Tag: #drama

Why Cheat India (2019) – Movie Review

Cheating Soon!

Why Cheat India is a crime drama film written and directed by Soumik Sen. The film talks about the reality of flawed Indian Education System and shows the struggles of students which they go through to complete their parents’ expectations.

The film revolves around Rakesh Singh (Emraan Hashmi), a con man, who provides a backdoor entry to undeserved rich students to get into premier institutes by exploiting the vulnerabilities of the system in exchange of a lot of money. He does it specifically by trapping clever but needy students, and by making them appear as a dummy for entrance exams in place of other students. The film’s story also involves one such boy named Satyendra Dubey (Sattu), who falls prey to Rakesh’s scam, what happens next forms the crux of the film.

The film talks on a really fresh and daring topic. The newness of the story is one of its plus points apart from the performances. Emraan Hashmi’s portrayal of a con man is flawless; he brings different shades to this character which makes it even more convincing and compelling. But the film falls behind on the front of storytelling, which gets really boring and messy towards the second half. The songs in the film do not complement the story, and actually makes the film slow-burning. Even if the film talks on the solid topic but fails to give a logical ending to it.

Verdict : The film is decent to watch for its performances and a fresh topic, but don’t expect more from it.

Rating : 3.2/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B6vjua8aK4

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Glass (2019) – Movie Review

First Name Mr, Last Name Glass.

Glass is a drama thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film is a third and final installment to M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero film trilogy after Unbreakable (2000) and Split (2016).

The film picks after the terrifying events of Split (2016), where a deadly supervillain Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) with multiple personality disorder is on the loose. And following the narrative of Unbreakable (2000), David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a vigilante superhero, is trying to track down Kevin with the help of his supernatural abilities. Not so long into the film, both get captured by the Philadelphia Police Department and kept as a captive in the mental institution for the criminally insane where Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is also being held as a captive, who is also known as “Mr. Glass”.

The film has got really great characters and equally interesting backstory. Undoubtedly, the performances of all three lead characters are top notch. The director M. Night Shyamalan had planted everything brilliantly to have an epic conclusion to this trilogy, and in the first half, the film maintains a similarly thrilling tone. But towards the end, the film gets so messed up that it loses the track, and ends-up on unexpectedly disappointing point. The film can be quoted as 2019’s first disappointment, where people had so many expectations, but it had failed miserably.

Verdict : If you liked the first two film, then you’re just gonna hate it. Watch it just for the sake of completing the trilogy.

Rating : 3.2/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ztHi9ejp4

Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) – Movie Review

How’s the Josh?

Uri: The Surgical Strike is an action drama film written and directed by Aditya Dhar in his debut. The film is based on a true story of India striking back as the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack.

The film follows Major Vihaan Singh Shergill (Vicky Kaushal) of the Indian Army, who has successfully lead many field missions and now has taken a desk job at New Delhi to take care of his mother who is suffering from Stage VI Alzheimer’s disease. On 18 September 2016, four well-armed militants attack the army headquarters at Uri, Jammu & Kashmir, killing 19 Indian soldiers in their sleep. Vihaan’s brother in law Major Karan Kashyap (Mohit Raina) also dies in a grenade explosion in this unfortunate attack. The Indian government decides to take strict action against this attack, and National Security Advisor Govind Bhardwaj (Paresh Rawal) comes up with the idea of a surgical strike. Eventually, Vihaan leaves his desk job and once again lead a team of elite commandos to carry out a covert operation to avenge the Uri attack.

The film’s story is nicely divided into five chapters. At the end of every chapter, there is a sense of fulfillment. And with this chapter-wise narration, the story gets more and more gripping, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. The soul of the film is its compelling story; the enthralling characters and engaging background score makes it even more enjoyable. Besides Vicky Kaushal and Paresh Rawal’s powerful performances, Yami Gautam as RAW field agent Pallavi Sharma and Kirti Kulhari as Captain Seerat Kaur are worth mentioning. The film has its own moments, the patriotic ones, the thrilling ones, the grieving ones, and cheering ones, all full of JOSH.

