Recently Seen Movies - 12 - Page 7

Veronica Mars S1

Remakes, reboots, and revivals are in. A popular revival from recent times is Veronica Mars. 

Like many people, I know Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop from "The Good Place." But the project that has had everyone talking about her in the past few weeks is the "Veronica Mars" revival.  Kristen Bell plays the titular character. 

Veronica Mars was a teenage noir show that ran three seasons from 2004 to 2007. It was part Nancy Drew and part Riverdale. High school student Veronica Mars is the daughter of a Private Detective Keith Mars. She assists him with his work. This makes her a sharp detective and she often solves mysteries for her classmates at school. 

The first season follows the mystery of the week format and also has an overarching longer mystery. The stage of the longer mystery is set through a series of flashbacks throughout the series. A year ago Veronica's best friend Lily Kane was killed. Her father then sheriff of town suspected Lily's father Jake Kane because his alibi didn't hold up. Despite having a killer confess, Keith Mars hounds Jake Kane leading to him losing the job. As a fallout, Veronica loses all her friends as well. 

Veronica used to date Lily's brother Duncan Kane. But Duncan broke up with her shortly before Lily's death. Another mystery is why Duncan suddenly broke up with Veronica. And the last overarching mystery is the disappearance of Veronica's mother after the murder. 

Overall Veronica Mars is a fantastic show. The writing is tight and sharp. There is a wonderful balance between the current mystery of the week and the overarching murder mystery. The reveals and twist are thrilling and suck you in more and more. I love how the show balances high school drama with great mystery writing. It is darker grittier than Nancy Drew but more grounded and realistic than Riverdale. 

I don't know why I wasn't into the show in 2004. The show is surprisingly ahead of its times with very honest portrayals of slut-shaming, date rape, sexual assault, and trauma. It also explores class disparity and how teenagers deal with death, marital strife, and divorce amidst their parents.

Kristen Bell is a fantastic performer. Also Jason Dohring who plays Chase Graves in iZombie is also in it as rich a$$hole Logan Echols. 

First two episodes were good. Boys are good-looking. It had beautiful shots of Petra. Last three episodes were pure idiocy. BW does better than this. 

Super Deluxe is an integration of 4 different stories. Its unique, each story is complicated.

Samantha is the wife of Fahad fazil who sleeps with her ex and and dies while in the act of performing s*x, in a panic state she stuffs the guy in the fridge only to be found by her husband. She confesses to the whole thing and their story starts from there.

Next is the story of these 4 teenage boys who are entering their adulthood, they want to watch a lot of po*n but end up breaking one of the kids TV, coz the actress in the po+n movie happens to be one of the kids mom. They have to replace the TV before the parents come back. 

3rd story is about this small kid waiting for his dad who left him even before his birth. while the entire family is waiting for his return, he comes back as an eunuch, a transgender. The wife is devastated but the child is elated on his dads return and his innocence shines through, his eyes only sees his dad in whatever form he is in.

4th is the story of a man who survived the Tsunami and thinks he is god's special child. He abandons his family when an incident questions his beliefs.

All these face lot of complications yet in the end, they all have their own happy ending and are somehow connected due to random events.

Vijay Sethupathi is fabulous, Ramya is great , Samantha and Fahad had the weakest story I feel and the alien bit was bizarre and completely put me off , that bit was just totally random

Overall, one time watch for the small kid and Vijay sethupathi's performance...3/5

Veronica Mars S2

I cannot help but conclude that Veronica Mars is one of the most criminally underrated shows of the 2000s. It is one of the sharpest written teenage noirs. The way the narrative unfolds is unlike any other. 

The second season continues with Veronica returning to solve crimes at Neptune High. In the background, throughout the season,  there are two more sinister crimes that Veronica is committed to solving. What heightens the suspense is how loose ends from the previous season tie into S2. 

The character development and relationships are dramatic, yet real, unraveling the complicated nature of human relationships. Keith Mars definitely wins the best dad award for how he cares for his daughter. Despite Veronica breaking his trust on several occasions he pulls through. I also love the friendship between Veronica & Wallace and Veronica & Weevil. Both platonic friendships, they fly in the face of the theory that girls and guys can't be friends. 

This show is so good. I can't believe it took me so long to get into it. 

Thanneermathan Dinangal - Movie review

Watched Thanneermathan Dinangal

Status: Housefull

It's a super cute movie. I strongly recommend this movie to each and everyone for a breezy experience. It deals with teenage fluctuations using humour which is light, innocent and attractive.

Positives:
Outstanding performances by all the boys and the cute girl Anashwara. Vineeth has tried his level best to do justice to the role of Ravi Padmanabhan.A big salute to the director, Gireesh who made something very valuable from an empty tale.The not-so-perfect songs are catchy

Negatives:
Some lags here and there in the second half. The climax is not well defined. Vineeth Sreenivasan sometimes imitates
Some of the eminent actors in the industry

..a breezy experience.

Rating: 3.15 / 5

I'm currently watching Bharat on Amazon prime and turned off the TV for another day right in the middle of the movie. The plot had sooo much potential but it was wasted for cheap laughs. 

The editing of the movie made the story telling ineffective. It's just a disjointed piece by piece of random gyans in a man's life. His gyans aren't even funny, thought provoking or inspiring. In 2019 people are not going to buy half the things Bharat accomplished by using his tongue.

Also I felt like the period setup was so half hearted. Other than some clothing I didn't feel like they even tried. The circus, the oil rig could easily be set in modern times. 

And Katrina's diction was horrid. As was Salman's acting but eh, I feel like by now we know what to expect. I feel like having PC in the role would have definitely elevated the film. 

I honestly don't know if I'll finish the movie. 

Movie review---Batla house

'Batla house' movie which is inspired by true events is a must watch , especially for John Abraham's speech at the end against those who act as spokespersons for a particular religion ; a speech that had the audience in the cinema hall that I was sitting in break into spontaneous applause . In this film John finally breaks his mold as only 'action Abraham' and delivers a terrific acting performance too .

In 2008 as bomb blasts rock Delhi city , police officer Sanjay Kumar ( (John Abraham ) and his team get information about a module of terrorist group Indian mujahdeen hiding at Batla house in Jamia nagar in Delhi . Sanjay and his assistant KK ( Ravi Kishen ) and their team storm the hideout and kill the terrorists except one , but KK gets killed in the process . But co religionists of the terrorists and self proclaimed secular politicians raise hell that the encounter was fake and innocent students belonging to one particular community were killed .

At the same time Sanjay is facing multiple problems . His relationship with his wife ( played by Mrunal Thakur ) is breaking down and his wife's relation with her co workers and bosses is strained because she works as TV anchor at the very media house that wants to raise hell over the Batla encounter . He is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder due to the bullets he faced in the encounter and he repeatedly has visions of a terrorist gunning him down . Self proclaimed secularists and members of the terrorists' community raise protests against Sanjay and his team wherever they go .

But the movie shows how Sanjay with the help of his loyal and understanding wife fights against all the odds and proves himself and his team not guilty of fake encounters in court. The courtroom drama towards the climax shows engaging repartees between Sanjay and the opponents' lawyer as each tries to prove his case , and gives John a real chance to showcase his acting talent . But he still stays true to his 'action Abraham' image as his mind recreates in the courtroom the various actionpacked situations that arose in getting to the terrorists and actually shooting them down . And we get to watch a gripping thriller in motion . In my opinion the most gripping part is when Sanjay and his team go into minority populated Nizampur in the state of Uttar Pradesh to catch a terrorist and find themselves surrounded and their vehicle literally lifted above the ground by members of the terrorists' community openly protecting the terrorist . The sheer power of the numbers of the people protecting the terrorist puts fear in you .

The movie has all the elements of a good action emotion movie---hard hitting dialogues interspersed with the boom of guns and the whirlwind of hot chases between police and terrorists . And above all there is a dignified patriotism which is not loud or chest thumping but directly appeals to your heart . Background music is decent and so are the one or two songs . Photography is good and colours are okay too . Acting is good by all protagonists and goes a long way in making the movie a class in itself .

Verdict---Good .

Four stars out of five .

