Category: Movie Reviews

The Imitation Game | Movie Review

The Imitation Game

After a long wait, The Imitation Game has finally released in India. Having read some raving reviews about the movie, I walked in with high expectations. While it did live up to most, I somehow felt something was amiss.

Scripted by Graham Moore, The Imitation Game tells the story of Alan Turing, the mathematician who helped the allies win the Second World War using the Turing Machine (Christopher/Bombe). The script has been modified enough to help director Morten Tydlum make the movie gripping; enough drama has been infused into this biopic to make it interesting. However, I felt that there could have been more emotional content. While direction is good, adding a little more substance to the film would have made it better. Nevertheless, the best part of the movie however is its seamless screenplay which runs through three different time periods. Be it the 1940’s or the 1950’s, every frame is stitched together perfectly.

The movie is near perfect thanks to a brilliant act by Benedict Cumberbatch. His performances in a couple of episodes, when he confesses to his fiancée, and when he’s struggling to solve a Crossword puzzle, are superb. Special shout to Alex Lawther who enacts young Turing’s life to the ‘T’. Keira Knightley is perfect as Joan Clarke. The rest of the cast put up credible performances.

Music by Alexandre Desplat is good, but something more haunting would have been perfect. Editing by William Goldenberg is neat while cinematography by Oscar Faura is excellent.

Is it worth your time and money??: It might not be a perfect biopic for it lacks enough emotional quotient, but Benedict Cumberbatch adds so much life to the movie that you can’t afford to miss it. Forget homosexuality and everything else, The Imitation Game is a beautiful story of a man who helped save close to 18 million lives. Must watch.

Acting: 9.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 8.5/10

Gopala Gopala | Movie Review

gopala-gopala

While PK has created enough controversy about religion and religious beliefs, here comes the Telugu remake of OMG – Oh My God! One might have expected it to be under the scanner as well, but thanks to Pawan and Venki, Gopala Gopala entertains without any hassles.

OMG was a simple film with decent star-cast. The moment it’s being remade with PK and Venki, expectations go up ten-fold. Director Kishore Kumar Pardasany (Dolly) stuck to the script without being carried away by the heroes, and therefore excels on scripting front. The screenplay is more or less intact barring a few scenes modified to suit the Telugu nativity, and increased screen presence for PK. However, this doesn’t hamper the flow of the movie. Bottom line, both screenplay and the direction are pretty neat.

While Pawan Kalyan does a good job in a subdued role as Krishna, the movie totally belongs to Venkatesh. Though he seemed a loud compared to Paresh Rawal, he brings a lot of substance to the role. Pawan, as expected, entertains. Shriya is alright as Venki’s wife. Posani has a meaty role, and he excels. Mithunda is alright, and so is the rest of the cast.

Music by Anoop Rubens is good. However, he needs to come up with new tunes. Background score is decent. Cinematography by Jayanan Vincent is neat. On the downside, editing by Goutham Raju is pathetic. There are multiple instances where scenes end abruptly and you can notice the patchy work. You’d expect a reputed house like Suresh Productions to pay more attention to editing.

Is it worth your time and money??: Gopala Gopala is a treat for the fans. For the rest of us, it’s a decent watch with a good message. The best part of the Gopala Gopala is the fact that it doesn’t overwhelm you because of its star-cast. While it might not be a great film, it’s definitely worth a watch for its heart is at the right place.

Worth mention: Acting by Venkatesh and Pawan.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10

Verdict: 8/10

Chinnadana Neekosam | Movie Review

Chinnadana-Neekosam

Post his directorial debut (Tholi Prema), Karunakaran has been making some disastrous movies. While Chinnadana Neekosam isn’t a disaster, it is no better than average.

Similar to most films this year, Chinnadana Neekosam deals with family sentiments. Boy falls in love with a girl, but is ready to let go of it for her family’s sake. While Karunakaran showcases the first half in an entertaining way, the second half goes totally haywire. Be it the premise or the storytelling, this half is a total disaster with some terrible screenplay and direction. The entire gay episode was absolutely unnecessary and the climax was clichéd. Sad that a promising start couldn’t be cashed upon.

