PRISONERS: What ‘THE CONJURING’ did to horror, ‘PRISONERS’ does to thriller! [3.5/5]

In order to keep you glued to your seats, regular thrillers often try to bomb every trick mentioned in the rulebook on you, one after other. Exhaustively pacey narration, deliberately designed twists, in your face-jaw dropping action, over the top drama and what not…but it all looks so gimmick-so unreal-so unconvincing when you experience Denis Villeneuve’s PRISONERS.

PRISONERS belongs to the same genre but mainly to a minimal sub-part of it that doesn't believe in all those textbook rules and absorbs your soul in its atmospheric mood and the intensity of the actions. The complex human behavior itself plays so hard as an integral motivator that you don’t feel alienated to what is happening on the screen. It is dark, murky, intricate, violent, layered, riveting and a pure thriller to enjoy-indulge & invade!

When law enforcement agencies [Jake Gyllenhaal as an out-and-out dedicated police detective] find it hard to book a possible suspect in a child-abduction case lacking enough evidential proofs, father of one such girl [Huge Jackman, riding high on emotions rather than showing muscular strength] decides to take charge in his hands, illegally of course. But the density in the maze to track down the offender is so thick that even a far-sighted would need to think twice before guessing who’s behind all.

From the very first frame, film creates a perfect ambiance for a thriller with the suspenseful chilly-frosty-foggy woods of Pennsylvania as the base of events. Camera beautifully captures and extracts the mystical feel from those wooden houses to torch-lit shots used mostly for the dark places to explore and investigate. But as I have made it clear above, the focus is always on how human behavior gets adulterated by the heat of the situation and complexities take over. And to show it better, nothing but the performances emerge as the winner. 

Two towering infernos here are subtle at the most parts but when the break down happens, you should never miss a moment. The way Jake reproaches his supervisor for not being supportive is hilarious. The way Jackman as a helpless father shows his angst and aggravation while torturing the possible suspect in his illegal custody is disturbingly bone-chilling. His hard-to-break instinct to believe that the man in his charge is the culprit they all are looking out for is very contagious.

The name Denis Villeneuve is well-associated with the Oscar-nominated incest-thriller INCENDIES. That was a complete awe-striking movie that takes your breath away with its exceptional ending. This is not that but still a genre-defying effort. 

One or two not-so hard-to crack twists, a slow pace that might work in negative to lose your constant consideration and a little drawn out duration of the film [153 min is quite unseen-unexpected for recent Hollywood movies] could easily be avoided if you have an urge to watch good thriller with performances of first rate. This is definitely season’s best. What ‘THE CONJURING’ did to horror, ‘PRISONERS’ does to thriller! [3.5/5]

GIPPI: A ‘coming of age’ teenage drama? not really-not entirely!!

When was the last time you saw a teenage girl, on the verge of attaining puberty, discussing the noticeable changes in physical appearance with a friend of same age...in a bold-intrepid manner, without being hesitant and apologetic about it at any minute?

I guess that never happened on Indian screen before…and solely for that very ‘I will talk what I feel’ attitude, Sonam Nair’s GIPPI is appreciative. But as they say in Bollywood, “a good start never ensures an equally better end”, GIPPI too falls short of expectations it creates in the very beginning.

Fat, clumsy, chubby, not-so-presentable but fun-loving, goodhearted, charming girl of 14 lives in a close bunch of friends like her (insultingly being called as losers by a green-tea addicted, hot body, heavily accented fellow student) and in an even predictably dreamy family of her single mother & an irritating younger brother, having bigger issues than his waist size.

Film constantly & comfortably comes up with a plenty of feel-good moments that bring smiles of your face but most of the times, not because of the situation but the lovely character GIPPI represents. The problem lies in the writing that becomes too convenient, predictable and dramatically regular at places.

To conclude, GIPPI is a sugar-coated, candy floss kind of effort that forcibly tries to overcome its flaws in order to be a ‘coming of age’ teenage drama. Watch out for the amazingly fresh presence of GIPPI on the screen and her warm-funny-inviting chemistry with the mother (Divya Dutta in her regular avatar) but sadly it's not good enough to make you fall in love for long. Do it one more time, I say. **[2/5]

BOMBAY TALKIES : Cinema has given you a lot, now its time to return the favor! [4/5]

On the day when Indian cinema is celebrating its glorious centenary; I still remember how I, in my pre-teens, used to run after movie promotional rickshaws every time they showed up in my village, just in hope to get a movie poster someday. Memories are still fresh when my craze for the dynamic Kajol landed me in celebrating her birthdays and posting articles and photographs of her in a secret diary [I still have it :)] and trust me, there are numerous other examples of hardcore fascination towards Indian cinema that run in our veins secretly but passionately.

Karan-Zoya-Dibakar-Anurag’s BOMBAY TALKIES is one of loveliest short film bouquet that takes us through how Cinema or for that matter Bollywood has become an integral part of our lives. So, you see Karan Johar effectively pushing his boundaries as a filmmaker and walking around the dark galore of homosexuality where two people [played immaculately by Randeep Hooda & Saquib Saleem] bond over their common taste & love for bollywood music…SENSITIVE-BOLD-CONFIDENT! 

Zoya Akhtar decides to tell a dreamy story of a teenage boy [All praises for Naman Jain- the child actor] who idolizes Katrina Kaif as shiela and has now discovered his passion for being a dancer like her, rather than enrolling for masculine sports i.e. soccer…ENGROSSING! 

Dibakar Banerji presents Nawazuddin in a story originally written by Satyajit Ray, for a power-packed performance as a small time theatre-artist who is quite a failure in real world but seeks a new glossy story in reel world to bring rewarding smile on his bedridden daughter…MOVING-HEARTFELT-IMPRESSIVE. 

Anurag Kashyap’s short is definitely the most entertaining of the lot. A common man from Allahabad struggles to meet his cinema-idol Amitabh Bachchan just to fulfill his father’s sort of unusual last wish…HILARIOUS & LIKEABLE! 

This ode to cinema works for its finesse for the craft that gives you first rate performances, brilliance of writing, flawless screenplay & the most importantly its exhaustive realistic approach to stay honest to each segment and subject. Not all the stories are unheard before but the sincerity in execution demands a must watch in theaters. This is not strictly experimental for classes, this is not formula based for masses…but a rare for all cinema lovers. Cinema has given you a lot, now its time to return the favor! [4/5]