SIDE EFFECTS

Genre: Drama Thriller

Direction: Steven Soderbergh

This is a pure thriller that really keeps the plot turning. Though the first half of the movie is very slow-paced and at times boring, the plot intertwining that happens in the second plot is worth it. So patience is all the movie requires from the viewer and it will provide a great experience in return.

Though the central plot of the movie revolves around the prescriptions of drugs and their side-effects on a woman, the movie portrays deeply the psychological impact and the slowly fitting together puzzles, which keeps getting interesting as the plot thickens. The screenplay is commendable, the direction is good and the acting is quite well too. The only thing the movie could have done better with, is some intelligent writing. Some deeper dialogues would have given this movie the power to stick through, and would have kept the audience keen through the first half, which seems a little drawn away.

The movie is great and it leaves a lasting thrill in the mind. It does deserve a watch, and if it were just a little fast-pacing, it surely would have deserved 4 stars.

RATING:

DAVID

Genre: Drama Thriller

Direction: Bejoy Nambiar

Lead: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vinay Virmani, Chiyaan Vikram

It really is sad to see the Bollywood industry, that gets hit performances on box office for bullshit movies, whereas movies like these don't get an acknowledgement. David is really a true masterpiece for Bollywood. Not only it proves that a period movie can be created artistically in India too, but it can also implement mixed timelines fashion in a superb way. Bejoy Nambiar definitely deserves a hats off for this movie!

The movie comprises of three different stories: One in 1975, one in 1999, and one in 2010. And each minute detail related to the portraying of the specific eras on the screen has been done to perfection. Each of the timeline is designed so as to deliver complete effects splendidly. The three stories are about three different men with the same names, who are each about to take a step that is going to change their lives forever. And the way the stories end interlinking and having an impact on each other, is simply marvelous.

The acting is good, the writing is great, and the direction is off the hook. The cinematography also deserves a special credit here. This movie is a milestone for Bollywood, for this is one of the very rare pieces of the industry that truly delivers a powerful cinematic output.

RATING:

SPECIAL 26

Genre: Crime Drama Thriller

Direction: Neeraj Pandey

Lead: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee, Jimmy Shergill

Since the movie was publicized on the basis of Neeraj Pandey's last movie A Wednesday, the first point of this review has to be that this was nowhere close to that one. A Wednesday sets a significant milestone in the Bollywood industry but this movie merely makes its presence felt with its good quality in direction. But it had nothing else to offer. The movie is unnecessarily stretched to a length that makes it boring at times. There is a love story included in this thriller which has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, and the movie would have been a lot better without that romance element. Not to mention, the actress has done a terrible job.

But that is not all of it. Even without the love story subplot, the movie has a lot of sucking elements. It's like the movie did not have enough storyline to display for an average movie runtime. It's like they had 2-3 powerful scenes they wanted to show the audience, and then they designed a movie around those scenes. The movie actually deserves only around 45 minutes to be perfect. Everything else is a drag. After and before every robbery, there are too many fillers used where there is simply good music for a long time while the four people are arriving at the place of crime, and leaving that place respectively. Even the raid scenes have musical beats that gives the feel that there are some fast-paced intelligent action tricks going on, but all the screen delivers is the 4 people roaming around in different rooms, opening cupboards and stuff. They definitely lacked the content.

The writing was only okay. The direction however was splendid. The only thing that this movie deserves a pat on the back for, is that Neeraj Pandey has shown that even Bollywood can create a well-furnished period movie. The props used in the movie and everything that comes to the eye, really gives the effect of the era that was decades ago. But unfortunately, apart from the direction, the movie has not much to give, except an expectation that something intelligent is coming. But the entire plot is predictable. All the twists are too easy to predict way before they reveal it, except the final twist. But even that is not a great one, just unexpected, but it's not sold in a way that would stick.

The climax had a good idea but maybe if they had more content to build it up and an unpredictable way to showcase it, the movie might have been a little better.

RATING:

ABCD (ANY BODY CAN DANCE)

Genre: Drama Music

Direction: Remo
Lead: Prabhu Deva

After turning a legend like Accepted into the disaster F.A.L.T.U, Remo came back to try to steal another piece from Hollywood, Step Up 4, including some dance themes and the basic storyline, but this time, Remo did quite well. And obviously the main reason behind it is that this time, the theme was dance, which is his ultimate interest after all. Prabhu Deva does crappy acting, but fortunately this movie isn't all about it. It's about street dancing and the dancers on the screen do successfully win the viewers' hearts by their talents. It was a good idea to launch the movie in 3D, like the Step Up series has started to. And just to make the audience enjoy the dances in 3D more, there obviously has to be a dance in the water. The movie has stolen many little pieces from other movies, but ultimately provides a delightful entertaining dance flick.

The dialogues are good, really great at times, and they touch the hearts. The movie has some moments which truly makes you feel connected to it. But the comedy is pure South Indian shit. The comical over-acting just takes out all the fun from the movie and some of the punches that could have been really funny, just got spoiled because they were delivered in an immature way. But overall, the movie is simple and watchable, for some moments are simply amazing. It were for a better director and actors, the audience would have gotten a better movie. Even the acting is bad, but it's manageable.

The dance quotes delivered by Prabhu Deva are really motivational and inspirational, and they are worth watching the entire movie. In fact, those quotes make the movie even better than the original Hollywood flick.

RATING: