RoshanJG Reviews

Man of Steel (2013)

action packed to the brim

[10/10 · 14 June 2013]

Man Of Steel (2013) Rating- 85/100

The origin story of the greatest superhero of all time ,Superman.

Starring- Henry Cavill,Michael Shannon,Amy Adams,Russell Crowe Director- Zack Snyder

Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman is great.He puts in a lot of effort behind the role and he is successful most of the time.You could sense the pain and loneliness behind his character ,which is essential to the tale.Amy Adams as Lois is good.She proves to be a much better representation of Lois than her earlier predecessors.Micheal Shannon as Zod is great.As a villain he is excellent and truly the best villain to face off against Superman. On a surprising note ,Russel Crowe as Jor-El, has a good amount of scenes and hes amazing in them!Diane Lane and Kevin Costner do good as the foster parents.There's a tight bond between Superman and both his parents (his dad and both foster parents) and the actors do an excellent job bringing it out.

The stumbling block for MOS is its story.Don't get me wrong ,its good ,but there's some heavy structural problems and thats mostly the directors fault.Other than that ,the story is engaging.The excellent depiction of Krypton and explaining Superman's powers on Earth were all done neatly.Goyer has brought in the realistic natures that were seen in The Dark Knight Trilogy and lends MOS the same ,a hard task considering the highly out of the world powers of Superman. The relations between Superman and his parents were excellently highlighted.But his romance with Lois was not good enough.Some scenes do go a bit over the top (ex:The tornado flashback) ,and its hard to understand the choices the characters make.Zod's character was well developed and this helps in making him a great villain.

The visual effects were amazing.The Krypton sequences and especially the climax was wonderful!Music from Hans Zimmer was as usual amazing.It really gives the movie an intense atmosphere.

Direction by Zack Snyder was good.He keeps the movie packed with emotion and drama and amazing action scenes.The pace of the movie is a bit uneven at the start as it shifts back and forth from action to drama in the course of minutes ,but the latter half is fast paced and action packed.One of the issues i had with MOS was, Zack trying to 'Nolanise' the movie.The first half is riddled with jumping from the past and the present almost continuously.Juggling with timelines is best left to Nolan.Some scenes end all of a sudden and others just jump ahead without proper clarity.Editing is weak especially in the middle ,and this could irritate some viewers.

But Zack does master one aspect of the movie and thats the ACTION.I really have to talk about the action of this movie. It was just mindblowing!!! The entire third half of the movie is one gigantic EPIC battle.I have to say that its the best superhero fight sequences I've EVER seen.Mixed with the soundtrack and the visuals ,the action is just jaw dropping.The scale of destruction was immense.It was really great to see Superman actually fighting someone that matched his powers.The finale left me speechless

There are plenty of powerful scenes showcasing Superman's powers and all of them are spot on.Zack has made no mistake handling the action sequences ,and thats what keeps this movie afloat.

Overall ,Man Of Steel will go down as an excellent reboot of Superman made memorable with those jaw dropping action sequences.Its not perfect but its a blast!Its a must watch if you love action!

Acting- 4/5 Story- 3.5/5 Direction- 3.5/5 Action- 5/5 Drama- 4.5/5 Thriller- 5/5 Visual Effects- 5/5

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Race 2 (2013)

setting new standards for dumbness in Bollywood

[1/10 · 23 March 2013]

Race 2 (2013) IMDb- 5.4 RJG Rating- 05

Sequel to the blockbuster hit Race ,follows Ranvir's latest plan for revenge.

Starring- Saif Ali,John Abraham,Deepika ,Jacqueline Director- Abbas-Mastan

None of the actors are of any good.The only thing Saif Ali Khan does is give out his "know it all" stare.John Abraham proves once again that he has no other talents than modeling.His only contributions to the movie are his various shirtless scenes.As a villain he is a big time fail.Anil Kapoor is another wasted talent.He and Amisha Patel dish out various fruit related (im not kidding,all their dialogs are fruit related!) puns.Although both Deepika and Jacq have some story related role ,they only score on the skin show department.

