World War Z

 

   
Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz

Director: Marc Forster 

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

May not be any extraordinary, yet a good watch

Pluses:

• Brad Pitt is the face of the movie. I cant say this is his best work, we have seen him doing much better. Nevertheless, if not for him the flick wouldnt reap this much in the box office
• The script is just about fine, i should give it to the director Marc Foster to have exeuted it well for a good watch. Nothing out of the world again, but it does help you enjoy the flick
• Daniella Kertesz was a bold support, she more or less was the female lead
• Watch for all the special effects, brilliant CGI work
• Mireille Enos as a mother and wife was a strong support as well

Lukewarm:

• Script was very regular that of a zombie movie, less comedy though
• Good to see people didnt have much expectations from the movie when you name Brad Pitt, its the promotions which set the right outlook for the movie

Minuses:

I cant think of what could have made this genre look different to make an excellent watch. May be a competely different outlook could have worked for it. But this certainly wasnt at par the Brad Pitts movies.

  

My Rating: 3/5

Ranjhanaa

 

Cast: Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol,Swara Bhaskar,Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub

Director: Aanand L Rai 

Genre: Romance, Drama

Beautifully executed love story! Must watch

Pluses:

• Dhanush was outstanding in the first half of the movie. He is an actor which can suit only some specific roles written particularly for him and he brilliantly did the job until interval
• Sonam Kapoor was adorable, likable for the first time on big screens. She had a substantial role and this one did suit her. Her character has a consistency in attitude throughout the drama and an element of mystery on what she is going to do next. She had a shade of gray maintained interestingly
• Abhay Deol is as always a charm and a favorite! Alas he didnt have much to do in the movie. He was lovable as long as he had his screen presence
• A big round of applause to Aanand L Rai, for without the direction, this could have never pulled off. Its not in everybody's might to rip a story as simple as this into a cherishable make
• Script was simple but dialogues were catchy, and touching
• Swara Bhaskar and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub are solid supports to the main lead and are also important roles

Lukewarm:

Music was good only in the background. Surely not one of the best jobs done by A R Rehman

Minuses:

• Dhanush was just not apt for the second half.If the script had to be retained as it is, this role should have gone to someone more apt, whose looks and stance keep evolving as the character keeps growing. This movie could have faired a lot better if not for this reason
• Few things were rather idiotic as well, where every now and then the so called mad lovers keep cutting the wrists, i mean there are more ways to suicide :D
• The political angle to it was a little overdone, the romantic aspect of the movie was certainly better
• Second half a lot felt draggy and lengthy

Moral to be drawn: For all of those who take their lives away due to failure in love, is sheer stupidity. The most important scene of this love story is the exchange of dialogues between the two male lead characters after interval, watch out! :)

  

My Rating: 3.5/5

Fukrey

 

Cast: Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal, Varun Sharma, Richa Chadda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priya Anand, Vishaka Singh

Director: Mrighdeep Singh Lamba  

Genre: Comedy

Time pass comedy. You can go for it if there are no big hits in the series

Pluses:

• Pulkit Samrat, almost fresh on screen. I dont think anybody even remembers his debut. He looked charming, boy next door somebody, mostly leading the group of boys..however a little over done on his acting skills
• Manjot Singh was a cute boyish sardar, blends into the character well. Ali Fazal was silent most of the times, am sure audience wanted him to do more, has a nice flavory touch to him. There has to be a joker somewhere, and Varun Sharma filled in for the role. Mostly nonsense but trying to be funny
• Richa Chadda is always cool. She selects apt roles for herself, pleasure watching her always
• Pankaj Tripathi, Priya Anand and Vishaka Singh were good supporting roles
• Characters only build up the movie mostly, there is nothing more to it anyway
• Music is partly good, however a few numbers are irritating as well

Lukewarm:

Humor is the genre of the movie, where humor is just about fine. It doesnt really help laugh your heart out

Minuses:

Script was mostly stupid, doesnt make much of any sense. What kills it is its lack of sunstantial content, good humor and quality in the story

  

My Rating: 2.5/5

Man of Steel

 

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon,Russell Crowe,Diane Lane,Kevin Costner

Director: Zack Snyder  

Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy, Action

Not to miss! A thundering comeback by Superman

Pluses:

• Henry Cavill plays the brand new superman with no comparison to the earlier characters. This one is a rather serious adaptation, and i am glad that it is :) You can see him evolve through time and discover self in the first half and him doing good lot of action in the second half. Hot that he is, delight for the ladies ;)
• I would rather appreciate the director Zack Snyder for the level of quality and substance that he filled into the character of the Man of Steel. Beautiful portrature
• Script worked well with the kind of world saving action that of which it is required, not less also not more along with the ample stress on the childhood detailing of the unnatural hero. Attack on earth didnt seem merely for resources alone but much more than that
• Michael Shannon had a defined role in this movie, he wasnt a forced destructer of earth sort of a bad man with sadist nature. Whatever he does, do gain some amount of sympathy for his character as well
• Russell Crowe had a rather definite role, he was well within what he could offer
• Dialogues mostly were effective and good to the ears
• Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as the foster parents were good supports

