Movie Review: Jungle Book..a classy re-imagining of the classic

Right from the old world Disney title entry that serves as the opening credits for the new age Jungle Book you get the feeling that you are in for something special..and that feeling stays with you long after you’ve left the theaters.

When I first saw the trailers of the new Jungle Book it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that my jaw dropped. The creativity and thought process itself was astounding. Sure, they’ve been live adaptations of other classic stories like Cinderella but this was a whole different ball game – it features only animals and one kid!! How do you bring that to life without using any actual animals? However much I explain, it won’t suffice. But one look at this movie and you’ll realize the exciting vision of Jon Favreau which quite simply is brought to glorious life.

None of this is real. Its all CGI. Much as you repeat this to yourself, equally you are bound to shake your head in disbelief. Surely this tree, that sunlight, that elephant, Bagheera, Baloo – some of this stuff has to be real. That’s how true to life this movie is and hats off to the director for making this one the way he has.

One of the main reasons this Jungle book is the astounding success it is, apart from its visuals is its frame perfect voice acting – especially Bill Murray as Baloo (who puts energy and life into the shots) and Ben Kingsley as the wise Bagheera. Lupita’s Raksha evokes quite the emotion and Idris Elba’s Sharekhan brings out dread. While a lot of people (reviewers) have picked a bone with Scarlett Johansson’s Kaa, I thought she did a pretty good job for the rather short role she had. Instead, I was more disappointed by Christopher Walken’s King Louie, but that was more to do with his appearance, the song and dance routine and his character, rather than his performance. Neel Sethi puts in a credible performance and his innocent, vulnerable Mowgli is a joy to watch.

If I was to crib (and I am really keen not to so I’ll keep it short) the 3D is not all that much there and after the crowning success of Life of Pi, one feels that was a missed opportunity. Still the visuals are simply gorgeous and while you will come out of the jungle in 2 hours, it’ll stay with you till long after

Despite being a children’s classic, am not sure if this one is for kids though. Some characters can look quite sinister and the perfect background score adds to the dread. Over and above that the atmospheric visuals can paint a pretty scary landscape for a kid.

There is a surprising amount of sub-text and nuance in the storyline with many social causes and lessons being implied.Its not all like the children’s classic and there are fair departures on how the story proceeds. Its still all very predictable of course, but it takes a different turn from the many lighter moments of the original cartoon.

Whether you’ve seen and loved the original Jungle Book or not, this is one Jungle you have to visit. So alluring is its ‘natural’ beauty and charming are its 'occupants' that you would be hypnotized in its spell and tempted to join the pack yourself. Jungle Book just became timeless in a new way, all over again.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 3..almost delivers a skadoosh

While Kung Fu Panda will always get points for originality, it is Kung Fu Panda 2 that really raised the stakes for this franchise. The quality of it all – moving to the 3D arena, picking up where the story left off, giving such a natural progression to the story line and a formidable villain with superb animation – it gave us hope and belief, that this series would not aim low to just be a money spinner but instead be one of those rare gems that takes time, effort and polish to make it look just right. Resultantly, expectations were high from Kung Fu Panda 3..will it do the impossible and go one better yet again?…

I would have liked nothing better than to say that, in its own way, it does but that would not be stating the whole truth. For a large part of its runtime, it does exactly that but just as it begins to fill you with hope, the movie loses its natural flow and abruptly cuts to a less than thrilling and rather rushed climax. This is really a pity because the movie does so many things right, one wonders what went so wrong for it to make the finale the way it did. It almost felt like that there was another, more measured storyline planned, but it couldn’t be executed due to some constraints and they had to end up going with this one. That’s how out of place the climax feels.

Kung Fu Panda 3 has a beautiful soul. The storyline progresses to its next natural step from the last installment as well. The Furious Five are in great form and even though, Kai is nowhere close to Shen the Peacock, he does just about enough to keep you interested. The animation quality is stellar and yet again the franchise finds new ways of painting the same canvas in creative ways – some as flashbacks to familiar times, others to tell a new unfamiliar history. The action is fast and engaging. The voice acting is top notch as well and the entire cast, led from the front, by Jack Black as Po is in top form.

The jokes, even though some are repeats, never get old and there is plenty that will have you chuckling every now and then. There are some good lessons as well, but they either seem rushed and forced or too subtle to leave an impact. The coming of age of Po that was the highlight of its sequel, doesn’t seem nearly as convincing in his third outing even though the attempt is made again.

