King Arthur.
The trailers for this film are horrible, let’s just get that out of the way. The first time I saw the Trailer, I was like, “Arsehole director! Who does he think he is! Copying Guy Ritchie’s Signature style.”
Then I saw that Guy Ritchie IS THE director.
Somehow his recent movies like Sherlock Holmes have been good but nothing as great as Snatch or Lock Stock.
This movie seemed hopeless, but somehow Guy Ritchie made a comeback with this film. This is his take on the King Arthur legend and he does it in his typical fast paced, crime movie, heist flick sort of style and somehow, it all comes together and WORKS RATHER well.
I don’t how else to say this, but this film is AWESOME!
Personally I am STILL suffering from a Baahubali Hangover and this film is PERFECT for such hangovers! The story is similar to our own Desi Super Hit where in, an young man is raised not knowing that his father was the king and whose evil brother takes over the throne and the young boy is left orphaned. Now he must rise up against his evil uncle to take back his father’s kingdom and give the people justice. (not that the story of LION king is much different)
The story might be the same old, but the way Guy Ritchie directs it, works VERY well. His direction is what makes a mediocre sort of story into something fun and amazing to see.
There are scenes reminiscent of snatch and they are not just hilarious but fast paced and keeps the viewers on their toes. The action scenes are damn good even though there are not too many of them. But every action scene is bloody amazing.
The score is also amazing and gives rhythm and Pace to the film which is more or less relentless.
FEW minor problems are there in the film, some useless but cool scenes which are not needed and the concept of magic and mages is not well explains. Not to mention the famous merlin doesn’t make an appearance AT ALL. But overall this film is blast to see and quite satisfying.

Rating : 8/10. Fantasy Swords and Fighting genre got a huge boost recently and this film is totally worth a watch in 3d.

After being totally disappointed by 2012’s Prometheus I wasn’t too eager for alien Covenant. It seemed to be the same old Alien formula and the trailers did nothing to provide any sort of excitement.

So I went in with no expectations and while I wasn’t blown away by the film, I was not disappointed at all. It’s a rather well made horror thriller and does the name 'alien' TOTAL justice.

Let’s start with the positives.

Though the film has a lot of bland characters they somehow DON’T bog down the story as it moves along in a relatively smooth pace and the ominous feeling of dread slowly increases as the plot moves forward.

Ridley Scott is having a bit of a renaissance after 2015’s the Martian. This film is much better crafted than the 2012 prequel and really showcases the god complex and the reality of genetic warfare.

The music and editing is better than previous sequel/prequels and when things go wrong, they go REALLY wrong and the pace picks up very well.

All I can say is, if you disliked Prometheus, then this is the Alien film for you. This will bring you back to the franchise without too many connections to the previous film.

The negatives is the bland and slightly boorish acting by the cast. No one person stands out like Ripley did in alien or like Dr. Shaw in Prometheus. The acting is fine, but the actors are just the fodder for the Aliens to foster in and develop. The real character here is played by Michael Fassbender and he is excellent in the film. Everyone else feels expendable.

Visually the film is flawless, the FX don’t even look like CGI any more. The Cinematography is always amazing in a Ridley Scott film so nothing more say about it. The film is visually VERY aesthetic and well shot. That is not surprising given this director’s track record.

Rating : 7.5 / 10. A MUST watch for Alien Franchise Fans. A Onetime watch for loves of Horror Thrillers.

P.S : There are two prequel teasers available on the net. DO SEE those two PREQUEL TEASERS. One is about this new crew before going to CRYO sleep and the other is David’s story post Prometheus. Both add a LOT of context to this film and gave me a huge sense of foreboding going in the film…

The First movie in this Particular Series was mindbogglingly awesome. So expectations where sky high for this sequel. But after Iron man 2 and Thor 2, my own personal expectations where tepid.

So... I was not disappointed by the film, but I can understand why its not that popular with the critics, nor will it be as big a hit with the audiences as the first part.

That is not to say this film is bad or not well made, it has all the humor and smart dialogs we expect. The music is good; the action is tense at times. But somehow the movie doesn’t come together as well as the first part did.

But the good thing about Marvel is, unlike DC, they never make an outright, badly made... unwatchable mess of a film.

GOTG 2 is fun, it has it moments, but it doesn’t have that epic feeling of the first part. This time the story is a bit more personal to Star-Lord and mostly deals with his re-union with his father.
The GOOD thing is, EVERYTHING that was setup in Part 1 is completely played out with the answer to Star-Lord’s parentage, as well as his feelings for his mother and leaving earth. None of the plot is left hanging and fully and totally resolved. In that regard the film succeeds.

Some Ok type sequels tarnish the first film too, thankfully this film doesn’t do anything to take away from the amazing first part.

Also DRAX stole the show here, he is the best character in the film other than Rocket/Baby Groot. His dialogs are hilarious and he overplays it VERY well…

Rocket and Baby Groot also get their own screen time, with one very funny Baby Groot scene, so over all other than Gamora, no one is shortchanged.

If you are a GOTG fan, this film is enjoyable and fun. If you have never heard of this series, then this film is not for you!

Rating : 7/10. Fun, Witty if not a altogether very coherent or epic Storyline to the film.

The conclusion to 2015’s Baahubali is not only satisfying, but also redemption for all the hard work put into these films by the 1000s of people who worked on it.
So let’s start off with the story first ….

This part 2 starts with a small Re-cap and then dives into the story head first, I wasn’t expecting much from the story, as the first part was sort of weak on the story element and it was mostly just setup.
So does this part pay off Story wise?

Mostly it does. Some things setup in part 1 are not addressed at all, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the film.

But lots and lots of questions still remain, maybe it will be answered in some book or comic series or animated series. Who knows.

But on its own, this film doesn’t stand without having seeing part 1. But if you have (as most have) this gives a good payoff to Baahubali’s story.

Coming to the music, it works VERY well, sometimes better than it did in part 1 also. The main title track is powerful with daler mehendi used RIGHT this time (remember Mirzya ?)
The tracks all work well with the romance and action of the scenes, the scoring is not lacking in any sense and often Indian directors pay too less of their attention to scoring, but Star Wars (1977) has shown what a score can do for a film. Happy to say, this film’s score is awesome…

Now the main focus, the action and CGI.
There is a whole lot more of action in this part than its prequel. More budget, better VFX, all has worked itself into some MESMERISING action sequences.
Every Frame of the action in parts of this film is like a poster on its own. Without going into spoilers, there are certain scenes towards the end of the film which I would LOVE to keep as posters on my walls! What CGI, what cinematography (real or digital) what imagination…
It’s simply incredible. I have seen a LOT of period films, From Hollywood to Indian films in Hindi and all the south Indian languages. Truly there is nothing which comes close to this level of detail and thought into the action. (period films, NOT counting Fantasy films like Lord of the Rings)
Having said that, the ending also has some physics bending, cool looking but utterly ridiculous scenes of action, but hey! Rohit Shetty can blow up cars for 50 feet! So who CARES!

I don’t think I need to mention how amazing the director of this film is… though he makes amazing films, they are not flawless, but they are entertaining, fun to watch and have a lot of good emotional beats too…

Rating : 8/10. A must watch for fans of part 1. No point seeing this if you haven’t seen part 1!

p.s: Seeing both parts together will be an amazing treat! It’s one complete film together and even though the ending is a bit rushed, the films together form some of the most technically advanced and compelling cinema made in India till now.

The X-men film franchise has come a very long way since it started in the year 2000. Wolverine is without argument the X-men’s most beloved character. He has had 2 Solo spinoffs till now and they were JUST NOT GOOD!
So going in, I had low expectations despite the trailers looking good…
And despite not being heavy on over the top action or crazy stunts, this film is GOOD.
It just works well as a film, it’s a touching story of has beens who are no longer (if ever they were) Superheroes. It’s a sad look into the world of people who are different and severely persecuted because of it…
The direction, editing, cinematography is all top notch, it’s not overly done, there are no silly slow-mos its rough, gritty and brutal.
This being rated R, the characters drop the F-Bombs LEFT and RIGHT, Professor X, the X-men’s leader is now old and senile and he curses… a lot.
The highlight of this film is the way it’s been made and portrays mutants. It’s very realistic, Logan is no longer quick or strong, he is healing less and he is now old. The muted tone of the film and slower pace might not work for some X-Men fans, but this film is soulful and heavy.
The interaction of wolverine and the X-23 (the small girl) is very touching and forms the basis of this film.
Having said that, the villains in the film are a bit lacking except ONE particular X-24. That is a crazy bad ass villain and the film needed MORE of X-24 (can’t reveal who it is played by!)

So if you like the X-men or just want to see a deep Sci-fi film with lots of allegory this is the film for you!

Rating: 8/10. Must watch for X-Men and Wolverine fans as this is that character’s last film!

Okie… Minor spoilers ahead, but nothing the trailers haven’t already revealed!

I went into this film expecting nothing. 2014’s Godzilla is in the same connected universe and I borderline Hate that film, so this film seemed like a total dud for me.
And… its starts out very lame, for the first 15 mins it seems like a washout, but then Kong enters the scene and WHAT A ENTRY! The Kong’s entry scene and the next action scene tops most of all King Kong action scenes ever done. It’s amazing. The 3d works, the editing is great and it really drives the plot ahead… In fact, it’s the best action scene in the entire film!
The performances in this film are some of the WORST I have seen in a big budget action film, the Vietnam vets, all of them are badly performed and somehow Samuel L Jackson and Tom Hiddleston manage to give decent performances. Brie Larson is supposed to be eye candy, but she adds nothing to the plot or the going on. She is neither a damsel in distress nor is she a badass! She isn’t glammed up or made tough enough like Ripley in aliens. So her role is pretty much... meh.
John C. Riley has one of the best roles in the film after Jackson. Sam Jackson delivers his usual punch lines and other than him, nothing good is happening in the acting department.
Music and sounds wise, it wasn’t that impressive, but the cinematography is very post Platoon and Apocalypse Now.

The action with Kong is VERY well done and there is LOTS of it, no shortage of Kong and he is the main character and they haven’t reduced his role to tiny size like in Godzilla. They have used him liberally and he works.