Its easy to mistake the story for being written by an 8 year old who probably ate too much chocolate.Within 5 minutes from the start ,it starts getting beyond the realm of ridiculousness.Its so bad that i wanted to 'facepalm' myself permanently for watching the idiocy that unfolded on screen.Cheating poker ,speed based bomb,stealing historical items ,the list goes on,its all so idiotic that it starts getting hilarious in the second half.One of the best qualities of the first movie were its twists.With Race 2 ,the twists and turns can be seen a mile away.Its all too obvious and predictable.Almost all of them are shamelessly recycled from Hollywood.

This movie is an insult to the human senses.Abbas-Mastan have either gone nuts or are just trying to make quick cash with their worthless movies.They fill the movie with stylish shots trying hard to cover up the dumb story.Even here they fail.The visual effects are very poor and seem to be a decade old technology.The overdose of stylish sequences drag the movie even more.

The action sequences are too long and the comedy is very poor.The fruit related jokes are the most utterly lamest things I've ever heard in an action movie.Why fruits? Was it to support the cherry popping jokes? There's no other reason for fruit comedy in Race 2!! The only plus point that can be salvaged from Race 2 is its music.The music videos were interesting and helped to increase the movies tempo.

Overall Race 2 is one of the worst movies I've seen in 2013.Stay away from it.The music videos can be seen on Youtube for free.

Acting- 0/5 Story- 0/5 Direction- 0/5 Action- 1/5 Thriller- 1/5

Rowdy Rathore (2012)

Action packed entertainer

[8/10 · 4 June 2012]

Akshay plays a double role in the movie.One as Shiva ,the thief and the other as Rathore ,the cop.Even though the thief role is just like the usual roles Akshay plays in all his recent movie ,its his role as Rathore that steals the show.Akshay being an action hero is completely at ease in this movie.Sonakshi is just eye candy and doesn't do much.The supporting cast too aren't of much help either.The kid has only one real role that is too look cute and sad at all times.

The story isn't something unheard of.Its the usual double role story mixed with vengeance for justice.

Prabhudeva once again shows off his style through Rowdy Rathore as he did for Wanted.The movie's main highlight are its action scenes.The first half is not very great ,it trudges along with a couple of songs and some comedy.Added to this is the confusing backstory.But luckily the second half clears up the backstory and increases the intensity of the action scenes.The movie has just the right amount of drama and unlike movies that follow the improbable fights + slapstick comedy routine (Dabangg ,Ready) ,Rowdy has just the right amount of both ,like Wanted.

While the comedy is just passable its the action scenes that provide the most excitement.The dialogues are noteworthy especially in the second half.Punchlines dished out by Akshay as Rathore are fun.The comedy is at its best towards the end.

Overall,Rowdy Rathore is for fans of Akshay , and for those who just want to see some good masala entertainment. AKshay's best movie in years.

Acting- 3/5 Story- 3/5 Direction- 4/5 Action- 4/5 Comedy- 3.5/5

Overall ---75/100

The Avengers (2012)

Action packed & Unlimited Fun

[7/10 · 12 May 2012]

Avengers had one of the longest marketing technique used in the movie industry.Its marketing started way back in 2008 with the release of Iron-Man.After 4 years and 5 movies later, that movie is finally released.The Avengers fulfills all the expectations that were raised in this 4 year duration.All the main actors have returned (except Edward Norton ,replaced by Mark Ruffalo for The Hulk) ,and the story is fun ,witty and action packed.

The biggest drawbacks most star-studded movies encounter is giving the comparatively more famous actor the biggest chunk of role.Thankfully this was not the deal for Avengers.All the main heroes (IronMan,Captain America ,Thor & Hulk) got equally big as well as important part in the story.The secondary actors (Nick Fury & Black Widow) were not brushed off ,and even with all the superheroes getting the good parts ,these 2 still had major roles.The only character felt unused and a bit expendable was Hawkeye. This speaks volumes of how the story has been handled.Juggling 6-7 heroes and giving each ample screen time is no easy task.

