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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Krrish 3 review

KRRISH 3 the new highest grossing Bollywood film of all time...finally restoring my belief in the Indian public. Well, for now at least. The third part of this trilogy, Krrish 3 has shattered all records!
After back-to-back hits in this banner "Koi Mil Gaya" and "Krrish", Krrish 3 fulfils its presumptions.

First of all, I actually do not understand the point of this title, Krrish 3... it makes no sense whatsoever. "Koi Mil Gaya 3, Krrish Returns or Krrish 2" would have been better names for it, but for some strange reason, the director, Rakesh Roshan was adamant on this title and went along with it.
After that, the music...Rajesh Roshan completely flopped. The songs do not intrigue, interact or relate to the audience in anyway. I understand that some songs like "Dil Tu Hi Bataa" and "Raghupati Raghav" are catchy but do not live up to the expectations of this film. "God Allah Aur Bhagwan" have had a very controversial review on it, due to the lyrics in the song, but has to be the most meaningful song of the film. This song is shot beautifully!

Rakesh Roshan has made a good film, worthy of praise in Bollywood. These types of films have not worked out very well previously, apart from its predecessor "Krrish". It is evident that Rakesh Roshan brings out the best in his son, Hrithik Roshan.
Playing a double role as Rohit Mehra, genius scientist and Krishna/Krrish, the superhero. He was outstanding in both characters and in the scenes where he was playing both, it seemed as though the two were actually two different people. Here, the director has done a commendable job.
Vivek Oberoi, playing Kaal (the supervillian), was brilliant. I won't go deeper into his role as he portrayed Kaal exceptionally well. A criticism with Kaal is his suit... That is atrocious!! There was no point of that suit!!!

Unfortunately, the female lead, Priyanka Chopra does not have enough screen time and is shown as more of an "eye-candy" and a "damsel in distress" in this film. Without giving anything away, she does pull a decent enough performance to not make critics go crazy against her.
A VERY FATAL FLAW IN THE FILM.....Kangana Ranaut disappointed all the way through out the film. I do not understand how she could act so terribly after films like "Fashion", "Gangster" and "Life In A...Metro". Her role was to act like a robot...emotionless, but she could not pull that off at all. Kaya (her character) is too outrageously cheesy! No doubt about that.

Always with Hrithik Roshan, we have to bring his dancing into the scheme of things. He is an amazing dancer but Remo D'Souza actually choreographed quite amazing steps for him. In the song "Raghupati Raghav", ALL OF HRITHIK's DANCE MOVES WERE BRILLIANT! EXCEPTIONALLY EXECUTED!
The action and special effects in the film were good! Although, some scenes did seem completely fake, overall, the special effects team did a good job bringing in all the imagination that is put into Hollywood films like Spiderman. For an Indian film, Krrish 3 had extraordinary effects.

The story is quite original and shows us how Superman would fight a negatively oriented X-Men. Obviously, the cheesiness had to be present. I would give an overview of the film, but I really do not want to give any spoilers in this review.

Beware, this film is not everyone's cup of tea, but will indeed entertain you.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

 Music/Soundtrack 5/10

Cinematography 8/10

Choreography 9/10

I give this film 7.43/10 "7.43 out of 10"
Rating: Krrish Trilogy is good!! Krrish 3 lives up to it!

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Runner, Runner review

A film about money, greed, poker and most of all....MORE MONEY!

I must say, Justin Timberlake completely succeeds as Richie Furst, a masters student at Princeton who is in dire need of some cash. He has to be the most interesting aspect of this film, apart from the outstandingly presented story by director Brad Furman. 

Ben Affleck, plays Ivan Block, a businessman who has been extremely lucky. Saying any more about his business would most definitely be a SPOILER ALERT! Let's just talk about his acting. To be honest, I never expected him to be able to pull of a negative role, but he does not do a bad job. At some points he actually looks threatening enough to be called a villian. After finding out he was Batman, I never thought I could see him in a different light...guess I was wrong.
Gemma Arterton held her own, in a film where she is given little room to act. Unfortunately, her obviously "fake" tan in the film just became quite annoying after a while, but you may be able to look over that because of this brilliantly written story by Brian Koppelman and David Levien.

Anthony Mackie....the man who never disappoints, however important the role is, he always delivers in his own unique way.

Some people believe that 'Runner, Runner' shows the wrong side of Finance....but actually, it just shows an alternative to what people could actually do with their money. 

