Tamasha (2015)

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

VERDICT – 2/5

 

PROS –
1) Music – Imtiaz Ali beautifully integrates songs in the story without slowing down the pace of the movie.

 

CONS –
1) Ranbir playing “rebel without a cause” for the 657th time.
2) The “Roman Holiday” factor is gone far from cliched on Bollywood silver screen.
3) Piyush Mishra as Storyteller: failed to hit the right cord.

 

QUOTE–
tu wohi hai joh subah ko office jaata hai aur shaam ko ghar aata hai … boss ki daant khata hai aur kisi ko nahi batata hai

Sicario (2015)

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

 

Verdict – 2/5

 

Pros –

1) Cinematography
2) Journey to “Juárez”
3) Benicio del Toro & Josh Brolin

 

 

Cons –

1) Emily Blunt is projected as the main protagonist but she’s nothing more than a third-wheel.
2) Unnecessary Silvio plot; wannabe Iñárritu
3) A boring film with no memorable action scenes.

 

 

Quote –

Alejandro: You should move to a small town, somewhere the rule of law still exists. You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now.

Mr. Robot (Season 1)

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

 

VERDICT  – 4/5

 

 

PROS –
1) The lovechild of V for Vendetta & Fight Club.
2) Plot twists revealing the psychological state of the main protagonist
3) Christian Slater is a great addition to the cast.
4) A realistic approach to hacking.

 

 

CONS –
1) The first few episodes were just great but later episodes including the climax was a letdown.
2) Martin Wallström as Tyrell Wellick: discount American Psycho (2000).
3) All in all, it’s a Fight Club rip-off. No motivation to watch the second season.

 

 

QUOTE –
Edward Alderson: Is any of it real? I mean look at this. Look at it. A world built on fantasy.Synthetic emotions in the form of pills. Psychological warfare in the form of advertising. Mind-altering chemicals in the form of food. Brainwashing seminars in the form of media. Controlled isolated bubbles in the form of social networks.

Real?

You wanna talk about reality? We haven’t lived in anything remotely close to it since the turn of the century. Turn it off, take out the batteries. Digital displays, hypnotizing us into the biggest slumber mankind has ever seen. You’d have to dig pretty deep, kiddo before you can find anything real.

Creed (2015)

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

Verdict – 5/5

 

Pros –
1) Emotional roller coaster for Rocky fans. He remains one of the most loved character on silver-screen.
2) High Octane final bout.
3) Final “Steps Of Rocky” scene
4) Tessa Thompson as Bianca

 

Cons –
n/a

 

Quote –
Rocky Balboa: Everything I got has moved on & I’m here.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015)

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

Verdict – 2/5

 

PROS –
1) A colorful movie with Salman Khan in a double role.
2) Title Song

 

CONS –
1) Shallow storyline repeated a zillionth time in Bollywood history.
2) Worst Rajshri Musical
3) Remove Salman – & the movie is dead.

 

QUOTE –
“har family mein problem hai … par woh khush naseeb hai jinki family hoti hai”

The Night Before (2015)

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

Verdict – 0/5

 

Pros –
1) Michael Shannon as Mr. Green: A mythical character bound to develop a cult following in coming years.
2) James Franco cameo.

 

Cons –
1) Pathetic stoner movie with zero entertainment value
2) Even Miley Cyrus cameo can’t save this half-baked Christmas disaster.

 

Quote –
Mr. Green: About 20 Years ago, I read “The Great Gatsby”. I love the book. Movie’s alright .. 3D give me a headache .. but I’m a sucker for Leo.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

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

Verdict – 5/5

 

Pros –
1) Presence to 2 greatest stars: James Stewart and John Wayne
2) Great Star-cast including Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance (& also Lee Van Cleef)
3) Edmond O’Brien as Dutton Peabody

 

Cons –
n/a

 

Quote –
“This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

Primer (2004)

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

Verdict – 2/5

Pros –

1) One of the most complicated time-travel story.
2) Keeping the dialogues filled with technical jargons

Cons –

1) Poorly executed.Though Shane Carruth can’t be blamed for the low production value and ignore the hard-work involved in a shoestring budget,the story deserves better execution and presentation. It’s a Kubrick or a Nolan movie.

Quote –

“Aaron: That is no static shock.”

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

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

VERDICT – 4/4

 

PROS –
1) Way ahead of its time; highly influential.
2) Opening theme music: “Making of a Cyborg”
3) Animation Quality; “Blade Runner” of animated sci-fi.
4) Therm-Optic camouflage; future Guns; spider-like armored vehicle; high octane gun fight.

 

CONS –
1) Too much science & less entertaining
2) Philosophy of AI; Sad life documentary of Puppet Master.

 

QUOTE –
Puppet Master: It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So, man is an individual only because of his intangible memory… and memory cannot be defined, but it defines mankind. The advent of computers and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization.

The Night of the Generals (1967)

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

VERDICT – 3/5

 

PROS –
1) The star-cast
2) Peter O’Toole as General Wilhelm Tanz
3) The backdrop : World War II / Holocaust / Operation Valkyrie / Rommel / French Resistance
4) 3 Murders 3 Cities: Warsaw-Paris-Hamburg

 

CONS –
1) Too long
2) Bad editing
3) Great historical drama but a poor thriller

 

QUOTE –
Inspector Morand: But, murder is the occupation of Generals.
Major Grau: Then let us say what is admirable on the large scale is monstrous on the small. Since we must give medals to mass murderers, why not give justice to the small… entrepreneur.