Groundhog Day (1993)

[****1/2 stars/ *****] 

Imagine retiring to bed tonight and waking up the next morning to the same day, yet again! 

You get through this duplicated day in rising alarm, go to sleep and ... the horror! It is today again!

Disbelief turns to disillusion. 

As another Feb 2 follows another Feb 2, you go wicked, rob a bank, seduce women, eat like a pig, drink like a fish, drive a car off a cliff, get killed, but unfailing wake up to a Feb 2 morning. 

Every day is a new day? 
Groundhog Day makes an ingenious, comic and heartwarming fun life lesson of this preposterous, out-of-the-box idea. 

Bill Murray, plays the hapless celebrity TV weatherman experiencing this endless cycle like he was born to do it. 

Murray has built an acting reputation for playing bored, irked and resigned from life characters.Groundhog Day showcases that reputation. 

The lovely ‎Andie MacDowell makes for a charming, intelligent heroine. 

"Groundhog Day" has since become a popular cultural term to imply routine, boredom, repetition, and stagnancy. 

Why does that sound eerily true and familiar? 

The Mummy (2017)

[** stars / *****] 

An ambitious Egyptian queen-to-be goes on a family murdering spree to ascend the throne. For her sins, she is mummified alive and sunk in a mercury-filled grave. Centuries later, she is unwittingly released by treasure hunter/ US Army personnel Nick (Tom Cruise, chirpy at 55) to wreck havoc. 

We are soon caught in a swirl of curses, evil, an ancient dagger, mummy victims,  and immortality talk. Sounds familiar? 

A friend made a valid point prior to the The Mummy morning show. We are still viewing the same movies that we used to watch in our childhood. The more movies we watch, the more they remain the same? 

Hollywood is so embroiled in sequels and prequels, that more commercial movies are resembling extended, tiresome TV episodes now. 

The Mummy reboot review  The Mummy stands out as the most unnecessary remake in recent times. The reboot does score in eerie atmospherics and some stunning special effects where it lacks oh so badly in the story.  

Russell Crowe's Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde turns are a miss, while Sofia Boutella as Mummy/Ahmanet is great casting. So is a lively Annabelle Wallis as the female lead. But the lack of creative spunk and freshness lets them all down.

Apart from the stunning plane crash sequence, the proceedings attain a predictable quality. Finally, The Mummy entertains thanks to its art direction and cast, but don't expect anything new.

Fresh ideas, please.

The terrific plane crash sequence, the only exceptional take away from the film. 

Sairat (2016)

[**** stars / *****] 

A poor boy and a rich girl from rural Maharashtra fall for each other.

 

Girl's parents just hate it, guy's folks act no different. The lovers go on the run then, forced to scratch out a new life in the Hyderabad slums. 

The plot may seem familiar, but Sairat is refreshing and real, thanks to its beautifully etched screenplay, inspired casting, and melodious Ajay-Atul soundtrack with some stunning, rousing orchestration and percussion. 

Beyond the caste disparities, this is an essential, endearing, intimate human story, and that is why the shocker ending hits hard. The innocence of the first flirtations, three boys dancing to the metal rhythm of a passing train, the harrowing discovery of forbidden love, and its disturbing aftermath, nothing seems staged.  

Director Nagraj Manjule has the uncanny gift of telling intense, believable stories of turbulence and caste divisions, grabbing the audience's attention from frame one.     

Sairat is easily the Marathi movie of the year and among the best Indian movies of the decade. 

Sairat review 

The lead pair of Akash Thosar and Rinku Rajguru make stellar debuts. Rajguru, not yet 16 during filming, delivers an astonishing performance. Ajay-Atul's songs and background score are rousing additions. 

This is finally director Nagraj Manjule's triumph of lively storytelling while keeping it all grounded and achingly believable. A heart-stealing movie experience, best seen on the big screen.   

X-Men:Apocalypse (2016)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

X-Men: Apocalypse is a decent superhero venture that ticks the right boxes in engaging characters, well-placed humour and casting. 

