[TorqueyTechie]

Watched URI today. I would rate it 3/5 . One point each for Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal and cinematography. It would have been better with a tighter script. Some of the scenes are unnecessary IMO. A good one time watch.

[drmohitg]

Watched URI yesterday. I didn't like it and would rate it 2/5. Till the end, I couldn't really connect with the movie or the characters. The war cries of the lead, the typical pre-war motivation speech of to his platoon - it just appeared unreal. The way you connect with Sunny Deol in Border or Hrithik Roshan in Lakshay or even Akshay Kumar in Baby, I just could not relate to it.
And continuing with the recent trend in Bollywood, the female leads are limited to a handful of dialogues.

Paresh Rawal is the only saving grace in the movie.

[saket77]

Watched 'The accidental Prime Minister'. To be watched only if you have a flair for politics. Expected lots of brick bats on the family in question but there's hardly anything more that is already in the public domain.
The real surprise and star of the movie is Akshay Khanna. Amazing screen presence and great acting. He is looking very good too. Anupam Kher is also good but the actual character whom he portrays, Mr. MMS, lacks the flamboyance, hence the on screen character is also on the same lines.

My rating would be 3/5.

[GTO]

Agreed. Saw The Accidental Prime Minister and will give it 3 / 5 stars. Maybe 3.5 because I like movies on politics, business, current affairs etc. But frankly, don't go to the theatre. Watch it on the tube. It'll come soon as I doubt such a type of movie will be a runaway success in India.

Anupam Kher is damn, damn good. Clearly a thinking actor. Just like you forget it's Ranbir and not Sanjay Dutt in "Sanju", here too you'll forget that it's Kher and not Manmohan Singh. He is fantastic. As if to match, there is Akshay Khanna who's acted better than ever before and a long list of superb actors in supporting roles.

The movie has a very s-l-o-w pace. A decent flick, but nowhere as awesome as 'Rajneeti' or 'Sarkar'. Those were blockbusters; The Accidental Prime Minister is more like a slow documentary. Not everyone's cup of tea & certainly not one that a full family will enjoy.

Pay attention to Akshay's suits. Some of them are really sharp. Very dapper.

[ksameer1234]

I would rate The Accidental Prime Minister 2.5/5. I watched it in the theater and it felt like watching news on big screen. Everything happens on expected lines and there is little sense of watching a movie. This is definitely not a movie to be watched in a theatre.

GTO has captured all my thoughts in his post so I don't really have anything else to add. There is no sensational revelation, 90% facts are known to everyone even without reading the book. Akshaye Khanna is the star of show and the fact that Anupam Kher as Dr. Singh appears confused is actually a testimony to the acting prowess of Kher. The stunning dressing sense of Akshaye Khanna stands out among shabbily dressed politicians.

The movie takes a lot of intended potshots at Rahul Gandhi. I won't comment on whether it is true or not, but it looked unnatural. Another stand out portrayal worth mentioning is of Vipin Sharma playing Ahmed Patel. Superb acting!

[mohansrides]

Watched "Uri: The Surgical Strike" yesterday. I am so glad that I didn't base my decision to watch the movie on reviews from mainstream media outlets. This is not to say that those reviews were entirely wrong. They made some good points. Some said that the plot was not well formed. Some others mentioned that a few of the film's characters weren't well written. I cannot entirely disagree with these assessments. This movie certainly doesn't have a solid 3 act structure with a definitive story arc; and some of the film's characters do indeed seem a bit one dimensional.

But, in the movie's defense, neat and watertight plots are hard to write for films that are based on actual events. Most such films try to overcome this problem by infusing the narrative with smaller sub-plots, typically personal stories of the characters on screen. Really, that is the only extent to which filmmakers can extend the dramatization because the big story arc itself has to stay faithful to the events as known to the general public.

Coming back to this film, it is a stellar effort. This movie is all josh. It's central theme is the spirit of the Indian Army and nothing else. To that extent, the film rings true. I read somewhere that whatever the big reasons for a war, they never have any affect on the soldiers on the ground. Each man on the battlefront is ultimately fighting only for one thing, his life and the life of the brother next to him. I thought that this movie did a great job of demonstrating how the people in the forces are deeply affected by their colleagues' death even if those colleagues are not blood-related family.

There is a scene in the movie that left me deeply thoughtful.

The commanding officer informs the newly formed team about their mission and receives a full-throated acceptance from his team. This by itself isn't all that unusual. But, what is remarkable is the choice of words used in the scene.

To men that he has literally just met a few seconds earlier, the CO says that he is giving them the opportunity to avenge their brothers' death. Instead of framing the mission in professional terms (i.e. "Men, we have a job to do."), or even in terms of patriotism / nationalism (i.e. "Let's do this for our country"), the CO puts forth the message purely on personal terms. He tells the men that this is the opportunity that they wanted, even needed, to quench the thirst of the avenging angels inside them.

What's more?! Once the mission is revealed, everyone realizes that it is 100% risk and that may not return. But, not one person bats an eye lid. Instead, the men don't let a note fall out of place as they scream their acceptance. So, not only is the CO framing the mission as an opportunity, the men too are viewing it as an opportunity only. Absolutely amazing when you think about it. Even in highly professional units like the Army, it's strands of personal emotion for one's family, be it by blood or not, that informs the bigger professional purpose!!

The other aspect of the movie that was enjoyable for me was watching the interplay of the different layers of government. Whether they are from the army or otherwise, each of the officers from the government play a very specific and vital role in the mission. They go about their duties with dispassion and with a professionalism that I have never ever witnessed in the private sector.

Over the years, I have rued the roads not taken. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't go into the defense or the civil services. Really, there is nothing better than working for the country in official capacity.

Here is video of Col MN Rai's funeral. Since 2015, I have watched this video many many times, and I have had a lump in my throat every single time. Jai Hind!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PADMYBAgj04

[hemanth.anand]

Over the last 5 days watched quite a few old and new movies on Amazon Prime.

Dum Lagake Haisha
Good story, Clean script, very good acting from all actors. all in all a wonderful watch. All my family members enjoyed it too. This is the type of movies I like. I'd rate it 4/5

Sui Dhaga
Again a a wonderful watch. Inspirational story and all actors have done complete justice to their roles. Complete family entertainer. Loved this movie. I'd rate it 4.5/5

Thumbaad
Unusual story, clean execution, good acting. Felt like I was watching a hollywood horror movie with strange imaginary characters The entire story nicely conveys the message displayed at the beginning "Nature has enough to satisfy need but not enough to satisfy greed". Although I don't like horror movies, this one was watchable. For the clean script and execution, I'd rate it 3.5/5

Kapoor & sons-since 1921
Noisy movie at times when a group is in the scene and at times when only 2 people are in the scene, hard to hear the actors converse. I had to raise and lower the volume many times which was an irritant. Otherwise, acting from everyone is good, nice camera work and good songs. On the flip-side, too many complex relations, too many strained relations, everyone in Coonoor talking in Hindi, made the story quite unnatural. I'd rate it 3/5

Sonu ke Titu ki Sweety
A weekend entertainer of a movie. I kept my practical mind far away and enjoyed this movie as suggested by a few friends. I'd not say that it is a not-to-be-missed kind of a movie, but neither is it a bad watch. Good acting by most of the cast. I'd rate it 3.5/5

[NPV]

Uri : The Surgical Strike - 4/5

Good movie, worth a watch at the theatre just to spare a thought for our selfless armed forces, without whom we wouldn't live our lives the way we do every day - Patriotic stuff.

Nice to see a movie adaptation of this real-life incident widely known as the first big-impact surgical strike by Indian armed forces (planned retaliation for an earlier strike).

[adimicra]

Watched Uri: The Surgical strike
Rating - 9/10

I absolutely loved the movie. First of all, it's based on a heroic and daring real life incident and I would love more movies in India to be .made on this kind of theme. Apart from being patriotic and all, the direction and cinematography is excellent and the trump card of the movie. There are long periods of battle/strike without any dialogues but still the movie holds your attention. Dare I say, I enjoyed this even better than "Zero Dark Thirty", probably because I am an Indian, but nevertheless.

I have been tracking Bollywood and box office for more than 15 years and this movie has shown the best word-of-mouth for any movie in these years. It is on the verge of crossing 200 crores in domestic box office which in unprecedented for a medium-low budget movie. I am actually surprised that the response in team-bhp is kind of lukewarm. I always knew Team bhp opinions can be pretty different from the normal audience but didn't expect for such a universally appreciated movie.

Recommendation - Just go for it. Must see for every Indian

[Nav-i-gator]

Watched Manikarnika - Queen of Jhansi yesterday: 2.5/5

Had much higher expectations from the movie, considering the movie is based on life of our favourite hero since childhood (Khoob ladi mardani wo to Jhansi wali rani thi - remember?).

There are flaws in script, none of the characters get a chance to develop apart from Kangna (she is good, as usual; delivering some of the most impactful scenes with pin point precision. But otherwise, even she feel more like the Kangna of Queen movie in many scenes). Length of the movie is a major issue (it's too long), there is no crescendo taking us to a high at the end, movie flows like a sine wave. I guess, more than anything else, editing is at fault.

Movie is good, but could have been much much better (but still better than Amir Khan's Mangal Pandey - another hero of India). A one time watch.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

W

There are flaws in script, none of the characters get a chance to develop apart from Kangna

Maybe this is the reason?

https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/gos...908-2019-01-26

[msdivy]

Manikarnika - 4/5

A very grand movie (sets inspired by Bahubali). The first half is good. 2nd half seems long - script could have been crisper. We read a one-liner in history textbooks that Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi fought against the British. This movie brings about her background and the people she interacted with.

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

But otherwise, even she feel more like the Kangna of Queen movie in many scenes).

Since the story is about the queen, not surprising she is the center of the movie

Length of the movie is a major issue (it's too long), there is no crescendo taking us to a high at the end, movie flows like a sine wave. I guess, more than anything else, editing is at fault.

I think the people (me included) were expecting one final battle. But it happened there were many battles. The movie could have addressed many other angles. But in what it does, it does a good job.

[GTO]

Thackeray = 1 / 5 stars. Please avoid. Walked out of the movie in the interval. What a bore! It's not a movie, but a glorified tribute. And even at that, the end product is shoddy. The story doesn't have a logical flow and abruptly jumps from one event to the other.

I love political movies and I love drama, but this film is awful. Don't even waste your time watching it when it comes on TV. Sad because the subject had a colourful + illustrious life. The topic has been wasted.

One of the two things I enjoyed is the scenes of old Bombay and the old cars. Of course, BHPians will spot an Ambassador 1.8 ISZ being incorrectly used in one of the scenes from the 1970s.

The second was the theatre - Inox Insignia @ Atria. What an amazing cinema. Very plush, comfortable recliners, gourmet food & hotel-like service. Never going to another theatre again.

[swiftnfurious]

I usually restrict myself to watch the movies that release in Amazon Prime.

Sui Dhaga - just loved rhe first half of this movie. Second part is predictable. I'll choose Anushka as the pick of the movie. A little surprised and happy she picked up such a less glamorous role. 3.5/5

Tumbadd - Man, you got to love the BGM!! Loved the movie too. 3/5

Jalebi - Average movie. The debutant actors are better off not given characters requiring lot of emotional acting. Same goes here. Passable romantic flick.

[Fraz33r]

The one movie i was surprised over the weekend was "Mitron"

Entertaining, witty, and definitely not bored to watch at all. Totally loved it. One thing worked for the movie was the Hero wasn't trying to be the Hero at all. He was an ordinary, lost guy. If you forgive him, and look at the over all content it is definitely satisfying.

Some cliched moments, but the side (friends) actors did their job really well! if you are gujarati, you will love the lingo used in the entire movie.

I would say go for it, you wont be disappointed. Watched it on Amazon Prime

Rating: 3.5/5 ( Way better than watching Race 3, Zero or TOH)