koustav_net's Reviews

Marriage Story (2019)

9/10

9 December 2019

Warning: Spoilers

Marriage Story - Probably the most real, honest and heartfelt movie seen in this year. I remember being completely smitten by Scarlett Johansson ever since I saw her in Woody Allen's Match Point, but, then again, never considered her to be anything more than a decent actor. And as for Adam Driver, never considered him anything. Probably, Logan Lucky was his only movie which I barely liked. Had it not been for the glowing reviews, I might've skipped this one too.

So, despite MS not being my first choice to watch on a Friday Night, I reluctantly gave in to the reviews and was prepared as well to feel little underwhelmed with the final product, as it happens to me most of the time.

But this one got me from it's unconventional opening scene itself, where each of the character's voiceover sharing all the positive things about their respective partner that made them fall in love in the first place. And the movie begins.

Honestly, I never knew Scarlett Johansson can ACT and I mean ACT this good. Was simply blown away with the plethora of emotions she portrayed and that too without ever going over the top.

And, then there is Adam Driver, if Scarlett Johansson was great, then he was out of the world. His character was selfish, arrogant and demanding. And yet, never in the movie his flaws were sugarcoated to gulp down the audiences' throat. People are flawed and this movie is as real as it's characters. There's a scene where his character breaks down, and weeps uncontrollably with an equally broken down Johansson consoling him. That, to me, is the performance of the year. Then again, we have Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck as well this year.

This ultimately is the poignant tale of a NYC couple going through a divorce in LA and how they both cope up with the new changes, lawyers, courts, judges & dealing with their respective professions and still maintain their sanity for their only son, builds the simple premise.

Though I don't think the movie will find the appreciation from all corners as it's on a very serious subject devoid of any entertainment, but those, looking for really good and sensible dramas, should certainly look it up.

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The Office (2005–2013)

10/10

It keeps growing on you

3 November 2019

Netflix kept on suggesting me The Office for years and I kept on ignoring it.. reasons being - not a big fan of documentary typed film making & I literally didn't know anyone apart from Steve Carell from the cast. And then, Quiet Place happened & I started following up on John Krasinski's works and finally, as strongly recommended by a friend, I gave it a shot. Though initially it took me some time to get used to the jarring camera works and all the weird characters doing weird actions, but once I went pass the initial hiccups, I simply couldn't stop. The show has innumerable wonderful and warm moments throughout, but it's always the ending that makes or breaks a show.. And the way this show concluded, takes it to my all time fav endings along with Breaking Bad and Friends. I went into it expecting to love Krasinki's Jim and Carell's Scott but I ended the show gushing about Wilson's Dwight Kurt Schrute.. As Jim says, he pulled the Best Prank ever in the season finale that's sure to melt your hearts.

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Fan (I) (2016)

7/10

The Movie which unearths the ACTOR SRK.....finally

16 April 2016

After a long time, finally a SRK movie that propelled me to take some time out and write up a post.

To begin with, FAN, by no means is a perfect and flawless movie (more on that later), but what the movie has successfully achieved is to unearth the untapped ACTOR out from the catacombs of mediocrity that has thus hindered the transition of THE STAR to an ACTOR.

Director Maneesh Sharma, who also claims to be a big SRK fan himself, surely knows that the general audience wants to see more than rhythmic extension of arms from the MAN who once gave extremely nuanced and balanced portrayals in Swades and CDI. And hereby comes the movie FAN which can be any actor's dream role. From an uncouth and lovable Gaurav Chandana to a shrewd, realistic Aryan Khanna, it was hard to imagine that the same actor did play both the characters and that too with so much attention to detail. There are quite a few scenes that leaves you in awe of the exemplary display of Acting and makes you wonder "where was this SRK hiding for so long?" Kudos to the Director for taking this bold step of making the movie without any songs, heroines or as a matter of fact any comic scenes as well. It is just one man show from beginning to end laced with some superlative performance.

Now coming to the flip side, at least for me, are the 3 exceptionally well designed and seemingly never-ending chase sequences which somewhat dilutes the impact. But again I see others really praising those sequences (so it depends on the taste I assume). Another glaringly noticeable point is the contrastingly different approaches to handle the 1st and 2nd halves. In the first half, the makers tried to keep the narrative as much close to reality as possible but in the 2nd half, Maneesh Sharma played it to the gallery where logic takes a backseat, but the sequences concerned are certainly thrilling and creepy enough to keep you glued to your seats.

