Red Notice

"Red Notice"

Watched English movie Red Notice. 

This film is directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Written by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Produced by Beau Flynn, Dwayne Johnson, Rawson Marshall Thurber and others. Music by Steve Jablonsky. Cinematography Markus Förderer. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Gal Godot, Ryan Reynolds, Ritu Arya, Chris Diamantopoulos. The film runs for about 2 hour and was released on 5 Nov 2021. I watched it with Aditi on 27th Nov 2021 on Netflix .

Antony gifted Cleopatra three eggs. Two of them were found and third lost. Based on Bishop's tip, FBI profiler Dwayne comes to know that high profile art thief Ryan is going to steal first of Cleopatra's eggs from the museum in Rome. Interpol agent Das apprehends Ryan, but the egg is stolen nevertheless and needle of suspicion is on Dwayne. 

Can the unlikely partnership between Dwayne and Ryan work? How far will the one up man ship between them and Gal go? Can they find Cleopatra's third egg? How will their story end?

Red Notice is a interpol designation for most wanted criminal.

There is a competition between cons and they are followed by Interpole investigator Das and reluctant runaway Dwayne. It's an action comedy, so there is nonstop action and sprinkling of comedy. However, the action is very good. It's not mindless violence, it's creative. Director handles the story deftly and stays true to the genre of action flick. 

Dwayne does well as profiler who can fight. Gal Godot plays the Bishop, the competing con artist. She's beautiful, however, this movie doesn't capitalize on it much. Ryan is the surprise package. He plays the happy go lucky con very well. His character is adorable. Dwayne and Ryan have good timing for comedy. Ritu Arya has landed an important role and she plays the sincere cop. 

Movie ends with a big twist and start of a new adventure that should be Red Notice 2. I will look forward to it.

Recommend watching,  don't look for meaning. 

Kurup (कुरूप)

"Kurup (कुरूप)"

Watched Hindi movie Kurup (कुरूप). 

This film is directed by Srinath Rajendran. Story by Jithin K. Jose, K. S. Aravind, Daniel Sayooj Nair. Produced by Dulquer Salmaan. Music by Sushin Shyam. Cinematography Nimish Ravi. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Indrajith Sukumaran, Sobhita Dhulipala, Bharath Srinivasan, Tovino Thomas, Shine Tom Chako, Shivajith, Sunny Wyne. The film runs for about 2 hour 35 minutes and was released in Nov 2021. I watched it on Netflix on 23rd Dec 2021 with Aditi.

It's day of retirement of Police Officer Krishnadas. While his retirement ceremony is going on his subordinate stumbles upon a case diary of Kurup. Years ago Kurup returned from Persia to India and faked his death for an 8L policy. Krishnadas is not fooled and a cat and mouse game begins. 

Will Krishnadas catch him? Why does Kurup want to fake his death? Why did Kurup change his name? Can Kurup survive?

To deliver this story director has used the vehicle of Flashback. He uses it liberally. There are even nested flashback. It means flashback within flashback. That's interesting. Director gives a number of small surprises that retain audience interest. His endeavour to end the movie with another big surprise is also successful. 

The story is set in 1970s and 80s. So the art director and cinematographer get a chance to display tricks of their trade. 

There are three main characters. Dulquer plays the title role of Kurup. He acts decently. Sobhita Dhulipala plays his lady love. She has beautiful eyes. Indrajith plays the police officer. He acts well and looks like a police officer. Surprise element is Tovino Thomas. He impresses as a drunkard and liar. 

Biggest flaw? Locals in Persia dress like Arabs and they speak Arabic. How can director miss such a simple thing? This was a glaring blunder, an unacceptable one and unpardonable one. 

I watched the Hindi version of movie with English subtitles. I could not help but notice that the translation was horrible. 

Watch it for a change. 

Bunty aur Bably 2 (बंटी और बबली २)

"Bunty aur Bably 2 (बंटी और बबली २)"

Watched Hindi movie Bunty aur Bably 2 (बंटी और बबली २). 

This film is directed by Varun V. Sharma. Written by Varun V. Sharma. Produced by Aaditya Chopra. Music by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Cinematography Gavemic U. Ary. The film stars Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Sharwari Wagh, Pankaj Tripathi. Guest artists Prem Chopra, Asrani. The film runs for about 2 hour 20 minutes and was released in 2021. I watched it on Amazon Prime on 22nd Dec 2021 with Aditi.

A new pair of con artists is making waves. They call themselves Bunty aur Babli, after famous pair of con artists 15 years ago, who were never captured. The originals are leading a sedentary life. Police officer Jatayu Sing approaches the original pair and enlists them to capture the pretenders. A chase begins. 

Who are new Bunty aur Babli? Will the originals ensnare them? Can the pretenders be captured? How will it end?

