Dhoom 3

*ing : Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bacchhan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif
Director : Vijay Krishna Acharya

Tagline :

First things first, the movie is heavily copied from 'PRESTIGE’. You may like it only till the time the secret isn't revealed, and once it is out, you feel cheated
Second, Remember "Tropic Thunder" ? The movie opens with a number of fake movie trailers mocking mainstream films , themes, franchises and even the baritone voice of the presenter.

Dhoom-3 could easily have been one of those fake movies. After all Amir Khan wore a striking resemblance to "Simple Jack" .

Ladies and Gentlemen , this movie is a first rate spoof . The only problem is (and this has the problem with many bollywood movies)that it was intended to be a spoof. This fact, makes it all the more ridiculous and tragically funny.

Abhishek Bachan and Uday Chopra(who , surprisingly did create two or three funny moments ) reprise their roles as the "Supercops" from India , adept at chasing down master criminals . With their worn out jeans and flashy , unfashionable clothes , they can be mistaken for buffoons from a 90's flick . But wait. No, I am wrong, since that position is ably occupied by Amir Khan.

What with silly hats and ridiculously imbecile facial expressions , Amir Khan fits in really well in this nonsensical amalgamation of bad story, poor screenplay and pathetic acting.

I shall not waste your time by trying to pin point the exact instances (and there were many, believe me) when logic was molested in this movie. Still , to provide a holistic view of the unintelligent debacle , one only needs to watch a 30 second clipping from the movie in which Mr.Khan runs down the facade of a building with a "Bunty turns serious" kind of an expression.This scene sums up the film.

The story follows the righteous crusade launched by a victim of the Banking Industry , against the Bank . While, one may have appreciated the ingenuity in choosing a corporate body as the villain , one cannot fathom the logic behind the methods adopted by the protagonist to destroy the "Monster" .

Silly , boring chase scenes eat up 2/3rd of the reel and the remaining 1/3rd is devoted to utterly childish sentimentality and acting.

The director succeeds in debunking the myths of the SWAT teams efficiency and makes the said team an object of ridicule , when during one scene the SWAT team is rescued by the Indian dude-cop duo .

Abhishek retains the "Constipated Angry Old Man" expression throughout and Amir Khan tries hard to hide the "I know I am looking ridiculous " look.

I won't call the movie a disaster ,since a disaster too has its saving grace. Dhoom-3 has none.


Rating :
*

Gori tere Pyaar Main

*ing : Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor
Director : Punit Malhotra

Tagline : Only love can Bridge the gap

Rom-com flicks are one of genre which has not been experimented in Bollywood much lately. Gori Teri Pyaar Mein was refreshing change for me among sleuth of masala films in recent times.
Imran Khan plays a good-for-nothing architect working in his dad's firm who has no respect for any relationships. Kareena Kapoor plays is a social crusader who wants to help the needy. They fell in love only to break-up. However, Sriram travels to a remote village to build a bridge for the local people to win back his love at any cost.

From the director of "I Hate Love Story", Puneet Malhotra does a fine job in trying out something different. Though the love story is predictable, it is the treatment of subject that makes it set apart. The first half is hilarious, fun and has moments to remember. Second half begins with a bang but the climax makes it a spoilsport. How I wish it could be handled with maturity and overall it would have been a good rom-com to watch. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is a let down.
Overall, I liked the film and found it to be surprisingly fair entertainment.

Rating :
***

Bombay Talkies

*ing : Rani Mukharjee, Nawazuddin Siddaqeui, Randeep Hooda, Katrina Kaif, Amitabh Bacchhan
Director : Karan Johar, Dibakar Banarjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap


Tagline :

First off - This movie is not as commercial as it was made out to be. With directors like Karan Johar, Dibakar Banarjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap. Out of four, I think Karan is the most mainstream director.


Coming to the four films,
#1 Karan Johar - Trash. Most of the reviews I read seemed to like Karan Johar's film, but I really didn't see the point. The film had little to do with Indian Cinema. People seem impressed with the fact that it's bold. It was bold, but forcefully so. As if Johar was trying very hard to be mature. The result was that the film seemed unrealistic and over the top with sexual references and jokes. And it had some rubbish moments. Ostensibily, Karan tried to show Gays in proper light bt he did more harm than good. Ridiculous.

#2 Dibakar Bannerjee - My Favorite. A failed actor (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who gets roped in to a movie shoot. Beautifully done, and Siddiqui was brilliant as always. You feel emotionally attached to the character. My eyes welled up. I am willing to watch this one over and over again.

