Movie Review: 'Taken 2'

He is back; back with his brains. Although he is an old-man now, he is smart as a whip. He is fearless and kickass. He is a thrashing machine for all the goons who even think of messing with his family. He is a retired CIA agent, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson). In comparison to its precursor Taken, the degree of admiration for this brave agent stays intact even though the magnitude of thrill in the movie lowers a bit. There is no  element of unpredictability in the script. The movie starts from exactly where its first part ends. The families of the Albanian kidnappers who were crushed to death by Mills in Taken take a vow of revenge. This side, Mills gains a ground to get back to his family. To re-kindle the relationship, his ex-wife okays in joining him along with their daughter in Istanbul where Mills is on his new assignment. The movie kicks in its typical shape when the vengeful team of Albanians show up to kidnap Mills and his family. It’s pointless to mention that the protagonist squeezes the lives out of all hoodlums and makes them stop missing their loved ones. However, the real Taken-moment of the movie is that edge-of-the-seat scene in which Mills calls up his daughter and astutely leads her to the location where he and his wife are kidnapped and locked up. Mills’ meticulous attention, his razor-sharp observation and jaw-dropping action stunts are the unparalleled gems that make the movie undeniably watchable. Please go for the movie to see how the combination of a protective father, a loving husband and a lethal ass-kicker looks like.

Movie Review: 'English Vinglish'

It is so pleasantly surprising to see the intact naughty spark of Hawa Hawai in Shashi’s Michael Jackson steps and Chandani’s subdued charm in Shashi’s home-making chores. The movie shows Sridevi (Shashi) as a dedicated housewife who takes care of two kids, sympathetically-caring husband and sorrow-sharer mother-in-law. She runs a small home business of catering snacks to the households along with satisfying her family needs. Appreciation for her expertise in laddoo-making gives her a big smile and family-contempt for her ignorable inability to speak fluent English reverses the same. Given the chance to help out with her niece’s wedding, she takes this scoffing-at-her-broken-English bull by its horns and joins the English class to learn the language. Shashi’s being very jubiliant for getting her identity as an ‘Entrepreneur’, her effective cross-language communication with her love-struck French classmate and her performing family duties while thrusting aside her already neglected emotions are some of the gems the movie has nicely crafted. 

There are a few scenes that demand answers from the flash-ridden society. Shashi’s constant quest of ‘respect’ from the love she gets from her family not only strikes a strong chord but compels the audience to think over. The film has bared the harm being done by the pretentious layer of perceived sophistication to the deeply rooted, strong values of traditional India. Kudos to Gauri Shinde for she could see Shashi in Sri. The continual little shudder in Sri’s voice seems just perfect for the role she had so impeccably performed. All the characters are so aptly chosen and do justice to their roles.  My claps go to  Amit Trivedi for his real zappy numbers. Everything is just perfect but if one needs to nitpick, a bit stretch in the second half is something that is not totally called for. However, Sridevi shadows the same whenever she commands the screen. It’s a good blend of comedy, courage, emotion and inspiration. Sridevi while learning English teaches Acting to her fellow actors. This is the movie with the meaning and one shouldn’t miss something really unmissable.

Prize for the Movie Review of 'Heroine'

As I just recovered from the shock that 'Heroine' so generously gave, TV18 Broadcast Ltd sent me a DVD of the movie for having done my bit towards the social service by effectively spreading the negative word and warning the people. My big thanks go to the channel.

Movie Review: 'Heroine'

I had to have two cups of strong coffee to get Heroine out of my mind. To be modest, let me put it this way - Even if you badly want to get out of your house for a small break, then taking your dog out for a walk would be a better break than watching this movie. Kindly note that I am talking about the movie and not about Kareena!

A middle-class girl comes to Mumbai, becomes heroine, gets exploited, cries a lot, smokes a lot, tries to find true love and ends up landing in self-created mess. In the end, she prefers leaving the dirty world of acting by erasing her fabricated and tainted identity. Movie is over. There is no clear objective of the movie. Does Mahi Arora represent the considerable number of girls that come for acting? or When it is titled 'Heroine', shouldn't she be representing them? or Shouldn't the movie be titled 'Mahi'? If you ask these questions to Madhur Bhandarkar, you might find him scratching his head in confusion. His showing of sleaziness, usual slangs, cocktail parties, love triangle, selfish professionals, gossip-girls’ giggles and unsurprising politics make a big fig leaf and stop the concealed stuff to come forth. Though Kareena is super sizzling as Mahi Arora and comfortably takes everyone’s breath away with her spunky attitude, the shoulders of this delicate heroine are not strong enough to bear the full burden of this lumbering Heroine. Divya Dutta makes a mark till the point she is allowed to. Madhur Bhandarkar has done a feeble job, being overly dependent on cleavages and ignoring the script.

