Insurgent

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet
Director: Robert Schwentke
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller


An average action thriller. Divergent was better.



You may look forward to:

• The sci-fi bit where Tris is tested for all the 5 realms, is interesting and engages you, though thats only less than half an hour of the entire duration of the movie
• Shailene Woodley and Theo James, does good, nothing extra ordinary however
• Kate Winslet is more or less the same as in 'Divergent'

What you can sleep over:

• I would say Miles Teller is wasted, after knowing what he is capable of doing with 'Whiplash'. He deserves better roles
• Naomi Watts wasted again, she didn't have much to play, very limited screen space

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• Where the movie fails is the lack of an engaging storyline. The movie is continuously stretched too far, in highlighting to you 'Tris' as a very important key person, instead of her actions which should rather do all the talking. Unnecessary drama, small bit of run and chase, none of them leaves any impact
• Divergent had you knowing a new society, the different realms, how the society work, how are men trained. Now when you know them all, Insurgent doesn't offer you much

My Rating: 2/5

Cinderella

Cast: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden(Prince),Helena Bonham(Fairy Godmother),  Holliday Grainger(Anastasia) and Sophie McShera(Drizella)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance, Family


Re live your fantasy childhood days. A fairytale retold with a fresh touch from Kenneth Branagh. Worth a watch!

And do not miss the preview of Frozen by Disney!



You may look forward to:

• Once again, age old stories that we have heard time and again, needs only a good director to work its magic! Kenneth Branagh does just that! He re creates the magic and adds subtle but strong message which is repeated in various contexts "Have courage and be kind", until it sets in your mind. This movie works as a cleanser for your heart and soul, instills basic goodness and makes you feel good and fresh by the time the movie ends
• Lily James, doesn't look the fairy tale Cinderella like, a beautiful country girl, she is just another country girl, but as the movie progresses, there is a certain charm in her which makes her special manifolds. She is every bit a maiden who can steal the heart of the young prince
• Richard Madden, does a good job within the limited screen presence he shares. The most amazing of all being the spectacular ballroom dance, elaborate and an eye snatching gala!
• Cate Blanchett looks every bit a convincing cruel step mother. Every ensemble that she wears is breathtakingly grand, she looks very wickedly elegant :)
• Helena Bonham in the Fairy Godmother's appearance is the only childish aspect of the movie, but for a reason which is very beautifully explained by the end of the movie. Life is much easier with magic, but magics don't happen every day, one needs to face the truth!
• Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera, are funny sisters fighting at all times, they are much beautiful in real life than on screen as step sisters :)
• Its a simple movie for entire family to go, cherish and be back home :)

What you can sleep over:

The romantic aspect of the story was very limited. I wouldn't mind if they stretched the movie a bit more to cover the romantic aspect tad bit further



The dampeners you should be aware of:

The only thing that surprises me is, why is adult Cinderella seen always in the same blue dress throughout the movie except for the ballroom dress which is different but again blue!




My Rating: 3.5/5

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Cast: Judi Dench, Dev Patel, Maggie Smith(Donnelly), Bill Nighy(Douglas), Celia Imrie(Jean), Tina Desai(Sunaina), Lillete Dubey, Richard Gere and Tamsin Greig ( Beach)
Director: John Madden
Genre: Comedy, Drama


This is a PLEASANT watch. Not every week do you have pleasant movies coming up. If you want to have the flavor of different countries and accents, with a fine blend of Indian charm, this movie is sure not to disappoint you :)



You may look forward to:

• A simple story of an ambitious young man trying to establish himself in the hotel business, which involves a lot of people already established from its first part, and their lives running in parallel, at the backdrop of a shaadi and related events.All the three aspects of this movie does blend in beautifully while every character has equal screen presence to share their moments. Its the individual roles and their characteristics which makes up the movie a pleasurable watch. And John Madden does a good job at it!
• Dev Patel, 2 movies in the same month, back to back. This guy surely is busy in Hollywood. He steals the first scene of the movie. His character is of someone who is very chirpy if things are going his way or very impulsive if it doesn't. With amazing set of dialogue deliveries and ample screen presence, he has a major role in the movie
• Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are the old members of this series. While 'Evelyn' is emotionally confused but otherwise ambitious, 'Ms. Donnelly' continues to be grumpy and wise :)
• Bill Nighy and Celia Imrie, again have very distinct characteristics of their own. While 'Douglas' is always sentimental about one woman, 'Jean' has a playful image when it comes to men, age no bar :D
• Richard Gere and Lillete Dubey,  make for a special couple of the movie. Surprisingly, they do share amazing chemistry
• Tina Desai and Tamsin Greig, are two new ladies, one of which is trying her best to contribute to 'Sonny' and working towards her memorable wedding, while the other is mostly under wraps

What you can sleep over:

There were still certain other characters who were overshadowed, who could not really come up very well during the entire duration of the movie

The dampeners you should be aware of:

None which may appear bothering.



