Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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

VERDICT – 5/5

 
PROS –
1) The epic finale of the 11-year-old journey culminating with the 22nd film. A journey started by Jon Favreau, led by Joss Whedon, and concluded by the Russo brothers. A rare grand emotional movie event of this generation.
2) The time travel plot enabled the screenwriters to add all the good & bad, major & minor characters from the franchise to make one final cameo in this grand finale.
3) Captain America lifting Mjolnir is got to be the most epic scene of this movie. A scene 4 years in the making.
4) A fulfilling climax for Steve Rogers.
5) Fun filled storyline with great comic-relief from Ant-Man and Thor “The Dude” Lebowski.
6) An epic finale needs an epic sacrifice. It had to be Tony Stark.

 

 

CONS –
N/A

 

 

QUOTE –
Rocket: What did you do?
Thor: I went for the head.

Slice (2018)

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

VERDICT – 3/5

 
PROS –
1) A legendarium kind of universe where human, ghost, witches, and werewolves co-exist. Huge potential if developed as a TV Series with a creative director at the helm.
2) 80s look.

 
CONS –
1) Plot with great potential but mediocre execution from the director Austin Vesely.

 
QUOTE –
Sadie: I’m gonna tell you a story about a ghost, a werewolf, and a pretty shitty pizza place. It all started, when the werewolf came back to town.

Rushmore (1998)

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

VERDICT – 5/5

PROS –
1) A very peculiar love-triangle with hilarious consequences.
2) Jason Schwartzman as Max Fischer. The entire character of Max is intriguing. School’s most extracurricularly active and least academic student.
3) Wes Anderson movies are known for three things. Deadpan comedy, symmetrical compositions in cinematography, and the soundtrack from the 60s & 70s. This movie excelled in all 3 departments.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Herman Blume: She’s in love with a dead guy anyway.

Marty (1955)

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

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) Two good-natured, plain-looking introverts falling in love with each other. The climactic call by Marty to Clara includes the central theme of the plot of listening to your own heart irrespective of others views.
2) 90 minutes running time with only one other subplot.
3) A role tailor-made for Ernest Borgnine.

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
1.
Marty: All my brothers and brothers-in-laws tell me what a good-hearted guy I am. You don’t get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.

2.
Ms. Piletti: Two women in the same kitchen, the house burns up.

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

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

 

VERDICT – 5/5

 
PROS –
1) A top-secret mission on the eve of the D-Day invasion. A must watch Robert Aldrich classic with all the elements of a great war adventure.
2) Definitive Lee Marvin movie as Maj. Reisman
3) Great production value.
4) A very influential film which inspired many future movies like Inglorious Basterds (2009), The Expendables (2010), and Suicide Squad (2016).

 

CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
1. Down to the roadblock, we’ve just begun 2. The guards are through 3. The Major’s men are on a spree 4. Major and Wladislaw go through the door 5. Pinkley stays out in the drive 6. The Major gives the rope a fix 7. Wladislaw throws the hook to heaven 8. Jimenez has got a date 9. The other guys go up the line 10. Sawyer and Lever are in the pen 11. Posey guards points five and seven 12. Wladislaw and the Major go down to delve 13. Franko goes up without being seen 14. Zero-hour: Jimenez cuts the cable; Franko cuts the phone 15. Franko goes in where the others have been 16. We all come out like it’s Halloween

Gully Boy (2019)

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

VERDICT – 4/5

 
PROS –
1) Grand debut for Siddhant Chaturvedi as MC Sher. Confirmed Best Supporting Actor in either National or Filmfare award.
2) Great soundtrack with “real” hip-hop music.
3) Vijay Raaz and Alia Bhatt delivered as expected.
4) The best aspect of this movie will remain its Cinematography by Jay Oza

 

CONS –
1) 8 Mile (2002) Bollywood redux. Generic rags to riches story.

 

QUOTE –
“kabhi aapne socha hai ki shayad aap galat sochtey hain, ki aapne apni akkhi zindagi bita di ek jhooth ko maanke”

Suicide Squad (2016)

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

VERDICT – 1/5

 

PROS –
1) Batman and Flash cameo
2) Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn poured her heart and soul in this role.
3) “Sucker for Pain” (Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Imagine Dragons.

 
CONS –
1) Putting iconic songs randomly throughout the movie is not a great move, it’s rather annoying.
2) Bunch of bad guys on a govt. mission to stop an ancient witch with powers on par with Dr. Manhattan.
3) So Enchantress can teleport from one part of the world to the other within seconds, destroy satellites in space and cut warships in half with her magical powers but can’t beat the Suicide Squad in hand-to-hand combat? She can read anyone mind and disillusion anyone into believing the impossible but she wasn’t able to know Harley Quinn’s mediocre plan to backstab her?
4) Jared Leto as The Joker: let’s forget this ever happened in DC Universe.

 

QUOTE –
Harley Quinn: Love your perfume. What is that? The stench of death?

The Man from Nowhere (2010)

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

VERDICT – 2/5

 
PROS –
1) A Korean ex-secret service agent living a reclusive life, got John Wick-ed to save a little girl.
2) Treat for fans of movies like Taken (2009) and John Wick (2014).

 
CONS –
1) No extraordinary action sequences. One time watch.

 
QUOTE –
Tae-Sik Cha: How many cavities you have?
Man-seok: What?
Tae-Sik Cha: I have a pawn shop… and I take gold teeth. I take the gold teeth… and chew all the rest.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

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

VERDICT – 4/4

 
PROS –
1) An immortal classic novel adapted by Disney with an alternate and happy ending. Adapting a huge novel into a 90 minutes long musical animation is a triumph itself.
2) Frollo’s song “Hellfire“. Through this song, his entire character is summarised.
3) The primary theme of the movie remains racism and immigration.
4) Quality animation, fast screenplay, and apt soundtrack.

 
CONS –
N/A

 

QUOTE –
Quasimodo: SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!

Office Uprising (2018)

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

VERDICT – 1/5

 
PROS –
1) A good story with great potential wasted due to a weak screenplay and lack of star-cast.

 
CONS –
1) A zombie comedy trying to recreate the magic of Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009) but can’t catch up due to weak screenplay and direction.
2) Except for Karan Soni, the entire cast is disappointing. Brenton Thwaites in the lead makes no sense.

 
QUOTE –
Adam Nusbaum: Desmond, don’t be too sad. We have a killer severance package.