Movie Review: Commando (2013) (Hindi) *** ½ Rating

                                                 Commando    ~ Raw, Cheesy, Real Action thriller  ~AvA

Movie Review: Commando (2013) (Hindi)  *** ½  Rating
Theatre Release: 12 April 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Dilip Ghosh
Banner :  Reliance Entertainment
Genre: Action thriller
Viewers Group:  13+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 7  (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Silver
Recommended Level   :  High for Action lovers

Reference 
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

From the depth of the sea, from the heights of the sky , from the vastness of a desert and from the darkness of the forests when a common man is trained 24 x 7 to serve the nation a commando is born and this week Vidyut Jamwal successfully convinced the audience as a new action star in the industry. Bestowed with excellent physique and decent looks each action he has performed on the screen is so convincing that you cannot put your eyes off as for the first time all stunts has been performed by an actor himself without using body doubles and even without using the ropes and wires for most of his stunts

The story begins with a crash of an Indian army helicopter on a routine training into a Chinese border and Captain Karanveer Singh Dogra (Vidyut Jamwal) got arrested by the Chinese forces suspecting him as a spy. Now both governments for the sake of their self interest put Karanveer’s life at stake. Karanveer escape from the Chinese forces and reaches Pathankot in India though forest area. There he runs into a girl, Simrit (Pooja Chopra) who is escaping from AK 74 (Jaideep Ahlawat) goons and thus how Karanveer got a new motive as a Commando.

Dilip Ghosh, the director has served a cheesy, raw action flick that one would love to see once. All three main characters were able to hold your attention throughout the movie. The screenplay is crispy the story has nothing novel to mention and one could find it non brainer especially in the climax but it’s the Vidyut Jamwal as a commando and his stunt director Franz Spilhaus who has directed  remarkable action sequences  that you can ignore small hiccups.  Pooja Chopra is decent but every  Punjabi girl should not be portrayed as ‘Meet’ of ‘Jab we meet’ and this is where director did a little work to give Pooja a different identity.

Cinematography by Sejal Shah is extremely notable especially for the song ‘ Sawan Bairi’. Music and lyrics are average and does not make much impact. Jaideep Ahalawat has come up with a different kind of villain and does his part well.

If you are an action flick lover than Commando will sate your thirst for sure.

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Full Movie : Once Upon A Time In Mumbai [2010][Drama][Hindi] Cast : Ajay Devgan,Emraan Hashmi,Kangna Ranaut

Once Upon A Time In Mumbai is a gangster based film, seen through the eyes of a police officer. It traces the changing face of the Mumbai underworld and how it all started. The film, set primarily in 1970s Mumbai, follows the rise of Sultan (Ajay Devgn), and the conflict, when his Protégé Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi), challenges his supremacy, and usurps power to rule the murky underbelly of Mumbai. The film is presented in a retro chic style and is a glamorous and powerful rewind to the golden era

Read the Exclusive Review of the Movie Here - http://goo.gl/iiUp2



Category :Crime Action and Adventure Drama
Starring: Ajay Devgn Emraan Hashmi Kangna Ranaut Prachi Desai Randeep Hooda
Directed by: Milan Luthria
Produced by: Ekta Kapoor Shobha Kapoor
Written by: Rajat Arora

AvA Movie Review: Jolly LLB (2013) (Hindi) *** 1/2 Rating

                                            ~  The Real Indian Courtroom Drama ~

Theatre Release: Mar 15, 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Subhash Kapoor
Banner :  Fox Star Studios
Genre:  Drama
Viewers Group: 13+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 7.5 (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Titanium
Recommended Level   :  High

Reference 
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

There are few movies which you come across and as a  moviegoer you wish more out it than what has been served to the audience; Jolly LLB is one film where your thirst as a moviegoer remains unquenched.

With an honest intention and heart in the right place Jolly LLB is a story of struggler advocate of Meerut Jagdish Tyagi aka Jolly who came to Delhi with a dream of becoming a famous and established lawyer. In the Delhi courtroom he came across  a well known lawyer Tejinder Rajpal  who has just rescued a son of a millionaire in a Hit –and-run case. Jolly who aspire to be like lawyer Rajpal discovered the other side of the same case and he decides to file a PLI (Public Interest Litigation) , something that no one has dared to do against a top notch lawyer like Rajpal and thus movie moves further to an interesting courtroom drama.

In the words of Patrick Murray  -“A lawyer will do anything to win a case, sometimes he will even tell the truth”  and the director Subhash Kapoor (Phas Gaye Re Obama fame) should be credited to present real Indian contemporary courts on the silver screen. The experience to watch this courtroom drama is entirely different than what you see in ‘Adalat’ series on TV or in Sunny Deol starrer ‘Damini’. When, during my initial career period I have visited the local court I was really surprised with what I had seen in movies till date but Subhash Kapoor has made a decent effort to bring that courtroom drama alive on screen.

There are three major characters of the movie struggler lawyer, defence lawyer and the honourable judge. I must  say Saurabh Shukla as the judge deserves a special mention for his performance and the director who has attempted to show the real side of a judge. Till date we have seen judges in the courtroom shouting ‘Order, Order’ in Indian movies but at least here we got the opportunity to see more relevant to that. In one of his conversations with Jolly, he said ‘ Kanoon Andha hota hai, Judge Nahi ( Law is Blind, not the Judge)’ and this is the point where you realize the real weakness of the Indian Judiciary system.

