Rajdhani Express (2013) - Thriller

OK – forgive me for watching this – but what to do, I was too curious to see one my favorite tennis star Leander Paes making a movie debut. WOW – What a disaster of the first order this movie is – with no head and tail whatsoever. Trust me – I am not exaggerating in saying this – if you put 4 total strangers from different walks of life in a Rajdhani Express’s 1^st AC compartment and shoot what they do for the first three hours – it will make a better movie than what they made in the name of a Socio Political Drama – My Foot. Yikes!! And what the heck is that punch line – “Rajdhani Express – Point Blank Justice”. This movie in the first place – should have never got made. Ignore it like a plague – Obviously – you have already done that but skip it even if it comes on TV someday which isn’t a remote possibility.

Wreck - It Ralph (2012) - Animation

Another superb animation with a heart – I was glad that it did get an Academy Nomination as well as a fantastic victory, after seeing it last week – I realized – it deserved it big time. I will call it another movie where the Director’s imagination gone wild. When I was a kid (not so long ago) – we brothers used to imagine – how would it look like if we get into one of those game consoles and see for ourselves if these characters that we play with are real? What do they do in their spare time – I mean when no one is playing the game or when the machine is switched off? This is exactly the same thing captured in a superb animation voiced by some of our own favorite actors. No one can beat John C Reily when it comes to this kind of comedy movie and his voice as Wreck It Ralph is simply superb. Wreck It Ralph is actually the bad guy with a heart – who wants to change the whole thing and become a good guy by winning the medal as only good guys win the medal in all the games. What happens next is a superb roller coaster ride of close to two hours with all the characters from a lot of games coming alive and running from one console to another and Ralph in search of his medal which he has to win to prove his point. It’s terrific to see some of your favorite childhood game characters come alive in front of your eyes and makes up for a fantastic thriller cum action cum animation cum drama. It has almost everything in it for everybody. Unfortunately I don’t watch too much of animation these days as my kiddo keeps giving me the doses of animation from time to time (sometimes unwanted) hence I skip on a lot of them but thanked God that I didn’t skip this one and saw it finally. If you like Animations – you are going to Love this one and if you like Thriller cum Action movies – do not miss this at any cost. It’s a definite must watch for all and I will rate it a good 4/5. Not to be missed.

Killer Joe (2011) - Thriller

I simply love the way these Texans talk – that rusty feel is too good. This one was a typical American action cum thriller with one of my favorites Matthew McConaughey (Whose name I always had an issue spelling and pronouncing) at the helm of things as a good bad and ugly guy altogether. It’s a fantastic idea of making quick money to pay debts gone wrong – predictable fare yet engrossing and the way the whole thing is shot is too good, kept me glued throughout. Story of a defunct, bankrupt, crazy family where one member is shittier than the other, one crazy father and a hottie step mom (Gina Gershon) a crackpot teenage sister (Juno Temple) and the main guy – a debt ridden brother (Emile Hirsch). The plan is to kill the real mother who has a $50K insurance policy and the nominee is the little sister, make it look like an accident with the help of a cop and a part time contract killer Joe (Mathew). What happens next is anybody’s guess with everything going wrong – not exactly as per plan leading to a thrilling ending. It’s a good one time watch – a super time pass movie with so much happening. I will definitely rate it as 2.5/5.

Liberal Arts (2012) - Comedy

You should see this movie if you are in mid 30’s (Like me) and in real don’t feel a day older than 19, if you are a hardcore romantic (Like me again), if you love English literature (I love it) – you should never miss this one at any cost. If you checked on all three points – you are going to love it, cheer for the guy, stand up and clap (I guarantee you that). This one takes you back to your college days and gives you exactly the same feeling you get when you visit the city / town from where you have a close connection – remember the feeling you get every time you pass through the school or college you passed out from? That’s exactly what this one does – it’s a magically fantastic movie – Superb! Jesse (Josh Radnor – Director / Screenplay) is a guy in mid 30’s, works for a college, visits his own college after one of his favorite professor Peter (Richard Jenkins) requests him to come over for his retirement dinner to say nice things about him. There he meets 19 years old Zibby (Elizabeth Olson), his professor’s friend’s daughter. Instantly they develop a repo and almost fall for each other, what happens next is a joy ride for audience and how his life changes for good. What I loved about this one is – heart to heart discussion between its leads and rest of the cast – too good and seriously cut out of everyday life. The way they discuss books, authors, lines from famous writings etc is too good to be true. Like his crush on one of the hottest professors of romantics is simply superb – I mean who doesn’t have a crush on a teacher ;) provided you had one hot one in campus. His dilemma in falling in love with a girl half of his age, his interaction with his ex professors and current kids on the campus is simply fantastic. The whole movie is such a breeze of fresh air for me – totally loved it and will definitely keep it for future viewings too. Do not miss this at any cost – you will have a great time.  

