Movie Review: Man of Steel..is a metal mangled mess

If there’s one lesson the Transformers franchise ought to have taught by now its that jaw dropping machine action and special effects alone never maketh a movie; you need more than that. Well, the Man of Steel, alien as he is doesn't seemed to have heeded that lesson and what was a highly anticipated expected blockbuster is really an unexpected mess of affairs.

Rather than telling a heart-warming and emotionally binding origin story of what some may call the one, true Superhero (refer Pulp Fiction), Man of Steel maintains an over-serious grim and grave outlook without really having much depth. In fact, the movie doesn't really settle in to tell a story. Its like the director was too keen to tell more than just an origin story or maybe he realized that his plot didn't hold much water so he ended up jamming every possible action sequence he could think of. Either way, what you get as the end product is a mish mash of scenes flitting between the past and the present, filled with an insane focus on action, never really allowing you to settle in to connect with either.

There is more than an overdose of explosions, buses driving off a bridge, one metal contraption ramming into another, shattering glass, toppling towers, loud noises and jarring sounds and Superman flying all over the place and into all sorts of things which unfortunately continues through the length of the movie. Things seem to get interesting in Nolan-esque fashion for just a moment after almost an hour and you are willing to forgive and forget as long as you can get treated to some real brilliance now. Unfortunately, that part too comes and goes like it was almost an after-thought and the mindless action resumes

The special effects themselves could otherwise be described as dazzlingly good, with high production credits but they are meant to support an otherwise powerful scene. When they themselves become the center-piece, there’s little one can appreciate.  The 3D is the equivalent of non-existent and the tiresome glasses, especially when they were not needed, don’t help matters. The writing, which ought to have been the real draw given that Nolan was a part of it seems to have resumed from Dark Knight Rises rather than The Dark Knight and ranges from being average to grimace worthy ( You are a monster and I am gonna kill you…really Mr. Nolan??) At this rate, I am beginning to wonder who really wrote the masterpiece that was The Dark Knight. As for Man of Steel, I think the best dialogues are all covered in the latest trailer itself

Christopher Reeve immortalized the erstwhile Superman franchise, and in some ways the franchise itself breathed new life into Reeve who became recognized largely for his cult character. Henry Cavill, to his credit does give all he can, to his shallow character and plays a credible Superman. Amy Adams whose Lois Lane is more than a passing mention in the plot, does full justice as well but at the end of the day, the Man of Steel’s very foundation is brittle and is unable to support the towering structure of a Superman movie

There is a wonderful little (Actually its not little, with nearly 10 seasons) TV series called Smallville. Watch it and you’ll realize how Superman would have liked his story to be told. Sure, it might seem a little childish to some but at least it has that raw emotion that one would like to associate with a superhero. A slightly darker version of that as the story progressed, coupled with some good writing would have been a good re-welcome to Superman

As it stands, Man of Steel is all metal and no substance. If they plan to make this a franchise, they better have something better in mind for the beloved superhero

Movie Review: Now You See Me..isn’t magical but shows you a good time..

Magic has always had a certain allure. To watch the unexpected unravel before your very eyes and the burning curiosity as to how the trick was achieved in the first place, can pretty much consume you. Thus, movies built on magic tricks are expected to shock and awe. It is not so much whether they reveal the trick (as in The Prestige) or they hide the secret (as in The Illusionist) that enthralls you. Its more so the entire act and the way it is built up.

