Source Code
Studio – Summit Entertainment (Previous Film: Red)
Director - Duncan Jones (Previous Film: Moon)
In a nutshell....
Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers that he is a part of the mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. He learns he is a part of a government experiment called the 'Source Code', a program that enables him to switch over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. Colter relives the incident again and again until he gathers all the clues that lead to the person behind the attack and prevent the second, bigger attack.
Source Code gets all the brownie points from me for such a unique concept. In the times of ever increasing numbers of experimental plots, this one is perhaps right up there with the likes of Inception. Besides, being experimental is not just enough, like in the case of Sucker Punch. Source Code also seems to have soul and that is what makes the different story much more impressive. Besides, I think Jake Gyllenhaal fits the role perfectly, and I'm eager to find out if Duncan Jones is really a director to watch out. With a worldwide release planned for it, I think Source Code will do wonders on the box office as it has done abroad.
Runtime - 93 mins
Genre - Action/Sci-fi/Thriller
Rated - 12A
Principal Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal – Colter Stevens (Last seen in: Love And Other Drugs)Michelle Monaghan - Christina Warren (Last seen in: Due Date)
Vera Farmiga - Colleen Goodwin (Last seen in: Henry's Crime)
Principal Crew
Ben Ripley - WriterDon Burgess - Director of Photography
Paul Hirsch - Editor
Chris Bacon - Music Director
Film’s USP
PlotAnticipation Level - POTW (Pick Of The Week)
Shor In The City
Director - Raj Nidimoru (Previous Film: 99), Krishna DK (Previous Film: 99)
In a nutshell....
As ex-cop Brian O'Conner and conman Dominic Toretto assemble an elite team of top racers to carry out their last job in Rio De Janeiro, a corrupt businessman wants them dead. Also, the hard-nosed federal agent, Luke Hobbs, wants them behind bars. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns that he can't separate the good guys from the bad and now has to rely on his instincts to corner his prey.
I was one of the few lucky ones who had the pleasure of watching this film's premiere, Wednesday night. Therefore, it will be more like a review than a preview. The best thing about Shor In The City is how real the telling looks and feels, unlike most other Bollywood films. It is high on entertainment, and the performances are superb. The duo of directors have proven that 99 wasn't a fluke and their writing is also crisp. Since its low budget, the film's shot on real locations and that's what adds that extra zing to the entire watching experience. Sendhil Ramamurthy, Pitobash Tripathy and Amit Mistry were excellent. The only thing that will go against this film is the kind of competition it will face on the box office with so many releases happening on the same day. Plus, the lack of star actors might just keep people at bay. Nevertheless, this film is worth watching and a very fresh experience. I'm giving it Second Choice only because of Source Code's release. However, among the Hindi films, it should be the Pick Of The Week.
Runtime - Unknown
Genre - Thriller
Rated - U/A
Principal Cast
Tusshar Kapoor - Tilak (Last seen in: Golmaal 3)
Preeti Desai – Sharmili (Debut)
Nikhil Dwivedi - Ramesh (Last seen in: Raavan)
Sendhil Ramamurthy - Abhay (Last seen in: It's A Wonderful Afterlife)
Pitobash Tripathy - Mandook (Last seen in: 99)
Sudeep Kishan -
Principal Crew
Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK - WritersTushar Kanti Ray - Director of Photography
Ashmith Kunder - Editor
Sachin, Jigar, Harpreet - Music Director
Film’s USP
Characters + DirectorsAnticipation Level - Second Choice
Chalo Dilli
Director - Shashant Shah (Previous Film: Dasvidaniya)
In a nutshell....
Mihika Mukherjee, Vice President of a top financial institution, is back on her way from Delhi to Mumbai. She misses her flight and meets Manu Gupta, a ladies cut-piece merchant who is a small shop owner at Karol Bagh. Both of them have opposite opinions and contrasting natures. Mihika is in a situation where she has to stick around with Manu as they travel across Delhi and come across tricky and comic situations.
Two contrasting characters from different strata of society put in a situation where they have to stick together. Sounds good, and a perfect formula to keep the drama going. Shashant Shah and Vinay Pathak's combo worked well for Dasvidaniya, and the director showed great promise. With Chalo Dilli, we're going to watch another film based in the city of Delhi this year, and looking at the trailers it seems the filmmaker has captured it well. It's a low budget film which is why I think it will recover the money invested. Being the first film under Lara Dutta's first production venture, it faces a lot of competition of many such low budget Indian films and big budget Hollywood films. Whether it survives the competition, remains to be seen.
