Reviews

The trailer of this film promised me a humorous thriller with lots of absurdities.

And the film definitely delivers each one of them. From the first frame itself , we are hooked to the amazing milieu of Bundelkhand, its quirky characters, their amazing dialects and the brilliant actors who portrayed them. The few songs of the film are hummable and very interesting. Through all these this film successfully highlights the patriarchal attitude of the society, the double standards, the caste discrimination, the gender discrimination, the corruption etc. And all this is done without sounding preachy.

But at the same time the film deviated from the core plot of searching for the stolen jackfruits. It drags from the moment the film focuses on the search for the missing girl. Because here the absurdities do not work and the film loses its charm.

And the biggest disappointment is the climax resolution of the search for missing jackfruits.

Still the film is a must watch for its intent, characters, milieu and actors.

Watched the film in Pune, India in a theater with 4 other persons. On a weekday, it was a decent number for a non-India, non-Hollywood film.

The trailer is quite appealing that pulled me to the theater. And initially the film was quite a pleasant and fun-full watch. But then it starts losing its charm as there is no growth in the lead character's (Riya) arc.

Riya appeared to be an innocent adolescent initially slowly start becoming a patient of OCD. And then the film became boring for me.

And then the climax is too convenient to justify the antiques of the protagonist.

I wish this aspect was taken care of. Otherwise everything in the film is perfect. Amazing acting, dialogues, direction and everything else.

Looking forward to next film from this team.

This film's premise reminded me of Monsoon wedding right from the first frame. But what prevented it from reaching the level of Monsoon wedding is the monotonous narrative.

Every character is so serious and irritated. It felt that as if everyone in this world is constipated.

The track of the maid and the watchman here reminded me of the track of the marriage organiser and the maid in Monsoon wedding. There that track became the highlight of the film and established the actors playing that characters.

It is only the pleasure of watching some amazing actors, great cinematography etc. That kept me watching.

An opportunity to make a great film got wasted.

I saw Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre with lots of hope. After all, its director is one of my favourite directors of today, Guy Ritchie. He has to his credit film like Sherlock Holmes (1 & 2), The men from U. N. C. L. E., King Arthur and many more.

Guy Ritchie has proved time and again that he has an amazing understanding of a cinematic craft. And he didn't disappoint me at that again in Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre. There is very good swag and cool - ness in this film. But very soon it runs out of its charm. It is because just form cannot hold the interest unless it is backed by a solid content. And content is what is missing in this film.

On its face value, this film is an espionage thriller. In most of such films, we know from the very first frame we know that the good guys will win over the bad guys. It is the manner it unfolds that keeps us hooked. Unfortunately, in this film, after the initial introduction of the characters, the entire film just unfolds in an auto-mode. Everything is just so smooth that it became boring.

So, I will recommend this to only those viewers who gets excited with stunning visuals and locations, super beautiful actors and some tongue-in0cheek humor. There is a lot of action too. But the absence of an emotional connect makes it feel dragging and dull.

I am surprised to see many reviews hating the film because "any cat doesn't act the way as it is shown in this film".

To me that is exactly the point of liking this film. This is a fiction film not a nat Geo documentary. So why shall we expect reality in it?

The purpose of this film was to take the viewer on a roller-coaster ride of thrill and adventure. And for me, it successfully delivers that.

I like its plot and narrative too. I could actually sympathize with the killer too. That is why the film becomes so poignant for me. It raises the issue of poaching in reserve forests without preaching.

Technically, every department has done a wonderful job.

I would recommend this as must watch to anyone who enjoys such "drama in real life" type of films.

To me, this film felt as two different films before and after interval.

Before interval, Vijay Sir is a catalyst to change the kids. In the second half, it is only about Vijay Sir. Had it been about the kids and the promise it made in the pre-interval scene, this film would have been an all-time classics.

Brilliant acting by all the kids. More kudos to them and the director considering that they are non-actors.

Had high hopes from Nagraj Manjule considering his previous 3 films. In Jhund, the first half looks his but second half looks like some other director's.

It is not an easy task to make a sport movie. And when you are making a movie on India's 1983 Cricket world cup win, the task becomes more difficult.

After watching the movie, I felt that the creators were wondering for a long time to focus on what aspects of that great journey of Indian cricket team. And finally what they chose upon, has not gone well as per their planned. For me the highlights of the films are not the cricket matches but what happened between the matches. Those small trivia and stories made the film worth watching. For me, it was an overdose of the cricket. There is so much cricket that when we reach the final match, I just wanted it to finish asap.

Also, the manner cricket has been picturised, it looks very unreal. It is not easy to fictionalize a sport because a sportsman may not be a good actor and vice versa. And this is very palpable in this film.

Despite all these things, this film is a true labor of love. Everyone has put their 100% into the film.

It is definitely a one-tiem see. And that's why it will be a commercial loss.

For a film of such huge budget, a film has to have a repeat audience which unfortunately this film will not have.

Initial films of Mr. Mehboob Khan, Nargis and Motilal who later became legends of Hindi Cinema. So there is a very raw feeling to entire film. But what kept me engaged is the brilliant acting of Noor Mohammed Charlie as "seth Bdri Prashad" It made me ROFL.

I have heard a lot about Mr. Charlie but have not seen any film of his. This is my first experience of Mr. Charlie and I am not disappointed.

I was quite hooked to the story of real Gunjan Saxena. She is one feisty lady and I believe her story needs to told as a film.

And this film do manages to convey the uphill task Gunjan had and how she overcame that. It is a heartwarming story and the film overwhelms the viewer just on the basis of that.

The film-making is the usual competent stuff which is expected from a reputed and established producer like Dharma Productions. Direction is competent and so do the other technical departments.

On acting front, Pankaj Tripathi is the show-stealer with his restraint performance. Other actors have also portrayed their characters well. Janhavi Kapoor put her 100% into the character in terms of hard work and her innocence makes us feel for the character. But she fails to deliver in acting despite she giving her very best.

The other sore point is the portrayal of IAF officers in the Udhampur air-force station. Non-cooperation is different from boycott.To generate sympathy for Gunjan's character, the writer-director ends up portraying these officers as boycotting Gunjan. That become very non-officer like when the chivalrous attitude of defense officers towards ladies is an example itself.

Had these two things were handled better, this film would have become a classic.

The period of emergency in India during 1975 brought many unusual stories. This film has one of that stories which is funny but tragic at the same time. But the film fails to deliver anything more than the story. Despite some good actors playing the character, they fail to impress due o bad script and direction.

After watching Mission Mangal, I was utterly confused. I felt high during few scenes, but the manner in which the entire Mission to Mangal unfolds leaves me baffled. Is going to Mars so easy as depicted in the film? It looks like anyone can go to Mars. My immediate reference point was the film "Hidden Figures". Please watch it to understand what I mean.

No doubt Akshya Kumar is giving continuous hit films and can be compared with the Jubilee Kumar "Rajendra Kumar" of yesteryear. And like Rajendra Kumar, Akshay Kumar's will be as forgettable as anything else.

I was intrigued to watch this film when i Saw its trailer. But somehow I couldn't watch it in the theaters and saw it on home video after almost an year of its release.

This is surely a movie one can not overlook. The novelty of its treatment forces everyone to take a note of it. The style and treatment of the story is just fabulous., It is first time seen in any Hindi film.

I enjoyed it initially but after half an hour I was bored of it as the story was not moving forward. I feel that this film is almost an hour longer than it's natural length. Due to this, One feels cheated and utterly unsatisfied at the end of the movie.

In Hollywood, this type of stylized storytelling is forte of Quentin Tarantino. But in Tarantino's film the style is supported by solid writing which is unfortunately not the case here.

Due to over emphasis on the style, nowhere we could empathize with the characters. This made the film emotionally dry. Instead of the protagonist Surya and Supri, we felt more connected with Surya's dad and grandfather. Mahesh Manjrekar stands out in the entire cast followed by Gulsha Devaiah. They are prolific actors and here they are supported by writing. But this is not the case with the main lead.

Technically the film is excellent. The only disappointment is writing and hence editing.

People tend to exclaim when they see something unusual for the first time. Perhaps that is the reason for this film getting so high rating from others.

I went to watch this as a fan of the earlier Lion King, Haku-na-matata and Jon Favreau. I have watched the Jungle book in English as well as Hindi. The Hindi version was funnier than the English version because the humor was more Indian and rooted.

So I decided to watch this Lion King's Hindi version. But I was quite disappointed. This time the Hindi dub could not capture the essence of the English version. Due the film was felt too long and dragging.

The best character in the Hindi dub came out as Scar and then Mufasa. The critics are praising Shryas Talpade and Sanjya Mishra as Timon and Pumba. But I disagree with them. The Hindi translation is quite bad and it is due to the acting of these two great actors that is making Timon and Pumba appealing. The biggest mistake in the translation is giving fixed regional accent to the characters. While the bad Hyenas are speaking Bihari accent Hindi, the good friends Pumba and Timon are speaking Mumbai accent Hindi. This is very foolish adaptation. I also feel that Mumbai accent Hindi has been so overused in Hindi cinema that it has lost it's charm. I wish the Hindi writers have used some other accent, perhaps Tamil for one and Gujrati for other. It would have been funnier.

Due to bad writing the supporting characters despite some great actors like Shahnaz Patel, Shiv Subramaniam and Achint Kaur playing them, couldn't make a mark. The poorest here are Aryan Khan and Neha Gargava. Their voices could not portray the leadership and heroism of Simba and Nala. I am still wondering the reason for selection of Aryan Khan for Simba.

Same is the problem with the Hindi songs. The original composition of all the songs is so western and produced as per the norm of composition of the west, that when they are translated in Hindi they felt quite weird. Perhaps that is the reason why greatest of Disney movie songs could not become popular in India.

