Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Ship of Theseus



 
 
 
Cast: Neeraj Kabi, Aida El-Kashef, Sohum Shah, Vinay Shukla
Director: Anand Gandhi
Genre: Drama, Philosophy
 
Intriguing stuff! Watch it with right expectations. Its off beat and a piece of art!
 
Pluses:
  • Three independent stories beautifully weaved to culminate in a single thread. More on the philosphical grounds, thought provoking! At times leaves you cold while at the other puts your mind through multiple thoughts
  • Its essence is philosophical, well written, well executed. Kudos to the script writer as well as the Director of the movie for putting it up so low profile and yet crowd pulling!
  • The first story of a photographer i am sure is very wisely placed, given the rage of photography in the nation and most of the common/middle class men connecting to it. Every other person would have clicked something such, and thats the only reason why one would not mind watching the first of the series. Aida did a good job, however overacted at times, but never mind! :)
  • I would clearly state Neeraj Kabi as the man of the movie. His is the story which has a lasting effect. When you start loosing your interest with the first one, this story, even being simple has a loud resonation on your mind! Teamed with Vinay Shukla, is an amazing concoction. Sense of humor put so forth and so right is totally appreciable along line with those interesting debates!
  • Sohum Shah in the third story is a brilliant perfomer as well. Relentless actions, random running around, never completely meaningless but on a thurst to discover self
  • All the stories have beautiful morals about life and soul, passion and endurance! This one is not one of those abstract art stuffs which doesnt connect with commercial audience at all. very well made, completely within the reach of a common man's intellect :)
 
 
 
 
Lukewarm:
 
I would say the first story was not very impactful! I am sure this was made targetting the audience who are into photography! Stale and regular boring stuffs, unnecessary feuds, and a rather silent end
 

Minuses:
 
 
Slow yes, shouldnt really be considered a minus, as this is in the end a piece of art. But yet, have some patience while watching and avoid talking to your mates, there are some serious audience sitting there :P
 
 
 
 

My rating: 3.5/5

Monday, July 29, 2013

The Wolverine




Cast: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima,lana Khodchenkova,Hal Yamanouchi
Director: James Mangold
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
 
Did not qualify to my expectations, yet not a bad watch!
 
Pluses:
  • Hugh Jackman but of course. This one in particular is made for him, he shines! Gals dont miss out on thsoe huge biceps and killer looks ;)
  • Three action sequences were exhilarating to watch, the opening sequence, the one on bullet train and the grand ending, sad that its countable on finger tips!
 
Lukewarm:
  • Quite low on japanese action, a little bit more spice to that would have only added more to its vigor
  • Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima, were sisterly and good on their part, nothing much to appreciate otherwise, yet some added appreciation to the action performed by Rila
  • Hal Yamanouchi, half the time was not present in the movie, the outcome of his role wasnt very unpredictable either. He still qualifies to be a greedy bad man :)
  • As usual the romantic dream squences of Logan are boring and exhasuting
 
 
Minuses:
  • There was a certain feel which was lacking. Everytime we say 'Wolverine',its always attached to personal vendetta, and the bad men/mutants are the ones whom you can connect to 'Logan'.This one felt absolutely out of his world, nowhere connected and one entire movie pulling through the safety of one woman who should be of the least significance to 'Logan' himself, even if they stress quite a bit on his empathy towards life in any form, doesnt justify the whole episode. You can blame it all to the script
  • All right and if not script, you will count on Wolverine to show us some good action, spectaular fight sequences, but here you see him most of the time ailing in pain where he is infected. Okay! We understand he is in trouble, but his trouble part never felt weighty enough, the audience never does even pay much attention to figure who is behind the issue, rather just accept this as is, while the entire limelight stays focussed on Tao Okamoto. Blame it to direction!
  • Romantic angle to Logan and the Princess of the business empire was not required at all
  • lana Khodchenkova was not convincing as a villain herself, she rather looks like a henchman
 
 
 
 
 
My rating: 2.5/5

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

D-Day




Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Arjun Rampal, Huma Qureshi, Shruti Haasan
Director: Nikhil Advani
Genre: Crime, Thriller

Its not a just a movie but India's reply to D for Dawood, however in the form of a movie. Not a bad watch provided with patience

