Stolen (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Lost Cause

1.5/5 Stars

America’s greatest bank robber Will Montgomery returns from prison after serving an 8-year-sentence, only to learn that his daughter has been kidnapped by a former accomplice.

The premise has been borrowed from multiple films. The action sequences have been poorly executed and the acting isn’t noteworthy either. The film is bereft of logic. Most such films are, but then ‘Stolen’ really excels in the ‘monotonous’ department. Nicolas Cage just doesn’t cut it as an action hero.

Will Montgomery (Nicolas Cage), along with his team, carries out a bank robbery of $10 million. It goes kaput as a heated moment between Will and partner Vincent (Josh Lucas) leads to the former getting caught by the FBI. Although Will had the money while he was being chased by the police, it isn’t found on him when he gets caught. Much later, we learn that Will, in a sudden change of consciousness, burns all the money and surrenders!

However, he doesn’t reveal anything to the law enforcement. After serving 8 years in prison, Will returns a much reformed man, holding no bitterness at all towards his accomplices, who bailed on him during the robbery. Yet, the feeling isn’t quite mutual. Over the years, Vincent lost a leg (having been accidently shot by Will during the chaos of the bank robbery), changed his identity and the grudge towards Will turned into hatred. Vincent believed that Will had hidden the $10 million dollars somewhere before he surrendered. Thus, he was eager to get his share of the bounty. Even the FBI suspects Will of having hidden the money somewhere and surrendered himself, so as to escape a long sentence.

So, Vincent kidnaps Will’s daughter, Alison (Sami Gayle), and asks for a $10 million ransom. The film revolves around Will and his struggle to stay off the clutches of the FBI, get his daughter back and notch up the ransom money.

At the conceptual level, the film is like any other action film that you may have seen before. The ‘daughter-getting-kidnapped’ has been attempted so many times before and with better results. Besides, Cage is no Liam Neeson!

Some sequences in the film reek of false bravado. There’s a scene in which Will’s daughter is in the trunk of a car. Vincent pours fuel around the car and sets it on fire. So, you have virtually the entire car on fire with the daughter in the trunk. Will not only manages to finish a fistfight with Vincent but also gets into the car, and drives into the nearby river. The trunk gets opened another 10 minutes later. The daughter doesn’t get a scratch.

Many more instances, one in which Will melts gold from a level below the bank locker to get the required ransom. Award-winning-stuff!

There isn’t a problem with illogical scenes or even plot holes but the major drawback with the film was that the dialogues and characters haven’t been well written. And to top it all, even the performances are quite lacklustre.

Nothing really works for ‘Stolen’; the dialogues sans the wit, the robbery scenes sans the thrill and the performances sans the edge. Director Simon West (‘Expendables 2’) doesn’t make the cut with this film.

Even though the film is barely 100-minutes-long, the story gets way too monotonous. They try to rev up the climax a bit by adding a funny sequence, but you’ve already lost all interest by then.

‘Stolen’ doesn’t work for film-buffs, or for Nicolas Cage or action film fans. Avoid.

Shivom Oza

Chasing Mavericks (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – American Surfer Jay Moriarty’s Story

2.5/5 Stars

‘Chasing Mavericks’, directed by Curtis Hanson (‘L.A. Confidential’, ‘8 Mile’) and Michael Apted (‘The World Is Not Enough’), is based on the life of the American surfer Jay Moriarty.

The film is packed with some fantastic real-wave visuals. Towards the end, it strikes the emotional chord as well. Gerard Butler delivers a fine performance as Jay’s mentor Frosty Hesson. Newcomer Jonny Weston is first-rate as Jay Moriarty. There are a few unnecessary side-plots in the film which really slow down the tempo. The film is worth the DVD rental, not a theatre viewing.

Circa 1987, 15-year-old Jay Moriarty discovers that the mythic Mavericks, one of the biggest waves on Earth, are not only real, but exist just miles away from his home at Santa Cruz. So, he persuades the local surfing legend Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) to train him so that he can surf on the Mavericks.

The training period begins with Frosty speaking about the four pillars of survival – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. Jay gets asked to paddle across waters, write essays on various subjects, holding his breath underwater and much more. In the meantime, Jay’s coping up with his temperamental single mother Kristy Moriarty (Elisabeth Shue), trying to get close to his childhood crush, Kim (Leven Rambin) and an ego clash with his friend Blond (Devin Crittenden).

