Movie Review: How to train your dragon 2..not the masterclass it ought to be

When I first saw the trailer of this sequel way back in July last year, I could clearly see that this movie would be a masterclass in animation quality and proof that ‘great’ could still become even better. After having seen it, I can confirm it as well. Perhaps the fact that I saw this gorgeous looking adventure in IMAX had something to do with it, but the animation quality of the sequel is superlative and makes for an adrenalin pumping, sky soaring adventure

While animation is usually top notch in most such movies, there are two other departments where animation movies hit the mark more often than not – a coherent and consistent plot with good pacing and great doses of humor every now and then. While every bit the master class in animation quality, surprisingly this new adventure with Toothless and his dragon rider lacks firepower in both these areas.

To be fair, the story is ambitious and the content covers enough material to be spread across more than one sequel. It starts off with a bang and you almost feel as if you are flying atop Toothless yourself in a couple of scenes. However it soon slows down to a practical halt and while it makes the mood poignant and emotional, the timing of it seems all wrong and dulls the initial thrill

Unfortunately, this fits and starts approach continues through the length of the movie and while it is brilliant in parts, it makes you weary in others. Part of the blame for that weariness also goes to the distinct lack of humor that this grandiose scaled adventure offers. When they are repeating jokes, you know they don’t have much to offer. Still by the time you’ll emerge from the hall – you won’t feel as if you didn’t have fun. Just don’t expect to be moved and thrilled like say, the Kung Fu Panda sequel would’ve made you feel.

Instead, prepare to take in the gorgeous sights and sounds. The cloudy skies, rippled waters, giant icicles, even the enormous beard of Stoic, all look enhanced in their quality and presentation. The voice acting is good and boasts known names like Gerard Butler and Cate Blanchett, though no character really stands out. However, Toothless looks adorable as ever (never thought I’d call a dragon ‘adorable’..) and towards the climax, shows just why he is the heart and soul of the movie

The way it started, this sequel promised  a high quality lesson in how to take a story forward. While it flounders during its course, it is still every bit a pretty, fun, adventure. If you loved Toothless the first time around, you certainly aren’t going to feel disappointed with his second showing – just don’t go expecting an all-round masterclass

Movie Review: Filmistaan…is a film everyone should see!!

Quite recently, 4 noted names in the Bollywood industry came together for what they called a tribute to Indian Cinema with Bombay Talkies. They didn’t even come close. If you want to see the real tribute to Bollywood and its impact, intentional or otherwise, you should see this shiny bright gem by debutante director Nitin Kakkar

A remarkably fresh story line and plot development with very intelligent writing will have you in guffaws one moment and poignantly reflecting in the next. Filmistaan proves that you don’t need big names, a big banner, medley of songs, item numbers or anything of the sort to treat your audience. All you need is a good story and a good manner in which it is told. The rest takes care of itself

While it could have continued in its comfort zone of a Bollywood tribute, which it is pretty much through the first half, Filmistaan chooses to explore deeper themes and melds the craze for Bollywood, cricket and even our understanding of our cross border neighbors and how much/ how little we have in common all into a less than 2 hour package. Not only that the film even manages its own argo-esque adventure in the middle of it all. Not giving away anything further..

While it doesn’t boast any big names, Sharib Hashmi and Innamul Haq provide a solid natural act and their camaraderie creates some of the best moments in the film. Add to the fact that Sharib has also written the dialogues for this movie and further praise can be heaped on him. As for the direction - much of it can pass unnoticed – the song playing in the background when a particular scene is being shown, the dialogue said in a particular situation that only hits deep if you reflect and connect, the choice of movies, dialogues – everything has a reason (reminded me of the intelligent film-making of Peepli Live). Sure it gets a little awry and disjointed towards its more-serious second half – but at a shade less than two hours you’ll hardly realize it

Too many movies these days are self indulgent – reveling in their own supposed glory. Filmistaan has been made with a lot of heart - for its audience and to celebrate cinema itself. You owe it to yourself to pay your respects to cine-maa (as the trailer calls it) – I could scarcely put it better myself. Go watch Filmistaan and see Bollywood masala being given not the expectedly cheap but rather a high quality tadka – Nitin Kakkar seems to be one to watch out for

Movie Review: Citylights..dazzles in the darkness

Citylights is not meant to be a ‘light’ movie. It makes its intentions clear right from the opening sequence and stays true to them pretty much through the course of the entire 126 minutes it runs. It comes across as dark, hard hitting and sometimes deeply disturbing as well. But despite the darkness, it casts a brilliant ray of hope for those looking for a good movie watching experience

Most of the praise that Citylights deserves actually should go to the original mind behind it – Sean Ellis. For the uninitiated, this movie is an adaptation of Metro Manila which was directed by Sean Ellis. I haven’t seen the original yet but plan on correcting that quite soon. Getting back to Citylights, while it has a tendency of slowing down, especially during the first half and tends towards an over-reliance on songs to deliver the mood – the story development is gripping enough to keep you interested till the very end

