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Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 (2018)
HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT
The first Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster was brilliant. The second was mediocre, all handled by Irfan Khan. The third film is lost. Its the worst. There is no structure. Its as if the writer has hap-hazardously written something in one night like a college assignment just for the sake of doing it.
The characters have lost their core. Jimmy Shergill and Mahi Gill have given good performances but there is hardly anything in the story. Jimmy's character has downgraded, become a bit dumb. Gill's character, well even the writer does not know what she really wants. Chitrangana (known to do selective films) plays a useless character for the first time in her career. Absolutely zero contribution to the story (whatever it is). Sanjay Dutt is mediocre, let down by the story. And there is Soha Ali Khan also. I am out of words for her character.
The screenplay is lackluster. You actually see people in the theatre checking their phones. Even I did (which I never do). The music is terrible. All songs are bad. Thanks for having just 2 songs. This is the classic Bollywood example of adding songs for no reason.
The main culprit of the movie is Tigmanshu Dhulia. We expect decent content from him. But he is the one who has underdelivered. The writing, the direction is boring. It looks as if he just made the movie hastily or just for the sake of making it or for Sanjay Dutt. He has wasted some good actors, and most importantly a good franchise. Well, not as bad as Remo did for Race!
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Michael Bay's embarrassment
This is the worst Transformers movie. This is Michael Bay's worst movie. You would expect somethings about story, music, cinematography, acting, action in user reviews, but this movie fails so bad that it does not even deserve such details in the review. There is absolutely NOTHING in the movie.
There is a 10 minute long scene in which autobots speak to each other cracking jokes. You wont laugh at any one of those. You just wanna get out of the screen. I literally closed my eyes during another scene but the big background music was so annoying that I again thought of leaving. There is basic film making that is missing in this movie. The protagonist Optimus Prime enters the movie towards the end. Also an actress enters the movie at half time. Mark Walberg and the superweak story (no story) cannot sustain at all. You can easily point that the scenes that have been stretched way beyond limits or added just to consume run time. The movies tries to crack over 100 jokes (literally), and I laughed at just one.
This is Bay's failure. He has just made a movie for the franchise to earn money. It looks like he picked the first draft of script without checking it and rushed through filming it. Transformers 5 is so disappointing that it even seems like Bay deliberately made a superbad movie, considering his calibre.
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
A Walk Among the Tombstones is the resurgence of its kind not to be missed!
Crime is the most realistic a genre can get. If you like the ongoing obsession called True Detective, just dump this review and run to a theater to watch the Scott Frank's deceitful craft A Walk Among the Tombstones, based upon Lawrence Block's 1992 novel of the same title. Liam Neeson plays illegal private detective Matthew Scudder assigned a reluctant case of a barbarous gay couple who kidnap a drug trafficker Kenny Kristo's beautiful wife. Kenny pays the ransom only to be served with wrapped severed body parts of his wife, deeming the killers nothing less than psychos who turn out to serial.
Tombstones is unlike Taken and the stint of films Neeson had after that. He is a solo protagonist but not the predictable character that will end the film with all being well. The best part is that the serial murders have nothing to do with Scudder's personal life. He is never the target. He won't directly care about his unavoidable teen sidekick TJ (Brian 'Astro' Bradley), but he is resourceful when it comes to work sans his gun. The film gives a rush of Taken in a telephone conversation involving Scudder dominating the villain, but that's all. Scudder is a serious persona with a wry humor and his chemistry with TJ is amusing.
Writer-director Scott Frank is a reviver for this desperately needed cinema. He derives influences from Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and Steven Splielberg's Munich for this one. Tombstones hardly wavers from its prime plot. There is no scene singly specifying any personal aspect of any character, not even that of the serial killers. He has kept the film gory in a passive manner instead of visual ranting. Also you never what you might be shown next. The film has brilliant performances from other lesser known actors. The depiction of Brooklyn in 1999 is artistic. The film comes off more as a surprise from Neeson's side. Let's just hope this is a start to a film series!
Lucy (2014)
Scarlett Johansson's Lucy is a sleak, crazy and extravagant sci-fi
We all fall for the seductive notion of some kind of superpower, especially if it's just us in the world. That's why it's called superpower. Many writers have played and manipulated this idea with Transcendence and Limitless being the latest consequences. Luc Besson's Lucy is a better culmination than at least these two. The premise being that a human uses less than 10% of his brain.
Scarlett Johansson plays Lucy, a regular college girl with an obviously jerk boyfriend who forces her to deliver a briefcase having "documents". Suddenly the jolly jerk is killed and Lucy is taken by a drug lord. The briefcase contains a blue drug which is the sci-fi element of the film. The drug is surgically inserted into her stomach and Lucy becomes the courier. But the ravenous minions molest her and beat her up. A recurrent of kicks on her stomach and the drug leaks into Lucy's system, slating one of the most dramatic inceptions of superpower. Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) is small parallel character. Norman is the best expert on the brain but his theories are a mere speculation since no human has used 20 or 30 or 50 or 100% of his brain. Lucy contacts him and confronts that his theories are right. She has 24 hours before her body becomes incapable of handling her.
