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Reviews
Afwaah (2023)
You want to hate it, because it depicts the truth.
You want to hate it, because it depicts the truth. This movie is a mirror to the society. A mirror that we all shy away from, and refused to except.
But you cannot escape from that reality. The reality of the truth that is, the British left, but also left behind division. Division in the name of religion, in the name of cast, in the name of creed, and obviously in the name of everything in between.
You can if you want to, or if you choose to, run or try to escape, but the hard truth is that it will inevitably ans always unfortunately find you, and there is sadly no escape whatsoever.
There is no subtlety or layered narrative in this movie. It is straight, hard-hitting, honest, in your face, direct, unashamed and unabashed.
Gulmohar (2023)
What a Beautiful movie !
If you like movies like Monsoon Wedding and Kapoor & Sons, this is a movie for you.
It is a warmhearted movie executed with venerability and sensitivity, about a dysfunctional family, living the last few days in their 31 year old family home.
It is a Multi-starer, but obviously Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee were the best part of the movie. It was a delight to see Sharmila Tagore act after such a long time. She just lights up the screen every time she's on. And Manoj Bajpayee, as always, delivers an extremely dependable performance. His take on this sensitive subject and role is nuanced and layered.
Trial by Fire (2023)
Trial by fire is a meticulously crafted show that is still relevant in today's India.
Trial by fire is a meticulously crafted show that is still relevant in today's India.
Set in the backdrop of the real world tragedy of Uphaar Cinema fire of 13 June 1997, the show is about the resilience of two parents, seeking justice for their two children who died in the tragedy, along with other victims' families and survivors, for over 26 harrowing years.
The show never once feels exploitative or over melodramatic. Actors Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande, along with Writer Director Prashant Nair have delivered a sensitive, yet thought provoking show that is a Must Watch!
I'm so glad that 2023 has started on the right foot. More shows like this please.
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (2022)
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva is a visual spectacle.
Brahmastra Part One: Shiva (2022) is a visual spectacle, with intriguing Indian mythology to explore, being constantly bogged down by an average and dated love story. And that's a shame because this movie has so much more, far more interesting stories to offer.
In a movie about ancient gods and their astra powers, the unbelievable part of the movie was the love story. Boy meets girl and instantly falls in love is all okay, but at least execute it in a more believable way. Bollywood needs to be done with this 'I will stalk you and you will find it charming' BS.
Where Ranbir Kapoor has been given a fleshed out character in Shiva, which he executes impeccably, Alia Bhatt on the other hand has been handed out this one dimensional character Isha, who's sole purpose is to exist for Shiva and his journey. She is the perfect definition of "Damsel in distress" with zero agency.
We get zero background about her other than she is rich and is from London. No information about what she does and who her family is. Within a day of meeting and falling in love with Shiva, this stranger she just met, her sole purpose becomes to drop everything and go on his journey. No mention of what her life was before or how this is affecting others around her. How are we supposed to be invested in her or even their relationship if you have not organically built it up?
On the positives, the world building of the "Astraverse" is both enthralling and captivating. I hope Director Ayan Mukerji is done with this stupid love story and will focus more on the Astraverse part of the world building.
The movie also has some great supporting cast like Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Mouni Roy, along with some exciting cameos like Shah Rukh Khan who I loved seeing on the big screen after so long. He was, without a doubt, my favorite part of the movie.
The VFX and action sequences really are some of the best quality work ever seen in Indian cinema. I saw this movie in IMAX 3D and honestly after a very long time has a movie really taken advantage of 3D like this movie has. Colored me impressed.
Overall Brahmastra is not flawless ofcourse, but the movie has a lot to offer to keep it interesting and the viewers invested. The movie definitely deserves a theatre watch, just for the astounding special effects in the movie, preferably in IMAX 3D. Here's hoping that Part Two: Dev will have a more interesting story to tell.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
She is Hulk size Fun !
I honestly am enjoying thins show more than I thought I would. They have also significantly improved the CGI & VFX of the show form when that first trailer came out. Definitely worth checking out.
House of the Dragon (2022)
Instantly emotionally invested !
Instantly emotionally invested !
Setting myself up for another potential heartbreak I guess.
Great first episode. Hope the rest of the season is equally great if not better.
Cannot wait for next Sunday.
Bullet Train (2022)
A Fun Ride
Bullet Train is is such a fun & wild ride. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I honestly don't understand why the critics are hating on it on Rotten Tomatoes. It is exactly what the trailer had promised it to be, an over-the-top crazy fun ride, with tons of Kill Bill & Jon Wick level action, with Hobbs & Shaw level humor.
The story is about 5 assassins aboard a fast moving bullet train in Japan, who find out that their missions have something in common. And then begins the comedy of errors.
The movie is basically told through the POV of an unlucky assassin called Ladybug played by Brad Pitt. He is just having a blast in this movie. He has let himself loose and the result is this funny charming performance that just phenomenally clicks.
But this is not just a Brad Pitt movie. It is a multi-starrer that also has him in it. Everyone in this movie is great and are just having a blast. And that comes across to us audience so we also end up having a good time.
My absolute favorites were the pair of "twins" assassins played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry. Their back-and-forth banter cracked me throughout the movie. I need a prequel to this movie with just their previous assassin jobs. I think that would be a great movie to watch.
The dialogues in this movie are witty and fast paced. If you pay attention then you will be rewarded with a whole bunch of laughs. But there is also an equal amount of bloody gore action fight scene in it. If you can't handle blood onscreen then this one might not be for you.
Overall I had a blast watching this movie and was so glad that I got on board. With the runtime of two hours the movie never overstays its welcome. There are some convenient plot-lines in the movie, and the VFX are not always on point, but you can easily forgive these shortcomings, because the journey in itself is so much fun.
P. S. - The movie has a mid-credit scene.
The Boys: Herogasm (2022)
The best episode !
Herogasm is without a doubt the best episode of the entire series. So damn good. Had everything in it. I Loved it. My mind is literally BLOWN away. Cannot wait for the rest of the episodes to see where they go from here.
Lightyear (2022)
To Infinity & Beyond !
In 1995 Pixar made their first Feature Film caller Toy Story which changed the course of Animated Cinema forever. In that movie, a kid named Andy gets a toy called Buzz from his favorite movie. Lightyear is that movie.
So comparing this movie to the Toy Story movies is pointlessly stupid timeline wise. On the other hand, I am happy to report that Lightyear will, like those movies did, successfully manipulate you into laughing, sobbing and being emotionally content, by the time you are done watching it.
When you go see this movie, keep in mind that this Buzz is not the Buzz we love from the Toy Story movies. He is the original Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear, upon whom the toy was based on. So there will be many familiar things this Buzz will say and do, but he will also feel like a whole different Buzz. A more lived in, humanized Buzz.
The story is about a mission that Buzz is returning from and while on his way, he and his team get stranded on an alien planet. Then his new mission becomes to find a new fuel source that will help them get off the planet and go home. During this new mission Buzz encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg who are attempting to steal his fuel source. Who is Zurg and why he wants the fuel source is the McGuffin of the movie.
Chris Evans as Buzz has done a great job in filling the big Space shoes of Tim Allen's beloved version, while also creating a subtle difference - "Captain" version of his own, without butchering the original.
Supporting him are many great artists who've lent their voices to new characters around Buzz and his mission, but my favorites have to be Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison and Peter Sohn as SOX. They brought in a whole bunch of humor and levity to the movie and completely stole the show.
The animation and this movie, as expected from every Pixar movie, is simply outstanding. The Cinematography is just breathtakingly real. The attention to details, from the overall grand presentation to a tiny hair moving because of the wind, is spectacularly executed. It is truly animation at its best.
Overall Lightyear is a stupendous movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. It feels like Interstellar meets Top Gun, but in animation. Those people hating on this movie (especially on IMDb) just because there is a lesbian kiss, can unambiguously EFF OFF to "Infinity & Beyond". The rest of you should definitely go check it out and let the movie fill you with love, happiness and entertainment.
P. S. - There is a mid-credit scene and 2 post credit scenes.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
I Enjoyed the Madness of Sam Raimi
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of madness is an exceptionally unique experience compared to the rest of the previous MCU movies.
Director Sam Raimi has officially entered the MCU and with him he has brought his unique horror touch. The merging of the two Horror and Superhero universes is something that I did not know I wanted, but I'm glad to have received it. Even though I am not a big fan of the Horror genre, I really enjoyed the elements used by Sam in his movie.
After the events of No Way Home, where Doctor Strange opened the door way to the multiverse, things are no longer as straightforward as they used to be and the bill has finally come due.
So we get introduced to a young girl named America Chavez, who apparently can travel from verse to verse in the multiverse. And with great power comes, a great villain who wants those powers, which is the McGuffin of the movie.
