Baahubali stuns and surprises but fails to connect emotionally

SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning follows a stereotypical concept of disputes between two brothers which spans two generations. The mammoth canvas was readied to set up the glitzy visuals that gradually formed the plot of the film. SS Rajamouli's excellent imagination was engineered by high CGI and outstanding performances by the actors.

A child found on the river banks is raised by a tribal women. All of his adolescence, he seeks to verge beyond the gigantic waterfall that will connect him to his past. Failed attempts finally prove to be a success one day when young Sivudu scales the rocks and mountains lured by the beauty of Avanthika. Finally brought by destiny to doorstep of his perilous past, Sivudu finally encounters series of events which unveil the answers to his very existence. A child separated from his fate, a prisoner tied in shackles of suffering and endless wait, high graphic war scenes and demonic antagonist Bhalaldev all form the elements of Baahubali.

The film has an ocular spectacle with a predictable storytelling. SS Rajamouli has convincingly created the fictional empire of Mahismathi and predictably showcased the greed and lust to seize kingdom and power. However, film might be visually great but it loses track abruptly at several places to lead to sheer nothingness. An incomplete climax points to the second part of the ambitious project and makes numerous questions pop in minds of audience.

6 on 10 stars

Badlapur: New revenge formula for Raghavan's skookum venture

"If you prick us do we not bleed? 
 If you tickle us do we not laugh? 
 If you poison us do we not die? 
 And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?"
                                                                  - William Shakespeare

Script penned by Arijit Biswas & Sriram Raghavan, Badlapur is lucid and powerfully driven along its neatly crafted plotline. One of the Raghavan's skookum ventures, Badlapur is a fascinating tale of vengeance and hatred as the film plays a cicerone to the darker shades of his direction.

The first interim is about a bank robbery gone awry and Raghu's wife (Yami Gautam) and son getting trapped in the chaotic situation that follows. The escaped duo of robbers turn pillagers as Raghu's wife is shot and his son is thrown out of the moving car. The wild cat-mouse chase between cops and the thieves end with Liak (Nawazzudin Siddiqui) getting incarcerated for 20 years and his partner-in-crime fleeing with the weapon and the looted cash. A heartbroken and devastated Raghu (Varun Dhawan) takes shelter in a town called 'Badlapur' far away from the memories of his cherished past; his emotions fueled with hatred, revenge and anger.

Today where the filmmakers stick to the stereotype formula of hardcore action and crowd-whistling dialogues for revenge stories, Raghavan attempts to deviate from it to add a gritty and raw touch to the characters. He portrays Raghu's switcheroo from a beamish to a rugged look quite beautifully. Huma Qureshi, as a prostitute Jhumli, was flamboyant yet simple. Vinay Pathak, Radhika Apte & Divya Dutta make a short but an impactful appearance. However the limelight stealer of the film is Nawazuddin who makes Liak appear natural and stays true to his onscreen character throughout. 

Badlapur buys your vision for the its entire duration and keeps you gripped and thrilled. One of Raghavan's best films, Badlapur gives a new sphere to Dhawan's acting performance.


7 on 10 stars

Interstellar : More than a director, it is made by a DREAMER

Christopher Nolan's comprehensive Weltanschauung ( conception of universe and human's analogy to it ) Interstellar is his most endearing, audacious and expertly scripted venture. A script which once was developed by Jonathan Nolan for Steven Spielberg finally ended in the helms of his brother Chris. A sheer ocular pleasure, when viewed on 75 mm screen, this movie based intergalactic space voyage smells of ambition, emotion and beauty. The viewer doesn't needs to suspend his incredulity inspite of the film being a piece of fiction, owing to the fact that it is one of Nolan's strongest narrative.

An enthralling and distinct start to movie reminding us of social documentaries which pictures blight-induced earth as a dust bowl with last shades of humanity left, earth has become inhabitable over time with increasing crop failure and frequent dust storms. Amidst the scenario comes Cooper (McConaughey), a widowed engineer-turned-pilot-turned-farmer who is prompted by some ghostly forces ( who send coded messages) to visit NASA facility in the outskirts of his village.  The facility led by Dr John Brand (Micheal Caine) reveals Cooper about a secret mission in search of a habitable planet beyond the solar system and he asks Cooper to pilot the space ark 'Endurance' with the team. Devastated at the thought of her father leaving her, Murph (Mackenzie Foy) is filled with discontent and hatred for him.