Luc Besson had to keep the critics at bay before writing this one. He has knowingly not cared much about the ambiguous existing scientific theories about the brain. But he manages a perfect equilibrium between theories and entertainment, purposely compromising on scientific details. Lucy knows telekinesis. She can control humans, a dozen of them in a second. She doesn't feel pain. She can still remember the taste of her mother's milk, change her physical structure. She can eventually travel in time.
The 90 minutes film is paced fast and is high on adrenaline action. Nobody knows what we can do by using 100% of our brain. So it's better to dump the contradicting scientific theories and enjoy this fun ride with the beautiful lady.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien swing the Smaug for the Hobbit
There were many filmmakers who envied Peter Jackson and there will be many more. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a cinematic experience to be rued forever if missed. The first was an experience as well, but this is better. The quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon is beyond enticing each second. And then finally we do get enough to worship the creature we were seduced with in the first part.
Bilbo Baggins, our cherished hobbit, has ultimately become a significant member of the quest headed by Thorin Oakenshield and ghost-headed by Gandalf the Grey. Together our beloveds embark on a journey sprinkled with increasing Orcs throughout. There is a skin-changer. There are weird spiders. And then there are the Elves ruled by Thranduil. Tauriel is the only girl in the film, and is a beauty indeed. Legolas' arrows are still captivating. The escape cum river cum river bank cum waterfall sequence is worth whistling. Gandalf's epic face-off with the Enemy is surprising. Finally the advent of the dragon Smaug sends chills across the theater.
Martin Freeman just like his character never ceases to amuse us with his performance. Although Ian McKellen once again emerges favorite as Gandalf. Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel) does catch our eyes, being the only lady onboard. Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Ken Scott (Balin) are also poignant. Benedict Cumberbatch (voice of Smaug) will always be special to give the greedy Sherlock fans their two stars in a frame.
Peter Jackson's direction will be eulogized till the end of all times. The screenplay writers Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro have outdone every living screenplay writer. The real immortal is J.R.R. Tolkien whose antique novel is the heart of venture. The 160 minute film has a better pace than its predecessor, courtesy of the brilliant editing involved. A special salute to the entire team for filming the entire trilogy together and taking film production to its novel epitome. The 3D is mesmerizing and has to be watched to be believed.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is worth the wait. The writing, visuals and performances are scintillating to the core. It's a must watch. Ironically, one cannot wait for the final chapter!
Grand Masti (2013)
The writers, Ritesh and the director add the zing to make this ride watchable...again!
Adult comedies have been the prime demand of Bollywood audience since Kya Superkool Hai Hum. Thanks to Indra Kumar for understanding us and bringing Grand Masti (GM).
Firstly, you don't need to watch the prequel for this. Writer Tushar Hiranandani does a good job at the story and Milap Zaveri's dialogues add the icing and director Indra Kumar gives the attractive package.
Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Srivdasani and Vivek Oberio play their parts brilliantly. But as expected in this review, our own Ritesh Deshmukh deserves a special mention. Each of the actresses does her job pretty well.
The music is good but could have been better. The final song does the real work. The cinematography is good. Director Indra Kumar (Dhamaal, Masti) does a commendable job.
Overall everyone does a good job, but the writers, Ritesh and the director add the zing to make this ride watchable...again. Bollywood is surely growing in this genre and don't be surprised if you see at least five adult comedies annually from the following year. This wave is strong!
Shootout at Wadala (2013)
SAW is a must watch for crime buff
First things first. Shootout At Wadala(SAW) has nothing to do with Shootout At Lokhandwala. This is a part of the Shootout trilogy perceived by director Sanjay Gupta. SAW is the portrayal of the first registered police encounter of the Mumbai Police in 1982, a drastic step to stop the menacing Manohar Surve aka Manya Surve. The story is loosely based on Hussain Zaidi's popular novel Dongri to Dubai.
Manya is a simpleton who becomes pure evil for his necessary survival. John Abraham plays Manya with extreme character and style. This real life story is worth watching and inspiring gangs. The inclusion of characters based on Dawood Ibrahim take a crime screenplay to a pinnacle. Once again after OUATIM, this film brings out the fact that the Mumbai Police played a pivotal role in Dawood's ascendance to Don.
Sanjay Gupta's direction is neat but not the best we have seen in recent times. Although he has managed to extract brilliant performances from everyone. The screenplay by Sanjay Bhatia is almost tight. But the dialogues are explicit. There are some scenes which pack a punch.
