9/11.

What about the story outline, you ask?

It's the same dreary, heard-that-before, heard-that-before account of a Muslim youngster caught in the American security dragnet, tortured, released and the embittered fella then plotting horrific revenge.

But the terror plot itself never comes to life because so much time is wasted on frivolous nonsense.

And not once is the plot-leader convincing, not even when he tries to be ruthless with one of his crew.

For a movie on terrorism, the final scene could have been marvellous.

But then this is a movie with too many could've beens.

Instead, the ending turns into a boring, slapdash affair as if director Kabir Khan was in a rush not to miss the Friday prayer at the mosque.

Visually Boring
Having lived long years in the shadow of Philadelphia and New York City, it's hard to believe these two cities can be presented in as visually unimpressive and boring a manner as in New York.

Katrinaesque Disaster
Like the Katrina storm that lay waste to New Orleans, the Bollywood namesake is a complete waste of a star. Put all the lip stick you want on a pig but it does not a Cinderella become. Ditto with this British import Katrina. From the opening scene at the university to two key confrontations with Neil Nitin Mukesh to the crucial scene in the FBI office and finally on the terrace at the end, this utterly worthless actress is an embarrassment.

Somebody in India, please revoke Katrina's visa on the grounds of mass cruelty and deport this bimbette back to the UK!

Few Mercies
After a few million Bollywood movies, John Abraham is still having some difficulty with this acting thing.

Lots of biceps but not lots of talent. The only saving grace was that compared to his utter non-performance in Dostana John Abraham was OK in New York.

Neil Nitin Mukesh, who we first encountered in Johnny Gaddar, is adequate but doesn't set the screen afire.

Tis' a pity that we're seeing a talented actor like Irrfan Khan in similar roles these days - a police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire and an FBI agent in New York. The new Iftekar, eh?

By the way, Nawazzudin, who plays the character of Zilgai, another innocent Muslim caught up in the 9/11 aftermath, was a delight to watch.

Soporific Music
If music is indeed a crucial pillar of Bollywood movies, then New York is a dud given its eminently forgetable, lifeless music.

Skip this Movie
All in all, New York is a movie that's not worth paying $8.50 (matinee) or $10.50 (regular show).

Wait for the DVD, folks

LOL...i have never read such a biased review before...lol...this review was the most immature review ever..it seems to written by an extremely annoyed 10 yr old...

Originally posted by: gossipgurls

New York - A Box Office Dud

Made by a Muslim director Kabir Khan, New York is post 9-11 America as seen through angry, vengeful Muslim eyes.

Consider the 9/11 facts.

After a bunch of Muslim terrorists living in America ram airplanes through the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and try (and fail) to ram another into the Capitol building in Washington DC, kill several thousand innocent Americans and cause economic damage running into tens of billions of dollars, America did what any country in its right mind would do at that time - it arrested/detained some Muslims of Middle Eastern origin living in America (exact number is debatable) who had been detected engaging in suspicious activities. And in the process of extracting information from them to prevent another horrific attack on the homeland some of these Muslims were most likely roughed up.

These (above) are the undisputable facts.

But the big picture you get from Yash Raj Films' New York is one of America's FBI randomly picking up Muslims at train stations and cabs across America, stripping them, pissing on their faces and heads, torturing them, making them wear dog leashes and harassing them endlessly.

That is fiction, a bad yarn penned by a malicious idiot going by the name of Aditya Chopra.

You say this is a movie and so it's fine to play fast and easy with the facts.

Really? Try making a Bollywood movie on the massacre, endless harassment and horrific rape of Muslims in Kashmir (which is not fiction by the way).

Aside from the fact that New York the movie never provides a proper context of what justifiably led America to engage in some unsavory practices (the full extent of which we may never know) and plays havoc with the facts, the movie is not a edge of the seat thriller but au contraire a lengthy, predictable Bollywood production with mediocre photography, below par routine by Katrina Kaif, below average music and OK performances by Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham, and entrenching Irrfan Khan as the new Iftekar of Bollywood movies.

From Laaga Chunari to New York
Having delivered a seemingly endless run of trashy, mushy Bollywood films like Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachle, Tashan,Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, the sagging Yash Raj banner trudges its way across the Atlantic to America and decides to get into an experimentative mood with New York.

But in the hands of this unimaginative, amateur duo (director Kabir Khan and Aditya Chopra, credited for the story) who take the easy way out, the movie never rises above the banal eastern 'intellectual' stereotyping of America as a rogue nation, a racist nation, and a trigger-happy nation.

And that derails whatever possibilities the movie could have had with a bold topic like 9/11.

What about the story outline, you ask?

It's the same dreary, heard-that-before, heard-that-before account of a Muslim youngster caught in the American security dragnet, tortured, released and the embittered fella then plotting horrific revenge.

But the terror plot itself never comes to life because so much time is wasted on frivolous nonsense.

And not once is the plot-leader convincing, not even when he tries to be ruthless with one of his crew.

For a movie on terrorism, the final scene could have been marvellous.

But then this is a movie with too many could've beens.

Instead, the ending turns into a boring, slapdash affair as if director Kabir Khan was in a rush not to miss the Friday prayer at the mosque.

Visually Boring
Having lived long years in the shadow of Philadelphia and New York City, it's hard to believe these two cities can be presented in as visually unimpressive and boring a manner as in New York.

Katrinaesque Disaster
Like the Katrina storm that lay waste to New Orleans, the Bollywood namesake is a complete waste of a star. Put all the lip stick you want on a pig but it does not a Cinderella become. Ditto with this British import Katrina. From the opening scene at the university to two key confrontations with Neil Nitin Mukesh to the crucial scene in the FBI office and finally on the terrace at the end, this utterly worthless actress is an embarrassment.

Somebody in India, please revoke Katrina's visa on the grounds of mass cruelty and deport this bimbette back to the UK!

Few Mercies
After a few million Bollywood movies, John Abraham is still having some difficulty with this acting thing.

Lots of biceps but not lots of talent. The only saving grace was that compared to his utter non-performance in Dostana John Abraham was OK in New York.

Neil Nitin Mukesh, who we first encountered in Johnny Gaddar, is adequate but doesn't set the screen afire.

Tis' a pity that we're seeing a talented actor like Irrfan Khan in similar roles these days - a police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire and an FBI agent in New York. The new Iftekar, eh?

By the way, Nawazzudin, who plays the character of Zilgai, another innocent Muslim caught up in the 9/11 aftermath, was a delight to watch.

Soporific Music
If music is indeed a crucial pillar of Bollywood movies, then New York is a dud given its eminently forgetable, lifeless music.

Skip this Movie
All in all, New York is a movie that's not worth paying $8.50 (matinee) or $10.50 (regular show).

Wait for the DVD, folks

well for me the end was dissappointing

Originally posted by: nkapoor

OK DUDE U R AN AMERICAN, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S Y U DIDN'T LIKE THE MOVIE, KABIR KHAN IS NO RANDOM DIRECTOR HE HAS BEEN MAKING DOCUMENTARIES SINCE FOREVER!

i'll tell you what are the undisputable facts

-muslims for no rhyme or reason were arrested and were put in those horrfic cells for 3 years, and lived in the same conditions, and were molested, and were tortured shown exactly in the movie!

-and i am not to sure about the fact you have given that muslims from america did this attack, but i'll reasearch that, i thought it was attack from afghanistan, made by OSAMA BINLADIN

-another fact is that George. W Bush is a ruthless man and he is responsible for the death and torture of so many people in the third world countries that have not harmed america in any way what so ever

-america is a world power and in the past has always tried to put other countries down, and create wars in third world countries including afghanistan? how the hell do u think the twin tower crash happened? sum random people just said ok lets get a plane and crash the twin towers and die, OMG HOW FUN THAT WUD BE? i really dun think so, we are all humans, something drastic in our world would make us do something like that!

-and if u had watched the movie properly u shud've seen how america was also show in a good light, the general amerian crowd is not presented in a wrong way at all, Irfan Khan also tried to justify america in a scene, but facts are facts!

-thank god obama is here, he has stopped those detention centres!

Originally posted by: ShadowKisses

So, simply because XYZ is american, the individual will dislike the movie? That is so logical ;) It would make a lot more sense for an individual to dislike the movie on the basis of the questionable content in the movie - which, if the reviews are anything to go by, is abundant. I haven't watched the movie yet so I'm not going to argue with its content, but your "indisputable" facts are, to put it mildly, disputable.

1 & 2. No. Muslims (innocent or otherwise) were arrested WITH rhyme and reason. American has NEVER been a completely laic, affable democracy. Policies such as the Patriot Act, illegal detention and torture had long been in process to be implemented before 9/11. Try reading the policies of the Bush administration prior to 9/11 to find that basically all policies implemented post 9/11 were in them. That is your rhyme. The reason, if you forgot, is that there was a mass murder of at least 3,000 American citizens and it was suspected with good reason that members of the Al-Qaeda - an Islamist extremist group - were behind this attack that wounded many many others. It is rational to suspect that some Muslims from America would be behind this. Is this a particularly good reason for arresting innocent people? Not really. However, it is a reason, all the same.

3. I agree Bush was ruthless. However, to say "he is responsible for the death and torture of so many people in the third world countries that have not harmed america in any way what so ever" (emphasis is mine) is not entirely correct. America invaded Afghanistan because it was suspected that the Taliban harbored Al-Qaeda terrorists, who were responsible for the 9/11 attack.

4. Let me see if I have this straight -- because American quote-unquote "tried to put other countries down", the mass murder of several American citizens is justified? Furthermore, your claim that America is the big bad meanie merely because it is a superpower is a tad mis-informed. Muslim extremists declared war on US. It is speculated that the war against US is because of its support for Israel due to videos of bin Laden which show him stating that "...Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, which kills our people..."* Recall the Arab-Israeli conflict, a conflict that spans over a century. Before portraying America as the antagonist, it wouldn't hurt to learn all the facts - or as close to facts as you can get. I'm not trying to justify what America has been doing outside but I don't think the conflict is as black and white as you are portraying it. Obviously, mistakes were made due in no small amount to ego issues but one must remember that it takes two to tango.

