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

Andhadhun [2018]

Language - Hindi
Director - Sriram Raghavan
Run Time -2 hours, 18 minutes
Genre - Comedy, Thriller
Starring - Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte

Watching Andhadhun is like taking in breathe of fresh air. Hilarious, and enthralling at the same time, this movie has to be one of my favourite hindi movies of the year. With an exciting plot filled with some highly astonishing twists and turns, and well-written motley crew of characters, Sriram Raghavan has churned out a highly entertaining film.

Ayushmann Khurrana plays the role of Akash, an aspiring piano player who has a huge secret. He pretends to be blind whilst he isn't and takes full advantage of having a disability. He witnesses a crime, and we have a comedy of errors thereafter with multiple characters involved, each having their own ambitions and motives. I don't want to write too much as there is a surprise waiting at the end of every scene.

Ayushmann has a knack of portraying oddball characters and he is impeccable in his portrayal of a pretentiously blind piano player here. His comedy timing is superb as well as his chemistry, albeit for a short while with Radhika Apte. I feel her character could have been given a little more depth though. Tabu, with a wide spectrum of emotions though, is the ideal antagonist and her performance was highly enjoyable. The rest of the ensemble cast carry out their roles in sync too.

At first, I thought the first scene of the movie was just to play a comparison of a blind rabbit and a blind man, but it was wonderful how it all came back to the start. Also, the movie ends on a cliffhanger, which I really love as the filmmaker opens his story to further interpretation.

Laughs galore, don't miss this gem of a black comedy.

My Rating - 8.6/10

Stree [2018]

Language - Hindi
Director - Amar Kaushik
Run Time - 2 hours, 8 minutes
Genre - Comedy/Horror
Starring - Rajkumar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi

Have you ever heard of horror-comedy before? Apart from the 'Scary Movie' series I don't think I've come across this genre before (though Wikipedia page of the genre lists 100s of movies). From debutant director Amar Kaushik, Stree is a breath of fresh air which keeps you entertained and captivated for a good 2 hours.

The basic premise of the movie is that in this small town of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, every year during the festivities, there comes a ghost by the name of 'Stree' who kidnaps members of the male tribe, albeit without their clothes. How many men will she take away this season?

Rajkumar Rao is as always, brilliant and it is a fact that he can pull off any role, whatever the character, and he does so with ease. Shraddha Kapoor's performance was a bit on the average side, but Aparshakti Khurrana as Bittu and Pankaj Tripathi as Rudra provide adequate support and deliver to us roars of laughter. Vijay Raaz in his cameo does what he does best.

Not too many 'hair-raising' moments in the movie, as was expected since this is a different kind of horror movie, but the sound effects and choreography do manage to chill your spine at times. Anyways, the comedy aspect of the movie is more than enough to enjoy it.

Although the movie is a bit predictable, it can't be helped as the plotline is weak. Go for the performances though.

Don't miss this unique movie.

My Rating - 7.8/10

Sanju [2017]

Language - Hindi
Director - Rajkumar Hirani
Run Time -
Genre - Drama/Biography
Starring - Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor and Manisha Koirala

After watching Sanju, I had some conflicting opinions. Although I really enjoyed Ranbir Kapoor and Paresh Rawal's performance, I felt that the movie gave us a very one-dimensional view of Sanjay Dutt. The movie concentrates too much on drugs for the first half, and then too much on terrorism for the second half. Moreover so, it seemed like a white-wash attempt by Raju Hirani to show his dear friend Sanjay Dutt in a bright light and blame the media for all that our 'Sanju' baba has suffered.

Also, I feel his life must have been much more than the drugs and terrorism charges, and maybe the other facets of his life would have shown a much complete picture? Like the movie completely discounts Sanjay Dutt's first two wives and also his daughter. Also, based on what I've read, Sonam Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal's roles both are amalgamations of various characters in his life and not at all original characters. The songs made zero sense and could have been left out, but then again, this is Bollywood.

I really like Vicky Kaushal, and adore him as an actor, but I felt he had such a stupid character to play. The entire premise where he realizes he never saw the question mark in the article is so over-the-top dramatic and does not make sense at all. Also, the jokes due to his accent in the movie seemed so crude.

But apart from the grievances, the ensemble cast is almost utter perfect. Each and every actor does complete justice to their role, from Jim Sarbh as 'God' the drugdealer, to Sonam Kapoor as Ruby and also Dia Mirza and Monisha Koirala as Manyata Dutt and Nargis respectively. Paresh Rawal is outstanding as always, playing the ever-loving father, Sunil Dutt. Saving the best for the last, no praise is enough for Ranbir Kapoor, who portrays Sanjay Dutt, and all his facets, effortlessly. Honestly, I wouldn't have enjoyed the film, as much as I did, if there was somebody else playing our titular character. Kudos to Ranbir Kapoor, I'm sure he is winning all acting awards next year.

