Bollywood World

Trailer


Review

Rating : 3/10
Release Date : 8th January, 2016
Time : 96 minutes
Director: Sean Anders; Writers: Brian Burns, Sean Anders, John Morris; Music : Michael Andrews
Starring : Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Scarlett Estevez, Owen Vaccaro, Bobby Cannavale, Hannibal Buress



Imagine Anees Bazmee (of Welcome, Singh is Kinng fame) got together with Rohit Shetty (of Golmaal, Chennai Express and I can blow up cars better than anyone fame), both master craftsmen of the �senseless entertainment� genre, and decided to make a film on parenting, a dad vs a stepdad plot. What they would come up with would probably be better than what is served up here.



Nothing makes sense. Will Ferrell, all around good guy, is trying to win over his step kids, Scarlett and Owen, while mom, Linda is quite supportive. However, when alpha male, biker, secret agent type Mark Wahlberg, the biological dad, lands up they enter into a kind of �competition� on who can be a better father � with cringe-worthy results. The entire sub-plot involving Hannibal Buress beggars belief as does some of the things the two dads do.




Suffice to say that there are very few redeeming features in this one � some of the conversations with Thomas Haden are funny but some are overdone. The whole thing about going to a fertility clinic (Bobby Cannavale) also seems to suggest you cant be a real man, truly satisfied until you can procreate. The movie lasts too long with the impulse to leave in the middle has to be fought several times during it�s 96 minutes running time.

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 11th June, 2015
Time : 124 minutes
Director : Colin Trevorrow; Writers : Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, based on the characters created by Michael Crichton; Music : Michael Giacchino
Starring : Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D�Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Jake Hohnson, Omar Sy, Judy Greeer, BD Wong



It�s entertaining, it�s fun, it�s scary, it�s spectacular.
It�s also highly implausible, soul-less, and lacks a real differing opinion or ideological conflict.


Jurassic World has opened up as a major tourist attraction on Isla Nublar, the same venue as the first epic film. It draws in thousands of visitors, is owned by Irrfan Khan, run by Bryce , who happens to have her nephews Ty & Nick, visiting. The park relies on new species or dinosaur attractions every few years to keep tourist interest alive. And towards this end they have created a genetic hybrid � a new species, Indominous Rex � which, as per the brief is scarier, tougher, bigger�.and cooler !






Chris Pratt is the tough army types who is working on a special program to train velociraptors to obey his commands, Vincent D�Onofrio is the greedy, army type who has an ulterior motive.


And when the Indominous escapes from its cage�things fall back to as they were, 65 million years ago...

I liked the way they kept bringing up the spirit of Jurassic Park � showing the locales where the action for that film had happened � using a similar storyline (nephews out in the wild, dinosaur on the loose, owner, manager and tough guy out trying to rescue them) and even stray action sequences towards the end which were reminiscent�



It was also fascinating to see things like a petting zoo and a water attraction � both involving dinosaurs � which does raise the question if sometimes we, humans, really understand the forces we are dealing with?


However � you felt nothing really for any of the characters. No one really made any impression on you (lacked star power too, possibly), and did or said anything that truly stayed with you. There was no real emotion, no feelings which stood out � and no moments of real humour. Lots of things here didn�t make sense either � unlike the first, where everything seemed actually possible. And there was no real ideological conflict � a slight moral one perhaps- but again nothing like the �life will find a way� theory expounded in Michael Crichton�s seminal novel.


You need to watch it though, for some great special effects, truly hair-raising, goose-bumpy moments and super action sequences, including an epic fight towards the end. At the end of the day, a really expensive film to give you some cheap thrills�

Rating : 4/10
Release Date : 17th October, 2014
Time : 91 minutes
Director: Jake Kasdan; Writers: Kate Angelo, Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller; Music : Michael Andrews
Starring : Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper, Rob Lowe, Harrison Holzer, Sebastian Hedges Thomas




Ten years into marriage, sapped by kids and the humdrum routine of life, a couple, Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, make a sex tape (film themselves having sex), in a desperate attempt to rekindle their sexual fire. However, now they�re faced with the prospect that a lot of their friends and associates, including the mailman, may have it on their iPads (thanks to an autosynch app). And it may even go viral.


The movie really works only till this point � and here are the top five reasons why

1. Ludicrous Situations : Most sane people wouldn�t go about salvaging the situation the way our lead pair does. Their clumsy attempts to retrieve the files, the behavior of the people involved, their dumb excuses, the cheap attempts to draw laughs via a canine displays a tendency to go for the easy route, a la Sajid Khan, rather than work on the script. The whole scene at Rob Lowe's, her future boss, probably the lowest point of the movie.


2. Indian Censors : The most you get to see are Cameron�s perky nipples poking through a white T-Shirt. Our beloved censors (and I include their political masters here), driven by a misplaced, hypocritical sense of morality, do not deem us capable of handling anything further, thus (probably) depriving us of the best parts of the film


3. Cameron Diaz : She has a great figure but doesn�t look hot anymore. Wrinkles, a certain haggardness and that famous smile that wears slightly thin implies that she is unable to carry the film on her once curvaceous frame, which would�ve been a no-brainer in her �The Mask� or 'There's Something About Mary' days

4. Gyaan from Jack Black : Nothing can demonstrate that there is something fundamentally wrong with the thought process and script, as when they have Jack Black, in a brief over-the-top cameo, actually come and dispense life changing pearls of wisdom. Apart from the innate silliness of the specific situation, I just felt they chose the wrong casting option.


5. Indian crowd : Especially in the late night shows, this film is likely to attract the worst kind of crowd, including groups of men, attracted like moths by the title, determined to have fun via cheap remarks, loud laughter and silly behavior. Probably better to wait for it to come on the tv

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 19th September, 2014
Time : 123 minutes
Director: Wes Ball; Writers: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, TS Nowlin (based on the novel by James Dashner); Music : John Paesano
Starring : Dylan O�Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson



This is one of those films where nothing really makes sense, you don�t truly understand what�s happening, if you haven�t read the book or seen the second (soon to be released) part. There is a certain sense of mystery / intrigue at the situation, and you do feel for the likeable, Dylan, but he keeps getting thrown into different situations without us really getting to know him or the situation better.



Dylan wakes up in an elevator, without an recollection of who he is or why / how is he there. The elevator reaches a glen where there are other boys, pretty much in the same predicament. The glen is surrounded by a tall maze. Which opens and shuts everyday. And changes shape. Also contains creatures called the Grievers which kill the boys. And the only way out, is through this maze.



Aml Ameen is the leader of the boys in the glen, the first one to arrive some three years ago. Thomas Brodie-Sangster (great to see him all grown up after Love Actually) and Will Poulter (Of We�re The Millers fame) are amongst the trusted old hands, while Blake Cooper is the baby of the group and Ki Hong Lee one of the runners, those who�re fast / strong and go in and out of the maze on a daily basis trying to find a way out. Life in the glen has a pretty defined pattern but all that changes after Dylan�s arrival�


What keeps the film going are the various challenges thrown at the group, the vastness of the maze, the inherent dangers faced from the Grievers � everything happens very quickly. Which leads to the main flaw in the film � because things happen so fast, you don�t really get to know anyone, understand / like / dislike any of the boys (apart from the instinctive feel) or really appreciate the situation as even that keeps changing !


I guess the special effects, the huge set, just the idea of such a situation makes this film worthy of a one time watch, but only that�and only just