Ugly (2014) (Hindi)

It takes a lot of courage to portray the darkest sides of human behavior.  People are capable of much worse than we could imagine – given the right circumstances.  Most of us are aware of that but live in denial.  To the film maker who doesn’t believe in the beaten path, this aspect of homo sapiens sapiens is nothing short of a delectable treat.

pk

A school friend of mine, Paul Simon, preempted my review with his two bits, “Saw PK now.  Alright movie. No harm skipping. Too much of satyameva jayate style message”.  To Paul and the rest of you reading this I say, “I could not have summarized it better”. I have the same feeling for most movies from Rajkumar Hirani.  This was no different.

Happy Ending

Saif Ali Khan is getting a tad predictable these days.  Over the past 4 years, he is trying to carve a niche for himself as the leading hero for Romantic Comedies. Not unfortunately but not excitingly either it doesn’t seem to be putting forth anything different for audiences.

Penguins of Madagascar

When you have Skipper (Tom McGrath), Kowalski (Chris Miller), Private (Christopher Knights) and Rico (Conrad Vernon) as the lead characters in a movie, you can be assured that there will be no shortage of excitement.  The cute looking but aggressive Penguins from the Madagascar series finally get an entire movie to themselves. Long awaited and well deserved indeed.

Bhopal : A Prayer For Rain

For the people in Bhopal, the abbreviation MIC stands for emotions ranging from horror to despair to rage.  With an organization called Union Carbide it would go onto a reaction that would be justifiable in any court of law.  But when it comes to a certain Warren Anderson (Martin Sheen), I can quite confidently say that they would not want him to Rest in Peace. Anderson passed away on 29^th September 2014.

Sulemani Keeda

The normal world would probably watch this one just out of curiosity.  A name like Sulemani Keeda will of course attract enough eyeballs.  Those who cannot control their curiosity would be subject to some reasonable fare.  Sulemani Keeda in one word is “quirky”.  Not path breaking cinema in any form but quirky.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

The outstanding part about Exodus : Gods and Kings is the courage that Ridley Scott has shown with telling the story without any qualms about rubbing people the wrong way.  The Old Testament (from whatever little I know) shows God in a very dark form.  One who didn’t hesitate before wreaking havoc amongst the Egyptians.

Action Jackson (2014) (Hindi)

There is a point in time towards the end of Action Jackson (we shall call it AJ here on forth) where Khushi (Sonakshi Sinha) apologises to Jay (Ajay Devgn) for a misunderstanding and tells him that she misses Vishy (Ajay Devgn). The movie instantly cuts to “Chichhora Piya”.

It was at this time that a section of the audience at the preview show broke into a loud laugh.  The pent up frustration over nearly 2 hours had exploded.  The rest of the 30 minutes was a breeze in comparison to the excruciating pain that Prabhu Deva and his writers (Shiraz Ahmed & A C Mughil) had put us through.

It took 2 hours for the audience to actually realize that the intent was to make a comedy and not an action movie.  We were all idiots to have expected something different.  We had expected India’s Michael Jackson to deliver an all-out quality action flick.  How could we have done that?

We had experienced Ramaiyya Vastavaiya and R… Rajkumar last year right? So we were the guilty party here. So the secret to sustain Action Jackson and most of all a certain Musa (Kunaal Roy Kapur) is to just laugh at everything that comes up on screen.

It is of course funny to see Sev Puris being carried by Musa on a bike in a manner that the Puris fly towards the biker that’s following.  Not surprising at all that the biker is from Gemini Circus and manages to land each one of them right into his mouth.  He of course asks for water after all of it.

It is of course hilarious to watch Ajay Devgn dance (or should we say attempt to dance).  It is of course comic to see goons dressed in shoddy red suits getting thrashed and of course quartered.  The quartering is thanks to the Samurai sword that is hugely successful in making a clean cut across AJ’s suit but of course doesn’t nick him one bit in the process.

If that doesn’t make you laugh your guts off (and mind you I am being extremely sarcastic – lest someone takes me seriously) then the point where Marina (Manasvi Mamgai) has just skewered Musa (Thank God for that!!! – makes you love Marina).  She leans over into his ear and says, “Where is AJ.  I miss him.  It has been months”!!!!

There are of course shady dialogues like “Singham se Chingam bana diya”.  But the piece de resistance has to be when AJ and Don Xavier (Anand Raj) come face to face in profile with Pink Floyd’s cover as a precursor.  Exceptional Prabudeva sir!!! Sensational indeed!!! What creativity!!!

The saving grace for AJ are a couple of shots during the action sequences (something that used to be Prabhudeva’s forte but apparently it has deserted him).  There is of course Himes Bhai’s music that is foot tapping and hummable as always.  Will be played at discos for a while.  2 on 10 only for these 2 points.

Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YubQzbzGHps

Zid

With a name like Barbie Handa, a career in cinema would have been restricted to a side actress who would not find mention in even the credits (I really don’t mean to be nasty).  But unfortunately for Barbie, a change of name of Mannara and her immense contacts in the industry (Barbie is the 3^rd cousin of Piggy Chops) will do little for her fortunes.

Ungli

Rensil D’Silva’s latest and much awaited movie has been in the press for all the right reasons.  The right promotional bursts followed by a tinge of controversy thanks to the use of the much maligned middle finger.  Cutting the use of the dreaded finger twice got it a U/A certificate and a Friday morning reception that was slightly better than some big banner movies.

Hunger Games Mocking Jay Part 1

If you haven’t seen or Hunger Games and Catching Fire Or read the trilogy by Suzanne Collins then I suggest you do so before you decide to watch Mocking Jay.  While some may argue that a movie has to be evaluated independently, those who haven’t seen the prequels will never be able to understand the story completely.

Kill / Dil

Shaad Ali is known for making movies that please the heart more often than not.  Saathiya to begin with and then Bunty Aur Babli.  But for some inexplicable reason after that, he made one called Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and now he has all but indicated of his lack of interest in cinema with Kill / Dil.

La Belle et la Bête (Beauty & The Beast) (2014)

There is a special fascination that I have always had for French cinema although I cannot understand a word of what the cast says (Thank God for subtitles).  There is a regal feeling in the language itself and the expressions speak a million more words in itself.  I had no idea (thanks to my laziness) that Beauty and The Beast was actually a French re-telling of the timeless fairy tale.

John Wick

John Wick had me hooked in the first 5 minutes.  The rest of the movie was a simple process of reeling me in – and it was probably the easiest job in the world for two debutante directors – David Leitch & Chad Stahelski.  Their repertoire was restricted to designing and directing the stunts for some really big movies such as Speed Racer and Tron Legacy.

Boyhood (2014)

In the period 2002 to 2013, Richard Linklater had the following achievements

1. Full Length Feature Films – 8 (including the likes of Before Sunset & School of Rock)
2. TV Film – 1
3. TV Series – 6 episodes of “Up to Speed”
4. Documentary – 1

Interstellar

The most difficult movies to review are the good ones.  That is the only excuse I can offer (and I will use this in the near future as well) for this late review of Interstellar.  The critic in you finds it extremely difficult to focus on the good in the movie and is constantly looking for what was missed out – inadvertently or otherwise.

