Bajirao Mastani (Hindi) (2015)

At the outset, let us first tip our hat or in fact give a standing ovation to a few people involved in Bajirao Mastani.  Fistly – Sriram Kannan Iyengar, Sujeet Subhash Sawant, Yantra Design Studio and Saloni Ankush Dhatrak for some breathtaking Production Design – probably the best we have seen since Mughal-e-Azam!!!

Dilwale (Hindi) (2015)

Ever get a feeling that you tried to do something differently but could not change who you stand for and ultimately landed up making a big hash of everything? If the answer is yes, then Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale will give you that sense of déjà vu.  It would have definitely given Shetty that feeling.

Tamasha (2015) (Hindi)

He started with a very simple movie 10 years back.  One which would qualify to be a sleeper hit.  It was called Socha Na Tha and starred a certain relative of someone with a 2.5 kg fist.  He has released a movie around every 2 years since.  Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Rockstar (2011), Highway (2014) and now Tamasha (2015).  He is one of my favourite writer directors in India today – Imtiaz Ali.

Spectre (2015) (James Bond)

Disclaimer – This writer is a massive James Bond fan.  He has collected every single release of James Bond on DVD and plans to convert the same (shortly) into an enviable Blue Ray collection before the release of Bond 2017-18.  He can rarely find fault in a James Bond movie and therefore can be classified as a “classic fanboy”.  Read on.

Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Marathi) (2015)

To say that Marathi Cinema has come of age is a stale statement these days.  It is well past the coming of age stage and is rapidly moving towards excellence.  Subodh Bhave’s directorial debut is a commendable one and an industry (that was otherwise considered a laggard) one step forward.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

It has been nearly 2 months since I put the proverbial pen to paper.  I have watched movies in the interim – they are like the air that I breathe – but a combination of writer’s block and just plain lethargy prevented me from writing.  Not that cinema of the likes of Pyar Ka Punchnama 2 or for that matter Shandaar didn’t inspire me to overcome the lethargy.

Katti Batti (Hindi) (2015)

Nikhil Advani is definitely not known for brilliant movies with the one exception of D-Day where he made his only genuine attempt to aid the effort of quality cinema in Bollywood.  Back to Back releases in a week may indicate that Shri Advani over estimated his prowess in the field of direction.  Regretably he has botched up both stories – one which was a classic and the other that had a lot of promise.

All is Well (2015) (Hindi)

I have started writing this review a little after the interval of All Is Well. It will definitely be one of the corniest lines I have ever written in over 5 years of reviewing but I am at a loss of words as of now. All is definitely not well. There. I have said it.

Fantastic Four (2015)

I can only guess or speculate when I make this statement that even Hollywood seems to be running out of good ideas for cinema.  Why else would one try and relaunch a superhero franchise that was not perceived as a great one to begin with.  More importantly, why would someone try to narrate the same story again?

Mr. Holmes

Sometime back, a T Shirt featuring Sir Ian McKellen created a minor ripple (http://weheartit.com/entry/group/100286).  It read, I AM GANDALF AND MAGNETO. GET OVER IT.  Sir I M can now change that T Shirt to read – I AM GANDALF, MAGNETO AND SHERLOCK – BEAT THAT!!!

Ant Man

The character of Ant Man is over 50 years old – 53+ to be precise.  It debuted in 1962 and about 17 years on, he appeared on Saturday Night Live.  Of course, it wasn’t remotely popular as the other “mans” around that time which would probably explain the 5 decades that we’ve had to wait for the big screen debut of a character which will be part of the Avengers next year.

Masaan

For the better part of the first half of 2015, a permanent fixture of weekly updates from most sites has been that of Masaan and its success across every available platform in the world.  Needless to say, I was mighty excited to get an opportunity to watch one of the most acclaimed movies in recent times, earlier this week.  Unfortunately, it is probably the hype around the movie that did it in – for me.

