RIPD review

Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges star in this comedy action film that literally dazzles your eyes with amazing camera work! I commend you Robert Schwentz!! Brilliant direction!

After the back-to-back box office flops that were "Green Lantern" and "The Change-Up", the struggling leading man really could have used another hit in the vein of "Safe House". R.I.P.D, in my opinion, is a good comeback film for the actor. In contrast to popular belief (also known as the box office), that rated this film to be another flop in Ryan Reynold's repertoire, I thought it was a wonderful story! This concept of the hereafter has been explored in many films, to name one..."Ghost", and this film actually has become a classic.

Similar to "Ghost", this is another after-death based film with a more action and comedic aspect to it. This new take on this topic was fresh and very interesting....especially visually. 
Special effects, picturization and cinematography, all excelled in RIPD! This film is dripping with cheesiness, but that's the enjoyment part of it. It has been quite a while since a Hollywood film portrayed so much stereotypical behaviour in one movie. 

Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon, the other main actors in the film, have done in a decent job in their character portrayal. On the acting front, everyone in the film fulfilled their role very well. 

This may seem like a very positive review of this movie, while the vast majority have deemed it a "no-go" zone, but the matter of fact is...RIPD is a fun movie! No where does it seem boring. 

I think, you should never completely judge a movie without watching it. I recommend you (the readers of this review) to watch the film yourself and make your own decision. 

I give this film 7.5/10 "7.5 out of 10"
Rating: FUN-filled comedic thriller!   

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Roy

It has been a long time coming, but to start of with a controversially FLOP film, I had to start off with 'Roy'!

2.9 on IMDB! Being advertised as the biggest flop of Ranbir's career and he wasn't even in it for very long. 

The film is based around an arrogant and successful director, Kabir Grewal played by Arjun Rampal, who eventually runs into some obstacles, otherwise films wouldn't really be fun! 

SPOILER ALERT!!

Kabir has directed two superhit films and is planning on making the third in the trilogy, unfortunately, he does not have a script to back his claims. He goes to Malaysia, as that seemed like a logical place for him to start and there we see the entrance of Ayesha Aamir (Jacqueline Fernandez), a small time director on a shoot from London.

Without giving too much of the plot away, as their interaction progresses, we see Kabir develop a fondness for Ayesha and his script... His script seemed to write itself from then on. But, theres a misunderstanding which gets blown out of proportion, sending Kabir into a downward spiral. 

During the film, Ranbir Kapoor is representing the actor playing 'Roy' in the film within the film (a bit of Inception to keep those brains warmed up).

The director, Vikramjit Singh, went back and forth between Kabir's story and Roy's story, but that seemed to be an entertaining facet of the movie. The editing and attempted fast-paced scenes seemed to portray an unrushed attitude throughout the film. However, there is a whole block of about 50 minutes in the middle that could be cut down to 20 minutes, maybe Singh was trying to emphasise the emotions during those scenes.

Acting in the general sense was decent. No one did a bad job. Surprisingly, Jacqueline may just have performed at her best... Eventhough her characters were not very enigmatic. 

The biggest downside for me, was the dialogues, not the delivery, but the actual words, like no one talks like that, not now not ever. There are certain scenes where even I was like 'That could've been worded so much better'. 

The film turned out to be very under performing at the box office. Apart from that, the songs were a hit. 'Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan' and 'Sooraj Dooba Hai' became very popular and still going strong in the charts.

All in all, its not a great film, but its not a bad film... Its slow, but it's sweet. Worth a watch!

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8/10

Direction 7.5/10
Script 3/10
Story 7/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Music/Soundtrack 7/10

I give this film 6.67/10 "6.67 out of 10"

Rating: Slowly but surely, it will leave a smile on your face

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Mediocre Bollywood 2014

Bewakoofiyaan
Ayushman Khurana and Sonam Kapoor, the alleged rom-com of the year, failed to make many people laugh or cry. Although the story was one that appealed to a wide audience, especially the redundancy due to the recession as well as the love story that transpires between, the career oriented, Maira Segal (Sonam Kapoor) and Mohit Chaddha (Ayushman Khurana), the "topper" in every field.
Rishi Kapoor plays the role of Sonam Kapoor's father, which sort of relates to "Meet the Parents" and Robert DeNiro's role as Jack Byrnes.

