REVIEW OF INTERSTELLAR

By the time you are reading this, there is a good chance that you have watched Interstellar. Hence, I will refrain from explaining the story-line and rather jump directly into the review itself.

Christopher Nolan's  tenth work on screen and his first work off earth is as big as the journey (taken by the crew in the movie) itself.That is only if you agree that $165,000,000 (the movie's budget) is actually a huge dough. 

Just like Necessity is the mother of Invention, Imagination is the power of Cinema. But there are many fellow movie-buffs who felt that Nolan had taken it too far under the cloak of imagination.When the question of whether all we see is possible arises, the answer comes from the McConaughey himself , "It is not Possible, but it is necessary". Now go back to the beginning of this para and 

read the quote (to understand the pun). 

I am from India, where we have our own flourishing movie industry and our moviegoers are second to one. In taste of good cinema we treat Hollywood as one of our one but it has been too long since I hear applause from the crowd once the credits started rolling. Now if it was FDFS, I wouldn't be surprised. But I watched it a good 3-4 days after its scheduled India release which tells us a lot about the way the common moviegoer perceived the movie. Applause may have stemmed from the Hope that was injected at the end or the brilliance of Nolan, I leave that your better judgement.

My only grunt was that Einstein wasn't hear to see this venture. For it was he who wrote the ABCs on which the movie's foundation was laid.

The character that impressed me the most, others may not feel the same way, was Dr.Mann. It wasn't Matt Damon's performance but the way it was penned that added grace and Drama to the story. It has proved that typical Human Survival instinct takes front seat no matter how far from earth we are. Before we start judging Dr.Mann (those who have watched the movie), we should ask ourselves the same question, "Would I have done the same?"

The cast has done its role, but let's be frank, they won't get Oscars for their performance. But they can settle down with a satisfying performance and for many in the crew, working with Nolan, is one off the bucket list.

Interstellar: Stellar Indeed.

REVIEW OF GONE GIRL

How far will you go to hurt the one’s you love and when will you know that you have crossed the point of no return? And what will you do, once you know that you have crossed it. Does Mercy have limits? If so, how much before Mercy before it is seen as weakness. These questions might seem random but after watching the movie you will understand, why I have asked them in the first place.

When a suburban house wife goes missing, the detectives begin their investigation which catalysed by an intense media-circus turns into a national sensation and at one stage turns against the husband who becomes the prime accused. But, the truth is buried several layers deep.

Time and again Hollywood comes with movies on How to lead a matrimonial Life?  Here’s a movie that tells us How “not” to lead a matrimonial Life? The stress that everyday couples meet, along with perversions, secrets, dis-communication and lack-of-trust built up to a point where, all it takes is a single match to turn everything else to ash.

Rosamund Pike, as the titular “girl” is anything but a girl. A detailed description would spill beans on the storyline. But let me say this, she’s not what it seems and her performance is easily the front-runner for the next year’s Oscar. (Note that smile towards the end that she sheds on Affleck).

Ben Affleck, as the husband, is always on the receiving end until the end. His helplessness tickles us nine out of ten times, but rarely do we feel sorry for him. It’s going to be hard to digest that he will be playing Batman in his next, when people are gonna say “Hey he’s the guy who got messed up by his own wife in the previous movie”.

Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris are the other notables in the movie, each playing a role that has a weight of its own and also add sheen to the overall glow of the movie.

David Fincher is back with a bang and, he like Pike, is another front-runner for the next year’s Oscar. No Bullets, No shape-shifting robots, No Government conspiracy, No Tom Cruise jumping from Burj-Khalifa and yet we are presented a gripping thriller which goes from good to too-good to too-damn-good.

Major Kudos to Gillian Flynn without whose Novel (and screenplay) this would have never happened.

Watch it and if you are married, there is a good chance that you will sit down and talk with your wife and if you are not, you will think twice about getting married.

GONE Girl: Here to STAY.

REVIEW OF ANNABELLE

Story: How a raggedy Ann Doll turns into something more than just raggedy and the trouble it creates in the lives of a couple pretty sums up the plotline of “Annabelle”.

