(According to Subham Choudhary Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a 3 star movie)

i avoided the crowds, waiting in line and waiting in the theater to reserve a good seat, by going to the cheyenne capitol 12, biggest theater in the state, on a monday matinee, and it wasn't crowded at all. unfortunately, the 3d was flawed. crosstalk, i guess is what they call it. i could see both left and right images together from the center to the left of the screen, like seeing double. it wasn't bad, but it was annoying. despite that, the 3d effect is impressive. anyway, i am a big star wars fan, but there is nothing like having seen the first film, 揂 new hope� in a theater for the first time, including seeing this one. it is very similar to the first film, but there isn't as much hope and optimism in this reboot. what it lacks in optimism, it makes up for with very effective hype, having been promoted along with every product known to man for the past year or so. when the original star wars was released, it was like a fresh breeze, following close behind the watergate scandal and the end of the vietnam war, and a lot of depressing films like the omen, network and dog day afternoon. times aren't all that different now, but this new star wars is different, it is pg-13, rather than the more kid friendly pg rating of the original. it has a darker tone and there are some outright murders in it, including the graphic murder of a main character. this reboot feels a bit worn and desperate, like no matter how hard the good guys try, evil just keeps popping back up. the bad guys are like cockroaches, there is just no victory over them which lasts. the bad guys in this new star wars seem like a reflection of modern enemies like the taliban, isis, al-qaeda and neo-nazis – no matter how hard you step on them, they keep coming back. this new star wars reflects the frustrations of our current failures in combating evil. it is a compelling story, though. it manages to resurrect the main characters from the first film, han solo, luke skywalker, pricess leia, r2-d2, c-3po and chewbacca, all played by the original actors! kenny baker is listed as a consultant, not actor, for the r2-d2 character, who is seen only briefly in this film. this screenplay, by lawrence kasdan (who also wrote star wars episodes v and vi) michael arndt and writer-director j.j. abrams, deftly manages to introduce a lot of new characters, like rey (played by daisy ridley of the 揗r selfridge� tv series). others include finn (john boyega of 揂ttack the block�) poe dameron (oscar isaac of 揈x machina�) and maz kanata (lupita nyong'o of �12 years a slave.� while giving enough screen time to the original characters as well. a new cute little robot is also introduced, bb-8. so, in this film, you've got a new darth vader disciple, kylo ren (adam driver of “this is where i leave you”) and a new emperor character, supreme leader snoke (andy serkis of “the hobbit� movies) who is ren's mentor. they represent the first order, which arose out of the old empire. both the rebels and the new order are intent on finding luke skywalker, who has gone missing. poe dameron, a skilled and daring rebel pilot, obtains a map which shows skywalker's location, but he is captured by the first order. he entrusts the map to his droid, bb-8, who is later found by rey, a tough, resourceful woman who lives off of salvaged tech. a turncoat storm trooper named fin helps poe escape the clutches of ren and the first order, and the two embark on a perilous journey to meet up with the rebels. eventually, they meet with others, including rey and bb-8. they become part of a team who are trying to stop the first order from using a new super weapon (kind of like a death star). it is an old, very familiar story, but it works mainly on the strength of its characters. a new generation of actors looks quite ready to carry on the star wars saga into the future. while kylo ren seems to be a bit weak for a villain trying to fill darth vader's shoes, he might grow into the role. poe dameron is a bit weak too, but oscar
View all reviews on Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(According to Subham Choudhary Angry Indian Goddesses is a 2 star movie)

goddesses is being heralded as “india’s first female buddy movie,” which is such a welcome change for hindi cinema. but it’s also an overtly feminist film that balances its themes with such witty dialogues and powerful performances. nalin introduces to an ensemble of friends who are routinely the subject of sexist micro-aggressions at work and in life. there’s joanna (amrit maghera) an anglo-indian who’s struggling to make a name for herself in bollywood and suffering through b-films to make a living; pam (pavleen gujral) a housewife who has business ambitions but thwarted by a unconvinced husband; mad (anushka manchanda) a singer whose albums aren’t getting picked up; freida (sarah-jane dias) a photographer struggling to balance her art with a commercial job; laxmi (rajshri deshpande) a maid who’s taking her harassers to task; nargis (tannishtha chatterjee) an activist who’s got a personal beef with suranjana (sandhya mridul) a businesswoman who’s building a factory in a disputed area. while it may seem like there’s a lot of characters to keep track of, nalin makes sure that each woman in the film gets her own story arc that’s refreshingly real and honest. the women all assemble for freida’s imminent wedding and her betrothed is shrouded in secrecy for part of the film, which leads to some hilarious banter between the gang. this is one rare film that passes the bechdel test with flying colours, because there are frank discussions of sexuality – “she means happy-wallah gay right?” says one – suicide, workplace drama, sex, and having it all. the dialogues keep from being too overwritten, because each actress rolls with the improv feel of the film so seamlessly that you almost want to become their friends as well. there are some storylines that completely hook you in like suranjana’s struggling to balance her career and family. you really feel for her predicament, especially when she takes it out on her young daughter maya or swearing profusely when confronted by nargis. often, depictions of a woman’s struggle with the work and life balance can force an unnecessary ultimatum. it feels revolutionary to see that nalin doesn’t offer a tidy resolution to everyone’s story and lets them be unlikable and selfish, but we grow to love them all. it’s an interesting choice, but also reflective of reality. mridhul is one of the complete standouts of the film, along with manchanda who lets us into mad’s conflicted inner world, dias who has greatly improved as an actress and chatterjee who makes nargis rise above some of the activist clich�s. it’s so amazing to see such a fine ensemble cast of women who bring everything to their roles and emerge with the audience’s sympathies. when the film shifts gears in its final act, we finally get a glimpse at the film’s title when the women get furious and avenge the wrongs against them. this section gets dark fast and confronts the women about the social realities of true empowerment. it’s difficult to talk about without spoiling it, but the film finds its angry groove in the finale, which earns the audience’s respect in spite of this rushed section. it feels as if nalin packed in all the issues in case another film this witty and powerful would never get made again, which partly works in his favour. it’s a must watch film that will likely spark a dialogue around women’s issues, which is so vital at this time.
View all reviews on Angry Indian Goddesses

(According to Subham Choudhary Tamasha is a 1 star movie)

just short of an hour into the film, i was up to there with ‘tamasha’. all we’d got till then was scene after pretty scene in corsica – picturesque bistros, colourful locals in fancy dress, leafy green countryside, sparkling blue waters, and two of the most interesting actors in bollywood desperately acting out their parts : over-emphasising their meet-cute, making eyes and coming hither. to absolutely no effect. no impact. zero. nada. can you imagine getting ranbir and deepika and not letting them fall into a real, true, passionate twosome, because the writing in this initial part of the film forces them into an annoyingly artificial construct : we know we are combustible, but we won’t, because you know, we are in this make-believe la-la land where we won’t reveal our real selves? got it? no? good, because i didn’t either. ved ( ranbir) and tara ( deepika) swan around cluelessly and uselessly in the first hour of the film, and you wonder just how much more of waste it can get . and then, surprise, it gets better, and so do they. and ‘tamasha’ becomes, somewhat, the film you presume ali and his actors had set out to make. turns out that the obedient, well-behaved boy that ved used to be has grown into the obedient, well-behaved young adult, but not in any way that does him any good. a demanding father sets ved upon a path not of his own choosing, and the break-through comes when he meets the girl : the cocoon shatters, and the real ved emerges, putting his yes-sir, no-sir, three-bags-full-sir robotic existence behind him, coming out into a world of light and imagination and magic. ved loves being told stories. he discovers he loves telling stories as much. when the director delves deep into this groove, he mines something solid and yes, i will use that word again, real. those are the moments that make this film shine, and leave you smiling. it’s interesting how accepting that make-believe can set you free sets both the director and the actor free : there are flashes here of the terrific actor that ranbir can be, and that’s a relief both for the performer as well as the audience. deepika is luminous, and she is much more sure-footed in her part. even though ranbir gets more space, tara is drawn with welcome depth : it is usually a leading man’s prerogative to sulk and stomp. did she fall in love with her idea of love, and can she sustain it with the passage of time? ali puts forth a fairly radical idea as well : can the love that you feel when you are out of time, in exotic locales, survive a storm of ordinariness? of ‘aam-aadminess’? we do get the answers, and they do leave us feeling warm and fuzzy, but it’s not enough. that wasted, stretched introduction is a problem. so is the director’s penchant of using music to underline the sentiments : why not more confidence in just letting the moment, and the actor, speak for itself? why the clunkiness? i really liked a lot of the second half. there’s so much good stuff going on, including the pair which strays, and then journeys towards each other. despite its flaws, this is ali’s most complex story, teeming with ideas, and gives us ranbir back again, along with the lovely deepika, even if the plot keeps losing sight of her : there are tracts when she goes missing.
View all reviews on Tamasha