An entertaining and dramatic flick, watch it for Ranbir and Paresh.

My Rating - 7.4/10

Raazi [2017]

Language - Hindi
Director - Meghna Gulzar
Run Time - 2 hours, 20 minutes
Genre - Thriller
Starring - Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal

Alia Bhatt is the type of actress that arrives once in a generation. At the young age of 25, she has managed to pull off such a variety of roles, and that too with such conviction, it is extraordinary. In Raazi also, she single-handedly manages to carry the film.

Raazi is a spy thriller set in the early days of the India-Pakistan war of 1971. Sehmat Khan is a young and bubbly daughter of an Indian spy who has connections in Pakistan. His impending death due to cancer leads to him asking his daughter to continue in his path. And therein, our story begins as Sehmat is eventually placed in the house of a high-ranking military family in Pakistan as their daughter-in-law.

Although the movie had certain plotholes and was a tad bit on the predictable side, it is still stimulating as Sehmat comes close to being caught many times. Alia Bhatt takes it all in her stride and delivers yet another staggering performance, with Vicky Kaushal and the others playing their parts aptly.

I loved Meghna Gulzar's directing in Talvar, but I feel she fell pretty short here, and the movie could have had more twists, not like the makers of the film have stuck to exactly the true story.

A Solid Watch, mostly for Alia Bhatt's performance.

My Rating - 8.2/10

Avengers : Infinity War [2018]

Language - English
Director - Anthony and Joe Russo
Run Time - 2 hours, 40 minutes
Genre - Action/Sci-Fi/Superhero
Starring - Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin and many others

Avengers: Infinity War promised a spectacle, and oh boy, did the Russo brothers deliver. 20+ superheroes in one film would tend to follow in the analogy too many cooks spoil the broth, but our directors have perfectly synchronized each and every one, equally dividing the screen time between all, and we finally have a culmination (almost) of the MCU which started 10 years back with the release of Iron Man. Most of the actors are already esteemed and well established, and do manage to pull off the 4th highest grossing movie of all time.

Josh Brolin, as Thanos is a towering villain wants to kill half the universe because he believes that most civilizations are overpopulated and thus, destined to suffer and fail. Although his intentions are righteous, who died and made him God? On another note, I really liked Thanos as a villain. He is not your usual monologuing, world-conquering evil, he truly believes he is doing a service to the galaxy by killing half the world. His empathy and care for Gamora is also exposed, something which sets him apart from your regular villains. The CGI and Brolin's acting together make him a villain we won't forget anytime soon.

Our earth and space based superheroes strive to prevent him from collecting all Infinity stones, but fall one by one. Fight sequences are abundant, and entertaining as hell. No Marvel movie is complete without humour, and although on the lesser side, the movie does manage to make us laugh at intervals.

Another surprise was the appearance of Red Skull, as a keeper of one of the infinity stones. Also, heavily excited for Brie Larson as Captain Marvel in the next movie, if you did not get the reference in the post-credits scene.

Many people did not like the ending of the movie, but you do have to consider this was always supposed to be a two-part storyline, and to quote SRK from 'Om Shanti Om', I'll say "picture abhi baaki hain dosto"

My Rating - 8.4/10

Pad Man [2018]

Language - Hindi
Director - R Balki
Run Time - 2 hours, 20 minutes
Genre - Drama/Biography
Starring - Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor

Akshay Kumar has really evolved from his days of cringe-worthy comedy and with Padman, he delivers us another simple yet thought-provoking film. Pad Man is a movie based on the real-life story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist from Tamil Nadu who just wants his wife to go through menstruation safely.

But such things being taboo in India, (and in Pakistan too - the movie is currently banned there due to the word 'Pad' in its title) he is heckled, ridiculed and even ostracized during his mission. Akshay Kumar plays the bumbling, yet diligent Lakshmikant Chauhan. Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor act as supporting characters in each half of the film, which adds more depth to the film.

Though the movie is a bit long, it's not a bore. R Balki mixes drama and emotion with subtle comedy, as well as a multitude of characters to give us an enjoyable movie. But more than that, it opens our eyes to the trauma women bear, like sleeping away from family and being derided as test-match players during the 5 days of 'chums'. Also, the fact that only 12% women in the country use pads, is shocking.

Quite the feel-good movie, go for it.

