Movie Review : Avengers Endgame

The Law of Universe!

A Review without spoilers.

Avengers Endgame

Every story that connects the audience to their deepest emotions and exemplifies the law of universe will always resonate well with the masses. Each track of Marvel in the Avengers series has been built around the basic laws of the universe and human emotions. However, what works most for them is the way they blend their stories seamlessly and come out with this aww! Struck wonders of movies. Endgame is one of those heartwarming, pulse racing, everything one has been looking forward to movie.

I am only stating the obvious that we have derived through their campaign of ads and trailers. Its visually amazing and appealing. There would not have been a better story line than what they have pursued. It does deserve all the applause it has been getting, though not sure whether it justifies the hype it has created. It is definitely a multi-cast, multi-verse movie but it’s also just a fictional movie.

Spoilers are only effective if you let the hype engulf your mind to the vastness and scope of Avengers series. Endgame should be watched like any of their other Avenger movies, and you will be genuinely delighted. Since, it is a fictional Sci-Fi, the concept will remain over the top. But again that has worked out well with the direction and story-telling. I am not naming the cast or the director, as we all know them from previous series of their movies. If One isn't aware, one needs to watch their earlier movies to really enjoy and feel the impact that Endgame creates.

I will keep my review short, as we all know it is the movie to watch and an experience to not miss.

Enjoy your show and your time.

MOVIE REVIEW: ROMEO. AKBAR. WALTER (RAW)

Served Raw!

R.A.W

A Spy well hidden among us, would you have the eye to spot one? Spying an invisible patriotism that remains hidden and hence strong. The strength of mind, and its heightened senses with instincts makes for a good spy. This is what the movie R.A.W wants us to believe. Like lot of movies with messages this year, R.A.W too carries a message about the unsung heroes of our country. Director Robbie Grewal who is also one of the writers isn’t able to effectively loop the message in our brains. There is nothing new as far as direction goes or with screen play or the script. The End of the movie however, is the most interesting bit that can made my time’s worth sitting through unwanted untimely songs, romance and emotional outbursts.

There are two actors that provide a realistic and believable shade to R.A.W. The obvious one is Mr.Jackie Shroff who plays (Shrikant Rai) the head of R.A.W the intelligence agency of India. He is the one that plans, plots to recruit Jhon Abraham (Romeo) to be placed as spy in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to gain intelligence from Pakistan about their strategies before a war could erupt between the nations for the freedom of Bangladesh. The training of the spy and its script reminds us of the movie Razi. Most of the time R.A.W seems to be mirroring Razi except for the gender of the lead. Though the movie is simple, it is made too long to try our patience.  Jackie Shroff is the only delight to watch. He makes his part look real and impressive. John on the other hand does not have many dialogues to deliver and is not able to ignite the pleasure of watching a proper spy come to life on the screen. The other actor impressive is Sikander Kher playing (Col Khudabaksh Khan) who is part of ISI and is on to Romeo suspecting him to be an Indian spy. Sikander’s Pakistani Urdu hindi dialect is bang on right and his serious eye glare looks like he is putting the fear of god on to his subjects. Mouni Roy who plays the Indian diplomat in Kashmir is unwanted and is rather  a hurdle to the ongoing story line that R.A.W should have adopted.

It is definitely an Espionage movie but a very average attempt to showcase it. There are few bits of brilliance that the makers have got right. I wouldn’t still recommend this movie to waste your time on. I would rather go watch another better entertainer or catch up a sports game instead. RAW is served quite raw and hence remains undigested.

WEB SERIES REVIEW: FLIP

The Indian Disturbia!

Flip

If we are to visualize any dark content as the name suggests we think of dark, black, gore, dirty, filthy visuals. Flip definitely falls in the category of dark series with quite a bit of gore in it. Surprising though is that it’s visual backgrounds and cinematography deserve the adjective beautiful. The Movie Shaitan director Bejoy Nambiar has done a great number with Flip. He makes us rake our brain to the part that can be completely naked, dark and absolutely mean. The drone shots are amazing and a good mystery build up till the end. This is absolutely an entertaining binge watch over the weekend or an independent watch every day. With a total of 4 episodes 45 minutes each, has a different story to tell with the same inference to dark psychological behavior patterns of humans that the obvious disturbing behavior is acceptable and just for the masses.

My Review  1^st Episode – The Hunt

This one is absolutely beautiful to watch, has some amazing drone shots of the waterfalls, River, Trees and the sprawling jungle full of red clothed humans are being hunted. There can be many potential parables about the hunter and the hunted but I am not going to give this one out. it’s a progressive mystery through out the episode and giving out the story would dilute the effect on individual brain watching it. This episode cast has Sheetal Menon playing Raza, throwing in some great action along with superlative acting. The character is most striking at the very end of the episode. The end of the episode leaves your brain with disturbing answers of your own and that is the brilliance of – The Hunt.

More episode reviews to continue...

Movie Review: Mard ko Dard Nahin Hota.

No Pain Much Gain!