Big Hero 6

It was only after I began my research that I realized that Big Hero 6 is actually a comic book series from Marvel.  The comic book premise is actually quite different from that of the movie.  The names of the characters stay the same but the story is actually nowhere close (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hero_6).

The Shaukeens (2014)

Towards the end of The Shaukeens, there is a scene wherein Ahana (Lisa Haydon) has landed a plump role in an Akshay Kumar movie and is struggling with that evergreen dialogue, “Mein Tere bachche ki maa ban ne waali hoon”.  It is supposed to be a scene wherein she is acting in a manner that she doesn’t know how to act.  Little did she realize that it came naturally to her.

Rang Rasiya

I began watching Rang Rasiya in the frame of mind of an amateur critic like I always do. The single minded objective was to find every mistake that Ketan Mehta made and believe me that I could find lots of them. There were errors galore to say the least and some of them made you cringe.

The Best of Me

There is soppy cinema and there is really really really soppy cinema.  Michael Hoffman’s The Best of Me falls in the latter category – and quite comfortably at that.  Hoffman’s track record includes the George Clooney RomCom called One Fine Day.  He now forays into mainstream romance with a writer who is without doubt the King of Sop – Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Message in a Bottle).

Nightcrawler

Written by Dan Gilroy (Bourne Legacy, Real Steel), Nightcrawler, also happens to be his first attempt as a director.  And for a first attempt, Gilroy has done a pretty good job.  It isn’t perfect by a mile but Nightcrawler is the dark horse for this week.  Not too many people may pick it for the weekend but I would strongly advise that you give it a shot.  You may not regret it.

Fury

A very philosophical statement half way down David Ayer’s second movie of the year (The forgettable Sabotage starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was released earlier this year) is probably the high point of Fury.  Seargent Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) tells Private Norman Ellison, “Ideals are peaceful.  History is violent”.

Ouija

So everyone around the Ouija (wee-juh / wee-jaa / wee-jee) board places their hands on the planchette (http://macsstuff.net/photobov/ouija-board-planchette). Circle the board depending on the number of people at the board.  So 5 people would mean 5 circles.  Then say

Sex Tape

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Happy New Year (2014) (Hindi)

Recipe for a successful Farah Khan Movie

Sonali Cable

Sonali Cable is a movie meant for the common man, the aam aadmi or the mango people as it is hep to call them these days.  It is one story that represents the millions of small business owners across the length and breadth of this country.  And to see a story written about one of these in a positive light is definitely one thing that they got right.

What If

It is not often that you see theatre properties being taken to the big screen.  I haven’t had the opportunity to see the play by T J Dawe & Michael Rinaldi called Toothpaste & Cigars (and probably never will).  Screen adaptations of plays are usually not as good.  With that thumb rule, I would guess that T&C will definitely be worth a dekko.  What if, however, can be seen on DVD.

Dracula Untold

I was really really really looking forward to this one because like many out there, I have a fascination with the count.  And like many out there who would have seen the “Untold” story of Dracula by now, I walked out quite – disappointed.

Honeymoon (2014) (English)

Rose Leslie (Ygritte from Game of Thrones) is probably the only person I could identify in this hardcore Indie movie that aims to challenge Happy New Year this Diwali in India.  That being said, both Rose and her opposite number Harry Treadaway come out of this otherwise disastrous attempt at horror, unscathed in terms of questions regarding their capabilities.

The Judge

The simplest of stories, with the right casting and writing can turn themselves into extremely intense and “must watch” movies.  The Judge is just one example of such a movie.  Director David Dobkin didn’t have much to work with, in terms of a story that had shades of “Devil’s Advocate” without the Devil of course.  It is a simple family drama. But at the end of it, you feel ever so slightly overwhelmed.

Kill The Messenger

Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) died a very unhappy man in 2004.  He spent the last 7-8 years of his life chasing a story that was “too true to be told” as one of his sources put it.  A story that the government (read CIA) was aware (not complicit in as many words) about of the explosion of Crack Cocaine in  Los Angeles and how it was used to fund the Contra rebels of Nicaragua.

Ekkees Topon Ki Salaami

While my first movie of the day (Tamanchey) had very little even remotely good, my 2^nd one yesterday was almost the opposite.  I say almost because like a lot of cinema these days, it had a lot going for it but the finishing was just not there.  It left me with mixed feelings but definitely more good than bad.

Tamanchey – Pyaar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli

Let’s start off with the good stuff in “Tamanchey – Pyar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli” (TPMDPMDG) because that is the easy part.  There is very little to talk about and can be done with really quick.  I must remember to thank newbie director Suryaveer Singh Bhullar and editor Mahesh Jaitley who ensured that the movie was kept to an hour and forty minutes.  I would have cut a further hour and forty minutes to be absolutely sure but what the heck.  Good job Mahesh Jaitley!!!

Bang Bang! (Hindi) (2014)

Bang Bang! lost me about 30 seconds into the movie. A senior intelligence officer, Colonel Viren Nanda (Jimmy Shergill) walks into the MI6 headquarters to collect a gift – Omar (Danny Denzongpa).  Along the way through 253 layers of security, the colonel asks, “Woh London mein kya kar raha thha”? If there could have been anything more insulting to the Indian Secret Service (ISS) I would really like to know.

Haider

There could be many of you out there who haven’t read what is probably William Shakespeare’s most popular tragedy – Hamlet.  It was the bard’s longest play and has been the subject of many a movie. For those unaware of the story, you MUST read this section before you walk into watch Haider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet#Plot.

Desi Kattey

Anand Kumar’s previous attempts should have made me a bit wiser and it did.  I walked into Desi Kattey expecting the worst possible storyline, a random item number that just pops up in the movie without any build up or reason and of course some really bad performances from the cast.  I was anything but disappointed – in my expectations that is.

Khoobsurat (2014) (Disney)

A 20 something eligibly girl is a physiotherapist (PT) for the Kolkata Knight Riders (defending champions of the IPL).  Apparently in the IPL, people are allowed to swarm onto the dressing room.  Once you have gotten over that minor aspect of security, you see this 20 something girl pretending to do something that is supposed to correct the injury of a star batsman Kapoor (no first names were given).

Daawat-E-Ishq

The weekend is here and it begins with an invitation from Yash Raj films.  An invitation to love / romance.  I know. I know.  That is a corny translation and I should have thought of a better one.  But Daawat-E-Ishq is exactly the kind of RomCom that deserves a corny opening line like this one.

A Walk Among The Tombstones

The good news is that Liam Neeson is back again. The better news is that this time around he isn’t chasing his tail in a predictable script that involves finding someone who has been kidnapped within 24 hours.  Or for that matter trying to save an aircraft full of passengers from impending doom.

Creature 3D (Hindi)

Have you heard the story about King Bruce and the spider? The one in which King Bruce is thrown out of his kingdom and hides in a cave.  He sees a spider that keeps falling off while building a web.  King Bruce takes inspiration from that incident.  Comes back and wins his kingdom.  The story of never giving up that has inspired a million lives.

Finding Fanny

I cannot classify Finding Fanny as a Romantic Comedy but it is one.  I cannot classify it as a satire but it is one.  I cannot classify it as a Romance movie either but it is one.  To typecast Finding Fanny under one genre of cinema would be a travesty because it has a bit of everything in it.  And therefore I will take the safe way out and put it under that ever safe genre called, “Drama”.

Lai Bhari

Lai Bhari has probably been the most hyped Marathi movie in recent times and the expectation is probably what left me feeling a bit let down at the end of it all.  If I had taken my usual trip in the weekend of release, it would have helped up my rating a notch I guess.  So, in the spirit of a fair rating, I will still put this as a 6 on 10 – watchable for sure but not necessarily on the screen.

Kick (Hindi) (2014)

Dialogues such as “Scooter aur Bike ki dekhi hai.  Pele aur Beckham ki dekhi hai.  Par yeh kaisa Kick hai” litter Salman Bhai’s “Eidi” to all his fans.  Picture this dialogue against a setting of a certain Inspector Himanshu Tyagi (Randeep Hooda) trying to woo Dr. Shaina Mehra (Jacqueline Fernandez) and it loses whatever little impact it has.

Hate Story 2

Akshay (Jay Bhaushali) is about to be beaten up by Mandar Mhatre’s (Sushant Singh) henchmen.  Akshay screams, “Mandar Mhatre!!! Agar tu mard ka bachcha hai toh akele ladh ke dikha” (If you are a man then fight alone).  Mhatre replies with a scowl on his face, “Koi zaroorat nahin mujhe dikhane ke liye ki mai mard ka bachcha hoon” (I don’t need to show YOU that I am a man).

Ek Villain

Ek Villain was supposed to be inspired by a Korean movie called I Saw The Devil.  I went through the story on Wikipedia and honestly the similarities are minimal.  One cannot blame Mohit Suri of plagiarizing a Korean movie just because the serial killer collects jewelry from his victims in both movies.  The concept is by far quite different other than this aspect.

Bobby Jasoos

It has been nearly 3 weeks since my last review.  For reasons that aren't the most pleasant and therefore will not be delved into.  But apparently I haven't missed much in Bollywood during my hiatus. Sajid Khan gave ACP Pradyumn and Daya their simplest case and Ritiesh Deshmukh played villain (I'm catching up with that next).

F*UGLY

Apparently F*UGLY stands for Fucking Ugly (http://www.internetslang.com/FUGLY-meaning-definition.asp).  A word that is referred to all of 1 time in the duration of Kabir Sadanand’s latest.  His previous attempts at cinema include movies such as Tum Milo Toh Sahi, Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jao and Golu Pappu.  Sadly the reduction in words has not helped Sadanand.

Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai

I am prioritizing this review over How To Train Your Dragon 2 because it is my moral, ethical and fundamental responsibility to ensure that you, as an audience, are not put through the pain that I went through.  If I am late and could not warn you well in time then do accept my sincerest apologies.  I shall endeavor to post my inputs at the earliest possible in the days to come.

Grace of Monaco

It is in moments like these that I convince myself once again that I have to have to have to go to film school – sooner the better.  Grace of Monaco has been universally panned by critics across the board and the comments have been really nasty.  Why is it that I disagree with what most critics are saying? Maybe I need

Mr. Brooks

Why it has taken me 7 years to watch this movie – I can never say.  Amongst all the serial killer movies that I have seen, this one has to be one of the most unique storylines ever.  Here, the serial killer, is the protagonist.  And if that doesn’t intrigue you, then the fact that the serial killer is played by Kevin Costner will definitely do the job.  Its playing on Television of late so try and catch up with it.

Blended

To set the record straight, this is Frank Coraci’s 2^nd movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.  The first time was The Wedding Singer.  This is the 3^rd time Sandler and Barrymore are coming together.  50 First Dates was directed by Peter Segal and not by Coraci. So all of you who are saying 3^rd time lucky for Coraci, Sandler and Barrymore, have more reason to be convinced otherwise.

Maleficent

It is the age of Dark Fantasy and the age of setting the record straight in the world of fairy tales.  Or at least that’s what Robert Stromberg begins by saying in his attempt to direct a contemporary version of a classic fairy tale.  This time it is the turn of Princess Aurora or what most of you would better know as – Sleeping Beauty.

Edge of Tomorrow

Let me start by saying that I am not the biggest of Tom Cruise fans.  I have always believed that any of his movies would be far better if someone – anyone – else replaced him in the lead.  There may be a few exceptions to the rule though.  And Edge of Tomorrow (Surprise! Surprise!!) will feature in my list of Tom Cruise movies wherein he actually does well and I was really glad.

Filmistaan

There is a scene towards the end of Filmistaan in which Sunny (Sharib Hashmi) tells Aftaab (Innamulhaq) about a dream that even I have had on many an occasion.  What if partition had never occured. “Sachin Tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Inzaman Ul Haq aur Shahid Afridi sab ek team mein. Mehndi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Abida Parveen, Nusrat Saab – sab ek hi mitti ke toh bane hain”.

Holiday – A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (Hindi) (2014)

Celebrated South Indian filmmaker A R Murugadoss (Ghajini), has cracked the secret of maximizing revenues from a story / film.  First make it in Tamil with a superstar like Vijay.  The audience will lap it up because the story really doesn’t matter in Amma Land.  A couple of years later, remake it in Hindi because of late, aspects that make good cinematic sense apparently don’t matter to Bollywood either.

Citylights (Hindi) (2014)

I have always maintained that inspiration of any kind from the West or the East is perfectly alright so long as you give credit to the original and don’t mess it up.  I don’t come from a school of thought that all cinema is good only if it is an original.  If that was the case then The Departed (Scorcese) would never have received and Academy Award.

The Raid 2 : Berandal

For those who missed out on my review of The Raid : Redemption (Serbuan Maut), here is a quick look at the 6 on 10 movie that released 2 years back – nearly to the date - http://kartikr.blogspot.in/2012/05/raid-redemption-serbuan-maut.html.  Raid was my first Indonesian movie and I loved the action.

Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi

Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi (KMKJHG) is a movie that is definitely made from the heart but will at best find itself as a complicated 6 word clue in a random Dumb Charades round of an even more random Inter Collegiate Festival.  It is way too simple a story and needed to be packaged too well for it to be a success.

Mighty Raju Rio Calling

My expectations from Indian animation as on date are next to nothing.  I had a massive backlog from the previous weeks and decided to invest my time on Tuesday, catching up with everything that I had missed.  My day began with this one.  A children’s 2D animation movie called Mighty Raju Rio Calling.

Heropanti

As per my clock, there are only 3 instances where this happens.  First at 14 minutes and 32.5 seconds.  Next at 22 minutes and 17.8 seconds.  And the third at 80 minutes and 28.3 seconds.  Of course the decimal places are for exaggeration and there would be some minor error range that you will have to pardon me for.

M3 - Midsummer Midnight Mumbai

I will begin by saying that I did not watch this movie upto the grand finale.  A personal emergency forced me to leave just as the climatic sequences of this awful piece of work was about to begin.  There were several indicators that should have kept me away from this movie that I refused to acknowledge and therefore suffered like I have on very few occasions in the past.

