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Mangalavaaram (2023)
Extremely POOR Movie
Mangalavaaram is the proof that even a movie with a decent message can be extremely bad. Apart from the BGM nothing really worked.
The twists are okay but due to the poor writing you won't necessarily feel drawn to the conclusion.
The dialogues are cheap and VFX is sloppy.
Altogether, Mangalavaaram will leave such a sour taste in you that have to get rid of by watching something way better.
If you want to treat yourself with a loophole filled far below mediocre flick then feel free to watch Mangalavaaram.
I wish I could get back 2hrs and 28 mins of my life. I guess that is not possible...
Afwaah (2023)
An Important Film
Sometimes important films may not be a well made one and Afwaah is an example of that.
Due to it's story and impact - Afwaah is definitely an important movie for all the right reasons.
Kudos to the writer, producer and director for having the courage to speak against populism and bigotry.
The acting was generally very good. Nawaz was in his glory as usual. Sumit Vyas and Sumit Kaul were perfect in their roles.
My big issue is, often the story took some turns without any reason. I guess, the movie had to end on a positive note but the way they were portrayed did not make any sense.
Poor scripting and over dramatisation killed what could have been a masterpiece.
Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018)
Urge to tell the backstories ruined the main one
Well, the backstory of Imaikkaa Nodigal was quite good. I mean it was not excellent and was much like any other Indian movies based on serial killers. Like most of the serial killing movies, this one is also more of a revenge story than serial killing. Just like Forensic or Diwityo Purush IK also focused on internal demons of people rather than the demons residing inside the psychopaths.
After watching quite an astounding trailer, I gave the movie a shot. It started good and kept on the thrill alive for 10-15 mins. After that, the director decided to dive into the backstories. The problem was - the urge of giving every detail (even if completely unnecessary) the story was dragged. Whenever the story seemed to pick-up the director decided to go back to the backstories again. Which made the run time of the movie around 2 hrs 48 minutes. And it was boring as heck.
I guess the intent to make a thriller while pleasing the mass audience with love and melodrama gives such end product. It is never a good idea two combine two separate genres and 'film' them as if they are separate films and just hope everything will work out.
Obviously AK was the standout performer of the movie. However, his scintillating grace could not save a losing cause.
With the same storyline, it could have been a killer of a thriller if the runtime was cut into 2/3rd.
Betaal (2020)
Mediocre
It's decent horror thriller with nothing special. The cinematography was good but it was not supported by either acting or directing. The first episode was quite good, the 2nd one was decent but it took a nosedive from the 3rd episode. To be frank I would not waiting for a second season.
All Elite Wrestling: Double or Nothing (2020)
Solid but not great
I do understand that putting up a great show is almost near to impossible without the spectators. However, top-notch in-ring actions can subdue that. What I thought of DoN is the in-ring actions and the storytelling was somehow lacking to give the viewers that wholesome experience. My ratings of the individual matches are as follows.
Best Friends vs Private Party: 1.
AEW got a packed tag-team roster. I guess Private Party is probably the weakest link in their tag-team division. PP got a huge potential, but right now they are not ready. As usual, they relied solely on the spots and this time, unfortunately, they botched through the whole match.
Casino Ladder Match: 2.50.
I thought this one will be the show-stealer. Darby getting injured (probably) right after coming to the ring hurt the match huge. It had some moments but that's almost it. Apart from the surprise debut of a former world champion, Orange Cassidy's comic timing and a brief moment of Joey Janela madness the match was stale.
MJF vs Jungle Boy: 3.50.
I was not expecting much from this match. But it really did surprise me in a positive way. Both the youngsters told a great story and had one of the best matches of the night. I can't believe how much MJF has improved since joining AEW! I thoroughly enjoyed this back and forth match,
Cody vs Lance Archer: 3.00
Cody never misses telling great stories through his matches. It was a very match with an over-dramatic finish. If the finish was better then it would have been a four-star match I guess.
