2013 Fourth Quarter Review - Lots of good, bad and ugly.

1.      Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani - Vik Rating - 3.0 Star. (Popular - 4.5)

I cannot be talking bad about this movie because 'a couple' who has lot of influence on me loved it. It is a good entertaining typical hindi movie. If you compare this with any other big budget crap then it is great. Every 20 years you can rehash everything so I guess it is the modern DDLJ. Lot of clichés though, but that shows my age, because in 20 years everything can be copied as the average audience has not seen things so old... except for people who are really old - like me. Any movie which still shows that glasses is the only difference between being cool and not cool…. Got to lose some points.

2.      Bajatey Raho - Vik Rating - 3.0 Star.

I have high expectations from Ranvir shorey and Vinay Pathak movies and in that regard this disappoints. It is a good movie but never peaks keeps going at a good steady pace. It is about regular people con a bank to earn back lost respect of their father. It is funny in parts and Ranvir Shorey is funny as usual.

3.      B.A. Pass - Vik Rating - 4.0 Star. (Popular – 3.0 Star)

This was a surprisingly good movie. This is about older woman using a kid for her ‘uhumm’ pleasures, yes a hindi movie! And it is pretty good. Once you get into the movie this takes you on a ride with the kid growing up to everyone finding a solution to life…. Nicely done movie.

4.      Lootera – Vik Rating – 3.5 Star.

Did not check this out myself. But it seems to be a slow nicely flowing love story a throwback love story set in 1950s? It is well done and the actors who generally don’t do much have done well (Ranvir and Sonakshi).

5.      Zanjeer - Vik Rating - 1.0 Star.

This movie has lot of issues. It is exactly the same movie as Bachchan’s Zanjeer. Generally when you remake an old classic you interpret it differently in this one they didn’t care everything is almost the same. The actor is horrible, he has this plastic expression stuck on him and he has makeup on which makes him look like a mannequin. His hair are also stuck and made up, I don’t know who to blame … probably the director (apoorva Lakhia – who has an empaccable record of churning out garbage). Only bright spot is piggy chops who generally over does her bubbly girl thing (which I like.. because I think it should be overdone) but along with it she does comedy and she really knows how to do comedy which is a rarety among female leads. Only Sridevi and Juhi used to do it.

 

6.      Bhaag Milkha Bhaag – 3.5 Star.

I am just mentioning this as a movie you can watch for those fans who only rely on this blog to even know what are hindi movie names. I did not see it but Sapna did say it was ok and if you like that genre of so called real life athlete story you will love it.

7.      Nasha - 1.0 Star.

This is one of those movies which I wonder why I am watching but because I have a Bheeshma pitamah in my house who has taken a vow to watch all crap called ‘hindi movie’ I do my duty.

8.      Shorts – Vik Rating -4.5 Star. (Popular – 2.5)

These are some short stories and it turned out to be very good. A few stories are really well done. None of the stories are bad. A little too artsy maybe … hence the warning, if you only wanna watch khans and kapoors then skip this. Shor and Mehfuz and Audacity are just excellent short stories. You have a lump in the throat at the end of Shor…. It is kind of a ‘saathiya’. Audacity is just excellent the way it ends and Mehfuz is just awesome revenge drama.

9.      Sixteen – 1.5 Star.

Don’t remember though I think I saw this one. The teen movie which are so well done in Hollywood are as bad in hindi. I don’t know why teens have to be so clichéd in hindi movies.

10.  Shudh Desi Romance – 4.0 Star

This one starts with a lot of promise parineeti is cute, and the guy is good too. Kind of a modern love story. Good new age cinema trying to show something more than just the tried and trusted love stories, how kids don’t want to commit even if they are in love and how just the thought of committing makes them nervous. It is good stuff but somewhere after 2/3^rd of it is done, it continues to go in circles and never ends… you can watch the movie from whatever point of time and it will be the same. Still very different and good.

11.  Grand Masti - 2.5 Star.

The only movie in the ‘sex comedy’ genre in hindi. Like the first one – Masti, this one also does not care about a story line or anything else it stays true to making a ‘sex joke’ every frame. It is ok, if you like this genre but due to lack on anything you can compare to in hindi this is unique. Though if you are into this genre in Hollywood you would find this as juvenile or completely kiddish. But I guess hindi ‘sex jokes’ are pretty juvenile… we are not good at this.

12.  Chennai Express - 1.5 Star.

When you have one joke – Tamils don’t know hindi …. How many different ways can you make this into a joke? Yes – the answer is 3 hours. Again it has lot of clichés and again yes it shows my age. When I watch scenes and say ‘this exact scene was done in a 90s movie…’ that is like a pathetic old man. But why can’t they think up a new scene? SRK has reached a new low, the way he acts just makes you embarrassed. I think he is still doing the same thing that made him successful so can’t blame him, I guess times have changed. Why am I writing – you should have watched it, because you were forced to – because whatever movie makes money you have to contribute to it too.. right?

