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prahladagarwal
Reviews
Rahasya (2015)
Agatha Christie murder mystery you would savor!
Manish Gupta's second whodunit Rahasya is loosely based on Noida double murder Aarushi Talwar case. However, most facts have been de-arranged as the case is still open. This two hour long murder mystery is not an edge of the seat thriller but will surely keep you occupied with new events enfolding every next minute. Rahasya is directed on Agatha Christie theme, where the detective revels the murderer's identity in presence of all the characters. Coming after The Stoneman Murders (another wonderful murder mystery), Rahasya reinforces Manish Gupta as a prolific story teller. Kay Kay Menon never disappoints and presents his character in a classical flair. In spite of a great cast, a great story and a great controversy attached to itself, the movie has few rough edges. Nevertheless, it's a good movie and you will not regret watching it.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Brilliant cinema!
Birdman has finally hit Indian theatres after a 3 month gap from its US release date. But Birdman is better late than never and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (best known for Babel, Biutiful and Amores Perros) will not only make you happy but also euphoric. Birdman is a long narrative about a famous actor's real world on one side which constantly pushes him to mediocrity and his delusional world on the other side which motivates him to salvage his potential. It's a black comedy which transcends the main character from the movie to a living object, whose dilemma every human can relate to. Riggan, the protagonist plays himself as a once-upon-a-time famous superhero, Birdman, who is trying to organize a Broadway play. In the short journey, he deals with his family, co-workers, critics, financiers and himself to redeem the artist within him. Apart from Michael Keaton's best performance till date, the movie also embraces power packed show by Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis. Shot extensively inside a studio with constant drum beats on background and theatrical visuals, Birdman is a treat with cherry on top for cinema lovers.
Mardaani (2014)
A poor comeback attempt by Rani in an awfully directed movie.
Khoob ladi mardaani woh to Jhansi wali RANI thi! That sums up the plot of Pradeep Sarkar's latest release, where Rani Mukherjee plays a tough cop and unravels a high-profile organised human trafficking racket. The movie is an absolute disappointment, with Rani's acting being the only saving grace. The director's idea to create a macho lady cop image falls flat added by a boring story-line. The movie does not have any good punch lines (except few ludicrous dialogues like Yeh India hai Madam, Tu under 19 ka 12th player hai, etc), action sequence (except few slapping and IPC Act recitals), art direction (display of semi- nude children fails to create an intended disturbing image), suspense/ thriller trail (only the last 5 minutes of movie explains the so- called master planning by Rani to turn herself into a one woman squad and obliterate the entire racket, arresting the kingpin all by herself!). An exception would be the middleman (a rich car showroom owner) who throws in some good acting along with Rani, and absence of any inappropriate song/ dance sequences, which makes the movie bearable.
A lot was expected from Pradeep Sarkar and his crew if we go by the trailers and post-production, however Mardaani failed to deliver a wholesome woman-centric entertainment unlike this year's successful movies with woman protagonist like Queen, Highway, Revolver Rani, etc.
Baby (2015)
Action Crime Suspense Thriller with a weak plot!
Neeraj Pandey's third cinematic work, "Baby" is an out-an-out action suspense thriller as per Bollywood standards but has a weak plot. Baby strikes the right chords with themes like terrorism, patriotism, espionage, combat sequences, tech-intelligence, etc. The movie begins with Danny Denzongpa narrating the formation of an anti-terrorist squad post 26/11 headed by him. Danny's role is reminiscent of his act in 16th December, another movie similar to Baby. Akshay Kumar is the lead of the squad who cracks bones and clues with super-cool persona and takes up outlandish assignments with ease. The story is about hunting down one of India's most dangerous terrorist on a foreign land with a covert operation. But this is not D-Day, Neeraj Pandey is able to deliver a no-nonsense suspense thriller, which is difficult to manage in a mainstream movie like this. However, the plot is marred with flaws like escape of Kay Kay Menon, confession of Taufiq, Letting go by the Saudi police officer at the end of the movie, etc. Nevertheless, the second half is as heart-throbbing as it can be. Akshay has finally come of age and proved his mettle from Hey Baby to Baby. Not bad is how I would put it!