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota.

How we all wish that somehow, we cease to feel pain and curse it when we do. So, to make a movie on pain that isn’t felt yet experienced, scores on originality of content. All content however are inspirations and references from other works. This defines the most genuine and true effort towards the art or craft  of Storytelling. “Mard ko dard nahin hota” is one of the lines from a famous movie, delivered by legendary Amitabh Bachchan and the strength of this dialogue still inspires film makers.  

Director Vasan Bala has used subtle and fine humor through out Mard ko dard nahi hota to narrate his version of a person if was not to feel the physical pain would not actually escape to experience pain in his life.  The editing, screen play and direction especially of the action sequence is excellent. The hilarious bits aren’t over the top and synchronized seamlessly in every screenplay. Mard ko dard nahin hota is very well made artistically and is extremely entertaining. All action sequences are great and flawless. Most of them are karate and hand kombat. The debutant Abhimanyu Dassani who plays Surya jisko dard nahi hota, doesn’t look like a debutant. His acting is perfect along with action. Radhika Madan who plays his childhood friend Supri is impressive with her action scenes. Not a single blow or punch is out of place and has preformed all her stunts on her own. Coming from the Tele world she is surprisingly the actor we all call an all-rounder. Mahesh Manjrekar as Surya’s Grandfather (Azuba) is excellent with his short jibes and comic timing. He creates the perfect masala for an entertainer. The two Characters (Jimmy and Karate Mani) played by Gulshan Devaiah is every rupee’s worth to watch.  He is the soul of the movie and his acting is effortless like flowing water he is flowing as well.

The movie could have been shortened as there wasn’t much to its story than what is revealed in its first hour. It sometimes feels deliberately stretched and can lead to some boredom. I will say that it is very well thought and executed concept that will leave a lasting impact after having watched it.

I recommend that it should definitely be a good surprising movie to watch, in spite of the heavy story it is extremely light for the eyes and brain. Enjoy it!

Movie Review : Kesari

Forgotten Reality of Indian Mettle!

 Kesari

We live in fortunate times where our scope and sphere are unlimited. The lost stories of our History that rust in dust are now screaming of its well-deserved glory. Patriotism in films is at its high. The content era is here. Kesari is content that can intensify emotions, sour heartbeats and waterworks at the end. However, the resurrection of the Hand combat battle is a time travel experience to it’s reality. That being said is not the only part of the movie that compels your body to sweat in the Air conditioning. Each character has its bravery transcend heroism making fictional super heroes look like play toys. There are scenes that engross your brain to the intensity of ignorance to the gore, however according to me Director Anurag Singh manages to balance this aspect to not let it look like gore and yet give the audience the exact virtual experience of the brutality suffered by the 21 brave soldiers of the 36 Sikh Regiment of the British Army in India. This battle is a tale of 21 Sikh Soldier’s willing decision to fight to the last to prevent the Afghani Afridi/Orakazi tribe that attacked the fort of Saragarhi with strength of about 10000-12000 men.

Kesari does carry the emotional elements to connect the audience to the human and emotional side of these Sikh men. The makers have tried to put few logical elements that may have influenced the invasion of this fort, but have missed the adequate impact, however the script is quite moving and does not have repetitive slogan or band wagon of patriotic upliftment. The satire has few hits and few misses. The Romantic angles are just case building, seemingly filling the reel time. Kesari could have been kept short and simple with merit in its content and absolute accuracy of its recorded event in the history. The extra parts are the safety commercial nets with an obvious section of Indian cinema audience that resonates with it. With Akshay Kumar as the lead Kesari as Havildar Ishar Singh is and undoubted winner. The fierce hand combat battle is an excellent piece and gives the audience glimpse of how Havildar Ishar Singh’s mental strength would have made him command a battalion of 21 soldiers to fight a battle with an obvious outcome against the invading 10000 men. There would have been simply no one else bringing Havildar Ishar Singh back to life on silver screen other than Akshay Kumar.  He justifies the other aspects of the character of a Jat Singh. The bravery of each soldier is depicted well and is compelling that one would want to look beyond the adjective called “Brave” and “confidence” for them.

This chapter out of our glorious history that our army has been so long demanding the government to include in our history text books seals their demand. The movie deserves the watch for its story which is made to provide the virtual experience of the never seen bravery and confident minds of soldiers to end the enemy at all costs is not even imagined in fiction. The documented claim of 21 soldiers killing at least 180 men of the enemy with only basic weapons is bravery beyond the realm of mind's eye. It is not a tale but an outcome of an intensified brave mind and souls that succeeded in its toughest ask. I strongly Implore to let it live and bask in the glory it deserves.        

Movie Review : Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

Straight walk on wobbly grounds!

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga

Love cannot be Found Where It Doesn’t Exist, Nor Can it be Hidden where It Truly Does. – William Shakespeare.

