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I See You (2019)
Writer and Director don't understand cinema
People overwhelmingly watch movies to be entertained, and entertainment is a mix of both emotion/intuitive dance with the audience, plus story craft. Let's be clear - while other reviewers are praising the story craft here with its "twists and turns", the movie is actually straight-forward, dumb, and even sadistic. The craft is below-average, and the emotional resonance is completely off. Imagine, if in The Silence of the Lambs, it was revealed in the end that Clarice is the real serial killer all along with no other context. How would that make you feel? How would that even make SENSE? Without sharing spoilers, that's sort of how this movie goes. It's puerile and immature writing, clearly from an amateur writer putting out garbage than doing any actual good writing. I recommend you find something else to watch.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
B-grade sequel to an A-grade movie
Wow - talk about underwhelming. The first Jack Reacher film was one of the most intelligent action-thrillers in a long time. This was largely because of the A-list talent supporting Tom Cruise like writer- director Christopher McQuarrie, and actors like Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins and David Oyelowo. Even Jai Courtney did his part well and the addition of Werner Herzog was inspired. The opening scene of the first movie was near magical.
Now we come to Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, the pathetic sequel. You don't need to watch the movie to know it's pathetic - just take a look at the folks around Tom Cruise this time. The director now is Ed Zwick - not terrible, he did make The Last Samurai and Blood Diamond which were good for what they were: socio-politically charged action films. But Zwick can't do much in the Reacher territory. He tries to half-heartedly bring in a larger, systemic problem to the fray as he has done before but he hopelessly flounders. Acting alongside Cruise this time are b-list actors like Cobie Smulders, Robert Knepper (the annoying, one-note, racist from Prison break) and an annoying 15- year old girl who looks 20.
Think about that for a second - from Werner Herzog, we moved to Robert Knepper. That's how bad this sequel is. It's an affront to the Jack Reacher brand created by the first film. There is no compelling mystery in the film, I'm not even entirely sure if I remember the insipid plot all that much. Calling it forgettable would be a kindness.
Look - if you really have nothing better to watch on a night you're staying in, then put this on. You're not going to remember it later and it may even annoy you because of how bad it is compared to the first film - but there's a reason I'm rating it 3 stars and not 1.
Patriots Day (2016)
Wahlberg ruins this movie
Walhberg is much of what is wrong with Patriots Day. What I wanted was a thriller that highlighted the danger of letting the public play online detectives, a movie that highlighted the immensely challenging investigation and at the same time, the deadly efficacy of American due process. I got some of that, but I also got Wahlberg playing the idiot savant cop who keeps happening to be at the right place and at the right time. The funny thing is, a Leo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise or Matt Damon in Wahlberg's place would have been more endearing and deserving of the star treatment, though it would still ultimately have been a flawed movie. But with the wannabe star Wahlberg, what we get is something worse than flawed - something which approaches mockery of a very serious incident.
From a direction standpoint, this subject needed someone who could deftly move from being Paul Greengrass to Tony Scott to Ron Howard. Instead we get Peter Berg deifying an idiotic iceberg called Wahlberg, as usual.
Singham Returns (2014)
Much worse than the first film (Singham)
Wow. How can Ajay Devgn get things so wrong with a formula that was already working? The original Singham film, from 2011, was successful at the box office but that didn't make it special, since many mediocre films in India find commercial success. What made Singham special was that it was a genuinely watchable film on some levels despite being a mass entertainer. In my opinion, the following factors (among others) made the original Singham film very good:
1) Ajay-Atul's music. Singham only had three tracks and each was very good. The title track was especially a stand-out
2) Kajal Aggarwal. Her beauty, charm, elegance and the-girl-next- door-like approachable quality made it easy to fall in love with her as you got to know her character better. The film's romantic story track, which might otherwise have been forgettable, was definitely elevated by many miles because of her presence
Guess what? Singham Returns doesn't have either of the above factors! Both the music composers and the lead actress were replaced by sub- par choices. You just have to listen to the title song of Singham Returns to know what I mean. Unlike the first film's title song, this song reminded me of beggars belting out tunes at India's railway stations.
And Kareena Kapoor was the replacement for Kajal Aggarwal? Why? Seriously, why? If Ajay Devgn had convinced his wife and once-upon- a-time reigning queen of Indian cinema, Kajol, to act opposite him in Singham Returns, then maybe he could have gotten a pass for not having Kajal Aggarwal in this film. That itself is a pretty big 'maybe'. But Kareena Kapoor? She lacks the attractiveness, charm and presence of Kajal Aggarwal. The romantic story track became totally hackneyed and forgettable once again, as they often are in mass action films.
In fact the entire film became forgettable. The first Singham film was interspersed with Ajay-Atul's stand-out compositions and Kajal Aggarwal's ability to make you fall in love her with every scene. Singham Returns, on the other hand, makes you want to fast-forward through the songs and Kareena scenes so you can get back to the boring action scenes.
Kaal (2005)
A horrible movie from Dharma Productions!
