Movie Review:Hugo…is a celebration in film-making

Okay..cards on the table time…Hugois a slow movie (especially till what can be regarded as the first half) with a simple storyline. It might even be mistaken for a children’s story - the kind that could be told at bed-time. If that’s what you see in Hugo, well then you are not seeing the complete picture and a movie like Hugo is probably not best suited for you.

When I first read about the movie being cancelled in India due to its poor performance overseas I was pretty ticked off. For a movie wherein James Cameron himself admitted it made his Avatar's 3D second-best, the 3D alone should have brought hoards to the movie. However, once one actually gets to see it and the final credits roll in…one begins to see why this movie had little audience..there is so much to Hugo that would be missed on most of its audience…

Those expecting a real 3D ‘Narnian’ adventure with fairy tale characters, monsters and witches..well, there’s none of it. Instead, Hugo is a tribute to the magic of film-making…to say anything more would be giving away more than is necessary. The movie has a lot of soul and there are scenes that can be heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time.

You only get to appreciate what Scorsese’s really done late into the 2nd half of the movie and then you marvel at the brilliance of a master class director. To tell such a story in a ground-breaking 3D format, is pure genius and hats off to Scorsese to pull it off with such panache.Especially since the 3D is that good. The use of dust particles, smoke from the steam engine, snowfall is done wondrously well. While I wouldn’t compare the movie to Avatar's, since both are completely different types of movies, I would give full marks to the 3D that Hugo has to offer

I would seriously urge you though, to consider seeing this movie in IMAX or at least some movie hall which can live up to the 3D experience the movie has to offer. Disappointingly, when I saw it at PVR, there were multiple scenes where I could see that the movie’s 3D was not coming through in its true form..such a pity
As for the performances, everybody has done an earnest job - Asa Butterfield as Hugo putting in a rather sincere performance and Sir Ben Kingsley in absolute vintage touch while Chloe Grace Moretz (remember Hit Girl from Kick-Ass??) also playing her limited role well

But this movie, is all about the director and the way he ‘winds’ the story around for you. The way it all unfolds..the few moments of restrained and unrestrained emotion..and the true tribute to film-making that Scorsese achieves as the ending credits roll in

If all this does not catch your fancy then Hugo is an easy miss but if it does..well, then Hugo Cabret beckons you from his clock tower..go catch him before the train leaves the station!!

Movie Review: The Avengers..is ‘super’ fun!!

I must admit it. When I first saw the trailers of this multi-superhero, modern-age Justice League, I was pretty skeptical. Considering it had Thor, Captain America, Hulk – whose individual movies have been pretty unimpressive – with Iron Man being the only saving grace, I wasn’t sure what the lot of them could do together that would be any greater. Well..I was wrong

The Avengers is an awesome thrill ride and probably the most fun you can have while watching a superhero movie. Watching this movie tells you exactly what good writing, great dialogues, understanding of individual characters can do. The writing is near-brilliant with more than generous doses of humor thrown in. There are some dialogues that are trite and cheesy but thankfully those are few and far between. In fact, this is one of the few superhero movies that actually focus on dialogues between the characters, builds tension through the conversations/ arguments and makes it an integral part of the presentation

The movie takes its time. The way it builds up you can be sure that the director is in no hurry to get to the end – which works perfectly. The plot is pretty ordinary – typical superhero – end of the world kind of stuff but the presentation is exquisite. This movie makes The Hulk more endearing than the two standalone movies given to him and is probably the only movie that has managed to present The Hulk the right way. The same can be said about the other characters as well

For a change, the 3D is pretty good too and while there is nothing Avatar-esque about it, there’s plenty of flying and shooting about, to give the 3D experience. As far as the acting goes, Robert Downey Jr. takes the cake with amazing screen presence and the extremely charismatic Tony Stark breathes life into the movie. In ‘stark’ contrast though, is Mr. Captain America who even as a superhero seems like a complete misfit and Chris Evans doesn’t manage to lift the character one bit. If there is to be an Avengers 2 (and I dearly hope there would be) then they might want to re-think Captain America’s presence altogether.