Hawaa Hawaai (2014)
Inspiring for children but not for all audience
Directed by Amol Gupte, Hawaa Hawaai is an inspirational movie for children. The story is very basic and deals with the life of a child tea vendor trying to excel in skating and finally makes it with all hardships. Arjun (the protagonist) has a bunch of slum friends who supports him in his endeavor. He has had a troubled life since childhood, as his father dies when he is very young and he is forced into working as a tea vendor. Story develops into an adaption of Eklavya's life and the dreams of little children and ends with an emotional note. The first half of the film is funny, fast paced and interesting. However, during the second half the story loses its pace, ending with a dramatized race scene which would not interest audience of all ages. Saqib Saleem has done justice to his role just like his previous movies. The background music is neatly done and blends nicely with the emotional moments during the movie. Watch it on TV instead!
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Avoid if you have read the book, else watch it!
Based on a 2012 novel by the same name by John Green, The fault in our stars is a romantic splendor sure to make your tear ducts work. This is a story of Hazel Grace (played by Shailene Woodley), a cancer diagnosed girl breathing with the help of a nose cannula, and her "the world is not a wish-granting factory" experience and moments. Hazel meets an impossibly charming boy next door, Augustus Walters (played by Ansel Elgort) suffering from a prosthetic leg, at a cancer support group and gradually starts liking him. She is moved by a book she reads, An Imperial Affliction, which ends mid- sentence, and she is very animated to know what happens later to the protagonist. Augustus helps her in meeting the author by traveling to Amsterdam (under critical medical condition), but poor Hazel has to return disappointed as the author behaves scornfully with the young couple. The story further continues with Augustus showering magic in Hazel's life and mesmerizing her, and finally ends on a forlorn note.
Sadly, book readers have not found the movie as delightful as the novel (which is a case with any novel based movie), however the movie stands beautifully as a pure romantic piece in recent times. Set in Indiana, the movie has been neatly shot with delicate art designing and editing. The fault in our stars is about love, pain and memories & is highly recommended for a young adult audience.
Bobby Jasoos (2014)
A baseless comedy and boring thriller
Vidya Balan starrer Bobby Jasoos is an attempted comedy-cum-drama. Set in Hyderabad, Bobby is an aspiring and struggling detective without any education qualification and managing to investigate few love affairs in her neighborhood. She pursues her jasoosi career much to the disapproval of her Muslim family. The story is centered around Bobby getting hired by Khan (Kiran Kumar) to find 3 people based on age, name and birth marks, for which Bobby gets paid heavily. Bobby is helped by 2 amusing companions who keep the comic theme running in the movie. Subsequently, Bobby finds out that she is part of a larger conspiracy plotted by Khan to kidnap the missing people. Bobby gets involved in unearthing Khan's motives, mired with her personal problems of family's disapproval and wedding arrangement.
The movie begins on interesting caricatures where Vidya Balan takes the lead, but gradually the movie becomes a lackluster. Vidya Balan has played her part wonderfully well, however the film is neither thrilling nor comic, and to top it up ends up on a melodramatic note. Shot extensively in Hyderabad, the movie has a very local background-setting. Music is all over the film and in very bad shape. Wish the directorial debut of Samar Shaikh could have been a better piece of work!
Children of War (2014)
Gory account of 1971 Bangladeshi genocide
Children of War is based on the 1971 Bangladesh genocide which highlights the atrocities of Pakistan Army on Bangladeshis. The story is a work of fiction with background setting of real events taking place during the genocide. Various lives are captured in the movie to display the struggle of ordinary people under the Pakistani regime. A young couple getting separated where the husband (Indraneil Sengupta), a journalist is writing on Army's brutal acts and Bangladeshi independence and who refuses to toe the line with army generals. His wife (Raima Sen) is raped and imprisoned in a rape camp. There is another story of a small kid and his sister, the only inhabitants of their village, and the quest of the brother to safely transport his sister to Indian border.