Compliance (2012) - Thriller

Another based on true stories movie – a perfect thriller which shocked us big time and made us think there are all kinds of people in this screwed up world. We were actually glued to it throughout the 90 minutes of its running time as the story unfolds – it kept gripping us further with it with every new scene the shock value kept increasing. More then 70 similar cases have been reported in the United States around 30 states where a caller identifying himself as a police officer orders a strip search of a female restaurant cashier who as per the report had stolen money from a customer’s wallet. The restaurant manager tries and verifies the caller who claims to having spoken with restaurant chain’s regional manager. The whole movie is shot with the cop on call asking the manager to try different ways of extracting money out from the girl or disclose where she has hidden. While he goes through her house and is about to arrest her brother for doing drugs and all, she is devastated as her brother is innocent and goes through the turmoil to save herself from being jailed. The torture that she goes through is worse than going through a rape and it shocked us big time with what we saw – imagine this all happened more then 70 times in real life – what pain, anger and frustration these victims must have gone through. How it all ends is more shocking than how it happens. It’s a sort of an eye opener and a damn good psychological thriller where you see some lesser known actors giving priceless expressions – haunting I should say. I am sure we will not be able to forget this one for quite a long time. If you like thriller – chances are – you too are going to go through the same expressions what we felt and a must watch for all as it makes you think and prepare you for any untoward incident of same type happening with any of us. A must watch for all.

Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story (2013) - Romantic Comedy

I know you won’t trust me – if I say that I actually took my chances with this one – dunno why and end up actually liking it. Initially before watching the movie, my reaction to this one was “Why in the world some one will ever take Vivek Oberoi for a movie at all?” and after watching it – I can say two reasons – for sure no one will do this kind of a movie with a lousy script and two an almost unknown cast. But I thought – what the heck – when I can watch almost every tom dick and harry – rom com from west – why not one from our part of the world and trust me – it works big time – if you have no expectations whatsoever (With a Vivek Oberoi movie – what kind of expectations one can have anyways?). It’s a very sweet and simple story of a street thug Jayantabhai (Vivek) who falls in love with an uptown girl Simmy (Neha Sharma) who is way beyond his league and how it changes both their lives is movie all about. With so many comical situations thrown in – it does puts a smile on your face with Vivek’s genuine efforts, although at times he goes over board and over acts (As he does always) but still it works in parts and makes you laugh too. Even my wife praised him for this role which looks like a jumbled up version of some half a dozen Indian movie characters from recent years. Neha Sharma is cute and does her part well – so far this will be called her best job in bollywood as she is already a dozen movie old. If you can watch a light hearted western comedy – you can certainly live with this one too. I will definitely give it a good 2 and a half stars with a thumbs up – a definite one time watch for sure.

Murder 3 (2013) - Thriller

Another logic defying movie from the Bhatt camp which starts pretty slowly but picks up in second half and surprisingly even works partially. Although as a debut it should be praised – even if it’s a remake or a scene to scene copy of another movie – I am sure they have indigenized enough of it to make it as per our taste. What shocked me this time from them is the music of the movie – as far as I know Music of any of their movies is always a runaway hit before even the release of the movie but this time they have missed the bus I guess, not one song worked for me unfortunately. The whole concept and idea behind the movie is superb and keeps the audience glued till the very end as you are keen to know what happens next and how it all ends. If only they had made the first half a little better – fortunately I like Randeep Hooda but he disappointed me big time in this one – almost sleep walks his part and so are the girls – had no expectations from them either and as one can guess – the Director hardly uses them to his advantage – they just look good and that’s about it. It’s the premise which is more interesting and keeps you interested through the movie and not the actors or characters. Vikram (Randeep) and Roshni (Aditi) are a committed couple, move to Mumbai from South Africa as he gets an assignment in India as a fashion photographer. Roshni has her doubts on him that he is going around with some model colleagues hence goes in hiding telling him that she is leaving him for good blah blah blah – don’t try to find me and all that crap. Whereas in reality she moves to a hidden room in the bungalow they were living in, which happens to be a sound proof room with one side mirrors from where she can see him but he can’t, guess what the mirrors were bullet proof too. Since she leaves him – in no time our hero gets another girl Nisha (Sara Loren) and moves on while Roshni watches him over all this time. What happens next is anybody’s guess, but how it all shown is good if not great. If you like Drama’s – chances are – you are going to like this one too, but if you are expecting a thriller – I will say give it a miss. I will definitely give it good two and a half stars. One for the idea and half each for its cast. Thumbs up as at least as a one time watch.

The Paperboy (2012) - Thriller

The only reason why one should watch this run of the mill thriller is because of Nicole Kidman’s superb work as a seductive Charlotte Bless, in love with a man who is on a death row for killing the county’s sheriff. She takes Jansen Brother’s (Mathew and Zack) and their colleague’s (David Oyelowo) help to save him from the execution. Unfortunately it never works for me as its never tells you one story consistently – goes from one character to another and before even you get indulged with one gets over with it and moves to another. Even the thrill part only works at best as a drama. Mathew looks like walked out of “Lincoln Lawyer” set to straight this one. Nicole Kidman is too good in the role of Charlotte trying to save her wrongly convicted boy friend Hillary (John Cusack) in a altogether different character, again a guy you love to hate him in this one. Zac Efron as younger Jansen is good – first time I liked him in any movie where he could actually express himself. I will definitely not call it even worth one time watch for the same reason as you have no connect with the whole idea unfortunately. For Nicole Kidman fans – it’s a definite treat but that’s that. If you haven’t see it – trust me you are not missing anything but if you are a fan of hers – do check it out once – chances are – you may end up liking.

