Magic In The Moonlight - Leaves You With No Magic!

Woody Allen movies have always been celebrated for their stories and characters that are quirky and out of this world. Coming after last year's celebrated 'Blue Jasmine' starring Cate Blanchette, I must say, Magic In The Moonlight do not cast any magic on its viewers. I am not saying it is a bad movie however it is not up to the standards of a Woody Allen movie we always expect. Maybe we can say it is not one of his best.

Magic In The Moonlight tells the story of a Chinese conjuror Wei Ling Soo who is the most celebrated magician of his age however far from his stage persona in actual life his true identity is of Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), a grouchy and arrogant Englishman with a sky-high opinion of himself and an aversion to phony spiritualists' claims.

One day his childhood friend and fellow magician Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), comes to him with the proposal of pulling the mask off a spiritualist who claims to have contact with the deceased through soul connection. Initially uninterested, Stanley goes on the mission to the Côte d'Azur mansion of the Catledge family after being persuaded by Howard.

In the mansion lives Grace (Jacki Weaver) lives with her son Brice (Hamish Linklater) and daughter Caroline (Erica Leerhsen).  Grace who wants to make connection with her dead husband's soul to get answers to some of her unanswered questions invites Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) a young clairvoyant  to the mansion. Sophie arrives with her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) and soon gets engaged to Brice who is besotted with the young and beautiful clairvoyant. In comes Stanley to uncover Sophie and presents himself as a businessman named Stanley Taplinger. Soon Stanley's belief in spiritualism is tested and what follows is a series of events that are magical in every sense of the word and send the characters reeling. 

The story is not great shakes but it is still a one time watch. Allen has extracted some wonderful performances from Emma and the scenes where she gets into a trance while scanning information about a person is quite brilliantly and comically executed. Colin Firth in comparison is average and his character seems to lack wit and makes him look confused on the screen. Like Allen even Firth had a bad day with this movie.

The cinematography is top notch like any Allen movie and the locales of France has been captured in a picture postcard way. The background music is quite soothing and editing is also crisp. The mastery of Allen can be seen in every frame alas I could say the same with the story. 

Overall its a one time watch however hardcore Allen fans will be slightly disappointed.

My Verdict: **
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****

 

Still Alice - A Heartwarming Movie Experience!

I had the opportunity to see one of the finest movies this year - Still Alice starring the multi-talented Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin and Kristen Stewart. Co-directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, Still Alice is a movie based on Lisa Genova's 2007 bestselling novel of the same name.

Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a linguistic teacher in Columbia University who is detected of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alec Baldwin plays the role of her husband John Howland while Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish play her children Lydia, Anna, and Tom.

The movie showcases how a brilliant person like Alice slowly gets sucked into the whirlpool of the disease and how her family patiently copes with her. It is a heartwrenching story that showcases Alice's struggles to manage her life while dealing with the illness and her job, marriage and children.

Alzheimer's disease is a very bad condition for any human being as slowly and steadily the memories are erased out of your mind and when you see a family member or a dear one suffering with it, it is quite heartbreaking. What one needs is to give that love, care and most importantly acknowledging their identity which they would have lost in their mind but not to the world.

Directors Richard and Wash does a fantastic job by sticking to the original storyline and showcasing Alice's condition in a very humane way. Julianne Moore has given one of the finest performances of her career which will definitely put her as the top contender for this year's upcoming awards functions.

Moore is ably supported by Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish. Although the pace of the movie is quite slow, you will not find it boring at any point of time. It is a movie one should definitely watch to understand that a person might lose his memories but he or she still remains the same and continue to be the same as they were before losing out to the deadly Alzheimer's, until the end.

A must watch!

My Verdict: ****
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****

Annie - A Musical Treat For Children!

The holiday seasons will kick start with Will Gluck directed musical Annie starring Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis in the title role. Based on a 1924 comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray, this is the third film adaptation following 1982 film starring Aileen Marie Quinn and Albert Finney and the 1999 direct-to-television movie starring Alicia Morton and Victor Garber.

The movie tells the story of a 10 year old orphan girl Annie (Wallis) who stays in a foster home run by Colleen Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) with few other orphans. Annie visits a restaurant every Friday with the hope of reuniting with her real parents who left a note for her while they abandoned her in front of the restaurant.

Colleen who used to be a performer is now living a miserable life and has turned bitter towards the girls who are in her care and make their life hell. Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), a cell phone mogul  "Stacks Mobile" is running for mayor. He is supported by his adviser Guy (Bobby Cannavale), his assistant Grace (Rose Byrne), and bodyguard Nash (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje). Will is a germaphobe and not very popular with voters compared to the current favorite Harold Gray (Peter Van Wagner). Will goes to feed the homeless and tries to eat the mashed potatoes to show how much he cares, only for him to spit it out in the face of a homeless man.

Annie is unable to learn anything about her parents since she's not in the system. She walks home depressed and sees two boys annoying a dog. Annie runs, yelling at them to stop and is about to be hit by a vehicle when Will saves her. A passerby records the event on mobile and soon the video goes viral improving Will's chances. On the advice of Guy he brings Annie home for a day to have lunch with her while the media covers the event.

Soon Annie does the impossible for Will as more and more people start favoring him and soon he signs papers and adopts her for the time being. So what happens to Will and Annie? Does he exploit her for his ambition to become a Mayor or change as a human being? Would Annie find her parents and lead a normal life? These questions get answered as you watch the movie.

The movie is quite entertaining and you will definitely feel attached to Annie and Will. Wallis displays a heartfelt performance and so does Foxx. The supporting cast also provide ample support. Director Will Gluck does a wonderful job of keeping the soul of the original story intact while he puts his own twist. The songs are again a plus point apart from the other technicalities of the movie.

On the whole, go for the movie with your kids and they will definitely thank you!

My Verdict: ****
Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****

Serena - Watch it for Jennifer Lawrence!

'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 - *****

Happy Ending - Worth A Dekho!

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 - *****

Dumb and Dumber To!

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 - ***** 

Kill Dil or Kill The Director!

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 - *****