This is the movie review thread where you post reviews of movies that have just been released i.e. in the current week.So that TDF members can save time/money from being wasted on useless movies
the reviews have to be critical reviews
they cannot be a "5 star" or "must watch" or "love the acting"
you dont need to write a huge article but the reviews cannot be one liners.
The reviews have to be original, don't just copy stuff from somewhere.
I would want people to dabble in the following:
1. Theme.
2. Plot.
3. Character development.
4. Story and direction.
5. Screenplay.
6. Overall entertainment value
7. Cinematography
8. Background scores
These are just suggestions.You can dabble in whatever pleases you.
Please do conclude your review with ratings , we shall use a 5 point/star scale which is quite common
and like always no spoilers! and if you must then do use spoiler tags
and make sure when you write the reviews to not give away much about the story or characters.
All movies released after June 1st are eligible for a critical review.
And , one last thing this is strictly a Review thread, so keep the commenting on other's reviews to a minimum. Try to post only reviews here and preferably not comment as the moderators will moderate.
The movie is dark.. like all anurag kashyap's movies.
It's a thriller , quite different from the regular bollywood stuff we get
The dialogues are hard hitting, the screenplay is awesome and the cinematography too.
Special mention for the awesome background score which is simply delightful and so right according to the movie.
the khoya khoya chand remix is very good and the use of this song in the movie is simply superb.
Each actor has done justice to their roles, all the 5 young actors have done well.
it is a movie aimed at the youth and they will esp. enjoy it.
overall it's good entertainment& it's worth the money. I would say it's a must watch.
Starring : Nana Patekar, Mohit Ahlawat and Rimi Sen
First of all before i start this review I want to tell u I really love Nana Patekar's work whenever he act as a cop so review would be bit biased.
Inspector Hanumant Singh (Nana Patekar) is a corrupt police officer loyal to none. The story revolves about how a new sub inspector Mohit . Mohit a new officer is an honest officer but is not able to cop up with his life due to his friends always pulling his leg and his incompetence at academic level.
The story is perfecti and till end u cannot guess its end. The actors played their part very well and both Nana Patekar were Mohit were good. Rimi Sen was just to fill the gap of an actress.
Definitely a must watch if u liked Ab Tak Chappan / Tiranga/ Yashwant and even if u didn't liked these movies well just watch this one to increase one more count to Nana's fan!!!
Spoiler below
Death of Nana and Mohit in the end was dissappointing
Bheja Fry 2 5.8/10 (I'm not used to rate in 5, so plz bear with me)
Just coming from the show.
Theme: So the original idiot is back but this time with less bang. Bharatbhushan wins a reality show. He gets a free cruise trip as a complementary gift. But surprises are waiting for him and he's waiting to meet them.
Character development: Bharatbhushan is well established character. In this installment he gets few new people to fry their "bheja". Kay Kay Menon is remarkable one of them. Suresh Menon's character is not much explored and Minisha Lamba is just the another beautiful girl.
Story and direction: Story or theme is forced and direction is loose and at time clueless. What is being done and why no one seems to care. And what is with so many close ups? At time even the 70MM screen could not fill the whole face half of head and chin was covered. Now imagine how close the close-up scenes were.
Cast: Vinay Pathak is what you'd go to see but would be disappointed. This is such a weak script even he can't save it. Though he would made you laugh but you would be ashamed after as the reason was such a silly joke. Suresh Menon's role is short but sweet. Kay Kay Menon does good job. And why was there Amol Gupte? What did his character contribute in the movie apart from stretching the screen time? That was real silly job.
Overall entertainment value: First half is very slow and boring, and if you survive to reach to second half you might enjoy it. Something similar to "Yamla Pagla Deewana" that movie never wanted to be serious and fun began after second half.
Cinematography: Only at one moment the cameraman tries to capture the beautiful view of the beach. That was the sunset scene and that lasts only 2-3 seconds! Damn!
Background scores: Vinay pathak is always singing so there you got your background score.
Verdict: Those who have not yet seen this movie, wait for the DVD release and watch it at your home. Don't waste your money watching it in cinema hall.
Went for the paid preview at Cinemastar in Thane. Show was @9PM and costed me Rs 140/- Runtime: 150 mins Plot: Are you crazy that you search for a plot in a Transformer movie?!!! I'm not so I did not.
Still if you are being too demanding, it goes like this...long long ago there was a war between Decepticons and Cybertrons. One Autobot escaped the scene witha pathbreaking tech and crash landed at moon. Eventually Autobots living in Earth come to know about this and recover the spaceship and its lone autobot "The Sentinel".
The Sentinel actually had flown away with 100 pillars which would can create a bridge by which he can bring Cybertron to earth. For this they want to make earth as shelter and needs to destroy it. (What you are reading a spoiler and still not getting it?!!! Well, I told you at first don't force me tell its plot)
Character development: It has no scope to pay attention to human actors. Hence not much contribution from 'em.
direction: Michael Bay hit the spot right this time. No nonsense jokes, unnecessary romance scenes. You get what you have came here for. WAR!!!
Overall entertainment value: If you want a good story along with awesome action, then you would have stopped watching Transformers series after watching the first part, if you are not...then this movie is for you. Yeah for you only. Minds blown!!! Awesome action...just fcking awesome!!!
Cinematography: Yeah...a hell lot improved this time. He has abandoned the shaky camera this time. You could finish an action scene without catching headache. Fights are choreographed very well. A destroyed chicago and its destruction is gr8. Then again these all are CGI so I'm not sure if it would be counted in cinematography.
Background scores: As always LP. This time its "A thousand suns"
3D: Till first half the 3D is engazing but after that it really vanishes...
Loopholes:-
1>Megatron says he made a deal with Sentinel for rebuilding Cybertron. He could have done this long ago. Why wait for Optimus to come to earth and kick their asses.
2>The gal provokes Megatron!!! WTF!!! Seriously WTF!!! Mother of all cliches
3>Megatron attacks Sentinel just when Sentinel was about to finish Optimus Prime. Why not wait a few more seconds and then kill Sentinel. Instead both of them died now.
First and foremost, this movie is not for all and certainly not for the fainthearted. This is step jump from bollywood. This movie breaks so many orthodox myths, values and etc that its a revolution on its own. I really thank Aamir Khan for backing this project and kudos to our censor board for allowing this movie to release without a single cut.
Theme : Tashi(Imran Khan), Arun (Vir Das) and Nitin (Kunal) are three flat mates. Tashi is a journalist, Nitin is his photographer and Arun works in an ad-agency. Tashi's gf is an air-hostess. She gets a request from her friend that she has to drop a packet to a place on her behalf. She was too busy and the responsibility of dropping of package falls on Tashi. The movie starts to unfold its original events at this time. What happens next is mad chase and quirky, tongue-in-cheek humor which lasts with you even after movie ends (I still could not get over of the hangover and I watched the movie yesterday)
Character development : This is very neatly done. Every details is portrayed with great care. At titles you get to see the room, bathroom and kitchen where our protagonists stay. It helps you to imagine how the people would be who live there. Then as the movie progresses with every dialog and incident the characters are drawn carefully. Full marks here.
Direction : As Abhishek Chaubey surprised and shocked me in Ishqiya same does Abinay Deo. I would go one step forward and say he not only shocked but shattered a lot of people's masks of culture, elegance etc... This movie is what today's urban youth say, this movie is what todays urban youth do or deal with problems. Kudos to him for showing us this movie.
One more thing I want to add here, I've always hated the sh1t jokes in movie, I totally detest it and dislike it. I've always found that the scene having the sh1t joke contributes nothing to the storyline, in no-way it alters or modifies the main events. BUT, this movie is standing on the sh1t and the slogan they adopted from the movie "How to rob a bank" is very true for this movie. Sh1t happened and thus Delhi Belly happened.
I've only one complain for this movie. This movie is 5 minutes long. At the end it tries to conclude every fragment of story that resulted in the mayhem. Why was it necessary, a movie of such intellect should leave something for its audience to imagine or ponder upon later. This is the only issue I found in the movie which seemed to bother me. I don't think many here would have any problem with that.
Screenplay: Screenplay is the main pillar of this movie. Such dialogs and their filming are so cohesive that they never seemed acted or unnatural. The whole theater was laughing with every every dialog... loud scenes like "sh1t happens" with ViJay Raj, "Rakhle meri jaan" at brothel, "did they shave you before hanging" in taxi and lots of others are to be mentioned for bringing the house down with uncontrolled and fluent laughter. And add with this list all subtle blink-and-miss scenes and you get a perfect movie Delhi Belly.
Overall entertainment value: I laughed and laughed and laughed throughout the movie. I last laughed so much when I watched "Khichdi the movie" but that was a no-brainer and this movie not only has brain but heart and comedy at right place.
Acting: Everyone including Vir Das (or specially Vir Das?) acted superb. Vijay Raj once again proved that a talent like him is very less used in the industry.
Cinematography: This is another strong point of this movie. Rough and rugged looking Mumbai is what you get to see in this movie. Dirty flat, broken toilet, electric wire mesh running infront of your balcony, crowded gallis are so well captured that you never feel you are watching a place which you don't know. This could have been any city.
Background scores: Music of Ram Sampath is already superhit. The music alone got its fair share of controversies but still grew strong with every passing day. All the songs you have heard of this movie are used a background score and never affects the pace of the movie in any way.
Editing: Another fist class job here (apart from the concluding scenes at the end). This is a 96 mins movie and was shown without any break. In no time it felt long or you thought of taking a look at your watch to check out the time (because you really did not want miss anything on the screen)
Verdict: A must and must watch movie. This movie won't be liked by all for its bold and I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-me presentation. A lot would detest it for showing them mirror and a lot won't understand the humor in it or would simply bring the topic of culture, sankriti etc while swearing on it. Watch it if you think you can tolerate satires and black comedies. Don't watch it if you think you have the responsibility and ability to judge what is right and what is wrong for others. This movie is obviously not for you. Stay out of this because at the end you would end-up abusing it.
"This movie breaks so many orthodox myths, values and etc that its a revolution on its own. "
Urf Professor (Video 2001) - IMDb back in 2001, authentic lingo, got thrown out by the censor board, also manages to rise below vulgarity, unliek db
umm caught Shaitan for 50 bucks morning show lol
1. Theme : bunch of high kids and their depraved lives
2. Plot : kids kill two people in an accident and try to cover it up
3. Character development : NA. There was potential in the gamer's char, and some others, but mostly it seems as if the movie is made for kalki and none of the chars are truly fleshed out. None of them are motivated lol. You cannot really relate to the "darkness" in these guiz, because the demons are not fleshed out, they are just random and insane. enjoying this movie is liek watching a mentally retarded person and finding it entertaining.
4. Story and direction : hmmm. no story at all, very good direction though.
5. Screenplay : this movie has got this just right. The screenplay is so good that even if you dont relate to anything in the movie at all, the screenplay will get you going. There are some smart techniques thrown in borrowed liberally from Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream but thats been already done in Dev D so. There are some pretty neat gimmicks like "Flashback in a flashback". This is the only part where the movie explores some new ground.
6. Overall entertainment value : it was a painful watch, seems they got the movie out for kicks, wouldnt watch it again
7. Cinematography : excellent. some neat camera tricks as well. Theres a long,continuous shot which ends in a man falling off a building, no wires visible, pretty hard to pull off. This was lifted straight from *www.imdb.com/title/tt0114558/, but still a hard shot to pull of.
8. Background scores : gimmicky. the heavy metal kicked in well, a lot of it was synthesized, as if the scorers were made to listen to nine inch nails before coming up with the score... There was potential for an electronica based soundtrack, but didnt happen in this movie.
This is for Delhi Belly
1. Theme - this is a dark comedy romp
2. Plot - a diamond courier and a sample for the doctor get exchanged, and then everyone basically runs around dodging bullets and punchlines
3. Character development - Fully developed, they kept fleshing em out more and more, so this was pretty well done. All the chars are consistent, and even realistic for most of the time.
4. Story and direction - pretty tight, well written story. theres more story than storytelling, which is rare in movies nowadays.
5. Screenplay - doesnt really rise above average, but it was not bad.
6. Overall entertainment value - Id give this a high rating, but it can get pretty painful in bits. This movie wont get any awards for using swear words in a gratuitous manner . Its like relying on a bunch of kids to burst out laughing everytime someone says "homosexual". Only there are a ton of other words used instead. Some things the movie handled well (teh "sample") and somethings it totally didnt handle as well (flower on the dead body)
7. Cinematography - standard fare, nothing ground-breaking, very traditional approach, but works like a charm by totally putting the focus on the chars
8. Background scores - very good and diverse, they have tried to do something different here, and the choice of background music is totally hilarious at times
1. Theme, Story & Plot: this is a sci-fi western, where a bunch of aliens land up in a very canyony part of the US (with Indians, Highway Robbers and of course, Cowboys), with an intention of joining in the gold rush. There are a ton of anachronisms, so this is not the authentic wild west by a long shot. The movie is full of tributes to other westerns, including McKenna's Gold and Seven Samurai, so western addicts will be satisfied. Otherwise the main story loses steam somewhere in the middle, and seems a little dragged out so the pacing is waay off for a sci-fi flick. There are a bunch of big plot holes though
the aliens are supposed to hate the sunlight but when they do come out in the open, this does not seem to affect them at all...
so this is not a tight story by any means.
3. Character development: nothing much here, stock techniques are used to establish chars (traumatic flashbacks anyone?) so the protagonist is sort of like a mystery figure with no past. The other chars are great, there is Harisson Ford playing a badass cowboy, and this role was pretty well written. Theres also his useless son who actually benefits from the alien invasion, which was also a complex development path for a char. Olivia Wilde plays some Celina Jaitley type char for some time, and then breaks out into a full fledged action role, which is short but not fleshed out enough. This role was wasted, or not necessary. Theres also a kid and a bunch of other folks as well, so this movie strikes a good balance between a bunch of protagonists and an ensamble.
4. Direction: theres good direction and bad direction, this one was neither, just painfully appropriate all the time. They had a script to stick to, and they did it pretty well, nothing much to say here.
5. Screenplay : pretty standard western fare, which switched to the fast tracking and chaotic movements common to monster flicks whenever the aliens came on screen. the techniques work well, but are not new or unique to the movie. the whole story could have been made much shorter, especially on the editing table.
6. Overall entertainment value : not too memorable, not even worth a one time watch unless you particularly like westerns and alien type movies. while its all done well, there is nothing particularly endearing in here.
8. Background scores : standard western stuff here
there was a lot of potential here. Did not read the graphic novels, but there is a lot of history between farm animals and aliens. I thought a lot of these myths would be exploited in the film (animal mutilation, cow/sheep abduction etc). While these were shown exactly the way they were supposed to be, they werent explained, so unless you have outside knowledge of all this, you wont really pick it up from the film. Plus they used the huckleberry-finn type english in the beginning of the film, then switched to normal sounding english later on, a big mistake IMO especially for a period film. the aliens themselves look like a serpent and a hunter had a baby, or like prawns were force-fed steroids... in other words... horrible, and not in a good way. It was also a fertile ground for a lot more humour than there already is in the movie (theres plenty, but nowhere will you burst out laughing), but this wasnt done either.
Ok,ok...all of you are thinking how could I've watched this movie?! Such a bad name! and movies like this had to be bad...even worse than "Rascals".