My Rating: 3/5

Hunterrr

Cast: Gulshan Devaiah, Radhika Apte, Sai Tamhankar(Jyotsna) and Sagar Deshmukh(Dilip)
Director: Harshavardhan Kulkarni
Genre: Adult Comedy, Romance, Drama


Wise decision would be not to set expectations based on the trailer :) Nevertheless, an entertaining watch!



You may look forward to:

• Gulshan Devaiah is the driver of the story. It is his story primarily focused towards his sexual life from the onset of puberty to the present day in his adulthood. With a subject as controversial, and audience strictly restricted to adults, Gulshan Devaiah gives his best to keep the limited audience engaged with the comedy and a directionless story of a character who is at all times on the prowl with his various lecherous approach to hunt women down!
• Radhika Apte has a convincing role with a clear head and charming personality
• Sagar Deshmukh is a role worth appreciating amongst all the jerks he was in company with
• There are not many good and quality things to write about in this movie, however it does justify the genre of 'Adult Comedy', though adultery was tad bit higher than the comedy aspect. Nevertheless, glad that Harshavardhan Kulkarni arrived at a meaningful conclusion by the end of the movie, which however may or may not appeal to the audience who will primarily be visiting to get a high instead of been taught morals :)

What you can sleep over:

Not sure where should the credits be placed for Sai Tamhankar! Her acting skills are mostly limited to her physical reciprocation to a man outside her marriage. To me her role is that of somebody, which is not attached to her face or her name, just her physical identity!

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• There are certain goof ups in the movie where in there is not much of attention paid to the content in the dialogues when they are flashing back to 1980's. Small town students speaking English with common terminologies like that of today's?? References to movies in 3D?? Or even reference to the movie 'Chota Chetan', not sure if they were from that time of his age as they tried to show
• The length of the movie is longer than required. Just too many events and too very stretched, could have been shortened. The story is very detailed, and all of it is not stuffed with humor. Audience who would come for this movie, will expect more masala than a drama
• As for the moral values, that of which it lacks big time. Only salvation being the conclusion where the director implicitly tries to put forth that every man is a Hunterrr(more or less), until he grows up or until he falls in love. Justified or not, unfortunately this movie is close to a true picture of a rather shameful society today, and such movies may inadvertently fan such flames further!

My Rating: 2.5/5

Chappie

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Watkin Tudor Jones(Ninja), Yolandi Visser(Yolandi) and Jose Pablo Cantillo(Amerika)
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Crime, Action



I expected it be a movie more for adults than kids, its the other way around! This one is a disappointing watch! If you can sit through the first half, you may as well like the second half!



You may look forward to:

• Chappie, the Robot is very convincingly sweet. He feels so real that you tend to forget its cinematic only. Robots really look like the near future, and a thinking robot like Chappie can add a whole new dimension to the world we know, for good or for bad :) Chappie, nevertheless impresses mostly in the second half where he takes over the movie to himself :) Appreciate the job done by Sharlto Copley in lending Chappie his voice!
• Dev Patel got a pretty role in here, he is more or less the hero of the movie in its first half. Though the movie keeps doing rounds around Chappie, but he holds the next significant best role here
• Watkin Tudor Jones,Yolandi Visser and Jose Pablo Cantillo are funny, less of gangster and more for entertainment factor. They try their best entertaining you, provided you can accept their weird knack of caressing the Baby Chappie as respective 'Daddy' and 'Mommy' :P
• Post interval, the movie picks up with Chappie emerging out as the lead. The second half has enough contents to keep you at your seat and to keep you hoping for something to come and salvage your time and money from first half

What you can sleep over:

Oh Boy! Hugh Jackman wasted so so so so bad. Its very disheartening for me to write that i hated his role and him in this movie. I have no idea what made him sign a movie with as much idiotic role as this!! He just has no significant screen presence, nor a decent role of an antagonist. You cant help but relate him with 'Real Steel' and that is such a let down. But he is yet Hugh Jackman :) So i cant just count him in negatives, Sigh!!

The dampeners you should be aware of:

• When you watch a Sci-Fi movie, you wish to draw some sense out of what is shown. Yes, a lot of aspects just didn't seem to be making enough sense. The most unforgiving one of all being this that Chappie with a metal body, minus any additional hardware, just with the help of a software chip can not only feel emotions, can as well feel and distinguish the touch! What was the Director thinking?
• The script of the movie is the major dampener. First half is unbearable. There is just no good direction to where the story is headed to! Even worse as you see the gangsters nurturing the robot, becoming soft hearted suddenly and being friendly with it, telling it bedtime stories and what not! Utter rubbish! This movie raises a big question to me- If this flick can raise this much of moolah, what failed with our Bollywood Sci-Fi drama 'Love Story 2050' :D :D :D Food for thought! :)

My Rating: 2.5/5 (Only for the second half)

Focus

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro(Garriga),Adrian Martinez(Farhad) and Gerald McRaney(Owens)
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Genre: Crime,Romance, Comedy, Drama, Thriller


Avoid setting high expectations after watching first half of the movie, as it fails to deliver in the second half. Nevertheless, best weekend watch of all the new releases of the week.



You may look forward to:

• Will Smith is a man of style, drama and an amazing disguise :) He steals the show, as he plays around with people anywhere and any time. 'Nicky' is a guy who does his homework adequately before setting out, believes in volume business over catching big fishes. You will wait for his explanations every time after a successful con and he guarantees you be dazzled everytime he explains how he did it :)
• Margot Robbie plays a pivot in the hands of 'Nicky'. She just never learns and always falls easy prey to the tactics of 'Nicky'. And yet the celluloid chemistry between 'Jess' and 'Nicky' is hot. They do make a good pair and she gets just enough limelight :)
• Adrian Martinez is cute, all big size blobs make for a good watch :) Their body does half the talking :D
• Gerald McRaney has a wonderful coup. Its best to watch him then be explained
• The script of the movie in its first half has a lot to offer and to keep the audience entertained. It gives you good logical explanations which are more than believable for every heist. 'Focus' certainly does get your attention.

What you can sleep over:

Rodrigo Santoro plays his part well, only unfortunately his personality doesn't look as big as his role demanded him to be!



The dampeners you should be aware of:

• Second half of the movie is more or less a romantic drama, which results in slowing down the pace of the film. It seizes from holding up your attention as much as the first half
• The climax of the movie, doesn't dazzle you as much as you would be patiently waiting for in the entire second half. It is a little silly of 'Jess', a little predictable from 'Owen'. And all the unconvincing drama in the second half, doesn't make for a all total brilliant watch

My Rating: 3/5

NH 10

Cast: Anushka Sharma, Neil Bhoopalam, Darshan Kumaar and Deepti Naval
Director: Navdeep Singh
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller


Hit the theater with least expectations and Anushka will deliver in the second half of the movie


You may look forward to:

• Anushka Sharma only. She is the only one who reaps the maximum benefit out of this movie and yes she delivers. Aptly as the synopsis of the movie says, she not just survives out of all the odds, she even gives it back. Appreciable presentation of desperation and courage. One rough night can get the best and worst out of a human being. Kudos to Anushka!
• The story of the movie in the second half is extremely gripping, runs you through moments of extreme despair and then shows you what turns a sane person into doing insane things, overcoming every legality and fear which makes you a social and a responsible person
• Darshan Kumaar and Deepti Naval give out their bests. Though they most of the time had divided screen space and not under lime light, yet they do make impact

What you can sleep over:

People please forgive Neil Bhoopalam for all the crazy idiocy he shows in the first half of the movie :) I myself wanted his role to just conclude until Anushka takes over. He spoilt the entire first half of the movie, but without his stupidity, there would be no second half :P


The dampeners you should be aware of:

As it appears to me, all that the Director Navdeep Singh wanted to highlight is the second half, he just paid no attention to the build up. Goes the same for the script writer.
My experience of the first half of the movie was equivalent to the frustrations one goes through wading through city traffic, where you get impatient and start abusing to the idiot traffic offenders on the road, knowing it aint even reaching out to him :) You cant help but hurl unpleasant words to the character of Neil Bhoopalam for such simpleton acts which unfortunately forms the entire build up of the first half. A big let down!




My Rating: 3/5 (Only for second half, Only for Anushka)

The Lazarus Effect

Cast: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters(Clay), Sarah Bolger(Eva) and Donald Glover(Niko)
Director: David Gelb
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller


Pass time flick. If you have got nothing else to watch, this serves good :)


You may look forward to:

• Well, the movie doesn't bore you, it has its own pace and if you have come for pass time, you wont regret watching it
• Mark Duplass, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger and Donald Glover, as the remaining actors of the movie were all right with what they had within their scope

What you can sleep over:

Olivia Wilde is just about fine, she doesn't really help raising many eye brows. In fact, she reminds you a lot of Scar Jo starrer 'Lucy'.


The dampeners you should be aware of:

The story starts off pretty well, and should have continued as a subject of science fiction and less as a horror delivery. End result is that it serves none. It is a disappointment for both the science fiction loving audience as much as for the horror inclined audience.




