Rise of the Guardians

Cast: Chris Pine(Jack Frost), Alec Baldwin(North), Jude Law(Pitch), Isla Fisher(Tooth), Hugh Jackman(Bunny),Dakota Goyo(Jamie)

Director: Peter Ramsey

Genre: Animation, Fantasy

A very cute movie and apt for the christmas season :) Mostly meant for the children or real animated movie lovers

 

Pluses: 

• Built keeping Christmas event in mind. It canot go wrong :) Children will enjoy in all respects, less dialogues and more fun
• The number of main characters are quite a bit, and everyone having an exclusive factor of their own, so its always a play time till the movie lasts
• Some big names there giving the voices, absolute justice
• 3D is fair enough in bits and parts, watchable
• Simple story, alluring second half. Post interval section of the movie is completely adorable when the story starts picking up
• The boogeyman personally was my favorite :) His end is also very well written. Everything feels so goody goddy until 'Pitch' arrives and  you realize when things go good to bad, is only when comprehension strikes
• One positive aspect being there was not too much of time wasted anywhere in introducing the characters

 

Minuses: 

• Not exactly made for all audiences, as i mentioned before, adults who like animation, will love it
• Animation is just about fine, they could have done much better with it
• First half of the movie feels too childish and boring

  

My rating: 3/5

Dabangg 2

Cast: Salman Khan,Sonakshi Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Arbaaz Khan, Prakash Raj

Director: Arbaaz Khan

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama

Dabangg relived :) A complete entertainer

 

Pluses:

• Undoubtedly Salman Khan. The leading Khan of today. Perfect enterainer and what more in the cleanest way. A family man in all respect but yet a macho outlook. Funny,notorious, romantic and a superhero
• The plots of Dabangg series are always clean, no dirty jokes anywhere. A complete family watch. Dabangg 2 has many excerpts from the prequel. They havent missed even a single character of the prequel except for the ones who died :P , and amazing to see that everyone agreed to be a part of the sequel. And that doesnt mean there is nothing new to watch out for. It has many more memorable dialogues added in the sequel to continue going forward in a sure shot Dabangg 3 :)
• A round of applause to Arbaaz Khan for his direction. Because the movie is nothing but all about presentation, otherwise its just another mindless action flick
• A rapturous acclaim to the dancing ladies, viz, Malaika Arora and Kareena Kapoor. Enjoyable item numbers
• Vinod Khanna was a delight to watch. You usually see him as a strong man, here is a complete demure person and mild family man
• I have always admired the character of Prakash Raj, i liked his accent in kanpuri style
• This movie doesnt disappoint anywhere, not much of overdoing to make the sequel a desperate success. What you love about the movie is the way it has smoothly made a transition from the old set up to the new one and the rest of the flavor remains same

Minuses:

• Sonakshi Sinha had absolutely nothing new to perform. And there were two things most irritating about her. The same old expressions and horrible costumes. I wonder who designed her clothes. And for no reason, she carries a grumpy look for most of the time. The only chemistry between the two that showed up was Pandey Ji pacifying wife, all round the movie
• Prakash Raj wasted. The prequel had strong villain, Sonu Sood was remembered for. Prakash Raj being such a brilliant actor, was just adapted for accent. He had nothing to do in the entire movie. Disappointing Disappointing!
• And the same was for Arbaaz Khan's role as an actor. He is way too subdued and portrayed unacceptably idiotic representation of himself. No content. We loved 'Makkhichand' and we wanted to see more of him
• Songs, OMG! Too many of them, one in every 20 mins. Looked very much forced and mere an attempt to recreate the same scenarios for the songs as in the prequel. Quite irritating
• Action scenes were clearly overdone. A little less wont really harm. :) Salman was known by the title of the movie and not as a one man army. A subtle difference of a sueprhero to a human could have been appreciated more
• There were many small roles from Dabangg whom we loved to watch. All of them had cameos in this one. But alas! There were not many new ones added in this one whom you would love to watch in the next sequel

My rating: 3.5/5

The Collection

Cast: Josh Stewart(Arkin), Emma Fitzpatrick(Elena). Randall Archer( The Collector), Christopher McDonald(Mr. Peters)

