Recently Seen Movies - 12 - Page 2

 Unda :

About the movie :

A group of Kerala policemen go to Chattisgarh for the election duty. How they spend five days there with the fear of maoist attack is the theme of the movie.

Positives and Negatives:

A realistic approach by the director Khalid Rahman is the biggest plus. He has succeeded in giving life to each and every character in the movie. Mammootty was good. You can't blame him for his low energy level as the character actually demanded it. I read some of the reviews saying Mammotty was nowhere in the film, there was only 'Mani' sir. Its all exaggerated. It is the same Mammotty with the same voice, same expressions, even the same dialogue delivery which we all are used to in some of his films. So, nothing new. Nothing special. Of the other actors, Arjun Ashokan and the actor who played the role of an ITBP commmando stood apart. Sajith Purushan lifted the movie to a higher level. Editing was excellent. The final scenes, though shot realistically, lacked the right impact.

Unda tells the story of a group of policemen from Kerala who were sent for election duty in a Maoist affected area in Chhattisgarh.

Right from the opening visuals the director ensures the viewers are also travelling with the policemen. Once reaching Chhattisgarh the team is split into 3 and the story progresses through the group of 9 policemen under S.I Mani (Mammootty). None of the team members have any kind of experience in an area like this and they are unaware of the magnitude of the dangers awaiting them. As such they are woefully short of ammunition required for such tasks and are subjected to humiliation from ITBP (Indo Tibeten Border Police) with whom they should work together. Within a couple of days the team understands the dangers surrounding them and also wastes all their bullets apart from 8 nos during an encounter with Maoists during one night. How the terrified team finds a way out of the situation they are in and are they able to ensure the election happens without violence forms the rest of the story.

Khalid Rahman ensures that the viewers are kept engaged throughout the film despite not having any usual commercial elements in the film. The helplessness of the policemen in an unknown territory surrounded by danger is well pictured. He also shows how innocent people are hunted and killed as Maoists and the sad plight of locals who has to leave their home due to the conflicts between police forces and Maoists.

Technically the film is top notch. Visuals are brilliantly captured by Sajith Purushan and Prashant Pillai's BGM stays true to the proceedings in the screen.

Coming to the performances it was refreshing to see Mammootty as a vulnerable police officer. During the initial Maoist attack he cannot even move from his position due to the shock of seeing the things happening around him. He tries his best to get extra ammunition from Kerala government but is finally left with no other choice than to try and do his duty with whatever is left with the team. After Mammootty, Shine Tom Chacko gets a meaty role and he doesn't disappoint. The other members in the police team such as Arjun Ashokan, Gregory and others are apt in their roles. Omkar Das Manikpuri as the native man and Bhagwan Tiwari as the ITBP officer Kapil Dev deserves a special mention as well.


My rating :- 3.0 / 5

Supergirl S4

This season should be required viewing!!!!!!!

The series finally hits its stride and maturity. Although this is a good show, previous seasons faltered with the plot development and writing. Kara Danvers love life always seemed a forced and contrived plot. Mon-El and the Legion of Heroes were messy and distracted from Supergirl. 

Instead of having Kara Danvers mope over Mon-El, the writers focus on her relationships with Alex Danvers and Lena Luthor. There is a well-written arc with Alex Danvers that tests the bonds of sisterhood. The Lena Luthor serves up a delicious plot line of genuine warm friendship but one built on a web of lies and deceit by both Lena and Kara. (PS: I ship SuperCorp. SuperCorp is my kryptonite)

One of the biggest highlights of this season is the focus on alien-human relationships, a metaphor for immigration. This season offers a nuanced take. Anti-alien terrorist Agent Liberty serves as the first big bad of the season. While many liberals critiqued him, I thought it was a good narrative of showing how a good man and supporter of alien rights spirals into extremism after experiencing a series of tragedies. And even Supergirl realizes that sometimes despite best intents, some actions have negative consequences. She has to tap into her empathy and humanity rather than heroism to resolve issues throughout the season. 

In sharp contrast to Agent Liberty and his Children of Liberty is Manchester Black and his Elite. Manchester Black is an almost Magneto like anti-hero. As a man who loses everything to the Children of Liberty, his actions are morally reprehensible but not entirely villainous. Like Magneto he evokes sympathy for his actions. He delivers the best clever deadpan line of the series "The Intolerant Left"

My only complaint with the Agent Liberty/Manchester Black plotlines is that they are rushed and appear to end abruptly in the mid-season finale. 

But I can forgive that because the latter half of the season introduces the infamous supervillain Lex Luthor and develops Red Daughter plotline teased all season. (PS: I'm a weird twisted person. Does Red Daughter/Supergirl slash fiction exist? I want to consume all of it. )

Red Son is a beloved DC comics Superman story arc and Supergirl adapts it with its own spin as Red Daughter. While not as nuanced as the Agent Liberty plotline, the presence of Lex Luthor makes it an intense pulse-pounding one with many secrets and plot twists to unearth. It does weave into the Agent Liberty storyline but not as cleanly as I'd like. 

Oh and how can one talk of Supergirl S4 without Nicole Maines as Nia Nal. She is the first transgender superhero in the Arrowverse. She is absolutely adorable. Her narrative is worked into the storyline without being preachy and is definitely moving. 

I thought I would miss Winn Schott, but Jesse Rath is hilarious as Querl Dox/Brainiac 5. His chemistry with Nia Nal is everything. 

Even Alex Danvers finally gets a chance to heal her heartbreak towards the end. 

Melissa Benoist is absolute perfection as Supergirl. A perfect balance of duty, humanity, and humor. The DC movieverse Superman is so stoic, steely, and boring. They should have given Melissa Benoist a movie. She has ten times the charm and screen presence as Henry Cavill (no offense to him - he has been given shitty scripts, movies & direction). Also when Wonder Woman finally comes into the present times can we have Supergirl as a cameo instead of that useless weasel Steve whatever. 

I had doubts about Jon Cryer playing Lex Luthor. Cryer is so sweet. But he is a terrific actor who transforms into a menacing Lex Luthor. 

The whole cast is great - all characters - J'Onn J'Onzz, James Olsen, Kelly Olsen, Lena Luthor. 

Anyway, I've rambled too long. Watch this show, especially this season. 

PS: If they make Lena Luthor evil, we must riot. 

PPS: The "S" on Superman (Kal-El) and Supergirl's (Kara Zor-El) outfits is not S for Super. It is the Symbol for the House of El standing for El-Mayarah, which is Stronger Together in Kryptonian. 

PPPS: Supergirl is stronger than Superman. A fact which Superman reinstates in the Elseworlds Crossover. 

Fleabag: 

*Insert can't process emotions/ overwhelmed/ hand on the heart and sighing gif* 

A fabulous job by Pheobe Waller Bridge with the series. About her acting, she has impeccable comic timing and makes it all seem just so effortless. I had seen her in Crashing (Another series I wish had continued) and some guest appearances in series here and there first, but she was just something else in this.

And now coming to the best part for me. Andrew Scott. I had liked him in Sherlock and Handsome Devil. Especially in the latter one. But in this series he has my heart. I loved the way he has emoted in this series...sigh...he was just ❤️

Liked the season 2 more, but probably that's because I'm a romantic at heart. 

Can't write much about it but just sigh...

Virus:

A Case Study in Poor Casting

Watching Virus is like seeing your favourite cricket team start promisingly, stumble, come roaring back only to lose spectacularly. The filmmakers make two key mistakes during the film, one, they fail to diffuse it with a sense of purpose, tension and memorable scenes in the latter half, and two and most critical, in an attempt to litter the cast with as many 'big names' as possible, they fail to give most of the characters any life or development and none of them are memorable enough to stay in our memory once one leaves the movie hall.

A tale of two halves

Virus has a terrific first half, where the cinematography, BGM and direction combine to give us a real 'feel' for what it was like when the Nipah virus hit Calicut. There is a real sense of dread and fear and the mood makes one want to look away from the screen yet take a peek, to see whats happening. That interval scene was sheer goosebumps as we do not know whether a principal character actually survived...

However, come to the second half and an investigation is launched with no real direction, some underhand politicisation comes into play, and the icing in the cake is a dreadfully acted and rendered speech scene (time for Bhagyalakshmi to retire?) at the end, leaving a sense of exhaustion than elation.

Casting, casting..

IMO, A lot of folks especially when it comes to Malayalam cinema attach undue importance to a 'story, script' or 'realistic situations'. I believe it is the casting and characterisation which ultimately matter. Who has the screen presence and charm, or beauty and grace, to hold your attention long enough to the screen? Which character stays with you such that you want to take a piece of it home? The Toy Story movies, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Russos' Avengers movies, these are all classic examples where even the character with the least screentime makes an impact on you. In recent Malayalam cinema, while more hyped films failed because of poor casting, Lucifer was a good example where each and every character was memorable and important to the narrative, the only case against which, could be made against Prithviraj.

While all of the films above got the casting right because the actors fit into the characters like a glove, Virus is a classic example where the filmmakers thought..."Oh wouldnt it be cool if we create a role for Dileesh Pothen?...And Rima is our producer, we need to give her a role that affords some sympathy...Its been so long since we saw Poornima Indrajith on screen, lets create something for her...". Such thoughts more often than not tend to dilute the impact of a particular film, and it is in the excess amount of characters, minimal screentime and lack of memorable scenes where Virus ends up being a failure. I would replace the characters of Sharafudeen, Ramya Nambeesan, Madonna Sebastian, Dileesh Pothen, Rahman, Asif Ali (what on earth was he needed for?), Sudheesh, Indrans et al with minimal impact on the outcome of the film. The three key actors: Joju George, Parvathy and Indrajith, will probably look back on their glittering career and shake their heads when it comes to each of their characters in Virus. None of the characters demand any exertion of their immense talent. Kunchako Boban sadly lacks that screen presence to take this film to the next level. If anything, Tovino Thomas was good as the collector and Sreenath Bhasi and Soubin Shahir were the show-stealers. The second half came to a bit of life with Soubin's entry. The biggest disappointment as mentioned by Intexequa was the lack of depth and screentime for Nurse Akhila. Revathy has one stoic expression throughout the film.

So in sum, Virus is a missed opportunity especially after it had begun so well and held so much promise to deliver something memorable.

Verdict: Average
Rating: 2.65 / 5

I have Kabir Singh. It was damn good. Mazedaar. Kabir Singh is hero of single screens. I showed up late and it was right before the football match. But she didnt show up yet so I dont think I missed anything. Also she had hardly any dialogues in first hour  An what medical school allows all this. He just walks in like he owns the place. Some highlights include : The football match, Holi scene, Any scene with the dadi, The confrontation with the parents (where he says in old times he would wage war on her dad), The operation arc (im drunk now ). The story of him and the actress was un needed but she is hott so theres that. Shahid Kapoor career best. Kiara also shined bright. Tho she went missing. His friend and his brother were highlights as well. That Nikita girl The dadi. It was a bit long but not too much. All in all Id give it 8 out of 10 on the Maroon scale. 

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Did not think it was as bad as it was made out to be but... it was bad.. I started doubting myself if I was viewing it properly, because I couldn't believe how weak the script was.. still, engaging here and there.. the film had so much potential. :(

...atleast I enjoyed the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.. 

Sophie is beautiful.

Too Old To Die Young (2019)

A series by NW Refn. An assault on the eyes, ears, mind, heart - both in a way that is hypnotic as well as terrifyingly repulsive/disturbing.

Need I say about cinematography and direction?

I want to understand the mind of Refn. There were many scenes that had many strange things which I could not entirely discern, which reminded me of Lynchian work.. it ensnares you, you cannot look away and messes with your head. I love that element. You feel like you don't understand it, yet, it makes sense in a way you cannot process in your brain and put it in words.. and not to forget, it is disturbing on many levels too, which I sometimes wonder if the gore was necessary.

The PACING... it's my favorite thing about the film besides the cinematography. I love the slow pace.. it puzzles me how I enjoy the pacing without getting bored, what did the director do? .. the way they walk slow, the way the respond slow, the way the camera moves slow..  The pacing definitely helps pulling you into the scene.. wonderful pacing.

