Luka Chuppi

New and nice casting, unique theme for a story, fitting religious locations & the right ingredients spiced correctly for a rom com. While the courting seemed to be too short to believe (like in Barfi), it seems to be rightly edited because there is much more in the tale than just courting. The characters involved are perfect too - for a middle class family. Well worth a watch.
Rating: Good

Dongaata

A con movie. Nice, flashy, entertaining, light-hearted. Takes frequent twists that almost makes it edge-of-the-seat but somewhat lacks a little punch to push it to the must-see category. Nevertheless a good enough movie to watch with the family. The last few scenes takes things beyond what could be considered as humanly possible - but then have to give a benefit of doubt to the movies!
Language: Telugu
Rating: Good

Andhadhun

Wow, what a movie! And thats how I always begin my "must-see" movie reviews! And its just not a ritual, these are the exact words that come out of me when I am watching! And this movie is a stunner out of nowhere! Agree, I had heard that it had won the Best background score and best cinematography (amongst other things) - both of which I have to concur, but if I were the judge, I would have given the Best Movie award too! Superb narration, unbelievable plot that kept thickening and thickening with twists and turns every few minutes, and multiple back-stabbings! Gosh, one has to see it to believe it - till the very last scene! Hats off to the entire crew!
Rating: Must-see

Naa Ninna Mareyalare

A lazy Saturday afternoon. Watched a Rajkumar movie with relatives. A waste of time, actually. Not an entertainer nor of any value. But apparently a blockbuster which ran for 25 weeks in the theatres! Perhaps because it resonated with the then love affairs between the "high & mighty" and the not-so...
Rating: Average

Casino

Saw a Robert De Niro & Joe Pesci movie after a long time. When the credits came, realized the heroine was Sharon Stone! Well, the movie didn't impress me that much. The ending is typical of what happens to the bad guys. Character portrayal was still good - as to how Sharon was so much into money and Robert's acting was superlative. The only distinction in how this movie was made is the narrative was not just of one person but of two and sometimes more. That's what made this movie interesting. And, that it is based on a true-story, of course.
Rating: Average

Double Dhamaal

Not that much of an entertainer as seen in the prequel nor the sequel. Nevertheless the plot, as expected, is thick, and filled with loopholes filled with humour although it doesn't generate much laughter. Barely watchable. Dialog is at times rib-tickling like its siblings.
Rating: Average

My Favorite Wedding

A girly movie for the wifey! And as expected, a very pleasanty, smoothy, romantically inclined film. Not too boring, nor much of an entertainer. Good casting & locations. Worth a simple watch.
Rating: Good

Idiocracy

A tale set in 2505 on how humanity would have degenerated & how dumb people would have become. Its humourous. Scarily close to reality - almost has a 50% chance of becoming true! And for that, one has to see the movie! A well made movie - with crisp & funny portrayals of human dumbness! Strictly for adults, though!
Rating: Good

Dhamaal

Inspired by the Part 3, felt like watching Part 1. But this one was not as great as the one I saw couple of weeks ago. This movie also is on similar lines - with money hidden at a point X and a bunch of them running to get it. The ending is copied flat-out from Rat Race. The comedy was not that much rib-tickling. Felt too much overacting at times. Sitting through the entire movie might get tough but survived through it.
Rating: Average

Eurotrip

Well, been ages since I saw this kind of a teen movie which was more adultish than teenish! It is almost in the same genre as American Pie & other such silly, adulty comedy - nevertheless very light hearted, typical US college-goers' life and a easy-going movie for a weekend afternoon! Plus Europe always adds weightage especially now that we have visited ;-)
Rating: Good

Ulidavaru Kandanthe

Hmm, had seen these kind of movies over a decade ago. 11:14, Crash, Cidade de deus, to name a few. But this one was kind of slower, could've edited a bit more and reduced about 30 minutes. Lots of scenes were taken in slow-motion. But nevertheless, a catchy story of intertwined individuals and some good dialog at times. Too much of weed, alcohol, smoking shown - could've reduced but I guess it was to show the angle of 'mafia'. Setting being Udupi & Malpe made it interesting with local culture shown in great detail. Plus certain scenes shown in very different way - like the first fight scene was more like Batman fight sequences. Nice to see a Kannada movie on similar lines of international genre...
Rating: Good

Total Dhamaal

Felt like watching slapstick, no-brainer, wholehearted comedy movie and came across this - & it fit the bill perfectly. Excellent settings, locations & to an extent, even casting. But the award should go to the Dialog. Astoundingly hilarious & rib-tickling. Pretty much all near-death experiences are captured - falling from a building, from a hanging pillar off a crane, sky-diving, crossing a flooding a river and thereon to falling over a waterfall, almost getting hit by a train, driving over a buckling bridge, flying in a helicopter fitted with a ceiling fan(!) & then falling from it while it burned mid-air, getting bitten by vultures in a desert, getting run-down by a car on fire, driving over a cliff, avoiding a head-on collision with a truck, etc. - extremely humorously portrayed & the list goes on and on until the director feels enough is enough, and suddenly it is the climax scene. The idea, of course, is from the English movie Rat Race (which was inspired from It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) but with Indian masala added to it. All in all, had a great laugh for a lazy Sunday rainy afternoon. Kudos to the crew for churning out a great entertainer. Note how a 4.4/10 on IMDB can actually rate high on HMDB - it is all about when you see what kind of a movie & how! 😉
Rating: Good

RangiTaranga

Wow, what a movie! Its been really long since I started a movie blog like that, isn't it?! The last time was Dec 2016! This one is right up there amongst the all time greats - like Barfi, Lucia, etc. Story is great, makes the audience think in one direction while the story moves in another. Scene one starts off in the middle, hence adds more confusion to the tale - almost making the audience to see the movie once more as soon as it ends because the jigsaws start falling into place one after the other until the very end. It starts off like a scary movie with ghosts and horror scenes, and then a sniff of mystery comes in with a touch of crime. Not much of humor nor a full-blow romance but then that is not the essence of this movie. Because this one is meant to be a thriller. And so it stays till the very end. Great casting, superb location, awesome direction and fantastic story-telling. Definitely must-see! The only sad thing personally was although this is a Kannada movie, I had to see in Hindi-dubbed version 😞

Soorma

Somehow was reluctant to see a sports movie but the 'Based on true story' somehow lured me. And boy, am I glad I saw this movie. An excellent depiction of Sandeep Singh's fascinating story. And equally well made is the movie itself - with all of the typical Bollywood masala. Nice direction, screenplay, acting, casting, etc - all in all, a movie well worth watching.

Rating: Good

Glass

Well, saw a Shyamalan movie after a long time. Last one I saw (I guess) was Unbreakable. Unfortunately I did not know this movie (Glass) was a trilogy (part of Unbreakable, Split, Glass). So I missed most of the plot - but could just about draw the dots. As suspected, a very dark movie - sometimes literally too. Some extreme violence too. Tangential reference to Comic SuperHeroes. Realized not really my kind of movie. Predictable ending. Only great thing about the movie was the dialog of the psychiatrist. Excellent screenplay.
Rating: Average

The 15:17 to Paris

Well, I guess the wiki says it all. "Well-intentioned" but "strained to wring a full-length feature's worth of drama out of [an event] that was over in a few minutes". Most of the movie passes in how a couple of bachelors get to see Europe - very boring. Few scenes on how a wanna-be military man fails miserably in life but yet gets to become a hero - not so boring yet not interesting either. So, once again, a true story which is worth knowing (and highly incredible at that) but not much worth-watching as a movie because it lacks the punch.
Rating: Average

Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran

The movie itself seemed ok-dokey but considering that it is based on true events, it is spectacular even to think how the project got executed under wraps from the "Super Power" USA. So, if one has to see this movie - it is more for the story than the movie. But not to take the credit from John Abraham and party. They have done a decent enough job but it seems too shallow compared to actual characters & events. Watchable once.
Rating: Good

Badhaai Ho

From the time I saw the trailer, I wanted to watch this movie since it seemed like a laugh riot. But the flip side was that the main ingredient (& even the LOL dialog) of the movie was revealed in the trailer itself. So, when I did watch the movie, it was like a joke being told the second time. Yeah, so not really a laugh riot. Yet, the movie is extremely well-made with perfect casting, acting, dialog, story, screenplay, setting & location to suit a real middle class life style. There is an undercurrent of light humor all through - not much with punch to burst into laughter but sufficient to keep a smile on the lips. So, definitely worth a watch.

Rating: Good

Rockstar

Starts off grandly but then falls down steeply and never stops at it. Got a headache watching! Although the story made sense that rockstars cannot have a private life of their own (if I got that right!), it could have been made in much better way. The heroine just didn't know how to act. The hero meeting her on a street immediately after landing in Europe is a scene akin to what we were watching in the 1990s Bollywood. I am really?! Made a big mistake watching this movie.
Rating: Average

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Literally translating to the Needle and the Thread which is the starting point for stitching, this movie is superlative in terms of direction, story, acting, setting (the small house, the small "cycleable-only" streets, etc.) & local costumes (pleasant to see Anushka in saree all through the movie!). Showcasing of the pain-points usually faced by the majority of the lower class families in India (such as the cold climate, the lack of money during hospitalization, the long commute to the office, etc.) is heartwarming while at the same time the little bit of romance of the newlyweds is heart-melting. Dialog is crisp and to the point. Songs don't spoil the theme but is more of a background. All in all, a time well spent on a movie well made!
Rating: Good