Hope Springs (2012) - Rmantic Comedy

I love movies cut out of real life situations and this one was an exceptionally good example of the same with terrific casting. I had no idea what the movie was all about till I started it and my day just got brighter by seeing my favorite Meryl Streep in the very first frame and second shot my excitement manifolds with Tomy Lee Jones as her husband. After three decades of marriage – they have hardly any chemistry left in their married life, they both sleep in separate rooms for years now, hardly interact – the only time together they have is while having breakfast or dinner, its quite heartening to see their daily routine. That’s when Kay (Meryl) gets worried and starts looking for a solution and signs up for a week long Intense Marriage Counseling in a small town in Maine and guess who turns out to be the guiding doctor? Steve Carell – Fantastic choice and what a way he performs the same. How her husband Arnold (Tomy) reacts to the same is simply fantastic – I love him so much exactly for his body language and priceless expressions. It was simply superb to see all of them interact and the solutions given by Steve to them as sessions and how they do all that makes up for quite a great watch. So many times I felt as if Tomy is going to get up and beat Steve black and blue – not to be though. I am going to add that the movie turns out to be an eye opener – after being married for almost 8 years now – I will vouch that the situations are true and truly taken out of real regular life. We actually get in so much into the regular lives that we forget rather start taking our own loved ones for granted and that’s where the problem starts. This movie works big time like an eye opener – giving perfect solutions to such an important issue in our lives, simply superb way of putting so many points across that it will make you smile, laugh and think over it that you will agree that most of it holds true in every couple’s life in one way or the other. I will recommend it very highly to one and all – if you are married this makes more sense but if you are not – it is still a great lesson in learning for the future. Over and above that – it makes up for a fantastic comedy if nothing else. A definite 4 stars from me and two thumbs up. Not to be missed by any one at any cost. I am going to keep it for future viewings too.

Playing for Keeps (2012) - Comedy

I guess some movies set an example for others in “what not to do while making a movie” and again that a perfect script or story is the mantra of success in today’s time. The day I first read about this one – I was all excited and who won’t be? Knowing that it had two hunks (Gerard Butler and Dennis Quad) with three hotties (Uma Thurman, Jessica Biel and Catherine Zeta Jones) – yet it’s a disaster of first order. A movie which has no connects with its audience as it has that typical American premise, Separated couple, depressed kid, going nowhere lives, desperate wives, a game of football, and no story to put it forward with a cliché and predictable ending. Undercooked characters, all the ladies jumping on a retired guy who coaches a kid team in school is way too unconvincing for me, howsoever good looking he must be. On top of that undercooked character of Gerard hardly helps him, you can tell by his body language half the way into the movie that he himself wasn’t convinced of his own role. One of the worst from some of my favorites in the industry is what I will call this one. All hopes gone in vain. Give it a miss if you haven’t seen it yet and if you do, share your experience – I will be shocked to find anyone liking this one.

The Raid: Redemption (2011) - Action / Thriller

I will definitely call this one as one of the best Action Thrillers of the recent times, totally awesome movie with a damn good old school action and break neck pace that keeps you hooked throughout its running time of 100 odd minutes. They don’t make those awesome movies based on hand to hand combat as we used to see in 80’s, if you missed that kind of action – chances are you are going to love this and will see it multiple times for sure. Hats off to the whole team and it makes me doubly happy to see this one not coming from the usual America, Britain or better Korea, although it kept reminding me of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, JCVD and usual Korean movies which are way too good than their counterparts from anywhere else. It’s a very simple story told in most riveting manner of a sincere cop Rama who is an expectant father on an assignment to kill or arrest a Crime Lord from his own fort (A huge building full of criminal tenants). They are a team of 20 young cops with no backup or information to outer world of their attack as they are betrayed by their own chief. How they make their way in the building and clear it off the criminals as much as they can and how it all ends – makes up for a fantastic watch, never seen anything which comes any closer to this one. The movie has everything right from 100 bullets being fired every 5 seconds to superb chase scenes inside the building to awesome hand to hand combat. It’s too kool to see a criminal giving up gun to take two guys head on and beat them black and blue before hitting his own destiny. It has so many “Oh My Freaking God” moments that you will just open your eyes wide and your hand will automatically reach your mouth in disbelief, ruthless killing, slashing, stabbing – it has almost everything you love seeing in a perfect thriller. I mean there are couple of scenes, where you actually see a guy being stabbed like 6 times in 2 seconds – imagine the speed – Fantastic. Everything about the movie is so damn apt and great, even the background score is superb. The only thing I disliked is that it’s not in English and you have to watch out for subtitles and that at times irritates you as you need to watch out for the scene as well as read what they are saying. If you like thrillers – you are bound to love this one and it will remain one of those movies you will feel hard to forget for quite a long time. Do not miss this at any cost, I will definitely give it great 4/5 and two thumbs up.