A large chunk of the film revolves around Ayushman trying to get Rishi Kapoor's approval, which would potentially lead to him marrying Sonam. However, Rishi's character does not believe that this could last, especially because he believes in the fact that "love does not conquer all", while the couple who are described as "passionately in love", believe it could.
The music of the film was average, while Ayushman, as always, brings his own touch while he sings, which was pleasing to hear. Raghu Dixit, music director, does not exactly impress us with his music.
Director, Nupur Asthana, who directed "Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge", did a decent job in directing the film, but failed to amaze us with his Film making abilities. The story is written by Habib Faisal who never disappoints but does not dazzle us with the story like Ishaqzaade (his previous venture)
I give this film "5.5 out of 10" 5.5/10
Rating: Watch at your own peril! Expect nothing new! 

Hasee Toh Phasee
Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra starrer, Hasee Toh Phasee, has to be the worst decision either of them has ever made in their career so far. The story was horrendous, the plot made no common sense, there was no need for this film to be made. Vinil Mathew in his directorial debut did not seem to grasp the idea of Harshvardhan Kulkarni's story, or even if he did, he could not portray the script at all. Honestly, it is not the director's fault...it is Kulkarni who came up with this story that was just a disappointment. Malhotra and Chopra showed no real chemistry on screen as their characters were both outrageously eccentric. They tried their best, for which I applaud them, but Hasee Toh Phasee was a disaster in my eyes.
Vishal-Shekhar's music was the only ray of sunshine for this film. As stated above, the film was a disaster in my opinion but the only thing that kind of regained this film's credibility, is the music. Good job to the talented pair of Vishal-Shekhar
I give this film "5 out of 10" 5/10
Rating: Listen to the songs, no need to waste your time with the 141 minutes of film!

Total Siyappa
One of the films I was looking forward to....till I watched it. The story is based on the Pakistani-Indian couple of Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam, who are sight for sore eyes. Otherwise the film is trying to hard to be funny, especially Kirron Kher. I agree, she is an amazing actress, but playing a "Punjabi" does not mean that you have to SHOUT EVERYTHING!
E.Nivas is the director of this film, and I do not blame him for anything. The story he was given, it seems like he did the best he possibly could, but I believe this seemed like a film better suited for a director like David Dhawan, aka, best comic director in Bollywood.
The story is adapted from a the Spanish comedy "Only Human" but just like "Nautanki Saala" , this film could not live up to its original movie.
There are some blunders regarding "timing" of the jokes but otherwise the attempt of making a comedy film was fulfilled, even though it is funny for different reasons than it was intended.
The music was a sham as well, especially when I was expecting Ali Zafar to give the film's music a turn in the right direction, instead, it went the wrong direction.


I give this film "5 out of 10" 5/10
Rating: Funny...but for all the wrong reasons, skip it if you can!

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Mistakes of Bollywood 2014

Yaariyaan
This bright idea for a film turned out to be a super hit in the public's eyes, making a collection of over 36 crore rupees (360 million rupees). In terms of acting, story, direction, Yaariyan should have been a flop. An idea which seemed promising at the start, turns out to be the biggest disappointment of the film. Attempted climaxes, fail to surprise and leave us thinking, "Why oh why, did I waste my time for this film".
On the plus side, the songs "Love Me Thoda Aur" and "Baarish" are brilliant pieces of composition, "ABCD" and "Sunny Sunny" became chart toppers.
I believe, you should run away from this film....as soon as you catch a glimpse
I give this film "3.5 out of 10" 3.5/10
Rating: Just watch the songs, the only watchable parts of the movie.


