ARAMM (aka GOOD DEED) (TAMIL) (2017)

Debutante Director Gopi Nayinar narrates an episode in the life of a young and idealistic collector Mathivathani (an excellent Nayantara) who has to deal with a crisis situation involving a kid trapped in a deep bore well.

It is pertinent tale for our turbid times steeped in growing inequalities and institutional apathy especially when dealing with those unfortunate to dwell at the bottom of the pyramid. 

The movie's main strength is its leading lady played by Nayantara who brings an earnest approach to her role. The director is successful in creating an authentic milieu and relatable supporting cast which engages us. On the downside, it gets tedious when it is overtly melodramatic and downright preachy. 

Yet, the sincerity in effort to stand out from the crowd and succeeding to a large extent in flagging issues which are  largely ignored or dumbed down by mainstream cinema is appreciable.

A DECENT WATCH !

RATING - 3/5

THOR - RAGNORAK (ENGLISH) (2017)

Thor Ragnorak is a fun addition to the MCU.

While I liked the dark and serious tone of Civil War, this flick with a healthy dose of humour is more in the mould of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Both Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo sparkle, revelling and discovering the lighter side of the superheroes - Thor and Hulk. Academy award winner Cate Blanchet is rocking as the sinister sister of Thor, Hela.

Kiwi director Taika Waititi comes as a breath of fresh air to the MCU and hopefully would continue to explore new and exciting dimensions along with worthy peers like James Gunn and the Russo brothers.

SOLID BLOCKBUSTER FUN !

RATING - 3.5/5

SECRET SUPERSTAR (HINDI) (2017)

In Secret Superstar, debutante director Advait Chandan presents the story of a school-goer Insiya Malik (Zaira Wasim), who is a talented singer chasing her dream of making it big in the music world. She is hobbled by multiple challenges, prime among them being her conservative and boorish father Farooq (Raj Arjun). Supporting on her uphill journey to realise her dream, are her loving mother Najma (Meher Vij), best friend at school Chintan (Tirth Sharma), a loud & maverick music director Shakti Kumar (Aamir Khan) and YouTube. 

While the movie traverses the familiar path of the genre and has its share of cliches and melodrama, director Chandan's treatment ensures that the film has its heart in the right place and elevates it from being run-of-the-mill fare to an extra-ordinary experience through excellent performances across the board from the cast as well as exceptional music from Amit Trivedi.

Zaira Wasim who impressed everyone in Dangal as the young Geeta Phogat and won a well deserved National award for Best Supporting Actor for her performance in that role is back with a superlative performance - the best I have seen this year - as Insiya which is all heart and makes an instant connect with the audience. She is a natural and rides the roller-coaster of emotions effortlessly and has an awesome presence radiating oodles of warmth in every frame. Going by sheer talent, she is a star performer and this movie heralds her arrival on the big screen BIG TIME.

She is surrounded by an able supporting cast who ace their respective roles. Meher Vij is a joy to watch as Najma - a loving mother who is prepared to go any distance to nurture and nourish the dreams of her daughter, even risking the wrath of her abusive husband. Raj Arjun is Farooq is absolutely chilling as the domineering despot and controlling husband/father. Aamir Khan has a blast playing the flamboyant and eccentric music director. The rest of the cast including Tirth Sharma as Insiya's best friend Chintan and even those playing minor roles like the kid playing Insiya's younger brother are pitch perfect.

Music director Amit Trivedi's winning album with the stirring vocals of Meghna Mishra and memorable lyrics from Kausar Munir are assets that accentuate the movie. Advait Chandan acquits himself as a competent director with his simple, subtle, yet proficient style of story-telling.

Secret Superstar is another testimony to the ability of Aamir Khan to back worthy projects which could be critical as well as commercial success and in feisty, Zaira Wasim, he has unearthed a gem who, given the right projects, has the potential to sparkle on Indian screens for years to come. 

Go watch it. It may be formulaic fare and may not have anything novel; But, it is manifest proof that even the mundane when executed well with sincerity could make it magnificent and even memorable.

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

Mersal (Tamil) (2017)

Far from the tortures like Sura or Bhairavaa..

But, not quite in the league of entertainers like Shankar's Gentleman or even Murugadoss' Ramanaa  ..

This Attlee film is a welcome addition to the blockbusters of Vijay who seems to be his usual self (read this as you may) in three roles.

Besides Vijay, Nithya Menen, Vadivelu (welcome-back) and S J Surya make a mark which is quite something in a star vehicle.

While the film has all the trappings and technical finesse, one would expect, the songs as well as the (very) high decibel score from AR Rahman is a major disappointment.

Director Attlee who had rehashed Baashaa as Theri seems to be progressing on his learning curve with this film which is an over-long (almost three butt-numbing hours) stylized rehash of multiple earlier hits from the genre.

At best, a benign one-time watch !

RATING - 2.5/5

NEWTON (HINDI) (2017)

Director Amit V Masurkar's Newton is a black comedy on the Indian electoral process as it is put to test in the treacherous leftist rebel infested jungles of Central India. Rajkumar Rao plays, nay, is Nutan Kumar aka Newton - an upright clerk working for the government and is assigned the duty of being the presiding officer of an polling station deep in the jungles of Dandakaranya. 

