Saving Mr.Banks (2013)

Genre: Drama/Biography/Musical

Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Annie Rose Buckley, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, Jason Schwartzman

Mary Poppins, written by P.L. Travers (Thompson), went down in history as being one of the most memorable children's book. The movie is inspired by Travers' own life in Australia and the hardships she faced due to her fathers drinking problem and their ongoing poverty. When Walt Disney (Hanks) first read her book, he instantly felt the need to make it into a movie and promised his daughters that he would do so. Travers did not want her book to become a movie, being of the opinion that Disney would ruin it and not give it complete justice. However, Travers was under financial pressure and felt compelled to allow Disney to make a movie out of it, only if she had the last say in everything. Her terms, as it turned out, were quite preposterous and it gave the Disney team a very hard time. Right from not being animated, whether Mr.Banks must have a moustache or not and the complete non-presence of the colour red anywhere in the movie, Travers dictated all the terms and Disney was compelled to bow down to each of it. The movie traces how Mary Poppins became a movie and the constant battle between Disney and Travers. There were constant flashbacks to Travers' young days in Australia and how her life there inspired her to write Mary Poppins. The movie appears to be a little slow, especially the moments in Australia but it progresses well to give a touching and extremely heart-ful ending. It always been said that the philosophy of Walt Disney is to always have a smile on your face, no matter what the situation is and Tom Hanks seems to have carried forward Disney in an impeccable fashion. An extremely interesting movie to watch sans the slightly slow bits.

Thumbs up: Tom Hanks

Thumbs down: The Australia story segment that is a bit slow

Rating: 8.1/10

Gunday (2014)

Genre: Crime/Action/Drama/Romance

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla

When Yash Raj Films comes out with a new movie whose trailer promises some kick-ass fun, you need to take that with a pinch of salt. Set within Calcutta in the 1970's, the story is about two friends, Bikram (Singh) and Bala (Kapoor) who escaped from Bangladesh during the partition and sneaked into India to make a living. They swiftly learned to make quick money by stealing coal and selling it within the black market. They soon rose to become the heads of one of the largest mafia empires in Calcutta and dealing in all forms of goods from steel, iron, coal, fisheries, wood and a lot more. Enter Satyajeet Sarkar (Khan) the new ACP who vows to take the duo down by hook or crook. When the two fall in love with Nandita (Chopra), a cabaret dancer, Sarkar sees an opportunity to divide the friends and ensure their eventual demise. The movie seems to have started off as being a hardcore crime movie but eventually, and sadly, landed up in becoming a love triangle. Most of the story is just pieced together in a hopeless manner with no concern for a logical story. In spite of being based in Calcutta in the 70's, the movie has little connect to that geography or to that era and the setting seems quite pointless to the movie. Ranveer Singh easily has shown more presence over Arjun Kapoor and has also managed to deliver a far better performance over him too. All-in-all it is a movie that promises a lot but delivers very little, a below average movie that could have been a far better crime movie if attempted to be so.

Thumbs up: Nothing at all

Thumbs down: Bad story, typically Yash Raj

Rating: 4.6/10

The Two Jakes (1990)

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Drama

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, Ruben Blades

Chinatown was touted as one of the best crime-mystery movies ever made. Jack Nicholson's performance went a long way in helping the movie succeed the way it did. J.J. 'Jake' Gittes (Nicholson) has returned once more after a span of 16 years after the first movie. Jake Berman (Keitel) is Gittes' client who suspects his wife of sleeping with another man and intends to barge in on her room and catch them red-handed. Gittes bugs his wife's room and is prepared to go in after Berman and get a picture of his wife and lover when catastrophe occurs. Berman manages to get a gun and kills his wife's lover in cold blood. As is turns out, his wife was sleeping with Berman's business partner and the duo had an agreement that if either of them died then the other would be entitled to all assets and profits of the business. If Berman planted his wife with his partner just so that he would have a reason to kill him and take over the business, that makes Gittes an accessory to murder too for being present on the crime scene. Gittes not only needs to save his own self from going to jail but also understand the exact motive for the crime. Like most sequels, this movie too fails to have the charm that the first movie had. The story is weak, twisted and confusing and links back to the first movie. The link back is a bit of a long shot for audiences to remember the story and make sense of the it. Jack Nicholas' performance too seems to be off the mark and fails to re-live the J.J. Gittes of old, the movie too is directed by him, his last such venture till date. A decent attempt at continuing the series but an avoidable movie altogether.

Thumbs up: Nothing in particular

Thumbs down: Confusing story

Rating: 6.5/10

The Double (2011)

Genre: Crime/Action/Mystery

Starring: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Martin Sheen

A retired CIA operative, Paul Shepherdson (Gere) has been asked to come back from retirement when a U.S Senator is murdered. Paul was tracking a Soviet operative called Cassius who had a unique style of murder by slicing his victims necks open and retired from his post once Cassius had been killed. The Senator was killed with the same manner which got the CIA to believe that Cassius isn't dead and the only person who could help them find him is Paul. Ben Geary (Grace) is a young CIA operative who did a research on Cassius and believes he knows everything about him. Although Paul insists that Cassius is dead and the murderer is someone who is impersonating him, the CIA want him to take up the case and assign Ben to assist him in this mission. A very typical spy movie that has a simple plot, the usual action and the usual suspense. The sad part in this movie was the revelation of the suspense coming halfway through the movie rather than taking place towards the end. Perhaps if this climax came forward later on in the movie, the audience would actually have something to look forward to rather than watching the movie coming to a close. Coming from the people who gave us 3:10 to Yuma one expects something much better in the story. The movie does not provide anything fabulous in any aspect but is still a decent entertainer for those who love the typical spy action.

