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

Lipstick Under My Burkha [2017]

Language - Hindi
Director - Alankrita Shrivastava
Run Time - 2 hours, 12 minutes
Genre - Drama
Starring - Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah

Lipstick Under My Burkha is an eye-opening movie which breaks barriers. It is a movie which touches all hearts, as it is set in realism. All around us, women are confined within walls; and this movie exposes us to that.

An interwoven tale of four characters, 'Buaji' aka Rosie who fantasizes about affairs, Shireen, who wants to work and have a career, Leela, the beautician who wants to escape this sad town, and lastly, Rehana, a teenage rebel who adores 'Miley Cyrus' and wants to dress up and sing like her but is bound by her burkha. All actors have given a commanding performance including Shashank Arora and Vikrant Massey as Dhruv and Arshad.

This is a bittersweet story, where problems are not met with superficial solutions; as in life. The mature-storytelling, accompanied by voice-over by Ratna Pathak orating a porn-novel fashions the movie as a serious drama with an inkling of humour.

The scenes, though simple, exhibit oodles of emotions. Be it the fieriness of  Rehana giving a speech for freedom or Buajis fear to buy swimsuits or even Shireen's pain during intercourse. The movie is packed with emotions and Srivastava here has ensured four protagonists of various ages and backgrounds to showcase different emotions and problems each faces.

Such a movie will only impress critics in India, as it will be termed as slow and boring. But if you're a genuine movie buff, go see this movie.

My Rating - 7.3/10

Dunkirk [2017]

Language - English
Director - Christopher Nolan
Run Time - 1 hour, 46 minutes
Genre - Action/Drama
Starring - Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy

While I will not say 'Dunkirk' is the greatest war film or the greatest Christopher Nolan film, I do indeed say that it is a grandiose masterpiece from the extremely talented, older Nolan brother.

Dunkirk is a film about the events of 'Dunkirk evacuation' where 400,000 soldiers were trapped on a beach amidst a German onslaught. While Dunkirk does not have an elaborate plot or mind-wracking concept [Inception, Interstellar, Memento], it does manage to expose and magnify human emotions in a war-zone. Nolan exhibits his narrative from three perspectives - air, sky, and land and one appreciates it when it all comes in to sync later in the movie. Accompanied by Hans Zimmer's beautiful score, it just becomes even more satisfying.

All actors in the ensemble give brilliant performances. Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy, although with small roles, perform gloriously. Fionn Whitehead as Tommy and surprisingly, Harry Styles [One Direction] as Alex also give a commanding performance.

Each and every scene of the film is gorgeous, and for the first time in a Nolan movie, feels real, as the movie is based on a true story. The intensity and ardour of the soldiers is captured by him beautifully and every single frame is thrilling.

Go see it in IMAX if possible, the cinematography is just exquisite. But do see it nonetheless too.

My Rating - 8.3/10