Dishkiyaoon 
Personally, I thought this was an interesting film, with a decent plot and even though the twists in the film were obvious, the way they were shot were visually acceptable. A decently directed film, is let down by Harman Baweja was definitely "Bewaja", which was an utter disappointment.
Sunny Deol was Sunny Deol so can not say much except that he did the best he could, there were no flaws in his portrayal of his character. Ayesha Khanna was nothing special, which means, this film could not have done well, if the lead actors were just "mediocre". Aditya Pancholi played the villain admirably, especially with a weak cast.
"Tu Hi Hai Aashiqui" is the only song worth mentioning, as the rest were bad attempts at music. Arjit Singh's voice makes any song worth a hear.
I give this film "4 out of 10" 4/10
Rating: Watch it...if you really want to...otherwise, watch something else


O Teri

It reads, "From the makes of Bodyguard", but this does not help the cause when the film turns out to too much noise but no action. Pulkit Samrat and Bilal Amrohi are journalists who find a scoop that can potentially change their lives and the rest of the film revolves around this scope. 

The film tries too hard to be funny and an entertainer while being a serious film with a good message behind it. "The film, all 107 minutes of it, is a full frontal assault that gives the audience no options at all. The only emotion it arouses is disgust. 

"O Teri" is a hard-to-classify film. In fact, one isn’t even sure it can be called a film. It is a loud, over-the-top, mindless caper masquerading as political satire." Sarah-Jane Dias (the female lead) is as useless as the male leads. The next line sums up this film "One character in O Teri reminds us that justice is blind, the public is dumb and the government is deaf. He might as well have added one more to that – on a bad day, Bollywood is spectacularly brainless." 

I give this film "3 out of 10" 3/10

Rating: DNA (Do Not Attend)

Youngistaan
Youngistaan is directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, starring Jackky Bhagnani, Neha Sharma, Farooq Sheikh, Deepankar De and Kayoze Irani in lead roles. The idea behind the film is commendable but execution falters, due to the utter boredom that is displayed on screen. The film flopped in multiplexes and singleplexes alike. Bhagnani and Sharma have chemistry on screen especially when she screams and in the song "Suno Na Sangemarmar", apart from that they are fairly mechanical in their roles. This was Farooq Sheikh's last film before he passed away and like always he impressed. In my opinion, he was the star of the film, rather than Bhagnani. But that is just my personal opinion. Last year it was "Rangrezz", this year it is "Youngistaan", Bhagnani chooses meaningful scripts but they turn out to be "flops", which is kinda sad. Wish him and Sharma the best for their future movies.
I give this film "3.5 out of 10" 3.5/10
Rating: Wikipedia the story, no need to watch it! 

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Main Tera Hero review

Ho ho ho! I am back with a bang! Yes, it seems quite a surprise, we have not posted anything in the past 8 months, but we will start again, and let's make this time, the last time we stop.

Main Tera Hero is an absolutely hilarious film. Slapstick comedy, yes! But the comic timing of the dynamic duo of Father-Son, Director-Actor, David and Varun Dhawan have delivered the funniest Indian film of the year.
The film revolves around Seenu (Varun Dhawan) and his adventures through college and then his love life. The love life is the more important of the two in the film as his studies are not mentioned again apart from in the first 15 minutes of the movie. Certainly Varun did not disappoint, as he worked with his father for the first time. At many junctures he reminded me of Salman Khan from his late 90's films when he worked with David Dhawan (director).
The supporting cast included the ravishing and talented Ileana D'Cruz, playing the role of Seenu's love interest (Sunaina). She was as hyper as she could have been as that is what the role required of her. Ayesha (played by Nargis Fakhri) was a spoilt rich girl who also has an interest in Seenu. Nargis seemed to be out of her depth. It looked like 'Bambi on ice'. She was trying way to hard to play the part and just seemed very unrealistic and boring to be honest.
Arunoday Singh, Anumpam Kher and Rajpal Yadav justified their selections for the roles and entertained the crowd with their well-timed dialogues and comedy. Last but not least, Salman Khan, playing the different Gods in the film was hilarious. His dialogues were brilliant.
Tushar Hiranandani and Milap Zaveri wrote the story and dialogues respectively. Personally, I enjoyed all of the one-liners especially "Main lagta buhat sweet swaami type ka par hoon baray harami type ka", by far my favourite line of the film.
Music by Sajid-Wajid was fantastic. "Palat" and "Besharam Ki Height" both did extremely well on the charts as well as in people's hearts.
The choreography was interesting but nothing special. Varun is a great dancer and he performed all his moves excellently.
It seems like this film was a platform for Varun to start doing more comedy films, following in his father's footsteps.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7.5/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 7.5/10
Action 8/10