Frosty, too, has quite a few things on his plate. He cannot get himself to concentrate on his family. Surfing is his source of escapism and a way to forget his own personal trials and tribulations. His wife, Brenda Hesson (Abigail Spencer) keeps trying to get close to Frosty but to no avail.

The film has too many side-plots. The predominant premise is the relationship between Frosty and Jay, but there are just too many unwanted aberrations. Jay’s relationship with his mother has been dealt with in a fine manner. However, the romantic angle with Kim seemed quite long-drawn.

Frosty’s equation with wife too has been presented quite nicely. However, the problem with having too many side stories is that you need to logically conclude each of them by the end of the film. This led to the 2-hour-long duration and frankly, the film doesn’t engage you till that long. The visuals are absolutely breath-taking.

The surfing sequences are excellently performed and shot. Gerard Butler and Jonny Weston deliver fine performances. The final 15-20 minutes of the film, packed with stunning visuals and a gripping background score, keep you on the edge of your seat. The ending gets a bit emotional and more or less, covers up for the intermittent flaws.

‘Chasing Mavericks’ is not at all a bad film. It gets a bit slow in the middle but keep the patience, it ends on a high. It is definitely worth a DVD rental, if not a theatre viewing.

Shivom Oza

It’s Rocking – Dard-E-Disco (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – It’s Shocking – Dard-E-Eyes

0.5/5 Stars

With a title as unimaginative as ‘It’s Rocking – Dard-E-Disco’, the film never sets any expectations to begin with. Veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri decides it’s high time he gets his acting boots on.

Bollywood has-beens, Akshay Kapoor, Aryeman Ramsay, Sneha Ullal and Rituparna Sengupta, leave no stone unturned to exhibit their lack of talent. You have all the character artistes from the 90s films, including Razzak Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Sharat Saxena, Upasana Singh and Dinesh Hingoo, in this gem of a movie. They are, needless to say, deplorable. The story is inconspicuous by its absence.

Rocky and Rambo (one of them played by Akshay Kapoor and the other by Aryeman Ramsay) are two brothers, who have no real goal in life (much like the makers of ‘It’s Rocking – Dard-E-Disco’). Both are under this misconception that they are immensely attractive men. They dress us in retro attire and try to gate crash discotheques around the city. Their father, played by Sharat Saxena, is worried about his good-for-nothing sons while the mother, played by Upasana, pampers them limitlessly. Akshay and Aryeman were never great actors. The fact that they agreed to do this film doesn’t speak volumes about their ability to choose either. So, the two brothers try to enter Disco King’s (Bappi Lahiri) discotheque, but are turned down by the burly bodyguard who proclaims “Only Invitees Are Invited”. They finally get enter the disco when Bappi Da’s car smashes into their van. This gives them an opportunity to bond with Disco King.

There’s a villain Powder King, played by Shakti Kapoor. He wants to sell drugs inside Disco King’s discotheques. However, DK (as he is fondly called) is staunchly against drugs and will not allow them to be distributed in his premises. So, a plan is made to kidnap DK. There are two heroines in the film, RJ Mili, played by Sneha Ullal, and Ganga, played by Rituparna. Both of them have 5-10 dialogues each, one dance number and in the climax, a few fight sequences. Needless to say, they are terrible in all the above.

The film loses out on all fronts – Acting, music, story, dialogues, costume design (watch the trailer, you’ll know), choreography, art direction, the works! Director Ashok Tyagi must have had something else in mind, hopefully. Wonder who can conceive such an inexplicable film. The saving grace was that Bappi Lahiri got to belt out few of his chartbusters from the 80s.

It’s Shocking – Dard-E-Eyes!

Shivom Oza

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993) Review by Shivom Oza – One Of Shah Rukh Khan’s Best

3.5/5 Stars

The filmmaker, who gave us a cult classic in ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’, also presented a young Shah Rukh Khan in a sweet little film ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’. Khan, who has time and again reiterated that this film is one of his favourites, delivers a first-rate performance in this charming ‘slice-of-life’ film.