My Rating - 6.9/10

10 Movies You Might Have Missed Out in 2017

Well, guys, I'm back this year with a list similar to what I'd made last year. Disclaimer - this is not my list of best movies of the year. It is a list of movies which I believe not many people saw, and could have been missed out.

This year's list is pretty interesting. We've got two B&W movies, two movies which base their premise on 'rapes', two movies on heists, two movies set up with rioting in the background, a spy-thriller, a psychological thriller and some more. I welcome all and any comments!

Detroit is the real-life story of what happened in the Algiers Motel in Detroit during the riots of 1967. (What happened? Another case of white police taking it hard on black Americans) Kathryn Bigelow, in her own style, gets into the depth of an event and delivers 2 and half hours of terrifying, yet engaging footage. All actors have commendable performances, John Boyega being the outstanding one. Also, special recognition for Will Poulter as to how he has developed from a child-actor to giving award-winning performances.

Atomic Blonde is Charlize Theron playing a female John Wick, minus the assassin, minus the retirement and add James McAvoy to the mix. Based in Berlin circa eve of the breaking of the wall, the movie is set up in an environment where spies rule the world, and there are double, as well as triple agents. Charlize Theron is an MI6 agent tasked with retrieving a list naming all active agents in Berlin, and thus, starts the tale of crossing, double-crossing, betrayal and so much slick action. And the soundtrack is kickass too.

Get Out is one of my favourite movies of 2017. A psychological thriller, which twists and turns faster than a knife wielding attacker, the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat for all of 104 minutes and you keep wondering what's next. Who could have thought a trip to meet the parents could turn out so deadly? Jordan Peele kills it (literally) with his directorial debut. Signs of better things to come? (One can just hope. Remember the hoopla of M. Night Shyamalan after Sixth Sense? Downward trajectory since.

A black and white satire of just 71 minutes, The Party is an equal split between a tragedy and a comedy. We know that someone at the party is going to die, but we don't know who, when, how or even who shall be the murderer. This insanely talented ensemble cast delivers high-value entertainment and also many laughs. Patricia Clarkson steals the show with her wittiness. With just one set, 7 characters and 71 minutes, The Party is one of the most entertaining films of the year.

 

An Insignificant Man is a sublime story of how a former bureaucrat turned social activist rose to become the chief minister of the capital of the country. Although much of what Arvind Kejriwal was, is now a joke, what he did was revolutionary, and this documentary by young turks Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla is quite the attention-gripper. With unfiltered access to the party and some amazing editing, these people have quite successfully managed to capture the moment, the election that did change the country, or atleast tried to. It's up on youtube for anyone and everyone to watch.

 Gook - A derogatory term used for the purpose of describing a Korean.

Gook is a story about two Korean-Americans running a family shoe store, when they get embroiled in 92' Los Angeles riots, and have to make decisions between saving themselves or their store. This movie gives a take on racism from a different perspective, where 'blacks' are going after oriental people. The raw intensity of the movie is enough to lookover the flaws of it.

All actors give a brilliant performance in this gripping tale.










Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Katherine Waterston and Sebastian Stan. Need I say more? The Director? The person who gave us Ocean's series, Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Magic Mike. I guess lack of publicity led to this film's downfall. Logan Lucky is a great heist film that does not try to be all-fancy, and sticks to the point. Like Soderbergh likes it, there is always a sleight of hand, and thus, the movie is even more fun. Tatum, Driver and Craig have great comedic timing and manage to keep us amused throughout.

The Gifted is not a great movie, but it is a good movie. The plot could seem a bit cliched, we've seen a lot of movies of 'young geniuses', but this stands apart because this movie is about emotions, and it leaves you with a good feeling. We can see that Chris Evans can act other roles, apart from superheroes (Captain America/Firestorm in the original FF). Also, Mckenna Grace puts in a great performance as the genius kid. For a child of 11 years old to carry a movie on herself, kudos.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a movie by Martin McDonagh of the In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and The Guard fame, some of the best black comedies in the last decade. He manages to strike the right cord here once again. Although this is a somewhat serious movie than all of his previous films, it is his best to date, as there is a careful mixture of crime, comedy and drama. The ensemble cast gives powerful performances, some having even won awards for it. Most critics are already saying it as the movie of 2017

Last, but not the least, my favourite movie of the year - BABY DRIVER. One of my favourite directors, Edgar Wright, who previously brought to us Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs the World, rocks us with another class act. This movie does not have even an ounce of dullness as its extraordinary soundtrack keeps you on edge throughout. The movie proves that even an action-clad thriller can be smartly written and shot as pretty much every shot of the movie was just about perfect. Do I need to say anything about the hugely talented cast? Also, the soundtrack is phenomenal, with songs also coordinating with the actual scenes in the movie (hardly a phenomenon in Hollywood) 

An amazing mix of humour, action, great dialogue, soundtrack, acting and thrills, this movie is a classic.

