'Serena' directed by Susanna Bier was one of the most anticipated movies of the year starring the dream couple Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. With every movie Jennifer at an young age is heading the Meryl Streep way. Each and every performance is praiseworthy and as an actor she has matured a lot. It's a sheer pleasure watch her enact one character after another in every movie starring her. Similarly, Serena which is a movie adaptation of Ron Rash's novel of the same name is worth watching only for Jennifer and then Bradley. Their chemistry is scorching and they compliment each other on screen. The movie is set in 1929 during the depression era - North Carolina. George Pemberton (Cooper) is a timber merchant who is struggling to maintain the future of his timber empire. Serena (Lawrence) is married to George and she has a troubling past where her entire family perished in an accidental fire leaving her an orphan. Trouble starts in their marriage when Serena undergoes a miscarriage and is informed by the doctor that she will never be able to get pregnant. Selena suddenly becomes more possessive of George and when his secret liking towards his son born out of wedlock to a servant woman Rachel (Ana Ularu) is revealed to her she is bent on killing the child and Rachel. The story is sluggish and falls flat however Lawrence takes the movie to another heights with her performance. This is one of the bestest performances by her and might even help her get noticed in the upcoming awards seasons. Bradley Cooper is as usual and remains true to the character. The performances by rest of the supporting actors are also good. The cinematography and editing is good however the screenplay could have been better. Direction by Bier is average and leaves a lot to be desired. On the whole watch Serena only for Jennifer. It's a fiesta for Jennifer's fans. My Verdict: ** Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
The kind of movies that made Saif Ali Khan a super star today are the ones like Dil Chahta Hai, Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum, Love Aaj Kal and Cocktail. This week's release 'Happy Ending' also falls under the same genre and therefore like all his previous similar attempts this one directed by Raj & DK is again an endearing movie.
In the years that followed Dil Chahta Hai, the directors would have changed in every movie that Saif worked but the feel, look, characters and dialogues remains the same. However this time Saif has a wonderful companion in Govinda who takes the tempo of the movie to another hilarious height. How I miss Govinda on screen these days :).
Coming to the story, it is definitely a spoof on all the rom-coms we would have ever seen in our life. Yudi (Saif Ali Khan) is a bestselling novelist who has everything in his life - fame, money and girls. Being a commitment phobic he never went past the dating stage and cut to five and a half years later he is broke, with no other book written after his first one. He has a stalker girlfriend Vishakha (Kalki) and a new competitor in the form of budding bestselling author Aanchal Reddy (Ileana D'cruz).
His agent brings him a proposal to write a rom-com for Superstar of the masses Armaan-ji (Govinda) who wants to make an entry into the multiplex genre of movies. In between his personal and professional crisis the inevitable happens, Yudi falls in love with the equally commitment phobic Aanchal. What happens is something you need to find out.
Performancewise Saif fits the role to the T playing Yudi and his alter-ego Yogi. He is hilarious, he emotes well and gets into the character from the word go. Govinda is in his bestest element. He is a pleasure to watch and the way he has made fun on himself and the kind of Hindi movies being churned out is quite hilarious. Ileana does a wonderful job and one can forget the nonsensical 'Tu Mera Hero' or 'Phata Poster Nikla Hero' disasters. She still shows some promise. Ranvir Sheorey as Saif's friend Montu does a decent job.
Kalki as the stalking girlfriend of Saif does a wonderful job. Although it is an extension of her act in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara character still she does a great job. Priety Zinta still has the charm to floor the audience even in a small role as Saif's ex-girlfriend turned friend. I believe our industry is not doing justice to a great talent like Zinta's. Kareena in a cameo is good.
Music is the hero of this movie. In fact every song stands out and is not a surprise gap filler in the movie. The locales of SFO and LA has been captured endearingly by the cinematographer. Choreography by Remo D'souza is good especially 'Nacho Saare G Phadke' song.
Raj & DK does a good job better from his previous disaster 'Go Goa Gone'. The story and screenplay is good although there are traces of 'Californication' a hit TV sitcom in the US. However as they had claimed the movie to be a spoof on romantic comedies they definitely justify the same.
On the whole it is a good movie and will do well among the youngsters. My Verdict: *** Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
It's not that only Bollywood churns out inane movies in the name of entertainment. This week's release 'Dumb and Dumber To' is a perfect example of how to make a dumb movie that does not make sense or raise laughter.
