Sol

Avatar the way of water is spectacular and fluffy cotton candy. It gives you a sugar high. The first time of it was memorable too. But you can't substitute it for a meal the second time around.

The way of water has come after 13 years. A lot has changed since then. It was a trendsetter for visual design and effects in 2009. In 2022, the visuals continue to look stunning and do enthral as much as they can, but the long runtime, lack of a compelling story and many of the typical Hollywood tropes suffocated the air out of me by the end of it, even the titanic-esque escape sequence could not save me.

The sky people (humans) were exiled from Pandora at the end of the first movie. But naturally, they return. Along returns an old baddy, Colonel Miles Quaritch. He has been reanimated by the same memories, probably taken at the last restore point. This makes him a skin like Cylons from Battlestar Gallactica. You don't take this path lightly. A technology like this (think Agents from the Matrix) gives whoever holds this tech an immense advantage. It is also a very strong storytelling clutch because the deaths don't mean much then. This choice brings the franchise one level down from the previous film.

The first time is the charm. The novelty wins half the battle. Look at the human species as the invaders, a diametrically opposite viewpoint from the conventional Mars Attacks, War of the Worlds or Independence Day. A paraplegic marine getting to walk again, is one of the strong motivators even if not directly alluded to. A hive mind sort of intelligence shared across the planet in which you can jack in. Jumping in and out of Avatar bodies. All these things were new in 2009. I saw the 2009 trailer again now. Say that movie would have been released today, it would still have been successful. After 190 mins of runtime, the sequel has nothing new to offer in terms of story or worldbuilding and that does not sit well.

We are introduced to a new reef tribe the Metkayina. instead of flying they swim, and often go underwater. Like the spirit tree of souls of the first one, they have the cove. Like Toruk from the first one, we have Tulkun. There are slight variations here and there, but nothing fundamentally new. Jake and Neytiri have a family now, five trusted conventional Hollywood archetypes.

On a plus side, there are a few memorable set pieces. The raid on the train and the final sea battle provide the adrenaline shots needed. Then there is the whole whaling set piece which just tugs at your heartstrings. It is hard to forget that.

Cameron originally planned for it to finish by 2014. But the technology for underwater motion capture wasn't ready. I think they quickly whipped up a sequel storyline way back in 2009-2010 without a lot of thought and kept waiting for the tech to catch up. That resulted in a marvellous-looking end product, which was arduous to film, but it does not leave a lasting impact.

Kate Winslet, like other cast members, had to learn free diving for this film. She managed to hold her breath underwater for 7 mins for one of the scenes. The efforts are all there. It must have been a painstaking journey to make this one of the costliest films ever to be produced. So I don't undermine the efforts but as an uninitiated movie-goer, these efforts don't translate into the high Cameron was expecting. The way ARPANET, a research project, paved the way for the internet as we know it, Cameron's second Avatar film will advance the technology for films with underwater motion capture.

I might be one of the outliers, as the movie seems to be doing quite well across the globe. It is a five-film project so it needs to continue doing good for much more time to stay viable.

The lack of a strong story to power these visual engines will be felt stronger and stronger as the franchise progresses. Just the visuals could carry a film in 2009. In 2022, we have already seen powerhouses in all departments, the likes of Dune in 2021, or even about a decade ago, Interstellar. Without a strong compelling substance of a story, this blue cotton candy may crumble and fall.

I generally hate 4th wall break. The reason why I had put 'generally' in this sentence is #phoebe-waller-bridge's amazing execution of this technique. Her 4th wall breaks made me an accomplice in whatever nefarious thing she is going to do next. I gladly obliged.

Fleabag is a story of a younger sibling trying to fit in the world. She does not see the world like everyone else and considering the people in her life, I couldn't blame her either. She has lost her mother recently, and her godmother has eventually filled the void in her dad's life. She and her sister, however, find this hard to digest and are not much fond of the new lady. What ensues is fleabag trying to move on and get a hold of her own life again. She has a very close friend and a confidant who loses her life in an accident. As the show starts, she really has no direction.

It is a bit fast-paced for a comedy series. For a non-native English speaker, I struggled a bit initially. American sitcoms have slowed my brain and so a British show with accented English took some time getting used to. But I was thoroughly rewarded for my patience. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the writer as well as the lead in this show and her command over the medium shows in every scene.

Her portrayal of elder and younger siblings is quite perceptive. A tightly-wound elder sister who worries about almost everything in the world. Who is stuck in a bad marriage but has to peddle on because of 'responsibilities' towards a family. #Sian-clifford does a really enjoyable job at that. Then we have their father played by #bill-paterson. He is quite successful and well-to-do but has no clue in the world about how to handle his two daughters after his wife's passing. He stammers around them. Gives them coupons and tickets to feminist seminars, and does everything to keep them somewhat engaged but away from him.

But if I had to give one award for the best actor in the series, it easily goes to #olivia-colman. Such an extraordinary genius. It takes tremendous talent to portray livid rage even with a smile and not let it break the forced amiable demeanour. The scene where the priest, played by #andrew-scott, refuses the officiate their wedding, oh that seen I could watch so many times just for her. Anytime Phoebe is on the screen, she holds your undivided attention, only except when Olivia is on screen.

In the second season, the brilliantly talented #andrew-scott enters the show as the priest. This is where the show went slightly downhill for me. He is brilliant. No doubt about it but the story arc gets unnecessarily edgy. The brilliant first season continues rising till the first episode of the second. S02E01 is easily the best episode of the series for me.

The premise is aimless by design, but towards the latter part of the second season, it tried to head towards a concrete conclusion. You have to watch for yourself if you are satisfied with the end. The show reminded me of one of the great chaotic movies ever, Roman Polanski's 2011 film, Carnage (I had to stop typing and go watch that trailer once again, it is that good!).

With just two seasons, I kept thinking I wanted more, I wanted to know fleabag more. That is the testament to a successful show with a timely exit. With what's happening across the Atlantic, with everyone trying hard to create franchises out of moderate successes, a two-season run is a welcome change.

I would recommend this sharply written, brilliantly acted comedy-drama. Finish one season in one sitting, it's more potent that way.

Majestic.

When I searched for the most beautiful movies, this constantly topped the lists, I had to watch it. I am thrilled by this epic tale. I have loved the entire film frame by frame. I could take a screenshot at any moment and it would be a wallpaper for sure.

Cinema is a visual medium. Movies like these keep highlighting this intrinsic fact about films and I am thoroughly grateful for their existence. The visuals are a unique trait of this medium and they must be given paramount importance when making a film. Those are the elements which make a story into a movie. Many times those are the ones which break or make a film. For a story of this epic proportion, stunning cinematography was needed. There wasn't any other way to emphasize the grandeur of the characters and the weight of the moral choices.

A simple lowly person from a remote village has managed to kill three of the most formidable assassins of China. This grants him an audience with the king, which otherwise is just not possible. The King is very keen to understand how these encounters went. He wants to learn how such a feat was even possible for a simple person such as our protagonist.

Minor spoilers ahead!

To write about the film, you will need to think about how the colours are portrayed in the film. There is a Rashomon element to this tale. It starts with black, devoid of a perspective, it is neutral. The king is intently listening to how Jet Li is narrating his tale. When the first assassin's duel is described, the king looks sceptical but demands more information about the other two. The colours start appearing here. Jet Li, who is referred only as the nameless one, surmises that the king will not easily lap up the tale he is describing. So he adds more passion and elements of betrayal in his story. To make it more believable. Here enters the colour red.

However, unlike many of the movies idiot emperors, our king is thoughtful. He peruses the tale deeply and rejects it. He then offers his own explanation of how events must have unfolded. He likes the tales and his interpretation is painted in colours black and blue. They are neutral and rational. He is calculative. His motives are to understand the reasons behind the deception. He already has a history with these assassins and so, he constructs a tale so this mere peasant's account becomes justifiable. We do have elements of green and yellow in between, which showcase tales within tales.

When I started the film, I was only aware of its cinematography and colours, but it turned out, the movie has a brilliantly crafted story. The assassins are named Long Sky, Flying Snow and Broken Sword. The hidden meaning of the third assassin only becomes clear towards the end of the film.