Now You See Me had pretty much one of the best trailers I have seen in recent times. With an intriguing title, a stellar star cast and just the right glimpses woven beautifully in a limited sequence, this movie quickly climbed to the very top of the ‘must-watch’ list this season, basis the trailer itself. After having finally seen the movie though, I am bound to be a tad less euphoric

If you go in with low expectations, Now You See Me can be a lot of fun. Plot development is the focus from the get-go and you are hooked from the start. The tricks and performances are dazzling and you yearn to know how it was done. The Four Horsemen, as they are known, don’t miss a trick and they are able to hold their audience (both, in-movie and the real audience) in a daze, of sorts. However, if you expect to be told who the Four Horsemen really are, whether they get along with each other, what is their past etc. you are bound to be disappointed

To put it simply, the movie lacks depth. The smoke n mirrors is interesting but there’s little that lies beyond. The movie also seems to intend to strike an emotional chord but does so only fleetingly. The use of CGI is more than liberal though, to be fair, the effects get the pulse soaring. The trailer of this movie probably gives away one trick too many and that’s a pity because at least as you approach the final act you expect to be surprised. Still, despite that there are plenty of shocks and thrills to keep you interested. The writing and dialogues are razor sharp as is the editing of some of the action sequences. The movie uses interesting lines like ‘the closer you look, the lesser you’ll really see’ but doesn’t leverage them into the plot itself, not convincingly at least, which is a pity

In terms of the cast itself, you could scarcely ask for a better group of stalwarts – Jesse Eisenburgh has tremendous screen presence, Isla Fisher looks striking; Morgan Freeman plays a role that is all too easy for a veteran like him. The real acting is required off Mark Ruffalo and he too doesn’t disappoint, though in some sequences, he could do better. Still the movie is less about these or any characters. It’s the story and plot development all the way

Its not in the league of Illusionist or The Prestige so don’t go expecting that. It doesn’t delve deeper into magic, question it or give you a glimpse into the  lives of its performers as such. In fact, without giving too much away, the movie is less about magic than about other events. Try to know as little as you can about the movie and go in with low expectations – then and only then can you enjoy this show

Movie Review: Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani..but Yeh Movie Hai Ordinary

A stereotypical bollywood offering, there is nothing that excites about this movie, other than the title, of course. For most of the time you would be forgiven for wondering what this movie is about and you couldn’t be blamed for not knowing even as you exited the hall, post credits as well. There’s nothing fresh about the presentation and there are plenty, (in fact, far too many) movies, that have covered this same theme over and over again.

I guarantee you, there’ll be plenty of times you’ll look at the watch, sometimes even staring at it in disbelief and looking for other things to do since you won’t be missing much in the movie anyway. There are precisely 2 events around which an entire two and a half hours is wound around – not sure if the director deserves credit for achieving this feat

The writing is ordinary as well save for exactly one dialogue which I felt suited the context beautifully and brings out a point which is probably the only unique aspect offered by the movie – even here, I might be overstating the case. Two songs, the already popular ones, are an easy watch..the rest just end up slowing time even further

The humor quotient is ordinary to non-existent and one would have hoped for plenty of laughs in what is meant to be a breezy and fun movie. In fact, the only reason you are able to somewhat sit through this rather long watch is because it offers one of the most pleasant and watchable pairs on screen. Ranbir and Deepika make the pseudo perfect pair and its their fresh presence (especially Ranbir’s) on screen that makes it not as bad as it ought to be

For Ranbir this movie may well be a kind of stress-buster for the all the effort it required from him, given the acting talent he has. Deepika is one of the prettiest faces in B-Town and the movie focuses heavily on that giving her close-ups wherever possible. The movie doesn’t require much from her either and she is able to pull off her role convincingly as well. Considering these are the leads of the movie, you can imagine how complex their characters must be

To sum it up then, with a title like Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, one would have hoped for a mad, fun caper that’s light and breezy with a fresh presentation. Instead, you get the typical bollywood watch; while it remains light by not taking itself too seriously, it never really gets interesting enough either

Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6..offers the standard issue gravity defying action

 

The Fast & the Furious franchise started on the right note – it ‘used to be’ about fast cars, pretty babes, a semblance of a story line, decent humor and some more than decent action. Till then, it all seemed to fit. Then the franchise seemingly took the American Pie route – churning out sequel on sequel without much thought and you had F&F 3, 4 and in my opinion 5 as well, making a pretty sad representation of the franchise itself. Rather than focusing on burning the rubber and NO2 boosters, thereby making a style statement with its own unique stamp, the franchise tried to become emotional, get us to connect with the central characters and defy Newton and the general laws of physics – that, is when things started becoming awry

