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Reviews
Larry Crowne (2011)
Disappointing
I started watching as it was a Tom hanks film, not just acted but also written by him. But it turned into disappointment very soon. Character backgrounds were undercooked like why Julia's character is so miserable, love story was not that convincing. Background locations were not that attractive. At some point, they were just dragging it to make it something of 90 mins. I was expecting a lot more from an artist like Tom Hanks. No doubt on the acting abilities of Tom and Julia roberts but there was nothing much to use it. There were unnecessary characters like Talia and the equation between her and Larry did not make much sense. The way they developed chemistry between Tom and Julia was totally out of the blue and random. Other than couple of comic moments and background music, there was nothing much.
Animal (2023)
Ranbeer shines in a messy storyline.
The best thing about the film is Ranbeer.
Otherwise film has too many plot issues, unconvincing equations, character background not provided fully to convince the audience about what is happening and why is it happening. Film is stretched a lot in the middle.
Now coming to some of the good things where people are unnecessarily bashing Wanga, he has actually shown women in strong light even with small roles, he has kept the 'hero' in greyish light with practical approach but he is actually not disrespectful to women as people are discussing. The shoe licking scene is being discussed totally out of context , it is not weird in story line.
But overall, it seems like entire story was somehow stretched and structured just to show animal side of Ranbeer's character. Even the father-son equation was not fully convincing to me, may be it was complicated and some of the audience got it right, I would love to hear about it but I could not digest it. Actors who were discusses a lot are having relatively smaller roles - Bobby, Tripri, even Anil Kapoor.
Dil Se.. (1998)
Disappointment and waste of time.
I was of the category who heard a lot about this film but didn't get chance to watch. So I watched it after 25 years of release. I genuinely had high expectations but got disappointed badly. Right from the start, it was just dragged unnecessarily. The base plot which could be narrated in the 20-30 mins took more than one hour. SRK was over enthusiastic in most of the scenes. The love story without much character or background building was totally disconnecting and it was the base of the film. The character of Amar was clearly a stalker instead of a true lover. Well, this was very common in that films at that time.
Somehow came out of first half and second half was not much better, gained little pace but again turned into a stretching piece. Things became predictable, characters became irritating. Music which was the highlight of the film, except one or two songs, all others were misplaced and forced. Good that I enjoyed the masterpiece songs without knowing the story all these years. One good thing was, got glimpses of young actors at that tike who became great later - Piyush Mishra, Gajraj, Sanjay Mishra and more such faces. Pritty zinta also had impressive debut within the limits of her character. For this supporting cast and music, giving 4 stars.
Heart of Stone (2023)
One time watch, not exceptional !
It is one time watch and very much derived from Mission Impossible as many have already pointed that out. It is a typical Hollywood formula film with one good twist. Keeps you engaged but makes you think of many flaws in script while watching. Characters are not well developed. Most of the things are predictable after first hour. I liked Alia's part but as usual they clichéd her Indian background with some poor girl story, it was not needed. Overall it is a one time watch with nothing new as such.
I want to point out one thing here -
I read some of the western film reviews and they have not mentioned Alia enough (or not at all in many cases) despite having significant role. If film is good or not, it is a different topic, but not acknowledging an Indian playing big role seem either ignorant or intentional. The NY times review has not even listed her under cast, but they are always on top when it comes to highlighting something bad happening in India or making fun of elite Indian space program.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Just wow !
I consider something masterpiece when it does not let you doubt for a second. The watching experience itself should be so absorbing that you don't even see any shortcomings. Yes later you might think of few. That is what this film is. It totally catches your attention, there is no flashy Hollywood sci-fi, action nothing. It is simple story narrated with excellence. Don't believe all those mocking reviews which say you need to know physics for this, absolutely not. Basic knowledge of science is enough and you get the context of stuff going on but yes you need to pay attention. Don't put your mind on those free refill popcorns and drinks. Narration is really tight. Performances are excellent. Background music as always for Nolan - awesome. I am giving 9 only because I was expecting more from the character of Emily Blunt, she is a wonderful actress, my concern is with the character, it could have been explored little more.
Bawaal (2023)
Nothing noticeable.
