Tabu shines in ‘Fitoor’

New Delhi: Fitoor, Abhishek Kapoor’s film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and starring Tabu, Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur, depends way more on its stunning Kashmir canvas than its characters and a story that you can empathize with, says The Hindu. The proceedings are often flummoxing, the characters unconvincing and loose ends are tied up clumsily. The film eventually turns out to be more Tabu’s than the lead pair’s, which is, at best, adequate. Read more here

India Today adds that despite its spellbinding beauty, the film meanders and tests the patience of the viewer. Tabu and Kapur help the movie rise above the ordinary but there is always Kaif to dampen things with her performance. Read more here

For Hollywood fans, romantic comedy How To Be Single, directed by Christian Ditter and starring Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie and Leslie Mann, comes to India this week. Fresnobee.com calls it fun, smart and sweet and an all-female starrer that comments on relationships in such a full and inclusive manner that males will be pulled into the intertwined stories too. Read more here

Mensxp adds that the film is the perfect antidote to Valentine’s Day mushiness and a refreshing break from stereotypical rom-coms. The director adds some fantastic humour to the screenplay that seems to say that real life is far more complicated than childish notions of love. Johnson gets to show more acting than skin after 50 Shades of Grey and does a reasonable job of carrying the movie as the protagonist, aided by a great cast of supporting actors. Read more here

Superhero film Deadpool, based on Marvel comics, directed by Tim Miller, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and Ed Skrein, is a cheerfully demented origin story of Marvel’s snarkiest comic-book creation, says Variety magazine. It’s a star vehicle for Reynolds and he, in turn, makes sure you have a ball. Some of it may seem juvenile but this one is a “scabrously funny story". Read more here

Empire adds it’s a fun, patchy alternative to the glut of “the world is about to end unless we do something" comic-book films. However, the comedic currency is not entirely cerebral and the jokes may seem repetitive after a point. Read more here

Biographical drama Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane and Helen Mirren, directed by Jay Roach, seldom inspires more than mild chuckles and plays it really safe, says Variety magazine. It’s a square, period-stiff homage to blacklisted movie martyr Dalton Trumbo that passes up on a rich opportunity to satirize the political hypocrisy of the paranoid times it depicts. Read more here

The Telegraph points out that Trumbo deserved better than this try-hard biopic. The villains are almost comical in their cackling obviousness and Cranston, in a plum role, distractingly fussy. Read more here

In the south, Tamil film Jil Jung Juk, starring Siddharth, Sananth Reddy and Avinash Raghudevan, and directed by Deeraj Vaidy, is a black comedy that does not quite fly, says Hindustan Times. The dark episodes are neither scary nor sadistic enough and after the first hour, the antics feel laboured, forced and irritatingly repetitive. The performances are passé as well. Read more here

Indiaglitz.com is more impressed, mentioning that the dark comedy is a first for Tamil cinema and the plot and characters remain quite true to the genre. The performances too are impressive. However, the tone of the film may not go down well with female audiences. Read more here

Kannada horror film Shivalinga, starring Shivarajkumar and Vedhika and directed by P. Vasu, is gripping and perfectly aided by skillful direction, cinematography and music, says Indread. Shivarajkumar performs well as an investigating cop, while Vedhika impresses as well. Read more here

Bengali romantic film Sweetheart, starring Riaz Uddin Ahamed Siddique, Bappy Chowdhury and Mim Bidya Sinha Saha, and directed by Wajed Ali, has a plot as old as Indian cinema itself, says The Times of India. The director makes no attempt to bring any variations to the age-old story of parents disapproving of young love. The performances too ensure the film is not worth the time. Read more here

Several releases this week haven’t inspired any reviews yet. These include director Divya Khosla Kumar’s Sanam Re; romantic film Lucknowi Ishq; Tamil thriller Vil Ambu; Telugu romantic movies Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha and Nannu Vadili Neevu Polevule; Malayalam thriller Puthiya Niyamam, starring Mammmootty; Kannada film Apoorva; Bengali films Mahanayika and Ki Kore Toke Bolbo; Marathi comedy drama Poshter Girl; and Gujarati film Polam Pol.