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TimELiebe
TimELiebe has rated 181 movies, and has posted 438 comments.
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Ratings
- Jawan: Want to Watch: Haven't Seen It Yet, But It's a Hit in the U.S.!
- Pathaan: Yay! Thumbs Up: Could it be that Americans FINALLY Get Why We Love Indian Entertainers...?
- Bhoot: Part One - The Haunted Ship: Not Interested in Watching: I, OTOH, LOVE Horror Movies -- Though My American Sensibilities May Not Mesh With Desi Horror...
- Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan: Want to Watch: More Like "Mildly Curious About" -- I await your review, Meeta
- Street Dancer 3D: Want to Watch: "A Whole Load of Dances"? Yes, Pease!
- Love Aaj Kal 2020: Not Interested in Watching: Proving the Rule that Remakes Stink Once Again....
- Ki & Ka: Yay! Thumbs Up: Strong Story About Reversing Gender Roles, Kareena Kapoor & Arjun Kapoor make it fly
- Badla: Want to Watch: A Twisty Mystery/Thriller w/Big B getting the story out of someone? I'm there!
- Total Dhamaal: Not Interested in Watching: Well I'm not - but I'm not the only one in my group. Pray For Me...
- Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi: Want to Watch: Historical With Female Hero, Co-Directed by Lead Actress? Worth a Look!
- Simmba: Want to Watch: Sounds interesting - and a bit deeper than usual for Masala
- Namaste England: Not Interested in Watching: Wow - Am I Developing...Taste? This Sounds Appalling
- 2.0: Not Interested in Watching: More Like 'Not Sure If I Want To Watch....'
- Raid: Want to Watch: Like Ajay Devgan, Movie Sounds Okay for Netflix
- Hichki: Want to Watch: Sounds Pleasant & Realistic
- 102 Not Out: Nay! Thumbs Down: Didn't even make it past 20 minutes on Netflix - & we're an undiscriminating group!
- Race 3: Not Interested in Watching: Looks Like an Even LESS Enjoyable Version of a Series That's a Timepass at Best
- Pad Man: Yay! Thumbs Up: More Light-Hearted Than Reality Was, I Suspect - But Still an Important Story Well-Told
- Thugs of Hindostan: So-So: Not the BIGGEST Disappointment of My Indian-Film Watching Life? But...Kind of Meh....
- Sanju: Not Interested in Watching: Not My Cup of Chai, Sorry
- Lust Stories: Want to Watch: Slightly Want To Watch - This Is Far From a Glowing Review, Though Good Enough to Give It a Watch
- Pari: Want to Watch: Anushka Sharma Starring in & Producing a Horror Movie? DEFINITELY Worth a Look!
- Jab Harry Met Sejal: Yay! Thumbs Up: Medium Thumbs-Up - Some Well-Written Dialogues, Good Songs, Okay-ish Plot
- Tumhari Sulu: Want to Watch: Love Vidya Balan, Sounds Like an Interesting Movie
- Golmaal Again: Want to Watch: If You Didn't Like the First Three, Don't Bother - But We LOVED Them!
- Eega: Yay! Thumbs Up: VERY Strange, VERY Interesting, VERY Worth Watching
- Jagga Jasoos: Not Interested in Watching: No thank you, I can get bad whimsey at home in America!
- Bbuddah hoga tera baap: Yay! Thumbs Up: Amitabh Bachchan Being Awesome - Who Needs More?
- Bahubali 2 - The Conclusion: So-So: Saw it - and Felt Like Characters Got Lost in The LONG Flashback, and the Ending Felt Rushed
- Sarkar 3: Not Interested in Watching: Didn't like the first two, why would I like this any more?
- Phillauri: Want to Watch: Looks Enjoyable
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Want to Watch: Hey, I still love *masala* - and this is American *masala*!
- La La Land: Want to Watch: I'm a Sucker for Musicals - Why do you think I started Watching Indian Cinema?
- Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3: So-So: Lowbrow,Vulgar,Stupid Fake "Porn",but Funny if You're in the Wrong Frame of Mind!
- The Legend of Michael Mishra: Want to Watch: More Like "Mildly Curious to Watch"
- TE3N: So-So: Thumbs WAY Up on the Acting, and Way DOWN for plot & pacing
- Ishqiya: Yay! Thumbs Up: Again, wish there was a rating between "Yay" and "So-So"
- Waiting: Want to Watch: More Like "Mildly Curious to Watch"
- buddha mar gaya: Nay! Thumbs Down: "Yuck" X 2 - Meeta's right, don't even bother.
- Housefull 3: Not Interested in Watching: The first one was okay at best - this? Just sounds like a stinker
- Azhar: Not Interested in Watching: Sounds highly missable
- Baaghi: A Rebel For Love: Want to Watch: "Want to Watch" may be too strong, but - I ❤ Shraddha Kapoor.
- Bombay Velvet: So-So: Great Anushka Sharma & Ranbir Kapoor Performances - Disjointed Story
- Fan: Want to Watch: SRK showing us he can act again - yes, please!
- Finding Fanny: Yay! Thumbs Up: Can a movie be ironic,darkly funny, AND Warm-Hearted? This one Is!
- Kapoor & Sons: Want to Watch: Not Our Usual Kind of Movie - But Sounds Worth Trying
- Jai Gangaajal: Want to Watch: Priyanka Chopra as a cop? It's got to be better than QUANTICO!
