Month: Mar 2020

Dirty Grandpa (2016)

i have to give spoilers before i start this review……..Please don’t watch this unless you have like vulgar comedy movies

there in times comes movies that just change your view point and leave a everlasting effect on you that upon watching fills you with the emotion that i could only describe as nauseating, and that is best way i summarise this movie. i don’t know what went wrong and how it went wrong, it had a simple enough plot not great but simple, had a great caste….ok maybe great enough cast.

now let me be clear its not a film for people who have issues with vulgar comedy movies, the title itself is a reference to it. it has its fair share of moments that might really end up funny, even though the joke itself is cheap and i come clean i had my share of laughter in too. but it still soo much cringe into it that just doesn’t gel with me.

let me tell you the plot of the movie straight from IMDB – Right before his wedding, an uptight guy is tricked into driving his grandfather, a lecherous former Army Lieutenant Colonel, to Florida for Spring Break. just by this much you might have guessed its a story of how the guy (Zac Efron) learns to be less uptight and how the grandpa (Robert De Niro) plays a role in it, and you sir are 100% correct it the genre plot that adds on to the vulgar joke and langue to spice up this trope.

now i might be harsh on this movie and i agree i went in it with a bit of bias towards how the story would play as in my head and it did yet didn’t feel satisfactory or maybe the cringe just got up to me. and as i thought more on it it came to me the fact why i didn’t like this movie that much its lack of a convincing ideals, as easily it changes its internal theme and message to suit the narrative reach a happy ending for all the characters which by the end has a definite feeling of forced.

i would usual stop peopple from watching it but if my rant made you curious watch it and be the judge yourself…..i would love to have new insight into this film from different pair of eyes.

69 movies down…………..431 to go.

see you soon

goodbye

The Other Guys (2010)

the story is about the unlikely heroes the ones you never expect to be up to the task….the underdogs

when Chris Danson and P. K. Highsmith two of the policemen, considered the best by the of the New York Police force (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson) end up dead due to their own stupidity in a simple pursuit. they police force now has to pick up the slack, this is where our unlikely heroes emerge, Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) who wanted quite life thus joined the accounting side of the police force, and this partner Terry (Mark Wahlberg) who is a fan of the crime fighting style of Chris Danson and P. K. Highsmith, and is always agitated by the inactivity of his patner. they end up finding clues that lead them to a case where money from the NYPD pension fund id gonna be transferred out to the hands of the opposing side, they act to stop them even when the whole force doesn’t believe and respect them.

now this is a silly movie but just silly enough that it doesn’t bore you, doesnt overly still to a serious tone rather goes out of its way to have meta commentary and joke , which i would say could be tone downed but end result was alright. this movie having will and mark in it was bound to have the duos random interaction scene that just builds up to become chucklish. in this film it was the school of tuna hunting the lion pride conversation.

i have to say one of the best parts of the story to me was the cameos of The Rock and Nick fury in the movie, their characters and then eventual downfall all were just funny and not overused to spoil the movie and derail its simple undertone meta-commentary on how action movies showcase such story lines and sequences. like the scene where upon being nearly being blasted due to a bomb the characters end up complaining about how scene sin movies are unrealistic in their portrayal of protagonist moving away from blast with no effect.

i would recommend this to people who have an affinity to the buddy cop action comedy genre, as it has all those aspects to enjoy that make this genre beloved.

68 movies down…………..432 to go.

see you soon

goodbye

Why Him? (2016)

every once in a while you need to watch bad film, to appreciate the good ones is something i say in my head often. I sit down to review this movie and Spoilers I didnt like it.

the movie is all about A family meeting the the boyfriend of Daughter for the first time and then getting to know that he is not just the boyfriend he is her fiance, something that the Dad doesn’t agree to. this is as simple as i need to express this movie for if you have been watching this genre of movies for a while you might have already come across many films with the father-vs.-fiancé formula done in different iterations, this just being one of them but in my opinion not the best one.

the family, made of the Father (Bryan Cranston – yes the same Breaking Bad one) the owner of the Printing company, the loving mother (Megan Mullally) their son (Griffin Gluck) among the first supporters of his sisters (Zoey Deutch) relationship with the fiance (James Franco) the eccentric tech millionaire, who dreams of becoming a family with them. the whole movie is about his actics that make him less disable to the father while showing enough charm to win approval of other members of the family. and how everything ends as happy ever after.