We are a country obsessed with Love and its shenanigans, so many careers and businesses have flourished on the story telling about Love. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisha Laga is one of those love stories with what they call in the movie containing the element of “ Syappa.” It in a way also elevates the present level of syappa being traditionally shown in Romantic movies. Two lovers trying to win hearts of the world and family against them, with a twist of inter-cast love-shove and finally they woe the audience with a message of undying eternal love between two individuals.  This time it is about the Family and world’s real acceptance of Love regardless of the gender mix.  

The movie opens like a typical romantic Bollywood movie with the fun and frolic of a wedding incomplete without Love sprouting out of first sight. All the incognito hormones raging and screaming for more of the intimacy with light touches and brushes of body make a fun mix tadka, with finally a watch full hot-headed brother with heightened senses of vision, hearing and morality, deciphers the love mystery and catches the culprit to hold captive with all means possible. So begins the same old merry-go-round of characters with escapes, chases, rage, tears and fears on the part of audience.  The escapee is Sonal K Ahuja who portrays ( Sweety Chaudhary ) Daughter of  (Balbir Chaudhary ) played by Anil Kapoor who is a forced business tycoon by his mother, nurturing the childhood ambition of being India’s best chef residing in a small town called Moga in Punjab. Finally, Sweety in one of her escapes meets (Sahil Mirza) Rajkumar Rao a struggling play writer in Delhi, son of a famous film producer who is set to create his own niche without family’s help or involvement. She seeks friendship while he interprets it as a sign of true love. This is pretty much the first half of the movie. But as the famous writer once wrote…

The course of True Love never did Run Smooth. – William Shakespeare.

The second half begins the journey of Sahil with help of (Chatro) played by the ever so talented Juhi Chawla who travel to Moga to win the Love of Sweety and her family. That’s when all the Shenanigans actually begin. The best scenes of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha toh Aisa Laga are between Balbir and Chatro who is a divorcee. They are the best bits of the film with marvelous set of comic and romance timing.  These are ever lasting actors with brilliance in their craft, that it is nearly impossible to associate them outside of the characters they play in the film.  The movie proceeds towards relaying its core civic message about the importance of family showing empathy and understanding towards a growing child confused by it's own internal mixed messages about the choices and attraction towards the same gender, and to let them live with the same amount of normalcy and affection as any and every child deserves. The romance between Sweety and her love interest Kuhu is shown beautifully without any awkward scene to avoid controversies and backlash. I particularly enjoyed this bit of love chemistry between two romantically involved individuals like in any good romantic film. The struggle however, in the movie is about the comedy which in most cases is average except between Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla. The story telling of the director Shelly Chopra Dhar doesn’t grip you to the movie, all the while easy predictability can give the boredom that even comedy fillers may not be able to lift. Overall it’s a good film to watch for some light time-pass and to watch if one has not yet grasped fully the message it portrays for the society at large. I end this review with this little quote I like.

 Trust your Intuition and be Guided by Love - Charles Eirsenstein

Movie Review Manikarnika : The Queen of Jhansi

One True Queen with Substance!

Manikarnika : The Queen of Jhansi

So much of our history is full of Courage and Heroics, which can be made into legendary films. Manikarnika is one of those Legendary films. We all have read about The Queen of Jhansi and know that she was the pioneer to sprout the idea of a free One complete  Bharat Varsha. Her courage and connect to the people at large made her the legend known as “Jhansi Ki Rani.”  A true Queen a rear Jewel in the Indian freedom fight with all the mettle of a fearless Warrior, Governor, Strategist and above all a True Leader. Manikarnika is all about this one True Queen with substance, hence you will see her occupy almost all the frames of the movie. I have no complaints as it is absolutely well deserved.

I don’t think any debutant director would have picked up a historical representation and portrayal of larger than life Hero like The Queen of Jhansi. Kangna Ranut gets full marks for directing along side Krish Jagarlamudi known for his work in Telugu Cinema.  Technically the war scenes and sword fight sequences are exceptionally perfected. However, the emotional side of the queen and her early life incidences require missing finesse. The initial sword tutorial sessions seem unfitting on Kangna who plays Manikarnika. But she pretty much makes up for them in the second half whereby she excels every move with extreme resilience and rigor making her credible for a warrior queen who has been playing with swords and horses since childhood. Every dilemma, emotion and helplessness of the situation that transforms into this courage that comes from within her, are these intense expressions of eyes, Kangna almost gives you goosebumps. The Patriotism that makes every woman in Jhansi fight for her queen is a voice that can shake the Himalayan ranges. Kangna playing this warrior queen is the ultimate tribute well given. Manikarnika may have well been dramatized and parts of other characters been reduced, but it’s purpose to show the life, choices, mental and physical strength of a woman with forward thinking, will give you an experience of history coming alive in front of your eyes. The dampener is the scripting for East India company whereby they have hardly any dialogues to deliver other than the few short ones on repeat mode.  The gruesomeness has been purposefully kept low. However, one can imagine the real intensity of these wars.

