Delivery Man (2013) Movie Review

Delivery Man (2013)

Another Master piece by Vince Vaughn, well supported by Chris Pratta and the Cobie Smulders the talented character Robin of "How I Met Your Mother".

It's a story of a normal man at his mid 40's, unmarried, has a girlfriend but not in touch and works at his family business owned by his father in a butcher shop as a Delivery Man.

Having an unorganised life and lot of shockers comes to him at once, his Girlfriend is pregnant, loan shark is behind him for recovery for a loan to grow weed at home and suddenly meets a lawyer from a fertility clinic where he had donated about 600 times during his young age in a pseudo name "Starbuck" ...eventually there were 533 children born.

Through out his life he had never taken and suddenly the news broke and the kids have filed a case to know the real identity of their father.

Vince goes to his looser lawyer friend for advise, heard everything but kept doing whatever he thought right. He started meeting one by one helped the kids as a guardian angel but once unknowingly he gets into a meeting which turns out to be the Starbuck Kids meet and he proposes to create a Starbuck brothers & sisters meet.

And the story goes on there were moments he was trying to help his Girlfriend, his 533 kids and his parent and brothers. Somehow he wins the case to remain anonymous but he decides to declare him and posts in the Starbuck kids facebook page as he is the father.

Awesome storyline and well acted....Must watch.

Disconnect (2012) Movie Review

Disconnect (2012)

The movie stood up to its name, written by Andrew Stern and directed by academy award nominee Henry Alex Rubin. 

Disconnect is modern day drama movie showcased the disconnect in real life whether it is between a Father & Son, Husband & Wife, Two individuals. I recall my school English literature story named "Generation Gap". I felt like repeating the story again.

There are 4 to 5 stories running simultaneously in the movies but the content is to the point and the movie justifies the name. Its a multi starer, neatly presented the theme of the story.

It's not a happy ending though.. no more spoiler.

The Constant Gardener Movie Review

The Constant Gardener

The constant gardener is perfect movie portraying role of developed countries in the third world or developing countries. It is been quite evident in various media reports in different part of the Globe.

The movie revolves around a couple madly in love as well as professionally focused. An uncompromising female reporter marries an UK diplomat posted in Kenya. The movie starts with the death of the female lead, which created a suspicion about the conspiracy behind his wife's death. He unfolds a deeper connection of corporate and UK Govt. in an illegal drug trial going around in Kenya. 

The two leads of the movie Ralph Fiennes (The UK Diplomat in Kenya) Rachel Weisz (The Reporter) played the role perfectly enough to make it a heart touching enough make you dig into the real time happenings. Rachel Weisz discovers a Pharma Corporate and UK Government nexus to keep the share price shoring and continue drug trials in the name of free treatment. The Nexus is deep enough to kill a diplomat in a foreign country to protect personal interests and naming that a suicide.

It's is been a while since the 70's the so called developed countries conducting different kind of mall practice in the third world countries in the name of development. And unfortunately the voices raised or rather I would say disclose the cruel intentions were burried.  

I recommend The Constant Gardner to anyone who believes in realistic and fact base movies....Enjoy.

Ek Thi Daayan Movie Review

'Ek Thi Daayan', co-written and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj, sees the filmmaker revisit the mythology of witches once again. But where 'Makdee' was an old-fashioned fable about a village witch who supposedly turned humans into animals, 'Daayan', set in the modern, urban world, is intended as an eerie supernatural thriller.

You watch the first half of Ek Thi Daayan and marvel at the outstanding detail of its story. A horror film stays away from all the formulae of its genre and manufactures pure dread by antagonising innocence. You wonder at the way the curiosity and naivety of a child is turned into pure horror. You clutch the end of your arm rest in dismay because a woman who looks pretty homely and harmless behaves as if she is a devil reincarnate. Words can’t describe the overdrive of emotions achieved in first half of this film. Vishesh Tiwari playing the young Bobo captures all your fears and plays them out in the open. So every time he shrieks at the daayan turning into a lizard, you fear you might have some evil geckos at home, which you may have previously perceived as harmless. Would you want to go home to them? The movie plays wonderful mind games with the viewer. And it adds a sense of horror to such elementary activities like taking the lift.

Kannan Iyer delivers a stylish supernatural horror flick that uses a contemporary setting to weave a story which brings up folk lores about daayans (witches) and spirits. The first half introduces us to the world of renowned magician Bobo (Emraan Hashmi) who has a dark past that refuses to leave his side.

During a hypnosis session, we enter the world of a 10-year-old Bobo who never fits in with his surrounding because of his ability to analyse and read into matters of the spiritual world. A tragic accident during a game of hide and seek leaves the young magician scarred for life.  Most of his angst is directed towards Diana (Konkona Sen Sharma) his step mom who he thinks is a daayan out to sacrifice him on the altar.

He comes out of his hypnotherapy to return to his regular world where his wife Tamara (Huma Qureshi) refuses to believe his tales from the crypt and challenges him to prove his theories. The second half completes this eerie triangle with Lisa Dutta (Kalki Koechlin) an ardent fan of Bobo making matters murkier with her ominous presence.

Mind you, all that flattery ends as you near the film’s climax. Though Ek Thi Daayan retains the same visual appeal and character quirk in the second half, it also attains a rather distasteful and clichéd horror design. The absolute convenience with which writers Vishal Bhardwaj and Mukul Sharma convolute their story elements to make exaggerated developments is irritating. (Spoiler alert) Emraan Hashmi suddenly spawns super powers and his altercation with the daayan is best described as werewolves versus vampires. What happened to wonderfully unique concepts like “har building ka apna hell hota hai” (every building as its own hell) that made the film’s first half? Director Kannan Iyer sure loses the plot at the end.

But the extremely juvenile end of Ek Thi Daayan doesn’t do enough damage to spoil the memorable impressions of its build up. Watch this film for its ingenuity and flair. You won’t feel as safe around house lizards and women with long plaits. You’ll mock your own vivid imagination just the way the end of this film mocks its potential.

Movies to Watch This Summer of 2013

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) March 8:

Disney's fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking-that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great wizard but into a better man as well. When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flimflam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great wizard-and just maybe into a better man as well.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) March 29

The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.

Oblivion (2013)

Tom Cruise stars in Oblivion, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the visionary director of TRON: Legacy and producers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. 2077: Jack Harper (Cruise) serves as a security repairmen stationed on an evacuated Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying alien threat who still scavenges what's left of our planet, Jack's mission is almost complete. In a matter of two weeks, he will join the remaining survivors on a lunar colony far from the war-torn world he has long called home. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, Jack's soaring existence is brought crashing down after he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Drawn to Jack through a connection that transcends logic, her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he thought he knew. With a reality that is shattered as he discovers shocking truths that connect him to Earth of the past, Jack will be pushed to a heroism he didn't know he contained within. The fate of humanity now rests solely in the hands of a man who believed our world was soon to be lost forever.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

"Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? 

The Great Gatsby

"The Great Gatsby" follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles. 

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

Fast and the Furious 6 (2013)

Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian's (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin's empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete. Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to stop the criminal outfit is to outmatch them at street level, so Hobbs asks Dom to assemble his elite team in London. Payment? Full pardons for all of them so they can return home and make their families whole again.

Man of Steel (2013)

A young journalist, molded by the morals of his earth parents, discovers that he is gifted with powers beyond his imagination, and he uses those powers to defend his adopted home from an insidious evil.

World War Z (2013)

United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to decimate humanity itself.

The Lone Ranger (2013)

 "The Lone Ranger," a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice-taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

Pacific Rim (2013)

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

The Wolverine (2013)

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in this sequel to the member of the X-Men's first solo outing. Mark Bomback and The Usual Suspects' Christopher McQuarrie penned the script, which takes its inspiration from the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Marvel miniseries from the 1980s dealing with the character's adventures in Japan as he fights ninjas in the ceremonial garb of the samurai. Knight and Day's James Mangold directs. 

Hope you like it...I will appreciate a review...:)

Iron Man 3 Moview Review

"Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, "Iron Man 3" is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black and is based on Marvel's iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of "Tales of Suspense" (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with "The Invincible Iron Man" (#1) in May of 1968.

"Iron Man 3" is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D'Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Kahaani Movie Review

Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Rating: ****

Kahaani rightly lives up to its name and reinstates the fact that the core criterion for a decent film is a strong story. And if that story is in competent hands, you don't need anything else. No big stars, songs, budget or even a customary male lead. For a (pleasant) change, the script is indeed the hero here!

The story is of one pregnant Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) who comes to Kolkata from London in search of her husband who was in India on an assignment but suddenly went missing.

There is little that the cops can do since they are unable to trace any records of her husband in the guest house, office or even airport immigration. Things take a drastic turn when Vidya learns that her husband had a lookalike and perhaps that could get him closer to her search. But soon her personal quest turns into a political conspiracy.

Though Kahaani gets to the point from the very start, the actual graph in the narrative ascends when Vidya's individual search for her husband takes a bureaucratic twist, with the intelligence department coming into picture. The local affair suddenly turns into a governmental concern.

The writing by Sujoy Ghosh, Advaita Kala, Suresh Nair and Nikhil Vyas is articulate and immaculate, investigating the matter gradually and building up the mystery at every step. The story explores the case systematically, credibly and logically.

While the initial pacing is moderate, the proceedings pick up rapidly in the latter reels as the story gains multiple dimensions. The brisk storytelling calls for your absolute attention but the narrative has been so gripping since start that you never lose a moment. And like any good story should boast of, the actual brilliance of Kahaani comes in its climax that shall leave you spellbound. Amidst a horde of predictable plots and conventional culminations, Kahaani has one of the most impressive climaxes for a Bollywood film in recent times.

The exquisite detailing in the writing adds conviction to the going-ons as the mystery unfolds at every step. In that respect, Kahaani is the kind of film that will fascinate you even more on second viewing as you would be able to notice the finer nuances in the bigger scheme of things.

Amidst the few improbable or avoidable aspects in the otherwise authentic film is a young cop's over-willingness to go out of his way to unofficially escort and aid Vidya throughout her pursuit. Also his faint romantic inclination towards Vidya seems out of place. Thankfully the director refrains from stretching it into any dream song zone. In fact Sujoy Ghosh shows utmost sincerity in keeping the narrative clutter-free, sans any songs or side-tracks.

Incidentally what seems to be a human drama at first glance is smartly moulded into a suspense-thriller. But at the same time there is much sensitivity in the direction to not leave it as a mere mechanical mystery tale but lend requisite heart. A dose of dark humour is wittily integrated through the track of a clerk-cum-contract killer who maintains a constant smirk while terminating his targets.