Dolly Ki Doli

Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Archana Puran Singh and Saif Ali Khan
Director: Abhishek Dogra
Genre:  Romance, Drama, Comedy


Very average time pass flick. No gain or no loss in watching or giving it a miss!



You may look forward to:

• Sonam Kapoor looks beautiful every time she is bridal. She fills in the entertainment factor for the movie and has the lead role
• Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma have more or less supporting roles. Rajkummar Rao puts up commendable accent. Rightly put act together for the film
• Pulkit Samrat comes out to be the a male lead by the end of the flick :D Thanks to the lead heroine who falls in love with him, otherwise he would be put in the same category as the other two :D Or should he thank Bollywood family connection for the role :D Again, well put up accent, just that he looks like a kid!
• Archana Puran Singh and Saif Ali Khan, are delight to watch. They helped filling in some life in the movie, even though very short appearances
• There is just one good song in the entire film, which is a romantic number between the lead pair

What you can sleep over:

You have a a few giggles and laughter, but over all it doesn't really qualify for a comedy nor romantic flick. Its a baseless crime (con-woman) flick :D




The dampeners you should be aware of:

Story of the movie is the major dampener. Absolutely no mind put while making the movie. It more or less looks like been made only for Sonam Kapoor. When already she is low on fans base, she should go for better stories, might help :)





My Rating: 2.5/5
   

Baby

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Danny Denzongpa, Rana Daggubati,Anupam Kher,Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon, Madhurima Tuli,Mikaal Zulfiqar(Ashfaq),Sushant Singh(Wasim), Murali Sharma and Rasheed Naz(Maulana)

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Genre:  Action, Crime, Thriller

 

Long time Bollywood produced a good watch. This movie is worth a wait from Akshay Kumar and Neeraj Pandey. If you love Bollywood and action thrillers, you shouldn't give this a miss!

 

You may look forward to:

 

• Akshay Kumar, after quite a gap in a serious role. Certianly, action thrillers has always worked more for him than continued comedy ventures. He is fit as ever and does very well fit into the shoes of  Tom Cruise of our Bollywood. He takes you through a bumpy ride through the entire 2.5 hours of the movie, never getting bored, and thrilling you in every scene. I am on the 'Love Akshay Kumar' campaign yet again :)
• Neeraj Pandey, does a appreciably good job in directing an otherwise long movie, literally keeping you at the edge of your seat, specially in the second half of the movie. Long time having come across one Bollywood movie minus too many directorial flaws. Kudos! The success well deserved and worthy celebration for the team :)
• Danny Denzongpa, again in a very promising role after 'Bang Bang'. I didn't appreciate him much in the later. This one sets him apart, good dialogues in nicely delivered scenes
• Taapsee Pannu, is a treat to the eyes. :) She is fuller and pretty and a surprise package of action. She certainly steals all the limelight as it comes to the female actresses of the movie
• Mikaal Zulfiqar,Sushant Singh and Murali Sharma, have brief roles, and all the three of them make impactful presence on screen
• The storyline of the movie is good keeping in mind the actions that are taken by the team members of 'Baby', however completely missing out on the other side of it, where from the beginning till the end, audience stays in oblivion of what were the unknown motives of the terrorist that of which Baby tried to stop and control, apart from just capturing them. Nevertheless, the movie doesn't give you much leeway to mull over such stuffs and keeps you engaged with many other events and beautiful locations

What you can sleep over:

 

 

Rana Daggubati and Anupam Kher, i would say didn't have a very great role. Anupam Kher never looks like a tech genius, and Rana is much more than just his body and physical capacity. Nevertheless, they fit in the team and work along.


 

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• Kay Kay Menon and Rasheed Naz, lacks impact. For all the big chatters amongst the most wanted terrorist, they hardly are shown doing anything big or notorious, except for certain rumors of planning something possibly big. Nor their moves neither their dialogues speak of something thrilling
• Madhurima Tuli just cannot act. Ajay's family angle is completely dampened due to this one role, unlike those in Hollywood movies, where this aspect however small, is still significant. We lose here big time

My Rating: 3.5/5

The Theory of Everything

Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones(Jane), Maxine Peake(Elaine) and Charlie Cox(Jonnathan)

Director: James Marsh

Genre:  Biography,Drama, Romance

 

And finally one more biography this week which is easily unbeatably the best watch of the weekend. Extra ordinary story of Stephan Hawking, do not miss!!

