Review of Independence Day: Resurgence

1996 - 2016, twenty years have passed since I watched "Independence Day" in Kolkata's prestigious Globe Cinema Hall. That nostalgic memory still fascinates me even today. I was a teenage boy who just got his wings and started exploring the World beyond his den. Unlike the kids of the present generation, we were very silly and naive. Mobile phone service had just started in Kolkata but it was so expensive and a distant dream for middle-class people like us. Boring and tasteless news broadcasting by All India Radio and state-run TV network Doordarshan or the news publishing by the morning Newspapers were all news-feeding sources we had during those days. Being the young teenagers of post-1991 economic liberalization in India, we wanted to know more, do more, and of course, get more. The giant multinational company PepsiCo also realized the aspirations of the Indian youth of the Nineties and used the slogan "Yeh Dil Maange More!" in 1998. We didn't have any clear idea about economic reforms but we started to feel the difference especially because of the introduction of computers in our life. Every new stuff that was alien to us also enthralled us. It was the first time I had visited Globe Cinema Hall and there I found something extraordinary which caught my full attention and took me out of this World. The Dolby Digital Sound System was introduced to me for the first time in my life.

Oh boy! Watching a global disaster movie like "Independence Day" on a big and wider screen with Dolby Digital sound, was quite an experience. "Independence Day" was about a story of an apocalypse in biblical proportions and a fight led by a superpower nation against an alien invasion. Humans won the war and saved their race from annihilation on a global scale. The human race was on the brink of extinction but the valor of a fighter pilot Captain Steven Hiller (played by Will Smith), the intelligence of a computer expert cum satellite technician David Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum), and the leadership of American President Thomas J. Whitmore (played by Bill Pullman) saved the humanity.

"We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"

President Thomas J. Whitmore (played by Bill Pullman)

Address to the U.S. Fighter Pilots in "Independence Day" (1996)

Those are the words that thrilled me and I believe, everyone else in the audience. For a moment, I even felt the shivering in my body. I was touched by his words and his way of addressing the pilots who were getting briefed for the battle of their life. Be it the human values, the leadership, the arrogance, the pride, the glory, everything was American, and yet, I experienced an adventure like my own.

Twenty years later, a sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence" has come to the town which made me excited like a kid. I have watched the movie but I felt nothing at all and when I say that, it means the film didn't meet my expectations. I wish it would surprise me but I am afraid it has failed to do so. This sequel film has most of the previous along with some new characters, a good plot, state-of-the-art visual effects, and everything that one could have asked for but I think it has missed out on some fundamental elements. Even though the character of Captain Steven Hiller (played by Will Smith) is missing in this film that absence of Will Smith has been handled quite intelligently by the Script Writers. However, I think the impact of the heroism and courage of one hero in "Independence Day" (1996) has never been achieved by this group of heroes in "Independence Day: Resurgence" (2016). If the central leadership of the resistance in a war film, is changed so frequently that one gets killed and another takes his or her place and so on, that doesn't leave any serious impact on the minds of the audience. Regardless of gender, the leader should be the prime character in such a global disaster movie like this one. People love to see the saga of a leader who fights from the beginning, falls but rises again, leads his or her followers, takes the fight to the enemy, and emerges victorious in the end. People usually relate themselves to that character. I guess too many cooks have spoilt this broth. The presence of too many heroes and leaders is the reason that this movie has failed to touch the nerves of the audience. The state-of-the-art visual effect might fascinate you but cannot help the movie stay in your heart for long. I also felt the same kind of disappointment after watching "Jurassic World" (2015) directed by Colin Trevorrow. It was the 4th sequel to "Jurassic Park" (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg. Even though "Jurassic Park" was not a ghost story, it still gave me two sleepless nights in 1993. But when I asked myself about my cold reaction after watching the new "Jurassic World" (2015), I realized that it was the element of surprise that was missing in that film. The same goes for "Independence Day: Resurgence" (2016). Making sequel films is nothing new in Hollywood. Bond series, Star Wars series, Star Trek series, and Superhero series were all commercially successful given the fact that all of them had something new and surprising as well as enjoyment for all. The success of any film is generally determined by its box office collections but how good or bad, people feel about a movie, that I think, defines the real success of a film. The makers of "Independence Day: Resurgence" perhaps thought differently that a group of heroes comprising a Caucasian American hero, an African American hero, a Chinese Hero, and an African Warlord hero would help the film reach out to the broader part of the audience around the World. They didn't formulate any character like a Russian hero or an Indian hero in this film because it doesn’t work in that fashion in Hollywood. What matters the most to them is the present equation of the major political powers in the World. They also calculate the feasibility of penetrating and grabbing new overseas markets while making a film. I have seen more and more Chinese presence in the recent global disaster kind of Hollywood movies, such as "2012" directed by Roland Emmerich, "Gravity" directed by Alfonso Cuarón, "The Martian" directed by Ridley Scott, you name it. Against the backdrop of China's rise in the World arena, China's role has been turned positive in Hollywood movies.