The title song at the start gives the overwhelming eye candy and attracts the silent gazing. Thereafter the movie generously allows you to step out and visit the food counter or washroom anytime you want and still takes care that you don’t miss anything. Come on, you shouldn’t be jailed in a theatre hall. Don’t punish yourself unless you prefer Kareena on screen to wallpaper. Biased to the beauty, I give 1.5 out of 5 with a big brutal no-no for this movie.

Movie Review: 'Barfi!'

Please go for the movie. That’s it and nothing more to add at the outset. Though everything seems to be just perfect barring a bit of unnecessary stretch with losing of grip in between, RanBarfir Kapoor steals the show and walks away with the strong claim on the Best Actor trophy.

The story of Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) spans across nearly four decades which shows him in his clean-shaven young look to mustache-keeping mature look to his old boy look which we have seen in Tata Docomo ad. Barfi is a specially-abled ball of fire who has neither fear nor shame as to what the others think of him. It starts with showing him as a harum-scarum young boy cycling around the curvy roads of beautiful Darjeeling in 1970s when he bumps into a Bong beauty, Shruti (Ileana D’Cruz). She gets attracted to this carefree and confident Barfi who is as sweet as his name. They fall for each other before Shruti takes a practical turn. 

There are many unique gems in the movie. Credit goes to Basu's creativity for letting the title track hilariously introduce us to Barfi’s childhood which otherwise would have been stereotypical melodrama. Barfi is seen taking his metaphorical, portable heart out and giving to the girls to see what they do to it. His friend writes funny letters for him, stealing the lines from the lyrics of old Hindi romantic songs. He has his own way of judging the credibility of another person. Rather than letting a seed of doubt grow in him, Barfi takes everyone he feels close to him near to an electric pole and makes the pole fall just before their feet. Due to this stupid thing, all get pissed at him but one autistic girl, his childhood friend, Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra). She belongs to the goddamned rich family which is worse than a prison cell without a sunray. She feels herself drawing to Barfi as the charmer is not biased towards the beauties alone. Barfi too feels attached to her due to her unquestionable faith in him. Their love springs with fireflies, watermelon seeds, constant hiding-and-seeking and locking of little fingers.

Ileana fits the bill in her debut role with all acting parameters perfectly in place. Priyanka is just too good as Jhilmil. Her expressions are impeccable. She has made a strong mark with her performance. Nonetheless, the story revolves only around the magic boy, Barfi. Ranbir is supremely convincing as deaf-mute Barfi. What is endearing about him is his frequent smile accompanied by his handmade Nike-logo gesture even in his screwing situations. He never submits to his inadequacies; in fact he has a special knack of tackling all of them. He wraps a grass ring around Shruti’s ring finger in a way that beats a pricey ring what she already has of her engagement. When none is around to help, he piggybacks his father to the hospital at the eleventh hour. When everyone is against, he has the ability to find his love Jhilmil by flinging his shoe up in the air against windows, a sure thing that always works for him. Off the track, I want to mention that the voice that you hear the most during the entire movie would be that of Saurabh Shukla’s as our leads rarely speak. Priyanka barely opens her mouth to speak and Barfi, even though opens his mouth more than anybody else does, he can’t speak.

The best part of the movie is that it doesn’t slide into a tragic trajectory. Else, it would be clichéd which would again beseech the audience to understand the agony of the differently-abled and the audience would turn its sympathy button on. This movie on the other hand showcases how a specially-abled person can inspire and teach the normal ones as to how to love and how to live. It has a solid strength to get your eyes a teary layer and at the same time brings an appreciative smile on your face. It’s not about surrendering to weakness; it’s about giving a blind eye or should I put it better, giving a ‘Barfi’ eye to it. The movie would surely keep you hooked till the interval and then you would feel the hook slowly coming off until the end arrives. The grip of the movie loosens but the actors made up for that looseness by their no-nonsense acting. Even though our actors are not-normal, Anurag Basu doesn’t let the sympathetic silence hover over us and keeps the background musical almost throughout the movie. 

Thanks to Pritam for such melodious tracks in the flick. Finally, hats off to Basu for pulling off the story which clearly defines the most misused word ‘Love’ and also throws a fresh light to the way of seeing the half glass full. Treat yourself with this movie which is sure to blow you away. Make sure that you don’t miss the moment for the movie addresses the audience even before it begins. Go and submerge in the world of acting. You would know what a good cinema is all about.

Movie Review: 'The Dark Knight Rises'

The Dark Knight Rises. It rises to the fine filming and super story-telling but doesn’t rise to the expectations - this is what I would say in one line. The movie takes its own time with some not-so-needed stuff and extends till 2 hours and 45 minutes, allowing you to frequently realize your left-over pop corn, which shouldn’t happen in a Batman movie.

From the climax of The Dark Knight, this movie leaps forward by 8 years. Time screws everyone and Batman is no exception. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the Batman has gone into oblivion, having taken the heat of Harvey Dent’s murder. He is seen having unshaven whiskers, limping in his age-old mansion with a stick support. He looks feeble and pitiable and doesn’t look even remotely close to someone who once had a charisma of a super hero. Bruce lives a life of a recluse with his only companion, his elderly butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). If I am to exaggerate a bit then I’d say that you would hardly find any age difference between both, at least initially. Moreover, when Bruce tells him that the world doesn’t need Batman anymore, you would sadly agree with him.