 

You may look forward to:

 

• The very personal life of Mr. Stephan Hawking. There is not much of science in it, which covers his life's work. But this a story of incredible human resilience, patience, rarely witnessed love in real life in husband and wife, and the astonishing amount of maturity in the lead couple, epitome of understanding and sacrifice. One story which feels so complete from every angle, ironically the base of which began so imperfectly
• Eddie Redmayne gives out a power packed performance in and as Stephan Hawking. Every small development and deterioration of his condition so meticulously and amazingly captured. This guy is a perfect candidate for an Oscar. Playing a character as complex as this, never comes easy with just a few dialogue deliveries. Eddie Redmayne has nailed it
• Felicity Jones plays the next most incredible role of 'Jane', a very complicated situation to be in, and requiring enormous amount of perseverance, keeping in faith and raising a family with a deteriorating patient all by herself. The tenacity with which she stuck to him, is the reason why Stephan Hawking is what he is today and 'Jane' being the only reason why he is alive. Absolutely beautiful relation and amazingly played by Felicity Jones
• Charlie Cox's character takes you to a film set by 'Rajashree productions', where every body in a film are unbelievably good natured and totally unreal. He is one such character, serving the family of Mr. Hawkings in every possible way, with a clean soul. Many round of applauds for such human being who do exist in reality, far from our belief
• Maxine Peake, has a considerably short role, very much acknowledged, given her significance in Hawking's life
• James Marsh, not known for a lot of commercial hits, does a fantabulous job of creating a masterpiece, of depicting such a complex story impeccably well. He shows you through his direction the true meaning of a marriage, which goes hand in hand with your well being and career, one nothing without the other. Watch it to know what Stephan Hawking is beyond his credibilities and contributions to science

The dampeners you should be aware of:


This is not a story of those biggies who went through various political situations and waded through it to be a successful well known personality. This movie is about all those people holding good intentions but wading through every unfavorable situation thrown at them by life.

No dampener from the directorial point of view. The story is already flawless, barring a few non influencing fictional roles.

My Rating: 4.5/5

The Imitation Game

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode(Hugh Alexander), Mark Strong( Maj. Gen. Stewart),Charles Dance( Cdr. Alastair), Allen Leech(John), Matthew Beard(Peter), Rory Kinnear( Detective Nock) and Alex Lawther(Young Turing)
Director: Morten Tyldum
Genre:  Biography, War, Drama



Another outstanding Biography this weekend. You dont want to miss this one, for the History, for the Drama and for Benedict Cumberbatch




You may look forward to:

• Benedict Cumberbatch, do we need to say more :) If not a look alike of Alan Turing, he yet perfectly fits in the role. He gives you yet another beautiful performance as a crazy mathematical genius who breaks the unbreakable, otherwise a loner. One hell of a mind who could think beyond the boundaries and plays a significant part of the epic history from the Nazi dominated World War II
• We haven't seen much work from Morten Tyldum, but he is one Director who can outdo quite a lot of other directors in Hollywood. Apt presentation of exactly as much required to be known about a personality like that of Alan Turing and his contribution, not any less, not any more
• Matthew Goode in a strong supporting figure to Alan Turing's character, he was omnipresent throughout the movie
• Mark Strong and Charles Dance, played another set of significant roles given their arena of politics
• Allen Leech and Matthew Beard, were supports as a part of the team, acknowledging roles
• Rory Kinnear, an undercover spy, long unknown and not affecting the mission, he does his part well
• Alex Lawther deserves a mention playing the young Turing

What you can sleep over:

Keira Knightley has a significant role here. Though i expected her to me more of a genius in the man's world of the then Britain, as compared to what she is shown. Her role was either not written well or she wasn't given enough coverage. I kept wondering what was after all her contribution because of which Alan Turing was desperate to retain her, even if that meant marrying her.




The dampeners you should be aware of:


I haven't read the book, but apparently there are many aspects in this biographical film which is fictionalized and is far from the truth. Which is sort of a dampener. When you say Biography, you tend to believe everything that's shown in it with closed eyes.





My Rating: 3.5/5
   

American Sniper

Cast: Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre:  Biography, War, Drama

A tribute to genuine war veteran, presented beautifully by Clint Eastwood. A must watch!

