The place beyond the pines

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Emory Cohen, Dane DeHaan, Mahershala Ali,Ben Mendelsohn
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Genre: Crime, Drama

Its a good serious movie.The only caution is not to take it for an entertainment

Pluses:

• Ohhh, how much i love Ryan Gosling. This one man never seems to be growing old :) His every countenance speaks a dozen. Hell of an expressive man. And absolutely killer appearance in this one. Chisel cut body that of which is tattooed all over. Cars and bike as always associated with his characters. Though we would want to see more of him than a rather shorter role given to him, nevertheless, he is the man for me in this movie
• Bradley Cooper is the next big man of the movie. Dont remember having seen him this way ever before, clean shaven, a dapper cop. This movie is all about expressiveness. Bradley doesnt fail you here either. Now since we have seen 'Silver Linings Playbook', we know what to expect out of him in this
• Eva Mendes had a very non glamorous look in this one. Her make up and looks speak out everything. Its her journey through the many ups and downs of a regular woman
• Dane DeHaan was another character, which made a lot of sense while wrapping up the story. They showcase a series of sorties he has in the process of knowing the truth and the bigger journey that awaits him
• The flick is all about movie making art. Its a success story of how can you make things look so provocative out of the simplest of its scripts. Without any masala,tadka. Just the direction. Hats off to Derek Cianfrance
• Ben Mendelsohn as 'Robin' was a good support. Cranky looking but a sane fellow, as exactly opposite to the character of Ryan :D
  
  
  
  
  

 

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lukewarm:

• Emory Cohen had a significant role but there was not much that he could have played. It wasnt much about him in the end
• Mahershala Ali was a good support. A rather homely somebody, hardly ever saw blacks been portrayed as such composed someone :)

Minuses:

• The pace of the movie could be a piss off for some people
• The character of Eva Mendes, in my opinion should have been elaborated a little more so as to make a better sketch of the role. There were a few instances where her reactions felt out of the box. She felt emotionally perplexed on what does she wants in the end when it comes to Ryan's role with her. That didnt feel very appealing

My Rating: 3.5/5

Oblivion

Cast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko,Andrea Riseborough
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure

 

A new take on alien invasion Sci fi genre. Good watch

 

Pluses:

• Not that this one is totally out of the world brand new concept. However, the movie never feels dull or totally cliche, even if it may remind you of many extracts from various other flicks of such context. What you will enjoy are the fancy next generation flyers and big sets and special effects on a large screen
• Tom Cruise is at his best, as always. Can never have enough of this man. Though he has many better movies and stunts in his other flicks, but this one nonetheless suits him well
• Olga Kurylenko had a substantial role, and she does a good job, besides looking pretty throughout :)

 

 

Lukewarm:

• Script is just about fine. Nothing wrong with it nor it does qualify to be a plus point for the movie. The good thing is you dont feel bored even when the movie is quite lengthy. Different climaxes keep happening, untangling many secrets of the past and present, also future. Hence the pace of the movie also doesnt hurt
• Morgan Freeman has better things to do. This one was just passe
• Andrea Riseborough had a brief role, and she does as much as the role demands. Passe again!

 

 

Minuses:

 

• Hated the costumes of the resistance team( the survivors). Morgan Freeman looked funny in all that heavy stuffs on him
• Not many minuses :) Good star cast, big budget sci fi movie, tried and tested genre. Not much to go wrong, isnt it! :)

 

 

 

 

 

My Rating: 3/5

Commando

Cast: Vidyut Jamwal,Pooja Chopra,Jaideep Ahlawat

Director: Dilip Ghosh

Genre: Action, Drama

Watch it only for its action, otherwise an average flick           

Pluses:

• Vidyut Jamwal is the USP of the movie. Apparently, most of the action sequences are done by him without the use of cables...hence inadvertently you will develop the propensity to watch him act :) And am glad to state its all worth your money to watch him fight. You wont mind his dialogue deliveries either.I forsee a hard core action hero out there, all i pray is he picks right scripts :)
• Dont miss the promotional song at the end of the flick :) Yes, he can dance as well :D I am drooling :P
• Additionally, you can see some nice scenic Himachali background all through the movie, give some greeny splash to your eyes :)