On technical front, the film doesn't leave any stone un-turned. It delivers what is expected from it.

Overall, the Hindi version of this movie is totally avoidable.

I have read about the Hatton Garden Heist in Reader's Digest. It impressed me very much. It forced me to think about the uncertainty of life and of the greed in human beings. I always wondered how this incident can be translated into cinema. Because there is no drama in this narrative. If there is any drama, it is during the preparation and the heist but that too not in league of an Ocean's series. After the heist, it is just the regular police work and the regular human tendencies which gets the criminals caught. So it is the regularity of life which is drama in this narrative. So when I watched this film I was not aware that it is based on that same article in reader's digest. Few minutes into the film, when I realized that I was quite curious to see how this reaches the end. And the film unfolds just the way it was mentioned in that article in RD. Being fed on heist films like Ocean series and similar films, it is very difficult to find this film in the same league. But it is commendable that the producers decided to make this cinema where the heroes are retired old men, with no action sequences and no edge of seat thrilling moments. I think it is 15 minutes little longer which made me unsatisfied at the end. If the post heist segment was shorter than what it is, the film might have a bigger impact.

I was not very impressed by the trailer of this film. But when it got so many nominations in the OSACRS, I was forced to watch it. And I must admit that i was so wrong after watching the trailer.

Green Book is a very nice film which should not be missed. The story of two people coming from very opposite background and with many prejudices against each other connects immediately with me. Although the film is set in 1962, many issues shown in the film are still relevant and true.

Still the world is divided on the lines of colour, country, caste, religion, community etc. Most of the problems in world have popped because of these divisions. That is why despite this film being based on a true story, it can be adapted in every country. It is this universality of the film which made me fall in love with it.

It is a well a well made film which is excellent in every department.

There was a time in Indian cinema when film like Katha, TV serials like Ados - Pados were made. I still remember them for the portrayal of the neighbors living in a housing colony. They were so real, so believable and so lovable that even remembering these programs immediately warms my heart.

This same feeling happened to me when I watched the trailer of this film. And it compelled me to watch it.

And my hunch after watching the trailer, proved to be correct. The best thing about this film is the portrayal of the people living in the society. They are very real and lovable. The 14-15 children shown in the film are also very natural. They don't act like a child actor seen in many Indian films but just like real kids. It kept me fully hooked into the film.

Another good thing of this film is the subject. It is very relevant in the atmosphere of hate and divide prevailing today.

My only regret is that this film is made in Marathi language. I wish it can be also done in Hindi.

I have seen the film's trailer but couldn't watch it on big screen when it got released in India. I have watched earlier space films like Apollo 13, Gravity and Interstellar. After watching the trailer I hoped that this film will be something like Apollo 13, about the victory of human over nature and space. But after watching the First man, I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised.

This film reveals us the making of the man Neil Armstrong. What it takes to be the first man to walk on moon? How much preparation and sacrifice goes in making history? Also what happens to the family members of such historical figures? This film is touches all these aspects. And that is the USP of this film.

Technique and Craft-wise, it is quite competent on each front. Over all, It is a well made film coming from top director Damien Chazele.

Hats off to the director Pippo. It is a challenge to make a film on a lonely person in a devastated town and make it engaging and intriguing.

The best thing about any good film is that it works as a whole. It is very difficult to point out any component which is extraordinary. Every department in this film works in full tandem to make a great film. Everything in this film, writing, direction, casting, cinematography, editing, sound design, costume, production design etc. is just apt for the film. That's why the film has such a big impact.

It leaves us wondering about our very existence. Migration has been the backbone of our existence as human being. Man has been a migrant since stone age. Today when the world has become a global village, this film questions the very idea of leaving a place where you have lived your entire life. when we leave a place not only we leave its geography, we also leave behind the memories attached to it.

But at the same time, this film shows Noor, a migrant travelling from Syria to France. And the hero of the film who is not leaving his home despite it becoming a ruin helps her to reach France.

This irony makes the film so beautiful.

I watched this film in the Pune International film Festival 2019 with a group of 16 students. And everyone was just blow away after watching it.

There are many reasons for it but the foremost reason is the sheer honesty with which it is made. The director Talal just put the facts in front of the audience without taking any sides. He has painstakingly lived with an ISIS supporter & his family for two years and shown their life as it is. He is neither criticizing anyone nor praising anyone. And it leads us sympathizing with an ISIS supporter and their family. This sympathy doesn't mean we supporting ISIS & it's supporters but instead we feel sorry for them.

The film presents the naked face of any extremist movement. But at the same time it shows the movements' supporter as normal human being who are as mortal as anyone else.

And to me that is the victory of this film.

Undoubtedly, it's quite an intriguing plot. But it loses steam very soon as there is no progression happening. The pace is kept slow to build in the creepiness of the scenario, but it starts irritating when nothing new happens. Also, the acting is quite average. The direction is OK but it's not supported enough by the screenplay. Overall, a forgetful film.