Unlike most Marvel movies, this one is not as much character driven, but instead is more MacGuffin driven. That somewhat takes away a bit from the movie, but thankfully does not impact the overall experience of it.
Wanda who is recovering from the events of WandaVision, is entangled into this madness. How, I will not say, as that would be spoiler territory. What I would say instead is that if you haven't watched WandaVision on Disney+, you better watch it before you go see this movie, because otherwise you will be a bit lost with her plot line.
Multiverse Madness has some great cameos, some already spoiled by the trailer, but also others that I was happy to have enjoyed while watching the movie.
The BGM is also exceptionally well done. Especially in this one scene where Doctor Strange is fighting a certain someone in one of the multiverse. The CGI and VFX are of course state of the art. Given that we are in Doctor Strange's movie, some of the set pieces are exceptionally mind bending to say the least.
Cinematographer John Mathieson, together with Sam, have had a lot of fun colliding the two worlds of MCU Doctor Strange magic and Sam Raimi's jump scare fear, without being full on Evil Dead. The end result is a satisfying one for us the viewers.
This movie is a much needed change in the MCU pace in my biased opinion. I am now ready for more deep cut Marvel characters to be introduced in the future movies.
P. S. - There is a mid-credit scene and a post credit scene.
Badhaai Do (2022)
Badhai do for a fun movie
An amazing fun movie, that despite its entertainment factor, also educates. Gear performances and excellent direction. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend that you watch it.
Gehraiyaan (2022)
Complex and Poignant
Director Shakun Batra's new venture Gehraaiyan is a deep dive into the convoluted lives of messy people. It's a head on collision between middle class Mumbai and rich Mumbai, trying to co-exist and sometimes even overlap.
The story is about 4 characters who's lives are intertwined. These protagonists are complex characters, who are byproduct of their upbringing, consequentially leading to a journey that is immersed in the pains of the past traumas, as well as the ambitions of future prospects.
Leading them is Alisha, played by goddess Deepika Padukone, who is not satisfied with her upper middle class life and wants more out of it. She is just divine and has done a tremendous job in making us empathize with her grey and almost unlikable character. Her performance is phenomenal to say the least and I loved her in every frame.
New kid on the block, Dhairya Karwa plays Karan, Alisha's boyfriend of many years, who is a struggling writer. He delivers a decent performance as the necessary fourth wheel in this dynamic.
Then there is Ananya Pandey as Tia, who is Alisha's estranged cousin. I had major reservations about her inclusion in this star cast, but thankfully she has risen to the occasion and managed to deliver a good performance. She was definitely the surprise factor.
And lastly there is Zain, played by Siddhant Chaturvedi, who is Tia's fiancé and probably the most serpentine of them all. Siddhant's journey has been an interesting one. From the lanky, out of his depth, good boy in Inside Edge, to a self-centered, overambitious guy in this one, he has really grown as an actor.
The movie also has 2 great supporting casts. First is Rajat Kapoor as Zain's business partner, who is ever so reliable as actor and has yet again delivered a great performance even with a straightforward character.
And then there is my favorite, Naseeruddin Shah, who plays Alisha's father. His performance in this movie is yet another example of why the length of the role doesn't really matter for it to be impactful. His scenes with Deepika are my favorite bits of the movie, especially this one scene in the end that just left me speechless.
I am happy to report that Gehraaiyan is so much more than just the adultery story highlighted in the trailer. I am glad that Shakun chose to not show the entire movie in the trailer, like most filmmakers unfortunately do these days.
This movie explores real human relationships. The estranged family dynamics in the movie goes beyond what Shakun had explored in his previous venture Kapoor & Sons and dares to dive deeper into the dark side of it.
I feel that despite their urban lifestyle, the characters had many layers and tremendous relatability. Relatability of wanting a better life, relatability of estranged family dynamics, but most importantly relatability of wanting to be seen and loved.
The movie is technically well executed. With beautiful Cinematography, crisp Writing and Dialogues, immersive handheld Camerawork and effective swift Editing, even the runtime of 2 hour and 30 minutes doesn't feel like it's outstayed it's welcome.
The music is also melodious and is seamlessly woven into the screenplay. I can't stop listing to Doobey on the loop. My only issue with the movie was that at parts the dubbing felt a bit off, but thats just me nitpicking now.