Hit & Run (2012) - Action / Comedy

A good time pass movie based on “Out of the frying pan but into the fire” concept – a total roller coaster ride right from the very start till the very end. Throwing a dozen interesting characters, one better then another and superb situations with ample of comedy and action stuff that never bores you for a moment but keeps you hooked to the final moment. Surprisingly half of the departments are taken care by its lead Dex Shepard, right from being the Hero, Producer, Director (partly), Writer, Editor and even the screenplay was done by him, Superb Job I will say. It’s a very simple story of Charlie (Dex) who is being protected by state in a witness protection program in the supervision of hilarious US Marshal Randy (Tom Arnold) and his girl friend Annie (Cute Kristen Bell) has to go to LA to attend an important interview for her new position at a college. As they set off in his favorite project car Lincoln (Restored and awesomely made by his dad - You’ve got to watch out for this one) – the ride turns out to be a joy ride for audience as one after another all the Charlie’s secrets keep opening with every new character introduced in the movie. Charlie’s real identity before the witness protection program, his past, friends and enemies – everything gets blown over and there comes one of my favorite guys Bradley Cooper (Wasted in this one though) as Alexander who shares a dark past with Charlie. What are they behind and how they get to it makes up for the rest of the story but a very interesting watch for sure. I will certainly give it a good 2 and a half stars and highly recommend to those who like time pass – Action / Comedy stuff with no head and tail. It did make me laugh big time and kept me glued throughout. Watch it – you will like it.

The Deep Blue Sea (2011) - Drama

I totally love British Drama’s because of their detailing, the way the characters talk; I simply love their accent and the dramatics behind everything i.e. you’ve got to see them dine or having a cup of tea in the evening. And if you come across a movie which happens to be some kind of period drama – never miss it at any cost if you can live with a very slow moving story, almost going nowhere but telling you about the dilemma of a human being in and out of love, that too in a most dramatic way.  This turns out to be an excellent movie for the superb performances of its three leads – first and the best is lady in question – Hester played by gorgeous Rachel Weisz, who is married to a respectable judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Biel) in a restrained act and her lover Freddie Page (Tom Hiddleston) in a fantastic role which makes you love him one moment and hate him the other. William loves his wife Hester big time and is a respectable man living a very comfortable life but she doesn’t love him one bit, still he cares about her so much, she falls for a young guy, and walks out on him, initially it works out well but later she realizes he doesn’t love her the way she does. Her husband, who keeps coming to see her and still cares about her, wants her to come back to him but she won’t at any cost. Watch out for those parts where they interact, the lovers, husband and wife, Rachel’s interaction with her mother in law, with her new land lady where he is living in with her boy friend etc – they are simply superb, totally loved them. She is so damn gorgeous and equally expressive, fantastic expressions throughout the movie, it’s like she was throwing five expressions per minute to the audience and you end up loving them. The lighting effect, period and feel of the movie is so 50’s, the songs being sung and played in the background too help a lot. If you like slow movies with a lot of drama – you are going to love this. I will definitely give it a good three stars and two thumbs up.

Game Change (2012) - Political Drama

Not too long ago I used to get confused between Ed Harris and Woody Harrelson for some reason and was too happy to hear that both of them were coming in one movie. But the big turn off for me was that it’s a political drama (I hate that genre actually) still somehow decided to see it cause of the added attraction Julianne Moore in it. And I must tell you its simply a “WOW” movie – took me totally by surprise as it was actually based on John McCain and Sarah Palin’s Republican Presidential Campaign. First shocker for me was – why would someone make a movie on a losing candidate? Even then and because of the interesting premise I simply couldn’t miss it. Its too good a movie – something in between a drama and a thriller for me, totally liked it, it almost kept me hooked throughout with excellent performances by the three leads, outcome could be anybody’s guess but it was fantastic to watch something we followed quite closely not so long ago. Woody Harrelson surprised me with his role big time, he reminded me of that term called “King Maker” the way he preps Sarah for her interview and campaigns – simply too good. His outbursts in the very end of the movie are simply outstanding, seeing him in a role totally opposite to what he does was totally awesome. Although the real Sarah Palin and John McCain called it untrue and didn’t even view the movie, still it gives a great insight on US political campaigns and how they make and break a political figure. It’s a good one time watch and a definite 3 stars from my side – being a political thriller hating guy – I am sure this is an achievement of sorts for the movie. If you haven’t seen this – check it out for interesting portrayal of some good American political figures by Ed, Woody and Julianne.

Special 26 (2013) - Thriller / Heist

A very few Movies / Director actually do justice to their fans expectations and this is one hell of an example from the recent times. I have never seen a better heist / thriller movie from an Indian Director which comes this close to keep you hooked to the edge of your seat as the drama unfolds – till the very last moment you actually have no idea who all are involved and how it’s going to end. Kudos to Neeraj Pandey, for giving us such a wonderful movie after his last “A Wendesday” which proved to be a hard hitting thriller. It is such a smooth movie which never goes over board in any department and I can bet – even the keenest of the critics will not be able to find faults in it anyways as I kept an eye on the “Period” shown and was totally Wowed by the handling. Fantastic, Brilliant, Amazing are the words which sound too small when you start praising it. After living an important part of my life in Delhi – it actually made me skip couple of beats pretty now and then with the way he had show the Delhi of late 80’s with those untouched buildings, cars, connaught place etc. It’s a movie based on a true story of 4 con men that indeed posed as fake CBI / Income Tax officers and conducted raid at Opera House in Mumbai and actually never got caught. Everything about the movie is so authentic and perfect, right from character development to showing their weaker sides as well as strong points, its amazing work all in all. After a long time I can proudly say that I indeed loved Akshay Kumar in this role, Anupam Kher as his partner in crime is too good and so are the other two guys. Manoj Bajpai is at his best yet again – like last year – this too is a damn good start for him and hope he continues his magic on us. The whole support cast is excellent and Jimmy Shergil no doubt stands out amongst them. I totally loved the balancing act done by the Director, it has comedy but not so much that it will rock you off your seat, has action but in a very subtle way and the thrill part is right from the very first frame till the very end. It’s a must watch for all thriller lovers and especially those who like drama’s in real life. A good three stars from me and two thumbs up. Not to be missed by anyone at any cost.

