Reviews

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's an"ode" to the famous Queen of Chittor, Padmavaati, explicitly showcases the pride and "courage" of the Rajputs. It is also long and at best an average watch. The primary reason for this is the direction which seems to have gone completely wrong. Including a lot of unnecessary songs and rushing through the battle sequences and the climax were the prime contributors. There has been a lot of hue and cry around this movie ever since filming began because the Rajputs thought that it would not be an accurate description of their history which would result in showcasing their society in a negative light. While, it is clearly stated in the pre-movie notes that it is a word of fiction, it doesn't cast a negative light on the Rajput society. THERE. I said it.

The cinematography of the film, falls below the standard that has been set by Bhansali himself in the Hindi film industry. Story-wise there is nothing that would spring a surprise on anyone who is remotely aware of the poem on which the movie is based.

The Music and background score was a major letdown and frankly speaking , unnecessary(except for Ghoomar).

In the acting department Ranveer Singh takes the cake for his portrayal of the power-hungry, lecherous and ruthless ruler Alauddin Khilji. Shahid Kapoor does a commendable job in his role of the principled-to-a fault Rajput king, Maharaja Rawal Ratan Singh. Deepika Padukone, frankly speaking her character of Queen Padmavati play second fiddle to the 2 male leads. Aditi Rao Hydari, Jim Sarbh and Raza Murad, are very good in their respective roles.

To summarise, Padmaavat is a movie which highlights an important battle of moral values fought by the Rajputs, which ended with over 1600 women committing Jauhar, an act of self immolation, to save themselves from being enslaved by their captors. This is not a thing of pride. It was a last resort that required a lot of courage by those women. This movie misrepresents that act as as something to be proid of, whereas it should have been their courage in the face of adversity that should be cherished.

Story

The Revenant is a simple revenge drama. It is inspired by the book, of the same name, written by Michael Punk, which was inspired by the life of Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who is motivated not by revenge, as depicted in this movie, but, simply by a desire to get his furs back.

But, revenge makes for a more engaging movie, or so the team that created this movie must have thought.

Acting

Let's first address the most important reason why this movie has been on the watchlist of the majority of the people, including me, an admirer of Leonardo DiCaprio. This is supposed to be the film that finally gets him the elusive and his first Academy Award. Like most of his movies, Leo does deliver an intense performance. Looking at it as an "individual performance" it is clearly visible that he has given it his all and put in a lot of effort, like he always does. His performance is mainly physical, as he mouths only a few dialogues, most of which are in a tribal language. Eats raw bison liver and sleeps inside an animal carcass. Such acts, require determination, not acting skills. If any other actor was to play this role, then even he would have done so. Taking all this into account, I feel that this performance is behind many of his previous and more Oscar-deserving roles. The main reason behind this is that, when you compare it to those previous ones, it becomes abundantly clear, that this performance is like a collage of some of his previous ones. From an acting point of view, he has never experimented a lot and his always restricted himself to a particular kind of serious roles, which he has undoubtedly excelled at. But , he has hardly ever done anything innovative. Unfortunately, he does the same, in this movie too and this year with other brilliant performances in the mix, Leo's performance, doesn't seem like a front-runner, who deserves to win, now.

The star for me was, Tom Hardy, as Glass'comrade, John Fitzgerald, who leaves him for dead, kills his half-Indian son, and robs him of his furs. He is the most gifted actor of his generation and he puts his acting skills on display, yet again.He perfects his western accent. He beautifully expresses his character's varying feelings, from the bottled frustration of staying back to look after a nearly-dead Glass; to the shock and pain of realizing when he accidentally kills Glass' son; to the feeling of paranoia of being caught for his deeds; Hardy carries himself with authority and dominates which ever scene he is in. It is unfortunate, that he is not getting as much praise as Leo, when he truly deserves more.

Cinematography & Background Score

A third consecutive Oscar nomination for cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki— who films in such exotic areas as Chile's Tierra del Fuego and also parts of Alberta, British Columbia and Montana, seems imminent. He also deserves to win it.It is one of the 2 reasons, that raises the level of the movie and makes it a must watch on the big screen. Those beautiful mountains and gleaming rivers in the sunlight, on the big screen, will be an experience worth remembering.

The background score had a raw and tribal feel to it. The most invigorating score, since The Last of the Mohicans, that is sure to pump up the adrenaline during the battle scenes and give us chills during the more tragic and sensitive scenes.

Direction

Alejandoro González Iñárritu is the Picasso of modern cinema. He is a creative genius. Each and every single frame was like a beautifully and patiently drawn painting. If, Birdman (2014) was him using the camera in such a subtle way that the entire movie appeared to be like one large painting; The Revenant too is extremely realistic, although, compared to Birdman, it is much more violent and raw, which was to be expected, because of the several scenes that involved battle and bloodshed. It requires a special kind of genius to portray even such scenes, that would normally be gory, as precisely made brush strokes on a canvas. His direction complemented the cinematography, perfectly. It turned The Revenant from a 156- minute long slow period revenge drama into a visual spectacle to be experienced and remembered for the rest of our lives.

If this movie deserves an Oscar, it is only for the Best Director.

Mr. Iñárritu is the rarest of the rare breed of talented individuals. He is man of great vision and aesthetics, as can be seen not only by The Revenant and Birdman, but, also by the movies that he directed prior to these. His talent is to be cherished. We can expect even greater things from him in the future.

Summary

The Revenant is Alejandoro González Iñárritu's most brutally realistic movie till date. The way that he has captured the actor's performances and the beautiful landscapes, will propel The Revenant to break to great heights in the history of Hollywood. It is his direction, that puts the performances by the lead pair and every other technical element in the film, on a higher pedestal for everyone to see and admire.

Kudos to him and the entire team, for shooting in such trying conditions and presenting us with an experience of a lifetime.

If, any aspiring or established film maker who wants the audience to like their movies, reads this; note, that making a sequel to a laugh riot, without a story or a redundant one is ALWAYS a bad idea.

I sat down, to watch Horrible Bosses 2, with hardly any expectations and still finished it feeling disappointed.It failed to get even a single chuckle out of me and was unbelievably predictable. Spacey, Anniston, Foxx and Woltz were wasted. Chris Pine was the best thing in this movie(That surely speaks volumes about it). The lead guys were pathetic.

The prequel still is one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen, but, this movie single handedly pulls down the entire franchise. Majority of the audiences are going to forget what a great time they had during part 1, thanks to the repetitive and dull plot and barrage of boring jokes metted out to us.

DOn't make the mistake I made. Skip this one at all costs and cherish the first one instead.

The story revolves around Riggan(Michael Keaton), a down-and-out actor, who after having lost his fortune and fame post a few superhero movies ,turns to Broadway with the intention of achieving the same success as he did in his prime. In pursuing this goal, he absolutely destroys his personal life. The most significant impact, can be seen on his relationship with his daughter(played by a brilliant Emma Stone), who is recuperating from a drug rehabilitation which was a consequence of her parent's divorce. Riggan is producing, directing and acting in a play co-produced by his friend-cum-advocate,Jake. Following an accident involving his lead actor,he finds a replacement in his lead actress' lover(played by Edward Norton),who in his own words, is leading a life of lie all the time he's not on stage. Riggan faces tensions from all the above characters. Not to forget, he keeps hearing the voice of his ego, actually the superhero, Birdman, he played. There is a highly narcissist reporter who plans to destroy his play in the mix as well. Despite all this, he demonstrates faith in himself and keeps fighting along. Towards the end , he finally realizes his unhealthy obsession with the play that had cost him his personal life and takes a drastic measure. The ending is the most talked about issue. It appears to be a figment of Riggan's/his soul's imagination that his daughter finally sees him for the person he thought himself to be; better and relevant than anyone else. One who was not going to be scared of going the extra mile to fulfill his dream.

The entire cast was phenomenal, especially Keaton and Stone; with ample support from Ed Norton.

The best thing about the movie is the fact that the entire movie is like a single take. Just like LIFE. No do overs, no replays and no fast forward. Except for in the end. Even the jazz music that's played, is a part of the film. The direction was Phenomenal to say the least and the director deserves an Oscar.

Chances are that you may not like the film, but dare to think outside the limitations to which are minds have been restricted to by the crass and dumb movies being made. If, you get it, it will blow your mind.It has got LOL moments in between and also serves as an excellent satire on the current mindset of the film industry all over the world. If you look close enough, you may perhaps see yourselves in the voice in Riggan's head.

8.5/10