Overall I tremendously enjoyed this movie. From the day the first trailer was released this movie has received divisive reactions and I'm sure people will have divisive feelings towards the movie as well.
But for me it just worked and how. I would only suggest is that you don't listen to the chatter on social media and watch it to decide for yourself.
Looop Lapeta (2022)
What an eventful run !
An official Indian adaptation (or maybe a well executed adaptation) of the highly acclaimed German cult classic Run Lola Run, Looop Lapeta is a BOLD movie, in the world of Cursive writing.
Debutant Director Aakash Bhatia, along with 4 other writers and captivating Cinematographer Yash Khanna, stands tall to deliver an immersive storytelling that despite relying on a known "repeat loop" trope, delivers a highly entertaining movie. The end result is an extremely effective product that will blow your socks off.
Narrating from a Full Frame ratio and looping back to Academy ratio, Looop Lapeta is a story of Savi, played by Taapsee Pannu, who is racing against time to save her boyfriend, played by Tahir Raj Bhasin, who has lost a mobster's cash.
It's up to to her to not only somehow save him and get the lost cash, but also break out of this never ending loop' lapeta. Will she be able to achieve both successfully? That is the MacGuffin of the movie.
Protagonist Taapsee Pannu runs this story with conviction and extreme persuasion. Tahir Raj Bhasin is a geat cast as her buffoon, yet adorable love interest causing all the unnecessary commotion.
Dibyendu Bhattacharya as the gangster boss and Rajendra Chawla as the jewelry store owner deliver some of the fun and crazy bits.
There is also Shreya Dhanwanthary in a small, kind of significant but also not so significant role, but watching her on screen is always a delight.
But the ultimate showstoppers for me were the brother duo of Gappu and Appu, played hilariously by Raghav Raj Kakker and Manik Papneja respectively. I cracked up in every scene they were in a scene. You just have to see it to understand what I mean.
Stylishly edited in a real life comic book style, Looop Lapeta delivers some of the best visuals seen in Indian cinema in recent years.
The strange Camera angles work effective to elevate this bizarrely uncanny story. Adding to it is the pumping BGM, that runs step by step along with the narrative, but never takes over at any point.
Overall, as Gappu and Appu would say, Looop Lapeta is a "First (Class) Copy" of Run Lola Run. Or something like that.
If nothing else, I highly recommend that you get on this hypnotic ride for a whole lot of crazy fun that Bollywood rarely ever offers.
Don't Look Up (2021)
This movie is basically like a 2 hours and 18 minutes long SNL episode.
Director Adam McKay's Don't look up is a brilliant political satire about climate change with an unbelievable all star cast. Depending on your political views, you will either love this movie or hate it. If you are someone who likes to check out the review and ratings before watching a movie, just remember this when you see the mixed reviews and average ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
I had a bloody fun time watching it, while also semi panicking about the future we are heading towards. It is very much a culmination of a four year warning we all just lived through and that if we don't mend our ways like today, the doom is going to hit us hard and point blank.
The story is about a PhD astronomer played by Jennifer Lawrence and her professor Leonardo DiCaprio who discover that a comet of a size of Mount Everest is approaching Earth (metaphor for climate change) and have to then go around literally convincing everyone, including the President played by Meryl Streep that they are not making this shit up and the comet will in fact destroy our planet. It also provides realistic and effective solutions (in metaphor of course), but will people in charge listen and take action?
These brilliant scientists have to deal with people like Jonah Hill who played the President's son and also the chief of staff, Cate Blanchett (who was OUTSTANDING as a version of Laura Ingram) and Tyler Perry playing versions of various Fox "News" hosts, Mark Rylance as the know it all greedy tech CEO, along with other equally crazy and outrageous, but not so unbelievable (anymore) people.
Everyone is outstanding in this movie. Leonardo DiCaprio gets to up-play his sexy Dr. Fauci moments which is hilarious. He is undeniably charming. Jennifer Lawrence gets to be a Bernie & AOC combined truth spewing feisty character, that I just loved watching from start to finish. To see one of my favorite actresses portray a character that is a combination of two of my favorite political figures just made my heart happy.
Meryl Streep is a version of Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene combined that just made me shrug in fear. It gave me ptsd and a nightmare combined. Jonah Hill displays what it would be like if Jared Kushner, Eric and Don Jr. Are combined as one person and I threw up in mouth every time he said any dialogue. Mark Rylance is a combination of Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk who think they know it all and the smugness comes across effortlessly. Now that is some exceptionally great acting.