Nithiin tries his best to carry the movie on his shoulders but succeeds only to an extent. Come a point, his act seemed repetitive and boring. He needs to get out of the box and try something different. Mishty Chakraborty has a meaty role, but didn’t fit the bill. She looked odd in most angles and her acting skills aren’t worth mention either. Nassar is alright while Ali is terrible. The rest of the cast didn’t really make an impact.

Music by Anoop Rubens is alright. Editing by Praveen Pudi is below par. There are so many scenes which could have made the cut (Thagubothu Ramesh scenes, gay episode) but were inserted just for the heck of it. Cinematography by Andrew is decent. Dialogues by Harsha Vardhan were good in parts.

Is it worth your time and money??: Not really. While the first half is decent, the latter half is terrible, and if I might add, disgraceful. Unless you have nothing better to do, you can easily give this one a skip (or better, walk out from the theatre after the first half).

Worth mention: Some dialogues in the first half.

Acting: 7.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10

Verdict: 6.5/10

PS: @Nithiin: Gay men are men, just like you and me. I thought you knew better than that.

PK | Movie Review

PK

3 Idiots was a great film and it would have had to be something extraordinary to beat it. The expectations were super high, and after almost 5 years in the making, PK delivers, but does not excel.

All of Rajkumar Hirani’s three movies to date have had a social message, and PK is no exception. This time it’s about religious extremism. While a little jittery in the first few minutes, the next 90 minutes are absolute fun. Almost every episode makes you ponder over religious beliefs while making you roll in your seats. These 90 minutes are pure brilliance on direction front and showcase why Hirani is one of the finest directors in our industry. But then come second half, the script goes haywire, especially the talk show and the embassy episodes (both seemed goofy). Hirani and co-writer Abhijat Joshi also falter on screenplay in this half of the movie. Nevertheless, it’s a bold attempt on their front to showcase such extremism, and they need to be commended for their work. If only they excelled with a better ending!

The character is perfectly etched for Aamir and he is outstanding. Him carrying the same expression till he starts speaking Bhojpuri is worth a mention, and even otherwise, this probably is his best performance after Rang De Basanti. Anushka Sharma could have performed better (or rather should have underperformed), but she still is bearable. Sushant Singh Rajput impresses in his brief appearance and so does Sanjay Dutt. Surprisingly, Boman Irani has limited screen presence (for a Hirani film) and he is good. Saurabh Shukla is impressive as the godman.

Music by Shantanu Moitra, Ankit Tiwari and Ajay Atul is decent. Lyrics by Swanand Kirkire and Amitabh Varma need special mention for they are apt for the situations. Editing by Rajkumar Hirani could have been better. Cinematography by Muraleedharan is neat.

Is it worth your time and money??: There are a lot of expectations from an Aamir Khan movie, and they become ten-fold when the director is Rajkumar Hirani. While PK excels in most parts, the message is lost down the lane, and the ending seemed patchy. However, it is still a good movie thanks to some brilliant acting by the perfect Khan. While religious fanatics might not enjoy it, PK is a good watch for the rest.

So do you have company dhabba (stamp) on you?? 😛

Worth mention: Undoubtedly Aamir as PK. Him apart, the temple, church and mosque episodes are epic.

Acting: 9.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 8.5/10

PS: I was just having the same discussion about religion with my mom the other day – God and religion are man-made concepts which help us live in sanity but not someone/something which punishes or instill fear in us. While I couldn’t convince her entirely, the movie helped in conveying my point to her 🙂

Lingaa | Movie Review

Lingaa

After disastrous Kochadaiiyaan, one would have expected Rajni to act in a sensible film which would make his fans happy. But unfortunately, Lingaa fails miserably at all levels.

