Keenly Anticipated Movies Of 2019, Which Surprisingly, Just About Made The Cut — From Strictly Average To Almost Disappointing

What could have been a complete blast of an action movie, in the vein of a classic throwback to the men-on-a-mission adventures of yore (a la The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Kelly's Heroes, The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Geese, or even the more recent, Inglorious Basterds), plummets drastically in the last 40 minutes or so all because of this new-age garbage of everything needing to be all woke and PC and everyone (yes, even fictional movie characters) needing to act like SJWs. So, instead of our bunch of heroes executing their mission with valor and against all odds, which they were doing pretty well for two thirds of the film, they suddenly get all soft; lose the plot (along with the actual plot going for a toss); question themselves a thousand before pulling the trigger even if it means biting the dust; and nonchalantly relinquish the very bounty they put their lives on the line for. A potentially exciting film ruined during its last stretch by this new-wave of everything needing to be overly sensitive and squeaky clean.

2.85/5 stars

Anchored by a steady central performance courtesy Bidita Bag; The Sholay Girl offers wonderful nostalgia and great real-life, behind-the-scenes trivias for diehard Bollywood fans, but neutral viewers may find it difficult to come to terms with its tacky, lurid, and slightly outdated presentation, not to mention the shoddy editing, breeding some truly confounding timelines. Nevertheless, it's a much-deserved and overdue homage to Hindi cinema's first stunt woman, who singlehandedly changed the face of the stunt scene for women besides opening doors for all those who succeeded her.

2.75/5 stars

Roland Emmerich once again displays his flair and control over staging lavish, CGI-infused scenes that inspire a sense of awe and spectacle in us. Unfortunately, whatever goes down between those scenes is nowhere near as spectacular as Emmerich's erstwhile wildly entertaining cult classics (Independence Day, Godzilla, 2012, Stargate, The Day After Tomorrow) either in plot or characterization — the simple stories that connected the giddy action sequences played a huge part in those films being loved by the audience to this day. Wes Tooke's disjointed screenplay and the length of the film only make matters worse. Midway does boast some marvelously staged battle scenes, but other than them, there's little to hold your attention.

2.5/5 stars

Flashes of brilliance against a canvas of the bizarre. Sometimes wonderful, but mostly weird. Haunting in parts, but humdrum as a whole. Midsommar is what you get when you dare to tread the path less traversed, without having a proper plan of how to chart a course. It's a peculiar sort of horror film, and not always in a way that keeps you engaged.

2.5/5 stars

Like a typical Chinese product, Rajkummar Rao, Mouni Roy, and Boman Irani's Made in China has its perks, but they aren't long-lasting. The film benefits from a better second half, with some key moments, like Dr. Vardhi's hilarious Q&A session at a PTA meeting and the climax at an official government hearing, elevating what threatened to be a lackluster ride till the halfway point. The first half though is besieged with major issues, not least among them being the bumpy narrative flow, snail-like pace, and disjointed editing. Further problems emerge in the form of shoddy character arcs and had it not been for most of the actors rising above their sketchy roles, Made in China wouldn't have been half as bearable as it eventually turns out to be. True to its title, the film appears to have been "made in China", with sporadic rewards that never culminate in a wholly rewarding experience.

2.5/5 stars

Boy, did this turn out to be overrated, over-hyped, and over-what-not. A few of the jokes work and the film has some redeeming features, but they're strictly few and not more than some. It neither helps that one of the lead characters is over-confident (yup, another "over" box ticked), smug, and quite unpleasant nor does the frequently snarky dialogue and SJW references offer any favors. To be completely honest, there have been several coming-of-age teen comedies far funnier, more relatable, and infinitely more refreshing than Booksmart. One really wonders why did it get all those glowing reviews from the foreign press. Is it just a case of critics being blinded by gender role-reversal and the fact that one of the protagonists is gay. I'm all for that, but they can't be alternatives for good direction and writing to judge a movie. Blockers, which had also swapped genders last year in the same sub-genre, was a shining example of how to do it right. Booksmart, maybe gets halfway there, if you're to judge it very leniently.

2.5/5 stars

Badla comes across as a very good film, but that's only because it's almost a frame-to-frame remake (right down to many of the dialogues and little moments) of an already great film — the Spanish thriller, The Invisible Guest. Can be enjoyed a lot by those who haven't seen the original. The other unfortunate folk who have though won't like it much due to the sheer lack of creativity on display, especially with names like Shah Rukh Khan (producer), Amitabh Bachchan (lead actor), and Sujoy Ghosh (Director) involved in the project. This is a very lazy and convenient way to do a remake, and you certainly expect more of them. All they needed to do was revisit how names like Mukul Anand, Abbas-Mustan, Mahesh Bhatt, Vikram Bhatt, and Rohit Shetty do/did remakes in Bollywood to see how you can remain true to the essence of the original while also infusing your own touch to the plot and characters, rendering the experience enjoyable for all kinds of viewers.

2.5/5 stars

Housefull 4 is mildly amusing time-pass fare, provided you don't think about it too much. That doesn't mean you need to leave your brains or any of that jazz because any film demanding such hickory-dickory-dock from you is pure trash to begin with that cannot pass of as innocuous fun in a million years. All you need to do is not analyze things too much and you may just find yourself laughing or at least chuckling intermittently, particularly in the second half, and especially if you enjoyed the first two Housefull movies (we could all just concur that the third part was actually trash). However, the unceremonious dismissal of Sajid Khan makes you wonder how insanely funny the ride could've been had is vision be retained — the portions that have been chopped and changed and directed by Farhad Samji and clearly evident.

2.5/5 stars

Netflix's new period film, The King, strikes a pretty solid balance between history and Shakespearean fiction to go with a collection of powerful dialogues, indelible performances, and arresting battle scenes. However, that collection is not nearly enough to keep us riveted through the other aspects of the movie, which, to be brutally honest, are interminably slow-paced and frustratingly stretched out to the point where wading through them to get to the good bits can really test your patience.

2.5/5 stars

The historical mess, factual discrepancies, sloppy characterization, shoddy direction, and Manish Malhotra-esque fashion ensemble notwithstanding, Manikarnika is still worth a watch for another stellar performance from Kangana Ranaut, who regally and fiercely embodies every aspect of The Queen ofJhansi, and a few goosebump patriotic moments against our colonial oppressors. Alas, these moments are few and far between, and Kangana the actress barely saves Kangana the Director from falling. I'm not completely disappointed with Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, but it certainly didn't fulfill the promise of its trailer.

2.5/5 stars

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Athiya Shetty, and the dialogues make Motichoor Chaknachoor remotely watchable. While the premise had potential, barely the surface of it is scratched. However, the problems don't end with the shoddy screenplay & sloppy direction alone as the film is also plagued by a shockingly casual attitude, bordering on justification, toward several social stigmas and regressions to the point where fat-shaming, patriarchy, and even domestic violence are treated either humorously or made excuses for. If u must watch this, then do so for Nawaz's brilliance in elevating even the most mundane scenes, Athiya being an out-and-out revelation, and some genuinely charming dialogues. Otherwise, there isn't really all that much here to make it a worth your time.

2.5/5 stars

Thankfully, The Body doesn't mess up the original, and fortunately, ace Malayalam Director Jeethu Joseph (Drishyam, Memories), makes his Bollywood debut with some smart tweaks to the Spanish version, which should keep both those who've watched it and those who haven't remotely intrigued. Now, I say remotely because despite Joseph's caliber as a filmmaker and his evident aim to leave his identity on the final output, his grip loosens on substantial portions of the film, letting the tension and edge slip while also affecting the flow of the narrative. Plus, for all the promise he shows earlier with his tweaks, the climax and denouement is almost a carbon copy and everything ends on a glaringly abrupt note — you certainly expected more from Joseph. Alas, it's left upto Emraan Hashmi, Rishi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, and to some extent, Hindi-film debutante Vedhika Kumar to help this see-saw remake stay afloat.

2.5/5 stars

Despite Akshay Kumar’s earnest efforts, Kesari is bogged down either by too many lackluster phases or unrewarding moments to ever completely engage you in its entirety. It’s overly dramatic, saddled by a bumpy narrative, hardly has any hook in the screenplay, frustrates you with amateurishly choreographed war scenes, and the acting (barring Akshay who tries his best to elevate proceedings) is middling at best. Also, someone needs to explain why there was any need whatsoever to cast Parineeti Chopra in this, other than to further derail the film. For a story based on such an intrepid real-life display of heroism and sacrifice, none of the characters (even Akshay’s) ever form a connect with you, and you hardly feel for their martyrdom once the dust settles.

It takes a singular action sequence during the climax, where Akshay gives it his all and solely (figuratively and literally speaking) saves the film from completely sinking, dragging it into strictly average territory. The Battle of Saragarhi, which has never been represented on the big-screen before, deserves a much-better film than Kesari, and perhaps Anurag Singh, who’s best know for directing over-the-top comedies in Punjabi cinema (Yaar Annmulle, Jatt and Juliet series, Disco Singh, Super Singh) and one massive critical and commerical dud in Bollywood (Raqeeb), wasn’t the apt choice for helming such an important and demanding project. Can only be enjoyed by diehard fans of the Khiladi.

2/5 stars

The screenplay & dialogues of Yeh Saali Aashiqui are ripe with promise, and though that promise is fulfilled to an extent, it's the portions that remain unfulfilled, which leave a lot to be desired. Cherag Ruparel's directorial skills not being on the same plane as that of his writing expertise make matters worse as does the caricaturish treatment of several pivotal plot points, which dilute the impact of the narrative. It also doesn't help that the makers don't know whether they ought to be absolutely unapologetic about the treatment of the film or add a bit of political correctness, thus getting stuck in a messy spot in the middle. However, the biggest culprit is the late-great Amrish Puri's grandson, debutant Vardhan Puri, who, despite his best efforts (and it's evident that the guy has really toiled), is horribly miscast in a role that required an actor able to convey complex emotions and restrain his fury on screen.

At least in his first outing, Vardhan comes across as a far better writer than actor. (he's co-written the script). Thankfully, the other newcomer, Shivaleeka Oberoi, has got the body language, expressions, screen presence, and charm to go places in the film industry, provided she works on these assets and improves her dialogue delivery. This could have been a crackerjack thriller, toying with those most fundamental of human traits like love, anger, betrayal, and revenge. Alas, it just scratches the surface, but still manages to keep us mildly engaged till the end. The best part of the film through is the montage that pays tribute to the legendary Amrish Puri, displayed at the beginning.

2/5 stars

There's some decent world-building, a kickass opening act, followed by a volatile confrontation between the lead characters, and both Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer pull out all the stops to excel in their characters, but the rest of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil fails to have the same effect. The narrative runs out of steam halfway through, the plot has more than its fair share of loopholes and inconsistencies, not to mention some instances that defy logic toward the end. Barring a a handful of good moments, Disney 's Maleficent 2 just isn't magical enough to leave you spellbound, and not even a patch on 2014's far superior Maleficent.

2/5 stars

Despite being a decent costume drama, Little Women is ultimately pointless, meandering along with no clear direction in sight. Strictly average fare for me, and underserving of each of its six Oscar nominations.

2/5 stars

Aadai remains a pretty gripping thriller, with an edgy, unpredictable premise, and a knockout lead performance from Amala Paul all till the final half hour. Then, in the quest of forcibly squeezing in a message — and an extremely preachy one at that — on changing societal norms, cultural shifts, and the harsh effects of a generation obsessed with social media, writer-Director Rathna Kumar undoes all the good work, leaving us with an underwhelming, disappointing after-taste, where we feel almost cheated for investing our time and interest in the plot and characters.

2/5 stars