Lastly the climax which might receive extreme opinions, but I personally loved the ending.

To conclude, this is not one of the best performance of SRK, rather his career best performance. And the movie might not earn big bucks because of its dark, grim and creepy undertones but will surely earn the love of moviegoers.

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Tamasha (2015)

8/10

The movie that grows on you..slowly

26 November 2015

Love aaj kal has always been my favorite Imtiaz Ali movie, and now Tamasha comes to the 2nd spot. The movie demands patience, especially in the initial 30 minutes where things seemed so apparently abrupt, abstract, incoherent and too a certain extent weird. But everything falls into place soon enough and narration starts moving at a brisk pace traveling from Corsica to Kolkata to Delhi to Simla and finally culminating in Tokyo. And at a point in the narration you want that incoherence and that weirdness to take over the mundane lives of our central protagonists.That initial 30 minutes made so much sense then. When the first look was released, it left me deeply disappointed (probably because of my high expectations from any Imtiaz Ali movie), but as they say, never judge a book by its cover or even by its opening 30 minutes (in this case). The movie wholly and solely belongs to Ranbir Kapoor with DP also pitching in with a fine and nuanced performance. But overall it was a RK show throughout, and he has given a very deserving award-worthy performance, no two opinions on that. As the movie tag line says "Why always the same story?" and Imtiaz Ali has ensured this isn't a same story, though parallels can be drawn to Wake Up Sid to a small extent.

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Chennai Express (2013)

7/10

Chennai Express - Anything but Mindless

8 August 2013

‎ChennaiExpress‬ - The movie delivered what promised and that is sheer ENTERTAINMENT.

Since it was a Rohit Shetty movie, I entered the theater having a mindset of seeing those illogical stunts and gravity defying action, but I was really surprised to see a "toned" down Rohit Shetty in this movie. Yes there were few action scenes here and there, but it was not very "over the top" as was synonymous with a Shetty movie. For me, I will not tag it as a complete "no brainer mindless masala flick", as it surely isn't.

Coming to acting, SRK's comic timing was impeccable even when he was hamming through the scenes, it was done with a purpose, but finally it was Deepika Padukone who stole the hearts with her endearing performance. And did I mention it was funny, rather hilarious at times.

A complete Family Entertainer.

Those who don't feel laughing their hearts out won't hurt their intellect, will surely love this movie

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Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

8/10

One of the year's best.....!!!!

13 November 2012

Jab Tak Hai Jaan - In a time dominated by South Indian remakes and illogical stunts comes a movie that is so refreshingly different from those mindless sagas. A movie that connects to that Old World charm and beauty of a special feeling called Love. A movie that will make you feel good about life and gives you hope about love. Though an Love Story on the surface, the movie has its own layers of emotional undercurrent running from its inception till the last frame.

And The Great Yash Chopra is not called a LEGEND just like that, he justified his legendary status yet again with a MASTERPIECE.

And there is no match for SRK when it comes to intense roles. He excelled in a role tailor made for him only. When MR Bachhan calls his' act as "THE BEST" after Swades, who are we to comment on that. Still, I believe this movie will not appeal to all, as not everyone is born with a good taste and we can't help it.

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Shanghai (2012)

7/10

A different piece of story telling....

10 June 2012

Shanghai – Moments before entering the theatre, few questions that kept on lingering in my mind.Can Dibakar Banerjee live upto the hype that is surrounding Shanghai? How will the Hashmi – Deol combination look on screen? How will Bumba Da (Prosenjit) perform in a Hindi movie and above all, "Will I like it?"

10 mins into the movie and you know thisone is not the kind of movie we are too accustomed with or rather, I should say, comfortable with. At the onset itself, the movie throws at us an array of diverse characters coming from varied strata's of society with their own motives and own propagandas, keeping the audiences guessing about the significance of those characters. One incident and all the characters started falling into place as the story progresses. With a good amount of time dedicated towards character build ups, the story moves at a snail's pace in the first half, but nevertheless, setting up a premise for a more gripping second half to unravel the mystery.