While the build up’s good, the climax is even better. A stumbling point for many other superhero movies, the Avengers gets full marks in this department as well. Despite the 3D one can actually follow the action, to the T and there are plenty of thrills to be had before its all over

So all in all, The Avengers might just be the most fun you can have this season, so book your tickets if you haven’t already

Movie Review: Vicky Donor…donates some good laughs

With a name like Vicky Donor and the supposed ‘fame’ it has received over the past week, one would have expected a fresh presentation, with original humor and the audience in splits. For some scenes that is certainly the case and is probably the best reason to catch this flick

The movie takes an unusual premise and spins a nice little story around it at least for the first half. There is genuine humor and you find yourself chuckling and even laughing out loud on more than one occasion. However, its the attempt to take things forward where one begins to lose the plot. The dialogues become far less inspired, the scenes begin to drag and there even comes a point wherein you want to cry out in frustration with ‘a let’s get on with it’..

Post intermission there is again some fun to be had even though this time the jokes are more around stereotypes. Of course, this is a bollywood movie so the usual melodrama is but a rite of passage that must be made. The movie ideally should have been at least 20 mins shorter..that would have made it a real cracker

As far as the acting goes, Ayushmann is quite the revelation in his debut role. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Yami Gautam so while she looks really pretty throughout the movie, her dialogue delivery leaves much to be desired. In vintage form, is Annu Kapoor playing Dr. Chadha to the tee, typical Punjabi accent included. A refreshing thing is that all the other side characters also have well etched out roles with the modern ‘Dadi’ probably having the best dialogues of the lot.

All in all , the movie isn’t the laugh riot you want it to be but what you get isn’t half bad. There’s a pretty good message that the movie tries to give too so I’d suggest you ‘donate’ your money to a good cause and catch Vicky Donor.

Movie Review: Titanic 3D..offers nothing new

 

15 years ago, James Cameron thrilled us with a spectacle, far ahead of its times. He then promised a glorious tribute – the memorable experience, enhanced in 3D, to mark the centenary of what was known as ‘The Ship of Dreams’….touted to be quite the dream experience. What he ends up offering though, is a re-visiting of the epic classic..but nothing new

Sadly but truly there is very little 3D in the new version of this masterpiece. In the beginning, when the crew is exploring for the titanic, one gets a few glimpses of the 3D experience and gears up for a magnificent scale up with the flashback and the actual journey of the titanic..but that never happens. What you get instead, is a high picture quality 2D movie, all over again with a few scenes that present some visual depth and give some minor effect of 3D. All the talk of awesome scenes when the ship actually breaks..is just that..talk, because most of it comes across as a 2D format only

I am not complaining though. I can say with certainty, that if it was possible to make this version better than it is, Cameron would have made it. The fact of the matter is that there is only so much that could be done with an originally 2D movie, and as much as you will for it to be a truly immersive experience, feeling as if one was part of the ship itself, this is the best that could be managed

However, that said, there’s no reason why you should miss this classic this time round. I’ll put it like this…if you’ve never seen the movie before, then just jump to it without thinking twice. If you’ve seen it earlier but not in the cinema hall, then also there’s every reason that you go and catch this movie because it was really made only for the big screen. But if you saw it earlier also in the movie hall, then you may consider giving it a miss..because you’ve probably already seen it all before.

However, I would still encourage you to go..if only to appreciate the work of a master, as he pays a fitting tribute to an epic disaster

Movie Review: Kahaani…is brilliant story telling

 

Kahaani is that one of a kind rare gem that Bollywood takes its time coming up with..if ever. Its not your regular mashed up, hurried product in the hope of making a quick buck. Kahaani is what you get when ample effort goes into telling a story the way it should be told

I have long maintained that the real hero in a movie is the plot. Unless the acting is superlative, if there’s no plot, the movie tends to fall flat. However, a good plot and well told story will always find an audience…and Kahaani just re-affirms that belief. Sure, Vidya Balan does an expectedly great job with the character she portrays but while Dirty Picture was carried through entirely on her shoulders, Kahaani’s beauty lies in the plot, build up and subsequent climax, through and through.

