As I already said in my no spoilers review, this was not a fun movie. And not a movie I liked. And, I think, not actually a good movie. But a movie with all the trappings to fool people into thinking it is good.
I saw this movie 3 times in theaters, mostly because I wanted to watch the Jab Tak Hain Jaan teaser over and over again. But also for itself, it’s a very well-made fun movie. I forgot just how well made and fun until I re-watched it just now.
I put up the No Spoilers review for this back on Saturday, but I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get the spoiler review out. It’s a slow build kind of film, I am guessing interest will be higher on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday than it was on Saturday. Plus, I had to spend 4 hours at church on Sunday and then make two cakes and a pie, so there wasn’t much time for writing.
I really hope everyone who wants to has had a chance to see this film now. I put off posting until Monday morning India time/after the last evening show has started America time so that you could. If you have not seen it yet not, here is my regular no spoilers review, read that instead. And if you haven’t but are going to be able to later, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW. Or if you aren’t sure if you will enjoy it, YOU WILL ENJOY IT, DO NOT READ THIS AND GO SEE IT INSTEAD!!!! But if you have already seen the film, or live somewhere where you won’t be able to watch it for months and months and want to know what happens, then you can read on.
I’m back! For the SPOILER review. Which I am much less excited about than the other one, where I got to talk about the little political speeches dropped in.
I already put up my No Spoilers review, now this one will give me a chance to talk about the plot in specifics. I should say, there’s nothing exactly surprising here, the movie could only end one way once the situation was established, but maybe if you want to be surprised by the details of how it plays out, don’t read on. On the other hand, if you are unable to see the film for any reason, here is where you can learn what happens and what it is about.
Okay, let’s do this! Tuesday Tamil! Actually on Tuesday! My box office post is still going to be late this week, but at least everything else will be back on track. Plus, I am excited to talk about plot details for this movie. (no spoiler review went up earlier today)
No Spoilers review went up last night, and this is a good pleasant enjoyable film, so you shouldn’t necessarily read the spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet. But on the other hand, most of the plot is kind of given in the trailer, so maybe it doesn’t matter as much?
What a great experience for my first Mahesh Babu film in theaters! Not a great theater experience exactly (I was alone in there), but a great film to experience on the big screen, and to spend 3 hours of my life totally focused on watching. (No spoilers review here)
The mere fact of Salman being in this film isn’t a spoiler, right? That’s been so heavily promoted that you can’t escape it? The exact manner of his appearance has not been promoted, but I’ll tell you that. The rest of the plot, definitely spoilers. Yes, even if you have seen the original. (review of the original Judwaa here and no spoiler review of Judwaa 2 here)
Well, I watched it! Because, weeks and weeks after it’s release, it is STILL playing one show a week at my local theater! Which means I had the opportunity to see it, and also the curiosity, what is it about this movie that makes it keep playing and playing and playing? Besides what must be an extremely favorable per play contract with the theater?
I already put up my no spoilers review, I encourage you to read that one, because this is a really sweet movie that deserves to be seen and not spoiled. On the other hand, we do mostly know the plot just from the trailer, so I guess in this case spoilers aren’t THAT bad. It’s not what happens, it’s how it happens.
HA! I WAS RIGHT!!! I rule all!!!! I am SO HAPPY!!!!! The twist that I hoped was the twist was the twist, not the other twist that could have been the twist. And I’m happy not just because I am clearly a GENIUS, but because the twist I hoped was the twist is so much better than the other twist would have been. (no spoilers review here) But you shouldn’t know what the twist is! Because it is SO MUCH more enjoyable going in blind, and this movie is SO GOOD. This is a definite “don’t spoil yourself if there is any chance at all you will be able to see this movie” kind of movie.
What a nice movie! Just nice nice nice. Everyone is a good person trying to do good things. But it turns out that the good-est person doing the best-est things is the one who is right there in the title. Also, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN/CAN WATCH!!!! If at all possible, this film deserves to be seen in theaters without spoilers. But I know some of you have already seen it, and some of you won’t be able to see if for weeks if ever, so in that case you can read on. (no spoilers review here)
And a 3rd review! Which I did first, and then wrote the other two (no spoilers and spoilers) while the video processed. And I did it in one take (oooo!), because there was no way I was putting my hair back up again.
No Spoilers review is already up, time for SPOILERS! And then, sometime next week, I start the slow crawl through the scene by scene. Because yes, this movie is good enough to deserve it. Oh, and also good enough that you shouldn’t SPOIL yourself if you are planning to watch it. Not super super good, I don’t want to oversell it, but good enough that it is worth avoiding spoilers.
I already put up my No Spoilers review, which should answer the question “should I see this movie?” for you. This review is for “I don’t want to see this movie but I am mildly curious what it is about” or “I have just seen this movie and I’m not sure what to think about it” kind of people.
What well made movie! With a lot of well made thoughts at the heart of it. The biggest of which is, what makes a moral man? Or, to put it in Indian philosophical terms, a dharmic man? (No Spoiler review here, if you are planning to see it and don’t want to be spoiled)
Well, that was a movie that happened! So glad I saw it with someone else, by the time we were 5 minutes in, my friend Dina and I were already getting the giggles just by exchanging glances. But it was kind of neat how it made me think back and really appreciate other better versions. (no spoiler review here) (oh, and I just remembered, I did a post already on the history of dance on film in general, you should read that here)
This is barely worthy of a post, but I found it interesting, and thought I might as well pass it along. So if you are desperately eager for an interesting thought about media integration and stuff, here it is!
Well, I watched it! I hated it! And not just because I was planning to hate it. I really did hate it, even after giving it a fair chance and sitting straight through. Also, I was really really really really bored. I checked my phone 5 times, the first time after the first 20 minutes because I thought surely the first hour at least must have passed. Honestly, the best part of the whole experience were the trailers (A Gentleman, looking better and better!). And now I am sitting in the mall food court, eating lunch and writing this very fast so I can leave the whole horrible experience behind me.
I debated putting up this spoiler review so soon, because the filmmakers clearly want the plot to remain a surprise. But, see, I don’t think they have to worry about it that much. The performances and the camerawork and the music and everything else are so good, that you just have to see how it plays out, even if you know what’s going to happen. But if you want to see this movie as it was intended, DON’T READ ON. Read my non-spoiler review instead. However, if you suspect that it may be a bit tough for you to watch but still want to know what happens, you are correct, it will be tough to watch, and I am here for you to tell you what happens.
Not a good movie. Really really not. Terrible script, and casting mistakes. And then a lot of money poured on top which just serves to make the flaws stand out even more. Like bright lighting on a really really ugly statue. Anyway, save your money and skip the film, just read this instead! Which I almost never say, but in this case, yes. It’s the best thing to do.
As you know from my no spoilers review, which already went up, I LOVED Raabta. It was not at all what I was expecting. I wasn’t even going to see it, but then my sister was in town, and watching a bad romance film in theaters is kind of the perfect sororal activity. And it turned out to be a good romance, instead of a bad one! Which is even more perfect for a sororal activity.
Well, I finally saw Oppam. Only 6 months late. Oh well, this is what happens when the theaters only give one screen to Malayalam films, and there are 4 (or 5?) major releases for Onam weekend. I saw Oozham, which was in a similar genre but not quite as good as this. Because Prithviraj is not quite as good as Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph isn’t quite as good as Priyadarshan.
dontcallitbollywood 