Mission Impossible 7 & Oppenheimer: "Wholesome entertainment!!!"

Even as Hollywood is in a deadlock with the screenwriters of the Writers Guild of America & the actors union on strike to curb the influence of AI & the pay inequality in the industry, the box office was witness to some of the biggest releases of the year. To be frank, it was a rewarding feel to watch quality entertainment & that's what I felt about the two flicks that I have penned my opinion about.

Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1: "Continues to thrill as always"

The seventh installment of the hugely popular Mission Impossible series hit the screens last week & the response has been reasonably encouraging as they are expected to break even this weekend. Since it is made at a whopping cost of $300 million, the makers certainly require a sustained footfall at the theatre which unfortunately hasn't been the case for most of the other biggies that released earlier this year. To add to that Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" & Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" have released this week & that should add to the competition even more. 

This project is the first of a two part series and is helmed by Chrisopher McQuarrie, a person with whom Tom Cruise has collaborated for most of his movies in the past decade or so. Incidentally, this is not Christopher's first work in this spy action series as he had called the shots in Mission Impossible-Fallout as well. Over here, he was also involved in the screenplay along with Erik Jendresen where the duo decided to focus on the havoc that AI can cause if it goes rogue. The Russians had launched their latest submarine, Sevastopol whose computer housed a high end AI for its navigation purposes. However, the AI became rogue and sabotaged the submarine before it went on to infiltrate the military and intelligence networks of many nations. As expected, the world powers were trying to figure out means to control it & the answer to that seemed to be a cruciform key to the chamber of the computer that housed the AI or otherwise known as 'the Entity'. Ethan (Tom Cruise) & his team were entrusted with the task of retrieving the key, but they knew the only solution to the problem was to destroy it. But can Ethan out-think the Entity which was a master in deception and can twist the truths such that it ceases to exist. 

It is undoubtedly an engaging story and keeps us hooked to the plot, not to mention the jaw dropping action sequences which has always been the USP of this series. I presume most of you would have seen the behind the scenes of the stunt done at the Alps which was just sensational to say the least. All the technical aspects are top notch be it Fraser Taggart's cinematography, Lorne Balfe's music etc. Coming to performances, Tom Cruise has always been the heart and soul of this franchise and he continues to push the envelope with his charismatic screen presence and awe inspiring stunts. Even the rest of the cast such as Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson etc. have also done their parts admirably 

Verdict: For people who might not be fans of the franchise, it will seem like the usual formula of exhilarating action packed in a thriller mode. It is indeed that, but if it has to go strong even after seven installments then obviously the makers are doing something right to appeal to the audience. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Oppenheimer: "BRILLIANT"!!!

For a self confessed fan of Christopher Nolan & as a movie aficionado who also loves historical biographies, "Oppenheimer" is a movie that I have been eagerly waiting like million others ever since it was announced. Based on 'American Prometheus' by Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin, it is about the life of Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who was the director of the Los Alamos laboratory during WWII that led to the development of the nuclear weapons and hence credited as the 'father of the atom bomb'.

Nolan had also worked on the screenplay and he chose to narrate the story alternating between colour and black and white whereby Oppenhiemer's subjective version was chosen for the former. In typical Nolan style, we are introduced to two different timelines with one section focusing on the politically motivated security clearance drama that unfolded in 1954 to crucify Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) & the other in 1959 at the Senate meeting convened to confirm the elevation of Admiral Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr), the former US Atomic Energy Commission to the cabinet. Through each section we are introduced to the various events that unfolded in his life beginning with his career at Cambridge, development of the atom bomb, the Trinity blast, aftermath of the devastation unfurled at Hiroshima & Nagasaki & the witch hunt to paint him a traitor in a kangaroo court. Essentially, the price that Oppenheimer had to pay for what he had created.

Unlike what most people would have expected, the focus is not on the visual depiction of the massacre that unfolded in Japan but rather the drama that unfolds & the discussions that happen between the greatest intellectual minds of that time. Einstein appears only in a couple of sequences but boy, the impact that he creates is something that we would have least expected early on. At the heart of all this, it is essentially about the greed for power irrespective at whatever cost it comes which could even mean the end of the world as the probability for that was only 'near' zero (& not zero). The world remembers Hitler for the Jewish genocide that he orchestrated, but the truth is anti-semitism was also prevalent in the US & even Oppenheimer despite his service to his nation couldn't escape from it. Hats off to the brilliance of Nolan in the way he captivates with the way he narrated the story & also for his conscious decision not to showcase the Hiroshima tragedy lest it ends up glorifying the invention unintentionally. He emphatically makes the point clear that in the bid to end the war, the world chose to indulge in an arms race and that is evident when the protagonist chant the words from the Gita 'Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds'.