Story does not make much sense. Even if there were some emotional moments, audience doesn't connect. The journey of Varun from being fake to real due to influence of second world war and Hitler - it is pure non-sense. Even if they had something sensible in mind with this concept, they couldn't portray it like we can understand the relation between these two things. Second half of the movie is just dragged unnecessarily. Everything is predictable. Lead actors shine in few scenes but fell flat in many. Tension between lead pair could not convey the emotions thus when they patch up, we don't feel it. Good actors like Manoj Pahwa and Mukesh Tiwari are wasted. Music is average. Varun Dhawan should work harder on his body language, it still doesn't convey the maturity even if he tries better with expressions now. Overall it is below average movie and can be skipped.
How I Met Your Mother (2005)
Difficult to rate this one but was expecting more.
I started watching this show 6 years ago but constant back and forth of events didn't pull me much to continue. I started again 6 months ago and somehow continued this time. Many episodes are really great, full of humour and sentiments. But still, I will keep it second to the last in my sitcoms list (last would be two and half men). I had to fast forward many episodes as those were really irritating and long. It was frustrating that what you see is not what actually happened again and again :D .
Same went with the last season, the wedding consumed lot of episodes unnecessarily. The way Barney and Robin were shown in sync over the time after lots of up and down, it didn't make sense to show their divorce like that. They could have shown more of Tracy and it was totally fine to show that Ted ends up with Tracy. I can say that they did put thought in writing the end but on personal note, I didn't like it that much. Character like Ted definitely deserved better end. They rushed through the ending, if they already had this end in mind, either they could have ended 1-2 seasons earlier or should have taken one more season to justify this end. It was abrupt.
Still this is a one time watch but not like Friends, The BBT, Brooklyn 99 kind of stuff which you can watch any number of times.
Skyscraper (2018)
Average watch.
It is based on typical Hollywood formula but they have not tried anything new accept 1-2 things. Same old useless police who does nothing, having many subordinates doing something something with papers behind actual policeman who himself is useless. Antagonist group has one fearless girl who can kill anyone, do anything, overconfident.
People are just cheering for Dwayne without knowing if he is actually a good guy.
I like this category of films usually but here they really didn't try much. They could have done much more with this plot, could have added some twists and all. Overall it is an average film.
Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery (2023)
Simple story with difficult questions on system.
It is a simple story raising few difficult questions. Performances are good. I felt little disconnected at the beginning but got attached to it in 20-30 mins. Sanya Malhotra is selecting good scripts and establishing herself away from regular typical masala films, hope to see her more. Vijay raj and Rajpal yadav are best as always but I was expecting more screen time for Vijay raj. Other supporting cast have also done good job. Both the songs are fine, they have not forced songs. Good that such content is directly targeted to OTT because we as a theatre audience are still not mature enough to watch such content in cinema halls. Overall it a fine simple family entertainer.
Lost (2022)
Overstretched film and ordinary story.
What could have been 45 mins short film is stretched for 2 hours. Story is just ok, nothing extraordinary. Many story points dont have much logic. As far as performances are concerned, Yami Gautam is fine not the best, Pankaj Kapoor is legend anyways so he wont disappoint, Rahul khanna is ok, other actors are also just fine. There is one interview in last 40 mins, even if you start watching from there, you will understand all the story till that point. Critics are giving unnecessary high reviews to this film. They made the film like something very artistic and award winning, that effort is visible, directors do this now a days, when they have no substance, they try to make it artistic.
Ram Setu (2022)
Another disappointment from Bollywood.
Again I started the movie with high expectations that they will genuinely show some good facts, research and cinematic thrill about ram sethu but guess what, got disappointed again.
Film started on a high note but pretty quickly it became clear that there is no deep work as such on story or performances. Many scenes started becoming illogical. The main intention got lost. Background music was irrelevant and irritating. Substance was missing. It became clear that entire movie is just dragged just for last 15 mins where they have actually talked about some facts and reasoning. Other that that you will just question ki bhai ho kya raha hai, kyu ho raha hai. Earlier I was ok for Akshay to be part of quick movies just for entertainment but now when you deal with topics like these, you should really put more time and efforts. This could have been da vince code of Indian cinema with all original Indian elements but was far far away from it. As I say in the title, another disappointment from Bollywood.
Qala (2022)
Had high hopes but it is just fine.
There is nothing much with the story, you can describe it in 3-4 lines. They tried to make it too much artistic at many places unnecessarily. In last 30-40 mins it got stretched a lot. Two good things - performances and cinematography.
