Blue Jasmine - Movie Review

The Awards season is soon approaching and I was fortunate enough to watch three magnificent movies laden with some superb performances. The first one out of them is Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine', a much acclaimed take on 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1951) starring Vivian Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden.

In Allen's take Cate Blanchett plays the role that was immortalized by Vivian Leigh in the 1951 original. However Cate doesn't disappoint, she is right up there and I am hoping she wins all the Best Actor awards if she is not upstaged by Meryl Streep with her dynamite performance in 'August: Osage County' (more about it in the detailed review of the said movie).

Blanchett plays a former New York socialite Jasmine whose life goes Topsy-turvy in the wake of her husband's imprisonment and subsequent death. Jasmine is forced to go and stay with her Louis Vuitton luggage in the incongruous surroundings of her adoptive sister's San Francisco apartment, with corrosive results. Attempting to "move on" and make a new start, Jasmine is finally out of her depth as she careers between ill-fitting employment, ill-judged social climbing and abysmal interpersonal relations.

Meanwhile, writer-director Woody Allen darts back and forth between past and present, interlacing scenes of extravagant privilege with the dawning realities of a midlife meltdown beyond the protective bubble of the Upper East Side.

From the opening moments, in which Jasmine is seen compulsively unburdening herself in an arrivals terminal talking to a stranger her lives events, to later scenes of still talkative park-bench isolation, her increasingly desperate presence (vocal, physical, emotional) barely lets up. Constantly reaching for a drink, her mouth set in a cracked smile, eyes darting with cornered panic, Jasmine fills a room just as she fills the screen. She's an exhausting character to be with, to watch and, presumably, to play. However Blanchett takes on the challenge head on making the character her own and at no point as a viewer will you be deceived that Jasmine is not Blanchett or vice versa making a real life enactment than acting.

The supporting cast played by Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay etc is top class. Although Blue Jasmine would not be one of the most accomplished works of Woody Allen but the performances are worthy of stand-up-and-cheer ovations all round.

My Verdict: **** Go for it :)

Movie Review: Goliyon Ki Rasleela - Ram Leela

After a decade Sanjay Leela Bhansali returns with the same color palette and story telling which was reminiscent of his style after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. Ram Leela is not only one of the finest cinemas to grace this year but also one of the most accomplished work of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Based on William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet the story and the ending is something which every viewer is aware off. Moreover with hordes of movies that were made based on the bard's most loved and famous work, it is a huge task to bring something fresh with the same story, which I feel Sanjay has come out well.

Like in Romeo and Juliet, Ram (Ranveer Singh) and Leela (Deepika Padukone) belong to the two warring tribes based in a fictional region of Gujarat. The love between the two characters are based on passion and even though they know that their families wouldn't accept their relationship they still dare to dream of a life together.

The movie totally belongs to Ranveer Singh who has got his career's best performance to enact as Ram while Deepika does full justice to her character of Leela. The chemistry between both the actors is scintillating and cannot be missed by any eye. The songs composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali is quite mesmeric translating into a fantasy land. The songs are picturized and choreographed giving full justice to the maestro's composition.

On the acting front apart from Ranveer and Deepika every character has done full justice to their characters. Supriya Pathak gives a wonderful performance as the matriarch of Saneda clan. She is evil personified and some of her scenes brings out goosebumps. If there is any category for best vamp it should go to her for this year. Richa Chaddha as Deepika's sister-in-law and Barkha Bist as Ranveer's sister-in-law gives some superb performances. Gulshan Devaiah as the menacing and conspiring villian's sidekick does a wonderful job. So does Abhimanyu Singh and Sharad Kelkar.

Cinematography by Ravi Varman is brilliant, every frame, every scene looks like a portrait which is actually a trademark of SLB. The editing could have been crisper as the duration of the movie is too long. Overall the movie is a classic in the making and will do wonderfully well at the box office too.

Final Verdict: *****

KRISHH 3 - Movie Review

The festival season has kick started with a BANG with the third installment of KRISHH and as expected the movie does a wonderful job in entertaining its target audience.

Krishh 3 is a visual treat with superior VFX ever seen in any of our movies and to note that the VFX was used in fraction of a budget that Hollywood uses for its super hero movies. The story is average and the movie is too Indian with songs and dances which I feel does not add much to the progression of the movie and if edited out will not do any harm.