Baahubali : The Beginning

S S Rajamouli’s effort to be a household name in parts of the country other than South India received a huge boost through Eega aka Eecha aka Makkhi.  Bahubali : The Beginning will bridge any gap that was left over for certain.  Not only does it claim to be India’s most expensive movie on record at 250 crores ($40 Million or so) – It feels like there has been an effort worth 250 crores put in.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

The magnitude of Salman Khan and an Eid release is indicated by the fear in the minds of all other production houses.  Not a single release other than Bajrangi Bhaijaan this weekend in India.  In fact there were a couple of withdrawals as well at the last minute.  But at the end of 2 hours and 25 minutes I would risk sticking my neck out and say this, “It has to be the end of the Eid Monopoly for Bhai”.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Elizabeth Banks moves from her position in front of the camera in Pitch Perfect (2012) to an additional responsibility that she is not too unfamiliar with per se.  She gets behind the camera. Banks’ acting skills have been impressive albeit over the top (including Pitch Perfect) and her direction seems to be headed the same way.  There are high points (literally) in PP2 but overall lands up barely meeting expectations.

Pitch Perfect (2012)

I decided to watch Pitch Perfect only because the sequel releases tomorrow.  Surprisingly – pleasantly at that – I didn’t regret it.  I tread with caution but within a few minutes I was hooked.  It is probably the only movie to date (I haven’t seen the sequel yet) that is centered on the acapella scene in the United States – at least it is the only one that I have seen to date.

Insidious : Chapter 3 (2015)

James Wan, after the hugely successful Conjuring, had mentioned in an interview that he will not be directing any more horror movies (except the sequel to Conjuring).  A decision that I would request, beg, beseech, plead Wan to reconsider.  There are not enough half decent directors in this genre.  Not much left to be desired if the one great director in the past decade decides to call it quits.

Inside Out (Animation) (2015)

Disney Pixar, should do something really special for Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen for coming up with a concept like Inside Out – something like a lifetime retainer.  Docter made Up in 2009 but first time director, Carmen, does not have too much to catch up with from the looks of it.

Drishyam (Malayalam) (2013)

It took me over a year to watch Drishyam (Malayalam) and I do hope that this review will prevent the rest of you from waiting so long.  Drishyam isn’t a brilliant movie by far in several aspects chief amongst them being its pace in the first half.  But make no mistake.  It is a very very good story and it has some superb performances that come together quite beautifully.

Georgekutty (Mohanlal) is a Cable TV Operator in a small village called Rajakkad in Idukki district.  Its up in the hills – the western ghats – of Kerala right in between infinite shades of green.  Georgekutty is married to Rani (Meena) and has 2 daughters Anjumol (Ansiba Hassan) and Anumol (Baby Ester).  Georgekutty is an orphan who studied only upto Grade 4 and has slowly but surely become reasonably successful.

Jeethu Joseph spends a whole amount of time – nearly an hour and 15 minutes – to build up the story about the middle class respectable life in Rajakkad. He builds the equation between Georgekutty and the local the corrupt cop Sahadevan (Kalabhavan Shajon). A little too much time before coming to the actual plot – one of blackmail, murder and a desperate Inspector General stacked up against a 4^th class pass whose only education comes from the world of cinema.

You will have to be extremely patient with Drishyam because for over an hour, you cannot quite figure out what is about to happen.  Even after you figure it out, Jeetu Joseph doesn’t pick up the pace dramatically till about 15-20 minutes from the end when it all comes together.  So be patient because you will not be disappointed at the end of it all.

The performances are simply superb – as usual from Mallu cinema.  A big part of the performances comes from the casting.  Mohanlal not only looks like your average ordinary middle class fellow from Rajakkad but carries it off with a conviction of your average ordinary middle class fellow from Rajakkad. 

The only minor error in casting – that is more than compensated by performance – was that of Asha Sarath as IG Geetha Prabhakar because she just looked too young to be a mother of a high school boy and the IG of Police.  But the woman can act I tell you!!!  But the pick of the lot had to be Kalabhavan Shajon as the despicable cop who will not shy away from hitting an 11 year old girl.  Class act this man!!!

