Recently Seen Movies - 12 - Page 17

Leila

I do love good dystopian fiction. With Leila, India enters into the foray of good dystopian fiction. Dark, gritty, compelling, and revolting, it has all the makings of great dystopian narratives.

The narrative is a bit slow at times, but it picks up regularly to keep viewer interest. I felt some of the motives and developments underbaked. Perhaps next season will explain more. Why does Naz betray them? How/when/why did the resistance form? How is Rao so sympathetic to Shalini?

Huma Qureshi is top-notch as Shalini. Siddharth as Bhanu with his calm and focus is a good counter to the erratic Shalini.

movie review---P se pyaar F se farrar

Review has spoilers

The film was set in my favourite setting---the mofussil towns in UP , a ripe place for breeding caste conflict that makes for watchable movies if you have my taste....and this time it is Mathura , the birthplace of Hindu God Krishna whose ancient romance with eternal devotee Radha is stuff of legends....so much so that I saw that people greet each other with the words 'Radhe Radhe' when they meet each other in the movie .

But the modern world is a different place , and Kumud Mishra plays regional upper caste strongman Omveer Singh whose main task is to kill any couple which is inter religious ; even the girl is not spared but is butchered by himself . But what to do when his own daughter Jhanvi falls in love and elopes with a lower caste boy right under his very nose ? Erupt in violence what else....

Omveer's brother is the calm minded Rajveer ( Jimmy Shergill ) , who tries to bring some sanity to the situation . He chases Jhanvi and her lover Sooraj Mali ( Bhavesh Kumar ) up and down across the region and upto Delhi , only to stumble upon the obstacle presented by Sooraj's relative Rajesh ( Girish Kulkarni ) who outwits him and helps the couple escape . And it is the older actors who provide the acting performances really rather than the juvenile couple in love .

The caste conflict is well shown in the movie in it's ideal setting of north India . The rivalries of upper with lower castes and the selfishness of politicians of both castes is well brought out . The movie does not fail to pay tribute in a scene to the Marathi movie that is it's inspiration and that seems to be inspiring an entire genre of movies like 'Dhadak'---the now iconic 'Sairat' what else . But the tribute to 'Sairat' also means the movie is headed only one way---to a tragic end .

And the tragic end is a result of Omveer keeping an army of vigilantes who kill anyone who crosses the line of caste or religion for love ; they are hardly going to keep quiet if their leader's daughter is going to elope with a boy outside caste . As the vigilantes plan to make an example of Jhanvi by gang raping her before killing her , it is her own uncle Rajveer who has to kill her and her lover to save them from a fate worse than death....

The romance of Jhanvi with her boyfriend is well developed and so is their elopement , and the whole movie is interspersed with some melodious songs that enhance the viewing experience . Photography and colours are most decent and so is the background music . But the tragic climax put me in pathos even as it elevated the movie .

Verdict---Good .

Three and a half stars out of five .

Malaal: lovely movie ♥️♥️♥️

Mission Mangal,

it was a good concept but taken very badly. I mean I just couldn't digest some of the scenes. Its like a mockery

Like switching off the whole system on and off . Having no budget to buy tea or time, yet have the song inserted where they redecorate the office with paints and colors investing both their time and money.

Akki was useless, I actually liked Tapsee and Nithya Menon. Vidya was good but I felt she was OTT in some scenes

Lore S2

Boring af.

I heard a lot of positive things about the Lore podcast. People I trust raved about it. I'm not a podcast person, but when I saw that it was an Amazon Prime show; I decided to give it a go.

Season 1 was alright. It wasn't super exciting. But the lore and the narrative about them did get fascinating on occasion. Some better editing and scripting could have made it interesting. The makers claimed to tweak the S2 format to meet viewer feedback so I had hope.

I don't know how the f they came up with this boring crap. Without the narrator framing the story, sharing lore and guiding us it is all just bland historical reenactment. There are better documentaries that cover similar material.

Saaho with Prabhas mind blowing acting with heavy and difficult real action scenes ................as prabhas is a mega star for all over india but movie was little bit confusing and suspense ....story line is not well written director have to expand characters intro such nonsense direction in such a mega budget hindi movie.twist in ending was good and clarify some of the storyline.songs timing was really meaning less but movie is full of critics proof.

The Boys

A very irreverent and fresh take on superheroes. We all love superheroes. Early comic books pioneered the dichotomy of superheroes and supervillains. With time supervillains have become more complex and nuanced. They start off as everyman who spirals into derangement and villainy out of circumstance.

But what if there wasn't a dichotomy? What if superheroes and supervillains are two sides of the same coin? What if there are all shades of grey? Who keeps them in check when they go rogue? The Boys is based on a comic book series of the same name. I am not surprised that Garth Ennis is one of the creators. He also created Preacher another irreverent and grim take on faith.

With a unique blend of dark humor and morbid violence, The Boys manages to give us a take on everything from corporate greed, political manipulation, commercialization of religion, and even gender dynamics.

