Paan Singh Tomar : by Tigmanshu Dhulia

Paan Singh Tomar .. A biopic on the life of seven time national steeplechase champion.

Paan Singh represented India at a national level and at the Asian Games, Tokyo.

No one but Irffan Khan could play a character of such courage , principles and conduct.

The film starts with a news reporter seeking an interview from the most feared dacoit of Chambal.

As the story unfolds in a flashback , we are given peek into the life of an army man who had only one objective to have a full diet. He picks up athletics as a means for a healthy diet & in turn excels in 3000 m steeplechase.

He wins gold medal at the national event 7 times in a row but fails to perform at Tokyo as he is not able to adjust to the new footwear in time.

Irffan is absolutely deep into the skin of Paan Singh , right from his dialect to his demeanour. Circumstances force Paan Singh to settle a feud at his village and take law in his hands.

Technically , the screenplay is taut and the seriousness of the storyline is laced with witty humour.

The scenes between Paan Singh and his wife played by Mahie Gill are sweet and romantic bringing the humour side of the feared dacoit.

Paan Singh without Irrfan would not have been a film so admirable. Mr Dhulia , the director is slowly and steadily getting his due with his filmography boasting of Haasil , Sahib , Bibi aur Gangster too.

Irffan as an actor in my viewpoint is virtuoso! Period.

”Beehad mein to baaghi rehte hain, Parliament mein daaku.”


Rating : 4.0/5.0

Hugo : by Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese , this name rings a series of hard hiting , gut wrenching dramas and thrillers. He has been in the Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull) of the Hollywood fraternity.

Hugo is a masterclass in film making!

As introduced in my opening lines , film of this stature  from Scorsese is mind boggling.

A simple fairy tale of a young boy who lives alone at the Paris railway station maintaining the clocks , stealing food and working on his father's ambitious piece of art  - a automaton - a mechnical man who writes with a pen upon wound up.

The film's pace is easy and unfolds layer by layer flowing like a river.

Hugo , one fine day is caught by a sho owner stealing his spare parts.

There in starts Hugo's journey , an adventure of a lifetime where he unearths the truths.

Hugo played by Asa Butterfiled is believable and affable.

Ben Kingsley plays the Georges Melies , a renowned illusionist and filmmaker who has not got his due.

The supporting cast is able in particular the station inspector who is a hard-boiled man cleaning up the station

of the orphan kids.

3-D is a technology which pushes all boundaries , and Scorses had to use it to pay rich tributes of the pioneers of illusion and special effects.

The panoramic beauty depicted of Paris is breathtaking . The joy of seeing the camera move like silk from the cityscape and right in to the busy platform ending at the clock tower , Hugo peeking out.

Awwww... Bliss! 

 

Golden Globe for best director and 5 oscars including Best Cinematography speaks volumes of the splendor in front of the cinegoers.

Mesmerising Grandeur in 3D

Rating : 4.5/5.0

No Man's Land : by Danis Tanović

This 2001 war epic is set in the midst of Bosnian war.

2 wounded soldiers - a Serb & a Bosnian

are caught between the lines in a NO MAN'S LAND

Survival is the only option!

A land mine under a third soldier in the bunker becomes the point of conflict!

United Nations , Media Glare , News Reports , Bosnian troops , Serb troops

The circus is palpable , irony of a war zone

Exceptional writing , poignant climax

Proud Bosnia - Small country , big heart

Well deserved , best foreign language film Oscar

Rating : 3.5/5.0

The Descendants : by Alexander Payne

The Descendants is a drama film set in Kauai , a Hawaiian island.

This film traces the journey of a land baron , Matt King played by quintessential George Clooney. He owns a trust with a 25,000 acres land in his name.

The King family decides to sell it off to a Kauai inhabitant , Don Holitzer.

A sudden turn of events - Matt's wife suffers a major accident on a boating trip forcing her into a coma. Matt is left with the guardianship of his 2 daughters Alex and Scottie.

George Clooney plays the dad to perfection , considering himself as a 'back up parent' , being not very close to his daughters.