You could watch Drishyam in one of many ways as under

1. Download at http://kat.cr/drishyam-2013-malayalam-brrip-1080p-x264-aac-5-1-e-subs-mbrhdrg-2gb-t10045310.html
2. Buy a BD version on amazon - http://www.amazon.in/Drishyam-Mohanlal/dp/B00KBN25FO/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1434780768&sr=1-2&keywords=drishyam
3. Watch on your mobile on hotstar - http://www.hotstar.com/#!/watch-drishyam-online-1000051783-m (but this doesn’t have subtitles)
4. Wait for the Hindi version that is scheduled to release on 31^st July 2015 – its an identical remake from the looks of it

Either ways – enzoy!!! 7.5 on 10.

Watch the trailer on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMASubc1y_k

ABCD2 (Hindi) (2015)

ABCD 2 begins with a stunning display of Electron (a form of dance) by a dance troupe called Illuminati - a celebration of neon green, blue, yellow and pink that gets your excitement sky high. The adrenaline rush generated by Illuminati is matched but not exceeded by a troupe called J5 (a Michael Jackson tribute dance troupe) that performs to Psycho Re from ABCD 1.

Focus (2015)

It’s a week of movies where the story has been told before but with a minor twist here and another one there.  Most of us have seen enough and more movies about conmen and their operations and so the formula for a good one is out there.  Focus capitalizes on this tried and trusted formula for a con movie and manages to scrape through – but barely.

NH10 (Hindi) (2015)

We have seen many a movie that hovers around the topic of “road-trip gone wrong” – both from Hollywood as well as Bollywood.  NH10 comes from this genre.  But as I have always maintained in most of my writing, old wine in new bottle if perfectly acceptable, so long as the new bottle is really different.  NH10 is a perfect example of this point of view.

Coffee Bloom (Hindi) (2015)

Any of you ever been through a break-up? One in which both of you (or at least you) were so deeply involved that it has left you scarred for life? I can probably see hundreds of hands go up in the air (I say hundreds because that’s how many people follow my blog – showing off ;)).  What are the emotions that go through your head if you were to meet the love of your life (at some point in time) in totally unexpected circumstances.

Chappie

Neill Blomkamp’s first full length feature got him an Academy nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay with wife Teri Tatchell.  Teri didn’t join hands with him for his second movie called Elysium but is back again for a perfect example of letting your imagination run completely amok.

Roy (2015) (Hindi)

In my books, Roy, was one of the movies of 2015 that I was really looking forward to.  The posters gave a feel of a slow but different and dark movie with Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.  The rumoured story was one of a love triangle and Ranbir Kapoor playing a thief.  Enough to get your intrigued and want to watch.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

I love Matthew Vaughn movies – Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick Ass, X Men – First Class and now Kingsman Secret Service.  I have seen them all and I have realy loved watching each and every one of them.  And therefore this review may just be a tad biased towards one of my favourite directors from Hollywood.

Fifty Shades of Grey

The trailer on imdb (http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2636688921/?ref_=tt_ov_vi) very proudly proclaims

1. Books Sold – 100 million
2. Trailer Views – 250 million
3. Fantasies Provoked – Countless
4. Are You Curious?

Mr. Turner

Most of us (yours truly included) would remember Timothy Spall for just one role – “Wormtail” from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (small appearance also in Order of The Phoenix).  But that doesn’t anyways change the fact that Spall is one of THE most talented actors of our time.

Shamitabh

At one point in SHAMITABH our hero Danish (Dhanush) blows onto screen as LIFEBUOY (I am not kidding) - a special forces appointee of the BMC (Bruhanmumbai Municipal Corporation).  His job is to clean the city of all its mess. Ergo Lifebuoy.  That's just one of the over the top segments of the 3rd movie from a certain R Balakrishnan or Balki as we know him.