After 20 years of its prequel 'Dumb and Dumber' director duo Peter Farrelly-Bobby Farrelly come out with a crasy sequel starring the original cast of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels who reprise their roles of dimwits Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas. Not that the original was a masterpiece however it was much funnier and raised more laughs compared to the direct sequel released recently. After 20 years Jeff Daniels character Harry Dunne finds a mail from his ex-lover Fraida Felcher (Kathleen Turner) informing him of a daughter born to him. Harry who is suffering from a kidney problem wants to get in touch with his biological daughter Penny (Rachel Melvin) to borrow a kidney. So along with his dimwit soulmate for a friend Lloyd (who has a secret desire to get jiggy with Penny) Harry goes in search for his newly discovered daughter who is given away for adoption. However while they are in search of Penny they encounter few misadventures in the form of
Penny's evil foster stepmother (Laurie Holden) and her minion (Rob Riggle).
The entire movie does not make any sense and with gross humor and patent Jim Carrey faces you cannot stretch an entire movie. The jokes does not make any sense nor laughter. One can actually feel that the sequel was made only to cash in on the original which was a hit. It is really sad to see an actor of Jim Carrey's strature who gave a wonderful performance in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' or 'Bruce Almighty' stooping to such levels.
On the whole I would not recommend this movie to anyone as even a die-hard fan of Jim Carrey who enjoys his staple brand of movies might also not find favor in this misadventure of a movie.
My Verdict: *
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
What is happening to our good old YRF? It's been ages we saw some sensible movie from this giant movie stable. This week we have 'Kill Dill' directed by Shaad Ali (after a long hibernation). Like Rip Van Winkle who woke up after years from his deep slumber to see how world changed while he was asleep, Shaad is still trying to figure out where he belongs.
After giving a frame to frame copy of Mani Rathnam's 'Alay Payuthe' as 'Saathiya' and an uninspired version of 'Bonnie & Clyde' in 'Bunty Aur Babli', Shaad makes another non-nonsensical movie like his last almost decade old release 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'. I would like to ask Shaad, why did you wake up to make a bad movie like 'Kill Dill'? It was better you remained asleep.
Dev (Ranveer) and Tutu (Ali) are two orphans found in a dustbin and brought up by Bhaiyaji (Govinda) to become dreaded professional killers as they grow up. Dev falls in love with Disha (Parineeti) who is a social worker hell bent on reforming the society. Dev leads a dual life to please his lady love and Bhaiyaji. The day Bhaiyaji comes to know about Dev's transformation and steps he is taking to lead a normal life, he reveals his secret to Disha. Then what happens to Dev and Disha's love story and against Bhaiyaji's possessiveness towards Dev and Tutu is something you would not want to know. In fact I feel you would just want to leave the auditorium cursing the makers for wasting your time, money and causing a headache.
The performances are wonderful I must admit. Ranveer is endearing and he lives the character of Dev to the 'T'. Govinda as usual is superb and so is Parineeti and Ali. The movie falters at the execution level. Shaad has not made a bad movie, he has in fact made the movie badly. A different director would have done a better job.
Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is good but you will get bored watching them unfold on the screen one after the another. Background music is good especially the signature 'Cowboy' style music. Editing and cinematography is good and so are the dialogues.
On the whole, this is not even a one time watch movie. My Verdict: *
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
Remaking old classics should be made punishable in India. This week's release 'The Shaukeens' is a classic case of borrowing a plot in the name of remaking and then killing the soul of the movie and the audience's minds. Director Abhishek Sharma's second outing is as disappointing as contrast to his debut 'Tere Bin Laden' which was quite hilarious and had a soul.
The story is about three sex deprived old men played by Annu Kapoor, Piyush Mishra and Anupam Kher who after trying their hand in getting laid with women in India head to Mauritius. There they rent out a cottage belonging to Lisa Haydon who is an eccentric and dumb designer who loves to stalk Akshay Kumar and is willing to do anything to meet the superstar. Taking advantage of the situation the three old men one after the other use different means to get her to meet Akshay Kumar in the hope of getting laid with the dumb belle.
The story delves on a thin plot line which runs out of steam in few minutes. Rest whatever run time of the movie is just stretched out to make it last for 2 hours. The Akshay Kumar track is hilarious but it looks like a different movie stitched to the sex starved old men's story.
Songs pop up at different intervals giving no link to the main story or plot.
The direction is quite amateurish and the story, screenplay is plain bad. The dialogues are witty at certain places and evokes few laughter.
Performance wise all the three main characters played by Annu Kapoor, Anupam Kher and Piyush Mishra stand out. Akshay in an extended cameo is good however Lisa does not live upto the promise she showed in 'Queen'.
The music is bad apart from 'Manali Trance' and editing is quite patchy. The background score is nothing great to rave about and so is the cinematography which is quite average.
On the whole it is a badly made movie with some good performances.
