POPULAR BOLLYWOOD
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BUNTY AUR BUBLY 2 - 2.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Varun V. Sharma
Stars - Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Bunty changes from Abhishek to Saif, Bubly remains as Rani but the movie does not remain the same fun outing as the last one. Things have changed in last 20 years, the scams that can be stupidly believed few decades ago don't look that real anymore in age of cell phones and social media. Saif and Rani try hard but they can't salvage it. Saif is off color lately, his accent looks fake as his tummy. If you can't create a believable pot belly look don't have that look, does not make sense why you will tie a pillow around you and think it should be good for your look. Rani is a good actor and whatever enjoyable and fun the movie is, it's all her. The new (Sidhant and Sharvari) Bunty and Babli are trying many makeovers and doing all the scheming but it all looks tired jaded and done before.
The story is about how a New Bunty and Babli are scheming people using old Bunty and Bubli's name and hence the original duo need to get back in the game. The movie loses authenticity once Abhishek is not there and Sr Bachchan as the cop was something special, replacing him with an off color Pankaj Tripathi doesn't cut it. It would have been great if they got the original cast together, it would have been hilarious.
SOORYAVANSHI - 0 Stars. (G)
Director - Rohit Shetty
Stars - Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Ajay Devgn
This is remnant of so called 'Masala Full Entertainment' movie that was called 'Real Bollywood'. The masala ingredients are - Zero creativity, old school thinking, cringy nationalism, stupidity, exploding cars, slow motion scenes, sun glasses, terrorists etc etc. Akshay Kumar who is like a Biryani with last year's expiry date reminds us again why he should not be doing movies anymore. Once upon a time his looks carried his zero acting talents, then he learnt some comic skills that carried him, then he actually did some good acting that carried him. NOW he is at a stage he needs to STOP. He single handedly pulled the movie down, though I have to give credit to Rohit Shetty for bagging the 'David Dhawan Award' for rehashing a formula again and again with zero conscious. The worst part of the movie is it obsesses on telling us who is good Muslim and who is a bad Muslim. There is no mention of any other religion but every few scenes there is big deal on how they are showing how Muslims should behave and prove they are worthy of being treated as humans all in garb of Nationalism. eeew... cringy and gross movie. When you have to call all 3 Singhams to save your climax you know you have made a bad movie.
ANNAATTHE - 1.5 Stars. (G).
Director - Siva
Stars - Rajinikanth, Kushboo, Meena
We live in 1980s, as Rajni keeps making these duds. I don't think he can help himself, that's the only thing his aging followers want but they are dwindling in numbers fast. This probably will end soon. It is also not an original Hindi movie, so I won't spend too much time bashing it. I wanted to see if there is a single 'new' thing added in last 30 years... nope. Nothing. He twists his hands and people fly and die, he does his one liners, some old school comedy. Movie is about Brother's love for his Sister, which is also wrapped in patriarchy. Brother loves sister so much that she can't breath. Then she decides to breath and run away but obviously she should have given up on her desires and lived without breathing because the great Brother is the only one who can save her. Yea... nothing changed.
DHAMAKA - 3.0 Stars. (G)
Director - Ram Madhvani
Stars - Kartik Aaryan, Mohammed Mansoor, Mrunal Thakur
The gulf between skill levels of Male and Female actors in Bollywood is so large that a Dhamaka can go down as an average film instead of an interesting movie. Karthik Aaryan a below Average actor is given a role of his lifetime, obviously he is not ready for it. Mrunal Thakur who could have easily made us cry and feel all the emotions that Karthik can't is just his love interest and on the sidelines because she is a female lead who cannot "carry" a movie. So are the sad facts of Bollywood. Director himself did not do a good job of engaging us still the movie had right intentions and a message to communicate! The movie is about how paid media is corrupt and the pressures acting on journalists to deliver News that is actually not News but advertisements for the powerful. Our lead character who comes into the business as an upright journalist compromises his values to stay and rise in the business and how it affects common man who actually believe him. Dhamaka is a series of bomb blasts happening purported by someone who is demanding an apology from Government. What Karthik could not do was done in 2 minutes at the end by a random actor during the climax - Make us emotional by emoting.
