Annabelle Creation is a film directed by David Sandberg. As I remember watching the trailer for this film, I remember getting chills. I have loved both the Conjuring Films. So I was looking forward to this film given that it is directed by the man behind Lights out. And this film satisfied me to a certain extent.

Plot: The Mullins open their home to an orphanage with horrifying results.

Story and direction: Horror to me basically is instilling the fear inside a person with the surroundings and the characters. This film hit it in the right notes for most of the part. All of the characters are greatly woven. I wonder what happened to Gary Dauberman in this part (He is the writer for the both parts of Annabelle {which I haven't seen by the way}). The bond that we see between Janice and Linda was great. And Janice being ridiculed by the other girls just because of her condition. Then we have the Mullins who are deep in sorrow because of their huge loss. Each time the doll appeared in the screen I remember having goosebumps. I also liked the way it was connected to the first film at the end. But this film is not all perfect. The first 30 or so minutes of this film basically had nothing. And a lot of those jump scares. I know that I am going for a horror film. So what's the need for these jump scares??? To prepare us that "Hey man... Something more scary is coming." But that actually removes all fear that you are supposed to feel, according to me. At times the film felt it was giving a tribute to Ouija - The Origin of Evil that came out last year.

Performances: Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto were good as the Mullins'. You could see the pain in their faces because of the loss. Stephanie Sigman was OK as the Sister. Talitha Bateman and Lulu Wilson were wonderful in their roles. Lulu impressed me in Ouija (the one that was out last year). And in this she nailed her performance. I guess I can call her the "Horror Queen". Talitha was also great as Janice. The switch between Janice and Annabelle was awesome. The other girls were good too.

Favorite Scene: The scene where Linda and Janice both promise each other that they will only be adopted together, otherwise not. Their friendship is clearly seen on this scene. It also sets in motion some scenes that happen during the film and also the final act.

Verdict: Although not great as the first two installments of the Conjuring series, Annabelle: Creation is a good welcome to this series of films. Can't wait to see what else has to be explored (given the film had a post credit scene).

I am going to give it an 8/10.

Gerald's game is a film co-written and directed by Mike Flanagan. The trailer of the film excited me a lot since its a film from a director who has given us some great horror films and also its off a Stephen King book. Stephen King has influenced many of the contemporary filmmakers today.In the end, I was much satisfied with the final product.

Plot: Jessie and Gerald go to a secluded home to spice up their romance.

Story and direction: Many people have termed this film as a horror one. But I don;t see it in that way. I see this film as more of a psychological drama one. Unless, you have a ghost in the film it isn't a horror one for me, at least. Minutes into the film, I was engrossed. The dog the appears on the road terrified me a lot. Then the scenes where Jessie gets paranoid and starts talking to her dead husband and herself got me hooked to. The possibilities of her getting out and just surviving are talked about in these conversations. I was always feeling the tension for Jess. Then we get to Jess' childhood and the kind of abuse she had during that phase. Another thing to mention is about the continuity. It never felt that there were some 2-3 takes. The whole film felt like it was shot in a single take. This credit is for the editing (Flanagan too was the editor). I was touched by those parts. Then during the final phase of the film, I was engrossed. But some things just happen at the ending which was just awkward. I felt like "Really". That was the biggest flaw of this film I would say. It started out on a very high note but the end was not so satisfactory.

Performances: Carla Gugino was great as Jess. I was feeling for her in each of the tensed moments on the screen. Bruce Greenwood was also good as Gerald. The different shades of his character were pulled off effortlessly by him. The rest of the supporting cast was good too.

Favorite Scene: It would be that scene where Jess' father convinces Jess not to tell a single sole of the abuse. The fear, sadness, tension, etc.. can be seen in Jess' eyes. And then we get a dialogue from the present Jess that he could face her with the lies, but not the truth. That dialogue was just the icing on the cake. We also got to learn more about Jess in this scene.