My Verdict: *
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
Bollywood
writers and directors are running out of ideas and that’s quite evident
with the kind of movies that are being made these days. If not a South
remake, then it could be a Hollywood or Korean movie inspiration or an
old movie remake. This week’s release ‘HUMPTY SHARMA KI DULHANIA’ is a clear case of movie inspired by the cult classic ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’
however set in Indian heartland. The admiration Karan Johar has for
DDLJ is quite evident in the narrative due to nostalgia attached to it
for him (as it was Karan’s first movie as an actor and assistant
director).
The story is about Kavya (Alia) and Humpty (Varun).
Like the original movie here Kavya is engaged to be married and she
takes a trip from Ambala to Delhi to shop for her wedding trousseau. In
Delhi she accidentally meets the irresponsible and jugadu
Humpty Sharma who loses his heart for her at the first sight. Kavya is
unattainable for him initially however he does not lose heart and
pursues her. Interestingly he even helps save her friend Gurpreet’s
marriage. As they spend time together they grow closer however Kavya
realizes that her father (Ashutosh Rana) will not approve of her relationship with Humpty. Her trip comes to an end and she returns to Ambala.
Not to lose hope easily Humpty along with his friends Shonty (Gaurav Pandey) and Poplu (Sahil Vaid)
leave for Ambala to get Kavya. That's the beginning of a journey for
him that he wouldn't have imagined undertaking even in the wildest of
his dreams. There are many instances in the movie that are a
straight lift from the original movie. However one can definitely say
that since most of the romantic movies are predictable, HUMPTY SHARMA KI
DULHANIA is no exception. Although his debut movie, the way Shashank Khaitan
takes you through the narrative is what makes it worthwhile. It's a fun
ride which makes you go weak in the knees and also laugh in certain
portions. Some of the songs act as a speed-breaker to the film's flow.
Like the story and script even the songs are a straight lift from
popular songs eg: Tenu Main Samjhawan Ki and Saturday Saturday. Neha Parti Matiyani (DoP) has done a great job bringing to life the vibrant colors of Punjab.
As
far as performances go Alia and Varun do a wonderful job adding
solidity and strength to their respective roles. Their chemistry is
crackling and could be the next superstar jodi like SRK-Kajol
or Amitabh-Rekha etc. Siddharth Shukla plays his part confidently and so
does the supporting cast comprising of Ashutosh Rana, Kenny Desai
(Varun's father), Deepika Amin (Alia's mother), Jaswant Daman (Alia's
grandmother), Mahnaz Damania [Alia's sister], Gaurav Pandey (Shonty),
Aditya Sharma (Alia's brother) and Sahil Vaid (Poplu), who is terrific!
On
the whole although inspired, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania will definitely
appeal to its target audience and make some decent numbers at the box
office. MY VERDICT: ***
Poor - *, Below Average - **, Decent - ***, Good - ****, Excellent - *****
This week we had two big movies releasing simultaneously viz; Kochadaiiyan starring legendary superstar Rajnikanth and Heropanti starring newbie Tiger Shroff and South import Kriti Sanon. After delivering two hits 'Highway' and '2 States' Sajid Nadiadwala returns with the debut vehicle of Jackie Shroff's son Tiger Shroff's Heropanti which raised my expectations at the onset.
However I must say the movie was quite average with some hummable tunes and a refreshing act by Kriti Sanon. Tiger Shroff seems to be too wooden quite opposite from his talented father, however he is a good stuntman and dancer.
The story is set in Jattland where the local don Chaudhary (Prakash
Raj) is having a pompous wedding for his elder daughter Renu (Sandeepa
Dhar). On the night of the wedding Renu elopes with her boyfriend
Rakesh, resulting in a frantic search for her across the village. The
goons gauge that Rakesh’s friends might have helped him in it and they
are promptly picked up by them one after another.
After a massive search, the goons manage to find Bablu (Tiger) who is
the real one helping Rakesh and Renu. Tiger, meanwhile in captivity,
tells his friends about his love interest. As luck would have it, the
love interest is none other than Chaudhury’s younger daughter Dimpy
(Kriti Sanon).
Not only is this film about how Dimpy and Tiger’s love story end up in the iconic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge style but also about altering the moral stands of the men of Jattland who look upon women as cattle. The movie is a remake of Telegu movie 'Paragu' starring Allu Arjun.
The direction by Sabbir Khan is quite average. The fight sequences are good and innovative, full marks goes to Tiger for executing it so well on screen. The music is quite inspired especially the song 'Raat Bhar' which is a straight lift of the song 'Muktasar Mulaqat' from Teri Meri Kahani. 'Whistle Baja' song is quite catchy which has the hit signature tune from Jackie Shroff's debut movie 'Hero'.
Overall the movie is just a one time watch. If you give it a miss, still you wont be missing anything.
