The Gentleman [2020]

Language - English
Director - Guy Ritchie
Run Time - 1 hour, 53 minutes
Genre - Action
Starring - Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell and Henry Golding

Guy Ritchie has been one of my favourite directors with movies like Snatch, Lock Stock.., Rocknrolla and Sherlock Homes franchise. But in all honesty, this movie kind of disappointed me. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie. It's just that my expectations from the director are quite tall. He has been on a downward spiral over the years and is shifting towards making more commercial films - Man from U.N.C.L.E., King Arthur and Aladdin were all sub-par movies which left the viewer wanting more.

With such an impressive ensemble cast, I expected him to return to his prime, but the plot was too simple for a Guy Ritchie movie, and again, the audience was left with a sense of unsatisfaction.

The first half the movie follows a narration between Fletcher (Grant), an investigative journalist and Ray (Hunnam) who is the right-hand man the suave drug lord Mickey Pearson (McConaughey). Mickey is tired of living this life and intends to get out by selling his business to American billionaire Mathew (Strong). In walks Dry Eye (Golding), an up and coming gangster who wants the business for himself and is not willing to play by the old rules. Therein starts the chaos which is always a feature of the director.

Like in most Guy Ritchie stories, we have a multitude of characters, major and minor - but one thing which I felt here was not enough time was given to the minor characters for them to have a significant presence. I have a sense that the filmmaker wanted to finish the movie in under two hours and thus, it seemed quite rushed to me.

Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining film, and the starry cast lived up to expectations, but I would not see this movie multiple times as I have with other Guy Ritchie movies. For me, it was nothing extraordinary.

An average moviegoer might just like the movie, but I really was quite indifferent to it.

My Rating - 7/10

1917 [2019]

Language - English
Director - Sam Mendes
Run Time - 1 hour, 59 minutes
Genre - War/Drama
Starring - George Mackay, Dean Charles-Chapman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott and Richard Madden

1917 is a cinematic masterpiece by the talented Sam Mendes - of not only American Beauty fame but also the director of the Kite Runner, Road to Perdition and Skyfall. One can observe certain similarities in movies like Kite Runner, Road to Perdition, Spectre and 1917 where we have a single character or a duo chasing towards a very specific goal in the movie.

Mendes had for collaboration one of the best cinematographers in film history - Roger Deakin (Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, A Beautiful Mind and Blade Runner 2049). I've seen too many war movies, but none come to close to showing the gritty realities of war as marvellously as this duo has managed to do. No wonder this movie has been nominated for 10 Oscars!

The plot of the movie is set in the year 1917, against the backdrop of World War 1. Our two protagonists are soldiers who get a near-impossible mission to crossover to enemy lines and deliver a message that would prevent an entire division from walking into an ambush.

Mendes and Deakin have put in tremendous work in making this movie. If you observe - the movie seems to be shot in one take - similar to what Alejandro González Iñárritu did with Birdman in 2014. The film does not have a single moment of inaction because of this, and we follow the soldiers through their journey as they walk, run, swim and get shot at.

Also, credit has to be given to relatively unknown - Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon from GoT) and George MacKay. They carried the film on their own, with the rest of the star-studded cast only getting 2-5 minutes each.

Amazing movie, I would put it right up top with my other favourite war movies like Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge and Dr Strangelove.

Rating - 8.8/10. Do not miss out on this cinematic beauty. But do be prepared if you can get easily disturbed by corpses and animals eating out of the corpses.

Joker [2019]

Language - English
Director - Todd Phillips
Run Time - 2 hours, 2 minutes
Genre - Drama
Starring - Joaquin Phoenix, Robert DeNiro and Zazie Beetz

Todd Phillips' evolution as a director is fascinating. He started by making college movies like Road Trip and Old School, built a billion-dollar franchise in Hangover, took a turn towards dark comedy in War Dogs and lo, his magnum opus - Joker.

The character of Joker has always appealed to actors and viewers alike. The enigma and mystery behind the origins of the villain pave the way for a crazy performance by Joaquin Phoenix, where we see Arthur Fleck's evolution into the Joker. Others might berate me, but I feel that his acting can be said to be at par with Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. He didn't even need any other lead actors for the role too.

Todd Phillips showcases how to deconstruct a villain aptly and takes us through a journey of making a psychopath. He has clearly picked up from classics such as Taxi Driver and Fight Club, both movies which subtly exhibited public angst against one-percenters and the world in general.