ONE HUGE DOWNSIDE IS.....the film is only 91 minutes, but feels like 191! For some reason, it just seems like the film should have been shorter.  I guess t

hat was because the film had a good story...but just failed at connecting with the audience. This does not happen very often, at least to me. I usually connect with all the films I like. But however hard I tried to connect with the film....'Runner, Runner' would just 'Run...' away!

Another downfall of the movie was the lack of suspense. I know I've praised the story and direction, but the film fails to spark any surprise for the viewer. That's not to say that this film should never be watched...it's just a movie that movie-lovers should watch with an open-mind.

Rating System:

Performance: 8/10

Direction: 8/10

Story/Script: 8/10

Music/Soundtrack: 7/10

Cinematography: 5/10

Action: 7/10

I give this film 7.17/10 "7.17 out of 10"

Rating: May seem like a higher rating than it deserves, but the film made me smile! Decent!

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Besharam review

Besharam is very shameless!!! Ranbir Kapoor and Pallavi Sharda acted very well but the story was horrendous.... Just very TWO DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE SPECTRUM!

I realised, this film was an attempt at a "good-hearted man" being rude, obnoxious and shameless due to the fact that he did not have the facilities or the opportunities that everyone else had. On the surface, it sounds like an interesting take on the matter but the amount of stress the director, Abhinav Kashyap, gave to this point was disappointing. Main culprit in the downfall of this movie has to Abhinav....the way he shot the scenes, the camera angles, the entrances...they were all too 'tacky', in my eyes.
Usually the box office and I do not completely agree, but in this case, we do. This is Ranbir Kapoor's first "official" flop since Saawariya (which I thought was top notch).

I would review this film more deeply, but personally, quote says it all
"“Besharam” means shameless, and Bollywood helmer Abhinav Kashyap never stops trumpeting that concept for a moment.  “More of the same” seems to be his mantra for this romantic comedy — more frenetically unmemorable musical numbers, more mugging, strutting and crass bits of business. Kashyap relies completely on star Ranbir Kapoor to put over this relentless reiteration of cliches and, admittedly, the actor invests his aggressively tasteless, crotch-grabbing antics with enough energy and humor to make it palatable, but only just."

After giving hits like Yuva, in 2004, and Dabangg, in 2010, Kashyap loses his credibility as a "serious" film maker. That is not to say, he will not bounce back, he might...but a person who rejects Dabangg 2 and then makes a film which is "VERY SIMILAR" in its whole "DHAMAKA BANG" type fighting.
Secondly, the story and screenplay was also written by Kashyap himself...well the bulk of it.

To be honest, I did not expect this film to be any better than the promos, which did look quite ordinary but I won't be as harsh as to say that no one performed well in the movie.
ALL...and I mean ALL OF THE ACTORS in the film did their level best to portray their role to the best of their abilities. Even debutant Pallavi Sharda, who in her first film, matched toe-to-toe with Ranbir Kapoor on the dance floor as well as in the emotional scenes.
The "New Gen" Kapoors joined the party with their first all family outing on the silver screen, which showed that they all have amazing on screen chemistry. Due to the film, this was not well utilised by the director, but there were glimpses of genius amongst this havoc called "Besharam".

I am delighted to say that I did not need to do much preparation for this film as most of the reviewers had already said what I could have thought of. Here is another person, who shares my views:  "Indeed, all the thesps do their damnedest, but Kashyap’s script almost perversely refuses to introduce any character gradations or to even slightly vary the actors’ routines.  
Production values and visual effects seem shoddier than usual for a Bollywood blockbuster, and the pic’s broad, tongue-in-cheek ethos undercuts the physical impact of the action and the gags."

Music might just be the 'glimmer' of hope this movie could have had but apart from "Besharam" and "Tere Mohalle", the other songs were very overused...like the melodies to the other tracks had been used MANY MANY TIMES in previous films. Some people may have found them quite refreshing, while the majority found them annoying. One more thing that was just a buzz kill....the first 29 minutes of the film is shown to be an introduction to everything but includes 3 songs..in 29 minutes..... squeezing them all into that small gap....was there any point for that? My answer is no. The film could have been cut short in many areas that were just far too long-winded and songs could have been spread out across a longer period of time so that the audience would not get "BORED" during the next 110 odd minutes of the film.
Choreography (done by Remo D'Souza) does seem to cheer me up, but again with the "pelvic thrusts"...I think Bollywood is trying to play off too much of Michael Jackson and Prabhudeva in their dance routines...which looks good but too vulgar for my eyes.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7.5/10

Direction 4/10

Story/Script 4/10
Action 5/10

 Music/Soundtrack 6/10

Cinematography 5/10

Choreography 7/10

I give this film 5.5/10 "5.5 out of 10"
Rating: Below Average! Please don't watch it...just watch the funny scenes when it releases on YouTube. (which there are not many)

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Phata Poster Nikhla Hero review

Rajkumar Santoshi (the director) has 2 distinct pieces of art that he is renowned for and to be honest, those 2 films are very similar in their outline. Btw, Andaaz Apna Apna and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani are the 2 films I mentioned previously.

Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (PPNH) is another one of his Santoshiness films but this one actually has a moral behind it which actually makes it a much more interesting film. I'm not saying this film does not have the typical "stupid, masala film" parts to it...it does but I actually found the film fun and entertaining!!!! (SURPRISED MYSELF HOW MUCH I LIKED IT)! Santoshi's direction is something I will look forward to...as he prepares for his next adventure... "Andaaz Apna Apna 2"!

Ileana D'Cruz absolutely killed it! She is a fantastic actress and she completely restores my faith in female actors in India...they can be versatile and literally fit any role......from Barfi! to PPNH, opposite ends of the Bollywood film spectrum.

Shahid Kapoor, the main man... Who surprisingly did a much better job than Ranbir Kapoor in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani! Shahid's acting reminded me of Salman Khan... The one from Andaaz Apna Apna and Dulhan Hum Lejayenge! Great comedic timing in this Santoshi exhibit! Obviously the two leads had to be given some lee-way for the over acting aspect as the film was very dramatically hilarious! 

The supporting cast including Darshan Jariwala performed with his usual laughable manner while Padmani Kolhapure did what she has always done.... Brilliantly execute the role she was offered! It's been a while since she was a part of a commercial film like PPNH.

The story... Though fairly obvious as a whole... It does have a few surprises... Which are brilliant and very admirably captured by Ravi Yadav and his camera team. 

It's pointless to compare Santoshi's previous projects again but this is a very close second after Andaaz Apna Apna in his filmography. Although PPNH has not done as well as expected at the box office but it definitely deserves a watch!

ONE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE FILM!!!!!!!!!! Continuity in Shahid Kapoor's look! He instantaneously has a different hair-length, when obviouslt, it's meant to stay the same. Regarding the same point...he miraculously grows a stubble then shaves it off and it grows back with in three scenes that were meant to be...at the same time! Sooo... One very disappointing part of Mr. Santoshi's direction.

Music.. It's addictive! No doubt about that! Songs like 'Main Rang Sharbatoon Ka' and 'Mere Bina Tu' are brilliant , lyrically speaking but they did not require music video for each...in total does add about 15 minutes to the running time of the film! The other hits like 'Agal Bagal Mein' was fabulously shot and the concept is quite funny in the context of the movie. 'Dhating Naach'.. By far the worst song in the film but it has a significance so arguing with it's existence is not a priority so I recommend you TRY and enjoy that song!  

STUPID! CRAZY! FUNNY! BANG! Four words that perfectly describe this film! The action is excellently choreographed! Well, the dance choreography isn't bad either... Though kinda repetitive at points, but entertaining, for which the credit goes equally to Shahid Kapoor as well as Bosco (choreographer).

'Fun-filled family hilarity'... If that's what you're looking for... This film has it all (even the cheesy dialogues to really cause nostalgia for the 90's comedy)! Though my opinion differs from a lot of the critics out there, I believe this by far is Shahid Kapoor's best work since Kaminey! 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7.5/10

Direction 6.5/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

 Music/Soundtrack 6.5/10

Cinematography 7/10

Choreography 7/10

I give this film 7.21/10 "7.21 out of 10"
Rating: Hilarious references! One-time watch is a must!

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You're Next Review by Jaffrina Jahan

You’re Next centres around the Davison family reunion in a remote house to celebrate their wealthy parent’s wedding anniversary. The grown up children, Drake, Crispian, Amy and Felix are joined by their counterparts, Kelly, Erin, Tariq and Zee respectively. When they come under attack by mysterious killers in animal masks Erin takes control and fights back.

The trailer suggests a perfect family, however, that is far from the truth. Rivalries, feelings of inferiority and general dislike are evident in the family dynamics. These tensions make the film rather interesting but are quickly undercut as an attacker kills the first victim. The shaky camera work successfully demonstrates the fear and confusion that has captured the family. What separates this film from the common home invasion horrors is its use of black humour and inclusion of a motive. The dark humour is refreshing in this genre and ensures an entertaining watch to prevent the audience from numbing to the violence. Many home invasion films such as Straw Dogs do not provide a motive but director, Adam Wingard does, though this is revealed in the ending. However, I had guessed early on (spoiler) it was an inside job. The real shock comes from the final twist as an additional accomplice is revealed which was unexpected, amusing and more original. Although the motive is believable it is not something explored in depth which would have enabled the film to have more complexity.