The music does really nice. The background score keeps you ticking. The songs Aala Re Aala and Laila are awesome. Both Sophie Choudary and Sunny Leone have done a fabulous job. Priyanka's Babli Badmaash is a setback to the flow and brilliance. It does not work at all. Also another serious song was not required.
John gives one of his career's best performances. The best thing being that after watching the film you cannot get any other actor who could have played Manya. Anil Kapoor is getting exceptional by every film since Slumdog Millionaire. Manoj Bajpayee maintains his class as always. Sonu Sood is good but has a small part. Kangna Ranuat is fine.
Overall, if you discard the two bad songs mentioned above, SAW is a superb watch. It goes better with the Marathi audience for the Mumbai touch. Final word, if you are a crime fan, SAW is a must watch.
Chashme Baddoor (2013)
Chashme Baddoor is one of the best comedies!
David Dhawan does what he should have done ages ago, ditches Govinda and takes three brilliant actors and makes Chashme Baddoor (CD). In CD, he does what he does best, makes people laugh out their bones. CD is a remake of some South movie.
CD has a simple yet nice story for a comedy. The screenplay is an achievement. The dialogues are a further achievement. "If you cant change the girl, change the girl" is surely picking in the college campuses. The shaayaris are funny and the best part being that you cant predict them.
Ali Zafar plays the honest guy in today's generation with brilliant technique. Siddharth plays his lovable character so naturally that he gets the maximum attention in the frame. Divyendu Sharma has made his career by playing this incredible shaayar. Actually all three roles were extremely difficult. but with David Dhawan's leadership, it seems like a cakewalk. Anupam Kher and Rishi Kapoor are enjoyable as always. Tapsee Pannu as Neha is cute and very pretty in her role.
The music is very good. Ishq Moohallah and Har Ek Friend Kamina Hota Hai are the favorites. The cinematography is colorful.
Chashme Baddoor is a youthful joy ride. Its a must watch and definitely one of the best comedies of all time!
Dabangg 2 (2012)
Dabanng 2 fails miserably because of two aspects - Dabanng worked fabulously and Arbazz fails horribly in Dabanng 2!
Dabangg 2 enjoyed a hyped which was envied by every actor, producer and director. But, the higher you climb, the more fatal is the fall. Dabangg 2 is just like Dabangg - all Salman Khan. Question is who made Salman in Dabanng? The answer - Abhinav Singh Kashyap. That is what director Arbaaz Khan knew and what he ignored. I cannot write anything about the story as there is none. But I can tell you how they made Dabangg 2. First they made parallel songs to Dabangg. Dabanng Reloaded, Dagabaaz Re, Pandeyji Seeti, Saanson Ne, Fevicol are all exactly analogous to Hud Hud Dabanng, Tere Mast Mast Do Nain, Humka Peeni Hai, Mora Jiya and Munni Badnaam respectively. Then they filled in the gaps with Salman's antics. The screenplay is mediocre but neither good nor lame. There are comic moments but there could be many more. Dabangg 2 uses Dabangg in a lot of scenes.
Arbaaz Khan fails. This man had everything in the world to make a sequel - an all time hit prequel, the biggest star at that time, all the money to make it lavish and most importantly he had all the time in the world to make it because we didn't see him work anywhere else. But so strong is his brother Salman's mass following that Arbaaz succeeds just on paper. Arbaaz is the sole reason why Dabangg 2 is very far from Dabangg. Abhinav had made each joke laughable. Arbaaz does that in just a few. The rest fall flat despite Salman's attempts to help them. Ironically Arbaaz's work is just his character Makkhi in the film - lazy, doing things just for the sake of doing them and counting the chickens before they hatch.
Salman gives a splendid performance. But he was much better in Dabanng. Since Arbaaz is the director the characteristics mentioned above reflect in Salman.
The cinematography and music were again better in the prequel. The song Fevicol Se is the only exception which is awesome. Kareena is scintillating.
Overall Dabanng 2 fails miserably because of two aspects - Dabanng worked fabulously and Arbazz fails horribly in Dabanng 2!
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola (2013)
MKBKM is only for the smart. Must watch!
Come Vishal Bharadwaj and you expect the unexpected. Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola(MKBKM)is Vishal's great comeback after Saat Khoon Maaf. Telling which actor plays what is a waste of time and in fact would turn out to be long. MKBKM is a movie for the smart. Its for those who raise their own bar and not for those who can still laugh for years on the same lame jokes. The comedy is intelligent. In fact, the not so smart people will be left helplessly confused for solace. This is the main reason for a major part of Indian audience not lauding this film. The story revolves around the social cause of farmers. No, it doesn't show suicides, extreme poverty, hapless tears. This one is just too different to happen again. What I mean is that you end up watching the entire movie happily. So much that you want more these characters when you realize the end of the film. The screenplay is amazing supported by the mesmerizing performances of Pankaj Kapoor, Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma. The story has its space.