Nolan well & truly deserves every accolade that comes his way but it wouldn't have been possible without the brilliant cast and crew that he had at his disposal. The first aspect that blew me off was the music which was magnificent & which I presumed was created by Hans Zimmer, only to realize later on that it was Ludwig Goransson. The Academy Award winner already has an impressive body of work at just 38 years of age & I would definitely be surprised if he doesnt win his second Oscar for this one. When it came to camera work, we expect only the best from Hoyte van Hoytema & he has done just that as with his last three previous collaborations with Nolan. The same goes for Richard King who has been a constant presence in Nolan's ventures as sound designer. Actually aspect of the movie was top notch & hence it is beyond the scope of this review to mention about everyone. 

For anyone who has followed Nolan's filmography, apart from Michael Caine; another artist that has constantly featured in his movies was Cillian Murphy. As 'Oppenheimer', he was exceptional to the extent that we cannot imagine anyone else in that role. It's been a while since Robert Downey Jr had bid adieu to his Iron Man avatar & what a way to comeback. He was magnificent as Admiral Strauss & could very much be in the running for the Oscar along with Cillian. Emily Blunt (as Katherine) was awesome as the firebrand partner while Matt Damon (as General Groves) & Florence Pugh (as Jean Tatlock) was impressive as well. As a matter of fact, each & every artist have done complete justice to their roles.

Verdict: Hats down one of the best movie that I have ever seen and should sweep the Academy awards. Just don't miss it & definitely watch it in theatres so as to have the full feel of the experience!!!

Rating: 4.75/5

Regards...Ben

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Adipurush, Satyaprem ki katha, Neeyat & Tarla: "Interesting mix of movies!!!"

It's been quite a while since I have penned my opinion about the Bollywood flicks that I had watched over the past 2 months. To be frank, contrary to popular belief there were quite a few interesting mix of movies & it has also resulted in footfalls to the theatre. Quite a few of them impressed me while there was a colossal debacle as well which I presume you would have guessed even without me mentioning its name. Anywaz without further ado, let me get into the details.

Zara Hatke Zara Bachke: "Neither hatke nor does the audience have to stay bachke!!!"

This is Laxmi Utekar's third directorial venture & he has stuck on the rom-com genre with Vicky Kaushal & Sara Ali Khan in the lead. The movie unfolds in Indore where the duo (Kapil & Saumya) is a happily married couple with diverse familial backgrounds who has been together for two years. Due to lack of space & privacy in Kapil's ancestral home, they decide to move out with the dream of having their own pad. But they soon realize that it was beyond their financial capabilities. This is when they get to know about the Govt's housing scheme for low income families & try to see whether they could put in their names in the list. But it was easier said than done. 

Both Maitrey Bajpai & Ramiz Khan had worked on the script and have come up with an enjoyable screenplay. In terms of the story as such there isn't anything that comes across as unique or make us sit up and take notice. But it certainly had quite a few hilarious sequences such as the court scene that would make us chuckle. On the technical side, most of the tracks created by Sachi-Jagir were good with 'Tere Vaaste' track rendered by Varun Jain, Shadaab Faridi & Altamash Faridi  being one of my favourite track of the year. When it came to performances, both Vicky & Sara did their parts well with the supporting cast though cringe at times were also up to the task.

Verdict: Laxmi certainly knew how to package the movie since it does have the elements to keep the audience entertained. In short, you may give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Adipurush: "Mockery of a classic epic!!!"

Unlike Laxmi, Om Raut had a wonderful epic in his hand that had inspired many across the globe to make their versions of it either as live action or animated movies. But I can confidently say without batting my eyelid, that this was undoubtedly the most pathetic celluloid creation of Ramayana. 

