PicksAndPiquesSnippetFilmReview28thAug2015 #JohnsonThomas

PicksAndPiquesSnippetFilmReview28thAug2015 #JohnsonThomas

                         

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#PicksAndPiquesSnippetFilmReview28thAug2015

#JohnsonThomas

 

#Phantom(Hindi) Rating: * * ½  Aiming for #Ludlum effect but settling on nondescript. #KabirKhan’s #BajrangiBhaijaan aimed to gather in the critical and resentful while his next potential blockbuster turns jingoism into onscreen reality in order to tap into patriotic sentiment against terrorists being harbored by an enemy state. Based on post 26/11  encounters with the masterminds of the attack, as fictionally evinced by SHussainZaidi’s novel #MumbaiAvengers,  this one goes for adequately referenced predicative spy thrills, a slight whiff of romance and of course nationalistic sentiment( a la #DDay).The choppy pace and ineffective action make this sentiment driven exercise nowhere close to stinging. Even so the  resultant experience is a fairly decent one- and that’s about it!  #KabirKhan #SaifAliKhan #KatrinaKaif  #DenzilSmith #KaizaadKotwal #MohbanooKotwalMody #SohailaKapur #MohammadZeeshanAyyub #RajeshTailang #SpicePR #SajidNadiadwala #SiddharthRoyKapur #DisneyUTV

Runtime:136 mins

 

#BaankeyKiCrazyBaraat(Hindi) Rating: * ½ it’s crazy alright but nowhere close to entertaining. A rag-tag cast of  decent actors repeat their standard tropes in order to stay in the public eye- but it’s definitely not an elevating sight or experience. #RajpalYadav is insufferable here but #SatyajeetDubey does a fairly decent job in a double role though. #HemaUpadhyay #1HMedia #SatyajeetDubey #SanjayMishra #AijazKhan #TiaBajpai #RakeshBedi #RaajpalYadav #VijayRaaz #AMFeelGoodFilms #AnitaMani Runtime: 124 mins

 

#Chehere(Hindi) Rating: * * ½  Intriguing retro-filmi, Period theatrics set in the UK, embedded in an ineffectual whodunit with obvious referencing from #AgathaChristie’s famed novels. Essentially knotty affairs, old fashioned theatrics & hidden secrets get exposed here but the manufactured run-ins with ill-gotten gains of stardom while interesting, is not very sustainable for the entire runtime. #AaryaBabbar #HrishitaBhatt #ManishaKoirala & #DivyaDutta make it fairly worthwhile though.   #WasimSiddiqui #FameMedia #ManishaKoirala #JackieShroff #HrishitaBhatt #GulshanGrover #AaryaBabbar #DivyaDutta #RakeshBedi #BobBrahmbhatt #GeetaVij #RohitKaushik  Runtime: 120 mins

 

#KaunKitneyPaaniMein(Hindi) Rating: * * *  A cautionary tale that seeks to use life-sustaining water as the cement to forge unity amongst the diverse castes and classes in a remote Principality plagued by drought, this #NilaMadhabPanda( #IAmKalam) film fails to make the hard-earned lessons worthwhile. Noble intentions get lost in the morass of indistinctive posturing. It could have been a stinging satire on the misuse of natural resources but it just doesn’t get ticking. #SaurabhShukla’s ignoble performance makes it fairly meaty though. #NilaMadhabPanda #ParullGossain #KunalKapoor #SaurabhShukla #RadhikaApte #GushanGrover #OneDropFoundation #EleaanoraImagesPvtLtd Runtime:112 mins

 #GauraiyaCrimeNeverEnds (Hindi) Rating: * * gritty but distasteful. Overburdened by cuss words & exploitative nudity, this unsavory account of Harijan-woes plagued by dacoits & police who s’exploit & indiscriminately misuse draconian laws (216A)  to suppress their justifiable angst, doesn’t allow for any attachment- other than the obvious ones! #SantoshRaj #BRFilmsVision #BhojrajGuneja #RajeshHans #ShivRajoria #SunderShetty #ShakeelHashmi #BigCurtainsMediaPvtLtd Runtime: 109 mins

 

#TheManFromUNCLE (English) Rating: * * * ½ Charmingly spliced old fashioned spy thriller trading it’s thrills on inspiration from an ancient TV super successful TV series. Typically #GuyRitchie in narration, this one does get a little flaky in development but the suave, stylish appearances and the exuberant antiquated charm of the three principal leads makes up for it in good measure.  #ArmieHammer #HenryCavill #AliciaVikander #WarnerBros #AnkitAgarwal #HughGrant

#ElizabethDebicki

Runtime:116 mins

 

#RickiAndTheFlash(English) Rating: * * * One for the fans- Three-time #AcademyAward® winner #MerylStreep breaks the mold yet again with an exuberant non-traditional performance as a hard-rocking singer/guitarist who revisits her estranged family ( which includes her real life daughter #MammieGummer as her on screen daughter going through a painful break-up) in the hope of making it right with them.  Director #JonathanDemme & fellow #AcademyAward®-winning screenwriter #DiabloCody may not be in their element here but they still manage to juice the return-of-the-prodigal story for some uplifting comedy & drama. The film is also loaded with music and live performance, with Streep doing the honors as Ricki, a guitar toting second rung rocker  who gave up everything for her dream of rock-and-roll stardom. #SonyPictures #AnjaliMalhotra #DiabloCody #MamieGummer #RickSpringfield  Runtime:101 mins

 

#NoEscape(English)Rating: * * ½ A couple and their two daughters relocate to Asia, only to find themselves caught in the middle of a coup. The ‘strangers in a strange land’ premise is effective enough as a precursor of ‘alienated’ thrills but the effect is not that happening even if 80-90 mins of the runtime is devoted to escape. The setup is swift and the escalation of trouble is quite meaty but the reasoning is suspect.There’s no validation either. The lack of political context is a killer here. #JohnErickDowdle #OwenWilson #PierceBrosnan #LakeBell #SterlingJerins #ClaireGeare #PierceBrosnan #SahajakBoonthanakit

#SaileshPathak #TOPEntertainment  Runtime:103 mins