the movie which without is silly antics would have felt a bit more cohesive and simple maybe not great but more bearable than what it currently is. it felt like there was no reason for me to sit and watch this, to see the star of breaking bad seem so silly and mind you know Bryan Cranston is a great actor and also has experience with comedy but why choose this script it is so bland it humour derived by silly gags, James Franco just seemed his usual self as seem in alot of the comedy movies he has been the part of few years. though it is the usual thing you see in such movie, i guess it just something that didn’t gel with me.

67 movies down…………..433 to go.

see you soon

goodbye

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

just as walked out of the theater, i saw the poster of the this movie just around the corner. feeling adventurous i walked up the counter and bought a ticket of the next show. as there was still a while to the movie to start i became to realise what i had done, i had bought a horror movie ticket, a genre i feel the lease my taste. mainly because being a scardy cat.

the simplest gist i can give of this movie is that the doll named Annabelle is kept in the basement of the famous Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), one time they plan to leave for another one of their missions. thus they arrange for a babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) for their young girl child Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace). when the parents leave, Mary’s friends tags along Daniela (Katie Sarife), who has her own reasons to tag along as she knows of the parents occupation she thinks there might be some item in their basement that might help her reconnect with her deceased father. as the night progresses she sneaks into the basement and ends up opening the glass cabinet of containing the Cursed doll ‘Annabelle’. this becomes the catalyst into the house turning into a horror show and the girls trying to bring the doll back into the cabinet to stop the curse.

the acting wasn’t bad, they acted with the script demanded of them but that is all i can say to that, the one scene where it felt there was some charm was probably the initial contact with all the items inside the basement which later into the story play their own roles in scaring us.

the movie is not something i am big fan of, even to me it was hardly scary the film just packs itself nothing more of the random jump scares which get don’t cut the dread that the initial Conjuring Universe made use of. man i need to talk about those movies some day.

i trend i have seem to observe (cant be sure as i don’t watch enough horror to know exactly) is that of the heroic scenes that seems a bit to superheros than normal human type. this is something i first notices in a movie of this same universe ‘Nun’, its not that it cant be possible or its a bad scene to have but i problem lies with the fact how this scene gets implemented or incorporated such that it ruins the tense in an intense and breaks any chance of the tension or the horror to pay off..

66 movies down…………..434 to go.

see you soon

goodbye

Article 15 (2019)

generally movie going for me is a planned process, check the timing book the seats plan the day……..and lot more planning so it works out. it is very rare that i go for a movie impromptu, so rare that when i finally end up doing it last year i said why not a choose two movies at random in the theater and watch them …….first among them was

the 2019 Bollywood starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Manoj Pahwa, Nassar, Kumud Mishra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and directed by Anubhav Sinha.

the movies is based on true events and still continue to happen in India mainly due to the caste system that even though abolish and prohibited by the constitution of India still has a prevalent impact in the rural regions of India as a ignored reality of India, that exists by never truly acknowledged. the movie begins with the a scene of 2 Dalit girls being ganged up by some guys in a bus, from here we are introduced to Ayan (Ayushmann Khurrana) who is newly posted as the Additional Superintendent of Police of the region. since his arrival into the town the caste discrimination among the residents is seem in various instances. the next morning the bodies of the 2 girls is found hanging for a tree, upon learning the they were gang raped and not murdered investigation is called upon yet the main staff of police are hesitant to go along with it and Brahmadutt Singh (Manoj Pahwa) the next in charge of the station tries to change the case into that of murder by honor killing as the girls were of a lower caste. as the story progresses we are told about the existence of a 3rd girl who might have survived and is missing this story thread is used to give some light at the end of such a murky tunnel. we get to know that the reason from this incident happening to the girls was just because they asked for a increase in wage of 3 rupees. the dishearted effort of the police into this case enrages Aryan who prompts to pin the Article 15 of the Indian Constitution on the billboard as a reminder to all the police officers to first and foremost be Indians and that any kind of caste discrimination is a criminal offence and continues to probe into the case.