Verdict: Given the budget of the film, I would say I was impressed. Although a few hiccups in the final scenes, but yes it's a decent watch. Mike Flanagan has again proved that he is one of the finest directors out there.

I am going with an 8/10.

ar for the Planet of the Apes is a film directed by Matt Reeves. I loved the first 2 films of this series. And was looking forward to this film for quite some time. Finally when I saw the film, I can definitely say I'm Spechless. This film is definitely one of the best 2017 has to offer.

Plot: Caesar and his ape family face the wrath of a ruthless Colonel.

Story and direction: The film is basically an arc. It started with Caeser as a small child, then the Caesar who grew up for the torture his community suffered and finally to fight back. This film is a masterpiece in itself. And not only in terms of production quality, but the story is so pure. It touches upon things that I was quite shocked to see. The very first scene of this film, sets the tone of the film to be very dark. But then we see that Caesar doesn't just want out to go on killing humans, he just want them to back off his ape community. Then we see his visions of Koba as to what he did to him. Blue Eyes' mate Lake was also a very significant character. I did resonate with her in the scene where she sees Blue Eyes after a long time. But certain events then happen, that force Caesar to do things that are quite dark. And then a dialogue, "You are no less than Koba" by Maurice was so thought provoking. Then we have Nova, the girl who initially was scared of the apes but finally decides to be with them in their cause, because she saw the apes for how good they were. And finally Bad Ape. I guess that was a great addition to this franchise. His fear and his humor (which was subtle) were all very justified. The way he says he gets his name was good. Michael Giacchino's music is to look out for. The VFX is top notch. It never felt like the VFX was fake. It felt so natural. The sets too very magnificent and natural to the setting of the story.

Performances: Andy Serkis should take a bow from me. What a performance and what a genius he is. I couldn't imagine Caesar without this person. Woody Harrelson was also great as Colonel. He has his moments too. Amiah Miller was also great as Nova. Steve Zahn was just right for Bad Ape. Toby Kebbell was also good as the cold ape Koba (for the little screen time he received). A special mention to Terry Notary for Maurice. The way he supports Caesar is commendable.

Favorite Scene: The scene where Caesar regrets not recognizing the hate Koba had for humans. Then Maurice says a very nice dialogue that one cannot know what feels inside. This dialogue has just made a seat in my minds. And it basically says about our society in general.

Verdict: This is one of those films where I can say that the third part is the best. I couldn't take out a flaw in this film. I was spellbound as the credits were rolling. This film series will have a special place in my life.

I am going to give this film a wholeheartedly deserving 10/10.

Vivegam is a film written and directed by Siva. I saw this film basically for one reason: Ajith Kumar. I am a big fan of his. And that's what this film is about. It celebrates Ajith in every way possible.

Plot: Aryan Singha and his teammates decide to track down AK who is presumed dead for the Counter Terrorist Squad.

Story and direction: One word to describe this film, is "Pot-boiler". These are basically films that basically have no kind of story but just are made to mint money and cash on the star's success. Ajith has completed 25 years in films. The makers basically wanted to cash that. Now basically coming to what is good. The locations I guess are great. I can go on talking about that in this film. The chemistry between Ajith and Vivek was good. But they could have built on that much more. Now with the faults of this film. The VFX are terrible. If you can't do good VFX, just don't put it. The action was half good. There is a car chase that was well filmed. But some of the hand to hand combat were terrible. You could just feel wires being hanged around the people performing those stunts. The camera work was also OK. finally, Ajith's body show. I don't think that was needed. I was disappointed by that.

Music: Anirudh has given some great songs in the past. Here in this film, I basically don't think any song will be good to my years. Any time a song came I just felt to reduce the volume.

Performances: Ajith Kumar just nails it every time he is on screen. I don't just know how he does it. Vivek Oberoi was impressive as well. Kajal Aggarwal was OK. Akshara Hassan just looked like a cry baby for the amount of screen time that she got.