#3 Zoya Akhtar - Cute. A little boy who wants to be Sheila from 'Sheila ki Jawaani'. Nicely portrayed. The direction seemed novice though. Also, ended tad abruptly.

#4 Anurag Kashyap - Oh! the irony. This one depended more on the storyline than on the screenplay like the others. I had high expectations from Kashyap and he did not fail me. It's a brilliant story and you will find yourself rooting for the character as he tries hard to meet Amitabh Bachchan.

Overall, this is my opinion,

The Best - Dibakar Bannerjee Also good - Anurag Kashyap OK: Zoya Akhtar . Bad: Karan Johar.

Rating :
** & ½

R.. Rajkumar

*ing : Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood
Director : Prabhu Dheva

Tagline : Silent ho ja, Nahi to mai violent ho jaunga


Circa 2009, Salman Khan was going through a bad phase when Prabhu Devaa resurrected his career with his directorial debut Wanted which was a remake of Telugu film Pokiri, The film was a hit and resurrected the south remake action genre in bollywood, after GHAJINI(2008). Prabhu Devaa got lucky again in 2012 with Rowdy Rathore which brought Akki back to action and also he started doing south remakes. But now off recent this genre has been done to death and it's getting irritating, The action scenes too are becoming more cartoonish with heroes jumping around and doing somersaults. Such action was restricted to Tamil/Telugu/Kannada films but now even Hindi films are copying them. One thing that is striking in R Rajkumar is that it's the first time perhaps a younger 30+ hero has donned the lead role, unlike 40+ heroes and 50+ unfit heroes(Sanjay Dutt,Sunny Deol). R Rajkumar has a plot that is so thin and non existent, that it's boring. Mostly South remakes don't have a proper plot, even Wanted and Rowdy Rathore didn't have a great plot per se, but R Rajkumar is so banal, so stupid it gets to the nerves. Shahid trying to patao Sonakshi is done so cheesily like films of South and gets to the nerves; There is nothing new, novel or exciting about the film. To Digest that Shahid can bash up goons double his size even with his makeover is too much. There is nothing appealing of the film and many times seems like it's a telugu film with Indian actors.

Rating :
**

Prisoners

*ing : Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis
Director : Denis Villeneuve

Tagline : A hidden truth. A desperate search.

Prisoners is a gritty, incredibly well-acted, suspenseful, thought-provoking crime drama thriller. The film mainly focus on the choices taken and the consequences faced by the characters when worst things happen to them.

It simply raises the question: When your kid's life is at stake, how far are you willing to do to protect your family? It explores the likelihood of human behavior when such crime is happening to us, blurring the lines between good and bad people.

For a 153 minute movie, the story does unfolds at a slow and solemn pace (which hurts the film and might bore some audiences) but the dramatic scenes performed by the main cast members in the film will keep you engaged. Hugh Jackman and Jack Gyllenhaal both giving intense, Oscar-worthy performances here, defining and developing their characters with various layers of emotions: affection, anger, grief, empathy, guilt...throughout the film.

The film's atmosphere, heavy rains, stormy days and icy cold winter managed to create a dark, dreadful environment to make up the dreary and haunting mood in the film. Every violent action taken by the characters are acts of desperation given that they are running out of time.

However, the film is not perfect. Despite some plot problems from the various twists and turns shown in the film, the superb performances from the casts was sufficient enough to make the story succeed and believable.

Highly recommended for those who wanted to watch a serious drama thriller with powerful, engaging acting performances from its talented casts.

Rating :
****

Mikey Virus

*ing : Manish Paul, Dean Alexandrou, Elli Avram, Varun Bandola
Director : Saurabh Varma

Tagline : Meet the weirdest hacker of Dilli...

There has been sleuth of movies based on delhi. In recent times, Vicky Donor and Fukery comes to mind.
When the trailer of Mickey Virus was unleashed on the internet, everybody started comparing the movie with critically acclaimed Vicky Donor(probably both the films were Delhi based and title sounded same). However, if Vicky Donor was heaven then Mickey is a ride through hell, sort of.

Delhi Cops are on the verge of cracking a case which involves high intensity of hacking for which they seek help of young-clad, computer geek Mickey. As they start solving the case, series of events unleashes new mystery involving lots of twist and turns.