The concept of the movie is juicy. Capitalising on the success of the original movie was a commercial matter stroke. On one hand there is a new pair on the block. On the other hand the original pair hasn't lost its mojo. Police are trying to capture all four. The game of one up man ship is on. 

However, for the movie to succeed, it should be better than the original. Alas! It isn't. The movie is a pale shadow of original. It neither has the naughtiness nor the thrill of original. It also fails on the front of excitement, ingenius ideas and anticipation. This movie doesn't have Abhishek Bachchan, so the Bunty Babli chemistry is also missing. Having a director who is also a writer could be an advantage, but when the recipe doesn't come off good, he has to shoulder almost the entire blame. 

Saif tries to fill in Abhishek's shoes but he doesn't succeed. Rani is ok. Siddhant is good. Bollywood has got a new hero. Debutant Sharwari is beautiful. She is a very good dancer too and acts well. She is a star in making. Pankaj Tripathi's talent is wasted. 

Music doesn't have recall value. Cinematography is good. With a portion of story happening in Abu Dhabi and rest in India, cinematographer has got good opportunity and locations.

Disappointing. Give it a miss. 

Holmes & Watson

"Holmes & Watson"

Watched English movie Holmes & Watson. Directed by Etan Cohen. Written by Etan Cohen. Produced by Will Ferrell and others. Cinematography by Oliver Wood. Music by Mark Mothersbaugh. It stars 

Will Ferrel, John C. Reilly, Rebecca Hall, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald, Ralph Fiennes and Lauren Lapkus. I watched this movie on Netflix, on Oct 2021 with Dada. The movie is about 1 hour 30 min long and was released in 2018.

Holmes and Watson discover a corpse in a cake in Buckingham Palace. The corpse holds a note saying that the Queen wil die in 4 days. The work is cut out for Homes and Watson. This has to be a scheme of Prof. Moriarty. Watson wants Holmes to designate him a co-detective.

Holmes and Watson, counter intuitively, are bumbling fools by nature and detective and doctor, respectively, by accident. The entire movie is supposed to be a comedy or dramedy. But it comes out with predictable jokes, uninteresting plot, sloppy action, uninspired direction, poor acting and to top it up, the threat of a sequel.

This movie could not recover its production cost. No wonder it bombed on box office. 

Although I, Dada and Aditi started toi watch this movie, Aditi couldn't tolerate it and walked away to spend her time more meaningfully. 

AVOID

Ankahi kahaniyan (अनकही कहानियाॅ)

"Ankahi kahaniyan (अनकही कहानियाॅ)"

Watched Hindi movie "Ankahi kahaniyan (अनकही कहानियाॅ)". 

This movie is directed by Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Abhishek Chaubey, Saken Chaudhari. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Ashi Dua. Screenplay Piyush Gupta, Hussain Haidry, Shreyas Jain, Zeenat Lakhani and Nitesh Tiwari. Music by Achint Thakkar. Cinematography by Eeshit Narain. This movie stars Abhishek Banerjee, Rinku Rajguru, Delzad Hiwale, Kunal Kapoor, Zoya Hussain, Nikhil Dwivedi and Palomi Ghosh. This movie was released in 2021 and runs for about 1 hour 50 min. I watched the movie on Netflix on 16th Oct 2021 with Aditi.

‘Ankahi Kahaniya’ is an anthology of three short films about unconventional love stories.

In the first short film, Abhijeet works in a garments shop. He is lonely. No friends, no relatives in the city. No one to talk to. One day a lady mannequin comes into his shop and his life changes. He gets someone to talk to, a companion. She evokes a range of emotions in him from awe, sympathy, friendship, love, jealousy. 

Director does well to ensure that this story doesn't come out as perversion.

In second shirt film, Rinku is stuck in a house where she is not appreciated, she is not allowed education. She is attracted to a young man working at the local movie theater. This young man is an orphan brought up by a drunkard. Both lonely, both suffocated. They decide to escape. But the escape is not what you expect.

Director gives a surprise that disorients you until you get the profound meaning of it. 

In third shirt film, Arjun and Natasha are having an affair. Their respective spouses try to find out why all this started and reconstruct how it happened. While doing it they discover something else. 

This story manages to prove the audience wrong on multiple occasions. You expect it to take a certain path, but it doesn't. 

All the three directors do a good job. Abhijeet is too good. Can't imagine anyone else doing this role. Rinku suits the role. Delzad looks like a drug addict. Kunal, we know, is good. Zoya is the surprise packet and she impresses.

This movie follows recent popular trend of presenting a set of short stories, with a common thread, as a movie. The common thread in this movie is unconventional love of lonely persons.

It's a decent effort and a decent watch.

Legally blonde 2

"Legally blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde".

Watched English movie "Legally blonde 2". 