hoping to find the 3rd girl and catch the culprit.

the high points of the movie for me was the tone, it held its serious tone all throughout the movie utilizing amazing cinematography by Ewan Mulligan to visually entice us in the scenes at the same time not brake the mood by utilizing the colour pallets of the scene with care. the cast did a splendid job especially, Manoj Pahwa whom i have only experiences with comedy to see him pull of such a twisted serious character made me really invested in his character arc, as for Ayushmann Khurrana let just say this was a movie he chose wisely as this movie showcased his range in acting by tackling a much serious subject matter and doing a great job in it.

this movie was defiantly among the better movies of last year.

65 movies down………..435 to go.

see you soon

alvida.

The Shape of Water (2017)

in 2017 after airing of Oscars a meme became prevalent in internet, that how how the academy best picture went to a movie where a lady sleeps with a fish, fishman to be accurate. it was all the buzz now that made me look forward to watching it, yet i didn’t immediately jump into it, now finally that i have let me share my thoughts

 At the 90th Academy Awards, it won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score. A movie that was directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is famous for his monster movies and honestly to me he is the only man i can think can make a movie like this.

the movie is about Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins), who works as a cleaner at a secret government laboratory in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962, at the height of the Cold War. Due to a wounds on her neck she has been mute since childhood and utilises sign language to communicate. being a person to keep to herself she only has 2 close colleagues,a Closeted next-door neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins), a middle-aged struggling advertising illustrator, and her African American co-worker Zelda Fuller (Octavia Spencer). it just happens to be that in the secret facility they work in a mysterious creature captured from a South American river and Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) is in charge of the project to study it. 

by accident Elisa ends up meeting the mysterious creature which turns out to be a Amphibian man (Doug Jones), a she starts visiting him often among them a special bond arises. Elisa upon hearing that the Creatures life was in danger smuggles it out of the facility to her home to keep him safe, waiting for the right time to take him to safety. this is where getting to know of the asset’s disappearance The colonel starts tracking them down. catching them at the canal where elisa was gonna release the amphibian man. a tussle ensues witch results in the creature an elisa getting shot here the am amphibian man uses his power to heal himself and kill the colonel, and takes Elisa to the sea and heals her.

the thing that bugs me about this movie, was how it won the best picture in Oscars, the thing that intrigued me to watch it in the first place. now i am not implying its not worthy it surly is worthy yet to me it feels to bland of a film to be the winner. it is well directed has amazing visual effects all such awards felt justified yet. overall the film never made me feel much for the character with each change in stakes and scenarios it felt predictable. now this all might be a personal taste in the matter but with other nomination’s like Dunkirk and Get Out in the list the result just didn’t sit well with me.

i had to add the pictures to showcase the grand visuals of the movie done in a practical manner, now a days when such creation often gets taken to the green screen Guillermo del Toro, having his experience as former special effects makeup artist, brings his creatures and their worlds with practical effects and makeups. and when seeing the movie with that in mind the movie seems unique and beautiful. A special kudos to the performance of Doug Jones in that costume and without words to bring a creature into reality.

64 movies down………..436 to go.

see you soon

good bye

Detective Pikachu (2019)

it had been a long time since i have visited a theater to watch a movie with my cousins, they are are younger than me, and if there is something thing i can be childish with them for is animated movies especially the one that have nostalgic value for me. and this one had me hooked with its name.

for those who were under a rock for the past two decades and especially those who even missed the near impossible to miss phenomenon of Pokemon Go, which had my grandparents the things furthest from anything pokemon referring to it, dont know what a pokemon is please watch videos to catch up. in gist its a video game about catching creatures and training them to fight………yeesh saying like this gives off a illegal animal fight vibe to it. now this game was so popular that it gave rise to cartoons merchandises and lots more, but the crème de la crème was the anime, that by the way still going on. during my childhood the timming of 5p.m was a fixed time for me and my friemds to sit in front of a t.v to watch th e;atest adventures of pokemon.