First time director Saurabh Verma chooses the script which promises to deliver an intellectual-comic thriller but believe me neither there is any story nor any direction. The plot is confusing as is the screenplay. First half is monotonous and perfunctory. Chemistry between Manish Paul and Ellie Avaram is half baked. Things turns bit interesting after the murder but loses the steam with a blink of eye. Manish Paul shows some potential as Mickey Virus but needs to improve on his expression. Ellie looks gorgeous but has long way to go in terms of acting. Varun Badola steals the thunder and is the only silver lining in the film.

Overall, all the hype-hoolah surrounding film is drowned by a wafer thin plot. Neither comical nor thriller
Rating :
**

Star Trek Into Darkness

*ing : Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve
Director : J.J. Abrams


Tagline : Beyond the darkness, lies greatness.

I was not raised in America. Or in a city where Star Trek is part of culture and growing up so I somehow can not understand the cult of the series. ( I have read numerous articles about it and I know its deeply rooted in many people’s childhood )
I quite enjoyed the first movie in the series, Star Trek. Even though I did not know much about the characters and history behind it, it had its moments. But second part is soo lame. There is just not enough emotions, drama or action. Its just gigantic piece of ear thrashing background music. It was actually very hard for me to finish the movie. So ya, u can imagine.
Don’t watch unless if you absolutely have to.
Rating :
**

Satyagrah

*ing : Amitabh Bacchhan, Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Amrita Rao
Director : Prakash Jha

Tagline : The revolution has begun

Prakash Jha used to be such a fine filmmaker once upon a time. He gave some really good films which were commercial hits too. Gangajal, Apaharan, Mrityudand etc. I personally enjoyed rajneeti too. But I don’t know what has happened to him since. Some really atrocious movies like arakshan, chakravyu and now Satyagrah. The film holds for most of the first half but second half it completely goes haywire and the climax is ROFL type.
Amitabh Bacchhan has been a great actor and his given defining performances of bollywood but I don’t remember a single good performance of his since 80s. and he hams soo badly in the movie. You have to see that climax scene to believe how bad he can be.
The film makes fun of a great movement in modern India and does no justice at all.
Glad film was flop and that not many people saw it.
Rating
* & ½

Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobara

*ing : Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha
Director : Milan Lutharia

Tagline :

OMG.. did I say it again. “Another bad bollywood movie cashing on its hit first part”. ! ya, I said it again.
First thing, I hv zero expectations from any Akhsay kumar. He is a bad actor and his movie choices are worse.
The director wanted to cash on his hit first movie which I frankly enjoyed. Bt the casting here is soo bad it ruins any chance of having a good time. Akshay kumar as a gangster and Imran Khan(yes, Imran Khan as gangster) as his aid, both are unintentionally hilarious.
Sonakshi Sinha plays a wanna be actor. Bad thing she really cant act.
Don’t watch it.
Not for anyone
Rating :

* & 1/2

Grand Masti

*ing Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani
Director : Indra Kumar

Tagline :

Another bad bollywood movie cashing on its hit first part. Grand masti is a sex comedy which is fine. Bt it’s a bad offensive and just not funny.
And that, film did above 100 crores. Man I cant believe wat has happened to taste of Indian audience. Don’t watch it.
Rating :
*

Besharam

*ing : Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh
Director : Abhinav Kashyap

Tagline : Na Samman Ka Moh, Na Apman ka Bhay

It beats me how a smart man Ranbir Kapoor can choose a product which is so bad from every angle. From the story to production design to music to lyrics to actress. Nothing, nothing makes sense.
I was actually repulsed and gutted seeing first 20 mins of the movie. And what was the whole point of casting ranbir’s real life parents in such caricaturist insulting roles. And wonder why they agreed to do it.
Bad bad bad bad movie. Stay miles away.
Rating :
*

X Men : First Class

*ing : James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence,
Director : Matthew Vaughn

Tagline : Before he was Professor X, he was Charles. Before he was Magneto, he was Erik. Before they were enemies, they were allies.

Rarely does it happen I want to see a movie just coz I want to see a guy perform. James McVoy. Yes.
I have seen the movie and immensely enjoyed it then too. Bt I recently I saw trailer of another movie in franchise ‘Days of Future Past’. And I was so itching to see a movie of James. X-Men First class is a first class movie with some superlative performance and great storyline. In fact its all started. How these iconic characters originated, Magneto, Professor Xavier, Raven and others. Really enjoyed once again.

Rating :
*** & ½

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero

*ing : Shahid Kapoor, Ileana, Padmini Kolhapure
Director : Rajkumar Santoshi


Tagline :

Shahid Kapoor is a decent actor but quite overrated star. I think much of his fame came cause he was dating kareena kapoor. He has done couple of good movies but that’s about it.
Its been long long that he gave a hit movie. Last I think was Kaminey. And since then he has been trying desperately hard to get a good box office performance.
Alas, Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is surely not the one. A full on bollywood commercial film all the masala and item numbers and herogiri cant also get decent run at the box office.
Shahid tries hard and couple of scenes are funny. Bt that’s all.
He will hv to wait even more the elusive hit.

Rating :
**

The Hangover III

*ing : Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Director : Todd Philips

Tagline : The End.

Always wanted to see the film as I am fan of the first movie. The second was not enjoyable, but I had hoped the conclusion would be a return to form. I was hugely disappointed by the lazy script, cruel tasteless gags, and the predictability of the film. I love comedies but I only laughed once or twice. The cruel animal death 'jokes' killed the mood of the film. Film is no where smart or witty like the first one.
I wanted to enjoy a fun experience like I did with the first Hangover film. Mr Chow is a hugely irritating, monotonous character, whose only purpose seems to be to hurl out nonsense at every opportunity. The Hangover Part III will ruin the experience of the first film for you - if you want a film that is original, and good fun - avoid this shameless grab for cash. I can honestly say this was a chore to watch.

Rating :
*

Mud

*ing : Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland
Director : Jeff Nichols

Tagline :

Mud' is a coming-of-age story told with subtle, heart-warming grace. We're introduced to a mysterious man calling himself 'Mud' played by Matthew McConaughey in perspective to two teens, Ellis and Neckbone. Ellis is an innocent teen who has his own optimistic ideas about 'love' until he finds it fading between his parents. It's the reason why he wants to help Mud to get back together with his. In a way, Mud is a reflection of Ellis. They both feel dedicated to the person they are attracted to. And with this adventurous journey, they both shape each other's ideas without knowing so.

This film is an atmospheric and memorable tale about influencing ideas about love on a child, and interesting dynamics between fathers and sons. Definitely one of the better films of the year
Rating :
*** & ½

Midnight's Children

*ing : Rajat Kapoor, Vansh Bhardwaj, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi
Director : Deepa Mehta

Tagline : A child and country were born at midnight once upon a time

I haven't read the book. I have heard a lot about it and always wanted to read it. The book won Booker of Booker. That’s quite some achievement.

Deepa Mehta's is back after Elements Trilogy Earth, Fire and Water. The topics were bold then. Now the topic is diverse - mostly because with a fountain of genres, Midnight's Children talks about many things... from love to superstitions, from the Partition to the Emergency, from magic to realism... narrated so wonderfully, it enthuses. The last 20 minutes are little boring & staid but the first 100 minutes makes up for a good show.

Performances are brilliant with every single person working beautifully & totally carving a splendid character out of Rusdhie's imagination. Ronit Roy, Bhabha, Goswami, Darsheel Zafary & Rahul Bose are terrific. Certain sequences/ideologies troubled me but since it is all fiction encapsulated in a narrative, I quite enjoyed it. Depiction of sensitive topics is great which is not unusual in a Deepa Mehta film. A lot could be written about it and the best way to know all about it is to watch it.

The tale from the 1940s to the 1970s, with certain twists & turns, beautiful ideas, relationships, empathy, violence, real topics, age- transitions, fights, superstitions, sex, infidelity tiny tidbits and the magic... is enduring.

Telling the story of Saleem, born on the stroke of Midnight on August 15th 1947 i.e when India finally became an independent nation, whose life is altered from the minute he is born, as he is given to the wrong parents, rich parents, and thus afforded a life of luxury that he was not destined to have. On top of that, he has magical powers (that aren't that great to be honest), and finds that every child born at Midnight on August 15th also has magic powers, it's like the Power Rangers: India. What thus follows is a story narrated by Rushdie himself, as Saleem's life links and progresses with the historical and political turmoil taking part in India throughout the century, ( Partitions, Civil Wars, States of Emergency), and Saleem, much like India at the time, struggles and battles to find out his own identity.