Pluses:
  • Irfan Khan and Arjun Rampal are the leads of the movie. We know what to expect from these two actors in a genre like this, you wont be disappointed. I wont say the roles were very challenging, we have seen them doing this and they did it again :)
  • Rishi Kapoor is one actor who keeps evolving with every movie. Expect some good dialogues delivered.However, i felt his role was pretty less, may be because its not based out of real story but hinted towards a real character and the script writers didnt want to play around too much with this role
  • Shruti Haasan, finally we see her act. She had a disconnected role but yet good performance out there. Looks like there is someone to compete with Kareena Kapoor finally :P
  • Script was serious, a lot of detailing was required anyway to show the build up, what makes it a good watch is the end

Lukewarm:
  • Huma Qureshi wasted, i dont know where was she even required, just to have a woman in the team to make it look complete!! I didnt see her doing anythin significant, however she wasnt irritating at least, so can be counted present :)
  • Nikhil Advani did a good job undoubtedly but too much back and forth in the first half specially was irritating. Such editing is kept to retain engagement in the movie but it did the opposite
  • Music is mostly quawaalli, good to the ears but cos of the length of the movie, it felt unnecessary add ons

Minuses:

Length yet again, patience is the key or you can stop watching movies in theaters. Pulled to the extent not required



My rating: 3/5

Monday, July 22, 2013

White House Down



  
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx,Joey King, Maggie Gyllenhaal,James Woods(Walker),Jason Clarke(Stenz), Richard Jenkins(Speaker)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Genre: Crime, Action

An action flick gone wrong! You may watch it for entertaintment at your ease, no rush to hit theaters

Pluses:
  • The most appreciative aspect of this movie is the way the 'The White House' is shown! I cannot recall any movie ever having shown the key relics of Washington DC as beautifully as this. Grandeur at its best!
  • Joey King was the real lead of the movie, for a kid, she bagged a good role to herself and performed to her best
  • I personally like Channing Tatum, hence counting him in pluses :) He did what he was given to his good
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal was a strong support
  • Yes, i like Jason Clarke, he was the only fearsome bad man in the movie to appreciate

Lukewarm:
  • Jamie Foxx, i dont know what to say. He did well to what was written for him, but his role was a lot more mockery to a Presidential role than real! Quite diappointing
  • Richard Jenkins had a rather small role to play, but good enough
  • James Woods was about fine. How the role is written, changes aspects a lot

Minuses
  • The biggest minus for the movie is its script. A serious subject as this made so funny. You cant help comparing it with 'Olympus fallen', and this one appears a sham! You cant help but laugh at the situations they put the President all through
  • Direction again is lame. Cant say what he really wanted to show, an action thriller or a comic thriller
  • Length of all the movies these days suck! 2 hours and 15 mins to watch what!!



My rating: 2/5

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Pacific Rim




Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi,Charlie Day,Burn Gorman
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Sci-fi, Action
 
If action is what you are expecting, then you are at the right place
 
Pluses:
  • I am amazed at how many times same genre can evolve out to be better and more better and never feel cliche. You get to see nothing different than human-alien combat but there is some adrenalin injected in you for the right excitement
  • You will love the massive fighting machines 'Jaegers' and wish you were one amongst the pilots to run it. All the combats are enjoyable, high on CGI and delight to the eyes on big screen
  • The script is very well written. It wouldnt start all hunky dory. Dont miss the beginning of the movie, the build up is nice
  • Watching it in 3D was absolute pleasure..worth it!
  • Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, the main leads, had a very meagre touch of romantic angle to them..not even amounting to a kiss but you will certainly see them doing more of action.Both equally important roles and done well
  • Idris Elba was a good support, commanding officer in charge, a father figure or a pilot...balanced!
  • Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are the scientists/doctors, drivers to a logical key to the epic conclusion! Think of Charlie Day in 'Horrible Bosses' and then here :) Funny! :)
 
Lukewarm:
  • They didnt really put much effort on the alien structure pf 'Kaijus' for sure...nothing new in here...no new theories in alien inception nor the alien framework
  • I wont really state that the director did a great job, the movie belongs more to the graphic designers than the director
  
Minuses
 
As the movie begins you see some required intervention from the various governments worldwide but as the movie progresses, government intervention is nil. Looks like not much thought applied in this direction and the focus remained in action alone
 
 
 
  
My rating: 3.5/5

Monday, July 15, 2013

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag




Cast: Farhan Akhtar,Master Jabtej Singh, Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Prakash Raj, Pavan Malhotra, Yograj Singh, Rebecca Breeds
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Genre: Biopic

Expect a biography and you wont be disappointed. Its worth a watch! You surely do feel like clapping by the end!