His anxiety and helplessness is executed brilliantly and forms the crux of the storyline. Matt accidentally comes to know about his wife's secret affair and all hell breaks loose.

Matt's inner strength and anger management is all there to see as he sets out in his pursuit of confronting the other man.

The Descendants is truly a rippling comedy with layers of relationship unifying at different moments of the film. George Clooney excels big time as a unaided parent in trying circumstances

The screenplay is superior and well adapted by Payne and his team. It is treat to watch a comedy yet have an emotional connect with the characters.

'A true vintage comedy with a pinch of salt'

Rating: 4.5/5.0

The Avengers : by Joss Whedon

Every fanboy's fantasy is to revere their superheroes , be in awe of them , worship them.

Superman , Batman , Spiderman , The Hulk , Iron Man, Wolverine , He Man ..

The list is endless in every child book tucked away in time!

The Avengers affirms this fact.

Iron Man - Tony Stark

The Hulk - Dr. Bruce Banner

Captain America - Steve Rogers

Black Widow - Natasha Romanoff

Thor - Thor

Hawkeye - Clint Barton

Team Avengers is activated by Nick Fury to stop the Norse god Loki from destroying the Earth

by opening up a portal using Teserract

The storyline is predictable yet humour is the surprise element in this super action adventure.

The constant banter and onemanship amongst the heroes is the USP of the film

The finale act of the film , with Manhattan burning in rage of the alien attack

is an absolute stopper for 3D awesomeness!

My personal favourite adrenaline moment from the movie ..

Captain asks Dr. Bruce seeing the Leviathan break out of the building, 
now is the time to get angry 

 Doctor : That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry!

Oh my ! Smashing!

High-octane  , exhilarating spectacle with a tinge of humour 

Every comic fans dream come true

Rating : 4.5/5.0 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo : by David Fincher

David Fincher returns after the critically acclaimed The Social Network.

Best selling novels are the most challenging to adapt for a motion picture.

First of the trilogy from Stieg Larsson , has sold 15 million copies till date.

This 2011 movie , has the 2 most unlikely pairing for the main parts

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth & Daniel Craig as Mikael.

Rooney plays a cold blooded hacker and researcher with a dark mental chronicle.

Craig is a co founder of a magazine company and a sleuth.

Henrik summons Craig to investigate the disappearance of his grand niece Harriet , 

40 years ago.

He agrees to the assignment in exchange for damning information on his just lost libel case victor.

The film is intriguing to the core, with each frame springing a surprise in this labyrinth of a case - The  mystery behind missing Harriet.

There are - many suspects

There is - no substantial evidence

There are - no witnesses

There is - no obvious logic

Finchers' at top of his game.

The mystery unfolds at the errie , serene , cold Sweden.

A taut thriller with edge of the seat screenplay.

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Vicky Donor : by Shoojit Sircar

Vicky Donor marks the debutants in queue - Ayushmann Khurrana , Yami Gautam as the lead pair and John Abraham as the producer.

Veteran actor , Annu Kapoor gets a meaty role this time around and the director Shoojit Sircar's second outing after critically acclaimed Yahaan....

The trailers looked appealing at the outset for me , had very little expectations , though the taboo theme was interesting.

Vicky , played by Ayushmann is a 'vella' young guy who is totally dependent on her mother's income from a beauty parlour. Dolly plays his mother , a widow supporting her mother in law and Vicky.

The repartee between Mrs Arora and Biji is one of the high points of the film. Kamlesh Gill performs Biji , full of life and modern to the core , Mrs Arora , a hardworking mother , carrying heart on her sleeve.

Enter , Dr. Chadda , played by ever skillful Annu Kapoor. He is a renowned infertility specialist doctor , who has wealth of experience in sperm donation.

His clinic faces the heat from the clients in providing the best quality sperm - Sportsmen , Actors, Businessmen & Models.