Lukewarm:

• Pooja Chopra gave a rather tepid performance. A lot many frames reminds you of Kareena Kapoor from 'Jab we met'. Directors should understand, there are certain elegant ways to copy another benchmark roles from the past. Nevertheless, she looked like an authentic punjabi kudi by look and at least doesnt irritate
• Jaideep Ahlawat didnt look like a ferocious villain at any point of time even if he tried hard to look like one. However, he was tolerable except for the irksome attitude of everytime taking on and taking off his eyegear

Minuses:

• Script again was a let down like most of the Bollywood movies. Low on substance, forced threats, stupid sms jokes..pushed in unnecessary song sequences, also low in direction and editing. The movie felt stagnating past interval as they kept on running around in the forest for long
• I never understood how does a director get the lady imposter a woman from a tiny section of Punjab showing up always in a hot attire. She hardly ever wears a salwar...while you see her sister wearing Indian, she is in one piece dress..funny!
• The director tried to show the amount of anarchy in the politics of India in pockets, failed to so. Army and authority also looked pretty lame. The note with which the movie starts, the entire gist is lost once the lady enters. Finally, to make some sense, Vidyut ends the drama with a provocative speech, not very influencing

My Rating: 2.5/5

Nautanki Saala

Cast: Ayushman Khurana, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Pooja Salvi,Gaelyn Mendonca
Director: Rohan Sippy
Genre: Comedy, Drama

 

For all the promotions, its a big dud. Those who have not watched can ignore and those who have watched can forget

 

Pluses:

• The only credit for the entire movie goes to its marketting team. Ingenious promotions and selling. I literally fell for the advertising for the first time
• All the music videos are very creatively done and old songs were justifyingly redone. Kudos to the creative team for all the work
• All the above elucidation simply is a pointer that you need not go to the theaters, these can be enjoyed at home without watching the flick. Plus point being, i am a well wisher here asking you to refrain from watching it (That is if you are looking for any quality after Vicky Donor's success)

 

Lukewarm:

• If you can sit through the first half, second half can be digested. By now you know what to expect. And thankfully all the actors starts falling in line only after interval and start behaving a bit sane
• Gaelyn Mendonca as 'Chitra' was still fine, even if she looks lame, she was the only believable character in the end

 

Minuses:

• The biggest let down is the script. First half of the movie is unbearable. I felt like pelting stone at the screen. Its a torture watching both the promising actors at such horrible work. Till the interval the movie has absolutely no story or any direction. Just been forced with no apparent reason to believe in whatever is happening and why! And to top it all, you never feel the friendship so strong between the duo which could make everything else all worth
• Believe it or not, i found people laughing and enjoying at the ridiculous and puerile humor. It sucks!
• I bow down to Ayushaan Khurana, for having created a huge fanbase which is absolutely blind at his screen presence. I wonder what did the audience enjoy. In fact, i found Aayushman overacting at a lot of places. He looked very much natural in his previous film. Looks like success already gotten to his head. I dont find him charming anymore. Thumbs down!
• Kunaal Roy Kapur, is the man you will hate the most. Dont blame him entirely but its totally on the role. Complete trash! And i partially blame him for choosing to play this. You cant stand him in the first half
• Pooja Salvi, for all the praises for her divine looks throughout the movie, is just so very average. I doubt her age after looking at her sulking skin. Thin skeleton with average performance and a forced loooooooooooong smooch, which otherwise Mr Khurana claims to be the need of the script
• Oh! and need not write much about the trashy special appearance of our so called star, Abhiskhekh Bachchan

 

 

 

 

My Rating:
First half: 1/5
Second half: 2/5

Chashme Baddoor

Cast: Ali Zafar, Siddharth, Divyendu Sharma,Taapsee Pannu,Rishi Kapoor,Anupam Kher,Lillette Dubey
Director: David Dhawan
Genre: Comedy, Drama