Well, I just finished watching, correction, suffering through the movie and I felt I HAD to express my views somehow. Then I went through the other comments on this movie and realized most of them expressed those same views anyway. Yes, it's true, like everyone else has said, it's a huge waste of time, it's a worthless movie with no substance, and Soham should not be given any creative control ever again.
There are two things I am amazed with... I mean the movie was really bad, I can accept that without much surprise, it is almost expected to happen in Bollywood when we're dealing with anything outside the romantic drama genre. But this flick received Karan Johar's support! What was he thinking?! The movie was not entertaining in the least, from start to finish, it simply takes the most boring bits out of the worst thriller or horror movies you may have seen, mashes them together and actually calls itself a movie. Think of it as a movie that starts out like The Ghost and The Darkness and ends like Final Destination, and it is nowhere near as entertaining as either of those movies. I am not going to comment on acting or music or anything else because the basic plot of the movie, and its execution was so horrible and out of place, one can only stare shocked scene through scene that Karan Johar agreed to produce this. Concepts like acting, background music, etc, don't make sense when the basic framework they reside in is pure nonsense. The second thing that amazed me(the first being Karan's backing of this movie) is Ajay Devgan playing the principal character. I was always of the opinion that Ajay Devgan is an actor who follows a good script with the necessary substance, not one of those actors who would sign for a movie with the big banners because they are made by the big banners. Moreover, his character in Kaal is so ridiculous (I am struggling to find any other word to describe it), I am surprised he felt he would be making any sense acting his part out.
The peripheral characters are for the most part just as ludicrously scripted. I've read a few reviews elsewhere and comments on IMDb comparing this to an RGV production. Kaal is far from any RGV film, even Darna Mana Hai. It should be noted that at no point in this movie does it actually invoke any emotion in you, it simply drags on and on and the only reason I suffered through the whole thing was so I could write this comment with a clear conscience of having watched it in its entirety. I could speak in more detail about whatever little plot there is but most of you who have not watched it yet would probably still prefer to watch it and judge it for yourself and ignore the majority of the comments here, just as I did. To a certain extent, it is worth doing that, just to see why Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan should not be trusted as much as they are now.
Yuva (2004)
A Very Good Movie - Must Watch for Tired Bollywood Fans!
Let me come out and say it right now, this is a very good movie, Mani Rathnam at his best. As most people have already said, the direction and look of the movie is very slick but we've had movies like Dus which can boast of a twisted slickness as well but no substance whatsoever. Unfortunately it is movies like Dus that do well at our box office instead of intelligent movies like Yuva.
The story of the movie is simple enough: Michael (Ajay Devgan), Lallan (Abhishek Bachchan) and Arjun (Vivek Oberoi) all cross paths due to fate and politics. And essentially, politics does form the backdrop for this movie as the main thread in this movie is that of Michael's, who is a student leader in his college seeking reform in the way things are being run through politics in the city. Lallan is a goon/hit-man/bad man in general in the movie. His portrayal of the character is commendable and he actually manages to scare us, the audience, but (as much I may receive boos right now) he has been over rated in this movie. Any of the three stars in this movie could have pulled off that role just as well, Abhishek was simply given a chance to shine for once and he did. Arjun is a fun guy to meet after the seriousness of the first two-thirds of the movie, mainly because he is just like most of us are, caring mainly about ourselves, dreaming of going to America or other such lands where streets are paved with gold (sic) and trying not to live for the moment but failing miserably. He changes over the course of the movie, somewhat unrealistically. Of course, each character also has a love interest to give great visuals for those brilliant Rahman songs, Michael has Radhika (Esha Deol), Lallan has Sashi (Rani Mukerji) and Arjun has Mira (Kareena Kapoor).
Now for the rest of my thoughts on the movie, I felt Ajay Devgan's acting was grossly underrated. His powerful yet unflashy portrayal of the main protagonist in the movie was brilliant. He is by far the most realistic of any of the actors in the movie. Abhishek Bachchan, who most certainly does not have consistency behind his name, has for once given a decent performance but it is nowhere near great by any means. His was an easy role to play for any actor worth his salt and there are a good dozen others in Bollywood who would have done a better job of it than him. Vivek Oberoi's performance is decent as well but his character itself is not memorable. Had he made his acting a little subtler and lent more justification for his actions, he would have come close to his acting shown in Company.
The music is fitting, upbeat and hip, lots of percussion to make us feel the youthful inspiration. With Rahman orchestrating the scales, it is hard to go wrong. And he does it right once again.
The direction was very good and Mani Rathnam has actually upped his standards with this one. He was always good at portraying emotions on-screen but now his action scenes are some of the best I've seen in Bollywood, very realistic and slickly made shots. The bridge fight scene is excellent, be prepared to hold your breath when watching that one!
Well, there's always a catch, and with this one, it's that this movie does not touch us the way we have come to expect of Rathnam. It's a great movie, well made and very entertaining but it probably won't wrench your heart out of emotion. Then again, I think that's besides the point of the movie anyway, as it works in every other aspect it delves into.