The cinematography is almost always on point. The background, the colours, the shots will be remembered for years to come. The glorious stairway scene, the scene where the doctor informs Arthur of the city closing down social services, and the penultimate scene where the mob rescues him are such examples.

Absolutely do not miss out on this movie - Phoenix already being tipped of Oscar!

Avengers : Endgame [2019]

Language - English
Director - Anthony and Joe Russo
Run Time - 3 hours, 1 minute
Genre - Superhero/Action
Starring - Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper and Josh Brolin

WARNING - SPOILERS INCLUDED

End of an era. It's been 11 years since the MCU started with Iron Man, but it seems like a lifetime ago. 22 movies all leading up to this grand finale, and what a way to end it. I really don't know how Marvel can top this, especially with the trinity of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor leaving the franchise and  Black Widow dead (although she will soon have her own TV show on the up and coming Disney streaming service)

Although Infinity War was a battle-spectacle, I feel Endgame trumps that, only because of the end number of 'feels'. I've always loved Anthony and Joe Russo ever since Captain America: Winter Soldier came out - amongst my top 5 MCU movies forsure, and they've only grown from there with Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame now. It's quite uncanny how Marvel manages to pick up and trust unknown directors, and they've more or less managed to deliver quite exceedingly.

Endgame picks up right back from Infinity War where Captain Marvel rescues Iron Man and Nebula from deep-space. The remaining Avengers form a revenge squad to go seek Thanos and decapitate him. (wait, what?) It does seem very anti-climatic, but after that is when the real movie starts i.e. 5 years after the events of Infinity War, with the Avengers and the world itself still struggling to cope up with the loss of half the population. Enter Ant-Man with no idea of what the fuck just happened, and then through some good old brainstorming, our heroes figure out a way to maybe reverse the 'snap'.

Every character gets a good 15-20 minutes arc to themselves, and thus, we get a satisfying closure.
More than the action which defined Infinity War, this movie had gut-wrenching drama, and our heroes were shown more vulnerable than ever. All actors have proven themselves time and again, and herein too they show their ability to have a hold on the audience for 3 hours. Alan Silvestri, who scored the soundtrack is a proven genius with soundtracks for Back to the Future, Forrest Gump and the earlier Avengers movies, and he displays his acumen here again. Many people do not realize this, but the soundtrack builds up many key scenes and keeps you engrossed in the movie. Also, the CGI and action sequences were on-point, of which we had no doubt. The movie was a cinematography jackpot.

Don't be sad that it's over. Rejoice in the fact that you were there to witness this 'Infinity Saga'

It's no doubt that this movie is and will smash most records in the cinema world. Go watch it asap. Even if you're not a fan of the genre.

My Rating - 9.1/10

Badla [2019]

Language - Hindi
Director - Sujoy Ghosh
Run Time - 2 hours, 10 minutes
Genre - Thriller/Drama
Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu and Amrita Singh

Badla is maze which confuses you and the plot keeps twisting and turning right until the end of the movie. Sujoy Ghosh, who had made an incredible movie like 'Kahaani', hits the right spots, but only barely. Even though he attempts to change the narrative again and again, the plot becomes quite mundane and predictable after a while. It is the performances of our two protagonists, the great Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu, who manage to keep us enthralled. Amrita Singh also portrays her character with utter conviction.

In this movie, we have a not-so-simple whodunit, where Taapsee plays Naina Sethi, up and coming businesswoman who has been charged with murder, and Amitabh is her lawyer who is trying to figure out a defence for her client. The movie follows Amitabh trying to understand the circumstances that led to the crime. Does he get more than he bargained for?

Not a must watch for sure, but not a bad watch completely too. Could be a one-time watch, just to erase the suspense. A movie which could have been made much better in my opinion.

My Rating - 6.9/10

Gully Boy [2019]

 

Language - Hindi
Director - Zoya Akhtar
Run Time - 2 hours, 33 minutes
Genre - Drama/Music
Starring - Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz and Siddhant Chaturvedi

It seems that everytime that Karan Johar asked every guest on his show to choose between Ranveer and Ranbir, Ranveer has thunderously responded echoing 'Apna Time Aagaya'

Gully Boy, loosely based on the lives of Mumbai rappers 'Divine' and 'Naezy', is a whirlwind of fresh air and continues Zoya Akhtar's golden run. With Gully Boy, she takes us right to the underground music movement in the streets of Dharavi - India's biggest slum and realistically captures the struggles of its residents.

Ranveer Singh plays Murad, based on Naezy, who lives in an overcrowded chawl in Mumbai, with an extended family ofcourse. He is a big fan of A$ap Rocky and the likes who he considers as legitimate rappers unlike the Indian mainstream scene which he reflects in one of the earlier scenes of the movie where he talks about them derogatorily and points out that all they have to say is "Ye dekh meri gaadi, mere joote, ye dekh daaru, chokri"

He meets MC Sher, based on Divine and is inspired by him to become a rapper himself and fulfil his passion and destiny and not be left on the world to decide his fate. The film follows his ups and down on his journey.

Alia Bhatt is my favourite actress in Bollywood currently, and how effortlessly she executes every role is amazing. Here she plays Safeena, Murad's firebrand girlfriend who's antics bring some much-needed humour to the otherwise serious drama. Vijay Raaz and Kalki play out their small roles with conviction too. Newcomer Siddhanth Chaturvedi as 'MC Sher' is also quite convincing.

Two things I loved from the movie were

1. The realism that Zoya Akhtar has displayed in the movie. Small instances like Murad's employer talking to his daughter for post-graduation pointing out that even Murad is going to be a graduate but how does it matter.
2. The fact that Ranveer sang all his songs for the movie. That shows how much he can adapt himself to do justice to a role.

The entire soundtrack was amazing with a bevvy of musicians forming it from Divine and Naezy and a special song by american rapper 'Nas' in the credits to Ankur Tewari and Raghu Dixit, etc. Certain lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar were also beautiful.

Although Zoya Akhtar has taken some influences from 2002's Eminem film - 8 Mile, she has managed to make it fresh and original. I've been listening to Divine and the likes for 2-3 years now, I hope the hip-hop scene finally flourishes in India.

A highly entertaining film, with superb performances, a movie you should not miss out on.

My Rating - 8.4/10

10 Comedies on Netflix that you might not have seen before, but you should.

This is a list according to me, of some of the best comedy movies on Netflix, that are not so popular, and not many of you'll would have watched them. But each of these is hilarious, and more than that, they are way wacky in terms of their storyline. So, netflix and laugh, and do give me some feedback later. Giving a brief outline of the movies below

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Michael Cera is Scott Pilgrim, who falls in love with Ramona, but the twist is, he has to fight all of her exes to get to her? One of my all-time favourite comedies 

War Dogs - Jonah Hill and Miles Teller are two twenty-somethings who want to sell military equipment to the US Army. Has various turns and twists, and a Bradley Cooper cameo. Based on a real-life story too folks.

Warm Bodies - Teresa Palmer and Nicholas Hoult (Beast in new X-men series) star in this rom-com where he is a ZOMBIE

The Invention of Lying - Ricky Gervais as Mark Bellison is the first liar in the world.

Dope - Three nerds are invited to an underground party by chance, and their life spirals on from there.

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! - Another real life story of con-man Devinder Singh aka superchor. Paresh Rawal stars with three different roles.

Easy A - Emma Stone exhibits how rumours can be beneficial as well as harmful.

Megamind - This hilarious animated movie is about a super-villain who his purpose in life and wants to be good.

Superbad - Jonah Hill and Michael Cera want to buy alcohol for a party, but the night just keeps getting weird, insane and epic.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective - Jim Carrey is an animal detective is tasked with finding the Mascot of Miami Dolphins, a dolphin. Carrey pulls off another brilliant character with utter ease. And if you've not had enough of him, the sequel is on Netflix too!

Aquaman [2018]

Language - English
Director - James Wan
Run Time - 2 hours, 24 minutes
Genre - Superhero/Action
Starring - Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson and Willem Dafoe

Aquaman is a highly entertaining movie. It's not at the level of most MCU films or Nolan trilogy, but it is somewhere in the middle, and is definitely much better than Zack Snyder's earlier films such as Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman and Justice League.

Though the movie is a tad bit predictable and follows a cliched storyline, its stunning visuals and Lord of the Rings proportionate battle scenes make it a highly enjoyable film.

This movie comes in after the events of Justice League, so the world and Atlantis already know of Aquaman and hence; the entire origin story is portrayed via flashbacks. One thing I wanted to comment on was that the CGI-editing of characters to de-age them for the flashback was quite lousy and could have been done better.