Verdict : If we ignore the political propaganda, this film is an official first hit film of 2019 of Bollywood in all aspects.

Rating : 4.4/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVY3do673Zc

Petta (2019) – Movie Review

Get Rajnified!

Petta is an action drama film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The film stars Rajinikanth in a lead role. Now, how one can miss watching a film, if Rajnikanth’s name is associated with it.

The film follows Kaali (Rajinikanth), an elderly and mysterious man, who takes up a job as a boys hostel warden at a college in Darjeeling. When he arrives, he begins to control the good and bad things happening in the hostel and discipline all children. Parallely, Kaali starts forming a close bond with an NRI student Anwar (Sananth Reddy). Suddenly one day, a group of deadly gangsters attacks a hostel with an intention to kill Anwar; But things take an interesting turn when Kaali stands between them and Anwar. Who is Kaali? What is his relationship with Anwar? And who sent those gangsters? Answers to these question form the rest of the film.

Apart from Rajnikanth, the film also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Singaaram/Singaar Singh and Vijay Sethupathi as Jithu, Singaar’s son in negative roles. The talented actors sharing a screen together, conversing with each other, that too for the first time, is just sheer fun to watch. In this film, we can see the perfect mixture of theatrical and grounded performances. Let there be any actors in any film, but the center of attraction always remains the same, Superstar Rajnikanth. Every time when Rajnikanth appears on screen, the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he kicks goons, its all about his style, and director has taken special efforts on it; A truly stylistic film treat for Rajnikanth fans.

The background score of the film is a bit noisy, and sometimes it feels overdone. The story and characters of the film are compelling enough to keep the audience invested; But towards the end, the film seems stretched. The action scenes are well choreographed, which makes it a perfect film for masses; And fans compliments it with whistling, cheering, and shouting.

Verdict : A perfect masala film for Rajnikanth (Thalaiva) fans. Get Rajnified.

Rating : 3.8/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcv1L5_-Y4U


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Mary Poppins Returns (2018) – Movie Review

The magic always returns.

Mary Poppins Returns is a musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall. The film is based on the book series Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers, & the film is a sequel to the film Mary Poppins (1964). It is one of the longest gaps between film sequels in cinematic history at 54 years.

The film sets in 1935 London, 25 years after the events of the first film. Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is living in his childhood home with his sister Jane (Emily Mortimer), and his children Annabel (Pixie Davies), John (Nathanael Saleh), and Georgie (Joel Dawson); having his wife Kate, who has died a year ago. Not so long into the film, the financial calamity strikes Banks family, in which they may lose their home. Now Banks family must find a way out of this distress, but soon Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt), the former magical nanny of Jane and Michael Banks arrives at their home to take care of Annabel, John, and Georgie.

It is the beautifully made film in every angle, which truly compliments its prequel. The film is directed so well that every frame of the film is like a nice wallpaper. The film is colorful, vibrant, and soothing to the eyes. Like its prequel, there are some scenes where animated and real characters appear together on screen, which is just fun to watch. The characters are likable and compelling, like every good fairy tale should have. The performances are also convincing and entertaining, in particular, Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins and Lin-Manuel Miranda as lamplighter Jack, Mary Poppins’ old companion, both of them have done a great job.

At the start, the film feels more of a childish, but as it moves forward with Mary Poppin’s life lessons and musical numbers, it gives the film a needed depth and makes it much more interesting. The background score of the film is cheerful which elevates the movie watching experience. The dance numbers, costume design, and production design of the film is apt and overwhelming.

Verdict : It is a light-hearted and a nostalgic family fun film.

Rating : 3.7/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3jsfXDZLIY


Redmi Y2 (Rose Gold, 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage)


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Simmba (2018) – Movie Review

Here comes Simmba!

Simmba is a comedy action drama film directed by Rohit Shetty. The film is a spin-off of the Singham film franchise.

