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Jagame Thandhiram (2021)
A fun & comical Dhanush was nice to watch on screen
Watching this movie reminded me of the fun & comical Dhanush in Thiruvilayadal Arambam (2006). I liked that movie but it fetched mixed reviews as well (just like this). It was nice to see this side of him after a series of serious hit movies (Vada Chennai, Asuran, Karnan). I share the sentiments as fellow reviewers that the 2nd half was slow.
Dear Zindagi (2016)
Charismatic SRK gets you thinking
Watched this before but felt like watching it again. Got me thinking about instances when I felt I struggled.
Some questions for you,
- Why punish yourself to get the important things in life?
- Why not take the easy way out?
- Why hold on to something if you don't like it? Why prolong the suffering?
Uyare (2019)
If Pallavi can be an air-hostess, you can achieve you anything you dream
The movie covers several important themes: Toxic relationships, acid attack victims, female empowerment, and inner beauty. There were 2 main takeaways for me from this film.
1) Awareness of a Toxic Relationship
I've watched a similar toxic relationship in "Posesif" (an Indonesian movie) where a boy abuses his girlfriend because of his insecurities and how he was similarly treated and controlled by his mother. The girl keeps going back to him feeling obligated to care for him. Both movies illustrate that its difficult to realize that you are caught in a toxic relationship until it reaches its peak. Movies like Uyare are crucial in raising our awareness even before that happens.
2) Inspiring Acid Attack Victims
If Pallavi, an acid attack victim, can be approved by her "customers" in a job that emphasizes beauty, there should be nothing that stops other acid attack victims from achieving anything they dream.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
Didn't feel time passing despite it being a 3h 45min film
I caught the cricket scenes on YouTube before, but gave up watching the full movie just because 3h 45 min seemed daunting. Finally decided to catch the movie after I saw a fellow reviewer saying he was surprised he got through the whole movie without feeling bored. You'll be surprised too!
A simple & straightforward storyline based in the era of British occupation in India. The movie runs as the synopysis says. I have a high respect for Amir Khan after watching his PK, 3 Idiots & Taare Zameen Par. He didn't fall short here either. Class actor. Didn't get me bored at all.
I also loved Gauri's (Gracy Singh) expressions showing jealousy over Bhuvan (Amir Khan) when Elizabeth gets too close to him. That was really cute haha!
Andhadhun (2018)
Captivating Thriller by Ayushmann Khurrana & Tabu
Ayushmann plays the character of a pianist (Akash) who pretends to be blind to focus completely on his craft. I felt the film captured the nuances of one PRETENDING to be blind pretty well (especially the sequence with the cop at Akash's house).
The new generation of Indian films have greater depth and layering in their scripts. Usage of many twists to keep the audience from not settling & visual clues to get them to continuously decipher. Andhadhun followed this style too.
Caught his Article 15 previously, in which he played a newly appointed cop in a rural area where caste divides run deep. That movie portrays a much stronger social issue. For those who like Ayushmann Khurranna, you must check out Article 15.
Ip Man (2008)
Donnie Yen as a cool & composed Wing Chun demigod
Donnie Yen's performance will hold your attention for the entire duration. He (as Ip Man) is an splendid example of the phrase "Insecurities are loud, confidence is silent".
The story was set during the era of the Japanese occupation in China and portrays Ip Man as the pride and savior of Fo Shan & China. Ip Man was just too good. He overpowered every opponent in the film.
Because I can't connect with martial arts and Chinese culture deeply, I automatically focus more on the story rather than the emotions. The story line was a little predictable and I started wondering if the subsequent Ip Man films would also have a similar "Ip Man fights an undefeatable villain" template. Let's see if I get to the subsequent Ip Man movies :)
Sudani from Nigeria (2018)
Came for Soubin Shahir, but the story was the highlight
Sudani from Nigeria was on my watch list after Ambili. Learning that Soubin Shahir got the Best Actor Kerala State Award for Sudani from Nigeria raised my expectations (because his performance in Ambili was impeccable).
After the movie, I still believe Soubin displayed stronger acting skills in Ambili than here. Soubin plays the role of a local Kerala football league team manager. The interactions between the locals and the Nigerian footballer is the true highlight of the movie. A novel setting and heart warming interactions between the 2 parties despite the language barrier made the movie an enjoyable watch.
Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (2019)
Parthiban's mesmerizing story telling skills
Parthiban always has a magnetic voice and a great sense of humour. Those two combined always makes his stories mesmerizing.
Question yourself, how long can you hold someone's attention when speaking to them? 5 minutes? 10 minutes at most? This film kept me engaged for almost 2 hours.
One main actor, one room, voices of several supporting characters (those present in the room and in Parthiban's mind) were all there were in the film. The cinematography made use of every object from every angle in that small room. Sound effects gave life to Parthiban's story telling. And Parthiban's excellent acting, displaying a wide range of emotions, in a small room was the highlight.
It was a very refreshing film. Oththa Seruppu broke the patterns of conventional commercial films through innovation in narration and technical aspects. No songs, no fight scenes, no beautiful landscapes, no star-studded casts.
Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (2019)
"I don't want my brain to stop working"
This documentary gives a peak into Bill Gates's brain. Chaotic, relentless, cramped with information on various topics at once, always thinking of solving big big problems.
In the face of setbacks he simply tells himself "I've got to work harder". The director questions if getting too deep is Bill Gates's flaw. But I think its this relentless attitude that makes him the most likely to succeed in any of the problems that he is trying to solve (e.g. Sanitation, Disease Eradication, Climate Change).
The documentary gives a clear insight into the challenges in solving some of the world's most significant and long-lasting problems.
Game Over (2019)
Felt the thrill of playing an action game
The director did a really good job in incorporating the game concept into the final scenes. The trailing scenes were really engaging. Every time you lose a life in a game, you get new ideas on how to beat the game. A psycho-thriller film delivered with a very novel touch (video games) was what made this film unique.
The scenes building up to these were simple but didn't take too long. So that helped to build a good momentum. Not too many twists and turns other than that.
Être et avoir (2002)
Lost in the Georges Lopez's Classroom
Time flew past very quickly despite the documentary featuring scenes of very simple daily scenarios in the classroom. The way Mr. Lopez speaks is so calm and soothing. Never once (except for the time where they were trying to find a lost child) did Mr. Lopez raise his voice. One to one interactions of him teaching, counselling, chatting with his students were so pleasing to watch.
He clearly loved what he did. He mentioned in one part that he would even role play as a teacher for his peers when he was young because he loved it.
This is a portrait of Mr Lopez, but never once felt like the camera was in the way of Mr Lopez and his students. This style of documentary was so new to me that I had to refer to fellow reviewers to comprehend it fully. So thanks to them for educating me on things I missed out haha :)
Daughters of Destiny (2017)
The best documentary film I've watched
The documentary spanning over 7 years, makes the change Dr Abraham and Shanti Bhavan created extremely tangible and obvious. But even before the stars got their jobs in the documentary, I was awestruck by their eloquence in speaking English and their extremely sharp minds.
The stories of these girls are so genuine and inspiring. The documentary constantly paints the contrasting lives they live in Shanti Bhavan and back at their homes. The challenges they had overcome and the burden they carry of freeing their families were really moving.
I'm not going to reveal too much. I want you to feel the way I did, and its pure magic!
Anbe Sivam (2003)
Kamal is a true legend
Only Kamal Hassan can write a script like that. The dialogues in the opening 30 minutes were absolutely brilliant and comical. Madhavan and Kamal Hassan's chemistry was so good especially in the opening scenes. I read later that Kamal and Madhavan spent time together before the shooting days to work on their chemistry and also the dialogues.
Sad that the movie perform well at the box office. Movies like this I feel were way ahead of their time when it was released in 2003. We are starting to see more positive responses for movies like this in recent times (K.D., Sillu Karuppati, Merku Thodarchi Malai, Aruvi).
Kamal Hassan is Ulaga Nayagan for a reason. His acting as a man shattered physically but not mentally was amazing.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Necessity is the mother of invention
Inspiring story of William Kamkwamba! No doubt it was a story worth being made into a film. The scenes leading up to the start of the famine was long.
The spirit of applying knowledge to solve problems and always out at the junkyard finding materials is one of a true inventor. The movie reminded me of the famous quote "Necessity is the mother of invention".
Mike Kachibunda (the Science teacher) had the knowledge but didn't build a windmill. Are we there getting ourselves knee deep and finding problems to solve? Reminds me of what Muruganantham Arunachalam, inventor of low cost sanitary pads for women, once said when on a panel with Bill Gates. "The world doesn't have enough opportunities for 7 billion people. Take a problem and use your surplus knowledge and try to solve it".
Chalard games goeng (2017)
Very detailed cheating story
Interesting story. Very interesting ways of cheating. Plot twists at significant moments in the film. Entertaining film overall.
I felt the film lacked depth for 2h. It only had 2 major incidents. But the film was made in a way that let even you as an audience feel the state of stress, anxiety, fear of getting caught in the 2nd half.
What I didn't like about the design of the characters was that they were too weak. 1 setback and they triggered to take the wrong path. The fixed mindset that they can't fight for it and win it. Also peer pressure was so strong that one person with a fraudulent thought could easily sway others to join (as a beneficiary or a perpetrator). Maybe that's what the creators of the film want to show, that students lacked proper values despite having the intellectual ability.
Merku Thodarchi Malai (2018)
Authenticity of the people and the land captured perfectly
Beautiful shots of the mountainous region. Not a single drop of authenticity was left uncaptured by Director Lenin Bharathi. I read that he grew in a village like that with an estate worker mother and a communist movement supporter father.
Watching this film would make you aware of how commercial films have morphed how your mind thinks during the course of a movie. The life captured on screen was idyllic, but years of commercial movies made my mind to constantly expect a downturn of events. "Things can't be this good, where's the twist?" was what went through my mind every once in a while.
This movie is such an accurate depiction of life at the foothills, that you would be able to relate anyone talks about the plight of landless labourers after this.
Ambili (2019)
The Spirit of Ambili is why you should catch this film
The very first scene in which Ambili (Soubin Shahir) was on put a wide smile on my face. And that admiration of his innocence continued till the very end. Soubin Shahir is a class actor. The movie was carried by him and him only.
When Teena Kurian (Tanvi Ram) said she would want to marry Ambili, just like her parents and her brother I didn't understand why. But at the end of the movie, I together with everyone other character in the movie understood why Ambili was such a beautiful human being.
I agree with other reviewers that the Bobby character (played by Naveen Nazim) wasn't as strongly portrayed. The story itself didn't seem to flow well (especially in the second part with the little episode of an old lady and man re-uniting at one of the stops).
Never knew Soubin Shahir was the one who played the PT Teacher role in Premam. And also just found out about Sudani from Nigera, for which he won the Kerala State Award in 2018. Shall catch that too.