Considering that superhero films release oh-too-often nowadays, you know the template well enough. This is where story, bad-guy-quotient and fight sequences matter. X-Men:Apocalypse has a grim, not-so-fun villain, not much of a story and OK fight sequences. 

X-Men Apocalypse review 

While the first half almost slumbers through in setting up the fight, the second half is more interesting, only in comparison. That the X-Men gel well as a team is an advantage as compared to the contrived teamwork in Marvel's Avengers and DC's Justice League film franchise. 

The standout sequence - Quicksilver's (Evan Peters, great casting) slow-mo rescue of fellow X-Men complete with a Michael Jackson moonwalk and this-is-so-easy attitude.  

Finally, X-Men: Apocalypse is not a letdown with a few sparkling, signature Bryan Singer moments salvaging it. 

It is certainly better than the last franchise release X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). 

Wanna check the best X-Men movies out? Revisit X2 (2003) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), the best yet of the X-Men movies.  

Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Despite the recurring story blueprint of fat Panda vs menacing villain and kung fu chit-chat, Kung Fu Panda 3 works for the same reason, the first two did. The damn good humor! 

The third part is easily the most hilarious of the lot, despite some hiccups in the story (unconvincing 'Spirit Realm' afterlife concept). 

Considering that Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 are a laugh-fest, writers Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger border on the genius here. Genuine ROFL moments await you, no kidding. More so, if you are a Kung Fu Panda fan already, watch out for the lovely deja vu touches. 

Directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson & Alessandro Carloni add numerous little touches to gorgeous animation, best seen on 3D. 

Jack Black showcases again why he is a steal of a stellar dubbing cast as Po. 

Easily the funniest animation movie trilogy on kung fu that you will see in a long time. 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

The only genuine feeling that I took from this disappointing, mostly listless movie is the Batman vs Superman face-off. There is something of a childhood dream moment in that. 

It is an emotion as quaint as riding your first toy train in adulthood, with a kiddish relish filling you up like a cool breeze, making it a strange time-travel of sorts. 

But this Zack Snyder film propped up in special effects, boring characterizations, contrived story, 0.00001% humour and about five minutes of impressive fight scenes in a crawling 153-min running time.Considering the potential or otherwise, this is a mega letdown. 

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

I mean, if you buy two plastic Superman & Batman action figures and bang them against each other, you should get more entertainment than this film brings to the mix. 

Bambi (1942)

[**** stars / *****] 

Somewhere deep in a forest a young fawn takes its first hesitant steps into the world.Life is an endless parade of curiousity for the young deer,intimately looked after by its gentle mother. 

Thus pass peaceful days of tending and nurturing.Then man encroaches the forest, tragedy strikes and the fawn is all alone. 

Walt Disney pushed the mark with Bambi. By featuring death, the story's intention is reaffirmed, that growing up is an epic experience, a bitter-sweet mix. 

A children's film that is still about that one heartbreaking gunshot, Bambi is also about friendship, love, innocence and its loss. 

This was a time of meticulous, painstaking and lovingly hand-drawn animation. Disney sent his team of animators to zoos, that they closely observe creature moments and bring those real nuances on screen. 

Bambi is still a gem of an animation film, look out for the restored version. 

Taare Zameen Par (2007)

[**** stars / *****] 

Part masterpiece, part emotional blackmail, contradictory to its message in its end reels, Taare Zameen Par wins us over with its intention and warmth. The story, Darsheel Safary's acting and Aamir Khan's directorial debut are the showstoppers here.  

Shahid (2013)

 

[**** stars / *****] 

Shahid Azmi, a controversial lawyer and human rights activist, was all of 32 when he was shot dead at his Kurla office on February 11, 2010. 

Azmi defended those accused of various terrorist acts, earning 17 acquittals. Whether all of the clients Azmi defended were innocent, is left to those who dwell in hard facts and the objectivity of it all.   