I am a big fan of Director Roland Emmerich because I admire his previous works but with all due respect to him, I would like to point out a few features of "Independence Day: Resurgence". The diameter of the Moon is a little more than 2000 miles. The last alien mother ship that invaded Earth in 1996, was one-fourth the size of the Moon. This time, it's bigger than the last one. This mother ship is 3000 miles wide which means it is even bigger than the Moon. Both the alien mother ships of 1996 and 2016 have taken a popular route of coming from the backside of the Moon, almost touching its surface, facing the Earth on its horizon, and then heading towards Earth. Hollywood loves this route for designing the path of every extraterrestrial object coming towards Earth. In 1996, the mother ship didn't enter into the atmosphere of Earth rather positioned 36 different spacecraft in different places across the World. All of them were hovering in the sky as the film didn't at least show any landing scene. But the sequel movie shows something else even an old spacecraft that landed in central Africa during the last invasion. This new mother ship has its gravity which caught a Space Tug while passing the Moon. This same Space Tug, before being caught by the alien mother ship, already made a couple of space travels of coming from the Moon to the Earth and then going back to the Moon by escaping from the gravitational pull of the Earth, and couldn't just get away from the mother ship’s gravity. The film also didn't give us any indication that the mother ship got separated into multiple spacecraft. So, the mother ship entered into the atmosphere of the Earth in one piece. Having a strong gravity, it started to pull buildings, cars, humans, etc. from the surface of the Earth. The mother ship first destroyed Singapore (anybody can recognize the iconic Marina Bay Sands building in Singapore), then London, and finally landed in the Atlantic Ocean by deploying its big legs. One leg of that mother ship even touched delicately the backside of the White House in Washington DC before coming to a halt. If you take a look at its course to Earth for landing, from Singapore to London to Washington DC, seems a little peculiar to me especially if I consider the distance between these cities. In another scene of its landing sequence, the father of David Levinson, Julius Levinson (played by Judd Hirsch) who was fishing in a small boat near the coastline, also saw the landing of the mother ship so closely and had to escape from a Tsunami which was created only by the touchdown of the mother ship in the Ocean. But Julius Levinson survived and was picked up by some kids. They abandoned their car and took a bus. They finally reached the surrounding area of Area 51 in the Nevada desert. If you examine the map of the USA, you'll find out that the Nevada desert is located close to the west coast of the USA. Since Washington DC is situated on the east coast of the USA, you might get confused about the actual landing site of the alien mother ship. Is it the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean? In a hypothetical scenario, what if the Moon somehow gets away from its orbit and slowly but surely collides with the Earth, what will happen then? Should the Moon even come too close to the Earth, Earth’s tidal situations would change or gigantic Tsunamis might appear but nothing had happened when the mother ship which is even bigger than the Moon, landed on the surface of the Earth. I am just a common man but curious about how a scientist or an astrophysicist gets into a conclusion after watching this film. I think the makers of "Independence Day: Resurgence" should have done a little more research before writing the script.