The bad boy, Bane (Tom Hardy) however is a beefy mammoth with a mask and is really good in his performance. It is no big deal for him to thrash Batman like a laundry man does to clothes on a rock. Once I actually wished during Bane’s enjoyment of Batman’s bonking if the Hulk were there to crush Bane to dust and help Batman get up on his feet. Trust me, even sexy Catwoman, Selena Kyle (Anne Hathaway) would have given a good fight to Bane with her exceptionally flexible moves.

Now with all the respect to Batman’s commitment to service his city Gotham and his proven previous achievements with his out-of-the-world stunts, I have no hesitation in saying that Batman looks really hopeless this time for his sheer lack of energy and smartness. He saves Gotham from the earth-shattering nuclear explosion as it was purely director Christopher Nolan's wish to make him do that as a revered hero. The eye-catchers however are – couple of bike stunts as one must expect, Anne Hathaway’s beguiling charm, the jaw-dropping scene when Bane escapes from an air-plane, finely shot scene of converting football ground into a dry valley while leaving the audience in the stadium dumbstruck. Last but not the least, I very dearly missed my hero, Heath Ledger, played as a joker in the last sequel who was an unbearable pain in the Batman’s back.

Overall, it is a very good movie but I am really disappointed for the lack of super-heroism in Batman. And I am not a buyer of that nonsense crap that it is due to his age, so please spare me. You can undoubtedly go and take a treat of some mind-blowing action stuff.

Movie Review: 'Cocktail'

It’s a typical Indian love-triangle story wherein whoever goes saintly and does sacrifice, is rewarded at last. It’s the same old wine in a new bottle with an attractive label. New bottle is freshness in approach and attractive label is script-supportive eye-candy.

The movie starts with a seasoned flirt, Gautam (Saif) leering at an air-hostess like a trapped dog at a bone. He is a successful charmer staying in London and has always managed to get beautiful babes to play with at his will. He is a man who doesn’t spare ladies even during his professional times. This real jerk of the first order bumps into a lovely lady, Meera (Diana) who is a fresh-faced Indian beauty with all traditional Indian values and understanding. He tries his luck with her but she ducks him and gets rid of him like one does to cow dung stuck to his shoes. Gautam on one hand is a kind of guy who often exhibits himself as a proud womanizer, who doesn’t believe in melodrama and frequently shows during the movie that he’s quite aware of all forms of it. Meera on the other hand is a ditched wife in a strange city. She stumbles across Veronica (Deepika) in a ladies’ room and gets a bedroom for herself in Veronica’s house. Veronica is supremely out-of-order daughter of a rich father, preferring to wear only tops in the house, is a wild party animal and the sexiest siren around. Meera and Veronica, despite their polar-opposite dispositions become best pals.

When known from Meera about the desperation Gautam has for girls, Veronica gives that salivating dog a chance and finds a good guy in him. Promptly she brings him in her house and gives him the access to her bed. Gautam lives the best boon that can ever be experienced on earth - staying with two sexy ladies in his sinking youth; sleeping with Veronica and trying to get mixed up with Meera who is already married. As a menacing monster, Gautam's mom (Dimple Kapadia) pops up surprisingly along with her brother (Boman Irani) to get her son married. To take her into confidence that her ageing prince has already chosen an Indian girl who is cut out for his family, Saif convinces Meera to be his girl. During the drama, Gautam gets clarity that he is a jerk with a heart. Meera ignores Gautam all the times before finally falling for him by his charms and for a change, genuine compliments. Parallelly, Veronica realizes of her growing love for Gautam and admits to him. But he, shameless as always, flatly denies of it and goes for Meera. Veronica goes typical heart-broken lover way but at the end, she makes herself ready to hoot for his ex-bedmate and ex-roommate.

I am happy to see Deepika emitting a lot of performance as a leggy bombshell with her wanton attitude. Most times, Saif does justice to his joker-stuff, mainly in the first half and is actually funny. Bratty character is well-suited to Saif’s personality and a bit ill-suited to his age but he justifies his character fairly well with some real acting. Dimple's work is okay and not worth mentioning. Boman as usual is a fun as Saif's maternal uncle. Even though Deepika is a show-stopper, Diana looks stunningly beautiful and does a very good job. Her flying hair strands across her smiley, innocent face during ‘Tumhi ho bandhu’ is a still that is capable of competing with any of Deepika’s generous skin-show feast. The movie doesn’t allow you to know more about the characters except their typical characteristics and their random mingling. So you can blame the script which looks half-heartedly written. The movie is a fun to watch in most pieces of it but plot-less story doesn’t hold them tightly enough and gives you whatever is cooked at the end.