'the namesake'. 'the devil wears prada'

it escapes me what makes 'the namesake' this inter-generational migration drama such a popular film among the critics. granted it is not too awful for what it wants to be. it does stay away from pulling out all the stops in the understated way that makes the film ‘hollywoodish’, but played out like a soap opera with wooden performances from tabu and irrfan khan, often the only thing that makes it worthwhile is kal penn’s cool 'abcd' act in the first half. as the unimaginative narrative continues, when everything follows a well worn path of death and realization, it film begins to plod tediously.

'the devil wears prada' was pitched as this comedy about a boss from hell in the fashion world; and unfortunately it too was a middling film that never tried anything that had not been done before by many films. but, if at home on a sunday, and if in need for some fluff- very watchable.