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Blackmail (2018)
Better than I expected!
From the reviews that I had seen, the movie was apparently good but not great. So my expectations weren't that high for the film and I was just looking forward to a fun film. But it turned out to be even better than what I thought!
Irrfan as Dev is a weird but smart guy who lives in his own world and has quite a boring life with fixed routines and peculiar habits. When he catches his wife Reena (Kirti Kulhari) with her boyfriend Ranjit (Arunoday), he decides to blackmail them, not knowing what it was going to lead to.
The movie tries to take the story to its full potential while striving to keep it from getting too complicated, which it succeeds in.
The story-telling is good and the movie employs a lot of symbolism to convey some aspects of the story.The dark humour is done well and the movie has some outstanding moments, most of them including Irrfan who easily steals the show. This guy seems to do full justice to every role that he picks up and this is no exception. There is no 'hero' in this movie, but you would be rooting for Dev for sure. The entire supporting cast does its job well including Anand played by Pradhuman Singh who in fact is also the writer for dialogues in the movie.
The film could have been shortened a bit while removing the song as well- my only two major complains with the film.
Abhinay Deo, the director of Delhi Belly has given us a great film which is definitely worth watching and enjoying.
A rare, good dark comedy from Bollywood that should not be missed.
Ant-Man (2015)
That's a messed-up looking dog!
Ant-Man, another one from the Marvel comics but this isn't the great super hero movie with stunning visuals and flawless storyline. Instead it has clichés and you can find faults with it if you look for it.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this movie immensely as I did not go in with high expectations but just to be entertained. And I was.
This is a movie that is suitable for people of all age groups, but especially the kids. They would love it. The main characters, though not great are pretty good. The visuals are neat, the story line OK. The support characters add in the humor and there are some pretty good light moments in the film. Though some of it is clichéd and you know what to expect, it is enjoyable nonetheless.
This is a pretty good movie to go in with your whole family and have a good time together.
Krrish 3 (2013)
Good but not good enough
From the trailer, this movie looked more or less a copy of Hollywood superhero movies. Yet the expectation was high, coming after Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. (No one knows where Krrish 2 went!)
But firstly, credit where credit is due. The action and the stunts and the special effects are top class. Specially if you compare it with the other Bollywood movies in the similar category like the rubbish Ra.One, it is a million times better. It is the same quality as X-men and Superman movies. Yet, the problem is that it just seems a copy of such movies. The focus on the mutants aspect was short but almost the same as X-men and the last fight scenes of Krrish and Kaal seem to be just a recreation of 'Man of Steel'. The only difference was that this being a Bollywood, Hindi movie, this had more aspects of emotional drama, songs and typical dialogs.
There wasn't enough element of surprise. You knew what was coming and with a weak story, even the connect with the audience wasn't that great. In the first half, I felt like I was watching Shaktimaan in one scene. The music and songs aren't good at all and totally unnecessary. Even Hrithik's dance wasn't anything to rave about. Krrish was shown to be doing just a bit too many things at a time. The acting is OK, Hrithik and Kangana have done well but the story just seemed very weak.
Having said all that, kids would love this movie and people who don't watch Hollywood movies can watch this for the action and special effects. I can also see this movie earning through merchandise and other things. Great or not, this movie is definitely going to earn a lot but it could have definitely been better in some aspects.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Fitting Finale
The Dark Knight Rises, though not as good as the previous one- The Dark Knight, is fitting for the series finale. In this one, you have Bane and he has great presence throughout the movie and good rivalry with Batman. This one is more about the story and I felt as though this was closer to Batman Begins, as if completing a full circle. In BB, we had Bruce Wayne transform into the Batman and here too he again "learnt" to be Batman. He realized that after 8 years of no life at all, he couldn't just don the mask and the cape and become Batman. He again faces fear, learns to overcome it and gets his training in a way.
This movie had a feeling of completeness which is very necessary when the series has ended. The Dark Knight ends in Batman being villain in people's eyes and in this one he literally "rises".
Die Hard (1988)
A classic action movie
Die Hard is one of those movies that doesn't get old. It belongs to that golden era of beautiful action movies.
The movie gets straight to the point and it just flows smoothly. Bruce Willis (John Mc Clane)is lovable as the NYPD cop mainly because he is not shown as an extraordinary action hero like a super hero, but because he is shown very humane. The way he too gets nervous and makes errors or the way he fights or argues with himself about the decisions that he is making. In spite of that, he uses his intelligence and training to do the best he can in the hopeless situation that he is in. You also love him for his ability to get under the skin of others.
There are some other beautiful aspects to the movie like John's interactions with Sgt. Al Powell (which are not even face to face), which are touching and will bring a smile to you and the kind of connection they build even though they have never seen each other is so good.
The way they have portrayed the role of the TV crew and the news channels, the way they interfere and actually do a lot of harm just to get ahead of other news channels, is worthy of applause.
All in all a wonderful action movie that you can watch any time and again and again.
Peaceful Warrior (2006)
Spirituality summarized
I had no idea about this movie before I saw it but this movie really was a pleasant surprise for me.
This movie is about a gymnast who is talented and has everything required to have a happy life but somewhere something is troubling him. He happens to meet a wise man and his life completely changes. It results in a complete transformation.
The highlight of the movie is definitely the interactions of Dan the gymnast and 'Socrates' the wise man. Some very important and fundamental lessons and truths about life are explained, but in quite innovative and wonderful ways.
However this movie is not for everyone, unless you are interested in these sort of things like spirituality.
The Avengers (2012)
Good, not great
The Avengers is a dream combination of some major super heroes. It is what you can expect out of a Marvel comics movie. It has some good action(largely thanks to The Hulk), and a few moments that will make you smile (Few involving Stark/ Iron Man). However more emphasis seemed to be on these 2 characters and the other characters sort of fell behind. The movie had the potential with so many superhero characters. It could have done much more and could have been even better. Having said all this, it is a one-time watch at least.
Not enough to deserve an 8.5 though.
Good but not that great.
Eka Lagnachi Dusri Goshta (2012)
A beautiful show
Eka lagnachi dusri goshta is a really simple and beautiful piece of work. It starts off with a boy and a girl who don't want to get married. They reject an awful lot of people before deciding to get married to each other. Then comes the -'dusri goshta' (second story) of the wedding.
What works for this show and helps it to connect to the audience is the way it has been handled. Overall a very clean and simple feel, an outstandingly appropriate cast especially since there are so many characters. In spite of that, each character has been fully developed and plays some important role in the proceedings.
Another thing that makes this show stand out is the deviation from the typical TV shows that we have been hammered with for a decade or so. There aren't really the typical 'negative' characters and thankfully we are spared of the whole saas-bahu (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) thing. Instead what we have is a very sweet relationship of all the characters.
Outstanding!
Killer Elite (2011)
Engaging!
Killer Elite unfurls at a decent pace with a story that is quite engrossing and which holds your attention.
This movie does remind you a bit of the 'Bourne' series movies. Quite realistic. The action is really good especially when it involves Jason Statham (Danny- retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service) and Clive Owen (Spike- who belongs to a secret military society). The performances are the strong point of the movie. Jason Statham is establishing himself as an actor with a good presence, although his ability to carry out action scenes was never in doubt. Clive Owen plays out a strong character menacingly. Robert De Niro is outstanding too in his apt role as the mentor of Danny.
Overall, quite enjoyable as a decent action movie.
Ra.One (2011)
You can watch it to see how bad it actually is!
First of all I will start by saying that this is not a sensible movie for sensible audience. In fact there is no particular audience that this movie caters to. If this is a 'super hero' movie, it should ideally be for children but then content and language is far from a children's movie! Kareena's first scene itself talks about moving from abuses that are towards mothers and sisters to fathers and brothers and many, many such shady words.
