The Secret Life of Walter Mitty [Movie-2013]

“ Wow” - This movie leaves you with this reaction. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is like a breath of fresh air that takes one away from the melancholy life he/she perpetually lives in. With Ben Stiller playing the role of Walter Mitty, the protagonist, we can’t ask for anything more. This movie takes us to the beautiful world and scenic beauty of Greenland, Iceland, and even Ungoverned Afghanistan, amidst the grand Himalayas.

Walter Mitty is an employee at LIFE! magazine for 16 years, working as 'negative asset manager'; and the 'go-to person’ for the great photographer, Sean O'Conelly [Sean Penn]. He is a daydreamer, who at times, 'zones out', imagining the things he would never have the courage to do in real life, and is in love with his colleague, Cherly Melhoff [Kristen Wiig], who he attempts to woo over via an electronic dating site.

In between all this, here arrives Ted Hendricks, whose job is to downsize the firm into an electronic magazine. The cover page last issue to be printed is to be adorned by a masterpiece by Sean O'Conelly. Unfortunately, Walter and his department have somehow managed to misplace it. To avoid his layoff, Walter embarks on a journey to find Sean, and the photograph,this journey includes him flying with a drunk pilot, fighting off a shark, fleeing a volcanic eruption among many.

Yet, the ultimate beauty of this movie, is in the end, when the photo is discovered. Although I was able to predict it, it does not diminish the story one bit. The soundtrack, is brilliant, a treat for Indie Music lovers.

A must watch, for all.
My Rating - 8.1/10

Satya [Movie-Hindi-1998]

Satya. The movie that was India's response to film noir. Ram Gopal Verma ideally portrays the Bombay 'gang war scene' during the era. Yes, that was Bombay during that period. The city which was torn apart between gangs, and unabashed killing of other gang members, the police, and anyone else who got in the way.

As the name of the movie 'Satya suggests', the film is ruthless and brave, and illustrates a part of our world, which was never displayed on the silver screen. It is the TRUTH.

The best part about the movie is, that even though we have a central character in the film - Satya [J.D. Chakravarty], all other characters are given equal importance, be it Bhiku Matre [Manoj Bajpayee], Kallu Mama [Saurabh Shukla] or Bhau [Goving Namdev] or even Vidya [Urmila Matondkar] or Commissioner Shukla [Paresh Rawal]. The background score is brilliant, and so is the soundtrack. The songs are apt, and memorable. It's been 15 years since the movie released, and people still remember the unforgettable melodies of 'Goli Maar Bheje Main' or 'Sapne Mein Milti Hain'

The story revolves around the gang war between Bhiku Matre and Guru Narayan. Satya is a nobody, who has been implicated falsely for crimes he did not commit, and he then befriends Bhiku Matre in prison. Bhiku develops a liking for Satya, and gets him of jail, and offers a pad to crash. Satya then, later, joins Bhiku's gang and rises through the ranks. This is a tale of dirty politics, the raw gang wars, which includes public killings, and backstabbing. Who is the one standing in the end?

Hands of to RGV for making this splendid film. Surely a gem of Bollywood, definitely among the best Bollywood movies I've seen. A must watch. This is India's 'GODFATHER'.

My Rating - 8.5/10

Percy Jackson : Sea of Mosters [Movie-2013]

The reason behind me watching  Percy Jackson was solely that the movie grossed over 200 Million, and that speaks something. But I was utterly disappointed. When you go into the 'fantasy' genre, you have to go over little details, and everything has to be very elaborate. Sadly, the filmmakers here have failed e to achieve that. I have not read the book, but according to my knowledge it got nice reviews. As in the case of many novel adaptations, the makers of Percy Jackson have failed, yet again. It is a very average movie, which does not even keep you engaged throughout. The plot is highly predictable too. The part that I cherished was the little cameo of Nathan Filion, who I believe is an actor, with impeccable comic timing.

Percy Jackson : Sea of Monsters follows the tale of Percy Jackson [Logan Lerman], the son of Poseidon, his two best friends, Grover Underwood [Brandon Jackson] and Annabeth Chase [Alexandra Daddario], and his half-brother, Tyson attempting to fulfilling a prophecy predicted by the Oracle, fighting against the son of Hermes, Luke Castellan [Jake Abel].

The movie displays none among the qualities required for a GOOD movie, them being - good plot, good acting, action, comic relief or good cinematography.

Not worth wasting your time. Ignore.

My Rating - 5.8/10

Captain America : The Winter Soldier [Movie-2014]

SPOLIER ALERT!


Captain America : The Winter Soldier is bold, thrilling and keeps you engaged throughout. Marvel Studios deliver us yet another Marvel Universe masterpiece as we see Steve Rogers/Captain America [Chris Evans] coping up to this new world of mobile phones and the Internet, and fighting a battle to save the world, yet again.