The ignorance and greed of humankind is on full display in this movie, along with what is at stake i.e. Our beautiful planet. So within the narrative McKay cuts to shots of different parts of the planet to show and remind us of its uniqueness and beauty and also messiness. All of this is not subtle but is also at the same time extremely effective.
While we are living in the midst of a global pandemic, I understand that some people would not like to see a satire reminding us of our pending doom, even if it is being delivered by A-list actors in the form of dark comedy, but at the same time it is an important and urgent message to not look away from. The movie is literally telling us to not be ostriches and put our head in the sand.
The only one thing that I did not like about this movie was the personal arch they gave Leonardo DiCaprio's character. I don't want to say what or why because that would be spoiler territory. Other than that I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. This movie boasts of one of the best cast, doing some of the best work of the year.
Don't Look Up is an accurate representation of the sad but true times we live in. It is not a preachy boring movie, but is in fact a pure joy to watch. It is also a movie that will make you extremely uncomfortable but all for the right reasons.
It will constantly remind you of the nightmare that is ahead of us and then basically ask you if you are team "look up" (Covid exists) and acknowledge it and do something about our impending doom, or be part of "don't look up" (Climate deniers and Anti-vaxxers) and just let the selfish people who are killing our planet continue to do so. These two grim and real choices are in fact ultimately ours to make.
Bob Biswas (2021)
Bob Biswas is basically Bourn Identity with Jon Wick world rules.
This is both a spin-off and a prequel to Kahaani (2012) and at the same time an origins story of the assassin Bob Biswas from that movie.
In that movie this role was played by actor Saswata Chatterjee. Where as here Abhishek Bachchan plays a slightly younger version of that character.
The story is about this middle aged guys who we are told has lost his memory in a accident and doesn't remember anything. Then he is discharged to a family in a very Overboard kind of situation, but not really.
He is then picked up by two men who may or may not be cops. They tell him that they are the ones to be thanked for his freedom from his previous life as an assassin and they need to now work for him. Are they telling the truth or are they just using him? He doesn't know. Neither do we. And that's the fun of it. Does he get his memory back? Does he get all the answers?
Abhishek Bachchan is just outstanding in this role. He gives it his all. This effort form home to reform himself has been showing constantly in his recent movies and I'm all for it.
Supporting him are other great actors who don't really get to deliver much other than Chitrangda Singh who plays his wife. She has a bit more substantial role compared to other supporting characters and does get a chance to Display her performance charm.
What If...?: What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark? (2021)
Stop killing Tony
Hey Marvel. Can you please STOP killing Tony in ALL timelines. FFS.
Being James Bond (2021)
Emotional
Damn this was so damn good. He is my favorite Bond no doubt. And now the wait for No Time To Die.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is like a poetry in motion.
This movie is a blast and then some. It is, just like Black Panther was, a Marvel movie and it's own thing at the same time. It brings a much needed freshness to MCU. The story is about Shang-Chi, a Kung Fu fighter, who is forced to confront his past after being drawn into the Ten Rings organization. Is this the same Ten Rings organization from Iron Man and Iron Man 3? I'll let the movie explain.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton successfully blends in his culture in the Marvel format, but also keeps it real, authentic and most importantly communicates a very personal story effectively. At the heart of it, this is a movie about a dysfunctional family dealing with their family drama. I'm not going to talk about what the drama is as that will be a spoiler. But with that drama comes some of the best Kung-Fu fights I've seen on the big screen in a long time.
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi and Awkwafina as his best friend are well known stars, but after this movie they will be upgraded to superstar status. They were brilliant in the movie and were yin to each other's yang. Where Simu Liu brought the punches, Awkwafina brought. The punchlines. They complimented each other to create the perfect balance. Another character that left an impression on me is Tony Chiu-Wai Leung as Shang-Chi's father. The love-hate relationship between him and Shang-Chi is relatable and just so heartbreaking.
Rest of the star cast is also brilliantly casted and this movie has some of the best written supporting characters. The core group consists of Fala Chen as Shang-Chi's mother who is the soul of this movie, Meng'er Zhang as his sister who is just as much of a kick ass as Shang-Chi and Michelle Yeoh as his aunt who becomes his guide and teacher. There is also a surprise character in the movie that I loved, but I am not going to talk about it and spoil it for you guys.