- Hasee Toh Phasee: Yay! Thumbs Up: Didn't Like it QUITE as Much as Meetu Did - But Still Very Good
- Bajirao Mastani: Want to Watch: Sumptuous Epic - Eager to See
- Dilwale: So-So: Less Entertaining Than I'd Hoped - Either the Writing's Way Off, or I'm Starting to Develop...Taste?
- Gori Tere Pyaar Mein!: Yay! Thumbs Up: Another Case of Agree With Everything You Said - But Liked It Anyway
- Jazbaa: Want to Watch: We Support Mothers Returning to Work!
- Singh Is Bliing: Want to Watch: More Like "Want To Give it a Try"...Maybe...?
- Kaminey: Nay! Thumbs Down: Not a Single Relatable Character in the Entire Movie....
- Bewakoofiyaan: Nay! Thumbs Down: Both Men Deserve Each Other - NEITHER Deserves Sonam Kapoor!
- Aiyyaa: Nay! Thumbs Down: Over-edited, Heavy-Handed attempt at Masala Whimsy....
- Calendar Girls: Not Interested in Watching: Clearly India Needs Its Own "Category III" Like China Has!
- Tashan: Nay! Thumbs Down: "It's a JOKE, Son! A JOKE! Doncha get it?"
- Agent Vinod: So-So: Some Interesting Stuff - But Plot? WHAT Plot?
- Go Goa Gone: Yay! Thumbs Up: Even BETTER Than Meetu Said It Was - We all LOVED It! Better than SHAUN OF THE DEAD!
- Phantom: Not Interested in Watching: It Just Makes Me - Uncomfortable
- Welcome Back: Want to Watch: Kind-of Maybe Want to Watch? If There's Nothing Better On...?
- All Is Well: Not Interested in Watching: Sounds like a stinker.
- Satyagraha: Yay! Thumbs Up: Little Guy Movement vs.Big Power Movie,But More Honest Than We Expected
- Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Not Interested in Watching: Wasn't even before this conviction
- Daawat-e-Ishq: Yay! Thumbs Up: Madcap Romantic Comedy - With a Serious Background, to Give it That Extra Depth
- Vicky Donor: Nay! Thumbs Down: Sleazy Treatment of Serious Topic, With Loathsome Characters
- Mugamoodi: Yay! Thumbs Up: Nicely done blend of Superhero and Martial Arts Movies with Indian Entertainment - and Fun Dances!
- Dil Dhadakne Do: Want to Watch: More Like a "Maybe Want to Watch"...?
- Tanu Weds Manu Returns: Not Interested in Watching: More like a "So-So" than "No" - But Still Unsure We'll Like This
- Game: Yay! Thumbs Up: May "Thumbs Up" is Going Too Far - But a Twisty Thriller With Some Genuine Emotion, For Once!
- PK: Yay! Thumbs Up: Highly-Entertaining and Just the Right Amount of Provocative About Religious Extremism
- Don 2: Yay! Thumbs Up: SRK Continues His Path to Being a Live Action Bugs Bunny - With Boman Irani as Elmer Fudd!
- Don: Yay! Thumbs Up: twisty Glitzy Thrilling Action Movie With Great Songs - and Some of the Iffiest Morality Ever
- Gabbar Is Back: Want to Watch: Hey - It's Got Akshay Kumar in it!
- Piku: Yay! Thumbs Up: A "Small" Movie with Big Names Acting at Their Peak - Wonderful.
- Speed: Nay! Thumbs Down: Wow - a Stupid Action Thriller With Lame Villains and Even Lamer Heroes!
- Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!: So-So: Liked but Didn't Love This Historical Detective Drama Set in WWII-Era India
- Singham: So-So: Thumbs-Up for most of it - But That Ending? Really Made Me Uncomfortable!
- Hunterrr: Not Interested in Watching: Indian Sex Comedy About Boys Being Excused For Behaving Badly? No, Thank You!
- Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya: Yay! Thumbs Up: Silly masala with an engaging central couple, and the minor Interval twist works
- Action Jackson: Want to Watch: Yes, it's going to be violently stupid and stupidly violent - that's why I want to see it! :D
- Happy Ending: So-So: Funny with a modern view of love-but of writers&writing? For actual writers, it's WTF?!?
- Happy New Year: So-So: It's Like Popcorn - Fun While You're Watching It, Done by the Time You Finished
- Sonali Cable: Want to Watch: ::shrug:: Might be worth checking out if I have nothing better to do
- Bang Bang: Yay! Thumbs Up: Yes, it's a Popcorn Movie - but it's got Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, right in their element!
- Haider: Yay! Thumbs Up: Shakespearean+Kashmiri Conflict;great perfs by Shahid Kapoor,Shradda Kapoor,Tabu,Irffan Khan,etc.
- Dostana: Yay! Thumbs Up: MUCH Funnier, and More Heartfelt, Than I Expected Given the Subject Matter
- Kal Kissne Dekha: Not Interested in Watching: No. Just - Don't Bother, Seriously. It's That Bad….
- Singham Returns: Want to Watch: Ajay Devgn, Action Hunk? Yes, please!
- Lucy: Want to Watch: Trash? Sure. But It's Promises to be GREAT Trash! ;)
- It's Entertainment: Nay! Thumbs Down: OMG ::jaw drop hits floor:: which is more subtle than this movie is....
- Sorry Bhai: Yay! Thumbs Up: Realistic Depiction of a Bollywood Staple Plot - No Song&Dance Numbers, Just Well-Drawn Characters
- Kick: Not Interested in Watching: ANOTHER Salman Khan Movie? Thank you, no….
- Vivah: Nay! Thumbs Down: This Movie is "Heartwarming" ONLY If You Mean It Was Ripped Out and Barbecued!
- Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania: Yay! Thumbs Up: 100% Indian Movie Comfort Food - Just a Pity Alia Bhatt Didn't Have a Male Co-Star Up to Her Talent!
- Ek Villain: Not Interested in Watching: Dopey Serial Killer Movie Starring a Comedy Actor? Oy!
- Fugly: Want to Watch: It Has Some Topics Of Interest To Us
- Kochadaiiyaan: Want to Watch: Worth checking out maybe…?
- Heropanti: Not Interested in Watching: ::yawn!:: SEEN It! And I'm an American!
- Revolver Rani: Want to Watch: Indian Women With Guns? Yes, Please!
- 2 States: Want to Watch: Sure It's a Indian Rom-Com, But the Leads Are Good Together and it has Songs, So….
- Samrat & Co.: Want to Watch: Okay, So It's Not Great - But Sherlock Holmes, Indian Style? I'll Watch
- Bhoothnath Returns: Yay! Thumbs Up: Not as good as the first movie - but a warmhearted comedy/drama with a bit of political satire!
- Barfi!: So-So: More like Most "Thumbs Down" - BUT with Priyanka Chopra's "Thumps WAY Up!" Performance
- Youngistaan: Not Interested in Watching: No Thank You - We Have Our Own Shallow Political Movies In the USofA
- Gulaab Gang: So-So: What Meetu Said - A Powerful Theme Given a Melodramatic Treatment
- Miss Lovely: Want to Watch: I'm a fan of low-budget horror around the world, so this might be more my kind of movie.
- Dedh Ishqiya: Want to Watch: Sounds Intriguing - Will Catch It on DVD
- Dhoom 3: Yay! Thumbs Up: Hey, it's DHOOM! Maybe a bit Deeper Than Expected, with Nice Perfs by Amir Khan and Katrina Kaif
- Kismat Konnection: So-So: Vidya Balin,Juhi Chawla&Om Puri are great in a generic rom-com,but Shahid Kapoor is BADLY miscast.
- Joker: So-So: Short and funny with great dance numbers - but the story is a hodgepodge even by *masala* standards.
- Bullett Raja: Want to Watch: Saif Ali Khan & Jimmy Sheirgill, song&dances&gunplay? Yes, Please! :)
- Singh Saab The Great: So-So: 100% Timepass - Probably Rent This On Netflix When It Hits There For Some Boring Sunday Night
- Ram-Leela: Yay! Thumbs Up: I - Really Liked this Movie, and Didn't Expect To - Passionate, Action-Packed & Ultimately Tragic
- Baabul: So-So: Would be Yay! - if the male love interest weren't Salman the Smug....
- Krrish 3: Want to Watch: Are you Surprised, Meetu? I loved KRRISH, so of course I want to see this!
- Phata Poster Nikhla Hero: Want to Watch: Nothing Wrong With a Little Junk Food on a Sunday Night.... :)
- Horror Story: Want to Watch: Looks like it would be a fun Halloween movie for American fans....
- Aashiqui 2: Nay! Thumbs Down: The story is as old as movies - and while Shradda Kapoor is luminiscent, A. Roy Kapoor - isn't....
- Grand Masti: Not Interested in Watching: If I were a stupid 19-year old I might give this a try - but I haven't been that in 40 years!
- Zanjeer: So-So: Okay, Priyanka Chopra in a cop uniform is a STRONG inducement - but who's Mr. Scowly-Face?
- Shuddh Desi Romance: Not Interested in Watching: Doesn't Sound Promising - Kind of Like YRF's Attempt To Be "Deep"...and Failing
- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones: Not Interested in Watching: Generic Teen Fantasy Series Becomes Generic Movie - Pass!
- Tasher Desh: Want to Watch: Still kind of smells of an overbudget student film, but I'll give it a try anyway.
- Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobaara: Not Interested in Watching: I'm going to hate myself, I know - but my wife will love it, and maybe it won't totally stink...?
- Teen Patti: Nay! Thumbs Down: Amitabh Bachchan & Ben Kingsley Need a BETTER Movie Than This - So Does Shradda Kapoor, Who Shines!
- Chennai Express: Yay! Thumbs Up: SRK *and* Rohit Shetty? Just What We Expected - And Enjoy.
- Pacific Rim: Yay! Thumbs Up: BEST Big Robot vs. Big Monster Movie EVER! A must for SF and Godzilla Fans!
- Yamla Pagla Deewana 2: Not Interested in Watching: If the first movie was barely a timepass, how good can THIS one be?
- Ishkq In Paris: Not Interested in Watching: Enjoy *masala* romatic comedies with musical numbers - but this sounds disappointing
- Harishchandrachi Factory: Yay! Thumbs Up: Rose Tinted But Enjoyable Film About the Start of the Indian Film Industry
- Rockstar: Nay! Thumbs Down: The Movie's Moral Seems To Be "If You're A Creepy Stalker, The Woman Will Absolutely Fall For You"!
- Star Trek Into Darkness: So-So: Looks Like An Enjoyable Enough Movie - But It's Not STAR TREK...!
- Sarkar Raj: Nay! Thumbs Down: THE GODFATHER starring The Bachchans! Derivative story+film-school direction = by-the-numbers acting
- Himmatwala: Yay! Thumbs Up: Yes, it's silly and obvious - but we had fun watching it just the same.
- Olympus Has Fallen: Nay! Thumbs Down: By Jingoist! USA! USA! USA! Because we all KNOW North Korea is a deadly threat to America.... :/
- U Me Aur Hum: Yay! Thumbs Up: Between "Thumbs-Up:" & "So-So" - Ajay Devgan-directed movie that's both good (acting) & eh (story).
- The Namesake: Yay! Thumbs Up: Quiet episodic but very well-acted and written story of the life of a NRI family in New York.
- Cheeni Kum: Yay! Thumbs Up: Chef Amitabh Bachchan and Thirtysomething Tabu Woo One Another - well-written, acted, Recommended!
- Once Upon A Time In Mumbai: Yay! Thumbs Up: Thumbs Up for the acting and first half - DESPERATELY needs a sequel, though!
- Tanu Weds Manu: Not Interested in Watching: If I Didn't Like The First One....?
- Race 2: So-So: It was trashy, flashy and twisty - but really? I far preferred DON and DON 2....
- Gangster Squad: Not Interested in Watching: Masala American Style - but nowhere near as tasty! Bland stew of half-cooked pieces strands cast
- Dabangg 2: Not Interested in Watching: So - is THIS why Salman Khan's a star in India...?
- Khiladi 786: Yay! Thumbs Up: Stupid Dumb Fun - Though Everything Meeta Says About This Movie is True
- Toh Baat Pakki: Nay! Thumbs Down: Not the worst Indian movie I've ever seen, but certainly one of the dullest....
- 1920 Evil Returns: Want to Watch: Enjoyed the original, so I'm hoping this one is as good.
- We are family: Nay! Thumbs Down: Did India Really Need Its Own STEPMOM? Wasn't the Hollywood Original Bad Enough?
- Raaz 3: Want to Watch: Let You Know When I See It, But Sounds Like Fun
- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: Yay! Thumbs Up: Enjoyable Intelligent "Adult" <i>masala</i> - Well-Written, Acted and Directed
- Mere Brother Ki Dulhan: Yay! Thumbs Up: Silly, Predictable, Obvious Yet Quite Enjoyable Romantic Comedy with Engaging Main Pair
- Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge: So-So: Fun But Not Great Bollywood Version of Mel Brooks's THE PRODUCERS
- Ek Tha Tiger: Not Interested in Watching: Why does Salman Khan have a career again? Katrina Kaif is, as always, stunning....
- Dum Maro Dum: Nay! Thumbs Down: Stylish but obvious *policier* with morally ugly "hero" and annoying flashback structure.
- Jaane Tu ya jaane na: Yay! Thumbs Up: Great self-ware movie about modern Indian youth, friendship & love - what FRIENDS should have been!
- Ek Main Aur Ek Tu: Yay! Thumbs Up: Kareena The Life-Affirming Buzzsaw Comes To Vegas! Sitcom premise with surprising bits of depth.
- Rowdy Rathore: Yay! Thumbs Up: Great Dumb Fun - Dom't Take It Seriously, and You'll Have a Ball!
- Badmaash Company: Yay! Thumbs Up: Smart Adult Entertaining White Collar Crime Film, Uses Masala Tropes Well For Deeper Story
- Mehbooba: Nay! Thumbs Down: Yes, I really have a friend who would love it - but I'm not him!
- Bhoothnath: Yay! Thumbs Up: Amitabh Bachchan as "Ghost Grandpa" - entertaining family fantasy, well-acted and produced.
- Avatar: Yay! Thumbs Up: Beautifully-done movie with a so-so story done well - take that "Thumbs Up" as a "Thumbs Half Up".
- Aaja Nachle: Yay! Thumbs Up: Marvelous "Save the Theatre" Musical, starring Dance Great Madhuri Dixit - what else do you need?
- 1920: Yay! Thumbs Up: Period Horror of young couple in haunted house - surprisingly effective Indian Horror film.
- Om Shanti Om: Yay! Thumbs Up: Fun tribute/lampoon of Bollywood-plus reincarnation murder mystery. Frothy&Dramatic, recommended.
- Jab We Met: Yay! Thumbs Up: Wonderful Bollywood rom-com starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor at their most appealing.
- Love Aaj Kal: Yay! Thumbs Up: Modern Romance contrasted with Traditional Wooing, Indian Style - brilliantly done on every level.
- Short Kut: So-So: Filmmaker Akshaye Khanna v."Circuit" Warsi as Charlie "WINNING!" Sheen-not very winning at all.
- Dil Bole Hadippa: Nay! Thumbs Down: Rani Muhkerjee is great - but the film reinforces the very things it claims to be against.
- What's your rashee?: So-So: Priyanka Chopra plays 12 different women winningly in a 4-hr. film - Harman Baweja's in it, too.
- Main Aur Mrs Khanna: Nay! Thumbs Down: Salman Khan abandons wife Kareena Kapoor in the Melbourne Airport - and audience confusion ensues.
- Aladin: Yay! Thumbs Up: Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt are genies - need I say more? It's big and magical, and really fun.
- Aisha: So-So: Yet Another Adaptation of Austen's EMMA - and Kind of Meh, Really.
- Red: Yay! Thumbs Up: Romp-y adventure version of a "serious graphic novel" starring a wonderful cast.Yes for action&fun!
- Sita Sings the Blues: Yay! Thumbs Up: Low-budget, well-done animated version of THE RAMAYANA, with early jazz songs and clever commentary.
- Green Lantern: Nay! Thumbs Down: Ryan Reynolds should stick to playing self-absorbed jerks in stupid rom-coms.
- Death Proof: Nay! Thumbs Down: Tarantino's "magic" just eludes me - dull, talky, even Kurt Russell can't save it.
- Kambakkht Ishq: So-So: Like I said before-sure it's not Bollywood's Best, But We Westerners Enjoyed It!
- Lage Raho Munnabhai: Yay! Thumbs Up: Tough Guys Try Nonviolence! Hilarious,touching,even profound - "We Be Ghandhi'ing NOW!" Loved it.
- Pyaar Impossible: So-So: Generic-but-cute "beauty&geek+brat" romcom. Aston Kutcher & Katherine Heigl star in US remake?
- God Tussi Great Ho: Nay! Thumbs Down: Worst Bollywood Movie This Western Masala Fan Has Ever Seen
JAWAN is actually a Top Five hit in the United States, right behind BARBIE this week, according to THE WRAP!
::“Barbie” is in a virtual tie for the No. 4 spot with the new Shah Rukh Khan action thriller “Jawan,” which is drawing out Indian moviegoers since its Thursday release with $7.1 million grossed over four days from 827 theaters this weekend. Distributed in the U.S. by Yash Raj Films, “Jawan” set a record for the highest global opening day for a Hindi-language film with $16 million.::
PS: Long time later, we finally caught it.
And yes, it's nowhere near as good as any of us hoped it was, just like you said, Meeta....
Meeta, we finally saw 2.0 - and, yeah, your review was pretty spot-on....
Just so you know, PATHAAN has become such a huge international hit even AMERICAN movie sites are talking about it! They're comparing SRK to Tom Cruise - I was a bad me, and went in to respond that unlike Cruise, Shah Rukh Khan actually has talent! :D
I confess to it being a pleasant surprise that America in the last year has suddenly gotten on board with Indian movies, thanks to this one and RRR. (I'd be more impressed with its Oscar nomination for Best Song if A.R. Rahman hadn't already won for "Jai Ho!")
OTOH, I don't know how you're going to feel when more Americans loving "Bollywood Movies!" like me drop in on your site, Meeta.... ;)
Oh, Meeta -- maybe you should hand this one off to one of your other contributors? You don't enjoy horror movies - don't subject yourself to this.
Wasn't DOSTANA like, 12 years ago? They're just getting around to this now...?
Or have we been watching the wrong kind of movies? Which is entirely possible, I realize.
PS: Sorry I haven't been around in a while - with everyone headed off in all directions, we haven't been having our normal Indian Movie Nights... :(
Did you say "A Whole Load of Dances"?
We are SO there, Meeta -- who cares about little things like "plot", anyway?
Don't tell me, let me guess -- Saif Ali Khan's baby girl figured she'd do a remake of one of Daddy's hits, and one NOT co-starring her Stepmom Kareena, either!
As a fan of the original, soon as I heard this name being bruited about I got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach -- sorry to hear it was completely justified, as I really liked the original starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone...and Rishi Kapoor with a clever silent bit by his RL spouse Neetu Singh.
@Meeta, thanks for getting back to me! I think we both agree it's very good but not perfect movie - a B+ rather than an A-, if I were grading it.
Interesting about the kissing and sex - and it makes me wonder if we've just not been watching as many recent romantic comedy/dramas as we thought we had.
Since it opens in India today, I doubt we're going to see this for a while.
Still, it looks like the kind of twisty-mystery thriller we all enjoy watching, and seeing Amitabh Bachchan as a Jury Expert asking very searching questions means we'll be there when it comes out here.
Meeta, have you ever seen the American movie IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD? That's what this reminds of - a lot of slapstick, a lot of dumb comedy, Madhuri Dixit announcing she's ready to do GOLMMAL 5, Ajay Devgn once again playing (semi)straight man to the likes of Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani, Johnny Lever (why isn't Paresh Rawal in this movie - is he remaking BLAZING SADDLES for a *desi* audience?), and effects work so blatantly obvious nobody's fooled.
I don't know if we'll watch this or not. I watched the trailer (which has English subs - Thank you, Fox Studios!), and there were parts where *I* was cringing at what passed for comedy in it. But I've got other people in our Bollywood Movie group, and several of them love Johnny Lever, think I'm too hard on Boman Irani for wanting him not to just be goofy, & will watch anything with Rohit Shetty's name on it....
Meeta - well, we watched it last Sunday, and...We Enjoyed It, even though every one of us would agree with the points you raise in your review.
For us, it was an hour & 20 minutes of mindless dumb fun with silly songs, substandard dance numbers, Akshay(!) doing his Lovable Holy Fool schtick - and fight scenes so ridiculously over-the-top, they make ROWDY RATHORE look like RAGING BULL. It even had an Interval - which was funny to me because the next day, somebody asked a question in the Facebook Turner Classic Movies Film Board "What's the last movie you saw with an Intermission?"!
Meeta - is this the first time in Indian Cinema a female star has directed herself?
Sounds like an interesting movie, and a bit more nutritious than our usual fare (our movie last week was KHILADI 786, because - Akshay!) Once it makes it to streaming or DVD/Blu-Ray (probably streaming), it sounds worth a look...
We saw it finally - on Amazon Prime. It was as predictable as you said, and Varun Dhawan was - okay, but not much more. Alia Bhatt mostly had to sell their love by her performance - maybe her character largely expected his to do the heavy lifting, but performance-wise most all the heavy lifting's hers!
The best part was you could see what kind of marriage they'd have, and you believed they'd be one of those couples who squabble constantly but love each other completely. You could also see why she wouldn't be happy with Dr. NRI Perfect (actually, NOBODY in that family would ultimately be happy with him!), and how her Father slowly softened on Humpty as Son-in-Law material, because push come to shove they were a lot more alike than not.
Maybe it's just we've been not meeting up as much lately and haven't seen a *masala* in a while, but everybody here settled into this movie like a warm, comfortable bath.
Meeta - that's very true, and something I wouldn't know as an American who's never been further abroad than Germany.
It came to mind with the recent wedding of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. To us Jonas seems very religious conservative - but I would imagine to her, he seems like a breath of open but grounded fresh air.
@Fan - sounds like you liked it more than Meeta did, and her review was more favorable than usual for a Rohit Shetty Joint....
::I am not insensitive to the fact that there is a large section of the population in developing nations that is in a truly desperate situation and moving to developed countries seems like the only ray of hope. ::
Maybe Australia - but it sounds like the US and the UK are in a race to be the Most Xenophobic Nation on Earth right now!
Huh - so is this ROBOT 2.0...?
Only not as good?
Since the number of Indian movies that play in theaters here in upstate NY are really limited (it's better than the "None" that used to be, but there's still a lot of room for improvement!), it's mostly through DVD rentals or Netflix that we see most of them.
This sounds like a good Netflix movie.
Sounds like a pleasant movie starring an actress we really like, Rani Mukerji.
@Meeta - sorry, even Amitabh Bachchan & Rishi Kapoor couldn't save this movie.
We gave it 20 minutes (as our movie group usually does with movies we watch on Sunday nights), and we were all Thumbs Down after that.
We were going to watch this (showed up on Tammy's Netflix queue) - until we realized Salman Khan was the star. In a movie group that's half-female and All-American, Salman the Smug is a DealBreaker - even over here we've heard about his illegal wild animal hunting, running over homeless people while drunk, using his influence to postpone his trials, and the like.
I know - we can forgive Sanjay Dutt, but not Salman Khan.
Anyway, even if he weren't the star? The first two RACE movies didn't go over well anyway - well, my brother Craig, our friend Bruce, and I sort-of enjoyed them as a Ridiculous Dumb Fun Timepass, but that's about it.
We saw this a few weeks back, and - really liked it. Though I'm sure the Real-Life Mr. Arunachalam isn't really like Akshay Kumar's engaging but determined Holy Fool, the story strikes a chord even here in the USofA, and the surprisingly feminist message for what originally looks like a Male Hero Saves Helpless Women narrative made us both cheer and cry a little.
Congratulations to Kumar's real-life spouse Twinkle Khanna for taking a very serious and powerful topic, and making it entertaining without downplaying its importance.
Well, we finally saw it, Meeta - and...you're right. It's a perfectly fun desi take on the Oceans movies while you're watching it...and if you asked me about the plot a few days later, I couldn't tell you a thing that I remembered.
You're a bad influence, you know, insisting I demand more from my movies than songs, dances, explosions and subtitled snappy patter....
::Of course, Amitabh Bachchan can take all the risks he want to and only a few will complain. ::
@Meeta - who's complaining? I only complain when I see Big B in a role he could do in his sleep, and seems to be doing it that way - like Teen Patti or Sarkar Raj.
Yes, I'd rather watch him coast than most actors - but when he does a movie like Piku, Paa or Te3n (or even Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap, where he's having a blast playing a character you fear he'll sleepwalk through!) , you're reminded just how Amitabh Bachchan can still bring it on-screen.
Or maybe this...?
Let's see if this works....
https://tenor.com/WIeq.gif
@Fan - it's important work and work I believe in, so I'm glad to do it. I just wish more of my fellow citizens believed in it, too - this time we got lucky with the hugest Midterm turnout in history...a whopping 49% of eligible voters showed up!
Yep, less than half the eligible voters voted, & it's still significantly larger than the last biggest Midterm election. Kind of gets you...right here...
@Meeta - Agree with you about the writing, and how great the acting was in all cases.
@Meeta - thank you for the good word.
::@TimELiebe now that's a rare combination - likes Sanjay Dutt, but doesn't like Ranbir Kapoor :D ::
@Meeta - I know, and to qualify it I did really like him in BOMBAY VELVET, so maybe it's just the usual run of comedy masala vehicles he's in that I don't think he's a good fit for...?
Not living in India I don't know much of Sanjay Dutt's life outside of his movies, but everybody in our American movie group really enjoys him as an actor. From the odds&endss we pick up from 25,000 Km away, he sounds a bit like Robert Downey, Jr. or Kiefer Sutherland did before they got tossed in jail and cleaned up their acts - talented performers who became substance abusers off-camera, and got connected with some Very Bad People in the process. (I know there's a political element there which we only have the vaguest understanding of.)
I'm hoping that his time behind bars convinced him to straighten up some, at least....
::The trailer gives enough insights into what one will get for their 2000 Rs. ::
@Fan - Holy Crap, that's double what we pay for 3D IMAX here in the US! Are you at least getting those enhancements for that insane amount of money...?
Unlike you, I'm willing to take a flyer on this movie - but not if it costs that much to get in over here.
Happy Belated Diwali from the USofA! I intended to post this on Wednesday, but you may have heard we had a big election over here Tuesday, and I spent from 3 am that morning until 10:30 pm that night helping people vote - and I've been recovering from the lack of sleep until tonight...
So this is kind of a slapstick period comedy? I'd hoped for a rousing adventure of Heroic Thugs Versus Evil Bad-Acting Imperialist English - given I've seen SO many from the other direction (every time INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM comes on television, I feel the need to write an apology to 1-1/3 Billion Indians for how we misused Amrish Puri!), I was really up for that.
Still, Aamir Khan & Amitabh Bachchan clowning around for 2-2/3 hours? I could get behind that once it FINALLY makes it to Netflix or my local video store....
Meeta - wow. Not sure I really want to get into the psychodrama of Sanjay Dutt's life - especially not starring Ranbir Kapoor (not one of my favorite actors) as Sanjay Dutt, or an obvious analogue.
Maybe it's because I find myself liking Sanjay Dutt, off-camera screwups and all, a LOT more than I do Ranbir Kapoor...?
Yeah, I'd sort of wondered about it showing up on Netflix in the USA myself. We passed on it a of couple times because we weren't sure if this was a prestige movie...or closer to a desi version of Cinemax After Dark (that's where a lot of US and European cheap "erotic thrillers" and softcore porn features end up).
Sounds closer to the former than the latter, even if it's far from perfect....
@Fan - we saw it finally, a little while back... and yeah, it should have worked better than it did. It felt like the film was so impressed with having gotten SRK and Kajol back together after so many years, and in a Lush Budgett Megaproduction, that it didn't figure out what to do with all that. So we got elaborate musical numbers, insane car stunts, and a plot so convoluted I'm still not sure who loved/killed who.
After several really good roles, Boman Irani was back to slumming it for a paycheck as a pushy gangster who thinks he's deadlier than he is. Johnny Lever is - well, Johnny Lever. The young couple's photogenic - though hearing SRK and Kajol refer to them as their younger sibs when the age differences, and relationships, would have fit Uncles and Aunts better was kind of comic.
A lot of money spent for a movie that - wasn't awful, but wasn't really as entertaining as I'd hoped, either.
@Fan - sounds a lot like the last movie, only that had Abhishek trying to convince us he's starring in THE GODFATHER, while Amitabh and Aishwarya are hoping to find a better movie... someplace.... anyplace...?
@Meeta - basically, we liked it okay, but the first part promised a far better second part than we got. And - yes, the second part backpedals on a LOT of the commendable strength of the female characters.
Anyway, there are better Indian movies out there - and as soon as Netflix US streams them, we'll be watching them again! My Indian Movie Fix has had to make do with Binge-Watches of AGENT RAGHAV, CRIME BRANCH Season 1 (which is trash, but I love it!), DARIBA DIARIES, and the First Season of BUDDHA...
@Fan - Agree right back, especially regarding Tabu.
Though I'd say some of the younger actresses, like Shradda Kapoor, might also have that courage in them - but as a podcaster I listen to says, "We Await With Bated Breath...."
That's okay, Meeta - we'll see it, so you don't have to! :D
I have to say, I'm impressed, and surprised, to see Anushka Sharma starring in, and producing, a horror movie. Most Indian horror movies tend to be cheapos Starring Nobody You Ever Heard Of, and usually produced by somebody named "Ramsay" - and yes, of course me and my friends watched a few of them!
This, though, promises to be something a cut above, with a very talented actress we enjoy watching - so you know we'll be seeing it.
Well, we saw it on NetFlix because it took us forever to get everybody together, and - yeah, Meeta, your review is pretty spot-on.
It's So Big! And So Broad! And Oh So Heroic and Villainous! that I kind of think they forgot Young Balubahi's love for Devsena was why he got involved in all this Sturm und Drang in the first place.
I'm glad to have all that backstory cleared up - but, did it have to be in a huge hairball of flashback that took up most of the second movie? By the time we got back to the present, I'd almost forgotten why we were here in the first place - and the movie itself treats the climax, where Heroic Young Bahubali finally faces His Evil Uncle Kattappa, almost as an afterthought.
Though - you haven't lived until you've seen how the squads of heroic soldiers close ranks in the climax with their enemy. It was so batcrap-crazy we were on the floor laughing....
@Fan - it's a silly comedy series that's got enough physical humor to travel well, and just clever enough with its wordplay that casual viewers of Indian Cinema can feel "with it".
Also, Rohit Shetty really loves big goofy dance numbers with vehicles, which end up on YouTube everywhere so people go, "Did You See What Those Crazy Bollywood Movies DO?!?!?"
It's entertaining, if inconsequential. The last few months (ever since two of our company's daughter had a baby and moved back in with them), we've been having Sunday Indian Movie Night at our house. Because of the holidays here in the US & various life things, our schedule's been scattered - so outside of BAAHUBALI 2, DHOBI GHAT and this film, we're kind of behind on our Diet of Indian Movies. (Around Christmas, we were desperate enough to try HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS - the really awful one with Jim Carrey!)
This was a bit smarter than usual masala, with an aging Lothario travel agent originally forced to shepherd a former client around Europe to find her missing engagement ring. The plot's older than India's (or America's) film industry, but when the two start to feel a mutual attraction and try acting on it without crossing any lines they can't cross back over, the writing and performances seem to get somewhat...better than the generic earlier scenes. Yes, SRK and Anushka Sharma have been falling in love with each other on-screen since one of Tammy's favorite movies, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi a decade ago, but in this case it felt less - fairytale than before.
The couple songs we get are good, even if they were so obviously planted there that the cast should have held up signs reading "ITEM NUMBER"! Some of the complications worked reasonably well - while others (usually involving cartoonishly-stupid baddies) felt so contrived Bugs Bunny would have thrown his hands up in disgust! The scenery was lovely, the fiancé was suitably twerpy and boring that you were glad he was barely featured, and The Punjab put in an appearance because...uh, not sure why exactly, except Shahrukh Khan's character was from there....
Anyway, we enjoyed it - it filled a masala-sized hole in our viewing at a time when we all needed it.
PS: One of the reasons our lives have been so scrambled lately? Is because Tammy's newest book is just about to be published - and it got a write-up in The Times of India! :) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/tempest-and-slaughter-a-new-addition-in-tamora-pierces-tortall-universe/articleshow/62650074.cms
@Meeta, haven't seen it yet, because it hasn't made its way to the US (this is the first year American mainstream media's actually mentioned Diwali as a real holiday!) - going to have to wait for Netflix or Amazon Prime Video to have it on streaming, I guess. ALSO, going to have to wait for an evening when Tammy, Kathy and Cynthia are either all gone, or so desperate they'll let "the guys" watch a really stupid comedy.... :D
I understand your point about wanting to voice an opinion on HITs that you dislike, and that's a very good reason. You do it very well, too, even if we disagree more than agree on movies....
When I first saw GOLMAAL AGAIN on IMDB, it listed Parineeti Chopra's character as being named "Priyanka", so I assumed it was a joking reference to her cousin. Of course, it's IMDB, and they're wrong as much as they're right.... ::shrug::
@Fan, I think Vidya Balan has more flops than hits because she takes more risks as an actress, and doesn't protect herself as an actress the way Tom Cruise in the US does, say.
She's a lot like a young Jane Fonda that way, completely able to become a character and do whatever it takes, no matter how it makes her look - in THE DIRTY PICTURE, Balan played Silk as somebody who loved sex, loved attention, and would lash out if anybody got in the way of either without worrying she might come off as "unsympathetic". For an audience that wants mostly to be entertained, that kind of acting courage is "Too Much" for them - they'd rather have Salman Khan playing an overaged scamp, trying to crawl into their laps and make them love him no matter how awful he is.
Sorry I mentioned American actors rather than Indian ones above - I honestly couldn't think of any one in Indian Cinema that I know who is so swaddled in "Star"-ness that she/he is always protecting her/his image.
Meeta, Happy Diwali!
Why do you do this to yourself? You know you're going to hate the upcoming GOLMAAL movie - and that they're casting Parineeti Chopra as a character called "Priyanka" is either a bit of snark over her more-famous, Hollywood-star cousin...or a desperate hope nobody will notice Priyanka Chopra's doing dumb AMERICAN movies now!
We'll see it, of course - because me, Bruce, and Craig are all guys, and suckers for silly comedies...and it's Diwali, when big, dumb movies come out.
What a strange and interesting film! We couldn't decide if it was a comedy or a thriller take on Kafka Metamorposis - but it held our attention, and Sudeep's cross between menacing and comical was a highlight.
I had the notion while watching it that it had started out as a "calling card" movie for a bunch of effects guys, since it has a small cast, lots of effects work, and a plot so demented we watched it alternately laughing and slack-jawed. I gather that's not the case...?
Okay, I saw it finally, and - what was that I just watched? It didn't really have that as a denouement. did it? I wandered out the door babbling incoherently at the sheer WTF?ness of it - to the amusement of our friends, and annoyance of my wife.
With that said, I don't think I've ever been so impressed by Amitabh Bachchan as an actor as I was here. I was pretty sure that, after his roles in films like Teen Patti, casting him in "little man" roles was akin to casting a lion as a mouse, because he's such an amazingly charismatic and powerful actor that he just - couldn't "go small". But he certainly did here, and so convincingly that I forgot for long stretches I was watching Amitabh Bachchan, Indian Megastar.
Kudos also to Vidya Balan, who did the woman cop so modestly and well that I didn't realize it was her until the end credits. She's really on her way to being one of India best actresses, isn't she?
You're right - aside from the acting, the movie's so slow I almost fell asleep watching it. And that ending - what did I just see happen?!?!?
Oh, my - apparently I can't watch the trailer (it won't play for me), but that still alone shrieks "Worst CGI since Green Lantern!"
Not that even great CGI will save a rotten movie - but...that's not a good sign at all.
Well, several years later, but we saw it, Meeta - and, because it's Big B, we loved it.
Most of us pardesi Americans in Syracuse haven't seen Amitabh Bachchan in his "Angry Young Man" days - okay, my kid brother and I have seen Amar Akbar Anthony, and I've seen Zanjeer and the original Don, but that's about it. But we got what we was supposed to be - though I think maybe we saw something a bit more valedictory in the movie and its portrayal of him as an older gentleman seemingly preparing to go out in a blaze of glory. (I kept comparing it to Soderbergh's Terrence Stamp movie The Limey - only funnier.)
Just so you know, this was our third movie this evening. The first was MAIN AUR MR. RIIGHT, which could have been an American Rom-Com (that's not a compliment!) and turned everybody off with its shallow, unsympathetic characters; Dashavatar, which I would have been happy to stick with since it's about the Avatars of Vishnu (which we know very little about), but everybody else went Thumbs-Down because it looks like "Something you'd see in Sunday School!"; and finally this.