After a long time I saw a wonderful thriller - Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher starring Ben Affleck & Rosalind Pike. The hype around the movie before it's release about the nude scenes and love making scenes does not justify when you see the entire movie as the movie so engrossing these scenes seem to be a necessary part to build up the plot.
Based on the novel written by Gillian Flynn of the same name, explores the relationship between Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife Amy (Rosalind Pike) after she goes missing on the day of their fifth anniversary. All fingers point towards Nick after cops discover a half burnt diary written by Amy. Flashbacks reveal the tumultous relationship shared by the couple, Nick's adulturous affair with his student and Amy's psychotic side revealed through her past two relationships before meeting Nick. Has Amy really run away or was she murdered by Nick is the mystery that one has to see to discover.
Performance wise both Ben and Rosalind are top notch. Few scenes gives rise to goosebumps and the entire narrative is quite gripping leaving no room for any guess work until the interval after which the real story from Amy's side starts.
Director David Fincher has done a wonderful job and the movie has definitely done justice to the novel which one of the rarest things ever. The screenplay by Gillian Flynn is good and so is the editing and other technical departments of the movie.
Overall, I would suggest everyone to watch this interesting thriller of a movie at least once.
My Verdict: **** Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
This week we have one more big budget no-brainer - Action Jackson (don't know when will people stop making such movies) directed by Prabhudheva starring Ajay Devgan in one of his most disappointing avtars along with Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam and Manasvi Mamgai.
The movie tells the story (if it has one) of Vishy (Ajay Devgan) who is a happy go lucky tapori who is stalked by Khushi (Sonakshi) as he proves to be lucky for her and a bunch of gangmen. Towards the interval the mystery of the stalking gangmen is revealed when AJ (Ajay Devgan) a gangster who is also a look alike of Vishy is introduced.
AJ tells Vishy and his friend (Kunaal Roy Kapur) that the gangmen have mistaken Vishy to be him and therefore following him to kill him. On being asked the reason, AJ reveals that mafia kingpin Xavier (Anand Raj) wants him, his wife (Yami Gautam) and their new born baby dead after he refused to get married to his obsessive sister Marina (Manasvi Mamgai). AJ tells Vishy he has a plan to get rid of Xavier and Marina for which he needs his help. Then what happens is the movie all about.
Ajay Devgan has been wasted in a double role. Sonakshi has nothing new to offer. Yami Gautam is pleasant to the eyes and newcomer Manasvi seriously needs some lessons in acting. There is nothing new in the story and the screenplay dwells on a paperthin plot. The dialogues are average and sounds repeatitive after watching Wanted, Rowdy Rathore, R...Rajkumar etc which are all Prabhudheva's past attempts in movie making.
The songs by Himesh Reshammiya are average and does not help take the story ahead. Cinematography is good. Editing could have been crisper. On the whole the movie might appeal to die-hard Ajay Devgan and Prabhudheva fans, otherwise it is a pure dampner.
My Verdict: * Poor - *, Average - **, Good - ***, Very Good - ****, Excellent - *****
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 - *****
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 - *****
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' 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 - *****