Horror Elements: Let me begin by saying that I am one of the millions who went in expecting a conjuring-par movie. But what I found was a horror movie which became a victim of its own success. The hype created around its making was not completely satisfied as the best scenes were revealed in the teasers and trailers and some of other horror elements turned out to be, for the lack of better word, predictable (like injury from a sewing machine, baby being the centre plot and some more).

But I am not going to deny, yes the movie did have some of its own horror elements (the carpet-moment, noises-on-top moment) but they were just not enough to satisfy the thirst. Lack of too many characters, lack of an in-depth into the cult mentioned, lack of in-depth about the said demon, presence of demon in very few frames all let to an ending which felt more like abrupt than like an end. If anything the popcorns jerked inside the tub but none of it overflew while for “the conjuring” almost all of it spilled without some of them flying to the back seats.

The absence of the stewardship of James Wan was felt on the whole. With a few more gripping elements in the early half, the movie would have become more likeable but still far from the conjuring-effect.

In short Conjuring-2: Victim of its own success.

REVIEW OF YAAN

Storyline: A happy-go-lucky unemployed youth after being insulted by his girlfriend’s father takes up a job in a foreign nation and lands in deep trouble.

What should have been a pointless entertainer has turned to be just pointless. Entertainment, if any, was only in the director’s mind. Filled with numerous cliché this is just another movie made for the sake of making a movie and nothing more.

Flaws begin in the first half (love-at-first-sight, US return who messes with the hero) where the protagonist’s immaturity haunts us. What should have been a riveting fun filled episode (like in Endrendrum Punnagai) is nothing more than passing cloud which just won’t pass and keep pestering us. Only when we shift into the second half do we realise that it is not the hero’s immaturity but the director’s (in particular script writer) immaturity that shines on screen.

Two-thirds into the movie, most of us were busy doing things other than watching. I was praying (for the credits to roll down soon), my counterparts were snoring and other were creating memes.

Some of the flaws which I find worth mentioning: Lack of a gripping screenplay, logic has been thrown into the sea, powerful actors not being properly utilised (Nasser and Thambi Ramaiaah) and other flaws that I don’t even want to recollect.

PS:My friends who woke after sleeping never felt like they missed a scene despite missing minutes together.

In short Yaan=Yawn.

A must avoid.

4/10.

REVIEW OF JIGARTHANDA

What does it take to create a genre out of nothing? What does it take to bring a fresh experience to a genre that is already chewed worse than a betel nut? The first question can be answered via a 300 page paperback. Hence I have no choice but to take a rain check on that. Let’s focus on the second for now.

Gangster-a character that attained cult status thanks to the Brandos, Pacinos, Tarantinos and many other o’s that I miss here. A man with blood on his hand who always thirsts for another’s is every villain’s dream. In fact, every actor who enters the silver-screen with an anti-hero aspiration is sure to portray one such role within the first three films of his career. Such is the frequency of gangsters in world cinema. But looking back in time how much such gangsters stand the test of time. Countable. Definitely in the single digits. It’s either poor scripting or poor portrayal or a bit of both. But time and again there comes a gangster who will make us see the true emotions that is covered by a façade of anger at all times.

Jigarthanda (Cold-Heart) (which is also a popular drink in Madurai) is a gangster saga painted in red white and dreams. The story spins around a gangster named “Sethu” in the first half who makes the story to spin around itself in the latter half only to give us a run through the ups and downs of being a gangster with some unforgettable cinematic moments coupled with some eye catching cinematography.

Maybe it was my exposure to world cinema or something else; the film reminded me of some lesser known Hollywood films (notably America’s Sweetheart). But let’s not take the credit from the team. Their hard work and a different take on the over-chewed genre (go back to first para) is definitely a (Usain) Bolt from Blue.

First thanks to the producer for the obvious reason. The second thanks to the director for the more obvious reason. The biggest congrats (no thanks to him) goes to Simhaa who has literally been a gangster in both the halves only to give us a lesson that it is indeed possible to come out of the bloodshed life if you will for it.

Few touchy moments, few racy moments, few hair-raising, edge of the seat along with an intelligent screenplay is what makes this a must-watch if possible twice or thrice experience.

JigarThanda- A cool movie about a cold-hearted gangster.