First & foremost, Raut came up with a screenplay which was preposterous to say the least. It seems like as if he wanted to combine elements from various flicks like Planet of the Apes, Marvel's Asgard, DC's Flash, Dementors from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones etc. & ended up making a mess of it without an iota of originality. The VFX which was said to be the USP turned out to be its bane as it was absolute crap with complete lack of finesse. I fail to understand as to where exactly had they invested all the money. It also shows Raut's lack of visualization coz there were many sequences where they could have opted for natural locations & that would have made the visual language much more digestible to the audience. None of the other technical elements deserves mention as it barely had any effect in making the movie engaging.

After the highs of 'Baahubali', Prabhas has been going through a rough patch & it's primarily because of his poor movie choices. He was not the right choice for this role & there was hardly any chemistry with Kriti Sanon, who was pretty mediocre while Sunny Singh (as Laxman) was even worser than that. Though comical & bizarre at times, I still felt Saif (as Raavan, despite his character written so horribly) & Devdatta Nage (as Hanuman) did their part reasonably well. 

Verdict: As the Allahabad High Court had stated, it was indeed a test of our tolerance!!!

Rating: 0.5/5

Satyaprem Ki Katha: "A katha that had potential in its core theme only to be messed up in the build up to it!!!"

A couple of weeks back, the Marathi audience had one of their respectable director, Sameer Vidwans make his directorial debut in Bollywood with "Satyaprem Ki Katha". Since I haven't seen any of his Marathi films, it would be hard for me to comment on his craft though his "Anandi Gopal" had earned him the National award for Social issues.. Hence it wasn't surprising that he opted for a romantic drama that was penned by Karan Shrikant Sharma. 

The protagonist as you would have guessed is Satyaprem (Karthik Aryan), an unemployed Gujarati lad who loafed around after having discontinued his law course. At the same time, he was head over heels for Katha (Kiara Advani),who belonged to an affluent family & was in a relationship. But as fate would have it, Satya saves Katha's life at a crucial juncture & that eventually led to their wedding. However, despite Satya's best efforts Katha refused to warm up to him & the reason for that was something that would test his love for her. 

Spoiler alert..the subject that Sameer & Karan talks about is indeed relevant & we did have Shoojit Sircar's "Pink" that also spoke about it but from a different perspective. The issue over here is that Sameer seems to be unsure as to how to balance the Bollywood elements (music, song & dance) and in the process the core subject gets relegated to the sidelines and is not given the screen time it deserved. Another aspect that I felt could have worked upon in a better manner was the way Satya's character was written as it lacked the depth it required which is also the case in the roles given to the supporting cast (especially Satya's parents). On the technical side, the art department ought to have done a better job as the sets were quite artificial, Hitesh-Sonik's music was average while Ayanaka Bose's cinematography was fine.

Coming to performances, Karthik Aryan fits the bill of a goofy guy but when the latter half of the movie touches upon the core subject, it needed someone who had the capability to handle the emotional scenes authentically which he clearly lacked. At the same time, Kiara was impressive & effectively conveys the trauma of her character. As for the rest of the cast, it's quite unfortunate that artists like Gajraj Rao & Supriya Pathak were wasted in poorly etched roles. 

Verdict: In the urge to pack everything into the movie, Sameer failed to do complete justice to the subject that he wanted to convey!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Neeyat: "The makers should have invested on the script with more neeyat!!!"

When Anu Menon's "Neeyat" was announced with Vidya Balan yet again as the lead, I was certainly eager to check it out after all the duo's "Shakuntala Devi" was reasonably well made. Incidentally, the presence of numerous collaborators such as Girvani Dhyani, Advaita Kala, Priya Venkataraman apart from Anu in the drafting of the script made me wonder as to whether it would be a situation where many cooks spoiled the broth. Well it almost felt like in the first half until it kind of redeemed itself to a certain extent.

AK (Ram Kapoor) is a multi-billionaire who had exiled himself in the UK as he was wanted by the Indian authorities for financial irregularities. After much thought, he decided to surrender himself & planned to convey his decision to his close friends and family at his grand birthday party that he threw in his mansion. However, even before the night had ended he was found dead at a cliff nearby & the question was whether it was a suicide or a murder. Incidentally, he had also invited CBI officer Mira Rao (Vidya Balan) to the party & she decided to unravel the mystery. 