The answer is impulse and favor. My room-mate insisted and as earlier I made him see movies that I like I had to go this time with him. So, there I was at Cinemax, wonder mall @10.30PM last night with a disgust in my mind and little hope that I would like this movie. The scary thought was that the movie had songs!!!
Let me analyze the movie first and would provide my verdict at the end.
Theme: The story is set in fashion technology college. Vishal and Rahul are friends and Malavika and Preity are friends. Vishal take the identity of Rahul in facebook and similar happened with Preity. They chat, impress each other and fall in love. The catch here is that in real life Vishal and Preity can't tolerate each other. One minute with each other would translate into a fight.
Well, a known premise with predictable twists and climax. Concept matches (very slight and I'm just nitpicking) with "10 things I hate about you" and "You've got mail".
Character development : The main assets of the movie are its vibrant characters. They are young, enthusiastic and bring the energy on screen. From start importance is given to main leads though you never get the feeling that some odd boys and girls are playing the part of being their friends only.
Direction : Crisp, smart and shiny (why did I use 'shiny' I don't know. It just felt right). Apart from the climax scene never I found the direction is out of control. The direction really helped developing the charactes more. Good job there director sir!
Screenplay: The concept is old, tried and tested. Making a movie at this time based on an old concept and drawing audience to it is not easy. It has no big stars, not much promotions, and bad songs...and a worst title ever. So, it had to had something right for it to survive. Screenplay and dialoge writing are the two strong pillars that it depends on. Screenplay is smart and you could relate to the story without feeling out of place. And dialoges are a real gem of the movie.
When is the last time you've heard in a movie where two girls chatting and one jokingly says to other "sada boyfriendbati bhabo"!!!
If anyone of you had watched it...I'm not aware of ur opinion but I liked the dialogues. They are the reason the movie could be a hit (or should be)
(well, there are few moments when its tacky and too predictable twists. I agree those are weak points but its like riding a faulty mercedese. The ride is smooth and comforting but the engine stops working sometimes but for very short time)
Acting: The two main protagonists play their part very well. Its a treat to watch them fight or pulling each others leg. Apart from few scenes it never felt that they are acting in a movie. Apart from the main lead..the other important and unavoidable characters are their friends. All characters are drawn very well
Cinematography: I'm not sure about cinematography. No extra effort there. Nothing exceptional there that I could mention in a review.
Background scores and songs: I did not like the songs. Period.
Editing: Editing is good. Never felt the movie was stretched beyond its limit.
Overall entertainment value: I liked the movie. Maybe I went with a negative expectation (not even zero) It surprised me more. i did not expect it to be such smart, hip or light. It did not bore me (well a few moments though). If not in a cinema theater...a DVD watch is must.
Verdict: Like most of you even I had disliked the movie the moment I heard the name. What kind of looser keeps a name like that! That was the only repulsive factor which discouraged me to even pay attention to its trailers. I'm happy that I knew nothing about the movie and that can be one of the many reasons I liked it more.
The movie is funny, light, smart and entertaining. A perfect movie to catch on a lazy afternoon with your friends.
My review -
Srijit Mukherjee is back, and how!! After he wowed us in “Autograph”, He Does it again with 22 Shey Srabon.This time it’s a thriller and it seems he has done it much better this time.
The story is original at best. There is a poetic serial killer at large in Kolkata, who has already committed four murders (the brilliant opening scene shows him committing one) leaving lines of Bengali poetry as signatures.Clueless about where to start the investigation, rookie Cop Avijit (Parambrata) seeks help of a troubled and suspended Veteran Prabir (Prosenjit).And ultimately solves the case. Or does he??
Let’s start with the acting first, and it’s got to start with Mr.Prosenjit Chatterjee.if you have loved him as the charming superstar-with-a-midlife-crisis Arun Chatterjee in “Autograph”, his alcoholic-tough-cop-with-with-a-dirty mouth-and-killer-attitude Prabir Roy Chowdhury will startle you. He has the best lines in the movie (albeit with a wide array of some of the choicest Bengali swear words), and the way he acts, it seems that it was totally justified. Where he doesn’t speak, he lets his eyes do all the talking. From the tired but piercing gaze when parambrata’s Avijit goes to meet him at first, to the vacant stares during flashbacks, finishing finally with the sick brilliance at climax, his eyes compel you to love him and hate him, all at the same time. As he had said in an interview that “No other hero would dare do this role” is well put, because frankly no other hero could do this role. Parambrata does a swell job too, acting as a perfect foil to Prosenjit’s character. His Avijit is Clumsy but inspired, charming but insecure and adorable but irritating. He may have done a course on direction but it’s evident that he would never need an acting course.the romantic scenes (mostly in two songs “Je kota Din” and “Ekbaar Bol”) of him with Raima are a joy to watch, except the Do-jism-ek-Jaan-ek-Toothbrush scene of course, that’s gross!! Also watch out for the climax where he goes head to head with Prosenjit. Raima on the other hand is a natural and plays the cute reporter girlfriend act with élan.Abir Chatterjee does well as Raima’s Childhood friend and boasts of a very good comic timing. He looks very good-boyish too, but as the cliché goes, the good boy never gets the girl. Rajesh Sharma is superbly restrained as the top cop, and lets you believe yet again that he is one of the most underrated actors in Bengali cinema.
But the Surprise revelation in 22 Shey Srabon is Goutam Ghosh.His portrayal of the manic-depressive poet Nibaran Chakrabarty is awesome. The surrealism and pathos that he inserts as he emotes, amazes you and also creates a lump in your throat. The scene in the railway station where he recites a poem to his alcoholic buddy would surely take your breath away. His Character has the director’s sympathy and he makes sure he gets yours too.
The Screenplay is tight; there is not a single minute of lag. It has the right amounts of suspense, thrill and chill with occasional bits of romance and comedy thrown in. The Dialogue is appropriate to say the least. Its satiric, surreal at parts and funny too, having just the right ratio of Bengali and English in it. The Gillette Mach III razor-sharp editing by Editor Bodhaditya Banerjee keeps with manic pace of the movie.
The Cinematography by DOP Soumik Haldar,is another great reason to see the movie. The Red One Camera has never been used better recently. The dingy bylanes of Harkata Gali, or the plush love nest of Avijit and Amrita, every frame is a delight to the sore eyes ,best Being the last scene of Course. Then there are some very good crane and steadycam shots which only enrich the experience. The dark goth tone used in Prabir and Nibaran’s Shack and the warm tone used in those romantic scenes are well thought out and are very very well executed.
Well, the Music is by Anupam Roy. Do I need to Say Anything else?? The Lyrics and Music are both wonderful and are placed very well in the movie, and well picturised too, best being the catchy “Ek Bar Bol” By Mr. Roy Himself. Rupams "Ei Srabon" , Raghav’s “Maati Khunre” , Rupankar’s “Gobheere Jao” and Anindya’s “Je Kota din” are all equally good and makes you wonder why still Bangla Music directors need a Kunal Ganjawala / Mohit Chauhan to record a Hit song. I mean Rupankar Vs. Mohit C., are you kidding me??
And now the direction. Srijit never pretends while directing 22 Shey,nor he ever plays the godman act manipulating the characters. The interplay of characters is unabashed, real and engrossing, the camera angles bizarre but very interesting and then there is that crackling climax. There are leitmotifs, most prominent being the wooden rocking-horse. But the cleverest are the homages spread across the whole movie. There is Guy Richie’s Wham-Bam-sorry-Ma’am style (Prabir’s Interrogation room Torture), Hitchcok like self-appearance, Top Gun like Girl in guy’s oversized shirt (Raima after the kiss and make up scene), Stoned-and-sad Boyfriend with a Strapped on Steadycam a La Dev.D and finally the theme of a deranged Psycho-fanatic Serial Killer and the Blue-goth tone reminiscent of David Lynch’s se7en.feluda references Are there too, but with a twist. But don’t let this writing fool you, these are nothing but marginal and are overshadowed by the Biggest Homage that Srijit pays - To Bangaliana itself and Kolkata (not only south, the whole one, thank heavens!!).The Movie is essentially very Bengali at Heart and that’s the best thing about it. There are Countless references of Bengali literature, cinema and poetry. The script, dialogue, acting and ahem..the Swear words are all Bengali and not bong. The “Magazastra” of Srijit is deadly here and it leaves you Spellbound.
22 Shey Srabon is a landmark in Bengali Cinema and much more than that. It makes you think, as well as keeps you on the edge of your comfortable multiplex seat.Take a Bow Srijit, you deserve it. Thanks for not turning 22 Shey Srabon into a melodramatic dishoom fest, but an intellectual murder thriller.
Okay, now for the Final question, should you watch it? Yes don’t you dare miss this If you are a Bangali and love Bangaliana or a good thriller or Both. If you are a “bong” and prefer Stefani Meyer/Sidney Sheldon over Tagore/Sunil Ganguly, give this a Miss. Go smoke your Bong Pipe elsewhere, or wait for the next Twilight Movie to Release,you Moron !!
So, being a SRK fanboy watching Ra.One was my priority. Watched it on 26th but was so angry that I took time to write a review on it. Why angry (well most you already guessed but lemme tell you again I'm a SRK fanboy....so SRK is not the reason)
Story/Concept/Theme: To win his son's heart, Shekhar programs a game with a villain that is much stronger than the superhero. But the artificial intelligence devised character of Ra.One finds a way to enter the real world. (from IMDB)
Well, its a known, tried and tested premise for any superhero movie. But there are movies which stood strong even using this cliched theme. Ra.One failed there. They could not convert the concept into a story.
6/10
Character Development: Apart from SRK and his son in movie none got enough screen-time to leave an impact on you. You just don't see others that often in the movie that their characters can be given a thought.
Apart from Prateek's character (SRK's son in movie) none got their character right.
Even the much hyped dad trying to catch-up with son's world theme is also wasted with one scene. A veteran like SRK whose main forte is emotion is wasted on this premise.
6/10
Direction: The director is Anubhav Sinha. The same director who gave us "Dus" and the legend "Cash"! (my bad, I unfortunately watched Cash in theater too. If only I knew it was THE Anubhav Sinha I would have not gone with much hope)
His direction sucks! He knew the concept but never knew how to do that. Tried to achieve too many things in the movie; father-son relationship, action, comedy, romance, melodrama all. And, as a result nothing came out of the hotchpotch perfectly.
And, what with the sick jokes?!!! Never in my life I've seen SRK doing such scenes...he never needed such scenes to make people laugh. The haters laugh at him without any reason and those of us who worship him, smile the moment he shows his face. Tese jokes are Salman-branded jokes, Golamal branded or all those Anees Bazmee branded.
And, so much hype on the action...then why so less action in movie?
Stay away from the movies this guy makes...he makes good trailers not movies (a$$hole!)
1/10 here
Screenplay: If you don't have story you can't write a screenplay (well, you actually do and thats why there are movies like Ready, Bodyguard or Double Dhaamal etc) but at least SRK deserves better than that.
Most of the time the screenplay seems to be uninterested in the happening of the movie story. Like you write "action and SRK wins" and then donot write about what happens in the action or how long it should continue, or the twists etc.
2/10 here
Acting: Leave SRK, it was his movie and I never find him overacting or underacting.
Kareena is wasted as an actor. (Apart from Imtiaz Ali all recent directors seem to use her as a beautiful object only. She's a good actress, give her a good role!)
Veterans like Sahana Goswami, Satish Shah and Suresh Menon wasted (I hate Anubhav Sinha more for this)
Apart from SRK, only two persons acted really well...Arjun Rampal as Ra.One and Aman Verma as Prateek.
6/10
Cinematography: Cinematography is good and commendable. Kareena just sets fire on the big screen in the Chammak Challo song. Action sequences are also shot very well.
7/10
Special Effects and 3D: This is the only part of the movie which is why it would be a milestone in hindi cinema history. A really amazing effort and at per with some great hollywood projects. Really good job here.
The car chase scene before interval and the CST destruction scenes are really very good and only those two moments you would like to shake all your disgusts against this movie.
9/10
The 3D effect is good. I've seen bad 3D movies than this. This movie would be much more enjoyable in 3D than 2D.
Song and background score: Songs are already superhit. Chammak challo, criminal, dilbara are good on ear. My fav. though is "Bhare Naina". Only one place where I found really good job with background music is at climax action scene.
8/10
Editing: Who the f@#k was the editor of this movie. Scenes are stretched, actions are not edited properly, few boring long melodrama scenes; a total mess-up.
3/10
Overall entertain value: If you have liked recent hits...Ready, Bodyguard, Golmaal series, you would love this movie else would leave you unsatisfied.
A time-pass movie for onetime view of course. Good action scenes and special-effects.
6/10
Verdict: After watching the movie I was disappointed and angry. I tried to understand why I'm disappointed and why I'm angry.
I found the answers for that...disappointed because I missed a storytelling there. Even the worst movies have a proper narration but this a$$hole director could not even get that properly. Next was anger....and that because we want best things from SRK always; he doing such mediocre movies is heartbreaking. For such ambitious project why not sign a good director (Sh1t, just found out...its his story, yes Anubhav Sinha's)
Well, its surely not the best movie in SRK's movie history but he surely took the special effects level to a new high.
Ra.One....Indian Avatar (shitty story with awesome special effects)
I've watched the movie on last Sunday (13-NOV-2011) but I refrained from writing a review on it. I was too excited after watching the movie, I just felt like going for the movie the next moment. I wanted this excitement to calm down so I could give more thought to what I had seen and I understood, to analyze scenes.
Its 4th day since I saw the movie I still feel like going for the movie again.
Let’s come to main task, i.e. review.
Story/Concept/Theme: The story is centered on Janardhan Jhakad. He wants to be a rockstar but doesnot have the passion in singing. He knows the right notes, right cords, good vocals but the audience finds something missing in him. One day his canteen manager advices him on the missing ingredient, and the missing ingredient is ‘pain’. He tells Janardhan to fall in love to feel pain. Now Janardhan has three tasks with him. Find a girl, fall in love and make sure that she breaks his heart. Rest is the movie. How everything goes wrong and not at all as he had planned.
(The premise is a very close to my heart process or what I’ve long observed a sure shot process of feeling pain. I don’t know how Imtiaz Ali knew of the same premise. )
Character development: Marvelous! Each and every character is hand crafted. The story does not pay attention to other characters that much so can’t compare other characters but the metamorphosis of Janardhan Jhakad to “Rockstar Jordan” is the best thing that has happened in Indian cinema after a long time.
Many people would complain about the movie length (3hrs it is!) even I also complained at first. When I think today I find the length justified. It actually helped in the character development. Things are handled slowly, so not in a moment you feel things too technical, flashy, edgy, smart…it had to be rugged, slow to keep in pace with Jordan’s life.
Direction: I’m a fan of Imtiaz Ali since the days of “Jab We Met”. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched the movie. There were days I’ve watched the movie in loop…continuous. I did not like “Love Aj-Kaal” that much but it was good too.
“Rockstar” is another gem from him. You know, you can trust him. Only in second half a few cliché’s are used. I would overlook them and that’s the reason I’ve deducted 2.2 points from rating. The way he handles love, none tries now-a-days. I’ve observed certain things of his directing/storytelling;
A strong, rebellion, mature and confident female character
A naïve, innocent, (sometimes) overconfident but good at heart male character
Realization is a big and strong point of his movies
Most of his movies are built on the dilemma or confusion of the male character “Do I love her or not?”