Arshad Warsi as Jolly is convincing and Boman Irani once again is terrific in a new avatar. Besides these three  main characters  we have Manoj Pahwa as Jolly’s Brother-in-Law who made an impact but director fails to establish the other characters well especially Amrita Rao as Sandhya & Jolly’s love interest which is let-down for the movie. Also due to lack of proper screenplay first half is half baked and slow. The music aspect is very low and average. I simply don’t understand the inclusion of songs in the Indian movies when they are not required or at least when someone cannot work with heart to make it pleasing to the ears

Overall, Jolly LLB  is a jolly film indeed with an interesting courtroom drama with a tadka of satirical humour on the Indian Judiciary System. The last 15 minutes are terrific  thou with a better screenplay and more humour it could have achieved the status of ‘Munnabhai’ genre.  Go for it!

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A disclaimer : The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The Critique/Reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Exclusive Movie Review: Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013) (Hindi) *** Rating

                                                     ~  Royal Wine in a Leaked Bottle~

Theatre Release: 8 March 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Tigmanshu Dhulia
Banner :  Brandsmith Motion Pictures | Viacom 18 Motion Pictures
Genre:  Drama
Viewers Group:  15+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 7  (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Silver
Recommended Level   :  Moderate

Reference 
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

Saheb, Biwi  or Gangster Returns is a royal-political drama and a sequel to his predecessor Sahaeb, Biwi Aur Gangster. This sequel has lot to appreciate in terms of performances and superb dialogues but at the same time it lacks the product Tigmanshu Dhulia used to be known for.

Saheb, Biwl or Gangster Returns opens up exactly from where it was ended in its earlier version, Aditya Pratap Singh aka Saheb is crippled and his wife Madhavi Devi aka Choti Bahu as taken over the political seat as the MLA thou she lacks the knowledge of a politician. She is alone and her widening gap with Saheb made her an alcoholic .Being lusty and seductress she was waiting for somebody who can fulfill her love life and here comes the entry of a new gangster  Indrajeet Singh aka Raja Bhaiya who has a past which no one is aware of. His love interest Ranjana becomes the love interest of Saheb and the real turmoil begins.

Saheb, Biwi or gangster returns have exactly the same theme and plot like its earlier version but with more grandeur and characters. Tigmanshu Dhulia has tried to make a valid sequel which takes the older story forward with a proper plotline. So where does Mr. Dhulia lacks? It’s the length, cast ensemble, Music and the climax. Unlike its earlier version its too long and sometimes really test your patience. Second, it has so many characters, especially in the second half which sometimes become confusion.Third, Music is very average, either the producer should not have put any songs in it or at least work hard to give a single good number and Fourth, the climax which is a mystery. Tigmanshu has purposely left a worm in the audience’s head to wait for the third installment. The first installement i.e. Saheb,Biwi Aur Gangster was a short, sweet, hot,crisp and an engaging film but this film lacks on the same parameters ; Despite ‘A’ certificate it has nothing to keep your testosterone high. This movie has a soul in the form of superb performances  of its cast and its enthralling dialogues and that’s the whole reason one would not like to miss this royal treat.

Irrfan Khan as Gangster is outstanding and brilliant .Jimmy Shergill as Saheb is extraordinary, he gets into the skin of the character perfectly .Mahie Gill as a seductress queen, politician and game planner is impressive. Soha Ali Khan is a surprise packet as a Ranjana and she looks pretty. All other characters thou limited with their roles, performed their part perfectly.

The background score is impressive but the songs of the movie lack lustre and quality. Cinematography by Yogesh Jani is decent.

Tigmanshu Thalia has set a standard for himself and others for movies like Paan Singh Tomar, Charas, Shagird, Haasil and Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster. He should be careful while mixing  good script with the tadka of commercialization because all his previous movies were not only earned fame and respect for him but money too. Recently, Vishal Bhardwaj did a serious trouble with his movie Matru ki bijlee ka Mandola because of this commercialization bug. I believe audience today is more mature and take a well made product  with respect and love. Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns despite Good could have been better… Its a royal wine in fragrance but not in taste since much of it has been drained out from its leaked bottled of half baked screenplay and editing.


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A disclaimer : The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The Critique/Reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Movie Review: Kai Po Che ! (2013) (Hindi) ***1/2 Rating

                         ~  Best Onscreen adaptation of a mediocre Indian Novel  ~

Theatre Release: Feb 22, 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Abhishek Kapoor
Banner :  UTV Motion Pictures
Genre:  Drama
Viewers Group:  15+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 8  (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Titanium
Recommended Level   :  High

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

Three People, Three Dreams and a bond of friendship defines Kai PO Che!  with Cricket as its central theme of narration.  Based on the Chetan Bhagat’s ‘ The 3 Mistakes of My life’ it is perhaps the best onscreen adaptation of an Indian Novel till date which is true to its contents and research and the sheer credit goes to one person - Abhishek Kapoor, its director.