Lukewarm:

Amy Adams was just there being a lady luck or something, i dont know. She was not at par to a lady love of a super hero

Minuses:

• Never clear, why was Amy Adams required on the alien ship, she came for an adventure, only to be rescued by her protector :P
• The movie suddenly picks up some crazy lot of action, and a pace where its very difficult to figure out who was who in the action sequences
• Again a few pieces where you feel the ohhh so powerful villain dies just like that after a marathon sequence of fist fights
• Kevin Costner's death tragedy was rather apathetic and stupid

  

My Rating: 3.5/5

Yamla Pagla Deewana 2

 

Cast: Dharmender, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Neha Sharma, Kristina Akheeva, Annu Kapoor, Johnny Lever, Anupam Kher

Director: Sangeeth Sivan  

Genre: Comedy

You can comfortably ignore or if you are way too free with time, you may choose to do the other way :)

Pluses:

• Deol family getting some screen presence all in a single investment :) Otherwise they are rarely seen working standalone :D
• Sunny Deol is the only person who is watchable however his actions scenes are way too exagerrated, yet he is still the most charming amongst the brothers
• Kristina Akheeva looked charming and performed well
• The monkey business was still better than many other actors in the movie

Lukewarm:

• Humor is very passe, you rather feel lazy to stretch your lips any further
• Bobby Deol was as average as always. He still looks better in serious roles, but comedy brings down his left over charm, ruins him further
• Neha Sharma did what she could out of the idiotic role that she was given
• Annu Kapoor didnt have all that much to do, he was fine given his jurisdiction
• Music was just about fine! Thankfully, didnt irritate much

Minuses:

• Lame script, stupid dialogues and senseless direction. Need i say more!
• I personally dont support age old actors doing roles which is derogatory on their original image. Cheap dialogues, pathetic attempts to embrace the new age cinema, works against of them. Left over respect is also lost. My indication here is towards Dharmender
• Action brings you down to scratching your head and pulling your hair as it reaches the end. Its unbearable
• Anupam Kher,Johnny Lever and his muse, were pain in the arse....i hate Anupam Kher doing such roles. And you cant expect any better from Johnny Lever

My Rating: 2/5

Now you see me

 

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg,Isla Fisher,Woody Harrelson,Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo,Mélanie Laurent,Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine

Director: Louis Leterrier  

Genre: Magic, Crime, Thriller

Recommended watch! Engaging & thrilling flick!

Pluses:

• The pace of the movie and the mystery is the USP of the script and hence best selling factor for the movie. Never slows down, never bores
• Jesse Eisenberg,Isla Fisher,Woody Harrelson and Dave Franco, do a great job and best in entertaining. The way they put forth the show to you, you feel no less than an audience in itself. Grand show, hence a must watch in big screens
• Mark Ruffalo and Mélanie Laurent, have equally distributed roles. Interesting events and twists turns things into a possible mirage, making you want for more
• Morgan Freeman too has an interesting role, always in a gray shade. This role will keep you wondering where is the story heading to, looking for best possible explanations
• The story takes you through different nerve points, excitement, fun, thrill, perplexing at times and even adrenalin rush. Keep you at the hook...promising less but delivering more

Lukewarm:

Michael Caine was more of a pivot. Had less significance, but without the web spun around him, the story wont look complete


Minuses:

Somewhere as the story keeps running with you as a passenger on its bullet train, you completely loose a track of where from it all started, one mysterious event which gets all the four together after they are separated. While you expect the flash back to pass by in a flash, that instead forms the story and you loose what you were seeing in the present for quite a long time

  

My Rating: 4/5 (Again much exceeded my expectations)

After Earth

Cast: Jaden Smith, Will Smith,Zoë Kravitz

Director: M. Night Shyamalan  

Genre: Adventure, Sci-fi

Its an enthralling watch. Dont go by the reviews, and hit the theaters. Jaden Smith deserves it

Pluses:

• Jaden Smith undoubtedly is the sole hero of the movie. I am so glad to see how well are these kids prepared before hitting the big screens. Jobs usually done by much older actors are all done by this kid with great finesse. He expresses emotions well, is trained well and father son duo totally rocks in this one. Jaden does successfully carry the entire flick on his shoulders! A big round of applause to him
• Will Smith handed over this movie brilliantly to his son. Thankfully, we dont miss him, he is present throughout the movie as one of a very important character. One awesome actor that he is, you feel the pain as he does go through it
• M. Night Shyamalan after a long time. I will not like to compare his movies every time referring to 'Sixth Sense' and keep critisizing. Standalone this one was a good direction, given what he has offered us in the past whole decade. I personally loved the way he portrays the kid evolve as a man, from being extremely scared in the beginning to gradually putting up on strength and the will to make things happen. He doesnt suddenly become brave, but he gradually shows the transition. Credit goes to the  director and the actor for it
• All the locations were visually appealing. Its a delight watching the movie in big screens. Be it new planet where they have been living after earth or be it earth post evacuation through the thick rainforests, all of it was a spectacle
• What is good about the movie is it always keeps you at edge. You are assured not to get bored at any point of time. I throroughly enjoyed it

Lukewarm:

• A few acts of heroism here and there were way beyond any adult's limits, forget a teenager. You cant help but give in to it the way the script is written
• Zoë Kravitz as the dude's diseased sister had very little to play but yet significant for the role. She was fine

Minuses:

• With all the hi- tech softwares shown, i have no idea why did the spacecraft look so ancient in its interior. Only the designer may explain!!
• The horrendous crticism against the movie and age old comparison totally sucks. I have no idea on what basis do viewers set thir expectations. I have to agree the trailors were bad. Promotions were not done well, it by itself does set the expectations low, why further scrutinize then!

  

My Rating: 3.5/5 (Only because it much exceeded by expectations)

The hangover III

 

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis,Ken Jeong,Justin Bartha,John Goodman

Director:Todd Phillips  

Genre: Comedy

No hangover at all in this new addition to Hangover series. Almost a forced comedy. Not much enjoyable


Pluses:

• Bradley Cooper, hot as ever in the Hangover series :) And he is the only one amongst the three musketeers who maintained his role like in other hangover series, more on the sane side, braver, risk taker and trying hard to work things out
• Ken Jeong was fun to watch as usual. He is the cutest bad guy i have seen :)

Lukewarm:

• Zach Galifianakis who is the heart of the movie was very tepid in this one, he was not much of fun and felt nothing different or better than other series(blame to the script)
• Ed Helms usually is the one the most victimised of all the crazy stuffs that happen to the trio, he was rather lukewarm...nothing much crazy that happened to him in this one(blame to the script)
• Justin Bartha was just there just as usual in all the hangover series, he is hardly a part of the whole gambit. So was John Goodman, just there!

Minuses:

• The biggest let down is the script of the movie. It wasnt the actors, not even the director which pulled the entire movie down but the script. It was just way too ordinary and non happenning. And the best part is none ever were drugged or under any influence in the whole movie :D How did the writers even think of justifying the title
• Ohh!! We have a last scene of hangover to the grand finale of this trilogy! How dumb and how much forced. Should not this be the beginning of the movie! You almost feel you are going reverse :P What sense after all it makes to put the most important part at the last knowing that this is the final flick of the series ( unless they changed their mind :P )
• Humor was poor, nothing to laugh about, events were mostly pushed in with an effort to make people giggle at the least

  

My Rating: 2/5

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

 

Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor,Kalki Koechlin,Kunaal Roy Kapur

Director:Ayan Mukherjee  

Genre: Romance, Drama

There is nothing deewani about this jawaani!! You can comfortably ignore and save your evening. Stands true to my already nil expectations

Pluses:

• All thanks to the item number by Madhuri Dixit. What a delight to watch her on big screens. She still maintains the same charm and killer gestures, this ones surely enjoyable
• All the perfomances by the elderly actros, however short were adorable
• Miserably so, but i cant think of any other pluses to this one :)

Lukewarm:

• Ranbir Kapoor can also act lukewarm guys ;) And this movie is the example for it. I have no idea what made him sign on this one. Nevertheless, he was still watchable even though he failed miserably to justify a travellers spirit
• Aditya Roy Kapoor is good but its only the director who knows why did he show up all the time sad, disappointed, angry and never happy throughout. And not to miss a drunkard yet again. Good for his career that Aashiqui 2 launched before this one, else the former could have never worked for him
• Kalki Koechlin was sweet and bubbly and nice, but again had nothing significant to do
• Kunaal Roy Kapur is branded an idiot by now, and he plays that well :)
• Music is just about ok except for the 'balam pichakari' number which is untimely but good to ears

Minuses:

• Deepika Padukone remained out of focus for the most of the movie. Though she is the female lead but she hardly had anything to play. Poor her!!
• Coming from Ayan Mukherjee, its a big let down. The movie clearly lacks direction. There were constant events all through the movie but missed all connections, there was no feel to the movie, you dont feel emotions, you dont feel the dreams, you dont feel any craziness or happiness. It fails to generate any expression on your face except for yawns
• Script is ridiculous. Never anything practical. Disconnected events and hardly any story. And the worst is the grandeur that they tried to show in the wedding of an Engineer, mind you!! :D
• Songs were highly misplaced, they used to happen just anywhere anytime at all, would say quite irritating as well
• Very very lame dialogues. You dont laugh, you dont cry, you do nothing but wait for the marathon to end somewhere
• Sad advertisement of tourism Manali, highly improbable and impractical and only so so filmy

  

My Rating: 1.5/5