The movie is a half attempt to capture the terrifying events which occurred during Bangladesh independence. Pavan Malhotra, does justice to his role of a Pakistani Colonel along with other cast. I feel Farooque Sheikh's role has been a mis-cast and could have been done by a lesser gentlemanly character. In-spite of being a 168 min movie, there is less attention to detailing and all the references/ acts are cursory in nature. The movie could have been brilliant had it cut short the music and elongated scenes for a fast paced detailed story.
Lucy (2014)
A fast paced action suspense thriller on science fiction
Lucy, directed by Luc Besson (critically acclaimed for directing La Femme Nikita and Leon – The Professional), has not been very highly praised internationally but apparently turns out to be a good entertainer, especially given the dry spell at bollywood since last 3-4 months. The story is about a young girl Lucy who accidentally becomes part of a dark drug deal in Taipei. She is then put on a high-power trial drug by cutting her stomach wide open; the drug has ability to increase human's brain usage capability significantly. An average human uses 10% of its brain but with the help of this drug, humans can use almost 100% of its brains. Lucy is transformed into a super-power warrior followed by a series of merciless encounters with her captors. Medical conditions makes Lucy fixated to the drug- use and eventually her brain usage starts increasing from 10% to 100% over a week's time.
This 89 minutes runtime movie is fast paced and filled with action, suspense and science fiction. Many of us would disagree with the movie's science fiction/ backdrop if we go by textbook, but then this is a work of fiction and not science.
The Imitation Game (2014)
Turing was much great than what the movie is!
The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch is based on the life of Alan Turing. Alan Turing is the famous mathematician and cryptanalyst who helped the Allies break Nazi communication codes and end the war early. He is also considered the father of Artificial Intelligence and very early founders of computer science. He was convicted for homosexuality leading him to commit suicide at the age of 41. This is a great story to make a career defining movie, but Morten Tyldum disappoints in some aspects. The movie is very superficially made dealing only with the subject that Turing was a legend and was mistreated by British Government, it fails to capture his brilliance and the depth in his life. A good comparison would be with A Beautiful Mind on the life of John Nash, which presents an entertaining and holistic description of the protagonist's life. In The Imitation Game, the machine that Turing creates to break Nazi codes is like a black box! Cumberbatch delivers a very strong performance and the production design is also noteworthy. The Imitation Game comes across like an Oscar enticing stuff that makes us sympathetic towards Turing and not respectful.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Oscar material and a nice fairy tale
The Grand Budapest Hotel can be considered one of the best works of Wes Anderson. The story is about the adventures of a legendary concierge, Mr Gustave (played by Ralph Fiennes) at a very famous hotel during the times of WWI and WWII. Zero, the lobby boy (played by Tony Revolori) joins the hotel and earns himself a trusted friendship of Gustave. This would seem like a typical bollywood movie filled with love, violence, action, suspense, drama and so on. Gustave befriends a very rich old woman who suddenly dies bequeathing a very precious painting to Gustave. This leaves the old women's son Dmitri furious and longing for revenge, and ultimately leading to implicate Gustave for the old woman's murder. Gustave with his loyal lobby boy and the lobby boy's girlfriend (a pretty baker girl) escapes prison to get justice for himself. Gustave's quest for justice is shot in suspense-cum-funny sequences and finally the "boy with apple" painting hangs happily ever after as GB's most treasured possession.
The movie is shot on a narrative theme with a flash back style. The movie could have been edited better with few scenes getting elongated (like the initial part when narrator meets a young writer). Also, art direction at few places renders the movie a bit childlike (like the closing scene). All said, this comedy drama is a must watch this season.