Director: Marcs Dunstan

Genre: Gore, Thriller, Action

A good watch for those who love this particular Genre

Pluses:

• Good to see such movies getting released in Indian theaters. This was my first gore movie on a big screen. I enjoyed it completely :)
• Quite a bit of gory stuffs and action to keep you entertained ;)
• Irrespective of orientation, everyone will love Emma Fitzpatrick :) She is hot, she is bold and she has intelligent presence of mind. You wont see a mere victim in her but a woman with survival insticts. That makes her a hero equivalent for the flick
• Josh Stewart, one character from the prequel of this movie, played a good role. Not trying to be unnecessarily heroic but with the turn of events turning him into a person who can ruthlessly break his own arm and turn into an avenger by the end of it
• The suggestive end of the movie is nice, unlike the regular open ends. Josh Stewart is surely going to sustain for the next sequel. What we are yet to see is, he turns out to be a bad man or a continues as a good man
• Randall Archer is a difficult role to comment on, since such kinda roles doesnt require much of your expressiveness to be shown. Its more of a body language physically and this genre doesnt have much scope to express that either nor is he a mindfucking tormentor unlike the bad guy in SAW series. However, as suitable to the role, he does his job worth a mention
• Christopher McDonald didnt have much to do, but yet had a strong presence in the movie

Minuses:

• This certainly isnt as gory as SAW series were. Coming from the makers of SAW, i was surely expecting more.Am also kinda speculating a lot of editing done before its release in India
• The plot seemed a tad too unruly and unfair for the character of 'The Collector'. He was the only one battling against many. That makes things a bit too chaotic for cold blooded movies like this
• What made SAW series a great success was not just the gory content but also the mental agony that the bad guy 'Jigsaw' posed on human. This movie clearly lacks it. Nevertheless, the lack of this particular factor justifies the mechanical ONLY role of a Collector :P

My rating: 3/5

The Hobbit: An unxpected Journey

Cast: Martin Freeman(Bilbo Baggins), Ian Mckallen(Gandalf), Richard Armitage(Thorin), Andy Serkis(Ghollum)

Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Clearly overhyped. Scored below expectations. Low hopes may thrive you through the movie and out with a smiling face, otherwise a let down

Pluses: 

• No denial to the fact, it was a pleasure watching the hills and the moutains, and your favorite characters once again on the big screens. Be it The Shire, or the Orcs, Dwarves, Hobbits, Elves, The Wizzards, everything
• One of the notewrothy action sequence where the giant mountains come to life, is one of the most cherishable scenes from the movie
• This is a must watch in 3D. Its after a long time that i recommend a movie in 3D. Its totally worth it. Every piece magnificently shot, every character feels like real and playing right in front of you. Be it the rains or the grass, you feel them all. Every scene is a 3D shot, you will enjoy it for sure
• Ian Mckallen playing the character of 'Gandalf' is the only character worth appreciating. He was the hero of the flick

Minuses:

• So apparently, a 300 page novel is attempted to be stretched beyond 7-8 hours totalling into 3 movies, and what do you get back in return, is a 2.5 hours long first of its series. Expect it to be very very slow
• There was nothing significant for the Hobbit to play, it was more about the drwarves rather, i feel the movie should be renamed aptly :P
• Action scenes were tad cliche, nothing new except for one or two scenes. All the action sequences came after a long haul and striked with undramatic length, never ending and monotonous
• You dont feel any attachement with any character at all in this movie to my surprise. They fail to make an impession mostly due to the lack of clear role and unclean character sketches. You dont practically care whether any of the lead characters surive the battles or they dont
• Few events were not very well depicted, like what sudden development prompts 'Bilbo' to change his mind for an uneventful person to take up an adventure journey which could cost him his life
• Few characters were forced and pushed just to get you a feel of your favorite characters from the LOTR series that you loved, such as Ghollum, unnecessarily stretched too long a tryst between Bilbo and Ghollum, and honestly an irritating episode there
• The entire movie sustains only due to Gandalf, others were mere puny. A big let down here itself. Thankfully, we didnt have to loose Gandalf and wait for his re-birth in here :P
• Literally missed the characters of Frodo and Sam, Frodo had a very small cameo, but yet a pleasant one :)

My rating: 2.5/5

Khiladi 786

  

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Asin, Himesh Reshammiya, Raj Babbar, Mithun Chakraborty

Director: Ashish R Mohan

Genre: Comedy,Drama

Entertaining. If you go with the idea of simply enjoying, you wont be disappointed.

I am not digging into any minuses, since this movie was not build for quality but for entertainment, and it doesnt fail in the purpose :)

 

Pluses:

• On this particular flick i am dead against of the hypocritic lots who gives it a thumb down saying its a mindless comedy and action yielding zero eggs. Just a reminder, this particular genre was introduced to Bollywood inspired from the same mindless comedy and actions from South Indian movies which went onto become huge hits. Then why now turn it down. This one fairs on those grounds
• Akshay Kumar, being labelled for movies falling under this genre to the current date, did his best job. He is charming, alluring, manly, yet sobre and lovable. He doesnt need super funny dialogues to induce humor, his regular dialogues have a sense of humor
• Asin for a change was acceptable, though there was nothing new that she was doing for this flick. However, due to no competition with any other female leads, she could easily win all the limelight to herself :)
• Himesh Reshammiya, needs a round of applause. some guts to survive even after the many critics against him. He knows very well how to make use of the critics to his favor, and keep working hard time and again until he fulfills his dream to be accepted by the audience as an actor :D Yes people, he never promoted for the movie, but from the beginning till the end Himesh is omnipresent, physically or audibly :P He has proven his might, in successfully making a mainstream cinema with his maximum contribution, as a Producer, Scriptwriter, Music Director, Singer and last but not the least as an actor. The postitive is being, he aint irritating as an actor in this one :D He realises his place finally :P
• Raj Babbar and Mithun Chakraborty requires homage for continuing to entertain us
• Script was digestible even after being mindless. Dialogues were good, justifies all the action scene with aplomb. Humor at its place, not overly hilarious but yet attains its goal.All the roles equally divided and all the major actors shares equal screen space
• Music by Himesh Reshammiya could be a topic of debate. His music is never odd to ears. Given the music directors of today, he can easily score. However, he should refrain from singing. His voice is indeed irrtating to the ears, albeit if the songs were given to singers appropiate, would have been a sure hit
• The box office revenue quite proves its success all the critics apart :) Cheers to the team for being bold :D

Minuses:

Himesh, please stop singing!!


My rating: 3/5

Playing for keeps

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Noah Lomax, Deeni Quaid, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta Jones

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Genre: Comedy, Family Drama

Very very watchable flick, not to go by the reviews on web which is pretty lukewarm

Pluses:

• Gerard Butler definitely has some magnet attracting women. And this is what his character is all about. You may hate him, you may get disappointed but you cant ignore this man. Tied in a circumstance without a job and estranged family woes, a yesteryear soccer champion is in an unstable situation where he is caught with things that he never saw himself being a part of. A single father trying to get his wife back and dealing with numerous women fans, he plays a man with perplexed state of mind on why are things happening if at all happening :) Any man would want a life like that and enjoy watching him :P
• Chemistry between father and son, was shown beautifully. Noah Lomax did a good job and is pretty expressive
• Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta Jones, the hot female league were all supporters, divided roles to play, however good to watch
• Deeni Quaid, was the bad man apaprently.Didnt have much to do again, however did blend in with movie
• The movie lacks focus but it does not loose on entertainment :)

 

 

Minuses:

• The script was written with average mind, a lot could be added to make it a spicy, raunchy movie with a lot of manhood associated with a soccer player. could not really be dressed up all that properly
• I didnt personally like the ending of it where 'George' comrpomises so much for his family, and the family doesnt give back what it should support for
• All the actors did their limited part to make the movie watchable but none were utilized to their full potential which makes it an overall average movie to watch

My rating: 2.5/5

Hotel Transylvania

Cast: Adam Sandler(Count Dracula), Andy Samberg(Jonathan), Selena Gomez(Mavis)

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family Drama

Its cute and a pretty well made movie. A good recommendation for a weekend watch.