We should be watching Manikarnika along with our children, as this tale should replace fairy tales. Our children ought to know, what real courage and being fearless means? In today’s world where petty issues become the deciding factors for governance, and hashtags rule. The reality of what it real means to stand for something right and making hard choices needs to be reminded. I am glad that creative arts allow and make space for Manikarnika to remain immortal and our privileged generation to inspire and course correct. I never give stars to any movie in my review but I would give Manikarnika : The Queen of Jhansi 4 stars out of 5 for the fact to have been made. It will be a shame for any Indian anywhere in the world to ever miss an opportunity to watch it. The review would be incomplete without the mention of the end that left me feeling and thinking “Khub ladi Mardani woh to Jhansi wali Rani.” Jai Hind!

Movie Review : Bumblebee

Rumble of Emotions!

Bumblebee

Who isn’t a sucker for Blue round Iris full of vivid Emotions? We all have treated our gadgets, cars, vehicles etc with lot of love and emotion. If ever they returned the favor? Who wouldn’t love to see their car’s mechanical face with big, blue eyes full of emotion reflecting the same love you hold for it? This prequel part of Transformers is all about the emotional connection and chemistry between a teenage girl and the first Transformer that landed on earth and how B-127 became Bumblebee.

Travis Knight the Oscar Nominated director for best Animation film sets the emotional tone for Bumblebee. The look and every shot of emotion is captured and executed to perfection. According to me this exceeds expectation to be the best among all the Transformer movies so far. Bumblebee will definitely give us the vibe of revisiting ET. We will learn why exactly the transformers landed on the planet earth and their planetary history reminds us of the Alien Superman and the destruction of its planet Krypton. Bumblebee is flawless synchronization among Emotions, Comedy and Action giving you a wholesome package and satisfaction of watching a complete movie the way it should be. It is all in the details. The story of Bumblebee the movie is set in the 80’s San Francisco where B-127 crash lands in the middle of military exercise led by secretive government agency and its commander Jack Burns (John Cena). Followed by the arrival of a deception pursuer intent on destroying Bumblebee, threatens to tip the movie over into the series of overindulgent action set pieces. Bumblebee escapes, and ends up losing its memory and ability of speech turns into a Beetle. Later a teenage girl Charlie played by (Hailee Steinfeld) from a dysfunctional American family mourning her father’s death finds it among car wreckage. She wanted a car that her mother couldn’t afford so she decides to repair the Beetle the way her father had taught her to.  Comically B-127 reveals itself that makes both Charlie and Bumblebee afraid of each other, only later to help each other emotionally as both try to adopt. In the process what entails are a series of hilarious, emotional and comic instances similar to that of ET. Knight has served the audience a gleeful movie with wit, warmth and whole bunch of heart. It’s a skillful shaping of what’s essentially a coming of age story for both Charlie and Bumblebee.

The filmmakers portrayal of Bumblebee as the mid-‘60s Volkswagen Beetle may seem like a strange choice, but this model was the character’s original configuration in early stages of the Transformers timeline before morphing into the more muscular Chevrolet Camaro in later movies.  Knight adequately incorporates the Beetle’s familiar, friendly shape into both rowdy action sequences and the more emotional dramatic scenes to form Bumblebee’s immediately recognizable secondary character.

But Bumblebee’s generally warm demeanor isn’t the prequel’s only appealing upgrade. Where earlier Transformer Movies often objectified its female characters, Bumblebee gives us a young woman who’s smart, vulnerable and nuanced. Some of the strokes in the story are stiff and the awkward shift into action pieces can be shaky but Bumblebee has such obvious fondness for its characters that those shortcomings can mostly be put aside. Who Knew underneath all mechanics and action this franchise cultivated a little heart?

Movie Review : Simmba

The Rise of Super Hero Cops!

Simmba

Indian Cinema has always been big on cop capabilities. Relentless, Dashing, Aviator flaunting non-cape crusaders are the Indian Cops. Rohit Shetty the Director with Simmba adds a “tadka” personality to this Super Hero cop who is little over the edge, bad boy, with a crazy bone among obvious traits like strong in action sequence, can deliver a “kadak” punch, emotional enough to care, and gives “tagda” speech.

Simmba a signature style Rohit Shetty film that has all the masala in it. Yet you are left with a question to Mr. Shetty where are the Cars flying scenes? Which is what Rohit Shetty loves showing in most of his movies. Personally, I was really looking forward to the car wreckage. May be the budget didn’t permit him this time. One is sure to find good hearty laugh and emotional drama with minimal super strong action sequence to give it the masala movie viewing experience. Ranveer Singh Played as Sangram Bhalerao Aka Simmba an orphan, is a corrupt ACP always creating opportunities to extract more and in style, as a funny quirky, singing, dancing, cheerful bad boy making his way into your hearts. He also has his typical lines that he delivers so perfectly like “Tell me something I don’t know” “Jey mala mahit nahin tey sanga”. There is no bigger delight than watching him in the first half and laughing at the sheer fun vibe that is Simmba.

