Raman Raghav 2.0 - Ugly but good thriller

Two awful characters and two awesome actors and the result is a mindblowing movie which is bound to leave you disturbed, well thats the brilliant strength of their acting. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is outstanding of course there is no surprise there but the other actor who gives him equally great company is Vicky Kaushal,he is simply superb. Not letting the story out, it wouldn't be fair to the filmmaker. Anurag Kashyap is best at making realistic movies,infuses life and soul into it, this is indeed one of his great work. Don't go by the ratings of TOI, they have been totally unfair to this brilliant piece of cinema. No its not a feel good cinema but a fantastic cinema nevertheless. If you have liked Black Friday,Ugly,Gangs Of Wasseypur then you are bound to like this. Yes I thought its great but have to see a bit of feel good cinema, my mind is disturbed right now no complaints, credit goes to the great filmmaker and fantastic performances by all the actors specially the two main leads. Recommended of course. P.S : I can totally get the love for cinema in other individuals but please please don't show this to your children below 18 years , I witnessed parents coming with their toddlers for this movie and they were crying(cant blame them at all) its pretty dark and grim for their understanding and why should they see the ugly side of life at their tender age when it can be avoided,please show them 'Finding Dory' or 'Dhanak '

ABCD - Any Body Can Dance - 2

Life is about the next step and indeed it is and look ahead and learn from the mistakes made.. This movie solely concentrates on the basic premise of dancing and thats the way it should be when you have a title such as this. Director Remo D'souza needs to be applauded for extracting the never seen before awesome dance movements,one of the best dance based films that Bollywood has ever witnessed, with stunning visuals that look splendid in 3D,making it worth of every penny spent and every second of the 2hr 34 mts dance extravaganza. Loved Varun Dhawan in this film,he is so sincere and dedicated in his work that it reflects in his performance, this guy has really come a long way since 2012 release 'Student Of The Year', First 'Badlapur' in Feb 2015 and now this one, he is a star and a good actor , very sincere love that about him. Shraddha Kapoor delivers yet another good performance, there is something so innocent and nice about her. The chemistry between Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor is just so cool , the pairing really works :) Prabhudheva the man of few words does deliver a power packed peformance. Dharmesh Yelande, Lauren Gottlieb, Raghav Juyal did a splendid as the supporting cast. I felt really bad when Lauren Gottlieb did not win the 'Jhalak Dikhla Ja' trophy in 2013 but I guess other better things were in store for her like this movie :) Pooja Batra, Kapil Sharma and Navjot Singh Sidhu cameos were good fun to watch. Liked Tisca Chopra in her brief role, wonder why such good actresses dont make appearences often. Remo D'souza's choreography is simply outstanding..Respect. The film has the right mix of content and visuals in it and has the right value of entertainment. There are few scenes in the movie which is bound to create a lump in your throat :) Recommended for sure :)

Man of Steel

Awesome special effects and a very good looking Superman(Henry Cavill) but beyond that its another enjoyable Superhero movie :) Liked Russell Crowe , Amy Adams ,Kevin Costner and Diane Lane and yes Michael Shannon. I think the most enjoyable Superman series the ones which I have watched as a child the special effects weren't mind boggling but the story was far more soulful. Having seen most of the super hero movies I can surely vouch for 'The Dark Knight' series as the best one. Superman movies does not happen very often so for the special effects yes it is recommended..

Dhanak (Rainbow) - Simple yet brilliant

When life gets competitive and complicated watching a simple and sweet movie like this can completely unwind you and tell you life can be as simple and hopeful and full of love and zeal minus the complications. The movie is uplifting with some brilliant performances by the child actors Krrish Chhabria and Hetal Gada and yes rest of the cast comprising of Vipin Sharma,Gulfam Khan,Vibha Chibber,Vijay Maurya,Suresh Menon,Rishi Deshpande,Rajiv Laxman,Chet Dixon,Ramakant Dayma has pitched in equally great performances. The movie has something very magical and heartwarming about it, the storytelling is beautiful,never a dull moment and the dialogues are so much fun,sharing the tit bits of life without ever getting preachy. Loved the bantering between the brother and sister talking about their love for SRK and Salman Khan respectively. The movie leaves you with an awesome feel good factor and the outlook towards life is simply brilliant. Another outstanding movie by Director Nagesh Kukunoor. Nagesh Kukunoor, recently launched a book of the same name penned by Anushka Ravishankar .The book is the first Indian novelisation of a children’s film. In most of the cases novels are adapted as movies but in this case, it is completely opposite. Loved the movie completely and strongly recommend the same. Movies of this kind come very rarely so don't miss this gem of a movie please :)

