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

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013)

Director:
Dan Scanlon

Writer:

Robert L. Baird
Daniel Gerson

Dan Scanlon

Starring:
Billy Crystal 
John Goodman 
and others

Monsters University is a prequel of the brilliant 2001 animated flick Monsters Inc. Now the story pretty much deals with how Mike and Sullivan become the best of friends in college. The voice-overs are top notch and Mike and Sullivan are endearing characters. This movie is very well produced and as expected from Disney and Pixar, the animation is top notch but the place where this particular movie fails is charm.

Now the main reason for this is its script. Even though it is well written, it seems recycled and consists of every college cliche possible. Predictable all the way through this movie lack imagination like some of the recent Pixar movies (read Brave and Cars 2). Dear Pixar we want more movies like Up, Wall E and Ratatouille and less like the ones released in the past two years.

I am not saying that this movie is bad, it is more than watchable and deserves your time. But the sense of deja vu is unmistakable and thus makes the movie more forgettable and less memorable.

Pranit’s Rating: 6.5/10

THE HUNT (2012)

Director:
Thomas Vinterberg

Writer:

Thomas Vinterberg

Tobias Lindholm

Starring:
Mads Mikkelson 
Thomas Bo Larsson
Annika Wedderkopp and others

Thomas Vinterberg's Jagten (The Hunt) is a movie which according to him needed to be made and i concur. His vision is truly mesmerizing and his treatment of a heavy script is light handed and subtle which according to me is the true mark of a great filmmaker.

Now for one the title of the movie is slightly misleading. The Hunt has more of a metaphorical significance than literal. The movie is more of a study of human psyche. The movie unravels slowly but in an assured manner. Mads Mikkelson plays Lucas, a divorcee fighting for the custody of his child Marcus. Now Lucas lives a lonely life till he gets involved with Nadja (Alexandra Rapaport). But his life is turned upside down when an innocent lie gets blown out of proportion.

Now revealing any further plot details will ruin the movie so I will refrain from doing so. Mads Mikkelson is stellar as Lucas and his performance is definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination. The scene in which he attends church on Christmas eve is gut wrenching. He infuses so much into his character that one cannot be blamed if they feel like he is playing himself on screen. Vinterberg's and Lindholm's script is beautifully written and small nuances like Lucas's dog, Fanny always barking on hearing his ex-wife's name are a joy to watch. Even the potshots taken at Lucas's ill fate by his friend Bruun (Lars Ranthe) are in good humour and do add a bit is humour into serious scenes. This movie's final sequence is a testament to Vinterberg's ability to understand human nature. This movie is not to be missed.

Pranit’s Rating: 8.5/10

MYSTIC RIVER (2003)

Director:
Clint Eastwood

Writer:

Brian Helgeland

Starring:
Sean Penn
Tim Robbins
Kevin Bacon and others

Mystic river is a delightful movie in a depressing sort of way. The movie opens with three kids playing ice hockey with a plastic ball, little do the kids know what is in store for them. Soon one of the three kids gets kidnapped.

This is followed by a time jump to when Dave (Tim Robbins), Jimmy (Sean Penn) and Sean (Kevin Bacon) are all grown up. Dave is a stay at home dad married to Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden) who is Annabeth's (Laura Linney) sister. Annabeth is married to Jimmy. Thus Dave and Jimmy have maintained contact over the years. On the other hand Sean is a police officer and has maintained little to no contact with the above two after the incident as kids. What brings these three together is the murder of Jimmy's daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum).

Now this movie is quintessentially a slow-boil thriller which is handled masterfully by Clint Eastwood (of the Letters From Iwo Jima and Changeling fame). His exceptional knowledge and vision are on display here as he tackles sensitive issues of childhood fears with aplomb. His execution is spot on and Helgeland's a revelation. The subtle nuances at display in the movie are the mark of a talented writer.

But according to me, the reason why this movie is my favourite thriller of all time (beating The Silence Of The Lambs) is Tim Robbin's and Sean Penn's performances. They won Oscars for their portrayal of Dave and Jimmy respectively. The scene in which Dave breaks down and recounts the horrific details of his childhood is sensationally acted and elicited chills. This movie reinstates my belief in thrillers and I recommend this movie for all those people who find the corny run of the mill thriller more than mildly annoying.

Pranit’s Rating: 9/10

CIRCUMSTANCE (2011)

Director:
Maryam Keshavarz

Writer:

Maryam Keshavarz

Starring:
Sarah Kazemy
Nikhol Boosheri
Reza Sixo Safai and others

Circumstance is an Iranian movie made by debutant director Maryam Keshavarz. Now what really drew me to this movie was the unconventional plot. Keshavarz is blessed with truckloads of talent but unfortunately that only includes the direction part, her writing is sub standard to say the least. The first thirty minutes keep you interested but after that, the script nosedives into obscurity.

The story revolves around Atafeh (Nikhol Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) who develop feelings towards one another but blame the "circumstances" for not being able to do much about it. The plot is complicated further with the addition of Atafeh's brother Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai). He has feelings for Shireen and resorts of extreme methods in order to satisfy his needs. The only well written scene comes somewhere within the first thirty minutes of the movie, when Mehran pushes a drug addict he meets in the mosque away, while another man helps him by giving him food. This scene is well captured.

 Keshavarz naivety is apparent from her handling of the scene when the characters talk about dubbing Sean Penn's Milk. The dialogues elicit laughs at the sheer awkwardness with which they are delivered and do not work. Another problem I faced while watching this movie was the risque content. The scenes of intimacy are beautifully captured but they are far too many and it spoils the impact of the movie, which is seductive at first but transcends into senseless glob of amateurish writing.

The performances of the lead actors is commendable considering that most of them including Sarah Kazemy and Nikhol Boosheri are first-timers. It is sad that the people associated with this movie have lost their right to enter Iran but what is even sadder is that they lost it because of a movie that promises much but delivers precious little.

Pranit’s Rating: 5/10