Kai Po Che ! is titled like that just not to seek attention of the audience but the indepth work of the director and his team. Even Chetan Bhagat had tweeted ‘ what the  hell Kai Po Che ! mean ‘ on its first poster release.  Kai Po Che!  as a term  means ‘I’ve Cut or Wo Katta’ in Gujarti which is used during Kite-festival (Makar Sakranti) to synonym your victory over your competitor and in parallel it synonym with the bond of friendship and love. Director Abhishek Kapoor has intelligently used this term to signify the bond between three friends viz Govind, Omi and Ishaan and in parallel the high & lows in their relationship just like the Kites.

Kai Po Che ! is about three friends and their dreams.  Govind who is a tutor wish to have his own business , Ishaan is passionate about cricket and Omi is clueless about his dreams which are later shaped up by his maternal uncle Bittoo Mama for his own political benefit. Somehow the cricket brought them together as they opened up a shop for cricket equipments and a cricket academy where all three contribute to their personal best. Somehow things change one desire of one overshadow the logic of other and few unavoidable circumstances like Gujarat Earthquake 2001 and the Gujarat riots 2002  change the complete panorama of friendship and their lives.

Abhishek Kapoor is to be credited for not unnecessary creating havoc on Gujarat earthquakes and riots and keep the spirit of the Movie in the right direction. He kept balance amongst all the requisite characters and events and towered the base of the movie on friendship and cricket. He could be the best examples to point out on ‘What a director  can do to a movie which is based on a simple and mediocre script (Novel), special mention to their screenplay writers. Also whether it’s the art direction, locations, costumes or sets everything has been chosen aptly and perfectly captured. Thou I would like to point out on cinematic liberty and creative liberty by the director and author respectively on the use of mobile phones in 2000-2002. They were there but not into a trend of common people like today in that period. Cinematography by Anay Goswamy is brilliant.

Kai Po Che ! has just three tracks viz Shubhaarambh,Meethi Boliyaan and Risto ka Manja are and all played beautifully in the background of the movie to maintain the pace of the movie. All three tracks composed by Amit Trivedi and penned by Swanand Kirkire.

Performances, thou the character who dies got the maximum sympathy and love of the audience and the same may be applied for this movie too but all the three lead character i.e. Sushant Singh Rajput as Ishaan, Amit Sadh as Omi and Raj Kumar Yadav as Govind played their parts brilliantly and Amit Sadh is outstanding. All other characters within their defined roles did a brilliant job, to mention Amrita Puri as Ishaan’s sister and Govind’s love interest and Manav Kaul as Bittoo Mama.

Kai Po Che ! Initially runs slow like a tortoise  to build its story but with its brilliant  direction and perfectly shot climax  it is  a sure shot winner in the long race. For the Dreams, For the Friendship and For the Victory Let’s Shout ‘ Kaiiie PO Cheee ! ‘

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Movie Review: The Attacks of 26/11 (2013) (Hindi) ***1/2 Rating

                  The  Attacks of 26/11    ~  RGV’s Sensitive and One of the Best Work

Movie Review:  The  Attacks of 26/11
Theatre Release: 1 March 2013 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction : Ram Gopal Verma
Banner :  Alumbra Entertainment | Eros Entertainment
Genre:  Crime-Thriller
Viewers Group:  15+

The Critique Lab Score Board
AVA Score: 7  (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honour™©     : Silver
Recommended Level   :  High

Reference 
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal) 
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

Mumbai has witnessed one incident which was insensitive, inhumane, cruel and darkest in the history of India which unveiled the strength of  the rusted Indian security system, hollow political strength and shameless Jihadi creatures.  The attacks of 26/11 is the most dreadful tragedy in the recent times and RamGopal Verma (RGV) has re-construct the event successfully and sensibly

In nearly two hours of length , this movie won’t give you a moment to take your eyes off with the increasing momentum of  heart beats with every bullet shot one innocent Mumbaikar. RGV has given a fair treatment to the sensitive subject where he tries to document each possible event in its original form for e.g. Leopold café, dress code of Kasab and other terrorists, use of boats, station ambience, firing circumstances etc.

This movie starts with the confession of a Joint commissioner of police played impressively by Nana Patekar and its guilt of not saving hundreds of people in the massacre in front of the panel who enquired him about the case. He acts as a narrator who reveals the complete story from the point of start i.e. Arriving of a handful of terrorists from the sea route to Mumbai by a small boat.

Ram Gopal Verma, the director  has undoubtedly chosen a very sensitive topic and this is the same incident by which he got defamed for visiting Taj site post attacks. But as a filmmaker I would appreciate him to deal the subject carefully and showing the Mumbai Police in the good light. It clearly narrates few hard hitting and intelligent dialogues between the Joint commissioner of police and the Panel and the Terorrists. The movie has an apt length and pace especially its background music which make it an engaging affair to watch. Also reading the headlines and feeling the headlines are two different scenarios and RGV has done a credible job in making the latter believable.

Regarding Performances, Nana Patekar has done a very impressive job indeed and Sanjeev Jaiswal as Ajmal Kasab has given a believable performance as a terrorist. All other characters though very limited in their roles but has given a commendable performance.

Background music is a winner  and Raghupati Raghav is a good number.Cinematography is impressive

The attacks of 26/11 is not an easy watch for the ladies and children but if you have guts to feel the atmosphere of the massacre , this movie is for you

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Top 5 Reasons : Why you Should watch SPECIAL 26 ?