Pluses:
  • Farhan Akhtar unabashedly reaps the whole biography. This man knows meticulously how to portray each and every expression. When he behaves like a fool, when a man, a lover, a passionate sportsman, a son, a brother, a national representative...he gives you all in one package! Never to forget the preparation he has done to justify the role, its not just a mere enactment. His labor shows up in his physique, his running spirit, etc. He is the man of the movie
  • Master Jabtej Singh as the young Milkha fitted into the character perfectly. He has major contribution in the building up of the adult character. Good job done!
  • Pavan Malhotra and Yograj Singh as the coaches of Milkha Singh, were the backbones of the lead and nothing overdone.
  • Prakash Raj had a short role but a very cute one
  • Divya Dutta,was humble motherly support worth mentioning
  • Rebecca Breeds had a rather substantial role to play. Every woman in this movie for that matter has a significant angle in shaping up Milkha's success. That includes short stints by Sonam Kapoor and Meesha Shafi(swimmer) as well

Lukewarm:
  • The storytelling was not  very appreciative. Director can be blamed for it. I found the way the story was told a lot deviating from the track it started with. It was never in proper series unfolding one after another, this is the only reason  why it may feel dragging
  • Sonam Kapoor was wasted...she had nothing much to perform

Minuses:
  • Songs were absolutely not required. All could be accomodated as background elements
  • Length of the movie could surely  be a turn off for a lot of people. But if you go with a right mindset, the pace of the movie keeps you goin!!




My rating: 4/5 (Its not what you see alone but what you take back - "Inspiration")

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Ghanchakkar




Cast: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, Rajesh Sharma, Namit Das
Director: Raj Kumar Gupta
Genre: Comedy, Thriller


Absurd, long haul, partial entertertainer!

Pluses:

Rajesh Sharma and Namit Das had good supporting roles, thats the only plus i can think of!

Lukewarm:
  • Emraan Hashmi not at par, he was cool but the disturbance in his mind due to his forgetful disease, was never portrayed properly. He hardly every looked perturbed that his memory doesnt support him
  • Vidya Balan wasnt funny, wasnt irritating as she was supposed to be, she was just loud, didnt have much of anything to play either. Not her kind of role at all
  • Some unnecessary obscene angle to Namit Das just to add to some humor, was not really required

Minuses:
  • This flick doesnt fit into any genre at all properly. Its not really a comedy, not a crime series nor exactly a thriller. It just runs and runs and runs exhaustively without ever unfolding much. The script is to blame for. It never arouses enough interest to watch out for what happens next
  • The third angle to the movie by the end of it just started and finished abruptly, the character couldnt even be introduced properly
  • Movie has an indefinite end...not clear! Left to assumptions
  • Pathetic music, ear sore. A bit let down coming from Emraan Hashmi movie


My Rating: 2/5

Monday, July 8, 2013

Lootera






Cast: Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Barun Chanda, Adil Hussain,Vikrant Massey
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Genre: Romance


May be i do not understand art, but i cant withstand a movie as slow and boring as this!!

Pluses:

  • When you talk about performances, cannot deny Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha did very well suit the roles, looked good and they gave their best performances on a serious genre
  • Barun Chanda, Adil Hussain and Vikrant Massey were good supports in their own levels
  • The sets and the lights were particularly awesome, takes you back to the 1950's

Lukewarm:

Music is artistic but not of my taste, why i count this as lukewarm because most of the audience wont appreciate it except for the commercially hit number 'Sawaar lun'

Minuses:
  • Movies which are more of an art form, should be promoted as one. The biggest let down for commercial audience will be its commercial marketting before its release, sets a completely wrong expectation
  • Hell boring, fucking slow!! Pay attention and you may even find people snoring. Long haul and pause in between dialogues, unnecessarilly pulled for 2.5hrs...not worth
  • Slow movies are meant to express more, it should touch your heart as the movie keeps developing, but alas..the dialogues were dumb, boring is the word, it never ever moves you
  • Script is absolutely non happening. Why do people have to make movies on a dumb lady and her love story. That way anyone can make a movie on a boring lazy arse and call it a piece of art. I can wrap the entire story and all emotions in this flick within one single sentence if i have to
  • Never felt the in depthness in the romance of the pair, first half was more a game of attraction and second half more of depression, confusion, anger, revenge, very less moments of heart felt love. Even any sacrifice in the end doesnt feel so intriguing
  • I did call the performances by the leads as one of their bests, but that was strictly given the context of the movie. Both of them have given much more complex expressions in all the other commercial flops or hits that they have given individually. This movie lacks expressions, there is just one expression throughout the second half, and that is silent depression
  • Last but not the least, if this movie is a master piece, what was wrong with Guzaarish?



My Rating: 1.5/5