Vishal Bharadwaj is a pure genius. You cant compare him to any film-maker in this world. He know s exactly where to stop the intensity of every emotion. He never overdoes anything in the film. Its his show all the way.
Pankaj Kapoor has again proved versatile. When I saw him in the promos I wondered 'why him?'. But after watching the film you understand that it was this great actor who could have pulled off this turbulent character. The character requires different simple things on the outside and complex different things on the inside. Hats off! This man will be busy picking awards next year.
Imran Khan is awesome and his look is going to be aped in the villages. Anushka does an excellent job. Her performance increases exponentially and is brilliant in the culmination. Shabana Azmi is very good but gets overshadowed by Pankaj when her scenes are with him. The rest of the cast does fine.
The cinematography is first rate. It couldn't be better. The music by Vishal himself is apt and does its part very well.
Finally MKBKM is a film for the smart audience. Its a must watch!
Table No.21 (2013)
We all like surprises in this tedious lifestyle. TN21 just does that!
The trend in Bollywood for the first six months of any year has been more of small budget, small actors but large concept film. The remaining half half is followed with big films every Friday with big stars and unfortunately small concept. This year might not be any different. Bollywood has never had a superhit film on the first Friday of an year. 2013's first film Table No.21(TN21) comes as a surprise. Its not a superhit but worth a watch.
Rajeev Khandelval and Tena Desae play a modern married couple who understand today's world and know all what they want from it and all what they can do for it - money. TN21 starts with a great song which actually works wonders to set the premise in five minutes instead of twenty minutes of boredom employed by other films. In a non-starer film it is very difficult to captivate the audience from the inception. The first song, the background score and Tena Desae do that job here. Once this happens the show is hijacked by the exceptional Paresh Rawal. Paresh takes it till the end with his little game of rounds with a humongous prize money which our couple here craves. The screenplay is excellent but could have been tighter. The unmatched comedy of Paresh Rawal helps a lot for the film. The climax is a surprise but extremely convincing.
TN21 is comes from an unheard director Aditya Datt who actually becomes 4-films old after this. Fortunately his earlier films have been only neglected and not bombarded. Nobody cared. But this film shall give him a surviving space.
Talking of performances, Paresh Rawal is the king. This man is in his own league. Rajeev Khandelwal has been very choosy in his films. He does the same and gives a brilliant performance. What you miss in him is just a tincy bit of attitude. Tena Desae does fine in her part, in fact excellent if compared to the number of good actresses in India now. This can get her career rolling.
The music is rapt. There are only two songs. The second is not even complete. The score does a very fine job. the cinematography is different but not exceptional.
On the whole, TN21 is a one time must watch due to its culmination. We all like surprises in this tedious lifestyle. TN21 just does that!
Talaash (2012)
Till now many people called Aamir a perfectionist. The others didn't agree or disagree. But now the others will say what Aamir says in diplomacy-not a perfectionist.
Talaash has huge hype and expectations. The story starts with a bang. It in fact confirms that you are in for show all the way. But since the film was totally marketed as a crime film, we don't expect anything else nor are we interested. But the crime takes a backseat and Aamir's personal life takes control. This is where the problems start. Things get listless more and more. Rani and Aamir get more frustrated after each scene which has nothing to do with the crime. The screenplay drops so much that only your wait for the crime to chip in makes you watch the movie and not Aamir's return after 3 years in cinema. When the crime part continues in the end and you feel your wait was worth, the story backfires leaving the film in tumult. The twist (moreover a forced transition and culmination) is not convincing at all. It falls flat, more than 8X10 Tasveer and Blue. CID episodes are better. Such stories are never implemented on a mega-budget film with a mega star with a 3 yr mega-hype. The script is like one which Mahesh Bhatt uses to make a 18cr film with Emraan Hashmi with mediocre marketing. There are a few comedy dialogs and scenes but again they are just moments. Talking of performances, I think Aamir should not even be nominated for the Best Actor because his role is very simple and doesn't require anything special, although he has done his part nicely. He is a great actor but the role does not demand great skills. Its a cliché role of an inspector who merely responds to the situations and creates none. Kareena keeps us ticking, in fact you are busy watching her instead of Aamir in the same frame. She steals it from him as if its payback after 3 Idiots. Rani is passable since her character has nothing to do with the crime. Nawazuddin is awesome and should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Reema Kagti directs fine but the story fails her. The cinematography is excellent. Ram Sampath's music is a formality expect the songs Muskaan Jhoothi Hai and Jee Le Zara. On the whole, Talaash is more of Aamir's failure than Reema Kagti or Zoya Akthar just like Yuvraaj was for Salman Khan than Subhash Ghai. Till now many people called Aamir a perfectionist. The others didn't agree or disagree. But now the others will say what Aamir says in diplomacy-not a perfectionist.