BackKapoor & Sons, Eye in the Sky pick of the week
'Kapoor & Sons' is a touching film made terrific by some great performances, especially Fawad Khan's, while 'Eye in the Sky' honours Alan Rickman's fierce intelligence
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New Delhi: Director Shakun Batra’s multi-starrer Kapoor & Sons, featuring Rishi Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Fawad Khan, is a touching film made terrific by some great performances, says Gulf News. Batra makes sure no emotion is overdone and truly real characters, less glycerine and even less melodrama help much. Most performances, especially Khan’s, are knock-out. Read more here
Filmi Beat adds that the wholesome family entertainer is real and identifiable, nothing like the typical overdone Dharma Productions movie. Batra does a fabulous job of highlighting issues and holding back in equal measure, and the performances are delightful. Read more here
British thriller Eye in the Sky, starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman and Barkhad Abdi and directed by Gavin Hood, comes to India this week. Rolling Stone says that the torn-from-the-headlines drama debates the merits of drone warfare using a tight script and is far from being dry and academic as one might presume it to be. Rickman, in his last onscreen role, takes on the issue with brilliance and bracing humanity and the film honours his fierce intelligence. Read more here
The New York Times agrees it’s a grim, suspenseful farce in which unpredictable human behaviour repeatedly threatens an operation of astounding technological sophistication. Like many of its type, the film doesn’t dwell on geopolitical minutiae. Mirren and Rickman are both fierce and absolutely great. Read more here
3D computer-animated comedy adventure Norm of the North, directed by Trevor Wall and featuring the voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham and Ken Jeong, is underwhelming and bland, says Variety magazine. The plot elements are cobbled from recent animated hits and even Schneider’s deft vocal turn can’t save the day. Read more here
Pluggedin.com calls it, quite simply, a pretty awful kid’s film. The action sequences feel forced, the heavy-handed anti-corporate greed preaching is delivered passionlessly and most jokes are failed attempts at humour. Read more here
American crime thriller Heist, originally titled Bus 65, directed by Scott Mann and starring Robert De Niro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kate Bosworth, is a low-budget thriller so generic that even its title is recycled, says A.V Club. The movie as a whole takes itself way too seriously, missing either the exaggerated pulpiness or kicky looseness of a good B-crime saga. De Niro’s presence is only a reminder of all the great and memorably lousy work he’s done in the past. Read more here
The Hollywood Reporter agrees the thriller has a B-movie appeal thanks to its strong ensemble and wacky commitment to its overcomplicated, wildly absurd plotting. It throws in enough twists and turns to make one’s head spin, with several characters and situations not as they first appear. Whether or not you’ll buy the ridiculous dialogue and plot contrivances depends on your willingness to suspend disbelief on them. Read more here
In the south, Kannada film Ranatantra, directed by Aadhiram and starring Vijay Raghavendra and Haripriya, is a good mix of romance, action and other entertaining elements, says Indread.com. Technical aspects like cinematography and screenplay are up to the mark and the performances impress too. Read more here
1972 Marathi classic Pinjra, directed by V. Shantaram and starring Dr. Sreeram Lagoo and Sandhya, re-releases this week. Watching this bonafide classic on the big screen is an opportunity that should not be missed, says Pune Mirror. Though some performances seem artificial today, the songs still sound amazing, the digital enhancement is adequate and blends in with the original work like it should. The film is still effective. Read more here
Releases this week that haven’t inspired any reviews yet include Hindi films Cute Kameena, Dare You and Ok Mein Dhokhe; Tamil movies Sawaari, Aagam and Pugazh; and Malayalam comedy Darvinte Parinamam.
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