The brilliance of Kundan Shah and the effervescence of Shah Rukh Khan, along with a stellar supporting cast and crew, make ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ one of the most memorable films of the 90s decade. The music by Jatin-Lalit has stood the test of time for almost two decades.

Young Sunil (Shah Rukh Khan) harbours aspirations of becoming a fine musician, much against the wishes of his father, Vinayak (Anjan Srivastav). Struggling to complete his education (having failed thrice in a row already), Sunil finds it difficult to live up to his family’s expectations. His only confidante in the family is his younger sister Nikki (Sadiya Siddiqui).

Sunil, while concentrating mainly on his music band, also featuring Imran (Ashutosh Gowariker), Yezdi (Kurush Deboo), Tony (Aditya Lakhia), Chris (Deepak Tijori) and Anna (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi), also has to deal with the matters of the heart! He is in love with Anna. Anna and Chris are fond of each other. Sunil, in his attempt to keep Chris away from his ladylove, ends up hurting Anna.

The film revolves around Sunil. When he is happy, you have a smile on your face. When he is hurt, your heart goes out to him. When he redeems himself, you feel vindicated.

One wonders whether if it was Kundan Shah’s magical direction or Shah Rukh Khan’s magnetic personality that made this film so endearing.

The supporting cast, including stalwarts such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ravi Baswani, Satish Shah, Rita Bhaduri, Tiku Talsania, Goga Kapoor and Virendra Saxena, don’t let this film become a one-man show. Every character stays with you. Kundan Shah has this rare ability to make his characters so real, and yet give them a cinematic appeal. Ranjit Kapoor as dialogue writer and Kundan Shah-Pankaj Advani as the story-screenplay writers, produce brilliant moments on the screen. Essentially, the film, much like ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’, finds humour in the most tragic situations. The film may not shape up as you would want it to, yet you will be smiling through most moments. Kundan’s films are like that. Optimism is omnipresent throughout ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’.

The editing by Renu Saluja deserves special mention. Music by Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit is absolutely brilliant. All the songs on this album strike an instant chord with listeners. Ae Kaash Ke Hum, Anna Mere Pyaar Ko Na Tum, Deewana Dil Deewana, Woh To Hai Albela and Sachchi Yeh Kahani Hai are timeless songs. They kind of take you back into the 90s era. The costume designer of this film is Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan. Enough said! The two powerhouses of this film are Shah Rukh Khan and Kundan Shah.  Shah Rukh Khan’s romantic side was discovered much later in films such as ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’, but the first film to really capture that emotion was ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’.

The film is about love, music, coming-of-age, values, money, simplicity and so much more. Must watch!

Shivom Oza

Dharmputra (1961) Review by Shivom Oza – Moving Tale About Hindu-Muslim Unity

3/5 Stars

Yash Chopra’s second directorial venture ‘Dharmputra’, made in the year 1961, was a poignant tale about Hindu-Muslim unity. Based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen, ‘Dharmputra’ was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, along with Hindu fundamentalism.

Although the screenplay is cramped with unnecessary songs, the film does make for a compelling watch. In spite of being shot in 1960s where technology was a bit of a handicap, the film does make for a fine viewing. Yash Chopra, who will be remembered as the ‘King of Romance’, shows his other side as a filmmaker with his second film. Shashi Kapoor announced his arrival with an impactful performance in this film.

The film opens in the year 1925, during the British rule in India, when the country was at the height of its independence movement. Two families, residing in Delhi, that of Nawab Badruddin (Ashok Kumar) and Gulshan Rai are so close to each other that they virtually share the same house.

Nawab’s daughter, Husn Bano (Mala Sinha), has an affair with a young man named Javed and gets pregnant. When the Nawab attempts to arrange her marriage with Javed, the man disappears.

Gulshan Rai’s son, Dr. Amrit Rai (Manmohan Krishna), and Amrit’s wife Savitri (Nirupa Roy) assist Husn with the birth of a baby boy, Dilip, and even adopt him to give him their family name. During childhood, he is the cynosure of all eyes at both the households. Husn finally gets married to another man and moves out of the joint household. While she gets pregnant again, the baby gets killed in the womb owing to an accident. Nawab, meanwhile, loses his life while holding a protest against the British.

Years later, Husn Bano and her husband return to the Rai household only to find that Dilip has become a Hindu fascist and a Muslim-hater. Not knowing his own roots, will Dilip ever get to know that he was born to a Muslim mother? Will Dilip and his mother Husn Bano ever reunite? How will Dilip react to the news considering that he has grown to hate Muslims so much over the years? The film ‘Dharmputra’ tackles a sensitive issue very well.

The story, albeit about Hindu-Muslim relations, is also about the coming-of-age of Dilip. The film also revolves around Husn Bano, the biological mother of Dilip, who loves him so much that she does not have a problem with his extreme ideology. All in all, it’s a very well made film which conveys the right message about secularism.

The performances from the cast are excellent. Shashi Kapoor, Mala Sinha, Ashok Kumar, Manmohan Krishna and Nirupa Roy are absolutely brilliant playing their respective characters.

 Shashi Kapoor announces his grand arrival. This film brought out the revolutionary within the actor. He is terrific in the role and one wishes that he had done more hard-hitting roles during his time apart from doing the romantic films, which came to be known as his forte.

The music of the film is hummable, not extraordinary. One reason could be that there are too many songs filled in the screenplay. One problem with the story was that, owing to the unnecessary songs, the basic premise takes too long to get settled. Shashi Kapoor arrives too late in the film. 

Even the cameo by Rajendra Kumar, albeit wonderful, seems unwanted if you put the entire film in context. The dialogues by Akhtar-Ul-Iman are, needless to say, fantastic. The film puts forward a great message. At the time of its release, it must have had a very strong emotional connect with the audience. In any case, it still does.

Yash Chopra wasn’t just the King of Romance. He was simply THE KING! Good at directing any genre.

Shivom Oza

1920 – Evil Returns (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – This Evil Never Returns

1.5/5 Stars

A sequel to the 2008 horror film ‘1920’, ‘1920 - Evil Returns’ revolves around the love story between a poet Jaidev Verma and a young violin teacher Smruti. Although the two have never seen each other, their love story blossoms through the letters, filled with romantic poetry, which they send each other. However, Smruti gets possessed by an evil spirit!

This film gets just about everything wrong. The dialogues, in particular, are laughably bad. The acting doesn’t salvage anything either. Tia Bajpai tries hard to look convincing as the possessed girl but her performance gets overshadowed by the bizarre screenplay. 

Renowned poet Jaidev Verma (Aftab Shivdasani) is deeply in love with a young violin teacher Smruti (Tia Bajpai). The problem is that he has never seen her before. So, the two lovers keep in touch through letters. An unexpected situation leads to Smruti getting possessed by an evil spirit. Somehow, she lands up at Jaidev’s house. However, since she has lost her memory there’s no way either Jaidev or she will know who the other person is. The evil spirit, who eventually turns out to be Jaidev’s old friend Amar, wreaks havoc all over. She spits nails, levitates in the air, and gets fits and the usual razzmatazz.

So you have the tantrik, doctor, concerned family members, suspecting maidservants lined up. All of them have their own take on how to get rid of the ‘evil spirit’. The inane plot is filled with silly dialogues. Some will make you guffaw, but after a while, it gets to your nerves. The first-half is still bearable, notwithstanding the stupefying lines and the unwanted Sufiyana ballads.  However, the second half tests your patience to the core and completely annihilates all your hopes to the ‘point of no return’. The premise is like any other Bollywood horror film. Over the last few years, a new genre has come up. It is called the 'Unintentionally funny horror film with sexual undertones'. Vidya Malvade, who plays Jaidev Verma’s sister Karuna, delivers an appalling performance. For a moment, you would still blame the writers. But then, going by record in Hindi films post the brilliant ‘Chak De India’, she is just not up to it. Aftab Shivdasani tries hard to look serious while doing inexplicable things on screen, but fails miserably. Tia Bajpai delivers a fine performance as the possessed girl, but the story and the screenplay is way too absurd to accommodate her efforts.

It’s a badly written ‘horror film’. Filled with unintentional laughs, the ‘scary’ scenes lack the thrill.

Writing, as already mentioned, is quite bizarre. The bad acting doesn’t leave any stone unturned either. Bhushan Patel repeats the same formula that Vikram Bhatt films are known for. Although such films work with the masses, ideally, there should be something ‘horrific’ about a horror film.

The horror, over here, lies in the script. Music by Chirantan Bhatt is average with no memorable track in the entire film. The film has been shot well by Naren Gedia. The gorgeous locales at Sweden up the visual quotient of the film considerably.

The film is nothing like ‘1920’. In all probability, the evil shall not return again.

Shivom Oza

Skyfall (2012) Review by Shivom Oza – Mendes Puts Substance Into The Everlastingly Stylish ‘BOND’

3.5/5 Stars

James Bond films, in their 50th year and with ‘Skyfall’ being their 23rd film, are currently the longest running franchise in the history of cinema. With Academy-award winning director Sam Mendes helming the project, ‘Skyfall’ has been touted to be the game changer as far as espionage thrillers are concerned. In the film, Agent 007 returns to protect the MI6 head, M, from one of her adversaries.

The screenplay of the film is immensely engaging. There’s not much beating around the bush and the plot stays to the point till the end. Daniel Craig has delivered his best performance as James Bond, while Judi Dench, whose character M is way more significant than it has been in the other films of recent times, does a brilliant job. Javier Bardem cuts across as one of the most menacing Bond villains. The opening chase sequence, shot in Turkey, pulls up the curtains for an entertaining two hours ahead. The opening credits, voiced by Adele and comprising ethereal signature ‘Bond’ visuals, also wonderfully shape the start of the film. The film, albeit more of an action-thriller rather than a typical Bond affair, is a refreshing take on James Bond films and will certainly be liked by audiences all over.

MI6 agents, James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Eve (Naomie Harris), who are on a mission in Turkey to recover a stolen computer hard drive comprising details of all undercover NATO agents in terrorist organizations, fail to nab the criminal Patrice (Ola Rapace), a French mercenary. On the chase, Bond is shot in the shoulder and during his altercation with Patrice, is accidentally hit by Eve and is considered “missing, presumed killed”.

MI6, meanwhile, gets attacked by a terrorist organization. The security systems of the organization get hacked and an explosion at the offices kills a number of employees. Bond, who has been using death to take a break from his usual services, returns to London to get back on duty.

Upon learning about Patrice’s location, he flies to Shanghai where he kills him, and another clue takes him to Macau. Here Bond meets Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe).

What Bond thought would end up as a short-lived romantic liaison, turns out to be his own abduction. The gorgeous Sévérine is an employee of Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), a former MI6 agent, now M’s principal nemesis. The war is pretty much declared as Silva, playing the eccentric villain, can go to any extent to get M, and now his newfound foe, Bond.

The screenplay of the film deserves a lot of accolades. The film revolves around M, Bond and Silva, and it stays that way. Although there are important characters on the side lines, such as Ralph Fiennes’ Gareth Mallory, Naomie’s Eve and Ben Whishaw’s Q, the story belongs to the three principal characters.

Bardem is a maverick, who hides the horrors of his past behind his fake smile. He cuts across as an excellent villain in the film. Although, you look at him as the antagonist, your heart does go out to him when you learn about his painful past. The character of Raoul Silva stays with you long after the film gets over.

Daniel Craig gives, by far, his best performance as Agent 007. Although he opts to stay as understated as he was in the previous two films, the character has notched up some wit and upped the action quotient as well.  Judi Dench, with a remarkably long role in the film, does a fine job.

‘Skyfall’ does not follow the typical Bond films’ route. Although it’s as action-packed as its predecessors, the story assumes equal importance. Logical conclusions be damned, this film keeps you gripped not just for its ‘action’, ‘gadgets’, ‘bond girls’ etc., but the ‘plot’ and ‘performances’ as well. Sam Mendes has made a fine Bond film and this will, hopefully, set the precedent for all future ‘action-thrillers’. Writers, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, deliver a fairly taut story. The visuals are augmented, thanks to brilliant cinematography (Roger Deakins) and production designs (Dennis Gassner).

The film has its thrills, here and there. The finale, although not as spectacular as the beginning, has a big, big twist. Watch the film to find out.

Sam Mendes’ stupendous direction puts substance into what was everlastingly stylish, ‘BOND’!

Shivom Oza