Another irritating aspect is the innumerable kick to the crotch scenes which are over-used and not funny at all.
There is talk of this movie taking the 'special effects' in Bollywood to a different level. That is hardly the case. There are only a few actions scenes where the special effects are good. I would say Krrish was handled way much better, although it's not right to compare since the two movies are quite different.
Another thing is that this movie is utterly illogical. If you want to watch this, put aside all your logic. The game has 3 levels and the only way to die is if they are wearing the 'hart' and that too they get only a single bullet on the last level. If this is the only way to die, what does it mean then that they have to survive for a certain amount of time on earlier levels to move forward! The end is the worst. Arjun (Ra.one) fires the gun first even though Shahrukh (G.one) is the one who gets it earlier and the bullet hits Shahrukh (G.one) but he doesn't have the 'hart' on so he doesn't die. Before G.one fires, Ra.one turns into 10 Ra.ones instead of just removing the 'hart' so that he won't die. It seems that the script has been written by a child. Also Shahrukh is shown a madrasi who speaks with that accent but soon it disappears. Also when he dies, he is buried in a Christian way and still his ashes are dispersed by Kareena and their son!! Figure that one!
They also brought in Rajinikant for just a minute or 2 for no reason whatsoever in the movie but just to get southern audience!
And if you watch Hollywood movies, you will be able to see the innumerable movies from which Ra.One has copied. The only credit to the film makers goes for this, that they have really worked hard towards copying from so many sources. One of the main movie is of course Terminator, besides Iron man, Batman, Spider-man, even a particular step like one from Jet Li's The Fist of Legend and bit from Mr. Bean and so many others it is not even possible to mention.
Finally about acting, Shahrukh might be fine in a few scenes but it's almost as if he enjoys being himself too much and forgets that he is a Madrasi with an accent and later even forgets that he is a machine. Kareena is totally redundant except the song.
Guzaarish (2010)
Guzaarish review
Honestly, after watching Guzaarish, it was not a happy or pleasant feeling but that is more because of what the story of the movie deals with and is also just my personal preference about the kind of movie to watch. There is nothing wrong with the movie, in fact it is indeed beautiful. I could somewhere see 'Black' in it.
Some of the good points of the movie- It comes straight to the action, not dwelling too much on the background. The cast and performance is praiseworthy.
Hrithik (as Ethan)is pretty much flawless in spite of him not being able to move anything except his head throughout the whole movie, being quadriplegic! Such a character would really test an actor as he has to convey everything through his face and expressions, with no use of body as a support. He has a lot of good scenes but the ones where Aishwarya's (Sofia's) husband- Makrand (Nevile)comes to his house, beating and taking her away really portrays his pain and helplessness as does the one with water dripping onto him from the ceiling as he lies helplessly.
I was also pleasantly surprised with Aishwarya Rai. Her character too was interesting and gives some memorable scenes like the one in the courtroom and in the restaurant. Those two scenes particularly stand out for Aishwarya.
Of the other characters, the other two to notice are Shernaz Patel ( as his lawyer-friend- Devyani)and Nafisa Ali(as his mother) who both put in good performances.
Overall, worth a watch once for a lot of things, but I won't be watching it for a second time!
Dabangg (2010)
Ridiculous
What was this about?? The very fact that the characters have the names of Chulbul and Makhi tells it all.
The very first action scene is copied from Transporter but only done many times worse! In fact all the action scenes are more or less like that. 'Wanted' was so much better. Don't know what some of the good actors were doing in there- Om puri, Dimple Kapadia, Vinod Khanna. Only good thing might be the debut of Sonakshi.
Nothing more to say.
They say it has got a great opening and broken 3 idiots record which is ridiculous. Do today's movies only work on hype??
The Expendables (2010)
Expendables- Worth it for the action
When a movie of this sort is about to be released, which has the most awesome line up of action stars ever assembled together, there is going to be a lot of hype and expectations naturally. When I came to know about it, I thought it might not really live up to the high expectations. But after watching the movie, I must say I quite liked it. Definitely a must watch for action movie fans. It is the dream come true for almost everybody who would have often thought- How awesome it would be to see all our favorite action stars together!