Drugs Di Maa Di! Review of Udta Punjab

Thanks to the Supreme Court of India, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, and Diljit Dosanjh starrer film "Udta Punjab" has been released in theatres on the scheduled date. Interestingly, this film has a catchline "Drugs Di Maa Di!". Using slang words or phrases in any catchline is a rare phenomenon in Hindi movies. I've heard though, excessive slang words in the dialogs of the recent Hindi and even Bengali movies. "LOC Kargil", "Jab We Met" and "Baishe Srabon" are such examples. In "Udta Punjab", almost every character has thrown selected and commonly used Punjabi slang words in most of the scenes. Apparently, "Drugs Di Maa Di" looks innocent but whenever you see or hear "Maa Di" or "Maa Ki", your sixth sense tells you that it's a part of a slang phrase. This phrase also reminds me of a small incident in my life. A few years ago, I was once making a conversation with a girl of my team in our office. She was a sweet Punjabi girl. Now I don't remember the onset but when I spoke the word "London" in my typical Bengali accent, she said "What?". I repeated the word "London!". She responded with little irritation "What?". I was a little embarrassed but reiterated "London, the capital of the UK! You know". Then she replied with a relieved face, "Oh! You mean London, the city". I was baffled but within a few days, I figured out the exact reason behind her excitement. The Script Writer of "Udta Punjab" has also used other selected Punjabi slangs which mean "Mother F***er", "Sister F***er" and many more. I guess, the exceeding usage of slang words, is the reason that the Censor Board (CBFC) of which, the present Chairman is the famous (read notorious) Pahlaj Nihalani, has released the film with an "A" certificate. The SC ordered the Censor Board to release the film with only one cut, a couple of disclaimers, and the certificate. The Censor Board just followed that direction. I've seen the trailer in which there was a urination scene of Shahid Kapoor. But when the production house sent the film to the Censor Board, they suggested 89 cuts including that urination scene and the removal of the word “Punjab” from the title as if it is defaming the image of Punjab. If the Censor Board had objections against the urination scene, then why was it allowed by them in the first place?

The making of "Udta Punjab" is indeed a daring effort when it comes to choosing the subject of that film or any film for that matter. Many film Directors love to work on various socio-economic or socio-political issues in India. Director Abhishek Chaubey was not one of them before making this movie. But I must admit that he has successfully conveyed the message to the audience. The message is clear and it loudly says that drug trafficking and drug addiction among young people are the burning issues in Punjab these days. If the necessary actions against this menace are not taken, it will soon destroy the future of a whole generation in Punjab. The state will go to election in 2017. The political party that is currently in power, obviously won't let anybody or anything uncover or raise this issue that has been making them uncomfortable time and again. Their major concern is that the opposition parties might use this issue effectively against them in the forthcoming assembly election. It’s not unusual that all political parties will deny their failure and try to convince you that raising any such issue will defame the image of the state and in this case, Punjab. I am not sure about the connection but surprisingly it was Pahlaj Nihalani who made such comments on behalf of the ruling party of Punjab. He even said that Arvind Kejriwal, the present CM of Delhi, has produced "Udta Punjab". Bizarre theory!!! Pahlaj Nihalani had to suffer defeat and couldn't succeed in stopping "Udta Punjab" from releasing. His office now has to deal with another new allegation of leaking the uncut version of "Udta Punjab" on the Internet before its official release. Be it the release of the last Bond movie "Spectre" or this "Udta Punjab", Pahlaj Nihalani has found himself in controversies very often since he was appointed as the chairman of the Censor Board. Pahlaj Nihalani cut the kissing scenes in "Spectre" which was ridiculed by the cine fraternity in India by projecting the hero James Bond as Sanskari Bond on social media.

