Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
The Artist [2011]: Quick Review
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman
Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist works for an audience that have never experienced a silent movie before and is fascinated by knowing the facts that Hollywood was once Hollywood land. The Artist is a fairy tale for people who wonders about silent movies, instead of exploring them.
I have watched more than 200 films from the period of 1900-1930, so I can say, I have a fair understanding of the silent film era and the body language, they used to have, and this film over-stylized the whole environment of the silent era. This is one reason, we love Singin' in the Rain, because it was realistic.
I have watched more than 200 films from the period of 1900-1930, so I can say, I have a fair understanding of the silent film era and the body language, they used to have, and this film over-stylized the whole environment of the silent era. This is one reason, we love Singin' in the Rain, because it was realistic.
I really appreciate their effort and I also have an unsaid soft spot for movies about movies but I was disappointed with this movie.
Jean Dujardin was charming but was extremely one-dimensional. I really wanted to see how different George Valentin is off screen than On-Screen but he was shallow, he was given just one face to wear. On the other hand, Berenice Bejo, was really good at her role, she understood the ascent her character's life taken more than Jean Dujardin's understood his descent. It was definitely a good performance, but he won an undeserving Oscar.
The Artist is a good film, a kind that people remembers from a certain year but winning an Oscar for Best Picture is over rating it. Academy does this every time, they don't give the Oscar to a movie, they give it to a cause. Well then if it was for a cause I support the cause called "The Artist" and another cause "Argo".
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★
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Tag :
2010s,
2011,
Bérénice Bejo,
Comedy,
Drama,
English,
Jean Dujardin,
John Goodman,
Michel Hazanavicius,
Reviews,
Romance
City Lights [1931]: Charlie Chaplin's Masterpiece gave a Perfect Closure to the Silent Era
After the success of “The Jazz Singer [1927]”, Talkies were no longer a joke to those who laughed upon the idea of the merging of sound and images. Possibilities opened for a long list of young mediocre actors who could speak their dialogues well. In Simple words, there were no limitations in cinema anymore. It was a great development and everyone in the industry had something to benefit from it except the stars of the silent era.
A lot of actors went out of work once the talkies completely took over and no one had more to lose than the biggest star of Hollywood then, Charlie Chaplin. City Lights was his ultimate test and the world was rather curious if he would be able to entertain like before now that dialogues are a viable option.
Charlie Chaplin used sounds in Citylights but not in the way people expected, as the film started, there was a political speech where the characters are saying something, which sounded nothing more than a harsh squeal, this is how Chaplin took a dig on talkies “silently”.
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| Charlie Chaplin and Harry Myers in a scene from Citylights [1931] |
City Lights is the story of a tramp, played by Chaplin who falls for the blind flower girl [Virginia Cherrill]. The blind flower girl mistakes the tramp for a rich man and the tramp promises the girl to pay for her eye operation.
The tramp saved a man who was going to commit suicide; this man turns out to be a millionaire [Harry Myers] and becomes his friend. The millionaire is mostly drunk and has a dual personality; he despises the tramp when he is sober while he becomes a really caring and protective friend of the tramp when he is drunk.
The Tramp was quite a familiar character by then as Chaplin used to play the tramp in most of his films of the 1920s. However this time, Chaplin deepened the character and gave him more meaning and a subtle amount of Fragility. In a time when Talkies was such a rage, Chaplin retained the tramp’s charm by not indulging him in words. Also, Words and Voice limits one’s connect to those who can understand, but it was the silence that gave Chaplin and The Tramp a universal appeal.
Charlie Chaplin used to work with accomplished and beautiful actresses who were equally beautiful; either it is “The Kid” or “Modern Times” or “The City Lights”, the lead actresses were quite a charmer. Virginia Cherrill was brilliant as the blind flower girl, she deliberately underplayed her part showing the right amount of innocence as you’d expect from a poor blind girl and later displayed a little carefree attitude as the circumstances of her life improves.
Citylights is a treasure of classic comedy scenes; the open elevator scene on the streets, the attempted suicide at the canal, the parties with the rich millionaire and of course the boxing scene where Chaplin fights a boxer for money and does everything to avoid being hit. These were some of the greatest scenes in cinema and they were all in one single movie. My favourite is of course the heart wrenching climax, which is perhaps one of my favourite scenes from any Charlie Chaplin film. And I have seen a lot of them.
A great scene after another great scene, that’s how masterpieces look like. These scenes from Chaplin’s career has been imitated in one way or the other by so many film makers that you can easily say that Charlie Chaplin was one of the most influential person in Cinema.
"One night the Piazza San Marco was darkened, and “City Lights” was shown on a vast screen. When the flower girl recognized the Tramp, I heard much snuffling and blowing of noses around me; there wasn't a dry eye in the piazza. Then complete darkness fell, and a spotlight singled out a balcony overlooking the square. Charlie Chaplin walked forward, and bowed. I have seldom heard such cheering." wrote Late Roger Ebert in his review of City Lights.
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★★★
Grand Hotel [1932]: A great film of its time
Cast: John Barrymore, Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery
Directed by: Edmund Goulding
"Grand Hotel; people come, people go, Nothing ever happens"
This film is not the greatest from the standards of today’s cinema but for the year 1932, it was an innovative step in the then existing line of films. Director Edmund Goulding took an ensemble cast of the superstars of that era and made a creative film of intertwining stories. The cast includes some iconic names of Hollywood, such as Lionel Barrymore and the greatest Greta Garbo; other great names were Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and John Barrymore.
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Plot: This is the story of multiple characters that spent 2 days in a hotel. Greta Garbo plays a ballerina who misses her country Russia and feels her life being empty and pointless and is saved by the charm of the Baron, played by John Barrymore. The Baron aims to steal her jewels and pay all his debts. Joan Crawford plays the stenographer and is trying to woo the Baron as she believes he is a rich business person. She is employed by the wealthy industrialist played by Wallace Beery; he also employed a dying old man, played by Lionel Barrymore, who is set to live rest of his life experiencing things he missed out till now, he eventually befriends the Baron.
Greta Garbo’s character spent most of her part in isolation. Grand Hotel won the Oscar for the Best Picture at the 5th Academy Awards. It holds the record as the only film in history that won a Best Picture at the Oscars and had no other nominations. This happened because there were so many subplots in the film and it must have been tough to select one of the performances. Overall, the film was pretty interesting with all the subplots mixed and matched perfectly. Some of my favourite films with intertwined stories are Pulp Fiction, Amores Perros and Magnolia, although all of them are very different films in nature.
Movie Geek’s Rating: ★★★½
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Ek Villain [2014]: not really disappointed, definitely tolerable
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor, Ritesh Deshmukh. Remo Fernandes
Directed by: Mohit Suri
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
I will admit that the trailer of Ek Villain was intriguing and I wanted to know what this film is all about. I liked Siddharth and Shraddha in their previous movies and was looking forward to see how they will fair in something that looks intense and way too serious.
Later I found out that it's a remake of a Korean film called "I saw the devil" which I watched only a couple of years ago and is one of a couple dozen Korean films I have watched. Yes I am no veteran when it comes to Korean films.
Let's not talk about the film's plot and performances. It's totally pointless to talk about a film which is unoriginal in every sense, I will end up talking about "I saw the devil". So, I watched this film and I know Mr. Mohit Suri shamelessly remade a classic. But.
But I am going to be lenient on this remake. Why?
Because our popular cinema has reached a post apocalyptic era where 1 guy fights 100s of bad guy and just doesn't sweat, they fly, jump into a flying helicopter, blow a dozen SUVs in the air like toys and god knows what.
In the name of Masala Bollywood action film, brainless action film have become a trend and the ticket to earn good money, with a 40 plus man playing a superhero kind of character, an insignificant heroine who is only there to dance and sing at regular intervals, a raunchy villain and a plot you don't even need to know.
This on the other hand is a weak copied version of a great film but I still prefer Ek Villain over an original film Singham, sometimes being original is not enough, you also have to make a watchable film, Ek Villain is that watchable film.