The film tracks Cooper's odyssey along with the NASA team and two robots CASE and TARS as they travel through the wormholes to discover a sustainable living environment while Dr Brand and grown-up Murph (Jessica Chastain) try and solve the inevitable problem of gravity. The direction is accurate and film balances well between different time zones as Cooper and his accomplices verge many light years ahead.

Unavoidable comparisons with Gravity and 2001: a Space Odyssey, Interstellar thinks more about the future than focusing all its attention on the present and past. A graphically rich special effects packaged with a mammoth script which reflects a large time devoted to research and a great casting, Interstellar might be specious and flawed at places but it doesn't stop the movie from being a winner.


8 on 10 stars

Western Drama so distilled and refined, One of the best I have ever seen...

One of the pioneers of cinema, Sergio Leone's directorial venture' The Good The Bad The Ugly 'urged me to gain high amount of cinematic fanaticism by watching one of his most critically lauded ' Once Upon A Time in The West'. The film gets succesfully enlisted among one of the most terrific performances ever by the ensemble cast.

The movie opens up with a deadly gun duel between a harmonica playing bloke (Charles Bronson) and three men dressed in a cowboy outfit. Bronson plays the enigmatic nameless person (called 'Harmonica' in the film because of his ability to play harmonica in an eerie fashion even when things appear to look serious ) being the only good guy in the film. He helms the task of protecting Brett McBain's widow Jill McBain against Frank and his fellow gangsters after the villains mercilessly massacre McBain and his children. Joining Harmonica in his mission to kill Frank is Cheyenne , the bearded bandit who is falsely framed by Frank in murder of Brett McBain. Thus, Harmonica along with the ruffian Cheyenne set out to bring down the most dreaded assassin Frank. However retribution remains their sole purpose.

The film is slow-paced and the viewer is clueless about the real reason behind McBain's murder even after the half time of the movie has passed. There are bloodless fights, revenge, intimate scenes, land rights, shootouts, trains and you are only required to eat what Leone gives you, simply without questioning the plot. Things perfectly fall in place in the latter half of the movie as you get to know that Leone exhibits complete veracity while directing the Western drama. The action scenes are carefully designed and they can surely put the modern day jumbled action to utter shame. The film was bankrolled with plenty of money as it had elaborate sets, brilliant casting and fantastically executed duels.

One of the most amazing western dramas I have ever seen, Once Upon A Time In The West is as distilled, refined and clear as it appears to be.


9 on 10 stars

Tenebrous and Austere, De-Niro gets into a miscreant character for Cape Fear

                                     

                                         " Sam Bowden has always provided for the family's fortune.
                                           But the past is coming back to haunt them  "


The remake of J.Lee Thompson's 1962 project of the same name, Cape Fear is a dark and austere tale of  retribution starring veteran actor Robert De-Niro and Nick Nolte. Directed by experienced Martin Scorsese, the film starts with Max Cady (De-Niro) released from the prison after completing his tenure of 14 years. Following his release, Max Cady sets off to avenge his punishment and he chooses not to target the judge or the DA but his very own lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) who he believes has voluntarily declared him guilty by performing a lousy defense.

The film is devoid of any macho heroes to save the day. However, it has the evil Cady as an iron-pumping redneck whose body shows dire biblical warnings. However his intentions remain highly profane. To avenge his punishment, Cady stalks Bowden's family, lurks in the shadows outside their abode and even intoxicates their pet dog. His actions magnify in ambiguity and austerity as the film lurches forward. He even rapes the girl with whom Bowden is having extra-martial with, gets intimate with Nolte's daughter Danielle and despicably harms the family emotionally and physically too.

Its Scorsese's fame and mastery that has brought Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment in collaboration with Steven Spielberg to work as the production team for Cape Fear. The film has big stars, monstrous special effects and big production values to enrich the experience

The film shows Robert De-Niro in a never-seen-before look. Nick Nolte is fabulous with his comely onscreen wife played by Jessica Lange. One of the most acclaimed movies of the 90's , Cape Fear (1991) will put to display the ominous within the heart of the vulnerable to a extent that it leads to perpetual destruction of the victimized living souls.  


