The Divergent Series - Allegiant Movie Review

CAST:Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, 

           Jeff Daniels, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Bill Skarsgård
DIRECTION:Robert Schwentke
GENRE:Sci-Fi
DURATION:2 hours

STORY: Continuing where Insurgent left off, Allegiant sees Tris (Woodley) making a break from Chicago along with Four (James) and friends to try and find out the truth behind their lives as well as the real story about the factions. The truth however, might not be all that Tris had bargained for.

REVIEW: While the previous film in this series set the stage for a hopefully interesting follow up, Allegiant turns out to be a bit of a letdown. Diehard fans might also find this movie a stretch or rather, a two hour stretch of a film that gets cheesier every ten minutes or so. The resultant product is something that isn't quite unlike a B-movie where everything from the costumes and character styling (incidentally, how did Tris' hair grow out so soon?) to the weapons (which look like they're put together by a 10-year-old) to their dialogues, will make you cringe.


So, Tris and Theo and their gang jump the wall and head out to the great beyond, only to find that they're not quite as free as birds. The Bureau of Genetic Welfare is headed by David (Jeff Daniels) who along with Theo and Tris, compete for who gets the corniest lines in the movie. Fashioned as a villain of sorts, David has some kind of mumbo jumbo theory about their genetic structures and damaged genes. At one point in the movie, Tris wonders aloud about what really is going on. You might find yourself empathizing with her. Clad in a white jumpsuit with hair perfectly in place and Four faithfully panting after, Tris now has a new mission - to rescue the brainwashed and the tainted.

Miles Teller gets barely any lines but nonetheless, he does steal the show whenever he is in a scene. But this is a given, as he is by far the most talented of the cast anyways. A plus point though is the set design, a curious mix of ultra-futuristic-meets-retro. But while the underlying concept of the series is the examination of a big social experiment, this gets lost in the film. Extremely lackluster fare, overall.

Kung Fu Panda 3 Movie Review

CAST:[Voices] Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie,

             JK Simmons, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, 

             Kate Hudson, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim
DIRECTION:Alessandro Carloni, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
GENRE:Animation
DURATION:1 hour 35 minutes

STORY: Po (Black) is in for some more surprises this time around. Not only is he reunited with his father Li (Cranston) after more than two decades, but he also finds out that he has a unique calling in life. Before Po fulfills his true destiny though, he must vanquish the evil Kai (Simmons), who is on a rampage to steal the 'qi' of every kung fu master in the land.

REVIEW: Kung Fu Panda 3 by and large hits the right notes by serving up everything that fans of this franchise have loved, while adding some new elements too. And it's all buoyed up with a fun storyline.


When he finds out the identity of his real dad - despite the fact that Mr Ping (Hong), who raised Po from the time he was a baby, has suspicions about Li - Po also begins to wonder about who he really is. Is he really the Dragon Warrior? And will he be able to reach higher ground? Before all of that, he must learn to embrace all aspects of being a panda, and live in a secret village inhabited only by pandas.

The animation is top notch, and the colours vivid, without being saturated. The editing too has been deftly done, thus ensuring that the movie never drags. In fact, the attention to detail here is truly impressive. For example, the creak of footsteps on a wooden walkway or the clink of nunchuks during a fight sequence and so on.

While Po's friends Master Shifu (Hoffman), Tigress (Jolie), Monkey (Chan), Viper (Liu), Mantis (Rogen) and Crane (Cross) are all a delight to watch, the new entrants are the village pandas. So you get to see baby pandas, dancing pandas and even a bear who loves to give bone-crunching hugs. Thankfully, the abundant humour and various witty asides also steers things clear of a sucrose overdose. While the voice casting is spot on, there are perhaps, a larger number of characters than necessary. Although a slightly over-dramatic ending holds the film back from greater heights, this is on the whole, quite enjoyable for kids as well as adults.

Ki & Ka Movie Review

CAST:Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Kapoor, 

           Swaroop Sampat, Rajit Kapur
DIRECTION:R Balki
GENRE:Romantic Comedy
DURATION:2 hours 6 minutes

STORY: Kia (Kareena) is an ambitious career woman in New Delhi who doesn't want marriage to come in the way of her dream. Kabir (Arjun) prefers to stay away from the stress of a working professional. The foundation stone of their relationship is laid on this arrangement.

REVIEW: In the Hollywood comedy The Intern, Anne Hathaway heads her own ecommerce fashion company, while her husband Anders Holm is content with being a stay-at-home father. Similarly, in Balki's Ki and Ka; the role of the woman and the man are refreshingly reversed. Right at the start, you're told through a convoluted monologue that Kia doesn't want to be a man's `support system.' So when she meets the sentimental Kabir, who doesn't aspire to be like his billionaire-builder father, instead wants to be like his homemaker-mother, you're ready for the sparks. Kia downs expensive scotch with Kabir who is three years her junior. Soon, he proposes marriage and even agrees to wear the mangalsutra!

Her mother (Swaroop Sampat) is in tandem with their thought process, his father (Rajit Kapur) is aghast. He wants his son to do a "chaddi check'' to find out if he is `alright.' After all, which man wants to stay home and live-off his wife, the boorish dad asks. But Ki and Ka are blissful. Post marriage, they're happy canoodling. He cleans, cooks and cares for her; she earns, yearns and yells at him.

Over time, the role reversal puts the spotlight on Kabir. Though many continue to view him as an aberration, few also want to emulate him. Kabir becomes fodder for gossip, the hero for commercials and women's-day seminars. He even finds admirers in the Abhimaan couple Jaya and Amitabh, who show up in a cute cameo!

Kareena is terrific, Arjun, endearing. But Balki's writing is inconsistent. A few scenes leave you misty-eyed, but for the most part, the stock situations are banal. Yet, Ki and Ka is worth a ticket because it shows how there is nothing wrong with the man wearing the apron and the women wearing her ambition.