Movie Review Looper English 2012

Science fiction and time travel have been literary and cinematic bosom buddies forever. Difficult it is then to find a new 'loop' into the marriage of the two. Yet at times some intrepid filmmakers do find a new tale to the old twist.

"Looper" takes past ideas on time travel but makes a package interesting enough to reinvigorate science fiction cinema. And time travel.

In 2074, time travel has been invented but outlawed. It is used in the black market by those who find it hard to kill people and dispose bodies due to advanced tagging technology. They send victims back in 2044 where assassins called Loopers kill people. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is one such hit-man in 2044.

One day Joe gets his own future, older self (Bruce Wills) to kill. A moment's hesitation leads the older Joe to escape thus creating a change in the present and thus the future. In trying to close the loop, with his employers chasing both him and his older self, he discovers something bigger than himself.

"Looper" is an extremely nuanced film that has multiple things working for it.

First is the element of science fiction. The loops in the story tangle your mind only for the film to very deftly and logically - that is, if you are watching closely - untangle all the elements.

It takes elements from many science fiction films, be it the classic "Terminator" series - essentially the story of an assassin from the future killing/protecting a child in the past - or the 2007 French film "Time Crimes", which is again about the loop of crime created because of accidental time travel.

You can watch the film multiple times and unravel something new each time.

Secondly, it is an extremely well shot action thriller riding on a brilliantly written script by director Rian Johnson himself.

At another level, "Looper" is a musing about lost childhood, about kids who grow up without parents or grow up extremely poor and what and where it leads them to. It is a poignant meditation on cause and effect, of what the poet W.H. Auden said: "Those to whom evil is done do evil in return."

The film also excels technically. Be it the minimalist scenes of a near-future world that blend in with the story instead of crying out for attention like in badly made sci-fi films, or the background score of Nathan Johnson and cinematography of Steve Yedlin.

Bruce Wills does what he does best. Yet, it is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is a revelation. Levitt has grown as an actor over the years, migrating from TV to indie films to playing second fiddle in films like "Inception" and "The Dark Knight Rises". Here he shines as a man on the run in fight with his own older self. Of particular delight is his 'attempted' impersonation of Bruce Wills, which is both accurate and hilarious for fans of the ageing actor.

It won't be tough if the producers and directors want to make a sequel set in the 'Looper' universe. Another 'cause and effect' story can easily be created, that could tackle other problems, and time 'loops'.

Movie Review Take 2 English 2012

Frech cinema director - and now Hollywood writer and producer - Luc Besson has been a consistent master of the stylized action genre. With clockwork-like precision he has written and produced some of the most famous action series of the last decade, be it the "Transporter", "Taxi" or now the "Taken" series.

Liam Neeson, who was 56 in 2008 when the original "Taken" came out, was the last guy one would have thought to have turned an action star, a la Steven Seagal. Yet the film surprised everyone with the raw energy of Neeson and its immense emotional pull.

If there is any saving grace in "Taken 2", which is mostly more of the same elements in the first, it is once again Neeson -- at 60 he packs in a punch even Rocky Balboa aka Sylvester Stallone would supremely envy.

On a trip to Istanbul, former CIA spy and now security consultant Bryan Mills (Neeson) and his wife and daughter on a holiday with him, are hunted by the relatives of the men he has killed earlier. He and his wife are captured.

With time running out, his skills are put to the test as he tries to do three things at the same time -- free himself, find his wife and keep his daughter from getting captured. This time he has an ally in his daughter who, wizened by her earlier experiences, does exactly as her father tells her to.

There was a raw neatness and edginess to the first part. Besson and his new director Olivier Megaton ("Transporter 3") try to maintain the same elements here. Though they succeed to a large extent, the surprise is no longer there.

"Taken 2" thus walks a now familiar path. Without much room to either build characters or leave room for sub-plots, it is no surprise that the film goes downhill. Yet, it has enough elements to delight those who loved the first and new ones who inadvertently walk into this one.

Always the dependable actor, Liam Neeson becomes the glue that holds this extremely predictable film together. He excels once again as the calculating ex-spy who does not lose his composure no matter what the trouble is. He is proof of how a good actor is always good physically and can rise up to the demands of an action film no matter at what age he is called in to perform.

"Taken" appealed because unlike "Taken 2", it wasn't confined to one corner of one city. The film moved at a break-neck speed through different cities and different locations across Europe. Located almost entirely in Istanbul, "Taken 2" fails in that respect.

The "Taken" series is the story of a one-man killing machine out on a rampage. But unlike the rampage of other characters, Bryan's is one of necessity. He is at once reminiscent of a Jason Bourne, James Bond and Luc Besson's own "Transporter" character from the film of the same name.

Like his other series, the third instalment of the film has already been announced. "Taken 3", will perhaps not 'take' you to unchartered territories, but like this version will delight you enough to ignore problems with it.

Movie Review Student of the Year Hindi 2012

If there's one genre on which one can blindly rely on Karan Johar, its romance. The filmmaker surely knows how to capture the matters of heart and portray them evocatively and endearingly on celluloid. And when it comes to college/teenage romance, it is KJo's home turf. So while Karan swooned millions of heart with his debut college romance 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', the filmmaker is back to teenage mush with Student Of The Year. Will this candy floss cast the same spell on young hearts or not let's find out.

Located in the scenic locales of Dehradun, is, what we are told, the best school of India, St. Teresa. Best, for it has a cool canteen, spectacular college premise, and a clout of elitist students who either are busy flaunting their Guccis, Pradas or Ferraris or their hot bods. In the world where the students are divided between Tatas - the elites and Batas - the poor ones (although in the course of the film you don't quite find any), enters Abhimanyu (Siddharth Malhotra), an apparently middle class, small town, hardworking boy who makes it to the school on scholarship. He is touted to bridge the gap between the Tatas and Batas, which in the course of the film you don't quite get to see.

Abhimanyu wants to be just like the millionaire trustee of the school Ashok Nanda (Ram Kapoor) but his plans start crumbling as he falls for the brattiest college boy's girlfriend Shanaya (Alia Bhat). The brat here is Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan), Ashok Nanda's son who doesn't quite take to his father and wants to be a musician instead. What follows is the clash between Rohan and Abhimanyu for the prestigious title of Student Of The Year. While for Abhimanyu it is his gateway to being rich, for Rohan it's his ticket to prove his mettle.

Karan Johar's college romance takes a 21st century spin as this portrays glossiness as never seen before. So the complexities in life of the characters are pretty much about not having mellowed down clothes to wear for hospital visits or not finding their designated parking spots for their Ferarris.

Writer Rensil Dsilva takes a very 'Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Na' approach by having a group of ex-students narrate the story of the love hate relationship between the three friends Rohan, Shanaya and Abhimanyu. However, much against the aforementioned film, this time around the film fails in holding the attention. There's enough farce deliberation in the narrative to keep you glued to the seats. Moreover, the film keeps oscillating between Abbas Tyrewala's 'Jaane Tu...' and Rajkumar Hirani's '3 Idiots'. While on one hand you have the friendship, bromance and romance, on the other you have subtle remarks on the education system etc. - none of which do have been dealt with properly.

Major portion of the film goes showcasing the muscle flaunting and flexing heroes or the high handedness and fashion freakiness of the heroine.

What works for the film are the characters. All three newcomers show ample promise as they play their parts with laudable confidence. At a young age of 19, Alia Bhatt marks a crackling debut. Not only does she look very fresh and beautiful but also acts well. Both Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra too do a swell job in looking their parts and playing them well. As for the rest of the cast, Rishi Kapoor as an effeminate Dean is a delight to watch. Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor are fit for their roles too.

To sum it up, Student Of The Year is all fluff sans much stuff. Watch it if you are a big fan of frothy, glossy romance. For the ones looking for realistic meaningful cinema, this isn't the film for you.

Movie Review Delhi Safari 3D Hindi 2012

In the present state of animation films where animation only revolves around mythology it's a plight to see a film like Delhi Safary that goes beyond mythology struggle for 5 long years to see the light of the day. The film finally makes it to the theaters and we give you an insight of what this film is all about.

Delhi Safary is the story of a young cub Yuvi from Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi National Park who is distraught and depressed over his father Sultan's death by the builder who is razing the forest in order to build sky scrapers. Thus starts the journey of a cub, his mother leopard, a monkey, a bear and a parrot for justice. They decide to take on the builder by going to New Delhi and protest in front of the parliament in the presence of the media. And it is their journey in train from Mumbai to Delhi via various stops and adventures in between that makes for the entire story.

Delhi Safary isn't amongst the various small time animation films that make it to the theaters for a week or two and straight enter the satellite shows. This film has all its ingrediants to make for a good theater watch. Nikhil Advani makes sure that the film doesn't get preachy at all by adding enough humour quotient in it. Although the film does tread on predictable path quite a lot of times, it's the humour and entertainment in the script that keeps the audience hooked to their seats.

The biggest strengths of Nikhil Advani is his characters in Delhi Safary. The filmmaker chooses renowned filmmakers to dub to the animals in the film and literally breathe life into the characters. There are film stars like Suneil Shetty, Boman Irani, Urmila Matondar, Govinda and Akshaye Khanna in the film. While Suneil Shetty plays the senior leopard Sultan, Urmila plays the doting yet determined mother leopard, Boman Irani dubs for the bear Bagga while Akshaye Khanna plays the multi-lingual parrot Alex. However, the character that deserves a big round of applause is that of Bajrangi dubbed by Govinda. He forms the biggest highpoint of entertainment in the film. Govinda fuses all his humour, wit and entertainment into the character making for a pleasure watch.

The only thing that works against the film is the usage of songs. They don't add any value to the film and only act as deterrent to the proceedings, especially the song in the Kutch part which is completely pointless and boring.

To sum it up, Delhi Safary is a funny and enjoyable ride that leaves you with a strong message not only for the kids but for one and all. A definite watch.