‘JOBS’ Film Review- Tanmay Dubey

 

 

 

 

Starring: - Ashton Kutcher, Durmot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas

Director:- Joshua Micheal Stern

 

Making Biographical drama films can be tricky. You don’t have the luxury of cinematic freedom; the characters and story are bounded by a thick wall of real life events. You cannot take sides, and one has to be very diplomatic while filming the story about the main protagonist as he/she was a real life person. Director Joshua Michael Stern does not have a big hit under his belt, but he delivers a decent film confined into the limitations mentioned above.

The film starts with Steve Jobs (you better know about this guy before watching the film!) introducing the iconic product of its time  “iPOD” the story then flashbacks into his college days at Reed College and traces the formation of APPLE COMPUTERS. The narration focuses on STEVE JOBS the man he was, the genius, the Maverick, the shrewd business man, the self-centered, the reckless person and the visionary who was his own biggest enemy.

The story moves at a brisk pace in quarters of Job’s life and omits portion of his travel to India, his life period during his ouster from APPLE, his working with Next Computers and Pixar Animations. Instead the film focusses on the personal attributes of his life, his growth as a person (nothing much grows, except for his body as he was a man, one of his kind, unapologetic, point to point.)

 “System can only produce system” says Jobs in film and it’s so true, as you need a maverick (if I can use this word) to create something which is new to the world. (Steve very cutely argues with his team mates while quizzing to come with a new design when he says “How would people know what they want, when they haven’t seen it before.”)

The magnanimity of his stature in Apple is shown by a scene when he accidently catches an employee napping and he says “Oh Jesus!” and Steve replies “No, it’s just Jobs!”

The film’s biggest plus point is Ashton Kutcher. He gives a phenomenal performance (Don’t be surprised if he is nominated in this year’s OSCAR!) he has worked on his looks, his body language so well that you almost see the real Steve jobs on the screen. He  single handedly carries the film on his shoulders!

Steve Jobs was a man who pulled himself back every time life turned back on him. I loved the film as I personally admire the entrepreneurial ability of Mr. Steve Jobs, the products he envisioned, the company he created and the Visionary he was!

All in all a ‘lemon clear soup’ in the offering, whose taste only depends on the person drinking it!

 

Score Stack Up:-

+ ive:-  Great performance and all character depiction is real life.

-  ive:-  May leave you cold if IT Industry and its legendary stories are not your cup of tea.

 

Box Office, Paisa Vasool Rating:- 3 out of 5

Tanmay's Rating : 3.5 out of 5

 

 

 

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Scores Classifications- 

(5) Very Good, Must Watch 

(4)  Good, Should Watch 

(3)  Almost made it;

(2)  Could have been much better; 

(1)  On your own risk;  

 

   

 

‘Madras Cafe’ Film Review- Tanmay Dubey

 

 

 

Starring: - John Abraham, Nargis Fakri, Rashi Khanna

Director:- Shoojit Sircar

 

Madras Café is a brave film. (not that real bullets and Grenades were used during the shoot!) but the film dares to offer something different to the formula lover Indian Film audience. This film travels the relatively unexplored genre in Indian Film Industry which is being a ‘political thriller’.

The film is narrated by an ex-army man who is living in a self-imposed exile after his personal life was shattered while trying to save country’s life. The film is based on the espionage activity initiated by the RAW during the ethnic conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese of Sri-Lanka during early nineties involving assassination of our ex-prime minister.

The film is well researched (Prabhakaran becomes Anna and LTTE becomes LTF !)And the execution is almost like a documentary ( no scope for over the top dramatic action scenes, you can almost always spot a military chopper in all the long shots! ) Although the story is quite complex and keeps on moving back and forth (You have to be alert and attentive not to lose the track and names of the characters!)

The first half; like a slow intoxicant, is spent on building the intensity of the main plot. The slow intoxication turns to a gripping exhilaration during the second half and you hold your nerves with the racy pace at which the plot unfolds about the economic hit men and control over the strategic coast line of Lanka.

Last but not the least Kudos to John Abraham for producing such a film (he has a knack for producing off beat films like ‘Vicky Donor’). He has acted very well in the film (no flexing muscles!) Nargis Fakri too plays a Brit-Indian girl (thank God! she was not forced to mouth Hindi dialogues) with ease. Casting Director gets full marks. (Siddhartha Basu, Piyush Pandey in unconventional roles.)

“Har Kisi ka ek Sach Hota hai, depend karta hai tum kanha Khade ho” says one of the character in the film. This film reflects the same, it has its own truth very different from the masala bhel of rest of the highest grossers.

All in all a strong coffee for the weekend!

  

Score Stack Up:-

+ ive:-  Good story, Different treatment, and Good performances.

-  ive:-  May leave you cold if espionage and politics is not your cup of tea. No Music and no comic content.

 

Box Office, Paisa Vasool Rating:- 3 out of 5

Tanmay's Rating : 3.5 out of 5

 

 

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Scores Classifications- 

(5) Very Good, Must Watch 

(4)  Good, Should Watch 

(3)  Almost made it;

(2)  Could have been much better; 

(1)  On your own risk;  

 

   

ONCE UPON Ay TIME IN MUMBAI   DOBARAA- Film Review

 

 

 

Starring:- Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha

Director:- Milan Luthria

 

Once upon a time there was a king, and his loyal pawn. The king fell in love with a young n beautiful butterfly, the butterfly would flutter (as her nature demands) from one flower to another, from the king to the pawn’s shoulder, before she realizes the difference between them, it is too late and all hell broke loose, the king would kill the pawn as he tried to steal something that his master thought belonged to him. But the story does not end as you would like to, the power of loyalty stands between the power of love and thus so realizes the King in the end.

Comparisons are inevitable for sequels; hence if OUATIM was about the rise of a rogue and maniac gangster, dobaraa is about the love of the same maniac who has become an undisputed underworld Don. But this time around the film lacks a punch! It has all the ingredients of its prequel tangy background score (which is lifted as it is from the earlier one), Rajat Arora’s seeti maru dialogues like aadmi ki peene ki capacity, jeene ki intensity, aur bank balance kabhi kam nahi hona chahiya. or Subah ki pahli local se aur raat ke aakhri botal tak uska naam likh do. They become little overdose and unnecessary at times, but the sequel lags behind the prequel in its intensity quotient.

Akshay Kumar being one of the most honest and hardworking actor in the industry has put in lot of effort in his expressions, body language and dialogue baazi but his mean act although good, is no match for Ajay’s confidence & finesse. The other setback of the film is the pace at which the story moves and delays coming to the main plot in the process dedicating small episodes to sketch the characters of two main leads ( Shoaib’s match fixing episode and Aslam’s chase sequence.) 

The story drags (with songs mostly used as fillers).  Imraan although looks cute and acts well, but lacks the roughness and mischief of Hashmi. Sonashshi’s dumb act is good and the lady gets couple of nicely written lines at the end to showcase different shades of her character. The relationship between Imraan and Sonakshi has some light moments but her character is not well sketched by the writer and one does not get to know her love interest till the very end (may be that was the catch!)

The villainous track of Mahesh Manjrekar is funny and do not inculcate fear of any sort ( its where an underworld film cannot afford to make the nemesis of their main character as funny!). Sonali Bendre returns after a long time and gives a very good measured performance. It was nice to see the old pair of Sonali and Akshay sharing screen after long time. The films offers Ektaa’s favorite Vidya Balan in blink and miss appearance.

All in all OUATIMD is like Mumbai’s favorite Vada Paav that you order after you loved the first one, but unfortunately this one is little baasa.!

 

Score Stack Up:-

+ ive:-  Catchy Dialogues, decent performances and Music.

-  ive:-  lacks intensity and a little drag

 

 

 

Box Office, Paisa Vasool Rating:- 3 out of 5

Tanmay's Rating : 2.7 out of 5

 

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Scores Classifications- 

(5)  Very Good, Must Watch 

(4)   Good, Should Watch 

(3)   Not Bad;

(2)  One Time Watch; 

(1)  On your own risk;  

 

   

 

CHENNAI EXPRESS- Film Review

 

Starring:- Shahruh Khan, Deepika Padukone

Director:- Rohit Shetty

 

40 years old Rahul boards Chennai Express and what begins as a mere trip down south for the fulfillment of his dying daddu’s wish becomes a voyage where Rahul finds his love, discovers how big a courage he has in his heart and learns that the best solution to a problem is not running away from it but to face it !

              Rohit Golmaal Singham Shetty this time brings SRK on board and tells a story in his true blue ishtyle. His camera work vividly captures the colors on screen ( Saaris, colorful matkis, colorful vehicles, blue water and greenery around it) and produces some awe-inspiring shots. (Chopper shot scenes of sea and train) His narration is playful, the film is full of single liners and gags on SRK the image, the hero, (the romantic Rahul….naam to suna hi hoga!) and his old films. (Catch the legendary train sequence & the climax, both of them pays tribute to the old Khan and DDLJ). The story has a comic treatment (almost instantaneous at times- Deepika and SRK’s bedroom scene is hilarious) the plot has some loop holes but as one of the line of the title song says “coincidental hai hai, thodi is mental hai, phir bhi kahani hui hai progress….chennai express.”   The story of the film moves like this only. And Yes! Shetty does not miss blowing couple of cars! (He loves it, aint he!)

                              SRK acts his funny best (more for children) and delivers a hero like punch (both in romance and in action) during climax. He does not miss to advertise his favorite (or should I say paid) brands. Deepika as ‘Meena Lochni’ has enacted in the South Indian avatar quite nicely, her accent and her looks are very cute. Vishal-Shekar’s music is no doubt foot tapping.

                                                                                   All in all get set & Po! For a true Indian Rail Journey which is full of life, color, humor, Romance & Action. A masala tea in the offering (or brainless entertainment as some would say!)  But entertainment is entertainment right?

 

Get on the train BABY…….!!!

 

Score Stack Up:-

+ ive:-  Good cinematography, Music, Comedy & decent performances.

-  ive:-  complete masala entertainer will feel cold if this genre is not your cup of tea.

 

Box Office, Paisa Vasool Rating:- 4 out of 5

Tanmay's Rating : 3.4 out of 5

 

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Scores Classifications- 

(5)  Very Good, Must Watch 

(4)   Good, Should Watch 

(3)   Not Bad;

(2)  One Time Watch; 

(1)  On your own risk;  

 

   

BA PASS- Film Review

 

Starring:- Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal, Rajesh Sharma

Director:- Ajay Bahl

 

Can poor, orphan and adolescent children be lured in sex trade? Can the responsibility of family drag one to explore the unvisited path of sexual desire? How fatal can be the attraction of a juvenile towards a mellowed sex? ‘BA Pass’ tries to address these issues and uses bold, unbuttoned, and unzipped sex scenes (which is sure to grab eyeballs!) as a strong prop to tell the story of a misguided youth who gets caught on the wrong side of the faith and starts feeling being cared by the vicious ‘Sarita aunty’ (Did anybody hear savita bhabhi ? J) which then ends into getting caught in the dirty world of sex trade.

Based on a short story ‘Railway Aunty’ by writer Mohan Sikka, the story traverses the darker by lanes of human mind, and the protagonist’s dark and unsuccessful sexual pursuits which lands him in trouble represents the untamed horse of human desire  which if not controlled is bound to end up in doom.

Shadab Kamal as a lost teenage student who gets lured into the world of paid sex displays good potential but lags behind in expressions which were vital to take the film to the next level. Shipla Shukla as bitchy and confident Sarita is good and besides shedding clothes proves how good an actor she is. The film has its very little moments of smiles (narration of a daily soup story while ding- dong…or cursing the spouse during another round of ding-dong!). Deepti Naval’s role is little and is more indicative than of any real substance in the main plot. One does feel that the use of explicit scenes in the film are little unnecessary, but I believe the director wanted to keep it that way a little raw, a little brutal.

All in all, this is a dark piece of cinema, with no real message around it, and lacks great performances and does not transpire serious emotions. Go for it if you want to see the desi dose sex and sin!

 

 

Score Stack Up:-

+ ive:-  Different story and decent performances.

-  ive:-  slight low on comic offering, and little overdose of sex scenes.

 

Box Office, Paisa Vasool Rating:- 2.5 out of 5

Tanmay's Rating : 2.5 out of 5

 

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Scores Classifications- 

(5)  Very Good, Must Watch 

(4)   Good, Should Watch 

(3)   Not Bad;

(2)  One Time Watch; 

(1)  On your own risk;