Back‘Daddy’, ‘Poster Boys’ highlights of a dull movie weekend
For Hollywood fans, American supernatural horror film 'It', directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Skarsgard, comes to India this week
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New Delhi: A relatively dull weekend rolls by as a few small releases vie for attention.
Political crime drama Daddy, directed by Ashim Ahluwalia and starring Arjun Rampal, demands patient viewing as it sets out to explore a new story delivery style, while tackling the ever-popular gangster genre, says Firstpost. As it walks the fine line between judgement and glorification, Daddy often feels like a bunch of headlines stitched together with fine handwriting managing to suck you back into a time that has shaped modern Mumbai. However, not unlike his protagonist, director Ahluwalia shows “daring" as he experiments with an unconventional narrative structure.
The thickly-populated circuitous plot, which goes back and forth in time, comes in the way of a solid crime thriller-cum-study of the making of a gangster, says The Indian Express. Part of this film’s pleasures is in how it nails a period, which is either too glossed up in Bollywood mob dramas, or too toned down. Where it falters is in creating an exact fit between Rampal, who has clearly worked on his look and the lingo, and the hard-edged gangster he is trying to be.
Sunny and Bobby Deol-starrer Poster Boys, directed by Shreyas Talpade, can be watched to lighten your mood this weekend but one should be ready for social awakening in the end, says Deccan Chronicle. Entertaining in parts and crisp especially in the first half, the film goes into dramatic territory post interval.
Satirical comedy Mr. Kabaadi, directed by Seema Kapoor and starring Om Puri, is a direct attack on the logical abilities of its audience, says koimoi.com. While veteran actors are wasted in their roles, the supporting cast comes off as raw and amateurish. This one can be easily avoided.
For Hollywood fans, American supernatural horror film It, directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Skarsgård, comes to India this week. Metro News calls it a bloody, creepy and brilliantly terrifying horror film. It was a hard and daunting task for Muschietti, whose new adaptation comes 27 years after Stephen King’s It was last adapted for the screen in what is now deemed an iconic role for Tim Curry as the demonic clown who terrorises the small town of Derry. But luckily for all involved—and all horror fans—It is a success, a genuinely bloody, creepy and terrifying piece of classic horror mixed with brilliant teen humour, romance and a classic coming of age story.
American heist comedy Logan Lucky, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough and Daniel Craig, is a well-acted, slickly directed, if somewhat familiar redneck heist flick, says Empire magazine, a good one sorely needed after last year’s dull Masterminds. There’s an unavoidable feeling that Soderbergh is playing the hits here—although it’s odd how much a character-driven crime flick is now such a rarity, it feels like an exercise in turn-of-the-millennium retro.
In the south, Tamil romantic action comedy Kathanayagan, directed by Muruganandham and starring Vishnu and Catherine Tresa, produces intermittent smiles rather than laughs, says The Indian Express. The film doesn’t take itself seriously and you shouldn’t either. It may not be a laugh riot but does entertain in parts.
Several releases this week haven’t elicited any reviews yet. These include Hindi film The Rally; Tamil films Kadhal Kasakudhaiya, Thappu Thanda and Aaram Vettrumai; Telugu movies Nizam Sarkaroda, Yuddham Sharanam and Meda Meeda Abbayi; Kannada films Rajahamsa and Darpana; Marathi dramas Tula Kalnaar Nahi and Boyz; Punjabi film Rupinder Gandhi 2: The Robinhood; Bengali horror film Shob Bhooturey; Gujarati comedy Rachna No Dabbo; and Assamese film Mission China.
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