The movie narrates his travails as he strives to conduct a textbook election with his rag-tag team of three officials even as he is challenged by reluctant commander of para-military forces Atma Singh (a brilliant scene-stealing Pankaj Tripathi),  an indifferent tribal populace who are simply too tired of being cannon fodder and collateral damage in what appears to be an unending war of attrition.

The supporting cast of Raghubir Yadav, Anjali Patil and Sanjay Mishra in a minor cameo play their parts competently. 

The movie raises multiple pertinent questions on the much celebrated mechanics of the Indian electoral process, the media circus that surrounds it, the meaning of democracy to a populace seeking to stick on to their simple-living roots, exploitation and corruption which lurk in the garb of development and political empowerment without being preachy or boring.

Masurkar mines the laughs with amazing regularity in the most unlikely situations and ensures that the narrative moves along on a brisk pace. The movie has already received several accolades in the Berlinale where it premiered and is a worthy contender from India in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Academy awards.

A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

THUPPARIVAALAN (aka THE DETECTIVE) (TAMIL) (2017)

Mysskin presents our own homegrown Sherlock Holmes sorry in his inimitable style with most of his trademark elements. Vishal plays the protagonist Kaniyan Poongundran with Prasanna as his sidekick Mano -a la Watson (albeit in much minor part). The above average mystery unfolds in a linear narrative which keeps you hooked. Vishal fits the role for the most part as the emotionally remote, brainy detective and is convincing in the kinetic action set pieces. The rest of the cast including Prasanna, Vinay, Andrea, Bhagyaraj and John Vijay are apt in their minor parts. After Pisaasu, once again, Arrol Corelli impresses with his background score which elevates the proceedings. Overall, while it is definitely not a masterpiece by any measure, is flawed and could be leaner, the auteur in Mysskin succeeds in making an engaging thriller which has the potential for becoming a fabulous franchise.

A PRETTY GOOD WATCH !! RATING - 3/5

DUNKIRK (ENGLISH) (2017)

Ace auteur Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is based on a daring rescue of allied soldiers from the French coast where they were pushed to the brink of annihilation/capture by German army which had surrounded them on the land, Luftwaffe fighter planes that rained bombs and fire from the skies and U-boats that torpedoed any approaching rescue vessels. 

With as many as 400,000 soldiers stranded on the shores and hopes of their survival growing slim as every passing hour found the German army testing their weary resistance and every sortie of the Luftwaffe slaughtering these sitting duck soldiers by the dozens. Only a miracle could have saved those men. 

Indeed, a miracle did happen and it was made in the way that best of miracles are made. It was made by ordinary men who performed extraordinary feats and dared to push the horizons of the faintly probable into the firm shores of the possible. In narrating this story, Nolan too weaves a miracle of sorts as he keeps us hooked to the suspense and thrill throughout its duration even when we are familiar with the history of this monumental evacuation of nearly 300,000 men which was one of the crucial turning points of the war.

A sense of foreboding permeates every frame like a fuse that is lit with the very first frame threatening to blow everyone to smithereens at any moment. Nolan brings his trademark twist to a genre by bravely desisting from the time tested template tropes of war movies such as creating backstories for characters which help the audience connect to them and root for them, bloody war sequences, tense discussions of a war-room, rousing speeches from leaders and villainous enemies. 

Without resorting to any gruesome imagery or ever showing a single enemy soldier, he strikes terror with the perennial threat of deadly attacks and the attacks that strike at the most unexpected moment. Again, despite abstaining from any backstories to any of his characters, he forges a near universal connect between the  faceless group of us - the audience - and the group of hapless, near strangers fighting together as soldiers for survival on that blighted beach. We root for their survival through a gruelling battle that spans land, water and air and witness those near nameless boys graduate in the tough school of war and become men.. That is.. If they don't end up as bodies. 

Once again, we find Nolan showcasing his mastery in seamlessly weaving together multiple timelines - in a la Inception mode - where he sets these timelines to tick at different paces; a week on the shore; a day on the waters; and an hour in the skies, thereby elevating the sense of urgency. 

A cast consisting of of largely unknown/lesser known actors with cameos by Tom Hardy (once again behind a mask for the most parts), Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Brannagh deliver competent performances. Besides Nolan, the real stars of the movie are the excellent technical crew that he has marshalled. They are lead from the front by music director Hans Zimmer who pounds you with a ticking, thudding time-bomb of a score that at once sees you quivering on the shores, bouncing on the waters and soaring through the skies and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema who cans the stupendous aerial action sequences which make your eyes stretch wider than the IMAX widescreen. Editor Lee Smith comes out with flying colours, in what must have been one of the toughest jobs, as he brings together the multiple timelines into a smooth narrative.

Nolan has delivered another masterpiece that is like no other. Within a few moments, with a masterly sleight of hand, enlists each of us in the audience as a private and transports us to those treacherous shores of Dunkirk, desperate for survival for nearly two hours. And.. that is his successful inception. 

A heady cocktail of a riveting suspense thriller, a superlative spectacle, an immersive and nerve racking experience of war as never before. If one looks beyond the gripping war drama and digs a little deeper, we might find some resonance with contemporary issues of Brexit and swelling waves of refugees as well.

A TOUR DE FORCE !

A MUST WATCH (in IMAX) !!

RATING - 4.5/5