The film follows Sangram “Simmba” Bhalerao (Ranveer Singh), a corrupt police officer hailing from Shivgad, the same town as Singham (Ajay Devgan). When Sangram gets transferred to Miramar, Goa, following his unethical nature he quickly befriends with a local don Durva Ranade (Sonu Sood). But soon, Sangram is forced to lead a moral path after tragedy strikes his closed ones.

The film sets in the Rohit Shetty’s cop universe, and it is the third film in it. The plot of the film is pretty straight-forward with full of action scenes and some sprinkle of comedy and romance. The most part of the first half of the film is filled with comedy moments but only a very few of them actually lands. Before the interval and till the end, the film is filled with a lot of tragic drama and spicy slow-motion action sequences. The film would have been wrapped within two hours but has dragged unnecessarily because of too many slow-motion shots, remake songs, and a love story. The film also tries to bring audiences’ attention to an important social issue, which is a good thing, but it causes the drastic tonal shifts in the film.

The whole and soul of the film is Ranveer Singh, and he surprisingly manages to amaze the audience in most of the runtime. Sara Ali Khan as Shagun, Sangram’s love interest, also tries well to keep her role charming, but actually the role was not needed for the story. The reprising role of Ajay Devgan as Bajirao Singham actually steals the show with claps and whistles. Along with Ajay Devgan, there is one more cameo role by the big star from Bollywood, which teases the next possible film in the cop universe.

Verdict : The film is an average Masala entertainer for the masses.

Rating : 3.2/5


Mi Band 3 (Black)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – Movie Review

What makes you different is what makes you Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an animated action-adventure film based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales/Spider-Man. The film is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman.

It is the first feature film in the Spider-Man franchise to be animated rather than live-action. The animation of the film has its own unique style, combining Sony Pictures Imageworks’ computer animation pipeline with traditional hand-drawn comic book techniques including the stop-animation effect.

The film sets in a shared multiverse called the “Spider-Verse”, which has alternate universes having alternative versions of Spider-Man. The film follows a teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and develops superhuman spider-like abilities. Not so long into the film, Miles witnesses the deadly experiment to access parallel universes being carried out by Wilson Fisk a.k.a Kingpin (Liev Schreiber). The experiment starts to malfunction which causes different versions of Spider-Man from different dimensions to collide in the present one. Now, Miles Morales must team up with other Spider-People to save New York City from Kingpin.

The animation of the film is one of its kind and it works really well. The plot of the film is very much intriguing with compelling characters and nicely woven humor. The film tells the really good origin story of Miles Morales/Spider-Man as we can clearly see the apt transformation of a teenager becoming Spider-Man. The other best parts of this film are brilliant voice actors and their comic timings. The background score and the soundtracks of the film just elevate the overall experience in the best way. With all these positive points this film will definitely get nominated for the Academy Awards in different categories, and can also possibly win some.

Verdict : The film is undoubtedly one of the best-animated films of the year, and one should not miss this.

Rating : 4.4/5


Redmi Y2 (Rose Gold, 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage)

Aquaman (2018) – Movie Review

A tide is coming.

Aquaman is an action-adventure superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film is directed by James Wan, and it is the sixth film in the DCEU.

It is the third film featuring Jason Momoa as Aquaman, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) in DCEU. The film starts in 1985, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) rescues Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the princess of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm. They eventually fall in love and have a son named Arthur (Jason Momoa). The film follows the character of Aquaman, Arthur Curry, after the events of Justice League, when his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson) declares war against the surface world. Now Arthur must challenge and claim his rightful throne of Atlantis to save both of the worlds.

Like the Wonder Woman (2017), this film also has a solid origin story of Aquaman, where we can clearly see the motivation for the places he goes and things he does. The beautifully shot action sequences are the heart of this film, and all the credit goes to the director James Wan. All the imagery is aesthetically soothing, the visual effects are top-notch, and the movie watching experience in IMAX is just incomparable. The performances by all the characters are apt, in particular, Amber Heard as Mera and Jason Momoa as Aquaman are best. The addition of the subplot of the story of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) complements the main plot and makes the film even more enjoyable.

Verdict : A pretty enjoyable standalone superhero film by DCEU, definitely worth a watch.