Tripti Dimri is always good, so is Swastika. Babil khan is giving good vibes for future, hope he keeps getting good work. Other supporting cast is also good. There is no full song but still music is good enough for the situations. Locations are beautiful.
Could have been much better with little less art drama and more twists and turns. At some point it became predictable.
Giving 6 for performances.
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (2022)
Don't believe others, watch it yourself.
I repeat, don't go with random reviews online. It is a great movie, of course not perfect but still worth watching. I regret I didn't go for theatre release.. watched on OTT and loved it. Honest attempt with lot of hard work.
Good - story, vfx, twists, performances, couple of songs, engaging, cameos, Mouni Roy, you would wait for second part, exceeded expectations.
Bad - beginning was not that impressive, not all songs memorable, Ranbir seemed unconvincing for first 30 mins, cameos were too short, Mr. Bachchan had big role but publicised as guest appearance don't know why, stretched at 2-3 places.
Ghar Waapsi (2022)
Good hindi web series after a long time.
Good - Good lead performances, relatable, good comic scenes, story line.
Bad - Few things related to corporate life are shown over dramatically, climax is not realistic.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022)
Highly overrated movie.
There is nothing in this movie, comic scenes are miserable, story is overstretched, so many plot holes. Artists like Sanjay Mishra and Rajpal Yadav are wasted. Suspense was predictable. This was nothing compared to original Bhool Bhulaiyaa.
A Thursday (2022)
Sensitive topic but just fine movie.
Topic highlighted in the movie is very sensitive and important. There are few good twists and performances as well. But as a film, its not perfect, there are many unconvincing plot lines.
But for the base concept, performances and few good twists, giving 7/10.
Love Hostel (2022)
No story.
There is no story as such, they just had some concept and stretched it for 1.5 hours.
Giving 3 starts only for performances. Vikrant Massey deserves better scripts.
The Great Indian Murder (2022)
Very much stretched and unconvincing plot.
Performances are good, few twists are also fine.
But overall it is just an average watch. There are many plot holes, many unconvincing storylines. At few places it stretches so much that we need to fast forward. I was expecting much more from Tigmanshu.
Gehraiyaan (2022)
Much more than the trailer.
Movie is not perfect but still definitely a one time watch with few very good twists and also good performances. Didn't get bored after first 30 mins.
Atrangi Re (2021)
Family entertainer but not perfect.
It is a good family entertainer. The concept was good. Dhanush was great, Sara was better than expected. Akshay justified his limited presence. Could have been shorter. Reasoning was missing at few places. Otherwise it is fine. A 7/10.
Bob Biswas (2021)
Abhishek rocks but story does not.
It did not make much sense. Attention to details was missing. Climax was disappointing. Did not match caliber of the original character story Kahaani.
Giving 5 only for Abhishek.
Hum Do Hamare Do (2021)
Just ok.
Good - Rao, Paresh Rawal, Ratna Shah, Manu rishi, few good comic scenes, music.
Bad - less scope for Kriti's potential, predictable plot, few stretched scenes, few forced comic scenes.
Alma Matters: Inside the IIT Dream (2021)
Disappointing.
I had high hopes but it is average.
Overhyped, over dramatic, stretched, few episodes were like having no points, problems shown were not specific to IIT. Most of the things were known to most of us.
Chehre (2021)
Opportunity wasted.
I was very excited to see this star-cast and even movie started on a high note. But disappointment started in 20-30 mins. The criminal case around which story revolves was totally senseless, very ordinary and with no suspense as such. Actors like Mr. Bachchan, Annu Kapur, Hashmi did their best but story didn't have anything to offer. Writer thought of ending on high note again with a monologue from Bachchan but it had nothing to do with the shallow depth of the movie. Rhea and Kapoor had nothing to do in the movie.
I would not recommend this to anyone.
Shershaah (2021)
Good watch.
I liked the movie, good performances, good war sequences, grounded narrative for most of the time.
I am giving 7 for two reasons -
climax was little over dramatic considering that all other fight scenes were near to realistic.
Other supporting characters who were also real life inspired could have been explored more, even the family of Batra could have been shown with more depth. Additional 20-25 mins were not that harmful to the movie.
But yes overall it is a good watch.