HUM DO HUMAARE DO - 2.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Abhishek Jain
Stars - Kriti Sanon, Rajkummar Rao, Paresh Rawal
As Rajkummar loses his Midas touch, he comes crashing back to earth with movies that are rehash of his own genre of movies that he used to excel in. This middle class shaadi / love story genre has now become a formula and hence a problem. How to create something new from the formula? This movie was not an 'Idea of creativity' instead someone put money to create a movie with the same formula that works. The movie is about a guy who loves a gal who likes families and the guy has none. The entire premise is so flimsily put together that it doesn't make any sense for the guy to falsify his entire life by hiring his parents and entire family. Comedy falls flat and jokes don't work. Stay away from it. I watched it, so you don't have to.
HUNGAMA 2 - 1.0 Stars. (G)
Director - Priyadarshan
Stars - Paresh Rawal, Meezaan Jafri, Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Once upon a time there was a movie called Hungama, it was a whatever dud... apparently not! Priyadarshan jumped out of his grave and made another one! Why would you do that? Why would an accomplished director of yesteryear come back to humiliate himself? Why would people take all sorts of garbage but question what is in a vaccine? Why ... why... because sky is too high. A jaded Paresh Rawal doing comedy, Shilpa Shetty playing Paresh Rawal's wife!! Good lord sometimes there is no answers to questions. Why do we even ask a Question... what is a question anyway?
CHEHRE - 3.0 Stars (G)
Director - Rumi Jaffery
Stars - Amitabh Bachchan, Emraan Hashmi, Krystle D'Souza
The movie is a thriller in a mansion inhabited by few old people who like to play games depicting their pre-retirement career in judiciary. They trap people and play games trying to find if the person is guilty or not. Mr Hashmi is one of their subjects. the oldies playing games are Amitabh and others. This movie seems to be a copy of some European movie where the maker did not bother to adapt it to Indian setting either. It is snowing and landscape is like swiss alps, and their is only one mansion for miles that is cut from the world except for these oldies who easily reach their. Anyway small details. The movie is not too bad, it looks bad at the beginning but once you adjust your expectations to this small budget thriller it is pretty good to keep it on till the end.
SANAK - 3.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Kanishk Varma
Stars - Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Maitra, Neha Dhupia
We are fan of Vidyut's fight scenes and we want him to only work in stupid action thrillers and he delivers exactly what we asked for. So nothing to complaint.. right? Well, we here at this blog always want more. Thanks Vidyut for listening, but now your next step is to be that 'cool dude' who kills and doesn't flinch and then delivers a cool one liner. You somehow are not doing that. Why? well.. we stopped asking why.. but still think about it. You still want to put realism by giving this look that you are worried, we don't want an action hero worried we want you to deliver a one liner in face of death and then punch. Thanks and you are welcome. Movie is about a Boy Friend who's stuck outside and terrorist are inside a hospital and he needs to save everyone and his girl because you know that's what makes a good movie.
SARDAR UDHAM - 4.0 Stars. (R)
Director - Shoojit Sircar
Stars - Vicky Kaushal, Banita Sandhu, Shaun Scott
Be ready to be depressed and throw up! I think that is what Mr Soojit Sircar aimed at doing by making this movie. The last half an hour delves in exactly how Jallian wala Bagh could have looked after the massacre in 1930s and it is almost unwatchable. If you remove that from consideration the movie is about life and times of Sardar Udham Singh who lived most of his life outside India trying to hatch plots to bring British down. There are many unclear episodes and I think the idea is, he tried to work against huge odds trying almost single handedly to create a resistance against British after he lost his dear friend Bhagat Singh. Vicky Kaushal has put everything he had as an actor into his role and does a commendable job. He looks a unrecognizable as a teen Udham Vs an Udham in his 30s. The movie is not very entertaining but it does make you think and it's production cost is high, it feels like a costly very well made movie. What stands out is how all these freedom fighters were inspired by communism which was at that time the way to go. It talked to working oppressed class and they responded to it. They called each other comrades and still the oppressed Naxals of today do follow similar trends. We will never see any Indian acknowledging that these freedom fighters were very well read and were deep into philosophies of Marxism and communism. They did not want to just kill an enemy and destroy a building they were actually making a bigger impact and always were fighting a bigger enemy. They debated finer points of what it means to fight, they were not uber-nationalist that people make them to be. Beautiful distinction between them and what they are perceived by patriotic masses so many years later. I don't think these freedom fighters were just this one track - 'my nation, my people, i will kill you no matter what' type of people, they were deep thinkers.
