Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A debt ridden NRI comes back to India to sell off his ancestral property. But before he completes his work, he gets kidnapped by a local gang.
2) Great ensemble of actors especially Manu Rishi as Anni.

 

 

CONS –
1) Average execution of a brilliant story.
2) Ishtiyak Khan’s role of English teacher Tyagi was only restricted to one scene.
3) Neha Dhupia and Amol Gupte didn’t fit the bill.

 

 

QUOTE –
Anni: Sir woh baat aisi hai..
Tyagi: Speak in ENGLISH! This english coaching! Not a.. local language.
Anni: Actually talk was that sirji ki …
Tyagi: FULL STOP!!

Barry (Season 4)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
N/A

 

 

CONS –
1) A tepid sad climax of a great dark comedy show.

 

 

QUOTE –
Barry: Guns.
Clerk: Okay, what kind?

Bhediya (2022)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A money-minded man reaches Arunachal Pradesh as part of a development project to construct roads through the forest area. One night, he’s is chased and bitten by a wolf in the forest and he transform into a shape-shifting werewolf.
2) “Apna Bana Le” – Arijit Singh
3) Shot in scenic Arunachal Pradesh. Color grading also done correctly.

 

 

CONS –
1) The story fall flat on it’s face in the 3rd act. The best scenes of the movie are already revealed in the trailer.
2) Below average CGI for 2022 movie.
3) The preachy forest conservation theme was the last nail in the coffin.

 

 

QUOTE –
“abhi hum doubles mein shikaar khelenge. aap kohli, hum rohit. TAG TEAM”

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) John Wick invokes an old High Table tradition to challenge the Marquis to a duel. Winning would free John of all obligations to the High Table.
2) John vs Killa in the Berlin nightclub.
3) Donnie Yen as Caine, the blind High Table assassin.
4) John Wick’s epic journey to to Sacré-Cœur, fighting an army of assassins.
5) Great one liners.

 

 

CONS –
1) Mediocre combat scenes at the “Osaka Continental”.
2) Style over substance.
3) Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis, a mediocre villain.
4) Tedious screenplay. 169 minutes runtime is exhausting.

 

 

QUOTE –
Bowery King: Nine-millimeter Pit Viper.
John Wick: How’d you get this?
Bowery King: I know a guy who knows a guy who shot a guy.

Sisu (2023)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 5/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A lonely gold prospector in 1944 struck a rich deposit of gold. On his way to encash his hard-work he encounters a Nazi platoon , who took his gold away and left him to die. Little do they know, that the old prospector is a legendary Finnish commando known as “one-man death squad” nicknamed Koschei, who killed 300 Russian soldiers alone during the Winter War.
2) An action packed one man show who puts John Wick to shame. An instant cult.
3) A Tarantino movie not directed by Tarantino.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Nazi Soldier: Do you really believe that he’s immortal?
Girl: No. He just refuses to die. We have a word for that in Finland, but it’s impossible to translate.

Stargate (1994)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 0
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 1

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) An alien (Ra) came to Earth from his desert planet called Abydos during the Ancient Egyptian period to possess human bodies to extend his own life. He enslaved ancient Egyptians and used the Stargate to bring some of them to Abydos to mine the mineral that is used in the alien technology. His overseers on earth built the pyramids. Humans on Earth eventually revolted, overthrew Ra’s overseers, and buried the Stargate to prevent its use.
2) Kurt Russell as Colonel Jack, the only actor worth noticing.

 

 

CONS –
1) While the concept is superb, Roland Emmerich’s execution is lame.
2) Lack of good supporting cast. James Spader as the central character is especially annoying.
3) Annoying sub-plot.

 

 

QUOTE –
Colonel Jack: Give my regards to King Tut, asshole.

Dead Man Walking (1995)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 1/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A man sentenced to death for the murder of a teenage couple, has been on death row for six years. As his scheduled execution date approaches, he asks Sister Helen Prejean, with whom he has corresponded, to help him with a final appeal.
2) A cakewalk role for Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen.

 

 

CONS –
1) Boring and tedious story of a man on death row. There are few emotional moments but I’ve got no sympathy for rapist & murderers.
2) An Oscar-bait by Tim Robbins.

 

 

QUOTE –
Prison Guard: Tell me something, Sister. What is a nun doing in a place like this? Shouldn’t you be teaching children? Do you know what this man has done? How he killed them kids?
Sister Helen Prejean: What he was involved with was evil. I don’t condone it. I just don’t see the sense of killing people to say killing people’s wrong.
Prison Guard: You know how the Bible says “an eye for an eye.”
Sister Helen Prejean: You know what else the Bible asks for? Death as a punishment for adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, trespass upon sacred ground, profaning the Sabbath, and contempt of parents.
Prison Guard: I ain’t gonna get into no Bible quoting with no nun, ’cause I’m gonna lose.

Thief (1981)

STORY – 0
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 1
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A highly skilled jewel thief, make one last big score in order to begin living a legitimate life, and reluctantly associates with a powerful gangster. This took a downturn when he discovers the gangster wants to keep him in his employ.
2) Music by Tangerine Dream. The synth soundtrack gives it a dystopian look.

 

 

CONS –
1) Mediocre primary plot.
2) Useless Willie Nelson subplot.

 

 

QUOTE –
Okla: Lie to no one. If there ‘s somebody close to you, you’ll ruin it with a lie. If they’re a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them?

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (2023)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 1
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 3/5

 

 

PROS –
1) Tinni decides to break her wedding with Mickey because he was too close to his family. She hires a break-up consultant on phone, not knowing that the consultant is in fact Mickey.
2) Luv Ranjan’s anti-women theme continues in this movie as well, where a girl puts her privacy above joint family.
3) Kartik Aaryan cameo is spot-on. In fact he would’ve done it better than Ranbir Kapoor.
4) The climactic family dash to airport while blaming each other for the break-up was hilarious.

 

 

CONS –
1) The crucial role of Ranbir’s sidekick was given to Anubhav Singh Bassi who is super-annoying. A grand miscast.
2) The first hour is over-stretched. The epic length of 164 minutes for a rom-com is bewildering. This movie could’ve been an hour shorter.
3) Lengthy monologues for conveying something ordinary.
4) Forgettable sound-track.

 

 

QUOTE –
“maine nahin pehnaya kurta yaar”

Beirut (2018)

STORY – 1
DIRECTOR – 0
ACTOR – 1
MUSIC – 0
CULT – 0

 

 

VERDICT – 2/5

 

 

PROS –
1) A US diplomat who lost her wife in Lebanon in 1972, is called back to Beirut in 1982 to negotiate the release of an abducted CIA officer.
2) A political thriller in Beirut involving Mossad, CIA, PLO, Syrian Army, etc. just before the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

 

 

CONS –
1) A mediocre treatment to Tony Gilroy’s story.
2) The color grading and dark cinematography makes it a difficult watch.

 

 

QUOTE –
PLO Officer: I thought you came in good faith.
Mason Skiles: I did. And now I want to leave in one piece.