Pluses:

• The composition was really alluring, taking you to an imaginary and fantasy world of monsters who seem scary and funny at the same time. You are bound to fall in love with the monsters :)
• Adam Sandler,Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez must have had a lot of fun doing the voice for the main characters
• The background scores and animated direction are commendable. It doesnt boast of brilliant graphics as that of life like figures and the likes, but instead a simple subtle representation
• The script is written in the manner so as to attract people of all age group and equally enjoyable. It never looses on its pace. Kids may get scared at times with the Dracula effect, however it will surely lessen down the odd monster tale fears from them :)

  

Minuses:

• They could have added some fascinating things around the world of the monsters, more of an adventure journey for the human in the secluded Hotel Transylvania
• 3D is just about fine

My rating: 3.5/5

Talaash

Cast: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Director: Reema Kagti

Genre: Thriller

You wont mind watching it for sure. But its highly recommended to go with expectations low.

Pluses:

• Kareena Kapoor, for a change is very much appreciable...and tell you what a change :P In the presence of Aamir Khan, if someone bags the most appreciable role in the same film, is noteworthy :) And why not, after all she has always been a performer when put into the shoes of a whore :) She cant act otherwise, may be some past life connection you see :P
• Rani Mukherjee and her role is debatable, though she wasnt really required for the movie. However, to sum up the entire story to the end, she was required as a filler. Weightage of her role apart, she did a brilliant job in acting as a wife. She could have been easily faded without much to her role to perform, but she made her presence felt with some really hard hitting dialogues
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is an actor born only to perform. He doesnt need glamor or promotion. He makes himself felt
• Aamir Khan has always been an intense actor. Doesnt fail here either. But thats about it.

 

Minuses:

• And this is indeed not a Aamir Khan special flick. He is known for a rather strong character. In here he is shown to be a man who doesnt know how to deal with the demise of his son. To some extent which is acceptable, but the character here is devastated. The movie lacks focus due to his role majorly. He is unsure if he is putting in his efforts into the case or he is trying to fight with himself. He sends his wife to psychiatrist when he is the one in need of it. He stops sharing any love with his wife. All these characteristics of a very weak man, doesnt suit Aamir. Not his best performance
• The script was just about fine. Its dull at many places. You may spend half the movie wondering what is happening, while post interval you will start getting bored due to its slow pace. The end is startling, more or so because no one would expect a mythical belief towards a thriller ending
• Music was passe, easily forgettable
• Movie never felt well connected, thriller movies are watched with an Eagles's eyes. So many tits and bits running here and there without a well explained connectivity in the end. Why does Aamir never interrogate Kareena properly is never undestood even when there were clear clues on her. This and many more. A thriller movie not well concealed and without a practical end, is not exactly so thrilling after all

My rating: 2.5/5

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Director: Bill condon

Genre: Drama, Romance, Fantasy

Actually not a bad watch. A great end to a romantic saga.

Pluses:

• Kristen Stewart never looked as beautiful as in the Breaking Dawn-Part II. Vampires have more glow than a human ;) She was the central character after all, and she has got some action people this time, she is tough, she can hunt and doesnt need to mount over the back of 'Edward' to wander around the jungle anymore :D And some specific special powers bestowed to her. A mother, a wife and a Girl friend to 'Jacob' :) What more can you ask from a female centric character to have :)
• Robert Pattinson was lovely, somehow this guy gets the expressions so right. When he is a lover, he is passionate; when a father, he is soft, kind and as much caressing. You can see the light in his smiles as he treats the new additions in his family as his own extended family and takes their responsibility. You can even see 'Edward' grown up as a man, accepting 'Jacob' being a part of them, comfortably hiding his devilish and scornful thoughts against him and even expressing from time to time :)
• Taylor Lautner, need not say much, he has his own fans following world over. His presence is what did matter, hence the addition to the 'Pluses' :)
• I have always personally loved the character of 'Alice' played by Ashley Greene and 'Carlisle' played by Peter Facinelli. They always have been a very stong and important support to the leading characters and quite a backbone to the center of the plot
• The story wasnt boring or lagging anywhere. They had many aspects to cover for this extended saga, 'Bella' getting accustomed to her new Avatar, her daughter- her special powers, her character;  the plot against 'Volturi', the epic fight and finally the climax. I would rather say there were too many things that a Twilight series ever covered in a single flick
• I dont consider movie being a bit slow to be a any minus on it, Twilight series have never been fast. Then why complain!!

Minuses:

• Taylor Lautner ruthlessly wasted :( To my dismal, his entire character has been reduced down to a baby sitter. And by default, for granted support for 'Bella'. You anyway see so less of him as for the most of the character he is impersonating a wolf :P And this time, his role was completely subdued, and i so hated this factor
• I wouldnt really mind if they would have extended the size of the movie to cover a little more of character sketches of all, since this was all together a complete new definition of all the roles
• The end in fact was not so well defined, on how 'Alice' visualizes the future to be, is unclear. Those who read the book can only decipher. Others will be lurking in loom or even perhaps choose to ignore to what happens in the end :P

My rating: 3/5

Life of Pi

Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irfan khan

Director: Ang Lee

Genre: Adventure,Fantasy,Drama

Clearly overhyped. Liking the movie is subjective to whether the audience wants to go by the hysteria created around it or goes to watch with an independent view.

Pluses:

• Suraj Sharma, undoubtedly a brilliant performance. He was very expressive, be it pleasure or despair, he doesnt overdo any. Was a pleasure watching him
• Brilliant cinematography and graphics. The tiger felt no less than a real animal. You cant even a speculate a single flaw in it. Its a fantasy delight to the eyes. But no where even close to Avatar or Titanic, the comparison to these legendary movies hurts me
• Irfan Khan, is a serious actor and a fab one. Less opportunity to perform in this flick, but his appearance was a treat to eyes specially for an Indian on an international platform :)
• The bonding between 'Pi' and the tiger 'Richard Parker' was beautifully shown, however it remained only one sided always.Alas!
• Adil Hussain and Tabu had merely any role to perform, but a mention to them is worth
• Script was written with quite a few detailing in mind which makes it a beautiful journey to watch, but it doesnt come totally clean without any flaw
• I am afraid, there is absolutely no more postivies to add in this section for the so called epic movie

Minuses:

• The director seemed somewhere indecisive whether to present it as a fantasy or a real adventure. If they meant to make it look like a fantasy, then why did the tiger not share an emotional bond with the boy. Why didnt Richard Parker turn back.So much for the togetherness. You win the hearts of the audience when you complete a fantasy movie with a happy ending. This one disappointed
• The conclusion of the flick is to narrate a story which will in turn establish faith in god. I didnt find even that being established in any sense. A very clear depiction of 'Pi's childhood shows that there has always been a debate between the parents on being rational and on being a blind folded believer in god and mythologies. And the adventure of 'Pi' led him to decipher the truth finally. On one side he says, the story makes you believe in god and on the other hand he says, his father was always right, without whom he could have never learnt so many truths of life. Not very clear if that was a selective belief or a wholesome thing
• Very slow depiction. Movie belonging to such plots can be expected to be slow, provided the audience can connect to the character. Feels his emotions, his pain. Alas! even after trying hard, couldnt connect to the boy
• Quite a lot of flaws here and there. They showed him gettin tanned, thinned, hair growing, but never any beard :P I disagree to believe he was underaged for that. :) Nor did he ever dehydrate or dry up. Agreed, they show him with the supply of drinking water, but the heat and the number of days he was stranded is enough to dehydrate anyone if not till death. Another flaw, missed showing on high contrasting temperature differences in ocean. Oceans usually have extreme chilly nights and equally hot days. He is all comfortable with one kurta or no kurta at all. Difficult for me to understand. Perhaps, his belief in god was keeping him warm :P
• The character of the novelist, to whom the story was narrated, was himself never scripted properly :P He being a writer, gotto be having a lot of patience. And when you see his capacity, you see him gettin impatient more than often, and wanting to fast forward the entire story to the point where he immediately starts believing in god, as if he was an atheist till now :D
• The open end towards what was shown about adult Pi's family lacked clarity as well. Those who read the book may tell, whether he ever went back to get his love and married his sweetheart or it was a complete new estlablishment alltogether
• And of course it was left to the people to infer, out of the two stories in the movie that he narrates, which one was true :) And after watching a true to believe fantasy story, you wont want to perplex your mind with another story, in fact you even loose patience to listen to his second narration after 2 hours of the duration already covered
• And finally, the 3D was not all that worth it

My rating: 3/5