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.

Movie Review: Room..its confines are its best times

The worst thing you can do before you watch Room is to watch the movie trailer. Even if you watch the first 20 seconds, it’ll give away all that the Room has in store in terms of plotline and plot twists. Then again, it might not be as bad because the Room is really about the presentation and the performances than what happens to its occupants.

Working in the tiny space that the Room offers can be an exhausting and claustrophobic task. However, the director does a brilliant job and coupled with the exquisite camerawork gives us the best moment the movie has to offer, within those confines. Sure, its intense and not at all pretty, still it delivers what it needs to. As the audience, you too begin to feel confined, wonder if the room extends to more than it appears and sympathize with the occupants of the room. This would be roughly the first half stage of the two hour runtime. So far, so very good.

The movie makes references to Alice in Wonderland and the rabbit hole she disappears into. That is an apt frame of reference to wonder at what goes wrong in the second half. Given perhaps a thousand possibilities after the limited arena in the first half, the Room begins to lose its firm structure and foundations. If this is done on purpose by the director, to align with the confusion its central characters feel by the course of events, it would be a masterstroke. Unfortunately, it just feels like the director (or maybe the writer since this is a book adaptation) genuinely got confused with what to do with all the options now available. It is only in its final 20 minutes that that movie truly redeems itself and gives meaningful dialogues and some structure to what it wants to convey – the ending being particularly noteworthy.

There are gaping plotholes and convenient contrivances in the Room but all that can be ignored and forgotten simply because of the earnest performance of the mother and son at the heart of this unusual tale. An absolutely astounding performance by child actor Jacob Tremblay is more than ably supported by a wonderful performance by Brie Larson. These two are the life of the movie and together deliver its most memorable moments – though the feather in the Room’s cap is that you view the entire movie from the eyes of the child. In a side act, we also have a short but credible performance from Joan Allen (Pamela Landy from the Bourne series).

Barring the half hour that the Room comes somewhat off its hinges, it offers a deeply stirring peep into a beautiful mother-son relationship and the innocence and simplicity of childhood despite its terrifying situation. I can say this much for sure – you’ll emerge from the theater with a better appreciation for your life and the world you live in – for that and the astounding performances its worth glancing through the skylight and looking into the world of the Room

Movie Review: Airlift..takes off in nearly grand style

Movies like Airlift are not generally made in Bollywood and that’s really a pity. If this is a harbinger of things to come, 2016 couldn’t have started on a better note (let’s just forget about Wazir for the moment). While its not perfect, Airlift sets the bar really high. More so, it pays a grand tribute to an epic story, that most would never have known had it not been made.

There are two main reasons why Airlift succeeds – one, due to its powerful storyline which is inspired by real events and two, because of the wonderfully understated yet deeply intense performance of Akshay Kumar. In fact, it’s the second of these that will get you to overlook some of the flaws in direction – the unconvincing transformation of Akshay’s character, the hurried build up to the sequence of events that play out and even the over-dramatization of the hero towards the climax. I wouldn’t be overstating the case to say that this is probably Akshay Kumar’s best performance till date.

Playing his better half is Nimrat Kaur who is surprisingly a bit of a mixed bag. The dolled up look doesn’t suit her and for someone so naturally beautiful it is the second half where she isn’t wearing that much make up that she is much more appealing. Her performance also has a similar trajectory and it is her acidic monologue in the second half that gets you to sit up and take notice. The side act isn’t really for her and she should take more and more central roles – she seems most comfortable and convincing in those. The side acts are solid as well – Purab Kohli, Kumud Mishra, Inaamul Haq (a tad unconvincing in comparison to his natural act in Filmistaan previously) and Prakash Belawadi (as the particularly well delivered obnoxious Malyali) all bring credence to the script.

Unlike Baby, which harped too much on the mission and action, Airlift is about human emotions and you can feel for the trials and tribulations of every person you see on the screen. There are other gems as well – the good production design, wonderful camerawork and mostly tight and deft direction which keeps your interest going in the events of Airlift pretty much throughout its runtime. There are some special touches too – scenes where no words are spoken and yet everything is said, the aforementioned monologue, Purab Kohli’s understated character and his story arc. I should probably stop here..lest I spoil your fun.

Its not all a smooth ride though. There is the obvious turbulence with completely avoidable songs – which do nothing to help the tense nature of the plotline and seek to provide unnecessary relief. Thankfully they are cut short and we go back to the events before they can become more tiresome. There is a distinct focus on keeping things real and balanced rather than making them sensational, that is truly the hallmark of the film and takes the script to greater heights. This has been the bane of most Bollywood commercial entertainers and while it almost teeters on the edge, Airlift doesn’t succumb to that trap.