The first half of the film is dull aside from the petty squabbles of the family. Despite the suspense being there from the start with the grisly murders and creaking floorboards it only picks up momentum once the killers attack. Then it drops again as the only thing Wingard offers is various ways to kill. The final minutes are where the true depth of the film is depicted.

Sharni Vinson provides an interesting character as Erin who grew up in a survivalist camp. As a strong female lead she is the only character to defend effectively against the attacks. It was refreshing to see a woman defend herself rather than being depicted as the sex object and victim who is dependent on others for survival. Erin is the only likeable character as well. The other characters are passive victims spending most of their screen time alternating between arguing, screaming, crying and looking bewildered until they die a savage death. The family are more interesting when they are being killed and give no reason to the audience for caring what happens to them.

Wingard delivers some scares which do make you jump and its excessive violence will appeal to avid horror fans. But it is the combination of dark humour and sadistic violence that makes it a fresh take in a genre that seemed to have nothing new to offer. However, it is not as impressive as recent horror films such as The Purge and The Conjuring.

Rating System:

Performance: 7/10

Direction: 7/10

Story/Script: 7/10

Music/Soundtrack: 6/10

Cinematography: 7/10

Action: 8/10

I give this film 7/10 

Rating: A refreshing take on home invasion films. 

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Madras Cafe review

Recently, John Abraham has chosen films that do appear quite strange choices...however it does show that he has quite wide range of acting ability. Films like Force, I.Me Aur Main and Shootout At Wadala....all films you would not associate with the "Chocolate-boy" reputation he has in the film industry. Madras Cafe is another one of these amazing roles that Abraham has been lucky to have.

John Abraham (Major Vikram Singh) nailed his role, though some people may argue he is quite emotionless...but I think he has exactly the right amount of feeling in the way he portrays this undercover R&AW agent. Nargis Fakhri acted well...not brilliant, even though her role was a small one. Nargis looks comfortable in this role and acts a million times better than she did in her previous Bollywood outing "Rockstar". She speaks English throughout the film, which is understandable but the fact that John Abraham replies in Hindi, just seems quite inconsistent and does slightly derail the conversation between the two. Rashi Khanna (Abraham's wife in the movie) played the character of Ruby Singh extremely well. The "spat" the couple has in the film is just priceless and brilliant. That scene literally moved me on an emotional level. Siddharth Basu was excellent...his voice just gave a calmness into every scene that he was in, however the rest of the supporting cast lacked a bit of style and reality in their speaking manner.

The film is based on true events that took place in the 80's/90's in Sri Lanka and an attempt at explaining how and why certain events transpired. Although, the film is full of propaganda....it is brilliantly shot and directed by Shoojit Sircar.
One slightly disappointing point would be that the film feels like it goes on for years...not saying it's boring...but it just drags on 20 minutes more than it should have. That feels like eternity!

SPOILER ALERT!

The film begins with a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction. Names have been changed but the events of Madras Café are clearly based in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, which ultimately led to the assassination of Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. "Here, the plot moves inexorably towards the assassination of a former prime minister. Major Vikram is an intelligence officer with the Indian army enlisted in a covert operation to broker peace in the war-torn country. The film cuts rapidly between New Delhi, London, Bangkok and Kerala." (Anupama Chopra's review)

Madras Café works as an effective portrait of the futility of war. Shoojit and his writers, Shubhendu Bhattacharya and Somnath Dey, ably illustrate why there are no winners here. "Ideologies are marred by corruption and brutality. Death is inevitable and victories, pyrrhic."
A special mention here of John Abraham, who stretches himself as both actor and producer. He does a commendable job. As does Prakash Belawadi, who plays Vikram’s hard-drinking superior. And cinematographer Kamaljeet Negi, whose camera gives the film scale and heft. Shantanu Moitra’s unobtrusive music underlines the tragedy. "Sun Le Re" is actually well composed and Ali Hayat sings effortlessly.

I suggest you give this film a watch! It'll be an eye-opener for many people (even though the movie is "fictitious")

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10
Cinematography 8/10

I give this film 7.13/10 "7.13 out of 10"
Rating: Conspiracy....I think not! Have a look to decide for yourself!

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Long overdue but here goes.... Star Trek franchise was relaunched in 2009 with the original characters from the Original series, but with fresh new faces. The film received very good reviews and the verdict was positive...so obviously, there had to be a secod film.

Star Trek Into Darkness was an impressive sequel with a great story which was held together by the friendship of James.T.Kirk and Spock shown by director J.J.Abrams.

Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock showed their abilities in the first film but in this one, they exceed their expectations and completely dazzle the audience with their rapport. Benedict Cumersbatch was just brilliant as well Zoe Saldana and the rest of the cast! Brilliant acting....no doubt about it!

SPOILER ALERT!

Star Trek Into Darkness punches straight into an immediate manhunt movie. A bomb goes off in a Starfleet archive in London — 23rd century England will boast a skyline of buildings apparently — and the race is on to track down the terrorist, well-coutured renegade John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). Abrams’ first Trek movie was criticised for not following the Roddenberry tenet of holding up a mirror to real-world issues. Into Darkness couldn’t be more prescient. Just weeks after the events in Boston, this keys into a hunt for a bomber, with Kirk given orders to forgo a fair trial (“I’m gonna run this bastard down”) and terminate Harrison with Star Trek’s version of extreme prejudice — undetectable photon torpedoes. 

Cumberbatch’s Harrison  is, in essence, a one-man army — watch him waste an arsenal of helmeted soldiers or take a vicious beating from Kirk with barely a flinch, or brutally batter some Federation flunkies. Yet, as you might expect from an actor who can comfortably portray Sherlock Holmes and Stephen Hawking, Harrison is as intellectual as he is muscular. 
It is a testament to the power of his performance that, although his early appearances are greeted with the most over-the-top Evil Musical Motifs imaginable, he manages to make Harrison ambiguous and chilling throughout.
"If the first film was about the coming together of the Enterprise crew, then Harrison’s threat means they have to divide to conquer. The strong ensemble — rejoice in the growing Kirk-Spock bromance, or Bones’ bad aphorisms, or a collector’s moment of Sulu steeliness without his sword — have etched likable sketches of the nascent TV icons, but you’d like time to hang with them a bit more. Similarly, you pine for a sustained Hannibal Lecter-Clarice Starling duel of wits between Kirk and Harrison, but it never quite happens. Abrams has real skill at dropping character beats in the heat of battle — Kirk and Spock get slivers of interesting arcs; the former is learning to become a captain, the latter is learning to be a friend — yet the film doesn’t give the emotions space to resonate and take hold."
Abrams directs with lots of flare, but, more importantly, flair. His style is somewhere between the machine-tooled work of Cameron and the manic intensity of Bay, efficient but still loose and seemingly improvised.

Working with screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, Abrams can flip between different tones in a heartbeat.... a comedic lovers’ tiff in the midst of battle turns into an affecting meditation on fear — and will leave no stone unturned in trying to entertain: tense bomb disposal, intense inter-race negotiations, big ship-little ship cat and mousery, Simon Pegg comic relief, a chase at warp speed, disaster movie mayhem and amazing performances by every single member of the cast. Not all of it works — compared to the opener, the last-reel action is enjoyable rather than jaw-dropping — but there is the sense of a true showman at work. Like George Lucas, J.J.Abrams doesn’t care about science-fiction and transwarp beaming. He just wants you to have as much fun as humanly possible.

If this is Abrams’ final frontier, he has left Star Trek in a good place, both in the fictional universe and as a franchise. In some sense, the title is misleading. Into Darkness is a blast, fun, funny, spectacular and exhilarating. The rule of great even-numbered Trek movies continues.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8.5/10
Action 8.5/10

Music/Soundtrack 8/10
Cinematography 9/10

I give this film 8.67/10 "8.67 out of 10"
Rating: Slick! Clean! Thrilling!

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The Conjuring review by Jaffrina Jahan

Like James Wan’s previous horror outing, Insidious, The Conjuring is typical in following the haunting of a family who move into a new home. It is filled with cliché horror devices ranging from the jack-in-the-box to the imaginary friend and it is clear that Wan has been inspired from other horror films such as the Exorcist and The Poltergeist. 

Ed and Lorraine Warren are the real life paranormal investigators who are called by the Perron family to investigate the strange events in their new home. The Perron family with Dad Roger, Mum Carolyn and their five daughters are given a lengthy introduction that included a dead dog and Hitchcock style suicidal pigeons. The slow build up was surprisingly effective in creating tension and a sense of claustrophobia which is subtly present throughout the film. A sense of entrapment is prominent as the house is a financial burden stopping the family from moving, which would not have helped anyway, and Carolyn being prevented from leaving the house. However, at times it felt as though the film was too long until Wan introduced a creaking door or sleepwalking child and you felt like an idiot for doubting Wan and the film.
 