Directed by K S Ravi Kumar,  the film starts off in the present age with our Super Star as a petty thief. Then we’re told that he is the descendent of King Lingeswara who build a dam and temple in a small town in the pre-independence era. The temple has been closed down for ages and Lingaa is required to reopen the temple. The first part of the first half is about Anushka trying to vie Lingaa to visit the town and reopen the temple, and once he does, we have to sit through 2 hour flashback/lecture about how great his grandfather is. This flashback is so bloody long that I actually forgot the reason for it. The problem with Lingaa is not just its running time but its predictable script; no wait, it’s lazy screenplay; no, its pathetic direction. If either of the latter were good, the movie would have been better. But thanks to below par screenplay and direction, most Rajni fans in the theatre couldn’t stop yawning (and cursing). The only positive point are some good dialogues.

Rajni tries his best to keep the boat sailing, but how much can he do (especially when his body double is in most of the shots)? I enjoy his style and everything, but I think it’s time for him to stop romancing young co-stars and instead work on some sensible scripts. Both Anushka and Sonakshi have limited roles and neither makes an impression. Jagapathi Babu is alright. Santhanam is loud and his dubbing is even more irritating. The rest of the cast is fine.

Music by A R Rahman was pathetic. Did he really work on this film? Cos neither the background score nor the songs are up to his standards. Editing by Samjith is mediocre. While cinematography by Rathnavelu is good in parts, the below average graphics ruin the impact on most occasions.

Is it worth your time and money??: The trailer wasn’t impressive so I walked in with minimal expectations, but Lingaa turned out to be a bigger disappointment than I had expected. It ain’t a terrible film, but still, the fact that hardcore fans didn’t seem to enjoy the movie says a lot. So it’s totally alright if you give this one a skip.

Worth mention: Rajni

Acting: 7.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 6.5/10

Verdict: 6/10

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Movie Review

The Hobbit -The Battle of the Five Armies

While the first instalment, An Unexpected Journey, of the series wasn’t great, the second part, The Desolation of Smaug, was a better movie. While I was hoping for an excellent end to the series (like the third movie in the LOR series), The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ended up being more like the first movie – ordinary.

The movie continues from where it left off, with Smaug attacking Lake Town. The Dragon Slayer saves the day and the town, but the battle has just began with every army converging and fighting for the Lonely Mountain. This battle seemed a little too long and at times artificial. Nevetheless, things pic up towards the latter half with Thorin’s battle against Azog and Legolas fighting Blog piquing your interest. Direction by Peter Jackson is neat but the screenplay wasn’t as interesting as the second film.

On acting front, this movie provides every character to showcase their talent and almost everyone performs to their best. Ian McKellen does a good job as expected, while Luke Evans is impressive. Evangeline Lilly still looked odd as Tauriel but comes up with a decent act. The Hobbit (Martin Freeman) puts up a fine performance.

Music and background score by Howard Shore is alright, and so is editing by Jabez Olssen. While the graphics still seemed artificial at times, they were better than the previous two films. Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is pretty good.

Is it worth your time and money??: While not as engrossing as The Desolation of Smaug, The Battle of the Five Armies is a decent watch. Let’s hope it all ends here.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 8/10

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | Movie Review

hunger-games-3-mockingjay

The first movie of the franchise The Hunger Games set the context, and the second movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire doubled the expectations thanks to some amazing action sequences and great performances from it’s leads. Come the third movie, the expectations were high, but unfortunately, while the acting still stands out, the movie doesn’t!

Scripted by Danny Strong and Peter Craig, and directed by Francis Lawrence, the problem with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is it’s snail paced narration. Right from the word go, almost all the scenes seemed a drag and some of them were in fact repetitive. There’s enough emotion, with Jennifer Lawrence putting up a great act, but there nothing on the action front to substantiate the expectations of a Hunger Games movie. The slow screenplay plays a big time spoil sport.

Music by James Newton Howard is decent, with pretty good sound mixing and design. Cinematography by Jo Willems is alright while editing by Mark Yoshikawa could have been better. It probably would have been best if the producers didn’t break the third book of the instalment into two parts.

Is it worth your time and money??: Compared to the first two films of the series, this one is more or less a bore. But that doesn’t mean you can skip it, especially if you’re following the series. So unless you happen to be a fan, wait for the DVD.

