This is Vistor Q for white folks
This is Saltburn with a happy ending
"I'm gonna do something for my uncle"
Loved the episode. Why isn't anyone relating this with Harry and Tom Riddle's story in the Chamber of Secrets? It's so obvious
I think it's impossible to talk about everything that this movie makes us go through. It's shaped like a blockbuster but unlike most, it demands every single second of your attention to be able to enjoy it and to be able to feel every emotion that it's conveying. But if you devote your 100% attention, it rewards you wholeheartedly and then some. It held me from the start and never let go. I was mesmerized by every single thing that was happening in front of me. The action, the jokes, the concepts, the universes. But there was one thing that was bothering me in the first half: There's no way they can end this perfectly without telling us why all this is happening and above all, why her? Basically I was worried about the human aspect of the movie.
Turns out, they had thought about this way before they thought about all the crazy stuff. They nail the emotions way better than the other stuff. AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING. In a movie filled with crazy concepts and universes, it's always difficult to find the emotional core without making it look forced. But this one knows how to do it. Maybe because it was never lost in all this chaos. And that is the reason why you need to be glued to every frame and every dialogue.
Otherwise it's just random things happening for 140 minutes which can get very jarring. Maybe this explains why some have not liked it. It demands way more attention than maybe even a Nolan movie.
This episode should've been called Slippin' Kimmy
The narrative style is not the only common thing between this and Rashomon. Rashomon also dealt with sexual violence told through 3 different perspectives . And it also had a duel which makes me wonder if Kurosawa was influenced by the actual incident.
Downloaded the right 365 Days
I needed to pause frequently to finish my laughs so that I don't miss out on the next joke. Bloody brilliant!!!
Where can I watch this?
2 reasons why I hate this movie. Most of the 1st reason has to do with the sheer dryness and lifelessness that it was and nothing to do with the gore or the beastial nature of the characters. I can tolerate violence in movies and its various forms. It's not a big deal. What really gets to me (and this is true for all films) is when a filmmaker decides to muck around without being coherent or making any actual progress. Like I love Tarantino's OUATIH and it's one of my favorites from that year but, although I admired the writing and direction of the various Brad Pitt scenes in the movie, I couldn't help but notice the sheer insignificance of his character.
So I get what the director was going for with Salo. But my beef is that I get it within the first 20 mins of the movie. I didn't need to go through the rest 100 minutes of more torture metaphors.
And the second reason is the acting. It is so bad. Even the slave actors whose roles are to literally just mimic a mannequin seem unconvincing while doing so. All of this and the bad dubbing just proves how uninterested the director was in the technical aspects and wanted just to concentrate on the shock value.
The Room was my worst movie of all time before I saw this. At least it was unintentionally funny. This is just the director masturbating to what he thinks is a tactful way of translating into screen the atrocities committed against the victims of the war.
Must confess. Not a big fan of hereditary. The first time I saw it, was on the big screen of a country which
heavily censored it. Weeks later I watched the intact version of it. At first I was really pissed that they didn't
affect me because i already knew the story. But later it made me realize how heavily it relied on the scares to
push the narrative. And hence my conclusion that it works as just another horror story and nothing more(Colette is
gold though).
So when this one opened with that disturbing shot, I was a bit apprehensive about the path that it would take and
whether it would just be an extension of Hereditary. But I was in for a surprise. Midsommar is unconventional in
that it changes its theme every half an hour or so. It's a road movie at one point, a Get Out like thriller the
other and so on. Normally, this kind of a setup shouldn't work. But guess that's what Ari Aster is best known for.
To find the unconventional in the unconventional.
What I really like about the movie is that it deals with loss and a sense of belonging in such a refreshing way.
It gives you an understanding as to why someone would choose to live in a commune and willfully sacrifice one's
need for privacy and space.
This movie feels like Birdman except that you never get a moment like when he feels rejeuvenated after getting his
robe stuck in the door and getting mobbed. Yes. This movie is Birdman without the climax. It's frustrating and rightfully
so because that is what addiction is actually all about. You don't necessarily learn from things and evolve.