I liked it even more as he did not fall for some conventional ending. Or, a lot of people had already complained…there is no ending in the movie. I personally felt the way he left the character Jordan there could only be the best ending. Can’t incompleteness be an ending? It can, it sure can.
Screenpaly: The story is complemented by the screenplay. Innocent dialogues in the beginning and in later part dialogues full of angst, frustration and helplessness. Add this to a non-linear storytelling which adds a new angle to the story. Makes it unpredictable and scattered as the life of Jordan.
Acting: This movie belongs to Ranbir Kapoor. He owns it. In his past few movies he showed us his potential but it was Imtiaz Ali who churned out the best in him. Remember “Jab we met”? Prior to that Kareena Kapoor was only known for her beauty and hotness; everything changed since JWM happened. She is considered a good actress now. RK beautifully depicts the innocence, rage, frustration, passion, grief while performing the role of Jordan.
But, Imtiaz Ali (IA from now on) could not do the same with Nargis Fakhri. She is phail in acting. Bad dubbing and bad acting totally ruined her role. Being a novice I think this might be the best she could offer. I do not want to contradict with the choice of IA here but for fresh face a bit more research might have been required.
In rest of the cast come the canteen manager and the CEO of Platinum music. Both did their job well. No complaints.
Cinematography: Kashmir has been captured very beautifully. The scene where RK and Nargis talking under a tree while it’s snowing; a long shot just showed their intensity of their relationship. Throughout the movie such beautiful moments are captured very well, be it Prague, Delhi college campus or Jordan’s home.
Another mentionable thing is set-up, stages, lights are very well handled.
Songs and background score: Now this is another pillar of Rockstar of what it is. Let me tell you frankly, When I heard about Rockstar I thought it to be another movie in line of “Rock On”; later I heard the songs and I was like WTF A.R. Rehman did!!!? I liked none but “Katiya Karu”. I stopped listening to even that after one-two days.
Then the miracle happened, I saw the movie. The movie blew me away completely. For a 3hr long movie which has 10-12 actual songs it had every chance of boring the audience. BUT, the songs blended so well in the screenplay that I never felt their existence separately.
The “Kun faya” song which I hated earlier, I’m listening to it now to understand its meaning,; the “Nadan Parindey” song which I found badly composed earlier is now playing in loop in my mobile. I’ve found a few dark horses too of the album; the song “Meri bebasi”, “Sehar mein” and the musical “Sehnai” have become my favorite.
And I’m amazed by the lyrics of the songs,
From “nadan parindey” …. “kaaga re kaaga re mori itni araj tujhse chun chun khaiyo maans
khaiyo na tu naina more, khaiyo na tu naina mohe piya ke milan ki aas..”
And many more.
Just to update you all, I’m listening to the songs (all 14 of them including the musicals too) continuously since last Sunday. Every day I find something new in the lyrics. The music just grows on you.
Editing: Now this is where it could be improved. At least 10 mins of the movie could be edited. Rest is alright with me.
Overall entertainment value: Can a sad movie entertain you? Would you like to be saddened by paying money? If yes then this movie is for you. Do you have time to pass but not in serious mood? Do you want to unwind after a long and hard days of job? Stop. Don’t go for this movie. This is a heavy movie, might not suite your state of mind and you may end up disliking the movie.
For a long time we have not got a sweet and sad love story from Bollywood. I was waiting for something like it. My expectations are full-filled. I’ve got a movie which I’m going to watch in loop when it releases in DVD. (Planning for second viewing in theater very soon…searching company)
There, this is my opinion about the movie. I don’t know about you, your mind state, your take on life, love, pain, music and can’t tell if you would like it. BUT, should you watch it or not? Hell yes. Watch once. If not anything you would be rewarded with RK’s powerful acting and A.R.Rehman’s soul touching music.
Read this for Imtiaz Ali's take on the movie and clarifying many doubts. It mainly tells why he did on what he did.
This is SPOILER.
*t.co/D1rtjoCo
Well i am not much into reviews but still i think i should share my experience about this film here.
I wont get to or bore you with lengthy details but still will try to cover the important parts.
Before i begin i must say that if this movie is compared to the recent releases of bollywood(read bodyguard,desi boyz(though far better than the former) etc etc) then it should deserve at least 9/10.
Runtime: 2 hours 15 minutes
1.PLOT
I havent read much about silk smitha but whatever i have read i think it was almost enough to understand this film.Yes this film is based on silk smitha and revolves around her life only.
2.CAST&PERFORMANCE
I think the casting was appropriate.All the characters fits into their roles completely and almost perfectly.
As mentioned earlier this is a heroine based or in better words female dominant movie not a hero based.The entire film depends upon vidya balan and her only.Other characters just come and go.
Vidya balan did a pretty nice job in this film but i must say that there was nothing spectacular or outstanding about it.When she had the chance to do her best in this film.Even the film demanded the same from her.But nevertheless it wasnt bad or average too.
Nasseruddin shah on the other hand as a side actor steals the show.Yes he is a veteran actor and shouldnt be compared with vidya balan i know! But balan had the chance here to challenge him which i think she missed.
Oh! wait.. Yes! in above i have used the word spectacular.since i have used it let me elaborate it a little bit.
Through out the film that is after balan becomes smitha she keeps on flaunting her cleavage.For me i think it was a greater challenge for her.To test where the public is more interested there or in her acting.
Well for me i was mostly looking at her acting skills or her face(Read expressions).
We were 4-5 guys(friends/colleagues)but they were mostly getting gaga over the former part..Then again as per this film they are mostly EEE(Entertainment,entertainment,entertainment) type of people.Still most of them liked the movie and praised her acting skill.
Tussar kapoor and emraan hashmi played their part well.But Emraan hashmi did what he does the best yes you got that right!
Other supporting actors were good too.
3.DIRECTION & presentation
To be honest i liked once upon a time in mumbai but i felt its climax was incomplete or unsatisfying.Which drained out some respect which it had build over within a couple of hours.I was a bit skeptical that this movie too might take the same path.But Milan Luthria dosent disappoints here.The climax is predictable and good.
If some flaws can be ignored then presentation is fluid.Co-relation between characters scenes etc is never lost.
4.DIALOGUES
Ah! the best part of this movie.It is filled with some awesome and witty dialogues.kudos for that!
5.CINEMATOGRAPHY
Good.if you have seen once upon a time...its a little bit similar. 6.MUSIC
Background music is well made.One song is already a hit The other 2 or 3 are also ok.
Now it is for you to decide if it is really dirty or not.
In the end i must say that you if you are a serious film lover and ofcourse not a pervert then you wont get bored of this movie you will be glued to your seat till the end.
I had watched this movie around two weeks ago but couldn't give enough damn to write a review. But considering how weird the movie was and also because of the fact that I have not been able to sleep this night, I've decided that before I go to sleep, I'm gonna write a review.
Plot: You have a Haryanvi guy (Janardhan "Jordan" Jhakhar/Ranbir) who studies in Hindu college. He dreams of becoming a ROCKSTAAAH. His college canteen owner tells him that since he hasn't experienced pain in his life, something is missing in him. How clichéd. So he picks out a snobby hot Kashmiri girl (Heer Kaul/Nargis) from the neighbouring Stephens college and proposes to her. Somehow they become friends and after a couple of months, the Kashmiri hoe gets married and flies off to Praha with her husband.
Character development: is immense. The transformation of Jordan from a typical Indian boy to an Arab look-alike is hilarious. Even funnier is the fact that he ends up looking like a hippie. On the other hand, Heer changes from a fit hoe to a pitiable woman who'd end up dying because of a pretty simple intercourse.
Story and direction: Story and direction is very predictable. After experiencing the much anticipated pain in life, our hero is signed up by a bigshot music company and flown off to....where else? Praha. By the time, the hero and heroine pretty much realize that they <3 each other, but Heer doesn't give her consent because she's married. So, our hero like every hero goes to say "BYE" for the last time, sneaks in the heroine's house, gets caught and jailed. This means huge publicity for our ROCKTAHHH and his solo album is a hit.
I've never been a fan of typical Hero-Heroine movies like Jab We Met. Knowing that this movie was directed by the same director - Imtiaz Ali, I wasn't really interested in watching this movie. I really don't know, how in hell Indian directors end up making lengthy movies with such stupid plot? Much like I've taken 360 words to say, "This movie is crap."
Heer is dumped by her husband for obvious reasons, and comes back to India. She's suffering from bone marrow cancer so with our Hero around, her health tends to improve. But then.....carnal desires get heavy over them, Heer gets pregnant and goes into coma. She dies and Jordan rejuvenates his soul as a nadaan unshaven hippie.
Screenplay and performances: Dialogues were good in the beginning but the script had pretty much lost the plot around the hour's mark. I had gone with the hope that our dhakad Jhakhar boy would speak Haryanvi and I was disappointed.
Ranbir's acting was excellent. He pretty much delivered what the Director expected. Nargis Fakhri can't act but she's hot.
Cinematography: Kashmir was depicted beautifully. That's that.
Overall entertainment value: Non-sense plot for a 3 hour movie. If you're taking a chick along with you, you might find some bits of entertainment here and there. If you're a heartbroken majnu because of some chick's parents or the chick herself, you might be able to co-relate with Jordan's character. Deep inside, I was able to co-relate.
Music: Only "Sadda Haq" was good. "Nadaan Parinde" lyrics were good. Overall? Disappointing.
Watched the movie on 24th Night. Being a SRK fan, watching a second day last show is disappointing for myself. But...better late than never.
Now, the main task.... review
Story/Concept/Theme: Don is back and this time wants to make an entry to europe drug market. But he has his rivals who want him dead. He then makes another plan to finish his contenders and make himself billions. Loot DCB plates! Rest of the movie is on how he executes this plan.
Character development: There is one character who is seen in the whole movie i.e. SRK. And his character is already developed. I was surprised to see his Don character to be so mean and witty this time. In Don1 he was not this witty. Then there was Roma and other few persons who just floats on surface. In short...if you are discussing character development, Don2 is not a fitting example.
Direction: Well, like many out there I'm a fan of Farhan Akhtar too. Many of you are there who have a blind faith that if Amir Khan makes a movie it must be some revolutionary movie, I've kinda same faith on Farhan Akhtar. Only revolution I found here is action choreography and camera work. Oh, and I must admit I appreciate the quirky dialogues. Nothing exceptional here...
One thing I've observed...I don't know if anyone would agree with me...is that Don is no more a overpowering, overshadowing supervillain anymore. He's kind of a super thief now. A bit like Jack Sparrow. Intelligent, sarcastic, mean and sleek.
Screenpaly: Screenpaly is good. It gets slow the moment Priyanka is on screen. I think Farhan was not sure how to use Roma's character. She was absent in 80% of the movie and just slowed down the pace whenever on screen. (oh that was not screenplay related...hmmm) I liked the dialogues. Though the theft idea was childish, at least the crew took it seriously.
Acting: SRK is handled properly. A bit more mean would have been better. Rest of the characters played along well.
Cinematography: Camerawork is really appreciative. A bit of Malaysia and Germany is captured well. Then comes camera movements in time of action, which was also good. not shaky, no un-necessary close-ups or focus on muscle or slow-moing the finisher punch. Good job.
Action and 3D: Action choreography is really good and I'm impressed. Recently I'm seeing the realistic fighting in hindi movies. It feels you are fighting with a worthy opponent. Proper chops and punches, blood if necessary...a few kool finisher moves.
If you are still not sure if you should watch this, go for action only, you won't be disappointed.
3D is bad...like baaaad
Songs and background score: All but one are used as background score. So no more annoying song-dance sequence in the movie to bore you. Not very remarkable job from Shankar-Ehsan-Loy trio. A few forgettable hummable tunes thats all.
Editing: Should have edited few parts with Roma. Keep only scenes which impacts movie and should have edited last emo scene with Roma in bank vault. And obviously Arjun's scenes.
Few additional words: The moment the movie released it started a buzz. Lame movie, copy of this and that, nothing new and obviously SRK sucks. Well, I would like to say something on these.
The movie is not lame. There are more bank robbery movies with more lolable concepts. At least this was better. Not much challanges in terms of bank vault breaking but good approach and scene structure.
Copy of MI and Oceans...come on guys, I understand if you have seen only one movie on the bank robbery theme and only MI for jump scenes. Someone jumped from a highrise...that is not a MI copy. That is someone jumped from a highrise. And all robbery (not only bank safes but all kind of safes) movies had their own set of hurdles before you reach the main vault/safe/box/etc without proper authentication. What is the hype and hoopla if the challanges matches with one or few movies. Stop being a movie-know-it-all and stop boasting I-see-hollywood-movies-I've-seen-it-all-and-I'm-not-impressed.
Nothing new...none promised you anything new. Its a movie. Enjoy it the way you have enjoyed Singham, Dabaang, Bodyguard etc craps. And from the day Don2 was announced to be in production...I guess none in the world expected an intelligent brainfcuk movie. So...shut-up.
SRK sucks...if you are a SRK hater. He always sucks for you. If you are a neutral guy...you might tend to appreciate his acting this time. Overacting?...Not this time at least. And if you are a fan, he's beyond the petty matters like perfection, overacting etc
Verdict: One time watch for sure. The movie takes time to build up the plot and slow a pace but after intermission its a joyride for action lovers.
The day its poster first appeared in newspaper I disliked it. A pregnant woman in backdrop of goddess Durga...resembles a heavy film on values, ethics, emotions etc... first impression.....not my kinda movie.
Then I saw the trailer. I liked the idea. There are movies on similar idea so wanted to know how this movie is treated but the real reason of watching this was 'Kolkata'; I'm a bengali and I just had to see how the director (Sujoy Ghosh) captured and presented Kolkata to global audience.
I just had to know because for a long time bengal and bengali were type-casted in 'Dhoti', 'Specs' and 'oil soaked hair'. And who likes getting type-casted?!
Story/Concept/Theme: So Bidya Bagchi arrives to Kolkata from London to search her husband who seems to be missing. She visits local police station, his uncle's home, his school and all possible places. But Arnab (Vidya's husband) appears to be vanished into thin air. None knows about him, none has ever seen him! Rest is to be seen.
A very promising theme, at times reminded me of Hitchcock's "North by Northwest".
Character development: There are total four characters who are given considerable time that you could recall their faces when they reappear. But, its only Vidya Balan's character which goes through various turmoil and transformations and her character is only one where "Character development" phrase can be applied.
Next comes Parambrata Chatterjee as the police inspector (Rana). I would like to confess, I liked his acting better than Vidya's (don't judge me...not being biased here)
Then a brilliant performance by Nawazuddin Siddiqui as IB officer. His character is well developed.
And, Kharaj Mukherjee as Parambrata's senior officer gives few comic relief and lite moments for the movie. (Second viewing update) Saswata as 'Bob Biswas' the contract killer. AWESOME!
Direction: Sujoy Ghosh kept the movie as it should be i.e. an end to end thriller. He did not fall for giving it some patriotic angle, some insane backstory. Kept things simple and eye to details. And choosing the backdrop of the story as Kolkata. If it were not Kolkata I don't know where you could get lost so easily; the chaos, the places add extra point to story. A dusty almirah in a hotel seems possible here. The movie length is also of 2hrs only. Apart from a few unnecessary scenes (few seconds at max) the direction seems perfect. Looking forward his other projects.