Kris Statlander vs Penelope Ford: 2.50.
A decent match with nothing to get from it. Statlander looked strong and was booked strong as well.
Dustin Rhodes vs Shawn Spears: 0.50.
The only good thing about the match was it was short, otherwise, I hated the match. Moving to AEW did not change Shawn Spears booking at all,
Hikaru Shida vs Nyla Rose: 3.75
To me, it was the best women's match of AEW so far. Such a hard-fought bout between the two female wrestlers. The David vs Goliath story was told to its perfection. Loved the match and the winner.
Jon Moxley vs Mr. Brodie Lee: 3.50.
A solid match. Both the wrestlers looked strong. The outcome was anticipated still it looked like the match could have gone either way.
Stadium Stampede match: 3.00.
I am not a fan of these so-called 'cinematic' matches. I liked it more than other matches of this kind as this match contained wrestling as well.
Oh My God (2009)
Kind of Propaganda
Even though the movie seems like asking for people's perspective regarding God, it circulates propaganda regarding the Holy Quran. The real meaning of a Sura has been changed by an Imam of an American church.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)
Ayushman's highly formulaic social-comedies becoming stale
When I first heard that Ayushman was doing a film on homosexuality, I got really excited. This is an issue which is required to be addressed. However, the intention of the movie was making people laugh rather than telling a compelling story.
The saddest part was the supposed money maker disappointed the most. Even though most of the members of the supporting cast excelled in their roles and Jitendra in his debut role had a stellar outing, Ayushman was over-acting throughout the movie.
It felt like the movie even intended to deal with the vices of homophobia in backward societies, rather it was trying to please the audience by not taking a dive into it. Due to the performances of Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Jitendra Kumar and Maanvi Gaagroo the movie was somehow entertaining even though cringy.
Too Hot to Handle (2020)
Boring and Stupid
Just another show which wanting to capitalize sex and beauty. Dumb show. Could not sit through one entire episode.
Aamis (2019)
Sometimes you need a strong stomach to digest your 'Aamis'
Aamis (2019)...I can't remember when was the last time I watched an Assamese movie. There's a fair chance that actually I never have before. Hence when I heard about Aamis for the first time I was rather apprehensive. I did not know what to expect from it, yet due to the rave reviews I read online, I gave it a shot and boy it paid me off.
The first and foremost thing I can say about Aamis is, it is bizarrely brilliant. The main winner of the movie is probably the topnotch writing. Both the story and the screenplay complemented each other as they never seemed to be too stretched or boring. Yes, at times the build-up was rather slow and if someone is expecting an outright thrilling extravaganza the first half may disappoint them.
Once an instructor in a film making workshop told me that storytelling is more like an onion. It has an indefinite number of layers and people should not find out about the layers right at the beginning. The writing of Aamis does justify this 'onion' theory and changes the layers from time to time to give a better experience of the bitter realities of obsession. From a matured family drama it turns into something sinister and I for one loved every moment of that.
I don't speak or understand the Assamese language so it is really tough for me to talk about the acting. Lookswise the two leads seemed perfect and their facial expressions were also fitting. The BGM was also masterfully used to give those goosebump moments. The story never required the film to do much experiment with the cinematography. It was good but in the end the day nothing memorable. Aamis is one of those films which stays with you for a long time. If you like movies which will make you think and even forces you to make some own interpretations then this indie-gem is probably your kind of meat. However, sometimes you need a strong stomach to digest your 'Aamis'.
Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020)
Mediocre at best
Tanhaji is a mediocre fair filled up with over preachy dialogues and sub-par acting. The folk tale which was inspired by a true story turned into some sort of epic fantasy in the movie. The only good part was probably the prolonged action sequence at the end. But due to cartoonish VFX that was almost ruined as well.
Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru (2016)
Good but overrated
The movie itself is indeed very good. It was pacey and packed with good performances however the debutant director who did an excellent job could not hide the plot holes and a cliche of a climax.
One thing I did not understand at all is, why the Trailer of the movie is 'totally' different from the movie itself. I mean totally different story lines. That does not make any sense.
Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo (2017)
Politically influential but fails as a thriller
When I saw the first film of Anik Dutta (Bhooter Bhabishyat), I thought this guy can do no wrong. Unfortunately, his second film (Ashchorjyo Prodeep) was not as good as his first, and this one was the worst among his 3 films.
The film is nothing like the trailer suggests. The first half of the movie was nothing but blunt drama and the 2nd part was nothing special either. At one point I was actually waiting for the focal character to die so that the story picks up.
Zhan lang (2015)
An extremely over hyped movie
After learning about the humongous business the 2nd part of the movie is doing in China, I decided to watch the first part. And oh man, how boring was it!! Extremely poor acting, inconsistent story, actions which are neither believable nor fun made it a below average flick.
Maybe the nationalistic viewpoint and the positive portrayal of the armed force made it a commercial success in China but the appeal ends there. The worst of all was the sexist tone of the movie. Dialogues like a woman cannot be the commander of elite troop or a soldier asking her out were definitely demeaning.
Jagga Jasoos (2017)
Far better than the general reviews
Jagga Jassos, on top of being a commercial failure, has also been panned by a majority of the critics. In reality, JJ even though not a masterpiece in any way, yet a compelling watch due to its unique narration, powerful acting and splendid cinematography.
Whereas a large number of Bollywood flicks are brainless fantasy yet the industry abhors true fantasy movies. It happened to Madkee, The Blue Umbrella and now Jagga Jassos.
Reviewers like KRK called it a joke in the name of filmmaking and Box office India accused Anurag Basu of suffering from the European fever. I do not understand how come making the same film again and again and not trying anything new makes a film 'Sudh Desi'
JJ is not a must watch but if one got time s/he would enjoy watching the movie.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)
Expected Lot More
Dibakar Banerjee has always surprised me. From Love, Sex aur Dhoka to Bombay Talkies, I always found him a treat to watch. But Detective Byomkesh Baskshy! was such a disappointment. Clearly DB was never sure about, whether he wants to make a Classy witty detective drama or a Action-Detective flick and they end he could not make any of them. It was slow at the beginning. Picked up the pace after half an hour but never fulfilled the promise of a movie the name of Dibakar Banerjee made. Swastika was very bad in her role. Dr. Guha character was poorly written and described. Even at the end he did not seem like a super villain.
A mediocre film altogether.
Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
where ever there is a problem, there is a white American to get you out of the mess kinda movie
Some movies you watch, out of that some you enjoy. But there are only a few movies which opens your eyes. There was a time when I thought the ladies in Hindi serials are the best (or worst) people around the globe. But this baby opened my eye. Now I know Americans are the most humane! Even I came up with a new name for the genre of the movie, which is- "where ever there is a problem, there is a white American to get you out of the mess".
A beautifully crafted fantasy film based on a true story. The director gives u such a ease, that you even won't feel like googling, what really happened up there. Coz after 20 minits, you will understand that, the director forgot to put the disclaimer on.
Paanch (2003)
Good for AK, it never got released
paanch is the directorial debut of Anurag Kashyap. As the movie is yet to be released Black Friday is regarded as his first feature film. Anurag is not only my fav Indian director but also one of the favs around the globe. Yet I found this piece to be a big disappointment. Kashyap wasted a brilliant story (loosely based on the real incident of a series of murders by 4 creative art students of Pune)
The first problem of the movie is, it is awfully long (159mins). And the first 74 min of it could have easily been concise into 20 minits. After that it is quite gripping, but again at the end twist, after twist, after twist made it a boring.
I guess AK was furious when it did not release. I believe actually it was good for him. because now people say he came into business with a bang like black Friday