'Man of Steel' review: Cavill, solid effects make it worth a watch

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe Director: Zack Snyder What I missed more than anything else in 'Man of Steel' is the old-school humour and charm of the 1978 Superman film, starring Christopher Reeve, that many of us grew up watching. The new reboot, directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, is a mostly somber affair - which shouldn't really be...

'Fukrey' review: Too many gags, not enough plot spoil the film

Cast: Pulkit Sharma, Varun Sharma, Richa Chadda Director: Mrigdeep Singh Lamba Four slackers in Delhi seeking fast cash make a deal with a ruthless don. But when things go wrong, as they inevitably do, they must pay the price for it. That familiar premise gets a fresh coat of paint in 'Fukrey', with co-writer and director Mrighdeep Singh Lamba putting a new spin on some old clichs. Yet, while individual...

'After Earth' review: Prepare to be bored out of your mind

Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith Director: M Night Shyamalan Clearly intended as a vanity project to showcase his 14-year-old son Jaden's action-hero skills, 'After Earth', conceived and produced by Will Smith, is part-sci-fi, part cautionary tale, yet always a snooze-fest. It doesn't help that director M Night Shyamalan, far out of his comfort zone of twisty thrillers, sucks the film dry of any potential for humor, and delivers what is...

'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2' review: The jokes run out faster than popcorn

Cast: Dharmendra, Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Anupam Kher, Neha Sharma Director: Sangeeth Sivan It's not even a key moment in the film, but the image of Dharmendra and an orangutan riding a scooter, swaying joyously to the tune of 'Yeh dosti hum nahin todenge', is a fair representation of the standard of comedy in 'Yamla Pagla Deewana 2'. This intentionally harebrained sequel sees the Deols reprise their characters from the...

'The Hangover Part III' review: Keep your expectations in check and you won't be disappointed

Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Ken Jeong Director: Todd Phillips There's no way any fan of the first 'Hangover' film can honestly claim that 'The Hangover Part III' is as much fun. There are a few good laughs to be found in the new film, but it's not nearly as outrageous as the 2009 original. In an effort perhaps to please all those who...

'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' review: If you are seeking light-hearted mush, you're looking in the right place

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Kalki Koechlin, Aditya Roy Kapur, Madhuri Dixit Director: Ayan Mukerji How much you enjoy 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' depends entirely on how much you've missed the typical Karan Johar formula. 'Wake Up Sid' director Ayan Mukerji takes us on a familiar journey through holiday romances, family conundrums, and big fat Indian weddings. It's predictable every step of the way, but Mukerji has a superb cast...

Now Showing: Masand reviews 'Ishkq in Paris', 'Fast & Furious 6'

CNN-IBN's Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand says 'Ishkq in Paris' is the sort of film that inspires its director and its leading man to assume aliases so they might escape responsibility for subjecting us to this travesty they've committed to the screen, while like a well-oiled engine, the 'Fast & Furious' series can be counted on to deliver what it promises on the box. ...

'Fast & Furious 6' review: It's fun even if it doesn't make much sense

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris Director: Justin Lin Like a well-oiled engine, the Fast & Furious series can be counted on to deliver what it promises on the box: gleaming cars, thrilling chases, and buff stars who look like they've stepped out of the pages of a fitness magazine. The new installment, 'Fast & Furious 6' is just as dumb as the previous...

'Ishkq in Paris': It is a misguided, overwrought affair

Cast: Preity Zinta, Isabelle Adjani, Rhehan Malliek Director: Prem Soni 'Ishkq in Paris' is the sort of film that inspires its director and its leading man to assume aliases so they might escape responsibility for subjecting us to this travesty they've committed to the screen. Leading lady Preity Zinta, unfortunately, is too well known to hide behind a fake name. Preity, playing Ishkq, a permanently perky Parisian photographer, is the...

'Star Trek - Into Darkness' review: The film won't bore you

Cast: Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoe Saldana Director: JJ Abrams Even if, like me, you weren't a fan of the Star Trek universe, or were mostly unfamiliar with its 40-year-old legacy, you'd have to admit that JJ Abrams' 2009 reboot was a fresh and accessible stand-alone sci-fi adventure. The sequel, 'Star Trek: Into Darkness', directed again by Abrams, is cut from the same cloth. So although there are...

'Gippi' review: Many of the film's better ideas are lost in execution

Cast: Riya Vij, Taaha Shah Director: Sonam Nair School can be a difficult place if you're overweight, awkward, not particularly bright, or clumsy on the sports field. Gurpreet Kaur, the 14-year-old protagonist of Gippi (Riya Vij), ticks all the boxes. She's routinely taunted by the mean girl in class, ignored by all the popular kids, and can barely squeeze into her uniform. An unlikely friendship with the school jock (Taaha...

'Go Goa Gone' review: So much in this film is good until it all goes nowhere

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari Directors: Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru 'Go Goa Gone' has been advertised as India's first zom-com, or a comedy about zombies. The film, starring Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, and Anand Tiwari as three best friends stranded on an island infested with flesh-eating zombies, works like magic when directors Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru focus on their three leads and the...

'Celluloid Man' review: Make the time for it

Director: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur We celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema, yet we're little aware of the man who painstakingly restored Dadasaheb Phalke's work as well as several other silent pictures and talkies, and then built our country's moving pictures archive, one film can at a time. The documentary 'Celluloid Man', directed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, introduces us to that man Paramesh Krishnan Nair, or PK Nair - India's film...

'Bombay Talkies' review: It's like a breath of fresh air

Cast: Rani Mukherjee, Amitabh Bachchan, Saqib Saleem, Katrina Kaif, Nawazuddin Siddiqui Director: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap Two men shift nervously, seldom making eye contact, as they listen to a beggar girl at a railway station footbridge singing an old Lata Mangeshkar gem whose words seem to have particular significance in their unlikely situation. A father, determined to enthrall his bored daughter, narrates a story in mime,...

'Shootout at Wadala' review: The bloodshed leaves you cold

Cast: John Abraham, Kangana Ranaut, Anil Kapoor, Tushaar Kapoor Director: Sanjay Gupta A gangster runs into a police station, both his arms lopped off by a rival wielding a butcher's knife. Another goon is held down as his skull is pushed through an ice-crusher. A third, tied to a chair, is run over by a speeding car in reverse. The brutality is relentless in Sanjay Gupta's 'Shootout at Wadala', a...