Mary Kom (2014)
What a mess of a great story
A lost opportunity to create India's Million Dollar Baby. Mary Kom is supposedly a sports biopic on the life of ace boxer Mary Kom from Manipur (the only Indian female to be 5 times world champion). However, after one finishes watching the movie it turns out to be a conspiracy by Priyanka Chopra and Omung Kumar to leverage the name of an ace boxer to develop an action packed cinematic entertainment. The movie itself sets disclaimer that it is based on life events of Mary Kom not the life of Mary Kom. Priyanka Chopra tried hard to get into the boxing gloves but her glamour still resonates vividly in the movie (cosmetic usage, etc). The movie exemplifies dramatic experience by trying to mimic Rocky (hand movement gesture after winning matched), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (training at Manali). On various occasions as she wins the titles, Priyanka jumps like an excited child, now whoever has watched Mary Kom boxing or any boxing match for that matter would know how strenuous it is after the match has ended and the boxer is hardly able to stand. Another big turnoff is poor product placements by Havmor, Tata Salt, Iodex, Sugar-free, etc. Havmor is an extreme blooper which shows an outlet in Manipur when it is hardly present outside Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Mary Kom is also burdened by immaterial songs rendering the movie cinematic and uninspired.
Only satisfaction from the movie would be if it inspires few females to take up professional sporting career. Mary Kom could have been made with an entire Manipuri cast or as documentary film.
American Sniper (2014)
Good movie but dull script
American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood is nominated for 2015 Academy Awards under Best Picture category. However, it fails to impress much like The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and others. American Sniper is a simplistic story of Chris Kyle, the most successful sniper during US-Iraq war credited with over 160 confirmed kills. Chris was a cowboy from Texas before getting into SEALS, which he joined after watching attacks on US citizens by Arabs. Chris was commissioned on 4 tours to Iraq over a period of 10 years and he was literally the most lethal sniper that Americans let loose on the Arabs. His first kill was an under-aged child and second a women, trying to attack US military convoy with a Russian grenade. Chris was getting better every time he killed a suspect, however after each tour when Chris was back home, he started developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder syndrome (PTSD). The movie essentially revolves around the 4 tours and how Chris deals with PTSD. What disappoints is that American Sniper is neither an action packed war thriller nor a heart thundering violent drama, it is somewhere in between like a dull diary of a soldier. Bradley hardly adds any meat to his role, as even George Clooney could have played the same role with his natural poise. Personally, the title sniper is bit misleading, as Chris was a soldier with a rifle and maximum kills but not like Vassilli of Enemy at the Gates. All said, Eastwood manages to put across a decent war movie with landscaped cinematography and well crafted screenplay. Without commenting on its nomination to the Academy Awards, American Sniper is worth watching!
Ugly (2013)
Anurag Kashyap's most accomplished movie till date!
Anurag Kashyap's most accomplished movie has finally hit the theaters after struggling to fight a court case against smoking disclaimers inserted during movie scenes by Health Ministry. Ugly is a dark noir much like Kashyap's previous work Paanch and Black Friday. However, Ugly stands out as cinematic delicacy because of its morbid display of inhumanness, callous characters, intense background music/ imagery and virtually everything. Ugly is a whodunit in the first half and a non-sympathetic drama in the second. Based on true accounts, Ugly is a story about characters where the plot is only an ensemble. The main characters include a lost girl, her father (Rahul) who is a struggling actor, her alcoholic and melancholic mother, her police officer step father (Soumik), her father's friend (Chaitanya) who is a casting director trying to make ends meet, her father's girlfriend who is a b-grade item girl and Soumik's thick skinned accomplices. All these characters reveal their internal ugliness when the little girl go missing. Instead of searching the girl, each character makes mockery of the situation by being hypocrite and compassion-less. Spoilers Ahead: Soumik accuses Rahul of faking the abduction and enters into a vengeance mode because his wife was previously married to Rahul. All other characters try to capitalize the situation for their selfish gains and finding the girl is last thing on their mind. Kashyap has been successful in using Mumbai's dark visuals to create a hard hitting suspense thriller. Ugly has an anticlimactic ending which would make the audience depressed and disgusted with whatever happened, where the characters would only earn abomination. Such is the Kashyap style, who does not let the audience be judge-mental about his characters. Excellent end to 2014 with Ugly!
PK (2014)
Satire presented in amusing manner but has a stretched second half!
