Star Wars: The force awakens

A defector storm trooper and a scavenger team up with Han solo and Chewie to stop The First Order (remnant of the Empire) from laying hands on a map that leads to Luke Skywalker, the only remaining Jedi knight. For those of you who grew up in the 80s/90s watching the Star Wars prequels, this is a reunion with your favourite characters and for the others, its a chance to meet them. Watch this sequel, you must! Else missing something, you are...

Spectre

The Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion needs to be stopped and Bond gets a message from Emma from beyond the grave asking him to do exactly that. Peppered with the high adrenaline chases and action added with Christoph Waltz's portrayal of yet another maniacal kingpin, this movie is a good watch if u don't layer it on the storyline and screenplay of Skyfall, coz it falls short of Spectreacular as hyped. Even the two stars who can get ur pulse high, the Aston Martin DB10 and Ms.Bellucci have only a cameo role. But nevertheless, it is a Bond movie! 

Bridge of Spies

A  New York lawyer James Donovan is given the unenviable task of defending Rudolf Abel, a Russian spy against conviction. Becoming the item of ridicule and contempt for representing a traitor, he finds redemption in the mission to rescue a US pilot who was downed when flying a secret recce mission over the Soviet Union by negotiating an exchange with the Russians. With Tom Hanks playing Donovan and the direction by Spielberg, you can expect nothing less than an engrossing account of the events in play! A good watch...

The Walk

Philippe Petit, a French born daredevil makes it his life's ambition to surpass all tight-rope walkers and sees that ambition taking shape in the void between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in NY. Based in the 70s, Petit supported by his 'crew' pull off the coup. Joseph Gordon Levitt does all justice to Petit's character ably supported by the pretty Charlotte Le Bon and the suave Ben Kingsley. Zemeckis's impeccable direction and screenplay leaves you gripping your chair and breathing heavy when Petit descends onto the wire to complete his feat! This one is a Must watch...

Talvar

Found it to be a perfect portrayal of the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, especially after reading Avirook Sen's Aarushi. A straight cut double homicide that got so botched up that the parents of the kid are rotting in jail while the killers are on the loose; only because the entire establishment, cops, doctors, the coveted CBI and judges included are appallingly corrupt and inefficient that they are wanting of not only professional competence but also psychiatric help! Makes one question this farce of a democracy we r living in. That said and done, a real engrossing watch. 

The Martian

What if you are stuck alone in a place and help is 140 million miles away? This incomprehensible situation is what is faced by astronaut Mark Watney. Surviving on Mars-grown organic potatoes, other rations and pure will to survive he manages to rescue himself in a daring rescue mission hatched by his team. With Matt Damon in the lead role this one is the next big one from Ridley Scott after Gladiator. A compelling entertainer, it is a must watch!

The Maze Runner : Scorch Trials

From WCKD is good to WCKD is bad...Thomas and his team realise that the organisation World in Catastrophe:Killzone experiment Department which saved them from the Maze is the one they have to fight. All said and done, the plot is an amateur version of Resident Evil, which happens to be the mother of all zombie movies. So give it a pass or get a download.

Black Mass

An FBI agent in Boston decides to 'hire' out an Irish mobster as an informant to tackle the Italian mafia in town and gets so embroiled in the relation until it becomes too late to realize that he was the one who got 'hired' by the mobster to realize his ulterior motives. Johnny Depp does a good role as Jimmy Bulger the mobster but the movie doesn't stand up to the hype of the 4.5 star rating assigned to it. Its just another gangster movie.

Everest

"Human beings simply aren’t built to function at the cruising altitude of a 747.Our bodies will be literally dying." This quote sums up the enormity of summiting the Everest. You can only take a one way ticket to Everest. She decides whether you will live to book a return ticket. The movie captures this in lucid detail and the brilliant screenplay will give one a feel of summiting the peak. Great watch! 

PEs - Phantom

I thought Kabir Khan's directing prowess would be sufficient to pull this movie through, but apparently not. The movie moves at a slow pace and it is too late by the time the action picks up. Further, it doesn't do justice to Hussain Zaidi's book Mumbai Avengers, at all! I guess Neeraj Pandey did a far better job with the plot when he shot Baby...so its just an ok watch!

PEs - Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation

The IMF meets its match in the Syndicate, an organisation as well funded and resourced as the IMF intending to change the course of the world at any cost, an anti IMF. Ethan Hunt and his crew is joined by a sexy Brit agent in this mission to bring the Syndicate down. Thrilling from the start to the end, this is one movie you do not want to miss. If u choose to accept this mission, please buy tickets immediately for the movie! This comment will self destruct in 5 seconds!

PEs - Ant Man

Imagine leading the most resilient and efficient army on earth, an army of ants! Now that is a concept which is interesting without dispute. When a master innovator gets alienated by his own protege who is bent on becoming the most powerful man on earth irrespective of the havoc he may create, he recruits a thief to stop the latter. Armed with a super-suit that allows him to shrink to the size of an ant, the thief helps the master innovator and in the process wins some redemption in his personal life. With the VFX keeping you glued to the screen and Michael Pena tickling your funny bone through the length of the movie, this is a must watch!

PEs - Baahubali : the beginning

Leave home the hype and go watch this movie. Not-withstanding the commercial storyline, the abrupt sprouting of romance and an even more abrupt ending for wait of the sequel, it is a visual treat because the VFX was done by the best in the industry. Rajamouli definitely has a trademark uniqueness to all his releases and with this movie, its the scale of everything. All in all a good watch...

PEs - Terminator - Genysis

When Arnie said "I will be back" in the superhit Judgement Day, he probably foresaw the making of Genysis. The old man still packs a punch with his quirky one liners and wry sense of humour! The resistance and Skynet each send their terminators from the past and the future for the final showdown. A gud watch... Watch out for the encore of the "I Will Be Back" in this sequel!

PEs - Jurassic World

John Hammond's dream of a theme park comes true with the Isla Nublar off the coast of Costa Rica. But the lab techs in their enthusiasm create a genetically modified Dino, the notorious Indominus Rex which runs amok and has to be reigned it by a gud ol' T-Rex and a few Velociraptors....if you liked the original, you will be Spielberged by this one too and of course the original music score from John Williams is still captivating!

PEs - Dil Dhadakne Do

A dysfunctional family goes on a cruise holiday along with their friends and in the process realizes that money, fame, societal status and the opinion of others need to be thrown out of the window to bring in any semblance of normalcy into their lives. With all actors doing their roles well with a standout performance from Shefali Shah and the 'narrative' provided by a sober bulldog by the name of Pluto, this is a good popcorn watch...

PEs - San Andreas

A rescue pilot braves the odds to save his family from a mega earthquake that strikes San Francisco...theme is 2012ish and cliched but you may watch this movie for the SFX effects which are awesome.....as for Dwayne Johnson fans, you cant miss a movie when you smelllll what the Rock is cooking! ;)

PEs - Tanu weds Manu: Returns

An absolute treat from Kangana after Queen and that too in double role. In this sequel Tanu and Manu need to separate ways to come together again. Good supporting roles by Madhavan as the rule abiding honourable Manu and Jimmy Shergill as the rough and tough Bobban. However,  if there is one character which comes equal to Tanu's that is Pappi played immaculately by Deepak Dobriyal, who will tickle your funny bone throughout the length of the movie. Spiced up with powerful yet hilarious dialogues, this is a must watch!

PEs - Mad Max : Fury Road

Mad Max : Fury Road - Lot of sand, metal, fire and action! If you have seen Mel Gibson's 1979 original, you may be left wanting for more. You will also realise the villain is played by Hugh Keays Byrne in both movies. 36 years apart! Somehow Charlize Theron overshadows Tom Hardy who plays 'Mad Max' in the latest flick. So they may have as well named it Mad Maxine or something ;)

PEs - Piku / Bombay Velvet

Piku - though the theme revolves around constipation and the dialogues around shit, the movie is far from it. This motion definitely portrays some real life emotions. When these emotions are acted out by the veterans Big B and Irrfan and Deepika who has definitely come of age over her past coupla movies, this is a real good watch. It also falls bang inside the mature-movie-goers genre.


Bombay Velvet - she is beautiful yet dirty, vulnerable yet dangerous, full of hope yet a shatterer of hope, she seduces with her promise of making big - she is the city of dreams - Mumbai. Another story of a man's ambition to make it big in the big city and how he gets sucked into the cesspool of power and finally gets chewed up and spat out by the same city. Though Ranbir plays the role well, the movie fails to hit a note and is just an OK watch.

PEs - Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Avengers come together to save the world from an evil plan of destruction hatched by Ultron, the supervillain robot bestowed with artificial intelligence. They are joined by Vision as well as the Maximoff twins in this sequel....packed with action and humour from the beginning till the end, this is one theatre hollering film you do not want to miss!

PEs - Byomkesh Bakshi

Set in the World War II era Calcutta, Byomkesh dives into a murder mystery only to realise that he has unraveled a far larger scheme. Leave aside the comparisons with the original TV series and this is quite an engrossing watch. Dibakar Banerjee could have however left out the Tarantino-ish sequence in the end.

PEs - Fast and Furious 7

Fast and Furious 7 - what a class action movie! They go that extra mile or two on those stunts on this one and as if the current star cast is not enough, they bring in Jason 'high octane' Statham and that too in a negative role. While Tyrese Gibson gives you lot of laughs, the last scene as a dedication to Paul Walker was really touching! #PaulWalker, you will always remain our fast and furious champ!

PEs - Run All Night

A retired hitman is forced to take up his gun again when his son and his family are threatened by his ex-boss. Though the theme is a Liam Neeson cliché, you will want to hit the theatres for this one just to catch his screen presence. If you are a Hollywood villain, you should NOT mess with Neeson’s character or his family, because he will hunt you down, find you and kill you!

PEs - The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

In continuation of the first part, this sequel is about how Sonny the zealous proprietor of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a hotel where the retired can spend their last days juggles his hotel expansion plans and wedding plans. However, with the hurdles he faces and the help which he gets from his existing clientele, the tone changes from the end of days to the beginning of days. When weathered actors are cast together, one can only expect good entertainment. With the characters of Maggie Smith and Judi Dench trading some jabs in good humour which will pull  quite a few laughs and those portrayed by Bill Nighy and Richard Gere being the hopeless romantics and the rest of the characters trying to put their lives in perspective, this one is a feel good movie. 

PEs - Wild Card / Focus

Wild Card – A bodyguard who tries to avenge the wrong done to his good lady friend by a thug realises that he has gone a feet too long into the Vegas mob world, but manages to come out unscathed.   With the most high octane and sazzy Jason Statham in the lead role, one would expect a high octane entertainer. Unfortunately, one is disappointed with the storyline falling to bits a little while into the movie with even Statham’s high powered action sequences, all five minutes of it, failing to rescue the movie. This one you may conveniently avoid.

Focus – Story of a con artist who takes an amateur con girl under his tutelage, until the chemistry between them forges into romance and he is forced to abruptly part ways with her. Their paths however cross again, when the conman takes up an assignment in the sexy lively city of Buenos Aires which catches our man afoot, with the story developing into a con within a con! With Will Smith flashing his usual confident, cool self as the master of deception and Margot Robbie playing the femme fatale, this one is a good watch. 

PEs - Whiplash

Whiplash - you can push a person to do something better...or from better to almost perfect...but if you push further, the person will reach the brink of perfection and the beginning of insanity! This movie portrays such a story where a young drummer aspires to be the best and is pulled into a jazz band by a master conducter, whose methods to extract the best from a pupil are outright ludicrous...J.K.Simmons excels in his role as the teacher who pushes the young drummer from passion to obsession! A real good watch...

Popcorn evenings

Theory of Everything - What a movie to start the Oscar season with! I said this last year for Silver Linings Playbook and I reiterate - Portraying emotions is the most difficult act. Eddie Redmayne has done a killer job with ample support from Felicity Jones....to top it all it shows us not just how strong a theoretical physicist Hawking is but also how strong a man he is.

The Imitation Game - a treat for all Cumberbitches (read: Benedict Cumberbatch fans), the narrative itself is captivating...another fantastic biopic on an eccentric professor who changed the course of World War II...with the underlining that normal people can't accomplish the fantastic!

American Sniper - if you take the politics, strategy and reason out of war it is just a mindless, abhorrent hell that nobody wants to be a part off. This film displays how much war affects a soldier, more so psychologically than physically, that he gets sucked into it with an over-zealous sense of duty and an insatiable addiction! Something which was portrayed in the movie Hurt Locker too. A sniping good watch.

Birdman - its very difficult to make a black comedy that ticks and this one is just that. Very well made with killah performances from Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.

Foxcatcher - story of a wrestler who tries to come out of the shadow of his popular wrestler brother and in the bargain falls for the 'money and fame' carrot dangled by a whimsical psycopath billionaire. If anybody thought Rosamund Pike and Jake Gyllenhaal psyched you out in Gone Girl and Nightcrawlers, then watch Steve Carrell in this wink emoticon bet u'll get shocked by the climax

Kingsman : the secret service - mix half a glass of James Bond and half a glass of Jason Bourne..shake well..add a generous pinch of humour. U get this movie...and what's a spy thriller without Brit humour in it supplemented by Samuel L Jackson's cocky presence....a real fun watch.