Simmba through his good connections with the minister gets transferred to Mirmar Police station known to be a gold mine for corrupt officers. This is where he meets Sarah Ali Khan (Shagun) who plays his love interest. She is  the daughter of an encounter specialist Father. She is now an orphan running a catering service that supplies lunch dabbas to the cops at the Miramar police station. Like most movies where the hero is made to look larger than life the heroine has very little to do than to dress well, sing and dance.

The chemistry however is between Simmba and Ashutosh Rana (Nityanand Mohile) the head constable who is a lone non-corrupt hawaldar at Miramar Police station. They banter like the married couple each trying to influence the other with their theory on becoming corrupt. Mohile keeps refusing to honor his grade and pushes him to become righteous with his police duty. 

Aakruti Dave is a medical Student that teaches children in the evening outside the church in goa. Simmba considers her to be his little sister. The story changes when she dies of rape in pursuit of evidence that children were being used to transport drugs.This is when Simmba turns to likes of Singham  and stands up against the rapist brothers of  a drug mafia Villain (Durva Ranade) played by Sonu Sood. The entire second half is about him rising to the occasion getting justice for the father and doing the right for the greater good of the society. The real Singham that is Ajay Devgan specially appears to show how it’s done. He is the state appointed in charge for investigation of encountered Ranade Brothers by Simmba; suspects of rape and Murder of Aakruti. You will not want to miss out on this action sequence where Singham pulls out Simmba from a tough situation with Durva Ranade . In all it’s the making of the Cop super heroes in all its glory doing the right, and standing by the right. There are bouts of emotional drama to show how a corrupt cop turns into doing right. These scenes can make you count seconds to just get it over with. Emotional Drama is definitely a weakling in the story and not a strong forte of Rohit Shetty in an otherwise a pretty power packed film. There isn’t a dull moment in the entire first half for which this movie shouldn’t at all be missed and second half for Ajay Devgan.

Movie Review : Zero

Odds that Even out

Zero

What is confidence in life? Bauua played by Shah Rukh Khan will tell you. The world has changed from being underdogs to believers in exploring every thought and idea that pops to the head. Extremes tread on thin lines and so does Bauua a loud, eccentric, extremely confident with a tall ego and short height.

One thing to give out is that you will not fall short of enjoying the various facets of this character Bauua who keeps landing himself in to difficult situations on his own accord and gets out of it through his little rough charm. I have to give it to the director Anand L. Rai to bring out such rough around the edges characters in his movies. I simply can not imagine anyone other than Shah Rukh Khan playing this character, it is so him. The king of romance even with his short height weaves the magic we have always demanded in every one of his movies. This triangle  though, is so reverse from the last Yash Raj directorial (Jab Tak Hai Jaan). We have Anushka Sharma as scientist named Afiya with cerebral palsy stuck on a wheel chair, illustrating a very close resemblance to Stephen Hawking . Katrina Kaif plays Babita Kumari an actress jilted in love and unable to move forward. Anushka fails to sell her character whereas Kartrina woes us with her near perfect performance. Most intriguing aspect to Bauua and Alifiya falling in love with each other is their ability to joke on themselves and their disability or them being differently able. The story is about three odd characters damaged in their own ways eventually finding their balance for themselves and what they truly as individuals are.  The first half of the movie is completely signature style Anand L. Rai and keeps us glued to explore all the three characters and their odd traits. However, he chooses to flip these characters in the second half which is a stretched continuation of the story line. The film should have been a two hour affair and would have been precise with its story but looks forcibly extended.

The dialogues and self jibes are hilarious in the first half and seem little over the top in the second half. The characters that seem real in the first half develop super capabilities in the second half and tend to look a little out of place from logical progression stand point.  Yet, the build up from the first half of the story keeps you rooted to know the unfolding of the characters and their romance. The dialogues for the part of Katrina Kaif are the most interesting and well delivered. I liked the part where she narrates a very complex made up story about her parents, and the second instance where she drags Bauua out of her house by his collar, are extremely fresh and flawless scenes. So, for me Katrina is the show stopper for this film. 

Zero falls short to sizzle in our heads because the complexities and tangles become difficult to manage and entangle from. It is still a great effort at a story line of differently able, yet confident people making the same ordinary mistakes as our species normally do. I will therefore implore to watch Zero for a differently able perspective to romance and its shenanigans.

Movie Review: Badhai Ho

The Later’s Baby!

Badhai ho

As they say Love like Wine gets better with Age, so should the sex!  And Bam! We have rocking pregnant parents. The wonderful journey of this pregnancy is full of giggles, laughs and winks. There are no uncomfortable complications or scenes throughout the film, which makes it one of the best family time entertainment. Needless to say, there is subtle satire as well as hilarious bits of laughter. The society’s unacceptability of couples having sex, who have grown up children is tastefully ridiculed.

Badhai Ho is about lives disheveled over the pregnancy of a middle-class, middle-aged couple Jeetu (Gajraj Rao) his wife Priyamvada (Neena Gupta) living in in Lodhi Colony in Delhi with old aged typical mother (Surekha Sikri) and two grown up sons one appearing his board exams Gullar (Shardul Rana) and the other Nakul (Ayushmann Khurrana) working in an IT company having a girlfriend Renee (Sanya Malhotra) from a Delhi socialite widowed mother. The film unfolds his perspective to having pregnant Parents.