Jupiter Ascending

The biggest selling point for Jupiter Ascending would have been the fact that The Wachowskis (no longer the Wachowski Brothers) are back after a hiatus of nearly 3 years.  The siblings have never given us a disappointing movie to date.  Complicated yes.  Disappointing never.

Wild Card (2015)

Some may say that Jason Statham is cut out for only one type of role that is probably immortalized by his best performance to date i.e. Frank Martin (Transporter).  I would tend to agree with them but having said that, Statham hasn’t let the people who call him a stereotype come in the way of what has been built into a brand of action with a solid fan following from across the world.  I am one of those fans.

The Boy Next Door

It has been nearly 2 years since Jennifer Lopez played any part in a movie.  It was a movie that didn’t do much in the Indian circuit but definitely plays a lot on TV.  I am talking about the Jason Statham starrer called Parker.  So fans of JLo would be quite excited to see her back on screen.

Khamoshiyan (2015) (Hindi)

My best friend and I were having a drink last night and discussing today’s releases.  When I mentioned Khamoshiyan he said, “I don’t go to Vikram Bhatt movies any more because they claim to show a lot of skin but end up showing nothing”.  He was bang on in terms of his assessment much like many of us.  The unfortunate few involved in writing about cinema don’t have a choice per se.

Hawaizaada

First of all let me request Vibhu Virender Puri and of course all other directors listening – Pick a language and stick to it.  Shuttling between Hindi and Marathi turns out to be a disaster. Firstly the dialogue goes flat.  Secondly, when you have a cast that is uncomfortable with either language, it turns out to be the equivalent of several eggs on face – not just one.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

When you have Alejandro González Iñárritu directing a movie you can be rest assured that it has to be at least a little bit “hatke” (off the beaten path).  With movies like Amores Peres, 21 Grams, Babel and Biutiful under his belt Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) could not have been straightforward.  It would not have been Iñárritu.

Seventh Son

Sergey Bodrov is not a very famous director.  He has been around for a while actually.  Over 40 years since his first short film and about 15 full length features with some documentaries thrown in, Bodrov finally gets his first truly big banner kind of movie with Seventh Son

Foxcatcher

Steve Carell in a role that is not comic and over the top would be perceived by most people as laughable for sure.  But believe me when I say this – Steve Carell as John Eleuthère du Pont will be spoken about for time immemorial.  It is a stroke of casting brilliance and Carell grabs the opportunity with everything that he possibly can.

Mortdecai

Kyril Bonfiglioli was an English art-dealer, actor, science fiction editor, champion swordsman, and comic novelist. He is the author of what is apparently a famous series with a lead character called Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) was supposedly eccentric and witty.  The novels that attained cult status were loaded with dry satire and black humour – Wikipedia.

Dolly Ki Doli

It is always pleasantly surprising to walk into a movie that you didn’t expect to be even remotely watchable and it turns out to be just that a little better for you to walk out satisfied.  Although I will not allow it to affect my overall rating, DOLLY KI DOLI, falls into this category and was a good start to my Thursday.

Baby (Hindi) (2015)

One day…. Maybe someday soon, we will see a refreshing and reassuring Bollywood Espionage movie that is action packed from start to finish.  Stuff that most of our aspirations are made of right? Well fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a ride that has been most strangely named BABY.

Imitation Game

The toughest movies to review are those that leave you enamoured.  I saw Imitation Game last Saturday and over the past 6 days I have been thinking about whether I was blown away by the person called Alan Turing or the actor called Benedict Cumberbatch or was it the story and the narrative that eventually turned into an end product called The Imitation Game.

Paddington

The first kiddie movie of 2015 is here and it draws itself from a 1997 series of children’s books called “The Adventures of Paddington Bear”.  It was probably only a matter of time before the little bear from Darkest Peru found its way to the silver screen.

Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene

The biggest challenge in watching Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene begins from frame one. That challenge goes by the name of Zayed Khan - the second worst actor in the world (the worst would be Fardeen Khan). Thankfully the trailers prepare you for this challenge and it doesn't come as an unpleasant surprise. Thank God for small mercies.

