Music, Action, Cars, Guns and one helluva thrilling Story

'Baby Driver' - Slick, fast, cool, funny, dark, entertaining are just some of the adjectives that describe this zany flick. Right from the first scene you are literally hooked into the world of Baby, a young man with a hearing problem who is a genius rather a devil behind the wheels and always needs to have the perfect song in his earphones to drive while getting away from cops with his accomplices. he gets these odd jobs through a shady wealthy heist planner played with brilliance by Kevin Spacey. During the movie, Baby meets characters who are wild, crazy, psychotic and lovely played effectively by Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Lily James.

The film has the effortless blend of action with a killer soundtrack that makes the proceeding electrifying. One can often go wrong in focusing more on action and less on the story but the director Edgar Wright does a great job to ensure that we witness a story that has a lot to offer besides revving engines and gun shots.

Ansel Elgort as the protagonist is the perfect choice and he brings in a different facet this time. He makes the trip worthwhile and so does the supporting cast. There are moments of laughter and also tension that make this flick a memorable one.

P.S. - Action and thrill goes hand in hand for a bloody crazy film. The car chase sequences are worth the ticket.

8 / 10

Freshness and collaboration with Marvel is a winning recipe

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' - Another reboot yet again something about this Spidey created a spark in last year's Capt. America: Civil War that he deserved a solo film and trust me on this, this film works big time because of its simplicity, humour and freshness whose sole credit goes simply to leading man / boy Tom Holland playing a young teenager version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Another fact that this is a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios has paved a way for Spidey to join the massive gang of future Avenger films.

Michael Keaton's role as the Vulture was not your typical antagonist as he was a man who had certain vested interests but nothing to dominate the world which itself was something different in movies of such genre. He is good no doubt in his act. Jon Favreau returns as Happy Hogan who keeps a close watch on Spidey.

Spidey's best pal Ned is a very entertaining character and his chemistry with Peter is truly a highlight. Not to forget the younger Aunt May played by the talented Marisa Tomei. Last but not the least is the cameo by Mr. Robert Downey Jr. as Stark / Iron-Man that adds more to this reboot.

If one is expecting a lot of noise and drama like the previous Spidey films, you'll be underwhelmed and this is why this film scores more because it keeps things simple, focuses mainly on the emotions of a teenage protagonist and everything a teenager goes through when in high school. The manner in which Tom Holland brings a lot of freshness to the character is incredible. There is no melodrama, no tears and its a light film where one walks out of the theatre hoping to see more of this new Spidey in next year's Avengers film.

P.S. - The new Spider-Man suit is much more enhanced and has a lot more to offer which is truly hillarious when Peter experiments with it. The post credits scene is something that is extremely well done.

7.5/10

One time watch for some genuine laughs

'Despicable Me 3' - The third film of this successful franchise comes this summer with the family of Gru, his wife Lucy and the three lovely daughters. Not to forget the wild Minions who are the reason why people will flock to the theatres. There are however two main additions to the cast - Dru who is Gru's twin brother and the film's main highlight - the antagonist Balthazar Bratt, a person who prefers having dance offs to famous pop tracks of the 80's. His antics along with the Minions' charades bring the house down with some genuine laughs. Even Gru has some moments of hilarity with his twin but somewhere the film doesn't feel complete like it did so seven and four years ago - parts one and two respectively.

The film could have worked more on the relationship between Gru and his daughters or perhaps we saw way too less of the Minions. The animation was good, the pace was fine but its not a film that by the end of it we would be awed by it. This is a one time watch and its a bit of a disappointment going by the franchise's story curves.

P.S. - The minions in jail and Balthazar's entry are worth watching.

6/10 

Wonder Woman redeems DC Extended Universe

'Wonder Woman' - We had all seen this iconic character come alive on the big screen last year in an extended appearance of a disappointing film and she was probably the best thing about that bummer of a film. DC Extended Universe has decided to keep things simple and add entertainment which makes this solo film of a leading lady surprisingly a very good watch. Gal Gadot has given a very impressive performance and holds the film strongly on her shoulders. She rocks totally in the action sequences and is incredibly funny when enters a 'hideous' London. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is a major highlight of this simple, entertaining superhero film. Chris Pine too gives a fantastic act and her encounters and adventures with Gal Gadot throughout the film are nothing short of thrilling, funny and emotional.

Director Patty Jenkins has done a brilliant job by not following the normal DC route of making stories dark and complicated. There is freshness in the screenplay, a detour from the previous films of DC Extended Universe (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad) and perhaps it is redeeming itself to compete with the blockbusters of Marvel Cinematic Universe. The visual effects are neat and the choreography of the action sequences is smartly done. Things get a bit loud towards the climatic battle but nevertheless Gal Gadot wonders us all with her screen presence.

P.S. -  The film 'Justice League' coming this winter looks promising if DC Extended Universe prefers not to complicate the screenplay.

8/10

Colourful Visual Extravaganza

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' - Almost three years ago, Marvel Studios introduced us to a few characters who were compelled to come together to provide a rollicking, non-stop hillarious, action film. They were Quill (Star-Lord), Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot. That was definitely one of a kind of film to have been churned out from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The characters return this summer to double the fun and entertainment as the expectations from this film are very high. Frankly, the film has the ample doze of action and fun with dazzling visual effects that enrich the 3-D viewing experience. James Gunn, the director provides many moments of crackling humour, sharp witty one liners and a lot of focus on Baby Groot (his antics and expressions right from the start till the end are insanely adorable), not to forget Rocket and Drax too. New characters are introduced here like Quill's long lost father called Ego played very well by Kurt Russell and the themes of father-son relationships, sister rivalry (Gamora - Nebula) are explored here.