A few minutes into the movie & it becomes evident that the inspiration for it is Vijay Mallya & Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" series. The primary flaw that pulls back Anu Menon's effort is the predictability & the lack of authenticity in terms of the investigation pattern. We are already aware what happens & Kausir Munir's dialogues fails to provide the punch that would keep us engaged. However, the screenplay was better in the latter segment & it does provide some twists in the end. In terms of its making, Andrea Neo's visuals was in sync with what the genre demanded while Mickey McCleary's score was average.

Vidya Balan as a performer needs no introduction though her character in this came across as rather odd which she has still done reasonably ok. Ram Kapoor had the swag & the body language that his role demanded while the rest of the cast were ok. But to fair to them, they would have performed much better after all most of them are talented artists; if they were provided with much better written character arcs. 

Verdict: Falls well short of expectations as the predictability & lack of genuine originality plagues this wannabe "Knives Out"!!!

Rating: 2/5

Tarla: "Didn't quite match upto the flavour of Tarla's dishes!!!

How many of you have watched Surabhi on Doordarshan? Well I used to follow it keenly & if you also have, then you might recollect having watched Tarla Dalal appear as a guest on that show. For the uninitiated, Tarla was the first woman chef to appear on television & became a household name for many through her popular recipe books & cookery shows. It was a life that deserved to have a biopic & that is what Piyush Gupta had attempted with his debut directorial venture.

As a writer, Piyush already have some credible movies in his resume such as "Dangal", "Chhichhore" etc. Over here, along with Gautam Ved; he has captured all the major aspects of Tarla's life and gives us a gist of how she became the icon that we all know. Tarla (Huma Qureshi) always aspired to do something worthwhile with her life & she realized that her calling was in food when she tried her hand in giving vegetarian dishes a non veg twist. However, the path onward wasn't easy but she had the unwavering support of her husband, Nalin (Sharib Hashmi). 

The screenplay as such didnt quite have the flavour that was expected but that doesnt mean that it was a test of our patience. But the credit for that goes to the impressive performances of Huma & Sharib, both of whom have done utmost justice to their roles. Their chemistry & the endearing nature of their characters keeps us entertained. There were not much supporting artists as such but whoever did appear such as Bharati Achrekar, Rajeev Pandey etc did their parts aptly. 

Verdict: It's a feel good movie & worth a watch which is beamed on Zee5!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Madhura Manohara Moham, Nalla Nilavulla Rathri & 18+ Journey of Love: "Humour scores while others fails to impress!!!"

Over the last couple of weeks, though a number of flicks had hit the screens; there were only a few Malayalam movies that really motivated me to check it out. As has been the trend for quite a while, among the three movies that I had watched, two of them were by debutants while the third was one who was into his second directorial venture. So how did these movies fare at the box office even as the monsoon threated to wreck havoc at many places.

Madhura Manohara Moham: "Stephy's moham to give a madhura experience for the audience almost works!!!"

Dr. Girija K.P, the owner of the Girija theatres in Thrissur is a name that is known to many primarily because of the struggles that she had to face being a female entrepreneur. With constant cyber attacks on her establishment for reasons unknown to her, she had to reach out to the authorities & media to help her out of the predicament. As a mark of solidarity, she had received unconditional support from many groups & this included Sharafudeen as his "Madhura Manohara Moham" was the latest release in Girija. 

This movie happens to be the directorial debut of Stephy Zaviour, a well known name in the industry who had build her reputation over the past decade as a talented costume designer. Based on the story by Mahesh Gopal & Jai Vishnu, they adopt a strategy (not sure if it was intentional) whereby they start off building the framework for something & then totally changes path to end with a track quite different. It is essentially a satirical take on the orthodox and the prevalence of the casteism mentality in the society, not to forget breaking the mold of the stereotypical girls from such families. 

The focus over there is Manu (Sharafudeen), the member of the local NSS committee who was in an affair with the NSS President's (Vijayaraghavan) daughter, Salabha (Aarsha Baiju) & his sibling, Meera (Rejisha Vijayan). The latter was the responsible one in the family as their mother, Ushamma (Bindu Panicker) still firmly held to her beliefs of belonging to the upper caste. They were kind of aware about the challenges that Manu might have to face for his wedding due to the financial disparity, but little did they realize the mental trauma they had to face to arrange Meera's wedding.

Frankly speaking, I thoroughly enjoyed the hilarious sequences & kudos for that primarily goes to the performers rather than the screenplay. Though I do applaud the efforts of the makers, I felt they were kind of unsure as to how far they can push the envelope and opted for a rather tame end despite having the potential to try for something more impactful. As for the technical aspects, most of them were done neatly.