13.  Issaq - 1.0 Star.

Every year you get a couple of these, which are ‘love stories’ done by a producer probably for his son. The movie will have nothing new and will have bad actors and production value. Yes that one.

14.  Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara - 0 Star.

Once in couple of years a movie arrives which gets a zero. Yes this is the one. Easily the worst acting of Akshay ever (and that is saying something, he has a long list in his early years). He is trying to be a poetic villain?? I guess… dialogues like – aadmi auraton ke hote hein mujhe mard chahiye… he won’t stop. Every line has to be a ‘dialogue baazi and none of it works’. And then there is Imran Khan…. The dude never acted but then no movie needed him to act…. In this one he looks like a buffoon. None of the star kids or rich kids living in Mumbai should try doing a gangster… please. You look like a joker. What amazes me that he says everything in the same way in the same tone and no one tells him to break a sentence once in a while differently and change your voice modulation a little!! Common …. O well this is not an article but a movie review. Sonakshi’s role and the way she does it…. Ummm… I should just stop.

15.  Satyagraha - 3.5 Star.

If you survive the first half second half is pretty good. Surprisingly the fiction is worse than the non-fiction. First half is fictional with Jha setting up characters and has done an aweful job. It seems he is just not interested and anything goes. It seems like a movie from 80s with typical big industrialists and typical school masters. Once you are a certain age you and could not get out of your times that what you make as a director. Anyway second half follows completely the anna hazaare movement and though you know exactly what happened it still very interesting to watch. Second half Bachchan did a good job.

16.  Besharam - 2.0 Star.

As I don’t expect much out of a ‘star movies’ I didn’t find it as bad as it was made out to be. The annoying part is it seems the entire movie was made to make these scenes of real life parents and kid (rishi, neetu and ranvir) into reel life… and it is height of being spoilt.

 

17.  Phata Poster Nikla Hero - 3.5 Star.

My favorite director – Rajkumar Santoshi is on a decline. Like all of them, they start getting old and lose touch with new things. This movie is not bad, again has a huge hangover from AAA which was evident in ajab prem ki… and now in this one. It is a good movie you can watch if you are not doing much. I watched half of it with a bunch of family during thanksgiving. You know if you watch a movie with 8-10 critics not really wanting to watch but pass smart comments and the movie lasts an hour – it is pretty ok movie. It tries a few jokes some are good some fall flat. Not as bad as Besharam.

18.  Madras Cafe - 4.0 Star.

John Abraham has become a producer and thankfully choses movies which are far better than his acting talent. He chooses to act in them too…. Hopefully he will get that corrected soon. He did a good job according to his standards in this one. This is about Rajiv Gandhi murder case pretty much a fiction mixed with non-fiction not much of this is done in hindi films. Very well made taut thriller. Global conspiracy, betrayal, cops, secret agency nexus.. all is there. In your lifetime you get a jolt which gets you off your innocence and makes you believe the world is a pretty ‘kutti’ place to be in. Rajiv Gandhi murder was that moment for me, so I was pretty sad after watching the movie. He was the first politician I ever noticed – young and dynamic. Anyway all in all a good movie.

19.  Bombay Talkies - 4.5 Star. (Popular – 3.5)

Another movie with bunch of short stories. Some are good, I would say – the movie ‘shorts’ was better than this, but this one has more big names. I think all are pretty good stories – Dibakar Banerjee’s Star was awesome. It has the kahaan guy Siddiqui in it. It was pure poetry. Then Karan Johar one – Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh… was pretty well made. Zoya Akhtar’s – Sheila ki Jawaani is ok, cute one. Murabba by Anurag Kashyap is typical Anuraag kinda movie, I loved this one too. It was great.

 

20.  Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story – 1.5 Star.

Vivek Oberoi’s is in it. Nothing to write about. I think left it inbetween was not bad but didn’t do anything great till the point I watched. I will complete it someday and if something changes in my opinion I will update.

21.  John Day - 3.5 Star.

Naseer is in the movie and has a feel of the movie ‘Wednesday’ a common man caught in web of mean world and decides to take revenge. The directorial style is kind of Quentin Tarantino. Blood gushing headless people, biting tongue… it all fits Randeep Hooda’s style, the only problem is it does not fit with the entire film. Still pretty good movie.

22.  Boss - 1.0 Star.

The nadir of hindi movies has reached. The dabbang effect is complete. Take a south indian hit and copy it with the same physics defying cartoonish stunts, female lead is a prop who can’t do anything without the male lead who in turn is pretty much a thug with no depth to his role. Just dance on idiotic numbers in idiotic way and then bash a few people story is not needed – yes there should be a twist in the end no matter how pathetic. Don’t get me wrong – I watched the entire movie so it was not that bad. I just thought I should write how popular indian movies are made. In fact once in a while you like to watch it, but every other movie is like that.. then it becomes too much.

23.  Dhoom 3 – 2.5 Star.

I watched half of it (that was the plan -with an infant), I went first time to a theater after maybe a few years. As in all big movies there is no soul to the movie. It is bunch of scenes made to make you go – Wow. But you really don’t. I enjoyed the one where Abhishek goes up in air to meet the baddy and kicks him and comes back sits in the motorcycle backseat. Anyway…. When you start getting annoyed with – how is this possible.. question. That means there is something wrong in knitting a story and direction. All films are unbelievable but if you get time to think that… there is something wrong. I think Aamir for once was a misfit, he doesn’t look like a biker kind of guy and his serious expression goes against the grain of the movie.

 

2013 Third Quarter Reviews - Good Summer Crop.

1.      Ek Thi Daayan - Vik Rating - 4.0 (Popular Rating - 2.0.)

This is an Emraan Hashmi movie and we have a weakness for those. He never disappoints and this one also doesn’t. Yes it is about witches and spirits. Even in this zenre which generally has 1 or 2 variations this movie manages to carve a different way for itself. Only watch it if you like to give a try to a different kind of movie. Not your regular desi movie.

2.      Aashiqui-2 – Vik Rating – 4.0. (Popular Rating – 3.5.)

This is way better than the first Aashiqui but that’s not saying much. The actors are good, the guy has a screen presence, it seems he loves to act drunk and you can see it he enjoys it. It is a throwback love story with awesome music. Just because Udayan is in love with the music I gave it extra 0.5 star.

3.      Commando – Vik Rating – 4.0. (Popular Rating – 2.5 star.)

I love this movie because it is a sincere action movie. It is the same as Rambo. Not much of a plot just a teeth gating annoying villain an great looking hunk of a Hero and awesome fights (when did you see that ever in hindi movies) I mean really good fights not your Sallu and SRK kinda fights.. Where they don’t wanna move but people are flying all over.

4.      Shootout at Wadala – Vik Rating – 1.0. (Popular Rating – 2.0 star.)

Horrible stupid movie. Let me tell you this – anytime you see this name – Sanjay Gupta. Kiss goodbye to anything original or gripping. He thinks acting macho is the only reason people like to make and watch movie. Why am I having a feeling that now-a-days whenever Anil Kapoor signs a movie it falls a notch or 2. Well it is not that bad, but I just got carried away… sorry .. J

5.      Aurangzeb – Vik Rating – 4.0. (Popular Rating – 4.0.)

This dude Arjun Kapoor has a double role and one thing is clear, he needs to have facial hair to look good J Very good movie, gripping and will not let you move. Goes on at a brisk pace. Good twists, overall just very well made movie.

6.      Zilla Ghaziabad – Vik Rating – 3.5. (Popular Rating – 1.0.)

Well I am from Ghaziabad J but I had so low expectations from this one that I found I could complete this movie. So I have to give it good rating. Vivek Oberoi has somehow gone downhill real fast, I don’t know what he is doing in this movie, He overacts out of control and you just can’t tolerate him. He acts as if he is acting on stage in a college play. Get well soon buddy, though I got no hope. Sanjay Dutt acts like Sanju baba… does not put any effort but still everything is ok. It is a gangster movie with no twist. Pure gangster movie.

7.      Gippi – Vik Rating – 3.0.

High school movie. Hollywood high school movies are awesome but hindi movies don’t make em as good. Heck there are very few made. This one was pretty good one. Savi completed it (well she completes everything now a days) and liked it. High school loser girl finds confidence through her trials in school. Typical teen movie. Good one.

8.      Go Goa Gone – Vik Rating – 4.0.

OK, have you ever seen a hindi Zombie movie? This is your first and last chance. We never ever thought we would watch a zombie movie, but we did and it was pretty cool. All the typical Hollywood moves were there. Like blowing off zombie heads with no care, as you are killing the dead. But somehow it was entertaining to watch. Saif is ok, Kunal Khemu is good as always. Go watch it, take a risk for a change.

9.      Ghanchakkar – Vik Rating – 4.5. (Popular – 3.5)

Another awesome movie from Sir Emraan Hashmi. Vidya balan is good, but was not convincing as a punjaban. The villians are really good. It is kind of a suspense thriller with whacky treatment to the entire movie. There is some eccentricity to the entire affair. Last 30 minutes are just edge of the seat. Emraan loots a bank and then forgets!

10.  Ankur Arora Murder case – Vik Rating – 3.5.

The movie based on a real case of doctor negligence. It was pretty gripping, we liked it. Very simple and straight forward movie. Probably it was based on real incidence that’s why the negligence was also real and understandable. Over all this can happen in an indian hospital everyday where doctor is everything. Systems are not in place, everything is just the doctor.

11.  Ranjhana – Vik / Popular Rating – 5.0.

Script and characterization is king? In this masterpiece the Hero is the writer, the person who wrote this script and the characters. Characters are real humans not the movie humans, they are so well written that they have multiple layers on them, each one of them is perfectly imperfect. Sheer poetry. I have seen people rave about acting and movie but I think it is all writer and director, anyone can be put in such a masterpiece. In fact a non actor like Sonam Kapoor is fine too. After watching movie you can't go to sleep you will need to think for a while. Very well done.

12.  D-Day - Vik Rating - 4.0. (Popular - 3.5.)

 

      I dismissed this movie from the beginning I had a bias against it. What's the point of making a thriller as if it on current events when it is a fiction? Dawood is at large but you make a film of how you got him? So stupid. But then the movie is so well made. It is at the same level as Hollywood thrillers. There are not too many characters to follow you can just focus on them as they take you through the journey. Once you get engaged in the movie it is an edge of the seat thriller. It never relaxes either from the first scene it starts off at high octane and stays there. Good watch.

13.  Fukrey -  Vik Rating - 5.0. (Popular - 3.0.)

 

      If you were brought up in North India this is a must see. I can see this one a few more times. It is awesome, Choocha (Varun Sharma) is my hero. Choocha is the character played perfectly, in fact all the characters are so well immersed in north indian ethos... it is hilarious. It is also shot in a perfect locality, the girls are cute and boys are just perfectly idiot. Choocha and his friend wants to go to a college but can't clear the XII th grade, but they have something going for them. Choocha's dream!! The Manjot Singh (Sikh) was so awesome in Oye lucky lucky oye and Priya Anand was great in English Vinglish. These kids are now getting to the level of Ranvir and Rajat Kapoor.

 

