Hugo Movie Review (English)

Story : Once upon a time there was boy named Hugo Cabret who lived in a train station. Despite being single and young, he searched hard to find a secret message from his father. The message, like magic, reached all the way to the right person, till dreams were re-lived. 

Critic's Rating: 

Direction: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen

Genre: Drama

Duration: 2 hours 6 minutes

Avg Readers Rating: 

Movie Review: For the time being, let's keep all this aside: After having released in the U.S last year, Hugo finally releases in India today. Hugo went on to nab 11 nominations and five Oscars this year. With Hugo, directorMartin Scorsese for the first time ever enters three-dimensional territory. Instead, let's talk of this: The Eiffel Tower of the 1930s has never looked so inviting; the snow falling atop the wooden roofs and window panes of old France has never looked so mesmerizing; the world of clocks has never seemed so hi-tech. For starters, Hugo is a visual treat. And now we know why it grabbed the Oscar for Best Visual Effect this year. 

But then adding life to all that eye candy is Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield), the orphan boy in town, who lives in a railway station, steals croissants, and gets his five minutes of laughter when he spots the odd ones out at the station when peeping from the huge clock tower. Like all restless kids, Hugo too is on the lookout for his 'purpose' which in this case is understanding the secret message his dad (an unfortunately hardly-there Jude Law cameo) brought forth by an old piece of automaton. Helping him in his purpose is yet another kid, Isabella (Chloe Grace Moretz). For her, the 'purpose' is rather simple: adventure calling. Fun while the two are out coding and decoding messages, sketches, and looking out for the right key to get the automaton started. Once functional, you realise there is much more to the movie -- the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies, all his surviving films, his collection of mechanical models called automata, his determination of making dreams (filmmaking) come true.

Watch Hugo Official Movie Trailer (HD)

Now, for the ideation. Hugo lives up to the pages it owes its creation to - Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And why just the plot, Martin Scorsese ensures even the feel of the movie is in sync with the literary version. With 284 pictures between the 533 pages, the book appeals to all for its words as well as pictures. With hardly any dialogues, the movie depends equally on its performance as it does on the picturesque setting. Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz are quite successful in taking you back to the Dickensian era... and perhaps a 1930 version of Potter's 9-3-4 platform. Watch Asa go all out to give Chloe her first taste of real adventure - they sneak into a cinema hall. Watch Chloe kiss Asa for the first time ever on his cheeks - something that makes our kid grow up. But the real winner is Ben Kingsley who, as the owner of a small toy shop, 'fixes' whatever little seems to be amiss, both when it comes to machines... and the silent pauses. 

Tip off : If the tick-tock of clocks (Hugo is quite low on dialogues) sounds like music to your ears, and the huffing-puffing of steam engines (Hugo brings to life the old French charm) looks like wizardry to your eyes, you are sure to like this one.


Courtesy: The Times Of India

Movie Review: 21 Jump Street (English)

Story: Nothing gives two not-so-happening cops a kick of their life more than an opportunity to bust a drug racket on college campus.

Critic's Rating: 

Direction: Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Cast: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Dave Franco, Brie Larson

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 1 hour 49 minutes

Avg Readers Rating: 

Movie Review: You know this one's about two cops who are all out to make high school teens say no to drugs. So you obviously know what to expect -- car chases, gun shots and swearing unlimited. But then what you really do not expect turns out to be the highpoint of 21 Jump Street. Ghosts from the past, in this case one's college life, staring right into the face. What does one do? Still remain the cool cop who has everything under control? Or think a zillion times before asking a girl out on a prom night? Can't really blame the boys - Jenko ( Channing Tatum) and Schmidt ( Jonah Hill) - for they have their share of rejections to deal with. But before that, it's some unfinished task.

21 Jump Street is the place where the men in uniform decide to do something more fruitful. And what better way to nab the drug peddlars on campus than by being a part of the campus. Once within the campus, things fall in place and the brain behind all that nefarious activities is exposed. Who is that? We don't really care for this time it's all about how the boys gel well with teens on campus... and how the boys resist all that temptation. Get your dose of haha moments from here; get your I've-been-through-that-in-college-too moments here. All this and more as Channing and Jonah actually seem to have a ball of a time. They find it too hard to follow the rules of the undercover programme. First, no sexual relations with students, no getting them drunk. But what can they do when the teachers of this high school are rather high on the libido quotient. Next is no trying out HFS (the drug) themselves. But what can they do when peer pressure is the driving force. They do it and then tounges go waggling, Peter Pan goes texty, iconic bond in the chemistry class becomes the four letter word and the rest is all laughter. Finally, no nightout for buddies when mom and dad are away. But what can they do if friends drop by. Enjoy, get drunk, get naughty and when stabbed (all that hot blooded stuff post a couple of tequilla shots), just say 'it's awesome'.

