Meenakshi Rao's Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews

Jai Ho Starring:  Salman Khan, Tabu, Danny Denzongpa, Daisy Shah, Nadira Babbar, Genelia Dsouza, Suniel Shetty Rated:  5/10 This one is no ‘Yo Sallu’ film with all the  latka jhatka  with heroineji and  muscle-wuscle  with nincompoopish villains. It is more of an unexplained chapter out of Sallu Bhai’s larger than life NGO ambitions than his usual Pandey ji maaroing  ceetee existence. Aam aadmi  is the flavour of the season and of this film (really?) too, though mind you, here the aam aadmi in Sallu the Bhai himself and as we know him he can do about anything —walk into the Home Minister’s den and kill his son-in-law and son; taken on an army (read political workers) of gundaas and dump them by the wayside without even flicking enough muscle and, of course, in between singing and dancing with a hyper heroineji who wears pink panties throughout the film and keeps dancing for no rhyme or reason. Why Sallu Bhai would attempt this one is...

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Starring:  Idris Elba, Naomie Harris Rated:  7/10 Indeed, it was a long, long walk to freedom — but the length of this more than remarkable journey undertaken by South Africa’s iconic Nelson Mandela is so inspiring that time flies past in wonderment. Moreso, when you see it unfolding on the big screen through the towering performance of Idris Elba who gives the requisite weight and dignity to Mandela’s on-screen persona. But for his height which was some inches above the real Mandela, Idris is faultless to perfection. His diction, his poise and his measured dialogues and body language are as stalwart as Madiba was all through his eventful life. Director Justin Chadwick has been meticulous with his subject, lending the icon not just power through his political journey but also through his most private moments which brought him to Winnie Mandela, played stunningly by Naomie Harris. Her arresting portrayal of activism, love, anger, hatre...

American hustle Starring:  Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams Rated:  5.5/10 It’s a crazy kind of movie around crazy kind of men and, of course, women. But this one is a surprise entry for this week when all the small and unhappening fare both from Hollywood and Bollywood filled up a silly weekend. Pivoting around two con artists (not at all funny ones), some stupid Feds wanting to make a name for themselves, certain situations around a good politician and a dazzling cameo by Robert Di Nero as the former mafia king of of New Jersey’s now legalised casino world,  The American Hustle grows on you rather surreptitiously. Just when you are flicking away the film along with your popcorn and cola, the main characters con you into the entire operation with the finesse of experts. Amy Adams looks and acts dazzlingly, though Bradley Cooper with all the curls on his head and the twists and turns around him gets sidelined by Christian Bale and his stunning hairdo as...

Carrie Starring:  Chloë Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday Rated : 4.5/10 An average horror movie that merely flirts with the genre and does not pride on too many scream scenes. As a gifted girl with special powers, Chloe plays the part well though there is not much for her to do in this one on a strange mother and daughter duo. Julianne Moore as a devil obsessed matronly woman blaming the man who impregnated her as evil incarnate, she looks adequately weird enough to keep hurting herself consciously and going into a prayer closet where generally people dump shoes. As her daughter grows up to go to college a whole lot of issues confront her, especially with her peers treating her as a freak of nature. The scared, know-nothing teeny-bopper who is maligned by rich bully girls in college, Chloe does a good job to show the fear in.  Source: Sunday Pioneer, 19 January, 2014

Jack ryan: Shadow Recruit Starring:  Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightley Rated:  4/10 Paramount is back with another $60 million Jack Ryan thriller, with Chris Pine in the lead. Despite its towering start cast of Kevin Costner, Keira Knightley and Kenneth Branagh, the movie is surprisingly average. Given the fact that it is a thriller, the film lacks interesting characterisation. Even though the film is supposed to be a modern-day thriller, using modern-day economics as a tool of terror tends to become irrelevant And because of this everything becomes generic — from the story to the hero, to the plot the villain wants to hatch. What is even more unfortunate is that the appeal one finds around Jack Ryan’s character in books is missing on the big screen. In  Shadow Recruit , he doesn’t appear as the smart Alec and doesn’t have much to prove to anyone around him. Though the dialogues are sharp and quick and there are scenes that will mak...