2013 Second Quarter Reviews (April to June)

1. Special 26 - 3.5 Star. Did not see it, but Sapna did see it. Probably a let down from the 'A Wednesday' comparisons but in general a good movie, no one watching it will be disappointed. It's a chor-police movie.
2. Bhoot Returns - NA - none of us dared to see it. Manisha Koirala is in it. If someone watched it let us know.
3. Race 2 - 1.0 Star. Race 1 had twist and turns at drop of a hat ... this movie follows the same path but is just worse. Somehow everyone over acts and Anil Kapoor is unbearable with his cheap jokes. The twists are just there which are predictable because of the unpredictability of them. When there is nothing called characterization of characters then characters can do anything in any frame just for the sake of a twist.
4. Murder 3 - 3.5 Star. Concept is mind blowing probably lifted from a Hollywood movie. A tail of 2 girl friends and how they trap each other in the same house but no one can see them but they can see everything. A little too far fetched but at least something different.
5. David - 2.0 Star. There are 6 davids in different eras and their stories. I left it in between could never get into any of the stories, they all were going parallel ... and were getting a little confusing.
6. The Attacks of 26/11 - 3.5 Stars. A kind of a documentary on 26/11 Mumbai attacks a blow by blow account with some masala included of perspective. Kasab and others and their end. If you like these kinds then you may like it. RGV accompanied CM deshmukh to the Taj site and that was the reason Deshmukh lost his Chief Minister chair and that probably is the reason that the movie does not show anything about the Hotel Taj incident and how it happened!
7. Sahib Biwi aur Gangster Returns - 3.0 Star. The original was a classic and there was no way this could have lived up to the same standards .... and it did not.
8. Mere Dad Ki Maruti - 1.0 Star. Many small budget movies of similar kind have been made and were pretty good. This easily is the worst of the lot. The movie has no soul just made a clone of others. Songs are good but nothing more. Sometimes I think all it needs to make a film is throw in a few Punjabi songs from UK and a lavish shaadi. (it seems all indian weddings are lavish if you are to believe hindi movies).
9. I Me Aur Mein - 3.0 Star. Did not see it, I think I slept. But Sapna said it was pretty good. It is about self obsessed guy played by John Abraham. He is easily the worst actor in the industry and that is when he has really really improved a lot. Hindi film industry is the only place where you get 15 years to learn your skills and if you can't it is still ok. Chitragansha singh is another actor who is now becoming a standard for all small budget relationship films and sometimes she annoys.
10. ABCD - 3.5 Stars. Surprisingly this was a good movie. 'Any Body Can Dance', it stays true to the name and is basically a dance movie. It earns a 0.5 star more because of the dance of prabhu deva just before the interval. The guy know how to do it. There is a story weaved around a dance competition and you know Haves Vs Have Nots. Bad Vs Good etc etc.. all the regular emotions are there.
11. Nautanki Saala - 5 Stars. Warning - This is one of my kind of movie which for some reason I absolutely Love it. But you may hate me later for making you watch this. But this is my blog so what the heck. This is an absolute jem. In my opinion there is no creativity in hindi films and so when a movie comes with so much of it. You got to respect it. This dude - Ayushman Khurana always is up to something. He first had 'Vicky Donor' then he showed up in viral fever Qtiyapa video and now this masterpiece. He sings his own songs and the songs are awesome of this movie. I always thought remix is just the nadir of creativity.. in 80s they used to be called jhankaar beats, just put a beat to any old song and there you get a remix. But the dhak dhak remix (the girls singer - saba azad is awesome) and so gaya yeh jahaan... are just great. Then there is 'dil ki to lag gayi...' there is harmonium in this song.. lyrics are just .... whacky. this is DIFFERENT. The concept of the movie is awesome... the protagonist's name is Ram but he lays Ravan in a Ravan leela... everything goes in parallel in real life too he cant figure out if he is Ram in garb of Ravan or vice versa... in real life everything is mixed up... beautiful. Then each scene is well thought out and has 2 levels going on... Ravanleela goes on as the movie goes ... drama (nautanki) on stage and his life resemble .... just beautiful to see. Rhan Sippy is good.
12. Kai Po Che - 3.5 Stars. For some reason I have never liked Chetan Bhagat and so I did not see the movie... well the main reason was - Sapna saw it in theater so I missed it. She said it was a good buddy movie but nothing awesome.
13. Chashme Baddoor - 2.5 Star. Somebody still paid David Dhawan to direct a movie and he directed the same thing again what he did for years with Govinda, the storylines and comedy is pedestrian. The actor are ok. Nothing to write about, watch it if you are bored and want to kill time and have nothing to watch. it may give you a few laughs.
14. 3G - 2.0 Stars. They found a novel concept of Neil Nitin Mukesh buying a cell phone which is haunted and gives you calls and videos ... which scares and scars him.. and then he tries to get to the bottom of it.
15. Jolly LLB - 4.5 Stars. This was one heck of a movie. Is it a new concept - No. Is there anything new about it - No. BUT it is still awesome. It is throwback 80s style movie. Good Vs Bad... very well done. Arshad Warsi the goofy lawyer gets embroiled in a high profile case and starts to find a cause he wants to fight for. Well done - watch it. The interaction between Judge and lawyers is just awesome. If you like dialogue-baazi... pretty good ones in this one. Some of them I remember - Kanoon andha hota hai... Judge nahi. the last scene climax dialogues. ,"Yeh Court Hai, Yahaan Jaldi Kuchh Nahin Hota.

Top 10 Movies of 2011

Top 10 Movies of 2011 -

1. 7 Khoon Maaf
2. Shabri
3. Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster
4. Shagird
5. Pyaar ka Punchnama
6. RockStar
7. No One Killed Jessica
8. Mirch
9. Chatur Singh 2 Star
10. Band Baja Baraat

2013 First Quarter Reviews (January to March)

1. Matru ki bijlee ka mandola – 4.0 Stars.

• It is a movie in ‘weird’ zenre. If you don’t get into the whacko attitude of it, you will switch it off. Otherwise it has a likable weirdness to it. Story is thin and nothing much happens, but a pink cow meshed with what’s important in life is all part of the story.

2. Table No 21 -  2.0 Star.

• A billionaire calls a couple to an island to play a game to win 21 crores, the game incudes everything illegal and stupid…. But there is a twist.

3. Inkaar – 3.5 Stars.

• Pretty decent effort on a movie on corporate sexual harassment case. Both sides are grey and you are kept in dark what will be the end, but gets a little boring in between. 

4. Deewana mein Deewana – 1 Star.

• Yes, it has Govinda and Priyanka Chopra together! It is made by KC Bokadia!! Don’t know when it was made and why we ordered it. 

5. Dabbang 2 – 0 Stars (minus 1 really) –

• Though I am not a fan of mainstream movies, but this is by far the worst mainstream movie by a mile. Dabbang had some spunk and novelty of crazy Chulbul Pandey, this one was a bad copy of the first with everything exactly the same just little bad. Songs and story and dialogues exactly the same except just little worse. Salman Khan forgot what he did in Dabbang so he tries to copy himself and fails at it!

6. Rajadhani Express – 3.0 stars.

• There is a difference in Tennis and Movies, leander paes is ok but you wonder if he thought he really had potential he got his answer. The movie is a thriller and suspense and I guess it has Jimmy shergill so the movie can’t be that bad (our favorite). You also get to see priyanshu chaterjee who came in one good movie before that, and he is again ok. Rajdhani Express is going and there is a bomb threat and a murder on the train… whodunit.