The acid-tongued mother in-law is the best acted part along with Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao that do not deliver lecture lines but stay true to their character of this couple that has sheer chemistry even at middle age of life and can find love and solace in each other’s company. Two people who understand each other perfectly and can fit into each other’s life so well is a rarity in itself. The makers have chalked this relationship delicately and perfectly. Director Amit Sharma skillfully makes these complex characters and their entwined relationships understandable and relatable to the audience. That is a job well done!

It has everything that a typical Indian family mind set has with a mother in-law doting her son, picking up claims of incompetence in the daughter in-law. Two children who will feel embarrassed at the thought of their parents having sex with judgmental comments of the world to deal with. Add to this the drama at the wedding having the relatives with their short and bitter tongues give us the perfect masala for laughter.

The middle-class dysfunctional family with set core values ends up a perfect functional family at the end. The topic of late pregnancy and intimacy between middle-aged couples could not have been handled any better than this and when they come with messages in satire and comedy blended should not be missed.

  

Movie Review: First Man

Armstorming to Moon!

First Man

The tales of every successful and unsuccessful achiever intrigues the world over. It is simply human nature to be inquisitive about the shortcomings and struggles of those who succeed or fail in a Capital way. First Man as they rightly say is a story of Neil Armstrong the first man in the history of mankind to set foot on our Moon in 1969. The Film adaptation is based on his official Biography by James R. Hansen. At the center of all Space travel is this one thought of being there alone and lonely “What if I got there, got to the moon and couldn’t get back… I’m afraid to die alone, so far from home. And if there’s no God, then that’s really, really alone.” This sense of cosmic isolation echoes throughout a range of space movies. It now resurfaces in powerful form in First Man, Damien Chazelle’s real-life account of the 1969 moon landing, which turns a spectacular space-race adventure into a low-key study of grief.

The first scene is of Ryan Gosling playing Neil Armstrong almost skipping an experimental plane off into space finally landing it safely back. The film is all about his love for his dear daughter Karen who leaves him too soon at the age of 3 suffering from brain tumor, making him desire to leave the surly bonds of earth. when Nasa is trying to recruit trainee astronauts, he applies in hopes of a new beginning. Yet he is’nt able to wipe out Karen’s memory that haunts him throughout training and into his Apollo 11 mission – a vision of her hair running through his fingers recurring at key moments of crisis.

The direction and cinematography is so brilliant as one sees shots of Armstrong alone in the darkness of his house and same in space. Chazelle describes this tale as existing “between the moon and the kitchen sink.” he juxtaposes convincingly evoked Nasa sequences with back-garden scenes of beers and barbecues in which the moon glimmers distantly through the trees. Clare Foy who plays Janet Armstrong his wife is actually the real shine of the movie she plays the silent, smart wife-mother so well and her character is the one that struggles to keep the connection for Neil for the two worlds open as he seems to have closed the door for his family post the demise of his daughter. It is as if the space created in his heart is equivalent to the vast loneliness of space of universe and hence he is able to drift into the reality of this universal space as he feels within his heart. There are many emotional facets to Neil’s story as lots of sacrifice from other astronauts, deaths, accidents end up to finally a successful landing on the moon surface which was a huge race between USA and Russia back in those days.

The scenes of the space travel and moon landing are brilliantly picturized and will remind us of the movie Gravity, but First Man is more than a sci-fi movie, and lot about the struggle for the project to work successfully and lives involved with it. I will recommend to watch the film for the story of Neil Armstrong who I felt was lucky to have had succeeded over many others to successfully complete the first human Lunar mission.

Movie Review: Venom

Poison Cravings!

Venom

Why the world does not need a venom spewing alien superhero? Simply because this named Venom does not spew no venom! Duh! What were the makers thinking? Literally, logically why name an alien “Venom” that isn’t poisonous and rather feeds on other species? I mean look at the poster swirly and pointy tongue, far too many sharp teeth and eyes that make the letter "V", that is it. The creature looks more like the Alien from the movie “Alien Vs Predator.” The makers really wanted to play around with the concept of Good can be Evil, Evil can be Good so they created this illogical version of a superhero stemming out of the monstrous alien. They should have just shown the good-looking Tom Hardy as is and we would have accepted him as super hero and would have been happy watching him. With absence in logic to begin with Venom falls in the category of comedy movies to entertain yourself this year.

Few far fetched witty dialogues, page after page of borrowed action sequence and least bit of originality, the only thing that feels right is watching an alien as parasite hosted by Tom Hardy bounce around each other and their conversations in the head.