Real to Reel
Rajkummar Rao plays the protagonist, restless and simmering for the truth. Shahid's traumatic experience of the 1992 Bombay riots, fleeing to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to train as a militant, deserting training and serving seven years in Tihar Jail, is told in a straight-faced, no frills narrative. 

Shahid subsequently obtains a law degree post his acquittal. In his portrayal of the criminal defence lawyer, Rajkummar and director Hansal Mehta nail the crucial court proceedings in all its rawness, chaos and banality.      


Shahid review 
Shahid is an undoubtedly arresting biopic on the late lawyer's life. This is also a harrowing film on life's vulnerabilities. 

Even when Shahid courts his client Mariam, a single mother (Prabhleen Sandhu), subsequently marries her, asks his elder brother Arif (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub) for help; death looms in the shadows, their turbulent conversations. 

The film depicts Azmi as an uncompromising upholder of truth, not all may agree to this depiction. 

But it is harrowing when the fatal gunshots sound to a dark fade out. Somewhere between fact and fiction, Shahid is a terse cinematic drama, achingly real and strangely touching.

Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Chauffeur-taking-the-blame father.Tuberculosis-ridden suicidal mother. Their three separated kids. Years later, three brothers, each adopted by Hindu, Muslim and Christian families respectively, donate blood that converges into a single bottle (medical atrocity!).

Unknown to them, the blood recipient is their ex-ill, ex-suicidal mother, now blind. 

Meanwhile, ex-chauffeur father is a mob boss raising his ex-boss's daughter (who he had kidnapped) as his niece. Father thinks his wife is dead and children, lost. Blind mother sells flowers. The sons are a policeman, a singer and a good hearted small-time thug.

This is just a glimpse of the anything-goes set up for Manmohan Desai's weirdly entertaining Amar Akbar Anthony. 

Pitched as a comedy/drama, full of strange situations, formulaic and catchy Laxmikant-Pyarelal /Anand Bakshi songs and great acting by the lead cast, especially Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna (in that order). 

Crazy stuff 
Meanwhile, blind mother regains her sight, thanks to a god-intervened miracle. 

In the film's climax, three brothers roam about in disguises that the whole audience can see through, singing a song featuring their real names, the dim-witted villains remain clueless.Yet there never is a dull moment in the three hour, five minute running time. 

Amar Akbar Anthony review 
Stereotypes, slick dialogue-making and maudlin emotions found screen space with this film, in many ways creating the degenerative Hindi potboiler genre. 

Something changed in Hindi films for the worse, starting with Amar Akbar Anthony. Yet this is the redundant genre's pinnacle film, still worth watching.

Premam (2015)

[**** stars / *****] 

Much like Kerala, its unchanging culture and quiet, comfortable stillness, Premam is a timeless wrap of a sunshine coming-of-age movie.  

Once upon a time in a sleepy Kerala village, a 16-year-old boy falls for the school beauty. Only, almost every other teenage boy in the vicinity is crazy for the same girl. Love letters, songs, bright-shirted, sun-glassed flirtations, thrashings follow. 

Five years later, the now angry, rebellious, black shirted, lungi-clad bearded student goes soft on his alluring pimple-ridden college teacher.

Cut to nine years later, a subdued high-end bakery owner is whisked away by love again.  

How is it?  
Love stories with a comic touch have rained down incessantly in the film world, yet writer/director/editor Alphonse Putharen's second film Premam stands out for a fresh approach, endearing life-imitating characters, and assured storytelling. 

Deft camerawork, great performances, good dialogues, clever editing, Premam is a rare case of several aspects coming together to make memorable cinema. 

Popular Malayalm film culture, Tamil hero-mold touches, innocent flirtations, all converge to form something achingly real and evocative. 

You don't have to be a Malayalam film regular to enjoy Premam. But if you are a Keraliate, you will connect more.   

Cast and crew
The cast needs special mention, even those with one-line roles lend authenticity. Kudos to the lead players, Nivin Pauly and the female leads, Anupama Parameswaran, Sai Pallavi and Madonna Sebastian. 