REVIEW OF TRANSFORMERS:AGE OF EXTINCTION

When a nomadic transformer with a mobile prison and a rogue CIA black-ops division descend upon a common target, Optimus Prime , who has taken refuge with a struggling inventor ( that’s what he calls himself but I don’t agree) things become chaos and Michael Bay has tried to bring order out of the aforementioned Chaos with helping hands from CG department.

Transformers:Age of Extinction is the continuation to the Transfomers Saga which happens to keep going on and on and on. Movie starts five years after Chicago where everyone is anti-alien thanks to the goliathic ego of one CIA top brass who has convinced the world that both Autobots and Decepticons are injurious to health. When Optimus wakes from his brief siesta he is forced to go gun-blazing and then, well that part is obvious. People die. Accidents happen. Humans make mistake and ultimately repent. Autobots save the day after destroying countless skyscrapers in the process. End of story. Oh sorry about that. The story ends only so that another sequel can be made. Yes, with few untied loose ends there is bound to be a sequel and it’s only a matter of time before the official announcement is made.

The franchise has reached a saturation point where it does what any other franchise would do. Explore the emotional side of the characters. Till now, Autobots were nothing but mean fighting machines that always end up on top. But this time around the story has been scripted with their conscience as centre-stage. Every time an innocent metal is broken, Optimus pains as if it was his own and reaches a point where he no longer cares about the humans but is ultimately talked out of it.

It is however ironic to see Optimus Prime as a wretched truck with the bumper sticker that says “Got Ammo?” while Bumblee bee occupies less screen time than he did last time. However there are new additions at the end, one of them being the Dinobot (strange name, given the fact that spits fire. Might as well call him Dragobot).

At 164 minutes, this is easily the longest movie in the franchise. This could be a downfall for those who are not used to watching lengthy movies. The usual cast is replaced by the new ones who are more of a supporting cast when things go south. Mark Wahlberg is the protective dad who, even in the middle of intense crossfire, is more worried if her daughter’s boyfriend gets close to her. He calls himself an inventor, yes he is very much similar to Tony Stark except that none of his tech works or works in the opposite direction.

As usual, CG is the hero with all kinds of aerial craziness alongside some kick-ass robots who literally live up to the said adjective.

On the whole, a better writing than the previous three which has opened new doors to the next set of money-making sequels.

"EDGE OF TOMORROW" - MOVIE REVIEW

A scared-of-the-war soldier (No, that wasn’t a typo error) is forcibly thrown (literally) on a battle field where he has to play tag with aliens and bullets and you can guess the rest. Along the way he meets a girl whom everyone fondly calls “Full-metal-B**ch” (That wasn’t a typo either). Together they are put in a time loop where they play the same day again and again and again until the director decides to call it a day (No extra points if the movie “Groundhog day” comes to your mind).

Based on novel “All you need is kill”, there is nothing much for the story department and to some extent the screenplay department can relax a bit for the same reason. But flavouring it in the Hollywood crucible with some star-powered cast, this movie has essentially become one of the best sci-fi in the recent times.

Before you decide to vote against me, let me make my stand clear. I go into a sci-fi movie not expecting an Oscar performance or a classy screenplay. On the contrary I expect entertainment with some good-to-recall moments that will make my money worthwhile. Did the movie tick all the boxes, YES.

Tom Cruise, as we all know, is Hollywood’s go-to-guy when it comes to saving the world. Be it the Russians (in MI-4) or killer drones (in Oblivion) or the “mimics” (in this movie”) he has seen them all and killed them all. When the Academy decides to offer an award on the “most kill category”, we know who the front-runner is.

Ok, enough deviations. Edge Of Tomorrow (EOT) is nothing short of an adrenaline drive which doesn’t take itself very seriously (which is a good thing) with its own light-hearted moments (For ex. The hero must die each time to reset the day and guess who does it most of the time). Though this dries up a bit towards the end, the story fills in the vacuum with touch-ups from the CG department.

Some of you might be confused towards the end as to how the story shaped itself. But then it’s the writer freedom to decide how his story must end. So, that’s forgiven.

Edge of Tomorrow: Will leave you on the edge of your seats.