Kochadaiiyaan (Tamil)

Somewhere between a heavily interrupted show of Kochadaiiyaan (Tamil) @ Cinemax Sion, my good friend Varun Suresh decided to figure out what did it cost to make Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn.  Apparently the estimated spend was between $100-125 million.  It cost less than the difference in the range to make Kochadaiiyaan.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In 6 editions of the franchise, X Men has generated $2.31 billion at the box office.  That is billion with a “buh” as Alan Harper (2.5 men) would put it.  Now the sad part is that despite this massive level of success, it is still not in the top 10 franchises of all time.  Embarassingly below the Twilight series.  With Days of Future Past, they should easily surge ahead of the silly tweenage romance.

Godzilla (2014)

I was sold with the Godzilla trailer – much as I tried to avoid watching it.  But if member serves me right I saw it before Noah @ IMAX Wadala.  The trailer was so brilliantly made that I sent a shiver up my already weak spine.  My only apprehension after the trailer was – like in many cases before – whether the trailer was the movie.  Godzilla, I am thrilled to say, had much more to offer.

The Xpose

Words fail me when I try to express my sentiments on 2 supremely contrasting examples of cinema that will make their mark on the nation today. 16th May 2014 will definitely go down in the annals of Indian History as a red letter day - and I'm not referring to the more than obvious result in the General Elections 2014. It will be remembered forever as the day a man from Gujarat took on a monster from across the seven seas.

Manjunath

One hears stories like Manjunath’s all over the place on your first posting after B-School.  But more often than not, they are urban legends.  What makes Manjunath’s story more scary or overawing is not just the fact that it is true but more to do with the fact that it could probably happen with any one of us.

Ek Hazarachi Note (Marathi)

There is a line that is delivered towards the end of this movie by its protagonist that sums up the exasperation of the poor man in this country more than anything else, “Laxmi aali tari aafat pan gheun yeti” (When the goddess of wealth decides to walk in home, she gets her own problems with her).

Khwaabb

I dream of an India where all sport is given equal importance and not just cricket.  I dream of an India where an athlete who can run fast enough to qualify for the world championship is given the proper facilities to maximize his performance.  I dream that this athlete also gets his due and is not asked to pay `1.5 lacs ($3000 approximately) after he has qualified for the world championships.

Million Dollar Arm

Am I the only person who hadn’t heard about a reality show titled Million Dollar Arm that was held by Major League Baseball to find Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mittal) as the first Indians to pitch in the MLB??? Well I’ll be darned!!! Because apparently I am the only person who didn’t know about this!!!

Mastram

How many times have we seen a movie that promises so much because of a superb story but fails to live upto its promise with the final product.  Mastram joins that league.  Not because it is a badly made movie in any manner.  I say this more out of disappointment for what could have been.

Hawaa Hawaai

It is official.  If there is anyone who can work with children in this part of the world it has to be one Amole Gupte.  And if it is anyone who can write stories that will single handedly double the turnover of organizations who manufacture tissue paper it has to be one Amole Gupte.

Yeh Hai Bakrapur

Janaki Vishwanathan, in her debut movie, picks 2 statements that I have always strongly believed in and don’t hesitate to repeat ad nauseum ad infinitum.  You can sell anything in India under the garb of Healthcare, Education and most importantly Religion.  The second and more important one – India is a country of literate but uneducated people.

The Lucky One

Writer Nicholas Sparks is best known for one of the most spoken about romantic movies of all time – The Notebook.  Dig deeper and you will find that the man has given you 3 block busters other than The Notebook.  All of them are full-fledged romances.  Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Message in a Bottle (1999) and Walk to Remember (2002).

Windtalkers

Most of you (my regular readers) are aware of my sentiments about Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew.  So it may come as quite a surprise to you guys when I say that I have finally found a movie in which Nicholas Cage does exactly what is expected of the role.  There may be more out there but I haven’t seen the lesser known ones.

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore

What an outstanding concept!!!! I was sold when I saw the trailer last week – and I wonder why the trailer released only a week before the movie’s release.  The story was so simple and yet when the movie unfolds, you understand that it has to do with so much more than what just meets the eye – so much to do with human emotion and behaviour. Wonderful is the word that comes to mind.

Purani Jeans

Fresh talent always spurts new ideas and gives the industry a positive momentum.  However, that is not the case when aspiring talent – more often than not in this part of the world – is terribly incompetent. Tanushri Chattrji Bassu despite the missing e and extra s is just one of those incompetent new age directors who, by means best known to them, got a lousy movie like Purani Jeans green-lighted and released.

The Amazing Spiderman 2

One of the secrets / essentials of making the sequel better than its predecessor would be to first retain the director.  Nothing spurs a director (or so I would assume) more than the desire to better her/his previous work.  Of course, this may not be a guarantee but it is definitely a key to raising the probability of success.  Marc Webb sure comes from the earlier school of thought in this part of The Amazing Spiderman.  Amazing indeed.

Tarzan (Animation) (2014)

In Reinhard Klooss’ world, Tarzan (Kellan Lutz) is not adopted by apes as an infant.  Instead, he is part of a happy rich environmentalist family called the Greystokes who are in Africa to search for a massive meteor that crashed there many moons ago.  A meteor that could be a the solution to the energy problems of the entire world and also give clues to the reason for the annihilation of the pre-historic world.

Brick Mansions

There is no other way I could think of starting this review than to pay homage to Paul Walker who left us on 30^th November 2013.  A sad day for cinema in general and more so for fast paced action cinema through which he shot to fame.  Unfortunately, he could not finish shooting for his last movie Fast & Furious 7.  We shall all miss you Paul Walker.

Samrat & Co.

The first thing that cheeses you off with Samrat and Co. is that the lead character is referred to as STD.  Apparently that expands into Samrat Tilak Dhari (Rajeev Khandelwal).  That it would send us back in time to the days of expensive phone calls or remind us of some unwanted diseases really didn’t cross the mind of anyone in the entire team.  Maybe it was intentional.

Kaanchi

A Subhash Ghai movie has to be a minimum of 2.5 hours.  Nothing lesser.  On that count Kaanchi qualifies by just a bit.  It has an excruciatingly long run time of 151 minutes.  Half way into the 2^nd half you catch yourself nodding off at least once.  If your tolerance levels are not as high as mine, this could happen about 20 minutes into the first half itself.

Revolver Rani

Anyone who refers to Revolver Rani as an absolutely nonsensical, over the top, blasé, idiotic, unbelievable, ridiculous, ludicrous, abnormal, bizarre, eccentric, gross, unexpected, unusual, weird movie is absolutely right!!! You can refer to it with any of the adjectives that I have called out but you cannot say that it is a bad movie by any stretch of imagination. Anyone who does refer to Revolver Rani as a bad movie is taking life way to seriously and is no familiar with exploitation movies.

Son of God

Any movie that has to do with the Bible or Jesus that begins with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” has to come from a bunch of people who probably did not have anything creative to offer in the first place.  And it is that lack of creativity that is reflected every step of the way in what I can only classify as a docu-drama.