Applause for Anand C. Chandran's cinematography, Rajesh Murugesan's brilliant celebratory soundtrack to wacky Shabareesh Varma (also supporting cast) lyrics. 

As one of the film's songs go in translation - when we look back someday at the life lived, there should be something to laugh at.   

Of wasted, love-slippery youth, yet life-affirming, joyous and breezy, Premam is a fun watch. 

Wazir (2016)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

Wazir is a quality thriller that works on the force of its tight performances (Amitabh Bachchan-Farhan Akhtar chemistry, primarily), has some loose filmy and predictable parts, the steady direction (Bejoy Nambiar) and wisely clipped running time (102 min) keep it sane.

Wazir story
Daanish (Farhan Akhtar, thick moustache, a first) is a dedicated officer of the anti-terrorist squad. He also adores his beautiful Kathak dancing wife Ruhana (Aditi Rao Hydari) and little daughter. But an offhand terrorist operation soon rips their life apart.

Post a cathartic filmy revenge, Daanish is sent on leave, when he ends up meeting the wheelchair-bound chess teacher, Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan, apt casting).The two become close friends, even as the chess teacher views his daughter's seemingly accidental death as murder.

Wazir review 
Post a taut first half, the pace slackens a little in the second, the twist-in-the-tail climax saves it. You may well see the ending, if not for an explosion that acts as a good diversion, to an extent. Certainly a satisfying, convincing thriller, if not great.

High/Giveaway Point
A touch of poetry in Neil Nitin Mukesh's bit part, though for an attentive viewer, it acts as the film's giveaway point.         

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Greedy oil industry craving for whale oil. Enlisted sailors. A ship sets out. Families bidden goodbye. Sails are set. Harpoons sharpened. 

Authoritative captain vs aspirant first mate. Grumbling crew. Days at sea. Two thousand barrels of oil to fill. Then a whale hammers into their lives...     

Based on a true story that inspired Moby Dick, the epic 1851 English novel by Herman Melville, Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea recounts horrifying events during an expedition undertaken on the American whaling ship Essex in 1820.

In the Heart of the Sea review 
The industrial revolution era, stone-faced businessmen, hapless sailors, killing at sea and catastrophic consequences are impressively recreated. 

In the Heart of the Sea does depict the events with sincerity, making some clever use of 3D. 

This is a good action adventure in parts, evocative moments are rare though.

There are no righteous heroes here. 

In desperate times, the protagonists take extreme measures to stay alive. That is not the grouse. 

Howard has championed survival tales before (Apollo 13).

In the Heart of the Sea is satisfyingly entertaining, but not in a thrilling, heart-wrenching way. 

The movie's quiet, intense understatement works in the Melville sections, but not in its core tale. 

In the Heart of the Sea is worth it for the power and scale of what it implies about human beings and their vain attempts to conquer nature.      

Sicario (2015)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

Sicario should have been titled: EPIC ANTICIPATION. 

You wait for something big to happen, thanks to the terrific Jóhann Jóhannsson's background score, only for the promised drama flame out to insignificance.

The makers of this take on the Mexican drug trade can't figure out where to linger. 

So it sluggishly flows from FBI agent Kate's (Emily Blunt, nicely done, badly sketched as a central character) point of view, giving us a mitigated view of proceedings, adding brutality, loss, and revenge, the latter as an unconvincing twist. 

Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro are competent, but apart from sluggish atmospherics, there is not much to salvage here.   

One arresting part...

Picture a group of black SUV's moving relentlessly from the US to Mexico and back, with a prisoner in tow. 

Then, amidst a traffic snarl, gun-wielders from either side of the law, draw their weapons and wait.

This is the only time, apart from the first five minutes, and the unexpected finale, that Sicario comes alive. 

Ant-Man 3D (2015)

[*** stars / *****] 

The charming thing about Ant-Man is how not-so-serious it is in tone, the mumbo-jumbo, single-liners and attempts in humour are spot on at most times.