In the acting department ,Robert Downey stole the show as he usually does.He was born to play IronMan.In every scene he appears he is in total style and gives IronMan his soul. Both Chris Evans(Captain America) & Chris Hemsworth (Thor) were not bad.Both did equal justice to their roles.Tom Hiddleston (Loki) delivered yet another excellent villainous role ,similar to the one he did in Thor.Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) had a surprisingly longer and major role and she too gives her best.Jeremy Renner (HawkEye) was too rigid ,this may be due to his role not being fully fledged.Samuel J(Nick Fury) was good. But the true show stealer was Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.The Hulk will indeed be EVERYONE's favourite character once they have seen Avengers.Every scene & action scene by Hulk is just Pure Awesomeness.

Story as i previously said is truly noteworthy because of the huge juggling acting of giving each Hero their own connection with the movie.But in terms of story telling ,it falters just a bit.The story makes way for the action and takes the backseat.While the first half concentrates on the story ,the second is completely action based.

Action scenes are superb.The numerous fight scenes,hero vs hero,hero vs hoardes ,heroes vs the villain ,ALL are properly choreographed and exciting.

Direction was great.The way Joss Whedon managed to direct this movie with these many superheroes and mixing them and giving one solid movie is truly remarkable.On the downside the first half was riddled with pacing issues.Some dragging scenes in the first half drained the excitement after some great fights.But once the Hulk appears ,the movie just blasts off to high levels of awesomeness never to go down again.The real Avengers movie starts with The Hulk and ends with him too. The dialogues were witty and funny ,and Robert Downey's style of delivery & Hulk's grunts of words steal many scenes away.

Overall Avengers is a colourful,funny,action packed movie that delivers its promise of a United Super Heroes movie.The movie might not be legendary ,but The Hulk & Robert Downey will not be forgotten. A must watch movie.

Acting-4.5/5 Story-4/5 Direction-4.5/5 Action-5/5 Comedy-4.5/5

The Intouchables (2011)

A Beautiful Movie..Masterpiece..

[10/10 · 27 March 2012]

Intouchables is a true story of Philippe ,a rich aristocrat who is paralyzed from neck down and Driss ,an unemployed man coming from a poverty stricken family..

Francois & Omar as the lead cast give a superb performance .. The charismatic Omar (Driss) is just amazing..His very presence on screen is powerful as he juggles between rib-tickling comedy and some serious drama...Francois (Philippe) is on par with Omar...He gives a very controlled performance and is able to hold strong against Omar's contrasting character.Considering,Francois had to act as a quadriplegic, he has done an amazing job..His expressions itself substitute any needs of dialogues.. The bond the two develop is pure gem.

Story is smooth and never drags..It could have been an intense drama movie,but the directors usage of comedy made it stand out from other similar stories..Direction is sharp & the movie doesn't rely on any over the top scenes..

The music is beautifully blended into the movie and it enhances the effectiveness of many scenes...

The Intouchables can be described by one word..Beautiful...The movie is a must watch for all..

Acting- 5/5 Story- 5/5 Direction- 5/5 Comedy- 5/5 Drama- 5/5

The Flowers of War (2011)

A Brutal yet Beautiful Movie

[9/10 · 11 January 2012]

In the massacre of Nanking 1937 ,an American takes shelter in a church along with a group of girls..

Starring-Christian Bale ,Ni Ni,Zhang Xinyi,Tong Dawei Director-Zhang Yimou

Flowers Of War is a brutal movie which captures the terrors that the Chinese faced during the massacre of Nanking.The movie is well shot and has a solid cast...

The first half of the movie, which is action packed,is lead by Tong Dawei who plays Major Li ..The second half is more of drama and it is taken up strongly by Christian Bale and Ni Ni...

The good points of the movie are its top class war scenes at the beginning of the movie, and the performances of the entire cast.. But the negative points include some over the top scenes which are highly unlikely to have taken place during a war..

The direction is good and the story engaging...And with the performances rock solid,Flowers of War is an excellent watch...

Acting-4.5/5 Direction-4/5 Story-4/5 Drama-4.5/5

Desi Boyz (2011)

Poor work

[2/10 · 9 January 2012]

Desi Boyz (2011) IMDB-5.8

2 unemployed people become strippers during the recession...