Finding Dory - Loved it

Quite a substantial part of the movie watchers across the globe was waiting eagerly for this movie and why not when there is a prequel like 'Finding Nemo',so the important question is whether this lives upto the expectation ,oh yes it does and more :) The animation is brilliant well when there is Disney involvement we can't expect anything lesser, they seem to be just getting better and better. The story revolving around the importance of family and friends in other words the important relationships in our lives which keeps us going in the journey of life. Dory's voice over by Ellen DeGeneres is just too good. A sequel is bound to be compared with its prequel and I thought this sequel superceded its prequel. The movie has its beautiful sentimental moments as well joyous moments which surely will bring a smile to your face :) Dory did have a bit of memory problem but 'Finding Dory' will remain unforgettable in the hearts and minds of movie goers. Recommended..Don't miss it :)

Cars 3 - Fun Ride

Lightning McQueen is back in this fun and endearing version loaded with motivation and never give up attitude. The transformation of the racer to becoming a mentor is indeed very inspiring,an awesome example of when to let go and diverse the focus on something more productive,its not easy but totally worth it. I thought this was much better than Cars 2. A fun ride not to be missed with a good lesson for life. And of course the animation is superb as always Recommended

Udta Punjab - Great piece of cinema

This is a dark movie with abundance use of words which censor was planning to cut, glad Bombay High Court ruled that out as there would be no dialogues to hear then :) The movie revolves around drugs abuse as a result of which the majority of the youth is getting deteriorated and thats not a problem of Punjab alone , drug abuse happens across the country and beyond. Loved the entry of Rockstar Shahid Kapoor , he has done a wonderful job of the rockstar whose life is lost in drugs and then the awakening of finding the true meaning of life and love. Alia Bhatt in a complete non glamorous role and what an awesome job at that, she surely leaves her mark behind. Both Diljith Doshanj and Kareena Kapoor are very impressive in their respective roles. If you have liked the movies in the genre of Dev D,Gangs Of Waseypur then you will surely like this one. I liked it very much, worth the wait and the time and money spent. There is a stark reality in this movie and the closure does leave you with hope to live and love :) Good work by the production team and director Abhishek Chaubey. Glad Anurag Kashyap and the entire team stood by their ideals and didn't bow to CBFC. Cinema is an art of expression one may or may not like it but the right to expression cannot be curbed. Time and again the theory of Karma explained very well Recommended of course for the adult audience, go and enjoy a good piece of cinema :)

Pay It Forward - Great movie

Great movie indeed ..very moving story compels you to leave everything aside and think about life and its perspectives and reinforces the thought of helping fellow humans the best way to make this world a better place.The end really took me by surprise.Brilliant performances by Kevin Spacey,Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osement.Indeed its a great thing to pay it forward......

Ferrari Ki Sawari - Simple and nice

Simple yet brilliant what a gem of a movie.A total feel good movie which gives you lots of reasons to smile and leaves behind the best of thoughts for a good life.This should be a must watch for everyone I repeat you will miss something good in life as I said for Madagascar 3.Sharman Joshi is simply superb and what an accomplished actor Boman Irani is and loved the performance by the child artiste Ritwick Sahore is simply brilliant.Yes there are cinematic liberties taken but yet FERRARI KI SAWAARI is indeed a noble film, a film that has its heart in the right place. Recommended recommended recommended :)