The back to school cops, Channing and Jonah, fit the campus bill with ease. Not only do they look like they belong to the Justin Bieber-Miley Cyrus looking generation and live their teenage angst all over again, but eventually do what they ought to - get all to stay away from deadly drugs.

21 Jump Street (2012) clearly says cops Jenko and Schmidt have got to revive an undercover police programme of the 1980s. Remember Johnny Depp's television series by the same name? Incidentally it ends up reviving more - laughter and teen insecurities.


Courtesy: Movie Reviews @ Times Of India

Movie Review: Malligadu (Telugu)

Story: The gory climax might make some peoples stomach churn, but then it's essentially a Tamil film, could have some nativity issues as well. 

Movie Review: A dubbed version of the 2007 Tamil cult classic, Paruthiveeran, Malligadu is releasing four years later in Telugu but is still makes for a bewildering cinema experience that evokes awe and disgust in equal measure. Awe for the sheer caliber of filmmaking that captures nuggets of rustic village life - dancers in exotic costumes, loudspeaker announcements, cattle with balloons tied to their horns, card players oblivious to the ear-shattering noise around them, eunuchs performing - these opening frames transport you into another realm. 

Then there scenes in which you have Malli (Priyamni) vomiting all over the screen and in others where women are repeatedly slapped and smashed against walls and shoved and raped and murdered, all captured in graphic detail. Well, the rustic romance between Malli Babu ( Karthi) and Malli is disarmingly cute. 

Malli Babu is village ruffian who spends most of his life going in and out of jail. His life's ambition is to do something so notorious that would get him on TV before landing in the central jail. His only friend is his uncle Sivayya (Saravanan) who is just as jobless and ready for adventure. Malli is his cousin who swears undying love for Malli Babu after he saves her from drowning in the river as a kid. Malli Babu ignores her romantic overtures but eventually falls for her. 

Their families however, are sworn enemies and are dead against their marriage. So the lovers elope to live the life of their dreams, but their families are determined to punish them. What ensues is some pretty intense cinema.

Courtesy: Movie Reviews @ Times Of India

Review: The Avengers (English)

Story: Global catastrophe is round the corner. And the onus of saving citizens on Earth lies with Nick Fury. But how does he go about it? Time to chalk out a super plan. But then looks like it'll take him something more super than just a plan....

Critic's Rating: 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston

Direction: Joss Whedon

Genre: Action

Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes

Avg Readers Rating: 

Movie Review: What do you expect when six mighty super heroes - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk - 'assemble' together on the silver screen for one common purpose? Action unlimited. High voltage drama. Larger-than-life effects. Throw in some smart one liners (humorous, of course) and you maybe in for some push button video gaming fantasy.


Nick Fury ( Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping agency, goes out of his way to save Planet Earth from impending doom, courtesy Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki, of course, is on the look out for the Tesseract, the cube that has all the power to swallow the planet... and get its inhabitants to bow before the evil one. That's when Fury thinks the best way to save Planet Earth is by handing charge to the evergreen power personalities. And that's precisely when Whedon creates an assembled six-in-one pack - The Avengers -- to wage war on screen. Yes, the story is rather simple. But then with testosterone swelling and bullets whizzing here, there, everywhere, we don't mind missing out on a breath-taking script.

The Avengers is not just your typical good versus evil kind of super hero flick. Here, before all scores are settled, it's the good-versus-good hungama that keeps you glued to your seat. Blame it on the big egos of the superstars. After all, they are all super in their own rights, have never worked as a team to ward off evil... and never taken instructions from other super guys. Naturally then, fireworks and action cuts are bound to follow.

Cut to the performances. Robert Downey Jr's Stark not just delivers his lines with panache in his typical 'playboy' avatar, he keeps the action going-literally - on screen. Chris Evans' Captain America as always makes it on time just when you are about to give up on all that mess. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) comes across as the perfect brother who is torn between the right and the wrong amidst lightening power and battles. Black Widow's ( Scarlett Johansson) mind games leave you simply asking for more. Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) is once again seen doing what he does best -- play around with his bow and arrows. Finally, it's Mark Ruffalo, first spotted in the bylanes of Kolkata, who gives you ample opportunity to clap when he turns into what he calls 'the other guys' (Hulk). Special mention: Tom Hiddleston who surprisingly stands tall as the bad guy in a group of otherwise good samaritans.