As you start this latest installment of Fast & Furious 6, there is some hope. Sure, all that talk of family and the forced emotional connect is there, but the action doesn’t seem forced and a few sequences are intelligently thought through and shot to a point of precision, as yet unseen beyond a point in the franchise. But that hope soon bites the dust. The film then drops several notches down to hurriedly decided and delivered story development and impossible situations. There is many an occasion wherein the action just doesn’t make sense and you can see gaping plot holes in the way it develops

Unfortunately, the second half of the movie only compounds matters and now the action itself is, intentionally or unintentionally, impossible to follow. Only when you see an enemy vehicle suddenly flying off, do you get confirmation that the stunt worked. What the stunt was and how it was engineered in the first place, the director or rather the editor feel you are better off not knowing. One impossible stunt follows another and at 2 hours and 15 minutes, the spray of bullets, whir of engines and drone of helicopters becomes a bit much. There is the rare occasion where the spotlight actually shifts back to the ‘racing’ part of it, wherein you get treated to awesome visuals which you can easily follow and you wish there was more of this

Much respite is offered by the humorous moments in the film mainly provided by the characters of Roman and Han and they are welcome break from all the over-focus on the action. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel as Dom, has the all too familiar self assured look throughout the movie – the only trouble is that in this installment he doesn’t have the dialogues to back him up. Paul Walker as Brian maintains pretty much the same avatar as the previous few movies and does a decent job.

Sit through the credits and you’ll even get a fleeting glimpse of what you can expect in the 7th installment (yes, I am unhappy to confirm this but we must face facts). If you can somehow close yourself to any basic laws of science, disregard Newton and allow for a wafer thin plot to run, just so you can witness some explosive action then Fast & Furious 6 may have served up just the offering for you. For the most part however, it doesn’t make me very keen to watch the 7th

Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness..lights up the franchise

I just love it when a movie goes beyond the plot and understands its characters and what they stand for. I love it when a sequel in a franchise looks to be more than just a money spinner; when plot matters and plot development even more so; when the audience is kept guessing and interested till the very end. The good news is that all these boxes are checked in this sequel in the ever popular Star Trek franchise so go book your tickets right away

While the original movie itself was highly acclaimed and lauded – I wasn’t so impressed by it. I thought it slowed down at precisely the wrong moments and there were plenty of dull moments as Captain Kirk came of age. The sequel, in my opinion, goes one better - it stays true to the franchise – in rich exploration of the central characters, the relationship between Spock and Kirk and yet, spins a tale that keeps you interested all through. Add to that brilliant visual effects and great action and you have almost the total package.

Almost, I say, because the unnecessary post production 3D ruins what is a perfectly enjoyable 2D experience, without adding anything of value, save one or two brief frames. That and the predictable dialogues – some pretty much the cheesy ones you have come to expect in such movies – cast a minor shadow

More than performances, its really the characters that stand out. Kirk and Spock are all of legendary status already but John Harrison is perhaps the most intriguing to watch – Benedict Cumberbatch completely nails it and you quickly forget Sherlock (he plays Sherlock Holmes in one of the best TV series today). You could hardly ask for a better Spock than Zachary Quinto (in this day and age) though the same cannot be said of Chris Pine (Kirk). As the protagonist of the film, let’s just say Chris Pine is only convincing in parts – in some scenes he’s in his element and in others he looks completely off.

However, this movie really belongs to its director, J J Abrams. As someone, who clearly understands Star Trek and its characters, Abrams gets it bang on target (Pay particular attention to the voiceover at the end if you are a Star Trek fan). In one sequence, while I felt, he had gone a bit too far, he quickly inserts one dialogue that explains why that scene was so necessary. That said, there was still potential for this movie to be a tad shorter though Abrams does a fine job of it as it is.

