Review: Cloud Atlas (2012)

 

If you thought Inception was mind boggling, Wachowski brothers have something better in store for you. No more comparing. Cloud Atlas is one of this decade's most ambitious film powered by brilliant imagination which would probably not strike even the intelligent day dreamer.

 

"The Matrix" was another dream of theirs but that was something which they created themselves. This time they bank on David Mitchell's novel of the same name. I haven't read the novel but I guess the movie has done justice to the novel.

 

There are multiple storylines which converge into an epic thereby making Cloud Atlas a mother of all film maker's dreams.

 

Each segment of the movie is a concoction of all the 6 stories weaved together. There have been many other movies which have tried to do this before but Cloud Atlas will beat them by a mile in just the way the screenplay has been written. When you read about the movie in the internet, you will definitely get confused and when you watch the movie, you will have a sigh of relief as the Wachowski brothers have made it look a little simpler and easy to understand. (Conditions Apply - You have to concentrate and keep your eyes glued to the screen)

 

Music is scored by 3 people and they have done a great job especiallly in creating the central theme which is also the symphony of the same name as the movie.

 

The location and the costumes have been designed specifically for the time in which the movie travels and it is interesting to see some animals still alive in the future. (I noticed just one bird in the whole movie).

 

Watching Cloud Atlas is an exercise to your brain and a treat to your eyes. Will make you want to watch it again and notice a few more new things. Truly a lesson for every film maker and a dream for every dreamer - Cloud Atlas joins Inception in the list of amazing motion pictures made in my lifetime.

 

This ~2.5hour movie is must go to. Don't miss it!

 

 

Rating: 4.5/5

 

Cloud Atlas: Whoa!

Review: Chakravyuh (2012)

Prakash Jha, a warrior film-maker so to call him, has always brought reality into his cinema. Reality as in always about the political world. He's made his point in the past with amazing movies like Gangaajal.

 

This time he tries to take a shot at Naxalities and their fight.

 

The first half of the movie is serious and thrilling with one song perfectly gelling with the movie. The pace is slow but still the audience is gripped to their seats. I thought the movie was growing more awesomer even though there was this abrupt "Intermission" title.

 

As the second half started and as the story unfolded, the pace was still the same and the story was taking a good direction but somewhere somehow something was lacking. The audience could clearly smell something going wrong and then they started laughing at the unintentional jokes made by the protagonists and then the movie lost its charm not just because of the audience, there was something visibly ordinary in the way the package was wrapped.

 

Brilliant performance by Abhay Deol as usual. He picks up roles very intelligently and none of his roles are impacted by any foreign material. He's becoming a gem of an actor.

 

Arjun Rampal plays a daring police office and his wife played by Esha Gupta comes in as a strong  support but her acting fails and her lip sync goes haphazard.

 

Somehow all Naxals have nice formal watches in their wrists and each of them shine.

 

The camera captures the actors so beautifully that you can easily see Arjun Rampal's moustache is unevenly shaved. Probably it was intentional we never know. His character was concentrating on killing the villain so much that he was in a hurry maybe.

 

Music is composed by an assortment of composers and they have delivered a perfect concoction of songs which mix with the people of the movie. The background score was pretty decent and kept with the pace of the movie.

 

Overall, Chakravyuh doesn't let you lose your way but it does convey a message. A good attempt at movie making. However, at the end you come to know that the main backbone of the story is about bonding and all that that was shown was just to convey a social message. That is what went in the negative for the viewer.

 

 

Rating: 2.5/5

 

Chakravyuh: Clumsy yet interesting 

Review: Student Of The Year (2012)

 

Karan Johar and 3 new faces. What can you expect? Blah! And yes "Blah!" is delivered.

 

SOTY (keeping it short) "introduces" Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. What's interesting is that I went to watch this movie with my friend (Siddharth) and before the movie we were just discussing about the prospects of it being a story of our lives but nah..It wasn't. Alia Bhatt interested me when the trailers were out. And after the movie, I have no interest in her.

 

The basic plot as it reads is pretty basic. 3+ friends are in the race for the "SOTY" at St. Teresa's school of the "elderly". Obviously, the movie didn't state that. People going to this school are probably drop-outs ageing 20+ and have come to start school yet again.

 

It's a typical Mohabbatein kinda film, only that the actors playing the okay-ish characters performed well in SOTY. Each one of them had their own persona. I think this was the only 'plus' in the movie.

 

Like any other KJo movie, this does have enough amounts of "Rona..Dhona..Jealousy..and a parent who doesn't love his son".

 

Music by Vishal Shekar is pretty mediocre with some interesting remixes here and there.

Dialogues by Niranjan Iyengar are funny and perfect for the screenplay. I think his work stands next to the actors in SOTY.

 

Talking about acting, Rishi Kapoor plays a Gay dean and he plays it so awesomely. His role is worth mentioning and deserves applause.

 

I heard voices of "Shit".."Uff".."WTF" while the screen showed six packs and certain body angles of the male protagonists and I just thought to myself that every movie has some hot girl dancing to give us the "ooohs and aahs", so why not girls have their time. Its their right to have fun too..

 

SOTY is not that pathetic but to an extent it is..

 

Rating: 2/5

 

SOTY: Better than Expected

Review: English Vinglish (2012)

It's cute! It's Brilliant! It's Poetic! That pretty much sums up English Vinglish for you.

 

10 minutes into the movie and you know what the movie is about and how the ending would be but there is a 'but' there.

 

Sridevi is back to the screens and she does so in her evergreen avatar. She's still the beautiful, young and dynamic woman you saw the last time she acted in a movie. (I do not remember when!) Her hindi is a lot better now only that it is still a little low on the tempo.

 

She plays an Indian housewife who has a microscopic knowledge of English language (Hard to find them these days!) And she's on a mission. How she accomplishes it forms the rest of the story.

 

There is very little to say about acting. Its just top notch.

 

Amit Trivedi's music is poetic. It brings more life to the screen. His music makes you laugh, dance and cry (as and when the respective scenes come by). Such is his magic. He picks his movies very carefully and has delivered every single time. Three Cheers to the man!

 

Directed by Gauri Shinde with a short cameo by Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi's English Vinglish is an art. There is no dull moment in the movie and you it brings a smile to your face when the credits roll out. What more should a movie give us. Value for money with some Values to learn.

 

Nothing more to comment on this one. Watch it and be moved by it!

 

 

Rating: 3.5/5

 

English Vinglish: Respect!