We have the sexy Scarlett Johansson, and the 'badass motherfucker', Samuel L Jackson reprising their roles as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and Director Nick Fury. Amazing cameos from Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Anthony Mackie as Falcon and Cobie Smulders as Agent Hill.

We have brilliant fighting sequences, hand to hand, as well as gun-fighting, and chases in the movie, which naturally needs to be there. Duh, it’s a superhero movie. What is quite interesting, is the occurrence of such plot twisters, which keeps the audience engaged, be it the assassination of Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D being compromised, Hydra's existence getting known, the arrival of Falcon, and the apparent 'still alive moment' for Bucky Barnes and Director Fury.

We see Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon, with help from Hill and Fury, fighting the fight to avoid Hydra killing 20 Million people to establish rule on the earth.
We also witness Captain America taking on the Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be the assumed deceased best friend of the cap, who was mind wiped and coerced and given supernatural powers into becoming the personal assassin of Hydra. As expected, the 'Hero' emerges victorious, and the planet is saved (sic).

In all, brilliant movie. Great use of VFX and CGI. A perfect Superhero movie.

The mid and post credit scene gave new insights into the next Marvel movies' i.e. Avengers : Age of Ultron and Captain America 3. Really amazed by the first look of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch - much better than those of 'Fox Studios' who shall feature in the upcoming X-Men movie. Will Steve Rogers die and Bucky Barnes take up the identity of Captain America in the third part as  is written in the comics?

A must watch movie. My Rating - 8.5/10

About Time [Movie-2013]

As the tagline in the picture suggests, it is a feel good movie.

The basic plot of the movie revolves around Tim [Domhnall Gleeson], who has recently been informed by his dad [Bill Nighly] that men in their family can travel back in time, and thus, Tim uses his newly found powers to shape up his life to the way he thinks is the best, by incorporating the wise inputs from his father.

Yes, it is a really amazing movie, and is a pleasure to watch, also has a really innovative concept. But I feel, the writers could have worked more on the story. The thing about this movie is that it moves on a single note of HAPPY. Yes, there is the part where Tim is in a dilemma about how to counter his sister 'Kit Kat's [Lydia Wilson] accident, but it’s a very small fragment of the plot. As they say theoretically, there is no 'FALLING ACTION' in the movie, which should be a part of every movie/story.

Domhnall Gleeson and Bill Nighly display fine acting, and are well suited for the roles. I feel Rachel McAdams could have done, and has done better in other movies. I did not find her performance convincing enough. The soundtrack, was aptly chosen.

In all, a nice movie, not a MUST watch, but a Good watch.

My Rating - 6.9/10

Before Sunset [Movie-2004]

Before Sunset, is the second installment of this beautiful trilogy by Richard Lintaker, and has Ethan Hawke and Julian Delpy reprising their roles as Jesse, and Celine. Like it's predecessor, it follows the same concept of simple, yet beautiful, and is one of the most beautiful movies I've seen in quite a lot of time, along with 'Before Sunrise'.

This movie portrays the 're-meeting' of Jesse and Celine, in Paris, NINE years after the events of Before Sunset. I really liked what the director did for this series, he really shot, and released all three movies with nine year gaps, to pave way for more authenticity. And we feel Fresh after seeing the movie. In 80 minutes, we get experience divine pleasure.

As we move on to 9 years after the events of the night our protagonists spent in Vienna, both have moved on in their lives, and Jesse has become a successful writer, his book on his meeting with Celine in Vienna, and Celine, dedicated advocate for the environment. Amid all the the catching-up, adventure, and running, as again their meeting is bound by time, they both realise they still have feelings for each other, and we have a perfect end for our movie, i.e. Jesse missing his flight, to spend time with Celine, and we fade to black.

The movie provides a great platform for the third and final installment of the trilogy. And thank GOD, I started watching the trilogy after all were released. Do not have the patience to wait for 9 years for an installment.

In all, a delightful movie. Do watch. Not your typical romantic movie.

My Rating - 8.2/10 

Shaadi Ke Side Effects [Movie-Hindi-2013]

Alright, so what was the plot of the movie? I felt that the movie was handful of montages and scenes, coupled up with some jokes that we all have heard somewhere.To me, it seemed a waste of such an amazing star-cast consisting Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Ram Kapoor, Vir Das and Purab Kohli. If such a brilliant star-cast cannot deliver a good movie, there is some problem with the plot. But hey, maybe that is because there is no thing as plot to the movie.

Flaws of the movie. Where do I even begin? The movie is wrongly titled first of all. It should be 'Bacche ke Side Effects' instead of Shaadi ke Side Effects. The movie starts off at a bright note, qupped with some good comedy, but after the interval, we're just waiting for the movie to end.

Shaadi ke Side Effects is the story of how Siddharth [Farhan] and Trisha [Vidya]were the happily married couple, and the how third person to the family destroy's all of it. Insert butt-load of drama, emotion and torture-for the audience, the movie summed up.

Great acting no doubt. Terrible music, yet again, from Bollywood.

Avoid.

My Rating 5.8/10

Highway [Movie-Hindi-2014]

Highway. No matter how cliched it may sound, it was a breath of fresh air. Alia Bhatt as Veera is a revelation. Who knew she could act so well after seeing the disastrous movie we know as Student of The Year. Randeep Hooda also puts in a great performance, as the tough outside, soft inside 'Haryanvi' gangster, Mahabir.
Shot in exquisite locations around the country, the movie is a treat for those who have love for scenery.

The movie starts at the eve of the wedding of Veera Tripathi, daughter of a hot-shot businessman in Delhi. Her longing to get out of the house, for a breath of fresh air, leads to her being kidnapped by local goons. The goons realizing they've made a mistake, want to back down. But, Mahabir wants to prove his caliber, and is determined to successfully extort money from Tripathi in exchange for his daughter. This leads to the duo, along with some accomplices, travelling around the country - and it's beautiful highways, to evade the police. Along the way, something happens which Mahabir never envisaged. Veera relishes this new-found freedom, and does not want to go back home. Their journey takes them to the hills, where Veera decided she wants to stay, until tragedy strikes.

This is something new. This is something which Indian cinema has never seen before. Imtiaz Ali has worked impressively to create something brilliant. I was glad to see a GOOD Hindi Movie after such a long time.
Alia Bhatt is the future. Stupendous performance. One would kill for her facial expressions.

When you have A.R Rahman composing the music, it is a guarantee to be a success. The master is back with a bang. Really loved the music.

Definitely go for it.

My Rating - 8.5/10

Hasee Toh Phasee [Movie-Hindi-2014]

SPOILER.

Hasee Toh Phasee. Classic example of a failed attempt at trying something different. Yes, I was enjoying the first half – I was confused as to where the story is going, yet I would say it was good, and funny. It was something new, and I hoped it to steer away from the clichés we see in Bollywood movies. Seriously, how many times do we need to see that either the groom, or the bride for that matter has a DIVINE notion, and thus averts the marriage, at a brilliant timing of course. To start by something completely new, and again falling back to that level was what was so damn frustrating. At the end, it became highly predictable, resulting in me waiting for the movie to end, and eventually leaving before the movie actually got over.

 The plot was very confusing at the start, as we see Siddharth Malhotra as Nikhil, the oh-so charming hero of the movie, falling in love with Adah Sharma [Karishma], and fast-forward to 7 years down the line, to the scene of their marriage. Enter Parineeti Chopra [Miti], with all her weird drug addiction, and kleptomania, and strange Chinese skype calls, the long estranged sister of Karishma. And what comes later, the makers believe we could never predict. Miti and Nikhil fall in love with each other after spending 3 days together. Yes, that is exactly just what happens in the everyday life. [Refer Sarcasm]

I really loved Parineeti's acting. Siddharth is just another average actor with a good face. The music - I can't even bear to look at how the songs in Bollywood are degrading day by day. There was a time when I actually used to like listening to the radio and hear good Hindi songs. Sadly, that time has passed away. Some songs, there is no need for, and the songs which were apt, too suck. Well, what can one expect from a Dharma Productions?
What I conclude after watching this movie was that I will not go blindly for a Hindi movie again.

Avoid it.

My Rating - 6.2/10

Man Of Steel [Movie-2013]

When you see the movie with the thought that is it produced by Christopher Nolan, and directed by Zack Snyder, of '300' and 'Watchmen' fame, you will be dissapointed.

Yes, I watched this movie with a lot of expectations, and I was highly dissatisfied. But when you look at this movie, without any expectations, it is a pretty well made movie with good storyline, building the perfect origin story, and slowly developing the story, featuring one of the most revered villains of Superman's tales. It sets the perfect tone for a sequel, which is going to be really exciting I feel, with the first on screen pairing of Superman and Batman.

A thumbs up goes to the visual effects and costume designing. For the first time, Superman has a GOOD costume. The soundtrack has to be perfect when Hans Zimmer, multi-award winning music composer is at the helms of it.

Amy Adams [Lois Lane], is a proven actress, so is Russel Crowe, and he is brilliant, in his cameo as Jor-El, the birth father of Superman a.k.a Kal-El, enacted by Henry Cavill, who showed promise in his acting.

Though the biggest and greatest superhero ever shall not have an as epic movie series as Nolan's trilogy, but I believe that this Superman series is going to be something we shall all look forward to.

A must watch for one interested in effects, and a comic book aficionado. Watch it without any expectations though. My Rating - 7.1/10