You may look forward to:

• Bradley Cooper, who came to limelight with the 'Hangover' series has surely come a long way. Not one of those guys who are known for their signature roles under a single banner only. He has over and again experimented with various roles and now this. The fact that this movie is a Biography is not known until the movie ends. Its the lead actor who at all times makes it look so real, only until proven in the end, that this is no other masala flick but a true story. He looks tall, sturdy and strong and plays a character with great count of resilience. Very successfully pulls off the entire movie on his shoulders
• It is a Clint Eastwood  film. It is his baby. And he executed it really beautifully. He deserves a round of applause to have presented the war situations in those power starved countries very close to real. Every detailing and every aspect very meticulously captured, when it is difficult getting details of a person who is an unsung hero and is not alive
• Sienna Miller plays her role perfect. A strong woman who willingly agrees to marry a Navy SEAL guy and having loved him and yet lived most of her life alone without him being there to raise the family

  

The dampeners you should be aware of:

Biographies have very fewer chances of going wrong in other aspects except for direction. And Clint Eastwood is not one of them who will leave you with things visibly gone wrong :)

None :)

My Rating: 4/5

Alone

Cast: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover and Zakir Hussain

Director: Bhushan Patel

Genre:  Horror

  

Have your expectations grounded to Bollywood Horror, and you wont be disappointed



You may look forward to:

• Bipasha Basu, finally can be crowned as the queen of horror :) From acting in horror flicks to becoming a ghost herself :) She is certainly progressing in her career. The only factor to consider will be, if men will want to remember her sexy avatar or the later :D Nevertheless, she looks drop dead gorgeous, fit as ever and being the only such woman in the flick, you surely cant take your eyes off her. She definitely acts much better than her male counterpart :)
• Karan Singh Grover lists in the plus only for his looks and chiseled body
• Horror quotient is effective enough to scare you in its first half. There is absolutely no time wasted in any build up, and the movie picks up pace in no time. Quite a few spine chilling creepy instances
• Zakir Hussain, is the only other character other than the lead pair who has some role in the movie :) He does his part well, reminds you a lot of 'Ashutosh Rana's' role from 'Raaz' by the end
• Music of the movie is soothing, as well raunchy

What you can sleep over:

• Karan Singh Grover did not seem to have learnt much from his TV school days. Acting not at par
• Second half of the movie is rather okayish, just like any other Bollywood Horror Drama. The climax portion and revelation is good, but could have been better
• There are certain gaps in the story here and there, if you back track after the revelation of the truth in the climax. However, not as grave ones, chewable

 

The dampeners you should be aware of:

 

 

You see many many instance from the original Bipasha starrer Horror film 'Raaz'. They are a lot similar at lot of places. Is originality as difficult? The story could have much more gripping, the script was rather simple.




My Rating: 3/5

Taken 3

Cast: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker(Inspector), Maggie Grace(Kim),Famke Janssen(Lenore),Dougray Scott(Stuart) and  Sam Spruell(Malankov),

Director: Olivier Megaton

Genre:  Crime, Thriller

 

Do not expect quality as the first of its series. Nevertheless, a good watch!

You may look forward to:

• Liam Neeson, plays the famous 'Bryan Mills' who is more often than not caught in various conspiracies and becomes a victim of it. He is old but he does his job
• The story of the movie is more or less simple, not very complex, but yet do not bore you. As a thriller this movie doesn't disappoint, doesn't fascinate either
• Forest Whitaker does a regular job of an Inspector, a smart one :) He gives you a few quips
• Maggie Grace looks beautiful even if she is seen crying in most of the movie :)
• Dougray Scott has a good role, however pretty much predictable from the beginning, but yet he manages to confuse you time to time
• Sam Spruell has one of the strong roles, when he is not the center piece of the show

What you can sleep over:

Famke Janssen has a rather short role, gives her best as a self confessed fickle minded spouse :D

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• Liam Neeson looks pretty old, resultant of which many action scenes weren't as catchy
• Olivier Megaton couldn't match Pierre Morel in the direction of both of its series. Expectations were always a tad high on this series with its first hit. All that we get is a lukewarm thriller. You watch it or you miss it, either ways you wont regret!

