Movie Review: Frozen..showcases the warmth of love

 
I know this blog title looks very generic. Truth be told I would’ve ideally liked to add one word before ‘love’ in that title. However, doing that would reveal far more than I would like, so we’ll just have to do with how it stands, for now

While its not the kinds to celebrate the festive spirit as Rise of the Guardians did, about the same time last year, Frozen has plenty of spirit of its own. In fact, Frozen brings back memories of other Disney classics – the fairytale stories of handsome princes and pretty princesses, singing and dancing throughout the narrative. Disney is determined to get its age-old formula to work its magic yet again and that is apparent even much before Frozen actually begins

Before the movie starts you are treated to a superlative Mickey Mouse animation short, presented in a Hugo-istic manner (never thought that would become a phrase of its own) beautifully melding the classic black and white comics in Walt Disney’s own voice as Mickey Mouse alongwith high quality 3D characters that jump out of the original canvas and draw you in. The message from Disney is clear – the formula with a slight tweak that adds to the delight – so is the case with the movie as well

Frozen starts off much like its last year’s presentation Brave. A fast paced narrative with a lot of things happening in the first 20 minutes itself. Of course, with 3 songs to accompany as well (I started dreading a repeat of the Ram Leela debacle) and not being a fan of musicals as such, my first impulse was to leave then and there. In this case though, I am glad I stayed on

Ice has never looked as pretty as it does in Frozen. The 3D is there but not really emphasized on except for the falling snowflakes and snow storms as the narrative progresses. However, its the story and the crisp animation that hold your attention. That and the wonderful character of Olaf the Snowman are the real draws of the movie. Some twists delight while others seem too far-fetched but its refreshing to see such originality from Disney as such. While you may not agree with me for the most part, I am sure you will once you exit the hall. I am not saying anything further..

All the regular boxes are ticked of course, voice acting is great, animation and effects are top class and barring the 3D everything else shines like a pretty snowflake

To put it in perspective then, while its not ‘the first time in forever’ that Disney gets it right, with Bullett Raja and other ordinary fare as the alternative, I’d say you ‘don’t let go’ of this one  and see if it melts your ‘frozen’ heart

Movie Review: Ram Leela..is an epic disaster

 First things first, there was no particular reason this movie needed to be titled Ram Leela. It has nothing to do with the original epic and while arbitrary references are made, none of them were critical to tell this particular story – if you can see a story in it that is. All I saw was a two and a half hours of Indian folk dance (with some mindless Priyanka Chopra item song included) with decent music and ostentatious visuals. There isn’t even a semblance of a plot and to look for any depth is pointless, the surface itself would leave a mark if you scratched it the slightest.

A good 15 years back, 10 songs in a two and a half hour movie might’ve been just the way to go. Since we are now in 2013, that alone isn’t enough – not by a long margin. Unfortunately Mr. Bhansali seems oblivious to the same. While Ram Leela claims to be inspired from the classic love story of Romeo & Juliet (which incidentally is also something I haven’t seen) I doubt if that original classic would’ve had such a banal plot and shallow characters. So pathetic is the character development that Leela almost comes across as a nymphomaniac for all the build up there is between her and Ram – there was better build up in Ishaqzaade for crying out loud and that itself says a lot.

I am stumped that somebody amongst the elite film critics has given such drivel a whopping 5 stars!! Me, I am struggling between half a star and if possible, three-fourths of one. If I have to give the film any credit at all, it would go only to the nicely choreographed songs and beautiful, picturesque set pieces. That, and perhaps the strong performance of Ranvir Singh, despite the quality of everything else and the imminently watchable Deepika Padukone

Much has been said in the open media of the sparkling chemistry between the two leads – most of which I don’t agree with. Instead, I would definitely say that Deepika looks prettier in every frame, her facial expression just right. However, she lacks the intensity and pure fire power her kind of character (at least what I assume was intended as her character) demanded. On the other hand, Ranvir does possibly the best job of them all and tries his level best to lift the weak script and bad writing.

Speaking of writing, I have a bad feeling that some of it was contributed by Sajid Khan himself as there were plenty of grimace worthy dialogues, or jokes if you will. The one or two scenes that could otherwise have stood out are given such a weak context that it doesn’t even seem like the work of a veteran. Plot twists and story development has holes that our laughably obvious to all except Mr. Bhansali, evidently

Devdas gave me a headache and I haven’t seen the debacle called Saawariya. If you are a die hard Bhansali fan and believe that it is I who hasn't appreciated the movie despite it having a lot to offer, by all means – go see for yourself. In my books though, the only relation to any kind of an epic this movie holds is that it is an epic disaster. I couldn’t have been more obvious about it