This is a Marvel product so you know that the VFX & CGI are industry best. Adding to that are the beautiful Cinematography and the fast paced Camera Work. Each and every fight sequence is meticulously handled and spectacularly choreographed. You have seen some of the bus fight scenes in the trailer, but there are other high stake fight scenes that will also leave you breathless.
You knew you were going to watch this movie when it came out. My review is just to tell you that yes, it is everything you expected and wanted it to be. I personally never doubted Kevin Feige. Now go watch this movie and let it knock your socks off.
P. S. - This movie has a mid-credit scene and a post-credit scene, so make sure you catch those.
The Green Knight (2021)
Journey Of The Brown Knight !!
The Green Knight kinda broke my brain during the first viewing. I got about 70% of what the movie was about but was not really sure or confident of that 70% as well. So, I had to view it again and now I can say that I understand about 85% of the movie and the remaining 15% still eludes me and I guess that's the beauty of it.
This movie is beautiful and strange at the same time. It is shot wonderfully and is gorgeous to look at. The Cinematography is breathtaking and definitely deserves an Oscar nomination. The camera work, the set design, the costumes and the VFX all come together to creat this fantasy world that will leave you mesmerized and bewildered. The last time a movie did this to me was The Lighthouse (2019).
As someone who has in the past not been a fan of Dev Patel's acting, I feel he did a brilliant job here. This is Dev Patel's career's best performance so far and he also deserves an Oscar nomination for this performance. I enjoyed both Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton's performances as well. Rest of the cast plays more of a supporting role to Dev Patel and do their parts competently.
This movie is not for everyone. It's a slow burn and is very cryptic. It shows you things that may or may not be happening and leaves it totally for you to interpret it however you want it to. And that can be really fascinating for some people and make them want to see it again to decode it, like it did for me. Or it can also make you lose interest in the middle of the movie and not care for it at all. Either way, I say give it a chance, it might end up surprising you.
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) feels like a long SNL sketch that just bombs hard.
It is always trying too hard to overachieve, that it ends up constantly under delivering. There is a scene early on in the movie where James says to WB executives - "Athletes acting, that never goes well. ... With all due respect, this idea is straight up bad." And that in itself is the review of this movie in a nutshell.
In another scene later on, where James and Bunny are making a team, James starts naming DC characters that would make for a great team - Superman, Iron Giant, King Kong, etc. Now that would've been a fun and new twist to the original legacy of Space Jam but instead what we end up getting is a bad mish-mash of the old movie with the same old Loony Tunes characters.
Throughout the movie I was so distracted by all the WB Easter eggs and that made me realize how uninteresting the actual movie was. It just did not make me feel anything. I re-watched the original Space Jam before watching this one and Oh! How much fun that movie was! It was silly and goofy and yes a little loony but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would suggest you re-watch that one and just skip this one.
If you thought Michael Jordan's acting was bad, wait till you see LeBron James' acting.
Black Widow (2021)
It is not a pathbreaking movie in any way, but definitely is reliably entertaining.
Black Widow is finally out after several delays due to the global pandemic and is the first Marvel movie we've got in two long years. This is basically a fan service, so what you get is a filler movie, simply giving us some answers about Natasha's past.
The story as we know from the trailer is about Natasha going back to Russia and is reunited with her dysfunctional family. The treatment of the movie is classic marvel, i.e. A little bit of emotional drama with comedy sprinkled over it enough to not let it go to the dark "DC" side. It has all the predictable yet fun elements in it.
Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Black Widow one last time and delivers another reliable kick-ass performance that we expect from her. We get all her signature moves- the kicks, the head locks and even the cool superhero landing. She is simply fantastic!
Supporting her is her aforementioned dysfunctional family. The mom is smart, dangerous and cunning, played by the stunning Rachel Weisz. The dad is big and goofy but equally strong and menacing, played by the reliably charming David Harbour and finally the young kid sister is played by my Florence Pugh, who is equally bad-ass as her big sister Natasha and as annoying a young sibling should be. She is unarguably my favorite in the movie.
This movie has everything you expect from a Marvel movie. The action set pieces are great and are choreographed to the highest entertainment level. The CGI is what we have come to expect from a Marvel movie. The cinematography and camerawork are also top notch.
The two big negatives that I would say this movie has are -
a). It does not have a strong villain (it has two villains but neither of them are strong enough for our Avenger)
b). We know exactly when and how Natasha is going to die in the MCU timeline, so at no point do we really feel that she is in any real danger during any of the fight scenes, so that takes away from a bit of thrill that it could've benefited from.