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd, great casting) is a skilled burglar who tends to return to crime, when nothing else works. His rotten luck finally changes when he is taken in by Dr.Hank Pym (Michael Douglas, welcome back) to take over his Ant-Man shrinking suit, much to the annoyance of Pym's daughter (Evangeline Lily, good act). 

Lang wants to spend time with his estranged little daughter and avoid prison-time, apart from earning enough. He hesitantly agrees to take on Pym's former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll, adequate), the latter having removed Pym from his own company. Cross is in verge of creating his own evil version of the suit and unleash chaos, much to Pym's outrage. 

Toned-down execution works 

Director Peyton Reed gets the tone right for a superhero barely the size of a human finger.The sci-fi base is also not heavy on the audience. Controlling, befriending ants and insects by commands is endearing as in Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! (1989). 

Size doesn't matter here 

The toy train sequence is a breeze, there are no serious damages inflicted here, no blood and gore, just a nice,witty replication of a comic series featuring a tiny hero. 

Those expecting mega fight scenes will be disappointed. I loved the change, frankly Marvel has been overdoing its big hero vs big villain showdown to drabness. 

It was refreshing to see the scale brought down. Ant-Man is not among the best Marvel superhero films, notably Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Ironman (2008), but it is certainly an entertaining, engaging little film.

Stealing Act 

Actor Micheal Pena does a great, rocking take in a delightful cameo as Luis, the fast-talking Latin criminal with an accent. 

The rest of the cast are aptly selected, they fit into the texture of the movie.

There are not enough awesome 3D moments here, watching it in 2D wouldn't hurt you.    

Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015)

[**** stars / *****] 

Tanu Weds Manu Returns works on the weight of its brilliant joke-skit situations, colourful characters, damn funny dialogues and how the excellent, spirited cast, (most reprising their roles from Tanu Weds Manu (2011)), enacts each bit with elan. 

The plot is just a prop, we are not complaining, because the humour is a mad riot and just keeps rolling and rolling.

Kangana Ranaut is stellar as the mad, freewheeling Tanu, more so as Komal, the young Hariyanvi althlete, going beyond the accent and sportswoman's gait. 

Deepak Dobriyal is a steal for the sheer comic spontaneity he brings to his role. Madhavan quietly adds nuances to his unusual lead male role, that of a subdued, withdrawn, troubled husband. 

The rest of the cast get their lines too, watch out for Jimmy Shergill's just complaints and KK Raina's catarthic monologue on marriage. 

But this is Kangana's film, she is simply outstanding!

Director Anand L Rai and writer Himanshu Sharma pull off  contrived situations with great confidence and we have a surprise, surprise, a hoot of a funny comedy drama here. 

Yennai Arindhaal (2015)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

The way director Gautham Menon goes about it, they might as well enlist him in a police encounter squad for real. As in his previous police-as-vigilante movies, beneath the wafer-thin layer of realism, a familiar hero-villain face off track takes center-stage. 

Where Menon's loyalties bend is more than clear. Criminals and gangsters are stylish, barbaric, wicked, epic and looming over the idealistic law-protecting hero, so they deserve to be killed as brutally, tit for tat, same old revenge tale. 

Yennai Arindhaal (Translated: Well...if you know me) has the protagonist-narrative monologue lending credibility to the events as it did to Menon's previous police depictions on film. 

The lengthy running time, despite the crisp editing mitigates impact. The villain track is stretched beyond elastic, the organ-stealing plot is too fantastic. 

The movie scores in its performances, Harris Jayraj's rocking soundtrack, sharp technical finesse and semi-believable lead characters. 

Ajith Kumar is effectively understated in his role, the larger-than-life cape doesn't suit him, he is more of an actor and a reluctant star. Arun Vijay as the antagonist is good. 

The film's endearing, believable parts - the Ajith-Trisha track and Ajith's 'caring father' part. 

Menon is best in handling male-female, family bonding, the action seems a commercial afterthought, though adroitly depicted. This is a kind of film Menon will never tire of making. It's a decent watch for a drama-action-gritty police story. 

For Gautham Menon's best yet, (both don't feature the police) try Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010).