Screenplay: The screenplay is confusing enough to keep you busy remembering all the names of the characters you see in the movie. If you lost focus once you might just end up searching for answers. Dialogs are precise but void of swearing! This is not how bengalee speak, specially when men in uniform are talking among themselves! We curse but I could not hear a bit of faint cuss word in background.
The pace of the story is also crisp only after interval its a bit slow. And you would only notice if you want to point out some fault in the movie.
Acting: Vidya Balan is great as usual. But I don't think she's the man of the movie. Its a too easy role for her. Only challenge might be acting as a pregnant woman when you are not. I can't give the movie's full credit to her. No, I can't.
I would rather say Parambrata did a very good job as 'Rana' the friendly police officer. Certain subtle gestures, his body language were superb. A simpleton newly joined police inspector full of values and slowly discovering how the system works.
And obvious next mention is Nawazuddin Siddiqui as IB officer. His body language only shows how a person in position can abuse his power. He's so thin people could just slap him once he would fall flat but he uses his post to overpower people. Thus, may be he's portrayed as so aggressive. (Second viewing update) Saswata as 'Bob Biswas' was brilliant. Every moment he was on screen he terrified people. I can remember when he appeared second time on screen, an aunty in my back row gasped and whispered to her husband "fir kise marnewala hai". He's a gem of the movie. Shame on me I forgot to mention him first time.
Cinematography: Absolutely brilliant! It had to be kolkata and that too this way only. Dirty, organized, friendly, rugged, fast and slow all at a same time. The movie was not about to promote Kolkata tourism so no extra shots on its beauty or prized possessions. To bring the essence of a vibrant and live city Sujoy had to capture kolkata this way.
Songs and background score: Starting song by Usha Uthup is good apart from that we get another one sung by Amitabh Bachhan which I found misplaced and unnecessary. Rest are alright. (Second viewing update) This time listened to background score and I would say they are apt and precise and nowhere overshadowing the dialogs. Good job Vishal-Shekhar.
Editing: Impressive job with editing. Very few unnecessary scenes that too would get noticed if you were looking for faults.
Few words: The moment the movie started I was blown away. Slow but steady things stared falling into places (or out of place). You start to get pieces of the puzzle one by one. At times my intelligent friends here could have guessed the end but when the end comes near I can assure you all would be confused (This is how Agatha Christie did in all his novels). The end is a bit cliched though 8)
Verdict: A brilliant thriller after a long time (only comparable is 'Baishe Srabon' a bengali movie) and a must watch for sure. 2 hours of your life well spent. Go for it.
1. Theme - an factory worker who hasn't slept in years goes crazy and realizes his past mistakes.
2. Plot - Trevor is an industrial worker suffering from insomnia.The story starts with his daily activity of doing crazy things in his day to day life.The plot revolves around the craziness suffered by him like distraction at workplace causing his coworker to lose his hand,going everyday to airport for coffee and paying extra tips to waitress who he befreinds,doubting his regular prostitute worker who he loves a lot and a imaginary villain haunting him everyday giving him some kind of hint of danger.This all cause him to get mentally distressed reach a point where he realizes the truth because of the imaginary guy -
He killed a girl during accident and kept driving on without stopping which led to insomnia in his life.
Background scores -This is good at required scenes.
Running time:- 122 mins
Genre:-Thriller,Action,Mystery
1. Theme.
Holmes and watson set together to make Professor Moriarty's cruel intentions futile. 2. Plot.
Cannot be disclosed otherwise no fun here.Only i will mention that its closely related to a serious war. 3. Character development.
good. 4. Story and direction.
some flaws here.Story is a bit complex but was shown more complexly. 5. Screenplay.
Good enough. 6.Background scores
Irritating! Most of it has been created by hans zimmer.Though his music is good as we all know.But Guy Ritchie must have forgotten that it is not a complete action film.Through out the film you will hear background music which in my opinion were used too much even in scenes where it was not at all required.At certain point it really becomes irritating than exciting. 7. Cinematography
From this aspect the film looks quite good.Some scenes were shot brilliantly.But nothing which you haven't seen before. 8. Overall entertainment value
I am not much impressed.If you miss it you wont be missing much.Only watch it if you have free time or on a lazy afternoon.
Plot: (from IMDb)
Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.
My experience:
“The Avenger” as I expected was an amazing ride into the awesomeness that the best of Hollywood can offer.
The moment I saw the trailer of Avenger I knew it was going to be a unique experience. Fortunately I got a chance to catch its premiere in PVR Plaza today. Not many movies are built up on the foundations of movies from about 9 years into the past. And not many movies do it as successfully as The Avenger did.
Movie starts quite slow and begins from where it left in Captain America. But it soon gain pace once our heroes are introduced. And from then on, it only gets better.
My biggest concern from the movie was how will the screen time be divided in all those super heroes. But the movie uses it for the advantage and tells us an incredible story.
There are many references in the Avengers that alludes to movies which were a stepping stone to it. So the knowledge of all the characters will of course help to understand some of the subtle humor in the movie. Most of the humor was, as you could have expected, from Tony Stark aka the Iron Man. And many other are from the Hulk. And the rest was because of the cultural differences between the characters and was a bit foreseeable.
Visual effects was as expected mind numbing. Hulk showed a greater range of emotions due to the motion capture tech been implemented I presume first time in Hulk series. And we see Iron Man new ways to “Suit Up”! Speaking of Suit up.. we also have a character which was nice to have: Cobie Smulders (or Robin Scherbatsky) from “How I met your mother”! One sequence which send the shivers down the spine was when all the superheroes were shown one after another in once coherence fighting against the army of Loki. It was Epic! (and this is not a spoiler).
And one thing more. My 3D experience was not good. The active shutter glasses kinda felt like it absorbed all the colors from the movie. So I watched most of the movies without 3D and it was quite good. AFAIK, this movie was not meant to be 3D, and was converted later into one. So I felt it kinda ruined the movie for me.
I think it goes without saying that The Avengers is a must watch for all Marvel fans and anyone who have an appetite for a little super heroes!
As for me, I am going to watch it again and this time in 2D since I feel it deserves a rewatch!
Theme,story & plot:- If you really want to know then please go and read some comic books.Then you dont need to ask the story..It is plain and simple.
Anyways some of the superheroes from marvel comics team up with Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D to defend earth from loki.The villain from THOR.
Character development:-Characters were already developed. Anyways there was not much room for character development and if you still want to know more.Read the first line of the above paragraph.
Honestly speaking you should not search for stories when you are watching a film like this.What you should be looking for is direction,execution of the story and lastly the VFX,and this movie fares well in all of these.
Direction:-Joss Whedon did a great job both as a co-writer and a director.This movie never loses its pace.I found no part of the movie boring.It shows the director was clear with his ideas.His vision about the characters. How will they interact among themselves and with the enemy etc really needs a praise.
Screenplay:-The script is immaculate,funny and tender.
Cast:-No doubt in the cast and their performance.
Overall entertainment value.:-If you are a marvel comics fan and loves superhero movies then this is surely for you.It keeps you glued to your seat till you see the end of loki.But yeah the climax could have been better but still theres nothing much to complain about.
In the end you can go for it.
Plot (from IMDb): "A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race."
Let me begin by saying that I haven't watched the original movies of the Alien franchise, to which Prometheus is being regarded as the prequel too. So I didn't have any expectations or pre notions about the movie. But I was aware of the basic plot of the previous movies, which involved gruesome ways of their attacks.
The genre of the movie says, it's an Action, Sci-fi and Horror. Sadly to me, it seemed to fit in neither of the three perfectly.
The movie begins slowly. Too slowly. And it's not a complaint. I have seen good movies with slow start. But this one just keeps on dragging.
There was no character development so to speak. Except that of Noomi Rapace (Elizabeth Shaw, in movie) and maybe of Michael Fassbender (David, in movie).
I didn't felt the story either. And I won't say screenplay was any good either.
Speaking of horror, there was maybe just a couple of time where I was spooked but overall, saying Prometheus a horror movie will be injustice. And that is coming from someone who is not a fan of horror movies just because they scare the sh!t out of me.
The built up which is developed in the first half of the movie just doesn't justify the climax. Almost everyone who will watch the movie will agree that the climax could have been a lot better. The way it ended it looked like I was watching the first episode of a series.
Something which is good and which was apparent from the trailer was the cinematography. It was good. But again not something we haven't seen before.
Maybe these kinds of movies are just not my type. Maybe the ones who like "Alien" and its sequels may relate something to it... but for me, Prometheus was one movie I could have easily skipped if I haven't got the chance to get the premiere passes.
Concept: I'm really amazed by the concept of the movie. I have never seen such a movie in any language. Read one story in my childhood in similar concept and happened to come by an article few days ago. But, I could never imagine someone would ever dare to make a movie on this topic.
Topic? If summarized its "Assisted Suicide"!
To make it more clear, let me translate the tagline of the movie i.e. "Morbe moro chorio na" (Die if you want but don't embarrass).
So there is private organization which helps people to commit suicide successfully! Provides a 3 days crash course to enlighten the participants about various methods to suicide. What not to do and what to do etc.
Meghna(Koel Mallik) recently has broken up with her bf. She's very upset after breaking up a 14yrs long relationship and wants to end herself. Enter Ananda Kar(Parambrata) the CEO of "Hemlock Society". He asks her to join the course so she could die properly without embarrassing everyone including herself. Rest you need to see.
Character development: Only two characters come into focus since the movie begins. Meghna and Ananda, even though I would say its Koel's movie. She first time got the chance to break out of her usual happy, bubbly, naughty characters. Her d-glam representation is also something she tried first time. And, I love her so I liked her anyway
Supporting characters are also very strong actors but not much explored.
Direction: So Srijit Mukherjee made a hat-trick with his 3rd movie. Another totally different subject executed very well.
A very beautifully crafted movie. Well executed first half and not so well executed second half.
But, I've a question to Srijit, what is this obsession of him to explain everything, every character getting justice. Life is boring, zero dramatic. Why not keep that way. Would have really loved it if the "6 months later" part was not there.
Screenplay: Slow but steady. At a length of 2 and half hours its too much. Movies on such concept should be crisp and short. Which has the scope to impact to audience. Last few minutes just dilutes everything, breaks the quirky environment it created from start.
Cinematography: Good but not great.
Songs and background score: Few are already hit. Nice mix of pop and normal filmy music.
Background music is apt to situations.
Editing: Poor job with editing. The movie should have been 30 minutes shorter.
Verdict: Even with few downside this movie wins (or would win) hearts because of its subject and great acting. Watch it even if you have to watch it with subs.
It was amazing. Despite that it was a reboot, I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were various aspects which made this movie less dramatic but more closer to reality. I got to know a lot about Spiderman then the previous franchise ever told. Since the movie covered some aspects of the Peter Parker's parents, it felt more involving. From the childhood to how he managed to become Spiderman, the character development seemed phenomenal. But the role of Irrfan Khan totally looked like it was for namesake.
Whoever saying it contains less action is disillusioned, or maybe skipped some scenes while buying popcorn or something I think the action was justified. Granted not a lot of action sequences were done in broad day light like it did in the former trilogy, but that played a little role in making the movie a little dark and grim.
One of the things that I missed in this version of the Spiderman was the quote, "With great power, comes great responsibility". But I totally loved the humorous side of Peter Parker. The appearance of Stan Lee was also funny! And Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) was a welcome change. She was cute!
Also, I would like to say that it's better not to compare it with the original Spiderman. Both have their places. Personally I won't be able to tell which of them is better until the end of the trilogy (if it's done). But the after credit scenes guaranteed a sequel that seems worth waiting for.
Totally worth the watch for me. Might also go for a second time, with a friend. Rating: 4/5.
It is the story of a son seeking revenge for his fathers death killed by a coal miner
this is a movie which takes no prisoners. It's crude and real. You cannot watch it with family.
It has been conceptualised well and the characterisation is very good.
good movies have great character actors and it can be seen in this movie.
The female actors of this movie have especially been cast well. Each of them are perfect for their roles.Each woman is a firebrand.
Manoj has played the lead character well. Kudos to him. He has let go of the bihari in him.
The direction is good but i believe it could have been slightly better. People will feel I am being a little critical, but still it is a well directed movie.
Editing is not good. Movie could have been shorter. At times it feels like it drags. Some of the slow scenes feel like they are actually slowing down the movie's pace, instead of adding aesthetic value.
Cinematography is top notch. The atmosphere the cameraman creates, the panning, the angles... good job.
Background score and the music are simply perfect. the music is also very different to standard bollywood stuff. It's a good change. I could say a new genre.
the dialogues are well written and for some one who belongs to that part of India, I can vouch that they are authentic Some of them are so hard hitting that they bring a big grin to your face.
This is a two part movie and it has created a good backdrop for the 2nd part.
The 2nd part comes out in august and i'm waiting for it.
Now talking about the 1st part
Even though the story could have been a little tighter, the movie is good in all other facets , so this can be easily ignored.
This movie gives you a feel of the lawlessness of bihar before the 2000. And my elders have actually experienced this. Another point for it's authenticity.
Good action, dialogues, music, Background score, characterisation,good camerawork and esp. it's real authentic feel makes it a must watch for me.
here is the chance, don't watch
*i.imgur.com/DhaGa.jpg
1. Theme : another encounter squad movie
2. Plot : this one tries to show the longer picture of the rise, fall, and change in the policing of the city (1990-2010), instead of other movies that focused on individual careers or specific incidents, but you will only see this if you already know the full story.
3. Character development : the chars are fully developed already, established in many movies. This movie does not flesh them out any more, and it's impossible for the audience to connect with anyone on screen. You have to see the same actors in overlapping roles, (Mohan Agashe is in both Maximum and Ab Tak Chappan).
4. Story and direction : guess the movie tried to show the internal dynamics between diff cop squads in charge of protecting the city. The ATS and whatever the official name of the encounter department is are chosen here, shown as competing for the number of kills and credit for cleaning up mumbai... and made to fight each other in the finale as if it was just another gang shoot out. This, obvsly never happened, so the movie no longer has a point despite being fact for most of the screen time.
The movie is very anachronistic, some obvious mistakes are the period of time where dance bars were stopped, newer mobile phones used in the older time frame, how railway stations looked etc... it's all jarring. Also there is a five year jump in the story from 2003-2008, this is where a lot of untold things could have been told, but the opportunity was missed.
5. Screenplay : heavily used for dramatic effect, a lot of the story is told off-camera, a lot is left to the imagination, if anyone is watching this movie just for screenplay, take notes, good technique would have been nice to watch in a better movie
6. Overall entertainment value : zero, it's painful to sit through, if it comes on TV there is no chance anyone is going to sit through it.
7. Music : bring earmuffs. There is an item number, use it as a second Intermission. Go out, breathe some fresh air (you will need that).
Don't know why the censor board didnt throw this one out.
Kya super kool hai hum
Running time:- 140 mins approx
Genre:-comedy (A)
Right now i wont say much but full review will be updated soon.
>Dont watch this movie in a theater if you are a fan of the first movie.Instead wait for dicks release..i mean disk release.
>The second half is quite good.But for me the first half was boring.
>Still the movie has more mature content than the previous one.
_____________________________________________________________
UPDATED COMPLETE REVIEW
Before i begin i must tell you that generally i love to watch these kind of movies in my home than in a theatre.
But if you are planning to watch this movie in a theatre then make sure you have a coterie.Otherwise you may not enjoy it.
Now lets get to the topic.
THEME
If you know what "kya kool hai hum" was,then you definitely know what KSKHH is all about.It as stated is a ludicrous entertainer
filled with sexual innuendos.It is no different than its progenitor but its performance is lower when compared.
PLOT
To be honest this film has a very thin plot.I can even say it has no plot at all.Borrowed many contents from KKHH.
The movie starts with adi(tusshar kapoor) dreaming about himself being a super star of bollywood.This sequence has some nice movie spoofs.
But in reality he does some despicable and funny home tv ads.But as you must have guessed he is a struggling actor.Then we are introduced to
sid(Riteish Deshmukh) his roommate.Dj by profession but a pervert with sexual obsession. But wait we have another character called suckro a canine.
But he is not an ordinary mutt.Infact he surpasses his owner with "those" good qualities.Therefore sid utilizes those qualities of his pet to ern some
easy bucks.Yeah spoof of vicky donor.On the other hand our looser hero adi goes to an astrologer who tells him to find a girl with name starting with "s"who will change
his life.Enters our heroin Simran (Neha Sharma).Yeah you can smell KKHH very easily.Anu (Sarah Jane Dias) is a model whos modelling days got over due to our Dj.
and rest of the strory continues with "sexual comedy of errors".
DIRECTION
The movie is fast and never slows down.Which is good for movies of this genre.Therefore cannot blame much on the direction.The only thing that this movie lacks is content.
There is not much in the story.I found first half of the film ok and the second half better.This time the film looks more like the indian version of the "american pie"
SCREENPLAY
They are quite good.But there are some lame "inbox clearing" jokes too.A lot more double meaning words than the previous film.Even the "tut" seller popatlal makes an appearence here.Yeah cliche + deja vu.
Some famous words "Mr marlow","Rosmary Marlow","lahore dhaba" and some funny gay jokes.If you are still scratching your head for those first few words then pls dont watch this its above 18.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nothing outstanding but its good.
BACKGROUND SCORES
except "dil garden" i dont think you will remember any other song when you leave the theatre.
OVERALL ENTERTAINTMENT VALUE
If you are a hardcore KKHH fan and is expecting too much then it will dissappoint.But if you are going
just for the sake that the films name is KSKHH.Then you wont.Most importantly it depends on your taste.
Rating:-2/5
I was not actually very keen to watch Barfi. The trailers intrigued me enough to go for it but till the last time I was unsure if it would be any good. And then on a boring Friday I found myself waiting in queue for a 3.05PM show. And I do not regret my decision.
Story/Theme: I'm not sure how to tell the story without giving anything. Let me then take the help of IMDB here.
Three young people learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's norms of normal and abnormal
Actually, giving any more would spoil the movie for you.
Character Development: Once in a while there comes a movie which consists of characters not stars. But, it takes a master to make his puppets grow in the short span of 2hrs and 33mins and make people feel the change. Barfi is such a movie where you could observe the characters changing with time, maturing, being tolerant to each other with passing time.
Though Barfi is the central character of the movie still, Jhilmil, Shruti and Inspector are well crafted and given ample scope to go through changes. Anurag basu gets full marks from me here.
Direction: Day by day directors are understanding the value of freedom and Anurag Basu once again proved that. Even though having powerful stars and big banner for his last movie Kites various restrictions took away the artistic freedom from him and we got a flop movie. This time he showed what a master director he is.
Look at the character of Barfi. How beautifully its crafted. His mannerisms, gestures, postures all are shot with utmost care.
Then take Jhilmil's character. An autistic girl. Who gets tangled in the Barfi's life. They fall in love and discover love in their own way. It had the risk of being a "Koshish" anyday. A lucrative trap for making a tearjerker, emotional serious drama but Anurag Basu took the risk of walking on rope here. He subtly showed the pain of the characters through comedy. And there he wins hands down.
Then there is Shruti and confused normal person. Who gets lost in the world of few 'abnormal' persons and never survived fully.
And, hats off for choosing Saurav Shukla as Inspector. He's a revelation in this movie.
Other supporting casts are also good but coming out of theater I bet you would remember only these.
And, the subtle touch of live background score...an intelligent touch
Screenplay: The movie narration does not go in linear motion. We get jump cuts, flashback within flashbacks and stories from different key characters. I don't know if many would appreciate such story telling. Screenplay is neat, dialogues are few and far between. Silence plays a bigger role in this movie.
Acting: I'm speechless here. Every actor seemed to be acted in this movie considering this is their last chance to prove themselves. Ranbir proved his level in Rockstar already...but Priyanaka just took reinvented herself. A very strong but sidelined character she played here. The focus was never on her but whenever she got scope she just marveled it. Kudos to her and Kudos to Anurag Basu to show us what Priyanka could do. Barfi for Priyanka is going to be what "Jab we Met" is to Kareena. Mark my words, one day newcomers would say their dream role is to play "Jhilmil" of "Barfi" !
Then, the next gem of the movie is Saurabh Shukla. Another brilliant performance.
Ileana as Shruti also did well.
Cinematography: The movie is a visual poetry. Every frame is such beautiful that reminded me "Raavan" by Santosh Shivan. After a few searches I found out the man behind this poetry and he is Mr. Ravi Varman. Just remember this name. Because if you watch the movie you are obvious to search who was the man behind camera.
Songs and background score: Songs are good, specially "Main Kaya Karoon". And, nice melodic background score. Best thing is the story does not stop when the songs happen. The songs just help enrich the moment on-screen.
Editing: In theater few were complaining about the length of the movie. I on the other hand think its the way it was meant to be. Such movies are best told in slowly, like a poetry. Such that every scene, every dialogue leaves mark in your mind.
Verdict: Reading this far it might seem its nothing but a romance between two invalids and Anurag Basu emotionally blackmailed you in the movie to love it. But what I've not told you is how much laugh riot it is, how this is even a thriller or how beautiful this movie is. All in all, a movie that gives the pleasure of listening a complete story. A movie to watch with your family. A movie where if you take your girlfriend does not stop saying "how cute!"
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Fan rating 8/10
Critics rating 7/10
It’s a Shahrukh Khan movie along with directed by my favourite Yash Chopra. It was a must watch for me but the only question was if I would be able to catch the “First Day First Show” (FDFS). Those who have never worshiped cine-stars would not understand the sentiment or romanticism behind this ‘stupid’ act.
Coming to movie review task.
Story: From IMDB
After finding and losing his true love in London, Samar Anand defies death by becoming a bomb disposal expert for the Indian Army. Returning to London after 10 years, he suffers amnesia after an accident. Will he be reunited with his love?
I understand Yash Chopra was keen to show the old fashioned love the way he always did. Undying, unconditional and pure but while trying to do this he forgot a very important part. A good story, a convincing one if I may say. The movie looked like a collage of few well acted and beautiful but unrelated scenes. I would say while telling love stories there is no better man today than “Imtiaz Ali”
Character Development: If only the movie had a good story then discussing on this section would mean something. Well, if we want to discuss on the things that we have on hand…Major Samar’s character is well developed. Meera’s changing into Devdas mode is unconvincing but the really striking character morphing is to be seen in Akira’s character. There are few other characters who seem to be doing guest appearance in a 3hr. long movie.
Direction: He made Katrina Kaif cry and you did not laugh in that scene!!! Yes! Who but Yash Chopra can do this? But I found few shots very similar to "Rockstar". Pardon me but "Rockstar" is so engraved in my heart that whenever I see a scene where the leading lady is running across a bridge to meet her boyfriend and that shot starts on a top view and ends in long shot to close-up...I remember 'Imtiaz Ali'. Yashji could have avoided such cliches if he wanted but he stuck to his tried and tested formula of love and film-making.
Screenplay: A sentimental, undying, “true love” story was tried to write here but ended up creating a story of forcefully created scenarios based on some childish logic. Well, it sure seems convoluted story but not a boring one.
Acting: Whoa! After a long time I’m going to write a review on an SRK’s movie I can freely claim he still has it. This movie is solely depended on SRK. He acted in a true blue romantic movie since “Veer-Zara” and I would say he surpassed “Veer” here. Since “Veer-Zara” everytime I went for an SRK movie and secretly hoped he would not overact this time…and he failed me (well if I exclude few like ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Suri’ character of ‘Rab ne bana di jodi’). BUT, I’m proud to say this time he just proved why he’s called the king of romance. Showed the love he’s famous for and showed the pain he has cashed in his hit movies.
He actually underacted here! A very calm, sure and comfortable SRK is ready for you this time. Watch this movie only for him.
Katrina looked beautiful at times (I don’t believe myself saying this! I never liked her.) She still can’t act and Deepika Padukone is better actor than her any day. But, Yash Chopra at least made her look convincing in few scenes. And she danced! OMG! She danced and I hope it was not a body double.
Anushka acted very well. She’s the next big thing in Bollywood. She’s well comfortable in all kind of scenes and can change into different emotions in snap of finger.
Cinematography: The movie is very beautiful in your eyes. Specially Ladakh and Kashmir scenes. Then few scenes of London. If you are an avid movie viewer…the name you are looking for is Anil Mehta.
Songs and background score: Rehman’s music is good to ears but something that would live for ages. I would be surprised if some is hearing it after 4-5 months. BUT, but not all is waste “Saans” song is very well composed then my fav. “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” poem and the accompanying music. I was listening to it in loop for half an hour. And obviously the background score. I would say the background score is even better than main songs.
Editing: 3hr. long movie in these days are rare but not alien. Even big budget Hollywood movies tend to have a length of 2+ hrs and we are talking about a hindi movie where even 5 years back having a length of 2.5 hrs was mandatory. Still a bit editing could have been done. On second thought…nah. Sab thik hai (everything is alright about its length)
Verdict: A good love story, SRK brand love I say, after a long time. Watch it if you have not personal vendetta against SRK.
Title :- IRONMAN 3 Genre :- Action Running time :- 2hrs 10 mins Review Method :- Q & A.
This time instead of following the conventional review method i am choosing another short and simple process where everyone will find what they want to know in a jiffy!
Q> How was the movie?
A> For me it was just above average. I & II were better.
Q> Why do you feel so?
A> Because i got tired of many things in this movie or i may not have understood some of the subtle meanings in this movie.
Q> what things?
A> 1.Continuous repetition of some cheesy jokes. starks suit misses him, stark's suit collides with many things(with a bus,wall,window,glass...etc etc.), starks suit again misses him while he is falling,jumping tied...I need a break!
2.Wastage of Ben Kingsley's character they coud have chosen anyone besides him.That was one worst twist.(cant reveal any further otherwise it will act as a spoiler)
3.Forced 3D.
4.The movie seemed rushed.Or the editing was bad.
5.Not enough drama.
Q>What about the acting department.
A> Everyone was good but Robert downey jr & Guy Pearce owns the movie.Especially the later.
Q> Dialogues?
A> Okay with some funny one liners.
Q> Story
A> As mentioned before lacked the punch,was rushed or bad editing.
Q> How are the action sequences?
A> Well good. Yes they are good.
Q> How is the cinematography
A> Yow have seen the best ones in the trailer. Yes not bad.
Q > How much will you rate the movie.
A> I don't like ratings but still for the simplicity 6.5/10.
Iron Man 3 (3D) (PG-13/ U/A)
Genre : Action/ Sci-Fi / Thriller
Running Time - 2 Hr 10 Mins
Release Date: 26 April 2013
The Following Review contains very mild spoilers , if you have watched the two theatrical trailers you wont be spoiled anything much more than that .
Theme.
Mostly Everyone now knows who Iron Man is , and he needs no introduction . The story in Iron Man 3 takes place one year after the events of New York (Avengers) . Stark has become obsessed with building newer and better suits or armor, and spends most of his time trying to improve his weaponry. He also suffers from panic attacks every time he's reminded of the battle with Loki's forces and his fall from the wormhole (a nice touch though never fully explored). The movie also gives hints that this may be the end of the Iron Man series for now .
Plot
The plot is quite simple and seen in many other movies - A man comes back from the heroes past and tries to destroy his world , the hero looses almost everything but gets back up for retribution. Here in Iron Man 3 Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) is a scientist who wanted to work with Tony but after getting stranded on his own and he tries to create a form of virus "Extremis" which heightens the capabilities of a normal human beings , Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) helps him to create the virus but there is a defect in the virus which does certain things to the subject of the virus . Like
Turning them into big explosive bombs and very significant increase in temperature .
Aldrich Killian works with Terrorist "Mandarin" to decimate the United States of America , Tony Stark gives him open challenge and his world is then thrown upside down . Tony Stark has to get back up and this time he is alone , and has to get out of this situation through his intelligence and mind.
Character development
Now this is a point in the movie which bugged me , as we were not made entirely clear from where Aldrich Killian came and what was he all about and what was he trying to achieve . I was also dissapointed by the character of Maya Hansen and I thought she was underused and could have made a more impact in the film . What they did to The Mandarin was very distinct and I think they wasted him quite a bit. Now the main character Tony Stark has good character development , not only we see a different stark after new york but a more obsessed with technology one too . We also see how Pepper Potts is again managing Stark Industries and a change of roles for Happy Hogan .
Direction/Acting/Screenplay
Robert Downey Jr. gives another superb performance as Tony Stark (maybe his best in an Iron Man movie, though he hasn't topped The Avengers for me) and he is helped by an excellent supporting cast. Both Paltrow and Don Cheadle get much more to do as Pepper and Rhodey and step up to their roles admirably. Jon Favreau also makes a big impression as a returning Happy Hogan, and gets some of the biggest laughs. Guy Pearce is his usual dependable self as Aldrich Killian, though his villainous motivations are a little generic. Then there's the mighty Sir Ben Kinglsey as The Madarin. A truly chilling, unsettling performance gives rise to something else entirely . Rebeca Black was quite average but I think thats largely due to her character.
The story rockets along with never a dull moment I didnt even notice how quickly the 2 hours went by .The script also allows Shane Black ample opportunity to indulge his flair for action, and there are some spectacular set pieces on display. The Mid air rescue stands out according to me , although the destruction of Mansion and the final battle have to be given their share of awesomeness. There's also a very welcome buddy-movie vibe introduced between Stark and Rhodey near the end that's so successful. I wished there were more scenes of them together.
Cinematography/Background Score/Dialogue
Many scenes stand out especially the Mid-Air rescue and the Destruction of mansion , the way the final battle was presented was a bit let down though . The Score was okay , honestly I don't remember much of it but the intro song "Eiffel 65's Blue" looked good with the Marvel logo.Many of the Dialoges were witty and most of them were by Stark , Happy Hogan and Mandarin were also given quite good Dialogues and the deliveries by both of them especially Sir Ben Kingsley stand out.
Verdict
I found the movie quite entertaining , there were some good performances by RDJ , Guy Pearce and Sir Ben Kinsley although the script could have been a bit better but the editing was crisp and to me there was never a dull moment in the film. The Action was superb , even though not touching the heights of Avengers it was still quite good and innovative. I could not understand the motive of the villain properly and it felt quite generic to me , which is a big minus point for me . The "twist" was done in a funny and unexpected way and caught me by surprise . Talking about 3D , it was pretty non-existent and there were only a very handful amount of shots that had depth . So, While it does not reach the height of Iron Man / Avengers , this Shane Black 's film is a definitive improvement over the dull Iron Man 2 , It has good amounts of comedy and one-liners but I think it was under the margin for me. I also expected it to expand the MCU and introduce or hint new characters and other films but it didn't happen . It is a very good, if not quite great start to Marvel's Phase 2.