Overall I would say Black Widow had a lot of potential to be great, but ends up being just good. Still, it's worth your time and money to go check it out in a theater near you, especially in an IMAX or Dolby, i.e. If you are fully vaccinated of course. Otherwise you can stream it on Disney+ Premier Access.
P. S. - As is Marvel tradition, the movie has one post credit scene, so you'll probably have to tell your bladder to hush when the credits roll.
Sunflower (2021)
Such potential. Must waste. Average at best.
Such potential. Must waste. Good acting. The story on paper was good but the execution was poor. The direction is all over the place. Editing is also so weirdly done. In every episode scenes that has nothing to to do with each other are edited in and out of each outer without making any sense. So many scene are there that have got nothing to do with taking the story ahead. In fact they bogged down the rest of the show.
Jeet Ki Zid (2021)
High concept. Poor execution.
This show has a great story to tell. What also helps is the fact that it's based on a true story.
I just wish the execution was technically stronger resulting in a better product than what we got.
Nonetheless it is a good one time watch. Will give you some life motivation to never give up.
Also I really liked that after the end of each episode they got the real guy and his wife to give us some snippets of their story told in their way.
Sherni (2021)
Vidya is Class apart !!!!
From the Director of Newton, Sherni is a satire about a lot of different things but above all it is a humans vs animals, development vs nature story. How we have taken over the natural habitat of the animals in the name of development and now expect them to just comply.
It is about an honest Forest Officer, played effortlessly by Vidya Balan who's got her first field posting after 6 years of service behind a desk and within a month of her posting she has to deal with an issue of a Tigress attacking the village, animals and humans alike.
There needs to be a balance between humans and animals for both to survive and sustain together. We have heard this before - the animals were here first, it's their land but inch by inch we have taken over. Still, they learn to co-exist but then we take some more and have to eventually pay the price.
As bodies pile up, everyone in this movie - the politicians, a private poacher, senior officials of the Forest Department and obviously the media, all claim to be an expert on the matter but none of them are able to come up with any viable solution. During all this they are, as expected, constantly undermining Vidya at every step just because she is a female officer.
But she is not the only one trying to do the right thing. Supporting her is a local zoology professor played spectacularly by Vijay Raaz. Along with a team of local volunteers who call themselves "Forest Friends".
The title of the movie Sherni means Tigress and of course it refers to the Tigress being hunted, but it is also a parallel to Vidya's life. She too, like the Tigress, is displaced from her natural habitat and is forced to forge her own path while constantly being undermined at every point by the men around her as well as the system.
Despite it all, Vidya continues to strive forward to do her duty honestly and not let the circus distract her. She strives for a balance in this human-animal squabble, trying to catch the Tigress alive and not let the others kill her for their own personal agendas.
But what is supposed to be a simple catch and release mission, quickly becomes politicized demanding quick results, consequences be damned. Will Vidya succeed in saving the Tigress or will the others manage to kill her? That's the ultimate question.
At the runtime of 2 hours and 11 minutes the movie never feels stretched, slow or uninteresting. Director Amit Masurkar and writer Aastha Tiku ensure that they are constantly giving us a vital viewing. Both the screenplay and dialogs are crisp and hard hitting. The cinematography gorgeously captures the forest in all its glorious beauty.
In the end the movie leaves you with some questions. Questions about our morals, the system we have built and if all of it is worth it?
Army of the Dead (2021)
Army of the Dead is Stupid but Entertaining.
Well it's a zombie movie set in Vegas so the stupidity is expected and it's a Zack Snyder movie so entertainment
is also a given.
The plot is what you see in the trailer and anything you can predict can happen does end up happening.
Well, for most parts.
Acting wise everyone is doing a decent job. I guess we can now count Dave Bautista as a lead actor after this. I was also happy to see Huma Qureshi in the movie. She has about 3 scenes but they are integral for an important sub-plot.
Hope to see her do more international projects after this.
The USP of the movie is that these are not your typical zombies. They are fast and smart and have organisational skills. Also they have a zombie tiger. Now that's crazy.
The action is fast paced, but you obviously also have your signature Zack Snyder slow motion scenes which really let you enjoy all the zombie killings. On the flipside it adds extra unnecessary runtime to the movie.
The rules to kill the zombies remain the same i.e. Aim for the head. So imagine a John Wick type action, all the headshots and knife jabs but with zombies. If that sounds like your kinda stuff then this movie is for you.