Lets not compare our super hero with the super heroes of the West because unlike their super heroes our KRISHH doesn't wear his briefs over his pants, he does not have a cape, he sings songs and woos his heroine running around the trees (err! in this movie we can say woos his heroines around the city of Petra) and he has a family that he needs to save from the Super Villian 'Kaal' who happens to be his evil brother.

Now coming to the story, Kaal (Vivek Oberoi) is a wheel chair bound Pharmaceutical giant who resides somewhere in the Alps with a bunch of self created mutants (one among them is Kaya played by Kangana Ranaut) and scientists. His aim in life is to find a cure for his paralysis and to take over the world, therefore he creates viruses and antidotes and creates havoc among the human kind.

Krishh aka Krishna (Hrithik Roshan) is happily married to Priya (Priyanka Chopra) and they are expecting their first child. Rohit (Hrithik Roshan again) is busy researching the science that Jadoo used to get power from the sun light that might help human kind over come any kind of diseases. The story takes progress when Kaal comes to know that the virus he has created (that can be cured only by an antidote created from his own blood) to attack India has been defeated by an antidote used from a similar DNA structure from someone else's blood. The search leads to Rohit and his family of Krishna and Priya. The story takes momentum the moment Priya is kidnapped and Kaal comes to know of some truths that were hidden from him since long.

Acting wise Hrithik as father and son does a superb job. Priyanka and Kangana are in top form. Vivek Oberoi for a change gets one of the best roles of his career and he does justice to it. The music is plain average. The cinematography and VFX is TOP CLASS. The background score by Salim - Suleiman is average. Action is again top class watch the climax fight between Krishh and Kaal which is one of the highlights. Even the pre-climax fight between Krishh and the mutants have been filmed wonderfully. The direction by Rakesh Roshan is without doubt excellent, he knows the pulse of the audience and has always picked subjects keeping the changing trends and audience tastes. However I still feel the script could have been tighter in the first half and the songs could have been done away with as I suggested above.

Overall India's first Super Hero movie is a Superb attempt and will be loved by children and families. So my verdict go for it and please do not compare our movie with the west, then you will be able to enjoy it.

Verdict: ***

MICKEY VIRUS: Movie Review

There were around nine releases this week including the English Movies and out of them the most notable being 'Mickey Virus' directed by debutante Saurabh Varma. Mickey Virus is an almost-perfect comic-thriller starring VJ turned actor Manish Paul and Bigg Boss inmate Elli Avram. 

Now coming to the comparisons to 'Vickey Donor' I must tell you that they end with the similar sounding names along with the Delhi setting and lingo. Mickey Arora is a lazy, street smart Delhi boy who along with his set of friends Pancho, Floppy and Chutney are a group of harmless hackers. The motley group is guided by a Professor ably played by Nitesh Pandey.

Mickey finds his dream girl in a vegetable market Kamayani George (Elli Avram) who is a replica of his own created animated virus 'Kung Fu Chameli'. Delhi police hot on the heals of a dangerous hackers gang - Bhram Gang sought the help of Mickey to track them down.

Soon our hero’s simple, happy-go-lucky life takes a sudden U turn and he gets entangled in a net of multiple murders and a 100 Crore bank theft. How Mickey tries to come out clean is the entire story all about.

Manish Paul manages to stand tall even in his debut film. He’s a natural on camera and nowhere does the anchor overshadow the actor. Manish makes you believe that he is Mickey Arora – an aloof guy who is quite capable of hiding a trick or two up his T-shirt sleeve. If his spontaneous hosting is impressive on the small screen, the actor’s spontaneity on the silver screen cannot be missed. 

Elli Avram’s looks glamorous and she’s far better than the other foreign imports like Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandes  or even Katrina Kaif. Elli emotes well and looks sexy, with good roles and notable directors she will shine out BIG in the coming years.

Varun Badola is the lifeline of Mickey Virus like Annu Kapoor was for Vickey Donor. Superb acting with some wonderful perfectly timed dialogues with a punch in true Dilli-andaaz. HopeMickey Virus does the same to Varun’s career that Vicky Donor did to the talented Anu Kapoor’s. 

Manish Choudhary as ACP Siddhant leaves his mark. Saurabh Varma for his debut chooses a movie that is different and he ably leaves his mark as a director. The writing is good. The cinematography and action is wonderful. Music is below average as there is not even one notable track you will take home. The first half is dull compared to the gripping second half, a little editing in the first half would have made it more taut. 