7. Chakradhaar - 0 stars. (minus 1 really).

• Yes, It is minus. I want my money back. The lead actor probably is son of the director and forgot that 80s are passé… He is being introduced like Ajay Devgan and sunny deol … he is a bad man, a lover, a fighter, a singer… everything. He acts mechanical and there is no spontaneity. To compound things others around him decided to act even worse to make him look good. Try it if you want to have a laugh.

8. Son of Sardar – 2.5 stars.

• It had a few laughs, but overall it dragged. Somehow Ajay Devgan and comedy doesn’t jel but somehow he has become the king of comedy and comes in all comedies!. Even sanju baba sleep walks through his role. Sonakshi sinha probably can do her stuff in sleep, probably she doesn’t need to be told what movie she is doing because she does the same in every one of them.

9. Luv Shuv te chicken khurana – 5.0 Stars.

• First great movie of 2013. It has everything, little love and a little chicken khurana. Its basically a love comedy. A guy who comes with bad intentions gets caught in funny and cute situations and stumbles on to chicken khurana.

10. Kismat Love Paisa Dilli – 3.0 Stars.

• With such a name it looked like a ‘sex comedy’ but it was not. In face for first half it was a pretty good thriller before completely loosing track and stopping in its track. 

11. Khiladi 786 – 3.0 Stars.

• Another remake of a south hit which has no story or content. One catchy tune and physics defying stunts which are getting old. It is pretty ok not as bad as other such mainstream movies. So if you want to watch a mainstream garbage I guess this one will do.

12. Jab Tak hai Jaan – 1.5 Stars.

• I did not see this as Sapna went to theater to watch it. Even she said it was average which means it is not better than 2 star. SRK’s confusion days continue.

13. Chakravyuh – 4.0 Stars.

• Abhay Deol movies are never bad and this one follows the trend. It is a naxal movie, lately naxal movies have flooded the market. This one is a friendship with the naxal backdrop. 

14. Aiyaa – 3.5 Stars.

• On the face of it, looked really bad. It was not. It was marketed as a ‘oomph movie’ but was nice small budget film about a middle class girl and her daily life challenges and her love. Not bad.

15. Talaash - 4.5 Stars.

• Reviewing it again. Sapna wanted me to see it (generally i don't see movies she already went to theater for - as my official stance is that I only see because she wants to see). It was heavy movie, Aamir's trauma of kid was the hilight for me in the movie. I couldn't let it go. Very well done by Aamir and I have never liked Aamir's acting before. But the more I see the older actors do stuff the more I think this guy is good. Some people absolutely hate the movie just because of it's concept, lower your ego guys. You can take aliens talking english and stupid physics defying stunts but not this! The movie has so many layers of talaash, search for peace of your mind is so much bigger than what is truth or not. The street scene between Aamir and Rani explains it. Good one.

Top 10 Movies of 2012

Good crop of movies this year made it difficult. When you have blind followers, the responsibility doubles for me. You have entrusted me with biggest asset you have - your time. which you want to waste on movies. 

Here is the top 10 for 2012. Some stats - there were 4 - 5 star movies and 3 - 4.5 starrers. 13 - 4 starrers. So only 3 out of the 13, 4 starrers were chosen for top 10 honors but all are mentioned in honorable mentions. Please do let me know which ones were your favorite, just for fun.

1.Kahaani – 5 Star. Edge of the seat thriller.

2.Teri Meri Kahaani – 5 Star. Sheer Poetry. Romantic.

3.English Vinglish – 5.0 Star. Drama.

4.Jannat 2 – 5 Star. Thriller / Drama.

5.Gali gali chor hai – 4.5 Star. Comedy.

6.Oh My God – 4.5 Star. Comedy / Thought provoking.

7.Talaash – 4.5 Star. Drama / Thriller.

8.I am Kalam – 4.0 Star. Drama / offbeat - kid is the protagonist.

9.Dus Tola – 4.0 star. Drama / offbeat.

10.Fatso – 4.0 Star. Comedy / Offbeat.

Honorable Mentions - Pappu Can’t Dance Saala, Paan singh tomar, Rockstar, Shirin Farhad ki to nikal padi, Ladies Vs Ricky Behl, Ishaqzaade, Bittoo Boss, Challis chaurasi, Cocktail, Ek tha Tiger.

2012 Fourth Quarter Reviews (October to Dec)

1. Choddon kal ki baatein – 3.5 Star. 

• A copy of an English movie (ground hog day). But still well copied I guess. A guy stuck in one day over and over again. 