Special 26 is a delightful surprise for the Moviegoers and this is going to be one of the best  suspense-thriller movies based on Heist drama in Indian Cinema History. This movie scores 9/10 with Gold- AvA Medal Honour at TheCritiqueLab Score Board. AvA shares his Top 5 reasons on why you should watch Special 26.

1) Neeraj Pandey's Direction : The acclaimed director of  'A Wednesday' fame has proven again the strength of powerful script and screenplay at the box office. His direction is supremely engaging and thrilling. The moment you think that game is over in the movie he is ready with a grand surprise which was intelligently woven since beginning of the movie to shock the audience but 'Pyar se'. His screenplay has shown ample research work on CBI working methodology and design , for instance, in a scene a CBI officer posed as Lord Shiva shakes hands at the CBI chambers with the other officer.

2) Akshay Kumar : He is the Khiladi and better known as an action hero. His comical caricature in his previous movies got hardly appreciated and termed as over acting (except original Hera-Pheri). But this is one movie even Akshay Kumar would remember for his performance. He has given the original and believable performance of a simple middle class man with a master mind.

3) Cinematography :  Kudos to the cinematographer, Bobby Singh for capturing the Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata beautifully, keeping in the most the challenging task of showing India in the 1980s. With the Neeraj Pandey's research and quirkiness of giving best, Bobby Singh has successfully made the 1980s alive on the screen.

4) Character Sketch :  After Vidya Balan's Kahaani , this is one suspense-thriller who stands rock solid in the characterization of its actors. Whether it was Jimmy Shergill and Divya Dutta duo or the gang members  Rajesh Sharma and Kishor Kadam or the supremely talented Anupum Kher, all are perfectly portrayed . People may complain the short role of Kajal Agarwal as Akki's love interest but in the heist drama this is the maximum a director should show and  wait for the sequel. The director has left ample space for the sequel and you never knew that the Kajal Agarwal as a school teacher could come out as the real strategy partner if Special 26 comes with its second instalment.

5) Music : Ya this is a suspense thriller and we don't need naachna-gaana (dance-songs) in the movie but friends see how nicely Director has placed these songs without affecting the  pace of the movie. And to the surprise the background score is a winner and the music by M. M. Keeravani and Himesh Reshammiya is pleasant and lyrics by Irshad Kamil are sensible.

This is undoubtedly the best movie so far in 2013 and going to one of the best suspense-thriller based on heist drama in the Indian Cinema. Highly Recommended. Indian Cinema is Blooming with the fragrance of talents. Cheers

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Movie Review : Special 26 **** Rating - by AvA

Special 26    ~ The Magic of Excellence ~   

Movie Review: Special 26  

Theatre Release: 8  February  2013 (India)

Language: Hindi

Direction : Neeraj Pandey

Banner :  Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Genre: Heist Drama

Viewers Group:  13+

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score: 9 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honour™©     : Gold

Recommended Level   :  High

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal)
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

Special 26 is a one of its kind con-job Indian Movie which has everything in place, including its entertainment value. This heist drama is a surprise and has really met the expectation from the ‘A WEDNESDAY’ Director, Neeraj Pandey. A Master Mind, 26 people and a mantra ‘ Asli Power Dil Mein Hoti Hai (the real  power lies in the heart)’ has created magic on the silver screen that you will relish .

Special 26 is inspired from the true incidents  of 1980s where few people posed themselves as CBI Officers has raided many politicians and businessmen across the nation but most of them never published in the newspaper due to the involvement of Black money. This movie’s  last heist drama is inspired by the 1987’s real life robbery at the Opera House Branch of TBZ jewellers in Mumbai by the fake CBI officers.

Special 26 is a story of  Ajay Singh (Akshay Kumar) who wished to a CBI officer but unfortunately he couldn’t make out in the interview. Later on  with the help of three people  Sharmaji (Anupum Kher), Joginder (Rajesh Sharma) and Iqbal (Kishore Kadam) he blueprint a Plan which no one has ever imagined in the history. They heist 49 people posing as CBI Officers without getting caught so they plan for the 50^th and the Final Master Game. But four of them alone cannot do the same , they need a team of 26 people, their own Special 26. Will they get their Special 26? Will they succeed in their Master Plan?

Neeraj Pandey , the Director, first and foremost along with his creative team should be applauded for the cinematic magic they have shown to portrait the India of 1980s. Very few Indian Movies actually put a thought and labour like the way Neeraj has done whether it was the Miniature  Indian Airlines, Cars of the 1980s, Kolkatta Market, Connaught Place, Traffic and roads of Delhi It was really hard to believe that movie has been made in 2012-13, thanks to the Bobby singh for its excellent cinematography. Second,  The story and screenplay  is intelligently written and the climax is mind boggling ( with one flaw  Vidya Balan’s Kahaani is still the best of Indian Cinema). Third, the Characters are well written especially Jimmy Shergill and Divya Dutta were the real surprise.  Fourth, Performances are top notch from all the characters including the supporting ones. Fifth, Background score and  music was really a surprise and appreciating. Neeraj has indeed has given one of the best of 2013.

Performances, Akshay Kumar for the first time has given a performance I would like to remember as far as acting quotient is concerned. Anupum Kher  needs no introduction and Manoj Bajpai has given the rock solid performances. As mentioned Jimmy Shergill and Divya Dutta were the surprise factor and all supporting cast has done a reasonably good job.

