The Dark Knight Rises : by Christopher Nolan

As a fan boy ,  I waited and waited for this very day!

2008 , seemed a long time ago , when Joker said 'Why So Serious'.

Now this was really serious , and so was Nolan about his largest magnum opus since 2005.

Begins ...

Falls ...

The Dark Knight Rises!

The film picks up where the events in the second part ended. Harvey Dent got killed and Batman became the fall guy. Gotham city lost a hero and Batman aka Bruce Wayne became a recluse.

The key characters in this edition are so well etched that the audience is sucked into the narrative.

*Alfred played by Michael Caine as the indefatigable butler 

showing his emotional turmoil towards Bruce.

*Lucius Fox played by Morgan Freeman is the gadget-all-done-it-all saviour 

for Wayne Enterprises R&D. 

*Commisioner Gordon played by Gary Oldman is going through 

hell losing both Harvey & Bruce.

*Selina Kyle aka Catwoman played by Anna Hathaway springs a sexy sultry act.

Her repartee with Batman is one of the highlights of the movie.

*Bane played by Tom Hardy is purely physical , intellectual and a devious foe

Joker who was all chaos in ruins , Bane is mean , methodical & superior in strength.

A cross between Hannibal Lector & Sean Connery!

 *John Blake a young GCPD detective played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an idealist

who needs to unravel the mysteries surrounding Bruce Wayne and Gotham City.

*Miranda Tate played by Marion Cotillard is member of board at the Wayne enterprises giving Bruce the much needed support and in process discovering love!

*Christian Bale , as convincing a superhero can get , plays Batman , hardcore.

Pulse of the Trilogy!

Nolan as a director has been so well prepared that a Superhero film is embodied with an in depth  screenplay of such guile & stature.

Dark , grim , anarchy driven.

The Musical score is slam bang to the core.

The Action set pieces are simply jaw dropping

The Characters are so human yet vulnerable.

An Exhilarating Spectacle & Culmination .

An accomplished end to much loved superhero trilogy of all time!

If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal... you become something else entirely. A Legend!

Rating : 4.5/5.0

Cocktail : by Homi Adajania

Cocktail is a story of 3 individuals living together in the City of London

Veronica played by Deepika Padukone

Meera played by Diana Penty

Gautan played by Saif Ali Khan

Statutory Warning !

Pritam's Music

&

Deepika's Hot Quotient

will spin your head in a FRENZY .. this is enough FIZZ in a Cocktail for me

thought it may taste the same as encountered in the past.

Runs out of steam : 2nd Half!

Absolutely Smoking : 1st Half!

Miss Padukone .. Ahem! Ahem! 

Die hard dreamer w.e.f  - NOW!

 

Rating : 3.5/5.0

The Amazing Spiderman : by Marc Webb

Marvel Comics - yet another treat for the fan boys after The Avengers

Here comes the slingy saviour - The Amazing Spiderman!

The character of Peter Parker has always been a fascination for me , a true blue hero yet a human at heart ... very real.

This franchise is a re-boot of the 2002 Sam Raimi classic - Spiderman starring Tobey Maguire.

What a Web of  Action has been woven here !

Andrew Garfield plays Spiderman aka Peter (He has come a long way from The Social Network).

The initial reels of the movie talks about how Peter unravels the secrets of his parents in particular his father's research at the Oscorp lab on cross species genetics!

His dilemma , his confusion , his inner turmoil , unanswered questions makes him unravel more. His transformation post Uncle Ben's murder has been enacted by Andrew to the 'T' , he actually makes Tobey Maguire look amatuerish and dumb in the previous franchise!

Gwen Stacy is introduced for the first time in this series as Peter's love interest at high school. Emma Stone plays Gwen with upmost confidence.

The crackling awkwardeness between Peter Parker and Gwen has been performed exceptionally well by both the actors There are a lot of sweet tender moments which makes this film a lot more human than just another Bad vs Good plot.

Rhys Ifans plays Dr Curt Connors ,  Oscorps leading scientists whose work on regeneration of human tissues is unparalleled. Things don't fall into place for Dr Curt and his experiment goes horribly wrong to turn him into The Lizard!

A word on our very own Irfan Khan , plays Dr. Ratha at the Oscorp and performs well in a not so important role yet he makes his presence felt.

The action in The Amazing Spiderman is pure adrenaline rush - in 3D. Manhattan at night , with the spidey suited Peter slinging from the skyscrapers is pure joy! .. though I would still prefer The Avengers this year!

Marc Webb of (500) Days of Summer fame , was given an oppurtunity to re-boot a successfull fan boy character and he has achieved outstanding results here !

The screenplay is terrific , hardcore super hero , wild , heart pounding , warm!
The background score takes the film to another zone!
The sling is taut , the slinging is pure magic in 3D!

Andrew Garfield is perfectly picked - with power comes responsibility & how!
 
Go for it .. an enthralling web slinging ride !

Rating : 3.5/5.0

Gangs of Wasseypur : by Anurag Kashyap

'Teri Keh Ke Loonga' - says Sardar Khan with malevolence and pain in his eyes seeking vengeance from the lynchpin of Wasseypur- Ramadhir Singh.

Gangs of Wasseypur is an Indian mafia setup in the small town of Wasseypur - part of Dhanbad city. The coal mafia is deep rooted with a cut throat rivalry between the Qureshis & Khans.

The film spans across the early 1940's to the present day context in 2004. Sardar Khan's father is killed when the Ramadhir learns about his ambitions of ruling the coal mines syndicate.

Sardar Khan's shaves his head swearing not grow his hair back till the objective is complete.He rises to become the most feared ganglord with the only aim of finishing Ramamdhir and his empire.

Manoj Bajpai , a superlative actor enacts Sardar Khan with so much spitefullness yet being innocent charming husband. His allurement spells a cast on the women in his life  - wife ( Nagma ) and bahar-wali (Durga) played with enduring gusto by Richa Chadda and Reemma Sen respectively.

The hilarity is the main ingredient of a serious plotline which would have become another Godfather - Sarkar mash up. The dialogues are remarkable with nuances bringing the house down!

The supporting actors revolving around the main protagonist Bajpai completes one of the most virtuoso ensemble cast seen in a decade of hindi cinema -

• Ramadhir Singh -  played by Tigmanshu Dhulia  

          (Director of Sahib, Bibi & Paan Singh Tomar!!)

• Sardar Khan's father  - played by Jaideep Alahwat
• Sardar Khan's youngest son -  played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui

         (Inspector in Kahaani , Bandit in Tomar!)

• Sardar Khan's wife - played by Richa Chadda

          (Dolly from Oye Lucky Lucky Oye!)

• Sardar Khan's guardian - played by Piyush Mishra

Anurag Kashyap's films always had the music inherent to the plotline & Sneha Khanwalker as a composer has done a mind blowing job of moving the narrative a level up -  Track in particular - 'Keh Ke Loongaa'

Bajpai's is the performance of the year by far , Wasseypur scores on its crudeness & mirthfullness!

Badland was never so good!

Rating: 4.0/5.0