Another favorite about the show,❤️❤️ MILES TELLER❤️ ❤️..I could never have imagined Miles as the stoic badass cop, Martin Jones. Loved everything about his acting performance and even the character. He's the only character besides a couple of others who is totally rooted to the ground, seeing through all the shit around him, the pointlessness of the system around him. He has his flaws, but it felt like he was a realist among the crazy extremes of the world around him.. and that smile... the all-knowing smile he sometimes has on his face couldn't be colder or warmer in some scenes, depends on how you view it in the context of the scene.. One of my all-time favorite acting performances. And, one of my favorite characters.. 

The actor William Baldwin who plays Dad, gave a stellar performance as well, another memorable performance. 😃 Jena Malone is spectacular! I will never forget the first meeting between Jena and Miles, the direction and acting was incredible. 

Everything about the series is incredible, both in pleasing and distasteful ways, personally. But, I couldn't look away. There's so much to this show than the parts I found terrifying.

The plot is a commentary on the evolution of mankind through brutality,  the innate violent nature of man, the decline of humanity as the glitter of the city lights reach farther than the stars in the sky, deepening psychosis of mankind as the 'freewill' has been robbed off him in the name of law, some biblical references, and so on. Some parts make you think, but I wish the commentary was stronger. I want to understand the ending... 

A heads up if you want to watch - contains graphic violence, disturbing visuals and/or content.

Aaranya Kaandam (Tamil, 2010)

Completely entertaining! 😃

I love jokes or taunts that I used to hear from Tamilians - they have a certain way, especially the taunts and this film has those. I can't explain what that is, but thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the film, didn't want it to end. 😃

A gangster comedy-thriller action film, and as I read somewhere in a review, has a flavor of Quentin Tarantino's trademark remarkable conversations :p 

Loved all characters, enjoyed every moment, especially the father-son duo scenes. 

Definitely worth a watch, it's available on youtube with subs :)

Kalank

Don’t know if the movie gets better later but the first 30 mins are torturous barring Ark and Sonakshi. I don’t know how a hero starts singing in tapori lingo and then goes on to speak perfect urdu. 

The dialogues were so over the top and meaningless that instead of enhancing the scenes they make everything seem frivolous. 

Alia’s character was super annoying. And her bland face 😒 and this is supposed to be a good actress? Ok then. 🌚

Varun 🤦🏼‍♀️ Like where do I even start? 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ 

Just NO. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Kali (Malayalam, 2016)

After watching Kabir Singh, I got curious about this film which has been sitting in my watch-list ever since I first watched this song :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhOfEmGV-WA

A film about a man with anger issues. He and his wife work on his anger management together, realistically, but not without ups and downs. A very realistic portrayal of anger, it's consequences on self, spouse, the people around you, the image it creates about you, the impact on relations in general. Although, not everyone who is angry can always win at physical showdowns, it still makes for a pleasurable watch. Felt like there was a balance between realism and cinema, and most importantly what it had was realistic sort of romance and the little scenes❤️ 

Loved it. The major attraction of the film is without a doubt, Sai Pallavi. Her acting performance has a maturity and is what one would say a 'natural' actress, not for the way she looks but the way she acts, with some sort of ease, nowhere giving less or more, just perfect. 😃❤️ .. She may not be the ideal beauty, but I find her to be very beautiful, her presence, vibe, eyes makes her very beautiful. 😃 Salman looked handsome too.. loved the film. ❤️

The plot is quite simple but the way it is pieced together, the little scenes, Sai Pallavi and DQ hold your attention, and the second half was good too, I was thrilled infact. I loved the ending, in terms of direction or cinematic effect, where they just look at each other, exchanging equal anger and an understanding in silence, *cue dramatic South film music* and.... :D 

Notebook (hindi)

The cinematography is amazing. The kids acted well and are super cute. The main lead did good too. Better than recent new comers collectively ( hrithik wannabe, kareena wannabe who herself is a wannabe) . 

The movie is excruciatingly slow and is a missed opportunity. The movie is somewhat meaningless and going no where .