2014's most awaited film has finally arrived and Bollywood's most admired trio Hirani-Vidhu-Aamir does not disappoint the audience. The promo's have been intriguing as producers have not revealed much about the movie but has claimed that the plot would be its USP. Loosely inspired by OMG! PK takes a dig at the religious dogma and superstitions prevalent in today's time. Its a satire which exposes religion based commercialization and differentiates God from the god-men. Also, Hirani take a similar protagonist like 3 idiots, who is an outsider, who challenges the tradition and tries to simplify the system. PK has a wonderful humor which highlights religious myths by way of simple but well thought of amusing acts. The second half of the movie is bit stretched where the plot creates a face-off between PK and a god-men. Perhaps, Hirani could have craftily used some political/ economic satire to the present plot to end the repetition. All said, PK stands out because of one person, Aamir Khan, who takes his stature to a new high with this performance by playing the part with extreme precision. Hirani is successful in achieving a melodramatic ending much like his previous works! PK is definitely not-to-be missed movie of this year.
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
A lackluster drama!
The epic drama from Ridley Scott is surely grandeur in nature but fails to impress us as a movie. Exodus: Gods and Kings, is based on liberation of Hebrews from Pharaoh slavery. The problem with directing epics is that story cannot be fictionalized to suit audience preferences. Taking cue from Gladiator, Kingdom of Heavens and Robin Hood, Ridley Scott creates a large scale theater with gigantic scenery and king size 3D effects which will surely make your eyes wide! The movie fares well in beginning the story where it gives a curious flavor to events, however the drama that ensues leaves us bewildered. Most of the movie-goers know the epic and did not expect a retelling. It's a good watch on a weekend because of its 3D effect especially when other options include Action Jackson/ Ungli, however Exodus can be avoided due to a lackluster drama.
Interstellar (2014)
A great piece of cinematic experience!
Nolan's latest is an epic science fiction drama on space travel that will make your brain freeze for some time! However, it is marred with a melodrama, Nolan is not a champion of. Earth has lived off its resources and is on brink of collapse, when Cooper (McConaughey) accidentally discovers a gravitational anomaly and lands himself at a secret NASA site, which appears odd altogether. Thereon Cooper sets on a space exploration, with little hopes of returning back. Till the exploration begins, the movie has a curious wait and frankly it stretches too far. The most interesting part is the space exploration with a spectacular imagery, VFX and screenplay. Nolan manages to pull off a highly captivating second half refusing to let us think anything else. The directorial imagination is one of the best which completes a scientist's dilemma's in a fictional manner. The performance and background score makes the movie even more exciting. However, Interstellar misses a 9/10 because of juxtaposing melodrama with science fiction. Hugely inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar does not come close to being a classic like it. Interstellar does makes us feel inspired and bewildered at the scope of mankind imagination and the mysterious cosmos. The concept of 5-dimensional quantum mechanics involving time and gravity has been explained in a remarkable fashion and makes you connected to the plot at all times. Nolan is himself the story-writer of Interstellar. The movie ends in an identical manner to Inception, where two separate stories are intermixed with a thrilling conclusion. Nevertheless, this is truly a great piece of work!
Fury (2014)
An awesome war movie after a long time!
Fury by David Ayer is a brilliantly made war film which directly takes you to the battlefield without any introductions or developing historical references. It can be summed as watching a WWII archive through the eye of a battle tank. Fury shot in a crude, gory and brutal fashion, is a story about courage, glory and pride of a tank and its people. The theme is very straight-forward with episodic clashes and encounters. Ideals are peaceful, history is violent is one of the many beautiful dialogues which reinforces terror and fear in a war situation. Fury deals with story of a tank which manoeuvres Germany and briefly stops at a house where the tank leader takes a moment of peace. Next the tank runs into a Nazi contingent and decides to defend its location with 5 people and limited ammunition. With Fury, Brad Pitt moves up the food chain after a super performance in Inglorious Bastards. The cinematography of Fury is noteworthy and appreciable, it keeps the set-up relevant to the audience. The incredulous ending has not been distorted but rendered memorable with a neat cinematography/VFX. Highly recommended as this type of work is rare!
Gone Girl (2014)
An unfamiliar suspense thriller!
The argument over the best suspense thriller director in recent times ends with David Fincher. After successfully directing The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, Fincher presents another unpredictable thriller, Gone Girl (also adapted from a book with the same name). Gone Girl starts with a cozy pace gradually getting the audience interested with a story based on disappearance of Amy (inspiration to Amazing Amy series). Amy's husband falls into the suspect list as their bad marriage relationship emerges. As the movie progress the captivated audience is made to believe in something absolutely defying added with an even more dubious ending. Fincher intermixes tense relationship with violence to create a spectacular mystery. The show stealer performance by Rosamund Pike is notable and justifies her character beautifully. It feels so good that Fincher never disappoints with his work!
Annabelle (2014)
Best to be avoided
What separates a good horror movie from a bad one is that the latter creates sudden shocks and surprises during the playtime while the former creates a constant fear not just during the playtime but also has reminiscence after the movie. Annabelle, a prequel to The Conjuring, falls under the latter category and fails to impress unlike its 2013 hit sequel. The movie has a very predictable sequence, unimpressive storyline and not so frightening background score. The Conjuring had created large expectation for Annabelle with its own brilliantly researched surprise elements, good cast and relatable fear. However, Annabelle even fails to come across as an ordinary horror flick if not being a prequel to The Conjuring. Probably James Wan should have directed the prequel himself!
Haider (2014)
A masterpiece by Vishal Bharadwaj
Chutzpah happens when an incredible film receives 1/4th box office collections compared to another film releasing the same day, after being snubbed by critics all over the nation. Haider set in the insurgent Kashmir valley is based on Shakespearian play Hamlet, completing a trilogy by Vishal Bharadwaj after Maqbool and Omkara. It's a story about thousands of Kashmiris getting "disappeared" under the pre-text of AFSPA. The entire plot is very intricate, deep and intense comprising Haider's (played by Shahid Kapur) quest to find his disappeared father and bring the perpetrators to justice. With a brilliant cast and screenplay, Vishal Bharadwaj mesmerizes the audience with his allegorical references like the unpredictable nature of woman, dichotomy between righteousness and being wronged, "Hum hai ki hum nahi hai" reflecting Kashmir's separatist demand (Kashmir is in fact a character itself), etc. Also movie contains tiny visual character references like Tabu's (mother of Haider) mehndi being prominently displayed multiple times to perhaps indicate her serial widowhood, Haider's wounded eye to perhaps imply his inability to judge the right from the wrong, etc. The beauty of the movie is its unpredictable climax which develops out of a prolonged suspense. Haider is a masterpiece and must watch for quality cinema lovers.
Finding Fanny (2014)
Power packed performance in a flat movie
Finding Fanny is a fairy tale by Homi Adajania very unlike his previous projects. A short English themed movie based on the lives of a romantic postman, a middle-aged woman, a lusty painter, a virgin widow and a morose lover. The movie begins with a straight forward introduction of characters, subsequently developing the story step by step. Things start setting in motion when Naseer receives an undelivered letter from his old flame and everybody joins the cause to bring back the romance in Naseer's life. Homi puts in a nice illusion where Naseer dreams of getting himself drowned, somewhat similar to Saif's bathtub shot in Being Cyrus. The plot thickens and becomes interesting when the bunch prepares for a road trip to find Fanny for Naseer. Shot in a picturesque cinematography of Goa, Finding Fanny sets up a beautiful imagery in the minds of audience in the first half. Gradually the movie loses its grip and begins to hastily conclude in a flat manner added by a cursory romance between Deepika and Arjun. One particular distraction was not using sync sound technique in a road trip movie, which makes it very artificial. The poorly thought ending has some excellent performance by each of the cast member. It is extremely difficult to say whether Pankaj Kapur was better than Naseer or Arjun Kapoor. Nevertheless, it's a rare bollywood creation and should be watched without any prejudices.