Even though I am not a fan of Anurag Kashyap who is one of the Producers of "Udta Punjab", when he defended "Udta Punjab" and shared his view with media persons, I trusted him because of his clear point of view. On the other hand, Pahlaj Nihalani made himself a laughing stock by making some absurd remarks. I haven't watched too many movies directed by Anurag Kashyap but I have watched the trailer of his upcoming film "Raman Raghav 2.0". Both the title and the trailer seem a little weird to me. I think Anurag Kashyap likes to bring out stories about the dark shades of society and human nature. Perhaps "Udta Punjab" was also his pet project but maybe he couldn't direct it because of his other commitments.

There is no film more honest than UDTA PUNJAB .. And any person or party opposing it is actually GUILTY of promoting drugs

— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) June 6, 2016

Let's discuss about the story of "Udta Punjab". There is no particular story in this film. Four leading characters are living their individual lives on their own and finally, all of them fight the same battle against a common enemy. But their struggles and the war against drugs have been presented so nicely that the audience gets attached to this fusion kind of story. Tommy Singh aka Gabru (played by Shahid Kapoor) is a popular Punjabi Rock Singer who sings for young people. His music glorifies the madness of youth and the fun of taking drugs by them. Tommy himself is a drug addict too. People believe that Tommy's music is encouraging young people to take more drugs. One day Tommy got arrested and that proved to be the turning point that changed his life completely. He understands that he needs to get rid of this addiction of drugs. He refuses to take drugs but faces consequences both mentally and physically. He now finds it hard to sing for his fans. This addiction would have ruined his career one day anyway, had he decided to go on and not save himself from this menace. We have seen a similar story in the movie "Aashiqui 2" directed by Mohit Suri. The hero Rahul Jaykar who was also an alcoholic Singer, fought his battle against his addiction. Like Rahul, our Tommy also felt vulnerable that he was getting torn apart from inside as soon as he decided to throw away drugs. Tommy needed friendly support and love to get over his hurdles. That love came to him as a surprise. When Tommy was running away from some goons, an unknown girl (played by Alia Bhatt) came to his rescue, helped him to hide, and even fought with the goons. Tommy falls in love instantly and finds a purpose to live for. This girl who was once a member of Jharkhand's champion hockey team, moved to Punjab as a farm labourer to get her family out of poverty. Eventually, she also fought the battle against drugs in her way. Sartaj Singh (played by Diljit Dosanjh) is a police sub-inspector who has compromised with his honesty for the corrupt system. But when he found his little brother Bali (played by Master Prabhjyot Singh) hospitalised due to a drug overdose, his conscience woke up and told him to do his duty. Bali was saved and taken care of by Dr. Preet Sahni (played by Kareena Kapoor) who runs a drug rehabilitation clinic and also fights against drugs. Both Sartaj and Preet decided to take down the drug racket. The rest of the story is a little terrible and doesn't give us a happy ending. But the drug racket got busted in the climax.

Alia Bhatt is new in the film industry and yet, has shown a great deal of maturity in her acting which has made me a fan of her acting. Any new actress also being the younger daughter of the renowned film Director Mahesh Bhatt, should have chosen a glamorous path to shine her filmy career but instead, she has taken the challenging path. She has established her presence on solid ground as she is performing her best in these versatile roles. Shahid Kapoor is a senior actor but even he has surprised me with his crazy yet natural acting. Kareena Kapoor and the debutant Diljit Dosanjh's acting is good but not that special. But I like the character Tayaji (played by veteran actor Satish Kaushik). He has delivered an excellent performance in this cameo role.

Two soundtracks "Chitta Ve" and "Ud-Daa Punjab" are already gaining popularity. Actor cum Singer Diljit Dosanjh has also sung a song "Ikk Kudi". I cannot resist myself to mention one last thing that when I saw the name of the Editor Meghna Sen in the title sequence, it made me proud.