Bonus - You could see 'Happy Death Day' or 'Lego Ninjago Movie' to while away your time if you're not up for something serious.

Kaalaandi [2017]

Language - English/Hindi
Director - Akshat Verma
Run Time - 1 hour, 52 minutes
Genre - Black Comedy
Starring - Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Oberoi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Deepak Dobriyal Dhaasu and Vijay Raaz


Kaakaandi is a tale of two 'halves'. Kaalkaandi, which means 'gadbad ho gayi' perfectly suits the film. The premise and the characters in the movie are quite interesting and during the interval, you are saying 'this is a pretty great movie', but the second goes the opposite way, with newbie director struggling and stumbling to find a decent ending.

Much was expected from the writer of Delhi Belly, Akshat Verma and the trailer also seemed quite interesting, but in his attempt to weave around different stories and making them all come together (like Guy Ritchie does) he loses the plot big time. In his intention to have all characters finally having an interaction with each other, he even throws out logic by conjuring the absolutely rubbish climax.

All actors perform commendably, Saif giving a sublime performance, but the script and plot and also lack of character depth leave them all empty-handed. Really liked Akshay Oberoi and Deepa Dobriyal's acting. With just a little bit of work, this movie could have been an amazing, but the final product we saw was a Delhi Belly wannabee set up in Mumbai.

The premise of the story is Saif realizes he has cancer and few months to live, and thus decides to do everything 'bad' that he missed out on. Overused much?

Could be a one-time watch just for the first half laughs, but could be avoidable otherwise.

My Rating - 5.9/10

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle [2017]

Language - English
Director - Jake Kasdan
Run Time - 1 hour, 59 minutes
Genre - Action/Comedy
Starring - Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillian and Nick Jonas

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is an amazing example of how to re-invent and remake a 20-year-old movie. I frankly went for it with not-so-high expectations but was surprised that the movie had a lot to offer. There's loads of action, great comedy and a sublime cast which does deliver. The base story remains the same even after 20 years - caught in a game that turns the player's world upside down, finish the game to escape.

The storyline could seem a bit shallow and predictable, but it is made exactly how a role-playing game would be, with non-playing characters stuck in a loop and the characters following a semi-fixed narrative.

The in-game characters of Dr Bravestone (Johnson), Ruby Roundhouse (Gillian), Franklin Mouse (Hart) and Professor Oberon (Black) provide solid entertainment and also have a level of depth to them, as highlighted by their 'strengths' and 'weaknesses'. The villain could definitely have had more build-up and character development, although played by another fine actor - Bobby Cannavale.

The action sequences were adrenaline pumping and downright crazy, as they are in a video game, and the comedy is sublime - as expected from a cast of  Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart. Overall, I would say, this is a movie everyone would enjoy. Do not miss it.

My Rating - 7.4/10

Blade Runner 2049 [2017]

Language - English
Director - Denis Villeneuve
Run Time - 2 hours, 43 minutes
Genre - Sci-Fi
Starring - Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto and Ana De Armas

Its safe to say that Blade Runner 2049 is not a movie for everyone. I liked the movie because of it's hauntingly beautiful visuals, the superior acting of the cast and its homage to the original.

Denis Villeneuve is quite the talented director; with engaging movies like Sicario, Prisoners and Arrival under his belt. Denis manages to do so again, for a size-able 163 minutes. And the fact that he builds upon a 35-year old movie, a movie which is listed in countless of  'all-time greatest list' warrants compliments. The cinematography is a visual delight, from the haunting personal office of Mr. Wallace to the dust-laden ruins and the wave-struck outpost where our final action sequence takes place.

The movie is set in the year 2049 and carries on 30 years after the original where Ryan Gosling works as a Blade Runner - retiring old replicants (androids). While on a routine assignment, he discovers a long-forgotten secret and thus, starts his quest to uncover it.

This is a movie for patient-movie watchers, as the buildup is quite slow and just like in the original, the movie suddenly shifts its base to lead us towards another direction. And just like the original, we are left wanting some more from the story, and the peripheral characters.

Jared Leto as Wallace, Harrison Ford as Richard Decker and Robin Wright as Lt. Joshi are all fabulous though they all seem a bit underutilized in the movie. There is quite a heavy emphasis on Ryan Gosling as Officer K. Ana De Armas portrays Joi, a virtual girlfriend, and does so, effortlessly. (next upcoming star?)

Could be a one-time watch, to uphold the legacy of the original Blade Runner, or better yet, for the visuals.

My Rating - 7.6/10