 Music/Soundtrack 7.5/10

Cinematography 7/10

Choreography 6.5/10

I give this film 7.29/10 "7.29 out of 10"

Rating: Comedic Brilliance! Dhawans at their best! Hilarity guaranteed

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Dhoom 3: Back In Action review

Aamir Khan.... the only unique part of Dhoom 3! Let's analyse in the following review.

First of all, all the credit for the film should be given to Aamir Khan and his unique portrayal of the character of Sahir Khan. I personally think that Aamir Khan's character in the film was very well written. Without giving away any of the story, I will review this film....well try to.

Writer turn director, Vijay Krishna Acharya, wrote the previous two Dhooms, Dhoom and Dhoom 2, which were chartbusters in their own right. In Dhoom 3, he was given the opportunity to show his direction skills as well. Unfortunately, I believe, he's a much better writer than director. His previous endeavour in the direction field turned out to be a flop as well, but Aamir Khan and the story saved this one. What he tried to show on screen did look quite fake and unrealistic at many points. However, some people may blame the cinematographer for this, but it seems like it's both the director's and cinematographer's, Sudeep Chatterjee, fault. 

Abhishekh Bachchan was playing the serious "super" cop, Jai Dixit, in this third installment. He did nothing new with his character apart from showing a slightly deceptive side to him. In these scenes, he seemed more at home than the "serious" scenes he is known for in the Dhoom trilogy. Uday Chopra retaines his ever-loved character of Ali, who again, does get the best lines in the film. His comedy has to be the only other hook to the film...the "tapori"-style English that he speaks will make the audience laugh. 

Katrina Kaif, playing Aliya, is the least influential character in the whole film. The only thing she pulled off, was some dance moves that, to be honest, could have been much more cleaner and cooler. She did not have much screen-time either, which I thought was one of the best decisions Acharya made. To be honest, the motorcycles probably had more screen time than her. 

All the supporting cast was about average...I guess, Jackie Shroff did play a pretty chic circus-man, with his father-like role. Lastly, X acted brilliantly! For a young actor in such a big film, his acting skills were put to great use. 

Some errors with the film....such as....WE NEVER FIND OUT HOW THE ROBBERIES TAKE PLACE! The film is supposed to be crime-oriented, but this dwells into the villain's past and present and reduces this action-thriller to more of an adventure-thriller. The action in the film lacked "punch". Starting fight sequence was just horrible. It looked very 'tacky' and simply uneasy on the eyes. 

The songs aren't exactly catchy, but some of the choreography is quite exquisite. The "Dhoom Tap" sequence is very well shot and Aamir Khan superseeds the expectations and actually does extremely well in the opening song.

At their best, the lush yet punchy musical numbers that Acharya stages for “Dhoom: 3” reach giddy heights of pop romanticism. The composer, the shameless pop button-usher Pritam, swoops through the emotional turmoil of a song like “Malang,” and Acharya’s camera seems to be dancing — and swooning — along with the performers. 

SPOILER ALERT!

Admittedly the filmmakers flagrantly draw inspiration from Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" in the key plot twist, but Khan's handling of it is exceptional and so heart-warming that you could forgive him anything. 

There are cinematic liberties throughout and you are urged to suspend disbelief for some of the more outlandish stunts and displays of Bond-inspired gadgetry and just go with it and revel in the ride, if only for the sheer entertainment value. 

There is still so much more in this film to marvel at with wide-eyed wonder than there is to decry, from the most thrilling 15-minute chase sequence in Hindi cinema, to its evocative central character, an opulent song sequence and a tender denouement that resonates long after the film has ended. 