A word to the wise, if you can help it, don’t read any other review (especially not wikipedia), or preferably anything else about the movie before going for it. Its the surprises and sometimes, absolute shocks that make Kahaani the thrill ride it is. Also, it has one of the best pre and post intermission sequences I have seen which simply shows the class that this movie has

There are some unnecessary scenes of typical Bollywoodish melodrama that could ideally have been avoided but at the end of the day its hard to complain given all the rest that it offers. Clocking at an exact 2 hours, Kahaani is a refreshing offering that must not be missed – so rush to the theaters before some idiot gives away the thrills to you and spoils your fun of watching it!!

Movie Review: Paan Singh Tomar…..run for it!!

An unexpected but highly pleasant surprise, Paan Singh Tomar is every bit worth every penny spent on the ticket and looks set to give all the other offerings this week, a virtual ‘run’ for their money. Right from the beginning, the movie simply flows and none of the scenes look forced or out of place. In fact, by the time the movie intermissions you are gearing up for a crackling second half

While the second half does seem a little disjointed especially in comparison to the first half, it still delivers for the most part. The reason why Paan Singh Tomar works so well is because it has Irrfan Khan as its lead. Virtually being a one-man show, the movie had to have a strong lead and in Irrfan Khan, its found a dream match. The fact that he can act, is no news to anyone but the panache with which Irrfan has handled the role of Paan Singh Tomar, needs to be seen to be believed. Whether it is his innocent but sincere younger days or the coming of age of his character, his frustrations and pent up anger, its all just in the right place and delivered just the right way.But for his stellar performance, this movie might not have become the rare gem it now is. Mahie Gill on the other, looks completely out of sorts and her dialogue delivery is rather forced and rehearsed. Thankfully, she has a very minor role to play

Due praise must be given to the director as well since Tigmanshu Dhulia has executed the movie to near perfection. Using the background of an interview, the movie flits effortlessly between the past and present and there’s a touch of class to the way it happens. There are no unnecessary songs which only adds to the joy and not for a moment does one feel bored or phased out. Clocking at 2 hours 15 minutes, one may think that the movie could well do with 15 minutes less but given that this is bollywood, a 2 hour 15 minute movie should be seen to be an achievement in itself

Overall, a highly watchable movie, Paan Singh Tomar is the first real hit of the season in 2012..so ‘run’ and grab the next tickets!!

Movie Review: The Descendants..slow but impressive

Watch the first 10 minutes of this movie and one thing is amply clear…there is no intention to hurry things up. So if a character has to walk the length of the room, you see him/ her doing exactly that, taking their time.

Clocking at close to two hours, the Descendants is slow, but by no means a tedious watch. The brilliant thing the director has done, is to offer no explanation. As is the rare occasion, this director (Alexander Payne) believes that he is catering to a smart audience, one that will want to figure things out on its own rather being spoon-fed every scene and its message. For those who are looking for a no-brainer, slapstick comedy..its best to stop reading now itself…The Descendants is clearly not for you.

What The Descendants, looks to offer is a heart rendering story of a man or rather, a family caught in circumstance and how they struggle to deal with it. This is not your feel-good happy story with a fairy-tale ending. The situations shown in the movie are very real and the build up is just right. If you choose not to ponder over what is being shown, not to explore each scene at a deeper level, most of the scenes would make no sense. But if you do, you get to witness a truly well thought-out plot with each scene having its own emphasis, its own meaning. The writing of the movie is right up there, with some dialogues piercing your heart and others getting your funny bone tickled every now and then

What does dampen the spirit of The Descendants is the somewhat shaky climax and some part of the second half, that maybe doesn’t deliver as much, which is really a pity cause there was such potential.

However, that in itself, is no reason to keep you away from this well made movie. George Clooney pulls of a complex character with panache and his confusion, frustration, anguish and regret, are all quite palpable. Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller, who play Clooney’s two daughters, also stand their own and carry off their characters remarkably well

If the slow pacing of the movie is not something that’ll put you off in a movie and you are willing to explore a movie at a deeper level..its high time you ‘descended’ to the theaters to watch this rare good offering.