THE WOLVERINE (2013)

Director:
James Mangold

Writer:

Mark Bomback
Scott Frank

Starring:
Hugh Jackman
Tao Okamoto
Rila Fukushima and others

Frankly, I am at a loss for words because James Mangold has managed to follow up Knight And Day with a movie which is even worse. Hats of the you sir because only you could fail so spectacularly TWICE. I would start praying if it led to you NEVER again attempting to direct an action movie. Mr. Manglod if you keep giving us movies like these we will forget that Walk The Line was also your creation.

Blessed with the "most original" title in a long time, this movie is a colossal waste of time and money. The screenplay is written by two twelve year olds, who feel that it is important to resort to corny dialogue so that the audience doesn't forget that it is a superhero movie after all. The writers are so enamoured by Japanese tradition that they consider it to their right to introduce audience to the way the chopsticks are to be used and the kimono is to be worn.

Jackman is the only thing that keeps this movie together. Other actors including Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima are average but considering that it is their first movie their performance is not too bad. Svetlana Khodchenkov (I know the name sounds impressive) is truly terrible. The "so called twist" is as predictable as the outcome of Judd Apatow movies. I would have given this movie nada had it not been for a truly sensational Bullet Train sequence.

Pranit’s Rating: 1/10

BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG (2013)

Director:
Rakesh Omprakash Mehra

Writer:

Prasoon Joshi

Starring:
Farhan Akhtar 
Divya Dutta 
Pawan Malhotra and others

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is Rakesh Omprakash Mehra's(ROM) fourth venture into direction and for the first time he has not written the script and it show because for the first time the usually capable ROM has given us a movie which would be instantly forgettable if not for Farhan Akhtar's performance.

Now the blame mostly goes to Prasoon Joshi as this National award winning writer gives us a script which is high on research and melodrama (when Singh is hurt and runs the race irrespective his bandages come out in slow motion) while it falls painfully short in the department of subtlety, something which one has come to expect from this writer director duo. Some of the blame has to be given to P Bharthi, the editor of the movie as the blatant abuse of slow motion is very off putting and irritating.

Some of the sequences are well shot and conceived for which ROM does get the credit (especially when Milkha Singh trains in Ladakh), but some of the mistakes in the movie are glaring and hard to overlook (in the scene from Milkha's childhood when he is being punished by the teacher along with his friend the flag of Pakistan is visible even though the partition has still not taken place.)

Shankar Ehsaan Loy's music is very forgettable, the only memorable song being Zinda. There are just too many songs in the movie which adds unnecessary breaks into an already incoherent screenplay. Clocking in at 3 hours and 7 minutes this movie is too long by at least half an hour. Farhan Akhtar's performance is the only reason one might want to see this movie. Bhaag Viewer Bhaag away from this movie, if you still want to hold the cherished memory of ROM and Joshi's Rang De Basanti.

Pranit’s Rating: 5/10

LOOTERA (2013)

Director:
Vikramaditya Motwane

Writer:

Bhavani Iyer
Vikramaditya Motwane
Anurag Kashyap

Starring:
Ranveer Singh
Sonakshi Sinha
Vikrant Massey and others

Lootera is director-writer Vikramaditya Motwane's second feature film. Now it is only natural for comparisons to be drawn with Udaan. If I had to pick a movie between the two, I still would say that Lootera is no Udaan but it is still in the same league.

The movie is set in 1953-54. Varun (Singh) is an archaeologist who comes to excavate the ground surrounding a temple in a village called Manikpur. Once there he finds himself drawn to the zamindar's daughter Paki (Sinha). Now the movie is predictable and being inspired from O. Henry's The Last Leaf, the climax could be a bit of a dampener for those familiar with the story. But in the more than capable hands of Motwane the movie is treated with a sense of flair and exemplary vision one seldom gets to see in Indian cinema today.

The movie for all the gorgeous sets, cinematography and background score belongs to the two leads. Singh and Sinha put their best foot forward and their performances elevate the movie to a level so high that it seems unlikely that any other movie will reach it this year making it a front-runner as India's official entry for the 2014 Oscars. Sonakshi Sinha's transitions from bitter to jovial to downright arrogant are seamless. But this move belongs to Ranveer Singh who puts in a performance that is memorable and stays true to the name of the movie as he steals your heart and refuses to let it go even hours after the movie.  

Pranit’s Rating: 8.5/10