Apart from the cinematography and story, there is another element which adds to the overall impact. The music. Tan Dun's often introspective, soft violins are a highlight of the music department. They amplify the tone of a scene to relegate the exact emotion needed. He also has percussion pieces to add the needed intensity for the action sequences, but primarily towards the end, his violins help you appreciate the moral choices the characters have to make.

Films like these are best enjoyed alone, preferably in theatres. But a silent night, laptop and headphones, is the next best setting to truly relish the art the director wants us to enjoy. It was a brilliant experience and I would wholeheartedly recommend this. Make it your top priority when you are thinking about what to watch next.

When you have a veteran in the industry who dons the hats of producer, director and main lead, it is truly a concept the person is passionate about. Ben Stiller brings us the titular Walter Mitty in a project which is memorably shot and convincingly acted.

I have always seen Ben Stiller in comic roles, and this movie carries a similar lightheartedness like his other works. He works as a negative assets manager. His job is to develop the filter rolls and neatly archive negatives the photographers submit for his company, the Life Magazine.

This is an interesting metaphor. An adventurous young kid in early ages, Walter had had to take up a job to support his family. Now he is stuck in the neglected corner of the office building, in an essentially negative space of all the adventure out there. He tries to fulfil his thirst for adventure by abundantly day-dreaming through the mundanities of life.

As the print magazine is acquired and is transitioning to an online-only version, Life magazine is now working on its last print issue. His longtime partner, a celebrated photographer Sean O'Connell, played by Sean Penn, conveys to the entire staff that he has captured a perfect photograph for the last issue which captures the 'quintessence of Life'. Unfortunately, the negative is missing.

Sean is a nomad photographer who is not easy to be found. Walter takes it upon himself to go in search of Sean and starts from his last known location, Greenland. This is where the negative asset manager jumps on the stage of adventure he has only daydreamed about.

Cinema is a visual medium. In the early parts of the film, Walter's daydreams come on screen in vivid detail. The editing of these transitions from real life to imaginary dreamscapes is cleverly handled. The cinematography turns an entirely new leaf when he embarks on the adventure. From Greenland, the landscapes and vistas are just breathtaking. This is a critically acclaimed film, not for the story or performances, but for the visual treatment. This must have been a feast in theatres, but I would suggest going for a darker room to simulate a poor man's theatre even when watching on laptop screens.

There is a love story angle with Kristen Wiig as Cheryl Melhoff, and a track about the magazine acquisition and a childishly caricaturish managing director of the 'Transition' to Life Online, played by Adam Scott. Both these tracks are average and not the selling features of the film. Adam Scott is fun though.

Overall, it is recommended for the visuals, the escape from a volcano, the turbulent North Sea, and the mesmerising skateboard run. Please turn the lights off!

There is charm in old movies and charisma in old actors. After seeing Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, I wonder why such movies don't get made more often. From expressions to delivery, both James Stewart and Donna Reed are an absolute pleasure to watch.

George Bailey has given up his dreams of seeing the world to take over his father's business. There is always one opportunity to step out of the town, even if briefly, but is always foiled by some or the other event that he puts before his wishes. Mary, on the other hand, has always loved George and has always been happy around him in the town they were born and brought up. It is the story of how he stands up for the town and how generously townspeople reciprocate. It is a Christmas movie and boy! it's a happy, wholesome one.

Such movies are comfort food. The hero is passionate and good, the heroine is beautiful, smart and supportive. The villain doesn't have a redemption arc but his plans are foiled at the end. All the supporting cast ends up helping the hero at a crucial juncture. All this fills you with a warm cozy feeling.

It also made me introspective. I started thinking about the impact I have on the world around me and is the net sum positive. There is a point in the movie where George's guardian angel shows him a world without him ever being present and he realises, that even if his aspirations of world travel haven't been met, there is a strong positive influence he has had on this world. Upon that realisation when comes back to the real world, the sense of gratitude fills him. He stands strong to fight whichever battle he needs to.

That sense of gratitude is an immensely positive force. It remained with me for a long time. I started thinking positively too. It could be the nature of the film, being all Christmas-y, but I cherished that warmth while it lasted, and it lasted long.

It was a pleasure to watch a black and white film after a long time. Those high-contrast frames made the emotions more potent for me.

Recommended.

This was another one on my IMDb top 50 filling-the-gaps journey. 9 more to go.