5. Haven't watched it; will edit after watching the movie.

6. Would I be correct in assuming that you don't listen to Obama's speeches/read American political newspapers that provide the subtext? Yes, he has promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay. However, Obama has also called for prolonged detention of anyone who could potentially be a terrorist, without warrant, without trial, without evidence. Obama's "preventive detention" allows an indefinite amount of imprisonment. This indefinte imprisonment isn't based "....on proven crimes or past violations of law, but of those deemed generally "dangerous" by the Government for various reasons (such as, as Obama put it yesterday, they "expressed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden" or "otherwise made it clear that they want to kill Americans"). That's what "preventive" means: imprisoning people because the Government claims they are likely to engage in violent acts in the future because they are alleged to be "combatants."** It is extremely naive to believe that Obama is a social messiah. Just because he is the first African-American president of America doesn't mean that all of a sudden, America will become an utopia. After all, if Obama won't know which side his political bread is buttered, who will?

* - SOURCE:BBC

** - SOURCE:SALON Emphasis is Greenwald's; For further enlightenment about Obama's policy, Digby provides a very good read and NYTIMES is rather helpful in outlining it.

Originally posted by: nkapoor

well, look i dun think u have really confronted my points, so i am ok with it, u r only supporting bush, and i dunno why, but i simply hate that man, and i am entitled to my opinion! and i still believe that there was no reason to put those people in detention centres, they have so much power that's the only reason they can do sumthing like that, and the person who made new york kabir khan is a knowledgable person who has made documantaries since forever, and i dun doubt his knowledge or his research! well Obama might not be a messiah, but atleast he is a person with emotions, and again i have also questioned the fact why were they the 9/11 attacks? and wat the algaida or afghanistan people have anything to do with local muslims??

Originally posted by: ShadowKisses

Far it be for me to support Bush - I don't like the guy. There were logical fallacies in your "indisputable facts" which I took the initiative to point out. Of course, you are entitled to believe whatever you chose to. That said, your or my opinion does not constitute for an inarguable fact as you previously insisted that your opinion did. You'll find facts are muddy, at best, when it comes to issues like 9/11. As for having no rhyme and reason, like I said, believe what you want to ;)

Kabir Khan actually hasn't been making documentaries since forever. A quick glance at his IMDB profile shows he has only made three movies - The Forgotten Army (1999; a documentary), Kabul Express (2006; not a documentary) and New York (2009; not a documentary). That he spelled Barack Obama's name wrong in the movie ("Barrack" -- going by Raja Sen's review) speaks volumes about how well-researched his material must be :P

LOL. And Bush obviously didn't have the necessary biological components for emotions, right? Obama, like Bush, is a politician, at the end of the day. If he was as nice and kind-hearted as you seem to portray him, why did he opt for "preventive detention"? He certainly isn't dumb. That said, if you choose to see Obama through rose-tinted glasses, none of my business.

Why 9/11 happened is anyone's guess. I've provided why I think it happened: American support for Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict pissed off anti-Semitic people like bin Laden beyond that, I don't know what to believe since information pertaining to 9/11 is mostly kept under wraps. What most unanimously agree on is that it should not have happened. Even if America presented a rather antagonistic attitude to other countries (this isn't to say that it did, but I am positing a scenario), America still is the victim in the whole 9/11 deal. An analogy can be drawn with Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita in Lolita: Even though Lolita seduced Doctor Humbert Humbert on occasion to get her way, she still was the victim of sexual abuse/statutory rape.

What Al-Qaeda and Afghanistan have to do with local Muslims and the 9/11 attacks in general: America invaded Afghanistan because it was suspected that the Taliban harbored Al-Qaeda terrorists, who were responsible for the 9/11 attack. What does this have to do with local Muslims? Simple: A conspiracy that took down the iconographic twin towers and caused such economic disruption (Manhattan's economy came to a crushing halt) couldn't have been possible without inside information. Personnel inside the Pentagon, Twin Towers, citizens of America were suspects, logically speaking. Rationally, it can also be concluded that since Muslim extremists declared war on US, many Muslim American citizens would support the cause. It is unfortunate that their ethnicity was a factor in their detainment but to claim that it was not is rather dishonest. As such, people who were suspected to be involved with such terrorist groups were detained under the US Patriot Act. Was it fair? No. However, to quote House "If you want fair, you picked the wrong... species" (S4, Ugly).

Originally posted by: nkapoor

i believe that the treatment of these people in detention centres was not justified, and also strongly believe that america would obviously be at fault for the twin towers to go, i am not syaing that the right thing happened, in sydney i was petrified looking at the image, but that does not justidy their acts in detention centre and them bombing and killing innocent people in third world countries!