On the whole Mickey Virus will definitely grab some good appreciation and if the word of mouth is good then it should garner some profits for its makers.

My Verdict: *** 

BOSS : Movie Review

What is with Bollywood these days? Every movie that hits the screen with one of the leading superstars' happen to be a South Movie remake. Akshay Kumar's BOSS adds to the crowd. Like all the south inspired remakes BOSS is also laden with mundane songs, fights, dialogues, drama, romance etc. Unlike Anthony D'souza's debut attempt BLUE, BOSS seems to entertain in parts, although the story rests on a wafer-thin plot.

Coming to the story Satyakant (Mithun Chakrabarty) is an upright man of principles who banishes his son Surya after the boy takes up the wrong path and ends up murdering a friend. The boy is picked up by the transport king Big Boss (Danny Denzongpa) and ends up being called Boss (Akshay Kumar), his protege.

Years later, Boss’ path of life crosses again with his father when his little brother Shiv (Shiv Pandit) ends up in jail for the crime of falling in love with the cop Ayushman Thakur’s (Ronit Roy) sister Ankita (Aditi Rao Hydari). Hired to kill his own brother Shiv by Ankita’s fiance, Boss tells a story of love, brotherhood, redemption and warmth.

The movie is a remake of Malayalam Blockbuster 'Pokkiri Raja' starring Mammooty and Prithviraj (Aiyya and Aurangazeb fame). The screenplay has its share of potholes, the direction is average, the fights are good, dialogues are crass, acting by Akshay Kumar and Ronit Roy are the highlights. The songs are not that great if you compare the songs of Akshay's Rowdy Rathore which was another South remake. Out of the songs the title track and 'Party All Night' stands out.

My verdict, BOSS is strictly for Akshay fans and offers nothing remarkable that will force people to throng the cinema halls.

BESHARAM: Movie Review

After a long hiatus, I am back reviewing movies. So this week opened big with Ranbir Kapoor starer Besharam directed by Abhinav Kashyap. However on the onset let me clarify that if you are expecting another DABANGG then BESHARAM is nowhere in the league of the Abhinav's debut movie. Therefore, I would like to review BESHARAM keeping DABANGG aside because both the movie belong to two different genre and audience in mind.

Besharam is the story of Babli (Ranbir Kapoor) who is a small-time car thief with that X factor- through which he manages to charm everyone in his sight. His mantra is "Na sammaan ka moh, na apmaan ka bhay" (No yearning for respect, no fear of humiliation). Babli falls head over heels for Tara (Pallavi Sharda), but he is clearly not her type. Eventually, she in turn, falls for him. Babli is being chased by Inspector Chulbul Chautala (Rishi Kapoor) and his wife, head Constable Bulbul Chautala (Neetu Kapoor). Tara wishes for Babli to change and be a good guy, but that clearly doesn't come easy in Babli's life.

The first half is quite entertaining, but the second half lags a bit with continuous songs one after another. The movie is ladden with toilet humor and is nothing beyond the expectations set by the promos. The acting is good especially the Kapoor troika Rishi, Neetu and Ranbir. Pallavi Sharda is a total miscast for the role of Tara someone like Anushka Sharma or Parineeti Chopra would have fit the bill. The supporting cast played by Amitosh Nagpal as Titu and Javed Jaffri are commendable.

The music is average barring 'Love Ki Ghanti' and 'Lut Gaye'. The cinematography and action are good. However again if I have to compare the technical expertise of DABANGG then it is less impressive. On the whole BESHARAM is one time watch for hardcore Ranbir fans as he does not let them down. At the box office, it will be a miracle that can save the movie.

My Verdict: **

Fakebook : A Short Film By Tannishtha Sarkar

Hi Friends,

In today's time when social networking sites have become the in thing for everyone, we also come across many profiles that carry false pics, names, identity etc and sometimes it becomes difficult to know if the face behind the profile pic is actually the same person we are talking too.

Tannishtha Sarkar an upcoming screenplay writer and director tries to explore this topic in a very humorous way. So go ahead and watch this cute little film made by the multi talented Tannishtha Sarkar titled Fakebook....

Have a great day

Shaiju Mathew