Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice review: "Justice denied to the audience!!!"

It's almost been a week since the eagerly anticipated "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice" have hit the screens. As it had released on the holy weekend, I wasn't able to check it out & by the time, I decided to do so I was put off by feedback that I had received from my friends. However, on the behest of a couple of them I decided to watch it & pen down as to what I felt about it. So were the predominantly negative reviews that the movie had garnered justified???

The film unfolds from the climax of "Man of Steel" where Superman (Henry Cavill) battles with General Zod to leave behind a trail of destruction which also included Wayne's enterprises. Over time, Superman proves to be a saviour to thousands in numerous occasions but that doesnt suppress a gradual increase in the number of voices that held him responsible for the collateral damage on the aftermath of his conquests. Even Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) saw him as a threat to the planet & felt that he needed to be reined in before it was too late. In the meantime, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) who was also plotting the downfall of Superman comes to realise from his research that the invincible could actually be fallen with the help of kryptonite which he smuggles into the country. But before he could set his plan into motion, Batman steals it from him & prepares for battle against Superman. However, little did they realise that all of this was part of the masterplan of Lex Luthor who still had a couple of aces up his sleeve.

Zack Snyder started his career as a director about a decade back with "Dawn of the Dead" but what actually propelled him to the limelight was "300". Actually I loved that movie & since then I have been keeping a keen eye on his movies. His previous venture "Man of Steel" which had released a couple of years back was a blockbuster & I personally felt that it was the best way to reboot the Superman series. So ever since news of "Batman vs Superman" being filmed came in, I was one among the millions who waited for its release with bated breaths. Unfortunately, it didnt turn out to be half as good as I hoped thanks to a mediocre script by Chris Terrio & David Goyer. The film starts off with a bang with adequate ground work done for the future Justice League series & it progressively builds up the tempo for an awesome showdown between the superheroes. However, the much hyped "greatest gladiator match ever" barely took off & the manner in which it ended reminded me of some corny Bollywood lines. Eventually, the overdosage of CGI in the form of Doomsday might not have exactly excited the audience but the entry of Wonder Woman into the battle spices up the whole sequence. In the technical department, Larry Fong's visuals was fantastic while Zimmer's music didnt quite have the effect that we know him for. With the script & CGI not as captivating as expected, David Brenner should have been more judicious with the editing. Even Batman's suit & other Bat gadgets werent as enchanting as Nolan's series.

Coming to performances, Henry Cavill reprised his role as Superman but unlike "Man of Steel" the screenplay over here meant he barely had any opportunity to do anything else apart from scowl. When Ben Affleck was casted as Batman, I was kinda sceptical as to whether he would be as good as Christian Bale but I have to admit that he was perfect for the role. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was brilliant that I felt that she ought to have been given more screen space. But the same cant be said about Jesse Eisenberg who was neither physically imposing nor able to impart an threatening feel that we would associate with a villain. He seemed more like trying to copy Heath Ledger's Joker but fails miserably in all accounts. A plethora of other characters & superheroes also appear in the movie, but I dont think that necessarily needs to be mentioned here.

Verdict: Owing to the hype, it garnered an earth shattering initial but as per latest box office reports it's registering a steady decline in collections. I am definitely not surprised by this as the script failed to do justice to a set of characters which had immense potential to challenge the Marvel universe. Anywaz the fact is DC will still have to wait for some more time before they can usurp Marvel's popularity among the audience. In short, it's definitely worth a watch but dont have your hopes high!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Ki & Ka review: "Not as appealing as the title!!!"

After a rather dodgy World Cup, India was finally ousted in the semis by the Windies . Though I am really proud that our team was among the final four, there was still a lingering sadness that we couldn't proceed further. Anywaz what better way to shake off the dejection than with a movie & that's when I realised that "Ki & Ka" is hitting the screens this weekend. The trailer was quite explicit as it was about a stay home husband which is not an explored premise in Bollywood. So will it be able to break new ground or be reduced to being stereotypical???

