GAUTAMIPUTRA SATAKARNI (2017) - TELUGU

It could have been a terrific historical drama sans songs. Even now its worth watching.

I loved many aspects of the film. Director Krish put it all together very well and my salutations to him. To dig into history and get information is the job of a historian. To write history dramatically is the job of a writer. To translate the writing into a worthy celluloid film is the job of a director. He plays it all and he plays all these roles really well.

All through the film, I did not find a moment of boredom except for the songs. The editing and the writing were superb ans they gelled well. I loved even the production design too. In thw days of Vfx, we may see some glitches but those are fine. Since the content was commendable, I could easily forgive many technical aspects of the film.

If not for Balakrishna, the dialogues would not have created impact. If not for Director Krish, the movie would not have been made so quickly. So kudos to the team. The dialogues are terrific.

Prior to this film, I loved "Aditya 369" and "Bhairava Dweepam" of Balakrishna and this is the 3rd film of his I loved. 

Historically we had some great war films. "Palmati Yuddham" was for me the finest war film made in Telugu. Now, this film falls in that league.

 

Here is a confession, I did not see "Bahubali" and I have no intention to watch it either. Simply because it did not attract me enough for watching. So technically, "Gutamiputra Satakarni" is the best visual effects film I have seen in Telugu.

"Saho" Director Krish you take all the credit. Thanks to you and your team. A 4/5 for giving us a piece of history and making it a great memory.

PHOBIA (2016) - HINDI

A good shot that was mistimed.

Till the climax there was curiosity and it was well built up. But the climax was so pale that more than a surprise it was a letdown for me.

Acting by Radhika Apte is superb and she has time and again proven her versatility and Phobia is a worthwhile cap in her feather. She seemed to be convinced about the role and the project and invested all her energy into the role.

I was happy to an extent to be seeing this but it I was not fully satisfied at the same time. There are big holes in the plot which came to the show by the end. There were questions that were raised as the movie concluded and those are not good questions either. 

All in all, its an average fare for me and if not for acting of Radhika Apte this movie would have been a forgetful one too. A 2/5 for this.

A AA (2016) - TELUGU

A simple tale told well with some excellent dialogues.

Two dialogues have stayed in my mind hours after I watched this film.

“Mee amma gurtundi cheppindi, mee naanna telsindi cheppaadu, nenu jarigindi cheppaanu.”

“Road widening lo sagam kottesina building laa ayipoyindhi naa bathuku. Vundataniki paniki raadhu. Vadalataniki manasu raadhu.”

The flow of the dialogues is trademark Trivikram. He is the real strength of the film.

The story is clichéd and many of the scenes or back-drop are actually watched in so many other films. 

But it is Trivikram who knit the elements well and put them in a new bottle making the old wine better.

Samantha is stealer in the film and this film truly belongs to her. She did justice to her role fully. Rao Ramesh is outstanding. Outstanding has become a kind of synonym with Rao Ramesh and he does is job superbly.

Above all, I give the credit to Trivikram for this film. A 3/5 for a good film. It’s too clichéd to go for a repeat watch that is all.

DANGAL (2016) - HINDI

An emotional journey for me as a film viewer.

I cannot say that I loved this film so much that I would watch it over and over again. But yes, I definitely liked it and would recommend this too. I was totally emotional while watching it. Each scene just raked up the emotion and took me to a high. Since Taare Zameen Par, I suppose this is Aamir Khan’s most emotional film. I did not see three of his other films and I did not like “3 Idiots” very much and he was very limited in “Dhobi Ghat”

I confess I did not see “Talaash”, “Dhoom 3” or “PK” and I pledged myself never to be watching these as neither the trailers nor the word of mouth of these films lured me enough to watching.

"Dangal" is not a film of Aamir Khan alone. It’s a film of a wrestler father, his daughters, his family’s struggles and their journey together.  would rather say this is a film of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his journey with his daughters. The film is inspirational for sure and though I came to know the story through Aamir Khan’s TV show “Satyamev Jayate”, the depiction of these real people is wonderful. Few scenes I must say are brilliant and touching that I could not hold myself back and let the tears roll in emotions. Eyes welled up quite a few times all through the film and that I believe is the true achievement of a director. Nitesh Tiwari translated a known story with authenticity to the screen. From the wrestling bouts to the home of Mahavir Singh including his office I thought the art direction and set design were superb. The choreography of the wrestling bouts awed me.

One scene that I would love to mention (I hope I am not spoiling the fun) is the bout between the daughter and father.

Aamir Khan for me is a true nationalist. He proved this time and again from “Safarosh” to “Lagaan” to “Mangal Pandey” to “Rang De Basanti” to “Taare Zameen Par” and he does it yet again. The performance of the daughters that is of the younger kids and the youthful girls is worth an applause.

A 4/5 for this film. There are overwhelming emotions.

HACKSAW RIDGE (2016) - ENGLISH

Terrific film about an incredible man. 

The is a film made on honorable Desmond Doss. An incredible person, who was a warrior without a weapon. A savior who did not trigger a bullet in a war. The story of the man is so terrific that it would have been great however it is made. I believe even an interview from Desmond would have been supremely interesting too. But here is a film made by another incredible director Mel Gibson.

Invariably, comparisons with many other World War 2 films will be coming into the mind as this follows the path trodden by those films in one way or other. Be it the background of the protagonist, the framing of war scenes. Glimpses of these are seen already in other war films. Yet, this is different. This is different in character and different in context. 

Desmond Doss won a war without holding a weapon and showed immense bravery on the war field to save lives of people. I did not feel there was melodrama in Desmond's ways of doing it but screenplay adds some chronology to the events and highlights the important events that have shaped his character. Perhaps some events are depicted to elevate the reasoning of the character and this is absolutely fine.

The cinematography is top notch and the background score is terrific. From bullets to screams and to silences, everything is extremely detailed and captured meticulously.

Kudos to all the actors and Andrew Garfield has come a long way since "Social Network". This was a revelation of Andrew for me. He is sure going to go a long way if he sticks to good content.

Mel Gibson, I suppose made the best movie yet of his life. I am giving a 4/5 for this terrific story of a terrific human being who is not fictitious but real. Guys, he was one amongst us.

PRISONERS (2013) - ENGLISH

An engaging thriller handling many twists.

Every time I was catching up with the plot, it threw me and took me into a different direction. It was tough to predict or analyze the next scene of the film, but at the end it was rewarding. The film tested my patience. I was impatient to know the truth while the movie took its own sweet time to unravel. 

Every now and then as suspicion built up and I was almost about to come to a conclusion of the culprit, I was proved wrong. All in all, 3 times I was proved wrong and it was shattering for myself. I could not resist but see through the end of the film and enjoy my mistakes. As I traveled along with the film  I enjoyed the journey and at times I was thrown into deep valleys along the path. The deep valleys are worth exploring as they kept giving newer details. 

Hugh Jackman was at his best as a father. He was a drunkard and a father and there was a vulnerability needed and he executed that. Jake Gylenhall as a police officer who has a blinking habit is terrific. I loved the composure, the poise and meticulousness of Jake in the film. Jake has a long way to go and though he is underrated than most of his peers, he is a great actor and as time moves on, everyone will get to know of his greatness I believe.

Dennis Villeneuve is someone I am now in love with. I look forward to watching all his other films and his future projects as well. Although this is his second feature film, he did the job with precision. The photography by Roger Deakins is inspiring. The shots are rightly paced all along the film. There is a shot in which the camera zooms in on a bark of a tree and there is a house out of focus in the background. This shot added a lot of tension and I loved the build up.

Kudos to all the actors involved because each one stood out and performed well. Dennis Villeneuve is a director to watch out for. A 4/5 for a superb thriller that is executed well.