Music,  Background Score was a major strength and Music by M. M. Kareem and Himesh Reshammiya  was pretty good and lyrics by Irshad Kamil penned down  nicely. 

‘Special 26’ is the best movie so far in 2013 and is a gem of Con-Job movies in the Indian Cinema. Neeraj Pandey has given the enough reason to the audience to celebrate Cinema ONLY IN THEATRES!

‘ Asli Power Dil Mein Hoti Hai’

 

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A disclaimer : The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The Critique/Reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Exclusive Movie Review: RACE 2 (2013) (Hindi) *** Rating

RACE 2  ~ A PowerPack Entertainment  with the Powerless Plot ~    

Movie Review: RACE 2  (2013)    *** Rating

Theatre Release: 25  January 2013 (India)

Language: Hindi

Direction : UTV Motion Pictures | TIPS Films

Genre: Action Thriller

Viewers Group:  13+

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score: 7 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honor™©     : Silver

Recommended Level   :  High

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal)
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

Race 2 starts with a motto ‘Betrayal is survival’ and it justifies the same beautifully in style. Also the production design and value of this movie is equivalent to those of Hollywood movies without any compromise, Director Duo Abbas Mastan has done a fabulous job in making their movie highly stylish, sleek and sexy but it lacks the excitement. Why? Read on

Race 2 begins with a new player Armaan Malik (John Abraham) , an ex-boyfriend of the previous race player. A revenge starts  with another and thus Race begins. Race 2 like its predecessor is sleek and stylish shot in exotic locations of Istanbul but it  has a screenplay very similar to the RACE (2008). Those who have seen RACE (2008) will not find many things unpredictable; since beginning every  move played has a pre-revealed sense to the audience and thus whether it’s the approaching of RD (Anil Kapoor) to the Armaan Malik, chameleon characters of Lady leads almost everything was predictable.

Abbas- Mustan, Duo Director of RACE(2008) and RACE 2 must be congratulate first for brining the absolute International production value to this particular movie whether it was a colour changing of playing cards, the classic chase between Saif Ali Khan and the assassinatior ,stealing from Church,John Abraham fighting sequence in the ring and climax all were supremely shot without compromise in quality unlike stupid ‘Prince’ ;in recent years  I  haven’t seen many Hollywood movie of this genre which promise more than this  in terms of production value. But the basic plot of the movie is very hollow, it is badly asking for a strong screenplay and the story. Also at few places technology like security cameras becomes a hindrance to a thriller like this where  the audience starts expecting  hidden camera or microphone in each twisting plot. A human brain is more thrilling than gadgets many a times.

Performances , well Saif Ali Khan has been exceptionally well since his entry as a shrewd and calculative player . John Abraham as Armaan Malik did a decent job and both lady leads , Deepika Padukone and Jacqueline Fernandez look hot as demanded by the script. Anil Kapoor and Amisha Patel were good comic paired. But definitely Aditya Pancholi in cameo appearance successfully made his presence felt impressively.

Background score  by Salim Sulaiman is good but the songs are  more average than the earlier RACE (2008) thou Cinematography by Ravi Yadav is exceptionally good. Shiraz Ahmad the script writer could be blamed for the stale and weak plot, he was expected to design the murder of Ranvir singh wife logically , just one linear explanation ‘woh mere paise lekar bhag gaye thee (she ran away with my money)’ to the core plot of the movie looks silly.

Director Duo Abbas Mastan gives their more than 100% to make Race 2 much bigger than before, more stylish,more grandeur, more sexier than before; if you haven’t seen RACE(2008) this RACE2 is definitely for you, If yes then still it’s a paisa vasool movie comparing other releases of January 2013. Go for it!

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A disclaimer : The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The Critique/Reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Movie Review: Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola (2013) **1/2 Rating

                                            ~ A Supreme Script dipped in Foul Smelling Commercialised Alcohol~                 

Movie Review: Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola (2013)    **1/2 Rating

Theatre Release: 11 January 2013 (India)

Language: Hindi

Direction: Vishal Bhardwaj

Label: Vishal Bhardwaj Pictures Pvt Ltd | Fox Star Studios

Genre: Political Satire

Viewers Group:  16+

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score: 6 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honor™©     : Silver

Recommended Level   :  Moderate

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal)
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

When it comes to Vishal Bhardwaj’s work , expectations are rocket high whether it’s the characterization, music, story, screenplay or the Direction. But when the marketing demons forces the marketing over creativity the resultant child  this time can be named as ‘Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola’

Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola has a story which is one of the most relevant topics in the era of urbanization, it has one of the most talented actors like Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Aazmi and very beautiful music score still it lacks the pace, that fire which you can feel in Maqbool, Omkara or Kaminey. Reasons could be Marketing gimmicks, the desire for 100 cr club which forces creative directors to compromise on quality. For eg Imran Khan despite his one of the best performances till date is not the apt choice for a Haryanvi Jat role and Anushka Sharma played the same tomboy kinda role who is ready to make out with the lead pair in every movie. She is on the verge of losing her career if she will not come out the same ‘Meenakumari Complex’ role. She seems to be good at showing her skin, shaking her b#tts and smooching her co-star, I hardly see a natural expression on her face. Even,expect Pankaj ji , Shabana Ji and Gulabo- The Pink Buffalo characterization of other main characters seems incomplete.