Te3n: Movie Review by Tanmoy Sarkar

"Te3n" is that well-discussed and well-anticipated film which I had been eagerly waiting for to be released in Kolkata ever since the news broke out that Mr. Amitabh Bachchan started shooting in Kolkata and the first picture of him in which he was riding on a scooter, came out in the public domain. Initially, I thought this was "Kahaani 2" because of Sujoy Ghosh's presence in the team but then I realised that he is not the Director but rather happened to be one of the Producers in this movie of which the title is "Te3n". Well, the film was released in the theatres on the 10th of June and I watched this movie on the 11th night in South Kolkata. I watch a lot of movies but do not post a status for all of them on Facebook. I publish a few only if I think that I should write something about it in my Blog. That's why I generally do that after watching the full movie. But this time when I was about to post my status on Facebook, I just couldn't find the official Facebook page of "Te3n". There was an ordinary page without a profile image and that page got only 249 likes at that time. That page must have been created by a fan or automatically by Facebook. So, it seems that team "Te3n" didn't even try to promote the movie on Social Media. If I remember correctly about the promotion on Television, I've only seen a couple of interviews of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, Sujoy Ghosh, and the Director Ribhu Dasgupta. But I think I've hardly seen Vidya Balan or Nawazuddin Siddiqui promoting this movie on any platform or media. So, I must say that team "Te3n" has taken a very poor marketing strategy or practically none at all for promoting this movie.

When I talk about the movie, the first question that comes to mind is about its title. Why Te3n or Three? One thing is clear that the story revolves around 3 main characters played by BigB, Vidya Balan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. But other than this fact of 3 main character's presence in this film, I've found no relevant reason in its title "Te3n". Despite being one of the 3 main characters, Vidya Balan's name was shown with the tag "Guest Appearance" in the title sequence. I think I've got many reasons to be heartbroken and frustrated after watching this movie. There were good ingredients and a good recipe and yet, the actual dish that the chef has cooked is not the one it was meant to be. All Bengali Film Directors who have made Hindi Bollywood films, are well-known for their realistic ideology and by and large do take care of every minute detail while making a movie.

I've also read some other reviews written by other Cine-Critics. One said about the sloth progress of the storytelling and another Critic talks about too many unnecessary flashbacks in this movie. I also agree with them. The story and the art of storytelling both are essential and without each other's support, no single fact alone can make a film successful. While telling a story, especially a thriller, the storyteller sometimes gets you a flashback or so he thinks is necessary to make the audience glued to the story otherwise they might get lost as the plot gets unraveled. The storyteller sometimes also thinks that flashback helps the audience connect the missing dots. I believe Producer Sujoy Ghosh, Director Ribhu Dasgupta, and their team are very much obsessed with BigB, Vidya Balan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, City of Joy Kolkata, Kolkata Police, Howrah Bridge, River Ganga, Maa Durga and Bisorjon, Kolkata Tram, etc. But these are all good ingredients for a good dish but it's up to the chef and his skills to make a good dish by using these good ingredients and a good recipe.

I'll talk about this thrilling story. I've found so many flaws in the story and storytelling. I think Maa Durga's Bisorjon scene was irrelevant and the Howrah Bridge was shown in the wrong scenes. The story is about Two kidnappings which took place in the heart of Kolkata. The first kidnapping happened in Ripon Street but remained unresolved even after eight long years. John Biswas, the grandfather (played by BigB) of the victim (John's granddaughter Angela Biswas), regularly goes to Kolkata's Police Headquarters in Lalbazar and returns empty-handed back home. Since the kid Angela was abducted in Ripon Street as she was returning from school to home, one can presume that her family used to and still lives in or close to Ripon Street. Just because the team "Te3n" is obsessed with Howrah Bridge, that doesn't mean you can show that bridge in any scene. In one part of the film, the grandfather crosses the river Ganga by Howrah Bridge while returning from Lalbazar to his home in or around Ripon Street. The grandfather listens to a familiar voice in a tape that was recorded by police eight years ago. In this tape, the kidnapper, Manohar Sinha (played by Sabyasachi Chakraborty) allowed the victim to speak on the phone. She shouted, "I am sorry Grandpa. I made a mistake. I should have listened to you". Normally victim says "Save me grandpa" but instead, she says something else. This recording was shown in such a way as if it somehow led to a clue. Ultimately it never got proven as a clue nor did it help Grandpa in any capacity to resolve the mystery.

