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Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
A good movie of it's own if you don't compare with the source material
Finally watched the movie yesterday (13th August) along with my wife. To be honest, I didn't go with much expectation. Yes, this time I didn't rely on any review, be it in IMDB or any media for obvious reason, but I myself wasn't very much happy with the trailer. Still I went for two reasons- 1) To honor the original 'Forrest Gump'; 2) To honor an attempt to make a good Bollywood movie.
The hall was more than half empty even on a Saturday evening. The movie started and I sensed that people around me (including my love) are liking it, even those weird grunts from Aamir. However, me, already dissatisfied with the trailer and obsessed with the original cult classic, was actually waiting for the moment when i would start hating this movie. And the movie went on, then came the interval. And I was surprised, didn't realize when 80 minutes have passed by, and let alone hate it, I was actually starting to like this movie. But I was still waiting for the second half, because in some of the reviews I had read that the movie gets worse there. But eventually I gave up, I cannot hate this movie. In fact, no one can hate it unless that person is biased (either for the obsession towards the original movie or some other reason). When it ended and lights were turned on, I sensed satisfaction in everyone's face in the hall. This movie is good, definitely not as good as the original one (not even possible), but it is good enough tribute to Forrest.
If I try to think about the plus points, first thing comes in my mind is Mona Singh. She was just superb as Lal's Mother. The way she has portrayed a single mother's helplessness yet determination, is sublime. Also Manav Vij was good as Lt Dan's Bollywood counterpart. The cinematography was superb, each and every frame was made with utter care, like painting a picture. You might be happy to see some of your familiar places on screen. Even the brief war sequence was portrayed with such a detail and in such a realistic way, many dedicated war movies could take note of it. Apart from that, the make-up artist did a fabulous job, especially portraying the ageing characters. Music was superb. Some good social messages were there related to vices like family violence, terrorism, religious intolerance etc. Also it touches many historical events. Those who are boycotting this movie might actually be happy to see some of their beloved persons on screen, and definitely not in a disrespectful way. And like the original one, the biggest strength of this movie is it's simplicity. Watching this movie was as pleasing like eating a good meal, or reading a good book, or travelling to a picturesque location or listening to a good music. You won't realize when the time has passed by.
Now coming to the area of improvements. First thing as many have pointed (and I agree), was Amir's acting. Even if I ignore the similarity with some of his earlier characters, it was simply not good. Many times the overacting was cringeworthy. But despite of that, it is also true that his bad acting doesn't harm the movie that much. Second weak point in my opinion was Kareena. She looked good as always, but somehow she lacked the energy. Her acting could be much better in some of the definitive sequences. Also it was felt that she has actually aged over 40, even through the character's early 20 make-ups and glamorous dresses. Now it might be my mistake or because we know how she used to actually look in her 20's (For example, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham), but I wanted to honestly express what I felt (but let me be very clear here, I have no problem with actresses aging, I am not among those who think actresses finish when they age). Apart from that some big plot holes were there. I have already mentioned Manav Vij was very good as Lt Dan bollywood counterpart, but that character was not at all believable even though it was heart touching (I won't spoil the movie by describing why, you will realize if you watch the movie). Apart from that the movie never addresses important facts like what Rupa (Kareena) did during almost a decade (2000 - somewhere around 2010/ 2012), or how Lal used to manage his industrial empire from Pathankot. But the biggest weakness what I felt was the historical events depicted. Firstly, it casually touches many incidents, like just showing it as Lal hearing it from someone. Showing events in such way actually don't have any impact on viewer's mind. Many powerhouse incidents actually couldn't be felt because of it. Also another fact is that many recent incidents were shown, but as you know recent incidents actually have lesser impact on human mind than historical events. I was actually expecting a period piece here, starting from 1947 (the partition), ending in the 90's. However, that's totally my own opinion, you may agree or disagree.
So to summarize, go and watch the movie. You won't regret. It definitely deserves a much better rating than it actually got (Should have been around 7/10).
My personal rating - 7.5/10.
Japani Toy (2018)
Couldn't watch it more than 15 minutes
I am not against the concept, but the execution is really trash. Cheap humors, meaningless situations, overacting- the list is endless. Hence try to avoid this one. There are other good series/ movies in Hoichoi- watch them. Don't waste your time after this one.
Shazam! (2019)
The End Credit part is the best part of this movie
Please don't get me wrong by the heading. I didn't mean this movie is unwatchable or I got relieved when the movie ended. But the end credit is really a masterpiece. The way they have mixed comedy with the inner psychology of a teenage boy, it's just fabulous. Kudos for that. I wish the entire movie was as good as that. It's not a bad movie, but it's not good either. It's just very very campy. Not as campy as Schumakhar's 'Batman and Robin', but definitely Raimi's 'Spiderman' level campy. In fact, deep down it is basically the same movie as Raimi's Spiderman (2002). Don't believe me? Here we go. This is a story about a high school student who gains some super power. Initially he gets distracted and tries to misuse the power in earning money, but soon realizes 'With great power comes great responsibility' which changes his mind. Almost at the same time a Middle-Aged brilliant scientist becomes successful in his research/ experiment and as a result gains some super power, but that costs his mental stability. At first he kills some influential board members of his family company (which is named after his surname). Then his 'inner demon' tells him about the hero. So he confronts the hero in order to take him by his side and fails. But in course he discovers hero's true identity. As an act of desperation he breaks into hero's house to attack the hero personally. Then he kidnaps and threatens to kill someone who is hero's life and as a result they have the final battle- End of movie. It's really sad that they are trying to sell the same plot even after 17 years. That too could be acceptable had they tried to serve it in a better way, but they didn't. As a result often you will get bored through the over 2 hours movie time. Billy's life, his psychology pre and post transformation has been given too much time and as a result they couldn't give proper arc to other characters. Even the villain character (Dr. Sivanna) is very much underdeveloped. I am not buying in the story that the villain had an abusive family from only one scene. They should have given more importance and exposure to this area instead of just showing him pure evil one-dimensional. That would have been given him a more human touch and would have been more interesting. And the great 'Shazam' the sorcerer supreme played by Djimon Honsou is probably the weakest link in this movie. They have created this character so carelessly that he has become a laughing stock. For example, he first invites a 10 year old boy at his cave, and then rejects him by saying that the boy's heart was not pure since that boy got attracted to a glittering ball. C'mon man! He is just a kid! If you reject him because he was attracted by a glittering ball, then it's you whose heart is not pure. Also if you think that the boy was not pure enough, then why inviting him on a first place? Also it has been shown that the sorcerer had been searching for centuries for a worthy person to take his power. While searching he rejects countless of people including Dr. Sivanna (when he was a kid) in 1974. Finally he gets his 'worthy' successor in a random foster child name Billy Batson in 2019. My question is, is there so much scarcity of a good person that a sorcerer had to wait for centuries to find one? Even if we exclude that 'centuries' part and consider only the timeline mentioned in this movie (i.e., 1974-2019), then let me tell you 51 individual persons and 12 organizations have won Nobel Peace prize in between 1974 and 2019. I am not even considering other countless of social workers who have been selflessly working and don't get recognized or don't win a prestigious prize like Nobel Peace Prize. Really, is there such a scarcity of good people? The reason why Billy got invited, I don't think his act was heroic enough to be invited to get a supreme power comparable to Superman's. In fact, his activities after getting the power doesn't justify his 'worthiness' which this movie tried to establish. Now it may sound nitpicking, but paying attention to such details actually makes a movie great like Dark Knight. Acting wise, Zachary Levy as the superhero Shazam (adult Billy Batson) is great. But the director failed to synchronize the acting of the young and adult Billy. As a result, young Billy is grumpy and adult Billy is light hearted- this should have been taken care of. Jack Dylan Grazer is superb as Billy's best buddy Freddy Freeman. A powerful actor like Djimon Honsou is wasted as Shazam the sorcerer supreme. Mark Strong as Dr. Sivanna is as usual good, but looks like he is being typecasted now a days. Others are okay. Ohh, also another cliché- an 8 year old kid can hack into a police server. Fighting choreography is average. Many superhero movies have shown better actions. Even though they had introduced a big and pleasant plot twist in the final act, that is wasted because of unimpressive choreography. Cinematography and CGI are average to good, but they should have been more careful in designing those seven deadly sins and would have given some characterization. They just look like seven scary demons that's all, you cannot say who's Anger and who's Lust. I didn't like any of the costumes, especially the hero's costume looks like a cheap cosplay- they should have opted for another option instead of a body hugging spandex type suit. There are some moments of genuine humor and sometimes it appeared forced. For example, a Santa character was shown three times to inject some forced humor- that was not needed. Some plot holes were also there, but they can be ignored. So that's all I had to say. The verdict, it's one time watchable, but not as good as some are saying. I can give it 6/10.
Judgementall Hai Kya (2019)
A self-obsessed, pseudo-intellectual 'Sabdhan India' episode which has nothing new to offer
I went to this movie with high expectations after reading huge praise in Bengali newspapers with rating as high as 4.5 out of 5. But came back highly frustrated, wasting 2.5 hours and 440 bucks. Had I know before going to the movie that it has 2 lines of faintly and badly pronounced Bengali dialogues and the name 'Murshidabad' mentioned faintly a couple of times, then I wouldn't have relied on those newspaper articles. Now a days Bengali newspapers are highly unreliable when comes the question of reviewing those Bollywood movies which have even a slightest Bengali connection. Trust me, it's basically a 'Sabdhan India' episode with a bit better acting and bigger budget.
Here goes the plot. Bobby (Kangana) is a mentally challenged dubbing artist who has visited asylum for one month (or 3? Director himself is confused). She gets so much obsessed with the characters she dubs that she herself becomes those characters in her drram and does photoshoot in those costumes for her personal collection. But she actually hates those roles (again director is confused). Here comes handsome hunk Keshav (Rajkumar) and his beautiful wife Rima (Amyra). Bobby gets attracted to Keshav and starts stalking him (that's something fresh). During the course she learns something like Keshav eats non-veg and smokes without Rima noticing (He used to smoke regularly at his balcony and his wife never noticed it). It doesn't add any value to the movie apart from that statutory warning you see total 20-25 times during the whole movie whenever Rajkumar smokes. But another observation was important because out of which she started believing that Keshav wanted to kill Rima. But no one believes her including Rima herself. Indeed one day Rima dies and Bobby tries to frame Keshav. But police don't believe her. They visit the house a couple of times and close the case as an accident (without any proper forensic investigation). Keshav gets spared and Bobby goes to asylum again. End of first half.
Two years later Bobby gets a call from London to appear in a play on a futuristic version of the Ramayana because they couldn't find any other actress in entire India. She goes there and guess what, finds Keshav - now married to her own sister because the plot wants it (we get a glimpse of Keshav's job profile in the first half and in my opinion that's not sound enough to justify those expensive cars, those pretty wives or his migration to UK). Again Bobby starts suspecting that Keshav is going to kill her sister but again no one believe her. So she starts investigation by herself in her weired style, relating the incident to the justice to Sita (which appears forced). And after some half cooked information, incidents and feeds, comes the final showdown and climax (which is extremely theatrical, overacted but somewhat enjoyable). End of story.
This movie is like those self-obsessed, pseudo-intellectual people who take themselves very seriously, but actually have nothing new to offer. Trust me, there are ample of Bollywood movies which have already handled key aspects of this movie in a better fashion in the past.
1) Honestly speaking, this is not be best performance of Kangana or Rajkumar as some people say. Probably they haven't seen classics like Trapped, Newton, Shaheed, Queen or Tanu Weds Manu. In my opinion Kangana has overacted a bit, especially in the second half.
2) Direction is below par. I don't know where to begin. So let's discuss the points below:
A) Wafer thin plot and execution. By the end of the first half you can predict who was Rima's killer because of the closed ended suspense with only two options (the movie name is itself a spoiler), so the second half had to be very very strong with tension building sequences in order to cover up. Instead, they tried to dig deeper into Bobby's psychology and as a result gets on your nerve and makes you bored. In order to make up, they did try to insert some sequences, but those were so much half cooked that you neither can properly follow it, nor it makes any sense to you.
B) Character development is below par. Not even the two main characters are given proper justification. All the supporting characters including a powerful actor like Jimmy Shergil are wasted.
C) Too many plotholes and typical Bollywood clichés. You have to believe that Indian Police are so much inefficient that even a 'so called (?) mentally challenged dubbing artist can do their job better. Anyone can get work permits in UK easily. They even grant you an independent visa and let you enter their country alone even though you are mentally challenged, but will immediately try to return you to India after finding out their 'mistake'. Also you have to believe that no lady in our country does proper background check before getting married to a man.
D) Too many continuity errors. For example, Bobby gets punishment of one month asylum stay but when she comes back, it suddenly become three months within five minutes of movie time. But the most dangerous one is with Rima's death. In the first half Bobby discovers Rima's death after coming back from outside, but during the second half in a flashback sequence she is shown present in the house while Rima was burning! Small ones can be ignored, but such a huge mistake is unacceptable.
Now I will discuss what are the key aspects of this movie and how many other Bollywood movies have presented it better.
3) Schizophrenia and hallucinations are already handled much better by many movies like 'Karthik Calling Karthik', 'Lagey Raho Munnabhai' etc.
4) Mental disease of identifying yourself with another person/ character - 'Bhul Bhulaiya' did it much better.
5) Serial killing - Movies like 'Samay' did it much better.
6) A ladies' solo crusade against injustice which resembles the story of a Goddess - just go and watch 'Kahaani'.
There could be many more points which I may have missed cause indeed this movie has countless of flaws. So the verdict, you can go and watch, but don't go with a high expectation like some so called critics are rating it. I can give it a 5 out of 10 at max.
Zero (2018)
Kills all logic
Don't listen to the paid or blind fan reviews, this movie is worthless and defies all the possible logic.