Transcendence

Transcendence - trɑːnˈsɛnd(ə)ns,tranˈsɛnd(ə)ns noun – existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level

Synonyms       superiority, supremacy, predominance, pre-eminence, ascendancy, incomparability, matchlessness, peerlessness, excellence, greatness, magnificence, sublimity, importance, rareparamountcy

Yellow (2014) (Marathi)

A review from last Saturday for this movie said that if we don’t walk into a theatre to watch such movies then there will no money coming in and therefore lesser of these movies will be made in the future.  I could not resist using the thought to begin Yellow because we will continue to have a huge chunk of the world which will download this movie instead of watching it on screen.

Dekh Tamasha Dekh

About 2-3 minutes into Feroze Abbas Khan’s second venture into Bollywood your reaction would be, “This doesn’t seem like a movie at all”.  For those unaware, FAK is a much more well known for his exploits in the theatre circuit.  It seems like the baggage from theatre has been carried over to Dekh Tamasha Dekh not just in terms of narration but more obviously in terms of cast.

2 States

The most difficult part of this review is going to be the beginning.  I have just walked out of Screen 4 @ PVR Mulund feeling overawed by the performances from 5 brilliant actors and a sincere but not so talented one.  I am also confused because I don’t feel the thrill that I felt after Highway or Queen.

Rosewood Lane

There are badly made thrillers and then there are badly made thrillers. Rosewood Lane falls into any one of those 2 categories. Directed by Victor Sava (Jeepers Creepers / Rites of Passage), Rosewood Lane is a meek attempt at a serial killer / stalker brand of movie with all the predictabilities that you can imagine.

Oculus

This is my first experience with Mike Flanagan and I must say that I enjoyed the way he chose to narrate the story of Oculus.  Oculus (the feature film) is inspired by one of his earlier works, a short film – Oculus : Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan. It is identical to Oculus in terms of the overall plot but is different in some aspects.

Rio 2

I am at the outset going to make a candid confession.  I didn’t like Rio too much.  I found it to be too much of an avian fantasy.  It seemed force fitted into one of the most gorgeous places on earth and that didn’t go too well with me.  I found a lot of characters to be over the top and frankly the concept was nowhere close to animations like Lion King or Finding Nemo or even Shrek (not one of my favourites).

Bhoothnath Returns

Nitesh Tiwari enthralled us with Chillar Party a few years back – a movie that I had described as a must watch because of the message it tried to give and because it was entertaining (don’t forget the Chaddi March which was hilarious!!!).  This time around, his movie is packaged as a kids entertainer but it is actually meant for all of you out there who are above 18.  It is a must watch.

Divergent

The size of the Young Adult Fiction Market in 2009 was estimated at about $3 billion!!! (yes – with a “buh” – Alan Harper).  A certain Veronica Roth was terribly cued into this market at published her first book “Divergent” somewhere in 2011.  Even before she graduated, the movie rights were sold.

Jal (Hindi) (2014)

A good friend called up very excitedly about 10 days back raving about JAL.  The trailers were also cut to perfection and I was indeed intrigued about figuring out what this movie is all about.  It had Purab Kohli, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Kirti Kulhari – all of whom I believe are wonderful actors.  The support cast was also up there.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Anthony and Joe Russo are not the most seasoned directors for the big screen.  Their filmography shows 3 other full length features, the last of which was the slapstick RomCom – You, Me and Dupree.  Add to that, the fact that I have not seen Captain America : First Avenger (yeah yeah you can boo me to kingdom come).

Main Tera Hero

And he is back!!!! About a year after his biggest disaster in which he made a hash out of a wonderful Sai Paranjpe classic, he is back to being his old self. One that the sly old fella spoilt us with in the late 90s and early 2000s – usually with a certain Govind Ahuja in the lead.

Noah (2014) (English)

I missed the preview show of Noah because I wanted to catch up with it at an IMAX Theatre.  I did so, on Friday after India qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup.  A 22:55 hrs show @ IMAX Wadala with a guarantee that I was spending in excess of `1500 for the entire experience (`1060 for tickets + `300 for the cab back home + `300 for snacks).  Was it worth it? HELL YES!!!

Sabotage (2014) (English)

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a lead role was bound to generate some interest if not too much. His last huge role was T3. Bit movies since then such as The Last Stand (http://kartikr.blogspot.in/2013/01/the-last-stand-2013.html) and Escape Plan and a side role in Expendables.  However, what we get is a very flat movie in most aspects that we associate with Arnie dear. And I say so as a disappointed fan.

Dishkiyaoon

What are the elements of a Gangster movie? Firstly you need a story that is convincing enough.  So Sanamjit Talwar, in his debut effort, picks the evergreen Gangsta City that never sleeps as his backdrop. Safe bet considering that it has been fodder for million others before him. In the city, he starts of with a game of Snakes and Ladders between Viki Kartoos (Harman Baweja) and Lakwa (Sunny Deol).

Youngistaan

Lets us start this review by paying homage to one of the finest actors that our country has ever seen – Farooq Sheikh.  In his last on-screen release, Youngistaan, Farooq Saab plays the role of Akbar.  He is the Personal Assistant to the Prime Minister of the country.  The comfort with which he essays his role brings a tear to your eye because you will never be able to see his class on screen in anything new.  Thank goodness for DVDs.

O Teri

A CBI Assistant Commissioner who hasn't been given a car by his employees is ambling around on a desolate Delhi street in the middle of the night. It is coincidental that he is leading an investigation involving some leading government officials.

Ankhon Dekhi

Esoteric, abstruse, obscure, arcane, recherché, rarefied, recondite, abstract, difficult, hard, puzzling, perplexing, inscrutable, cryptic, complex, complicated, over/above one's head, incomprehensible, opaque – just a few words that come to mind when you watch Ankhon Dekhi.  Sadly the average audience will agree because of their mental faculties not being upto to the levels Rajat Kapoor expects them to be.

Muppets Most Wanted

How many of you have seen The Muppets (2011) starring Amy Adams (my favouritest – if there is something like that) and Jason Segel? Well it really doesn’t matter if you saw it or not.  I for one, come from the latter group.  I was in 2 minds before I walked in for the preview with half a mind saying why bother with this one?

Lakshmi

Within a matter of 24 hours, I am going to begin a review with the name Satish Kaushik in the first sentence.  This time, however, I am going to speak about Satish Kaushik the actor.  My respect for the man as a director is nowhere close to that as an actor.  Kaushik as an actor in a serious role such as Reddy Garu in Lakshmi is simply outstanding.  I hope to see many such performances from this brilliant actor in the years to come.

Need For Speed (2014 English)

Stuntmen turning directors is apparently not an alien concept in Hollywood (http://www.hollywoodstuntcoordinator.com/blog-post/stuntmen-turning-directors-in-hollywood/).  The Waugh family has a notable mention with father and sons both finding mention in this article.  Closer home, our very own Veeru Devgn has also directed Hindustan Ki Kasam (1999) after choreographing stunts for nearly 150 movies.