Kia (Kareena Kapoor) is a successful marketing manager who is fiercely focused in her career & had a clear idea as to what she wants to become in due time. During one of her business tours, she gets acquainted with Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) who inspite of being a MBA topper & from an affluent lineage was diametrically opposite to what she was. Kabir wanted to be like his mom by being a stay home partner as he believed that a male could be as effective as a female in ensuring a strong family system. After a couple of dates, the two decides to take their relationship to the next level & ties the knot. Things proceed smoothly as both of them comfortably settles into the roles that they had aspired for until ego wedges in as one of them hogs the limelight much to the displeasure of the other. So can they settle their differences or was this intention of being a stay home husband in our society (whether we like it or not is still predominantly patriarchal) a rather impractical idea???

R Balki is a well known director not only for his distinct scripts but also for the unique titles that he comes up for his movies starting from "Cheeni Kum" to his latest venture "Ki & Ka". Now coming to the storyline as such, though it is not something which has been observed in Bollywood, the idea of males taking an equal share of the domestic responsibilities is very much vogue in many of our lives. It isn't just about giving sermons about female equality but personally speaking I feel females should also become independent & for that to happen the male gender will have to pitch in equally in all aspects of a marital relationship. However, Balki falters in executing his ideas effectively & it comes across being like a caricature as the movie turns out to be nothing more than a role reversal where the guy behaves like the girl (including the "mangalsutra" on his wrist for a change). The conflicts between the two in the latter half is believable but overall it wont blow our socks off. All the technical aspects seemed fine though it doesn't deserve special mention.

When I had seen the trailer for the first time, the combination of Kareena & Arjun didnt seem quite appealing to me. But after watching it, I would say that they were indeed aptly casted. It's been quite a while since we have seen Kareena in a credible role & she has essayed her part convincingly as the career oriented professional. The same also has to be said about Arjun who was both charming & endearing in a role which I am sure many actors wouldn't have taken up at first glance. Both Swaroop Sampat & Rajit Kapur were adequate in their roles while the cameo by Big B & Jaya Bachchan was pretty good.

Verdict: Since it doesn't belong to the category of being a mass movie, it wont have a fantastic initial but it would still appeal to the target audience & should be a safe bet for the producers. It's unique from a movie point of view but Balki wasn't able to execute it as effectively. In short, maybe you can give it a try if you have time!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Thozha review: "Excellent camaraderie between the thozhans!!!"

On this auspicious Sunday, I would like to wish all my friends & well wishers a peaceful & joyful Easter. It's been a while since I had watched a Tamil movie & when I happened to see the trailer of "Thozha" which is actually a bilingual with the Telugu flick titled "Oopiri", it kinda enticed me to check it out. Actually the primary reason for that being the combination of Nagarjuna & Karthi which seemed to ooze oodles of bromance. So was it as good as the tempting trailer???

Sreenu (Karthi) is a petty thief who was out on parole & on the look out for a suitable job which would earn him brownie points with the judiciary to earn an early release from prison. His search eventually leads him to the quadriplegic billionaire Vikram (Nagarjuna) who was seeking the assistance of a caretaker. Inspite of numerous qualified applicants, Vikram appointed Sreenu as the latter seemed to impart a positive vibe which lifted his spirits. As for Sreenu, he couldnt have hoped for a better job & though reluctant decided to take it up seeing the posh lifestyle that he could enjoy being there. In due time, both of them warm up to each other & as to how each one proves to be an inseparable part of each one's life forms the crux of the movie. 

