Avengers: Age of Ultron [2015]

Language - English
Director - Josh Whedon
Run Time - 2 hours, 21 minutes
Genre - Action/Drama
Starring - Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, etc

Yes, Age of Ultron is a good movie, in fact, a great movie. But it doesn't feel like one. That is because we expected too much from Marvel after the first movie. Adding 3 more Avengers to the roster would make it even better was the logic, but sadly it did not.

Don't get me wrong. I liked Age of Ultron a lot, but not as much as I loved the 'Avengers'. It was the same feeling I got after watching The Dark Knight Rises. A great movie, but somewhat not upto the mark set by its predecessor.

As expected, we get a delightful mixture of drama and action from Marvel studios, who rarely dissapoint. The visual effects are a treat to the eye as well. But the wait after which India will have proper 3D theaters is testing my patience. In India, there is hardly any difference between watching a movie in 2D or 3D.

With such an excellent star cast, Marvel could not go wrong. And the acting was top-notch, whether from the original cast or the additions i.e Aaron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision and even James Spader's voice as Ultron.

It's amazing to see the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe coming together and how the continuity from each movie is brought forth in the next one. That is where Marvel gets it right, and wins over the X-men or even DC franchise [Warner Bros]. We even get a hint as to what shall happen to the Avengers in the last scene of the movie, as well as the post credits scene [Yes, wait for it]

It is widely regarded that superheroes create their own enemies, and we see that happen in Age of Ultron as well, as Dr Bruce Banner and Tony Stark hide from their teammates and create artificial intelligence. This artificial intelligence - Ultron then goes rogue and looks to destroy humanity - as a measure to attain peace. We have the basic plot of the team fighting, failing, realizing and fighting again here too. Here I thought the plot could have been more different, with much more surprises. It was kind of predictable.

Ultron is one of the greatest enemies of the Avengers in comics, and he got a grand portrayal in the movie. With Scarlet Witch, Quickilver, Vision, Falcon and War Machine added to the roster, and Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange and Spiderman to be added soon, the next Avengers is gonna be a hell of a ride.

Another thing I would like to mention is the amazing scriptwriting by Whedon. He manages to add subtle comical moments in between a serious movie and that is remarkable. The little quips go a long way to keep all types of viewers entertained.

Also, the background score by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman is well composed. Not as good as my favourite composer Hans Zimmer, but nonetheless, laudable.

Everyone should definitely watch this movie, its a movie for the masses.

My Rating - 8.4/10

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! [2015]

Language - Hindi
Director - Dibakar Banerjee
Run Time - 2 hours, 28 minutes
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Starring - Sushant Singh Rajput, Anand Tiwari

Dibakar Banerjee is amongst the very few Bollywood director's whose every movie I've at least liked, if not loved. Although he has returned to Bollywood after a gap of 3 years [discounting Bombay Talkies], he has returned with a bang. Mystery thrillers are scarce in Indian cinema, and thus Banerjee has stepped up to fill that scarcity. He brings to life the famous Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, a.k.a the Indian Sherlock Holmes.

This movie is set in the 1940's, during World War II, when Kokatta was almost regarded as the capital of India and boy do we draw a comparison between this city and its detective and Sherlock Holmes and London. This city, is portrayed perfectly, down to its dynamism and the hustle bustle. There exists a very high level of authenticity.

The film is shot beautifully, and you have to give Dibakar Banerjee this, that he was making a film-noiresque movie, which again are not abundant in the Indian film industry. This movie is FRESH, like other films by Banerjee. Be it LSD, Oye Lucky, Khosla ka Ghosla or Shanghai, Dibakar always manages to bring something new to the table. And that is what I like the most about him.

Sushant Singh Rajput plays the titular character, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy or as called in the film, 'Byomkesh Babu' who is set to find out the mystery behind the disappearance of Bhuvan Banerjee, who has been missing for the past two months. Well, he is able to discover what happens to Mr. Banerjee, buts also uncovers a a sinister plot which affects the city as a whole. It is intriguing to see how the plot goes, and what will happen next. Although sometimes it was easy to predict.

But, hats off to Banerjee for making this delightful film, and to Kudos to Sushant Singh Rajput, for tremendous acting. I feel he will be amongst the best actors of the next batch of Bollywood superstars. His performances feel much genuine and convincing than the likes of Siddharth Malhotra or Aditya Roy Kapoor.

One thing that the movie could have improved upon was the flow of the plot. Too many characters and too many sub-plots. It would get quite complicated and confusing at times. But there is a plus point to that ass well, as it leaves the audience wondering even more.

In all, a pretty good movie. Don't miss out on it.

My Rating - 7.6/10