Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation [2015]

Language - English
Director - Christopher McQuarrie
Run Time - 2 hours, 11 minutes
Genre - Action/Drama
Starring - Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg

Tom Cruise once again reprised his role as the ultimate IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agent in fifth movie of the series, and boy, at the age of 53, he is among the few actors who can pull off an action movie.

The previous movie was such a disappointment for me, because even though the name of the series is 'Mission Impossible', it became too 'impossible' and an unrealistic plot. Rogue Nation in comparison is a delightful pleasure to watch. Christopher McQuarrie is able to blend old school spy movie within this new age and technological era and that works out brilliantly  It manages to keep you enthralled and captivated for  more than 2 hours.

The movie starts with Ethan Hunt trying to track down a rogue terrorist organization called as 'Syndicate' but sadly, the CIA are not ready to believe that something like this even exists and they dissolve the IMF thus making Hunt a fugitive. Hunt has to evade the CIA, as well terminate a terrorist organization, whose operations remain a mystery.

This is one movie where Hunt meets his match, in Solomon Lane, the leader of the Syndicate and it's s amusing to see how each tries to outwit the other. Add in the wildcard British Agent Ilsa Faust, and it gets even better. The occasional quips provided Simon Pegg as 'Benji' are quite enjoyable and lighten up the mood. I was sad to see the immensely talented Jeremy Renner left on the sidelines. He should have gotten more screentime. Rebecca Ferguson makes quite an impression in her second movie and seems like promising future actor.

The movie has been shot nicely, especially the scenes in Morocco, oh what a beautiful country! And the action sequences were suave and stylish, far from the previous movie. Even at the age of 50, Tom Cruise can carry a movie with 'swag'.

Although I have one negative comment is that the movie did become predictable at times. But that should not take away anything from the movie and remains one of the finer films of the summer.

My Rating - 7.5/10

Southpaw [2015]

Language - English
Director - Antoine Fuqua
Run Time - 2 hours, 4 minutes
Genre - Drama/Sport
Starring - Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams

Southpaw was expected to be another thrilling boxing movie, but it came out as a disappointment for me. Even after having some of Hollywood's finest (underrated as well) actors, this movie fails as it is not able to overcome the generic and cliched storyline thats done and dusted. In fact, I would say that the trailer itself showed us how insipid the plot is.

I went to see this movie just because of Gyllenhaal, but sadly, he couldn't churn up brilliant cinema this time. Taking no credit away from Gyllenhaal, he was tremendous as Billy Hope, our protagonist, the lonely father with the never giving up attitude. Also, Rachel McAdams was wasted in the movie as she lasted all of 15 minutes as Whitaker fails to lift the latter half of the movie.
Note - 50 Cent can't act for shit.

The plot is so banal with Hope as the World Heavyweight Champion, losing his wife, kid, title and everything else because of his rage and ego. Fast forward to 'whatamidoing' 'letmegetmylifebacktogether' phases and yes, you can guess the end. If someone calls this the best boxing movie since Raging Bull, that person hasn't seen 'Warrior' which is a gem of a movie.

The thing is, the director Antoine Fuqua, of the Training Day fame, has tried to fuse the a sports movie with drama, but it becomes too overberaing to handle. In Boxing Terms, I would say it has become a match which has lasted all of 12 Rounds without any contender throwing a good punch.

But, Jake Gylenhall is brilliant, as he's been in the past couple of years, be it with Nightcrawler, Prisioners, Source Code, Zodiac, Brokeback Mountain or even further down the line when he did Donnie Darko as a kid. This guy, I feel is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood currently, and deserves to be called along the best.
Adding to it, I'd say Gylenhaal and McAdams share sizzling chemistry, and I would love to see them together in the future.

One could skip it, unless they are hardcore fans of Gylenhaal or boxing movies, although it is more about the drama than boxing.

My Rating - 6.5/10

Tanu Weds Manu Returns [2015]

Language - Hindi
Director - Anand Rai
Run Time - 2 hours, 1 minute
Genre - Drama/Romantic
Starring - Kangana Ranaut, R.Madhavan and Jimmy Shergill

There are some movies to which there shouldn't be a sequel, and Tanu Weds Manu is one them. Anand Rai tried to make a movie after the 'happily ever after' and delivered something which didn't make any sense at all. I do not know why this movie is garnering rave reviews, but in my personal opinion, it was a terrible movie which had me pulling my hair waiting for it to end.

Barring Kangana Ranaut's marvelous dual performance, there is nothing in the film. And I say that literally, as there is no plot to the film. There are a bunch of sub-plots in the movie, which have been fused together to create a wreckage. R. Madhavan is a terrible actor, and as usual he was just there in the movie, to deliver his dialogues, not to act. I must, though praise Deepak Dobriyal as Pappi and Mohammed Ayyub as Chintu for some good comical performances.

The movie hardly makes any sense, right from the first scene where Manu Sharma [Madhavan] is dragged off into a mental asylum without any reason; and it continues to not make sense thereafter. Some characters are introduced in the movie, like 'Komal', the bride to be in Chandigarh who is kidnapped and then forgotten about.