And, the second half does live up to that, but the director plays it subtly, rather very subtly. With none of the characters going overboard or no such "big inspiring" speeches on corruption, the film gets as much real as possible and giving enough screen time to the characters to showcase their acting skills. And what sets this movie apart from the crowd, the way as an audience one will have to take participation to solve the mystery, the director never says it at your face, one just need to decipher it, and this is where the movie succeeds as well as falters. Some might like it, many more might dislike and few others like me are still asking, "Did I like it?", but more than being a good or bad movie, it is an important movie.

Acting wise, the performances are top notch. Emraan Hashmi came up with one of his best performance, shredding away from his cool urban image and getting into the uncouth & rustic skin of Jogi - Exceptional. Followed by Abhay Deol, restrained and excellent is the word to describe his act, though his tamil accent was not consistent throughout (one scene calling enquiry as "yenquiry" and next scene again back to "enquiry"). Sadly, Bumba da's (Prosenjit) role was too short to be judged. Kalki also did a decent job, on the lines of her previous movies.

And what the movie preaches.however corrupt our systems are, however crimes are committed in the name of development, we will always keep on chanting "Jai Bharat Mata Ki Jai"

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Ishaqzaade (2012)

9/10

Unexpectedly exceeded the expectations...

24 May 2012

Ishaqzaade....Had limited expectations from this movie....So opted to skip this one (a rarity for me, indeed), but NO IPL MATCH and boredom was the prime reason that forced me to watch this movie....and boy, I was simply bowled over in those 2hrs, which actually compelled me to watch the movie again.....!!!!!

Coming to the movie, it was like a breath of fresh air....may be the storyline can draw some criticism owing to its "old wine in new bottle" theme(though the director tried his best to spice up the proceedings with some really well written twists and turns), but more than the story, it was the portrayal of the two principle characters that deserves the brownie points....May be we have come across various love stories, but the love story shown here is way different than the others....reason? The innocence and the immaturity of the two young college going teens (one in the 3rd year, another in the 1st year for 5 years) initially pitted against each other and eventually falling in a love-hate-anger-care bond is what makes the characters so identifiable and relate-able....their interactions, their reactions and the repercussions makes u, as a audience cringe for them....and whilst the movie reaches its crescendo, how these characters while discussing their love for chemistry lab or discussing their future life, eventually emerges as the true ishaqzaades is where the movie is notches above the others in the same genre.....

Acting wise, Parineeti Chopra proved that she belongs to an altogether different league of performers with her feisty performance, with eyes that emote anger and vengeance to the same eyes emoting unconditional love in the next scene shows her versatility as an actress....if not better, then in the same bracket of Vidya's Kahaani Act....!!!!! And regarding Arjun kapoor, may be he was not at par with Miss Chopra if acting skills are concerned, but he filled up this void with his adorable charm(smile) and terrific screen presence.....Together they were sizzling....!!!!

And this movie is incomplete without its unconventional music.....Pareshaan, Afaton ke parinde & Ishaqzaade title track are the pick of the lot....with the picturisation of the title track deserves a special mention though very similar to the picturisation of raabta track from Agent Vinod....

Overall a very good movie, if not great....!!!!! Worth a watch for sure......!!!!!! :) :)

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Jannat 2 (2012)

8/10

Pleasantly Surprised.....!!!!!!

8 May 2012

Jannat 2....Going by the trailers, did not have much expectations from it barring the songs....but was pleasantly surprised with what unfolded on the screen.... Started on a rather sluggish note, but did not waste much time to come to the point and from there onwards, it was one helluva ride with some really unexpected and sudden twists and some heavy mouthed "seeti maar" dialogues....if the Interval hits u like a thundering bolt, wait for the climax (never seen such a climax in any movie thus far, hence bound get mixed reactions) And after a point, the drama gets so intense, that few of the really nice songs in the post interval portion seems to be a hindrance to the fast-edgy narrative.... Though promoted as an Emraan Hashmi movie, do watch out for Randeep Hooda....TERRIFIC and it is this Hashmi-Hooda chemistry that took the movie to an altogether different level....LOVED their camaraderie....!!!!! The climax-personally I loved such an unconventional and "never seen before" climax, but still it is bound to get mixed response.... Overall, its surely worth a watch, overlooking few of the blemishes....