Favorite Scene: The scene where Yazhini tells AK she worries of him coming alive considering the type of work he does. This scene strung a chord in me. I could basically feel what the family feels when one of your members is in a dangerous profession.

Verdict: This film is for those who love pot-boilers and Ajith.

I am going with a 6.5/10.

Jolly LLB 2 is a film written and directed by Subhash Kapoor. When I first heard this film and knew that Akshay Kumar was in it, I knew not to expect much. But when I saw the film, I was happy to have been proved wrong.

Plot: Jagdishwar Mishra goes head on with Mr. Khurana regarding a case on a fake encounter.

Story and direction: If you loved the first film, I feel you will too love the second. The introduction is a bit comedic. But once the film gets serious. I was fully with it. Many people who saw this film said that it had less of comedy. For them I would like to say that this is a sarcastic film. There is a difference between sarcasm and comedy. Each and every thing shown here was very true. While the first film deals with irresponsible rich guys, this one deals with corruption in our country (and in some way terrorism). I guess I couldn't fault the screenplay in any way.

Acting: Akshay Kumar does a great job as the poor type lawyer. Huma Qureshi was also good as the supporting (and alcoholic) wife. Annu Kapoor was also great as the opposing and rich kind of lawyer. Saurabh Shukhla was again the star of the film (as in the previous too). HIs comic timing is impeccable. It was good to see Kumud Mishra do something new.

Music: I guess this was the only flaw with the entire film. There was not a single song that I can remember and say that I loved this song. It would have been better if the film was song-less.

Favorite scene: I guess it would be the climax of the film when the entire truth is revealed. I loved the way the reality of law and order and government system was kept.

Verdict: I had a blast an entire time with this film. Yes, I wish the film was song-less. But that's it. I never had a dull moment with the film.

I will give it a 9/10.

The Intern is a film written and directed by Nancy Meyers. I had just heard about the film being a good one. I saw no trailers so I didn't know what to expect out of it. After the film finished, I was satisfied. It's basically a slice of life kind of film.

Plot: Ben Whittaker, a 70 year old, joins as an intern to Jules Ostin in an online fashion company.

Story and Direction: The story is quite simple. We have a man, old and alone, having to do nothing basically, joining as an intern to just make himself busy. Now that's something an old man always faces which is very beautifully shown here. Then we have a contrasting character like Jules, who is very busy and doesn't have the time for almost anything (today's working women). Both of these characters are balanced quite nicely. We also have certain characters of the office which are quite enjoyable. Also we get a sneak peek into Jules' home where she has a husband and daughter, for who she feels she is giving less time due to her job. The most of the story is perfect. I had issues with some things. Like Fiona the massage therapist. Although the character was very little, but still, trying to make Ben and Fiona a pair was kind of making the story go off track. Another thing was the office people helping Jules in one scene of a mistake made by her. I mean, don't we say we should keep our personal and professional lives separate.

Performances: Robert De Niro is a great actor and its always a joy to see him. Anne Hathaway was also good as the working woman Jules. Rene Russo as the therapist was also good in her small role. Adam DeVine as Jason was good in his comic portions. Zack Perlman and Jason Owley were good too as Ben's colleagues. Anders Holm had a sincerity in his role.

Favorite Scene: I guess it would be where Jules helps Ben open up a Facebook account. And Ben in turn tells Jules about his work. This was basically where I felt the essence of the film lied. The older and newer generation sitting and talking and sharing ideas.

Verdict: I had a great time with The Intern. It was a good film. Robert and Anne were great in their roles. Although a few missteps, but the film is still watchable.

I am giving it an 8/10.

Jab Harry met Sejal is a film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. Finally, I got to see Imtiaz Ali and SRK work together. It is actually anybody's dream to see these two big names in Bollywood work together. But was it excellent piece of art? My answer would be NO.

Plot: Harry, a tourist guide, has to help Sejal find her engagement ring.

