Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Baywatch Review: Beaches are Ready for Splash!

'Baywatch' finally hit the theatres. Baywatch stars Zac Efron as Matt Broody, Dwayne Johnson as Mitch Buchannon, Priyanka Chopra as Victoria Leeds and Alexandra Daddario as Summer Quinn in lead roles. Baywatch could have been a funnier movie but settles for an average one. Where jokes could have risen above the basic 'gross' level to a better ones, our screenplay writer Mark Swift and Damian Shannon didn't seem to care much for the same.
                                                   Image result for baywatch

The ensemble cast of Baywatch deliver strong performances, but had there been more meat in their characters, the movie would have gone a notch higher. Nevertheless, Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron tickle your funny bone and Priyanka Chopra as Victoria Leeds is gorgeous. Alexandra and Illfenesh provide an able support to our 3 leads.
 
                                           Image result for baywatch action sequences
 
The movie is based on the popular 90s show by the same name. The movie plot had potential but is let down by execution. The wafer-thin plot seems to be dragged on for a 116 minutes. The cinematography, the action sequences, the music are bang on but the hazy camerawork, poor and choppy editing spoil an otherwise a one time watch movie. Baywatch suffers heavily in the technical department. The director Seth Gordon has to be blamed for the wreck.
                                                   Image result for baywatch action sequences
 
Baywatch can be your watch for the weekend because of its action sequences, comedy and performances but because of it's technical follies the movie settles for a 2.5 star from me.
                                         Image result for 2.5 stars
                                 
 
P.S. 'Baywatch' can be your guilty pleasure!

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

HGF Review: Half Grilfriend's Full Torture!

There is not much to say about Mohit Suri directed 'Half Girlfriend.' Half Girlfriend is an ode to most of the best-friend zoned lovers. Such category people are going to love Half Girlfriend which stars Arjun Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles and super-ably supported by Vikrant Massay Rhea Chakraborty and Seema Biswas.
 
                                                         Image result for half girlfriend

Arjun Kapoor's portrayal of Madhav Jha is surprisingly good. His bihari accent, wretchedness are for the most time visible through his eyes! Shraddha Kapoor, who everyone thought was an upcoming actor sadly falls down to Level 0 and is unable to portray a stubborn Riya Somani. On the other hand, the supporting cast of the movie outperforms the lead cast. Vikrant Massay as Shailesh and Madhav's room mate nails his role to perfection. He makes us want a friend like him in our lives.He is literally 'the find of 2017'. Rhea Chakraborty as Anshika and Seema Biswas as Madhav's mother are fabulous. They make this movie bearable within limits.
                                          Image result for half girlfriend vikrant massey
      

What has always been the USP of Mohit Suri's movies is the music. The songs are already chartbuster and their contribution to this boredom is clearly reflecting in his box office business. The music is fabulously crooned by Mithoon. The cinematography, the camerawork is average at best. What faulters helplessly in Half Girlfriend is surprisingly Mohit Suri's direction. His depiction of Chetan Bhagat's novel is disappointing to say the least. What could have been an hour and a half hour long movie is unnecessarily stretched to 2 hours and 15 minutes drama with melodrama and more melodrama.
                                        Image result for half girlfriend songs
 
Honestly, I found myself struggling to stay woken up throughout the movie. The movie fails to absorb u completely. From me, Half Girlfriend gets 2 stars and a score of 4/10. People will surely criticize with this review but that's what I give it!

                                       Image result for 2 stars

P.S. Thanks to my friends for helping me to bear this torture of a movie!

 

Friday, 19 May 2017

Cinema and Life: Take 2.

............and cut it! Cinema and Life Take 1 complete. 15 minutes and we shoot the next and final sequence- Cinema and Life: Take 2." said the director and as usual I sat down by the busy set when I saw a young guy dying to meet the director but was forcefully being thrown back and not allowed to enter the set.
                                 Related image
 
Looking at him I went into a flashback and began thinking about the sacrifices and the confidence people have on their kids. Certainly, not every child stops themselves from pushing themselves into a career which has no certainity. In my opinion there are 2 major fields where a person has to 'risk' some years of their life into Cinema or Sport- 2 fields where it is all down to one's luck and willingness to take risk and 'invest' their lives.                                                   
                                            Related image
Though, parents are very supportive of their child's dream to be in the film or sports industry all they want is that their child should have a "Major" degree which gurantees a job and then pursue cinema or sports, which according to me is NOT wrong. A child should understand that all their parents want is a 'good life'. 
 
But the generation today is confused because there are so many factors. A few quotations like "Try until you succeed." "Success is not easy, you need to put in labor.", Inspiring quotes by celebreties, their success story inspire people to a huge extent. The recently on-going "Following your passion." is also another thing that keeps fueling the youth's mind.
                                       Image result for try until you succeed
 
What saddens me a lot is that that our generation has developed such a huge generation gap, that it seems so hard to bridge. They have no understanding towards what their parents want from them. Sadly, they don't realise that our parents only want us to be happy.

This from no point means that the youth should at least try once. If things go their way, great but if not, they shall at least NOT regret "NOT TRYING" which most people do!
 
Suddenly the director says, "Time to shoot. Back in Action." And suddenly my attention goes to that boy and he has vanished...Gone somewhere, trying his luck. And I stood up, unlike other people to complete what I started.

Sunday, 14 May 2017

Cinema and Life: Take 1.

"Life is a journey with problems to solve, lessons to learn but most of all, experiences to enjoy." "Cinema is a journey on life with all boring things cut."
Life and Cinema are pretty much the same as defined above. It has always been said, "Do Not Mix Real and Reel Life" speaks volumes of the impact of Cinema in the daily lives of people.

                                         
                                           Related image

Sitting down on a movie set with a cup of coffee in my hand I transported myself into a different world of cinema. As a young child, all of us fascinate to be an actor but then we get a reality check. Cinema has penetrated into our livers from a very early stage of childhood until late teens when they come to terms with reality of cinema-Nepotism, Casting Couch, Star Kids etc.
                                         Image result for nepotism star kids and casting couch

As a child being an actor is our fascination- Camera, Lights, Stage, Applauding People, Love fascinate any person. After all, Who does not like getting attention? This world of glamour and glitter does have a dark side to it which none of us talk about. If one survives this dark phase of lies, deceit, cheat and hatred, either one becomes strong and survives to a Slyvester Stallone or simply becomes one of the souls living with regression throughout their life.

                                         Image result for sylvester stallone
                                                          

What matters more is that many souls settle without even trying and that is what defines Failure.  Failures in the film industry are not that huge because a person can at least quit the industry without the regression of not trying. By now, the cup of coffee was over and then came a voice, "Cinema and Life-Take 1 Scene 1. Action."

Sushant Singh Rajput: An Inspiration and a Legend!

It has been 42 days since Sushant Singh Rajput left for his heavenly abode on the 14th of June, 2020. In this write-up, The Bollywood Elepha...