Death Race 3 (2012) - Action

Death Race is another franchisee whose quality is constantly going down with every new sequel they are making, the first was the best obviously because of Jason Statham and a personal favorite, second one was still something which kept me glued throughout, unfortunately third one looks more like forced than a regular high adrenaline action movie. Although it has everything from Killer looking cars, trucks, SUVs, Stunning Hot chicks ready to strip in the blink of an eye, stunning locales of Africa and good amount of action plus an added twist in the tale which puts a smile on your face, its predictable yet it does surprises you and readies you for the upcoming  4^th part. It definitely works like an individual movie for sure and keeps you hooked to most of the part because you really want to know what happens to your favorite Frankenstein in the end. But the mediocre action and chase sequences are a turn off of sorts and have that “been there done that” feel to them. Another good part about the movie and something worth praising is its cinematography, the camera work is brilliant and works big time in giving the movie a real good feel. It’s an average one time fare unfortunately I felt disappointed as I had huge expectation from it. A good 2/5 from me, check it out if you have spare time and nothing better to do or ignore it but I will be looking forward to the next installment big time as the twist in the end makes the things interesting for the future.

Killing Them Softly (2012) - Crime

Another disaster from Brad Pitt which has almost nothing to offer his fans, I was totally shocked, surprised, bored, yawned to see what they had on offer for good 100 minutes and on top of that they call this “Neo Noir Crime” movie. WOW, kill me before you make another of these movies and put it in that genre – it’s a disgrace if you ask me. All they do in the movie is talk talk and talk and then talk some more while the presidential elections go on in the background with Barack Obama going through all his campaigns. Movie goes almost no where from nowhere and it kills me by seeing three of my favorite guys wasted big time in totally inconsequential movie that includes Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins and Ray Liota. Barring one finely shot shooting sequence in a moving car in slow motion, that’s the high point of the movie other than that – it has nothing good. If you haven’t seen it – ignore it like a plague and if you have – let me know how you liked it. A total disaster – won’t even waste any of my stars in rating this trash.

Vishwaroop (2013) - Thriller

Another Kamal Hassan movie which breaks my heart big time is what “Vishwaroopam” turns out to be – I had such huge expectations from it and it falls flat on its face, at least for me. I can never forget my brothers words to me way back in mid 80’s when he claimed that Big B had the power of changing the whole script of the movie – if he wished and unfortunately that sounds so true for this one. I mean C’mon man! You want to make a thriller – get a good story – get a proper script – rope in a nice Director and let him do his job. Here everything looks so damn forced, since saab knows classical dance so he will start with that, he can do comedy too – so we will have a lot of comic moments, and no one can beat him in action anyways – so we will have over the top action too, not that I have problems with that – surviving so many similar movies in a year is an art for the audience (myself included) but when the name “Kamal Hassan” gets associated with a movie – expectations are bound to get huge. I guess that’s the difference between Rajni and Kamal, Rajni trusts his team and hence his movies are way too high on entertainment quotient and Kamal doesn’t – hence takes everything onto himself and it becomes a little too much for the audience. Unfortunately I cannot praise it – just because this movie belongs to him. As an individual movie – it never works for you beyond a couple of laughter’s and some scenes, the whole idea is laughable and offers nothing new to the audience. I mean would you believe if I tell you that Kamal plays a RAW agent who works for a decade under cover to uncover a nuclear attack by Osama and team that too in USA? And how he does it all is the movie all about. On top of that – they actually have a call with Indian PM praising him? For what? Saving US of nuclear attack- LOL. Had they made a serious thriller and did some proper research before serving it to the audience – it would have surely made for a meaningful movie with good entertainment value too. The thrills are so damn cliché and slow that it can only be called a Drama at best. If you have seen it – you will know what I am talking about. Its an average one time watch for the sheer drama and over the top handling and definitely doesn’t qualify as a movie which you will watch every in future.