The movie is a mess which starts with four years after 'Tanu weds Manu' as both are frustrated with each other and visit a mental asylum [a marriage counsellor would have been a better option] where Manu is forced into being admitted and Tanu runs away to her hometown 'Kanpur'. Thereafter, the drama kicks off where they want a divorce, then not, leading to Manu finding a Tanu lookalike, falling in love with her, wanting to marry her, and it goes on.

The film is so predictable, even after attempts by Rai to add sub-plots and extra characters. Another failure that I noticed in the movie was 'unprofessional dubbing'. During many scenes we could see that the characters voice did not match with the lip synchronization. Even the songs were extremely bad, apart from the catchy 'Banno'.

A movie to miss, unless you are a fan of senseless comedy/plotless movies and/or Kangana Ranaut - who is turning out to be one of the best actresses in Bollywood.

My Rating - 5.8/10

Piku [2015]

Language - Hindi
Director - Shoojit Sircar
Run Time - 2 hours, 3 minutes
Genre - Drama
Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Irrfan Khan

Don't get me wrong, Piku is a pretty well made movie which touches the heart and has excellent performances from its three main actors. But to me, it seemed a tad bit boring. Not to be insensitive, but a movie circulating around 'Constipation' can become bothersome. And too much potty talk is always bad.

Shoojit Sircar manages to make good films, but they remain just good. Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe and recently, Piku, were all quite good. But that's it. Sircar hasn't yet been able to make exceptional films. His films always manage to touch the heart, but somewhere they fall quite short, and that is where he must improve upon, I believe.

Piku is a family drama, which circulates around Amitabh Bachchan as Bhaskor, a 70 year old, constipated man, and his daughter Piku, who sacrifices everything to take care of him. Bhaskor is demanding, attention craving, vile and selfish as people in the movie call him too.
But that does not hinder Piku [Padukone] from taking total care of him, including missing dates and meetings to talk about Bhaskors's yes you guessed it, poop!

Enter a situation which leads to a road trip and there comes in Irrfan Khan a.k.a Rana Chaudhary. Rana is clearly infatuated with Piku and cannot seem to fathom why she would sacrifice so much for Bhaskor. Over the trip, the three bond, Rana even helping out with the constipation. Watch to see how the rest unfolds.

In all, a decent movie, which could have been made better if it hadn't been fixated on one topic. The acting is top notch by the veteran actors. There could have been more of comedy to lighten up the mood.

My Rating - 6.8/10

Mad Max : Fury Road [2015]

Language - English
Director - George Miller
Run Time - 2 hours
Genre - Action
Starring - Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult

MAD MAX has to be the best movie I've seen this year. It is exhilarating, captivating and invigorating. I haven't seen the earlier movies but it does sure feel this movie must have done justice to its predecessors. Believe the hype, the movie will leave you grasping for more.

I may be over exaggerating, but the movie is perfect in every way. The acting - Tom Hardy as always is exceptional, but sorry Tom, Charlize Theron as 'Imperator Furiosa' kicks ass and steals the show. Credits to Nicholas Hoult also who portrays the War Boy 'Nux'.

The film is shot so remarkably, that we are left in awe. Look out for the scene where the rig disappears into the desert storm. And the action sequences have been shot so magnificently. This has to be one of the best action movies in a long time. It reminds you what action movies are.

The accompanying soundtrack by Junkie XL is also quite riveting, keeping in the line with the plot of the movie. I'm so excited for Batman vs Superman, as Junkie XL and Hans Zimmer are composing the soundtrack together!

Set in a dystopian future where humanity as a concept has seized to exist and the last remnants of society have been placed under the tyrannical rule of Immortan Joe. We get an early glimpse of the protagonist of the film Max [Hardy], who has been captured the War Boys - the cult of Immortan Joe.
Amidst all this, we see Furiosa [Theron] driving a war rig to collect gas. She is seen taking a detour which alerts Joe, who's wives  are with Furiosa, and the chase begins. Luck fortunes, and Max is united with Furiosa, as both are escaping the War Boys, and we are to WITNESS [pun intended] a magnificent, violent and action packed chase sequence. Do they make it to a safe haven?

Even the supporting characters of the movie deserve a lot of praise, be it Immortan Joe, his wives or his sons. The casting is perfect and everyone does justice to their roles. I wish Rosie Huntington would have had a larger role though.

This movie is not to be missed on. One of the better movies seen by me in recent times. And a must watch for all adrenaline junkies who love action.

My Rating - 9/10

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

Kingsman : The Secret Service [2015]

Language - English
Director - Matthew Vaughn
Run Time - 2 hours, 9 minutes
Genre - Action/Comedy
Starring - Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Samuel L Jackson and Michael Caine.