Alone (2015) (Hindi)

"Kabeer ke Bina birthday cake nahin kaatungi" says Sanjana (Bipasha Basu) at her surprise birthday party organised by Kabeer (Karan Singh Grover) himself but in absentia. Her friend says, "Kaun kiss se zyada pyaa karta hai pata nahin". (we don't know who loves the other more). That's the story for the rest of the world.  But at home Sanjana doesn't want anything to come between her and Kabeer and is mighty cheesed about His hard working and social ways.

Crazy Cukkad Family

Ritesh Menon's debut full length feature film is about the super eccentric Beri family. The patriarch Shri Beri (Yusuf Hussain) doesn't have much of an opinion about his children. Not that they have done anything noteworthy but Shri Beri doesn't leave any stone unturned when it comes to rubbing their face onto the ground. He uses the choicest of sardonic language available at his disposal to make them feel like scum of the earth.

American Sniper

From frame one American Sniper screams Clint Eastwood.  With his last 2 movies being well below par (J Edgar and Hereafter – and I mean as a director), an ageing Eastwood probably desperately needed a movie that could have a shot at Uncle Oscar.  With American Sniper he gives himself 6 nominations and a truly deserving one for Best Picture.

The Theory of Everything

In the recent past, most of you would have heard or experience something to do with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge.  Also, many of you would have heard of Stephen W Hawking purely thanks to references in The Big Bang Theory.  Sadly, few of us have read A Brief History of Time or have followed one the most brilliant minds of our time – I hope I am wrong.

I (Tamil) (2015)

To the average Bollywood movie goer, the passion and crowd support associated with Tamil cinema will be alien to say the least.  How can one explain a sell-out crowd for the 1030 am show at PVR Mulund of all places? Us “Madrasi” fellows follow cinema and our heroes with a passion that only Bhai’s followers can think of matching and even they will fall short because Bhai has a following in Chennai which is higher than Mumbai.

Nevertheless, larger than life director Shankar’s latest Pongal venture is titled “I”.  Why? For that you will have to sustain 3 hrs and 10 minutes of Madras Mirch Masala which the average Bollywood fan may compare to climbing Mt. Everest.  Imagine the plight of us amateur critics who believe that they know enough about cinema to write about it.

I is the story of Lingesan (Chiyaan Vikram) who is a body builder.  He is enamoured by a certain model called Diya (Amy Jackson) who, surprisingly makes a ton of money out of modelling assignments.  Not that she is an actress and endorses products.  She is just a pretty face with a hot bod who has Softy Ice-cream, Bru, Stayfree and Nature Power Soap as some of the brands in her portfolio.

Lingesan is all but in love with Diya and even buys all the products she models for – yes, including Stayfree.  When our hero wins the Mr. Tamil Nadu he gets an opportunity to meet our heroine and before you know it gets catapulted into the big bad world of modelling for high end products.  It involves shooting in exotic provinces in China where a certain flower blooms only in September.

Along the way, Lingesan becomes Lee and also love (read louv) happens – first as make believe to help Lee get comfortable in front of the camera and then actual louv happens.  Of course success does not come without rubbing some people the wrong way who eventually believe that they have had enough and something has to be done about Lee.

Like most Tamil movies with Shankar, I is extremely over the top on almost all counts.  Amy Jackson’s incapability to act is compensated through efforts such as a liberal focus on her assets.  Gimmicks like morphing her into a phone with the call buttons on her breasts do little to help.

Refer link for actual view J (http://content.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/display%20image/300x275%20jpeg/97151571.jpg).  The morphing moves forward with a Royal Enfield, sprouts, fish, a dhobi ghat and of course weights.

There are 3 major fight sequences.  One that involves BMX bicycles over rooftops in China.  Another with Lee’s hands tied behind his back.  But the piece de resistance has to be the first one in a gymnasium before Lee goes onto become Mr. Tamil Nadu.  That has Lingesan fighting the baddie body builders lathered in oil and in nothing but body builder underwear – if you are into that kind of fetish then it is probably a wet dream come true.