Deepika towers over everyone else, literally and figuratively. It is her movie. When she is on screen, nothing else matters or bothers you much, not even the plot, slowly spiralling out of control.

Alisha Khanna, a 30-year-old ambitious yoga instructor, is at a crossroads in her life. Her six-year relationship has become boring, and her yoga app is not getting the funding she needs. Her life is upended by the arrival of her cousin Tia and her fiancé Zain. What happens later is pretty well documented by a poorly done trailer.

I had enjoyed Kapoor and Sons. The direction is brilliant. It maintains the focus on all the family members throughout and the tension slowly comes to the fore. At the same time, the movie maintains a comedy thread which makes it really enjoyable. This film lacks that comic relief. So what remains is a bland drama, and you really can't root for anyone. You know you don't like certain characters, but you don't really care for others.

The movie is unsure what it wants to be. It does not elevate itself to be a deeply emotional drama, nor does it hold the tension and suspense to constantly keep you on the edge of your seat.

Although this is a big break for Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, this is way beneath Deepika's standard. It is after a few months I am writing this, and already most of the movie has left my memory. When I saw it, I had a lot of conflicted emotions, but now I don't think anything about it. and that is the reason why I can recommend this to anyone.

It was supposed to be abstract. It was supposed to capture the threads of design and creativity which brings about the fabric of the final creation. These threads of design and art could weave anything from an automobile to building architecture, from typography to stage setting. At least that was my perception when I started watching the series.

It is exquisitely shot biographical portraits of people who are devoted to a particular art form. This makes it a story of the creator and not the craft. For example, we don’t understand in-depth about the framing and lenses and light and ISO, but we understand more about Platon’s inspiration of choosing photography as a career and his personal creative process. Similarly, we learn a lot about Paula Scher and her love towards typography but very little about humanist, modern, sans serif and serif typefaces.

The series does not then remain abstract but becomes a concrete manifestation of abstract principles, as seen by some of the industry stalwarts. Is that bad? Not necessarily so, but it is definitely not what I expected out of the series.

I am reminded of a quote commonly attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, “Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people”. This does not mean the people are not worth discussing, but it limits the narrative with personal boundaries. I expected more from a series titled Abstract.

What a sunkissed beauty this is. Amelie hits all the right notes to create a harmony which is seriously missing these days in real life. This movie brings to life to the feeling of doing something good for others. And through that act of seeing the happiness in others, you are rewarded. This guardian angel like feel is so romantic and wholesome that it showers like stardust in all the scenes.

Amelie is an introvert person. Her strange parents are to be blamed for her personality. She is a bit timid, without friends and lives a lonely simple life. One day in her apartment, she discovers a tiny box kept hidden by the previous owner. With a stroke of the divine will, she decides to find the owner of the decades-old box. This tiny roll of snowflake snowballs into her later life where she finds immense pleasure and meaning in making others happy unbeknownst to them.

In these endeavours, her paths cross with Nino, another esoteric imaginative soul who collects discarded photos from photo-booths and creates photo albums from those. Seeing those albums itself is one high point of the film. She likes him, but her timid and introvert personality would never allow her to just engage, so she takes a support of her creativity and imagination, probably to check if Nino is even worth allowing to enter her shell.

Amelie is a beautiful film. The attention to all the characters shows. By the end of the film, you start caring about every one of them. There is a glass man painter who repaints Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party every year, there is Georgette, the resident hypochondriac of the cafe Amelie works at. Even the annoying Joseph is worth caring about a bit.

Then there is music. Yann Tiersen piano music engulfs you with the emotions on screen. I guess the music is one clear operative factor for this film.

Overall, it is worth a watch to see how happiness flows. It is higher on the list of films which can easily uplift your mood.

It is always a pleasure to see a cinematographer turned director. Avinash Arun did this well in Killa and repeated that even better in Three of Us.

Shailaja is diagnosed with dementia which is in its early stages. Before she loses her memories, she wants to go back to her childhood village in Konkan, Maharashtra. There she meets with her childhood sweetheart.

The plot is this much. But that allows for a nuanced execution. The screenplay can take its time. The camera can stay on and steady for longer durations. Avinash has thanked Chaitanya Tamhane at the start. The meditative use of a steady camera reminded me of Chaitanya's films Court and The Disciple.