Many Years back Sooraj Barjatya gave the similar experience with his film ‘Main Prem ki Diwani Hoon’ and Now despite ‘Matru ki bijlee ka Mandola’ - a Vishal Bhardwaj's venture, taste like a half baked fish. The role of Imran Khan as Mao could have been very interesting with lots of layers but it lacks serious characterization and  the main lead seems to be practicing with his Haryanvi accent all the time. Second since Pankaj Kapoor is an alcoholic in the movie, most of his dialogue in Haryanvi in his drunken mood went misunderstood (Like Paincho Paincho) or not understood at all. Third the presence of African dance troops didn’t very relevant to the Haryanvi Mix. Fourth and Very important, ‘Matru ki bijlee ka Mandola’ was promoted as a romantic comedy but definitely it neither has romance nor comedy but it’s a political satire and it should have marketed in the same manner.

So What good comes in ‘Matru ki bijlee ka Mandola’? Answer I’m listing Below

 -Pankaj Kapoor and Shabana Azmi’s Superb Performance. Pankaj is the main hero of the movie and he is the main pillar of the movie. Shabana ji is excellent as a corrupt minister.

-Well Gulabo as the pink buffalo makes an excellent debut and much better as a supporting cast than the popular faces.

- Background score and music by Vishal Bhardwaj.

I believe if the director has attempted to keep the things more original without any marketing tadka, the beauty of a supremely good script would come out more lush greener than the alcoholic marketing demons who are vomiting cash for the last three days of the weekend.

Regards

Your’s AvA

www.thecritiquelab.com

Readers’ Feedback is appreciated

A disclaimer : The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The Critique/Reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Movie Review -The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey *** 1/2 Rating

                                                              ∞  An  Unexpected journey of Fantasy ∞

Movie Review: The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey  *** 1/2 Rating

Theatre Release: 14 Dec 2012 (India)

Language: English

Direction: Peter Jackson

Label: Warner Brothers Pictures

Genre: Adventure

Viewers Group: U/A

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score:                          : 7.5 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honor™©      : Titanium

Recommended Level  :   High (Read Review)

Reference
( ȫ BRONZE Medal  ȫ SILVER Medal ȫ Titanium Medal ȫ GOLD Medal ȫ PLATINUM Medal )
( L-low   M-medium   H-high  M-must))

Dreams allows to explore the unexpected, inaccessible and  unthought but what if you get the chance to experience that kind of journey in real?

The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey is the first part of “ The Hobbit Trilogy” directed by Peter Jackson based on J.R.R.Tolkien’s 1937 novel “The Hobbit”. This first part comes alive on the silver screen and  visually a splendour experience in 3D with the first time used ‘24 frames per seconds’  technology. The movie starts with the 111^th Birthday of Hobbit Bilbo  Baggins where he decides to write down the complete story of his adventure which took place 60 years back and then the movie flash back in time where he met Gandalf  for the first time followed by his team  of Dwarves and the Thorin.

The movie initially crawls to establish the plot line but once the journey  starts to trace the lonely mountain , the adventure is rock solid thrilling. Each and every character is well drawn and impressive and justified their presence. Cinematography by Andrew Lesnie is at par excellence and music  goes with the flow of the movie thou editing department could have shortened the initial length of the movie to make it more crispy for a popcorn entertainment.Visual Effect team has done an excellent work to make this journey an unexpected but enjoyable one. Peter Jackson and his team with the first part closure make you greedy to ask for more and with the  upcoming second instalment  of the Hobbit series i.e. ‘The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug’, the entertainment seems to go only higher ;) Enjoy

Thanks & Regards

Yours AVA

www.thecritiquelab.com

Your Views are heartily welcome…

Disclaimer: The ideas; feelings; expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The author tries himself to be completely free from any status quo of the personalities related with the reviewed Product to give Fair and Unbiased Judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited. 

Movie Review: Student of the Year (2012) [Hindi] *** Rating

Student of the Year +++ Celebrating old Friendship with  cherries +++

Theatre Release: 19 Oct 2012

Direction: Karan Johar

Label: Dharma Productions | Red Chillies Entertainment

Genre: Drama

Viewers Group: 13+ (U/A)

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score: 7.56 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honor™©       : Silver

Recommendation Level   :  Moderate (Read Review)

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal)
(L-Low M-Moderate H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

School Life is incomparable and unmatched; Friends earned there are forever and moments lived there are unforgettable. SOTY by Karan Johor successfully tries to cover the essence of friendship during school days thou in an environment and grandeur which practically seems impractical for a high school thou with the urbanization and increasing  per capita Income  one cannot the ignore the possibility of the same at least in metro cities.

SOTY has nothing new as far as the plot of the story goes. This time the director has cleverly twisted his own first story of “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. From one boy two girls’ story the story has been transformed into one girl two boys’ story with the background of High school rather college with a competition as centre stage rather than basketball game last time.

SOTY is a story of Richie Rich Rohan Nanda and his girlfriend Shanaya studying (rather enjoying) in St.T (Saint Teresa). Rohan Nanda is the beat of the school and so are the girls. One fine morning Abhimanyu entered as a super stud to challenge Rohan Nanda existing charm and his girlfriend too. Abhimnayu is very ambitious and very clear about what he requires from life and how, thou Rohan despite a rich brat cool dude image got a nice heart and respect for friendship. Shayana as a usual is suffering with girl’s age-old ‘whom shall I marry ‘and ‘whom shall I love’ disease. In due course of time Rohan and Abhimanyu become great buddies till their Dean Yoginder Vasisht announced the competition for ‘Student of the Year’.