Besides the liberal presence of brands from Sunfeast Dark Fantasy to 3 roses tea and of course an entire song titled “i” perfume made in vanilla, I the movie is not short on everything that stands for Tamil cinema.  A transvestite, body builders flexing their moobs (man boobs), an ode to Beauty and the Beast, some great make-up – everything!!!

But the high point or 2 high points have to be mentioned.  One that involves replacing weights with human beings on a 7 foot barbell and performing a lift.  But nothing could probably beat tying your shoe laces by deftly flicking your feet in a manner that only Chiyaan Vikram could.  Simply sensational.  5 on 10 in terms of quality but even 10 would be insufficient to rate the antics that make this movie. Simply awesome.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3484134937/?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Tevar

Tevariffic is what the campaign building up to the movie said.  A nice play on words and a decent campaign leading up to a decent movie.  But barely there.  If there was any way to pay tribute to Bollywood to begin a fresh year, Tevar is exactly the way it should be.  Music, Masala, Action, Drama – almost everything that you could expect from B-town and all reasonably packaged.

Taken 3

Every franchise has a particular life span.  A lot of it is dependent on consistency.  But a significant factor of longevity is also, "What is different this time around"? Taken 3 scores low on both counts.  The similarity ends with the characters from the Paris and Istanbul editions.

There is a significant departure from the basic premise. It is not a story of someone being kidnapped OR Taken to begin with. So it may as well have been called by another name like Non-Stop or Unknown or A Walk Among Tombstones. It is a genre of movies that has been formed over the past 5-6 years.  It is a genre called Liam Neeson.

The third and final installment (as the posters proclaim) finishes as a meek attempt to squeeze everything possible from the audience that had lapped up the earlier editions of this franchise.  Regrettably they do not get the formula right and have given it a less than memorable send off (provided they do not go back on their word).

Taken 3 gets off the blocks very slowly with Bryan Mills (Neeson) bringing a giant panda 🐼 as a birthday gift for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). The Hindi music in the background seemed as out of place as the panda itself. Bryan's hope of surprising his daughter falls flat. He finds a shoulder in his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Jenssen) who is having some trouble with her marriage to Stuart St. John (Dougaray Scott).

In fact, Stuart goes onto ask Bryan to not speak to Lenore any more. Bryan obliges only to receive a message from Lenore the next morning to meet over bagels. The good ex-husband that Bryan is, he walks across to pick bagels only to return to Lenore's cold body with a slit throat. The chase then begins.

The slow build up is compensated with some great chases soon after. First on foot with some exhibition of Parkour thrown in for garnish (it has become mandatory these days).  It then moves onto a frenetic car chase on the freeway which is in typical Taken fashion.  But that’s all you will get to keep you happy.

There are some classy dialogues in between that keep the audience entertained.  Liam Neeson excels in the dialogue delivery but does look a tad jaded and probably bored of reprising the same role over and over again.  The support cast is as good as furniture.  Really nothing exciting in the acting department per se.

Oliver Megaton has great action flicks to his credit like Transporter 3, Colombiana and even Taken 2.  But even with such solid backing behind him, Megaton struggles to put up a respectable showing with Taken 3.  I think the franchise had just run out of steam.  Watchable on TV.  5 on 10.  Disappointing end to the series.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2340859673/?ref_=tt_ov_vi

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

The Woman in Black (2012) starring Daniel Radcliffe wasn’t something that made you feel creepy.  It was scary in bits and parts but nowhere close to what horror freaks and fanatics are used to, or demand these days.  The Woman in Black 2 : Angel of Death, is no different.

Big Eyes

My first preview for 2015 was a movie that released last year in the US.  I had in fact asked a question about this movie at the Entertainment Quiz @ Oasis 2014, BITS Pilani around 2 months back. I must admit that I had no idea who Keane was till I researched stuff for my question – such is the importance given to art and artists out here.  Sad but true.