Starring-Akshay Kumar,John Abraham,Deepika,Chitragandha Director-Rohit Dhawan

The synopsis was the main selling point of the whole movie,but the truth is that the lead characters work as "Desi Boys" just for 20 min. of the movie's 2hr duration... The rest of the story is just a giant compilation of various other movies...Direction was average ,the music timepass.....The comedy is at times enjoyable but most of the time it goes over the board.. The main lead Akshay & John are re-teaming after the super hit Garam Masala (2005)...The pair do try to take the movie ashore with their antics but this fails..Both are guilty of major over acting.. The whole concept of the story is poorly handled..

Acting-2/5 Direction-2/5 Story-1/5 Comedy-3/5 Drama-2.5/5

Don 2 (2011)

The best Bollywood Action movie

[10/10 · 30 December 2011]

MY REVIEW OF DON 2

Plot Synopsis

After a gap of 5 years, Don decides to expand his business into Europe..But in order to do so he teams up with his old nemesis Vardhaan...

Acting

SRK was just amazing as Don..he takes the whole character of Don into another level with this movie...He can shoulder the movie entirely by himself at any point..but fortunately the supporting cast is great too... Priyanka's role is more engaging in the second half after a lackluster first half..Boman Irani too extends upon his character,Vardhaan, to excellent performances...Kunal also does a fine job..Lara Dutta is just eye candy (very very hot candy too)

Acting-4/5

Story

Unlike Don (2006),the sequel is more of a heist thriller..Its fast, completely action oriented and has twists every now and then.The story at times is a bit stretched but the on screen performances manage to push past such holes.. So far Don2 is the best of the this genre in Bollywood..

Story-4/5

Action

Don2 takes action to another level..The action sequences are well placed and the car chases are nicely handled..The fights are brief and don't prolong too much..

Action-5/5

Music

Shankhar Ehsaan Loy nearly messes up in this department..The music even though nice and catchy resembles too much to Don(2006).. Farhan however used just one music sequence in Don2 (Zaraa Dil Kho),and Hai Ye Maya is used brilliantly for a montage of how the team prepares to rob a bank.. Dushman Mera is used during the credits...All the songs are just superbly shot..

Music Picturisation-4.5/5

Direction

Farhan proves once again hes one of the best with Don2..With Don2 ,he completely rejuvenates the titular character Don...In every scene of this movie he adds style..He also handles the heist part of the movie very well too..Don2 is easily the best heist movie Bollywood has ever come up with.. Editing is sharp and much care has been given to not drag certain scenes..

Direction-4/5

Movie-Don2 Don2 will be remembered as the most stylish movie ever in Bollywood..It not only carries the style but has enough substance within it too..The character of Don has been given a fresh storyline to work through..From the start to the finish ,its SRK's portrayal of Don that captures the complete attention of the viewers..Some parts of the story do stretch a bit but its just a minor flaw.. A complete family entertainer,the Best of 2011......

Don 2---9.5/10

Ra.One (2011)

Ra.One is Indian Cinemas Stepping Stone Into the World Of Visual Effects and SuperHeroes

[8/10 · 27 October 2011]

Plot Synopsis A game designer creates a game from which the villain steps into reality and creates havoc..In order to defeat the villain the hero of the game is brought into reality...

Acting This is one of Ra.One's weak points...The ladies of this movie have done a half-baked job...Shahana Goswami was poor, and Kareena acted below her potential (actually I think that's all she can do!)... The kid, Armaan Verma, did a very good job..playing the arrogant kid is usually overdone by most child actors but Armaan was great.. Tom Wu did a good job as well... Arjun Rampal also did a good job, but I felt he wasn't given much room to improve.. Shahrukh was just average..............Just Kidding... Srk as usual takes the entire acting of the movie onto his shoulders...Once SRK is on screen he takes full command of the show..He does a triple-role in this movie... "Subramanium" is hilarious..i don't care what others thought but I thoroughly enjoyed his jokes and antics..I saw shades of past performances of SRK's Om Prakash Makhija(OSO) & Surinder Suri (RNBDJ)..but that's nothing bad... "G.One" is a bit rigid, but of course that's what a video game character is...G.One mainly shines in the action scenes.. "Lucifer" is a short character played by SRK in the beginning..Even though he is played in a over the top fashion, its understandable based on the situation...