The lack of hope and love for humanity is the concept that has ruled in Hollywood for more than a decade now. They can’t do without  showing aliens living among  humans, so now they want to show aliens that dwell within humans. One would expect power packed, mind-boggling action sequences. All you will get are  the car and bike chases, which I found illogical as the Venom the alien was much faster on its own so why put him on any vehicle? There aren’t super fights between the good and the bad alien and this one fight only breaks out at the very end for a very short period. The alien says that he has started to like this human (Tom Hardy) but why the alien chose him and killed the other hosts is blurry and unclear. There are more questions than answers. The makers really need to visit how they want to unfold this story because I do anticipate a sequel.   

Venom with no venom can spew hilarious moments and Tom Hardy can bring across self-humor delightfully. It is a good time pass and you would come out of the hall happy and laughing.  I would recommend it for things to watch over the weekend after a bad week.

  

Movie Review: Andhadhun

Eccentric Connections!

Andhadhun

Frenzied tendencies or simply bold dark sides, whichever way you try to construe this saga it only keeps mind baffling. It's not a light watch but a guess what happens next kind of watch. You will wonder what would you do if placed in these situations. Will there ever be a dull moment? Nope! Andhadhun is truly the director’s artistic genius of his craft. Director Sriram Raghvan has his very peculiar style of storytelling that amalgamates music to the eccentric crimes in the movie. It is all a stylish display to your eyes.

Andhadhun has all its characters showing out their eccentric dark side when met with desperate situations. One keeps wondering of the actions we would take while facing circumstances if placed in the similar situation. Andhadhun is definitely not for light viewing though there are circumstantial humor bouts, the movie will still give you the heavy weight feeling. One is compelled to wonder the negative shades that humans can display in absence of choice and to survive under the most dreadful circumstances. The thriller with murders with not so much mystery is a clear entertainer. Every single shot is tightly choreographed to provide that perfect masala, yet it seems so easy and shocking at the same time.

The first half rolls on to us, it’s a fun enjoyable ride one after the other. The plot changes quite a bit in the second half with angles totally different. Every single character performance is perfect out of the text book so as to say, however the real deal is Tabu. I am mesmerized by her sheer ability to bring alive any shade the character wants to take. We surely need to see her more in our movies. Andhadhun definitely revolves around Akash played by Ayushmann Khurrana as this is his story and all the events that affect him. Radhika Apte has made her acting quite stereo type and is visible through out her roles.  

The retro songs along with pieces of Beethoven to showcase the most twisted parts is brilliant, it’s a different class altogether by Sriram Raghvan. When every single aspect of the story telling is going well there is hardly any reason left to not watch this saga. The end of the plot is left upon the audience to infer, so really it’s up to us on how twisted we want it to be. Watch Andhadhun for its dhun!

Movie Review: Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Askew Brain Bulbs!

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

The makers had their brain bulbs askew when they filmed Uttarakhand. Our beautiful UK (UttaraKhand) how I missed looking at thy beauty because Batti was Gul!  Here I am wondering how can someone take all this beauty and make it look so dull and dark even during the day scenes. What works is the message the makers are trying to relay through the movie and just one song by Arijit Singh  “ Har Har Gange” one of the best tracks on the famed river doing some justice.  The director Shree Narayan Singh really needs to better the story telling and script writing. There is absence of freshness and creativity. They had to really spark their own brain bulbs to justice the concept maybe they had their batti gul. It could have been so much better than this.

I got fully bored in first 15 minutes, that sitting through was a challenge for my brain cells. The first half felt like a pathetic love triangle which lacked chemistry and shine. Girl trying to choose her partner for life from two close friends while giving them each one week to date her, made my brain bulbs defuse. All three main characters simply look dull and out of place. Dialogues are clichéd, unbelievable to hear them as even just noise. An actor of a caliber to act like he did in “Haidar” doesn’t look like even trying to sell his character as a small-time selfish lawyer. The other two actors Shraddha Kapoor and Divyendu Sharma are barley mediocre. The scenes of Rishikesh, Lakshman Jhula, River Ganga and the greens of Uttarakhand will look better through normal cell phones captured by normal people posted on social media. The usage of local language to bring local touch to the movie is funny. They had only two words sporadically placed in sentences. Seriously, why did they even try? Should have kept it normal hindi maybe they wanted to bring across humor.

Batti Gul Meter Chalu struggles to look like an interesting plot in the second half. The story becomes too given and ineffective. I just kept wishing for it to get over. The courtroom scenes lackluster which the makers were thinking to pass on as intelligent courtroom drama. To me it looked more like a banter between two lawyers. There were no evidences or fact presentation that could be called as part of the story. They did provide few facts that said about them doing their research right and that’s all to it.

Batti Gul Meter Chalu doesn’t work at all and I wish there was a grievance redressal I could complain about wasted time on it. If you don’t wish to Askew your working brain bulbs, please do avoid this movie at all costs. Your brain will thank you for it. 

Movie Review : Manmarziyaan

Love thy Confusion!