The movie being directed by Sylvester Stallone also has himself as the central character along with Jason Statham who is awesome at action, and got a major part to play in this movie. Even Stallone, in spite of his age played his part sincerely. Some of the hype was also about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis being there and though it was only for a scene, it was most enjoyable. Arnold unfortunately looks a bit too old. How I would have loved this movie to have come a few years earlier.
The only negative was that the other characters were quite underdeveloped, specially their partners in the team- Jet Li, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and others. Stallone put in a strong performance with a realistic character like wherein at one point after his fight with Steve Austin when asked what happened, he says- "Got my ass kicked". Statham is very likable, Li besides the fight added to the humor content, Dolph Lundgren was menacing and I guess will have a major part in the next sequel, Randy Couture is quite solid in the fights and Terry Crews was effective with the gun. Steve Austin hadn't too much to do and Mickey Rourke was just as an influencer of sorts.
But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted more of it. Action lovers, go watch it especially to watch all the heroes together on the screen. But watch it with your mind kept aside, just for the action.
Well done Stallone for bringing all together and putting up some good old action show!
Kites (2010)
Kites Review
Kites! It is obvious that this name was well thought-out and it works well, keeping with the tradition of movie names starting with 'K' for Rakesh Roshan.
There's talk that this movie is doing well outside and not with Indian audiences. If you go in with preconceived notions and not an open mind, you won't like it. It is like a new dish; you just have to experience and take it in because after all it is a nice concoction!
For one thing, this movie is just about 2 hours and thus is breezy, not too slow in pace. The story unfolds well. Regarding the characters and other aspects, it is clear that it was all well thought-out to introduce Bollywood to other places. You have the best looking people- so you have Hrithik Roshan (Jay), Kangana (Gina)- and Kabir Bedi(Bob). And like Rakesh Roshan's other films involving Hrithik, it intends to show that Hrithik can do everything. Nothing wrong with that, because he can! His stunning looks are even more enhanced in this film, his body is a sculpture, he can dance like he has no bones and most importantly, he can act well too- a complete package really. You can't help but be lost in his "limpid hazel" eyes. Then you have Barbara Mori (Natasha, Linda) a beautiful actress, well known in Spanish television in US. Due to its Latin flavor, it can reach the largest movie going audience in America, the US Hispanic and Brett Ratner who understands it well, will bring out a short, remixed, English version of this movie.
The movie has been shot in great locations, has romance, action, comedy, chase sequences, adventure, song and dance. The film has some of the trademark beautiful 'comedy' moments like previous Roshans' film. The music might not feel great the first time, but the more you listen to it, the more you will like it. The love story I felt in some ways similar to Titanic. Many will not agree, but it was there- two people who are quite different, the girl is not happy in the relationship that she is in, about to get married to someone else, the boy saves her in all possible ways, he wants to send her away so that she would be safe but she comes back and finally the end where one of them dies first. There is something about unfulfilled love stories that makes you sad but still you like it in the end.
Beautiful scenes that stand out (or highlights of the film) -
1. The dance in the competition at the beginning by Hrithik and Kangana.
2. Where Hrithik and Barbara make various shadow figures with hands. Perfect example of how 2 people who don't speak the same language can communicate in different ways.
3. When Hrithik and Barbara each tell their sad stories about their parent(s)/family.
4. The whole sequence where they are escaping from the hot air balloon, to robbing a bank.
5. The way the story has been told - going back to the past, cutting back to present again, making it a whole story at the end.
6. In the later part of the movie where Hrithik shoots everyone with a gun, it is in slow motion and the actual sounds like gun shots are not heard.
The background music suits well and the lead actors are the strong point of the film. I watched it again and loved it more. This is that kind of a movie! See it for what it offers, and not to expect to see what you want.