 

A little overhyped, mindless entertainment otherwise. Not a bad watch

 

Pluses:

• The real entertainer of the movie is undoubtedly Divyendu Sharma. All credit to the writer for him who wrote those shayaris and of course well delivered by 'Omi'. Such roles have been portrayed even before, but it seldom happens that a supporting role gets so much of limelight. If not for this character, this movie would have been just another average flick
• Taapsee Pannu looked charming and bubbly throughout. Her 1000 watt smile is all that accompanies you along the movie :)
• Rishi Kapoor,Anupam Kher and Lillette Dubey, are the age old actors who can generally never go wrong by themselves. They were good supporting fillers
• Music that of those promoted were good to watch

 

Lukewarm:

• Ali Zafar, always gets a mixed response from my end. I dont find him a lead material. Though otherwise he is fine in what he does
• David Dhawan's comedy was just about OK. You will keep laughing throughout, agreed! But somewhere there you know its not a quality stuff, the dialogues and actions are just triggers for you to laugh. You dont carry the smile back home

 

Minuses:

• I didnt like Siddharth in this one at all. He again doesnt look like a lead material to me though he has played one many times. If i give in to his acting skills, he suits serious roles. His horrifying colorful wears in this one,teamed with a cheap role is a disaster. His screen presence to me was unberable and ugly. Poor comedy looks even more low with his attire and the way he looked in this one. I admire him in serious roles otherwise
• Music which were not promoted were irritating to the ears

 

 

 

 

My Rating: 2.5/5

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

 

Cast: Dwayne Johnson,Jonathan Pryce,Byung-hun Lee(Storm Shadow),Elodie Yung(Jinx),Adrianne Palicki(Lady Jaye),Ray Park(Snake Eyes),D.J. Cotrona(Flint),Luke Bracey(Cobra Commander),Channing Tatum,Bruce Willis

Director: Jon M. Chu    

Genre: Action, Crime

  

Entertainment guaranteed

Pluses:

• The USP of the movie is in its visual appeal. Actions, guns and amunitions have started becoming cliche. Now this flick offers you something more than the regular. Not only does this have some Chinese martial arts along with the regular American action, but also worth waiting for stuffs post interval. Coming out innovatively with some cool stunts over the mountains and more
• Dwayne Johnson is the man of the movie. Feels like a breathe of sigh after 'Snitch', glad to see him in an avatar that suits him the best
• Jonathan Pryce is an important character, he plays both the sides of the President. Here you go again, looks like Americans are done and over with black Presidents, they are demanding a white one back. Or to be seen it the other way around, Presidents in the movies played by whites are oftenly seen taking punches on their faces these days:D May be just a face off from showing such stuffs on a black President, saves their arses :P Nevertheless, Jonathan Pryce does a good job, never easy to play a good man and a bad man alongside
• It was fun watching all the Chinese martial arts, good jobs done by Byung-hun Lee and Elodie Yung
• Though we dont see much of the man behind the mask, but Ray Park had some awesome sequences in the movie, not to miss :)
• Love to see ladies smoking hot and walking along with the big boys. Adrianne Palicki is someone men have to look out for :)

Minuses:

• Channing Tatum and Bruce Willis entirely wasted :( If only they were not the big names in here, i wont need to even mention them. Screen presence spanning hardly over 5-10 mins. We so much wanted to see more of 'em
• The movie lacked a punch. Blame it on the poorly written script, or on second thoughts, blame to the director. He couldnt get the feel of emergency of a situation or even justify appropiately the insane behaviour of the President in the summit. The plot almost seemed like pushed in to pave way for the G.I Joe to perform. Else they may have ended up being duds. Better execution and a stonger script would have worked wonders
• D.J. Cotrona and Luke Bracey, though were important castings, but hardly had any content in the flick

My Rating: 3/5

Ddjango unchained

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio,Samuel L. Jackson
Directors: Quentin Tarantino
Genre: Drama

A must watch but with patience

Pluses:

• All the credit to the cult director Quentin Tarantino. His movie making sense has always stood out. The key factors to look out for this one would be: Amazing dialogues, marvellous presentation skills, great casting, oozing style and a bit of gory content
• Jamie Foxx, the black freeman prior to civil war era...potrays a real nigger. Even if his existence is not bothered by many Americans of that time, but he very well makes himself dignifyingly present all along the show. A wicked black guy, for all he cares about is his lady and the German who freed him. He is in a shade of grey but you will love him :)
• Leonardo DiCaprio has come such a long way, but still cant stop comparing him with the lover boy image of the Titanic days. The man you see here is a dictator white man over the blacks and a plantation owner. He is rich, stylish and keen to make some business. You will be taken aback by the way he delivers his dialogues everytime. This man is a charm. However, none like any other well positioned fella, he too has an advisor who is more of a jerk
• Christoph Waltz, is a true gentleman. Wasnt expecting his character to be so suave, supporting and positive throughout..and that is when his proffession in itself is not a white one. But as the movie progresses, you only gain more and all the more respect for this character :)
• Cant miss a mention to Samuel L. Jackson, the staunchly loyal slave of the house of Leonardo and an advisor. Being a black himself, his role talks a lot about the situation in America that time. He is the real negative character of the movie
• The movie clarifies the false sense of unity that men live, in terms of races. No white is for the other and no black for the other. Clear demarcation amongst the men in general and how beautifully portrayed by the maker

Minuses:

Hell of a lenghty film. I almost stood on the brink of loosing patience in every half an hour. Many would not appreciate the movie for this and one only reason

My Rating: 3.5/5

Olympus has fallen

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman,Rick Yune
Directors: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Action

 

Quite a bit of drama, but a good watch. You will love it

 

Pluses:

• Gerard Butler, is the hero of the movie in all sense. Long time having seen him, the last was 'Chasing Mavericks'. He always confuses me with Jeremy Renner, they look like brothers :D This movie however belongs to him. Quite a drama, and loads of bravery there, to show him having rescued some top guns out of a serious attack all but by himself without any amunition of his own. Bravo! Watch it for him :)
• Aaron Eckhart as the white President of United States must have been the first of its kinds who had a few punches on his face :D Nevertheless, for all the other time he very much looked and acted like a President, convincingly human as well while also a responsible man
• Rick Yune, looked pretty promising as the bad man till sometime. So you will like him until our hero takes him over :)
• Even within all the high action fallacy happening, you will really enjoy the OLYMPUS Falling and see the most guarded mansion on earth, The Whitehouse in ashes :) Enjoy it if you are a sadist :D

 

Minuses:

• Morgan Freeman was wasted. There was nothing much for him really to offer other than co ordinating and negotiating
• The lukewarm side of the movie was its standalone super hero Mike Banning. Quite an unrealistic thing to happen the way this entire operation was shown. The end which almost looks like cooked up and the villain forced to look down upon, not much worth appreciating. But if you consider this just as a movie, you wont mind having all the thrills :)

 

 

 

 

My Rating: 3.5/5

Aatma

Cast: Bipasha Basu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Doyel Dhawan
Directors: Suparn Verma
Genre: Horror

 

Aint all that bad after all. Very much watchable

 

Pluses:

• Its more of a subtle horror story. Not many ugly faces. But few instances here and there where you dont expect things happening, chills you down. And to feel that, i strongly recommend a theater watch only. You wont get it in a small screen
• Horror movies are all about good script and special effects. Both of this factors were average in this one. I cant say its bad at least
• Bipasha Basu is a hot mom. She looks naturally a mother element in this one, much different to her regular glam doll avatar. I liked her in this one nevertheless :)
• Doyel Dhawan, was a nice support as a child actor. Was a rather confused and grumpy kid otherwise, but yet she played well to what she was assigned

 

 

Minuses:

• Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is the subtle 'Aatma' :) We all know his capabilities to perform. He was under utilized. May be a wrong choice for the movie
• There is no point digging into too many minuses, such genre of movies dont anyway come with a lot of expectations to disappoint you

 

 

 

 

My Rating: 2.5/5