The first half of the film is riding on the tongue in the cheek humour and witticism between Vicky and Dr. Chaddha. The doctor eyes huge clientele for his clinic as soon as he discovers the 'Aryan' putra sperm count of Vicky

Yami Gautam plays a Bengali banker and Vicky's love interest. The romantic track brings freshness to the fore and the pair does a fabulous job. She is beauty personified and is a competent actress for a debutant.

Rolling on the Floor Moments :

1. Chaddha convincing Vicky for the deed
2. Biji & Mrs Arora whisky tet-e-tet
3. Marriage meeting between the Arora & Roy family
4. Chaddha interviewing his clients.

For me , the dialogues never crossed the line , it was always on the EDGE!  

Best line from the film was the explanation by Dr Chaddha on the science of donation prevalent since the times of Mahabharat.  ~ The sauciness is brimming here!

Vicky played by Ayushmaan puts him in one of most promising talent around , his transition from small to big screen is silken!

His lingo in the film is so 'CHANDIGARH' , fuddu pan at its best ;)

Music is very pleasing to the ear and comes at the right portions of the movie. Paani Da is my personal favourite ~  composed , written and sung by Ayushmann!!!

Exceptional script on a forbidden path .. Kudos to the director & the writing team.

This Sperm trully hits the Bullseye!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Carnage : by Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski has been one my favourite directors because his body of work is truly versatile. 

Here he is with a black comedy - Carnage

The locale is utterly simplistic yet engaging.

When 2 grade-school boys get into a confrontation in the park that results in one boy hitting the other in the with a stick, their parents meet in a apartment to discuss the issue. 

The parents of the boy wielding the stick, Alan and Nancy Cowan (Waltz and Winslet), 

visit the home of Michael and Penelope Longstreet (Reilly and Foster), who are the parents of the boy who was struck badly.

How interesting!!?  It is an absolute genius of a film.

The couples are in the zone of mind bending wordplay! 

Civility to Verbal Volleys!

Funny , Intelligent , Witty , Repartee , Banter

Writing at its best!

Rating : 4.0/5.0

Kahaani : by Sujoy Ghosh

Vidya is the flavor of the season .. back 2 back releases post The Dirty Picture , she is here in a Durga avatar!

Kahaani , directed by under achieved Sujoy Ghosh (a la' duds like Alladin) , was looking delicious as soon as the promos hit the marquee.

The thriller genre in Indian context have been far and few , but this one really packs a punch.

A pregnant Vidya Bagchi , lands in Kolkatta , ironically a City of Joy party to her sorrow. She is in pursuit of her missing husband  , Arnab.

She lodges a complaint at a local police station. Rana Singh played brilliantly by a Bengali actor Parambrata , a coy policeman who is her support in the quest.

The mystery unfolds at NDC - workplace of Arnab which holds the key and is the heart of  lies & deceit. Vidya and Rana move from one clue to another , with a edge of the seat tenacity.

The introduction of a contract killer , Bob Biswas , in the scheme of things played by Bengali Actor , Saswata , intrigues the audience to the hilt.

The IB official - Khan played like a virtuoso by Nawazuddin Siddiqui is an alter ego of Rana , a stern man of can-do-anything-to-wipe-of-criminals ideals.

The suspense unfolds reel by reel , and I was truly madly deeply immersed into the high octane drama.

Interval is at a god smacking moment in the film and makes me wonder the screenplay is simply superlative.

As it moves along in the second half , the audience is still in a dilema and has no answers to the questions posed by the naarative - Who is Arnab ? Where has he vanished? Who is Milind ? What is the conspiracy at NDC ?

The climax - One of the best yet debatable culminations in Hindi cinema , Mr. Ghosh made me smile once I went out of the dark room , gauging what had just hit me!

The screenplay is extraordinary , the music is apt by Vishal-Shekhar and the cinematography is top draw , Kolkatta never seen before!

Performances - Vidya Balan was always the most versatile we had in business , but she has the power to pull a solo cash jackpot with ease!

Kahaani - Hitchcockeneyed - in your face intoxicating thriller!

Rating : 4.5/5.0