Cars 3 may not reach the heights of Pixar’s finest achievements, it
certainly stands as not only the best Cars, but the most mature one as
well. Cars 3 is a lovely, clever and entertaining generational tale
with tons of heart, a simple and effective storyline, wonderful
candy-colored visuals and winning voice work from the talented cast of
returning regulars and welcome newcomers. The best part is where
Mcqueen decides to give Cruiz a chance of her career, this is where
Pixar is best at creating emotional and joyous environment. A good
improvement on its predecessor ‘Cars 2’, had its own laughs and
emotions. Would love to see If Cars 4 is made on future.

My Rating : 7/10

Personally, I feel that we are now way past a stage in Bollywood, to
rely on scripts dealing with ‘punar janam’ unless, there’s something
really unseen in it. Raabta comes across as a mishmash of a
contemporary love story that suddenly changes to an unlikely twist of
Game Of Thrones. While the makers try hard to change the whole angle of
Rajamouli’s Magadheera, it doesn’t really get any better. The only
saviour in the movie was its Soundtrack with instant hits like Ik Vaari
and Raabta sung by Arijit. There was a lack of chemistry between
Sushant and Kriti and this add to the disappointment of ‘Raabta’. Avoid
this one and the save your money. ‘Raabta’ is strictly no to watch in
theatre.

My Rating : 2/5

Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn’t rewrite the rulebook for the franchise
or the genre as a whole, and is wholly predictable from start to
finish, but the likable characters—Thwaites and Scodelario have more
natural presence and mutual chemistry than Bloom and Knightley—
creative action set pieces, and Depp finally being put in his place in
the franchise creates a fun ride that’s instantly unforgettable. It
works well enough as a stand-alone, swashbuckling comedic spectacle,
thanks to the terrific performances, some ingenious practical effects,
impressive CGI and a steady diet of PG-13 dialogue. There were couple
of Scenes which were unnecessary (like where Keira comes out of nowhere
in the final scene). Otherwise, the movie was overall good but can’t
match the goodness of the First 2 Installments of the franchise

My Rating : 3.5/5

Hindi Medium is an enjoyable and realistic tale which lands a tight
slap on the face of a society which considers English as a parameter
for judging people, where people are not taken seriously if they don’t
speak English well and they are made to feel inferior. The dialogues
are hilarious and keep you entertained throughout. The plot gets a bit
predictable towards the end and the film glorifies government schools,
which are looked down upon in our society. A little preachy and
over-dramatic towards the end, Hindi Medium strongly drives its point
home.

My Rating : 3.5/5

‘Half Girlfriend’ can leave a reviewer at a loss for words. It is
regressive, silly and incoherent. There was no chemistry at all between
Shraddha Kapoor & Arjun Kapoor and also adding Arjun’s dead
performance. Neither a compelling tearjerker nor an epic contemporary
romance, Half Girlfriend is definitely not the film to celebrate modern
love. The only thing which was a saviour to this misfire is its Songs.
As always, Arijit did a splendid performance with ‘Phir Bhi Tumko
Chahunga’ and ‘Baarish’,’Tu Thodi der’ making it a chartbuster. I would
advise to avoid Half Girlfriend and instead watch Hindi Medium in which
Irrfan gives another brilliant performance

My Rating :2/5

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2″ is a fun movie that reacquaints viewers
with some of the most lovable characters ever to conquer the big
screen. Pratt is engagingly rascally as Quill, and Saldana brings a
sassy charisma to the no-nonsense Gamora.Guardians of the Galaxy Volume
2 delivers a similar experience to the one provided by its predecessor
except with more of nearly everything. The blessing of a sequel is that
it reunites viewers with familiar characters doing familiar things. But
as might be expected, Baby Groot steals the film.To some degree,
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is a more offbeat film than the
original, with better gags, better action, and
more visual variety. It is one of the rare sequels which wins the heart
of critics as well as Audiences.

My Rating : 4.5/5

The film “Life” is a test-tube baby, born from a blend of old-school
monster-movie DNA and state-of-the-art digital effects. At times silly
— yet surprisingly satisfying — this tale of sci-fi suspense and
horror, set in the weightless environment of the International Space
Station, gives Emmanuel Lubezki’s vertiginous “Gravity” cinematography
a run for its money. While this ever-more-nerve-racking game of
cat-and-mouse is well calibrated by director Daniel Espinosa, the
film’s real interest derives from the human interactions. Life never
reaches greatness, but it’s solidly good, from its earned scares to a
spot-on ending.

My Rating : 3.5/5

‘Return of Xander Cage’, as the name suggests, returns to
stunt-CGI-action to provide it’s adrenaline rush. This is basically
Diesel’s show and he is well aided by the stunt choreography, CGI
action and editing speed. But don’t go by looks. There’s not much
energy in the telling here and the confused narrative totally sidelines
logic. The narrative is segmented and even the action is cut and joined
together in a million places. So there’s no smooth progressive
transition happening in the action set-pieces. It is a film borne out
of extensive market surveys: in its dismissal of the ideas of
nationhood and politics. Very Sad that Deepika Padukone couldn’t make
an outstanding Hollywood Debut.

My Rating 2.5/5

“Kong: Skull Island” delivers a lot of thrills, but not much more than
that. Working from a screenplay by Dan Gilroy (“Nightcrawler”), Derek
Connolly (“Jurassic World”) and Max Borenstein, director Jordan
Vogt-Roberts (“The Kings of Summer”) keeps things moving as he updates
the old-fashioned adventure flick. Better yet (and unlike Jackson’s
film), the new movie understands the line between thrilling an audience
and scaring it silly — between action-adventure awe and horror-movie
gross-outs. The action and special effects are mostly first-rate and
Vogt-Roberts maintains a vaguely satiric tone that sidesteps
schlockiness.

My Rating : 3.5/5

Varun and Alia’s magic is what makes Badrinath Ki Dulhania a thoroughly
engaging film. The socially relevant side of Badrinath’s story acts as
a nice buffer and balance to its fluffy and colourful treatment. Well
acted and well conceived, Badrinath Ki Dulhania and its socially
relevant ideas rise above the frivolous execution to give you a solid
film. Badrinath Ki Dulhania has its own set of flaws. But, it is the
lead cast who wins over your hearts with his beguiling performance and
makes you forgive the makers for it. The music was good enough with
recreation of Tamma Tamma and party flavour like ‘Aashiq Surrender
Hua’. The overall direction was fair enough by Shashank Khaitan.

My Rating : 4/5

Jolly LLB 2 is a highly entertaining film that also succeeds in
delivering some food for thought in a most unsuspecting manner. The
film takes swipes at the judiciary, highlights its complexities and
flaws, but ultimately reinstates faith in the judicial system. For a
courtroom comedy-drama the film has surprisingly high levels of action
and suspense. Jolly LLB 2 is a very well made film but it pales in
comparison to Jolly LLB. However, Jolly LLB 2 has something for
everyone. It’s certainly a must watch if you are an Akshay Kumar fan.
As for others, you wouldn’t be disappointed if you do choose to watch
it but don’t go expecting another Jolly LLB.

Releasing the same day as Raees, Sanjay Gupta’s and Rakesh Roshan’s
emotional and nerve- wracking venture is a grisly, gutsy, edgy and
satisfying venture for those who were waiting for such genre. Apart
from bringing Hrithik back to success with tremendous performance, it
gives you nail-biting moments that make your pulse stand still for a
couple of seconds before it goes berzerk. Hrithik reprises everything
that he is known for – a formidable screen presence, adrenaline-pumping
energy, and compelling emotion. Yami Gautam plays her part naturally
without much effort, but appears too strong for a person who has gone
through a tragic and spine-chilling incident, which can be a tad
unsettling.Sanjay Gupta spins a taut tale, bringing in many
heartwarming sequences like the mall sequence, the suicide note in
Braille and even the way the final murder is shown in a
flashback.Nevertheless, in the final analysis, “Kaabil” is classic
commercial cinema with justice done to this genre thriller despite of
some minor flaws. And no Kaabil is not like Daredevil for those who
think it is replicated from Daredevil. The concept may be the same but
the plot is totally different.

My Rating : 4.5/5

Raees is an action crime thriller co-written and directed by Rahul
Dholakia. Produced under the banners of Red Chillies Entertainment and
Excel Entertainment, Raees stars Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui,
and Mahira Khan. Set in the backdrop of 1980s Gujarat, Raees is a crime
saga of a small-time bootlegger who rises to become the undisputed king
of the state’s liquor mafia.Raees is about the extreme sides of human
psyche, good as well as bad; there are no half measures here. It is
also about survival in a dog-eat-dog world. Raees also touches upon the
all important issue of communal harmony. Although, Raees draws heavily
from crime classics like Scarface, The Godfather, The Godfather: Part
II, Once Upon a Time in America, and The Untouchables, manages to stand
on its own thanks to Rahul Dholakia and team who manage to keep the
plot engaging throughout. Siddiqui’s character has a humorous undertone
which adds a layer to the caricature. Overall, Raees makes for an
engaging cinematic experience that takes a departure from the recent
films of Shah Rukh Khan.Regardless of film’s show at the box-office,
Raees is a film that no SRK fan can afford to miss.

The film is a semi-fantastical drama dotted with splashy visual
effects, notably a Liam Neeson-voiced anthropomorphic tree that stalks
the young protagonist’s dreams and subconscious.Director J.A. Bayona
(“The Impossible”) again ambitiously examines the mind- set of a boy
struggling with adult-size burdens, and he’s got perfect material to
work from in the insightful script by source novelist Patrick Ness. But
MacDougall, fittingly, leaves the biggest mark. In a movie-going season
that has trained a spotlight on tamped-down emotion, he’s impressively
stifled in his own right. “A Monster Calls” is a portrait of coping
that’s both fascinating and heartbreaking. I go with 3.5/5 for Bayona directed fantasy yet emotional tale.

It’s been decades since a studio produced the kind of colorful musical
fantasy that “La La Land” so affectionately salutes, but
writer-director Damien Chazelle is the guy who done the job perfectly.
It is high-concept pastiche, filled with beautiful people, beautiful
movement, and beautiful colors. At its best, “La La Land” probes the
irony of its existence, celebrating the greatness of a bygone era in
the context of changing times. As a drama, this is less nourishing than
the heritage it pays tribute to. But for Chazelle, the story is just a
slight rib around which he builds a modern rhapsody. So in spite of its
flaws, La La Land has moments of pleasure and satisfaction that are
worth the price of admission. It’s not that it’s a bad movie; it’s just
not an outstanding entertainment, the way great movies (especially
musicals) should be. I go with 3.5/5 for the musical drama by Damien
Chazelle and I do think that it is the frontrunner for the Oscars.

Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ok Kanmani’, Tamil film that garnered enough love from
the south Indian audience. Now is this reason enough to make a Hindi
remake? Well as per Bollywood history, yes it is. OK Jaanu is the story
of a young couple Adi and Tara who hit it off instantly and decide to
live in together rather than tying the marital knot and carry on to
pursue their dreams. A parallel track shows the relationship between
their land lord and his wife who has Alzheimer’s and the older couple
makes Adi and Tara realize that they ought to do the right
thing.Technically speaking there are not many faults in the film. But
it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. It’s the same old wine served
the same old way in the same old bottle. It’s predictable and once
again the climax doesn’t make much sense. It looks more of a made up
drama that a real sweet coming of age romance story of a young couple.
I go with 2.5/5 for OK Jaanu.

Scripted by Eric Heisserer based on Story of Your Life, by
short-fiction writer Ted Chiang, Arrival is more or less the
anti-Independence Day.Arrival boldly snubs the standard alien- invasion
vernacular of contemporary movies to explore a mood and language of its
own. It may be a touch too subdued for the mainstream, but the movie
has brains and originality. Adams gives her best performance as a
lonely woman who has to make a decision that will haunt her – though
perhaps in a good way – for the rest of her life. Although Arrival is
about first contact with extraterrestrials, it says more about the
human experience than the creatures from another world. This is a
singularly powerful movie, without question one of 2016’s best. I go
with 4.5/ 5 for Denis Villenueve’s another Directorial masterpiece.

“The Girl on the Train” is grounded in the tranquil house-beautiful of
the Hudson Valley suburbs. But director Tate Taylor (“The Help,” “Get
on Up”), while competent, is no David Fincher. “Girl on the Train”
isn’t likely to haunt its shivering viewers the way the “Gone Girl”
movie did.Blunt,however,makes the ride well worth taking.It’s an
intriguing premise, and Blunt melts into the role like ice in a glass.
She looks lost, ravaged by hopelessness, her voice thickening into
syrup, her character a confused stumble. Blunt, in her best screen
performance to date, gives it a heartbroken center. I go with 4/5 for
‘The Girl on the Train’ for Emily’s one of the finest performance.

Nitesh Tiwari’s Dangal is highly gripping and transitions smoothly from being a sports drama to an emotional one. The inspiring tale of Mahavir and his daughters is narrated in such a way that you laugh, cry and at some point even make sure you root for these characters right till the end.The father-daughter relationships between Geeta and Mahavir and Babita and Mahavir are explored extremely well emotionally. Also, how situations change the ties between the two sisters has been tapped into well.DANGAL is a flawless piece of work — it’s captivating, unpredictable, spellbinding, entertaining and never overstays its welcome. I rate 5/5 for ‘Dangal’ and Aamir’s best performance since Lagaan.

‘Neerja’is a biopic on Neerja Bhanot, who saved 359 passengers in the Pan Am Flight 73 from terrorists. Sonam Kapoor gave her career best by portraying a brave lady in the movie. The movie shows the bravery and Courage shown by young lady during tense situation. The movie direction was very good By Ram Madhvani and terrific performance not only by Sonam but also the ones who portrayed the terrorists. Such films are rarely made in Bollywood and it feels good to watch movies based on real life incidents. A great tribute to Neerja Bhanot through this movie. I hope Bollywood keep on making biographic movies like this. A must watch movie for everyone.