ABCD (2013) - Drama

Here comes a fitting reply to western “Step Up” and all those dance based movies and what a movie this one turns out to be – totally rocking stuff. I had no great expectations from this one as it comes from a Choreographer turned Director – Remo D’souza, whose last outing “Faltu” was a time pass one time stuff with nothing great on offer, he has definitely bettered himself with this fantastic movie, hope it works for him big time. We will rate it at least two notches high then Step Up and likes because with those movies you have hardly any connect than plain dance and a little drama, with ABCD, you have a way too stronger connect as it’s based on real time situations, a city you have a great connect with and it’s way too high on drama, emotion, action and expression. So much so that my kiddo stopped eating her favorite “Cheese Pop Corn” half the way and was totally engrossed – she picked that bucket up again only at break, I had that lump in my throat situation 3 times minimum and the cinema hall was jam packed with people cheering and whistling with every new electrifying performance. The dance numbers are way too high on adrenaline and as a critic I was shocked to see the performances as they are all professional dancers – I mean – if you see the movie – do give a close look and watch out for those long shots with almost no cuts for minutes. The three dance moves done by Prabhudeva had no cuts whatsoever and we were shocked / happy to see him do all that in one go – Superb! Even the initial chase sequence between the guys and cops is worth all the money you pay to see this. Use of 3D is amazing – it gives a new depth to all the masala and trust me – it was FANTASTIC! This movie now currently holds the record of “Most expensive ticket ever bought by me” for I guess quite a while and it was worth all the money we paid as the moment we walked out of the theater – wifey said “I am definitely seeing it again”. It has everything one good movie should have, a damn good cast, fantastic dance, music, story, cinematography, chicks are hot, guys are good. I was shocked by one of the critics as he judged them low on “Acting” – I really wonder how he got time to judge them on acting while so much went on the screen to totally hook anybody up. It’s a must watch – if entertainment and fun is your definition of a fantastic movie – some movies deserve a big screen watch that too on 3D and this is one of them. I will definitely give it a good 4 stars and two thumbs up.

Jack Reacher (2012) - Thriller

Another typical Tom Cruise movie which offers nothing exciting or new and the big fan in feels disappointed yet again, I guess this as per me is the lousiest Tom Cruise movie in last couple of years. Right from the very first scene, to his introduction to the better than average finale – it always gives me that “been there done that” feel. As we have seen him in a dozen or more movies – he plays another ghost character, which can never be found, chased, beaten, get caught, shot, unless he himself wants it. Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is an X US Army Office and a drifter, who comes to investigate the case of a US Army Sniper who one fine day goes on a shooting spree and kills 5 innocent people. He had a hunch that there is something behind the shooting innocent people than what it looks like and what he uncovers is supposed to thrill you but unfortunately in the end it makes you feel “Oh yeah, so that was that, Okies” Although it has everything like a conspiracy theory, investigation, a couple of idiotic chases, double crosses etc. Even Richard Jenkins, Eye candy Rosamund Pike and a brief role by Robert Duvall couldn’t save this one for me. I was surprised to see why in the world he did this movie which has almost the same stuff and nothing new to offer? Does he even cares about the script or the story as where it is going? And the shocking thing is – look at the box office figures – even then the movies makes a big amount of money, guess his fan base is too loyal to him and ends up checking all his movies even if they have hardly anything to offer. I missed it because it didn’t last more than a week in our nearby multiplex and the numbers of shows too were too less to accommodate my time schedule, but I am now glad that I missed it. Barring the half hour in the very end which kind of compensates for the lousy story there is nothing to look forward here and this one definitely doesn’t have anything to go for a multiple viewing. Give it a miss if you haven’t seen it – I would rather pick up one of the MI series again and enjoy it.

Fired (2010) - Thriller

Thanks to my friend Shakun that I got hold of this fantastic movie by Sajit Warrier – almost a first time that an Indian Horror cum Thriller impressed us big time. Short and sweet 80 minutes of running time had enough to send some real good chills down our spines and give us damn good jump in your seat moments. Shot in its entirety in one big office in London with a seating capacity of good 100+ people. Rahul Bose plays brilliantly the character of the boss who fires 121 people from his own team because of the economic meltdown and decides to move on as his company gets acquired by another company. It’s a commendable job to shoot the whole movie with major part played by only three characters, the boss (Rahul), his manager Ruby (Militza Radmilovic) and the office security guard Khalid (Dinesh Lamba) – rest all characters keep coming on and off on mostly phone calls. The boss is having an affair with his hot manager with a kid and promises her a secured future yet fires her as the need of hour. What happens next is a superb game of cat and mouse chase with the ghosts of whole team coming and haunting him in the secluded office as he tries his level best to finish one last task and head home. Leading to a superb finale – what happens in the end is something you’ve gotta watch it. As a horror movie unfortunately it failed to impress me but yeah! It works big time as a damn good thriller. I don’t think it got a proper theatrical release as I never heard of it all these years not even saw it coming anywhere on any channels till I hear about it from my friend and I am glad I did as Rahul Bose is another damn good actor to look forward to. It’s a must watch for all thriller lovers and a good 3/5 from me for sure. It has everything you look forward in a thriller cum horror, shocking moments, blood and gore, damn good sound effects and excellent glossy finish.