(According to Subham Choudhary Bumper Draw is a 2 star movie)

a well-intentioned comedy of errors, fashioned on the lines of priyadarshan’s hits, this film has a central narrator , an ageing parsi gentleman, pestonji( homi dotiwala) narrating his trysts with avaricious common folk, to a group of tv journalists assembled at his bungalow- which happens to be at the root of all his ills. the parsi gentleman is not cash rich but is in possession of an old bungalow property coveted by his best friend and the latter’s son (rushad rana). fed-up with their shenanigans to claim his property, he runs away and falls neatly into the hands of a trio desperately in need of money. faroque (rajpal yadav) is a cab driver, william visa wala (sunbrata datta) has been swindled by his girl friend- to the tune of 10 lakhs and is now desperately looking for a way to pay up those he promised visas to. gaali baba (zakir hussain) is the soothsayer with an unusual talent of giving the choicest of gaalis which turn out to be good omens for his clients.rajpal yadav starts off well but veers towards over-the-top soon enough. to some extent narendar bedi and zakir hussain enliven the show but after a point even they seem to have run out of tricks. so repetition and tedium become mainstay here.
View all reviews on Bumper Draw

(According to Subham Choudhary Chinar Daastaan-E-Ishq is a 2 star movie)

aamir khan’s brother faissal khan gets yet another shot at stardom thanks to sharique minhaz , a director who sees the actor as a superb fit for the role of a legendary lover from a well received urdu novel ‘jheel jalti hai.’ it’s a sort of tragic love story between jamaal (faissal) and suraiyya (inayat sharma), childhood friends turned lovers who get separated because of the avarice in the hearts of people that they love and look up to. suraiyya is married off to a rich old man salaam.faissal khan is definitely better off living in the shadows of his big brother. mainstream movies and stardom don’t appear to be his calling. here’s another one of his vapid outings that we’ll have to delete from our memory banks!
View all reviews on Chinar Daastaan-E-Ishq

(According to Subham Choudhary Singh Is Bliing is a 4 star movie)

'singh is bliing', if described in two words, is random and silly. but, fortunately, it is this randomness that also makes it a breezy, entertaining film for most part of it. it is a prabhudheva directorial. looking at the kind of movies that the dancing director revels in, you know you can't take this one any more seriously than perhaps a second grader's opinion on world politics. however, it is not cerebral by any standards but, for sure, raises a lot of chuckles in its two-hour plus duration, all credit to its silliness and the casual way in which it is treated. if you want to know how silly is silly, picture this: when a lion escapes, an adorable pug with a feathery bag around its neck is kept in the cage as its replacement to fool the public. but, must say, this and a few other such antics made the audience around me laugh out loud.
View all reviews on Singh Is Bliing

(According to Subham Choudhary Jazbaa is a 3 star movie)

this movie is touted as aishwarya rai bachchan's comeback vehicle and she's got a meaty role to justify it. in an age-appropriate role, aishwarya plays a successful lawyer, anuradha varma, who's also a single mother to her daughter sanaaya (sara arjun). aishwarya rai bachchan perfectly looks the part and even does a fairly decent job, barring certain emotional scenes where she clearly goes over the top. sanyal's character is caricaturish. otherwise a good actor, he seemed to be struggling to find a solid footing. shabana azmi, who plays the mother of a rape victim, is effortless and adds value to the film. if only sanjay gupta had gone a little easy on the unnecessary and intrusive melodrama. even then, it's a good one time watch for sure.
View all reviews on Jazbaa

(According to Subham Choudhary Pyar Ka Punchnama 2 is a 3 star movie)

i have heard about this movie....sounds like it is a good movie though i saw pyar ka punchnama many times...i liked that movie very much.....just hoping this movie will be more funnier than that one.....though i watched the trailer and songs....trailer was too good and i watched it many times..
View all reviews on Pyar Ka Punchnama 2

(According to Subham Choudhary Shaandaar is a 4 star movie)

absolutely blunder movie.....hot alia bhatt 2nd time in bikini....shahidi is good as always.....nice chemistry between them....overall nice movie...enjoyed very much while watching....that panty dish was awesome.... alia was looking very sexy in the pink bikini.....waited much for her bikini scene after student of the year's yellow bikini scene..... shaandar song was also shandaar....
View all reviews on Shaandaar