Rating - 7.5/10
EDIT: After watching it a couple more times , I think 7.5 rating is more suitable than 8 .
Go Goa Gone 8/10
*upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/Go_Goa_Gone_poster.jpg/220px-Go_Goa_Gone_poster.jpg
Cast: Vir Das, Kunal Khemu, Anand Tiwari, Saif Ali Khan and Pooja Gupta
Director: Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru
Runtime : ~110 mins
Long back (actually 2 years back) there was a rumor that Bollywood was on its way to make movies on Zombies. Two unnamed films were heard to be in making. Two years after one movie is already released "Rise of the Zombie" (released and flopped) another released today "GoGoa Gone". The name is whacky and trailers are not that interesting but the songs...the songs were its USP. Remember "Delhi Belly", how its whacky songs created the curiosity around it and turned it into a smash hit?....I hope the same thing clicks for it. Now the main business, the review.
Theme: Three friends goes Goa for different reason. Two guys to just chill out and one for office presentation. They join a rave party and things turn bad there. People suddenly start turning into zombies. What now? (Well Zombie movies were always about two things either its a horror or its a comedy. Its a comedy and that's the maximum you need to know about it)
Character Development: There is hardly any chance of any character development. And this being a "piece-of-life" movie its unjust to ask any from it too. So, leaving this topic.
Direction: Was going through the filmography of both the directors. A very impressive catalog : "Shor in the city", "99" to be mentionable. In case of "Go Goa Gone" I would say they have nailed it. The big hit that everyone waits for is here, they can enjoy the success. Its not easy to make offbeat movies in India specially if you want to make profits too from ticket sales. But I guess this is gonna be hit among young viewers.
The direction is very much to the point, gives very less focus to individual characters so less time to commit mistakes. You would get almost 100% dialogs rather any monologue. This ensures a creative input of comic timing and surprise element to audience. Just imagine you won't be seeing Saif doing overacting! That's an achievement on its own!
On second thought, actually Saif actually did over the top acting. And that blends to the tone of the movie. Crazy characters! Every single one was created with utmost care and then was given some intelligent lines. The chemistry between Vir Das and Kunal Khemu to be mentioned here for this.
Then the intelligent film-making by including inspired scenes from "Zombieland" and "Shaun of the dead". Well, you know what is intelligent here? They not only copied scenes but took a dig on it! Bollywood making fun of Hollywood movies is a remarkable scene for sure. Another intelligent aspect is how they handled Clichés. They touched every Cliché that is related to such zombie flicks and made fun of those. Then they made fun of themselves too. Too many things in a movie?! Yeah and you would enjoy it for these things.
Hats off to the director duo. Hope they bring a sequel too.
Cinematography: Though the movie takes place in Goa they have cautiously escaped showing the scenery of Goa. That was unnecessary for this movie and it was avoided. Rather collage of a rented room of bachelors, office room and a zombie infested island is well crafted. No special mention here. You get to see just what is there, no artsy-fartsy bullsh1t.
Songs and background score: The songs are already popular. Specially "Slowly slowly" and "Khoon choos le". Whacky lyrics along with party themed music. Apt to the mood with movie. Two of the songs are used as title credit scene and end credit scene and others are as background score. The dedicated background score is average though.
Editing: The editing is superb till intermission but the movie slows down its pace in the second half and this happens mostly due to lack of ideas in screenplay. Still a very good job.
Entertainment value: After a long time laughed out loud in theatre. Full entertainment (provided profanity does not bother you!). Kunal Khemu and Vir Das runs havoc and Saif's crazy Russian accent is fun...trust me!
Verdict: Since "Delhi Belly" this is the only movie which can shake the former's stature of intelligent. tongue-in-cheek comedy movie. Beware of profanity though. IF you have problem with profanity, this movie is not for you. Rest all assured you would enjoy.
IRON MAN :3 (4/10) Genre:-Action,comedy,Nonsense. Main cast :- Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle,Guy Pearce,Ben Kingsley. Director:- Shane Black
If you have seen ironman cartoons or if you are an ironman fan. Keep distance from this movie.In one word this is the worst ironman movie ever.
The rest of the essay explains why this movie is a waste.
Theme: The director himself doesn't knows wtf is the theme then how am i supposed to know? cretinism is its theme.
Character Development: If i combine IM 1,2 & 3 then yes it is good. Infact this is the strong point of this movie. In each movies we see a different kind of stark based on the effect of the suit on his body.His psychological transition,His relationships.The evolution of the suit too!
Writing/ Direction: Screenplay credits goes to Shane black & Drew Pearce. Drew pearce... sorry i dont know much about him. But Shane black? Do i know him....Well i do know one shane black who had directed Kiss kiss bang bang. But i am not sure if this is the same guy.
Direction and writing are gimpy.They were just focussing on action and nothing else. Some lines may be funny but rest were all just lamentable. They tried very had to make it a action comedy but cliches and unnecessary jokes just pinches you instead of tickling.
There is no story. It becomes quite clear after watching the film that they focused on the action sequences first and tried to fit them in a half baked story.Which was made later at a drug fueled party. Then they thought of doing something with the already rushed story to make it interesting,and they screwed it by adding one of the worst twist in any superhero movie.But they did not rest and went on making it a 3D.
I was thinking of not wasting the time discussing the numerous flaws in this film. But still i would like to give few examples. During the end of the movie stark suddenly decides to remove the shrapnels from his body through surgery. Now wtf does that means? He was enjoying having those shrapnels inside his
body all the time through IM1,IM2,The avengers & till the end of IM 3! I know about movie logic but that too has some decency. Another funny fact is that the third armor and the second arc reactor which stark makes in the first film can fly to the middle east but the 42nd can't fly to Tennessee?
The movie also shows that the war machine is re-branded as Iron patriot which is used by the same guy.In actual they are NOT.Both are different. Iron Patriot appears in the Dark avengers and was developed by Norman Osborne. But still this change is bearable than what they did to mandarin.
Acting:- Everyone was good at their roles.
Background score :- Effective and fits the situation.
Verdict :- school kids,kids & ironman illiterates may enjoy this movie.For others its just a nonsense. 4/10
I agree on points about "non existent story" given by rhitwick on "must not watch thread". But I didn't feel the movie long, despite of its run time of 160 min. My take:
I had low expectations from the movie before I went to watch it on Friday night with 3 of my friends. Owning to the title of the movie and Bunny (Ranbir), I thought this will be another cheesy bollywood rom-com film. First half of the film was right upto what I was expecting. Typical masala type movie with a dance number and awesome larger than life "Hero" character. But the humor didn't disappointed, and there were many instances were we got the opportunity to laugh. Specially the tomboyish character Aditi (Kalki Koechlin, I like her), and his dialogues.
Second part of the movie is where the movie changed its pace a bit. And we get to see some of the emotional side of Bunny and his friend Avi (Aditya Roy Kapoor), his battle for Naina (Deepika Padukone) against his dreams, and even his discombobulation for his family. Second part is also where we get to see some good songs like, "ilahi mera jee aaye" and Ranbir's dance on "Badtameez Dil".
Well, to me who don't usually watch Bollywood, it was a movie which entertained me and my friends a lot. One good thing about the movie was spectacular locations, and cinematography. To an extent that it can be fairly compared to ZMND.
Tl;dr: What I liked:
Cinematography at spectacular locations
Songs and Music (specially, "Illahi")
Kalki Koechlin
Ranbir's dance
Climax which (and I don't get a chance to say it much) didn't feel over dramatic.
In fact, whole second part felt much grounded to reality.
What I didn't like so much:
Non existent story
Stereotyped characters
Watch this movie with friends or family for its entertainment value. Watch this movie for songs and for its youthful energy. But don't expect to be awe with story or hidden meanings.
After Earth is a Sci Fi survival story of a boy named, “Kitai Raige” (Jaden Smith) who crash landed on a planet along with his father “Cypher Raige” (Will Smith), and have to survive various kinds of dangers that Earth greets the crash landers with.
I have to admit that the trailer when I saw it months ago, did get me excited. But fortunately I saw today that it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and all my hopes were out. It was this low expectation that made the movie worth a watch.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Mr. Night, but he have a knack of making movies too boring sometimes. But fortunately his last movie “The Last Airbender” wasn’t his last movie as a director. So when I say After Earth wasn’t a total disappointment, I mean it.
Story wise movie doesn’t give much to offer. Except the basic premise of survival and some flashbacks there isn’t much to say. Visual effects were also just acceptable. Certainly not that what is expected of this age. The pace of movie was rather acceptable, and father son combo was the selling point.
But what I think lacked much in After Earth, was the fact that Earth didn’t seem much dangerous to me. Mr. Night failed to get more dangers for the actor to fight against. And it felt like movie was cut short due to budget constraints at a later stage of production. This is why the time is took to built the pace seemed long, but the actual time devoted to Earth felt short and rushed.
Talking about performance of Jaden, real son of Will Smith, I have to say he needs much to learn. He is shown to be a boy who gets scared easily. But is later shown to gather courage to do what he sought out to. Its not like this is his fist cameo with Will Smith. He first worked with his father in “The Pursuit of Happyness”. But unlike that film After Earth wasn’t a Will Smith movie. After Earth can be said as Jaden’s role as a first billed star cast.
One thing I liked about this movie was the Soundtrack. It felt immersive enough. After all the music was created by James Newton, the man behind soundtrack of Batman Begins, along with Hans Zimmer.
Overall, movie didn’t feel something to drool over. But is worth a watch. Maybe when it comes out on DVD, or TV. But I liked it. It’s not a lot of times when you get to see a father and son movie that are father and son in real life.
Rating: 6 / 10.
My blog review link: *vineetkumar.me/2013/06/after-earth/
Raanjhanaa 8/10 Cast:
Dhanush
Sonam Kapoor
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Murari
Swara Bhaskar as Bindiya
Director :
Aanand Rai
Srory and screenplay:
Himanshu Sharma
Music : A.R.Rehman
Run time:
140 minutes
Initially I was sceptic about this movie. I assumed a different story from the trailer. A story full of romance and clichés. A story which was bound to have a good first half and boring second half. Well, I am right about the second half. Post interval the movie slows down very much, at times drags then after few minutes beating around the bushes it concludes with a good ending.
Theme: “The pundit's son Kundan (Dhanush) has fallen for the girl at first sight. That they're both kids makes us dismiss it as a meaningless crush. But a few years later, the boy is still in love with the girl, Zoya (Sonam Kapoor). When she's in school, he follows her around holding her hand and getting slapped in the process. Finally, she relents because of his "consistency". The film shifts cities when Zoya gets into JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University), and through her, we are introduced to the idealistic and political culture of the place. She discovers a long-lost strength as she confronts and then falls for student leader Abhay Deol. The film takes a turn when Zoya returns to her hometown after eight long years only to find some things changed, and others surprisingly the same” [Source IMDB]
Character development: This movie is stands on the shoulder of two leads Sonam as Zoya and Dhanush as Kundan. But, mainly zoya’s character goes through any development. Say it mentality, expectation from life, treating situations. Dhanush kind of stops growing emotionally. Most of the time he learns that things have changed in and around Zoya and impacts him momentarily but does not change him or his mentality towards Zoya. I would say Dhanush’s character in this regards does not go through much changes in the movie.
Direction: The movie has a very unconventional script and putting that to frame could not have been easy but Anand Rai did a marvellous job. If only he thought about anything about post interval scenes.
Dhanush is used to the fullest and he proves he’s here to stay. But more praise goes to Anand Rai for bringing out a convincing performance from Sonam Kapoor. This movie won’t win her any awrd but might help her land some good roles. And if she stick around like Deepika, she might improve.
Next praise of the direction is the scene construction. There are few gems in the movie. Specially mentioned would be the gas cylinder scene, scooter into Ganges and Dhanush vomiting scene.
Anand Rai got an excellent script and did a marvellous job portraying it into movie.
Cinematography: Cinematography is apt to the situations.
Acting:Dhanush is superb. This is a tailor made role from him and him only. His looks and his physique complements the movie. Then add his brilliant acting talent, the way he speaks, his body language is brilliant.
People talk about chemistry between lead pairs but here Kundan(Dhanush) and Murari’s chemistry surpassed everything. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Murari did a solid job and at times shadowed Dhanush.
Sonam here dared to do a very tough role. Her role was the most strong role in the movie and even tougher than the Priyanka’s role in Barfi. Her character goes through various changes in the movie, jealousy, love, revenge, guilt, passion everything comes into her role. We are grateful that she pulled that off somehow, else it would have been a torture to tolerate her in a movie like that.
Swara Bhaskar as Bindiya did a very good job. I really liked the scenes where Murari, Kundan Bindiya fight with each other.
Rest of the characters are average does not require a special mention here.
Songs and background score: Only one song i.e. ‘Tum Tak’ I found apt to the situation rest do not contribute to the movie. I would appreciate the background score here more than actual songs.
Editing: Can’t have mercy on the editor for the bad second half. Few un-necessary scenes could have been avoided.
Entertainment value: Till first half this movie would entertain you later you might get bored but the ending is good.
Verdict: This movie has something for everyone. This movie has layers that only people who are looking for it would get to see. Different people would be entertained by different aspects of the movie. Some would love Dhanush, some Murari, some Zoya, few songs…but there is a chance that you would like this movie for whatever the reason is.
Run time : 140 mins(approx) Director: James Wan Writers: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes
Its a long time since i have seen a horror movie in a theater. Generally i don't like watching horror movies in a theater until and unless someone accompanies me or if the film is good enough.
The conjuring claims to be based on real life events.More precisely on one of the warrens's cases.
Well lets not get into the story because it is not something you are not aware of. Instead lets get into the other aspects of the film.
Direction : I have only seen saw I and liked it. Dead silence is another notable work of this man.James Wan. The first half is slow and builds the tension which creates the right sense of ambiance for the second half. In the second half the film tries its best to define what horror is!
The movie is clean,simple & straight forward.Which of course is a plus point. This time wan shied away from gore and tried to give chills without them and succeeded too!
The situations are a bit tricky sometimes you may not guess what is going to happen next even if you have seen a lot of other horror stuffs.
Acting: Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga did a good job. There wasn't much room for Lili Taylor & Ron Livingston However there is nothing to complain about.
Cinematography: The lush green countryside of rhode island was captured and shown beautifully.
Sound effects: Really good. Fits the atmosphere almost perfectly.
No complains against the Editing and Writing departments too.
Perhaps the main question would be does it scare?
The answer is its subjective. As a general answer it may not scare you that much but is good enough to justify the price of your ticket.
Rating: As usual i dont like ratings but for the sake of understanding the review properly consider it as 3.5/5
Small review (Too tired from the exhausting movie viewing to write a full one)
D1 and D2 had a story. The heists were planned well and and the most exciting part were the execution of the plans. Heists were the USP of for the thieves along with the awesome bikes.
Somehow the new director while taking over the D3 project remembered only the bike stunts and forgot about the story part altogether. As a result we get a long movie having extended chase sequences.
Action scenes (bike chase scenes) are well executed though. They had shown some impossible stunts but I would overlook them saying the director took liberty of artistic imagination.