This film is worth a watch if you like Kong and want to see the huge monkey kick some major arse!

Rating: 5/10 for the rest of the film, but an added bonus of +2 for Kong. So 7/10 Total.

P.S: This is not a very good film, but it’s better than Godzilla and the action is a LOT more satisfying. Peter Jacksons Kong was better in my opinion.

P.P.S: There is an end credits scene. Wait for it.

This movie is the problem that Bollywood has with trying to understand the new age…
For instance, if a male is getting sexually harassed, the comedy music comes on… women are shown as liability and they never really address the issue that really are not… Stalking is perfectly fine if you love the girl... regressive stuff like that!

This film is all sorts of wrong in its social logic.

But forgetting all that, is this a good film?

Does the film work? Is it entertaining?

Well, not really. Its uneven, muddled and doesn’t know where it is going and then finally it ends.

The songs are not that good and very unevenly spaced and nothing really happens for a good portion of the second half. The direction is ok types and the dialogs are forgettable.
Acting wise, varun dhawan is fine, alia Bhatt is bland and no one else really shines across.

In short, AVOID this film, its not as fun as humpty sharma ki dulhania and sort of misses it mark as both a youth film and a social film.

Rating: 4.5/10 . Barely onetime watchable, not time pass entertainment or serious enough to make you ponder on the gender roles in middle India.

If you love musicals, this movie is for you! If you love the original, then maybe you will like this live action version…

For me, neither a fan of the original nor a huge fan of musicals (except La La Land) this movie felt flat and uninspired.

Sure this is a fairy tale, but where is depth? The nuance which live action Can and should bring, like with last year’s Jungle book, which turned a pretty shallow and average cartoon movie of the 1960s into a full-fledged live action adaptation!

Beauty and the Beast fails at the basic level of narration. I won’t hold a 1991 animation to such standards, but would definitely expect the 2017 version to have more narrative juice.

There are places where it seems the main story is moving and all the side characters are standing still, doing nothing waiting for the beauty and beast’s story to move forward.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad film, but it lacks the shine that recent Disney live action remakes have had.

The sets and CGI backgrounds are amazing to look at and the dresses and costumes are impeccable.

But the creature and other character CGI looked a bit off and not as realistic as Jungle Book.

I don’t like songs and dance, so can’t judge them, but the Gaston’s one was a bit funny and pompous. The ball dance between the beast and belle is also well done, but it didn’t reach the heights of magic as was needed by the moment.

Rating : 5/10 . Not a bad film, but nothing overwhelmingly good. See it if you are a fan of the original!

The people are ready to cheer, the crowd is anticipating some crazy stunt, everyone is poised to scream on the top of their lungs! But unfortunately this film doesn’t give out many moments to cheer and go wow!

Primarily, every good scene has been spoilt by the trailers… every cheer worthy moment is expected and when it arrives, the delivery is flat.

Fast and the Furious 8 (as it is called in India) is like a Rohit Shetty film with Salman khan as its star.
This was the blandest of the new F&F movies in a while. It’s not a bad film, but it is suffering from having a not so good director at the helm. So much action happens, none of it consequential!
The face-off between Dominic Vs his Family is sort of half-baked and doesn’t reach its conclusion, they turn the villains of the shaw brothers (yes, the ones who killed han) into pretty likeable and good guys! Overall its quite a mess!

So this movie is like Pani Puri, those who like it, will eat it no matter what! But if a somewhat sweet, bit tangy, puri dripping with overdone action scenes is not for you, this film won’t change your opinion of the franchise.

Rating: 4/10. The fans of the series might like this film. But non fans need to stay away!

Ps.: The previous films emotion ending and awesome ending made it totally worth the entertainer, this film ends on such a whimper that you wonder where the last part of the film is gone? Where is last hurrah? nothing there!
Even if you skip this whole film and goto the next in line (there is one coming) nothing really happens so the whole film was just pointless!

Being a huge fan of the original and also the later series, I went to see this film just as brand loyalty.

I had ZERO hopes or expectations and just like last year’s ROBO –Cop remake, I was not expecting much from this film…
STILL this film managed to disappoint me…

This film is the classic example of everything is there, but something is missing.

Unlike i-Robot, the excellent will smith future sci-fi drama, this totally lacks in establishing its ROBOTS Vs Humans dichotomy.

Unlike the Matrix this film fails in the, what is going to happen next scenario.

This film has a LOT going for it, the cinematography is excellent, the CGI is rather good, the sets are awesome, the acting is fine, the music is ok, but nothing works together.

The film falls FLAT on its face and the lack of a good director is rather obvious.

Also this film is miscast with Scarlett Johansson. She doesn’t sell her character at all, an Asian actress who is less famous might have been the bolder but better choice.

I honestly cannot recommend this film to any anime or sci-fi fans, not even for the locales and tonality. I was bored STIFF throughout the film, the bits of action were lacking, the drama was missing the tension was lacking.
Its as if hollywood was forgotten how to make great sci-fi drama and can only play by the book!

Rating : 5/10 . Skip for the DVD or HD Release. Not worth the theater experience!