Thumbs up: A decent all round entertainer

Thumbs down: Nothing exceptional, climax is revealed early on

Rating: 6.2/10

Hasee Toh Phasee (2014)

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: Siddharth Malhotra, Parineeti Chopra, Adah Sharma, Manoj Joshi, Sharat Saxena

Nikhil (Malhotra) is the typical next door guy who is trying to make it big amidst family pressure. His father is an IAS officer, his brother is an IPS officer and they both collectively look down upon him for not preserving the family name in doing something noteworthy. On a trip to Mumbai for a wedding from his home in Delhi, he meets and falls in love with Karishma and seven years later decides to tie the knot with her. At the Mumbai wedding he encounters Meeta (Chopra) who seems to be running away from her home and is pleasantly surprised with her knowledge, interest in cricket and sheer random behaviour but unfortunately never gets to see her again. As it turns out, Meeta is the estranged sister of Karishma who was running away from her house because her father was not supporting her any further in her education. After stealing some money to support her project, she runs away to China and the family decides to forget her existence altogether. Meeta returns once more for Karishma's wedding and to secretly steal some more money to further fund her project. Karishma puts Nikhil in charge of her and gives him strict instructions to not let her meet any member of the family whatsoever. Although by now you might have more or less deciphered what the rest of the movie would be like, the story comes across as a run of the mill romance. The only core reason why it does not fall flat on it's face is because of Parineeti Chopra's supreme performance. She fits perfectly for the role of a next door, bubbly, hyper-active, a bit retarded and a geeky girl and does complete justice to it too. Siddharth Malhotra does a good support function to Parineeti and together the two manage to keep you entertained for the two odd hours. Coming from the house of Dharma Productions, it is not the typical soppy romances that you are used to seeing them churn out and the movie aims at being different. A good urban comedy-romance to watch with friends, family or with your lover that will definitely entertain but don't expect anything exceptional from it either.

Thumbs up: Parineeti Chopra's fabulous acting

Thumbs down: Fundamental story is cliched

Rating: 6.5/10

Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Isanghannom (2008)

Genre: Action/Adventure/Western/Comedy

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung

English title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird. In the 1930's, in erstwhile Manchuria, a treasure map that allegedly leads to the hidden riches of the Qing Dynasty is in the hands of the Japanese. A South Korean hit man Park Chang-yi (Lee) has been hired to retrieve the map from the Japanese whilst it is on a train passing through Manchuria. A bounty hunter, Park Do-won (Jung) is on the very train to capture Park Chang-yi and claim his bounty. Along with the duo is a petty thief, Yoon Tae-goo (Kang-ho) who co-incidentally decides to rob that very train unaware of the presence of the other two. With the maps existence becoming common knowledge in the Manchurian underworld, a group of Mongolian bandits are silent spectators to the commotion on the train, waiting for the right time to strike. Amidst this confusion, Yoon Tae-goo escapes with the map and heads towards the Ghost Market where he consults with his brother and intends to find the treasure. The Japanese government is keen to get the map back as they intend to stabilise the governments financial resources with this treasure. A wild goose chase ensues with four different groups hot on the trail of Yoon Tae-goo who would go to any length to get a hold of the map. The movie is a comical adaptation of the classic movie The Good, The Bad, The Ugly with the most fundamental story being inspired from it. The movie has a lot of action which is thankfully not kung-fu and the typical action that one would normally associate movies from this region to have, instead it is far more mature and enjoyable. A very good adaptation of the Clint Eastwood classic which is thoroughly enjoyable.

Thumbs up: Great action

Thumbs down: Maybe some humour that could actually make you laugh hard

Rating: 7.5/10

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Genre: Drama/Biography

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt

Abraham Lincoln has been accredited with the man who managed to abolish slavery in North America. Life for African-Americans prior to Mr.Lincoln's landmark move was filled with torture, forced labour, rape, bondage and were subject to some of the most inhuman acts. Solomon Northup (Ejiofor) was one such African-American man who was born free and became extremely successful as a musician and carpenter. He was offered to work as a musician at a circus and eventually kidnapped and forced to work as a slave in Louisiana. In spite of being a free negro, he was sold and forced into working in fields for 12 years until he could prove his freedom and return to his family. The movie is a true narration of Solomon's life and showcases the inhumanity that once existed on this planet. The entire movie's focus is the hardships that Solomon faced and all his ups and downs and does well in bringing awareness of Solomon's situation. The movie strongly demands attention and patience in order to fully grasp the depth of Solomon's plight and fully appreciate the movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor has put on a performance that is probably his best till date and one that cements his position as a strong mainstream actor and not someone who would sit on the sidelines. He has carried the entire burden of the movie on his shoulders and has done well to deliver. Steve McQueen has been known to direct award winning movies and this movie would be nothing less. Those who are faint-hearted or would not be able to watch the pain, torture and the merciless life of the slaves are best advised to stay away from this. A truly exceptional movie and Ejiofor's performance is more than enough reason to watch and enjoy this one.

Thumbs up: Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance

Thumbs down: A simple life-narration with no other sub-plot to make the movie more interesting.

Rating: 7.8/10