A simple slice of hard life of the not so fortunate takes on an unexpected turn and becomes a gripping thriller. Much of this is achieved by a high quality and effortless portrayal by Rajkummar Rao yet again showcasing his versatility, this time as a poor Rajasthani (with impeccable accent). Ably supported in a praiseworthy debut by his real life better half, Anwita Paul (screen name: Patralekha, who looks like a young Divya Dutta) – the couple make the movie and the characters connect much more deeply. You feel for them, cringe at their helplessness and desperation, celebrate their little successes and get dismayed at their defeat

Am not sure why the movie has been called Citylights though, while the reference is obvious, post the opening sequences – very little has been done to make the city at the center of it all. Rather you get invested in the life of the protagonist and what he undergoes, which could really have happened in any city. There was much potential to exploit the city itself which is squandered – seeing as it is set in the city of dreams for the haves which turns to the city of nightmare for the less privileged, on a daily basis

Still, the plot development and high quality performances means that the Citylights make this a road well worth a drive by

Movie Review: X Men: Days of Future Past..past average but not First Class..

When I first heard that the second installment of this prequel franchise was not being directed by Matthew Vaughn who, for me, delivered a truly first class movie, with the first installment, I was rather despondent. While the X-Men franchise was quite decent, First Class was in a different league and I was worried that the return of Bryan Singer to the helm would again lower the standard to greater focus on action and less on underlying tension and plot development. My fears weren't unfounded though I wasn’t completely disappointed after watching what Singer has managed to put together.

From the opening credits itself (we are back to the DNA strands and psychedelic colours, this time in 3D) it was clear that this movie was picking up more from X Men: Last Stand in terms of treatment, rather than First Class. The jaw droppingly brilliant action scene that followed that further added credence to that notion. Post that, though, there was a refreshing change – time seemed to slow down and it almost felt as if Vaughn was back in charge. Upto around the halfway point the movie holds your attention without trying too hard and at a dangerously poised sequence, complete with underlying tension and unexpected developments, the excitement is quite palpable

Unfortunately, that moment doesn’t hold its own for very long and the next half of the movie, goes back to formulaic action and set pieces with some unnecessary dialogues thrown in. What’s worse is that some of that action is completely unnecessary and you wonder why it needed to be depicted that way in the first place. All the action though, is accompanied by high quality effects and more than the occasional round of humor every now and then

What this movie desperately lacks is a coherent plotline that remains the consistent focus through the length of the movie. While First Class deeply explored the rich bond between Charles and Eric (something even the entire X Men franchise before it only implied, but never really portrayed), Future Past is more about making the story work without much focus on the characters or anything else for that matter

This is really a pity because Future Past’s glittering star cast has too many gems – some of which (like Halle Berry and Ellen Page) are pretty much wasted given the talent they have. Fassbender continues to have tremendous screen presence and Hugh Jackman is in vintage form with his now pet portrayal (the only thing we really missed in First Class, I guess). James McAvoy also portrays the vulnerability and uncertainty of his character (a far cry from how we saw him in First Class) rather well as does Jennifer Lawrence portray Mistique.

Future Past tries to check many boxes – but at the end of the day, doesn’t manage the tight packaging and presentation of First Class. After the unexpectedly solid start that First Class gave this franchise, I was hoping for more from the second installment - still, Future Past is a better than average watch and hopefully with something better in store, the future still shines bright on this franchise (just bring back Vaughn)

Movie Review: Godzilla..just don’t go..

 
Pop quiz: Did you like Pacific Rim? If you did, then ignore the title and ignore probably the rest of this review as well. You might still wanna go since, quite obviously, mindless monster madness is right up your alley. For the rest of you though, Godzilla fails on too many different fronts.Plot, build-up, acting, climax – other than special effects – none of it is there

For many of us, self included, we saw Godzilla during childhood and wanted to revisit the spectacle with high quality effects of today. Sadly, while the effects are there, you’d be better off with the older memories. In fact, I can’t even get my head wrapped around why they had to make this movie. Making a new-age Godzilla movie made some sense. The version they have made, makes no sense at all!! Try this one for starters, the movie Godzilla features the actual Godzilla for barely 20 minutes in the entire movie runtime of over 2 hours!! Or..the best scene in Godzilla doesn’t feature Godzilla at all but rather some birds!! You can probably understand my angst by now

The 1998 version of Godzilla has been the butt of many a critic joke. However, I still have fond memories of that movie. Roland Emmerich is quite the veteran for disaster movies and I still feel that movie had a near perfect build up for showcasing a creature wreaking havoc in a city towards the climax. In comparison to that, the premise as well as build up of the new age Godzilla is almost laughably ridiculous. They’ve managed to morph the terrifying giant lizard to a heroic avatar coming to aid in time of need. Only my own principles refrain me from sharing more, in my bid to convince you of the futulity of watching this drivel

One saving grace the movie could’ve have was the awesome screen presence of Bryan Cranston. In fact, the opening scene is quite powerful and the Breaking Bad veteran is on top of his game. Sadly though, this relief too is well, fleeting. The rest of the pack doesn’t even begin to measure up  and the absence of plot means it all squarely rests on the action and effects – the only aspect that this re-make delivers in

Giant wars are experienced with jaw dropping proportions and the CGI isn’t obvious. The enormity of Godzilla really comes through in what is perhaps the best representation of the monster thus far. Wide angle shots are plentiful and wholesome – whether it’s the shot of Mount Fiji in the backdrop, an entire city losing power or buildings collapsing in California – the scale is faithfully rendered each time.