Story and direction: I have loved Imtiaz Ali's work mostly. The way he invests you in his film and the characters are to look out for. I can safely say that at present no one makes good romance films like Imtiaz Ali. The first half of this film was going great. The chemistry between the two leads was awesome. We also get to see some very great locations in the film. But as the first half finished, I was not very happy with the second half. The story fully went bland. Imtiaz Ali went his usual dark route. And there was an entire subplot related to a gangster named Gas. I mean that was the most idiotic thing that I had seen. And then the climax which was very rushed. It felt that Imtiaz Ali had just one page of a notebook and he thought let's finish the film. Also, there were some like flashbacks of Harry which actually didn't make sense.

Acting: SRK with each and every film of his proves that why he is a great actor. The way he moulded himself into the Punjabi Guy was awesome. Anushka was the normal bubbly girl next door kind of character. Also her Gujrati accent sucked. Why Imtiaz Ali made her Gujju ben also was not understood by me. Chandan Roy Sanyal was fully underutilized in this film.

Favorite Scene: I guess it would be the one before the interval where Sejal asks Harry to take her to a cafe the way her fiancé would take her. The intensity in SRK's eyes along with the melodious song Hawayein in the background was something that cannot cannot be expressed in words.

Music: Pritam happens to compose for the songs who is collaborating with Imtiaz Ali after quite a long time. It's not the best of Pritam but not the worst even. Considering he gave us a soundtrack like ADHM last year this is a bit of a downfall. 'Hawayein' would be my favorite track of the entire film.

Verdict: It's time that SRK pull up his socks so that he could give us an ultimate 200 crore film. I am optimistic about this film too but still Raees was better than this film. I am not saying that this is of poor quality like Tubelight but it is not an excellent film too.

I am going to go with a 7.5/10.

STORY:- Don Kabir(Prakash Raj) wrecks havoc in Mumbai. ACP Karan Malhotra(Sonu Sood) is given the case. He promises to clean the city within 2 months. Now Don Kabir wants him dead. Viju(Amitabh Bachchan) who stays in Paris is appointed by Kabir to kill him. The rest of the story follows on Viju trying to kill Karan.

WRITING:-Puri takes another very interesting story that has lots of action, comedy and twists just like WANTED. The story keep you engaged(2.5).

MUSIC:- The music of the film rocks. Kudos to Vishal Shekahr for bringing such good music(2.5).

ACTING:- Amitabh Bachchan is the Baap of the film. Sonu SOOD and Prakash Raj also have done a great job. Hema Malini and Raveena Tandon were also good despite their small role(2.5).

ACTION:- Most of the action involves gun fights. Inspite of that they keep you engaged and look quite interesting(2.5)

BEST SCENE:- It would be Viju's entry when he tells the inspector the famous line from the film KAALIA.

OVERALL:- It is a tribute to Amitji and his image of the angry young man. I would give it 10/10

Baabhubali 2 has finally arrived, after a 2 year wait. Yes, this was my most anticipated film of the year. I had high hopes and expectations from this film. And it delivered in each and every way possible.

Plot: Kattappa tells Shivudu about his heritage by the story of his father, Amarendra Baahubali.

Story and Direction: If you basically go in to a Baahubali film expecting some Inception like story please don't go. The story is predictable in every way possible. It is actually a mixture of Ramayana and Mahabharatha. I didn't go to see actually a story. I went to see it because of the grandeur and vastness of Baahubali. I went in as a fan of the previous part. Rajamouli has pulled off a film with great finesse. You can see the work that he has put to pull of this masterpiece of this. I saw the Hindi Version of the film. And yes, the dialogues were great too. Although yes, the film went over the top in almost everything. So what!!!! I have only one complaint though: That would be that the face off between Mahendra and Bhallaldeva was cut short. Yes the sequence was well directed. But I wanted that portion of the film to be longer. The main reason this was shorter was because the flashback was little bit too long for me. But that said, I wouldn't say I had a disappointing experience. It was a blast for me.

Acting: Prabhas who played dual roles of both father and son was great in both the roles for me. While the father needed the calmness and attitude, the son had the revenge in him. Rana Daggubati was a bad-ass villain. Nassar too was great in his role. Anushka Shetty was apt for the role of Devasena. Nobody could have played it better than her. Ramya Krishnan was the best Rajmata I have ever seen. Sathyaraj as Kattappa had a comic role in the first half, which was quite shocking in a very good way. Subbu Raju as Kumar Verma, was also good. Tamanna hardly had a role in the film which I could forgive.

Music: M M Keeravani's music was par excellence. The background score was also had excellence written all over the tunes. I can't actually pinpoint a song that I didn't like in this film.

Other departments: As I said before, the flashbacks needed a little more editing from my side to adjust for the finale act. The cinematography was good. The VFX was great, if not, excellent. Action choreography was also good.

Favorite Scene: It would be the scene where Devasena is bought to trial after cutting the fingers of Sethupathi. Baahubali comes to the rescue and brings his brand of justice. I was in awe in that scene.

Verdict: Baahubali 2 for me was a visual treat. It ticked marked all the check boxes for me for a perfect film. As I said, I wanted the final act to be a little longer. If I was to select between the 2 films of Baahubali, I can't actually select one. Both were perfect for me.

I am going to go with a 9/10.

The Fault In Our Stars is a film directed by Josh Boone based on the John Green novel of the same name (The first time his novel is adapted to a film).

Now let me confess I am not a person who see's romantic films. I would rather watch films of action genre. Even when I read a one line summary about the film I wasn't ready to see it. Because I thought it would be overly melodramatic. But then many people said me it's actually not that. And when I saw the film I thought how wrong I was.

Plot: Hazel and Augustus meet at a support group and fall in love with each other.

Story: If you see the film, in the very first scene only you get a hint at the ending of the film (I actually guessed the ending of the film and YES I WAS RIGHT). The story has basically nothing new in it. The setting is little bit changed to 2 people who are actually battling for their life. I also began to guess some of the scenes. Which is the only "fault" in this film. But still I was feeling joyed and excited in every scene that I was seeing. That is the magic of the screenwriters and directors. They create a world in which you love to swim. That is why the film actually caught hold of me (even though I knew most of the scenes).

There are many things that differed from the novel. But I will highlight the 2 which I thought were important: 1) Ansel died quite quickly in the novel. 2) Hazel forgives van Houten during the funeral scene. The reason I highlighted these 2 things is because I liked the way these two things were not shown in the film. Because actually the essence of the film quite die.

Now since I saw an extended version of the film, I would actually give light on some of the scenes that was not in the theatrical version: 1) The first would be the scene where Hazel tells her Mom that Gus is ready to take her to Amsterdam and after the scene they go to the doctor to ask for permission which she declines. I guess this was quite important to show the care of the mother for her child. 2) Another one is toward the end where Hazel takes Gus to the hospital and on the way she recites the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow". This scene is too important as it tells more about how strong is the relation between Gus and Hazel.

Acting: Shailene Woodley is actually the main protagonist of the film. She did an excellent job as Hazel. As the director had said once, Within ten or fifteen seconds of Shailene's audition, I knew she was Hazel. She held up her script pages and just her eyes were peeking over them." I couldn't see anyone as more convincing as her. I would also say the very same statement for Ansel (as Augustus). He too was very good. William Dafoe as the alcoholic author was great. And the rest of the supporting cast too especially Laura Dern as Hazel's Mother. She killed it with the emotions as a mother whose child is suffering.

Favorite scene: I guess it would be the scene where Hazel and Gus meet after the support group session for the very first time. Then Gus puts a cigarette in his mouth and Hazel is surprised. The reply to Hazel in that scene was actually something that grasped and fascinated me a lot.

Verdict: I loved the film a lot. As I said, the only "fault" in the film is that I have seen things like these many times. But still I enjoyed the film.

SO I would give it a 9/10.