My Rating: 3/5

Tevar

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Manoj Bajpayee, Raj Babbar and  Rajesh Sharma(Home Minister)
Director: Amit Sharma
Genre:  Action, Drama, Romance


If you are expecting a typical Bollywood masala entertainment, you wont be disappointed



You may look forward to:

• If you don't classify masala Bollywood movies only to the big names in this industry, this falls no short of an entertainer. The actors give their best shots of action, dialogues, romance,humor and required dance and music
• Arjun Kapoor is doing pretty good these days standing as solo hero :) He looks much more acceptable than he used to look earlier. That in itself is an achievement :)
• The only reason why Sonakshi Sinha still works for movies is her looks, she manages to look voluptuously pretty even without shedding clothes, or even without knowing how to dance, this lady still works :) 
• Raj Babbar and  Rajesh Sharma have brief supporting roles, at  their best :)
• Music of the movie doesn't hurt. Sonakshi looks beautiful in her opening number at the backdrop of a grand set, so does Shruti Hassan in an item number. Rest of the songs were not an ear sore, which works fine :)
• Action of the movie is about fine. Not too much flying around bodies, fly within limits :P I guess for a masala movie, i can count that as a plus :P

What you can sleep over:


Manoj Bajpayee gives out a rather funny role, lost in his own self proclaimed greatness. We expect some serious roles from him, instead of behaving like an immature spoilt brat :)



The dampeners you should be aware of:

While rest of the movie do not seem non nonsensical action drama, they screwed the ending. Why do the super hero kind of characters in our films first need to get injured unto death and than rise from the death for the woman they love, be it mother or girl friend. Beyond my understanding!





My Rating: 2.5/5 

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

Cast: Phoebe Fox(Eve), Jeremy Irvine(Harry), Helen McCrory(Jean) and Oaklee Pendergast(Edward)
Director: Tom Harper
Genre:  Horror, Drama


No harm in giving a miss to this movie. It doesn't help scare you even a bit



You may look forward to:

Ohh! We have a handsome looking Jeremy Irvine, who does a much better job in an another wise female and kids dominated movie :)



What you can sleep over:

• Helen McCrory in a never mind role, she tries to be strong and stricter on the children, but well doesn't have much to play either ways
• Like any other movie, here again we have silent career - a kid who walks with the ghost carrying messages, and trying to enthuse you by stupid hints and not talking. Oaklee Pendergast play this role here for you. Doesn't help creating any curiosity at all. Nevertheless, that is a cute kid :)

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• Phoebe Fox is good, but alas she chose a role which ain't meaty enough, She looks pretty, but we want not so pretty horrifying faces in a horror flick. We need gore, we don't want pretty
• The major dampener of the movie is its stupid plot, like a children's game, an attempt to scare kids and yet certified an adult flick. It doesn't make up for a good story, and worse for its cliche and uninteresting direction

My Rating: 1.5/5 

Unbroken

Cast: Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson (Phillip), Miyavi(The Bird) and Finn Wittrock(Mac)
Director: Angelina Jolie
Genre:  Biography, Drama, War



Survival story of a WWII American Soldier. Absolutely nothing new, but yet worth a watch. Its more of a tribute to the world war soldiers



You may look forward to:

• Jack O'Connell playing Louis Zamperini. Hats off to the man himself and to Jack to have played the tribute to a man who is literally 'Unbroken'. Being in a situation which is out of his control and yet not submissive. A very strong portrayal of a man with immense endurance and courage
• Angelina Jolie's first well known movie for her direction. I am a big fan of her, and surely she doesn't disappoint. This movie for certain touches you as you watch
• Miyavi as 'The Bird', plays a very difficult role, ruthless and yet that one scene where he breaks down, is worth watching
• Domhnall Gleeson and Finn Wittrock, fellow inmates...play their parts exceedingly well
• Watch this movie for 3 different stories in it divided in parts which keeps you thrilled for the entire duration of the movie and as well for the compassion and homage which many such war heroes do deserve

The dampeners you should be aware of:

This is not the first time we see a period based movie from War and(or) true stories of survival, which comes out as exceptionally shocking and moving. We have seen such movies before, with every such plot being remade with a new war hero every time, the onus on Director only raises one notch up. The stories are most welcome, but the Director got to present it in a manner which become incomparable with the other such movies we have seen. Well, that surely lacks. This movie never feels anything different from what we haven't seen before- be it a peek in the life of an Olympian, or survival stories in sea or even of a war prisoner
This ain't a dampener, but a reason why minus marketing, this movie isn't known to a greater audiences.