Karl Urban is a fantastic actor. He's got a knack for straight-faced comic timing and grotesque violence. Why doesn't he have a bigger role in DC or Marvel universes? He deserves more than Skurge. His c-word laden spiel on God and Jesus is one of the best monologues in television. Jack Quaid has a lot of charm and adorability as Hughie.

Amidst the superheroes Starlight is sympathetic and her journey from starry-eyed Midwestern to NYC superhero is compelling. A-Train is an A grade asshole. But Homelander takes the cake as a supervillain masquerading as a superhero. I want to know more about Queen Maeve. She's burned out but there seems to be fight in her.

Spoilers ahead.

Speaking of gender dynamics, Deep's arc is interesting. The series introduces him as a womanizer forcing Starlight to give him oral sex. There is a very #MeToo aura of sex crimes and cover up. But then his attempts to rescue marine animals evoke tragicomic sympathy. By the end of the series, he has been sexually assaulted. Ouch, I never thought I'd get knots in my stomach over a gill rape sequence. I never imagined I'd type out the words gill rape sequence.

Babul (1950) - Nargis, Dilip Kumar, Munawar Sultana

Confession: I've always found Nargis overrated - but lo and behold I loved her in this. I know she's a decent actress but she really digs her teeth into this role even if it is sort of run-of-the-mill. She outshines the rest of the cast. Music is quite nice too with about 9 Shamshad Begum songs, but the standout being "Panchhi Ban Mein" sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Manurer Sultana holds her own too in this drama about 2 fathers trying to marry their daughter's off to the hot new guy in town played by the ever charming Dilip Kumar.

Yeh Nazdeekiyan (1982) - Shabana Azmi, Marc Zuber, Parveen Babi, Neena Gupta

I don't think I'd even heard of this film before but I came across it and thought I'd give it a try. It's pretty formulaic: couple marry, have baby, husband cheats on wife, sad songs etc. Both Shabana and Parveen's performances are understated which was a pleasant surprise. Marc Zuber, this is the first time I've seen him really perform his best. There is a small appearance by a 21-year old Neena Gupta, she looks so cute, and it was the highlight of the movie, as well as some nice songs.

Looking for Alaska

I am a book purist. Every time I watch something based on a book I've read, I'm left with a sense of dissatisfaction. I love Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games movies. But the books are so much more. The Fault in Our Stars movie paled in comparison to John Green's original book. The saccharine soaked romance overpowered the sarcasm and irreverence the teen protagonists had.

Looking for Alaska changes a lot from the book (John Green's first novel). Instead of a movie, Hulu stretches it out to a mini-series. They take a lot of liberties with events that happen in the book. Despite all the tinkering, Looking for Alaska greatly improves upon the book. I never thought this was possible.

John Green writes nerd fiction inspired by his own life experiences. Although the book is wonderfully written, the protagonist Miles Halter suffers from a bit of myopia. Chip is irrationally angry. Alaska is frustratingly fickle. The staff like Starnes and Hyde tend to be one dimensional. The show gets out of Miles' head and lets us see the characters from an outside perspective.

As a gifted but poor and black student, Chip's anger at institutional racism and the callousness of the privileged makes sense. A tragic childhood loss and broken family have shaped Alaska. Yes, she is a vivacious and smart young woman who loves pranks and battling the patriarchy. But she is also someone battling extreme depression and alcoholism. Her mood swings make sense and she doesn't seem fickle anymore. We get opportunities to see Starnes and Hyde beyond the classroom to see them as humans who have their own ups and downs in life.

Set in the early 2000's Alabama, Looking for Alaska is a wonderful work of teenage drama. But unlike some other shows of the genre, it remains incredibly grounded in reality. In some ways 'Looking for Alaska' and '13 reasons why' are two sides of the same coin.

'13 reasons why' is about holding on and answering questions. 'Looking for Alaska' is about letting go and embracing life's unanswerable mysteries. Which is why 13 reasons why goes on and on, because there are always more questions to answer. But Looking for Alaska ends with a life-affirming, joyous, and totally insane celebration of subverting the patriarchy.

The Family Man

A very unique take on the spy thriller genre. Manoj Bajpai plays Srikanth Tiwari, a highly esteemed intelligence agent. The series follows him as he leads his team to track down and thwart a terrorist plot.

Unlike most shows of this genre, the show refrains from slick action sequences, high octane chases, and the usual spy thriller hype. Instead, the entire narrative is down to earth. The bomb diffuser has shaky hands, a worn-out agent gives up on a chase, a trigger happy agent feels the need to shoot at every threat. These are ordinary people compelled to be extraordinary for their nation. Srikanth is an ordinary middle-class man with ordinary middle-class issues. His trials with his wife and kids add a layer of subtle humor.

The show has a very nuanced take on terrorism and politics within the country. It doesn't shy from pointing fingers at state-sponsored terrorism. But it also acknowledges that the issue is far more complex than we assume. It also pokes fun at the jingoism and political frenzy.

Like a good spy thriller, there are twists and turns. The pace builds into a crescendo and leaves us with a cliffhanger at the very end. My only gripe is that the humor which shines in the early episodes tends to take a backseat in the latter ones. The writers need to do a better job at balancing humor throughout.