Like Now You See Me with a dose of maudlin melodrama that makes it pure Bollywood, "Dhoom 3" is spectacular. But Aamir Khan is spellbinding and reason enough to watch the film. There's no doubt that this film will and already has done big business at the box office but critically, this film was over-hyper and promoted far too much. "Dhoom 3" does not succeed in surpassing the brilliance that was "Dhoom 2", but it's decent entertainment value.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8.5/10

Direction 6.5/10

Story/Script 8.5/10
Action 7/10

 Music/Soundtrack 6.5/10

Cinematography 6/10

Choreography 7/10

I give this film 7.14/10 "7.14 out of 10"

Rating: Innovatively Bollywood! New but old! Worth a watch! 

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R... Rajkumar review

"Maar Maar Maar aur Pyaar Pyaar Pyaar" (Hit Hit Hit And Love Love Love)...Literally defines the entire film! Let's add some words like "Naach Naach Naach" (Dance Dance Dance) to the mix and that completely describes R... Rajkumar. 

Prabhu Deva in his usual way, does an action-comedic-romantic film that keeps us engaged through out the film. These are classed as "Masala" films, due to their tastefulness towards the Indian masses. Prabhu Deva, the director, has made four Bollywood films (including this one) and they have all been loved. Wanted, Rowdy Rathore and now R... Rajkumar, their action is typical Prabhu-esque! While being clever with his methods of people being beaten up. The film is shot excellently! The cinematography is just so clean and wonderful!
This film is definitely not for everyone. You might realise that from the vast number of negative reviews but seriously, its a full-on entertainer. Why does it have to make sense? There are so many films like "Chennai Express" that have received praise...but they were utter rubbish! 

During the film you will not feel bored. You may feel as though the film is stupid and pointless, but at the end, there is a message, like you always find in Prabhu Deva films. I personally really enjoyed the film! While watching it, I didn't care if the roles had enough depth or not because everyone portraying their specific roles expressed themselves so well that I just understood their character. 

Some things in the film have been repeated like the typical taglines that Shahid Kapoor says, like "Silent ho ja, warna mein violent ho jaaon ga" and Sonu Sood with his "Mein sehat keh liye buhat haanikaarak hoon". These catchphrases have become a new trend in Bollywood...though annoying, you do lose sight of it as you get involved with the film.

Shahid Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha surprisingly work out very well as an on-screen pair and their chemistry can obviously be seen. Shahid Kapoor plays Romeo Rajkumar brilliantly but he doesn't have much to work with. He portrayed exactly what the role required. Sonakshi Sinha, as per usual, she starts by beating the daylights out of disrespectful men. When Rajkumar stalks her, she tries to drive him away with a nonsensical song (that is quite a fun-filled song to be fair). Like always, her character always falls in love with the "guy" who stalks her character and acts all tough. Sonu Sood is a terrific actor, especially in negative roles. His portrayal of evil is quite exact to how people expect him to be. Asrani, like always, is enthusiastically dull, with his "haha" and hyper acting that does not seem to entertain.

Brilliant choreography by Prabhu Deva and all the other related choreographers of this film. Dance moves that Shahid Kapoor hasnever attempted... he has been put through "hell" for these moves and he does not disappoint! 

The story is well crafted by Prabhu Deva, dialogues are witty and very well timed. R... Rajkumar develops into a slightly unexpected story but eventually leads to its usual conclusion...also known as, a typical Bollywood climax.

Personally, I extremely enjoyed the film, to the shock of a lot of people. If you like "Masala" films, please watch it. If you do not... still give it a whirl. You may be surprised.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 6.5/10

 Music/Soundtrack 8.5/10

Cinematography 9/10

Choreography 9/10

I give this film 8/10 "8 out of 10"

Rating: Explosive! Random! Well-written! Entertaining..but not for everyone!

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Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela review

 

“Ram-leela’! The genius of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the passion of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, the guile of Supriya Pathak and the rawness of Richa Chadda”, in the words of the legendary, Amitabh Bachchan.

Inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director, creates an Indian adaptation which resembles Habib Faisal's Ishaqzaade in many ways. There are two rival clans, living in the same vicinity but can not stand each other. The main characters in both these movies are cocky, fearless and love defying authority. However, Bhansali is the biggest difference between these films. His unique rendition of Devdas was vividly striking and beautiful in all its glory. Ram-Leela is no different! The brilliance and attention to detail by Bhansali is well-noted. He (in my opinion) pulls out the best interpretation of Romeo & Juliet, ever, which is "the most artistically ambitious and evocative rendition of this timeless tale." The use of colours was visually creative with the pallid Rajidis to the black Saneras in the sensational jubious celebrations of festivals. He uses blurred-focus brilliantly to emphasise the importance of the scenes.

Not to forget, the music was also the genius of this legendary director, Mr. Bhansali. In my opinion, this has to be the best movie album, musically, of the year. The melodies he has come up with, though remind us of "Hum Dil De Chukke Sanam", do come into their own and set your ears on fire (in a good way). The lyrics and the entire musical aspect of the film was top level. Every song, in my book, was worth a listen, apart from "Ramleela", which was quite a disappointing track to be honest, even though this item number was performed by Priyanka Chopra.
All the choreographers did a wonderful job, except the song, "Ramleela".

Cinematography was beautiful. Ravi Varman has done an absolutely fantastic job. This may seem like a pointless paragraph but the cinematographer needed to be mentioned due the brilliance in his artistry and his portrayal of it all. Bhansali and Varman have worked fabulously well. His previous works like "Barfi" and "Phir Milenge" were quite pleasing to the eye as well as this newest addition to his repertoire.


One defect with the film I thought was its audience rating. It should have been at least a 15. This film has a lot of vulgarity for the "younger generation" to see. Most importantly as an Indian film, it had a lot of scenes that were not suitable for children.

Ranveer Singh (Ram) and Deepika Padukone (Leela) gave a breath-taking performance. Especially Deepika Padukone, with her role as "Leela", the Juliet of the film. She seduces the audience as much as she does Ram. A lethal combination of grace, beauty and raw brilliance, her feisty wildcat ways engender an uninhibited performance that is utterly captivating.

While Ranveer Singh, amazes everyone by his range of acting and perfectionistic role portrayal. It's a performance that is at times exuberant, always impassioned and shows that Ranveer Singh is an exceptional acting talent. He is a comedic, vulgar casanova, and yet his vulnerability is undeniably engraved in his eyes when tragedy first strikes. His passion for Leela is fully felt by the audience as he expresses every emotion melodramatically but precisely how it should be. Especially, the balcony scene, which is beautifully interpreted, honouring the original text, but portrayed through the filter of Bhansali's vision, producing a mesmerising moment on the silver screen.

The other characters are well-constructed and well portrayed. Supriya Pathak is exceptional in her chilling portrayal of "Baahujoor", the Godmother, but her sudden "volte-face is one of the jarring missteps of the film, as is the proclivity of the protagonists to forsake love-making for an ill-timed song and dance number." With a plotline that becomes complicated, the relentless gun-firing is at times exhausting, as the romantic elements, that are Bhansali's forte, are overshadowed by the descent into violence, which is new territory for him.
"The film is aesthetically beautiful, and Bhansali's reputation as a master of his craft is beyond question, there is just so much to take in that, despite being steeped in brilliance, it becomes an almost entirely overwhelming experience."

"There is nevertheless a satisfying conclusion, and Ram and Leela's final encounter assuages the memory of all the bloodletting that went before. A riot of colour, dance, music and mayhem, the film is so compelling that you daren't take your eyes off the screen for a second, and yet at moments it's so overwhelming you yearn for some respite.
Ranveer Singh is a revelation, Deepika mesmerises, and the inter-play between the two is where the magic lies."

What Bhansali has done, is give this film no genre. Ram-Leela, is a cinematic experience, in the class of his "Devdas" and "Black". A film that is worthy of the name, "A Shakespearean tragedy".

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 9/10
Action 7/10

 Music/Soundtrack 9.5/10

Cinematography 9.5/10

Choreography 8.5/10

I give this film 8.79/10 "8.79 out of 10"
Rating: A Shakespearean Tragedy! Brilliant! Bhansali at his best!
(Credit to Mehwish Fiaz)

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