Karan Johar aka K.JO knows the punch of entertainment and he got his own style of telling stories. One would agree that he brought designer clothes and grandeur film style in contemporary Hindi movie industry.  And definitely he was the one who made the term ‘sex’ generic which used be censored earlier till he made ‘Daadi’ sexy in KKHH and from there everything from Roti to Subji became sexy in daily conversation.

K Jo this time with SOTY again touch a topic which is very close to his heart, Friends and Family. Despite there is no novelty in the Plot one cannot escape from the charm of his film making. You will enjoy watching all those wittier conversation within friends and their families. It seems obvious the K Jo has been a good observant in his life as far as people are concerned. The competition is the center stage of the plot and K JO has fully justified and made the same entertaining right from the football match, treasure hunt, couple dance and final triathlon.

Performances are a big highlight of the movie, all three debuts Varun Dhawan ,Siddharth  Malhotra and Alia Bhatt  has performed  great their assigned roles. Rishi Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor all did a great Job. Special Mention for Kayoze Irani as Soda for the last scene where he put out his frustration on dean

Cinematography by Ayananka Bose is notable.

Music is peppy and in accordance with youth taste but I wish if lyricist has put some thought over Hindi language. I’m not able to understand what he meant by ‘Ishq wala Love’. It’s petty that we have established Hindi film industry in a non Hindi speaking state and we take our national language for guaranteed the way we want. 

SOTY  is overall entertaining and to the core celebrates the spirit of friendship. If teen entertainment is your criteria, Student for the year is for you!

Rgds

AvA

The Critique Lab

Readers’ Feedback is appreciated

Disclaimer: The ideas, feelings, expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The critique/reviewer tries to keep himself completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or wins, box office performances with the reviewed Movie/Product/Service to give fair and unbiased judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Movie Review: Cocktail (2012) **** Rating

COCKTAIL ∞ Fresh Blend of Love & Friendship ∞

Theatre Release: 13 July 2012 (India)
Language: Hindi
Direction: Homi Adajania 
Label: Illuminati Films  & Eros International
Genre: Romance & Humour
Viewers Group: 15+ (Majorly Metro Audience)

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score:                           : 8.70 (Max 10)
AVA Medal Honor™©       : Gold
Recommendation Level   : High (Read Review)

Reference
(Ŏ BRONZE Medal Ŏ SILVER Medal Ŏ Titanium Medal Ŏ GOLD Medal Ŏ PLATINUM Medal)
(L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High D-Don’t Miss it)

A little sweet, salty and a bit spicy, this cocktail taste great with a balanced and perfect blend of flavors of love & friendship. This one is baked fresh right from the desi factory with the ingredients of fresh music, great lyrics, excellent screenplay and great cinematography.

Cocktail is colorful and its story revolves majorly around three characters viz. Veronica – a bindaas metropolitan girl with ‘f##k the world attitude’ who loves and lives her life in her own way; Meera – an introvert, traditional Indian girl who has left India to be with her husband who is living & working in London and Gautam Kapoor- A devil flirt with ‘F##k any girl onway attitude’ who lives his life king size with no idea of difference between love, flirt & friendship. All three characters met coincidently and start living together which took their friendship to a different dimension of confusions and emotions. The treatment of these emotions with a topping of timely humour is what makes Cocktail a really watchable and entertaining love story

Homi Adajania has played his second shot after ‘Being Cyrus’ and hit a six. Cocktail is genuinely a multiplex movie and basically targeted at the metro audience and Homi Adajania has felt the pulse right. From the opening scene of the movie where Saif ali khan was flirting with Air hostess to the climax of the movie everything has been taken care of perfectly without being loose anywhere in the script, no doubt the credit also goes to Imitiaz Ali and Sajid Ali for the story and screenplay. What is important here is if someone narrates the story it sounds simple and old but it’s the treatment of the subject including the performances of the main leads, Music & Lyrics (Pritam & Irshad Kamil) and cinematography (Anil Mehta) which has brought  a complete fresh look and flavor  of the movie.

Performances?

 Well Deepika Padukone as Veronica has given her one of the best performances and emerged as one of the strongest contender for Best actress award this year and maybe she win it too. She has given the flawless performance as a bindaas metro girl or as she says herself a rich bit#h but you would love the way  she is. Diana Penty as Meera has made an outstanding debut and will take you away with her charm and sweet persona.Saif Ali Khan as Gautam kapoor fits perfect in his Casanova avatar thou his age factor is a minus factor for this movie.