The plot of the film goes as following - Arthur Curry's half-brother Orm is tired of hiding 'Atlantis' from the world and wants to attack the surface before they get a chance to attack Atlantis. Arthur and Mera, go on an epic adventure to find a weapon that can stop Orm.

The movie is such a treat for the eyes, all kudos to James Wan and his team for giving us such a spectacle, especially the trench scene which gave me literal chills. The fight scenes are huge and well shot too. There's hardly a dull moment. Also, the chemistry between Momoa and Heard is crazy, and Momoa's great comedic timing which brings a lighter side to the movies, unlike the earlier DC Films.

I did not love the movie, nor did I dislike it.

But a must watch for those seeking epic battles, and amazing action and colours.

My Rating - 7.8/10

Bohemian Rhapsody [2018]

Language - English
Director - Bryan Singer
Run Time - 2 hours, 14 minutes
Genre - Biopic/Music
Starring - Rami Malek

Bohemian Rhapsody is loud, gritty, crazy and it keeps the audience involved, just like 'Queen' did. This is the story of Farrokh Bulsara a.k.a. Freddie Mercury, the avant-grande frontman of 'Queen', which is one of the all-time greatest rock bands right up there with Pink Floyd, Led Zep and The Beatles.

Bryan Singer has made crime mysteries like The Usual Suspects and created the X-Men franchise for Sony but had never made a biopic up until now. Historical accuracies notwithstanding, he has done a wonderful job here and has managed to captivate the audience for the better part of 2 hours.

Bohemian Rhapsody follows the career of Freddie Mercury, from when he was a baggage handler to performing one of the greatest concerts of all time showcasing all of his exemplary talents, radical dressing options and wacky antics. I have to say, since I know a lot about Queen and rock music as a whole, there are many many inconsistencies with what actually happened and what was actually portrayed on-screen, such as Queen never broke up, Freddie contracted AIDS much after Live-Aid concert and the likes; but I have to accept the filmmaker needed a certain drama to emotionally connect with the audience and thus, the film works.

Rami Malek is a beast of an actor. He's amongst my favourite actors on TV in lieu of his performances on 'Mr. Robot (if you haven't seen, please start watching) and his portrayal of Freddie is so spot-on, be it the looks or the persona as a whole. The rest of the cast is also pretty talented but sidelined to the background, so not much thought goes to them.

An amazing homage to the queen of rock and roll, though I believe the film rushed through many aspects of his life. His sexuality, his loneliness was skipped over and merited much more than shown. But, Rami Malek takes us away from all of that and gives us the Freddie we deserve.

I'd watch it again, just for the acting.

My Rating - 8.5/10

Badhaai Ho [2018]

Language - Hindi
Director -  Amit Ravindernath Sharma
Run Time - 2 hours, 3 minutes
Genre - Drama/Comedy
Starring - Ayushmann Khurrana, Sanya Malhotra, Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao

It seems like Ayushmann is on roll and nothing can hold him back. He has been delivering splendid performances and collecting box-office moolah to augment to that.

In Badhaai Ho, Ayushmann plays a Nakul, a cliched middle-class chap, who lives with his parents, works a 9-5 job, and has a steady girl on the side (Sanya Malhotra). Everything seems to be going hunky-dory in his life, until one day he gets the biggest shock of his life. Turns out his parents have an active sexual life, and his mother is pregnant again at the age of 50. This sends the house into a tailspin, and soon everyone in the community gets to know as well, causing an embarrassment to Nakul and his younger brother Gullar.

This family drama keeps you pretty engrossed in the first half, as there is a good mix of comedy and drama, but it becomes pretty drama-heavy in the second half and it all feels a bit too jaded. Some moments are hilarious, and some, downright tear-jerking.

Though the star of the movie is Ayushman, I have to give applause to the performances of Neena Gupta and Gajraj Rao as Priyamvada and Jitendra Kaushik, the doting couple. Both give strong performances with Neena Gupta giving a touch heavy emotional act, whereas Garjaj Rao makes us laugh with his nervy moments. Surekha Sikri as the dadi also plays her part aptly and Sanya Malhotra charms everyone with her bubbly persona.

I did not love the movie, neither did I hate the movie. It was a fun, decent, one-time watch which people can enjoy with their families.

My Rating - 7/10