If that alone can justify a 2 hour assault on the senses that defies all manner of meaningful cinema then you can possibly still watch this monstrosity. Me..I wish somebody had given me such a clear warning before watching – I wouldn’t have ventured out for a sighting in the first place

Movie Review: The Amazing Spiderman 2..a swing and a miss..again

His name might be Marc Webb but the director of the second installment of the aforementioned unnecessary reboot to the franchise (check out my review of the first one to get more on that) doesn’t seem to have a great understanding of Spidey as such. Its not the ‘Adventures of Spiderman’ Mr. Webb..it needs  to be woven around an emotional core, a central identity or rather dual identity of Peter Parker and what it stands for - an overarching plotline. As you may have guessed, the sequel, like the original, offers none of that

Instead, you get the by now familiar Marvel treatment. A cheesy start and even more frustrating follow through to almost the interval stage of the movie, save for one ‘electric’ showdown sequence that pretty much saves the first half of the movie. If there’s one thing the Marvel franchise seems to have mastered – its how to depict action in a superhero flick. Jaw dropping visual effects not being enough, the action now gets slowed down enough for you to follow how Spidey pulled off what he did. Neat trick and fits perfectly into the Spidey scheme of things. Wish Sam Raimi had thought of that

Unfortunately, that’s the only part that seems to have been thought through in 148 minutes of very little web slinging action. As for the 3D, I didn’t find much of it other than those few and far between glorious moments when the camera fixes its onto Spidey and you get his dazzling and breath taking view of the New York skyline and skyscrapers. But that’s it. Even the much watchable Emma Stone doesn’t seem to lift the film enough though the chemistry between Parker and Gwen is also quite ‘electric’

Andrew Garfield in any case is too cool to look the part of geeky Peter Parker but to give him credit he tries his best despite that. The villain, I was told is stronger this time around. Sure he is, but the finale or a sorry excuse for it that you get to watch seems to belie that expectation as well. The movie is in ‘build-up’ mode for so long that you hope that either the climax is really worth it or maybe they save that for a separate movie. Unfortunately, neither of the two happens.The story tries to make some bold moves which seem completely out of place and leave you wondering why that had to happen (perhaps someone wanted out of the franchise??)

Maybe I am too biased. If you hadn’t given us the Sam Raimi version of things maybe I would’ve been okay with what’s been handed to us in this franchise. But unfortunately, I’ve seen the real Spiderman 2 and this one doesn’t even try to come close.  The franchise continues to swing but misses each time – the Spidey action and awesome effects is all I can recommend for the sequel as well. Oh..and don't stick around for the end credits..there's nothing there..just some action sequence from X-Men: Days of Future Past at mid-credits

Movie Review: Revolver Rani..shoots far off the mark

Okay so I have no idea what the director was going for with this. I guess this is what happens when you make decisions in haste. So concerned was I after all the brickbats I received from my loyal followers for not having seen 2 States (the reason, in my defence, was that I had read the book and not liked it all that much and the movie would be pretty much the same) that I was worried about making the same mistake twice in a row. So…I booked tickets for Revolver Rani. As it turns out, that was the real mistake

Revolver Rani is best enjoyed when it doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. Don’t go for plot, logic, any sense of direction to the storyline and you might be able to watch it for Kangana’s powerful performance showcasing her versatility in a role that is a far cry from Queen and the fair bit of comedy that is introduced into otherwise senseless proceedings. Other than that, the Revolver’s chambers are empty – all six of them

A classy opening credits gives way to Ram Gopal Varma (not of the Sarkar vintage but the Aag variety) like sequences that suddenly erupt in ways more comical than exciting. Kangana’s Max Payne like shooting in multiple sequences doesn’t help matters and one isn’t sure what the director is looking to portray with her character. Add to that her shrieking and howling like her pre-Queen days and the circle is complete. There are precisely two smart sequences in an otherwise banal plot – one in the first half and one in the second – both of which end up being comical and fun. If only more of the movie was like that

As it stands though the movie doesn’t end up showing a true picture of Kangana’s character till the very end – the fearless hero, the tragic hero, the trapped hero, the action hero – all get inter-mingled and you leave the theater with no clarity on what was intended to be portrayed, if anything at all. Guns, shooting, killing, drinking, smoking all get glorified in this pointless tale

The plethora of songs only prolong the misery though the background score is apt and suits the context.I found myself recalling Matru Ki Bijlee..and idly wondering which of these movies was worse, though I thought Matru still wins that Razzie award

If you are a real Kangana fan you might still want to give it a shot despite all my misgivings. My advice though is to take shelter and hide till the Rani has fired all her rounds and left the scene