Worth mention: Jennifer Lawrence is close to brilliant on acting front.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6.5/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 7/10

Happy Ending | Movie Review

Happy_Ending

The trailer looked similar to Saif’s own movies from his production house, especially Love Aaj Kal. And unsurprisingly, the movie is more or less similar. But…

Raj and DK are directors who’ve made different films till date. Be it 99, Shor in the City or Go Goa Gone, their movies have been really ‘hatke’. But come Happy Ending, they’ve played safe. While the movie is quite different from the regular RomCom’s, it’s still cliched and very predictable. Yodi, our protagonist is a once upon a time successful author who can’t commit into relationships. And as expected, he bumps into Aanchal, who doesn’t believe in commitment either. And guess what, he falls head over heals for her and is in love. How new is that? The directors try their best to make it appear fresh, but unfortunately you’ve seen it all in the past. Nevertheless, they’ve done a great job in creating simple humour, thanks to some amazing and realistic dialogues (Hussain Dalal). This adds the charm to the movie, and you might end up connecting yourself with the characters. The screenplay is neat while the direction is alright.

It’s Saif’s film all the way. He does a good job on acting front (for he’s already played similar character). However he looks aged for most of the film while Govinda, who charms in his brief appearance as a Bollywood actor, actually looked better and younger than him. Ileana looked really pretty and did a good job. She’s come a long way since her debut film Devdas (Telugu). Kalki is perfect as the naggy girlfriend while it was nice to watch Preity play a mature role.

Music by Sachin-Jigar is really good. I loved three songs, and can’t stop humming “Hilke naacho naacho“. The background score was decent. Editing by Arindam Ghatak is alright. I don’t think I’ve come across a Bollywood film using three cinematographers thus far; Chase Bowman, Yaron Levy and Mahesh Limaye all did a good job.

Is it worth your time and money??: While it’s all very predictable, I’d still say yes for the movie never bores you and I love the message put across. Apart from dialogues, acting is neat, cinematography is perfect and I enjoyed the music. With a runtime of less than 150 minutes, I feel it’s a nice way to spend your weekend. However, if you’re expecting something new, give this one a skip.

Worth mention: The title. While it remind us of a special kind of massage, I loved the way it was conveyed in the movie; you create your own Happy Ending 🙂

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 7.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8.5/10

Verdict: 8/10

John Wick | Movie Review

John Wick

Keanu Reeves is an actor with great talent. Be it Speed or The Matrix, he’s had this ability to emote with the straightest face possible. And his performance in John Wick is no different.

Directed by debutant Chad Stahelski, John Wick is a simple revenge action thriller. In all honesty, the storyline is plain vanilla. But Chad does a great job thanks to some amazing screenplay. The sleek shots are fun to watch on-screen, and though the movie is very predictable, it keeps you engrossed till the end.

Keanu is great in the title role, and totally lives up to the expectations created in the first few minutes of the movie. Michael Nyqvist is perfect as the antagonist who knows he’s gonna lose everything fighting John Wick. Willem Dafoe and others are alright.

Music and background score by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard is pretty neat. The sound effects were really good. Editing by Elísabet Ronalds and cinematography by Jonathan Sela are both effective.

Is it worth your time and money??: John Wick is a sleek and stylish thriller with some good acting and crisp screenplay. If you like action films, then this one is a must watch.

Worth mention: The build up to John Wick’s character, simply superb!

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 8/10

Big Hero 6 | Movie Review

big-hero-6

You’ve watched superheroes save the day in The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. While Big Hero 6 comes from the same studio which gave us these blockbusters (Marvel), it’s very different from them. While the former two build on action, Big Hero 6 is a cute little movie with its heart at the right place.

Is it worth your time and money??: Absolutely! It’s probably the cutest movie you’ll watch this year. It’s perfect not just for the kids, but families can enjoy it too. Don’t miss it 🙂

Worth mention: The animation and the bonding between Baymax and Hiro. Baymax is the cutest robot ever!

Acting: 9/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 9/10

Verdict: 9/10