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Sheer Delight

A movie made in distinct style with some amazing performances from all the actors and it had a good lot of them. The humor which will leave you in splits , it is indeed a spectacular movie and the line that is etched in my mind is '"There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity... He was one of them. " :) Recommended :)

Jurassic World - Entertaining

22 years back I remember watching 'Jurassic Park' and shrieking at many scenes as we witnessed such fearful scenes for the first time and the series coming back after much more than a decade definitely has spine chilling thrills which will keep you on your edge :) Extremely beautiful locales and mind boggling special effects. Jurassic Park will always remain the cult but this one is surely better than the rest of the series. Enjoyed the thrilling ride and hoping you would too :) Irfan Khan is good and makes his presence felt and rest of the cast comprising of Chris Patt and others are decent too. Recommended for a good fun thrilling watch this weekend :)

Shanghai - Good thriller

Very interesting political thriller with a great storyline and some fantastic performances makes this one totally worth the watch.Loved the bit where the due credit is given to Greek writer and diplomat Vassilis Vassilikos for his novel 'Z' wherein we always all the other Hindi movies are shamelessly copied,inspired but noone has the decency to admit the same on a public platform so hats off to the 'Shanghai' team for this noble approach.This movie depicts the current scenario of Indian politics which is truly hopeless sad but true..Abhay Deol was great so was Emran Hashmi must say he did a great job.Go For it

Now You See Me - Smart and sleek

Now this is what you call a smart,sleek,taut ,entertaining thriller and illusion/magic being the focal points makes the viewing all the more interesting. Loved the magic tricks performed if only life was this easy :) If you love heist movies then surely do not miss this one and this one has a good dose of humor and yes visually too its very appealing. The twist in the end is totally unexpected and is bound to take you by surprise. Performance wise everyone was good but my favorite was Mark Ruffalo and French actress Melanie Laurent. Looking for a smart movie don't miss this one.

Recommended and yes undoubtedly the best release this weekend :)

The Mummy (2017) - Mediocre rather very mediocre

1999 release 'The Mummy' seems like a good classic compared to this rubbish movie,the only claim this movie has is Tom Cruise and thats it. The 1999 version starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, might not have been a 'masterpiece', but it was a good old-fashioned action/adventure movie which was quite a fun movie and it really entertained,this version does nothing of that sort. Russell Crowe is wasted to the core,he is more like a dimwit. Sofia Boutella as the evil princess is just about alright but yes she looks every bit evil,amazing after thousands of years remaining buried in Egypt she starts speaking English fluently ,the air of London I guess :) Hollywood also produces trashy movies, this is one such :) The trailer seemed interesting but not the movie unfortunately.. A few good visuals does not make it a good movie. I sincerely hope they don't make a sequel of this disastrous movie. The movie lacks energy big time which is the primary source of any adventure movie. Even if you are a die hard Tom Cruise,watch it when the tickets are not exorbitantly priced :) The movie is very mediocre,not recommended

Quartet - Gem Of A Movie

Glad I chose this movie as my 200th one for the year 2013, a special milestone of this kind should be achieved by watching a special movie and this one just served the purpose :) Directed by Dustin Hoffman this movie captures the twilight years of one's life beautifully and music being the soul of this movie just helped further. Maggie Smith was superb as always Wonder why such gem of movies aren't released in India..loved it and recommend it :) A pleasant watch for sure tells us never to lose the zest for life ...remember we have one and a timed one at that :)

