Dhoom: 3

Cast: Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan,Uday Chopra

Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Doesnt leave an impression like that of its previous Dhoom series. You may love watching first half, and advisable to walk out past interval. All show off and less on technicalities

Pluses:

• Chase sequences. Dhoom series is known for bikes and chase. So this one offers you plenty chase sequences. Not a lot of marketting on bikes and brands, but all the run and chases were shot pretty awesome
• After a long time watched a movie, whose action is not typical south Indian copied action drama, barring one such action scene. As long as there was action in the movie, i enjoyed it :)
• Watch out for the best of the dance ever seen on Indian screens performed by an actress. Katrina Kaif dazzled on the floor. I bet you cant take your eyes off her and would ask for more, only wish that the songs were as international as the platform :)
• Yes, the song 'Malang' is a wonderful experience on big screens. Aamir and Katrina did a fab job in here and sets were mesemerizingly colorful and full of life
• Chicago covered so beautifully, most of the movie shot in the downtown area of Chicago. It looked awesome from the aerial view mostly. And then some final shots in the outbounds. All of them spectacular on big screens

Lukewarm:

• I would say, we have seen a lot better from Aamir before, most of the speculation was, whether Aamir can fill in for young, hot blood like that of John and Hrithik in its previous series. After watching the movie, i can for sure say, Aamir had all the potential to make it much better than what it is. Not his fault though, the movie, story, direction was not up to the mark. But given the rage of the movie, i cant count Aamir Khan a plus here
• Abhishekh Bachchan, was lukewarm as well. He was his regular 'ACP Jai Dixit', but we never see anything new of him,all of it has become very tepid by now. And what sort of cop is he after all! He could never stop a robbery or stealth in any of the Dhoom movies. All he does is to push the thief do the brink of a suicide :P
• Direction by Vijay Krishna Acharya doesnt live up to the mark of Sanjay Gandhvi. He gives his best but doesnt leave an impact. How disappointing!
• Barring the title track, rest of the music is just average. You perhaps wont ever download them yourself!
• Aamir is not a dancer, they made him do tap :D Didnt really fit well. Thankfully, John didnt have to dance in the original Dhoom, else you could witness pigs flying :D

Minuses:

• It took them 7 years to make a sequel to it, no extra ordinary! Bollywood is indeed going through its worst phase ever
• Dhoom is a series which is declared a story of loosers. I mean cmon, every thief so bold and hot and terrific end up suiciding. Give me a break. Every section of it was so predictable
• Second half was in particular boring, streched! There is just one ending chase sequence in the second half and only to end up in a fizz! Rest of it is forced drama.Aamir, please stop owning a film to yourself
• I didnt like the ending in particular,very illogical, just cooked up something to end it in a suicide. I will soon start 'Save the Dhoom con artist' campaign :D
• Katrina Kaif, totally wasted. She had nothing to do in the entire movie. Though she definitely left a mark with her dance, but cmon, practically no role at all! How is that acceptable
• Uday Chopra disappointed me this time. I really like his screen presence. He is cute and funny! But whats wrong with him in his home production! No funny lines, no 'Ali' effect. Same old lines and same show again and again and again! Couldnt even witness much of the bonding between 'Jai' and'Ali' in this one
• I didnt like the story at all. Family drama, father was a looser, he suicides, behind that a bunch of fools try to loot the banks, and they as well suicide by the end. What script does that make. They dont even show the robberies properly. No technicalities at all!And i always wonder, what do u mean by this that a thief can only be caught red handed! Does that mean, if he is successfull in his attempt, all his old records are cleared :P
• Relation between the two brothers, never understood. At one instance,he will abuse a brother and on the other will give away his life for him. The complicated emotions shared between the two was not very clearly depicted
• The first action sequence and the only shot in India, catches AB Junior and Uday Chopta in an autorickshaw stunt!!!#%$&% I mean why! And yet again South Indian trademark action! Sick and tired of it!

My rating: First half- 3.5/5

                 Second half- 2/5

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage,Aidan Turner(Killi),Orlando Bloom,Evangeline Lilly(Tauriel),Luke Evans(Bard)

Director: Peter Jackson

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

 

 

Wonderful watch! Do not miss this if you like this series! Prefer a middle row with your 3D glasses on :)

Pluses:

• I didnt appreciate the last from Hobbit series, however i absolutely loved this one. The VFX were amazing, it does feel like an experience in itself watching this. The only fantasy story i really fantasise to be real was LOTR, and the way the prequels to it are made, is delighful watch again :) Its always nice to see all those characters come to life on big screens once a year to relive those moments again :)
• The Unexpected Journey was rather made up, in an attempt to get the favorite characters from LOTR and screwed it up completely. While this one even though lengthy wasnt boring at all.Peter Jackson did a great job this time. He kept all the characters interesting and engaged all the time. Its never an easy task to manage so many roles. He deserves an applaud :)
• Martin Freeman was a key character as the name of the movie suggests. And he wasnt a baggage in this one. He did a good job :)
• Other major characters were Richard Armitage as 'Thorin' and Luke Evans as 'Bard'. The jouney was that of Thorin and Bard shall play the next important character in this particular sequel. Both of them to watch out for
• Ian McKellen, with all due respect, great energy and powerful screen presence
• Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly amongst the important elves. Elves, needless to say, have always been on a different class and amongst the brave and favorites :) It was beautiful to see Evangeline Lilly in a special avatar, i can remember her only from 'Real Steel'
• And we are not done yet, we have Aidan Turner as Killi, playing a significant role and an added romantic angle to the she-elf :)
• The script was throughout engaging and never slowed down. Many characters well managed and well weaved into each other. All the stories running in parallel and transition from one to another very well edited
• The experience in 3D was beautiful, this is surely a good watch in 3D

Lukewarm:

 

The character of the dragon was pulled a little too much. A talking dragon first to begin with, and on the top of that him passing so much time as if he was very keen on exhausting all his reserves immediately after his dormant state. This character was the major catch of the movie, one that you will wait to happen and i would say it kind of disappointed and didnt live upto the mark

Minuses:

Nothing notably a minus. I am waiting for 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again' to arrive :)




My rating: 3.5/5

R... Rajkumar

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood,Ashish Vidyarthi,Mukul Dev,Asrani

Director: Prabhudheva   

Genre: Action, Romance

Watchable! Not as much a disaster :)

Pluses:

• I appreciate Shahid Kapoor only in this entire movie,for his work. Its just outright visible the amount of effort he has put in it. Be it the dance, or the action sequence or acting. He has really tried giving his 100%. I enjoyed watching him dance and fight
• Sonu Sood was good, i loved the final action, though as well hated him for a few scenes immediately past interval
• Mukul Dev was a good support
• Cinematography is worth appreciating and the various locations the songs and few scenes were shot were beautiful as well. Indian landscape, in its glory :)

Lukewarm:

• The story was just about fine. Nothing different, regular masala flick
• Ashish Vidyarthi was okay, he didnt have much to do
• Asrani was just there, nothing much to claim
• Sonakshi Sinha was average. Thanks to the well written romantic angle, she didnt suck that bad. She looks pretty in most of the movie and she didnt look as bad a match with Shahid as with Saif :P
• Music is average as well, the already hit music didnt sound bad, others were okay
• Prabhu Deva, we are bored of same old stuff repeatedly, please create something better next time

Minuses:

I really wonder if making movie for 2+ hours is a fashion these days, the half an hour of the movie immediately past interval was absolute dampner. I wonder why was this important at all! It was a mockery on every actor for those few scenes




My rating: 2.5/5

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth,Woody Harrelson,Donald Sutherland,Nelson Ascencio

Director: Francis Lawrence  

Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

 

Wasnt a bad watch, could have been better!

Pluses:

• So is this actually the Oscar fever bestowing all the blessings on Jennifer Lawrence which supported the movie to be a huge success! Well, i wont buy the entire fact, though undoubtedly she is good and a very few female actors have this capability to shoulder entire flick soley on her, she being not so old in the industry yet manages to pull it through. She deserves  round of applaud nervetheless :)
• She can definitely make all others look like accessories, yet Josh Hutcherson was a good support and poor guy, i really  pity his role in this flick, where he is always being played around by the lead lady :D
• At least, the bad men never looked undermined and remained powerfull, claps claps for Donald Sutherland and Nelson Ascencio
• Woody Harrelson, though in a rather shorter supportive role, has maintained his dignity throughout this series so far :)
• Special effects were not bad, but indeed not like nothing we havent seen before. But this is all which will keep you glued  to your seats in the second half
• Ohhh man...her costumes! Fantabulous! Unfortunately, I dont know who is the costume designer but he surely deserves a big round of  applaud as well
• The cinematography also deserves appreciation, be it the presentation of grandeur during the victory tour or the poor state of respective districts and then the real hunger game, they are fab

Lukewarm:

• And then we have this another poor soul, who however good in his own way, doesnt make much of any mark under the shadow of  the lead lady, here we present to you Liam Hemsworth in Hunger Games, doing what! Not sure, may be just playing a candy :)
• I cannot really credit to the script a lot, of course based on the novel, the readers may infer better! However, i can  surely comment on the direction, and it wasnt very captivating. While we all know whats in store for the second half, the  first half is obvious, all that may interest you,ha to be shouldered by the director. And i believe, Francis Lawrence could have done a much better job at it

