Tag: (2018)

First Man (2018)

1969 the world witnessed a event that was something akin to fantasy turn into reality Man on the Moon a scene i i never witness myself (for obvious reasons). it was something that was mug up by us younglings for the sake exams so many times.thinking about it I do feel jealous of all that witnessed it live the feeling might have been so unique in itself.

the Film portrays the life of the Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling)…and i don’t need to explain who he is and is basically the story of the mans life before the moon.

slow down there boy for a second thought we in a action movie.

the grandeur of space movies was something that is common spectacle of all the space oriented movies yet that this film holds itself back till the last moment to go there with technical and visual effects till then was more focused more on the human aspects and story that not many know of the man the first stepped on the lunar surface.

the point that i mentioned above can be also used to dishearten its viewer also as i upon my initial hr of the film was thinking the film feels slow and very bland, especially compared to what i was expecting but as the film develops the character and unravels the story and trauma of Neil we come to a better and maybe generally overlooked aspects of extraordinary people, that they to have lived a very human life. and that to me what made this film beautify it could have easily been about the landing more than anything but sticks more closely to the man than the mission.

the only issue that i found in this film and in many sense it could be nit picky is the lack of glamour and a tone that the film utilises create a sense of alienation to the film and its characters initially that does subsides as the story progresses.


104 movies down……..396 to go

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goodbye

Overlord (2018)

every once in a while a good sleeper film comes into your hand, you will not have any expectation and the film will not be overly great yet when it ends you will be satisfied by the experience and remark how did this flew under the radar.

great films always find their audience but the good films have a bit harder time, many will become cult classics and many will stay silent till a new soul finds them in a corner of their playlist. this is a very interesting experience one which i had last time when watching Upgrade (2018). their was hardly any chatter about this film to my ears its rare to find films that no one talking about to appear in my playlist and after vertigo i felt a easy non great film was on order to prepare for the next great one.

i never expected much thinking it would be like another war movie guns soldiers actions the whole shabang and it was all that with a simple twist. during WW2 Nazi experimenting to make super soldiers using human sacrifice and Black tar substance that flows beneath a french town. maybe be generic in many cartoonish sense but the film was entertaining enough to quench any such concerns.

the mass media presentation of the d day has always been the valor of the soldiers, the film adding the sci-fi-ish element made it uniquely odd that i was engage just to see where they took it. though nothing outlandish happens its still fun to see an Fantasy side quest like chapter to the WW2. just like in Inglourious Basterds (2009) utilizing the theme of war but changing aspects to make a its own something.

nice smile

98 movie down………..402 to go

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goodbye

Raatchasan (2018)

its always nice to go back to your roots, and when it comes to movie crime triller is a genre i find most comforting to watch, yes mostly simple liner and formulaic its still some of my easy binge content.

this tamil crime thriller was very highly praised, and recommended to me. thus going in with bit of a skewed expectations i had wanted a masterpiece, though never touching that mark for me its is nonetheless a very competent thriller worthy of being praised so highly.

on paper the film about a aspiring crime film writer becoming police officer getting involved in serial killer targeting school girls might seems tried and generic in many ways. but the film advantage i will say is its seemingly similarity to a lot of films in theme and aspects yet having its own identity to separate itself.

the greatest aspect of this film is its tension built up fueled by the gut churning soundtrack that keeps itself in the background like a good boy but always having the effect to your gut. especially in the more serious and close hitting scene the soundtrack has the unique effect filling the sense of dread easily.

the only minor point i had with this film was its length though the film tries real hard to keep me invested 3hr run time is a hard task for any thriller to fully hold me down, but being able to do so for the majority of the run time is pretty good i say.

96 movie down………..404 to go

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Piriyavitai (Tamil goodbye)

Gold (2018)

in my opinion sports and biographical films are the simplest films to watch for most part they have known aspects or a generic structure to them that allows for a easier viewing and sure this aspect can be stated for many genre and also exceptions exists.

well Gold isn’t a biographical film its based on true events and individuals that very the part of the 1948 Olympics hockey team representing independent India for the first time winning the gold medal, but definitely a sports film.

the film by its self seems to lack the cohesive tone needed for scene to work with a lot of song and dances and comedic lines thrown in, nothing that is a bad thing yet lets be clear the film was greatly praised and it did good in box-office, my opinion here would be in a minority maybe but this film seemed to miss the mark in my book with a lot or alterations to facts and tone being here and there the film lacked to generate any tangible tension into me as i watch it.

the real good aspect of the film was how a touching subject as partition as carried out, people action and justification never seemed outlandish nor was any side favoured in its outlook, this neutrality without a feeling pandering gave me a nice smile.

i couldn’t call this a bad film mostly my own expectations due to it being a historical sports film that might shed new information and light onto a time and aspect of Indian history i wasn’t aware of, were the reason for the disappointment i had to the film.