So here's what you've got to do: Just settle down with your 3D glasses for some bang-bang stuff where special effects speak louder than guns and the super guys have nothing to fall back on, other than their muscles, reflexes and of course, their super powers...


Courtesy: The Times Of India

Review: Hate Story

Story: Journalist Kavya Krishna loves tycoon Siddharth - who uses and abuses her. How far will Kavya go to get revenge?

Critic's Rating: 

Direction: Vivek Agnihotri

Cast: Paoli Dam, Gulshan Devaiya, Nikhil Dwivedi

Genre: Thriller

Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes

Avg Readers Rating: 

Movie Review: So, yeah, Hate Story exposes a lot - underneath Delhi's surface, that is, not really, as the adverts so tantalizingly showcased, of leading lady Paoli Dam. The film instead blows the top right off the dirty deals, the, well, intercourse between different power spheres ruling India's capital - business, politics, journalism, police, all meet in this slick flick. Depending on who you are, the intersections provide some pleasure - and lots of pain.


Hate Story starts with reporter Kavya (Dam) joining photographer-friend Vicky (Dwivedi) in exposing cement tycoon Siddharth Dhanrajgir (Devaiya) bribing a judge. Enraged, 'Sid' takes revenge - sweetly. Ignoring Vicky completely, he offers Kavya the sky if she works for him, letting him, as he terms it, use her talent. Remarkably, Kavya instantly agrees. Hugging a huffy Vicky goodbye, she leaps into Sid's deals, winning him a biggie in Mumbai. As a result, the tycoon takes her to dinner - and to bed. 

But it's not quite as charmless as that - Sid makes love to Kayva in gentle rain, in fluffy duvets, in the shower, pouring her with expensive watches and a big diamond. Swept off her feet, Kavya's in love - till Sid drops the honey-brush, slaps her one and throws her out of work with chilling contempt. She's also expecting - but he'll have none of it. A forced abortion follows after which her unconvincing 'middle-class family' (spot Pitaji by his red muffler) abandons her. Seeking revenge, Kavya approaches Delhi's most plush and padded prostitute, demanding seduction classes. These last one hot little moment - but more sex with more men follows, all leading towards entrapping Sid within a web of truth and lies, exposing and exposes. 

Interestingly, Hate Story isn't just one woman hating one man - it's also a tale of hateful deals, corruption, brutality and sleaze tiling the farmhouses fringing the capital, glistening in hotel bars, twinkling wickedly off the sunlight on the NCR's corporate buildings. It would all be so interesting - if only deeper and tighter. Instead, we get little sense of the porcelain-faced Kavya's torment, sliding from reporter to prostitute. We get even less sense of backup-BF Vicky's feelings - while we get way too much of Delhi's street-shots, wasted lines, lip-gloss thick as a moustache, bathrobes, jacuzzis and cars, all burdening Hate Story by about 30 minutes too many. 

Underneath this, even the sex-scenes sag - the frontbenchers clap most wildly not at Dam's bare back when she's riding Sid's brother Raj, but at a Haryanvi cop telling her when arrested for Raj's murder, "Kuch kapde pehen lete toh theek hota." Better acting and more music under-wiring this plot would've helped - the only memorable melody is the velveteen lament 'Dil kaanch sa', layering Kavya's trauma after Sid's brutality. 

But there are pluses too - Devaiya stands out as a stammering little egomaniac and the electricity between him and Dam crackles. There are memorable shots - Dam staring with agonised eyes at Sid's office while having car-sex with a stranger outside, a moment of acute tension when she meets Raj's wife in court. One more encounter follows - but let's leave something to the imagination. Appreciate, if you will, the thriller, not the diet-erotica - that's rather an anti-climax.

Courtesy: Times Of India

Wrath Of The Titans: Now face the wrath!

Story: Perseus's defeat of the huge Kraken is history. He now vows to live the life of an ordinary fisherman with his son, Helius. But then the son of God cannot live without his destiny forever. The Gods -- have otherwise in store for him 

Critic's Rating: 

Direction: Jonathan Liebesman

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike

Genre: Action

Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes

Avg Viewer's Rating: 

Movie Review: There's always scope for improvement. There's ample scope for the clash (2010: Clash of the Titans) to turn into some real action-packed wrath (2012: Wrath of the Titans). Here's calling all you Clash of the Titans buffs who just could not wait to see their second dose of video game push button fantasy come alive on the big screen. 