The writers’ decision to delay the introduction of the Perron family to present the Warren’s previous case of the creepy doll, Annabelle was a wise choice. It was scary and the fact that the film was from two points of view; that of the Warren’s and Perron’s, added a sense of realism to make the ‘this is based on a true story’ concept all the more believable and thus frightening. The narrative conveys the events clearly and never leaves you feeling confused. After watching Dead Silence and Insidious I was concerned that the ending would be confusing and disjointed but Wan succeeds in closing the narrative without any open threads and disappointing plot twists to deliver a satisfying conclusion.
 
The soundtrack was by Insidious’ Joseph Bishara. It was similar to Insidious and an accomplishment in enhancing the tension and the subsequent scares. The acting was superb across the board, particularly from Vera Farmiga; Farmiga’s anxiety and tightly concealed fear are superbly portrayed and reminds us that she is rightly an Oscar nominated actress.
 
Ignoring the violence and gore of Saw and abstaining from CGI, Wan delivers a horror filled with old school scares which are executed with tactic and genius. The camera’s close, lingering shots of the ghosts are truly frightening and leave you closing your eyes and recoiling. It is well known that the best kind of fear is the fear of the unknown and Wan succeeds in this without doubt; from the clapping hands coming out the wardrobe to the creepy Annabelle doll mysteriously leaving her box and inexplicably returning. The Conjuring is one of the great films to come from the horror genre in recent years and for Wan is an impressive follow up to Insidious and a testament to the fact that he should stick to scaring audiences. 

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 9/10

Direction 9/10

Story/Script 8/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 7/10
Cinematography 7/10

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

Rating: Better than most other horror movies! 

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Pain and Gain review

Obviously Pain and Gain had amazing box office collections in USA! Unfortunately, it didn't do as well around the globe but that does not matter one bit. This film is a true story (as specified many times during the movie) and is very well directed, shown quite well on the silver screen by director Michael Bay. I'll keep this review short and straight to the point. "Pain and Gain, which Bay and Bay alone was capable of directing, seizes on this image of his country and thrashes about with it dementedly; along with comedy dismemberings, farcical GBH and the barbecuing of human hands, the movie offers the equally gruesome spectacle of a metaphor being clubbed to death."

The idea of America as a musclebound nation, psychotically devoted to self-improvement, has some merit as a throwaway conceit — the sort of thing a Scorsese or Oliver Stone might toss into one of their bloody epics as a grace note. What should be clear by now is that grace notes are not really Michael Bay’s forte. His films usually involve brilliant action sequences so this does seem like a change of pace for him, and he accepts this challenge with open arms.

As this film goes through the motions, you never seem to be unengaged with the characters (yes, that was a double negative). Mark Wahlberg plays his role of  fitness 'freak' Daniel Lugo brilliantly well while beautifully anchoring the film through its various twists and turns.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson does Paul Doyle's character justice with his wonderful portrayal that makes us feel sorry for Dwayne's personality in the film. The emotional and comedic scenes were also excellently captured and spectacularly laid down on the silver screen by Mr. Bay.

Other supporting cast of Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Ed Harris and many others did the best job they could , even though they did not do brilliant, which does not mean they did not do good!

Inspired by a true story (and also IS A TRUE STORY), this film has a brilliant storyline which is completely unique due to its factual nature and witty and fast paced screenplay will blow your mind away! It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot come to life for the audience.

Unfortunately, the film recognises the true story part more than once, which may lead some viewers, slightly unimpressed. This is due to the emphasis on the "true", at least three times in this 2 hour film.

The visual effects used in the film, make you feel as though you are actually in the film.. Living it as you go on with your own life! Cinematography is exquisite. The cleanliness in the way the film is shot is extremely good, but not in competition with Bay's previous works "Transformers" and "Armageddon"

This film has its bad points like the vast use of curse words (which isn't usually a problem in rated 15 movies but this was quite over the top)... still this film does amaze in its story!:) It seems like a line that should have been in the "Now You See Me" review but Pain and Gain does bring an amazing plot to life for its targeted audience.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 8/10

Direction 7/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 7/10

Music/Soundtrack 5/10
Cinematography 7/10

I give this film 6.83/10 "6.83 out of 10"
Rating: Great Story! Must Watch! (But never again)!

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Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobara

The length of the title is a start to a film that will feel as though it is dragged on for longer than it needed to.
OUATIMD (Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobara) is one of the few films that I wanted to watch at the start of the year, but unfortunately, the film seems to be too long for what it is.
This film is a love story...with action added into it, that actually looks very good.

Director Milan Luthria has made some absolutely amazing pieces of art on the silver screen but with this movie he can not put the same flavour, which unfortunately tarnishes the backbone of the film that is the character of Shohaib Khan (played by Akshay Kumar). Mr. Luthria has done quite well with the history part of the film, linking up his previous two films with this one. To be honest, all the scenes in the film were shot with fantastic precision and definitely looked the part on screen.

Shohaib was first introduced to us in the prequel to this film, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, in which the role was played by Emraan Hashmi. He nailed that role and I'd even go as far to say that role played a key role in his stardom. However, if you have seen the first installment, you will be slightly unimpressed in the way Akshay Kumar portrays Shohaib Khan, due to the unncessary dramatisation of this role. That does not mean he did not do a good job, he was great but Hashmi just set too high a standard for this role. All that said. "Halfway into Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobaara! Akshay Kumar playing the all-powerful, Dawood-style, murderous mafia don, declares: “Villain hoon main, villain.” He says it with such a menacing relish that I wanted to applaud. More than anything else in Milan Luthria's sequel he was "THE" man to watch!" Akshay was brilliantly menacing which was a good turn from what Hashmi played in the first part. Some of the dialogues given to him were terrific, no doubt about that. I won't say Hashmi could've done a better job because in this film, Shohaib Khan had to be a villianous mastermind who says stuff like "Mujhe accha banne ka koi shauk nahin hai." This review seems to be all about Akshay Kumar, but the film does revolve around him. He was the key part of this movie. Akshay unlocks the loneliness and heartache of the horrific villian that is Shohaib Khan.

Sonakshi Sinha (played Jasmine Sheikh) was typical Sonakshi, with the "bubbly" personality in the film, however, she actually did a very good job, especially when she had to scream in some of the emotional scenes. The emotion she was trying to emit came out exactly as it should have.
Imran Khan surprisingly played the role of Aslam, extremely well, showing the whole industry that he is Aamir Khan's nephew. I'm sure he must have gotten some tips from his uncle when he found out he was chosen for this role. No doubt his performance was very believable and you felt for the guy.
Everyone else that was casted in the film, played their roles well but with abit of over acting that was bound to happen with this type of sequel.

The story in OUATIMD is not a true story, and is a new touch to the characted of Shohaib Khan. It shows a softer side to him, the "emotional" side which we had not seen completely in its prequel. It is an old school love triangle with an action twist added on, which does make it a decent film to watch, but nothing that you would want to watch again. Ending may just surprise some of the viewers, apart from that, the film does not contain many twists that you don't see coming from a mile away. Through out the film, you will be engaged by the atmosphere that engulfs you, but the aura of this movie diminishes as the end credits roll. 

Action....aaahhhhh.... very realistic, apart from the train sequence. SPOILER ALERT.... Imran Khan's entry into the film is on a train, where he is chasing some people, who he is stealing diamonds from. That whole section of the film, seems too unrealistic and filmy, but apart from that, all the rest of the action is spot on!

Box office wise the film has gone steady but not been a complete success either, which is a little surprsing for an Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha starrer. 40 crore in 4 days seems to be a good achievement for most films but with an extremely high budget movie like this, it's considered fairly mediocre.

Pritam does not reach his full potential with his 100th attempt at being a music director (well done to him) but I think the prequel had fantastic music (also done by Pritam). Songs like "Bismillah" and "Tu Hi Khwahish" were just added into the film to fill the quota of songs, which is a disappointment because "Ye Tu Ne Kya Kiya" and "Chugliyaan" are brilliantly composed and lyrically are great. "Tayyab Ali" is a humourous song, that was first made popular by Amar, Akbar and Anthony film in the 70's/80's but the song comes back with a bang in this film. The song is completely random and unncessary but even I laughed at parts of it.

"Yes, the film is over-wrought, melodramatic and designed as pulp fiction. But it’s intermittently fun. One of my favourite scenes was Shoaib going voluntarily to the police station. The cops are so busy trying to set up roadblocks to catch him that they don’t even notice that he’s standing there. It’s absurdly comic. And a special mention here of Sonali Bendre Behl, who shines in the few scenes she has.
Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbaai Dobara! had me cheering for the bad guy. Which, at least in the movies, is never a bad thing."