Ragini MMS 2 – 2 Mein Zyada Maza Hai

I will begin once again by stating this in no unclear terms. If you are going to watch Ragini MMS 2 - 2 mein zyada Dum Hai (that's the full name of the movie and I'm not kidding ;)) in the hope that you will see lot more of Sunny Leone than what you have already seen then it would be a colossal waste of your precious time.

Gang of Ghosts (Hindi 2014)

Most Satish Kaushik movies are fraught with corny lines that make your cringe.  Usually he is also in front of the camera to delivery these liners in his typical poetic manner but this time around he decides to stay behind.  Let’s have a look at some of these vignettes from Shri Kaushik’s latest release – Gang of Ghosts.

Bewakoofiyaan

25 learnings from Bewakoofiyaan

3 Days to Kill

“Kevin Costner seems to be making a comeback into mainstream cinema”. That’s what a fellow writer / critic said at the preview of 3 Days to Kill.  My response was that legends like Costner really don’t need to make a “comeback”.  They will always have age appropriate roles available for them – if they want to give it a shot.

Gulabi Gang

At the end of Gulabi Gang, I was embarrassed.  Embarassed lesser because I had, in my review of Gulaab Gang, called it out to be a fictionalized account.  I should have used fictionalized and severely over dramatized and supremely over the top as adjectives.  Even then, I would have barely managed to scratch the surface of how Soumik Sen has trivialized the true story of Sampat Pal Devi (even though he claimed otherwise).

Gulaab Gang

I saw Gulaab Gang on Sunday, 9^th March 2014 – a couple of days later than I would have normally seen it.  However, I wanted to see Gulaabi Gang (The Documentary) some 2 weeks after its release before I could post my review for both.  I wanted to get the true perspective of the story of Sampat Pal Devi – the woman on whom this story is based on – while Soumik Sen (the director) firmly denies it.

Total Siyapaa

Do you remember a director called E Niwas? The one who did Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega some 13 years back (2001) and an extremely forgettable movie called My Name is Anthony Gonsalves around 6 years ago (2008)? Total Siyapaa is his attempt to make a comeback into cinema.  Regretably, Eeshwar Niwas will remain a one-movie-wonder with Shool (1999 – Manoj Bajpayee).

Queen

The highlight of Queen to me was this sequence that is built up to quite brilliantly by 2^nd time director Vikas Bahl (Chillar Party). http://zoomtv.indiatimes.com/movies/hungama-ho-gaya-the-new-song-from-queen/videoshow/31110978.cms.  While watching the link may be a spoiler, I would still go ahead and take a look, if I were you to get a glimpse of what has been Kangana Ranaut’s moment of truth.

300 : Rise of an Empire

Eva Green as Artemisia – The Commander in Chief of the Persian Army – is a master stroke from Casting Director Lucy Bevan.  For all practical purposes, 300 : Rise of An Empire, is the story of Artemisia and Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) set to the background of the war initiated by God King Xerexes (Rodrigo Santoro).

Shaadi Ke Side Effects

Many moons from now, there will be a question asked in any number of quizzes across the country. What is the significance of the dialogue, "congratulations - its a baby girl" in Indian cinema. The answer is that it is my good friend Sudhendra Sharma's first dialogue on the silver screen. To make things better, it is a credited performance. Notice Doctor in the Delivery Room in the end credits.

Non-Stop

“If I get a script I like and the main character is described as 32 or 33 years of age, I tell my agent I’m too old for the lead and he says, 'Don’t worry, it will be changed.' And a couple of months later the same script comes back but the character is described as in his mid-fifties. That’s quite funny." – Liam Neeson

Dallas Buyers Club

Craig Borten was out of college and wondering what kind of movies he wanted to make.  Around this time is when he heard of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey).  A man, who had been diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and given less than a month to live.  Director Jean Marc Vallée digs out this script that was hidden away for over 20 years, to give us The Dallas Buyer’s Club.

Her

The sheer ingenuity of the concept of someone falling in love with his Operating System should be enough to draw you to watch HER.  If that is not sufficient then I am hoping that by the end of this review, you will be compelled to at least consider a watch.  Because if you don’t catch up with the movie, you are missing some really great cinema.

Highway

Before I start waxing eloquent, and deservedly so, about Highway, I would like to take this opportunity to call out 3 names that don’t feature on most sites as part of the cast of Highway.  Durgesh Kumar who plays Aadoo, Pradeep Nagar who plays Tonk and Saharsh Kumar Shukla who plays Gaurav aka Goru.

Darr @The Mall

Picture this. The screen is black. Slowly the camera starts zooming out, forming a whitish circle. In a couple of seconds, you see a familiar painting of something or someone with his mouth wide open - as wide as it can get. And then the more educated quizzers will say, "wait a second. This is Edvard Munch's SCREAM". That's the shot with which DARR @ THE MALL begins.

Pompeii

I am a Paul W S Anderson fan. I have loved the Resident Evil series and I found his treatment of Alexander Dumas’ Three Musketeers to be extremely creative.  But without his tried and test good luck charm (read Mila Jovovich) he seems to be less than average.  Pompeii is like that firecracker that is huge in size ($100 Million worth) but refuses to explode for a while.  When it finally does, you feel deprived.

The Monuments Men

In all the years of movies about World War II, we have never ever heard about The Monuments Men.  It is indeed surprising that such a wonderful story was the world’s best kept secret till September 2009 when Robert M Edsel published his book - The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (http://www.monumentsmen.com).

Vampire Academy

Richelle Mead’s award winning fantasy series of Vampire world found its way to celluloid (or should I say digital print) last week.  The poster of the movie very proudly shows 2 gorgeous looking girls dressed in black with the words THEY SUCK AT SCHOOL prominently plastered across (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm267050240/tt1686821?ref_=tt_ov_i).

Rock Paper Dice Enter

"In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess," – Dalai Lama

That is the opening line of Rock Paper Dice Enter – an independent film (if I could call it that) from a bunch of people who not so predictably call themselves Rock Paper films. Unfortunately, most of the audience is left wondering about the significance of the statement and the makers probably give a sneak view into what they meant right towards the end – too sneak a view for my comfort.

You Don’t Mess With The Zohan

OK its Denis Dugan again.  And if it is Denis Dugan then the lead male has to be Adam Sandler.  So we have yet another festival of the so called slapstick.  This time around, it is set to the background of that eternal fight between 2 countries that used to live in peace for a long time – Israel and Palestine.

The Game

If I were get around to making a list of my favourite directors, David Andrew Leo Fincher would definitely be on that list without a shadow of doubt.  In his 3^rd movie (after Alien³ (1992) and Se7en (1995), Fincher comes up with yet another brilliant concept.  I remember having seen The Game around 15-16 years back to the date and I was completely blown away.

Winter’s Tale

Its Valentine’s Day (or it was yesterday :-p) and one had to expect a slew of either RomComs or Romance movies.  Surprisingly, Akiva Goldsman’s adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel, A Winter’s Tale is the only Valentine’s release that is truly targeted at all those couples who are very much in love (read louv).

Robocop (2014)

Let’s face it.  Remakes are going to be part of our lives.  Organisations have rights to the movies and they are bound to maximize the opportunity.  After all, the fact that a movie is being remade is proof that it was good in the first place.  I for one, have been a huge fan of remakes.  The secret, I have found, albeit a very difficult one, is to try and purge your mind of any memories of the original.