Manmarziyaan

Let’s just say Bollywood movies are doing the resurrections quite well now, not the horror though. Manmarziyaan is a resurrection of “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” to Anurag Kashyap style romance. Yes! Romance and Anurag Kashyap in the same sentence, highly unlikely of the two to tango, but they do! and wow us completely. I have good laughs and cheeky smiles through out the movie. I did not enjoy a movie like Hum dil de chuke sanam and yet this one was a joy to watch. Anurag Kashyap brings out his subtle side, which I never knew existed from his brashness of storytelling so one is pleasantly surprised and happy. Manmarziyaan is a genius reflection on love and companionship, keeps the audience from picking up a side. The first half will fly away, the second half gets a little slow specially the end. Though a true love story should have an element of a long walking conversation that vaporizes all the obstacles and I am not disappointed at all.

I have only praises for the entire cast to have played  every shade of their character to near perfection. The trio of Vicky Kaushal, Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan make their characters shine so bright and believable. Vicky Kaushal is showing Chameleon traits as he stands out noticeably in the movie. Unbelievable portrayal of character completely diverse from his earlier roles. It could have gone so wrong slipped out in many ways but he does’nt let us down at all, he is brilliant with his craft. The striking contrast of a silent personality of an NRI banker, Abhishek’s character is however harder to achieve and would have killed the whole effect of the story if at all the audience felt compelled to choose the opposite side out of boredom for his character. But that doesn’t happen and the Bachchan charisma spell bounds.

Every scene is an unending delight to watch. The movement of the story is flawless with good editing. Gladly no fairy tale, It is a modern day practical story with Love, Lust, Drama, Confusion and lots of brain mush. The music is powerful and Amit Trivedi gives terrific songs with this one, the best bunch this year. I would say Manmarziyaan is Anurag’s dabble into main stream romance which leaves a strong, straight powerful blow. Do not miss out on this one.

Movie Review : Paltan

Bordered with Blood

The history that needs to be told

Movie Paltan

Some movies and content go beyond errors, technicality and novices. The fact that these stories are being told to our generation is an achievement in itself and thus deserves our respect and honor. If we could ever have a voting for our favorite enemy the result would be unanimous of it being the partitioned neighbor as it keeps the border between the two nations burning with fire. Hence, when I get to watch the story of the actual deceitful neighbor I grab the chance.

Paltan tells a compelling story of Nathu La military skirmishes between India and China in 1967. India attempting to barb fence the Indian side of the border.  Nathu La looks to be very a beautiful stretch and that’s the best technical part of the movie. The director of the epic movie (Border) J P Dutta fails to bring out the same magic with Paltan. It falls short in moving the audience. Primarily the movie is too long, dialogues too predictable and big motivational patriotic lectures are so over rated. The cast is extensive but none get the acting part right. The movie is dragged and very slow paced. The enemy which is china’s military are bunch of actors that are laughable, their constant fixated stare throughout the movie is hilarious to watch along with their sarcastic reminder of “hindi-chini bhai bhai”. Nevertheless, the Paltan scenes are accurate and some of the story telling is really good which makes it a pleasant watch.

The few reasons to watch this movie are the fact that we are Indians, and it is definitely a historic tale that needs to be heard out of respect for our army the actual soldiers who keep losing their blood as water for our border safe keeping. 

Movie Review : The Nun

 Comedy from the genre of Horror

The Nun

All that is typical in a horror movie is present in The Nun. Yet it falls short to entertain, thrill, scare us. The good part is the protagonist’s good acting Taissa Farmiga who plays the part of Sister Irene who is gifted of visions providing signs of solutions. She fulfills the part for continuation of storyline for (The Conjuring 2). It is a good watch for some of its comedy parts because of the predictability of the scary scenes, lacking innovation or creativity. I had actually gone to watch a scary movie but ended up watching comedy.

James Wan the Producer and story writer isn’t able to make the movie shine or stand out. According to me The Conjuring first chapter was his best work and so far the most entertaining as it was directed by him. The Nun is directed by Corin Hardy set in a village in Romania, a secluded abby in 1950’s, hence I wonder if all the knee-jurk sequences are old and archaic. It has all the elements like a powerful demon attempting to emerge out of hell on to the earth and trying to find a human body to infest. With the Vatican Church sending an exorcist specialist Father to investigate the castle along with a special psychic to help him. The Father is the weakest character I have ever seen in a horror movie. He unearths nothing great from his knowledge and doesn’t show any authentic or otherwise skill of investigation for such phenomenons, hence no intelligent discoveries, methods are displayed or uncovered. The demon or the Nun isn’t scary, powerful or effective. Her visual doesn’t do anything to your head or heart. 

The development of the story isn’t exciting or anything new, almost predictable. It only creates associations for the audience to understand the beginning parts from both Conjuring movies. Since we do see the demon Valac coming back on earth in the Conjuring 2, I predict a The Nun 2 ought to be made for the sole purpose of story continuation and fill in the blanks. Hopefully it will be better in story development. Watch The Nun once only for the story continuation and if you are a fan like me of the typical horror movies that has a demon, a church and a father as an exorcist. It will still disappoint you, but the comedy will ensure time spent well.