Aamir overacts (he did in previous few movies too but you really had to be looking for it to see them but in D3 its easily noticeable)
They took Katrina for 4 item songs.
Abhishek seemed to be in default mode.
Uday Chopra...I did not know I would say that but seems to be improving. In previous installments he used to take himself seriously but not any more.
And, oh...Aamir tried to dance and Katrina did throw her limbs here and there too. Many would call that dancing.
Songs are forgettable. And they spent 5 crores for that Malang song?!!!
(And, I've not touched the loopholes, yet)
Why you should watch:-
>Its holiday season. You have monies to spend.
>If movies are your only getaway, go for it.
>If you love bikes and bike stunts, go for it.
>4 item songs of Katrina...dancing
>One scene between Aamir and his brother. Proves how good actor he is. But, only one scene of 5 mins in a 172 mins movie.
If not even that motivates you to watch this movie, IDK if you should watch this movie.
Music :
Indraadip Das Gupta provided some good background score for the movie. Blends beautifully with the situations.
Run time:
148 minutes
Theme:
Its an adventure movie. 90% of the movie is shot in either wild or desert.
Chander Pahar is the story of a young Bengali man's adventures in Africa in the years 1909-1910. Shankar Roy Chowdhury, the protagonist, is a 20-year old man, recently completed his FA(graduation) and about to take up a job in a jute mill, a prospect he absolutely loathes.
He yearns for adventure, wild lands, forests and animals. He wants to follow the footsteps of famous explorers like Livingstone, Mungo Park, Marco Polo, all of whom he has read about and idolizes. By a stroke of luck, he secures a job as a clerk in Uganda Railway through a fellow villager already working there and goes to Africa without a second thought.
Character development:
The character of Shankar is drawn very well. His transformation from a bengali village boy to a wanderer is drawn very carefully. Two things made it possible i.e. make-up and Dev's somewhat mature acting.
Direction:
The director first gets a nod for daring to make such a movie. Then he again gets a nod to make Dev act. Non-linear narration was used to tell the story. He took artistic liberty to tweak few story points. At times actors took time to react to their environment which should have been taken care of. Man vs. Wild scenes are very well captured and they are a treat to your eyes. The thrill and excitement is very well built and executed. He gets nod for creating few edge-on-ther seat action scenes. Still more work should have done Dev's expressions. Why is he smiling in almost all scenes?
Cinematography:
This and this only makes all sins made by Dev go away. Beauty of Africa, wild animals, chase scenes are very well executed.Hats off to the DOP Soumik Haldar.
Acting:
Dev tries and tries very hard. Till he's accompanied by Alvarez he poses an immature look on his face and casual approach to situations around him. May be its intentional to make his character feel more out-of-place without Alvarez or its his weakness. Still, till Alvarez is alive he at times appears annoying. Gerard Rudolf as Deigo Alavarez did a very commendable job. Very good acting by this gentleman. Kudos to him.
Songs and background score:
Only one song and I did not like it. Background score was apt to the mood of the scenes and never overwhelms the scene.
Editing: The dialog parts are too slow for the high paced movie like this. Editing could have been more good. Few unnecessary scenes are kept which can be removed. Specially the scene where Shankar Alvarez gets to meet three Masai tribe members in wild. This is an important part of the book but when pictured this scene does not add any value to the move. One or two more scenes like this could have been edited.
Entertainment value:
Apart from the occasional slowness this a very good adventure movie. Full of African wild animals and edge-on-seat thrill. I would recommend this.
Verdict:
Tollywood never did an adventure movie. Did not do in India and leave alone Africa. But the director and more-over the producers took the risk to do the impossible. The risks were great. What if it tanks, what if it does not live up to the expectation of people. Making movie from a classic is always a risky business. Still they braved this and we get a very good Christmas present in the form of a movie. Should you watch it? Why not? Most of us had read the book and imagined the locations in our mind. This is a dream-come-true for all of us. The director does not cheat us here. If not 100% but I would say 80% of your thirst would be quenched. Yes Dev hams at the beginning of the movie but later he throws a good acting example. Ask me, I liked what I had seen. A warning, don't expect much as VFX from a movie whose total budget was 15 crore.
Film : Highway (2014) Ticket cost : Big cinemas: Rs 160 Running time: 2hrs 30mins approx
Cast : Randeep Hooda, Alia Bhatt (main leads) Director, writer : Imtiaz Ali
Music: A.R. Rahman Cinematography : Anil Mehta
Plot: Actually highway is journey & emotions of life seen through the eyes of two different type of people! Anyways one night soon too be wed Veera (Alia Bhatt) the daughter of a big industrialist gets accidentally kidnapped by a gang of criminals. As the time passes an undefined bond starts to develop between Veera & Mahabir Bhati (randeep hooda) the leader of that gang. Now she feels free & not a captive anymore. For her him & this journey is all what she wants. In short she rediscovered her life.
Direction : The film is slow but the direction is intelligent at some places. For instance as the relationship between the characters changes, the location, weather & time also changes. (From night, rough,dilapidated shelters to bright sunny snow clad mountains.) The movie has very less dialogues and relies heavily on expressions & emotions. Which were captured well by the director. Though there are some loose ends in the plot especially at the kidnapping part but you can overlook that.
Cinematography: Awesome shots (mostly in the second half) especially of himachal prasesh & jammu & kashmir areas. Really good work by Anil Mehta.
Acting: Honestly alia bhatt looks like a kid to get married. Casting was not proper here.They should have casted someone else instead. Anyways she didn't disappoint and also did a good job. Randeep hooda like his previous films was good too. Here the director failed to capture something.
Mahabir Bhati (randeep hooda) is a (strong) character whose absence should have been felt by the audience towards the end. Unfortunately we feel almost nothing. Maybe the character needed some more treatment. Most of the focus was on Veera (Alia Bhatt)
Editing: The film could have been a bit shorter. The end was dragged too much.
Entertainment value: If you want a relaxing movie with lots of scenery & a bit artistic in nature then it is for you otherwise you will be very much bored & frustrated. I suspect you may even leave before the film ends.
Verdict:: A very bold attempt by imtiaz ali. Though he may not have pulled it successfully but its worth a watch, at least for those who loves to travel in countryside.
Movie: Highway Director: Imtiaz Ali Cast: Alia Bhatt, Randeep Hooda Length: ~15o mins Rating : 8/10
I've seen the movie last Sunday and since then I was think what do I write if I write a review of this movie? The story line is simple and most of the movie is without dialog...what do I write about then. But, I think Direction and acting at least can be talked about here. When in 2013 it was first announced that Imtiaz Ali is making a movie with Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda....I know a lot of Imtiaz fans like me were skeptical about his decision.
Alia Bhatt?!!! That fashion diva of tomorrow with a irritating acting talent shown in "Student of the year"? Why her? And Randeep Hooda?!!! He rose as star with "D" then vanished. None believes he can act. How come Imtiaz zeroed in on these two?!!! This is what I was thinking the whole year and even on Sunday I was worried what I'm going to see. And I'm glad I'm proven wrong.
Story/Screenpaly: Veera, only daughter of a rich businessman gets kidnapped mistakenly by some dacoits. Mahavir, the dacoit leader hits the road with Veera to keep away from police. And in this journey both of them gets to look inside themselves.
Music : A.R. Rahman has given some nice tunes, I won’t say I liked all but “Patakha Guddi” (both versions) and “Mahi Ve” are mentionable. Background scores are good too. The songs fits well with the story and never stops the flow.
Character development and acting: Alia Bhatt as Veera did a wonderful job. She surprised everyone with this movie. It was a tough role, roller-coaster ride of emotions. She had to act naïve, bubbly and a cute girl who has never come this close to reality. She had to hold the look of wonder in her eyes that a city dweller has when visiting a village or sees a bullock cart or climbs a tree. I think those were originals expressions of her. I don’t think she ever climbed a tree or lied down just beside highway and felt the air that blows you when a speeding truck passes. Above everything she enjoyed making of this movie that I’m sure of.
BUT, its Randeep Hooda that surprised me a lot. He seems to be born for this role. A dacoit, always expecting hatred from everyone, always serious and keeps a grunt on his face to hide his vulnerabilities. Scenes between him a Alia are a gem to watch. In most of the scenes Alia is doing something weird or just enjoying herself and Randeep is looking at her. Its not ‘stare’ looking but looking with mix emotions…emotions like wonder, confusion, disgust…he pulled that off! Kudos to him for that.
Then the final scenes when he slowly sheds his shells and opens up his soft side, lets Alia take over his life is not only a brilliance of director but also a personal success of Randeep as an actor. IDK, if he would get any award for this, even if he doesn’t he should feel proud that he got to act such a role.
Another actor that I must mention here is the guy as “Aadoo”. He’s good, he’s real good. His eyes speak volumes than his mouth. Shadowed by boss he seldom gets to speak his mind but shows the pain and disagreement in his eyes. Good job sir, whoever you are.
Direction: Since “Socha na tha” Imtiaz explored love from different angles. He seems to have lots of questions on love and keeps on asking them in his movies. ‘Highway’ may appear a ‘love story’ but I won’t call it that. If you’ve seen the movie “Leon” can you name the relationship between them? In Highway too the relationship between the leads are not defined clearly. May be due the maturity of Veera they were allowed to cuddle…still I won’t say they were in love.
Should I praise this grey area or should I consider this his weakpoint of this movie I’m not sure. But, he sure proved one thing actors are the puppets of director. He did JWM and proved Kareena can act and with Highway he established two more named in the league of people who can act.
But, few scenes are not clear…I mean his intentions are not clear. Mahavir at times seemed interested in asking ransom, is shown contacting he parents for extortion money but that track is left unattended. If he did ask for ransom, where he asked them to meet, how he planned to take the money etc. That ransom track ran its independent course and lost midway.
Deeper analysis:
Veera liked her freedom, she did nothing special for Mahavir…he kinda fit with her dream which suddenly came true. She dreamt of a place in mountain, her ‘man’ would be a shepherd and Mahavir happened to be playing the role of that man. But, for Mahavir she was a surprise element. He never came in touch with such rich people such close…and then here is the ultimate thing... Girl of the business tycoon! In 2/3 of the movie he kept a distance from her, observed her. His eyes never showed lust rather disgust and hatred at times. He observed mostly how she reacts to little things that are common in his life but found her enjoying those, embracing them with both hands and enjoying them.
Veera, once had enough of the essence of nature tried to explore her surroundings and only unknown, unpredictable was Mahavir…she tried to look deep and got turned down. She took it as a challenge whereas Mahavir was surprised why she’s behaving like that. I found this tussle very interesting. Then the part where they meet at Chandigarh is the last step when Mavir lost every piece of guard and surrendered to Veera. He knew its an unfortunate union, he knew how it could end but he wanted to fulfill her dreams.
Cinematography: Awesome. Anil Mehta captured the beauty of India such brilliantly that the frames are piece of art itself. This is sure a visually stunning movie.
Editing:The editing should have been crisp. I found few scenes which seems to be not contributing to the story but were not edited. The movie could have been 10 mins short for sure.
Verdict : The movie speaks volumes through silence and little gestures. Many would find it boring and ‘nothing is happening on screen’ but if you could have patience this could be a good watch. Take Randeep Hooda as best actor nominated from my side!
Movie: Bobby Jasoos Director: Samar Shaikh Cast: Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal Length: 121 mins Rating : 6/10
While my choice of genre doesn’t really allow me to digest modern popcorn blockbuster Bollywood movies, I often tend to enjoy them occasionally if served with a good story and execution. I will have to say that Bobby Jasoos was not one of them.
Bobby Jasoos seems to be a half baked, self pretentious attempt in directing by Samar Shaikh and endorsed by Diya Mirza as a Producer, whose skills could have been better utilized as an actress to save this movie a little.
The story of Bobby Jasoos is about a 30 year old muslim girl named Bobby, residing in the heart of Hyderabad city near the iconic Charminar. While she keeps herself involved in investigating cases in night and trying to get a proper detective job in daytime. She is having a rough time in securing clients as a detective, but luck takes a big turn as she receives an assignment that pushes her to her limits. Rest of the film is a riot as she tries to struggle her career as a detective and manage her family emotionally who doesn’t seem to be in favor of what Bobby does.
While the film seems to have so much potential what makes it fail is the treatment. The film starts of in a humorous tone and actually seems like to begin with the right foot. But as it picks up pace we are introduced some of the people that seems like a cliche examples of typical characters from all of the Bollywood movies I detest watching. Slowly the viewer is faced with slapstick humor, family drama and been-there-done-that events that feels like Deja Vu in the course of a family drama movie.
Songs don’t help either. Neither of the songs in the film leaves an impression on the viewers mind, rather give them a chance to take a break and catch up on sleep while they are at it. There is one particular song in the movie which I won’t specify to stay away from spoilers, and which I personally think was totally uncalled for in the situation. Perhaps the pacing or editing could have been a lot better, so as to give the movie a coherent flow.
In this movie Vidya Balan in the role of Bobby gets to change in a lot of getup (around 12) but most of them doesn’t help the story in much ways. It looks as if she was made to change just for the sake of humor. While the film can be considered short at just 121 minutes, it feels somewhat dragged occasionally, and fails to let viewers invest their emotions into any of the characters except of the lead character.
That being said, the film does have its moments but those are just a few. I would also say it was a daring attempt to try to execute a movie with only a female lead, who for the most part remains out of glamor, and where she is also shown to break free from many of the stereotypical role a women is portrayed in Indian movies. I would also have to admire Vidya Balan for her acting skills as she was very convincing in all of those getup she did onscreen. I would not blame the execution of the movie on her since the onus of the complete movie lied on her shoulders alone. And she did her role perfectly.
It would be fair to say that while the first half of Bobby Jasoos, raises viewers interest a little, second half helps it raise even further, but the final twist fails to live up to the expectation.
One more movie “Queen” was also released recently where the story was about a female lead who is shown to break free from various stereotypical roles, but it would be unfair to compare both of them, because while Queen was set up in vibrant and colorful foreign cities like Paris and Amsterdam and was more closer to today’s generation, Bobby Jasoos relates more to India and typical Indian family drama, and was filmed totally in the streets of semi urban parts of Hyderabad which gave the movie a special flavor of India, more closer to most of the people of the country.
Combined with all other things I would rate the film a 6 out of 10. Extra 1 to give bollywood a break from the male dominant masala movie and an attempt to create India’s own Sherlock Holmes.
Movie: The Theory of Everything
Director: James Marsh
Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior
Length: 123 mins
Rating : 8/10
A lot of time have passed since I last wrote a good movie review and after I watched Theory of Everything, I had this urge to write that I couldn’t contain. The Theory of Everything is a biographical movie which tells the story about the romantic side of Stephen Hawking and his relationship with his first wife, mostly unknown to the general public including me. Movies like this (based on some living legendary person) always feels a little diplomatic (like The Social Network) but are still, for the lack of a better word, interesting and also motivational.
In my teenage years I use to love all those documentaries on Discovery about theories with mind bending possibilities. It always use to take me to amazing realm of a world that remains invisible to the naked eye. Hence it was natural that I was expecting to be dazzled yet again and experience that once again on big screen. But what I saw actually was the story of him before he become a successful physicist. The movie is a story not about his professional work rather it’s solely focused on the personal life of Stephen Hawking. We got to know about how incredibly nice Jane (his first wife) was with Stephen. She was an incredible woman to sacrifice so much of her life for the love she had for Stephen. Her devotion towards Hawking for so many years was rather unparalleled.