Dil Dhadakne Do - Entertaining

This movie reminded me of the fake flower shop where everything looks as real as it can get but the moment you take a closer look you realize its all plastic and absolutely no soul in it ,this star embedded movie reminds me of the same. Zoya Akhtar 's earlier works were really impressive this one was nowhere close to her earlier work in terms of the depth of the story and the characters. The cast is vibrant for sure and there are few scenes which were real good : 1) First meeting between Rahul Bose and Farhan Akhtar 2) When Anil Kapoor finally stands up for his daughter against her dominating and egoistic husband - Rahul Bose 3)The scene where Farhan Akhtar tells Rahul Bose that by using the word permission he is showing his authority which conflicts with the equal rights of women I thought the climax of the movie was way too dramatic and over the top. Anil Kapoor is as effortless as ever,the salt and pepper hair that he sports only adds elegance and style to his character. Shefali Shah has given a stunning performance , she really should do more movies. Ranveer Singh I think he was the best part of the movie , gives a very honest and sincere performance , loved him in this one, best performance till date. Priyanka Chopra. is good so was the rest of the cast comprising of Anushka Sharma,Ridhima Sud,Vivek Messy,Parmeet Sethi,Rahul Bose and Zarina Wahab. And yes it was a pleasure to see Farhan Akhtar even in a brief but meaningful role :) If everyone has the courage as Priyanka Chopra's character did we will surely be surrounded by more and more happily divorced people around us :) I am not saying the movie is bad but the definitely lacked the soul and depth , a good decent DVD watch is all I have to say about this movie :) But yes its shot beautifully so maybe on weekdays when the multiples tickets are cheaper it would be a better bet to invest on this particular movie :) I am not going to watch this movie second time for sure :)

Baywatch - very average

It has its funny moments and some good underwater shots and thats it. Dwayne Johnson is the best part of this movie. Priyanka Chopra is a fabulous actress ,even in her last Hindi movie release 'Jai Gangajaal' she was superb,but for her much talked about Hollywood Debut I would say this was very average in terms of acting skills ,she looks fabulous of course. Rest of the cast is just about alright. I have not watched the TV series so no comparison. Overall an average movie.

A Death in the Gunj - Brilliant piece of Cinema

Watching this gem of a movie was like reading a real interesting piece of work of Ruskin Bond,simple,relatable and brilliant. This movie is based on the short story by Mukul Sharma The town shown in this movie is exactly the place where one would like to take a break from the noisy superficial world and immerse oneself in the simplicity of life. Not letting the story out that would be unfair,to sum it up all I would say is it has good share of thrilling moments,moments of joy and moments of suspense. Storytelling and direction is impeccable,the apple definitely has not fallen far from the tree,in other words the directorial debut of Konkona surely make her mother Aparna Sen proud. Vikrant Massey as Shutu/Shyamal is the best part of the movie,super impressed with his acting skills,an actor to watch out for. Gulshan Devaiah as Nandu is just fabulous,the fun and sometimes mean character of his definitely has a pivotal role to play in the movie. Every actor fits their role to the perfection. Kalki Koechlin after 2016 release 'Waiting' this has another superb performance of hers. It was a pleasure to see Tanuja after a long time lighting up the screen. Om Puri sigh, the actor will be missed,big loss for the film industry. Tillotama Shome is fabulous so is Ranvir Shorey. Jim Sarbh as Brian portrays the role of an Anglo Indian character to the hilt. Arya Sharma the child actor as Tani is very good. Its unfortunate that the mainstream Bollywood does not utilize the talent of the above mentioned characters,the way it should be,but there are some movie directors who do and thankful to them for presenting this awesome cast and a gripping story. Our prime purpose in this life is to help others,and if you can't help them,at least don't hurt them. A brilliant piece of cinema not to be missed,of course recommended.

Wonder Woman - The Game Changer

Every woman has the power,grace,wisdom and wonder within but for the suspicious nature and insecurities they have towards fellow women,this world definitely would have been filled with wonder women :) This one is a fabulous super heroine movie if I may say with a good story and good dose of humor and awesome action. Gal Gadot is superb as Diana/Wonder Woman and an extremely gorgeous one at that,she is the perfect choice for this role. Rest of the actors also have done a great job and all of them,namely - Chris Pine,Robin Wright,Connie Nielsen,Danny Huston,David Thewlis,Saïd Taghmaoui,Ewen Bremner,Eugene Brave Rock,Lucy Davis,Elena Anaya,Lilly Aspell (Princess Diana as a child and so adorable) The locales are just breathtaking. Wonder Woman definitely could be the game changer in the league of super hero movies. Kudos to director Patty Jenkins to come up with an awesome movie of a refreshing super woman. Of course recommended.