My Rating: 2/5

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay Mishra, Alka Amin(Mother),Sheeba Chaddha(Aunt) and Seema Pahwa(Mother of Daughter)
Director: Sharat Katariya
Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy



Sweet, simple and light hearted movie. You will come back home with a smiling face and many nostalgic memories from 90's :)



You may look forward to:

• The simplicity of the story is the USP of the movie. There are no twists and turns, nor any darkness. Just a small town family in their common man lifestyles
• Ayushmann Khurrana looks absolutely cute, you cant help but feel sympathetic at his role :)
• Bhumi Pednekar steals all the limelight. She is the major lead of the movie. She looks adorable indeed. She plays this lady from small town who is rebellious, but as well is a woman who like any other woman seeks love and wants to make a happy family of her own with all the acceptance. For a debutant, she is unquestionably a charmer!
• Sanjay Mishra can never go wrong :) Whatever he plays, feels amazingly authentic and very real
• Alka Amin,Sheeba Chaddha and Seema Pahwa, are good warm supports
• The humor of the movie is just so nostalgic. It takes you back to the 90's, with every mention of small bits, be it songs from 90's or the usage of cassettes, or Limca. Sharat Katariya does a very commendable job of presenting a movie for an all family watch :)

What you can sleep over:

While Prem is seen apologizing in multiple fractions in the second half, Sandhya is never seen apologizing. She is explicitly presented to be taunting and rude as well on multiple counts. The typical humor driven jokes where its always the husband saying sorry, is sort of stupid in this context



The dampeners you should be aware of:

• The second half of the movie could be a lot better. Sudden transformation in the  couple and their behavior is a little too quick to absorb
• Exaggerated difficulty level of the final game that seals the bond between the couple, was just way too out of the bound
• Ayushmann Khurrana's role didn't have much of content, as comparable to the female lead, when this movie clearly isn't a female oriented one

 

My Rating: 3/5

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Cast: Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Strong, Michael Caine(Arthur), Sofia Boutella(Gazelle) and Sophie Cookson(Roxy)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime


One of the spy cult movies :) Entertainment guaranteed!



You may look forward to:

• Absolutely loved the way Matthew Vaughn has directed the movie. He regains the faith in Directors, where they say, no matter how cliche the script is, the fate of the movie is in the hands of the Director. Every action scene with very apt musical background wonderfully accomplished. The feel of the characters, dialogues, umpteen style, the movie just falls short of nothing when it comes to entertaining its audience. And all the credit goes to Matthew Vaughn :)
• Colin Firth is a man of style, attitude and doles out some articulated action sequences
• Taron Egerton is undoubtedly amazing for his first movie. He is much more than a debutant, he wins you over with his accent and deftness. He is every bit a young ball in the game of oldies
• Samuel L. Jackson is funny and at the same time villainous. I love the way he addresses "Hey E, this is V" :D You will love him
• I have a weak knee for Mark Strong, there is something about this British Actor which is so sophisticated, every time he appears on screen, however short or major a role, he steals my heart
• All men will love the character of Sofia Boutella :) She is swift, and single best fighter in the movie for 'Mr. Valentine :)
• Michael Caine and Sophie Cookson, are in good and ample support
• The movie stands true to the given genre of an Action/Adventure flick with umpteen Comedy, this stands out for a perfect entertainer with an A Grade Quality

The dampeners you should be aware of:

Ohh well, you have certain logical issues here and there, but the entertainment factor overshadows any dampener the movie may carry howsoever :)




My Rating: 3.5/5

Wild

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern(Mother) and Thomas Sadoski(Husband)
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Genre: Biography, Adventure, Drama



A woman and her story wrapped up on an adventure trial. If that interests you, this movie is for you :)



You may look forward to:

• Reese Witherspoon giving out quite an impressive performance. She presents to you all the nuances of a solo woman traveler, which a man doesn't have to bother about. Her strength in completing the milestones, be it the happiness in meeting another woman traveler, her suspicion whenever she meets an unknown man, every prospect meticulously covered at the backdrop of her triumph on herself over her past
• Laura Dern is the only other significant actor in the movie. The aspect of family background covered aptly and quite beautifully
• Jeany-Marc Vallée as a director does a wonderful job in covering every emotional nuances with its minutest of details and making the movie worth a watch
• Thomas Sadoski in a brief support, appreciable :)

What you can sleep over:

Well, the movie is pretty much woman oriented. As it is her story, from a woman's perspective and less likely to appeal to men.




The dampeners you should be aware of:

The movie lacked a certain drive and soul. The expectations were sky high from Reese Witherspoon, as she was the one nominated for the Oscars for Best Actress. Well, it is a good watch nonetheless, but fails touching your heart.

My Rating: 3/5