This movie is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. Screenplay by Kate Kondell. Produced by David Nicksay, Mark Platt and others. It stars Reese Whitherspoon, Luke Wilson, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge. Music by Rolfe Kent. Cinematography by Elliot Davis. Film runs for about 1 hour and 36 minutes and was released in 2001. I watched it with Aditi and Dada on 16th Oct 2021 on Netflix.

Elle Wood,  from the original Legally Blonde, suddenly remembers that she has to find the biological mother of her dog. The mother is traced to a medical facility where she is a test subject for a cosmetic company. She asks her release Ahmed is sent away. Elle decides to stop animal testing and relocates to Washington DC. Here she has to fight the government and bureaucracy to get a law passed to prevent animal testing. 

Why must she travel to DC? What kind of law are we talking about? Who will she encounter? Will she and her pink stuff be made fun off in drab DC?

The movie takes off where the previous one ended. Elle is the same despite joining the corporate world. She again uses her beauty therapy and knowledge of cosmetics to get to her goal. She puts compassion above everything else. 

Although this concept is similar to first part, the execution is not as good as the first one. Change of writer, director and cinematographer has taken its toll. It's always too make a sequel because you get little time and the expectations are heightened. 

Reese is good like first movie. Sally does well but appears helpless at times. Others support. Luke has marginal role.

This movie garnered 2.5 times its production cost. So it was a hit on box office but not as successful as the first one.

The guilty

"The guilty"

Watched English movie "The guilty". Direction: Antoine Fuqua. Screenplay: Nic Pizzolatto. Produced by Jake Gyllenhaal and others. Cinematography Maz Makhani. Music by Marcelo Zarvos. It features Jake Gyllenhaal, Adrian Martinez, Christina Vidal and other actors who provided voice over. The movie was released in 2021 and runs for about 1 hour 31 minutes. I watched it on Netflix on 18th Oct 2021 with Aditi.

Joe Baylor is on 911 operator duty. He is a cop but is put on 911 operator duty as a punishment. A mother calls 911 pretending to talk to her daughter. Joe wants to help her. He tries to do everything to save her. 

Joe is going through a difficult time. He is separated from his wife and daughter, there is an impending court case up for verdict the next day that will decide his career and to top it he is facing health issues. 

Rather than doing the job of 911 operator and reporting the emergency to the respective authorities, the cop within him takes over and he coordinates the search and rescue of the victim. 

This is a challenging movie to direct. All the story happens in the 911 call center with almost no outdoor scene. In such a movie, unless the screenplay and direction is gripping, retaining audience interest is difficult. Director does a commendable job. Screenplay is compact. Most important character in this movie is Jake. He does well as the protagonist. He looks good, acts well and portrays the character very well. Second most important character in this movie is phone. Without phones, this movie wouldn't have happened. 

This movie is based on 2018 Danish film by the same name. Since I haven't watched the original film, can't say if this is just a copy of original or if the writer, director and actors have brought something original to it. 

Recommend watching if you like the genre. 

Legally blonde

Mandar's movie review

"Legally blonde".

Watched English movie "Legally blonde". 

This movie is directed by Robert Luketik. Screenplay by Karen McCullah Lutz, Kirsten Smith. Produced by Mark Platt, Rick Kidney. It stars Reese Whitherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair,  Matthew Davies, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge. Music by Rolfe Kent. Cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond. Film runs for about 1 hour and 36 minutes and was released in 2001. I watched it with Aditi and Dada on 21st Sept 2021 on Netflix.

Elle Wood is a blonde, totally into fashion, completing her fashion major. She is in love with Warner and is expecting that he will propose her. But on that day he breaks up with her to go to Harvard Law. She is simply not good enough for him. Jilted, Elle works hard, clears LSAT and joins Harvard law. 

What happens there? Is she taken seriously? Can she cope up with the rigors of law? Does she win Warner back? Is there a court case?

It's an interesting plot, however it's predictable. A girl who has all things pink enters the world of drab law. She is looked down, made fun of, considered just another blonde.  It's an uphill task to make others take her seriously, to establish herself and to convince others that she also has intellect. 

All others see is blonde hair and beauty. Despite having talent, intelligence and keen observation she doesn't get her dues, just because she's blonde. She's determined to prove herself. A case is what it takes for her to dispel all doubts. 

Reese is a perfect choice. As a blonde she is ideal. Needs to work a little bit on her serious side. Luke, Jennifer, Selma, Matthew and Victor play their supporting roles as story requires. 

End of the movie is a little hastened. A time leap of 2-3 years and the movie ends. Some more time wouldn't have harmed. 

This movie was a hit, a commercial succes. It recouped its production cost more than 7 times over. Legally blonde has become a franchise. 2nd movie is released and 3rd is announced. 

Good light movie. Recommend watching.