The legend of Hercules Starring:  Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee, Liam Garrigan Rated:  6/10 Greek drama has been staple for Hollywood blockbusters for a long time and this one too plays to the gallery in that direction. Another matter though that the only thing big in the film is Hercules’ love for his princess and the canvas on which he orchestrates his fight to win her back from his tyrannical father and brother. As Hercules, son of Gods of Gods Zeus, Kellan Lutz looks strong and vulnerable in equal measure. He is bigger than life and flexes his muscle on a sepia toned early Greek empire with finesse. Period drama in themselves are quite interesting subjects so even the slightly clueless ones manage to survive if played out in this genre.  The Legend of   Hercules  can be tagged as one of those slightly lost films which draw their flesh and blood from audience’s complete love for historical drama. Otherwise, there is a lot le...

Dedh Ishqiya Starring:  Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Huma Qureshi Rated:  4.5/10 Go into this one for arrested moments of a  nawabi  past and you will get a scintillatingly run-down feeling that a ruinous  haveli  and its even more ruinous secrets hold out. The cepia tint that the entire film around a widowed begum of Mehmudabad on a husband hunt uses to good effect, does take you back into the bygone era of Urdu  shero-shaiyari, nazakat  and  nafasat , but that’s about it. Depite the arresting presence of Madhuri Dixit as Begum Para and Huma Qureshi as her friend/companion, the film stills down on the story so suddenly that you squirm for more. Yes, the Ishqiya  duo is all there in Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah but their cutting edge meanness and negativity is missing here. One is stung into inanity by a lost love and the other just ambles along the sidelines without much of the devastating effect the two...

Sholay 3D Starring:  Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Amjad Khan Rated:  8/10 I  have seen — umpteen times — first on the screen and then on TV — again and again and again. It has never ceased to grip my attention and make me feel that this is, indeed, Bollywood’s bestest entertainer ever. Not a frame is out of place, not a character over the top. There are no flaws in this one. So, to see it on the big screen again was an enervating experience. Yet again, it compelled you to sit through it. Yet again, it was a thriller after all those decades. One thing has to be said about  Sholay  — it is such a chinkless story that it is one of the rare films which do not need any technological insertions to make a comeback. In short, the 3D, which has been selectively inserted into the film by Maya Animations was really not needed. Moreso, when you realise that only the long shots and certain fight sequences have been made 3D...

The Wolf of Wall Street Starring:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey Rated : 7.5/10 What can you say about this deadly combination of director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, except that it is, well, deadly in all kinds of ways. It’s a completely insane movie serenading the ultimate debauchery that money and the power to generate money from nothing ignites in a person. It is as if the Scorsese-DiCaprio duo has decided that they will assault your senses as never before and even as you cower under the onslaught, you feel embarrassed at getting haplessly hooked on to the proceedings. Much like the cocaine he sniffs and the uppers he swallows to devastating effect, DiCaprio is wantonly potent as the wolf who makes millions on Wall Street selling false shares and falser dreams. Though histrionic excellence has been his handmaiden for most part of his Hollywood career, one can safely say that this is his best performance ever. As the...

Hours Staring: Paul Walker, Génesis Rodríguez, TJ Hassan, Nick Gomez, Judd Lormand Rated: 5/10 First things first: Deepest condolences for Paul Walker who was a fine actor and a good human being. This one is his last and very ironically, he survives all odds on screen. Set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which unleashed a never before trail of destruction and power outage for five days on the trot, you can call  Hours  a slow thriller. Despite its languid pace, it is creditable that you are on seat’s edge for most part of the film. Walker a debutant father whose pregnant wife dies during childbirth, is a picture of gloom and doom. He does well to hold his tears and propel the grey mood of bereavement in a silently powerful manner.  His newborn, whom he names Abigail after his beloved dead wife, breathes on a ventilator, the power of which is fast fading out. The deserted hospital, Walker’s stubborn fight for the survival of his daughter till help comes h...