Kinsgman : The Secret Service remains a tale of two halves. While the first half of the movie was exciting and intriguing, the climax leaves you to wonder IS THIS FOR REAL? This could have been one of the best movies of the year, had the finale been executed in a better fashion. To put it in another way, the movie gears you up for 'Avengers' and delivers to you 'Daredevil'. The audience was lost when the plot stopped making sense. To be honest, I expected much more from the director of X-Men First Class and Kick Ass.

Hollywood bigwigs - Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Sameul L Jackson and Mark Strong give fantastic performances, as is expected from them. But what ticked me off was that Michael Caine was given such a small role considering his enormous acting talent. Taron Eagerton as 'Eggsy' and Sophie Cookson as 'Roxy' delivered some good performances. Be sure to have an eye out for them in the future.

The movie starts off with a secret agent being KIA, and his family being given a medal with a number at the back to call in time of dire need. The son would grow on to be our protagonist, Eggsy. Egssy has no goals and aims in life and always gets in to trouble. One such time landed him into jail. He calls the number and gets freed by the secret service. He is subsequently recruited into being a Kinsgman and ultimately saving the world from the Internet Billionaire Valentine [Jackson] who is hell bent on killing the 'extra' people on the planet to save it.

And BOOM, this is where reality disappears and  we get embroiled into a world of fantasy. Eggsy is able to battle countless of soldiers without getting a scratch and bombs turn into something in the image of fireworks.

I admit, there's a sense of suave and class around the film. The action seems to be well crafted and the movie has been shot excellently, but for me a film must cater to logic which it fails to, and thus disappoints.

It could be a one time watch.

My Rating - 7.1/10 

The Imitation Game [2014]

Language - English
Director - Morten Tyldum
Run Time - 1 hour, 54 minutes
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Starring - Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley and Mark Strong

One would say that they have watched one too many movies based on the second World War, but none as intriguing and as brilliantly made as The Imitation Game. The Imitation Game is as good as a historical movie could get. Its constant shift between the three time periods makes it even more interesting.

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, a young, yet cocky genius who is called on to help crack Enigma, which is the Nazis' encryption machine. Turing can be called narcissistic, rude and impossible to work with. Until he meets Joan Clarke [Kiera Knightley] who makes him understand the need to work with others. From thereon, all of them work on to crack the encryption code and help Britain win the war.

Someone who did not know about this extraordinary man - Alan Turing gets a solid introduction to this complex individual and his extraordinary work which led to the first model of the modern computer. The fact that Alan Turing's cracking of Enigma was kept a secret for 50 years is also astonishing.

Hugh Alexander is an interesting character played by Matthew Goode, who was earlier against Turing, but finally got around to crack the 'Enigma' together. Goode shows promise and is capable of having lead roles in the future. Adding to that, even Mark Strong played a small, yet fine role as Major General Stewart Menzies

Cumberbatch has now proven himself to be among the Grade-A actors in Hollywood with a plethora of brilliant performances to his name now, be it in film, television or the theater.

Well made movie, with some brilliant acting and good background score, The Imitation Game is a must watch.

My Rating - 8.9/10

Roy [2015]

Language - Hindi

Director - Vikramjit Singh

Run Time - 2 hours. 27 minutes

Genre - Drama

Starring - Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez

One of the most awaited bollywood movies of the year, ROY. The trailer promised so much - a smart, riveting thriller, with a love triangle and some great acting and action. But to our much disappointment, that is all a facade. This movie lacks a plot, and even the charisma of Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Jacqueline Fernandez fail to pull this off. A futile attempt by Vikramjit Singh to make a mind-bending movie. Till the first half, you are befuddled as to what is happening in the movie. Even after the interval, when the plot becomes clear, the movie still fails to capture our attention.

There’s a scene in Roy where Arjun Rampal says "Pata nahin yeh film kaise ban gayi?" One wonders the same when they leave the theater after watching this torturous movie. This movie revolves around Kabir Grewal [Rampal] as a script-writer cum director working towards making his next film titled 'Guns Part III'. Mind you, these are new age directors who do not have a complete script, neither do they have a female lead in the movie until they reach Malaysia where the shooting takes place.

The heist which we believe the movie is about, after watching the trailer is a part of the movie Grewal is shooting, with Roy[Ranbir Kapoor] as the protagonist. Neither the movie, nor the movie shot by Grewal [movieception] make sense and the audience is left wondering when will this horror end.

The film also at times fails logic. It takes its inspiration from the Dhoom series for this - Indian cops going around the world to catch a global masterthief, the cop telling the theif [although unknowingly] that he has come to catch the thief. Also, we see Malaysian news channels and radios are more interested in Bollywood moviemakers coming to their country to shoot pictures and here we again have that prodigal Bollywood actor kicking down 5-7 trained guards just with his bare hands.

Some good music and some good acting by Arjun Rampal are the only saving grace of the film. I personally did not like Ranbir Kapoor's acting this time [Inspite of being a big fan of him]. He seemed doped throughout the movie. We are scammed into believing the protagonist of the film would be Ranbir. He gets about a quarter of the screen time Arjun Rampal gets.

DO NOT WATCH. YOU WILL SAVE TIME AND MONEY

My Rating - 5/10