And you know that the Safdies have made a phenomenal movie because they choose for us to be inside the world rather than
merely observe it from a certain point. And the reason why it felt this way is because we don't get backstories or subplots and
are made to just dive right into every scenario and still have characters talking over each other.
And oh my God what a brilliant casting choice this was. I've never seen Sandler play something like this before. Yes he has
done The Meyerowitz Stories,Spanglish and maybe Punch drunk love might have even been the one that got him this role
(Missed PSH a lot in this one) but, this felt new because it felt like he has pushed himself to his limits. From showing
the angst of disparity to being plain overconfident of his choices, this is Sandler at his very best.
The world. Based on my experience from watching Good time and this, I think the filmmakers are more than just familiar
with the places captured in the film. Simply because they blend in really well with the narrative. It's always a treat to
see filmmakers considering the space and distance between characters especially in a movie which mostly takes place in
claustrophobic scenarios.
So it's like when you are watching a sport and lecturing the team to play in a certain way. Except that they can't hear you.
That is the whole movie in nutshell. Right when you think he's gonna get better, he somehow finds a way to complicate things
even more than what it was before.
Main criticism about the movie: "I didn't want this movie. This is what I imagined his life would turn out to be like.
Also, Joker released in the same month
Calling this movie influential to aspiring filmmakers would be like calling the Statue of Liberty a statue
And people think Before Sunrise is a genre in its own
I couldn't help but draw parallels to The Station Agent which is also about a public service employee having a monotonous job where the work that he is into involves minimum to no appreciation. They know and have accepted the fact that they cannot make drastic changes in their life. And yet they still manage to create their own little world which does not demand acceptance from the outside world.
I'm a fan if you can keep me as engaged as any of the Fury Road action sequences.
Official secrets comes under the 'whistleblowing' genre whose stalwarts include movies like All the president's men and Network. There have also been a few in recent times like The Post and Spotlight. But what makes this stand out is the amount of time we spend on the protagonist's personal life. Not to take away anything from these movies, (they might even lessen if they try something like this) but it was important here that we devoted our focus into the character's personal struggles because only then would we know how hard the decisions that she made were and the things that were at stake for her when she chose this for herself. That for me elevated the movie to a whole new level.
I believe every movie consisting of good thought-after characters automatically becomes an ensemble even if they don't always
have high stakes on the main plot. It feels fulfilling in a way because you can notice the amount of time the makers have
spent on the characters. HMC is one of those. A lesser film would've solely focused on Sophie and Howl the whole time since they're the
only ones in every frame. But guess that's not what Miyazaki's known for. The side characters feel like spokes in a wheel which would
bring the castle down (pun intended) if even one of them doesn't come through. A great example would be the scene where the Witch of the Waste is holding Calcifer, showing every bit of reluctance in handing it over to Sophie. But when she does hand it over, it just seems the most natural thing that she would do at that point. I don't want to contaminate the scene by analysing it, but it just feels satisfying when the time that you spent in these characters pays off so well.
Sophie being cursed upon with old-age has to be one of the best uses of Chekov's gun that I have seen. It sets the ball rolling because her only determination in life is her work and now she does not have anything to strive for. Also, it does feel at times that she has
given up hope of going back to her normal life. One amazing scene being the one after she has met her mother, where Markl tells her not to leave and hugs her, and she doesn't hold back. That scene cements the fact that she has accepted the change of course in her life,
for better mostly because she has people who rely on her as much as she relies on them. The curse being the catalyst in all this because
the times when she does look young is when she is not self-analysing. Masterful storytelling.
I must confess I have only seen 3 of his movies. After Spirited Away and Totoro, I didn't want to watch any of his other movies because I
thought nothing can match up to them. And then I see this and ask myself: Tell me one reason why they can't co-exist. Here's to binging
the rest of the Miyazakis for the next few days.