So Acting-3.5/5 (since its basically SRK that does all the work).

Story Universally the story has been blamed..But considering the recent stories bollywood has come up with, this is actually very good..The origin of the technology was done very quickly and if u miss certain scenes, its understandable that u may get confused..But at the heart of this movie, its not a drama, nor romantic, neither comedy...its science fiction..an open mind is the first thing that is needed to enjoy the movie...

Story-3/5

Action This is the main genre of Ra.One and it completely fulfills it..Action junkies will be surely pleased..The visual Effects go hand in hand with all the action scenes and we end up with the type of action scenes that could easily be mistaken for a Hollywood movie..

Action-5/5

Comedy If u take out the action scenes of this movie, the movie gives priority to the comic genre..Even though Subramanium had a fun time dishing out the jokes in the first half, it becomes hard for G.One to compete with the level of jokes in the second..So we have back up comedians such as Satish Shah, who does a fantastic job...But the problem is the very risky type jokes that take hold especially in the second half..(The Airport checking scene was very very Bad)..You may even wonder whether its a PG-13 movie..the jokes are such adults will surely enjoy.

Comedy-4/5

Visual Effects As I previously said, RA.One is the benchmark for Indian Cinemas in the matter for visual effects...NO movie has ever had the level of effects as RA.One, with the exception of Endhiran/Robot...The quality of the visuals are all Admirable..The scene where G.One first meets Ra.One(Blasting cars into the air) is amazing...

Visual Effects-5+/5

Music Vishal-Shekhar have done an amazing work in the music department..the music videos of "Right By Your Side","Chammak Challo","Criminal","Raftaarein" were all rocking...The video/montage of "Bhare Naina" was partially boring, but the song is one of the best..."Dildaara" is the main tune of the movie , and its rightly used..

Music Picturisation-4.5/5

Cameos Priyanka is just OK ---2.5/5. Sanjay Dutt is good---3/5. But the presence of Rajinikanth will send shivers up your spine, too bad its just 1minute long ---5/5.

Direction Ra.One is a well made movie, Anubhav has definitely improved...Though some scenes could have omitted or shortened(2,4 scenes)...the movie runs with a fast pace, but when such scenes slow it down, its possible u get bored within a minute...some more editing could have been made..

Direction-3.5/5

Movie-RA.One RA.One as a movie is high on visuals and graphics.Its a landmark for Indian Cinema.Comparisons with Hollywood are inevitable but those SHOULD be ignored, as they are just baseless...Ra.One has brought upon a new dawn for Bollywood, appreciate it, cause very few have done it..

The Ward (2010)

It could have been better

[7/10 · 6 August 2011]

I was eager to see Ward because i like the combination of ghosts+mental institutes...The movie is good but fails to capitalize at various scenes..Unlike most horror movies,the plot is excellent ..The movie has only a couple of truly scary scenes(nothing genuine though)..the acting is average...

The story is of a mysterious girl,Kirsten (Amber Heard) being put in a mental institute..There she starts seeing a ghost..Her room mates (or ward mates) don't disclose much info on this ghost even though they too have seen her..the rest of this movie is how she tries to escape the institute while uncovering the mysteries of the Asylum..

overall the movie should be seen,but not worthy of repeat watching..

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Worst Resident Evil Movie !!

[1/10 · 5 August 2011]

i didn't have much expectation from Afterlife,but being a Big fan of the first movie,made me watch the rest of the series...but each movie gets more worse than its predecessor ...

just within minutes into the introduction of Alice,the movie started to go bad.. the fights were just too lame,and over that,crappy CGI...

the first scene that takes place in Tokyo seemed to be taking place only for one reason,..to kill all the Alice clones..tats it..the end of the 3rd part (extinction) promised us that Alice will fight back with her army of clones..in the 4th part ,all clones are dead after fighting a couple of guards.. unfortunately that was just the starting....