But for its climax, the third installment virtually delivers a skadoosh. There is no denying, despite the disappointment of the climax, this is a trilogy that has delivered at a high bar all throughout and Po and this franchise will go down in history, truly as the dragon warrior they always deserved to be. On the bright side, though, I have heard some talk of this saga originally having 6 chapters and not just 3 so there may be hope after all. For now, though, it brings closure and if you’ve loved part 1 and 2, there’s no reason you should miss this third and seemingly, final installment

Movie Review: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice..deserved a brighter beginning

For those of you who didn’t ‘get’ the beginning referred to in the title of this blogpost, I am sorry I can’t help you. For those of you who did, that’s exactly what this movie is supposed to be about and everything else is just an incoherent hash of random emotions, dialogues, fists, punches and crashes. Is that a good thing? Most certainly not.

Dawn of Justice begins with a rather unique perspective – though its an ugly reminder of the metal mangled mess that Man of Steel was, it presents proceedings differently and was a refreshingly good idea. Unfortunately, like a lot of other stuff in the movie, its very superficial and doesn’t leave any impact, on you or the plotline (if you could call it that).

I am not one for a superhero face-off – I’d prefer them saving the world rather than bashing each other up. Still, there is potential in such a script, if the motives for each side were clear, you weren’t sure whom to root for and there was a philosophical angle that made neither a white knight. This one fails on all three counts. In fact, the big face-off happens for a laughably bad plot device and it would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. Speaking of laughter, well there’s none of it – there’s just dull, gloom and despair with plenty of brooding to boot. The best ‘fun’ lines are already covered in the trailers.

Nolan should probably thank Zack Snyder. After the soaring heights he achieved with the Dark Knight, Rises was quite underwhelming as the finale. However, with the Snyder version of the Dark Knight (or rather Bat of Gotham) you get to witness what depths the character could have fallen to and thank your stars that Nolan did it so much better. I wouldn’t blame Affleck – he does what he can, with his poorly written character. Henry Cavill is in no different state. He has shown us what he can do, given the right canvas (if you still haven’t seen The Man from U.N.C.L.E, you are missing something), but if you give him Man of Steel there is precious little that even he can do about it. Eisenberg suffers the same fate, whose Lex Luthor looks retarded instead of a maniac. The only one who looks somewhat sane is Amy Adams, who has a shorter part (than in Man of Steel) and does a decent job.

And then, there is Mr Snyder with his obsession of his original movie Man of Steel. Much as we hate it, he keeps taking us back to it, still failing to prove a point, if any. There is exactly one shock and awe moment and that too dies away in the dust, fumes and smoke. I am at a loss why this movie was made in 3D at all – there is nothing that feels like 3D except perhaps for the maple leaves in the opening credits. Also, I know its Han Zimmer, but that doesn't mean the background score has to start blaring for every single shot.

I would’ve written an even more scathing review, given how things were shaping up around the half way stage, but the latter half of the movie, some what makes up for considerable lost ground and the action depicted towards the end is quite well done. The premise it builds up to excites even more so there may be hope for this franchise still. Wonder Woman (they really shouldn’t have revealed her in the trailers) is perhaps the most refreshing hero on-screen though she has the minimum air time. Even her abilities are just assumed to be understood by the audience and much potential to establish her heroics is squandered away. That said, the ‘super-heroism’ (if there is such a word) is done quite well in the finale and that is probably the best reason to watch this movie. The effects are good, the action is realistic and well shot.


With his latest offering, Mr. Snyder joins my (so far short) list of directors whom I can neither appreciate nor understand (joining Mr. Mendes and Mr. Bhansali for company). Dawn of Justice doesn’t do ‘justice’ to either Batman or Superman..or for that matter the other characters it heralds the beginnings of. Let’s hope they have a better day in the sun - the dawn has cast more of a dark shadow than a bright light on the future of this franchise.

Movie Review: Kapoor & Sons (since 1921)…a moving celebration of family

To be really honest, I wasn’t at all flattered with the movie title. That and the trailer of this movie had me convinced that this one wasn’t going to be worth my time. Despite such misgivings, I still went for it and I don’t regret the decision. I don’t think you would either.

Kapoor & Sons, like the family it portrays is far from perfect. The movie could easily have been 20 minutes shorter, some scenes could definitely have been cut out or at least made more snappier. However, apart from that and the pitiably low quality of music this one has, there is little fault to find with this imperfect family.

The family’s characters have been etched out really well and despite this being a Karan Johar production, there is a significant amount of realism built into the visuals and the character portrayals. Some of the background chatter and one to one conversations may even have you reflecting if this is something you’d encounter in your own home. Of course, its all exaggerated to tell a story, but it doesn’t seem to be set in the make-believe world that Karan Johar movies normally are.

The writing of the movie is surprisingly quite good – that and the sincere performances are what keep you invested throughout. After a long while, Kapoor & Sons brings together a story and characters, where you actually feel the connect, wish the best for them and join in their tears when the mood gets gloomy. While the first half is predictable to a fault, it is no less enjoyable.The second half meanwhile, has quite a few tricks up its sleeve especially if you saw the trailer and made any inferences. The trailer, I might add, is a smart ploy. It gets you thinking about the movie’s story in one direction while it marches in the exact opposite one. The background score compliments the visuals especially towards the climax, and while you can poke holes into how the story progresses, you can’t help but be moved by it as well.