Rating : 4/5


Redmi Y2 (Rose Gold, 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage)

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) – Movie Review

Fearless Lives Forever.

Bohemian Rhapsody is a biography and musical drama film written by Anthony McCarten and directed by Bryan Singer. The film depicts the extraordinary tale of the British rock band Queen.

The film features the life of Freddie Mercury/Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek), lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. The film starts with early years in 1970 when Freddie was just a college student working as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport. And in the spare time, he used to watch local rock bands; in particular, a band named ‘Smile’. One night, after the show, Freddie meets Smile guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), and in his peculiar ways offers to replace their lead singer. And with the addition of bassist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello), the band known as Queen. Rest of the film follows the rise of ‘Queen’ in the world of fame with many ups and downs leading up to its legendary appearance at the Live Aid (1985) concert.

Without keeping many expectations, I had gone to watch this film, thinking that what a rock band film possibly could serve. But, believe me, besides its biographical and musical aspect, the story of the film alone is compelling and powerful enough to move you and cheer you up from inside. The film is just a perfect combination of music and biography elements, and those work really together. The film progresses smoothly and hardly feels lazy at any point. The film moves very fast by keeping ‘Mercury’ at the center(depicting his personal and sexual life) but because of the limited timeframe, the film fails to touch all the parts of the whole story.

The background score and all the songs in the film compliments the story. The performances by the actors are good, notably, Malek’s portrayal of Mercury looks authentic and commanding. The music sequences, especially the Live Aid scenes are convincingly epic. The film has become the highest-grossing musical biographical film of all-time.

Verdict : The film is compelling, enjoyable, and nostalgic treat for Queen’s fans.

Rating : 4/5

Ani… Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (2018) – Movie Review

Here comes the Superstar

Ani… Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar is a Marathi biographical drama film directed by Abhijeet Deshpande. This film follows through the ups and downs of the life of legendary Marathi play and film actor Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar. The film is based on a biography titled “Nath Ha Maza” written by his second wife Kanchan Ghanekar.

The film sets in the golden era of Marathi play and film industry, specifically from 1960 to 1986. The film depicts the incredible journey of a dental surgeon and renowned stage actor Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar (Subodh Bhave) to the peak of fame, and events that shaken his personal and professional life, and which has ultimately brought him down. Kashinath was said to be the first superstar of the Marathi stage with a lot of glamour, and he was the highest paid star from the years 1960 to 1980 (from wiki).

The film which is based on a biography has to put efforts on deciding what parts it needs to focus on, and what it should not. And this film does this thing flawlessly, it focusses on the most important moments in the lead character’s life. The defining moments in Kashinath’s life are very well represented on screen, one of which is when he gets the role of Sambhaji in the play “Raigadhala Jevha Jaag Yete” (When Raigad awakens), and which made him a popular actor ever since. The arc of Kashinath’s life has been represented in such a beautiful way that even when the film ends and names start rolling on a screen you’ll definitely crave for a little more of it.

This film is definitely the nostalgic and surprising treat for the people who have actually witnessed this era. Along with Kashinath Ghanekar, the characters like Vasant Kanetkar (Anand Ingle), Balaji Pendarkar (Mohan Joshi), Sulochana Didi (Sonali Kulkarni), Prabhakar Panshikar (Prasad Oak), Master Dattaram (Suhas Palshikar), and Dr. Shriram Lagoo (Sumeet Raghvan) gets alive on screen one after the other. And seeing all these pioneers of Marathi film industry on screen is a just mesmerizing experience. A cold war between Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar and his rival Dr. Shriram Lagoo is a sheer fun to watch.

Each and every cast member of the film has delivered the solid and compelling performances. Dialogues and conversations between characters give more depth to them. The production design of the film is impressive, the recreated set pieces can be identified but never creates the distraction. As the film goes on, it feels choppy in some places and gets a bit slow, but the surprising series of events and the addition of new characters keep the film alive.

Verdict : Language and content-wise it is a regional film but for the solid script and the powerful performances it’s a worth watch.

Rating : 4/5

Check the trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ3HgG5eC9c