Someway during the course of the movie, I felt there was a lot of action which in some way overshadowed the story and freshness that the first film had provided in the autumn of 2014. What needs to be lauded here is the brilliant visual effects, excellent background score (awesome mix Vol. 2), some unthinkable action sequences whose ingenuity and clap worthy moments are worth the ticket. The production design is fantastic especially the planet in which Ego stays alone with his pet Mantis.

Another notable character who gets a better written role this time is the Ravager Yondu whose stunts with his arrow is easily one of the best sequences of the film. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana do a decent job. Dave Bautista is excellent and funny and so is his chemistry with Mantis. Rocket voiced by Bradley Cooper is so much fun yet again and his relation with Yondu is a major highlight. Yondu played by Michael Rooker is terrific and he is one of the characters to really watch this film along with everyone's favourite Groot, this time as Baby Groot who brings the house down by anything that he does and whenever he utters "I AM GROOT" with different variations.

P.S. - There are 5 mid-credits and post credits scenes so be there right till the end. Vol. 3 is awaited keenly but The Guardians shall return next year with The Avengers before that.

7.5 / 10 

Return from the Dead...

It's been nearly five years since I last blogged. You may call it me being busy at work or as some special people in my life would frame it as pure laziness or procrastination. Five years is way too long. I guess it's now time for me to come back from this sabbatical and return from the dead. I am back and all of you look out for more in the days and weeks to come.
The movie reviews will get longer, more elaborate, my thoughts and experiences will be more clearer. It feels good to be back.

Barfi! - A Beautiful Celebration of Cinema

It's a gloomy Sunday morning in Shillong with continuous rain from maybe last night. There I had my ticket for a film which I was eagerly waiting to watch for quite a while. I was expecting that a Sunday show at 11AM in this weather would have a pretty weak attendance but then I was surprised to see that the queue to enter the theatre was LONG, really long. Well the film's lead actors are crowd pullers for sure. I was kinda annoyed that the long line ahead of me was moving really slow and I was hoping that I don't miss the first few minutes of this film.

I was in and just shortly later when the lights were off and the film began (the thanking of certain people, the major brands, media partners, etc.) I was already in splits when for the first time in cinema a unique manner was employed by the film maker to make us - the audience realize that we were there to enjoy 'Barfi!' and leave everything else behind. And boy, I definitely forgot about the horrible weather for those two and half hours once I entered Barfi's world.

'Barfi!' - Films like these maybe come once in a decade or two. It's a rare film that is so different yet has all the ingredients of providing a long lasting smile on the audiences' faces after it ends. To sum it up, it is the story of Murphy aka Barfi who is deaf and mute but inspite of his challenges, he is the talk of the town, a mischievous prankster and is always being chased around by a cop throughout the film. He meets Shruti and falls in love with her and so does she fall for him but things go awfully wrong for Barfi when she chooses someone else instead of him and gets married. Several years later, their paths cross again but Barfi is now with his childhood friend Jhilmil, a girl suffering from autism. What happens next in this beautiful tale, well I can't say more. Barfi and his relationship with both Shruti and Jhilmil forms the crux of the story.
                                               

The film has some brilliant cinematography. Calcutta and especially Darjeeling look beautiful. The music by Pritam is a winner all the way. Definitely the songs go well with the narrative. The background score is also worth a mention since this film has minimal dialogues and it did remind me of Charlie Chaplin. The story of the film comprising of three different time spans presented back and forth in a non-linear manner has been written by the director himself and it boasts of a lot of comedy (the audience was genuinely in splits and clapped too), it's simple and at the same time does have moments where tears can't be stopped. All in all, a simple film beautifully and masterfully written and directed by Anurag Basu.

The supporting cast comprises of old veteran Rupa Ganguly as Shruti's mother. She was impressive. The others like Barfi's friend, Shruti's husband, Jhilmil's father (Aashish Vidhyarthi) and Jhilmil's guardian were decent but the one who stood out was Saurabh Shukla as the cop who would keep chasing Barfi.

Now coming to the main leads:

A famous actress down South Ileana D'Cruz makes her debut in Hindi films and she does leave an impact. She plays Shruti Ghosh/Sengupta and is also the narrator of the film and she emotes beautifully.

Jhilmil Chatterjee an autistic girl has been portrayed by Priyanka Chopra....did I say Priyanka Chopra? Well as a matter of fact, one would not see Priyanka in it at all. Her mannerisms, body language, facial expressions did all the talking where she could have gone overboard but she nailed it with perfection and yes it would not be erroneous to say that she will win the awards this year for her BRAVE performance. It's a role where she will be remembered for a long time.

He is definitely turning out to be the most versatile actor of his generation and it goes without a doubt that Ranbir Kapoor can slip into any character and make it memorable. He plays the title role Barfi with such brilliance that left me completely dumbstruck. Its a huge risk for any popular actor to play a character without having any dialogues. He was left with his face, eyes and body to express and in the process he made Barfi one of the most lovable characters ever portrayed on screen. The scene where Barfi is heartbroken and he expresses his anger and pain (through sign language) to Shruti will go down as Ranbir's best scene ever. The awards are again his this year for sure.

Hindi movies nowadays target to achieve the so called 100 crores club and they dish out such crap that its painful to watch them. A film like Barfi! is priceless and made for the love and passion of cinema and it is definitely one of the best films to have been made in the past few years. It is a monumental piece of work by Anurag Basu who has managed to churn out career best performances from both Ranbir and Priyanka who take the movie to a different league altogether.

Barfi! a sure shot celebration of cinema and life!!!                                                              4.5 out of 5 stars.