So, I appreciate Mohit Suri because even though he knows what is selling these days, he chose to steal a good film and tried making his version, which is not really awful but lacks finesse from every corner of the movie. Plus Mohit Suri's film do not bore, you can watch it and think of little polishing his films need instead of yawning. He engage the viewers for sure.
I won't trash it for being too ambitious to remake a classic, instead I will give it some point to let the ignorant viewers watch a Korean film. I still believe Zinda was the reason, I got introduced to Oldboy and other Korean films because I was unaware of foreign films then, I was ignorant.
However, the makers of the film could have given credit to the original, a little mention would have sufficed. [there goes your half star]
To my fellow movie freaks, I think you guys hated this film a bit too much, but yes, opinions can differ.
Directed by: Mohit Suri
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
I will admit that the trailer of Ek Villain was intriguing and I wanted to know what this film is all about. I liked Siddharth and Shraddha in their previous movies and was looking forward to see how they will fair in something that looks intense and way too serious.
Later I found out that it's a remake of a Korean film called "I saw the devil" which I watched only a couple of years ago and is one of a couple dozen Korean films I have watched. Yes I am no veteran when it comes to Korean films.
Let's not talk about the film's plot and performances. It's totally pointless to talk about a film which is unoriginal in every sense, I will end up talking about "I saw the devil". So, I watched this film and I know Mr. Mohit Suri shamelessly remade a classic. But.
But I am going to be lenient on this remake. Why?
In the name of Masala Bollywood action film, brainless action film have become a trend and the ticket to earn good money, with a 40 plus man playing a superhero kind of character, an insignificant heroine who is only there to dance and sing at regular intervals, a raunchy villain and a plot you don't even need to know.
This on the other hand is a weak copied version of a great film but I still prefer Ek Villain over an original film Singham, sometimes being original is not enough, you also have to make a watchable film, Ek Villain is that watchable film.
So, I appreciate Mohit Suri because even though he knows what is selling these days, he chose to steal a good film and tried making his version, which is not really awful but lacks finesse from every corner of the movie. Plus Mohit Suri's film do not bore, you can watch it and think of little polishing his films need instead of yawning. He engage the viewers for sure.
I won't trash it for being too ambitious to remake a classic, instead I will give it some point to let the ignorant viewers watch a Korean film. I still believe Zinda was the reason, I got introduced to Oldboy and other Korean films because I was unaware of foreign films then, I was ignorant.
However, the makers of the film could have given credit to the original, a little mention would have sufficed. [there goes your half star]
To my fellow movie freaks, I think you guys hated this film a bit too much, but yes, opinions can differ.
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★
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Sunrise: A song of Two Humans [1927]: An overlooked masterpiece
Cast: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston
Directed by: FW Murnau
This is one of the best films of the 1920s. Directed by German filmmaker FW Murnau, who also made classics like "Nosferatu [1922]" and "Faust [1926]" and others.
I don't have any hesitation saying that I love this movie a bit more than I loved watching Metropolis, as it is also a 1927 film.
Sunrise is a collaborative work and not just the lead actors trio but everyone who got a chance to be on the screen even for a single scene did their part exceptionally well and that includes the Dog and the little pig as they got to do one important scene each.
It is one of the earliest silent films I saw where the actors were not intentionally dramatic in their expressions as they used to be in the 1920s. For example: Metropolis and The Passion of Joan of Arc, however that doesn't diminish their value in cinema at all.
Sunrise is the story of the man who plans to kill his wife and run away with this other woman from the city but circumstances change and different shades of human emotions unfold between the characters.
Sunrise won 3 Oscars at first Academy Awards in 1929 including "Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production" Best Actress in a leading role" for Janet Gaynor for the 3 films she did during 1927 and 1928 [7th heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise] and "Best Cinematography"
It is a masterpiece that many of us failed to notice. It is one of the finest piece of cinema I have watched.
Directed by: FW Murnau
This is one of the best films of the 1920s. Directed by German filmmaker FW Murnau, who also made classics like "Nosferatu [1922]" and "Faust [1926]" and others.
I don't have any hesitation saying that I love this movie a bit more than I loved watching Metropolis, as it is also a 1927 film.
Sunrise is a collaborative work and not just the lead actors trio but everyone who got a chance to be on the screen even for a single scene did their part exceptionally well and that includes the Dog and the little pig as they got to do one important scene each.
It is one of the earliest silent films I saw where the actors were not intentionally dramatic in their expressions as they used to be in the 1920s. For example: Metropolis and The Passion of Joan of Arc, however that doesn't diminish their value in cinema at all.
Sunrise is the story of the man who plans to kill his wife and run away with this other woman from the city but circumstances change and different shades of human emotions unfold between the characters.
Sunrise won 3 Oscars at first Academy Awards in 1929 including "Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production" Best Actress in a leading role" for Janet Gaynor for the 3 films she did during 1927 and 1928 [7th heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise] and "Best Cinematography"
It is a masterpiece that many of us failed to notice. It is one of the finest piece of cinema I have watched.
It is available on YouTube. You can also watch it here below.
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★★★
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PS: Since Movie Geek's Blog is trying to determine the greatest movie ever made as voted by its readers, will you please take a minute to vote for your favorite movie(s) on the right side bar of this blog?
Tag :
1920s,
1927,
Drama,
FW Murnau,
George O'Brien,
Janet Gaynor,
Margaret Livingston,
Romance,
USA
'Kick': Strictly recommended for hardcore Salman fans
Cast: Salman Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Randeep Hooda
Kick, the new movie directed by Sajid Nadiadwala with Salman Khan in the lead role hit the theaters today, and the film is opened with packed houses throughout the nation. Like any other Salman movie, Kick is also getting tremendous initial pull, and all the theaters are overflowing with unimaginable crowd. The movie is a direct remake of a Telugu movie with the same name, but the class is not maintained when Salman made this film in Bollywood. The film is strictly recommended for hardcore Salman Khan fans who wish to see their hero doing the impossible action sequences. The movie is undoubtedly unimaginative and unoriginal, and the story telling is not up to the mark. Now, let us analyze the movie in detail.
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| Image source: http://www.hdwallshub.com |
The movie portrays the story of Devi Lal Sing, a young crazy lad who wish to unleash some thrill in everything he does. He love to call it 'Kick', and sometimes, this 'kick' overboard the elements of reality. The attempt to generate laughs sometimes fails miserably, and some audiences were howling when Devi Lal tried to generate Kick by walking with hand cuffs on while going to jail. Our beloved Sallu doesn't like to walk like a normal man, and he wish to wear handcuffs to get that extra kick. The same way, he beats up some poor lads in the bar for eve teasing. Remember, Salman have one or many reasons to beat baddies to pulp.
In the meantime, Shaina (Jacqueline Fernandes) tells the story of her ex lover to Himanshu (Randeep Hooda). Himanshu is a Police Officer, and Shaina is meeting him due to the compulsion of her dad. The flashback of Devi and Shaina will surely evoke some laughs in the initial moments, but as time passes, it will surely make you scratch your heads. The quest of Devi to unleash Kick will compel you to kick the director, and it is high time for Salman to say a big adieu to remake movies. The story takes a new turn when Firoz (Nawazuddeen Siddique) enters the scene, and the remaining parts of the movies are filled with some high octane action scenes and chases.
All the actors in the lead roles have performed their best in the movie. Salman Khan as always rendered a decent show, but some of his efforts to evoke laugh was quite mediocre. Jacqueline was hot to the core, and her screen presence was impeccable. Mithun Chakraborthy who acted in the role of Salman's father was apt, but Nawazuddeen Siddique tested the patience of the audience by giving the character a caricature touch. Randeep excelled in a small yet decent role.
Kick is undoubtedly an entertainer with some fine moments. But, if you are the one who wish to see realistic cinemas, then it is wise to stay away from this movie. You should keep your brain at home while watching Kick. Whatever the case, this Salman movie have all the chances to reach the 200 crore milestone in Boxoffice. 'Watch Kick if you are a hardcore Salman fan'.
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★
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Author: Nirmal Narayanan
The Broadway Melody [1929]: the first winner with dialogues
“The Broadway melody” was the first sound film to win a Best Picture Award at the Oscars.
The Plot: The Broadway Melody is the story of the Mahoney sisters played by Bessie Love and Anita Page who comes to New York, for their big break on the Broadway. Their friend Eddie Kearns played by Charles King, who asked them to come to New York, Eddie was in love with the Elder Sister, Hank but later falls for the younger, more beautiful sister, Queenie. Queenie dates the wealthy but dishonest Jock Warriner played by Kenneth Thomson, only to ruin the love triangle and protect her sister. It is a usual backstage story.
Some ‘Obvious’ Flaws: The movies have only learned to talk sometime back, so the actors were not used to acting with a microphone instead of making gestures to explain their point. There was overacting all along by everyone, it was hard to do something where you have nothing much to learn and get inspired from.
Why it is still good: The Broadway Melody is a romantic musical and it was excellent in its singing and dancing, which is what Broadway is all about. Of course, you will have to accept that it is a 1929 film and one of the first sound films. One thing is for sure, you will not feel disappointed and it will only add to your range as a spectator and a movie enthusiast.
Bessie Love and Harry Beaumont were nominated for the award for the best actress in a Leading role and the Award for the best direction respectively at the 2nd Oscars. It won the Best Picture and was the first sound film to do so.
Movie Geeks Ratings: ★★★ Good
Cast: Charles King, Bessie Love, Anita page
Directed by: Harry Beaumont
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Author: Amrit Rukhaiyaar
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past [2009]: Some Michael Douglas Charm
As a Screenwriter, when you are really not satisfied with the plot of your script, you ask the director to cast some of the hottest actors around and the same film becomes pretty much watchable and in rare cases, immensely enjoyable. Something like that happened with Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
It was weak on the plot and the director cashed in on Matthew McConaughey and Michael Douglas. what appeared to be an ordinary romantic comedy turned out pretty much enjoyable with some good performances by Matthew McConaughey and Micheal Douglas.
Connor Mead [Matthew McConaughey] went to attend his younger brother’s wedding and after the rehearsal dinner he gets a visit from Uncle Wayne [Michael Douglas], now Uncle Wayne was the man who taught Connor everything there is to know about having women, but the catch is that he has died many years ago and he is a ghost now. He also gets visits from ghosts from his past, present and future girlfriends. all of them trying to show him his flaws with women.
I didn't really like the whole movie, there was many weird moments when you will feel like fast forwarding the film and running into the final conclusion straight away. But what keep you to not do that is watching the perfectly cast Connor and Uncle Wayne, it was like written especially for McConaughey and Michael Douglas respectively. I could go on watching Uncle Wayne for hours. I love flamboyancy if it is sexy enough and thus Uncle Wayne is certainly one of my most loved flamboyant characters.
If you are a Michael Douglas fan or if you like Matthew McConaughey, you should give it a try for once. How I loved Emma Stone in The Amazing Spiderman, she is a total waste in here. Jennifer Garner didn't had too much to do but she did manage to impress with whatever little part she was given.
Movie Geek's Ratings: ★★★
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas
Directed by: Mark Waters
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Author: Amrit Rukhaiyaar
PS I love you [2007]: Romantic or Depressing or both..?
Cast: Gerard Butler, Hillary Swank, Harry Connick Jr.
Directed by: Richard LaGravenese
Today I am going to write about the 2007 Richard LaGravenese film P.S. I Love you based on the book of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. This story has a couple where the man expresses his love for his wife even after his death.
Time changes everything in a relationship, attitude towards life, priorities or even people involved in it, but one thing that sticks is Love. Love never change.
For the first 15 minutes, we see Holly [Hillary Swank] and Gerry [Gerard Butler] arguing over some silly issue, still loving each other passionately, before the end of the night. We see a 9 year old married couple, an optimistic Gerry and a restless yet loving Holly, for they are still not totally settled considering their financial stature.
The next scene, we find out that Gerry has died because of a brain tumor and a little funeral ceremony is going on, that’s when we realize this film is not about a whining wife and a playful husband, but something sad but more romantic than that.
The lead actors, Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler have done a fantastic job and looks totally in love with each other; I guess this was their only film together, so the casting was well improvised.
After Gerry dies, Holly receives letters from Gerry, which he scheduled in a way that it will reach Holly only when he is no more. Each letter asks Holly to do a certain thing, like celebrate her birthday, go to a karaoke, get dressed properly for a girls night out and a few more so that Holly could stop mourning for Gerry’s departure and move on.
Emotionally, it will make you feel sad but romantic; logically, the same set of events will make you feel depressed and may be weird about love. It depends on how you choose to address this story, using your heart or the brain.
My favorite part of the film is when Holly returns from Gerry’s funeral and make consecutive calls to their basic phone only to listen to Gerry's voice mails on the answering machine, meanwhile trying to get some sleep. You may wet your eyes there.
PS I love you has beautiful songs, the kind, you keep with you in your music collection. “I love you till the end” is perhaps the one I believe is the signature song of this film.
This film was way too long, they could have told the same story in an hour and 30 minutes. You "cannot" watch PS I Love You twice [not at least in a year], it lacks the charm we felt while watching "The Notebook" or "A Walk to Remember." Apart from that, it was a pretty decent film.
Some say, it’s a tearjerker film, others say, it’s a romantic comedy, I’d say it’s plain Romance between a woman and the memories she has of her deceased husband and everything that follows. You don’t have to feel sad for Gerry’s departure or have pity on Holly’s solitude. Just respecting the writer’s idea of portraying love will do.
Movie Geek's Ratings: ★★★½
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American Pie [1999]: Not just another Sex Comedy
Cast: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy.
Directed by: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
American Pie was released in 1999, the year when some of my most favorite films released, which includes American Beauty, Fight Club, The Matrix, The Green Mile, Sixth Sense, Cruel Intentions, Magnolia and of course American Pie. In fact even Wikipedia believes that 1999 was the year that changed movies.
Directed by: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
American Pie was released in 1999, the year when some of my most favorite films released, which includes American Beauty, Fight Club, The Matrix, The Green Mile, Sixth Sense, Cruel Intentions, Magnolia and of course American Pie. In fact even Wikipedia believes that 1999 was the year that changed movies.
This film has a pact, some friendship, love maybe, some hilariously awkward father-son encounters and Steve Stifler. Now if you haven't seen this film, watch it for the stifmeister. American Pie is about the gang of 4 pretty loser high school buddies, losers in matters that include woman/girl, otherwise they were pretty cool.
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| When I will write about the most loved characters in Cinema, Stifler will certainly make the top 5. |
The directors Paul and Chris Weitz made sure that every character is equally hilarious and important in their own way. So if you ask people who their favorite American Pie character was, they will all come up with different answers. Jim was the lead according to many, while many believes that American Pie is all about Stifler.
This is a funny film which is immensely enjoyable and have some really hilarious dialogues by everyone. Most high school sex comedies ends up being the pursuit of the most obvious element that is getting laid but this one is different.
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| Noah Levenstein and Jim Levenstein, having the "hilariously awkward father-son" moment. |
I'd say even if you get offended by Sex Comedies, I will still recommend this film to you because there is much more to American Pie than being just another Sex comedy. Try to ignore the offensive parts and understand the sarcasm, it has some really genius humor there. It is a gem in the comedy genre of Cinema.
You gotta taste the first piece of this Pie.
You gotta taste the first piece of this Pie.
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★★
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Chennai Express [2013]: Shahrukh Khan's payoff for his previous accomplishments
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone
So, I watched Chennai Express yesterday at PVR Priya. As soon as I entered the theater, the movie has already started and I heard these words "Mera naam Rahul hai". I thought SRK is back to doing what he does the best; Romance; but no, he was not only up to that. Well, he tried Action and comedy too.
The Plot: Rahul's grandfather has died and he is going to Rameshwaram to dispose off his grandfather's ashes as it was his last wish. This led him to board the "Chennai Express" and the movie is all about that.
A refreshing start: The film started off with introductions of Rahul's family and it was good seeing Shahrukh as a regular guy with a regular life and it was very comforting to hear that he is finally playing a 40 years old character.
Going smooth: The movie was gripping till the time when Rahul boarded the train and left the train and then boarded it again, it was lovely seeing the famous "let me grab you up on the train" SRK scene all over again [that too 5 times in a row]; actually this is Deepika's 2nd time with this kind of scene, she did this in YJHD as well, I believe.
A Sudden downfall: After the Chennai Express crosses a few stations, the movie started to lose its charm, with unnecessary attempts to make people laugh. Something was just not right with the film, which made me feel bored for a good 50 minutes before and after the interval.
Good moments: There is hardly any good moment but the references to SRK's previous movies were funny, that's all.
The End: The last few minutes of the film were tolerable with the song I was awaiting the whole time "Tera rasta main chhodun na" sung by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the part when they reach Rameshwaram. They did overcome a lot from the time when I was not enjoying it at all.
Action: It ended with a fight scene which was kind of weird, I never like SRK fighting people double his size, watching Salman Khan doing the same is such a pleasure. Overall, the film may be a one-time watch or may not be, I went to watch it for the sake of my family's entertainment but I don't they were entertained at all.
A final note: Although, I didn't really like Chennai Express, I completely understand its box-office collection. When someone has worked for 20 years in an industry and delivered great performances like the ones in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Baazigar, Darr, DDLJ, Pardes, Devdas, Swades, Chak De India, Don, Rab ne Bana Di Jodi and My Name is Khan, you can't expect people to not go and watch his one bad film. So, what if Chennai express is a one time watch, the population of India is still 1.241 billion.
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PS: Since Movie Geek's Blog is trying to determine the greatest movie ever made as voted by its readers, will you please take a minute to vote for your favorite movie(s) on the right side bar of this blog?
PS: Since Movie Geek's Blog is trying to determine the greatest movie ever made as voted by its readers, will you please take a minute to vote for your favorite movie(s) on the right side bar of this blog?
Tag :
2010s,
2013,
Action,
Comedy,
Deepika Padukone,
Hindi,
Reviews,
Rohit Shetty,
Romance,
Shahrukh Khan,
Tamil
Aashiqui 2 [2013]: Aditya and Shraddha's breakthrough film
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor
Directed by: Mohit Suri
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
To begin with, Aashiqui 2 was surprisingly good. A successful film leaves a tough path for the sequel to follow and Aashiqui did the same for Aashiqui 2. With an immature star cast and unimpressive trailer, I wasn't expecting much from this film.
Directed by: Mohit Suri
Movie Geek's Rating: ★★★
Also featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
To begin with, Aashiqui 2 was surprisingly good. A successful film leaves a tough path for the sequel to follow and Aashiqui did the same for Aashiqui 2. With an immature star cast and unimpressive trailer, I wasn't expecting much from this film.
But Aashiqui 2 has proved to be more than what many of us may have anticipated. It will keep you glued to your seats till the end. It has a good plot and the story moves at a nice pace so that you will be totally involved with the film and its characters.
The characterization is awesome in Aashiqui 2, there is no extra unwanted characters in this film. The film revolves around the lives of 3 to 4 people only. Aashiqui 2 is the surprise hit of 2013, like Vicky Donor was in 2012.
The acting is decent by both of the lead characters, Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor. Shraddha was lovable all through the film, she has got real potentials of being a great actor, but it is Aditya Roy Kapur who steals the show. Although, the lead actors are a couple of films old in the industry, they managed to look refreshing and the romance depicted between them was adorable.
The music is the USP of this film but I assure you, there is more to this film than just great music.
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Tag :
2010s,
2013,
Aditya Roy Kapoor,
Drama,
Hindi,
Mohit Suri,
Music,
Musical,
Reviews,
Romance,
Shraddha Kapoor