SHERNI - 3.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Amit Masurkar
Stars - Vidya Balan, Gopal Datt, Vijay Raaz
I don't know how I skipped this movie from reviewing. This is pretty old one but thought might as well cover it for sake of completion. Vidya Balan makes a rare appearance in this movie as a woman forest officer who faces omnipresent sexism in a field dominated by 'manly men' types. She navigates her battles with -1) A tiger she needs to be compassionate towards. 2) Face the ire of villagers who don't have any protection or help from government. 3) Face incompetent bosses 4) Keep morale of a spirited forest officer team who are dedicated to their duty. 4) Keep society happy by doing her bit as a bahu and wife. 5) Keep idiots entertained who are just 'men' who know how to kill even if it is not needed. She needs to keep Tiger alive as well as Villagers safe with limited finances and maturity of people and things around her. The movie depicts how difficult it is to work in a government department and still care about your job. This is not about forest or tiger conservation but can easily be stretched to everything in life. A good watch which meanders in pace but if you can fast forward to finish you won't be disappointed.
TOOFAN - 3.5 Stars. (G)
Director - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Stars - Farhan Akhtar, Mrunal Thakur, Paresh Rawal
Farhan knows what movies he needs to do. He is pretty good actor but he has limitations. The movie goes as far as he takes it, as I said he is good but limited; same is the movie. The movie goes through very standard sports movie routine a la-Rocky where the roadside 'gunda' becomes a boxer falls in love goes through ups and downs. Thanks to Mrunal who has this tender but strong presence in the movie that makes Toofan's love real and makes the movie tick. Overall the movie is ordinarily good and goes at a good pace with high production value. Watch it instead of other more popular duds you were planning to watch.
DYBBUK - 3.0 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Jay.k
Stars - Emraan Hashmi, Nikita Dutta, Manav Kaul
Emraan Hashmi is doing horror and thriller movies! In Bollywood this is a sign of not getting better movies. This horror / thriller is easily the one of the better made Hindi movies, though they do have very low standards. Dybbuk has the same spirit formula but this time done with a 'jewish' belief angle to make it a little different. The pace could be faster but it is not slow. The movie has a great climax and hence it rises from a B grade horror to something better.
THALAIVI - 2.5 Stars. (G)
Director - A.L. Vijay
Stars - Kangana Ranaut, Arvind Swamy, Nassar
Kangana can't do anything right, no I am not talking about her mind which has never done anything right but her film choices. This time she plays 'Jayalalitha' the south super star and eventually CM of Tamil Nadu. Why they took Kangana and not a South star is a mystery. Kangana is a good actor similar to Farhan, she is good to a point in certain roles but can't just effortlessly take a movie to wherever it needs to go. Her inimitable style makes her Kangana no matter who she plays, but to her credit she gives her best. The movie itself sets up the old times very well. All the old style movies and tamil movie industry is set up really good. This could be a good movie in Tamil but for Hindi it was just whatever. Arvind Swamy the Roja guy is unrecognizable and is also the best part of the movie, he excels in his role as the Super Star CM who brings Jaya to politics. I think people in South would know all the stories they are trying to tell but for me it was an OK update on Jayalalitha.
CASH - 1.0 Stars. (G)
Stars - Amol Parashar, Smiriti Kalra, Gulshan Grover
oh.. I realize we never completed watching this movie. hmm... it was a drag, I know my tag line is 'I watch it, so you don't have to' but come on man, you don't pay me anything. Forget it, I take the executive decision not to complete it unless I am ordered by my boss to finish it. The movie still revolves around demonetisation and how our lead character is trying to make a fast buck from taking old money and converting to real. We have seen these movies before and not much will happen in it, I guarantee it.
CHHORII - 4.5 Stars. (R)
Director - Vishal Furia
Stars - Nushrratt Bharuccha, Mita Vashisht, Saurabh Goyal
Horror as a Genre has been pretty ordinary in Hindi Movies.... UNTIL NOW. Here comes chhorii!! What a movie, the horror as genre was transformed by a movie called Stree few years back when they turned it into a Horror-Comedy. In this movie horror remains Horror but they take horror out of just the bhoot and spirits level .. or did they? Maybe it's all their but the treatment is dark and better. Nushratt Bharucha does a great job of being this city girl who is trapped in this small village home that is possessed... or is it? Horror through kids is a different level of horror and when you do not use flying spirits who are picking people in mid air type of gimmicks it becomes more real. The movie is about a couple who need to run from loan sharks to a small village where they get trapped in a house that is ... lets say .. weird. Go Watch it.
SHIDDAT - 3.0 Stars. (PG)
Director - Kunal Deshmukh
Stars - Sunny Kaushal, Radhika Madan, Mohit Raina
A crazy love story! you know how it used to be? A Great Love has to be a Crazy love, otherwise it is not love? Boy will do anything to reach his love. A Tezaab type of love story? I think that's what they are trying to achieve. Sunny Kaushal is brother of his famous brother and hence valid actor I guess. He is pretty good for his first movie but he can't carry this load of emoting that needs a superstar-actor package. Radhika Madan also is a cute girl but hardly can take you to a level where you have a lump in the throat as you root for them.
The movie is a sports movie turned into a Love Story turned into a crazy love story. A fling turns into love and the lover goes crazy and wants to go 'saat samundar paar' to reach his love. It's an ok affair.
JAI BHIM - 4.0 Stars. (PG13)
Director - T.J. Gnanavel
Stars - Suriya, Lijo Mol Jose, Manikandan
The movie is not an original Hindi movie but has garnered lot of attention and for all the right reasons. The movie tracks a real case and how Dalits and poor have no voice. I know most of you will prefer Sooryavanshi kind of headache even though you will have to take a pill after that, instead of sitting through this masterpiece. Part of the reason is because we all are guilty of making the unjust society we live in. The movie shows how cops are used to put cases on Dalits and put them in jail and how an upright lawyer takes up a case and finds out how flimsy some of the arguments are. In the end how do these people survive in this unjust system? or do they?
AHAAN - 4.0 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Nikhil Pherwani
Stars - Arif Zakaria, Niharika Singh, Abuli Mamaji
I did not want to watch it, so i pushed it off until I had nothing left to watch. A movie about a handicapped person is something we have watched many times. Hindi movies don't do a good job on them plus they are depressing. Anyway... Ahaan surprisingly avoids all the pitfalls and actually is more of a story about regular people who have all sorts of demons in them as they fight their way through various problems and Ahaan is just a side character happily going through his life. If you can make yourself sit through first 30 minutes I think you will like it.
BAIKUNTH - 2.5 Stars. (PG13)
Director - Vishwa Bhanu
Stars - Vishwa Bhanu, Sangam Shukla, Vijay Thaku
This is one movie that I did not know what to make of. I always like the movies that just are whacky and surprise you, but this one disgustingly surprised me. Humans when faced with poverty and unending misery may resort to being bereft of any compassion or emotion. The movie shows 2 friends who are at the bottom of the barrel in society and the life has eaten up their soul that they can't find emotions towards even their own family. The guy sits around and watch his wife die during child birth and does not show much emotion! what the heck! I know you won't watch this one but I was like what the heck! I know this must be the case for many, but come on man.. what the heck!
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