Meenakshi Rao's Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews

Cast:  Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone Rated : 6/10 Imtiaz Ali’s latest with Ranbir Kapoor is a dark, brooding romance with a whole lot of existential issues, in fact it is more about existentialism than romance. Many would furiously question Ali for getting into the underbelly of the hopeless emotionalism of an incorrigible  dramebaaz  trapped in a frustrated management grad’s garb when Bollywood's most romantic pair was ready to explode with sizzling combustibility that none other can garner on screen today. It would be a pertinent query thrown at Ali but as you survive (I say survive because it was really tedious to sit through the extended theatricals and flashbacks) the first half-hour of unexplained symbolism meant to set the tone of this complex mount, you realise there’s something stark, real and disturbing that is being raised by Ali for whom realism in cinema means more than being the constructor of just a breezy  paisa vasool  romance. Bes...

Cast : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman Rated:  6/10 A befitting finale, you would say, for this last of the split in  The Hunger Games . Those looking for a great ending to the much-loved and popular  Hunger Games  series, should troop to the cinemas for a storyline and a script that’s dazzlingly dark and edgy but nail-bitingly entertaining. The best part is that the action doesn’t let up like in the first part and the actors put up a great performance through the arena that’s meant to save the havenot Districts. Of course, fans of Jennifer Lawrence will tell you that the entire movie series would have fallen flat had it not been for Katniss. There are certain parts where one would find the film sagging but Lawrence makes each scene sparkle with her presence. The film has no qualms about playing to the gallery with war and gore. Director Francis Lawrence stretche...

Cast:  Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz,  Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes Rated:  6.5/10 Even as the  sanskari  Bond hashtag has flooded Indian twitterati, thanks to an overzealous Censor Board going all clippy and sloppy for no reason whatsoever, the name Bond, James Bond still reigns supreme. For, Bond is still the kissing-killing sexy war machine that he used to be all those 24 editions back. The enigma around Bond has neither been shaken nor stirred for all the years that he has gulped down criminals, terrorists, drug cartel rogues or plain killers with his dirty martinis and women in tow. The swagger is undiminished and the commitment to cross continental crime chasing as strong as his love for the now deceased M. But it is her cryptic message that got delivered to her famous protégé on the eve of her murder that gives this caper its intense action sequences and 007 his newest mission. Of course, it is another ...

Cast:  Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Anupam Kher Rated:  5/10 Sooraj Barjatya, not one but two  Salman Khans, the larger than life Rajshri banner and a peg on recreation of 17-year-old magic — something big, something grand, something romantic — the potential was animated, the promise complete and the box office registers all set to make some noise. After all, Prem was making a comeback, that too this Diwali. So what if he was no longer 17 years old, so what if the choco look had got mixed up with a lot of brawn, brawl and taporipanti  down the years? So what if the sweet young Salman had graduated into being Sallu  Bhai . No one could possibly be Prem as he was. Right? Wrong. This time round, the grandeur could not be faulted but it was grandeur, family time and romance without the pulse. The  Prem ratan dhan  was missing. The chemistry was struggling and the  babujis  and mamujis , the doggies and the  kaboota...

Cast:  Anna Hutchison, Andrea Whitburn, Jennifer Koeniga Rated:  5/10 For an entirely linear movie beginning and ending on not an entirely straight road, the film manages to live up to its B-grade production. A bad copy of a young Spielberg’s Duel  ( when he was just 25), the big tow truck menace that is Wrecker, goes into a deserted stretch of road between Seattle and Palm Strings with two hotties on an emotional recuperation trip that goes terribly sour once the tow truck starts following them menacingly, and to fatal consequences. The problem with the film is its near barren imagination, much like the stark barrenness of the landscape it traverses. Yes there are moments when you go to the edge of the seat wondering what’s round the next turn but pretty soon interest eases up with nothing catastrophic happening, except the truck following the red sedan in which the two friends are travelling. Any screamy film on a road-trip is always full of potential but ve...