8 on 10 stars

Bahl's spectacular sophomore; Kangana Ranaut's Queen is an acclaim magnet

Indian middle class girls having a simple lifestyle often get rejected by their to-be soul mates for their innocence, ability to establish firm decisions and lack of exposure to the outside world. Vikas Bahl's second directorial venture 'Queen' portrays the self depreciating star (after her role in Krrish 3 & Rajjo) Kagnana Ranaut in a never-seen-before avatar of Rani; a simpleton girl from Delhi aspiring to have a simple and contended married life ahead with her lover Vijay (Rajkummar Rao).

However, her dreams get shattered terribly when Vijay cancels the marriage just a day before stating the fact that he doesn't think that this relationship will progress favourably. A depressed and anguished Rani sets out on a solo honeymoon to Paris & Amsterdam; a journey which initially wraps her in a solitude and depression, a journey which on every step serves as a strong reminder of her hateful past which she is reluctant to forget. 

But, the loneliness doesn't stay for long as Rani is introduced to an amicable VijayLakshmi; a half-Indian, sensuous and audacious hotel-employee who takes Rani out of the realms of pain and agony into a world of impetuosity with pure vigor in its air; an eccentric disco scene where an inebriated Rani sheds of her inhibitions and lets go of all the seemingly unbearable dolour in her heart as she grooves lifelessly on the foot-tapping Bollywood beats.

Vikas Bahl's queen is a fine, prudent and an excellent piece of Hindi cinema. The film introduces some of the flourishing characters throughout the film including a trio of boys which Rani befriends and the hotel chef, who offers Rani an opportunity to prove herself to the world, all having the same moral code of kindness and purity. Bahl creates a befitting milieu for Rani who is locked in a conflict with her inner self. Moreover the one-woman show in the film has proved to be a magnet for acclaims and laurels as Ranaut puts total brilliance in Rani who portrays her unique transformation from a passive personality to an endearing and adventurous girl of a modern lifestyle.

A tale of a girl trapped in the dimensions of her own agony & misfortune sets out to explore the world; the one which assuages her effusive anguish. Needless to say, Queen is surely a delight to watch.

8 on 10 stars

Thrilling & Riveting; Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho creates an impact greater than most of his epic noirs.

The way films shot in black-and-white portrays itself to the audience and materialise into something more than just a critical acclaimed film is surely alluring to experience. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho might not be my first movie I watched from the 60’s era but it’s definitely the one creating a greater impact than the other. The movie has pure visceral feel and induces a thrill so powerful that you might find yourself quite intrigued by it.

Psycho opens up with a scene with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and Sam Loomis (John Gavin) in a rented room of cheap hotel in Pheonix. Their apparent actions and conversations give vivid impression that both are currently having an intense love affair and want to get married soon but are unable to do so since they can’t afford the expenses involved. Marion is working in an estate agent’s office and meets with a client who gives her 40,000 dollars to buy a house for his daughter.

A desperate Marion steals 40,000 dollars from the client and flees from the town.  Marion, on the run takes refuge in a motel called as Bates Motel, whose business appeared to be in total shambles. Even being strongly confronted by his dominant mother, the owner of the motel Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) warmly welcomes Marion with warm dinner and cosy room to spend the night in. Things turned horribly ugly when Marion gets murdered in the room of the motel by an unknown entity as she gets stabbed multiple times. The unknown entity in the movie will somewhat be perceived by the audience as ‘Psycho’ and the overall objective of cold-blooded murder however remains a mystery.

Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, Psycho is a mystery thriller with the suspense not being kept on hold for long and becomes quite flagrant. Alfred Hitchcock has made an audacious effort to make such a thriller in which the title of being the ‘protagonist’ vacillates from one person to another quite impressively. You may not be sure who the lead character actually is but you are pretty sure that the film is not a bizarre scramble of sheer ambiguity. A cinephile’s experience will spring to life if he doesn’t have the prescience of the suspense before. The film is capricious but still thrilling and fantastically riveting.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is worth the encomium and claps.

9 on 10 stars