Minuses:

• Yes, the first half is extremely slow, the build up to the second half did cost me quite a bit and i literally heard  audience snoring beside me...sigh!!
• The way it ends suddenly seemed a little incomplete, even though we know there is another sequel coming to it, but yet  could have been more sensible and much more explained

My rating: 3/5

Bullett Raja

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha,Jimmy Shergill,Vidyut Jamwal,Gulshan Grover,Raj Babbar

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia 

Genre: Political Drama, Action

Quite a disappointment in terms of quality, however if you are looking for only masala, it will score better than Chennai Express :)

Minuses:

• Storyline was such a big time disappointment. Half the story was disconnected, it felt as if all they aimed for with this movie was to showcase UP type masala and a revenge for a brother killed. Add up another star to make up for the second half as seemed like Tigmanshu Dhulia wasn't confident of Saif pulling the entire movie on his shoulders alone :P
• Romantic angle was pathetic, i have never seen any romance so unhappening and pale and useless and meaningless in my entire Bollywood history. Someone please explain how was the character of Sonakshi written, was that a dope effect or something else
• A big let down from Tigmanshu Dhulia, we expected much better. If you cannot make romantic angles, please take advices from others(I dont mean Karan Johar :) ), but please dont ruin the entire show with something you have no expertise of
• OMG, overdose of Sonakshi Sinha, back to back both the weekends her releases, i couldn't conjure more courage to go for Shahid-Sonakshi disaster after watching this. Sonakshi, i think you are called for a voluntary retirement now, please take it and stop torturing the audience

Lukewarm:

• I was looking forward to Vidyut Jamwal, he was under utilized as well. Though thankfully the gravity of his role wasnt undermined by the end of it, and they scripted one section of it well :)
• They covered music in all three categories, pathetic, average and good :D Out of which just one soft number is worth a mention :)
• Action was so-so. As i said, the only star shining had to be Vidyut Jamwal, but even he was underused

Pluses:

• In the entire movie, the best enjoyable part is the first one hour of the movie before Sonakshi enters(and then everything is screwed, reminds me of 'Kites' :P), and the ending section of the movie (again where Sonakshi wasnt involved :D)
• Saif gave his best, and somehow suits the rowdy UP type bhaiyya caricature, accent flows in well and doesnt feel made up. I dont mind watching him as long as other paramters of the movie have weight as well, else its still difficult for him to pull an entire movie just by his charm
• Friendship between Jimmy Shergill and Saif Ali Khan was worth watching out for and the co relation between Vidyut Jamwal and Saif at the end
• Jimmy Shergill is my personal favortire...cant help appreciating this guy. Thankfully, he remained without a heroine :)
• Raj Babbar had a gray shade to his role, all due respect, played well :)
• Gulshan Grover is my personal favorite again :) Short role but good show :)

My rating: 2/5

Gori tere pyaar me

Cast: Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Anupam Kher

Director: Punit Malhotra

Genre: Romance, Drama

 

Not all that bad as mostly would expect. Watchable but lengthy

Pluses:

• Imran Khan steals the show for me. He convincingly looks a south indian of current generation. I like him in lighter roles than serious ones. He suits here better and loved most of his dialogue deliveries specially in the first half
• The songs "tooh" and and groovy number looks pretty catchy and nice on big screens
• The story narration and flow was interesting and easy going in the first half. You will have a few laughter here and there and does also not miss on the love affairs and relation aspect, you do look forward to the story past interval
• Shraddha Kapoor is pretty, demure lady as usual and fits in well :)
• Anupam Kher is versatile, i need not write more :) He can convincingly make the audience love him or even hate him as per the role played :)
• I personally liked the first half for the various practical scenarios and statements in the movie, makes a lot of sense and does trigger good lot of thought :) The drama felt very new age, and that is the plus point
• For all the bangalore residents, there is quite a bit to see :) I thoroughly enjoyed watching different corners of Bangalore and major landmarks on big screens :)

 

 

Lukewarm:

• Kareena Kapoor is just about fine. She looks quite beautiful although but her overdone attitude just shows up everywhere, bored of it. Her role was significant but i think its her attitude that in the end ruins it all
• Rest of the songs were very average in terms of music
• The second half was very long and very filmy, seen it a lot of times before...appreciate the way they shot the phases one after another, yet should have been shortened

Minuses:

• The length of the movie starts irritating in the second half. They pulled it too long
• You never feel the chemistry between the two in the second half, the entire rating of the movie drops only due to the show(or rather no show :)) post interval
• Second half gives you a feeling as if you are watching a completely different movie :) If you wish to watch two movies at the price of one, go ahead :D

  

My rating: 2.5/5