Since I am not so well versed with Telugu movies, I would have to admit that I haven't watched much of Vamsi Paidipally's previous ventures except for "Yevadu" which was inspired from "Face off". To be frank, I had watched it since I am a huge fan of Allu Arjun (like many other Malayalis) & though it didn't quite blow me off I was kinda satisfied with what the film offered. His latest effort is an inspiration yet again as it is the official remake of the French movie "The Intouchables". Since I haven't watched the original, there is no point of reference which is good in a way as we inevitably tend to be biased towards the original. The biggest positive of the movie is undoubtedly the chemistry between Nagarjuna & Karthi which was brilliant to say the least. A special word of mention for the dialogues by Raja Murugan which was both hilarious & insightful. However, rather than being crisp Vamsi chose to touch on a myriad of issues including the sequence in Paris that was way too long & laborious making the audience look at their watches which doesnt augur well for Praveen's editing credentials. As for other aspects, Gopi Sundar's music was average while P S Vinod deserves praise for his visuals.

Karthi was aptly casted as Sreenu since the character had to be mischievous & project a declasse attitude which comes quite naturally to him. Even Nagarjuna has given a praise worthy performance as the serene billionaire with a heart of gold though I felt he wasn't as effective when it came to displaying the vulnerability of a disabled person. As for the rest of the cast, Prakash Raj & Jayasudha was impressive while Vivek barely got noticed & Tamannah had more to do being an eye candy rather than perform. Even Kalpana was there in a small role which I believe was the last movie she had worked on before she breathed her last in Hyderabad. There were a host of cameos as well which included Anushka, Shriya etc which didnt provide them much scope for performance. 

Verdict: With an enviable star cast the film should have the initial hype working in its favour & with the story also being reasonably good, I would expect it to become a superhit or maybe even a blockbuster. It's surely a feel good movie with ample dosage of bromance. There is no doubt that the film would have been much better off if they have edited about half an hour, but inspite of that it's worth watching. In short, wont hurt to give it a try!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Kapoor & Sons review: "Emotional drama which draws laughs in equal measure!!!"

Just a couple of hours more before arch rivals, India & Pakistan draw swords in Eden Gardens in the mother of all clashes. So before that high stakes match, I decided to check out "Kapoor & Sons" which coincidentally also focused on clashes but within the family. Actually whichever reviews that I had written for Bollywood movies this year, it's all been enactment of real life events, so I was looking forward to check out some light-hearted mirth for quite some time & this one seemed to fit the bill. So was it able to satiate my expectations???

Nestled in the lush green scenic beauty of Connoor was the house of Amarjeet Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor) & his family. He was a nonagenarian who was always upto some tricks to garner the attention of his son and daughter in law. Eventually, he suffers a heart attack and expresses his desire to see his estranged grandsons. Rahul (Fawad Khan) was the elder & was the personification of the perfect son with a successful career as a best selling author based in London. On the other hand, Arjun (Sidharth Malhotra) was struggling to make a name for himself to match his brother as he felt his parents harboured a soft corner for Rahul. Even their parents relationship was in rough waters as Harsh (Rajat Kapoor) & Sunita (Ratna Pathak) frequently fought over their finances and fidelity issues. Will this disharmonious family ever be able to resolve their arguments before it tears them apart???

The biggest positive of the movie is the realistic take on family problems without ever going over the top & we do actually feel for the characters. All credit for that goes to Shakun Batra, who did give us a rather distinct rom com in the form of "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu" a couple of years back. Over here, in the company of Ayesha Dhillon, he has weaved a script which is both hilarious & emotional at the same time. The manner in which the climax unfolds with numerous relationship issues does make us sit up for sure. With regard to the technical aspects, music has been done by a host of people with my favourite tracks being "Bolna" & "Buddhu Sa Mann". As for the visuals by Jeffrey Bierman & editing by Shivkumar Panicker, both of them have done a decent job.

Talking about performances, it's kinda difficult to rate them coz I felt all of them have done a wonderful job. Ratna Pathak was fantastic as she shows vulnerability & haughtiness with ease while Rajat Kapoor as always rocked. Fawad Khan is the one who actually got the meatiest role which had numerous layers to it and he has done a fine job along with Siddharth. Rishi Kapoor's prosthetics might not be exactly top notch but he brings the roof down with his hilarious one liners while Alia Bhatt did justice to her spunky role. 