Runtime - Unknown
Genre - Comedy/Drama
Rated - U/A
Principal Cast
Lara Dutta - Mihika Mukherjee (Last seen in: Housefull)
Vinay Pathak – Manu Gupta (Last seen in: Kaccha Limboo)
Principal Crew
Arshad Syed - WriterNikos Andritsakis - Director of Photography
Aseem Sinha - Editor
Anand Raj Anand, Manthan, Sachin Gupta, Rohit Kulkarni, Roshan Balu, Gourov Dasgupta - MusicDirectors
Film’s USP
Lara and Vinay's chemistryAnticipation Level - Second Choice
Thor
Director - Kenneth Branagh (Previous Film: Sleuth)
In a nutshell....
Thor is a powerful but arrogant God from Asgard. He is cast out of the realm and sent to earth to live with humans. He soon becomes the their defender and saviour.
So now we meet the second hero from the Avengers. This mighty God is one of the best Avengers, and perhaps the only one to have such supernatural powers. Chris Hemsworth's casting was a huge doubt in my mind but ever since I watched the trailer it just disappeared. I'm excited to watch this one especially because Thor is a multidimensional character and somebody with the experience and the goodness of Kenneth Branagh will know how to deal with it. The 3D will add to the whole experience and this film will do wonders on the box office especially because it leads to Avengers.
Runtime - 114 mins
Genre - Action/Adventure/Drama
Rated - U/A
Principal Cast
Chris Hemworth - Thor (Last seen in: A Perfect Getaway)
Natalie Portman – Jane Foster (Last seen in: Your Highness)
Anthony Hopkins - Odin (Last seen in: The Rite)
Tom Hiddleston - Abhay (Last seen in: Archipelago)
Principal Crew
Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne, Mark Protosevich, J. Michael Straczynski, Stan Lee (book), Larry Lieber (book), Jack Kirby (book) - WritersHaris Zambarloukos - Director of Photography
Paul Rubell - Editor
Patrick Doyle - Music Director
Film’s USP
Leads to the AvengersAnticipation Level - Second Choice
Naughty @ 40
Director - Jagmohan Mundhra (Previous Film: Chase)
In a nutshell....
As ex-cop Brian O'Conner and conman Dominic Toretto assemble an elite team of top racers to carry out their last job in Rio De Janeiro, a corrupt businessman wants them dead. Also, the hard-nosed federal agent, Luke Hobbs, wants them behind bars. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns that he can't separate the good guys from the bad and now has to rely on his instincts to corner his prey.
I don't know about you all but I've always loved Govinda's films however bad they might be. But his second innings haven't been so impressive. Apart from Partner, all his films have done below average in recent times. With this one, I think the situation is going to worsen, primarily because Naughty @ 40 is based on the famous Hollywood hit, The 40 Year Old Virgin. This will play as a double edged sword that is more likely to harm than be useful unlike in the case of Partner, mainly because it's Jagmohan Mundhra's film and not David Dhawan's. But I so hope that this film does well for the veteran actor's sake. That seems to be an uphill task with so many other releases on the filmy platter this week.
Runtime - Unknown
Genre - Comedy
Rated - A
Principal Cast
Govinda - (Last seen in: Raavan)
Yuvika Chaudhary – (Last seen in: Toh Baat Pakki)
Anupam Kher - (Last seen in: Zokkomon)
Principal Crew
Salim Raza - WriterKabir Lal - Director of Photography
Ashfaque Makrani - Editor
Monty Sharma - Music Director
Film’s USP
GovindaAnticipation Level - Wait For The Reviews
I Am
Studio – Anticlock Films (Previous Film: Sorry Bhai!)
Director - Onir (Previous Film: Sorry Bhai!)
In a nutshell....
I Am strings together 4 stories, Omar (based on the issues of gay men), Megha (based on the Hindu minority in Kashmir), Afia (about destructing one identity to accept another) and Abhimanyu (about recovering from child abuse). These stories are about breaking shackles and finding a new self, therefore I Am.
When so many talented people come together, you can't expect anything less than brilliance. Onir's last did not do well commercially but it was a nice film. I Am offers four intriguingly interesting stories, with a lot of challenge and drama involved. It has also won the best film award at a few festivals. But it faces stiff competition from other films releasing this week especially when one considers the choice between serious parallel cinema and masala entertainers. Therefore one might want to weigh the options and reviews before going for this one.
Runtime - Unknown
Genre - Drama
Rated - A
Principal Cast
Juhi Chawla - Megha (Last seen in: Lafangey Parindey)
Sanjay Suri - Abhimanyu (Last seen in: A Flat)
Nandita Das – Afia (Last seen in: Before The Rains)
Manisha Koirala - Rubina (Last seen in: Ek Second... Jo Zindagi Badal De)
Rahul Bose - Omar (Last seen in: The Japanese Wife)
Principal Crew
Onir, Urmi Juvekar, Merle Kroeger - Writers
Arvind Kannabiran - Director of Photography
Onir, Irene Dhar Malik - Editors
Amit Trivedi, Rajiv Bhalla, Vivek Philip - Music Directors
Film’s USP
Cast
Anticipation Level - Wait For The Reviews
Limitless
Studio – Relativity Media (Previous Film: Battle: Los Angeles)
Director - Neil Burger (Previous Film: The Lucky Ones)
In a nutshell....
Eddie Morra is an unemployed copywriter and his girlfriend, Lindy, has broken up with him. Dejected, Eddie believes he has no future and feels hopeless. Just then a friend introduces him to an experimental drug, NZT. With the use of this drug Eddie becomes highly focused and confident, remembering everything he reads, hears and sees. He uses this ability to become successful in the financial world, and starts working for Karl Van Loon, a business mogul. Eddie's success attracts wrong people who want him dead. As he tries to escape from the clutches of the bad men, he also fights some disorders and irregularities happening from the drug.
I watched the trailer of this film once, twice, thrice and then again. So excited am I to watch this one that I can't wait for Friday to come. The idea of having a drug that could increase the potential of your brain to its maximum, startles me. Several things are possible if the brain works to its 100% capacity, and it seems Limitless explores quite a few of them. So far Neil Burger has written and directed all three of his films prior to this one, which he has only directed. The Illusionist is my favourite of them all, and it was also appreciated by many across the globe. Thus I have high hopes from this one as the director has had a good track record. A lot of women are crazy about Cooper, so are men about Cornish. We all love De Niro. Which means this film will see a huge opening at the box office, also considering that it is having a worldwide release. Limitless has a unique concept and is high on uberness quotient and did exceptionally well at the UK and US box office. Wish this film provides entertainment limitless!
Runtime - 105 mins
Genre - Thriller
Rated - A
Principal Cast
Robert De Niro – Karl Van Loon (Last seen in: The A Team)Bradley Cooper - Eddie Morra (Last seen in: Little Fockers)
Abbie Cornish - Lindy (Last seen in: A Good Year)
Principal Crew
Leslie Dixon, Alan Glynn (novel - The Dark Fields) - WritersJo Willems - Director of Photography
Tracy Adams, Naomi Geraghty - Editors
Paul Leonard-Morgan, Nico Muhly - Music Directors
Film’s USP
StoryAnticipation Level - Second Choice
Men Will Be Men
Director - Gorky (Debut)
In a nutshell....
Four school time mates who work at the same corporate office decide to relive the younger days of their lives by planning a trip to Pattaya. They convince their boss by giving weird excuses to get their leaves sanctioned. The boss falls prey and the men head off to Bangkok. There, they meet Deepa, a charming young woman, who manages to woo all four of them as each one tries to woo her back. The days of fun come to an end when their leave period gets over and they have to go back home. As they head to the airport the boss catches them unaware. How will the friends escape this situation?
The trailer of this film isn't appealing, neither is the cast nor the whole look. The director is new and has entrusted the responsibility of getting a hit on four weak inexperienced and debutant shoulders. It seems to be a little cheap and to make matters worse, is getting released during a week when even Thor, Limitless and Shor In The City can be second choices. This will make the film the least preferred.
Runtime - Unknown
Genre - Comedy
Rated - U/A
Principal Cast
Gaurav Chopra - Jimmy (Last seen in: Humne Jeena Seekh Liya)
Rajesh Kumar – Preet (Debut)
Rohit Khurana - Sunder (Debut)
Rahil Tandon - Bobby (Debut)
Principal Crew
Harsh Khurana - WritersSahil Kapoor - Director of Photography
Devang Kakkad, Tariq Ahmed - Editors
Harpreet, Advait Nemlekar - Music Directors
Film’s USP
DebutantsAnticipation Level - Watch It On DVD