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019)

Enjoyed it :)

Expected more of that excitement, and those indulging conversations or operatic monologues.. I was kind of let down because I was excited for conversations more than anything.. BUT, besides that, it was enjoyable for what it was, felt solid. It certainly is a lot tamer than atleast the QT films I've seen before, surprisingly was very restrained.. 

Everything else is great, the production design, the soundtrack, the socio-cultural milieu of the last 60s is perfectly set - older people like my parents found it particularly nostalgic. And, it almost feels plotless. 

There are many scenes that I liked.. it takes you to a different world, and even if you are a QT fan and you may feel let down, I think the film is atleast captivating enough from start to finish, despite the sparse narrative and inconsistent pacing. I found the second half of the film to be better. 

BTW, did I see Dakota Fanning?! 

Coming to the actors, all of them were good. This is one of the memorable performances by DiCaprio. Brad was great too. 

If anyone is reading this, my advice would be to forget that it is a QT film and just watch it :)

Parasite (2019)

Aaaah, I was waiting for this film since I first watched the trailer. Did it meet my expectations..? :p 

90% , yes! I was completely captivated from start to finish. Excellent direction, plot, pacing, beautiful house .. I don't remember the soundtrack :/

However, there's an element in this film, where things just happen - while it works cinematically, somehow it loses it's appeal to me. 

The film is about a poor family of 4 who in their greed for employment lose sight of their realities and find themselves entrapped in their employer's home. It is a commentary on class disparity, a fleeting study of human behavior corresponding to the class they belong to. I'm sorry that's one of the worst descriptions of the film :p 

So, to put it in simple words, it's great, keeps you glued to your seat, a good enjoyable film if you're in a mood for a thriller.

The Souvenir (2019)

This film really disappointed me.. Another film that I was eagerly waiting to watch for a few months. I lost count of the number of times I fell asleep watching this. I had to make myself watch the film a lot of times when I wanted to drop it... it wasn't worth it. 

I love slow movies, I love plotless movies, but this one is... it didn't offer me anything while watching it, it didn't immerse me into it. It feels so detached, I can't point my finger on why that is.

The leading actress is a really good actor.

The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

This has become one of my most favorite movies!:)

This is a slow, almost plotless coming-of-age film set in country-side of Vietnam.. and the earthy and lovely cinematography and the production design... makes me drool. 

I could watch this film forever.. is so calming, poetic, soothing on the eyes, ears, soul. The dialogues are sparse.. so peaceful. A film that shows immense beauty and mystery in the universe of every home.. we see it all through the self-content eyes of Mui, a maid :)

One of the best movies ever!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjNNMRSFOTQ

Arjun ki Dulhania(Chi Lo Sow), what a absolutely refreshing movie. A charming unsual romantic comedy which blended the Telugu movie elements like a comedy supporting side artists, a fiery heroine and a confused hero in a very unique situation.

Ruhani Sharma looks like Telugu's answer to Sai Pallavi in terms of having that average Indian girl charm.

Excellent desi movie, no wonder it is an instant hit in youtube, already crossed 20 million views.

The Mule (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_QksSzK7sI

An engaging movie based on a true story about a 90 year man, directed by 90 yr old Clint Eastwood, who also plays the lead

Earl stone, a man in his 80s, who is an award winning horticulturist and a war veteran, also happens to have an impeccable driving record, is estranged from his family and facing financial ruin and foreclosure. So when he is offered a job as a driver he readily agrees... But unbeknownst to him he is transporting drugs for a Mexican cartel

His spotless criminal history, his age and race aid him in his flourishing career and makes him a favorite among the cartel members

But things can’t remain the same, can they? This is cocaine business after all. Soon unbeknownst to him both the drug cartel and the law enforcement are on his tails...

After the “ Jersey Boys” debacle I was a little hesitant to watch this movie but Clint proves he’s still got it... He goes that extra mile trying to prove it with that (totally unnecessary) pool party scene at the drug cartel’s residence, with women in thongs with firm behinds and one topless girl with very perky bust that looks up the sky 😛

Anyway his sloppy “Don’t neglect your family, family is the important thing” bit gets a little repetitive and boring soon, btw it was Clint’s own writing, didn’t happen with that real Earl Stone

And at the ending Clint makes a dignified decision, but that guy did the opposite in real life...