Kapoor & Sons’ well written scripted is lifted by its performances – veterans Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah deliver a wonderfully natural performance – they may well be their characters. Rishi Kapoor has a delightful, albeit one dimensional character and he brings much welcome laughter and mirth to the scenes. That said, while the prosthetics make him look the cute grandfather, there’s not much else to convince that he is that character, in terms of his performance. Amongst the newbies, it is Fawad Khan who is the real revelation with a wonderfully understated and nuanced performance – this guy will be one to watch out for. In an ensemble cast where all the characters have almost equal air time, he manages to stand out. As Tia, firebrand Alia while a refreshing presence on the screen, has little to do, but in one emotional moment, she asserts herself and proves just why she is not just the new kid on the block. Siddharth Malhotra, is perhaps the weakest link, who while he does justice to his character, struggles with the emotional bits, quite visibly.


I have to admit, I am one of those who really liked K3G as well, so maybe such drama gets to me. However, am pretty sure that even if K3G was not up your alley, this particular family will get your approval. Kapoor & Sons, while it deserved a better title, is not just about one big happy family – it delves much deeper into relationships, conversations and emotions and its director Shakun Batra deserves all the applause to knit such complexity together with panache and a generous dose of realism. Don’t get dissuaded by the title like I did, this one definitely deserves a closer look.

Movie Review: Zootopia..modern day Animal Farm

Zootopia is not a children’s movie. It’s a full on regular movie that just happens to be animated and features only animals. If you were looking to go for zootopia to amuse your kids or have a laugh or two then you’re clearly going with wrong idea. In fact, I am not even sure it can be called ‘for kids’ with some of the themes and scenes it presents. What Zootopia is though, is a socially aware movie that gives subtle, and sometimes not so subtle messages about our current state of society.

Traditionally animation movies are supposed to be light, entertaining and around one central message or theme. Zootopia is anything but. The runtime is just one hour fifty minutes but the movie easily feels longer, simply because it introduces so many themes and motifs into the fray. The attempt is laudable but I wish they’d not tried to do ‘everything’ in the same movie. They could’ve taken a leaf from the book of ‘Inside Out’ which took a simplistic theme and built on it naturally. Instead, much like the animals that inhabit zootopia, the movie has ideas of all shapes and sizes but tends to cram them all together making the arrangement a little messy – it makes a scathing commentary on stereotypes and prejudices but also crams in media manipulation, racism, pokes fun at certain practices and psychological evaluations to name a few. Despite saying so many things, there are a lot of subtle touches here and there too – the movie has so much to say.(watch for the iphone with the carrot logo)

The 3D is practically non-existent. Seriously watch this in 2D if you can. The only thing the 3D ends up doing is dulling the visuals and that doesn’t make for a pretty sight. Being populated with only animals Zootopia gets to use all the animal phrases as one-liners which is pretty effective and will definitely induce the odd chuckle or two. There’s a lot of freshness to the characters though and some of the cameos especially Flash and Mr. Big are bound to have you in splits. Then again, some other characters are weakly fleshed out and not as convincing. As to the performances, the voice acting is rock solid for both the bunny (Ginnifer Goodwin) and the fox (Jason Bateman) and their exchanges will keep you interested throughout the runtime.

Zootopia is a great idea and brings a lot of freshness to the storyline – something Disney has been doing well ever since Frozen. However, while other movies have tried to say only one thing or two – zootopia tries to teach too many lessons. Its biggest save is one line at the end – which tries to sum up what this movie is all about - No matter what kind of animal you are – change starts with you. That should give you some idea of what to expect.

Watch Zootopia, but not for the kids – it just happens to be an animation movie.

Movie Review:The Revenant..life in its every breath

The Revenant could have been just another ordinary movie albeit with great leads. Story-wise I wouldn’t call it anything new. There’s plenty that has been made and made well on this kind of a theme. However, where The Revenant resurrects this ordinary story line into something much more, is in the way it is presented.

I started watching this one with an air of skepticism. Birdman, Inarritu’s last outing was a little too metaphorical for my taste. With all its talk of the trees and its roots in the first 10 minutes of The Revenant I braced myself for yet another offering wherein everything would be implied and nothing would be as it seems. Turns out, I worried for naught. The Revenant is as straight as they come.