Grandpa was rightly on his course to find the kidnapper for taking his revenge by bringing him to justice. He set the rest of his life's goals and never lost hope. One day, he got a small clue which led him to go to Imambara in Hooghly. But even after ignoring Father Martin's request to ride on his motorcycle, traveling the distance of 54 km twice and then multiple times by a junk scooter is a reliable idea or not, my friend, I leave it to the audience and their common sense. Later the plot as it was unraveled, showed that the kidnapper buried all the evidence inside a trunk in a burying place at Imambara in Hooghly. The kidnapper committed his crime in Kolkata and buried the evidence in Hooghly. Come on man!! Who wrote this story? I've got more. The kidnapper got his 20 Lacs as he demanded and the ransom money was arranged none other than by our Kolkata police. Police!!! Does police ever arrange ransom money for kidnappers? If yes as a part of their plan to catch the criminal, then why use real money instead of blank currency notes? After a successful pick up of the ransom money, the kidnapper called the grandfather once again and threatened that he had to give him another 20 Lacs rupees as a punishment for his act of calling the police. The kidnapper directed him to get out of the city and follow a dirt road. Man! This is Kolkata, not Ramgarh you are talking about.

In a twist of the plot when the kidnapper was caught and brought to justice, the kidnapper confessed his crime and told the reason behind it. He said that eight years ago, his daughter needed heart surgery and therefore he needed money at any cost. Now consider some points. The kidnapper Manohar Sinha's daughter has a son Ronnie who is now around 8 years old. A woman who got a severe heart surgery of which the effect is still visible, couldn't be allowed by doctors for pregnancy. That means she was already married eight years ago and had a son during the time of her heart surgery. Remember her husband who serves in the Indian Army. I think the Indian Army takes all the liabilities on the medical issues of the family including the wife of an army jawan or an officer. So, the kidnapper's worry about arranging money for her daughter's heart surgery doesn't have solid ground as it was written by the story writer.

The police officer Martin Das who investigated the kidnapping case eight years ago, is now a priest. Please don't take it otherwise if I say that an ex-police officer later becoming a Christian priest, not a Hindu priest or a Muslim imam, looks more suitable in a modern thriller story. Doesn't it? The grandfather John Biswas made a list of a few suspects and handed over the list to Father Martin on Christmas evening and then at the same time, coincidentally, Manohar Sinha's son and grandson (Ronnie) also paid a visit to that Church. Ronnie made a beautiful greeting card and presented it to Father Martin. He loved that card and promised Ronnie that he would always keep it in his home. Father Martin also kept that list of suspects in that greeting card and went inside the Church. Incidentally, Father Martin becomes part of the investigation team that is investigating the present kidnapping of Master Ronnie. The present investigation is being led by a special police inspector Sarita Sarkar (played by Vidya Balan). Eventually, Father Martin gets solid proof that John Biswas has something to do with the present kidnapping of Master Ronnie. Father Martin rushed to John's house and searched his bed. There, he found that greetings card which proves that the storyteller also tries to establish that Ronnie was with John for sure. But I think the voice marching proof was good enough and finding the greetings card was unnecessary besides the fact that the storyteller never showed us how that greetings card reached John's house.

Let's take a pause and consider yourself as the grandfather. You now know who the kidnapper was. Since he has destroyed most of the evidence, what would you do to bring him to justice? Just because you cannot do it legally and you see that the kidnapper has also got a grandson, Ronnie, you make a plot to kidnapping that grandson. That grandson has remained very happy even after being abducted by a kidnapper as it has been shown in this film to prove that the 2nd kidnapping should not be considered as a crime by the audience. You are justifying a new kidnapping for bringing an old kidnapper to justice. I think the Script Writer always has the upper hand. This story especially the climax with a twist could have been told differently.

Acting was superb and every actor has done justice with his or her acting reputation in this film. But the music was mediocre. The music doesn't stay in mind for long.