Verdict: With the T20 WC in full swing, the initial that the film might garner over the weekend will be affected for sure. However, at just 2 h it wont hurt to check this out as it would make you laugh & teary eyed over the course of the movie. In short, it is not thrilling as an Ind-Pak match but it does have its moments which deserves a one time watch!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Jai Gangaajal review: "Predictable template with praise worthy performances!!!"

Corruption, intolerance, suicides etc are some of the words that we do come across on a daily basis with the media bombarding us with news of this nature across the nation. Numerous movies have focused on these topics with some even being inspired from real life events. One such movie was Prakash Jha's "Gangaajal" which was inspired from the Bhagalpur blinding incident. More than a decade has passed since its release & now we have the sequel "Jai Gangaajal" awaiting its verdict at the box office. Well it's more like a "name-sake" sequel as none of the characters are similar though the situations are. So will it have a similar response from the audience as its prequel???

Abha Mathur (Priyanka Chopra) was assigned charge as SP of Bankipur, a place which was rather infamous for wide spread corruption & violence spearheaded by the ruthless MLA Babloo Pandey (Manav Kaul) & his brother Dabloo Pandey (Ninad Kamat). Their latest agenda was to usurp the land from the farmers to set up a thermal plant & all seemed to progress to plan thanks to the crooked cop BN Singh (Prakash Jha) facilitating their endeavors. However Abha's entry put a spanner to their schemes & seemed to provide a new lease of life to the public. But can she stand up to the might of these rogues especially when her own subordinates were hand in glove with them???

Prakash Jha is known for his movies which takes up topics of relevance of the current political scenario and weaves his craft about it. His latest venture also traces a similar template which however fails to inspire the audience as it doesn't provide anything that we haven't seen from him. However, he springs a major surprise as he effectively plays the protagonist inspite of being understandably packaged as a Priyanka Chopra movie who has significantly lesser screen space than him. Even though the script is trite & tedious to sit through, the performances by the main cast makes it watchable. Apart from the performances, none of the other aspects deserves a special mention.

As mentioned earlier, the protagonist is actually Prakash Jha who I have to admit has done utmost justice to the character. Though not quite of the class of Ajay Devgn, Prakash's expressions & body language kinda reminded me of the former. Equally impressive was Priyanka who apart from her acting abilities was damn good in the action sequences. As for the rest, Manav Kaul also deserves mention for an aptly essayed role.

Verdict: It's kinda expected that the movie wont make the box office go bonkers but I believe it has the capability to do well in the single screens in North India. Well I wont quite recommend the movie as it's kinda boring to be frank except for the performances. So in short, wont hurt to give it a miss!!!

Rating : 2/5

Regards...Ben

Aligarh review: "Slow paced yet impactful performances!!!"

It might sound ironic but the truth is though we are in 2016 some of our rules are still so archaic or rather grossly misunderstood. Section 377 is one such law which made headlines over the years as it criminalizes homosexual acts. Though it was decriminalized in 2009, this stance lasted only for a short time. However, about a fortnight back the Supreme Court has referred the plea against it to a 5 judge constitutional bench. It is at this juncture that Hansal Mehta comes with "Aligarh" which is a real life take on the plight of a Prof in Aligarh University who fell victim to this discrimination. 

Prof S R Siras (Manoj Bajpai) was the Chair of Modern Indian Languages and taught Marathi at the Aligarh university. On the night of Feb 8th, 2010; he was filmed with a male lover in bed in a sting operation by a local TV channel. The administration lost no time in suspending him as they believed that his homosexual act was immoral & against the rules of the university. It virtually brought his life to a standstill as he was treated like an untouchable or rather an anomaly among the people. On the behest of activists & friends, he engages in a legal battle against the university & wins the verdict in his favour. The film in total gives us a sense as to what he had to go through just coz he was gay.

