Meenakshi Rao's Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews

Cast  : Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac Rated : 7/10 From 1977 to 2015 is a big leap for humanity, as it is for humanity’s long standing obsession with the George Lucas series Star Wars. Not to disappoint, the latest episode in this spatial journey atop a battle between good and evil can safely be tagged as sustainable development. For the SW buffs, this journey is remarkable, and the fact that in every “episode” a lot of money has been made and a lot of appreciation heaped is a story in itself. And, this one is no exception. Of course, the basics are all the same — an outer space journey, multiple planets away from Earth, a bad force trying to crush the universe and all beings within it, a stiff Resistance force fighting against this wanton subjugation bid, most actors new, some old, a lot more gizmos, a trendy lingo which has grown with changing times and a heady mix of a story with past intoned in it and an...

Cast:  Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo and Ray Winstone  Rated:  5/10 Adrenaline wallahs , get set. There’s non-stop action here — on all routes — land, air, sea. Waves go high and tidal as surfers play with life. They jump down a 180 feet waterfall, they climb rocks more vertical than vertical can be. They engineer heists in manners that boggles the FBI — jumping off parachute-fitted scooters from 100th storey, or taking away stacks of green notes and dispersing them over Mumbai slums and Mexican have-not zones. And they are not common criminals you would want behind bars without ado. They are missionaries of an ancient Chinese cult, trying to create an equatable lebensraum all over the world. On their trail is a former extreme sportsman who has joined the FBI after losing his friend to one dirt stretch motorbike ride over cliff-hangers. So far so good. But then everything starts getting muddled. You do not understand for most part of ...

Cast  : Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tanvi Azmi, Sanjay Mishra Rated  : 7/10 History. A bit muddled. But powerful. Grander than grandeur. Overwhelmingly opulent. A love story. Real, somewhat. Intense, totally. Emotional, heavily. A bygone era. Captured immaculately, almost doggedly. Costumes. Rich, royal, detailed. Jewellery, stunning, intricate, priceless. Hues, amazing. A film. Serenading Indian history. Drama. To the last detail. Some truths, some falsities and lots of cinematic liberties. Together, a saga of beauty and visuals. That’s the self-designed logo of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. That’s Bajirao Mastani — meant to give you historical wings to soar to such great heights of artistry and visual excellence that the overbearing artiness tricks you into not searching for the real, real story behind all the glitz and the glamour of an ancient tale of the early 1700s. Indeed, it’s a tale that the real contenders would applaud from...

Cast  : Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Varun Sharma, Boman Irani, Vinod Khanna, Kabir Bedi, Sanjay Mishra   Rated  : 6/10   Let’s face it. Shah Rukh Khan is the senior citizen in this film. A patriarchal big bro, almost in the supporting role of launching Varun Dhawan as, say, a father would his son.   And Rohit Shetty is someone trying very hard not to be, well, Rohit Shetty. He tries to be Aditya Chopra. He tries to be Karan Johar. But the more he tries to race romance, the more he gets stuck in his cars — sleek cars, sports cars, remodelled cars, racing cars, overturning cars, car chases and everything, well, car hee car!   Let’s face it again. Despite all the senior citizenry, despite respecting his recent 50th birthday, Khan is still the king of romance, the showstopper of any film he figures in. His swagger of self-indulgence, his blatant throwing of memorable lines from his earlier movies, his no-one-can-be-‘Raj’-...

Cast (voice over): Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, AJ Buckley, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Steve Zahn Rated : 8/10 The good dino is not just good. He is cute, loving, alluring and that perfect cartoon character that takes your heart away. This one from the Disney pack is about a dinosaur family which is more human than we can be they are farmers, they live in a hut, they sow maize and they get all stocked up for the winters. Mama, Papa, sister, brother and one inelegant young one who is not dino at heart. He is afraid of everything, even a critter whom he can just munch for lunch. He can’t do anything that can be termed an achievement. But his poppa thinks he is him and much more, that he will come around, that he will grow up and that one day, he will put that family mark on the stone building just like all others into he family. It’s this journey of the little one, through breath-taking visuals, emotional interludes, friendships and much more ...

Cast : Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri Rated : 5/10 The syrupy 60s. London. Gambling mafia. Liquid Bonds. Nightclubs. Supari killings. Love. Gay-dom. Political hypocrisy. Crime. And Tom Hardy. It’s all there on a platter for you though legends, one may say, are made of better stuff. If for nothing, you must go to see this gangster true story for master actor Tom Hardy who plays a double role so well that unless you knew before the film started that he and his brother are the same man, you would have never guessed. One a handsome, in love, good looking somewhat scrupulous Reggie who manages the crime business with a swagger all fall in love with. And the other a schizophrenic beset with paranoia, extreme violent bouts and sexual deviance. But both Hardys are breathtakingly real and put you on the edge as a gangster should. But that’s about all. The real life and times of these brothers who punctuated the 60s with their tales ...

Cast : Meenu Hooda, Ridhima Sud, Kuldeep Ruhil, Shashi Bhushan Rated : 7/10 This one is about a serious issue so director Madhureeta Anand is on solid turf — her turf. More like a docu-feature film, goes into a Haryana village rookie woman reporter and tries to get to the truth behind the more than 100 killing of baby girls — by a witch! Played to near perfection by Meenu Hooda, the witch is just a scapegoat for delving into the more widespread oppression of women — in all strata, in all societies. Anand excels in keeping the focus on the issue so intensely that the film turns out to be a no nonsense hard look at female foeticide, skewed sex ratio and women being imported from Bangladesh and Chhattisgarh to keep families going. And yet, giving birth to a girl means taking her to the grave with gruesome killing by salt. The film makes a statement and does not shy from anything that touches the issue. Be it the witch who has been drawn into the game by her unscrupulous lover bo...

Cast : Sharman Joshi, Zarine Khan, Karan Singh Grover, Daisy Shah Rated : 5/10   Some will love to hate it and others will hate to love it. Between these two extremes, this third one of the series unfolds its very own extremities with some obvious overtures steamy here was expected but Sharman Joshi lip-locking awkwardly and hiding his torso behind the silk of his woman again for pretty obvious reasons was funny, as were the slurpy kissing which Pahlaj Nihalani seems to have not seen while the scissors were in his hands.   Either that or the poor man was too stunned to react, not because of the extended foreplay but because it was all unnecessary and ill-timed and way off the mark. Be it Zarine Khan’s interlude with Karan Singh Grover or Daisy’s seduction number with the same guy way too imperfect and thus embarrassing.   Other than that, complements for keeping the rigmarole intact for a long time though those ones who have been with Agatha Christie in th...