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.

'The Dark Knight Rises' - A perfect end to a TRILOGY

Seven years ago, I wasn't sure whether to watch a reboot of a Batman film after the crappy films I saw in the 90's. But then I took a chance and watched 'Batman Begins' and I was totally impressed by what Christopher Nolan did with it. He made it dark, with brilliant sets, action, superb storyline, top of the notch background score and I was hooked.

Three years later its sequel 'The Dark Knight' completely left me awestruck and speechless. It had such an impact on me (especially Late Heath Ledger's Joker act) that the sheer intensity of the film and Joker getting in to my head was out of the world and I ended up having high fever for 2 days after the movie ended.

Four years later - 2012, the final part of this trilogy 'The Dark Knight Rises' released and it has been the most awaited film of the year and people all over the world were looking forward to it since early last year when production had begun. How does it fare? Did Christopher Nolan do justice to it? Does it live up to its expectations and the hype it has created over the past year? I'll let you know. 

The story takes us eight years after the events of the previous film. And this is where Nolan is a master storyteller. Gotham is going through a great phase, with people still idolizing Harvey Dent, there is hardly any crime thanks to Commissioner Gordon and Batman has mysteriously vanished and so has Bruce Wayne kept himself away from public attention by locking himself up in his mansion. Gotham faces a new threat - Bane. We are introduced to quite a number of characters in this film and each of the new additions get ample scope and opportunities to move the story forward.

I do not want to reveal the entire plot and spoil it for you since there are a few stunning twists in this finale that leave you in shock.

Scenes that deserve a mention :
1) Bane's introduction when he and his men take down an entire plane - it was the initial hook that told me I was in for another roller coaster.
2) The return of Batman after eight long years....smashing entry both with the upgraded Batpod (WOW!!!) and The Bat (it's not a car!!!).
3) Alfred's and Bruce's emotional conflict...you feel for Alfred.

4) Batman and Bane getting into a fist fight twice.
5) The simultaneous jaw dropping blowing up sequences of the rugby field, the bridges and entire Gotham city.

6) The rise of The Dark Knight - not revealing that bit....you'll know once you see it.
7) The action packed finale/climax and the last few scenes.

This film boasts of brilliant cinematography (the scale in which it is shot will amaze you), Hans Zimmer providing yet another legendary background music (especially the 'Rise' chants), the sets (art direction) - Gotham has never looked better with an important set in India as well (you will notice Jodhpur for a brief second), the superb screenplay lasting 2 hours 45 minutes - you feel the tension mounting and sitting on the edge of your seat, the action which might be a little less compared to the previous films but whatever action sequences are there will leave any Batman/action movie fan completely satisfied. The story takes a little long to build up but once its done, you are in for a delicious meal.

Now coming to the performances -
Marion Cottilard as Miranda Tate - this Oscar winning actor has less screen time and is a new character in the series, but her role is very vital to the plot and she is impressive.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake - another new addition to the franchise, as the cop who is promoted to detective is reliable and his character is well shaped up as he becomes a handy ally of the Batman. He manages to do justice to his role.

Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox - he reprises his role third time around and his dialogues add humor to this serious riveting tale. As always he is dependable.

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon - again adding much more to the plot third time...he displays his hidden emotions and guilt with ease and yet again has done a very good job.

Michael Caine as Alfred - what can I say of this veteran....this time around he shows the pain he is going through and gives a performance that tugs your heartstrings. He provides the emotional aspect in this saga.
Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman - I was skeptical last year when I knew that she was chosen for this role but to my surprise she has done a fantastic job. The action, stunts, her matching wit by wit with Batman is a treat. In fact she too displays certain emotions beyond her cynical side and I made a mistake by doubting Nolan's belief in her. She is a very competent Catwoman.

Tom Hardy as Bane - It's a tough job to play a nemesis to Batman especially after the mind blowing performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the previous film. Hardy has completely transformed himself for this physically demanding role. He has beefed up, looks menacing, the gas mask that he wears hides a major portion of his face and we witness that this fine actor emotes brilliantly with his eyes, has a great body language as a mercenary on the loose, the voice digitization is superb and he mouths the best dialogues of the film. He portrays Bane as a very powerful nemesis to Batman both in terms of physicality and also intellect. Tom Hardy has done a brilliant job but then you would realize that matching up to Heath Ledger's Joker act is something that is impossible since The Joker was mentally more stronger, a sociopath and created havoc even in Batman's head.
Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne - It's been a career changing role for Bale when he first donned the Batman suit. And doing it thrice is indeed commendable. He remains my favorite Batman and Wayne as well.  This time around the film focuses more on Batman without the suit/gadgets. Bale has done a superb job in portraying a character who goes through the pain of loss for eight long years, he is older - his state of mind, body language, the pain and threat he feels when Bane breaks him physically and to a certain extent mentally. This Oscar winning actor shows his versatility by being cocky, smart, vulnerable, mentally and physically broken in a single role. The deeper emotions of Bruce Wayne has been wonderfully portrayed by Bale and all this without the Batman suit.
In addition to the above main characters, there are a few interesting cameos.

Finally, I have to talk about THE man behind this - Christopher Nolan. He has directed and written the story and has ended the trilogy with such brilliance that I only can say in awe that only a man with such a vision can come up and give us such gripping and dark stories of Batman. The world should thank him that he has saved the comic series of Batman from being made into silly and bizarre films (forgettable 90's films). The sheer genius of Nolan's storytelling in this film completely stands out and directing so many characters and putting them in one film, that too a finale is a feat that very few can accomplish. He manages to build tension in the audience's mind consistently throughout the film.

On the whole, this film has a brilliant story, breathtaking action sequences, superb acting and a perfect ending but in my opinion the previous film was better simply due to Heath Ledger's Joker act that took the film to incomparable dizzying heights of brilliance and it was more engaging.

'Batman Begins' (2005) - 8/10
'The Dark Knight' (2008) - 10/10 (it was just too perfect)
'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012) - 9/10

'The Ides of March' - It HOOKS you

When it gets dirty in politics, the mess needs to be cleaned up.
George Clooney's latest directorial offering 'The Ides of March' is a very intelligent and a fast paced political thriller. Any film based on this theme of politics shows us how dark the story is and how nasty and conniving can the characters be. This too has the same but what hooked my attention was the ensemble cast's performances.

Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is the Junior Campaign Manager for Mike Morris (George Clooney), Governor of Pennsylvania and a Democratic presidential candidate. Morris' team also comprises of Senior Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who is Stephen's boss and mentor. When everything seemed great going for Morris' campaign, Stephen makes a huge blunder by secretly meeting Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) who happens to be from the rival camp's campaign manager and also having an affair with an intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood). Its after this moment that the story completely goes off to a different level by giving us those unexpected twists in the narrative and the tension in the story is there right till the end. What happens to Stephen Meyers and the other characters thereafter in this thriller is the crux of this high tension-ed gritty political drama.

George Clooney not only acts but also helms the director's chair plus being a part of the riveting screenplay. He definitely knows his art well and this film has brought him back after the splendid 'Good Night and Good Luck'. He enacts the role of the Governor and the Presidential Candidate with poise and command. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti are splendid to watch where one was loyal and the other was scheming.

But the film belongs to Ryan Gosling who has shown a wide mix of emotions throughout the film with such balance that his transformation in the story shows his brilliance in acting. Unbelievable that in this year alone he has come up with 3 smashing performances that easily reveal that he is one of the most versatile actors around.

Go for this intelligently made gritty political thriller and be blown away by some fine acting of seasoned actors and amidst them, the truly versatile Ryan Gosling.

My Rating - 4/5.