Hansal Mehta might not quite be a household name but his recent releases have all been highly regarded among the movie connoisseurs be it "Shahid" for which he was awarded the National Award or "Citylights". It's definitely off-beat in nature, but what makes it appealing is that it is realistic in all sense of the word. Even his latest venture "Aligarh" belongs to the same league as it has been brilliantly shot with an impeccable eye for detail. It does focus on the victimization of the protagonist but at the same time also throws light on his loneliness and literary tastes. But the climax ought to have been more impactful & it should have also delved about his family. There is no denying that the film moves at a snail's pace at times which does test our patience, but the powerful performances enables us to tide over it to an extent. 

Manoj Bajpai's credentials as an actor is well known & as Prof Sirsa he was absolutely mind blowing. His appearance, body language & pensive expressions were spot on that we are totally hooked to the character. Equally impressive was Rajkummar Rao (who incidentally plays a Malayali & does mouth a few Malayalam dialogues as well) who plays the role of a young, talented and empathic journalist with conviction. Ashish Vidyarthi also deserves praise for his brief role.

Verdict: Due to it's off-beat nature, it's kinda difficult to say whether the people will be encouraged to check it out. I do admit that it gets damn slow paced at times for our comfort but it has some power packed performances which deserve to be watched!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Neerja review: "Extraordinary display of courage which will leave us teary-eyed!!!"

Life abounds with stories of unbelievable feats of courage & resilience of ordinary people on the face of crisis. If January saw Bollywood capture the exemplary valour of Ranjit Katyal (modeled after numerous brave individuals) during the Gulf War through "Airlift", then this month is about Neerja Bhanot who is revered for her extraordinary display of courage which saved the passengers of the Pan Am airlines in 1986. She was honoured posthumously with the Ashoka Chakra & was the youngest recipient of it apart from other honours from the US and Pakistan. So will "Neerja" be able to do justice to the exceptional spirit of this great female???

For those who arent quite well versed about the tragic events that unfolded on the fateful night of September 5th, 1986; I will just give a brief overview.  Neerja Bhanot (Sonam Kapoor) was the darling of her parents, who instilled confidence & courage in her to pursue her dreams even when life inflicted a harsh blow in the form of a failed marriage. Two days prior to her 23rd birthday, she was on her maiden flight as the senior flight purser of Pan Am 73 from Mumbai to New York via Karachi. Incidentally, four armed terrorists of the Abu Nidal Organization was plotting to hijack the plane from Karachi in exchange for their men in prison. As planned, the terrorists managed to hijack the plane however Neerja's timely alert ensured that the pilots escaped leaving the plane stranded on the tarmac. As the patience of the terrorists wore thin, so did the hopes of the passengers on board but Neerja was determined to protect as many as possible. How this incredible female managed to pull off this daring feat forms the crux of the movie.

The movie has been helmed by Ram Madhvani who has made it appear as authentic as possible rather than make it into a stylish thriller that we are so used to nowadays. As a matter of fact, the jerky cinematography coupled with the apt choice of lighting by Mitesh Mirchandani really helps in providing the impact. With regard to the screenplay, Saiwyn Quadras has done a praise worthy job for most parts especially the portions which shows flashbacks of her past & how she gathers strength from that. However, I felt the parts which focused on the incidents inside the plane lacked detail & seemed more like just reading the wikipedia page. 

It's no secret that Sonam Kapoor isn't a talented actress as is evident by most of her performances to date. But she definitely impresses this time around & likely to be in pole position to swoop up awards. From a physical appearance point of view, Sonam was spot on & does her part well also, but I believe Kangana Ranaut could have been a better choice. The best performance in the movie however belonged to Shabana Azmi who just owns the scene every time she came on screen & equally awesome was Yogendra Tiku (as Neerja's father) (the scene where both talk over the phone comforting each other was brilliant). As for the rest, they were average & didnt have much to do. 

Verdict: The film will not take the box office by storm but it will have the word of mouth in its favour which will help it in the long run. It's not about how captivated we will be on watching the movie, but rather it's an occasion to be inspired by a young female who sacrificed her life in the line of duty & more importantly, to protect the life of her fellow beings. So do check it out as it will surely move your heart, it sure did for me!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben