MOVIE REVIEW

INTERSTELLAR

Directors: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Timothée Chalamet, Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow
Strength: An audio visual feast, nail biting scenes
Weakness: Slow progression, unnecessarily emotional
Runtime: 169 minutes
Rating: 3.5/5

Plot: A team of determined explorers risk everything including humanity when they travel through a wormhole in a desperate attempt to find a potentially habitable planet.
Review:  A beautiful film that deals with space, time, global warming, politics, human nature, hope and love (to keep the mainstream audiences happy). The film starts with astronaut turned farmer
Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) living a peaceful life with his children – Murph (Mackenzie Foy /Jessica Chastain), Tom (Timothée Chalamet/ Casey Affleck) and his father in law – Donald (John Lithgow). Life is simple and audiences are led to believe air travel died down 10 years ago while massive sandstorms known as blights (representing global warming) pummel the earth killing off entire species of vegetables leaving only corn behind. The protagonist is soon sent into deep space, through a wormhole, into a new galaxy with 12 potentially habitable plants, at the first planet a crew member dies, at the second another dies, and at the third a lost member dies. Later on, the last remaining members decided to somehow make it to the last planet with whatever fuel they have left. I would write more but it would ruin the film for those who haven't watched it yet. However, there are many aspects of the film that represent several things about today's society like global warming represented by the 'blight'. Time which is portrayed in the form of ageing which in turn deals with space-time. This was beautifully portrayed when Cooper's daughter contacts him after the crew's time on the first planet and is the same age as her father. Human nature is portrayed as a form of survival mechanism in which Cooper wants to leave the new planet for his daughter but is stopped by the lost astronaut who sees nothing but the bigger picture. The other two criteria of the movie; love and hope doesn't really float my boat especially in a sci-fi movie like this. If you are like me then, you may not enjoy the film as much. However, if you’re a normal human being then the film is excellent in almost every aspect and definitely worth watching.

Reviewed by Waleed K. Rajamiya

***

KHOOBSURAT (2014)

Directors: Shashanka Ghosh
Writers: D.N. Mukherjee, Indira Bisht
Stars: Ashok Banthia, Rishabh Chaddha, Badrul Islam
Runtime: 130 minutes
Strength: Great production values, catchy songs
Weakness: Predictable story and mediocre screenplay
Rating: 3/5

Plot: A hopelessly romantic physiotherapist meets a handsome young Rajput prince who is the complete opposite of her and engaged to someone else.
Review: On face-value, KHOOBSURAT may just pass off as a fairy tale story that's taken straight out of the fable book with an overly strict mother in charge of every member of the household. But KHOOBSURAT also shows the power of love and laughter, bring family members closer to each other and above all, help a person realize his true love.  The film starts off with the introduction of a professional physiotherapist Mili Chakravarthy (Sonam Kapoor) who is a self-confessed 'spontaneous personality'. She is in charge of treating the players of IPL's Kolkata Knight Riders' team, an 'achievement' that qualifies to get her a suitable match, according to her typical Punjabi mother Manju Chakravarthy (Kirron Kher). Due to the inability of Mili's colleague to go to the royal house, Mili fills in for him to treat the King of the palace. Right from the word go, the very vocally outspoken Mili finds herself to be a 'royal misfit' in the royal palace of Sambhalgarh.  Despite its flaws, KHOOBSURAT does manage to capture your heart at places. Director Shashank Ghosh, who had earlier treated the viewers with his quirky films, manages to deliver the film that's strictly good in parts. Even though the film is supposed to be an official remake of the 80s classic by the same name, KHOOBSURAT seems to be nowhere near the original. With a runtime of 130 minutes, this film is a story of a girl who turns the life of a royal family upside down.  Despite the weak storyline, what keeps the movie going forward is its music.  The film's background score, editing and cinematography are all good. The film's screenplay falters at a lot of places. Though the film starts on a promising note, the story and screenplay have no meat in the second half. This flaw is however covered by the film's very witty dialogues writtenby Juhi Chaturvedi. Director Shashank Ghosh manages to make the film young and peppy, with quirky characters.
Overall, it is likeable in parts with good performances and stunning visuals; however the weak script is an 'ugly' hurdle this film will face at the box-office.

Reviewed by S.M. Intisab Shahriyar

***

Classic Review
APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers:   John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr, Joseph Conrad
Stars: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne
Runtime: 202 minutes

Plot: A young captain is sent to assassinate a renegade colonel who has become a god in the eyes of the local tribesmen in the jungles of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
Review:Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is based on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness which depicts war as a slow decaying descent into primal madness. The movie starts off with Capt. Willard (Sheen) going off the deep end in his hotel room. He is then assigned to hunt down and eliminate Col. Kurtz (Brando), who has set himself up deep in the jungle as a local god. On the way the captain encounters Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) a napalm, Wagner, drugs and surfing fan. The captain and his entourage later come across a USO Playboy show that turns into a riot due to sexually charged solders. When the captain finally comes across Kurtz's compound he meets with an ecstatic photographer (Hopper) who can't seem to stop talking about Kurtz. When the captain sees the heads mounted on stakes at the entrance to Kurtz compound, he realizes that the colonel has lost it.  However, it does become uncertain if the captain himself agrees with Kurtz’s outlook on the war which is “Drop the Bomb. Exterminate them all.” Coppola himself almost went off the deep end when trying to figure out the endings for the press screenings, the award winning screening at Cannes and the final cut. The Vietnam war like production was also a factor in Coppola losing it as a typhoon destroyed the set, Sheen suffered a heart attack, the budget kept swelling up for which Coppola kept paying out of his own pocket. Despite producer fears and mixed reviews about the ending, the film was a considerable hit and was nominated for 8 academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Duvall's portrayal of Kilgore. The film managed to snag Oscars for sound and cinematography. Apocalypse Now was unlike any film ever made and was a beautiful rendition of the confusing nightmare that was the Vietnam War.

Reviewed By Waleed K. Rajamiya