David (2013) - Thriller

After a barrage of mindless entertainers here comes one movie which keeps you glued to the narrative of almost 150 minutes for a finale which actually makes you smile. I had full faith on Bejoy Nambiar (Director) since I loved his last movie “Shaitan” which was altogether totally different from what we have in hand in “David” – I didn’t even miss his TV series called “Rush” on MTV based on final three days of festival in a college campus. David – the story of three gys with the same name and what happens to them in the year 1975, 1999 and 2010 respectively is the movie all about. This was like a breeze of fresh air right from the very start, highly unfortunate for Neil Nitin Mukesh to get a movie like this and lose the opportunity to make a mark as his becomes the weakest chapter of the whole movie. Vikram is one of my favorite actors from down south and even in this one he proved his mettle yet again. Look at his body language, expressions, timing, his timing especially the screen time with his Dad’s ghost (Saurabh Shukla) and Tabu as his best friend. Even Isha Shravani as a deaf and mute girl leaves a big mark on the audience – she is stunningly beautiful. Even the third story of a struggling artist is captured in a damn good way. Its actually the cast of the movie which should be credited big time, damn good actors taking it on their shoulder to keep the story going. Not for one moment we weren’t engrossed looking forward to the “How dunnit” stuff. Right from the very first frame and introduction of characters to the time line, I predicted exactly how they are going to criss cross each other by the time it ends and Bingo – when it does – puts a wide grin on my face. Unfortunately it isn’t working too well at the box office but I totally liked it, if it wasn’t for the first story of Neil – I would have surely given it a good 4 stars but still will call it a good 3/5 for sure. A worth one damn good watch for those who do not like to leave their brains behind while watching a movie, it even has good entertainment value if nothing else.

The Master (2012) - Drama

It should be called an achievement of sorts for Joaquin Phoenix to quit acting and then do a come back in a superb movie “The Master” and get nominated for best actor @ Academy. Totally unbelievable performances by him, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in the movie so much so that all of them got nominated in the respective best actor category. The best part of the movie is Joaquin and Philip’s screen time together – Brilliant – is not the word for it, you’ve got to see it to believe it. Intense and crackling chemistry between them is the high of the movie – yeah – it may not have any entertainment value and may be too subjective for everyone to digest but it is indeed one movie which will definitely invite discussions from all sides. We had to actually finish it – review it again and talk about it to grasp it in totality. Freddie (Joaquin) is a sex obsessed War Veteran who has a problem adjusting with the society after the war is over. He meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip) who is working on his own theory of healing people of their past traumas with his wife Peggy (Amy). I seriously doubt on what basis they have nominated Amy for this role and I will be totally shocked if she get it for this one but I guess both Joaquin and Philip deserve it big time for their respective roles. Hope they get their due this time. It’s a damn good one time watch for intense performances of its two lead stars – one which you will remember for quite a few years. Not to be missed by Drama lovers.

Seven Psyhopaths (2012) - Comedy

There are so many reasons why one should watch this movie for – it’s a treat if you like slasher thrillers with people being shot left right center and blood spurting out of their slit throats – amazing superb fantastic movie this one turns out to be. Inspiration and comparisons with Quentin school of movies and action is inevitable but still it holds itself quite well. No one can trash a movie with giants like Colin Farrel, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell and my personal favorite Chris Walken together in one movie that too when it is titled as “Seven Psychopaths”. Right from the very first frame you being a fan of the genre exactly know what is coming next and where it is going. The another brilliant part is the way these leads talk and discuss, at times deciding what’s coming next as what should and what should not. To clarify on that – it’s actually based on a struggling writer (Colin) who is working on a screenplay and his good for nothing actor friend (Sam) is helping him out with the characters and situations. Sam himself does nothing but kidnaps dogs for a living and helps their partner in crime, another friend Hans (Chris Walken) whose wife is suffering from cancer. Since its their screenplay – they have full right of turning it any which way they want and what they do with the same is simply superb. Unfortunately one fine day – they end up kidnapping a dog that belongs to a gangster (Woody) – what happens next is anybody’s guess and makes it for a superb action thriller. It has superb and enough action to hook you up to the very last scene so much so that I didn’t mind it rewinding it couple of times to enjoy those heartening discussions between the leads. Fantastic action and a must watch for all thriller lovers. You will enjoy it for sure, do not miss it. Looking forward to see it on big screen as and when it comes to India.

Akaash Vani (2013) - Drama

I never wanted to see this one and had almost written it off but right then wifey suggested that we should check it once as she kindda liked a couple of songs. I almost wrote it off right in the first 20 minutes as another campus based disaster heading nowhere and she too walked out on it, finding it the extended run of the same Director’s last movie “Pyar Ka Panchnama” which was at least entertaining, if nothing else. Fortunately I kept watching and I must say “Oh My God” what a turn it takes after the initial introduction is finished and what a perfect message it passes to its audience. It became one of those movies of the year which is made totally with heart and gives a very sound opinion and not just someone’s perspective on something which is very sensitive in our part of the world. Superb handling – although it could have been a little better but still I will applaud the effort and will totally recommend it – this one again impresses big time as a movie with a message yet it failed to make any mark on the box office. The very important question it raises is “What if your kid gets into a love marriage and it fails? And what if it’s an arranged marriage and yet it fails?” who is to be blamed and whose side should the parents take? It is actually as real as it could be in today’s time, I am sure a lot of young married couple will agree with the situation thrown in but I am not sure how many will agree with the solution given but as they say “to each of his own”. Still it makes up as a perfectly made subjective movie and stuns the audience with its seriousness and the way they take it up. Initially I was cursing Luv Ranjan (Director) for what he had made but by the time it ends – I am all praise for the guy – totally awesome take on a damn important subject. I will highly recommend it to every one as it’s a must watch. Good movies with a great subject are hardly to come by because this is what happens to them when they are made. I will definitely give it a good 3/5 with a two thumbs up recommendation.