 There are few scenes worth mentioning here

      a)      In a scene where veronica confess her love for  Gautam to Meera, Deepika Padukone truly 

         stands out

b)      In a scene where Gautam tries to make Meera happy by flirting her in cape town is memorable

c)       In  a scene when Gautam’s mother visited Veronica house and Saif Ali khan was dancing with the weird makeup is hugely entertaining

Cocktail definitely tries to touch upon thou not an solution to the  mental state of a man in the society  where he expect his girlfriend like Veronica and Wife like Meera despite taking into the fact into consideration that both are women with heart and emotions. The Line between friendship and love is very thin amongst opposite genders and that where lies the source of complexity of relationship. Cocktail maintained desi cinema status despite being international in treatment but with grace; truly as it name it tries to serve a blend of various flavors  being friendship as its core drink…Enjoy this daru desi J

        

Thanks & Regards

Yours AVA

www.thecritiquelab.com
Your Views are heartily welcome…

Disclaimer: The ideas; feelings; expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The author tries himself to be completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or win, box office performances with the reviewed Product to give Fair and Unbiased Judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.

Movie Review: Ferrari Ki Sawaari (2012) (Hindi) *** ½ Rating

Ferrari Ki Sawaari  ∞ The Ride to Dreams ∞

Theatre Release: 15 June 2012 (India)

Language: Hindi

Direction: Rajesh Mapuskar

Label: Vinod Chopra Productions 

Genre: Drama

Viewers Group: Universal

The Critique Lab Score Board

AVA Score:                           : 8.25 (Max 10)

AVA Medal Honor™©       : Titanium

Recommendation Level   :  Don’t Miss it (Read Review)

Reference 
( ȫ BRONZE Medal  ȫ SILVER Medal ȫ Titanium Medal ȫ GOLD Medal ȫ PLATINUM Medal )
( L-Low   M-Moderate   H-High  D-Don’t Miss it)

Dreams- How one could define it? Every individual could have different level of imagination & desires despite the base behind that dream being remain the same. For  e.g.  Eating out in Taj Mumbai could be a dream for a middle-class man and at the same time having a two time basic meal could also be a dream for a poor man in our shining India

Vidhu Vinod Chopra along with his team and new director Rajesh Mapuskar has given another reason to celebrate the sensible cinema and making one more positive contribution to the Year 2012 which would be known for the best known scripts like Pan Singh Tomar, Kahaani and Shanghai .

Often we debate between the words ‘Comedy’ and ‘Humor’, where the former has been brutally raped every week on TV Screens and so called 100 crore blockbusters , I would like to express my respect and love for Vidhu Chopra, Hirani & team to keep the grace of the later. There are few filmmakers who dare to touch the social issues to the core but keep the surface of the movie entertaining so that it do reaches the mind of common people , remember ‘Jadoo ki Jhappi’ ‘Gandhigiri’ in MunnaBhai Series ?

Ferrari ki Sawari hits the right chord with the right intention. The story revolves around Rusy Deboo(Sharman Joshi ) a RTO officer and a single parent who is living his simple life with  Kayo (Ritvik Sahore) his only son  and his father Behram (Boman Irani). Kayo’s dream is to become like Sachin Tendulkar –The Cricket Legend and his endurance for the same positioned him as  the captain of  his school’s cricket team. But, next what? An announcement by his coach (Satyadeep Mishra) raised Kayo’s hope to play at the Mecca of cricket i.e. Lords England to take his dreams at the next level but the salary of a honest RTO officer does not made his father eligible to avail the Loan facility from banks and Employee Provident fund of Shining India Govt brings on guarantee to help the employee right on time. So what’s the Way out? Is it a Ferrari ? If Yes, how it gonna do that? These are the questions on which movie further revolves.

  

The beauty of a movie lies in its characters notably ‘Sholay’ or to quote recent ‘Kahaani’ and fortunately Rajesh Mapuskar made that feel good with his characters whether its Seema Bhargava as a wedding planner, Tendulkar’s domestic helper, security guard, politician & his son, traffic policeman and Paresh Rawal , as a selection committee member; all characters could be recalled easily despite the length of their roles.

Regarding performances ,In 3 idiots Sharman was told to made noise of Motor in classroom and it was felt that the sound would be heard more clear in future and with this Sawaari of Ferrari he is riding high on his best performances till date without a doubt.

Ritvik Sahore as Kayo keeps you amazed with his performance and Boman Irani has proved his versatility of playing any sort of role with this movie.

There are many notable scenes in the movie like

-       Rusy (Sharman)looking for a traffic police to pay fine for crossing the red light because he firmly believes that children learn what they see from parents

-       A cricket match at midnight between Kayo and his grandfather

-       Breaking of Piggy bank by Rusy for buying a cricket bat for his son

-       The story of Kayo Grandfather and his counterpart

-       An autograph asked by a peon from the Kayo’s Grandfather(Boman Irani)

-       Rusy appeal on live TV to save his son

-       Collection of Fund by the society members

Also there was a hilarious as well as a satirical scene where the fastest car Ferrari was getting carried by a bullock cart because this fastest car needs a special petrol which is not available everywhere, remember our example of   ‘Taj ka Khana’ and ‘Desi Khana’ ?

Overall this is one rare Father –Son relationship Indian movie which explores the beauty of parental relationship with honesty and pride and promise to make this Ferrari ki Sawari more enjoyable. It might not make 100 crores at theaters but there are few fruits which ripen and becomes sweet with time…This movie is That.

Your's

AVA

Thecritiquelab.com

Feedback is awaited

Disclaimer: The ideas; feelings; expressions and views expressed hereby are purely personal. The author tries himself to be completely free from any status quo of the personalities related, award nominations or win, box office performances with the reviewed Product to give Fair and Unbiased Judgment. Readers’ cooperation is solicited.