Instead Airlift gives wings to a tight script and makes a near perfect lift off the runway giving us a flight that is truly worthy to remember and a great start to 2016

Movie Review: Wazir..check but far from checkmate

Making a movie titled Wazir is a risky move to open with. Having themes of chess introduced into it is riskier still. Why? Because It gets your audience thinking in that vein as well. As the director moves his pieces into place, as the audience you too start trying to guess what he is up to. Unless, he’s got something really unexpected up his sleeve, there’s a good chance you’ll see through his game. And that..in a nutshell is the issue with Wazir.

If you hear absolutely anything about the movie, and there’s a fair share of spoilsports who would like nothing better than to ruin things for you, there’s nothing left to go and watch so, read as few reviews as you can (barring this one, of course)

Wazir starts off strong. While the title credits start with a song, it goes for the jugular right from the first few scenes and has you invested in its characters and context. Unlike chess, however, to which the movie alludes every chance it gets, there are no pieces being laid out, no stage being set to reel you in. Still it all builds up well and you are engaged for majority of the movie. However, the climax squarely falls flat.

Maybe if you can’t figure it all out, you’ll have your moment of shock and awe. Me, I could see where it was all headed at the interval itself. Hardly the thrills one would hope for. Also, the sequences are contrived to the nth degree. Throughout the movie, while you’ll have every urge to do so, avoid questioning ‘how’ did this happen and just assume that is how it is meant to be. The sad part is, even if you accept the sequence of events as they play out, the finale doesn’t create those moments of disbelief that thrillers are supposed to be all about.

Some of the writing is par excellence. A few lines will get you to have a lump in the throat and could scarcely be presented more simply and effectively. Unfortunately that’s not the case throughout the movie and despite all its ‘talk’ of shatranj and the ‘khel khel mein..’ strain, the dialogues are quite straight forward.

The acting is top notch as well and the exchanges between the duo of Amitabh and Farhan (which forms a significant part of the movie itself) being particularly engaging. Some of the high strung scenes have Farhan screeching rather than performing, but he does equally well in the more restrained emotional bits. Aditi Rao Hydari while she has a side role, expresses plenty with her eyes and despite less dialogues makes her presence felt. Amitabh performs flawlessly but then he has far more calibre than what his (finally) simple character demanded.

The songs are the other bane of this a little over 2 hours of drama. While sung by the best crop of singers we have today, none of them are particularly melodious and most of the time they only slow down whatever little pace the movie would’ve developed so far.

Much like the game of chess, the checkmate move is what would’ve made this one stellar – when one had the sinking feeling that they’ve been outwitted by a mind keener and sharper than their own and the gameplan is truly worthy of applause. Unfortunately, instead you come back with the feeling that you spent the last two hours playing with an amateur who while he had the best pieces and played what he thought was a winning move basically led you to the conclusion that you deserved a more worthy opponent.

Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens..with renewed vigour

As you sit in the hall watching the beloved spectacle unfold on the screen, you are more and more convinced that this revival was the right thing to do. This franchise has captured the imagination of millions in its glory days and if you can do justice to it – then moving the franchise forward is simply the right thing to do. The great news is that with JJ Abrams at the helm – the early indications sure do look promising.

Taking the storyline itself into the future after Return of the Jedi was a bold and very risky move. There is a lot of nostalgia attached with the old characters and this would’ve been a sensitive one to negotiate. However, I think Abrams has done an admirable job of meshing the old and the new. It tugs at the heartstrings for just a bit but keeps the focus firmly on the action. So much so that this movie simply seems a continuation of the franchise. It is refreshing to see that Abrams is not trying to change much which seems to be the trend with all the reboots and story advances the other franchises are having these days.

The art direction and cinematography is excellent. You quickly get immersed in this distinctly different world and with the technological advances over the years, the action looks simply spectacular. Screen transitions are very much like the earlier movies as well. While the 3D is hardly there, you should catch this one in IMAX if you can, simply because the giant screen would make the action much more immersive. I wish though, that the sequels that follow are even shot in an Avatar-esque 3D camera – that would really be something.

The story has new characters albeit in familiar plotlines. There are references to what has already happened but not to such an extent that you can’t follow the plot without watching or more likely, still remembering the original storyline. There are some pretty large plot gaps and convenient twists that make this new story pretty average. The climax disappoints in terms of content but the visuals look even more spectacular. One does get the distinct feeling however that this movie is packaged to be an opener to a new chapter of the franchise with more explosive and story laden sequels to follow.

The focus of this movie is largely on the action and the visuals so there isn’t much acting to do per se. However, everybody including the newcomers to the franchise, do a decent job. BB8 is probably going to become the next beloved mascot of this new generation of the series.


I think this is a promising start to a new chapter of the franchise. By staying true to its roots, paying homage to its original story and characters, rather than trying to replace them, Abrams has made quite the fanboy movie and given the series the respect it deserves. May the Force be with him as he now takes on the even trickier job of building a complex plotline in the sequels that are bound to follow.