Both Rejisha & Sharafudeen has done a fine job with the former taking on a character that was quite unexpected which she aced. It would also be fair to say that Sharafudeen comedy had also improved while Bindu Panicker rocked as usual. The rest of the cast such as Saiju Kurup, Aarsha (definitely a fine talent that has potential), Althaf etc have done their parts well.

Verdict: Quite a hilarious end to a story that started quite unlike what was expected. It does not seek to ask questions & prefers to give the audience an enjoyable time. In short, do give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Nalla Nilavulla Rathri: "Predictable survival thriller!!!"

One of the most reputed production houses in the industry is 'Friday Film House' which was launched by Sandra Thomas & Vijay Babu. However, with time their partnership broke up & Sandra walked away from it for personal reasons. She eventually made a return back into the industry with her own production house & announced Murphy Devasy's "Nalla Nilavulla Rathri" as their debut venture. So I was keen to check out the project that she had come out with.

This also happened to be Murphy's directorial debut which he chose to make based on the script that he had penned. It is essentially about a group of friends, who turn on each other when they see the opportunity to make a quick buck. But fate had other plans in store for them. Kurien's (Baburaj) business was in financial crisis & that's when he happens to meet up with his college mates, Dominic (Jinu Joseph) & Joshi (Binu Pappan) who was involved in organic farming in partnership with a couple of other friends. On the pretext of helping his friends, Kurien sees it as an opportunity to help him get of the crisis. However, they also had other plans up their sleeve.

In terms of the story, Murphy takes time to build the characters & deserves appreciation for building up the intrigue and suspense between them. But the moment, the story shifts to the property in Shimoga it is reduced to a normal survival flick & does not offer anything that we haven't seen in the past. It becomes a blood fest as bodies get slashed and disfigured without hardly anything worthwhile taking the story forward. None of the technical aspects deserves mention as it was average at best.

The choice of artists for each of the roles was apt & each one of them have done their parts aptly. But as I said earlier, there is a limit to how much they can perform without a credible screenplay to back it up.

Verdict:  Though it ended with the impression that it would have a second part, I doubt whether Sandra would attempt that especially since there were hardly much takers for this. In short, it will take some heavy lifting to match Friday Films!!!

Rating: 1/5

18+ Journey of Love: "Love between the lead pair didn't seem as convincing, but the humour and the politics was!!!"

This is Arun Jose's second directorial venture after a commercially successful debut in "Jo & Jo". It also featured the combo of Naslen & Mathew Thomas which was the primary reason why I decided to watch it. However, for a change it was Naslen who took centre stage while Mathew had limited screen space though he did feature in a significant role that was quite unlike he had done in the past. As in his debut venture, Arun had joined hands with Raveesh Nath for the script & the screenplay and the duo came up with a story that focused on elopement against the backdrop of caste and politics. 

Akhil (Naslen), a cadre in the Communist party was in love with Athira (Meenakshi Dinesh), the daughter of Raveendren (Manoj K U), a prominent leader of the party unit in that region. Since they knew about the resistance that her family would pose, they decide to elope with the help of their friends. How they manage to elope and the events that unfold as a result of that  forms the crux. 

Though the makers have maintained a light mood right throughout the movie, they do pose relevant questions about caste in a subtle manner. The influence that politics has on the livelihood of the people & the so called progressive speeches which barely holds any significance especially when it comes to matters of their own household is all showcased well. On the technical side, both Christo Xavier's music & Satheesh Kurup's visuals were praise worthy.

Coming to performances, both Naslen & Athira have done a fine job with their individual performances but the chemistry between them wasnt quite upto the level that we would expect. Safwan & Anshad as Naslen's friends provides the comic relief while Mathew did his part aptly. The rest of the cast have also done their parts well such as Manoj, Binu Pappan, Shyam Mohan (as Athira's brother), Rajesh Madhavan, the lady who acted as Naslen's mother etc. Even Nikhila impressed in the cameo though the the primary reason for that was the refreshing take that Arun had on magistrates.

Verdict: Personally, I felt it was better than "Jo & Jo" but whether it would translate into revenue remains to be seen especially with the monsoon lashing. In short, give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben