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Movie in Review - 'Ek Villain'

Posted in By Unknown

Ek Villain - lest you want 'shikayat ka mauka'

I had my hopes very up for this movie, the songs were so good after all. The movie lost me within the first 10-15 minutes. The dialogues were apathetic. I don't understand what the director and casting director were thinking before signing up Shraddha Kapoor for a role like this, true she is pretty and looked good on the Royal Enfield, but there is a thing called acting. She failed to deliver any dialogue properly and the face was as flat as a pancake (metaphorically speaking) it showed no emotion whatsoever. Overall she was very unconvincing and plain annoying as 'Aisha'.
On the contrary 'Siddharth' did a very good job portraying an angry young man, 'Guru'. He was pleasing aesthetically and a treat to watch.
Ritesh on the other hand was not bad to watch either, it was kinda good to see him exploring the other side of him than the usual mindless comedies.
The Director- It is admirable that he wanted to explore the dark and intense side of love. But he failed to deliver the same to audience. The scenes he wanted to be intense turned out to be funny, resulting the audience to burst into laughter, which is an example of failed direction in my opinion. I expected better.
Story- There is a lot in the story which could've been made into a great film. The lousy script has however failed to do it any justice. The back and forth screenplay didn't do any favors either, I guess a straight approach could've been a much better choice.
Now coming the the film itself, the opening was really bad, the dialogues were awful. A lot of portions could've been easily edited out (they didn't contribute a bit to the actual storyline). Every twist and turn was covered within the first half, at the time of interval it almost seemed that the movie ended abruptly. Few of the sequences were plain ridiculous, like Guru bringing back Rakesh to life, the PJs of Aisha, mindless kidnapping, the 'Chillar', and so on.
VFX Part: This seemed liked the most neglected part of the movie. How did they they manage to approve all those blue fringes in the bluescreen shots, the bad matchmove of the CG train coach, the, the fake snow, the initial GLASS break, the butterflies, and more. I guess a little more budget for the VFX department could've helped.
The cinematography was decent.
The only part where I have failed to find any fault is the music, the songs are good.
The maximum ratings this movie deserves according to me is 4. With an additional 1 for the songs and Siddharth. Overall 5/10. Unless you have absolutely nothing to do, I'd advice you to save your time and money and investing it elsewhere.

-N

Movie in Review - 'Highway'

Posted in By Unknown

Warning : If you enjoy typical Salman movies e.g. Dabangg or mindless comedies like Chennai Express or Grand Masti this film is definitely not for you. Please save your time, money and energy.

If I were to describe 'Highway' in two words, they would be "Beautiful" & "Honest". I always thought that Alia Bhatt couldn't act, however she has pleasantly surprised me as 'Veera', she actually nailed it or maybe it could be attributed to the directional skills of Imtiaz. The performance delivered by Ranadeep Hooda was excellent; he was amazing and very convincing as Mahabir, a dehati gujjar, simply perfect, couldn't think of anyone who could have done it any better.

The tracks Patakha Guddi and Maahi Ve are one best works of A.R. Rahman. Locations used are alluring and riveting, featuring some of the best Indian locations ever showed on screen. Cinematography and BG score are just the perfect blend and add to the story without going over the cliff. The pace is just right. There were technical issues however, I did notice a few bad G/S shots, very bad comp and bad lighting in a few places. You really have to nitpick if you are keen on finding faults. This film proves that a good cinema could be made with just a good story line, you don't always need grand sets, designer clothes or skin show/ item numbers to sell the movie.

I am a bit disappointed with the critics, whom I thought shared my taste, to give such low ratings to this marvelous movie. Next time perhaps I should trust my instincts rather than reading their reviews.

This movie has safely made its way to my 'favorite movies' list. Hats off to the director. My ratings 8.5/10, and an additional 0.5 for leaving me in tears at the end. Only one regret I should have watched it much sooner. 


-N
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