So, if you haven’t beamed yourself into the theater already, you better get there at warp speed to see a promising sequel live up to its expectations – for a change

Movie Review: Mud…leaves its imprint

Mud has routinely been described as a ‘coming of age’ movie – I could scarcely put it better myself. It is a coming of age story about a boy who realizes the complexity of relationships and emotions; there are hardly any bangs and explosions – yet Mud leaves quite a mark as it draws to a close

Mud takes its time. You start off bleary eyed almost snoozing every now and then and the plot takes its time to develop. By the second half though, you are emotionally invested and wide awake, sometimes even holding your breath in anticipation

Not everything is explained, yet since you get emotionally invested, you get what is implied. There is an underlying layer to it all that you might have to be ponder a bit to get, but its worth it. One of the reasons I really like movies like The Social Network and The Descendants so much is because they present people as people intact with all their shades of grey. Without giving anything away, Mud accomplishes this as well, leading to an enjoyable cinematic experience.

The cinematography is breath-taking. No slick shots – just some beautiful pictures – any frame of the movie would do well as a picture postcard with perfect lighting and camera angles.

While he can be mistaken to be the hero (judging by the poster), Matthew McConaughey isn’t really the protagonist, though he does a great job of his character. That role belongs to the highly impressive Tye Sheridan who as Ellis dominates most of the screen time and does complete justice to it as well. Ellis is a pretty complex yet restrained character and Tye Sheridan does a wonderful job. All the others do a good supporting act as well. The only nagging issue is that they all have some kind of accent which gets you to miss some of the good dialogues. (PVR seems to always get it wrong as to which movies they should have subtitles and which they shouldn’t)

Mud, then, leaves its imprint. If you do end up watching it this weekend, I am pretty sure its not one of those that’ll wash off so easily. Whether such movies are your type, is another matter altogether

Movie Review: Bombay Talkies..tells pretty average stories

Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar – each of those names alone set expectations of high quality cinema. Now when those names come together in a singular presentation which is a supposed tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema, that’s epic stuff right? Almost, like a tale of The Avengers, of sorts, coming together to be greater than the sum of their parts and blowing the audience away with heart wrenching and heart warming plots. Well, not quite….

The truth of the matter is that there’s no tribute. The only ‘tribute’ you will find in this movie is the start and the end of the film (so don’t leave the hall after the ‘the end’ message). Other than that, I think its just a coincidence and the tribute angle almost seems forced.  What you really get to see is the off-beat indulgences of 4 really talented directors, that you won’t necessarily connect with. Some of it does shine out but as an overall package, it definitely lacks lustre

I don’t really want to give away who does what so I am gonna be a little cryptic now – one of them takes a known issue and gives it familiar treatment that was pretty disappointing (clearly expected more from that one), another takes a decent topic and develops it well till he/she falls back on the stereotypical stuff to tell an ordinary story, the third takes the simplest of settings to give a subtle message in a beautiful manner, while the fourth tells an interesting story but misses the moral (in my opinion). For your benefit I have changed the order of the stories as well)

As you can see, not too many shining stars in that description. Its not really bad though but its nothing of the ‘blow you away’ variety which you would be forgiven to expect in such a scenario. Writing is also strictly okay which is surprising given who all was in the ranks. The little music there is, is fairly tolerable; of course one never tires of the old bollywood classics that play in some of the sequences. In terms of acting, it’s a solid cast of characters and it mostly delivers – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vineet Kumar Singh, Saqib Saleem and young Naman Jain particularly stand out

There you have it – think of it as Dus Kahaaniyan brought down to 4 off beat stories without looking for meaning or message and forget that it’s a tribute of any kind and Bombay Talkies ends up being a decent, normal watch – don’t go with high expectations