My Rating: 4/5 

Ugly

Cast: Rahul Bhat,Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure,Vineet Kumar Singh(Chaitanya), Surveen Chawla(Rakhee), Siddhanth Kapoor(Siddhant), Girish Kulkarni(Inspector Jadhav) and Abir Goswami(ACP Gupta)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Genre:  Mystery, Thriller, Action



One movie unnecessarily tangled to impress. Even if hell lot of stuffs dont make sense, it still qualifies for an intense watch



You may look forward to:

• Anurag Kashyap's direction which blinds you from seeing all other lose ends comfortably. He presents to you an intense movie with complicated characters and as many twists you can think of
• The lead is Rahul Bhat, and acts pretty fantastic. You can see various expressions on him, as his life changes after this one uncalled for event. Also as his life flashes back and forth from past to present. Not a very known face otherwise in Big Cinemas, yet a performance worth remembering
• Ronit Roy, as usual gives out a power pact performance. He always ends up creating an impact with the kind of role he chooses to do in films, much in contrast with the roles we see him on TV
• Vineet Kumar Singh, another strong character based role, beautifully executed. Anurag Kashyap definitely knows how to get the best out of his caricatures
• Surveen Chawla is the only character which is most sensible of all others. She is the one who loses nothing and gains all the bonus. Smarty pants, well written!
• Girish Kulkarni and Abir Goswami, in very appreciable supporting roles. Specifically that of Girish Kulkarni, he gives you many chunks of laughter
• The blend of thriller with humor (in right places), works perfectly well with each other. The humor in the movie actually adds on to a lot of life in an otherwise serious vengeful flick

What you can sleep over:

• Tejaswini Kolhapure, is a misfit to this role in my eyes. For someone who is sought after by many men, including one aspiring actor/model. One has to be looking more than a middle class(Maxi wearing) house wife
• Siddhanth Kapoor is a unnecessary add on into an already chaotic movie. His role made absolutely no sense to me. Supposedly a brother of 'Shailini'(Tejaswini Kolhapure), coming from an affluent family, and doing a business in illegally smuggling electronics and always a broke, is beyond my understanding. Even his eccentric behavior when the movie is almost on the verge of ending, is absolutely exaggerated and not called for

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• So, this seems to be one movie, if watched from the Director's angle, manages to blind and hence create impact. Otherwise, the number of flaws are just too many, in the very conceptual level itself
• The story revolves around a missing child, everyone is so tensed and giving their best shots in tracking her. Firstly, this was out and out clear case when in the very beginning they show the actual culprit been found and killed in mishap, with enough evidence. Even if there were rivalries between 'Rahul' and 'Shoumik', what were the other cops doing? What were two ACP's doing? They kept going round and round the bush without doing the basic job of nabbing the first culprit and his suspect relative. They just kept playing fools in the hands of 'Shoumik'.Secondly,I wonder why were all the 3 parents so concerned about the daughter. None of the parent were responsible enough to raise a kid, nor behaved appropriate with the child ever, and to top it all, negligent in every respect, then why sudden love. And if all the hue and cry was not enough, 'Shalini' walks out of the home as the movie ends. Isn't she now bothered about this whether the child was finally recovered or not? She would rather choose to mind her own business.Thirdly, if 'Shailini's' parents had so much money, why would they risk their beloved daughter's life and not tell them first hand. 'Shoumik's' ego was understood, what about 'Shailini' herself?
• The very character sketch of 'Shalini' was so vague. She is coming from an affluent family, but has all sorts of below grade friends, she is herself shown getting physically involved with multiple men, regardless of class. I wonder coming from an educated and affluent family, why was she so helpless, why wouldn't she work and make her life, even when she was married with 'Rahul'? And boy oh! boy, Alia Bhatt representing her from college days was hilarious. Until,sometime i couldn't just figure who are those 3 people in the scene from college days. None resembled any close to their present looks. How far do people change from college, they are not school going kids after all!
• Coming to the next, half the movie was run and chase between 'Rahul','Chaitanya' and cops. I wonder when from the first instance you know you are being tracked, followed and tapped, why would you go and do all sort of nuisance over and over again! Any rugged head will get the crux of the matter. If not for this, the movie could be reduced down by 1 hour easily
• And finally, Ronit Roy has now started looking cliche, with the regular strict and cold attitude in every movie. Its actually quite an easy job for him to give same stern expression through out the movie. He doesn't need to act much. His repetitive roles kind of gives me a feeling, he is obsessed with such roles, which in turn gives me a feel, he is an abnormal person in real life:P
• To conclude, the more you think of the movie, the more flaws you find, i would still say not a bad watch :)

My Rating: 3/5