Gunday

I was in a conversation with a good friend last night and she asked me what I thought about Gunday.  My reply to her was, “It seems like an overly done up movie with more emphasis on looking good and creating hype than focusing on quality cinema”.  Her reply to me was to go in without a bias.  I did exactly that.  But at the end of the day, my expectation was met.

Hasee Toh Phasee

There is a good looking young man who is engaged to be married an equally (if not better) good looking young woman. The two seem to be very much into each other and are really looking forward to getting married. In walks the mysterious, girl next door kinds sister who creates ripples in the still waters just by being present. Her presence is just about enough to create doubts in the mind of the groom to be.

Ya Rab

There is so much that has been spoken about Islam being a horrid religion over the years.  There are so many instances of injustice meted out of Muslims across the world that it was only a matter of time before someone stood up and made a movie that would try to communicate the other side.  That is a side that speaks about the exact interpretation of the writings in the Koran.

The Lego Movie

My first Lego set was called “Legoland” that my uncle had picked up as a present way back in the late 80s.  I cannot think of a more addictive exercise in my pre-teens.  The simplicity and the world of possibilities that a Lego set offers a young child is simply mind blowing.

Babloo Happy Hai

The description of Babloo Happy Hai online is as under

Babloo Happy Hai is a Hindi film directed by Nila Madhab Panda. It is a love story of today's youngsters, and what they think love and sex is in the times of multiplexes and fast cars. Before the film's name was "love is not mathematics"

Let me assure you that there was no mathematics involved anywhere.  There was some sex and some love thrown in but the word “directed” had very little presence.

Saving Mr. Banks

John Lee Hancock is a very choosy person.  How did I deduce that? Well, in 54 years, Hancock has made 7 movies and written 9 screenplays.  Of these 16 pieces of work, 4 overlap leaving us with a total of 12 assignments.  In a career spanning over 20 years, that’s being choosy.  But that’s also being a stickler for perfection – The Rookie, Alamo and The Blind Side are 3 of Hancock’s recent works.

Lone Survivor

Most war movies speak about how a bunch of dedicated, strong, dexterous, agile, smart officers in the American services (Army, Air Force, Navy, Seals, Marines etc.) fight against all odds to kill their enemies and win a war in the most impossible circumstances.  Petty Officer 1^st Class – Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) – gives us the other perspective of a war.  One in which not all battles end with victory on the American side.

The Butler

One of the quiz questions in the times to come will be, “What is common to – Robin Williams, John Cussack, James Marsden, Liev Schrieber and Alan Rickman”? They all played United States Presidents in Lee Daniels’ The Butler.  Of course their roles were restricted to about 2-5 minutes of screen time but they are on the record right? But what they did miss out on was someone to play Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.  Wonder why?

The Fifth Estate

And the world of exasperating Biopics was as prevalent at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) as anywhere else.  With the amount of publicity and talk about Julian Assange over the years, one would have expected a movie that was as good as David Fincher’s Social Network.  While there is every attempt made to look like Social Network, at the end of it all, one is left wondering what could have been instead of celebrating what was.

Qissa - The Tale of a Lonely Ghost

Of 17 movies that I saw at the Mumbai International Film Festival this was the first.  Anup Singh is a Tanzanian Indian director (if it registered correctly in the Q&A after the movie) who has taken forever (the better part of the previous decade) to make this movie that centres itself around yet another unique topic.  I have gathered after my first experience at a Film Festival that the stories / concepts are just out of the world.  In many cases – just like with Qissa, the execution adds to the magic of cinema.

Le Passé (The Past) (French)

Much like I was looking forward to an experience with Gravas, Le Passé (The Past) was probably the most eagerly awaited screening for many at the Mumbai International Film Festival.  I was eager to see Asghar Farhadi in action because I had just heard so much about him after A Separation that it was impossible for me to give this one a pass.  I haven’t seen A Separation yet but I am more prepared for what is in store.

One by Two (Hindi) (2014)

I stand corrected from my previous statements about Bollywood being obsessed with objectification of women.  I think the trend is moving slowly but surely to farting on screen.  Is there some focus group discussion that caused this spark to become a raging fire? Every movie seems to have someone in the lead cast passing wind – on demand!!! Getting bored with the dialogue? Hey – get someone to fart and people will be fine.

I, Frankenstein

Did you know that there are 200 titles with the name “Frankenstein” in them? I am not joking.  Here is the link if you don’t believe me - http://www.imdb.com/find?q=frankenstein&s=tt&ref_=fn_al_tt_mr.  I can tell you I expected 15-20 of them but 200!!! That’s a whole lot.

12 Years A Slave

My first experience with Steve McQueen (the director not the actor) was with a movie titled Shame that I saw nearly 2 years back during my trip down under.  I was a novice at reviewing (marginally better now) and didn’t quite take too kindly to the bold moves that McQueen confronted us with (http://kartikr.blogspot.in/2012/02/shame.html) and of course his favourite actor – Michael Fassbender.

La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Dream) (Spanish) (Mexico)

I was in two minds on the 20^th October 2013 if I remember correctly.  I could have seen Bad Hair directed by Venezuelan director Mariana Rondon or I could have picked up another Spanish movie but one of Mexican origin – La Juala de Oro (The Golden Cage aptly retitled – The Golden Dream).  The “Uncertain Regard” tag on the latter and a newsletter from MIFF calling out the top 20 movies moved me towards this one.  I didn’t regret it one bit.

Le Capital (The Capital) (French)

“Money is a dog that doesn't need to be patted. Throw a ball again and again and it will keep fetching it back” is what Marc Tourneuil (Gad Elmaleh) declares at the beginning of this financial drama by acclaimed director Costa Gravas.  I could not get around to watching the special screening of “Z” on the last day. But Le Capital was not a bad way to start of my experience with Gravas.

Giraffada (Palestine)

Once again we find a topic that has never been experimented with to date.  How many of you would have thought of making a movie or being able to watch one that was based on a principal character of a Giraffe? Now juxtapose that into a setting that is the strife ridden state of Palestine and you have a movie that is not just a great concept but definitely endearing as well.

12 ans d'âge (60 Going on 12) (French)

Who is to say that life doesn’t begin at 60.  We live through decade after decade and keep saying, “Life begins at X (read 30, 40 or whatever)”.  I am going to be saying exactly that in about 15 months from now when I turn into a quadragenarian (40 years old for those who are unaware).

Locke

This is why I really really really would have wanted to be introduced to the world of film festivals earlier.  While I knew they existed, I could not make time for them with my “busy” schedules and I always thought they were boring fora where people come to promote “Art for Art’s sake”.  But over the 17 movies that I saw in MIFF, not one fell into this category.  In fact, some were outstanding to say the least.

Ilo Ilo (Chinese) (Tagalog) (Singapore)

Now this is what I call a truly international movie.  It is shot in the Little Red Dot (Singapore if you weren’t aware of this name).  It has a cast that has a Singaporean actor to begin with – Tian Wen Chen.  It casts a Malaysian actress – Yann Yann Yeo – as his wife.  And then it adds in a Filipino maid for good measure.  Who should that be played by? Of course a Filipino actress.  Therefore Angeli Bayani is cast for the role.

Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw) (Japanese)

My knowledge about cinema (or clearly, the lack of it) came to the fore when I was walking into the show of Wara No Tate (Shield of Straw), a Japanese movie, at Liberty Cinemas, Marine Lines.  A co-viewer and coincidentally, fellow reviewer asked me, “You’ve come to see Miike”.  I can assure you that my expression was worse than that of a toddler being asked to identify the capital of Swaziland.

Gloria (Chile, Spanish)

Celebrated director Sebastián Lelio, first burst into the limelight with his 2005 films La Sagrada Familia.  LSF received several awards over that year and Lelio has made 3 movies since.  The third in line was one that I had the good fortune of watching at last year’s Mumbai International Film Festival (2013).  I know I am late with this post but better late than never right?

Mandela : Long Walk To Freedom

There are great biopics (Lincoln, Gandhi).  There are really bad ones (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag).  And there are the ones that leave you hanging because the impression that you had about the person was just so much bigger that what the movie portrays her/him to be.  For e.g. there was Jobs from 2013 which was closer to bad.  And now we have Mandela – Long Walk To Freedom.

Jai Ho

What do you expect in a Salman Khan movie? If this question was asked of a focus group, one answer would always be a shirtless fight sequence and in the climax of Jai Ho, the audience was chanting, “Shirt Utaar! Shirt Utaar! Shirt Utaar!” and our hero gladly complies in a matter of a few seconds.  Totally awesome!!!

Carrie (2013)(Horror)

Kimberly Peirce’s much awaited remake of Stephen King’s debut novel from 1974 is facing a lot of criticism from all circles. While a bit of it is warranted, over the past few months it has turned into some sort of a witch hunt.  Yes there are flaws in the movie and it isn’t as scary as the 1976 Brian De Palma version.  But you have to give credit to Peirce for making the movie far more contemporary.

American Hustle

My admiration for David O Russell keeps growing with every movie that he directs.  My first experience was with Fighter where he took Christian Bale and Melissa Leo to Oscars.  Next up was Silver Linings Playbook with Jennifer Lawrence making her mark with the coveted statuette.  Now it seems to be the turn of Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence who have brilliant roles and have backed it with performances that deserve their nominations.

Karle Pyar Karle

Hot on the heels of Yaariyan, we have a movie that wants to strongly stake its claim for the most coveted title in Bollywood these days – The Worst Movie of the Year.  In addition to coming close to this title (yep – Yaariyan was horrible.  This one didn’t go that low) this one will stake the claim for Worst Actor / Worst new face in the form of one Shiv Darshan.

Jack Ryan : Shadow Recruit

It all started way back in 1990 when Alec Baldwin essayed the role of Commander Dr. John Patrick Ryan aka Jack (because Tom Clancy felt he was a Jack of almost everything) in Clancy’s Hunt for Red October.  People remember that one more for Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) than for Ryan.  That anomaly was rectified when Hollywood’s most bankable star (read Harrison Ford) took over the role in the next 2 movies.   Ben Affleck wasn’t too bad as the young Ryan.

Miss Lovely (Hindi) (2012)

For those who will walk into Miss Lovely expecting some flesh on display are going to be severely let down.  Those who walk in expecting a power packed movie because Nawazudding Siddiqui has a lead role are also going to be disappointed.  Those who walk in expecting an art house movie bordering on “art for art’s sake” will probably go back home fully satiated.

The Legend of Hercules

Lauri Mauritz Harjola is better known as Renny Harlin.  Why do we know Renny Harlin? It is because he gave us movies like Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and Long Kiss Goodnight.  Were any of them stunning award winning movies? Not at all.  But they were really solid entertainment and very good for their times.  I would not find it difficult to watch any of these movies once again.

Yaariyan

Famous Last Words – “The toughest job in the world is being a mother.  One of the most difficult things to do is directing a movie.  I did both together” – Divya Khosla Kumar, Director, Yaariyan (read “Probably the worst movie of 2014).

Dedh Ishqiya

Pick the same director - check

Pick the same lead cast - check

Add 2-3 brilliant actors as seasoning – check

Retain some of the "characters" from the first edition – check

Pick yet another rustic premise / story – check

Add flavour with the tongue of The Nawabs – check

Make sure that the music is acceptable if not brilliant – check

Get a great cinematographer to create some gorgeous shots  - check

Get a location that connects with both rural and urban India – check

Hire a set designer who can make that location look even more beautiful - check

Grudge Match

One look at Peter Segal’s filmography and you would never think that he could run a movie that is not a comedy – Anger Management, The Longest Yard, Get Smart, Naked Gun 33 1/3 – all of them more comic than serious.  Maybe that is the reason imdb lists Grudge Match as a Sports Comedy.  What I can tell you is that any element of comedy was ersatz, more often than not.

Autumn Blood (Austria)

Log onto www.imdb.com and search for Autumn Blood – well, lemme save you the trouble - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085752/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1.  Notice the roles against each member of the cast.  It gets as simple as that to make a movie right? The Girl, The Boy, The Butcher, The Mayor, The Hunter, The Friend, The Social Worker – how cool is that!!!! Who needs names right?

The Selfish Giant

Statutory Warning – If you don’t understand the way upcountry Brits speak  English then The Selfish Giant is a movie you should watch with subtitles only.  I am not an expert in language and cannot tell you what the exact accent was but it would suffice to say that I was struggling to keep up with what the cast was speaking.  Sadly, the MAMI team didn’t think it worthwhile to keep them on; TSG is a really good movie.

Inside Llewyn Davis

All Coen Brothers fans in the house raise your hands!!!! And once you have done that, check your list of movies to confirm that you have seen Inside Llewyn Davis.  A few of us (about a 500 I am guessing) were lucky enough to see the movie at the Mumbai International Film Festival.  For the rest, PVR Director’s Rare has been kind enough to release it after several delays – 10^th January 2014 is the day.

TimePass (TP) (Marathi)

Ravi Jadhav is one of the reasons for Marathi cinema seeing a renaissance of sorts over the past few years.  From Natarang to Balak Palak (BP) and now TimePass (TP).  He has clearly indicated repeatedly that it doesn’t take mainstream “commercially” acceptable cinema to be commercially viable.  More power to him I say because this is the kind of cinema that audiences should be exposed to and not slapstick sleazy cinema.

Mr Joe B. Carvalho

I write this review with no prejudice whatsoever to anyone or anything.  In fact let me clarify at the outset that I love Arshad Warsi and Soha Ali Khan.  I have been a fan of Javed Jaffrey as well for decades now.  And needless to say Vijay Raaz is one of the finest actors that India has produced in a long long time – one with a superb voice as well.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

And it is turning out to be a great start to Hollywood in India for 2014 – much like last year.  But I guess that’s what happens when you release movies made in 2013 in the first month of the year.  So to that extent it doesn’t count.  What counts however is that for the first time I have seen Ben Stiller executing a role that doesn’t involve any slapstick comedy.