So what's cooking between the Gods and the Titans this time? The same old war for the I'm-the-best title. But unlike its previous years, the Gods are losing control of humanity and taking over are the badmaash Titans and the deadly giant-sized Kronos. That's where our been-there-done-that hero from the past, son of the all-powerful Zeus ( Liam Neeson), Perseus (Sam Worthington) steps in to put up yet another spectacular show with the spear of Tritum -- the only weapon that can kill the one who shall not be named. Of course, there's a gamut of labyrinths and changing loyalties (Ralph Fiennes's Hades and Edgar Ramirez's Ares) he has got to deal with first. 



Back to all Clash of the Titans fans. Don't go expecting for a storyline that'll make you go all hail Liebesman. After all, when was this Gods versus Titans versus Demi Gods series all about a colossal plot anyway. But then here is what makes up for the same. First, it's the edgy action cuts -- the coming soon calamity drama, fist fights with fire exploding beasts, two headed beasts, unheard of and unseen before beasts, the fight between the one-eyed Cyclopes (who literally tears out of the screen) and our war heroes, the will-Perseus-won't-Perseus-make-it on time situations, the ultimate falling of the Kronos, explosions unlimited. Then there is the element of the mysterious --  the island of Kail, the labyrinth leading to the dark dungeon of the underworld called Tartarus, the Kronos made out of a huge, huge mound of lava -- the falling of which gives this sequel an epic finale. Next is the ultimate hero, the demi God. This time it's not just Sam Worthington who seems to have mastered the art of fighting with the evil Gods, but also Toby Kebbell as son of Poseidon. Toby's God-turned-man avatar, Agenor, comes with a rather mortal sense of humour. Lastly, it's a message rather loud and clear -- Not that the Gods must die too. Not even that man will be all powerful provided he uses his power wisely. It's the possibility of yet another sequel -- watch the sword of honour being passed from Father (Zeus)... to son (Perseus)... to son (Helius). 

A word about the 3D effects. Definitely not much to make the Gods happy, but surely enough to send the message -- of wrath -across to us mortals. 


Courtesy: Times Of India

Titanic 2012. Romance in 3D.

Story: The love story between commoner Jack Dawson ( Leonardo DiCaprio) and aristocratic Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), set against the ornate yet tragic backdrop of the sinking luxury liner, sends out all the right signals. It talks of a love that is passionate, permanent, soul stirring, death defying and powerful enough to break all barriers of class and destiny. 

Critic's Rating: 

Direction: James Cameron

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Gloria Stuart

Genre: Romance

Duration: 3 hours 14 minutes

Avg Viewer's Rating: 

Movie Review: It took some 300 hundred people, 60 weeks, 279,000 frames and $18 million more (initially costing some $200 million) for director James Cameron to sink the Titanic all over again. Not to say, his earlier Titanic (1997) did not have its fair share of numbers to deal with: a movie stretching to 194 minutes; a movie bagging 11 Oscars that year. The fact that James Cameron managed to blend steamy romance with mind-blowing depiction of disaster made the film even more spectacular. Watching the Titanic sink, with all the attendant creaks and cracks, was truly a milestone moment in movie lore. That was then. For now, the Big Question: What is it that really makes Titanic (1997) look all different from Titanic (2012)? 

For starters, the decor and dresses look more elegant, the ocean more blue and deadly, the ship more huge and gigantic. Not to miss out is Kate Winslet's very first entry with an enormous hat and an even more enormous bow. Spectacular. Next, it's the sweeping and romantic shot of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as 'king (and queen) of the world'. More iconic a shot in 3D. But then unfortunately, Cameron's real trick-n-treat visual wizardry is primarily seen during the last 30 minutes of the movie. Perhaps, that's why you just can't wait for the Titanic to snap. And snap it does, 3D ishtyle. Right from the luxury liner being hit by the oh-so-big iceberg, water blasting through the hull, those on board being washed away by violent waves... to the ship's final plunge as it breaks into two, is what makes Titanic different... and worth a watch ek baar phir! Special mention: 1) The section of the ship rising up perpendicular to the ocean 2) Hundred of lifeless bodies floating around in the cold water... in the middle of nowhere. 

So grab your 3D glasses and book yourself a tryst with the turn-of-the-century cinema all over again. And incase you feel the wait (for the special effects to set the screen ablaze) is too long, worry not. It's the overwhelming sentimentality of the liner, along with the then Kate-and-Leo chemistry, that still classifies the Titanic as an epic romance, 3D or no 3D. 


A word about James Cameron: No doubt Cameron is mastering the art of advancing technology, not just in the world of cinema, but his very own cinema. First Avatar (followed by Avatar 3D), now Titanic. 

Tip off: You know what's coming up next on screen. But rest assured, you still won't mind seeing the Titanic sink all over again - in 3D... exactly a hundred years from the moment it actually happened.


Courtesy: Times Of India