What you really come to appreciate in The Revenant is the film-making – the breath taking cinematography – each frame can be a picture postcard despite the desolate environment it captures, perfect screenplay and minimalist background score that perfectly compliments and in fact, enhances the tense visuals. Like many others, the movie is visceral and brutal in its display of violence and bloodshed (certainly not for kids). However, where it sets itself apart is that it all comes across as natural to the script, rather than forced in, just for better impact.(12 years a slave – am talking about you). The changing seasons and the impact of weather conditions is masterfully shown and you start to feel as if you yourself are out there – affected by them, battling them. Most of the time you hear nature, in all its diversity, in all its brutality and all its reality. What nature does well, the movie doesn’t spoil with background score.

To be fair, the movie also sags in parts but just as you feel you can catch a quick shut eye, it jolts you out of comfort and you spring back to attention – wide-eyed at the turn of events, that you never anticipated. Still there was potential for a 20 minutes shorter runtime.

And now the big question – will this one finally win Leonardo Di Caprio his much deserved Oscar. Well, he can win it, I mean he’s done complete justice to his character. While it isn’t all that layered a character, it would’ve taken gritty determination to shoot the scenes he has shot in the first place – maybe that alone deserves an Oscar. If I am not all that enthusiastic about him winning for The Revenant, it is because I’ve seen better work from him with much more complex characters in the past. Fingers crossed on that one.

It must also be mentioned if Leo is the central protagonist, Tom Hardy is the other pillar on which The Revenant comes to life. Barely recognizable up front, complete with his new accent, Hardy is a tour de force and even overshadows Leo in a couple of scenes. In comparison, his Bane act is pretty much amateurish and with The Revenant, he showcases how well he can get into character. This one definitely deserves the supporting role Oscar.


The Revenant then is a compelling watch that you almost start to feel a part of as you watch it. While it doesn’t resurrect anything in particular - there is good cinema for this genre already, the characters are pretty much black and white and storyline is simple – purely by its film making quality it makes sure it gets counted amongst the top lists and is one of the better offerings across 2015-16.

Movie Review: Neerja..a story of extraordinary bravery and heroism

Here’s one rare review where I don’t need to worry about giving away what the movie is about (maybe even a first). If you don’t know the story of Neerja Bhanot, well then you ought to know it and if you do, you already have some idea of what you can expect to see.

Me, I was one of the ignorant fools who had only a sketchy idea of what she actually did and the first thing I did after witnessing such heroism in the hall, was to check up on how much of it was fact and how much was fiction. Often these stories can have some fictional elements – just to make the hero more heroic, if nothing else. Well, that’s not the case here – every single act is how it actually happened and I am damn glad this movie was made. At least now I know and can sincerely salute this lady for her incredible bravery in the face of this terrible ordeal.

That brings me to Neerja – the movie (which is what this post is supposed to really be about). Unfortunately, am a little torn – on the one side I want to continue to laud the story of this incredible woman and on the other, the movie making didn’t wholly grip my attention. In fact, the movie starts off painfully slow and predictable and you don’t even feel the build up as much. There is no sense of underlying tension despite showing terrorists in preparation and had this not been about Neerja – I doubt if I could’ve felt as much for the goings on on-screen. Thankfully though the direction becomes better when the action heats up and some scenes are executed with near brilliance. Still, that happens only in certain moments and it is Neerja’s (the woman) brilliance that keeps you interested rather than how the movie is made

In a lot of ways I thought there were missed opportunities – the childhood of Neerja and her zest for life, her actual voice, which has separately been tweeted by Sonam Kapoor (I wonder what good that does now and why they didn’t have the common sense to put that in the movie itself especially at the end), accounts from the actual passengers and how they saw Neerja deal with the situation – Neerja (the movie) could’ve been so much more. That said, the sincerity of the effort is still laudable.

Which brings me to Sonam Kapoor. Aisha (which is unfortunately how I see her) is very much Aisha in the initial part and you almost groan inwardly. However, the second half sees a virtual transformation and suddenly you start seeing her as a different person. Its in her moments of silence and cool collectedness that she becomes a different actress. If only she would screech a little less – there might be hope for her as an actress after all. The characters of the terrorists are again a bit of a hit and miss. While convincing to begin with, there’s just too much screaming and shouting towards the climax. As for the others, well Shabana Azmi is a brilliant cast as Neerja’s mother – but I felt there was an over-dependence on her, especially towards the climax. Yogendra Tiku does a commendable job as the father. There are some subtle moments between the distraught parents which are captured particularly well.

Painfully, there are some songs too, that you have to sit through, which of course, have no meaning or purpose to the storyline.


All that being said, Neerja (the story) is a must watch and for that reason alone I would suggest you go and witness the ordeal of Pan Am 73 and the heroic feats of Neerja Bhanot. While the movie has its faults, one cannot doubt the sincere effort that the director and for a change, Sonam Kapoor too, have made to immortalize the ‘Heroine of the Hijack’ on screen.