End of Watch (2012) - Thriller

One of the best cop dramas that I saw in the recent times, fantastic is the way they have shot the whole thing, hand held camera makes the audience a party to the whole thing. It actually made me feel as if I was “in the movie” rather than just watching it. One more thing that I totally loved about this movie is that “Michael Pena” one of the leads – finally gets a full fledged movie to his credit – have seen in so many movies doing his bits so well yet never got his due. I am sure with this one – he will definitely get that deserved attention. A damn good heart touching story of two young cops in LAPD, who keep unearthing so many crimes day in day out – become a hit in no time with the department obviously they do make some enemies on the way and how it all ends is although predictable yet it shocks you big time. A movie which starts quite slow keep picking up speed with every turn it takes – taking it to a thrilling finale which actually choked my throat. It’s an awesome one time watch for sure and I will definitely give it a good 3/5. One each for the two leads, their friendship, chemistry, stories and an additional star to give us a real time account of two honest cops, as real as it could get. If you like thrillers – this will definitely work big time for you, even otherwise it works like a perfect one time watch.

1920 Evil Returns (20120 - Horror

Yes, I have run out of movies as my download speed is way too slow than my watching speed – hence the outcome that I am actually checking out the leftovers which I somehow downloaded but never checked. Now this movie is a big shame in the name of Horrors and I am sure it must be making Ramsey Brothers (World famous for making crappy Horror movies in India) proud that their genre of movie making is still alive at least in our part of the world. You must have heard of handmade sets but this one will teach you a new thing called “mouth made sounds” – if you have seen the movie you will definitely agree. I carry a reputation of getting scared too easily and it’s way too easy to please me by the simplest of the horror movies but this one made me laugh big time so you can imagine what kind of a horror this will be. This is indeed another lesson in “What not to do and how not to make a movie” and I am dead sure that this wouldn’t even have worked even if made into a TV series as we have better serials on the same subject. The only good thing about this movie is that another guy can show a movie to his credit in direction and one of my favorite guy (Wont call him an actor) gets another movie to do after so many years. It was actually kick ass fun to see Aftab donning another serious role that too he plays a poet in this one – classic recipe for a disaster. I wonder how people would have survived this disaster – especially those who have seen this on big screen that too on 3D. Hats off to those and a grand salute to those who even liked it as I believe it did quite decent commercial business too in our part of the world. Ignore it big time. If you haven’t seen this yet – you are blessed as there are better things in world than watching crappy movies.

Here Comes The Boom (2012) - Comedy

How bad a movie can be with Kevin James and Salma Hayek in it? I was sure it would be a good one time watch and surprisingly it turns out to be way too good than that. Although it’s a predictable fare right from the very start but who cares, as long as it gives you some hearty laughs at the end of the day. Kevin James is a school teacher, bored of his job, never on time, one his colleague’s job is in trouble because of the cost cutting done by management. How he raises the money to save his friends job and music program with the help of his own students from a part time class makes for an awesome comedy. This guy Kevin never fails to surprise me with his histrionics – I mean it’s totally amazing to see him doing all that. I still haven’t forgotten his scenes and chemistry with Will Smith in “Hitch” and this is exactly the same type of role he plays in here too. Watch out his scenes with Salma Hayek – even she surprised me big time with her awesome beautiful looks, although a brief role but it’s too good to see her in a movie like this. Its quite a breeze but a little over 100 minutes of runtime, never lets you relax for a moment with so much happening at break neck speed and the finale is the best part of the movie. it did rock me off the chair so many times and totally enjoyed the whole thing. If comedy is what you like – you should see this on a lazy Friday with friends to enjoy it even more. I will definitely give it a good 2 and a half stars. One each for Kevin & Salma and the balance half for the story and handling. It’s a great time pass for sure if nothing else. Check it out.

Don Juan DeMarco (1995) - Comedy

I somehow missed this fantastic movie earlier and had been in my collection for like months before I could see it finally, today was the day and what a sweet movie this one turns out to be. I am sure no one can shoot it down anyways with that kind of story being played by three of the best known actors of their own times. I’ve been a Johnny Depp fan for like ages now, dunno which one was his first movie that did the magic on me, this one too is an exceptionally good performance from him as lovable Don Juan DeMarco and who else could have played the character of a fundoo psychiatrist than Marlon Brando. He was too good – unfortunately I hardly saw any of his movies other than God Father series and had no idea about him so far, this one impressed me big time. And how can I forget to mention his sweet beautiful wife played by Faye Dunaway – I am sure she is one of my Dads and his generation’s favorite actress. Having all of them in one movie is a lethal combination and it indeed makes the movie a breeze of sorts. It offers some genuine laughter’s, hearty smiles and a damn good message in the end. Johnny Depp plays the character of a Don Juan – the greatest lover in the world – at least he thinks he is and Marlon Brando tries to put some sense back in him but gets swept away by his charm and rekindles his own long lost love with his sweet wife. You’ve got to watch out for their chemistry – it’s simply amazing the way they pull it off at that age and it makes up for a fantastic viewing. Even the background score, cinematography is too good, a damn beautiful movie, visually too it is very strong and impresses you big time. If you like light hearted comedies – this will be one of the best and trust me – even as it ends you will not be getting up till the last name of credits roll up, it will have that kind of effect on you. Fantastic movie – not to be missed by anyone.