Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jeff, Who Lives At Home is a beautiful film. An unconventional and unassuming comedy - a little bit quirky and at times, whimsical, yet heartwarming and funny. Jason Segel's monologue in the opening scene sets the tone of the film. There's an endearing innocence and naivety about him when he poses some intriguing questions after watching M. Night Shyamalan's Signs - what if, everything in this universe is inter-connected in some sort of way. The philosophical ramblings of a dreamy pothead man-child gives way to a series of misadventures as he embarks on a journey trying to find a certain Kevin, being convinced that his destiny is leading him to Kevin through a number of vague signs. As he pursues these signs, he bumps into his brother played by Ed Helms, who's following his wife suspecting her of having an affair with another man. Ed Helms is a revelation as a disgruntled man with a mediocre job stuck in a loveless marriage about to crumble. Their mother, played by Susan Sarandon, steals the show with a brilliant performance. The insecurities and loneliness of impending old age, the mixed emotions of exasperated dismay and moderate hopefulness when she receives messages from a 'secret admirer' are portrayed flawlessly. The unexpectedly invigorating climax brings all the central characters together after a bunch of inexplicably bewildering coincidences. Maybe the universe does have a plan for everyone!

Gangs of Wasseypur

Let me indulge in a few truisms. Yes, this is one of the greatest Hindi films of our generation and definitely Kashyap's best work after No Smoking. 'Godfather meets Park Chan Wook' will be an unfair tag, and so will be to draw parallels with Tarantino or any other global contemporaries. This magnum opus is SO Indian, and only the genius of Anurag Kashyap could deliver an uninhibited, arrogant, dark, brutal, savage, larger-than-life revenge drama, taken to dizzying heights of cinematic brilliance that induces extreme emotional orgasm. No conscience-talks, no unnecessary moralizing. The screenplay by Zeishan Quadri is a knockout as it successfully merges history with fiction, beautifully captures the socio-political fabric of rustic India with a historical commentary which provides more authenticity to the script. The humour is out-of-the-world loud and bloody brilliant, expletives galore - unabashed, unapologetic. Rajiv Ravi's camera work is the best I've seen in Indian Cinema in a long, long time and sets a benchmark difficult to emulate. Sneha Khanwalkar’s background score is a killer and the songs often add to the narrative. Now, coming to the actors - all of them deliver outstanding and stellar performances. The intensity of Jaideep Ahlawat, subtlety of Piyush Misra and flamboyance of Pankaj Tripathi are pitch perfect; the female characters sparkle amidst the male brigade with the feisty Richa Chadda and sensuous Reema Sen; Tigmanshu Dhulia makes a spectacular debut. However, everyone is overshadowed by the pothead-turned-Michael Corleone Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Manoj Bajpai is reborn. As Rajeev Masand says - "It's difficult to separate the actor from the character." With a single-minded unmitigated and unflinching determination for vengeance, his quirky humour, lecherous glances, penchant for the theatrical grandiose - he's the driving force of this film.

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man is disappointing. Marc Webb deserves a pat on the back for trying to be original. But, the screenplay could have been much, much better. The film has its moments. Andrew Garfield is refreshing as the new Spidey. He emotes really well. Playing the loser high school science geek transformed into a wisecracking punk superhero, he more-or-less delivers. He's fun and he's cute with a boyish charm, so was Tobey Maguire. But, Maguire was way better than Garfield as far as portraying emotional vulnerabilities and insecurities is concerned. The teenage angst gives way to warm-fuzzy romance, and the chemistry actually works between him and Emma Stone unlike the exaggerated melodrama in the previous franchise. It's shot pretty well (though there's no over-the-top action sequence) and has a good soundtrack too. But somewhere, the image of Tobey Maguire with his innocent eyes emoting a deluge of emotions of amazement and pain and steely intensity lurks in your subconscious. It doesn't generate or induce that same kind of emotional connect that we had with Maguire. Hope Garfield will get better in the next Spidey flick, and sincerely pray that he does away with the irritating mannerisms of constant head-scratching, lip-licking and shivering!

Shanghai

Shanghai is flawless. This desi version of Z delves deep into the murky world of Indian political establishment and represents it through the prism of gritty, uncompromising, brutal realism. Amidst all the darkness of stark reality, the humour quotient is subtle and profound at the same time. Abhay Deol stands out - so intense yet so restrained. He's the Ryan Gosling of Bollywood. Farooq Sheikh is bloody brilliant and Pitobash is an absolute treat. Emraan Hashmi is the surprise package of the film; he discovers the actor in himself, packs a punch in an effortless manner. Prosenjit adds a touch of class with a perfect cocktail of economy of emotions and expressions, and intense glances. Kalki fails to impress though since her character doesn't come out of the one-dimensional mould of angst-ridden ranting.