Alia Bhatt is an Indian actress and model who appears in Bollywood films. Born into a family where her parents, Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan, and elder sister Pooja Bhatt were actors and filmmakers,
Rating : 7/10 Release Date : 22nd January, 2016 Time : 124 minutes Director, Writer: Raja Krishna Menon; Co-writers : Suresh Nair, Rahul Nangia, Ritesh Shah; Music : Amaal Mallik, Ankit Tiwari Starring : Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Kumud Mishra, Prakash Belawadi, Purab Kohli, Feryna Wazheir, Inaam Ul Haq
In the opening scenes, Akshay and Nimrat, have some interesting, well-written conversational exchanges, the kind of sniping that most married couples would relate to and easily identify with, is very real. And then there is a belly dance item number. Most of the movie is like that � some great moments but then something filmy intrudes�but a tight script, great performances and an uplifting ending rescue the film from mediocrity
Akshay is a successful businessman based out of Kuwait, who�s not too fond of his Indian roots, has almost disowned the country of his birth. But the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi�s in 1990, changes all of that. The Kuwaiti ruling class take flight at the first opportunity, abandoning their citizens. And Akshay�s driver sacrifices himself to save his employers� life. A shaken Akshay has the opportunity to leave, escape with his wife (Nimrat) and daughter but seeing the crowd of Indian refugees outside his office, he decides to try and help�
I like the way they kept things tight, didn�t let the narrative stray too far from the main plot. And they got a fantastic ensemble cast - Kumud Mishra is brilliant as the face of the Indian bureaucracy in the Ministry of External Affairs(sadly, despite several searches, including on the Facebook page of the film, couldn�t find any photo of him in this significant role), Purab Kohli has a nice cameo as an employee, Feryna touches the right hapless note as a Kuwaiti trying to hide, Prakash Belawadi is perfect as the irritable refugee, always questioning / criticizing but never doing anything and finally, Inaam Ul Haq is outstanding as the Iraqi major, trying to do business with Akshay.
While Akshay is very good in his role, very believable, what doesn�t work is his transition � from elitist, Kuwaiti, hard-nosed, money obsessed man to caring, Indian, quiet, do-gooder � this happens too rapidly. Nimrat�s transition (she�s excellent as the questioning wife) is much better shown � critical of the new Akshay at first, she slowly begins to understand and aggressively defends him when he is criticized. The songs don�t work either � some distract / are too loud and most, even in the background, dissipate the air of tension being created.
There are several nice touches � Kumud�s meeting with the Air India pilots, his conversation with the Jordan embassy official, a small chat with his father and even his meeting with his own Minister. Akshay�s meeting with his friends, drinking scotch in the early days of the invasion, the way Nimrat questions his actions � all work, are sensitively shown. Some over the top, filmy sequences are there too but the former stay in the memory more than the latter
It wasn�t an easy film to watch, especially in the first half. I guess most of us (especially those who�ve worked abroad) find the story to be the stuff our worst nightmares are made of � and most of us knew someone who went through this or something like this. The fact that this is loosely based around someone real makes it more interesting � how many of us would�ve done the same after all � given up an opportunity to escape and stayed back to help others less fortunate ? Perhaps this one is worth watching just for that reason�
Rating : 4/10 Release Date : 21st August, 2015 Time : 100 minutes Director: Josh Trank; Writers: Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg, Josh Trank based on the Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Music : Marco Beltrami, Philip Glass Starring : Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson, Owen Judge, Evan Hannemann, Dan Castellaneta
Owen Judge, a young kid, wants to build a teleportation device, despite the cynicism of his teacher, Dan Castellaneta. With his friend, Evan�s support, he succeeds and when older (as Miles and Jamie), they manage to build a larger machine, which, at a science fair, catches the attention of Reg Cathey (who runs a foundation) and his adopted daughter, Kate Mara. Toby Kebbell and Reg�s son, Michael also join the project. They succeed with a monkey but then, when they experiment on themselves, things go wrong�
This film gets a lot of Super-hero movie rules wrong
a) It�s too soon for a remake � the last one in the series was just 8 years ago � the earlier faces are still fresh in our minds and the comparisons are inevitable
b) There is no action � just a lot of unbelievable scientific mumbo-jumbo about teleportation, dimensions. You don�t even see the Four in action till the last 15 minutes
c) The whole premise � the whole bit about space travel - is scarcely credible. As mentioned in the movie, the ease with which it happens gives it a school project feel
d) The casting is all wrong. None of the four, with the possible exception of Miles Teller, exude any charisma or flair. Everyone is too grim, somber. Even Toby Kebbell (remember him in RocknRolla?) fails to lighten things up as the bad boy.
e) The mood of the film is just too melancholic, especially for a super hero film. No one smiles, has fun. The rivalry between Miles and Toby is scarcely developed as is the romance between Miles and Kate. Everything is just about the project and the foundation led by the benevolent Reg Cathey (House of Cards) versus the board led by the war-minded Tim Blake Nelson
The talented Miles (Whiplash) is probably the only one who shines in this version. The others fail to demonstrate any personality or traits, and along with the entire film, make no impression whatsoever on our minds.