Making of a murderer. There are two kinds of populous who watch this show. First, who watch it for the spectacle and politics. Those who are in sync with the latest fan theories. And then there's the other half (maybe even less) who are interested in the characters' development and their arcs. They are the ones who indulge in proper analysis before judging an episode. So no wonder this episode has generated such a negative response. It could have served the former masses like they have for the past few seasons but I'm bloody well glad that they didn't. They threw all fan theories out of the gate and did something that no one expected. They decided to go back to the roots and do something that the OG fans fell in love with. There is no bigger joy than seeing an 8-season arc be paid off so well.
Rags to riches to rags again. This season has been about her losses and failures. Losing her children, best friend and someone who loved her unconditionally were the wheels that drove her to madness. But the final push was her love betraying her. Something that she could never contemplate. Annihilation was the only way out that she could see. This one was a TV version of Carrie.
True Love. Never saw Cersei as a black and white narcissist. So, I totally was fine with her end. Facing death with the only true love of her life while caring about her unborn child. As for Jamie, I don't think he ever loved anyone other than Cersei. He could've comfortably chosen to stay in the north.
I Hope I'm wrong. Varys was in two minds about the queen. But in the end he chose his instinct without considering that it might lead to his demise. He chose the fate of the realm over himself.
Sandor, Thank You. Great moment with The Hound and Arya. Both acknowledging their familial instincts for each other was definitely one of the highlights and looks like it came full circle.
Penultimatum. Calling this the best episode of the season will in no way be fair to other episodes as this one would not be standing if not for the 72 hour experience that was pointing to this. Don't even want to think about the finale right now. Glad that it's a week away since it will take me that much time to digest this one. Hail HBO for not following the Netflix formula
We meet a goon in a dimly lit street somewhere in the affluent South Bombay. He meets up with couple of his friends and initiates a car heist. One of the friends is our protagonist Murad. We don’t formally meet him during the heist since he’s mainly off focus. Not until he gets in the car that is and starts ranting about the current rap scene in the country. The car zooms off and that brings up the title card. Never has preface been this eloquent and yet intriguing. If you count yourself among the ones who assumes a movie’s nature based on the plot then feel free to do so just by watching the trailer. Because it’s the generic underdog story that pans between being off-focus to the crowds cheering him on stage.
The reason why this movie worked for me was because not only did it not defer from what it wanted to say but also because it did that in most effortless way possible. And that is saying something for a movie that is introducing a completely new world to the general population. Not to take anything away but, coming from Zoya Akhtar this isn’t even that big a surprise. Takes me back to her first feature where she gave us an insight of the behind-the-scenes of the familiar yet unfamiliar film industry. The film juggles with almost 5 different character paths and still (like Gully Boy) does not lose its grip on its protagonist. Maybe that’s the reason why she and her co-writer Reema Kagti (Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.) have written few of the best ensembles.
Ranveer Singh. There are actors from whom you cannot separate the character from and then there’s Ranveer Singh who thinks this can be done with every film that he lays his fingerprints on. I already knew he had range but what makes this his career best is the fact that he made me feel like I knew everything about Murad even before he started talking. The quiet moments are when he shows what he can actually do with the role. A notable scene being when a bouncer forbids him to roam outside a nightclub entrance while he’s working as a chauffeur. He quietly leaves, settles himself inside a car and mouths a rap which conveys his angst just about enough. In other words, Singh knows when he needs to act out and when to take a backseat. When he takes a backseat, it is imperative that the others show up. And to make a biopic seem like an ensemble and make it work is something only the writer duo could make possible.
Alia Bhatt yet again asserts that we haven’t seen the whole of her. Yes, she is going from strength to strength with every movie, but this role somehow feels more exceptional than her earlier ones. Mainly because she pulls off a role which doesn’t feel like her cup of tea so effortlessly and effectively. My favourite scene is the one that takes place on a train where she trades off her iPad to Murad while explaining him what she is taking back in return. The film can act up as a great study on how supporting roles need to be written. The breakout stars for me were Siddhant Chaturvedi (Sher) and Vijay Verma (Moeen) who play Murad’s friends. Would love to watch them in their standalone movie.