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Don 2 (2011)

8/10

Slick Stylish and better than its prequel

28 January 2012

Warning: Spoilers

Before starting with my review, I want to mention that I have watched Don 2 more than once and my review would have been different if I had written this after my first viewing. More on this later. The first look of the movie when released, garnered extremely positive vibes among the movie goers and so the expectations were pretty high. Moreover Farhan Akhtar was coming back behind the camera after a long 5 years with the sequel of an already super hit remake of Don. So nothing short of a blockbuster was expected. So did the movie meet the expectations????

FIRST HALF ANALYSIS:- To begin with, the movie started off with a bang with one of the best entry sequences filmed in the recent times. And from then onwards it was one helluva roller coaster ride till the point of interval. I have seen many reviews describing the 1st half as slow and boring, but here I beg to differ with all of them. The first half was laced with some awesome moments and dialogs which are sure to draw claps whistles and it did too.

Few of the notable sequences in the first half:-

1. Don's Entry scene followed by the scene he gets himself arrested

2. Don's escape from the Jail

3. The interaction between Don, Vardhan and Ayesha inside the car where he was explaining his intentions/plans (Mind blowing)

4. Hrithik sequence followed by one of the best car chases

5. Interaction with Kunal Kapoor(extremely well written witty lines)

6. 300 feet building jump and then the scene having Don the upper hand on Jabbar and gang.

And within these sequences, dialogs deserve a special mention and takes the movie to a new high. The first half basically builds up for an even more exciting 2nd half.

SECOND HALF ANALYSIS:- The second half begins with Kunal Kapoor explaining the minute technicalities related to Don's plans and this is where it is ahead of its contemporary Bollywood movies. So much importance has been given on the detailing part, that takes the movie to a different league. Now from here till the pre climax portions, it is the execution of that well thought out plan. Now the director takes the front seat, giving a very westernized feel to the movie and giving all the characters an equal importance. So far so good. But here comes the flip side(?), the Don-Roma romantic track and Don's sudden change of heart, which i felt was a sore thumb to an otherwise excellent movie. But then comes yet another unexpected twist in the tale giving a justification to everything. But still I was not convinced fully. Now when I watched it for the second time knowing the climax/story, all my apprehensions, the romantic track and Don's sudden change in behavior everything fell in place like a jigsaw puzzle and I am now compelled to tag it as a MASTERPIECE in terms of story telling.

Few of the notable sequences in the second half:-

1. Yeh hai maya track in the background

2. The entire execution of the plan (Excellent)

3. The interaction between Don and Roma (humorous and witty)

4. The fight sequences, very classy and believable

5. The Climax explaining the missing links(Unexpected)

PERFORMANCES:-

SRK: The life of this movie with a livewire/electrifying performance. To play a larger than life character and mouthing similar heavy cinematic dialogs with such charisma, flair and disdain showed his range as an actor. Special mention of the scene where he threatened the German police sitting by the window side and asking the helicopters to bug off, "Its spoiling the mood, sweetheart" EXCEPTIONAL.

PRIYANKA: Not too much scope though, but she justified her character torn in between the fine line of hating-loving Don.

BOMAN IRANI: Again a class act from an class Actor. Stupendous as the villain. Especially the last action scene. FABULOUS.

Kunal Kapoor, Nawab Shah & Aly Khan: Equally important characters with respect to the story and performed really well.

MOVIE: One of the best coming out of Bollywood in 2011. Excellent story telling, Great cinematography, Stupendous Acting and most importantly a fast paced action thriller without giving importance to sub-plots and unnecessary songs.(Only one song and one back ground track) If you ask me about the music it is apt for a movie of this genre, but if you compare it with the previous Don, the title track of the previous one was more catchy.

Now what makes it better than its prequel? The reason we loved Don(2006) was more than the story(because the story was known to every one) it was the unexpected superbly filmed Climax which came as a bolt to all who were expecting a remake with similar ending. But in Don 2, from the onset itself, we were expecting a twist to come and to live up to that expectation and deliver another unexpected twist is nothing short of a masterstroke from Farhan Akhtar. It deserves nothing short of 9 out of 10 and waiting for DON 3.

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