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Business News/ Industry / Media/  Friday Film Wrap: ‘Jai Mummy Di,’ ‘Dolittle’ compete in theatres
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Friday Film Wrap: ‘Jai Mummy Di,’ ‘Dolittle’ compete in theatres

Epic war film 1917 is the other Hollywood release the Robert Downey Jr-starring Dolittle will have to contend with
  • Pattas, with Dhanush as lead, and Big Brother, starring Mohanlal, are the big regional releases of the week
  • This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dr. John Dolittle, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., right, with Jip, voiced by Tom Holland, in a scene from 'Dolittle' (Photo: AP)Premium
    This image released by Universal Pictures shows Dr. John Dolittle, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., right, with Jip, voiced by Tom Holland, in a scene from 'Dolittle' (Photo: AP)

    New Delhi: One week after the clash of Tanhaji- The Unsung Warrior and Chhapaak and in the run-up to the big Republic Day weekend, there are few new offerings in theatres.

    Romantic comedy Jai Mummy Di directed by Navjot Gulati starring Sunny Singh, Sonnalli Seygall, Supriya Pathak and Poonam Dhillon is certainly mildly funny, but the comedy and the film as a whole fizzle out as it gradually becomes clear that Gulati does not know where to take it, says Firstpost. Once Jai Mummy Di starts going round and round in circles, it becomes limp and purposeless. Dialogues are left hanging, extra seconds hang loose and it begins to feel like an amateur stage production where the actors don't understand poor timing.

    Scroll calls it a tiresome romcom about dull lovers and warring moms. It might have worked somewhat if it were funny, but the humour in Gulati’s screenplay is scant and scattershot. The Delhi setting, caricatured Punjabi characters, background music as loud as the dialogue delivery, uneven pacing, and endless parade of songs make the relatively crisp 105-minute run-time seem longer than it is.

    For the Hollywood fans, American fantasy adventure Dolittle directed by Stephen Gaghan starring Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen comes to India this week. There’s no denying Doctor Dolittle is slickly put together, says Empire magazine, the set pieces featuring man and animal are impressive – unspoilt by any evidence of blue-screening or special effects wizardry – but it’s just too bad everything else is such a bland disappointment.

    Dolittle is so incoherent that it can't be unpacked on its own, says NPR. Certain baseline elements of a professional Hollywood production — this one budgeted upwards of $175 million — are simply not present here: The filmmakers have been stymied by the technical challenge of having human actors interact with CGI animals, so eye-lines don't meet and the editing within scenes lacks continuity. Robert Downey Jr. is off mumbling incoherently in one part of the frame, an all-star voice cast is making wisecracks as a polar bear or an ostrich or a squirrel in another, and only occasionally do they look like they're on speaking terms.

    Epic war film 1917 directed by Sam Mendes starring George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong and Andrew Scott is a populist, immersive drama that leads the viewer through the trenches and battlefields of northern France, as two young British soldiers attempt to make their way through enemy lines on 6 April 1917, says The Guardian. With meticulous attention to detail and astonishingly fluid cinematography that shifts from ground level to God’s-eye view, Mendes puts his audience right there in the middle of the unfolding chaos. There’s a real sense of epic scale as the action moves breathlessly from one hellish environment to the next, effectively capturing our reluctant heroes’ sense of anxiety and discovery as they stumble into each new unchartered terrain.

    Tamil action drama Pattas starring Dhanush and Suhasini Rajaram Naidu directed by R. S. Durai Senthikumar is a typical Kollywood festival special, that is a film with a big hero with, and targeted at his fans and family audiences, says Firstpost. It is virtually a one-man show by Dhanush as he appears in almost every frame of the film, and shines mainly in the father’s role. He is the only reason to watch this uneven film, which lacks a punch.

    Malayalam action thriller Big Brother directed by Siddique starring Mohanlal, Arbaaz Khan and Anoop Menon is silly and pointless, says The Huffington Post. The making and writing are so tiresome that you stare on blankly at moments that may have been intended to elicit an emotional response. How can you mess up a superstar introduction scene, more so when you have cast an actor who exudes charisma with his mere presence?

    Kannada romantic comedy Sri Bharatha Baahubali and Bengali films Tumi O Tumi and Uraan haven’t inspired any reviews yet.

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    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Lata Jha
    "Lata writes about the media and entertainment industry for Mint, focusing on everything from traditional film and TV to newer areas like video and audio streaming services. She loves movies and spends a lot of her free time watching them, which makes her job both fun and a bit of a challenge. Lata tries to find and write about things in the entertainment world that most people don't notice, even though a lot of people in her country are really into movies and entertainment news often just talks about the glamorous side of things. "
    Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
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    Published: 17 Jan 2020, 03:45 PM IST
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