While the movie says three of us, there is a fourth very important cast member, Konkan. It is exquisitely shot on all occasions. There is a moment where an old man gives directions to the couple, and his purpose is fulfilled, but still, there is a passing shot of him sitting reading a newspaper with the backdrop of early morning shuttered down shops. Moments like this highlight how it is a cinematographer's film.

I think with the vast changes happening in landscapes of cities and villages alike, such movies capture and seal the essence of the times for future generations to look at and admire. Take the Kolkata of Piku for example. There are scenes when Amitabh is riding a bicycle in the bylanes of the city and those are now immortalised in the film. I wish more and more filmmakers give significant attention to the Mise-en-scène of a film and spend some frames on worldbuilding.

The plot isn't complicated. There are insecurities of the husband, the bafflement of the high school sweetheart. And at the centre of it, it's Shailaja seeking closure before things go out of her memory. There is a philosophical scene where she goes to meet an unnamed woman. This is one of the best highlights of personal fears, closure, holding on to the past, and forgiving yourself. Loved the execution and dialogue of it.

Varun Grover and Shoaib Zulfi Nazeer have done brilliant work with the script. The scene I referenced above and a few lines on the giant wheel hit like a truck. They made me introspective and even made me shout an expletive. The content is especially insightful when the characters open up. Even the chemistry between supporting cast members comes out very well because of this diligent writing.

All the leads are amazing in portrayals of the roles, but I think it was a deliberate choice to cast non-Marathi people to give it a wider appeal beyond being regional cinema. Shefali has portrayed Shailaja amazingly well, and the same goes for Swanand and Jaideep. Some names like Sukanya Kulkarni and Ila Bhate come to mind for the role of Shailaja as well. Again, nothing to take away from Shefali's amazing performance of Shailaja, but there are scenes where she appears somewhat out of place. Her slow loss of memory does not come out prominently barring a few scenes either.

Alokananda Dasgupta's music is good in a way that allows the location details to come in. There is a scene where these three are walking by a temple and a chanting of shloks is going on. This chanting comes in prominently and further cements the location details of the film. The music never overpowers even when the emotions rise.

Overall, it was an amazing experience to watch this film. I am thankful that it is made. I am thankful that Konkan is forever immortalised this way too. Absolutely recommended and my best wishes for all future projects of Avinash Arun.

I had not seen the original Top Gun from 1986, and when maverick came out 36 years after, I watched both of them back to back. The new one has the stunts, but the first one was a better movie for me.

This write-up considers both movies together.

Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a reckless but extremely skilled fighter pilot in both films. In the first film, he has a companion, Goose. In the second one, we have Goose's son to tie it to the previous film.

The first one was the story of Maverick, as much as it was of the elite fighter pilot school, Top Gun. Maverick was cocky, but at one point in the film, he becomes vulnerable, has doubts about his abilities, and seeks advice. All signs show the hero's journey, we don't see anything of that in the new one. That is largely due to the plot differences.

Top Gun: Maverick has a clear mission at the end of the movie. The entire focus of the film is inching slowly towards that culmination. This leaves very less for actual character development and their interplay. It is a thoroughly plot-driven movie. Whereas the older top gun was more balanced. The love interest made sense, the protagonist was someone you rooted for. In the later movie, we are mostly caring about the goal, which is a plot device for the stunts to shine.

There is no doubt that Top Gun Maverick wins hands down in the action and stunts department. Due to 36 years of advancements in filmmaking, the later top gun is way too polished and has better handling of set pieces and execution. Although the latter one has finesse, it feels artificial as the contrived mission that they have to fly at the end. The older Top Gun was still a brilliant feat in the eighties and its action felt more spirited among the two.

Being a character-driven film, the older Top Gun has a much more believable romantic arc. The same can not be said about the latter. Frankly, the omission of the entire arc with Jennifer Connelly would have made the script much tighter and a through-and-through plot-driven action film. This shows in the runtime too. the older one was 1hr 49mins, a good 30+ mins less than the new one. Yet it managed to deliver a much-rounded story.

This comparison does not mean I am panning the new one. Both these films are worth watching and are still better than average. I am just more biased towards the older.