A Quiet Place is a film co-written and directed by John Krasinski. The film already had me ears when I saw the trailer. It was something I never saw before. The reviews came out and increased my anticipation for the movie. Finally, watching it last night, I had a smile on my face.

Plot: The Abbott family live their life in silence when a creature hunts people by the sounds they make.

Story and direction: Even when writing the plot of the film down in one sentence, I can’t believe that such a piece of work exists. It is something that maybe hasn’t been created in years. Kudos to the writers and Krasinski for bringing this piece of art onto the screens. I was just glued to my seat for each minute in the film. I liked the way in which the film opens with no exposition as to what has happened. In this way I was able to give my full attention to the film. Each moment is filled with intensity and suspense. Even though the antagonist is seen for just few moments, Krasinski knew how to keep the surrounding full of tension. That’s what anyone wants from a horror film. It even didn’t have jump scares that normally any horror film has (or even overuses these days). The characters of the film also draw your attention a lot. Each of the character has a certain pain of their own and you can relate to that pain, which made it easier to connect to them. The creature design is just good and so are the visual effects (considering the budget in which the film was made). Something that caught my attention were the sounds. They were also kept quite minimal, true to what the story intends to do. Hats of to the sound team for this amazing feat. If I had to note some flaws, it would be the score. Marco Beltrami’s score is one that has been heard before in certain horror films and felt quite repetitive. Also, one scene felt a bit impossible from my point of view.

Performances: The film has some amazing performances packed along with the watertight script. Emily Blunt we all know is a great performer and she cements it with her performance in this film. John Krasinski (who also rewrote the script in addition to directing it) did an amazing job as a father who cares for the safety of his family. Millicent Simmonds was the star of this film. Although she is deaf in her real life, the emotions that her character went through spoke louder than words. Noah Jupe also gave a compelling performance.

Favorite Scene: It would be the scene where the father and son have a small conversation on the riverside. That conversation shed some light on how a father cares for both of his children and loves them no matter what.

Verdict: This film is certainly one of the best that 2018 has to offer. This goes on to show that with great talent and an extraordinary script, the results are more than expected. The makers have announced a sequel to this one. I don’t know how they will top this film.

I am going with a 9/10.

Race 3 is a film directed by Remo D’Souza. I am one of the few people who was impressed by the trailer and was hopeful that this film was going to be a sheer blockbuster. But then the promotions of the film started that reduced my interest in the film. After watching the film yesterday, I can say that I have watched the worst film anyone could make.

Plot: Things suddenly begin to change for the Singh family when Jessica Gomes enters their lives.

Story and direction: I remember in 2008 when the first instalment came out and me being quite excited when no one talked about the film. The film surprised everyone and subsequently a sequel came out in 2013 which was not as good as its predecessor. But still the film worked for its convincing plot and setting. Let me get one thing straight. This film had the makings of a blockbuster. The set pieces of the film looked quite awesome and set the screens to be blazing on film. But alas, that’s where the excitement stops. The plot is so weak and paper thin that it couldn’t invest me for a second. There were so many things that the makers packed into this film that it felt irritating after some time. Watching the film, I felt that given a director’s job I could have done a better job. Remo D’Souza just spoils the whole film. He just tries every formula in the book without giving his own input that would make the film standout in comparison to others. Many scenes felt so impossible that I wondered how the writer thought of putting it in the script (if there was one). The dialogues were already trolled even before the film released but I can say there are plenty more. Not as a Salman Khan fan, I was disappointed more as an action film fan. The stunts looked so amateurish (considering a Hollywood action director was hired). There was a lot of green screen and stunts dumbed down for the Indian audiences. Even I could know the difference between the actors and their stunt doubles. Slow motion has been used a lot which negated the possible effect the scene should have.

Performances: Anil Kapoor was top notch and maybe the possible reason why this film was still bearable. Salman Khan was his usual. We know Jacqueline’s acting skills and as to why she is taken in films. Bobby Deol basically does nothing in the film. Daisy Shah was horrible. Saqib Saleem and Rajesh Sharma were wasted. Sharat Saxena did good with what was given.

Music: Salman Khan, who is known for providing chartbusters, fails miserably in this department. None of the songs felt natural or good. It felt like they were compensating for the lack of story. If I had to pick out the worst song it would be the Salman Khan written and performed song ‘I Found Love’. Salman Khan should stop writing songs after this experience and stop taking Iulia Vantur to sing songs. The BGM works in places but I have heard better.

Worst Scene: It would be any scene where Anil Kapoor and any other character converse in Bhojpuri. It felt very forced and funny. The dialogues were full of trash.

Verdict: Salman Khan should have thought even before investing a huge amount in a film like this. If that wasn’t enough, he hired Remo as the director (we all know what happened with FLYING JATT). The makers have announced a sequel to this film. Hopefully they understand what they are doing. RACE 3 was more a comedy film than an action thriller. It is the worst film this franchise has to offer.

I am going with a 2/10.

Parmanu – The Story of Pokhran is a film co-written and directed by Abhishek Sharma. I had an idea about the film when it was announced a year ago but didn’t follow any of the promotions the film did. I watched it since I heard the praises for this film (which I knew somewhere down my heart).

Plot: Ashwat Raina is appointed as the lead for a team to conduct a nuclear test at the testing site of Pokhran in 1998.

Story and direction: With films based on real life stories/incidents, it is bound that the creative team will take certain liberties to make the film viewable for the audiences. Sometimes those liberties work, sometimes they just don’t. But in this film, I would prefer saying the latter (for the most part). The build-up and suspense is maintained all throughout the film although we know what the end result we be. I was especially caring for the lead characters for the entire runtime. And that is where this film wins. Abhishek Sharma and his team were able to bring me into the environment of tension the film is in and grasp my attention for all the 122 minutes of the film. The production values for the film are good (considering the tight budget of the film). The makers successfully transported me back to 1995 and 1998. Even the subplots that are introduced are not just for the sake of it. It meant something. I felt the makers have extensively researched the film and presented it to us, which is commendable. My only small issues were the tid-bits of commercialism that were thrown into the film, but that is fine.

Music: The film has music composed by Sachin-Jigar and Jeet Ganguuli with BGM by Sandeep Chowta. While the later was good and tuned in with the film, I did have an issue with the former. The songs felt just like additions which were not so good. The film could have just done it without them. But still I did have a favorite song. And that was ‘Thaare Vaaste’ by Divya Kumar.

Performances: A good film is defined by its actors. And this film has a good number of them. John Abraham did good on his part. Diana Penty was fabulous in her role. Aditya Hitkari, Yogendra Tiku, Vikas Kumar and Ajay Shankar performed with ease as if they were really the characters they portrayed. Anuja Sathe and Boman Irani did add their talent to this film.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Prem and Ashwat during their first meeting say that all differences don’t matter, and we should be concentrating on the work as hand. This scene was very important in establishing the relationship these 6 charcaters would embark on and how it would affect their work culture.

Verdict: I would go on to say that this is Abhishek Sharma’s best film as a director. With this film he proved that not only he is a good director but can also dabble genres other than comedy. This film was great from start to finish.

I am going with an 8.5/10.