2. Kya Super cool hain hum – 0 Star. 

• I don’t think I completed it. It was horrible. Tushar and Riteish over act. It is a pure sex comedy, every dialogue is double meaning. We don’t get enough sex comedies in hindi so if you want to watch for that purpose. Go ahead. I don’t find anything funny about it. 

3. Jism 2 – 2.0 Star. 

• Sunny leone doesn’t know how to act. Our favorite Randeep Hooda is wasted. Tried to make a passionate movie but didn’t happen. Bad.

4. Bol Bachchan  - 3.5 Star. 

• It has some funny moments. It is a copy of golmaal. But it has some original good scenes. Film drags but it is a good watch if you want to watch a completely silly movie. Don’t compare it to golmaal though.

5. Mere Dost Picture abhi baaki hai – 1.0 Star. 

• Poor movie suneil shetty and everyone else are trying to be funny. But really nothing is funny, not even bad funny. Though I will have to admit I never comepleted the movie. 

6. Gangs of wasseypur II – 3.5 Star. 

• Somehow this one is better than the first part. It is probably one of the most gruesome hindi movie you have watched. Somehow the story is easy to fall and you root for the guy. Also Nawazuddin siddique (the kahaani police officer) is awesome, he is one find of this year. Look out for ‘definite’ this guy is awesome. The scene where siddique asks for what is real name of definite is awesome. 

7. Bumboo – 1 star. 

• Wasted great talents like sharat saxena. Generally good in comedy but this one is just poorly made movie. 

8. Shirin Farhad ki to nikal padi – 4 Star. 

• Though we are not fan of farah khan and boman irani. But still this was a well made cute movie. It is good one to watch an older couple love story. 

9. Heroine – 0 Star. 

• Madhur bhandarkar has made this movie almost like 2 times now. It was a poor copy of fashion. Every cliché associated with movie industry is in it and they depict it as if it should come as a shock to us (in the same manner as page 3). Drugs, money for sex, gays all over ( in a negative way), women are not on phone without a naked guy lying with them… it is just bad direction. Basically there was no reason to make this movie. Kareena acts as if saying – look at me, I am acting so well I will get an Oscar. 

10. Oh My God – 4.5 Star. 

• An anti religion movie which basically point by point state the negatives of organized religion in an entertaining way. It almost threatened to become a monologue or documentary but it doesn’t. In subtle ways it also talks about Geeta teachings and spirituality Vs religion. 

11. Kamaal dhamaal maalamaal – 2.0 star. 

• I am still watching it. But it shows no promise. It is a sequel of maalamaal. 

12. Rush – 3.0 Star. 

• We are emraan hashmi fans and he has set high standards. According to his standards this was a disappointment. Same plot like all his movies, guy with good heart stuck in bad situation. But the soul is missing in this movie.

13. English Vinglish – 5.0 Star. 

• Everyone is good in the movie. The French actor, sridevi everyone. Even the bachchan cameo is great. Typical Indian mom and her struggle to get some respect within her own house. Very well made movie, nobody over acts, no melodrama, no one is the bad guy. Even the husband is a loving husband in his own right. The American neice is awesome and just gives the right amount of spunk to the role. Americans are normal people Indian people are fallible, this film avoids all hindi movie pitfalls and is just a great watch. I had a lump in my throat all through the movie. Sridevi caps it all with 2 perfect lines which explain the underlying philosophy. Watch it. 

14. Talaash – 4.5 Star. 

• Sapna watched it in theater. I still need to catch up on it. She liked it a lot, it had intrigue but also had drama and ‘drama’ is a must for sapna. So don’t look  for an out and out thriller just sit back and enjoy is the recommendation.

2012 - Third Quarter Reviews (July - Sept)

1. Vicky Donor – 3.5 Star. 

• I know some of you loved it and think it is too low. But the movie had a great script and some really funny scenes (check out the grandma drinking with the bahu scene) but after a while the movie just doesn’t move after introducing the great concept. So it is definitely a good movie but see with lowered expectations. 

2. Jannat 2 – 5 Star. 

• ALERT – this is the kind of movie which I love for my own reasons. Probably for you it may be a 4 star, but make no mistake it is a good movie. I love how they have developed the concept of Jannat, it is not the same story as Jannat1 but the ‘soul’ is the same. It just means that a bad guy wants to be good because he wants his jannat (love). The chemistry between Randeep Hooda and Emran Hashmi is perfect, probably long time after Bachchan movies did someone do so stylish ‘heartbroken cop’ as Hooda. The ending is aahh.. perfect. 

3. Anjuna Beach – 0 star. 

• This seemed like shot in 1970s and then someone found this reel and released it. Though it seems to be a mystery but we didn’t have it in us to go beyond first 15 minutes. 

4. Department – 3.0 Star. 

• First 45 mins into the movie and I thought I am not even going to watch it anymore. But after that surprisingly the plot thickens and it becomes decent. The problem is ‘bad acting’ overall and bad presentation. Camera moving like crazy maybe a style patented by Ram Gopal Varma but he should stop doing it. It was so annoying I wanted to slap the camera man. 

5. Char din ki chandni – 1.5 Star. 

• Another DDLJ try. Pretty bad. Everybody is pretending to be funny but they know it’s not funny. There is anita raaj in the movie in case any old fans are reading this.

6. Ishaqzaade – 4.0 Star. 

• We loved the treatment of this movie. Sapna and I like the female lead (pareeniti – piggy chops sis). It has pretty decent twist at the interval, and then movie does give you couple of more twists which is rare for a love story. Generally love stories are predictable and bad but this one was good.

7. Tezz – 1.0 Star. 

• Anil Kapoor and Ajay devgan facing off ….. in a Hollywood style thriller. The problem? MANY – why everyone in England is pseaking hindi (regular white people too). Why are they being lectured in hindi? Why are Indian cops telling them what to do in the hour of their national crisis? Why is Devgan mad in the first place? Uh… Has anyone seen ‘post slumdog – Anil Kapoor’? He is horrible and his accent is from nowhere. Anyway… if you want to just get tickled watch it for a while for all the above.

8. Housefull 2 – 3.0 Stars. 

• Sapna went to the theater to watch this one. So I didn’t watch it, but she says it is much better than the first version and though it was stupid she liked the story.

9. Shanghai – 3.5 Stars. 

• The movie starts slow but picks up to a pretty healthy pace. It’s a thriller which surprises you in the end as you think - how bad it started and how well it ended. Good different script. Real Indian feels to the movie which I always like. The only negative is we both can’t tolerate that girl Kalki. 

10. Rowdy Rathore – 2.5 Stars. 

• What do you expect of a south Indian movie? Yes all that is in there. A ‘Wanted’ re-run. 

11. 3 Bachelors – 1.0 Star. 

• Guy becoming a girl and no one noticing. This is the kind of comedy which are bollywood staple, probably even kids don’t laugh at this stuff. 

12. Gangs of Wasseypur – 3.0 Stars. 

• Sorry guys, I know it has been critically acclaimed and loved by some of my friends. It just didn’t connect. It is pretty authentic Indian stuff (which I like) but I still couldn’t get the point. The story telling was week. Documentary needs to entertain too. It keeps on going and going… aimlessly probably trying to be true to the incidents but what’s the point? Don’t get me wrong a good movie but went in with too high level of expectations.

13. Ferrari ki sawaari – 3.5 Stars. 

• Typical feel good small movie. The doting father wants to give his kid a ‘cricketing life’ and wants to borrow Sachin’s Ferrari. It just goes the beaten track of such films never rises from that but never sucks bad either. 

14. Isi Life mein – 2.0 Star. 

• Rajshri nth attempt to make a Maine Pyar Kiya (with DDLJ thrown in between). To be fair to Rajshri they have never budged from Nadiya ke paar / Maine pyaar Kiya theme. Small town girl with ‘values’ etc etc…. 

15. 3 Night 4 days – 0 Star. 

• Trying to cash in on ‘life in a metro’ kind of zenre. Where you discuss for the entire film relationship problems. But then you better understand what you are doing. The stars explain where this movie went. 

16. Teri Meri Kahaani – 5 Star. 

• Sheer Poetry. Again ALERT – this movie gets brownie points because when a romantic movie hits at heart to both me and Sapna …. It is magic. We get moist eyes and we kind of renew our vows. AND this movie did it. Oh.. romance… all 3 stories.. has clichés of the eras they depict but ohh.. it has romance. Love stories… which make you cry and laugh at the same time. And in the end the director as if listened to Sapna and changed everything! Piggy chops as usual get into the character, the cute punjaban accent of pre-independence era, the stylish Khan guy – shahid kapoor in the last story very impressive. Also look closer all 3 story characters have similar ‘nature’ the lovers have the nature just the times change. Also in the 60s era depiction … what catchy music and telling the entire story in the cute 60s style of music. You get the point … for some reason we loved it. 

17. Ek tha Tiger – 4.0 Star. 

• Sapna watched in in theater so I didn’t watch it. Sapna said she was surprised to see Salman not acting cheap and the movie in fact having a story! She liked it more than any other Sallu movie for last 2 years, not much of a baseline but still pretty good. She also liked the portrayal of Katrina.

18. Barfi – 3.5 Star. 

• Again Sapna went to theater (hmm… she has been going to a lot lately) so I don’t watch it. She liked it, illeana is beautiful obviously… and Ranbir Kapoor is good at any challenge thrown at him. So a pretty good movie very different than a normal one. Savi sat through the movie and understood it. Very big step for Savi :)