Alice loses all her powers,but stays alive even after a big airplane accident.. after 6 months,shes flying to Alaska..Alice looks like a model through out this movie...she has on heavy makeup,i don't mind it cause Milla is damn hot...but in a zombie movie who wears makeup all the time...i know its a small issue,but thousands of similar issues lag this movie down....even Ali Larter,is almost unrecognizable at first..but after she meets Milla,Ali looks hot too..

as the movie progresses, more characters appear..the introduction of Wenthworth miller too is horribly done.. the jail ,where all the characters are currently living in is nicely lit up too...fire torches EVERYWHERE...i suppose there's no fuel shortage..

conveniently Arcadia (the sole hope of civilization away from zombies) is nearby..there's a whole lot of time given to a plan made by wentworth on how to make a 'Prison Break'...but that is completely useless ..and another plan is immediately made..by the time Alice reaches the ship(don't know how she gets things done so conveniently) all the characters are dead,except the famous ones (Ali larter and wenthworth)...

more bullcrap awaits at the ship..more dumb gunfights...a character is ripped off from the matrix...and it goes on and on..finally the end..and whats that?

just after rescuing the people trapped in the ship and killing off the sole villain of this movie,more planes with more guards come by ,'Promising Us' yet again some big fights coming up in the next movie..

There are very few genuine scary moments...acting and dialogues are over the top...CGI is very very bad for a big budget movie..For a movie based on Resident Evil the game,this has Nothing to do with it...i know the previous ones had no relation to the game as well but this one is just plain laziness... A reboot of this mess is needed..Hopefully not with Alice and her superpowers,just the simple characters from the game...

Ready (2011)

Another over hyped salman movie

[4/10 · 12 July 2011]

Ready is a success only because of the 'presence' of salman..aneez thought that he could keep making cash using akshay,but since the people understood akshay is useless,'thankyou' flopped..now aneez is using the next mega hyped star,salman....result-megahit.. Ready was corny and had a illogical plot..some can say plot is compromised for the comedy but Ready has just one or two funny scenes....acting was avg,fans of salman will find his acting&comedy good,but for others salman is also avg.. Being a aneez basmi movie,the plot is made on the way..direction was awful.. The movie is a timepass,so leave your brain,heart and other useful organs at the door and then you can truly enjoy this movie....

Insidious (I) (2010)

A Horror movie with a difference

[10/10 · 26 June 2011]

Watching this horror movie was very enjoyable..unlike most movies of this genre that have innumerable clichés ,insidious managed to stay away from most of them.. Acting from Patrick William and rose were on the spot.. Direction was also great. This movie is indeed a must watch for any horror fans.. The scare tactics used in this movie is also excellent and is well placed.Another plus point for insidious is its soundtrack and its usage in the movie.... The movie doesn't have dull moments and once the plot sets in ,you are certainly in for a ride.I feel that insidious is one step ahead of paranormal activity and fans of PA wont be disappointed with Insidious.. The best horror movie of 2011 so far....

Sucker Punch (2011)

A sucker punch to your common sense....

[2/10 · 26 June 2011]

This is Zack's 2nd rotten movie ,the first being the one about the owls..As a big fan of the director i was excited to see the movie and decided to wait for the extended cut..but i was disappointed with the whole movie.... Zack instead of making a straight-forward movie about a girl trying to escape a mental institute,he decided to take a twisted approach to the whole plot and made it more action oriented mixed with many unwanted twists.... The plot started to become more and more mundane just after the scene where baby-doll is enrolled in the institute.. I loved Zack's style,especially his trademark slow-mo and closeups but the multiple and repetitive action scenes drained the interest in those effects from me.... In my opinion,the movie would have been wonderful if Zack ignored all the alternative worlds and just made a movie on baby-doll and friends trying to escape the institute normally(shawshank/prison break style).. Acting was average on the whole,i liked Jena Malone.Carla seemed to go over the top with her accent....the character 'blue' was well acted.... Action scenes were all good but their repetitive use spoiled the impact....i read somewhere that Zack didn want the action scenes to look like a video game but i guess he failed,since they looked nothing other than video games....

Before cing sucker-punch i was excited 4 Zack's superman ,but after the whole mess of this movie,I'm having second thoughts....