(Subtitles saved the day for me, hopefully more regional films will be increasingly released on 70mm with English subtitles, in  days to come.)   

Darr (1993)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

Kiran (Juhi Chawla) studies in Shimla (Switzerland, undisguised). She is happily engaged to daredevil navy officer Sunil (Sunny Deol). 

But there is another secret suitor, her college mate Rahul (Yes, Shah Rukh Khan), a shy, awkward one who sings an anonymous song for her, guitar to boot. 

The shy guy doesn't show himself. Instead he chooses to terrorize Kiran, stammering (Kkkkkk...Kiran) on the phone, shadowing her and then in murderous shyness, attempts to kill Sunil.   

Unconventional concept 

Yash Chopra's Darr is a rare Hindi commercial movie with a stalker shown in negative light (well, kind of).

The makers of Darr do glorify the stalker's madness as a kind of feverish love. 

Hindi film heroes have stalked, teased and molested heroines no end onscreen, having the girls inexplicably fall for them, right up to the 'The Beginning' end credits. 

Shah Rukh Khan dazzles
Darr's trump card is Shah Rukh Khan's unconventional take on the Hindi film villain. 

The mannerisms that became repeated over several films and are now perennial mimic artist source material, were very effective in Darr. 

Darr review 
Despite the problematic depiction, Darr is a decent take on possessive love. 

The high point is when the three protagonists come together for a gentle conversation before the truth pops out. 

Songs, though beautiful, affect flow and mitigate all sense of dread. 

For once, even if in patches, story does take over starry airs. In ego-infested star-insecure Hindi film territory, that itself is a monumental achievement.        

Shuddh Desi Romance (2013)

[**1/2 stars / *****] 

Shuddh Desi Romance has a reluctant, compromised heart at the core of its plot and that almost kills all its good, great, charming parts. 

Psst...Live-In Relationships

A long-winded, bumbling arrival to apply the vermillion on live-in relationships, the makers of Shuddh Desi Romance are too wary of disturbing their family audience to give it a free-wheeling touch. 

This is despite the kisses, bravado and modern attitude, which all seem pat and candy floss, things that can happen only in 'bed-of-roses' films. Even for the lovers of the make-believe, Shuddh Desi Romance isn't crazy enough.   

Life is a Bed of Roses?

Dabbling comedy, drama, romance doesn't help either. Just comedy would have suited the film's take on youth and their irrelevant, confused outlook of relationships. 

The metaphors and visual hints don't register here. Shuddh Desi Romance is fiery when it sticks to the fun of it, the chemistry of the main lead sizzle in those parts.

As for the characters not seeing an inch of gritty time earning their livelihood is another bubblegum convenience. This is best blamed on Yashraj's sleek production values that color all social-economic classes in one eye-pleasing shade.

Andriod or Human? 

A human being cheated out of marriage, months later, reconciles and sleeps with the same man. She is again left stranded by him. Yet she takes it all serenely without any anguish, just because this is a romantic comedy. Blame it on Yashraj again.

A visual treat of Jaipur, Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra's acting chops, (Vaani Kapoor's confident turn let down by weak characterization, Rishi Kapoor is good) and two Sachin-Jigar songs are prime viewing reasons.

Ugly (2014)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

Ugly reeks of familiar Anurag Kashyap elements, from suicidal tendencies, alcohol, cigarette smoke, enclosed rooms to mentally-ravaged characters. But like his best films, the combustive combination is startlingly real.

The daughter of an estranged, aspiring actor disappears from his parked car in one of Mumbai's crowd-infested streets. A prime suspect is killed in the heat of a chase (chase scenes, another Kashyap authority). 

The actor's ex-wife has a police officer for a second husband. Old wounds, vengeance and greed rises up like a writhing snake. There is a grim persistent stench to the proceedings. The culmination punches in like an old parable.    

Purposely devoid of style, buoyant in its stark performances (Girish Kulkarni steals the show), Ugly is a credible watch for cinema lovers.