This is the most that I’ve talked about a movie because I didn’t want to leave out anything that I loved about it. Seldom does a movie feel like a thing for the ages while you are watching it. Just like its music, every moment feels like a breath of fresh air. But more than fresh it is relatable AF. Like I don’t want to stop knowing about these people. And lastly, I think it’s time for us to confess: Zoya Akhtar is best director working today in the country. Can’t wait to know what is the next thing that she is gonna make me generate interest in.
The phrase version of this show would be called 'Wolf in a sheep costume'. That is exactly what every moment in this show felt like. It presents itself with so much bubblegum that the majority do not notice its actual grit. And that is the very reason why this was such an underrated show. Very few people found its subtext. Throughout its four seasons, they never derailed from what they wanted to convey. And even after all this, the comedy did not dwindle. Not...one....bit.
Don't know why people give this show so much grief. It's a a lightweight comedy and nothing more. Why do all shows have to mean something
A Soap opera done right
This movie changed my perspective on superhero movies. Not only have I not seen any superhero movie tackle this kind of an outline before but also narrate it in a way that stays true to the genre. I love the superhero genre and am a big fan of the MCU movies. But I do consider them to be genre films in the sense that when they are merged with other genres it does feel new. For example, Cap America 2 mixed its usual theme with the spy genre. Although it was a great move, I don't think that aspect itself should be anything to commend on. My exact feelings for the reason Get Out was getting acclaim for. Merging genres to make your film look fresh does feel like a cop out in some ways. This is where Logan scores big. It is not just a great superhero movie but also a film which genuinely wants to tell a story. It succeeds in it and how!
There's no way this movie can resonate with everyone because it doesn't cater to the usual superhero tropes. I mean the protagonist is a has-been and not in a way in which he overcomes his fear at the end and emerges on top. It is telling a story about a man who has a motive but he knows that it might be his last one. But to me he's still larger than life because he already knows it's not gonna do him any good. And that is what Wolverine has always been for me because pain has always been an integral part in his life. Hence, although his fate's evident, I can't hold my tears whenever I watch the end.
There is so much about Laura and Charles that I wanna talk about. Their conversations with Logan are probably the most important parts in the movie as they can make or break the tone. But Mangold knows what he wants as an end product so there isn't a way where it could've gone wrong. Laura obviously feels like a better version of Wolverine and not just in the way in which she annihilates her preys but also in the sense that she doesn't have many skeletons yet and goes in all guns blazing. Perfect heir to the Adamantium throne!! The professor stays in character which is probably more important than Logan being his old self because Logan still needs his truth serum every now and then. Not that any of that helps since he bites the dust in the most frustrating way possible.
The Dark Knight trilogy is arguably the best in the genre for a very simple reason. It has a texture that it doesn't break. I'll say the same for Logan. Or maybe it's just that I have a type. But I really can't remember a movie introducing a character in such a bad-ass manner.
The minimum rating allowed here should be 0 and not 1. Only for this episode.
I just finished the last episode. The Wire is the most honest show that I have ever experienced. Not being pessimistic when I say that there will never be a show which will have me hooked for all its 60 hour runtime. Where crime shows these days (or even in fact in the 2000s) relying heavily on the thriller aspects, The wire always had one perspective set up in its narrations which was to hold a mirror to the societal imbalances and prejudices. The show is not as much plot driven as it is narration driven. The characters don't mature in the way you would expect them to. And now that I'm done with the show, I'm having a serious crisis.
I hope the show doesn't end up becoming a '2001'
Another one of those episodes where Amy is fed up of Sheldon's behaviours and at the end he finds something to tell her that fixes everything. I know it has been 12 seasons but some originality is expected from a season premiere.
This movie reminded me that no matter how much I learn about cinema and imbibe knowledge, I'm still going to be that kid in the movie theater who would surrender himself to the world in front which would be nothing less than his own reality. It was like that Ratatouille moment when the food critic is taken back to his childhood when he tastes Remy's dish. Except, nostalgia hasn't even hit me yet. It's all due to the spectacle that this movie is.