The film does well in scaling down the content of the novel, it's more of a drama with bits of comedy, than a grand epic or fantasy, and parts do feel rushed as the viewer is transported from year to year without any sense of anything really linking together, despite the valiant attempts of Rushdie narrating the whole story. However, it is still a film that does manage to vividly depict a fascinating period in history with lots of very visual scenes that leave a lasting impression, and more importantly, it links it all together with individual plights, to add that emotional intensity. So overall I'd still recommend it.
Rating :
*** & 1/2

Bhag Milkha Bhag

*ing : Farhan Akhtar, Sonam, Pawan Malhota
Director : Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Tagline : Now you will see his Real Story.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is based on the life story of the most iconic Indian track and field athlete,Milkha Singh.It covers his journey from the villages of Multan to Helsinki,Melbourne,Paris and finally culminates in Lahore.Throughout the journey,we are introduced to the experiences that make him climb the top of the ladder, with a few stumbles in between.
As said, the film chronicles the journey of the man, Milkha Singh but its more about his life than the sportsman. A man overcoming his past and ghosts of partition and how he becomes a legendary athlete of country. If half of the things shown in the film shown is true, the man had an outstanding journey.
Kudos to Farhan Akhtar for delivering Milkha Singh to us! His is an absolutely brilliant performance. He has clearly put in massive effort to get it right. From the physical development, to the running style, the look, the accent, the Punjabi language, the dancing.. Everything. And he delivers well on all of these. Clearly, he seems to be the perfect fit for this role.
Bt somewhere I felt film became too long and there were unnecessary plot which cud hv been edited out, specially the whole sonam part. And there’s just too much info or director tries to cram too much in the movie. Also, part of it felt jingoistic and contriving. Having said that, I fully enjoyed the movie.
Sure a word abt music, Shankar- ehsaan- Loy hv not been at their best in last couple of years bt this movie has some great track. The title song being my most favorite of the year so far. The song is soo powerful, I feel ashamed doing nothing while listening to it. I feel I shud be doing something, running, working or being part of anything. The song has soo much energy and positivity to it.
Rating :
****

Moonrise Kingdom

*ing : Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis , Edward Norton, Bill Murray , Tilda Swinton
Director : Wes Anderson

Tagline :

What I like most about Moonrise Kingdom is that this story of love is told from the children's own perspective. Sure, there are adults in this world but it is the kids themselves who are the centre of the story which I'm sure was Wes Anderson's intention. It's the inner world of the kids that the movie explores whereas the inner world of adults is mostly ignored. We do learn about the adults from their actions but we learn much more about the children and the topography of their lives and emotions. One adult isn't even given a name and is simply known as 'social services' - played by the marvelous Tilda Swinton.

This reversal also suits Anderson's style. Whimsy and fantasy are features of his writing and directing and they've never been more appropriate.

It's a wonderful film that will make many adults reminisce about their own 'Moonrise Kingdoms' that they may once have known.
Rating :
*** & ½

Take this Waltz

*ing : Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman
Director : Sarah Polley

Tagline :

Take This Waltz" tells the story of Margot a chronically depressed woman who is in a nice, stable marriage to Lou, a nice, stable guy. Margot meets, by chance, Daniel, a man who is slimmer, poorer, more artistic, and more conventionally handsome than her nice, stable husband. Don promises Margot hot experiences in bed. Margot leaves Lou for Dan.

In a montage sequence, Margot is shown having hot encounters with Dan, including three ways. Then Margot is shown being, again, chronically depressed. Margot implies that she regrets leaving Lou.

And that's it. That's the whole movie. It's not funny; it's not smart; it's not wonderful to look at. And then there is too much unnecessary nudity in the film too much. The ending is pessimistic.
Only thing I liked was performance of Michelle Williams. She’s a great actress and then there is something abt her face and body language ppl do get drawn towards her.

Rating
* & 1/2

Man on a Ledge

*ing : Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell
Director : Asger Leth


Tagline : You can only push an innocent man so far.

MAN on a LEDGE has the appearance of a pretty standard unlikely sensationalistic adrenaline-thriller. The plot has its share of holes and stretches, and the ending's a bit much. Still, the acting and cinematography are quite good, and the film is immediately arresting, includes a few good surprises, and keeps your attention throughout. An especially fine performance by Elizabeth Banks as police psychologist Lydia Mercer.

MAN on a LEDGE would have been enhanced by more in the way of character development, especially in the relationship(s) between Nick, Joey, and Angie. Also, millionaire con-man David Englander is a bit too obvious a scumbag from the start. A little more finesse on this character, allowing him to creep up on us, would have been a plus.
Yet, a decent timepass I d say.
Rating
***