And so when i heard that there is gonna be a live action adaptation of this beloved property, i was freaked out i had always heard that no video game adaptation ever worked out. i was afraid i would be let down so i distanced my self form promotion and trailers of it, i planned on just keeping it as a subconscious reminder that this film exists. so how i ended up in a movie theater showcasing this movie with my cousins simple, my cousins are kids i was the sitter and they wanted to watch it. and in retrospect i am glad they did.

now let me tell you a bit about the movie, it is a loose adaptation of a video game with the same name, in which our main protagonist Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) come to Ryme City upon hearing of his father’s disappearance, and upon meeting a talking Pikachu who is a self-proclaimed detective, voiced by now forever the Deadpool voice Ryan Reynolds going on a quest to solve the case. Along the way meting various people and pokemon like lucy stevens (Kathryn Newton), the energetic reporter with her Psyduck, Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy) the man who founded the city and the legendary Mewtwo.

the visuals were great able to see how the world was molded in a way that showcased the presence and the integration of the Pokemon into the society helped the world fell immersive. though only a few of the Pokemon out of the current list of 807 were showcased it was still done well. there were many things that could be added or changed in the movie but why would i complain when it did the one think i hoped it would it didn’t endanger my nostalgia….

63 movies down………..437 to go.

see you soon

goodbye

Featured

The Mammoth Task 2.0

375 days back I had a crazy idea, i had embarked on a task, a Mammoth task to cover 500 movies in one year, a audacious task, a ludicrous task………………………………………………………………………..and after 375 days after 61 movies, i have come in front of you readers to regretfully let you know i have failed.

but i am not here to make excuses i am not here to give up, this mammoth will be tamed by me even if i have failed the time limit…..i will finish the remaining 438 movies (yes i published one move movie before this one).

A year back i had not written a single post, now i have written 62, so why retreat

see you soon

adios

Lucifer (2019)

the highest grossing Malayalam movie, it was such a big deal there where ads for its premiere on t.v. on bill boards, such a big thing that its getting a sequel, such a big thing that the most asked question to me when i returned to my hometown was not how was i but whether i had seen it and i hadn’t oh the uproar my cousins made hearing that. so finally i was made to sit down and watch it along with my cousins all younger than me, all eyeing my reactions to scenes all long as if seeing me undergo a rite of passage. i saw the movie and passed the rite, and am here to speak my mind about it.

so how was it you ask, it was good or better term is entertaining just what the doctor orders when the patient lacks Masala in life. Containing action, drama, suspense, twists, backstory, big reveals and lots more. this itself is the films boon and curse, covering all the basis to appease all parties while effectively just reducing the depth of a lot of the story line. By adding all these elements and subplots the movie gives off a feel of trying to hard, i might be bit hard on the movie but its only because it was such a big thing, i got hyped up a bit to much.

lets talk about casting as in a star studded film, of course there is the main man Mohanlal playing the enigmatic Stephen Nedumbally whose true reveal is just a hype up for the sequel a trend a lot of movies doing nowadays just hyping people for the sequel. for those who have watched bollywood movies might spot that there is an bollywood actor in this malayalam movie, Vivek Oberoi playing Bobby the antagonist of the movie, and i might say he played it well. this is also the first directorial debut of one of my early favourite malayam actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, and i have to say in the movie he does do a good job it is that i like his action scenes more than his overall product.

Mohanlal and Vivek Oberoi

now let me talk about my favourite scene from the movie now this might not be a highly classy or a great scene in fact its just my favourite for the fact that this scene gave a look into how this movie had a super interesting political drama undertone to it that wasn’t explored by the director because of the of exposed action genre. the scene happens under a bridge were two opposing party members are conversing, one of them a member of Stephan’s party has been a double agent as they converse and the element of him being exposed comes to light, the one he was talking with offers him a cigarette and takes out a gun, telling him how stupid he was to believe only he could be a only spy in this underbelly of politics, ending the scene with a gunshot.

there were many such scenes that enticed me but they came in far and apart, as the movie has a lot of the subplot that does help the story in their own way but at same time never truly give resolution to themselves. clouding the story up, yet just like i began this monologue, this is a masala film with all the elements in it just enough that you would enjoy and can hardly complain.

62 movies down……………….438 to go

see you soon

Pinne kaanam (malayali goodbye)