92 movies down………………408 to go

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Allvida

Maari 2 (2018)

around a year or two back i had watched a film the prequel to the one i m reviewing here called Maari a Tamil Action comedy masala film, which was more entertaining than i thought. packed with one-liners action sequences and cliques beats yet the whole film gets carried by the charisma of the lead Dhanush. the small local don who’s antics and fight against the cops was the basic premise.

all in all it was a good one-time watch movie that had no reason for sequel, and then i found this Maari 2, it has a sequel so might as well jump into it. it was a pleasant watch a similar one time watch like its predecessor yet, i will cut to the chase i didn’t like it.

even though the film wasn’t my taste, the Don look was really good imo.

the film had its moments but lacks the charm and charisma the 1st had though Dhanush does bring it up a watchable amount. this film also takes a much or heart-felt and emotional approach compared to the 1st one. and that is my main issue with the film this shift felt brought drastic changes to the character that was there initially and changed the tone of the film. whereas the 1st one was more light-hearted and funny, the second feels like imitating the comedy tone while being mediocre.

the film overall feels like a script that could work by itself but got pasted with the name Maari to increase the sale of tickets, which to me is the worst manner of sequel making as it disrespects the initial movie. my advice to the future viewers is not to watch this one especially you liked the !st part.

84 movies down……….416 to go

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Piriyavitai (Tamil goodbye)

Junga (2018)

Every once in a while its good to just watch a random no sense/non sense flick just to remove agiesty or tension to just shut down your brain. thus going through the random movie suggestion on YouTube i selected Junga. an outright genuine South-Indian Masala film mix matching nearly every genre into one film.

the story initial is about a Bus-conductor who gets to know he is a child of a 2nd generation don, who’s antics lead to family losing all the movie they had, thus to get back a theater that belongs to his mother, the protagonist Junga (Vijay Sethupathi) walks down the path of a Cheapskate Don to save enough money. from here on the movie escalates into kidnapping of the Daughter of the man who now owns the theater. from there further escalating further into involving international crime syndicates.

honestly loved his don look but alas it wasn’t a serious movie to utilize this

the main charm of the film initially was the semi meta nature and self aware humour which by no means is done perfect its still done better than many i have watched. and my favourite sequence was the flashback scene where Junga gets to know his ancestry and the type of eccentric Don father and Grandfather he had. the sequence is showcased using animation as well as the mother’s dialogues which to me just was funny as it broke down the stupidity of the generally shown South Indian don movie troupes of tooo many cars and members for one kill.

the looks comes of a comical Don troupe film for the first half having some good jokes and scenes but as the film extends to the second half there build up this palpable feeling that the film is loosing touch with itself and trying various beats to keep itself stable which backfires as the second half feels forced and compared to its initial half less interesting. the whole kidnapping plot thread felt generic and extended than required also during this time the meta-charm that was built up prior is forgotten. but the weakest point the movie is by far its ending that is so blindly forced that for me it felt out of place.

this movie is that is best watchable with 1/3rd of it being good while the rest 2/3rd is mere “meh” at best.

81 movie down……..419 to go

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POITUVAREN (tamil goodbye)

Creed II (2018)

the sequel to the unexpected wonder-kid of this saga, Creed II was a surprise for me, i remeber the hype that everyone was on when creed first came out and having known of its sequel already before i ventured into this saga i always thought that Creed had an ending that made people yearn more. But that is not the case it is by itself a very content-ful spin off to the series and i my opinion not needed a sequel thus before i sat to watch this film i was curious what was gonna be done this time what would make this film interesting.

And i got my answer in the first scene itself as we see the son and father duo (Florian Munteanu and Dolph Lundgren) going about their training and fight the Drago family. and after watching all the films in order this past week you need no exposition to know whats about to go down whats the story gonna be how it will end up. All you need to know is its gonna be hype well it was for me.

best way to sum this movie is the mix of the #rd film and the 4th film (obviously), this merger comes at the cost of predictability to the story, but seriously who cares for that when we get to see dope action and Drago once again i mean i just got goosebumps when i got to know they were going down this route. that moment changes the story from a normal title fight to a one with a legacy and deep story behind it.

what this film does to me it help ground the bigger than life character of Drago from the 4th film using his relationship with his son and the wife and country that had abandoned it. to me in many ways it was more of a redemption story for the Drago name that was mostly used like a evil entity in old film.

ranking time

now even though i really enjoyed the movie, the fact that its so eerily similar to the past film that you can shrug off as saying history repeats itself, just doesn’t work for me and in the creed saga the 1st film always will take the cake for me. but the hype for the Drago is real.

77 movies down…………..423 to go

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Upgrade (2018)

A Cyberpunk action revenge story, about a man with enhanced abilities due to Cybernetic enhancements.

the story is set in the future when the use of technology has become so common place that there are self driving cars, computer controlled houses etc. all this time there are also people like our protagonist Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) who prefers to do things the old fashioned ways. one day when on one such self driving car due to a malfunction cause an accident in which he and his wife Asha Trace (Melanie Vallejo) get injured. only to realise it was done by a group of thugs for some unexplained reason these thugs kill Asha and shot Grey too. Grey survives but has been reduced to a Quadriplegic due to his injuries, this is where a friend of his Eron keen (Harrison Gilbertson) a extremely smart CEO of technology company comes to him with an offer to allow him to move again the catch being he has to have a chip and super smart chip get inserted into his brain step. this chip is the future having multiple capabilities and enhancing functionalities. these new abilities allows Grey to track down his wife’s killer and find out who put a hit on her and ans that might not have been what he expected.

the film has very nicely choreographed action sequences that are made with a technique and fixes the actor in the middle all the while all the movements occur around him it might feel a bit disorienting but pays of as gives a much more robotic presence to the movie.
Logan Marshall-Green kudos to him the are action scene where his body and facial expression need to be so vastly different to sell the scene and he is able to convey that portion of the scene of effortlessly.

do i recommend it, oh i do it is a fun action cyberpunk movie that has a good story to keep you interested with fun action sequences that can just be the thing to watch.

56 movie down……….444 to go

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goodbye

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

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i know i am late to the party, but hot damn i was blown away rating it 9/10 right of the bat, you don’t need to read what i am about to right because the movie is worth all the praise it gets for everyone.

the movie is a pure visual treat, the pop-ing colours and effects, ever moving and changing makes you just remain immersed in the medium. they way they handled the opening scene, no even before the production house logos gave a hint i am in for a wild ride, and what a ride it was. i cant state this enough but i enjoyed this movie way too much, this movie gives the feel of a movie made by geeks for geeks all the while appealing to everyone and that is the beauty of this film. i cant even begin to explain how great a choice it was to keep the comic book feel to the animations.

no matter how much live action marvel or DC movies get hype, in my opinion only animation is a medium that can truly present the comic booky feeling in its at most glory to a motion picture, just the way a the cartoonish proportion of Kingpin feels nature and comic like makes my day. these little things just add up from noir spiderman’s interest to Rubik’s cube to final end credit scene the movie knows what it is and owns it perfectly.

lets talk about voice acting, man oh man that amazing performance from everyone not for a second i ever feel distracted from them, gripped to my seat for the next line of joke or comment they make, it felt as the voice actors truly had fun voicing their characters and that brings the best in them. the ensemble cast of different spider-man from various universes just made the movie so much cool.

the best scene that had me laughing for me was the Stan lee scene where his line felt so genuine just what you expect a uplifting line to be like, After death of Parker, miles goes to buy a spider-man outfit when he asked the owner Stan lee if he could return the suit if it doesn’t fit him to which he replies – it always fits, ‘eventually’.

until you see the why he says that as the store behind him says no refund.

if this is the future for the superhero movie genre then sign me up.

50 movies down………..450 to go

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Excelsior

Theevandi (2018)

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have you ever had a addiction, it doesn’t need to be anything bad, it could be as simple as a addiction to games, books, movies (ya i have this). then this movie could resonate with you. A Malayalam movie about a satirical representation of politics and addtiction to cigarettes.

Theevandi in Malayalam refers to Train engine of old that used to run on coal, and thus produces smoke and fire, therefore Thee = fire and Vandi = vehicle. this is the nickname of our protagonist Bineesh (Tovino Thomas) who is a smoker, a name he got because he got caught by police by mistake as a robber only because he snuck out of his house to smoke a cigg. when he and his girlfriend since childhood Devi (Samyuktha Menon) finally decided to marry she puts a condition to him that he should stop smoking. which he accepts early on but he could control his vice. So much so at on incident he forgot the engagement necklace so the brought it later but this time so that he doesn’t forget he kept it inside his cigarette packet, this was the last straw for and her family who ask for the engagement to be broken and that he shouldn’t even think of coming back until he stops smoking. this leads to him taking on the challenge only after he himself realises his own inability to stop, his friends and colleagues help him as a bet is place on the next seat of the constituency in the next election to brother in law if he stops smoking till then, and the one to stand in his way is his girlfriends father Madhu (Suraaj Venjarammoodu)

the movie is a good representation of addiction, the fact that we see our characters demise and indulgence because of that on vice is nicely portrayed, we see him in his highs and lows of addiction and can relate to the emotions whether or not you are a fellow smoker that feeling of inability to let go of your weakness is a natural trait we humans bare, and it takes a huge awaking for us to allows that to happen.

there is this one scene i really admired is that after the ultimatum is given to Bineesh by Devi about his smoking that he is sitting in his room on a desk trying to light a cigarette and being unable to do so because of is love for her and throwing the cigarette out of the window only to feel the vice kick in and he frantically searches for used buds in ash tray to get any one that is even bit left and lights it and takes a deep puff, the audience and he himself realises his own condition has passed no return and with every puff he takes the look of guilt falls on him.

a movie i would recommend just of its simple concept and laughs rating of 6/10

41 movies down………….459 to go

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Pinne kaanam (malayali goodbye)