I was expecting a cameo of real Stephen Hawking in the movie, but Eddie Redmayne, the actor who played Stephen did such an incredible job that the cameo wasn’t really missed. I haven’t watched other works of Redmayne but the portrayal of him as Hawking really transpired my imagination and felt like it was the real Hawking himself on the screen. The wife of Hawking was acted by Felicity Jones who was also good. Involvement of David Thewlis was a little distracting at first since I was used to see him as Lupin in Harry Potter movies. Guess what, he is a professor in this movie too and hence I didn’t find it out of character.
Anyone who have read the Marriages subsection on Wikipedia had already read the whole plot of this movie, since the story is consistent with what was shown on screen.
In a nutshell, The Theory of Everything is a Romantic and emotional film that grips you till the end, except when in second half you realize it’s not just a romantic film, but a Biography first. Even though having interest in Cosmology and Physics, I enjoyed the film very much. I got to know the personal side of his personality, about the man I have always adored as a cosmologist. If I could reverse the time, I would still watch this film and probably love it again. Now, here are some Fun facts which I came to know after some research (no spoilers):
Stephen Hawking is English, not American, as I discovered from this movie! What!?!
At the end credits of the movie, the name of the casts which are credited are in the reverse order of appearance since “reversing the time” is the theme of the movie. So if you are watching this movie you may observe it first hand.
Stephen Hawking owns the copyright to the “electronic voice” that he speaks through the computer!
Lastly, even though real Stephen Hawking doesn’t have a cameo in the film, he does lends his voice in the end of the movie reciting one of his most famous quotes. And while the quote ended on screen I could hear claps from some people in the audience. I gladly joined them with few claps myself. The quote was so overwhelming and profound that I think I felt the impact it created on my perception towards life. I would end this post with the same quote,
There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.
– Stephen Hawking
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Stephen Hawking
Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation
Running time :2hrs 10 mins
Genre: Action/Thriller
Honestly this review is only for those who don't like to read long paragraphs. I will get straight to the points
There exists an anti IMF which is called the syndicate. However the CIA knows nothing about this diabolical group formed by rogue agents, instead it has issues with the working procedures of IMF & wants to disband it. One circumstance leads to another & Ethan Hunt finds himself being hunted by both CIA & the syndicate.
I liked jack reacher directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Therefore I got interested in this film too. I had hopes for this film & it didn't disappoint.
The action scenes are intense just what you would like to see. However things that needs special mentions are
the chase scene. This film has one of the best chase scenes I have seen so far. Then there is a vienna opera sniping scene. They were beautifully done.
Now if you have seen the previous MI films then you must be knowing that this is a Tom cruise movie produced by Tom cruise himself. In this movie Tom cruse is everywhere doing almost everything. Unfortunately he is NOT batman or chuck norris.
Anyways Tom cruse & simon pegg makes sure that you are not dozing off in the middle of the film. Well this does not means others were bad rest of them were good too.
However I would like to point that Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) was completely wasted in this movie. Considering what he did in the first three movies. This is really sad I missed him in MI IV & expected something more from this character in this film but I was completely disappointed.
Some of the dialogues were as usual good rest okay. Though some jokes may feel a bit lame but they are okay.
The Direction & editing were also good.
Overall this movie is entertaining you can certainly go out & catch it at a theater near you.
This movie was in my scanner for two reasons: Monali Thakur and its unusual reviews related to violence. Was searching its DVD for a long time but seems it never came to shop. Found a CDRIP online at last.
Story/Screenplay: A 14 yr old girl is sold by her junkie father to a brothel pimp. The movie is about how she came out of their clasp.
Character development: When you first see Monali as Lakshmi in this movie, the only thought comes to your mind is that this role is not her cup of tea. Slowly she opens up. As the movie progresses she matures and you don't even realize that. If you look back to Monali as she started and where she ended up in the movie, you would really appreciate her efforts.
I'll say this is one character which develops, if not perfect but develops for sure.
Music: Don't know who was and really not interested in knowing. That is my opinion on this movie's music.
Acting: If Nagesh Kukunoor is ever remembered for anything to cinema then this is the movie he should be remembered for. No, not for direction but for this role as Chinna. He simply blends in the role of Chinna. Awesome!
Monali Thakur used to act in bengali tv serials and she was appreciated at that time. Her acting skill in this movie is appreciated but she needs to work more if acting is what she's aspiring for.
Satish Kaushik is doing some small but hard hitting roles these days. His first crucial scene in this movie will haunt you for sure.
Rest of the characters were average if not good.
Direction: I've a complaint in this part. First half of the movie is executed well. Shows control and plan for this movie's future. After interval the movie lost speed. Direction seems incoherent and gives a notion that the director lost hope on this.
The movie again picks up and leaves you with a shocking scene at the very end.
The courtroom scene is the weakest part of this movie IMO. A bit more research with court transcript could have given some good courtroom argument dialogs.
I've one more problem with this movie. The costume. In brothel, everyone used to wear modern clothes but Monali is always in little girl clothes, having braid with flowers. Why no good clothes for her?
Editing : Well, the movie is stretched too long. 90 minutes fits really well for this.
Cinematography: Shocking scenes are captured well, shows enough to shock you but at the same time hides enough to pass the censor board. Well done.
Cinematography in rest all part is average IMO.
Verdict: This is one movie for which Nagesh Kukunoor should be remembered. Shocking, brutal but at times plain bland fact. Not for weak hearted.
The conjuring 2 is not a horror movie. It is a movie which has been lifted from a true case file & given some coating & polish to suite the audience's taste. Its there to interest you or intrigue you & entertain you. The good thing is it does it job well. Compared to the first movie this movie is not that good but like I said before it will still interest you. The good things about this movie are
1.Not too many Jump scares which is a good thing.
2.No BS. The film stays at point moves along the line of the plot till climax. Never diverts to unnecessary things.
3.Its slightly more psychological than supernatural.
4.Good acting, good script & good screenplay.
5.Direction is good.
6.No unnecessary gore.
If you liked the first movie you will love this one too.
Rating: Watch it!
Venom and Andhadhun released together. Being a "superhero" movie fan, I chose Venom and that was wrong. Should have gone for this one.
Story/Screenplay: A murder happens in-front of a blind piano player. He gets entangled in the mess and investigation.
Saying this much should be enough. Can't divulge further without spoiling the twists.
One issue though, few twists and plot points are solely dependent on coincidents. Last movie that I saw and was impressed on such convincing coincidents happening with our protagonist was "Running Scared"
Character development: Few characters got full scope to play with their roles and characters but no all. They grow with time but others just accompany.
Music: Good. Doesn't stick with you when movie finishes but aptly used in movie.
Acting: This must be the hardest role for Ayushman ever. He just marvels it. And, Tabu, take a bow! Why don't they use her anymore?!! The whole movie kinda rests on their strong shoulders. Other side characters are also aptly used and everyone in this movie plays an important part to progress the story further, even the cat!
Direction: A thriller in the tone of a comedy is just so new in bollywood and feels like a fresh breath of air. A hardcore thriller director like him even excels in executing comedy scenes. He deserves all the praise that he's getting.
Editing : Well, this is one and only section which needed an improvement. Should have been wrapped in 120 minutes at least. Seems the director was so in love with his product that didn't want to part with most of the scenes.
Cinematography: Good but nothing that stands out from the story.
Verdict: After a long long time (since Kahaani) I cursed when it showed "Interval". I mean intervals in movies are expected in India, we know it would happen, we know it's coming but at times like this you just wish had it not happened today at least. Andhadhun begs for a continuous flow and that curse for the ineveitable interval is its win on audience. Go for it.
Directed by Zoya Akhtar Actor: Ranveer, Alia, Siddhant, Kalki Length : 153 Mins
Saw the trailer and was hooked from the day. Movie on Indian rap culture. Something very raw and untouched. Zoya pulled off something special here!
Watched on 16th but took time to digest and process this before writing here.
Story/Screenplay: Story of an underdog. And kinda predictable theme. Boy likes rap songs, writes them but lacks confidence to perform them. Gets a good mentor and how raps turns around his life is the movie.
But that is the movie's story, but this movie actually a homage to the underground movement and brings many of us face to face with a new world. This is the USP of this movie. RAP is its heart, soul and brain.
Character development: This is a story of Murad but also a story of Safina, Moeen, Mc Sher and all others. Each of these characters were written with utmost care and are well fleshed out. Murad being the protagonist, his arch evolves and matures, so is Safina's. Rest all equally good.
Worthy mention is Vijay Raj.
Can't say something good for Sky (played by Kalki). Her piece was the weakest.
Music: This was supposed to be a musical (they've 18 songs in album and I realized later that all are used in the movie! But, that did not overwhelm the story rather immensely contributed to it.
While listening to raps used here, I kept on wondering these must not be some pro lyricist from Bollywood but must be newcomers or may be real rappers. Later google confirmed my doubt. All songs were written bu some rapper, (DVINE most of them), The songs are pure fire and creates goosebumps.
Acting: Apart from "Band Baaza Baarat" I never liked Ranveer that much. Always lound and larger than life roles and his approach to portray them. But, this movie is a revelation for him. Such quiet and tones down acting. He's almost a character rather 'the' hero here.
Alia, what more can anyone say about her. She steals every scene she's in. Her scenes were written such a way that none other in the scene had much to do.
Siddhant as MC Sher is just awesome! He's discovery of this movie and going to go for long. Vicky Kaushal has a contender now.
The acting as Moeen did well.
Kalki, is a waste here but she did her job that was given to her.
Vijay Raj is always good and shines in the short role he did.
Direction: Apart from Kalki's track everything is perfect. Just perfect. I'm not convinced if Kali's track was need at all. May be was introduced to show the intensity of Murad and Safina's love story.
Zoya Akhtar did not direct a movie, rather RAP directed Zoya.
A great job there.
Editing : A lot of opinion I saw about the length of the movie. Then I saw people sitting in theater even when credits started rolling. They didn't want to miss a single scene Murad was in. So, wh's complaining?
But, yes, Kali's track a bit short and sharp would have been appreciated.
Cinematography: Good that those usual shots of poor people in Dharavi are skipped. Shows the world without exploiting it. Murad's expressions are captured well.
Verdict: Goosebumps! Everytime a RAP song starts, it just creates goosebumps. So raw, so pure and close to earth. Not possible by professionals. The movie is not on Murad's life rather on a movement, a very underground movement and shows the fire in it. Bohot hard!
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Actors: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law Length: 125 minutes
Story/Screenplay: You can just watch this movie as brainless entertainment and go away totally satisfied. The action never lets up. Like essentially you keep jumping from one thing to another, and there is always something on screen to marvel at. Rich and detailed alien cities, hand to hand combat, train+car chase sequence, aerial combat, escape sequence, gun fight, family reunion, AI generated landscapes, epic space battle - this movie has everything that makes movies fun to watch. All of that is interspersed with familiar characters (Ronan, Fury, Korath and others), and the usual punchlines, which at times are literally just kinetic energy punches. You can walk away from this movie exhilarated, because of the sheer spectacle it offers.
But there is more. A lot of themes are juggled. The movie is set in the 90s which just gives you an overdose of nostalgia. You can see familiar objects, vehicles and technologies around. The small irritating things about technologies at that time, including pagers and large desktop computers are explored, which is a treat for people living in this age. There are also shout-outs to fashion at that time (flannel jackets were rebellious at one time). All in all, the movie serves up a healthy dose of nostalgia throughout.
Then there is the feminist angle. One of the biggest criticisms of mainstream movies is that they do not show friendship between two female characters, unless it is a chick flick. There are historically been few scenes where they even talk to each other. Well, this movie gets that part right. It shows a deep friendship between two female characters, and does it in a natural way without pushing an agenda down your throat. If you are not aware of these issues, you will not see anything out of the ordinary, which is why it is so well done. Another great move is that Lynch talks about being sidelined as a female and a single mother, but does not mention she is black, which could easily have been exploited for the feels/SJW points as well. The fact that the film makers chose not to do this shows exactly how progressive they are. There will be a lot written about these aspects, but the feminism was natural and restrained, not over the top. The story always took priority. Then there is a bromance between Larson and Jackson as well. This is something of a buddy comedy. This relationship can get cringe inducing at times (okay only once), but was well done too. In the end, you appreciate the movie for all the relationships that are formed between friends. Including Bening and Larson, and Law and Larson, among others.
Finally there is some really smart political commentary going on. The subtext is an exploration of xenophobia, and this movie is a great platform for that considering that there are actual alien species involved. Imagine the Earth being a third world planet - yeah, one would not think of it that way till it comes up. But we have seen much more advanced civilisations in the MCU, and the Earth is exactly just that, a technologically backward civilisation. Like most of the other themes in the movie, the status quo is constantly questioned, and the mainstream narrative is de-constructed, to show a different version of reality than what most people believe or think it is. Could explain this more in detail, but that is spoiler territory. If you want to figure out this incredibly smart story, watch with an open mind and no assumptions.
We also get to see a cat in zero gravity. Those few seconds are extremely satisfying.
As this is an MCU movie, it is important to note that there are two post credit sequences.
Character development: There are two kinds of character development in this movie. One is that of Captain Marvel herself, where she goes from being just another brave girl in the air force to one of the most powerful beings around. She has to go through a lot on that journey, which is both physically and mentally challenging. While the development follows the beats of the monomyth (adventure, supernatural aid, mentor, abyss, transformation, atonement and return), each section of the journey is interpreted in a fresh way, so most people will not even see that this is the same pattern of character growth as say King Arthur, Luke Skywalker, Neo or Harry Potter. This is also the back story of Nick Fury, where we see him as a younger, more relaxed person. The CGI makes him look like Nick Fury, who looks nothing like a younger Samuel L Jackson, which is both believable and refreshing. Yes, we find out how he loses his eye.
Music: Nostalgic 90s rock soundtrack with a focus on girl power. Will feel familiar and energetic, this has a Guardians vibe.
Acting: Well, this is top notch. Maybe the bonhomie between Jackson and Larson can get a little cheesy, but otherwise, everything is believable. Especially the deep friendship between Lynch and Larson. Jude Law does a great job too. Larson steals the show, going from emotional to badass to emotional badass... its juggling a lot of expressions which she does naturally and effortlessly.
Direction: There is a lot going on here, with a ton of themes to juggle. The action almost never stops, and when it does there are moments of spectacular vistas or scenes that are extremely poignant.
Cinematography: Watch this movie in 3D. There are some space sequences where the camera movement is better than Gravity. It is much faster, and still makes clear sense in your head, not just some random rapid movement where you cannot make out what is happening. The cinematographer is an MCU veteran, and has previously worked on Doctor Strange, GOTG and Age of Ultron, so this department is in good hands. Still, there are some mind blowing shots with smart juggling of angles as well as focus depth and pulling, which is just really innovative. There is one scene where the camera goes from a wide angle, landscape shot of a vehicle to tight telephoto close up of the rider, while catching up to a vehicle, while moving vertically downward which is just brilliant. That's a zoom, a dolly and a pedestal down in a single shot on screen. Difficult to imagine what is happening behind the scenes to achieve that effect.
).
.It is plain and simple.
This is really sad I missed him in MI IV & expected something more from this character in this film but I was completely disappointed.