Finally, I do think this film was amazingly hyped up to be something it wasn't, unlike the previous part which was not hyped and turned out to be one of the great movies of 2010.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 7/10

Direction 8/10

Story/Script 7/10
Action 8/10

Music/Soundtrack 6/10
Cinematography 8/10

Choreography 6/10

I rate this film 7.14/10 "7.14 out of 10"
Rating: Good! Experience it once, but not dobara!(again!)

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Chennai Express review

Back in 2006, when Golmaal:Fun Unlimited released (director Rohit Shetty), I found that film hilarious and thought that Shetty would become an amazing director with a unique talent for entertaining the audience.
BUT!!!!!! ROHIT SHETTY I am sorry to say...Chennai express was a disaster!! I can't believe I am quoting the film but this really was a "Bokwoas" film. Direction was so unfresh, predictable and extremely monotonous. This all has been done before Rohit Shetty, please bring something fresh to the table in your next venture. (1 Mark down for Chennai Express)

This is an all out old school Bollywood masala film...but alot worse! Most of the jokes were so obvious that you'd easily be able to predict what the punchline would be...plus, it won't be funny. The film contained no suspense whatsoever! I don't even have to do a "SPOILER ALERT!" because there is nothing to have a spoiler about! (Another Mark down for Chennai Express)

Screenplay was quite brilliant in a few parts and by a few, I do mean a few! Dialogue delivery by most of the cast was reasonable, but nothing shone like the horrendous, typical Rohit Shetty direction. K.Subhaash (the writer) literally looked at "Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya" and "Ready" and thought to himself "Let's just make a combination of these two with twists in the middle that are super obvious." (And Another Mark down)
Once again! I am ashamed of Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan's film brain, even with the vast experience they share between eachother. They understand what makes money in India unfortunately, but don't understand what film goers actually need, a good entertaining well directed, well acted film, not a completely uninteresting attempt at an entertaining film, that just flopped at it. Mr.Johar, Student Of The Year, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and now this, all absolute disappointments in my book. Shahrukh Khan once again produces a film that should not be worthy of being called a film. Om Shanti Om, Ra.One, Jab Tak Hai Jaan...all these films could have been great, but unfortunately, all of them were disappointing..however, none were as worthless as Chennai Express. (I'm tired of the down marking, but you get the gist)

Mr. Shahrukh Khan...wait...he wasn't first billed....so let's start with Miss Deepika Padukone. She was the highlight of the film...no doubt about it. She kept her "fake" but quite reliastic South Indian accent through the entire film which played as a good comedic palate cleanser from the unrest that transpired around her. Her role was not amazing, but she pulled it off very well, with the grace that could have been added to this character of Meenamma.
I've already talked about Shahrukh Khan's involvement with this film as a great failure, but his acting was better than the film, even with all the SUPER OVER-ACTING by this so called "King" of Bollywood. His dialogues were funny, but like I said before, these jokes were not as spectacular as they were made out to be. A plus point for SRK fans, he was dancing amazingly well for a guy who's 47.
Anyone with half a mind would realise that these two actors and the others, Sathyaraj and Nikitin Dheer, were wasted in this movie.
The character development was inexistent. The connection or chemistry between SRK and Deepika glimmered through a couple of scenes when they end up in a small village, but otherwise, it was too cheesy and to be perfectly honest, just not there.

I am thinking long and hard trying to come up with some positive points about Chennai Express but I just can't think of any. I guess the music.....no wait....even Vishal-Shekhar went off their game with this soundtrack. All the music in this film was old and the audience would have heard a billion times in previous films. Addiction to songs, I'd say the most catchy tune is while the credits role, "Lungi Dance", which is such an annoying song, but will stick to your tongue as you start singing to it for no apparent reason (atleast that happened to me). This song was a tribute to Shri Rajnikanth, which is commendable, unfortunately the song was just horrific...but catchy.

Lastly, the ending....was so unbelievably obvious, that I just wanted to cry how bad it was. OHMYGOD!!! I found a plus point...the film had no vulgarity, sex scenes, swearing words anything, which was a nice pace for


an Indian film nowadays, but this film was a disaster even without those things.

RATING SYSTEM

Performance 6/10

Direction 5/10

Story/Script 5/10
Action 6/10

Music/Soundtrack 3/10
Cinematography 5/10

Choreography 5/10

I give this film 5/10 "5 out of 10" (The lowest rating I've given to an SRK film since Om Shanti Om :O) 
Rating: Below Average! Don't watch it...Please! I am begging you! Watch something else!

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